by H. L. Burke
“It’s hard to say. At least a few hours. He must’ve completed the spell while we were all asleep.” Jericho pulled the horse closer. “Your father never taught me this sort of magic. Honestly, if you’d asked before this morning, I would’ve assumed he didn’t know it himself. Do you think you can reopen the rift?”
“I can.”
“Good. That’s all I need. Open it long enough for me to go in after him … oh, and stay with Rill while I’m in there, just in case something goes wrong.” Jericho swung his leg over the horse.
“Hold up!” Auric raised his hand. “You are going after him? What chance do you think you’ll have in the Fey Lands? My father has two decades more experience than you do, and apparently he got himself trapped there. You’ll end up breakfast for a Fey-dragon before noon.”
“I’ve got to try.” Jericho frowned.
Auric cast one last longing glance in the direction of town and the train station. “I’m coming with you. I may not know what my father is up to, but I trained under men who have studied the Fey for decades.” He narrowed his eyes at Jericho, expecting him to protest.
“All right,” the apprentice said. “Let’s get going.”
Chapter Nine
Jericho hurried into the house, his long legs giving him an advantage over Auric who scrambled to keep up. Rill met them in the foyer, her embroidery hoop clutched in one hand. She threw her arms around her brother’s neck.
“I’m sorry,” Auric mumbled, so low Jericho almost missed it. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine now.” She ruffled his hair. Releasing her brother, she turned to Jericho. “I didn’t really find anything in Dad’s papers, but I realized something: I haven’t seen Jaspyr all morning. Do you think Dad would’ve taken him?”
Jericho shrugged. “What for?”
“I don’t know, but it’s not like Jaspyr to hide for so long.” She wrung her hands. “Do you have any idea where Dad might’ve gone, Aurry?”
The two men exchanged a glance.
Jericho cleared his throat. “Maybe.”
“We think he may have opened a rift into the Fey Lands, Rill,” Auric explained.
The blood drained from her face. “But why? The Fey Lands are dangerous. In the stories you can go there for a day and come home and have been gone a century … or eating their food can make you have to stay forever!”
“Thankfully most of those are myths.” Auric gave her a weak smile. “We’ll take precautions. I’m going to get some things from the kitchen.”
She caught his hand. “But what if you get lost? Is that what happened to Dad? Why he hasn’t come back yet?”
“I’ll be careful.” He stroked her cheek.
She embraced him. “Please, I don’t want to lose you.”
“We’ll bring along a homing spell so we can get back in a blink of an eye if needed,” Jericho said. “I’ll show you how to make it.”
She peeled herself away from her brother, sniffled, then allowed Jericho to lead her up the stairs.
“You’re both going, then?” she whispered.
“Auric knows the spell to open the rift, but I have a stronger grasp on how your father functions.” Jericho nodded as they reached the workshop. “We’ll have a better chance working together.”
“I guess, but the idea of one of you going is hard enough. Both of you—” She shuddered.
He turned and squeezed her hands. “I know your brother and I haven’t exactly gotten along, Rill, but I swear, I won’t let anything happen to him, all right? And I’m going to do my best to get your dad back safely as well.”
“And yourself?” She raised her blue eyes to him. “You’ll be careful.”
“Of course.” He smiled and pinched her nose. Her cheeks flushed. “Come on,” he said. “Let me show you how to make that homing spell.”
At the work table, he took out two pieces of paper and his stylus.
“Paper, not wood?” She sat on the table next to where he was working.
“It’s actually a fairly simple spell but with some tricks.” He scratched out the first line of symbols on one sheet and showed them to her.
She scanned them, mouthing their names, then nodded.
“This half of the spell will be tied to a location and will stay there.” He set the sheet aside. “For ease, I’m making that location the workshop. This second one,” he drew over the other paper, “will come with us. I’m going to do the full spell except for the final symbol.” Again he held it out to her after he’d completed the inscription. “When we need to return home, I’ll simply write out the activation symbol, completing the spell, and the two halves will call to each other, taking myself, and anyone I’m in contact with, along with them.”
“Brilliant.” She grinned.
“Yes, well, it’s a quick way to travel.” He folded the spell up and tucked it in his vest pocket. “We’ll have to bring along some quires. I’m not sure what will be available to us in the Fey Lands.”
“There’s a stack over there, plus reams of paper.” She nodded towards the materials.
“Yeah, that should be enough. I’ll just need a satchel or something to put it all in.” He straightened and started to turn away, but she caught him by the arm.
Tears brimmed from her eyes. She opened her mouth then shut it.
“Hey, don’t cry.” He sat beside her and pulled her into an embrace. “I promise, I’m going to do everything in my power to get both your dad and your brother home safely. It’s going to be all right.”
“It’s not that,” she whispered, dropping her chin towards her chest.
“Then what is it?”
She raised her face, and their eyes met, her gaze soft yet somehow penetrating. An uncomfortable yet thrilling sensation of vulnerability swept through him, as if she could see straight into his soul. His breath abandoned his lungs. Her fingers twined into his hair, drawing him closer. Their lips met.
Common sense screamed at him to pull away, but the warmth of her held him captive. His arms tightened about her waist. He pressed his mouth harder into hers, hungry for her. Her lips parted in a gentle sigh that melted him like wax.
The kiss broke. She hid her face against his neck, her breath tickling his skin and scrambling his thoughts. He rubbed her back.
“It’s going to be all right,” he whispered. “This won’t be the last time we see each other. I’d move heaven and earth to be certain of that.”
“I know, but I don’t want you to go.” Her voice quavered. “Jerry, I’ve wanted to tell you how I feel for so long. I—”
“Shh.” He touched his finger to her mouth. “Not yet. It’ll give me something to look forward to, all right?” Her lips pursed, but she nodded. He kissed her cheek, tasting the salt of her tears.
Footsteps on the stairs warned of Auric’s approach. Jericho released Rill and stood to greet him.
Auric carried a leather satchel that clinked as he moved. “I found an extra stash of rosemary oil. Should last us for a day or two, though I hope we won’t have to be gone that long.”
Jericho rubbed the back of his neck, still flustered from his encounter with Rill.
Auric narrowed his eyes at him. “You all right?”
“Yeah, of course. I finished the homing spell. Let me grab something to put the quires in and we can get started.”
“This is where my wax tablet comes in handy.” Auric snorted. “No need to carry a bunch of boards around.”
“It’s good to be prepared.” Jericho shrugged. “Did you bring any food? What about water?”
“As much as I could carry. Annie helped. You might see if you can get some into your bag as well, though.” Auric walked towards his father’s study. “I’ll get started on the rift. Initiating our spell from where he activated his will give us the best chance of finding him.”
“Sounds good. I’ll be back in a minute.” Jericho hurried down the stairs, emotions swirling in his brain. Rill’s embrace had stolen his forward moment
um, and all he could think about was staying near her, touching her again, keeping her safe. He needed to focus, though. Even if he managed to get through this alive, there was no guarantee her father would grant Jericho his blessing. No, he’d proceed with caution. He’d already gone further than intended, and it could very well hurt her.
Chapter Ten
Auric wiped his damp palms on his trouser legs and stepped back. A few more symbols and the rift spell would be complete—he hoped. He’d studied them, of course, but opening a rift was the realm of senior magicians, not students. Following his father’s example, he’d worked the symbols into the wall itself, using the stability of the house to anchor the spell’s energy.
Rill sat behind him, watching, so silent he sometimes forgot she was there. She worked with her ever present embroidery hoop, the needle weaving in and out of the cloth … white thread on white cloth, he noticed. An odd choice, but what did he know about sewing?
“Is it done?” she asked.
He shrugged and sat beside her on the desktop. “I’ll put the last couple symbols in place when Jericho returns. It will only stay open for a minute or two.”
Her eyelashes fluttered against her damp cheeks.
“We’re going to get through this.” He stroked her hair and gently pulled her against him.
She squeezed him. “Aurry, I know you don’t care for Jericho, but please, when you go through that door, you’ll have to depend on him, and him on you. Keep each other safe. For me?”
A pang of disappointment cut through him. “No matter what I think of Jericho, or him of me, I’d never let harm come to him, or anyone. That’s not who I am.”
Rill rubbed her face against his breastbone. “Thank you.”
“I think I’ve got everything.”
The siblings turned and found Jericho in the doorway with a satchel on his back.
“Good.” Auric dug in his satchel for a bottle of rosemary oil. “It’s not an exact science, but my understanding is that it creates an aura which repels Fey energies.” He passed the bottle to Jericho. “Basically, you wear it like cologne.”
A smirk pulled at the corner of Jericho’s mouth. “I’ve never worn cologne.”
“Use your imagination.” Auric scowled.
The apprentice poured a coin-sized portion of it into his palm which he rubbed over his neck and hands.
“See, that wasn’t so hard, was it?” Auric did the same. While not unpleasant, the odor was pungent, overwhelming all other smells and tainting every breath he took.
“How will you track Dad once you get into the Fey Lands?” Rill asked.
“He should be the only human there, besides us. Hopefully that lights him up like a beacon,” Auric said. “I know some tracking spells that will highlight recent footprints.”
“There’s also his magical signature,” Jericho said. “Human magic leaves traces.”
Auric approached the wall, stylus twirling in his fingers. “Ready, Carver?”
“As ever.” Jericho nodded.
The stylus warmed as Auric channeled the energy of the activation symbol through it. “Brace yourself.”
With a buzz, golden light streaked across the spell on the wall. Auric looked away, blinking spots out of his vision. Prickly energy rose around him, humming, tickling. The wall behind the symbols shimmered before dissolving like mist. Behind it twisted a layer of blue fog.
Rill gasped. “Is that …?” She stepped forward, her hand reaching for the haze.
Some instinct shouted at Auric, and he grabbed her wrist.
She stared at him.
“I don’t think you should go near it.” He swallowed. “I don’t know why. It just … please, don’t touch it.”
Rill nodded, her expression placid, probably accustomed to placating their father’s paranoia. Not a stretch that she’d extend that courtesy to Auric. He winced at the thought of turning into Father.
“Be careful while we’re gone.” Jericho touched her shoulder. “Your father seemed to think something dangerous was going on and that you were vulnerable to it.”
She laughed. “Not you, too, Jerry.”
“I know, but please, Rill, it’d kill me if something happened to you.” His dark eyes stared into hers.
Auric’s stomach twisted. “We need to go. I don’t know how long this rift will stay open.”
“I’ll be praying for you both … and Dad.” Rill stepped back her gaze darting from Auric to Jericho. “Be careful.”
“We will,” the men said in unison.
She smiled. “And try not to kill each other, for my sake?”
Jericho chuckled.
Auric drew a deep breath and stepped through the rift.
As if he’d stepped into a misty morning, water droplets beaded on his skin. The prickles of magic in the air increased until his skin tingled. He whirled about to find Jericho breaking the wall of mist behind him.
The barrier of fog about them lightened then broke, fading into a thin haze. Auric gasped and drew back. They stood at the edge of a precipice, a deep gorge that fell away into darkness. On the other side, dark trees poked through a sheet of mist. A pall of dark clouds covered the sky, but a strange ambient light that seemed to come from everywhere and no where all at once kept the world in twilight.
“Look.” Jericho pointed to his left. In the distance a golden bridge stretched over the gap.
“Seems a little easy,” Auric said. “Could be a trap. Also, we don’t know if Father even went that way.” He took out his wax tablet and inscribed a tracking spell. “The Magician Corps uses these for finding lost children and solving crimes. It can’t distinguish one set of tracks from another, but assuming Father is the only human who has been here lately—” The spell activated with a hiss and a whiff of lavender that managed to penetrate the stench of rosemary. A line of footprints, glowing like coals against the gray stone, stretched away from them, towards the bridge. Auric grinned.
“Not bad.” Jericho nodded. “Though can anyone else now follow those marks to him?”
“No. Humans only. I put that in the spell.” Auric trudged after his father’s footsteps. “I’m not an idiot.”
Jericho didn’t respond to this, but somehow his silence felt like a taunt. Auric drew himself up. He couldn’t let Jericho get to him. After all, Auric had better training and magic was his birthright. Jericho had come into it purely by luck. Yes, they needed to recover Father, but it was time for Auric to assert himself as the employer to Jericho’s employee. Especially if he wanted to keep Jericho’s paws off Rill.
The bridge stretched across the gulf like a golden chain, more resembling a piece of fine jewelry than a structure. A thin strip of gleaming gold provided the decking and ropes of braided gold the rails. Arches of golden vines and silver flowers looped above it.
Auric froze at the edge. Mist cloaked the bottom of the canyon, tendrils of it snaking up the side like reaching arms.
Jericho whistled. “Don’t look down.”
Too late, but Auric kept his mouth shut.
The bridge held when he stepped onto it. Holding the rails in both hands, he hurried across. Jericho joined him, and the bridge quivered under the added weight.
Auric shot him a glare. “Step lightly.”
“Sorry.” Jericho snorted. “We can’t all be featherweights.”
Concentrating on the far side, Auric eased forward.
They reached the center. The bridge swayed beneath them, not dramatically, but enough that bile rose in Auric’s throat. Please, God, he prayed silently. I know I’ve been off about that whole fifth commandment thing, but I’m trying to make up for it now. How about You don’t let me plummet to my death and I’ll try to be a little more respectful to my father when we get him back. Amen?
“What’s that?” Jericho asked, his voice louder and closer than expected.
Auric jumped. “What’s what?” He glanced over his shoulder.
Jericho leaned over the rail, staring at the murk
below. Auric shuddered.
“Something’s moving down there. Do you see it?”
“You’re the one who told me not to look down,” Auric snapped.
“Seriously, though, there’s something in the clouds.” Jericho pointed towards a particularly dark section below them. “There. Look.”
Swallowing, Auric hazarded a quick glance. There might be some movement. Maybe. “It’s probably the wind.”
“I don’t feel any wind.”
“Let’s just get off this blasted bridge.” Auric quickened his pace.
A high-pitched shriek echoed up from the gulf. His blood ran cold.
The clouds exploded. A flock of black-winged creatures larger than any bird Auric had ever seen and with feathers that glinted like glass, burst up, swift as a volley of arrows, headed straight for them.
“Run!” Auric shouted. Ducking his head, he bolted for the safety of the far side.
Screeching cries pierced the air. The first winged monster hit the bridge right in front of Auric, passing through the metal as if it were vapor and leaving a gaping hole. Auric skidded to a halt. Jericho collided against his back. With a cry, Auric rocked towards the gap.
Jericho grabbed Auric by the coat and wrenched him back. More creatures swooped about them.
“Jump!” Jericho shouted. He catapulted past Auric, over the hole, and sprinted away.
Pulse pounding in his ears, Auric dew a deep breath and leaped. He hit the bridge on the other side of the breach and fell to his hands and knees.
“Auric! Get over here!” Jericho cried, his voice distant.
Auric picked himself up.
Jericho waved from the end of the bridge. “They’re coming back!”
The winged monsters bunched in a flapping, screaming cloud. They grouped so close together it was hard to get an impression of any one creature, just a mass of dark, ragged feathers and glinting, jagged beaks. Auric’s knees knocked together. With another shrill cry, they darted towards him.
His feet pounded against the bridge. Jericho stood on the other end, stooped over a quire.