Chapter 518: Trouble With Meems
I was just getting my bearings when a voice in my head brought me up short.
Syd! Meira's faint connection grew stronger by the second. Was she in Nunaresh? Why?
Meems. I grasped onto her, using Ahbi's power to boost the connection, reaching for my little sister with a desperation I hadn't known I was hiding. Are you okay?
Am I okay? She sounded exasperated, frustrated. Even a little angry. And though this whole thing wasn't my fault, I guess I couldn't blame her. Where are you?
Safe, I sent. I'm chasing down Ameline.
Theridialis told us, she sent, calming a little, the touch of her stronger than anyone else who'd made it through to me, though still tenuous compared to our usual reach. But Syd, things are really bad here. Let Ameline try to get to the Node-she'll never make it. Dad needs us both here with him.
Ostrogotho then. Meems, you know I can't do that. I drew a breath, trying to focus on the pull of the geas and my sister at the same time. Not only do I owe Ameline for my own reasons, she killed Ahbi.
My sister was quiet a moment. They said you did it, she sent.
Wow, how sobering. And you believed them? My own sister?
No, she sent, but there was hesitation in her denial. It's just, you left home so fast and you didn't take me with you. And it was Grandmother calling. And you have her power now. Meira wound down, panic and temper bubbling inside her. She didn't sound like herself at all. Was it just the strain? My typically level-headed young sister didn't often fly off like this. She'd been through as much as I had, thanks to coven life. But she'd never doubted me like this before.
I didn't hurt her, I sent, softly and slowly, letting Meira feel what she could through the block in the veil. She came to me willingly and is forcing me to hunt Ameline. She wouldn't do that if it was my fault, Meems. Though in the back of my mind, the niggling worry it was my fault, that I'd somehow left my grandmother vulnerable to Ameline despite the old demon's incredible power, ached like a rotten tooth.
I guess. Meira's mind seemed to drift a moment, a new surge of power reaching me as though something fed her and kept the contact.
I have to go. I paused on a corner, the three demons with me watching my every move. I'll keep you posted, I promise. But I have to do this.
The flare of her temper was so unlike her, harkening back to her brief stint as a mean girl after some terrible witches at camp convinced her we were evil. It snapped against me hard enough I felt the source of her power at last and found my heart shriveling in terror at the realization.
Nectar. She was drinking nectar. And not the watered-down stuff from Ostrogotho.
Before I could demand to know what the hell she was thinking, Meira's mind shrieked into mine, slicing across my thoughts so fiercely I had to stop and grip my head in my hands.
THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT! She poured on the volume and the blame in equal measure, attacking me with words dosed in nectar-fueled magic. COME BACK NOW!
I didn't think. Just reacted. And I would always regret it. My magic flashed back over the connection and slammed into her, knocking her back and pinning her where she sat. I had the briefest of glimpses of her sprawled on the deck of a transport with a few demons I didn't know around her before I poured a heap of magic over her and roared in return.
WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU THINKING DRINKING NECTAR! I lost her a moment as the block in the veil pushed me back but caught her again. Where is Sassafras? Does he know what you're doing?
You're making things worse! Meira's mental voice sobbed in bitter frustration.
The pull of Ahbi's magic became an eager jerk. I have to go, I sent, chill and furious. We'll talk about this later.
Would we. I was going to kick her butt so hard she'd not find it for a week.
And then kill whoever gave her the nectar in the first place.
Meira's power battled against the edge of my mind a moment like a fluttering moth looking for light, only to collapse under the pressure of whatever blocked the veil. Inconvenient as it was, frustrating beyond belief, at least it kept me from screaming things at Meira I didn't mean in a fit of temper.
Small miracles.
Shaking free of my sister's attack, heart now hurting and wanting to go rescue her even though I couldn't if I tried, thanks to the geas, I forced my sister's plight from my mind with the promise I'd find her and fix the mess once Ameline was a dead woman.
My companions ran with me in silence as we leaped onto a departing sidewalk square. I bounced with so much impatience on my toes the platform actually rocked, finally depositing us on the opposite side of the city.
Two streets and a sharp right turn later and I was racing, heart pounding, a roar of fury breaking free of my throat, toward an elevated landing pad where Ameline struggled to force the girl in her grip into the back of a small transport.
She looked up with a snarl, spotted me, hate in her eyes as she pushed the girl toward me. The child stumbled over the stairs, falling into my arms, tripping me up as Ameline leaped into the transport and slammed up the shields. I had just enough time to leap for her, catching the edge of the bubble with my fingertips before she sailed off.
But not happily. I'm right behind you, I shot at her.
Damn you, she howled back. How do you keep finding me?
Ahbi's laugh slapped her mind. Watch your back, Ameline.
Panting, furious and desperately ripping at the edges of the veil for a way to pursue my enemy, I was forced to stand there on the empty launch pad and watch her escape me. Again.
Last time.
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