Chapter 14 #2
“He didn’t, though,” Zayn pointed out. “He leaned on us where he could, found a way around the constraints to still do that to an extent and take comfort in us.” He smiled. “Don’t you see? It kept him going. And long enough to push through. Ruxnoth just… took him before it got to that point.”
Evira started nodding, and she told me, “As for you not being able to find a solution using your contacts to the destabilization to his system, it’s a problem that’s never existed before. You did all you could—more than that.”
“And you also got your hands on fucking Celestial magic, and worked a spell with the likes of Kai Hunter and Sylas Morgrave,” Zayn said, rolling his eyes at me.
“I—”
They both nuzzled against me. “You miss him,” Evira said. “That’s a lot of what this is.”
“And you being down for days. You’re not exactly good with… inaction,” Zayn added.
I looked between them, eyes wide. “And there it is. I have become predictable. Possibly worse—readable.”
“Aww,” Evira crooned. “Only to us, mighty lord.”
“That’s right,” Zayn said with a kiss to my cheek. “Only to us.”
The door opened and Velra strode on in covered in head-to-toe black leather, which was considered her battle gear.
Just like Lazriel being in his tactical gear currently.
Outward signs of how deeply stressed they were.
Not the case with Cassius who was in dark jeans and a teal T-shirt, however he rarely showed stress outwardly.
“Sorry,” Velra said, nodding at Ketheron and Ambrose as she walked by their side of the table, then brushed her knuckles over Cassius’ cheek, before then guiding Lazriel to sit down, so she was between him and Cassius. “That call with King Darethor and Ryker ran longer than I’d figured it would.”
I saw Remnant’s eyes smiling. It was all that could be discerned because he was wearing his metal mask and an overhanging hood, which given the company and what we already knew, the room being filled with Winter’s family and loves, he was doing from a battle-mode perspective also.
Just as Remnant took a seat at the head of the table, a flare of crimson magic had the door bursting open again, and then Sylas swept on in. He was clutching the gemstone tightly.
“All right, so here’s the deal,” he spoke, striding up to the head of the table and perching on its surface right beside Remnant.
Lazriel grinned at his father, knowing it was simply… not done, however Sylas was in a laser-focused state and evidently all manners, protocols and courtesies didn’t compute.
“So, the message itself was: Collective death-tether. Along with additional intel on the necromancers.”
“He wants you to pull all the necromancers into the Veil temporarily to knock out their magic, so Sanctus is unprotected for a window of time,” Velra mused.
“Yes.”
“And you’re willing to do that?” Cassius asked. “Rather than what we’ve been terming your nuclear option of siphoning them and taking their lives to permanently remove their threat.”
“He’s asked me to spare them. He needs me to.”
“And what about those who are loyal to Ruxnoth?” Remnant questioned. “Do we know who those among them are?”
“In the message, Win provided those details. I’m now fully aware. Once we pull them out and Sanctus falls, I’ll send the hostile ones to Ryker and the Guardian Movement. With Temperance’s assistance that they’ve agreed to grant me, we can hold them with Nihilumbra.”
“Good,” Cassius said, his relief clear. “A much more favored option, Sylas.”
“Definitely,” Velra agreed.
“Thank fuck,” Lazriel said, before gulping down more blood from his glass.
“I was delayed coming back in here because Mia Snow returned my call. She’s seen to the spellwork evaluation of my proposal.
” He caught the looks from me, Evira, and Zayn, and told us.
“Concerning Winter’s baseline destabilization due to the disgusting interference from that motherfucker, Ruxnoth, to Win’s death-cold state. ”
“Deeply violating,” Ketheron murmured, distressed at the mention of it. No wonder with his history of experiencing similar violations himself. Ambrose clasped his hand on the tabletop and whispered something to him that I did them the dignity of not listening to.
Velra grimaced and looked away.
A growl erupted from Lazriel.
“I know, wild one,” Cassius spoke, rubbing his back.
Either side of me, Evira and Zayn squeezed my hands, the three of us disgusted by it also.
But we had to keep our focus on what could be done now.
Only once we had Winter back with us would we be able to nurse him through the trauma of it all.
And Winter had to hold to that also in order to maintain functionality and rational thought—especially against such an accomplished puppet master like Ruxnoth.
“You sent Mia the living equation?” I pressed Sylas.
“Yes. The excellent investigative work done by Winter.”
“And you said she found it viable? Your suggestion? So there is actually a way to see to Winter?”
“To protect all my spells in case I’m ever killed, I infuse the enchanted root of a Methuselah tree into my magical essence—it possesses immortal-like properties.
It also has the ability to withstand the impossible.
Mia has more experience with using that than anyone.
I went to her because the way I’d need to use it to help Winter is more complex than how I employ it.
She’s also a Celestial being and that’s a factor in this particular spell.
” He eyed Ambrose. “As your black magic will be.”
“I’m duly intrigued. Go on.”
“Thanks to Win trapping that living equation, Kai, Ketheron, Cassius and I were able to determine that what Ruxnoth is doing when he ‘warms’ Winter is inverting his death-cold state temporarily. It’s why it wears off… Win’s eternal death nature forces it back, nullifies it.”
“Like, keeps killing the life in it?” Zayn asked.
Sylas nodded. “In a sense, yes.”
“Ruxnoth would be aware of that. He’s purposely using our son’s nature against him as a control method,” Velra uttered in absolute disgust.
“He is beyond even heathen status,” Cassius said, scrubbing his hand over his face.
Evira growled from beside me.
Ambrose sat forward, asking Sylas, “After this is over, you wish me to trap that manufactured warmth, then bind it to the Methuselah root so it cannot be overridden by Winter’s nature?”
“And so when Ruxnoth is murdered so very brutally, and all his magic falls away, that sliver will remain. But with your input and also under Winter’s full control.”
“Wow,” Zayn breathed. “So Win would finally not have to feed to feel alive?”
“Well, there would be another reason to continue feeding—from you only, it must be, with Evira being ice, and Vaxan being venom. He has a taste for it now,” Lazriel said.
“Not the blood, nor for sustenance,” Remnant clarified.
“Right,” Lazriel nodded. “For the pleasurable thrill of it.”
Zayn winced and whispered at my ear, “Well, this is a bit awkward.”
Evira chuckled and eyed him. “Really? For you?”
“No. Of course not, icicle. I meant for his parents. Well, not Sylas, he’s a sexual fiend and TMI about all that.”
I squeezed his hand. “Two vampires, one Celestial, and Ketheron. You were heard all too clearly by most here.”
“My bad,” he told the room.
Cassius smiled. “Your love and care for our son is what matters. All that we really took from that. Do not fret.”
Ambrose confirmed to Sylas, “I can perform it, but I need a supply of the root.”
“Mia will be sending it over.”
“Excellent.”
Remnant clasped his hands on the tabletop and told us, “I know we all wish to see to the Sanctus threat and Ruxnoth himself concurrently, however, given the complexities involved, we should focus on destroying Sanctus first, Ruxnoth second.”
“Yeah, Winter’s research pointed to his plan to send Ruxnoth into the Valley using necromantic power, but with that warping ability, it risks the integrity of the Valley itself if he’s sent there before we can figure out a way to nullify it,” Sylas said.
A chorus of agreements rang out from us all. Reluctant agreement, because that madman needed to be decimated. Yet not doing so safely would come at too high a price.
“We also can’t move without two vital pieces of intel—the size of Sanctus, and the precise nature of how it is being powered—beyond just us knowing that Ruxnoth is drawing on his lifeforce.
How? Is there a conduit in place that disseminates that so-called life to his construct?
Are there layers to it?” Remnant continued.
“Knowing of an entry point into Sanctus is not enough. Neither is your vibrational resonance, Vaxan. And Ambrose, even flooding it with your black magic—”
“I’m aware, we need to confer with Winter. I won’t risk striking him in the process.”
“There may even be a specific target,” Ketheron suggested. “One site inside his construct to flood, so you don’t have to overtax yourself.”
“There could very well be, treasure.”
Sylas levitated Winter’s amber gemstone over to us.
I reached out and took it in hand.
He told us, “As soon as Win contacts you, let us know.”
“Will do,” Evira assured him.
“In the meantime,” he said, looking between Evira and Zayn, “Velra will work with the two of you on a way to use your Ecliptic Convergence to undermine Ruxnoth’s warped soldier creations, should he unleash them when we launch our assault.
A way that won’t expend too much power and will impact their ability to withstand ‘natural magic’ attacks and brute force.
Once undermined, The Shadowed will put them down. ”
“Awesome,” Zayn breathed, eyeing Evira excitedly. Of course.
She reached over me and ruffled his hair. “Love you and your ways.”
“Love you, too.”
I chuckled and hugged them both to me.