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“Is that kind of thing normal here?” she asked as her eyelids drifted shut.
“Not at all. I’m not sure how she cast it, but shadow and death magic are closely intertwined,” he explained. “That’s why the daggers are so effective against reapers.”
Even with Thane’s warmth blanketed around me, chills crept across my skin. Three insanely powerful weapons had been in William’s hands, and I hadn’t even known what they could do. I still didn’t know the full extent, and I couldn’t help but wonder if we were doing the wrong thing by using them.
Were we dooming the world to chaos and ruin?
18
TUESDAY MORNING
Thane had convinced Adam to give us a night to grieve and recover before providing him with a full debrief. I needed that time to process everything that had happened. We all did.
The following day, Thane realm walked Lena and me to the DEA to fill everyone in on what had occurred in the Otherworld. As if the Earth herself was mourning the stag’s loss, the clouds were heavy and grey and wept in a slow drizzle.
The welcome scents of warm, buttery bread and freshly brewed coffee drifted out of the conference room door as we approached, making my mouth water. As my stomach grumbled its agreement, I didn’t know which I wanted more of—food or coffee.
Before the three of us had finished filing inside, Kit, Angela, and Ivan appeared, and Angela eyed the dagger on the table warily as she took her seat. None of us knew how she’d accessed its magic, but I was eager to find out if she could do it again.
Shooing everyone away from the kitchenette, Ivan and Lena loaded up plates with fresh pastries and fruit, filled cups to the brim with coffee, and placed both in front of those of us who ate. They’d turned into saints overnight.
When we finished telling the others what had happened, and Angela had explained the surge of power she’d experienced followed by a total drain, the conference room was silent.
Well, silent of voices. As the last to take their seats, Lena and Ivan were still munching and crunching on their breakfast while the rest of us sipped on our second or third cups of brew.
Adam sat with his eyes closed, his fingers steepled at his lips. Imos, Tundreg, and Pietr might not have known the Keeper of the Forest, but their expressions were solemn. More so than usual, anyway.
After a lengthy silence, Adam opened his eyes and lowered his hands. “Losing the Keeper at such a time is unfathomable. Once word of his death gets out, which Colin will ensure happens sooner rather than later, the unseelie will infringe upon the other fae courts. The Otherworld will be in chaos, if it isn’t already.”
“Maybe that was the plan all along,” Kit said as she ripped off pieces from a napkin. Probably because she couldn’t rip Colin’s head off just yet. “For all we know, Colin engineered this whole thing as a diversion or to cripple any fae enemies he has while hoping to get the dagger before we did.”
Adam dipped his chin. “It is possible. Unfortunately, this new knowledge makes opening a portal more challenging. Providing the unseelie an easy way through would be catastrophic.”
“He didn’t seem super concerned about losing the dagger. Maybe he doesn’t know about the Last Hope. We need to speed this up.” I pointed at the blade. “How do we make the super weapon?”
Adam nodded at Nathan, who sat beside him. The beefy, blue-winged angel extracted the other two daggers from thin air. Literally, just reached up and plucked them out of nothing.
Gods, I loved magic.
He set the daggers next to the one already lying on the table, creating a triangle. All three had expensive jewels embedded in the hilt and swirly designs etched down the blade. Pretty, yet deadly.
“Demonic magic forged the Daggers of Abaddon, but it is holy magic that assembles Abaddon’s Last Hope,” Adam explained. “Nathan, please proceed.”
The other angel held his palms above the triangle and closed his eyes.
Talk about ironic. Only angels could create a super weapon named after an angel of death, yet capable of extinguishing their souls. Had William known, things would have ended very differently…
…for us.
A soft white glow emanated from Nathan’s hands and illuminated the daggers beneath. Tendrils of white light wrapped around the three blades, which started to spin in place. The tendrils drew them closer together, still spinning, and the light brightened until it exploded in a flash that had me throwing my arm in front of my eyes.
When I lowered my arm, the light had faded. So had the three daggers, and in their place was one beautiful sword.
My lips parted with awe as I examined the new weapon pulsing with holy light. The double-edged blade wasn’t super long, only slightly longer than Lisa, my trusty short sword named for a she-fox. Like the daggers had been, flowery sigils were etched along the steel and jewels embedded in the hilt.
Veronica…
I licked my lips and sat up straighter. No offense to anyone else, but this divine weapon wasn’t meant for them. It was meant for me. I leaned forward, eyeing the sword as it sang to me, enticing me with visions of grandeur.
