Page 170 of A Crown of Lies

“You’re good with him,” Rixxis observed.

Katyr smiled, dimples showing. “You think?”

She nodded. “He clearly adores you. You’re planning to raise him as your own? I only ask because you used Isaac’s last name when you introduced him.”

The mage sighed and lifted Aleks from the blanket on the floor. “I still have to clear all of that with Isaac. Everything happened so fast, we barely had any time to talk before I had to leave. I know he wants to be a father. He’ll be good at it.”

“I think you’re both suited for it,” Rixxis said with a small smile. “And I think Aleks agrees with me. Don’t you, little one?”

“You want to hold him? My arms could use a rest. Hammering all that gold into place was not easy. This body was meant for admiring, not hard labor.”

Rixxis chuckled and held out her hands. “Give me.”

“I’m surprised you’re still awake,” Rowan said, watching with interest as Kat placed the baby in her arms. “You’ve been up for two days straight.”

“It’s not the longest I’ve been up.” Just the same, Kat let out a relieved sigh as he sat back, tilting his head against the wall. “That honor belongs to Brucia’s wall and Taratheil’s relentless pushes.”

“That seems like a lifetime ago,” Rixxis said. “Once, our future depended on defeating the elves of D’thallanar. Now, they may be our salvation.”

Aleks’s tiny fingers closed around hers and he pursed his lips, staring at her face like it was the most interesting thing he’d ever seen.

“I hear you fought a demon.” Rowan said to Kat.

Kat’s eyes opened, but it seemed like a lot of effort to keep them open. “Fought and killed.”

Rowan stretched out on the floor before pulling one knee up and balancing an arm on it. “Tofi is still deep in his research and experimentation. According to him, the dead should have gone back to rest with Divina’s death. He claims to have released all the ones he controls. Yet they’re still here. He’s concerned that perhaps he was wrong about breaking the spells that hold the crossroads spirits here.”

“I doubt she was truly responsible for all of it.” Kat yawned and stretched. “From what I’ve heard, she wasn’t particularly strong. Two taps? That doesn’t sound like someone who could raise an army of the dead and keep two curses active at once.”

“I saw her raise dozens of fallen, maybe a hundred.” Rixxis looked up, frowning even as she rocked Aleks back and forth.

Kat shook his head. “No matter how many she brought back, that was a single spell, and her control would’ve been limited. They would have been little more than mindless, violent shells. Uncle Tofi is far more talented, and I doubt he could manage that from such a distance.”

“Do you have any theories?” Rixxis asked

“A few,” Kat supplied with a yawn. “There are legends of relics here, items touched by your gods said to have incredible power. I don’t know the validity of their divinity, but powerful magical items do exist. There is supposed to be a book of spells. Perhaps one of them is responsible. Or I have read that there is a scythe that can control the dead.”

Rowan nodded. “The Reaper’s relic. But it was lost some time ago during the second Savarran war. No one knows where it is.”

“Perhaps someone does.” Kat rubbed his eyes. “Or perhaps we are simply living in the end times when the dead walk the earth.”

“You should talk to Tofi about it,” Rixxis suggested. “Put your heads together. You’re the two smartest mages in the world. I’m sure you’ll come up with a solution.”

Kat closed his eyes and leaned back again. “Speaking to my uncle is an exercise in frustration best saved for after my nap.”

The door at the end of the hall swung open and all three of them rose as Giza walked out. Rixxis and Rowan converged at the center of the hall, anxiety mounting. Katyr crowded in behind them. Rixxis held her breath. Rowan held her hand.

Her heart dropped into her stomach as she saw Giza’s expression was grave. She let go of Rowan’s hand. “Well? Say something! Tell us how it went!”

Giza stopped in front of them, folding their hands. “There’s been… a complication.”

I knew it was taking too long. Her knees began to shake, and she was afraid her legs would give out.

“We were able to repair most of the internal damage,” Giza reported. “We got the bleeding stopped and he’ll make a full recovery.”

“Then what’s the complication?” Rowan demanded.

“The linking spell,” Kat supplied. “You weren’t able to remove it.”

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