Chapter 27

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

F ionna came to consciousness and immediately panicked. She was bound head to toe, arms tightly pressed to her body, the webbing around her covering every inch, including her face.

The last thing she recalled was hearing a strange scratching noise coming from the kitchen hearth. She'd been ready to blast whatever emerged, only the web that shot out of the opening didn't give her time to react. It hit her skin and lethargy struck almost immediately. She'd been only half aware as the giant spider spun her into a cocoon, terrified because the size of it didn't bode well. Almost as big as she was, its eight legs were slick and black, its faceted eyes reflecting her own terrified expression.

And then nothing. Until now.

She appeared to be lying on the floor, and while she could breathe, she couldn't see or move.

As if someone heard her thought, the webbing over her face tore, and she sucked in a giant lungful of air before opening her eyes to see she lay in a chamber of stone. It didn't take much to realize the spider squatting off to the side had brought her to the cave.

She couldn't help but recall how Lomar had called her the key. And she'd dumbly not run in the other direction that same night.

A soft light illuminated the space Kormac had described. She looked to the walls, noting the inscriptions. The section she read began with a warning.

Beware. The stealer of bodies can't be defeated by blade.

Then how did one kill it?

Past that: Keep away those with magic or all will suffer.

Kind of late for that.

The spider shifted and turned its head before standing and scuttling out of the chamber, leaving her alone.

Fionna wiggled as best she could and flipped to her other side. A glance at the far wall showed more messaging. I will not forget thy sacrifice and it shall not be in vain, beloved.

Odd inscription. Surely it didn't speak of the thing in this cave with murderous intent.

She recalled Kormac saying something about a glass wall. She squirmed once more, this time trying to move sideways. The strands of webbing had loosened somewhat with her agitation, but she still couldn't wave her hands, meaning she couldn't weave magic. She needed to set them free.

She saw the perfect solution in the rubble strewn on the floor by the far wall. Amber hued, sharp-edged chunks of glass. The picks that had pummeled it lay on the floor beside the broken shards. While the pick wouldn't have a sharp enough edge to cut, the glass would, the dilemma being, would touching it infect her? A chance she'd have to take because she needed to get the webbing off.

She inched her way to get closer like a worm on dry ground. As she did, the excavation became clearer.

The wall of glass indeed held something.

A body had been preserved in the glass. A woman wearing a long cloak, her eyes closed, her long hair flowing down to her waist. She held an ornate box in her hands, a box that sent a shiver through Fionna and made the ring on her finger tingle.

A voice suddenly whispered, not aloud but in her head.

Open the box.

As if she'd listen to a strange voice. "No thanks."

Take it and you shall be the most powerful witch this world has ever known.

She eyed the corpse. "So powerful the last one got entombed."

You have no choice. There is no escape. No rescue.

"Kormac will come for me," she stated with certainty.

The warlord is busy. The mountains are a dangerous place. So many feeble-minded creatures to choose from.

Like the spider. She almost shuddered. "I don't need him to save me. I will save myself." She wiggled closer, not for the box, but the glass shards.

Stubborn just like Laurella.

"Who is that?" she absently asked as she rocked against the glass, trying to separate the sticky strands.

Airiok's wife. Greedy wench. I gave her everything she wanted. A mighty husband. A kingdom. More power than she could imagine. But when it came time for her to fulfill her part of the bargain? Betrayal.

The last bit made her frown. "Betrayed you how?" It hit her a moment later. "She wouldn't let you have her body."

We had a deal. I elevated her from pauper to queen. I gave her everything she desired.

"How?" Fionna found herself curious, and to be honest, if the thing was ranting, it might not pay attention to what she did.

I taught her the magic and strategy she needed to turn a simple stable boy into a powerful warrior. I helped her fell those who stood in his way when he chose to challenge the warlord. Showed her how to push back the dragons and monsters plaguing the land, making Airiok a hero.

"If she could do all that, why would she bother letting you have her body?" Even more interesting, how had this Laurella kept the spirit out?

Because only then would she have unlocked all her potential.

"Sounds as if she was powerful already. I doubt you brought much to the mix." Fionna deliberately taunted. The more she knew the better.

Her gifts over the elements, even that of flesh, would have been enhanced with the addition of control over death. The armies we could have raised from the bodies of those that passed would have allowed us to rule the world.

"The world is for the living," a horrified Fionna rebutted.

Dead is just another state of being. Look at me. Around for centuries ? —

"In a box stuck in a glass wall. Can't be that great, seeing as how you're arguing for me to give you my body."

Stop it with your tricky words, it hissed in her head, sending pain lancing.

"Not my fault the truth hurts."

The truth is this world has long been weak. The balance of magic disturbed for centuries and only now is it returning to its proper place.

Which probably explained the monsters and other things they now had to deal with. Fionna almost cried out as a sharp bite to her flesh indicated she'd cut through the webbing in one place.

"The balance of magic probably didn't like what people like you were doing with it," she opined.

Spoken by someone small-minded. She could practically feel its sneer of derision.

"Spoken by someone who is begging for a body," she retorted as her fingers wriggled free.

I don't need to beg. You will offer yourself willingly.

"Not likely."

You will with the right incentive.

She was about to say nothing would make her agree but heard a noise. A roll of her head proved enough to see the spider had returned.

In pieces.

Kormac slung the loose legs to the side as he stalked in, looking ferocious. "Release my lady, foul entity!"

"I'm still me," she replied. "For now."

"Thanks be," Kormac said with relief. "Let's get out of here."

"Agreed, but I'm a little tied up." Her hand managed to shove fully through the weave.

His gaze went from her to the wall. "Someone broke the glass." His brow furrowed. "Who is that?"

"Airiok's first wife."

"She had the box," he murmured.

"Wait, how do you know about it?" she asked.

"Your queen says it holds the essence of someone called Koschei. Some kind of magic user who defied death and possesses the bodies of those who have blood magic. Whatever you do, don't touch it," he warned.

"Wasn't planning to. Now if you don't mind, a hand…"

He stalked for her, only to halt and half turn to look behind. "I think we're about to have company."

"Free me so I can help."

Before Kormac could move, something slunk into the chamber, a beast with fur and fangs. Not a dire wolf, but some kind of mix of bear and feline.

"I'll be back in a moment," he promised, stalking for the hairy monster.

You can save him. Just take the box.

"Still no," she muttered as her fingers tugged at the threads that held the webbing together.

Do it, or the warlord dies, the voice known as Koschei threatened.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that. Your pet doesn't seem to be faring too well."

This maakath is only the beginning. How many do you think he can prevail against? Two, ten, twenty? I've been spreading my influence, growing my minions these past few months. Every death they cause makes me stronger. You won't escape, Koschei slyly insisted.

"More like you won't because soon as I help Kormac, I'm making sure no one ever finds you, even if I have to bring down this mountain," she promised as the web disintegrated with some twists of her fingers. She rose, stretching her stiff limbs.

Obey me, he shrilly screamed and the ring on her finger heated something fierce as the spell within it reacted.

It led to her asking, "Who created the talisman against you?"

I told you the witch betrayed me. Take over her husband once to have a taste of the body I'd soon be wearing, and she got mad. Created those devices to protect those she didn't want me to possess.

"At least she had some limits," Fionna muttered. She might have been more impressed if Laurella hadn't conspired with Koschei in the first place.

The ring won't save you. It's meant to stop me from remotely possessing minds, but once you touch my essence, you won't be able to keep me out.

"Thanks for the warning." Not that she planned to touch that box.

"There's more coming," Kormac announced, bracing in front of the doorway.

An understatement. A wave surged into the room, too many for one man to contain, although he tried his best. Slashing and dodging. Blood sprayed and the beasts howled with pain as he chewed them up with his blade. Fionna began to weave, even as she realized she'd have to aim carefully to avoid Kormac.

The first of the monsters came at her, teeth bared and eyes wild. It snapped and she recoiled, closer to the broken wall of glass.

She moved sideways away from it and shot a little bolt of lightning into the creature's face. It yelped but didn't cease its attack. Another beast joined it, the pair splitting apart, herding her towards the box, she realized, as she flung more missiles. Her shots hit weakly, lacking enough threads in this barren cave to give them a solid punch.

She had to do something. A glint of glass caught her eye. Before she could think twice, she slashed her palm and as blood welled from the wound, drew from herself to reinforce her magic. The next bolt of lightning emerged thicker and more potent. One hit and the monster went down as did the next.

Soon, limp, furry bodies littered the room, and the doorway was cleared.

Kormac glanced at her. "Time to go."

She moved for him only to yelp as something latched onto her ankle. One of the beasts was not entirely dead. She yanked her foot free but stumbled. Stumbled backwards right into the one place she'd been trying to avoid.

The body of Laurella and the box.

She flung herself away and huffed in panic. Had the thing infected her?

Kormac eyed her with concern. "Fionna?"

"I think I'm okay," she said through a wince of pain. Her bitten ankle throbbed.

"Can you walk?"

She nodded. As he reached for her to give support, his eyes widened. He glanced down and she followed his gaze to see a segmented spider leg coming through his midsection.

"Kormac, no," she gasped.

He ignored his injury and whirled on his attacker, swinging his sword even as it spat something green at his chest. The slime hit his wound and Kormac almost immediately sank to his knees. Poisoned.

Her poor lover shivered but still managed to gasp, "Get out. While you can."

As if she could leave him.

If you go, he dies.

"He'll die if I stay, too," she muttered, looking at him with her deeper senses, seeing the poisoned threads working their way through his system.

I can save him.

"Save him so you can kill him." She didn't trust a thing it said.

The warlord is still useful to me. Through him, I will control his armies.

"He would never listen to you."

But he would do anything for his lady witch.

Kormac's eyes closed, and his skin turned gray as his breathing got shallow. It wouldn't be long before death took him.

It's not too late. Merge with me and we can remove the poison. Save his life.

"At the cost of my own…" she murmured.

More like we will share the body. Two consciousnesses that will eventually become one.

Horrifying, but… it made her wonder. A glance at the glass wall and the woman within, holding the box. Her ancestor had found a way to stymie Koschei and save her country. It only took sacrificing her life.

One life for thousands.

One life for a special man.

She reached for the box and prayed she had the same strength as Laurella, or else she'd doomed the world.