The Gray Tower Trilogy: Books 1-3

by Alesha Escobar

  “Good morning,” he said to us in Italian. “Dani Kasza said you’d be here today.”

  Brande gestured for Signor Alighieri to remain seated, and replied in Italian, “We have three more people coming. Thank you, for agreeing to host us.”

  Signor Alighieri rose from his seat anyway and approached Brande. He clasped him by the shoulders. “I was an Apprentice Enchanter at the Gray Tower, a long time ago. I...am very saddened by what’s happened. My home will always be open to members of the Order.”

  Brande gave him a grateful nod. He gestured toward the others and me. “This is Isabella...Izsak...Cliff, and Sadik.”

  We all said hello. Signor Alighieri pointed toward a plate of pastries in the center of the table and faced the boys. “Please, join me for breakfast.”

  Sadik smiled and took a seat, and Cliff fumbled a bit with his Italian. “Thank you, Signor. These look delicious.”

  Izsak joined them, his tall frame lumbering over to an empty seat. “I’m going to need a lot of coffee.”

  Brande pulled me into an embrace with one arm and planted a soft kiss on my lips. “Will you sit with us?”

  My stomach was tied into a hundred knots, and I wanted to crawl into a dark hole and be left alone. “I think I’ll rest a little first.”

  He whispered in my ear. “I’m sorry about everything.”

  “Don’t be.” It was my responsibility, and my fault.

  Signor Alighieri shuffled toward me. He walked me out of the dining room and into the hallway. “Isabella...Isabella George?”

  “You know who I am?” I fell into step with him as we made a left turn and stopped at one of the guest rooms.

  “I know your father. We met in Rome sixteen years ago.”

  My father had disappeared in Rome around that time. He had faked his death and began leading the Gray Tower on a fruitless chase, making them believe he was the Drifter so I would remain untouched. One of my dad’s friends, Veit Heilwig, had once told me that my father did not work alone. I wondered how many people were members of this network.

  “Signor, why did my father choose Rome?”

  “For the first few months, he hid in the Vatican.”

  My eyebrows shot up. “Why would the Vatican--”

  He patted me on the shoulder. “Rest, and we will talk more.”

  I was just about to tell him I wasn’t tired, but my eyelids drooped and I almost swayed. I slipped into the cool room and shut the door behind me. When I got into bed, I let out a long sigh and closed my eyes. The faces of the dead--those who I thought would make it here with me--stared at me, asking what they died for.

  I jolted when my door opened and shut. A pair of feet unceremoniously pounded against the floor. I squinted when the curtains were drawn to let the sunshine in, and I groaned in protest at the intruder.

  “Wake up,” Izsak said. “You have lessons.”

  I pulled my blanket up to my chin and turned to face him. “Go away. I’m tired.”

  “I thought you’d like to know that Mehara and the others have arrived. Now, get to it! If you stay in bed, you won’t want to get out until dinner. We need to work on closing rifts. Meet me down at the terrace in twenty minutes, or I’ll come back with a copy of the History of the Peloponnesian War and recite the book from beginning to end. You’ve been warned.”

  I decided to back off. There was no use getting into a tangle with a librarian who threatened you with Thucydides. However, it didn’t stop me from throwing a glare in his direction. “Since when did you become militant about my lessons?” I was surprised he wasn’t tucked away into a corner finishing off his autobiography as the Great Tutor of the Drifter--or, that he hadn’t yet run off.

  Izsak arched an eyebrow, but didn’t seem offended by my question. “I’ve become militant about your lessons since we saved over a dozen women and children from being slaughtered. Terrace, twenty minutes.” He turned on his heel and left the room.

  As soon as the door shut, I reluctantly slinked out of bed and went to the bathroom across the hall to freshen up. I thanked one of the maids who brought me a change of clothes--a pale peach blouse and navy blue pants. I ran down to the dining room for coffee and stole sandwiches from Cliff and Sadik.

  I met Izsak at the terrace. He stood in the grass, gazing at the trees that blocked the view of the Adige River. I could hear the flow of water, and a faint breeze swept toward us. Izsak carried his notes, taking time to read through some lines before giving me my first instruction.

  “Position, please.” He gestured toward me.

  I raised my arms halfway, focusing my mind and feeding energy into the spell. I cast the Circadian Circle. When I felt its power swirl around me, I lowered my arms and turned to face him. “Now what?”

  He scanned one of his notes and said, “Spread it.”

  “You mean shift it?”

  He shook his head. “Widen your Circle so that you don’t have to shift it.”

  Following his instructions, I harnessed the natural energy present in the environment to expand my Circle. When I lifted it upward, into the sky, a flame erupted in the air above me and spread like a rip. “Izsak...I think I see a rift.”

  “It’s within the power of your Circle--you can close it. Impart it with the balance and restoration it needs.”

  I raised my right arm and sent a tendril of energy toward the rift. It felt like a cloth bursting at the seams, leaking bursts of magical energy, but also forming a gaping hole that could allow a demon to slip through. I thought I saw something flit across on the other side, and I stood there, startled. A part of me wondered: If these shadow beings could slip into our world, then could one of us step through and go over there?

  “Izsak, do the notes say what’s on the other side?”

  He shook his head. “Do you think we are even meant to know?”

  I shrugged and turned my attention toward the rift. Just as I would heal a wound, I smoothed the rift over with power from the Circle, stitching together the holes and tears. When I had finished, I turned toward Izsak with a nervous smile.

  “How did I do?”

  “Very well. I couldn’t see it, but I felt it.”

  I saw goosebumps appear on Izsak’s arms, and he shivered. I looked back up, and my magical stitching unraveled and let the rift open again. My jaw dropped, and I cursed. “What happened?”

  Izsak scanned his pages, his face turning red and his head shaking. “I’m sorry. Perhaps there was something--”

  I let out an exasperated breath and ran my hands through my hair. “I can’t believe this.”

  Izsak suddenly froze and stared at me. “I’m sorry, Isabella. Perhaps you were right; I can only do so much. I’m not a wizard. I can’t read you, feel the breadth of your magic, or even see these rifts being closed.”

  “Izsak, I didn’t mean to imply--”

  He waved his hand through the air. “I understand.”

  “It’s just that I’m frustrated...with myself. It wasn’t directed toward you.”

  He nodded and headed for the house. “Place a stronger stitching, and let’s take a short break. It’ll do us both some good.”

  I frowned. I felt like he was starting to give up, but I didn’t have that luxury. I reapplied my stitching over the rift again, and, at least this time, it didn’t mock me and unravel.

  Praskovya came outside, acknowledging Izsak with a nod as he passed her. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a low ponytail, and she wore dark brown pants and a black blouse. I still had the slight urge to throttle her for what she had done to Brande at the warehouse. She ignored the glare I gave her. “You have a phone call inside.”

  I rushed inside to the study, where the maid had the phone waiting for me. I needed to get back outside to see if the rift would really stay closed this time. I hastily thanked the maid as she left, and I put the receiver to my ear.

  “Hello?”

  “Isabella? It’s Dani Kasza.”

  “Dani, how are you?” I grinn
ed.

  “I have something to tell you.”

  My smile faded. “What is it?”

  “Do you remember when I said I’d try reaching your family in America, to let them know you were alive?”

  I felt a pang of disappointment. “You couldn’t reach them?”

  He hesitated for a few seconds. “It’s something worse. Your mother, brother, and his wife have been taken. Octavian has them.”

  The phone slipped from my grasp and clattered to the floor. I stood in stunned silence, my stomach churning and my arms going stiff. After everything my father did to protect them, after all my years of secrecy and evasion, my family had finally been dragged into this deadly world. I didn’t know whether to scream or to cry.

  58

  “Don’t just cling to your Circle--command it.” Signor Alighieri’s voice was so low that I almost didn’t catch his words.

  Izsak stood next to the elderly man and cleared his throat. “We can continue this later, if you wish.”

  “No. I want to do it now.” I fed energy into my Circadian Circle, extending it throughout the garden and terrace. When I saw the stubbornly open rift in the air above me, I faced Signor Alighieri.

  He gazed upward with an expression of awe before meeting my stare. “Do you feel the tremors? And see the brightness?”

  “Yes.”

  “Some of this is not too far off from an enchantment. You must see your Circadian Circle as an extension of yourself, and when you apply it to the rift, you must act with resolve. You are still fearful.”

  I reached out with my senses and felt the power of my Circle. He was right; I was frightened, but I knew I needed to master the power--not the other way around. I raised my arm, and the Circadian Circle rose into the air. When it met the rift, there was another flash, and I began my stitching and mending.

  “Good...good.” Signor Alighieri’s voice carried a tone of approval. “Command it.”

  When I finished the mending, I tensed and half expected it to unravel. This time, though, it remained sealed. Alighieri complimented me again, and Izsak gave a nervous smile. I gazed into the sky again and saw a flock of birds passing overhead. I delved inward and slowed the pacing of my heart--the pulsations. I hadn’t done the pulsations in a while because I had learned the hard way that they opened rifts. Besides the Circadian Circle, my Zaman’s Fire was the only Drifter ability I could use without opening rifts. Directly speeding, slowing, or stopping time was off limits for me. But...now that I knew how to close rifts, maybe I could use the pulsations to slow time down and mental ripples to speed time up. If a rift appeared, I’d just close it. Signor Alighieri was right--I needed to stop being afraid of my abilities.

  The flock of birds slowed with my pulsations until they completely stopped in motion. I turned to face Izsak and Alighieri--they were frozen as well. I had stopped time. A rift, separate from the one I had just closed, appeared like a flash of lightning, bright and jagged. I saw a dark shadow drift toward the open rift, and it was like looking through a mirror or window. When it placed a dark, smoky hand through and touched the sky in my world, I immediately let go of the pulsations and hit the open rift with my Circadian Circle. The shadow figure screeched and withdrew its hand, as if from a fire. The rift sealed shut.

  I cast another Circadian Circle and grasped it with my magical energy, holding it ready. I felt a dark presence behind me, and I didn’t need to turn around to see who it was.

  “You’re not really going to send me through one of those, are you?” Ammon came to my side, staring at me.

  I turned to gaze at him and let out a cry of disgust. He had tried using his human-like form again, of the plain man with the angular jaw, except his rows of shattered teeth protruded forward and made it look like the bottom half of his face had been peeled back and exposed. One eye was mud brown while the other was blood red, and he was still bald and branded with the mark of the cross on his forehead.

  I brought down the Circadian Circle I held onto and launched it at Ammon. I quickly cast another so that I could start layering them over the demon. He hissed and flew backward, out of range of the first Circle. He hung in mid-air, his arms and legs at odd angles as if he were climbing a fence.

  “Isabella, I’m not here to fight you. We...need each other.”

  “Like hell I do.” I launched the second Circle at him, and his mouth gaped open like a burning furnace. He sped out of the Circle’s path, but still kept his distance.

  “Still frustrated with the librarian? All he can do is tell you what’s on the page--he’ll never be able to guide you as a wizard. Even the old Italian man is limited. They all are, and you know it.”

  The back of my neck burned--whether from anger or embarrassment, I couldn’t tell. “I don’t have the luxury of another Drifter being with me and teaching me.”

  Before I knew it, he was next to me. He leaned in, and for a moment I thought he’d bite me with his rows of sharp, shattered teeth. “I have seen the past Drifters--all killed by your beloved Gray Tower. I can show you what they were able to do. I know more about your abilities than anyone here, because your powers come from the other side.”

  I stepped sideways to put some space between us. “I’ve done well so far.”

  “Keep telling yourself that, while Octavian has your family and his Black Wolves roam the earth devouring people.”

  His comment crushed my heart. “I don’t need you.”

  “Your rift is opening.”

  Damn it! I rushed forward and raised my hands. The shadow figure that had pushed its hand through earlier stood at the re-opened rift. It thrust its head forward and reached out, touching the nearby flock of birds, still frozen in mid-air. The birds shriveled and turned black. The shadow figure made a disturbing sound that I imagined was supposed to be laughter. The two Circadian Circles I was planning to use on Ammon were still present, but instead of launching them at him, I directed them toward the shadow figure in the rift.

  “Why don’t these things stay closed?” The shadow figure roared when the power of my Circles slammed against it, and it began pushing back with its own magical energy.

  Ammon yawned. “You hit things with your Circles and still expect them to do the job for you. Your Circles are your tools--you must use them with precision, as a surgeon uses his instruments.”

  I jolted and nearly lost hold of my Circadian Circles when he stepped behind me and slid his hand down my arm. He clasped his hand over mine, lining his outstretched index finger with my own. He raised my arm with his, both of us pointing toward the shadow figure and the rift.

  “Remember. Precision.”

  I gathered the energy from the Circles and imagined them as a fine tool instead of wide blankets of energy. I made a slashing movement with my hand, still pointing with my index finger, and the shadow being groaned as a bright line tore across its face. I did another movement, and another, until the shadow figure was blinded and howling. I fully opened my hand and made a grabbing motion. The sky around the rift folded and bent, and the rift itself shrank. For a moment, I hesitated. “Did you--”

  “It wasn’t me. It was all you.”

  I made a fist, throwing my energy into the movement, and the entire rift closed. The shadow figure’s lingering scream faded in the air. This time, I felt the rift was closed for good. I sensed the low hum of my Circadian Circles still sitting in the air, like a protective shield. A surge of pride rose in me, but it was quickly tempered.

  “I’m not tethering you to me again, if that’s what you were thinking.” I slid away from Ammon and faced him. The sight of his disfigured head made me ill.

  “Consider this a favor. Next time, I’ll want you to give me something in return.”

  “No.”

  I cast a Circadian Circle and launched it at him. I used the same movements I had just used against the shadow figure in the rift. I closed my fist and pulled, tearing away his human facade and revealing his dark form and burning red eyes. He reciprocate
d with a razor sharp line of dark energy; it hit me like a bolt of lightning, and my knees wobbled. I caught myself right before falling to the ground, but I lost hold of my Circle.

  “You’re strong, Isabella, but not that strong.”

  I backed away. I could feel the breadth of his magical strength, mixed with his anger, and both of them boiled beneath the surface, ready to be unleashed. “I won’t make any more deals with you.” It probably would’ve sounded more convincing if my voice hadn’t jumped an octave.

  In an instant he was right in front of me, his face almost touching mine. I froze, afraid to move or even breathe.

  “Call me next time you need my help--and there will be a next time.”

  Before I could respond, he disappeared.

  My shoulders slumped and I slowly released the pulsations. Time returned to normal. Signor Alighieri and Izsak blinked their eyes and stared in shock at me. It wasn’t because they had noticed what just happened, for it all would’ve passed quicker than a flash for them. What caught their attention was the dead flock of birds that began falling from the sky around me, one by one. With each crash of the shriveled bodies against the ground, I winced and tried thinking of some type of explanation or excuse.

  When the last bird fell, Signor Alighieri said in a shaky voice. “My dear...perhaps we should do this later.”

  I lowered my head. “All right.”

  Brande pulled me into a warm embrace as we stood on the balcony overlooking the garden. The sky deepened from purple to black, and the stars began peeking out. “We’ll be in Switzerland tomorrow. You’ll be happy to know that the four wizards from Master Lan’s group went ahead of us so they could make arrangements for the talisman.”

  I nodded, only half-listening to his words. My arms felt weak and shaky. I couldn’t eat or concentrate. Everyone had said they wanted to leave in the morning instead of tonight. They were exhausted, but I felt they were really trying to tell me that I was exhausted and would be of no use if my body gave out. I wanted to head straight to Switzerland, take care of that talisman business, and find the Den--so I could save the people they’ve kidnapped and bring destruction on Octavian’s head. It was no longer simply a matter of heroics or justice--now it was personal.