The Outcast

by Patti Larsen

  “But Dark Brother is still aware, I take it?”

  Max nodded. “He wasn’t forced to take the same path and remained a solid entity, from what I know.”

  “Good,” I said, gut churning but determined to end this any way I could. “If he has solid form, we can destroy him.”

  I might as well have told them I was going to have a baby roast and eat their little brains with some vintage red wine and a square of dark chocolate.

  “Blasphemy!” Zeon’s face turned bright red then darkened to purple, eyes bulging out of their sockets. “You dare suggest attempting to destroy a force of creation?” He shook wildly, jabbing fingers at the Fates, at Iepa and Max. “And still you tell me she isn’t dangerous?”

  I stared at him, blank faced and out of give a craps. “You don’t know me very well,” I said, voice quiet and cold. “I will do anything—anything—to protect my family. And my son.” I turned my back on him, focused on Max’s troubled diamond eyes. “Any guesses what Dark Brother is after?” Trying to ponder the needs and wants of something—I couldn’t bring myself to call him a someone—made my head ache worse than ever. “He has to have a goal, right?”

  Max’s distant frown told me he was thinking about it, but when he dropped his chin almost to his chest I knew he was at a loss. “I can’t imagine he would want to destroy the Universes,” he said. “It’s possible he craves Creator’s form to gain her power. Though what that would do to the crack in the time veil I have no idea.”

  Light Fate shuddered beside him. “He is Dark Brother,” she whispered. “It’s possible he doesn’t care if everything is destroyed as long as he is the master of the result.”

  That kind of ginormous insanity I couldn’t fathom. Best to focus on what I could. Like taking out a certain sorcerer who I should have dealt with ages ago. “How about killing Belaisle?” That would be the simplest answer, if the wretched blighter would just sit still long enough for me to do the job.

  But Max’s sigh told me that was a bad idea. “He is now a keyhole,” Max said. “Doing so might open the way further and leave us exposed completely. Dark Brother will have no choice but to cross himself and seize the pieces personally. I’m sure he’d rather not do that, since it could tear apart both Universes. As long as he has Belaisle doing his dirty work, there is still a chance to stop this.”

  “How?” And then it hit me. I almost smacked myself in the forehead even as Light Fate spoke.

  “You must track down and protect the other pieces,” she said, real hope in her voice for the first time since we arrived. “Make sure Belaisle does not gain access to any more parts of Creator.”

  “Agreed,” Max said. “For if all nine pieces are found and brought together, the one in possession will have access to all the power of creation.”

  I stared up at him while he patted my hand like a kindly uncle.

  “Reassemble the statue,” he said, “and you are Creator.”

  ***

  Chapter Thirty Nine

  Of course. “Belaisle’s endgame,” I said. “And just like him to think he could play god.”

  “While I’m certain,” Max said, “Dark Brother has other ideas for all that power.”

  “Like?” My brain was far too scrambled to put two and two together and get any food group but purple.

  “I don’t know,” Max said. “But it’s likely he’ll try to use it to break the barrier between Universes in a way he can control them both.” The big drach paused, brow furrowing. “You must know, it’s highly unlikely Belaisle is in full command of himself any longer and probably hasn’t been for some time.”

  It might explain his cleverness, even outside his cheating by using the Oracles to see the future.

  “I’m supposed to mourn his poor, unfortunate soul?” Not in my lifetime. And I planned to live forever.

  “No,” Max said. “Just a warning. If he carries part of Dark Brother’s consciousness, we are dealing with a vast mind capable of anything.”

  “However,” Light Fate said with a hint of breathiness as she looked up. “That means we are also dealing with an arrogant and unstable presence that could perhaps be manipulated given the right circumstances.”

  I liked the sound of that. Zeon, not so much.

  “You will bring down the destruction of all of us.” His voice vibrated with righteous rage and I wondered if he had any other state of being these days.

  “Regardless of Belaisle’s possible possession,” Max said, “we have a job of our own to do.”

  Right. “Find the pieces.” I leaped to my feet, sudden worry making me ill. “Let’s go.”

  Max’s smile lit his diamond eyes, hand gently pulling me down again. “There is no immediate need,” he said. “Our search has already begun.” He tapped one temple. So he’d filled in the drach while we sat here, nattering. Good to know someone was on the ball. “My people will do what they can, but I assure you after all this time I have never heard of any one of us coming across a piece. Never. And, unless Belaisle has a way to seek them, he’s in the same position we are.” It was hard to hold still, to accept the reasonable tone in his voice. “No one knows where they are, remember?”

  “Not even Dark Brother?” That’s what worried me most.

  Max shook his head. “I believe not,” he said. “Though I’m certain he’s aware what Creator did to seal the two Universes from each other, if he knew where the pieces rested he wouldn’t have wasted time on Belaisle attacking your council. The heart in the Stronghold must have been an obvious discovery, considering the personality of the plane itself.”

  “Belaisle needed the power,” I said. “But why? Why doesn’t Dark Brother just give him some?”

  “It doesn’t work that way,” Max said. “And I doubt Creator’s sibling is as generous as our beloved one. Belaisle is a tool, nothing more. To be used and discarded, much like the witches whom he drained for their magic.” His gaze turned to Iepa. “I mourn the loss of Gaia,” he said. “But fear Belaisle might target another maji to forward his plans.”

  “Let him try,” Zeon said, puffing out his chest. We’d gathered quite the crowd by now, the maji come to whisper and watch. They reminded me so much of witches with their busybody nature and lack of conviction to act I clenched my jaw to keep from driving them off.

  “I already know who he’s lined up to take her place,” I said.

  Max’s furrowed brow turned to a ravine, fury in his eyes. That was the second time I saw him mad today, curls of smoke escaping his nostrils. “If he comes near you, I will devour him.”

  I patted his arm with a grin. “No killing, remember?”

  “Who said I’d kill him?” Max’s eyebrow arched. “My belly is vast and an unpleasant place to be, but I could keep him alive in there. For a while.”

  The implications of that were just too disgusting to linger on.

  “So, how do we find the pieces?” That was step next, I assumed.

  “You want to be Creator now, is that it?” Zeon’s scornful snort made the gathered maji flinch. I wished he’d just shut the hell up already.

  “We must do something,” Max said, “to start Fate again. And that could happen simply by retrieving one of the pieces.” Light Fate nodded quickly, Dark Fate along with her.

  “The Universe is not meant to operate without us,” Light Fate said. “We are adrift and pathless. Anything could happen.”

  I took it from her shudder and the one her brother mirrored that was a bad thing to think about.

  “I swear to you, Sydlynn Hayle,” Zeon pontificated while the maji huddled behind him, “if you attempt to assemble Creator’s form, I will do everything in my power to stop you.”

  He really had to learn to get over himself. “Bring it,” I said.

  Zeon stormed off, his people following, though some looked afraid, others focusing their worry on Iepa who waved them off. Maybe the high and mighty leader of the maji wasn’t as popular as he thought he was, nor were his policies.
<
br />   “I fear we will face hard opposition in our fight to save the Universe,” Max said. “Zeon has forever held himself apart and, in tune with him, the maji. If they choose to actively come against us, I don’t know if we will be able to repel them all.”

  Didn’t matter, not when I was struck with another facepalm moment. “That’s it, though, right?” I grinned, kind of lopsided, feeling giddy with relief. “All we need is one piece. Go in, nab it, keep it from Belaisle and he’s screwed.” I was so clever I could just kiss myself.

  If that was true, why was Max looking at me like I’d lost touch with reality?

  “These are pieces of Creator, Syd,” he said. “Even having possession of one means holding the source of creation in your hands. With each piece he acquires, Belaisle will become stronger and stronger. We must beat him to the chase and return the pieces directly to the statue.”

  “And then what?” I shrugged in frustration, standing to pace past the four of them. “We put Creator back together—does she come to life again? Fight Dark Brother for us?”

  Max spread his hands before him, face sad. “I have no idea,” he said. “But hiding them again, keeping them in our possession or assembling the statue are our only options.”

  “Not destroying them, I take it.” His headshake shattered that idea.

  “Hiding them is out,” he said. “There is nowhere safe once Belaisle starts looking. Keeping them is just as dangerous. Who knows what possession of the pieces could do to us, immortal or not?”

  Iepa nodded. “I agree with Max,” she said. “We must put Creator back together.”

  They were grasping at straws, my favorite. Not like I had a better idea.

  “What about the dark maji?” They hadn’t made a peep. Wasn’t that odd?

  “I don’t know,” Iepa said. “All has been quiet and I’ve not been able to enter Core.” The dark version of Center had always seemed more open and welcoming to me. Funny, considering I’d been called the Light One.

  “I was here with my sister, focused on Zoe Helios, when our visions failed us,” Dark Fate said. “I haven’t been able to reach them.”

  “Worth investigating,” I said. “Maybe they’d be willing to give us a hand against Zeon.”

  More gasping. Even Max looked horrified.

  “Syd.” Light Fate stood, stumbled toward me and I caught her. “Don’t say that.”

  “Say what?” We needed help, didn’t we?

  “It’s too late,” Dark Fate whispered. “It’s in motion and you know it.”

  Oh crap. Now what did I do?

  “The end of the Universe is upon us,” Light Fate said, voice cracking as she wept against me. “When maji turn against maji and the drach are caught in the middle.”

  Shudder. Why did I feel like someone just walked over the place where my grave should have been a million times over? I pushed her back, refusing to let her terror affect me no matter my visceral reaction. I had stuff to do, damn it.

  “I thought the prophecy was over?” They said so, didn’t they? But, hang on. Light Fate told me once I’d be called on again. This sounded like I was in the wrong place at the wrong time without a choice in the matter.

  “The final vision,” she said, tongue tripping over the words as though her very mouth fought against them. “The last foresight.”

  To hell with that. I’d had it up to here with seeing the future. Like it ever did me one damned bit of good. I’d been on my own, no matter the stupid prophecy. That was Belaisle’s department, stealing the power and visions of the Helios Oracles. And I’d beaten him, hadn’t I?

  “I don’t care what you saw before now,” I said. “Until you two are back to normal, let’s hold off on the doom saying, okay?”

  She turned from me, fell into her brother’s arms as Max stood and joined me. Iepa rose but held her place, looking down at the Fates with gentle concern.

  “I’ll care for them personally,” she said. “And I will be your eyes and ears here for as long as I am able.”

  “You let us know if Zeon is being an asshat,” I said. “We’ll come give him hell for you.”

  “Be safe,” she said, one hand raised as Max opened the veil.

  First, your home, he sent as we stepped out into the place between planes. He held his human shape for once as we traveled. The drain on his power must have cost him if he didn’t shift into drach form. We must ensure your people are safe.

  And then the pieces of Creator. I nodded into the darkness. Got it.

  Just another life and death, end of everything day at the office. Had to love it.

  ***

  Chapter Forty

  I brushed back my dark hair from my shoulders, refraining from my usual ponytail in favor of leaving the wavy heaviness hanging loose around me. Though it rankled to conform, I’d carefully dressed in a dark blue silk blouse and floor length, black velvet skirt, a pentagram patterned silver chain belt hanging around my waist.

  I touched the matching encircled star around my throat, staring into the restored mirror of my dressing table. Quaid had worked hard and expended a lot of energy to bring everything back to the way it was before the Brotherhood attacked, right down to the tiny nick in the edge of the tabletop I’d accidentally made the first day he gave it to me.

  My fingers traced over the tiny sliver of missing wood and I smiled. The sounds of the kids laughing down the hall made everything seem surreal, as though the last week had been a terrible dream we’d all shared, but thankfully woken up from.

  Well, some of us anyway. I sighed and stood, turning toward the door, not wanting to think of the loss of life our race had sustained. It was just too sad and horrible to contemplate.

  Ethie and Gabriel raced from his room, Galleytrot loping along behind them, with, “Hey, Mom!” thrown at me from the pair while the big, black hound winked on his way. I let them go, smiling, heart tired and sore but healing.

  “It’s nice to be home.” Sassafras exited Ethie’s room and joined me as I descended the stairs, a fistful of my skirt in my hands so I didn’t trip. At least my shoes were comfortable, even if this getup made me feel like a fraud.

  He was right. We’d returned to Wilding Springs, family magic and all, late the night after the Council’s mass arrest. I’d managed to reestablish the power controls over the town, though it felt different without the constant, humming presence of the Wild Hunt. Made me wonder how effective the glamour would be in the end, but I wasn’t willing to give up our home again just yet.

  I had noticed the funny way the locals seemed to look at us these days, though never with malice. More with curiosity, as though they’d only just realized we were there. I couldn’t help but wonder if Belaisle’s tampering had left behind more than I thought. After all, he’d used the network of all sorcery of all living things. Could he have wakened their magic somehow?

  I only hoped that wasn’t the case. Though, if a rash of sorcerers started showing up I’d deal with it somehow. So far, so good.

  Sassafras beat me to the kitchen, where Shenka sat at the table with her eyes far distant and a little smile on her face. I let her be, going for a cup of coffee. She sighed and shifted behind me just as I turned.

  “Almost settled,” she said. “The coven has grown by more than double, did you know that? We’re doing our best, but it’s a bit of a struggle to find enough places for everyone on short notice.” Some of the refugees had begged to be allowed to join the coven and I couldn’t turn them away. A few still waited at the Stronghold while living arrangements were hammered out here in Wilding Springs, the rest returned to their former homes in an attempt to put the pieces of their lives back together.

  “Good thing then,” Sassafras said, leaping up onto the table, “there are so many for sale signs out there.” His amber gaze flickered to the door. “Who knows, we could eventually make this place a witch town. Now, wouldn’t that be a novelty?”

  Would it ever. And turn us into targets. Though, the idea had merit. It w
ould be nice to not have to watch every single thing we did at all times.

  Something to think about.

  “Considering,” Shenka said, rising to join me at the coffee pot, “witches are still arriving every day from all across the continent, that idea might be reality before we know it.” Her brown eyes caught mine with a hint of amusement and worry twined together. “Can we handle it?”

  I hugged her gently. “I know we can.”

  The kitchen door opened and Mom entered, looking every inch a witch leader. She smiled at my outfit and winked at me before hugging Shenka and turning to kiss Sass on the top of his head.

  “Ready?” Her steady gaze made me nervous.

  “I guess so,” I said, setting aside my coffee. “This sucks, Mom.”

  She nodded, taking my hand. “We’ve been here before,” she said. “And will be again, more than likely. But we’re Hayles, Syd. We’ll be fine.”

  Not that I was worried we were in trouble. But these trial things always seemed to end the same way. Only Mom’s had a happy result. And, no matter what she’d done, I wasn’t looking forward to watching Erica Plower burn.

  Sassafras joined us, Mom lifting him into her arms as I opened the veil and waved half-heartedly to Shenka who returned the gesture while Mom, Sass and I went to Harvard.

  The moment we arrived outside the council room, two Enforcers approached, bowing deeply. They were young, probably too young to be elevated out of training, but they seemed eager and serious so I just nodded back.

  “Coven Leader Hayle,” one said, voice squeaking a little, the barest scruff of a beard on his chin as though he was trying to look older. “Former Council Leader Hayle,” he bowed to Mom. “Um, Sassafras,” he stammered the finish.

  “Get on with it, boy,” my demon cat snapped.

  “She’s ready to speak with you.” The Enforcer’s flustered blurting made me smile a little.

  “It’s okay,” I said, one hand running down his arm. “Just show us where.”