[Rough Draft] Chapter 61 {Part One}: An Inevitable Betrayal
Carina settled into her meditation pose, legs crossed comfortably beneath her nightgown as she leaned against the stack of pillows pressed between her back and the footboard of her bed. The Duchess closed her eyes, trying to block out the vivid images of mutated limbs, the last of which they had dug up in a metal cage weighed down by rocks beneath a stream that ran down from Fog Tooth Mountain.
‘Focus.’
A few deep breaths and exhales helped ease the lingering tension in her back and shoulders but did not remove the stinging accusations of the villagers. There was something about Brielle’s words, in particular, that struck Carina as more than superstitious gossip.
‘It’s possible that someone in the Hargreve Duchy is spreading dangerous rumors about me to discourage the dukedom’s commoners from abandoning their homes. But—why would the Duke care at all if the people leaving are those sick with the plague or witches?’
A hanging lock of ash-brown hair dropped down to graze her nose. Carina brushed it aside with a frustrated sigh and tried once more to connect to the thrumming pulse of cold magic that radiated from the frozen heart beneath her chest. Her skin prickled as a soft mist of cold energy leaked out to cover her hair, gown, and exposed skin. Beneath its numbing breath, she found the door waiting and eagerly passed through.
The once foreboding dark lake and open sky had transformed into a mirror of ice beneath the steady but gentle snowfall. The glittering snowflakes curled as they touched the lake, transforming into small white foxes, rabbits, and weasels that scampered about chasing one another before they leaped back into the sky to become bursts of white powder once more.
Carina glanced down to where her simple nightgown had transformed into armor of enchanted black ice layered over plated armor of black leather and witch steel. The Duchess stretched out her arm and nodded in approval as she tested its comfort and flexibility.
“I was able to improve it thanks to Iker’s advice.” Carina dropped her arm as her ice-blue eyes searched the swirling plane of snow and ice, still detecting no sign of Viktor. The Duchess knelt and brushed snow from the icy lake below with a deep sigh.
Within the depths of the dark lake, the dragon skeleton, which encased Viktor’s remaining soul, glowed like a pale ghost. Carina pressed her hand against the cold barrier as she stared at the immortal god, whose presence seemed to dwindle every time she entered this cortex of power.
‘He seems so much smaller down there….’
“Please hold on, just a little bit longer, Viktor,” Carina whispered.
When no reply or spark of recognition came from the dragon below, the Duchess rose and extended her right hand towards the crown of clouds covering the dusky blue horizon.
The sky hunter’s piercing cry echoed across the unending distance as the white falcon’s wings cut through the falling snow and dove down towards her. Sharp silver talons gripped the ice witch’s gloved hand while glowing glass eyes, similar to Lumi’s, blinked up at her. Carina smiled as the small scriva spread its wings to their full length before folding them in against its snowy-white body.
“I’m glad to see you’re still here,” Carina murmured happily as she stroked the soft feathers of the elemental creature’s chest. “I wish I could take you outside with me, but you still need a soul.”
Despite Viktor’s slumbering state, he did awaken now and then to pass on new lessons to Carina. The most recent of which had graduated the Duchess from crafting inanimate magic items to living elemental creatures.
The small animals which danced merrily in the snow around them had been Carina’s first successful efforts, starting with a small rabbit and eventually moving on to the snow fox.
Since Carina already had Lumi to protect her on the ground, she had chosen the hawk as her first scriva fully formed scriva. The thin tendril of magic that connected the proud bird of prey to her chest could only be maintained inside the cortex until it was attached to a soul. Without a soul, the hawk would not last more than twenty-four hours outside the cortex and would inevitably perish since it could not be brought back inside like other inanimate objects.
“You are very beautiful for something made of water and wind,” Carina said soothingly as the hawk bowed its head towards her hand as if seeking further approval.
“It’s little better than decoration without a soul, Carina.”
Carina frowned as she turned to face Kirsi. It still annoyed her how easily the Scarlet Witch entered this place. ‘I preferred when it was just Viktor and me.’
The other half of Carina’s soul was dressed in her usual crimson armor. White hair flowed down over Krisi’s shoulders as she strode towards the Duchess with both hands clasped in a casual manner behind her back. “There’s no need to look at me like that, Carina. I’ve simply come to check on your progress. Have you mastered the defensive skills that I transferred to you?”
“I—believe so,” Carina replied hesitantly. The memories of Kirsi’s past that she had unlocked while learning the skills that had kept the Scarlet Witch alive had not always been pleasant.
The white hawk climbed its way up the Duchess’s arm where the bird perched on her shoulder. It seemed to pick up on Carina’s wariness towards Kirsi as its bright, glassy eyes glared fiercely at the immortal queen.
“I’ve reviewed all the scenarios you gave me. Some of which I had a chance to put into practice,” Carina continued as she stroked the bird’s wings reassuringly.
“You mean when you protected that Havardur bastard?”
Carina stiffened under Krisi’s harsh reply but gave an affirmative nod. “Though I was also protecting myself from mercenary witches the Marquess hired in his failed attempt to assassinate the crown prince.”
“Hmm,” Kirsi commented dryly. “I was surprised when you chose to take them on all on your own. Did you put us both in danger all so you could claim the glory?”
“No,” Carina replied firmly. “The Marquess’s forces were no match for Bastiallano’s knights. The witches themselves were already weakened from an earlier fight with Lumi.”
“So, in other words, you were confident in your ability to defeat them without me?”
“I was confident that I could accomplish what needed to be done without involving the risk that comes with letting you free.” Carina met the immortal queen’s frigid glare without blinking.
“Ahh, now we arrive at the heart of the matter,” Kirsi murmured with a defeated sigh. “You still don’t trust me.”
“Not when it comes to the wellbeing of Nicholas Havardur,” Carina replied dismissively. There was little point in hiding something so obvious from someone who shared the same body, soul, and power.
“And when the church sends its hounds to hunt you down?” Kirsi pressed with a cold smile. “Are you confident of doing what must be done then? I see you’re still keeping the Pope’s sister close beside you despite witnessing what she did to me.”
‘So, Krisi left me that memory on purpose?’
“Make no mistake, Carina. Pope Jericho will come for us and little Nesta. His memory of the previous timeline may not be perfect, but I doubt he’s forgotten which of his sisters contained the powers of the Saint.” Kirsi smiled grimly as she extended her right arm and formed a long, lethal-looking spear that stretched her full body height. “Now that the risk of danger has multiplied tenfold, I think it’s time we tested what you’ve learned so far. If you show enough mastery, I may even teach you some offensive maneuvers as a reward.”
“Alright.” Carina studied the Scarlet Witch’s spear for a moment before forming a similar weapon in her right hand.
“Copycat,” Kirsi snorted as she eyed the twin weapon.
“There is no greater form of flattery,” Carina quipped lightly as she raised the spear into a defensive position.
The Scarlet Witch’s weapon blurred as she spun it between both hands, then lunged forward, feinting to Carina’s left before reversing the spear’s movements and thrusting towards the Duchess’s right. Carina sidestepped the feint, adjusted to block the second blow, and then leaped back.
The hawk let out a chilling cry as it circled above. The falling snow pushed back like a curtain to create a circular arena around the battling halves of the Isbrand queen’s soul.
Carina made several more successful blocks, and maneuvers before Kirsi lowered her weapon with a satisfied nod. They alternated to different styles of defense using the long sword, a short sword and shield, and even a bow and arrow.
‘You’d think she’d teach me some means to escape if all Kirsi was only worried about my survival,’ Carina reflected as she gripped her bow tightly and leaned against the ice shield she had created for cover. The Duchess flinched as another one of Kirsi’s arrows pierced through the ice beside her cheek. ‘Still, running away does get tiring after a while.’
Carina exhaled, notched another arrow of ice, and rolled to the side to fire. She blinked in surprise and stared across the cold, empty plane with its scattered ice barriers but found no sign of the Scarlet Witch. The Duchess’s ice-blue eyes narrowed even as the hairs on her neck stood on end.
It was the warning cry from the snow hawk above that turned Carina towards the blur of crimson that dropped down from the sky. She raised her bow desperately even as Kirsi’s weight knocked them both down to the ground. The tip of the Scarlet Witch’s dagger slid past the hardened bow and pierced through the protective layer of enchanted ice, where the witch steel plate armor stopped it beneath.
“Ha! Too bad,” Kirsi murmured as she leaned into the blade hovering above Carin’s plated armor. “I would have had you if it weren’t for your scriva.”
“So much for only being a decoration,” Carina muttered through clenched teeth.
“It’s still your loss,” Kirsi pointed out with a cynical grin. “How exactly do you think this would have turned out if we’d been fighting outside?”
“Oh, I’m sure it would have gone differently,” Carina countered with a crooked grin. “I’d imagine that you’d be the one on your back if Lumi had been here.”
The Scarlet Witch rolled her eyes as she leaned back. “You rely on your scriva’s too much, Carina.”
“Why shouldn’t I? I have too many enemies to rely only on myself.”
“The soul of a human is just as treacherous regardless of the shell which holds it.”
“Lumi was made with a piece of Viktor’s soul.”
Kirsi’s eyes narrowed. “You say that as if a god isn’t capable of betrayal and deceit.”
“I trust Viktor,” Carina replied firmly. “More than any of the other gods.”
“More than me?” Kirsi arched a brow and snorted when Carina gave no response.
The pressure on the dagger eased as the Scarlet Witch rose to her feet and moved away lightly, lazily stretching her arms. “It’s been a while since you let me out to play, Carina. I’m growing restless,” Kirsi commented as she turned to watch Carina climb to her feet. “I don’t like being cooped up.”
Carina eyed the Scarlet Witch skeptically as she brushed her fingers over the scratch left in the enchanted black ice. The cortex’s elemental energy quickly filled the crack with magic a moment later. The Duchess sighed dropped her hand. The use of an enchanted barrier was pointless in a fight with Kirsi, who used the same elemental magic.
“Well, how about it? Just one afternoon or even a few hours after sunset?” Kirsi pressed as she tossed her dagger into the air, where it dissolved and vanished into the swirling snow around them. The plaintive urgency in the Scarlet Witch’s words succeeded in making Carina feel guilty for about as long as it took her to remember the suffocating feeling of being suppressed by Kirsi’s will.
“We agreed that I would only call you out for emergencies,” Carina countered firmly. She dissolved the bow in her hand, then brushed her gloves against her armor as she moved back to the center of the lake.
“Well, that should be soon enough,” Kirsi replied with only a hint of bitterness as she trailed behind the Duchess. “After all, the Pope should be arriving soon for Holy Saints Day.”
Carina halted and turned to face the Scarlet Witch. “That’s—true.”
“Pope Jericho never travels without his albino Witch Hunter. If you plan on facing Ripper and his hounds, you’ll need me,” Kirsi commented, a dangerous gleam in her eyes. “Unless you plan on letting him take little Nesta away without a fight.”
“I’m not letting him anywhere near Hana,” Carina replied stiffly. She raised a hand towards the white hawk that fluttered down to perch on her wrist with a soothing chirp.
“Promise me that you’ll call me then,” the Scarlet Witch pressed restlessly.
“I will,” Carina replied shortly, then narrowed her eyes at the overbearing half of her soul. “Are you going to teach me offensive techniques now or not?”
Kirsi crossed her arms and frowned as if considering her answer. For a moment, Carina thought the Scarlet Witch might renege on her promise, but the immortal queen simply shrugged. The Duchess watched as Kirsi folded her arms in front of her chest as she had done before. Small glowing lights appeared between her brow, hands, and feet. These small orbs traveled quickly towards Kirsi’s center, where they merged with the glow of the frozen heart and created a new sphere of light that radiated cold magic forged from the Scarlet Witch’s battle experience.
“There,” Kirsi replied with a satisfied grin, although she appeared slightly tired from the endeavor. “This will take a bit longer to master than the skills I transferred to you last time.”
Carina nodded, even as the fatigue of endless nights spent training over actual sleep washed over her. ‘Now is not the time to become resentful or lazy. These skills will help me stay alive and keep Hana safe.’ The Duchess stepped forward to receive the orb and shivered as the cold magic, tainted with the scent of blood, settled into her palm.
Carina’s experience with the last orb made her cautiously lower herself into a meditation pose as the cold energy seeped inside her skin and raced towards her core.
“I’ll check in on your progress later.”
Carina felt a bit unnerved by the cunning grin on Kirsi’s face but kept quiet as the Scarlet Witch turned to stroll leisurely through the returning curtain of snow.
“Remember to call me if you’re in any danger!”
‘Hopefully, I won’t have to.’
With a sigh, Carina wrapped the glowing orb in both hands and began the exhaustive mental task of integrating the hundreds of different fighting styles that Kirsi had mastered over her many lifetimes with her own memories.
A blur of now-familiar faces swam before her eyes as Carina absorbed the endless stream of memories. ‘It will take a day at least to organize all these properly.’ The Duchess sighed and shivered as a cold, damp chill spread across her legs. The hawk on her shoulder suddenly jumped onto the ice beside Carina, where it let out a worried cry as it scratched the ice below them.
“What’s got you all worked up? I need to focus!” Carina growled. The hair on her arms and neck stood suddenly on end as a low booming crack emerged beneath her and sent vibrations through the icy surface. Carina’s blue eyes widened at the crack that appeared in an almost perfect circle around her. Before the Duchess could even regain her footing, the cold surface below her numb legs collapsed and plunged her into the dark churning waters below.