Abby parted her lips, blood dripping from the corners. “Now,” she whispered.
Rune pressed the opening of the jar to her mouth. “Shit, Abby.”
She was surprised to find tears in her eyes.
Yeah, Abby was going to die anyway, but shit.
Fuck.
She was tired of pain, of death, of heartbreak.
And finally, as Rune’s heart beat so hard it hurt, Abby expelled a breath that was tortuous, loud, and continuous, a sound like a tornado filled with wind, screams, and death.
Filled with the soul of Karin Love.
When it was over, Abby was dead and Karin Love…
Karin Love was a fucking brain in a jar.
Chapter Forty-Eight
Rune became slowly aware that Lex and Strad knelt at her side.
The three of them stared down at Abby. Her chest was a raw, bleeding mess, but her slack, beautiful face was serene.
Abby had found her peace.
The jar was cold in Rune’s hands and she stared at it for a long moment before she realized she still held it. She’d somehow stoppered it, but couldn’t remember doing it.
“I’m so sorry,” Lex said. “I…I’m so sorry.”
Rune lifted the jar. “Your mother.”
Inside the jar was a mass of fog, twisting and turning and changing colors. Green, black, white, red.
Karin’s soul.
Lex covered her face and burst into tears. “Mom,” she cried. “My mom.”
Strad stood and lifted Lex with him, and held her in the circle of his arms until she finally sniffed against his chest, drained.
“It’s a harsh world,” Rune murmured, still kneeling. Her energy was gone.
Lex leaned over and put her hands on either side of Rune’s face. She said nothing, because there was nothing to say. But Karin Love no longer peered from her eyes.
Rune nodded. “It’s done. You’re free of the bitch.”
“Not really,” Lex whispered, and took the small, horrifying jar from Rune’s hands.
Rune stood, unsteady.
“Thank you,” Lex said, her voice stronger.
“It was all Wicked Abby,” Rune said. “She even fooled me, and I knew she was coming.”
“She was convincing,” Strad said.
“Why was she called Wicked?” Lex asked, turning the jar around and around in her hands.
“She was the witch’s favorite torturer,” Rune said. “She’s the one who destroyed Cree.”
Lex frowned. “You cried for her.”
“Yeah.” But she didn’t try to explain. She didn’t know how to.
“I’m sorry,” Lex said.
“Don’t be. You have control of Karin Love. That’s pretty fucking awesome.”
“You okay?” Strad asked her.
“Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine.” She looked around at all of them. “Damascus is waiting for us.”
“Why doesn’t she just meet you head on and fight you?” Lex asked. “It doesn’t make sense. Why is she running?”
“Because she’s scared,” Strad said. “Doesn’t matter what she says. She’s afraid of death.” He gestured at Rune. “Rune is death.”
No one said anything, but Rune felt a surge of something close to excitement.
“I am death,” she whispered.
She wouldn’t fail.
She would take death to Damascus.
There was nothing else to do.
“Where are you going?” Strad asked, when she began to walk away.
“I’m going to fight the witch, take back my monster, and find Z. Maybe not in that order, but that’s what I’m going to do.”
She stopped beside the horse and untied his reins, then slapped him on the rump. He took off, disappearing in seconds.
“Why’d you do that?” Lex asked.
“I’m not leaving you two behind. We’ll get there soon enough on foot.”
“We need our crew,” Lex stated. Then, abruptly, she once more burst into tears. “Don’t mind me,” she said, once she’d gotten herself under control. “I can see, we found Rune, and I’m free of Karin Love. I’ll be emotional for a while.”
They began the walk that would take them to the biggest battle of any of their lives.
The berserker flanked the two women, his spear in his hand. He watched for threats that would come—none of them doubted they would come.
They walked in silence for five minutes.
“What if the jar gets broken?” Lex said, suddenly. “I can’t think about anything else. If she gets free…”
“The jar won’t break, Lex. The crone who had it wouldn’t have given us a delicate vessel to hold such an asshole of a monster.”
Lex nodded. “I’ll have to find a safe place for it. It could get stolen. Anything could happen.”
“Bury it,” Rune suggested.
“I was thinking more along the lines of encasing it in a block of cement and locking it in a vault.”
“You know what you’ll do,” Strad said.
“Yeah,” Lex said. Her voice was soft but there was no mistaking the resolution beneath the softness. “I’ll go home and put her someplace where I can take her out and look at