“Or easier,” Xsing suggested. “I might be able to use the same visualization spells I’ve crafted for this simulator, to locate them.”
“You?”
“Why yes, of course.” Xsing drew himself up taller than Grim’s hind-leg pose. “I couldn’t possibly miss out on the chance to explore this theory. Is the Veil the matrix? A question for the ages, and I might settle it.” His eyes swiveled to Silas. “And now we have a necromancer here on Home, where that power has been unknown, who can create a path into the Veil. Better yet, we can get evidence— in the form of those gates, if we find them— that could truly be considered objective proof.”
Silas bit his lip, thinking about it. “I can certainly try to access the Veil from here.” Whether his familiar spells would work, launching from another world, was a question that could only be answered by trying. “If my runes work, I can get us there. But if we find indication of a gate passing through, then what?”
“Then we act like scissors.” Darien made a slicing-together gesture with both arms. “Me and Jasper, and maybe you and Magda, power formed into blades. I bet Jasper can come up with a design. Cut through the gate.”
Jasper shook his head. “Look at the size of those things. If they’re a hundredth the size of Earth, they’re miles in diameter.”
Xsing said, “This representation is not to scale. It’s a schematic. And the portals are magic, not substance. They might be as small as a thread or as large as a mountain, when seen inside the Veil. There is no way to know.”
“So maybe we could cut through them.” Darien sounded eager. “Or at least damage them.”
“That could be highly dangerous,” Grim pointed out. “What if they’re like a vacuum hose, and we cut them open? We might get sucked through to a hell. Or demons might get ejected out onto us. Or the substance of the Veil might be pulled through to Earth, and who knows what that would do?”
They all looked at each other in silence. Silas thought about how the fire and sulfurous air of a hell would wash into his circle as he sent a demon home. The gates were a channel, and cutting one open in the Veil had to be risky and impossible to predict. If it could even be done at all.
“Hey,” Darien said. “How about if Silas creates a circle around it, and I cut on the inside of that? We’ve done something like that before, with Granny Abels. The circle kept the hellfire contained, back on Earth, and my work stayed inside it.”
Pip pranced his front legs. “That sounds smart. I know Darien can do it.”
“Maybe.” Silas tried to picture the circle he’d need. “We might try.”
Xsing said, “I would give much to be able to explore the matrix and confirm my long-held theory. And I don’t like the look of fireworlds tethered to Earth. Though I’ve never been a voyager, those who are, and return, hold the Earth in great fondness.”
Grim growled under his breath. “I do not want to see the Earth fall to demons. I’ve not spent lifetimes fighting them just to see that happen.”
Magda said, “So we either go back and hunt dark, gate-building sorcerers, with very few clues. Or we try to work beyond the Veil.”
“The Veil should come first,” Silas decided. “If we fail, we can still try on Earth. The opposite may not be true.”
“I agree,” Jasper put in. “Try the simpler and more immediate option first.”
“Simpler.” Magda snorted under her breath and said in a falsetto, “Oh, we’ll just create a protective circle and work inside it with giant magical scissors to cut through a portal.” Then she grinned. “I can’t wait. In all my many and varied years, this trip’s the most interesting thing I’ve done yet.”
Lyyll said, “I’ve never been in the Shadowlands. Walking there is a skill very few of my people have, and they cannot share it. Can Silas truly take us there? Even though we’re not ourselves skilled that way?”
“It’s part of a necromancer’s talent,” Grim told her. “None of my people can cross the Veil before death using our own magic, but we’ve gone there with our necromancers.”
Xsing clapped all three hands together with cupped palms, creating a sharp crack of sound. “It’s settled!” The waving of his eyestalks looked like high excitement. “It will be the experiment of a lifetime. The information I will discover! The data to be collected! None of my colleagues will have anything to compare.”
“How many of us will go?” Lyyll asked Silas. “How many can you transport?”
“I haven’t found a limit. It’s mostly about the size of the circle.” He had to caution, “You do all realize that my talents and runes may not work from Home.”
“We’ll help figure out any kinks,” Jasper said. “There’s magic to be had on this world, and the principles surely remain constant.”
Silas really, truly hoped so. By now, he was used to having lives depending on him. A necromancer had to accept that as soon as they battled their first demon. But this time, he’d have the safety of entire worlds relying on his skills. And on Darien’s strength and Jasper’s ingenuity. At least I’m not in this alone.
Chapter 7
Darien rolled over in bed and reached out automatically for Silas. His hand closed on a slick, thin fabric, cool and Silas-free, and he sat up fast. Dim lighting in the small room revealed Pip curled at his feet, though his eyes were open. There was another pile of fabric beside him, but no sign of Silas or Grim.
Pip jumped to his feet, sliding around a little on the layered materials that created their makeshift bed. “You’re awake! This sheet is slippery, isn’t it? Soft though. But not as nice as our bed at home. Are you ready for today? I think I’m ready. But I hope there’s breakfast first.”
Darien couldn’t help but smile. “As ready as I’ll ever be. We’ll eat something, I’m sure.” Breakfast would be a repeat of dinner— some of the food they’d packed along that they’d dug into before crashing into desperately needed sleep. No one was sure if they could digest food found on Home, and this wasn’t the day to risk poisoning or even an upset stomach.
“A pity we didn’t bring bacon,” Pip said. “But all food is good.”
The curtain across the doorway slid to one side as Grim peered in. “Ah, good, you’re awake at last. Come along, we’re getting the planning session underway.” He swished back out.
“Be right there.” Darien rubbed at his sticky eyes. He felt a hundred times better than the night before, but still not quite grounded and definitely not as sharp as he wanted to be. “Food will help,” he muttered to himself.
“That’s what I said.” Pip pranced by the doorway. “But I need to go pee first.”
“Me too.” Darien thought he remembered which curtained doorway was the familiars’ version of a bathroom. The hole-in-the-floor construction was a bit odd, and took careful aim, and the flow of air below created an odd sensation. Could be worse. They might not poop or pee at all, and then we’d be stuck with chamber pots or going behind a tree outside.