by Kristen Pham
Ming bounded over to her, and Valerie met her halfway.
“Your mom finally let you come!” Valerie said. “I can’t wait to show you everything. You’ve got to see the Guild of The Society of Imaginary Friends.”
“Not to be a party pooper, but I’m under strict instructions that Ming’s first visit here be a short one,” Dr. Freeman said. “And we’re actually here for another reason. Long before I knew magic existed, I noticed certain similarities between you and Ming. She would also get weak and her blood pressure would drop for no reason. It wasn’t as severe as yours, but it was compounded by her cancer.”
“Wait. Are you saying that Ming is one of the children you identified who might be suffering from having too much magic?”
Valerie wondered if her smile was as big as the one on Ming’s face right now.
“That’s what we’re here to confirm,” Dr. Freeman said.
“Azra? Is it true?” Valerie said, turning to her friend.
Dr. Freeman and Ming wore identical expressions of reverence as Azra and her foal approached, reminding Valerie of the first time she’d met the unicorn. It was a sacred experience.
I no longer have any magical gifts. They have been passed to my foal.
Clarabelle approached Ming, who gently touched the little unicorn’s iridescent mane as if she were in a trance.
Clarabelle’s tiny sounds of pleasure were pure bliss in Valerie’s mind. Without using words, Clarabelle communicated her own feeling—certainty. Ming was bursting with magical potential.
“You were right,” Valerie said to Dr. Freeman, and he nodded.
“I have magic inside me, like you, Valerie?” Ming asked.
“You do,” Valerie said, laughing as Ming twirled in a circle, her arms open wide.
“If only travel between our worlds could stay open forever, Ming could live on the Globe part time and still go home to her family,” Dr. Freeman said.
“But as long as there are those with magic and those without it, there is the potential for power to be abused,” Gideon said, speaking up for the first time. “We must remove the Fractus from Earth and close travel between the worlds again.”
Ming looked up at Valerie with her huge eyes. “It’s okay. It’s enough to know I’m magical.”
“And a princess, don’t forget,” Valerie said, to make Ming smile, though her own heart squeezed.
As long as this divide between worlds existed, there would always be those who had to live where they didn’t quite belong. And from experience, Valerie knew that wasn’t a solution at all.
After Ming had left and Azra and Clarabelle retreated into the forest, Valerie made the walk to the spot in the forest where she could access the gardens of Babylon, which were still locked away from the rest of the world by the spell her father had cast.
It was where she went when she wanted to grieve for him in private. Over the past months since he’d been gone, she’d mostly gone to sob where no one would hear her, but today, she went for another reason.
She stepped through the screen of vines into the garden and was overpowered by the sense that in this place, she wasn’t an orphan. She wasn’t surprised to see a familiar figure at the top of the tiers of flowers.
She hiked up to join Henry, who was staring at the lake on the other side. He came here a lot because it was the one place no one could find him except her.
“I couldn’t help thinking about this place—and dad—today,” Valerie said. “He locked Babylon away from the rest of the world to make it his special place with Mom. Even though that’s romantic, it also robbed all the other Conjurors on the Globe of the opportunity to enjoy its beauty.”
“Yeah, he was a piece of work,” Henry said, but without the bitterness that had laced his words when Oberon was alive.
“Isn’t that also what we’re doing with the Globe? Keeping it from humans who belong here, who have every right to be here? How do we stop the Fractus from abusing regular humans without keeping all of the best parts of magic to ourselves?”
“I don’t think I’m the right person to talk to about avoiding selfish decisions,” Henry said. “But don’t stop asking these questions, Val. It’s gonna be you who finally finds a better answer. I really believe that.”
“Every time I come here, it’s like a piece of him is alive, you know?”
Henry regarded her. “I never loved him like you did, but I’m less alone when I come here.”
“It’s like, if I listen hard enough, I might finally hear him give me the answers I’m looking for.”
Henry squeezed her arm, and they listened for a long time. But as always, there was nothing but silence.
Chapter 10
The clashes between the Fractus and humans returned with a new ferocity. For weeks, Valerie’s existence was consumed with fight after fight. As soon as her vivicus power had recharged after tapping it to save a life, she’d use it again. Valerie had lost count of the lives, but she never forgot the faces. She became increasingly forgetful, and headaches followed her even into her dreams.
More than once, Chisisi had already identified the next place she was needed by the time she’d returned from her last encounter with the Fractus.
Between keeping the Fractus at bay—barely—on Earth and doing the minimal chores she had to attend to personally to keep the Fist organized on the Globe, Valerie had almost no time to sleep and eat. Sometimes, Henry, Thai, or even Cyrus joined her when she fought the Fractus, but there wasn’t time to talk to her friends about anything other than the war.
So it was a bit of a shock to check in with Chisisi and find that he didn’t have an assignment for her that day.
“Nowhere you want me to check out?” she asked.
Sanguina and Chrome were both in attendance, and Sanguina spoke up.
“Even the leader of the Fist needs to take the occasional day of rest,” Sanguina said.
Chrome flashed an image in her mind of himself, sleeping in the sun, and then rising up with his teeth bared. He’d had enough of wandering around out of the thick of the fighting. He wanted to be a part of the action.
Chrome had followed the magic trail the People of the Woods had found from Armenia all the way to the ocean, where even he couldn’t continue to follow it.
“Chrome and I can take on any Fractus who attack humans today,” Sanguina said.
“Your friends’ offer is a good one, young miss. You would be wise to heed their advice,” Chisisi added.
Valerie decided not to argue, for once. She gave them a grateful nod and returned to her home on the Globe.
Her first thought was to go straight to bed. Only pure adrenaline kept her moving most days, and without an immediate threat, her whole body seemed slow and clumsy.
Not the state that she needed to be in when a flickering movement in the trees set off her sixth sense for danger. She raced out of her garden and heard the sound of hooves stomping on the ground.
She passed into the woods and saw Summer up on her hind legs, batting at something in the air before her hooves pounded into the soft dirt. The ancient centaur’s teeth were bared.
Valerie followed her gaze and saw Kellen zipping through the trees, his wings fluttering madly.
“Don’t let his dust touch you!” Valerie said, which drew the fairy’s attention away from Summer, as she’d hoped.
She registered a tiny movement in the bramble behind Summer. Clarabelle was hiding in there with Azra, Valerie knew. Did Kellen notice, too?
“You’re here to fight me, so let’s do this,” Valerie said, hoping she could keep his attention so that Summer could sneak the unicorns away.
“You’ve grown self-important in addition to being generally useless,” Kellen sneered. “I’m here for Clarabelle, not you. She has real power.”
Kellen flew closer, black dust falling from his wings. Valerie ducked and rolled, and it didn’t touch her. He scrabbled at her mind, trying to control her like he’d done many times before, but that
tactic wasn’t as effective for him as it had been in the past.
Valerie kept her locus firmly in her mind, her love for her friends, and swatting away Kellen’s attempts to wriggle inside was nothing more than an annoyance.
If the fairy was surprised, he didn’t show it. He was moving so fast that it was impossible to keep track of him, never mind knock him out of the air.
Little rainbows danced on the ground. Kellen wasn’t alone. He’d brought a dozen or more invisible Fractus with him.
“Summer, behind you!” Valerie shouted, and the centaur kicked out with her hind leg, connecting with a breakable Fractus with a loud crunch.
The next few minutes were a blur as four transparent Fractus attacked her at once. But her skills had never been more honed after all of the fighting she’d been doing on Earth. She managed to disable them while still noticing that Kellen was zipping through the trees, looking for Clarabelle.
Clarabelle is shielding our location with her mind. Azra’s words rang in Valerie’s mind. I don’t know how she is doing it, but somehow, she has created a circle of purity that no one may enter in anger or hate. Kellen cannot find us as long as his intentions are evil. We are invisible to him.
Valerie let out a relieved breath, punching one of the breakables in the face and then jump-kicking to knock another in the area she guessed was his jaw.
One of the invisible Fractus had leaped on Summer, who bucked, trying to shake him off. Before Valerie could move to assist the centaur, Summer slammed him against a tree, and she heard a yelp of pain.
Kellen flew past Valerie, and she leaped into the air and crashed into him. As they fell, she maneuvered his tiny body so that it was trapped beneath hers.
The energy in the little glade where they fought changed. The air crackled with electricity, and Valerie’s fearlessness vanished. The Laurel Circle on her thumb turned to ice when she saw Reaper standing on the other side of a portal he’d created in the air.
Through the opening, she saw him make a strange gesture with his hand, and her world turned on its axis. She lost her balance, falling to the ground and losing her grip on Kellen.
“Get out of there, now,” Reaper commanded Kellen.
“Not yet! I’ve got her now. She’s as good as dusted,” Kellen said.
“Don’t be too sure,” Valerie said, gritting her teeth and making another grab for the fairy. She missed by a millimeter.
“I didn’t send you to fight the vivicus. She’s easy enough to kill when I decide it’s time. I sent you for the baby unicorn,” Reaper said.
“She’s here. I’ll find her,” Kellen said, sounding almost possessed.
“She’s nowhere close. I can’t sense her presence at all. Your informant must have been wrong,” Reaper said, dismissing the fairy.
Valerie was still struggling to find her center. She stilled, gripping Pathos and letting her magic guide her.
But before she could strike out at Kellen again, the fairy screamed, a sound so filled with pain that Valerie wanted to block her ears.
“You will do as I say,” Reaper said, his annoyance darkening into something much more dangerous.
Kellen continued to moan.
“Stop! I’m coming, please, no more,” Kellen begged.
“You’re growing ever more useless,” Reaper said, as the fairy flew haphazardly into his portal.
Before it snapped closed, Valerie saw the crazed anguish in Kellen’s eyes. It reminded her of someone, and it tickled the back of her brain until she remembered. She’d seen the same look in Rastelli’s eyes after Reaper had destroyed his brain and turned him into a single-minded killer.
After making sure that Azra and Clarabelle were safely tucked away, Valerie returned home to relay her news to Gideon.
“Why would they want Clarabelle?” Valerie asked, as much to herself as her mentor.
She paced the kitchen restlessly as she tried to guess Reaper’s strategy. It was like playing chess with a master, when she barely understood the game.
“Consider what we know. Clarabelle is the first unicorn born in centuries. Unicorns arguably have more magic than anyone in the universe,” Gideon said.
“Including Reaper himself. Do you think he wants to kill her?” Valerie asked, and the thought alone made her sick.
Gideon shook his head. “Not before he would see if he could use that power to his own ends.”
“But if he can’t, then he might consider her his greatest threat. Azra’s successor, with more magic than even he possesses. Someone who would set us on a path of peace, not war.”
Gideon’s mouth was set in a grim line. “Though I know she craves your presence, Clarabelle must hide. There is nowhere in Arden safe enough for her right now.”
“Maybe nowhere on the Globe, even,” Valerie said thoughtfully.
Gideon raised his eyebrows. “A brilliant idea or a terrible one, but which it is, I cannot say.”
“It’s not for us to decide,” Valerie said, releasing a breath. “Azra will know what to do.”
A knock on the door interrupted their conversation, and Valerie answered it to find Thai waiting for her. He looked especially good in his nicest jeans and a new shirt. She must have been staring a few seconds too long, because Thai started grinning.
“Hey,” she said, embarrassed at how tongue-tied she was.
“Hey,” he teased, imitating her shy tone, and she laughed. “I came to invite you to my apprentice ceremony. We’re allowed to bring one guest, and you’re my first choice. I know it’s a long shot, and if you’re off saving lives, I understand, but if you’re free and you could come, it would mean a lot to me and…”
Now it was Thai who was nervous, and it was so endearing that it was all she could do not to pull him into her arms.
Behind her, Gideon stood in the hallway.
“Go,” Gideon said, his eyes warm as he watched them.
“As luck would have it, this is a free day. And there’s no one I’d rather spend it with,” she said, tickled by the excitement on Thai’s face.
After changing into a dress that somehow still looked decent with a sword strapped to her, she joined Thai in the garden. This time he was the one who was staring. It was the first time he’d seen her in a dress, but after this reaction, she would have to think about wearing them more often.
“I’m embarrassed. I don’t even know what guild you’re apprenticing to,” Valerie said as they started the trek to The Horseshoe. “I’ve been in this time warp, fighting enemy after enemy, and have completely missed out on your life.”
“You’re fighting the battles that no one else can. Don’t apologize for that,” Thai said. “I’m apprenticing to the Healers’ Guild.”
Valerie tried to hide her surprise. The Grand Master of the Guild, Nightingale, was a Fractus sympathizer.
“Do they know you fight with the Fist?” Valerie asked.
“Yes. The Guild is supposed to help all Conjurors who need healing, without prejudice. They’ve strayed from that now, healing only the Fractus, but I hope to bring them back to the right path.”
“Be careful. It could be a trap,” Valerie said, trying to swallow her sudden fear.
“Maybe, but I don’t think so. Many Healers in the Guild are angry about the decision not to remain neutral in the war. If Nightingale doesn’t make a change, they may elect a new Grand Master. I’m hoping I can tip the scales for Nightingale and convince him to come back to our guild’s mission.”
“You will,” Valerie said. There was no task she could imagine that Thai wouldn’t do well if he put his mind to it.
“If I really believe those values, which I do, it means I’ll heal Fractus as well as our own army,” Thai said.
Valerie stopped and turned to him. “Of course. Do you think I’d ever want you to do anything else?”
Thai touched her cheek briefly, and the contact made her blush. “Your heart is what I love most about you. It’s why you are the only one who can end this struggle with th
e Fractus for good.”
Thai pushed the doors of the Healers’ Guild open. The entryway was filled with Conjurors. Despite the crowd, the noise was a low hum. Even during one of their biggest ceremonies, it seemed the Healers didn’t want to disturb the patients.
Nightingale was hard to miss as he moved through the crowd, shaking hands. He saw Valerie, and she braced herself to be kicked out. But instead, he nodded to her, and she nodded back.
“Nightingale keeps looking at you, then looking down, like he’s feeling guilty about something,” Thai said.
“He refused to heal me once, even though I could have died.”
Thai’s hands balled into fists. “That will never happen again. I’ll kick him out of his own guild first.”
“It’s okay, Thai. It’s war. People do awful things that they wouldn’t do otherwise. I’d rather have Nightingale as an ally than drive him away because he denied me care once.”
“That’s the smart choice, but I’d rather give him one good punch first,” Thai said, but without heat.
“I think your ceremony is about to start,” Valerie said, glad of the distraction.
The apprentices gathered around an etching of an enormous tree in the far wall.
“Today, we welcome our novices, who come to us to devote body and spirit to the art of healing,” Nightingale said. “We dedicate our lives to easing suffering and saving lives. There is no nobler calling. Novices, join hands and let your magic well within you.”
The eight novices, including Thai, stood in a circle and clasped hands. Magic hummed in the room, deep and low, creating a pleasant warming sensation within Valerie.
Valerie and the other observers of the ceremony gasped as the etching of the tree peeled from the wall, becoming three-dimensional. Gold threaded the dark bark of the trunk and wound through the veins of the leaves on the trees, like the ones in Arden’s forests.