Chapter 27 #2
Her eyes narrowed and she moved suddenly, rushing at me, trying to enter my body to possess me—and came up short when she met the barrier coating my skin.
“Brigid,” I rushed out. “It’s me, Matilda. We met before. Do you remember?”
Her head jerked to the side before she jerked forward again so her face was hovering only an inch above mine. She bared her teeth. “Maaaatildaaaaaa,” she hissed out.
“Yes, that’s right.” If I mentioned removing her remains, she might become even more confused. She may not even realize she was dead anymore. “Will you allow me and my friends to pass through your cave? We mean you no harm. We seek the god Pan and are told this is the way to reach his realm.”
“Paaan,” she said in her eerie voice. “The god stole from me.” Her head moved from side to side in an odd way. “Bring back the god killers and you may pass.”
Her words came out rapid-fire now, so fast I had to listen very carefully. “The weapons? Pan took them from you?”
“Promise to return them to me, female of coven Matilda, and you may pass.”
My only choice was to agree. That would ensure we could get there, but I’d have to worry about returning afterward.
With my luck, she’d forget we’d had this conversation and I’d have to do this all over again.
“I will return a god killer to you,” I said.
If I gave her one, that wouldn’t be breaking our deal.
“The deal is made,” she said, then turned and pointed to a small cave on the opposite side of the one where we’d found her the last time we were here. “Beware the wild and hedonistic god.” She spun back to me, her hair floating like Medusa’s snakes around her head. “Darkness lurks…it sits in wait.”
Then she was gone, and the ward that was still thick around me flowed away with her, like the tide rolling out and vanishing.
I scrambled to my feet and ran out of the cave.
Fender was standing there with a blanket, and he wrapped it around me.
“We need to go quickly. She’s given us permission to pass and has dropped the ward, but I don’t know how long it’ll last.” Or how long she’d remember why she’d dropped it in the first place.
Fender nodded and helped me dress. I didn’t try to wipe off the oil, just in case, and pulled on my clothes over my sticky and dirt-smeared skin.
Fender whistled when I was done, and Roman, Kurgan, and Zari strode out of the forest. Blood smeared Kurgan’s bare monster chest where someone, most likely Roman, had carved the rune into the front of the huge hound’s shoulder.
Blood darkened Zari’s T-shirt, and I assumed hers was in roughly the same place.
“Stay behind me so I can ensure the ward’s still down.”
They all nodded and followed me into the darkness. This time nothing but silence greeted us, silence and that oppressive darkness. There was a low tingle of Brigid’s magic, telling us we were in her territory, but nothing stopping us from passing.
Taking out my phone, I turned on the flashlight and headed to the cave Brigid had pointed to.
The hounds stayed behind me, but Fender was right there, so close the front of one bicep brushed the back of my shoulder as we walked.
He was silent, though, and so were the others.
They moved in a way that made it clear they were predators, warning anything that might get in their way to look out should they decide it were prey.
When we reached the passageway, the buzz of Brigid’s magic finally slipped away. “We’re out of Brigid’s territory,” I said. “We can talk again.”
“Any idea how far away this gateway is?” Roman asked.
“No idea, and I have no experience with gateways like this. You’ll know better than me if we’re near it what it looks like,” I said.
“So do we know where these weapons are, when we get into Pan’s realm?” Zari asked.
“In Garan’s words, we’ll find the weapons inside a rock that looks like a hard cock thrusting up from the earth,” Fender said.
Zari turned to him, blinked several times, then shook her head, choosing not to comment.
Kurgan made a sound that lifted the hair on the back of my neck, and everyone stopped.
He stepped forward, and Roman grabbed his arm, trying to stop him.
“Let him go,” Zari said. “Kurgan is the best tracker I’ve ever seen. If he’s picked up on something, you’d be wise to pay attention.”
Roman held her gaze for several moments, then released the other hound, though I got the feeling he was humoring Zari rather than obeying.
Kurgan strode forward, his eyes glowing red, head tilted back, scenting the air, and strode on.
We reached another fork, and he went right, the next, left, without any hesitation.
Finally, he stopped, standing in front of a wall that looked like the rest, deep gold and jagged-looking stone.
“Is this it?” Fender asked.
Kurgan said nothing. His nostrils flared and, with a snarl, he drew back his fist and slammed it into the rock.
“Kurgan,” Roman barked out. “Stop.”
Kurgan did, immediately.
“Don’t stop,” Zari bit out.
Kurgan turned back and punched the wall again.
Roman cursed and stepped toward Kurgan, but Zari got in his way, teeth bared. “Stand down,” she growled. “My brother is not some mindless monster randomly punching a wall. He’s found something. Just wait.”
Roman’s lips peeled back, his gaze sliding between her and Kurgan, who was still slamming his fist into the stone.
“Trust me,” she said. “Please.”
His eyes softened for a split second, but then went back to Kurgan and narrowed.
Chunks fell from the wall of stone, breaking and crumbling on the floor around the huge male.
I picked up a piece, and it crumbled in my hand when I applied pressure. “It’s clay,” I said. “Hard but brittle. It looks like the same stone as the rest of the caves, but it’s not.”
Kurgan’s chest and biceps rippled with power as he gritted his teeth and plowed his fist into the wall again. Cracks formed, spreading rapidly, snaking out in front of him. Then with one final blow, the wall collapsed into rubble on the floor all around him.
What he’d exposed was a wide circle of swirling, pearlescent light. It had to be at least nine feet in diameter and was surrounded by a gilded frame. Animals, flowers, and trees were carved into it, the scene like something from a fairy tale.
The gateway to Pan’s realm.
Zari turned to Roman and Fender, a broad, stunning smile on her face. “Well now, I think you owe my brother an apology.” She strode over to Kurgan and squeezed his arm affectionally.
“Ready?” Fender asked me, while Roman said something in low tones to Kurgan. Perhaps an apology, there was no way to tell from Kurgan’s expression.
The swirling light began to pulse, as if it were telling us to hurry up. There was no way to anticipate what we were about to walk into, but I’d come too far now to back out, and even if I could, I wouldn’t.
Matildas didn’t back down, and they didn’t run away.
Yes, my coven still wasn’t talking to me, but I clung to hope. I still had the door handle, and the cottage. I wouldn’t have those things if they’d abandoned me for good, I was sure of it, at least that was what I was telling myself.
I was the Matilda, and I couldn’t give that up, not without a fight.
I glanced at Fender, and my heart squeezed.
I ignored the sensation. I’d resigned myself to my fate, to a solitary life, a long time ago.
Alone was for the best. I’d hurt Magnolia, and let down Jack.
So many people had suffered because of my actions.
I’d been kidding myself that I could have more.
I was the Matilda, and that had to be enough.
“Let’s do it,” Roman said.
Fender took my hand, and we headed for the gateway.