Chapter 20
CHAPTER TWENTY
“Dramatic,” Raven said. “But not wrong.”
He set his mug on the table and tipped his head to both sides trying to loosen sore muscles.
“You remember us saying a lost god spell won’t cost as much as an existing god spell?
” he asked. “The spell cost more than I expected. I think it’s because you used it twice and the second time you broke time. What were you thinking?”
“I was thinking I wanted to see Headwaters dead no matter what it cost,” I said around a mouthful of muffin. Raven was right. It was amazing. “Lu?”
“Oh, yeah. Same,” she said. “Mix magics? Break time? Good enough if Headwaters got dead enough.”
I finished off my coffee and poured another cup. If I was going to hear about my impending death—our impending deaths—I was going to get a couple good cups of joe down me first.
“How much did it cost us?” Lu asked. “What are we going to pay for casting the spells?” She’d decided the same as me, and was sipping tea, her shoulder leaning into mine.
“Ryt’s magic, the spell you cast, that’s a part of you now,” Cupid said. “You can probably tell.”
I waited for the feeling of panic, of horror, but I had been through too much for either of those emotions to ping.
“How bad is that?” Elmer asked.
Cupid inhaled, and sort of shook his head.
“I don’t know. Ryt’s power is not mine, that magic is nothing I would create, and it is nothing that has ever been used by an earthbound, god-blessed mortal and a thrawn.
Mixing it with the watch, which had its own very unusual power…
” He rubbed his hand over his bald head.
“It’s insanity,” Raven said. “Glorious, but insanity.”
“Let’s just say,” Cupid said, “that as far as I can tell, Ryt is correct. If it had torn the spell out of you, you would have exploded. Or worse.”
“There’s worse?” Josie asked.
“The spell is pressed like a brand into their souls,” Cupid explained. “It’s also in their flesh, in their DNA. Tearing out a transformation spell by force once it has transformed itself to fit seamlessly into every cell of your body…”
“Okay, yeah,” she said. “That’s worse.”
“So, we’re stuck this way?” Lu said. “Our bodies and souls changed by a monster that’s dead and transformed by a lost god’s power which shouldn’t even exist anymore?” She shrugged. “At least this time we chose why we were changed.”
“And Headwaters is dead,” I noted.
Lu flashed a smile that was mostly fang. “Headwaters is very dead.”
“But Ate is still out there kicking,” Raven said. “So is Mithra, the ass.”
“Apep?” Josie asked.
“Big boy over there took care of him.” Raven pointed at Cupid. “My hero.” He sighed and batted his eyelashes.
Cupid scratched his cheek with his middle finger.
“Back to what you said earlier,” I said to Cupid. “We have a choice that will change our lives and deaths?”
“Yes. I can try to separate your souls. To take apart the piece of your soul which was sewn into Lula’s and the piece of hers which was sewn into yours. It would be…a delicate procedure. There is no guarantee one or both of you would survive it. But…”
“There’s always a but,” Raven said.
“But,” Cupid went on, ignoring him, “if you wanted me to, I would do so.”
“What would even be the advantage to that now?” Lula asked. “It’s been so long.”
“Ate, right?” Raven asked.
Cupid nodded. “Ate. If I separated your souls, you would no longer be able to use the spells in the book. You would no longer be the hands to hold it and the voice to wield the spells of the gods. You could no longer be used as her tools.”
“If we can’t be used, she’ll just want to kill us,” I said.
“She wants to kill you now,” Raven agreed, “but won’t. Not so long as she can use you to access the magic .”
“Headwaters is dead,” Cupid said. “The monster that changed you is dead. But the monster’s master remains.”
“We can’t kill her using the book. You told us that,” I said.
Lu stiffened, then relaxed.
We had tried to use two spells in the book to kill a monster, and it had nearly killed us. How much bigger a spell, how much stronger a magic, would we need to try and kill a god?
“It is not easy to kill a god,” Cupid said quietly. “I do not know if you would survive any attempt to do so.”
“And there’s no guarantee there’s a spell in the book that can kill a god,” Raven said.
“So, what you’re saying, is we can’t use the book again? Shouldn’t try?” I didn’t know if I was relieved or annoyed. The idea that Lu and I alone could wield the power, yes, to kill Headwaters, but also to protect us and those we loved, was a heady thing.
“I’m saying,” Raven noted, “that doing it comes with a pretty damn high cost. And I’ve grown fond of you.
Both of you. I’d rather see us find a way to permanently remove Ate from your lives, than see your deaths.
The first step for doing that would be to get the book to Ordinary, Oregon, as quickly as possible. ”
“Breakfast for you,” Pamela placed a plate with a generous helping in front of me. “And for you.” She settled a plate in front of Lu. “What did I miss?”
“The gods are doing a poor job of talking the Gauges into giving up wanting to fight Ate and running instead to Oregon as fast as they can,” Elmer said.
“I like the sound of that,” Pamela said. “Run to fight another day. Or just run to live your lives how you want. What makes Oregon so special?”
“There’s a town there,” Raven said.
“The gods vacation there,” Abbi said. “And there’s a magic library that will hide the book.”
“There are rules and protections and the Reed daughters,” Cupid said, “one of whom can keep any god out of the town no matter what they throw at her.”
Pamela whistled. “All right. I like this town. But Oregon? I thought you two were stuck to the Route. That ends in California. It’s a long hard day’s drive from there to Oregon.”
“What happens if you drive off the road?” Cardamom asked.
“The farther we get away from it, the more it hurts,” I said. “Well, before. That was before.”
“Before?” he asked.
“When I was an earthbound spirit. Before Cupid brought me back.”
“You haven’t tested it since then?” Josie asked.
I shook my head.
“Locking you to the Route was Ate’s doing,” Cupid said. “Even killing Headwaters won’t have changed that.”
“You said we changed,” Lu noted. “Not enough to escape that curse?”
“No.”
“Let me tackle it,” Cardamom said. “I know it was made with god power, but it’s still a curse. There are so many magical ways around a curse, even if it can’t be broken.”
“You don’t need to—” I started.
“I’m going to, so let’s just get that out of the way.” Determination burned in his eyes. I didn’t have to wonder how he’d made his way up the wizard ranks.
“So, is that the plan?” Elmer asked. “You turn and run to Ordinary? Hope you can stash the book before the god catches you?”
“I’ll deal with Ate,” Cupid said.
“And Mithra,” Raven added.
“And Mithra,” Cupid agreed.
“And Apep,” Raven said.
Cupid glared at him.
“I’m just saying it’s three against one, Bo. Bad odds.”
“What about taking a stand?” Josie asked.
I shook my head. “Cupid’s right. The spells in the book are too strong. I don’t know how we’d survive using another one.”
“There are other weapons out there,” Elmer said. “I’d even wager there’s one that can kill a god.”
“Oh, there are,” Raven said. “Not easy to find, and they come with their own prices to pay, but of course there are.”
“How long would it take to find them?” Pamela asked.
“Longer than we have,” Lula said. “I say we run.”
“Ordinary?” I asked.
“Ordinary,” she said. “Bury this book where no one can find it again.”
“And Ate and all those other gods?” Elmer asked.
“You are under my protection,” Cupid said. “That is no small thing.”
“I’ll be around,” Raven said. “Getting that damn thing to Ordinary is personal.”
“We’ll help, of course,” Elmer said.
“And so will I,” Cardamom added. “I know Ricky and the Crossroads will too.”
“Me too,” Abbi said. “We have a lot of friends now. Isn’t it neat?”
I wanted to argue, to tell all these people I didn’t want them to risk their lives for us. But looking at the expressions on their faces, I knew I would lose that argument.
“It’s more than neat,” I said. “It’s…” Words failed me, and I gestured helplessly. “Thank you.”
The expressions dissolved into smiles.
“Enough of the serious stuff,” Pamela said. “Eat. Your eggs are getting cold.”