Give the Devil His Due (The Sanheim Chronicles, Book Three) (43 page)

“No, he was totally useless,” Kieran replied. “He was just some old guy who rambled about the end of the world. Only he kept talking about ‘worlds’ plural. He was a nutter.”

Quinn arched his eyebrows at Janus, remembering what Parker had told them.

“Anyway,” Kieran continued, “on the ferry back to the mainland, I met a bloke — kind of short and stout, and very friendly. He started chatting about how he traveled the world collecting myths. Now that I think about it, that story about Death was the first one he told me. I thought it was dumb luck, but…”

Kieran shook his head slightly.

“There’s another player involved,” Quinn said definitively. “There has been since the beginning. Parker mentioned a ‘council.’”

“Who’s Parker?” Kate asked.

“Tell you later,” Quinn responded.

“Does it matter?” Kieran asked. “Maybe it was luck or maybe the guy was a plant. In any case, we now know the ritual.”

“It matters because we don’t know who they are or what they want,” Kate said.

“Yeah, or if they’re good or bad,” Janus asked.

Buzz chuckled.

“In case you hadn’t noticed, the world is never that easily divided,” he said. “Sometimes the ‘bad guys’ actually think they’re doing good things.”

“What about Kyle?” Janus asked. “He was pretty fucking evil.”

Buzz looked thoughtful.

“Point taken,” he said.

“Who cares what they are?” Kieran said. “Or if they even exist. The point is I’m willing to sacrifice myself for you, Quinn. I’m willing to trade places.”

“What happens to you?” Quinn asked.

“Does anyone care?” Kieran said. “I’ll be fine. I’ll be just like you are now — ‘dead’ but around.”

“He’s lying,” Elyssa said. “You’re fools to trust him. He only cares about himself.”

Kieran smiled wanly.

“She’s not totally wrong,” he said. “I have a selfish agenda here.”

“You want us to save Grace?” Kate asked.

Kieran looked surprised and then a little sad.

“No,” he said wistfully. “I wish that were the condition. But I don’t think she’s here. I convinced myself that Sanheim had captured her, but it never made sense. Did it?”

Kieran looked at Carol, who only shook her head sadly.

“No,” Kieran said. “I know what you want, Kate. If we do this, you want to take Quinn and go home. But that’s not why I’m here. I’m here for the oldest reason in the book.”

“Revenge,” Elyssa said knowingly. “That’s what you want.”

“Yes,” Kieran said. “That’s exactly right. Sawyer might have killed Grace, but Sanheim used me like a puppet and then sold me down the river. He never intended to honor his bargain. I’d like to see him defeated. And yes, I am willing to die to help make that happen. In chess, if a pawn makes it all the way past the enemy lines to the other end of the board, the player gets to exchange him for a more powerful piece. A player can even take back his queen. In this game, I’m that pawn. You get to exchange me for Quinn.”

“I think he just called you a queen, Quinn,” Janus said.

“Well, you can’t lose the king and still continue playing. I didn’t say it was a perfect analogy.”

“What if I choose to take Quinn back through the portal?” Kate asked.

Kieran stared into her eyes. His eyes looked as cold as stone.

“You only think you have a choice,” Kieran said. “But you and I both know it’s an illusion. Right now, you have your best shot at taking out Sanheim. If you run, he’ll follow you. He’ll never let you and Quinn live a happy life. You’re a threat, and as long as that remains true, he will hound you forever. There is no choice, Kate. You
will
fight him, either now on the terms of your choosing, or later, when he strikes at you from the shadows. You two are the last. The last threat to him, the last hope for any who stand against him. The fight is coming to you one way or another.”

Chapter 34

Kate could still see the blood stains on the knife.

She cradled it in her hand, turning it over and staring at it. She hated this weapon with all her heart. In her fevered dreams at the asylum, it had always haunted her. It was no coincidence that she had used the memory of it to fight Kyle.

She felt Quinn slip his arms around her waist, and his lips brush her neck.

“It’s okay,” he said.

She sighed, closed her eyes and leaned into him. She thought she had remembered everything about him, from how he looked to how he felt. But she had forgotten how nice he smelled. Even now, she waited to wake up, to discover this had all been some weird dream. Perhaps she was still in the asylum, creating a happy ending for herself. But when she opened her eyes, his arms were still wrapped around her.

“I can’t believe this is real,” she said.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered in her ear.

“For what?” she asked.

Kate laid the knife back on the stone and turned to face Quinn. In the chaos of the past couple of hours, they had barely had a chance to talk. She wanted to do the ritual right away, for fear that Sanheim would show up before they could. But Carol and Kieran needed time to consult with each other, and Kate needed to settle her army.

Clinton and Buzz had led the army out of the fortress and onto the surrounding plains. They would set up camp there until Kate and Quinn could plot their next move. As dusk fell, she could see them lighting hundreds of campfires from her perch on top of the fort. It was strangely beautiful, especially since the soldiers weren’t cold and didn’t need to eat. Given their battle with Carman, they had earned a rest.

They’d taken losses in the fighting, but Carman had inadvertently swelled their ranks. Buzz suggested spreading the new soldiers among Kate’s original army, a move that Clinton had implemented with his characteristic efficiency.

Though the encampment looked as if it was from the Civil War, she had seen troops from a range of eras when she’d walked through. There were 19th century soldiers laughing and joking alongside Roman warriors and men in modern fatigues. Even the civilians seemed to be mingling and getting along. It was strange to think about how little they all had in common, how different their lives had been, and yet even with thousands of years of history, humanity was still so similar. She could hear them singing songs, many of them using instruments that they had either brought with them or managed to conjure up. She sensed none of the tension she had in Manassas. Finally, in this place, they were united and content — free of their past burdens and emotions.

“For dying,” Quinn said, bringing Kate’s mind back to him.

Kate turned around to face him.

“It wasn’t your fault,” she said.

“Still, I know it must have been hard,” he said. “You and Kieran said something about you not being yourself?”

“The more accurate description is crazy,” Kate said.

She told him briefly about the voices in her head and her time in the asylum. Quinn stroked her hair. They had so much to catch up on. He wished he could read her mind. He had grown so used to that, but now he wasn’t technically the Prince of Sanheim anymore. He looked forward to changing that, assuming this ritual worked.

“I’m sorry,” Quinn said again, and hugged her.

“I’m so glad to have you back,” Kate said. “I fought so hard for this, but I almost didn’t let myself believe it could actually happen. I couldn’t bear the idea of having you ripped away from me again. When I saw that Wyrm eat you…”

“Yeah, that’s pretty much your worst nightmare,” Quinn said.

“You know, I never actually worried about you being swallowed by a giant worm,” she said. “I had a lot of fears, but that wasn’t one of them.”

Quinn laughed and kissed her. She wrapped her arms tighter against his body as he slid his hand down her back. All other thoughts went out of her mind. All she wanted was to keep going, to touch him all over his body.

“Soon,” he said. “Very soon.”

Kate sighed, but it was a happy one. Until a thought passed through her mind.

“When this ritual is over, we have a decision to make,” she said.

“There’s not much of a choice,” Quinn said.

“Kieran might be wrong,” she said hopefully. “We could still go back.”

Quinn looked at her for a long time.

“Do you really believe that?” he asked. “I can’t wait to read your mind again.”

“It’s just…” she said.

“What?” he asked.

“I can’t lose you again,” she said. “I don’t want to fight Sanheim. To get this far and get you back… I feel like anything else is pushing my luck.”

“Kate, I….”

A small cough interrupted them. They turned to see Carol standing there.

“We’ve had a long talk,” Carol said. “The man he spoke to gave him ideas of where to continue his research. Kieran was able to turn up quite a bit of information about the ritual. I think it’ll work.”

“Could it be a trick?” Kate asked.

“I’m not sure what the point would be,” Carol said. “I hate to say it, but I think Kieran’s on the level. This is for real.”

Quinn pulled gently away from Kate.

“So what are we waiting for?” he asked. “Let’s get started.”

*****

Kieran lay on a slab of rock, waiting to die.

He looked up at the dark sky. When it was night, he could barely tell it was purple. He turned and watched as Quinn lay down next to him. Quinn looked over and nodded.

Carol and Kate stood over them. They had cleared everyone else from the top of the fort — except for Janus and Elyssa.

“No way. I’m not leaving while you guys do some hocus-pocus on my friend. I need to keep an eye on that bugger,” Janus said, motioning toward Kieran.

“I’ll keep an eye on him, don’t worry,” Kate had said.

But Janus wouldn’t move.

“I’m staying,” he said. “And that’s that.”

So Janus stood off to the side, never taking his eyes off Kieran. He was joined by Elyssa, who clearly had the same concern.

“As long as Kieran’s staying, I’m staying,” she replied. “You’re wrong to trust him. It’s all a lie; you’ll see.”

“I hope you think better of me when I prove you wrong,” Kieran replied.

Elyssa gave a short laugh, but didn’t respond.

“Okay,” Carol said. “We don’t think there are any incantations. I’m going to join you two together and then… well, we just see what happens.”

“Okay,” Quinn said.

Kate paced nervously nearby.

“There’s no way he can die, right?” she asked Carol.

Carol turned to her.

“I honestly don’t know,” she said. “With this kind of thing, everything is a risk. I don’t think it’ll kill him, but I’m not sure.”

“Just do it,” Quinn said. “Kate, I’ll be fine.”

“You don’t know that.”

Quinn looked up at her. She seemed scared and vulnerable, a rare look for her.

“Yes, I do,” Quinn said. “This is our destiny. So let’s get it done.”

Carol walked closer to them with the knife in her hand. Kieran saw Quinn look into his eyes, and tried to keep the terror out of his expression.

“Whatever else happens,” Kieran said. “Whether this works or it doesn’t, I want you to know how truly sorry I am. If I could take it back, I would. In fact, that’s what I’m trying to do.”

Elyssa laughed again, but Quinn appeared to believe him.

“Thank you,” Quinn said. “I know you could have run away and hidden.”

“I seriously considered it,” Kieran replied.

“Thank you for fighting that urge. It takes a lot to take responsibility for your mistakes.”

Kieran had one last moment when he wanted to call the ceremony off, as he felt a panic rising inside him. But it was too late. Instead, he told one last lie.

“Don’t mention it,” he said. “We’re just swapping places. When this is over, you’ll have plenty of time to thank me.”

Carol leaned over them and held the knife out.

“Okay, I want you to hold hands. I think this is going to hurt a lot, so don’t move,” she said.

Quinn reached out and took Kieran’s hand. Before either of them could move, Carol drove the knife through their clenched grip.

*****

Quinn screamed in pain, and then slowly felt a burning sensation spread through his hand. When he looked around, he was no longer on the slab of rock on top of the fortress. Instead, he was sitting in a movie theater. On screen, a movie seemed to be playing in reverse. He watched as a woman withdrew a knife from the hands of two men. He watched as they talked, and while he could hear it, it sounded like gibberish. It took Quinn a moment to realize that they were talking backwards — and that the men on screen were Kieran and himself.

“Brilliant,” a voice said next to him.

He looked over to see Kieran in the seat next to him, munching on popcorn.

“I’ve always wondered what my life would be like as a movie,” he said.