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For us, though, for all the flames and candles, it felt like just another ritual, part of our routine. When had life gotten so complicated for us? When could we stop to breathe, sit on the beach, and look at the sunset without having to worry about the threat of cosmic annihilation? Maybe never again.
“Scylla said that Agatha Black was on the move,” I said. “That she was planning a series of ritual sacrifices.”
“It’s not looking good,” Herald said, the bluish glow of his phone reflecting in his glasses. “How would we even find her? Asher was the closest anyone has come to accurately tracking her down, and we all know how that ended.”
“But we have to do something,” Mason said, his hands curled into fists. “We can’t just sit here and let this happen.”
“And we won’t,” Carver said, rising from the table. “I will speak to Royce and the others. We must pool our resources with the Lorica, with anyone in the magical community who wishes to live to see the end of the week. Agatha Black must be stopped.”
But how? I looked down at my hands, then at the faces of my friends, crestfallen and sallow in the flickering candlelight. I looked at Herald, his jaw set in a tight line, like he was trying to be strong for us both, doing his damnedest not to show any signs of weakness, of faltering.
There was one way, I thought, remembering my last encounter with Hecate, and remembering how little I knew of what her offer would actually cost me. An ascension, she said, something that would give me the power to stop Agatha and the Eldest once and for all.
I looked at Herald again, wondering if I could stand to lose him. I looked at the stars, wondering if I could bear to lose everything else.
Chapter 5
I sat cross-legged on the floor of the Boneyard, the stone cold against my thighs, my fingers trailing against the soft, fluffy belly of one Daddy’s Little Murderer. Banjo lolled around on his back, staring up at me with dewy, happy eyes, his tongue hanging half out of his mouth.
“You have it so easy, don’t you, you little mutt?”
“Arf.”
I chuckled and tickled the scruffy area around his chest, which prompted the exact response I hoped for, that kind of delighted rolling of the head a doggo does for you when it’s pleased and content. I dug around in my pockets, finding the one Snacky Yum-Yum I’d set aside just for this purpose. Carver had warned me against giving Banjo too many snacks – he was getting chonky, is what I’m saying – but you try to resist a corgi smiling up in your face, silently hoping for one of its favorite treats.
Banjo’s eyes lit up at the sight of the snack. He flipped over onto his belly, then sat on his haunches, his floof of a tail wagging. I didn’t make him wait, just popped the treat straight into his mouth. Banjo snapped at the air excitedly, then waddled off to gnaw on his tasty little gift.
I sat back against Carver’s desk, sighing. I wasn’t sure w
hat I’d hoped to accomplish, hanging out where the other guys wouldn’t think to look for me. I wanted time alone, away from the boys, from Vanitas, who was waiting in our room, and from Carver himself, who was still out in Valero wheeling and dealing with the Lorica. Who knew that we’d ever come to a time when Carver would willingly agree to speak to the Heart on equal terms, to approach the ruling council of Scions without plans of blowing up HQ himself?
I dusted my hands off of the little bits of residue from the Snacky Yum-Yum, which smelled strongly of dog food. Huh. Were we dipping into the last of Happy, Inc.’s stock? I thought it was strange, considering how Loki must have still been abroad, fleeing from the All-Father. Odin was as stubborn as Loki was slippery, and I liked to imagine that the Wild Hunt for the god of deception was still ongoing. Maybe Loki had contingency plans in place to help him deal with just such eventualities. There were no big announcements on the news about the company going under.
“There you are.”
I jumped at the sound of the voice, banging my head against Carver’s desk. I winced, rubbing the back of my skull, because a collision with furniture is way more painful when said furniture happens to be made out of solid stone. I looked up, frowning, into Mason’s face looking back down at me.
“What the hell, Mason?”
He shrugged. “I found Banjo wandering the corridors and chewing on a Snacky Yum-Yum. Carver keeps those somewhere Banjo could never reach them, so I put two and two together.” He shook his head, smirking. “You know what Carver said. Little dude’s getting chonky, we shouldn’t be overfeeding him with treats.”
I chuckled at the thought of Banjo ballooning into an oversized, furry little loaf, just waddling helplessly through the Boneyard’s halls, our stalwart, slightly overweight little guardian animal. I also chuckled at how language had shifted so much with the internet. Chonky wasn’t supposed to be a damn word, and neither was doggo, but here we are.
Mason patted the top of my head, smiling. “So you’re not in such an awful mood after all. You can still laugh, can’t you?” He slid over the top of Carver’s desk, swung over it, then landed spryly on the floor, crossing his legs underneath him as he sat down to join me. “Penny for your thoughts?”
“I’m not a cheap date. Make that a fifty and we’ll talk.”
“I’m serious. You’re looking even glummer than usual, which is saying a lot. I saw your face when you hugged Herald goodbye. Something’s going on here, and I don’t like it.”
I sighed, rubbing the backs of my hands into my eyelids. “I don’t even know where to start, man.”
I jumped when Mason’s fingers dug into my shoulders, then sighed when he began to massage them powerfully. “You don’t have to tell me. Not right now. You don’t owe me that. But if you want to talk about all this shit that’s going on, I’m right here.”
Smiling, I rested my head against the back of Carver’s desk, then nodded at him gratefully. “You’re a good son, Mason. I never tell you that.”
“And now you’ve ruined it.” He chuckled, the angelic glyphs tattooed around his chest and neck glimmering with golden light, then clapped me on the back. “Seriously though. I’m here if you need to talk.” He gestured vaguely around himself. “We all are. Anytime you need us.”
I gave him a flat smile, then nodded. “That helps. It really does. Thanks, man. I promise, I’ll come running when I’m ready to talk.”
