FLOOD

Once Again into Darkness

It was almost completely dark by the time we reached shore. This was both a blessing and a curse, since it allowed us to approach under cover, but we could only light a single lantern to guide our way as we disembarked.

It was a frustratingly slow process, and Eli and I stayed by the side of the ship while the soldiers slid down the rope ladder one by one. I clutched the railing tight, eyes trailing across the dark shape of the shore line before us.

Mostly it was just the treeline, a forest full of shadows. But beyond that I caught a glimpse of lights, just the faintest flicker of yellow through the trees.

Water splashed the hull of the ship, the waves painted black under the velvety sky, the faint reflection of the stars like watery diamonds below the surface. It would have been beautiful in any other circumstances, but all I could do was fix my eyes on the trees and remind myself to breathe. It felt like someone had reached into my chest, seized my lungs and squeezed.

Finally it was my turn, and Eli released my arms, a trifle reluctantly I thought, and I climbed down, slow, and a little shaky, the rough texture of the rope burning the palms of my hands. Finally I was at the bottom, and I dropped the last two feet, boots splashing in the shallow water, soaking myself from head to foot.

I hardly noticed.

The island loomed over us, dark and foreboding.

Was Fiske here somewhere? Maybe he had run deeper into the woods to hide. Maybe he was here somewhere and I could find him and rescue him. Then the guilt in my chest would finally ease and I could breathe properly again.

Eli splashed down next to me, and I jerked upright and turned, catching his arms to steady him.

"Thanks." He wasn't looking at me, he was looking up at the dark treeline above us, the whites of his eyes shining in the dark.

A pang of guilt hit me.

Of course, he must be feeling horrible right now too. He was back in this hell hole where he'd had to survive on his own. Where his horrible grandfather and brother were. He probably dreaded the idea of seeing them again even more than I did.

"We won't be fighting." I crossed my arms over my chest and faced the forest with him, eyes fixed on the glimmer of light through the trees. "You can even stay here on the shore, if you like."

"You didn't say 'we' I notice." Eli said.

The last man down was carrying the lantern, shielded by a curved piece of metal that he slid back slightly as soon as he'd reached the ground. In the faint light, I could see the rueful grin on Eli's face.

"I have to go find Fiske." My voice was choked. "I left him—"

"We did. We left him. Not just you," Eli said. "And we didn't have a choice. He knew that."

"He knows that." It came out sharper than I meant it to, but I couldn't bear him talking about Fiske in the past tense.

"He knows," Eli said softly. "And Cain and Grandfather are out there somewhere. There's no way in hell I'm letting you out of my sight."

I turned away without saying anything, following the soldier with the light. Hopefully Eli wouldn't be able to see my cheeks glowing in the darkness.

"Thank you."

It was a long, strange walk through the forest.

The jotun have better sight than humans, so I spent most of it holding Eli's hand, guiding him through the trees to make sure he didn't run into anything. Even still, I had a few close calls myself, nearly running into the back of the soldier in front of us.

We kept to a single file formation, the king and queen at the front, King Loki carrying one of the shaded lamps, the soldier on the very end carrying the other. No one said a word as we went, moving at a fast walk, weaving our way through the trees.

The only sounds were the faint jingling of chainmail and the shuffle and clump of boots on the forest floor. Every few minutes a branch would snap somewhere off in the woods, or the chilling screech of an owl would ring out. It sent a shiver of panic through me every time.

Strange to be in the company of hundreds and still feel as if you're walking through the darkness alone.

The only thing that kept me anchored in reality was Eli's firm grip on my hand, his fingers warm and a little rough. Thankfully he seemed to understand the need for total silence, though it wasn't like we'd been briefed beforehand. Neither of us wanted to attract attention.

Up ahead, the soldiers were stopping, grouping at the edge of a large clearing where the ground started to slope up. My breath caught in my throat. I hadn't recognized this area until now, but I was fairly sure we were close to the compound now.

Sure enough, when Eli and I approached the cluster of soldiers, I saw it. The ground sloped into a hill ahead of us, and on the top of the hill in the clearing was the huge cement building, grey and drab and military. Its windows were like empty eyes in the darkness, criss-crossed with the shadows of bars.

There were only a few lights on, in the windows of the third floor, which was what we'd seen earlier. We hadn't passed any boat house by the shore though, so this had to be the front of the building we were looking at.

This then, was the front of the compound.

"Spread out." King Loki's whisper was loud in the stillness. "Take prisoners when you can. They have questions to answer, these people."

"And no war cries," Queen Megan added. "Surprise is on our side, I'd like to keep it that way."

The solders obeyed swiftly and quietly, spreading out through the forest so fast it was like they'd disappeared into the darkness.

Queen Megan turned to me, and I stiffened with surprise when she took my shoulder. "You and Eli keep out of sight, and out of the line of fire. Go back to the ship if you have to. You did well, Vee. We'll take it from here."

I only nodded, too stunned to speak, and she vanished into the forest behind the king before I could untie my tongue.

And then it was just me and Eli, alone in the black depths of the forest, staring out at the place that had killed my best friend. My fingers curled into fists, nails biting into the palms of my hands.

I wanted to pull it down stone by stone.

"We have to find Fiske."

Eli didn't say anything, and turned to him, ready to argue if he objected.

A pair of eyes stared at us from out of the darkness ten feet away, wide and white. I froze, heart surging in my chest. There was a low chuckle in the darkness, and my skin crawled.

"Such a good job, bringing them all here to die."

I would recognize that voice anywhere.

Bolthur.