Mathieu (White Flame Trilogy) (46 page)

Mathieu got up and went over to her, watching her work. The attention to detail was astounding: the raised scar that ran along his jaw, the deep set of his eyes, even the direction that his stubble went. He didn't say anything as she finished and started on the next thing, creating it next to Nathan, only this out of sand.

He marveled at the expressive pull of muscles in the smiling stone face. Nathan had one hand on his hip in a framilar pose, the other hanging at his side. There was even a low ball glass in his hand. Mathieu switched his attention to the other statue. He couldn't tell what it was through the sand.

"Fire..." Lenore mumbled as she worked.

"I'll get Avanon." He turned and waved her over. She ran over, multicolored hair streaming behind her.

She looked at the Nathan before asking Lenore what she needed. At being instructed to do so, she put her hands onto the sand and fired it up, turning the sand into glass. And then Mathieu could tell what it was. The features were a bit too delicate, but the caring look in her face was dead on. Avian's glass face was turned up slightly to the sky, seeming far away. One arm crossed over her body to hold the other.

Panting, Lenore stepped back. "Is it close? I've only seen holographic crystals of her, but..."

"It's dead on. Thank you." Mathieu said. That was
something he was always thankful for, no one had forgotten about Avian.

"You're welcome.” Lenore said, patting his shoulders, “They may not be here anymore, but they're still watching over us." She turned to look in the direction that the statues were.

He did, too.
"Our land.
This one and beyond."

"Exactly.
You're doing a good job of being in charge. It's not easy, and we all get it. None of us would be willing to do it, but it's always easier to complain than admit someone is doing well."

"Thanks, Lenore."

"Anytime."
She walked away, leaving him to stand with his predecessor and his best friend. Avanon bumped him lightly before smiling at him. Content, he returned to where Enak sat.

"Oh, Mathieu.
You should practice summoning my power," said the boy god. "Sit." He nodded to the open spot, smiling.

Mathieu sighed, but sat facing the god. "Okay, so you said I just need to focus on this thing?" He wiggled his hand, causing the chain of his phoenix to rattle. At first it had been uncomfortable and a bit annoying, but slowly he had gotten use to it. Now, he hardly even noticed it.

Enak nodded, hands clasped in his lap.
"Pretty much.
Then a piece of my power will flow from Erik and
I
into you."

He looked at the permanent fixture to his arm with a look, focusing on the way it conformed to his wrist, the way each feather was individually carved from the metal. Slowly, it started to glow with a faint red under the gold. Mathieu's tongue peeked out as his stare became more intense, eyes tracing the face of the phoenix. The harder he looked at it, the more it glowed until looking at it was like staring into the sun. He began to worry when the glow was as bright as ever, but he felt no different, exactly as he had when he'd started. "Is it working?"

"You'd know if it was. Give it a moment and try again."
Enak said, brow furrowed.

And he did. Mathieu waited and tried four more times before giving up. "This is pointless. Nothing is changing."

The boy god's hair was puffed up at the power he was channeling, eyes bright with frustration. "It has to be Erik. For some reason, his subconscious isn't releasing the power to you. Mathieu, you need to talk to him. Not now, but soon. If you can't summon it now, then when you really need it, it will elude you."

Mathieu’s jaw clenched, but Enak patted his knee. It seemed that everything was directing him to speaking to his father, and now avoiding the man was influencing his ability to fight. Grumbling, he nodded. "Damn it. All right, I'll talk to him after dinner tonight."

"Good. Lenore did good work with those statues.
Very life-like.
So tell me about seeing your mother."

It took Mathieu a moment for his mind to catch up with the switch in topics.
"Oh, uh, yeah.
And Avian.
They
pulled my soul to the other side. I'd never seen her before. She was…beautiful."

"I bet she was glad to be able to see you. Your father was...distraught after losing you both in one day. We buried Anita, but he wasn’t the same after that. We tried looking for you, but at the time I couldn't stay in Unith for long periods. We couldn't get very far in land.” Enak sighed through his nose before changing topics again. “So, do you have a plan to deal with the Outer Zone?"

"Yes. I do, actually.” Mathieu smiled. “I was…inspired by a story I was told about a young girl getting caught by thieves,” he didn’t point out that it was Kiev, although remembering what Zanika had said about the blond woman’s past was what had got his mind rolling about dealing with bandits. “They need food and clothes, so I've had the people preparing sacks of seeds, food that will keep, and some woman from Nathan's and Elise's districts have offered to make extra clothing in their spare time. They won't be trade quality, like we have, but it will be enough to gain us passage. And I promised them citizenship once we win."

"Negotiating...I like it." Enak rubbed at a blade of glass with his thumb. “So you already contacted them?”

“Yeah.
I sent one of the Shadowriders to kidnap someone in charge. I already sorted out the details.” Mathieu was a bit proud of how well he had planned, but he tried not to show it. "Hey, can I ask you something?"

Enak nodded.
"Certainly."

“Well…I was reading a while back that um…gods, like you, are pretty powerful. And I already read that they
could only be repelled out of a territory or a building or something by other gods.” Enak gave him a look that prompted him to continue. “So, I was wondering, does Unith have a god hiding somewhere which is why you can’t go there, or are you just….weaker than the book
want
me to believe?” Mathieu tried to make that sound as least rude as possible.

Enak evaluated him with a look, his age showing through his eyes. "Like humans,” he started, “gods have mothers. Mine has been locked inside of Unith's borders for a very long time. A sorcerer caught her in the beginning of that land's history and sealed her away as she traveled from this world to ours. As we pass by where she is held, you can choose to free her. However, I cannot guarantee what she will do, for she has been held captive for a very long time." He took a moment before shrugging. “She is what is keeping me out.”

"We'll free her, of course. No one deserves to be a captive. And with her free, you being in Unith shouldn’t be a problem anymore, right?" Mathieu's statement was more a declaration for Svenak's mother's freedom and a question of their success.

“We shall see, won’t we?”

Chapter

Twenty-One

As much as Mathieu hated to admit it, he had reached the point where he could no longer put off speaking to Erik. At the moment, his father and Solomon were on the porch, both smoking, and having a very serious conversation. The two had waited until all the rest had headed for bed before going outside, telling Mathieu to stay put. Unhappy at being told what to do, he had defiantly done the dishes from dinner,
then
tidied up the main room. By the time he was done, they still hadn't finished talking. Huffily, he went to the door and pulled it open. He'd be damned if he was forced to stay inside like a child.

The conversation ceased as soon as he came out, but he paid them no mind, instead going to sit on the railing beside his beau. Solomon offered him the rest of the cigarette he was smoking, which Mathieu took.

After lighting up and taking a deep drag, he held the smoke in his lungs, looking towards the sky. The stars were brighter here, more alive. He knew what he had to do.

Blowing a stream of smoke rings, he looked at Erik, "Father,” his tone was rather stony, “today I couldn’t use Enak as my shield. He said you are the one preventing us from connecting."

"Is that so?" Erik raised his brow in a sedated way, "Well, if I did, it wasn't my intention."

"Erik, I told you a while back that we would talk. It would seem now is the time to talk." His father said nothing. Mathieu continued: "So if you wanted to offer an explanation to why you weren't there when Mom died, or why I went to an orphanage, I'd be willing to hear it." They all knew he wasn’t going to do it with an open mind, but he would listen.

Sighing and stamping his butt out, Erik gave Solomon a dismissing look. But Mathieu grabbed the back of his mate's shirt, keeping him where he was. Erik chuckled. "You're just like your mother." A momentary silence fell at the mention of the dead, then "Mathieu, there are some things we are willing to hear, but unwilling to accept. You and Solomon, for instance, is something I have taken the time to hear out, but I
can’t…won’t
acknowledge.
Despite your ‘bond’."

Mathieu ran his fingers through Solomon's hair, cooling his own temper. "You're right, I probably won’t like what I what you have to say. But I want to hear your excuse.”

Erik’s eyes flicked between the pair of them before he inhaled sharply and started. "My ma is a very powerful and dangerous woman. Something you should know is that in our line, a gift is passed to the first and last child of every generation. My ma has it, as does your only surviving uncle. You were, of my brothers and
I
, the first child to be carried. Anita knew how my family worked and wanted to protect you from what they would do to you. She told me she wouldn’t allow then to demonize you with the change. Because I loved her, we ran.

"Oh, I knew my mother would chase us, but for Anita, I would do anything. After I believed that I had hidden her away sufficiently, I set out to find any source of power that would allow me to protect my family and sever the ties to my mother's dictatorship.

"With the help of my oldest friend, someone you know, I set out. My journey, after many failed avenues, ended in the Realm of the Gods where I met Enak. Unfortunately, by the time I return, my brother had already slain Anita, and you were gone. I presumed you eaten or taken by my ma. Either way, I could not save you. So, I retreated into solitude."

Solomon's face was painted with disgust. "You found yourself a god to protect your family, yet you would not use it to save your son?"

Erik shrugged, "You may condemn my actions as you wish, but it is in the past. However, Mathieu, you must go speak to your grandmother. She wields an unparalleled
power, and we will need her to win. Bargain with her. You are too old to be gifted, and when she asks for your first born, tell her you foresee no children in your line. Show her your mark if she requires proof. You are her family, and she will be obligated to help." It seemed that he was unwilling to explain any further on what had happened in the past.

Mathieu was in a state of disbelief. "Let me get this straight. Not only are you going to be vague about what really happened with my mother, but you want me to go to the woman who pursued my mother to her death, tore my family apart, and ask her to help with an invasion."

"Yes.” Erik said, point blank. “She can amass an army with charms to protect them from bullets. Unless they have magic users, her army is invincible. While we move to the capital, she can capture the cities we don't. And they will only respond to those of her blood."

"That's a fair point..." Solomon said, leaning against Mathieu, lighting another smoke.

Mathieu sighed, also able to see how beneficial a force immune to bullets would be in a fight.
"Fine; but only because I want every advantage for this fight.
To lose as few as possible is my goal. I'll go in the morning. Where
am
I going?"

"At the base of the highest mountain in the Outer Zone, which happens to be the one closest to the Eastern District, there is a passage that is always guarded. Tell them you wish to see Anastasie. Use your Shaper powers to prove your point if necessary." Erik stood from where he was reclined, "You can take a Shadowrider to the border, but you'll have to walk from there. That's all I
have to say tonight. Sleep well, Son." He left them alone.