“Ash lied to Pendragon to convince him to chain me. I had trusted that he was too smart for her, but I was wrong. So I sat in a tiny dark cell for centuries. Fed through a slot in an iron door. Never seeing the sky. Never feeling the pulse of the earth.”
“You poor misunderstood innocent. However did that rumor get started that you caused Vesuvius to erupt, burying Pompeii with all those pesky bystanders?”
Gaios narrowed his gaze. “That was a terrible mistake, but that had nothing to do with my imprisonment. Ash hated me because she feared Pendragon and I would ally against her.”
“Was she right?”
“My only mistake was waiting too long to move against her.”
“Then why didn’t you kill Ash when you escaped the Bastille rather than Pendragon?”
The elemental stared empty into space. The intensity drained from his eyes and he seemed a tired old man. “He was my friend and he turned his back on me. He locked me in with vile sorcerers and monsters for my only companions. Forced me to turn to that disgusting rabble for my allies. She … she lied to me and convinced me that he was going to execute me because he was afraid. I believed her. I wanted to believe her because I was so angry with him.” Gaios held his powerful hands out in front of him. “He told me I was wrong. He told me Ash was lying, but I refused to hear him. And I killed him. My friend.” He looked up with human concern. “We three were once like you, shoulder to shoulder, facing the future, fighting for what we believed in. And now because of her, we’ve come to this. One of us is dead. One of us will soon be. And one of us has been driven mad.”
Simon stepped toward Gaios and felt Kate’s hand grab his coattail. “You can end it. You can walk away.”
The elemental shook his head with disappointment. “All I have is Ash. Before I kill her, I will destroy everything she loves. And I will be sure she knows I did it.”
“Meaning London?”
“Meaning all of Britain. When I am done, this land will be no more.”
Simon watched the white-haired man and there was a simple purity to his rage. He wasn’t dreaming or bragging. He was planning and anticipating. It was terrifying, but also fascinating. Simon didn’t conjure the same disgust and fury over Gaios as he did from Ash. This powerful elemental seemed more like a storm or a volcano. It was appropriate to be awestruck, but there was no purpose to being angry. Gaios was a force that couldn’t be turned aside with reason or emotion. You could only strive to protect yourself.
“And that’s why you need the Stone of Scone?” Simon asked.
Gaios raised an eyebrow. He reached into his coat pocket, then held out his arm, and a fine stream of sand sifted out from his fist. “Here is your Stone back. Did you think I wouldn’t know it was a fake?”
Simon shrugged. “I had hoped.”
“I have the power to find the true Stone.” Gaios dusted his hands together. “But I would prefer not to expend the time and my energy.”
“I wish you very good luck in your search.”
The elemental glared again, the fury building inside him. “I dislike clowns, Archer. I thought you might have some value, but I was wrong. You are insubstantial. There is nothing in you. Even if you had your power, you would be a worthless shadow of a scribe. You are to Pendragon as a parakeet is to an eagle.”
“Let’s recap, shall we?” Simon replied evenly. “So far in this contest of mouse versus elephant we have defeated your toadies, Gretta Aldfather and Dr. White, and dismantled their network. We destroyed your Egyptian demigod. We have removed your fire elemental. And we have kept the Stone of Scone from you. I’m not usually one to boast, but we’re winning.”
The ground began to reverberate again. Dirt quivered and small stones rolled from the vibrations. The green leaves of uprooted trees shook loudly.
The voice of Gaios rumbled like the ground. “Your world is now limited to that house. If that constitutes victory to you, so be it. If you dare step against me, you will die.”
The earth lifted Gaios. He disappeared from view as the ground carried him away. The stone golem ground to a halt and seemed to lose its life spark. It froze like a statue.
Penny dropped onto the ground with a grunt and let her cannon slide to the wrecked stone terrace. She looked up, giving Malcolm a reassuring gesture.
“Simon, what about our fathers’ key?” Kate asked with alarmed exasperation. “We went through hell last year! Imogen gave up her humanity! If you were so willing to give it up, why did we suffer to save it?”
Simon turned with a sympathetic smile and threw an arm over Kate. He drew the gold key from his waistcoat pocket and dangled it from the chain. “That was one of Penny’s facsimiles. It was a worthless piece of gold.” Simon laughed out of habit, almost as if he were still feeling his old aether intoxication.
Kate looked at him in surprise, but she didn’t see the wild glare in his eyes that used to accompany the aether drain. She leaned on her sword like a walking stick. “What in the hell is so funny?”