"What is the time of acclimation?" Alec asked just as Kristoff did the same thing.
"The Akasha was created by the Sovereign as a place of punishment for members of the Court who deserved such treatment. Later, others were allowed to be banished to its confines, but since it was created to hold former members of the Court, it deals with them particularly harshly. There is a period of time during which the inpidual sent there may be resummoned to the Sovereign's presence if it should so desire, but after that period is over, the inpidual loses his or her powers and becomes mortal."
Did he just call God an it?
The Sovereign is not God, and it is commonly referred to by a gender-neutral pronoun, yes.
"What's wrong with being mortal?" I asked, letting that point go for the moment.
"Nothing," Terrin said, getting slowly to his feet. "For one used to such a thing. But for a member of the Court to be stripped of his or her powers in the Akasha is a life sentence. Not even the Sovereign itself could change that."
"A life sentence? But nothing can die in the Akasha," I argued.
"Exactly," he said, his eyes suddenly serious.
"But why couldn't she simply be summoned later, even if she was mortal?"
He shook his head. "I wish she could, but Diamond is immortal. If she loses that quality, she ceases to exist in any plane mortals touch. She would exist in the Akasha, but" - he spread his hands - "nowhere else."
"Oh, my god." I looked at Alec as I realized what he was saying. "She'll be trapped in the Akasha forever."
"How long do we have?" Alec asked as Kristoff pulled out a cell phone.
Terrin gave us all a long look. "Two hours and thirty-three minutes."
Alec swore as Pia leaped to her feet, exclaiming loudly, "There's no way we can have Ulfur summoned in that time!"
Alec? What are we going to do?
Be patient, love. Let Kris determine if the lichmaster will help us before you think about panicking.
Kristoff turned his back on us, speaking rapidly in French into his cell phone.
"I'm afraid there is no other choice," Terrin apologized.
"But the lichmaster is in France! There's no way we could fly there in time," Pia wailed, moving over to her vampire.
Could a private jet -
No. Do not worry, mi corazon. If Kristoff can locate a lichmaster, we will be there in time, he said, obviously listening to Kristoff.
How?
We will take a portal.
To where?
To wherever we need. Ah. This sounds hopeful. Alec moved over to Kristoff, asking a question in French that Kristoff repeated.
I looked at Terrin, whom I was unnerved to find watching me. "You couldn't have told us this earlier?" blurted out of my mouth, making me blush at the rudeness. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean for it to come out that way, but really, a little more time would have been nice. Not that I've been proactive about getting Diamond out, so I'm just as guilty as you, but still. You, at least, knew the truth about her."
"I began tracing your whereabouts as soon as Mare Disin realized what happened to her descendant," he said gently. "You appeared to have traveled quite a bit in what is a very short amount of your time."
"Yeah, but you're some sort of an angelic bureaucrat, aren't you? Couldn't you just tune in your magic TV screen or whatever you guys have up in heaven, and see where I was?"
He gave a soft, but genuine, laugh. "I would give much to have a magic TV screen. Alas, the Court does not work that way. I traced you by means of bribery and several acts that I would prefer not bandied about."
"Thank god," Pia said, smiling at Kristoff. "We got the lichmaster, Cora. Very nice work, Boo."