by CM Raymond
“While he led that way, I worked with the refugees pouring in, helping many of them to hone the power that was within them and focus it on different aspects of the place we were building. There was nothing like magitech in those days, but I expect that even then Adrien may have been imagining what he could do if he could apply magic to inanimate objects. It’s clever, really. Nothing I would have ever thought of.”
“Yeah,” Hannah interjected. “Magitech is a hell of a thing, really. They’re applying it to all sorts of stuff. Problem is, no one on my side of town can afford it.”
The old man nodded. “That is indeed bad. But I fear that something worse is coming. Adrien has plans for the magitech, something bigger and more dangerous than anything we can imagine.”
“How do you know?”
Ezekiel smiled out of the corner of his lips. “Like I said, know thy enemy. I confronted my old protégé.”
As Ezekiel explained his confrontation with Adrien, how he tricked him into revealing part of his plan and then attacking nothing but Ezekiel’s shadow, Hannah went from surprised to downright impressed.
The old man was full of tricks.
“I don’t know what,” the old man continued, “and I don’t know when. But Arcadia is going to need us. Irth is going to need us. So, I spent the last couple of days locked in my room, searching for answers outside of the city. In the deepest corners of Irth.”
“Well? Did you find any?”
Ezekiel sighed. “Yes, but not the ones I wanted. I have been searching for an old friend, someone who can help us, help you. But I can’t find them.”
The two sat for a while by the Wren, each in their own thoughts. Hannah marveled at the man’s stories, realizing that if she stuck with him, her life would never be the same.
The opportunity she had been given by the magician was literally beyond her wildest dreams, but also her wildest nightmares.
She wondered if it was worth it, worth giving up her old life—not that there was much to discard. But she missed her brother and Parker like crazy and decided she would find a way to see them sometime soon. Maybe Zeke would teach her that astral projection trick.
“How did you end up doing it, Hannah?”
“Doing what?” she asked. She was hardly listening and was afraid she’d missed something he said.
“Sal’s wings. Have you thought more about it? I’ve never seen anything like it before. If we’re going to have a fighting chance against Adrien and his forces, we’re going to need every unfair advantage we can muster. Right now, you’re all we’ve got.”
Hannah laughed. “Better call in some reinforcements, cause I’ve got no freaking clue what I did to Sal—in the marketplace or out here. It just happened. I tried the physical magic approach, which didn’t work. Then I did the navel gazing thing. Nothing.”
“What was it, then?”
“It was you. You kept bitching and badgering me. I was frustrated, even angry. Felt like I was going to explode, and then, I just kind of did. It just happened.”
Ezekiel stroked his beard and sighed. “Well, we know it has something to do with emotion, which is no surprise; all magic is connected to our emotional states. But the catalyst we still don’t understand.”
Hannah picked up a rock and looked at it, turning it over in her hands, “If it is what we need to take down those bastards ruling over Arcadia, I’ll figure it out. I promise.”
She tossed the rock out into the river Wren.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
“You’ve been sitting there for an hour and haven’t said a damned thing. Can you really not hear me when you’re out starwalking or whatever?” Hannah paced the floor and Sal followed her every step. But the magician kept his eyes trained on an imaginary dot on the wall. “Well, that’s good. I was afraid that maybe you had lost your marbles or just gone plain bloody nuts.”
Ezekiel didn’t budge.
“Oh,” Hannah continued, “that’s nice. Me? Yeah, I’m doing fine, except I am in lock down in a three-bloody room building with nothing but a freak of a lizard and a magician who likes to go monk three times a day to keep me company. Otherwise, things are just peachy.”
The wizard remained silent.
Hannah had been training in the tower for what felt like an eternity, and she was going crazy from being cooped up in one place. Other than the fact that there was absolutely nothing to do, the wizard was a peculiar sort of company.
Ever since she turned Sal into a dragon, Ezekiel had been spending more and more time sending his mind roaming Irth. What he was looking for, he wouldn’t say—beyond the oh so ominous, answers.
Meanwhile, Hannah was finding a strange stirring in her gut. She could only guess that it was the thing that other people called homesickness.
She called it missing.
Although the girl would never call herself sick for the squalor and the abuse of the Boulevard, there was plenty from home that she longed for.
William. Parker. Her bed. And even the QBB itself. Everything that was familiar had been stripped from her. It was the first time she was away from the one place that had made up her entire existence.
Hannah leaned down and picked up Sal. He folded in his wings so she could hold him more easily. “At least I have you, little guy.” The lizard’s tongue flicked out and then back in, moistening her cheek.
“The lizard isn’t your only friend,” the magician’s voice boomed from across the room.
She turned. “Thank, the Patriarch. I thought you’d died with your eyes open.”
Ezekiel got up from the floor and landed on a couch near Hannah. “Someday, child, you’ll find that magic is one part learning, one part practice, and fifty parts mindset. During my time abroad, the greatest of the things I learned was how to focus all my life toward the work of magic and restoration. You will do well to learn this sooner rather than later.”
“My meditations are coming along,” Hannah said, a little sulkily.
The man laughed. “I’m not too old to remember what it is like to be your age. I was only a few years older when we set off to build Arcadia. That year, I knew everything. And then, two years later, I knew it was all wrong. Life is a road of changing one’s perspective. Some call this waffling, but it is growing in wisdom. And among all the arts, nothing is greater.”
“Ah… OK. Got it. Change your mind. Get wise. I’ll write that in my little book.”
Ezekiel’s face grew soft. A smile spread across his lips. “You’re a hopeless smartass, aren’t you?”
“Yep,” Hannah said with a smile to match. “Gonna take more than magic to change that.”
The man stood, and the smile faded from his face. His lips grew tight and Hannah knew that something very serious was coming. She had learned that the magician loved life and enjoyed a joke or three, but when it came to the life of the world, the old man was all business.
“I don’t understand you,” he said.
“Most don’t.”
“No, I mean your skills. Though they are rough, magic is trying to escape you. That’s how we got this little guy here.” He nodded toward Sal. “But you’re able to express magical arts that are foreign to the guilds of the corners of Irth. I’ve spent hours in study, and it seems you might have some unnatural combination of all of the arts.”
“Hell, as far as I know all magic is unnatural,” she shrugged.
The magician laughed which brought her some comfort. “On the contrary, there is nothing more natural than magic. It’s in each and every one of us. The question is whether someone is strong enough to bring it out. People like me, those mentored in the arts, are taught to bring it out in a way that doesn’t blow their bodies into little bits all over the city streets.
“Imagine how annoyed people would be if they went out in their best clothes, only to have them splattered with blood by someone losing themselves to the magic? Others will never manifest the magic whatsoever. But you are different. Hannah, you’ve done nothing to bring your
magic to the fore, but it refuses to be bottled up. Just being in the world, the magic created Sal and there is no explanation for that.”
Her mouth hung open as she thought of a wiseass comment to quell the seriousness of the room.
But she found nothing.
Finally, she said, “So, what do I do?”
“That my dear is the question for the ages. If I had the answer, I would give it. But I know some people that might know.”
“More friends of yours from the old days?”
Ezekiel nodded. “Something like that. I’ve been holding off on this for a while, but I’m afraid there is no other choice. I need to go visit them.”
Hannah squinted her eyes, suspicious of what was coming next. “OK, when do we leave?”
Ezekiel’s face answered the question before his words. “I’m sorry, Hannah. I’m afraid you can’t come with me.”
“Why the hell not? I’ve been practicing every day like you said. I’ve been getting better. And if these people can help me, then I should go with you.”
“It’s not that simple. I have been reaching out with my mind, trying to connect with them, but there has been no answer. Which means one of two things. Either they have turned their back on me, which means that they have become as great a threat as Adrien. Maybe worse.”
“I’m not afraid.”
“I know you aren’t, but I am. Because the other reason I may not have been able to contact my friend is that they’re dead. Which means that there could be some danger there I can’t foresee. And you are too valuable to me for us to run in blind.”
Hannah dropped her eyes downward. Despite all that she had been through, it seemed Ezekiel still saw her as a child to be protected. When would he learn that she was able to contribute? To use magic as he did, to protect others.
Finally, she looked up at her teacher. “Fine. What do you need me to do?”
“I need you to stay here and keep practicing. My trip may take … Well, it may take a long time. But when I return, I need you to be as ready as possible. There is no telling what comes next, child. But whatever it is, it will not be safe.”
Without another word, the magician disappeared, leaving Hannah alone in the tower—for real this time.
****
Parker kept his head down as he paced toward Queen Bitch Boulevard. His bag was heavy with his tools, and the coin sack bouncing on his hip was evidence of a good day on the streets.
But, he knew it was only a fraction of the haul he could have pulled with Hannah. To say his thoughts turned to the girl wouldn’t be quite right. She was always there, at least in the back of his mind. He couldn’t help smiling just picturing her by his side.
Parker, like most of the guys in the quarter, thought she was good looking—but she had him with more than just her looks. Smart. Funny. Gifted. And if Will wasn’t bullshitting him about her magic, then her gifts were deeper than he had ever imagined.
And the young boy seldom bullshitted.
“Half your take, you little prick,” a gruff voice said.
Parker looked up into an ugly mug he didn’t recognize manning the toll booth into Queen’s Boulevard. “Who the hell are you?”
“Doesn’t matter. What matters is who I work for. Now hand over the toll and be on your way, you shit.”
“Where’s Jack?”
“I don’t know, and I don’t care. He’s probably back at your house shagging your ma. Now drop the coin and be on your way.”
Parker felt his face flush. He knew the man was trying to start something. Probably got his jollies off on throwing his weight around. Parker held his tongue and reached for his purse.
“Or he might be doing that sweet piece of ass you hang around with.” A disgusting laugh rolled off the man’s double chin. “Heard she has a thing for Capitol men, if you know what I mean. Nice of you to share her with the Hunters.”
Without thinking, Parker swung the bag of coins at the man’s thick face. But Horace’s man was deceptively fast. He ducked the punch and pulled Parker’s arm up behind him. The brute slammed him face-first against the wall. Rough bricks bit at his face as pain shot through his already sore skull.
“I oughta turn you in for even thinking about it,” the man breathed into Parker’s ear. “But lucky for you, I don’t feel like doing the paperwork. Now, let me lighten your load, and you can be on your way.”
He gave Parker one more shove against the wall and yanked the bag of coins from his belt.
“You’re a shit-eating pig,” Parker spat at the man. He considered a second attempt, but Horace’s men who ran the place were ruthless, and he knew that pushing his luck would have terrible consequences for him—and maybe his mother. The filthy words about his mother and best friend rang in his ears. He spat at the man’s feet.
The obese man snorted like a swine. “By the way, you can tell that piece of ass that the Hunters are looking for her. They've placed a price on her head, as commanded by the Chancellor. Or, you could always turn her in yourself. You probably need the coin.” The man shook Parker’s bag before stuffing it in his pocket.
Son of a bitch will get his, Parker thought. He would devise a plan to right the wrong, but first, he needed to find Hannah and warn her about the price on her head.
****
Her fingers twisted with increased intensity and speed. They were a blur in front of her own eyes. But she didn’t notice. Head thick in a trance, Hannah was connected more with her body than she’d ever been.
The practice was paying off, at least in terms of her focusing. Finally, folding the fingers of each hand into the other, she spun them out and fanned them toward the pile of papers across the room. The sheets pulled toward one another but stopped just short of a pile.
“Shiiiiiit!” she screamed into the empty room.
Sal ran from sight, sliding under the chair, the only furniture available. Hannah slumped into the chair and patted her leg. The dragon obeyed and jumped into his master's lap. His tongue lashed out and tickled her arm, aiming for comfort.
“Thanks, buddy. Guess I need to rest more. Those wings of yours have cost me something. That’s for certain.”
Sal rubbed his smooth head on her arm, and she gave him a pat.
“Yeah. We’ll be fine. Let’s see if I can’t get this down before you can fly over the tower. A little competition might do us some good.”
She was glad Sal was there, more so since Ezekiel had left on whatever important mission he was on. The man was full of secrets, and from time to time she even had a strange notion that he might not be exactly who he said he was. But the man offered something no one else ever had.
A way out of misery—for her and for Arcadia.
“Let’s go get something to eat. I’m—”
A scream from outside interrupted her. She shot for the great room and looked out the window in the direction of the cries for help.The distance was great, but from where she stood, she could see a person in a tree and some sort of animal, standing up on all fours, leaning against the trunk.
“Damn it. Sometimes I miss the filth of the city,” she muttered.
Ezekiel had told her to be careful. She suspected that he meant staying in the tower—but the man was all about making wrongs right. If she couldn’t help some wanderer out by shooing off an animal, she sure wasn’t going to take down the evil empire of Chancellor and Governor.
As she strode for the door, she grabbed the silver blade given to her by Karl and made her way to the edge of the woods.
Halfway to where the grass meets the forest, she thought she could make out what the man was shouting. Then she realized it was her name. The voice was familiar.
“Parker? What the hell?”
Joy mixed with a sense of fear for her friend. She couldn’t understand why he was treed by some stray dog. She’d be sure to call him a sissy when it was all over.
“No. Hannah, go back,” his voice wrapped around her and echoed off the tower. “Run.”
&n
bsp; She ran, only toward him. None of this made sense.
Ten more strides further, and she saw the creature turn. That’s when it struck her. It was never leaning on the tree, instead, the thing stood on two legs. It tilted its head, sniffed the air, and let out a blood-chilling howl.
Lycanthrope, she thought. Can’t be. Those damned things don’t exist.
She’d heard the stories all her life, but like the tales of dragons and druids, she assumed these were also residents of make believe. The lycanthrope were sinister creatures that were a mix between a man and a wolf. It was said that they were descendants of the werewolves that roamed the earth before the Age of Madness.