Luke looked down at his fingers and the fire that still twirled around them. “It’s not just a rumor. And the remaining members of the Dragon Guild have joined up with Gage. They were with Macaven before that. They are the ones who started all of this. They’re the ones who began killing people to raise a demon. And they’re within our reach. We can stop them.”
The anger and fight had left the crowd. Everyone was now focused on Luke. Wide eyes full of fear and suspicion watched his every move. I was no longer their target. With a sigh of relief, I let my spirit pack slowly drift away and turned to Luke. “You think it’s a smart idea to go back and take on Gage?”
“What choice do we have?” Luke answered, though he didn’t direct the question at me. His eyes were on his sister, surrounded by a semicircle of guild members.
I was surprised by his answer. He was acting impulsively. Luke wasn’t thinking—the dark emotions Caleb harbored ruled him, emotions which now swirled through him. I looked to Luke again and tried to reason with him. “Gage has powerful magic and strong mages with him.”
“I’m not afraid of Gage,” Darla declared.
“Then you’re a fool,” I answered immediately.
Darla was acting as impulsively as her brother. But her reasoning had less to do with following her brother’s lead and more to do with her hatred of me.
Darla’s eyes narrowed. “You can’t expect us to walk away. Not when you left those things…those abominations out there. I will not have someone else die because of your reckless, careless actions.”
How does she know about the zombies? It gave her one more reason to despise me. My face burning, I looked over to Luke. He was openly staring at me. He must know about the zombies by now, I thought. Gage would have talked about them. I decided not to address the topic and instead turned back to Darla.
She started to say something, but I raised a hand and interrupted. “Listen, I have no idea how to destroy the zombies. Eventually they fall apart, or you can hack them to pieces, but is there magic that can stop them? We don’t know. And going after Gage is suicide. You can’t hurt him. Gage can heal himself. It’s no good doing physical damage to him. I’ve watched his wounds close on their own.” I turned my attention back to Luke. “Gage has a vial of something like…nerve gas and everyone in its path dies. I saw him use it. I’ve seen what he can do.”
Luke and Darla considered each other. He looked angry, while she looked determined.
My words came out in a rush. “You can’t take him on—he has too much power, he has zombies, and he has hundreds of followers.”
Darla turned to her brother. “We are fifty strong. We’re all fully trained death dealers.” At her words, her brother’s face filled with surprise. “That’s right,” she continued, a hint of pride coloring her face. “I’m a death dealer now. I’ve gone through the rituals.”
Luke frowned. “But you’re only fifteen.”
Darla straightened her shoulders. “I’m sixteen. You’ve been gone a long time, brother. You don’t know what it’s been like.”
Luke looked around at the faces in the crowd standing before him. “Where’s Uncle Franklin? Where are the elders?”
“Uncle Franklin is alive. But for how long? You have no idea how many death dealers have died. Everyone has declared war against us. The most powerful of our kind have gone off to try to and round up as many death dealers as they can and bring them to the strongholds. That’s where your friend found us.” Darla waved her arm to encompass the group of young men and women standing around her. “We heard you needed help, so we came.”
Brother and sister looked at each other for a long moment.
I finally broke the silence. “Death dealers are in danger, which is why it’s important you don’t waste the lives of your people going against Gage.”
“We can take on Gage and his men.” Darla sounded so sure of herself.
“What about the demon?” I demanded.
Her gaze swung my way, and I realized by the look of apprehension on her face that she didn’t know the demon was close. They obviously hadn’t been planning on facing a demon. Mildred told them where we were and that we needed help, but she didn’t mention the demon?
“If the demon is here, then…we’ll destroy it.” Her voice suddenly sounded younger and vulnerable.
I tried again to reason with her. “We have no idea how much power the demon has, even in human form. “ I turned and looked at Luke. “You saw what that thing did to Macaven and his men.”
Luke looked away.
I looked back at Darla and pleaded. “Trust me, you don’t want to do this. You should wait—you need more reinforcements.”
“There is no one else,” she explained impatiently. “It’s only us.” Darla crossed her arms and faced me once again. “Whatever you say is not going to change our minds. We have to go in and kill Gage and the demon. They’ll come after us eventually. How many death dealers has he killed so far? How many more will die so he can create his zombie army? So you can create his army?” She angrily flung those last words at me.
She looked so young standing there with an openly defiant look on her face. She wanted to fight, wanted to rush in. I’d been that rash once, and Luke had died.
I turned to plead with Luke. “It’s suicide. Don’t go.”
“She’s right, Colina. We can’t let Gage or the demon get away. They have to pay for what they’ve done,” he said. He started to reach for me, but changed his mind. “Colina, I don’t want to put you back in danger.” He looked uncertain for a moment and looked at his sister, and then back at me. “If there is any chance of success, any chance of us all making it out alive, we need your magic.”
“It’s madness,” I whispered.
“If she’s too scared to go, then let her stay here. We don’t need her,” Darla spat.
Luke’s eyes never left mine as he said loudly, “You’ve just seen how powerful her magic is. She can cross banshees over to the next life. She single-handedly destroyed hellhounds.”
Darla looked at me as though I’d just sprouted two heads. “You killed hellhounds?” Her voice took on an accusatory tone “How dangerous have you become?”
I didn’t answer her. How could I? I didn’t even know what I’d become. I still didn’t have full control of my powers.
I looked at the young men and women standing around Darla. They were going to rush off to fight Gage, his death dealers, and a demon. I had counted close to one hundred people living within the tunnels and the mining town—there was no way the battle had killed them all. Even if the zombies had taken out a decent number, there would still be plenty of able-bodied men and women ready and willing to fight Darla and her guild.
And then there was the demon.
I looked over at Darla. Her young face was hard and set. Nothing I say is going to change her mind, I realized.
Luke turned and spoke to the crowd, effectively ending our argument. “We need to keep moving. As I’m sure Mildred told you, Gage and his people are set up in a town about three miles from here.”
Darla moved next to her brother and called out to her people. “We’ll stop and camp here and make our way to the town at dawn—that’s only a couple hours from now. Take a break and eat some food before we head out.”
I could tell by Luke’s expression that he didn’t like the delay. He started to open his mouth to say something, but the withering stare Darla had given me earlier was now directed at him.
Luke closed his mouth, obviously deciding not to press the point. He turned to Freddy. “Can you keep an eye on Colina? I want a word with my sister.”
“I’ll keep her safe,” Freddy answered as he gave me a wink. He straightened up, puffed out his chest, and gave the crowd a cold stare. Freddy, who didn’t have an ounce of magic, had suddenly taken on the role of my bodyguard. Freddy, whose loyalty and friendship had brought him to this place of danger.
Without another word, Luke motioned to his sister. He turned and w
alked into the trees. Darla slowly followed, her body tense and angry, but she turned back before following Luke away. She glared at me with obvious hatred. “Don’t even think of running away. After we deal with this—clean up another one of your messes—you are going back to my people to stand trial. You will pay for what you’ve done, and after my brother hears all your crimes, he will happily leave you to your fate.” She turned and marched away, dismissing me with disdain.
I wanted to hate her back, but instead I just felt shame. I looked around at the group still circling us. How many of their family and friends died because of me? They all knew their people were targets because of what I’d done. How many of them wanted to see me hang for my crimes?
Freddy gave me a wide grin that faltered into an embarrassed expression as he looked me up and down. He patted a backpack slung over his shoulder awkwardly. “I’ve got some extra clothes you can change into if you want. And I’ve got chips and cookies. I’m happy to share.”
“Terrific,” I said with a shudder, very aware of my barely there silk slip. I’m standing in front of everyone in my underwear. “What does she mean by a trial?”
Freddy looked uncomfortable. “I’m sure she’s not serious. Don’t worry about it.”
I sighed, suddenly very tired. “Freddy…just tell me.”
“Well, when a death dealer does something so bad that the family can’t deal with it, they form a tribunal of elders to hear the evidence and pass judgment.”
“What kind of judgment? What ever happened to ‘trial by jury’?”
“The death dealers have been taking care of their own justice since before the Constitution was written.” Freddy started, ready to give me a speech about the history of the Phoenix Guild, but I cut him off.
“What kind of judgment?”
He paused for a moment, obviously trying to decide whether to tell me the truth or a comforting lie. “There isn’t really a limit. They could put you on kitchen duty for a decade…or they could sentence you to death.” He looked at me with trepidation, waiting for me to explode, but I wasn’t really surprised. I just nodded and gestured at my slip awkwardly, effectively changing the subject and giving him a way out of the conversation.
Freddy walked toward a group of trees away from the group, and I followed, thankful to get away from their angry stares. He found a fallen log, sat down, put his pack on the ground, and opened it, pulling out some clothes and handing them over to me.
I gratefully took them and Freddy turned away while I got dressed. I stepped into a pair of green pants and pulled a camouflage T-shirt over the slip.
When I put on the shirt it caught against something. I looked down. The red ruby necklace still hung from my neck. I reached around and unclasped it and it fell into my palm. I slid it into the pocket of my pants.
When I was done, Freddy grabbed a bag of chips and threw them at me. “From what I’ve heard, you guys have been through quite an adventure.”
“We have,” I answered.
“The old lady who brought us news that you guys were alive—”
I interrupted him, “Mildred. Her name is Mildred.”
“Right, Mildred. You should’ve seen the commotion she caused. The minute she came and told us you guys needed help, Darla scrambled together a rescue party.”
“A rescue party to save Luke, not me.” When he didn’t say anything, I continued. “We both know Darla and her people only came because of Luke. She told me herself—she wants me to die.”
“She was just angry when she said it.”
“And she’s not angry anymore?”
He laughed. “No, she’s still angry. But she won’t hurt you.” He saw my skeptical look and put his hand on my shoulder. “Seriously, she won’t. If she did, Luke would never forgive her.”
“You really think that would stop her?” I asked.
“I know she loves her brother. She would do anything for him. She’d never intentionally do anything to hurt him.” He handed me a chocolate chip cookie.
“And what about the rest of the group?” I could see flames through the trees—someone had started a small campfire. I could see young death dealers milling around it, far enough away that we could talk without being overheard. But even with the distance, I still felt the pressure of being watched, and I knew that Darla had set guards that observed us from somewhere in the darkness. One of the death dealers had already sent their banshees at me. How long until it happened again?
Freddy took a bite of cookie and chewed on it a while before answering. “You can trust these people.”
“How did Darla end up in charge of the rescue party?” I asked, opening the bag of chips. “She’s awfully young, isn’t she?” Many of the mages within the group were older than she was. How powerful was she?
“The death dealer guilds aren’t monarchies or anything like that, but Luke and Darla are from a very old family. Their family has led the Phoenix Guild for generations; their uncle is the current guild leader. They’re a powerful family, yes, but the guild really follows them because they’re natural leaders.” He shrugged. “When Mildred came into our camp, most of the adults were out trying to save as many of the other guilds as they could and bring them back to their old bolt-holes.”
“Bolt-holes?”
Speaking through another mouthful of cookie, he explained, “You might not know this, but death dealer guilds have only been in the public eye for a few generations. Before that, they hid from the world in isolated communities. When they came out of hiding, most of these old villages and camps were mothballed, but some guilds maintained them. Now they’re like sanctuaries.”
Freddy had no magical abilities, yet he knew intimate details about the guilds. “You know an awful lot about how the guilds work,” I said.
He gave me a sheepish grin. “I’m not supposed to know any of this stuff.” He looked around as if suddenly worried we might be overheard, but there was no one close by. “Luke and I grew up together. There are no secrets between us. Anyway, do you want to know or not?” he asked, an amused look on his face.
I raised my hands in surrender. “Continue on, please.” He was telling me more about the guilds than Luke ever had.
“The guild members return to those sanctuaries for important events and rituals, and sometimes just to get away from the hate of modern society.”
“So that’s where Luke’s uncle was when I first came looking for a teacher?”
“Yes. Many of the sanctuaries—sometimes they’re called strongholds—have no phones, televisions, or electricity. The same isolation that makes those places safe also makes them hard to contact.”
I looked over to where Darla and her people were gathered. “You were telling me how Darla ended up in charge.”
He took a deep, exaggerated breath and then continued. “Yes…well, as I was saying, when Mildred came into the village, only a few adult mages were there, left behind to keep an eye on the families. They were not willing to mount a rescue party, and they forbade Darla to try it on her own.”
“So Darla went against their orders.”
“Darla gathered a group of volunteers and snuck out of the camp. Everyone here is a volunteer, ignoring the wishes of the guild. Darla put this all together on her own.”
The moment Darla heard that Luke was here, of course she would move heaven and earth to get to him. “So she put all of this together to save Luke?”
Freddy paused, looking uncomfortable, and it finally dawned on me, her true purpose in coming here.
“Darla didn’t come for Luke,” I said flatly. It wasn’t a question.
He reached out to lay a reassuring hand on my shoulder. “Darla didn’t believe Luke was alive. She used a different motivation to get them all to come. But that’s all changed now.”
But I’d stopped listening. My suspicion was right. Me. They came to kill me.
* * *
When Luke approached Freddy and me a while later, he looked angry. It was a familiar look o
n Caleb’s face.
“Is everything okay?” I asked.
His eyes met mine and he tried for a smile, but didn’t quite pull it off. “Everything’s fine.”
Whatever words brother and sister had exchanged, they had clearly been heated.
Freddy got up and gave me a smile before walking off. I passed Luke the almost-empty bag of chips.
“Thanks,” he said, settling down next to me on the log.
I’d begun unwinding the complicated braids Sonja had fashioned in my hair while waiting for Luke, and now I finished, pulling apart the last few strands. My hair hung down to my shoulders in waves.
Luke watched me. “That was quite the dress you had on back there.”
I couldn’t tell if he was teasing me. “Gage does love his fancy parties.”
“But this wasn’t just a party, was it?” Luke said, his tone suddenly void of emotion.
I couldn’t tell by his expression what he was thinking. I started to reach out to touch his hand, but stopped myself. “You know, don’t you? You know he forced me to marry him.”
This time there was no missing the flash of anger that flickered through his eyes. “Yes.”
My mouth went dry. Did Mildred tell him what Gage had done to me? That he messed with my mind and emotions until I was nothing but a mindless, love-stricken idiot? If Mildred hadn’t broken the spell… I looked off into the woods. I couldn’t bear the thought of what might have happened if she hadn’t restored my reason. But then again, Mildred didn’t truly break the spell—she only loosened it. I still felt drawn toward Gage when I was close to him. My head filled with hideous thoughts of love for the monster whenever I thought of him or he was around.
When I looked up at Luke, he was staring down at his hands.
“I didn’t have a choice…” My words faltered. I took a deep breath and tried again. “He forced me—”
Luke raised a hand and stopped me. “I don’t blame you for what happened. Gage arranged all of this because he wanted your magic.”
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