Page 58 of Resurrection
“The souls are still in the golem. I have been unable to unravel the way they are bound. I suspect it is part of the golem having more than one soul tied to it? Sam will be available for questions at your retrieval of the golem.”
Seiran heard the vague cursing of Sam in the background of the voicemail like he was unhappy to be put on call for the day. But the message ended there. It was almost nine, which likely meant that Sam was asleep. Max too, as most vampires found the sun draining. Seiran sent a message to Luca instead,Is the golem with you guys?
He found a container in the fridge that had his name on it and pulled it out, pleased to find Jamie had packed him a bento box for lunch, and a container of egg sandwiches for breakfast. He took the top off the second container and popped it in the microwave while he waited to see if he’d get a reply.
Gabe reappeared in the kitchen, clean and dressed, wearing just jeans and a T-shirt with a leather jacket over the top. Seiran hadn’t recalled packing up those clothes, but it had been so long. At least the air-tight storage had kept them in mostly one piece.
Seiran’s phone pinged with a text.Yes. You can have it in exchange for a slice of cake.
How had Luca known Seiran made cake?You’re blackmailing me for cake?
Yes.
How do you know I have cake?
Kelly posted about it online. Pictures of a divine chocolate Rou creation. Has a couple thousand likes already.
Of course, he had. Kelly had a large social media following, not because he was the Pillar of Water, but because he was sort of a hot swimmer who happened to get a few bronze medals in a couple of summer Olympics. Seiran suspected he only placed bronze each time because Kelly feared people would claim his water magic gave him an advantage. And he probably wasn’t wrong. Shortly after his last placement, the games had put restrictions on witches in competition. Thankfully Kelly and the handful of other witches had not been stripped of medals, merely excluded as seemed to be their lot in life.
Seiran frowned at the phone, then wrote,I feel like I’m better off keeping the cake. You can have the golem.
Please come get it. It’s very creepy,was Luca’s reply.
Seiran swallowed a laugh, and took out the cake to cut a big hunk off for Luca and Con. How many times over the years had he had people ask him to bake? Tell him to give up the Dominion and do what he loved? But then who would do his job? Who would look after those inexperienced and unprepared witches facing things like they had last night? Not all monsters were things that stalked the night.
Seiran ate fast, filling a travel mug with coffee. “You need blood?” He asked Gabe, pointing at the freezer.
“No. I ate well last night.” He couldn’t hide the distaste on his face as he glanced at the freezer.
“Does it really taste that bad?”
Gabe thought about that for a minute. “It’s a bit like comparing a bowl of flavorless oatmeal to your cake. Nourishment, sure. But not anything anyone will jump at the chance to have. And minimal. Not enough nutrients to really help.”
Seiran found that amusing. Old blood was bland oatmeal, gross. “Gotta stop at Sam’s and get the golem. Max said he can’t release the souls. Does that sound normal?”
“None of this is normal,” Gabe said. “Three souls in one golem is overkill. Golems don’t need souls at all, more likely they’d be put there to keep them from departing this plane. But why?”
“I was thinking the vampire souls were weaker, maybe? And that’s why they used three? You think they wanted to keep the souls here?” Seiran grabbed his keys, put his used dishes in the dishwasher and headed for the garage.
“Vampire souls are no weaker than witch ones. I have no idea why anyone would want the vampire souls contained. Usually once the soul is released so is the revenant, so maybe they are trying to control the revenant?”
“Is that possible?”
“For an outside source? Probably not. It’s like trying to put a leash on a wendigo and call it a dog.”
“You remember more about this whole death magic thing?” Seiran wondered. “Never met a real wendigo. They are legit?”
“Bits and pieces. It feels like something I know. A muscle memory? Perhaps I can release the souls where Max could not? Wendigos are mostly extinct, I think. Not necessarily a bad thing since they are one of the deadliest creatures on the planet.”
Seiran took a minute to process that, wendigos and Max releasing souls, as well as magic Gabe seemed to have. A vampire thing? Or something he’d always had and hidden? He didn’t want that fight right now. “Well, we’re on our way to pick up Forest now, so I guess you can take a look?”
Gabe nodded. The car being in the garage, meant Gabe didn’t have to face direct sunlight. And the heavy tinted, barely legal dark coating, which was meant to help keep Seiran’s family life private, seemed to help keep the worst of the sun off of them. He had the radio on low for updates on the news. The vampire graveyard was only mentioned in vague passing. As if the media hadn’t been given a lot of information. And it sounded like that was Max’s doing since they indicated a ‘leader of the local vampire community,’ which usually meant Max or Sam. Mike only took lead if he had to. Seiran suspected he didn’t care for the spotlight much.
“I will try to share more,” Gabe said, staring out the window. He frowned as they entered the one-way mess of downtown streets where Sam’s loft was. The trio lived in the warehouse district, which was where all the cool non-humans lived now. But Seiran knew that Luca actually owned and managed half the buildings. The creation of a supernatural hotspot and tourist area, had been his idea.
“I’ve heard that from you before,” Seiran said absently. Hard to take stock in words when they meant so little.
“I’m sorry.”