by James Riley
“They’re almost here,” Jia said quietly. “If you’re going, you need to go now.”
“I’m going to use my Telepathy to make sure none of you remember where I go,” Damian said, giving them an apologetic look. “I’m sorry, but it’s for your own safety. That way you can honestly tell the soldiers you don’t know.”
“Don’t bother, I’ll get it,” Sierra said, stepping over next to him.
Damian looked surprised, but she just tilted her head like she was speaking to him in his mind. Finally he nodded and turned back to the rest of them. “Thank you all, for everything. And again, I can’t begin to express how sorry I am for what happened.”
He turned, and with Sierra’s hand in his, started to walk toward the edge of the base. But Fort moved to block them, not sure he could stop them, but unwilling to let Damian just go, not with such a dangerous magic, not after . . . everything. “Think of what could happen if you lose control again,” he growled at the boy. Mostly, he wanted to add, Think of what happened the last time you did, and who suffered for it.
Damian sighed, then raised his hand, and it began to glow a dull red. “I don’t want to fight you,” he said. “But right now, you need to let us go, for the good of everyone.”
Please, Fort, Sierra said in his head. We will talk again, and soon. But we need to go now, if we’re going to have a chance.
Above them, the helicopters began to circle, moving in for a landing.
Fort gritted his teeth, wanting nothing more than to refuse. If he could just keep Damian on the base until the soldiers arrived, the soldiers would lock him up and take his magic away, and then they really would be safe. . . .
Fort, his father’s voice said in his head. What did I tell you about living in fear? I’m pretty sure this isn’t North Carolina.
That’s not what I’m doing! Fort shouted in his mind, knowing it was a bit ridiculous to talk to his own imagination.
Are you sure? his father’s voice said. Is this about safety . . . or just more revenge?
Fort sighed deeply. I don’t even know, honestly, he thought. And he realized that if he couldn’t even tell the difference, then that was an even bigger problem.
I hope you’re right about this, he told the imaginary voice of his father in his head.
I’m you, his father’s voice said. And when have you ever been wrong?
Fort rolled his eyes internally, then stood aside and let Damian and Sierra pass. “You can go, but keep your magic under control,” he said to Damian. And then, just for his father, he added, “Because you won’t always have a master magician around like me to fix things.”
Damian nodded gravely, then pulled Sierra into a run. She threw Fort one last slight smile before they both headed into the woods.
“Whoa, did they just disappear?” Jia asked.
Fort, though, watched Sierra and Damian run out of the base. “I guess so,” he agreed, as the helicopters started landing all around them.
- FORTY-SEVEN -
WELL, FORSYTHE,” COLONEL CHARLES SAID, sitting across from Fort in a small room with a long mirror on one side. “This feels familiar, doesn’t it? Was it just yesterday I was talking to you in the disciplinary barracks? It can’t have been. So much has happened.”
Fort shrugged, staring down at his hands, which were handcuffed to the table.
“I’ve spoken to the other students already and heard their versions of things,” Colonel Charles said. “And obviously I know much of yours. Is there anything you’d like to add?”
Fort paused, then nodded. “I have a question. How much do you remember?”
Colonel Charles looked away. “You mean, what did the Old One let me remember? All I know is that I heard an explosion at the Training Hall a few minutes after I sent my guards after you. Then, the next thing I knew, I was hearing a voice in my head, telling me to fight back against whatever was inside my brain. I did, and then woke up in the middle of the destroyed school.” He winced. “I’m told by Lieutenant Moynahan that several of the men were able to put up a fight, and the Old One displayed his power before taking over their minds.”
“I think that was its power,” Fort said. “The Old One said that they discovered magic, and each of them was a master of one kind. That one had to be the best at Telepathy magic, considering.”
Colonel Charles nodded. “That doesn’t exactly explain how we all fell asleep a moment after being freed from the creature, however. Do you know anything about that?”
Fort swallowed hard. “Nope. I woke up out there, same as you.”
“You and your friends managed to drive it off,” Colonel Charles said, giving Fort a serious stare. “And for that, we can’t begin to thank you.”
“So you’re going to do that by sending me home?” Fort knew it was coming. Even if he knew more of the truth than Colonel Charles did, he’d still seen far too much to be allowed to stay. Besides, the only reason he’d been invited was to wake up a telepathic girl that was now gone.
Colonel Charles paused, then gave him a confused look. He reached across the table and unlocked Fort’s handcuffs. “Ah, no. You’ll be remaining here, in the Oppenheimer School, for the foreseeable future.”
Fort blinked once, then again. “Um, what, now?”
“You have proven beyond any doubt that there’s a need for healers,” Colonel Charles said. “Without you, we might not have figured out the Old One’s weakness. In that vein, we’ll also be increasing the number of students in the Healing program. Given that Destruction magic had little to no effect on the Old One, we’ll need powerful healers around for . . . protection.”
Fort just stared at him in astonishment. “So I can stay? And learn magic again?”
“I’d even allow you to learn Destruction magic, if you wanted. Though from what we’ve seen, your powers seem to lie elsewhere.”
“I think I’m okay sticking with Healing,” Fort said, and smiled. He stood up, rubbing his wrists where the handcuffs were. “So . . . I can go?”
Colonel Charles shook his head and waved at Fort to sit back down, which he did. “There’s someone else here who needs to speak to you. After that . . . well, I’d say you could head back to class, but we’ll need to find a new base soon. In the meantime, I have to go. We’re pretty well hidden out here, but there were some dramatically large explosions, I’m told, as well as some other mystical elements. I need to speak to the press about what happened here. Rumors are running wild already.”
Fort narrowed his eyes. “Who else am I supposed to speak to?”
Colonel Charles gestured at the mirror, then left through the door.
A moment later, Dr. Opps walked in.
Fort clenched his hands into fists as the doctor sat down across from him, not able to look at the man who’d been at least indirectly responsible for his father’s death.
“I know you have questions, Forsythe,” Dr. Opps said quietly.
“Like how you could lie to me, and bring me here even though you never wanted to?” Fort said, his voice rising in spite of trying to stay calm. “About how there was a whole class of students before this one, and that they caused the attack in D.C., not some other group, some other country like you let us all believe? Questions like those?”
Dr. Opps spread his arms. “All fair, and many more besides. I’ve made . . . many mistakes, Forsythe. Those you just listed wouldn’t even make a dent in the overall total. But yes, I do owe you . . .”
“An apology?!”
“Yes, and I am sorry, but that couldn’t begin to cover it,” Dr. Opps said. “I thought founding a school beneath the headquarters of the NSA would keep the students safe, and the civilian population in blissful ignorance. I had no idea that when the Old One took over Damian’s mind, it would send one of its creatures to the closest heavily populated area, hoping to cause as much destruction as possible. The fact that it turned out to be where you and you father were, well, I can never be forgiven for that.”
“No, you ca
n’t,” Fort said quietly. “So . . . you remember them? Damian and Sierra?”
“Sierra, yes,” Dr. Opps said. “Colonel Charles doesn’t remember them, and I think he might be better suited staying in the dark. I can’t imagine he’d let our fugitives run free for long.” He sighed. “But apart from that, I want to ask you something: You wanted revenge when we first spoke. Yet from what Colonel Charles tells me, you could have killed the creature who attacked you in the basement. But you didn’t. Why?”
Fort dug his fingernails into his palms, then slowly unclenched his fists. “I just want to make sure that what happened to my father never happens to anyone else, ever again.”
“You want to protect people.”
Fort nodded. “From creatures like that . . . and from people like you.”
Dr. Opps sighed. “I deserve that. Before the accident . . . before Damian unleashed the Old One, I should say, the military only had access to my school in a purely advisory role. But afterward, the committee in charge of the school gave Colonel Charles equal control over the students. I’d hoped that he would listen to me about keeping the students safe, but clearly that hasn’t happened.”
“Clearly not,” Fort said, his anger threatening to bubble out of him.
“I guess I thought at least I could keep the school from turning into a weapons factory, spitting out child soldiers wielding magic instead of weapons. I still think that’s possible. But to do so, we’ll need students like you here, leading the way.” He held out a hand. “In that vein, I want to extend a permanent invitation to stay, with no ulterior motives. You’ve more than earned your place here, Forsythe.”
“I’m not going to stay here just so you feel less guilty,” Fort hissed at him.
“No, and you shouldn’t,” Dr. Opps said, staring down at the table. “You should stay here because you have the best of intentions. And I think we need as much of that around here as we can get. I just have one request.”
“What?” Fort said, completely indignant. “You want a favor now?”
“Try to always keep in mind what you just told me,” Dr. Opps said, rising from his seat. “The moment you forget you’re here to protect people . . . well, we both lose.”
He turned and walked toward the door, then paused. “You could have stopped Damian and Sierra from leaving, I’m guessing. Why didn’t you?”
Fort turned away. “I haven’t known Sierra that long. But I’ve been inside her mind, and she’s seen far too much of me. So I guess . . . if she thinks we can trust Damian, then I’m willing to be proven wrong about him.”
Dr. Opps nodded, then left the room, closing the door quietly behind him.
- FORTY-EIGHT -
HELLO, CYRUS,” DR. OPPS SAID, sitting down next to the clairvoyant boy as he watched Colonel Charles at a press conference via satellite on television, assuring the public that not only had the TDA stopped another attack, but this time they had no casualties. “I’m glad you weren’t hurt.”
“Me too,” Cyrus said, his eyes on the television as the reporters all began shouting questions. “Though I probably would have known that was coming ahead of time. I do check my personal future quite often.”
“Do you know what caused the attack this time?” a reporter asked on the television.
“Yes, an outside group that calls themselves the Gathering Storm,” Colonel Charles said. “We have good leads into their whereabouts, however, and are currently tracking them down.”
“The Gathering Storm?” Cyrus said to Dr. Opps.
“I thought we’d picked the Rising Tide,” Dr. Opps said with a shrug. “The military focus-tested a few different names. They wanted one that came across as ominous, yet not threatening enough to demand immediate action. A good nonspecific group to blame instead of our students.”
Cyrus nodded, not responding.
Dr. Opps leaned in closer. “Did you know this was all going to happen when you found out I’d brought Forsythe to the school? I know you and he are close, and you most likely looked into his future.”
Cyrus smiled. “Of course I knew. If he hadn’t been here, Sierra would have woken up eventually, and Damian with her, and nothing would have stopped them. But I knew Colonel Charles wouldn’t wait much longer, not with Sierra saying Fort’s name over and over downstairs.”
Dr. Opps pulled away in surprise. “You knew about . . . but why didn’t you tell me any of this ahead of time?”
“Because if I had, you’d have insisted Fort go home, even if it cost you your position,” Cyrus told him, still watching the television. “And you’ll still be needed in the months to come.”
Dr. Opps’s eyes widened, and he shuddered a bit. “You scare me at times, Cyrus.”
“I get that a lot,” Cyrus said, grinning slightly.
“So what happens now?”
“Now?” Cyrus said. “The Old Ones won’t stop, and eventually they’ll find their way home. You need to make sure these students are trained, and soon, or the world will suffer like you wouldn’t believe. The Old Ones brought humanity magic, Dr. Opps. Unless we have it mastered by the time they return, that’s it. We’ll be wiped out for good.”
“And you’ve . . . you’ve seen this?”
Cyrus looked at him, still smiling, but didn’t say a word.
Dr. Opps sighed, rubbing his eyes. “Okay. And Damian and Sierra? Is Damian the one who’s going to learn all seven forms of magic? Will he be the one to save us?”
Cyrus paused. “That’s too far for me to see.”
“But he is the chosen one that the books referred to?”
Cyrus shrugged. “I thought so at first, just from what you’d told me about him. But then Fort told me what he learned from the Old One, that a magician who mastered all seven types shut magic away on earth, to make sure the Old Ones couldn’t return. The books might be referring to that person.”
“Let’s hope not, or they really will wipe us out when they return,” Dr. Opps said. “And Fort? Is he going to play any further role in all of this, or is his job done now?”
This time, Cyrus laughed. “Oh, he’s got a lot more to do, trust me. And it all begins right now, actually.”
“What do you mean?” Dr. Opps asked as on the television Colonel Charles thanked the reporters and left the podium with a curt smile, while the reporters continued shouting questions for him.
Cyrus shrugged. “Nothing,” he said.
Dr. Opps sighed. “I’m just glad Sierra’s gone. I never felt comfortable with someone who could read my thoughts. No telling what secrets could be leaked.”
“Secrets like what?” Cyrus asked.
Dr. Opps smiled and leaned back, looking away. Secrets like how the creature in D.C. was being controlled by that Old One, Dr. Opps thought, and it wouldn’t have taken a human back with it unless it was ordered to. Which means Forsythe’s father could still be alive.
“There’s a reason they’re secret,” he said out loud, then stood up. “Always good to chat with you, Cyrus.”
• • •
“Hey, Bandage!” someone yelled to Fort as he walked toward the temporary shelter the army had put up in the middle of the base. He looked over and sighed as Trey, Chad, and Bryce walked over to him.
“Can we not do this right now?” Fort asked. “I’m really pretty exhausted, honestly. There was a whole thing with a monster, and, well, another monster—”
“We know what you did,” Trey said, narrowing his eyes. “And I for one just wanted to say, um, thanks.”
Fort’s eyes widened as the boy stuck out his hand for a shake. “Is this a prank?” he asked, staring at Trey’s hand.
Trey laughed. “Nope. I have to admit, for a healer you did pretty good, what with destroying that monster and all.”
“He also destroyed the school,” Bryce whispered, not looking at Fort.
“And saved our lives,” Chad said, patting Fort on the shoulder. “Just don’t ever sit on our cot again.”
“Fair enough,” For
t told them, then smiled to himself as the other boys kept walking. That had been unexpected. But maybe now that all the secrets and hidden intentions at the school were revealed, things would finally be improving here. Or at least, wherever they ended up, since there was no way the school could stay at the now-destroyed base.
Even in spite of his tiredness, Fort let himself feel almost relaxed for the first time in six months. It just felt really good to have all the secrets out of the way, and . . . .
Secrets like how the creature in D.C. was being controlled by that Old One, Dr. Opps’s voice said in his head. And it wouldn’t have taken a human back with it unless it was ordered to. Which means Forsythe’s father could still be alive.
It took a moment for Fort to realize what he was hearing. When it sank in, he dropped to his knees in the middle of the courtyard, barely breathing.
I just thought you should know, Sierra said in his mind. Please, Fort, don’t do anything dangerous with this information, okay? I . . . I don’t want you to get hurt.
But Fort couldn’t respond to her, couldn’t even think straight.
His father . . . might still be alive?
At his sides, his fists slowly clenched. It couldn’t be true, could it? After all this time, his father could have been held captive, suffering in the creature’s dimension, or held by the Old Ones somehow?
If it was true, if there was even the slightest possibility of that being true, Fort had only one choice.
He’d have to learn Summoning magic.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Uh-oh. That doesn’t sound like it’s going to lead anywhere good. Hopefully someone will stop Fort before he causes a lot more trouble!
Ha, just kidding, he’s totally going to ruin everything. But even if the world is destroyed, isn’t the true magic the friends we made along the way?
Nah, in this case, it’s definitely the magic.
Thank you to all my readers, especially those who followed me from the Half Upon a Time and Story Thieves series and are taking a chance on something new. I know Revenge of Magic feels different from my other work, but I think if you’ll trust me, you’ll find it’s going some fun, awful, fun, horrible, and fun places.