The crowd grew louder as the day wore on, and the volume caused Kanruo to wince. He’d had a few drinks at this point, “social lubricant”, Alrik had called it, but the giddy effect of the alcohol was starting to wear off.
“Hey, let’s sit somewhere quiet.” Alrik led him away from the crowd to sit on a bench at the edge of the town square to watch the sun begin to sink in the sky.
Kanruo collapsed, grateful to sit down after standing for so long. Alrik sat behind him, wrapping his arms around Kanruo’s shoulders and hugging him back against his chest.
“You all right?”
“It’s just a lot. How do you even remember everyone’s names?” Kanruo let himself melt into the embrace. This was nice. He could get used to this.
“It helps if you remember something silly about each person.” Alrik rested his chin on top of Kanruo’s head. “Did you want me to come over tonight? Share the news with Notia?”
“I’d like that.” Kanruo interlocked their fingers, holding their hands up and staring at them.
“It’s a date then,” Alrik hummed, hugging him a little closer as they watched the sun continue to sink below the horizon line.
A ship came into view, its bulky frame a dark jarring contrast to the bright colors of the sunset.
Another appeared alongside it.
Kanruo frowned and sat up, watching the ships. He could feel Alrik tensing behind him. The ships dominated the sky as they approached, traveling far faster than any civilian craft. He turned to ask Alrik if he was seeing the ships too when an explosion rocked the ground, sending them both sprawling forward.
Alrik coughed and pushed himself to his feet, staring at the devastation around them. He leaned down and helped Kanruo up. They were both covered in dirt and the remains of the burnt garlands, and Alrik’s forehead was bleeding from where a piece of stone had struck him. Thick smoke billowed up from the town square, cloaking the world in a haze. In the distance, an emergency siren blared, the sound sharp and agitated.
From the smoke came an inquisitive chirping.
“Sniffers,” Kanruo whispered. He grasped Alrik’s hand tightly. “We have to go. We have to go now!”
“But my parents—” Alrik was staring, shell shocked, into the ruined architecture that had held hundreds of people singing and dancing just moments ago.
The chirping grew closer, punctuated by a loud and rapid clicking.
Kanruo started running, dragging Alrik alongside him through the decimated town. As they ran, Kanruo reached out, plucking on the threads of magic around him, using them as a spider’s web to detect where their pursuers were. He couldn’t properly use his magic, not with the sniffers so close. His mind was too jumbled to perform the delicate cloaking spell.
Up ahead, a squad of heavily armored soldiers blocked their path. Kanruo could overhear the commanding officer addressing her troops as he pulled Alrik behind a crumbling wall of concrete.
“Our spy craft has detected a spike in magical use after our delegates left in February. Continued observation of the energy fields leads us to suspect there are at least two witches in the area. One may be a coven leader. You are to kill them on sight. Keep the younger one alive.”
“Sir, yes sir!” came the chorus of gruff replies.
“Fan out and be ready,” the commanding officer barked. “Let the sniffers do their job and flush the witches out. Treat civilians as hostile. They’re known sympathizers in this area.”
“We have to get back to Notia. She’ll know what to do,” Kanruo whispered to Alrik.
Tears were streaming down Alrik’s face, cutting through the grime and dirt. “But the rest of the city, my parents. Do you think they’re, they’re—” He couldn’t finish the sentence, sliding to the ground with his head in his hands.
“I don’t know.” Kanruo peered out from behind the rubble, but the smoke shield was too thick to make anything out. “Listen.” He crouched in front of Alrik, taking his hands. “I’m going to open a portal to the forest—”
“But won’t they detect—”
“They will.” Kanruo checked again. Still nothing. “But it’s the best chance we have. We’ll have to be fast. We need to put more distance between ourselves and the blast zone, buy some time for me to gather the power to do so.”
He’d never tried to warp two people before. If something went wrong, he could end up scattering their atoms across the cosmos. He had to get this right on the first try. There wouldn’t be any do-overs.
“We have to run. Can you make it to the bridge?”
Alrik nodded, but Kanruo could see him shaking as they stood.
“Okay, now!”
They ran, hand in hand, tripping and stumbling over rubble. Another explosion rocked the ground, and screams carried through the smoke and dust. Kanruo clutched his pendant with one hand, using it as a focus point for the ether’s energy.
Behind them, a warbling bark rose. The sniffers had detected the flux in the magical currents.
“Faster!” Kanruo panted. Behind them rose a thundering clank of metal feet against concrete.
Alrik cried out as a twisted mass of exposed rebar thwarted his footing. Their hands broke apart, and Kanruo skidded to a stop, doubling back to help him.
Alrik lay on the ground, clutching his leg in a futile attempt to stop the blood spewing from the gash in it.
Kanruo hooked his hands under Alrik’s armpits and began dragging him. They were almost to the bridge. It was so close, only a few feet away.
“Kanruo!” There was terror in Alrik’s voice.
He looked up as the pack surrounded them. Their clunky heads bobbled before splitting open like flowers in bloom. Their maws stretched wide in demented grins to reveal rows of razor spikes ready to consume any prey they captured. Their stubby legs unfolded, the ends splitting open into articulated talons. Whip blade tails extended from their backs, lashing about, ready to slice through anything that got too close.
There had to be ten—no, twenty, thirty. They’d cut off the path to the bridge.
Kanruo’s hand went to his sickle, readying it for their attack. He braced for the shrieks that would rattle their brains.
But the sniffers stood silently, weaving in place. Their claws faintly clicked against the asphalt and stone.
A woman walked through the pack. She was smartly dressed, her uniform pressed and decorated with medals, a military cap covering her pulled back hair.
She paused at the edge of the sniffer formation, patting one on the head before she turned to stare at the two boys.
“The one that got away.” She bared her teeth in a wicked grin.
With a grunt, Alrik pushed himself to his feet. “You have no right to do this! Sweden has cooperated with the Union’s demands. This is an act of terrorism!” He planted himself firmly between Kanruo and the woman. “I demand to know your name and rank.”
The woman stared at him in amusement. “Lola Thorsted, head of the specialist enforcers.” she locked eyes with Alrik. “Kill him.”
A sniffer at the front of the pack leaped forward, jaw unhinging, razor claws extending as it screeched.
“NO!” Kanruo screamed and threw his hands out, yanking as hard as he dared on the magical threads.
Carbon one-forty, hydrogen forty-two, oxygen twenty.
The sniffer slammed against an invisible barrier.
Alrik staggered back, falling in surprise, and Lola scowled. “You damned witches and your barriers. Tear it down!”
The pack surged forward, crashing with single-minded focus against his shielding. Kanruo grunted, wincing as he frantically tried to reinforce the molecular structure between them and certain death.
“Alrik!” he shouted. With each sniffer that slammed against the barrier, the impact rippled down through his bones. “Alrik, we have to go!”
Lola was screaming profanities over the din of the sniffers’ attacks.
Kanruo ground his teeth as he moved one hand behind him, pinching temporal sp
ace together.
A metal limb penetrated his ward, only to have the graphene reform and slice it off. The appendage fell to the ground, twitching as its circuitry smoked.
He snarled and pulled more power to him, taking whole handfuls of raw ether and pouring it into their shield.
Kanruo could feel warm blood trickling from his nose, the scent heavy with copper as his body strained under the intense magic use. “Alrik, I can’t hold it for much longer! Come on!”
Time stood still. The spin of the universe ground to a halt as Alrik picked himself up, limping back to Kanruo.
Slowly, he put his bloody hands on Kanruo’s shoulders.
“Alrik, hurry up and go through the portal!” It felt like every cell in his body was on fire. The scent of burning hair was starting to fill the air around them as steam rose off his body. The energy tore at him, threatening to wipe him from existence.
Alrik leaned close to him and placed a soft kiss on his cheek. “I love you,” he whispered, taking a slow step back. “Run.”
Then he shoved Kanruo backward through the portal.
12
Kanruo tumbled out of the warp portal, landing on the ground with a thud.
He coughed, head spinning and body aching as he picked himself up. Every part of him screamed to go back, to save him. But Alrik was as good as dead. Going back would be suicidal. He had to run.
No moon hung overhead tonight. The darkness threatened to swallow him whole. He ran through the forest, adrenaline quivering his legs with every step.
They’re getting closer, little witch, the Void whispered.
Kanruo wanted to scream, to cry, but his body refused to give in to grief. His lungs were too busy gulping down air to fuel his flight. A primal fear had taken hold of him, soaking him in cold sweat as he tore through the trees.
He had to get back to Notia. Had to warn her.
Overhead, a chorus of crows made their vociferations known. Their sharp caw-caw-caws echoed in the silent woods as he ran.
A stitch of pain shot up his side, forcing him to come to a lurching halt. He slumped against a tree, panting for breath.
Then a strange sound broke the crows’ din, silencing them and drawing a stillness of the woods.
Heeled boots clicking along the path. Sharp, quick, and with purpose. It wasn’t a sound that belonged in the forest. It was harsh and unnatural.
Click. Click. Click.
Not a creature dared speak as the noise drew nearer. Kanruo wanted nothing more than to flee, but his knees refused to bend. A leaden cloak of dread settled on his shoulders, weighing him down. His mouth went dry as an electrical whine rose in his ears, shattering his thoughts. He had to run. If he didn’t, then—
His throat began to close up on him. His fingers twitched fruitlessly as the signals from his brain were interrupted before they could reach his hands. He could only stand there as the source of the sound approached.
A man stepped out of the trees. His clothing was black from head to toe, broken up by blocks of horizontal striping on the arms, thighs, shoulders, and down the meridian of his person that seemed to produce its own light. A high collar on his jacket came up to his chin. The garment trailed down to end in dramatic wedges that fanned out around him as he walked. The glowing stripes widened to accommodate the flare. He looked around, humming to himself as if he were in the market debating which piece of fruit to select.
His eyes rested on Kanruo, and then he smiled.
Kanruo felt his insides churn. It was a smile too bright, his eyes too wide, too many teeth.
“Why, hello there,” the man hummed, holding his hands open in greeting. “What a strange evening we’re having.”
His voice was melodic, honeyed sweet. His eyes peered into his very soul, weighing him to see his worth.
Kanruo itched to move, trying to swallow the bile rising in his throat. He had to warn Notia! But his legs might as well have been trapped in concrete.
The man took a step closer, raising his chin as he peered down at the teen before him.
“I see my sources were right.” He reached out, an elegant hand with soft fingers brushing against the young witch’s face. “My name is Volac. I’ve been searching for you for quite some time.”
Nebulous tendrils sinuated around Kanruo’s limbs, crushing the breath out of his lungs, rendering him unable to scream as Volac brought his hand to his face.
The cold digit wormed its way into his mouth, deeper and deeper until it hit the back of Kanruo’s throat.
He gagged on it, his body convulsing and shaking, unable to pull away.
“You. Are. Perfect.” Volac’s smile widened.
Kanruo was certain his face would split in half as the predator withdrew, smearing spittle across his cheek
The hand on his face trailed down his neck. Frost-bound fingers pressed on his pulse as it bounded wildly beneath his skin. A vile revulsion crawled over his skin. Why couldn’t he move?
“Ah, afraid?” Volac tutted. “Don’t be. For I have the power to show you such strange, fascinating things, my boy.” His hand moved again, pressing against Kanruo’s chest, along the edge of the tunic he wore, fingers searching for the clasps of his garment.
His skin was being burned every place the man touched, an unwelcome and unwanted intrusion. Wrong. It was all wrong.
He leaned forward and breathed in Kanruo’s ear, reeking of stale death and putrid rot. “Ways to bring about a shining future.”
A sour taste welled up in Kanruo’s throat. “What the hell are you?” He gasped as they locked eyes.
Before the man could answer, Notia’s voice broke through the forest, shattering the spell that bound him.
“Kanruo!”
He jerked away, his body suddenly thrown into fast-forward. His body tried to breathe and vomit simultaneously, causing him to choke. Coughing, he hastily put space between himself and the strange man.
Kanruo moved as fast as his trembling legs would carry him. His body was drained, and he wanted nothing more than to claw his skin off. He caught sight of Notia standing at the tree line, her face stern and appraising as Kanruo made his way to her.
“Notia.” His voice was hoarse, and he coughed on blood and bile. He grabbed at her arm urgently. He could feel Volac’s eyes on his back, burning an invisible brand into his flesh.
“Shh.” Notia stroked his fallen hair back from his face. She smiled at him and pressed a small stone into her student’s hand. “Go run home. Make some tea for our guest.”
Kanruo whimpered, clutching the stone in his hand tightly. He had to warn her, to tell her! She had to know! He tried to speak but she hushed him gently, pressing a kiss to his forehead.
“I will be along shortly, little supernova. Now go!”
She gave him a push and he hesitantly obeyed. His legs threatened to give way, his body surging with unspent adrenaline. His lungs struggled to fill.
Then, a cooling sensation and the scent of pine washed over him as he traversed Notia’s inner wards. He looked back through the woods, but he couldn’t hear them, and the trees blocked his line of sight.
He looked down at the stone in his hand. Black.
Run.
They’d talked about this, rehearsed it.
He was supposed to go back to the house, pack only the essentials, cast cloaking wards, and flee.
There was a rendezvous point Notia would meet him at, and from there they would plan their next move. But the most important thing that she had always told him was that he was supposed to run. It was essential that he escape.
His legs were moving before he realized it.
Kanruo burst into the house. He grabbed a travel pack and hastily shoved clothes into it, affixing his sickle to his belt. They could reacquire herbs, bones, and feathers. They could make new charms and tinctures. It could all be replaced. His eyes fell on the shelves of tomes and gave him pause.
His fingers itched, and he forced himself to turn away from them. He couldn’t
take the whole library. He took only the most precious ones, grabbed the damaged tomes Notia had given him and his own spell book, shoving them into the bag.
Kanruo cast a final glance around the hut and then he saw the sigil on the table. The ink was barely dry.
He picked up the paper, examining it. A latent whisper told him it was important, so he carefully folded it and tucked it into his pack as he stepped out of the hut.
“Salt of earth, guard this home whilst I roam. Keep it safe and all within. For good of all, this bond begins. By my will with harm to none, by mother moon’s blessing this spell is done.” He cast the warding spell over their home. The woods around him were still as the air around the hut shimmered. Then the earthen house faded away, tucked safely within another reality.
Kanruo had just started casting a cloaking spell over himself when he heard a scream break through the woods.
“No.”
Spell forgotten and unfinished, he dropped his packs and raced through the forest, sprinting over rocks and logs. Tree branches lashed him as he ran, seeking to punish him for his misdeeds.
Kanruo burst into the clearing and his voice died in his throat. Before him, his teacher traded blows with the strange man, the air thick and swirling with darkness as they danced.
She was unharmed, save for a few slashes, some bruising.
“I cast this spell into the night! To bind my enemies and limit their fight!” Notia’s sickle glowed with the pearlescent light of the moon as she channeled the ether into it. Her free hand danced, calling forth illusion magic.
A doppelganger appeared alongside, then two. Together, they drove Volac back toward the edge of a cliff.
But then, what was that cry? Who had been screaming, if not her?
A crooked smirk scrawled over Volac’s face, and his eyes flicked to Kanruo as he brought a hand up. He brushed off Notia’s phantoms as they swung at him. Then, as Notia slid in close to him, curved blade going around his neck, Volac reached out.
With a single finger, he caught the blade, pausing the killing blow.
His hand should have been sliced clean off. This was metal forged and blessed by the moon goddess! How was he—
The Last Moon Witch Page 13