nancy werlocks diary s02e13 (3 page)

Vivika twirls around to face me and struggles against the binding. “Nancy, what is the meaning of this? What are you doing?”

“Destroying you, Chana Magus.”

Vivika turns around and looks at Houston. He turns his back to her. “Houston! Whatever they told you is a lie! I’m your mother! Help me!”

“No,” he whispers.

“I command you!” says Vivika as she tries to compel him to help her. But Houston had already shielded himself with the incantation Brynwolf taught him before coming to the ritual site.

The wolf walks toward the ritual circle and slowly transforms back into Joshua Brynwolf. “Go quietly, Vivika. It will be easier for him.”

“You! How…”

I continue with the binding incantation to make sure she is securely locked to the spot, pulling the last of her essence out of the astral plane and into the physical realm. I can feel her spirit trying to escape across the Veil. I close my eyes and focus on the incantation. My head is pounding from the psychic assaults Vivika is sending at me. Were it not for Brynwolf’s psionic shielding and the enchanted lariat restricting part of her own power, I’d probably be dead from an aneurism. Even now, my head feels like my brain has swollen up two sizes too big for my skull.

“You people turned my only son against me! My blood! Houston, they are going to destroy me! After all the power I invested in you!”

Houston continues to ignore his mother’s demands. Unable to rely on her own spirit power, Vivika attempts to draw power directly from the cairn. Red Turtle waves a hand and a translucent, shimmering shield of energy blocks her. “I told you, spirit. I would not allow the cairn to be defiled.”

Vivika lets out a scream of anger. Black tendrils of energy manifest around her as she tries to lash out at Brynwolf, Red Turtle, and me. But the tendrils dissipate when they reach the border of the circle.

“You were right, Nancy,” says Brynwolf as he watches Vivika struggle against the mystical bindings that continue to wrap around her. “Replacing the bismuth filings with lead filings and the ruby shards with red spinel shard makes an effective ward against her draining ability.”

“You sabotaged me, you demon-screwing whore!” She sends a massive psionic blast at me that causes my head to physically snap backwards from the impact, but I manage to maintain the incantation and keep her from breaking free. Normally, a witch could draw support from her apprentice in binding situations, but the nature of Houston’s ward requires that he not open himself up in that manner lest his mother gain access to his mind.

I feel her trying to draw energy from the Veil itself, as if trying to anchor herself to the Veil directly and feed from it. “We also substituted your Persian saffron with Austrian saffron. Did you know that the Austrian variant actually strengthens the Veil?” says Brynwolf.

“And you mock me, you cowardly upstart!”

“Shut up, Vivika,” says Houston. “Or Chana Magus or Hannah Monfort or whoever the hell you are supposed to be. You sound like a damn supervillain. Just die already.”

Hearing that much pain and anger in Houston’s voice breaks my heart. I didn’t want him to be here when this happened, but there was no way Vivika would have trusted me if Houston had not been involved.

Vivika looks to her son. “Houston, I never would have hurt you.”

“I know. You just would have taken over the body of any daughter I ever had. Like you did to April.”

“Houston, you are my son and I love you. I made you what you are.”

“I’m your son. But you don’t love me. And I never asked for any of this.”

Vivika turns her attention back to me and pushes a new psionic attack at my mind that starts clouding my ability to speak. A witch that can’t form words is a witch that can’t perform incantations. For a moment, I feel like my brain is a rope used in a tug-of-war as Brynwolf countering Vivika’s assault. I feel blood seep from my nose.

I collapse to me knees as I finish the binding incantation. “It’s done. She’s not getting out of that.” I touch my fingertips to my eyes. When I pull my hand back, I see blood. Houston rushes over to me and helps me to my feet. I can’t stand. Even with Houston bracing me, my body is swaying like I’m drunk.

“You chose her over me?” says Vivika. “I’m your mother.”

“And I’m only me because I was born the wrong gender.”

“That’s not true. Houston…”

Brynwolf looks to Houston and sighs. “If you love your son, Chana Magus, I’ll give you one opportunity to prove it.”

“You expect me to beg, upstart?”

“What are you doing, Lord Advocate?” I ask. My words sound slurred in my head.

“The right thing for your apprentice,” he replies. “Houston deserves to know the truth. He’s been through too much this year, and he’s been through all of this because of your lies. Everything he has endured is the direct result of your own manipulations. Do the right thing by your son.”

“There is nothing she can do to make this right,” Houston says as he turns his head toward the Lord Advocate. “She’s a monster, and she needs to be put down like one.”

“She is a monster,” says Brynwolf. “You’ll get no argument out of me. And you also believe your father was a monster. He killed her and your stepfather and left you an orphan. This goes beyond the last year, young man. You’ve spent your entire life thinking your father was a monster and now you know what your mother is. And it terrifies you, because you think you may be one, too.”

“I don’t…”

“Houston, I’m Lord Advocate of the Eighth of the Nine. You aren’t the only mind reader here.”

“Stop trying to manipulate my son! Warlock! Are you going to let him do this to your apprentice?”

“I don’t even know what is going on!” I try to stand on my own power but think better of it when I almost fall down. There is not enough aspirin in this state to treat the headache I have.

“I’ve seen Houston’s medical records,” says Brynwolf. “I know that his abilities are not the result of Imprinting. They are far too powerful and far too precise. You didn’t
give
him his powers. You simply unlocked them. You may actually have been the one who locked them away to begin with.”

“What are you saying?” asks Houston.

“You are a powerful psion, Houston. And you have extraordinary potential. I won’t see that potential damaged from your own internal doubts. I don’t believe your mother was truthful about who your father was. I believe he may have been a witch. Most likely a psion himself. Your magic is hereditary, not imprinted.”

“Is now
really
the best time for this conversation?” I ask.

“It is the only time. Because only one person knows the truth. You won’t be released, Chana Magus. You are too dangerous to be free. But I can offer you a reprieve. The Eighth of the Nine is willing to allow your essence to be imprisoned at the Nexus in exchange for the truth. Who is Houston’s father?”

“You already know who is father is, upstart. He killed me.”

“Don’t do this to your son. He deserves to know the truth.”

“That
is
the truth, you pathetic fool. His father is responsible for my death.”

“Houston’s magic isn’t the result of Imprinting. You can drop the charade. If you love your son, tell him the truth so he can reach his full potential.”

Vivika’s laugh sends a cold chill through me. “You really
don’t
know, do you? Oh this is
precious
. Now why would the Eight of the Nine care so much about the paternity of one witch? Fine. I’ll take your little plea bargain, Lord Advocate. But I won’t tell
you
anything. I will only speak to the Eighth of the Nine. If he wants the information so badly, he will bargain with me directly. I have information he wants? He’ll give me what
I
want.”

Before the Lord Advocate can reply, the flock of crows that had been observing our activities swoops down into the circle. Their talons glow with a faint blue light. They begin to tear Vivika’s astral form to pieces.

“Red Turtle! What are you doing?” shouts Brynwolf over the sound of the crows cawing and Vivika’s screams.

“What you should have done,” he replies as he calmly watches the birds tear Vivika’s soul to shreds. Vivika forces out one last psionic blast that kills a third of the flock, but not enough of them to stop what is happening.

“Stop it!”

“No.”

“We need her!”

“No, you don’t.”

“Stop this or—”

“You have no authority over me, Lord Advocate. I don’t belong to your colleges.  Do not forget who protects this cairn, and who allowed you to conduct your business here as a guest. I agreed to help you destroy this abomination. I keep my agreements.”

“Houston!” Vivika shouts.

“Its fine, Lord Advocate” says Houston as he turns around and watches the last of his mother’s soul get ripped to shreds by the birds. “He’s right.”

The flock carries off the pieces of Vivika’s spirit and vanishes into the clouds.

Houston and I both sit down on the ground. Well, he sits. I just sort of lean against him and try to stay upright. He puts an arm around me. “You okay, Boss?”

“I think there is blood coming out of my ears.”

“A little. Do I need to take you to Doctor Creepy-Guy?”

“No. No. I just need a nap for about…a week.”

“I’m sorry, Houston,” says Brynwolf. “I had hoped to at least afford you some closure.”

“Yeah, well. Maybe you could have told us about this part of the plan beforehand? Because as it stands, now I know I’m not just an orphan. I’m a bastard.”

“The young man has a point,” says Red Turtle. “You risked allowing an abomination to continue to exist over your people’s obsession with bloodlines and lineage. No good came of allowing her to continue to be. Imprisoning such monsters only means they escape at a later time.”

A floating orb of light appears almost directly in front of the Lord Advocate. It flashes bright white and then pale yellow. “Esteemed,” says Brynwolf. “Please let the Eighth of the Nine know the situation has been resolved. Chana Magus is no longer a threat. The binding was successful and her spirit sent to the nether realms.” The Esteemed pulsates blue for a moment and then back to white. “I will head to the Nexus to present my full report in person as soon as we finish here.”

The Esteemed bounces up and down in the air and disappears.

“Did the Eight of the Nine actually authorize her imprisonment?” I ask.

“Not really,” says Brynwolf, finally cracking a smile. “I think she realized that, too, and called my bluff. I just saw an opening and took it.”

“She was talking in circles, anyway,” says Houston. “She pretty much admitted that she didn’t actually Imprint me, but then says my father killed her. But we know the man who killed her wasn’t a witch or even related to any witches.”

“A man’s body is born from his mother’s womb. But a man’s soul is born from his own heart,” says Red Turtle to Houston. “Regardless of your parentage, you are who you chose to be. You are not who they were.”

“Thanks, Master Yoda,” says Houston with a thumbs up gesture.

Red Turtle looks down at me. “Your apprentice, Nancy. He’s a geek. You know that?”

“Yeah, I do. And I wouldn’t have him any other way.”

He kneels down and takes my head in his hands. He says an incantation in Unami and I feel the throbbing in my skull slowly start to subside.

“Thank you,” I say as I can start to think clearly again.

“I expect this mess cleaned up before you all leave,” he says before departing. “And Joshua, try to read my thoughts again, and the next time I morph you into an animal, it won’t be a wolf.”

“Understood,” says the Lord Advocate with a salute.

Red Turtle transforms into an eagle and flies off.

* * *

Eric listens intently as I relay the events to him. “And she didn’t even realize the bloke was sitting right there as a wolf the whole time?”

“Hide in plain sight,” I reply. She had to have felt his energy, but probably assumed the wolf was a spirit animal or spirit companion to Red Turtle. She had no reason to suspect otherwise.

“Still, bold risk but bloody brilliant!”

Houston comes down the stairs and sits in the recliner. “Risha said she’ll make some quiet inquiries. See if she can dig up anything about my dad. She said it’s possible he could have been an undocumented adept. Lots of people have magical potential but never develop it.”

“Let it go, mate.”

“Nah, it’s good. I’m good. This is more just curiosity now.”

“Well, I need to get home and let Gregor know what happened,” says Eric as he stands and stretches. “It’s all good if I’m gone about a week, ya? Gregor needs me to help him with some mapping project.”

“This doesn’t have anything to do with his plans to visit the mouth of the River Styx, does it?” I ask.

“No. I think he may be off that. He just accepted a consulting contract with Elliswyr Transportation. They’re working on commercial portable teleporters. Small enough to fit in a purse.”

“Sounds interesting,” says Houston.

“Sounds dangerous,” I reply. “But take whatever time you need. November is fairly slow at the shop. Business won’t start picking up again until we get near the Solstice.”

“Ace. But if you decide to take Houston back to the Hellsmouth to drown his sorrows, ring me and I’ll pop right back!” He teleports out of the living room.

Houston and I sit in silence for several minutes. “You sure you are all right?” I finally ask.

“It comes and goes,” he says. “I mean, she was my mother. But she was never my mother, if that makes sense.”

“It does.”

“Should we say anything to Aunt Ruth?”

“There is nothing we can say to her that would even make sense. Nothing is gained by telling her what really happened.”

“You’re right. I know your right. She’s just really getting okay with my powers. I haven’t even told her Risha is a psion. Though I think she suspects.”

“You introduced Risha to your aunt and uncle?”

Houston shrugs and gives me a sly grin. “Well, yeah. Just the one time. She met me there when we were going to lunch. Aunt Ruth wants her to come over for dinner but I wanted to wait until this was all over.”