by Kristen Pham
Reaper reoriented her perspective, so it was like looking at the world upside down, and Valerie stumbled.
But before Reaper could attack her, the green shoots Kanti had called out of the ground surrounded Reaper, growing exponentially faster. They wound around the air near him, and hardened into thick, thorny branches.
Reaper was able to dissolve the branches nearest him so the thorns didn’t prick his skin, but dissolving all of them would require more of his power, and Valerie guessed that he didn’t have as much as usual.
Abruptly, Valerie’s world reoriented itself, and Reaper left through a portal with a growl of frustration.
“You did it!” Valerie said to Kanti, brushing dirt off of herself.
“Flowers and hearts magic has its benefits,” Kanti said. But despite her sarcasm, she looked a little dazed that she had forced Reaper to retreat.
“Clarabelle!” Valerie cooed softly. “Please, little one, I’m so scared that you’re hurt.”
“Valerie, here,” Kanti said.
A smear of a silvery liquid was on the side of a tree, and a few drops flecked the ground.
“She’s hurt,” Valerie said, and she didn’t recognize the sound of her own voice. “This way.”
Valerie followed the call of her own heart and pulled Kanti with her. They crossed a low wall of rocks and were a short distance from the ruins when Valerie saw Clarabelle lying in the grass, curled into Azra like she’d been the day that Valerie had first met her.
“Go get Thai,” Valerie commanded Kanti, handing her the rock. “Now!”
Kanti didn’t hesitate, and she vanished.
You’re in time.
Azra’s words were followed by a little whimper. Clarabelle was still alive.
“Summer?” Valerie asked.
Azra shook her head, her silver mane shining in the light that broke through the clouds.
She died defending Clarabelle. But not in vain. She pummeled Reaper, nearly blinding him, I think. Clarabelle and I made it far enough that he could not immediately find us.
“I’m here,” Thai said, appearing beside her.
Kanti stood behind him.
“I need you to lend me your strength,” she said.
Thai laced his fingers through hers.
Valerie rested her hand on Clarabelle’s flank and reached for her vivicus power, and then thanked everything good in the universe that enough was there to save the baby unicorn.
With Thai’s help, releasing her magic into Clarabelle was gentle, and the unicorn blazed with light, reminding Valerie of when she’d healed Cyrus.
Joyful little notes pinged Valerie’s mind, and she drew her power back into herself. Clarabelle licked Valerie’s cheek and made little snuffling sounds in her ear.
I was scared.
“I’m sorry, Clarabelle,” Valerie said.
But you saved me. I knew you would.
If Valerie released a few tears into the foal’s mane, she didn’t think anyone noticed. For the second time in the span of a few weeks, she’d been in time to save someone precious to her.
Reaper considers Clarabelle your successor. He wants you both dead, and even with the wound he received today, he will not rest until it is done.
Valerie had never sensed fear from Azra, until now.
We must disappear until this war is over. I am sorry, Valerie.
“Of course. But where?” Kanti said. “Maybe I can hide you in Elsinore. I’ve been weeding out the Fractus.”
Azra shook her head.
There is a glade on Earth that I know from times of old. But if we go, we may not emerge until The Balance is restored or Clarabelle is full grown, which will not be for several centuries.
Clarabelle was stomping her hoof and poking her mother with her horn, but Azra ignored her.
“You’re right to go. It’s best for Clarabelle, and it’s what’s right for the world. As long as she’s alive, there’s hope,” Valerie said.
That is what I think every time I look at you, Valerie. My heart rides with you, though I may not.
The unicorns left, and Clarabelle’s piteous complaints echoed in Valerie’s mind until they were out of sight.
Without Midnight, her father, and Gideon, Valerie had yearned for advisers to tell her what to do. She hadn’t realized how much she relied on Azra’s strength and her moral compass, as well, until she was gone.
Valerie was so adrift, she thought she’d float away until Thai put his hand on the small of her back, anchoring her.
“Thank you for letting me help you today. I know you must have wanted to heal her right away,” Thai said.
“My life is precious, too,” Valerie said absently, remembering something Azra had told her once.
“What new ability do you think Clarabelle will gain since you healed her, Valerie?” Kanti said, grinning.
“What do you mean?” Thai asked.
“When she healed Sanguina, she brought back her humanity in addition to her life. Azra became pregnant after she was healed. Cyrus’s powers exploded, and so did mine. And now Henry…” Kanti trailed off, her eyes a little shiny. She cleared her throat. “Now Henry has not only been brought back to life, but I think Valerie cured his depression. Because he’s able to be his true self now.”
Valerie stared at Kanti for a long time, absorbing her words.
“He’s still guilty, insecure, and scared. I know. I’ve been inside his mind,” Valerie said.
Kanti shrugged. “Then he’s like the rest of us. But we live with it, and find joy in life. Now, so can he.”
When Valerie visited Chisisi’s safe house that night, it was surrounded by three Fractus with the power to hurtle lightning from their hands.
She crept up behind one and hit him with a swift uppercut that sent him reeling, and followed up with a hard elbow to his head.
Chisisi had deflected the lightning thrown at him with a metal rod he’d stabbed into the ground in front of him, diverting the electricity from its target.
While the Fractus recharged, Chisisi took on two of them at once, and wasn’t even out of breath when they lay in front of him, unconscious. He then pulled out his cell phone to call for a team to cart the Fractus off to the magically secure prison they’d created on Earth.
“We’ll need a new space to house all these prisoners,” Chisisi said, scrubbing at his eyes with his hand.
“The holding cells on the Globe are filling up, too, and the Grand Master of the Justice Guild is still recovering from an attack by Reaper,” Valerie said.
“Perhaps some of the Fractus can be convinced to turn against their cause and return home,” Chisisi suggested.
“If you think we can trust them, I’m all for it,” Valerie said.
“One of the Conjurors from the Empathy Collective offered to search the minds of the prisoners to ascertain if they were telling the truth,” Chisisi said.
“I didn’t know they could do that,” Valerie said. “That skill could come in handy in many ways.”
“Indeed. But I am told only a handful of the Empaths have mastered the ability,” he said.
“I’ll talk to Henry,” Valerie said. “He’ll help you organize.”
“Even though there are many Fractus who would abandon Reaper, given the chance to do so safely, many believe in his plans for Earth,” Chisisi said. “I do not know how humans will ever be safe unless we reestablish a boundary between our worlds and make sure those with magic are on the Globe.”
Valerie turned the problem over in her mind. “Even if Reaper is killed, there will always be those who want to use magic to control others. Humans are at such a huge disadvantage. How can we protect them in the long run?”
“Your words ring true. The boundary will be broken again in time, and this war will begin again,” Chisisi said. “But I can see no other way.”
“How could we amass enough power to bind magic on Earth, even if we wanted to?” she asked. “And who would know how to do such a thing?”
“I will scour my sources,” Chisisi assured her.
“I can’t help thinking that there must be a better answer than making things like they were before. There are a lot of problems with binding magic on Earth and keeping our worlds separate,” Valerie said.
“If that answer exists, then I believe it lives in you,” Chisisi said.
Chapter 32
That night, back on the Globe, Valerie dipped a toe in the Lake of Knowledge, and the water sparkled in response to her touch. She flicked the shell that she’d dug out of a drawer in her room into the lake, hoping that it worked the way that Will said it would.
It had felt like ages since she’d gone for a swim in these waters, and she plunged in now, turning over in her head the problem she’d discussed with Chisisi. Was it possible to find a better solution to protecting humans than separating them from Conjurors?
Her swim was interrupted when a tail flicked against her legs, startling her. On the shore, Valerie found Elle waiting for her, wringing out her hair as she dug her toes into the sand.
“I can’t stay long. I know what’s been happening above the waves, and Will and I guessed what you’d want to know now,” Elle said. “Binding magic on Earth requires an incredible amount of magic, but luckily, a lot of it you can mine from the Atacama Desert. All of the magic that ignited the flame isn’t lost, it’s just in a different form.”
“What do I need to fix it?” Valerie asked.
“You’ll need a Conjuror with the ability to bind magic, and an object that can contain all that power. When the binding spell was put in place last time, a flame was chosen to contain it because it would never grow weak or tarnish with age. But any object strong enough will work.”
“What should I look for?”
“Talk to the People of the Woods,” Elle said. “I haven’t found more detail than that in the records yet.”
“There’s something else,” Valerie said. “Is there another way to stop humans from being exploited by those with more magic, other than separating them on different worlds? It seems like a temporary, flawed solution.”
“Now you leave the realm of facts and enter the realm of possibility. It is a matter of great debate beneath the waves, but we have found no magical solutions to this problem so far,” Elle said.
The lake began bubbling, and Valerie, who was in up to her ankles, yelped as it became hot. She hurried to the sand, where she had left the sheath that held the makeshift sword she’d been carrying since she lost Pathos.
“Not yet!” Elle shouted.
Elle dove into the water, but emerged seconds later, covered in blisters.
“Will’s below the surface!” she shouted.
“What’s happening?” Valerie asked.
“They’re sealing Illyria off from outside contact. There’s been debate about cutting ties with the surface, but things move so slowly down there that I thought it would be decades before drastic action would be taken,” Elle said.
“Maybe this isn’t coming from beneath the waves. Maybe someone on the surface doesn’t want Illyrians to have contact with Conjurors any longer,” Valerie said.
“But that makes no sense! Fractus and Fist alike will be cut off from the Akashic Records this way,” Elle said.
“Reaper must know of knowledge down there that he doesn’t want to leak out,” Valerie said.
“What if everything is boiling down there? What if Will’s hurt?” Elle asked, pacing the shore.
“You’re both Empaths. Reach out with your mind and find his. Your bond as twins is stronger than you know,” Valerie said.
Elle knelt on the sand and squeezed her eyes shut. Her hands, which were clenched by her sides, gradually relaxed.
“He’s okay,” Elle said. “I can’t see anything, but I can touch his mind. He’s alive, and he’s not in pain.”
Elle had relaxed a fraction, but Valerie’s fear was ratcheting up. Reaper was systematically cutting her off from any ties to people or knowledge that could help her. There was no one whose advice she could seek, no research she could do that would give her the answers she needed.
She could only rely on herself, and that thought turned the Laurel Circle cold on her thumb.
A loud banging had Valerie out of bed, weapon in hand, before she was fully awake. She almost collided with Henry in the hall as they raced to their front door.
“Ready?” she asked him, hand on the knob. She doubted the Fractus would bother to knock, but who knew?
Henry nodded once, and Valerie opened the door.
Standing in the moonlight was Cyrus with his father, mother, and Cara.
“You’re home,” Cyrus said, the relief in his voice unmistakable.
“What happened?” Valerie asked, ushering them in.
As she did, she saw that Mrs. Burns had a gash on her forehead that had been stitched, but there was still blood on her face.
“This Chern fellow—” Mr. Burns began.
“Reaper, Dad,” Cara insisted.
“Reaper then, he seemed so reasonable when we saw him last. But he came today, demanding to see Cyrus, and when we explained that our stubborn son didn’t care about the well-being of our family, he proceeded to…to…”
Valerie had never seen Cyrus’s father upset, but he was gripping his wife’s hand so hard, his knuckles were white.
“He attacked Mom, slicing her forehead with his scythe,” Cara said. “I think he meant to kill her.”
“How did you stop him?” Henry asked, bringing in a cup of tea for Mrs. Burns.
Cara ducked her head. “I was home, trying to reason with my parents when he showed up. I diverted the beam from the lighthouse by our house straight into the living room. It didn’t hurt him or anything, but that black scythe he carries started to sizzle, like it was burning.”
“Good to know that weapons treated with Carne from Plymouth are weakened by light,” Cyrus mused.
“When Reaper saw what was happening to his weapon, he opened a portal and left,” Cara said. “I think he’d been hurt recently, because there was scar tissue around his eyes, and his gaze was unfocused.”
“He thought we’d be easy targets, and when he found out we weren’t, he left,” Mr. Burns said, patting Cara on her shoulder.
“We were lucky our daughter used her lightweaver power to administer pulses of light into my system, or the wound from that horrible weapon would have killed me before I reached a healer in Arden,” Mrs. Burns said, watching her husband as she spoke.
Mr. Burns shifted his weight, not returning her eye contact.
“If Cyrus had come home with us, like we told him to—” Mr. Burns began, but his voice didn’t hold any heat.
Mrs. Burns dropped her husband’s hand. “Don’t blame the actions of that madman on our son. We should never have been talking to him to begin with.”
Mr. Burns released a breath. “Perhaps you’re right.”
Cyrus and Cara looked at each other like they’d witnessed a miracle. Henry coughed to cover his laughter.
“We’re here to ask you a favor, Val,” Cyrus said.
“Anything.”
“Reaper could come back to Messina for Mom and Dad at any time. Can they stay here with you? It’s the safest place I can think of, with you and Henry to protect them. I know Emin’s already here, so it’ll be crowded. If you can’t, it’s fine.”
“Cy, of course they can stay,” Valerie said. “Mr. and Mrs. Burns, you’re welcome to live in our house for as long as you need it. You can stay in my dad’s old room.”
“Thai can bunk with me, and Emin can stay in your room,” Henry said.
Valerie closed her eyes, cursing her brother for mentioning Thai. When she opened them, she saw that Cyrus had clenched his jaw, but he met her gaze. Henry sent her a mental apology.
“Thank you, my dear,” Mrs. Burns said. “It won’t be for long. And perha
ps you’d welcome some help in the kitchen. Cyrus says you like Earth food.”
Henry’s face lightened at the mention of food. “We love it.”
Henry showed Cyrus’s parents where they would stay while Cara snoozed on the couch. Valerie followed Cyrus to the doorway.
“As long as they’re here, I’ll protect them with my life, like they’re my own parents,” Valerie said.
“I know you will. It’s selfish, asking you to watch over them, but I knew you’d understand,” he said.
“I wouldn’t want them to be anywhere else. And I don’t think Reaper will attack a place where he thinks Henry and I are together because of the prophecy he received.”
Cyrus stared into the darkness, brooding. “Who do you think he’ll attack next? Kanti’s parents? Thai’s? Does he want to make orphans of us all?”
“He hasn’t managed to kill us yet, so he’s trying to get to us through people we love. I think he wants to cut us off from as much help and support as he can,” Valerie said.
In the darkness, the glow coming off of Cyrus pulsed, and Valerie thought she saw sparks. “Does he know that instead of scaring me, he’s only making me want to win more?”
His words woke something up in Valerie. What if she let her terror about everything and everyone Reaper could destroy be burned away by her certainty that destroying the Fractus was the right path? Every time he attacked someone she loved or slaughtered the innocent, it was more proof that right was on her side. And Gideon had been right when he told her that right was a powerful ally.
Chapter 33
The next morning, there was more bustle in the little house than ever, but Valerie loved it this way—bumping into a grumpy Cara while she made her tea, assisting a smiling Mrs. Burns while she made eggs and bacon, watching a pink thread of magic wind its way through the halls when Emin hummed a tune. When his magic touched her, she knew the song, and she sang along.
Through her bond with Henry, she could tell that he was enjoying their crowded home, as well, though rooming with Thai was a little awkward.
Valerie was thankful that Cyrus had returned to his dorm room so that he wouldn’t have to see how comfortable Thai was in her house.