“Your charisma or looks, rugged or not, wouldn’t save you if you ever lost control of that blade, Warden. Nothing could.”

  “That sounds like a thinly veiled threat.”

  “Hmm, thinly veiled?” she said. “Let me lift the veil then. If you ever lose control of that sword or if Izanami manages to exert complete control over you—a dark mage—the Wordweavers are duty-bound to retrieve the sword and destroy the vessel it currently inhabits, no matter who that vessel is. Does that make it clearer? Does it feel less veiled now?”

  “Absolutely,” I said. “Why does Strong get a free pass?”

  “A free pass?” she asked. “Do you know what has happened to Ebonsoul, and Strong along with it?”

  “Not really, no,” I said, being honest. “My world is complicated enough without having to keep tabs on those two.”

  “Suffice to say, the blade he wields has the potential to be as dangerous as yours, but is currently not as major a threat as Darkspirit which houses all of Izanami’s essence apparently.”

  “So his blade isn’t making any overtures of the bloodthirsty sort,” I said. “That’s good to know.”

  “Better than good. Now then, on your word as a mage and a Warden,” she repeated, “you will not attempt this cast. You will not execute the reverse-engineer cast to locate neither the mage who imbued this artifact with life-force, nor the twinned amulet that belongs to said mage.”

  “On my word as a mage and a Warden, I will not attempt the reverse-engineer cast to locate neither the mage who imbued this artifact with life-force nor the twinned amulet that belongs to said mage.”

  I felt the subtle energy of the wordbond fall upon me, binding me to my words. If I tried to execute the cast…well, aside from it not working, the results wouldn’t be pretty. There was a good chance violating the wordbond would short-circuit my abilities.

  I wasn’t certain though. I had never broken a wordbond to find out, and the effects of doing so were unique to each mage. With my luck, it would explode me into small, dark mage bits. It wasn’t an outcome I was looking experience. Unlike Heka, my scientific curiosity didn’t extend to placing myself in life-threatening tests.

  “Excellent,” she said with a satisfied look. “I will impart the cast to you; you will need to find someone powerful enough to do this without mental backlash.” She looked at Ekt. “Not him. Unless you want to turn his brain to jelly.”

  “No, thanks,” Ekt said, raising a hand. “I like my brain unjellified. I’m sure Grey knows some other scary mages strong enough to do this cast.”

  “I have someone working on it even as we speak,” I said. “This will be another facet to the tracking.”

  “Who, if I may ask?”

  “Frank, the dragon.”

  “Francis?” she asked, pausing in thought. “That is acceptable. He is strong enough to weather any mental feedback, along with the fact that his transfiguration works in his favor. Make sure he does this in a secure location. A place that won’t be compromised.”

  “I have just the place in mind.”

  “The moment he initiates this cast, you will have the mages’ attention, and they will have your location,” she said. “Be especially careful, Warden. Whoever can make an artifact like this, possesses considerable power.”

  “Understood,” I said. “How complicated is this cast? Did you say impart? How exactly is this cast imparted?”

  “I have a specific method that prevents the knowledge from being compromised. It keeps everything secure.”

  “That sounds great and all,” I said, wary of her vagueness. “You didn’t exactly say how you were going to impart this information. Can you share this process?”

  “One more thing before I share the cast with you,” she said, ignoring my request while moving to another table with a large bundle sitting on it. “These are for Koda, when you find her.”

  “What is that?” I said, wary again of the unanswered question hanging in the air between us. “She doesn’t need any more weapons, trust me.”

  “These are not weapons. I’ll let her show you when you give it to her,” she said. “Now, this is going to sting a bit. Put on your duster and hold this.” She placed the bundle meant for Koda in my arms. “Hold still and close your eyes.”

  “Sting a bit?” I asked as I shrugged into my duster and closed my eyes, feeling like this was a huge mistake. “Is this another test?”

  “Not at all, but the cast must be kept secure. This means I have to impart it directly,” she said and I could hear the smile in her voice as she approached. “Hold still and stop flinching, I haven’t done anything yet.”

  “But you’re going to,” I said. “Can’t you just write it down on a piece of paper or something?”

  “Of course not, Warden,” she said. “Come back and visit me when you’re done with this situation. I did so enjoy our conversation. Besides, we still have much to discuss about your duster, you, and Izanami.”

  “Are you sure you just can’t—?”

  “On the count of three,” she said, cutting me off. “Keep your eyes closed, Warden. Hold your breath and hold that bundle tight. Allow me to apologize now for any discomfort either of you may experience as a result of this process.”

  I nodded.

  Ekt gave her a look of barely contained shock.

  “Whoa, did you say either of you?” he asked, suddenly concerned that he may receive some of the fallout from the imparting. “I don’t want any of this imparting. Why would it cause me discomfort?”

  “One, two—” Heka said, ignoring Ekt.

  A moment later, a sledgehammer of a slap crashed into the side of my head, followed by a thunderclap, deafening me.

  NINETEEN

  Aria looked down at me as I regained consciousness.

  She nodded and smiled as I groaned and sat up.

  I lay in a bed in the Wordweavers’ infirmary from the looks of things. My ears were still ringing, whether it was from that brutal slap of knowledge or the ground zero thunderclap of doom, I couldn’t tell. Across from me lay Ekt, unconscious in another large hospital bed.

  He wasn’t moving.

  “What the hell?” I asked, rubbing my head. “I’m surprised my jaw is still connected to my head. What happened to him?”

  “There is this old saying,” Aria said, “I’m sure you’ve heard of it: slapping sense into someone? I’m fairly certain whoever came up with that saying was a Wordweaver who dealt with Heka’s particular manner of imparting information. How are you feeling?”

  “That’s some delivery system,” I said, now rubbing my jaw. I glanced at Ekt again. “Is he going to be okay?”

  Aria looked over to where Ekt lay.

  “He will recover with no ill effects,” she said. “He was just a little too close to the transmission of information. The area of effect is substantial from Heka’s sharing.”

  “I can see why you keep her in the vault,” I said, moving my head slowly. “She can be a real menace.”

  “I don’t keep her in the vault,” Aria said, her voice becoming serious. “She is not a prisoner or being held against her will. She chooses to stay in the vault. I, for one, agree with her choice—it’s safer for everyone if she left the vault as infrequently as possible.”

  “No offense intended,” I said, raising a hand in surrender. “I’m probably still recovering from the slap download.”

  “Do you have the information?” she asked. “It should be accessible to you now.”

  I searched my memory for a cast to trace the twinned artifact. I grunted in surprise when the information became readily available to me as if I had known it all along. Within the memory was the method to execute the cast safely as well as the preferred method of destruction.

  I reexamined that information and shook my head.

  That was going to be dicey, if not downright lethal.

  Aria took my headshake as an indication that the information hadn’t been imparted somehow.

  “You didn’t receive the information?” she asked, confused. “I don’t understand, I’ve never seen Heka’s method fail to impart whatever it was she wished to share. The method has been infallible until now.”

  “I have the information,” I assured her. “It’s just that the destruction of the amulet is going to require a location with no collateral damage.”

  “I assumed as much,” she said, relieved. “That artifact possesses too much power to destroy simply. It’s going to require a process of undoing.”

  “So I’m seeing,” I said, still going over the newly implanted memories. “How did she do it? I’ve never heard, much less experienced, knowledge being passed that way.”

  “You can ask her at your leisure, once you find Koda,” Aria said. “Do you have a place to cast the trace?”

  “I do.”

  “Who is going to do this?” she asked. “I know it won’t be you. She told me of the wordbond.”

  “Frank can do it.”

  “The trace, yes,” she said pensively. “The undoing? I’m afraid that may have to be you. Heka only bound you to the trace and location of the mage.”

  “I noticed,” I said with a wince as I moved a little too quickly to exit the bed. “She left the undoing to my discretion. I’m going to need a small vial of blood.”

  “For?”

  “I’m guessing the origin strain of Redrum X will be some kind of special blood sample,” I said giving it some thought. “That makes the most sense. I don’t plan on handing it over, but I will need to offer them something.”

  “Understood,” she said waving a hand as she whispered under her breath. A small vial of blood appeared in her hand. It held a potent energy signature. “This should suffice.”

  “What is this?” I asked taking the vial. “Who does this blood belong to?”

  “If you’re right about the origin strain, it will need to be powerful,” she said. “What were you planning? Offering them some colored water?”

  “No,” I said. “I was going to use my own blood.”

  “That would be a mistake,” she said. “Besides, your blood can easily be tested for trace amounts of Redrum X which it will lack, destroying your ruse.”

  “And this?” I asked holding up the vial, “this is Redrum X?”

  “A simulacrum,” she said. “Enough to convince anyone who would test it.”

  “What if they see through your illusion?”

  “Then you have much larger problems to deal with,” she said her voice grim. “If they can undo my illusion, you are facing an incredibly powerful mage, which means you will be dead by the time the test is concluded.”

  “Well, that boosts my confidence,” I said, placing the vial in one of the pockets of my duster. “Maybe I’ll save the undoing of the artifact once I do the vial switch. Two birds, one explosion and all that.”

  “You do have a particular history with entropic casts,” she said. “It was probably with that in mind that she omitted it from the wordbond, but still gave you the method.”

  “So, what you’re saying I’m good at destruction?”

  “No, that would be Tristan, Simon, and his hellhound,” she answered with a wry smile. “You on the other hand excel at apocalyptic displays of power.”

  Ekt chose that moment to wake up.

  “Huh? What happened?” he said, his voice groggy. “What did she do?”

  “You were a little too close to the slap of knowledge,” I said moving a little better now. “Seems Heka may have forgotten to warn you about that.”

  “Seems like it,” he said, rubbing an ear. “That was some sound. Sounded like a massive thunderclap inside my head. My ears are still ringing.”

  “I have the information you requested—about Koda’s duster,” Aria said as Ekt sat up. “Would you like me to impart that to you now?”

  One of my arms came up reflexively.

  “My apologies,” Aria said, her face serious, but I could tell she was suppressing a wicked smile. “A poor choice of words. I could tell you where the duster is at the moment.”

  “If that only involves words, then yes,” I said warily. “If you have to use a hand and a windup to tell me, you’re going to have to figure out another, less slappy method.”

  “I can assure you, only Heka prefers to use that particular method of information sharing,” she said, the wicked smile revealing itself before she became serious. “Koda’s duster is in Queens, near the water, which made it especially challenging to locate.”

  “Do you have an exact location?” I asked. “Queens is a big place. Near the water doesn’t exactly help me.”

  “I took the liberty of consulting a map,” Aria said. “The area is called Bayside. There seems to be an ancient structure there—a fort or bunker of some kind.”

  “Is the duster in the fort?”

  “There is no way for me to ascertain that with accuracy,” she said. “That much water around the point of contact obscures my ability to pinpoint the exact location.”

  The fact that she was even able to locate the duster near what I assumed was Fort Totten was impressive in and of itself. Any other mage would have drawn a blank. That much water would have effectively acted as a scrambling field.

  I held a newfound respect for Aria.

  “I was really hoping you were going to say some other place, like downtown, or the subway under Herald Square where they ambushed us.”

  “Why?”

  “The place you’re describing is most likely Fort Totten, an old NYTF armory that’s currently defunct.”

  “That sounds like a hard target,” Aria said after some thought. “Are you sure you don’t want to get other mages involved?”

  “I’m already involving him,” I said, glancing at Ekt. “The more mages I involve the greater threat this operation becomes to the city.”

  “The city would be considerably less safe if you were to discard your life in this endeavor,” she said, giving me a hard look. “Do not engage in some sort of suicide mission. Find Koda and make it work that you can all walk away from this.”

  “You know that’s never guaranteed,” I said. Her face remained soft as Manhattan schist. “Fine, I’ll do my best to make it so we all walk away from this, but no guarantees.”

  “No guarantees but no unnecessary recklessness either, Warden,” she said. “If Koda is not there, why lure you to that site?”

  “To do the heavy lifting for them.”

  “I’m not following,” she said. “Clarify.”

  “There’s a good chance the origin strain is located near the same place,” I said. “Fort Totten would make a good hiding place, being a mostly abandoned peninsula. They could place the duster inside the armory, and get me to disable the defenses to get them access to the origin strain.”

  “It could also be the location for an excellent trap,” she said. “Your ability to cast is compromised and being in the midst of that much water would hamper you.”

 

 

  “We can resort to conventional weapons, if need be,” I said. “If that’s where the duster is, we have to follow that lead.”

  “I would be counting on it, if I were Tigris,” Aria said. “To lure you to your death. If you can’t pick the battlefield—”

  “Pick the time of battle,” I finished. “Always a sound strategy.”

  “The battlefield is a scene of constant chaos,” she said. “The winner will be the one who controls that chaos, both his own and the enemies.”

  “You know your Napoleon,” I said, impressed. “I won’t rush in there blindly. I’m going to head to Frank first, and see if he can get me more information. I’d prefer to know the location of the mage who tried to stomp me into the street at Herald Square with a rummogre, before I rush into a trap.”

  “You have today and tomorrow,” Aria said with a nod. “I would not count on their goodwill. Find Koda first. She is the key. Without her, they cannot access the strain. They have proven her importance by taking her. Make them pay for that mistake.”

  “What if they—?” Ekt asked. “I’ve seen Mako in action. She doesn’t mind killing those she feels are no longer useful. It’s her preferred method of dealing with assets. Trust me, I have firsthand knowledge.”

  “As long as they don’t have the origin strain, they need Koda,” I said. “The moment they get their hands on the strain, Koda is dead.”

  Aria nodded.

  “You need to get that strain before they do, either with Koda’s help, or on your own,” she said. “That is your only course of action. Anything else places the strain in Tigris’ hands and dooms the city, not to mention Koda.”

  “I’m not going to let that happen.”

  “This way please,” she said as she led us out of the infirmary and led to the main entrance. She handed me back the bundle Heka had given me for Koda. “Your vehicle is waiting outside. We can’t afford to lose any more Night Wardens. Do what you must.”

  “I can only do what I have to do,” I said with a nod, taking the bundle from Aria. “I’ll make sure Koda gets this.”

  “For all our sakes, Grey, don’t let them get that strain,” she said. “Go find Koda and show Tigris the error of their ways.”

  “I intend to do just that—with extreme prejudice.”

  We left Aria in the doorway and headed to the Beast.

  TWENTY

  I sat inside the Beast for a few seconds, planning our next move.

  If the Wordweavers could have me under surveillance, it stood to reason that Tigris could do the same thing. I was lost in my thoughts on how best to get to Frank without attracting too much attention when I noticed that Ekt was being unusually quiet.

  Sometimes it was best to just to rip the bandage off fast, than pick at it slowly, hoping it didn’t hurt. At least, that was my preferred method. Besides, I needed Ekt to be fully committed or to be gone.

 

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