Age of Myth (The Legends of the First Empire #1)

“But there is a condition,” she added.

Suspicion filled their faces. At the same moment, Arion saw that a number of Rhunes had stopped what they were doing and were staring at her. She no longer had access to the Art, but she still had the power to halt people where they stood.

“I require a service from you. One of the Rhunes who cared for me, a young tattooed girl named Suri—the one who has the pet wolf—has gone into the forest to confront a bear. Do you know the one of which I speak?”

Nyphron nodded.

“Good. I want you to find this girl and return her here.”

“And why would I do that?” Nyphron said.

“Because I fear she is in great danger.”

“So?”

“I was charged by the fane with the task of returning you to Estramnadon, but despite what you might think, I didn’t come here to fight. I came to bring you back as gently and as kindly as possible. Like many back home, I feel your tribe has been treated unfairly. So I’m willing to risk the fane’s displeasure and see that your grievances are heard. That is what I’m willing to do for you, but only if you do what I ask. Her fate and your own are now bound. Should Suri die, if she is fatally injured or otherwise lost, I won’t help you. Instead, I’ll become your most bitter enemy. All the stories you’ve heard about Miralyith are true, so believe me when I say you don’t want that to happen.”

“You want us to save a Rhune?” Nyphron asked.

“I do.”

“Why?”

“Given that Suri left several hours ago and is intent on fighting a bear that will most assuredly kill her, are you certain you want to waste time asking unnecessary questions?”

Nyphron spun. “Galantians—to arms!”





CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR


Demons in the Forest




She is always there. I see the Great Bear every night in the star-filled sky. To most people, it is just a group of stars. But to those who lived during that terrible time, they will always represent Grin the Brown. Even though I never personally saw her, stories of that beast scared me to death.

—THE BOOK OF BRIN





The sun had set, and Persephone clung to the light of the full moon as she plunged through the wood. She had no time to think, no time to dread. The wolf was pulling her hard, and all of them struggled to keep up. They followed a path of sorts, a division through the trees that at times felt familiar. Traveling so quickly and by moonlight, Persephone wouldn’t have thought it possible, but she recognized things. Before long, she was certain they were on the same trail they had followed the day the wolf pack attacked.

You were going exactly the wrong way…I figured you were hunting Grin. I followed your trail, and you were heading straight for her cave.

Persephone had shivered at the idea back then, and now she was intentionally rushing in that direction.

We don’t have to fight it, she reminded herself.

If they were lucky, they wouldn’t see the bear at all. The goal was to save Suri and Maeve, not slay the beast. Still, for whatever reason she felt a weight upon her. First her son, then her husband, and now it was Persephone’s turn. The gods had sent the bear as a curse on her family, and she was all that remained.

Is there any chance I will survive this night?

Even with that sobering thought, she had to go. She couldn’t turn her back on Suri and Maeve. And she had to keep her feet following the old oak’s path. How this was going to save her people from extinction she didn’t know, but she had put herself into the hands of the gods and ancient spirits. Her fate was theirs to twist.

Reglan had a child with Maeve. The thought lingered like a bad aftertaste. It hovered, unapproachable, impossible to believe—but it was the truth.

Was it a single night of passion or a lifelong love affair?

If she thought hard enough, perhaps Persephone could recall knowing glances, awkward or halted conversations, moments that seemed insignificant at the time. But Persephone didn’t want to remember. In her heart, she wanted to preserve the memory of Reglan: honest, courageous, and a leader who acted in the best interests of others. He was faithful. He defended the weak. He protected the innocent. Already that image was losing color, the impression eroding as Persephone struggled through the woods, imagining an infant abandoned in the dark and a mother’s cries.

I never heard a grown woman sound like that before. You’d have thought I was killing her.

She shook her head in disbelief. What an awful judge of people I am, first Iver the Carver and now my own husband. Men I’ve known my whole life yet never really knew at all. How could I have missed what Reglan and Konniger were capable of?

Minna had endless stamina, but Persephone didn’t. They were moving steadily uphill, and she was soaked with sweat and desperate for a break. With all her might, she pulled on Konniger’s belt to rein the wolf in. They came to a stop in a world of trees, moonlight, and fireflies.

“Water,” Persephone said to Malcolm between breaths. She wiped her face with the back of her hand, which was equally sweat-covered and provided no help.

Malcolm, who had caught up with them while they were still in the open field, had arrived with a waterskin and weapons. In addition to helping himself to a spear and Reglan’s shield from the lodge, he’d fetched an extra shield and spear for Persephone—and not just any spear. Malcolm had pulled down the great Black Spear of Math, the founder of Dahl Rhen and the grandson of Gath, that had been mounted above the First Chair.

“Weren’t we here before?” Malcolm asked, puffing for air and looking around at the trees.

“Thinking the same thing,” Raithe replied. He carried Persephone’s spear for her since she couldn’t manage it and the wolf at the same time, but he had showed her how to fix the shield to her back.

Minna sat, looking anxious, and started to whimper again.

“I have to say I’m a little disappointed we haven’t caught them yet,” Persephone said. “I mean, how fast can that old woman walk? She’s more than fifty years old. I had no idea she was so spry.”

“How much farther do you think until the bear’s cave?” Malcolm asked. He leaned against a tree trunk and took a swallow after Persephone had returned the waterskin.

“I have no idea, but we’re going to be too late, aren’t we?” Persephone was peering up through the leaves at what little of the dark sky she could see. “At least there’s a full moon tonight. That will help with whatever we find up there, right?”

“What if we find the bear?” Malcolm asked. “What do we do then?”

“Well,” Raithe said, “we don’t want to fight it. Just need to drive it off. So don’t surround the thing. Give it a clear escape route. Then jab at it and make noise. If it comes at one of us, that person should fall back and the others should advance, jabbing to drive it away. It shouldn’t stay around.”

“Just point and stick, right?” Malcolm said.

“Yep.”

When Persephone remembered how The Brown had slaughtered a pack of wolves and then lingered to beat on a stone door because it smelled humans inside, she wondered about the likelihood of the bear not sticking around. The Brown preferred human flesh.

Dammit, Konniger, why didn’t you tell them? Why did you let them go?

Minna stood up. Instead of pulling forward, she turned back and began to growl at noises. Behind them, they heard snaps and rustling; then faces emerged from the darkness.

At that moment Minna bolted. Distracted and unprepared, Persephone lost her grip on the belt. The leather strap ripped through her hands, and the wolf raced away. Darting into the shadows, Minna vanished.

“By Mari, Persephone!” Konniger exclaimed, out of breath. “You set a cruel pace.”