On constant alert, she scanned the landscape. Something—an animal or demon—was winding its way through the grasses, getting closer and closer to them. As the grass fluttered, the creature’s sniffs and snorting grew louder. Annie estimated the creature was about one hundred yards away.
“I think we’re being followed from the south,” she said.
“It’s the demons,” Kolgaar said angrily.
“Do they crawl?” Annie asked.
He picked up his pace. His strides were long, and Annie was nearly running to keep up. Again, whatever was following them snarled.
“Run!” Kolgaar shouted as he pulled Annie with him. She was nearly dragged, unable to keep up with his long strides; he threw her over his shoulders. She watched helplessly as Gibbs and Brite ran after them, the distance between them growing.
Annie struggled to release Kolgaar’s hold on her, but he was determined to keep her safe. Ahead of them, the house loomed larger. Behind them, Annie watched as the creature lunged for Gibbs.
“No!” Annie screamed and wiggled from Kolgaar’s grasp. Gibbs threw the creature off of him and cast a jinx. While the magic was feeble, it was just enough to make the creature think twice about chasing them. Brite helped Gibbs toward the house. Once inside, Kolgaar slammed the door shut, plunging them in darkness.
Chapter 20
Annie dug in her field pack and pulled out a flashlight, illuminating the house. It was nearly empty except for a pile of loose hay, a primitive ladder leading to a loft, two water buckets, and a table.
Kolgaar saw her light and reached for it. “What is that?” he asked.
“It’s called a flashlight. I’ll show you how it works later,” she said, irritated and tired. She searched for a window and unlatched the shutters that locked them in darkness.
Just outside, a catlike creature paced the edge of the grass. It turned toward them; orange eyes glowed in the dim light of sunset. Annie flashed the light at the creature. It was long and low, covered in long, thick orange hair. Two teeth poked out from each side of its mouth.
“No way,” she exclaimed as she watched the magnificent creature pace and growl.
“What is that?” Brite asked.
“That is a Cath Palug. They died out a few centuries ago. Well, a few centuries before our time,” Annie explained.
“I knew what you meant,” Brite said, seeming entranced by the creature.
Kolgaar stood at the window with them. The rain was thick. When it touched the dried ground, it sounded like steaks sizzling on a grill. “We have a lot of magical creatures that roam this land,” he told them.
The creature hissed as lightning struck the earth and thunder burst above them. Annie glanced at Brite, at Gibbs. “Far away for a Welsh cat,” Gibbs said.
“It’s attracted to magic. There must be a lot of magical energy in and around England,” Annie said.
The creature stopped and slunk its way inside the grasses where it found a spot to lie and wait out the rain.
Annie closed and locked the shutters and illuminated the house.
“I’m going to see how safe the loft is. We should sleep off the ground,” Brite suggested as he moved the rustic ladder to the loft. He climbed slowly, exhausted from the trip through the portal and the unexpected walk. The thin and brittle ladder shook with each step. Brite walked the hay filled loft.
“Well?” Annie called out.
“It’s safe unless you’re allergic to hay. Can you climb up, Gibbs?” he asked.
Annie glanced at Gibbs’s shoulder where a small patch of leather had been torn.
“It got you,” she said as she pulled away his jacket to examine his wound. The Cath Palug had scratched his shoulder with a long claw. The wound was about four inches long but not deep.
“There’s a little blood, but it’s not deep,” Annie said.
Gibbs pulled away. “We have no magic. Just cover it.”
Annie led him to a bucket, turned it over, and had him sit. She cleaned the wound with bottled water, rubbed antibacterial cream on the remaining wound, and added a large bandage on top. “We’re inherently magical, whether it’s our time period or not. We need to figure out how to harness the magical energy around us,” she said as she shoved the garbage in her field pack.
“So, what do you suggest gir—Annie?” Gibbs asked.
Annie smiled. “Just keep summoning it, just enough to feel the tingle, to feel the magic awaken within us. We’re still magical.”
Gibbs pulled his shirt back over the wound and grimaced. “The problem is that we’re not alive right now. This isn’t our timeline. Our magic might never fully wake up.”
“We don’t need it to fully wake up. We just need to tap into enough to make the plan work. We have the coven for the big stuff,” Annie said.
At the mention of the coven, Kolgaar frowned.
He doesn’t like the coven.
They climbed the ladder to the loft, seeking out their spot for the night. Brite pulled up the ladder and set it against the wall.
“I have food,” Annie said as she passed out several sandwiches. She was hungry, nearly starved from the travel through time. She finished her sandwich in a few bites and washed it down with water.
At loft level, Annie opened the shutters, staring out at what she believed to be ancient England. Without landmarks, street names, or even people, she hoped they landed where they were supposed to be. She sighed. The moon rose slowly casting a blue light across the landscape. Just below the window, a fuzzy sheep strolled across the grass.
They continued to eat in silence. When they finished, they put their garbage in a plastic bag and shoved it in Annie’s pack.
“Now what?” Brite asked. He sat at the window and looked outside. With darkness covering them, there were no buildings or people to see. Annie felt unnerved at the lack of white noise, that noise that came from traffic, airplanes, or train whistles that she was used to hearing but not paying attention to throughout the day. Annie hadn’t realized until this moment how very important that noise was. Without it, the world felt lonely and unfamiliar—and extremely scary.
“There’s nothing out there,” Brite said dismayed. “Can you guess if we’re in the right time?”
Annie shrugged. “Based on this building, I think we’re close if not actually here.” She reached for her pack and pulled out a book on ancient England. “It looks like we’re in a barn or house.”
Brite perused the book quickly. “Still, that’s not much.” He handed the book back to Annie.
“I’m guessing the polarity spell and the portal energy took us back to where we wanted to go. I’m just concerned the location was wrong,” Annie said.
“Our presence could have affected the portal location,” Gibbs said. Annie glanced at him quickly.
“You think that could be why our magic is off?” she asked.
“Maybe. I suspect we’ve already changed something by being here,” Gibbs said.
Annie glanced back out the window and sighed with a loneliness she had never experienced before. “We should get some rest. It’s been a long day.” She leaned against the wall and held her palms up. “Just a little practice,” she murmured as she closed her eyes. Her muscles relaxed and went slack. Annie summoned the magical energy that floated in the air around them. It was there, that small twinge in her fingertips, a familiar warmth. She found the magic.
“It’s here,” she said as she let the magic go, feeling extreme exhaustion. “How’s your shoulder?” she asked Gibbs.
“Throbbing. Got any meds?” he asked.
Annie dug in her bag and tossed him the bottle. “Well, how about that,” he said.
“I’m too tired to get into my sleeping bag if someone else wants it,” she murmured and then remembered nothing else until morning.
*
The portal opened before her—the blinding light, the whirlpool of air. It sputtered and sparked with lightning, and multiple colors swirled inside like a kaleidoscope
. Annie was mesmerized by the movement and stepped closer to touch the whirling mass of brightness and warmth.
As she neared the portal, the air sped up and the lightning struck rapidly. In between the lightning strikes, the thunder roared uncontrollably, leaving the portal to shake and sputter violently. She pulled her hand away. Instantly, the portal calmed to a minor storm.
When it settled, Annie reached for the portal again. For a second time, the portal grew restless and forceful as it grew unstable beside her.
“Annie, no! Don’t touch it. Your magic is too much for it. The portal’s going to implode!” he screamed.
Cham!
He loved her so much and she would do anything for him, but she couldn’t stop. She needed to get through the portal to go home to him. She reached out to touch it. The energy tickled her fingertips at first, but then the swirling winds picked up again and yanked on her arm. The portal grew more unbalanced with her and her power inside.
“No! No, The portal! Please make it stop!” she cried. She dug her feet into the earth, but the strength of the tornado-like wind was so strong, she felt herself being dragged inside the vortex. “Make it stop! Please, make it stop!”
“I told you not to, Annie. The portal is too unstable to hold you and your magic. Why didn’t you listen to me? I’ll miss you so much,” he said as she fell through the portal. It stretched and tugged her. She screamed as the portal blew apart with her inside.
Annie flew awake. It was nearly dawn. She was no longer against the wall; she found herself inside her sleeping bag and covered to her chin. Her flashlight had been tucked in beside her.
Through the slats in the shutters, she could see thick clouds flying across the sky. Cold air blew into the cracks. Annie shivered from the damp chill and a full bladder.
Crap!
The last twenty-four hours came rushing back to her. She knew she couldn’t go outside without backup, not with her magic so weak. She wiggled in her bag and sat up. She opened the shutters. The air smelled of rain, and thunder rolled softly in the distance. Annie climbed from her bag and found the ladder.
I can’t wait.
“Where you going, girl,” Gibbs growled.
“Sorry, go back to sleep. I’m finding a spot to pee.”
“Not alone,” he said and pulled himself from his own bag.
“You found your magic?” she asked as she slid the ladder to the ground and began to climb down.
“Just enough to get at our packs. It’s too exhausting,” he said.
“Stay up here, I’ll find a dark corner in the house,” Annie said. She trembled with each step from the toll the trip was taking on her. She steadied herself on the dirt floor and opened the lower window, peering outside. The Cath Palug was still there: awake, alert, and sitting within feet from the house waiting for them.
“I think I’ll use the corner,” Annie said as she pointed outside.
“We’re going to have to kill it,” Gibbs said as he reached the floor.
Annie found a dark corner and relived herself, chuckling softly and then loudly. If she didn’t laugh, she thought she might cry.
“You okay, girl?” he asked when she returned.
“No. I’m really not.” Still exhausted, she held out her palm and summoned her field pack and her sleeping bag. She dropped the items when the magic burned her palms.
“Damn, that hurt,” she said.
“That’s a good sign. Your magic must have come back,” Gibbs said.
Most magical children got their magic at around two years of age. Annie was one of the oddities—hers had come in at three days old. First magic always left scorch mark across the palms. Experiencing it as an adult felt strange.
“Maybe, yes,” she said.
A light rain dripped on the roof. “It’s going to be a long day,” Annie said. “We should eat and get moving.”
*
The cat lay just inside the grasses, unaffected by the rain and singularly focused on the house. Annie stared at the creature, which stared back at her.
“It’s still there?” Brite asked.
“Yeah. Gibbs thinks we’re going to have to kill it to get out of here,” Annie said.
“Does this fall under our restrictions?” Brite joked.
“We could wait for it to leave.” Annie sighed. “I can’t imagine what will change if I kill this beast.”
“Well, maybe it’s supposed to kill someone it hasn’t met yet,” Brite said.
Annie glared at him. “Really not helpful.”
“Sorry. It’s hard to know what changes we’ll make when we do anything. Everything has consequences. I’ve never worried about it like this before,” Brite admitted.
“We can teleport,” Gibbs suggested.
“I can barely summon an object,” Annie said.
“We have to kill it,” Gibbs reiterated.
The rain hadn’t let up in the last hour. In that time, they cleaned and repacked their items, wiped away their footprints, and now watched the storm through the lower window.
Neither the rain nor the thunder and lightning seemed to affect the Cath Palug. It glanced at the sky and rested its head back in the wet earth, keeping its gaze on the house. Annie closed the shutters.
“Is it still out there?” Kolgaar asked. He heaved his bag over his shoulder.
“Yes,” Annie said.
“We will kill it,” Kolgaar said.
With their field packs across their shoulders, they followed Kolgaar out of the building and headed northeast through the grass.
The cat followed, slinking along a path parallel to theirs. Annie pulled the sword that was tied to her pants and held it out. They walked beyond the building and continued toward a clump of trees where they would, if they were in the correct location, find a river that would take them into Jorvik.
If Kolgaar knows where we are.
The Cath Palug growled, low and soft as if trying to intimidate his prey. Annie stopped and found the orange eyes observing them. She raised the sword as the magical cat lunged for them. Gibbs and Brite waited with their palms open. Together, they shot a jinx. The beautiful beast yelped as it fell to the ground. Angry and hungry, the cat scrambled up and paced as it readied itself to pounce. Annie, Gibbs, and Brite stood strong and waited.
The cat lunged at them again and they shot off another jinx, pushing the beast back into the grass. In her anxiety, Annie felt the sword buzz and hum. A shock of white light glowed from the blade as she connected to the sword that was meant for her. As if in slow motion, the cat ran and lunged again. Annie really didn’t want to kill the majestic beast, but as it flew down to her, the sword made contact, pierced the thick fur, and penetrated the skin. Annie felt the sword give way as it slid easily into the beast. It shrieked. Annie dropped the sword as the cat fell to the ground.
Annie leaned over to catch her breath.
Gibbs ventured to the Cath Palug that, in its death, saturated the ground with its blood. He touched the cold, dull hilt of the sword, and slid the blade from the animal. “It’s a shame to kill such a beast.” He wiped the blade in the grass and held it out for Annie. When she touched the metal, it again reacted to her.
“It definitely belongs to you,” Brite said. She holstered the sword and they headed east, leaving the carcass of the Cath Palug behind. “Do you think we overstepped?” He pointed back.
“No. It got me once. It could have killed us,” Gibbs said.
The rain continued to pour as they followed Kolgaar to Jorvik.
*
Kolgaar led Annie, Gibbs, and Brite into the trees. They were drenched from the rain and cold, shivering to their bones. Rather than entering the thick of the forest, they hugged the edge of the trees where the canopy still protected them from the elements. Annie glanced inside the trees. Several large mounds were piled inside. It occurred to her that they were probably sleeping demons.
Annie continued to count the creatures they passed. As the number of demons rose, her anxie
ty rose. They had left in a hurry because Kolgaar demanded it and Ryan believed that because the plan had been set in motion. They were on a clock and needed to leave. It left her little time to create a perfectly prepared plan, and that made her a jumble of nerves and fear.
“How do I get the fire to each demon?” she murmured. She had been so busy thinking about how to open the portal, she hadn’t had any time to figure out how she was going to kill the demons when she got here.
“Did you say something?” Brite asked.
“Just talking to myself,” Annie replied.
The natural choice would be to set them all on fire using a spell to ensure all the demons would be killed. It was suggested using a spell similar to the one they used when they returned all the shapeshifters back to their human selves after the fall of the Black Market.
But how do I reach all of the demons?
The shapeshifter spell had been easy because the creatures had all been imprisoned in the Black Market and could easily be surrounded by the spell.
Do the demons all live in one location?
Annie would need time to determine where the demons were located. If they were scattered across England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, it would become more problematic since their magic was still so weak. Annie’s thoughts churned as she remembered the memory modification spell they used at the top of Mt. Rinehur in Amborix, using crystals to surround the small country. The magic had found all of the crystals and blanketed the country in the magic, affecting everyone within its borders.
She sighed at the thought of crisscrossing Northumbria with crystals as they attempted to kill all of the demons. Without their magic at full strength, it seemed like a bad proposition. She formed a fireball above her palm. Even in the heavy breeze and pouring rain, the flames remained strong as they danced quickly.
Annie’s thoughts turned to the memory modification spell they had used in France. It had been cast on a rod in the ceiling of the French Wizard Hall. The spell had flown up the rod and out of the Eiffel Tower. The magic had stretched across France and across Europe as it searched for the French Wizard Hall lapel pin all employees wore. It didn’t matter where the pin was located—the magic had found it and attached itself to the person wearing it.
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