by Nichols, TJ
Iktan’s ears flattened. “Nor do I.”
“I’ll deal with that if I survive. I want to survive. I think that’s the only way.”
Angus had tried to explain the clean sweep to them, but weaponized magic was something they didn’t use, and it was hard to create new magic when none of them knew what it was supposed to feel like. There would be no trial of it either. It worked or it failed. They were saved or they were dead.
Given that they were dying slowly and there were no other options, the vote was unanimous. But horror gripped Saka and refused to be shaken off.
No one had said a word about it as they shared a bed, but they had all known it might never happen again. Losing Angus would be like carving out his heart. Even the thought wounded Saka in a way that was unbecoming to a mage.
The other mages were looking at him like he knew what to do. As Angus’s mentor he needed to say something. He couldn’t deny the request, not if it meant Angus lived. But lived how? How could a human be tightly bound to Arlyxia and still be human? If Angus channeled all this magic, what would be left of him? Saka nodded. “As you said, anything that helps. Do you remember the pain?”
Angus blinked slowly. “Something like that is hard to forget.”
“You want to do that, for every mage?” He didn’t want to see Angus go through that.
He held Saka’s stare. “It will be worth it to live.”
A part of him didn’t want Angus marked by others. Angus was his. Saka looked away. All scars could be erased when the wearer was ready to move on, but Angus had chosen not to remove Saka’s mark despite having the skill. “You will wear many scars.”
“I know,” Angus said softly. He brushed Saka’s fingers with his own. “But only yours is on my heart.”
“I will give you my mark,” Iktan said carefully.
The other mages murmured their agreement and left to get their knives.
They would also need food and water for after. Saka waited until they were alone and Angus was sitting, staring at the stones that represented each mage. He ran his fingers through Angus’s hair. It was so much longer than it had been at first.
Angus glanced up, looking grim. “Thank you for letting me sleep.”
Saka smiled. It was the least he could’ve done. He’d take Angus’s place if he could—go to Vinland and deploy a clean sweep, but he wasn’t sure that even a mage with decades of experience could do what needed to be done. His eyes were hot and gritty as he walked away to get what he needed.
Terrance was still in bed. He watched as Saka collected his knives and a cloth. “What are you doing?”
“Finishing preparations. You will be leaving soon with Angus.” He wanted to shake Terrance and tell him how important his role was, but he respected Angus’s wishes not to say anything yet. “Keep him alive.”
“I will. I swear.”
Saka pulled out a blade. “With blood.”
Terrance took the knife and cut his forearm with a calmness and skill that he’d learned when feeding his first demon, a scarlips, his own blood. “Whatever it takes.”
“Whatever he asks,” Saka said, knowing that Terrance would want to refuse.
“Anything.” Magic shimmered in the blood.
Saka put his hand over it and healed it, leaving a scar. “So you don’t forget.”
Terrance gripped his hand. “I won’t. I love him.”
“As do I.” He pulled away and strapped on his knives.
When he returned to the meeting place, Angus hadn’t moved. It was as though he were going through the magic in his mind, repeating it until he no longer even had to think about what he was doing. If he were attacked he wouldn’t be able to think about the magic. He’d just have to do it.
Saka offered Angus a hand, and he reached out without looking and let himself be hauled to his feet. “I should have said something to you first.”
“You’re a mage. You don’t need to ask my permission. I don’t know what the effects will be.” He looked at the stones. “None of us know.”
“I should’ve pressed my father for more details about the weapon, but I didn’t think it was possible.”
“He was asked, Angus. He was asked many things before he surrendered his blood and soul to Lifeblood.” The man had tried to kill his son, so he deserved no compassion and had received none. The mages had shown no care for his suffering. Pain and fear were just as effective in rebalancing as lust and desire.
“I hope he died in pain.”
Saka put a hand on Angus’s shoulder. “That is not a good thought to carry.”
“It’s the truth. He and his kind have caused the deaths of many. I’ve watched friends die. I’ve suffered. Why should I wish him, or any of the warlocks responsible, a pleasant death?”
“Do not do this for revenge.”
Angus nodded. “I do it because it’s the right thing to do. Everything I love will die if I do nothing.” He drew in a breath. “So I do it for love.”
“Make sure Terrance understands that. Make sure he knows that you love him.”
“I will. I do.” Angus forced a smile.
“They are all returning. Are you certain you want this?”
“No. But when has that ever stopped me?”
Saka wished Angus would stop and wait until he was sure. If they survived, there would be time to remind him that a mage was meant to consider all the options. But there was no time, and no one had any other options.
While Iktan was the head mage, Saka was Angus’s mentor, so he created the circle. It shimmered purple to stop any sound from carrying, and Angus closed his eyes and took some deep breaths. Then he pulled off his shirt. Except for Saka’s sigil over his heart, his pale skin was unmarked and smooth, with a dusting of freckles across his shoulders. How many times had Saka kissed them? Run his hand down Angus’s spine?
He stood in front of Angus and took his hands. He would take some of the pain—all of it if he could. He’d step through the void and unleash the clean sweep if he could. Saka didn’t want Angus to do this but couldn’t stop him either. Angus wasn’t his apprentice anymore, and no training that Saka could offer would help.
Iktan stepped up, blade drawn. He placed a hand on Angus’s upper arm to heat the flesh and start the magic. Then he carved his sigil into the skin. Angus hissed, and the sting flowed from him to Saka. While he couldn’t ease the pain the way he’d have liked to, Saka could share it and lessen it that way.
Iktan healed the wound and left a dun-colored scar.
One by one, each mage stepped up to repeat the process down his arms and over his back. With each one, Angus’s grip on the pain and his ability not to cry out lessened. He bit his lip until that bled too, and soon he was streaked in blood as though he’d already been in battle. When they were done, Saka used magic to dull the burn of all the cuts.
Angus’s chest lifted with each shaky breath, and Saka gave him a little time to regather himself. There was one more thing to do.
He released Angus’s hands and passed him a knife. “Make your mark.”
Angus blinked struggling to focus. “I don’t have one.”
“You are a mage. You should have one.”
Angus gripped the knife more tightly. His knuckles whitened, and he nodded and placed his hand over Saka’s heart. Trails of blood were drying on his arms, but some still dripped into the dirt. Saka’s skin warmed and became hot. Angus removed his hand and placed the tip of the blade against Saka’s skin. He hesitated for a heartbeat and then scored the sigil that would be his—two open arrowheads that overlapped and pointed in opposite directions.
It was perfect for Angus.
Blood welled and traced down Saka’s chest, but he was used to the sharp pain of the cuts and could absorb them. Angus placed his hand over the wound and healed it. The skin remained pale, almost white.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Angus’s skin was tight and new, and his stomach was too choppy, like an ocean that shouldn’t be c
rossed. He regretted eating both breakfast and the flatbread he’d eaten after the cutting to ground himself.
He ran his finger over his sleeve and felt the ridges of scar tissue. Each mark was a different color—some green, some brown, some orange, and Wek’s bright blue. The patterns were bold on his skin.
“Are you sure you feel all right?” Saka brushed his fingers but didn’t grab hold.
“Yes.” Mostly. He glanced at Saka. The pale mark on his chest was clearly visible.
Angus had wiped most of the blood away, and his shirt was unstained. Yet as they approached the house Saka was living in, Terrance stood. His gaze flicked between them and locked onto Angus’s sigil on Saka. Then his gaze shifted to Angus. His shirt hid them all, But Terrance knew. Angus was sure of it. Terrance nodded, his face grim. It would only get grimmer when they went back across.
“That’s it? We’re going?” Terrance asked.
Angus tried to smile, but he failed. He didn’t want to go. Once he stepped through the doorway, he’d be handing his life over to chance.
Saka grasped his hand. “You could stay another night.”
Angus shook his head. He could, but then he’d never leave. “You told me in the desert that it was best to keep moving in case one day of rest becomes two and two becomes giving up and death.”
“That is true.” But Saka didn’t let go, and Angus didn’t release him either.
“The last time I was here, all I wanted to do is leave. Now I want to stay and pretend the other side doesn’t exist.” Terrance put a hand on Saka’s shoulder. “I’ll bring him back. I swear.”
“I hope that is a promise you can keep.” Saka released Angus’s hand. “You had best go. The mages and I will continue to close up all doorways in preparation.”
If they weren’t successful, then when Terrance opened the void, they would end up in the wrong place and he’d have no help when he needed it most. Could he do it without the mages? Maybe, but he didn’t want to try. Nerves fluttered in his belly like winged hunters after prey. “You’ll be ready?”
“Five days.” They had agreed that should be long enough. If it stretched to ten, the mages were to assume Angus was dead. Much longer than that and the ice would be set, and no amount of rebalancing would fix it. The humans would have to wait for nature to take its course. Demonside would be nothing but a barren desert.
The leaves were falling in the jungle, and the trees were withering. Death was on the air.
Together they walked to the doorway, and Angus walked around it and committed as much detail as possible to memory. He made Terrance walk with him. “You need to be able to visualize this place. You might need to direct the void opening. Note the cracks and chips, the discoloration of the stones, everything that makes this place unique.”
“Me? Why won’t you be able to do it?”
“Hopefully I will be able to, but if I can’t and you need to flee, you should come here.” That made Terrance pay greater attention. He scuffed a toe over a crack, ran his hand over the pillar to feel the bumps and grooves.
“I think I have enough detail to find it in a jumble of pillars and doorways.” He looked less certain than he had before, and worry pinched his eyebrows together.
Angus’s throat closed. He was coming back. He had to believe that. This would not be the last time he was in Demonside. He hugged Saka. “Thank you.”
He would not say goodbye.
Saka squeezed him hard and let him go. Angus took two steps toward the open void, but Saka grabbed his hand and pulled him close again.
Angus knew the words forming on the demon’s lips. He didn’t need to hear them. “Don’t—”
“I love you.”
The words struck deep in Angus’s heart. He’d wanted to hear them for so long, but not like that. “You didn’t need to say it.”
“You have been wanting to hear it. I owe you that much.” Saka rested his forehead against Angus’s. “I have known for a long time.”
“I know. I knew.” He sucked in a breath that cracked his ribs. “I love you.”
Saka stepped back. He looked like someone had thrust the machete through his stomach and were casually twisting the blade. “Go. Before I change my mind and keep you here forever.”
“That has never been a threat.” He handed Saka the staff he’d been using. He’d have to get used to not having one. “Keep it safe until I need it.”
Saka smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes.
Terrance took Angus’s hand. “Come.”
Angus didn’t fight. He let himself be led away. Just before they stepped through, Terrance spoke. “If you two had crumbled, we’d all be doomed. I don’t want to see you hurting.”
Angus bit his lip, which was still tender from the morning’s cutting. Biting it had only added to the pain, but it was something he could control. He’d have to let go of that too. In Vinland he’d have no control.
The nervousness he’d been able to keep locked down bubbled closer to the surface. He glanced back just before he stepped through. Saka was holding the staff, his gaze on the ground, his shoulders slumped.
He wasn’t a mage in that moment, and he didn’t know the answers.
It was only Terrance’s grip on his hand that kept him moving. He was wounding the two people he loved more than anything.
The air in Uxmal was sharp and cold. It tugged at his thin shirt, and he shivered. The changes were happening much faster now. Had Vinland deployed more clean sweeps elsewhere in the world?
Terrance signed himself in at the doorway, and Angus did the same. The guards watched as though it were any other day. No one could know the truth or the plan would be undone.
Did Cadmael know everything or had Iktan kept his silence on mage business?
Terrance grasped Angus’s hand, and Angus held on. They didn’t have much time.
“We should see Cadmael. He won’t agree to this,” Terrance said as though Cadmael’s disagreement was enough to stop Angus.
He would agree. Everyone was desperate. “No, I’ll go later. I want to speak to you alone first.”
Terrance’s eyes widened. “I do not accept you breaking up with me before you do this.”
Angus shook his head, a faint smile on his lips. If only that were all it was…. “I didn’t break up with Saka, and I’m not breaking up with you either.”
“Then what?”
“In private.”
“Then it’s nothing good.” Terrance pressed his lips together.
“Don’t be jealous… please.” They walked toward Angus’s room, hand in hand.
“I’m not.”
“Don’t lie either.” They didn’t have time to unravel the truth.
“Just a little. You marked him.”
“He asked.” And Angus hadn’t been able to refuse. Maybe the extra connection would be a good thing.
“And if I asked?”
“I would.” They went in, and Angus shut the door. He should’ve managed to come up with the right words, yet there were none. He could think about it until the world froze over, but the thoughts would never be complete. He shivered.
Terrance rubbed his hands up Angus’s arms. “You should….” A frown formed, and his touch went from warming to curious. He pushed back the cuff of the shirt, and Angus didn’t stop him. The scars would’ve been revealed at some point anyway.
“What is…?” Terrance pushed the sleeve up to Angus’s elbows on both sides. His eyes widened. “Did they carve their marks on you?”
Angus nodded.
“All of them?”
“Yes.”
The lines on Terrance’s forehead deepened as he traced one of the raised scars that adorned Angus’s forearm. “Did you sleep with them all?”
“No!” He pulled down his sleeves, though he would have if he thought it would help. How would Terrance judge him then? He let go of the annoyance in the next breath. Terrance didn’t know the plan and wasn’t a mage. He’d been waiting to learn what
was going on, and he was afraid. “The marks help me hold magic and direct it.”
“Saka didn’t mark me… do you even want to?” Terrance didn’t look at him.
Angus had thought about it. He’d expected Saka to, but understood why he hadn’t. “I do, but after this.” He put his arms around Terrance. “You don’t mean less to me just because I haven’t made you bleed.”
Terrance hugged him hard. “I know… but why not before? What if there is no after, and I have nothing.” Terrance pressed his face to Angus’s neck.
Angus’s resolve started to melt. He’d been keeping it together, but he was starting to break. He swallowed hard, but his voice still shook. “Your skin needs to be clear or the warlocks might not believe you.”
Terrance looked at Angus, and a frown formed. “What warlocks?”
Angus held his gaze. “You’re going to betray me to the Vinnish spies.”
Chapter Thirty-Eight
“No.” Terrance stepped back as though he’d been tackled by an elephant. He’d never betray Angus. Was he joking? But Angus wasn’t smiling. He seemed to be in pain, his mouth pressed into a line and his eyes haunted.
“You have to.”
“No.” Terrance shook his head. He wouldn’t hand Angus over to the Vinnish. “They’ll kill you.”
“Hopefully not before I’ve completed our clean sweep, but to do that, I need to be in Vinland.”
Terrance slumped onto the bed and raked his fingers through his hair. Had that been part of the plan all along? He should’ve been in those meetings Angus had with the mages. He would’ve said no. Had Saka agreed to this madness or had Angus not told him either? “Why can’t you do it from here?”
Angus knelt before him on one knee because of his injured leg. He put his hands on Terrance’s thighs. “Because I’m not going to be able to direct the magic from here to there.”
“They can.” They sent the magic rolling from Vinland to every country around the world. Nowhere was safe.