by Brenda Drake
“I’m not sure. He wasn’t there.”
I looked back to make sure Sean was following us. He was, but so was Veronique and a menacing looking man dressed in a guard’s uniform. I stopped, fear twisting my gut.
Arik skidded to a halt. “Don’t stop!”
Veronique held up her palm, producing a red globe. She hurled the globe in our direction. It turned into a fireball as it whizzed toward me. It flew past Sean, and he dropped to his knees.
Arik tackled me. My chin hit the ground hard and my breath punched from my lungs. The globe hit just a few feet away from us and rolled, leaving a burnt trail in the grass.
More fiery globes hit around us. Veronique formed them fast, rapid firing them at us.
“Stand up,” he ordered, then called to Sinead, “Get the changeling to the outbuilding!”
I scrambled to my feet.
Arik tossed a few of his own fireballs at Veronique and the guard. She ducked one, and the guard skirted around two.
While they were distracted, he grasped my face in his hands. “Breathe. Stay focused.” I nodded, and he let me go. “They’ll get to us before we can get to the outbuilding. Toss light globes at Veronique. It’ll distract her, so I can get closer to that guard and bring him down.”
I took a deep breath to gather courage. The first one I threw was a few feet off target. But it puzzled Veronique and allowed Arik to take off for the guard. I kept forming and throwing light globes at her. It was like huge camera flashes blasting around her. She covered her eyes with her arms.
The guard charged past Veronique. Arik ran for him and shifted his globe into a flaming whip, lashing it out. It wrapped around the man’s neck, bringing him down to his knees. Arik strangled the guard until he fell, unmoving, on the ground.
Arik sprinted back to me as I continued to throw balls of light at Veronique.
“Run!” he yelled, approaching.
My boots pounded against the ground, my heart feeling like it would explode in my chest. A fire globe hit the side of my boot and ricocheted off it. I glanced down at my foot. Though it felt hot, the fire hadn’t penetrated the leather.
“That was too close,” I panted.
Arik turned and flung another sphere at her.
We dashed into the outbuilding. Sinead slammed the door shut before another fiery globe could reach us. Flames licked through the cracks of the door.
“Hurry! Do you know a charm?” Sinead asked.
Quick, think. Think! You have to lock her out.
Facing the door, weak and trembling, I shouted, “Bloccare la porta. Aperto solo per Merlin!” The flames flicking through the seams of the door vanished, leaving behind wisps of smoke. I leaned against the wall, unable to hold myself up. Pain struck my head, and I slid down the wall, resting on my heels.
“Gia, what’s wrong?” Arik kneeled in front of me.
“She…she wanted to kill us.”
Sinead knelt on the other side of me and closed her eyes, mumbling something that I suspected was faery talk. It almost sounded like a song. The pain vanished and my arms and legs stopped shaking. She examined my face. “Better?”
“Yes, so much better. Thank you.” I stood with her. “You can do that, but you can’t do charms?”
“Fey can’t conjure wizard charms.”
“Charms are my specialty.”
“You added to it,” Sinead said.
“How did you know?”
“I’ve heard it spoken before.”
“Oh. Well, not only did I lock the door, but I also made it so only Merl can open it. Professor Attwood taught me how to change up spells.”
“Good thinking.” Arik smiled. “Who’s this Sean?”
“Carrig’s changeling. I think their minds were weaved together or something.”
“That would explain how Sean knew things about Carrig,” he said. “A wizard must have done it, then compelled Sean. The wizard could then see and hear everything Sean did. Carrig was trained to resist this process. That must be why whoever it was used his changeling.”
“If their brains were weaved together, how come Sean didn’t recognize you, Sinead, or your glamour in front of Nana’s house?”
“Because glamour is a magic and a wizard can’t weave someone else’s memory of it to another brain.”
“Well, that’s scary,” I said. “Anyone could be a spy and we wouldn’t know it.”
“Not all the memories from the compelled transfer to the one compelling.” Arik’s eyes went to Sean. “If you pay attention, you can spot a slip up.”
“Let’s move. We have to get help.” Sinead headed toward the stairs.
I formed a globe and held it high, its light surrounding us.
“Thanks.” Sinead went through the trap door and skipped down the steps.
“No problem.” I peeked back at Sean. He gave me a nervous smile as he clambered down after us.
“What happened back there?” I asked Arik.
“Veronique ambushed us on our way to Merl. I’m not sure if she’s acting alone, but if she isn’t, it won’t fare well for Asile. Thank goodness, she didn’t see Faith escape down a hall. Our only hope is for Faith to alert Merl or Professor Attwood about Veronique’s attack before she can do whatever evil deed she’s planning.”
My thoughts flew to Nana. I prayed she’d be safe.
“We have to find the other Sentinels.” Arik said, then turned to Sean. “Where are you from?”
“Galway,” answered Sean.
“We’ll take you to the Trinity College Library in Dublin. It’s the best I can do.”
“Anywhere ’tis better than here,” Sean said tightly.
We reached the end of the tunnel and climbed to the top of the stairwell. Thankfully, the library closed on Sundays, or we would’ve had to wait all day. Above us was the entry into Duke Humfrey’s Library.
Arik pulled a lever, and a bookcase slid open. We stepped up into the library, and the case trembled back over the opening. “Sean, sit there.” Arik pointed to a reading chair and turned to me. “We have to find the book.”
Each gateway volume had the same Dewey Decimal number attached to it, so no matter what library a jumper was in it was easy to locate.
“Sei zero sette periodo zero due DOR,” I recited the numbered charm to find the book. A row shook on a shelf of a tall bookcase against the wall, and the gateway book slipped away from the rest and floated over to us.
Sinead caught it, placed it on the table, and opened to a random page. She brought her hand up to her mouth and blew an air kiss across her palm. Several shimmery silver butterflies took shape and batted their wings as they hovered in front of her face. She spoke to the incandescent creatures in a language that sounded ancient, and they fluttered into the book. Their bodies and graceful wings melted into the pages, leaving behind a shimmery glow that faded within seconds.
“Okay, I give. What do the butterflies do?”
“They’re tracers.” She pulled me away from the table. “They can summon whoever I want from within the libraries. I’ve told them to retrieve the other Sentinels. We should keep back or they might land on us when they come out.”
My stomach knotted in anticipation. After several minutes had passed and they hadn’t shown up, I tried to distract myself.
“Exactly what are the Silent People?”
“The Silent People is another name for the fey. We move silently, stealth-like. We have some magical powers, and we’re the gardeners of the changelings.”
“Changelings?” Sean stood. “Aren’t they supposed to be deformed creatures switched for normal children, and such?”
Sinead glared at him. “Those were lies told by horrible parents disgusted by their less than perfect children. A human discovered our secret about changelings and spread tales about them. And besides, are you forgetting you are a changeling?”
“I am not.”
“All right, you two,” Arik said. “Stop it.”
Sean dropped back
onto the chair.
“Sinead, did you say gardeners?” I asked.
“I did,” she said. “When a Sentinel is born, a cocoon grows in the Garden of Life. After ten days, the Sentinel’s changeling hatches as a fully developed infant. Inside the changeling’s cocoon is a colored bead that’s connected to the Sentinel gene inside the matching baby. It enables the parent faery to track down the baby. After we switch the two infants, the Sentinel becomes our responsibility. We raise them like our children. Our love for them is insurmountable.”
“So, who’s your Sentinel?” I knew the answer before I even asked.
“You are.” Sinead paced in front of the book on the table.
Anxiety turned in my stomach. Was she mad when my mother disappeared with me? If she knew about my precocious period, when all grownups were stupid and I knew everything, she’d be grateful for dodging that disaster. I didn’t know what to say.
“When I couldn’t find you,” she continued, “I wasn’t sure what to do. Carrig came to me when he heard about the unmatched changeling. He told me he was the father of the missing Sentinel and Marietta was the mother. I was terrified. We knew you were the one the seer presaged, so we decided to keep you a secret. We raised Deidre together. In time, Carrig and I fell in love, and Marietta became his past. As for you, he figured you were better off ignorant of this life.”
“Then you’re not mad at my mother for hiding me?”
“Oh, no.” A smile hinted in her voice. “She only wanted to protect you. I’d have done the same.”
“Oh. Crap. I almost forgot,” I said. “When I asked the globe what happened to Carrig, it showed me a black flag with a red flame in the middle.”
Sinead grabbed her throat.
“It’s the Esteril flag,” Arik said. “Conemar has him.”
“Conemar? That wizard from France? The one you said was behind the attacks on the havens?”
“Yes, him,” he said. “He was born with an evil soul. A wizard compelled his mother while she was pregnant with him. In the course of the act, the man died. When a wizard dies during a compulsion, his or her victim becomes insane. It is very costly for a wizard to compel someone. Their life spans diminish while casting the compulsion spell. Usually, it would’ve taken months for the wizard to run out of life at his young age, but it only took weeks. The baby drained the wizard’s life span at a faster rate than normal.”
I swallowed. Chills ran across my skin. I didn’t like this story. “Where is Conemar now?”
“He was exiled under the suspicion of murder. Esteril, the Russian haven, eagerly took him in. They hadn’t had a High Wizard since the sixteenth century due to a curse an enchantress, Athela, placed on the haven. It is believed she went crazy when her husband died.”
Yeah, I’d go crazy too if my father turned my husband’s corpse into a beast.
“Am I to rot here?” Sean adjusted in the chair. “All this talk be spooking me.”
Him and me both.
“You sit there and don’t say another word,” Sinead snapped. “When our friends come, we’ll get you back to Ireland. Until then, keep your mouth shut.”
“Jeez, give the guy a break. It’s not his fault he’s here.”
“I’m sorry.” Sinead exhaled. “I’m just worried about Carrig, and Sean reminds me of him.”
The book shuddered against the table and the tracer flew out, dissipating into a thousand glitters that floated to the ground. The pages of the book flipped, and when it stopped, Demos swirled out and landed on his feet on top of the table. He leaped effortlessly to the floor.
“You rang?” A crooked smile teased his lips and a naughty glint hinted in his eyes as he inspected my body. “Gia. I dare say, warrior gear suits you.”
Chapter Eighteen
My heart swelled as I watched Arik stride toward Demos. I’d promised myself to keep my distance, but I couldn’t help it. I took an anxious step toward him and stopped, remembering we had an audience. We’d just made it through something horrible together, and I wanted to hug him. He was so strong, fearless. But I turned away instead.
The grave look on Sinead’s face must’ve struck Demos, because his smile slipped when he saw her. “What’s happened?” He glanced at Sean. “Carrig, is something the matter?”
“That’s not Carrig,” Arik interrupted. “He’s his changeling. Conemar kidnapped Carrig and switched Sean with him. He weaved their minds together.”
“How?” Demos’s eyebrows pinched together as he studied Sean. “And how was he able to jump through the gateway book?”
“While their minds are weaved together, Sean receives Carrig’s memories and abilities,” Sinead said.
“Gia must perform a truth globe on you before we continue,” Arik said.
Demos agreed and after he had passed, we told him how my pink globe released Sean.
“I think it runs on my emotions,” I said. “It removes charms and spells.”
“I think that’s why Veronique attacked us,” Sinead said.
Demos’s eyes widened. “Veronique?”
She nodded. “Yes. I’m not certain, but she could be involved with the recent assaults on the Mystiks.”
Disappointment clouded Arik’s eyes. “I must contact Merl.”
Arik fished a thin rod from his pocket, which was actually two rods fashioned together. He pulled the ends apart and a blue glow kindled between them, creating a screen the size of an iPad. “Merlin Sagehill,” Arik spoke into it.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“It’s a window rod. It’s like a webcam, but powered by magic. It’s our only connection to Asile. The charms around Asile block cell phone reception.”
Several minutes passed.
I frowned at the thing. “It’s broken.”
“Give it time. He has to find a safe place to answer it.”
The light between the rods blinked, and Merl’s face came across the screen as a ghostly blue form. “Brilliant, I see you have Gia. Has she informed you of the goings-on?”
“Yes. How’s Asile?”
Merl’s eyes landed on me, which came across somewhat creepy. “Adding to the charm to open the door on my command alone was quite clever, Gia. We cornered Veronique at the outbuilding as she tried to escape.” He addressed Arik again. “We scried her. She’s conspiring with Conemar, who’s behind the recent attacks on the Mystiks. He has spies in every Haven. Veronique overhead you talking to me about finding Gia, thus had Conemar spell Carrig. Using his changeling to observe her—” Static ran across the screen.
Arik tilted the rods to get a better reception. “What do they want with her?”
I leaned closer to hear Merl. “Yeah, what he said.”
“From what I gathered from Veronique, they hoped she’d lead them…the chart…to locate…Chiavi.”
“Wait, you’re breaking up.” Arik moved closer to a window with me stuck to him like static cling. The rod’s reception improved.
Merl squinted at the screen. “Can you hear me better?”
“Yes, go ahead.”
“Veronique sent Gia, Nick, and Afton’s addresses to the rogue Mystiks searching for them. She got the information from your mission recorder. We’ll discuss how she got access to it later, but for now, there are more pressing matters. Brian Kearns and Deidre are in danger—”
I sucked in a sharp breath. “What?”
Arik held up his hand to quiet me.
Merl didn’t stop for my interruption. “You must rescue them and the other two humans, Afton and Nick. Bring them back to Asile. The Wizard Council has approved their travel here and registered them with the Monitors. They’ll go undetected through the gateways.”
“We will,” Arik said. “But we haven’t completed our mission. Most of the cities are secured, but I returned to Asile to tell you the Writhes’ coven has fallen. There are few who survived.”
Merl’s face was grim. “I will send guards to retrieve the survivors. Report back when you have the humans.
Go safely.”
“Wait. My nana and Faith. Are they okay?”
“They are. I’ll keep them safe,” he said. “You’re not to worr—”
The blue light between the rods went dark. Arik eased them together and buried it back into his pocket.
I heaved a sigh, relieved they were alive, then remembered what Merl had said. I dashed back to the book. “Pop’s in danger! We have to get him,” I said, flipping through the pages to find the Boston library.
Arik caught my arm, stopping me. “Calm down. We wait for the others. Once they pass your globe, we’ll leave.”
“We can’t wait—”
“Bloody hell, Gia. Will you just listen to me? We need the other Sentinels. There’s no other way. We can’t just rush to the rescue without help.”
“I’m not going to risk waiting!”
He scowled down at me.
I watched his hard, dark eyes. “I’m going without you, then.”
He blew out a frustrated breath. “Will you stop being stubborn and listen?”
I crossed my arms, tears burning my eyes. “No. He’s all I have besides Nana. We have to go now. The rest can follow.”
“Oh, bugger me.” He threw his hands up in the air.
I was pretty sure he’d just cussed at me.
“What’s wrong with you, Arik?” Sinead said from across the room. “Stop being nasty. Her family is threatened, and you are not sympathetic.”
He growled and said in a softer voice, “I apologize. I didn’t mean—”
“I’m scared.” The tears I’d been holding back flooded over my lashes.
“Oh, now, don’t do that.” Arik’s eyebrows pulled together with concern. “I won’t let anything happen to your father and the others. Will you trust me on this? We need help, or we’ve lost before we’ve even started.” He towed me into a tight embrace. “You remember the hunter in the subway. We’ll be much more help to everyone if all of us are working together. Look what we did as a team against Veronique.”
Every second of delay was killing me, but he was right. We needed all the Sentinels.
I sagged against his firm chest. I believed he’d probably give his life to keep that promise, and it scared me. As much as I didn’t want anything to happen to Pop or my friends, I couldn’t accept anything happening to Arik, either. I inhaled his manly scent, my head spinning. I needed time to get to know him better. Tell him how brave he was, how much I admired him, too. I swallowed back the emotions cramming in my throat, unable to gather the courage.