by M. R. Forbes
“Can you clear this?” I asked Ashiira.
“In this form? No.” He looked down at his arms with disdain.
“Magic?”
“I’m sorry, brother. Don’t forget I’m still a whelp.”
“You teleported us to Yellow. Isn’t that harder?”
“Difficulty is relative.”
“Only a dragon would say something like that.”
He smiled.
I circled to the debris, grabbing the spellbook from my jacket and quickly flipping through the pages. I found the page I wanted and then looked back at Cecil. Damn it; I couldn’t keep him up and use the spell at the same time.
The deadies were getting closer. Cecil could handle them, but they would just keep coming. I had to imagine I would be clear once I got through the rubble. Assuming there weren’t more swordsmen waiting to leave me without my intestines. Then again, maybe that would have been a good thing?
I dropped the link to Cecil. His corpse dropped immediately, but I knew I wouldn’t have much time before it got up again, and not under my power. I put the spellbook on the ground, knelt over it, and touched the debris in front of me. I read the incantation. It was more of a guide than actual words that needed to be spoken. It was supposed to help put my mind in the right place to use the death magic correctly. I mouthed the words, feeling the magic flow out of me through my hand.
The rocks blocking our path began to disintegrate, pulled apart by the magic. I felt a rush of adrenaline at the results. This was top-level wizard magic, the kind of stuff that hadn’t been done for thousands of years, and I was the one doing it. I would have been more impressed with myself if it hadn’t meant I was hanging off the precipice of death with only a few fingers still keeping me from falling in.
The stone turned to dirt in front of me, opening the sealed passage. It was pitch black inside, but at least nothing came at me with anything sharp. I picked up the book and shoved it back in my pocket before looking back. Cecil was on his feet, joined by the rest of Samedi’s goons.
“Can you give us a light, at least?” I asked.
Ash was staring at me. Even he couldn’t believe what I had just done.
“Maybe death magic isn’t as much of an abomination as we believed,” he said.
“Thanks, Ash,” I replied.
“Anytime.”
24
What lies beneath.
My thoughts were split between finding Frank, getting to whatever Samedi wanted before he did, and hoping that Dannie was okay. I didn’t think much about Amos. He could take care of himself, and if he died? Maybe I would feel the tiniest bit of remorse, but probably not. I knew he had a soft, sensitive side, but it was buried so deep it didn’t make it to the surface nearly often enough.
Then again, who was I to judge?
We made our way through the now open passage, a small, winding tunnel that had been carved by magic, cutting smoothly through stone and earth as it corkscrewed downward on a constant descent, circling the well. Judging by the positioning and the amount of power needed to create it, I had a feeling the well was a shortcut, meaning whatever was at the bottom either had enough control over magic to fly or shapeshift or had wings. Another dragon? It couldn’t be. Tarakona swore he and Ash were the last.
“Any guesses what we’re going to find at the bottom?” I asked.
We were clear for now. The deadies above us seemed to be having a certain amount of trouble with the constant turning. It was as if the passage had been designed that way on purpose. I wondered if they were capable of deciding to throw themselves down the well, to take the express to the bottom. They were dead. They couldn’t be hurt by it. Of course, if their bodies were pulverized or shattered, they would be pretty useless.
“None at all,” Ash replied. “I’ve been searching my father’s memories for any hint of something like this. There are many things still hiding in the depths of the Earth, Conor, but I don’t know about this one.”
“Which ones do you know about?” I asked. The idea that there were more super-magical things lurking near the Earth’s core wasn’t exactly pleasing.
“Do you really want to know?” he replied. “If they haven’t emerged, it’s likely they’re unaware of the reversal. That their slumber has yet to be disturbed.”
“Let’s keep it that way, right? What if the thing at the bottom of this screw’s slumber hadn’t been disturbed?”
“I think we already have enough to worry about, don’t you?”
It wasn’t the positive feedback I was hoping for. “Assuming something was sleeping down here, Samedi had it in his mind to wake it up.”
“Or destroy it.”
I smiled. “Now there’s the positive thought I was looking for. It’s possible it might not be malevolent?”
“Not everything with magic was evil.”
“Like your father?”
“He had his moments. But I believe his needs were in line with humankind’s, for the most part.”
“And yours?”
“The same. I can appreciate you for now, brother, because my mind is still developing. Once I’ve matured, I’ll probably grow impatient and bored with your kind.”
“The good news is, I won’t be around to see it.”
“No offense intended, but you humans are a difficult species to deal with. Emotional, irrational, easily distracted, selfish, oversexualized.”
“Not everyone is like Amos,” I said.
“Time hasn’t made you more civilized, either. It has only turned you inward, made you more selfish. More isolated. It’s a flaw that I believe will be your undoing.”
“You’re saying the elves are going to take over the world?”
“I’m saying the original humans will regain what they lost, given enough time. Then they will change and lose their grip on something else. It’s the cycle of things, brother. Nothing is permanent.”
“Except dragons.”
He nodded. “And death.”
I was silent for a dozen heartbeats or so. Then I coughed into my arm. More blood.
“So, tell me about one of them at least,” I said. “We’ve got nothing else to do, and I’m curious.”
“Let me think,” he said, pausing for a few seconds. “Okay. Are you familiar with Durga?”
“Never heard of him.”
“Her. In modern times, she perseveres and is worshipped as a Hindu warrior goddess.”
“You’re saying she’s real?”
“Very.”
“What does she look like?”
“A human, but with eight arms. She has a familiar named Ghanta. He’s like a lion, only much larger and more fierce.”
“An eight-armed woman with a lion? And they’re both in hibernation underground somewhere? You’re fucking with me, aren’t you?”
“The things you’ve seen, and you don’t believe?”
“It’s the eight arms thing I’m having trouble with. What do you do with eight arms?” I could imagine how Amos would answer that. Being around him was turning my mind into the same sewer that his was. “Is she good or evil?”
“Her intent is to fight evil in all its forms.”
“So she’s good.”
“That’s a matter of perspective. If she were to wake, she would see what humankind is doing to this world, and she would likely start killing all of you.”
“Point made. I guess it’s better not to wake her.”
He laughed. “It’s better not to wake any of them, but it’s also too late for that.”
“Is Samedi the worst of them?”
He hesitated. “It’s difficult to say.”
“You’re kidding? He wants to turn the world into a deadie playground.”
“Some might say that Death was more evil, helping to bring about the first reversal in his efforts to contain Samedi. How many creatures died off with the loss of magic?”
“Some is better than all.”
“He chose the nuclear option, but what if th
ey had come up with a better choice?”
“From what I understand, they didn’t have a necromancer to throw him into the netherworld. The only reason I’m still here is because of Samedi and what they did to him. It’s the only reason we have this chance at all.”
“Perhaps.”
The way he said it felt like an accusation. I decided to let the conversation die, trying to picture an eight-armed Indian warrior goddess riding a massive beast that looked like a lion. Eight arms. Eight machetes. She would have been pretty useful against the deadies.
We kept walking in silence, continuing to descend for another hour, the constant left turn beginning to grate on my nerves. My mind drifted back toward Dannie. Was she still alive up there? She had to be. She wasn’t strapped into the Machine, unaware of her surroundings. She was awake and on the move, and in possession of both her legs. She was already a successful Ghost when she dragged me in from the street and treated me for the beating I had been given. She was as slippery as they came.
I considered the looks she had been giving me. I still didn’t know if she knew what I had done to her. The promise I had broken. I had thought spending some time together might reveal that truth to me, but it felt like it had only obscured it more. If I wasn’t going to confess, and she wasn’t going to confront, then what did it matter?
It was a heavy dose of guilt on my conscience, right up there with abandoning Karen and Molly. Would my present situation help me atone for all of my sins?
Would anything?
I was so lost in thought that I barely noticed when the passage opened up, delivering us into the chamber at the bottom of the well. A large stone cistern sat in the center, filled with some kind of bubbling liquid.
Frank was leaning against it. He looked bored.
“Took you long enough,” he said.
25
Human mating habits.
By the time Prithi called me back, Frank had raided a nearby clothing store for a new outfit, Ashiira had decided he wanted a shirt, Dannie had helped get Macha into something that didn’t make her look like she had just escaped from the Royal Opera House, and I had even picked out a jacket that wasn’t coated in immortal bird shit and blood. Not to mention, Control had started moving back in, their armored trucks roaring through the streets, their enforcers acting like they were responsible for getting a handle on the damage.
Yeah, right. Samedi had released the rest of his deadies after I had blasted the lot near the Tower, probably figuring he had gotten what he wanted and knowing that if Macha was helping me this particular brand of attack was no longer going to fly. That, in turn, had given the so-called authorities the green light and had left us hiding out off the streets. I didn’t want to deal with Control or trying to explain to them why we were the only ones in the center of London who went outside and survived. They were likely to blame us for it, or at the very least leave us in questioning for hours.
Amos’ phone rang, and he lifted it from his coat. “I think it’s Pissy,” he said, as it rang a second time.
“Will you pick it up?” I asked tensely.
He smiled. It rang again. “I dunno. She wasn’t very nice to me the last time we spoke.”
“Amos,” Dannie said.
He laughed and tossed me the phone. I fumbled it with my one hand, but Macha caught it before it could hit the ground.
“Asshole,” I said. I answered the call. “Prithi.”
“Conor, I’ve got your location,” she said. “It wasn’t easy.” She paused and then sighed. “I had to agree to a date with one of Yellow’s IT people.”
“It could be worse.”
“Are you kidding? He’s an elf.”
“So?”
“So, you know elves. All they want to do is talk about feelings and then have sex.”
“So?”
“I’m gay, remember? I don’t want to have sex with him.”
“Just say no.”
“Forget it. You aren’t a girl, so you don’t understand.”
“I’ll put Dannie on the line once you tell me where the wizard moot is. Would that help?”
“Yes.” Her voice calmed slightly. “You aren’t going to believe this, but the moot is in Vegas.”
I laughed out loud. I couldn’t help myself. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me. I hate Vegas.”
“Did someone say Vegas?” Amos said.
“When we got out, I said if I ever saw it again it would be too soon. It’s been way too soon.”
“Sorry, Conor. There’s nothing I can do about it. They’ve gathered at the Mansion at the MGM Grand. Do you know it?”
I turned to Amos. “The Mansion at the MGM Grand?”
“Oh baby,” he said. “That is high class.”
“Amos knows it,” I said.
“Good. Put Dannie on.”
“Do you know when it starts and or ends?”
“It already started.”
“Did you get anything else useful out of your tryst?”
“It wasn’t a tryst, but yes. The Houses are gathering a lot of firepower there. Users are being ported in from everywhere, and there’s a sense that there’s going to be a war.”
“With Samedi?” I asked.
“Between the Houses,” she replied.
Did they already know about Yellow?
“Black’s death has left a bit of a power vacuum,” she said. “The first moot didn’t resolve anything, and this shit with Samedi gives them all an excuse to bring in their big guns. It’s like a nuke just waiting for someone to push the big red button.”
“It’s worse than that if our hunch is right.”
“It could be. Put Dannie on?”
“Are you safe there?”
“I think so. Nobody’s tried to stop me or attack me or anything. A lot of the more powerful users have gone to Vegas. To be honest, it’s kind of boring without the Machine.” She paused again. “And without Dannie.”
“You’ve got the IT elf to keep you company,” I said.
She laughed a little. “Shut up, and put Dannie on, will you?”
I handed the phone to Dannelle.
“She wants to ask you out,” I said.
“On a date?” Dannie said.
I nodded, and her face started turning red. The effects of being brought back to life were wearing off, leaving her a little less open to exploring her bi-sexuality.
She stood up. “I’ll be right back.” Then she left the area where we were gathered, going to a dark corner and speaking quietly into the phone.
“The game of love,” Amos said. “So beautiful. So pure. Heh. You guys want to take bets on whether or not they have sex?”
“Prithi had to sign up for a date with an elf to get us the info,” I said.
His face twisted. “Ugh. If there’s any way to make me feel bad for her, that’s it.” His eyes lit up. “At least we’re heading back to Vegas. Ash, you don’t mind if I use your stash to hire a few girls, do you? Ten, twenty. I’ll share them with you.”
“If you weren’t Conor’s friend, I would burn you to dust,” Ash replied.
“He’s not my friend,” I said.
“I ain’t his friend,” Amos said, at the same time.
“But he is Dannie’s friend,” I continued. “And Dannie wouldn’t appreciate it, so no burning to dust.”
Ashiira smiled.
“So, Macha,” Frank said. “How does one become an immortal banshee, anyway? And how old are you?”
Macha looked at him, opening her mouth to speak. Then closing it. Then opening it again. “You know, I don’t remember,” she finally said. “My sisters and I have always just been, as far back as my memories go.”
“Do you remember dinosaurs?” Amos asked.
“No. I’m not that old. But the world doesn’t remember the things I remember. When we suppressed magic the first time, so much died. So much vanished. We removed every trace. It was the only way. Everything was so different.”
“How
did you keep up on current events down there, anyway?” Amos asked. “You didn’t freak out at the sight of the buildings, the billboards, the cars. Any of that shit.”
“And how come your hole was right under the Tower of London?” Frank asked. “And who was the shit that attacked us at the top of the well?”
“Whoa, slow down,” I said. “Give her some space.”
Amos smirked. “Oh. Somebody likes you,” he said. “Conor and Macha, sittin’ in a tree.”
“Do you have to be such a child?” I asked.
“Yeah,” he replied.
“I’ve been out of the cave before,” she said.
“Merlin,” Frank said excitedly.
“Yes,” she replied, laughing. “It was never my intention to get turned into a legend like that, and I certainly don’t know how I was converted to an old man. I had my own way out. I could never go for long, or they would take notice and try to escape. But I’ve remained in tune with the Earth. I know all about modern human life. Skyscrapers, cars, twerking.”
“I think there are some things you’re better off not knowing about,” I said. “Didn’t you get bored down there?”
“I had my sisters. Truly, they’re not evil. Misguided in their hearts, yes. If you can defeat Samedi, I am hoping I can bring them back to their senses. We also have internet access.”
“Down there?” I said.
“I’m a wizard, Conor. I don’t need fiber optics.”
I smiled, appreciating the way her freckles moved when she smiled. I wasn’t setting out to like her so much, but she was a harbinger of death. She understood the magic I controlled better than almost anybody.
She also already had someone. Death. I needed to remember that.
Dannie walked back over to us. Her face was still a little flushed.
“So?” I asked.
“It looks like I have my first date with another girl,” she replied, sounding unsure.
“Really?”
“I couldn’t say no. Not after the way she helped you. It’s just a date, right? Besides, we have to survive the end of the world first.”
