I clenched my fists, then forced myself to relax my fingers. I wrapped my right hand around the hilt of my knife as I threaded the fingers of my left hand through my necklace, calming myself. “Just tell me the rest. Quickly, please.”
Rochelle sighed softly. “You and Yazi will get Mory and Gabby to the gateway. Doing so will draw the elves’ attention.”
“You’d better believe it will.”
“You will be the first line of offense and defense, providing cover for Mory. Then she, amplified by Gabby, will shut down the gate.”
Angelica took over. “No elves will get past the perimeter, past us. But Jasmine, Ben, and Bitsy will be able to get the prisoners out of the stadium. They’ve been held for weeks, Jade. I doubt they’ll be able to join you in the battle.”
I didn’t bother addressing her flawed assessment. I knew that nothing except death would keep Warner, Kandy, or Kett from waging war — because the same was true for me.
Except when I was repeatedly told that my doing so would trigger an apocalypse.
“And we’re the distraction,” I said quietly. “Yazi and me.”
“Yes.”
It was a carefully considered plan. One that would protect the city as best as possible. But it was insanely risky. In my mind, a two-person infiltration — my father and me — had a way higher chance of success.
“They won’t go,” I said. “Warner, Kandy, or Kett. Once they’re free. You won’t be able to drag them from the stadium, not if they have any strength left.”
“The same will be true for Haoxin,” my father added.
Yeah, there was no way the guardian was going anywhere once freed.
“That will be their choice,” my grandmother said stiffly.
“I’m just saying that the egress won’t be needed —”
“It’s just smart, Jade. You don’t want Bitsy or Benjamin trapped inside. Or anyone else, if they’re wounded.”
“And if the elves get by Yazi or me? We can’t guarantee that our ability to distract them will work. They could go after the rescue team. They could even try to flee into the city. And en masse, they could overwhelm your protections.”
“They aren’t the type to break ranks and flee,” my father said.
“We’re prepared for some resistance,” Jasmine said stiffly. “It’s not like we haven’t had to fend for ourselves, Jade.”
“And if they do attempt to leave the stadium, they’ll face the sorcerers, the necromancers, your mother, and me,” Gran said. “We are more than up to the task. Formidable, in fact.”
Yeah, I was stepping on delicate toes all over the place. And too freaking bad.
“Fine. You’re all so, so much smarter and better prepared than me. There’s just one tiny hiccup in your perfect plan.” Yep, I was acting like an indignant toddler now, but I couldn’t seem to rein my mouth in. “Cutting through the wards? Which, according to Mory, have been reinforced since I tore through them the first time? That’s going to draw attention. Big attention. Like it did the first time. And, as I’m sure it’s obvious to everyone …” — I pointed to the map laid out on the coffee table — “… the maze has one purpose, and one purpose only. To bottleneck any incoming assault.”
“Which is why you’re sneaking in,” Rochelle said, completely unruffled. “Then splitting into two groups and going your separate ways.”
“Sneaking in? Shall I attempt to construct an artifact for that as well?”
“No, Jade,” Rochelle said, far too patiently. Seriously, I would have been tearing my own head off at this point if I were her. “You’ve already taken care of the entry.”
She tugged the top sketchbook toward her, flipping to the final sketch contained within. The most recent sketch, which I hadn’t seen before. It depicted a fierce-looking elf, sword drawn, hand on a door latch. Her clothing was dripping with gemstones.
Mira’s aunt.
“Alivia,” I whispered, as all the wind was taken out of my high-and-mighty sails. “This is how she gets her revenge.” I laughed harshly.
“Yes,” Rochelle said. “Be ready to go in twenty minutes, please. I’ll lead the infiltration group to the entry point, just in case a mass movement on our part triggers another vision.”
Tony stepped forward, dropping an open backpack on top of the map on the coffee table. “Cellphones. Magically linked. If you don’t have one already, take one. They’re warded by Jasmine and me. We don’t know if they’ll work inside the stadium, but they should pass through the exterior wards.” The fledgling sorcerer gave me a look, a proud smile curling at the edges of his lips. “We tested them thoroughly.”
Everyone sprang into action, flooding from the room to gather supplies and coats and whatever else was needed. Gran took a cellphone from Tony’s pile, as did Teresa.
My mother got to her feet carefully, but steadily. She crossed to me, placing her hands on either side of my face and just gazing at me lovingly for a moment. Then she tugged me forward so she could kiss the scar on my forehead. “You need a quick nap, Jade. You’ve expended a lot of magic today already.”
“Mom —”
“Fifteen minutes. Now.” She turned away from me without waiting for an answer, reaching out to my father. He immediately stepped forward, taking her hand and tucking her arm through his elbow. She leaned against him, in a gesture more about affection than weakness, I thought. Together, they wandered out of the room.
Without anything else to prepare, I snagged a cellphone. Then I coaxed the shadow leech off the mantel and onto the arm of the loveseat, laid down on that love seat, and closed my eyes.
Freddie shifted, curling into my shoulder and chittering so quietly that the leech might have actually been purring. I didn’t mind one bit. I simply allowed all the tasty energy running through and around the house to lull me into a meditative state.
I could afford to recharge for fifteen minutes. I knew the others weren’t going anywhere without me.
The touch of my mother’s magic woke me as she brushed her fingers across my scarred forehead, murmuring a healing spell under her breath. Sharing magic with me that she didn’t have the resources to expend.
I opened my eyes to meet her sad gaze, which warmed when she smiled.
“Time to go?” I asked.
“Yes.” She pressed a kiss to my forehead. “I knew the elves would never be able to hold you, my darling Jade.”
“Actually, I’m surprised they put up with me for so long.”
The joke came out awkward and flat, but my mother laughed quietly anyway.
“I’m to stay here until Tony returns,” she said. Then, as if anticipating my questions, she added, “Burgundy has left me some of her excellent healing charms, cast using her new focal stone. And I will not, under any circumstances, be stepping back into the witches’ grid. If it falls, it falls. I’m not certain I could stop it now even if I tried.”
“How many times have you made that promise?” I asked, trying for a teasing tone. Though I had to push through layers of my own grimness to do so.
“Three times.” My mother laughed quietly again, and the sound carried more magic with it. It unfurled smoothly across my chest, easing the pent-up frustration and pain I was still carrying, and leaving a lingering, sweet strawberry aftertaste in my mouth.
I glanced toward the open doorway where I could feel my father’s magic. Yazi was watching us — his family — intently. His golden hair was practically glowing in the dim light, his black leather armor all laced up and glistening with magic.
I sat up, threading my fingers through my mother’s. She settled on the love seat beside me. Freddie had disappeared. I took in the dark room and the empty feel of the house around me, allowing myself the physical contact. Allowing myself the moment to acknowledge the love carried with my mother’s magic.
“There’s one thing we haven’t discussed,” I finally said, loosening my hold on my mother and standing up to face my father. “Another objection to using the misfits.
”
“And what is that?” my father asked.
“Reggie. The telepathic elf. Mory, Gabby, Jasmine, Benjamin, and Bitsy aren’t going to have the immunity you and I have to her. Never mind what’ll happen if she steps outside the stadium.”
My father nodded. “We will keep her focused on us.”
“Yeah? And how do we guarantee that?”
He grinned. “By continually pressing her warriors, forcing them to constantly defend her. The maze can be used against them, once we penetrate its center.”
“By blocking the exits.”
“Exactly. And your grandmother has provided us with some handy spells to that effect. Once the gate has been neutralized by the necromancer, you will kill this Reggie. Though if I understand anything about the elves, sending her back defeated would also be a death sentence.”
“Okay.”
“Okay.”
I squeezed my mother’s hand one last time, then retrieved my katana and satchel, joining my father in the doorway. The house felt utterly bereft of magic. I could still sense the map room, but most of the others had filtered out while I’d been napping.
My father reached his hand toward my mother. She stepped across the room to take it. “Take care of yourself,” he said.
“And you,” my mother whispered, brushing a kiss across his lips.
I probably shouldn’t have been staring at them. But I found I couldn’t look away. I had never seen my parents together. I’d never even wished for it, but there was something … something about that moment I wanted to mark.
Perhaps marching to your possible demise made your connection to those you loved more intense.
“I’ll bring our girl back,” Yazi whispered.
“I have no doubt.” My mother smiled at me. “We have a wedding to celebrate, after all.”
I grinned back at her. It was silly, but yeah, it was always good to have something to look forward to. Fuel for the fight, aka hope. To get me to the other side of the vision of death and despair that was my immediate future.
Two cars were waiting in the driveway, swathed in the deep gloom of the late December evening. Gran and Olive were to join Burgundy and the sorcerers, who I assumed were already on their way. And Beau, Rochelle, and Mory were apparently waiting on me and my father.
Yazi climbed into the oracle’s vehicle, but my grandmother reached for me, so I crossed to her first.
She spoke before I could. “I cannot imagine how difficult this afternoon has been for you, Jade. Waiting while we moved about and set things in order as the oracle saw them. But together, we will prevail.”
“I know, Gran.”
She tilted her head, thoughtful but stern. “I’m not certain you do. But …” She paused. Then she smiled as if something had just occurred to her. “Try to have fun, my granddaughter. There will not be many days that you will be able to wield unfettered what it is your destiny to wield. Enjoy it.”
“Enjoy the elf slaughter?” I laughed edgily. “That’s different coming from you, Gran. I always thought you saw cupcakes and trinkets as my destiny.”
She smiled, oddly smug. “I was wrong, Jade.” She squeezed my hands. “It’s been known to happen on occasion.” She turned to climb into her car. “We’ll hold the line. Trust us.”
“I do.”
She nodded, shut the door, and started the car. I stepped away and watched her back out of the drive and onto the road. Then I glanced back at the vehicle waiting for me. Rochelle was leaning against the rear of the SUV, head bowed. The satchel slung across her chest emphasized the full round of her belly.
Even if everything went to hell, Rochelle would survive. Because her child had a future. Admittedly, it wasn’t a fantastic future. But it meant that Rochelle, at least, wouldn’t die today. That was another tiny ray of hope to take with me. A bit more fuel to get me through the next few hours.
I closed the distance between us. Rochelle raised her head, meeting my gaze. She hadn’t bothered covering her light-gray eyes with her sunglasses.
“So …” I cleared my throat and tried for a playful tone, mostly failing miserably. “Despite all the planning and fussing about, if we’re barreling toward destiny, I imagine this might be goodbye, oracle. I’m sorry if I fail you.”
Rochelle reached up, placing her cold hands against my cheeks. Magic shifted between us, bristling up the oracle’s arms and brushing against me. The taste of tart green apple filled my mouth.
But Rochelle’s eyes remained their light-gray color. No vision rose within them.
As far as I’d ever been able to figure out, that meant we were currently doing what we were supposed to be doing. According to magic, at least.
Of course, that didn’t necessarily mean that magic was on our side.
“Nah,” Rochelle said. “If we weren’t unmaking destiny, there wouldn’t have been so much fiddling.” She turned toward the open door of the front passenger seat, but looked back at me before climbing in. “And, Jade?”
“Yeah?”
“I don’t think you are capable of failing. Because … you believe. You believe in all of it. In love, and family, and friendship. In protecting those who need to be protected. In accepting … everyone. So whatever is about to happen, it doesn’t occur because you failed.”
“Okay.”
Rochelle laughed, seemingly without meaning to. “Okay.”
Then we climbed into the SUV and headed off to thwart destiny. Because Rochelle was right.
I did ultimately believe.
I believed, in the simplest of terms, that good always triumphed. That good people could come together and vanquish any evil.
Even though there were always blurred lines. And over and over again, a price to be paid.
Rochelle pored over her sketches during the quick drive along the water, over the bridge, and across to the stadium. All around us, the city and its people just carried on as if everything wasn’t about to possibly be wiped from the face of the earth. A steady stream of headlights reflected on the wet pavement. It had been raining earlier, but that had abated to just a mist across the windshield now. Pedestrians were walking their dogs on the seawall. Groups of friends chatted over lattes in the Starbucks on the corner of Yew Street. People heading home from work were grabbing sushi or falafel takeout for dinner.
Beau parked far enough away from BC Place that I could only see the white steel pylons that soared above the stadium. But the moment I stepped out of the vehicle into the well-lit but empty parking lot that bordered the Plaza of Nations, I could feel the magic of the exterior wards the elves had erected after I’d escaped.
And by ‘escaped,’ I meant after I was carted off by Pulou only moments away from rescuing Warner, and then was almost beaten to death.
Yeah, I was going to hold onto that grudge for a long, long while.
Assuming I got the chance.
A dark shadow manifested at the top of a tall white metal lamppost. Apparently, the shadow leech was ready to join in on the all-you-can-eat magical buffet. Well, a buffet for Freddie, at least. What the rest of us were about to experience wasn’t likely to be quite as palatable.
I beckoned the leech toward me, then settled it on Mory’s shoulder under the disapproving gaze of my father. The necromancer wagged her fingers at Freddie playfully, but her expression was tense with fear and determination.
After exchanging silent glances, Beau and Rochelle led us through the parking lot, underneath an underpass, and up a wide set of concrete stairs. I got the feeling everyone but me had spent a lot of time walking that exact route, including my father. Mory stuck close by me, not knitting for once.
We paused as a group at the top landing. The wide concrete walkway encircling the stadium branched out to the right and left, and another set of wide stairs led down to a lower entrance marked with a large royal-blue letter G. Though the building itself was almost pretty — soaring white steel and a mix of blue and clear glass — everything about the exterior archite
cture was big and broad, built for crowds of thousands filtering in before a football or soccer game, then thundering out all at once.
You could walk around the entire building via the concrete stairs and walkways without once needing to cross out to the surrounding streets or sidewalks. I’d never seen it devoid of people before, pedestrians or otherwise.
I’d also never entered the stadium from that particular section. But it took only a quick glance around to figure out that it was a smart choice, offering lots of overhead cover and multiple exits. And I wasn’t surprised that it was a weak spot in the elves’ defenses. If I was remembering correctly, the gateway was situated farther away from this entrance than any other.
Magic tasting of peanut butter shifted to our left, revealing Gabby, Bitsy, and Liam standing near one of the wide circular concrete columns underneath the overhead walkway. Jasmine and Ben slipped out of the shadows to the far left at the same time.
The windows on this side of the stadium were dark. And despite the thick layer of magic coating it, the entire building felt oddly abandoned. Lifeless, on the edge of a city that teemed with energy and light.
Rochelle opened a sketchbook, lifting it before her with both hands high enough that I could see it over her head. She held it open to a sketch that spanned both pages, depicting the scene before us. The concrete stairs, the ticket booths to the left of the entrance doors, the large G, and even the glass-and-steel-cable awning.
Gabby joined Mory. Bitsy stepped over to join Jasmine and Benjamin, who were both doing solid impressions of statues — if statues had a habit of glistening with magic. Benjamin’s power was limited and shaped by the bone bracelet on his left wrist, which I could sense but not see underneath the sleeve of his thin ivory-colored sweater.
Actually, now that I was paying attention, Jasmine, Bitsy, and Benjamin had all changed into light-colored clothing. As had Mory and Gabby. All I could think about was that none of it was going to survive the coming fight particularly well.
Rochelle flipped a page in the book, revealing the sketch of Alivia at the door. We all shifted as one, just enough to peer down the stairs. The glass doors to the right of the ticket booth windows at the bottom landing remained closed.
Gemstones, Elves, and Other Insidious Magic (Dowser 9) Page 20