by Kristen Pham
Valerie was on her feet now, magic pulsing through her body like a heartbeat. She cursed Kellen again for taking Pathos, but knew her rage and magic would be enough to take Rastelli down.
She leapt at him, and time seemed to slow down. Not time—it was her. This must be Rastelli’s power. She moved like she was surrounded by sludge.
Rastelli easily avoided Valerie’s attack, and his staff connected with her chest. It had recharged enough that it gave her a jolt, not as strong as the one that had hit Cyrus, but enough to land her on her back.
Rastelli then cast the staff aside and leapt on top of her, punching her again and again in her face and chest. Every time Valerie tried to counter his moves, she was too slow. Satisfied that she was subdued, Rastelli picked his staff back up and turned to Cyrus.
Her sheer panic must have touched Henry’s mind, because she could sense his presence with her. The force of his magic joined with hers, and she could move again. Magic gushed through her veins, and she tackled Rastelli to the ground. His head struck a rock and he groaned. With a quick elbow to his head, her enemy’s eyes closed.
Valerie hurried to Cyrus’s side. She put her head to his chest, listening for a heartbeat. There wasn’t one. Valerie didn’t have to consciously decide to use her vivicus power. It was like a reflex that she couldn’t stop even if she’d wanted to. She clutched Cyrus in her arms, gripping him so tightly she’d probably leave bruises.
It wasn’t as scary as it had been when she’d saved Sanguina and Azra. She gave herself up to her power, letting her magic rush through her, pervading every space in her body and mind with light. Then she poured the light of her magic into Cyrus, letting it fill him and heal him, and he lit up brighter than anything Valerie had ever seen in her life.
Her magic kept flowing and flowing, burning her from the inside out with a pain so intense she couldn’t help screaming. Henry helped her push against it, stopping the flood of her power. Finally, it ceased, and she slumped over Cyrus, unconscious before she had the chance to see if he breathed.
“You’re all right, you’re okay,” Henry chanted, as if saying the words would make them true.
Valerie struggled and succeeded in opening her eyes, and there was Henry’s face, filled with relief.
“Cyrus?” she croaked.
“He’s okay,” Henry said, and Valerie saw through blurry vision that he was resting against a tree with his eyes closed.
Next to him was Gideon, who was binding Rastelli’s hands with a magical rope so he wouldn’t be able to escape.
“What have I done? Poor boy, I am so sorry, I know you can never forgive me,” Rastelli said, pulling at his already wild hair and rocking back and forth on his heels.
“Cy? Can you hear me?” Valerie asked weakly.
Cyrus’s eyes opened, and his blue eyes met hers. As her vision focused, she could see that Cyrus was glowing more than usual. She could almost swear she saw sparks coming off of him as he walked over and sat beside her.
“You saved my life. Again,” he said, tenderness mixed with bitterness in his voice. “Someday it will be me protecting you. I swear it.”
“Protect my heart, because it’s yours. That will be enough,” Valerie rasped.
Then Cyrus clutched her close. She saw Henry look away, like their conversation was too personal for him to intrude.
Cyrus pulled back as Gideon approached them.
“We will take you to the Healers’ Guild,” Gideon said, gently lifting her off the ground.
“I can walk,” Valerie insisted. “And I’m going home. There’s nothing a Healer can do for me.”
Gideon nodded, trusting her decision like he always did. Then he turned to Cyrus. “I will need you to escort Rastelli to the Knights of Light where you can testify as to what happened.”
Cyrus nodded and turned to Valerie. “I’ll come straight over to your house after.”
Valerie nodded, too tired to even speak. Henry slung her arm over his shoulders, and they began their walk home, parting with Gideon, Cyrus, and a blank-eyed Rastelli when they reached The Horseshoe.
“How do you feel?” Henry asked when they were alone.
“Grateful. Without my vivicus power, Cyrus, Azra, and Sanguina would be dead. Whatever the price of this gift, it’s worth it,” she said.
Henry shook his head at her words. “I meant physically. Are you in pain?”
Valerie assessed herself. She felt empty, with the knowledge that something had been traded, lost, that she’d never get back. Azra had told her once that using her power would rob her of her mind eventually, and she’d be nothing but a creature like Darling, acting on pure instinct and emotion, her true self lost. “I’m burned out. And I can’t touch my magic. Other than that, I’m fine.”
Her brother barked out a laugh. “Only you could say all that like it’s nothing. I saw how much pain you were in. I don’t know how you survived.”
They were in a grove of trees near their house now, and she felt an uneasy tingle that made her think that some trace of her magic remained.
“Something’s not right,” Henry whispered.
Reaper stepped out of the trees. He wasn’t dressed in his symbolic black robes, and Valerie sensed that meant he hadn’t come to kill them. Henry moved in front of her, his entire body tensed for an attack.
“You’ve done it again. Saved a life,” Reaper stated, examining Valerie over Henry’s shoulder. She tried to mask her exhaustion from his gaze, but she couldn’t hide the weakness in her bearing.
Valerie’s body went cold with a rage that was bigger than anything she’d ever known. The memory of Midnight’s scream as Reaper had torn her friend apart was seared into her memory.
“What do you want?” she spit out, forcing herself to stand straight so he wouldn’t guess the depth of her defenselessness.
“I can guess who lives, since you have expended your power. Cyrus is lucky,” Reaper said.
“Leave us alone. Now,” Henry commanded. His voice didn’t waver even though Valerie could feel his abject terror through their mental connection.
“Let’s dispense with the pretense that you are a match for me. I forced Rastelli to attack Cyrus so that Valerie would be empty of power, as a precaution, though the two of you would still be dead by now if I wished it, despite your combined power,” Reaper said with a quiet confidence. In his mind, he was stating a fact. It wasn’t even a threat. “I’ve come for a reason, and it isn’t to kill either of you.”
Henry’s eyes narrowed. “Rastelli’s one of yours. I should have known.”
“Rastelli is not Fractus, if that’s what you mean,” Reaper said, and Valerie thought she saw a hint of a smile at the corner of his mouth, like he was looking forward to his next revelation. “Rastelli is an example of what I’m capable of doing. Like you two, he was too stupid to grasp the ideals of my mission, so I drove him to madness for his defiance.”
Valerie sucked in a breath without meaning to. “I don’t believe you. Your power isn’t that unlimited.”
“You know nothing of my power. As it happens, I have tuned it to a degree of precision you cannot fathom. I can control matter at a molecular level, which means if I wish to distort a part of the brain by moving cells or eliminating them altogether, I can. Rastelli is a work of art, my first proof. But unless you both lend me your power, he won’t be the last.”
Valerie’s controlled rage started to slip into fear at Reaper’s words. Who would Reaper target with his power? He obviously had someone in mind. A year ago, she might have done whatever he asked to prevent that. But he’d underestimated her if he thought she was the same girl.
She stepped in front of her brother now, answering for both of them. “If you hurt our friends, we will never stop storming your castle until we find a way in and get to you. You may think that we are no match for you, but at least believe that we can make your life hell.”
Reaper’s face turned to stone. “You should do it because my mission is righteous,
but it clear that you don’t understand that sometimes you must sacrifice a few for the sake of the many.”
“No,” Valerie said. “There is no threat you can make that will convince us to help you hurt as many people as you’re planning to, even if that means sacrificing someone we love.”
For the first time, Valerie was aware of Henry’s uncertainty. He didn’t contradict her in word or action, but she knew that he didn’t agree with her.
“Maybe you should hear who is in my power before you decide,” Reaper said, his voice icy. He turned to Henry, who was white as a sheet. “Have you talked to your father today?”
Chapter 10
Henry managed to wait until Reaper had left before he started to shake. Valerie half dragged, half carried him to the garden in front of their house, where Oberon took one look at them both and ushered them inside. Her father’s rage was a powerful thing, even when he took care to hold it in. His eyes flashed like an angry god when he heard of their encounters with Rastelli and Reaper.
But instead of hunting Reaper down immediately, like Valerie thought he might, Oberon made Henry a tea of strange herbs that calmed him. Henry eventually slumped in his seat, exhausted, and Oberon carried him to his bed.
When her father and brother left, Valerie heard quiet footsteps behind her and little Emin placed his hand into hers.
His large, dark eyes shone with tears when they met hers. “I wish I could stay with you. I know I could help.”
“You’re not staying with these Conjurors.” Emin’s mother’s voice cut through the stillness of the room.
Valerie turned and saw Cerise standing in their doorway, and wondered how much she’d overheard.
“Emin’s been safe,” Valerie said, wearily. “Didn’t Azra tell you what happened? It wasn’t like we kidnapped him.”
Cerise’s face softened a fraction. “Perhaps that wasn’t fair. I am—grateful—” she almost choked on the word, “that you guarded my son in my absence. I couldn’t get here as quickly as I wished, and I can see that he is unharmed. But your help is no longer needed.”
Valerie knelt beside Emin so she was at eye level. “I wish you could stay with us, but your family and the People of the Woods need you, too.”
“But I want to be a Knight, like you,” Emin insisted.
Valerie whispered in his ear. “Someday the choice will be yours, and if you still want to be a Knight, I’ll train you myself.”
Emin’s eyes lit up. “I’ll remember!”
Valerie gave him a squeeze and shook Cerise’s hand. Before she could tell Oberon or Henry that Emin was leaving, Cerise had already hurried her son away. Maybe it was for the best. She doubted that Henry had it in him to endure another farewell.
Oberon still hadn’t emerged from Henry’s room, so Valerie went to Henry’s door and peeked in. Henry was asleep on his bed, and Oberon was staring down at him with watery eyes.
He turned and saw her in the door. “I should have seen this coming and spared him this. I’ve failed you both again.”
Valerie kept vigil in Henry’s room that night, in a chair by the window. Kanti and Cyrus both stopped by, but left without waking him up. Valerie eventually must have dozed off, because Henry’s voice startled her awake.
“I want to see my home.”
“I’m coming with you,” she said.
They held hands and mentally projected to Henry’s old home on Earth, where his father, Joe, still lived. Immediately, Valerie wished that she’d tried to convince him not to go back. The house was torn apart, with books flung off shelves and furniture overturned. She suspected that it was made to look as if something horrible had happened here on purpose.
Her instinct was confirmed when they found Zunya sitting in a chair in Joe’s bedroom. His yellow eyes gleamed with satisfaction when they met hers.
“Where is he?” Henry said, his voice a whisper. Valerie was proud that he managed to keep the hysteria that was churning inside him out of it.
“Safe, for now,” Zunya said. “But not for much longer if you don’t meet Reaper’s terms. Henry will come to the Black Castle, unarmed, and perform a task. When it is complete, his father will be returned safely.”
Valerie didn’t miss the fact that Reaper was no longer demanding that she lend him her magic, as well. He must have sensed that, though she would never bend to his will, Henry might.
“We’re supposed to trust you to keep your word?” Valerie asked.
“Hear for yourself,” Zunya sneered. He walked to the door that led to Joe’s basement and knocked sharply.
“Try me again, you monster!” Joe yelled. “Fight me like a man!”
“Dad!” Henry screamed. “Are you okay?”
“Henry? Get away from this place. Whatever they’ve threatened, don’t give in. Remember, you’re my boy and you always do what’s right.”
Valerie tried to mentally project to the other side of the door so that she could see Joe for herself, but something stopped her. It was like running into a wall—her mind couldn’t go beyond the door.
“We’ve found a way to block ourselves from being found by anyone on the Globe who is mentally projecting,” Zunya said, the triumph in his voice making Valerie wish that she could throttle him. “I’m allowing you both to come here so you can see for yourselves that he is unharmed for now. When this conversation is over, we’ll disappear, never to be found unless you do as Reaper asks.”
“Don’t do it, son!” Joe said. The strength in his voice made Valerie swell with pride. She knew from what Henry had told her that Joe had been fragile for a long time after his wife had been killed, but she didn’t hear a trace of that weakness now.
“Enough!” Zunya roared at the door Joe was behind.
“Dad, I’ll find a way to save you, I swear it!” Henry said.
Before Joe could say another word, Valerie was thrust back to the Globe. Somehow Zunya had cast their minds out of Joe’s house.
Henry leaned against his bed, taking deep, shuddering breaths.
“We’ll save him, just like you promised,” Valerie said.
Henry’s eyes burned. “I can’t lose him.”
“You will not,” Oberon said from the doorway. “I know you are both training at your guilds in the use of your power, but it’s time for me to teach you what I know.”
“What are you talking about?” Henry asked, his eyes wary but hopeful.
“I have harnessed my power longer than anyone on the Globe other than Azra. I can teach you both to embrace the full potential of your magic, to twist it in ways you cannot imagine. Even Reaper will not be able to stop you,” Oberon said.
“How can we trust you? We want to use our powers for what’s right, not warp them,” Valerie said.
“I’ll do it,” Henry said. “Whatever the cost. I’ll never be at the mercy of someone ever again.”
“Trust me, Daughter,” Oberon said. “Your magic will only ever be what you choose it to be.”
Valerie nodded, knowing that she didn’t have a choice. She couldn’t leave Henry to train alone under Oberon, now that her faith in him was broken.
Over the next few days, Valerie began to be thankful for Oberon’s training. She suspected that it was the only thing stopping Henry from going to the Black Castle to take his chances with Reaper.
“Think of your magic coursing through you like a river,” Oberon said, and Valerie squeezed her eyes shut and imagined it. Her magic had shrunk to the tiniest trickle after using so much to save Cyrus. “Now build a dam deep inside of you, where your magic can pool. You can store your magic here for when you need it.”
“You mean, like stockpiling it?” Henry asked.
“How is that possible?” Valerie asked. “Won’t it vanish once I’m not concentrating anymore?”
“You will learn to keep trickling your magic into that dam at all times. In the back of your mind, it will always be there, pooling, growing, waiting for you to unleash it,” Oberon said, his voice almost hypnot
ic.
“That sounds exhausting. We’ll always be working, even when we sleep?” Valerie asked, struggling to wrap her mind around what Oberon was saying.
“If you practice, it will become second nature. You will no more need to remind yourself to grow your magic than you will to breathe,” Oberon said.
Valerie saw beads of sweat forming on Henry’s brow, and she started to shake from the prolonged effort of gathering her magic.
“Enough for today,” Oberon said finally, and Valerie saw his glance flick over Henry, who was almost gray from exhaustion.
Oberon’s training was more intense than her training with Gideon, which she and Henry now did together in the mornings. She worried that it was all too much for him, but she could see from the set of his mind that, if he didn’t push himself like this, he would go crazy with worry about Joe.
One night, when nothing of note was going on, Valerie took the opportunity to quickly visit Earth. She had made a point to visit people who were important to her and Henry several times a day to make sure that Zunya wasn’t lurking near them.
After checking on Henry’s few friends, she visited Ming. She wasn’t at her home, but Valerie saw a car pulling out of the driveway, her mother at the wheel, with Ming in the back seat. She mentally projected herself from block to block to make sure that they were safe. When they pulled up at the Oakland Children’s Hospital, Valerie’s tension eased. They must be going for a checkup.
Valerie waited inside the lobby in a corner where she wouldn’t be noticed. Ming saw her right away, and her eyes lit up. Valerie put a finger to her lips, and Ming nodded. While her mother talked to the receptionist, Ming skipped over to where Valerie waited.
“You’re back again. I’ve missed you!” Ming said with barely repressed glee.
“I’m sorry it’s been so long,” Valerie replied, wishing she could hug her little friend.