Chapter 21 #3
“Sweet?” Kai questioned. “You all right there, Almighty Necromancer?”
“Kai,” Sylas rumbled. Much more like Sylas.
“He’s being soft with the taste of victory approaching,” Ketheron said. “Plus, I’m much like tiny god’s big brother, and he cherishes me.”
“That I do, K. Without a doubt.”
They obviously hadn’t registered our presence, so there had to be another layer of magic other than the illusion that had hidden them from view.
Winter pushed his hand toward them, but jerked back with a hiss as rose-gold magic sparked against his fingers.
And that certainly got their attention.
In the next moment, all four of them reacted, spinning around, eyes wide.
It had them breaking apart and then what had been between them, unknown to us, came into view.
A long cone of polished black wrapped in a curling band of antique gold with midnight-blue gems set into it hovered a couple of feet off the ground.
“The Spiral Thorn,” Winter choked, a mix of shock and horror infiltrating his features.
“Win? What are you doing here?” Sylas said, starting forward to go to him. Kai had to grab his coat and jerk him back so he didn’t slam against the ward.
“That was really it? That was what I felt? Not him… a part of his power?” Winter demanded. “I mean, Ambrose, I knew you’d stored a bit of it when you brought Dad back, but this… how is the Spiral Thorn here? And right next to my dad? The person it killed?”
Fuck.
This was… awful.
So very awful for him.
And he’d been doing so well, recovering so amazingly.
Now this.
“Win, it can’t harm me now. It wasn’t even the weapon itself per se that—”
“I know. It was me. Because he was able to establish that blood link to me then piggyback off our generational necromantic connection, where he then—”
“Stop. It’s not your fault.”
Ambrose snatched up the Spiral Thorn and spun it in his hand. “Actually, if he hadn’t established that link, then done this, I never would have been able to acquire his blood the way I did—through my own magic when I performed the spell to restore Sylas.”
Winter frowned. “You’re saying you now have the means to undo his warping ability? With his own former weapon?”
Kai grinned, eyes darkening. “That’s exactly what he’s saying.”
Vaxan eyed Sylas. “And this was going to be conveyed to Winter?”
The accusation—and warning—in his tone didn’t escape Sylas’ notice. There was a great deal of respect between them, so Sylas didn’t get his back up at the aggressiveness of it, and instead gave a nod. “Yes. Once we knew this could actually be done.”
“In fact, Winter,” Ambrose said, smiling out at him. “You are instrumental where this is concerned.”
“Too true, tiny god,” Ketheron said. Then he came forward and cut a hole right through Kai’s uber powerful ward with his magic like it was… well, butter… and ushered the four of us inside with them.
Kai shook his head in dismay, then sealed it up.
With a sweep of his hand, Sylas re-erected the concealment spell and the full force of the illusion so we were hidden inside with them securely.
He ruffled Winter’s hair, then whispered, “Later, we should probably discuss how you were able to drop my illusion—one of that extreme magnitude at that—without me feeling it.”
That was… highly interesting. Had Winter’s power eclipsed Sylas’? No, that couldn’t be. Winter was supremely powerful, yes, but he was still young and new to the necromantic aspect, especially compared to Sylas Morgrave.
Sylas jolted and frowned at him. “Why are you employing a glamor?”
Winter stiffened. “There could be a ton of reasons, Dad.”
“Yet only one you’d do something like this for—to hide your hurt.”
“Absolutely,” I said, and Zayn and Vaxan gave a nod of solidarity—none of us liked him doing that.
Winter eyed us. “I said I was going to let you in on it, if you recall. Less than five minutes ago I uttered those words.”
Sylas looked between us, trying to figure it all out. “The cold? Your destabilized equilibrium?”
“It returned today, yeah.”
Sylas rubbed his back. “I’m sorry, son. It won’t be much longer. I ran into a complication with the Methuselah Root.”
“Which Kai assisted with,” Kai spoke, passing by toward Ambrose and ruffling Winter’s hair on the way.
“Yes,” Sylas ground out. “Which Kai assisted with. The mixture will cure sufficiently within another couple of days then I can see to you—and Rex.”
“Just days?” Winter asked. “That’s it?”
“That’s it, Win. Promise.”
“Tiny god, to be clear, this won’t only reset your nervous system, it will also provide you with continual, what you term, living warmth. Sylas will spell it into bracelet-form where you may remove it only if you so wish. Unless you want to return to death-cold state, you won’t ever have to.”
“All because you were able to extract that living equation,” Kai told him.
Winter sucked in an unsteady breath, both awed and overwhelmed that something he’d always wanted was finally becoming a reality.
He couldn’t even speak through it, just beaming out at us all, before emotion got the best of him and he averted his eyes.
Zayn, Vaxan, and I exchanged a smile, then I wrapped my arm around him, holding him to me. Sylas eased away, lifting his chin at me.
Ketheron smiled with glee at Ambrose.
Vaxan cleared his throat, then gestured at the Spiral Thorn Ambrose was still wielding. “So, how does this operate in its new incarnation? It’s not a replica? You pulled it from Sanctus as I was decimating the abominable plane?”
“Yes. Hence Ruxnoth looking slightly more the worse for wear than I’d originally intended, my goal having initially been to safeguard Winter until he returned from the Veil. The heathen fought to hold onto this.”
“And failed spectacularly,” Kai said, those darkening eyes coming into play again.
Ambrose went on, “This can strike Ruxnoth anywhere and achieve two vital things to ensure he can be sent to the Valley of the Dead and without causing catastrophic damage. First, it will nullify his transmutation ability by warping its intent where change and transformation will become static, function rigidly. Now that can only hold temporarily. Long enough to end his life, wherein he will be in that state when he enters the Valley and thus said state will be frozen in a sense with magic not being invokable within there.” Off Sylas’ look, he added, “Except for necromancers, Wraiths, Shadowmancers, of course.”
“Wow,” I uttered. “That’s a hell of a thing.”
“Much like when he was able to use black magic to redirect Risen Reckoning to impact the environment instead of people,” Kai said.
Ambrose nodded. “The other vital thing this will accomplish once it penetrates his skin and infects his bloodstream is to override the inability of a non-Celestial weapon to take the life of a Celestial being. This will be able to force a kill condition.” He eyed Sylas with a grimace.
“Much like he did to you. Let’s say that we’re returning the favor. ”
“Using his own shit against him,” Zayn ground out.
“With some wildly ingenious magical fuckery,” Winter said, easing from me, but holding my hand.
“Compliment graciously accepted,” Ambrose told him with a wry smirk. “Don’t downplay your own gift for ‘ingenious magical fuckery’ either.” His gaze swept over us. “Any of you. Impressive feats have been achieved by each of you throughout this unfortunate ordeal.”
“Is that your way of also saying you’re gonna be keeping an eye on our magical fuckery?” Zayn put to him.
Ambrose looked between Sylas and Kai with amusement. “This is clearly your fault.”
“Nice try. I’m not apologizing for word spreading of my remarkable magical feats born from out-of-the-box thinking and deft experimentation,” Kai said.
“Word spreading? Is that what you call your fan club?”
Ketheron chuckled and stroked Ambrose’s hood of his cloak. “The other day, I was at Haven Initiative and one of them was there, and I thought it was you. Nor is that the first time it’s happened, Kai.”
“What about your highly-attuned senses?”
Ketheron shrugged. “I was in a relaxed state, about to see my gorgeous.”
“Sylas, how come you don’t have those fanboys and fangirls?” Zayn teased. “I mean, in my opinion, you’re more charismatic than Kai. He’s a bit…”
“Harsh?” Kai asked, highly amused. “Abrasive? Absolutely I am. It’s served me well.”
“Well, at least there’s a valid reason,” I said. “Sort of.”
Vaxan caught my eye and grinned, a quiet laugh escaping him.
Sylas eyed Kai.
“Careful,” Kai warned, obviously seeing a look in Sylas’ expression he knew too well.
Sylas’ lips quirked. “Why no fan club? Hmm. I suppose it might have something to do with me not requiring the ego stroke. And not being compelled through egomaniacal desperation to go out of my way to make it known to the populace that such a thing would please me. Not feeling the need to make dramatic impromptu pop-up appearances at academies, covens, hell knows where else, and put on a whole show.” He tapped his chin.
“Why else? I’m not comfortable with the worship angle.
Content to do the work without the promise of reward—noble, you know?
Ah, and another thing? I’m not an attention whore. ”
“You son of—” Kai started, while on the verge of bursting out laughing.
“Ah, wait. One last thing… I suppose I just don’t need people down on their knees for me. You might say I’m above it.”
“Not down on their knees for you?” Kai questioned. “You really want me to go there? Your son is here. And Ketheron.”
“You go there, we’re going there about our little connection years ago. Your call.”
Kai glared out at him, but still grinning.
Sylas did the same.
And then Winter stepped forward and snapped his fingers between them. “Done. It’s done.”
As they both blinked and dropped it, Winter muttered, “I’m not hearing about your sexual exploits right now. Been there, done that, just a couple of weeks ago.”
Sylas frowned. “You… what? When did I—”
“My necromancer friends?”
Sylas blinked. “Ah, understood. That’s… unfortunate.”
“Sure was,” Winter said, before then addressing Ambrose. “You said earlier that I would be instrumental with this? How? Because I thought I was tracking his power here? You knew I’d tagged him?”
“No. But it is your magic that will be needed to track him. With that imbued in the Spiral Thorn, we can create a sweep across the mortal plane. It will get a lock on him. But it will take a little time.”
“How long?” I asked when I saw Winter tensing. “An estimate at least?”
“If we don’t run into any unforeseen complications from him, a few days.”
“And if we do?” Winter asked, definitely an edge in his voice.
“Then we’ll see to it, little death,” Vaxan said, walking to him. “Yes? Like we’ve seen to everything else. No matter what.”
“Yeah, I know,” Winter said, brightening. “That… he… I just…”
“Right there with you,” Kai said.
“Very much so,” Ketheron added.
And that was a hell of a thing because Ketheron didn’t like the idea of harming anyone.
I saw Winter take note of it. A soft sigh of what sounded like relief escaped him.
Likely because he was reasoning that if Ketheron could feel that way, then it was more evidence for Winter that Ruxnoth had been wrong about him, and that he didn’t need to feel shame for wanting that warped nightmare gone.
“And in the meantime, I have a happy idea!” Ketheron exclaimed.
Ambrose arched an eyebrow. “You do?”
“Yes!” He looked out at us all. “Ambrose and I are moving in together! You will come to our housewarming!”
Ambrose took his hand and lowered his voice. “Really, treasure? Now was the optimal time?”
“Of course. Everyone is pained and anxious. Something joyous will lift the burden a little.” He raised their joined hands and kissed Ambrose’s knuckles.
“And I have delayed too long already, worried that it would upset my family.” He squared his shoulders.
“It has been stated now. It is happening. I am moving in, no more waiting.”
Ambrose beamed out at him. “I do love you and your wonderful ways.”
Ketheron nuzzled against him. “I love you. With my everything.”
“I’ll be passing this on to Cassius, Velra, and Lazriel, then?” Sylas said, grinning as we all looked on. “And for the record, we’re not upset. We saw it coming a couple of months ago. We want you to have this.”
“Does this mean—”
“You’ll always be part of the family.” Sylas winked at Winter. “You think Win moving out and now living with his loves means he’s not part of the family anymore?”
“No. Of course not. That could never be.”
“Precisely.”
Ketheron stilled. “Oh. I see.” Emotion swam in his eyes. “Thank you, Sylas.”
“No thanks needed. Family, K. Family.”
In the next second, Winter was rushing over and wrapping his arm around Ketheron.
Zayn joined in, and then it became a congratulatory free for all.
Moments like this, in the midst of distress and this darkness still lingering, were what it was really all about.
The difference between merely surviving and actually living.
And that was what the four of us were determined to do, what we’d fought for.
To really live, love, and be.
Be us.
In all our chaotic, wild, and unconventional glory.
With absolutely no fucking apologies.