Two can play at that game.
“Well, I guess I’ll just have to figure that out, too,” I reply casually, folding the paper and sticking it into my windbreaker pocket. “Unless you have any insight or tips you’d like to share…”
Her eyes narrow, unpersuaded. “What I’dlikeis for you to get on the plane with me, so I’d know my son wasn’t a sentimental fool. I was merely pointing out the futility of your plan.”
“Thanks. Super helpful, Mom.” I grimace blandly back. “Anything else?”
She places the cup back on the desk and gives a slight shrug. “Only the most important thing—during the ritual, the room will be flooded with toxic magic.” She draws the fingers of one hand through the air dramatically. “The spell pulls in a section of the wall that was erected between Earth and the Hell of the Old Gods, temporarily bringing it into our reality so the ritual magic can puncture a hole. Folds of that barrier will almost completely envelop the watch, and they could extend anywhere throughout the space. You do have a singular talent to detect magic, so youmightbe able to avoid them. But this energy is caustic enough to deter titans—one accidental touch, and you will be completely obliterated. Yourvampire king will know that and will surely find a way to use it against you.”
Awesome. So, in sum, this really is a nearly impossible task that I have pretty much no chance of completing. Yeah, that tracks with how my life works.
“You think the watch will still be in his pocket?” I ask.
“No. He’ll need to have it out for the spell, most likely placed on that silver altar you thought was a birdbath. At that point, as far as magical rules are concerned, it won’t be ‘in his possession.’ During the ritual, you won’t actually be able to remove the artifact from the room but, technically, anyone could claim it—which means you shouldn’t have any trouble using magic on it. If you get that far.”
Well, heck. It’s a small advantage, but I’ll take it.
“Alvin, I hope you realize the only reason I’m telling you any of this is that I know you aren’t stupid or suicidal. I expect that once you come to your senses and realize that this is beyond you, you’ll undoubtedly join me. I am prepared to wait a short while in my plane for that to happen, but once I sense Savadeva’s influence, Iwillleave you behind.”
Well, look at that. While winding up for her threat, Mom actually said I wasn’t stupid. That’s practically like a normal parent buying their kid a new car for their graduation. I think I might tear up again.
But instead I stand and hold out my hand for a handshake. After all, this might be the last time we see each other. Our relationship might be totally messed up, but she is the only mother I’ll ever have—and she did actually help me here.
“Thanks for pep talk. Enjoy some poutine for me.”
She snorts, amused, and returns the book with the pen to the desk so she can also stand. Then she bypasses my hand, pulls me in, and, for the first time in my life, gives me a hug.
“You truly are an insufferable creature, you know that? But my world was gray and empty before you. And there are days you disappoint me less than others.” She presses her cheek against my temple, and says very quietly. “I would like to believethiswill be one of those days.”
I close my eyes and squeeze back.
“I love you, too, Mom.” I say, under my breath.
She thrusts out her arms, gripping my shoulders and drinking me in, like she’s committing me to memory. She has tears in her crease-free eyes, but they’re contained enough to not threaten her mascara. (Because let’s not get crazy.) Still, it feels like we actually have a real moment. Finally, my mother huffs out a rueful scowl at my existence, releases me, and strides out of Stryker’s office.
That leaves me alone to figure out how in hell I’m going to do this. She said I needed to get there sometime between 8 and 10 p.m., and it’s just a little after 5 o’clock now, which means I only have a few hours. Trying to access my magic has its own risks, but the real challenge will be getting close enough to that watch to say the magic words she’s given me—and getting there in one piece. Luckily, I remember I have one last desperate card to play.
And I’m finally ready to pay its terrible price.
13
So,here’s another thing I never thought I’d say: talking to my mother actually got my head right. I’m not going to run. And I’m not going to give up. I’m going to fix this, no matter what it costs me.
I lock the book securely back inside Stryker’s safe (resting it on its side again, so it’s not touching the severed demon head my boss left behind—can’t be too careful!). Then, after quickly shoving the McDonald’s trash into the wastepaper basket, I jog back to my apartment, sticking to the back ways. It’s late enough on a Sunday that there aren’t too many people wandering around to see what a bloody mess I still am (and those that do look away), but it’s not fully dark yet, either. I think I have a little over an hour before the streets become vampire-friendly.
Once inside my apartment, I strip and do some much-needed bathroom stuff (including the quickest, but still most thorough, shower ever—something I’ve had a lot of practice with over the last two days!) Then I get into the last set of clean clothes I own that I could possibly fight in—a subtly sparkly mid-blue polo made of high-tech fabric that hugs my biceps and chest but is loose around the tummy, along with equally expensive, stretchy beige chinos. The set is another gift from my mom, this one meant to get me laid in clubs I would never go to. I have to admit, though, I do look kinda sharp in it.
The blood-crusted sneakers I slide back on send a very different message, but I don’t have time to scrub them. I've burned through enough of my limited window already. But at least I feel human again—or whatever the hell I really am.
My phone is dead, probably from before I crashed on Stryker’s couch, since I didn’t bother to charge it. That’s actually a good thing. If Valiente thinks his messages aren’t getting through, there’s no point in staging any more drama that would put the kids or anyone else in danger. I leave it behind in my bedroom.
I go to grab the windbreaker I hastily chucked down on the thin carpet inside my front door and step into the kitchenette area. The only way I’m going to win this is if I start acting smart, and that means actually thinking ahead for once. I remove the sheet of paper Mom gave me from the jacket, carefully fold it into a Ziploc bag, seal it, and slide the whole thing into the back pocket of my chinos. That incantation is the whole ballgame, and my close encounters with vampires have been known to get messy. Trying to protect it from monster gore is the very least I can do.
Now for that final act of desperation…
I lock my eyes on the feather Prince Eirian gave me. It’s still on the Formica counter, right where I left it, andit’s surrounded by an oval-shaped patch of blindingly white frost.
Just looking at the thing twists my stomach with anxiety. This’ll be a devil’s bargain at best, and I know it. But the truth is, my soul is a very small price to pay to save hundreds of thousands of people. Hell, I’d do it just for Emma.
