Page 150 of The Kingdom of Eternal Ice
Yet, I doubt she didn’t take any precautions, for anyone who might betray her.
“In return for your loyalty, you will be allowed into the innermost circle of our group,” Penelope explains. “So, Shay, will you join me?”
“Yes,” I say.
“Then, reach out your hand to carry our symbol.”
Rona said that there is no spell involved, and clearly here is the proof. Whatever this is, it’s going to bind me to them. Nevertheless, I reach out my arm. For the greater good. I hope this won’t be a mistake. Rona brings forward a little ink set and a needle before Penelope crafts a tattoo into my wrist. The symbol with the eye.
“Now come,” Penelope says.
I nod, following her further through the door and into yet another tunnel. The surroundings are changing, though. Where there were cold stonewalls before, there are tapestries and carpets now. It’s warm all of a sudden.
I’m rendered speechless when she leads me into a huge hall. It’s built in a circle with chairs all around it, and a tribune in the middle. There are statues of creatures I haven’t heard about. “This is where we hold our ceremonies,” she says.
“But, not where you work?” I ask.
“Again, your mind amazes me,” she says. “No, we do our work in another room.” She gestures towards me to follow her. This time, she leads me to a room that reminds me of a dungeon. There is a platform in the middle of it and a roar echoes through the room.
I look around, taking a fighting stance instantly.
“Relax, my brave bodyguard,” Penelope says. “It’s no danger to us.” She points at the platform. “Here is where I do the spells and bind them.”
“Bind them?”
A smirk curls her lips. “Are you ready to see it?”
“Yes.”
She leads me to the second part of the room, and there, held by chains, is a majestic creature. One I haven’t seen before, and I have difficulties believing it’s from our world. It looks like a mixture of a dog and lion, but its fur shimmers white in the light, and its tail is braided. Another growl leaves its mouth, and this is when I realize that it’s not just a terrifying one to threaten us, it’s also heart-wrenching.
“This is Cù Sìth,” Penelope explains. “Otherwise known as the Harbinger of Death. A mythic creature.”
“How come it’s here?” I ask.
“Oh, because I lured it here,” she laughs, her crazy laugh echoing from the walls. “Like I do with all creatures I can get my hands on. I bring them from their own realm to our world, lock them in here, and use them for my cause.”
“And, what cause?” I ask.
“To burn down this world and build it again. There won’t be any shifters anymore, unless they follow me,” she smirks. “No peace. No love. Just insanity. I love a good bloodbath.”
Penelope moves away a bit, and twirls around. For a moment I think she has lost her mind, but when she turns to me again, she has changed her appearance. Instead of her usual wax-like face, there are hollow cheeks now and almost grayish skin. Her hair seems even darker, and her eyes sparkle in red.
“Are you shocked?” she asks.
There is no way she will believe a lie now, so I nod. “I… am surprised.”
“I’m old, Shay,” she says. “And bored.”
Wait, she is doing this because she is bored? I turn to look at Rona. “Do you have a second form, too?”
“No, I’m not strong enough,” she admits. “Penelope is a master at black magic. She says it makes its user dependent, and drains them of their life force, if they aren’t strong enough like her.”
I almost want to argue with her because I doubt this woman here is still sane. She is binding creatures that are as old as this world, deities probably. I assume she is also using the werebears for her cause. And all of that because she is bored?
“The first one I bound was Cailleach,” she says dreamily. “It was so easy. I did have to use a little trick, though and use a mourning woman. But, once I merged their spirits, there was no going back. Now Cailleach is locked into this woman with no free will of her own.” She snickers. “And then I chose Artio, an actual deity. A lesser one, but still a deity.” She opens her arms. “This is how I will raise my army.”
She is stripping them of their free will. This is insane. She is playing with powers she believes she controls, but it’s eating her up, and at the same time she won’t know what she is awakening.
