Chapter 10 #2
“Some warriors worshipped the Morrigan. They’d eat the mushrooms that grow in the forest and then lock themselves in that room to relive their deaths as a way to worship her,” she answers, her eyes alight with ferocity.
“Like the berserkers used to …” I murmur.
The ritual sounds eerily familiar to the legends of the berserkers. My mother used to tell me stories about the elite Vikings who would eat mushrooms to slip into a chaotic state before going into battle. They reaped chaos and madness across villages, killing all who crossed their paths.
She grins broadly before her smile fades. “We really don’t do much of that anymore since we couldn’t heal when magic started fading.”
Lachlan leans over to whisper in my ear, “Is that a tradition you’re going to bring back, too?”
“To each their own.” I giggle and take a swig of my mead.
Lachlan merely shakes his head, diving back into his food.
“So you need to get the crystal and drag it into the cave?”
“Yeah, I think that would be safer than puncturing the crystal and siphoning the venom out like last time.”
The screams and smell of mutilated flesh from Tane’s accident have me pushing my plate away.
“Unless you have a better idea?” I ask her hopefully. I will try anything at this point if it would mean restoring magic and keeping everyone safe.
She gnaws on her bottom lip. “You should talk to Boudicca. Her people might have legends about this.”
After waiting for Lachlan to scarf down the rest of his plate, we find ourselves heading to the training grounds erected right outside of town.
The closer we get to the sound of clashing metal, the darker it becomes.
Night-blooming flowers wind their way up the archway that’s carved crudely with letters and words I don’t recognize.
Noticing my stare, Lachlan points to the wooden archway.
“It says “Fortune favors the brave”.” I grin at the truth of the words.
We’re on an island of Odin’s chosen, the chosen being some of the most glorious warriors the world had ever seen.
In the middle of the grounds a shadow moves swiftly, striking thunderous blows against an even larger shadow. Moonlight and the pinkish glow from the aurora borealis trickles through the heavy leaves of surrounding oaks trees, illuminates oxblood hair and a very long spear.
“Ofnadwy!” Boudicca curses at the man. Or what I assume to be a man.
“What did she say?” I whisper to Lachlan.
He shrugs. “I ha’ no idea. I dinna speak Welsh.”
The shadow in front of Boudicca separates and I realize it wasn’t one man at all, but two.
I have no idea how she can even see what she’s doing when I can’t even tell how many opponents she’s facing.
All at once she strikes out at the shadow in front of her again and sparks fly when her spear collides with their shield.
Our boots crunch against the dirt of the training ground and their fighting halts. Boudicca spits on the ground.
She yells from across the grounds, “Is there a reason for such an intrusion?”
“Aye—your queen requires an audience,” Lachlan replies a bit gruffly.
I scoff at him. “She didn’t know it was us. You get irritated when your training is interrupted.”
“Queen? Lena, is that you?” she calls back in a much more pleasant tone.
“Hi Boudicca! We apologize for the intrusion, but I require a minute of your time.”
As we get closer, I realize it was not two, but three opponents she was facing.
A woman and two men. Boudicca juts her chin to the archway, signaling for them to disperse.
They move silently like smoke from a flame.
Their steps not making a sound as they cross the grounds and disappear under the archway.
Standing in the middle of the grounds, the light seems brighter, the pink of the aurora brighter than the green somehow.
“What can I help you with?” she asks, leaning against her spear.
“Can you tell us anything you know about the Wayfinder or the raven stone cave in the mountains?”
Boudicca snorts. “Well, the Wayfinder is erchyll,” she looks up into our confused faces and clarifies, “dreadful. And the cave is rarely used anymore. Why do you want to know about it?”
Lachlan shifts on his feet and I step a bit closer to her.
“Magic is being hindered by crystals like the Wayfinder.”
Boudicca grimaces, her teeth flashing in the pink light. “Are you certain?”
“Aye, we managed to restore a bit of magic on the capital island when we realized the crystal throne was full of asphidra venom,” Lachlan explains.
“Asphidra venom? Like that creature that was parading about as Odessa?”
“Yes. It’s venom paralyzes magic—among other things,” I add. Thoughts of mating bonds spring to mind as I glance over at Lachlan.
“So the Wayfinder is blocking our magic and you want to what? Put it in the cave?”
“Raven stone nullifies asphidra venom. Which is why we were thinking about putting it in the cave until we can come up with a better way to get the venom out of the crystal.” My stomach sinks. “We kind of had an accident, and I’d like to not have anyone else get injured.”
“No one uses the caves since the gods have left us,” she grumbles. “So no one would stumble upon it if you did put it in there. What kind of accident?” Her eyes scan over me swiftly before she does the same to Lach.
I shake my head. The fur of the cloak grazes my neck. “Not us. Tane lost his hand.” It’s difficult to even say the words.
Boudicca squints before chuckling. “Like Tyr?”
My head tilts to the side before the story surfaces.
Lachlan turns to me in question and I explain. “He sacrificed his arm to cage Fenrir, and thus helping to defeat Loki. He’s often known as the Feeder of the Wolf.”
Boudicca claps her hand together. “He’s also known as the most valiant, and victorious. Warriors would scratch his runes onto their blades before battle to ensure their victory. There’s several of Tyr’s runes marked all along the mountains here. You might see them when you go to the cave.”
Lachlan shifts so that he’s closer to me and blocks some of the wind that’s causing me to shiver. “Aye. Which brings us to our next problem—getting there.”
“What do you need?”
“We’ll need a horse and maybe a cart to drag it into the mountains. And you wouldn’t happen to know of any other stones like the Wayfinder that are here or elsewhere?”
“I think Odessa gifted another stone like that to Ishtar midway through her reign, before either of your existences.” She smirks at us. “It is hanging in their town square. She claimed it was a moonstone blessed by the goddess. But I’m not aware that she ever gifted anything to Olundy.”
I turn to Lachlan. “I guess that confirms our plans for our next stop.”
“It’s a bit late to go to the Wayfinder now.” Boudicca gazes up at the night sky. The northern lights flicker across her face. “How about I set you up in my spare room for tonight? You can head out first thing in the morning?”
The night air has turned colder, and I pull the cloak tighter around me. “That would be great, thank you.”
We follow Boudicca back through the village, stopping off to collect our packs from the boat and then up a winding lane until we get to a quaint stone cottage.
It’s at the top of a hill overlooking the entire village and surrounded by a lovely garden of wildflowers.
The vast ocean is visible to the east, right over the side of the cliff, and just behind the cottage is a dark forest. It’s illuminated by the northern lights, but it still looks dark, shadowed somehow even as snowcapped mountains rise out of the canopies and into the sky.
Boudicca nudges open her front door, the hinges rusted with age creak as she holds it open for us.
A blast of heat chases the chill away thanks to the fire that roars in a stone fireplace.
Its ample size takes up most of the back wall.
To the right of the fireplace is a short hallway with two doors and to the left of the fireplace, visible beyond the arched opening, is a kitchen with a small wooden table.
It’s covered with bowls full of oranges and potatoes.
It’s so cozy, everything is easily visible from the steps of the front door.
It’s decorated in warm tones, hand-stitched quilts, and watercolor landscapes. Torin would love this place.
“I have just the one spare room, so you’ll have to share,” she says a bit apologetically.
Lachlan and I share a look. “That’s not a problem. Thank you for having us.”
Boudicca leads us down the hallway to the right and points to the door in front of us.
“That’s the spare bedroom, and this door to the right is the bathing room. We’re a bit more rustic here than in the capital, so the water takes a while to heat up.” She frowns before shuffling out of our way.
“Perfect. I happen to love rustic.” I smile gratefully at her while Lachlan nudges the door open with an elbow and heaves the packs through.
It’s a charming room with a spacious iron bed covered in pelts and flannel quilts. It reminds me of the mountain cabin that my parents and I used to stay in during the winter months.
“My room is on the other side of the kitchen. Shout if you need anything,” she says, before turning and leaving us alone.
Lachlan stands on the threshold, staring at the bed.
“Ah man, I guess we’ll have to share the bed,” I tease, waggling my eyebrows.
“Aye well, I wasnae about to sleep on the floor,” he jokes back. Before quickly glancing up at me, eyes flaring. “Unless ye insisted and then I guess I could make do.”
I smother a laugh behind my hand and shake my head.
“You’re a bit too old to sleep on the floor. You might hurt yourself.”
Lachlan shifts his feet into a defensive stance while crossing his arms over his chest and arching a brow at me.
“Are ye insinuating that I’m old?”
My gaze sweeps along him intentionally, before shrugging. “Not old per se.”
Lachlan chuckles loudly before walking further into the room and falling backwards onto the bed.
“The last few days ha’ certainly made me feel a lot older than I am.”
“I feel that.” I sigh and fall backwards next to him. My body bounces against the firm mattress before I shimmy in close to his side.
“How are ye really?” His arm slides under my head and he pulls me flush against him.
“I’m hanging in there.”
My fingers intertwine with his on top of his chest and I sigh deeply, enjoying the feel of his hand in mine, his body next to me.
“Ye dinna ha’ to stay strong all the time, ye know? Especially with me. You’ve been through a lot, Key, it’s ok to—feel. Let me bear some of the burden.”
“That’s the problem. I feel too much, so it’s easier to just not right now. At least until we start getting more of these problems solved.”
Lachlan’s throat bobs as he swallows down whatever words were bubbling up.
“I’ll be okay, I promise,” I whisper, laying my head on his shoulder.
“I know ye will be.”
He places another kiss on my forehead before he groans and heaves himself up. I shift out of his way, but I miss the feel of him next to me almost immediately. He leans over the bed and begins unlacing his boots.
“Do ye want to bathe first?”
I flop onto my back and nod, my head bobbing against the bed.
“Yes, please.”
“I’ll run the bath for ye,” he replies and pads out of the room, leaving me alone with the thoughts he drug up.
I will be okay, I know that.
But how much will this change me before it’s all said and done? And will I still be me when it’s over?
My mind flits from my parents and Gran, to Elowen, to Tane’s injury. So many lives lost or disrupted already and war hasn’t even officially begun. How many more will we lose before this is all over? Will I make it? Will Lachlan?
My fingers grip the medallion clasped around my neck. That last thought has me wanting to curl up in the fetal position and hide under the quilts. I can’t lose him. He’s the only part of my past that I have left here, and nearly everything that I want for my future.
Lachlan pokes his head back in the door and his usually charismatic smile is in place, setting his eyes crinkling at the corners.
“She wasna lying. The water is just now not frigid. Will ye be ok with a lukewarm bath?”
“I’ll take anything at this point. I smell like smoke and sweat,” I grumble, pulling off a boot before struggling to pry off the other.
Lachlan drops down to one knee before me and takes my boot in his hand. The sight of him on his knees before me has me sitting up straighter. He looks up at me beneath lowered lashes. The green in his eyes hinting at more of a dark forest than a magical one. His eyes narrow onto my lips.
Instinctively, I shift forward and my legs spread, craving the touch of his lips on mine. Sensing my need, he rips my boot off before raising rapidly to capture my lips with his.
The touch of him has me moaning for more.
He swallows down my enthusiasm and deepens our kiss.
Maybe a distraction is exactly what I need from all these gloomy thoughts. My hands hold his face as he grabs my hips, pulling me roughly to him.
A cabinet in the kitchen slams shut, breaking through our frenzied kissing. We flinch apart as the world around us comes crashing in.
Lachlan’s gaze lightens, a smirk gracing his face. My shoulders rise and fall quickly as I work to catch my breath.
“Sorry, but this is probably not the most ideal place for that,” I whisper, grinning at the sizable bulge I see straining against his leathers.