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“What gives, wife?” Morio asked.
I pushed back my plate, really wanting another waffle. “Hanna, can you bring me another?” To the others, I said, “Okay, here’s the thing.”
As I finished telling them about my vision and the gate spell, the phone rang, and Shade went to answer it. “So, Pentangle told me we can kill Gulakah, but we need to do it in the land of the dead. The Netherworld.”
“Even the gods can die,” Smoky murmured. “She seems intent that we have to kill Gulakah and not just dispatch him.”
“Yes, she does. I don’t like it, but the more I think about it, the more I think she’s right. If we just send him packing, he’ll be back. We can’t banish him—we don’t have the power for that. Nor can we trap his soul.”
Delilah didn’t look too happy about the news. “Why does Pentangle think we can kill him easier in the Netherworld?”
“Because of the silver cord. Because without severing that cord, Gulakah still has access to all of his power. And we can only sever it in the Netherworld. No, the question isn’t why, but how we do it.”
“I can help with that.” Shade looked troubled, coming into the room. “I just got off the phone with Carter.” Before we could ask, he said, “Carter did some research for us. Here’s a little more information. Any attacks on Gulakah here are useless. They may disempower him briefly, but he can’t be harmed on this plane. So Pentangle is right—we have to do it in the Netherworld.”
Delilah frowned. “So we have to find out where he’s hiding, and then Camille slaps her hand on him and gates him to the Netherworld with her? And after that, we just mosey up and kill him? How the hell are we going to do that?”
Shade cleared his throat. “Carter says he’s pretty sure that a spell will work on him—a spell that you, Morio, might be able to cast, with Camille’s help.”
Morio paled. “I know what you’re talking about, and I’ve never tried to cast it, though I know the procedure. It’s dangerous.”
“What spell?” I turned to them. “Tell me.”
“The Greater Asa Mordente spell. The final death.”
The Greater Asa Mordente spell was insanely powerful, but highly dangerous, and it involved summoning, among other things, the phoenix—not exactly child’s play, and so many things could go wrong. But it was the only hope we had.
“That means you have to be in the Netherworld with me.” I held up my hand as Smoky and Delilah started to protest. “We have no choice. We have to make this work. Morio, you spend the afternoon preparing for the spell. Have everything ready. I’ll spend some time reading up on it again after I check out the talisman.”
Smoky stared at me, his lips pressed together, but he said nothing. Delilah looked stricken, but I gave her a shake of the head.
Vanzir shrugged. “It’s the best plan we have.”
After a moment, Morio leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. “We can do this, my love. We’ve progressed far enough with the death magic to do so. Aeval…” He stopped.
I stood, irritated. “Aeval what?”
“Nothing. Never mind.”
“No, there will be no ‘never mind.’ Aeval what? No secrets. Tell me, now. Especially if it will help.”
He hung his head for a moment, then apparently decided I wasn’t going to give up on this. “Very well. Remember when you found out that the order of the Moon Mother trains their own sorceresses—and that they use dark Moon magic and death magic?”
I slowly nodded, Queen Asteria’s words lingering in my ears. I hadn’t wanted to think about them but now, they were coming home to roost.
“Perhaps now is the time to tell you. Your beloved Moon Mother trains her own sorcerers, although she will not call them that. They wield dark Moon magic…death magic. Why do you think Morio’s magic comes so easily to you?”
“I remember…”
“Just what do you think you are becoming? Her priestesses are divided, Bright Moon and Dark Moon. Derisa is High Priestess of the Bright Moon Mother. When you take the role of the first Earthside high priestess, you will be taking the role of the Dark Moon High Priestess…and you will evolve from being a witch into being one of the Moon Mother’s sorceresses. Your powers are already greatly increasing…more than you realize.”
I stared at him, unable to speak. I hated sorcerers—I’d been brought up to hate them. And now I was to become one?
“It’s just a word,” Morio whispered. “Just a word, sweetheart.”
Breathing deeply, I pushed aside my fear and distaste. We didn’t have the luxury for me to angst over something that I had no control over. I’d deal with the ramifications of it later, once we’d killed Gulakah. And apparently I was more capable of doing the latter than I’d believed. For my beloved Moon Mother, I would do anything.
“Fine. So, Morio and I can handle being in the Netherworld easier than anybody here, except for Shade. I still don’t like those odds. Who else can go?”
