Outside the circle sucked more than inside the circle.
Life magic flared in Terric’s hands, poured over my wounds, both burning and numbing as it washed through me. Pain backed off a bit, so that was good.
“It’s going to be okay,” Terric said. “It’s going to be fine.”
I was pretty sure it wasn’t going to be either of those things, but you know, nice of him to say so.
“Step away from him,” Eli demanded, “or the next bullets are in your head.”
Terric placed his hand on my shoulder, squeezed. He had that killing fire in his eyes. He stood. “Let me see Brandy,” he said.
Now would be a good time to ambush Eli, if I could move.
I tried moving.
Nope.
They walked to the cot in the other room, Eli behind Terric, the gun at his back.
I was a mess. Death magic tried to fill all the cracks and corners of me while the Void stones held it, and all other magic, at a distance. I reached for Death magic, but it hovered just beyond my reach, a heavy, caustic power snarling to be used.
Bloody. Hell.
Maybe a master Death magic user couldn’t die, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t suffer.
Shamus, Mum said. Son, can you hear me?
I could; it was just difficult to talk. And breathe. “Yes.”
“He’s going to kill you and then have Terric revive you. Do you understand that?”
“Yes.”
“We have a better idea.”
“All ears.”
Eleanor bent so her eyes were even to where I sat in a sort of useless pile.
She was beautiful. That might be a strange thing to be thinking when I was apparently dying, but not for the first time I wished I’d known her when she was alive. Maybe said yes to that date she’d asked me out on all those years ago.
Now listen carefully, she said. Eli has some spells on Brandy’s body that should help a soul reenter her. It’s like the spell Mina cast except much more advanced. He’s obviously had some time to work out the kinks.
He’s coming back, Sunny said. Eleanor, they’re coming back. Hurry.
I think I can step into her body, Eleanor said. It will buy you and Terric some time. Probably not a lot, but maybe enough for you to kill him.
They’re back, Sunny said. Shame, they’ll hear you if you talk.
So be ready for that, okay? Eleanor finished.
I’d seen what happened to Mina. Reentering her own body had killed her.
There was absolutely no way I was going to put Eleanor through that. She might think Eli had the spell worked out, and yes, he was a genius, but he was also stark raving bat-shit insane.
“No,” I said.
My turn to call the shots, she said. Plus, I wasn’t really asking your permission. Just letting you know what I’m going to do.
Terric knelt beside me again. He placed his hand on my chest and the warmth of Life magic washed over me like soothing water, taking the pain down a notch again.
“Brandy’s body is alive,” he said quietly. “Eli wants me to drain your life. Just enough that you cross over to death. Coma.”
The look in his eyes told me he wasn’t going to do that.
Tell him, Eleanor said.
If Eli has a word to trigger the spells carved into those people, Mum said from where she was standing just behind Terric, he has a word for canceling them. He always has a back door. Make him give you that word in exchange for Brandy’s soul.
Crap. That was not a bad idea. We’d been trying to unweapon Eli and Krogher, and all these people they’d taken and spelled up for months now.
And this was our chance. It wasn’t a very good chance, but then, it was the only shot we had.
“Help me stand,” I said to Terric.
He shifted so he could pull me up by the arm and shoulder, putting his face near mine.
Eli was at a distance, blocking Brandy’s room, the gun still in his hand.
“I want a guarantee,” I said. It came out a little soft, so I put more air behind it. God, that hurt.
“If I bring her soul back, you tell us how to cancel the magic in all those drones.” That came out stronger.
Eli smiled. “And why would I do that?”
“It’s sad how you think you’re negotiating with a man who cares if he lives. I die, maybe I take Terric with me this time. Maybe I don’t come back. That makes you shit out of luck, mate. No me, no soul.”
“I’ll kill your friends.”
“Death doesn’t scare me, Eli. Not even their deaths. I know what’s on the other side. Been there. Drank the beer.”
He hesitated. He had the gun, sure. But his plan revolved around us staying alive. Mostly.
“You told me the disks could stop them,” Terric said.
Eli nodded slowly. “So you do have all your memories back. I’m impressed. I saw you—through Davy—as you cast that bastardized UnClosing spell. I hadn’t expected it to be successful.”
“The drones,” I said. “The spell. The deal.”
Eli made his decision. Had probably made his decision before we’d walked through that Gate spell.
“Bring me her soul, and I’ll tell you how to disarm them,” he said. “But I promise you, a single word will set them off. And then we’ll see just how comfortable you really are with your friends’ deaths, Shame.”
“Just take me to her,” I said.
Terric walked with me across the room, which hurt like every level of hell. I would use the pain to feed the hole of Death magic in me if I didn’t have half a pound of Void stones stuck in my chest keeping me from using Death magic.
Eli backed into Brandy’s room, and Terric crossed in front of me so he could walk on my other side.
“What are you doing?” he whispered.
“Eleanor will try to possess her.”
“If she can’t?”
“I’ll buy you a beer in heaven.”
The room was larger than I’d expected. Walls and wooden floor covered in an overlapping tangle of spells, an empty cot by the wall, and in the center of the room, a cot where Brandy slept, covered in spells and tubes, surrounded by medical equipment.
Eleanor drifted over and stared down at her for a long moment. Eli, or someone, had cut Brandy’s dark hair even shorter to keep it out of the way of the tubes that ran into her nose and down her throat. She was that corpse-y shade of gray, her cheeks and eyes scooped out by shadow, no color in her lips at all.
The labored hiss and clack of the machine that kept her breathing seemed too loud in the quiet of the room, in the utter stillness of her.
“Now, Terric,” Eli said. “Send Shame to fetch her soul.”
Terric tightened his grip around my ribs. Instead of draining the life out of me, he just poured a little more into me, easing my pain a bit.
I slumped against him and sent that Life magic to connect to Eleanor and the resurrection spells on Brandy.
Okay, Eleanor said. I think I see how to do this. I felt the rope between us stretch, tugging at my arm.
And then it snapped.
I gritted my teeth, but a groan still escaped me. That disconnection hurt above all the other pain.
“Shame?” Terric said.
I opened my eyes and stood on my own two boots. Terric kept his arm across my back so I didn’t lose the steady bleed of Life magic he was feeding me.
“It’s done,” I said. “She’s in there.”
“So quickly?” Eli asked. “Proof, Shame.”
“Fuck you. See for yourself.”
He waved us back with the gun, and we took a couple of steps away from the cot.