Arcane Dropout 5

by Edmund Hughes

  He rolled right over the edge of the island, in fact. He let out a surprised gasp and dug his fingers into the earth, arresting his slide with the lower half of his body dangling into open air. Eliza slowly made her way over to him, watching as he attempted to pull himself up and lost a few inches of purchase in the process.

  “Take my hand, Lee,” she said, dropping down and reaching out. “You’ll be my partner, the king by my side. What you’ve seen me do, what you’ve done with me, it’s just a preview of what we could share.”

  He was already shaking his head. “No. Eliza… Please. Come back. Take control and come back to who you used to be.”

  “You’d rather die than simply be with me?” she asked. “Are you really that stubborn?”

  He couldn’t help himself. He winked at her and then did the extremely stupid thing that he couldn’t bring himself to resist.

  He let go of the island and fell backward.

  ***

  It was a lot harder to cast a spell while panicking and freefalling through thin air than Lee had been expecting. He briefly wondered if the blow he’d taken to the head had influenced his decision-making before deciding it didn’t fucking matter and he should be more focused on not dying.

  One hand clasping the wrist…

  Widow’s true name…

  Lee snapped his hand forward and channeled, feeling a burst of elation as the indigo conjuration portal appeared. The elation sank into the ocean of terror as he dropped past the portal and watched it shrink in the distance above.

  He was about to resign himself to his fate when the silhouette of an eight-limbed monster-woman flew at him from above. He hadn’t channeled Widow before and certainly hadn’t explained to her what she should do if she ever found herself temporarily pulled through a portal into a wild descent, which made him love her that much more for her decisiveness.

  She wrapped her arms around him, squeezing him tight into her incredibly soft body. He felt their drop begin to slow and realized she’d already attached her web to one of the islands, just as he’d been hoping she would. Lee hugged her back and began kissing her over and over again, heart still pounding in his chest.

  “Did you neeeed something?” hissed Widow. “I was in the middle of sleeeeping.”

  “You’ve already taken care of it,” he said. “I only channeled you, so you’ll only be around for—”

  Purple light flashed and he was suddenly falling again. He screamed, but only for a fraction of a second before he landed unceremoniously on the grass with a mildly bruised tailbone.

  Two faces appeared in his field of view as he attempted to pick himself up. Tess and Harper, the former with a much more concerned expression than the latter.

  “Lee!” cried Tess. “Oh, Lee! I was so worried. I felt some of her essence transfer to you and I thought that maybe she’d convinced you, somehow, and you’d come down here with demon eyes and start killing everybody and I’d have to figure out how to save you and, and…”

  “I’m alright,” he said, breathing hard.

  Harper had a strange expression on her face, guarded and a little angry. She didn’t offer him help up, and she looked like she was about to say something as he finally rose to his feet.

  She never got the chance. Eliza began descending from the upper island, her body surrounded by an aura of red power. Gen shouted something, and Harper fell into position beside her, along with a dozen graduate mages who’d apparently been drafted into the defensive force.

  The evacuation was continuing in earnest, a long line of students crowded outside of the First Tower’s doors. Too long for them all to get out in the next few minutes. It was clear that if Eliza intended further harm to Primhaven, the defenders would need to either defeat her or at least stall for a significant amount of time.

  Eliza fixed her dress and her hair, both still a bit messy from previous events. She flashed a cold smile, surveying opponents, and slowly pointed her finger toward the center of the group. The movement wasn’t any recognizable casting stance, so Lee was the only one who saw it coming.

  “Watch out!” he shouted.

  Too late. A blast of crimson energy far more powerful than any she’d directed at him tore through the air, striking the ground in front of Harper and Gen. Lee saw blue and green flickers of light, spell shields being cast, an instant before the impact, but it was hardly enough.

  Mages flew through the air. Gen was the only one left standing. Harper landed in a sprawl, rolling like a log tipped down a hill and struggling to pick herself up afterward.

  “That body does not belong to you, demon,” hissed Gen. She held Savoire Solaire in her dominant hand, the tip of the enchanted saber leveled toward Eliza’s chest though the two were still separated by several dozen feet.

  “Oh?” Eliza flicked a few strands of auburn hair behind one ear. “That’s news to me. I think it does belong to me and so does this school, as I’ve grown rather fond of it.”

  She pointed her finger again. Gen charged, sword gripped tight. Harper had gathered a few of the mages, and they stood ready to release a volley of offensive magic, only holding back while the Lead Instructor was within the line of fire.

  Gen swung her sword at Eliza’s midriff with blurring speed. Eliza simply teleported behind her, retaliating with an open-handed strike, also known as a slap. It took Gen across the head with enough force to flip her completely over, and Lee was surprised she managed to keep hold of her sword.

  Eliza teleported again, appearing in the midst of the group of mages Harper had collected. She flung her arms around with careless, haphazard swings, each wild point of contact flinging a new opponent backward.

  Harper dodged the strike intended for her, her golden braid trailing behind her head like a streamer in the wind. She assumed the elemental casting stance and sent a massive fireball into Eliza’s chest at point-blank range. The blast did little more than singe her clothing.

  “Eliza!” Lee charged at her from behind. He threw himself into a desperate tackle, hoping if he could get close again, he could disable her magic with his dispel.

  She teleported preemptively, leaving Lee wrapping his arms around nothing and then crashing into the person on the other side. Harper, in fact. She grunted and roughly pushed him off her the second after they landed. A bit rougher than was called for, but the circumstances were too dire for Lee to complain.

  Gen was facing off with Eliza again as one of the only mages left standing. Lee tried to keep his awe in check as he noticed how completely outmatched she was. She’d gone toe to toe with the Dealmaker, Jack Masterson, a blood mage and one of the most powerful opponents Lee had ever personally faced. He could barely look directly at her sword due to the strength of its enchantment.

  Eliza looked like she was toying with the older woman, letting her wear herself out as she simply teleported out of range of each strike, occasionally retaliating with a finger-pointed blast of crimson energy obviously not released at full strength. She aimed one at the hilt of Savoire Solaire after teleporting to stand beside Gen, and the sword went soaring through the air.

  It landed point-down no more than three feet away from Lee. He stared at it, briefly glancing around to see if anyone had noticed. Harper was in the middle of directing the graduate mages toward the evacuation line which was down to just a few people. Gen was in a casting stance, her attention still fixated on Eliza who seemed to have grown bored of the fight.

  Instead of finishing off her opponents, Eliza had begun destroying the school again, pointing at the Five Towers and blasting holes into them with crimson energy like a vindictive pirate firing off a cannon at a defenseless city. Lee took a step toward Savoire Solaire, both attracted and intimidated by the opportunity it presented.

  Tess was next to him and she nodded as he met her gaze as though reading his mind. “She’s too powerful for us to fight. This might be the only chance you have, Lee. You might still be able to save Eliza and the people she could hurt.”

&n
bsp; He chewed his lip, still bleeding from the way Eliza had bitten it. Had Zoe been telling the truth? Would Jack be able to help, or had his sister just told him what she knew he wanted to hear? Could he trust her when it mattered?

  The decision practically made itself as he considered his lack of other options. A small chance was better than no chance at all. Lee took hold of Savoire Solaire’s hilt, feeling it tingle with power against the inside of his palm, and pulled it out of the ground. He turned, looking over his shoulder as he shielded the sword with his body, making sure everyone was still sufficiently distracted.

  He ran first toward the Ewix Center and the steam baths Zoe had entered the school from, with Ryoko’s help. He slowed to a stop as he saw what was left of the ruined building, heading instead toward Primhaven’s front gates. They were already open, one double door hanging at an angle, damaged from one of Eliza’s wayward finger blasts.

  Lee stopped to pick up a torn initiate’s robe next to a destroyed dormitory, wrapping the fabric around the sword to at least somewhat obscure what he was carrying. He didn’t have time to go back for his jacket and ran out into the cold in nothing more than his t-shirt and jeans.

  “Come on!” he shouted to Tess. They sprinted toward the supply shed. One of the snowmobiles was still outside and he still had the keys in his pocket. He started it up and prayed it had enough gas to get him to the other teleportation point, the cabin next to the well.

  He’d only just turned it around in the right direction when a figure stepped out to block his way. Lee’s hand went for his dagger, then his gun, and then relaxed. Harper’s face came into view as she stepped out of the shadow and into the moonlight.

  “Jesus…” He breathed a sigh of relief. “Is the fight over?”

  “For now. Eliza is still within Primhaven, but evacuation is complete. Where are you going?”

  He hesitated for only an instant before a plausible excuse came to his mind. “Back to Kuh-Matton. We must have missed something there. There has to be a way to undo whatever the pillar did to her.”

  Harper smiled but it was an empty one, almost painted on.

  “You’re lying, Eldon. About everything.”

  CHAPTER 43

  The snow fell in slow motion, and with the battle within the college now silent, it almost felt like a scene out of a snow globe, preserved and eternal. Harper had her white winter coat and boots on and she was breathing fast, as though she’d sprinted out to catch up with Lee.

  “I’m lying?” he said. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  Instead of answering immediately, Harper took a step forward. Her eyes focused on the bundled sword in Lee’s hands. He heard Tess gasp from beside him, which only fed into his growing sense of dread.

  “I can’t believe it, but in so many ways, I really can.” Harper narrowed her eyes, flicking the end of her braid over one shoulder. “You’re no mage. You never were.”

  “What are you even talking about?” He forced himself to add some snap into his voice as he turned to climb onto the snowmobile. Harper seized his wrist as he pulled out the keys.

  “Cast a spell, then. Right here, right now.”

  Lee rolled his eyes and lifted his hands up to his face. He focused his will into a simple illumination spell, a harmless floating sphere of white light.

  “Happy?” He lowered his arms, dismissing the illusion. “Where is this coming from, anyway?”

  “Again. I want to see you cast a few more.”

  “Then you’re out of luck,” he said. “I don’t feel like it.”

  “You don’t feel like it because you can’t. You never could. I was right about you in the very beginning, and the only thing that kept me from trusting my own intuition was the fact I used to fuck your sister.”

  Lee ran his hand through his hair. It felt like he was sinking into the snow, crumbling in place.

  “Jesus, Harper… What are you saying?”

  “Willow told me about Tess.”

  He’d already guessed as much but hearing her say it, the simple knowledge that she knew what he’d kept from her, was made no less crushing in its effect. He felt nauseous, hot all over even though he was standing in the freezing cold. Like he was standing in front of a crowd, under the spotlight, with a blindfold on.

  “She… told you?”

  Harper gave him a smile devoid of any humor. “She was delirious, but I was able to figure it out. Both from what she would say and from what she wouldn’t. It was the last piece to the puzzle, the one I’d come to assume didn’t exist. You’re a soulbinder, a mystic. You’ve just been pretending this entire time… and you’ve taken me for a complete fool.”

  Tess drew closer to Lee, but with the smallest movement he could manage, he shooed her away. He had no idea what Harper might do next, and the last thing he wanted was for Tess to be anywhere near the line of fire.

  It was barely a flick of his hand but was enough to draw Harper’s attention. Her lips flattened and she furrowed her brow, gesturing to the space Tess had just moved through.

  “Is she here right now?” she asked. “Of course, she is. All along, she’s been here, hasn’t she? Watching, waiting. Probably doing far more than just that, things I’m sure you’d tell me that I don’t need to know about.”

  “Harper, you don’t understand.”

  “No, you don’t understand!” She pointed at him just like Eliza had, and though no magical blast came forth, the effect gutted him all the same. “And the worst part… is that I thought you did. You don’t have a clue, do you?”

  He didn’t. He really didn’t, but he couldn’t say that, couldn’t admit it. Lee felt overwhelmed like he needed to give an explanation he just didn’t have. The situation was made no easier by the fact he needed to move, needed to reach Zoe and Jack and get help for Eliza as quickly as humanly possible.

  “Genevieve once told me that the worst mistakes we make are the ones we keep making,” muttered Harper. “First Zoe, and now you. Am I to just watch time arc back around onto itself?”

  “So, you’re Gen now?” he shouted. “Are you going to cut my head off, Harper? Handle me just like she handled Mattis, with no trial and no hesitation?”

  “What would you have me do?” she screamed.

  “I fucked up! I know, Harper… I know how bad this looks, how bad it is. I fucking lied to your face this entire time from day one. But I had to do it! It was the only chance I had of finding Zoe. My lies got me into this school, into a place where I could find her and at least try to help her. Where would the truth have gotten me?”

  “Eldon! If you’d just told me—”

  “I am not a fucking mage! Have you thought about the risk I’ve been taking? Do you think I wanted this? What would have happened if I’d told you and you’d reacted badly? Or even just acted like you usually do, like Harper Black, the future of the Order of Chaldea?”

  “This is not on me!” Harper cut through the air with her arm. “None of it is, and it’s more than just this one lie, isn’t it? What are you holding, Eldon?”

  He clutched Savoire Solaire tighter in his hands, feeling the edge of the naked blade within the cloth bundle biting into his palm.

  “I think you already know,” he said. “If I had to guess, I’d say it’s probably why you came looking for me. I made a deal with Zoe to help Eliza. If I bring her the sword, she’ll—”

  The strike came in a blur, too fast for him to see, let alone dodge. Harper slapped him across the face with an open hand. She didn’t hold back and the blow was hard enough to make him see stars and stumble sideways.

  “If you bring her the sword?” she said, coldly. “You won’t even be honest with me, but you’ll steal for her. Is that how it is, Eldon? Is that how it’s always been?”

  “I don’t have time for this,” he snarled. “Not everything is about you and me, Harper! I have to take the chance to help Eliza. I care about her.”

  “The lies never end with you, do they?”

  Lee
felt a sudden, familiar anger. He set the bundle down and stared at Harper, teeth gritted, fists clenched. It felt as though their relationship had undergone a hard reset, as though months of apprenticeship, intimacy, and trust had gone up in a blaze of emotions. He knew where they were now, and he knew what was about to happen next.

  “I’m not going to let you leave,” said Harper.

  “You can’t stop me.” Lee slowly lifted his arms up, though he had no intention of casting any spells. It was too dangerous, too predictable. She knew his secret, his style, his habits. She knew everything except for what his lies had obscured, everything except the truth.

  Harper clasped her wrist, her eyes narrowing to furious slits as she jabbed her palm forward. Conjuration bindings snapped into place around his wrists, holding him firm.

  Lee was blatant about using his abilities, for once feeling like he wanted her to see what he was doing, and what he was. He pulled his breath inward, focusing on using dispel with perfect precision, tying it to the brunt of his will. He saw Harper blink in surprise as he reached down to his forearms and pulled loose the bindings like a stage magician taking off a pair of handcuffs.

  She didn’t offer him her thoughts. There was a moment Lee felt like he could seize the initiative, perhaps try something dirty before she regained her composure. He let it pass. Harper fell into a martial arts stance, rather than a casting one, closing the distance with careful footwork.

  He blocked a jab and took a punishing kick to the thigh. Lee fell into a wrestling crouch and tried to lunge at her, knowing his size advantage would be more pronounced with them both on the ground. Harper spun away and pivoted tactics with terrifying speed, arms folding into the elemental casting stance.

  A blast of wind sent Lee flying a good twenty feet. He landed hard in the snow, softer flakes giving way to a thin ice crust that cut at his nose and cheek. He pulled himself up, shivering from the cold, though the adrenaline kept him from feeling it.