“And what will that do?” Bree-yark asked.
“Presumably create a portal to Malphas, one that could trigger a larger demon apocalypse.”
“That’s it?” Gorgantha remarked dryly.
“You said presumably,” Jordan pointed out.
“Well, an arrangement like that would alter the energy,” I said, “but it still wouldn’t be enough to blow open the kind of hole Malphas needs. That would require a super fuel.”
“So there’s the fount of ley energy, the copper plates, and this Aristotelean Set,” Jordan said. “You think there’s something else?”
“The energy from the failing time catches, maybe?” Bree-yark offered.
“That’s a great thought,” I said. “I’m not sure how he’d capture and channel it, though.”
Plus, my magic was suggesting that Malphas already had what he needed, that those three components were the answer and it was just a question of how he planned to deploy them. Unfortunately, my magic wasn’t spelling that part out.
“Where did all of this come from?” Caroline challenged more than asked me.
I pulled my lips in. Across the table, one of Arnaud’s eyebrows rose slightly. If I told my teammates he and I had puzzled it out together, I was going to have to explain that my magic had advised me to listen to him. Otherwise, they’d think I was out of my mind. But at the same time, I didn’t want Arnaud to hear the magic-advising-me part. He would use that to his advantage somehow.
“When I went back to the apartment, I did some research.” I said. “I also talked with Arnaud.”
I decided I didn’t want to lie. Though surprised murmurs circled the table, being upfront with my teammates felt more important at this stage than ever. Soon, however, the murmurs turned angry.
“Him?” Jordan pointed at Arnaud. “I thought he was just a transport.”
“He’s also worked closely with Malphas,” I said.
“Which makes him the skeeviest sort of bitch,” Gorgantha snapped.
Their anger was understandable. Malphas’s demons had murdered half of Gorgantha’s pod and kidnapped Jordan’s wife.
“You’re right,” I said, showing my palms. “Arnaud is who he is. But he’s also our best potential source of intel.”
“He could be telling you anything,” Jordan said.
“Sounds like he already has,” Gorgantha grumbled.
Heat broke over my face, and my voice thickened. “Well, it’s either that, or us walking into a complete unknown.”
Bree-yark shook his head. “You’re better than this, Everson.”
His remark stung the most, probably because to this point Bree-yark had been my most solid ally. From his corner seat, Arnaud watched us with pinched eyes. I imagined the grin behind his muzzle, a part of him delighting in the discord he’d sown. And all the time, his offer dangled between us, awaiting my assent to snap firmly into place. I would never agree to the terms of his proposed truce, of course, but I wondered now if my teammates were right. Should I have been listening to him at all?
“I think we need to trust Everson’s judgment,” Caroline said over the others.
She met my gaze in a way that told me she remembered our talk in the restaurant in 1861. She knew I’d finally listened to my magic, to what I hadn’t wanted to hear. I also sensed she appreciated my honesty.
“We wouldn’t have even reached this point if it hadn’t been for him,” she added.
Delphine turned to Jordan. “I’ve been having those dreams about our sacred tree falling over, part of the root structure missing. And the Raven Circle has felt weaker. It’s like part of the Circle’s power is somewhere else.”
Gorgantha cleared her throat. “I’ve felt off too. Hard to explain, but it’s like me and water aren’t quite on the same page anymore.”
“Both could be explained by Malphas holding your racial essences,” Caroline said.
When Jordan raised his eyes to mine, I saw an extended olive branch. “Was there anything else?” he asked.
“If Malachi is the final element,” I said, “and he got there ahead of us, then Malphas’s plan could already be in motion.”
Jordan pushed himself up by the knuckles. “We should get moving, then.”
“There may be fae who will try to stop us,” Caroline said. “Royal fae.”
“Damn, do we have a plan for them?” Jordan asked.
Remembering what Caroline had told me about the heart vow, I watched for her response. Moisture stood in her eyes as she nodded. “Yes.”
“The portal is downtown,” I said. “On the other side of Arnaud’s wall, unfortunately.”
“One of the boars drives a city bus,” Jordan said. “I’ll have him grab one from the fleet. That’ll take care of getting everyone down there, anyway. We can worry about the Wall when we reach it.”
42
The druids packed light—the clothes and cloaks they’d arrived in, plus herbal kits and quarterstaffs that would disappear the moment we transited to 1776. Jordan’s was the only staff that would endure, having originated outside the time catches. As we filed down the steps from Belvedere Castle, I saw him look back, his dark eyes roving the fortress before he shook his head and continued walking.
I stepped up beside him. “Hey, good seeing you again.”
He draped an arm across my shoulders. “If I’d known that was you earlier, I might have put on a better show.”
He was referring to our sparring session on the observation deck. “I don’t know. If you’d put on a better show, I might not be standing here. Packaging magic inside your blasts? What the hell, man?”
“Some cantrips I’ve been working on. You liked them?”
“Pointed at someone other than me or Gorgantha, maybe.”
He chuckled and withdrew his arm. “When we get back, the ales are on me.” He clapped my shoulder and showed his hand. “I know, I know, we have to get back first. Believe me, I’ve learned that lesson. Two freaking years.”
He took a final look at the fortress before it disappeared beyond the trees.
The city bus was idling curbside when we reached the western border of Central Park. The large being hunched behind the wheel was in human form, but he still had the spiky hair and surly eyes of his boar half. A lit cigarette protruded from a hairy fist. As we boarded, Bree-yark sidled up to him.
“Hey, think I could bum one of those?” he asked.
I winced when the wereboar grunted, but he pulled a cigarette from a pack in the pocket of his shirt. He even lit it. Bree-yark clapped his shoulder in thanks and took a long drag. “Man,” he said, exhaling as we walked down the aisle. “Ever since watching Barnum’s go up in flames, this is all I’ve been thinking about.”
“Well, you’ve earned it,” I said.
Still, I took a seat with Caroline and placed Arnaud in the growing plume of smoke beside Bree-yark. Gorgantha sat ahead of us, while Jordan and the rest of the druids spread out here and there. When the driver got the confirmation we were all on, he closed the door and pulled from the curb.
“We look like the express bus to Narnia,” I said.
That drew a faint smile from Caroline, who had spoken little since our meeting in Belvedere Castle. She was thinking about Angelus and our impending encounter.
“Hey, thanks for getting my back with the Arnaud thing.”
“Is your magic talking now?” she asked.
“More like I’m listening to what I didn’t want to hear. You were right about that.”
“Then I have no choice but to trust you,” she joked.
“Your advice actually echoed something my grandfather said. I’ve been looking for him in these time catches, thinking he could help. But he already gave me all the help I needed when I found him the last time.”
“How so?”
“Well, when we were at his farm, he said he’d felt a change in the ley energy. He sketched it out for us, showing energy lines being directed back at the St. Martin’s site. We now
know that was from the copper plates. The sketch also reminded me of a vision I’d had of being in a cross-like arrangement with four others and rotating, the motion generating an intense, malevolent energy.”
“The Aristotelean Set?” Caroline said.
I nodded. “Malachi had the same vision, which makes me think I was tapping into him through our bond. If he represents Spirit, the other four were the rest of the Upholders, plus a demon. Earth, Air, Water, and Fire. My grandfather said it sounded like someone meant to perform powerful spell work.”
“So far, spot on.”
“But his real help came at the end. He said we only needed to worry if it came to pass. And that my team was in the presence of ‘one who heeds his magic’—though I think he was challenging me more than making an observation. That’s all a long way of saying thank you, because I believe that’s what it’s going to take.”
“You’re welcome, and I do trust you,” she said, echoing her vote of confidence from the meeting. “But the biggest challenge will be seeing it through.” I sensed she was telling that to herself as much as me.
“Sounds like you’ve come to a decision as well,” I said.
I left it out there in case she wanted to talk about it. I wasn’t sure she did. Blocks shot past as the wereboar weaved in and out of traffic. At a corner bus stop, a group waved their arms, believing we were their ride. We blew through a briefcase that a man thrust into the street. Papers burst everywhere.
“With the heart vow, I’m the only one who has a realistic chance against him,” Caroline said at last. “If he’s waiting at the St. Martin’s site, I’ll do what needs to be done.”
“Malachi could be there too,” I reminded her. “He has potent powers of banishment.”
“If he’s not, I’ll need you and the others to buy me time.”
“Of course, whatever you—”
The driver swore and slammed the brakes. We pitched forward while the rear of the bus fishtailed in a shrieking peal. Trailing cars braked and crunched into us. We rocked to a stop across Broadway. More thuds sounded from a growing pileup. I’d thrown an arm across Caroline to brace her, and now we peered out our south-facing window.
A fog of burned rubber scudded past our view. Beyond, a formation of tall figures stood in the road, their skin a familiar cobalt blue. The one in front had the chiseled face of a deity and a mane of copper hair.
“Caroline,” Angelus boomed.
Shit, they’re early. I squeezed her hand and rose. “Stay here.”
“Where are you going?”
“To buy you that time.”
The rest of the bus was beginning to stir as I made my way down the aisle. “What the hell’s going on?” Jordan asked.
“It’s the fae,” I said. “The demon-possessed fae.”
“Come out, Caroline,” Angelus called. “I’m taking you home.”
When I passed the wereboar, I whispered, “Keep the bus running.”
He grunted at my back as I descended the steps. We were far enough south that Broadway had become one way. Behind me, I could hear the shouting and commotion that was the aftermath of the pileup. Ahead, the street was eerily quiet. Pedestrians along both sidewalks stood and stared. Several began filming on their phones. Angelus and the seven fae with him had made no attempts to blend into the period—or to even appear human. Like in Faerie, they could have been a race of gods.
“I’ve come for Caroline,” Angelus said.
“Oh, is that why you were calling her name?”
“We don’t want to harm anyone, Everson.”
“Then maybe dropping into the middle of Broadway wasn’t the brightest move.”
His intense green eyes cut from me to the fishtailed bus and back. Though Angelus carried no weapons, the same light-skinned male and female who had flanked him in Faerie wielded a sickle-shaped blade apiece.
“You were to have summoned me,” he said.
“Yeah, about that…” I pretended to pat my coat pockets. “I must have tossed your stone somewhere.”
“I just want Caroline.”
“Unfortunately, the feeling isn’t mutual.”
For all my bravado, my knees were quaking. I was standing in front of a demon housed in a formidable fae’s body. There was the banishment rune on my blade, sure. But I’d need to pierce him first, and with the kind of powers Angelus wielded, he could reduce me to cellular powder the moment I flexed.
Right now, the game was to keep his attention on me.
“So why don’t you run along back to Faerie?”
“I’ve always tolerated you, Everson. Don’t make this personal.”
I snorted even though being tolerated by a royal fae was rather high praise.
“You want to talk about personal?” Bree-yark barked. “How about you making it so my friends here couldn’t go home?”
When I looked back, I was surprised to see that he had come off the bus, along with Jordan, Delphine, and a host of druids. They were all arrayed behind me, weapons in hand. Through the window I could see Gorgantha standing over where Caroline was presumably crouched, out of sight.
“We have no fight with you,” Angelus replied.
Bree-yark pumped the shotgun’s action. “Then let’s keep it that way.”
I showed the goblin a hand for him to cool it. But something about this whole thing felt off. If Malphas was controlling Angelus, why the fixation on Caroline? Why not engage the rest of us? He had to know we were gunning for his portal now. It was almost as if Angelus was just being … himself.
“Stand aside, Everson,” he said. “She’s not the woman you knew.”
When he stepped forward, a rustle of cloaks sounded behind me, and the collective hum of druidic magic took up in staffs. Angelus’s eyes glowed, while the flanking light-skinned fae readied their blades. The energy issuing from the fae prince sent ominous waves through the time catch: a promise of mass destruction. In the distance, approaching sirens rose and fell, but they felt a world away.
“Then who am I?” Caroline asked.
I looked over to find her moving through the druids. Gorgantha was with her, still acting as her protector, but there was no fear in Caroline’s eyes. Angelus watched sternly, but I felt his power draw down.
“It’s time to come home,” he said.
Gorgantha dropped off as Caroline stopped beside me, keeping Angelus a good fifteen feet out in front of us.
“Why?” she asked. “You’ve already severed my lineal claim.”
“You’re under the influence of a malevolent being. You don’t know what you’re saying, what you’re doing.”
Caroline shook her head sadly. “No, Angelus. It’s you who’s been corrupted.”
In the next moment he was towering over her, hands gripping her arms. Before I could react, he and Caroline were fading from the time catch. He’s taking her! But Caroline’s mouth wrenched down, and Angelus cried out. They returned to solidity, only now Angelus was on his knees, one hand gripping his chest.
She’d done it. She’d attacked him through the heart vow.
The remaining fae faltered as if the attack had stunned them too. It suggested they were joined in a fae bond, possibly to move in and out of the time catch.
The short silence was broken by hooves pounding asphalt and the cries of pedestrians. Our driver had gone full wereboar and was charging the fae. I shouted as his monstrous form bounded past me, trying to call him off. The last thing we needed was a full-blown battle before Caroline could overwhelm the demon.
But the wereboar ignored me. Snorting, he drove his thick head into the chest of the male twin and gave a savage twist. The fae cried out as tusks tore through flesh and threw him through the air. Pedestrians screamed and backed away. The wereboar wheeled on the female, but she was ready for him.
I cast a barrier between them, but the fae’s enchanted blade smashed through it. The wereboar absorbed three rapid slashes and his bulky form disintegrated to the street. Behind me, the
druids reacted with blasts from their staffs. The fae blocked them, but like Jordan’s attacks on me earlier, these carried sneaky cantrips. With each seismic collision, yellow dust burst out and wisped around the fae.
“Time displacements!” Jordan shouted.
Indeed, like videos being rewound, the fae underwent a rapid dance until they were standing at attention as they had been shortly after arriving.
“How long?” I asked him.
“Fifteen seconds, give or take.”
I glanced at where Caroline stood over her husband. Fae light radiated from her eyes. Angelus remained down, a hand clawing at the asphalt, clearly weakening. I could just make out the tight cord of power she was driving into his heart. She had to be pushing her limits, both energetically and emotionally. And if Angelus recovered, we were going to be looking at a major fight against him and his loyalists.
“Hit the fae,” I called to my teammates. “Hard.”
Bree-yark didn’t need to be told twice. His gun went off in a rapid series of pumps and shots, silver ammo blasting into the seven standing fae, knocking them around. Under the cantrip, the fae didn’t resist. They were viewing everything as it had happened seconds before the magic possessed them.
Pushing power through my cold iron amulet, I dropped the reeling fae with a cone of blue light. Transparent white flames burst over their protective magic. I withdrew my attack as the druids moved in with quarterstaffs, pummeling the downed fae with charged blows and then pummeling them some more.
We were cheap-shotting the hell out of them, but we needed to bring their power down to a level we could manage before they recovered. With time winding down on the cantrip, I turned to Caroline.
“How’s it go—?” I started to ask, then broke off.
She had drawn a fae dagger from under her cloak and raised it overhead. The tip was aimed at the center of Angelus’s back. He remained on the street. One of his hands crawled to her ankle and gripped it weakly. Beneath the faltering light in her eyes, tears streamed down the sides of her face.
Night Rune (Prof Croft Book 8) Page 31