I tapped my leg twice and said the incantation.
The next moment we were staring at the front of Empyrean.
Before we went inside I whirled, spitting mad, and barked, “Why the bloody Hel were you in Greater True? I told Petra she didn’t have to go. Then I find out you both went! You could have been killed!”
Delph wilted under my fierce gaze, but Petra stepped up and said, “It was my fault, Vega. I thought you didn’t want me to go because you thought I couldn’t handle the job. I wanted to prove that I could. So I decided to go. But I told Delph.”
“And I told her unless she let me go along, I’d tell you and she wouldn’t be able to go a’tall.”
I looked between them, fury and relief competing for control of my emotions. Finally, the latter won out, no doubt aided by the guilt I was still feeling for nearly sending Petra to her death.
I gave them each a hug.
I said, “Well, thank goodness you’re all right. But what happened back there?”
“All Hel erupted, I guess, when you did whatever you did,” said Delph. “I saw blokes soaring out of houses all over the bloody place, and then they just disappeared. Good thing it was so late at night and nobody was out and about to see it ’cept us.”
“I did a mass spell for all the people on the list. They’re here at Empyrean now.”
“Eh, that’s wonderful news,” said Delph.
“But how did you get caught? You were invisible.”
“Were being the right word for it,” said Delph. “Your spell brought this huge wind across the town, like with the mighty Finn. Me and Pet got blown all over the bloody place. Landed in a heap against a wall all dazed-like.”
Petra added, “And the ring got jostled. It never fit me proper. And it spun back around and there we were, visible. And before we could move a muscle, a bunch of Maladons were on us. They … they took the ring.”
So my fear had been realized. The Maladons had the ring. “That wasn’t all they took,” said Delph. “Show her, Pet.”
“No,” Petra said fiercely.
“Show me what?” I said.
“Petra, show her. She’s going to see at some point.”
Slowly Petra held out her hand.
I felt sickened.
Not only was the ring gone; so was the finger on which she had worn it.
“Thanks for coming to save us, Vega,” said Petra.
I reached into my pocket, took out her wand and handed it to her.
“How did you find it?” she asked, obviously thrilled to have it back.
“A bit of luck,” I said dully.
“Thank you,” she said. “You’re a good friend, Vega. I know I can be quite the pain, but I know you’re always looking out for me.”
A pang of guilt hit me and I inwardly winced. Petra wouldn’t be saying that if she had known of my original plan.
“I couldn’t lose you. Either of you,” I said. “We’re in this together.”
And that was truly how I felt.
“Tried to fight ’em off, but I couldn’t,” said Delph.
“I saw what you did to that Maladon that took my finger,” said Petra. “Picked him up and threw him into a wall.”
“I’m surprised they didn’t kill you,” I said.
Delph said, “They wanted to question us. And they knew about you, Vega Jane. They used Petra’s wand to send you a message.”
“I walked right into their trap.”
“How’d you get away?” asked Petra.
“I fought my way out. There were eight Bowler Hats, but I managed to beat them.”
“Blimey, eight of them!” said Delph, while Petra looked shocked. Delph added, “Eh, Vega Jane, you’ve been hit.”
He pointed to my torn cloak and the blood soaking into it. I hadn’t even noticed.
“It doesn’t hurt much, Delph.” I eyed Petra’s bloody stump where her finger used to be. “In fact, it doesn’t hurt at all.”
I LED THE WAY inside Empyrean.
Pillsbury was waiting for us.
“Where is everyone?” I asked.
“They have been well fed and we have found rooms for all, Mistress Vega.”
“That’s good. I wasn’t sure, as big as it is, whether Empyrean could hold fifty guests.”
Pillsbury proclaimed proudly, “Empyrean is a place that will grow to the size necessary for those who require accommodation within its walls.”
Pillsbury took his leave, and then I slapped my forehead as my gaze fell on Petra.
I raced to my room and came back down in a jiffy with the Adder Stone. I knew I couldn’t regrow her finger, but I could deal with the pain and bleeding.
I waved it over her hand and thought especially good thoughts.
The wound stopped bleeding and healed over instantly, though the finger was still missing. I did the same with my wound.
I looked at Delph. I was sure he was thinking about his father’s legs, which had been crushed in an accident back in Wormwood. The Stone had dealt with the pain, but Duf Delphia now wore timber stumps. He gazed up at me with a weak smile.
“Dad,” he said, confirming my thoughts.
“That’s much better, Vega, thanks,” said Petra.
Delph said, “We should get some sleep. We’ll have a lot of work to do tomorrow.”
We walked upstairs, and Delph bade us good night and went to his room.
I followed Petra to her door.
“So we have fifty people here who can do magic,” she said. “Now what do we do with them?”
“We train them up,” I replied promptly. “Just as Astrea Prine did me. And I did for you.”
“I’m not sure I’ll be much good at teaching blokes,” she said worriedly.
“I taught you spells, Petra. You can do the same for them.”
“Well, they will have to be mightily well trained up to take on the Maladons. Remember the one we took on.”
I looked at her darkly. “I don’t think I’ll soon forget, since I killed him.”
“That’s not what I meant, Vega.”
“Well, then?” I asked.
“We had a terrible time fighting one bloke. I was exhausted and I know you were too. And he seemed fresh and ready to keep fighting. And if Harry Two hadn’t helped, I’m not sure either of us would be here.”
“I don’t disagree with that,” I said. She was speaking the absolute truth. Harry Two had saved us both.
Then she looked at me, puzzled. “But you said you fought off eight Maladons to rescue us.”
“That’s right.”
“So what happened to you between the one bloke and the eight?”
I looked down at my wand. I knew exactly what had happened. My wand was now truly and properly mine. None of it belonged to Alice Adronis anymore. It was as though her power and the entire line of my ancestors had been transferred to me. And now I recalled that that was exactly what Astrea had told us would occur back at her cottage.
Whatever the case, I was an infinitely more powerful sorceress. I just hoped I was powerful enough.
“I just got … better,” I said.
She startled me by giving me a hug and then disappeared into her room, closing the door behind her.
I just stood there for a few moments as guilt once more ate away at me. How could I have even contemplated putting Petra intentionally in danger like that?
Was I more Maladon than I had accused her of being? I shuddered at this terrible thought.
When I returned to my room, Harry Two was waiting for me.
I patted his head.
When I looked down at him, the expression on his face was inscrutable. He wasn’t smiling. His eyes weren’t as animated as they usually were. Perhaps he was mad at me for leaving him behind.
As soon as my head touched the pillow, I fell fast asleep. But my sleep was troubled.
We had accomplished much. Rescuing fifty people from a lifetime of humiliating servitude was something to be proud of. But now it
seemed that the task only became harder. These people had never wielded a wand before. They had never used magic in battle. And they would one day be pitted against the most murderous band of sorcerers in all of existence.
So truly, how many of them would survive the coming war? Or Delph, Petra or Harry Two?
Hel, would I survive it?
I restlessly turned over onto my side. Harry Two was right next to me, and I instinctively reached out and rubbed his fur.
This calmed me, but only a bit.
So was it better to be enslaved and alive?
Or free and dead?
The answer seemed to be obvious, only it wasn’t.
It was always better to be free. That was clear enough.
But it was usually not better to be dead. That was also clear enough.
In my anxiety I sat up, climbed out of bed and started pacing.
When the sun rose I would be expected to commence shaping an army to go into battle.
Me, Vega Jane. I was not yet sixteen years old. I could feel a cold dread filling every inch of my being. But then I touched my wand and warmth flooded back into me. It was then that I realized I had accomplished a great many things I initially thought were impossible. So why not build an army? Why the bloody Hel not? I got back into bed. And this time I slept so soundly that I only awoke when I heard Pillsbury say into my ear, “Would Mistress Vega like some breakfast?”
I sat straight up and noted the light streaming in through the window. I yawned and stretched.
“I would indeed,” I replied, feeling better rested and easier in my mind than I had since I’d left Wormwood.
“Very good, Mistress Vega.”
“And the others?” I inquired.
“Taking their breakfast in the dining room. All in good spirits and curious as to what is to come! As we all are!” he added excitedly.
I washed up and changed my clothes. By the time I was done, my meal was there. I ate unhurriedly while Harry Two did the same next to me.
Finished, I picked up my wand and checked my appearance in the looking glass — giving myself a little inspirational wink.
I had a job to do and I meant to do it.
I strode purposefully into the Great Hall.
All fifty people that we had saved were there.
And so were Delph and Petra. They were surrounded by the others and I’m sure were being peppered with questions.
Yet all fell silent when they saw me walk in, and all eyes turned to me as though connected by magical tether.
I felt my face grow warm and my heart started pumping faster. Blimey! I wasn’t used to all this attention. I stopped with Harry Two right next to me. My free hand went down to rub his ear while I surveyed the room as I supposed a general would his army.
Or, in my case, her army.
They all stood there looking back at me.
They were a mix of colors: very pale, white, brown, black and pleasing combinations thereof, roughly divided between males and females.
My gaze fell over first Delph and then Petra.
They each gave me encouraging smiles.
Before I could speak, something totally unexpected happened. Amicus Arnold, who was in the back of the room, began to clap. Another joined him. And then another. And soon the entire hall rang with the applause.
My face turned red and tears crept to my eyes, and it was only when I raised my wand that the tumultuous sounds ended.
“I welcome all of you to Empyrean, the home of my ancestors and of yours. Empyrean is safe from attack, but we must maintain constant vigilance to ensure that it remains so. It is a magical place with many facets, not all of which I have discovered.” I pointed to my wand. “You each now have a wand. This will be the source of your magical powers. The Maladons made you what they call ‘Ordinaries.’ But I know each of you to be truly extraordinary. And now, along with my friends Delph Delphia and Petra Sonnet” — I indicated both with my wand — “without whom none of you would be standing here, we will begin the work of training each of you up so that you may realize the full source of your vast potential.”
I paused here, both for breath and a bit of clarity.
“The training will not be easy or without risk. Injuries almost undoubtedly will occur. Mistakes will be made. Frustration will be rampant at times.”
And didn’t I know that better than most?
“But I promise you that if you work hard and with dedication, the sorcerer or sorceress you will become will be truly amazing.” I paused to let this sink in and watched as each of them looked around the room at the others.
“Now, once you have been trained up, the most difficult task you will ever undertake will commence.” I paused again here, because this truly was the entire crux of the matter.
“The Maladons enslaved you and have complete control of this world. They are a cruel, ruthless and evil lot. They are remarkably gifted at sorcery and employing that magic in the matter of combat. They vanquished many of our kind who were magically gifted in a long-ago war. I propose to take the fight to them once more. And this time, I intend that our side will win.” I raised my wand. “Are you with me?”
As one, they all raised their wands.
And this time I decided not to stop the cheering. I decided to let it go on as long as they so desired. For it was indeed cheering to me as well.
Perhaps to me most of all.
THINGS WERE NOT going all that well really.
It was fine to make grand speeches and then to cheer them. It was quite another to actually train and mold an army of magical warriors from basically nothing.
We had taken over the Great Hall and used it for our training area.
I could now well understand Pillsbury’s comment that Empyrean grew to accommodate its guests, for the Great Hall, large to begin with, had seemed to inflate and now easily held all of us and all the spells cast.
I had started out with a short lecture on the mind, body and spirit, sounding perhaps more like Astrea Prine than I had intended. I then had moved on to simple wand motions and the most mundane of spells. I well recalled how awkward I was while being instructed by Astrea. But compared to this lot, I was ten Excaliburs combined. In the back of my mind I could imagine all of them lying dead on the battlefield after having succumbed to the Maladons in record time.
We had divided the group into two equal components. Petra had taken on the job of training one group, while I headed up the other.
Delph also had a teaching role to play, and in a separate room he explained to small groups all about our history and the journey we had taken from Wormwood to here and everything in between. We had no idea what might be more important than something else, so we had made the decision just to tell them everything.
I ventured into the classroom from time to time and found that good questions were asked and lively discussions abounded.
Parchment and ink sticks had been provided by Pillsbury so that the students could write everything down and read and discuss it later.
Thirty days went by, and we finally saw some signs of improvement, but far fewer than I would have liked.
Someone knocked on my door late one night. When I opened it, there was Delph, looking uncertain and nervous.
“What is it?” I asked after he came in, and I sat on my bed rubbing Harry Two’s ear.
“Miranda Weeks.”
I sighed. “I know she’s not very good, but —”
“She’s the youngest of the lot,” he interjected.
“I know that. And so it’s going to take her longer than some of the others to get the hang of it.”
“Not what I meant,” he said.
I was growing annoyed at how cryptic he was being. “What, then?”
“I think she’s too young to be trained up to fight. I mean I don’t think it’s right.”
“Delph, we need everyone we can get. The Maladons have hundreds of fully trained sorcerers.”
“Right, well, if it was your broth
er, John, would it be okay? And he’s several years older than Miranda.”
I had not anticipated this line of argument, and part of me was upset that Delph would bring up my brother to make his point. But then I thought about the boys in their uniforms marching along with their terrible flag. And they were older than Miranda too!
“So what do we do, then? Tell her she can’t be trained up as a sorceress?”
“No, she can be. Who knows how many years this will take? But I don’t think she should be allowed to fight until she’s older.”
“Okay, Delph, I’ll talk to her.”
He made no move to leave. “Is there something else?” I asked.
He drew a long breath and then plunged in. “You shouldn’t go off by yourself no more without telling us, or letting us go with you,” he said.
I stood. “What?”
“You going off to rescue Virgil or going to Greater True that time without a word. We were worried sick. ’Tain’t right.”
“Did Petra put you up to this?” I shot back.
He looked truly bewildered. “Pet? No.”
“I wonder. But in any case, I don’t recall your being my keeper, Delph. And so I’ll go where I like when I bloody well like.”
Delph’s expression was not one of hurt, which I had expected. It was one of anger.
“Anything else?” I said imperiously, though I was feeling guilty at having treated him like this.
He turned and left without a word, slamming my door behind him.
I fell back on my bed and groaned.
We ate our meals in rotating groups, so as not to overwhelm poor Mrs. Jolly. Delph, Petra and I made a habit of eating at separate tables so that we could get to know those we would be fighting next to.
I found most of them eager, and full of both anger at what had been done to them and a thirst to strike back at their enslavers.
When the others had gone to bed, the three of us would sit up long into the night in the library to discuss matters. Delph never mentioned the confrontation in my room, but his attitude toward me was decidedly cooler. If Petra noticed, she said nothing.
In front of the flickering firelight six months into our training, Petra stretched out in front of the fire and looked up at Delph and me as we sat in comfy old leather chairs.
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