“Right,” I say. “Sorry. Got in my head for a sec there.” I purse my lips, pulling myself together. If this is going to work, I’m going to have to line it up just right. I don’t need to be fancy—just very, very specific. “You’ve given me a couple options, and the truth is, I don’t like either of them. If you want me to sign on, you’re going to need to sweeten the deal.”
“What do you mean?” Valiente asks, his countenance darkening.
“Well, first of all, we all know how you screwed me over the last time. So, before I consent to anything, you’re going to have to earn my trust. I need Collin freed andthrough that golden door up there before I let you use me as this bridge.”
“I see. Of course, if we didthat, it would eliminate one of our only two options to complete the summoning spell.” Valiente’s eyes turn flinty. “This is you trying to be clever, isn’t it? If you think you’ll be able to back out of the bargain once you’ve agreed?—”
“Dude, don’t act like you know me!” I snap back, leaning into my annoyance. “I have firsthand experience with how magical covenants work. The stronger the players, the harder it is to break—and I’d be making this deal with a god. There won’t be any takebacks. You’ll get my consent.”
I glance over to the big death eye, playing up my disgust with his minion. “All I’m saying is that your boy here poisoned the well, so I’m going to need you to show your good faith by going first. Take it or leave it.”
The orb bulges in the Vampire King’s direction with hot displeasure.
“Ahhh!” Valiente straight-up screams as the tendrils rip over him.
Do I enjoy seeing that? You bet I do.
Valiente returns to me, his voice noticeably quieter and more formal. “The great god Ah Puch accepts this amendment.Ifyou agree to this covenant, then the Avatar will be set free first.” Then he adds, in his own threatening tone, “We won’t need your little friend at that point, anyway. Just don’t think things will end well for youorhim, if you don’t hold up your part.”
“The same goes for you guys. We do what we say we’re going to do, or everything gets canceled or worse.” I takein Emma, still rigid and miserable behind Rafa’s mom. Still trapped. “Which leads me to the other thing I need. You think I can make this ritual work? Great. Personally, all of this ancient spellcasting is way over my head. But either way, I want these kids home to their families by dawn. Safe and sound and alive, and neither you, your minions, or your great god Ah Puch ever bothers them again. They’ve suffered enough.”
“I told you that the magical vessels are to stay.”
“You did tell me that. You also told me that I only wanted to be a hero for fame and respect—which I get are probably the only things that make sense to you now that you’re a monster. But that’s not what it’s about for me. I came here to save these kids, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do. Otherwise I walk, and you can take your chances with the Avatar.”
I glance up at Collin, who I’m pretty certain can’t hear us but I’m happy to see seems to be fighting even harder than before. “I’m no expert, but he sure seems to be doing pretty darn good up there. I’ve spent a lot of quality time with him, and the truth is, he’s as much of a hero as I am. He’ll die before he gives in, and I think the great god Ah Puch knows it. So, tell me, what does your master think of me just bailing?”
Valiente averts his gaze from the ancient power who holds his leash and hisses at me under his breath. “Sentimental little prick, aren’t you? You know we’ll just find more children with magical talent, right?”
Now it’s my turn to sneer at him. “Good luck with that after I’ve warned the world about you. Maybe I am a big softie, but this is a deal-breaker. You guys in or out?”
If the eye looked pissed before, it’s positively livid now. But it blinks once at Valiente.
“Fine,” he seethes. “We’ll release the kids before daybreak. Alive. They’ll be able to return to their homes no more hurt than they are already. That’s as good as it’s going to get.”
I try to hide my exhale. I don’t want to appeartoohappy—but that was the last piece.
“It’ll just have to be good enough, I guess.”
“So,nowwill you agree to our terms? You’ve done well for yourself, boy, but I have warned you that a god’s patience is not unlimited. There aren’t going to be any more amendments.”
I turn my back on Valiente and his all-powerful god of death, frowning like I’m taking a moment to consider, but really, I just don’t want to show how frightened I actually am. I let the incantation paper drop from my fingers and pick up the open watch from the ground. Like I thought, soon as I touch it, Collin immediately looks down at me. We can’t talk, but for this last moment, at least we’ll be together. And if I’m going to do this, I need that.
I do my best to smile up at him. He stops struggling and gazes down at me, confused. But then he smiles back, gentle and trusting. Despite all my faults, he really does love me.
And that’s everything.
Eyes locked on Collin’s sweet face, I call out, “Ah Puch,Savadeva, god of corpses, if you give me what you promised and the things I asked for, then yes, I agree. I will consent to being the bridge for this ritual. Now, free the Avatar!”
Collin must be able to read lips, because his eyes widen with horror before I feel the force of the magical covenant slam down. It lands on my back like a mountain of cold stone and drives me into a crouch, white-knuckling the back of the watch.
This time, there’s no hope of resisting—Prince Eirian has nothing on the power of a god. My head and heart pound in unison as an alien torrent fills my body with poisonous rot, every cell bending to his will. I don’t even hear the words being chanted around me change, but a swarm of glowing runes fly from the edges of the cavern and rip their way through the watch’s smoky mercury tether, immediately shredding it. The glowing tentacles snap away from Collin’s torso, and he is pulled backwards through the golden door in a rush, arms desperately reaching out in my direction. His lips mouth “No, no, no!” He doesn’t want to go, but he has no choice. In a moment, he’s gone.
I wish I could have done this differently. He looked so scared for me. But he’ll be safe now.
Savadeva kept the first part of our bargain, which means it’s my turn. The lavender tentacles that were draining Collin whip down to plunge into my ribs. They burrow deep inside my guts like hungry worms. The violation feels wrong and painful, and my monster screams at me to break free—but that irresistible undertow of decay overwhelms any thought of resistance. I can’t do anything but watch myself let it happen. A willing participant in my own debasement.
The summoning ritual directly connects to my magic, leaving me helpless as the serene, endless well of power Ihad awakened streams out of me. I sense something trying to stop the draining, something from far away, something much, much bigger than me. But it, too, can’t resist the god’s power. Not when he’s so close. The glowing siphons drink deep, and the ritual flares back to life.
