Edge of Pathos (Book 4 of The Conjurors Series)

Chapter 12

"Don't you hate me?" he asked.

"I'm mad enough to throw you halfway across the Globe, but I could never hate you," Valerie said fiercely, and their friends nodded.

"It's done. We understand why you did what you did," Thai said. "Let's move on and fix it."

"Kanti's in the Black Castle?" Gideon asked.

Henry nodded.

"Then we have an advantage. The orb Valerie activated with Pathos when we rescued Darling will dampen the powers of any Fractus in the castle. They may not even be aware of its effect on them until it's too late," Gideon said.

"Even still, I'm sure he's got a million guards on her at all times, not to mention whatever portion of his army is there right now. We'll have to sneak in," Jack said.

"We should talk to Sanguina. She helped you last time," Cyrus added.

This time, it wasn't up to Valerie to plan the battle. Without asking, her friends were crafting the rescue mission as if they knew that she and Henry were too upset to think straight.

"To think that I once thought I could never forgive Sanguina for terrorizing me and my dad," Henry whispered, as much to himself as to his sister under the chatter of their friends' planning. "I've destroyed lives on a magnitude that she never dreamed of."

"It isn't the same, Henry. Then, when Sanguina was a vampyre, she was driven by hate. You were driven by love," Valerie said.

"And selfishness. You'd never have made that deal," Henry said.

Valerie considered his words. "I don't know what I'd have done if they took the most important person in my life."

"You would have found another way. Or, if you couldn't, you would have let Thai go," Henry said.

"I'm not talking about Thai," Valerie said, her eyes connecting with Henry's. "If Reaper took the most important person in my life, if Reaper took you, I might have done the same thing you did."

"No you wouldn't. But thank you," Henry said, so softly that she could barely hear the words.

She thought back over the past weeks, her mind reeling as she adjusted to the fact that Henry had been working for Reaper. "Why did you convince me to accept Reaper's ten-day truce?"

"I overheard him talking to Zunya about transporting things, and I thought that it'd be safe for you and the Fist to have a break from the fighting, even if it was only for a little while. I didn't know there was more to their plan, I swear," he promised.

"Come on now, you two," Dulcea said sternly. "We need your mindshare if we are going to rescue Kanti before Reaper makes Henry do something even worse or takes Kanti's life."

"And we will rescue her," Cyrus said fiercely. "She'll be okay."

"I swear it," Valerie added.

"The Black Castle is locked up tighter than the Justice Guild," Sanguina said when Valerie and Henry visited her on Earth later that day.

"No secret passages that Reaper doesn't use often, or doesn't know about?" Valerie asked hopefully.

"The building was originally constructed to contain anyone who abused magic on Earth or the Globe, before the Fractus took it over," Sanguina said. "The stable part of the castle has one entrance and one exit."

"What about the unstable parts?" Henry asked. "That's how Oberon escaped."

"Very risky. And the farther you go from the center of the castle, the riskier it is. But because the castle is always changing, there are some ways in and out that are less well guarded, since the Fractus are afraid to be in the parts of the castle that aren't stable. But finding them from the outside would be impossible."

"Then we'll have to attack to get in," Valerie said.

Sanguina shook her head. "There are other ways to sneak in. Reaper mines an ore from one of the mountains of Dunsinane for his weapons. It welds to dark magic well, and nearly all of the Fractus's weapons are made from it. One of you could deliver a shipment of ore to the castle."

"But won't we be recognized? Reaper's mind is too powerful to be tricked by a simple glamour disguise," Henry said.

Sanguina nodded. "It would have to be someone he's never seen before."

"That only solves the problem of how to get one of us in. But we'll need more people than that, even if we're careful," Henry said doubtfully.

"I have an idea," Valerie said.

Two hours later, with a rough blueprint that Sanguina sketched and her promise to join them on their mission, Valerie and Henry returned to the Globe. Their house was empty, even of Gideon, who was working with Cyrus and Leo to get weapons ready for their team.

"This plan could get us all killed. Kanti won't thank us for that," Henry said. "I've only got another hundred or so of Reaper's soldiers that I have to give the darkness power to. What difference will it make?"

"Who knows? Maybe none. Or maybe it's the difference between winning and losing. Kanti won't thank us for handing over Earth to the Fractus in her name, either," Valerie said, and then regretted her words as she watched Henry's face crumple.

"She'll never forgive me," he said.

"Give her some credit and some time," Valerie said.

But her words didn't reach Henry. He had the faraway look in his eyes that she'd seen so many times when she'd visited him in Babylon. How could she have left him alone with his grief and pain?

The door opened, and Gideon came in. Before speaking, he made them all a pot of Oberon's tea and sat down.

"We go at daybreak. We dare wait no longer, but we also must be rested before we attempt the rescue. Drink this, so you can find a night's peace," Gideon said.

Henry drank his tea in one long swallow and then left for bed, absently chewing his thumbnail. His mind was shut tight against Valerie's gentle probing, and for now, she let it be.

Valerie gripped her mug and watched her mentor as she sipped the drink. "I hope you know how grateful I am that you're here to lead this. Fighting this war without you would be impossible."

Gideon shook his head. "I am only one of your tools. I know you value me, but even without my help, you would lead the Fist to victory."

"I don't know how you still believe that, after all of the mistakes I've made," Valerie said.

"Your errors were made with pure intent. You have the intelligence, the skills, the magic, and the heart to win. Right is on your side, and it will prevail," Gideon said.

Warm and a little sleepy from her drink, Valerie absently turned the Laurel Circle around and around on her thumb, remembering how he had given it to her to teach her not to be paralyzed by her fear.

"It's gold," she said. "That can't be right."

The ring's color and temperature reflected how much fear ruled her, and after Gideon had first given it to her, it was usually cold and dark. When had it begun to grow warmer?

"It must be broken, because I'm still afraid of so many things."

"The Laurel Circle doesn't change because you no longer have any fear. It is only showing you that you are no longer ruled by it. Your decisions come from somewhere else, somewhere better," Gideon said. "That is how I know you are ready for anything that comes."

"Long as I have you with me," Valerie said, resting her head on her arms, unable to stay awake.

Shebarely registered Gideon lifting her and carrying her to bed before she fellinto a deep and dreamless sleep.