"We have word they hide in the memory of the light of the Sun," Oran says to Lito, "In doing so those performing the illicit ritual on Hart Island are safe from most attacks."
"But not from us." Lito says.
"No, for we command the light of all suns." Answers Oran.
"How do we get to them from here?" Asks Lito.
"We simply call up our own light from the Central Sun within and enter the memory. That is the easy part. It is who we must then fight, that is the hard part."
Lito frowns. He is well aware of who they must fight. Ailuros, a god. Pleni a being of immense capabilities in her own right, never mind what she gains as Plenipotentiary of the Fay. That-Came-From-Before, a being so old the Earth itself respects its age.
The Witch. Lito turns and looks at Leonie who stands in their armor, having summoned their sword in order to spar with an unhappy Iníon. At least Iníon fights Leonie with a ferocity she can never seem to bring against me, Lito thinks.
"This isn't going to work out for us." Lito says to Oran.
"Why do you think so?" Oran asks.
"The eight of us are not enough for who we now go up against. Our ace in the hole, Leonie, cannot win against Lucy, the Witch. Not as they are. We need Leonie for more than one opponent as well, so even if they could face down the Witch and win there are at least three more opponents of equal capacity."
Oran studies Leonie's fight with Iníon and says to Lito, "Leonie is competent, but you know more about our enemy than anyone. What do you propose?"
"We must keep Leonie off Hart Island for now. They need Leonie to complete the ritual."
"We cannot leave the practitioners on Hart Island alone forever, nor can we wait and build our forces forever. The forces of the Underworld of this place will force our hands if the Fairies do not. We must act, even if at severe disadvantage. It is our only shot, if a long one."
Dorothea knows. She must know, thinks Lito. Lito turns the ritual and general situation over in his mind, "I don't know all the details of the ritual, nor of the exact need for the mantle Leonie now wears, but this is our one card we hold."
"Is there anything we can do?" Asks Oran.
Lito thinks for a moment, then says, "Destroy the body planned for use in the resurrection. We must target the body, clear the way to it, and focus everything on that singular goal. We must do it as quickly as possible. If we end up in a protracted fight with the body still whole, we lose."
"Orders are to preserve the ritual as best we can. We are equipped to take control of it and complete it properly under the auspices of the Central Sun. We need the body."
Lito looks at Iníon deep in thought, "Do the orders you were given explicitly state we need the body?"
Oran pauses, then says, "No. Orders are to preserve the ritual as best we can, which covers the body for the resurrection."
"We can destroy the body. I am confidant in that, and I think so is the Central Sun."
"Are you still fully connected?" Oran asks, "The shroud now in place around the Earth cut most of us off most of the time. We subsist on our internal energy now, those better connected sharing as needed."
"I have no degradation in my connection with the Central Sun, the same goes for the other two who came with me. It remains to be seen if this shall always be the case, but it is for now."
Oran perks up at Lito's words, "If you can manage, would you share some of your energy with us? We can heal faster from our last . . . fight with the Fairies outside. They cannot enter this building, for now. With the Blood Moon held in place, this armory will not remain safe for long."
Lito nods in assent, turning to provide help to the five servitors while Leonie and Iníon continue to spar.
The old man steps out from the portal connecting the Library and the Academy of Witchcraft to his personal residence in New York City. From the outside, the old man's property is a six storey walk-up on the Upper East Side.
There is more space inside the building than the outside would otherwise suggest, and it is in one of those folded-in spaces hidden behind a full length body mirror in the ground floor's main hallway. Once through the portal, the old man faces the mirror, whispers a spell, and steps through the glass back onto regular ground on the Earthly plane.
The Mold remained behind in the Library, but two Automatons followed the old man through. A half dozen more Automatons wait for the old man in the hallway once he steps through the mirror.
The old man squares up with one of the waiting Automatons, and looking the doll's glowing blank eyes straight on says, "Take me to my wife. I wish to see her if it is the last thing I do."
"It is the last thing that you do." Answers the Automaton.
"That remains to be seen." The old man says.
"No, it does not, for we've already seen. It only remains for you to see." Says the Automaton.
"Let's go."
The Automaton steps aside, allowing the old man to exit the walk-up and out into the street while following behind. All the Automatons join in the walk with the old man to his wife with more joining along the way.
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