Sean stepped between the corruption and the ad-hal and raised his knife. His eyes were pure amber.
The corruption would kill him. I would lose him and that couldn’t happen. I’ve lost too much already. I lost my father, my mother, and my brother. Even my sister was lost for a time. I’d lost the seed of an inn.
Nobody would take Sean from me. I loved him, he loved me, and he was mine.
No. Not today. Not ever.
Not in my inn.
A towering wave of rage swept through me and burst through the darkness. The wall blocking me tore apart, its shreds melting into nothing. The power of Gertrude Hunt hit me all at once, the inn suddenly triumphant, giddy that it finally felt me and we connected. The broom landed in my hand. I was on my feet, and I didn’t know when I got up or how. I raised the broom and poured all the inn’s power and all my magic through it.
The broom glowed with bright blue. A wall of pure magic surged up in front of the corrupt cloud, a brilliant blue barrier separating it from Sean. The cloud smashed into it and recoiled.
Sean smiled at me.
A phantom wind stirred my hair and the hem of my robe - the inn’s magic surging into me. The corruption shrank, hugging the ground, but there was no place to go. This was my inn. The soil, the trees, the air, all of it was mine. I wrapped the barrier around it, locking it into a sphere of magic.
It jerked up, trying to flee, but I took it into the fist of my power and squeezed, harder and harder. I squeezed it because I loved Sean, because I loved my sister and my niece, because the Draziri made me live through the death of a tiny inn, because the Hiru had sacrificed everything, and because nobody and nothing would ever get away with threatening one of mine, guest or family, on the grounds of Gertrude Hunt.
The corruption thickened under the pressure of my power, collapsing in on itself.
It hurt, but I barely noticed. I squeezed. I wanted to feel it die.
The sphere pulsed with white, contracting.
The corruption within burst into blue flame. It howled as it burned, its shriek cutting across my ears, sharp and painful.
Nobody said a word.
It burned until it disappeared into nothing.
I looked at the Draziri. My robe turned black. My face must’ve been terrible, because even trapped within the ad-hal’s power, they tried to shrink back. He didn’t let them move.
“The inn is yours, innkeeper,” the ad-hal said.
“You may begin,” I told Sunset.
The Hiru walked off the porch, each step a slow torturous motion. The Draziri and werewolves moved apart, giving them a wide passage, some on their own, others pushed by the ad-hal. The Hiru’s mournful voice echoed through the backyard, fading into the encroaching twilight.
“You destroyed our home. You murdered our families. You almost killed our people. You sentenced us to eternal exile, because no other planet could sustain us. Today you will learn why.”
The nine tubes rose from the ground, each holding a member of the Archivarius within it. The plastic tubes sank back into the earth. The nine beings stepped toward each other, their arms raised in front of them, forming a ring. Their fingers touched and melted, blending together. Flesh flowed like water, turning into a whirlpool and uniting into a whole.
I bent physics to keep the backyard hidden from the street. The residents of the Avalon subdivision were not ready for this.
A giant knelt on one knee on the lawn. He was human in shape, but his head had no features, except for a dark slash of a mouth. Werewolf fur sheathed him, each strand long and translucent. Stars and galaxies slid over the fur and his feathered Draziri mane, as if the depth of the infinite Cosmos reflected in him. A Ku crest rose on its head. Quillonian spikes burst from his shoulders. He opened his mouth, and within the darkness, two white vampire fangs gleamed. A pair of wings opened behind him, glittering with stars. The Archivarius had mirrored us the way his body mirrored the night sky.
YOU ASKED A QUESTION, a soft voice said. I HAVE THE ANSWER.
Sunset raised his head. “The innkeeper must have her payment first.”
The cosmic being turned toward me. ASK YOUR QUESTION, INNKEEPER.
I would only get one question. Where, no, what, no… “How can I find my parents?”
The Archivarius paused. Silence reigned. My heart was beating too loud. Please let them be alive.
SEBASTIEN NORTH.
Who was Sebastien North? What did that mean?
The Archivarius pivoted back to the two Hiru. It was enormous and the Hiru seemed so small next to it, two ants talking to a colossus.
Around the perimeter of the backyard, ovoid portals opened, and behind each the other Hiru stood, waiting, dozens of them. We were looking at the entire species.
“Please,” Moonlight said. “Where is our new home?”
A cold rush of magic tore through me in a second. A vast portal opened behind the Archivarius, as tall as he was. Beyond the portal a beautiful landscape spread under a breathtaking sky. Glowing flowers, indigo and turquoise, bloomed in the shadow of majestic burgundy trees, their long weeping willow branches shimmering with pale green leaves. Strange blossoms grew in the meadow of silver-green grass that rolled gently to a sea, the water so transparent that every vibrant burst of color underneath was crystal clear. Long emerald-green seaweed rose among the cream-colored coral in the shallows studded with underwater plants. Bright fish darted beneath the waves, and above it all, a glorious sky reigned, awash with gentle pinks, blues, and greens.
Sunset took a step forward, walking to the portal as if he were asleep. Five feet away from it he stopped. Metal clanged. His body fell apart. Pieces of machinery tumbled down, gears fell into the grass, lubricant gushed, and a luminous creature flew up from the remnants of machinery and hovered above the grass. It took my breath away.
The Draziri screamed as their god spread the delicate veils of its wings, burning with all the colors of an aurora borealis. A tiny glowing strand stretched from its graceful neck. On it Helen’s Chrismas ornament dangled.
Sunset spun once and slipped through the portal, hovering just beyond its boundary, waiting.
All around us, the Hiru stepped through the portals and entered the clearing, forming a long slow line. Moonlight, the first in line, walked up to the pile of Sunset’s space suit. Her metal shell fell apart and she surged up, her wings silver, black, and white, glowing like the moonlight that inspired her name. She slipped into the portal.
They came one by one, shedding their space suits, luminescent and heartbreaking in their beauty. I realized I was crying. Somehow Sean made it next to me and he held my hand. Arland put Helen on his shoulders. She watched the Hiru assume their true form and there were stars reflected in her eyes.
Some Draziri had collapsed. Others stared, shocked, their expressions lost. Mrak wept. Tears rolled down his cheeks.
On and on the Hiru went, until the last of them paused by the portal. He was old. Burns and scars dented his space suit. He turned to me. A once-mournful voice issued forth, tuning triumphant. “Thank you, innkeeper. We will never forget.”
His space suit joined the pile on the grass and a creature the color of sun fire slipped through the portal to its new world.
“Wait…” Mrak whispered to the Hiru.
The portal collapsed.
The Archivarius rose. Its wings beat once. It flew into the night sky and vanished.
Mrak’s shoulders shook. He stared at the spot where the portal had been a moment ago.
“You and I have unfinished business,” the ad-hal said. A gateway opened behind him, a swirling pool of darkness.
Mrak turned, like a chastised child, and together they walked into it, the ad-hal’s fingers still on Mrak’s shoulder.
“Where is he taking him?” Helen asked.
“Nowhere good,” Maud told her.
* * *
The Draziri left, shell-shocked and lost, held together by the Draziri who had attacked Mrak. He turned
out to be Mrak’s cousin. Before Her Grace retired to make herself presentable for dinner, she informed me that she’d had several conversations with him and in her opinion he wasn’t a complete idiot. I allowed them to go. The fight was over and I had never wanted this fight to happen in the first place.
The werewolves stayed. They were tired from fighting and hungry, and they wanted to talk to Sean and his parents. They crowded into my front room, loud and growly. I glanced into the front room, hoping for a glimpse of Sean, but I could barely see him, crowded by the mercenaries. It would have to wait. That was okay. We had time now.
Orro cornered me in the kitchen. “The holiday dinner was supposed to include eleven beings. Now that number is doubled!”
Aha. “Does this mean you’re unequal to the task?”
Orro puffed out, looming over me. “I am a Red Cleaver chef!”
I nodded.
“I require two hours.”
He spun on his foot.
“Thank you for the ice cream,” I told his back. “It was the best thing I have ever tasted.”
His spikes rose, shivering, and he sped off into the kitchen.
I raided Gertrude Hunt’s very old wine cellar, picked several bottles at random and let the inn take them to the Grand Ballroom. The tables I used during the peace summit were still stored underneath, and I pulled two of them out, arranged the bottles there, and asked Orro to serve some bread and cheese when he got a moment.
Once he was done, I headed to the front room. “Gertrude Hunt welcomes you to our Christmas feast. We’ll serve refreshments now. Follow me, please.”
The werewolves fell on the wine, bread and cheese like hungry beasts. Sean brushed by me and squeezed my hand, before they dragged him with them. Wing and Marais joined them. Wing was beside himself at being treated like a hero. Marais was slowly thawing. I’d provided him with a room and a shower to freshen up, and he looked much better now, without slime covering his hair. A couple of glasses of wine and he would be able to go home to his family. He still had that owlish, not-quite-right look in his eyes, but all in all he was handling this rather well. I’d have to thank him later when things died down.
Maud stopped next to me. “Hey.”
“Hey yourself.”
“I’m going to pop over to Baha-char for a few minutes,” she said.
“Why?”
“To buy presents.” She grinned.
“Do you have money?”
“No, but I have a ton of the Draziri weapons to trade.”
Ooo. “What am I getting?”
“I’m not going to tell you and I won’t let you snoop either. You were always a terrible sneak, Dina.”
“That’s a lie. I’m an excellent sneak.”
She hugged me, hard. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”
“I’m getting there.” I was feeling kind of wobbly, and if I stopped doing things and talking, the echo of the little inn’s death tore at me, but I would survive. I had a lot going for me. I had people who loved me. I mattered to them and when I fell, they caught me and put me back on my feet.
“Are you going to leave with Arland?” I asked.
“I haven’t decided.”
“Do you love him?”
She sighed, her face pained. “I’m trying to figure that out. He’s going to ask me to marry him tonight.”
“How do you know?”
“I spied on his conversation with his uncle.” Maud sighed. “I’m so stupid, Dina. I stood there like some love-stricken teenager and when he told his uncle he wanted to marry me, I felt… I felt things.”
“Are you going to accept?”
“No. I barely know him. I’m a mother. It’s not just my life at stake here. It’s also Helen’s. Besides, you would be left alone again.”
“I’m not alone.” I tilted my head and glanced at Sean. He must’ve felt me looking, because he turned and looked back at me. “I have someone, too.”
“It’s like that then?” Maud smiled.
“It is. If you like Arland, I’m sure he will find a way to let you figure out if you love him.”
“This crest—” she touched the crest on her armor “gives me the right to enter the territory of House Krahr as a free agent. If I turn him down and he invites me to come with him anyway, I may do that.”
“You will always have a place here. And it’s not like you’ll be far away. Arland pops over any time he pleases. If you give Arland a chance, he will take care of you and of her. You need someone to take care of you, Maud, whether you want to admit it or not.”
“I want more than that.” She bit her lip.
“I know.” I had no questions as to why Arland threw himself at that flower. He did it for me and Sean and all the others, but most of all he did it for Maud and Helen.
Maud stared away. I glanced in the direction of her gaze and saw Arland. He was looking back at her, and his eyes were warm and wistful. He never looked at me like that.
“It’s going to be difficult,” she said. “I’ll be an outcast again. I bring no money, no alliances, and no benefits. Only me and Helen. It would be Melizard all over again, with having to prove my worth. His family never did accept me. It would take a lot of work to win over another vampire House.”
“You will roll over them like a bulldozer. By the end of this year, they will be eating out of your hand. Lord Soren is already making plans.”
“What? How do you know?”
I thought of telling her about our conversation on the subject of family military service and genetic abnormalities and decided it would be more fun to leave it a surprise. “Just a feeling I have.”
She squinted at me. “What are you not telling me?”
“You should go and try it,” I told her. “Gertrude Hunt isn’t going anywhere. You can always come back. Once I figure out where to start looking for Mom and Dad, I’ll reach out.”
Her face turned grim. “Sebastien North.”
“Yes.”
“Do you know who that it? What that is?”
I shook my head. “No. But I will find out.”
“Maybe I’ll track down Klaus,” Maud said. “He should be told.”
“Good luck,” I told her. “I’ve tried. If you find him, punch him for me for disappearing.”
She hugged me. “I’m off to shop.”
“Go!” I told her. “Time is short. Tomorrow is Christmas Day.”
She grinned and took off.
A presence entered the inn. A moment later Tony stumbled into the ballroom, his face worried. “Did I miss dinner?”
“No.” I grinned at him. “An ad-hal, huh?”
He shrugged. “Sorry about that. You know how it is. We can do nothing without a directive from the Assembly. I would’ve come sooner if they’d let me.”
“Thank you for showing up.”
He sighed. “The Hiru attained space flight long before the Draziri. The best we can determine is that the Hiru, in their exploration of the galaxy, stopped on the Draziri planet. Somehow the early Draziri saw them in their natural form. Concerned that they were unduly influencing an emerging civilization, the Hiru had withdrawn from the Draziri planet. They are pacifists by nature and 99.999% of the planets in our galaxy are lethal to them. They couldn’t survive without their suits, which they hate, so there was no reason for them to stay. But the Draziri had never forgotten them. Over the years, the Draziri developed their religion right along the lines of the typical religions of early emerging civilizations: a creator god who sits in judgment and sends people to heaven or hell and they modeled this god on the image of the Hiru, a beautiful being who was a legend. The religion grew into a planetwide theocracy.”
“Then the Draziri developed space flight and stumbled on the Hiru,” I guessed. “Which proved that their religion was a lie. There was no creator god. There was just an alien species.”
“If that fact became public, their entire social structure would have collapsed,” Tony said.
“And the
Draziri priests wanted to keep their power.”
“That too. They destroyed the planet before the general population could learn that the Hiru existed and then declared a holy extermination of all Hiru. At first, the Hiru didn’t understand why, then when they did finally figure it out, some committed suicide to show the Draziri who they were killing. When they succeeded, the temple guards would destroy everyone who witnessed the Hiru’s true form and then blame the deaths on the Hiru. People do horrible things in the name of keeping things just the way they are.”
“Where did you take Mrak?”
“There is a little planet in the corner of the galaxy,” he said. “Its sun is dying.”
“I thought suns took billions of years to die.”
“Not this one. It and the entire star system are slowly transitioning out of our dimension. The change has killed most of the biosphere and now the planet has entered the in-between stage, where it exists neither in our space-time nor in the new one. It’s a ghost of a planet. I left him there. He no longer needs to eat or to breathe. He can’t kill himself. All he can do is exist alone among the barren rocks on the shore of an empty ocean, watching the sun grow dimmer every day.”
I shivered. “How long…”
“Not too long. Maybe another twenty years or so. A mind can only take so much.”
“What then? Will he just sit in the dark forever?”
“No. I will get him before the sun dies and end it. If he goes mad before then, I’ll end it sooner. Imprisoning a mad creature would be cruel.”
And that’s why seeing an ad-hal was never a good thing. I had to change the subject.
“Do you know anything about Sebastien North?”
He shook his head. “But I do know something about Michael.”
The memory of Michael’s corruption-ravaged body flickered before me. “What?”
“He was an ad-hal,” Tony said quietly.
I took a step back. “Michael?”
He nodded.
“The corruption took him, killed him, and when it fled his body, it focused on you.”
“I know,” he said. “Michael isn’t the only ad-hal who disappeared in the past several years. Something is hunting us.”