by Lucia Ashta
The still-unconscious Walt hovered a foot above the ground in the middle of us all. When his body began to float toward the dragon, Nando and I scrambled to make way, not just for Walt, but for Marie, who tried to follow her brother’s limp body.
The sight of Walt’s frail, feverish body, and the anguish scrolled across Marie’s face, made me lean into Nando’s chest, careful of course not to squash the owl in my hands. Sir Lancelot looked nearly as fragile as Walt, even though Arianne had assured me that he’d make a full recovery.
“Walt will be all right,” Nando said, in the soft tones one reserved for speaking of the dead. “You’ll see.” But I wasn’t so sure, and a part of me wished I could ride the dragon to be near him in case he woke.
Marie had already fought for that right, and though Mordecai had at first claimed there wasn’t enough space for all of them with Walt spread out across the dragon’s back, when her face crumbled as she contemplated separating from her brother, Mordecai had immediately agreed. Humbert’s back was long and wide; they’d do fine.
I’d remain with Nando, which was probably better anyway. After all we’d been through, neither of us was prepared to separate either.
As Walt whisked by us, I wanted to commit his face to memory... just in case. But at the last moment I averted my gaze. Seeing him like this was too much. “I want to get out of here,” I told Nando.
“I understand. I never thought I’d be so happy to leave a place behind.”
But we didn’t move until Mordecai floated Walt atop the beast and magically secured him there. When Marie attempted to climb up Humbert’s hind leg and slid twice, Nando approached and interlinked his hands to offer her a boost. She blushed, but accepted, and climbed awkwardly behind her brother.
“You can’t sit there, child,” Mordecai said. “You’ll slide off as soon as we’re in the air.”
“But I want to be near Walt.”
“Yes, child, we got that. Still, you can’t sit there.”
Mordecai arched bushy eyebrows and waited until she said, “Fine. How should I position myself then?”
“Behind me.” Mordecai smiled as if he hadn’t just forced her hand, and turned toward the front, squeezing his arms around Arianne with a smile he didn’t bother to hide.
Marie crawled along Humbert’s back, skirting alongside her brother, while Nando held up outstretched hands in case she should fall. She scowled at Mordecai’s back, but slid her legs around him and held on. She glanced down at my brother. “Thank you for being a gentleman,” she said, obviously implying that Mordecai hadn’t bothered to be one.
I suspected the implication wouldn’t bother the old man a bit. He seemed nearly as unbothered by manners as Grand Witch Tillsdale, and I’d never met anyone as unconcerned by the opinions of others as she was.
“I’ll see you soon,” Nando said intently. He flushed at first before tilting his chin even higher toward the girl he clearly liked. I was pretty sure everyone there, save Walt, noticed this time.
Despite the grief etched across her features, Marie smiled back at him flirtatiously. “I hope so.”
“If you two lovebirds are quite finished, we need to be off,” Mordecai said, prompting both of them to flush and avert their eyes.
“Oh, shush, you old fool,” Arianne said, shocking me until I realized she was teasing him. “L’amour est beau.”
“I couldn’t agree more. Love is beautiful at any age.”
Mordecai’s implication wasn’t lost on anyone, and certainly not on Gustave. He harrumphed and must have done some sort of mind speak with Humbert, who spread his wings wide without notice, forcing us all to duck to avoid being smacked by a strong leathery wing.
“It’s up to you to protect me from him, Lady Isa,” Sir Lancelot said, his voice a third of what it usually was.
“I will, Sir Lancelot, don’t worry. You’re safe with me.”
He nodded sleepily, his eyes half open and yet still impossibly wide. “Thank you, Lady Isa. I believe I’ll take a nap then, knowing that brute won’t be able to get at me while I sleep.”
“You do that.” I realized he wouldn’t like me even thinking it, but the pygmy owl was cute. His feathers were ruffled from the wind’s fury, and with him too weak to preen them back into place, his vulnerability made him that much cuter.
Nando, back at my side, whispered in my ear. “Don’t even think it.” He gave me a knowing smile, which I returned.
“I can’t help it.”
“Well, you’d better.” He chuckled as Sir Lancelot snored lightly, his tiny chest rising and falling with his breath.
I gazed at the owl, who’d never allow me to study him this closely while he was awake, until Humbert flapped his wings to rise from the ground, and Mordecai called out to his brother. “Keep them safe and come home.”
“I will, brother. I’ll see you soon,” Albacus said from the ground, echoing my earlier statement.
I hoped he and I would keep our word. Chances were good that we’d make it back to Acquaine without any problems, weren’t they? After all, how many things can go wrong in one day? Surely we’d reached our limit.
Humbert rose adeptly into the sky, shocking me once more that such a large, lumbering beast might be so graceful in the air. His huge body cast the entirety of our group, including the horses, in shadow for a few long moments before the setting sun shone through.
En masse, the firedrakes, who stood amid the rubble, launched into the air behind him. Sylvia and Mathieu, never fond of being far from Mordecai or Arianne, were in the lead.
Elwin. I hadn’t managed to connect with him since we made it out of the castle.
I’m not going anywhere without you, he said through the waves of my mind, making me gasp.
“What is it?” Nando asked right away. My poor brother, his nerves were shot.
“Nothing, I’m fine. It’s only Elwin.” That didn’t sound right, so I hurried to amend, “He’s staying behind.” With me. Somewhere along the line, I’d begun to find comfort in the company of the firedrake. He’d helped me when I needed it most, and perhaps that’s all it was. I’d resisted our bond at first, but so much had changed since then. When magic was involved, days felt like years, and nothing progressed in usual terms.
The indigo firedrake waddled toward me while his friends closed the gap between the dragon and them.
As soon as the distraction quickly faded in the sunset, Marcelo said, “Listen, everyone. Let’s get moving. The sooner we return, the sooner we can get back to normal.”
Normal? He was joking, right?
“The sooner I can begin the hunt for Maurisse,” Count Vabu said, each word enunciated to completion, each word containing cold, calculated fury.
“The sooner we will begin the hunt,” Marcelo corrected.
“Well, you didn’t mention it.” Count Vabu was unapologetic. The ferocity running through him was latent despite his ability to hide every other emotion.
Albacus and Malachai sidled next to the vampire. “Don’t worry, Vlad,” Albacus said. “We’ll get him, and we’ll get him good.”
“And then we’ll haunt him once he’s dead,” Malachai added.
Maurisse deserved every moment of their anger, and every thought of their revenge, but it still didn’t feel right. But then, nothing had since we entered the castle’s shadow.
It was time to put it far behind us. It wasn’t my place to organize us, but I still asked, “Can we please leave now? I don’t want to remain here a moment longer than we have to now that we’re all more or less recuperated.” The emphasis was probably on the less, but we’d recover from our injuries far better away from here.
Angelica backed me up. “Oh yes please, let’s go already. I can’t stand this stupid place.”
I wouldn’t have called it stupid, more like horrid, torturous, or awful, but her sentiment was in the right place.
“We can’t leave until your brother does his... thing,” Delilah said.
Angelica s
ighed loudly, and for the first time I caught a glimpse of what it might be like to be shadowed by your little brother. “Can’t I go ahead with the others?” Her strawberry-blonde hair was whipped into a frenzy, an outward manifestation of how hard the day’s events had been for us.
“I’ll go with her and protect her,” Nicholas said, puffing out his chest.
Delilah appeared to be considering the idea, until Trevor cut in. “You’re our children, which means you’re our responsibility. We’ll remain together. Simon will do his thing, and then we’ll hurry to meet up with the others. The sooner they leave, the sooner we can.”
Count Vabu, who needed no encouragement, started barking orders, even though Grand Witch Tillsdale was there, and I suspected she was used to always being in charge. But it was equally evident that the grand witch, with all the experience she must have, had never experienced a day quite like this one. She retained more composure than most of us, but she was jumpy when she hadn’t been before, and I suspected her nerves were worn thin.
Perhaps that’s what came from having greater power and knowledge than your peers: you felt responsible for them.
Count Vabu said, “Marcelo and Clara, will you lead the way? Taking Brave, Gertrude, Nando, and Isa with you.”
“Of course we will,” Clara said, taking a few steps toward the horses.
“Good. You’ll have Sir Lancelot and Elwin too, from the looks of it.”
“Great.”
Grand Witch Tillsdale crossed her arms over her chest; her jaw settled into hard lines across her otherwise pleasant face.
Count Vabu didn’t miss the shift in the petite woman. “Giselle, what will you be doing?”
Smart. He deferred to her. Immediately, the angle of her jaw slackened, though her arms remained tightly against her chest. “I’ll remain behind with the child.”
The child. She’d reduced an entire family down to the power of one of their members. I began to understand why Nicholas, and perhaps even Angelica, might resent Simon.
The entire family tensed, including the parents and Simon. But the grand witch either didn’t notice, or didn’t care, and I was leaning toward the latter. I didn’t think the woman missed much. “I want to see what tricks he has up his sleeve that would be of such interest to someone like Maurisse.”
“I’ll remain behind as well,” Albacus said. “I don’t want to miss the show.”
“Me too,” Malachai added, though I didn’t think anyone was asking the ghost who’d taken it upon himself to join our group.
Well, now I didn’t want to miss the show either. Simon had said he blew things up, right? Suddenly, I wasn’t in as much of a hurry to leave.
Nando, ever connected to me, whispered, “We’re going,” as Elwin drew nearer to me too. Now I had two protectors. Sigh.
“Good. It’s settled,” the vampire said. “We’ve wasted enough time. Let’s move.”
“And you?” Grand Witch Tillsdale asked, not responding to his order. “What will you do?”
“I’m leaving now with the first group. I’d rather miss the show and catch the sorcerer.”
The witch nodded, and I sensed respect in that one movement. He’d lost his sister, but he hadn’t lost his focus. I suspected a witch like her would appreciate that.
“Come on,” Marcelo said, joining his wife and setting off toward the horses. “If we ride fast, we’ll chance getting back before the worst of the darkness sets in.”
I hadn’t thought about that. Twilight was upon us, the time when travelers ordinarily sought shelter.
“We’ll be riding with magicians, remember?” Nando said.
No, I hadn’t, not really. I still hadn’t grown used to viewing the world through the lenses of magic. But he was right, surely one of our company could do some sort of spell that would illuminate our path for the horses.
I nodded. Everything is going to be fine, I told myself, but I couldn’t help that it felt a bit like a lie.
Nando took me by the elbow and led me toward Trixie, with Sir Lancelot along for the ride, and Elwin right behind.
The journey wasn’t particularly long, and we’d be making it with formidable magicians. Clara herself could probably fend off any attack, and I had no idea what Marcelo was capable of, though he’d been trained by Albacus and Mordecai, so he had to be good. Even Brave and Gertrude alone could probably defend us from the ordinary dangers of traveling by horseback, and the worst of the threats was neutralized.
Miranda was dead, and witches without their heads didn’t return. Maurisse was gone; we’d never seen him in the first place.
We were safe, and everything would be great. I worked to convince myself of the fact as I handed Sir Lancelot off to Nando so I could mount Trixie. “Hey, girl,” I said to her. “I’m glad to see you’re feeling better.”
Trixie nuzzled me, ready for home. I’d miss Simon’s display of powers, but there was nothing wrong with getting to the academy as quickly as possible. The back of my neck prickled uncomfortably, and I just wanted to put everything to rest and be done with it.
I slid a foot into a stirrup, and swung my other leg behind and around Trixie. It was time to put the day behind us. I smoothed another hand along Trixie’s long neck, and reached my hands out to receive Sir Lancelot. Elwin would fly.
When Marcelo announced, “Time to go,” I couldn’t have agreed more.
I didn’t even bother taking one last look at the castle. Good riddance.
Chapter 5
The very moment Nando landed in his saddle, Vlad whistled at his horse, who jetted forward in a bound, upsetting the horses we left behind for the others. But Vlad didn’t seem to care about much but returning us to the estate so that he could leave it at once.
I didn’t bother blaming him for his impatience; I understood it.
There were no final farewells, no shared looks with the family of magicians we left behind, or the grand witch and ghosts that remained with them.
Marcelo and Clara set off immediately behind Vlad, a plume of dust trailing the three as they set a rigorous pace for home. Brave and Gertrude weren’t far behind, riding side by side.
“I guess we’re not taking the same path we rode in on,” Nando said, clucking his tongue at his own horse.
Trixie required no more than a nudge to follow. “There’s no need to conceal our approach this time.”
He chortled darkly. “Apparently we didn’t do as good a job of hiding our presence when we arrived as we thought we had.”
I frowned. “Maurisse was probably aware we were coming all along. Maybe even before we did.” I swiveled quickly in my saddle to check behind me. Good, Elwin was flying directly behind us and a bit overhead.
Even though I cradled Sir Lancelot with one arm against my chest, he bounced with every one of Trixie’s strides. I didn’t like it, but there was nothing I could do about it. At least the owl appeared to be sleeping through it.
“I’ve been wondering how he might have known we were coming when we did,” Nando said.
“We talked about that, remember? It was the obvious conclusion. Once we figured out where he was keeping Albacus, nothing would stand in Mordecai’s way of rescuing him.”
Nando scowled. “You’re right. Maybe that’s all it was.” But he obviously didn’t believe it.
“What are you suggesting? You aren’t implying”—I turned to look behind me again—“that there’s some kind of spy in our midst.”
When he didn’t immediately answer, I laughed uncomfortably. “Certainly you aren’t.”
“I wasn’t saying that, not exactly. I mean, beyond the sorcerer Madame Pimlish made a rat, anyway.”
“But you weren’t not saying that either.”
Nando huffed. “I don’t know what I’m saying. I have a head injury, remember?”
I narrowed my eyes at him as we bounced along in our saddles. “You obviously have enough of your faculties in place to come up with nefarious theories.”
He shrugged
and smiled despite himself. My brother couldn’t help who he was or how he thought.
“Do you think one of us could be working against us?” A disturbing thought for sure, especially now that I’d been considering myself one of the crew. I didn’t particularly like Madame Pimlish, and Count Vabu made me uncomfortable, but I didn’t distrust them. If there’d been anyone to distrust based on her past it would have been... “Maybe it was Priscilla.”
“Hmm. Maybe.”
“And if that’s the case, then the problem is solved, right? She’s,” I gulped, “super dead. Not even a vampire can come back from exploding and disintegrating into a blast of light.”
“You didn’t even see the half of it, Isa. Before that light tore her apart from within, she kind of... melted in place. She disfigured as if her body were coming undone. I’m really not sure how to explain it, but it was awful. Be glad you couldn’t see that.”
“Well, I can’t see most of what you can anymore. How far can you see now?”
“I can make out the pebbles at the base of that hill.” He pointed across the landscape, far beyond the dust the horses ahead of us kicked up.
“Oh, that’s amazing. But maybe my eyesight is changing too. I can make out at least the rocks at the base of it in pretty good detail.”
“The hill with the boulders at the base?”
“Yeah, of course.”
“That’s not the hill I’m talking about.”
“Then which one?”
“That one.” He pointed again, and this time I had to squint my eyes to follow the hill he signaled.
“Not the one in the back there?”
“Yes, that one.”
“You’re kidding?”
“No.”
I figured I should say something, but I had no idea what. My mouth hung open, then I hurried to shut it before I breathed in more dirt. I coughed a few times. “That’s... I don’t even know what to say about that. It’s incredible.”
“I know. I can see everything.”
“Is it just your magic coming to the front?”