Futility builds until I find myself crying in silence.

  Seconds later, a rush of sound reaches me—along with loud sobbing. The remaining Light Warriors pursue a handful of ascendants beyond the castle. Oh, it hadn’t become silent. I momentarily went deaf. Again. The sobbing is coming from me.

  “Sam,” rasps Max.

  “I’m here…”

  He smiles up at me. “Don’t mourn my passing. I have had more life than anyone has a right to. I am at peace. Finally, we have stopped her. After so long…” He closes his eyes. “I expected she would take me with her.”

  “Is this where I’m supposed to say something cheesy like you still have a lot to live for?”

  He grunts. “Don’t make me laugh. I’d ask you to hurry this along, but I don’t wish to be killed by that blade of yours.”

  “I could never...”

  Max looks up at me. “You are upset.”

  “Of course I’m upset. You’re dying! Did you forget I have like two friends and you’re one of them?” I keep trying to hold back the blood leaking from the gaping wound in his abdomen.

  The flutter of fire in the wind approaches.

  I look up at my son, rather the Fire Warrior—now with wings.

  “Max,” says Anthony.

  At least, it sounds like my son’s voice… mostly. It’s his voice run through electronics to make it sound deeper, with a little reverb. Okay, since when does the Fire Warrior talk?

  Apparently, since now, thinks Allison. Hey, is the bitch gone?

  Yes, I think.

  “Is it time?” asks Max, looking at the Fire Warrior.

  “It is not time for you to return to the Origin.” My son rests his large, flaming hand on Max’s gut wound. Golden light wells up beneath his fingers.

  All the tension in Max’s body evaporates. He sags limp on the ground, but doesn’t lose consciousness. “This is… unexpected.”

  Anthony removes his hand, revealing a small bruise on Max’s stomach where a huge gash had been.

  “Umm, Ant? You can heal? Since when?”

  The Fire Warrior looks at me. “Since now, Ma.”

  “What happened to you?”

  “Actually, it started a long time ago.”

  “It’s so weird seeing him talk,” says Allison. “And how does he sound like Anthony when he’s the Fire Warrior?”

  My son looks around the courtyard. “Give me a sec, Ma.”

  I sit there on the ground beside Max, leaning on Allison. Even my hair hurts right now. Allison cringes, but pushes past her squeamishness to reposition the lower half of my right leg so it heals faster.

  “Ouch. Thanks.”

  Anthony walks around the courtyard, healing Light Warriors who fell but didn’t die, starting with Dillon.

  Allison gives me side eye. Why didn’t he heal you?

  I’m guessing he probably can’t because it’s not necessary. I can sorta put myself back together.

  Oh. That makes sense.

  “You’re probably wondering what happened to him,” whispers Max. He sounds exhausted, more than trying to keep quiet. “He’s an angel, in case you didn’t know.”

  “She’s been calling him that ever since he was born,” says Allison. “How many kids do you know who are that polite, respectful, and obedient?”

  “Max is being literal, Allie. I think my kid literally got his wings.” I’m about to burst into tears since it likely means he died out there, but for some reason, I don’t. It hits me that he died almost nine years ago. An immortal with no dark master… he’d become an angel as soon as I’d reversed the vampirism on him. Does my son sprouting wings mean he’s going to have to go away?

  I squeeze Allison.

  She gurgles. Little tight, Sam. Unlike some people, I need to breathe.

  Hey, I need to breathe again, too. Just can hold my breath for a really long time.

  Holy shit. Your sword’s melting into the ground.

  I look over at the Devil Killer. It’s melted through the three-inch-thick paver stones to the earth below, and is still kinda glowing orange.

  “Why is it doing that?” asks Allison.

  “I think it ate Elizabeth.”

  Max exhales. “It sent her where she belongs. Where I should be.”

  “Apparently not.” Allison pats him on the head. “Otherwise, Anthony wouldn’t have been able to fix you.”

  Kingsley trots over and collapses in a furry heap next to us. He’s totally got a ‘screw this, I’m going to sleep for a week’ vibe.

  “Are you sure it’s not this world’s much looser grip of magic having that effect on Anthony?” I ask. “Maybe whatever powers he has are spreading out beyond their normal boundaries here?”

  Allison shrugs. “We’ll find out as soon as we go home.”

  “Should I be thrilled or panicking that my son’s apparently an angel?”

  Allison nudges me. “How about proud?”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Monkeys

  We gather ourselves in the furthest corner of the courtyard, tending to the wounded.

  Max thinks the remaining ascendants as well as the true vampires might come after us once the sun goes down—which is going to happen in about an hour. We don’t see any sign of vampires, exalted, or any sign Elizabeth herself had ever been here.

  A short while later, the roar of hundreds of shouting voices spill down the street.

  What the hell?

  Curious, I get up and walk toward the noise. Oh, goody. My leg is solid again. Allison follows.

  The commotion is coming not far past the castle, in what appears to be the city’s ‘main drag.’ Except the main drag is now a battleground. Soldiers wearing the colors of Elizabeth’s forces (black and red) clash with soldiers in the brown leather of the former king’s army. The two forces don’t appear to be going after each other in too much of a frenzy at least.

  The men and women on ‘team Elizabeth’ aren’t giving off the sense of being mind-controlled, merely loyal to (or terrified of) their empress.

  “Is this where you hold up her severed head and tell them it’s over?” asks Allison.

  “Nah. Not my circus. Not my monkeys. Mortals fighting mortals isn’t our problem.”

  “This wouldn’t be happening if not for Elizabeth,” says Anthony right behind us.

  I nearly jump out of my skin.

  My son always did find it hilarious to sneak up on me or Tammy. Who thought it a good idea to give the boy angelic powers? I peer back at him. Despite still mostly looking like the Fire Warrior, he’s smirking the same way he usually does whenever he startles us.

  “He’s got a point.” Allison nods. “But there’s a small problem. Elizabeth didn’t leave behind a severed head. She kind of exploded into glowing plasma. Umm, I could maybe try to conjure one?”

  Anthony raises both eyebrows. Fiery eyebrows, mind you.

  “Nah. They won’t fall for it,” I say, then stare at the humans fighting for a few seconds. Such stupidity. “Oh. Wait. Idea.”

  Eyes closed, I summon the single flame and picture the inn room where I left Fahma, Nahari, and the four former bath attendant slaves. Through the tiny flickering light, I see six women still in the room. The area by the door is open, so I aim there and move toward the fire even as it comes to me.

  All six women jump when I appear out of thin air.

  They’ve traded their illusionary clothes for real ones, dressed like any other woman of middling social class in the city. The four former slaves all seem on edge, giving off a sense like criminals about to be caught by the police. Queen Fahma and her daughter, Nahari, are also frightened; then again, they’ve been expecting to face execution.

  “Sorry that took so long,” I say. “Was a bit more of a struggle than I expected. Long story short… Queen Fahma, would you like your throne back?”

  She stares at me, stunned. “It’s impossible. That woman is… a goddess.”

  “In her own mind, yes. But she is gone now.”

  “You speak the truth?”

  I slip into her mind and replay my own memory of Elizabeth dying at the end of my sword, her soul returning to the Origin.

  “You do speak the truth.” She begins to bow, thinking me the new empress.

  “Whoa. No. I want to return the throne to you, but I have one condition.”

  “Yes, anything.”

  “Make slavery illegal,” I say.

  Nahari perks up, grabbing the queen by the arm. “Yes, Mother! Do as she asks.”

  Queen Fahma blinks, her brain stuck on the memory I’d played for her. Also, she’d probably expected me to ask for personal gain. “I agree to your terms. I had a taste of slavery. It is... barbaric.”

  The four other women exchange glances, then stare wide-eyed at Fahma like they can’t believe what they’re hearing.

  “Excellent. Gotta borrow you real quick. Your people need you. Now!” I grab Fahma and Nahari’s hands—then teleport back to the street by Allison and Anthony.

  Both women emit yelps of surprise.

  I point at the war on the street before us. “Queen Fahma, your throne is once again yours. Elizabeth is destroyed. It seems as though some of your soldiers are wearing the wrong uniform and fighting for the wrong side.” I turn to my witchy friend. “Allison, help us out here?”

  Reading my intent, she throws a magical flare into the sky. It flies up, emitting a screeching wail like a firework before exploding with a cannon-like boom.

  The soldiers mostly all stop what they’re doing to flinch, and peer up in confusion.

  “Stop fighting each other,” I shout. “The tyrant empress is dead. Behold, your rightful queen.” I gesture at Fahma.

  “Is this real?” whispers Fahma.

  “Yep. Your house had a rat problem. It’s clean now.” I bite my lip. “Well, clean is relative. Someone’s going to need to scrape up the bodies, but they’re dead. Well, most of them. The others are on the run.”

  The soldiers stare at the queen and her daughter. It takes them a painfully long time to recognize them in ordinary clothing, but one by one, realization sets in. Those in the brown armor erupt in joyous cheers while the ones in Elizabeth’s colors appear more bewildered, gradually realizing her voice in their heads has stopped.

  Queen Fahma approaches the army, ordering them to stop killing each other immediately. Those wearing Elizabeth’s colors strip down immediately. Soon, they stand there in what looks like long underwear.

  Good.

  Our work here is done.

  We head back toward the courtyard, but encounter the Light Warriors and Kingsley coming our way. Max seems in much better spirits already, no longer seeming like he would’ve preferred to be dead. Guess most people would be heartbroken if their mother tried to kill them, but he’s used to it. I kinda know how he feels. No, my mother would never have actively try to hurt me, but the two of us aren’t close. A betrayal from her wouldn’t hurt me as much as it would hurt someone with a normal family relationship to have their mother turn on them.

  On the walk back out of Iskariya to the tent city, I fill Max in on the situation with the queen and how it appears things here in this kingdom will recover from Elizabeth’s interference without too much disruption.

  “Oh, before I forget. She dispatched vampires to the other cities to mind control the dukes,” I say. “Not sure if she sent vampires or ascendants. I probably ought to warn the queen.”

  “Mardat is already working on this intelligence,” says Max. “Tammy relayed the contents of what the three of you eavesdropped on. Tuns out the folk here have these small orbs that allow them to communicate between cities. The spy network in the other cities is aware vampire agents are on the way.”

  “Oh, great.” I smile. “Less work for us. Can we go home now?”

  “I believe so.” Max looks at the watch he isn’t wearing. “Might even make it in time for Conan.”

  Okay, I almost laugh. Still kinda emotionally tattered from almost watching him die… and worrying what’s going on with Anthony.

  We arrive at the big tent—and find it empty.

  “Tam?” I ask.

  Anthony, back to his normal size and holding a cloth around his waist, scurries into the tent. “She probably went looking for somewhere to pee.” He ducks behind a partition to put a tunic on.

  It’s a good thing my hippie brother Clayton didn’t turn into a werewolf, a Fire Warrior, or get a friend like Talos. It would’ve been the last straw to make him give up on clothing entirely.

  Oh, good, you guys are done and I can stop being derpy now, says Tammy in my head.

  Actually, she speaks in everyone’s heads since they all react to her.

  Little help, guys?

  I blink. Help? What happened?

  Oh, nothing much. Got kidnapped by slavers. I’m sitting in a big cage with some other women. Can’t see much ’cause I’m blindfolded and they tied my hands.

  My blood boils.

  Chill, Mom. No one like did anything creepy… yet. Came out of the trance in here like this.

  “Crap!” yells Anthony. “I wanted to stay here with her, but it felt like I needed to help you guys at the castle or something truly bad would happen. Max wasn’t quite ready for the frontal assault, but I went anyway.”

  “You were needed there,” I say in a grim tone. “Tammy’s fine. If you stayed here, you’d have prevented them from abducting her, but we wouldn’t have beaten Elizabeth.”

  Mom? Can you maybe like hurry up? I’m only gonna stay calm for like another twenty minutes before I start freaking out. Oh, and before they auction me off. No way!

  No way, what? I ask.

  They’re practically auctioning me off for free! They think I’m weak and sickly because I’m so pale and regret kidnapping me. The nerve!

  Despite myself, I laugh. Oh, they’re going to regret it alright. Be right there.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Not For Sale

  Kingsley sniffs the ground.

  Honestly, I probably could too, but there are far too many scents here for a human brain to process individually. The big wolf takes off at a brisk trot. Dealing with a bunch of mortals isn’t a problem for us, so Max and his people go in a different direction to finish recovering the bodies of their fallen.

  Crap! Mom! yells Tammy again. They opened our cell. Someone’s grabbing my arm.

  We’re coming. Won’t be long. Hold it together, okay?

  Kingsley breaks into a run.

  Wait, Tam… you can feel where my brain is, right?

  Yeah, she replies, a nervous tremble in her telepathic voice.

  I extend my wings and leap into the air. Flying at 120 is faster than a giant wolf with his nose to the ground. Which way, kiddo?

  Okay, you’re going kinda off to the side. Turn left a little.

  I enter a gradual turn.

  Stop! You’re coming right toward me now.

  It’s the same slave market we saw earlier. It sits at the end of a street with walls on three sides. Queen Fahma is going to outlaw slavery, but if government here is anything like our world, it’s going to take years before all the slaves are free. And there’s no damn way anyone is putting a collar on either one of my kids. Of course, I doubt anyone could put one on Anthony.

  After circling, I slow to a hover. Aha! Tammy’s standing on a raised platform in a line with other captives, behind another young woman. Two abducted men are behind my daughter, then another three girls who appear even younger, mid-teens. All the captives’ hands are bound behind their backs with rope.

  Another woman, early twenties, stands near the center of the stage, with only a scrap of fabric around her. The man who appears to own the slave business is looking her over the way one might study a horse.

  The slavers consist of eleven men: one guy in a rich white robe, plus ten seedy-looking individuals brandishing swords, who are acting as guards and ‘wranglers.’ Two sets of cages stand on either side of the stage, containing a mix of men and women.

  I swoop straight down onto the stage and land in front of the ‘merchant.’

  “You abducted my daughter,” I say, then draw the Devil Killer. “I’ll give you once chance to run.”

  The men look at their rich leader. To help influence their decision, I sprout my wings again, stretching them far and wide... and the men all scramble over each other, each more desperate than the other to get the hell out of there. I chuckle as half of them fall off the stage. Their scrambling soon turns into outright running. Some turn back and look at me... and run faster.

  I rush over to Tammy and carefully slice the rope off her wrists.

  She rips the blindfold off and clamp hugs me. I comfort her as she lets emotion leak from her eyes. She’s not crying per se, just overwhelmed. “You’re safe, sweetie.”

  “Ugh, that sucked! I was so focused on shielding you guys from Elizabeth, I didn’t even realize anyone grabbed me until I was already in a damn cage. Sorry I let her get Allison for a few minutes. Elizabeth is really damn strong.”

  “Was,” I say. “And Anthony’s really sorry, too.”

  She nods. “Yeah, I know. Oh… uhh, Mom, he thinks he saw the Archangel Michael.”

  “Yeah. He most likely did. Wasn’t a hallucination.”

  “Whoa.” Tammy blinks, staring at me for a moment while looking at my memories. “Holy crap, the big guy talked?”

  “Yeah, shocked me, too.”

  Tammy gets her breathing under control. “I think that woman is wondering if we’re going to leave her tied up all day. She’s also wondering why you have wings and if you’re going to kill her.”

  I glance at the woman who’d been in the middle of her ‘appraisal’ when I landed. “Of course not. They took my daughter, but I’m here to help all of you.”

  I grab a convenient knife off the floor and slice the ropes off the woman’s wrists. Using the Devil Killer to cut ropes off people is a bit much—and dangerous considering the blade tends to ignite things. After I cut her loose, she calmly picks up the dress she’d been wearing before and puts it on. I make my way down the line, cutting everyone loose. Most of them run off after thanking me. They’re expecting the soldiers to swoop in at any minute, and want to be far away from here before they end up being forced back into captivity.