Page 36 of All Out of Flux
We were too distracted, somehow believing we had room to laugh and to ridicule the Masque. Maybe we thought it would buy us time, throw him off his game. The hubris — the utter delusion of it all. How could we have thought that it was over, that the Quartz Spider himself would have forgotten about us?
Time stood still. The rain began to fall upward.
I raised a cautious hand toward Brendan Shum. “Whatever it is you’re planning, I kindly ask that you reconsider it. Please. For the sake of Dos Lunas. For the sake of the arcane underground.”
The hourglass continued to spin in its slow, erratic rhythm, its intricate edges catching the light, the quickening sand slipping from one vessel to the next. The Quartz Spider was taking a moment to ridicule us, too, taking his sweet time because he could afford it. He could control it, after all.
“Dos Lunas didn’t care when my baby brother died. The arcane underground didn’t even notice. And this has nothing to do with anybody else. If I complete the ritual successfully, no one will even notice. Things will stay the same as always.”
“You can’t say that and seriously believe it.” In my arms, Leon strained forward as he spoke, leaning in to make himself heard. But I could sense the fear in his voice, feel the hesitation in his muscles. “Your actions affect others, whether or not you realize it yourself. It was an accident, Brendan. Your brother, my mom? Both just accidents. You have to let it go before you hurt somebody else.”
I held completely still, forgetting to breathe. The Quartz Spider’s expression never shifted, never changed. He brought up his other hand, manipulating the hourglass without ever touching it.
“We’ve discussed this,” he said, his voice so clear now that the raindrops were no longer hitting the ground. “I bear no ill will toward anyone but myself. I’m only attempting to correct my own mistakes.”
Around us the twelve copies of Justice remained motionless. They showed us their teeth, mouths locked in pained grins. I wondered if he could hear all of this, whether he regretted wasting his time and resources on Leon and cornering him into a trap when he could have been directly pursuing the Quartz Spider all along.
I wasn’t stupid. I knew that Leon’s connection to the dragons held danger of a literally explosive nature. But I believed in his ability to keep them under control. Most of all, I believed in his kindness. Brendan Shum was just as dangerous. That was the main difference between them. Despite Leon’s destructive potential, he was kind. Brendan, on the other hand, was cold through and through.
“Again, I bear the two of you no ill will. I’m giving you a chance to leave this place. Let me finish my work. You have nothing to fear from me.”
He’d gotten it wrong once before. Wasn’t that what Leon said? A mistake with time magic grievous enough to kill hisown brother. I didn’t know enough about chronomancy to understand what Brendan had planned. This highly charged hourglass, though, assembled from pieces individually imbued with powerful enchantments? The Quartz Spider was working magic on a grander scale.
And he’d mentioned a ritual, too.
“Max,” Leon whispered, his fingers digging into my arm. “It’s a circle. Justice and his mirror images. A circle with twelve points.”
A shiver ran up my spine. We were standing in the center of a ceremonial circle — one designed specifically to resemble a clock. Did Brendan know that Justice would split himself into twelve pieces? Were Leon and I supposed to be the clock’s hands? I didn’t want to find out.
“He needs to be in the middle,” Leon continued. “I can’t explain why, but you’ll just have to trust thebruho. We can’t let him reach the middle.”
“I trust you,” I told him, squeezing his shoulder tight, standing upright and nudging him to do the same. Justice was only the warmup. Brendan was the final bout.
Leon scanned the circle around us, all twelve copies of Justice. “Brendan is too focused on the ritual and maintaining the Masque in stasis to freeze us, too. We just have to keep him from the center, hurt him enough to make him stop.”
The Quartz Spider laughed softly. He reached one hand out, playing with the levitating rain, letting its droplets slip between his fingers. “I’m hearing plenty of whispering. Are you discussing your plans for the rest of the evening? I suggest a warm bath and a mug of hot cocoa. Far, far away from here.”
“We’re not leaving,” I shouted, my chest pushed forward, my head held high despite my own self-doubt. “And we’re not letting you finish your ritual.”
“Suit yourself.”
The Quartz Spider snapped his fingers. Leon cried out, clutched his head, and fell to his knees.
“What did you to do him?” I shouted, wanting to help Leon, wanting to hurt Brendan.
Remorseless, expressionless, Brendan answered. “Nothing that he didn’t do to himself.”
“Max,” Leon grunted, his fingers digging into his skull. “The seal. He broke the seal. Tiamat’s trying to get out.”
I held him in my arms, knowing there was nothing I could do to help, hating the truth of it. He bucked and writhed in my embrace, teeth clenched so hard his jaw might shatter.
“The others. Max, it hurts. All three of them. Make it stop.”
“I can’t,” I gasped, terrified, furious. “What can I do?”
Nothing. I already knew. I wanted to hurt Brendan for what he’d said and done. I hated that he was right, too. Leon had willingly accepted each of the dragons into his body, sealed the pact within his skin.
Leon stopped trembling. Maybe the hurting had stopped. His head was hunched between his shoulders, tucked close to his chest. He said something too soft for me to hear.
