“You’re not going at all,” Raven said firmly.
“What?”
“He’s not saying you can’t fight her,” Emily explained patiently. “But Raven’s plan requires Algonquin to think she’s won, which will be difficult if there’s a brand-new hybrid Spirit of Dragons blasting fire at her.”
Amelia’s face fell. “I suppose if you put itthatway.”
“There’s no other way to put it,” the general said, turning to Myron. “Have you convinced the DFZ to do her part yet?”
“Not yet,” he said. “I was just about to…that is…” He trailed off, looking at her in helpless bewilderment. “Are you not mad at me, Emily?”
“Mad at you?” she asked, crossing her makeshift arms over her makeshift chest. “You abused your position, sided with the enemy, ripped my body apart, and used it to launch yourself to power. Now I’m stuck in this rusted-out hodgepodge made from whatever bits Raven could scavenge out of the Pit. I’mfuriousat you, Myron, but we don’t have time for that now. We’re on a mission here, people.”
“What mission are we on?” Julius said, utterly lost yet again as he turned back to Marci. “How many people did you bring with you back from the dead?”
“It was pretty busy,” Marci said. “But I’m glad you asked about the mission.”
She turned to face the DFZ, who’d been quietly trying to slink off into the dark. “Julius was right when he said you weren’t alone. We’re all here to fight against Algonquin, but what you don’t know yet is that Algonquindoeshave an ally. A terrible one.”
“Not so free with that information, if you please,” Raven said quickly, flapping his wings. “Remember what I said about this being avery big secretforMerlins only?”
Marci rolled her eyes. “It’s a little late for that. If Julius is putting his neck out for this, he deserves to know why, and the DFZneedsto know. She’s kind of integral to this whole thing.”
“Why me?” the DFZ squeaked, glaring at Myron. “I’m only here because he and Algonquin yanked me up.”
“Exactly my point,” Marci said, turning back to her. “You’re not a natural Mortal Spirit. You were engineered by Algonquin specifically so she could get her hands on the first Merlin and gain control of the magic. She’sterrifiedof you and Ghost and all the other Mortal Spirits because you’re bigger than her, and she hates humans because we cut off her magic and sent her to sleep. To be fair, those are both valid. Mortal Spiritsaredangerous, and the ancient magesdidscrew her over. But rather than deal with that herself, Algonquin brought in outside help.”
“What do you mean ‘outside help?’” Julius asked nervously. “What’s outside for a spirit?”
“She’s talking about the Leviathan,” the DFZ said, her voice shaking. “Iknewhe wasn’t a spirit.”
“He’s not anything we know,” Marci said. “He’s not part of this world at all. He’s an extra-planar being called a Nameless End, and though he answered Algonquin’s cry, he’s not here to help. He’s here to take advantage of her.”
“It didn’t help that she made herself an easy target,” Raven said bitterly. “Algonquin’s so obsessed with the wrongs that have been done to her that she’d rather destroy the world than accept them.” He looked pointedly at the DFZ. “I imagine you can sympathize with that.”
The DFZ dug her claws in stubbornly. “I was just trying to protect myself.”
“So is she,” Raven said. “In her own fashion. But that’s actually good for us. So long as Algonquin has hope, she’ll keep fighting, and as destructive as that is, it’s preferable to the alternative.”
Julius winced. “What’s worse than fighting Algonquin?”
“What happens when she gives up,” Marci said quietly.
“Nameless Ends survive by eating planes,” Amelia said. “Normally, this happens after the plane collapses, but it seems the Leviathan convinced Algonquin to let him in early, and the only reason he hasn’t eaten everything already is because he’s here on a probationary basis.”
“What does that mean?” Julius asked.
“Nameless Ends areextra-planar powers,” Amelia explained. “As in outside. Since our plane is healthy, that means he can’t cross the planar barrier unless someone with power on theinside—like, say, a giant lake spirit—gives him an in. It’s kind of like what I did for dragons when I became their spirit. We could live here, but we weren’t actually part of the native magic until I blended my fire with the magic in the vessel I took over to become a spirit. Now we have an anchor, a magical connection. If the Leviathan wants to come all the way inside, he’s going to need the same. That’s why he’s playing Algonquin. If he can get her to surrender her magic to him, that’s his way in. Algonquin hasn’t given in to him yet because she’s still hoping to salvage the situation, but if she loses that hope—”
“She’ll let the monster run rampant,” the DFZ growled, lip curling to show her pointed teeth. “Prideful lake.”
“So how do we stop her?” Julius asked, looking at Raven. “Everyone keeps saying you have a plan.”
“A very clever one,” Raven assured him. “We—”
“We trick her into thinking she’s won,” Marci said excitedly. “If she thinks she’s got control of the magic, she’ll have no reason to keep the Leviathan around. In order to convince her of that, though, we need to prove she’s got control of the Heart of the World, which means sendingherspirit/Merlin pair in to break the news.”
Julius wasn’t quite sure what that meant, but the DFZ jumped like Marci had taken a swing at her. “No.”
