mythean arcana 06 - master of fate (31 page)

Malcolm grabbed him and shook him. 

“No! Felix! There’ll be another way. There has to be. Stop it!”

Felix shook his head, trying to clear it. That was his last idea. Dark despair suffocated him. He staggered backward, out of Malcolm’s grip, and sank down against the wall.
Fuck. 

He surged back to his feet. Collapsing in grief wouldn’t save Aurora. “You have to know a way to get her back. You’re a goddamned warlock. The aether is your stock in trade.”

Malcolm bowed his head and gripped his forehead. “Honestly, I have no idea. I’ve never dealt with imprisonment in the aether before.”

There was a knock the door. He answered it to find Esha and Warren.

“No luck,” Esha said as she walked in. 

“I found a blade,” Malcolm said.

“How the hell do we get her out of the aether?” Felix asked Esha. “You’re a soulceress—you should know this.” Damn it, he’d find someone who had an answer.

Esha paced, her brow furrowed in concentration. “I’ve been thinking about this while we searched. As with everything, it’s the soul that matters. It’s the essence of a person. Aurora flung her soul into the aether, dragging her body and the Seer along with her. But for the witches to do that in 1705, they had to have something of hers. Not a piece of her soul, but a connection to her—to make a bridge.”

“Like something she owned?” Felix asked.

Esha show her head. “No. Wouldn’t be good enough. They had part of her essence—a minuscule bit of her soul. We leave traces of ourselves wherever we go. Like signatures in the aether—our soul touches it and leaves a tiny bit of us behind. But it disappears quickly—within seconds. For the sake of clarity, we’ll call it a person’s essence.”

“How did the witches get that?” he asked.

“They followed her. It was safer than confronting her.”

“So we go back to the prison, where she last was, and gather her essence to bring her back,” Felix said.

Esha shook her head. “It’s too late for that. By the time I got to the cell, her essence had entirely disappeared. And to make a connection with someone in the aether—either to throw them in or pull them out—you have to have enough to actually forge the bridge.”

“We have nothing.” His pain was a great beast within his chest, clawing to escape.

“There is no link,” Esha said. “Aurora broke her connections with you and Mouse. She cut off everything.” Esha’s voice cracked on the last statement. Warren gripped her shoulders and rubbed.

Felix stood, dumbfounded. He could think of no other way to bring her back. 

“I need some space,” he said. He just needed a moment to think. To find a way back to her. Panic was starting to cloud his judgment. 

Malcolm shrugged and walked over to the kitchen.

“We’ll keep looking for a way. I’ll speak to the witches—see if they know anything. Esha’s cell number is taped next to Aurora’s house phone if you need us.” Warren had pulled Esha into a hug. Her shoulders shook. They left quietly.

Felix collapsed on the couch. Mouse leapt up next to him.

Aurora was gone. Forever.

Felix sat on the couch, staring into space, trying to find a way. The sunset, casting dark shadows in the room. Everything looked like her and smelled like her, but it was a trick. She was gone.

Grief clouded his mind as he searched for anything that might work. But there was nothing left of her on earth, not even the recent shadow of her memory on the aether. 

He had no link. She was lost to him.

The only way to see her was to travel to the past, but not only would that risk his sanity—and he’d timewalked so much in the last day that he was on the edge now—it would be heart-wrenchingly bittersweet. He could see her but not touch her. 

All he’d have were memories. And they didn’t even matter, because what he truly needed was a way to save her from an eternity of torture in the aether. His heart clutched at the idea of what she was going through right now.

Wait.
Memories. 

He grasped at the idea. It was insane, but it was all he had.

He needed to get his brother. As he stood, he caught sight of Malcolm leaning against the kitchen counter. He hadn’t even noticed that Malcolm had stayed.

“I have an idea. But we need Esha too.” Felix walked to the phone in the kitchen and scanned the paper next to it for Esha’s number. When she picked up the phone, he told her to come to Aurora’s flat.

Esha, and Warren arrived only five minutes later. Esha’s scruffy black familiar trailed at her heels, surveying Aurora’s flat as if it were his own domain.

“You have an idea?” Esha asked. Her familiar stared at him with citrine eyes, interested in the answer.

“Something,” he said. “I was thinking about memories. They’re like ghosts of ourselves. They are like the essence of a person, particularly memories of times of great emotion.”

“Oh,” Esha said, her eyes brightening.

“What if I go back to the times when Aurora and I had our strongest memories? The times of strongest emotion. I can gather the wisps of her essence from that. I’ll go to as many memories as necessary to collect enough. Could you use it to pull her out of the aether?”

“Maybe.” Tears gleamed in Esha’s eyes. “It might work. I’d need help. The witches. Or you, Malcolm.” Esha was talking fast now. “Your power is linked to the aether. You’d be stronger than the witches for this. It could work.”

“I’ll try.” Malcolm turned to Felix. “I know I don’t have to tell you how dangerous it is to keep timewalking. Every trip is a drop in the bucket and yours is almost full, brother.”

Felix said nothing. 

Malcolm nodded. “You’ll need something to contain her essence. I’ve got something that will work. I’ll be back soon.” Malcolm aetherwalked away.

Felix paced the room as he waited. Gods, could this work? It had to. He sat on the couch and buried his head in his hands, thinking of the memories he could visit. They’d have to be strong. He couldn’t fail in this.

Esha sat in a chair to his right, her leg bouncing as though she couldn’t contain herself. 

He tried not to get his hopes up. He just had to focus on what needed to be done. 

His brother returned to the room ten minutes later, a glowing orb in his hand. It was several times the size of the aether stone he’d given Aurora, but not as bright.

“Here,” Malcolm handed it to him. “Visit the memories in the past. This is an aether orb. It’s like a container. It should absorb her essence. When you think you have enough—and I have no idea when that will be—come back.”

Felix took it, his heart thundering in his chest. He glanced at everyone, then timewalked away.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Felix followed the voices through the quiet forest. A glint of Aurora’s golden hair shone in the sun. She sat in a big oak tree, Mouse by her side. 

The first day they’d met. He hadn’t been able to stay away that afternoon, though he’d seen her in the forest before. At this time in the past, he only knew that she’d be important to him. But he’d had no idea
how
important. Or that he’d be fighting with everything he had not to lose her.

He watched them, occasionally glancing at the aether orb. It glowed and he just had to hope that it was gathering the essence Aurora was giving off.

He stayed until they disappeared, then aetherwalked to the next memory. They were on top of the soulceress city on the day of their first meeting. It was the first time she smiled at him. After a moment, he aetherwalked away.

He appeared on top of the temple in the jungle where they’d first made love. He’d wanted to tell her he loved her, but instead had told her she was the most incredible person he’d ever known. He’d meant every word. He still meant them. She’d thrown herself into the aether to protect him. It was the greatest sacrifice she could have made.

He left shortly after, going forward nearly to the present. The first day they’d seen each other in Iceland. They’d been apart for over three hundred years. 

But it had been one of the best days of his life. A chance to start again. The knowledge that she was safe and not dead had been a balm to his soul. The idea that he might have another chance with her…thrilling. 

His next stop was the night that she’d woken from her nightmare and told him of her dreams. He hated watching it again, but Malcolm had said moments of strong emotion were ideal. Her essence would be stronger here. Watching her misery over the aether nearly sent him to his knees. She was there now. For him. 

He watched himself hold her after she’d finished telling her story. It was the first time he’d thought that maybe he could be normal. That he could touch again. All because of her.

He sucked in a deep breath and aetherwalked back to the tower where his brother waited, along with Esha and Warren.

“I have no idea if I have enough,” he said. But he hadn’t wanted to leave Aurora in the aether any longer than necessary.

“We’ll try,” Esha said. “But we should do it in the ice palace. If it works, the spell will drag Aurora to us. But it might not drag the Seer. If it doesn’t, she’ll return to wherever she was when she was yanked into the aether. Doing this in the ice palace hedges our bets. She’ll be disoriented from the aether. Stab her immediately. It’s our only chance.”

Felix nodded. If she had a chance to use her magic against them...

“One last thing,” Esha said. “It’s not good, but it needs to be done. You have to stab Aurora with the blade after you’ve stabbed the Seer.”

His stomach pitched. “What?”

“Demon blades transfer souls. Or soul pieces. For Aurora to get the piece of her soul back, you have to return it to her. The hard way.”

He did not like the idea of that.

“Trust me, she’ll be fine,” Esha said. “I stabbed her last year to cut away the souls she’d stolen and return her sanity. She’d want you to do it. Just make sure you hold the blade in the Seer’s chest long enough that Aurora’s soul is transferred to it—and think specifically of Aurora’s soul as you do it—then yank it out and stab Aurora.”

“Fucking barbaric magic.”

Esha shrugged. “Demon magic.”

Felix thought about it for a moment, then said to Esha, “I’ll stab the Seer, then hand the blade to you and you can stab Aurora.”

Esha shook her head. “You’re not palming off the hard job on me. Anyway, I don’t think it’s wise. The blade is obsidian. Sharpest thing in the world, but it can shatter. If we try to pass it off during a struggle—say, the Seer isn’t dead yet—and one of us drops it...”

Felix swallowed hard. He had to do it. “Agreed. I’ll stab her. Then one of you needs to be prepared to kill the Seer after I’ve taken Aurora’s soul from her.”

“I’d have thought you’d want that honor,” Malcolm said.

Felix’s fists clenched. “I do. But it’s more important to get Aurora’s soul back to her and keep her safe. So one of you gets the Seer’s death.”

“No problem,” Malcolm said.

“Let’s go.” Felix aetherwalked to the ice palace.

It was pitch black inside. He’d forgotten it was night.

“Dark as hell in here,” Esha said right before a small burst of flame ignited in her palm. It lit the cavernous space of the larger room that led to the individual cells.

“That’s the cell.” Warren pointed to the one on the far left. The entrance was a gaping black hole. 

Felix strode toward it, desperate to finish this so he’d know Aurora was safe. The four of them formed a circle inside. The Chairman leaned against Esha’s legs and Mouse sat at the edge of the room. Esha lifted the small, glowing fireball in her hand and let it drift toward the ceiling. It stopped about a foot from the top and hovered, casting light down upon them.

Felix handed her the aether orb that held Aurora’s essence.

“Just tell me what to do,” Malcolm said to Esha.

She nodded. “Your connection to the aether will make this easier. The memories might not be enough to pull her out if it weren’t for that. It’s stronger than what the witches have. Make a portal into the aether—the thing you do when you take your power from it.”

“Okay. It’s not exactly a portal—more like a weak spot so that I can draw power out—but I can see what you mean. It makes the aether more accessible to us.”