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The two of them were discoverable, of course, with their energy signatures. Lux’s main priority was disguising himself and Rafael as if their lives depended on it, because they did.
He needed ingredients for such a spell, none of which were available in a cave. It hadn’t been easy, but he lapsed into the office of his castle and gathered everything he needed in heartbeats.
Of course, he was bombarded just as he finished collecting the ingredients, but he lapsed out quickly. He knew the spell to disguise his energy signature like the back of his hand, and it only took a handful of minutes to cast. It did, however, need to be cast when the moon was at its highest point.
In the meantime, he’d need to play a deadly game of tag with his guards.
With the ingredients in the pocket of his trousers, he lapsed all over Matriax, picking off every soldier who followed him. His powers were dampened this afternoon during his sentencing, so the most he could do was lapse and fight with his hands. His abilities would’ve made it easier, but he had to work with what he had, and that was a sword. He hoped it was distracting enough. If they were chasing him, they weren’t chasing Rafael.
He hoped.
Until the moon was high in the sky, until he could cast the spell, he killed everyone who lapsed after him. It had to have been a few dozen, but Lux lost count after eight.
The attacks had become less frequent as the night dragged on. He imagined some were still following him, but staying at a far enough distance that he didn’t see them.
That was fine. He didn’t care. He just needed as few of them around him as possible when he lapsed to that cave at midnight.
Rafael was mostly healed by then. He couldn’t walk well, and his breathing was unsteady, but he was still alive when Lux landed in the cave, and that was all that mattered.
He cast the spell successfully. The Angels chasing him either followed him and were lying low until an optimal time came to attack, or he’d lost them. One way or the other, the moment he and Rafael were disguised, he lapsed them to a new alcove.
Even if he had lost the bastards, he wasn’t risking it.
Now, they were in another cave. This one was deep in the south. The climate was still chilly, but not so cold that they’d have blue toes by the morning.
Rafael hadn’t spoken more than a few words since Lux found him, and he remained silent as they settled into their furs in this alcove around the fire.
Lux didn’t blame him. Lux didn’t have much to say either.
He was worried. Matriax hadn’t been perfect—like Matriaza minus the slaves and immense oppression. Lux may not have been as radical as Véa and Nix, but he didn’t allow men to murder their wives, as had been allowed when he was first crowned king. Women were viewed as people, not property. Men who abused their wives were punished with fines and jail time, while Véa and Nix had simply killed men who did so when they rose to power.
Lux made sure his people had food. That had always been a problem on Matriaza, one he didn’t want to face on Matriax, so he collected food en masse from the mortal world because it was fruitful. He also made certain that his people had access to healers, another issue that Véa and Nix had countered on Matriaza.
Those were the bare minimum, but they were sufficient. The world wasn’t perfect, but it was habitable, and there was some level of social care from authorities like himself.
It seemed to Lux that Michael and Gabriel wanted to bring the old ways back. Did that mean taking away the few amenities he was able to arrange? Would twelve-year-old girls be married off to old men again? Would it be legal to own sex slaves? Did those two feel that providing healers for the people was a drain on taxes ? Would they take that away? What about food? Lux had worked with rulers on the mortal world for treaties, usually giving them some form of magic in exchange for grain or meat. Would the boys uphold those methods Lux had initiated?
Did theyonlywant the crown? Or did they want Matriax to be the old Matriaza?
He couldn’t let that happen.
When he’d married Véa, it wasn’t only because she was beautiful, because she was a ‘chraobh. It was because she knew how to rule, how to make Matriaza a better world, and she had. She’d done exceedingly well, and Lux had followed in hers and his brother’s footsteps when forming this world.
“You’ll have to do it again.” Rafael’s voice was so quiet, Lux hardly heard it.
“I thought you were asleep.”
“I can’t,” he whispered. “You’re right, Pa. I think they’re trying to make this world the old Matriaza. But I think it’s more than that. I think they want to expand it to the mortal world. And you’re right. We can’t let that happen.”
So he was reading Lux’s mind then. With his abilities disabled, Lux had let down his usual defenses.
“I’m not sure how to stop it,” Lux murmured, staring at the stone overhead, watching water drip from a crack. “It’s already begun, and I’m not sure I have the power to change it now.”
“Not without the others. With all the par animarum, we could’ve defeated them.” With fear in his eyes, he turned to Lux. “They said they’re all dead. When we were fighting, one of them said it was done. ‘They’re all dead.’” Rafael’s eyes glassed over. “Does that mean Nix and Véa are too?”
“Nix made it.” Lux paused, chest tightening. “He was alive when I left, at least.” Lux explained what had happened after the explosion in the stairway, ending with, “I don’t know if Friel and Aein are alive.”
Rafael’s jaw tightened, as if to keep his lips from trembling. “If they got everyone else, I doubt they left two vulnerable children.”
