The Stars Below, page 16
part #4 of Vega Jane Series
He seemed to grasp my meaning. “Did you … did you escape him again?”
“I did. But it was very close.”
I thanked Pillsbury for his concern and then hurried off. There was someone I desperately needed to talk to. And I didn’t want to waste a moment before doing so.
UMA?”
I looked around the chamber where I could usually find her. She didn’t appear.
“Uma. I have news. Of Jason.”
The next moment, there she was. Shimmering, nearly transparent. Nearly gone, actually.
“Jason?” she said breathlessly. “News?”
I nodded and leaned back against the wall, more for support than anything else. I was still feeling pretty wobbly actually.
“What I’m about to tell you will not be easy to hear, but it’s the truth. I swear it.”
She hovered there frozen in front of me.
“Please tell me, Vega,” she said.
And I did. With some trepidation, because I knew it would come as a great shock, as it had to me. When I got to the part revealing Endemen to be her supposedly dead fiancé, Uma visibly shuddered. Then she broke down in sobs for such a long time, I finally said urgently, “Uma, Jason asked me to tell you something.”
As I had hoped, this made her stop crying. She looked up at me, her chin trembling, and her face as flushed as a spirit could manage, I suppose.
“What?”
“He told me to tell you that he loved you just as much as you loved him, perhaps more.” I paused as she took this in. “And I would not be here right now if he had not attacked his father. By doing so, he allowed us to escape.”
Uma sank down to the floor, perhaps with the weight of all that I had revealed.
I sat next to her.
“I don’t understand any of this, Vega,” she sobbed. “He was dead. Jason was dead. I saw his body.”
“I know. It seems inexplicable. But I think we can work it out.” I paused, marshaling my thoughts. “Necro wanted to start a war between our kind and the Maladons. Pillsbury told me that he believed Necro came here to talk with Gunther Adronis under the pretense of preventing the war. But he ended up murdering Gunther instead. Now, that would normally have started a war on its own, but I think Necro was cleverer than that. How to blunt the outcry against him about one murder? Commit another one that seems to be directed at his own family.”
“So he pretended to have Jason killed and blamed the death on us?” said Uma.
“Yes. How he did so I don’t know, but with his magic it wouldn’t have been too difficult to substitute another body for Jason’s and make it look like him.”
“But you say that he turned Jason evil and made him serve his father?”
“Jason was a good man, Uma. I’ve heard the stories that his father was worried that Jason would take over and commit to a peace. That was something Necro could never tolerate. But I also don’t think he could let Jason’s treachery — which is how he would see it — go unpunished. He took Jason’s mind from him, made him wicked and then made him serve in doing evil.” I paused and drew a breath. “And when I saw you both in town the day I traveled into the past, Necro seemed very eager for the marriage to happen. I wondered about that. But clearly it was all an act, perhaps to avoid suspicion. He never intended to allow the two of you to marry. He instead made certain that your love would be subverted to his own purposes.”
“But you said Jason told you he loved me? So has his sanity returned?”
“Apparently so. Somehow he finally defeated whatever his father had done to him.”
“But how? After all this time? Necro is so very powerful.”
“It must have been very recent. It wasn’t all that long ago that Endemen and I were fighting to the death.”
“So how, then?”
“Uma, I just don’t have a good answer for that. What’s important is that he did manage to throw off Necro’s yoke.”
“What happened to him, after you escaped the castle? Is he alive?”
“I don’t know, but I have a way to find out. And as soon as I know, you will too, okay?”
“Thank you, Vega.”
I left her there and rushed back up to the main floor. I found Delph and Petra and quickly told them what had happened.
Delph was absolutely stunned when I got to the part about the Wugs behind the glass.
“My … my dad was there?”
I nodded.
“Are they … are they alive somehow?” he said hesitantly. “But … but how could they be? You saw their graves.”
I knew my features reflected the pain, no, the agony he was feeling. My eyes filling with tears, I said, “I don’t know, Delph. I don’t know what has happened to them. But I told him that we would be back to … to rescue all the Wugs, in whatever … form they happen to be.”
He stood there breathing hard, his hands curled into fists. I thought he might start punching the wall. He cried out, “They’ve suffered enough. The bloody Maladons have already killed them. Why can’t they let them rest in peace now? The bloody bastards.”
“We will do something, Delph. I promise you. I tried everything I could think of to free them while I was there, but we will find a way to help them.”
Petra shuddered. “How could Endemen, or Jason, suddenly become himself again? We’ve both faced Endemen. He was a demon, as evil as I’ve ever seen. But you described the man far differently.”
“He was no longer Endemen,” I replied simply. “He was back to being Jason.”
“And you don’t think it was some trick?” asked Petra.
“Hardly. Jason saved our lives. I doubt that Endemen would have done that.”
“No, he wouldn’t have,” agreed Petra.
“What made him change back into Jason?” asked Delph.
“I don’t know. That’s the same thing I told Uma. But I’m telling you that the person I saw was Jason, not Endemen. Somehow, he threw off whatever his father had done to him.”
“Do you think he’s still alive?” said Delph.
I shook my head. “In a duel with Necro, I doubt Jason would win. He wasn’t even using his own wand. I’ve bested Endemen in a duel before. And I don’t think I’m at Necro’s level.”
“I’d wager on you, Vega Jane, just like I did in the Duelum.”
I smiled at his comment.
“But what did you learn that can help us?” interjected Petra, looking quite serious.
My smile vanished. She had a point. I had gone at great risk to the castle, nearly losing my life and my mother’s and Archie’s in the process. But what had I gained? Was it worth it?
“I’m not sure. Victus did tell me that there was a lot of activity at the castle, as though something important was underway.”
“What could it be?” asked Delph.
“I’ll ask Victus to try and find out.” Something else occurred to me. “If Jason was able to break free from his father’s control, that shows that Necro isn’t invincible.”
Petra said, “That’s true. But it doesn’t mean we can defeat him.”
“And it doesn’t mean we can’t,” I retorted.
“Why would they have brought the souls or spirits of all the Wugmorts and put them behind the glass?” said Delph slowly.
“I — I don’t know, Delph. And Victus said he hadn’t seen anyone resembling John, so he may not be at the castle at all.”
“Then we need to look other places.”
“I’m going to send search parties out looking for him right now.”
And I left it at that.
Or so I thought.
As I walked off, I turned back to see Delph and Petra in deep conversation. And something told me it wasn’t about what we had just discussed. When Petra looked like she had been slapped at something Delph said, I hurried on, because something told me this was not going to end well.
However, I heard running footsteps behind me as I was racing up the stairs.
Of course it was Petra. She stopped running and faced me.
“How did you know?” she said fiercely.
I turned to her. “Know what?”
“That I suffered so much in the Quag? That’s what you said to Astrea at the dinner.”
My face screwed up in confusion, I said, “You told me yourself. And I found you in there. You were hardly in the best of circumstances.”
Her eyes flashed at me. “According to you?”
“What is your problem?” I shot back.
“You’re lying to me.”
“I am not lying to you.”
“Delph just told me!” she screamed.
My spirits sank. Holy Steeples, Delph, can you keep nothing in confidence?
“Delph told you what?” I said miserably, though I well knew the answer.
“About your going back in time. About your seeing … me. And the others, and what they called me. And yet here you stand lying to me.”
I felt my face redden. “Look, Petra —”
She suddenly shoved me so hard, I nearly toppled over the banister.
I caught myself and jerked forward.
“Petra, stop!”
She shoved me again. My back hit the banister, and I felt pain shoot up my body.
I pushed her away and she stood there, fists clenched, chest heaving, but at least she was no longer attacking me.
“Look,” I said calmly. “I’m on your side. I saw what they did to you. It was wrong. I felt so sorry for you, Petra.”
As soon as the words left my mouth, I knew they were a mistake.
The look on her face became as murderous as Necro’s!
Her fist lashed out, catching me in the belly and doubling me over.
Then she punched me full in the face.
“You feel sorry for me? To Hel with you. To Hel with you, Vega. I don’t need your sympathy. You’re pathetic.”
I slowly straightened and looked at her with the blood pouring down my face from my bloody nose. She was staring madly at me, angrier than I had ever seen her.
But then, so was I.
Before I could catch myself, I grabbed her by the throat, and with the strength that Destin gave me, I lifted her right off the floor. She kicked and punched at me, but I held on. She grabbed my hair. And still I did not break my grip.
I felt something pulling at me, grabbing, punching.
Someone screaming my name.
“Vega Jane!”
The next moment I felt a terrible pain in my head and a spurt of blood shot out from my forehead.
I felt myself growing weak and then faint.
“You’re killing her!” someone shouted.
Battling the pain in my head, I looked first at Delph, who was next to me, and then at Petra, who was hanging limp in the air.
I instantly let go, and she fell to the floor.
Delph knelt beside her.
“She’s not breathing,” he cried out.
My mind seemed to return, and I grabbed the Adder Stone from my pocket and waved it over her.
Please, Petra, don’t be dead. Don’t be dead. Please.
With a gush of air, she sat straight up, almost hitting me in the head with hers.
As she sat there regaining her breath, Delph whirled on me. “What was that about?”
“Why the bloody Hel did you tell her what I saw?” I shouted at him.
He blinked. “What?”
“That’s what this is about,” I snapped. “You told her what I had seen. And she went nutters and attacked me.”
Delph looked over at Petra, who was holding her throat and shooting daggers at me.
“Pet, I wouldn’t have told you if I’d known this would happen.”
“What did you think I would do?” she gurgled, still holding her throat.
“But Vega didn’t know she was going to see you in the past.”
“And I certainly didn’t do anything to you,” I said.
Petra jumped up and raced off before I could answer. Just like she had when those awful folks had called her names.
“I’m sorry, Vega Jane,” said Delph. “I didn’t mean for that to happen.”
I let out a long breath. “It’s not your fault.” I looked around at the empty hall. “I’m just glad no one else saw this. I could hardly expect them to follow me into battle if they saw me trying to kill Petra.” I looked down at my hands, which were still shaking.
“I’ve never lost my temper like that before, Delph. I can’t believe that I almost … almost killed her.” I looked up at him, tears now mixing with the blood. “I mean, I love Petra. I would do anything for her. I … I did the Oath of Oblivion with her.”
I touched my forehead, where the blood had come from. Under my fingers, it almost felt like a wound was closing up. If I had killed Petra, I think I would have died, because I would have violated the Oath.
“I need to go after her,” I said.
“You think you should let her calm down first?” said Delph anxiously.
“No, because we might all be dead from old age before that happens. So I think I need to deal with this right now.”
A minute later, I knocked on Petra’s door. I could hear her inside, but she didn’t reply to my knocks.
Finally, I used my wand to open the door.
She jumped up from the bed and glared at me while I closed the door behind me.
“Get out.”
“No, we’re going to talk this out.”
“I have nothing to say to you.”
“Why are you embarrassed?”
“Embarrassed? I’m not embarrassed.”
“Who’s lying now?” I said calmly.
This retort made her stiffen.
“Delph was right. I had no idea I would see you in the past.”
“Yet you told him about it and not me! Not me!”
Now I flinched. “You’re right. I should have told you. I was wrong not to.”
“You’re just saying that.”
Now I really wasn’t even listening to her. I looked down at my shaky hands. Petra seemed to notice this too. I looked up at her. “I can’t believe I did that. I was so angry. But that was no excuse. You’re … you’re my friend.”
My earnest words seemed to take the wind out of her sails.
“We seem to bring out the anger in each other,” she said.
“That we do,” I agreed, staring at her.
“Perhaps we both have a bit of Maladon blood in us.”
She sat down on the bed and looked at me.
“I’m sorry I hurt you,” she said.
I waved the Adder Stone over my face, and felt the pain vanish and my injuries heal.
“I can’t lose you, Petra. I worry about that all the time. And to think that it was me who almost did you in.” A tear slid down my face.
Tears slid down her face too.
And then we met in the middle of the room and hugged.
She was definitely the sister I’d never had.
I MET UP with Archie later, and his eyes still carried the horror of what we had seen at the castle.
“I told Mum a bit of it,” he said. “The part about Jason being Endemen stunned her. She said it was quite a bit of dark sorcery there.”
“But Jason broke free from it.”
“Yeah, he did. And Mum actually wanted to talk to you about that if you can spare a moment.”
“I was going to see her now. I’ve been to see my father, and he’s much worse. Whatever plan she has to cure him needs to happen soon.”
“Right, follow me.”
We made our way to Astrea’s room, where I once more found her surrounded by piles of books and reams of parchment. She looked up from the pages of one tome when we entered and waved us over.
“Archie told me about what you saw and did.” She leaned back in her chair. “Archie also told me that Necro came into the room, but then left so that his minions could take you on. He only came back in when the tide turned against his men.”
I hadn’t focused on this before, but I nodded. “That’s exactly right. Is it important?”
“It very well could be,” she said earnestly.
“How so?” I asked curiously.
“I have the benefit of having known Necro intimately. I also fought against him centuries ago. I well know that he was at the forefront of his followers. You could say many bad things about him, but one could never call him a coward. Yet he left you, his ultimate nemesis, to others. I wonder why.”
“Why do you think?”
“That’s the key. I must think on it, Vega.”
I plunged into why I had come to see her. “Astrea, every Wug from Wormwood is imprisoned behind glass, the same glass where they take out the magic from our kind. But these Wugs aren’t magical and they’re also already dead, so it just must be their spirits imprisoned in there. How can I free them?”
Her look was despondent. “Freeing them from such a prison is difficult, Vega, though not impossible.”
“Have you done such?” I blurted out.
“Are you asking me if I have rescued our kind from these glass prisons that take their magic? No. I wasn’t aware that Maladons even did that. They certainly didn’t do it during our time, at least that I know of. But I have freed our kind from other kinds of prisons the Maladons devised.”
“How did you do it?”
“An eye for an eye, Vega.”
“Meaning what?”
“To free a prisoner, you replace him or her with another prisoner. That is the only way to do it.”
“Then you imprisoned another to save someone?”
“Yes.”
“Who did you imprison?”
She looked embarrassed. “I only did it twice. And I used two of our kind who were very nearly dead from battle. Oh, I asked them if I could, and they readily assented.”
“So you left them to be tortured forever?”
“Hardly that, Vega. As soon as the prisoners were freed, I destroyed the prison.”
“I tried to free the spirits of the Wugs. I tried to break into the glass. But I could not.”
“Clearly not. If it’s like the other Maladon prisons I’ve seen, it can only be done one way.”
“How?”
“There is a seam that opens as the prisoners are being exchanged. You must strike with an Impacto spell right before that seam closes. That is a Maladon prison’s only weak spot. That is actually what I meant when I said I destroyed the prison.”
