by Halle Dean
"It will be all right," Ella parroted, smiling a bit.
As they walked through the forest, Sophie had much to think about. She had absorbed a lot about magic from Barry's library—more than she had let on to Warner. Though she felt a bit uneasy lying to him, she couldn't see how telling him certain things could be helpful. Telling him it was impossible to get rid of other Warner would only discourage him. Besides, that was only Barry's opinion; perhaps he had missed something.
There's a way to help him, Sophie decided. We'll find it.
She wished she could have gone with Warner and the others, but she knew his plan was more likely to be successful. Her magic energy hadn't fully recovered yet, but it would soon. Jace had said that his energy recovered fairly quickly, so he would also be at full power soon enough. Sophie wasn't at all sure what was happening to Ella, but she hoped her magic wouldn't be needed again.
"That's a strange plant," Ella said, pointing near the base of a tree as they passed.
Sophie worried for only a moment before Jace responded with, "That is rock."
"Oh," Ella said, seeming disappointed.
"It's not good to find strange plants, Ella," Sophie sighed. "We don't want them."
"Oh," Ella said again, more cheerfully. They continued walking for a while, and then she sighed. "Where is Li?"
"He at home," Jace reminded her. "Dangerous to go here."
She crossed her arms and huffed. "I wish to play."
"You will be able to later, sweetheart," Sophie said. "Right now, we must go home."
"Go home?" Ella said. "Why?"
"Because we have some people to speak with," Sophie said.
"Coriander very far from here?" Jace asked.
"Yes," she said. "But there's a speed port in Linburg."
"Speed port no fun," he said, making a displeased face.
"You've used one before?" Sophie asked.
He nodded. "Make very sick," he said.
"Warner said it can sometimes do that to magic users," she said. "But if we don't use the speed port, it'll take weeks to get to the castle."
As it was, it would take a full day to get to Linburg if they kept walking without pause. Ella would tire soon enough and they would have to stop and eat at some point, so they were looking at a two day journey. Jace carried a satchel full of food from Petunia, so at least they wouldn't have to worry about that. Sophie worried about other things, however. What if the knights didn't believe what she told them?
"Why you live in castle?" Jace asked.
"Momma is the princess," Ella told him.
He halted, eyes wide, and started bowing his head repeatedly. "I very sorry," he said. "Not know you are royal."
"That's all right, Jace," Sophie said, stopping and turning around. "There is no need to bow."
He stopped bowing, but kept his eyes averted. He glanced down at Ella and gasped.
"You are princess!" he exclaimed. "Li say the truth!"
"Li said she was a princess?" Sophie asked.
Jace nodded. "He say she beautiful princess. Not want her leave."
Ella giggled and tugged on Sophie's sleeved. "I want to see Li."
Sophie sighed. "We can't now."
Ella pouted, but followed along as Sophie continued walking. Other than the sound of their footsteps and Ella's occasional humming, it was quiet for a long while. Sophie was a little surprised that they hadn't come across anything dangerous. She wondered if Warner had put another danger repelling spell on her. He was supposed to be conserving what little magic energy he had left.
He had already placed a protection spell on Mason. For the most part, that should keep everyone safe. If anyone attacked Melody, Mason would get in front of her and they would both be safe. If anyone attacked James or Layla, James could keep them from being harmed. Warner, of course, could take care of himself, provided he wasn't already dying.
After a long while, the sky seen through the canopy above Sophie and the children started to lighten. Sophie stifled a yawn. She hadn't gotten any sleep, unlike Ella and Jace-she had been up discussing the plan with Warner. There wouldn't be an opportunity for her to sleep for a while, so she tried to focus on what she would say to the knights.
* * *
"Momma, I'm tired," Ella complained, dragging her feet. "Is it time to sleep?"
"Soon, sweetheart," Sophie promised. "We can't stop here. We need to find a good place to rest."
"I carry you?" Jace suggested to Ella. "You sleep."
He stopped and knelt down, gesturing for Ella to climb onto his back.
"Oh, Jace, I can do that," Sophie said.
She was so tired and had been so focused on trying to find a safe spot to stop. She hadn't thought of letting Ella sleep while they walked. Jace shook his head and lifted Ella up. She closed her eyes almost immediately, her little arms hanging over Jace's shoulders.
"I help princess," he insisted. "We make it to castle fast."
He began walking again and Sophie hurried to follow.
"Thank you," she said. "We'll find a place to stop soon."
"I all right," he said. "I not need sleep."
"Well, I need to rest," she said. "At least for a short while. And you can't carry us both."
She laughed a little at Jace's worried expression. He bowed his head again. "Sorry, I not strong enough."
"No, no," she said. "It was only a joke."
"Joke?" he repeated. "I no understand."
"Never mind," she said. "Let's keep going."
* * *
They managed to find a good place to rest after another hour or so. Sophie wanted to sleep so badly, but she couldn't leave Jace and Ella unwatched. She and Jace ate while Ella remained asleep on the forest floor. Sophie watched her daughter, wondering if she would ever be able to have a normal life.
"Magic very strange," Jace remarked. "Make life easy and difficult."
"You're smart for a ten year-old," Sophie said.
"I have magic in life for long time," he said. "Experience many difficulty from magic."
"I sometimes wish that magic never existed," she sighed.
He shook his head. "Mother and Li not alive if no magic."
"Why?" she asked.
"Mother very injured before Li born," he explained. "I fix with magic accident. Magic good thing."
"I like magic," Ella said. Sophie looked over to see her daughter sitting up and yawning. "Aunt Melody is magic. She plays pretend as a person, but she is magic."
"How do you know that?" Sophie asked.
"I can tell," Ella said matter-of-factly. "She is the same as Daddy's magic."
"Ella—"
"But Daddy's magic is not good like Aunt Melody," she continued. "So I make him go away and leave Daddy alone."
"How do you make him go away?" Sophie asked.
Ella shrugged. "I push him," she said. "He doesn't want to go, but I make him."
Jace looked confused. "What you talk about?"
"It's nothing," Sophie said. "Warner is having troubles with his sorcerer magic."
"Other voice in head?" Jace asked. "Mister James and Miss Layla say that."
Sophie nodded. "It's something along those lines."
"Sorcerer magic dangerous," Jace said. "Not many sorcerer exist."
"I exist," Ella argued.
"You sorcerer?" he asked her. "You too young."
"I'm a big girl," she said, crossing her arms.
"No." He shook his head. "You small."
"Her magic is different, Jace," Sophie explained. "There was a spell that affected all of the sorcerer magic. Ella was affected too, even though she wasn't born yet. She—"
"You speak fast!" Jace exclaimed, holding his hands up. "You always say many words and I not know what you mean!"
"Oh, sorry," Sophie said sheepishly. She had always had trouble speaking with people from other countries. Her parents had tried to get her to speak more slowly and deliberately. It was especially important with foreign dignitaries, but
she had never gotten used to it. Warner had often teased her. She wondered if he knew she would have trouble when he sent Jace with her. She smiled and tried speaking slower. "In basic terms, her magic is strange. She can sometimes use it, even though she is too young."
"That very strange," Jace nodded. "That why she not stay with my family?"
"Yes," Sophie said. "We must keep her with us."
"We're going on an adventure," Ella said.
"Adventure has much danger," he said.
Ella pouted again.
"We probably shouldn't rest again until we reach Linburg," Sophie said, more to herself than to the children.
Ella likely didn't understand what was going on. Jace was smart, but Sophie wasn't sure how much he knew just from hearing everyone talk. Sophie wished Warner was with her. She had missed him for five years, and, after seeing him again, she longed to be with him even more. She sighed as they began walking, hoping everyone would make it through.
Thirty Six
Ten Minutes
Warner was extremely thankful for Jace and his healing magic. He had never felt so healthy in his life. Despite that, he was fairly miserable. Sophie and Ella were miles and miles away and he wouldn't see them for at least a few days. He hoped his plan actually worked, otherwise he was sure to lose everything all over again.
"Explain to me again why we sent all the healing magic away," James grumbled. "We are the ones who might very well need it."
Idiocy, perhaps, other Warner suggested. There was the other reason Warner didn't want to send Ella away.
"We won't need it," he promised.
We will, other Warner argued.
"This time is different," Warner went on.
Other Warner scoffed. It's not.
"Different in what way?" Mason inquired. "In the way that we're doing the exact same thing as before?"
"We're not," Warner insisted.
I'll have to agree with Mason on this one, other Warner grumbled.
Quiet! Warner thought, trying not to let exasperation take over. "This time we know exactly where we're going and exactly what to do," he explained aloud. "And we have less people to protect. And less people that Barry is intent on killing."
"Is that why you sent Ella with Sophie?" Melody asked. "You didn't want her to come back here?"
"I don't want Ella anywhere near Barry, ever again," he said. "Last time, she caught him off guard, but I doubt that will happen a second time." He double checked their surroundings. They were hiding in a small grouping of trees far beneath the Magics Society house. No one was around, which wasn't unusual, since most non-magical people stayed away from the area. "This should be simple," Warner said. "I need an item from the closet. It's very important that no one except for me or Melody touches it."
"Why?" Layla asked.
"It has a history of reacting badly to anything that isn't a sorcerer," he said. "Very, very badly."
"Understood," James said. "Don't touch the thing, or we'll all die."
"What are we here for then?" Mason asked. "Why didn't we accompany the princess to the castle?"
"I don't want Barry to realize that we've parted ways," Warner explained. "He'll assume I would keep them with me."
"So, you want him to attack us instead?" James asked. "Again, we have no healing magic!"
Not to continue on the trend of agreeing with these people, other Warner said, but he does have a point.
"Shh," Warner said. "We're still better off. Besides, Mason has a protection spell."
"About that," James said, narrowing his eyes. "How in the hell did you do that? I've never heard of a protection spell cast on an individual."
Warner shrugged. "I learned it from Barry's library," he said. "Still, we should avoid being attacked."
"And I was going to go paint a target on myself," James said.
You can still do that, other Warner suggested.
"I am so sick of you," Warner muttered.
James' eyes widened. "Well then."
"Not you," Warner sighed.
"Oh, of course," James said. "Evil Warner."
Evil Warner? other Warner repeated. How rude.
"Let's get going," Warner grumbled, ignoring the comment. "The sooner we finish this, the better."
"What will you have us do?" James asked. "Stand guard again?"
"No." Warner waved his hand and brought several pocket watches from The Void. "You shall go make certain that no one is in the building. Then, you must get out. You have ten minutes. If you haven't searched everywhere, leave anyway."
"But—" Layla started, eyes widening as she took one of the watches.
"If anyone is left in there, it will be unfortunate," he interrupted. "But you must leave before ten minutes is up. The longer we wait, the more likely things will go wrong." He checked that each watch was in sync. "In any case, I'll be surprised if there are many people. There is no meeting planned, so anyone there should be in the grand hall. Check there first and you should be able to get everyone to safety. But you must be outside of the building before ten minutes is up. Is that understood?"
"Yes, si—" Mason stopped mid word. He had been standing at attention, Warner noticed, but relaxed when he seemed to realize it. He cleared his throat before rephrasing. "That is understood. Ten minutes."
Old habits, other Warner chuckled. Even after five years.
"Let's go," Warner said, turning to lead the way to James' magic saucer.
"Yes, sir," James said, emphasizing the honorific as he smirked at Mason.
"Shut your mouth," Mason growled.
"Shut your mouth, sir," James grinned.
Mason placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, glaring at James.
"That's enough," Warner commanded. "This is not the time to play around."
"This may be our final time to play around," James contradicted. "Who knows if we'll survive this time?"
"We will," Warner insisted. "Follow the plan, and we will."
* * *
The plan was going better than Warner had dared to hope for. He hadn't seen a single person on his way to the closet. There were no sounds or signs of any sort of trouble. It took only a few minutes to reach his destination. The barrier spell was present, but he simply dissolved it and stepped further into the room.
Now is the time for some self control, other Warner said seriously.
"Heh, yeah," Warner said, laughing a little. "That is my area of expertise."
So, where is it? other Warner asked.
It should be… Warner looked around the room. "Aha!" His eyes landed on a familiar, glowing, green sphere.
That's what Sophie nearly touched last time we were here, other Warner remembered.
Yes, it is, Warner thought.
We would have all died, other Warner realized.
Yes, we would have, Warner agreed.
Other Warner seemed uneasy. Let's be very careful with it.
Warner slowly approached the sphere, which appeared, at first, to be resting on a small table. As he drew closer, he noticed it was actually hovering about an inch above the wooden surface. He checked his watch. It had already been just over ten minutes, so Warner decided it was time to act. A bit apprehensive, he extended his fingers and gently touched the sphere. Its glassy, smooth surface was colder than ice. He nearly pulled away at the feeling, but was able to persist.
The sphere began to hum. Warner focused some of his magic energy, funneling it through his fingertips. The humming grew much louder and the sphere began to quiver. Warner felt a strange pull on his hand, so he quickly withdrew it and stepped back.
Is that all it took? other Warner asked. Is it going to work?
"I'm not sure," Warner said.
The glowing green light emanating from the sphere grew brighter. Warner didn't know how long it would take for it to activate completely, but it seemed to be doing something. He waved his arm over himself and entered The Void. He re-materialized on James' magic saucer and looked around. James
, Layla, and Melody were all there, looking very worried.
"Where is Mason?" Warner asked.
"He's not back yet," Melody said, her voice trembling. "He saw someone run down a hall and went after them."
"It's been over ten minutes," Warner said. "Why isn't he back yet?"
Melody shook her head slightly. "He said he would be safe," she said. "Because of the protection spell."
"It won't protect him from this!" Warner exclaimed.
"He said you told him it would!" she said, her worried expression escalating to a terrified one.
"He lied," Warner growled, turning back towards the Magics Society house furiously.
"I have to go back!" she cried.
Warner grabbed her arm. "No!" he said. "You don't know where he is in there."
"But—"
Before she could protest more, there was a loud sound, like a very strong wind. All the dust and dirt that had settled on the house was up in the air and swirling around. The walls seemed to be bending inwards, towards the center of the house. Even the glass was curving towards the sphere. Melody pulled against Warner's grasp, desperately trying to get to the house. Afraid she would use The Void to escape, he suppressed her magic.
"Melody, stop!" Warner shouted over the increasingly loud sound the house was making.
"Let me go!" she pleaded.
The front doors pulled themselves open and twisted inwards. With the doorway clear, Warner could see inside the house. A figure was making its way down the hall. Warner looked more carefully to see that it was Mason, half supporting another person. Melody must have noticed him as well, because she began to struggle even harder.
She can see them, Warner thought. In only a few seconds, she could use The Void to get them out.
There's no time, other Warner said.
Warner released the magic suppression. In the same instant, the brick walls of the house curved in drastically, twisting as if in a whirlpool. All at once, the entire building pulled inwards to one small point. The only thing left behind was the green sphere—simply hanging in the air.
After a long moment of speechlessness, Layla spoke. "That didn't happen," she said in disbelief.
Melody sobbed into her hands as she fell to her knees. Warner tried to think of something to say. Even other Warner couldn't come up with anything more than, There's no way he survived.