Chapter Twenty-Seven WITCHING MOON

Chapter Twenty-Seven

WITCHING MOON

Week Three, Day One

Year 3000

Naia was the one who felt the Kraken coming.

The chaos in the courtyard cut off abruptly as Naia gasped and swayed. Zanya barely reached her in time to keep her from going to her knees on the cobblestone path to the main gates, and even with support the young water nymph hauled in gasping breaths. "Something's happening. Something—"

A roar sounded on the other side of the keep walls, followed by the mighty crash of water being violently displaced.

Ash instructed the guards to open the gates. "It's time. Make sure you have what you need for the fight ahead."

"I don't understand." Zanya gently handed Naia off to Inga. "What's happening?"

"The Kraken." He tried to hide his exasperation as he gestured to the walkway that led across the vast caldera lake. After all, the man was about to risk a great deal to help them fight the Betrayer and retrieve Sachi. "He likes to make an entrance."

Still looking confused, Zanya strode past him. Ulric followed with an unapologetic shrug. "It is fun to watch," he reminded Ash.

Everyone else clearly agreed with him. The Raven Guard streamed past him, followed by Elevia. Only Aleksi and Inga remained, both steadying Naia as her color returned.

Ash moved to her side. "Feeling better?"

"Yes, thank you." Naia's cheeks had flushed, and it didn't look entirely like embarrassment. "What was that? It felt like the water ... welcomed someone."

No doubt it had. Einar might not hold the Siren's sway over water wherever it rested, but the element certainly seemed almost as fond of its pirate prince as it was of its queen. "It's easier to show you. Come." He ushered her through the gates and onto the stone walkway over his usually placid lake.

Not so placid at the moment. A massive ship took up most of the space between shore and island, water still cascading off its sides and down its sails. The entire deck stood ominously empty of crew, drawing every eye to the lone figure at the wheel.

Einar. Once a mortal sailor and now a younger god who shared the title of The Kraken with the ship that currently floated, impossibly, in Ash's caldera lake.

When Ash reached Zanya's side, she was staring at the ship, her eyes narrowed. "Ulric and Elevia said everyone else they know who can travel long distances does it through water."

"That has always been the case," Ash agreed.

Her focus only tightened as hatches on the ship's deck popped open, revealing crew who began to bustle along the side, preparing rope ladders. "But Ulric said—" She broke off with a frown. "No, I asked him if the Siren could take people with her."

"She cannot." Even now, after so many years, the brief memory of Dianthe's attempt to transport him made Ash shudder. "But there's something about the ship. As long as the crew and passengers stay belowdecks while he makes the passage through the heart of the ocean, they are safe."

"If that's how we're going to get to wherever this bastard is keeping Sachi, it must be close to water."

"The Betrayer's pride will be his downfall," a familiar voice called from the side of the ship, and Ash's heart leapt when he saw the Phoenix throw back their hood. "Come aboard, and I'll explain everything."

The sailors had swung a small rowboat over the side and were lowering it toward the water when Naia stepped up. "There's an easier way. Allow me."

She bent and began to slowly raise both arms. Water bubbled up from the lake and stretched out in a graceful, obliging arc, forming a pathway onto the deck of the ship. Einar, who still stood at the wheel, fixed an almost irritated look on the young nymph, as if a whimsical bridge that sparkled like sea glass was far too frivolous for his dangerous ship.

She answered his irritation with a cheerful smile. "Less work for your crew, Captain."

As many times as Dianthe had made a water bridge for him, Ash had never quite grown used to it. He stared straight ahead at his destination as he crossed the expanse of the caldera, then hopped onto the ship's deck with a relief he didn't bother to hide.

He was even more relieved to see the Phoenix. Opening both arms, Ash wrapped them in an embrace. "It has been too long, my friend. What do you go by these days?"

"Nyx is fine." The Phoenix was watching Zanya drop lightly onto the deck. "Is that her? The Void-born?"

"It is. Hold on." Ash waved Zanya over, feeling oddly nervous. He supposed this was like introducing the last of his family to a new lover ... except that the Phoenix was inextricably tied to the Dream, while Zanya embodied the very opposite. Protectiveness drove him to settle a hand at the small of her back as he made the introductions. "Nyx, this is Zanya. Zanya, the Phoenix. You can call ..." He raised an eyebrow. "Is it still them ?"

"For now," Nyx confirmed.

"You can call them Nyx."

"Nyx." Zanya inclined her head. "Thank you for helping us rescue Sachi."

"Best save your gratitude for when the job's done," Nyx advised. "Is this everyone?"

"It is." And enough power to make Ash uneasy. In three thousand years, they'd all grown in their gifts. How much worse would this clash be, even without the unknown entities of Zanya and Sachi?

"Then it's time." Nyx called out, "Einar! The briefing."

Einar passed the wheel off to a short sailor with bright-blue hair shaved along the sides and tromped down the stairs. "This way."

The cabin he led them to was beneath the first deck, toward the rear of the ship, and surprisingly spacious. A massive wooden table large enough for everyone to gather around stood in its center, heaped with scraps of paper and large maps. A wide, blank parchment sat on top of everything, the corners pinned down by massive conch shells.

A young, dark-eyed woman with a brilliant blue headscarf covering all but her face stood at the head of the table, a handful of sketches in one hand. As Ash watched, she upended a jar of ink and touched her finger to the edge of the parchment. Her eyes closed, and the ink began to spiral out from the central splash, twisting into intricate patterns with increasing speed until it seemed like it was racing across the parchment, and the lines began to form a clear picture.

Mountains. An artificial lake at their heart. A castle, built on stone slabs held up on pillars.

"The Empress's Palace," Nyx explained. "Sorin has been building it for centuries. Remote, inaccessible except by air, and the architecture is deceptive. It looks purely decorative, but it's built like a fortress." They looked up and met Ash's gaze. "It's where he plans to house his most precious jewel."

"Sachi," Ash growled.

Elevia peered down at the sketch. "It's clearly accessible by water, as well. At least, by some definitions." She raised both eyebrows. "He may not know what Einar can do, but he surely remembers Dianthe's gifts. What else surrounds this place?"

"The Dream," Nyx answered softly. "Webs and webs of it. The strands encase the entire palace. They're even woven into its structure. I've never seen anything like it."

Elevia looked up. "So it's a trap."

Aleksi tilted his head. "Or we can view it as a special invitation to the sort of party he undoubtedly has planned."

Ulric nodded at the table. "How well defended is it?"

"The palace houses a small force of five thousand soldiers."

The number was high enough to stagger Ash. "You call that small ?"

"I do," Nyx shot back. "Since his main seat has a standing army of two hundred and fifty thousand. Ash, he's spent the last three thousand years building his Empire—and encouraging his people to populate it with strong bodies." They rubbed the back of their neck and sighed. "But his military might isn't the true danger here."

Zanya was the one who murmured the words. "His court." She glanced at Ash. "You knew he called Nikkon a member of his court, but we never really had any indication about his power, other than the fact that he didn't age normally. But the one Aleksi and I fought at the palace? Hinrick, the Shapechanger? He was strong ."

"Because they're also gods, or something close. As powerful in their own ways as we are in ours." Nyx hesitated, their lips pressed together in a tight line. "Sorin created most of them."

Aleksi barked out a rough laugh. "Excuse me, but what ?"

Nyx's smooth, ageless face suddenly looked old . "He pulled them from the Dream. I haven't been able to ascertain how, and I don't know if he snatched them from some other plane of existence, or if he made them."

Ash had thought himself long since inured to miracles. Inga performed gentle tricks that seemed like pure magic. He held regular conversations with the world itself. Ulric spoke to animals more willingly than people, and Dianthe could soothe a storm or marshal a tempest with a snap of her fingers. Nyx could summon flames that would restore and remake the land itself or the people who walked through it.

But creating people? Creating gods ?

"That must be what felt familiar to me about Hinrick," Aleksi said. "It wasn't Sorin's essence, not exactly, but ..."

"Like a child resembling a distant relative?" Elevia finished.

"Yes, precisely like that."

"How does he have the power?" Ash asked.

" He doesn't." The Phoenix's eyes flashed fiery blue. "He's chained them, Ash. His entire Empire, nearly everyone in it, for generations. He steals their dreams, their hopes. Their belief in anything but what he dictates. It all flows to Sorin." They shoved a hand through their disheveled hair. "I've managed to free a few at a time over the years, but it's a strenuous, difficult process. I needed to find the source of the magic, you see, so I could end it all at once, even if it took everything in me. But I couldn't, because he almost never went there."

"The Empress's Palace," Aleksi breathed.

Nyx didn't respond. Instead, they closed their eyes and touched the edge of the sketch. The lines began to glow, and when they lifted their hand, the lines shimmered up to follow.

The ink solidified in midair, forming a three-dimensional image of the sketch of the palace. But this rendering included a pulsing golden glow beneath the structure, situated so that it would be fully underwater.

"He started constructing this palace thousands of years ago, but he rarely visited. And he only opened it during the last Dragon's Moon."

When he knew Sachi had arrived.

Elevia eyed the three-dimensional diagram critically. "Practically speaking, we'll have the element of surprise on our side. And a force only five thousand strong shouldn't pose too much of a problem. His court? That's a wild card. We don't know exactly how powerful they are or what they can do, so it's best to assume the worst."

Aleksi sighed. "Are we ever allowed to do anything else when you're in charge?"

But Elevia didn't laugh. "We won't prevail, not while Sorin has access to all that stolen power. Nyx was right. It's imperative that we cut him off from it."

Ash took a deep, bracing breath. "Then Zanya and I will do our best to find Sachi while Nyx tries to take down this power source. And everyone else ..."

"Kill everything in our path?" Inga asked wryly. "A task to which some of us are more well suited than others."

Einar grunted. "Let us break them up first. I'll bring the boat up here." He jabbed his finger at the place where the barracks were marked. "A few rounds of cannon fire will rattle them."

"We've fought together enough times to know how to defend," Ulric rumbled. "We'll buy time for the real fights."

"Then if you're all ready ..." Einar knocked his fingers against the table. "The crew'll be shutting the doors and locking everything down. Whatever you see or think, do not try to come above decks or open that door until one of us comes for you."

Both of Zanya's eyebrows shot up as Einar left. The young woman with the blue headscarf smiled at them all before swinging the door shut. Something scraped on the other side—a latch locking into place.

"What's going to happen?" Zanya asked.

"Most find it best not to ask," Inga replied, still studying the map. "I must say, I much prefer your method of travel. It's less jarring."

A bell began to ring somewhere above them. It tolled in warning as the ship swayed violently. Ash, who'd been ready, caught Zanya around the waist before reaching up to brace one hand on the beams above them. "Careful. Like Inga said, this can get rough."

Water churned outside, splashing up over the portholes of thick glass. Something thumped against the hull, and the entire ship rocked again, as if in the grip of something far larger than itself. Zanya turned to peer out the nearest window, only to recoil when a massive tentacle slammed against it, shimmering purple and teal like an oil slick.

The boat lurched again and began to dive.

Zanya's wide-eyed gaze remained fixed on the porthole. "Is he—is he actually ...?"

"No one knows for sure," Ash admitted. "His crew, maybe. But they hold his secrets. This is as close as any of us ever come to seeing ... whatever he might be."

She stared at the Kraken's very real tentacles as the boat plunged deeper. The lanterns swaying from the ceiling fought the gloom outside the portholes, as the water grew darker and darker.

Zanya sucked in a hoarse breath and doubled over just as Naia let out a soft exclamation of surprise. "He's taking us through the Heart of the Ocean!"

Outside, the darkness had been replaced by a wonderland of vibrant colors and iridescent shine worthy of the depths of the Witchwood. Fantastical fish darted past the windows, glowing from within with their own light. Seaweed swayed with the current, shifting color with its mood.

Zanya braced her hands on her knees and struggled to breathe. "Are we—" Her voice sounded small. "Are we in the Dream?"

Fuck. He hadn't even considered what it might do to her. Panic flooded him, and he knelt and cupped her face with both hands. "Look at me. Are you all right?"

"I think so." She shuddered and closed her eyes. When she opened them again, her breathing steadied. "I don't have any power right now. But other than the shock of losing my connection to the Void, I feel fine." She rubbed at her chest with one hand. "Like something's protecting me."

Something probably was. Sachi. But he didn't get a chance to tell her. The ship spun again, and Ash felt the loss of the Dream even as Zanya slumped in his arms with a relieved sigh that quickly turned into a hiss.

"What is it?"

"Can't you feel it?" She summoned shadows, then flinched. "It's everywhere ."

Ash couldn't. But when he closed his eyes and entered the half-trance that let him reach into the Everlasting Dream with his soul, he shuddered immediately at the sensation of cobwebs sliding over his skin. Pressing forward hardened their clinging filaments to forbidding steel.

The Dreamweaver's traps. So the battlefield was to be well and truly rigged.

He opened his eyes and met the gazes of his friends, one by one. He saw the same resignation there that he felt in his own heart. It didn't matter how skewed the battle was, they couldn't turn back and wait for a more opportune time. The Betrayer hadn't only imprisoned Sachi. Hundreds of thousands or maybe even millions of souls were caught in webs that were slowly destabilizing the very bedrock of their world.

No wonder Sachi and Zanya had been born now, at this time. Someone had to stop the Betrayer before he wrenched their world apart.

Someone had to break the chains.

And the rest of them had to make it possible, one way or another.

The water outside the portholes grew lighter. Ash drew Zanya to him, savoring the way she came to him willingly as much as he reveled in the fierce savagery of her hug. When she pulled back, her eyes held deadly anticipation.

"Welcome to the Empire," Zanya murmured. "Let's tear it down."