Crowned (Beholder #4)(50)

“I know everything about you,” said Viktor slowly. “Because you are my very own sister.” He waved me toward him. “Sending magick outside the gateway is massive drain on my power, and I muse conserve my energy for what is to come. Enter into my realm and I’ll tell you all about my plans.”

Viktor stepped off into the light that streamed from under the gateway. Meanwhile, Nan, Jicho, and Mrefu remained in their enchanted sleep. For my part, I tried to run away, but my limbs wouldn’t obey the commands from my brain. My skin still gleamed with the power of Viktor’s spell, confirming the fact that I was trapped.

Once again, I mentally cursed those damned trickster gods. What I wouldn’t do if I could cast a counter-spell?

Even so, there was no point dreaming about incantations. Thanks to the possession spell, my body had no choice but to heed Viktor’s demands, and so I followed him into the ethereal light.





Chapter Twenty-Four




Stepping through the gateway, I found myself in a space made entirely of white light. Brightness stretched off in every direction; there wasn’t even a horizon line. Only one figure stood out in full color: Viktor. He loomed over me in his long Necromancer robes, the drawn-out features of his pale face set into a mask of false calm. Deep in his eyes, there burned an inferno of rage.

Viktor bowed slightly to me. “Let us speak of the truth here. You owe that to me, at the very least.”

“I owe you nothing.”

His pinched face radiated a single emotion: rage. “Do you see this horrid prison you locked me in? You’ve no idea what a terror it is to be limited to monotonous brightness.”

I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes. “Terror? Being here is far less terrible than having your magick drained until you’re dead. Or having your arm ripped off and replaced with that of an animal familiar.”

“I did what I had to in order to survive. Gathering Necromancer magick into myself is essential for the upcoming war with Oni and Yuri. And I simply had to have an army.”

“You talk about destroying Necromancer and Caster lives like it was nothing.”

“Isn’t it? You and I are special. We live by different rules.”

Turns out, Viktor isn’t the only one who could scowl with proficiency. “I am not your sister.”

“Don’t be thick. Didn’t you ever wonder if we were related? By now, you’ve surely seen the versions of us throughout history.”

I paused. Were Viktor and I indeed related? I turned the idea over in my mind; it didn’t seem possible. “My only parent was my guardian Rosie. You are no brother to me. You forced me here with a possession spell to spew nothing but lies.”

“And how do you suggest I demonstrate the sincerity of my actions now?”

“Free me from this possession.”

“Done.” Viktor waved his arm. The bright lights faded from my skin and I could move freely once more. There was no question about the first thing I wanted to do with my new-found mobility. I gestured to the gateway behind me. I couldn’t see anything beneath the arch, but I knew Mrefu, Nan, and Jicho were magickally asleep on the temple floor beyond. “And what about my friends?”

Viktor shrugged. “They’re not possessed, obviously.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Oh, you mean their lives. They will be perfectly safe.” Viktor waved his hand. “Now that I’ve proven myself in good faith, how about we talk a while?”

“No.” I started to turn away.

Viktor sighed. “Fine. Walk away. Be my guest. While you’re at it, keep living in ignorance about who you are and what you can do.”

I hated myself for listening to the man. And I loathed the fact that I didn’t have a quick response to what Viktor had to say. But most of all, I couldn’t stand the fact that he was actually making some sense. If I was going to heal the gateway, then I did need to understand hybrid magick. Unfortunately, Viktor wielded it well enough to create the Changed Ones. He might be able to help.

Turning again, I stared into the face of a man that—if I were being absolutely honest with myself—could very well be my brother. Viktor had killed and tortured thousands of mages. Doing anything with him was a terrible idea. But Viktor also held some valuable information. In the end, there really was no choice about what to do next.

“What do you want, Viktor?”

“Glad to see you’re ready to discuss some unpleasant realities. I’m impressed. Let’s chat about our parents, shall we?”

“My parents are already dead.”

“No, our parents are alive. We’re the children of none other than the Sire of Souls and the Lady of Creation.”

My head turned foggy as I thought through every memory of my childhood. I never knew my parents. The reports of their death were just that: writings on sheets of parchment. Even so, it seemed impossible. “We are not their children.”

“Odd to think of them as having limitations, but when they reproduce, they always create twin offspring, a boy and girl, and we continually look rather similar.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose. Foul as this news was, it did make sense. “You were raised in the Eternal Lands. That’s why you knew how to go back and forth through gateways.”