I shake my head instead of answering my own questions. I haven’t gone completely mad. Yet.
Madness is only the first step toward genius.
And like an ill-timed migraine, my dark mistress returns.
“Just what is our next move, your evilness?” I barrel out a laugh. “I doubt a search party is going to be sent.” Not for this one. Only one person will make it her personal quest. I suppose I’m counting on that.
Lure the girl to us. You know what must be done.
On cue, as if he heard the goddess himself, the Otherworlder bucks and squirms against his restraints. The chains rattle with each of his guttural moans. His pale face is a shade too white, contrasting the bruises and scrapes, the beating he took, during our invasion on the palace.
“Always an outsider, huh, Bax?” I ask, advancing toward the wall of windows overlooking the cove. “You were an outcast in your own realm, and now you’re an outcast here, again, among your own people. What, did you really think my country would accept you?” I chuckle. “That Kal would? That maybe she could help you establish a place among her people?”
With a jerk, Bax fights the shackles, his forehead wrinkled in anger over his gnarly eyebrows. I turn my back to him. “You’re a traitor on all counts. What other outcome did you expect?”
I anchor my palms on the window ledge and watch the waves crash, swallowing the shore, pulling the sand into the undertow. Down. Down. This could go very wrong. I wanted…something to bring Kal to my door—a taunt, a bribe, anything. But her mutant friend, who she cares for greatly, might be a step too far.
Fear is for the weak.
I roll my eyes. Sometimes the dark goddess makes me laugh outright with her clichés. But what should I think? She’s been underground for over a century. Hardly able to keep up with the times. And she probably was the very first being to utter such phrases. Best try to keep that thought to myself. Even I know better than to mock a woman about her age.
I’ve lost my train of thought. Oh, yes, but when Bax was presented to me, chained and bound, an offering from someone who has a vested interest in seeing Bale restored, I couldn’t turn down such a perfect plan. I knew Bax would be the key to getting at Kal.
We suspected—Kal and I—back in the dungeon of the Otherworld, that there was a traitor in Cavan. Someone high up, in position to access privileged information. Bax had told Kal as much back then. Though he didn’t know exactly who it was at the time. Well, I suppose he does now.
Even I was somewhat shocked to discover the Councilor waltzing up to my legion of Otherworlders like she had nothing to fear, Bax in tow. Making a bargain with the moon goddess, through me, to have her place in a new society when Bale ascends. It was ballsier than anything I’d have done in her place. Maybe.
I figured it was a setup. A military unit waiting in the tree line, ready to pounce, as soon as I let my guard down. Wouldn’t they have noticed one of their advisors missing? And right after an attack—wouldn’t that have looked strange? It had to be a trap.
But here we are, Kal’s mutant confidant in our company, a chess piece ready to be played. I wish, not for the first time, that my thoughts were my own. I’d like to go over this strategy thoroughly before I make my move, without Bale feeding her lines into my head.
Once Kal knows we’ve taken Bax hostage, she’ll come for him. She may have been skirting the idea of hunting me down before this, but she’ll make it her personal mission now. The only question is, will she come alone or be able to convince others to join her?
Glancing back at Bax, his dreaded hair, the silver rings in his face, I decide not. Neither Council—Cavan or Perinya—will go out of their way to save him. Even if he did prove himself an ally to them, he’s still considered the enemy. A liability, probably. And my new collaborator assured me no one will vote for a rescue mission for one Otherworlder.
The Councilor claimed she wanted Kal out of the way, the relic and its shard that much closer to being seized, and this was her proof to Bale of her servitude. Who knows if it’s the truth—if there’s another plot at hand. I grow weary of trying to sort it all out.
Only one thing is clear: Kal will be here shortly.
I wanted this. I wanted her in my grasp, but I also wanted more time to toy with her first. Bale considers this my ultimate weakness—that I would sabotage everything for a human girl. That’s her slight against me, her insult. Human. You stink of humanity. I think the goddess of madness fails to realize just how badly her new world will stink of human filth.
There’s no fear of her ending all of humanity, though. She still needs worshipers.
Shaking my head, I turn my attention from the ocean to the knock at the door. “Enter.”
The office door swings wide and Lake walks in, his thick boots loud on the wood floor, his sinewy arms shuffling books and rolled parchment. I’m surprised he was able to unearth anything of relevance here. I don’t remember requesting material on the goddesses when I constructed my treehouse, but lately, many insignificant details are becoming difficult to recall.
I grip the metal emblem in my pocket tightly, once, my eyelids shutting. Center my thoughts. Circling my temple with my free hand, I motion to the center table with my elbow, instructing Lake to set down the books and documents. I’m running out of patience when it comes to sharing occupancy in my head—there’s only room for one here, and the increasing headaches are proof enough of that.
“You were able to gather what I wanted?” Seating myself in my leather chair, I reach for the nearest tome. The engraving reads: Legends of a Dying World. Now this does sound like something I’d have stashed in my den. Brushing up on my literature before taking the throne, having to instruct my Council on goddess lore and myths.
I very much wanted it all to be myth back then. I was ready to move my kingdom away from an outdated religion that maintained pain and suffering as the way of life. Once my father removed my mentally unstable mother to a ward—in the name of the Goddess Rae, of course—I was through. Tired of doing despicable acts in the name of the goddesses. Always the perfect excuse.
“My Liege,” Lake says, bowing. “I’ve found several more, but these looked the most promising…for your…”
“Study,” I offer. “My new friend and I have tons of exciting research to conduct. Right, Bax?” I angle my head just enough to watch Bax’s pale chin lift in curious attention. “Well done, Lake.”
Lake hesitates, unsure of what to do with my praise. I don’t give it often. Never.