“It’s good,” Jace said.
The tension had diminished. Minimus sheathed his blade and sat down. Cole relaxed. Most of the others muttered positively about the sorbet.
“The grinaldi representative has not finished his portion,” Callista observed.
“It was wonderful,” Twitch said. “My stomach just gets a little upset when we talk about the end of all life in Elloweer.”
“Out with it,” Callista demanded. “Too minty? Too sweet?”
Twitch bowed his head. “It was squirming.”
“That just means it was fresh!” Callista exclaimed. “Who wants to eat a dead sorbet?”
“How would we work together?” Mira asked.
Callista clucked her tongue. “I suppose if you each take a bite, we can consider his sorbet eaten and the dessert a success.”
“I mean against Morgassa,” Mira said.
“What would happen if you went to fight her right now?” Callista asked.
“Her figments would take us over,” Mira said.
“They would change you into mindless servants under her control,” Callista said. “Long before you got within sight of her, you would merge with her army. Anyone you harmed along the way would be some poor innocent enslaved to her.”
“Can they be changed back?” Cole asked.
“Only by separating them from her power,” Callista said. “Morgassa must be unmade. Isn’t anyone going to finish the sorbet?”
“I’ve got it,” Jace said, taking Twitch’s cup.
“Don’t hog it all to yourself if others crave a final taste,” Callista said.
Jace let Cole and Dalton each have a bite.
“Morgassa has a lot of power,” Mira said. “If we kill her, won’t we let it all loose?”
“Her power is grounded in her,” Callista said. “It isn’t shared with anyone else. It is stable. If you kill her, the power will perish with her. Mira, when your power roamed free as Carnag, your death could have destabilized it enough to incite a catastrophe. But now that your power is once again grounded in you, your power will pass away quietly at your death. As will mine.”
“But how could we get to her?” Honor asked. “Her figments would turn us.”
“This is why Trillian sent you to me,” Callista said. “Morgassa’s figments merge with people and change them. But if you have already been sufficiently changed, there would be nothing to merge with. I’m not talking about a minor cosmetic alteration. I mean a deep, fundamental change like her figments are trying to provoke.”
Cole met eyes with Dalton. He could tell he and his friend were wondering the same thing: What kind of change was she talking about?
“You can make us immune to her figments?” Honor asked.
“If you let me change you enough, yes,” Callista said. “All except Minimus. He has already been sufficiently changed by the Rogue Knight. No figment could touch him. I would have to destroy his connection to the Rogue Knight before I could enchant him.”
“My enchanted nature is meant to remain secret,” Minimus said.
“Then you shouldn’t have come here,” Callista replied. “The connections are plain to me. The Rogue Knight works excellent enchantments. He wields impressive power. Honor has some real potential.”
Minimus turned to Honor. “The Rogue Knight and I are truly fashioned from your stolen power?” he asked.
“My power was stolen by my father,” Honor said. “That much I know.”
“It was channeled to whoever became the Rogue Knight,” Callista assured him.
“Perhaps I spoke rashly before,” Minimus said. “I will always side with him and defend him, but the Rogue Knight needs to know of this. I’m not sure whether he fully understands where his power originated. I have never known him to turn a blind eye to injustice.”
“I appreciate the sentiment,” Honor said.
“Honor, you need the Rogue Knight,” Callista said. “He and his followers are the strongest allies we have in the fight against Morgassa. Her figments cannot touch them. With the Rogue Knight at your side, the chance for success increases.”
“I believe he would aid us,” Minimus said. “I’ll ask him myself.”
“What about Brady?” Cole asked. “Why were the Enforcers holding him? Did they think he could still help?”
Callista frowned, rubbing her chin. “He would be of little direct use. The power is no longer anchored to him. Perhaps they hoped to gain insight into the power by studying him. Perhaps they thought Morgassa would be sympathetic toward him since she originated from him. At this stage, I believe Morgassa would only be a danger to him.”
“You mentioned you could change us?” Honor said. “Into what?”
Callista made a point of glancing around the room at the cups. “I see your desserts are all finished. As a reward, I will introduce you to my Hall of Masks.” She rocked up out of her chair. “Follow me.”
Chapter 35
MASKS
As everyone rose from their seats, Cole and Dalton drifted over to a corner. “I was with Twitch on the dessert,” Dalton whispered.
“It didn’t taste bad,” Cole said.
“No, but it moved.”
“I hear you.”
“Do you think it’s still alive in our stomachs?”
“I’d rather not think about it,” Cole said with a disgusted shudder.
“What do you think she’s going to change us into?” Dalton wondered.
“Hopefully something cool.”
“Like a squirmy dessert?”
Cole had to stifle a laugh. “I think she totally wants to help us. But I get why you’re worried. She’s a little . . . different.”
“That’s why you shouldn’t live alone at the bottom of a lake.”
Callista led them down a rounded corridor that felt more like an underground tunnel than a hallway in a home. The corridor opened into a dim, rectangular room with a large collection of primitive wooden masks hung against the walls.
The Grand Shaper waved a hand, and globes of light brightened the room. “How does a space get so dusty when nobody uses it?” she complained, frowning. “I had no idea the Hall of Masks was so untidy! If I’d had even thirty minutes’ notice you were coming, this would have been a very different experience. You’re my first company in decades.”
“You have a lovely home,” Mira said. “We appreciate all you’re doing for us. These masks are interesting. So diverse!”