Spellheart 10: Chapter 34 (Patreon)

I didn’t trust the voice, which meant my first order of business was getting some facts straight. For that, I needed an expert on time travel. Fortunately, I had one who was a good friend and was already in the city.

Sam’s particular brand of magic wasn’t too useful for hammering away at the walls of The Challenger to destroy it, but he was good at repairing damage to the city. Looking back an hour when I’d been helping with repairs, we’d crossed paths several times. I would have talked to him then if I hadn’t been so deep in thought. Hopefully, he was still at it.

I found Sam much where I left him. A house had fallen down and killed several heartwielder level occupants. Saving them was probably beneath the power and status of a Demigod, since any of his subordinates would have been able to do the same. Even so, Sam worked his magic to bring the house back to pristine condition. When he was done, I added some structural reinforcement to make sure it wouldn’t collapse again.

“The beam through the center looks like it had termite damage. It never should have been used in construction,” Sam pointed out.

“Yeah...” I sighed. Making people get building permits would prevent this sort of thing, but it would also be a pain in my ass. I’d have to find someone else to manage the whole thing before I got it rolling. “Anyway, Sam, I got a few time travel questions.”

“I may or may not have a few time travel answers.” Sam shrugged in reply. “It’s a tricky subject.”

“You know what? It’s better if I show you.” I took Sam back to Castle Mac and to my room and handed him the headset.

He put it on his head and waited patiently for a voice to come through on the other end. And we kept waiting.

Despite our best efforts and lots of fiddling, the voice on the other end of the line refused to speak to him.

“That’s very strange. I’ve never had an artifact malfunction to this extent on me...” Sam shrugged. “Maybe we can try, Dean?”

So, the two of us hunted down Dean and handed him the headset. Soon, it worked as well for him as it had for me.

“Holy shit, that’s beautiful,” Dean said as his future self chatted with him about all the new pickup lines he had developed. “I’m crying now. Wiping a tear from my eye as we speak. I don’t think a single elf in the world could resist a line like that.”

I shook my head.

“What was the pickup line?” Sam asked me curiously.

“I must be on your naughty list... because I haven’t met you until now...” I sighed. Soon, Sam joined me in shaking his head.

"Get it? Because they're elves!" Dean said.

Since the headset worked fine on Dean, the only thing we could figure out was that Sam’s own understanding and capability with fate zeal was interfering with the artifact’s functionality somehow. In the end, Dean and I had to explain what it was like secondhand.

“It was awesome!” Dean said. “Future me learned to play the guitar. I always wanted to play the guitar.”

“Where did your future self get a guitar?” I asked.

Sam shrugged. “It was probably just a lute.”

“I know the difference between a guitar and a flute,” Dean scoffed.

“Not a flute, lute,” Sam corrected.

“Flute, lute, whatever. Same thing.” Dean rolled his eyes.

“Anyway,” I said as I pulled us back on topic. “Sam, is this artifact possible? Are we really talking to future versions of ourselves?”

“What else could it be?” Dean asked.

I shrugged. “A trick, perhaps? I’m just not sure what purpose it would serve.”

Sam frowned. “If it is some sort of trick, it’s one way out of our league. I’ve looked at The Wanderer and a lot of other artifacts as well. I don’t have the slightest idea how they work. And I’m willing to bet Louis doesn’t either. If someone messed with that earpiece thing, it wasn’t him.”

“What about an Immortal Ascendant? Could one of them do it?” I asked.

“Certainly not an ordinary one. Who do you have in mind?”

“The Witch of Frozen Blood.” She was probably still upset I ruined her plan to take over the world. Or at least, our iteration of the World of Sanctuary and Serenity.

Sam shook his head. “She isn’t famous for fine enchantment work and a detailed knowledge of time manipulation.”

“Yeah. She’s more about setting up Ponzi schemes. Except instead of taking your money, she takes your soul!” Dean wiggled his fingers ominously.

“If not her, then I can’t figure out who.” I only knew one other Immortal Ascendant, Grognak. And he and I had gotten along rather well. I had a few suspicions about why we got along rather well, but they weren’t exactly the sort of thing I could confirm. Not until I was an Immortal Ascendant myself, at any rate.

Dean slapped his thigh. “So you’re safe! No trick, that’s really myself, a future badass and lady killer. Good to know. Theo, I’m assuming you have dibs on every elf in the city, so I’m going to go find some terrified survivors out in the wilderness to rescue and test my new pick up lines on!”

With that, Dean launched himself into the air. He vanished over the horizon a few moments later.

I turned to Sam.

“I hate to say it, but Dean might be right. There’s nobody with both the motive and cause. Maybe you’re just being overly cautious with this headset thing?” Sam cocked his head curiously at the device, likely still wondering why it didn’t work for him.

“Perhaps you’re right,” I sighed. “After getting surprised by the Cult, even when I was prepared for a betrayal, perhaps I’ve gotten a little too paranoid. I’ll give this thing another shot. Starting tomorrow. Can of worms or not, I want to crack The Challenger open.”

“No, what the price is?” Sam asked.

I nodded. “Our differences are irreconcilable, and the two of us can not live beneath the same heaven. Either they will be destroyed, or they’ll eventually put me down for good. To avoid the latter, I must ensure the former comes to pass sooner rather than later.”

“I’m assuming you have a plan?”

I steepled my fingers and tried to avoid laughing manically. I failed. “You could say that...”

***

By the time I finished my preparations, night had come and gone, and it was dawn the following day. Nela’s plan of hammering away at The Challenger until we busted our way through proved fruitless.

Dean returned shortly after dawn with a woman on either arm and who knew how many more stored in a pocket of compressed space I could sense him dragging along behind him.

“Those pickup lines worked perfectly!” Dean said proudly.

I glanced over at the women Dean had found. The pair on either arm were only True Mages. Dirty and terrified True Mages were clinging to Dean like he was a life raft, and they were stranded in an ocean full of hungry sharks.

I rolled my eyes at my friend’s antics. “Dean, you could have told the two of them you were a purple tyrannosaurus that planned to eat them in a week, and they still would have gone with you. The battle from earlier probably felt like the end of the world to them.” While I spoke, I waved my hands to remove the dirt and grime from the two True Mages. Like all elves, just the tiniest nudge in the right direction was all it took to get them back in beauty pageant shape. Not that the innate beauty that came with reaching True Mage was all that impressive anymore. My matriarchs were setting the bar higher every day as they continued to grow ever stronger.

“You two, go that way. Someone will direct you to a place to stay. If you have clan members with you, they can join you as well.” I pointed them in the direction of all the vassal clans we had coming to the Hearthwood for safety, given the current level of danger.

“Spoiling my fun...” Dean grumbled in good humor. He brightened a moment later. “I suppose you’re right, though. I need a clean playing field to really put these pickup lines to the test. No end-of-the-world battles terrifying my quarry and spoiling the hunt! I’ll probably need to suppress my power and pretend to be on their level as well. That’s just one more bit of motivation for us to win fast!”

“Good. I want you, Sam, and everybody else as a backup for this.” I placed a hand on Dean’s shoulder. “Just stick to the plan, and everything will work out alright.”

“Plan?” Dean asked. “What plan?”

But I was already drifting down to the area outside The Challenger.

“Louis! Ethan! I’ve come to talk.” I shouted at the top of my lungs. My voice was loud enough that the entire forest shook with it.

Naturally, nothing happened. That wasn’t a surprise, though. The leaders of the Cult of the Unblinking Eye would not come out to chat just because I asked. They were probably trying to get their ship online. Already, I could see a faint crimson outline surrounding several of the engines. It was suspiciously similar to the blue glow The Wanderer wrapped around features undergoing maintenance.

It was a good thing I’d settled on this plan when I did. Had I gone back into seclusion to push more of my matriarchs to the Demigod realm, we’d soon be facing a fully repaired ship in battle once again.

So, to get them out here despite their best interests, I had to include something worth their while. The digital pocket watch probably would have done the trick, but I wasn’t certain of that. The headset, on the other hand, was immense value to Louis.

Value to where he’d throw away logic and reason just to get it back. It was rare to find something with that kind of hold over a Demigod, and I planned to pull this lever for all it was worth.

“I think you dropped something earlier. A little headset thing. I was thinking maybe you’d want it back?” I dangled the artifact between my fingers. It swayed back and forth like I planned to drop it in the mud if Louis didn’t reply promptly.

I waited, fearing for a long moment that I had miscalculated somewhere. But then I heard the hiss of a door opening. The Challenger favored something a lot more space-worthy than the normal doors The Wanderer used. I supposed that was the difference between a ship that actually flew and one that moved by weaving its way through time and space without any care for the natural laws that governed either.

He struck the ground with far more force than his size and weight should ever have made possible. His face was twisted in a vicious scowl. Ethan landed behind him a few seconds later with a worried look on his face. He tried to put a hand on Louis’ shoulder to calm him, but Louis shrugged his hand off and continued to glare.

“Give me back what’s mine,” Louis demanded. His hands curled into fists at his side, and he looked like he would have done more than just ask if not for the many Demigods I had at my back. We weren’t far from the reach of the Level Reducing Sentry Towers either. Far enough that Louis would feel safe, but close enough that we could retreat to them if he brought out those two Immortal Ascendants sooner than I’d like.

“I could...” I held out the headset to him before promptly pulling it back. “But first, I want a few questions from you. And just know that if you bring out those two Immortal Ascendants of yours, this little meeting will be over right away.”

Louis said nothing in reply, but I could sense his agreement in the burning fury behind his eyes.

“I took a little unauthorized tour through The Challenger there. Nice place you got, but a few things drew my eyes.” I shot a glance at Ethan. “I’ve got to ask. What’s with those clones of yours?”

Ethan blinked, surprise on his face as he glanced between Louis and me. And, unexpectedly, it seemed genuine.

“That’s none of your business,” Louis spat. But I could tell he sensed Ethan was as curious as I was. Perhaps more so. He had to have his suspicions. I knew I certainly would, were I in his position.

“Louis, what is he talking about?” Ethan asked.

“It’s not important.” Louis shrugged him off.

I smiled. This was a wedge I was happy to pound into the Cult of the Unblinking Eye.

“I watched you die, Ethan. You and a lot of your friends. I wonder how many of your comrades Louis sacrificed to make those three Immortal Ascendants of his?”

Ethan frowned. “I died? That can’t be right. I don’t remember dying.”

“There’s a room past the artifact display and to the left. Down the hall, you’ll find a room that had formerly been full of clones. I’m sure Louis had told you all about it. Or has he decided not to share?” I smiled widely as Louis scowled.

“I’ll... be right back...” Ethan began as he took one step backward.

Louis stopped him by reaching back and placing a hand on his shoulder. “Stay.”

Ethan relented and stayed where he was, but I could tell by the look in his eyes that the damage had been done.

Louis ignored his supposed friend to keep glaring at me. “The headset. Now. You aren’t worthy of it.”

“Says who?” I asked curiously. “It worked just fine for me.”

That actually seemed to surprise Louis a bit. Perhaps Sam was not the only one the headset failed to function on.

“It doesn’t matter. I’ve already won. My future self told me as much,” Louis said. “If you’re still alive long enough to record messages for your past self, that means you must have surrendered to me, and I must have decided to spare your life.”

I shook my head at his circular reasoning. He believed he’d won, so I had to surrender to him. Maybe I could poke a hole in that theory.

“Funny you say that, since I have a different perspective.”

Louis scowled. “And that is?”

“The fact that I heard from my future self means that I won, and you lost. I probably installed some bullshit media player and had Mac pretend to be your future self, so he could constantly give you terrible advice. That seems most likely.” I toyed with the headset a little more, a smile slowly spreading as an expression of absolute fury spread across Louis’ face.

“You damn arrogant bastard! I’ll knock those teeth right out of your lying mouth!” Louis cursed. He vanished from where he was standing, only to appear right in front of me with his fist cocked back for a punch.

“Do it now, Mac!” I yelled.

An explosion went off right under our feet, and the world went white.