26. Chapter 26
Chapter 26
H ours later, we’re sitting around a large four-post bed in one of the rooms in Alaric’s family home, the ancient Sieger residence. The residence has been deserted for decades so we have it all to ourselves, I’ve healed everyone and there’s the smell of cooking wafting up to me, but all my focus is on the old woman before me.
She’s lying unconscious in the bed, not even her eyes moving under her eyelids, her pulse slower than any I’ve ever felt.
I really need her to wake up, to find out who she is and to figure out her significance in all this, so I’ve taken the chair to the right of the headpost and I’m talking to her in an effort to gently stir her from unconsciousness.
And there’s determination in my voice and my attitude, but it’s only a facade for the people sitting around me, watching my every move. The only one who seems hopeful is Dryden. Jaeger has resigned herself to this being a failure, while Nuala, de Groot, Alaric and Lorcan keep watching the woman with suspicion in their eyes. Raven looks downright unsettled by her presence.
It’s all a knife in the gut, since this mission seems to be a total failure. Judging by what Dryden reported once we arrived here, Cain did not fall for the trap back at the Academy. The plan was to piss him off so he’d force his way inside and get stuck there until we returned. Instead, he just remained outside and is currently laying a siege on us.
And judging by the state of the old woman lying before us, we won’t be able to get any information out of her, let alone have her help us on our mission.
Which basically means we can’t go back and we can’t move forward either.
Having to summon the last of my resolve, I keep trying to talk to the woman, until I hear Nuala blow out a frustrated breath.
Guilt crushing me, I look up and into her eyes. Apologetically, I suggest, “Why don’t you all go do what you need to do? I’ll stay with her, keep trying to wake her up.”
“Anna, look,” Raven calls out, getting out of her chair with her eyes still fixed on the old woman.
My head snaps to my left, where I see the old woman opening her eyes, pushing herself up and looking around with a frown on her face.
“Hello,” I rush to greet her, coming into a crouch beside her. “Don’t worry, you’re safe here.”
When her gaze lands on me, her frown smooths out. Her eyes calmly roam my face for one long moment before she speaks. “I’m not worried,” she says in a rough, cracked voice, going back to scanning the rest of the team.
My eyebrows shoot up, but I quickly shake the surprise off. Now that she’s awake, I need to find out who she is, as quickly as possible. “My name is Anna. What’s yours?”
She doesn’t seem to hear me. I watch her freeze and tip her head back a little, her nose working. “Is that stew I smell?”
I frown. “Um, it is.”
She turns to look at me. “Will I get some?” she asks with a spark in her eyes.
“Of course,” I blurt out, Dryden already jumping to his feet and darting out of the room.
The old woman throws us all a toothy grin.
We exchange a confused look, but then Dryden comes back with a bowl of stew and hands it to her.
Watching her dig in, I fail to contain my eagerness. “Now,” I start gently, “if you could just tell us your name—”
The next thing I know, she’s already downed the entire thing and is holding the empty bowl out for me. “Is there more?”
“In the name of Lycan,” I hear Lorcan mutter to himself.
“Yes, there’s more,” I reply patiently, “but I’ll be perfectly honest with you, we’re in a bit of a rush to figure out who you are.”
She narrows her eyes at me. “You’ll remember.” Then her nose starts working again, her gaze settling on Alaric’s backpack. “Forget about the stew, is that bread and cheese you have in that bag over there?”
“What do you mean, I’ll remember?” I demand as Alaric comes to hand her the food.
She doesn’t reply, she just goes straight back to eating, chewing slowly with a blissful look on her face. “Gods in heavens, do you know how long it’s been since I had any actual food?” she mumbles once she’s almost done with the bread.
What the hell am I supposed to remember?
The old woman lets out a content sigh, and almost immediately, there’s this spark in her eyes again. “You know, I’ve always wondered,” she starts a little pensively, “why is it that the gods deemed it necessary for us to need food. It’s delicious, but needing it is sort of troublesome. And then there’s all that weirdness with ingesting it only to have to expel some of it. Don’t you find that weird?”
And I’m staring at her, but it’s not her words I’m focusing on. It’s this image that’s flashing through my mind as my eyes roam her face. “There was this lake,” I whisper.
She turns serious, then gives me a little smile. “I don’t know what you’re referring to, but yes, even now, there must be at least one lake somewhere out there.”
“I don’t know what I’m referring to either. I only know there’s this image in my head of you coming out of it, a long, long time ago.”
“Yes?” she nudges me to go on.
I strain my mind, the image turning more complex. “There was a ceremony, you looked as if you didn’t really want to participate in it, but the people were insistent.”
“What about you?” she asks softly, her eyes narrowing at me.
The question takes me by surprise. “Me?” I ask with a frown.
Then something strange happens. The vision I had, it’s like I take a step out of it.
And when I do, I find myself still standing there. I was a part of it. The realization takes my breath away.
“I…” I break off, powerful emotions flooding me when I remember. “I told you to quit whining.”
For one long moment, we just look at each other.
The smile she gives me then is so sad and so familiar all at once. “So you did.” Slowly, she turns in the bed and swings her legs over so she’s facing me. “Back then, you were blonde, taller, with more muscle and a scar right across your nose. I loved that scar. You hated it, but I loved it.” She pauses for a second before she adds, “Freya.”
My eyes widen. “Nimueh,” I mutter, “but it’s the Lady of the Lake that they called you.”
“They did,” she replies with a sad little chuckle, “though I always thought the lady part carried a touch of mockery.”
“No,” I insist with a vigorous shake of my head, “there was reverence in the name.” I get up and take a step back without taking my eyes off her. “After all, you were one of the seven. When the war broke out, it was you I called for help, and you forged the sword I used to kill him.”