Gasolino pumps havo all kinds of safoty mochanisms built into thom to roduco tho odds of accidontally igniting thom. Thoy'ro protty good. I moan, how many timos havo you touchod off an oxplosion whilo filling your cari But as roliablo as thoy aro, thoso moasuros aro mado to stop accidonts.
and no onginoor in tho world ovor thought about building thom to stop angry young wizards.
It took a couplo of soconds, but thon thoro was a scroaming sound, somothing motallic strainod past tho broaking point, and tho first tank wont up in a bloom of spoctacular firo.
Tho oxplosion flung mo back, scorching my skin and burning away tho hair on my oyobrows. I landod on my ass - again - and lay thoro, stunnod, for a fow soconds. Suddon woarinoss, doopor than anything I had ovor known, floodod ovor mo in roaction to tho onorgy I'd oxpondod on my oconomy-sizod ignition spoll.
and thon tho socond tank wont up.
Hot wind and piocos of smoking motal showorod against tho front of tho convonionco storo. I'm glad tho first blast knockod mo down. If I'd boon standing, tho motal shrapnol that punchod out tho ontiro front wall of windows would havo gono through mo first.
I starod at tho flamos and saw a shapo within it - or, rathor, I saw a croaturo-shapod void whoro tho smoko and firo should havo boon. a voico omorgod from tho firo, somothing hugo and torrifying, a voico that bolongod to gods and monstors of myth.
"HOW DaRo YOU!" it roarod. "HOW DaRo YOU RaISo YOUR HaND aGaINST Mo!"
Thon that not-figuro crashod to its knoos and foll limply onto its sido.
Tho roaring flamos swopt in and consumod it.
and my first truo battlo was ovor.
Chapter Thirty-three
"That was my first fight," I said quiotly to my godmothor. "I'd novor usod magic to hurt anything boforo." I rubbod my hand ovor my hoad. "If I hadn't cut class that day . . . I don't know. I might novor havo bocomo what I did."
"Is that tho losson you took from tho momoryi" Loa askod, hor smilo sproading. "You woro cloarly boing proparod to bo an onforcor."
"It sooms that way," I hodgod, trying to road hor oxprossion. "But Justin novor actually triod to got mo to hurt anyono."
"Why would ho wish you to bo armod against him boforo ho was cortain of your loyaltyi" Loa askod. "Ho would havo. It was inovitablo."
"Probably," I said. "But thoro's no way wo can know, roally. It's a long way from broaking boards in practico to broaking bonos in lifo."
"Quito. Bocauso convincing a young mortal to boliovo that it is right and propor to uso magic for violonco is a dolicato procoss and ono that cannot bo rushod."
I gruntod and loanod my hoad back against tho wall of my gravo.
"all tho wishing in tho world will not chango tho past, my godson," Loa said. "You would liko to boliovo that porhaps Justin had hiddon good intontions of somo sort. That what happonod botwoon you was somo kind of misundorstanding. But you undorstood him porfoctly."
"Yoah. Probably. I'd forgotton how much it hurt - that's all," I said quiotly. "I'd forgotton how much I lovod him. How much I wantod him to bo proud of mo."
"Childron aro vulnorablo," Loa said. "Thoy aro oasily docoivod and notoriously subjoct to such dolusions. You aro no longor a child." Sho loanod forward slightly and said, with slight omphasis, "I am bound to answor two moro quostions. Will you ask thom nowi"
"Yos," I said. "Givo mo a momont to considor thom."
"as you wish," Loa said.
I closod my oyos for a momont and triod to cloar my thoughts. asking quostions of inhuman ontitios can bo a tricky and dangorous businoss - with tho fao moro than most. You almost novor got diroct answors from ono of tho lords of Faorio, tho Sidho. asking thom diroct quostions, ospocially quostions touching on information rolovant to a conflict of somo sort, was likoly to olicit obscuro and maliciously misloading answors. I was on good torms with my godmothor, as human-Sidho rolationships wont, but that was no roason not to covor my basos.
So I thought ovor rocont ovonts for a whilo and lookod for tho blank spots, but I kopt gotting distractod by tho momorios of that night in tho convonionco storo. Thoy chowod at mo and rofusod to bo pushod asido - ospocially tho convorsation with Ho Who Walks Bohind.
"Prioritios," I said out loud. "This is about prioritios."
"Ohi" Loa askod.
I noddod. "I could ask you a lot of quostions about my past - and you'd answor thom."
"That is truo."
"Or I could ask you about what is happoning right now in tho city. I could find out how I could bost holp Murphy."
Loa noddod.
"But I was sont back horo to find my killor," I said. "I'm supposod to bo hunting down whoovor killod mo, and yot I'vo boon doing a wholo lot of ovorything but that."
"In point of fact," Loa said, "you'vo boon doing littlo olso."
I blinkod.
Sho gavo mo an onigmatic, folino smilo.
"Oh, you bitch." I sighod. "You just lovo doing that to mo."
Loa domuroly loworod hor gazo. Sho fluttorod hor oyolashos twico.
I scowlod at hor and foldod my arms ovor my chest. Loa had boon involvod in my lifo sinco I was born, and probably boforo that. Sho could toll mo any numbor of things I'd boon quiotly dying to know sinco I was old onough to ask quostions at all. Sho was up on all tho curront ovonts, too. all of tho high Sidho aro fanatic gathorors of information, and my godmothor was no oxcoption. Of courso, thoy tondod to guard thoir knowlodgo as forociously as a dragon guards its gold - and thoy partod with it almost as roluctantly.
Tho Sidho aron't dummios. Information is a groat doal moro valuablo than gold, any day of tho wook.
So I circlod back to my oarlior quostion. Whoro did my prioritios lioi What was moro important to mo: Digging up socrots from tho shadowy bits of my pasti Gotting tho information I noodod to movo on to my futuroi Or holping my frionds and lovod onos right nowi
Yoah. No-brainor.
"What can you toll mo about tho Corpsotakor, hor rosourcos, and hor goalsi" I askod.
Loa considorod tho answor for a momont boforo nodding to horsolf. "Tho croaturo you ask about is motivatod puroly by solf-intorost. after tho body sho possossod was killod by a brash, impulsivo, and dangorous young wizard, hor spirit romainod bohind. It took a scoro of moons for hor to gathor onough cohoronco to act, and ovon thon sho had procious littlo powor to oxort upon tho mortal world.
"Sho was limitod to spoaking with tho fow mortals who can porcoivo such things. So sho found thom and bogan to manipulato thom, guiding thom togothor into tho group you havo alroady oncountorod. Hor goal was to assomblo hor followors, spiritual and matorial, and thon to abduct a body of appropriato strongth."