Chapter One
Nollix
I hate this shit.
Smoke burns in my lungs and swirls in curling gray tendrils through the cave set deep within the Mountains of Fate. Every scratch carved into my skin from the brambles and thorns, which hide this place from view, stings. Another coil of wispy fog stretches for me. It brushes my arms and sends a chill racing down my spine.
You should not be here, it whispers to me.
Closing my eyes, I try to fight the way water begins to cling to my lashes. The whites of my eyes are likely turning bright red. The smoke swallows me up until I see nothing but creamy gray. Still I take another step forward over uneven rocks.
I shouldn’t be here. No one should be here. No one... wants to be here. But I need them.
Voices mingle, harmonizing into one steady song that leads me. My fingers reach through the haze, parting it like water. It’s heavy on my skin. As if the women that live here can sense the demanding pace of my heart, their song matches its frantic beat. Melody gives way to a chant.
Earthshaking rumbles vibrate up through the soles of my feet. Small pebbles fall from the ceiling, dust collecting on my shoulders. Another threat or warning depending on your perspective.
My steps slow. The fog parts.
The chanting stops.
A single droplet manages to make its way over my eyelid. I wipe away the moisture with one swipe of my hand and blink until my vision clears.
Three women sit on the cold, rocky floor, their faces visible only by the light of one small fire.The Reveries.
Long, pale hair blows around them, caught in a breeze that touches no other place. Their mouths are moving, their voices hushed as they recite low and ominous words I’ve never heard before. Their bodies flicker white like their spirits are trying to tear away from this plane of existence.
And their hands, they’re sewn together. Palm against palm, one boney hand attached to another by dark threads sewn through deep brown skin. They sway just slightly, huddled around a burning bunch of herbs. This is where the smoke is created.
Dark clouds flash against the ceiling like a brewing storm. I swear I hear thunder boom in the distance.
The Reveries practice what most call the Ancient Darkens.Icall it black magic.
I try again to understand the words they mumble between them, but I think centuries of this smoke has made these Witches batshit crazy. I can’t get straight sentences out of them to save my life.
I would never have come to them. Not in a thousand years.
But I have to find her.
It has been days, and I haven’t found a single trace of Violence. The king made her disappear from society once before. He sent her away from the real world to live within the veil of the Wild Hunt. I guess he’s rather good at hiding her.
He also took away the Witch she was tied to, but that’s not really my concern. He can keep Cameron for all I care.
I promised Violence I’d find her. It makes anger shake through me just thinking about it.
Carver stops respectfully at my side. His pale eyes glow in the dim light as he watches their every move.
I clear my throat. “We’re looking for Violence Starling.”
Smiles twitch at the Witches’ lips. They continue mumbling incoherently to one another, rocking back and forth.Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, until it’s nearly hypnotizing to watch.
Turning to look at Carver, there’s a shine in his eyes that reflects the same level of desperation I feel deep within my soul. He loves her, and when he had the chance, he told her. And what did I do? I stared at my feet like a coward.A fucking coward!
Carver lifts a single brow at their silence.
“So you see her, yeah?” My jaw tics as their chatter grows deliberately louder over my words. “I said, do you see Violence Starling? She’s there in the smoke? In a real place? She’s there?”
At once, the talking halts; the swaying becomes still. Blonde hair slowly drifts back down to the tattered, colorless robes they wear. The eldest sister turns her head gradually to me. Big eyes—white eyes—stare up at me. The other two sit in the dust with spines like steel rods.
