Returning to the first floor, she stared down the basement steps into the darkness. She felt her anxiety rise. She balled her fists tightly and then released them so that her magic billowed in the air. The magic swelled into a large ball above her hand and continued to grow as she continued to release energy. Her itching and anxiety eased.
She turned on the light and walked down the stairs, entering Jason’s space. He had made up the hide-a-bed. His clothes hung on a portable rack. He had sifted through the family photos and frames and placed them on the side table and on the shelves surrounding the large television. She glanced at them, taking them in, letting the memories return.
Annie wanted to scream at how unfair it was, or punch something in hopes she would feel better, or maybe finally stake Sturtagaard. She found a picture of her and Kathy, the first Mother’s Day after Emily “died.” She called Kathy instead.
“Hi, sweetie. What’s up?” Kathy said when she answered the phone.
Annie rushed straight into her thoughts. “When I was five, we had a Mother’s Day tea in my kindergarten class. I was really upset because I didn’t have a mom, I had a Kathy. I told my teacher that and she made me write Happy Mother’s Day on my card. She didn’t understand,” Annie could feel the pain from that time; it was tight in her chest. She breathed deeply and shuddered.
“If I remember correctly, you brought the card home, crossed out ‘Mother’s’ and wrote ‘Kathy’ on it.” Kathy chuckled at the memory. “I’m guessing something happened today.”
“I saw Emily. She suggested I call her ‘Mom.’ I—I know she birthed me, but when I think of a mom, I think of you.” Annie blew out her breath.
Kathy was quiet for a moment. “I can see how Emily’s return is churning you up inside. It can’t be easy for a lot of reasons.”
Annie summoned Emily’s folder and placed it on the table. “I saw her interact with her son. I was so mad when I learned she was alive and seeing that makes me feel jealous of him. It’s confusing.”
“Sweetie. There are two ways to go. You could leave it as it is, not let her in, and watch her leave when this is over. Or you can open your heart and let her in.”
“What would you do?” Annie asked.
“I—I don’t know. I’d probably be confused, angry, distant. There’s nothing wrong with leaving it as it is. You have to decide what you want. You have your mom and grandmother back in your life. You alone have the choice.”
“What if I don’t want her in my life? Either one of them?” Annie wiped the tears from her cheek and sat in the chair. Her sigh was as heavy as the pain in her chest.
“Oh, sweetie. It’s your choice alone. You don’t have to decide now.”
Annie drummed her fingers on the folder. “She’s helping us get them. Or so she’s making it seem like she is. She gave us updated names, dates, places, maps.”
Kathy was silent for a moment. “It’s good that she’s helping. Maybe she wants to make amends,” she suggested.
“Maybe. I just don’t want anything to come between you and me,” Annie admitted.
“Annie. I helped raised you. I love you like a daughter. Even if you move past why your mom is here, and she stays in your life and you build a relationship, I will always be here for you. Did you have a prophetic dream?”
“No. Just a gut feeling. Things are changing really fast and I can’t help thinking I’m going to lose someone,” Annie admitted.
“Give me a half hour and I’ll come over.”
After hanging up, Annie felt no less anxious but calmed herself by perusing the items Emily had given her.
She started with the map of the Cave of Ages. She could picture the dark cavern with shimmering blue walls, Melichi’s icy glare. The memories made her shake. She touched the narrow passages on the map as they trailed down the cliff. Additional caverns had been cut into the rock, splintered off the main tunnel. Annie could only guess they were individual apartments or rooms.
The main cavern wound its way down the mountain, ending in the hidden entrance on the back side of the cliff. It was out of view of the Cave of Ages and led into a clearing. She stared at the map and noted that Emily had written “rock formations.”
“If we follow it upwards, it’s a corkscrew. We’d go in blind. It’ll be a bloodbath.”
“What did you say, sweetie?” Kathy asked, walking in just in time to hear the backend of Annie’s conversation with herself.
“Nothing,” Annie said as she pushed the map to the side.
“What’s all this with losing someone?” Kathy sat beside her and pushed Annie’s hair behind her ears. “Tell me.”
“I’ve been watching her with her son. It didn’t affect me at first, but seeing it out in the open, I’m feeling…”
“Unwanted, unloved maybe? Wrongly, I might add. Whole picture, Annie. Whole picture here. Ryan and I helped your dad raise you and Sami. We finished raising you. I love you and Sami. I got my daughters with you.” Kathy smiled through tears. “What I have with you will never change, even if you choose a relationship with Gloriana and Emily. We—you and me—we’re always going to be.”
Annie glanced away, at the map and pulled it back towards her. “Even with an army of wizard guards, we can’t go after them. They have the upper hand.”
“You don’t want to lose anyone else you love in a battle.” Kathy looked at the map. Her fingers trailed along the second entrance at the bottom of the mountain. “They built staircases like this in medieval buildings to benefit those coming down the stairs in case of attack because—”
“Most people are right-handed. It gave them the upper hand.” Annie chuckled.
“If you go after them, you’ll need to bring them out, down here. In the open. How would you do that?” Kathy inquired.
“Smoke bomb, firebomb. Something to cause an immediate evacuation. They probably have ways.” She summoned a map of the world and looked carefully at the locations for the three known portals. “They built the portals. Why wouldn’t they put a portal in the Cave of Ages?”
“Do you really think so?” Cham asked as he entered.
“It’s a possibility. By the way, we can’t go in after them.” Annie explained what she discovered on the map from Emily.
“It looks like you’re right. Arden’s notes are a hodgepodge of stuff. I’ve gone through the copy you gave me of Emily’s notes, and they seem more accurate. I was thinking of sending Jason in from our portal to see if he can find the other three entrances. Usually the magic only allows you to see the one you came through, but maybe he could track the magic and find the fourth,” Cham said. He pulled out more notes from Emily and sat across from Annie. “This is a list of hundreds of people. She labeled them as assassins, porters, cooks, council members.” Cham passed the sheet to Annie.
“We’re meeting with the Middle Eastern Wizard Guard tomorrow. We can start planning with them,” Annie said as she read each name, finding the one she knew. “Starla falls under contractors,” she noted and passed the page to Cham.
“Well, there’s the proof I need to fire her. I can’t wait until you’re in the new position. I need you to overhaul how we hire and train.” He tossed the sheet back on the table.
Kathy squeezed her shoulder and began dinner. Feeling the magic bubble up again, Annie made a fist and squeezed tightly before releasing her fingers. Magic flew from her palm.
“It’s still bothering you quite a bit,” Cham said.
“Yeah, when I’m stressed.” She looked at her hand and watched the tiny bubbles of magic rise from her palm. She repeated the action, releasing more magic.
Another name caught her eye. “Rathbone’s on the list.” Annie stopped for a moment, her mouth opened and closed. “So is Sturtagaard. Emily knew him. Damn it!”
“Why are you surprised?” Cham asked.
Annie rapped her fingers against the table. “Not surprised. Just another reason to be pissed.” The magic flowed faster through her veins. She closed her eyes to
stop the dizziness, though the world still felt as though it was spinning around her. She took long, slow breaths and only opened her eyes when Kathy placed spaghetti and meatballs on the table. For a moment, she ignored the magic and enjoyed a few hours of peace.
*
Annie stood outside Tartarus Prison, but she had no memory of teleporting to the island or walking the lane. She reached for the handle and walked through the gate and into the courtyard. A trail of golden, pink magic followed her.
Tonight’s guard on duty was Evelyn and continued to work without acknowledging Annie as she entered the front door and through the security gate.
Emily’s apartment was to the right. Annie stood outside the closed door and watched her mother and brother through the vertical plate of glass. At 10:30 p.m., the prison was silent while the night staff walked the halls or worked quietly at their reception desks. Vampires might be sitting sullenly in their cells planning their escape, while evil wizards dreamt of freedom that wouldn’t come soon.
No longer outside the apartment, but inside with her mother and brother, Annie glanced back at the door; she didn’t remember walking through.
Am I even here?
She turned back to her family; Emily and Shiloh sat on the couch watching the news. As they watched, Shiloh practiced floating the ball Annie gave him.
Annie smiled. He learned quickly.
“Shiloh, take a break. You can practice tomorrow,” Emily said with a broad smile. Annie’s stomach fluttered as she observed Emily’s pride.
Cautiously, Annie strolled over, giving in to her curiosity. While Kathy had always been there for her, she had never lived with Annie and Samantha. For the first time, Annie realized there was some intimacy between mother and child that she had never experienced.
As she got closer to the sofa, Shiloh tensed. He turned and looked at Annie—or rather, through her. Annie tried to calm her own breathing. Shiloh couldn’t possibly see her; she really wasn’t there. Shiloh returned to the news, but somehow Annie felt like he knew someone was there.
Annie sat on the chair beside the sofa. Emily turned and looked at her; she, too, stiffened up.
“Is someone here?” Shiloh asked.
“We’re in a magical jail. It could be a ghost,” Emily said, still looking at Annie.
“Cool,” Shiloh replied as if a ghost was normal and not something to be frightened of.
Emily walked to the chair where Annie sat. She reached out, rested her hand on Annie’s shoulder, and held it there. Annie touched her mother’s hand, causing Emily to startle and pull her hand away.
She surprised Annie when she set a book on the chair and bent over to retrieve it. “I don’t know how you could be here, but if you are, I want you to know I was so glad to see you today,” Emily whispered.
Annie felt herself being pulled from the chair and forced upwards toward the ceiling, entirely out of her control. Emily shuddered and returned to her son as they sat and continued to watch the news.
Annie flew up from her bed, sitting in the dark with Cham sleeping contently beside her. She could still feel her mother’s hand on her shoulder and could smell a scent so familiar her heart began to pound. It was the same scent Kathy wore, the same scent Annie started wearing in high school, the smell of vanilla and strawberry. She lay back down and stared at the ceiling until it was time to get up.
Chapter 28
Annie walked past the Snake Head Letters once and peered inside. Seeing no one, she continued past the store. When she turned, she thought she saw an arm slip inside the alley several buildings from where she stood.
She hurried back to the Snake Head Letters and startled when she saw Archibald Mortimer waiting for her. “Whatcha waiting for, girl?” he grumbled. Annie scoped the street before entering. He glanced down the street and closed and locked the door before leading her to the back of the store.
“Good morning to you, too.”
Mortimer grumbled and crossed his arms against his chest. Annie pulled out a scroll and passed it to Mortimer.
He unrolled the paper and stared at the coordinates. “Numbers?” he groused.
“Coordinates. For this store,” Annie said.
“So what?” he asked.
“I found it in a book belonging to Sturtagaard. Know why he’d have it?”
Mortimer shrugged. “Nope,” He passed the scroll back to her.
Annie walked to the first shelving unit and perused the books, though she wasn’t interested in the section or in buying anything.
“Why haven’t you staked the beast yet?” he asked.
“I thought I needed information from him,” Annie glanced at Mortimer. He was looking toward the front windows.
“More and more customers are coming back here now that the Fraternitatem has gotten a foothold.” Mortimer continued to watch the front windows. “The old market wasn’t safe, per se, just safer than now. I hear you will be taken if you go back.”
Annie froze. She knew she couldn’t go back to the market, but hearing Mortimer state that fact made her anxious.
“I suppose that might be true,” she admitted.
“Melichi ain’t in charge of the market. He’s too important for that. A bit of a wanker if you ask me. Thinks himself in charge of the whole Fraternitatem. I s’pect he won’t be in the battle.” It was unlike Mortimer to be this chatty. Annie watched him closely through a spot between two books. He began to wring his hands. “The Cave of Ages ain’t safe either, girl. They ain’t gonna come out and meet you, though I think you know that already.”
Mortimer shuddered. Annie didn’t think it was from the cold. She thought he might be afraid.
“Are they watching you?” she asked.
He shook his head. “Not what you’d think. No bugs. Just spies. They’ll ask me what you wanted to know or what you bought. I will tell them you ordered a book weeks ago.” He pulled out a large leather-bound book, the word Magiks scrawled on the cover.
“Magic?” Annie asked.
“I’ll say you wanted to know about your powers and what they can do,” Mortimer said as he rang up her purchase.
It came to one hundred and fifty dollars. Knowing she was being watched, Annie pulled out a wad of money. Years of experience told her to always be prepared when she came to the Snake Head Letters.
Slowly, she counted out two hundred dollars and passed it to Archibald Mortimer. “How many are out there?”
“’Bout two, I expect. They won’t bug the store. Don’t want to scare away the customers. They want information, though. Paying me lots to tell them.”
“I’m sure you’ve obliged.”
Mortimer shook his head and pulled out a thick sack cloth bag. He put the book inside, lifting half the pages when he did to show Annie that inside the sack held something important for her. “I haven’t told them truthful things. Now go upstairs, through my apartment. There’s an open window in the kitchen. You can teleport from there.” He handed the bag to Annie.
“If I don’t walk out of here, they’ll know you’re helping me escape,” Annie said.
“I also have an open window in the customer bathroom. You suspected something and escaped. They still need me alive,” Mortimer said.
“For what?” Annie asked. Mortimer knew things, knew people, but he was generally harmless.
He waved off her question. “Go now!” he ordered as he watched the front door.
Annie raced upstairs just as the front door to the shop burst open. She reached Mortimer’s apartment, entered, and ran for the open window. The voices downstairs grew louder and several footsteps ran up the stairs. Annie closed her eyes and teleported away.
*
Annie stepped foot inside the courtyard of Wizard Hall. She glanced around the large, open space and considered the ease with which anyone with magic could enter. It no longer felt safe. She ran for the front entrance and stared at another new security guard, one Annie didn’t recognize.
The guard looked at Annie w
ith trepidation. “How can I help you?” she asked.
Annie whipped out her ID and simultaneously shot her spell into the lock box on the desk. “Sorry, I think I’m being followed!” she shouted as she ran through the doors.
Rather than heading to the fifth floor, she stopped in the security office, where Manny looked up as Annie slammed the door shut.
“Annie? What’s the matter?” Manny asked, concerned.
“How much do you know about what’s going on with the Fraternitatem?” Annie asked.
Manny stood and opened the top drawer of his filing cabinet. He pulled out a thick accordion file and dropped it on his desk.
“I know a lot. All those names you’ve been given, I have them now. All of those magical signatures we’ve got in the magical database are on the no entry list and that includes anyone who’s been sent to Tartarus. There’re a lot of people who can’t get in here.” He offered Annie a seat and poured hot water into a teacup. After preparing a mug of tea for her, he sat down. “What happened?” he asked.
Annie held the mug in both hands. She was still shaking from narrowly escaping the Snake Head Letters. She took a sip of the hot tea. It warmed her as it slid down her throat.
“I had to teleport from Mortimer’s apartment above the Snake Head Letters. It’s being watched and whoever’s watching me almost caught me. I just wanted to make sure you know the situation,” she said.
Manny nodded. “We’re always aware of the situation with any department, especially the Wizard Guard and this case. My manager is given daily updates as they come in. This time the hospital, schools, and hotels are aware and have linked to our security system.” He took out a pad of paper and pencil. “Did you see anyone?”
Annie shook her head. “Mortimer, over at the Snake Head Letters, was acting more unusual than normal—locking the door after I arrived, staring out the window. I thought I saw someone hide in the alley.”
Wizard Hall Chronicles Box Set Page 165