“That’s all the reasons to live we need,” Alois said from behind him. He pulled Sebastian, Sai, and Salla into a squashed hug. “We’ll be good.” He let them go. “Where’s Lorry? I should hug the fucker too and remind him not to get romantic while I’m gone.”

  “Alois,” Sai said, groaning.

  Alois laughed as he jogged across the room to Lorry.

  “Sorry, Sai,” Sebastian said. “My mate is a protective daddy.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” she said. “Just come back.”

  Sebastian and Alois said goodbye one more time, then joined the others at the door. Fire scooted close to Sebastian and grabbed his hand. The element wasn’t trembling, but it was a close thing. He knew this had to be hard for him. Beol passed out the shields. His three fellow assassins stood behind him, faces grim.

  “Activate them now, and we’ll leave the ship,” Dru said. “Dottie did her best to reduce traffic between the Blue Sparrow and the Concord ship, but don’t bump into anyone if you can help it. We’ll wait at the pre-planned spot until I get the word from Lerais.”

  Sebastian squeezed Fire’s hand and activated his shield. One by one, they each disappeared, but Sebastian kept hold of Fire. Together, they made their way across the spaceport to the Concord ship. Sebastian saw the restroom sign Dru had mentioned and stopped. Someone from their team bumped into him from behind.

  “Sorry, beautiful,” Alois whispered.

  Sebastian reached back and patted his mate’s stomach.

  They waited for about ten minutes, until Sebastian couldn’t stand it. The stillness and the isolation sucked. “Okay,” Dru said softly. “Lerais says they had to take out a few guards, but the air is filtered and clear. Let’s do this.”

  They hurried to the Concord ship just in time to see the door drop down. Sebastian noticed the three bodies beside the ship. They were still breathing, so it looked like Charybdis would get a few prisoners today.

  Everyone had a copy of the schematics of the ship, but Sebastian had done his best to memorize it. Beol had said Air was always on the bridge, so they ignored the dead bodies lining the hall and rushed that way.

  “Something isn’t right,” Death said. “I can’t find Air. I’ve always been able to sense him.”

  Sebastian focused and entered the spirit world as they ran. His skills as a shaman were his best weapon. As soon as the threads were visible around him, he realized his mistake. Angry silvery white and sickly green threads circled above their heads. He yelped and fell out of the spirit world. A gust of wind picked him up and pulled him down the hall. A grasping, airy hand pulled his shield off, tossing it to the ground, and seconds later, he was dropped into a room.

  “Sebastian!” He heard Alois’s voice cut off as the door slammed shut.

  “Got you, baby shaman. My Queen gave me a fun little trick to find you when you entered the spirit world. She gave me a lot of fun tricks. I’m her favorite now.” He heard Air’s voice in his head, but the room was empty. “She wants you, baby shaman. It’s been such a long time since she tortured another shaman.” Sebastian was picked up again and spun around. Panic filled him, and he couldn’t concentrate as Air laughed in his head. “You just walked right onto my ship. How lucky am I?”

  The wall of the room exploded inward, leaving a big, melted hole, and a piece of metal debris hit his arm, cutting it deeply. Air dropped him, and he fell, hard, landing on his ankle. Sebastian felt something snap. He whimpered as he tried to stand.

  “No! You stay there,” Air said, and he was pushed against the wall. A circling tornado of fire came through the hole, and Sebastian felt his heart sink. Fire.

  Mustachio flew above the flames and began his song. Sebastian closed his eyes and slipped into the spirit world. He couldn’t let Fire get hurt. He could see them now. Fire twisted around Air’s elemental form, and they mixed together, fighting for dominance. Air was determined to reach Sebastian, and Fire held him back.

  “Death, freeze him,” Beol said. Waves of air buffeted the others around the room. Sebastian could see Alois’s threads trying to get to him, even if he couldn’t see his body. The others struggled to reach Air.

  “I can’t. Something isn’t right,” Death said. “Fire and Air are too entwined, so I’d freeze them both. Their forms mixed together are too chaotic.”

  “What other choice do we have?” Dru’s voice was full of pain, and Sebastian saw blood mix with the air. The debris had to be doing damage.

  Sebastian focused on their mixed threads. He knew Fire. He could easily pick his innocent, joyful threads out from Air’s ugliness and cruelty. He didn’t know how to pull them apart though. He tried to snap one of Air’s threads, but it was like steel. Mustachio sang his song and landed clumsily beside him. The air pushed them hard against the wall. Sebastian pulled him close, holding the bird in his arms.

  “Alright,” Death said, and the two forms froze. Death pushed time forward, and the two elements dropped to the ground, forced to change.

  Fire fell to his knees. Air’s white eyes were full of hate and focused on Sebastian. Torrents of air still buffeted the team around the room, even after Death froze Air again.

  “Stop, damn you,” Death said, frustrated.

  The element fought him and managed a small hand wiggle. Small silver and white balls of air zipped around the room, and one headed toward Sebastian, impossibly fast.

  “Sebastian,” Fire yelled, voice full of tears. He jumped in front of Sebastian just as the ball of air reached him. Fire took the hit to his chest, and his body seemed to soak it in. Immediately, he broke into bloody pieces, limbs ripped apart.

  “Fire,” Sebastian cried, closing his eyes as blood splattered him. “No, no, no.” He heard Morgan yell and saw a black clad lower leg fall to the ground. A hand fell from across the room, and Sebastian saw the back of it was covered in red scales. “Alois,” he whimpered. The remaining six balls zipped around the room, searching for targets.

  “Sebby,” Nina said, crouching down beside him. “What’s the opposite of air? You read those books, right?”

  “You know how to end this,” Tell said, standing on his other side.

  “Fuck him up, sweetheart,” Gramma said, standing above Nina. “That bastard wants to take you out with him.”

  Time seemed to stand still as Sebastian spread his awareness out, searching for earth, the opposite of air. His awareness pointed out something close to him, something unexpected. His hand covered the little seed inside him and he moved on. Vextonar was built so high from the ground, and the spaceport was at the very top. The planet wanted to help though. Life waited below, wanting to grow. Soil curled on the surface of the planet, waiting for his direction. He called it to him, and the spaceport shook. He gentled it and slowed down. No need to hurt people with an earthquake. The ship rocked and more holes appeared in the walls of the room.

  “Sebastian?” Death’s voice was strained, and Sebastian knew he struggled to hold Air. “He’s stronger than he should be.”

  Sebastian’s eyes opened when dirt poured in through the holes, and he fell into Mustachio’s song – earth, fire, and life. He focused, and the dirt swirled into six long coils, hissing as they took the form of snakes. Fire flowed through them, hardening the dirt. His snakes zeroed in on the remaining balls, flying easily through the ear. One by one, they each swallowed a ball and curled up as it activated. His snakes’ bodies shook, but held. Sebastian used the wall and stood, Mustachio in his arms.

  His snakes looked at him, waiting, so he pointed at Air. They hissed and flew toward the frozen element. They covered Air’s threads, curling around him. More and more dirt poured into the ship, and Sebastian shaped them all. Each new snake wrapped around Air until his threads were covered and muffled, the silver and ugly green disappearing beneath brown and black soil. They were soon so covered, Air couldn’t focus, and the torrents faded, dropping Sebastian’s team to the ground.

  “Free me, brother,” Air said, eyes imploring Death to save him. “Our Queen wants you beside her. Take Life’s place, just as you were always meant to.”

  Death snorted as Quinn and one of Beol’s people stabbed Air with injectors at the same time. Sebastian asked his snakes to solidify around Air as the element shrieked. Wyatt’s poison wasn’t painless, and Sebastian couldn’t make himself mind Air’s suffering. Then the element was gone, exploding into bits and pieces. Sebastian winced as he heard things splattering against his snake wall.

  Nina let out a breath of relief. “You all really didn’t want to be contaminated with his blood and tissue. Good call, cousin.”

  “Dirt was a good choice, Sebastian,” Death said, falling to his knees. “That could have gone very wrong. Fire?”

  “He’s gone,” Sebastian whispered, hugging Mustachio. “Alois?”

  “I’m here, beautiful.” Alois’s arms were around him. His mate clicked his shield button and quickly appeared. “Sebastian,” he said, shaking.

  “Your hand?”

  Alois brought his left arm around. His hand was gone, and the stump oozed blood, even though it was wrapped. “Wrapped it while rolling around in the air,” Alois said, pale. “We need Rune.”

  “Called him,” Dru said, deactivating her shield. Monty clung to her head, and she held her shoulder looking around. “Morgan?”

  “My leg got skewered,” the man said, voice full of pain. “It’s just debris though. Beol’s buddy got hit by one of those balls.”

  One by one, the team deactivated their shields. One of Beol’s assassins was in bad shape. Her lower right leg was gone, and blood poured out.

  “Rune’s on his way,” Dru said. “What happened? How did Air find you, Sebastian?”

  “Air said the Queen knew about me and wanted him to get me so she could play with me,” Sebastian said. “How did she know about me?” He shook in Alois arms, eyes on what was left of Fire.

  “After freeing Fire, you’ve become something of a Charybdis legend,” Beol said from next to his fallen friend. He stood and approached the earthen wall and poked at it. “He didn’t even notice Fire and Death. How did he know you were here?”

  “He said the Queen taught him how to sense me when I enter the spirit world,” Sebastian said, shivering. He rubbed his face against Alois. “He said she gave him a lot of tricks to use. That’s why Death struggled with him. Was anyone else hurt?” Death sat beside him, back sliding down the wall. Sebastian took his hand, and they stared at Fire’s remains together.

  “Fucking debris,” Dru said. “Quinn got hit in the stomach and another Half-Moon assassin has debris in her arm. We really need to get your names before we go into battle, damn it.”

  “I may have a concussion,” Beol added. Sebastian noticed the knot on the man’s head. “I have all my limbs though.” He went back to his friend.

  Rune skidded into the room, bag in hand. “Who’s hurt the worst?” He followed the pointing fingers to the assassin missing the leg and got to work.

  “Sebastian,” Tell said. Sebastian looked up at his mentor, numb inside. “I was there when the Queen first summoned Fire into a body. I know the ritual to bring him back.”

  He pushed Alois into Death’s arms. “Make sure my honey bear gets treated, okay? He’s my mate, and I love him so damn much.”

  “I’ll take care of him,” Death said, frowning. “What are you doing?”

  “Sebastian?” Alois sounded out of it.

  Sebastian ignored them and stood, wincing when he realized his ankle was probably broken. “I thought the elements’ essences needed to recharge or something before they could be brought back,” he said to Tell.

  “A rejuvenating treatment before the ritual should work,” Tell said. “You need a living host though. We used volunteers, men that knew they would die, but wanted to save our world.”

  “Sebastian? What are you going to do?” Death’s voice was full of hope.

  “Tell and I have a plan, but I need help walking.” Alois struggled to stand, so Sebastian leaned down and kissed his mate. “You need to stay here and get patched up, so don’t even think of trying to stand.”

  “I can walk,” Beol said.

  “As can I,” the only uninjured assassin said. “My name is Noe.” The man reached him and picked him up. “Where do we go?”

  “Beol, can you get Fire’s artifact?” Sebastian asked.

  Beol reached down and picked up the bloody pyramid-shaped artifact. “Got it.”

  “To the front of the ship,” Sebastian said. He looked over Noe’s shoulder. “Love you, Alois.”

  “Love you too, beautiful. Bring our friend back if you can, but don’t risk yourself,” Alois said.

  “I picked out the best candidate,” Tell said, following them out the door and through the halls. “The man has a nasty soul. The other two are idiots, but salvageable.”

  “Thanks, Tell,” Sebastian said. “I never thought I’d want to do this.”

  “Are you talking to a spirit?” Beol jogged alongside them. “Wolfe told me about that.”

  “Tell is my mentor. He’ll help me do the ritual to bring Fire back,” Sebastian said. “Put me down here, please.” The three unconscious men still lay beside the ship.

  Tell pointed to a light-haired man. “This one.” The man was barely twenty and dressed well for a mercenary.

  “This guy? He’s just a kid,” Sebastian said.

  “Trust me,” Tell said. “His soul doesn’t match his youthful appearance.”

  “At least he’s a lot younger than Fire’s previous body,” Sebastian said. “Please get that man and put him over here.” Sebastian leaned on the ship. “We need something to represent each element.”

  Soon enough, they had the Concord mercenary laid flat on the ground and surrounded by representations of the elements. Noe helped him hobble to each element and give it intention. Afterwards, he managed to sit beside the body. I’ll crawl if I have to move, he thought. He placed the artifact on the man’s chest. “How do we rejuvenate his essence?” Sebastian looked at Tell.

  “Lay your hand on the artifact and use the life element,” Tell said. “Repeat after me.”

  Sebastian closed his eyes and did as he was told. He spoke the long and complicated Ancient Crellic phrases. Green and gold light swirled around him and into the artifact. He could almost feel Fire dancing inside. He opened his eyes. “Done.”

  “Now for the ritual,” Tell said. “It will take a lot of energy from you, but I will stop you before it hurts your sprout.”

  Sebastian patted his abdomen. The birthing line must be hidden by his tattoos. He hadn’t noticed a thing before sensing it earlier. “Thanks. Let’s do this.”

  Sebastian crawled slowly to each element and spoke the required phrases. He pushed his energy into each one, saving the fire element for last. Beol’s dagger lit up with fiery heat, and Sebastian thought Dru may steal this one too since she loved the blade Beol had given her. He placed his hand on the hilt and spoke the final words, pouring everything he had into the dagger.

  It flew from his hands and embedded itself in the tip of the artifact. Lines of fire raced down the artifact and into the Concord merc’s body. Sebastian saw the cruelty in the man’s soul and knew Tell had been right. The grey wisp left the man’s body, and Sebastian pushed the last of his energy into the artifact. A bright, colorful wisp rose up from the element and floated down into the body. “He has a soul,” Sebastian said in surprise. “Fire has a soul.”

  “That’s enough energy, Sebastian,” Tell said, and Sebastian let go. He lay on the ground and watched Fire sit up. Sebastian closed his eyes and let sleep take him, smiling when he heard Fire.

  “Sebby!”

  Chapter 21

  Silverlight System, en route to Charybdis Station

  Alois watched Sebastian sleep in their bed. Fire and his new body were curled up on one side of Sebastian and Alois claimed the other. When he had seen Noe come back in carrying an unconscious Sebastian, he thought he’d go insane. Fire watched him, face worried, while Death sat at the end of the bed, eyes on Sebastian’s face. The man had stayed with Alois and made sure Rune looked over his stump and treated his other wounds.

  “He’s fine, guys,” Rune said. “He’s just exhausted. I set his ankle and covered it in cast seal. His arm had a nasty cut, but I fixed it. Otherwise, he’s just fine.” Rune looked over his shoulder at Sai and Salla. The girls sat on the couch together, both curled up with Lorry. They had been so upset. Alois had almost laughed when the poor guy ended up with both sisters in his lap. He couldn’t comfort one and not the other. The kid would make a good addition to their family. Eventually.

  “There is one thing,” Rune said with a grin.

  “Is Sebby going to die?” Fire looked miserable.

  “No, Fire,” Rune said softly. “He’ll be fine. When I was running tests on him, I did find out Alois and Sebastian are going to be daddies again. Nina will have a little brother or sister in about eight months.”

  Alois felt his eyes water. He looked down at Sebastian. His mate was pale with dark shadows under his eyes. His poor ankle and shoulder were bandaged. Alois looked at his mate’s belly. Sebastian had been so happy that he finally lost most of the baby weight from carrying Nina. He grinned and covered Sebastian’s abdomen with his remaining hand. His baby was in there. He’d get to see Sebastian grow with his child. He’d be there this time.

  Fire sat up and pressed his ear against Sebastian’s abdomen. “Baby, can you hear me?”

  Sai and Salla scooted onto the bed, doing their best not to jostle Sebastian or Alois. “We’ll be the best aunts in the galaxy,” Salla said. “We’ll make sure Nina doesn’t feel left out either.”

  “Okay,” Rune said. “Alois and Sebastian both need a lot of rest. Let them sleep and give them lots of food when they wake up.”

  “We will,” Sai said. She got back up and pulled Salla and Fire off the bed. “Come on. Let’s go check on the others. We can see if they need any help and let them all know that Sebastian is fine. Beol left his ship in the cargo bay. They’re going to ride home with us.”

 

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