34. Montana

Power bled into my body, taking me prisoner and squeezing my heart, luring me away from the cage, my sister, and calming all fears that had just held me in their grip.

Andvari waited there by the base of the statue, beckoning me toward him and regarding me with intrigue. I wasn’t sure if anyone else could see him and I couldn’t turn my head to check. My limbs moved of their own accord, guided by him as I walked across the rubble straight into his outstretched arms.

He caressed my back and a prickling quiet fell over me.

No, Callie. I have to help Callie!

I couldn’t do anything but stand there in the god’s icy embrace, his will dictating mine, silencing my terror once more.

“How long I have waited for this,” Andvari whispered, his breath a gust of hot air against my skin. “Come now, Moon Child, it is time your fate was decided.”

I nodded, following in a daze as he led me toward the base of the statue, the sky above now thick with dusk and the sun lost to the night. Andvari’s aura filled me, possessing my body and saturating me with the strength I needed to do what he willed.

I rested my hands on the stone wall, sliding my fingers into a deep fissure caused by the battle. Erik sparked into my mind and desperation filled me as I tried to force away Andvari’s urges, trying to turn and look for him.

I have to get to him. I have to stop this.

“Enough,” Andvari hissed. “Do not fight me.”

His strength inched deeper into my body and I dragged myself up the stone wall with impossible ease. My hands and feet were guided by the god, helping me climb higher and higher. Soon I was scaling the statue itself, finding handholds that shouldn’t have existed as I managed to move up the copper structure. It was leaning precariously toward the river and I was sure one more hit would send it careering into its depths.

Fear sped through me as I once again attempted to battle away the god’s hold over me, but it was like trying to force an organ from my body. He was a part of me, pushing me to my limits, and I bowed to his power, unable to break free. I clawed my way up the chest of the giant woman and my hand landed on something warm, something that was cloaked in magic.

Venom, the sword purred its name as I gripped the hilt. It was embedded in the metal, but with Andvari’s strength in my veins, it came easily away. The blade tumbled to the ground and I gasped, grabbing onto the hole it had gouged in the statue to steady myself.

Two more swords penetrated the statue above me, glittering as lightning spilled through the sky. A moment of clarity found me and my gut swooped at the dizzying drop below me.

“Please, let me down!” I screamed to Andvari, the icy wind drilling into my veins.

“Keep going,” he snarled and my legs moved under his influence, forcing me higher.

I reached for the next blade and Menace whispered its name to me, its hunger evident for the vampires below. I hoisted myself onto it and reached for the final blade further up, resting my feet precariously on Menace. As my fingers brushed the next sword, its heavy aura grated against me.

Tempest, it revealed reluctantly.

Menace came loose beneath my feet and I cried out as it fell, promising me my death with it. But Andvari guided me and I caught hold of Tempest by the hilt, swinging wildly in the frantic breeze while panic swallowed me up.

I dug my heels against the statue to brace myself, a murmur of fear escaping me.

“Up,” the god whispered, and I had no choice as I dragged myself onto Tempest, my bare feet balancing on the blade. I should have been cut to ribbons but Andvari’s gifts were making my body impossibly strong. I just wished I could have used this power against him.

I ground my teeth as I rested my hands against the statue and Tempest slid free. The moment it dropped, I leapt upwards, catching a small ledge of metal and scrambling ever higher.

The wind whipped past me, fluttering my white dress around my ankles. My bare feet were frozen as they pressed against the copper, guiding me upwards while I fought to regain control of my limbs.

I didn’t dare look down as I continued to scale the giant statue that reached toward the endlessly black sky.

When I made it to the shoulder of the woman, I gripped on for dear life. The structure was leaning forward, making her shoulder into a deadly slope beneath me, one slip promising my end.

“Why are you doing this?” I begged, unable to avoid looking at the nauseating view ahead. The dark river coiled toward the sea like spilled ink, and the drop below me was staggering. If the god released me from his power, I’d be stuck here, clinging on at the mercy of the wind.

“Because I have been wronged deeply and I am tired of waiting for penance,” Andvari said in a gruff tone. “So I am going to start by taking it from you, Montana Ford.”