Rune Magic

13: Jailhouse Blues

.^^ Set-Apep ^^

— James —

Convincing Lady Durham that it was time to attack the rebels in the Gobi Sanctuary was literally the easiest thing I'd ever done in my life. I didn't even think I could call it convincing, I just said 'I'm going to attack the Gobi Sanctuary,' and she was instantly onboard.

I had shared all my new magic, evenly, with half of it going straight to the Ancestors, who accepted it happily. Seeing as the line actually went all the way back to Africa, and Northern Africa at that, Bast was a goddess they were familiar with, even though they hadn't ever worshipped her. They were all for being adopted by a goddess.

The Parthenos and Peterson Clans were a bit trickier, but they also agreed that being able to draw on power like that was a boon to anyone, even though they still had limits to how much they could safely draw, and the Master Mages had their own god-patrons that they didn't want to offend. I informed them of how to change the energy into their own gods', avoiding that catastrophe altogether, and the last wrinkles smoothed themselves out.

—

The Gobi Sanctuary was hidden inside a massive cave complex, the only sanctuary that didn't have a Barrier, because of its inconvenient location, right in the middle of one of the largest deserts on earth. That meant literally anyone could get in, regardless of their intentions.

According to Vanessa's latest intel, and Qin Long's as well, the remaining rebels had been entrenched here for nearly seven months, and grown comfortable.

I kicked down the front gate, smashing the 400-year-old desert willow down casually, and walking past the guards who attempted to stop me. They crashed into me, and I kept walking, barely even feeling them touch me.

Once in the main square, I stopped, and looked around. "Hello, everyone, I'd like your attention, please? My name is James Athenos Parthenos-Peterson, Son of the Peterson and Parthenos Lines, the Chosen Clan of Bast, Egyptian goddess of War and Beauty, the Matron of Cats. I am here for a simple reason. If you don't know what that is, simply based on my name, I would like you to go and hide away in your little cubbyholes, and stay out of my sight, because I am not here for you. Go now, or be counted as collateral damage."

The square emptied quickly, but was then filled with Fae, of many different breeds and even kinds. At the front were six women who smelled of Unterkin, and three giant men who smelled of Demigod, as well as several dozen Fae men who were standing mindlessly behind the Unterqueen's. One of the women stepped forward gracefully, and smiled. "Little Cousin, have you come to broker a peace?"

I drew my sword, and stabbed it into the stones next to me. "Interesting thought, Cousin, but I'm pretty sure it's going to be a very solid 'Fuck You'."

She sighed, shaking her head dramatically. "You're too young to die so stupidly. Perhaps you should go home, and come back when you are a Man."

"Perhaps you should take your own advice. You're too young to be behaving so stupidly." I shrugged.

She raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"You thought that you could just... rebel? Attack and kill other Unterkin, slaughter your way across the world, and no one would come for you? Really? You thought gathering a few powerful people was enough to make the entire world sit up and take notice? Darling Cousin, it's so naïve it's honestly painful to watch..." I sighed.