Lost Magic (The Swift Codex Book 3)

by Nicolette Jinks

  “Valerin had, during our last raid, been taken captive by the Blackwings. They'd demanded an exorbitant ransom, which Valerin told us not to pay. He would be able to track Josephina from the inside. So it was agreed. And through him we learned of your involvement, and now, we are grateful for what you have done. I hope that suffices for an explanation. As for proof...”

  He stepped back, extending his arms. A faint glow shimmered under his skin, growing in intensity, taking on various colors. I realized his feather coloring was coming out as the small hairs on his arms thickened, forming the spines of feathers. His face changed, becoming hard and angular. His clothes slid into nonexistence, enchanted to appear and disappear as needed.

  I'd seen transformations before, but none so beautiful as the one of man to phoenix. He was the size of a peacock, and as stunning, though in the colors of a sunset. Bright eyes blinked at me, and he spoke in a smooth voice, “Inimicus inimico amicus.”

  And I knew that I had to find a way to fulfill my promise, but I didn't know how I was going to convince the others of the truths I'd found here.

  Julius shifted back to his human form. He took a seat on a bench, rubbing his wrist absentmindedly. I thought of the way my skin itched after having scales.

  “Can I ask a question? What do you know about the Veil?”

  His head twitched to the side. “The Veil?”

  I hurried to explain about the book I'd found and how the author had described how the Veil had come to exist. Julius listened with what appeared to be genuine interest. When I was done, he was left silent.

  “I just thought you might know a little more than I've been able to mine from the book.”

  He nodded slowly. “Has this book mentioned the phoenixes?”

  “Once or twice, but nothing in any detail. I don't know what they had done at the time, if that's what you mean.”

  “It is.” Julius folded his hands neatly in his lap, considering my request. “I am willing to speak with you and to answer your questions, but you must understand that it is no easy matter for me to recall information from a past life. It is far more difficult to recall something which has happened so many years ago.”

  I nodded. “I guess this means you probably don't know a lot about the Unwrittens?”

  “The Unwrittens?” Julius stood, walked slowly, deep in thought now. “Yes. I do know some about the Unwritten spells. What would you like to know?”

  “About anything that I don't already know.”

  “Tell me what that is, and why you are interested in digging up old knowledge which was lost for very good reason.”

  I got the distinct impression that I should follow through with his request now that I'd made him uncomfortable. Though it took some time, I explained the first time I had seen an Unwritten in its experimental phase as a child, how I'd seen it again completed as an adult. That it had created an Immortal creature. Death and my role as his agent also got included, and the whole episode about the Wildwoods being burned for a troubled second Unwritten. Then there was the part about stopping the Unwritten in Mason Security, too. The sun had marched an inch across the sky by the time I finished explaining.

  Julius stood in front of me, his hands clasped behind his back. “I can tell you a few things. There are a great number of spells whose names, intended effects, and procedures were deliberately lost. They drew attention where it was not wanted at a time when the people of the magical inclination needed secrecy. If someone is uncovering them now and using them as you have described, it will be a matter of time before the lambs will notice our presence.” A grave frown crossed his lips. “I do not know who would win, but the death that would result from a fight such as this would be a terrible, crippling catastrophe.”

  “I think it's a bid for power.”

  Julius shook his head sadly. “Greed lusts after more than money. It is an addiction, one that is sadly celebrated and therefore unacknowledged.” He shut his eyes, mouthing something to himself. When he opened his eyes next, he fixed his stare on me. “I will ask others in the First Order to see what help they will provide you. It will take months before we meet again. In the meanwhile, you should not feel glum. Your coven will be arriving.”

  Chapter Thirty

  “They said they'll be here. So they will be here,” Valerin said.

  I nodded and resumed my impatient pacing. It had been an hour or so since Julius had announced that my coven was sending a small party, though they hadn't said who would be in it. If Mordon wasn't there, I'd be pissed. Not that I was unexcited to see the rest of the coven, but I really wanted to see him. Especially as I seemed to be developing just a bit of a crush on someone else.

  When I was younger, my parents used to watch a TV matchmaking series and the protagonist would often fall in love with more than one prospect. I'd given the romance seeker no sympathy, though my parents had been full of commiseration. This was my payback. I was certain of it.

  Today was yet another brilliantly sunny day. My pale skin seemed to have already sprouted a fine spray of freckles across my arms and shoulders—but perhaps I was only noticing them now because I wore a breezy top which showed far more skin than my sorcering robes. In Selestiani, the style called for silky, drapey fabrics which billowed and fluttered in every twitch of the wind. Trousers were full and cut off at the ankle, skirts were to be found in any length below the knee. I wore trousers, not particularly caring for the way the skirts moved so much. I held back a sneeze; the warm weather combined with the sunlight meant that all the blooming flowers were antagonizing my hayfever a little bit.

  “Ah, the portal is starting. Wait just a little longer,” Julius said, positively beside himself with pride to have guests.

  In the gardens not far from the guilty place where I'd almost kissed Valerin because I was drunk, there was a permanent portal set up in a flat space. We had a bit of a crowd earlier, but Julius had asked them all to please leave because the visitors would be anxious. Now our number had whittled down to three: Julius, Valerin, and me. From the way Julius had spoken, he wasn't expecting to have Anna—or rather, Josephina—with this incoming party. Something about establishing portal jumps and friendly relations.

  “Stay clear,” Valerin said and pulled me back.

  The portal burst into brilliant light, searing my eyes, making the wind whirl around and around. There was the snapping in front of me as the spell completed delivering three people into the designated area. I squinted and peered into the flashing orb, revealing three familiar outlines. Leif, Barnes, and Mordon.

  There was a final crack of the spell as it finished, taking forever in my heightened state of anticipation. Then there was silence, filling up the space the magic had just occupied.

  Just as soon as I knew it was safe I was running through the distance between me and Mordon. I threw my arms over him. Pain blossomed from my shoulder associated with a faint pop. It wasn't loud enough for him to notice. He wrapped arms tight, spun me around, set me down on my feet to stroke the hair out of my eyes. There was a bandage on his jaw.

  “Fera,” he said. “You're safe. When they didn't release information, I was so worried. Not to mention furious. What were they thinking, sending you into the dungeons?” He rested his head on my shoulder and stiffened when he saw who was beyond it in the gardens.

  Taking a step around me, Mordon faced Valerin. It was as if there weren't other people around, the way that those two devoted all their attention to assessing the competition. Seeing them was like watching real life pistol duel complete with squinted eyes and an attentive audience. Even Julius seemed worried a fight was imminent.

  Mordon broke off first, with a dismissive air, and went to start the round of introductions. Valerin relaxed a fraction, but did not look pleased. Still, he paid Mordon obeisance by dipping his head and calling him, “Lord Kragdomen.”

  “Wolds. You gave me this.” Mordon lifted his bandage to show the brand-new pink skin covering the burn. “A deliberate miscalculation in
the directionality of the projectile, I take it?”

  “It was.”

  “You have been attentive to Lady Feraline?”

  By now I knew to watch Valerin for the twitch of a finger which meant he wanted to toy with his hair. He sounded challenging when he said, “I have been most attentive.”

  Mordon nodded thoughtfully. “You will continue to be so, I hope. I have met Julius Septimus, but it would be proper if I could meet with your Elders. Fera?”

  “Yes?”

  Mordon took my hand, brought it to his lips, then interlocked my fingers with Valerin's. At my startled expression, Mordon said, “I am going to leave you in Wolds' care while we are here. Do you understand?”

  Annoyed, I tried to tug my hand back. “No.”

  Mordon gripped my hand tighter against Valerin's. “Wolds brought you to this place, correct? That would make you his guest. And you do wear his brood ring and this is his home, it's his chance for courtship. If you should decide to stay, I will take my ring and bear no ill will for it.”

  The words felt like a blow to the stomach. I was too stunned to know what to say at first, but Mordon waited. I managed, “Don't you care?”

  “I care very much. But as much as I would love to have you as part of my life, I care even more for your well-being and I trust in your ability to evaluate your options and match them with your dreams, goals, and happiness. You can't reasonably make your decision about Wolds and Selestiani if you are hanging on my arm and treated as a stranger. Now, put me out of your mind and see what is in front of you.” Mordon quickly kissed me on the lips and backed away.

  This earned him nods and murmurs of approval from the crowd which had gathered to watch, but I was still spinning.

  Valerin said to the people all around us, “Issa, would you show Lord Mordon of Kragdomen Colony to the reception hall?”

  Issa agreed, and I watched as Mordon stepped into the center of the drake welcoming party and they all left up the road.

  Leif said to Julius, “Drakes have intriguing customs.”

  “I do believe they say the same of everyone else,” Julius said. “Have I fulfilled the criteria you desire to ascertain my identity and rights to the infant?”

  I knew instantly there was something wrong. Leif said, “You have, and it is why we have come in goodwill.”

  My heart did double-time as I recognized the too-formal way he spoke. I broke into their conversation. “Leif, Barnes, what's happened to Anna?”

  Leif said, “Now, Fera.”

  “Don't use that tone with me. What is it?”

  Julius let out a slow breath and his shoulders drooped, waiting for the answer. Valerin squeezed my hand. I wanted to yank out of his grasp but resisted. He was only trying to comfort me.

  “It was Safe Streets,” Barnes said, “They got up enough publicity. They've started a case against your custody, claiming an unsafe environment originating in the high-risk classification of our coven. She's in a temporary home until an impartial judge can be found to review the documentation.”

  “Safe Streets.” Julius squared his shoulders. “She will be back with her original captors when we next find her. You could have written this to me, but you stand before me instead. Have you come to offer your help?”

  Leif grinned. It was a startling expression on him, unexpected and full of mischief. “We know where she is and have a plan to get her out, but we need a certain degree of anonymity which we were hoping you would be willing to provide.”

  Julius extended his arm and clasped it over Leif's shoulders. “Then you are welcomed here in the name of friendship. The Free Assembly of Selestiani will be very happy to meet with you, Judge Frey and Constable Barnes.”

  And so my other two friends walked away in a pack of Selestiani members and left me alone, holding hands with Valerin. He seemed all too aware of my mood.

  “Milady Feraline, would you do me the honor of taking a flight with me while the political dynamics are settled between the others?”

  I was feeling conflicted about Mordon. A good, hard flight would let me clear my head. So I agreed before remembering that we were in the clouds and I wasn't that good on the wing yet.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Valerin and I flew quickly through the stiff wind current that dominated the air above a lake shore, our shadows causing panicked fish to flee with the glint of silver bellies. Off this circuitous path, the wind slackened enough to make flying laborious on my shoulder. Not that I was bored of our flight; a herd of deer migrated in jolts and halts towards a spring that fed into the lake, birds flew about us. In particular, a flock of small starlings swooped at me every time I approached a nest, pecking at my tail.

  The melting drifts of snow mottling the lush greenery serves to make the forest feel wholesome, untouched—though Valerin and others had mentioned that they took out the dead trees for the settlement to use, and that forestry and land management were mandatory courses for a member of Selestiani to take. Over the crest of evergreens, a high flat spot was carefully tilled and tended, guarded by a fence much like the doorstop baby-gate my father had given me. Between snowberry bushes and the white tufts of mallow, I caught glimpses of a bark-lined walking path.

  Valerin flew in silence beside me, stealing my attention every now and again. For all the trouble I was determined to give him, I couldn't help but to notice him as his wingtips drew near mine. Handsome. He was certainly handsome. Not as large as Mordon, nor as flashy, but there was something about him which felt less serious. The slender shape of his body was more in line with mine, a quick dart dashing through the air, capable of twists and turns which were beyond my fire drake … I stiffened, realizing where that line of thought was taking my mind. Not to mention the unwelcome warmth it uncoiled in my body.

  “You are not relaxing,” Valerin said after we'd circled the lake too many times to count. “I'm beginning to think that Kragdomen's presence has made you uncomfortable.”

  I snapped my jaws in irritation. He was sounding like my parents. Not too happily, I saw that I'd have to explain my side of things to him. “I was raised human. Or nearly human. Human fiances don't push their loved ones away into the arms of another. But he's made that little speech and how can I be a decent person to contradict him?”

  Valerin chuckled, a higher, softer sound than Mordon's deep rumble. Valerin's voice sounded more friendly, less dangerous. “You were expecting him to sweep you off your feet, embrace you, and fight me for your hand.”

  I growled, wanting to say no, but not able to do it.

  Valerin's talons tickled up my spine as he overtook me. “He would have been unwise to do so. A great many drakes who are outcasted—or very traditional—kidnap their mates. Those of us who think it is a crime all watch for signs that a male is practicing bridenapping. A drake such as Kragdomen is particularly watched. He's very powerful and power is easily abused. He's from a strong family and a large colony. They will second whatever female he appoints as their next Lady. Then there are his personal attributes. He is physically capable, magically strong, and skilled on the wing. There are many ways he could manipulate a female, if he so chose.”

  “It isn't like that,” I said. “He did not even want a mate when I first touched his brood ring. One of the Elders held it for him.”

  “And how long did it take to release its grip on your finger?”

  “Two weeks. But it feels longer.”

  “And what was your answer?”

  I dropped lower to increase the space between us. “Why are you interested?”

  “I thought you wanted to talk about your troubles. It can be beneficial to have another opinion.”

  Though I could rotate my neck fully around, I chose to fly upside-down for a while. The position made my sore shoulder feel better. Valerin bared his teeth in a dragon smile. I said, “What are you grinning at?”

  “You're being very forward with me and I do not think you know you are doing it. If it is intentional, I would love
to make use of the position.”

  “Don't. I crash landed in the Wildwoods and Mordon had to fix my shoulder. It isn't what it once was.”

  “This one?” he extended a claw to the wing. “I thought you were moving stiffly on it.”

  “I haven't even had my second form for very long. A couple months, I'd guess, but it feels like ages ago.”

  Valerin blinked in surprise. “And you're flying like this? No doubt, you are a mate worthy of ladyship of a colony. But is that what you want? We have a simple life in Selestiani. It is peaceful and good and not as stressful as the demands a colony places on its leaders.”