by Rain Oxford
“If you kill someone with it, you’ll take their magic.”
“I would have done that anyway. My people steal magic all the time through murder. Now, give me the ring.”
Painter gave it to him. As far as my brother was concerned, the deal was done, so there was no point arguing. “Did you know what the sword does before we used it to kill Maori?”
“That it kills gods? Yes. That it steals their powers? I figured as much. Magic works that way on Dothra.” He frowned at the ring, not putting it on his finger. “Please tell me this isn’t your immortality ring.”
“I needed a ring and I liked it. I didn’t know at the time it was part of the weapon. I’ll just have to be mortal from now on.”
“Unfortunately, that’s not how this works,” Langril said. “This ring is bonded to you; it will not work for me, even for its original purpose.” He handed Painter back the ring, but not the dagger. “You will have to return to Roman and tell him to make another ring to work with the dagger.”
“That’s not possible.”
“It must be, or else you would not be upholding your end of the deal.”
“Our deal was to give you the weapon in exchange for your help. You barely did anything to help and we brought you the weapon anyway. I don’t care if you can’t use it.”
“You should, because everyone on Syndrial will. Unlike either of you, I know how to use the Book of Names. I’d hate for your girlfriend to be hurt, Nathan,” Langril threatened. He looked at Painter. “Or your mother.”
“The book was destroyed,” I said.
“Is that what you think?” Langril asked. He snapped his finger and the Book of Names appeared hovering in front of him.
“How?”
“How what?”
“You know what. How did you stop that from falling into the lava?”
“Quite easily, since it was never anywhere near lava.”
“You made another fake book?”
“I have to take precautions with new acquaintances. I had no way of knowing you would be true to your word. Fortunately, your brother here has some honor. Bring me a new ring and you’ll get your book back.”
“What if Roman can’t make another one?”
“He can. If you fail to convince him, I’m afraid the consequences would be quite unspeakable, not to mention unsanitary, inhuman, and downright disgusting.”
“And you wonder why I hate everyone except you and our mother,” Painter muttered to me.
I grabbed his arm and focused my mind on our apartment. “There’s no place like home, there’s no place like home, there’s no place like home.”
* * *
We appeared in our apartment.
My mother and Keira were sitting at the kitchen table, doing something on a laptop. The kitten, who had been napping in the kitchen sink, shot up like we had shouted and hissed as hard as he could.
“Can you do something about him?” Painter asked.
I’d never been hissed at by a cat before; even the least friendly cats always seemed to like me. This was getting irritating.
“He was perfectly nice the entire time you were gone,” Keira said.
The kitten leapt out of the sink, bounced off the table, and launched at us. We both jumped apart and he landed on the floor. At full speed, he darted under the couch.
I shook my head. “Maybe he doesn’t like magic.” We sat down and caught Keira and my mother up on everything that had happened.
“So the book hasn’t been destroyed and now another dangerous caster has it?” my mother asked.
“Wizard, but yeah,” Painter admitted.
“You have to get it back. There is more power in that book than the gods have.”
Keira nodded her agreement. “It shouldn’t have been made in the first place.”
“We should demand that Isis get her own damned book,” Painter said. “Langril would kill her in a heartbeat, but it serves her right for laying this on us.”
“They helped us,” I said. “They gave me back Luca.” When he opened his mouth to argue, I put my hand on his arm. “It was what I needed. I needed you, not Luca, and by giving me Luca, Anubis forced me to see that. I bet it was his plan all along.”
“That’s absolutely something Anubis would do,” Keira confirmed.
“Fine. We’ll get the book ourselves,” Painter said.
“We just have to kill Langril,” I said encouragingly.
“I’ve tried that. It doesn’t work.”
“I thought he was your friend.”
“He is.”
“Then why did you try to kill him?”
“He’s an asshole.”
* * *
We appeared in Roman’s shop to find the man still cleaning. “I really hope you are not here with more shit news. My shit tank is full.”
Painter looked at me. “He’s Russian,” I explained. “We used your weapon to kill your uncle. Now we need your help. The ring Painter stole is bonded to him, and we have to give the weapon to Langril.”
“Why? That sounds like a terrible idea.”
“We don’t have a choice.”
“Well, I do, and I’m not making it.”
“We need you to,” I insisted. “If we don’t give Langril the weapon, he will use the Book of Names against everyone on Syndrial.”
“How do you two keep getting more enemies? You have more enemies than people I know. I need privacy to work. Come back in a few days.”
“We’ll be back in a few hours,” Painter said forcefully. “Have it ready by then.”
“Or what?” Roman challenged.
“That wasn’t an ultimatum, it was an order.”
“I thought Langril taught you how to manipulate people,” I whispered.
“I know what I’m doing,” Painter said, not bothering to whisper. “And Roman will get it done or Syndrial will fall. Langril is not the person to piss off.”
I hesitated at that point, realizing that Painter was afraid of Langril. I was so used to Luca exaggerating the situations we got into, but this was the Painter and I had never seen him actually afraid.
“We’re good allies to have,” I said. “Say the Painter’s name three times when the ring is ready. We’ll do what we can to make it up to you.”
Roman sighed. “Well, it takes pressure to make diamonds. I’ll do it. In exchange, though, I want to go home.”
“Oh… um…”
“We can take you back to Earth easily,” Painter said.
“But that might be a bad idea,” I said. “Don’t you supply all of the magical tools to the priests?”
“The priests can learn to do it themselves,” my brother argued. “No one should be forced to stay here if it’s not their home.”
“You’re right. We’ll take you to Earth if you want. For now, we’ll be off.”
* * *
We returned home to shower, eat, and rest. To my surprise, the kitten was a cuddly little angel this time. We discussed a few name options, but the little bastard’s personality was too shifty, so we decided to wait and see if he settled down at all.
I was awoken from my nap by Keira, who was kissing my chest. No amount of sleep deprivation could stop me from enjoying Keira’s warm, naked body against mine. “You’re insatiable.”
“Are you complaining?” she asked.
Instead of opening my eyes, I wrapped my arms around her. “I’m not that stupid. But I do need more sleep.”
“That’s okay. You sleep. I’ll try not to wake you.”
She then proceeded to kiss her way down my body. I really didn’t want to interrupt her, as much as I knew it was a bad time. She knew what I needed better than I did, apparently. As her extremely talented tongue manipulated me, I decided I needed stress-relief more than sleep anyway.
About ten seconds before I got that stress-relief, a fist pounded on the door. “Get up, Nathan, we have to go.”
The curses I screamed at him were enough to make Keira stop and think
.
Once I was done, there was a moment of silence before Luca sheepishly said, “Sorry, bro. I didn’t think. You should have put a sock on the door. Finish up quickly, though, because Roman is calling.”
I hadn’t told him what I was doing, but he could tell by my colorful threats. “I’m not in the mood now!”
“Oh… that sucks. Keira, maybe try singing a Princess Jasmine song. I bet that will help.”
“Go away!” I yelled.
Keira laughed as she rolled off me. “I still need to look up this princess you’re so fond of.”
“I was five.” Despite my protests, I couldn’t help but to picture her in a sexy version of Princess Jasmine’s outfit, first in light blue, then in red. “You know what? I’m looking forward to Halloween.”
She smirked.
Reluctantly, I dressed. She made the task more difficult by distracting me with her beautiful body. When I was decent, it took her half a second to magically dress herself in a dark red halter-top and cut-off denim shorts. Somehow, we ended up back on the bed and her top was lost.
“Nathan, don’t make me get the hose,” Painter said.
“I’m going to find the closest well and push you down it.”
“Then you’d better not answer your phone, because I’ll be haunting your ass and I won’t be using some dumb videotape to do it.”
* * *
I left the room after promising I would give Keira my undivided attention later. Painter and I returned to Roman’s shop. The place was finally cleaned up and Roman was sharpening a sword. When we arrived, he stood and pulled a ring from his pocket.
“It’s about time you two showed up. Here. Try not to bond with this one.” He held it out and I took it. It was exactly the same as the Painter’s except the snake was gold instead of silver.
My brother quickly painted a portal in his book, which appeared on the floor. “This will get you to modern-day New York. I trust you can get a ride anywhere from there. We’d help with money, but we’re both broke.”
“I don’t carry cash because everything is card now. Earth might be different than what you remember,” I said. “If you have trouble coping, call Painter or my girlfriend, Bast.”
“Your girlfriend is the cat goddess?”
“Yeah.”
“That is strangely hot.”
“Damn straight. She purrs and she’s ridiculously flexible.”
“And you two can double on the hairball medicine,” Painter said.
“Actually, she’s impeccably well groomed.”
“Okay, as much as I like to tease you, I really don’t want to know.”
“I want to know,” Roman said. “I have been alone for more than twenty years.”
“Go find out for yourself,” I insisted, gesturing to the portal.
Roman looked around his shop. “I have a life here, though.”
Painter rolled his eyes. “Now you’re getting cold feet?”
“Give him a break. Can you leave the portal there but deactivate it?”
“Yes.”
“Do that. Roman, do you know how to activate a portal?”
“No.”
“Can you get a priest to do it?”
After a moment, he nodded. “They all owe me.”
“Good. Then you have a way back to Earth. Take your time in deciding. Painter and I need to go before something happens.”
Painter deactivated the portal to Earth and we wished him farewell.
I took Painter’s arm and focused on Langril. “There’s no place like---” I was cut off as Painter was suddenly tossed across the room. His book flew out of his hand.
“Not again!” Roman yelled.
Painter hit the ground, automatically reaching for his book, which flew to him. Unfortunately, he couldn’t fight an invisible opponent. I pulled out my book.
Heavy rain started falling in Roman’s
The book shot out of my hand before I could finish the sentence. A small explosion in front of me threw me back against the wall. A moment later, another explosion went off, but there was a ward around me. Painter had gotten his book and protected me.
I held my hand out for my book and said, “Sjokve.”
It flew through the air into my hand. I tried to do the same for my pen, but it didn’t come, as if someone was standing on it. Instead, I pulled a disposable pen from my pocket and finished the sentence. A few seconds later, rain fell. “Behind you!” Painter said.
Too late, the man appeared behind me, pressing the blade of a dagger to my throat. I didn’t get a look at his face, but the black robe he wore told me he was a priest. “Who are you?” I asked. Obviously, he had realized he was made the second it started raining and gave up his invisibility act.
“You should have asked that before you took what rightfully belonged to me,” he sneered.
I groaned, immediately recognizing his voice; he was the priest who had tried to kill my mother.
“I thought Isis had dealt with you.”
“She imprisoned me and didn’t feed me, so I died. That was how I met Maori.”
“And told him about the book and our mother,” Painter said.
“Yes. In exchange, he resurrected me.”
“Damn. How many powers did the guy have?” I asked.
“It doesn’t matter. What I want is the weapon.”
“How do you know about it?” Painter asked.
“Because he overheard us,” I said. “He woke the dragon. Your power is invisibility?”
“My power is to be overlooked. I am the Witness.”
“That’s actually a pretty cool name.”
“And a sweet ability,” Painter said. “Except that my brother can do that and more. Other than that, it’s cool.”
“Did you steal the dagger before realizing that you couldn’t use the ring?” I asked.
“I was trying to get the ring off your brother in the temple, but you two wouldn’t die. I didn’t know the ring wouldn’t have worked, so I’m glad.”
“How did you know about the temple? Why did you put the dagger there?”
“I saw Maori’s portal. Now stop stalling. Give me the dagger and ring or your brother dies.”
“You’re not really good at understanding what you’re witnessing, are you?” I asked. “People who come between my brother and me suffer.”
“I’m not afraid.”
“You will be… you will be.”
“What?”
“Nothing.” Painter pulled out the dagger and new ring. “Don’t give it to him, stupid, he’ll just kill me anyway.”
“Shut up, Nathan. This is serious. No weapon is worth your life.”
“It is when he can kill gods with it.”
“I don’t give two fucks about gods. I care about you.” He looped the ring on the dagger hilt and held them out. “Let my brother go and take it.”
“What about Langril?”
“He’s not the one with a dagger to your throat.”
“Give me the sword and then I’ll let him go.”
“No, I don’t trust you. Let him go and I promise to hand the weapon over. I don’t break my promise.”
“Your brother might.”
“I won’t let him. I’m the older brother; he’ll do as I say.”
Bullshit.
“Fine.” The Witness slowly pulled his knife away and then vanished… or became imperceptible. The dagger and ring were taken from Painter’s hand. A moment later, he reappeared on the other side of the room. “This isn’t the last you’ve seen of me. I will be back, more powerful than ever. After I kill you two, I will kill that monster who raped my beautiful, innocent Talot.”
“Our mother never belonged to you,” Painter said.
“She did. She loved me and was saving herself for me. Your father took her against her will.”
“He did wrong her, but you had no right to her, either. You never touched her, and that makes you better than Set.”
“She was mine!” W
itness yelled. “I took care of her since she was born! I loved her!”
“Okay, now you just became as bad as Set.”
“Did you lust after her when she was a child?” I asked.
“Age doesn’t matter.”
“That’s disgusting.”
He disappeared. “Do you think he knows?” Painter asked.
“Yes.” I did think Witness knew our mother was still alive. “The kitten kept going insane. I think he saw through Witness’s power and that’s what he was freaking over.”
“Then he’s going to go after her,” he said. I nodded. “Let’s get back to Langril. He’ll know what to do.”
I took his arm again, concentrated on Langril, and transported us. To my surprise, we appeared in the study with Langril. “That’s convenient.”
“I temporarily opened my defenses to you and your brother,” Langril said. “Now, where is my sword?”
“There was a problem.”
Langril conjured three chairs and we sat. He was quiet as Painter and I explained everything, and when we were done, he didn’t speak for a while.
“I see,” he finally said.
“We did what we could,” I said.
“I know you did. I really believed in you two. I am used to losing, unfortunately. I know when someone is useful to me, but I’m cursed that I can never win.”
“Win at what?”
“Whatever I’m trying to do.”
“Then why do you bother?”
“I’ve learned to ally myself with people who want the same thing as me or convince them that getting me what I want will also get them what they want. Then I let them win for me.”
“Langril is the one who taught me that I can’t change someone’s goals; I have to convince them that doing what I want will get that for them,” Painter said.
He was afraid of Langril, but he also admired the creepy wizard. “Will you give us the book?” I asked.
“I’m not your enemy. I will give you the book because we really do have the same goal now; we want to get the weapon away from Witness. If he has even a shred of intelligence, he’s going to lay low for a while. I suggest that you use the time to practice magic and improve your strategy.”