Chapter 41 #3
“Yes. She did.” Her bare foot danced along the cobblestones below.
“In the years I spent with the coven, I took the time to utilize their study, soak up as much knowledge as I could in case I needed it one day. One night, I came across a grimoire so sinister it could only have belonged to one person. Rasputin. Holding it in my hands soured my stomach, voices like death filled my head, told me all sorts of horrendous, awful things. I knew the book had to be destroyed, but before I did, I made sure to read it cover to cover. Knowing the inner workings of such spells can help one know how to combat it with light work.”
“Tinctured magic?” I raised an eyebrow.
“And Ethereal, the same magic you inherited from Fate and the Guardians’ bloodline.” She reached a finger out to tap on the opal cemented in my chest. “When I came to the end of the grimoire, it was clear Bethesda had done the unthinkable.”
“She created the bloodstone,” I murmured.
“Activated it. She’d had the stone in her possession all along. Bided her time.”
I stood, pacing about in front of her. “Deception … when I’d used the blessed object on him, he said the bloodstone would replace the living key.” I swallowed hard, stilled, and met her gaze. “He said that was me …”
“The Alchemist, yes. Born of the Old Gods but bound to a mortal coil.” She rose to meet me, kindness in her eyes. “We won’t let that happen, Fey. You are the intended key, that role is yours alone.”
“But … how do we do that? I mean, how do we destroy something so powerful? I’ve gotten lucky, sure, but I don’t know how to wield magic! Not really! I hardly know how to walk and chew gum at the same time, I—” Panic crashed in, clamped an iron hand around my throat. Breathe, I reminded myself.
In, out. In, out.
Gia waited patiently for me to ground myself before she continued. “The stone had eight divots, one for each of the seven Ancient Lores, and—”
“And the eighth?” I asked as I laid myself down on the cool grass, running my fingers through it for comfort.
“Her talisman is bonded to the bloodstone itself, as both an insurance policy and a guarantee she could control the Lores. It’s how she tracks the stone, how she wields her vicious power.
The Ancient Lores are too bloodthirsty for escape to notice her true plan.
In order to open the door, to set her vicious vision free upon the world and rule as Rasputin once tried, the stone must be complete.
” Her eyes narrowed on me. “The Ancient Lores must die, one by one. Only with their essence in sync with the mortal lives Bethesda took, can she open the door; blood from both worlds, to appease the Shroud and thin the veil between realms, causing a rift to form. Then, she can complete the spell Rasputin started, bringing the Lores back with vicious new strength and the ability to exist permanently in this plane.”
A prison break … Bethesda’s ultimate plan was to release her and her army. To raze the woken world to the ground. “So, what if we don’t kill the Ancient Lores? I mean, without them, she can’t open the door. That’s a win, right?”
“For now, yes,” Gia nodded. “But I don’t doubt she’d end them by her own hand if she had to.”
I popped to my feet, fell back into my nervous pace, breathing and walking my way through the toxic mix of emotions. “But why make me do it? I don’t understand.”
“You’re the key. A being capable of wielding all magics.
You have the ability to strike down anything you wish, on either side.
She’s storing her strength, letting you do the dirty work for her.
” She crossed her arms, forehead tense. “Plus, her plan would be far easier to enact if you weren’t, you know … alive.”
“Right …” I muttered, chill crawling up my arms. “Okay, so we hide the bloodstone then.”
“She’ll find it.”
I kicked the willow tree nearest to me, the pain reverberating throughout my whole body. But it quieted the internal anxiousness, silenced it if only for a second. “So … what? We just roll over and let her win?”
“Of course not! But we have to be smart. I have no doubt she’s considered how we might strike.”
And then it hit me, like a smack to the face: clear, concise, and crazy. She’d never see it coming. I whispered, “I could steal her talisman.”
A disbelieving laugh lifted from Gia. “Are you nuts? That stone never leaves her person, ever! There’s no way we could steal it. Not to mention, Cillian and Celine would never—”
“Without it she can’t track the stone or complete the key.
You said it yourself: it’s the final piece, and a witch is only as strong as her talisman.
” I raised an eyebrow, arms crossed across my chest. Sure, it was crazy.
Maybe even a suicide mission in the end, but based on the clarity I saw reflected in Gia’s stare, it was also entirely possible it’d work.
“I … I don’t know, Fey. That’s a huge risk.”
“This could be our only shot. Please.” I rested a hand on her shoulder. “Help me convince Celine and Cillian? With all of us going after it, there’s no way this could fail.”
She looked me over again, wheels turning. After a few moments to consider, she threw her hands up in surrender. “Alright, fine. I’ll talk to them.”
“Thank you!” I pulled her in, hugging her tight.
“Yeah, yeah, you’re welcome.” She patted my back. “But don’t get your hopes up, all right? If I know anything about Cillian and Celine, their protectiveness over you isn’t easily swayed.”
Regardless, we finally had a plan. One that could work. One that could bring justice to every stolen life by Bethesda’s hand, seal her fate, and turn her entire kingdom against her. One that could reduce the Queen of Lore to nothing more than a witch without a cause.
A witch easily killed.