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“A rabbit from a hat?” Jack—or Thoth—seemed almost amused by her challenge. “A moment ago this dagger did not exist.” His eyes flashed, the darkness growing in them.
“That isn’t possible,” Esta told him. “Things are or they aren’t.”
“Perhaps it’s not possible for someone like you.” Jack scoffed. “But then, magic this powerful demands a more sophisticated mind, one capable of understanding—of wielding it.”
“One like yours?” she asked, not bothering to hide the scorn in her voice.
“Exactly,” Thoth said, every bit as obtuse as Jack himself. “Do you know what magic is, child?”
“It’s the possibility within chaos,” Esta told him, remembering the words Seshat had used.
“Yes,” the creature inside of Jack hissed close to her ear, seemingly impressed despite himself. “But do you truly understand? Chaos is ancient and endless. Timeless and eternal. In chaos, the power of the old magic was forged. It is the very antithesis of the order imposed by time.” Jack smiled—or maybe it was Thoth. She could no longer tell them apart. “Do you not see? Seshat created this Book to save a piece of pure magic within these pages. She understood that the old magic and time could not coexist, because time is the antithesis of magic—the destroyer of magic—and so she used her affinity to take a piece of the old magic, breaking it from the whole, and use its power to create an object outside the ravages of time.”
“That’s impossible,” Esta said, refusing to believe him. It was a trick, a lie. He was only trying to distract her.
“Is it? You of all people should know that with time, the old magic will fade, and eventually, those who once held an affinity for it will become ordinary—weak as any Sundren has ever been. Look at the Order. Look at what they have become over the centuries,” Thoth said.
He wasn’t wrong. Professor Lachlan had told Esta the same: once, the Order had themselves been Mageus. When they came to the New World, they noticed their affinities were waning, and they created the Brink to protect the strength of their power. But the Brink had been wrong from the start. Instead of providing protection, it had become a trap, and over time their affinities faded… and they forgot what they had once been. As time passed, their power became dependent on the magic they could steal through ritual.
“Seshat came to understand the truth of this paradox too late,” Thoth continued. “She created writing because she thought to protect the old magic. Instead, she created a new type of magic, ritual magic. But Seshat hated that this new magic made power accessible to those souls cursed by the accident of birth to have no affinity for the old magic. She hated that unworthy Sundren could now claim what she wanted only for herself.”
“No, she hated what you did with ritual magic,” Esta charged, remembering the visions Seshat had revealed to her in the Festival Hall. “She understood you were perverting its possibilities for your own greed and gain. She wanted to protect that power from you, because she knew that you only cared about accruing more power for yourself.”
“Perhaps she did,” Thoth admitted. “But to keep that power from me, she had to keep it from time itself.”
Still holding on to her, Jack whipped the knife from her throat and stabbed the blade into the Book, which was still hovering in the air. But it didn’t tear the paper. It simply sank into the surface, and as it disappeared, the energy that had been coming from it faded. When he snapped his fingers, the Book clapped shut and fell into his hands.
“No, Esta Filosik. This is no simple illusion. The power locked within these pages is far stronger than you could possibly imagine. Because of the piece of pure magic within it, the Book can transform time, and once I finally unlock the beating heart of magic contained in these pages, I will be able to use that power. I will remake the world anew,” he said, and the darkness in his eyes lit suddenly with strange lightning.
The idea was horrific. If Thoth could unlock and control the pure piece of magic, he could transform time itself. There would be no place to hide, no way to avoid his tyranny. But Esta could sense that there was something she was missing, something essential that Thoth wasn’t saying. “But you still need Seshat to grasp that piece of pure magic, don’t you? You need something more than you have right now to control it. If you didn’t, you’d have taken that power for your own already.”
Something shifted in Jack’s expression. Annoyance, maybe.
“It’s too much for you, isn’t it?” Esta taunted. “You’re not as strong as she was. You’re not strong enough to control the beating heart of magic on your own.”
“Thanks to your magician, I won’t have to,” Thoth said. “Seshat sealed her doom when she chose the boy to carry her power. He’s allowed himself to become sloppy and weak. I recently received news from California, and it seems he’s gotten himself captured by some of my associates. Soon he—and Seshat’s power with him—will be mine.”
Thoth’s words landed like a blow, and before Esta could recover herself, Jack had moved—almost inhumanly fast—to capture her again. His arms were like a vise around her.
“You’re lying,” Esta said.
“Am I?” Thoth whispered. “As soon as I’m finished here, I’ll board a train to California. Harte Darrigan and the bitch who lives within his skin will both be mine. But I could spare his life if you agree to help me.”
“Never.” Esta kept struggling.
“Why fight me, girl? Are you so eager to die?” Thoth asked. “I see your heart. I know your plans. You hope to control the goddess by giving everything you have—everything you are—to stop her from taking her revenge.” The darkness in Jack’s eyes seemed to swell then. “Give your power to me instead, and you can live. Give your affinity over willingly, like so many have before you. You need not die. With your affinity, I could control Seshat’s power. With your magic, I could remove Seshat from the magician without destroying the boy who holds your heart. The world will spin on. I’ve no desire to destroy it, as Seshat does.”
“No,” she charged. “You want to control it.”
Jack shrugged. “Would that not be better than ending it?” Esta could see Thoth’s amusement in Jack’s eyes.
Her mind raced. “But what of me? Won’t time take what it’s owed?”
“You’ve seen for yourself what the Book can do, what I can do with the Book,” Thoth said.
“You could take me outside of time?” Esta asked.
“Or the child who will become you.” Thoth shrugged. “Either way, you could live beyond the reach of time, and your magician with you. But make no mistake… I plan on taking your affinity either way. Fight me now, and I will destroy you and all that you hold dear.”
