by John Corwin
Two teenaged boys with platinum blond hair laughed and sprang from the bushes to the side of the door. I recognized Max's brothers at once. Dread mingled with panic as I considered what they might do to me.
"I daresay we got him good, Devon." Rhys slapped his identical twin on the back.
Devon walked toward me, eyes alight with amusement. "Such an elegant stance, Edison." He traced his finger down my frozen wand arm. "Poetry in motion."
"Perhaps in stillness," Rhys said with a giggle.
The boys stood to either side of me, mirror images but for a freckle on Rhys's right cheek. The smiles on their faces turned to sneers, warped by the ice over my eyes. I tried desperately to move, but the ice was too thick on my limbs.
"It's a special year for us, Edison." Devon thumped my frozen nose.
Rhys leaned in from the other side. "Our final year, Edison."
"And we plan to go out on top." Devon circled in front of me one way as Rhys walked the other.
"Perhaps you should sit out Kabash this year," Rhys said.
Devon finished the threat. "If not for your sake, for the sake of your friends."
The pair stood next to each other, eyes glowing with malevolence as they spoke in unison. "This is the year of Tiberius Keep."
My eyes rolled wildly and I tried to speak, but all that came out was a low inhuman moan of pure fear.
They laughed, taking sheer delight in my torture and then walked to either side of me, footsteps fading. I struggled, air whistling through the small hole in the ice beneath my nose. My skin felt numb with cold, and my nose began to grow stuffy. I pushed my tongue through the gap in my frozen lips and tried to push a hole through the ice, but it was no use. Unless it melted soon, I'd be unable to breathe.
My struggles had little effect except to wobble me ever so slightly in my awkward frozen stance. It was late, and there were no other students entering or leaving the dining hall at this hour. I had only one chance to free myself before my nose completely stopped up. Tensing my muscles, I used what little give there was in the ice and jolted myself sideways.
It was just enough to push me off balance. I toppled, a glass statue meeting the stone pathway hard enough to shatter. My shoulder smashed through the ice with a painful crunch. My head whipped down. The ice on my neck cut into the skin, razors of ice numbing and burning all at once.
With my left arm and leg free, I pushed up and then slammed my ice-armored head into the stone. The ice cracked and broke, sliding from my numb face and freeing my airways. I gasped for air. My arm trembled with weakness so I rolled onto my half-frozen back and gratefully sucked in air until my panicked breathing calmed. I spent the next several minutes freeing my other limbs. The remaining ice soaked my clothes, leaving me frostbitten to the core.
Shivering in a puddle of slush, I stared into the darkness, a coal of anger glowing red hot in my chest. I'd been so busy with things that truly mattered, I'd barely even thought about Kabash. Despite Rhys and Devon's cruel threats, I still didn't plan to play a game that meant nothing even if I enjoyed it.
The jealous shriek and cry their impotent rage, Della said. The strong of heart press on.
The only pressing on I wanted to do involved my fists and the twins' faces. Considering my slender physique was anything but athletic, physical retribution was nothing but a dream.
I was simply too tired to stand, so I lay on the stone, shivering in the icy puddle.
Do you truly think you can redeem us? Della asked in a soft voice.
It took an effort to answer. You and Delectra? Maybe.
Why? Her voice sounded unusually soft.
Because if Victus forced a good person to do bad things, then that means Delectra is worth saving. I offered a mental sigh. It means my biological mother is actually a good person.
Do you love us? Della asked timidly.
I didn't know how to answer that at first. I remembered the memory of Delectra hugging me. Of the smile on her face. She cared for me. It wasn't until Victus touched that creepy doll that she changed. I love what Delectra could be. I love what she was in that perfect moment before I met Cora.
A perfect moment. Della's words trailed off as if she were walking into another room, and she said nothing more.
My trembling muscles finally felt as though they could support me. I groaned and pushed to my feet, gathered my wand and broom, and flew back to Moore Keep. There I found Ambria and Max in the common room between the dormitories.
"You look awful, Conrad!" Ambria pressed a hand to my forehead. "You're pale and your skin feels cold."
"Definitely looking ragged," Max said. He frowned. "Did Professor Emoora do something to you?"
I sat next to Max on the overstuffed red couch. "No, your brothers did."
Ambria gasped. "Rhys and Devon?"
I nodded. "Well, not entirely."
"What do you mean?" Max asked.
I told them about Ansel and his test and then my encounter with his brothers.
"You have a cousin?" Max blurted, drawing curious eyes our way.
Ambria clamped a hand over his mouth. "You have a cousin?" she whispered.
Max freed his mouth. "Sounds like he's just as crazy as Delectra."
"He's different." I squinted in an effort to accurately describe what I thought of him. "He doesn't seem mean, just agitated and unbalanced."
"Crazy." Max nodded curtly as if there could be no other explanation. "On the other hand, I find it hard to believe you actually put a mark on diamond fiber."
"I was too weak to defend myself when Rhys and Devon attacked." My clothes were still damp and cold. I couldn't wait to change into something warmer.
"It certainly explains why you're so pale." Ambria reached across Max and touched my knee. "Did you eat?"
"I had two servings." I felt acutely aware of her hand and realized with horror that Ambria's touch made me feel just as strange as Liana's. This was terrible. I already had trouble thinking around Liana, and Ambria was my best friend. Unless I found an antidote to girl magic, I'd never get any thinking done.
"Something wrong?" Ambria pulled back her hand, a hurt look on her face.
I shook my head. "No, I—I'm just concerned about what Ansel has planned for me."
"Will you play Kabash?" Max asked, eyes hopeful.
I shook my head. "No, I won't have time—not with Ansel and everything else."
"Probably for the best." Ambria frowned. "I dearly wish we could make Rhys and Devon pay for what they did."
"In other news," Max said, "I'll find out tomorrow if that potion I made is my invention or not."
"It's nothing but filthy oil, Max!" Ambria glowered at Max. "I don't know why it's anything to be proud of."
I yawned and listened to them argue. Before long, I could barely keep my eyes open and told them good night.
Ambria hugged me and looked up with big brown eyes. "I know you want to be a powerful Arcane to protect yourself from your parents, Conrad. Just please don't kill yourself trying to do it."
"I won't." I hoped so, anyway. I headed up to bed, changed into warm pajamas and immediately drifted into darkness.
Delectra drops to a knee, a smile melting the ice in her features. She hugs me. "Did you have a good time, son?"
Warmth spreads from my heart to my limbs. I feel so happy and light in that perfect moment in between the dark gray moments.
The moment repeats over and over, but I am just as happy each time. On the last time, something changes. Delectra kisses my forehead. "It is a perfect moment." Then she raises her hand and slaps me hard in the face.
I shouted and leapt from bed with fright. Max slumbered on, undisturbed by my exclamation, but there was no one else in the room. Something blacker than the darkness moved to my right. I leapt back. It moved into the narrow shaft of moonlight near the window, an obsidian figure in tight Arcane robes and soft feminine features. I grabbed my wand from the nightstand and held it up protectively.
It spo
ke, smoky lips taking solid form. "They come for you, son." The voice belonged to Della.
"Am I dreaming?" I pinched hard and winced at the pain.
"They will not rest until the ritual is complete." Della reached out a hand. "Be careful, son."
"Why are you talking like this now?" I said. "You never help me."
"The moment strengthens me." Her voice faded as she spoke, and her form began to drift apart. "Your power gives me voice." Della's shadowy hand touched mine, chilling me to the bone. "Now, run." Her last words faded to a whisper and her body dissolved into the night.
I shivered and wrapped my arms around me. Who was coming for me? The last time Della had manifested like this, I'd still been possessed by the demon preserving their souls. I was too disoriented to make sense of anything.
The susurrus of wind drew my attention to the window. I peeked outside and saw three broom riders silhouetted against the moon as they rounded a nearby turret jutting from the tower. Their trajectory left little doubt they were coming straight for my window. I shook Max. He mumbled and groaned. Tired as I was from Ansel's test, I gathered all my strength and rolled Max off the bed.
Thud.
"Ow!" Max jerked upright and flinched back when he saw me standing over him. "What happened?"
"Don't ask me anything, Max. Grab your shoes, we have to run!" I grabbed his arm and tugged on him, but he didn't need further encouragement. We grabbed our shoes and scurried into the hall. I still held my wand so I tucked it into the elastic band of my pajamas.
A broom zipped through the window at the end of the hall and a figure alighted on the floor only ten feet away. The figure cocked back his arm and threw something. Max and I dropped to the floor. Something smacked into the wall and hissed as if air was escaping. I took out my wand and lit the tip, revealing green gas leaking from a small green ball.
Max and I held our breaths and ran.
We reached the stairs and raced to the bottom. There was no one downstairs at this hour, and the common room between dorms was empty. I didn't know where to go. I hated myself for leaving our brooms upstairs.
The whoosh of air warned us the instant before two brooms flew through the windows and my pursuers found us. They threw more gas bombs. I flicked my wand and diverted one of them back at the assailant. Max grabbed my arm and tugged me down the main tower stairwell. We dodged through mazelike corridors and lost ourselves in the lower halls.
"In here," Max hissed, and led me into the dimly lit confines of one of the rooms filled with exhibitions from the history of Moore Keep.
A shadow flickered against the wall in the corridor outside, that of a man in robes creeping and peeping, vigilant for hiding prey. Max pressed himself in a corner between the base of a statue and the wall. I ducked behind the neighboring sculpture and tried to keep from gasping air for my aching lungs.
Another shadow joined the first. The pair stepped into the doorway and raked the room with brilliant spotlights shining from the ends of their staffs.
"Check the nooks, Plinth," the taller figure said. "I'll take the room across the hall."
"Yes, sir."
I couldn't see the face, but unless someone shared the same name, it was Seer Plinth. These were the people who'd captured me before, and I certainly wasn't about to let that happen again. I raised my wand, but when I attempted to aetherate more than a whiff of aether, a wave of vomitous nausea crept up my throat.
My body wasn't recovered enough to cast strong spells. Max pointed at the marble bust on the pedestal next to his statue. At first I didn't understand his meaning since it was too large for us to lift. But as Plinth closed in on our location, peeking behind statues and displays as he came, Max braced his back against the pedestal and feet on the wall.
It would take him time to shove the pedestal over, and Plinth had to be in position. I waited for the right moment and leapt out of concealment just as the man stepped in front of the statue where Max had been hiding. His eye widened when he saw me.
"There you are," he hissed.
"What do you want with me?" I said in a hushed voice so as not to alert Plinth's companion across the hall.
"To stop you," he said. "You must be cleansed—oof!" With a loud thud, the pedestal toppled over and the marble bust landed squarely on Plinth's back, driving the wind from him. Max and I scrambled through an adjoining door an instant before the other man raced inside the room.
"What the bloody hell, Plinth?" the other man whispered harshly.
Max and I didn't stick around to find out what else was said and ran for the stairs leading to the main foyer and exit. Two people appeared ahead. They raised shouts and pointed at us. We spun around and into the left hallway, racing at full speed and panting with exertion. The dull thud of running feet on rugs followed us, relentless pursuers unwilling to let me escape them this time.
The lights in the hallway flared to full brightness. An alarm wailed in the distance. I looked back and met the glare of Seers, slowing and backtracking to flee the scene before security appeared. Two men aided a limping Plinth past the end of the hallway and toward the stairwell.
He looked up and saw me. Anger creased his face, but the others jerked him away before he could raise a fist and shout curses at me. Max and I looked at each other and grinned. We were saved!
Max's smiled faded. "What if Professor Grace tries to blame us for tonight's troubles?"
"If he can, he will." I pointed to the end of the hall. "We should get back to our room before security shows."
That was all the urging Max needed. Tired as we were, we ran and ran. The boys' dorm was alive with curious students running up and down the hallways, peering out windows and wondering what was going on while a frantic Rory Culpepper shouted at everyone to remain in their rooms.
"Glad I'm not the resident assistant," Max said as we maintained an innocent façade and made our way upstairs.
Back inside our room, we looked out of the window and watched security swarm the front door, a dozen people in navy blue robes with gold badges on their short conical hats.
Max and I drew our heads back inside and dropped onto our beds. I wiped the sweat from my face with a bath towel and lay on my back. Thanks to the alarm, the lights in the room were at their brightest and refused our commands to dim or turn off.
I wouldn't have been able to sleep anyway. A pounding heart and pumping adrenalin would likely keep me up the rest of the night.
"I wonder who sounded the alarm," Max said.
"That would be me."
I jerked up in bed and Max gasped in alarm, but it was only Galfandor landing a broom just inside our window.
"How did you know there was trouble?" Max asked.
"I took the liberty of placing some wards around the keep," Galfandor said. "Since none of the perimeter wards around the university were tripped, it appears I was correct to assume the Seers might be able to penetrate our known defenses." He set the broom against the window sill. "They did not expect wards around the building."
"They must've chased us around the entire building before the alarm went off," Max said. "What took so long?"
"The wards alerted only me, and I was sound asleep." The headmaster shrugged. "I set off the alarm in Moore Keep the instant I realized what was happening."
"How did you know it was the Seers?" I asked.
"An assumption," Galfandor said. "I suppose it could've been any number of unauthorized visitors, but since they were the last people to kidnap you, I logically assumed it was them."
"I think you need to redo the perimeter security." Max huffed. "This isn't the first time someone bad has gotten through."
"Perhaps," Galfandor said. He turned to me. "My apologies for being late, Conrad. I believe the Seers may be less willing to risk an incursion onto school property now that they know we have more than just perimeter wards."
"I hope so." I put my wand back under my pillow. "Did security catch anyone?"
Galfandor shook his head. "No
t yet. I'm rather curious to know why the Seers would so blatantly interfere with you."
"Maybe they should be called the Meddlers instead," Max suggested.
The old headmaster chuckled. "Perhaps that would be more accurate." He pursed his lips and made a strange airy whistling noise. A brilliant red spider squeezed through the window and hopped onto the floor, standing waist high to Galfandor. Eight curious eyes looked at me as Shushiel extended a black-banded leg and rubbed the soft fur against my arm.
She spoke in whispers, the sound no louder than rustling cloth and difficult to understand. I listened carefully and made sense of it. "I will watch my cousin. I will protect him."
My father had genetically engineered the ruby spiders and branded the tops of their abdomens with an E to mark his property. They'd escaped him and gone to live in the Dark Forest where many of his other monsters now lived. Unlike frogres and the other beasts, the ruby spiders were intelligent and, thankfully, did not have an appetite for children.
Shushiel had explained that since my father made her kind, we were cousins. I saw no reason why I couldn't have a lovely red spider as my cousin. She certainly seemed nicer than Ansel.
"Thank you, Shushiel." I rubbed my hand on her leg. "How is your family?"
"Perhaps you should use the charm I made for you," Galfandor said to the spider. "It would make it much easier for them to understand you."
Shushiel tapped a small blue pendant nearly hidden in her fur. It blinked once and went dark. "Is this better, Conrad?"
Her voice was soft and almost childlike, but perfectly understandable. "Yes, much." I grinned. "You have a lovely voice."
"Thank you, cousin."
"Brilliant!" Max said. "Will you stay with us, Shushiel?"
She spun on eight legs and bent her front ones to tilt her body in a nod. "Yes, but I will remain out of sight."
"But, aren't you a little large to hide?" Max said.
With blinding speed, Shushiel skittered toward the wall and vanished. Max and I looked up and down, but even with every corner of the room lit, we couldn't see her.
"I am here." We looked toward the voice and Shushiel's ruby fur appeared a little at a time, morphing from a perfect match of the gray stone on the ceiling. She lowered herself on a web and hopped up and down on the floor. "Did you like it?"