Amelia chuckled. “The trickster at work.”
“I have a reputation to live up to,” Raven said, winking at her before turning back to Marci and, surprisingly, Myron. “Here’s my plan. As of right now, Algonquin has no idea what’s happened in the Heart of the World. She still thinks thatyou’redead”—he nodded at Marci—“and thatyouscrewed up.” He nodded at Myron. “She doesn’t know yet that anyone’s become a Merlin, and so long as she stays ignorant, we have a shot at fixing this.”
“How is she not going to know?” Marci asked, pointing at the empty city on the other side of the scrying circle. “She’s about to be in an all-out war with the spirit of the DFZ. I don’t care what evacuation orders she gave—you can’t empty a city of nine million in a few hours. There are still people down there, and I’m the Merlin. Dealing with rampaging spirits is my job. I have to do something. What, exactly, I have no idea, but the moment I do it, I’m pretty sure Algonquin’s going to know I’m not dead.”
“Not if she doesn’t see you,” Raven said. “It’s a big city, and she’s a huge spirit, but you’re human sized. If we sneak you in, you can deal with the DFZ. Bind her, drain her, knock her out, whatever. Just get her back under control. Once she’s locked down, Myron can come in and claim the credit.”
“Excuse me?” Myron said.
“Why him?” Marci said at the same time.
“Because he’s the one Algonquin sent,” Raven explained patiently. “Remember, Algonquin’s a spirit of the land. She’s heard stories and seen the pillar, but she’s never actually been inside the Heart of the World. If the DFZ goes quiet and then Myron walks out cocky as ever with a good story about how he temporarily lost control of his spirit, but everything’s good now, Algonquin has no reason not to believe him. That’s a totally plausible story to her, and even better, it’s the one she wants to hear. Shewantsto believe that she’s won, that she’s successfully hacked the system. Once we’ve got her buying that, all Myron has to do is promise to knock the magic levels back down as ordered, but only if she boots the Leviathan first.”
Myron looked horrified. “You want me toscamAlgonquin?”
“You already scammed her,” Raven said. “You can’t fool me. I’ve worked with you for decades. I know you came in here intending to shut the magic off completely, and I’m equally certain you didn’t tell Algonquin that while you were ripping Emily to pieces. You’ve already played her. Now we’re just taking things a step further.”
“Misleading Algonquin about my true intentions is a far cry from pretending to be Merlin to her face,” Myron said, his eyes wide and fearful. “How am I supposed to explain my knowledge of the Leviathan?”
Raven shrugged. “Just say I told you. She already thinks the worst of me. What’s a bit more?”
“Especially since it’s the truth,” Marci said. “But there’s a critical flaw in your plan. If we’re going to have any chance of making Algonquin believe Myron’s her Merlin, he’s going to have to show up with his Mortal Spirit, and I just don’t see that happening right now.”
Myron whirled on her. “You just told me not ten minutes ago that you wanted me to rebind the DFZ legitimately!” he cried. “That was yourentire requirementfor building a failsafe into the seal. Now you’re saying I can’t do it? Make up your mind!”
“Itismade up!” Marci yelled back. “You can do it, just not like this.”
She threw out her hands at the scrying circle, where the city was groaning like a chained animal. “When I was talking before, I assumed we’d be waiting until she calmed down and then go in slowly, building trust back from the ground up, but this situation is lunacy. She’s beating against Algonquin with everything she has. If you go down there now, assuming we can even find a way to get you down there, seeing how we’re both ghosts, I’m pretty sure she’s going to eat you.”
“Then you’d better figure out a way to change her mind,” Raven said. “Because Algonquin’s already losing her control over the situation. Even with the Leviathan helping pump in water to hold her down, it’s only a matter of time before the DFZ breaks free. When that happens, it’ll be all-out war between Algonquin and the world’s only full Mortal Spirit, and considering the size difference, I think we all know how that’s going to end.”
“Don’t write Algonquin off so easily,” Ghost warned. “She may be much smaller, but she’s experienced, determined, and desperate. The DFZ is maddened, young, and lacking a human anchor. If she throws her power around without thought or a mage to feed power into her, she will very quickly run out, and then Algonquin will have the upper hand.”
“You can’t kill a Mortal Spirit,” Marci reminded him.
“But you can destroy her domain,” Ghost replied, looking down at the familiar buildings. “The DFZ is the soul of a city. Algonquin can’t remove that from people’s minds, but she can easily destroy Detroit again. It won’t kill the DFZ’s spirit, but a setback like that will probably keep her from rising again for decades.”
“And meanwhile, the entire city will be destroyed,” Marci said grimly. “Again.”
She scowled down at the scrying circle for a long moment, and then her head shot up. “Is there a reason we couldn’t just fake the whole thing? What if Ghost pretended to be Myron’s Mortal Spirit. Would that work?”
The blast of cold in her mind made the Empty Wind’s opinion of that plan very clear, but Raven’s answer was the one that made her slump.
“No,” he said. “Even if the Empty Wind could pull off his part, Algonquin would never believe it, because Myron doesn’t look like a Merlin.”
“Merlins look different?” she asked, staring down at her body, which, other than the ghostly transparency, looked normal enough to her. “How?”
“Lots of ways,” Raven assured her. “Humans generally can’t tell because you don’t see things like we do, but there’s not a spirit born who can’t tell a Merlin on sight. No. If we’re going to sell Myron as Merlin, then he’s going to have to actuallybea Merlin, and since the DFZ is one of only two Mortal Spirits in existence right now, he’d better brush up on his groveling.”
Marci didn’t think any amount of groveling would make up for what Myron had done, but the other thing Raven said gave her an idea. “What about you?” she asked, looking the bird up and down. “You said you’re half Mortal Spirit.”
“And the last one in the world Algonquin would trust,” Raven said, shaking his head. “If Myron showed up with me as his Mortal Spirit, Algonquin wouldn’t believe a word he said, which defeats the entire purpose. We need her to believe she’s won. It’s the only way she’ll feel confident enough to give up her trump card.”
“Assuming she hasn’t decided to destroy everything already,” Myron said bitterly. “She has a very low opinion of the world.”
“I don’t think that’s it,” Marci said thoughtfully. “Don’t get me wrong. I’m sure Algonquin hates all of our guts individually and by name, but no one who’s fought as hard, long, and creatively as she has is going to give up before the bitter end. So long as there’s even the faintest hope of turning this around, I don’t think she’ll sell out to the Leviathan. That buys us time.”
“Let’s just hope it’s enough,” Raven said, folding his wings tight against his body. “Right, let’s do this. First things first, we need to get the two of you back to the physical side of things. Myron will be easy. We just have to find where Algonquin’s stashed his carcass and take it back. Your return, Marci, will be slightly more involved, but I’m pretty sure I’ve covered all the angles, so if you’re ready…”
