After the Fire (After the Fire: Book the First) (16 page)

Magda
spotted her and moved toward her.

“Eat
now, because it's time you went,” said Magda.

“What
have you done?” said Eleni. “Why is Fin so angry?”

“I
did what had to be done,” said Magda. “I cannot let the
wishes of one god disrupt what must be done.”

“I
thought you wanted me to flee,” said Eleni. “I thought
fighting Loki was stupid, that I was marching to my death. What's
changed?”

“Death
is possible,” said Magda. “But Loki is killing gods, and
if anyone can stop him it's you. I have to consider the fact that I
may not find my sisters in time. The gods may have to save
themselves.”

“But
why send all of us at once?” said Eleni.

“Because
I will not send you unprepared,” said Magda. “I cannot
force you not to go, but I can send others to assist you. You are
important, Eleni, I can feel it. And if you go, I will call your
family to help you. They
are
your
family, don't forget.”

“I
don't understand,” said Eleni, irritated. “All I know is
hunting and fighting and fire. I do not know about gods or Fates or
the way of things. I do not know how the families of gods work. I do
not pretend to know. But I do not trust words. Fin trusts words, and
he trusted in your words. You promised you would not do this thing.”

“Fin
doesn't know the way things must be done,” said Magda. “He
does not know the feeling when the world rests on your shoulders.
None of you could know what is to come.”

“I
recall that you said you did not know what was to come either,”
said Eleni.

Magda
stared at her for a moment. “Your feelings are clouding your
judgment, Eleni. If I do not find Anja, it will be disastrous. We
must be Three again.”

“I
have no feelings in the matter,” said Eleni. “But I know
lies when I see them. I want my mother more than you'll ever know. I
want to know why she left, where she went, why she left me in that
village. And I do not know why you wish to keep me alive so badly
when you hardly know me. But I do know that lies are ugly things. I
have been lied to my whole life. Lie after lie after lie. Even my own
mother. Maybe your way is best and Fin is wrong. But the way you're
doing it is ugly. You are just like the humans in the village. You
only want to get your way.”

Eleni
turned and headed into the forest where Fin had gone, leaving Magda
staring behind her.

The
snow had penetrated the canopy and everything was frosted in
sparkling white. Eleni looked around for Fin's footprints, but didn't
find any. She scanned the trees, trying to feel for his presence,
before recalling that he didn't really have one. She did feel
something, but it was strange. Eleni frowned. There was something out
here, but it didn't feel like a god. It wasn't a dark creature,
either. Eleni walked toward the direction of the presence warily.

She
felt the cold on the soles of her feet, felt the soft snow give way
and turn to water when it touched her skin. Her feet made small
hissing noises as she walked, the snow evaporating into little trails
of steam in the air. Steam was rising off of her body, too, in the
cold air. She balled up her fist and felt the fire encompass her hand
as she went. Eleni didn't like surprises, and odd presences in the
forest never ended well. She remembered the blue light that had
nearly killed her, and her chest ached where it had burrowed into her
body.

The
presence felt stronger with each step. She was close. The air felt
thicker around her and, as she went further into the wood, she
started to feel as though she were walking through honey. It took
more and more effort to take each step. It had been stupid of her to
run off into the forest. After all of Magda and Fin's warnings, she
had still been dubious that Loki could hurt her.

But
if Loki was out here, if he was the one causing this, Eleni
didn't know how she was going to defend herself. She'd had a few
flashing, forgotten memories of Loki. A tall, thin man with hair the
color of the stars and violet, dancing eyes. Eleni knew that he was
dangerous, but in Zaric's memories – for she was sure now this
is what her flashes of knowledge were – he had been a nuisance;
a god to avoid, if possible, but no real threat to the Carpathians.
Magda seemed to think that with the current state of the world, Loki
had finally come into power. Eleni didn't pretend to understand any
of it, but as she felt the flame extinguish in her hand, she
understood the danger.

With
effort she raised her hand in front of her face. Her flame
had
gone out. She tried to bring it forth again, but all she could manage
was a thin tongue of smoke that rose above her, then dissipated.
Eleni tried to turn, to look behind her, to run away, but she found
she could look no way but ahead. She was being propelled forward by
some force that she didn't recognize.

After
what seemed like an eternity, just when her lungs felt like they were
about to explode, Eleni was pushed through the force and could at
last breathe the thin cool air again. She had stumbled through the
thickness and come out onto a strange, round field, the grass brown
and dead. There was a single burned tree right in the middle, its
branches charred and black. Eleni could see the forest around the
circle, but it looked strange, as though it were at the bottom of a
lake. It shimmered and bent the light all around her. She couldn't
feel the fire in her at all. A sharp panic expanded in her belly.
There were no sounds here. No birds or the everyday skittering of the
forest. No snow either, she realized. She looked around, her eyes
narrowed, searching for anything to explain why she was here. Was
this to be her new prison? She preferred the metal box.

“I
have waited a very long time to meet you, goddess of fire,”
said a woman's high nasally voice. Eleni looked for the source of it.
She approached the burned tree slowly, her heart beating in her
throat. “There is no need to be frightened,” said the
voice. “Your powers will be returned to you when you leave this
place.” Eleni was sure it was coming from the black, lumpy
remains of what must have been a very large tree before it had been
burned. Eleni stopped as one of the lumps moved. She squinted through
the gloom. She was close enough to see the dullness of the charred
bark and to smell the soot. She took a few more steps.

The
lump was a creature, but what kind of creature she had no idea. It
was black, as black as the
tree it
rested in, and appeared to be covered in feathers, or something that
resembled feathers. It had its head under a great dark wing that was
as wide as Eleni was tall.

“What
are you?” Eleni said. The panic at having no power had nearly
disappeared and been replaced by curiosity. The creature seemed to
shift its weight at her words. It flexed its great, clawed talons on
the branch it held fast to. Slowly it moved its head, raising its
face to look down at Eleni. Eleni's eyes widened when she saw it.

It
had hair on its head, like a person. Shaggy, black hair, matted in
some places, hanging in tendrils in others. One strand swayed near
the creature's jaw, framing a pale face, almost human, with a
beak-like nose and black, beady eyes. Full, pink lips parted into
what resembled a smile to show brown, jagged teeth, chipped and
broken into points. It was female, Eleni could see that, but she had
never seen anything like her. The bird woman fanned her enormous
wings and Eleni felt hot, dry air against her face. She could make
out two enormous breasts beneath the feathers, above a round body.

“You
have not heard of me,” it said. “What difference does it
make what I am called?”

“No
difference,” said Eleni. “I only wish to know what to
call you.”

The
bird woman's head never stood still. It twitched this way and that,
like the small, yellow birds that sat in the lower tree branches and
watched Eleni in the springtime. “I am called the Sirin. If you
were a mortal I would eat you, though you hardly look more than a
mouthful.” The Sirin flicked a blackish-purple tongue over her
chipped and broken teeth.

“And
since I am not a mortal?”

The
Sirin seemed to regard her for a moment. “You interest me,
little fire wielder. As you interest many.”

“I
do not see the reason for that,” said Eleni, “but I am
glad you will not eat me.”

“The
fact that you do not see the reason is the precise reason others find
interest in you.”

“You
speak in riddles,” said Eleni. “Talk sense to me. Why
have you brought me to this place?”

“You
are the thread that ties the world together. You must make the Fates
Three once more.” The Sirin bobbed her ugly head. “The
Fates will unravel that which needs unraveling.”

Eleni
shook her head. “I already seek Anja.”

“Not
enough! Not enough!” shrieked the Sirin, making Eleni jump.
“You were hard when he found you. Hard and good and
disbelieving. You grow softer every day. You walk like a girl with
the god that brings balance. Soft, soft, soft. No good.”

“What
would you have me do?” said Eleni, her voice laced with
irritation. “All I want is to find my mother. Then I can go
off, away from all this.”

“Love
will try to unnerve you on your journey,” said the Sirin. “You
must wrap your heart in iron. The people will fear you, and their
fear will also make them love you. The Sudices will change the order
of fate for you. You must not let them. Your own little god will try
to win you with love he feels you deserve. You must fight it.”

“What
is wrong with love?” said Eleni, suddenly angry. “Why
should I not have love?”

“Because
the love you don't give will break the world. And even the Fates
could perish.”

“Magda?”
said Eleni. “My mother Anja?”

“She
is not your mother. She is a vessel.”

“I
thought they couldn't die.”

“They
cannot die, so long as some small part of this world remains intact.
But what if it were all to die? Even the Fates have their own
threads.”

“How?”
said Eleni.

“Water
replenishes. Water refreshes. Water drowns.”

“A
flood?” said Eleni.

“Not
a flood,” said the Sirin. She lowered her head until her nose
was a hand's width from Eleni's. “
Ragnarok
.”

“Ragnarok?”
said Eleni. “What is that?”

“You
will see, child.” The Sirin sat back up. “Heed my words.
Close yourself off. There will be plenty of time for love when they
are Three again. But for now, you must be alone. Let them protect you
if they wish it, let the mortals love you to give you strength. But
you must not weaken. Or all you love will be washed away. To float,
to float, to float.” She ducked her head and, raising her wing
once more, tucked her head underneath and wrapped herself up.

“Wait,”
said Eleni. “How do I find them? How do I stop it?” But
she felt herself being pulled backward. The Sirin had become a lump
on the tree once more. Eleni tried to wriggle out of the force
pulling her away, but it was no use. Her heels dug in the dry earth,
making two small trenches in the ground. And then she was being
forced through the thickness again. She allowed herself to be pulled
out of the circle and as she blinked, the tree and the clearing
disappeared, replaced by living trees and snow. Eleni blinked in the
brightness and wondered if what she had just seen had been real.

Chapter
Fourteen

Fin walked heavily through the forest. He felt like kicking
something, but stopped himself. What good would it do? He was the
bringer of balance, he who restores the world. If he kicked a tree he
would just have to restore it again. The thought made him feel even
more frustrated. He stopped and closed his eyes. He breathed slowly,
taking in the scent of the evergreens mingled with the fresh, frigid
smell of falling snow.

Magda
had had no right to call the gods. It should have been Fin and only
Fin. He wanted to watch the life fade from the eyes of the evil
creatures that had taken his family. They would never return; Loki
had seen to that. If it really was Loki.

His
chest hurt and felt hollow at the same time whenever he thought of
them. His sisters and brother. He pressed his palms to his eyes. The
worst part was that, deep inside, he knew Magda was right. He
couldn't let his feelings get in the way of actually stopping this
madness. It was very likely that Magda had saved Eleni's life by
going behind Fin's back. Fin exhaled through his nose and looked
toward the heavens. The snow was trickling down through the canopy.

Eleni.
He hardly knew what to make of her. It had been a long time since he
had held even a mild interest in another god. Not counting his
family, most gods tended to be arrogant and self-centered. She was
different. She was like an animal and a god and a mortal all at once.
There was also something innocent about her that Fin couldn't quite
put his finger on. Everything was new to her, and seeing that newness
through her eyes had given him a fresh sense of awe for the world.
Even through his grief, she made him forget his sadness.

It
was hard to believe that she was Zaric. She was so different. It was
not unknown for a god to come back as a different gender, and of
course they often came back with different personalities, but
absolutely everything about Eleni was changed from Zaric. Her
stature, her hair, her coloring. Physically she looked like Anja,
Magda's sister. Fin didn't think Eleni knew just how extraordinary
that was. And the link between vessel and god was usually chilly at
best. But Eleni seemed to feel an overwhelming sense of love for
Anja, and from what she had told him, Anja shared the same feelings.
Perhaps
the reason for the changes was the result of the love felt between a
mother and daughter, which was highly unusual for a vessel and
goddess.