Praelia Nox

by T J Kelly

  I heard tapping as I was toweling off from my shower. I leaned into Water and whisked away the remaining dampness from my body and hair, then pulled on a robe.

  "Hey," I said when I opened the door. Peter was wearing his practice uniform, a close-fitting shirt and pants with a battle vest, all in black.

  "Seth and Harris are here," he said after giving me a peck on the cheek. "Want to come down and kick some butt?"

  My mood lifted. I had been in a funk for days, irritable and tense as I waited for the agents tracking the mayor to report back. So far, nothing. It was hard to handle. I spent a bunch of time in my workshop studying old books and trying out spells to keep myself occupied. Mort was tied up with legal matters at his firm and I hadn't hit the practice field.

  Good thing Peter liked to work on new spells, too, or else I would have been alone the entire time. Isolation wasn't good for me. Not when I had the tendency to stew and fret myself into trouble.

  "Man, that sounds great. Give me a sec to get dressed."

  Peter walked to my window seat and gazed outside. It was fairly early in the morning. The trees in the distance were casting shadows, leaving a darkness just beyond the lawn. I had been staring at them for an hour before I took my shower.

  There wasn't much to see. Not anymore. Only a few birds were in the area since my incident.

  I rushed into my dressing room and pulled out one of my practice uniforms. The leather vest I used during training was laying across a shelf, stocked and ready to use. A smile tugged on my lips. Peter made it for me when I first came to live at the castle.

  After I dressed, I took a few minutes to put in several battle braids to control my hair, then looped the mass into a bun, checking for stray hairs in the full-length mirror. Many fighters cut their hair short, but I was glad I had left mine long, all the way to my lower back. I had an easier time using the styles intended to keep it under control now than when it came to my shoulders.

  And as an added bonus, it attracted my boyfriend's hands.

  The hum of magic in the cast-iron frame distracted me from the pleasant turn of my thoughts. Then another tap on the door. "You almost ready?" Peter asked.

  "Yeah, sorry about that." I opened the dressing room door. My boyfriend stood there with a sheepish grin.

  "Sorry for being so pushy. The Andersson brothers are already waiting on us."

  "Nah, I get it. I've been spacing out a lot lately. Let's go." My stomach growled, but I ignored it.

  My eyes flickered to the door next to mine in the hallway. Sera's room was closed up since she was away at school, and I found myself missing her. She was such a bright little thing, always making me laugh. I glanced down at the bracelet that I added to the one honoring her father. The crystal lay dormant on the leather band. My apprentice-to-be was fine.

  Peter didn't bother to ask if I wanted to grab something from the kitchen as we passed by. He knew me so well.

  "Hey there," Harris called as we entered the practice dome. Then dirt and rocks exploded around us. I guess they didn't want to wait any longer.

  Throwing myself to the side, I hid behind a small pile of bricks. Peter dove the opposite direction, making it harder to pin us down. "How are you doing?" I called as I threw a Smash-force at the brothers. They were still standing together and easier to attack because of it.

  "Good," Seth shouted as he and his brother parted. The connection between the two of them, born of a spell that ensured an even number of children would be born in each generation, crackled inaudibly. More like a vibration in the tiny bones of my ears than a sound.

  They focused the direction of their magic together until it met between them, then pushed out, like the tip of a spear. Aimed directly at Peter, who only had some random chunks of tall grass to hide behind.

  Every instinct shouted at me jump into the fray and protect him. But that was silly. Peter had as much power beneath his skin as any other Irregular. Stronger than most, actually. He could take care of himself.

  And did.

  I hadn't seen it in forever, but Peter had his staff in hand. Mort gave it to him as a present during the first Eostre I spent at the castle. The wood was carved and seared with magic symbols and topped with a smooth little hole that held a series of round light crystals. We rarely used weapons. We threw mechanicals, cast spells, or fought close up. Weapons were a little bulky and unnecessary. But with a war on the horizon, we were all brushing up.

  Peter drew a semi-circle in front of him in the dirt. It worked like a shield and reflected back the magic at the Andersson brothers. Fortunately for them, the ricochet was directed at the center and didn't flow at an angle to where they stood apart from each other. The light crystals in the staff amplified their magic, resulting in a mass explosion that hit the small pond in the distance. Water and reeds flew everywhere, drenching the brothers and even spraying my sneakers.

  "Holy crap! That was awesome," Seth shouted. Harris laughed. They two of them relaxed their stances and trotted back to where Peter and I waited. "Nice staff. Did you know it would enhance the magic that way?"

  "I haven't used it as much as I should," Peter replied. "Haven't even touched it since I stopped being tied to my art to perform magic. Since we have no idea what's coming, I figured I should practice with all my tools. I can still do crazy powerful magic when I use them."

  He could. I studied the staff for a moment, my eyes understanding the symbols better now that I had been studying the ancient tomes my uncle had given me. "You know," I began. "There's a small empty spot directly below the crystals. We could put a band of lead around it. Maybe coat it in silver to disguise it. Add some more carvings to make it match."

  A whistle sounded from between his pursed lips. "Damn. We should do that. Nobody could stand against me."

  Harris and Seth voiced their agreement. Seth had been the one to experiment with me when I incorporated lead into my spells. It doubled our strength. Or more. He had born the brunt of my first tries, although a shield spell enhanced with lead kept him safe. We realized immediately that we needed to keep the power amplifying abilities a tightly guarded secret. The fewer people who knew, the better. It would give us an edge in the coming battles.

  "I haven't seen the two of you triangulate your magic like that before," I added. "Great technique. Do you think Peter and I could piggyback on your connection and amplify the spell?"

  "Good question. Let's try," Harris said. Like his brother, he was always willing to experiment with new magic. If prompted. Although they had obviously been working together to develop new techniques without me harassing them into it, so that was progress.

  We spent an hour making plans and trying different positions. The spell worked the best with me and Peter standing on either side of the brothers, leaving the space between them clear. But before we could launch any really huge spells, another greeting rang out.

  "Mind if we join you?" Richard asked. He and James waved. For a split second, I felt resentment. But under that was anxiety about whether they would accept me. Which was stupid. I shoved all that aside.

  "Sure, why not?" I called.

  ◆◆◆

  "Nice practice dome," James said. It was hard for me to get over how much he looked like his father. "Mort said he had you help make it. Excellent work."

  "Thanks." Warmth crawled up my cheeks. Something about his approval made me want to squirm. It was all so awkward for me. Is that what it was like to have a big brother? "It keeps the damage to Aunt Peony's plants to a minimum. I'm surprised nobody thought of it before." Oh, man. That last part sounded bad.

  But James only laughed at my implied criticism. "Our parents had a hard time getting us to practice at home. We did most of our training at school. Plus Mort has his own battleground at his castle for when we got into the really good stuff."

  How weird. I had never thought about where Mort lived, what kind of properties he had. Nothing about his life outside of my sphere of influence. It was humiliating and James had
n't even done it on purpose. I was just that much of a self-centered brat.

  "Your cousins use the elements Water and Earth, plus Light of course," Peter said. He shifted closer and slid his arm through mine. He was always good at knowing when I needed comfort. And when to distract.

  "Hey, that's cheating," Seth said with a laugh. "Now we know what they can do." He and his brother shared a glance. They could communicate silently through their connection and I wondered what they were up to.

  "We already know what elements the rest of you use, so fair's fair." Richard had a lopsided grin. It was really charming and sweet. Another thing that reminded me of Peony.

  "Water and Earth," I murmured. They were in for a surprise once they learned about the opposite magic technique I had worked out with the others. No more limitations on their magic.

  "Yeah, only the two basics. Dad tried to get us to work on them all so we would ascend with them in our arsenal, but neither of us listened," James explained. He was open and honest, even about his mistakes. I liked that.

  "Do you regret it?" I blurted. It never occurred to me to push back when Armageddon created my training plan. He wanted me to develop all the elements, so I did.

  "Definitely. I told him as much a few years ago. Keeping it real - there are a lot of things I wish I had done differently."

  "Well, you're in for a treat," Harris said. But before he could explain, Seth elbowed him in the stomach.

  "Not now," he said with a grin. "We can talk about that after the battle. We've been standing here talking too long already."

  Typical Seth. In a hurry and his prankster side in full gear. I could tell he wanted to use opposite magic on my cousins, who had not yet been briefed on all the new techniques and spells we had worked out. That method contained a decent element of surprise. Our enemies had no idea about our way of accessing elements, and with luck, that knowledge wouldn't get out for a while. The more advantages we had, the better.

  Richard and James studied the Andersson brothers. "I see," Richard said, an eyebrow raised. "We'll talk about that later, then. How do you want to handle this?"

  There were six of us, so splitting into teams of three would make sense. And that was a solid power number, bound to add in some additional magic.

  "I think we should partner up and fight everyone," Peter suggested.

  "A three-way match? That could be fun." Richard clapped his hand on Peter's back with approval. My boyfriend grinned in response. It was interesting to see him interacting with his adopted brothers. They were ten and thirteen when Peter came to live with them. A little too old to play with a five-year-old, but still young enough to bond with him and watch his back. It was a part of his personality I had never seen before. I liked it.

  "Let's take five minutes to find a position and then we'll start." James looked around to make sure we were in agreement. "All right then, let's go."

  My cousins took off in one direction and dropped from sight in a flash. The Andersson brothers disappeared not long after.

  "Wow, that was fast." I laughed. "Maybe we should stay here. There's not that much cover, but we can go to them."

  "Angle them into the swampy area. Nobody likes wet shoes."

  "Ha, funny. They both use Water so let's stay away from there if possible."

  "Well, if you want to be all logical like that, then sure." Peter glanced around. "But on a serious note, your cousins kick butt. Not that Seth and Harris are a couple of slouches. We should act like we have four enemies with no advantages of them fighting each other. They may gang up on us."

  "True." I shuffled along beside Peter until we were standing with our backs against a structure of old bricks, tucking ourselves into a corner made by where two partial walls were attached. "We can't trust any temporary alliances. I hate to say it, but I think we need to be reactive. We've been practicing for this. May as well try it out. See if we can gauge each other's instincts quicker than the bad guys."

  I disliked reactive strategies, but most of my fights had been that way. Active plans were offensive, and when we went after David Novato, I had confronted him on my own so all our arrangements had gone out the window. The closest I had come was pushing my way into the rescue of the Examiner. We needed him to prove Adrian's claim on Rector Enterprises was bogus and I ended up on scene in time to join in.

  "They are strong," Peter said. Knowing my uncle and aunt's bloodline magic, it was likely an understatement. "Better use the lead with our shields. I really don't want to end up in the infirmary for a lengthy stay."

  I chuckled but followed his advice. Good thing, too. Just seconds after I had set the spell, the bricks at the top of the wall shattered, spraying us with sharp pieces of shrapnel. "They're coming in from the east," I said under my breath.

  Peter nodded his acknowledgment and then we moved apart, peering around the corner, trying to gauge their position. And who it was attacking us.

  Nothing.

  Reaching out with my senses, I searched for a trace. One faint mark near the rise of a hill. They were likely on the other side. I turned and settled my hand onto Peter's shoulder, leaning on him. I used our exchange of Light to piggyback the trace I had seen, lending him my sight. We silently agreed to track it to where our enemy was hiding. The last thing either of us wanted was to get pinned down.

  We took off uphill, crouching low and staggering our path. As I shifted to the right, a small explosion landed where I had been standing moments before, dirt and rocks flying into the air. Peter shouted and dove out of the way. I spotted the trace left behind by Harris. He was the one who attacked. Knowing they may be using their triangulation spell, Peter and I targeted the outer edges of the space where they were most likely to be hiding.

  Peter knocked Seth down with a Smash-force. Either my aim or calculations were off, but Harris was not effected. Or maybe he moved.

  Yeah. As soon as I compensated, basing my next move on where I would go if I had been in his situation, I got him. Using Air, Peter and I made a cage, trapping the brothers inside.

  It really wasn't fair. The two of them had just barely begun to work out strategies for the triangle spell. But that's what practice was for. Now they knew their positional weakness and could develop a way to counter it.

  Then we turned back to the trace left by Richard and James and tracked it up the hill, into an area riddled with ditches and trenches and holes. They could be anywhere.

  "We'll be exposed if we go down there," I said. "There's no cover until we hit ground level." It was a great location to lie in wait. We would be outlined against the horizon while they remained in hiding. Clever.

  "See how the trace leads to the east again? If we head north and then shift over by that pile of dirt, we can remain hidden almost the entire time."

  "That'll work."

  We were careful to stick close to the ground, using the Earth to prop up a kind of smokescreen, except made of dust. Halfway to our goal, the ground shifted and knocked us down. It felt like a heavy steel sheet covered us. The thing was, it came from the southwest.

  "Gotcha," James called.

  "What?" I wheezed. "How?"

  "Trade secret," he said. The pressure let up, allowing Peter and I to climb to our feet. "Kidding. Dad said we should show you and we thought now was as good a time as any."

  "Show us what, though?" I asked. I tugged on the Earth and used it to pull the dirt from my clothing and hair, then did the same for Peter.

  "False trace," Richard chimed in.

  "Whoa. How is that even possible?" Peter looked back and forth as if he were trying to see who was kidding. But they weren't. I could tell.

  "Richard and I worked it out on our down time. There wasn't much else to do. You know Dad wanted to perfect that spell for a long time. So we did."

  "That's great," I gushed. "How did you do it?" I guess my impatience showed through because my cousins laughed.

  "Come on," James said. "We'll let the Andersson brothers out of the Air cages and
show you all how."

  Practice was turning out to be the best in a long time. I loved learning new spells. Especially top secret ones. And while we were at it, we could show them how to use opposite magic. All in all, a productive day.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Exploration

  Everyone was pretty busy over the next few days, so I spent some time in the storage buildings behind the castle sorting through my father's personal items. I had transferred his belongings from his office at Rector Enterprises along with his furniture and tools.

  It was nice to spend the time alone. There were so many people at the castle now there seemed to be a crowd everywhere I looked. We always had servants and assistants around, but they were good at giving us our space, and we gave them theirs. It helped keep the tensions down with so many people living in one place.

  "If I were a box of journals, where would I be?" I asked out loud. I rifled through a few boxes before I gave up. There were spells I could use to make things easier. But first, I needed more light. I stored the crystals I filled with Dark to ease the pressure when I used to get overwhelmed in the same place and the entire building was effected.

  I gathered together a handful of crystals filled with my excess Dark and tossed them in the air. It was pretty much my style of casting spells ever since the trials when I had to show off to get the approval of the audience. The habit had stuck. I froze them where they floated as I flipped the magic in them, changing them to do the opposite of their nature. Leaning into the band of lead in my bracelet, I doubled the power.

  Good thing I was looking away. The resulting Light was blinding - they lit the huge storage building without a problem, adding to the usual fluorescent lights.

  "Ha. There you are," I crowed with triumph. I slid two boxes off a set of metal-and-glass shelves, dumping them on a table shoved up against a group of ultra modern chairs. My nose wrinkled when I looked at them. Definitely not my style.

  Impatient to find information about how to work crystal, I pulled out a dozen thick journals and spread them out. Holding my hands over them, fingers splayed open, I murmured a finding spell.