Chapter 9 #6
Saying that made him sick to his stomach, not wanting to be the one who started the End of Days. But at the same time, forcing a confrontation might be their only chance to draw Sinistram out on their own terms.
“Yeah, that makes sense,” Jacinski said. “Let me check in with a few people I trust and call you back. I’m guessing you aren’t planning to get to sleep anytime soon?”
“No, not soon.” And maybe never again.
“The situation sucks, but thanks for trusting me and calling me in,” Jacinski said. “Maybe this is the moment we all ultimately trained for, even if we didn’t know it. Who knows? Someone might write a song about us.”
He ended the call, and Travis looked to Brent. “I guess it would be cheesy to roar into the park blaring a soundtrack of songs about the apocalypse.”
Brent chuckled. “Can’t say I’d mind, but that sort of thing probably only works in movies.”
Travis went back to working on the grimoire, while Brent returned to researching on his laptop. When Travis’s phone rang, he realized it was midnight already.
“Cassidy and Sorren, thanks for calling back. Do you want to go with your news first or ours?”
“I’ll start,” Sorren said. “Archibald Donnelly and Rowan are with us. We have other allies who plan to work supportive magic remotely,” Sorren told them. “They are researching spells and protections and can meet you when you have a when and where.”
Travis cleared his throat. “About that. We’ve figured out the who, what, why, how, and where, and we think the when is the full moon tomorrow night.” He filled Sorren in on what they had learned.
“But we also got an unexpected gift,” he added. “One of the Keepers from the Sinistram secret library dropped off the Precepts grimoire.”
Sorren was silent for a moment. “You’re sure.”
“Positive.”
“It was rumored that the Sinistram had it, but we weren’t certain,” Sorren said. “Do you understand what the book is and how dangerous it can be? Not just to my kind, but to you, to people with magic, and to supernatural creatures? Can you read it?”
“So far, yes, I can read it. And I’m getting a growing idea of the danger,” Travis replied. “From what I’ve read so far, the Precepts grimoire is connected by its author to the Sinistram, so only someone with a Sinistram connection can use it.”
“But you left the Sinistram,” Brent said.
Travis sighed. “Not according to them. That whole bit about ‘thou art a priest forever.’”
“Do you think you’re strong enough to work the magic?” Sorren asked.
Travis took a deep breath. “I think I’m going to have to be. I’m the only one of us who used to be Sinistram. Pawel Jacinski is reaching out to the Logonje and the Occulatum for help, and we have some less powerful witches who can secure the perimeter.”
“Good. We will need all that help.” Sorren paused. “I can’t believe we’re talking about the Precepts. It’s legendary among my kind. Or perhaps, more like the boogeymen. Many people doubted it still existed, or that it ever did. Fitting, I guess, for the End of Days.”
“How do we use it and not hurt the good witches, vampires, and immortals?” Travis asked.
“No spell is powerful enough to work its effects worldwide,” Sorren replied. “Look for an indication of the magic’s reach. It’s going to take enough out of the caster to affect a limited area close by.”
“How many people are part of the Sinistram? Do you think they’ll all show up to fight?” Brent asked.
Travis did some mental calculations and grimaced. “When I was still part of the group, there were seven elders, possibly two dozen lower-level priests like me, and probably five or six Keepers, who never left the library.
“As for whether they’ll all show up, I can’t imagine the Keepers coming, but then again, I didn’t expect one to appear on my doorstep,” Travis said. “As for the others, we worked in small strike groups. Even for large threats, that was usually sufficient.”
“Would the regular priests fight to defend vampires?” Brent put into words something Travis had wondered.
“Under regular circumstances, no. But clearly things have changed. I don’t think the elders could have turned all of the priests, or there would be no one left to say the Sacraments and handle the types of missions we undertook.” Travis grimaced when he realized he had included himself with “we.”
“I don’t know how far their loyalty goes,” Travis admitted. “I’m hoping that the Precepts spell can be limited to affecting just vampires, not everyone with abilities.”
“We’ve also got the Logonje and Occulatum on our side,” Brent pointed out. “And possibly CHARON.”
“Can we trust CHARON?” Sorren asked.
“Hell, no,” Brent said. “But if the ‘enemy of my enemy is my friend’ and the Sinistram ordered Shane’s murder, then I think they could play a role. I still wouldn’t tell them anything until the last minute, just in case. But they’d be an asset if they came.”
Sorren paused. “Do you understand the cost?”
“Probably not completely,” Travis admitted, and Brent glared at him. “I figured I have a lot of studying ahead of me tonight.”
“I will see what Donnelly knows, and I would suggest you work closely with Jacinski and Leo,” Sorren told him.
“At the least, I’d expect the spell to draw from your energy, maybe even your soul.
You’ll need to make sure that you have witches nearby who can replenish you and tether your soul to your body.
This is big magic, but don’t assume it requires you to sacrifice your life to save the world. ”
“We’ll also have Dr. Peters with us, if it comes to keeping soul and body together,” Travis replied, reminding Sorren of their necromancer friend.
“As well as Rowan and Archibald Donnelly,” Sorren added. “Although it’s probably best I remain in Charleston, for obvious reasons.”
Travis didn’t mention the visions he had seen over the last twelve hours, watching the different possibilities play out.
Sometimes they won, defeating the elders and stopping Sinistram.
In others, the whole park went up in a fireball and them with it.
No version seemed more likely than another, which is why he hadn’t told Brent about the dreams.
The longer Travis studied the Precepts, the more he felt its drain on his energy.
He understood the concept of an unholy bargain, and while he was willing to sacrifice himself, if necessary, to stop the Sinistram apocalypse, he desperately hoped there would be a way that didn’t drain him dry in the process.
“Thank you,” Travis replied, although he knew he wouldn’t be completely reassured until they had figured out how the final battle would go down. “I’d like to stick around.”