11. Deception
Deception
Larissa
A strong, gentle hand shook Larissa’s shoulder. “Wake up; it’s time.”
Larissa forced open thick and heavy eyelids to find that the pupilless monsters had disappeared, leaving Pappa and Mamma standing in the dark room.
Outside the window was the pure darkness of night.
Halla’s empty side of the bed lay undisturbed, as if Queen Stjarna had never sat there, as if it had all been nothing but a dream.
Larissa blinked hard trying to clear the sleep from her eyes. “Pappa, I saw—”
She cut off, unsure if she wanted to share. Pappa’s eyebrows rose in response to her pause before he peered out the window. “You saw what?”
Larissa knew she could never take back the following words. “I dreamed about Queen Stjarna. At least, I think it was her. I don’t know how.”
“The Norn communicate to us through our dreams.” Mamma’s hushed voice couldn’t conceal the quiver in her words. “What else did you see?”
Larissa gulped. “Monsters. Mara , maybe, or something else. I—what are those?”
Pappa shifted the large bags on his shoulders, as if he too had just remembered their existence. “Supplies. Get dressed and meet us out by the truck.”
“Supplies?” she asked his retreating back before turning to Mamma. “What does he mean? Halla isn’t that far.”
“Sit up, Lara.” Mamma moved to sit behind Larissa.
With practiced fingers, she swept back her daughter’s hair and wove the white strands into three braids, then twisted those into one thick braid that hung down Larissa’s back.
“Your Pappa and I love you and Halla very much. We want what is best for both of our children.”
A cold sensation breezed over Larissa’s shoulders. “We know that. Mamma, what’s going on?”
She finished off the braid, handing Larissa a nearby jacket. It was a thick winter jacket, not suitable for the mildly cool summer nights. Larissa accepted it anyway along with the kiss Mamma planted on her cheek. “Let’s go join your Pappa.”
She rose, leaving Larissa no choice but to follow.
As she walked across the old, creaking floors, familiar sounds that once soothed Larissa now filled her with trepidation.
Monsters from her dreams threatened to appear around every corner.
She paused at the threshold, the rune for luck catching her eye, and laid her hand on the engraved wood.
I don’t know if you’re real, but if you are, protect Halla.
As if in response to her skeptical prayer, the wood burned under her palm. Larissa pulled back, but when she reached to touch it again, the wood was as cool as ever. Had she imagined it, or had the gods heard her?
A muffled thump resounded from outside, causing Larissa to turn.
Pappa stood at the back of the truck, having relieved the load from his shoulders, and he wasn’t alone.
Onkel Tucker stood in the long bed of the truck, rearranging boxes within.
He spared her a quick smile but turned back to his work.
Pappa brushed his hands against his jacket.
Larissa realized then that neither Pappa nor Mamma were in their nightclothes but fully dressed.
So was Tucker. More than fully dressed; they were overly dressed in layers of clothes.
It was a cold night, but not so harsh that they needed three jackets.
Larissa fidgeted with the jacket still in her hands.
“Are you coming with me to get Halla?”
“No. We’ll finish up here while you retrieve your sister.”
“Finish what? Pappa, what’s going on?”
Pappa met her gaze. “We’re leaving.”
Larissa’s mouth popped open. If they left, they would be hunted.
Pappa plucked the thick winter jacket from her hands, tossing it toward the truck bed where Tucker caught it and stored it. In the dim light of the moonless night, she could only make out what looked like supplies for several weeks. Behind the truck, the farmhouse sat empty and abandoned.
“Where are we going?”
Pappa ran his hand through his thick brown hair. Mamma rubbed his back in small circles. “We can’t be here when the Kafteinn returns. There’s much we need to tell you, but we need to tell both of you. It’s only been a year. We thought we would have more time.”
More time for what? Pappa wasn’t making any sense.
“No matter,” Pappa continued. “The Norn have seen fit to determine this timeline, and all we can do is follow it. There are people who can hide us. When you return with Halla, we’ll explain everything.”
“But Pappa—”
“There are reasons for your dreams, Larissa. Do as I say and save your questions. We need to be gone before the sun rises. I’ll tell you both everything you need to know.”
“Okay,” Larissa agreed after a moment. “We’ll be back soon. Then you owe me an explanation.”
“You’ll get one. Now go.”
Larissa didn’t need to be told again. She ran across the drive, dirt clouding up where her boots slapped against the ground.
She had left these same trees only hours ago, but they felt different now.
Their familiarity turned threatening as the lack of light caused Larissa to stumble on roots and rocks.
With no moon to see by, Larissa could rely only on memory to get her through the darkness.
Her chest tightened as she worked her way across the uneven ground.
Halla was such a tiny thing. She would be defenseless against any animal, let alone the monsters or giants from Pappa’s stories.
Days ago, Larissa would have shaken off the fear because she knew there were no monsters in the woods.
But her nightmare sat with her. She saw pupilless eyes watching her in her peripheral vision, but every time she turned to check, they vanished.
Get a grip.
Minutes passed, but Larissa could not find the rocks where they had taken refuge. Blood thumped in the ears, building up pressure in her throat.
She had no choice but to speak.
“Halla,” she whispered, slowing to a jog as she called her sister’s name. “Halla, where are you?”
“Over here.”
Larissa released her held breath. Halla’s voice was only a little to her left.
Thank the gods , she thought before she could catch herself, changing directions and returning to the familiar rock formation.
It looked different though. The rocks seemed larger and more formidable while the surrounding trees twisted in unnatural forms, but the biggest difference was its emptiness.
Halla was nowhere to be found.
“Halla?” Larissa called out again, so sure she’d heard her sister’s voice.
“Hello.”
Larissa turned, finding herself standing face-to-face with her reflection.
The woman before her was her exact height and build; her white hair shone even in the muted darkness.
Unlike Larissa’s hair that was braided back, her reflection’s hair was left untouched, hanging down her back and over her shoulders.
It blew in the gentle night breeze, as did her dress.
It clung to her reflection’s upper body and flared out at the waist, its pale pink fabric spilling over the damp forest ground behind her.
The most striking difference, however, was the vivid ruby pendant that shone brilliantly just below the pale neck of her reflection.
The reflection spoke again, shocking Larissa with the sound of her own voice. “Do I have your attention?”
Larissa stepped back but hesitated when she noticed a slight change in her reflection. Its eyes were no longer golden, but rather a solid copper brown. “ What are you?”
Her reflection sniffed. “It is you!”
A ripple ran over the reflection’s body.
As it coursed down the skin, the young woman changed.
Her light skin darkened, the pale hair turning to midnight black, and the copper in her eyes became more pronounced.
A golden hoop with a ruby jewel pierced her right nostril.
Within moments, her reflection had morphed into a different person.
“Sorry for the dramatics,” the woman said, her voice shifting, “but I need your undivided attention.”
Larissa recognized the voice from the song she’d heard at the stream. “You were meeting with Halla.”
The woman’s copper eyes brightened. “You don’t remember me, but I’m Anara.”
Realization dawned in Larissa’s mind. “It was you just now calling to me in Halla’s voice, wasn’t it?”
“It was.”
Pappa’s words came back to her. The Rubinian’s natural galdr is shapeshifting, but those who sided with Shiko lost the ability to control their power. They became monsters.
It’s not possible , Larissa thought. But the proof was before her eyes. This woman was a shifter, which meant she was from Rubin, which meant she worked for the Empress. Larissa edged backward. “Where’s Halla?”
“She’s safe. I sent her home. Don’t be mad at her; she thought I was you. I need to speak with you alone.” Anara snapped her fingers. “Larissa, focus. Undivided attention, remember?”
Larissa took another step back. “How do you know my name?”
“I’m here to help you.” Anara huffed audibly. “Would you stop trying to move away from me? I’m not blind, you know.”
Larissa ran, stumbling over rocks and roots.
She could hear Anara behind her, but the shapeshifter was somehow following from up above in the branches.
Leaves rustled overhead. Was Anara the monster that Pappa spoke of?
Larissa looked up, tripping over a root that sent her plummeting face-first into the hard ground.
She spat out soil, pushing to her hands and knees. The woman stood in front of her.
“Larissa, you’re hurting yourself over nothing,” Anara said. “Just give me a moment.” She reached out, her hands cupping Larissa’s cheeks, her forehead touching Larissa’s, and breathed out one word. “Remember.”
The heat Larissa felt from Anara’s skin was nothing compared to the shock running through her body, locking her muscles in place. Black dots danced across her vision. In her mind’s eye, Anara became a child with a large grin and fanged teeth
Come on, let’s go! the child shouted. Then she was swallowed up and replaced by another image.
A man with golden hair and golden eyes that so closely resembled Larissa’s own stood at a large, ornately carved desk, studying something with intense focus.
When he noticed Larissa, he smiled. He opened his mouth as if to greet her.
Then he too was gone, replaced by the woman with starlight hair and bright green eyes.
Something is coming , Queen Stjarna said. The face around those green eyes morphed, surrounded by an array of freckles and accompanied by a small center-set nose as she transformed again into Halla.
Larissa yanked her face out of Anara’s hands. “Let me go!”
The shout erupted from within her, tearing through her abdomen and out through her throat.
The burning anger was back. Pain coursed through her from her fingertips down to her toes.
She had to get back to her family. With tingling fingers, Larissa shoved at Anara, letting her anger burn through.
As though thrown by a mighty gust, Anara fell onto her back several feet away, staring in wonder.
“Larissa, did you—”
But Larissa was gone, running back toward the farmhouse. If she could get back, make sure Halla had actually returned home, then Pappa would know what to do. She glanced behind, surprised that she was not being followed. Her fear doubled.
Where was the shifter?
Larissa ran faster, panting harder with every footfall.
Exhaustion settled into her bones as the anger fizzled out.
She refused to stop even as black dots blurred her vision, turning it gray.
But no, those weren’t black dots at all.
Her foggy mind struggled to make sense of the specks piling on her hair and shoulders. The smell hit the next instant.
Ash.