by Kristen Pham
The Fractus turned their magic on the couple, and they both made horrible gasping sounds that ended in choking. They fell to the ground, blood trickling from their mouths. The panic of the crowd surged, and people screamed as they clawed their way to the exit.
“More will die if you interfere,” Reaper said, his eyes connecting with Valerie’s for the first time since he’d arrived.
Almost hopelessly, Valerie reached out with her mind for Henry. She didn’t know if his mind would be open to her across the universe, locked in a prison of his own making, but she knew that many more people would die if only she, Alex, and Olwain were there to protect them.
Her desperation must have reached Henry, because he was by her side in an instant, clutching a lock of her hair as the object that anchored him to Earth, sending him directly to his sister.
“I know how guilty you feel for helping Reaper, but starting now, you can make it right. Help me protect these people,” Valerie said to her brother.
His magic flooded her, joining and strengthening her own. Valerie was able to draw Pathos, and the effect of the Fractus’s magic weakened. The room brightened, and a beam of light from the opening on the ceiling struck a circle on the ground.
“Strike now, as I told you,” Reaper commanded one of the Fractus, who wore his long hair tied back in a ponytail.
The Fractus turned to face Valerie then, and a torrent of darkness poured out of his eyes. She raised Pathos higher, and the light pushed back.
Alex and Olwain had found their footing and drawn their own weapons, which weren’t as powerful as Pathos but still helped drive back the darkness, especially when the second Fractus added his power.
Henry’s magic pooled with her own, and Valerie didn’t think, but struck through the darkness. It shrank away from her sword like a slippery, living thing.
“It is like a living thing,” Henry said, catching her thought. “See if you can strike it with Pathos, like the table in Cyrus’s lab.”
Valerie raised Pathos and drove it through the heart of the darkness, stabbing it directly into the floor.
“Yes,” Reaper breathed, and the Fractus wielding the darkness retreated.
Pathos poured its light into the stone floor, and symbols made of light appeared where before there had only been a circle.
Reaper’s eyes scanned the symbols as if he could read them, and then he vanished, his mind retreating to the Globe.
The two Fractus who remained standing tried to flee, but Alex and Olwain tackled them before they got far. Alex tore off a piece of cloth from the leg of her pants and blindfolded the Fractus she had pinned beneath her, and Olwain followed suit.
The humans who had witnessed the fight were openly gaping. They had their cell phones and cameras out, but Valerie could see from the dismay on their faces that their electronics weren’t working. Toma must have taken care of that before Valerie knocked her out.
Alex and Olwain were tying up the other five Fractus who lay unconscious on the ground.
“The situation is under control now,” Alex said to the remaining people crowded in the Pantheon. “Please exit the building in an orderly manner. The authorities will be here soon.”
“Seven Fractus captured. We won this battle,” Olwain said.
Valerie deliberately didn’t look at the two humans who lay dead on the ground. There had been no victory. Just two more lodestones on her heavy heart.
“Reaper wanted me to use Pathos to activate that pattern in the floor. He sacrificed these humans and his people to trick me into doing what he wanted,” Valerie said.
“Whatever that information was, it must lead to the charm binding magic on Earth,” Henry agreed. “I don’t know what those symbols mean, but I memorized them. Someone on the Globe will be able to decode them.”
“I’ll call Chisisi for a crew to get these Fractus safely locked up,” Alex said. “You get this knowledge to the Fist so we can try to decode that pattern before Reaper does.”
“Make sure the blonde, Logan, doesn’t slip through your fingers,” Valerie said. “She’s tricky, and if anyone deserves to rot in jail for the rest of her life, it’s her.”
Alex took a rope she wore coiled at her side and began tying up Logan’s hands. “She’s not going anywhere.” Alex reached over and gripped Valerie’s arm in solidarity.
Valerie was thankful that someone else was taking the lead right now. She nodded to Alex, then Olwain, and touched the stone in her pocket to return to the Globe. The last image burned into her eyelids before she left was the human couple lying still, blood on their lips. They were holding hands.
“Those two humans who died… Their end is my fault, not yours. You know that, right?” Henry said when they returned to their garden on the Globe. Blue shadows under his eyes made him look sick.
“Their end is Reaper’s fault, and his Fractus minions who obey him,” Valerie corrected him, her voice gentle. She changed the subject, hoping to distract him from his guilt. “How were you able to memorize those symbols so fast?”
“The Empathy Collective teaches us how to harness our magic to absorb and remember large amounts of information. People with photographic memories on Earth are tapping into similar magic inside themselves.”
“I think that there’s a guild that’s into puzzles and decoding messages,” Valerie said. “Maybe they can help us. Can you—”
Valerie was shoved roughly backward by an invisible force. Her feet dragged in the dirt as she was being pulled back, through the trees that surrounded her house. She scrabbled to hold onto something and regain her footing, but the pull was inexorable. Then, as suddenly as it started, the pull stopped and she fell to the ground.
She stood, and a profound dizziness overtook her. She gripped a nearby tree for support as her entire body shuddered.
“Henry!” she shouted, searching for her brother.
“Val!” his voice responded, though she couldn’t see him.
She struggled toward the sound, but every step she took in his direction was like fighting a strong current under water. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t move closer to him.
Henry cracked his mind open to her, and she knew that he shared her confusion and fear. He was sure that Reaper had done something to them. She had no sooner wondered why Henry suspected Reaper than she saw their enemy walk deliberately through the trees toward her.
Valerie drew Pathos, hoping that whatever happened in the Pantheon hadn’t weakened it. This time, would Reaper really fight her?
“I won’t have you polluting Henry’s mind more than you already have,” Reaper said.
Valerie didn’t miss the tremor in his hands, even though she was several yards from him. Whatever magic he had expended had been powerful.
“What did you do? You obviously want me to know,” Valerie said, in part to distract him as she calculated the best angle to hit him so that she’d render him unconscious—or kill him. This time, she wouldn’t leave him alive and free, whatever the cost to herself.
“I made sure that you and Henry will never join forces against me again,” he said.
Valerie crossed the space between them in less than a second and raised her sword to cut him down. But before Pathos found its target, Reaper created a small portal and stepped through it.
It took three hours for Valerie to track down Sanguina. She found the ex-vampyre asleep in a hostel on Earth. Valerie shook her awake.
“You have to help us,” Valerie said, and her desperation must have shown in her eyes, because Sanguina was instantly awake.
“Anything,” she said.
Valerie told her what had happened, and a dawning look of comprehension replaced Sanguina’s initial puzzlement.
“He reversed your polarity,” Sanguina said. “I’ve seen him test the theory on small animals on the Globe. He was successful, but it took so much of his magic that it was never practical to try it on a Conjuror.”
“What does that mean?”
“Think of it like magnets. In a natural state, you and Henry are drawn together by the force of your blood tie. By reversing your polarity, the very blood that pumps through your veins rejects that connection and will not allow you to be near your twin. Your body is rebelling against your mind, protecting you against what it perceives as an enemy.”
“How do I fix it?”
“I don’t have an answer for that,” Sanguina said, regret making her voice low.
“Surely Henry, with his psychic powers, can find a way to repair this polarity thing inside him,” Valerie said.
Sanguina shook her head. “From your description of your symptoms, I think Reaper reversed your polarity, not your brother’s. It’s you we’ll have to find a way to switch back.”
“I don’t have time to figure this out! I’m trying to plan and fight a war on two fronts!” Valerie said, lowering her voice when she realized she was shouting.
“That’s what Reaper’s counting on,” Sanguina said. “He knows that when you combine your power with Henry’s, you are more than a match for him.”
“Henry’s not a match for anyone right now,” Valerie said, sitting on Sanguina’s bed. All of her energy had abruptly left her.
“True. But I know you can defeat Reaper on your own. That’s your secret weapon, because Reaper doesn’t believe that. If he did, you’d be dead. You’re alive because he still wants to use Henry’s power, and he knows that if he killed you, Henry wouldn’t survive it.”
“I don’t know what to do anymore,” Valerie said. “I wish there was someone here to tell me. Midnight, Gideon, my dad…”
“Your mother was always wonderful in these kinds of situations. When things were at their worst, something more powerful than magic rose within her to face it. You have that in you, too,” Sanguina said. “Now go find it.”
Chapter 19
“Seven of our people have vanished this week alone,” Chisisi said when Valerie came in for her daily report. “We don’t know if they were captured or killed by the Fractus. But our enemies are no longer simply searching for clues to Earth’s magic-binding charm. They are actively seeking out the Fist to engage in battles to weaken us.”
Dr. Freeman was also present. He’d become a close adviser to Chisisi since Thai was spending more time at the Healers’ Guild, and Valerie was glad that Chisisi had someone he could trust.
“There’s another problem. Someone must be following me,” Dr. Freeman said. “I’ve identified three families with a high potential for latent magic, and each of those families was targeted by the Fractus after I met with them.”
“Do you think they know what you’re doing?” Valerie asked.
“Perhaps,” Dr. Freeman said. “At a minimum, they know that I am with the Fist, so they would clearly assume the humans I contact must be Fist supporters, as well.”
“Was anyone killed?” Valerie asked, dreading the answer.
“No. They were all told to be on the lookout for the Fractus, and we had teams come to protect them in time,” Dr. Freeman assured her.
“But our resources are spread thin,” Chisisi said. “We cannot assign bodyguards to every human the Fractus targets.”
“Those humans may have to protect themselves sooner than we thought,” Valerie said, and then explained the clue that had been uncovered on the floor of the Pantheon.
Chisisi and Dr. Freeman wore identical frowns as they listened to her story.
“What comes next will be a slaughter,” Chisisi said. “Right now, humans are at a disadvantage, but they still have weapons and can fight back. But with the Fractus’s full magic unleashed, humans will be no threat to them.”
“Even humans with magical potential won’t have learned how to harness it in a meaningful way yet,” Dr. Freeman said.
“We need to start bringing more soldiers of the Fist to Earth,” Valerie said.
She knew that Skye was already strapped for soldiers on the Globe, but if more Fractus would be flooding Earth, this was where her forces needed to be.
Cyrus appeared at the doorway. Valerie drank in the sight of him, relieved that he looked healthy and had his usual glow, even if he wasn’t wearing his typical grin.
“Henry wanted you to know that the symbols have been deciphered,” Cyrus said. “He’d have come himself, but he couldn’t travel to Earth anywhere within half a mile of you.”
“He solved it already?” Valerie asked. It was about time for some good news.
“It wasn’t a code at all. It was ancient Sumerian, and a master in the Language Guild was able to translate it right away,” Cyrus explained. “It said that there is an eternal flame burning in the heart of the Atacama Desert in Chile.”
“That desert is huge,” Dr. Freeman said. “You’ll have to narrow the location down. It’s not a place you want people wandering around, magic or not.”
Chisisi folded his hands. “I will assemble a team to quietly search for this flame. We have local contacts in coastal cities in Chile who can help.”
“Good. We’re less likely to attract attention if we actually find this flame that way,” Valerie said. “Let’s not do the Fractus’s work for them.”
When Valerie returned to the Globe, she found Kanti waiting on her front stoop. Her hair, which was pinned back in a complicated pattern, was coming loose. Her clothes were wrinkled and dusty.
Kanti’s eyes brightened when she saw Valerie. “Took you long enough. I was scared I’d run into Henry while I was waiting for you.”
“We had to agree on which days we’d be home, now that we can’t be in the same location at the same time,” Valerie said. “It’s my day today. But you should see him, Kanti. He needs support, and I literally can’t be there for him right now.”
“I know,” Kanti said. “That’s why I’m here. I’m going to make things right with him tonight at the fundraiser.”
“Fundraiser?”
“The Glamour Guild is raising magic for the Fist, remember?” Kanti said. She stood up and gripped Valerie’s shoulders. “This is a big deal, Val. You have to be there.”
“I need to talk to Skye about sending more soldiers to Earth, check in with Willa on the water situation, and if I have any free time after that, sleep,” Valerie said.
“The magic that gets raised is the pure kind, currency in Elsinore. There are a lot of ways you could use it—you could hire soldiers who won’t fight for free, or give it to Conjurors to shape into potions and charms that humans can use to protect themselves. At the very least, it keeps the magic out of Reaper’s hands,” Kanti insisted.
“Back up to the part about hiring soldiers,” Valerie said.
“I wanted to talk to you about that. Conjurors in Elsinore think differently about magic than Conjurors in Arden. No one is going to sign up to fight to protect a bunch of magic-less humans,” Kanti said. “Changing that attitude will take years, decades even. But if we could pay soldiers, it’s a different story.”
“How much of this currency would you need to hire a few hundred soldiers?” Valerie said.
“More than you’ll raise tonight, but it’s a start. I’m going to use my family’s savings, as well,” Kanti said. She held up a hand when she saw that Valerie was about to interrupt. “I’m not asking you for your permission, Val. There’s no better use for our fortune than this war.”
“Your parents agree?” Valerie asked.
“I’m the Reigning Royal now. They’ll do what I say. But they’re starting to come around,” Kanti said. “I’m trying to make it trendy to live simply and not show off your wealth.”
“How’s that going for you?” Valerie said with a small smile, trying to imagine Kanti’s parents downsizing from their ice palace.
“Not especially well. But you never know,” Kanti said, returning her grin.
“We really need more soldiers for the Fist on Earth,” Valerie said, thinking of kids like Ming who didn’t have a Chrome to protect them.
“So you’re coming?”
&nb
sp; Valerie nodded.
“Good. Let’s start with what you’re going to wear.”
An hour later, Valerie was scrubbed, groomed, and zipped into a blue dress that came to her knees.
“What do you think?” Kanti said, turning Valerie so she could see herself in the mirror.
Valerie slid on her battered sneakers and strapped on Pathos. Kanti rolled her eyes. “Guess you have the accessories covered.”
“Last time I wore high heels, someone tried to kill me. I promised myself I’d always wear shoes I could run in and have Pathos at my side,” Valerie said.
“So you’re saying I should be grateful to have you in a dress at all,” Kanti replied.
“Yes. And I love it. Thanks, Kanti.”
“There’s one more thing,” Kanti said.
A low hum of magic came from Kanti’s hands. She threaded her fingers through Valerie’s hair and pulled gently. As she did, Valerie watched in awe as her hair became longer and longer, until it hung down the middle of her back, like it had two years ago. Its familiar weight felt right, grounding her, and the streak of silver that wound through it was hidden.
“Guess there are some side benefits to the flowers-and-hearts brand of magic,” Kanti said. She placed a wreath of flowers in Valerie’s hair as a final touch.
“Will Thai be at the party?” Valerie asked, blushing as soon as the words were out of her mouth. “Never mind.”
Kanti burst out laughing. “I’ll drag him myself if I have to, okay?”
Valerie had yet to confide to Kanti that she wasn’t going to date Thai, ever. She hadn’t had a memory lapse in a few weeks, but only because she hadn’t healed as many soldiers lately. But she decided not to ruin the closest thing to a normal afternoon that she’d had in a long time by telling Kanti that.
”No letting Thai steal you away until you’ve given a toast to say thank you to the Guild and everyone who donated.”
“Yes, Mom,” Valerie said.
“Go make your entrance, Cinderella. But don’t lose your slipper. It would be cruel to make anyone other than you touch those ratty sneakers.”
In spite of Kanti’s instructions, Valerie insisted on sneaking into the party through a side entrance of the Guild. The ballroom was easy to find, because people were pouring into the giant room. It was lit with an enormous, golden chandelier, and the floors were covered in shiny marble.