Page 41 of Invocation

Novikke’s hand trembled. She sank to her knees, resting her head on the bed. “Oh, gods,” she whispered. Thank you, Ravi.

Aruna sat up a little. He looked behind her at the door, as if expecting to find some danger there. “Novikke? What’s going on?”

He had no idea that anything had been wrong. He’d fallen asleep, and then awoken, and that was all he knew. If he’d died, he would have died in his sleep, unaware that anything was awry. She wasn’t sure if that comforted or terrified her.

She looked up at him, tears brimming in her eyes. “I couldn’t wake you. The death has reached the city. I was afraid that the same thing that happened to those animals in the woods had happened to you.”

“I don’t understand,” he said. “I’m awake.”

“Yes,” she sighed. “We need to go. I’ll tell you everything while you get ready.”

She stepped away as he moved to get up. When her hand disconnected from him, his eyelids fluttered and his head began to tip downward. Novikke rushed to grab him again, and his eyes shot wide again. He gaped at her.

His fingers dragged lightly over hers, searching for something. Novikke could feel the slight tingling of magic flowing from her into him. He could feel it now, too. He watched her curiously.

“Don’t let go of me,” he said.

“I won’t.”

He was in disbelief when she’d explained everything that had happened. He went out to the balcony over the bar to see it for himself. Novikke went with him, holding onto his hand. He stared at the limp bodies on the floor and in chairs.

He stepped back, his expression tight. “The entire city is like this?” he asked.

“Yes.”

He looked at her like he no longer knew her. He looked down at her hand, now interwoven with strange threads of magic and darkness. “Avan said Ravi gave you a part of herself?”

It was hard to tell if he was upset. A human taking a piece of the goddess of the Varai—it must have been blasphemous. Avan had seen the tree give Novikke her power, and even she had been conflicted about it. The only reason it had happened was that Novikke was the only one left in Vondh Rav capable of doing what needed to be done.

The Varai were all connected to the tree’s magic—the magic that was dying. Novikke did not think they would have the strength left to carry a piece of the heart, or the tree would have given it to Avan, instead.

“I didn’t ask for it,” she said apologetically. “It just… happened.”

“Because she deemed you worthy,” he said with a note of satisfaction. He approved.

“She only entrusted me with this because she had no other choice.”

“If anyone could be trusted with it, it’s you.” He considered her for a long moment. “Maybe she is like us. She knows that your people and mine should not be working against each other. Maybe she realized that long before the rest of us. Maybe there was a reason we were both on the road that night. Maybe we were meant to meet.”

She had a hard time imagining the gods had ever had such a hand in the life of someone as insignificant as herself. “I’m glad we were both there, even if it wasn’t orchestrated by the gods.” She smiled, then looked down at her hand. “Kadaki said that we might be able to reverse this if we had a large enough source of magic to give back to the axis. Do you think a piece of a god would do the trick?”

“I think it might.”

“Then let’s get back to the ruins and figure out a way to get this thing out of me and into the axis.”

He nodded, blinking slowly. Suddenly she noticed the subtle sluggishness of his movements, as if he was about to fall asleep again. She squeezed his hand.

“Don’t let go,” he said again.

“I’m not going to.”

He nodded. “I’m ready. Let’s go.”

Novikke began to reach into her pocket for Kadaki’s device, then stopped. “Wait.” She took off the translator, offered it to him, then waited while he put it on. He’d need it when they got back to Kadaki. “Give me your knife.”

He handed it to her, and she slid the blade beneath the collar on her neck. With a few saws, the sharp blade severed the leather. She let it drop to the floor. “Now we’re ready.”

She eyed the enchanted transportation device in her hand. “Say a prayer to Ravi that this thing doesn’t turn us inside out on the way back, will you?”

“Already done.”

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