Page 114 of Fated In Ruin
I raised my hand. “Would someone like to enlighten those of us who weren’t born into this life? Who are these assholes?”
“Lord Volkmar, besides being a soulless barbarian, dabbled in forbidden magic and Aurelius…he was rumored to travel between realms, though no one ever confirmed they were anything other than rumors. But….it’s possible one of them managed to unlock some powerful energy source.”
Malachi faced the window, staring blankly out like he was lost in thought.
“The blackout was over ten years ago, the power source never confirmed.” Nash stared at us all in turn. “But possible causes…I looked it up. Solar flare, EMP, or a nuclear event so catastrophic it would cause widespread damage.”
Or accessing some sort of cosmic energy field.
My heart sank. “So you think Ravok somehow discovered this and what? Headed to France to find out if it was true?”
“He sees the future, remember?” Malachi reminded us softly, without turning around. “If a source of power exists, he already knows exactly where to find it.”
“And Romulus said the change had already begun…two days ago.” I swallowed, glancing at my sister, hugging her arms around herself, her blue eyes bouncing between everyone in the room before landing on Eldric.
“I’ve studied ancient lore, and this transformation you’re talking about,” Eldric shook his head. “This is quantum entanglement. There is nothing in the physical realm of this planet to generate a big enough energy field for what’s been hypothesized, not even a nuclear reaction. Forget the blood,” his gaze landed firmly on me, “forget the fact physical laws are inflexible when it comes to transmuting actual physical beings into another form, you would be talking about a confluence of about a thousand different variables for something like this scenario to work. You would need a miracle.”
“Or someone who can see the future,” I murmured.
“We have two leads. House Vespertine and House Malvyth. We should follow them both up.” Blake turned to Nash. “Is there anything else? We’ll need to split into two groups, so choose two teams of guards.”
“What would Ravok need,” I mused, “for a transformation? He’d need a secure location, right? Protection?”
“He doesn’t have an army left,” Riordan pointed out. “He only has Dante and Alistair…and this Romulus.”
“A fresh, steady source of blood, he’d need to feed constantly,” Eldric said, fingers tapping on the mantle, his sharp gaze focused on Angel, as if she was the only person in the room. “Changing from one form to another takes an enormous amount of physical energy, in addition to the external forces required.”
“Somewhere isolated,” Blake growled. “Far away from civilization and easy to defend, in case they were discovered. They have to know we’re hunting them, and they lack an army for protection. Isolation replaces strength, in this case.”
“Both locations are isolated,” Nash said, “and both have strategic positions in the mountains. High ground, easily defensible with even a small force.”
“I’ll see what I can find out about the two locations,” Nash said, pulling out his phone. “I have an old contact who still has influence in the Old Country, let me see if he knows anything.”
“If we find Ravok, there’s a chance we’re messing with forces none of us understand.” The temperature in the room seemed to drop as Eldric continued, his words painting pictures that made my soul recoil. “If Ravok, or one of these lords has managed to harness the energy required for this transformation, none of us—even together—will be able to shut it down. I’ll…” He swiped his hand over his temple. “Let me get started learning about quantum physics.”
Blake’s hand settled on the small of my back, and I leaned into his touch, drawing strength from the connection. The gesture wasn't lost on Malachi. His gaze flickered over us, then away, something complicated passing across his features.
“Do we have enough information to narrow down the search?” I asked. “Can’t we at least start looking, so we’re not just standing around…”
“I know where he is,” Malachi whispered, so softly, I wondered if I was the only one who heard him. His eyes closed, and even with his back turned to us, I read his stance. Defeated. Utterly defeated.
“If we find Ravok in time,” Blake rapped his knuckles on the table, “we can stop this. But if we can’t kill him…”
“We could trap him,” Riordan finished, and the way they built on each other's thoughts sent hope surging through my chest. He nodded to Malachi, eyes still closed. “Like you did, with the iron coffin. There are containment spells that might work. If Fiona could adapt them to this new magic, we could find a way to bind him long enough to...”
“I’ll speak to my sister. Fiona has contacts all over the world, specializing in arcane magic,” Eldric suggested. “She will come up with something.”
“I’ll reach out to my contact then start assembling a tac team, set to travel at a minute’s notice, anywhere in the world.” Nash turned on his heels and headed for the door.
I looked around at these males—enemies, now allies—and something profound shifted in my heart. All these people, vested in Riordan’s dream, ready to fight to protect it.
“Once we come up with a plan,” I said, stepping forward to join them at their makeshift war table. “We’ll go after Ravok.Together.”
The word hung in the air like a promise, but when I looked over my shoulder, Malachi was gone.
I frowned at the bright afternoon sun streaming over the empty spot where he’d just been, wondering why he’d vanish without a word.
Without telling us where Ravok was.
