“Either that or change their purpose,” Odin said.
“Their purpose? You can change that?”
“They belong to us. We can summon the essence of their magic back.”
“You mean, you'd leave the power, but remove the point of it?”
“Yes. I am the God of Justice. My axe embodies justice. I should be able to trade Justice with another of my magics, perhaps Strength. It would render my axe useless to the machine.”
“That would preserve the axe so that once removed from the machine, you can change the magic back,” I said in revelation.
“Yes, precisely.” Odin motioned to the gods. “Any volunteers to test our theory?”
“I don't think it will work with my automaton core,” Hephaestus said. “It has neutral magic.”
Odin nodded and made a pensive hum. “You could change that, empower it with Fire Magic.”
Hephaestus frowned.
“I'll do it.” Thoth stood up.
The other gods looked at him in surprise.
“What?” He lifted his beakish nose. “You don't think I can do it?”
“No, we know you can.” Anubis stood up and laid a hand on his arm. “You're just not known for self-sacrifice, my friend.”
“I'm not sacrificing anything. If all goes well—”
“Hold on,” I interrupted. “Those tablets aren't a power item. They do not contain the magic of knowledge. They simplyareknowledge.”
“Then how is the machine using them?” Thoth shot back.
“It's taking knowledge from them.”
“I disagree. The tablets hold the magic of Atlantis, which I have aligned with myself through human worship. They are a relic of wisdom, full of its magic.”
“No, she's right, Thoth.” Ma'at stood up. “It could be as you say, but why take the risk? My feather holds Truth Magic. The magic is clear and indisputable. I will make the attempt.”
“Ma'at, no.” Thoth took her hand. “Let me do this.”
“I'm so proud of you for wanting to try, but you are the God of Knowledge. You know this makes more sense.”
Thoth sighed and nodded. “Then I will attend you.”
“We will all go with you.” I stood up and motioned to the corridor.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Ma'at stood before the glass case containing her feather and closed her eyes. The rest of us gathered around her, trailing into the corridor to watch while giving her space. All except for Torrent, who stood in a corner of the room, watching the Internet for any sign of the machine lashing out again.
The air shivered with magic, and the soft whirring of the machine stuttered. Like heat off asphalt, the space between Ma'at and the machine blurred. The white feather brightened and glowed, but then the glow faded.
It was working.
The wires attached to the feather blackened. Ma'at glowed with magic, her hair, already as lustrous as a pearl, becoming blinding. She breathed in deeply, her body expanding with power. Meanwhile, the machine let out terrible clunks and clatters. Smoke drifted up from it, filling the room with the scent of burning flesh—not metal. I didn't want to think about what that meant.
“Keep going!” Torrent shrieked. Then he smacked a hand over his mouth. “That's what I meant to say!” His eyes widened, and he started to shake his head, but nodded instead.
