She wandered to the living room and slumped into the couch, telling herself once more that she and Avas were lucky to be here, alive and unharmed.
Misty and Volcant were busy with some diplomatic thing that they couldn’t take time off of, but she had managed to talk with Misty. The next portal opening to Byrelmore wasn’t for another week. What the hell was she going to do with herself for a week? Sit around and twiddle her thumbs?
What if Hendric needed her? What if he was hurt? What if when she got back, it was too late to send help?
She closed her eyes. Avas and I are alive and safe. We’re alive, and we’re safe. Hendric would want that above everything else.
But would he even know that?
“Hey.” Penny padded into the room, dark circles under her eyes. Her stomach looked like she had swallowed a couple of basketballs, her thighs farther apart and her back bent at an odd angle as she walked. “Uh, I know it’s weird, but could you rub my feet? They’re all swollen and….”
Sylvia scooted back on the couch and nodded. “Of course. I’m sorry that I haven’t been around to help you out.”
Penny sank into the couch with a sigh and adjusted herself so that her feet were in Sylvia’s lap. “It’s okay. I’ve been managing. Katrina has been helping me out a lot. I’m having twins, you know.”
“Twins.” Sylvia had always wanted twins. She waited for the usual swirl of unwanted jealousy to tighten her chest, but it wasn’t there. No, instead her mind turned to Avas and what a joyful little boy he was. If something had happened to Hendric while they were gone, what would happen to him?
“I don’t really know what I’m going to do,” Penny continued, rubbing her extended stomach absently. “I’m excited for my babies. I really am. I can’t wait to meet them. But I’m scared, too. I don’t know if I’ll be able to take care of them on my own...”
Both women glanced up as the lights flickered. There was a zapping noise in the air, and the lights went out entirely. The house went completely dead, even the buzzing ended. Sylvia breathed in a soft breath, her heart pounding a little harder. It was only a power outage, there was no need to freak out like this… right?
Penny groaned. “This is happening more and more. I think it’s the portals. Some sort of energy is coming through and disrupting the electricity.”
“Sylvia?” Avas’s voice came through the darkness, small and frightened.
“Over here,” she called. “Hold on, I’m going to open the curtains.”
She held her hands out before her as she made her way to the soft orange glow that indicated the edges of the blackout curtains. When she pulled them aside, a flood of light from the streetlamps outside entered the room. She turned back. Penny remained on the couch, her hands on her stomach, and Avas stood in the doorway.
Once there was enough light to see by, Avas rushed in and threw his arms around Sylvia’s waist. “I can’t sleep. I’m worried about Papa.”
Sylvia stroked his hair soothingly. “I’m sure he’ll be alright. He’s brave and strong and a mighty warrior.”
“But he’s alone.”
Sylvia tried not to flinch. Of course, Avas would know more about the dangers of that world than she did. How was she meant to reassure him when she didn’t even fully understand what Hendric was facing? Her heart started to pound, and she shook her head. She couldn’t stay here and worry and fret over what might be happening.
“He’s strong,” she repeated. “Now why don’t you sit with Penny, and I’ll go turn the lights on again. We can watch a movie. Something really fun.”
Something that could be used as a distraction, at least. She led Avas to the couch, where he sat down, and Penny started talking with him.
Sylvia’s stomach twisted as she retrieved a flashlight, then headed into the basement where the breakers were. If she knew how, she’d open a portal by herself and go through, back to help Myleesa against the assassins. Only what could she do on her own? If she had a weapon of some sort, that would be different. But even if she could get her hands on a gun—and she had no idea how to go about getting a gun on short notice—could she bring herself to kill another person?
If they were trying to kill me, maybe.
Maybe.
There was no point to it, though. She couldn’t open a portal by herself. Sylvia sighed as she found the breakers and started flicking them on. When she got to the last one, she felt a spark. Some sort of connection between her and the breaker—power flowed just beyond her fingertips.
With a gasp, she yanked her hand back. And then her heart began to pound. Of course! Penny said she thought that the power surges were due to the portals. What if every time the portals were opened, there was a surge of magic? That magic could be settling in the house, in the electrical lines themselves.
Which meant that she was standing in a magical hot spot.
And maybe, just maybe…
Sylvia took a deep breath as she turned the last breaker on again. Light flooded the basement and she stood there, staring down at her hands. Closing her eyes, she reached out, feeling the energy in the room. It was like what she had felt in the woods, training with Myleesa. This wasn’t as powerful; it was like a trickle of water in comparison to the ocean. But as her magic seeped from her body, she was able to draw in more.
She pressed her hands together, breathing evenly. She couldn’t try any of her Airbender moves inside the house, but maybe something smaller? She held her hands a few inches apart, imagining a bubble of light forming between them. What were the words that Myleesa would say when she’d do this?
Sylvia couldn’t remember, so she went for a spell she did know—good old Harry Potter. “Lumos.”
A ball of light formed between her hands—and the light bulb above her head made a popping noise and went out.
Sylvia dropped her hands, the light extinguishing between them. Her heart pounded, and her eyes lit up as she considered what this meant. She and Myleesa had already proven that magic was compatible with the present world’s technology on a small scale. The cellphone battery she’d left in the past was proof of that. And if a mage could charge a battery with magic, why couldn't the opposite happen as well?
Magic was a form of energy. Perhaps she could draw that energy directly from electricity—or maybe batteries, so she didn’t risk causing a city-wide blackout. If she could get enough energy from outside sources….
She shoved her glasses back up her face. There was only one way to find out.
***
The field was wide, with plenty of room for magic to go awry and not hurt anybody. The wind rustled through the grass as Sylvia wiped the sweat from her brow. Her jaw clenched tight as she held her cellphone in one hand and pressed the palm of her other hand into a car battery. The flashlight on the phone flickered several times before it started beaming brightly.
Triumph blazed through her even as the sweat on her brow increased. Using her own body as a conduit to bring power from the car battery to the cellphone was just the first step. She nodded and Avas rushed forward to slide a DVD between her palm and the cellphone. Nearby, but not so close as to be in danger if something went wrong, Penny watched with wide eyes.
The light beaming from the flashlight shifted slightly. The white light changed color and soon the opening scenes of the movie were showing in the air, pale and quivering but still there, as though projected onto an invisible screen. Sylvia concentrated, trying to solidify it, but the channel of magic through her became too much, and she had to let it go.
She fell to one knee, panting as the wind cooled the sweat on her brow.
“Almost got it that time,” she murmured.
“Avas, come get this water for her,” Penny called.
Avas obeyed, dashing across the field like a young gazelle. By the time he returned to Sylvia’s side, she had pulled herself up to sit on a small bench. She accepted the water gratefully and chugged it down. Even though the experiments with magic had been working, it only proved
that she could use modern technology to fuel it.
“I didn’t know magic could do all this,” Avas said as he picked up the DVD again. “It’s amazing.”
“It’s easier, using magic here. It’s just harder to get the energy.” Sylvia shook her head, her heart still pounding from the effort. “It’s like… going to Byrelmore unlocked my ability to use magic. This world sucks it out of me like a mosquito. But if I can just hold onto it enough, then the magic is still in the air.”
Penny joined them, huffing slightly as she cradled her belly with one hand. “So, does this help us?”
Sylvia looked at the car battery and smiled. “Yeah. I think it does.”
Chapter Fourteen
Hendric
It turned out that the assassins who had gone after them in town were working with the corrupt town government, and Warmund, Hendric, and Myleesa had to flee once again. The assassins that they had taken captive knew nothing about who had hired them, only that they were promised gold. When they and their prisoners were attacked again, their captives were the first that the fresh wave of assassins killed.
Since then, they had managed to find a cave. It was a dank, horrible little place, but it was what they needed. They couldn’t run when Myleesa was in her current condition. She had been badly beaten and was only starting to recover enough to walk, let alone trek through the forest.
But Avas and Sylvia were safe. They had made it to the future, where the assassins weren’t able to touch them. That was enough for Hendric at the moment.
The cave had been made from a stream running through limestone. The water tasted vile, the fish trapped inside the small pool even worse, but it was as safe as they were going to get. The narrow passageway was small enough for one person to defend, meaning that Hendric and Warmund took turns watching over Myleesa, while the other fended off whatever assassins came at them. Fungi grew on the wall, substance to supplement the foul-tasting fish.
Hendric leaned against the wall as the last batch of assassins ran back down the passageway, leaving two of their number dead behind and a third clawing at the floor, trying to escape Warmund, who had pinned him down.
It had been a calculated risk, letting the assassins get this far into the cave. But without information, they weren’t going to survive.
“I haven’t seen the sun in weeks, I’m hungry, I haven’t slept in two days,” Warmund snarled at the prisoner. “Be still or I might just slit your throat for you.”
The prisoner gulped, whined and tried to elbow him in the face. The only light was a series of dim glowing rocks that Myleesa had managed to enchant. Hendric stalked over to the two of them and dragged the assassin to his feet. “You are going to give us answers, boy. Warmund, watch the tunnel.”
Warmund gave him a disgruntled look but limped back to the passageway and entered. They were both getting rundown from the constant barrage of attacks. Things had to change, and soon, or they’d all be dead.
The assassin spluttered and choked in pain as he dragged his broken leg behind himself. Hendric pulled him along, not allowing himself to feel sympathy. Although the man was clearly in pain, it was also just as likely that he was exaggerating that pain. Any misstep could mean that the assassin would get the drop on him. Then it’d be an easy task for him to kill Myleesa and stab Warmund in the back. Mercy was not a luxury Hendric could afford at the moment, as much as it pained him.
He soon returned to the chamber of the cave they’d claimed as their living space. It was higher than the rest of the cave system, a little drier and warmer than the lower areas. It was small, not big enough for the three of them to be comfortable in, but Myleesa had lit the walls to give off a pale blue light, and it was less constricting than the darkness below.
“Myleesa.” Hendric pushed the assassin into a corner. “I need you to whip up a truth potion for me.”
Myleesa lifted her head from where she lay in the nest of blankets. “Truth potion? But I can’t—”
“I know that your order prevents you from using such magic,” Hendric interrupted. “But we can’t rest on our morals. I will accept whatever damnation you might incur on yourself for these actions.”
Myleesa stared at him for a moment, bewilderment on her face. He hoped that the assassin was in too much pain to see that she didn’t have the power to make a truth potion. It took a highly skilled, highly trained mage to be able to do such a thing. Myleesa was neither. The power of suggestion was a strong thing, though, especially when someone was already in pain and fear.
With a cocked brow, Hendric nodded at her. Myleesa’s lips pressed tight together as she turned. She moved slowly, indicating just how bad a physical shape she was in still, as she retrieved a clear vial from her things and filled it with water. Her hand clenched around it, and she whispered a few words.
The vial turned to the same luminous blue shade as the rocks around them. Myleesa handed it to Hendric, then slumped back down into her nest of blankets.
“Thank you,” he grunted, peering at her worriedly. She needed medical attention. That was clear. She might be healing but in this dark, damp cave without a proper healer? It was slow going at best. At worst, she would develop an infection. Unfortunately, they couldn’t move her. Not right now, when they had assassins on their tails.
Speaking of which.
Hendric threw the assassin to the floor and pinned him there with one knee. The man’s eyes rolled, and he cried out as Hendric forced the vial into his mouth. The man threw his head back, choking on the clear water inside, but when Hendric slapped a hand over his mouth, the man had no choice but to swallow.
Myleesa made a noise of protest, but he ignored her while the man choked. “Do you know who you are trying to kill?”
“Prince Warmund,” the man replied without hesitation. Whether because he truly believed he’d been slipped a truth potion or he just didn’t see any point trying to keep it a secret, Hendric didn’t know. “We were supposed to kill him and bring back his head as proof.”
If he knew that much, perhaps he’d be of more use than the previous assassins. “Why?”
The man stared at him. “’Cause that’s what he wanted.”
“He?” Hendric allowed a growl into his voice. “Who hired you?”
The man swallowed hard as his eyes widened. “Fredrich.”
Hendric’s breath caught in his throat. Fredrich? That was the name of Indulf’s oldest brother—a man who had tried to rebel against Indulf’s father once. He had been sentenced to death by his father but had escaped. After Indult had become king, Fredrich swore his loyalty, and Indulf stayed his order of execution. During the war between Indulf and Warmund, Fredrich had sided against the king.
And now he was trying to kill Warmund?
“Why? Why does he want the prince dead?”
“I dunno,” the man whimpered. His eyes started to roll in his head. “He just—”
The man’s head fell to one side, unconscious. Hendric growled, slapping his face lightly to try to revive him, but it was no use. He leaned back on his heels, trying to consider what to do now. Indulf’s brother had all been cast out in one way or another by their father, since Indulf was the only child he had that was the child of his mate, too. Even though Indulf did his best to patch up those relationships, there was still a lot of hatred toward him because of how his father had treated his siblings.
All those who rebelled against Indulf had been exiled. Was the reason Fredrich was going after Warmund because he had information that would change his sentence to death? Or was it simple vengeance in the works?
Myleesa made a pained noise, and he went to her side. “You alright?”
She nodded, though her face was twisted with pain. “What are we going to do now?”
“I’m not sure.”
They couldn’t just let this lie. Perhaps he and Warmund could get Myleesa to a healer in a nearby town… but then how would they protect her against the assassins? Perhaps if they split up and drew the as
sassins away from her. He wasn’t certain if that would work. One thing he did know, though, was that waiting around for Fredrich to stop sending men after them wasn’t going to work. His gaze darkened as he glanced at the assassin. They were going to have to take this battle to Fredrich. Find out what exactly he wanted and make him call off his men. Otherwise, it would never end.
He was just glad that Sylvia and Avas had made it to safety. Even though worry twisted his gut and he feared that something may have gone wrong, he knew that it hadn’t; they were safe and would remain safe. Though he missed them, he didn’t have to worry about the assassins going after them. They were beyond Fredrich’s reach.
Myleesa’s breathing hitched briefly, but when Hendric reached to help her, she waved him off. She blinked rapidly as she rubbed her eyes and then focused on him again.
“Do what you need to do,” she said, her voice surprisingly strong. “Give me a knife and a fishing line. I can defend myself here while you go get Fredrich.” Hendric started to shake his head, but Myleesa hissed and grabbed his arm. “Listen to me. You need to end this. We can’t continually defend ourselves here and unless I can get some proper treatment I don’t know how long I can last. We both know I can’t be moved until the assassins are gone. So that’s that, Hendric. Leave me here, and take out the bad guy.”
Hendric stared at her for a long moment before he shook his head. “No. You’re right, we do need to end this, and we do need to move you. But it’s not going to end like this. I won’t leave you. But don’t worry. I have a plan.”
***
Warmund breathed out a sigh as he lowered the bed frame over Myleesa. For her protection, she would be underneath the bed. It was high enough that it wouldn’t constrict her at all but low and sturdy enough that it also would protect her from the coming fight.
Hendric stood in a corner of the room, waiting. They had sent a message to Fredrich, telling him that they knew about his actions and inviting him for a man-to-man fight. Hendric knew Fredrich’s reputation enough to know he wouldn't refuse such a challenge. Now it was just a matter of waiting.
The Dragon Beast's Virgin: A Paranormal Romance (Separated by Time Book 3) Page 8