by A. H. Lee
Jessica took a deep breath. “What Jacob said.”
Mal made a face. “Fine, fine.”
On the other side of the fountain, Cleo had gotten a death grip on the snake’s throat. It lashed furiously, but it was already dissolving, running over the ground like hot tar. Beyond the flagstones, the hedge looked translucent. The dream world was growing foggier.
A face appeared in the circle of light high overhead—a human face with red hair, haloed against the brilliant sky of the real world.
Jessica broke in a grin. “Tod!”
Azrael smiled up at him as well. “Glad to see you awake!”
Tod was panting. Azrael guessed he’d run all the way from the distant suite over the library. He also noted that Tod was wearing what looked like one of Azrael’s shirts. What else was he supposed to wear?
“Can I help?” he shouted down at them.
“Get a ladder!” called Amos.
Everyone looked at him in surprise. The lemur flicked his tail. “Why waste magic? You’re about to use a bunch of it sending this fellow down the river.”
Loudain nodded. “What will it be, Azrael? You and your people have suffered. It’s your call. I doubt this sorcerer will escape if you leave him here, but Jacob is right. I prefer quick and certain executions.”
“I’ll kill him,” said Azrael quietly. “Jessica, I need my coat for a moment.” He reached into an inner pocket and took out a folded memory charm. Azrael whispered more runes into it, shaping the spell, making it more powerful, more complete, ultimately deadly. At last, he said, “Nicholas Horatio Holloway, look at me.”
Nicholas raised his head.
“Get up,” said Azrael.
He tried. He really did, but the binding spell was making him unsteady—a common side effect. Die on your knees, then. “Do you have anything to say for yourself?” asked Azrael.
Nicholas shook his head, his expression stony.
“Did you attempt to murder the High Mage Council, along with my friends and associates?”
He was bound. He could not lie. “Yes.”
“Were any other humans involved in your plot?”
“No.”
“Is anyone depending on you for food or shelter? A child, a parent, a stray cat? Anyone at all?” Azrael did not intend to make the same mistake as the High Council. “If you have innocent dependents, we will see that they do not suffer.”
Nicholas shook his head.
Azrael was tempted to ask for a detailed explanation of the magic Nicholas had used, but the dream was collapsing. Time was running out, and Azrael was finding this whole process increasingly distasteful. He reminded himself of Mal’s panic and despair on the beach, Jessica waiting forever in the dream of a burned out theater, lonely and confused. He remembered Lucy’s lost expression of only a few moments ago. She had better be alright.
Azrael crouched in front of his enemy. Nicholas eyed the glowing ball, his face slack and empty. “How did you do it?” he whispered. “How did you break the memory charm?”
“I have friends,” said Azrael. Friends who fought for me, friends who believed in me, friends who wrestled me to the ground when they had to.
Nicholas nodded, eyes still on the deadly light. “You don’t have to choke me with it. I’ll just open my mouth.”
He knows he needs to swallow it. In spite of himself, Azrael thought, What a waste of knowledge and talent. The spell’s light illuminated the sorcerer’s tangled hair, scruffy beard, and acne. It glinted in his dark, hollow eyes. “I have friends,” Azrael heard himself say again. “But you don’t, do you?”
Nicholas shook his head. “Guess that makes the difference, huh?” His eyes flicked to Azrael’s face and he tried to smile. “And I’m nobody, and I guess they call you Azrael of the Shroud for a reason. Come on, Professor, I’m gonna lose my nerve and start thrashing if you don’t feed me that thing and get this over with.” Under his breath, he muttered, “Gods, just let it be over.”
“How old are you?”
“Fifteen.”
A memory: I escaped alone from Polois. I have been alone all my life. That is true. That is a foundational truth.
Except it isn’t. Because I didn’t. There was someone else. There has always been someone else.
“Azrael…” Jacob spoke in a warning voice. “It is unwise to have prolonged conversations with dark sorcerers. They are manipulative.”
Jessica sniffled. “He’s been living on potatoes,” she whispered.
“I don’t see what that has to do with anything,” began Lady S.
Azrael stood. “You said it was up to me.”
“You can’t be serious,” drawled Amos. “Weren’t you ready to kill us all an hour ago when you thought we might have had something to do with this?”
Mal was simply confused. “Are we going to leave him in the void after all?”
Loudain said nothing, just watched.
Azrael closed his hands, and the ball of light winked out. “I’m not going to kill him.”
Nicholas blinked. He looked just as surprised as everyone else. “Why not?” said Jacob and Lady S at the same time.
“Because he’s me,” spat Azrael. “He’s me without Mal.”
Mal, who looked like he was on the verge of saying something harsh, shut his mouth abruptly.
“I was almost this kid,” continued Azrael. I could have been taken in by someone like Zersic so easily. I would have made the perfect apprentice to someone like that. And after Polois… “I would have been this kid if not for Mal. But I wouldn’t have Mal any more without Jessica. And I don’t think either of them would have survived without Lucy and Tod.”
Jacob opened his mouth, but Azrael stabbed a finger at him. “You would be inside that snake right now without my friends, Jacob. Because it wasn’t my great skill that broke this trap. It was the people who care about me.”
When Lady S spoke again, her voice had softened, “Azrael—”
“I will take responsibility for Nicholas,” he said.
Loudain spoke at last. “You can’t just make him a courtier. He’s not—”
“Just a werewolf?” finished Azrael with a tight smile.
“He’s a dark sorcerer!” objected Lady S.
“He won’t be a dark sorcerer under me,” said Azrael. “He does have to be an apprentice. He needs oversight and training. I realize that. However, I will keep him bound until he can be trusted. As you know, I am very good at binding and at wards.”
Jacob did not look entirely convinced. Azrael gestured at Mal. “I kept him under control for twenty-three years until he was safe. You really think I can’t handle a human boy?”
Jacob relaxed a fraction. “I take your point. Would you be offended if I checked on the two of you from time to time?”
“Not at all. I think that would make Lucy happy as well.”
Loudain turned a slow, amused look on Jacob, who coughed and said quickly, “Well, then, I suggest we get out of here before we’re caught in a dream void.”
Nicholas was staring between them wide-eyed. He had not looked half so rattled by the threat of execution. Azrael turned to him again. “We have to go find your body, kid. We’ll use gates. It shouldn’t take more than a few hours, a day at most. While we’re looking, I am going to leave you in the void. If I let you wake up, you may run. I won’t risk that. Besides, you did do this to other people. You ought to know what it feels like.”
Nicholas swallowed and didn’t say anything.
“Waiting in the void is difficult,” continued Azrael. “At some point, you’ll probably think that I’ve changed my mind and left you here to die. I haven’t, and I won’t. Remember that.”
Nicholas spoke in a sudden rush, “I’m in a locked cellar inside a burned out building that’s mostly collapsed. It’s locked from the inside. I don’t know if you can find me. The whole valley is a wasteland since…since the council burned the circus. They left spell traps. It’s hard to move around. If you’ve got
magic, I mean.”
“Is it like in the dream?” asked Jessica gently. “Is the cellar in the same place?”
Nicholas blinked at her. “Yes, only everything is more burned in real life. I made sure the dream had landmarks still standing. I could use it to move around and find some of the spell traps without setting them off.”
“I think I can still find the cellar,” said Jessica. “Is there really nothing to eat but potatoes?”
Nicholas gave a miserable laugh. “I am running out of those. Even if you let me wake up, I’ll probably starve. Or die in a spell trap.”
“I’ll find you,” said Jessica. “Or Tod will.”
“Tod is the wolf?” asked Nicholas.
“Yes.”
“I thought he was a night terror. The dream was lousy with them for a while.”
Cleo came sauntering up to them, looking like a human child again, disturbingly covered in blood. She was licking it off her fingers. “You throw a good party, Boss. Heya, Mal. You want a taste of this?”
Mal made a face. “Dark magic. Ew.”
Cleo shrugged. “Your loss.”
Azrael shook his head. “Thank you, Cleo. You are dismissed to the astral plane. Run along home.”
She gave him a huge, bloody grin and waved. “Always a pleasure, Lord Azrael!” Then she was gone.
Tod had found a ladder, and the others were already ascending as the fog thickened and the fountain disappeared. Azrael climbed up last. He looked back once and saw Nicholas still kneeling on the fading ground. He looked small and alone on the vanishing pavers in the drifting mist. Their eyes met, and Azrael could see his fear, but also something else. He doesn’t know if he can trust me, but he wants to. That’s a good sign, I think. A good start.
Chapter 49
Jessica
Two days later, Jessica walked into the grand ballroom of the Shrouded Isle for an impromptu Midnight Revel. It had been hastily prepared, announced only that morning. Azrael did not usually hold Revels so close together, and not all the courtiers had chosen to attend. However, Jessica estimated she was looking at a couple hundred sparkling people mingling under the soft lights.
The weather had gotten abruptly cooler—more winter than fall. Jessica wore a red velvet dress, elbow-length black gloves, and the black boots from last time. The dress had a low back and a full skirt. Her lips were red, her golden hair piled on top of her head. She’d chosen a mask made entirely of stiff, black lace.
Yuli had come with her. She hadn’t wanted to, but Jessica had insisted. “You need to leave your room. I’m sorry I wasn’t here for you earlier. Please come out and see people.”
“Was it Mal?” asked Yuli. “Did he kidnap you, Jessica?”
“No. We were both kidnapped. It’s a long story. I’ll tell you someday, but let’s just have fun this evening.”
And they did. They danced with each other and with other people. They drank colorful cocktails and played dominoes as the atmosphere in the room grew more lively. Yuli was laughing more, smiling. She’d chosen a black satin dress, which Jessica thought looked too much like mourning, but she had to admit that Yuli made mourning look sexy.
“Are you still planning to open your bookstore after you leave here?” asked Jessica.
Yuli shrugged. “Yeah, I guess. Maybe with someone other than Terrance. Or maybe by myself. I don’t know.”
“Tod said you helped him find me.”
“Did I? That’s good. He just wanted envelopes from your letters. I guess he can use magic. I was in the middle of bawling my eyes out, and I sort of…embarrassed myself.”
Jessica laughed. “How?”
“I said you should have chosen him instead of Mal.”
Jessica nearly choked on her drink.
“I know, I know!” exclaimed Yuli, “but he surprised me, and I was sitting in a pile of tissues, and he was really nice about it, and I said something stupid. Now I feel like an idiot. I’m sorry you and Mal had to go through…whatever happened to you.”
Jessica smiled into her drink. “You should ask Tod to dance.”
Yuli shook her head. “He’s the kind of guy who is nice to everyone, but he only really likes a few people. I’m not one of them. He’s really nice, though.”
“And hot,” said Jessica with a smirk. “Nice to watch him coming and going.”
Yuli laughed nervously. “He lives here. He probably only wants to be friends with other people who live here.”
“You should ask him to dance,” repeated Jessica.
“I haven’t even seen him tonight.”
Jessica, who’d been watching Tod dance for the last five minutes, gestured with her drink. “Right there.”
Yuli squinted. “Oh.”
Jessica plopped another drink in front of her. “For courage!”
“Jessica…”
“Drink it. And then go over there.”
And Jessica did something she hadn’t tried before—not on someone she didn’t personally intend to seduce. She gently and deliberately lowered Yuli’s inhibitions. This is how a succubus tries to make you feel better, my friend. At least I know Tod will be nice about it.
Yuli took a deep breath, stood up, and walked across the dance floor. Tod looked surprised when she tapped him on the shoulder, but not unhappy. A moment later, they were moving together. Two minutes later, they were talking and laughing.
Jessica watched with a sense of satisfaction. She let her eyes drift over the beautiful frescoes, the stately columns, garden torches and the sparkle of the pool beyond. I’ll have to ask Tod what it was like to grow up here. Obviously, a child would need to stay out of adult areas, but I think it could be really wonderful.
She was so lost in thought that she didn’t see Mal until he slid onto the couch beside her. “You know what those black gloves and black boots look like?”
Jessica rolled her eyes.
Mal put an arm around her and kissed the side of her neck. “Foxy lady.”
Jessica shook her head. “It’s so much harder and stranger than I thought.”
“I could tell a dick joke right now.”
“I think you just did.”
“I assume you’re talking about shapeshifting?”
“Yes, you make it look easy, but it isn’t.”
Mal shrugged. “I’m a five-dimensional creature. If I don’t change shape now and then, I feel cramped.”
Jessica leaned back against his shoulder, and he pulled her close, his thumb absently stroking the side of her breast. She could smell the clean scent of his skin and hair, feel his warmth. “Did Azrael get his magical airlock finished?”
“Yep. Two hours ago. The other magicians helped. We’re ready for the rest of those nosy assholes to show up tomorrow, I guess.” He yawned.
Jessica smiled. “Sleepy incubus.”
Mal grunted. This party was intended for him to recharge, but Jessica could tell he was tired from more than the use of his magic. His ordeal in the dream world had taken something out of him.
I suppose it took something out of me, too. Jessica felt as though she could curl up against him and go to sleep right here. This may be the most subdued Revel ever. “I’m so glad we’re here,” she whispered.
“Me, too.”
Someone cleared his throat, and Jessica looked up to see a slender man in a tuxedo standing beside their couch. His mask was black and white porcelain. The light was shining at his back, and it took Jessica an instant to recognize him. “Ren!” She bounced to her feet.
Mal scrambled up behind her. “You came!”
Azrael looked a little nervous. “Actually, I brought my guests. They…um…wanted to see what these parties looked like. I think they actually want to make sure nobody’s being abused.”
“Well, I do hope they’ll stay for the full experience,” purred Mal. “I would love to see Jacob loosen up a bit.”
Jessica rolled her eyes. “They’re magicians, Mal. I’m sure they’re warded.”
“So
is he,” said Mal with a nod at Azrael. “But I bet I get him to put some grass-stains on that tux by the end of the night anyway.”
Azrael swallowed. Jessica could tell he was worried about being humiliated in front of his guests. She put her arms around him and laid her cheek on his shoulder. “I’m so glad you came,” she whispered. “Mal will be gentle.”
Mal put his arms around both of them. Jessica felt profoundly content.
“I see you got the brat out of the garden,” said Mal into Azrael’s hair.
Azrael laughed. “Not without effort. He didn’t actually want to attend the Revel. He just wanted to keep working.”
“I think that qualifies him as a dark sorcerer right there,” said Mal.
“I think he’s a little young for your parties,” said Jessica.
“And he is warded,” continued Azrael. “You will not be feeding on him or any other magician without my permission.”
Mal harrumphed. He had accepted Azrael’s decision about Nicholas, but Jessica thought it would be a while before Mal forgave him. For his part, Nicholas’s brief possession had clearly left him terrified of Mal. Jessica thought that was probably for the best.
Azrael’s first assignment for his new apprentice had been shoring up the weak place in the garden left by the dream gate. “If I have an incursion of night terrors, faeries, or chimeras, you will be cleaning privies for a while,” Azrael had told him.
Nicholas certainly wasn’t allergic to work. He’d spent his first day in the garden from sunrise to sunset, stopping only to wolf down food as though he’d never seen any before. He clearly had no idea how to behave among all the glittering people or what to think of the sensuous atmosphere. But he knew how to work. Jessica suspected that he and Azrael would get along very well after everything quieted down.
Jessica lifted her face to her lovers. She spoke cautiously, “The westernmost of the Provinces allows multiple marriages.”
Azrael smiled. “I was wondering whether you knew about that. One of the island kingdoms will also perform them.”
“Can we?” she asked breathlessly.
“Of course.”
“Oh!” Jessica wanted to bounce, but she had too many arms around her. “Will you help me pick out a dress?”
