rule all that is and all that ever was. And that, Princess, means all the worlds—existence—will be...” But she trailed off, unable to find a word horrible enough.
Z closed his eyes for a long, long moment, and when he opened them again his stare made Rune want to run as fast as she could back to her own world.
“Hell,” he said. “There would be only hell.”
Chapter Four
The one who controlled the shimmers would hold all the pieces that made them up--death, magic, blood, flesh.
There would be no boundaries for such a ruler—of any kind.
No wonder the people of Skyll were terrified.
The people of all worlds should be terrified.
“Now is the time,” Blue told her. “If she is to be destroyed, if the foretelling is true, it has to be now.”
“That’s why you’re here,” Nadaline added.
“I’m here because the witch poisoned my people,” Rune argued. “I’m here because…”
The others watched her silently when her voice trailed off.
Nadaline opened her mouth to speak, but Z held up a hand to stop her.
Rune closed her eyes, shutting everything else out, thinking…thinking.
Why did she believe Damascus was the cause of the rotting sickness?
Why?
Because Gunnar had led her to believe it was so.
Gunnar.
Your Highness.
If Damascus thought Rune was a threat, a possible end to her evil attempts to take over the worlds, would she have wanted Rune there?
No.
No, she would not have.
“Gunnar,” she whispered. “What did you do?”
She would not believe he intended to do anything to hurt her. But he had an agenda.
Everyone had an agenda.
She opened her eyes. “The only thing I know for sure is that Damascus must die. That’s what I’m going to concentrate on. Everything else will fall into place.”
Z gazed at her, something soft in his face. “You’ve changed.”
She nodded. “Yeah. I guess I have.”
“Gunnar,” Z said. “He was here. He found me, told me you were coming. Insisted I patrol the area every night until you arrived. Then made me forget until I actually saw you.” He shook his head. “I didn’t understand why I felt the need to wait there. To watch. That old guy is…”
“Full of magic,” Rune said, and she heard the discouragement in her voice. She hadn’t expected the ghoul to betray her. He could have told her Z was alive.
“Now we journey to Shimmer Four,” Blue said. “It is ruled by a man whose hand is a boy of flesh. We will join forces with his army and the rebels from the other shimmers, and we will set everything right again.” Her eyes were shining. “At last.”
“Hand?” Rune asked.
“Shimmer lords have many special people who work for and with them,” Blue explained. “Hands are lieutenants of the lords. Without the hands, the lords are less powerful. They find their matches, somehow, and draw them into service. The hands are powerful. Normally, if a lord is taken, the hand will rule until the lord is returned or a new lord takes the throne.”
For a long moment, there was only silence.
“I’ll have the princess announced,” Nadaline said, finally.
At Z’s nod, she gave a short but intricate whistle, and before Rune could do more than look at Z quizzically, the biggest dog she’d ever seen loped toward them.
“Holy shit,” she said, impressed. “Is that a dog or a fucking pony?”
Z grinned. “This is Sorrow. She’s a messenger. Sorrow, this is—”
The enormous dog didn’t wait for introductions. She bent her front legs and bowed, leaving her rump up in the air.
It would have been funny but Sorrow was too stern and regal to invite amusement.
As Rune started to reach out and touch the dog, Mad Nadaline’s quick admonishment halted her.
“You can’t touch her,” the girl said. “She doesn’t like it.”
Sorrow ended her bow and turned to Blue, waiting for instructions.
“The princess has arrived,” Blue told the dog. “Send the word.”
The animal turned away, but not before Rune noticed something. “She’s pregnant.”
Sorrow snapped her head around and looked at Rune with such a human expression Rune felt a shiver of unease run through her.
“Impossible,” Blue said. “She can’t have puppies.”
“The very idea is ludicrous,” Nadaline agreed, almost apologetically.
But Sorrow kept staring.
She studied Rune, her stare like splinters of broken glass jabbing at Rune’s flesh.
Rune couldn’t move—could barely breathe—as that stare cut through her.
At last, the dog gave a satisfied huff, turned, and ran down the dirt road.
“That was fucked up,” Rune said, her voice a little hoarse. “What’s the dog’s story?”
Blue gave her a look she couldn’t interpret. “No idea. She’s from here.”