Chapter 21 #2
Nick knelt and winced because he was going to feel like an idiot if this didn’t go right.
“Hey, uh, trees. Old One trees? I’m going to slice the circle, and when I do, there’s going to be a lot of power available.
There’s going to be a lot of power that needs a new home or it’s going to go boom.
” Nick actually had a whole lecture in his head about how that was wrong, it wasn’t that the power was going to suddenly be available, it was that the power would begin building up at the places he was going to force the circle out of alignment by cutting the lines, and that would…
well, frankly, his explanation would be beyond most alchemists’ comprehension.
He wasn’t about to try it on a tree that he wasn’t sure could understand him.
Nick cleared his throat. “Can you drink up the power? Fast? So it doesn’t explode and we don’t end up with a damaged World Tree?”
The ground under his foot rose a good inch, the root pushing its way to the surface and Nick decided that was good enough for him.
He looked over at Laurel who nodded, cutting the lights as he sprinted into the circle, slicing through the first layer of the spell at a weak point.
After that, he only needed two more cuts—one at the level that contained all the bits pulled loose from Shadow, another at the central layer, and then he crouched next to Shadow, and it was second nature to pull up a shield spell around them both.
Zahide might yell, but he knew he could do it, he knew he could do it.
The ground shook and Nick watched with critical eyes as the spellwork ground to a close, like pieces of broken metal slamming into each other, a car crash right in front of him.
The magic cascaded up, spilling over the rest of the spellwork, and Nick had a single moment to swear because this was more magic than he’d thought.
But then the magic disappeared, and around them, the trees groaned and creaked and grew. Parker was yelling his name, but Nick yelled back, “Get Durkavic!”
The circle was ash, pieces of it still visible, but most of it blowing away as a wind screamed through the clearing.
Then there was quiet and Parker said in the voice he usually reserved for when one of the fae monarchs had tip-toed up to war or when his Doordash order arrived wrong, “You dared mess with the balance of the thousand realms for money? Cayo Durkavic, your greed has nearly killed a god, and I am here to tell you that, as the Windrose, there will be consequences for your actions.”
If Parker said anything else, Nick didn’t hear it because Shadow reached out, bits of her sliding back and rejoining her body. She grabbed hold of Nick’s ankle and said, in a soft broken voice, “Father?”
Nick knelt, taking her hand from his ankle and holding it between his own. “I’m sorry, no. He is dead.”
And Shadow began to weep, the sound soft and pained. “I know. I know.”
He held her hand until Laurel came close, holding out her own. She bit her lip. “I’m sorry, I can’t tell what the standard magic level for your kind is.”
Nick blinked and tilted his head. “She’s human.”
Laurel shook her head. “She’s not.”
Under his hand, Shadow rippled, her flesh changing color and shape.
Still holding Nick’s hand, she got her legs under her and sat up.
“My heir comes from one of the thousand realms. Her kind adapt to the world they live on. In their own realm, they have managed to colonize their whole solar system because of this ability.”
“That explains why you looked like alchemy,” Parker said, coming close.
Nick squinted past him and saw Durkavic struggling against one of the trees, which had grown branches around him, wrapping him in a tight hug of wood and leaves.
“Yes,” Shadow said. “I took on this ability from her. We have been together a long time, it was… habit to make myself adapt to the world we were on.”
“But how did Durkavic even get you?” Parker asked. “How did he trap you? You’re an old god. I’ve seen old gods destroy cities. Destroy this city.”
Shadow gave a small, embarrassed smile. “He summoned me. I have been searching for my father for a long time and when he called, I sensed… I sensed my father. An echo of him here.” She looked at Nick, searching his face.
She raised her free hand and touched his face.
“It was only when I saw you that I knew that was simply an echo. My father is dead.”
“I’m sorry,” Nick said. It wasn’t enough.
Shadow shook her head. “No, my father chose his last heir well. I am glad that he died with someone as kind as you.”
“How did he even figure out how to contain you?” Parker crouched down, his eyes focused right on Shadow. Her skin shimmered again, briefly blending into the surrounding forest before becoming human again.
“My own hubris, I’m afraid. In my own realm, many people travel with pieces of me. It allows me to see places and experience things that I never could inhabiting one body. I live a thousand lives. I thought to live in Durkavic. More fool me. I made a deal with him in order to have him agree.”
Parker winced, and Shadow laughed. “Yes. It was not to my benefit to try to make a deal with a fae. I should have learned my lesson, but it has been so long since I have dealt with any outside my own realm, and they are all explorers and scientists. They would not think to do such a thing.”
“So he trapped you with an obligation and then he trapped you with light,” Parker said thoughtfully, looking at the light rigging that surrounded them, the brilliance thankfully off.
“Well, guess who started off as a garden variety creep and then turned into a serial killer? Now that you’re free, are you able to collect the other parts of yourself? So no one else has to go boom?”
“Yes.” Shadow looked down, clasped Nick’s hand again. “I am sorry for my part in this.”
“It wasn’t your fault,” Nick said.
“That does not make me less sorry for it.” She searched his face. “I believe we have that in common.”
Pieces of shadow traced over the ground like watching someone fast-forward a sunset, the scraps of darkness clear of all signs of alchemy as they returned to Shadow. Nick stood and pulled out his cell phone. He watched as Durkavic’s eyes went wide.
“Captain, you remember how you wanted to know when the answer fell out of the sky?”
On the other end of the phone, Tate started cursing.
“Let me get this straight,” Rios said. “An old god, like the ones who blew massive holes in San Amaro not too long ago, got trapped by Durkavic. Who wasn’t dead, but had instead killed his old friend?”
“Durkavic said that Learn was blackmailing him, apparently. Threatening to tell his girlfriend that Durkavic was gay. Two birds, one person-soup explosion,” Parker said. “Get rid of his blackmailer and test out his new magic.”
“That only looked like alchemy, but was actually a piece of an old god,” Rios said.
“I think if we’re writing it, I’d put down that Durkavic harnessed dangerous, deadly magic.
I’ll attest that the magic he was using was bastardized alchemy which is prohibited by national and international alchemy councils.
” It was true. Any alchemy council that learned that Durkavic had created an alchemy circle made from pieces of an old god would have all gone into collective fits from the horror.
Nick looked around the room. “Unless we want to let him go.”
“The man killed one of ours,” Falk said. The CGPD captain glared, as though any of them were going to contradict him. “I don’t care if he did it with a piece of TNT, an alchemy circle, or if he got hold of that menace you call a pet, King. He’s going down for this.”
“Luckily for all of us, Durkavic isn’t arguing.
He’s pleading guilty to everything.” Tate eyed Parker with something between amusement and annoyance.
“King and Ferro here just wanted to make sure all of us got the answers we wanted. So we all hold the line about the flow of information and if there are any leaks, we all know exactly where the drip started.”
His tone was friendly, but the other captains grimaced.
“That’s quite the threat,” Owens, the Major Crimes Captain, said.
“Listen, when it comes to Ferro, the Far Realm, or the World Tree? I’ve learned to take my wins where they land.” Tate leaned back.
“And that’s what we’re telling the Bureau of Paranormal Threats?” Owens groused. “They aren’t going to buy that.”
“Luckily for you, you don’t need to convince the BPT of anything. They were at the scene and they agree with our assessment and our results.” Tate leaned forward, eyeing the other captains.
“I think we have the guilty man behind bars,” Rios said. “We have our city back. And we, in this room, know the story. We aren’t missing any key information?”
He aimed the question at Parker and Nick and before Nick could answer, Parker kicked him and tilted his head toward Robin Keating, who was making good use of her hours. She nodded.
“That’s what we know.” Nick clasped his hands in front of him.
“Alright,” Rios said. “Then the case is closed.”
With a grumble, Falk stood. “Let’s not ever do this again.”
Owens followed and when it was just Rios and Tate with them in the room, Rios leaned in. “It was the right guy, wasn’t it?”
“It was,” Parker said. He looked down. “Durkavic killed two people, maimed two more, and was planning to kill as many as he needed using another person to get the money he wanted. He did it.”
“It wasn’t this old god controlling him?” Rios challenged.
“No.” Parker shook his head. When he looked up, Nick could feel the balance of fate in Parker’s eyes, like he had no need of a scale to tell whose soul was lighter than a feather.
“He’s confessing now because he knows that either he submits to human punishment or he submits to what the old gods will do to one who hurts their own. ”
“That’s not the same thing as confessing voluntarily,” Rios said.