“That was Gabe.” I pulled my hand away. “They’ll forget soon.”
“We’re already working on a new system,” he said eagerly. “We want you to be involved.”
“No,” I said sharply. “I have other things to do.”
“More important than this?”
I closed my eyes, ready to sleep again. “Definitely.”
“Gabe left Finn his bar.”
“Is it still neutral ground?”
“Always.”
“Good.”
“Ava,” he said softly. “I’ve been looking through the paperwork. The status of different beings and races and places. Some agreements are so old that they’re locked away in the ancient tombs.”
I opened my eyes, curious. “What tombs?”
“Maybe I’ll show you some day.” He hesitated. “Maybe I won’t. Did you know that your home is on neutral ground? That the owner is untouchable, no matter what our laws say? Even if we change everything, some things will always remain the same. The magic is so old that—”
“She’s dead.” I turned on my side. “And we don’t need to talk about it anymore.”
He hesitated. “I think it’s important that you’re all a part of the plans for what’s to come.”
“Haven’t we done enough?” So many had died. Surely we had given enough of ourselves.
“Of course,” he said. “But I assumed—”
“All I want is to move on.” I pushed all of the memories away. “I don’t belong in your world.” I slept.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
I sat at the end of a long table, gazing out at dozens of pairs of eyes. Red lights flickered, and I blinked at the glare of a camera flash. The press conference was packed, and although the audience were listening to other people speak, they kept looking at me.
Everybody wanted to see the person who had been involved with almost everything that had happened, the one who had lived to tell the tale. In the eyes of most humans, I had been the beginning. Because of something I had kick-started, everything had spiralled. I had also been the end because I helped make it stop. And I had lived, despite being destined to die.
A new ruling body was being established, a coalition between humans and supernaturals. The supernatural Council would still deal with supernatural issues, and the human government with human problems, but both were working together. When they couldn’t resolve problems, they would be passed upward to a large democratic committee that represented all of the races in the country. Quotas and rules were being readdressed, and it was like a fresh start within the shells of the old days.
“We’ve been assured that daylight will return before the next full moon,” Elathan said smoothly. “There’s no need to panic.”
“And the phone lines have already been set up,” Shay added. “Any hint of demonic activity and a qualified force will be sent out immediately. The same goes for the ordinary hotlines. If a human feels at risk from a supernatural, or vice versa, all they have to do is go through the correct channels. The emergency numbers are available on the screen behind me, but we’re hoping they will be rarely needed.”
“There haven’t been any demon attacks so far,” Elathan said. “Whatever was released might have been unable to survive. They could have been sent elsewhere when the book was destroyed, or they might be weaker demons who don’t have much power here. Even so, we’ll still be watching. In the meantime, we remind you that demonolatry is still outlawed, for obvious reasons. The last demon-worshipper was stopped, but we might not be so lucky next time. We ask everyone to be careful. Even lower-level demons can be dangerous, so do not dabble in things you don’t understand, even for a joke. You never know if that old book you’ve found in your attic is the real deal or not, so why take chances?” He smiled, but his tone was firm. “We’re only interested in the safety of us all,” he added, but I was pretty sure Phoenix or Shay had nudged him first.
Phoenix cleared his throat. “After all the elections are over, the new senate will agree on legislation that will protect every race. This is new for everyone. If something doesn’t work, we’ll put effort into an alternative. The fae and vampires may have voted already, but that doesn’t mean they can’t change their minds in the future. The same goes for all of the newly elected members of state. This will take time to settle, but as long as we’re open and honest, there’s nothing we can’t accomplish.”
“Can we hear a detailed account of what exactly happened last month at the children’s home?” a reporter asked. “From the only witness here.”
I stood. “No, you can’t.”
I walked out of the room, hearing Daimhín apologise for my weakness.
Moses was in the hall, half-asleep in a chair. “Oi,” he called. “Where are you running off to?”
“Bored to tears in there,” I lied.
“Yeah, Shay’s a lot more fun to be around when the cameras aren’t on.”
I stared at his suit. “He made you wear a tie? He has you whipped, Moses.”
“Don’t I know it.” He grinned. “Makes the mammy proud.”
“How’s everything in your neck of the woods?”
“Good.” He nodded. “Nobody’s come to take over anyway. Brethni have been left alone, too.”
“There was a lot of looting in some areas and people being attacked for being supernatural. I heard a rumour that those things weren’t acceptable everywhere.”
A grin spread across his face. “Had to give the lads something to do.”
I tried to smile. “Shay should have you on the payroll.”
“Sorry about your friend,” he said. “We had a mass and everything.”
I smiled, touched by the notion. “Thanks.” I turned and left.
Outside, the night air was chilly.
Peter stood next to his car. “Want a lift?”
“I suppose.” I didn’t need to tell him where I wanted to go.
“Carl staying with you?” Peter asked.
“For a while.”
“What about Esther?”
“We’ll have to wait and see what happens. The clinic isn’t letting her go any time soon. They screwed up the last operation because she shifted in the middle of it, so they’re waiting for heavier drugs.”
A month ago, I had woken in a hospital bed. Two weeks ago, I had finally been allowed to go home. Esther had almost died from a brain injury. Carl had almost died from an overload of dark magic.
Gabe had died. The stupid fallen angel who didn’t care about anything had given his life to save everything. The idiot. And I couldn’t even thank him. Or hit him.
Peter pulled in outside the clinic. When we went inside, Carl looked up from a book in surprise.
“Didn’t expect you yet. Is the conference over?”
“You weren’t watching?” I asked.
He shook his head. “I get enough of your sad eyes here, thanks.”
I glared at him.
He laughed it off. “Let’s go then. I can’t wait to get back to Margie’s food.”
“As if she’s going to cook for you.”
“She always cooks for me. I just don’t share it with you.”
“Enough with the lip, and please hurry up, slowcoach. I have an appointment.”
He got up slowly, not because he was injured, but because the power he had absorbed from the book hadn’t run out of his system yet. The after-effects ran from mildly hysterical to overwhelmingly terrifying. I’d suffered through a couple of days of it, but a month later, his problems were still going strong.
Carl was hyper-aware of sudden movements and had strong emotional reactions to anything. When a nurse had informed him he couldn’t go home for another week, all of the televisions in the clinic had somehow imploded, which had abruptly changed the decision. The medical staff consisted of human and supernatural, but there were some things they weren’t prepared for.
I reached out to help him but hesitated. “Is it okay to give you a hand, or will I get another electric shock?”
“Funny,” he said. “Grab one of my bags if you’re able.”
I slung his bag over my shoulder. “Jesus, what the hell is in this thing?”
His ears and neck turned red. “I might have accidentally transformed a lot of my clothes into some kind of weird demonic metal.”
“And I’m carrying them because?”
“They might turn back.”
We faced off for a couple of seconds before I gave in. “I cannot wait for this crap to wear off, Carl.”
We hauled his stuff to the car, and then I popped back inside to see Esther. She was asleep, Aiden sitting by her bedside.
He looked up at me and sneered, as usual. “She can’t hear you.”
“You don’t know that.”
I sat next to Esther and touched her fingers. Seeing her in a hospital bed was heart-breaking. She had only been at risk because of me. I willed her to get better, prayed she would survive unharmed.
“Easing your guilt?” Aiden said.
“Don’t start.”
“She’s not going back to you.”
“Whatever she does, it’ll be up to her.”
“She needs me. She—”
“Does it ease your conscience to tell yourself that? Let me tell you something about your sister, Aiden. She doesn’t need anyone. She’s stronger than you, smarter than you, and has better instincts than you. If anything, she’s been holding you up all of these years. Don’t think about convincing her otherwise because it won’t work. She’s not a little girl anymore. She doesn’t think you’re the greatest person on the planet. She’s not even proud of you.”
He glared at me.
“She might not respect you, but she’ll always be there if you need her. Lucky for you that she’s nothing like you.” Esther’s hand squeezed mine faintly. I kissed her cheek and left before I punched her idiot brother in the face for being such a self-absorbed twit.
I bumped into Alanii in the hallway.
“Hey,” she said. “You doing okay?”
“Much better. I see they’re still keeping her asleep.”
She nodded. “It’s safer for now. A specialist from France is going to come over and work on her. Lucky she’s a shifter, eh? She’d be dead otherwise.”
I grinned. “That thick bear skull saved her life. I should head on. We’re taking Carl home.”
“You’re a brave woman, taking that mess with you.”
I screwed up my nose. “He probably won’t accidentally kill me.”
She laughed as I walked away, but I wasn’t totally convinced myself.
Peter was still loading the boot of his car with Carl’s bags when I got outside. I got into the backseat without helping and waited in silence until he drove us home.
The dark streets were empty except for some patrols by teams of Guardians and police. Not everyone was happy with the changes, but the rioting and looting wasn’t as frequent, and there had been no signs of attacks by assassins or beasts or stray werewolves. Even the vampires were being kept in line by Daimhín.
At the cul-de-sac, Peter helped carry Carl’s stuff in, but at the door, he grabbed my wrist. “Want me to stay?”
“No.”
He hesitated. “You still want Emmett to come over this weekend?”
“He’ll be safe with me if that’s what you’re getting at.”
“He’s safe with me, too.”
I stared at him. “He had better be, Peter.”
“I’ve made mistakes. I know that, but—”
“Tell Emmett I said hello.”
Peter had been gone for maybe five minutes when the visitors began arriving. One by one, the current residents of the cul-de-sac came to see Carl, something they hadn’t been allowed to do while he was at the hospital.
“I’m going to pop out,” I told Carl, but I doubted he heard me.
He was busy trying to back out of Lucia’s embrace and avoid what would probably be a bone-breaking slap on the back from Val. Those people weren’t afraid of his temporary magical unpredictability.
But he followed me outside. “Hey,” he called. “Where are you going?”
“Something I have to do.”
“I’m virtually hugging you right now,” he said.
“Um, why?”
“Because I’m afraid a real hug could make you spontaneously combust.”
“I meant why the hugging, not the virtual shit.”
“Oh. Because you need one.”
“I’m fine.”
“Gabe—”
“Gabe saved us. A hug isn’t going to change that.”
“I know, but—”
I stepped back. “Why did you have to come over, Carl? What were you thinking?”
He looked surprised by my anger. “She drank your blood to withstand the power. I saw it. Heard her waffle on. I drank your blood before, and I know it changed me somehow. I thought maybe I could help you last long enough to finish what we started.”
“You could have died.”
“And it would have been worth it.”
“Carl!”
“We all could have died. What’s the point in fighting if you’re afraid to die?”
I narrowed my eyes. “Well, don’t do it again.”
He smiled. “I’m not planning on it. We came out of this as unscathed as possible, Ava, so why are you unhappy?”
“I’m just… it was so pointless, you know? Eddie didn’t get his happily ever after, Gabe sacrificed himself, so many people died, and there’s a good chance demons from another dimension are now roaming the earth.”
“But we’re alive. And we ended the spell, so the demons couldn’t escape.”
“You saw as much as I did. Things definitely escaped through the book. I told you all what Eddie said about demonolatry, and the demons were trapped in that book. Somebody put them there once, and now some of them are free. Eddie said there are others like Marina. What if they find a way to—”
“We’ll deal with it. Look at me. The Council is gone. The slave market is gone. The biggest players are gone. The threats are gone. People are working with those children as we speak. Others are tracking down their families. This new government is actually doing what it promises. It’s working out, Ava. The humans aren’t just a meal. People are listening. The fighting has been contained better than anyone expected, and we’ve made a brand new world for the next generation. This is just the beginning, Ava. Maybe Emmett and Dita won’t have to fight like we did.”
I tried to smile. “Maybe it just feels weird not being on the run from something, you know?”
“And you’re upset about all we’ve lost. That’s normal.”
“Yeah.” I gazed at the dark sky and missed the sun. “Go inside. Your fans are waiting.”
His grin widened. “It feels more like a family.”
I did hug him then. “That’s exactly what we are. Now get lost. I have to keep moving.”
“What’s the big mystery?”
“No mystery. Just going to see my solicitor, and it’s getting late.”
***
Martin Breslin stared at me, his eyes widening. “Are you sure?”
“Positive.”
“They don’t take threats or commands well. I mean, I—”
“Don’t worry. I know there’s a risk, but I want to see what’s in the vault. I want to learn. Most of all, I want to protect my friends and Mrs. Yaga’s lost souls. The veil needs to be closed. I get that now. I didn’t understand before. I still don’t understand everything, but I have my own terms.”
“You’ll have to enter the vault alone. What happens next is not up to me.”
“I know. What do I do in there?”
“Touch the stone. They’ll tell you the rest.”
“And my friends will be safe?”
“We’ll sort it all out as soon as you get back,” he said kindly. “Good luck, Ava.”
I followed him to a set of stairs leading down to a basement secured by an ordinary lo
oking door.
“Once you step inside the vault, you can’t come back out until they release you.”
I nodded. “Let’s just get on with it.”
“Whenever you’re ready,” he said, and he left me alone.
Taking a deep breath, I walked down the stairs. Each step felt like a countdown to impending doom. I gazed at the wooden door for a few minutes, plucking up my courage. Gabe had asked me to make my own kind of sacrifice, and if I was the only one who could do it, then I had no choice. I couldn’t risk more darkness in the world. The sun had been blocked for a month, and I was ready to see it again.
I pushed open the door and stepped inside. The room was so dark that all I could see was what looked like a white crystal ball in the centre. It rested on a black cushion that sat on a wooden table, and when I moved close to it, the milky clouds within dispersed, revealing shards of light.
I reached out and touched the stone. Immediately, my soul rushed through planes I had never experienced before. When I came to, I was sitting in a chair with ten other beings in a circle around me.
I couldn’t make out their features, couldn’t use my other sense to figure out their energy, but as I looked at each one, a name came to mind.
Birth greeted me first. “You are here to swear to us.”
“I’m here to find out more,” I said.
“The Matriarch swore by you,” Death said. “Was she wrong?”
“The world is different now,” Slave said. “The Matriarch had to change, and now we do, too.”
“You know what’s happened, right?” I said. “The consequences of her death?”
“We know,” Knowledge said. “And we wonder why you’ve taken so long to come to us.”
“Who are you?”
Warrior answered, “A long time ago, the need to protect this plane became obvious. The original Guardians came together and swore to maintain balance. Their combined power expelled the creatures that didn’t belong in this world into books, and the Eleven began a long reign under cover of secrecy.”
“Books? There’s more than one?”
“Of course,” Warden said. “It was safer to separate the books. And the books are safe as long as there are eleven of us. A loss causes a disconnect, and the protection on this world weakens, as do we. We are not concerned with petty wars or quests for power. There is no good or bad, only existence and living. Our history is long, but the Matriarch was the one who guided lost souls without judgement.”