Magic and Loss

go.”

“I’m afraid I can’t allow that, Syra,” Erys replied with a cold-blooded smile. “This piece of paper is meaningless, as long as my corporeal form remains trapped in another dimension. But, thanks to you and your family, I won’t be there for much longer.” She pointed to a huge, shrouded object at the far end of the warehouse. With a snap of her fingers, the canvas covering fell away, revealing a gigantic stone portal, standing twelve feet high with a lintel fifteen feet long, covered in occult petroglyphs.

“As you see, I have prepared a means of returning not only my corporeal self to this dimension, but for bringing along a host of new friends in the bargain.” Erys then turned and bowed in my direction. “As much as it pains me to do so, nump, I must thank you for consigning me to the Infernal Region. If not for you, I would never have found allies bold enough to embrace my vision of returning the Kymeran race to power by overthrowing humanity. They were even kind enough to teach me the finer points of possession!

“Manipulating homunculi was one thing—but to pierce the barrier between this world and the Infernal Realm by sheer force of will is another matter entirely. Luckily, I knew where to find the perfect vessel for my disembodied spirit—one that would not put up a fight when I moved in.” Erys said, gesturing to her body as if it was nothing more than a suit of clothes. “Besides, it is only fitting that my beloved Nina’s flesh should play a role in the destruction of the human society that robbed her of her future.”

“So what is the Maladanti’s reward for helping you bring this mad dream of yours to fruition?” Hexe asked dourly.

“We will be Golgotham’s new police force, replacing the PTU,” Boss Marz replied with a broad smile. “We will be a scourge to all who would defy the Witch King, regardless of how many fingers they possess.”

“So, it was Esau’s plan to smash my right hand with the witch-hammer.”

“I wish I could claim such ingenuity!” Erys laughed. “Marz came up with that plan all on his own. But I must say, the idea of destroying the one thing you held in highest regard—your Right Hand magic—was absolute genius.”

“Thank you, Lord Esau,” Boss Marz said humbly. “That means a lot, coming from you.”

“I believe in giving credit where credit is due. In fact, you inspired me to use my Infernal allies to locate the Gauntlet of Nydd. I knew Hexe would do whatever it took to regain his dexterity—his pride in his Right Hand magic was his weakness. I’ve studied General Vlad’s spell books for decades, so it wasn’t that difficult to weave one of my own into the existing enchantment and pass it off as the real thing. The chance to dance my fool of a nephew around like a puppet on a string was too good to pass up.

“I hoped to use the gauntlet to strip him of all he held dear—his friendships, his reputation, and his family. He thinks he’s so much better than the rest of us, blathering on about the Right Hand path and how Kymerans should stop bartering in curses. I wanted to bring him to such despair that he would finally recognize the Right Hand path for the foolishness it is—and then break him like a bundle of dry sticks across my knee.”

“You did all that just to torment my son?” Syra scowled. “Your own flesh and blood?”

“Whatever kinship I felt for your half-caste bastard disappeared when he took up with that nump bitch,” Erys snarled. “He’s nothing more than a race-traitor—and now he has completed the disgrace to our bloodline by siring that five-fingered freak! The birth of such an abomination is sign that the time has come for a second Unholy War.”

As if to illustrate her point, Erys aimed her left hand at the portal, contorting all six of her fingers at such angles that they looked as if they’d been broken and pulled out of joint. A lightning bolt of purplish-black energy leapt from her hand and struck the lintel stone, causing the inscribed sigils to glow with dark energy. A red mist began to form within the stone doorway as the membrane between this world and the Infernal Region thinned itself.

There were movements in the dim red fog that filled the portal’s threshold, and vague shapes began to emerge, gradually becoming more distinct. I saw what looked like an army, lined up and girded for war. What little I was able to glimpse of the waiting hordes was so appalling I shuddered in revulsion and horror.

At the front of the Infernal legions stood four foot soldiers—if masses of human entrails given form and movement could be called such things—upon whose slimy shoulders a funeral bier was balanced. Although I could not see its occupant, I knew the body the frightful creatures carried was the corporeal form of Esau.

“If there is anything left of the brother I once knew and loved, I beg you to let Hexe and his family go,” Lady Syra pleaded. “Whatever you have planned for me, I will not fight it, as long as they are granted safe passage.”

“And have the hybrid bastard pop up twenty years later, looking to lay claim to my throne?” Erys sneered. “I’m sorry, Syra—but your son’s blood is of more use to me as paint.”

“That’s exactly what I thought you’d say.” Hexe said as he turned and looked at me. “Okay, Tate—give ’em the high sign.”

I took a deep breath and reached out with my mind, seeking the invisible tether I knew to be there, channeling my will as Canterbury had taught me. Seconds later I was rewarded by a roar so loud it made the walls of the warehouse vibrate.

“Heavens and hells!” Boss Marz exclaimed in surprise. “What in the name of the Outer Dark was that?”

As if in answer, a young Maladanti came running into the warehouse, looking like the Infernal huntsmen were already on his heels. “Boss! The gates on the pier have been breached! We’re under attack!”

“Is it the PTU?” Marz asked.

“It’s not just them,” the croggy said with a shake of his head. “There’s leprechauns, centaurs, satyrs, huldrefolk, and a bunch of angry dames on motorcycles! And merfolk are climbing out of the river on the far end of the pier! They’ve got us surrounded! But that’s not the worst part. They’ve got a dragon!”

Chapter 33

“A dragon—?” Boss Marz scoffed. “Don’t be ridiculous!”

Suddenly there was a second, even more thunderous bellow, which shook the entire warehouse like a maraca. Using the distraction, Syra hurled a bolt of lightning at Marz’s head. Although the Maladanti was able to deflect the blow at the last moment, it still sent him flying across the floor.

“Hexe! Get Tate and the baby out of here!” Syra shouted, putting herself between her son and a livid Boss Marz, who was already back on his feet.

The Maladanti threw a ball of hellfire directly at Syra, which she was able to swat away with her right hand. The fireball flew wild, striking one of Marz’s croggies and instantly setting him ablaze. The gang member screamed and slapped at the white-hot flames as they seared through his clothes, reducing his flesh to the consistency of burning marshmallow goo, but all that did was spread them even further.

Hexe and I made a dash for the loading dock; it was at the far end of the warehouse, and although the loading doors were down, it was the only visible means of escape.

“Don’t let them get away, you idiot!” Erys shouted.

“Bonzo! Fetch!” Boss Marz commanded.

The organ-grinder’s monkey squealed in delight as it disappeared in a puff of brimstone, only to reappear in its monstrous hell-ape form, blocking our way. Flashing canines the size of steak knives, the familiar yanked me away from Hexe.

“Get rid of the nump and her half-breed bastard!” Erys told Marz. “I’ll use the others’ blood!”

“You heard the man, Bonzo,” Boss Marz commanded. “Kill the woman and the brat.”

As the hell-ape opened his hideous multicolored snout, exposing his daggerlike teeth, I saw Syra out of the corner of my eye reach into her cleavage and pull out what looked like a white silken cord. As she hurled the white thing to the ground, Boss Marz threw another fistful of lightning in her direction. Caught off guard, Syra was able