The Lightning Conjurer

by Rachel Rener

  “How much did Keres know about the Wilders?” Ori asked, turning to look at her. “What might her and Jahi’s predecessors know today?”

  “She knew about an established community in South Africa, as well as a rumored one in Australia, both of which I suspect your ex-girlfriend is already making a beeline for.”

  “Jesus, how much did Mei tell her?” I grumbled, not bothering to filter my annoyance. Why was Savannah trusted with information that Aspen hadn’t even been told yet? Wait… had Aspen been told already? Was I the only one who hadn’t been brought into the loop? I shook my head lightly. No – she wouldn’t have kept that from me. Clearance or no clearance.

  “Everything,” Savannah replied primly. “I was one of the few who knew about the groups of Wilders around the globe, one of the few Barish fully entrusted to eventually recruit them to the Asterians. Only two others know what I know, and they’re dead. You quite literally cannot do this without me and my knowledge.” She said that last part with an insufferable air of self-satisfaction.

  I frowned at her as I took us back onto I-70. “Why would Barish have told you these secrets and no one else in the Order? Not even Mei knew anything about these rogue Elemental communities until Aspen turned his journal over to her a few years ago.”

  “You might say we had a special bond,” she smiled.

  “Like the ‘special bond’ he had with Keres?” Ori replied dryly. I was frankly surprised he didn’t add something along the lines of, ‘Not that I blame him,’ in typical Ori fashion – but Keres did almost murder the woman we loved, so at least he had some principles.

  “Not like that,” Savannah snapped. “His relationship with Keres was a simple matter of political maneuvering that eventually backfired – or perhaps went exactly as he’d planned. No one could ever be sure with Barish. Hell, some people think he faked his own death and is enjoying a well-earned vacation somewhere in the tropics. He certainly had the Electromantic ability to make people see what he wanted.”

  I gaped at her in the rearview mirror. “You’re joking.”

  She gave a prim little shrug in response. “Anyway, let’s just say that Barish and my grandfather were close friends. Our families go way back… And besides, I am inarguably the greatest Aggregator in modern Asterian history. I’ve recruited more Elementalists to the Order than any Aggregator before me, many of them extremely powerful, and in a record period of time. Hell, I’m the one responsible for recruiting the world’s only living Pentamancer. Who else would he choose to persuade hundreds of Wilders to join our cause?”

  “If you plan to ‘recruit’ them the way you tried to recruit poor Aspen, I’ll dump you on the side of the road right now,” I growled.

  Savannah laughed. “Still the little girl’s lapdog, I see. Well, don’t you worry. I have special training in this area. When I’m done talking to those Wilders, they’ll be begging to join our prestigious little Community. Now if you don’t mind, I’ve got emails to peruse. My clearance was just reinstated this morning and I’m very much looking forward to being caught up on all the little activities of you and your friends, particularly at the Denver Chapter.”

  Ori raised an eyebrow. “And why is that?”

  “Because Mei promised that if I do a good job on this mission – and, believe me, I will – I’ll have my post reinstated as Lead Aggregator there. Isn’t that wonderful?”

  “Um, that’s not exactly what she said. And besides, I think Eileen’s going to have some things to say about that.”

  “Yes, I’m very much looking forward to speaking to her about that exact subject… and of course seeing our dear, beloved Pentamancer again. I’ve been fantasizing about that reunion for a very, very long time.”

  I scowled at her in the mirror, trying to think of some effective threat to hurl her way, but she merely flashed me that saccharine-sweet smile before popping in a pair of hot pink ear buds and burying her nose in her phone. The cheesy pop music she was listening to was so loud I could hear it from the front seat.

  “There’s no way I’m taking her to our house for that reunion,” I muttered to Ori. “There may not be a splinter of cabin left in the aftermath.”

  He nodded vigorously. “So what do we do? Go to the airport and wait for the girls there?”

  “So we can move a potentially catastrophic confrontation to a tiny air locked tube thirty-thousand feet in the sky? No, that won’t do either.”

  “Ha-matzav khara,” he muttered.

  “Is that a suggestion?”

  “No. It means we’re in deep shit.”

  From the cup holder, my cell phone buzzed.

  “Would you please take a look at that?” I asked. “The highway is icy as hell.”

  Ori reached for the phone. “It’s a message from Robert… he said he and Evelyn were worried about you guys so they left Glenwood early this morning. They want to know if you and Aspen would come for lunch?”

  Bingo.

  I glanced at Ori from the corner of my eye. “I have an idea. I need you to type a reply exactly as I say, okay?”

  With a puzzled look, he poised his thumbs for battle.

  Despite the calamitous circumstances, I felt a rather wicked grin tug at the corners of my mouth. This was the perfect solution. After all, if there was one person in the world who could keep Savannah in line, it was Evelyn.

  ***

  Less than a half hour later, we were pulling into the long dirt driveway that led to Evelyn and Robert’s cabin, the same one she’d been living in for the past thirty years. Eileen’s lime green hybrid was already there. As Ori and I unbuckled our seatbelts, Savannah took out her earbuds and looked around in confusion.

  “This doesn’t look like Aspen’s house. Have you remodeled?”

  “Nope,” I replied. “We’re just grabbing a quick bite to eat with her grandmother before heading to the airport.”

  Her annoyed pout abruptly turned into apprehension as she considered my words. After all, she’d twice used Evelyn as leverage against Aspen, which turned out to be a huge mistake. Not only did it push Aspen over the edge, stripping Savannah of any semblance of control she might have had, but it taught all of us a valuable lesson: frail and gentle as she may appear, Evelyn was not a woman to be trifled with. I could only hope Savannah felt as nervous as the crevice between her eyebrows indicated. After all, this was an ambush.

  My own heart was racing as we traipsed past Eileen’s car. After Ori had dutifully executed my request, Robert and Evelyn had called Aspen and insisted that the girls come over for lunch before their trip. However, they intentionally failed to mention that the three of us would also be joining. Leaving Aspen out of the loop wasn’t a decision I felt particularly confident about but the way I saw it, we didn’t have much of a choice. Political adversaries meet in Geneva to draw up tenuous peace treaties, not in one another’s living rooms. And since Mei had more or less dropped a live missile on us without adequate warning or preparation, I was relieved that Evelyn was all too happy to help facilitate a cease-fire, tenuous as it may have been.

  Our apron-clad diplomatic attaché threw the door open before we could knock and pulled me in for a hug with the strength of a woman one-third her age. “Aiden, sweetheart!” Evelyn enthused, squeezing my ribs tightly. “It’s been so long!”

  Chuckling, I gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. “Just a little over a week, Evie – but I’ve missed you all the same.”

  Ori was next to be yanked into a rib-cracking embrace – a bit of karma, if you ask me. After making a few disparaging remarks at his slim frame while lovingly pinching his cheek, Evelyn turned her attention to Savannah. A near-imperceptible narrowing of her eyes was all the indication needed to betray the resentment she still harbored – Evelyn knew exactly who the woman was and hadn’t forgotten the treatment we’d all received in Washington, D.C.

  “Hello, Savannah,” she smiled, cocking her head slightly.

  “Ms. Fulman,” Savannah greeted her stiffly. “Nice to se
e you again.”

  “Oh, it’s Bornstein now,” Evelyn replied. The sweetness dripping from her voice was akin to an oozing honeycomb – one that was guarded by a swarm of territorial bees. “Come on in. I’ve planned a special lunch for you.”

  Wincing at the emphasis, Savannah shot me a sharp look. “What is this?” she hissed.

  “Switzerland,” I replied, ushering her inside. “Just get in and keep quiet. I assure you – Aspen’s temper has nothing on her grandmother’s.”

  With Ori trailing just behind Savannah, the three of us entered the modest foyer where we were visually accosted by pink curtains, lace doilies, and mismatched decorative pillows of varying pastel colors on brown velour furniture. Reminded of my own grandmother’s apartment – she’d passed away when I was nine years old – I breathed in the homey smell of chocolate chip cookies, my anxiety somewhat assuaged for the moment.

  That is, until Aspen shot up from her seat on the couch with a feral look on her face. “Why is she here?” she demanded. Her eyes narrowed into thin slits as the tell-tale scent of ionized air filled the room.

  Evelyn swept into the living room, her apron tails flowing gracefully behind her. “Because Aiden finally filled us in on what’s happening and I wanted to see all of you off before you leave… again.” There was definitely an air of censure in that last word which I could relate to. As she took a seat beside Robert on the loveseat, he gave me an uncomfortable wave.

  “Yes, but—” Aspen started.

  “We also agreed that this would be the best place to hold an unwelcome reunion before your upcoming trip.”

  “A proverbial neutral zone, if you will,” Robert chimed in.

  “Are you people nuts?” a shrill voice demanded from the kitchen. Eileen burst through the doorway, the pair of chocolate chip cookies she clutched in each hand only slightly undercutting the menacing look she wore. “Why would you bring her here – and what the hell is that?” she screeched, pointing in Savannah’s general direction. I couldn’t tell if the look on her face was alarm or fury.

  Savannah looked around the foyer, bewildered. Ori, with an all-too-knowing grimace on his face, sidestepped into the living room, taking a seat on the floor at the other end of the couch. It was also, conveniently, the farthest spot from the action. Trapped between Savannah and an apoplectic, red-faced Eileen, I very much envied his position.

  “Is that a fur coat?” Eileen jabbed her finger in Savannah’s direction. Perhaps it was just me, but I could have sworn the floor of the cabin shook. To my own shock, I actually found myself taking a step in Savannah’s direction. I’d never seen Eileen this angry. Not ever. Not even close.

  “What of it?” Savannah replied haughtily. Despite her confident tone, her back was pressed against the door as though she realized she was vastly outnumbered and might bolt at any moment.

  Throughout all of this, Aspen had postured herself in front of her grandmother, sparks of Electricity crackling at her fingertips. Ori was watching her with a worried expression; if she lost her temper, we both knew he wouldn’t be able to stop her. I glanced at Evelyn nervously, half-expecting her to be panicking, but the iron lady was sipping at her tea nonchalantly.

  “Ladies,” Robert hedged, “perhaps you might consider taking this outside?”

  As he said that, the ground definitely shook. Tea sloshed over the sides of Evelyn’s teacup as it teetered on the saucer, but not a single drop of the steaming liquid touched the ground – it merely hovered in the air a moment before gracefully returning to its porcelain container. I had to admire Aspen’s remarkable reflexes – her eyes hadn’t once moved from Savannah.

  “Thank you, dear,” Evelyn chirped.

  Unaware, or perhaps unfazed, by the danger posed to the non-Elementalists in the room, Eileen took several menacing steps toward the fur-clad woman in the foyer. As much as I would have thoroughly enjoyed watching Eileen drop-kick Savannah to the ground, I held up my arms in a protective stance, buffering myself between the two women. As I did, Aspen’s eyes narrowed even further, though I didn’t understand why. I was just doing my best to minimize collateral damage.

  “On top of everything else you’ve done,” Eileen seethed, “I cannot believe you would just saunter in here with dead animals draped all over your body. Do you have any idea the kind of suffering those poor, sweet, factory-farmed—”

  Savannah let out a derisive snort. “Are you serious right now?”

  “Dead serious,” Eileen snapped. The expression on her face made me further worry for all of the breakable tchotchkes perched precariously on Evelyn’s many bookshelves. After all, one out of thirteen earthquakes worldwide are triggered by Terramantic outbursts.

  Savannah rolled her eyes. “It’s faux fur, for God’s sake. What kind of monster do you think I am?”

  “The two-faced, grandma-hating, pathological lying, bunny-killing kind,” Eileen shot back.

  “Almost, but not quite,” Savannah smirked. “Everything but the last one.”

  I turned around to gape at her. Did Savannah Clarke actually make a joke at her own expense? The rest of the room must have been as confused as I was, based on the deafening silence that followed her remark.

  After a long, loaded moment, Robert cleared his throat. “On that reassuring note for bunny enthusiasts everywhere, finger sandwiches – including a vegetarian option for Eileen – are in the kitchen.” He smoothed his wool vest as he rose from his seat. “Darling, shall we?” Linking Evelyn’s arm through his as they made their way to the other room, he cast me a warning glance over his shoulder that clearly said, You’d better know what you’re doing, young man.

  With a small gulp, I took Savannah’s offending coat from her, hung it on the coat rack, and minced into the living room to retrieve Aspen.

  “Please don’t kill me,” I whispered.

  “I might!” she shot back. The lamp on the end table flickered ominously. “If a single vase in Evelyn’s house so much as chips, I’ll—”

  “Electrocute everyone in the house?” Savannah rolled her eyes. “Please. You’d be doing me an immense favor.”

  A low growl slipped through Aspen’s teeth.

  Luckily, lunch itself was relatively uneventful, mostly because we all ate in silence. Savannah didn’t even bother sitting down at the table, ostensibly because she didn’t want to be in close proximity with the rest of us. Her dress, in typical Savannah fashion, was also incredibly tight. I suspected it would be difficult to bend her body to appropriately conform to a wooden chair without sliding right off. Aspen, too, seemed to have noticed the ensemble, because she kept giving her garish red outfit the glaring side-eye.

  “Savannah,” Evelyn remarked suddenly. She’d been watching her from the corner of her eye as well. “Tell me – what exactly have you been doing for the last few years?”

  Savannah placed her half-eaten turkey sandwich on the counter, daintily wiping the corner of her mouth before she spoke. “I’ve mostly been caring for my sister, Emily.”

  “Oh?” When Savannah didn’t clarify, Evelyn pressed, “Is she your younger sister? Older? What does she do for a living? Is she like… like you?”

  “Are you asking if she’s an Auromantic Terramancer or whether she’s clinically insane?” Eileen interjected.

  “Eileen!” Evelyn admonished. “That was unkind.”

  She leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms over her green sweatshirt. “I’m sorry, Evie. I’ll try to be more respectful when addressing the woman who threw my best friend in an underground box for twelve hours.”

  “Yes, Emily’s an Elementalist.” Savannah cut in. “A very gifted Auromancer.” I didn’t expect her to say more, but after a moment she added, “She’s twenty-six years old but has… special needs. She was placed in Containment about eight years ago when she lost control around a caregiver who, as a consequence, suffocated to death.”

  Beside me, Aspen let out a soft gasp.

  Savannah’s eyes dropped to the cup of tea
she was clutching between her hands. “Emily didn’t deserve what happened to her. She had no idea what she’d done, why she was being punished. That’s why I worked so… tirelessly to win Aspen to our side. Yes, I had my own selfish reasons, but Barish had sworn he’d release Emily to my care if I succeeded. It took longer than expected, but he eventually kept his promise.” As she brushed her short hair behind her ear, I noticed the burn scars on the side of her neck that hadn’t been lasered or covered with foundation. “Anyway. Apart from my forced stint in rehab, I’ve been under house arrest—” she shot a dirty look in Aspen’s direction “—and that’s pretty much it. Sequestered Chapter heads don’t often get the opportunity to reintegrate back into Asterian society. Hence my obviously unwelcome presence here today.”

  For the first time in a very long time – ever, really – I felt a wave of compassion for the woman.

  “Where is Emily now?” Evelyn asked, her voice surprisingly gentle.

  “She’s in good hands. Mei is personally seeing to that, or so I’ve been assured… Speaking of which, it’s getting late and I for one am not missing our plane.” With that, Savannah dropped the rest of her sandwich in the trash and strode out of the kitchen. As hasty as her departure was, I thought I saw her wiping an eye as she turned the corner.

  Ori glanced at the clock above the stove. “She’s right. We probably should be going.”

  “I’m worried about you.” Evelyn turned to clasp Aspen’s hand in hers. “I don’t like this. Where are you going? When will you be back?”

  Aspen squeezed her hand gently. “We’ll all be perfectly safe, I promise. We’re just helping Ori with his campaign, visiting some of the international Chapters, schmoozing with Chapter heads and potential voters. If anything, it’ll probably be pretty lame. Right, Ori?”