“Don’t.”She shook her head.“I know the risks.”
“Risks?This is madness.We don’t even know what that spell does.Is it a weapon?Something that can kill Headwaters?We don’t know.And if it isn’t?Then how many more spells are we going to have to go through to find one that will work?We turned a dozen pages today and were attacked and nearly blinded.There are hundreds of pages in the book.You can’t think we can get through them and somehow miraculously master a spell that will kill Headwaters in the next few hours.”
“I think,” she said, her voice cold and shaking with anger.“That one of us damn well better find out.You can just stay out here afraid, Brogan.Card, you come with me.”
She turned and strode out of the room, Card following behind.
CHAPTERFIFTEEN
Pamela sat and looked busy reading her screen.Abbi crept out from the other room.She touched my hand, then jogged down the hall to catch up with Card and Lula.
Me?Anger washed through me in waves and a raging helplessness filled my chest and clogged my throat.I wanted to yell.To tear this world apart.To grab Lula and drag her away from the book, from this place.
From anything that connected us to gods or the Route or magic.
We were not ready to use the god magic in the book.
We were not skilled enough.
Revenge would only get us dead.
It was a trap.Meeting Headwaters on his terms was so clearly a trap.But Lula was set on killing him now, with the book, with unbridled power.
With or without me.
Fuck.
“You don’t need my opinion,” Pamela said quietly.“But I’m on your side.No one should be messing with magic that strong.If there’s something I can do to talk Lula out of it, I’ll try.”
I huffed a laugh that was more of a choked sob.“You don’t know her like I do.”
“No, I don’t.Is there anything that would change her mind?”
I took a breath, let it out.“No.”
And that was the answer then, grim as it was.I couldn’t talk her out of this.She had chosen our path, our fate.
She might have thrown my fear in my face (and she was not wrong, the power in the book terrified me), but she’d done it knowing I wouldn’t walk away from her, would never leave her behind to face danger without me.
Our lives were permanently entwined.
So, too, I’d always known, were our deaths.
I’d brought the glass of water out with me when I’d heard Lula on the call with Headwaters.I must have set it on the table.
I picked it up now and drank it down.
We only had hours until dawn.So little time to find the spell we needed.Me standing out here angry wasn’t going to give us more time, wasn’t going to givememore time to learn what I needed to learn to kill Headwaters.
“I hope you’ve got a hearty dinner lined up,” I said.“Something we can eat quick.”
“Will do.You want to take some water in with you?I’ve got sealed bottles.”
“Yeah, that’d be good.”
Pamela left for the kitchen.I closed my eyes.I’d never been a praying man, and the way I knew the gods, I didn’t intend to become one.
Still, I cleared my mind and took breaths to calm my racing emotions and thoughts.
