by Ponce, Jen
“As an unregistered Skriven, she is a danger to our citizens. We must insist on registration or banishment.”
I made a face. How would they keep me out?
They jabbered about it for a long, boring while. My feet were tired. Since there weren’t any open seats but the one they wanted me to sit in, I decided to wander instead. There was a walkway around the entire room and I followed it around, amused by the heads craning to keep me in sight. The back of the room had a dark, open space that could have held the supply closet or a vast universe just beyond the threshold. “What’s back here?” I asked, uncaring that I interrupted them.
Kenda, all the way across the chamber, looked disconcerted about where I was. Or maybe I was just imagining her expression. She was rather far away. “Get away from there,” she said. “You would be wise to take this seriously.”
“Right. Carry on.” I moved away, with one glance back using my Magic Eye. The sight raised the hairs on my arms. Green, wavery bars filled my vision when I looked at that black space. Did that lead to the cells? If I jumped down in there, would I find Dad or screw myself over? Was I close enough to find him? I realized I’d just taken Arsinua’s word for it that I couldn’t hook to him. When I was in a less worrisome spot for the floating heads and they started turning back to stare at Kenda, I shut my eyes and searched for Dad. I pictured him in my head and formed a hook, trying to reach him. I bounced off static.
Frustrated, I thumped the wall with my heel. Someone turned and shushed me. “You’re making more noise than I am,” I said. She turned away.
Dad? What about Dad? I thought of the way I could locate my spawn and wondered if I was connected in the same way to my family. This was also something I’d never considered and I looked now. I concentrated on Dad, picturing the man he was, his beard, his book, his love for Mom and suddenly I could see a glowing blue thread that shot away from me ... and into the black hole at the back of the room. “Score.” Now, could I follow it through a hook or did I have to follow it the old-fashioned way? I pulled up a hook in my head so as not to freak anyone out, and grasped the blue thread. It shot off into the distance and was abruptly cut off by a void. No matter what I did, I couldn’t work my way around it. So. Physical it was.
“So I propose we vote to banish Devany Miller from all witch lands unless she submits to magical neutering.”
I blinked my eyes open. “What the hell? Magical neutering? Hell no.”
She merely said, “All those in favor, say yes.”
They all said yes. Assholes.
“You guys do realize you’re authoring your own destruction, right? By cutting people off magic, by shunning the wild magic, you’re setting yourselves up for ruin. The Theleoni are only going to gain traction. First from the banished, then from those who aren’t special enough to live near the Omphalos. Then what? They start stealing more and more humans and end up fomenting a rebellion. You think you can stop them?”
“Of course we can stop them. They are blocked from the power of the Omphalos.”
“The power from human harvesting is strong. Maybe stronger, in its raw immediacy.”
“It has been decided,” Kenda said. “Submit to magical neutering or leave, never to return on pain of death.”
“Magical neutering, eh? So what, you think I get my power from the Omphalos?”
This caused a bit of a stir.
“All witches do.”
“Theleoni don’t. And the Wydlings don’t need it. And as an Originator, I don’t either. I have my own stash and lady, it’s a fuck ton bigger than what you have.”
She flung magic at me, and I snapped up a protection bubble before it could hit me. As soon as it winked out, I dropped my bubble and thumped her with a bolt of energy that knocked her ass over head. Then I ran. Ran toward the back of the room, the black void, and, I hoped, my dad.
The room behind me exploded into action as I dove through the darkness.
***
I hit the floor hard. It knocked the wind out of me and left me struggling for air. I still rolled to my back, agony and all, and sealed the door shut, using some of my fuck ton of power I’d told Kenda about. ‘Neutria! Help.’
She did. Holy shit.
Magic flew from my hands, sticky black energy that looked like web. It sealed the door and bounced the first few invaders back out of sight. ‘That’s awesome,’ I gasped, short of breath even talking in my own head.
Of course.
Of course. I got up, my air coming back inch by painful inch. I staggered down a tunnel that fit my idea of a dungeon much better than the previous one. Witch balls sat in pockets high on the walls instead of torches, but they didn’t detract from the ominous feel of the place. “How long will that web last?”
As long as we need it.
All magic could be defeated, even magic from assassin spiders. Still, it gave me hope that I’d have sufficient time to find and save my father, so I hurried on, my strides loosening as I got my air back. Soon I was jogging, though it didn’t seem I was making any progress. “Something is fucked up about this place.”
Trap. Break the glamour.
“And how do I do that?” I dropped into my Magic Eye and saw more of the green zig zags running through everything.
Burn them at the source. And she moved my attention to the slight flairs of light that capped each line as it disappeared through the brick. I forced power into those spots and the green lines winked out of existence one by one. When the last one vanished, the brick veneer fell and left me in a modern-looking corridor. There were rooms all down the length with humming shields of energy keeping the prisoners inside. Neutria nudged me toward a shiny silver panel and helped me figure out how to power down every damn barrier in the place. Ha! That would keep them busy.
“Dad!” I shouted, walking past the cells, turning my head like a pinwheel in a varying breeze as I searched for him. “Dad!”
A man lurched from the cell on my right and grabbed at me. His hair was wild, his clothes tattered. “Did you let me out? Are we free?”
“If they don’t catch you, you are.” I left him behind to celebrate his freedom and kept going, calling.
The corridor ended in a hard left. Another silver panel sat at the mouth of this hall, and I powered down the cell doors here, too. I thought I heard shouting, but had no idea if the Council had finally gotten past Neutria’s barrier or the prisoners were fighting. I drew up the blue thread that was my father’s connection to me. It shot off down the hall, and got brighter as I went, encouraging me to jog again despite the pain under my ribs.
I found him after three more turns. He was in a big room and there wasn’t a panel for the energy that surrounded him. “Dad! I’m here to get you out.”
Dad looked up from the book he was reading. “Devany!” A grin spread across his face. “I can’t believe they let you in to see me. Kenda said she doubted I’d get visitors.”
“I’m breaking you out, Dad.”
His eyebrows shot up his forehead. “Honey, I’m under arrest.”
“I don’t care. They aren’t keeping you if I have anything to say about it.” I studied his cell. ‘Any ideas for this one?’
Strong magic. Under. Not sure how to break it.
Strong magic under. “Dad. Is the Omphalos here?”
“It is. Blasted thing is buried in a cave under the Council house. After I, uh, tried to destroy it, they sealed it up tight in a room no one can enter.”
I gave him a pointed stare. “I can’t believe you did that.” It made me realize, quite forcefully, that I didn’t really know my father at all.
He shrugged, looking like a guilty little boy. “I thought it would level the playing field. Stop this unnecessary tension between races.”
“You didn’t put it in your book.”
“I didn’t even know what I was writing, Devany. Remember?”
Right.
“How can I get you out of here?” The look on his face hurt me. “Dad? Ho
w do I get you out of here?”
“I’m not meant to leave.”
I stared at him, then shook my head emphatically. “No. No. I won’t accept that. I’ll get you out. I have to get you out.”
His eyes were sad but he let me have my delusion. “Okay. What kind of magic do you know, sweety?”
I shrugged. “Think 80’s action flick. Big bang, no finesse.” Well, a little finesse. Maybe.
“Probably kill us both,” he said.
“Can you get into a bubble in there? Or did they block your magic?”
He snorted. “They did no such thing. They wanted to but I reminded them about the amendments to the laws about treason, amendments I helped write. They couldn’t argue, since they’re hoping those same laws will condemn me.”
“Assholes.”
“They’re scared. Fools, true, but scared fools. Fear makes people do stupid things.” He walked close to the barrier and craned his neck to look up. “Maybe if you hit the top with enough oomph, you can break this thing.” He didn’t sound like he believed it would work, but he popped himself into a bubble anyway. He nodded at me like he used to when he helped me with my homework. That look said, ‘Go on, honey. You can do it.’
I gathered up a giant ball of energy in my mind’s eye, braced myself, and flung it at the top of the barrier. As soon as it left my fingers, I got myself into a bubble. My volley exploded and filled the room with light. As soon as it died down, I blinked at the room.
Dad was still in the bubble. The energy still hummed around him. “Shit!”
“Devany,” he said, censure in his tone.
“Not a kid, Dad.” But I felt guilty cursing in front of him anyway. I tried to get inside with him but the energy in the room tore apart my hook before it could form.
“I’m sorry baby.”
I ignored the resignation in his tone. “It’s the Omphalos, isn’t it? This energy is coming straight off it. It’s moving up through the floor like a hot gale. You must be pretty bad-ass for them to put you in here.”
He smiled. “It wasn’t me they were worried about, sweetheart.”
Oh. “If they were so worried, they wouldn’t have taken you in the first place.”
“They didn’t realize we were related until I mentioned it. That they knew who you were surprised me. That they were that afraid of you rather delighted me, I confess.”
Huh. Maybe I came about my bloodthirsty nature naturally. Maybe I wasn’t as aberrant as I thought. “How were you going to destroy the Omphalos, Dad?”
“I was going to widen the crack.” He held out his hands as if he were cupping a ball. “The last time they filled it, when we still knew how to fill it, it cracked. Small, hairline, but it was there. Now it leaks magic like crazy and you can feel it, I’m sure. I know I can. Been bugging the hell out of my fillings, I’ll tell you. I was going to push some of my power into it and split it wide open.” He shook his head. “You know, when I was a crazy young man who didn’t mind dying for what he believed in.”
“It would have killed you?”
“I’m sure it would have. It’s pure power, honey. Break the vessel, where does the magic go?” He made an explosion with his voice and hands, adding in some fancy fingers before dropping his hands to his sides.
“What about moving it? Could I do that without dying?”
“How would you do that? It’s a big sucker.”
Magic, Dad. Duh. “I’m going to try. Sit tight.”
“Ha ha. Don’t get yourself killed, young lady. I’ll never hear the end of it from your mother.”
My breath caught in my throat. We shared that bittersweet memory of my mother, his wife, and her words, held it between us for a long moment before I backed out of the room. “Love you Dad!”
“Love you, honey. Come back to me.”
“I will.” I hoped.
NINETEEN
I made test hooks until I could hold one without it getting ripped apart like tissue paper. It wasn’t until that moment that I realized if I did manage to hook to the Omphalos, I wouldn’t be able to get away from it. If it was shredding my hooks when I wasn’t even in the room with it, I didn’t have a prayer to escape its sealed in room ... unless I succeeded in destroying it.
What would happen to the city if the Omphalos was gone, its magic scattered? Would it collapse immediately or slowly fade?
All I needed was a way to remove the barrier around my Dad, I reminded myself, and there had to be a way. They’d stuck him in there after all and in order to execute him, they would have to have a way to get him out. At least now I knew how they’d hid him from me. The Omphalos ate energy. Greedy thing.
I paused, focusing on that thought. It gulped magic but Dad said it was also leaking. Could I feed it enough energy to heal the crack? Could I fix the damn thing and get Dad out? Hell, maybe if I fixed it, they’d pardon Dad and let me gallivant around their precious witch city without them thinking I needed to be magically neutered. As if they could even do that.
I settled into a protection bubble since there were still prisoners wandering around, some of them coming out of their self-induced drunks to discover their freedom. I sank down into my control room, something I rarely had to do anymore. The magic was becoming more and more automatic, if still blundering and raw, but I thought this might need more finesse.
I followed the energy back to its source, finding a brilliant, sun-like orb of light that filled the view screen of my mind’s eye. “Ack,” I croaked, shutting off the view until I could darken my mental viewfinder enough to blunt the force of the glare. When I could see the Omphalos without going full brain-tumor, I could easily see the crack. It was a glaring flaw in an otherwise perfect creation.
I sat in awe for I don’t know how long. It was the rashn on steroids. It was the brilliant heart of a dying star. It was amazing.
Shouts off to my left made me jerk. I swam up from my meditation to see a dust-up at the far end of the hall. I cursed and scooted backward until I was hidden inside the empty cell behind me. I hoped they wouldn’t turn the barriers back on with me in here and that if they did, that I could still hook away.
‘Thought you said it would hold them forever,’ I muttered at Neutria.
She hissed at me. Other door.
‘Sure,’ I said, then stopped taunting the predator in my head and went back to the Omphalos. I wasn’t sure how to fix the crack and decided to use very concrete imagery. Glue seemed so mundane for such a magnificent creation, so I imagined it had to be glue made of diamonds and titanium. Elmer’s Glue was too mundane for this job. And of course, the glue was actually power fed through me to the greedy rock I held pictured in my imagination. Magic was crazy. I directed the flow of my glue at the Omphalos, being very deliberate in how I filled the crack. Slow and easy. The shouts grew louder and I squirmed but didn’t open my eyes. More power. It was greedy. It sucked at me once it noticed me, feeling more like a thousand little awarenesses tugging at the energy flowing through me. Was it sentient? I just didn’t know. It felt alive. My head started to pound with the effort of it but I kept at it, pouring, pouring, directing the flow, repairing the crack. Sweat broke out on my face, my chest, made the backs of my knees moist, which was awful and still the Omphalos wanted more.
I hoped I wasn’t making things worse for Kroshtuka’s people by repairing the damned thing.
My muscles shook. Still it wanted more and I gave it, until the last inch of the crack was filled. The connection between me and it snapped and my eyes opened. I blinked furiously, as exhausted as I’d ever been. Had it worked?
“Dad,” I said, and pushed my shaky self off the floor.
I peeked around the corner and saw that the chaos had moved along. With trembling legs, I hurried back to where I’d left Dad, my heart pounding as if I’d run eight miles straight. I stumbled into the room but was brought up short by the sight of Anforsa Kenda and a group of eight Council members surrounding my dad. He was in a bubble, thank heavens, and the ba
rrier was down, but they were shouting, screaming, one of them crying.
“What have you done?” Kenda shrieked at my father.
I pulled up a bubble too, unwilling to catch their shit when they realized I was here. Then I said, “I fixed the crack. Now you’re going to let us both go or I’m going to reverse my work and break the Omphalos into a million bitty pieces.”
Startled eyes turned my way. Muttering commenced. A few, “Not possibles,” and some “Bullshits,” until, one by one, they went into their magical selves to figure it out for themselves. Whatever they felt or saw or found must have convinced them. Their arms dropped, their stances relaxed. Not a few of them were slack-jawed.
“Don’t let down your guard, Dad,” I said.
“I’m old but not stupid,” he retorted.
I eased closer, keeping the power around me until it could merge with his. When we were together, I formed a hook.
“Wait!” Her voice was desperate but not angry. “Why did you do it? How?”
I flipped her off and endured my dad’s chiding as I whisked us away.
***
In our kitchen, Dad sighed happily as he breathed in the aroma of the coffee in front of him. “Home is a wonderful place, honey, but no matter how great the magic is on Midia, they never did have great luck with coffee.” He looked up at me. “And can a place really be great without coffee?”
I pulled a face. “Yes.”
He snorted. “Fat lot you know. It can’t. That’s the only acceptable answer.” He sipped and looked like he’d been transported to Nirvana. When his eyes fluttered open, he smiled. “Thank you. I guess I should have known better than to think they would have forgiven something so big.”
I shrugged. “I haven’t found them to be very tolerant overall, so I’m not too surprised that they had a long memory. You know what though?” I lowered my voice. “You might not want to tell Arsinua about the whole Omphalos thing. I’m not sure she’d take it well.”
