“That’s not possible, even if enough time remained. We are infected with hybrid power. It will corrupt us, sooner or later.”
“But what about Skullock Passage? Remember when you set me free from the gateway? Cords of purple light and power wound up your arm. I’ve been thinking about those quite a bit. Maybe that’s the key to our spell.”
“The gods needed eons to master hybrid magick and gateways. Gods, Elea. What can we do in a matter of seconds or minutes? We must live out our destiny.”
“The Sire and Lady are powerful entities, but they aren’t all-knowing beings.” I couldn’t help the edge of anger to my voice. “You don’t know what they’re capable of. Some of the worlds they rule call them tyrants. Mlinzi and Walinzi can’t stand them.”
“Mlinzi and Walinzi, you mean the trickster gods who stole my memories as well as your ability to cast spells?”
“They’re tricksters. It’s what they do. But I believed them when they told me about the Sire and Lady. The beings you call gods have turned sour. It’s why their hybrid magick went rotten and they can’t charge up the gateways themselves.”
“No, it’s like I told you. Hybrid magick always corrupts.”
“I’ve met the Zaidi. They wield hybrid magick and have never turned into bubbling tar monsters.”
“And I met the Lady of Creation. She told me these things herself. We have to follow her plan.”
I folded my arms over my chest. I couldn’t believe this was coming down to a war of words with some missing deity. “The Lady spoke to you, eh? So why isn’t she here to tell us this?”
“The Sire and Lady aren’t like us. The rules of appearing and disappearing vary for them. As I told you, the Lady pulled my soul to her realm and that’s where we spoke. I truly believe what she had to say.”
I knelt before Spirit-Rowan. “Listen, I don’t want to die here. And I won’t murder you, either. We can use our hybrid power to heal these gateways. That’s what I believe.”
Rowan stared at me for a long moment. At last, he spoke again. “And what about Viktor?”
My heart sped. If Rowan was asking me questions, it meant he was considering what I had to say. I was convincing him. I began speaking in rapid-fire style. “Viktor wants to kill the Sire and Lady and take their place. I’m naturally stronger with hybrid magick, but Viktor learned some tricks too. That’s why he created the Changed Ones and drained Necromancers. It’s why he created that army.”
“All the more reason for me to die. The Lady explained it all to me. Once the arches are recharged, there is no more reason for Viktor to plot and scheme. The balance of our realms will be restored. If we don’t heal the gateways, our very world will fall apart. Then, everyone will perish.”
“No, we can use our hybrid magick on the gateways.” My voice shook. “At least, we can try.”
“How? My mortal form still doesn’t remember you. We can’t go back to the way things were.”
“Of course, we can.” I pulled the hilt from my pocket and pointed to the blade set into the wall. “You can release that blade, can’t you?”
“It’s held by a spell. The blade will be released once you promise to heal the gateways, either with your life or mine.”
“I refuse to accept that.” I pointed at the stretch of wall that held the rest of the Sword of Theodora. “I will find another way to get that blade and once I do, I’ll reform this Sword. There’s other magick at work here. Mlinzi and Walinzi promised me that once I had the full Sword in my hands, I’d be able to cast again and you’d regain your memories. We’re so close to being able to fight for our future. That’s worth fighting for, isn’t it?”
“Things have gone too far, Elea. There’s so much you don’t know.”
I didn’t like the resigned look on Rowan’s face. “What do you mean?”
“Viktor is imprisoned on the other side of this gateway.” Rowan gestured behind him. “This arch is most important one for hybrid magick to lock down, and the longer we delay, the closer Viktor gets to figuring out how to escape again.”
I stared into the gateway. Under the arch, white curls of smoke twisted in perfect spirals. Magick. And it wasn’t purple, blue, or red in shade. This was someone else’s power entirely. And since it was coming out of the gateway where Viktor was exiled? He truly was about to break through.
“Viktor is right behind this very arch? How is that a good plan?”
“This is the Lady’s scheme. She wanted to place you right before Viktor’s gateway so you can see how dire things have become. You must promise to wield the Sword now. This is what it means to be a ruler. We make sacrifices.”
I hadn’t heard Nan, Jicho, and Mrefu enter the temple, but then again, I hadn’t been paying much attention to anything but Spirit-Rowan. Now, I could sense them steal up to stand beside me. My gaze skipped between each of their faces. “You knew this was coming, didn’t you?”
“You are being tested,” said Jicho. “I’ve seen it from the beginning.”
“Everyone who steps into the temple is given a choice,” added Nan. “You must do what’s right.”
I stared at the blade in the wall, my mind whirling through options and plans. Back on the MAJE, Nan had said she came here before to be tested. And Jicho had said that Rowan would want what was best for me. Was Rowan’s own brother asking me to kill him?
“I can’t kill my mate,” I said simply.
“But I’ve seen you take up the blade,” said Jicho. “You kill Rowan’s spirit here in this temple. I hate it, but it’s what has to happen.”
“Don’t forget, that’s what Rowan’s soul wants too,” added Nan.
Mrefu added his thoughts into the mix. “Kila Kitu trusted you to do what is right. Promise your life or Rowan’s. Set the hilt onto the blade and the magick will release it. It’s the only way to recharge the gateway and prevent Viktor’s invasion.”
When I spoke again, my voice was a hoarse whisper. “No.”
“But I want you to do this,” pleaded Spirit-Rowan. “My conscious self knows nothing, yet my soul realized what must be done. That’s what the Sword has always been purposed for. Look around you.”
For the first time, I really scanned my surroundings. The dolly-mechs stood in clusters of three. In each case, it was the same two figures who knelt on the ground. My eyes widened with recognition.
There were many Eleas who were not me.
And many Viktors who were not Viktor.
In all, there were hundreds of variations of our face and body. Kila Kitu said this had happened for thousands of years. How many of us had died for the Sire and Lady?
Behind each kneeling pair stood another figure in a long bronze cloak, the hood drown low to hide their face.
“I see you still do not believe,” said Spirit-Rowan. “Show her.”
With those words, the dolly-mechs came to life. With a series of clicks, all the versions of me and Viktor bowed their heads. The figure behind them raised a bronze version of the Sword of Theodora high.
That person was the executioner.