Stone Cold

  “Shame?” Terric said.

  I opened my eyes and stood on my own two boots. Terric kept his arm across my back so I didn’t lose the steady bleed of Life magic he was feeding me.

  “It’s done,” I said. “She’s in there.”

  “So quickly?” Eli asked. “Proof, Shame.”

  “Fuck you. See for yourself.”

  He waved us back with the gun, and we took a couple of steps away from the cot.

  “Give us the spell, Eli,” Terric said. “Tell us how to disarm the drones.”

  The machines around the cot were beeping and flashing. Eleanor was in that body, struggling to live.

  I just hoped she wasn’t in pain.

  “Brandy?” Eli said. “Wake, my love.” He briefly drew his finger away from the trigger and pressed one of the buttons on the machine just above her right shoulder.

  Magic flowed. That was pure magic, untainted magic, unhealed magic, light magic. The only way to access pure light magic now that it had been all muddled up with dark magic was by having a Beckstrom disk from the old days.

  So that’s how he’d powered all these spells. Jesus, he must have found a vault of them.

  I was going to have to have words with Allie’s stepmom, Violet, and tell her the security on her labs was crap.

  That is, if I survived.

  The spells across Brandy’s throat flared a soft green.

  Her eyes flew open, rolled back in her head, then focused on the ceiling. She arced back, arms pressing against the mattress, legs stiff, as the machines beeped even louder.

  Eli was sweating and breathing hard. He hadn’t thought it would work either.

  “Back out of the room. Now.”

  “Tell us the deactivation spell,” Terric said.

  “You need a Beckstrom disk.” He moved between machines, flipping switches. No gun on us, hardly paying attention to us. I couldn’t kill him with Death magic with the Void stones rattling around in my chest.

  I glanced at Terric.

  “And?” Terric said.

  Eli turned toward us again, gun in his hand. “Get the hell out of the room.”

  We backed toward the door. Stepped over the threshold.

  “It’s Sleep,” Eli said.

  “That’s the spell?” Terric said. “Just sleep?”

  “Use the magic in the disk. Cast Sleep. It will drop them cold.”

  “Will it kill them?”

  “Oh, Terric. What I did to them? They are already dead.”

  He could be lying. We’d find out pretty quick, hopefully before I bled unconscious. All we had to do was cast Sleep and send that spell precisely out to hit each of the drones on those monitors. Drones that were scattered across the world.

  It was going to take a hell of a lot of concentration on our part to send a spell by remote sight. But hey, Soul Complements, rule breakers, blah, blah.

  “Can you feel her?” Terric asked as we slogged across the floor to the monitors. “Are you still connected to Eleanor?”

  “No. Why?”

  “That means the spell worked,” he said. “That’s how we get your mom and maybe Sunny back into their bodies again.”

  “Swell. Let’s deal with one disaster at a time,” I panted.

  He dug the disk out of his pocket and held it in the palm of his hand, the watery blue light from the monitors catching against the glyphs carved into it.

  “Sleep,” he said.

  “I heard him. You’d better cast it, mate. I’m wrecked.” I walked over to the wall and pressed my back against it, locking my knees. From here I could see into Brandy’s room. The monitors were to my left.

  Good God, I wished I had a smoke. Or painkillers. Or a drink. Or a working gargoyle. Or no bullets in my heart.

  Terric stood at an angle to me so he could see the monitors and, from the corner of his eyes, Brandy’s room.

  Any minute now, Eli was going to figure out that wasn’t Brandy in that body. A soul knew a soul. And Soul Complements, even the crazy ones, couldn’t be fooled for long.

  “Hurry,” I said.

  The Zen thing Victor had taught all his students came in damn handy. With a single breath, Terric cleared his mind. Another breath, and he was focused on the spell, drawing it in the space between us.

  He didn’t need to pull magic out of the networks to fill the spell, didn’t need to pour Life magic from his body into it either.

  All he had to do was tap the magic in the Beckstrom disk, and stay focused on the spell reaching out to each of the people he saw on the monitors.

  Terric finished the spell, glanced at me.

  I gave him a nod and he triggered the disk.

  Magic flared through that spell and burned the room into a supernova. Spell after spell on the walls, the ceiling, the floor, triggered and filled with magic, burned to life, blew.

  Son of a bitch. Those spells weren’t just set to keep Terric and me where Eli wanted us. They were a bomb ready to go off.

  And that damn Sleep spell had been the trigger.

  The room filled with spells: Impact, End, Pain. More. Spells I didn’t even know the names for. All of them aimed at killing Terric and me, at tearing us apart into so many pieces we’d never glue back together again.

  We had one second, maybe not even that, before the spells all hit. Time to make a choice. Who would win?

  Death?

  Life?

  Eli?

  Then magic blew us to bits.

  Chapter 28

  SHAME

  In that explosion of power, we made our choice.

  Without a word, without so much as a nod, Terric and I reached into the spells as they exploded. We grabbed them with our hands and dragged that raw fire and pain toward us, into our bodies, into our souls.

  All magic in the world is joined. Like thousands of rivers, lakes, pools, it is connected by rocks, soil, air, and those who use it.

  It is us.

  It connected Terric and me, tied us by the soul, made us whole.

  Soul Complements.

  We could break magic, deep at its core. We could rewrite its rules. If ever there was a time to go all in—to break magic and make it do anything we wanted it to do, this was it.

  We broke magic, splitting it like a melon beneath the machete of our will.

  It was no longer just Life and Death that filled us. It was no longer the soft, nearly useless force that filled the world. It was darkness and light, pure, deadly, and intoxicatingly strong.

  Magic that anyone could use for a price—pain.

  Just like the good ol’ days.

  All the magic in the world paused, waiting for our hands to guide it. To use it, to make it into whatever we wanted it to be.

  The room was silent.

  First we kill Eli, I thought, knowing Terric would hear me.

  First we stop the drones, Terric thought. Then we take care of Eli.

  I was still full of Void stone bullets, and yes, they still hurt like hell. But light and dark magic pulsed through me, through Terric, and back to me, in a constant loop, one part adrenaline, the other part morphine. I felt no pain.

  We didn’t have to talk it out, didn’t have to decide who was doing what. We were in perfect sync now, not a horrifying nonperson as I’d feared, but two people perfectly locked together in ways I’d never imagined possible.

  Soul Complements. It was strong. Powerful.

  Terric and I weren’t lost in each other’s minds; we were found.

  Oh, we could get into so much trouble, I chuckled.

  Focus, Flynn, he said.

  We focused. It was easy to throw magic, dark and light across any distance. Easy to break the spells carved into the drones. And so we did.

  One by one, the drones fell, empty of mag
ic, powerless. All of Eli’s work undone, all of Krogher’s plans ended. The monitors went blank as the spells that connected the drones to Eli’s network and control were broken.

  And since we could take the shot, we threw magic at Krogher too. Found where he was hiding in this world, stopped his heart, ended his life with a single thought. It was a much more merciful death than he deserved.

  But with Krogher dead, my mum in ICU was safe. Allie, Zay, Cody, Davy, the hospitals, the police department, the remaining Soul Complements, and every other target in Krogher’s crosshairs was safe.

  But we were not done using magic yet. Were not done with this great power at our disposal. Eli wasn’t dead yet.

  We strode to Brandy’s room, shoulder to shoulder, step in step.

  Eli backed away from her cot, gun aimed at her still form. He must have seen us coming, must have known what we had done. He pulled the trigger. The rattle of gunfire filled the air as bullets tore through her body.

  “Eleanor!” I said.

  Eli swung the barrel our way. “If I can’t have her,” he yelled, “then I’ll be damned if you can have him.” He aimed at Terric.

  “No!” I yelled.

  We were already throwing magic. To stop him. To end him.

  Magic is fast.

  Bullets are faster.

  A dozen bullets hit Terric. Bullets I couldn’t stop.

  “You son of a bitch,” I growled.

  Terric stumbled backward, fell to his knees just as our magic, all magic, pounded into Eli.

  I dropped to the floor next to Terric, catching him before he hit the ground.

  “Terric?”

  “Don’t let him live, Shame,” he gasped.

  I glanced over at Eli. Magic enveloped him, burning Eli alive, searing red and black as it devoured him, his flesh, his bones, until only his ghost remained, standing above a pile of ash at his feet.

  “This, I said, to the dead man, “is done between us, Eli Collins. This”—I pointed to the world around me—“is mine. I rule here. Death rules. I will know if you return. And if you do, I will kill you and burn even your soul to dust. Do you understand me?”

  Eli screamed, hatred twisting his face into inhuman rage. He ran at us, but before he could take more than two steps, he faded and was gone.

  It was not a cruel enough death for that sick bastard. It was not nearly enough suffering to make him pay for all he had done to hurt the people I loved.

  But by God, it felt good to snuff out his flame.

  “You’re going to be okay,” I said to Terric, easing him the rest of the way to the floor.

  His pressed hands over his gut, but too much blood covered the floor around him already. Too much of his blood covered me.

  “I should have bet on black,” he whispered.

  “No,” I said. “No. You are not going to die. We got this.”

  “Don’t . . .” He inhaled but couldn’t seem to get much air in him. “. . . tell me what to do.” He tried to smile, but I knew how much pain he was in. I could feel the slow, slow beat of his heart as if it were my own, the numbing shock that was drinking him down, taking his thoughts away, making this world fuzzy and distant, taking him away from me.

  He was dying.

  Just because we had all the magic at our fingertips didn’t mean I could heal him. There weren’t spells that could heal instantly. The only healing—real healing—I’d seen magic accomplish was when Life magic filled Terric. But now that we had broken magic, all it was good for was destruction.

  I had all the magic in the world in my hands and I still couldn’t save the one man who I would give up my life for.

  I wasn’t ready to let go of him. Not now. Not ever.

  Shame? Mum said. You have to let him go, son. Don’t trap his soul. Don’t chain him to you.

  She was right. I shouldn’t trap him. I should let him go.

  The only problem? I never was very good at doing the right thing.

  There was a slim chance I could save him. Not by tying his ghostly soul to me. That wasn’t saving; that was enslaving.

  Life magic could save him. I just needed to unbreak magic, join dark and light together the way Cody had joined it together—by holding it in my body long enough for light and dark magic to blend and heal. And then Terric would be filled with Life magic again, right?

  It would heal him. It wouldn’t let him die no matter how many bullets were in him.

  Joining magic, all magic in the world, wasn’t an easy thing. Cody alone had been strong enough to endure that particular hell. Lots of people had tried to join light and dark magic in the past. Lots of people had died. Breaking it wasn’t easy, but it wasn’t deadly.

  It was the joining of magic that would probably kill me. Still, it was worth it.

  Time to put all my money on red.

  “We had a good run, mate,” I said to him, even though he was beyond hearing me now, barely breathing. “Come on up and have a beer someday.”

  I stood, strode into the other room.

  Shame? Mum said again. What are you doing?

  What I was doing was installing a nuclear reactor into my body. A little distance between me and the guy I was trying to save seemed prudent.

  “Love you, Mum,” I said. “And, Sunny? I’m sorry for . . . hell. Everything.”

  She just nodded.

  I glanced over at Stone. He wasn’t moving, poor little gargoyle. Well, hopefully this would fix that too.

  I drew magic to me, dark magic, light magic, all the magic in the world. I opened myself to it, surrendering to it, giving in, giving up. Without hatred, without fear, without anger. Just peace and calm. Very Zen.

  I thought Victor might be a little proud of me for that.

  Then I commanded it to join together again, to heal and mend using my body as the focal point and as the vessel to do so.

  I knew I’d pay a price for this. More than pain. I would pay with my life. But Terric would live.

  Worth it.

  There was a moment of intense pleasure as magic filled me up and took over every part of me that made me me. And then as I tried to make dark and light join once again, magic tried to unmake me.

  Chapter 29

  SHAME

  “Wish I’d brought my camera.” Terric sat next to me, his jeans rolled up, bare feet over the edge of the concrete bricks, a river flowing by below his feet.

  My feet too. I was sitting next to him. We were in a city. European, I thought.

  “Paris,” he said. “You really should travel more, Shame.”

  “So . . . is this your dream?” I asked. “Or . . . oh Lord. Is it your heaven?”

  “No, it’s Paris. Really. These aren’t our bodies, but . . . you know.” He gave me a crooked smile. “Soul Complements break magic, break rules. I thought you and I needed a second or two to talk. And it’s been a while since I’ve been here.”

  “Talk about what? Wasn’t I in the middle of fixing magic? Joining it again?”

  “That. You can’t heal magic, Shame. Only Cody can.”

  “You know this because?”

  “Those records I’ve been looking into? They talked a lot about Soul Complements, and a little about the rare—very rare—children of Soul Complements. Cody’s mother and father . . .”

  “Mikhale and Sedra,” I said.

  “Soul Complements. And only the children of Soul Complements can actually heal magic, though Allie’s dad did some crazy experiments trying to prove that wrong.”

  “Well, there’s information that would have been nice to know before I made myself magic’s chew toy. Thanks, Ter.”

  The breeze picked up. Chilly with the first drops of rain.

  “There’s a way out of this. I think,” he said.

  “Paris?”

  “You dyin
g, idiot.”

  “Go on.”

  “I can heal you. You managed to hold magic long enough for me to get Life magic back, mostly, so thanks for that. I should be able to heal you enough for you to give the magic over to Cody to fix. Permanently.”

  “That will work?”

  “Sixty-forty.”

  “And magic?”

  “I’m guessing Cody will make it what it was before: gentle, blended. Except for when Soul Complements break it.”

  “Great,” I said. “There’s just going to be someone else, another Eli, another Krogher, who will find a way to tap magic, to make it into a weapon again. To hurt people with it. Kind of tired of putting out the world’s fires, mate.”

  “Right,” he said, “I’ve been thinking about that too. What if no one can use magic, no one? Then we won’t have anything to worry about. Magic will still be there, flowing like water beneath the earth, and maybe someone will find a way to tap in to it, on occasion, on accident, but otherwise . . .” He shrugged.

  “So, what? We make it so spells don’t work?” I asked. “We make it so that even if you draw a perfect glyph, magic won’t come to your calling?”

  “That’s the idea, yes.”

  “And when you say no one can use it, you mean there are no exceptions? Not even for you and me?”

  He looked away, at the bridge and city downriver. When those blue eyes turned back to me, there was more than a bit of a gleam in them. “Well . . . maybe we could make a small exception.”

  “And now I like this idea.”

  He grinned. “Good.” It was raining harder now, most of it falling right through us. He stood up and held his hand down for me. “Then don’t die.”

  I took his hand.

  It was cool, warm.

  Filled with magic.

  Life magic.

  I opened my eyes and inhaled just enough to know that I shouldn’t go overboard on that breathing thing yet. A lot of magic burned and snapped inside me. Well, all magic, really. I still carried it all, despite Terric’s little let’s-ghost-off-to-Paris trick.

  He knelt above me. His mouth was moving, so I assumed he was talking, but I wasn’t getting any of it.

  He pressed his hand against my chest and one hard strike of magic rocked me.