Trial of Magic

by K. M. Shea

  Fritz was first to move. He started up the stairs, taking two at a time. Snow White and Angelique were right behind him.

  Fritz leaned against the wooden door, pressing his ear to its surface. “Nothing.”

  “It must be hoped, then, that she is alone.” Snow White said.

  Angelique shook her head as a shadowy, dark sort of sensation oozed under the door crack. There might not be any servants or guards in there with her, but she’s not alone.

  But if the mirror was there…Evariste would be as well.

  The thought made Angelique’s heart rattle in her chest. Soon!

  “Fritz.” Snow White set her shoulders and lifted her chin. “Open the doors.”

  Fritz leaned into the doors, pushing them open as Angelique prayed with all of her being.

  Please, please, be here!

  Fritz and Marzell were first into the room—though Snow White was so close behind them, she almost trod on their heels.

  Angelique hung back, letting the other warriors in—though it was difficult to say if she stayed back in hopes of catching the mirror off guard, or if it was because now, when she was about to face the truth of the matter, she almost couldn’t bear to find out if Evariste was really here or not.

  The room was shrouded in shadow. Although the far end of the throne room was filled with floor-to-ceiling windows, and there were a great many skylights, clouds filled the sky, and the scant braziers that were lit cast eerie shadows in the room.

  The air smelled stale and rotten—like death and decay left to fester. The scent was powerful enough, Angelique nearly choked on it, though it didn’t seem to bother the warriors or Snow White.

  The flooring was smoothed obsidian rock that seemed to gape like a hungry maw, waiting to devour Angelique, Snow White, and the warriors.

  But it was the twelve suits of black armor that made the back of Angelique’s neck prickle. She could feel the dark magic radiating off them.

  Silently, the knights turned in an unnatural unison to face them, their obsidian-rock armor shining and their blood-covered swords gleaming wet. They were constructs—but they were forged with a terrifying amount of power and were larger than even Gregori.

  Faina was there, impossible to miss in a giant crown that looked like the points had been sharpened with a file. She sat on the throne with a cruel smile.

  But Angelique’s gaze sped past all that to focus solely on the mirror.

  It was larger than she imagined and horribly beautiful, with a gold frame that curved with ornately embossed flowers. The colossal, blood-red ruby that glittered at the top of the frame—the focal point—seemed to glow with magic.

  It’s the Snow Queen’s mirror. Its most remarkable feature was the bloated red rock.

  When Angelique finally stepped into the room, she was almost forced to her knees by its sheer power. She felt its magic—numbing and unforgiving—surge around her with an iciness that promised to enfold her, slowly freezing her bit by bit as it consumed her power.

  A string of curses escaped Angelique as she endured the magic—resisting the urge to release her own powers. Her fingers twitched to summon her silvery powers, which were starting to stir like the ocean waters before a monsoon.

  Whatever spell it used to cloak its power doesn’t extend beyond the throne room. Does that mean…Evariste?

  Angelique dared to let her magical senses drift to the mirror, and she felt it: the faintest twinge of Evariste’s bright, dazzling powers.

  It was almost entirely eclipsed by the mirror’s dreadful magic, but she could feel it flickering like a candle about to be snuffed out.

  Angelique jolted forward a step, then caught herself.

  I can’t! I need to wait for the optimal time to attack, or I won’t be able to free him!

  Angelique was certain of this, all the way to the marrow in her bones.

  The power of the mirror, the unforgiving way it drowned the room…she didn’t have a hope of destroying it. She’d only succeed in freeing Evariste if she surprised it. Hopefully it would be weakened if Snow White got through to Faina.

  A dry sob caught in her throat, and she clenched her teeth as she forcibly held herself in place, even though every part of her soul screamed with impatience and pain from the mirror’s power.

  Bear it. Evariste has borne so much. I’m not going to fail him now!

  “Faina,” Snow White said.

  “Snow White.” The Queen spoke in a deep, fathomless voice that couldn’t have been hers. It had a blurred quality to it—as if time had slowly worn away the individual timber, leaving an echoey, almost watery quality to it. “Fairest of them all. How fortunate it is that you have come to me.”

  Snow White trembled—reacting to the power of the mirror even if she couldn’t feel it as strongly as a mage would—and took a tiny step back.

  Angelique’s magic howled within her as the pressure built.

  No, no. Angelique gritted her teeth and held her powers close. I can’t pick a fight I won’t win. You’re a part of me—you should know better.

  Snow White gulped, then pushed back her shoulders. “It appears you have misunderstood the situation.” Her voice grew louder the longer she talked, and she lifted her chin up. “I have not come to you, but Faina.”

  The queen—or the mirror talking through the queen—laughed. “You stupid child. You are too late. She is under my control, and through her, your insipid country is as well. Faina is mine now.”

  “She’s yours, is she?” Snow White—small among the warriors but outright tiny when compared to the black, armored constructs, stepped forward. “Then if that is the case, why are you so afraid of me?”

  Angelique desperately studied Faina, looking for any sign of a spell that controlled the queen. There was magic everywhere; it practically poured off the mirror. But while a spell held the constructs together, there was nothing on Faina.

  Maybe it didn’t cast a spell on her—does that mean it’s using its sheer influence? Can it overpower someone with its presence?

  Queen Faina slumped out of the throne, standing up as if she were a doll whose limbs were being manipulated. “I do not fear stupid little girls who are so inept and useless, they cannot speak to their own people.”

  Snow White winced—it had to hurt to hear her stepmother say that, even if it wasn’t really her—but she didn’t retreat. Instead, her blue eyes sparked with passion. “You’re right. It isn’t me you should fear.”

  The queen’s jaw opened unnaturally wide as she giggled. “You think I should hold your little band of warriors in terror? How laughable!” She pointed to the constructs, the mirror’s magic wrapping around her like a cloak. “Attack them!”

  With a grinding noise—like rock on rock—the obsidian knights lurched across the room. Their movements were slow initially, but their momentum built into a jog that made the stone floor shake, and eventually the leader of the pack leaped the last few steps, stabbing at Oswald with its heavy, onyx colored sword.

  Oswald blocked it, but he nearly fell to his knees in the process, his arms shaking from the force of the construct’s blade. “Dodge their attacks,” he shouted. “A few hits from them, and your arms are done for.”

  Rupert moved to aid Oswald, swinging his sword so he struck the construct on the side. “Look for weak points.” He tossed his sword from one had to the other and flexed his fingers. “Striking them is like hitting a boulder.”

  Good to know.

  Angelique kept an eye on the constructs as the Seven Warriors rose to meet them, then her gaze drifted to the mirror.

  Can it sense me? Does it suspect I’m here for Evariste?

  Its magic briefly threaded around her, and Angelique had to cling to her core magic with everything she had—holding it back as she made herself assess the situation.

  The queen’s eyes stayed on Snow White as she stood behind the line of the Seven Warriors, and the mirror’s magic seemed to be most concentrated on the queen.

 
; I assume that means it believes Snow White is the biggest threat. Does that mean that I need to wait until Snow White at least attempts to free Faina? The mirror would certainly be more distracted then.

  Angelique clenched her teeth as she watched the mirror ripple behind Queen Faina, then dragged her gaze to the Seven Warriors.

  Aldelbert and Wendal had teamed up, toppling a construct by pulling a rope between the two of them.

  Gregori was struggling—his crossbow bolts were unable to punch through the obsidian armor. One of the knights started to grapple with him as Oswald and Rupert fought back-to-back nearby, and Marzell yanked a construct’s helm straight off its shoulders with his whip, revealing shadowy black magic shaped vaguely like a head.

  With one last glance at the mirror—and one last shove at her screaming magic—Angelique leaped into the fray.

  She launched herself onto a construct’s back, latching an arm around its neck. The construct struggled—trying to reach back and grab her without falling over from the unbalanced weight of its own armor. Angelique flipped the visor of its helm back and dropped a glowing starfire inside.

  It didn’t react explosively like the first constructs, but the crystal bothered it. It stopped reaching for her as the crystal rattled its way down the armor, dropping all the way to its feet. Then the construct took a few shaky steps before planting its massive sword on the ground—ruining the expensive stone flooring—and shook its head.

  Angelique hopped off its back and scurried away, just as Aldelbert and Wendal swooped in with their rope. The duo wrapped it around the construct’s legs and yanked, toppling it to the ground with a crunch that reverberated in the chamber.

  With all the constructs occupied, Snow White charged across the throne room, meeting Queen Faina over the floor mural of a charging ram.

  “You really are an idiot.” The queen still spoke in that strange, watery voice as Snow White drew closer.

  Angelique watched them for a moment, then jogged past Fritz, who dodged a construct—which rammed helm-first into a wall and fell onto its back.

  These constructs are more powerful and more difficult to fight, but they certainly aren’t smarter. At least we have that advantage.

  “Are you going to keep an eye on her, or should I?” Angelique yelled to Fritz as she pointed at Snow White.

  The princess was still talking with Queen Faina—or the mirror, really—determination making her chin rise as she stepped closer to her stepmother.

  Fritz took the time to stare at Angelique for several very long seconds.

  “Understood—you’re going to watch her with all of your undying but poorly-timed love.” Angelique winked at him, then skipped around a construct Marzell was fighting, trying to edge her way closer to the mirror without being noticed.

  Her magic snarled like a lion, its sharp edges prickling Angelique’s consciousness in its desire to be free.

  It’s been a long time since I’ve actively held my magic in. But Snow White needs time to reach Faina…and I need to secure any advantage I can.

  Rupert knocked a construct’s helm off its shoulders with such force, the helm flew across the room and smacked the wall.

  Angelique tossed a starfire crystal into the construct’s armor as she scurried past, only paying enough attention to make sure the magical creation didn’t strike her.

  Most of her attention was on the mirror. She tried to study it, squinting through the shadowy fog of magic that surrounded it.

  I don’t see any spells around it…

  She ran to the far side of the room, attempting to peer at the mirror’s side—if there was a spell inscribed in its back, she’d surely see flickers of magic even from that angle.

  She passed Gregori, who had a few cuts but didn’t seem too hindered as he ripped an arm off a construct and used it to beat the construct on the head.

  She took the time to slip a starfire crystal down the open arm hole while craning her neck.

  Blood-colored magic drifted off the mirror’s back, but there were no symbols of magic that she could see.

  I’m not sure if that’s encouraging or discouraging. I won’t have to worry about tripping any nasty spells, but how, then, is it holding onto Evariste?

  She could see the threads of Evariste’s bright blue magic that leaked from the mirror’s surface—a sure sign he was, indeed, inside.

  If there’s not a spell holding him in, how am I supposed to get him out?

  Off to the side, Snow White continued to argue with the mirror/her stepmother.

  “Empty entreaties, princess. I already told you—Faina is gone!” The mirror growled through Queen Faina

  “Except she’s not!” Snow White’s voice was hardened, revealing her inner fire. “I know my stepmother. She would never hurt me! She would never leave me!”

  Yes, keep going, Snow White!

  Angelique wanted to shout encouragement to her friend, but she was afraid to break Snow White’s concentration and to draw attention to herself.

  She licked her lips as she tested the mirror’s magic, cringing when it brushed past her.

  It was the dangerously numb magic she’d encountered with her tracking spell: ancient, foreign, and powerful.

  It was so different from any other kind of magic she’d encountered.

  A rudimentary but deadlier form of magic saturated it, and she could feel an intelligence in it—a supposedly non-sentient thing—that frightened her.

  It’s similar to the stones I encountered for my enchantress test, but more brutal and invasive. The stones pulled my magic from me…this feels as though it would infect every part of my being. How has Evariste survived this long?

  For a moment, Angelique’s heart stopped as she considered the matter. Was it even possible to survive something this evil for such a long time? It seemed impossible.

  No—Evariste had to still be alive. She could see his magic!

  Holding in a snarl, Angelique checked on the Seven Warriors—who were still valiantly holding back the constructs. Their cuts, bruises, and wounds, however, were starting to add up and make the fight lag.

  If this goes on much longer, I may have to intervene. But that might end any hope of freeing Evariste.

  Angelique glanced at Snow White just in time to see her embrace the still-possessed Queen Faina.

  “What’s happening?” the mirror said through Faina. “You have done something to me!”

  When Aldelbert limped past, Angelique patted his back, taking the risk to place a tiny healing spell on the lord, watching the mirror as she did so.

  The mirror didn’t respond—it was too focused on Snow White’s attempts to reach Faina, which seemed to be succeeding!

  Faina tried to grapple with Snow White, but just as her fingers brushed the princess’s throat, the queen staggered backwards.

  “Get away from Snow White!” the queen shouted in a feminine voice that was markedly different than the echoey one she’d uttered before.

  You cannot resist, a hushed voice whispered. Though it was quiet, it filled the room with a stifling thickness. You are but a simple human, unable to fight magic.

  Angelique jumped. The voice was coming from the mirror—the physical mirror. It wasn’t speaking through Faina, but with its own ability.

  Perfect. Just perfect. A talking, evil artifact. Never mind that I’ve never met any talking, magical artifact before—which means the mirror has a level of power I’ve never witnessed—it also has to be twisted. There’s not a chance I can match it power wise, even with my vast magic.

  Thick, tarry magic swirled around Queen Faina, who screamed in pain. She and Snow White cried to each other, but Angelique didn’t hear much of their conversation because her magic roared to life.

  If it was a snarling lion before, now it was an enraged dragon with a belly full of fire and the desire to destroy everything. It hit Angelique so hard, for a moment she couldn’t see.

  All she felt was her power—cold and angry.

>   She slumped against the wall as she tried to recover.

  Settle down! she mentally howled at her powers. You’re trying to pick a fight we can’t win! We need to be able to get Evariste out!

  “Faina!” Snow White screamed. Tears poured down her cheeks as she tried to step closer to Faina—who was wrapped so deeply in black magic, she was no longer visible. “I’m not going to give up. I’ll fight this with everything I have. Mullberg will not rest until you are safe, and I will not stand quiet and let you go!”

  Unnatural wind pulled at Snow White’s black hair, pushing her back as she struggled to get closer to her stepmother.

  Angelique’s powers gathered around her fingertips, and Angelique pushed off the wall—intending to cut a path through the magic for her friend.

  A white hand plunged out of the darkness and grabbed Snow White’s, eliciting a startled scream from her.

  Deep within the cloud of black magic, Queen Faina moved. “I said…GET AWAY FROM MY DAUGHTER!”

  The ancient black magic that Angelique wasn’t certain she could beat…fled. It rushed away from Queen Faina and shot back to the mirror, sinking within its surface with such force, the reflection violently rippled.

  Queen Faina and Snow White clumped together as the armored constructs continued to attack the warriors.

  They did it. Using love, they beat it. Even though that was the worst sort of magic I’ve ever seen… Evariste did tell me that love—whether paternal, platonic, romantic, or otherwise—was one of the strongest forces on earth and is as old as the most ancient kinds of magic.

  Angelique’s magic stirred in her, trying to make her move—do anything. Evariste was right there! But she remained still, feeling as if she wanted to grasp something that was just out of her reach.

  I can’t overpower the mirror—I can see that with my own eyes. I can disrupt it, like Sybilla mentioned, or maybe I might be able to briefly overwhelm it as Odile did with her wyvern. But…what if…

  She couldn’t solidify the glimmers of her thoughts into words or an idea.

  Around her, the battle still raged.

  Aldelbert was protecting Wendal—who was slumped against a wall, entirely out of the fight. Marzell fought with Oswald and Rupert, but their strength was starting to fail. Gregori and Fritz worked together, but even Fritz was showing signs of weariness.