by SA Magnusson
“Are you wrong?” Barden asked softly.
I didn’t need to focus very much on the sense of the ley lines to feel the way they had shifted. Standing on the ice, and a place where power flowed, I was continually aware of it.
“No. I’m not.”
“I didn’t think that you were.”
I grunted. “I can’t believe that you’re taking me at my word.”
“Do you know what my experience has been throughout my entire magical life?” Barden asked as we continued across the ice. I could see the shape of the island in the distance, but it seemed a long way from where we had started, and we were completely exposed. Any concealment spell would cost considerable energy, and it seemed a waste to me to even attempt it.
“I guess not, though I’m curious how you’ve acquired power.”
“That’s not nearly as interesting as what you might think. There are many ways that men acquire power in their lives.”
“But you’ve acquired magical power.”
“I’ve acquired influence. I was born with power. In order to lead, you need both, though I would argue that influence matters more than power.”
“Then what have you been through your entire magical life?”
“The same as everyone here. Each of us spent our days fearing for the time when one of the mage council might spring upon us, capturing us, threatening us with the possibility of burning off our magic. As we’ve gotten older—as I’ve gotten older—I feared that even more. When you live a long time with a particular power, you come to appreciate having access to it. If it were suddenly to disappear…”
Somewhere near us, the ice cracked, and three of the mages moved closer to us. I had no idea how thick the ice was and knew that the DNR had guides to ice thickness and when it was safe to walk on, something that we should have accounted for. I was tempted to probe the ice with magic and suspected that with the right spell, I would be able to freeze the lake, though it would require considerable energy and I needed to conserve that energy for what we might have to face.
“And then you came along, Dr. Michaels.”
“You’re the one who grabbed me first.”
“Because I believed that you were somehow able to remove the influence from the mage council.”
“But I can’t.”
“You don’t think that you can, but I’m not entirely certain that’s true.”
“It was a gorgon, Barden, not burning anything off.”
“And yet you managed to discover that fact. And you managed to look past the differences between the councils, realizing that we weren’t what the mage council long believed. You have advocated for us, and then you have fought for us.” Barden walked for a little while longer. “And so I trust you, Dr. Michaels. You might be an outsider and not a member of my council, but you have earned my trust and then some. Which makes your question about why I would believe you unnecessary. I believe you simply because you have proven yourself time and again. And I believe you because you have changed my life—and the people who I lead—for the better.”
I didn’t know quite what to say at first. Wind whipped past me, flipping the hair that had pulled loose from my hat, and I didn’t do anything to change that. “The mage council hasn’t fully embraced you.”
“No, but it’s a start. We aren’t hunted like we once were. And that, more than anything else, is what matters. The rest will come in time.”
The ice groaned again and I hesitated a moment before continuing on. “You aren’t what I thought you were.”
“Most men aren’t who you see at first. It takes time to understand their true nature.”
“And do you think that I know your true nature?”
“I don’t know. What do you think, Dr. Michaels?”
I started to answer, but the sound of ice cracking ahead of us caught my attention.
Two mages started to tumble into the water, a massive hole opening.
Three mages near them built a spell, power surging along my spine, wrapping around those who had fallen into the water and scooping them up. I wasn’t sure what sort of spell they used, but they lifted, pulling the mages out of the icy water.
Behind me, the ice cracked again.
Turning carefully, the massive crack that had formed in front of us, nearly swallowing two mages, circled all the way around to the other side.
“Barden?”
“What is it, Dr. Michaels?”
I pointed, and Barden frowned as he stared at it. “That is unfortunate.”
“Do you have some spell to refreeze the ice?”
“Doing so would be challenging.”
“Why?”
“All of this area is surrounded by Solera’s influence. Anything that we might attempt would be diminished by her connection to magic.”
“So she knows that we are here.”
“I suspect that she does,” he said.
Another crack sounded, this one muted, and I made a small circle, realizing that we now stood on a floating piece of ice.
And it was starting to sink.
Water seeped up as the weight of all of us mages pushed it down, forcing the ice beneath the surface of the water. It happened slowly, but as the water began to flow on top of the ice, it sank even more.
“We could jump to another section,” I said.
“I doubt that she would allow that,” Barden said. He was moving his hands in a rapid pattern, and power was building.
The ice halted. Water continued to flow over it, but then it began to freeze.
“We will need to step on top of it. Otherwise we might freeze ourselves into the ice,” Barden said.
As the ice solidified, I pulled my boot free and then my other, standing on top of the newer—and thicker—section of ice.
“I thought you wouldn’t able to do that,” I said.
“Unfortunately, that wasn’t just me.”
Looking around the sheet of ice, I could tell that the other mages here had all been a part of that spell. And with as much power as had been required to form it, they now were weakened.
“What now?” I asked.
“Now we have to hope that whatever other attack she throws at us won’t be nearly as significant,” he said.
Barden leaned down, and, using the tips of two fingers, made a swirl along the ice, a spiral pattern, and then with a final flourish, he pointed away from the island.
Power surged up through that spell. The ice sheet started moving, and I staggered, nearly falling, but Barden caught me.
“I won’t be of much use when we reached Solera’s.”
“And the others?”
“The others will be there to protect us, but they were never much of a threat to Solera. They wanted to come and I wasn’t going to refuse.”
The ice slammed into another chunk of ice, and it popped out of the water, like the bow of the boat as it gains speed, before crashing back down and splitting the smaller section of ice. Darvish crouched on one side of the chunk of ice, and another mage, Bernard from the shack, crouched on the other. Both of them had their hands pressed into the ice. Magic swirled around them, a chill that came through my spine even more potently than the cold in the air. Whatever spell they held was powerful.
How would any mages from the mage council reach us?
It was possible that they wouldn’t. If they had to cross the lake the same way, they would have to hold the ice—or find some other way across. I couldn’t imagine how they would cross without breaking through the ice the same way that we had.
We were near the shore. It was close enough that I began to think that we would reach it.
Ice popped.
Then another.
And then another.
Darvish glanced over to Barden, his eyes wide. He shook his head. “Something is fighting us,” he said.
“We all need to hold it.”
“Can I help?” I asked.
Barden pressed his lips together in a frown. “I worry that if you participate
in this, you will be too weakened for what must happen when we reach the island.”
Each of the dark mages crouched on the ice. Only then did I realize that water had begun to seep up along the surface of it.
He frowned, probing the ice with a hint of magic, and I realized that wasn’t quite true. Water wasn’t seeping up so much as the ice was melting. The closer we got to the island, the more influence that Solera had, and the more the sheet of ice that we used to float in this direction began to change, making it difficult for us to continue forward.
“It’s melting, Barden.”
“I can tell that, Dr. Michaels.”
“I think I can resist the influence.”
I had started down when Barden caught my wrist. “No. She’s exerting herself, too. Let her expend her energy so that you have an opportunity to counter it.”
“And what if she is only expending energy drawn from the other side of the Veil?”
“Everyone has limits, Dr. Michaels. Even one of the fae.”
I resisted the urge to help, hating that I had to, knowing that I could do something, but didn’t want to get in the way and knowing that Barden had given good advice.
The ice shelf stopped moving.
We were still thirty or forty feet away from the shore, but no longer did we float forward. I took a few steps forward and felt the edge of where the ice shelf should be able to go. There was an invisible barrier. We were stopped, halted from going any further.
And without having any way of going, we would be stuck here while Solera continued to melt the ice around us.
This would be my role.
Summoning my sword, I sent a surge of magic through it and pressed it up against the barrier. Sparks skittered off the surface of it, illuminating the barrier.
Could I press through that barrier?
It would be me using my magic to oppose another magic—probably a greater magic—but if I didn’t, we would be stuck here until we sank.
And then we would freeze.
Forcing more power through my sword, I carved at the barrier. Sparks danced off the surface of it, a mixture of orange and yellow, and I pressed the glowing purplish blade against the barrier.
I might be able to do it, but it would take everything in my power to overcome.
Water seeped up along my boots. Cold hit my feet and I gasped.
The sword evaporated.
The cold sapped my strength and my focus. As I looked around at the dark mages, all of them trying to use the power of their spells to hold the ice shelf in place, I realized that none of us would succeed. Without any way of penetrating the barrier, we would be stuck here.
“Barden. This is a mistake. We need to go back to shore.”
“Unfortunately, Dr. Michaels, I’m not sure that I have the necessary strength to transport us back at this point.”
“I could do it.”
He looked up at me. “All of us?”
Could I take everyone? I had moved a car, so how much heavier could a sheet of ice be?
Probably considerably heavier. And that wasn’t even taking into account the number of dark mages standing on it. I might have to take more than one trip, and there was no guarantee that I would be able to return, and even if I could, the moment I removed some of the dark mages, the others might not be able to maintain the spell.
There was no good option.
“I’m willing to try.”
I expected Barden to oppose me, but he didn’t.
I stood, focusing on the connection that was required to transport us from one place to another. It wasn’t a difficult thing to do, not now that I’ve done it before, but the strength required might be more than I had. I would have to push past the cold flowing through my feet and the chill working along my body. I would have to ignore it as I focused on transporting us from one place to the next.
A buzzing sound filled my ears.
Was that the wind picking up?
It didn’t sound like the wind, and it didn’t really sound like anything, if I were honest. It was strange, a sound that reminded me of a swarm of angry bees, and it was growing louder—and closer.
I scanned the lake and realized that three boats were coming toward us.
How were boats traveling on a frozen lake?
Fan boats. I had seen the sheriff using them, and that must be what was coming our way, but who? And how? They continued to speed toward us, and as they did, I had another distinct sense. It was that of magic. A cold chill that worked along my spine, and that sense of magic was coming straight toward us.
19
As the fan boats approached, I recognized a figure standing in the bow of the nearest one. It would’ve been difficult to miss Aron. He held a sword in hand, almost casually, and his icy blue eyes stared outward. He was wearing a leather jacket, a T-shirt, and jeans. Certainly not dressed for the weather.
Behind him were Gran and Gramps, along with Sharon.
Members of the council had come.
The boats pulled up near us. There were three of them, and space enough for all of us to climb into.
Aron reached a hand out, helping me board the boat, and I took it, stepping into the boat, letting the water drip off my feet. Gran rested a hand on me and warmth flowed through me, some spell that she placed.
“What were you thinking, Katie?” she asked.
“I was thinking that we needed to move quickly. And I wasn’t sure whether the council would respond.”
“Why would you think we would ignore a request?”
“Because it involves the Dark Council.”
Grand glanced over at Barden. He stared at Gran for a moment before turning his expression to Sharon. “Thank you,” he said.
“What is this about?” Sharon asked, stepping forward.
Aron remained close to me. Feeling him this close was comforting, but it was also somewhat disconcerting. He hovered near my shoulder, as if thinking he would protect me, and I wondered how much of that was due to his perception over what the council wanted from him.
“Dr. Michaels says that the ley lines have shifted,” Barden answered.
Sharon pressed her lips together as she regarded me. “The ley lines can’t be shifted.”
“That’s the purpose of the spells we’ve been finding.”
“How are you certain of this?” Sharon asked.
“Because I can feel the power of the ley lines.”
Sharon stared at me for a moment before looking over at Gran. For her part, Gran looked almost as if she weren’t sure what to do or say. She watched me, regarding me with suspicion.
“If you have some way of using a spell, be my guest. There is a powerful mage who has been placing spells around the city. I don’t have the map to show you, but they circled the entirety of the city, and then within that circle, there were other patterns, and the last pieces were placing spells on the Mississippi and the St. Croix.”
Gramps’s eyes widened. “That can’t be what we detected, can it?”
“You detected it?”
“We detected something, but we weren’t sure quite what it was. There is something different about the magic within the city.”
“It’s pointing in this direction. Whatever happened is focused on the island and on Solera.”
“Solera wouldn’t do this,” Sharon said.
“Are you so sure? If she views this as a prison, why wouldn’t she do it?” Though I still didn’t know what reason she would have for trying to shift the ley lines. She had access to power from the other side of the Veil, but would it be enough for her? And maybe she could use this power, twist it, and allow herself to cross back over the Veil. “What if she wants to return?”
“In all the years that she’s been here, there has been no attempt to return. Her return means certain death.”
“What if she thinks that changing the orientation of the ley lines and connecting to it would allow her the kind of power that she needs?” The Seelie queen had been absent
on the other side, so it seemed possible that something was up. It might not be an attempt to return, but the fact of the matter was that the ley lines pointed in this direction.
“I trust Dr. Michaels,” Barden said.
“Of course you would,” Sharon said.
“If that’s meant as an insult, I fail to see your point.”
“Only that she’s been advocating for you to be a part of the council. It’s not surprising that you would trust her. It does make me wonder whether we can trust her.”
“I trust Katie,” Gramps said.
He looked at Gran, and the sour expression on her face was one I had known from my childhood. It was one that suggested that she wasn’t certain how to answer, and though I didn’t disagree—especially as I wasn’t certain how to answer—I needed her to side with me. I needed her to recognize that I wasn’t imagining this.
“Gran?”
She took a deep breath. “You have been involved in quite a bit over the last year. Most mages never experience what you have, and there is no doubting how powerful you are. If you say that you can detect the shifting of the ley lines, then I believe you. What is it that you need?”
“We need to lower the barrier she has surrounding the island. Whoever is working with her grabbed Jen, and not only do we need to stop Solera, but I need to get my friend back.”
“You brought your friend with you again?”
“She drove me. That was it. We were attacked before we had a chance to…” I waved my hand. “It doesn’t matter. What matters is that I need to get onto this island.”
“And when you do, what then?”
“I don’t know. The mage who attacked is incredibly powerful.”
And she might be too powerful for me to stop. And that was not including the fact that I still would have to deal with Solera.
Maybe this was a mistake, but with as many mages as we had, both members of the mage council and the Dark Council, I had to think that we would be able to overpower her somehow.
And it might involve me reaching the pool at the heart of the island, the source of Solera’s power, and once I did, I could find a way to connect to it again. I had done it once before, though that had been through surprise. Maybe I could do it again.