by Jamie Davis
She still had cereal and milk, and a few hard-boiled eggs from the batch Paddy’s cook had made for her a few days ago. She decided to have one of the eggs right now and shove a couple of protein bars into her pocket to snack on during rest breaks.
Having figured out her breakfast, Quinn went back into her room with her mug to get showered and dress for the day’s activities. Fifteen minutes later, she started downstairs with a peeled egg in one hand and a cup of coffee number two in the other.
The crowd in the club at 8:30 in the morning surprised her, then she recognized several faces from the other day when everyone came to ask her for help.
Juni walked by, and Quinn stopped her. “What’s up with all the people? Did something happen again?”
“No, but Da told them he’d fire up a new breakfast menu if they came back every day. I told him he was crazy, but once again he’s proved me wrong.”
Quinn laughed. “I’m learning that parents can be pretty annoying when they’re right. Speaking of which, have you seen Naomi this morning?”
“She was here when I got in earlier, but she left. The sun’s out now, so I figured she’d gone to sleep or whatever it is vamps do in the daytime.”
“I don’t think they really sleep. I know she’s not this morning. She and Clark have another training day ready for me.”
Juni shook her head. “I don’t know how you do that day in and day out. I don’t mind a bit of sport, but you’re going like you’re prepping for the Olympics.”
“This is where Clark would say something prophetic like ‘there’s no second place in a fight to the death.’ To be honest, though, I don’t mind it, even though I complain about it. I’ve always liked being active, and I was at my best when I was training for whatever sport I was playing. This is kind of like that.”
“Whatever suits you.” A table nearby called for the waitress. Juni smiled and nodded at them. “I gotta go. I hope it’s not too bad.”
Quinn smiled as the leprechaun left to tend to the customers. It was nice to have a group of friends and a place to call home that was really hers.
Her phone buzzed in her back pocket, and she pulled it out. It was a text from Clark.
Quinn slid the phone back into her pocket, popped the last bite of egg in her mouth, and headed for the storeroom door. She wasn’t going to complain if she didn’t have to start the day’s workout right away. Whatever they had going on with Taylor would take up at least half an hour of training time.
A few minutes later, Quinn opened the door to Taylor’s domain and stopped when her eyes landed on an unwanted visitor.
Filippa stood in the center of the room with Clark and Naomi. Taylor and Miranda were back by the computer rig.
“What is she doing here?”
Filippa smiled and said, “Clark called and invited me. He wanted me to take a look at the spear you found and see if I could use it to find the source of wild magic since it was connected in some way.”
“And?” Quinn asked.
Clark shook his head. “The answer is no.”
“Not exactly, Clark darling. The full answer is, the spear only links to the source in a tangential way. I’m not sure I can use it to track directly back over the link.”
“So, like I said, no,” Clark said.
Filippa shrugged. “Potato, potahto.”
“So, why did you need me?” Quinn asked.
“Because,” Naomi explained, “Filippa thinks since you’re the one tied to the spear, she might be able to use you to track down the source.”
“Me? I don’t have anything to do with all this, other than that it seems to be following me around.”
“Exactly, my dear,” Filippa agreed. “The wild magic has somehow linked itself to you like it has the spear. It might be because of your tie to the spear. It also might be something else. Either way, if we can track that link, we’ll have found our source.”
“We thought the source might somehow be linked to a Fae,” Quinn said. “You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?”
“Why would you think it’s one of us?”
“Another source told us the wild magic is linked to a few of the old races. He seemed to think that would be a place to start looking for the source.”
“We stopped playing around with wild magic millennia ago, my dear.” She waved her hand. “Far too dangerous and unpredictable for anything needing a reliable solution. No Fae I know has so much as dabbled in it for centuries.”
Quinn didn’t believe her; she still thought Filippa was playing them. That woman knew exactly who was behind all of this, she was sure.
“Filippa,” Clark said, “what do you need from us to get this spell set up?”
“I need Quinn to go get the spear where it’s stuck in the wall and bring it to the center of the room. Then your little techy-mage friend should come over.”
“I’m a tech witch,” Taylor corrected as she stood and walked to the center of the room.
“Of course you are,” Filippa replied.
Quinn wanted to smack the condescending grin off the woman’s face. Naomi must have spotted her daughter tensing up because she stepped between Quinn and the princess.
“Quinn, bring the spear so we can get this over with. Then Filippa can go about her day.”
“I don’t know what makes you think I can pull that thing out of solid stone.”
“You’re the only one with both the link and the strength, of course,” Filippa explained. “I’d have thought that would be obvious, even to you.”
Grumbling under her breath, Quinn walked to the corner and grasped the spear. Despite being in this cold basement room all night, the shaft was warm to the touch. She tensed against what she expected to be a spear stuck in stone, but to her surprise, the gold blade slid out of the rock easily.
Quinn returned to the center of the room, ignoring Filippa’s know-it-all expression.
Taylor took a position opposite Quinn, then directed Filippa to move until she was opposite Clark. They stood at four points around a loose circle.
“Taylor,” Filippa said. “I’ll start the magic flow, but you’ll direct it like I just told you. Focus your attention on the spear. I’ll do the same with Quinn. The goal is to highlight any magical link between the two. Then we should be able to follow that link back to the source of the magic.”
Taylor nodded, and Filippa started chanting in a sing-songy language Quinn assumed was Fae. Taylor joined in with her own chant, though hers sounded like Latin, providing a sort of rhythmic counterpoint to the princess’ spell.
In Quinn’s hands, the spear vibrated and began glowing with a soft golden light. As the spell progressed, the nimbus of light expanded to outline Quinn’s hands and forearms.
There was a flash, and Quinn found herself back in her apartment. For a second, she thought she’d been somehow teleported there, but then she realized this was a vision of some sort. Her view of the room had a golden haze overlaying it.
A voice behind her made her jump, and she turned toward it. She saw herself standing beside the window in her living room, staring at the alley below. Quinn knew what she saw. This was the day Avery left for the airport. An invisible force sucked her into her other self to participate as a sort of passive observer.
Avery came up from behind and wrapped her arms around Quinn’s waist and let her chin rest on her shoulder. “If everything goes as planned, I won’t be that long.”
“I know,” Quinn said. “But I’d hoped for one more day.”
“One day or a hundred, the sooner I go, the sooner I’ll be able to return.” Avery let go, walking to where the golden spear was propped against the wall. She reached out and brushed her fingertips down the smooth shaft.
Quinn shifted her gaze from Avery to the dragon egg, which was perched atop a pillow on the chair. The golden spear rested against the wall beside the chair. She chuckled. “I seem to be gathering quite the collection of rare and magical artifacts.”
&nbs
p; Avery laughed. “Just be careful. There are legends about what happens when items of great power get too close to each other. You wouldn’t want an explosion of arcane energy on your hands.”
“Yeah,” Quinn agreed, laughing. “Don’t want to cross the streams and all that nonsense. Don’t worry, the egg isn’t mine. I’m only watching it for a little while longer. Soon enough, it’ll be going back to Aurora, where it belongs.”
Quinn from the past stared at the egg for a few seconds and then said, “I guess it’s time to go. Come on. At least I can ride with you to the airport. You’d better keep in touch while you’re over there. Tell me if you run into any trouble, and we’ll gather the troops.”
“I’ll be fine,” Avery said, starting for the door. “Let’s go. The others are waiting.”
Quinn nodded and followed Avery out of the apartment. Quinn’s past self let her anger manifest in slamming the door a little too hard. The impact jolted spirit Quinn back into the center of the now-empty room.
The slamming door jarred the room a little. Against the wall, the spear slid down to bump the chair beside it.
On the way to the floor, the spear’s blade kissed the dragon egg’s shell. It wasn’t much, but it turned out to be enough. Gold light flared in the darkened apartment, transferring from the blade in a cascade of sparks that surrounded the shell. Quinn, inside the spell’s vision, shielded her eyes from the burst of light.
The exchange between the spear and the egg only lasted a second before the shaft rolled off and clattered to the floor.
On the pillow, the egg rocked violently for nearly thirty seconds while golden sparks shot across its surface. Then the energy dissipated, darkening the room again as the egg settled to stillness.
Quinn tried to walk over and check on the egg, but she couldn’t move from where she stood. Then the golden haze around her coalesced into a thick mist, and she found herself back inside the workshop.
She looked up and realized everyone stared at her, varying levels of shock registering on their faces. Quinn glanced down, and her jaw dropped. Golden light outlined her.
Taylor stopped chanting when Filippa did. Their spell ended, and the magic around Quinn faded after a few seconds.
“Well, well, this is a surprise,” Filippa remarked, staring at Quinn.
The Huntress shook her head. “I don’t know what you’re thinking, but I’m sure it’s not what it looks like.”
“It looks like you’re the source of the wild magic, darling,” Filippa told her. “That’s a problem because channeling it should kill an ordinary human.”
“Filippa,” Clark said, “you’re talking in riddles. For once, say what you’re thinking in plain language.”
“Very well. Your little protege here has somehow opened a connection to wild magic. If we don’t break the connection or find her a way to control it, sooner or later, she’ll destroy herself and take down everything and everyone around her for miles in every direction.”
“Well, that’s not ominous-sounding,” Taylor commented. “What do we need to do to break the connection?”
Filippa said, “We must destroy the source to do that. During the spell, Quinn, did anything lead you to understand where you came in contact with wild magic?”
Quinn’s mind whirled back to her vision. She realized what they’d have to do if she told the truth, and she had to protect the egg at all costs.
Looking at her friends, she shrugged. “I have no idea. I guess we’ll have to go for option two. How do I train to control wild magic?”
Filippa fixed Quinn with the evilest grin she’d ever seen. “I have no idea. You see, my dear, no human has ever survived the process.”
Chapter Eight
Quinn stared out the window at the trees and farm fields passing by. Clark drove along the interstate through the countryside an hour west of Baltimore. The address Filippa had given them the night before came up as a property along a lake in western Maryland.
“You ever been out here?” Quinn asked.
Clark shook his head. “No, not to this location. I’ve driven past this lake on my way to West Virginia, but I never stopped there.”
Quinn’s anxiety had kicked in early that morning as they loaded up and left the city. She’d been raised in an urban setting, so she had little experience approaching a rural or wilderness area.
Filippa had offered little information when she’d texted the address to them following her departure the night before. All she’d said was that it was the home of someone who might help her learn to control the wild magic. The Fae princess said she’d meet them there in the morning.
“I don’t trust her, Clark. She’s been trying to get rid of me for a while now. What’s to stop her from staging an ambush out here in the middle of nowhere?”
“It’s not her style to be directly involved in anything as messy as a murder. People know she led us here. I think that makes it safe to come out and see what we can learn. If something changes, I’ll warn you.”
When she didn’t respond, Clark glanced her way. “Don’t take what Filippa said last night seriously. She was trying to break your self-confidence. She might not be the type to kill you outright, but if you die during the rigorous training, that’s another matter entirely. You have to trust yourself and your skills to handle this. If she gets into your head, you lose.”
“Easy for you to say. You’re not the one who’s head is on the chopping block of potential failure.”
Clark grunted. “Why don’t you tell me what you wouldn’t tell Filippa last night? I know you hid something when she asked you what you had learned during the spell.”
How did he know? Quinn had always considered herself pretty good at hiding her feelings. It was a necessary survival trait the times she’d lived on the streets. You had to keep everything to yourself.
Clark waited, and when she didn’t answer, he said, “Suit yourself. I suspected it last night, and the way you reacted, including your refusal to answer me, confirms my suspicions.”
Quinn remained silent, struggling to decide whether she should share what she’d seen in her vision.
“Suit yourself,” Clark repeated. “If you think it’s best to keep silent for now, I respect that. But you should apply that determination to your confidence in handling whatever Filippa has planned for you out here. I’ve seen you find a way out of many impossible situations, so I know you can handle a little Fae deceit. Trust yourself, and you’ll be fine.”
“How much farther?” Quinn asked to change the subject.
“About a half-hour. I figured we’d stop and get something to eat at a rest area close to the interstate before we head into the backcountry.”
“That works. I could eat something.”
Clark laughed. “I’ve never known you not to be hungry. Hunters all burn a lot of calories, but you take it to a whole new level.”
“I’m a growing girl,” Quinn replied. “Every new ability draws more energy when I use it. I gotta replenish somehow.”
Clark smiled and flipped on his turn signal to get off at the next exit. The sign showed several fast food places and gas stations.
Twenty minutes later, they were back on the road, driving away from the interstate highway on a county road. Quinn finished the final bite of her foot-long Italian sub and took a sip of her soda.
She tucked the wrapper into an empty bag and held it up for Clark. “Any trash?”
“Yeah, here.” He handed her his empty burger wrapper. “We’re almost there, according to my phone. There should be a lane somewhere up ahead on the right.”
“I’ve seen signs for the lake but no water yet.”
“I think it’s through that forested area, hidden from view. Take a look at the map on your phone.”
Quinn pulled it up and saw that Clark was correct. She followed their dot down the road. A right turn down an unnamed road showed about a quarter-mile ahead.
“It should be the next right.”
“I see
it.” Clark slowed and turned onto a gravel road passing through the thick trees lining the main road. “The app says our destination is a half-mile ahead. You ready?”
Quinn forced a smile onto her face and nodded. The food had helped her mood, but she had lingering doubts.
The gravel lane ended at a small cabin amid a cluster of pine trees. Beyond the trees lay the shores of what must be the lake. Clark parked by the cabin and got out.
Quinn climbed out of the passenger side and looked around. No other cars anywhere in sight. “We must be the first ones here.”
“I wouldn’t count on it,” Clark said. He gestured to the cabin. A thin plume of smoke rose from the metal stovepipe poking through the wood-shingled roof.
Quinn shrugged and walked over to the small porch, stepping up to the front door. She raised a hand to knock, but the door swung open before she could rap on it.
“You two made good time,” Filippa said. She wore jeans, a cream turtleneck, and a puffy down vest. She held a tin mug with steam wafting off the top. Quinn could smell fresh breakfast tea.
“Where’s your car?”
“I had Alistair drop me off before tending to another errand I had for him. He’ll be back before lunch.”
“Is your magic teacher inside?” Quinn asked, peering past Filippa. All she could see was a rustic wooden table and four chairs beside a black metal cookstove.
“He went down to the lake to catch something for us for lunch. He should be back soon. In fact, let’s go down to the shore to meet him.”
Filippa stepped onto the porch and pulled the cabin door closed. Quinn and Clark followed her down to the lake’s edge. The deep blue waters stretched out, with gentle waves lapping the shore.
The distant treetops of the far shore peeked through the mist rising from the water. The sun hadn’t burned through the haze overhead yet.