by Jenn Nixon
Clutching the crystal in her hand did nothing to calm the frenetic energy bouncing through her body. It seemed like her powers knew something was wrong. Something was missing. Someone was missing.
The echo of footsteps confirmed her time was up. She had to keep her promise. Rune wouldn’t let her sit here for another day.
Hey, he called through the bond.
Cyndra wiped her cheeks and glanced over her shoulder. Rune had a plate of chicken and Brussels sprouts in his hand. “Promise is a promise, you didn’t have to bring me food.”
Jack insisted. He cooked.
“He’s sweet.”
He’s worried. I am too.
“I did everything possible not to lose control because I thought I heard his voice, Rune. I’m listening. There’s nothing,” Cyndra said, rising to her feet. “It feels wrong, leaving.”
It’s been two days, Rune said, walking into the room. You’ve hardly slept. What if he’s already trying to reach you through your dreams?
“Good point.” Meeting him half way, Cyndra picked up a sprout and tossed it into her mouth. Her stomach rumbled. Rune chuckled and motioned to the door with puppy dog eyes. “Yes, I’m coming.”
Rune didn’t say anything else until they were far from the mansion and near the lighthouse door. He smiled at her empty plate. There’s plenty left.
“This’ll hold me over for now.” She jogged up the stairs, slowing halfway, which was better than last time she tried to test her physical fitness. Jack winked at her when she reached the landing. Cyndra smirked. “What are you reading?”
“Time magazine,” he answered, lifting it to show the cover.
“I liked that one for all the pictures from Hawaii. It’s completely gone now,” Cyndra said, moving to the icebox to get something to drink.
“I’ve noticed one thing about all these pre-flare magazines and books, none of them mention casters.”
Zorin said they weren’t treated very well the last sixty years before the war, the best way to marginalize a group is to ignore their existence.
“They called us unnatural.” Cyndra took a sip of the freshly squeezed juice from the growing orange tree and sighed at how good it tasted. “I sure hope twenty-five years is long enough to change hearts and minds.”
It’s still possible no one will remember.
“Except for all the siphons in the mirror who may have family out here somewhere,” Cyndra said, watching Rune’s face drop.
“I got you a surprise.” Jack placed a plate of cheese on the table. When he smiled, she did too, thinking it was the first time in weeks. “I took the boat to Eastzone. Brought back my perishables and a few books Kyle and I collected over the years.”
“Something new is always good. I’m running out of fantasy books.”
We still haven’t explored the town, Rune projected. There’s a library.
“I keep forgetting.” Cyndra glanced toward the window facing the south. Too narrow to see anything clearly, it only indicated sunset approached. “Tomorrow we scavenge.”
“And then?” Jack spun his cup, glancing to her then Rune.
We wait for Zorin.
Cyndra turned back to the table, covering a yawn. “Take it day by day. That’s all we can do.”
“You need to sleep,” Jack said, motioning to the stairs. “I made you a mattress.”
“You did?” Cyndra grinned, feeling her cheeks flush. “Thank you.”
“Rune helped.”
Promise you’ll use it.
“As long as you two take turns keeping an eye on me while I sleep. I don’t want Mergan in my head. I don’t want her to know he’s in the mirror if she doesn’t know already.”
“One of us will stay right here.” Jack nodded to Rune.
I’m not going anywhere.
“Thank you, for putting up with me,” Cyndra said, feeling the words catch in her throat. “Can’t live without you guys, you know that, right?”
“Couldn’t get rid of us if you tried, firebug.”
Pleasant evening, Cyndra.
“You too.” Cyndra smiled, dashing up the stairs to see the thick mattress on the floor. The coverings consisted of cloth and old shirts sewn together and took up most of the space to the right of the stairs where Zorin usually slept.
After she rearranged the table into the corner, she moved the thick mattress against the wall and sat down. Cyndra pulled his blanket to her chest and stretched out, letting her body relax into the foam. Staring at the marks on the floor, she reached over the side and traced a few, wondering what kind of nightmares made him claw at the floor so hard.
Remembering what he told her on the walkway a week ago when she wanted to try connecting with Pristy, Cyndra shut her eyes and pictured his face in her mind. His stern brow and bright blue eyes warmed her insides. Ignoring the power rumbling through her chest, she breathed slowly, evenly, thinking about how he always calmed her down, seemed to love cooking for her and Rune, understood her odd phrases, and wanted to be in the skies, flying as much as possible. Zorin formed fully in her mind, making her heart beat faster.
Lack of sleep, however, was a much stronger pull.
Cyndra held him in her mind as she drifted off, listening for her gargoyle’s call.
“Zorin,” Pristy whispered through the trees as she walked toward the spot where he’d been. Ensuring no one followed the caster, Zorin dropped from a tree limb, landing in front of her. She jerked back, clutching her chest as she huffed. “Sorry.”
“What did you learn?”
“More than I wanted,” Pristy said, shaking her head. “They were casters. I showed them my hand. None of them knew the names, but they told me some casters and siphons are still fighting.”
“Did they say where?”
“Yeah, four groups are scattered around the island. One’s in the town, another took over some hotel north of the mansion and they have all the siphon’s cornered on the docks. This group is neutral, apparently.”
Trying to remember what that area looked like before the fighting came to the island, Zorin frowned when he almost called Pristy, Cyndra.
“What?” She tilted her head.
“We didn’t find anyone in town, they must be hiding.”
“Okay, so let’s go back.”
“If we have no luck there, I may try to sleep to reach out to Cyndra.”
“Reach out?”
“Some of us are able to communicate through dreams.”
“How do you know when she’s dreaming?”
“I don’t, but if I sleep for roughly two hours, it should be over twenty for her. I will need you to watch me so I don’t waste time,” Zorin grumbled, turning back into the lighthouse.
“I can do that,” Pristy said.
“I’ve already been here too long.”
“You and me both.”
“Cyndra sent a message to one of your friends, after you went through,” Zorin said, leading the way back to the town.
“I’m sure she blamed herself.”
“She did.” He held back a tree branch.
Pristy skirted around it. “And I hope you snapped her out of it.”
“I tried.”
“Are you sweet on my cousin?”
“Yes,” he said, pausing and glancing down. “I must get back to her.”
“Okay.” Pristy’s face turned serious. “Pick up the pace and lead the way.”
Zorin stood at the edge of town while Pristy strutted down the road, like one of the gunslingers from the westerns she made Cyndra watch as kids.
“Hello?” she called, glancing around.
His whole body tensed.
“Anyone here? I talked to the casters on the beach,” Pristy said, turned back in his direction. Without the crystal bond, he couldn’t project his voice, but he still heard her heartbeat, knew she okay for now, and not terribly frightened. “My name is Pristy.”
Staying to the shadows, Zorin slinked along the building, keeping her in his sight
s. As she entered the middle of town, a door creaked opened.
“Hello?”
An older woman limped out of the town bank, using a long staff as her guide. She paused at the edge of the stairs. “You’re Pristy?”
“Yes. I’m looking for casters, I need help.”
Another woman with dark hair ran out of the bank. “It’s another trap!”
“Hush,” the older woman said. “Let her speak.”
The back of Zorin’s neck burned.
Pristy stepped closer to the bank, tilting her head to the side. “Do I know you?”
Zorin walked faster, moving into the street.
“Do you?” the woman said, holding up her hand to the growing crowd of people spilling out of the bank. Pristy covered her mouth and looked at the two women in front. The elder walked down the steps and approached the confused caster. “How did you get here?”
Pristy sighed. “Wraiths brought me through the mirror.”
The woman shook her head. “I don’t understand.”
Zorin heard the gasps and soft shrieks as he came within view of the bank. He ignored everyone except the older woman, holding his breath until her face came into focus. “Evelyn?”
Cyndra and Pristy’s grandmother set her eyes on him and broke into a huge smile. Before she said anything, an angry brunette shouted his name.
“That’s right, you!” The brunette bolted down the stairs and past her mother-in-law. “You helped her!”
Having no good response, Zorin locked his jaw and stood behind Pristy.
“Lily, please,” Evie hissed, clacking her stick on the pavement to stop her. Then she met them on the immaculate sidewalk, staring at her granddaughter, teary-eyed.
Pristy shook her head, realizing exactly what the time difference meant. Less time passing meant less aging. Pristy and her aunt were closer to the same age than not. “Grandma? Aunt Lily?”
“You can’t be, she’s just a baby,” Lily cried.
“How long has it been, Zorin?” Evie’s weary eyes lifted.
“Twenty-five years.”
Evie wiped the corner of her eye and nodded.
“No,” Lily gasped, turned, and ran back to the group.
Murmurs started instantly. Dark angry faces glared at him. Not Evie, she reached out and drew Pristy into a hug. Despite the tears in her eyes, the elder caster smiled at him and rubbed her granddaughter’s back as they rocked side to side.
More than grateful Evie came out of hiding, Zorin inched closer to draw her attention. “I hate interrupting, but we do need help, Evelyn, urgently.”
“Is Cyndra here?” she asked, releasing Pristy from her hold.
“No, us, a caster named Tulli is at the mansion and I thought another man came through but have seen no sign of him.” Zorin pulled his gaze away from the bank and the harsh whispers. “Mergan is here.”
“How?”
“Cyndra,” Zorin said. “She’s stronger than any caster I’ve seen, Evelyn, she needs a siphon…”
Three mirror-wraiths zipped down from the clouds. Half of the group gathered in the bank doorway screamed and ran away. Pristy, trusting his words earlier, stayed at his side and kept her head on a swivel. Evie grunted and swatted at them with her stick.
Zorin spread his wings, tensed and readied for a fight. The wraiths sank lower, sweeping their smoky cloth cloaks along the ground as they bobbed up and down.
Come willingly or by force. Mergan’s voice echoed.
Ice chilled his veins. How did she still have the bond? He clenched his jaw. “Stay back, they only want me.”
The wraiths slinked closer instead of attacking.
“Why?” Pristy grunted.
“Mergan.”
“No, Zorin, you cannot bargain with her,” Evie said, trying to hide the fear.
He hated adding to it. “She has already latched on to Cyndra’s dreams, I must find out what else she’s done.”
“What should I do?” Pristy said as she watched the wraiths move closer.
He balled his hands, aware he’d run out of time. “Contact Cyndra. She remembered dreamland, Evelyn, show Pristy how.”
“You don’t have to do this,” Evie said as a frown filled her tired face.
“Tell her what’s happened.”
“Zorin…” Pristy stepped closer.
“Tell Cyndra…I.” Zorin lifted his hand to stop her. “I’ll return if I can. Try to contact her, Pristy. Your word.”
The young caster nodded as the elder wrapped an arm around her shoulder. Pristy set her head on Evie’s shoulder and sniffled back tears. Zorin turned to the wraiths, stepping toward them. Their tendrils lashed out and captured his limbs. He was in the air in a heartbeat, floating away from the town, over trees and brush. They rose higher into the air, crossing the field, heading to his lighthouse.
The mirror-wraiths circled the light and dropped him above the widow’s walk. Zorin stretched his wings to glide down and felt the strain on his muscles. His unnatural form was an impediment without his elements to siphon. He barely landed on the handrail and stumbled down.
The decorative metal of the railing lashed out and wrapped around his wrists. Zorin jerked hard, straining every muscle. “Mergan!”
“Hello, my pet.” Her chuckle rose as she walked out of the lantern room.
“How?” he asked, fighting the rising panic in his chest.
“Residual power, it takes time for this realm to take effect. I was saving the last of mine for Evie. I know she’s still alive, barely,” she snarled and slinked closer, lifting her energycasting hand, and peering at him with her dark dead eyes. “You’re a much better prize.”
“You can’t bend me to your will, Mergan. I’m free of you.”
“I’m always inside your mind, pet.” She pinched his chin, jerking his head down. “Which means I know you’ll do anything to protect your precious caster friends and would-be lover.”
Zorin jerked his head to the side, grunted, and pulled harder on his restraints. “Stay out of her mind.”
“She’ll get the same ultimatum as you.”
“Cyndra already sees through your bluff, you can’t hurt anyone here.”
Mergan opened her mouth, shook her head, and waved a finger at him. “Almost.”
Swallowing, Zorin shut his eyes, fearing her plans. With Mergan, it was not enough to win, those who defied her had to suffer. Thinking of Cyndra’s sweet voice, hoping she and Rune and Jack were still safe on the island, Zorin let the feelings warm his body and strengthen his resolve. Whatever Mergan wanted from him, Zorin wouldn’t give it up without a fight.
His captor chuckled, swiped her hand down his cheek. “You know I like it when you fight me, monster, makes the victory sweeter.”
“No matter what you do, you’ll never win, Mergan. Her power is unmatched.”
“We shall see.” She pressed the back of her palm on his forehead. A blizzard seized his mind. His stone-like skin grew unbearably heavy. The tiniest hint of Mergan’s dark energy punctured his chest. Then his eyelids grew heavy. “Think of your sweet caster. See Cyndra in your mind.”
“No,” he growled, shaking his groggy head, blanking his thoughts, accepting the pain.
“Sweet dreams, my pet.”
Chapter 16
Cyndra, the voice called.
She shot upright, eyes popping open as she screamed. “Zorin!”
Rune knelt down and took her hand. She covered her face with the other, sniffling back the tears, sensing the warmth of their bond lifted her spirits. Rune covered the top of her hand with his and tugged slightly to get her attention. Cyndra wiped her cheek before meeting his eyes.
Bad dream?
Nodding, she sniffed back and gently retracted her hand to rake it through her wild hair. “Yeah, but it was just a dream, not Mergan.”
That’s good then, right?
“Unless the reason she’s no longer interested in me is because she has him….” Cyndra masked her shuddering by standin
g up and stretching. “Good job on the mattress, it’s comfy.”
Rune tilted his head. Don’t change the subject.
“Sorry…” Cyndra turned around and picked up Zorin’s blanket, fluffing it out over the bed. “I’m trying to hold it together, Rune. I need him as my siphon. Grandma Evie’s trick worked last time, but it may not work again and if I get too worked up and can’t contain my energy, I don’t even want to know what’ll happen, we both know it’s stronger than my fire.”
Practice more.
Cyndra rolled her eyes.
I’m serious. Your biggest problem is your emotions affecting your powers, right?
“Mostly, yes.”
If you practice, you can train your powers to listen to you instead of your emotions.
“Practice makes perfect.”
Rune smirked. I like that one, Cyndra.
“Thought you would,” she said, reaching out and taking his hand. “You’re the kindest, sweetest friend I’ve ever had, Rune.”
He pulled her into his arms, squeezing tight when she hugged back. And you’re the best friend anyone could ask for.
Cyndra pecked his cheek before breaking away and heading toward the stairs. As she reached the living room, Jack glanced up from the journal and smiled.
“Pleasant morning.”
“Same to you,” she said, taking a gander at the plate of cheese, fruits, and two muffins cut in half. Cyndra crinkled her brow. “Where’d you get those?”
“Me,” Jack replied, smiling over to Rune as he sat and poured tea for everyone.
“What kind?” she asked, picking up a half a muffin and sniffing it.
“Corn, boring, but it was something new.”
Too bad we don’t have butter, Rune said.
“I can try to get some next time I head out,” Jack said.
“If you go somewhere other than Turner’s I’ll go with you, maybe,” Cyndra said, shrugging. “I’m trying to stay strong, be positive. The barrier we put up obviously didn’t work—”
We don’t know that for certain.
“Zorin was transformed by the same energycasting as the wraiths. It should have blocked him from…”