Walinzi swatted her brother on the shoulder, a movement that caused the nearby jungle trees to bend into the resulting wind. “Quiet now,” scolded Walinzi. “We’re about to be free from the threat of those two itsy bitsy tyrants.” She leaned down until her nose holes were inches from my face. “You have the Sword and your mate, along with some new knowledge. Tell me. Don’t you think your parents deserve death?”
I bit back a groan. In all the commotion, I’d forgotten how Mlinzi and Walinzi wanted me to murder the Sire and Lady. I turned to Rowan. “Meet Mlinzi and Walinzi. They’re rather intent on killing the Sire and Lady.”
Rowan wrapped his arm around my shoulder. “I know who they are. Now, I can remember everything that happened after these two took my memories. As for the request to kill, I don’t think we should do anything they wish, let alone commit murder.”
“Come now, little one.” Walinzi leaned back on her haunches. “We’re tricksters. We wanted to help you, but we had to do it in our own way.”
“Now you kill for us,” cried Mlinzi. “Kill!”
“You’re in no position to demand anything,” I said. “You still haven’t kept to your side of the bargain. Back at the Meadow of Many Gateways, the Martyr’s Comet is about to disappear.”
Walinzi pretended to be very interested in grooming her fur. “What of it?”
“My world is about to be destroyed. You promised me two things: the Sword of Theodora and the knowledge of how to heal the gateways.”
Mlinzi grinned, showing an impossible number of blade-like teeth. “You want to know how to cast spells with hybrid magick.”
“That’s right,” I said. “That was our agreement.”
After scooping up the Sword from the jungle floor, Rowan pulled me against him once more. I knew my mate. He was prepared to fight for this information, if needed.
Walinzi rocked on her haunches and laughed. The sound was so loud, a flock of tangerine-colored birds flew out from nearby trees. “She wants to know how to cast hybrid spells! Cast!”
Mlinzi hopped up and down, making the ground shake further. “She wants incantations! Ha!”
“What do you…” The words stopped in my throat as my mind reeled through everything I knew about hybrid magick. I’d noticed how Kila Kitu never used incantations to cast a spell. And based on how hybrid magick corrupted, everything about it seemed to work on intent. I focused on Rowan. “When you cast those cords with hybrid magick, how did that happen?”
“You mean back at the Skullock Passage?”
“Yes, when you saved me.”
Rowan’s eyes glazed over as he searched through his own memories. “I simply thought how much I wanted to save you.”
“That’s it. Hybrid magick works based on will. It’s an energy all to itself—its own life force”
Rowan nodded slowly. “So the magick decides how to execute the mage’s commands.”
“Yes, and when the power is corrupted, it can only cause damage. That’s why the Sire and Lady can’t heal the gateways on their own. Their hybrid magick has turned against them. It’s the same thing that happened to Viktor. His power soured as well.”
“So we can go back and simply ask the magick to heal the gateways.”
“I think so.”
Rowan beamed. “Let’s make the journey.”
“Not so quickly,” said Walinzi. “We can’t leave before we know your full plans.”
“Kill!” Mlinzi cried. “Kill! Kill!”
“We got that part, dear.” Walinzi waved off her brother. “You two mortals aren’t leaving our realm until I have your word that you’ll murder the Sire and Lady.”
“No,” I said.
“Maim them?” asked Walinzi.
“No.” This was getting repetitive.
“Maybe frighten them a little, then.”
“I will keep to our previous agreement. You will not be subject to their rule.”
“No kill?” asked Mlinzi. We all ignored him.
Walinzi lowered her voice to a whisper, which coming from her massive form was no whisper at all. “Fine. Kill them or don’t, I’m not a particular monkey. Just set us free from the threat of those two puny terrors or we’ll destroy you both slowly. Understood?”
“We understand,” I said. I still didn’t know exactly how I would free the tricksters’ realm, but Rowan and I had a few minutes to scheme. We’d figure something out. Hopefully.
“Good,” said Walinzi. “Now, off with you. Back to the meadow.”
With that, the totem rings on our fingers flared once more with orange light. Rowan and I became encased in a haze of power as we were wrenched back to the Meadow of Many Gateways…And without any time to come up with a real plan.
Mlinzi and Walinzi had tricked us again.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
A moment later, the transport spell ended. Once again, Rowan and I stood on the Meadow of Many Gateways. The Martyr’s Comet flared with crimson light, casting everything in a blood red glow. Five armies still waited on the checkerboard ground, ready to attack. I counted the warriors of the Lady, Sire, Viktor, Petra, and Rowan. Thousands of eyes were now locked on Rowan and me. Waiting.
The Lady broke the silence. “You’ve come back to us. Are you ready for your sacrifice?”
I turned to Rowan and lifted my arm, palm forward. The request was there but unspoken. Let’s share hybrid power so we can attack.
Rowan curved his full mouth into the hint of a smile. “My brave mate. It will take some time to pull in enough magick.” Which made sense. We’d never attempted anything so huge with hybrid power before, and it took time to pull in our energy and transform it.
“In that case, we better get started.”
Rowan rested his palm against mine. Both of us pulled in our respective magick. Then the power moved between us, sending beams of violet light up our arms and across our chests, spinning through each other in great loops. Rowan still held the Sword of Theodora in his right hand. He raised it high until the light of the Martyr’s Comet reflected off the blade.
At that sight, all the Casters broke out into a massive cheer. Evidently, they’d all regained their memories and knew precisely who I was. They seemed beyond thrilled that Rowan and I now had the Sword. I wouldn’t be surprised if they left the field of battle to start yet another celebration.
For their part, the Sire and Lady frowned. Viktor’s face flushed with rage. The Sire stepped forward, his face tight with anger. “You see the armies arrayed before you, daughter. You are our flesh and blood, and we don’t want to send our forces to attack you, but we will.”
The Lady glanced over toward Petra. “Or perhaps some mortals will do so for us.”
My mouth fell open with shock. My parents never liked killing their children themselves, but they weren’t above ordering someone else to do their dirty work.
Across the meadow, Petra understood exactly what the deities wanted. She began shrieking at the Necromancers. “Attack Elea! Save yourselves!”
One of the Necromancers stepped forward. I recognized him as Quinn, someone I’d raised from the dead after the battle with Viktor. He was a tall man with skull-like features, even before he’d received the bone markings on his face. “Our Tsarina is trying to save us. Don’t you see?”
Petra rounded on him. “She’s supposed to sacrifice herself, not cast a hybrid spell or whatever it is she’s doing. Her death is what the Sire and Lady want. We can be part of that history.”