Chapter 23

West Yellowstone was a town in southern Montana. Yeah, Montana. We were heading home, but Aaron had detoured off the main road so we could all get a proper night's rest in an out-of-the-way location.

Food, showers, clean clothes, sleep. They should have been my top priority, but while the others were in our motel room, taking turns in the bathroom and finishing off several bags of takeout, I wasn't with them.

Instead, I was back in the passenger seat of Aaron's SUV. With the chair reclined as far as it would go, I stared dully at the roof, my bruised, aching arm resting on my stomach.

I hadn't been able to handle the others' quiet discussion of the cult—the Court, as Daniel's demon had called it. The Court, which seemed to be the cult's top level that controlled the smaller "circles" like the one in Portland. An interconnected system both hidden and powerful, and insidious enough to ensnare not one but four members of the Keys of Solomon. Who knew what other guilds or groups the cult had wormed into?

The Court knew the Portland circle had been discovered, and they would make it disappear—if they hadn't already. The Praetor had vanished, and he was probably the only member of that group who knew anything of consequence.

And without the Portland circle and its Praetor, we had nothing but a dying demon's nonsensical description.

North. West. Capilano. Among the thāitav. By the river.

Google hadn't revealed a town or city called Capilano, but it was a common name for everything from neighborhoods to streets to shopping malls. "By the river" narrowed the options slightly, but thāitav wasn't a word in any language we could figure out, meaning it was probably demonic.

Maybe, with weeks or months of careful investigation, the Crow and Hammer could expose the Court. Maybe our guild could even bring it down, though Aaron thought it would require MPD oversight and a coordinated multi-guild effort to truly stamp out.

But none of that would save Ezra.

Somewhere at my feet, the Vh'alyir Amulet lay where I'd dropped it. How many deaths had I caused with this na?ve expedition? I'd deceived and hurt my friends. Dragged Aaron and Kai away from Ezra when he most needed them. Put Justin's life in danger. Gotten Blake horribly injured—or maybe fatally injured.

All for nothing.

Swallowing a miserable groan, I sat up and studied the amulet between my feet. I lifted it by the chain, then popped open the glove box to toss the amulet inside. As the plastic door dropped open, the cult scepter rolled out.

I caught it. The amulet in one hand and the scepter in the other, I stared at the two artifacts. Why had I thought a lost talisman could save Ezra? Why had I thought I could find a way when no one else could? Why had I thought I could change anything?

I was just a magic-less human pretending she was special.

Jaw clenched, I wrapped the amulet chain around the silver scepter handle and shoved both into the dark compartment. Flopping back onto the reclined seat, I stared upward as tears slid sideways down my face and into my hair.

My phone buzzed against my butt cheek.

I jumped half a foot off the seat, then dug my phone out of my pocket. Expecting a call from Aaron telling me to come inside and shower, I glanced unenthusiastically at the screen.

Ezra's picture filled it, a crop of him staring with extreme seriousness into the camera while he had paintball goggles perched on top of his plastic helmet and pink paint splattering one cheek. My heart stalled.

Ezra was calling me after days of silence.

Why?

Panic wrapped its icy claws around my lungs as I brought the phone to my ear and whispered, "Hello?"

"Tori?"

Ezra's voice washed over me, soothing the open wounds in my soul. I'd missed his voice so much. I'd missed him so much.

"What's wrong?" I asked, my panic unabated. "Are you okay?"

"I'm okay."

More than just the words, he sounded fine, and that's all it took for relief to flood me.

"What about you?" he asked with a hesitant pause. "You don't sound like yourself."

My mouth was open to speak, but I couldn't say I was fine. Nothing was fine. Everything was wrong, broken, disintegrating as I desperately tried to hold it together. I'd promised myself I would save him, and I'd failed.

I burst into tears.

"Tori, what's wrong?"

I shook with sobs as anguish and guilt and regret pummeled me. "I'm so sorry, Ezra. I'm so sorry. I lied to you and I put everyone in danger and I knew it was important to tell you about Eterran but I—I was so afraid. I couldn't lose you. I couldn't handle it."

"Tori—"

"And then I dragged Aaron and Kai out here." The words spilled out, trembling and barely coherent. "I thought I could do this, and I got their hopes up too, but it's been a complete disaster and I—I—I screwed up everything, Ezra, and I'm so sorry."

"It's okay," he said softly. "I'm sorry too. I'm sorry you had to fight for me."

My hand tightened on the phone, pressing it hard into my ear. "I should've listened. You all told me it was impossible and there was no way to s-save you, but I didn't want to believe it. I thought you guys just hadn't tried hard enough, and that was stupid and wrong and just—just wrong. All I did was make everyone suffer more because I didn't trust you and Aaron and Kai."

"That isn't true. You have more trust in us than we deserve." A rustle as he shifted the phone. "Tori, what's been happening?"

I rubbed my damp cheeks. "We went to Enright and found a lead and we followed it, and everything went up in flames. We're all okay, more or less, and we're coming home." Gulping back another sob, I added quietly, "And so you don't get your hopes up, we're coming back empty-handed."

The line was silent as he absorbed that.

"I know I'm being vague," I mumbled miserably, "but the details …I think I should tell you in person. Is …is that okay?"

"Yes," he said without a hint of the disappointment and despair he must have felt at my failure. "That's okay."

I closed my eyes tightly. "Ezra …I'm s—"

"Stop apologizing, Tori. You've put yourself through hell for me, and you never should've had to do that."

"I had to try," I whispered, and as I said the words, the weight on my lungs eased slightly. "It ended up being pointless, but I had to try."

"I should've been trying too." An unexpected note of steel slid into his voice. "I'm sorry, Tori. I'm sorry it took me so long, but I'm ready to fight now too."

My eyes flew open, staring at the blank roof of the SUV.

"So you can't give up on me, all right? I need your help."

"You …you want to fight?"

"I want to live. I've always wanted to live, but I have more reasons now than I did before." A pause. "I don't have any dreams for the future. I've never allowed myself to imagine a future. But I want to change that. I want you to be part of my future."

Throat closing, I clutched the phone. "Ezra …"

"If whatever you went to Enright to do isn't working, then get back here so we can try something else. I have a couple of ideas."

"You do?"

"Mhm. Maybe your leads will help as well."

I grimaced. "Not unless you can tell me what place could be described as ‘north, west, Capilano, among the thay-tav, by the river.'"

A short, disbelieving laugh escaped him, and the sound warmed my entire body.

"We're doing riddles now?" he asked bemusedly. "What does thay-tav mean?"

"No idea. It's a demonic word, I think."

"Demonic?" A pause. "Thāitav? Is that the word?"

"Oh …right, yeah."

"Eterran says thāitav means someone who's died or ‘the dead.' So ‘among the dead, by the river' …and Capilano?" He muttered to himself. "Are we talking local spots? Because there's a cemetery by the Capilano River in West Vancouver."

Gooseflesh prickled my skin from head to toe. North—a northern city. West Vancouver. A cemetery beside Capilano River.

It couldn't be. The Court couldn't be in Vancouver.

The Court …moves. He moves it where he wants it. If Havh'tan was right, then it could have moved to Vancouver—but why? Why on earth would the Magnus Dux move the ruling sect of the cult there? What was in Vancouver that would attract a cult?

"Did I get it right?" Ezra asked.

"Maybe—but don't even think about going there! Do you understand? I need to tell you the rest—but once we're back." Pinching the phone against my ear with my shoulder, I yanked the handle on the side of my seat to straighten it. "I'll explain everything once I see you, so please wait for us."

"All right."

"We're in southern Montana right now—"

"Montana?"

"—but we'll return as quickly as we can. Tomorrow afternoon, I think." Scooching forward, I opened the glove box again. "I need to talk to Aaron and Kai and get everyone moving. Just hang on until we're back, okay?"

"I'll be waiting. Stay safe, Tori."

"I will. I have to go. Bye for now, Ezra."

Only after I'd ended the call did I realize neither of us had brought up the text I'd sent him. My mouth quivered, but I shoved the hurt and anxiety away. This wasn't the time for that kind of stuff anyway. Fierce hope burned in my chest again, and I wouldn't let anything dim it.

As I pulled the amulet-scepter tangle out of the glove box, my phone chimed. I tapped the screen, and my text conversation with Ezra popped up. A new message had appeared beneath my last text.

I love you too.

My heart swelled until it choked off my air. Tears standing in my eyes, I shoved the car door open with my elbow.

When I burst into the motel room, Aaron and Kai leaped to their feet in alarm. Justin, sitting at the built-in desk beside the tiny motel TV, gawked at me.

"Guys," I gasped. "I think I know where the Court is. We have to get back to Vancouver right away."

Aaron's and Kai's jaws dropped to match Justin's.

My hand clenched around the scepter's handle, the amulet hanging from it. "And if we're lucky, we can steal the cult grimoire out from under those bastards before they realize we're coming—and before we sic every guild in the city on them."

* * *

After endless hours driving down endless highways, I should've been delighted to be back home. Aaron's home, technically, but still home.

We hadn't made great time. Halfway across the Columbia River Basin, the SUV had blown a tire. Aaron and Kai had swiftly swapped it out for the flimsy spare, and we'd limped into a town, but between finding a service shop, waiting for it to open, and having the tire replaced, we'd lost several hours.

But we'd made it, and I now stood in the center of the living room. Aaron and Kai stood with me, and together we formed a triangle, facing each other.

"Ezra texted us an hour ago that he'd be out for a bit," I said, bouncing my phone on one hand. "He wants to know when we're back in town. Should I call him?"

Aaron rubbed his stubbly chin. "Can we dump the reveal of the cult's survival on him, then immediately drag him into their stronghold—or whatever we find in that cemetery?"

"He said he wanted to fight."

"But he doesn't know who or what we're going up against."

I bit the inside of my cheek.

"Let's not risk it," Kai murmured. "We almost lost him a week ago. That isn't much recovery time."

Relenting, I nodded.

Aaron brushed his hands together decisively. "Let's gear up, then. The Court probably doesn't know we're on to them, but we shouldn't waste any time. Who knows how long it'll take them to pick up and move again?"

Kai agreed, then hastened for the basement where Makiko had disappeared—to freshen up in the bathroom, probably—while Aaron marched up the stairs, heading for his room to change and weaponize himself. I watched them go, my chest tight and hands clenched. My only set of combat clothes was in my suitcase in the SUV, and as for weaponizing myself …

Two alchemy bombs and Hoshi. That was all I had left to contribute.

Swallowing the nausea building in my gut, I swept through the kitchen and out the back door. The chilly January air bit into my cheeks as I crossed the yard and passed through the open gate. The unhitched trailer we'd used to haul Kai's and Makiko's bikes dominated half the parking pad.

Beside the trailer, the SUV was lit up, rear hatch open. Justin stood beneath it, sorting through his duffle bag to ensure he had all his stuff before heading home.

He glanced up when I joined him. A purple bruise darkened one temple from his encounter with Daniel and Anand outside the Keys guild.

"Hey." He haphazardly folded a wrinkled shirt and tucked it in his bag. "I thought you were getting ready for battle with a demon cult."

I plucked the shirt out and refolded it. "I'm not sure I'm going."

"What do you mean?"

Frowning at my folding job, I shook it out and tried again. "What good have I done this whole time? I'll just get in their way."

Justin faced me, but I kept my attention on the shirt as I carefully smoothed the sleeves out.

"I've been useless." I tugged on the shirt's collar. "I didn't stop a single mythic we came up against—except for when I accidentally killed Russel. How awful is that? Hoshi has been more useful than me. I should just send her with the guys and stay home."

Sliding the shirt into his bag, I stared at my all too human hands. "You've been asking questions about whether I was qualified to do these things, whether it was safe or a good idea …I was never qualified. It was always a bad idea, and I just kept telling myself I could handle it."

"Tori," he murmured.

My fingers closed into tight fists. "You asked Aaron if I can play in his league. I can't. I'm not a combat mythic or a bounty hunter. I'm just a bartender."

Justin sat on the bumper. "You know that's bullshit."

My gaze snapped to him.

"You don't do things all neat and tidy, Tori. You're a messy person. You storm around and shake things up and cause chaos. You've always been like that."

I frowned at him. "If that was supposed to be a compliment, it sucked."

"You didn't neatly arrest anyone, but you found answers, escaped danger, and got your friends into and out of all that alive." He grimaced. "I may have had several heart attacks along the way, but you survived it all."

"That was just luck, though. If anything had—"

"Surviving by the skin of your teeth once is luck. Doing it over and over again is something else." He squinted at me. "You know you aren't useless, Tori. What's the real problem?"

I stared back at him, then sank down to sit on the bumper beside him. My chest had tightened again, familiar insecurity settling deep in my bones.

"I wanted to be a mythic so badly," I whispered. "I wanted to be special and kick ass and do things other people can't do. But then I lost almost all the magic I'd collected, and I realized I can act like tough shit all I want, but when the cards are down, I'm just a human."

"So am I. Is that such a bad thing?"

I twitched like he'd jabbed me in the ribs.

"You could kick ass and do things other people couldn't before you ever heard the word ‘mythic.'" He arched his eyebrows. "Magic doesn't make you an invincible superhero. If I'm useless because I couldn't stop Russel's men, then so is Makiko. She was captured too."

He tilted his head back, staring through the hatch's window at the evening sky. "When I joined you for this trip, I thought you'd need my protection. But you didn't. You knew when to jump in—and you knew when to stand back and let your friends take the front line."

I frowned.

"Are you worried you'd be endangering your friends by going with them to that cemetery? Or are you afraid you're too human to be there?"

My lungs constricted. "I don't have any magic, Justin."

Twisting toward his bag, he dug inside it. When he turned back to me, he held his pistol by the barrel.

"Then take this," he said quietly. "And instead of being ‘just a human,' you'll be a tough-ass human with a gun."

I stared at him. "Are you, uh, allowed to loan that out?"

He shrugged mysteriously. The cold handle pressed against my hand, and I realized I'd reached for it. My fingers curled around the grip.

Headlights flashed at the end of the alley. Glancing toward the vehicle, Justin pushed to his feet. "That's my ride."

I watched him collect his bag. Slinging it over his shoulder, he gave me a long, assessing look—then smiled. It was a familiar smile that had soothed my fears since I was sixteen.

"Whether you go or not, Tori, I know you'll make the best choice for you and your friends."

I clutched the gun, my voice muted by a surge of emotion.

He started down the alley. "And if you need me, all you have to do is call. I can be a tough-ass human too."

I grinned through the tears filming my eyes. "I know it."

The car waiting at the end of the alley gave a short beep, and Justin waved as he hurried toward it. A car door opened and closed, then the vehicle pulled away.

For a long moment, I studied the gun in my hand, then set it down in the back of the SUV. Riffling through our luggage, I found my combat belt. The alchemy bombs clinked as I wrapped the leather around my waist and buckled it.

Retrieving the gun, I weighed it in my hand, then slid it into the empty holster at my hip.

My grin widened, baring my teeth. I heaved my suitcase out, shut the hatch, and sped back across the yard to the house. We had a job to do, and no time to waste.