by Wen Spencer
Jin reached out and tapped Tinker's forehead, reminding her of the dau marked onto her forehead. "You have the power to protect us. You could make us part of your household. We could be yours, as these sekasha are yours."
"Mine?" Tinker squeaked. "Why would you want that?"
"Because we trust you more than we trust the oni."
That wasn't saying much.
"I don't know if that would work," Tinker said. "The elves make a big thing about beholding. The sekasha promise to serve in exchange for protection. That everyone fits into society—someone above them responsible for them, but they are answerable to."
"It seems fairly simple. I will promise that the tengu will obey you and you promise to protect us."
"You're serious? You would listen to what I told you to do?"
Jin nodded.
"Are you sure your crew is okay with obeying some snot-nosed kid?"
"Leo's daughter who talks with dragons? Yes, I am sure."
She opened her mouth and then closed it, reminding herself to think about implications and complications this time. She supposed that the tengu could make up a household like Poppymeadow's, where the crew would be under Jin and the tengu captain would be under her, yet they wouldn't be directly part of her household. She wished that she knew more about how the enclaves worked, but she suspected that they were like all things elfin, where an exchange of promises were enough to bind both parties. But how would the tengu fit into her life? There was a terror deep inside her, one she didn't want to look at closely, that if she promised the tengu to protect them, it would have to be against the people that she loved the most. What would she do if Windwolf refused to acknowledge her claim on the tengu? She didn't want to think about Windwolf systematically killing the tengu she had gotten to know. She didn't want him to be the type of person who could do it. Yet she couldn't stop thinking of Nathan dead in the road because she was married to Windwolf. Of the bloody streets of Chinatown. Of Tommy Chang within moments of being cut down.
If she committed to the tengu, then she might have to fight even Windwolf to keep them safe. I can't. I can't.
She pressed trembling hands to her mouth. But if she didn't protect them, who would? How could she stand aside and let them be killed and do nothing to save them? "I'll do my best to protect you, but you have to remember to do what I say, or I won't have the power to stop the elves from killing you all."
"I promise. You will have the obedience of the tengu."
Her life had so many strings attached that she felt like a puppet.
"Hey! Scarecrow!" Esme called over the ship's intercom. "We're getting close to your mark in five minutes!"
Tinker swam back to the bridge, blinking on the salt burning in her eyes.
"Two minutes," Esme announced.
They waited in tense silence, bathed in the soft earthshine.
"In ten," Esme said quietly.
Tinker made sure she had her fingers in the correct position.
"We're in range."
Tinker brought her hand to her mouth and said the trigger word. Nothing happened. Her heart jolted with the sudden spike of fear. "Daaaaaaae." Still nothing. She checked her finger positions and carefully announced the trigger word. Zip. "Daaae. Daaaaae. Dae. Daaaaaaae."
"And we're out of range," Esme said.
"Oh, fuck," Tinker said.
"Just checking—it didn't work?" Jin asked.
"No." Tinker rubbed the heels of her hand into her eyes.
"Well, you better think of something else, Scarecrow," Esme said. "We only have fuel for one more burn."
"How's it going?" the tengu Ushi asked. Tinker was finding that while the humans treated her with slight condescension after the initial novelty wore off, the tengu regarded her with an odd mix of awe and affection. The ratio of worship versus familial warmth seemed to be dependent on how well they had known her father. Either way, they kept seeking her out, wanting to know if she was comfortable, or needed anything. It was driving her to distraction.
"I'm still thinking." Thinking she needed to find a hiding place. "We're at about two hundred miles above Elfhome's surface, crossing over spell stones in Giza around eighteen miles per second. The reach of the spell stones are one mei, which is approximately one thousand miles, which means that theoretically we're within their reach for about a minute and a half."
"Why are they important?"
"They're a source of a lot of magic. If I could pull on them, then I could use the magic to trigger the spell."
She covered her eyes to think. Apparently Ushi took the cue that he was distracting her; when she opened her eyes again, he was gone. Too bad all her problems didn't solve themselves so neatly.
Why couldn't she call the spell stones? They were in range, for more than a minute, nearly two, and a call took less than one. Something had to be interfering with the call. Was it that there wasn't enough ambient magic to fuel the initial call? Tinker ran her hand across the wall of the ship, focusing on her magic sense. She could feel the latent magic. It was as strong as a ley line, but with a strange texture. It was like the difference between silk and wool. Magic on Elfhome flowed, smooth and quick. The magic here buzzed with static. If the call was supposed to be resonance of magic across the DNA signature of the domana, then perhaps that chaotic nature of the magic on the ship was creating too much static for that call.
Perhaps if she could filter the background magic to one frequency—oh, gods—how the hell did she do that? She groaned and pulled at her hair. The sekasha had magic stored in the beads woven into their hair, which guaranteed that if they were in a magic-poor area, they still could trigger their shields and have a few minutes of protection. She never had examined them but knew in essence that they were metal balls, insulated with glass, that acted like her power sinks. She believed that storing the magic in a "clean" enough medium would reduce the static. So, she should be able to use a sink just like they used the beads. The problem probably would be eliminating the background magic so only the stored magic was active.
Wait, if she modified the Reinholds spell based on Impatience's theorems, she might be able to trigger a magic equivalent to a wide-scale electromagnetic pulse. It would basically clean the slate. The danger would be that, if the pulse worked, not only on the magic wavelength but also included the electronics of the ship, she could accidentally kill all the computers maintaining the ship's life support. That would be bad.
But if she wiped out the buildup, and then used one shielded source to do a call on the Wind Clan spell stones—would that be enough magic to trigger the jump? It might. Too bad she couldn't pull from a second set . . .
Or could she? She had felt the Stone Clan magic. She had watched Forest Moss call on the Stone Clan's spell stones. Did she remember the hand positions and vocalization? Yes, she was sure.
She was nearly quivering now with possibilities. If she could pull on both stones at once—wait—at once—that kind of meant at the same moment. Since the vocalization was different she couldn't do both. She wished she could pace. She thought better pacing. She settled for bouncing between the walls, flying through the air.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Jin suddenly caught her, and brought her to a stand still. "You're going to hurt yourself doing that."
"I can't say two things at once! I suspect that the genetic key equates to vibrations in the quantum nature of magic—and I'm at a loss as to how to test that theory. There isn't time for me to invent a device that can sample how the magic interplays with matter at the molecular level, or the equipment we would need to recreate that resonance. And according to my last dream, resonance was the key to everything. And if getting home isn't the full ball of wax—"
"Shhh." Jin put his finger to his lips.
She frowned at him and then put her finger over his lips. "Do that again."
"Tinker, listen."
"No, do the 'shhh' thing again."
"Shhhh," Jin repeated and then said, with her finger still in place,
"We're picking up the radio from Pittsburgh again. They say that Malice is attacking Oakland."
"I need to get home. And I think I know how."
True Flame drew Wolf aside to speak quietly with him. "You and I have the only attack spells that have a hope of hurting Malice. We need to pair off with the Stone Clan. They'll provide defense while we focus on attack. Which do you want? Forest Moss or Earth Son?"
The mad one or the male who hated him? Both had good cause to see him dead. If they were wise, they would hold their political maneuverings until after the dragon was dead. Where Forest Moss lacked sanity, Earth Son lacked political savvy; Wolf did not think either was rational enough for wisdom. While he trusted Jewel Tear to defend the enclaves, he was not sure he could entrust their safety to the males.
"I would rather not stake my life—and the lives of my people—on the Stone Clan." Wolf spoke the blunt truth.
"I realize that," True Flame said. "But we will need both hands for our most powerful attack spells, which means no shield."
"In that case, I don't want to take Sekasha into this battle. I do not want to leave them at the mercy of the Stone Clan."
True Flame nodded. "That would be wise."
"I'll take Earth Son." When faced with two evils, Wolf would rather deal with the known.
When True Flame announced the pairing, Earth Son shook his head.
"I do not like this pairing," Earth Son said. "Forest Moss will go with Wolf."
"You will go with Wolf," True Flame said.
"As clan head I should be with you," Earth Son said.
"I have given the choice of partners to Wolf since he is in disadvantage," True Flame said. "We don't have time for this. You are to pair with Wolf."
Thorne Scratch stepped forward to murmur in Earth Son's ear. The Stone Clan domou cast a dark look at his First and then smoothed his face to the unreadable court mask. Wolf wondered what Thorne had to say to Earth Son.
"Fine, I will pair with Wolf Who Rules," Earth Son said. "But my mewling infant of a cousin, I swear that was the last time that you'll twist matters to get an unfair advantage."
The wind shifted, blowing hard from the east. Clouds boiled over Oakland as weather fronts collided. Wolf could sense something alter the wind flow.
"I think the dragon is coming." Wolf motioned that the non-domana should retreat to the enclaves.
"Wolf." Stormsong held out something. "This goes in your ear. It's like the walkie-talkie but smaller. Nagarou wanted you to have it. You should be able to use it without it interfering with your magic—I tested it with my shield."
Wolf took the small bud of plastic. "How does it—"
Stormsong fitted it into Wolf's ear. "Nagarou has gone to act as a spotter with the NSA. He is in the cathedral. He will talk to you."
"Windwolf, this is Oilcan," the young man stated calmly in Wolf's ear. "The dragon is in southeast Oakland, at the intersection of Bates Street and Boulevard of the Allies. It seems to be leveling houses."
Which meant it was less than a mile away.
Wolf did a wide range scry and caught the passage of something large in that area. Earth Son finished his spell and as he shook his head, Wolf lost the scry on the dragon.
"This way." Wolf started to walk. Forbes Avenue was a major street in Oakland, with multiple lanes leading from the downtown out to the Rim. The EIA had stopped traffic in the city, erecting barriers. To his right, at the center of its lush lawn, was the towering Cathedral of Learning with Oilcan at its summit. To his left was the massive stone Carnegie museum.
"Tell me how to get to Bates," Wolf said.
"Go through that parking lot on your left." Oilcan started into the directions.
True Flame indicated that he would continue down Forbes Avenue, following his scry.
The boil of clouds had darkened to angry grey, with streaks of black where thunderheads were starting to build. When Wolf reached the top of Bates Street and looked down the hill it climbed, he saw that the shield around the massive dragon created a miasma that was forming the clouds. He understood now why the humans thought his lightning would be able to strike—it was perfect lightning weather. Cloaked by his shields, Malice moved within the misty darkness, showing only flashes of himself.
"Call your shields," Wolf told Earth Son. "Keep him back, otherwise the lightning will arc to us."
Remember, you can't trust Earth Son, Wolf thought to himself, and called on the winds in order to summon his lightning.
The darkness shifted, as if Malice had turned, and the gleam of his eyes appeared in the miasma and then vanished.
"He's shifting to your right." Oilcan's voice was flat with the effort to keep the information concise. "He stopped just around the corner, behind the brick house."
Wolf didn't know how Oilcan could tell from his perch above the miasma, but Wolf knew the humans had their ways. Magic thrummed around him, ready to be used. He shifted through his call-lightning spell. His right hand primed the clouds as his left hand readied the ground. Magic flooded the street on a hot wave of air that flared out his duster. The hairs on his arms lifted as the magic shifted into potential. He felt it reach critical point and he brought his hands together, aiming the channel through which the lightning would run. The faint leader flashed downward out of the belly of the clouds, and then the return stroke leapt from behind the brick, up to meet the leader with a deafening clap of thunder. The blinding column of light flared the dark miasma to white haze, and the thunder rumbled as the stroke climbed up into the sky.
Malice roared in pain and anger. The lightning licked the sky, as leader and return stroke danced back and forth over the open channel.
"He's coming at you!" Oilcan said.
"Keep him back!" Wolf shouted at Earth Son and started another call.
Earth Son locked into place, both hands set into shields. He was holding a force wall set half a block around them and another shield wrapped tight around himself. The lightning flared again and again. Wolf could feel the thunder in his bones. Malice stepped through the brick house, coiling like a ghost snake. His eyes gleamed bloodred. Down Malice's left flank was a massive smoking wound.
Wolf felt twin spikes of magic flash through the area and a moment later a fire strike bloomed around the ghost Malice. The dragon ignored the flames, rushing toward Earth Son's force wall. Wolf focused on the growing potential, waiting for it to hit the critical point. He could only cast the spell, though, if Earth Son kept the dragon at a distance.
The lightning died and darkness closed in around them.
"He's through your shield!" Oilcan cried. "He's through your shield!"
Malice must have stepped through Earth Son's shield the same way he had walked through the house. There was no time for Wolf to change spells.
"Earth Son, cover me, damn you!"
In the dark, the ghost Malice was a presence felt, not seen or heard, bearing down on him. A fire flare went off, lighting the area. Malice loomed over them, transparent as smoke. As the dragon snapped into solid form, a shield wrapped around Wolf. Forest Moss was protecting him.
The dragon struck Wolf. The shield held, but the ground underneath didn't. The pavement under Wolf's feet lifted, and he was airborne.
He had a dozen heartbeats to realize that Forest Moss had lost track of him. He had no protection. And then he smashed down through the skylight roof at the museum. He tumbled painfully downwards through the building. Unseen layers broke under him, as if he was falling through a house of cards. He landed hard on a marble floor, surrounded by construction materials.
"Windwolf! Windwolf!" Oilcan shouted over the radio. "He's still after you! Can you hear me! Malice is coming for you!"
Gasping for breath he tried to get up. Pain shot up from Wolf's right hand. Hissing, he looked down and found his fingers bent at impossible angles. He cursed, hunching over his hand. He could attack or defend, but not both now.
"Windwolf?" Oilcan called to him again.
"I hear you
."
"The oni are attacking the dreadnaught."
Wolf cursed. "Get a message to True Flame. Tell him to deal with the oni. I'll keep Malice busy."
A backup source of magic was shielded, the spells were printed off and floated in place, the computers were turned off, and the crew was gathered around her. Tinker cast the magical magnetic pulse spell and it flashed through her like a cold wind, leaving her feeling strangely empty. With sudden panic, she realized that her body might be a living computer.
Oh gods, I hope that didn't destroy my ability to call the stones!
Esme powered up the workstation beside her. "Well, it didn't kill our computers. We're coming up to spell stone range in two minutes."