Chapter 26
Chapter Twenty-Six
Riley
“His three hours was up fifteen minutes ago,” Vero grumbles.
“I know,” I say as I look at Torin and question whether I’m making a huge mistake. Am I risking everyone’s lives just to attempt to save a world? What if I can’t even get Conquest free? Or what if I do get him free and it was all a lie to use me?
Should we wait until we’re stronger to try to free Conquest? But will it be too late by then?
Torin smiles at me. “It’ll be fine. I know where the stable is, so I’ll create a Door there. We won’t have to go through everything we went through the first time we were there.”
“I wish you’d seen the mansion and could place us there—I know Conquest is inside it. I just… it was like I could feel him. Is this too much of a risk? Is it less of a risk to wait and see if Aemon finds a way to control Conquest before stepping in?”
“It could be too late at that point,” Torin says.
“There is a reason the god can’t leave his realm for long; otherwise I’m confident he’d be here prepared to kill us.
The protection I have on this place is currently quite weak.
We need to stop him before it happens because I have little hope we could stop War in our present condition. ”
Mickey comes busting through the Door, looking out of breath as he drags three people after him. One is Imani, one I don’t recognize, and the other I vaguely do.
“Okay. Here’s the plan. I had my undead scour all over our world to find this man.
He can open Doors, although after opening one at age twelve, he was banned from doing so and hasn’t since.
Hopefully, the magic is still there to do it.
So the first step of the plan is for Riley to borrow his magic to create the Door inside Aemon’s mansion since Torin has never seen it.
“On to the second step. This woman is the one whose magic Riley used to connect with Kit so he can see. We know that his connection snaps when he passes through the Door to Aemon’s realm, so my thought is that once we’re through the Door, he can touch her there, relying on that as his main magic instead of the pendant which doesn’t work there. ”
Pausing to take a much-needed breath, Mickey continues.
“Finally, the third step. We know that Imani’s barrier likely won’t withstand either Aemon or War for long, possibly only even seconds, but if we can lure them outside the mansion, Imani can create a barrier around the mansion, and those inside will have that time to get in, grab Conquest, and get out.
Imani, the second the barrier snaps, you need to go through the Door.
No being a hero for any of you. This is an in-and-out mission or we’re not going to come out with the same number of people we’re going in with. ”
“Impressive,” Torin says.
Mickey beams, looking pleased.
“I think this could work. This really could work,” I say, feeling a smidgen of hope for the first time since we started this.
“Got it,” Imani says.
“I will draw the god and the horseman out,” Vero offers.
“No, I will,” I state. “I’m the only one in this group they don’t want to kill. Aemon wants me to join him, and if he kills me, it’d be years before I’d be of use to him. It’s the same reason he hasn’t killed Conquest. He’s tired of waiting.”
“Absolutely not,” Torin says.
“Please trust me. I’ll be careful.”
Torin appears conflicted but nods. Before I can touch the man with the magic that allows him to open Doors, Torin grabs me and pulls me close. “Please, please be careful.”
“I will,” I assure him.
He shakes his head. “I don’t like this. Let me stay with you.”
“We’d only have Vero breaking Conquest out then,” I say. “The faster you are, the faster we can get out of there and come back here.”
“I’ll stay with Riley. Aemon won’t find me concerning,” Mickey says. “So Torin, help Vero. Like Riley said, the faster Conquest is free, the better. I’ll have my undead help guard us. And if any of you see a spare evil book or journal lying around, grab it for me, please.”
I squeeze Torin as tightly as I can. “This will go well. And if we have Conquest on our side, we just have to keep him away from them so they’ll never be able to complete the final sacrifice. We have to get Conquest. If he joins us in this fight, think about the power he’ll bring to our group.”
“Yeah,” he says, voice quiet. “Okay.” He tips my chin up and kisses me before pressing his mouth close to my ear. “I love you so much. You are my whole world. I can’t lose you.”
“You won’t. I promise. I love you too. And when this is over, we’ll go to a buffet, alright?”
“I do love a buffet.”
“And we’ll take the subway to get there.”
Torin raises an eyebrow. “Why must you ruin good things with your sadism?”
“And you’ll be required to ride an escalator up and down.”
“You’re just being sassy now.”
I grin at him before I give him a soft kiss and pull back. “Let’s do this.”
I touch the man’s hand and immediately feel the magic to open the Door. “Give me a few minutes to draw them out, okay? How about Mickey sends his bat to you when he’s ready for you to come through?”
Torin glowers at the adorable thing hooked onto Mickey’s shirt. “Toast is prepared for the attack,” Mickey says as he pokes the bat’s head. Toast just chills, ready to nap. He really is the perfect pet for Mickey.
“Fine,” Torin grumbles, as though the tiny creature causes him distress.
I focus on creating the Door inside the mansion, finding it far harder than Torin makes it look. There are so many pieces and parts to it, causing the magic that goes into it to be draining, but I’m relieved when it’s finally in place.
I shift Conquest’s bow up onto my shoulder while I look at the Door and steel myself for what we’re about to face, hoping I haven’t made a mistake with this.
Mickey and I walk through it with the woman who had given me back my sight years ago without ever knowing it.
The instant I step inside, darkness surrounds me until I feel a hand on mine and my magic switches from allowing me to create a Door to being connected to Kit’s eyes.
We’re standing in the middle of the foyer where Aemon had threatened to kill me not that long ago.
With Mickey right behind me, I hurry to the door leading outside.
Mickey has the edge of my shirt in his hand, careful not to touch me and disrupt my magic, as we leave the door to the mansion open so the bat can easily fly back to the Door to Torin’s realm.
“Maybe they’re not home,” Mickey says, looking around uneasily.
I glance back at the house, wondering if we’re wasting time out here that we could spend going for Conquest instead.
“Should I send the others in?” Mickey asks as he calls for some undead to protect us.
“I don’t know, but be careful not to touch me,” I remind him since if he does, it’ll cause darkness to return.
“Right,” he says while he continues to scan our surroundings. “I don’t like this.”
I hesitate when I feel immense magic, and my attention snaps over to see War sitting astride his horse a good distance from us. He’s not moving at all, just watching us.
“Well, that’s fucking creepy,” Mickey says.
“So you’ve come to me. To what do I owe the pleasure?”
Chills race down my spine as I realize that I didn’t even sense Aemon until he was mere feet behind us. Mickey whirls around, his undead crowding around us while Toast darts toward the mansion only for the door to slam shut before he can slip inside.
I choke back the tension in my body and force myself to project confidence, even with the turmoil racing through me.
“You placed my horse inside the hourglass, so you can get him out, right?”
Aemon only offers me a smirk. “The sand is running out. You really don’t have much time left, Death.”
“What do you want from me to release him?” I ask. “I will do… anything. I need him out. I feel like I’ve been cleaved in two. I need him out.”
The god walks toward us as Mickey tries to tug me back by the edge of my shirt, but I stand my ground, shifting only so I’m between him and the mansion. That way I can keep War in my view as well. Aemon is silent, just watching me and appearing to be enjoying what he’s seeing.
I repeat, “Tell me what you want.”
“You have no control here. You came here knowing that you have no control over the situation. Just how desperate are you?” he asks with a smirk.
“You should know,” I say. “You just want me to beg.”
Aemon is so amused by all of this. It’s like he feeds off toying with me.
“Why do you think I would just give you your horse? If I did, you could turn around and stab me in the back. With this, I have weakened you. You are nothing more than a human in this state. You will age and you will die. Although at the rate you’re going, you’re going to die before you even bother aging. ”
“So that’s just it? Death is all there is left?”
“Depends on you. But I don’t believe for a second that you’re willing to just join me.
You’ve fought so hard to throw yourself into my path every step of the way for hundreds of years.
So what will you do in exchange for all the chaos you’ve caused?
If it weren’t for you, Conquest would have completed his duties. Are you going to take his place?”
“Is that a possibility?”
If someone else could take Conquest’s place, wouldn’t War or Famine have done it?
I glance past Aemon and see that War still has not moved. He’s a good half mile from us, but why? Is he just watching, waiting to see if I do anything?
Aemon’s eyes shift past me to the mansion where the Door I created rests. Since the outer door to the mansion was shut, has Toast found a way to alert the others?
I only know I need to stall Aemon for as long as I possibly can. “All of this has been cryptic nonsense. You refuse to speak to me, yet expect me to join your side. All I see is death and destruction, yet you want me to jump on board without knowing why.”