NESS
First there’s darkness, then the smell of salt water, then extraordinary pain.
For a beat, I wonder if someone has stolen an organ before remembering what happened outside the manor. I’ve been hit by a lot of spells during my time as a Blood Caster. Most have blasted me across the room, or at worst, stunned me. This one tore through me. I thought I was going to bleed out.
I try touching my wound, but my arms are bound.
I open my eyes, and the light hurts even though it’s not that bright. I’m strapped into a stretcher. Someone is taking me to Gleam Care. I turn my neck to find the Senator watching me. He has a black eye and a cut lip. There are life jackets above his head. I’m not on my way to receive medical attention. I’m back on the same boat where we first reunited.
The destination is obvious.
“You tried to make a fool out of me,” the Senator says. “Thankfully Jax has impeccable aim.”
“He didn’t kill me,” I say, my throat raw.
“You weren’t useful to me dead. This time. The country already saw me grieve you. What they needed this time was to watch me condemn you—my son who came back from the dead. It’s a sign of my strength and commitment to protecting everyone from celestials and specters. I’ve been playing the long game thanks to my friend here. . . .” The Senator spins my stretcher and Luna is handcuffed in the corner with her eyes closed. “Then of course I beat her before she could try and cheat me out of my victory.”
“You talk too much,” Luna says with a bored sigh.
“Enjoy the conversation while you can. You’ll miss it when you’re in solitary confinement.”
I’ve never seen Luna look this defeated before. Does she really not have something up her sleeve? Is June going to pop in any second now and vanish with her leader? Maybe Luna will show me some final mercy and have June carry me away too because I’m all out of moves now. It’s up to Emil and the Spell Walkers to cast a light on the Senator’s crimes. Outsmart him.
“Do you remember when you were little and you were rooting for me to become President Iron so you could live in the White House? You should be proud of yourself. It required some nudging and threats, but you did this!”
“It’s not over. You can still lose, especially without my power to lie for you.”
The Senator laughs. “You think I don’t have this election in the bag? In the eyes of this country, I defeated that supremacist Sunstar in the debate, I have apprehended the alchemist responsible for many of our terrors, and I sentenced my son to a life behind bars for their protection. And if that isn’t enough, all isn’t lost.”
The impossible happens.
His eyes burn like an eclipse and the black eye and cut lip glow in gray lights and fade away as if they were never there. And that’s because they never were. I blink multiple times, not wanting to believe this is true. Then I piece it all together. The Senator and Luna both left together on the night of the Cloaked Phantom. Then he came back sick. . . .
“How? That alchemy doesn’t work well for people your age.”
“Perhaps in the hands of some untrained alchemists, but I worked with the best alive. Luna warned me that it could have dangerous results, though once I saw how valuable your power was I knew I would still need it on my side after you inevitably betrayed me. Who better to do all this dirty work than the only person I ultimately trust?”
This man is absolutely diabolical.
He worked me to the bone, but he’ll have a long career ahead of him if he can do everything himself. What better way to paint himself as a saint than by making monsters of his opponents?
“I should’ve poisoned you,” Luna says.
“I thought you were, after drinking that disgusting creature’s blood. Eduardo, you should’ve seen that hideous shifter. It was as if a coyote had wings made of fish scales.”
No one knows a shifter’s true state since they all take on different forms, but most are wise enough to blend in with other animals and creatures. The wounded shifter I got my powers from looked like a small red elephant with jackrabbit legs and a lion’s tail. I cried watching it die, whereas the Senator was repulsed by the one that’s made him powerful.
I stare at Luna. “This will go down in history as one of your worst crimes.”
“Of which there are many,” the Senator adds. “But don’t discredit yourself, son. You made this happen too.” He again glows gray and shrinks a couple feet, and his hair grows long and black with some silver in front. His pale skin becomes slightly darker than mine and breasts grow from his chest. His face’s tight skin becomes relaxed, natural, and beautiful with brown eyes and high cheekbones. “I’m proud of you,” he says with my mother’s voice.
This is cursing her memory.
“STOP IT!”
I use all my strength to try and pop these straps.
The Senator takes on Mom’s laugh. Then a bump grows on her nose that can only be found on the Senator’s and her round jaw squares like his too. He’s bathed in gray light. “I’m still ironing out the tricks, but I’ll get there.”
The deck door opens. “Docking, Edward,” Bishop calls down.
“End of the line,” the Senator says. “I can hardly wait to get started in the office and I’m looking forward to the many terms I will serve. It brings me peace knowing that if I’m ever voted out I can simply morph into the next president and continue the great work I’ve started to protect this country from people abusing their powers.” The Senator releases a deep, proud sigh. “Think of me in the White House from your cells. If you survive long enough.”
The Senator has fooled the world without these powers. Now that he has them, he’ll destroy it as the President.