Two.
Jason’s mouth extended to a muzzle.
“There you are!”
The witch’s voice threw me off guard and the tree began to shake. She hopped from one huge foot to another before dashing into the tree trunk.
I lost my balance and toppled off the branch. As I fell, Jason swung his arm down and caught me, lowering me to the branch below. My feet touched it safely and I regained my balance, but it wasn’t enough.
The witch, with all her great power, made a kind of gagging noise, like she’d swallowed a fur ball. Her half-garbed body began to glow bright white. An awful sound filled the air, like a laser cannon firing up. I could hear – feel – its energy building, growing stronger.
The tree shook furiously now, both Jason and me clutching onto anything we could grab. The dying brown leaves dropped from the branches, the tremor disturbing their peaceful transition into winter. The cannon sound roared louder, and suddenly all the trees around us shuddered like in an earthquake. Whatever the witch was doing, it was sure to obliterate us both and leave no bodies to bury.
Caught up in a cloud of fear, I almost didn’t see the attack.
Chapter 28
Before I could understand what was happening, a pearlescent stream of green and white energy engulfed us. The trees became absorbed in the bright and blinding haze, the rush of light flowing through both Jason and me. My heart rate tripled as I held on tight to the branch, gripping it until my knuckles turned white.
“What’s going on?”
I could barely hear Jason’s voice among the roar of wind. It was muffled between the waves of energy pouring through and around us. For a moment I thought that the witch had cast a spell on us, but then I realized that the blinding lights weren’t coming for us.
They were working with us.
“It’s the spirits!” I called across the great length of the branch, excitement breaking into my tone. “I think they’re here to help.”
The last of the lights rushed past, swooping down from the air like translucent eagles, hurrying toward their prey. The witch stumbled back, crashing into a tree as the foliage became engulfed by the swirling storm of energy. As much as it clawed and swatted at the air, the witch couldn’t seem to land a hit. I watched from the safety of the branch, the spirits wrapping themselves around one of the witch’s arms as it fought against them, teeth bared.
“I think they’re holding her down,” I said.
Jason grinned. “Then I guess we’d better get down there.”
I didn’t have to be told twice. Dropping to the branch below to soften my fall, I took a leap and landed on solid ground. Jason stormed ahead of me, the body of a beast but the mind of a real man. If I’d had time to stop and admire him, I would have.
But I had a witch’s ass to kick.
The intense magic from my card breezed through me, filling me with energy and strength. I dashed forward, aero magic shooting through my hands and shoving the witch backward. It groaned as it hit the bark of a tree again, but then propelled itself forward as it struggled to stay on its feet.
Jason pounced upward, landing on its shoulder and taking rapid, violent cuts at its neck. The witch howled in agony, coupling with the roar of the spirits and the wind blasting from my palms to create a deafening screech.
I sprinted into the action. As the witch’s leg swept round to kick me, I dropped to my knees and slid along the ground. I passed beneath her gigantic body, driving a fist into the solid bone of her massive white knee. I recovered behind the witch, jumping straight to my feet and blasting more wind into the back of the other knee. As its body lost balance and began to fall back, I dove to safety and took a roll to push myself right up off the ground.
The witch was falling now, beginning to topple backward like a runaway boulder. Its back hit the dirt and the ground beneath me vibrated, while Jason slid down its belly with his claws dug deep into its skin. The spirits continued to circle it, spreading thinner now, but extending to restrain all four of its limbs.
I couldn’t waste any time.
Running forward, I leapt onto the giant witch’s stomach, planting my feet firmly into its flesh. There were a number of things I could do to this creature while I had the chance, but who knew how effective they would be?
There was only one sure way to kill it.
“Jason!” I called. “Open it up.”
He didn’t hesitate. With the power of the wolf, he dove onto the witch’s torso as the screaming and howling grew louder. Jason raised a claw and swept it downward, digging up a large patch of flesh and ripping it out like soil. As I watched the hole open in the witch’s chest, I conjured my aero magic and concentrated hard to create a pocket of air.
I closed my eyes. I could see the witch’s lung in my mind’s eye. Once there, I blocked out all distractions and focused, perfecting an air bubble inside its lung. As soon as I had it formed, I expanded the bubble, letting it grow and grow until the momentum built up and it seemed to expand by itself.
My eyes shot open just in time to witness the creature wriggling and making ungodly sounds. The spirits suddenly unraveled themselves, retreating far into the woods. Noticing the urgency with which they had fled, Jason and I followed close behind them, sprinting fast until we stopped and turned to look at the witch.
Its chest grew bigger and bigger, emanating a great light while a whistling grew louder, like a kettle. The thing kept bloating until, finally, its body exploded into a bursting ball of light. I shielded my eyes with my arm, avoiding being dazed by mere milliseconds.
When I summoned the courage to look again, the witch had evaporated.
I nodded slowly, smiling.
“All right,” Jason said after a prolonged silence. His body shrunk down, and just like that, he became human again. “All right!”
We turned to each other and hugged, enveloping each other while jumping up and down with excitement. I grinned, unashamed as I buried my face into his bare chest. He held me there for a time, laughing, and I laughed with him.
To my right, I heard a sudden fluttering of leaves. I turned my head to the side and saw one of the spirits hovering across the way. It floated toward me slowly, taking on the shape of a man. I recognized it right away; the man from the movie theater.
“One second,” I told Jason, and moved toward the spirit.
It felt surreal, not only befriending a spirit but also to see it in such a rich and solid form. All of his features were visible now, from dark, matted hair to his high school tracksuit. For a moment the spirit lingered, a large grin spreading from ear to ear, and then he nodded.
I smiled, nodded back, and watched as the spirit took off, floating back toward its companions before sparkling and slowly fading into dimming light. It looked the same as when I had used ‘vanquis ven-laycis’ to send them, only this time there was something better waiting for them.
Peace.
Satisfied, I turned back to Jason, who stood far behind me, shooting smiling looks of approval my way. “We did it,” he said, still grinning. “You did real good.”
As I opened my mouth to speak, I felt my smile drop into a frown. I knew that our business here wasn’t yet finished, but in all the mayhem, I was almost too scared to find out whether Link would be okay. With Joan Flowers dead, the hope rested only on her daughters.
And that couldn’t be good.
Chapter 29
We stumbled to the house on feet of lead, where Dalton stood outside with the two young girls sitting on the grass in front of him. Each of them had their heads down, shaking wildly like scolded schoolgirls awaiting their punishment. At first it surprised me that they were no longer attacking him, but as I drew nearer, I realized that each of their hands were bound by handcuffs made of red neon. One of Dalton’s tricks, I suspected in admiration.
“Are you okay?” Jason whispered into my ear. “Do you want me to go and find Link?”
I dreaded the thought of having to look for him myself. I cou
ld imagine it; sifting through the rubble inside the house, only to find a smashed statuette. My heart would break along with the stone, and I couldn’t bear it.
“Please,” I said.
As Jason disappeared into the house, I made my way toward the girls and knelt to look them in the eye. I could see a resemblance now, especially in the way their sharp eyes met their slightly oversized noses. But they seemed different than before. Their anger and hate seemed to be replaced by hurt and self-pity.
“I’m sorry but your mother is–”
“Dead,” one of them interjected.
“Good,” the other one said.
I reared back in stunned surprise at the harsh words. I couldn’t deny that their mom was a piece of trash, but since when had they grown such hate for her? “Come on, you don’t really mean that, do you?”
“She made us do things.” The younger of the two – Phillipa – glanced over to the woods with a look of sorrow, before returning her gaze to me. “We like magic. It’s really cool to learn new spells and stuff. But we don’t want to use it to hurt people anymore.”
I nodded slowly, searching their expressions to find truth. Somehow, it seemed that what they were saying was genuine. “Don’t you think it’s a little late for that?”
The girls slumped back as Jason returned to my side. Carefully, he placed the statuette of Link beside me on the grass and went to stand with Dalton behind me. I hesitated as I looked at Link, at those awful, fear-filled eyes, frozen in the moment that his body had turned to stone – in the moment that he’d become a thing, rather than a person.
“Listen,” I said to the girls. “I need you to undo the spell on my friend here. Do you think you can do that for me?”
They both looked at each other, exchanging words with nothing more than facial gestures, speaking a silent language that only siblings could do. Then, Margaret, the older of the young witches, reached out her hands and placed them on Link while whispering softly.
I watched in amazement as the color returned to Link, the gray replaced by the healthy glow of his skin, his blazing blue eyes shining like they used to. The gray slowly retreated back into itself until my little friend could finally stretch and fidget.
“Link…” I grabbed him, scooping him up into my arms and holding him close to my chest. I let him hear my heart, the way it pounded like a drum at the overwhelming relief of his safety. I looked at the girls, smiling gratefully as a tear appeared at my eye, and – much to my surprise – they both smiled back.
Link, struggling for air, pulled away from my chest and wiped his mouth. “Cheers for that,” he said sarcastically. “Your boobs are all sweaty. What the hell have you been doing?”
I laughed. “It’s a long story.”
From behind Link came an obvious cough for attention. The young witches looked at me with pleading eyes, and one of them asked, “What will happen to us? Are we going to jail? Are we going to die?”
“I don’t want to die,” said the other.
Feeling uncomfortable, I turned to Dalton and Jason, who stood together and watched without speaking. Jason must have read my expression, as he soon stepped forward and knelt beside me, patting Link on the back and talking to the girls.
“That depends,” he said. “What do you want to happen?”
Margaret shrugged, and Phillipa copied her.
“Well,” Jason rested an arm on his knee, “if the Elder will allow it, I could find you a home. I know a couple, a man and wife who are werewolves and have wanted to adopt for some time now. But since they were born underground and have no credentials…”
I glanced back at Dalton for approval, and he nodded once. Turning back to the girls, I reached out and put a hand on one of their knees. “If you do this, you have to promise not to hurt anyone ever again. You’re being given a second chance, which means you have to repay their generosity with respect. Can you do that?”
The girls nodded in assent, wiping away their misery with their sleeves and giving Jason tentative smiles. Behind me, Dalton snapped his fingers and the girls’ handcuffs suddenly vanished into thin air. That man never ceased to amaze me with his little tricks.
“You mean we get to have a real family?” Margaret asked.
“A weird family,” Link said, leaning against my leg with his arms folded. It seemed as though he were still pissed at being turned to stone. Who wouldn’t be? “But yeah, a real one.”
As we all stood up, Jason took the girls by the hands and turned around. Dalton was already there for him, spinning his fingers to create a portal to the sewage plant, where they would meet their new parents and start their lives anew. As the three of them passed through, Jason craned his neck and gave me one last smile, before finally disappearing into the portal.
“Is there anything else you require, Lady Keira?” Dalton asked, sealing that portal and opening up another. It seemed like he was ready to go, to return to the Vault and get a good night’s sleep. I supposed he was tired after his exertions, especially as he was thousands of years old.
“I’ll catch up with you,” I said, looking down at Link. “Thank you for your help.”
“It was an honor fighting beside you.”
Dalton bowed sharply and then walked through the portal. It hissed and simmered before shrinking down into nothing and leaving us in complete silence. A steady wind picked up and carried through the trees, caressing my hot cheeks. It felt good to be safe and alive, not to mention having my best friend back in one piece.
“What was all that about?” Link said.
I bent to pick him up in the palm of my hand, so I could look him dead in the eye. “I want you to be serious for just a moment. Can you handle that?”
Link shifted uncomfortably, and then stood still. “Sure.”
“Tonight was… Look, I’m sorry I put you in this situation. And I know what you’re like; you’ll tell me that it’s all okay and that we’re friends, then say that you’ll always be here for me. But tonight I put you in danger. If I’d have lost you…”
“But you didn’t lose me.”
I sighed. “Still.”
“I’m here out of choice, you know.” Link stretched again, glancing back at the semi-destroyed house before turning back to me. “If I didn’t want to be at your side, I would be elsewhere, not being turned into a gargoyle.”
“Statuette,” I corrected.
“Whatever. Point is, I’m here for all your battles.”
I hugged him closely, bringing him into my chest.
“Sweat. Boobs,” Link said, muffled against my shirt.
I pulled him away and giggled, but as a single thought crossed my mind, a sudden wave of worry came with it. I didn’t have much time left to fulfill my duty as a Cardkeeper. I had survived twenty-eight years, almost twenty-nine, but this one had really taken it out of me. I could feel a weight of responsibility more than ever now, as if my luck would change right when my chest leaned into the tape at the finish line. It was a dreadful feeling, but I suspected that something awful loomed on the horizon. I just didn’t know what.
“Come on,” I said.
“Home time?” Link spread his wings and lifted into the air.
“Almost.”
“Where, then?”
“The Vault.” I thought of Loctis, the magicards he had to offer as a reward, and how pleased he would be to learn that the spirits had gone in peace. That, I hoped, would bring his worries to an end, so I could finally take a day off.
Chapter 30
“I assure you,” said Loctis, sliding the magicards across the table, “they’re far more powerful than they might seem. Especially the one that… Yes, that one.”
My disappointment must have shown through my frown. I raised the card in front of my eyes, studying the mage and the name of its key spell written stylishly across the bottom. After everything I had been through to secure them, I’d expected so much more. I cursed myself for not having examined them sooner.
“You appea
r forlorn,” Loctis said.
“I am.” I dropped the card on the table, next to the others. “This is a party trick – nothing more.”
“No.” Loctis shook his head, adamant that he had not just tricked me into doing his dirty work. “I fear you misunderstand. My promise was to deliver these cards to you in exchange for your dealing with the spiritual dilemma. I did not realize that the value of the cards was of such import.”
“Loctis…” I sighed, frustrated, pointing down at each of the magicards. “This power is to make my hands cold. This one to spray harmless foam from my fingertips.” I leaned over the last one, discovering its purpose. “And this one makes people piss in their pants. How, in the name of R’hen, are these useful to me?”
“I… I… Perhaps the foam could be used to dowse a fire. Or…”
Wound up tight, I waved my hand at him and scooped up the cards. “Yeah, yeah, old man. I guess it’s better that we have them than someone else. I would hate for my enemy to make me soil my favorite panties mid-battle.”
“Uh… Indeed.”
The conclusion to my day disappointed the hell out of me, but at least the spirits had been dealt with. I bore this in mind as I locked the new magicards into the Vault, watching the wall gobble them up like a hungry pit. When they were at last secured, I took Link through to the VHS store, and then we caught a bus home together.
When we reached the apartment block, Link flew upward into the open window, insisting that he meet me up there and leaving me to walk up each floor alone. I did so in an exhausted daze, strolling lifelessly up the stairs. There was nothing I wanted more than to climb into bed and relax, then take a day or two to let my bruises heal.
I reached the correct floor, and as I dug into my pocket to find my keys, I heard a soft, soothing voice say my name from across the hall. It was a familiar voice – one that I welcomed warmly. As I looked up to see the speaker, my heart almost stopped.
“Jason,” I said, shocked.
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