#WitchcraftWednesday | ✔

Chapter 21: Before the Future Really Starts

To Jamie's credit, she drives decently enough to get herself and Nathan to Veronika's indicated location in one piece. She still exceeds the speed limit too much for comfort, but the Icelandic Ring Road isn't nearly as traffic-packed as the average road in Morales, which works wonders for her driving. Nathan doesn't feel like vomiting when he steps out of the car this time.

He could've done without the final bit of off-roading, though (Yeah, I know it's a four-wheel drive and this means we can walk less, Jamie, but you're still driving in a fucking meadow).

But they get there unharmed and as well-prepared as they can be, setting out on a hike that should take them an hour or so. Nathan makes sure he's in charge of the map Veronika drew, not trusting Jamie to navigate them in otherwise unmarked territory, and he miraculously manages to bring them where they need to be: that small mountain cave Veronika found in the middle of nowhere.

The hike has left them sweaty and gross, but it's cool inside the cave itself, cold and dark and musty. The space isn't difficult to pass through, doesn't require any technical hiking expertise; Nathan imagines those who built Nikulasson's little tomb wanted to make sure they could get to and from the site without too much trouble. A ten-minute, flashlight-guided walk brings him and Jamie to the bishop's final resting place—a small mausoleum hewn out of the cave's wall.

A crumbling stone coffin stands hidden in the shadows. Time must've destroyed the remains it contained long ago, but Nathan doesn't bother to look closely through the cracked lid. When he places the grimoire back inside, peace comes over him, a sensation he feels in his body, in his scar and even his very soul, as if balance has been restored to the Universe. It tells him they made the right choice, that Jamie's plan was successful and nothing dead continues to roam Veronika Lockhardt's property.

They leave the mausoleum behind wordlessly, then, and take a break once they're in the chilly outside again, sitting down on craggy rocks strewn about. With the view they have, moving on without admiring it would be a crime.

Nathan thinks he can see half of Iceland from this mountain—green fields and pine forests, a river snaking through the scenery, and rugged mountains in the background, still sporting snow. The quiet road they took to get here looks so far away. It almost surprises him Veronika didn't want to come here again, that she didn't want to see this a second time, but maybe it's a good thing he's here with Jamie alone. He doesn't actually mind that at all.

They spread an assortment of snacks out between them; Nathan takes snack duty very seriously. They have chocolate cookies, a bag of chips, and those pre-packaged sandwiches he wouldn't dream of buying were he in the comfort of his own home because they taste like cardboard. Nathan takes a sip from the bottle of an Icelandic soft drink Jamie bought (of course I don't know what's in it, Nathan, the colour just looked pretty) and approves of the taste. It's weird but kind of sweet and that's a combination he finds he enjoys.

"So I guess it's over now, isn't it?" he voices out loud; the realisation hits him out of nowhere. It is over. The book's back where it belongs and everything comes to an end. There's a finality to it that should make sense, but now, sitting here, he isn't sure how to feel.

Jamie looks up from her phone, ceasing her editing of the picture she took of the scenery; she'd been messing with lighting and saturation and a whole bunch of filters Nathan never even knew existed. "In theory, yes. In practice? No."

And Nathan, for once, understands exactly what she means. It's been less than a week since they sank a whole damn yacht even though it feels like years have passed. It's been less than a week since Nathan killed Derek, less than a week since magic ate the corpse alive. That magic left a wound on his own body, a permanent reminder of the price he had to pay for his shot at a new start. He sees Derek's corpse in nightmares, on a sundeck or a kitchen floor. His wound stings, though the ache is starting to dull, and perhaps the scar will fade in time.