Chapter 27

Turning from the smoking corpse, I quickly checked on the condition of the others. Sal appeared at my side in a flash, reduced to his doberman-sized form. He was in good shape, having squared off with the Hound on even terms until it had suddenly turned to me, no doubt under Salvago's orders to stop me after I'd taken Violet from his grasp.

I could still clearly make out the crimson flames rolling across Sal's body, and knew that not all of the power that had been gifted to him had been consumed. He trilled happily as he looked me over, clearly glad to see that I too was still in one piece.

"Looks like you healed up nicely," I said to him as he spun in a circle. He barked an affirmative, and I wondered just how much of the viney square he'd consumed to hasten his recovery.

I looked across the roof, and spotted Anya helping Moretti to his feet. Once he was upright, the punky vampire held out her hand, and I saw that she'd recovered the steel arm that Salvago had separated from the dour wizard's shoulder.

Moretti took the proffered arm, and gave Anya a crisp nod of thanks. Perhaps there was a smidgen of respect in it as well, although I'm sure the wizard would deny it if asked.

Seeing that they were on their feet, I summoned my spear to me with little more than a thought, and then collapsed it back down to its smallest form. With one hand still full with the torch, I handed the rod to Anya when she arrived, so that I could lift Violet up from the roof. She took it, and yelped when I handed it to her. I gave her a funny look, and she quickly turned away.

"How is she?" Moretti asked gruffly, distracting me. The Lampad hadn't done much in the fight, and had been unresponsive ever since I took the torch from her.

"She'll be fine," I said, even if I wasn't sure.

She will be fine, the torch echoed. In time.

As I knelt to cradle her, the bone-white shaft disappeared in a flash of amethyst light. At first I'd thought it might have returned to her, but I realized that the world was still hued in purple.

It is not yet time, the torch informed me, its voice louder in my head now that it was non-corporeal. Maybe it was in some other dimension between me and the Never-never, or maybe it had merged with me on some level. Nothing so simple, it said, before trailing off unhelpfully.

As I stood, the roof shifted precariously, and I shared a startled glance with the others. "Maybe we should get down from here?"

"Yeah, that sounds good," Anya said anxiously. She looked around, clearly uneasy with the state of the roof. One hand was shoved into a pocket of Simon's coat while the other held the rod, nervously fiddling with it.

She led the way, and Moretti and I trailed after her, with Sal bringing up the rear. The formerly steel-armed wizard cradled his detached limb almost as carefully as I carried Violet, and despite my exhaustion and worry, I felt a soft smile creep onto my lips at his dejected look. But at least he was mobile.

The five of us headed down through the building, which was growing less and less sturdy by the minute. I thought for sure we were going to end up rushing out of the place with a smoky debris chasing us out, but the place was still standing as we made our way back out into the small courtyard.

"Wow, you really did do a number on that foliage," I said to Sal, noting a charred circle of vines where I'd last seen him.

The salamander gave me a cheerful bark, and then sauntered back over, as if to finish what he'd left. The rest of us continued on, where we found Nelson and Argondian sitting beside the prone form of Penny. The bald wizard had apparently popped his arm back into place, but was still favoring it. The older wizard was favoring his wounded leg, but didn't look any worse than when I'd left him.

Argondian lifted one of the Penny's eyelids back, and I saw that her gaze was unfocused.

"She still out?" I asked as I lay Violet down beside her.

"Yes," Nelson confirmed. "Rose already came by and undid whatever Yannis had done. We removed the sleeping charm, but she still hasn't woken up." He sounded a little worried about that, but Argondian looked up, his face set with determined confidence.

"She will be fine, in time," he said, eerily echoing what the torch had said of Violet. "She has an inner strength that will aide her in recovery." He cast a look at me as he spoke, but I wasn't sure what it meant.

I looked up as Rose approached, the Lampad looking none the worse for having fought a battle against an undead and enthralled army. "The other is cleansed," she said softly as she joined us, her eyes on Violet.

"Thank you," Nelson said, inclining his head. "Serge, would you mind—" he began, before noticing that the other wizard's left arm was slung over his right shoulder. "Oh."

"I'll help," Anya said, her voice distant as she looked over toward where the wizard Martin lay. She and Nelson rose and started over, and I noted that the bald wizard weaved back and forth as he went. No doubt he was focusing his magics on recovering, but he'd taken a beating, and it would be a while yet before he was at a hundred percent.

"What about Peña?" I asked, not bothering to look toward what remained of the earth mage.

"I have cleansed his remains," Rose replied as she knelt beside her sister. I saw her lay both hands to either side of my girlfriend's head, and Rose closed her eyes as she sensed for something.

A frown creased her brow, and she finally looked up to me. "Where is her—"

Her words died as she looked into my eyes.

"Hades save us," she gasped, shooting to her feet. "What have you done?!"

"Uh… nothing…" I said nervously, taking a step back.

"You are… you are bearing her torch!" Rose snapped, her tone somewhere between shocked and outraged.

"I'm not bearing it," I said, shrugging defensively. "I mean, I just kind of borrowed it…"

Torchbrother! a voice said excitedly, and somehow I knew it wasn't Violet's torch, but Rose's. The punny one.

No, Violet's torch replied.

Is he a male nymph, now?

No, Violet's torch said with some slight frustration. No such thing.

Is he a satyr, then? He doesn't look like a satyr, Rose's torch said doubtfully.

"If they keep this up, I'm going to need to name them to keep things straight," I told Rose, who still looked upset.

You can call me… Erythrós, Rose's torch said with a pleased tone. That one you can call… Mov.

No, Violet's torch said quickly. Not Mov.

"You have taken him as your bearer?" Rose asked, clearly ignoring the exchange.

No, Mov — not Mov — repeated. It was necessary. Temporary.

"But… such a thing has never been done," Rose argued.

Necessary, Violet's torch insisted. Fëanáro is… compatible.

"That's not my name," I said automatically.

I'd named my spear Fëanáro, after a character from the world of Tolkien. Violet loved it, and had started calling me that on occasion. Apparently her torch had picked up on the nickname.

The carmine haired Lampad gave a heavy sigh, before finally nodding. "Very well. Return to my sister."

Not yet, Not-Mov said. Shepherd the soul.

Rose nodded in understanding, and then lifted a hand. There was a flash of light, and Erythrós appeared, its fires burning ruby red as it seemed to almost wave at me. Fëanáro! it said enthusiastically.

"No," I said tiredly.

It is annoying, Not-Mov said. Perhaps it was referring to having an annoying nickname, or perhaps it was referring to Erythrós itself. Either seemed applicable.

"Bear the torch," Rose said. Anya and Nelson were just returning as she did, and the two glanced over as they laid the still unconscious Martin down beside Violet.

I lifted my arm and thought about the torch, and along with the thought came the object. Nelson and Argondian both blinked in surprise, and looked to Moretti, who shrugged his good shoulder. "Don't look at me."

Holding the torch aloft, I watched as Rose lifted hers to it. The red and purple flames mingled and merged, and I thought I saw something dark pass between them. It was gone in an instant, and I knew instinctively that Not-Mov had passed the pieces of Salvago on to Erythrós.

With the task done, we both lowered our torches, and the flames separated. I looked at Not-Mov, wondering what to do with it now that our job was done.

Very well, Not-Mov said. Not-Mov is just as bad as Mov. You may call me… Porfyró.

Porfyró! Erythrós said excitedly, seeming to enjoy the naming ceremony. Porfyró just kind of sighed.

"What does that…" I began, until thinking of it not as a name but as a word allowed Rose's power to translate it. "Wait, that's just Greek for purple!" I glanced at Erythrós, which Rose was looking at intently. "And your name just means red!"

Erythrós! Erythrós echoed as it waved happily, until Rose's stern voice cut through the night. "Stop." At the word, the fires settled, and Rose looked to me with confusion. "It is not all here."

"What?" I asked. "You mean Salvago?"

"Yes," Rose said tersely. "A portion of his soul is missing." She looked to the roof. "Retrieve him. Retrieve the Hound."

Before I could ask who she was talking to, a series of avian cries erupted from the buildings around us. I looked about, and realized that several Keres had settled upon the roofs. The flicker of shadowed wings and crimson eyes marked their location as they took to the air, soaring to the top of the building where we'd left Salvago and the Hound.

"What's happening?" Nelson asked softly as the wizards all watched the commotion.

"Nothing good," I replied as the first Keres returned, carrying the limp form of the Hound in its grasp.

She placed it gently on the ground, and Rose quickly strode to it, lowering Erythrós to its prone and dark body. After a moment, the Lampad looked up, her brow furrowed. "Not here…"

Another Keres arrived, although this one was empty handed. She cried out in that odd language of theirs, and Rose disappeared in a flash. After a moment, I spotted the faint glow from her torch atop the building. I looked to the Keres, wondering what it had said.

The body is gone, Porfyró translated.

The body? I thought, rather than saying it aloud. You mean Salvago?

Yes, Porfyró confirmed.

No way. There was no way he was getting up, I insisted.

"Woody, what's going on?" Anya asked, sounding worried. I looked to her, and noted that she and the wizards were tensely looking at the Keres, all of which were in a clamor.

"Part of Salvago's soul is still missing," I informed them. "And apparently his body is gone."

"Impossible," Moretti growled. "I saw what you did to him."

Rose's light disappeared from above, and almost in the same instant, she appeared at my side. "Where is the other mágos?"

"Which one?" I asked. "You already took care of these guys," I said, gesturing to the still unconscious wizards. "There was nothing left of Somboon."

"No," Rose bit out. "The other one. The markswoman."

I blinked, and then turned to the Keres. "I don't know. They attacked her, and I didn't see or hear anything more out of her…"

A Keres started to reply, but was cut off when another flew down and stepped forward. I recognized my Keres from her wounds, and I listened while she spoke to Rose.

She says the mage escaped their blades, Porfyró explained. She must have gone into the Ways, and then taken the body when we left it.

"But why?" I asked, even as I saw Rose blink out of sight. "She wasn't enthralled like the others. She didn't have a piece of his soul."

The Keres responded to my words, tapping a clawed finger to her chest. She says the mage was not corrupted, but the stone she bore was.

"The stone—" I began, until my blood ran cold as I recalled the previous night.

Although she'd first spotted me through the scope of her rifle, I'd first laid eyes on Katya there in Anavatos. Unlike the other wizards serving Salvago, she'd been able to speak, which had surprised me at the time. It was how I'd first realized she wasn't a Revenant; that she was working with him of her own volition. She didn't have a piece of his soul within her, twisting her to his will while silencing her voice.

But I recalled the stone I'd seen slung around her neck. A stone unlike the communication stones the other wizards wore. A stone that looked like it might have come from Anavatos itself.

"Fuck," I said as I slapped my free hand to my forehead, running it through my hair as I realized what the Keres was saying. "We missed a horcrux!"

"What?" Argondian and Moretti said simultaneously.

"You said objects could be pterodactyls, right?" I said. Porfyró might have sighed in exasperation, but it didn't correct me.

"Yes," Argondian said with a nod. "They always are. Except for this insanity," he added, gesturing around us.

"Well, it looks like Salvago made a regular pterodactyl as well. Using a stone, which he gave to Katya."

"We must find it," Argondian said quickly. He tried to shuffle toward the large building, but his leg wasn't up for it. Moretti looked like he wanted to go, but the older wizard ordered him down. Nelson departed for the building, with Anya going with him to show the bald wizard where Salvago had fallen.

"It's gone," I said with a shake of my head. "Katya had it around her neck. And it looks like she took off with Salvago's remains when we weren't looking." I sighed, feeling exhaustion roll over me as I realized the implications. I hung my head as I realized what it meant.

It meant that we'd failed.

Apparently when wizards opened pathways to the Never-never, they typically connected to a specific place that was magically associated with that point on earth. Argondian didn't get into the details with me, but it meant that they might be able to find a trail.

Alas, it wasn't to be. Despite spending an hour searching for any clues, the collective wizards couldn't turn up anything. Katya eluded our search, and our victory tasted like ashes.

"I knew it was too easy," Moretti grumbled, which made me cast a disbelieving look in his direction.

"You call that easy?"

"Easier than if Katya had taken the field," Moretti countered.

"The Keres went for her," I said softly, hoping to not offend any of the creatures that may or may not be around. It was hard to tell, considering how well they blended into shadows. And there were still many shadows lingering in Anavatos. "It didn't even cross my mind that she could escape from them."

"We should have accounted for her," Moretti said softly. After a moment, he shook his head tiredly. "It doesn't matter now. He's dead and all but gone. I doubt anyone short of Kemmler himself could bring Salvago back with the little that remains. The wardens will eventually catch up with her, and then it will be finished."

I managed to keep from laughing. Things were never as easy as that. Especially with a warden like Katya, someone that would know all of their tricks. It'd taken a full manhunt to find that Morgan person. And that had been before the Council had gone on lockdown, afraid that their members might be susceptible to outside influence.

It seemed more likely that the Keres would end things once and for all. If the dark valkyries were going to hunt for Katya, to seek vengeance for her actions as well as shepherd the last of Salvago's soul, then there'd be no escape for either of them.

But the nature of the supernatural world is hard to understand, as are the rules. As angry as Rose and the Keres had been that Katya had escaped, they hadn't disappeared into the Ways to track her down. I would have thought they'd have dragged the woman back kicking and screaming, but instead they'd remained, overseeing the fate of the undead and the thralls.

"Thank you for your assistance," Moretti said, cutting through my musings. He glanced toward me, and then toward the distant form of Anya. "You and your… allies, were of great help."

"Sure," I said with a shrug of a shoulder. "Any time."

"I'm surprised you're not feeding your… Anya," he said, holding back from whatever he might have said.

"I offered," I admitted. "But she's in a weird place right now."

The dour wizard gave me another glance, and then a knowing nod. "I think I understand."

With that, the wizard strode away, his steel arm wrapped up in his gray cloak and slung across his back. I watched him approach Anya, and saw her stiffen as he spoke to her. The two exchanged some words, and then the wizard departed, leaving a somewhat surprised looking Anya in his wake.

"Everything okay?" I asked as strolled up. Anya looked to me, and then away again.

"It's fine," she said. "I guess I won't kill him after all."

"Yeah, he's alright," I conceded. "Probably tastes like gristle and WD-40, anyway."

The White Court vampire snorted at that, the first sign of amusement I'd seen since the battle. "He's not my type," she said with a roll of her eyes.

"What about Simon?" I asked with a smile, giving her a nudge with my shoulder. She surprised me by flinching away. "I seem to recall him having a wager to settle up on."

Her response wasn't what I expected. "No," she said quickly, looking away. When I failed to respond, she eventually glanced back to me. "He lent me his coat. We're square."

"But I thought—" I began.

"Let it go, Woody," Anya snapped.

I blinked, surprised to see the argent flash in her eyes as she spoke. I guess she realized what I'd seen, because she suddenly turned on her heal and stalked off, both of Q's swords tied at her waist, the wizard's dark jacket folded over one arm. Part of me wanted to follow, but something told me I'd only make things worse.

Instead, I made my way over to Argondian and Nelson, who were speaking with Rose. The crimson-haired Lampad had only just returned, having left the cleanup to the Keres, Hounds, and the rest of her sisters.

At my approach, the two wizards broke off, leaving me alone with Rose. She turned to lead me toward the still prone form of Violet a few feet away.

"It is time to return her torch," Rose said.

"Okay," I replied.

A twist of my wrist was all it took to draw the torch from wherever it went. I looked it over, and wondered at the power in my grasp, before kneeling beside the woman I loved. Rose looked down at it, a slight frown still gracing her face. "Place it in her hand."

I did just that, and I could feel something pass between the two of us. My vision swam as the power left me. At the same time, I saw Violet's body swell as she inhaled deeply, and I wondered if I'd looked the same when I'd taken my first breath as a — not — god. I saw her settle after a moment, although her eyes did not open.

Thank you, Porfyró said as the voice departed along with the purple hues to the world. I found myself in a much darker place without the power of the torch. My eyes blinked as the shadows crept closer, and the night bore down on mortal senses.

"Any time," I said, sure that the torch could hear me even after I'd released it.

After a moment, the torch disappeared, leaving Violet alone on the vine-covered ground of the square. I studied her features, hoping to see some sign of improvement. Some indication that she'd be okay. But the only change was the hue of the light that played across her face. The light slowly shifted, the crimson of Rose's torch joined by the shades of the other sisters.

I looked up as four shrouded figures approached, each bearing their own torch. Shadows fell across much of their faces, but I knew they were both identical to and unlike the woman I loved. I stepped back as they surrounded Violet, and then each extended their torch out.

Fire flowed down from each, a waterfall of flame that reached out and tenderly wrapped around the prone form. They swirled, encircling her with their power, lifting her from the turf. She floated higher until she was nearly level with my chest.

"Is she…" I asked, my voice thickening.

"She will heal," Rose said softly. "In time." Her sanguine eyes were as gentle as I'd ever seen them as she nodded to me. "You must say your farewell."

I nodded, but couldn't think of the words. Couldn't think of anything that could be said, to encompass everything I felt in that moment. To express how heartbroken I was, to share how sorry I was for not rescuing her sooner. To tell her how I felt about her.

Instead, I leaned forward, and parted a gentle kiss upon her lips, hoping she would feel it. I whispered three words into her ear, hoping she would hear them. I prayed she'd be okay, hoping someone would listen.

And then she was gone, and with her, all of the light in the world.