“First some introductions—Mom, Dad, you’re here with two MERS soldiers, Harlan and Chase, and Ezra, curse-breaker.” Raum gave Ezra a swift wink that had him blushing. “Guys, my mother Freya and my father, Nórr. No last names, as they’re a bit old for those and don’t feel the need.”
“Yet you’re a Nórsson?” Ezra asked Raum, a bit confused.
“A surname is kinda required in academia,” a deep male voice came from the phone, his Norwegian accent a bit thicker than his wife’s. “I was flattered that Raum chose the one he did.”
Ezra was charmed to see the faint blush on Raum’s cheeks. Raum cleared his throat and spoke again. “I’ll let Ezra describe the skull.”
Ezra, feeling a bit on the spot, mentally flailed for a second before finding the words he needed. “Um, okay. This is all conjecture and assumptions based on my limited exposure to the object and how the magic functioned.” He took a deep breath and dived in. “Perhaps an Elder fae species, very very old, with a single blow to the skull with what looks like a long knife or sword. There are what appears to be either runes or words in blue flame covering the skull, but not in any language I have seen or know—it may not be a language at all. The soul of the being resides in the skull, and the skull is trapped in a horrible cycle of life and death—I believe it’s constantly trying to heal itself while actively dying, and the excess energies are spilling out into the physical plane as an expression of the Elder being’s aspect—a fierce, unnatural blizzard. It’s trapped in a paradoxical state—an immortal being as near to death as possible without actually crossing over—and the power it has is unlike anything I’ve seen. Like I said, this is all conjecture and best guesses, but I’m pretty certain. We’re doing research to try and confirm the details, and hopefully you can help as well.”
“That…that’s horrific,” Nórr said in a soft tone. “Is the soul aware?”
“I don’t believe so—it had no reaction to me when I temporarily shut down the cycle the one time I interacted with it. Right now it’s in a reliquary, but something that powerful needs to be destroyed. It can destroy an entire country if left unchecked.”
“It’s a weapon in its current state,” Freya mused. “I read the dossier that came with the NDA, darling. Do you think perhaps the trading company brought it along with the purpose of using it?”
“That’s not a bad hypothesis, Mom. Probably? I can’t see any other reason to carry such a dangerous object if they weren’t planning to use it.”
“Does it sound familiar to you at all?” Ezra asked, hoping for the affirmative.
“I’ve never heard of the like before,” Freya said. “Such a horrible thing would be impossible to forget.”
“I’m not sure, son, most ancient artifacts using skulls I’ve ever heard of or have come across were something other than Elder fae. Usually human skulls. Easily destroyed, too, usually with a hammer. This doesn’t sound like anything I’ve experienced. Your grandfather probably has the answers you seek.” Nórr paused for a second. “Given his age, Pop might even know who the skull was…might know the name of the person they once were.”
“He hasn’t been contacted yet by the MERS lawyers,” Chase interjected quietly, checking his own phone. “They can’t find him.”
“Give me an hour, son, I’ll track my father down for you,” Nórr said. “Have those MERS people waiting at his house and I’ll grab the papers from them for him to sign. He’s probably refusing to come out of his house, he’s not too fond of government types.”
“I’ll let them know sir, thank you,” Chase replied.
“And off he goes,” Freya said, sounding amused. “Your father does love solving problems.”
“I appreciate you too, Mom.”
“I know, dear.” She paused. “Is the curse-breaker still there?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Ezra spoke up.
“How did you interrupt the cycle before? You mentioned something about that.”
“Oh, yes. I grounded the death magics in the earth, temporarily shutting down what I call the ouroboros— the outpouring of life magics to death magics, and the surfeit creating the storms. ”
“You’re a necromancer,” she said with certainty. And a lack of judgment. His own mother was anything but proud of his death affinity, seeing it as a mark against the family name and reputation.
“Of a sort,” Ezra only hesitated for a second before deciding to share. “I’m a dual affinity, fire and death.”
“A perfect mix of affinities for a curse-breaker, how wonderful. You’re perfectly suited for your career.”
“I…” His mouth worked for a second, and no sound came out, so startled was he at the supportive words from a mother, anyone’s mother, about his affinities and the life he chose to live. “Thank you.”
“You’re most welcome, dear. That was a brilliant piece of magic. It can’t be permanent, though, can it?”
“No, the second it went into the new reliquary it broke the grounding, so if the reliquary is opened again, it’ll resume the same cycle as before, and call down a blizzard on its location.”
“Can you describe the storm?” Freja asked.
“Snow several feet deep, powerful nonstop winds with whiteout conditions, below freezing temperatures, and sudden enough that it killed a majority of the wildlife in the area.” Chase spoke up for that question. “It covered a radius of 3200 acres.”
“In American that’s five square miles,” Harlan said with a teasing smile for Ezra.
