Mei Li had actually let that slip without meaning to. It was one of those moments when her “common” knowledge wasn’t so common and her tongue had gotten her in trouble. Thankfully, she was able to pass it off as something she’d heard, and used the transition from cream to yellow to red as an example. Shunlei had already experienced those color changes at that time.
The realization that they weren’t joking or lying seemed to sink in. Zaffi reared back even farther, and his teeth showed in a snarl of rage.
“YOU’VE CAGED ME FIVE THOUSAND YEARS! AND NOW YOU THINK YOU CAN DO IT AGAIN?!”
“Oh, I will. And I’ll do it better this time.” Mei Li decided she really couldn’t waste any more time bantering. He was far too close to breaking out of that seal. Time to help Simeon.
Zaffi let out a wordless howl of anger and frustration as she turned her back to him.
Shunlei squeezed her hand, giving her a shallow nod of reassurance. He would stay and guard Zaffi, wrestle him back if the seal suddenly failed. She kissed his cheek in quick thanks—she would be able to focus enough to work with him standing guard—but wasted not another second.
As she moved, she called for Dolan.
He ran up to her, shooting paranoid looks at Zaffi as he moved. “Lady Mei Li, I don’t like that he’s awake.”
“I’m super unhappy about it myself. Renew everyone’s charms, will you? His influence is going to be even harder to ignore now. The seal around him isn’t going to do much to protect us.”
Dolan gave her a firm nod before turning and jogging away.
Simeon, Simeon, where was he? She had to get that water moving before they really got into trouble.
Ah, there he was, near one of the cookfires. Mei Li grabbed Simeon, locking arms with him and dragging him forward.
“Where’s the water you found?”
“Uh, over there.” He pointed to the east, closer to the canyon.
She did a half-turn and continued to drag him.
“Is there a problem?” he asked with growing concern.
“Zaffi’s not only awake, but I can also feel the heat of his breath through the seal.”
Simeon let out a string of curses in Elvish that she could barely translate in her head.
A wry, strained smile tweaked the corners of her mouth up for a second. “About how I feel on the subject. Where are our helpers?”
“I’ll fetch them. Let’s get this done quickly.”
“Good, go.” Mei Li diverted to the tent set aside for talisman making, belatedly realizing she hadn’t gone there yet.
To be fair, she hadn’t been wholly awake until Zaffi started breathing on her.
She needed to teach people what to do and which talisman design to use. They were supposed to gather after breakfast in the tent, but coming up on the group, she realized something else was wrong. The supplies that had been neatly stacked the night before were now in shambles. The cloth was burned, the ropes cut into short, useless sections, and in the middle of it all was a mage sitting there with her hands over her face, crying.
The people around her watched her cry with a mixture of frustration and understanding on their faces. She couldn’t put a name to a single face. These were volunteers from all over, but they were all susceptible, and each of the five people inside that tent knew it.
Mei Li took it all in, and it didn’t take long for her to put the pieces together: Zaffi’s influence. The mage had succumbed to it and destroyed the talisman materials before being snapped out of it by someone else. For all this destruction, it had likely only taken her ten minutes at most.
And those ten minutes would cost them hours.
Mei Li went to the mage first and put a consoling hand on her shoulder. “Breathe. This isn’t your fault.”
“I’m so sorry, Tomes.” She lifted her head, fair skin splotchy from crying, blue eyes red around the edges. “I was guarding against him, I swear I was. I was eating breakfast one moment, and the next I’m here and Sylvia’s shaking me out of it. I don’t even remember doing this.”
“He’s an insidious bastard, which is why I hate dealing with him. Breathe. We can fix this. First”—Mei Li turned on her haunches, addressing all within earshot—“everyone prioritize renewing the charms. Let’s guard against this as much as we can.”
She received nods of agreement, people splintering off and already coordinating with others.
With a last squeeze, Mei Li stood up. “I’ll give you a chance to fix this. Help replace what’s been lost.”
Fervently nodding, the mage wiped her tears off her face and forced herself up.
Good. That was the spirit. Mei Li turned her head, spying the dragon on the other side of the camp. “Tengfei!”
He was there in two shakes, air practically flowing in his wake. “Yes?”
“We’ve had a mishap here. I need you to fly her into town—I’m sorry, what’s your name?”
“Joline.”
“Nice to meet you, Joline. Go with Tengfei and get canvas and rope to replace what was ruined, plus a little extra just in case. Be quick.”
“Absolutely.” Tengfei extended a hand toward Joline with an impish grin on his face. “Fly with me, pretty mage.”
The mage smiled back, although it was watery and lopsided. “Thank you.”
Mei Li left them to it, as she really had to get back to Simeon. The water took precedence over everything else. They wouldn’t be able to even attempt a new sealing without it.
Although, she was now paranoid about more sabotage. Because of course she needed something else to worry about.
Wrapping her fur-lined cloak more firmly about her shoulders, she rejoined Simeon.
He and the two other mages were already in place, surrounding what she assumed to be the right spot. Simeon was staring down intently, as if earth wasn’t barring his vision. It probably wasn’t.
Coming up to stand at his side, she inquired hopefully, “How much water? You just said a river last night.”
“It’s a sizeable river.” Simeon didn’t lift his head as he answered her. “It seems to be fueled by the mountain runoff, as well as another underground lake nearby.”
“So, what you’re saying is, it’s ridiculously cold water.”
A brief grin flitted across his face. “Let’s just say, I’m surprised there aren’t ice chunks in it. But there’s plenty of water on hand.”
The female mage from the night before—Mei Li really had to get people’s names at some point—cleared her throat. “If anything, we might have too much water here. What I’m sensing is a very swift, powerful river.”
Simeon lifted his head long enough to give her a nod. “That’s my concern. It’s powerful enough that it might not take being redirected very well. We might have a geyser before it settles into the path.”
Mei Li looked around her at the icicles hanging off the trees, the snow lying on the ground, and winced. “This is not the right environment for a soaking. We’ll be frozen in minutes without precautions.”
“We certainly should take some,” the third mage agreed.
He was a stout fellow, much like his wife. His brown hair was curly around his ears, and a red beard flowed down his chest. He rather reminded her of Hawes, in fact—whether that was in build or vibe, she wasn’t quite sure.
“Tomes, I don’t think we’ve exchanged names,” he said.
“No, indeed we haven’t. I’m Mei Li.”
“I’m Finn Westburg. This is my wife, Alina.”
Alina gave her a nod and a smile.
“Thank you both so much for coming.” Mei Li spread her hands to either side. “As you can tell, we desperately needed the help.”
“We were glad to do so. Our families are native to this area, though they’re from a bit farther south. We don’t want this creature rampaging through our backyards.” Alina frowned in Zaffi’s direction. “Although I’m concerned about whether we have enough help.”
“We do,” Mei Li promised. “I ha
d less help than this the first time we sealed him. I hope we have enough help to do this without injuries, but brace yourselves, just in case. Things do not always go according to plan. Simeon, do you have a good water-shielding spell?”
Before he could respond, Alina lifted a hand. “I do.”
“Good, use it on all of us, please. Better to protect us directly than try to create an area to duck into.”
Mei Li eyed the area. She’d need to inscribe several things into the ground to make this work, which meant clearing the snow enough to put it all into place.
“Now, I know we’re going to draw all of the water out of the ground, but how did you plan to channel it toward Zaffi? The basin under him will collect it readily—part of the talisman’s design will make that happen—but we need something to connect the two.”
Finn rumbled out the answer. “I’m in charge of that. I can create a permanent pipe between well and basin. I specialize in this sort of thing back home. Irrigation is something of an expertise of mine.”
No wonder he’d volunteered for the job.
“Then you know precisely what to do. Excellent. I haven’t worked with irrigation channels before.”
“Leave that part to me. Just tell me where I need to connect it.” He paused, then leaned in a little to ask in a lower voice, “You think I can draw on some dragon help? The ground is completely frozen. If one of them can warm it up for me, get it softer, it’ll be easier to work with.”
“They’ll be delighted to help,” she assured him, then turned her head and called, “BAI!”
Bai’s head popped up, and he instantly stood, coming to heed her summons.
“Bai’s one of the strongest dragons we have here,” Mei Li explained to Finn. “So, if you need some digging done as well, he’d be my first choice.”
Bai jogged up to them, his head canted slightly in query. “Did you need something, Tomes?”
“Help,” she said. “We need to dig an irrigation channel between the well that we’ll create here and the basin under Zaffi. But the ground’s too frozen. Can you heat it up, get it softened enough that Mage Finn can work with it? Maybe dig into the soil as well, if he needs that done.”
“Absolutely, anything to help.” Bai looked at the distance and pursed his lips. “That’s not a short distance.”
She looked over the same area and grimaced in agreement. It really wasn’t. It had taken her twenty minutes just to walk over here. And all sorts of boulders, dips, and rocky patches jutted out here and there.
Zaffi really had evaporated all the water in his immediate area. The fact that this was the nearest source of water Simeon could find was silent proof of that.
“We don’t need to go all the way to the basin,” Bai said slowly, clearly thinking out the logistics. “Zaffi’s heat has cleared that area. But it’s still a lot for me to cover quickly. Let me pull in Chen.”
“Sure,” she encouraged.
Bai turned and jogged back, calling to Chen in Long-go, the words carrying loudly in the still winter air.
“Chen’s one of the best at controlled fire,” Mei Li explained to the others. “Between the two of them, this should work out very well. Finn, I’ll let the three of you work.”
“We’ll get it done by the time the well is up and filled,” Finn promised.
“Thank you.” Mei Li knelt and brushed the snow away with her mitten-covered hand. It was indeed very solid under her palm. No wonder Finn had concerns. But while that was difficult for him, it was promising to her, because whatever she inscribed would stay in place.
Alina and Simeon did the same, clearing the spot of snow, and then watched as she wrote into the ground with lines of pure power. Nothing else would make even a dent here, after all. The talisman was simple in design. It directed a well to form, made of any available stone in the area, and called for water to rise up and fill it. That was it. Simple, but effective.
The spell would need to be renewed every few hundred years, much like the Walls of Tanguay, but that was a different headache for a different day. Mei Li would worry about setting that up later. For now, they just needed water, and a lot of it.
When the talismans were all inscribed, she sat back on her heels and looked up, checking on the progress of the men. Chen was already blowing a stream of careful fire toward the ground, melting snow and softening the earth. Bai came in behind him, digging a large trench with massive claws, with Finn coming along on the side, using Evocation magic to form a pipe out of the dirt and upturned stones. It was a smooth partnership and very effective. They’d started some distance away but were working their way steadily toward where Mei Li’s group waited.
Finn cupped a hand around his mouth and called, “Is this big enough?”
Mei Li eyed it, estimating with her eyes. That did look like a sizeable irrigation channel, and it was likely bigger than he was used to creating. But in Zaffi’s case, she had to take extra precaution—and remember that his heat liked to evaporate water. Really, if she had her way, she’d dump him into the ocean, that was how much water she wanted around him at all times. If he wasn’t so far inland, she’d have dragged his carcass to the coast by now.
She mirrored the motion and cupped a hand around her mouth to call back, “Can you make it twice that size?”
“Sure!” Finn doubled back and undid his work, starting over.
Alina asked uncertainly, “Will it really take that much water?”
“In Zaffi’s case, I would rather be safe than sorry.” Mei Li shrugged.
“And we’ll need to accommodate mountain runoff, changing water levels, and the like,” Simeon advised. “I don’t want the irrigation system overwhelmed because it doesn’t have enough space for all the water.”
Also a good point.
Mei Li looked between the three of them. “Activate now, or wait until Finn has it closer?”
“Now,” Alina advised. “Because the initial geyser of water will take time to abate. And we don’t want it destroying Finn’s work.”
And this was why she liked having experts on hand. “Now then. Alina, if you would?”
She gave a nod, summoning a water sprite and supplying the request to protect all three of them against any water that might come their way. The sprite looked somewhat aged, a deeper blue in body, but still almost translucent in appearance. It gave a regal nod and extended its hands to the three of them.
Mei Li could feel and see the magic envelop her, like a touch of cool mist against her skin. Not a pleasant sensation on a very cold day like this one. But she was grateful for the protection.
“Thank you. Alright, everyone, on three let’s activate the spell. One, two, three.”
They knelt and touched the talismans more or less in sync with each other, setting them all aglow in a wash of yellow. It took a second, but Mei Li could hear the rumbling of the water as it reacted to the summons, like the roar of a waterfall heading in her direction. Instinct made her want to jump back, but she had to keep her hand on the talisman until it was fully activated.
And she had several seconds before that would be the case.
The sound got closer and closer, a roar of rushing water.
Simeon muttered, mostly under his breath, “This isn’t going to be pleasant—”
With no warning, the ground under their hands caved in and then shot up, along with a geyser of water any whale would be envious of. Mei Li scrambled backward, rolling free and huffing as she dragged her hair out of her face. Thanks to the water sprite’s spell, she had not a drop of water on her, but the area around her was saturated.
The geyser shot up, spraying water in all directions. Even though she didn’t touch it directly, she could feel the coldness spewing off.
Alina gave herself a shake and then beamed. “Well! That went according to plan. Once this dies down, we’ll be able to connect it to Finn’s pipe.”
That would likely take an hour or more; the geyser didn’t seem at all interested in dying down. “You
think it will do that on its own?”
“It should.” Alina shrugged, nonchalant and not at all worried. “It normally does. If not, I have a filter spell I can put on it to bring it down to a more manageable level.”
“So, either way, we can connect it today and get water flowing toward Zaffi’s basin.”
Finn heard her and called, “We’ll have water flooding him before the evening is upon us!”
“Good.” Mei Li huffed out a relieved breath. Stage one not completely done, but her part was, as they didn’t need her help for the rest of it.
Next, talismans. Surely Tengfei was back by now.
And hopefully the water would boost the seal and give them a bit more time to work.
Hopefully.
Using the water was something of a battle of attrition, as it turned out. Zaffi exuded enough heat that he vaporized quite a bit of the water before it could settle in the basin. But not all—and that was the turning point. Their irrigation pipe poured water that direction, fast and furious, and even a mostly awake, walking volcano couldn’t subdue it all. The basin under his feet first grew moist, then developed puddles, and when Mei Li saw those puddles, she almost cried tears of joy.
It might be slow, but the water was coming.
The seal above didn’t have enough power to draw much strength from it, unfortunately. At least, not at this stage. There wasn’t a noticeable enough difference. But it was vital that enough water gathered there for Mei Li to create the new seal.
It was late afternoon now. Her talisman makers had done their part, everything wrapped up in bricks and placed in a large circle around the existing seal. Mei Li walked the circle, ostensibly seeing how much of the water had gotten into the basin, but also double-checking the talismans’ placements. A mistake with the placement wasn’t something that could be fixed in the heat of the moment. Too much would be going on.
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