Page 34 of Let's Talk One True Mate

The curtain of light faded and disappeared and so did the unnatural spotlight and smokey haze, and now the pipe looked empty. Satisfied, the woman returned to descending the stone staircase. She lifted her hands and clapped them, making electric lights turn on, revealing more of the area. Set in a loose circle around the center well were six other wells. Beyond them were three tiny houses with flat ceilings and no windows, positioned in a row. Near them was a pile of twisted and maimed fox statues—30 or more. Beyond this, along one cave wall, was a massive cement slab set on two carved rocks, bringing to mind an altar. Set on a raised portion of the slab was a slim, fox statue in a stalking pose, made from a strange, glittering metal of indeterminate alloy.

The woman hurried to the well closest to her. On the side was a bell with a rope attached. The woman pulled the rope and the bell clanged. She waited a beat, then pulled the rope again, and called out, “Ethedra, come quick—I need you and I need mycask!”

Seeming to appear out of nowhere, another woman walked to the space directly above the well and stood there on an invisible platform. She looked like the sister of the other woman,and was dressed similarly in a thick, floor-length brown dress and cloak, holding a fox pelt in her hand.

“Stars and stones, Abigail” Ethedra said crossly, holding out the pelt. “No need to yell. Here’s it is, perfectly taken care of.”

Abigail reached up, grabbed the fox pelt and yanked hard. Lightning seemed to flash between the two women and a sharpPOPechoed through the room when the pelt left Ethedra. Abigail shook the fox pelt, then placed it on her shoulders. She hurried toward the altar without another word.

Across the cavern, Number Six came down the stairs slowly, only his lower half visible at first.

“Hey Sixy,” Ethedra called out, her voice flirtatious.

Number Six came fully into view, with the unconscious male draped over one shoulder.

“Oh no,” Ethedra said. “What happened?” Her voice carried easily across the cavern.

“You’ll see,” Abigail said. She waved Number Six to the cement slab and they gently maneuvered Boe onto it, face-up.

Boe rolled and his hand grazed the fox statue. A chime sounded, then faded.

“The time is served,” Boe muttered, his eyes closed, his hands idly grasping for what he had touched. “The Promised has come, the young are kindled, the future is secured. Boeson can die now.”

Abigail took Boe’s hands and put them, arms crossed, on his chest. “No dying yet,” she said. “We still need you, Boe. The time is served, but the tether isn’t broken.”

Boe collapsed into oblivious silence again.

Abigail motioned to Ethedra. “Watch closely—the spell only lasts for five seconds.” She raised her hands above Boe, the palms facing him, and commanded, “Evincifi.”

Boe lit up like the sun, radiating intense light. Number Six and Ethedra both covered their eyes.

Abigail squinted. “So much power,” she whispered. “I can dampen it.”

The light faded to nothing. Abigail retrieved a handful of sparkling powder from a pocket. She sprinkled it on Boe like she was seasoning a meal, murmuring softly to herself, then she called out, “Evincifi!” again.

Strong light shot from Boe, seeming to come from his nostrils, his eyes, his ears—even his hair follicles. His body was so bright, his clothes were transparent, revealing an unholy three-clawed gash on his chest from shoulder to hip. Light poured from each gash.

“By the crow’s eye!” Ethedra whispered.

Abigail gestured at the light. “The demon’s power of omnipresence,” she said.

Ethedra spoke quickly, her tone incredulous. “How’d Boe get it out of the Pravus?”

“Just you wait,” Abigail said. The light faded and she sprinkled more powder and said a few quiet words, then told Ethedra, “Wait till you see.”

The glow returned not as bright and now swarming with colors. Abigail placed her left hand six inches above Boe’s chest, and with her right hand, she reached down and plucked at what looked like a wispy plume of purple smoke caught on Boe’s shirt.

“Dragenpower,” she said.

“Ooh,” Ethedra said, leaning forward, hands grasping. She took a step forward and disappeared from above the well, then reappeared above another well closer to the action, her face and manner eager.

The purple smoke dissipated and under it was a thick layer of smokey silver haze, flecked with gold bits. This layer wound around Boe and around the strong light emanating from him. It punched through the light in places like a vine, seeming to hold it in place. Abigail tugged and poked at it but couldn’t move it.

All the colors and light disappeared, leaving Boe looking small and insignificant.

Abigail dropped her hand and looked over her shoulder. “Did you see it?”

“I saw it. Power holding on to power,” Ethedra said.

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