Chapter 31
When Jalen entered the room, Ankou was standing in front of his mirror. The surface swirled and danced, like Niniane’s did. Jalen’s gaze was drawn to it – he might be mortal now, but he was still pulled towards the magical, the fantastical, like he always had been.
Ophine stood with their master. Jalen did not speak as he crossed the floor.
His footsteps echoed loudly, each one like a crack.
He didn’t approach the God of the Otherworld, or his mirror.
He headed for the wide window and the view of the Otherworld.
It had become his morning ritual. Wake, dress, survey the world he found himself back in, ponder his existence and why Ankou saved his life, then find something to eat.
As a demi-god, Jalen hadn’t needed food, yet he still enjoyed it.
He enjoyed the act of eating, the communal aspect of it.
He remembered cooking for Arthur in his simple fisherman’s cottage in Kernou with a twist of his stomach.
If only there was some way to return to that time and make sure he didn’t fuck it all up.
But he was Niniane’s creature, through and through.
He’d seen Arthur in a dream a few weeks back, and every night he’d hoped to see him again.
He wasn’t sure if Arthur was dreamwalking and therefore real, or if the man Jalen saw that night was a figment of his consciousness, his desire.
He’d woken with an ache spearing through him, as though his human heart was being remade again.
As he neared the window, Ophine snuck a glance at him.
Jalen frowned. Ankou’s servant usually never paid him any heed, unless there was something in it for them or they had some harsh words they wished to snarl at him.
But this was different – instead of being filled with disdain, there was a hint of worry.
His heart stuttered. ‘What is it?’
Ophine quickly turned away. Jalen swallowed, his skin prickling all over, but did not approach the mirror. He had no place here, no space to make demands of an Old One. No space even for questions, unless he was awarded the chance.
‘You should look,’ Ankou said, that hissing, rattling voice curling around Jalen’s ears, sinking into his skull. Mouth dry, he drew nearer to the mirror, watching its surface shift and reform, over and over, until a face appeared, one he knew as well as he knew his own.
Arthur.
Jalen moved closer, until he stood at Ankou’s other side, and for a moment, they were like they used to be, before he put his selfishness above the God who had given him a second chance at life.
Jalen stared at Arthur’s face. It was dark; lantern light coated one side of his face golden.
It took a moment for Jalen to realise he was below deck on a ship, and he was not alone.
As the vision in the mirror expanded, Jalen sucked in a breath in shock, for sitting beside Arthur was his father.
Ulrian’s lips moved rapidly. He was praying and, as they watched, he put his head in his hands and started rocking back and forth.
Ankou waved his hand. The image of Arthur and Ulrian faded, and the surface of the mirror became a chaotic swirl of colour and faces that seemed to press against the glass too quickly for Jalen to discern who they belonged to.
He thought he saw Katarin’s brilliant red hair and Halymere’s bearded face moving backwards.
Jalen blinked. It was in reverse. Whatever was happening in Ankou’s mirror was happening in reverse.
The kaleidoscope of images slowed to reveal a blue sky and sails cupping the wind. Arthur, his expression downcast, was speaking to his sister, whose stricken face took Jalen by surprise.
‘It seems the syhren and her faery have left,’ Ophine stated.
‘Jenyfer and Ordes left?’ Jalen asked. It crashed over him like a wave as the images shifted again and it was Arthur on deck. ‘He discovered the truth then.’
‘Seems like it,’ Ophine said.
‘I don’t understand what we’re seeing,’ Jalen admitted.
‘Watch,’ Ankou said. He waved his hand again and the deck of The Excalibur became a flurry of bodies and brutality, men whose faces Jalen did not recognise.
There was no sound, but there didn’t need to be.
The Excalibur had been boarded. He watched in horror as the crew, including Arthur, were forced to their knees.
‘You need to stop this,’ he whispered.
‘It has already happened.’
‘Then you need to help them!’ Jalen said. ‘Do something.’
Ophine hissed at him, but he ignored the wraith.
Ankou turned his black, fathomless eyes to Jalen. ‘I cannot interfere.’
‘But—’
‘My sister has almost destroyed the world, more than once, with her interference,’ Ankou said. ‘I am not her, Jalen. It is not my place to get involved, however much I might like to. My role is to keep the balance of this world, and nothing more.’
Jalen shook his head, forcing his eyes back to the mirror. ‘Is he still alive?’
‘Yes.’
‘Then send me back,’ he said passionately, unable to look away from Arthur’s terrified face.
‘To do what?’ Ankou asked, not unkindly. ‘You are not what you were. You are still becoming what you shall be.’
‘I don’t care about that,’ Jalen argued. ‘They need help.’
Ankou put his bony hand on Jalen’s shoulder. ‘I’m sorry.’
‘Why did you show me this if you weren’t going to do anything about it?’ Jalen demanded.
‘I cannot help, but that doesn’t mean help cannot be given,’ Ankou replied.
He took one last look at the mirror then glided away, his two hounds materialising from thin air and following at his heels.
He did not shut off the mirror. Scenes continued to play out until it was the darkness of the hold again.
Jalen stared at his master’s departing back in utter despair. Ankou’s last words pushed through the sudden turmoil of his mind. He turned to Ophine. ‘You can go.’
‘I can what?’ the wraith asked.
‘Interfere,’ Jalen breathed. He took hold of Ophine’s arms, fingers gripping scaled flesh. ‘I can’t reach them, but you can, Ophine. You can help them.’
The wraith ripped their arms away. ‘Touch me again and I’ll end you,’ Ophine hissed. ‘You’re asking me to go against my master. You have no honour left, Jalen Rowe. Some of us take our duties seriously.’
‘Please,’ Jalen whispered, voice breaking, shattering. He didn’t have the time, nor the energy, to rise to the insult. It didn’t matter what the wraith thought of him anymore. ‘Please help me. Help Arthur. This is the world Ankou wants, isn’t it? He said help could be given.’
Ophine’s glare could cut glass. ‘Don’t presume—’
‘To know what your master wants, I get it,’ Jalen said.
‘But what do you want? A world of chaos, or balance? If Arthur dies, if the prophecy dies with him, you will be left with chaos.’ He took a deep breath, trying to still his frantic heart.
‘Find Ordes and Jenyfer and get them back to that ship.’
Eventually, the wraith sighed and vanished.
Jalen returned to the mirror.