Chapter 32 Sludge
Sludge
Eloise
Karyl embraces me in a tight squeeze. “I heard you were here! Mother and I have been so worried. We haven’t heard from you or Damien in ages. She’s coming, by the way. Catarina needed her help carrying something up from the cellar.”
“I’ve missed you too. Unfortunately, things are far worse than before, and I’m here on a very important mission.” I fill her in on the highlights of everything that’s happened, including why we haven’t been able to send a raven.
“I knew we should have sent one to you. Catarina can see through her raven’s eyes, and I kept asking her to send it to find you. She insisted that you were traveling and that she checked in on you in her dreams. She swore you were fine.”
I shrug. “Honestly, she was right, until recently.”
Karyl’s shiny black braid swings over her shoulder. “I’ve had enough of this hiding. If the rebels are on the brink of war, we need to join the fight.”
“You are no warrior,” Queen Nyxadora says from the door, the handle of a large basket of herbs slung over her elbow. When she sees me, she spreads her arms, and I accept her enveloping hug.
“I don’t have to be a warrior to help, Mother! I’m sure there’s plenty I can do.”
Catarina walks in the door, breaking up the start of what could be a major squabble. “Do you have enough?” I ask her.
“I think so. Without knowing exactly how much water is in each barrel, there’s no way to to be certain of the final concentration.
I’ll make as much elixir as I can with the ingredients I have on hand.
The rest will be up to you. Although, I’ll warn you again that this is expulsion magic, and if the spell can’t be expelled, it could kill the children. ”
“Kill the children?” Nyx drops the basket in her hands and gives me an incredulous look.
“It’s a risk we have to take. They are bound.” I explain it all again for her to hear.
The former queen studies me for a long, hard moment. “How did you free my son from his bonds?”
I can follow what she’s getting at. I am the key. In theory, I should be able to break the charm on the children. “I threw the object binding him into the fire. I don’t know exactly how I did it, but I think it had to do with my house being possessed by my ancestors.”
Catarina scratches a mole on her chin that’s sprouted a gray hair. “It’s a wise question, Nyxadora. She is the key.”
“I am,” I confirm. “But my ancestors say that it would take them days to develop a potion that would serve as an antidote. None of my ancestors understands elf magic. We’d need to capture and study an infected child, and there’s no way to do that without putting the resistance at risk.”
The witch lights up from within, her eyes sparkling. “I understand elf magic, Eloise. We don’t need the child. We only need to augment my recipe with your blood.”
I reach out to Phantom and have a quick conversation with Aunt Sara. “How do we know it will work without testing it on a child?”
Catarina takes a deep breath. “We don’t, my dear.
It’s all theory. But I believe it will have a better chance of success than my expulsion elixir alone.
Come, let’s get started.” She leads the way into the kitchen and doles out roots, branches, and berries to each of us, instructing us how to prepare the ingredients for the cauldron.
I’m handed a thick branch and a knife to peel the bark.
Katarina mashes berries with a mortar and pestle, and Nyx dices a hefty bunch of herbs with all the dexterity of a woman who has spent most of her life not having to cook for herself.
“Now that you’re healed and we have a plan, tell me, when did you find the dragon, Eloise?” Catarina asks.
Nyx and Karyl stop what they’re doing and stare at me.
“You have a dragon?” Karyl asks.
Catarina laughs. “She rode it here. Magnificent beast.”
“I thought it was dead,” Nyx says.
“I found her bones in the bowels of Mount Damocles. She is dead.” I concentrate on my bark, finishing one branch and grabbing the next.
“You resurrected the dead?” Catarina says in a grave tone edged with accusation.
“No,” I say, meeting her eyes. “The dragon’s flesh is inhabited by my ancestors and is the anchor to my spirit magic. I did not raise a dead dragon. I possessed a dragon body with the anchor of my power.”
The spoon in Catarina’s hands slips from her fingers and clatters to the floor. She curses and tosses it into the sink, grabbing another one.
“Can we go back to the part where my sister-in-law rode a dragon here? Where is this dragon?” Karyl asks, eyes wide.
“Phantom comes when I beckon them.”
Nyx is chopping again, slowly, methodically. “This is good news. The dragon is powerful. Surely, Stygarde will be ours again. We will avenge Malek’s murder.”
I wince. She has no idea the agreement we made with Jaqual.
Am I to be the one to tell her? Hell no.
Certainly, she should hear from her own son that their ruling line might end with this battle.
“The only thing that will help us win this battle is more warriors,” I say carefully.
“We need every free citizen to fight as they’ve never fought before.
We are outnumbered, and they have magic we don’t have. They also have our children.”
Caterina adds my bark to the pot and stirs. “When I interpreted Mother’s prophecy, I thought you were the dragon. This changes everything.”
“Funny thing about prophecies, everyone seems to have their own interpretation. Did you know that the king of the Rivertoads is half witch and has a gift for seeing the future?”
Her hand keeps stirring, but Catarina’s expression goes slack, her complexion paling by a few degrees until her lips turn ashen.
“Can I see the dragon?” Karyl asks, staring absently into her berries. “Alive or not, will it let me touch it? Does it obey you? Does it have to eat?”
I turn to her and smile my first genuine smile since arriving here.
Karyl is the most unguarded person in this room, and right now, there is nothing I appreciate more than her authentic nature.
“They think for themselves because my ancestors embody the flesh, and yes, they eat and drink. Physically, they are a living, breathing dragon, just with some magical qualities. They can even blow fire.”
“The dragon breathes fire!” Karyl’s eyes pop. “Holy gods above and below, Eloise, you are truly a powerful witch.”
“When we’re done here, I’ll introduce you to Phantom,” I promise.
“Oh well, you’ll have to. I imagine we’ll be riding together back to Aendor.”
I stop what I’m doing. Did I hear her correctly?
Nyxadora’s knife clangs against her cutting board. “What are you talking about?”
“I’m returning with Eloise to help the rebellion. You heard what she said. They need every citizen to fight. That includes us.”
“You are no warrior, Karyl,” Nyx snaps.
“I’m no witch either, but here we are.” She holds up her mortar and pestle.
“I am a royal, a princess of Stygarde. That title is a privilege but also a responsibility. My people count on me to fight for them, and I won’t stay up here in this snow-covered tower while they get slaughtered on my behalf. ”
Nyxadora turns to me. “Eloise, tell her she will be of no help to you. She can’t even hold a sword. She’ll only be in the way.”
“I’ll tell her no such thing,” I say. “This rebellion is composed of more than just warriors, and we can use all the help we can get. In fact…” Here goes nothing. “…even the Rivertoads have joined us.”
“What?” Agitation heats Nyxadora’s voice, and if I didn’t know better, I’d guess she could breathe fire as well.
“We have formed an alliance with the Rivertoads. They will be fighting on our behalf.”
“Including their king?” Catarina asks softly.
“Yes. Their king has committed the full force of his people to helping us take back Stygarde.”
“You can’t trust them, Eloise. They will turn on you as swiftly as they will take their next breath,” Nyx warns.
I shake my head. “He won’t. He can’t. We are bound.” I slide up my sleeve and show her the Rivertoad mark. But while Nyx simply sneers in disgust, Catarina actually gasps. She drops the spoon into the cauldron and races from the room.
“You will not join the rebellion,” Nyx says to Karyl through her teeth as I chase Catarina from the kitchen. I find her in her bedroom, with one hand on her heart and the other gripping the edge of a chest of drawers.
“Why does my bond with the Rivertoad king upset you, Catarina?”
Her breathing is labored, and her eyes are closed. “What did he look like?”
“Who? Jaqual?”
“Jaqual? That’s his name?”
“Yes. Uh, he’s tall, ropy, tight curls of black hair, violet eyes, a constant smirk.”
She laughs, her own lips tugging into a smile.
“Why? How do you know Jaqual, Catarina? Why are you so interested?”
She cups a hand over her mouth, her eyes filling with tears. “I had no idea he survived.”
“What are you talking about?”
One quivering hand grabs the handle of one of the drawers and pulls it open.
She retrieves a red box and places it on her bed.
From inside, she pulls out a tiny blanket—a baby blanket—a lock of dark hair tied with a ribbon, and an amulet with a blinking eye.
An amulet that is the exact twin of the one I saw on Jaqual.
“I am interested, Eloise, because I believe Jaqual is my son.”
“Your son?”
“When I was a young woman, I met a handsome and charming Rivertoad who had wandered into our village. He had the heart of an explorer, you see. Wanted to meet the famous witches of Dimhollow. Of course, he was almost killed by the guardians. I nursed him back to health, and he lived with us for some time. We fell in love, and I became with child. I planned to return with him to live among his people. Impure relationships are not accepted in Dimhollow. Witches marry witches. Always, you understand. A non-magical child would never survive among our kind.”
“I didn’t know.”
“Aurora was supportive of my leaving. I was young, but old enough to make my own decisions.
But when we descended the mountain, we were attacked by elven hunters.
They killed Wolfram and took every quill we had saved for our journey.
In time, I learned the truth. Wolfram had come to Dimhollow not as an explorer, but to escape his debts.
“Devastated, I lived alone in Wickham Wood until the baby came. I left the infant with his people. Left him with the sister amulet to this one.” She holds up the eye between her fingers.
“Yes, I am interested to learn that my son has risen to be king of the Rivertoads, and I fear for his life now that he’s helping you fight this war. ”
I release a huff of frustration. “Is that what you think? Do you think the Rivertoads are helping me?”
“Isn’t that what you said? The bond you formed, he’ll be fighting for the rebellion.” She juts her chin in the direction of my arm.
“He’s fighting for his people, Catarina.
Haven’t you been listening to me at all?
King Entrydal wants all of it for the elves.
All of it. Every wagon. Every home. Entire towns have been burned.
Jaqual is a wise man. He saw New Stygarde coming for his people and decided to join us.
He’s not fighting for us. He’s fighting with us.
We are fighting together against a common foe.
And make no mistake, if we lose, Entrydal and New Stygarde will come for you next.
You are already at the peak of Mount Perilon.
The only way to go is down. You and your people need to consider what you will do if we fail. ”
Lip curling, she shoves the blanket and the hair back into the box, along with the amulet. “How my mother got it wrong. The prophecy said you would defend us. We are not warriors. Our presence on the battlefield will end only in our deaths.”
I lift my chin and say the words that have been burning in my chest. I don’t enjoy confronting her.
I owe her my life. But leaving this unsaid could compromise her future.
“You can make a difference,” I say. “The vampires helping us are vulnerable to sunlight magic. They won’t be as effective as shades against New Stygarde unless you help shield them.
If all you have is defensive magic, then we will use those defenses.
Your defense will become a key part of our defensive strategy.
We can win this war with your help. But you have to decide to engage.
You have to stop gazing at the stars and studying prophecy and start fighting.
Because at some point, your decision not to stand against Entrydal and Nevina is a decision to be complicit in their rule. ”
Silence wages between us until Karyl appears in the doorway. “Mother and I have finished preparing the ingredients. What should we do next?”
Catarina straightens. “We add them to the cauldron and brew for twelve hours.”
Karyl turns on her toes and strides for the kitchen. I move to follow her, but Catarina grabs my arm. “I will try. I will speak to the other elders, and I will recommend action.”
A bloom of hope expands in my chest, and I pull her into my arms, my eyes stinging with unshed tears. “Thank you. It’s the right thing to do.”
Clumsily, Catarina moves past me toward the kitchen, supporting herself on the doorframe in an all too human way. “The problem with doing what is right, Eloise, is that the ones who give the most rarely have the opportunity to enjoy the outcome of their sacrifice.”