Surviving Magic (The Legacy of Androva Book 6)

by Alex C Vick

  I gathered up the book, intending to run to the Foundation to find out, when Serena came into my room.

  “Gale, is everything OK? I passed Nico on my way back from the Seminary, and he said to tell you he’d give you two weeks. He looked pretty pleased with himself. And not in a nice way. What’s going on?”

  “Actually, that’s good. At least I know how long I’ve got to figure this out.”

  “Figure what out?”

  I had to sit down. I was feeling nowhere near as strong as I had thought. All those days without food were catching up with me.

  Rushing to the Foundation without a plan, when Nico was actively working against me, was a bad idea. Thank Androva my sister appeared when she did.

  “I’m hungry,” I said.

  “Really?”

  Serena looked delighted.

  “Don’t move, I’ll be right back.”

  She returned with a plate of food, and I began eating enthusiastically. Everything tasted amazing.

  In between bites, I told her what had happened. The Communication Spell not working, and Nico’s threats. My idea about how to use the portal not just to find a place in the sky, but a place in time as well.

  I would have to test it first, I said to her. To understand how travelling in time worked. The coming of age ceremony was in a few days. I’d probably have to go ahead with it so as not to arouse suspicion.

  Then I had to figure out a way to stop Nico from following me. If I were going to disappear, I did not want to be found. Ever.

  Excitement was making me feel alive again. I was starting to believe it was possible.

  Serena smiled, but as I watched, a single tear fell slowly down her cheek.

  “What’s the matter?”

  “I’m really happy for you, Galen. If anyone can make this happen, you can. But I’m going to miss you so much.”

  We hugged.

  “Maybe I could come back, in secret…” I suggested.

  She shook her head.

  “You can’t risk it. You’re going to reject the sister of a Council member for a Terran. You’re denying them a spell they want more than any other. Your ex-partner is determined to betray you. No, Galen. If you go, you can never come back.”

  She took a deep breath.

  “I want to help you. You’ll need someone to close the portal behind you, won’t you?”

  I grinned.

  “Yes. And when they go to Terra to look for me, because they will, you should help them. Badly. If you accidentally-on-purpose mess up your Invisibility Spell, they might give up the search more quickly…”

  She grinned back.

  “It’s lucky I happen to love you, big brother. I’d never agree to mess up a spell in front of the Council for anyone else.”

  Over the next few days, it was as if the world had come back into sharp focus. I was no longer seeing and feeling everything from inside a tunnel.

  I made my own Signature Symbol and tested it. Going back only an hour or two, I discovered the version of me doing the time travelling automatically replaced the other me. Kind of weird, but important to know.

  I would have to avoid meeting myself when I went back to Terra. I had no desire to push my luck, by trying to recreate my own history. Only Claudia’s. And as many other Terrans as I could convince to leave Pompeii before it burned.

  The coming of age ceremony was difficult. I had refused to get married on the same day, telling the Council I wanted to combine my marriage with the success of the Communication Spell. I said it was very close to being ready.

  They had reluctantly agreed. It was a huge concession, and I could tell Mirrem was not entirely convinced. Although his sister was sixteen years old, it had been planned that we would still marry but live apart until she came of age too.

  Nico assured them the spell was nearly finished. He was complacent, believing he’d got his own way.

  I was pretty sure I knew why the spell had stopped working for him and also why it had been so difficult to instigate. He was of age. It was likely the initial connection would need to be remade each time, unless I modified it somehow.

  His force field was permanently joined to his mind and body. Controlled, predictable, according to the Council’s preference. His magic simply closed the gaps opened up by the Communication Spell after a little time had passed.

  My ceremony went ahead, with Serena as my cohort. I took care to thank my parents, and made sure they knew how grateful I was for everything they had done for me.

  I was happy, I assured them. Very happy.

  My sister swapped the remedy that was intended to cause my force field to expand. I distracted everyone with a few words about my pride in Androva, keeping my bitterness well hidden.

  It could have been different, if they had not been so prejudiced towards Terra, and my partner had not been so full of resentment and envy. I mourned the loss of our friendship, but he had made his choice.

  And now I’ve made mine.

  Then I stood, surrounded by the gold of the Finality Spell, resisting it with every fibre of my being. I projected an Illumination Spell to mimic the expansion of my force field, combined with a layer of Scattering Spell to disperse the gold more quickly.

  It was done. I had escaped the coming of age ceremony.

  Now I need to escape Androva too.

  Chapter 16 - Present, Past, Future

  I had seven Signature Symbols to choose from. They spanned a period of several months, from a time before I had even discovered Terra, right up to the wedding ceremony the day the city was destroyed.

  It left me with a difficult choice. The safest thing would be to go as far back in time as possible and then travel somewhere on Terra that Androva had not discovered yet.

  However, I had to convince Claudia to go with me. That wasn’t going to happen if she didn’t even know who I was. She might still like me if we meet under different circumstances, but then again, she might not.

  There was no point in doing this without her. None at all. I would have to take the risk of using one of the later symbols.

  I went to the Foundation in the dead of night and opened a portal. I wanted to carry out a test, using the first, and oldest, symbol. Nico’s portal was closed, but I still checked the room first, for any evidence he might be returning soon.

  As I transferred the symbol from the book to the stone wall, my breath came faster and faster.

  The fear it would not work, coupled with the fear of discovery, flustered me enough to activate the sequence in the wrong order the first time I tried it.

  But when I stepped into the Forum, where this particular contract had been made, I wanted to hug the first Roman I saw. Being in Pompeii again, immersed in all its noisy, reeking splendour, was absolutely wonderful.

  After that, there was no reason to delay. My impending marriage and the expiry of Nico’s two-week deadline were both fast approaching.

  However, there were two things I had to do before I left.

  First, I went to Lake Semper. One of the rivers that supplied it ran over a series of rocky ledges in a waterfall. The spray was known for creating rainbows in the summer.

  I wasn’t interested in the rainbows, though. I was looking for the gold running through the rock. The same gold the Romans prized so highly.

  A few Extraction Spells later, and I had almost more than I could carry. It was incredibly heavy. I manipulated the dull yellow substance into flat circles, twisting them into a piece of black cloth. I planned to add the face of Emperor Titus later.

  Second, I went to Evander’s matching celebration. I was so glad his life was working out for him. I could see he and Floria really cared for each other.

  I took Serena to the party with me rather than Celeste. I didn’t want to spend the time I had left with someone who meant nothing to me.

  “I hope you don’t mind,” I’d said to Celeste.

  I felt a bit awkward because even if she did mind, I still wouldn’t be taking her. “
Serena has known Evander since we were all children together.”

  Celeste had raised her eyebrows. Her dark blonde hair was neatly combed, as usual, and her blue eyes didn’t blink.

  “You love your sister,” she had replied. “As Mirrem loves me.”

  What is that supposed to mean? Is she threatening me?

  “Yes,” I retorted. “But Serena doesn’t need me to find a husband for her.”

  She blinked.

  Galen . For the love of Androva, just stop talking now. You don’t need to make any more enemies on your way out of this world.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean anything by that,” I muttered.

  She inclined her head, which I chose to interpret as her forgiving me.

  The party was great. It had been a long time since I’d been with my old friends. I got a lot of teasing for being too grand to associate with them now that I was a Researcher.

  It reminded me I wasn’t quite seventeen yet, and acting my age for once was fun. I should do it more often.

  After the party, when Serena and I got home, we stayed up talking with our parents for a little while. I tried to memorise their faces, their voices, and the way they looked at each other.

  My mother asked me if I knew what would happen to my Sygnus at the wedding. Surely the Council would allow me to keep it, she said.

  “The Council do what they like, Mother,” I replied, trying to sound like I didn’t care.

  She glanced at my father as I went on.

  “I would not pretend to know what their plans are or how I might change them if I did.”

  Great. Now I sound like I care a lot.

  “Vallis, have you heard anything? Is there time to research the Sygnus records?”

  My mother was anxious on my behalf. I wished I could tell her not to worry. That it didn’t matter. But she could not know. For her own protection as much as anything else.

  “Of course I can check the records,” he reassured her. “It will do no harm to be prepared.”

  “Thank you,” I said. “To you both. For everything.”

  As she walked past me after saying goodnight, my mother touched the black hair that was still falling into my eyes.

  “I used to wish for the day when you’d get this cut,” she said. “But now I can’t imagine you without it.”

  “I knew I’d wear you down in the end,” I said with a grin. I remained in my chair through sheer force of will, wishing I could jump up and hug her tight for the last time.

  Serena and I continued to talk. We didn’t go to the Foundation until the early hours of the morning. I tried to teach her as much as I could about advanced magic so she’d be able to defend herself against Nico if it ever came to it.

  I did not share the Communication Spell. We’d reluctantly agreed it would be too dangerous for her to know how to use it. She could be implicated in my disappearance beyond any doubt if she knew that spell.

  When we arrived at the room I shared with Nico, everything was dark and quiet. I put the book with the symbols on the desk, and turned to my sister.

  “I guess this is it.”

  “I guess so.”

  Suddenly, she flung her arms around me. The bundle of gold coins pressed into my waist as I hugged her back.

  “Have a good life,” she whispered fiercely. “And promise me you won’t return. Not for anything.”

  “I promise.”

  She stepped back into the shadows, watching as I prepared the portal. Then, I projected the most sophisticated Distraction Spell I’d ever created onto the desk. It surrounded the books completely. Including the one with the remaining five Signature Symbols.

  It would be a long time before anyone noticed those books again. I hoped I was doing the right thing. There were too many books for me to carry them all. But if I only took the one with the symbols, it might be possible for someone to guess what I had done.

  The tell-tale shimmer of the portal rose up in front of me.

  “No!”

  I spun round in shock at the voice.

  Nico .

  “I knew you’d try to run away. You’ll stop at nothing to spoil it for me! Isn’t that right, Galen?”

  For a second I gaped at him.

  “This has nothing to do with you.”

  “Don’t give me that. I knew you’d betray me. Again.”

  I looked at the portal, feeling the panic rise. I couldn’t use it, not when he’d be able to follow me. I was turning back to face him, when I felt the icy pressure of a containment band inside my head. Unprepared as I was, the pain made me gasp.

  “You’re not going anywhere, partner. Time for a little sleep. Just until your wedding tomorrow.”

  I closed my eyes and manipulated my force field around the band, ignoring the waves of despair I knew were part of his combined spells. Then I glared at him.

  “Stop, Nico. Just stop.”

  “Feeling drowsy yet?”

  “No. I’m feeling mad.”

  Thank Androva I avoided the Finality Spell. Otherwise I’d probably be passing out by now, just like Professor Cassius.

  I opened my mouth to tell Nico exactly what I thought of him. At the last minute, I remembered Serena. She didn’t need to hear this. And anyway, I wanted to do more than just talk.

  I grabbed his hand, ignoring his shocked expression, and projected the Communication Spell. His memories rushed into my head just like before. Knowing what to expect this time, I pushed them aside.

  He responded furiously, showing me his thoughts from earlier that day.

  “Galen will never challenge the Council, Galen is too weak to move against me, Galen’s Terran girlfriend is dead anyway.”

  I saw his plan. He wanted to ruin me. Once he had mastered the Communication Spell, he was going to do everything in his power to get my magic removed. He intended to win the approval of his father by exposing what I had done. And then his wife would finally love him too.

  I could sense his anticipation. He expected me to fall asleep from the containment band right about now.

  For a fleeting moment, I was so very sad for Nico. Professor Cassius would never be the father he yearned for, no matter what Nico did. After that, all I could feel was rage. It expanded through the spell, and his anticipation turned to doubt.

  Then he pushed back, and we engaged in a silent battle of wills.

  To my horror, he uncovered an image of the Signature Symbol I had just transferred onto the wall.

  No, you will not . Renewed anger gave me strength, and I overpowered him.

  I pushed a memory of my own into his head.

  “Androva help whoever makes an enemy out of you, Galen.”

  It was Nico’s voice, talking to me in the training room nearly three years ago, when I was just fourteen. He flinched.

  “Don’t you remember? There’s nothing more frustrating than forgetfulness,” I added, my anger making me spiteful. “Ask your father if you don’t believe me.”

  He tried to pull his hand away. I used the Communication Spell to stop him from moving, taking control before he could even think to prevent it.

  “This is what’s going to happen,” I said. “I’m walking through the portal to Terra now, and I’m going to disappear.

  “You’re going to forget you saw me, and that you ever experienced a working Communication Spell.”

  The Distraction Spell swept his immediate memories aside. Then I searched for the time we had first used the Communication Spell.

  I waited for a single image to appear and dragged it forward, like he had done to me with Claudia.

  Finally, I made him sleep. Before his legs gave out completely, I helped him into the chair. He looked up at me when I let go of his hand. His eyes were closing.

  “Galen?”

  “Yes.”

  “I miss… the way things… used to be.”

  Then his head fell forwards, and he was asleep.

  I tried to harden my heart, concentrating on my earlier anger.
I put a hand over my eyes. I’m not cut out for this.

  “You should go,” came a quiet voice.

  I nodded.

  “Take care of yourself, Serena.”

  I steeled myself not to turn and look at her, in case I lost my nerve.

  Then I projected my Anonymity Spell and stepped into the portal. Almost immediately, she closed it behind me.

  My heart thudded. Part of me was terrified. Now, whatever happened next, I was trapped inside a different future.

  Wait. Just calm down. You did this for a reason.

  I took a few slow breaths.

  The Romans who had just signed the grain supply contract were preparing to leave the room. I stepped out of their way.

  Two seconds later, I was pushing past them, not caring what the older man thought at having an invisible elbow jabbed into his arm.

  Claudia. I had to find Claudia.

  I ran through the streets to Julia’s villa. It was mid-morning. She would probably be washing or cleaning. As I skidded to a halt in the atrium, I could hear her voice.

  I followed it to the garden walkway. She was carrying a tray of food and drink to her mistress in the triclinium. Some other Roman ladies were visiting, obviously intending to lie back and do very little while Claudia waited on them.

  When she walked in front of me with the now empty tray, I dropped my spell and reached out to touch her arm.

  “Excusa,” she said automatically, moving out of my way. Excuse me.

  Then she looked at me properly.

  “Galen?”

  Her head spun round to check if anyone was watching.

  “Te amo,” I said, pulling her towards me. I love you.

  “Quid agis?” What are you doing?

  I’d returned to a time before we had used the Communication Spell. I had to trust that her feelings were the same.

  But she was here, and she was alive. I couldn’t wait a minute longer.

  “Te amo,” I repeated, and bent my head to kiss her. The tray crashed to the stone floor as she returned the kiss.

  “Te amo, te amo,” I was repeating, in between kisses, and she was saying it back. She’s saying it back!

  “Quis es tu?” came a voice.