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"Delude yourself all you want. But if you kill me, in six months you'll regret it."
Will he? No idea. I'm snowing him to buy time.
But I don't believe what he said.It has begun.I don't think so. The machine has been making all kinds of noises, but I don't feel anything different, certainly not the kind of magics thatrestarting the alchemy of worlds would require. He'll need me and Sarah for that. But that bastard will never get his hands on her. She's tougher, smarter, and stronger than he thinks.
He clearly has turned the machine up to a higher setting, one that probably uses more energy. Maybe I can leverage that. If it's struggling, why can't I make its job even harder?
I close my eyes and focus all my thoughts on the clamps that hold me in place, funneling every bit of supernatural energy inside me on the task of loosening the bindings. Nothing happens. I keep trying. Slow, deep breaths. Relax my muscles. I need to stop consciously trying to affect the machine and let instinct take over. The energies grow inside me, spreading outward from my chest, into my arms and legs. The magics rush up into my head, buzzing in my brain.
The strength of the magics makes my heart pound and sweat break out on my brow. I struggle to take normal breaths, but I will not give up no matter how hard the energies hit me.
A loud thunk echoes inside the throne room, and the machine winds down. I'm still trapped inside it, but at least the thing has lost power. For how long? At least I can relax, for now, while I consider what my next move is. I let my lids fall shut and sag against my bindings.
"Gabriel? Are you hurt?"
My lids fly open, and I gape at the woman standing a few yards away on the dais.
Aldith has her hands clasped in front of her, as always, but she's wringing them so hard that I wonder if she's abrading her own skin.
"What's up, Aldith?" I ask. "You should be hiding."
"I couldn't stay where you and Sarah left me. Jarek came for me, and I learned that the machine is on the verge of reaching its full capacity." She meets my gaze briefly, the winces. "You are its full capacity."
"No, I'm half of it. As long as Sarah doesn't come back here, the machine will never get what it wants."
"Buy you cannot take control of it without her."
I just manage to stifle a growl. "Yeah, go on and shout that a little louder, would you? Not sure Sefton's quantum ghost heard you."
She tips her head to the side. "I am trying to help you, Gabriel."
"Yeah, I know. I'm sorry, Aldith. It's not your fault I can't stop this machine from destroying both worlds."
"The only way Sefton wins is if you give up. His mortal self wrought untold devastation on two worlds, and now a remnant of his magics may do the same thing. You must keep fighting, please."
She sounds worried. No, more than worried. I think Aldith is terrified of what might happen if the Brain succeeds in recreating the alchemy of worlds. Maybe it already has. I hear explosions outside. Since this room has no windows, I can't see the lightning bolts and fireballs, but I have no doubts they're out there.
"You must find Sarah," Aldith says. "This time, the apocalypse has no boundaries, because no one has control of it."
"I get it, we're in deep shit. Don't need to keep harping on the issue."
She glances around as if she's looking for something—maybe the ghost of Sefton Stainthorpe. "I must go. But please, Gabriel, never stop fighting. Both worlds need you."
Aldith vanishes.
I've never seen another Echo creature do that. Of course, I hadn't seen a human do that until I met Sarah. I suppose Aldith is different from other Echo beings, and that's why she protects the stronghold.
Now what? I shut down the machine, but it still has a hold on me. I stand here, held in place by metal clamps and plates, and listen while the apocalyptic sounds outside draw closer and closer to the castle. The floor begins to vibrate with every concussion. The machine vibrates too, only a little at first, then growing stronger as the lightning and fireballs continue to assault the ground.
What are the odds that Sefton cast a protection spell around this building to spare it from the apocalypse? If he didn't, I won't need to worry about how to get out of this machine. I'll die when the monstrous thing crashes down on me.
The creatures become restless, milling around like they don't know what to do. They begin to grunt, louder than before, and jostle each other as they move around, apparently without any idea what they're doing.
Great. Disturbed creatures are exactly what I need right now.
The room around me shifts and fades away, replaced by a dark void with a single ray of light emanating from above. But when I glance up, I can't see the source, only the diffuse glow.
Five figures appear in a circle that includes me.
