Chapter Thirteen
Cora was
uncharacteristically calm about the idea of taking a portal to
Avignon, surprising Alec when, as she landed on the foam padding
set up on the receiving end, she whooped and said she wanted to do
it again.
“You are the
strangest woman I have ever met,” he said as he helped her to her
feet, guiding her out of the way as the air sparked a few times,
indicating another body was about to emerge through the permanent
tear in the fabric of space that the portalling company maintained
for the use of its customers.
“You told me that
already,” she answered, applauding when Pia appeared out of nothing
and hit the padding with a whomp. “And
the judges go wild!”
“Thank you. I think,”
Pia said, accepting the hand he held out to her. “I did try for a
reverse gainer, but I’m not sure if I pulled it off or
not.”
“Seriously, tens
across the judges,” Cora assured her before turning to him. “Screw
private jets—I want to portal everywhere from now on.”
“Most people only use
portals when they have no other choice,” he warned
her.
Eleanor appeared,
screaming as she hit the padding. “Goddess above, I never want to
do that again. Urgh.”
He helped her to her
feet, as well.
“Why don’t they use
portals?” Cora asked him.
He gave a little
shrug. “Some beings don’t like it. Dragons and elemental beings
will do just about anything to avoid using a portal. Some of the
Fae are opposed to it on the grounds that it desecrates their
beyond. Others, like some spirits, cannot use it unless they are in
corporeal form.”
“I completely
understand their feelings,” Eleanor muttered, brushing off her
pants.
Cora stared at him
for a moment before turning to Pia just as Kristoff materialized
and hit the padding. “One in ten words, maybe.”
Pia laughed. “Believe
it or not, I understood all of it. Give it time, and you will, as
well.”
“Uh-huh.” Cora’s
mysteriously dark eyes considered him. “You’re not any of those
things that you mentioned, though. Are you?”
“No, I’m not, and I
don’t have an issue with using a portal per se, but it is also
expensive.”
“Really?” She moved
aside as Terrin appeared about ten feet off the ground, arms and
legs flailing as he dropped to the pad. “How
expensive?”
He told her the price
for all six of them to be transported from Florence to
Avignon.
“Jesus wept! I could
buy a house for that! A nice house!”
she gasped.
“Am I here? All of
me?” Terrin asked.
Alec hauled him to
his feet, brushing him off, since the seneschal appeared to be
somewhat disoriented by the portal. “You’re here. Where to,
Kris?”
“The lichmaster said
she’d be waiting for us at the Chauvet caves.”
“Caves? I love
caves!” Cora said, her eyes bright with excitement as she took his
hand. The fact that she did so automatically warmed him like
nothing else had in . . . well, since his beloved mother had died.
She had been the only person who touched him with genuine love . .
. until Cora. He wondered if she loved him. He wondered if she knew
he was quickly falling into that state.
“Caves? That ought to
be interesting,” Eleanor said.
“Do we have to meet
there?” Alec asked Kristoff.
The latter gave him a
sympathetic look. “She wouldn’t budge from there. Evidently that is
where her headquarters are.”
“I’ve heard of that
cave,” Pia said as they exited the portalling company’s building,
and emerged into the soft darkness of the evening. “Isn’t it where
they found those pretty cave paintings?”
“I believe so,”
Kristoff answered, shooting him another look before he hurried off
with Pia to rent a car.
“Caves,” he muttered,
disgusted with the turn of events.
“What’s wrong with
caves? They’re awesome fun. I love the ones with the stalactites
dripping limewater, making all sorts of creepy shapes. Kinda
reminds me of ectoplasm, really, not that I’ve ever seen it,
because I don’t believe in ghosts.... Oh.” She blinked at him, a
wry smile making him want to kiss her senseless. “I guess I need to
change that, huh?”
“There are many types
of spirits,” the seneschal said, consulting his watch. “But none, I
believe, take on the form of wet stalactites. We have slightly over
two hours left.”
Avignon at night was
enchanting, and Alec was possessed with the urge to watch Cora’s
face as she explored all the delights contained within it, but that
would have to wait until after she was safe.
He became aware that
Cora was watching him closely. He kissed her just to take that
speculative look off her face, then kissed her again because once
again he couldn’t get enough of her sweetness, ignoring a rude
comment by Eleanor as he did so.
You don’t like caves?
No.
Claustrophobic?
He didn’t
answer.
I’m sorry. That’s got to be the pits. You don’t have to go
into the cave if you don’t want to.
“You’re being silly,”
he said, releasing her lower lip when Terrin made a polite little
cough. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I am a Dark One. I
fear nothing.”
“Big talk,” she said,
but, with a glance toward Terrin, did nothing more than smile and
take his hand, sending him wave after wave of reassurance and
comfort. It’ll be all right. You’ll
see.
“Well, as long as I’m
here, I might as well windowshop,” Eleanor said, moving across the
street to browse in a store window.
“The mare you
mentioned—she is anxious to have her grandchild out,” he told
Terrin, amused by Cora’s attempt to soothe him, but not willing to
hurt her feelings.
Terrin looked faintly
surprised. “Of course. Wouldn’t you?”
“It seems to me that
she is in a very difficult spot. In a matter of two hours, she will
lose her descendant forever to the Akasha.”
“Yees,” Terrin
drawled, his gaze sharpening upon Alec.
What are you doing?
Trying to solve two problems at once.
“It also seems to me
that without Cora’s help Diamond cannot be saved in
time.”
“What do you want?”
Terrin asked baldly.
Yes, what do you want? Do you think he can help you with
the vampire council thing?
No. Alec smiled. “And the Sovereign . . . surely
the Sovereign must be aware of the situation? I assume the mares
keep it informed of all that goes on?”
Terrin’s suspicious
expression tightened. “I am told they do. What reward is it that
you expect? I can reassure you that the mare Disin will be most
grateful—”
“It’s not the
mare’s help I seek,” he interrupted
smoothly.
Terrin’s eyes opened
wide at the same moment that Cora probed his mind, gasping into his
head. Jesus wept, Alec! You can’t blackmail
God!
The Sovereign is not God, and I’m not blackmailing it. I’m
simply ensuring we receive its help.
“The Sovereign does
not take kindly to being used,” Terrin said, scorn dripping from
his voice. “If that is your intention, and I see by the expression
on your Beloved’s face that it is. I don’t know what it is that you
want the Sovereign to do, but it won’t do it, I can assure you
that.”
“Then Diamond will
remain in the Akasha,” he said blithely, brushing off a bit of
nothing from Cora’s arm. “Love, I believe we have time to do some
sightseeing after all.”
Cora gaped at him,
her mouth open just enough that he gently pressed his fingers under
her chin to close it. “Alec, you’re nuts.”
“So I’ve frequently
been told.”
“You can’t blackmail
God!” she repeated.
“The Sovereign is not
God per se,” Terrin said tiredly. “Why do I have to keep telling
you that? It’s an easy concept to understand, after all. It’s not
like trying to plumb the unfathomable depths of a woman’s
mind.”
“That sort of a crack
isn’t going to do you any good,” Cora said with a sharp look at the
little seneschal.
He apologized,
glancing at Alec. “Just out of curiosity, not that it will happen
in even the most bizarre imaginings, but let us say the Sovereign
was feeling gracious. What is it you wish for it to
do?”
Yeah, what? Cora asked, evidently not having probed
far enough to see his plans.
“My Beloved is a Tool
of Bael,” Alec said, gesturing toward her.
“She is,” Terrin
agreed.
“There is nothing I
can do that will relieve her from that burden.”
Terrin eyed first
Cora, then him. “No,” he said at last. “Such a thing is beyond your
power. Or indeed mine, for what that’s worth.”
“Every low sort of
being in the Otherworld and mortal world will desire to use her for
their own gain,” Alec continued.
“Where exactly are
you going with this?” Cora asked, looking a bit disgruntled.
“Because so far, all it’s doing is depressing me.”
“Patience,
mi querida.”
“I imagine that is
so, yes,” Terrin agreed. “If you expect the Sovereign to strip the
Tool from Cora, however, I’m afraid you’re doomed to
disappointment. Such a thing is not within the bounds of even the
Sovereign. For all intents and purposes, the Occio di Lucifer and
Corazon are now perfectly joined, and will never be able to be
separated again.”
“Exactly,” Alec said,
smiling.
“What am I missing?”
Cora asked him.
He turned to her,
taking her hands in his, kissing each one of her fingers before
answering. “We must eliminate the biggest threat to
you.”
“The Tool? But Terrin
just said—”
“That is the cause,
but not the threat itself.” He kissed her wrist, the hunger within
him roaring to immediate life, twisting his gut with a need so
great it almost made him dizzy.
She thought. “You
mean the people who would use me to access Bael’s power?” She shook
her head. “You can’t possibly eliminate all of them, Alec. That
must be hundreds of people.”
“Thousands, and they
are just interested in the effect of you being the Tool. We must go
after the source, the true danger that threatens you.”
“But . . .” Her face
twisted as she tried to reason it out. “The Tool gets its power
from Bael. So . . . oh!” Her eyes grew round as Terrin sucked in
his breath.
“You cannot think—”
the little man started to say.
“You want to take
down Bael?” Cora asked, her eyes searching his. “The devil? You
want to destroy Satan?”
He sighed. “Cora, why
do you persist—”
“All right, all
right,” she said quickly. “I know he’s not Satan, but he’s as close
as dammit. Alec, you’re bonkers. You can’t just go after the head
prince dude of hell!”
“Why not?” He gave
her a reassuring smile. Really, she was the most alluring woman.
Even as she was standing there fully flabbergasted, he desired her.
He wanted to sink into her heat, to absorb her warmth, to let all
those dark corners of his mind be lit up by the glow of her being.
“Normally the princes have a battle each millennium to name a new
premier prince. For some reason, Bael did not allow that, and has
remained on the throne, so to speak, for well past his time. I
simply seek the Sovereign’s help in removing him.”
Terrin’s jaw worked
up and down a couple of times before he could speak. “The Sovereign
does not concern itself with the doings of Abaddon.”
“No?” Alec pulled
Cora into his arms, his mind preoccupied with the lush curves of
her body, with her scent, with the beat of her heart. He let her
see just how much he wanted her, needed her, at that moment.
Awareness flared in her eyes, and she swayed against him,
wordlessly offering herself.
“It is out of the
question. Wholly out of the question.”
“It would be a worthy
cause,” Alec murmured against Cora’s temple as he breathed
deeply.
“The Sovereign does
not get involved with mortal concerns. It leaves that to the
vessels.”
“Ah, but this is not
a concern that deals solely with mortals.” He kissed the line of
her jaw, leashing the overwhelming hunger that rode him so hard.
“You yourself said that if the three Tools were brought together,
they could be used to devastate the mortal world.”
“Mortal world,” Terrin emphasized.
“And what—” He paused
just long enough to claim Cora’s sweet, sweet mouth. “What is to
stop someone from using the combined Tools against the Court? Or,
for that matter, the Sovereign itself?”
Cora giggled into his
mind. You’re devious, do you know that? It’s a
good thing that he can’t read your mind like I can, or he’d never
believe this bluff. The idea of you threatening to destroy
heaven—honestly, Alec, how can you even say what you’re saying to
poor Terrin with a straight face?
I’m not bluffing, mi corazón.
He caught her gasp in
his mouth before lifting his head to meet the gaze of the
seneschal.
“Down that path would
lie destruction for many,” Terrin said slowly, his gaze
calculating.
“It would be
preferable to the alternative.”
Alec, you’re . . . you’re . . .
Insane, yes, I know. But it’s the only way to save you,
Cora. You can’t stop being a Tool of Bael, and although I can
protect you to a certain extent now that we’re Joined, we will live
our lives looking over our shoulders. Do you want
that?
No, but—
We must eliminate the source of the threat. We must
destroy Bael. We have no choice. And since I can’t do that by
myself, we’re going to need help. The only being powerful enough to
do so is the Sovereign.
“But . . . why don’t
you just wait until we get Diamond out, and then you can use all
three of us against Bael?” she asked, stroking his chest in a way
that left him growling with desire. “Surely that would be easier
than trying to blackmail the Sovereign-who-isn’t-God?”
“I would if it was
possible, but I am a Dark One. By my very existence I have a tie to
Abaddon. It’s impossible for me to destroy that to which I owe my
existence.”
“Well, then, someone
else will have to do it,” she said, obviously distressed. His heart
swelled with love at the thought that she was worried the Sovereign
would be angry at him. No one—not in all the long centuries of his
life—no one had ever worried about him. “Kristoff . . . oh, I
suppose he can’t, either. Pia, then.”
“Pia does not have
the knowledge to defeat a premier prince. She would not be able to
control the power of the combined Tools. No, my love, there is only
one being who can topple a premier prince, and we must simply point
out that it must do so, or risk its own existence.”
“You’re threatening
to use the Tools against heaven, but you couldn’t against Abaddon?
How can you do that?” Cora touched his face in such a gentle
expression of love, it almost unmanned him.
“I have no ties to
the Court,” he said with a grim smile, fighting the need to feed
from her, to make love to her, to hide her away where no one but
him could ever feast their eyes on her. She was his, and he would
do whatever it took to keep her safe.
She would have argued
more, but Kristoff and Pia arrived at that moment, in possession of
a sleek black car.
“As you do not need
me for the summons, I will go and speak to the mare Disin regarding
your request,” Terrin said with a long look at Alec. “I will return
here in an hour. That should leave us time to rescue the
vessel.”
Terrin disappeared
into the evening just as Eleanor, bored with window-shopping,
wandered up.
“OK, what did we
miss?” Pia asked some minutes later as they were driving out of
town, heading for the caves. “And don’t ask me how I know we missed
something, because Cora looks stunned, Terrin looked sick to his
stomach, and you, Alec, you look like the cat who’s gotten into the
cream. Spill.”
“I look charming,”
Eleanor added with thinned lips at Pia.
“Yes, you do, very
charming,” she hurriedly added.
Should we tell them? Cora asked as she leaned into
Alec.
Yes, but not until we are private.
She looked surprised
for a moment; then her gaze slid over to where Eleanor sat on his
other side. Oh, you don’t want her
knowing?
I’d prefer not, no.
Gotcha. And I agree. I think we need to watch out for
Eleanor, Cora told him, as Eleanor had looked oddly
interested during the discussion concerning the Tools. I swear she intends on paying us back.
Perhaps. She seems sincere in her desire to return to the
Underworld.
Yeah, but what’s to stop her from wanting a little payback
before she goes?
We shall see. Do not worry about the situation, Beloved. I
will not let her harm you.
Fortunately for
Cora’s friend, it took a short time to reach the cave
area.
“That sign says that
the cave is closed to the public,” Pia said, pointing at a sign
headed with GROTTE CHAUVET-PONT-D’ ARC.
“It is,” Kristoff
agreed, stepping off the path and pushing his way through the
undergrowth.
“Then how are we
going to meet the . . . oh. Side door, huh?”
A metal door set into
the wall of rock was unlocked, by arrangement with the lichmaster.
Alec allowed Kristoff to go ahead while he took up the rearguard
position.
“Do we need a rear
guard?” Cora murmured as he gestured for her to go in front of
him.
He couldn’t help but
glance at her ass. “Yours will if you keep wiggling it at me like
that.”
She giggled, but
stopped him, her eyes warm with concern. Now,
Alec, I don’t want you to feel like you can’t tell me if you get
panicky inside. I’m not claustrophobic, myself, but my mother is,
and I remember how she used to have panic attacks whenever she had
to go into our tiny little basement. There’s no shame in feeling
nervous in a cave, you know.
He debated telling
her that he wasn’t the least bit claustrophobic, that he was more
concerned with walking into a situation where he couldn’t defend
her properly, but decided he enjoyed the feeling of being coddled.
I assure you that you’ll be the first to know
if I panic.
Good. She gave him a bright smile and a pat on the
hand, which she changed into a quick kiss before hurrying off the
metal walkway after the others. Lights had been strung in this part
of the cave, along with long black cables that snaked across the
floor, no doubt there to bring electricity and air down to the
lower depths, where the cave art was located.
The low echo of
voices reached them as they followed the walkway, emerging in a
small, low-ceilinged room. A half-dozen wooden crates were stacked
tidily along one side of the room, lighting equipment leaning
drunkenly against them.
Cora took his hand,
her fingers gently stroking his as a tall, thin black woman clad in
an orange down vest and hard hat popped up out of an inky hole on
the far side of the room.
“Oh, good, you’re on
time. I can’t tell you how annoyed I get with groups who don’t
understand that my time is very valuable these days. If you think
it’s easy to convince people that a union is really for their
benefit, well, you’re wrong. You must be Christopher.”
“Kristoff. I take it
you’re the lichmaster?” Kristoff asked, eyeing the woman with open
disbelief. If anyone looked less like the sort of person who
controlled liches for her own end, it was the woman before them.
She had close-cropped hair and wore a faded blue T-shirt that read
Liches Are People, Too. “Erm . . . did
you say union? ”
“Yes, I’m Jane
Woodway, the head of the Liches International Union. The union
encompasses the first liches to organize themselves into a group
dedicated to the preservation and betterment of their members. I am
not a lich myself, but I am wholly dedicated to their cause. We
also fight for higher wages—well, actually, any wages, since liches
seldom receive compensation for their services—health benefits,
education, and job placement. It’s our goal that one day all liches
will stand in such a way that members will no longer be used and
abused. We will reign victorious over those who would subjugate our
lich brothers and sisters!”
Jane’s voice rang out
with fervor, echoing off the low stone ceiling.
“Er . . . yes.”
Kristoff pursed his lips for a moment while they all considered the
lichmaster.
“I like you,” Eleanor
told her.
Jane eyed her. “You
are an unbound lich, yes? Would you like to join the union? We have
need for many helping hands.”
“I would, but I’m
expecting to go back to my hour soonish,” Eleanor answered.
“Although it does seem like a worthy cause. What sort of work do
you need done?”
“You wouldn’t happen
to know anything about Web sites, would you? We’re trying to start
a social network for liches called Lichbook, but our Web person got
sucked up by that fiendish Brother Ailwin, and we haven’t had time
to replace her.”
“Lichbook, hmm? I
might be able to lend a hand with that,” Eleanor allowed before
turning to Alec. “I still expect you to find a way to send me home,
if I do stay for a bit to help out this nice woman.”
He bowed. “I will do
all that I can to make you happy, Eleanor.”
She snorted in
derision, but said nothing more, leaving him hopeful that they
might be able to have a little respite to take care of more
troublesome problems before tackling hers.
She’s not what I expected, Cora told him, squeezing
his hand. You’re not panicking, are
you?
Not yet, no. Thank you for asking,
though.
OK, good. Just let me know if you need
me.
He thought the day
would never dawn when he wouldn’t need her, but luckily, she was
too involved in watching the union lichmaster to chase his
thoughts.
“Now, if you’re quite
ready, I’d like to get the summoning done, so I can get back to my
members. We’re planning a rally to be held in Monte Carlo next
month, and you wouldn’t believe how far off track the planning
committee has gotten. Liches,” Jane confined to Cora, who stood
nearest her, “are absolutely horrible when it comes to
organization.”
“Are they?” Cora
asked. “Then it’s good they have you.”
“Yes.” Jane beamed at
her. “It is. Shall we get started? ”
Alec had seen a few
ceremonies over the centuries, but never one to effectively steal a
lich from one master to another. He assumed there would be a
certain amount of ritual, however, and he wasn’t
mistaken.
Jane began the
ceremony by asking Pia for some personal belonging of
Ulfur’s.
“I’m afraid the only
thing we have is this,” Pia answered, pulling out a small wad of
yarn.
“Yarn?” the
lichmaster asked, looking askance.
“No, it’s Ulfur’s
horse. A very nice Summoner taught me how to bind spirits to
things, so we bound the horse to this so we could bring him here.
Ragnor, we need you now.”
Cora scooted closer
to him as the ghostly horse appeared out of nothing, bobbing its
head up and down a couple of times before it tried to take a bite
out of Kristoff.
“Don’t even think
about it,” the latter told the horse, who just laid back his ears
and snorted.
Is that what I think it is?
It is.
Cora whistled to
herself. A ghost horse. OK. Horses can be
ghosts. Don’t you think I’m handling this really well,
Alec?
I think you’re acclimatizing yourself to the Otherworld
very well, yes. Are you, by any chance, the one who is freaking
out?
No! Not over a ghost horse. Cora looked at Ragnor
as the horse snuffled her front. She put out a wary hand to pat it,
but her hand passed right through its neck. OK, maybe a little.
He put an arm around
her, kissing the top of her head. You have
nothing to fear, love. I will not allow anything, mortal or
immortal, to harm you.
You know, that sort of an attitude could be cloying and
very annoying.
But you understand my need to protect you and cherish
you, he said, making it a statement and not a
question.
Something like that.
Jane the lichmaster
seemed to be suffering the same sort of surprise as Cora. “A horse.
Yes. Well. Can it take a corporeal form?”
“For short periods,
yes,” Pia answered. “Ragnor?”
The horse’s form
solidified. Cora pressed against Alec. Not
because I’m afraid, she told him.
Of course not.
She snorted, then
smiled when everyone looked at her. “A ghost horse. So . . . yeah.
Um. Do I need to do anything for this ceremony?”
Jane eyed her. “Are
you related to the summonee?”
“No. Well, not unless
you consider the fact that we’re now both—”
“She is not related,”
Alec said quickly. Beloved, this woman is a
lichmaster. I don’t think we need to tell her that in a few moments
she’ll have two of the three Tools of Bael in her
presence.
Oh! I didn’t think of that. She seems so nice. But you’re
probably right. I’ll just keep my lips zipped on that subject
around lichy people. How come she doesn’t recognize what I am, like
Brother Ailwin?
Probably he’s much older than her, and has either seen a
Tool or knows what signs to look for.
“‘Now both’ what?”
Jane asked Cora, obviously curious.
“Both . . . having
had contact with his boss. Alphonse de Marco, that is,” Cora said
with a toothy smile.
“Ah. Shall we
proceed?” Jane drew a circle in the dirt floor, chanting as she did
so. She directed Ragnor to stand in the middle of the circle, which
the horse did, then held out a small silver dagger to Pia. “The
lich is to be bound to you, yes? He will initially be bound to me
when I summon him, but directly after that, we’ll transfer him to
you. This blood bond should help that transfer. If you would prick
yourself with the dagger and squeeze six drops of blood into the
circle, following with six strands of your hair. Then blow on the
horse six times. I shall do the same.”
“They have to blow on
the horse?” Cora asked Alec.
“Blood, hair, and
breath. They are the three common elements in summoning
spells.”
He could feel her
turning that over in her mind, one part of her warning her to run
as fast as she could from the concept of magic, the other part of
her, the curious part, fascinated with the whole
proceeding.
It took longer than
he hoped it would take, requiring three separate summonses and an
hour and a quarter before the air in the circle shimmered, pulled
itself together, and resolved into the form of the former
ghost.
“Ulfur!” Pia
squealed, starting forward toward him. Kristoff pulled her back
before she reached the circle at the same time that Jane called out
a warning.
“Do not touch him
yet! We must first bind him to me quickly before his master can
summon him back, and then we will transfer him to you. By my blood
I bind you, by my body, I bind you, by my breath, I bind you.” Jane
slapped her hands together, the sound reverberating with the
intensity of a small bomb.
Too late. Cora clapped her hands over her ears.
Jesus wept, what was that?
The sound of a lich being bound. It is done at last, and
by my reckoning, we have less than an hour to summon your
friend.
But won’t de Marco just summon him
back?
He can’t, Alec answered.
Why not? Cora nodded toward Jane. She just did.
Jane summoned Ulfur because Pia had a connection to him in
the form of his horse, who he was bound to in death. De Marco has
no such link; thus he has no way to summon Ulfur from
Pia.
Well, that’s a relief.
The transfer to Pia
went quickly after that, and in no time Kristoff was writing out a
very large check while Pia repeatedly hugged a teary-eyed
Ulfur.
“I will never be able
to thank you for what you’ve done,” he said, holding Pia’s hands
before turning and making a formal bow to Kristoff. “For what
you’ve both done. I will be eternally grateful that you released me
from my bondage to de Marco. But I must tell you—”
“I think we’d better
be leaving,” Alec interrupted with a telling glance to Kristoff,
who nodded and shooed Pia toward the side door.
“Beloved?”
“Right here. Nice to
see you again, Ulfur. We have a lot to talk about, but I’m sure
Jane is anxious to get Eleanor up to speed on her Web project, so
we’ll catch up back at the hotel, OK?”
Ulfur opened his
mouth to say something, but evidently caught the undercurrent of
tension, and simply nodded.
They made their
good-byes to both Eleanor and Jane, using the time spent traveling
back to the hotel at which they’d agreed to meet Terrin to fill in
Ulfur on the recent happenings.
“I never thought
other lichmasters would want to use us in that way,” he said after
hearing about Brother Ailwin’s failed attempt to take Cora. “Oh,
god, we’re going to have to live with that forever, aren’t we? Not
to mention the fact that every lichmaster and necromancer who knows
what we are will summon me away from you, Pia.”
“Well, as to that,
Alec has a plan,” Cora said, giving him a worried look. “I won’t
say it’s not crazy as a coonhound, but it’s the only thing we can
think of to fix the situation.”
“A plan?” Ulfur
asked, looking slightly worried.
“What plan?” Kristoff
demanded to know.
“Crazy as a
coonhound? Oh, it sounds completely up our alley,” Pia added,
patting Kristoff’s arm. “Dish!”
“It’s quite simple,
really,” Cora said as she leaned into him, her scent teasing him,
as it always did. “Alec is going to destroy Bael.”
The silence that met
that statement wasn’t particularly flattering to his ego, nor was
the “He what? ‘Crazy as a coonhound’ is the understatement of the
year” comment as issued by Kristoff. But Alec was a man driven, and
he knew that if he wanted to have any sort of future with Cora,
he’d have to do the impossible.
It was just a matter
of organization, and if there was one thing he was good at, it was
making plans.