“I know that feeling!” Sally exclaimed as she left Xae's arms to run back to her daddy. “I got it the day you became my daddy.”
We gaped at Sally again, especially the Emperor. But he recovered first.
“You felt the Goddess that day?” Emperor Sarthares crouched to bring his face to the level of hers.
“Uh-huh.” She nodded as if this wasn't anything special. “I knew you were my second daddy then. I knew I was very lucky to have been born with two daddies.”
“Oh, sweet Goddess, thank you,” the Emperor whispered as he blinked back tears.
“Don't be sad, Daddy.” Sally hugged him. “I love you. Second doesn't mean less.”
The Emperor bent his head into Sally's hair, his shoulders shaking suspiciously, and we all looked away, giving him a moment to gather himself. A sniff came, and then he stood, bringing Sally with him. With his daughter sitting on the crookof his arm—a little awkwardly now that she was bigger, the Emperor faced me again, this time with wet but joyous eyes.
“You see, Lord Ember?” the Emperor asked. “As my Sally says, the natural state of death isn't bad, but the Consciousness is. And this is how you fight him.”
“I'm sorry, Your Imperial Majesty,” I said, utterly baffled. “I don't understand.”
“Ember, you can't fight Death with Death Magic,” the Emperor said. “I see that thought in your eyes, and you must banish it.”
“I know that most of Death Magic is bad,” I argued. “But I think it depends on the caster and the spell. If I—”
“No!” Vexen growled as he prowled up to us. “You can't ever use that vile magic again. I felt it in the Corrupter, actually felt the greasy evil seeping out of him, trying to enter me. You have to stay away from it.”
“But that was Death, not the magic. I . . .” I looked from Vex to my lovers, and then the Emperor. They all wore matching expressions. Stern, steady expressions that said they'd sooner chain me in a dungeon than allow me to use Death Magic.
“Death is like the dark,” the Emperor said. “It cannot be fought with more of the same. It can't be fought at all.”
“Uncle Ember,” Sally said hesitantly.
I cleared my throat and changed my expression to suit her. In other words, I smiled despite the anxiety I was feeling. “Yes, honey?”
Sally looked from me to her father. Only after he nodded did she speak, “When I go to bed, sometimes I get scared of the dark. So Daddy leaves a light on for me. Just a little one, but it sends the darkness running. It works every time.”
The Emperor beamed at her, then looked at me. “She is brilliant, isn't she?” His smile shifted into a smirk. “Smarter than you, Lord Ember. She understood immediately.”
I felt lost and a little defensive, what with everyone nodding and smiling. I still didn't get it. Frowning, I asked, “What are you talking about? You want me to battle Death with a nightlight?”
Sally burst out laughing.
“No, Lord Ember,” the Emperor said in a gentle tone. “Listen to me closely. If you want to defeat the darkness, you don't make it darker. You simply turn on a light.” He laid the palm of his free hand over my heart. “Be the light, Ember.”
With his touch more than his words, I understood. “Be the light. I need to counter Death with its opposite—life. Spirit Magic.”
“Yes.”
“Took you fucking long enough,” Keltyr muttered behind me.
“Hey!” I snapped at him.
“Sorry. You're smart, Ember. I know that,” Kel said.
“No, I don't care about the insult. I know you didn't mean it. I just don't want you cursing around Sally.”
“Oh. Sorry, Sally.”
“It's all right, Uncle Keltyr,” Sally said.
The Emperor chuckled. “You see? You are already a wielder of the light. Which leads me to the last thing the Goddess said to me in my dream—the words she asked me to repeat precisely.”
