Page 13 of Resurrection
Which Seiran had then had the work of finding a new home before his own became a war zone. They now lived in a nice garden maze in the UK somewhere, with lots of signs around it to keep humans away. Pixies didn’t like humans much and were carnivorous. Much like gnomes, they couldn’t really be around the human population without causing trouble.
“Vampires know exotic pets have to be cleared through Max now,” Sam continued. “No pixies, gnomes, griffins, or gargoyles. Funny how much of this shit I used to think was all make believe.”
Better off for most humans to believe that. It kept them out of trouble. “Yeah, well, someone found magic to create a golem by sacrificing three lives. I’ll be able to question the guys using it tomorrow. But I suspect it was sold to them, possibly one of them bound to it with a minor spell, which was why the glamour was unraveling.”
Sam blinked at the golem, studying it. “Nice cover. Boring. Forgettable. The magic is tight.”
“He’s had my power to refuel him. Which means he’s not unraveling anymore. At least until I take the spell apart.” He was human looking. Though in realityhewasn’t correct as golems were genderless. The persona Forest had chosen appeared male. But since there was something in there other than magic and sticks, Seiran felt wrong calling him an it. Like somehow it would erase the lives lost to create the being.
The department media group had taken snapshots of Forest using the image of each of the three who had been murdered to create the golem. The shifting of its glamour to each of them insanely accurate, believable, and disheartening. Well, all but the third who appeared blurry and undefined. For the first two they had names, and addresses, even rambling about things each of them had liked in life. The third was male, dark hair, but it was all they could get out of him before the golem turned combative, which made Seiran shut down the questioning likely before they should have. How much of those souls were trapped inside? He didn’t want to think about that. The more he stewed on it, the more he wanted to unravel it.
Did it know who created it? Yes. Could it tell them? No. More magic. Spelled not to divulge things. More spells woven in unfamiliar ways. In fact, even trying to unravel the golem to free the souls bound to it, was a maddening mess of attempting to complete a puzzle in a language they didn’t know. Sei had the entirety of the Department of Magic researching. He could force the earth to take it back, but it might not unbind the souls. Not everyone was convinced they were souls. Seiran had seen enough to make him think it was more than simple energy. He didn’t want to chance leaving them locked in some sort of stasis for the rest of eternity.
Seiran couldn’t leave the thing locked up within the Dominion walls, hoping the golem didn’t get out or let someone else in. The tie to his creator had to be severed too, or else they might break through any lesser witch’s hold. Which meant Sei had to bring it home with him.
His wards were strong enough to keep anyone out, and the binding he’d wrapped around the golem should keep the golem from being called out by anyone else. It was as safe as he could make it. As long as he kept the golem near him. Which meant he probably wasn’t going to get much sleep tonight.
Sam frowned. “This is really bad timing.”
Was a golem ever good timing?
“I need you to come with me to see Max,” Sam said.
Seiran glanced down. “Pa-Ja-Mas.”
“Whatever. Max won’t care. You just have to come with me now.”
Leaving the house was the last thing Sei wanted to do. If he couldn’t play in the garden before bed, at least he’d like to snuggle up with his kids for some dumb movie or even hold them while they fell asleep. Wow, he was feeling old tonight. Sure, still healing, but that couldn’t be all of it?
“Can’t we do this another night?”
“No,” Sam folded his arms across his chest.
“I am not a vampire lackey.”
“Actually, you are,” Sam said.
“Gabe is gone.” It still hurt saying his name. Memories of those last few months too hard for words most days. Sei wanted to remember his boss at the bar instead of the lover he wasn’t sure had ever been real. And a decade and a half was a long time to be alone.
“That’s the problem, Ronnie. He’s back.”
Chapter 5
The car ride gave Sei a long time to stew. There had been a bit of an instant uprising in the house with his kids, his brother, and Kelly protesting, which had riled up the bond on the golem.
Negative emotions and death magic didn’t seem to mix. Good to know. However, it also meant Forest sat next to him in the backseat, Sei in the middle, Sam on the other side of him. The car was driven by one of Maxwell Hart’s many hired drivers. Seiran kept his hold and attention firmly on the golem. He would have to spend more time researching it. Was there a way to stop negative emotions from feeding it, or was that simply how golems worked? Perhaps it was another spell he had never encountered. The stack of new magic he was discovering today was bordering on uncomfortable.
His power should have been enough to hold it, no matter what. Didn’t earth surpass death? Staring at Sam’s reflection in the glass, Sei thought, maybe not.
Sei hadn’t changed clothes, instead choosing to shove on a pair of garden Crocs and follow Sam out the door. Since the house was far outside of the city, and Hart haunted downtown, it was a long drive.
“You’re too quiet, Ronnie,” Sam said staring out the window.
But Seiran wasn’t sure what he felt. Numb, mostly? Confused? The storm of emotion he’d received from his family had been intense. For himself, he couldn’t really concentrate on a specific feeling. He had dreams from time to time. A stirring of memories, sometimes good, sometimes bad. In truth, he’d given up hope years ago, not only of Gabe’s return, but of any semblance of not being alone forever.
Which was a little unfair, because his kids, his brother, and his friends, were his life. And he was never alone, from family to work, to the earth that fueled his power. He didn’t date. Not that he felt he couldn’t, more that it simply felt strange. The few times he’d tried it had ended in disaster, so he had stopped trying at all. Men flirted with him, he’d had a dozen offers from powerful witch families for an official marriage and more kids. As if he needed that kind of work and a loveless tie to people he didn’t like—not the kids, the witch families. In truth, he chose loneliness a lot of days, finding it more soothing than memories of things lost.
“I don’t know what to feel,” Sei admitted quietly. “How is he?” Did he even care? Yes. And wasn’t that terrible? Those last days, the betrayal, and then that final memory of Gabe giving himself back to the earth, letting go so as to not hurt Sei. Conflict of emotions, okay that was a bit of a battle Sei hadn’t expected. Too much all at once to figure out when he was tired and drained from a long day.