Chapter Seventeen #3
Ava was like Doya. But she was a lot like Haloke, too.
Ez approached. “You okay, man?”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “No. But I’ll get through it. I just wish Casey wasn’t in the middle of all these family meltdowns.”
“Don’t talk about the baby, man. I’ll start crying.” Ez already sounded on the brink of tears. “He’s so adorable and small and stuff. I can’t even—”
“I get it.” I cut him off, because if he broke down, I would too, and I couldn’t walk into this meeting a mess. “Do you think Doya will like Casey? I don’t want anyone around my kid who isn’t happy he’s around.”
“Uh, I don’t know.” I felt Ez shrug beside me.
“She wasn’t thrilled when I came along, from what I hear, because she only wanted granddaughters, but I guess I cracked her hard shell.
I always wanted to climb into her lap and hug her when I was little, even though she didn’t like me much at first. She used to pat my head awkwardly and go, there there.
” Ez laughed. “Eventually she started hugging me back. I softened her up a lot, I guess. Everyone says she’s a lot sweeter than she used to be. ”
I couldn’t tell. If Doya spoiled Ez, Casey would probably grow on her, and she didn’t have to like me. I just had to quit slipping up.
The council room buzzed with curious whispers when we entered.
By the sounds of chatter rising to the glass ceiling overhead, there had to be nearly twenty people here.
The voices quieted when I approached the round table in the middle of the room, until all that could be heard was the trickling of the waterfall that fell around the Elvish tree.
I just wanted to get this done, so I could get back to my main focus— being a dad. If I had to travel to the afterlife and back to be with my kid, I would, so I didn’t want to wait on finishing the job.
My Elf powers tingled, sensing magic from all supernatural races.
The demigods had all shown up— apart from Ava— along with my friends’ parents and the Demigod Guardians.
Even Opal, Ivy, Chancey, and Eddie were here, huddled in the corner far away from the doors.
I’d pissed enough of them off that I didn’t think they wanted to be around, but this meeting was crucial.
Another witch was present, sitting beside Marcus’ parents. When she cleared her throat, I realized it was Doctor Mack, the Seer who the Warden was torturing for her visions.
Doya and Baine had come along for the meeting, and I knew, because I could still sense the heat coming off Doya from across the room. Someone gave an angry gasp, which I was certain had come from Ava’s mom. My burnt clothes were apparent, clearly.
“Mother,” Sophia growled, like she’d known this was coming and was planning on lecturing Doya the minute this meeting was done.
“What?” Doya’s tone was scathing. “I did nothing! If I did, he would no longer exist.”
“It doesn’t matter now,” I said, cutting them off. “Let’s get down to business.”
Ivy was the first to speak. “What do you wanna discuss first, dickhead? How you lost the Divinity Keys we’ve been fighting for years to get, how you cost us the world, or how Ava finally had a chance to leave your sorry ass and you had to go and get her knocked up?”
“Give him a break, Ives,” Chancey snapped. “Charlie’s a dad now. I think we should be giving our congratulations.”
“Congratulate this, asshole,” Ivy said dryly, and I was certain they were flipping Chancey off.
“Yeah, yeah. I’ve had enough of your pillow talk, baby.” Chancey let the insult roll off his back.
“I ain’t your baby,” Ivy muttered, but they shut up.
Chancey wrapped me in a hug, lowering his voice to say, “Congrats, man. Your son’s cute. I’m real proud.”
“Thanks.” I clung to him longer than normal, sinking into the embrace.
Chancey and I were tough guys, and we didn’t let our feelings show often, but I really needed a fucking hug right now.
This week had been filled with the worst lows and some extremely emotional highs, and I needed some kind of support.
“I don’t know how to be a dad yet, but I’m going to try. ”
He clapped me on the back before he drew away. “That’s rough, buddy. But we’re all here for you.”
Wails echoed throughout the room as Ez finally broke. He was a blubbering mess. I managed to hold it together, but it was hard as hell.
“You all right over there, Uncle Ez?” Chancey asked.
“F— fine,” Ez stammered. “I’m excited I’m an uncle, but I’m… I’m so sad for my sister.”
Silence followed. Everybody knew how Ava felt about this without having to see her. She’d made her feelings about kids very clear.
Danny’s voice was thick as he spoke, “Aye. It’s been one hell of a week.”
Kallie’s dry voice echoed across the room. “I’m only here because Takahashi said you had an idea to get us out of this mess. I need to get back to Ava, so hurry up and tell us the plan. By the gods, it better be a good one.”
“That’s adorable, Kallie. What, are you Ava’s new husband? Gonna stay at her bedside and nurse her back to health?” Ivy asked snidely. They were clearly in a foul mood and willing to pick a fight with anyone.
“And where have you been, Ivy? I can sure as hell be a better husband than he can,” Kallie spat back. She wouldn’t even use my name.
Ivy huffed. “That’s not a high bar.”
“Guys, we aren’t here to fight—” I started.
“Fuck you, Charlie. You pitted us up against each other in the first place, so why not?” Ivy demanded. “We aren’t here to hold hands and sing campfire songs just because you told us to jump when you say so.”
“Ives, you’re killing me, here,” Chancey groaned.
“Charlie and Ava have a child now,” Opal broke in. “We need to be there for the baby—”
“Here for who? That thing’s gonna turn out just like him!” Ivy shouted.
I gritted my teeth, because this wasn’t how I’d intended this meeting to go. “We aren’t here to talk about Casey. We need to find a way to beat the Warden.”
Once I said that, the room exploded. Dozens of people started shouting, screaming a million things at once. I wanted to quiet the crowd, but I wasn’t sure how to get the situation under control, because it had already erupted.
The floor shook as a spell blasted throughout the room, and the massive round table snapped as magic cracked it apart. Several people fell to the ground, and bits of stone rained down from the ceiling. The magical signature unmistakably came from Queen Emmaline, Kallie’s mom.
“Enough!” she bellowed. “Do any of you want to solve this problem, or do you want to continue to bicker?”
Nobody dared to say a damn thing. Queen Emmaline slammed her fist onto the remnants of the council table. “If there’s any solution to what the Warden has done, I want his head on a platter by the end of it! Now, are the rest of you with me? Because if not, then get the hell out of the way!”
The queen was out for blood, and I couldn’t blame her. The room remained quiet until Marcus was brave enough to speak.
“Tell me you have something good,” Marcus started apprehensively. “Because from where I’m sitting, the Warden already beat us. There’s nothing else we can do.”
“Yeah,” Ivy piped up. “If Charlie hadn’t broken Ava, she’d have been there at the Elven Gate, and she’d have taken the Warden down. His fight with her fucked us all over. All we have left is Ilamanthe, and we’re going to lose the city, too!”
“You think I don’t know what happened?” I demanded. “I was there. I didn’t call this meeting to decide who’s at fault for this shit. I’m here to talk solutions, so you can either be a part of saving everything we have left, or you can go. I really don’t care at this point.”
Chancey’s tone was softer than Ivy’s, edged with hope. “You really got a solution, pal?”
I hesitated, because it wasn’t a solution so much as an option…
and our only one left. The Warden had already done so much damage, but we still had a chance to stop him on his warpath.
“We lost the world, and we can’t undo the damage.
Ilamanthe is all that’s left outside the Warden’s control, so we have to focus on saving the people of this city, because they’re all we can save. ”
“It’s not going to happen,” Ivy insisted. “Our shield has protected us so far, but the Warden’s ascended to the Blessed Haven. How much longer do you think this shield will hold before he breaks through?”
“I’m not talking about shielding ourselves from him,” I said. “I’m talking about getting rid of him completely, and sending him to a place where he no longer exists.”
Kallie’s tone was no longer aggressive, but curious. “What exactly are you suggesting?”
“Oberi has knowledge of something called time vortexes. It’s a break on the timeline where whatever lies inside does not exist, period.
If we can open one and force the Warden into it, he’ll be destroyed.
Then, once he’s eliminated, we can get to work repairing the broken boundary, so souls can cross over into the afterlife. ”
“The power to open a time vortex would be immense,” King Ethan argued.
“But possible,” I countered.
“And who are you going to get to do it?” Kallie demanded. “Because from where I’m standing, I’m the only one with time powers, and I can’t summon them now. Even if I could help, I’ve never opened a time vortex before, nor do I know of anyone who has.”
“Just because we’ve never seen it happen doesn’t mean it can’t be done,” I remarked. “Tell them, Oberi.”