The Tainted Web (The Godhunter, Book 7) (21 page)

“Fuck, I'm losing my damned mind.”

“
Yes, it's all part of the process,” Iktomi was suddenly standing before me.

“
Oh great,” I groaned, not even bothering to get up. “You again.”

“
Yes,” he grinned from ear to ear. “Me again. Did you miss me? I heard how you tried to make Torrent believe he was real. Very sweet. Real indeed, I created him in the Internet from my very thoughts, from the need I had for a companion who wouldn't fail me like Mica has,” he rolled his eyes, “over and over. Torrent is mine. He's a part of me but he's not like us. He's not human or god or even fey. He's a thing, a creation.”

“
He's alive,” I growled. “He has feelings of his own, thoughts beyond what you created him with. Just because he's made of you, it doesn't make him yours. He's not a thing.”

“
Such passionate arguments for a thing who tossed aside your bid for freedom,” Iktomi peered down at me in confusion. “You know he's not here right now, he can't hear you. Nothing you say will make him betray me.”

“
This isn't about betrayal, it's about life and the right to live it. You can't own a person.”

“
Sure you can,” he scoffed. “They're called slaves.”

“
But it's not true ownership,” I shook my head. “Saying you own someone doesn't make them yours. Holding them by force of arms or will, doesn't make them yours.”

“
Then what does?” He smirked down at me. “Love? Are you telling me it's okay to bind someone to you out of love but not with the force of your will? How's your relationship with the Wolf Prince any different from mine with Torrent?”

“
I don't own Trevor, never said I did,” I huffed. “Trevor is a free man, as he's shown numerous times in arguments and absence.”

“
Ah, but he always comes back, doesn't he?”

“
That doesn't make him a slave.”

“
He's bound to you. If you die, he dies. That's more than I require of Torrent.”

“
It's different and you know it.”

“
Yes but the iron chain and the silken cord are both equal bonds.”

“
What
did you just say to me?” I sat up straight. I'd said that very thing to Anubis once.

“
You're thoughts are mine here,” he smiled serenely. “You argue so vehemently against slavery. Is it perhaps because you know it so intimately?”

“
You're are horrible bastard,” I growled. “Get the fuck out of my head!”

“
My, my,” he paced closer. “I think you're more upset over this than you were over the spiders erupting from your belly. Fascinating. I had no intention of violating you sexually, frankly you hold no interest for me,” he looked me over critically, “but maybe Anubis had the right of it. He broke you quickly, didn't he?”

“
I also broke him,” I shot to my feet and faced off with Iktomi.

“
Yes,” his eyes were filled with glee. “You made him your slave, correct? Turned the god backwards and made him into your dog. How did it feel?”

“
It wasn't done out of spite,” I backed away, my anger deflated.

“
Oh, of course not,” he said reasonably, “because you're not evil like me, right? You're good, fighting for your people, while fucking multiple gods and binding a whole pride of lions to your side. Oh yes, you're so much better than I.”

“
Twist it however you want,” I bit out, “I don't torture people like you. I do what my heart tells me is right and my heart tells me you're a son of a bitch who's holding another man's freedom under his thumb by telling him he's a piece of property. Well that didn't work with the African-Americans and it won't work with him. He'll figure it out one day, whether I help him or not. He's got good in him and that pisses you off, doesn't it? Thought he was going to be just like you because he came from your head? I guess you didn't consider that you were once like him, huh? You were once a pretty good guy but you've let this power corrupt you. You've lost your damn mind.”

“
No, Godhunter,” he grinned cruelly. “I believe that was you.”

Chapter Thirty-One

I'll never be able to fully recall the things that Iktomi did to me. Even immediately after the event, I could only remember them in glimpses, snatches of horror movie gore and surrealistic sadism. Following so closely on the heels of the Wild Hunt, I found that there were times I couldn't separate the two, times I couldn't determine whose body was being sundered, whose blood was covering me.

I just know he started with a shocking absence of blood, simply making my legs disappear so I wouldn't try to run from him. He gave them back to me later, much later, when I couldn't move without pain, and then proceeded to destroy them and my mind in other ways.

By the time Torrent found me, I wasn't anything that remotely resembled a human being. Most of me was strewn across the branches of the trees like garish Christmas ornaments. All that remained was a torso, my head, and my bleeding heart. You would think that I would have passed out from the pain but that doesn't happen in the Inter Realm, where all is pure thought, pure energy. There was no escaping because Iktomi wouldn't allow it.

“
Vervain?” Torrent's eyes were glassy. Or was that my own vision gone bad? “Drink this,” his voice broke on a sob as he held a glass to my lips. “What did you say to him to make him do this? I've never seen anything like this. This is...”

“
Evil?” I regained my voice as I regained my body. I simply reformed, the pieces of me decorating the landscape disappearing to coalesce into what I was supposed to be.

“
Evil,” he agreed with a whisper. “If I free you, will you take me with you? Protect me from Iktomi? Claim me as yours?”

“
You're not something to be claimed,” I sighed, “but I will protect you and take you with me. I promise.” I held out my hand and he pulled me to my feet with it instead of shaking it.

“
Then we must go now,” He wrapped his arms around me and suddenly the Forest of the Dead was gone.

We were standing in an empty room. White walls, ceiling, and floor. Very institutional. And then I realized what it was.

“A tracing room?”

“
Yes,” he was still holding onto me. “Can you take us to your home?”

“
Yes,” I smiled, held him tighter and took us immediately to Pride Palace.

We reformed in front of the tracing wall and I didn't waste a second reassuring Torrent. Instead, I grabbed his hand and raced down the hallway to the library. I needed to shut down the router before Iktomi followed us. Shouts erupted as we sped past my Intare and I'm sure someone ran off to tell my men I was home, but I didn't pay them any mind, just kept running as if my life depended on it because I was pretty sure it did.

“Vervain!”

The room was full of people, all of them waiting in front of the laptop as if I would jump from it at any second. I scanned the faces for the imps, saw that they were safe, and then pulled the router's plug from the wall.

I stood, huffing, holding the router's cord in one hand and Torrent's hand in the other, as my friends stared at me in shock. I knew I didn't look like anything awful had happened to me, no blood or torn clothing, but my expression must have given away something because Kirill roared, followed closely by Trevor's howl, and Odin's battle-cry. The imps were making noise of their own, stamping up and down, waiting to be told who to kill. Torrent cringed beside me.

It was all too much for the fragile state of my mind. I gave one last apologetic look to Torrent and fell forward into the arms he raised to catch me.

Chapter Thirty-Two

There was nothing for awhile, just the sweet bliss of blankness. I floated there, happy and calm till the images started to return. Just glimpses at first, they soon evolved into full blown nightmares. I was in a cave, water dripped somewhere hollowly. Plink, plink, plunk. My shoes slipped on the uneven floor and I reached a hand out to the side to steady myself. The cave wall felt clammy, like slime on scales, and I pulled my hand back with a gasp.

That's when I noticed the line of people. They waited patiently, the line of them snaking through the cave both ahead and behind me. I walked beside them but they didn't seem to notice me, too intently focused on what lay ahead. I started to run, an ominous feeling chasing me down the length of people.

Near the front of the line were people I knew, people I loved. My lions, the Froekn, Fenrir, all my friends and family were there. I tried to talk to them, to ask why they were there, but they just stared ahead. I made my way to the head of the line, passing more of my loved ones, Kirill, Trevor, my sons, my mother, until I saw Odin. I screamed at him, demanding an explanation, until finally, he lifted a hand, pointing to a point above the arch of a doorway. The line headed through the opening, into a dark cavern beyond. I couldn't make out what was there but the words carved into the stone where Odin pointed, were clear.

The Hanging Gardens.

I began to scream as Odin walked forward, the darkness of the cavern beyond lightening as he went, until I could see the barren trees that filled it. Bodies hung from those trees but there were still plenty of empty branches waiting for everyone I loved. Odin was led to an empty tree by a hooded figure, his boots falling heavily on the wooden steps that led up to a waiting noose. He placed the noose around his neck as I ran forward, pleading with him to stop. He looked at me just as I reached the steps.

“It's okay. This isn't the first time I've hung from a tree,” he stepped of the perch.

“
No!” I lifted his legs and pushed up, taking his weight. “No, Odin! Help me! Someone please! Trevor!” I screamed as I watched him walk by, but he was only heading for his own tree. “Trevor!”

Suddenly the trees were filled with my loved ones, everyone I held dear, from my god friends to my human. I ran from tree to tree, lifting the bodies up by their legs, hoping they weren't dead yet. But hope doesn't live in the Hanging Gardens, nothing lives for long. Miles and miles of death spread out before me and when I finally dropped to my knees in defeat, all of the dead looked up at me with lifeless eyes and pointed gray fingers in my direction.

“Your fault,” the rasp of sound through damaged throats. “Why didn't you save us?”

“
No,” I covered my face and sobbed.

When I looked up again, my chest was gaping open to show my heartless ribcage.

“You truly are a heartless bitch,” Iktomi said as he stood over me, holding my missing organ.

I screamed and ran. The corpses fell from the trees like overripe fruit and chased after me. Wet limbs catching in my hair and leaving bits of decayed flesh behind. I flailed, batting their hands away, until a steady voice caught my attention.

“Vervain,” a cool hand on my forehead. “Carus, listen to my voice. This is only a nightmare. You're safe in bed at your lion palace. You're safe. Wake up!”

I blinked, pulling myself out of the nightmare with effort and flinched back from the hands holding me. My men pulled away, staring at me with concern and shock.

“Torrent!” I cried as I searched for him. “Where is he?”

“
I'm here,” he came around to the other side of the bed and crawled over to me to take my hand. “We made it. We're safe.”

“
For now,” I whispered and closed my eyes again. There were horrible images waiting behind my eyelids though, so they shot open once more.

“
Vervain,” Trevor stared at the way I held Torrent's hand so tight. “Torrent told us what happened. Is there anything we can do? Anything you need?”

“
No, I...” I swallowed hard past the pulse that was beating in my throat. “I'll be okay. I just need a little time.”

“
Take all the time you need,” Odin said gently. “We're all here for you. Vidar and Vali are right here too,” he waved my boys forward and they pushed past my men and knelt by the bed.

“
Mom,” Vali pulled me forward into a hug and then Vidar was around us both. I let go of Torrent's hand so I could hug them back.