Page 25 of I Am the Night

I snort. "That's the understatement of the century. What have you heard?"

Ifi joins us, dragging Sebastian by the hand. "Oh darling, what haven't we heard? Dead dragons, a visit from the Mother of Dragons, your Fate powers going super nova. The Otherworld is getting lit!" he explains with a swivel of his hips.

I burst out laughing and Elal chuckles. "We took a visit to Earth recently. Ifi really liked the socializing on media part. He learned some new words."

"Yeah, I can see that," I say, still chuckling. "But honestly, how do you guys know so much about what happened already? There were only a few of us there."

They share a glance. "We have our ways," Ifi says with a conspiratorial wink.

Elal frowns. "We also know of other, more disturbing things," he says. "End of the world rumors."

I suck in a breath. "How?"

"It is hard to explain. But rest assured this is not common knowledge, and will not become so, not by us at least. While Ifi might be an irredeemable gossip, even he knows when to keep his mouth shut."

I look over at Ifi, who makes a motion to zip up his lips and toss away the key.

"We need to solve this case," I say. "Everything depends on it."

"Then let's get to it, shall we?" Elal says, and with a flick of his finger he gestures for one of the cooling units to open, and a table comes rolling out with Lyx's body laid out reverently on top, covered in a white sheet.

"We have never autopsied a dragon before," Ifi says, clearly trying to contain his excitement.

"Normally their bodies disintegrate upon death," I say. "Why didn't hers?"

"Our working theory," Elal says, "is that their body remains if their soul was torn from them without their willing consent."

"Does this mean Lyx can't move on? To… wherever dragon souls go when they die?" The afterlife is still a mystery to me, clearly.

"We can't answer that," Elal says.

"Can you tell us what killed her?" Sebastian asks, his voice soft, his demeanor more subdued than normal as he gazes at Lyx.

Elal reaches for a clay sculpture on one of the shelves and holds it up. "Something this shape and size," he says. "I made a mold of the puncture wound and created a sculpture from it."

I take it from his hand and examine it, turning it over in my hand. It's made of grey clay and has a cylinder base that narrows into a sharpened tip with ridges spiraling it. "What does this look like to you?" I ask Sebastian.

He frowns, studying it. "A unicorn horn."

"Right. But there's presumably only one left, and it wasn't the murder weapon, so where does that leave us?"

"With another mystery to solve in just a few days."

"Can we keep this?" I ask, holding up the sculpture.

"Sure thing," Ifi says. "It's some of my best work." He winks and I grin at him.

"Now, are we ready for the last wish?" Elal asks.

"Yes," Sebastian says softly.

We all step back several feet in anticipation of Ifi's transformation.

He walks over to Lyx's body and stands by her side, then bursts into flames. The fire burns brightly and Sebastian shifts uncomfortably, sweating. I reach for his hand and use my water and air magic to dampen the heat for him. He pulls me closer to him and kisses my head as Ifi begins chanting in his own language. As before, his voice becomes layered with other voices, the vibration of them shaking the room. It feels like an earthquake moving through the mausoleum and then a loud screeching fills the air. Flames dance against the marble walls and ceilings, and the body of Lyx begins to shake as Ifi's magic fills her, animating her from within.

She sits up and turns to us, light filling her body, her soul returning to her eyes. She looks at Sebastian first. "Son," she says, "Keep your light close."

Then she looks at me and her face contorts in terror. "The mother must be stopped."