“If it’s all the same to you, I might want to continue to berate you.”
“Then stand here and yell all you want, but that doesn’t change anything. I am going to keep moving, if only because we need to keep moving in order to find Barden Leifan. And if you want to return to the other side of the Veil, you need to keep moving, too.”
I looked around, but he was right. I didn’t know how to return, and without having another way of finding neutral ground, I’d be stuck here.
We started off, and as before, the ground swept by us, moving rapidly. John Adams moved a little slower now, working his way across the ground, weaving his way through the brambles. I understood why he was doing so, and I appreciated that he wasn’t rushing through here. I wasn’t sure if they were poisonous like the flowers in the other meadow, but I had a sense they likely were.
He stopped again, and this time, I paused and looked around. A mountain rose in the distance, massive and tall, and covered with swirls of ice and snow. Clouds worked around either side of it, making it look as if they were trying to conceal the mountain itself, but they didn’t mask it as well as they should have.
John Adams stared at the mountain, looking in the distance, and a deep frown formed on his face. “That’s where we’re headed.”
“The mountain?”
“Unfortunately, I think up the mountain.”
“How do you expect for us to be able to climb up the mountain?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know we are dressed well enough for it either.”
It surprised me there would be a snowcapped mountain in this place, but even more surprising was the fact that as we made our way toward it, it continued to loom higher and higher. As we neared the base of it, a strange sense struck me. It took a moment to realize what it was, but when it did, I understood the sensation. It was a certain familiarity, but it also came with a sense of someone. “Kate?”
John glanced back at me, frowning. “What was that?”
I didn’t want to reveal to him that I could feel her. The further we went, the more certain I was of the sense of her once more in the back my mind. It continued to build, and with each step, traveling forward those dozens of feet each time as we moved, that sense of Kate rose more and more potently in the back of my mind.
“Nothing,” I said.
He watched me, a deep frown on his face. “If you can detect anything, it would be helpful if you shared.”
“I’m sure it would,” I said.
We reached the base the mountain. The air had changed, going from a warmth with a hint of humidity to a cold wind gusting, almost as if it swept down from the top of the mountain. As it did, there was frigid air in it, and I wished for a jacket. “Is Barden up that way?”
Magic built from him, leaving an additional chill to my arms, and he stared up the slope of the mountain. I focused on that distant and faint sense of Kate. It had been a long time since I’d been aware of it. Now that I was, I could feel it unmistakably, a vague yet distinct sense hiding in the back of my mind. I could tell it was there, and the longer I stood here, the more certain I was she was somewhere near. And yet, as I stared up the mountain, it didn’t feel as if she were near. It felt as if she were still so far away. The closer we got to the mountain, the harder the journey seemed.
From here, I wondered what it would take to climb the slope of the mountain. Would climbing be the same as walking had been? Would there be a blur of movement with each step, or would it be more normal, like climbing a mountain and the effort which would go into that?
John Adams opened his eyes. “We have to go up.”
“Great.”
“If you want to return to our side of the Veil, we need to do this.”
“I not so sure we’re following something which will lead us back to our side of the Veil,” I said.
“You’re right. We’re following Barden and whoever he might be with.” He stared at me, and I suspected he knew exactly what I was detecting, almost as if he were aware of my connection to Kate.
He started up, and I followed, taking the first step. I was happy to note we passed quickly, moving a dozen steps with each one. We took another, and again another dozen steps passed. It felt tiring, as if I were actually climbing each of the steps, but soon we were scaling the mountain. When I paused to look back, I could see the ground far below me. I couldn’t believe the path had gone so quickly, or that I was able to climb this rapidly up the side of the mountain. The farther we went, the closer we came to the snow and to Kate.
That sense continued to rise up toward me. I could feel her, the sense of her in the back my mind, the constant presence of her, and I wanted to reach for it, trying to call to her, to let her know I was coming for her, but I didn’t know how to do it without alerting John Adams I was feeling Kate in the back of my mind. Furthermore, I had no real idea what I had detected in the back of my mind. It could be nothing more than my imagination, especially as it had been so long since I’d been aware of her at all. There had been a time before when I was constantly aware of her, but that was long gone, and now there was nothing, no awareness of her, and this was the only time I’d noticed anything.
I took a deep breath, focusing on the sense within me, and knew I needed to move more quickly. If it came down to it, I might need to separate from John, so he didn’t find out anything about Kate, though I had a hard time believing John would be able to do anything to harm her.
Another couple of steps. The mountain continued to loom above us. We were climbing rapidly and had already reached the midpoint of the mountain. I looked behind me again, marveling at how far we had gone. It didn’t feel as if we had done anything other than climb for a couple of minutes. It made sense there would be such a strange passage of time. If this was what happened, if walking a few steps took us dozens, then of course there would be a strange passage of time.
“How much further do we have to go?” I asked John Adams.
“I don’t know. It does feel as if we are getting closer,” he said.
The cold continued to build, sweeping along me. I tried pulling my jacket around my shoulders more tightly, but it didn’t prevent the cold from biting through me. The further we went, the more that cold increased. While it might be only from the climb, there was a part of me wondering if it was something else.
Magic. I paused, everything in me focusing on the sense of magic, worried I’d overlooked something. Not just overlooked, but had been focused on the climb and hadn’t paid attention to the possibility that magic might come our way. It was growing stronger now.
“We’re about to have company,” I said.
“Are you sure?”
Looking behind me, I frowned. I could feel it, but I couldn’t see anything there. “Unfortunately, I am.”
17
John started scrambling up the side of the mountain more quickly, and I followed him, grasping at the stone as I crawled. We made slower time, no longer passing dozens of steps at a time, and my hands began to get numb from the cold. It made it difficult for me to know what was from the effect of magic and what was from the effect of the climb.
John paused, and a spell built from him. I used that moment to determine whether or not I could find a sense of Kate. It was still there, and though I had been hoping it would grow closer and more intense, there was nothing stronger. She was there in the back my mind—a companion, but nothing more.
The building magic behind us suggested to me that we needed to move quickly. It swept along me, leaving me cold. With it came the same sense of terror I’d felt at the strange pursuit we had in the other realm.
“John?”
“Still a little further,” he said.
A little—though I wasn’t sure if it was more. The further we went, the more certain I was that we weren’t outrunning the magical creatures in pursuit. We might be moving rapidly, but they were magically connected as well, and moving rapidly—possibly more rapidly than us.
I checked my p
ouch, searching for the coins in there, looking for the possibility we might need to use an attack, but though the pouch was still full, I didn’t pull any out. I needed to scramble along the rock, going hand after hand as I went, and if it came down to it, I needed hands free and not holding coins.
“Do you still feel the presence behind us?” he asked.
“I do, but…” It had slowed. Maybe that was a good sign, or the other possibility was that it had found us and was trying to decide what to do with us.
“Then we need to keep moving,” he said. He started climbing, and I followed.
After going for such a long time, I couldn’t help but be surprised I wasn’t as tired as I’d expected. I should be downright exhausted, but oddly, I wasn’t. That had to be the effect of the vampire connection, didn’t it? And if it was, I was benefiting from it. Strength and speed. That was what Jean-Pierre had promised me, and if this was strength, then what speed might I gain? It might be helpful in a fight, though I had to hope it wouldn’t come down to that. I would rather run, hide, and evade any possible attacker.
The longer we were out there, the more aware I was of the cold, which continued to build. It was pressing on me. That was the sense of magic, and it was overwhelming. The more I paid attention to that sense of magic, the clearer it became that it was nearing, though I couldn’t tell where it was coming from or how it was going to get to us, only that it was nearing.
I waited for John Adams to keep moving, but he had slowed, his hands gripping the stone carefully. As he went on, I hesitated, looking for something to help me find a way forward. I continued to climb, waiting on John, and the sense of Kate pulled at the back of my mind. Her awareness drew to me. Power continued to build behind me, though I didn’t know where it was coming from. I didn’t have any sense of the power, only that it was near us—no sense of whether it was benign or malevolent.
John Adams climbed alongside me, watching me, and it was clear from the way he looked at me and the knowing glance he gave me, that he knew how I was being drawn. I looked up, determined to ignore him, and the peak of the mountain loomed in front of me. There was nothing there. Nothing other than the sense of Kate. The more I felt her sense pulling on me, the clearer it became she was here, somewhere. Where could she be?
We reached the ice and snow. No longer could I go hand over hand, and my hands were burning from the freezing cold. I knew I needed to keep climbing, and if I didn’t, whatever power I detected behind me was going to keep coming.
Power swirled around me. And then something washed over my skin, cold and biting. I hesitated, debating where I needed to go, but kept crawling. The sense of Kate in the back of my mind continued to pull upon me, dragging me forth, and then…
The wind stopped. I had no idea what had changed, only that the wind was no longer there as it had been before. I glanced around, thinking I had overlooked something, but even the mountain itself had gone. John Adams wasn’t here. It was just me. I was in an empty room. There was nothing but blank walls all around me, and I lay on what appeared to be a stone floor, but it was perfectly smooth, almost as if it had been polished.
Where was I… and how did I get here?
It seemed impossible I’d been transported somewhere, but that was what must have happened. The tingling that washed over my skin must have been a power pulling me beyond the top of the mountain. The sense of Kate was in the back of my mind. She was close, which meant I needed to keep going to find out where she was and what help she needed.
Getting to my feet, I looked around. My hands still burned, a remnant of the cold, and I tried to work them together to put more heat back in them, but I couldn’t shake the overwhelming cold in my hands.
I started forward. There came a swirling sense of movement, which felt like the same sense as before. But this time, the movement came from deep within me. The room looked no different. It was blank, with walls and floor of smooth stone, and the ceiling was impossibly high overhead.
With each step I took, there was a sense of movement, but each time I stopped, it felt as if I were in the same spot, almost as if I hadn’t moved anywhere. I looked around, searching for a sign of anything to explain where I was and how I got there.
It was almost as if it were a trap. Was it some sort of prison? Is this what had happened to Kate, Barden, and everyone else? And if that were the case, how was I supposed to get free? I didn’t have the power any of them had. Even though I might be able to trigger spells, there wasn’t anything here I could trigger.
“Hello?” My voice echoed empty off the walls. Still, I didn’t feel as if I were alone. I still felt as if Kate were there, sitting in the back of my mind, almost as if she were able to hear me. “Kate?”
“Who is Kate?” The voice came from everywhere.
“Who is this?” I reached into my pouch, feeling for several of my spell coins, prepared to use them.
“Who is Kate?” The voice came again, and sounded like it came from everywhere.
I focused on it, trying to think if there was any magic within it, but the only cold I felt along my skin was from the fear still working through me. Was it coming from inside my head? If so, why did it seem as if I were hearing it out loud? And if it was coming from inside my head, why would they need to know who Kate was? Anyone able to put voices in my head would surely be able to know what I was thinking.
“Kate is my friend. She was trapped somewhere nearby.”
“There is no Kate nearby.”
“I know there is.” I closed my eyes, and I could focus on her, feel her presence in the back of my mind, even if I couldn’t reach her.
“There is no Kate nearby.”
I focused on the sense of Kate. The voice might be claiming she was not there, but I knew better. All I had to do was reach for her. I opened my eyes. I was still the same place. It was blank, empty walls and a smooth floor—nothing for me. There was nothing for me to trigger, no way for me to rescue Kate, almost as if this were designed to prevent me from finding her.
Strange, though. An idea came to me, though it was strange and perhaps impossible, but it was something I wondered if it might work. What if I could trigger that voice in the back of my mind? I focused on it, thinking of that voice and sense of power, and I called it up, sending it surging through me, triggering myself.
In all the time I’d worked with magic, I’d never tried any such thing. There was no reason that Kate was some sort of spell I could trigger, but I couldn’t deny the connection we shared. The bond formed when she had rescued me from death did act something like a spell. And because of that, it felt like there should be a way for me to reach out to her. If I could trigger the spell which bonded us, maybe I could find her. If I could find her, perhaps she could rescue me. Unless she needed rescuing.
My magic flowed up, working through me. I focused it in the back of my mind, in that place I could feel the sense of Kate. It surged up through me. It left me with a painful surge of power in the back of my mind. I tried to ignore it, but the longer I continued to push power, the clearer it was that pain was destined for me.
Not just me, but for something around me. It was this place. This was all in my head.
That was the spell I was triggering, not the sense of Kate. The more I pushed on it, the clearer it became I was trying to disrupt it. If I could, maybe I could get to safety. Then again, where was safety on the top of the mountain? I had climbed the mountain with John Adams, and now I was captured by something, in a mental trap, holding me here.
I pushed again, triggering that spell. The more I pushed, the clearer it became that was exactly what I was doing. I continued to send power flowing through me. It struck, leaving my head throbbing, a pulsating pain. I ignored it, continuing to push, sending more and more power into it. I wasn’t going to let up. Whatever else was happening, this was what I needed to do. I had to disrupt the spell. The only way I could think of doing it was by triggering it. Even if that triggering caused me pain, I had to do it.
More and more power poured out of me, more than I remembered having. It felt like I was drawing upon a spell coin, and perhaps that was what I was doing. Maybe I was triggering the coins as I triggered that which was in the back of my head. Power slammed into the back of my mind, leaving me in agony. I tried to ignore it, trying to push magic into it, forcing the power out from me to overwhelm it.
That magic was still there, sitting painfully within my mind. The longer I worked, the more I felt as if I wouldn’t be able to overwhelm it. But if I gave up, what would happen? This had to be a mental prison, a bond in the back of my mind, and yet, I wasn’t sure how the bond had formed.
More power. That was what I needed. But how? I needed to somehow unlock it, but it seemed to be tied deep within my mind, as if it were trying to keep me trapped. The more I focused on it, the more I could feel, the more certain I felt there wasn’t anything I’d be able to do to free myself from this. It was a helplessness. I
But in the time I’d been working with magic, I’d come to realize I wasn’t helpless. I never had been. I might not be a strong hedge mage, but I was strong enough. I had a specific type of magic, and it was that magic I needed access to now.
And then, as I used it, as I poured more power out of me, sending it into that spell, I could feel whatever was done to me, the strangeness I detected all around me unfolding, releasing its hold on me. As it did, the pain in my mind eased. I let myself draw upon the power flowing within me. It practically glowed within me, the power I knew was there.
And then the spell exploded.
I was aware of how it triggered, I was aware of the way it shifted. When I released it, I tried to open my eyes, but found they were gummed closed. I rubbed my eyes, trying to clear the stickiness, and blinked them open.
When I did, I was lying in the middle of the forest. I stared, frowning to myself. How was I back in the forest? Getting to my feet, I looked around, and saw that John Adams lay next to me, equally unmoving. He must have been attacked in the same way, but while I had been able to trigger the spell to free myself, he was not.
Lost Cause Page 17