Trail of Lightning (The Sixth World #1)(82)

“Yes, I know. Lukachukai, and Crownpoint, and Rock—”

He tsks sharply, disapproving. “No, no, no. From an isolated pine ridge,” he croons as he strokes claws through the ruffles of his shirt, “up above Fort Defiance.”

My blood runs cold.

“So simple, really,” he says softly. “I knew Neizghání was already hunting that witch and his creatures. All I needed to do was ensure a rendezvous. A desperate girl. An inevitable rescue. A bleeding-hearted hero. How could he not take you in?” He shudders theatrically. “Nasty business with your nalí, though. Cannibals. Such a horror.”

I can’t breathe. I’m not hearing this. I can’t. This can’t be true.

“Regrettable. Truly. A parent can never control his children. But then look at my latest creation.” He sweeps his arm across the battlefield below. “I knew I needed something sufficiently monstrous to pull you from your little sulk, and what better than what lured Neizghání to you in the first place? A little girl, beset by flesh-eating monsters. Although,” he says, his voice thoughtful, “if I am honest, and I am always honest, these creatures have been a bit of a disappointment. A little too single-minded, you understand. And such disappointing conversationalists. Did you know they cannot speak? Grunts. Moans. But not a clever turn of phrase among them. I assume that’s why they keep trying to devour human vocal cords, but who can say? Unfortunately, they cannot.” He chuckles at his joke, drifting into a melancholy sigh. “It turns out the fire drill can create the spark of life, but it can’t bestow a soul.”

I finally manage to open my own mouth. “What have you done?”

Ma’ii beams. “Well, only make you great, of course!”

“What?” I croak, my voice shredding in disbelief.

“I don’t expect you to be grateful now, but in time.” He clicks his tongue against his teeth.

I stare, horrified.

“Clan powers, of course,” he says, irritated like I’m purposefully not following him. “How else to awaken them? And then to have you trained by the greatest warrior the Diné have ever known.” He leans forward, eyes bright and intense. “I needed you wounded, Magdalena. I needed you angry, and I needed that anger focused on one man.”

“So my whole life is some game you’ve been playing with Neizghání?”

“This is no game, I assure you. Or it is the most delicious game of all. I cannot say.” He straightens cuffs that don’t need straightening. “You are glorious, Magdalena. A weapon finer than any other. I don’t think you appreciate it. And that one”—he glances toward the battle below—“appreciates it more than he cares to admit. There was always the risk that he’d kill you once he realized your potential. How much better you were than him. But I was reasonably sure he’d let you live. Because here’s the intriguing part, Magdalena. He loves you. Well, as much as someone like him can love someone,” he adds hastily.

My knees start to shake. “But you said . . .”

“What I needed you to believe. I needed your hate. Not your mercy. And I did encourage you to take Kai Arviso to your bed,” he says with a sniff. “Someone to console you after Neizghání is dead. I’ve never wanted you to suffer. I’m not a monster after all.”

A strangled sob escapes my lips.

“And you do plan to kill him, don’t you?” he asks eagerly. “How could you not? After he has humiliated you so thoroughly. It is nothing more than what he deserves.”

“You shouldn’t have done it, Ma’ii,” I say, low and quiet. I draw the gun from the holster at my hip. “You shouldn’t have done that to me. To my nalí.” My voice cracks. “To Tah.” Because now I know that the fire that burned down his hogan came from Ma’ii’s lightning strike. Whether to alienate me further or push Kai and me together or for some other twisted reason. At this point, it doesn’t really matter.

He sighs. “Aren’t you being a little melodramatic?”

“You can’t fuck with people like that. You can’t fuck with me.”

I raise the gun. Point it at Ma’ii’s head.

“I can see you are unappreciative of my genius,” he murmurs. His eyes watch me, watch the gun, but he doesn’t move. “But I also know that today will see Neizghání dead by his apprentice’s hand. You want it. Kai Arviso wants it. It is a cold revenge I do not regret.”

I don’t say anything. Just keep the gun steady.

A flick of a lupine ear as his illusion starts to fracture. “Oh really, Magdalena. Is violence always the ans—?”

One shot to the forehead.

He pitches backward, crashing into the dirt. I walk over to his body. Stare for a moment at the still eyes, the gaping mouth. I bend over him and run my knife across his throat. A curtain of red opens across his pale skin. I work the knife until his head comes free in my hand. I hurl it over the edge of the platform. K’aahanáanii howls, wild and feral.

I watch for a while as the blood runs in rivulets down into the cracks of the parched rooftop. Until the cracks fill and the blood spreads in pools around his headless body. Soaking through the sleeves of his fine Western suit.