Blood Debts (The Temple Chronicles Book 2) (51 page)

My heart shuddered and then stopped.

“Mom, Dad…” I whispered.

Death caught me before I collapsed. Indie grabbed me by the shoulders, helping Death support me.

My mom and dad approached slowly at first, my father looking proud, and my mother full of love and… concern. Glowing tears trailed her cheeks. “My son…” she whispered. Then they were floating towards me in a dizzying blur. They abruptly halted before me and I heard Indie sobbing softly as she continued to hold me up. My legs were jelly.

My dad gripped me by the shoulder, despite being a spirit. “It worked!” He exclaimed. I blinked, and then understood that he must be referring to my Maker ability. I held up a palm, and a ball of blue flame filled my palm as my vision was transformed with the familiar blue haze. My eyes were misty as I stared back with a weak smile. My dad grinned like only a scientist could. “We are so
proud
of you, my son.” He turned to the crowd of souls. “MY SON!” He roared, lifting his hands. The resulting applause was deafening, shouts of glee rattling my brain. My throat was raw. My mother latched onto me abruptly, hugging me tightly and I broke down, tears falling freely. My flame died and I hugged her back. Tightly.

You see, I never thought I would ever get the chance to do this again. Like all stubborn youths, I had rebelled against them, pushing them out of my life to pursue my own dreams with Plato’s Cave. But it hadn’t necessarily needed to be a mutually exclusive pursuit. I could have, and
should
have, pursued both. But you never discovered things like that until it was too late.

The
pain
.

The
guilt
.

The
sadness
.

The
joy
.

It
broke
my resolve.

“I’m so sorry. I almost lost it all. I wasn’t there to help you. My own friend, Peter, betrayed me to rob the Armory. I don’t know if that was why the Demon killed you, or if you would have been spared without him breaking in, but it’s all my fault. I couldn’t keep it safe. The Pandora Protocol is broken, and… whom you had stored inside is now free. I failed.”

My mother leaned back with a curious frown. I looked at my dad, who also seemed nonplussed. “The Pandora Protocol?”

I nodded guiltily.

Then he shrugged. “That’s not really a big deal. She’s been free before.”

I blinked. “
What?
”

“The Armory was just a ruse for the Academy’s benefit. We needed something to attract their ire so they wouldn’t notice what we were
truly
working on. We also needed a way to free you from their clutches. Hence, the gift we gave you. The power of a Maker. Without the traditional magic, they hold no sway over you now.”

I stared, dumbfounded, unable to speak, despite my mouth opening and closing several times. “You mean to tell me that all this was for
nothing
? The Armory wasn’t
important
?” I was huffing, sudden rage coursing through my veins. Everything had been for nothing. The death, Othello being killed, Indie’s mom being hurt.

For
nothing
.

They watched me, abashed. “It was the only way. Dark times are coming, my son. You need to be out of their control. We fear for what the Academy may do in the years to come. We gave you the tools to stand on your own two feet as an independent. The world will need you in the years to come. My Maker.” My mother added with a loving smile. “Oh, how I wish I could see Jafar’s face right now.” Her eyes gleamed maliciously.

My anger began to fade as I remembered that I was with my parents again.
Really
with them. And that was all that truly mattered. “Yeah, he wasn’t too pleased about my power surge, or the fact that I’m now a Maker and not a wizard.” I pondered that. How had they known that my magic would disappear? After all, if I gained the Maker ability yet kept my magic wouldn’t I still have been under their control?

My dad seemed to sense my question. “The reason your power spiked upon our deaths is that the Maker seed needed to feed on magic in order to survive. A very large amount of magic. It was the only way to birth the gift inside you. How long did it take for the power to dissipate?” He asked, again, like a scientist.

“It didn’t dissipate. The Academy cursed me.”

My dad blinked, and then… well, he burst out laughing, clapping and hooting as he did a little jig of joy.

“What’s so funny? I almost
died!
”

My dad merely wrapped me in a bear hug. “They had no idea!” He roared into my ear. “Cursing you caused your magic to deplete that much faster, making you immensely more powerful as a Maker than anything we could have done. Oh, I would
love
to hear Jafar explain this to his boss. Not only did he curse you, but he made your gift infinitely more powerful than we ever could have. He literally gave you an adrenaline shot for your Maker power. The seed had to feed on the magic much faster and intensely in order to survive, which made it grow exponentially faster than it should have on it’s own. You are now something that has never before walked the earth. A Maker far more powerful than any who has ever existed.” He clapped in sheer joy again, pushing me away to arms length and then pulling me back in with several slaps on the back. My mother finally shooed him away.

I managed to reply. “Yeah. If I can figure out how to use it reliably.” I muttered. My friends were staring at me as if they had never seen me before. Death merely looked interested. I was now more powerful than he had thought. Which could be utilized by any who knew how to manipulate me. I instantly wondered how much I could trust the Rider, and again, whether he had been serious about me becoming a fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse. My resume had just beefed up considerably.

“Don’t worry, my son. We left instructions at Chateau Falco. Everything we could discover on Makers. That was our real secret. What I said to the security camera after our death. You did see the video footage, right?” I nodded. “Good. Also, the entrance to the Armory at Temple Industries was only a secondary entrance. Which is why there was a seventeen-minute window. The primary entrance at Chateau Falco has no such restrictions. You should find the Armory, more or less, as you left it.”

I couldn’t believe it. “So this really was all for nothing. Me trying to protect the Armory from the summoner and his Demons.” They nodded, their excitement slowly fading.

I turned away in an attempt to hide my rage.

I almost lost it.

Right there.

But I was a restrained, wise, utterly in control wiz… no,
Maker
.

Instead, I took a few deep breaths to regain my composure.

I was alive. I had a woman who loved me. Everyone was safe. And I had learned a lot about myself. I wasn’t just a wielder of ancient arcane power. I was something else entirely now. When I had been pushed up against a wall without backup, magic, or money, I had persevered. Even as a penniless Regular. I found solace in that.

I suddenly realized what the most important thing in the world was.

It was something I’d never thought I’d have the chance to do.

I turned back to my parents, grabbed Indie’s hand, and walked up to my mother. I scrubbed a tear from my cheeks. “Mother, Father, this is Indie. She is… very dear to me.” Indie’s eyes filled with tears, and even Gunnar grunted with overflowing emotions.

Life wasn’t all bad. It was actually pretty
good
.

Chapter 43

W
e had left the Underworld, or Hell, or wherever we had been taken after a whole lot of story telling. Death had shared his origin story with my friends. The same one I had heard in the bar. My mother ignored all of this and instead fussed over Indie like only a mother-in-law could. Giving her advice on managing my temperament. I rolled my eyes at some of her tips, but curiously found myself listening as some of it was actually quite insightful. I would have to stay on my toes from now on. Indie was gathering quite a bit of useful knowledge. My father slapped Gunnar on the shoulder and hugged Ashley upon hearing of their engagement. He also recognized the stone on the ring. It had come from one of the diamond mines I owned. The girls had all fawned over Ashley’s rock, causing Gunnar to swell with pride. My father had been very interested to meet Misha and Tory, even more so at their abilities. He had never met either flavor of supernatural before. They remembered Othello, and looked slightly nervous at her inclusion in my club, no doubt remembering our past romantic dalliances. But everyone seemed more or less accepting of that particular past, and had moved on to more important topics. To my relief, even Indie seemed less concerned about Othello than before. She even thanked Othello for watching my back when everyone else had been absent.

Death and Othello had walked off to the side, speaking to each other silently as the rest of us continued to talk to my parents.
Curiouser and curiouser
. Othello had a slight spring to her step after that, but I left it alone. She would tell me if she wanted to. I had enough on my plate without digging into a possible romance. But I guess they did have the whole
shared life experiences
thing going for them after Othello had died and come back. It was practically like meeting the in-laws. Indie seemed downright encouraging.

Before we left, I pulled Death aside. “Can you do me a favor?” He grinned in anticipation of what I might ask, nodding. “I need you to deliver something to a werewolf for me. You still have it? Like I asked?”

Death began to laugh. “So
that’s
why you wanted me to preserve Gavin’s head. You’re one cold bastard.” He chuckled with approval. “You’re
perfect
for our club.” He clapped me on the back.

I neither agreed with nor denied his statement. “I promised the wolf I would avenge his mate. Seems a fitting way to give him absolution, and Gavin deserves it.” I added with a growl.

“I’ll take care of it.”

“Oh, and put a ribbon on it.”

He rolled his eyes. “Okay. You’re welcome back anytime.” He offered with a grin. Then he left us to say our farewells to my parents and the other souls.

We had then retreated to Chateau Falco, and were now sipping drinks before a large fireplace. Dean and Mallory had returned from their trips and joined us, as well as Raego, at Misha’s insistence, and Agent Jeffries at Gunnar’s insistence. After the shock of my death had been proven false, things went splendidly. We had shared tales back and forth, and I was informed of the latest developments in my city. Apparently I had been dead for a few days now. Kosage had been caught lying his ass off to get me arrested in the first place, pulling strings he really shouldn’t have tried to pull. No doubt influenced by Gavin, but no one seemed to believe his story of a concerned citizen providing him information on my guilt. Especially since said citizen could not be found. Jeffries had apparently found proof that Kosage had been bribing a judge to get the warrant for my arrest, as well as blackmailing a few of the FBI Agents. All that in addition to the blackmail footage Othello had left in the file at the police station with him in drag and BDSM gear had basically shut down his career.

Even though no one could explain how I had escaped my cell and been kidnapped, they had no proof of anything, and I hadn’t been spotted at any of the recent crimes.

Also, I was allegedly
dead
. I couldn’t wait to reappear at an upcoming Gala with Indie on my arm like nothing had ever happened. Jeffries finished his story of Kosage’s downfall with a grin. “Sound good, Temple?”

“Oh, if anyone tries to pull me back into any of this again you can bet your ass I will hire every lawyer in town to eviscerate him. I would destroy every lawman’s career… Except you, Jeffries. You’re the only honest one I’ve met. Agent Wilson wasn’t too shabby either.”

Jeffries grinned. “I spoke with him. They won’t continue their inquiry, even after you announce your resurrection, if anyone could even call it that anyway. They even pardoned you and Gunnar for the dragon ordeal a few months ago. Gunnar has been reinstated if he wants to be. If not, he will receive honors befitting his retirement.”

I grinned at Gunnar’s resulting smile. “I also need Agent Wilson to call and formally apologize to Indie for what his Agents did. Hanging up on her. Not letting me get my phone call.”

Jeffries winked. “Done.”

“Also, it seems a patrol horse found his way onto my property. Could you arrange for Xavier to be quietly and anonymously returned to the police force? No one needs to know what happened, and I will look down upon any negative consequences his handler receives.”

Jeffries nodded, chuckling to himself. Everyone left. Except Indie.

We made up for lost time.

And more.

She seemed exceptionally motivated to remind me what a catch she was. She thoroughly exhausted me. As I lay in my bed, Indie sleeping peacefully beside me, I felt a tug at my soul. Curious, I got up and wandered the mansion.

After a while, I realized I was being drawn to my father’s old study. I sat down in the chair, and spotted the note that I had already read. It had been found on my desk when we came back. It was from Achilles.
Come back any time. I want to talk to you about something.
I shivered at that. Maybe later. I began fiddling with a pen, wondering about the odd sensation that had drawn me here, and it’s sudden disappearance. Was this the primary entrance to the Armory my father had spoken of? Somewhere in this room? It made sense.