“I didn’t hear the door open.”
“I told him about the underhill,” Raum shared, and Saemund stared at his grandson for a long minute before turning to Ezra.
“I can teleport,” Saemund stated rather calmly for dropping such a bombshell. “As can my son. Distance and protections aren’t really a hindrance to either of us. And my grandson trusts you, so I will trust you.”
Teleportation was supposed to be theoretical, according to practitioners at least. No spell existed to transport a person from one place to another without a portal.
Saemund had no reason to lie, and sharing such a secret was monumental.
Ezra blinked at Saemund for a long moment, rearranging his thoughts and what he knew about abilities and what was and wasn’t possible, and then simply gave up trying to quantify anything. “That’s really cool.”
He had a million questions he wanted to ask, but instead he let it go for the moment. They had a bigger issue to sort out.
“Somehow I need to connect to Morana and convince her to fade,” Ezra said, brow furrowed. “I can go deep with my inner vision to see the soul in the skull, but I’m not telepathic. I don’t know how to talk to her.”
He looked to Saemund. “Can you talk to her?”
Saemund grimaced, shrugging one shoulder. “Maybe. We Elder fae peoples can speak mind to mind if we reach a deep enough level of connection between souls. It is how we are able to bond with each other as mates, how we can teach our young their abilities, or forge connections on a spiritual level.”
“I might be able to reach her,” Raum said carefully, his expression pensive. “I can get thoughts with emotions if the emotions are strong enough, and if I go deep enough into someone’s aura, the thoughts are clearer, more distinct. It’s unpleasant and intimate, but I might be able to talk to her.”
“Her soul is intact, and the energies are similar to an aura, though she lacks a living body to give it structure,” Ezra mused, wondering if they were screwed before they even began.
“I can reach the soul level if I go deep enough,” Raum assured him. “It takes a lot from me, but I can sense living beings and see souls. I’ve never tried to make contact that deep with someone before, but I can try.”
Ezra nodded, worrying at his lip. He felt a twinge of hope that they might succeed.
“I’ll ask Grendel to let you have access to the skull,” Ezra said, pulling out his phone and texting the major. “I don’t know exactly how we’re doing this, but let’s see if I can get one hurdle out of the way.”
Raum
Saemund gesturedat him to follow as Ezra texted the major. Raum got up from the table, following his grandfather toward his office, the door open. Saemund stepped inside, and Raum did as well, heading for the chair at his desk and taking a seat.
Saemund paced a bit, eyeing the office, and Raum knew his grandfather was seeing the underlying magical structures of the underhill and not the outermost layer of reality. Most of the items in his office were made by people, but some of the bigger pieces, like his desk and the couch, were constructs of the underhill. They were indistinguishable from each other, but Saemund was more familiar with the magic of an underhill and could likely tell them apart.
Saemund paused his pacing. “You told him.”
“I did.” Raum looked at Ezra, who was still sitting at the table, thumbs flying as he texted. Raum had stopped suppressing his gifts around Ezra, and saw the practitioner’s aura quite clearly.
His aura was bright and colorful, like a sunset on a partly cloudy day, facets of his personality and emotions catching the light and reflecting it out toward Raum. Ezra was a delight toread—he was guileless and forthright, refreshingly honest, and Raum appreciated that very much. “I trust him.”
“Does he know the magnitude and weight of this secret?” Saemund asked, gesturing at the office around them. “It appears to be minor, a mere magical curiosity to some, but this secret drove our people to functional extinction. We are so few. I won’t see us sent to the abyss because your crush let the truth slip to the wrong person.”
“I won’t say anything, you have my word,” Ezra said from the doorway of the office, having heard them. He pocketed his phone and put his hands on his hips, Lilith sitting at his feet, both of them staring hard at Saemund. “I care about Raum and I refuse to let anything happen to him, or by extension, his family. This secret will die with me before I tell another soul.”
Saemund contemplated Ezra for a long moment before relaxing, nodding once. “Very well then. I will trust my grandson and his faith in you. But I will warn you—I will protect my family, from anyone, and do so with extreme prejudice.”
Ezra grinned. “Understood.” He looked at Raum. “I got you permission to see the skull. The sergeants are willing and able to take us to the MERS base, whenever you two are ready. That is, if you’re both willing to attempt this with me.”
Raum spun to his computer, brought up his scheduler app, and canceled office hours for the day, the app alerting his students to the change. “I’m ready now. Grandpa?”
“I had nothing else planned for the day. Let’s go wake a goddess.”
Ezra
The sergeants arrived with alacrity,informing them that Major Grendel would meet them at the MERS base, and Ezra was grateful for the large SUV the sergeants were driving as they all piled in the back.
“I need to swing by my room at Sacred Threshold,” Ezra said as he buckled his seatbelt. Lilith climbed off his lap and jumped to the front seat, crawling onto Chase, who cooed at her in greeting.
