Lacuna - N.R. Walker Page 0,96

I have a whole world of Ascii. Tens of thousands of them, just waiting—”

Crow raised his sword at her. “What do you want?”

“I want it all,” she replied, her voice raised. “Every land, every man, woman, and child. Every flag, every coin, every mountain, every river, every tree, and every grain of sand. I want it all.”

Tancho raised his two katanas. “You will get what you deserve.”

Maghdlm smiled, much like a spider greets a fly. “As will you! You’ve all served your purpose. I needed a part of the key from each kingdom and you gave me a royal tour.”

“The four metal elements,” Tancho said.

Maghdlm tilted her head before a smile crossed her awful features. “They were helpful, but that was not what I mean. A part of the key from each kingdom isn’t the metal elements, you foolish man.”

“The books,” Crow answered. “You were after the four books.”

Her smile became something else. “And now I don’t need you anymore. The crow and the fish will know the pain of the lacuna for an eternity.”

Then, as quick as a blink, she threw out her hand, and with a force that Crow couldn’t see, she sent Tancho sliding across the floor. He scrambled to stay on his feet, but as they had too much distance between them, Tancho fell to his knees, grabbed his wrist, and screamed.

The pain gripped Crow instantly, excruciating fire seared up his arm. It was blinding, sharp and insufferable, and if the pain didn’t kill him, the madness would. But through the haze of agony, he heard Maghdlm’s maniacal laughter and watched as she worked a large purple circle of sparks and sent it spinning toward Tancho.

She was going to send him through some doorway, to some far-off place, putting a distance between them that would surely kill them both. It closed in on him, the circle, the doorway, slid over him, taking Tancho from view.

And even as the pain burned him as it stole his breath and mind, Crow did the only thing he could.

He scrambled to his feet and ran as fast as he could, and as the circle of purple sparks began to close—just a small burrow of a hole remained—Crow dived through the doorway.

He heard yelling behind him as Maghdlm screeched, “Nooooo,” and Soko and Karasu both cried their names, but then the circle closed and the doorway shut behind them.

He had no idea where he was going, whether he would find himself on some different world or at the bottom of the ocean to drown, or if he was diving directly into the sun . . .

Because it didn’t matter. No matter what they’d face, they’d face it together. If they died, they’d die together.

Crow would go with Tancho, this day and for always.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Tancho noticed the absence of pain first. Then the resounding darkness, then the cold, hard ground he’d landed on. The silence, but the darkness . . . oh so dark. Then a harsh grunt beside him. “Fuck.”

Tancho sat up. “Crow?”

“Tancho,” Crow breathed. “Thank the blue skies. Are you okay?”

“I think so.” Tancho shook his head, unsure of what had just happened. Everything was so dark, he couldn’t see his own hands in front of him, but he reached blindly for Crow, feeling his back and shoulder. Crow sat himself up with a groan and Tancho felt along his arm and pulled him closer. “What happened? I was flung across the room, away from you. Oh, the pain of it. And then . . .”

“And then that bloodsucking mudworm Maghdlm opened a doorway and threw it at you,” Crow said. “So I ran. I almost didn’t make it.”

Tancho almost cried, grateful, sorry, overwhelmed. He put his head on Crow’s shoulder and clung to his arm. “Thank you.”

Crow wrapped his arm around Tancho, pulled him in, and kissed the side of his head. “I wouldn’t be anywhere else.”

“Where are we? It’s so black I can’t see anything.”

“I have no idea. I think my eyes are adjusting to the dark, but I still can’t see much of anything. Somewhere damp and underground, I’d say.”

“Somewhere cold,” Tancho said. “And somewhere our friends are not. Karasu and Kohaku . . .”

Crow’s hold on him tightened and he rubbed his back for warmth. “I know. Soko, too. But they’ll be okay. They’re smart and they’ll know what to do in our absence.”

“What if Maghdlm—” He sucked back a breath. “I can’t bear to think about what she might do to them.”

“Oh, Tancho,” Crow murmured