Withhold

by Andrea Pearson

  Nicole sighed to herself. She’d finish convincing Lizzie and Jacob later, but why did Azuriah not have a problem with it when traditionally, he disagreed with her simply because it was her?

  Pushing her frustrations aside, Nicole nodded when Jacob asked if she was ready. He keyed them to the Fat Lady’s cabin, then shut the door and Time-Saw to make sure it was clear out front. It was, and he popped the door open.

  Nicole and the others followed him around back, past some clotheslines, and up into the forested hills behind the cabin. As they walked, Jacob whispered instructions. “The Fat Lady still has protections on her cabin,” he said. “I’ll hang out there and watch until you’re ready to come back. Then I’ll open a link to the door closest to you.”

  He showed them the entrance to a tunnel. “It’ll take you into the castle. It runs beneath Maivoryl City and is long, dark, and very musty, but as far as we know, no one else is aware of it. Good luck. I’ll be watching.”

  The tunnel was deserted and damp, just as Jacob said it would be. Nicole swore she heard something scampering past a few times, but even when she shone her flashlight down, she never saw anything.

  After nearly an hour of walking, they finally reached the other side, where a set of cement stairs rose sharply. Azuriah led them up, then at the top, he Time-Saw to make sure the way was safe. Because he was able to see emotions as well, he would guide them to the Fat Lady.

  The halls were deserted. Coolidge speculated that Keitus’s demons had already conquered this part of the castle. Anyone who would have resisted had been frozen or killed.

  They found the Fat Lady in the throne room right where Nicole had last seen her. An expression of fear was on her face, one hand raised to defend herself, the other protecting her head.

  “How do we unfreeze her?” Coolidge asked.

  No one had an answer. There was no way they would be able to move her—she was too big. Why hadn’t they thought of that before?

  Nicole had an idea, and as if reading her mind, the sphere was suddenly in her hand in her pocket.

  “I might be able to find something to help us,” she whispered. “Azuriah, would you take us to a quiet room? I need a couple of minutes.”

  He did so, leading them through the dark halls and into a deserted corner room of the castle. Nicole took the sphere out of her pocket and held it level with her face, staring at it, ignoring the others. It didn’t do anything. She gave it a little shake, then stared at it again. Still nothing. She wished she could send a wisp of magic to it, willing it to tell her what to do, but that obviously wouldn’t work. What, then?

  Finally, she imagined herself in Shonlin, holding the sphere tightly in her hand, asking it to grant her access. She gasped as the library opened into a vision before her, allowing her to see both her current surroundings in the castle and the fifth floor of the library. It was a little disorienting at first, but she pushed aside her confusion and approached the guardian. His eyes were open, as they usually were when she saw him like this. He smiled and opened the door for her.

  Nicole stepped forward, but hesitated. He might know what she needed. She turned to him. “I need a way to help someone magically frozen be able to move again.”

  He thought for a moment, then looked at the book that was always near the door under protective glass. He removed the glass box. Opening the book, he trailed his finger down the pages one after the other.

  The guardian nodded. “This isn’t a perfect match, but it’s the only thing within Shonlin’s borders that’ll help.”

  He guided her to the appropriate shelf. Nicole repeated the words that rushed into her mind, unsealing a walking stick. The stick glowed momentarily and she picked it up, glancing at the guardian.

  “What does it do?”

  “Increases the speed of the user. It will enable your friend to move. Use caution—it might not be fast enough.” He took a deep breath. “And please hurry, Nicole. I can sense the darkness pressing in again. We need your strength as soon as possible.”

  Nicole thanked him and left the room. Just as the door closed behind her, the vision ended and she could only see the dark interior of the castle. The walking stick was now in her hand. She stared at it, marveling at the power the sphere gave her.

  “That’s quite some magical item you have,” Azuriah said.

  “Do you mean the sphere or the walking stick?” she asked.

  “Potentially both. Mostly the sphere.”

  He led the way back to the Fat Lady, and Nicole placed the walking stick in her hand. The woman’s fingers slowly, slowly curled around it. Once it was fully in her grasp, she inched her head up and looked into the faces of her friends.

  “You’ve . . . come . . . for . . . me,” she said.

  Nicole and the others looked at each other. If this was the fastest the Fat Lady could go, they’d never get her out before somebody caught them.

  “The curse is still on her,” Coolidge said.

  “The guardian said this is the only thing that would help,” Nicole said. “I don’t know if it’s possible to remove the curse completely.”

  The Fat Lady started for the throne room door, using the walking stick to support herself, guided by Azuriah. The more she used the stick, the faster she went, but it still wasn’t enough.

  Streams of magic started pricking Nicole in the back, and she whirled toward the door. Nothing was there.

  “We’ve got company headed this way!” Azuriah shrieked.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Nicole and the others surrounded the Fat Lady while Azuriah put up his bubble. They were nearly to the door of the throne room when a demon appeared. Like the first demon they’d fought that day, this one had an axe. He lifted it, letting it drop toward Coolidge’s head, the person nearest him. The axe bounced off Azuriah’s bubble, and Nicole breathed a sigh of relief. She’d forgotten it was basically an invisible shield.

  Coolidge’s magic swirled around him, also invisible to the demon, and fire exploded on the creature, burning it to a crisp. It dropped to the ground, breaking into chunks.

  “Good . . . trick . . .,” the Fat Lady said.

  He nodded. “Let’s keep going. I won’t be able to do that very often.”

  More demons entered the room. They were able see through the bubble, but their war cries and grunts of anger were muffled. Austin and Coolidge fought with magic. Nicole could sense their powers, but still couldn’t feel her own. She absolutely hated feeling so useless.

  Now that she had found a magical item for the Fat Lady to use, she was only a hindrance. What could she do to help?

  Nicole cringed when both Coolidge and Austin’s powers started waning. Azuriah was tiring as well. They were still too far from the door, and even if Jacob opened a link for them now, that distance could take several minutes to cross. The Fat Lady was creeping along. Nicole wrung her hands, doing her best not to distract the others. She had to do something!

  She pulled the sphere from her pocket, unsure what to do with it, but realizing if she didn’t do something, they’d end up dead. She imagined herself in Shonlin again and approached the guardian.

  “What are you in need of?”

  “A weapon—something to fight against magic.”

  “Close or long range?”

  Nicole hesitated, thinking. “Not really close, but within ten feet.”

  The guardian again went to the book, flipping through the pages. He murmured to himself as he searched. Several times, he chose something only to change his mind. Nicole resisted the urge to hurry him. Finally, he led her to a shelf. The magical item Nicole unsealed was an umbrella.

  Was he serious? “What will it do?”

  “Open it and you’ll find out. But don’t point it toward a friend.”

  Nicole thanked him, left, and the vision closed. Once she had her bearings, she gasped, seeing that she and her friends were surrounded by demons. There were tons of them now! She pointed the umbrella toward the nearest one and opened a
nd closed it several times.

  At first, nothing happened. Then the demon began to melt. Nicole wasn’t sure why. Was the umbrella spreading an invisible acid or poison?

  Azuriah’s bubble started wavering.

  Her curiosity replaced with determination, Nicole used the umbrella to blaze a way through the monsters, then turned to watch the Fat Lady follow slowly. Just as they arrived at their destination, Azuriah’s bubble died. The door popped open and Jacob jumped out, replacing Azuriah’s shield with one of his own.

  “Hurry, hurry!” he said, waving everyone through.

  Nicole stayed behind the Fat Lady as Azuriah, Coolidge, and Austin urged her onward. The woman’s steps had begun to slow as she tired from fighting the curse. Nicole continued using the umbrella, watching as monster after monster dropped, melting like wax.

  Finally, the Fat Lady cleared the doorway, and Nicole jumped through, into the Fat Lady’s cabin. Jacob closed the link behind them.

  The Fat Lady turned to Nicole, walking stick still in hand, a cranky expression on her face. “I assume . . . the reason . . . you got me . . . is because you need something.”

  Nicole knitted her eyebrows, understanding the real question behind what the woman was saying. It was something to the effect of, “There’d better be a good reason for you risking yourselves to save me or you’re huge idiots.”

  “We need you to make something called the Dramocia potion,” Nicole said.

  “I know . . . of it. Don’t remember . . . what the ingredients are. Do you have them . . . already?”

  “No, none of them.”

  “Tell me . . . what you need.”

  Nicole repeated the names of the metals, happy to see the Fat Lady nod and start toward her shelf. Apparently, she had two of them, and the castle had the others.

  While the Fat Lady searched for the two she had, Jacob keyed back to Aldo’s lab in the castle. He got in and out quickly—that section of the castle was deserted—then handed over the ingredients.

  The Fat Lady got started on it immediately. Nicole really hated that it took so long for the poor woman to move around. But even so, she was able to mix everything in only an hour. While waiting, Nicole looked at the ring Austin had given her a while ago—the one that let them direct positive thoughts to each other. She switched it from her right hand, putting it on her left ring finger. It was too big, but it felt right there, now that they were engaged. She needed something to occupy her mind.

  Austin watched her playing with the ring and sent her a smile, giving her knee a gentle squeeze. Such a small action on his part warmed her heart considerably. How she hoped they’d get through this ordeal quickly and as painlessly as possible!

  While waiting, Jacob watched and relayed information to them as more and more of earth was enslaved. Nicole tried not to dwell on it—especially when she remembered Lizzie’s family. Please be okay!

  After another twenty minutes, the Fat Lady announced that the potion was done.

  “Do you know . . . how you need to take it?” the Fat Lady asked. “I know it has special requirements.”

  Nicole frowned. That was definitely something she should have asked. “I’m not sure. Onyev didn’t say anything.”

  “Well, you’d better . . . go find out.”

  Though Nicole agreed with the Fat Lady, she still groaned inwardly at yet another delay. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then allowed Jacob to take her back to Gratitude.

  The patriarch wasn’t surprised to see her. “You must have found a potions master.”

  “I did. She got everything mixed together, and now I need to know how to take it.”

  He nodded. “Mix it with water—one gram of potion for each teaspoon. You’ll take it one spoonful at a time, repeated every hour, until the potion is gone.” He looked her directly in the eye. “Side effects include extremely painful migraines and severe drowsiness. You absolutely must stay awake until all of the potion has been taken, else your magic will never return. You will need help—you won’t be able to do it on your own.”

  Nicole nodded. This didn’t sound fun.

  “After you take the potion, you’ll be unconscious for several days. Make sure you start the process in a place where you’ll be safe.” He put a hand on her arm. “Before you leave, I feel impressed to remind you again to trust your instincts. Nicole, there are people out there who need to be saved, who will be a great asset to your team, and you will be sorely tempted to ignore them in exchange for those dear to you. You must put aside your feelings and reach out to them, as you are the only one who can offer them help.”

  Nicole swallowed, her palms becoming clammy. What did Onyev know that he wasn’t telling her?

  He took a breath. “That’s all—I wish you luck.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Nicole thanked him and left, wondering about his words of advice and where she could possibly go that would be guaranteed safe for several days. Earth was out of the question, and so was Eklaron. Well, most of it. Would the Fat Lady mind if Nicole hung out there? Or maybe she could join the Makalos in their village.

  Nicole thought about her options as she returned to Jacob, figuring the Fat Lady was her best bet, as from what she’d heard, the Lorkon had never been able to break the woman’s defenses. She’d holed herself up in that cabin for years and years and could probably do it again.

  Jacob and Nicole returned to the Fat Lady’s cabin, and Nicole told everyone there what Onyev had said. Austin was disappointed that it would take so long and would cause her pain. Coolidge, Azuriah, and the Fat Lady agreed that the best place for Nicole would be the Fat Lady’s cabin. It was decided that Jacob would stick around while Nicole took the potion in case anything bad happened, and in the meantime, Coolidge, Austin, and Azuriah would return to the bone dimension and continue recruiting help.

  Austin wasn’t happy with the plans. He wanted to stay with Nicole, but she and Coolidge had disagreed—they needed him more where everything was happening, and Nicole would be safe. If the potion killed her, she didn’t want him to watch. And he probably wouldn’t be able to do anything to help her through the pain. It would be horrible for him.

  Once Nicole was set up on the Fat Lady’s dusty couch, Austin gave her a kiss goodbye, the sadness and hesitation in his eyes betraying his confident exterior.

  “I love you,” he whispered, brushing her cheek with his finger. “Please, please take care of yourself.”

  Nicole nodded. “You too.” She raised her hand with the ring on it. “Send positive thoughts, and I’ll do the same. I have a feeling we’ll both need them.”

  After the men left, not including Jacob, the Fat Lady began administering the potion. It took a full day to get all of the doses into Nicole.

  The headaches began the minute that first teaspoon hit her stomach, and the pain was absolutely horrible. When Onyev said it would cause her migraines, he wasn’t kidding. They split across her scalp, making her throw up multiple times. The Fat Lady had to cover all of her windows with heavy cloths because even the slightest light increased Nicole’s pain a hundredfold. The entire time Nicole was taking the potion, neither Jacob nor the Fat Lady were able to speak to her. The slightest sound—especially voices—caused too much pain.

  And the exhaustion—the exhaustion. It was uncontrollable. Nicole’s body seemed to know that if it just relaxed, just let go, just succumbed to the need for sleep, the pain she was inflicting on it would be resolved. Her body fought to slip into dreamland, and she fought just as hard to stay awake.

  Any time Jacob saw her eyes droop, he flicked her with a rubber band. It was the only thing that pulled her out of her pain-ridden stupor enough to wake up her mind.

  Nicole spent most of the time on the Fat Lady’s couch, breathing in through her nose and out through her mouth, a cold compress across her forehead. The Fat Lady spent most of her time inching her way back and forth from the kitchen sink to the couch, replacing the warm, used rags with cold ones. Jacob�
�s job was to keep Nicole awake. He obviously hated sitting while the Fat Lady walked, but the Fat Lady simply wasn’t fast enough to stop Nicole’s eyes from shutting.

  What a ridiculous, stupid ordeal Nicole was forced to go through because of one evil man. She couldn’t wait to get her hands on him. The minute her powers returned, she’d destroy him.

  With the help of the Great Ones, of course.

  She couldn’t entertain thoughts of revenge for long, though—the energy required was enough to induce an agony-filled stupor of exhaustion. As a result, she let her mind wander wherever it wanted to go—the path of least resistance and all of that.

  Finally, she’d taken the entire potion and was able to sleep.

  The first thing she noticed when she drifted off was that she wasn’t really sleeping. It was sort of a consciously unconscious state she entered—as if she was stuck in her brain, aware of everything her body was going through.

  The second thing she recognized was pain, and so much more of it. What she’d felt earlier was nothing. Why hadn’t Onyev warned her that sleeping wouldn’t relieve it? The headaches spread, pulsing through her spine, down her limbs, and into her extremities, reaching and extending to her toes and fingers until her entire body was drenched in an all-encompassing migraine.

  Weeks, months, years flew by—she was sure of it—while she begged and pleaded with whoever was listening to end her life, to relieve her of the pain, to take it away.

  The pain increased until Nicole opened her eyes, trying to wake up. She didn’t care about her magic anymore. It wasn’t worth it—the agony, the responsibility of Shonlin, none of it. Onyev could take the sphere back. She’d force him to accept it.

  Nicole was surprised that the Fat Lady’s surroundings didn’t greet her when she woke up. Instead, strange symbols floated in the air around her. They were almost like Chinese characters, but had a sort of Arabic flair to them. They glowed gold in the hazy murkiness that surrounded them. She watched them for several moments. She reached out, hesitating before touching the one nearest her. It had a warm sensation around it.