Dead Magic

by A. J. Maguire

  "Is Lorant House the only one that collects herbs between the Pillars?"

  "I don't think they're the only house, but they're certainly the largest," Rorant said.

  "Where do they take the herbs to be processed?" Winslow asked.

  "To a storehouse just behind the fortress," Rorant said, standing up.

  "It's close enough to the Fortress that two ladies wouldn't rouse suspicion walking through. They'd be comfortable and out of the way," Winslow said.

  Rorant came around the desk and charged for the office door.

  "Victor!" Rorant shouted into the hallway. "Get the carriage out front!"

  Valeda stood as Winslow walked to her. "This next bit could be dangerous, Vee."

  "There was a dead man in my bed earlier today," she said. "I imagine I can handle it."

  Winslow glanced at Rorant, who was watching them with open curiosity. He gritted his teeth and focused on Valeda's face. She looked quite determined, which made him sigh.

  "Stay close to me," he said, and waited for her to nod before taking her hand and hurrying out the door.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  "I'm sorry Elsie," Dorian said quietly.

  He hurt like crazy and the blasted Remora stone kept him powerless, but at least they were alone. Alois had left them an hour after having relocated them both into a large, central chamber. Most of the room was in shadow, but he could make out a bulky, draped contraption to the left of their position. Bundles of different herbs hung from beams that ran parallel across the room. He scowled at them, recognizing at once where they were.

  "This isn't your fault, Dorian."

  "I should have known they'd suspect Feverrette House of harboring us," he said. "We would have been safer on our own."

  "No," Elsie murmured. He could sense in her voice that she wasn't really listening to him. "They would have found us anywhere. This was meant to be."

  His gaze fell to her gloved arm. "Magic told you this would happen?"

  "No."

  Dorian frowned and debated arguing further. But she needed her focus right now. She needed to access Magic, if she could. It was their only chance at surviving this. Fates knew no one else could find them. He just hoped Elsie could manage the feat before his stepmother made her big move.

  So, he focused on what he could do instead. The effects of the poison were slowly wearing off, but his body felt like it had been dragged through town behind a horse. He shifted in his chair, trying to dislodge the stone or loosen the ropes. Neither worked. He scanned the room for something sharp, but found nothing.

  He spotted the corner of a table and thought he might be able to scrape the ropes up and over his shoulder. They were damned tight, but it was worth a try. Dorian scooted his chair to the closest table. It was hard work and far too noisy. Every time his chair clattered against the ground, he checked the door.

  Finally, flush against the table's edge, Dorian began rubbing his arm, and subsequently the topmost rope, over the hard surface. Wood scraped into his skin and he couldn't lean forward enough to make the rope move very far.

  The door opened and his heart fell. They were out of time. Lady Minne Orzebet led Lady Loreena Lorant and Alois into the room. If she noticed what he'd been trying to do, she didn't comment. In fact, his stepmother looked more than pleased. Her wide cheeks dimpled and her eyes creased into sharp blue slits as she smiled at them.

  "Lord and Lady Delgora, how nice to see you," Minne said.

  "Hello, stepmother," Dorian said. "You're looking less morose today."

  He kept his tone flat and forced himself not to look at Elsie. They needed time, so he'd find a way to get it. He'd avoided Minne most of his life, so he wasn't certain how well he could goad her, but it was worth a try. She was known for her dramatics throughout Magnellum and he thought that was a good place to start.

  "Charming, Saldorian," Minne said. "But you won't upset me today."

  "Oh, I don't know. We just got started. I might have a chance yet."

  Minne laughed and twirled across the room, skirts flaring out from her stocky, rotund frame. For a larger woman, Minne Orzebet still managed to look elegant. Dorian thought that might be a blessing of the Talent.

  He saw Alois lock the door and lean against it. The move was smugly casual and Dorian had the awful sensation that he was already beaten. But this is my half-brother, he thought. He knew this man, right down to the way he preferred his toast. Alois was a bitter, angry, unforgiving man, and that made him dangerous. But he was also arrogant and assuming. Alois probably thought the fight was already over.

  Dorian took a deep breath. This was the last mistake his brother would ever make.

  "I wonder, Lord Delgora, that you can be so flippant in your current situation," Lady Loreena said.

  Dorian focused on the prim, chestnut-haired woman in the corner. She's as cold as winter, he thought, and just as dead. There was no life in her face, not even a spark of hate in her blue eyes. Dorian felt an intense pity for her. She'd had her husband executed for treason against Magnellum and one of her daughters killed by a Dellidus creature. And both those circumstances could be traced back to Elsie Varene Delgora.

  "Yes, well, if I'm to meet my death, I should prefer to go with style," Dorian said.

  Minne laughed again. "Don't be so silly," she said. "We don't mean to kill you."

  "You don't?"

  Minne walked to the contraption and fingered the cloth concealing it. She smiled up at it with something akin to admiration and Dorian felt fear lock in his chest. What else could they mean to do if not kill them?

  "We're not stupid," Loreena said. "Killing you would result in the death of the entire Delgora state. The Pillars would collapse and thousands of Untalented would die."

  "I find it hard to believe that you care about the Untalented," he said.

  "We don't," Alois said. "But the Council does. Some within that antiquated group still believe our charge is to protect the people. They would hardly look on us kindly if we caused the deaths of so many."

  "They will hardly look on you kindly for stealing Remora stones and holding two Witch-Born against their will," Dorian said.

  "I doubt they will care once Magic has been set free," Minne said.

  "Set free?" Dorian asked with a frown. "Set free from what?"

  Minne tugged on the fabric, pulling it down in a wide, sweeping motion. Underneath was a disturbing rendition of a guillotine. It was smaller, with an added length of wood set at a ninety-degree angle from the chopping block. The angled blade was already raised, tied off at the side in a hard knot.

  Dorian gazed at it in horror and finally looked at Elsie. They meant to take off her arm. Elsie didn't seem to notice the threat. Her eyes stayed focused on something he couldn't see and he knew her mind was far off.

  "You can't!" he said. "You'll kill her!"

  Minne grasped the contraption and wheeled it over to Elsie, humming some cheerful tune.

  "Don't worry," Alois said with a sneer. "We'll free you in time to heal her."

  Dorian struggled against the ropes, twisting and turning. He spotted Minne removing Elsie's glove, saw the tattoos glinting in the light. He thought maybe one or two were glowing, but he couldn't be sure. Straining against the ropes, he managed to tilt his chair and the whole thing teetered to the left. Dorian crashed onto the ground on his left and squirmed some more, hoping at least to dislodge the cursed stone from his chest. He heard Loreena call for Alois to do something and then pain exploded in his ribcage.

  Alois stood over him, grinning, and kicked him again. Dorian gasped and wheezed. He coughed into the cold, dirty floor and tried to find some sense of coherency. He had to do something.

  "Help me here," Minne said.

  Alois left him to aid his mother in untying Elsie. They pulled her right arm free and slid it into the device. A wooden slat clamped down against Elsie's shoulder, pinning her there. Elsie closed her eyes, either from defeat or for better focus, Dorian couldn't tel
l. But if she was communing with Magic, then Magic had better make his move soon.

  Someone pounded on the door, startling them all. Loreena detached from the corner, her eyes riveted on the door.

  "How did they find us?" she asked. Her voice was panicked-the first sign of emotion he'd seen from her.

  "It doesn't matter. They can't get through," Alois said. "Hurry up and do it, Mother."

  "Minne Orzebet! I order you to open this door!" Rorant's voice roared from the other side.

  "They're Witch-Born," Loreena said. "They can get through. Quickly, Minne!"

  "No!" Dorian shouted.

  Minne pulled a dagger from her belt and started sawing through the rope. The door rattled as something hit it. Dorian glanced between the door and the guillotine rope, still struggling to get free and praying his father managed to break in before it was too late. And then, impossibly, he felt his Talent flare to life.

  Confused, he glanced at the Remora stone, but it had fallen off in the middle of his struggle. He spotted its roll away from him and toward Alois's feet.

  Dorian snapped the ropes off and leapt to his feet. Alois blinked at him in surprise and opened his mouth as though to shout. Dorian didn't give him the chance. Bending time and propelling himself with his magic, Dorian punched Alois three times; twice in the ribs and once in the jaw. Alois staggered away and Dorian rushed for Elsie.

  The cord to the guillotine broke and the blade started to descend. Dorian focused everything he had on the rope, reaching for it as it zipped through the air. He heard Minne and Loreena screaming, heard Alois cursing just behind him, and the door splintered open. He reached the rope. Its rough strands bit into his palm as he snagged it to a stop.

  The blade hovered just above Elsie's arm. Each tattoo was lit in her skin; swirling golden patterns glowing brighter with each passing second. Dorian stared-they all stared-as Elsie unraveled the ropes binding her with a touch of her finger. She unlatched the wooden clamp holding her down and sat up. The Remora stone tumbled off her chest, but Elsie caught it with her free hand.

  "This isn't possible," Minne said.

  Winslow shoved the door open and the room became suddenly crowded. Rorant, Victor, Winslow and Valeda hurried in, only to stop and stare at Elsie. Or Elsie's arm, at least, and the Remora stone still held in her grasp.

  "This isn't possible," Minne said again.

  Dorian stayed where he was, close enough to her that he could smell the power in her. Her face was wrong somehow, too calm for their circumstances. Her umber gaze was replaced with sheer, clear blue. Magic's eyes, he knew; so deep and pure a blue that it was like staring up into a summer sky. His Talent was quietly in awe. Dorian was so entranced by the sight that he didn't see Loreena move toward Elsie.

  "Look out!" Valeda shouted.

  Winslow dived forward, blocking Elsie from the Lady. Dorian released the rope and turned, letting the guillotine slam into its base. He spotted movement at the corner of his eye. Minne bent time, grabbed him by the shoulder, and thrust her dagger into his back. He felt it skim against his spine, felt the arch of it pierce his lung, and choked on a surprised gasp.

  His father screamed something angry, but Dorian was too focused on the blade to hear it. Minne twisted the knife, ripping through muscle and sinew before yanking it out. She drew back to stab him again when the whole room stopped moving.

  Agony pulsed through his wound. Dorian didn't know how much time he had, but he focused his Talent on healing himself anyway. In his mind he mapped out the injury, noting every torn and flayed muscle before accessing his magic to mend it. An injury this large normally required focus and rest, but Dorian had lived through enough assassination attempts that he'd almost perfected the rushed version of healing.

  The trick was to take the mortality out of the equation. He could heal the wound until it was no longer a threat to his life and then leave it for later. Of course, this always meant he had to go back and fix it for real, but at least he could move and fight his way out of the situation. Only this time, when he was finished, he discovered that he still couldn't move.

  Confused, Dorian refocused on the room.

  Someone was bending time.

  A time-bend was nothing new for the Witch-Born. But bending time was specific to the person. Everything slowed down for the individual, not for the whole world or even a whole room. This was bizarre and frightening.

  He looked to Elsie, who stayed motionless in her chair. Her eyes were still blue, still focused, but he could read in them a question meant only for him. A second later, as though confirming his own thoughts, he heard Magic's voice in his core.

  Are you ready, Saldorian?

  If he could have, he might have smiled, but in his frozen state he couldn't even move his mouth to do that. Magic was bending time. He really should have suspected as much.

  Time released and Dorian quickly moved to evade his stepmother's second attack. Spinning on the ball of his foot, he rolled around Minne's outstretched arm, coming into position just behind her. She swung again, turning with her attack, but Rorant beat her to it. Suddenly his father was there, grabbing Minne's arm and yanking it about until he'd craned it at an awkward angle against her back.

  Minne shouted in pain. Dorian felt her start to draw on her Talent. He tried to prepare himself for whatever spell she might cast in her effort to get away, but then, just as suddenly as she'd started to gather her power, it left her. Yellow light burst from her center, snapping across the room until it settled into Elsie's Remora stone. A moment later, two similar lights were yanked from Loreena and Alois, both of them fusing with the glowing green stone.

  "No!" Minne shouted. "What have you done?"

  Dorian stepped back from his stepmother and cringed. Pain spiked through his partially healed wound and he held his side in an effort to keep balance. The room spun in his vision but he caught the basics of the battle. Winslow had subdued Loreena, who was face down on the stone floor and looking dazed. Victor had managed to pierce Alois with a Remora stone dagger, which put the man out of the fight as well.

  Valeda Quinlan knelt beside Elsie, but looked too frightened to touch her. Not that Dorian could blame Valeda. Elsie still had that fixed blue gaze and Dorian could sense that his wife was not really present in these proceedings.

  "I have no heir!" Minne wailed and struggled against Rorant's grasp. "Think of my people!"

  Dorian looked down at the stone in Elsie's hands. Remora stones were always green, but this one was lit from the inside. The combined Talents of three Witches lay trapped inside and Dorian couldn't suppress a shudder. Every Witch-Born feared the day their Talents might leave them. And Magic had very quickly, without preamble, taken back the blessing he had given those three.

  "Magic!" Minne said, addressing Elsie. "I know you can hear me, my Lord! You must know that I did it for you. It was all for you, my Lord. To free you from her."

  Elsie did not look at her. Instead, she very slowly handed the glowing stone to Valeda, who took it with quiet reverence. Dorian watched as Elsie smiled compassionately at Valeda and touched her cheek as a mother might a child. The voice that spoke through his wife was not her own, but that of Magic, reverberating through his core.

  "I am where I must be."

  "What?" Minne gasped. "No, that can't be true. I can free you! Don't you all see? I can free him!"

  The tattoos in Elsie's arm faded. She blinked once and her golden eyes were back, no longer the blue of Magic. Dorian felt a surge of relief and limped to her side. Elsie smiled up at him, exhaustion lining her features.

  ***

  Elsie slumped against Dorian in the private carriage and sighed. Valeda and Winslow sat across from them, looking every bit as exhausted as she felt. But then, she thought as the carriage lurched forward, my exhaustion is unnatural. This was more than the feeling of too many hours at practice. Her arm felt numb, heavy and dead, and were she not cradling it in her lap, she thought it might slip right off her body.


  She'd been aware of the goings on in that little room under the fortress, but she had also been distant from it. The moment Alois had kicked Dorian in the gut, she'd been yanked from her very consciousness and shoved into a corner in her mind. Magic could take her form, could use her body in any way he pleased. As humbling as this revelation was, Elsie couldn't help wondering why he hadn't done it before.

  Surely the people would listen to him more than they listened to her.

  Brasen has never been put back, she thought. Magic had become Brasen. Why would Magic remain in him, but only half participate in me? Is it a gender issue? Or had the Dellidus taken so much power that Magic was now unable to come and go as he pleased? It had taken quite a bit of focus to work around that stone and at first Elsie had only found the faintest pinprick of power. But the moment she accessed it, Magic had burst through.

  She hid a yawn behind her hand. Her whole body ached as though she'd been hefting forty pound rocks all day. Her head felt heavy and her mind muddled. Closing her eyes, she let the jostle of the carriage lull her.

  Elsie dreamt of the day she'd buried her sister. On an edifice high up in the mountains, far removed from anyone or anything that might disturb her, she had said her final goodbyes. Her heart still ached at the loss.

  In the middle of her mourning, Magic had come. All of her being held still in his presence. She could still see him, smiling down at her, his golden tattoos crinkling up with his compassion. He'd spoken then of Fate, of the mysteries that surrounded Bryva's death and the life of Delgora House. But now, in her vision, she heard him say something else to her.

  "If I were to speak through you again it might kill you, Elsie Delgora. Can you not feel your strength abandoning you?"

  She could feel it, seeping out of her bones and into the ether. For a moment she panicked, thinking of the ark and all the people who depended on her. She had to be stronger than this. She had to fight. But try as she might, she could not get her eyes to open. The dream faded and she drifted off, trusting that the crisis had passed and that Magic would somehow wake her if she was needed.