Chapter 35

My prayers were not answered. My stomach churned as I paced at the foot of the craggy hill. He said after sunset; how long after sunset? The moon was obscured with light cloud cover, but Merlin’s Lantern made up for the darkness.

Unfortunately, there wasn’t anything to illuminate.

“I’m sure they’re fine, Rose,” I murmured to myself. “He’s probably just taking care of his megapede.”

I was less sure a half hour later. Stormbringer had transformed my anxiety into a strong breeze that buffeted the nearby trees, and I’d churned the mud at the base of the hill into a shallow trench with my pacing.

Alone. I was completely alone.

I shook my head, and I had to blow my loose hair out of my face. “No, this isn’t about you, Rose. If Virgil and Zack aren’t here, they need you!”

What are you going to do? You got more innocent people hurt. Just give up; pair with Kumar, and try to raise some children better than your useless ass.

“Stop it!” I cried out, clutching at the side of my head. My inner traitor hadn’t been defeated; she’d only been gathering her strength. The wind stopped in an instant as she severed my connection to Stormbringer.

“Give in,” my lips said without my permission as my pliant double assumed control. “You were always a screwup; a wizard who can’t control her powers, a warrior he needs others to fight for her, and a worthless lump who keeps getting innocent men hurt. And for what? Because you’re pretty? That’s all you have going for you, which is good! It’s all Kumar needs from us.”

“No!” I shrieked, and I’m sure my voice carried back to the village. “I’m not going to abandon Virgil, Zack, or anybody else!”

My right hand settled on my hip as my mouth let out a humorless laugh. “What are you going to do? You’re by yourself, and you were too afraid to fight off those big scary orcs when you had Virgil there to do the dirty work for you.”

“Listen here, you!” I pinched my rogue arm, almost enjoying the pain. If it hurts, it’s still my arm, damn it. “You’re not going to win. You aren’t me! You’re just a seed Ozzie planted in me, and I’m going to yank you out!”

“And how are you going to do that?”

I didn’t respond with words, because Stormbringer was all the answer I needed. The stronger she was, the weaker my connection to my magic. So, I gave my affinity what it always wanted: an invitation to do whatever it pleased. God knew I had enough emotions for it to feed on.

Stormbringer didn’t disappoint. I had the presence of mind to cast a Svalinn’s Mercy over my head, protecting me from the hail that fell on all sides of us… no, me. Rain followed, and a single bolt of lightning pierced the skies, exploding the tallest palm in the nearby forest.

If the demons don’t know something is wrong now, they aren’t paying attention. But, I’d achieved my goal. For the first time in a month, I was alone in my head, and I had no doubts. I had to save Virgil, Zack, and everyone in the Master’s slapdash palace.

I’d need tools, first. However, I knew just where to find them.

************

One benefit of my little outburst back at the hill was that nobody in Haven was outside. If they had any sense, they’d be huddling under their threadbare blankets, praying for the sea to have mercy on them. It was lucky for me that Ozzie was so confident in his position; the door to his hut didn’t even have a lock. I made sure to close it behind me, though. I didn’t want anybody catching me before I was ready. “Merlin’s Lantern.”

My magical torchlight lit Ozzie’s home like daylight. Yukiko’s Finding Device was right where I’d left it, mixed in with Ozzie’s other trophies. I snatched it off, almost afraid it would vanish. I pumped magic into it before shoving it into my pocket, continuing to feed it a lowkey trickle of magical energy. There was no way Yukiko, or anybody else, would arrive in time to help, but the League would know that I was out here. One way or the other, there’s no way in heck they won’t take the Spratly Islands curse seriously this time.

I didn’t leave right away. Ozzie was a magic user, after all, and he’d known enough to keep that little wooden fabricata as a trophy. Who knew what else might be hiding in plain sight?

I let out a frightened cry as a familiar, wooden crocodile mask came into view. Calm down, it’s only dangerous when Ozzie’s wearing it. As far as I know.

The hammer stuck to the wall with the other trophies made short work of it. I might have gone overboard; it probably didn’t need to be in quite so many small pieces, but it was cathartic after what it had done to me.

Though his home was about the same size as mine, it was more densely packed, and the back was separated by a repurposed shower curtain. I threw it aside, revealing a more interesting side of Ozzie’s private stash: old Chinese pistols and rifles, a collection of fabricata weapons with both demonic and human runes, and the most intact clothes I’d seen in Haven, stacked as high as my hips.

“He was dressing us in rags while he had these in reserve?” I snarled. “None of them are even his size!” Right at the top of the furthest pile was a familiar white jacket with a green trim.

“Bloody heck, I knew there was no way my uniform wouldn’t have made it!” I stripped off Puja’s old poncho and tossed the hat aside. “Sorry, Puja, but it was never my style.”

Once I had made a quick change and checked myself in Ozzie’s mirror (which was much more intact than Sunny’s, I noted), I was looking like a proper Wizard Corpsman again. It was about all I could make out; I couldn’t maintain the Merlin’s Lantern while dressing myself, but the weak moonlight told the story well enough. “They’re right, clothes do make the woman.”

My hair stood on end as slowly, ever so slowly, the metallic door creaked open. It’s got to be Ozzie. Heck of a time for him to show up. A predatory grin spread across my face. Or, the perfect time. It’s time to beat some answers out of him.

I knew I shouldn’t have looked forward to it so much, but after what he’d done to all of us, who could blame me?

Runes stamped my will onto reality as I twisted my fingers. “Svalinn’s Wrath,” I intoned, my voice barely above a whisper. The spell was a variant of the textbook defensive spell that Soren had come up with, which shaped the translucent energy into a black dagger.

Holding my breath, I could hear the tentative steps come closer and closer to the curtain. I felt like a spring, shivering with stored energy. What is he waiting for? He must know something’s wrong, or he wouldn’t be so cautious. Come on, come look at your little stash!

Strombringer reflected my enthusiasm, sending a light breeze to play with the curtain. Tap tap. The intruder had taken a step back.

“Now or never,” I muttered, throwing back the curtain and rushing forward.

Sunny’s wide, startled eyes reflected the pale moonlight, and I just managed to dispel the energy blade as I ran straight into her, sending us both tumbling onto Ozzie’s bed. In the back of mind, I noticed it was the comfiest thing I had felt in weeks.

I had bigger things to worry about, though. “Sunny?” I hissed, my voice barely above a whisper. I’d landed well, kneeling over her with enough leverage to keep her arms pinned.

She gaped in surprise, and I knew she wasn’t going to start asking questions in a calm tone of voice. I clamped my hand over her mouth just in time to muffle an ear-splitting shriek that still echoed in the tight space.

“Sunny, you have to be quiet!” The black-haired woman lay limp beneath me, reminding me of a pet rabbit of my grandparents’ when we’d brought over Albert’s new puppy. “Do you promise not to scream if I let you go?”

It was a risk; would Ozzie’s programming mean she’d feel compelling to scream bloody murder to bring the whole village down on me for my crime? Still, I didn’t see an option. The poor woman had put up with enough. I wasn’t about to knock her out or tie her up.

She remained frozen, before finally relenting. “Rose, what are you doing in Ozzie’s home? What are you wearing?”

“What are you doing here yourself?” I asked. “You’re the most loyal to Ozzie of anyone in the village.”

She waved her hands defensively. “I saw somebody shorter than Ozzie break in! I’m being good, I’m being good!”

“I’m here for what’s mine,” I said. “Ozzie is a thief and a liar.”

She looked like a child who had just been told the tooth fairy wasn’t real. “What? How can you say that? He’s always provided for us and kept the outside world away. We’re happy here without the corruption of the demons or the League.”

Was it worth arguing with her? Ozzie’s dogma ran deep. Mentioning the demons on the other side of the island might just confuse things. I decided on a different tactic. “Sunny, I need you to do me a favor. Don’t tell anybody what you saw tonight.”

“What? I have to! You broke the rules, and you need to be punished! Kumar needs to know, heck Ozzie needs to—”

“Sunny, and I mean the real Sunny, listen to me.” That cut her short. “I know you’re in there. No matter what Ozzie did to you with that awful mask at your Welcoming, I know there’s a person locked away in there, desperate to come out.”

“The Welcoming is a blessing,” she protested, her voice quavering. She made her first serious attempt to escape as she writhed beneath me.

My grip was like iron, and I gave Mr. Maki a silent thank you for all of his combat training. “It’s a trap. I know; I got the treatment twice, and I barely escaped his grip because of my magic. I know what you’re fighting, Sunny. Every thought in your head loves Haven, Ozzie, all of your friends, even the bloody sea. When you try to think for yourself, something rises up to tell you how silly you’re being, how ungrateful. Does that sound right?”

Hot tears welled up in her eyes, streaming down her cheeks onto the patch-free sheets beneath us.

“You don’t have to reply, Sunny. I know how hard it must be for you.”

“Wh-why are you saying all of these lies? The Welcoming… the Welcoming… I was freed from my old self.”

“Your true self,” I spat. “Sunny, is this what you want? Living in squalor at the beck and call of some cult leader? I know you must have had a home.”

“The sea… the sea chose me,” she choked out.

I wasn’t going to break her conditioning right then and there, but I’d dented it. “You’re a wonderful person who deserves to live free, Sunny. You all do, and I’m going to make that happen tonight. Doesn’t that sound wonderful?”

“That’s dangerous talk,” she said.

“It sure is, yeah?” That little Zack-ism reminded me I didn’t have time to debate a drone, even one I’d come to care for. I darted back to Ozzie’s stash, grabbing a rapier that looked like my preferred weapon from the Nagoya Academy. “I’m ending it all tonight, Sunny. You aren’t a fighter, but you can help me. Just say nothing. Go home and get a good night’s sleep. You’ll need the rest. Can you do that for me?”

“Kumar needs to…” she trailed off, and I saw some spark of recognition fire in her normally blank eyes. She nodded silently.

“Thank you,” I said, helping her up.

She wrapped her arms around me. I almost thought I’d misjudged things and this was a feeble attack, until she whispered four little words in a huskier voice than I’d ever heard from her.

“Give them hell, Rose.” She looked so ill at the words that I thought she might vomit, but she held it together.

“That’s the plan,” I said, rushing out and making a beeline for the forest. Virgil was right; there wasn’t time to do that with every last villager, if they’d even listen.

Still, if I could only crack one person’s conditioning? I was glad it was her.