Page 132 of Magic of the Damned

“Would you like something to drink?” he asked, waving to the coffee and tea bar at one end and an actual bar at the other. I was already on edge; coffee would have just added to that. Not wanting to dampen my anxiety, which was a healthy response to the idea of being ‘recreated,’ I declined herbal tea or alcohol.

Dominic poured a measure from the bottle of bourbon. The wafting scent had me reconsidering. Nope, I needed to keep a clear head.

“What should I call your mother?” I asked, causing Dominic to stop mid-drink from surprise.

It was the most innocuous of the many questions that flooded my mind, but at that moment it seemed oddly important. I needed to know more about her other than her being Dominic’s mother, a woman who’d had a transactional relationship with Areleus in order to procreate, was a strict adherent to the tenet of survival of the fittest, considered the carpet bomb approach to ending strife, and could create unique creatures. Overwhelmed, I needed to know something simple about her.

“Ileana is fine,” he said.

“Is she a queen or some nobility? Lady?”

“This is her domain, and she has been the queen of other domains in the past. Not by birth or marriage but conquest.”

“Of course, conquest. I want this space, so I’ll annihilate anyone in my way and take it. Please and thank you,” I snipped back. I worked at easing the frown off my face but gave up.

“Everyone who lives here is one of her creations. She’s their god. She won’t take offense if you simply call her by her name as long as it’s not accompanied by disrespect. Those who wish to curry favor will refer to her as Lady Ileana,” he explained.

“What is this place, her retirement home?”

“She’s had such a tumultuous history that when she travels, she is always met with apprehension. She visits us and other places very seldom.”

What a charming and diplomatic way of saying his mother moved through the dimensions of the underworld causing havoc to the point that her presence bred suspicion. I got a clearer picture of why Areleus chose her as their mother.

“Her distaste for ‘humans’ supernaturals.’” That was a hell of a misnomer. How could they be ours when we lived unaware of their existence and were subjected to their magic when they failed to maintain their anonymity?

“They have weaker magic. She’s unable to appreciate their ability to navigate the human world unnoticed.”

“You’ve done it.” There was an otherness to them. Enough to take notice of their presence in any space.

“Not effortlessly. I don’t go as unnoticed as I should.” He studied me for a long moment as he took a sip from his glass. “Those aren’t the questions you want to ask, are they?”

“Of course not. You asked her to ‘recreate’ me. How can she do that? What is she?”

“She’s a dark deity with the ability to create life.”

“Is that the main reason your father wanted children with her?”

“They chose each other. My father is powerful in his own right, but he’d hoped we’d be gifted with the ability to create life as well. There’s always the risk of dilution of the magic when the parents are not the same. That happened with us.”

“You can’t do ‘recreation’ or ‘create’?”

“I believe I can have children. That is a form of creation.”

“You know what I mean. Like your mother.”

“No one can. She’s quite powerful. My magic is strong because of her, and I was able to create my hellhounds.”

Snapping my gaping mouth shut, I blinked several times. They might not be humanlike, but they were intelligent creatures. And Dominic created them.

“I’m not sure what my recreation would even be but I’m pretty damn sure it’s something you should have discussed with me first.”

Dominic’s solemn look of introspection was a clear indicator that he didn’t agree. A recreation needed to be done, so it would be done. The world needed to be righted, so he’d do what was needed to make it happen without consult from those involved.

I dropped onto the sofa. “Give me details of what you asked of your mother.”

“You exist as a vessel of magic. Technically you aren’t alive. You’re, for lack of a better word, an inanimate object. The magic can exist without you—you can’t without it. I need her to recreate you into a living being that exists alongside the magic. My hope is that you will emerge as the person you are now but with access to that magic. Not just an object that lives because of it.”

The explanation sounded worse.

---