Total pages in book: 151
Estimated words: 147649 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 738(@200wpm)___ 591(@250wpm)___ 492(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 147649 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 738(@200wpm)___ 591(@250wpm)___ 492(@300wpm)
“The black tomb. Which is still standing, did you see that?”
I nod. “What’s an Apis bull?”
“Not a what. A who. A powerful, powerful god. He’s…” Pell pauses to smile.
“What?” Tomas is anxious. “He’s what?”
“He’s Tarq’s brother. And you know what that means?”
I look at Pell dumbly. “No. I have no clue.”
“It means…” He smiles. It’s a weird smile. Almost devious. Which is really not a good look on shaggy Pell. “It means we can still save everyone.”
“How the hell will we do that? Even if I can find Madeline, my eggs are dead!”
“Well, we probably can’t save them. I’m sorry about that, Tomas. I really am. But we could substitute Apis for Tarq, and then go to the eros, and… fix this!”
“Let me get this straight.” Tomas’s face goes serious. “You want us to go into that black tomb—the only one left standing after a disaster that ruined everything else—find the god who lives in there, magically subdue him, then wrestle him to town and hand him over as a substitute so Pie can have a baby with him?”
I make a face. “I’m really not on board with this.”
Pell sighs. “OK. Fine. It’s a stupid idea. I’m open to suggestions. If anyone else has a plan for winning, let’s hear it.”
“Winning!” Tomas stands up and paces the room. “Winning, you say?” He stops in front of Pell. “We lost, friend. We lost everything. We’re not winning! There is no winning!”
I let out a long, tired breath and look up at Pell. “Listen, I hate to admit this, but he’s right. We lost, Pell. We did everything wrong. Pressia wrote us books telling us how to win and we didn’t even look through the fucking bookshelf! And now everyone is dead. Nysta, and Callistina, and Madeline, and Tarq, and my girlfriends in Vinca, and the monsters, and the prisoners. And probably Jacqueline and her stolen kids too! Everyone. And it’s all our fault. We suck at saving the world. That’s all there is to it.”
Tomas is walking around the room again.
Pell objects to my summary. “Maybe they’re not dead? Maybe they’re just—”
“Stuck in a curse?”
“Pie. I’m not saying we didn’t make mistakes—”
“Make mistakes? We fucked everything up! I killed people, Pell!”
“You didn’t kill anyone.”
“Hey,” Tomas calls from the other side of the room. “There’s a book here.”
“I did! I sent Callistina into debt and I put Nysta in the Bottoms just for asking about her own future! And now, they’re both dead.”
“Then maybe we should go back to my plan. You’re the one who wanted to save everyone.”
“Your plan?” I scoff.
“Helloooo!” Tomas walks back over to us holding an open book. “Did you hear me? I said there’s a book here. What is this book, Pie? I can’t read these letters.”
“Oh, my God! I was just bitching about how we didn’t look through the books, and they’re literally in the room with us! Am I just stupid?”
Pell points at me. “Cute.”
“Listen, kids. This is not the time for this. Read the fucking book, Pie!”
Tomas drops the book in my lap and I stare down at Pressia’s flowing handwriting. “It’s a spelling.” I look back up at Pell. “Dare I read it? Or will it just make things worse?”
“Worse?” Tomas yells. “How could things get worse?”
Pell sighs. “He’s right. Just read it.”
I let out a long breath, then read the spell:
“I stole these spells. They were not mine.
I took them through the sands of time.
I hid them well, I hid them true,
I saved them for the three of you.
Use them now or use them then,
Be careful though, they bring the end.
Words will make the magic flower,
But people give the spells their power.
Just like money, there is supply,
But don’t be fooled, the cost is high.
I put you here to fix the past,
But every choice will make it crash.
Still a choice it is, you see,
To move forward or let it be.
This or that, it’s up to you,
But in the end, you’ll own that too.
You cannot avoid the road ahead.
Meet it well or with dread.
Waste no time in changing minds,
They cannot see when they are blind.
I wish you well. I’ll see you when
You find the final happy end.
It may take years, it may take lives,
But even so, you will arrive.”
There is a prolonged silence at the end of the spelling. Then Pell says, “What’s it mean?”
“It’s very long.” Tomas is walking around the room, looking at the various books Pressia left on the benches.
“Which means it’s complicated,” I say.
Pell sits down next to me and sinks back into the cushions. His hand automatically rests on my leg and I lean into him as he sighs. “I’m so fucking tired of riddles.”
“‘I stole these spells. They were not mine. I took them through the sands of time. I hid them well, I hid them true, I saved them for the three of you.’” Tomas holds up another book. “Look what I found.”