by Martha Carr
“For the record, I didn’t ask you to do that.”
“You didn’t have to.”
Stretching out her fingers, the halfling took a deep breath. “Also, for the record, thanks for showing up when you did.”
“There, you see? A little appreciation goes a long way, kid.”
She laughed and watched him pace in front of her, those glowing silver eyes locked onto hers. “I’ll appreciate it a lot more when these trials are over and people quit telling me to wait until I’m ready.”
The Nightstalker’s long canines flashed in the starlight when he grinned back. “You ready now?”
“Yeah. No, wait.”
Corian stood from his crouch and let out a quick burst of surprised laughter. “Wow.”
“Just hold on a second, okay?” Fighting back a smile, Cheyenne shook out her hands again and closed her eyes. “The conversation was super weird, but he gave me a tip for tapping into new abilities, I think.”
“Really? What was that?”
She did laugh then. “You wouldn’t understand, Corian. It’s a drow thing.” Yeah, okay. It feels good to say to someone else.
The Nightstalker started pacing again. She could hear his footsteps on the coarse, dry grass and the dirt, even with her eyes closed. “Take your time, kid. Just don’t take all night.”
Ignoring him, Cheyenne took a deep breath. Focus on the Nimlothar seed, huh? If I only need one, I’m guessing it hits the stomach and stays there.
She focused on the memory of the glowing purple seed and the tingling magic spreading out from her core after she’d swallowed it. The image pulsed with violet light in her mind’s eye, and the sensation returned. The halfling let out a slow, controlled breath when the tingling, buzzing heat resonated through her one more time. It reached out from her belly and chest, down through her limbs, and up into her head until she felt like she’d pressed her cheek against a humming motor. This’ll help. That crazy drow might be right.
Corian watched her, chuckling silently as L’zar Verdys’ daughter experimented with the first of many things she’d learn to do with her drow magic. Just because she started late with the trials, it doesn’t mean she’s a slow learner. I’ll give her that. He licked his lips and waited for her to find whatever she was looking for.
When the halfling opened her eyes, he froze. A thin, quick glimmer of purple light flashed across her glowing gold eyes. Now we’re talkin’.
“Okay, halfling,” he called, jerking his chin at her in challenge. “Hit me.”
Cheyenne sent a crackling black sphere of energy at him before he’d finished talking. Corian darted out of the way and responded with a bolt of blazing silver light. It pinged off the dark shield she raised and shot toward the sky before fizzling out against the dome of his wards.
She wasn’t kidding about the shields.
“Which one are you focusing on now, kid?” he shouted, circling toward her as silver light flared in his hand.
“Not this time, Nightstalker. That’d make it too easy for you.” Cheyenne darted into drow speed as Corian started to laugh. She thought she’d gain on him before he had a chance to react.
She got three feet away before he stepped into her hyper-speed, grinning. “Almost had me there.”
He jerked his fist toward the ground, and the silver light exploded between them. The halfling threw up another shield in time to cut off the streaking lightning in its path, but the force of Corian’s magic hitting the shimmering wall in enhanced speed let off more energy than either of them had expected. A metallic clang echoed off the rock and stone walls of Alcatraz prison, and the drow halfling and the Nightstalker were thrown away from each other by the shockwave.
Cheyenne grunted as she skidded across the dirt, blinking at the sky again. The sound of Corian’s ringing laughter was fuel enough to get her to push to her feet again.
“Now things are getting interesting!” Silver lightning crackled in both of his hands as he spread them wide. “Looks like L’zar’s little trick worked, huh?”
“Dunno. Haven’t tried it yet.” Let’s go with earth-splitting.
The halfling reached out with both hands, her body humming with the extra boost of the Nimlothar seed, and wavering light flared around her fingertips. But that was it.
“Seriously?”
Corian shook his head and paced in front of her again. “Maybe I spoke too soon.”
The ground in front of him erupted in a spray of loose earth and stone. He reeled away with a surprised shout, clawing the dirt out of his face.
Smirking, Cheyenne reached out again and tried to repeat the burst of fractured earth. A pulsing zing of extra power shot through her arm, and the air around her outstretched fingers shimmered again. I could keep him running around in circles all night with this.
The ground trembled, and a snake of upturned earth darted away from where the halfling stood. It zigzagged across the ground toward Corian, not as quickly as his lightning attack, but close. Another spray of rock hit him even as he tried to dodge it.
“No, I think I got this!” she shouted.
The earth shook again, and it sent them both staggering sideways. Then a massive crack rent the air, and the halfling gaped at the huge crevice splitting its way through the earthen walls around the abandoned prison. Bushes fell, taking large chunks of dirt with them. The crevice raced toward the base of the prison until it split the wall of white stone. Chunks of it crumbled, and the jagged crack kept climbing as the abandoned building groaned and shivered.
Corian finally escaped the spewing dirt and turned with wide eyes to look up at the unintended destruction.
“Shit!” Without thinking about how or why Cheyenne reached toward her little drow-magic mistake. Unseen resistance met her fingers, but she closed them into a fist anyway and jerked back.
The island stopped trembling, and the split that had climbed halfway up the stone wall stopped. More crumbling bits of rock fell into the dirt, bouncing end over end on their way down the sharp drop outside the building.
The halfling dropped her hand. Gotta pay attention with that one.
The air popped beside her with a rush of wind just before Corian attacked. She wasn’t fast enough to conjure a shield before his hissing streak of silver lightning glanced off her shoulder and sent her spinning sideways.
Gritting her teeth, Cheyenne clamped a hand on her throbbing shoulder and tried to walk it off. “Cheap shot, don’t you think?”
“The lessons here aren’t mutually exclusive, Cheyenne.” The Nightstalker dropped into a crouch, his silver eyes widening with the thrill of battle, even when sparring with a halfling. “This lesson is about not letting yourself get distracted before you’re sure your opponent is down for the count.”
“What?” Rolling her shoulders back, she straightened and pointed at the huge split in the side of the prison. “You don’t think magically vandalizing a historical monument is a good reason to tone it down a notch?”
Corian’s gaze flickered toward the building, and he shrugged. “I can patch that up later.”
“You’re serious.”
“Lotta tricks up my sleeve, kid. Better focus, or you’ll walk out of here just as banged up as last time.” He summoned two more orbs of blindingly bright light in his hands and grinned again. “Your call.”
Without waiting for her answer, he shot the bolts of silver lightning toward her in quick succession. Cheyenne slipped into enhanced speed and stepped out of the way before launching her black tendrils toward him. They reached the Nightstalker as he joined her in the little bubble of hyper-speed and coiled around his wrist.
He tried to fling another spell at her, but she jerked his hand aside, and the crackling silver light went over her head. Corian’s surprise made her chuckle. “At least you’re dedicated.”
With a snarl that somehow sounded like a laugh, Corian jerked his wrists down, yanking her forward, then grabbed the slack of her black tendrils in one hand. “You’re gettin
g cocky. Again.”
The next lightning bolt he conjured wasn’t aimed at her but at the lashing tendrils in her hands. The coiled whips tightened and sparked with silver light as his attack traveled all the way back to her hand.
“Wait—”
She tried to retract the lashing tendrils faster than the lightning flashed across them, but that made it even worse. Silver light erupted around her hands, and the halfling shouted in pain and surprise. She staggered out of her enhanced speed, shaking out her hands and hissing. “What the hell?”
“It was a good effort.” Corian moved away from her in that stupid crouch. “Much better than last time. I still get the feeling you’re holding back.”
“Yeah, ‘cause I’m not interested in destroying Alcatraz Island, thanks. Awful choice for a sparring ring, by the way.”
“Don’t use that as an excuse, Cheyenne. And quit holding back.”
“You saw what happened.” She shook her burning, tingling hands again, her chains jingling. “I can’t do that again.”
“Then use it as an incentive to hit what you’re aiming for and quit whining about it like a little bitch.”
“Dude, that’s so not the right thing to—”
“Come on!” Snarling, Corian shot another streak of lightning at her head.
The halfling ducked, then whirled to watch the silver attack crash against the warded dome around the island. “You were trying to hit me in the face, weren’t you?”
“No, I was trying to motivate you.” The Nightstalker dropped into a squat and slapped both hands on the dirt. Dozens of snaking silver lines crackled across the ground toward the half-drow.
Cheyenne stepped back and shoved forward with both hands. The ground erupted in front of the closest bolt, spraying dirt and dry grass and sending dart after dart of hissing silver light shooting into the air. She glanced briefly up at the deflected magic and grinned. Okay…
When she shoved again, the earth buckled away from her, rolling in a wave almost impossible to see before bursting beneath Corian’s feet and flipping him through the air. A spray of dirt and clods of dry earth rained down around them. Once they settled, she found Corian squatting a few yards behind where she’d hit him, fingertips pressed to the ground while his splayed feet balanced his landing.
She rolled her eyes. “You’re kidding.”
“Cats land on their feet, right?” The Nightstalker cocked his head and stood, dusting off his hands. “That was good. Nothing like the first time in the meadow, but at least you hit your target.”
Yeah, I bet he’s got nine lives, too. “That happened because you pissed me off.”
“Then get pissed, Cheyenne. We’re not finished.”
Chapter Forty-Seven
With the wind knocked out of her, Cheyenne rolled onto her side and tried to ward her mentor off by raising a hand in surrender. “Okay, man. Okay. I think we’re finished.”
“I’m pretty sure the guy training you gets to decide that one.” Chuckling, Corian stepped toward her and nodded. “But it looks to me like you might be done for the night.”
“Yeah, good idea. Too bad I didn’t think of that.” When he leaned down and offered her his hand, the halfling snorted but took it. He pulled her to her feet, and she hissed in pain. “Ow. I honestly can’t tell what hurts more.”
“What are the options?”
“Everything.” She tried to smirk but ending up grimacing again as she slowly brushed dirt and pebbles and dry grass off her clothes.
“That’s a sign of improvement.”
“Huh. Doesn’t feel like it.”
“It will. When you can feel anything but pain again.” He laughed when she shot him a warning scowl. “That was good, kid. You worked hard. You focused. Still got a ways to go, but you’re getting there.”
“I have a feeling you’re gonna keep telling me that, no matter how many times I end up on the ground.”
“As many times as it takes.” Folding his arms, Corian turned around to take in their impromptu sparring ring. Almost all the grass had been uprooted by spears of rock jutting up from below the surface or snaking lines of upturned earth. A huge sheet of the steep earthen wall beyond the prison building separated from the rest and dropped with a thump to the lower level. “I think we’ve just about used this place up.”
Cheyenne snorted. “Ya think?”
The Nightstalker walked across the mess they’d made of Alcatraz Island and stooped to collect his potion ingredients and the intricate silver box off the ground. Pebbles and dust rained off the lid when he blew across it. “I’ll come back and do a little cleanup later. You should get home and try to sleep off those bruises.”
“Right. ‘Cause they’ll magically disappear if I get enough sleep.”
Sticking the box under one arm, Corian cast the spell to open a portal back to his basement in Richmond and nodded for the halfling to join him. “You know, I used to look forward to a good stiff drink after sparring and then heading to bed. Might help if you’re hurting too much to sleep.”
“You didn’t beat me up that much, cat man.” Rubbing the sore shoulder she’d landed on too many times to count, Cheyenne snatched up the copper legacy box and moved toward him until they both faced the open portal hovering above Alcatraz Island. “And unless you have a bottle of something buried in your shelves somewhere, I’m gonna have to pass. If I walk into a store looking like this, people will not sell me alcohol.”
Corian snorted and gestured for her to step through the portal. When she did, the salty, fishy tang of the ocean air was replaced by the smell of dust, cement, metal, and something a little like oranges. Then the Nightstalker joined her in his basement, and the portal shrank out of existence.
“I’m sure you’ll figure out what works.” He went to the metal shelves along the wall and carefully replaced the silver box before tossing everything else haphazardly onto different piles.
“Yeah, I’m getting pretty good at that.”
Chuckling, he turned back around and folded his arms. “You’re getting better. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t see it. And you can take a hit.”
“Or ten.”
“We’ll see if that number’s any bigger next time.” Corian peered at the metal door of his basement apartment and flicked his fingers at it. The orange light of his wards flashed and receded. “You’re good to go. After you put the pendant back on.”
With a nod, the halfling pulled the pendant out of her pocket and lifted it around her neck before tying another knot. She didn’t have to think about slipping back into her human form; the Heart of Midnight did it for her. “I have one more question to ask before I head out.”
The Nightstalker’s nose twitched. “If it’s about anything I’ve already said I can’t answer, Cheyenne, I have to—”
“No, not any of that stuff. It’s more like a favor, actually.” She glanced at the metal door.
“A favor.” Corian folded his arms and raised his eyebrows, leaning against the overstuffed shelf. “Go ahead, then.”
What’s the worst he could do? Say no again?
Cheyenne shrugged. “Any chance you could help me learn some spells? A friend of mine gave me this huge book of them, and I’ve already proven I have no idea what I’m doing with them.”
“Spells, huh? How many?”
“All of them.”
Corian snorted and dipped his chin to his chest in a failed attempt to hide his laughter. “You want me to teach you all the spells in someone else’s spellbook.”
“I like to think they were personally curated. Hopefully.”
With a soft growl of indecision, the Nightstalker turned around again and took stock of the chaotically organized junk filling the shelves. “Spells come in handy, I’ll give you that. Not for fighting, but for pretty much everything else.”
“So, it’s a plus for me to know a few.”
“Yes, Cheyenne. It couldn’t hurt.” He clicked his tongue, then turned back toward her. “All right
. If you want to add spells to this arrangement, that’s fine. Under two conditions.”
“Which are?”
“We hit the spellwork after your training. You should be focusing on the trials a lot more than learning fancy tricks with charms and wards. But if you think you have enough brainpower to do both, we’ll give it a shot.” He wrinkled his nose and turned back for one more sweeping glance at the overloaded shelving. “And you have to go get all the supplies. I’m almost out of everything remotely useful, and I try to stay out of Peridosh as much as possible.”
“Done. Two conditions I can totally live with.”
“Okay.” Corian nodded curtly before turning away from her and stalking across the bare concrete floors toward his cheap folding card table.
That’s my cue. “Okay.” Cheyenne turned toward the door, then stopped again, clenching her eyes shut. “Hey, do you know any way to keep people from finding me?”
The Nightstalker’s hand paused on the back of the metal chair. “Don’t take off the pendant, Cheyenne.”
“No, I mean people who already know where to find me. Like the guy who blew up my car this morning.” When he turned around again to face her, she shrugged. “I don’t like people showing up at my apartment without an invitation, and I’d really like to keep that Panamera in one piece.”
“I’d say the best way out of that situation is to find a new apartment.”
“That seems to be the only advice anyone has for me.”
“Magic and spells are great, kid, but they don’t solve all our problems. Sometimes they just make more.”
Cheyenne pressed her lips together to fight back another biting remark and decided just to nod instead. “Helpful hint. Thanks.”
She headed toward the door, stopping to drop the drow puzzle box into her backpack before slinging it over her shoulder.
“Once you find a new place, though,” he called after her, “let me know. I can show you how to cast wards that will at least keep anyone else from finding you again. You can handle the rest of it yourself.”
“That would be super helpful, yeah. Thanks.”