The Silver Mask (Magisterium #4)(42)

“Of course,” she told him, in a crisp voice that left little room for kindness. “Now come down to breakfast. You two have much to discuss with Master Joseph.”

Aaron pushed himself to his feet and came to where Call was standing. Although neither of them had slept and Tamara was gone, Call was starting to feel hopeful again. He was sure Aaron was right about his soul needing to settle. Once Aaron was himself again, they’d figure out what to do. They’d gotten out of a lot of scrapes before. They would find their way out of this one, too.

Maybe.

“Okay,” he said to Anastasia.

Call was still in his borrowed pajamas and he didn’t bother to change out of them. Aaron seemed comfortable in what he was wearing. They trooped down the stairs and into the dining room, where Master Joseph sat with a few other mages, including Hugo. When Call and Aaron came in, the mages stood up and took their leave. Master Joseph’s hair was singed on one side. Alex’s face was red, like he’d gotten a blast of fire to the face. The whole table was spread with bandages, magical salve, and dirty mugs.

“Sit down,” said Master Joseph. “There’s coffee and eggs in the kitchen if you’re hungry.”

Call immediately went and got an enormous mug of coffee. Aaron didn’t get anything, just sat at the table, waiting.

Master Joseph sat back in his chair. “The time has come,” he said, looking at Call. “You must explain exactly how you brought Aaron back from the dead.”

“All right,” Call said. “But you won’t like it.”

“Just tell the truth, Callum.” Master Joseph sounded as if he were trying to be calming, but the strain in his voice came through clearly. “And everything will be fine.”

It wasn’t fine. Call watched Master Joseph’s expression darken as he explained how he had torn a piece of his soul free and placed it in Aaron’s body. Aaron, who’d already heard all of this, stared out the window at a few Chaos-ridden animals that were sniffing around the grass.

“This is the truth?” Master Joseph said when Call had finished. Alex was staring at him in disbelief. “The whole truth, Call?”

“It’s ridiculous!” Alex protested. “Who would even come up with an idea like that?”

“I got it from Jericho’s journals.” Call turned to Master Joseph. “You knew,” he said. “You knew it was what Constantine was doing. He was using pieces of Jericho’s soul to try to bring the dead back.”

Master Joseph stood up, his hands knotted behind his back, and began to pace. “I guessed,” he said. “I hoped it wasn’t true.”

“So you see,” Aaron said, shifting his gaze from the window. “This isn’t something Call can do again.”

Master Joseph whirled on them. “But he must. If Anastasia doesn’t stop them, your friends will reach the Magisterium. When they do, when they tell the Assembly, we can hope they will be reasonable and realize your genius. But if that doesn’t happen, war will come to us. We must raise Drew before that happens.”

“Raise Drew?” Alex gasped. “You didn’t mention that before.”

“Of course I did,” Master Joseph snapped. “Raising Aaron was one thing — we had his body here — but if Call can retrieve souls that have passed into the afterlife — the Assembly will surrender their power to us. Everyone will cower before power like that.”

“Today the Assembly, tomorrow the world!” Alex said cheerfully. “Move those goalposts.”

“But it’s not possible,” Call said. “Weren’t you listening? I can’t keep ripping out pieces of my soul. I’ll die.”

“Oh no!” drawled Alex sarcastically. “Not that!”

“You’ll have killed Constantine Madden,” said Aaron.

“It’s true,” said Master Joseph, looking at Call in a way that reminded Call of the first time they’d met: Drew had died, and Master Joseph’s expression had been a mixture of hate — for Callum Hunt — and yearning, for the Enemy of Death trapped in his body. “Which is why we must have a Jericho.” He turned to Alex.

Call was definitely not bringing back Drew. “Uh,” he said. “First you’re going to need a body and some trace of Drew’s soul. I mean, with Aaron, his body still had some of him in it.”

Aaron was entirely still. Call wondered what he made of this. He worried that all of this made Aaron feel worse about being back from the dead. Call hoped not. He needed Aaron to stay positive. Well, as positive as was possible for him right now.

“I can get those things,” Master Joseph said eagerly.

“Okay,” Call said. “That’s pretty much it. I’d help, but my magic is really diminished after bringing Aaron back.”

“Your magic ate a hole in the wall of the house,” Alex accused. “It seems fine to me.”

Call nodded sadly, exaggerating for all it was worth. “I didn’t mean to do that. It’s acting all out of control. I wouldn’t want to accidentally hurt Drew.”

Alex looked daggers at Call, but Master Joseph seemed to believe him. “Yes, I can see how that would be a danger. Alex, you’ve heard what Call said. Now we will have to re-create his experiment. Come.”