Starlight(Pact Arcanum 4) (20 page)

Antonio reached out with his mind, and suddenly, he could feel them all, even scattered across three star systems and traveling the void. The Children of Starlight felt his touch as well, and Antonio could feel their eyes upon him as they realized who he was.
“Brothers and sisters,”
he thought to them.
“I am sorry.”

Then he turned away from them and walked calmly into the flames.

T
HE
B
RIDGE

C
HAPTER 30

September 2142; Citadel Central Infirmary, Lunar Farside

Rory stepped inside the waiting room and faced his family, who watched him expectantly. He closed and locked the door behind him.

Antonio was the first to speak. “How is he?”

Rory gave him a long, measuring glance. “His higher functions appear to be intact, and his memory is repairing itself based on the residual psychic template remaining after the attack. Mentally, he should probably recover completely, though I’ll probably check in on his thoughts every couple of hours.”

“I could help with—”

Rory cut him off. “No, you can’t. You may have the power, but not the skill. The slightest error right now could snuff out his mind like a candle flame, and not even the Grace can rebuild his psyche without a framework.”

“You shouldn’t be involved anyway,” said Nick, looking out the window at the numberless stars. “You’re too emotionally invested.”

Rory nodded. “I agree. Other than the damage to his mind, the fact that he’s somehow become a Daywalker should speed his physical recovery, since he’s regenerating without the need for blood feeding.” He sat in a chair next to Lorcan, who reached up and draped his arm over Rory’s shoulders.

“Walk us through it again, Antonio,” said Layla. “Everything you can remember about what it said.”

Antonio slumped in his chair and tried to recite the conversation as best he could.

“I always thought the Grace responded like a living creature,” said Rory. “It’s too unpredictable to be a simple tool.” He shook his head wearily. “I never dreamed it could be sentient though, or capable of speech.”

“Lethal, no matter how infinitely diluted.” Layla leaned forward intently. “You’re sure that’s what it said? And the other Harbingers are the same way?”

Nick turned around to face her. “Layla, now’s not the time.”

Layla glanced up at Nick for a moment, then refocused her attention on her son. “What happened to Rafael was regrettable, but we must understand the implications of Antonio’s actions. If Harbinger blood is now a weapon, we have to learn the scope of its power before we can decide upon a responsible course of action.”

Antonio glared at her. “What makes you think you get to decide anything?”

She regarded him calmly. “Because you choose not to rule. That leaves me to pick up the pieces.”

Antonio stood and stared at her. Then he turned and went to the door. “I need some air.” He unlocked the door and walked out.

Nick sighed. “Ruarc, would you please keep an eye on him?”

Lorcan raised an eyebrow and smiled. “Of course.” He stood and followed after Antonio.

Rory locked the door again from the inside. Then he faced the others. “The three of us need to have a serious discussion.”

“We do,” said Layla angrily. “Starting with why you sent the leader of the Court of Shadows to watch over a man whose blood is poison to Nightwalkers.”

“It proved Nick trusted him,” said Rory. “And it gave Ruarc an excuse to honorably give us the privacy to talk about what could potentially be an entire new phase in the war against the race he represents.”

Layla cocked her head as she looked at Nick. “Subtlety, Nicholas? I had forgotten what it looks like on you.”

“Everything changes,” said Nick. He leaned back against the wall and folded his arms in front of him. “Why are you pushing Tony so hard? Don’t you know how he feels about Rafael?”

“Of course I do,” she snapped. “And as soon as my son admits it to me, then he and I are going to have a very pointed conversation.”

“All of that aside, what the hell are we going to do about this mess?” asked Rory. “I mean, we can’t use the Harbingers as bait for the Nightwalkers to snack on.”

“There must be a way to use this power against the Court,” said Layla. “Otherwise, the Grace wouldn’t have said Antonio has a destiny to fulfill.”

“Since when do you care what the White Wind wants?” asked Nick.

Layla snarled at him, her eyes shifting to red. “They will not take Antonio from me the way they took Tobias. They knew he would die, so they named you Champion. The smallest word of warning could have preserved his life, but they do nothing if it does not impact their interests. I will not be a pawn in their games ever again, and neither will my son. But this new power makes him a target. I must understand it before I can take steps to protect him.” She faced Rory. “I need you to determine how powerful this curse is, and what its limits are, if any.”

Rory nodded. “I can do that. I’ll also see if I can make contact with the Grace on my own. It might be able to answer my questions.”

“We’ll have to move fast,” said Nick. “The doctors knew something was up as soon as they discovered Raf was a Daywalker. No conversion has ever involved this level of damage without causing death. Sooner or later, Ghian is going to hear of it.”

“And he will want to use the weapon immediately,” said Layla. “He is still the Wind of Earth at heart, and he will not balk at genocide.”

* * *

Rory knelt on the floor with his eyes closed, focusing on his breath as he meditated. When he felt perfectly calm and centered, he stretched his mind toward the cross brands in his palms. He felt the immense power contained within, like he held a pair of fusion reactors in his grasp.

He touched the power and let a trickle flow into him, a tiny morsel of infinity. His entire being vibrated with the strength that flowed through him, but instead of casting the power from him in a spell as he normally would have, he gathered the energy up into a tight coil of potency in the center of his mind. Then he tried to form a psychic link with it.
“Can you hear me?”

“I can. Greetings, Master.”

“You’re the Grace?”

“That is the name by which you know me.”

“What are you?”

“I am the scales and the sword of Justice, an avatar of the mercy and the vengeance of Heaven made manifest.”

“Why haven’t you ever spoken to me before?”

“In truth, my mind was not fully aware until the Harbinger woke the other half of my existence.”

“You told him his blood was to cleanse the world of Nightwalkers. Is that true?”

“Yes. He is the last piece to be placed on the game board of your world. All the elements are now at your disposal to complete the task before you.”

“The Great Work.”

“Yes.”

“Why did they give this other aspect of your power to Antonio?”

“In all things there must be balance. You are the Redeemer, the instrument of redemption, a creative force. It is forbidden for either side to intervene unilaterally on this plane. The Red Wind’s bargain with Luscian to create the Firstborn gave the White Wind leave to create the Sentinels in opposition. So it was with the Grace.”

Rory considered that.
“You mean the Red Wind gave someone else a similar power and the Grace was created to oppose it?”

“Yes. The power of the scales and the sword are a direct answer to the Red Wind’s gift to Luscian of the knowledge and strength necessary to create the Crown of Souls and the artifact blade Reaper.”

“But that was thirty thousand years ago!”

“All eras are one. Time is an illusion of those confined to this plane, a constraint which does not apply to those without.”

Smug bastard,
thought Rory on a deeper layer of his thoughts, but he let none of that bleed into the psychic link.
“Could I use your power to release some of the souls in the Crown? Nick has always wanted to dismantle the damn thing.”

“That I do not know, Master. The Crown is my equal and opposite. If Nicholas wishes to understand the limitations of the Crown, perhaps he should address his questions to it, as you have done with me.”

“Wait. Are you saying the Crown is sentient?”

“It is.”

Nick’s not going to like that.
Rory decided to leave that tidbit of information for another day.
“So, tell me about Antonio’s power. How can he hold the Grace without channeling a pure draw as I do?”

“The Harbinger only wields the Grace, Master. It is you who was given the burden of carrying my physical presence in this world. Both of you together are required to carry out your task.”

“And if we succeed, what then? Will you leave me and return to the higher planes?”

“The knowledge of my own fate is hidden from me. However, I am bound to your soul. I can no more leave you than you could cast your soul aside.”

“Wait. They told me I would be free once the Great Work was complete.”

“You will serve until the last scion of the Red Wind is judged or destroyed. That includes you, Master.”

“Are you saying I have to die for the Great Work to be complete?”

“Perhaps.”

Rory opened his eyes as he lost his mental focus and the mental link broke.
Layla was right.
Screw them and their power games. I’ll find another way.

Then he got to his feet and went in search of answers.

P
ART
IV
: 
P
OINTS OF
I
NFLECTION

C
HAPTER 31

October 2142; the Citadel, Lunar Farside; one month later

Nick walked into the room through the front door. “All packed?”

Rafael nodded absently, waving his hand at the suitcase next to the couch. “That’s the last of it.”

Nick looked around the empty apartment. “Are you sure you want give this up? Space is at a premium in the Citadel. You might not be able to get quarters here again once you move.”

Rafael turned away from the window. “I need a change of scene. There are too many memories here. I can commute from Sanctuary without any problems, if I need access to the
Starlight
or the Academy.”

Nick picked up the suitcase. “We take well to wanderers. Everyone comes to Sanctuary looking for something different.”
Do I ask? I guess it couldn’t hurt at this point.
“Why did you ask me to help you move, rather than Antonio?”

“I can’t deal with Antonio right now. He practically radiates guilt. Even after I forgave him, he still acts like he needs to make it up to me somehow.”

“Maybe he thinks your forgiveness was insincere.”

Rafael frowned at him, then looked away. “It was a hard death. Nothing I had imagined before about the Grace could have measured up. Not even Recursion Dyssynchrony was more of a nightmare.”

That’s enough sharing
. “Well, I could certainly use your help with my investigation. I need more techs on this. So far I have no leads about this phantom Court agent.”

Rafael shrugged. “I thought Rory was working with you.”

“I haven’t seen him in weeks. Layla has him investigating the extent of the Harbinger curse, and he’s been an absolute workaholic trying to figure out the ramifications.”

“He gets like that when the Great Work is involved.”

“I know.”

“I guess you would.” Rafael took one last look out the window at the stark majesty of the Citadel spread out beneath him, then turned toward the door. “Time to go.”

October 2142; House Curallorn Stronghold, Cahokia Mound City, Illinois

Antonio considered the glowing holographic design in front of him. It looked like an intricate piece of fractal sculpture, but in fact, it was a diagrammatic representation of the neurochip matrix for the Nexus’ mind-transfer technology. As he was the only starship captain currently in port, the Guild had asked him to flesh out a proposal to adapt the design to benefit Spacers during interstellar flight—based on his unique experience. He’d been researching the specifications on the newly redesigned and updated neurochips for two weeks, trying to gain some insight into how they might be useful.

Antonio lifted his hand and tapped another program node in the schematic hovering before him. The node expanded, revealing the neurocircuitry in detail. He examined it thoughtfully, and typed in a few annotations before focusing on another aspect of the design. Then he started in his chair as he noticed another mind in the room with him.
Damn it, how sloppy am I that she can just walk up on me without my noticing?
“Good morning, Mother.”