“Now why would I want to do that?” He pivoted, hands in his pockets. I noticed the sword sheath poking out beneath his jacket. Houdini had a weapon that would, thanks to the curse, stay with him for eternity.
“Because if we don’t do something, we’re gonna stay like this forever.”
“Would that be so bad?” He stepped in moonlight and squinted as if he were staring into the sun. “Our powers aren’t diminishing—they’re evolving. Remember what I said about Sparrow not controlling the magic he created? I discovered something recently. We don’t exist to humans anymore. They can’t hear us, see us, or feel us.”
“I know.”
“But did you know we can touch them?”
“Bullshit. I’ve tried.”
His thin lips curved into a knowing grin. “If you concentrate, you can touch their life force and borrow enough energy to make contact. This would be immensely helpful if we eventually lose the ability to touch inanimate objects. The dead can inhabit the minds of the living, but we can inhabit their bodies. I’m certain we could either do it through them or by borrowing their life energy. Think of what you might be able to do as a Mage. Your ability could differ from mine.” Houdini looked like someone who just discovered the fountain of youth. He rushed to the cage, inches from my face. “It’s quicksilver magic—constantly changing. I can also borrow energy from Breed, but that’s proved more difficult and pointless since they can still see us. I had to charm someone to stand still and allow me to try.” He tapped his fingers between the bars. “These may not be enough to hold you someday. If we become more like ghosts, we’ll have the power to pass through cages, walls, and doors. Only time will tell, but isn’t it thrilling?”
“Which part? Being dead? Or sitting in a room alone because no one can see you anymore?”
“There is so much to learn. No one can kill us, and yet we exist.”
I frowned. “We’re not all the way dead. We can probably die.”
“I visited an acquaintance from the party. He’s not too pleased that I cut off his head, but as it turns out, wecan’tdie.”
If Houdini was telling the truth, that changed everything. Sparrow had implied we’d be walking the shadow realm forever, which made the idea of Lenore setting me on fire even less appealing.
Houdini gripped the bar with one hand and leaned way back like a carefree young man. “Sparrow thought he was giving us less power, but he’s giving us more.” He laughed giddily. “Any limitations we have can be rectified with loyal servants. Shifters have human pets who willingly wear collars and are bossed around like property. Humans do it for the thrill, not the money. They’re enamored by us and easy to charm. I wager there are also Breed out there who might feel the same about our circumstance. I don’t see any real obstacles at this point.”
“You have gone completely off your rocker.”
I twisted my hair back and paced. Was he lying to get me to believe him? And if itwastrue, how did it change things?
Houdini stepped into my line of view, his hazel eyes sparkling and watchful. “Be the youngling I’ve never had. Let me be the maker you’ve always wanted. Together, we’re capable of so much. I understand you in a way he never will.”
Houdini meant Christian, not Sparrow.
“If you refuse to break the curse that binds your light, you’ll be alone in this realm,” I reminded him. “Dead. Dead and alone.”
He tilted his head to one side. “But I’m always alone. The woman I was fated to marry died just two years after I ran away. Fever. That’s what they called it when they had no explanation for an infection. So even if I had stayed human and married, I would have been alone. And then I would have died. But instead, here I am—the living dead.” Houdini began singing lines from “Don’t Fear the Reaper” while curling his fingers around the bars. “Come with me, Raven. Rule with me.”
“Since when are you power hungry?”
“What would you suggest? We wander? Watch others live their lives?” He dipped his chin, his eyes centered on mine. “Prepare for the possibility that you’ll stay this way forever. Accept your fate and draw strength from it. We have another advantage: spirits. We can see them the way Gravewalkers have always seen them. Who better to serve as our loyal subjects?”
I rolled my eyes and gripped the bars above me from the center of the cage. “According to the guy I work with, they have the attention span of a gnat and the memory of a goldfish.”
Houdini smiled. “That helpsmyargument more than it does yours. There’s more to this world than meets the eye.”
I stalked toward him and stopped just a breath away. “Why do you want me so badly?”
“Because you’re mine.”
“You should have invited Lenore before she jumped on Sparrow’s ship.”
Houdini glanced upward and sighed. “Lenore disappoints me. I wanted her to rise to power, but I judged her wrong.”
“She’s only doing what you taught her.”
He tickled my chin with the crook of his finger. “I never taught my protégée to bury my youngling. That’s betrayal.”
My blood ran cold. “She doesn’t know you’re my maker, does she?”
