Chapter 20
Chapter
Twenty
Daniel woke to the smell of butter and maple syrup, his neck stiff from sleeping awkwardly on the couch. Sunlight streamed through the windows, catching dust motes in its beams. Disoriented, Daniel sat up and looked around.
The TV was off now, and Malik's blanket was folded neatly on the coffee table. Only a few stray Dorito crumbs on the carpet served as evidence of their late-night snacking session now.
From the kitchen came the quiet clink of plates and the sizzle of something on the stove. He followed the sounds and smells to find Leon at the stove, flipping pancakes. Adrian sat at the kitchen island, phone in hand, his leg bouncing with nervous energy.
"Any word?" Leon asked, without turning around.
Adrian shook his head, then noticed Daniel. "Oh. Morning."
"What's going on?" Daniel asked, picking up on the tension in the room.
"We heard news of monsters in Winston," Leon said. "Knox and Zev left to deal with it."
"Oh." Daniel looked around the room again. "Did Malik go too?"
Adrian scrolled on his phone. "We don't know where Malik went, but he left a note saying he'd be back tonight." He ran a hand through his hair. "We shouldn't split up like this."
Daniel couldn't disagree with that, only that he wished he were with Caelen. A thought he would not admit out loud.
"Here." Leon slid a plate of perfectly golden pancakes in front of Daniel. "Eat something."
Before Daniel could respond, footsteps on the stairs made them all turn. Lyrian appeared in the doorway, moving slowly. He looked better than yesterday, but he didn't seem fully recovered yet.
"Should you be up?" Adrian asked.
Lyrian waved off the concern. "Please, no more babysitting. My jailer has left, so let me have pancakes." He sat down by the counter and turned to Adrian. "Pass me the syrup?"
"Just don't overdo it again," Adrian said, sliding the syrup bottle over. His phone buzzed again and his eyes snapped to it. "Still nothing from Knox."
"They know what they're doing," Lyrian said, absolutely drowning his pancakes in syrup. "And Zev's with him."
Leon snorted. "Not sure if that makes it better or worse. How do you expect them to check in, anyway? Last I checked, Zev still thinks phones are boxes of arcane evil."
"I gave Knox an old phone," Adrian said. "He knows how to use it. In theory."
Daniel picked at his pancakes, but they sat heavy in his stomach, even heavier when he looked at the amount of syrup Lyrian put on his meal.
"What?" Lyrian asked, noticing Daniel's glance. "Syrup is the best thing this word has to offer. Now eat. Whatever may happen today, it'll be easier to face on a full stomach. Never pass up the opportunity to feed yourself."
Daniel couldn't argue with that logic. He took another bite when Adrian saw something on his phone that made him curse.
"What now?" Leon turned the stove off and looked at Adrian.
Adrian's face had gone pale as he stared at his phone. "Another church. There's... there are hundreds of people gathering there."
Daniel set down his fork. "Show me."
The news article showed a photo taken from across the street of a church Daniel didn't recognize. People crowded the steps, many holding up phones to record something Daniel couldn't see. But what made his blood run cold were the shadows: dark tendrils that curled around the steeple like smoke.
"Caelen," Daniel whispered.
"Look at all those people," Adrian scrolled through more photos. "He's really at it again…"
Daniel wanted to say something about how Caelen wasn't really in control of his actions, but then the air shifted in a way that made the hair on his arms stand up. The syrup bottle on the counter started to rattle slightly. Lyrian straightened in his chair, alert.
"Oh, for fuck's sake," Leon muttered, "not now!"
The kitchen filled with the smell of ozone and old books. Where empty space had been a moment before, three figures now stood in the doorway. Elysia greeted them with a smile that seemed manufactured. Tarian and Galen flanked her like particularly well-dressed bodyguards.
"Where's the rest of your merry gang?" Elysia asked, taking them in.
Leon gave her a hard look. "Some might consider it polite to knock."
"We're well past the time for politeness," she waved him off. "It is time for action."
Adrian's brows furrowed. "What sort of action?"
"That's what we're here to determine," Elysia said. "Will the rest of you be attending this meeting?"
Adrian scoffed. "They might if they weren't dealing with the monsters you let through."
Tarian raised an eyebrow. "Do you claim that it's our fault the barriers weakened?"
Daniel cut in. "It was certainly your job to prevent that, wasn't it?"
"The others are out," Leon said, as if he wanted to prevent an argument from breaking out. "State your business."
"We're here to propose a plan." Elysia's gaze settled on Daniel. "We investigated the areas you sealed with the help of the Shadow King, and we believe we've found a way to harness the magic you used and apply the fix to all problem areas."
The kitchen went silent. Even Lyrian had stopped eating his syrup-drowned pancakes.
"How would you do that?" Daniel asked carefully.
Galen spoke for the first time. "We would use your connection to the Shadow King to draw his magic. It has proven remarkably effective at stabilizing weak points in the barrier."
"The areas you sealed together," Elysia added, "remain the strongest we've seen. If we could replicate that effect…"
"What would that do to him?" Daniel asked, remembering how tired he'd been the last time they'd sealed a barrier together. How tired Caelen had been too. It wasn't an easy thing.
"We wouldn't rely solely on his magic," Elysia said. "We do have some of our own to add to the mix. We're only looking to make our spell more potent. That said…" She paused. "It would still take a significant amount of his magic. Enough, maybe, to burn out the entity that supplies his dark magic."
Daniel listened up at that. Had he heard that right? Could the Barrier Keepers' plan defeat Morthul and fix the barrier problem all at once?
"You mean..." Daniel's throat felt dry. He couldn't let himself hope. This was too much to hope for. "You could separate Caelen from Morthul?"
"In theory." Galen's tone was measured. "Though there is a chance the half-fae might die along with the dark god, depending on how deep his possession goes."
The kitchen seemed to grow colder. Leon's hand found Daniel's shoulder, squeezing gently.
"How convenient for you," Lyrian mused. "A plan that both fixes your barrier problem and eliminates the Shadow King."
Elysia's manufactured smile didn't waver. "Convenient for you too, no? He is your enemy."
"He's not my enemy," Daniel snapped, anger flaring hot and sudden.
"No?" Elysia's eyes flickered to the others. "But he is theirs, isn't he?"
Daniel turned to his friends, willing them to back him up. But Leon looked away, Adrian studied his phone, and Lyrian... Lyrian just stared at his half-empty plate. The silence stretched, painful and damning.
Finally, Adrian cleared his throat. "Daniel... you saw the church. Those people. We can't let the Shadow King keep doing what he's doing."
The betrayal hit deep. Even though Daniel knew what Adrian was saying made sense, it hurt .
"That's not Caelen doing that," he tried to argue, his voice rough with emotion.
"But he's not just Caelen, is he?" Elysia's voice was soft, reasonable. "He's the Shadow King, and with our method, he'll stop being that. There'll be a chance for you."
Daniel's hands clenched into fists. "A chance for us," he said bitterly, "or a chance for him to die. I can't take that risk."
Despite what Caelen had asked of him in his dream— kill me if you must —Daniel would not kill Caelen. He couldn't.
"Your feelings on the matter are noted," Elysia said, her smile finally slipping. "But I'm afraid we're past the point of considering individual preferences."
Leon's hand tightened on Daniel's shoulder. "What does that mean?"
Tarian stepped forward. "It means we've run out of time for gentler solutions. The barriers are failing faster than anticipated. If we cannot implement our new plan..." He glanced at Daniel. "We will have no choice but to proceed with our original strategy."
"Which is?" Adrian's voice was tight.
"The complete removal of all Veridian magic from this realm," Galen stated flatly. "Every creature, every being who carries magic from another world will be stripped of their power by sundown. They won't remember they were ever anything but mundane."
Lyrian's fork clattered against his plate. "You can't do that."
"We can," Elysia said. "And we will, if we must. The integrity of the barriers must be maintained, whatever the cost."
Daniel felt sick. He looked at Lyrian, still pale from his recent injury, at Adrian's wide eyes, thought of Knox and Zev out there dealing with monsters. They would never agree to this.
"That's not a choice," Daniel said. "That's blackmail."
"It's a necessity," Elysia countered. "You have until sundown to agree to our plan. After that..." She spread her hands. "We do what must be done."
The smell of ozone intensified, and in a blink, the Barrier Keepers were gone, vanished as if they'd never been there in the first place.
For a long moment, no one spoke. The pancakes on the counter had gone cold.
"Well," Lyrian said finally, pushing away his plate. "That certainly puts a damper on breakfast." He sighed. "I suppose we should call the others."
"If they'll even answer," Adrian muttered, already dialing.
Daniel's legs felt weak. He sank into the nearest chair, the weight of the situation crushing down on him. Either he helped the Barrier Keepers with a plan that might kill Caelen, or all his Veridian friends would lose their magic, and who they were.
"Daniel." Leon's voice was gentle. "We need to think about this rationally."
"Rationally?" Daniel looked up at his friend. "They're asking me to choose between killing Caelen and turning my back on all of you. How do I think about that rationally?"
There was no way he could do either of those things.
"Malik?" Adrian said. Apparently, he'd gotten him on the phone. "Where are you?" A pause. Then, "Really? Are you bringing them all back?"
Bringing what back?
Daniel didn't understand until Adrian ended the phone call and explained.
"Malik went to your brother's store," Adrian said. "He said he's coming back with a couple of books."
"The books from Veridia?" Daniel sat up straight.
"Yes." Adrian set his phone down. "He said they might have information we could use." Adrian looked bewildered. "Where did these books come from?"
"They just showed up in the store," Daniel explained while a spark of hope rose within him.
Leon's expression, however, remained grim. "We don't have time to read these books. The Barrier Keepers gave us until sundown."
Before Daniel could argue, Adrian's phone rang. He answered it quickly. "Knox?"
Daniel leaned forward, straining to hear Knox's side of the conversation. Adrian's face grew increasingly concerned as he listened.
"Wait, don't," Adrian started, then pulled the phone away from his ear, staring at it. "He hung up."
"What?" Daniel's stomach twisted. "What did he say?"
"Knox and Zev finished dealing with the monsters," Adrian said. "But they heard about what Caelen is doing. They're going to confront him."
"No." Daniel stood so quickly his chair scraped against the floor. "They can't! He'll?—"
"Kill them?" Lyrian asked quietly. "Or are you scared they will kill him ?"
"I don't want anyone to kill anyone, okay?" Daniel burst out. This was all spiraling out of control. He had to go and stop Knox and Zev and Caelen. "I have to go."
"Daniel," Leon started.
"No, listen." Daniel looked at each of them in turn. "Knox and Zev don't understand him like I do. If I can just... if I can see him in person, talk to him..." He swallowed hard. "Something will change. I know it will."
"Or Morthul will take you and use you up like a battery," Adrian said.
"He won't." Daniel wasn't sure where this certainty came from, but it burned in his chest like a flame. "Caelen won't let him."
"I'm coming with you," Leon said firmly.
"Whatever, just hurry."
"I'm coming too," Adrian said, already grabbing his jacket. "Knox is my partner."
"And what about me?" Lyrian asked from his seat. "Am I just supposed to sit here and wait for Malik?"
Leon glanced at him. "You're still recovering."
"That doesn't make me useless."
"You're not useless," Adrian said. "You can help Malik with the books when he gets here. No one knows Veridian lore like you do."
Lyrian's mouth twisted, but he didn't argue further. "Fine. Just make sure you all come back safely."
Daniel grabbed his car keys. "Let's go."
"Wait." Adrian pulled out his phone, scrolling quickly. "We need to head toward Stillwater now."
"Where is that?" Daniel asked as he climbed into his car.
Adrian showed the phone to him. "I'm pulling up directions."
"Any idea what we're actually going to do when we get there?" Leon asked as Daniel started the car.
Daniel licked his lips. "Talk to him."
"And if talking doesn't work?"
Daniel closed his eyes briefly. He could still feel Caelen's presence from his dream, could still hear his voice: Kill me if you must.
He swallowed hard. "I don't know."