Fate Undone (The Mythean Arcana Series Book 5) Page 4

  Now, she turned those talents toward healing him. Sweat beaded on her brow and his muscles tensed, but after a while, she sensed his organs repairing themselves. Her breath came short and hard as the magic she funneled into him left her weak.

  “Enough,” he said.

  She glanced up to see his black eyes hot on hers. “You’re not healed yet.”

  “I’m healed enough. It’s sapping your strength.” Worry creased his brow.

  It pissed her off. He didn’t get to be worried about her. His lack of worry so many years ago had ended up with them getting kicked out of Asgard. It was too damn little, too damn late.

  She pulled her hands away from his stomach. He was right. He was healed enough. His own advanced healing abilities would take over from here. With some rest and a little bit of time, he’d be back to full strength soon. Which meant she needed to get all the information she could get so she could figure out what to do with him. She was strong, but she was just a demigod. Loki—no, Logan—was a full god. When he had all his strength, her chances against him decreased significantly, even with the help of all her magic.

  “Tell me why you’re on campus. It must have taken a hell of a lot of effort to get something that would break through the wards.” She taped a large bandage over the entry wound on his abdomen. There was no need to be concerned with infection, not with a god, but the sight of the wound bothered her for reasons she refused to explore.

  He didn’t speak right away, and she could tell he was debating telling her now that he had the worst of his wound tended to.

  She poked him hard and said, “You made a promise.”

  CHAPTER THREE

  Logan stared down at Sigyn. No, her name was Sylvi now. He liked the name. He’d never forgotten the feeling of being around her—the rightness of it—but he’d nearly forgotten the intensity. Here, surrounded by her cozy house, it was easy to lose himself in her.

  The wooziness from blood loss, combined with her presence and memories of their past, turned his mind into a labyrinth. A bitter laugh escaped him at the thought.

  “Well?” she said, staring at him with hard green eyes that were more beautiful for their fierceness. He liked the tough new Sylvi. “Why go to so much effort to get onto campus?”

  Telling her was a risk. More importantly, it wasn’t part of his plan. Phase one: eliminate the risk to their lives. Phase two: return for her.

  He’d be switching it up big time if he told her now.

  But he wanted to. Now that he was in her presence, he didn’t want to wait any longer for her. Just as he’d feared. She was belligerent and annoyed with him, but even like this, she calmed his soul.

  Decided on his course, he said, “The university is building a super prison to contain all gods and demigods. They’re using prison labor from the regular Mythean prison to build something so monstrous it will have the strength to hold the gods. The Labyrinthine Prison of Lethe is being built on the abandoned afterworld of Moloch.”

  She laughed. “That’s ridiculous.”

  “It’s not. I’ve seen it. Aleia the seer confirms it.”

  Her brows rose. She recognized Aleia’s name. Any Mythean who’d been alive long enough would recognize it, for she was the most powerful seer of the millennia.

  “No way,” Sylvi said. “She’s wrong. The university wouldn’t do something like that. We’re the good guys. We’d never just chuck a bunch of people in jail because we don’t like who they are.”

  He barked a bitter laugh. “You know she’s not wrong. She’s infallible. And the university is the most powerful Mythean organization on earth. Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power—”

  “Corrupts absolutely,” she said. “I know the quote. And great men are almost always bad men is how it ends. That, you would know.”

  “Exactly. I would know. And there’s no question this thing is being built and that it’ll be complete within two weeks.”

  “I would know about it if that were the case.”

  “Of course you wouldn’t. You’re a demigod, so you’ll be thrown in with all the rest. They’re hiding this from you and any other gods or demigods on staff.”

  “How did you even figure this out, if it’s such a great secret?” Skepticism was rich in her voice.

  “I’ve been consulting with Aleia for centuries. I won’t be a puppet of fate and I want to know when my time nears.”

  Long before he’d left Asgard, his final fate had been prophesied. He was to be imprisoned until the great Norse battle Ragnarok, at which point he would be killed. When the great battle between the gods would occur, no one knew, but he’d been relying on Aleia to give him forewarning. As long as he wasn’t imprisoned, he could enter Ragnarok with enough of an advantage to survive.

  But instead of foreseeing Ragnarok, Aleia had seen imprisonment in the labyrinth. Sylvi had saved him from imprisonment so long ago at the hands of the gods, but fate would have its due. The labyrinth would take the place of his former captivity.

  “Still fighting imprisonment?” she asked.

  “Of course. And the death that follows it.”

  “You’re afraid of death. I thought you weren’t afraid of anything.”

  “I’m not afraid of death. I hate the idea of it.” To be wiped from the earth entirely? To have the memory of his deeds as Loki forgotten by mortals and gods alike? Horrifying. He might have hidden his godly identity for centuries, but it didn’t mean he wasn’t intensely proud of his actions when he’d still lived in Asgard. Without him, the other gods would have run amok with their power. He’d been their counter, proof it was possible to challenge terrifying greatness and bring it to its knees.

  Yes, death and being forgotten terrified him.

  “And Aleia told you about the prison?” Sylvi asked.

  “Yes. She foresaw this a century ago and I’ve been trying to find it and stop it ever since.” He didn’t mention that learning of the labyrinth had been the catalyst that had made him realize he wanted to find her again. “When the labyrinth is complete, I’m to be imprisoned until Ragnarok, forced to lose my memory and disappear from the consciousness of man.” A chill ran through him. “Along with every other god.”

  “What do you mean, forced to lose your memory?”

  “The river Lethe has been diverted through the labyrinth. It will steal the memory of whoever is trapped within. It’ll also erase the memory of that god from the minds of all who knew of him.”

  Sylvi shuddered, as if the idea frightened her. Good. It should. Then her jaw hardened and she glared at him. “Not possible. It would take enormous power to trap the gods and throw them into a prison like that.”

  “Believe it. And you can’t deny that amount of power exists. In the aether, in the afterworlds. Even in some immortal beings. It’s more than possible. According to Aleia, it’s inevitable that we’ll be captured. You saved me from that fate once, but it will have its due. Unless we stop it.”

  She looked away, her jaw clenched. He could almost feel the thoughts fighting it out in her head.

  Finally, she looked back at him. “I’m telling you—it’s just not possible. Even if the power exists to make it happen, the university wouldn’t do something like that. The people I know would never be so bigoted and terrible. There are gods who work here. And demigods. Not many, but they’re here. Our colleagues would never betray us like that.”

  “You’re wrong. Why the hell do you love this place so much?” She was so defensive about it. Every muscle in her lean body was tensed as if she was ready to defend the place with violence.

  “Because they gave me a home when I was kicked out of my own.” Her voice vibrated with intensity. “And I’ve been here five hundred years. I know this place. As I don’t know you. I shouldn’t trust you. Nor myself, where you’re concerned.”

  “You don’t forget.”

  “Nor do I forgive. Not myself. Not you.”

  She was angrier about their past than he’d expected her to be. Hi
s actions had been taken to make her life better, yet she didn’t see it that way.

  No use dwelling on the past, though. He didn’t like to make excuses or give explanation. He’d use the present to get what he wanted. Her. The way they used to be.

  “What are your plans?” she asked.

  “Why? Wondering if you need to turn me back into the prison?”

  “Exactly. Why the hell were you there, anyway? You knew this super prison was being constructed by prisoners so you broke in?”

  “I wish it were so simple. My friend Ian MacKenzie was imprisoned. He had been for a hundred years. Finally the guilt was enough to force me to help him escape. I’d planned to break onto the university campus to investigate the labyrinth, but not so soon. I hadn’t realized it was so near completion or I’d have waited to take his place.” He didn’t mention that he’d also known she was at the university and had planned to eventually seek her out.

  “You left your friend in prison for a hundred years and didn’t help him out sooner?”

  He shrugged. “He was safer there.”

  “What the hell?” Her green eyes blazed. “You can’t just make that decision for him.”

  “Why? It was the right one. The university caught him when we were trying to break into a museum. We had some high profile enemies who wanted him dead at the time, so when he got nabbed by the university, it seemed safest to leave him there. And I had things to do—like destroying this labyrinth.”

  “You can’t just decide for him! A century behind bars!” Disgust shone in her eyes and wrinkled her brow.

  “He’s out now.” He didn’t see why she was so upset. He wasn’t an utter bastard. He’d made sure Ian wasn’t in dire peril before leaving him. It had been safer in there, after all.

  She huffed. “Your arrogance has only grown. You weren’t this bad when I knew you.”

  “It’s been eight hundred years. But I promise—you’ll like the new me even better.”

  “I doubt that. You’re cockier than ever.”

  “And lucky. It was sheer coincidence that saving Ian put me right at the labyrinth gates.”

  “So you’ve got what you want—as usual—and the real prisoner is long gone. What next? Give me one good reason I shouldn’t turn you over right now.”

  “Because unless I destroy the labyrinth, you’ll be imprisoned too. I’m doing this for myself—because fate knows, I don’t like what’s in store for me if I sit back and watch it happen. But I don’t want to see the people I care about end up in some hellish labyrinth that sucks out your soul.”

  She glared at him. “You care about me?”

  “Yes.” He didn’t elaborate.

  “Huh.” She frowned, uncertainty in her gaze. “I don’t want to think about that right now. How do you plan to destroy the labyrinth? Presuming that you’re even telling the truth.”

  “I’ll find Ian. He has a map I gave him that Aleia made from her visions. What’s at the end of the map will destroy the prison—though neither Aleia nor I know what it is. She was never able to see that. I’d intended to let him find it and then spring me from prison, but with the completion of the labyrinth so near, I have to go help him.”

  “Why should I let you go? You should be held accountable for breaking onto the university grounds.”

  “You’re really hooked on the university, huh?”

  “It’s my home. Of course I don’t like seeing you break its rules.”

  “Come with me. Make sure I tread the straight and narrow.” He was committed to the idea now. He didn’t want to resist her.

  “Hell, no.”

  “You know this is true if Aleia prophesied it.”

  Her knuckles tightened where she gripped her knee. He knew she didn’t want to believe Aleia, but it was hard not to. The seeress was faultless. She didn’t see everything, but what she saw was inevitably true.

  Sylvi touched his cheek. A wash of heat ran over him.

  “Sleep,” she said.

  Before he could wonder what she meant to do, blackness overcame him.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Sylvi stared down at a passed-out Logan. She needed proof of what he was saying and might get it from her visions.

  Normally, she’d go outside to enhance her ability to see, but she couldn’t keep an eye on him and do that. She turned off the living room lights and went to sit under the window where starlight could shine upon her but she could still see Logan.

  As a Vala, her skills were different from other seers. She required a calm night and the stars to guide her visions. Because she’d been kicked out of Asgard when she was only part way through her training as the first, and only, one of Freya’s magical disciples, she’d had to figure out a lot of her powers on her own. She theorized that she required a dark night and the stars because it connected her to Freya. Though she hadn’t forgiven her mother for evicting her from Asgard, she would still use the power her mother had taught her to wield. It would be stupid not to.

  All this insanity made her want to start racing across the hills, to outrun the thoughts and feelings welling inside of her. But no. She wouldn’t be driven from her home by a stupid panic attack or anything else.

  Certainly not by Loki. Logan.

  She’d thought she was over him. Or at least, she’d told herself that. She should not be feeling this way about Logan. Especially if he was on some insane mission to destroy the university.

  The idea of a super prison built on an abandoned afterworld was ridiculous. Everything he was saying was ridiculous. A prison that could hold the gods?

  Laughable.

  Except, Aleia wasn’t laughing. Sylvi was a seer as well, but not nearly as accomplished as Aleia.

  Could Logan possibly be telling the truth? One of his titles might be Originator of Deceits, but he’d never turned that talent toward her. He’d done things to hurt her, but he’d never lied.

  It was the only thing keeping her from marching over to the Praesidium and telling Warren that she had the escaped prisoner.

  But if Logan was telling the truth… Then something was very wrong at the university. She’d never believe that the entire organization was behind this ridiculous super prison. It just wasn’t possible. But an individual? Even a few of them?

  She had to know. She couldn’t always see everything she needed to, but if she knew what questions to ask, she could usually get close.

  With a deep breath, she reached into the aether and withdrew her staff. It was her tie to the aether from which she drew her magic and the wood was warm and comforting against her palms.

  After laying the staff across her lap, she closed her eyes and thought of her question, then tried to clear her mind. She focused on the feeling of starlight on her face, weak as it was through the windows. It didn’t feel warm so much as tingly, like tiny bubbles exploding on her skin.

  Her mind drifted away on a sea of stars, her thoughts dissipating until she was nothing but a vessel to be filled with the knowledge of eons. Seconds or hours passed, she had no idea.

  When the vision came, it hit like a fist to her solar plexus. The breath whooshed out of her lungs. Within her mind, a great stone maze stretched for miles. A labyrinth, so big it must have been built by giants. Bright green plants and vines blanketed the place.

  Her brain hurt just to look at it, a piercing pain like a nail driven into her temple, as if it possessed some magic to protect itself from prying eyes.

  She forced herself to stare harder, to try to glean as much as she could from the vision. The labyrinth appeared endless, but in several segments she caught sight of desert sands around its edges. Which made no sense, considering that the labyrinth was ripe with plants.

  The river Lethe must feed it.

  This was located nowhere on earth, there was no question. Though the university was hidden by magic, this place was far too large to be concealed by any spell. It must be located in an afterworld.

  Eventually, the pain become too much and her mind ret
reated. She returned to herself, gasping and shaking, almost unable to support her upper body.

  Logan was right. There was a prison. A labyrinth so great it could perhaps hold the gods. Could perhaps hold her. It was an insane thought. Even more insane, it had been built by prisoners in the university’s normal prison for non-godly Mytheans.

  Whoever was behind this—could they truly capture the gods? She had to know.

  Sylvi gripped her staff in both hands and closed her eyes, sending out a call to Aleia. She could only communicate like this with seers, and even then, it wasn’t always successful. If she made contact, Aleia would have to agree to speak to her.

  She waited what felt like endless moments, sending her request out through the aether to the other seer, hoping it would nudge at her mind until she answered.

  Finally, an annoyed voice asked, “What?”

  Sylvi opened her eyes to see a projection of Aleia sitting across from her. She was lovely, with round cheeks and bright eyes. Dark hair flowed down her back. Though Sylvi had never seen Aleia before, the power that hovered around the other woman was unmistakable.

  Dread welled in Sylvi. Aleia was more powerful than she’d realized. She’d known—intellectually—that Aleia was the most accurate and powerful seer in this world and all the afterworlds. But to feel her power…

  It almost crushed the air from Sylvi’s lungs.

  “Thank you for answering,” Sylvi said when she had gotten control of herself. “I have to know—is it true what Loki says? That the labyrinth is built to hold the gods?”

  Aleia nodded. “It is. You’ve seen it, I gather?”

  “Yes. In my vision. But I can’t believe it’s possible that they could capture the other gods and hold them.”

  “Whoever it is, can. I can’t see all, but what I do see indicates the earth-walking gods and demigods—such as yourself and Loki—will be taken first as you are separated from your afterworld, and therefore weaker. But in time, the creators of the labyrinth will capture the other gods as well.”