Edge of Pathos (Book 4 of The Conjurors Series)

Chapter 27

After firming up the details of her plan with Skye, Valerie left his guild to head to entrance to Plymouth that Willa had found. She was crossing the grass of The Horseshoe when she saw a familiar figure walking up the broken steps of the Capitol Building.

"Jack, wait!" Valerie called.

Jack continued to march up the steps, and Valerie raced to his side, stopping him before he reached the doors.

"The Grand Masters are following Reaper now," she reminded him. "Many don't support him, but some do. They could capture you, or worse."

Jack's eyes met hers then. They were rimmed with red, and his face was pale. He'd lost weight since she'd seen him last. He looked even worse than he had when he escaped the Fractus two years ago.

"Let them do their worst," he said. "I hate them all. Anyone who supports the Fractus should be killed, like they killed Dulcea."

Jack choked on Dulcea's name, but in spite of his haggard appearance, he was lit up by a restless energy.

"This isn't the way to make a difference," Valerie said. "You won't last long against these guys. They're some of the most powerful Conjurors in the universe. Besides, what about your boys? They still need you, and if you get killed, who will take care of them?"

Jack hung his head and nodded. Valerie took his arm, and they started back down the stairs. She'd only gone a few steps when Jack turned and raced back up. He was through the doors before she fully comprehended what had happened.

"Damn it, Jack!" she said, but she ran after him, slipping through the doors before they'd fully closed behind him.

Valerie intended to drag Jack back outside if she had to, but he was running down the hall like he knew where he was going. She heard voices shouting, and then saw the geometric gold design on the door Jack was bursting through. Jack had timed his attack for a gathering of the Grand Masters.

Valerie gritted her teeth and followed him in. The room was a chaotic mess of bubbles floating above, and Jack was temporarily stymied.

He glanced over his shoulder, and when he saw her still following him, plunged himself into the fray. His entrance had attracted some attention in spite of the chaos in the room, and eyes narrowed as they took in Jack and Valerie.

"Your invitation was revoked," the Grand Master of the Illuminators' Guild, a large bear, barked at her.

"I know. I'm here to—" Valerie tried to explain.

Valerie was cut off when Al, the Grand Master of the Stewardship Guild, slammed his bubble into her.

"You talked to Willa? You had no right!" he shouted.

Before Valerie could respond, Jack leaped toward a bubble occupied by a crazy-haired Grand Master. When the man turned, she saw it was Rastelli. He snarled when his gaze met hers and the bubble surrounding him popped. He moved toward her with murder in his eyes. Had Reaper reinstated him as Grand Master of The Society of Imaginary Friends now that Dulcea was out of the way?

Jack intercepted Rastelli before he got close to Valerie. He got in several solid punches to the Grand Master's face before Valerie pulled him off. She gripped him by his wrist, but he fought her with every ounce of strength he had and managed to throw her off.

Rastelli was standing again, and when Jack attacked this time, Valerie could see that Rastelli had tapped into his power. Jack's movements were in slow motion as Rastelli slowed time for his opponent and then hit him in the skull with his staff.

Al shoved Valerie back as Rastelli raised his staff to smash in Jack's skull. She lunged toward Rastelli, to pull him away from Jack, but Al clutched her leg.

Dasan fluttered down then and landed heavily on Rastelli's back so that his blow missed Jack's head.

"Remember, my friend," Dasan said, his voice soothing.

Rastelli stared into Dasan's eyes, and Valerie hoped that whatever magic the Feng was weaving was helping restore Rastelli's mind.

Rastelli's eyes filled with tears, and he laid his hand on Dasan's wing.

"My old friend, however much you try, I fear that I am lost," Rastelli said. "Even now, the veil of darkness in my mind envelops me."

Rastelli groaned, and Valerie shuddered at the pain in the sound. Then he broke his staff over his knee. Valerie thought maybe he'd triumphed over whatever darkness was within him, until she saw him drive the broken staff into his heart.

She raced to Rastelli's side, ready to unleash her vivicus power to save him, but Dasan held her back, pinching her arm gently in his beak.

"I have seen inside his mind, and this is what he wants. He cannot live with the darkness Reaper has created within him, and it cannot be cured," Dasan said.

All of the shouting and movement in the room had ceased. Even though it might be cowardly, Valerie couldn't watch any longer, and she turned away as Rastelli uttered a last, gasping breath.

She leaned down and slung Jack, who was still out cold, over her shoulder.

"I apologize for the interruption," she said in her most authoritative voice, hoping that it didn't wobble. No matter how many people she'd seen die, it never failed to unravel her.

Al stood squarely in her path, his snarl in place.

"If you have a score to settle with me, I welcome the chance to give you the beating you deserve," Valerie said, and when she brushed past him, he didn't move to stop her.

With as must dignity as she could muster, Valerie walked from the room, out of the Capitol building, and down the steps, nearly tripping over the spot where the crack was the widest.

She deposited Jack on the grass in the middle of The Horseshoe. He woke up when Valerie shook him, and shrugged off her touch. Then he stood up and began walking back to the Capitol building, in spite of the limp he was now sporting.

"You want to kill yourself, like Rastelli did?" Valerie shouted after him. "Then go back! But don't kid yourself that you're honoring Dulcea by doing that, because it's the last thing she'd want. She didn't give up on living after both of her parents were murdered when she was a kid. She kept her faith in other people and made the Globe better by helping people. What you want to do is essentially easy, and selfish. Go ahead and give up."

Jack stopped walking, but he didn't turn back. His entire frame trembled, and Valerie moved to stand next to him. He leaned against her, and his hollow eyes found hers.

"I thought I'd finally found where I belonged. That I'd found a home," he said.

"I think life is mostly suffering, but that doesn't mean there aren't little moments of happiness mixed in. You have to believe that there's another moment like that waiting for you," Valerie said. "We both do."

Valerie took Jack to Cyrus's dorm room. Cyrus opened the door and assessed both of them.

"Jack needs to channel his rage into something other than taking on a room full of Grand Masters," she said, striving for a light tone.

Cyrus picked up on her intent, like he always did.

"I think you need to shoot something," Cyrus said. He squinted at Jack. "Maybe even make something explode."

Jack didn't smile, but he rolled his eyes, which Valerie took as a sign of life.

Outside the dorm, Valerie hugged Jack and then turned to Cyrus. "Get ahold of his gang. I think they're staying in the Actors' dorm with Jack. They'll make sure he doesn't go looking for trouble again."

Thenshe squeezed Cyrus a little longer and harder than she ought to, knowing how hefelt about her, but she needed to borrow a little of his light before she facedReaper.