“But we don’t control the book. It was reported destroyed,” Atta said.

“The paper book was rendered useless… by the book itself. When it bonded with Declan, it emptied its pages,” Tanya said.

“So it’s still bonded with the witch boy?” Atta pressed.

“No, although he has access to its knowledge. It’s part of Omega now,” Tanya said, somewhat reluctantly.

“What? It’s in the machine? The darkest grimoire known? Controlling the most powerful computer known?” Gault asked.

“It was dark. Declan changed it. And it sacrificed itself to protect the computer and thereby became a part of it. Omega was formed of science and magic.”

The room was silent. Tanya waited, knowing that she had just tossed out one of the biggest secrets in their arsenal of privileged, proprietary information. No one outside of a select few Demidova personnel, and Senka, knew how Omega had been created. Frankly, only Declan and Omega itself really knew, but the history of tech and magic being melded was limited and rare. There was that TJ kid from Arcane year one, but mostly it was a nonexistent field. And apparently Senka wanted it revealed.

“What are the odds, Mausya? How unlikely was that event to occur?” Senka asked. “How much of an advantage does that give our computer in dealing with the forces arrayed against us?”

Mausya answered reluctantly. “The odds are too low to calculate for that set of circumstances to have occurred. And knowing this raises our chances from twenty-one to forty-six.”

“This is what you knew that the rest of us didn’t?” Lison asked.

“Part. Part of what we know,” Senka said.

“It does not matter what you know… it matters what the Coven thinks,” Tzao said suddenly.

“Ahh, she finally speaks. And to pronounce us nothing but a de facto democracy. You are saying that if our members feel we are on a doomsday path, then we will be, what? Usurped?” Senka asked.“Being outnumbered by Darkkin is at least as dangerous to us as the global numbers of humans could be to Darkkin, is that it?”

“In so many words, yes,” Tzao answered. “But now we break. We reconvene in two hours.”

Chapter 18

Mack came awake all at once, with a jerk that almost sat him upright. The bed was empty, but her side was still warm and he could vaguely hear voices in the other parts of the house.