After the Fire (After the Fire: Book the First) (26 page)

“He
was...strange. He kept saying he was sorry, that he had to.”
Eleni's voice cracked and she cleared her throat. “He...”
She looked up at Magda. “I don't know why, but he seemed to
like me, even when I wanted to kill him. He told me I was beautiful.
He wanted me to come with him, to be his...I don't know what. He was
so sad.”

Magda
was quiet for a long moment. “And Fin?” she said. “Why
didn't he kill Alaunus?”

“I
don't know,” said Eleni. “I laid on top of him when I
found him injured. Loki didn't seem interested in killing him. He
said he was being generous.”

“Perhaps
he was more interested in not hurting you than he was in killing
Fin,” said Magda.

“What
does it mean?” said Eleni.

Magda
looked at her, frowning. “Do you really not know?” Magda
sighed. “Loki appears to find himself in love with you. Or at
least, as much as he is able to love.”

There
was a great clanging outside, muffled through the door. “Perhaps
they are trying to pound out that gate again,” said Magda.

The
sound came again and the door was thrown open. Iren stood there
panting and looking at Eleni with wide eyes.

“What
is it, Iren?” said Magda.

She
shook her head. “The gate,” she said. “He's here.”

“Who's
here?” said Eleni.

“Perun,”
said Iren. “The lightning god is at the gate.”

He
had pushed his way in through the gate that the Reivers
had damaged. Women surrounded him, nervously holding hooked falx
blades and thrusting them awkwardly at the unfazed god. Perun walked
through them like they weren't even there and moved purposefully
toward Eleni. He was immense in size, towering over the women and
moving like a man that was used to getting what he wanted. His long
white hair flowed behind him in the winter wind and his bushy beard
hid his lower face, the only part visible was a full lower lip. His
cheeks were pink and youthful-looking.

Iren
stepped in front of Eleni, an arrow notched in her bow. “Don't
come closer,” she said, pulling the taut string back.

Perun
scowled at her. “Begone, gnat,” he said. “Or I'll
send a bolt of lightning right through those pretty eyes. I didn't
come to kill Zaric.”

Magda
put a hand on Iren's arm and pulled her gently out of the way. “Why
did you come?” she said. Eleni couldn't take her eyes from the
man. Images flashed through her head. Perun's face smiling; Perun
kneeling over a freshly-killed Kupalo, her brother; Perun angry with
reddened face. And then the way he had killed her. His chest had
opened up. Eleni's eyes widened at the memory. His chest had opened
and he had screamed and then she had imploded. She had burned. Eleni
took a step back.

Perun
looked away. Magda looked at her, one sharp eye boring into her,
bright even in the darkness. “What is it?” she demanded.

“Just
like Loki,” said Eleni.

“What?”
said Magda.

“That
was how Perun killed me. He opened his chest, just like Loki did in
the forest. It's why Loki didn't use that power on Daja. It would
have destroyed everything before Ragnarok.”

Magda
turned to Perun. She walked up to him and stared up at him. “You
are here because you are terrified. All the gods are dead. Except you
and Eleni.”

“Who?”
he said.

“I
am the goddess of fire,” said Eleni. “You killed me.”

“You
look a little different,” Perun said, half of a smile on his
face. “I'm sorry. I was deluded.” He frowned, becoming
serious. “I honestly am sorry for the things I have done. I
have come to atone.”

“You
helped Loki,” said Eleni. “It started with you. I've seen
it with my own eyes. Before we even knew of the god-eaters. It was
you.”

“Loki
is a lunatic,” said Perun scornfully. “I want nothing to
do with him.”

“Lunatics
often are far more truthful than certain others,” said Magda.
“Eleni has worshipers now. She could easily kill you. Why
should we let you live?”

“I'm
the only family she has left,” Perun said. “Does that
count for anything?”

“No,”
said Magda.

Perun
sneered at her. “Really, Crone? Because if you kill me, you
will never know where to find your maiden sister.”

Magda
was silent. Shock showed on her face, an expression Eleni had not
seen before. “You know where Danai is?” she whispered.

“My
safety in exchange for your sister,” said Perun. “You and
the new Zaric, you'll keep me safe. And in return I'll tell you where
she is.”

“Is
she close?” said Magda.

Perun
smiled. “Very.”

“Tell
me,” said Magda. “
Tell me!
”

“Your
word,” said Perun. He smiled at Eleni. “And yours, dear
sister.”

“No,”
said Eleni. She stepped toward him. “You are worse than Loki.
It's all your fault. Every single god, every single mortal. These
women lost their husbands because of you. Their deaths are on your
hands. My death, the fire. Why didn't you come to Magda before if you
knew where Danai was?”

“Because
I didn't need anything then,” said Perun.

“You
are filth,” Eleni growled. She clenched her fists and felt the
fire coursing through her.

“Wait,”
Magda said, her voice low, squinting at Perun in the dark. Eleni
stopped and looked at Magda, her teeth clenched.

“Magda,
no,” Eleni said. “We'll find her on our own. She visited
me in my dreams, she'll come again.”

“We
don't have time,” said Magda, not taking her eyes from Perun.
“To stop Loki I need my sisters. I've been looking for 25
winters. I don't have time to look any more. I don't have the will.”
Magda glanced at Eleni. “Please, child. Agree to your brother's
terms. ”

Eleni
narrowed her eyes at Perun. His own hands had clenched and bright
veins of electricity was coursing through his fists. “If we
agree,” Eleni said, the words like bile in her mouth, “you
will tell us everything.”

“Agreed,”
said Perun happily. “But first, I would like very much to
sleep. Is there somewhere I can lay my head? I haven't slept in
days.”

“My
sister,” Magda said, her voice low and taut. “Tell me
now.”

“Gladly,”
said Perun. “I imprisoned her in that necklace you're wearing.
My bed?”

“The
necklace?” said Eleni looking at the glowing orb around Magda's
neck. The old woman reached up to touch it tentatively. “My
mother gave me that necklace.”

Perun
smiled. “Yes,” he said. “It was quite ingenious.
Anja paid me well for a charm that could mask her from her sisters
and from the gods. I gave her the necklace. I had imprisoned Danai in
it only days earlier. You can't kill these damn Sudices, so I got
creative.” He laughed. “She wore her own sister around
her neck and didn't think twice about it. Of course, had I known she
wanted it to protect you instead of saving her own skin, I would
never have given it to her. It's funny, really. My life these long
years has been hunting you down. My own brother. My downfall. And it
was my own act that kept you hidden from me.” Perun was glaring
at Eleni with a hard glint, and after a moment lightning flashed in
his eyes, all the brighter in the permanent nighttime that had dawned
on them.

Magda
was shaking beside Eleni. “You vile scum,” she said. “I
will kill you in the most painful way possible. I will weave a thread
and make crows peck at your tender parts for centuries to come. I
will make your flesh crawl with worms.”

“Now,
now,” said Perun. “You promised. Safety.”

After
some thought, Eleni led Perun through the dark to the only place she
wanted him sleeping. She asked a middle aged woman with graying brown
hair to bring several quilts and she led Perun through the gate. It
was strange seeing her old prison now. She peered in through the hole
she had made in the door the last time she had escaped. She pulled
the hatch open with a loud creak and, putting her hands on either
side of the door, melted the metal back into place. She looked at
Perun.

“Here?”
he said. He looked around at the darkness that was almost stifling.
“This can't be safe. Put me in the village.”

“So
you can try to kill me in my sleep?” said Eleni. “No. It
was Magda's decision to help you, but I will say where you are kept.
And I say you stay in here. We have lookouts at the top of the gate,
and someone will come to check on you and bring you food. You will be
safe.”

“You
mean to keep me as a prisoner?” Perun said, surprised. Then he
smiled. “You've changed, Zaric. I quite like the way your new
mind works.”

“My
name is Eleni. You would do well to remember that.”

“Of
course,” he said. “I'm not going in there, though.”

“You
will,” said Eleni. “If you want my protection, Magda's
protection, you will stay here. I don't have time to hold your hand.
Take your blankets and get in the box.”

Perun
glared at her. He roughly pulled the blankets from the woman standing
behind him. “I can kill you again, Zaric. Make no mistake.”
He ducked under the low door and into the black darkness of the box.

“Perhaps,”
said Eleni. “But right now you need my help.” She closed
the hatch harder than was necessary and hoped it hurt his ears. Then
she walked with the woman back into the village. The woman stole
glances at Eleni as they walked.

Eleni
returned to Iren's house to find Fin sitting at the table with Magda,
a candle flickering dimly on their grave faces.

“Are
you all right?” Eleni said.

“I'm
fine,” he said. “I woke and tried to get out of the bed,
and a girl came to help me. I heard Perun outside.” He winced
as he shifted his weight on the chair.

“I'm
sorry,” Eleni said.

“For
what?”

“I
injured you. I didn't mean to.”

“It
was a battle,” Fin shrugged. “We're alive.”

“Can
we focus on what's important?” Magda said testily.

Eleni
sat down next to Fin. The necklace was on the table, radiating power,
the little bolts inside latticing inside and casting a pale glow all
around it.

“Why
didn't I see it? Of course Perun made it,” said Magda. “I've
been wearing my sister as a bauble for days. It makes me sick.”

“We
all should have seen it,” Eleni said.

“How
do we get her out?” said Fin.

“Perun
claims not to know,” said Magda.

“So
Danai is actually inside this little bubble?” said Eleni,
picking up the necklace gingerly. “How?”

“It
would take great magic,” said Magda. “Possibly from the
same place they acquired the power that opens their chests. I should
have asked Perun. But the urge to kill him was too strong. I couldn't
look at him.”

“What
has happened?” said Fin.

While
Magda recounted events, Eleni peered inside the necklace. She rolled
it in between her fingers. Magda was staring at her. “Please be
careful, child,” she said, sounding nervous. Eleni looked at
her.

“I
know how to get her out,” Eleni said.

“How?”
said Fin.

Fin
and Magda stared at Eleni in horror as she raised the necklace above
her head. Magda's mouth opened and closed like she wanted to scream
at Eleni but no words came out. Fin shook his head. Eleni let the
bauble fall, watching it sparkle through the air as it fell. A sound
like stone shattering against stone rent the air dully in the small
house.

“What
have you done?” Magda finally croaked.

“Eleni,”
Fin said, his voice a whisper. The necklace lay on the ground in tiny
pieces of clear nothingness. A broken bubble.

Eleni
held up a hand. “Wait,” she said.

There
was a spark. Then another. Electricity bloomed from the broken
necklace like a flower. Small at first, but with each pulse, the
bloom grew bigger. Eleni could feel the power in her chest. It made
it hard to breathe. The blossom of lightning became a round, glowing
orb the size of a man's fist. It began to buzz and vibrate and, as
the three of them watched, elongate.

“What
is happening?” said Fin.

Magda
only shook her head, watching the spot on the floor raptly. The orb
had become longer and longer and seemed to be filling out into a
shape. The light was too bright to look at without causing pain, but
Eleni watched anyway. The glow grew longer and wider and fanned out,
making a shape that was soon identifiable. A person. Eleni could make
out arms and legs now. A head, feet, hands. Then the glow intensified
and the body lifted off the ground, back arched.

And
then the light screamed. Eleni realized it wasn't the light, though,
but whoever was inside the light. She shielded her eyes. There was an
odd, vibrating roll, like that of thunder, and then the light began
to melt. It slid off the body underneath like melting ice and
dissipated in the air. After what seemed like a lifetime, a young
woman floated slowly to the floor, unmoving.

Eleni
and Magda were next to her in an instant. Fin joined them, holding
his side. The woman was naked and hairless. She was emaciated and
pale, her ribs prominent and her eyes like the sockets of a skeleton.
She had scorch marks all over her body, but as Eleni watched, these
began to fade one by one.

“Danai,”
said Magda. “My sister.” She was smiling and crying at
the same time, tears streaming down her face. “Oh, dear girl.
I've looked for you for so long.” She lifted her head from the
floor and, sitting, placed it in her lap. “It's her,”
Magda said, looking almost kind in her joy. “We found her.”

Suddenly
they heard screams from beyond the cottage. Eleni leapt up to rush
outside, but the cottage shook so violently that she nearly fell
over. The door rattled as though from a strong wind. A flickering
power buzzed and filled the air. Eleni recognized that feeling; the
same buzzing she could feel down to her marrow when she was wearing
the necklace. Eleni stepped away from the door just as it burst open
with a blinding flash of light. She heard Magda cry out and she could
see Fin dive to the floor, shielding his face. The light buzzed with
electricity, then it was inside, sending waves of lightning around
the room, barely missing Eleni. It stopped, hovering, and seeming to
turn. Then, so fast it was a blur, it crashed into Danai, still
unconscious on the floor. Her back arched as the jolts made her
vibrate and twitch and she glowed with its power. Then she was still
and the dim light of the lone candle returned.