Blackbird Crowned (The Witch King's Crown #3) - Keri Arthur Page 0,90

steps long and somehow angry—at the old gods and their plans rather than me, I suspected. “That doesn’t alter the fact that Gwen’s use of the sword is unforeseen and untested.”

“Unforeseen by you and Mryddin, perhaps, but probably not by Vivienne.” I hesitated. “But in the end, the how or why doesn’t really matter. All we need to know is that I can do it and that we need to use it.”

She stopped abruptly. “I take it you have a plan?”

I smiled, though it held little in the way of amusement. “I do. I’m going to send Max a message he absolutely cannot ignore.”

Chapter Twelve

“By shutting down gates, I presume,” Luc said. His expression was calm, but the emotions boiling through our link were a thick mix of acceptance and fear, admiration and anger.

I placed a hand on his thigh, a gesture of comfort I knew would provide none. “Not just any gates. The four London ones.”

“That will definitely get both his attention and Darkside’s.” Mo resumed her pacing. “However, there is one tiny flaw in your plan—”

“The fact that the only way to survive Elysian’s full power is in the gray,” I cut in flatly.

“I would hardly call that a small flaw,” Luc commented.

“And it’s not, but I have no intention of risking death. I’ll step into the gray to close each gate.”

Mo’s expression was suspicious, and rightly so, given I wasn’t exactly telling the truth. But all she said was, “That will certainly send them a message.”

“Yes, the fact that Darkside placed their bets on the wrong fucking twin.”

Mo chuckled. “I meant more along the lines of ‘fuck with us and we’ll close all the gates down.’”

I raised an eyebrow. “I thought you said that wasn’t feasible?”

“I don’t think it is, but that’s not the point. Neither of us know for sure, and they’d be the losers if we actually could.”

“Just to be the voice of reason here,” Luc said. “If you do attempt to shut the gates, they will attack en masse. None of us can afford that right now.”

“No, but unless they can get the main gate open, any mass attack is naturally restricted by the dimensions of the minor gates. It’s probably the only thing that has saved London,” Mo said. “Such attacks have been tried in the past, but they were always countered, thanks to the fact that the width of the gates only allows two or three of the bastards to exit at the same time.”

“Yes, but there’s more than enough of them already in London to make a counterattack on Gwen,” Luc said. “Even if the sun forces them underground during the day, there’re still the halflings to deal with.”

I frowned. “I thought they were slowly being beaten back?”

“The operative word there being ‘slowly.’” Luc’s voice was grim. “I’d put money on the fact that there’s still a multitude of gates that have not yet been properly warded.”

My frown grew. “Why would you think that, given the warning went out hours ago?”

“If there’s one thing that has never altered across multiple centuries,” Mo said, “it’s the fact that the wheels of government—large or small—move very slowly. Disaster generally has to punch them in the face before motivation gets real.”

“The attack in London would surely have done that, though,” I said.

“You’d think so.” Her voice suggested she wasn’t overly convinced.

“Council action or lack thereof is not the biggest problem with your plan,” Luc said. “Historically speaking, closing the gates has always required proximity. That’s why the battles between them and us have always been in the fields surrounding the main gate. If closure could have been done from a distance, then surely one or more of the witch kings would have attempted it.”

“Just because it’s never been done doesn’t mean it can’t be. And as you’ve said, I’m already using Elysian in ways no other witch king has.”

“Even if we presume you can close gates from a distance, that doesn’t alter the fact you can’t do four at the same time,” he said. “And the minute you close one, every single demon on the ground and in the air will hit you.”

“Then I’ll close them in an area that’s already well protected—the palace.” I thrust up from the bed and began to pace. “We have to take the fight to Max. Now. Before he or Winter can hit us again.”

“You won’t get anywhere near the palace,” Luc commented. “The minute they see you in the sky, they’ll hit you with everything they have.