"Are you sure?" asked Aurie. "Should I come with?"
Pi nodded, a secret smile on her lips. "Only to get me inside, then I can do the rest. I'm much better on my own."
"That's what I'm afraid of," said Aurie.
"Don't worry, sis. I'm not going anywhere."
"Even after Arcanium is fixed?"
"No," said Pi. "I've given up on running away. Even if I'm not a part of the Halls, I'm still staying here. This place is too important."
"It's weird hearing that from you," said Aurie.
"It's weird hearing it from my own lips. But this year has taught me that even dysfunctional family is family, and keeping it together is better than the alternative."
Chapter Thirty-Two
After another week of trips into Semyon's mind to balance the Temporal Engine, Professor Longakers declared that Semyon's soul was reconnected with his body and would require normal healing from then on. The students of Arcanium could use magic again, though sparingly until their patron was back on his feet, which was estimated to occur before the new school year.
This freed Pi to return to Big Dave's Town. Jade's body had been sent down a few days before, and kept in suspended animation until the burial.
Pi had been in contact with the Misfits to coordinate the details. None of them planned to stay in the area after Jade's death, so they would entomb her on the little island. Aurie had found a couple of spells that would ensure no denizens of the Undercity disturbed Jade's final resting place.
The other women greeted her warmly when she arrived on the island, even Sisi, who didn't release their hug for a couple of awkward minutes. No one spoke really, but after the battle against the Cabal in the street, Pi felt no need for small talk until after the ceremony.
A solemn procession brought them to the back of the island. Their living quarters had been dismantled, replaced with a stone cairn beneath which the body of Jade Umbra lay. The other ladies watched while Pi drew runes around the burial grounds with a gold-flecked paint that would last for centuries. When the last words of the enchantment fell from Pi's lips, the runes exploded white for a millisecond, before disappearing into near invisibility.
"I knew her longest, so I'll go first," said Sasha, straightening her black dress, which made her look like a fashionable Catholic priest. She took a spot before the cairn as if she were about to lecture her. "Jade Umbra—if that's what your name really was—you tried to kill our friend, betrayed us in the name of revenge, and nearly ended the lives of thousands of people. Pi tells me that you did this because you'd succumbed to faez madness, which you'd always told us was a myth, and now I'm forced with deciding between believing you, which would mean you're a liar and a killer or accepting that it's real. I'd be a fool if I choose to continue what you taught us, especially because that would mean we'd end up like you, and tarnish the memories of our friendship, which I cherished when you were alive. I guess I'm saying I forgive you, and miss you, and wish to God that we'd figured this out before it killed you. Peace to you, Jade. May you rest well in eternity."
After Sasha stepped back to the group, Bethany took her place at the head of the cairn. She held her jean jacket close to her body, squeezing it around her.
"Jade," said Bethany, choking slightly, then clearing her throat. "You took me in when I had nobody else. You didn't care that I'm a walking anatomy demonstration. And though I don't know what to think about what happened at the end, I'll miss you for all time. I...I honestly don't know what I'm going to do now, especially since we're all leaving."
Bethany was wild-eyed and frightened. Sasha pulled her in for a hug when she shuffled back to the group.
Nancy stepped forward and saluted the cairn with her stone arm. "You made us family, when nobody else gave a shit. So I guess, thank you."
Yoko took her place, pulled a hunk of copper from her pocket, and set it on the closest rocks. She whispered to the lump and a flame flickered into life, dancing across the amber metal.
"This spell will last exactly one year. I will return every year and renew the flame as thanks for our friendship. I miss you, Jade," said Yoko.
Everyone's gaze shifted to Sisi, since it was expected that Pi would be last, but when they looked to the petite girl, she fled in tears.
"We each grieve in our own way," said Yoko, to which everyone nodded.
Pi approached last, kissed her fingertips and brushed them against the rough stone.
She didn't speak for a couple of minutes, but when she did, it felt like she was half stuck in a dream.
"I think I was in love with you. Not that forever-love thing that little girls dream about, but in the way someone says about another person, hey, I really like spending time with you and want to do it a whole lot more. Like every waking moment, you know." Pi bit her lower lip until she could speak again. "The thing that hurts the most was that my feelings made me blind to what was really going on with you. It makes me distrust that love, because I didn't know what the faez was doing to you. I mean, maybe you were already too far gone when I met you, but the rational part of me can't see that. It just sees that love as the shove that finally pushed you over the cliff." She blinked, looked around, felt the weight of the others' presence. "I guess, I have to say that even after everything that happened, I still love you, and am going to miss you."
She stumbled back to the group, delirious with emotion. They collapsed around her, and before she knew it, she was sobbing uncontrollably into someone's shoulder, apologizing about getting tears on their dress.
After they were drained, the Misfits moved to the front of the island, where a cooler of beer awaited. The first round disappeared during quiet reflection. Halfway through their second beer, they started making small talk. Sisi returned then, and Pi quieted them for an announcement.
"I know you're each planning on going your separate ways, but before you go, I want to give you something. You can use it or not, but know that the price for this gift has already been paid," she said.
They glanced amongst themselves at her cryptic words.
"I cannot, in good conscience, allow you each to continue your magic without some measure of protection."
Bethany blurted out, "Are you going to be our patron?"
There was a lot of excitement in their eyes, which tugged at her heart for multiple reasons—first, because they'd distrusted her so thoroughly when she'd first arrived, and second, because they would be willing to trust her with that kind of bond.
"No. No," said Pi, waving them down. "Maybe someday I'll do that, but not right now. I have some things I need to work on. But I do know someone that can help you find a patron. Not from the Hundred Halls, of course. His name is Radoslav. He'll speak with you individually and determine the best person who you could pledge to. I promise none of them are scoundrels, though many—probably all—are linked to the criminal underworld. I'm sorry, it's the best I can do. You don't have to use this, but it's there if you change your mind. I don't want to see anyone else getting hurt."
Everyone thanked her, and she could see they each had to do some soul searching before they decided. Feeling suddenly like she wanted to be alone, Pi said her goodbyes, made them all promise they would contact her if they ever needed help, and took the rowboat back to the far shore.
She went back to Big Dave's Town, returning to the room above the Devil's Lipstick where she and Jade had last spent the night together. She went through her things, partially hoping to find some clue to Jade's condition, and also hoping not to find anything, because then that meant her death was preventable. When no signs amid her belongings were uncovered, Pi poured a glass of whiskey and sipped it while sitting on the edge of the bed. When she no longer wanted to be awake, Pi curled onto the bed in her clothes, pulled the pillow to her face, and inhaled the lingering perfume.
Chapter Thirty-Three
The waterfall thundered against the pool beneath Arcanium, spreading a mist across the floor near the stairs. As the light spray kissed Aur
ie's ankles, she motioned to her sister, who was following behind with her leather jacket slung over her shoulder.
"Did you really swim through the moat?" she asked.
Pi crouched by the water, ran her fingertips through it. "Thanks, buddy, for not squishing me down there."
To Aurie's surprise, a dark shape passed under the surface. A semblance of a wave if she judged her cephalopods right.
"Let's go," said Aurie. "We have an errand to attend to after this."
"Always the taskmistress," said Pi.
They found Semyon in his apartment, sitting on the couch with a blanket over his legs, the glow from a tablet highlighting his face as he studied an electronic text. His face was gaunt, and his eyes were hollow.
Professor Chopra was sitting with him, and got up the moment they arrived. He looked like he didn't know what to do with his hands at first, then to Aurie's surprise, he reached out and offered a handshake.
"Thank you for what you did," he said, then without another word, hurried from the room.
"The Silverthornes," said Semyon with a grin. "Welcome, and have a seat. I have much to thank you for."
"We can't stay long. We have an appointment," said Aurie, glancing at the runed brass cylinder resting in an obsidian cradle.
"Yes, I see," he said. "Certain things must be attended to. I won't ask how you convinced him to give that up, nor how you even became aware of him. I promise I won't keep you too long. But I'm sure you have questions for me as well."
"Was that all true?" asked Pi suddenly. "What we experienced in there. Was it?"
Semyon took on a pensive cast. "I assume you lived through my memories."
Pi stepped forward. "You don't know? You didn't direct those?"
He shifted his blankets, cleared his throat. "I remember being stuck in a void, connected by the barest thread, floating in a vast endless nothing. Through the bond I share with Arcanium, I sensed the danger that the school was in. My mind was not clear in this place, I was a collection of thoughts, trying to rub enough together to create a spark of life. So I directed nothing about what you experienced, though I have a guess, based on where my thoughts trended in those times."
"We experienced the days before the Halls were formed. When you were a colonel in the British army hunting witches," said Aurie. "We met the other patrons too."
In her presence, Semyon had always been in complete control, from the time he'd rescued her after the trials, to when he'd battled the soul thief in the statue. He appeared suddenly sheepish, as if he wanted to be anywhere in the world but that location.
"That is, of course, something I am not proud of. Those were different times, and I was a different person," said Semyon.
"We understand," said Pi. "Invictus brought you together to fight the Riders."
Semyon raised a surprised eyebrow. "A convenient fiction. But it worked, for the most part."
"So you know there's no such thing?" asked Pi.
"I figured it out decades later. I always wondered if the others knew, but I guess we know what Celesse thinks," said Semyon with a rare smirk. "The other thing to consider is that the other patrons were connected to me in that place. The charter is a bond stronger than blood, but less than death. Those could have been their thoughts as well. It's possible that one of them might have directed the memories, consciously or unconsciously."
Her sister looked like she was holding back secret information. Aurie wanted to press her, but it was clear she didn't want to speak in front of Semyon.
"Have you ever been friends?" Aurie asked.
"Of course," said Semyon. "There were many good years, decades, in fact. Many more good ones than bad ones." He looked away. "These days there are far too many bad ones."
"What went wrong?" asked Aurie.
He set the tablet on the couch next to him and folded his hands in his lap. "At times I feel like we're a family that lost its last parent, and the children are fighting over the inheritance."
Before the events of the last year, Aurie had always struggled imagining the original patrons together in a familial way, but now she couldn't help but feel sorrow for the bonds lost.
Semyon's tablet chimed, announcing a call. Before they politely excused themselves, Aurie scooped up the Engine of Temporal Manipulation, placing the artifact in a magic-dampening backpack before closing the door behind them.
Without attacks from the Cabal to worry about, they took the Red Line to the twelfth ward. The old industrial area hadn't changed since their visit earlier in the year, but it didn't have the same menacing feel. Past the chained gate, the fallen barrels of waste contained rocks with sprouts of grass growing on them, rather than glowing puddles.
When they reached the area that had once been an autumnal forest frozen in time, they were speechless. The trees were gray, leafless, and unmoving. Aurie wandered to the nearest, running her fingers across the rough surface.
"They're petrified," she said in awe. "The whole damn forest."
"The sudden return to the present time must have petrified them," said Pi.
The ground was dead, dusty. Nothing was growing. Nothing was alive.
"I wonder if this place will ever recover," said Aurie.
"It reminds me of the desolation."
Aurie turned to her sister. "Back in Semyon's, it looked like you were going to say something, but you held back. What was it?"
Her sister glanced around as if she suspected they were being spied upon. "I'll tell you when we're in a safer space. This place gives me the creeps."
Their footsteps reverberated through the stone forest, making Aurie check over her shoulder frequently.
"I figured out who Jade Umbra was," said Pi, clearly trying to take the creepiness out of their journey. "Knowing she had faez madness helped me figure it out. Everyone in the Misfits had a slightly different story about her, but no one had ever heard that she'd had a sister. I think she picked that up because of us. She seemed surprised when I asked what her sister's name was, like she hadn't thought of that yet. It ends up that Adler was her name, and the Umbra part was partially right. Her real name was Adler Shade."
"Adler Shade," said Aurie. "Does she have family?"
"Her father died when she was younger, and her mother thinks she ran away. I found newspaper articles. They lived in a little town on the west coast."
"Where'd she get the name Jade?"
Pi squeezed her arms to her chest. "That's the street they lived on. 892 Jade Street, Chico, California."
"What about the Garden Network? Or the other things she knew?"
"Stolen knowledge, I guess. Same way she got me."
Pi's jaw pulsed with emotion.
"I still can't believe the Riders were just faez madness. I guess that's proof that perception drives reality."
"I worry about that."
Aurie touched her sister's arm. "How are you doing?"
The shrug she gave was exaggerated and obviously false, but Aurie wasn't going to point that out. It was going to take time to heal.
When they reached the area that had the two cottages, there was nothing that indicated they'd ever existed.
"They were right here, right?" asked Aurie.
"It feels like it. Let's look around."
They spread out, and within a few minutes, Pi called out from a petrified grove. A stone cap was set into the earth. Upon it was engraved: Boann Byrne - Beloved.
Aurie shouldered the backpack containing the artifact.
"What now?" asked Pi.
"I haven't the slightest. All I know is that I had a strong feeling I needed to bring the Engine back here. I was expecting to find Oba and the cottages. But I guess you can't live in a dead forest."
They walked around the area, looking for clues to what to do with the Engine.
"Maybe we're supposed to keep it."
Aurie shook her head vehemently. As soon as she'd heard the words, she knew that would be bad.
"No. I'm absolutely sure we're su
pposed to leave it here."
Pi pulled a pair of welder goggles from her leather jacket. She looked like she was cosplaying a steampunk airship captain when she slipped them over her eyes.
"Whoa, this place is covered in enchantments. Like I'm not sure why we're not crispy critters right now. I see triggers everywhere."
Pi pulled off the goggles and handed them to Aurie. She had to adjust the band to get them over her head, but when she did, the world lit up. It looked like a picture of the earth at night, when the cities glowed across the landscape. Aurie followed the lines and runes, teasing out the purpose of their construction.
She handed them back to her sister. "I know where it goes."
"Please don't say in the tomb. I'd really rather not desecrate a grave."
"Don't worry," she said, and stepped to the edge of the capstone. The Engine was light in her hands. Before she placed it on the spot she'd seen with the goggles, Aurie weighed the things she could do with it if she kept it, but decided against, because Oba seemed like the type of individual who would not appreciate being ignored.
When she set the runed brass cylinder on the grave, it immediately sunk beneath the surface, disappearing as if the capstone had been quicksand. A bell chimed once.
"I think that's our sign to get the hell out of here," said Aurie, walking in the other direction. "That place is covered in traps. As soon as we leave, or some number of bells toll, they'll activate, and I really don't want to be here."
The sisters jogged back to the industrial park. The bells only chimed one more time, at least that they could hear.
"So what were you going to tell me back there?" asked Aurie as they stood amid the ruined buildings.
Pi cast a spell that would hide their conversation.
"When I was in those memories," said Pi, placing a peculiar emphasis on the word those, "I found someone else before I reached the well of power."
"Someone else? Like did you finally get to see who's behind Malden's shield? Or did you meet Oba or something?"
"No, but close. It was Invictus."
"Merlin's tits. Why didn't you tell me this before?" asked Aurie.
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