town lights, the full moon was brighter than ever. Even without her demon-enhanced vision, Nico had no problem finding a flat spot of ground near Eli. Josef flopped down on the other side, dropping the Heart on the ground with a dull thunk.
Almost before they were seated, Eli began to speak.
“Well,” he said, his voice dripping with bile. “Some trip Home this has been. Can’t I even relax for one day without something coming up?”
“Don’t whine,” Josef said. “You could have said no.”
“Easy for you to say,” Eli snapped. “You don’t have a compassionate bone in your body. I’ve known the girl since she was ten, Josef. What was I supposed to say? ‘Sorry about your dad, but I’m on holiday. Good luck, chop chop’?” He flopped back on the grass with a disgusted sigh. “So much for lying low.”
For a while, no one said anything. Then, at last, Eli sat up again with a frustrated groan. “Anyway, this is all beside the point. Even if Pele hadn’t asked me, I’d have to go investigate. No matter how insufferable he can get, Slorn’s an old, old friend. We have to help him. He’ll never make us toys again if we don’t.” Eli tilted his head skyward, staring at the bright moon hanging alone in the black sky. “I only wish Slorn’d asked me himself. Then I could have at least gotten a huge favor out of the deal, maybe even free work. Now I’m stuck doing a sob job pro bono.”
“Can’t make money all the time,” Josef said with a shrug.
Eli’s only answer to that was a loud harrumph.
“Well,” Eli said after a long silence, “done is done. First thing now is to find Slorn.”
“Considering we’re talking about a man with a bear’s head, I don’t think it’ll be too hard,” Josef said. “It’s not like he can just blend in.”
“Don’t underestimate him,” Eli said, lying back on the grass again. “If it were that easy, Pele wouldn’t have come here. Slorn’s surprisingly skilled at not being noticed.”
“What about a broker?” Josef said. “Could we just pay one of them to find him like you did with the Fenzetti blade?”
Eli shook his head. “Brokers are great for finding inanimate objects but lousy at finding people. Also, we’re trying to stay low, remember? The last thing I need is a broker getting suspicious. Goin was way out on the borderlands, so it was worth the chance, but we’re in the middle of the Council Kingdoms. Any broker we could visit would probably have my poster on the wall. The moment I walked in I’d become a new commodity to sell.”
“So, what?” Josef said. “Do we start asking in the usual channels? Spreading money around?”
“No, no, no,” Eli said. “Far too risky, and I’m not spending cash on a job with no payout. Also, this is Slorn we’re talking about. If the usual tactics worked, the Shapers would have gotten him years ago. What we need is a new angle.” Eli began to grin. “Remember, we’re not just looking for a man. We’re also looking for a bear, and fortunately I know just who to ask when it comes to bears.”
Josef looked skeptical. “You never struck me as the bear hunter type.”
“I’m not,” Eli said, standing up with an extremely self-pleased smile. “And I didn’t say anything about hunters. Trust me, this is much better, and the best part is I won’t even have to use a favor. I’ll just cash in one of Slorn’s. It’s only fair that he should pay for his own rescue.”
“You seem awful confident,” Josef said, staring up at him. “Are you sure this is going to work?”
“Of course it will work,” Eli scoffed. “My plans always work.” His voice shifted at Josef’s oh-come-on look. “Well, perhaps not always as I’d first intended, but they do work. Anyway, it’s the only plan we’ve got.” Nico jumped as Eli’s hand settled on her hooded head. “I’m sure I don’t need to remind you of the consequences of letting the only man in the world capable of creating coats and manacles that can hold a demon captive vanish into the night.”
Josef gave him a dirty look. “Don’t use her to make your points.”
“Ah,” Eli said. “But the point has been made.” He gave Nico’s head one last pat before turning back toward town. “Come on, we need to get packed. We’ve got a long trip ahead of us.”
Josef didn’t move. He sat glaring at Eli’s back as the thief trotted down the hill. Finally, when Eli’s long shadow disappeared inside the house, Josef pushed himself off the ground with a sigh.
“He can be a real ass sometimes,” he grumbled, offering his hand to Nico.
“He is doing this for me,” Nico said. “At least partially.”
“Don’t be fooled,” Josef growled, pulling her up. “He’s doing it for himself. He lives for favor swapping as much as fame and thievery. This is just another move in whatever game he plays. Don’t let him trick you into thinking otherwise.”
“I know,” Nico said, but her words didn’t sound convincing, even to her. Josef could label and dismiss Eli’s reasons, but Nico couldn’t. After all, that whole business with the Fenzetti had been for her, same with the trip up to Slorn’s in the first place. It hadn’t bothered her then because she’d been a participating, worthwhile member of the team, doing her share and helping as she had been helped. Now…
Now you’re deadweight.
Nico closed her eyes.
Worse. The voice was low and laughing. You’re a liability without payoff, a bad piece of meat. The thief is no idiot. How long until he leaves you somewhere? He only uses you to keep the swordsman in tow, but even a muscle-brained lug like Josef will realize what a bad deal you’ve become sooner or later. What happens then, little Nico? What will you do?
Nico didn’t reply, though she wasn’t sure if that was because she knew better than to talk to the voice or because she didn’t have an answer.
Come, little girl. The voice was honey dripping down her throat. You already know how to help, don’t you?
But I don’t know. Nico winced and slammed her lips tight; the answering thought had been automatic.
Yes, you do. Think, if you can. Who is Slorn after?
This time Nico refused to let her mind go forward. It did her no good. The voice rolled right over her wall of silence.
He’s after Sted, the man who killed his wife and took the subject of their life’s work, Nivel’s precious seed. Sted is in my realm now, and you should know better than any that I always keep an eye on what belongs to me.
The memory overwhelmed her as the voice faded. She was standing in a room underground. She was older, powerful, standing beside a figure made out of darkness that meant more to her than any life. The figure took her hand, the long, cold fingers sliding across her palm, and a rush of loyalty, security, power, and safety sent her to her knees. The figure, the source of all her fealty, did not help her up. Instead, the cold hands reached and took her head, turning it toward the far end of the room. There, cut into the stone, was a map. A great map showing all the world, from the Council Kingdoms to the Immortal Empress’s lands and the great frozen country far to the north. It was carved in relief, the mountains standing up from the stone as sharp and cold as the real thing, and crouched on this tiny, perfect model were little black creatures with wispy beetle legs.
The figure made a small, beautiful gesture, and she understood. The black creatures were markers for something greater, their slow, crawling movements reflections of a larger scale.
My seeds, the figure’s voice hummed in her bones, masculine and resonant with a dark beauty that filled her with a terrible longing for home. Every single one of them, all across the world.
Nico swallowed.
Just ask. The cold hand reached up to stroke her cheek. Ask and all shall be given to you, my dearest daughter, seed of my own heart.
She clutched the long, cold fingers, tears flowing down her cheeks. “Yes, Master.”
“Nico!”
Her eyes shot open. She was sitting on the grassy slope by Eli’s town. Josef was leaning over her, his concerned face inches from her own. This close, she could see the pale scars running below his stubble. Nico flinched away, squeezing her eyes shut before he could see the tears in them.
“Are you all right?” He ran his hands over her limbs. “You fell down. What happened?”
“Nothing,” she said, ashamed at the dreamy lilt in her voice. The haze of the memory still clung to her mind, fogging her thoughts with overwhelming loss for the safety she’d felt standing beside the figure. Her body grew
