“Basically that we thought Jeremy had been tricked into using some black magic and the cops wouldn’t believe us, so we wanted to try to help him ourselves.” I stared at Jodi for a few moments letting the half lie sink into my mind.
“And what did they say?” I asked calmly.
“Well, the mom didn’t say anything, just sat there crying like she was. But the dad, well, he just started yelling about us breaking in and basically just ignored what I said,” she finished with a shrug.
“Okay,” I said, blowing out a breath and shaking my head.
“How did you have so much magic to spend so easily?” Jodi asked, bringing me back to the matter at hand. I glanced at the bedroom door and saw that there were no traces of my protective glyph on the wood.
“I know how to stop the Sylph,” I said and I explained what happened while I was unconscious on the floor and the memory I had relived.
“Oh my god,” Jodi whispered behind her hand. “I totally forgot about that.” Her blue, blue eyes were wide and she shook her head slowly and I knew she was remembering all the details of that afternoon so many years ago.
“So did I, but that’s obviously what Tegan was talking about when he said we know without knowing how to stop this.”
“But you never did show me how to pull iron from blood and I don’t think I’ve ever seen you try to pull it from the earth either,” Jodi said, dropping her hand from her mouth.
“I know, but, I mean, I know how to make the plants grow and how to draw water up from the hidden streams and wells far below the surface; it cant be that much harder, can it?” Even I could hear the uncertainty in my voice.
“Shay, we’re talking about splitting particles here. There is iron in the dirt, but it’s all mixed together; not seeds in the earth or water laying in wait, separate from the dirt.”
“Well, we’ve done more spectacular things in times of crisis,” I said, tearing my gaze away from her and looking down the hallway. “We’ll just have to have faith we can do this too.” With that, I reached for her hand and intertwined our fingers and started walking down the hall and out into the main room.
“Any idea where you’re going?” Jodi whispered to me as we crossed the room, heading for the front door.
“No idea, I just know they aren’t in the house anymore,” I answered as I came to a stop a few feet from the front door. I turned and grabbed Jodi’s other hand in mine and closed my eyes, concentrating on my breathing and centered myself. Reaching down, I pushed through the floor and the foundation of the house until I could feel the steady, low pulse of the Earth below us and grounded into it. I felt Jodi’s pulse quicken with the automatic surge of power as the Earth’s magic responded to my touch and surged up into me and through our joined hands and into her. Carefully, I fed the magic and extra power into our defensive shields and our magical reserves, recharging our depleted bodies, much like soldiers stashing extra bullets in any pocket they could find before leaving the safety of their foxhole.
I carefully pulled my energy out of the Earth, stopping the flow of power without causing a backlash, and let go of one of Jodi’s hands. We turned to the front door and closed the distance of those last few steps before I reached for the handle and pulled the door open. The cool, crisp night air rushed around us, sending chills up my arm, but I felt a tingle of power rush through Jodi’s hand and into mine as her element swirled around her and caressed her skin like a lover. I smiled, glad to feel some confidence coming from her, and took a step over the threshold. I let go of Jodi’s hand and turned to pull the front door shut behind us and to draw another protective symbol over the wood when I felt the tingle of power run up the back of my neck.
I shoved the door open and spun around, catching Jodi’s arm and hurling her back through the door as I heard the night air scream in warning that the Sylph was flying from the shadows towards us. Her beautiful face was rent with fury and her slender fingers were crooked into claws as she rushed towards me. I spun and dove through the door, catching the edge and slamming it shut as I tumbled to the floor. Jodi was right behind me, darting to the door and quickly drawing a banishing symbol over the wood. The door shuttered against the force of her impact as the Sylph struck it, but the door held. Jodi threw all the locks once she finished with the spell and turned a pained face to me, holding up her scorched hand for me to see.
“It burns a little?” she demanded angrily. “A little, my ass!” I shrugged awkwardly from my position on the ground before pushing myself up and running to the back door, throwing the locks into place and drawing the same symbols there.
“What do we do?” Jodi asked, after returning from drawing the symbol on the door leading to the attached garage.
“We can’t stop her from coming in forever,” I said as I looked around at all the windows surrounding us in just this room.
“It’s worth a shot,” Jodi said, a hint of sarcasm in her voice.
“She’ll just go after someone else to hurt us. I don’t need that guilt,” I said, rubbing a hand over my eyes, suddenly feeling a little bone-weary.
“I know, I know,” Jodi said, looking around. “Then what do you want to do?”
“We’ll have to let her in, but draw her to a place that’ll work in our favor, not hers,” I said. Something inside me told me to go to the garage. It was the farthest away from Jeremy’s parents we could get while still being inside and, if it was anything like all the other ranch style houses in the neighborhood, there would be open rafters in the ceiling. I told Jodi my idea and, having nothing else to suggest, she agreed and we made the mad dash past what felt like a hundred windows into the garage.
I had to stop myself from slamming the door shut behind us, fearing the noise would draw the Sylph’s attention before we were ready for her. Jeremy’s parents had washer and dryer hook ups in the garage, just like I had expected based on the layout of the house, and they were just inside the door. I grabbed Jodi’s hand and pulled her back towards me. I gave her a push towards the washer and pointed up to the rafters above us. She nodded her understanding and pulled herself up on the washer while I watched the side door that led out of the garage into the side yard.
Jodi tapped my shoulder to get my attention and motioned that she needed help reaching the rafters, which did not bode well for me since we were the same height. I pulled myself up onto the washer next to her and interlaced my fingers to give her a leg up. Butterflies swirled in my stomach as I watched her scramble to pull her legs up and get her body over the rafter safely. Once she was up, she lay down on her stomach and reached out a hand to me, but I only shook my head at her, knowing neither of us was physically strong enough to pull the other up. I turned and looked at the shelves installed on the wall above the washer for cleaning supplies and considered how strong they might be. They only needed to be strong enough to hold my weight for a few seconds so I could get my hands on the rafters above.
I glanced up at Jodi and she nodded again, letting me know she agreed with what I was thinking, and pushed herself up to crawl closer to the wall and get into position to help me up once I was higher. I closed my eyes in spite of the warring butterflies in my stomach and pressed a hand to the exposed beam in the wall near the shelves. Feeling the wood hidden there, I tried to seek for an answer to how strong the shelves were, but before I could fully reassure myself, I heard a rustling in the side yard and knew if I didn’t move now, Jeremy and the Sylph would be on me before we were ready. With one more gulp of air, I grabbed the shelves and started to climb them like a ladder.
The thin wood bowed under my weight, but the braces held while I made my way up. Almost frantically, Jodi and I grasped hands once I was as high up as the shelves would get me and she pulled hard enough to burn my skin while I reached with my free hand for the nearest rafter. I managed to hook my right leg over the rafter and get myself up with as little grace as possible as I heard the wood begin to splinter under my left foot as it slipped off of the shelf. We both took a moment to catch our b
reath and slow our racing hearts while I rubbed my wrist where Jodi’s grasp had burned the skin.
Now what? Jodi’s yellow thoughts whispered in my mind as she pressed her fingertips to my knee.
We get a little farther away from that door, I answered, nodding towards the side door where I had heard noises coming from. As quickly as possible, we scrambled over the beams, trying to ignore the mossy spider webs that caught on our fingers and our hair. It took more than a fair bit of self-control on my part not to have a panic attack right there while I frantically batted the webs away.
“That’s far enough,” I whispered as softly as I could as Jodi crawled just out of my reach, making it dangerous to reach out to her to create the physical link we needed to speak mind to mind. Jodi opened her mouth to speak, but I quickly waved her into silence and pointed down at the side door, hearing the wood creak under the strain of being pulled open. Clearly it wasn’t a door often used, but then, from the looks of the garage, it didn’t seem like Jeremy’s dad used the garage for much more than storage space.
The door stopped moving after it was opened just a crack and I couldn’t see any shadows at the bottom of the door to let me know someone was waiting there. Energy swirled around me, the very air in the garage coming alive with magic and power, but instead of singing through my body, it felt like a thousand fire ants biting along my skin; this wasn’t our power, it was the Sylph’s. I was desperate to speak to Jodi, but I didn’t dare move or tear my gaze away from the door, knowing they would be waiting for just the right moment when our attention was distracted.
Shay? Jodi’s yellow thoughts whispered in my mind and I couldn’t help but look up sharply at her, my eyes wide in shock, realizing I assumed all three of us needed to be together to have enough power for us to speak mind to mind without physical contact. Yeah I know, she thought at me. I could hear you too.
But I wasn’t thinking at you, I responded, turning my eyes back to the door that still hadn’t moved.
No, I know, but I started hearing you. You were thinking about not looking away from the door in case the Sylph was waiting for that, her yellow thoughts were an almost perfect echo of mine that sent chills down my back.
This is pure Air magic, isn’t it? I asked, shifting my weight slightly, trying to ease the ache forming in my thighs.
I think so, but how can I tell for sure?
How does it make you feel? I asked.
Like we just drew a circle of power and poured all of its energy into me, Jodi said and I could feel her excitement barely contained as her thoughts became brighter, making me want to squint against them again.
It feels a little foreign to me, like being shocked with low level electricity, which is how Air magic always feels to me, but this almost freaking hurts. I shifted again, putting more of my weight on the balls of my feet. It must be boosting your abilities so you’re able to open the channel between us.
Like you did last year when we were on the mountain, Jodi offered and I just nodded in response. Okay, what do you want to do then?
Well, I think, since you’re responding so well to the Sylph’s magic, you need to concentrate on her while I go after Jeremy to contain him and try to break the link between them.
But... Jodi’s thoughts faded a little as she hesitated and I could feel her anxiety laced with fear travel across the short distance between us and stir my stomach. I don’t know how to stop her.
You will, I’ll help you, don’t worry, I said, grabbing a hold of the connection that was making me feel her fear and pushing confidence into her. I felt the nerves churning my stomach ease and Jodi’s mental sigh of relief. I kept the connection between us open, not wanting to have to spare the precious few moments it would take to open it back up once the mêlée was underway.
Jeremy’s going to come in first, I thought at Jodi as I felt the energy in the air spike.
How do you know that? Jodi’s thoughts were near erratic now with all the pent up energy she was taking into herself.
No idea, I thought back with a shake of my head.
Awesome, I feel so confident now. I smiled at the casual sarcasm and braced myself, placing both hands on the beam outside of my feet, centering my body weight for the drop.
Don’t focus on me, do you understand? I pushed the weight of my will into the connection between us, not wanting her to argue with me.
How can I not?
Because if you do, then the Sylph will get to you or me before you realize it. I need you to watch the door and wait for her to come in. Do not focus on me, do you understand? I asked again.
Yes, she replied reluctantly and the power in the channel between us was so great I could almost hear the unspoken thought that she didn’t like it.
The door creaked again and I watched as the opening grew wider and a shadow crossed behind it, hiding the person approaching. I concentrated on the energy Jodi was emitting and pulled an extra bit into me, letting the power feed my reserves. Jeremy stepped around the door, stopping at the threshold, and scanned the darkness, letting his eyes adjust to the lack of light before he took a half step inside and stopped again. I could feel the pulse of my heart in my throat and the heat of the built up magic and nerves in my cheeks; tiny beads of sweat broke out over my forehead and my hand itched to wipe them away.
Jeremy tilted his face up, but kept his eyes from the rafters and I heard him sniff a couple of times. He was actually testing the air like an animal would. I watched as he turned his head back and forth, sniffing in each direction, which just sent my nerves dancing in a whole new way. Had he learned a new spell that would develop his senses so much that he could draw out scents in the air like a wolf or a dog could? Finally he took another step inside, in the direction I was hiding above.
What the hell was that about? Jodi’s nervous thoughts nearly made me jump after all the silence, but I just shook my head ever so slightly, willing her into silence rather than wasting the attention it would take to form the thought. Jeremy was walking towards me now. His steps were slow enough to make me want to scream at him to hurry up, but all too soon he was directly under me and the time to act was upon me.
Brace yourself, I thought at Jodi as Jeremy took one more step forward so he wasn’t directly under me anymore and I pushed away from the beam and dropped down like a rock on his back, slamming him into the concrete on the floor. He landed in a heap and I heard all the air rush from his lungs. I buried my knees into his back, grinding against his ribs and making him cry out in pain, which almost made me smile in satisfaction. I twined the fingers of my left hand into his hair, twisting it against his skull to hold his head down. I brought the image of the iron knife from the forest into my mind and focused on it. I crooked the fingers of my free hand into a claw and felt the now familiar burn of the iron sear my skin. I suddenly had an image of drawing iron from blood.
I pulled back on his head, using his hair as a handle, stretching out his neck, and brought my burning hand down on it, clutching his windpipe. He made a gurgling sound that mingled with the sizzle of burning skin. I crinkled my nose at the smell and adjusted my grip so I wouldn’t strangle him to death, but held on tight with my other hand and bounced on my thighs to drive my knees into him harder when he struggled beneath me.
“Stay still, Jeremy, and you don’t have to get hurt,” I whispered to him through clenched teeth, but to my disbelief, he was actually smiling. Although I wouldn’t call it his natural smile; more the grin of a crazy man who has no idea that a room with padded walls was waiting for him. Just then I felt the air in the garage come alive with energy, like a live wire dancing dangerously close to a pool of water. I didn’t have to look around to know the Sylph was there and the frenetic energy searing my exposed skin was just a measure of her anger.
Now! I thought at Jodi in a mental scream that was so bright green the shadows in the garage took on a hint of color, sending the image of pulling iron from blood to her. I felt more than saw Jodi jump from her hiding place an
d collide with the Air spirit. Jeremy screamed under me and started to buck under my weight. I instinctively gripped harder with both hands, feeling the heat of the iron in my hand sear the soft skin of his neck, but he didn’t seem to notice. We were rolling on the ground now, him on top of me and me on my back, trying to remember how to breathe. Jeremy was flailing so wildly on top of me I couldn’t get a full breath and finally just let go of him.
I braced myself as I sucked in great lungfuls of air, expecting him to turn back on me, but he just scrambled to his feet and started to make his way towards Jodi, who I now saw was in a physical fight with the Sylph. I could hear the slap of flesh on flesh as Jodi’s fists connected with the Sylph in a very human way and in between the blows, ever growing sparks of electricity were flying between them.
“Iron, Fae! Iron!” I screamed at Jodi as I rushed to my feet and started after Jeremy. I grabbed a screwdriver as we passed a workbench and spun it in my hand so I was holding the skinny metal end. I brought my hand up and slammed the blunt handle just above the soft spot on his shoulder aiming for his mandible angular at the point of his jaw below his ear. Jeremy folded to his knees in the shock of pain and I kicked him square in the back between his shoulder blades, throwing the screwdriver away into the mess of boxes on the other side of the garage before mounting him and twisting his right arm behind him and grabbing his hair at the crown of his head to stretch his neck backwards again. I brought the heat of the iron again into my hand and seared his wrist with it, projecting that image to Jodi with all the power that I had.
Jodi hesitated for just one moment, drawing the iron into her hands for the attack, but that moment was enough for the Sylph to take advantage . She screamed in an ungodly voice and I thought my ears would surely bleed from it before she launched herself at Jodi, sending them reeling into the boxes where I had thrown the screwdriver. I screamed for Jodi as Jeremy began to struggle under me again. With little choice left to me, I gripped his hair tighter, drew his head back again, and slammed his head into the concrete floor with a smack that had my stomach roiling. He went limp under me instantly. I took just a moment to find his pulse in his neck; it was slow and steady as if he were only sleeping. Satisfied, I scrambled to my feet again and tore my way through the boxes until I found them.
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