The Codex Lacrimae: The Book of Tears

Chapter 7: Clarinda and the Codex Lacrimae

"Servius, we've got to leave before they return!" Clarinda lowered her staff and ran into the clearing and his waiting embrace. Unlike Santini's dried and heated clothes, Clarinda's were still drenched from swimming in the river.

Rudyick, clad in a forest green cloak with cowl drawn, followed her and the rest of the elven squad positioned themselves in a defensive perimeter around the glade.

Aurelius gave her a long hug, relieved and glad that she'd survived the underground channels and captivity. "You couldn't think of another way to break that spell than falling into the river?" he murmured.

She shook her head, smiling as she broke the embrace. "No. It was bad enough to see the giant with that stave. When you got hold of it you were ..."

"... come uno degli uomini morti Hela?" he smiled wryly.

Her eyes widened. "Sì! Like one of Hela's dead men!" She pushed gently against his chest. "Don't do that again—that river was awful, and the Huntsmen were even worse. Kenezki was the last person I expected to see ..."

You flirt with a Nornish hag? the Codex's voice thundered incredulously. Enough, boy! I'm a Power in these worlds, one of the Fated Codices, and more trustworthy than any of those witches. Slay these people now, or use me to flee! If flirting with a witch puts a rise in your robe, you should have had your way with Cerys when she lay naked upon you. This one's a Norn, and Rudyick's a Dark Elf; neither can be trusted where you and I are concerned—

"Is that the Codex Lacrimae?" Clarinda asked after surveying the glade to make sure that no one else was speaking. "I heard the same voice in the cavern. Why does it want to kill me? But, most importantly, who's this naked Cerys?"

"You can hear it?" Aurelius said, dismay at the Codex's ‛flirting' comment spinning into mortification when the Dark Book revealed Cerys condition. "Wait. Can you hear my thoughts?"

Ratatosk bounded into the space, cocked a head upward at Clarinda, then turned to Aurelius. "Hear what? I don't hear anything!"

"You heard me, Santini: who's Cerys?"

"I ... I ..." his face flamed red as he tried to concentrate on two lines of communication from two very different, but similarly angry, feminine sources.

You're losing your chance, Jotun-Son; the Witches of Fate can out-riddle Odin if they put their minds to it, and Ratatosk knows the magic of the Maker. They were allied with Taliesin at the Fields of Burning Night the last time I saw them. This wench reeks of that Norn, Urd! Impale the witch, squash the flying rat, craft a rune-gate, and flee!

"I don't like riddles," Clarinda locked her eyes on Aurelius but spoke to the Codex. "But, while I say we skip the impalement, I'll admit that squashing the flying rat has a certain appeal." Then she added, "E, no, I can't hear your thoughts, but her speech is very clear, molto chiaro..."

"What riddles? Who are you calling a flying rat?" Ratatosk screeched. "Who are you talking to, Clare?"

"We'll talk about Cerys later," Clarinda said. She ignored the squirrel and nodded toward the hatchet that had banished Kenezki and Farbauti. "After seeing how Kenezki reacted when you waved that hatchet, I think that thing's turning out to be quite a complex mystery itself. You should holster ... whatever it is, Servius. It's another puzzle we'll have to figure out when we're in a safer area."

Safe? Again the Witch tries to mislead you—there will be no safety for you until you've gathered the Codices and mastered space and time to bend the worlds to your will. I urge you, Servius, don't listen to her. She'll say anything to prevent you from being what you are. She's a liar and a cheat. (Ask her about her friend, Alex, if you think that I don't know what I'm talking about.) Ask her what she intends to do when Urd's Death Day comes. If she won't listen to Mimir nor the true Norns, you can't expect that she'll heed anything you have to say. Her lies will kill you—she knows that there's nothing safe in the lands of Svartalfheim. This is the home of the most ancient magics in creation, filled with secrets and griefs that will break your mind. You need me, Hospitaller; you won't survive the Nine Worlds or trials ahead of you without my aid ...