by Eden Reign
A familiar call froze her in place. “Manda! Grey!” Jackson’s rage pulsed through his roar. Manda hurried to the front window, staring out, disbelieving. Jackson vaulted from his horse and threw his fist into the first man’s face, leaving him a broken heap on the front lawn. The second man fell, flattened with a burst of Jackson’s fire. The third met Jackson with his own fists and managed two solid punches to Jackson’s midriff and one to his jaw before Jackson twisted him around his back like pastry dough and tossed him to the ground, yanking off a strand of fire he’d used to bind the man’s firepower and render him ineffective. The fourth one didn’t put up any resistance at all. He fled to the road, his feet pounding into silence as he ran for his life.
Manda shakily released her steel-water walls, letting the liquid flow outward to extinguish the fire eating the cabin’s frame. The flames died with loud hisses.
“Jackson,” Manda cried, running to him. A bruise was beginning to darken his jaw. She touched it lightly. “Did they hurt you?”
Jackson hauled her into his arms. “Don’t ask me,” he growled. “I can’t feel pain right now.” He kissed her, roughly. There were no polite manners in this kiss, no guarded reservations that asked permission. He fitted her tightly to him and dragged his mouth across her lips, to her jaw, to her throat, his breathing ragged. “Manda,” he said, “I didn’t know if I would make it in time. By the Wells, if I had been minutes later…” He trailed off, finding her lips again.
Manda stepped back, searching his face. “Why? Jackson?” Fear hid in her words. “What has happened?”
“Those were Daniel Lake’s spies. I left Coalhaven to rescue you.”
“But—what about Coalhaven? What if Daniel returns there?”
“I left it in Mr. Stone’s hands. We were in the process of creating protective boundaries all around the property when Daniel arrived. I didn’t finish mine, I was so worried over you and Grey.”
“We’re fine. Thanks to you.”
“We must find you and Grey somewhere better to live than this. Somewhere safer. Somewhere impregnable.”
Manda frowned. “No, Jackson, no more of this. We’ll all go back to Coalhaven together. No more running and hiding. I have been hiding my entire life. No more.”
A shadow passed over Jackson’s face. “I fear Daniel Lake’s aggression has only just begun. He will be back, with more support. I have a fight ahead. I don’t know how it will go,” he said.
Manda tilted her head and smiled.
Confusion creased Jackson’s brow. “What is amusing?”
“We, Jackson,” Manda murmured. “We have a fight ahead. We’re coming with you. It is time that we bring that vile man down.”
Chapter 25
Jackson
Grey, who’d slept through the attack and its aftermath, had been only too pleased to be loaded onto Traveller, Jackson’s saddlebred war horse. The boy sat before Jackson, wide awake despite the pre-dawn hour, chattering about what he’d been up to since leaving Coalhaven. Manda rode beside them on Beau, who’d rather sheepishly crept back to the cabin after the action had died down. She looked a bit stiff. They’d ridden through the night and had reached Savana’s northern pike, though the entrance to Coalhaven was still out of sight.
“And then Manda showed me how she makes her water shields. She put them on all the windows and all around the house! Did you see them? I’m learning how to make one, too, but they’re hard.”
“You mean Miss Rivers,” Jackson said. “Don’t be disrespectful, Grey.”
Manda shifted in her saddle. “I’ve been letting him call me Manda. Jackson, I learned some things while I was going through my mother’s papers.” She cast him a significant look. “Important things. Grey is my—”
Rustling leaves and heaving breaths sounded from the dense overgrowth lining the road. Sweat broke on Jackson’s brow as he reined in Traveller and barked, “Manda, behind me.”
“Master Coal!” Mr. Stone crashed through the shrubberies, pulling a dust-blown Rose Westerly behind him. The poor girl looked a mess, her skirts stained with dirt, her dark hair sticking straight out, her apron torn and hanging from the waist. Stone brushed off the leaves caught in his cuff and straightened his coat, as though he’d just thrown open the doors of Coalhaven rather than bursting from the bramble-covered verge of the road.
“Sacred Wells, Mr. Stone, you gave us a fright!” Jackson softened his grip on Grey.
“Thank the Good Waters we found you in time,” Mr. Stone said with uncharacteristic urgency. “Coalhaven has been invaded, sir. We were forced to flee, and I hoped to intercept you before you came to your property boundaries.”
“Invaded? They’ve invaded Coalhaven?” Jackson’s voice rose in fury. Grey grew still and tense. “Daniel Lake, I suppose? How?”
“Daniel Lake, the Blazens, and at least thirty fullmages from all the elemental types. They came through the western boundary. Abigail Windham—” Stone’s tone hardened “—released her wards there and let them through. That girl is a liability, a Brotherhood loyalist and a danger to us all. I checked her wards personally, sir, and they were sound. She let them through on purpose.”
“The traitorous little wretch,” Jackson said darkly. “I’d hoped that Miss Westerly’s presence would keep her in line—”
“I did keep a close eye on her, Master Coal.” Miss Westerly’s dark gaze fastened to Jackson’s. “Which goes to show: she had to have returned after the wards were completed and opened them again.”
Jackson nodded grimly. “I should never have trusted her.”
“Once Lake and his men had gained access to the property, we had no choice but to retreat,” Stone went on. “He brought thirty men, and now your wards are dismantled, and Master Lake has set up his own surrounding the property, though he left your undeveloped acreage unprotected, assuming, I’d guess, that there is nothing of value on that land. Sir, his elemental square is complete.”
Miss Westerly tried unsuccessfully to tidy her hair. “We walked all around the property, Master Coal, and we felt them. Powerful wards, much more complicated than the ones Abigail and I made before. Mr. Stone said he’d need to probe them up close to understand them.”
“There was no time for the in-depth examination they needed,” Stone added, apologetically.
“How did you escape?” Manda asked.
“Once Master Lake and his men had gained access to the property, we had little time to decide what to do. We had no hope of taking a stand against so many. We’d have been overwhelmed,” Mr. Stone answered. “Mr. Flacks and Mr. Reed agreed to stay on the inside with the croppers, so they wouldn’t be entirely unprotected. Miss Westerly and I knew we had to get word to you as soon as possible. We slipped through the line of earth-wards I’d made to complete the southern boundary where you had not finished, and we’ve been hiding and searching for you ever since. We didn’t dare stray far from the main road, as I didn’t know from which direction you’d be coming.”
“Do you think the road is being watched?” Manda’s voiced trembled. Jackson worried all over again that he shouldn’t have brought her and Grey back to Coalhaven.
But Manda squared her shoulders, and he pushed aside his fears in favor of strategy. Manda was skilled and powerful in her own right. Not only could she take care of herself, she could take care of Grey, too. He was going to need all the help he could get to win back his plantation. He should have fired that wretched maid Abigail straight away when he’d returned to Coalhaven.
“How are the croppers?” he asked Stone. “Nobody was hurt, were they?”
“They’re lying low. Mr. Flacks is cooperating with Lake and his men for the moment, but he’ll be a help to us in any way he can. The same with Mr. Reed and Mr. Driver. They will be our allies inside.”
“All right,” Jackson said, tallying his assets. “First we have to dismantle Daniel’s new boundary wards. I presume he’s done them in the usual way: earth on the north, air on the west, fire south, an
d water east?”
“Yes, sir,” Stone replied. “I saw them setting them on the western side. Two mages working together on every ward.”
Jackson frowned. “That’s not typical. Blazing fires, I wonder what Daniel has in store for us.” His thoughts churned. “All right. You three and Grey will remain here—off the road—while I scout. We’ll make a plan once I better understand what we’re facing.”
“Jackson, I want to come with you.” Manda’s wide blue eyes had grown even larger.
“Grey needs you.” Jackson dismounted and helped Grey down from Traveller’s back, lifting him to sit in front of Manda on Beau. He released the child, allowing his hand to rest on Manda’s leg for one pleasurable moment. How good it felt to touch her again, like coming home.
Suddenly a pounding gait beat down the Savana Pike. Jackson urged Manda, Grey, and Beau into the beautyberry shrubs lining the road and dove in behind them, followed by Stone and Rose.
But the man hurtling down the road was no enemy—it was Mr. Flacks, who was supposed to be inside the plantation boundaries with the croppers.
Jackson shoved through the greenery. “Flacks! What is it?”
Mr. Flacks pulled up short, his broad chest heaving. “M—Master Coal! Thank the Sacred Wells you’re back! I was hoping to find Mr. Stone. They’ve—Master Lake and his men—they’ve sequestered all the croppers in a ring of water and taken Driver and Reed captive. The croppers are terrorized. There are children in there, sir! Infants—babes in arms.” Mr. Flacks ran his hands through his sweaty blond hair. “Master Lake has them all trapped, facing certain drowning at his whim. There’s so much water, they’ll never survive being submerged in it. We have no time to lose.”
“How did you get out of Coalhaven, Mr. Flacks?”
“They kicked me out, sir. Hauled me right out to the end of the drive. I was trying to protect the croppers and their families, but my earth-wards could not stand against Lake and his men. Too many. They just had too many. I’m sorry.”
“There were no wards on the property entrance at the gate?” Jackson asked sharply. The overseer looked worse for the wear, his face shadowed with fatigue, his short blond hair spiked with sweat. He had lost his ever-present wide-brimmed hat, and he looked younger without it.
“There were fire-wards, but Wilcott Blazen and another mage personally escorted me through them, dismantling them and reestablishing them as we went.” He slapped at his thick arm, where ashen flecks had burned his sleeve. “There’s not a piece of Coalhaven that isn’t locked up in wards, with the exception of your piece of acreage to the northwest. How will we get back in there? That sea water could spill at any moment, killing the croppers.”
Mr. Stone slipped to Jackson and Manda’s other side in that silent way he had. “We’ll all have to go now,” he said. “We’ll face the wards as best we can, whatever we find.”
Jackson frowned. “Miss Westerly, you’ll remain with Grey. I’ll give you my horse, Beau, and you’ll go deeper into the woods, to the clearing west of here, where you can remain safe until our return. Protect Grey with all you have.” Jackson patted Grey’s leg where he still sat on the horse. “This is important, Grey. You are to obey Miss Westerly, whatever she says. She will need your compliance without hesitation or question. We’ll come back for you soon.”
The boy’s lower lip trembled. “Nothing—nothing’s going to happen to you—P—Papa, is it? Not like my other papa?”
Jackson’s heart gave a painful, powerful lurch. Grey had called him Papa. He’d never done that before. “Everything will be fine, son. There are matters I must clean up before we can return to Coalhaven. Be good.”
Manda dismounted gracefully and squeezed Grey’s foot. “We’ll be back before you know it, Grey. We love you.” Tears gathered in her eyes, and it nearly fractured Jackson’s heart.
“Mr. Flacks, Mr. Stone, I shall require your assistance. Manda, you’ll take the water-wards on the eastern flank along the shore. Mr. Flacks, you’ll go for the air-wards on the western perimeter. I know that pits your weakness against the air-wards, Flacks, but it can’t be any worse than the boundary wards we faced at Shay Loche. Mr. Stone, please take the north side of the property. Our task, mages, is to dismantle the protective wards around Coalhaven and then to access the property. Once you have done so, head directly for the servants’ quarters northwest of the main house, where we will reconnoiter and assess our position. If you get into trouble, send a signal of your element into the air. Remember, slow, cautious steps are best when working with wards. Take them one piece at a time. Are we all prepared?”
Mr. Flacks nodded. Mr. Stone said, “Yes, sir.”
Manda took Jackson’s hand. He squeezed it, his fingers sliding between hers.
“Let’s go then,” Jackson said. “Remember, our goal is to enter the property with no one being the wiser. Once we’ve gained access, we’ll have a better sense of what we face within. Avoid the front entrance and use a route on the approach that will offer you the most cover. Assume if Lake and his men see you, they will attack, and be prepared to defend yourselves. Above all, we must free the croppers and their families with no casualties. Onward to Coalhaven!”
It took all Jackson’s leadership skills to keep his voice steady. The odds were not in his favor, and he knew it.
Chapter 26
Manda
Manda stepped into the marshy waters of the inlet east of Jackson’s indigo fields. The water surged into her boots, soaking her stockings and her hems. She glanced to the south, towards Jackson, but the trees lining the fields concealed him.
She took an unsteady breath, shivering at the cold liquid pooling around her legs as she edged nearer to the land. Enormous boulders that hadn't been there before shielded her view of the plantation. They jutted out of the reeds on the shore like broken teeth, creating a physical barrier she would have to climb once she dismantled the wards.
She stretched out her hand when she drew close, but it rebounded, as though it had gained a life of its own. The invisible ward barrier stood between the water and the stiff reeds that marked the inlet's boundary in front of the boulders.
Manda’s skin smarted from contact with the ward. It had nearly burned her, but these weren’t fire-wards, unless—had Daniel somehow managed to weave two different elements into one ward? Nanu mages sometimes did that, and Manda had heard that such mixed spells had been used during the war, too.
Vague shimmers showed her the water-wards along the eastern perimeter of the property. How dare Daniel Lake take what was Jackson’s and turn it against him? The man was pure evil.
She moved farther along the shore. The wards were placed so thickly that there was no space whatsoever between them.
She could feel their liquid strength via her own water-sense. But that other element—fire, Manda assumed from wards’ heat—blended with it. Daniel must have set the powerful wards with a firemage, perhaps Wilcott Blazen himself, to create this effect.
Manda’s stomach tightened. Had he combined elements in the wards for the other four sides of the property, too?
A water-ward hissed as heat waves exploded from it. Casting aside her uncertainties, Manda concentrated on the wet feel of water against her feet and shins. Liquid vibrated and danced as it coursed through her body. She opened her palms and let water erupt from them.
Her water rose high and wide in a glistening shield, thin and strong. She could see through it, stretch it, and maneuver it with the finesse of a master glass-blower. She prodded it, testing its strength. It didn’t give even a little.
A prod was a far cry from setting off a ward, but there was no other choice. She had to enter, and going straight through the mixed wards using a halfmage shield was the most efficient method in her arsenal.
She stepped into the reeds, hitting the first row of wards. Heat lit up her shield as a towering wall of flame roared to life in front of her. She nearly released her grip on the shield at the burn; she hadn’t expected the mi
xed ward to be so powerful. Fire licked at her slick water, seeking fuel and purchase where there was none.
She held on, breathing a sigh of relief as the fire finally died in a fizzle of steam.
But then the water part of the ward activated. A geyser shot skyward only a step in front of her. The water had force and fury, and as it exploded into a torrent, it grew, reaching high above the tallest trees or Coalhaven’s roof. Daniel Lake would surely see that. Manda yanked her shield around her body, snapping it closed overhead. The pocket of air around her would last only a short while; she hoped it would be long enough to withstand any further attack made by the triggered wards.
The geyser rained over her and the boulders in a deafening roar, every drop like a steel-coated bullet, powered by speed and momentum. Inside her shell, Manda slipped as she strained to keep the shield in place against the water pummeling it from above. Sweat poured down her temples. She sputtered for breath in the tight, small air pocket around her.
As the geyser finally lost its power and burbled down to a mere fountain, she nearly collapsed to her knees. Only her shield kept her in place. Holding the halfmage shield’s strength was exhausting, but Manda, gathering it close to free a hand, proceeded forward, climbing the widest crevice among the boulders. She pushed over the top and caught her breath at the zenith. The plantation looked deceptively peaceful below, with the white house rising majestically among the oaks and magnolias.
But Manda knew the enemy lurked nearby. She’d cleared the first row of wards, though the geyser had surely alerted them to her presence. A second row stood another fifteen feet or so in front of her, on the other side of the boulders. The wards shimmered in the sunlight.
She either had to move on through the second row or turn back now. Her flagging strength told her she could only maintain this shield through one more set of wards.