Though they already looked worn, they whipped out their wands with determination and started injecting fresh magic into the spell. The cracks stopped spreading, but they didn’t close. The new Godmothers had saved us right now, but their power was a fleeting fix. I had no doubt the In and Out Spell was going to break before the Aurora ended. It was too far gone and our team was only getting weaker.
Two flying monkeys dove for a new Godmother and I pulled an arrow from my quiver to shoot at them, but alas, I was too far away this time. My arrow missed and the monkeys carried the screaming woman off. I was about to attempt a second shot when I had to leap out of the way of an ogre. It ignored me, lumbered past Blue, who was already fighting two lizard men, and rammed another new Godmother from behind—pushing her through the In and Out Spell. I turned away as monsters on the other side piled on top her.
If we were to have any hope of making it to the end of the Aurora and the reset, we needed to eliminate a large chunk of the threat at once. Exhausting all other options, I think I finally knew how to do that; I just had to find someone. I prowled along the dome, striking at lizard men, Samaracks, ogres, and anything else that got in my way as I scanned for my target—the girl responsible for this. Nadia.
At last I spotted the queen of Alderon perched behind her hordes, calmly seated on a steel throne in an open carriage. Her long hair, thick and straight like a horse’s mane and black as octopus ink, was pulled back in a ponytail. She wore black armor with metallic accents, and her eyes were trained on Lenore, Debbie, and Glinda. Something sparkled on her head—something that had been stolen from us barely an hour ago.
The Simia Crown.
My eyes skimmed the area until I located our resident wizard. “Merlin!” I sprinted over to him. “Nadia has the other Simia Crown,” I said when I reached him, panting. “I’m going to try and take it from her. Can you make me invisible?”
Merlin looked at me. His glow was still strong, but his eyes no longer radiated power. The wrinkles on his face looked deeper and his outstretched arms quivered as he continued to cloak as many Godmothers as he could from sight.
“Invisibility won’t help, Crisanta. Why do you think I’m still visible? A lot may have fallen off, but magic dust is still on me.”
“Yes, but I was hit with a tidal wave. I think that washed me clean.”
I pivoted all of sudden as a lizard man rushed at us wildly.
Spear.
I smacked the creature so hard he got knocked out and plowed into the ground.
Wand.
“So?” I said to Merlin.
Merlin waved his hand, coating me in golden energy.
“Can you see me?” I asked.
“No. You were right. The water cleaned you. Too bad we didn’t think of that earlier.”
“Well, it’s not like we had time for a leisurely swim,” I retorted.
Merlin made me visible again.
“After you cross the force field, it’ll be harder for me to keep you invisible,” he said, splitting his focus between me and his duties. “This is a powerful In and Out Spell, and once you’re on the other side, I can’t be sure your cover won’t be disrupted.”
I glanced over my shoulder at the size of the enemy’s army, the crumpling force field, and Nadia. If I could get the Simia Crown and get control of the flying monkeys, the Godmothers would be able to focus their magic on the spell and sustain it until the Aurora ended. And if—Book forbid—the spell came down before then, I could at least command the flying monkeys to attack the antagonists and buy the rest of us time to fall back and escape.
“It’s a risk I’m willing to take,” I said.
“Fine.” Merlin nodded. “Just try not to bump into anything. That alone might be enough for me to lose my hold on you.”
With another wave of Merlin’s hand I vanished.
“Hold tight. I’ll be back,” I said.
I shoved my invisible wand into my invisible boot and ran along the force field. The area directly in front of Nadia was too clogged with monsters and antagonists, so I leapt through the spell a ways down. Turns out there was no good entry point though. The moment I touched down on the other side, a pale purple ogre stepped in my path, swinging his meaty, tattooed arm. He couldn’t see me, but I had to throw myself sideways to avoid getting thwacked. Things only got worse from there. Even past the first line of enemies, there were hundreds more milling about that I hadn’t really taken into consideration. I kept my eyes focused on Nadia and began to weave my way through the disorderly crowd.
Light on my feet, I made it a good distance before another ogre stomped forward and I had to dive to dodge its massive foot. Once risen, I immediately spun on my heels to evade a gaggle of soldiers. Regrettably, that action left me inches from a cluster of magic hunters.
I pumped the brakes and slipped and fell on my butt. For an instant, my heart stopped. I was close enough to them that I was able to notice their eyes spark and noses twitch when they detected my magic. They couldn’t see me, but a few of them took steps in my direction, picking up my scent the way only magic hunters could. I scrambled to my feet and dodged beneath the tail of a giant lizard monster.
When I came out the other side, I finally had my target in range. I was an easy spear-throw from Nadia. The antagonist hordes were thinner here—even they seemed wary of their queen. Perched on her throne, Nadia’s dark eyes were glued to the disintegrating force field.
The crown on her head sparkled invitingly, but I found myself rethinking my next move as my eyes drifted from the accessory to the head beneath it. I was invisible. Nadia and her forces were distracted. So . . . why not take her out right here? I mean really take her out. Even if we stopped the force field from collapsing, even if we survived today and kept the antagonists locked in Alderon, what would stop them from trying again?
This assault wasn’t Nadia’s full plan. She had Natalie, the Eternity Gate, the genies, and who knew what else in her malevolent back pocket. Wouldn’t it be smarter to end her now while I had the chance? She deserved it. She had unleashed so many horrors onto my realm, my friends, and me personally.
My heart felt fiery at the notion. I could do it. I could kill her. She was a monster. Maybe not in the literal sense like ogres or dragons, but just as vicious and ten times more dangerous. So . . . I should do it. Shouldn’t I?
A high-pitched scream abruptly sounded off behind me and I turned to see a Godmother on the other side of the spell made of stone. Cackling from my left drew my eyes to two witches glowing with black energy. I followed their sight line and discovered a sizeable hole in the higher part of the spell. One of the witches fired her magic through it and the energy hit another Godmother and turned her to stone as well. The second witch followed up with her own blast of magic that disintegrated a different Godmother in a flashy burst. The witches high fived.
I was suddenly reminded of who I was trying to be and who I wasn’t trying to be.
My desire to waste Nadia in this moment was fueled by vengeance and hatred and the cockiness of knowing I had the power to do it. Maybe killing her was the right thing to do eventually, but my heart definitely wasn’t in the right place for it right now. I felt like I did when I’d been so close to killing Mauvrey—not like a hero doing justice, but like a murderer annihilating an enemy. I didn’t want to be like Eva or Rampart or even the magic hunters who did what they wanted to secure their end goals. I had to believe that I—that people—could be better than that.
I returned my focus solely to Nadia’s crown. With renewed enthusiasm, I bolted toward the carriage. When I reached it, I boosted off one of the vehicle’s wheels and climbed up.
At throne level with Nadia, I carefully reached for the glistening Simia Crown. However, I froze a finger’s-length away when Nadia inhaled deeply. Her nose twitched in the same way as the magic hunters’ whenever I got too close. Before I realized what was happening, she whirled around and slammed her armor-cased arm against my invisible chest.
<
br /> I was knocked out of the carriage and landed flat on my back several feet away. My head spun from the intensity of the fall. When I opened my eyes, still gasping, I saw Nadia looking directly at me.
“Crisanta Knight.”
My form flickered and became solid. The jolt had disrupted Merlin’s hold. I was visible again.
On the plus side, I’d managed to grab hold of the Simia Crown before being launched out of the carriage and held it in my right fist. On the down side, I was visible again!
Three ogres, a dozen antagonist soldiers, and a bunch of magic hunters turned in my direction. All I needed was for Lady Agnue to show up and ask me why my homework was late and it would be my worst nightmare come true.
Nadia reached up to touch the top of her head and panic streaked her face. “Get her!” she ordered.
Magic came out of me in one swift burst. My reflexes had called on it again, not my will, but it was a fair response. I was legitimately about to die. Magic Instinct didn’t care that any amount of power at this point could cause me to Burn Out and be destroyed afterward; it was only worried about immediate problems. For the moment, so was I.
Golden light erupted from me like a tidal wave. It lit up the shields of the charging soldiers, which proceeded to beat the enemy senseless. One nifty shield, however, zipped toward me.
Okay then.
I jumped on top and flew over the masses—headed straight for the In and Out Spell. The ogres swung their clubs and my living shield managed to quickly maneuver around two of them, sadly the third hit its mark. A club knocked the shield out from under me and I fell through the air only to be blasted sideways by a bolt of lightning before I impacted the ground.
I tumbled to the dirt, still firmly clutching the crown in my hand. A half-ferret woman with blue fur and orange eyes grabbed my ankle. I kicked her in the face and scampered up, ducking the left hook-punch of an antagonist and the stomp of an ogre.
Another lightning bolt plowed into the dirt next to my boots. I glanced at the source. A black aura swirled around a nearby witch; energy crackled across her shoulders like she was wearing a pashmina made of electricity.
My wand was in my boot but I couldn’t grab it as I was using every second to escape the hands and weapons trying to snatch and slice me. The enemy tightened their circle, and I stumbled back when a wall of spears sealed me in the limited space like a kill box. There was no getting away from the tight ring around me—antagonists of all shapes and sizes poised to pounce, but not quite making the move yet. Their hesitation wouldn’t last more than a few seconds. My heart pounded as options flashed through my mind.
Odds if I use magic—slim. If I let go to the power inside, Magic Burn Out might drain me completely and it’d be over.
Odds if I don’t use magic—none. My magic might be strong enough for resurrections, but at this point, my physical form wasn’t. If I were killed, I was certain that my body was not strong enough to be revived this time.
Power and aggression seared my blood as the antagonists glared hungrily. Any second now, one of them would break the stalemate and charge. There were so many. Even if I used magic, what could I possibly do that would keep everyone back?
Kill them all.
Wait, what?
I didn’t have time to fully process the idea. The witch with the lightning produced a bolt ready to be thrown at me. My aura immediately erupted on autopilot—supercharged and set on a murderous course of action.
The rupture of energy I emitted was so powerful it surprised even me. It ejected from my body in a swirl of gold and gray and consumed all my enemies, both human and monster, within a twenty-foot radius.
Wait, no!
I knew what was about to happen and couldn’t allow it. As good as it felt, I found the control to dig myself out of the deeply entrancing autopilot forced on me by Magic Instinct and inject my own will into the power. My Pure Magic may have been gunning for a straight execution, but I adjusted course and dampened the degree of the assault. Instead of killing everyone at once, I had the magic suck a large chunk of their life forces.
All my nearby enemies dropped to the ground unconscious, their energy depleted but their hearts still pumping.
Then the agony erupted. I screamed as if my face was tearing apart. The combination of releasing such a powerful bolt of magic and then reining it in was devastating. A faraway part of my mind knew now was my best shot to make it back through the In and Out Spell, but the rest of my brain was pleading for unconsciousness to end the pain. Luckily I looked down and saw the crown in my hand. It was the inspiration I needed. I couldn’t give up now. The In and Out Spell barrier wasn’t far.
I steadied myself, breathed, and found the will to go on. The pain was lessening with the seconds that passed, but I couldn’t waste any more of them here.
I harnessed my strength and stood. Nadia watched me from her carriage—she’d been too far away to be affected by the blast. She shouted at her nearest able-bodied antagonists to advance. They appeared uncertain about entering the circle of destruction I had created, but some were already creeping toward me.
I turned my back on the queen and placed the crown on my head. A tingly power washed over me. My eyes darted left and I concentrated on the nearest flying monkey. It responded to my will instantly, diving through the In and Out Spell, picking me up by my outstretched arms, and swooping back into the sky. We zipped through the opening in the dome that I had seen the witches shooting magic through.
Upon touching down on the other side, my flying monkey scampered off; the rest in the sky continued besieging the battleground. The other monkeys were still acting on Nadia’s last command. They all needed new orders. I immediately closed my eyes and channeled the crown’s power in the same way I typically controlled my own. I focused on every monkey in the area and mentally projected one command. One word.
Stop.
Unlike the magic I’d discharged behind enemy lines, the burst of light that followed was delicate and the palest silver. It flowed out of the crown and spread over everything in the vicinity like the gentle ripple of a tide. Then, just like that, the winged animals stopped their onslaught. Some floated about the sky, looking confused. Others landed and curled up in a nest of their own wings or approached nearby Godmothers and sniffed their torn gowns with innocent interest. At last the monkeys’ attack was over.
As if the universe decided that it, too, had had enough, in the next instant the colors of the world steadied. The vivid streaks of the Vicennalia Aurora faded into the sky until there was nothing left but the normal shades of night. The magic fluctuation event was over.
It was all finally over.
The dome of the In and Out Spell shimmered so brightly it was like a star being born. The cracks in the force field sealed up until they vanished altogether. Gaps closed. In a matter of moments, the enchanted barrier was totally secure, ending with a boom of sparkling energy that hit us like a gust of wind.
The leftover light pink glow around the force field slowly continued to fade. I had no doubt that once it finished and the spell settled it would be back to its invisible form.
I would settle soon too, but not yet. There was still work to be done. Although most of our enemies were trapped in Alderon, a selection of antagonists and monsters who’d gotten through before the reset still needed to be taken care of. Without the flying monkeys attacking though, the clean up was quick. The Godmothers, the Gwenivere Brigade, and my friends slayed the last of the monsters while I—feeling merciful—commanded the flying monkeys to scoop up the antagonist soldiers and toss them back through the barrier. Without the constant addition of new threats seeping through the spell, it was speedy work.
As one of my monkeys dropped the last solider into Alderon, Nadia approached the boundary nearest to where I stood. In and Out Spells prevented people from getting through, and now I understood that they had a safeguard against magic generated by people as well, otherwise witches like those in Alderon could f
ire at passersby on the other side willy-nilly. But spells didn’t protect against objects. I could throw a rock through the spell at school and it would sail to the other side without problem.
“Debbie?” I called. My Fairy Godmother was dusting off her torn and disheveled dress, but she looked up at me tiredly. “That extra oomph the senior Godmothers put into the spell earlier in the week, is it still active now?”
“Yes.” Debbie nodded, wiping sweat from her brow. “It should be good for another couple of weeks. We’re all safe. None of the antagonists’ weapons can get through. They couldn’t even chuck a paperclip at us if they wanted.”
“Good,” I said. “I need to talk to someone.”
Though the pain from my magic exertion in Alderon had almost gone, I felt weak and crumbly like a cookie dunked in milk too long, precariously close to falling apart. Nevertheless, I walked forward confidently until I was inches from the lightly shimmering force field. Nadia was waiting for me. She wore a black leather satchel across her shoulder and behind her were hundreds of antagonists wearing venomous expressions.
Oh good. I’m still their favorite.
“You must be pretty proud of yourself,” Nadia said as we faced each other.
“I have my good days and my bad days,” I replied.
“Both kinds have one thing in common though,” Nadia said coolly.
“Oh, and what’s that?”
The creases of her sharp eyes curved as she smiled. “They’re numbered.”
I did not flinch. Instead I merely crossed my arms. “That’s pretty bold talk from a girl trapped within a glorified snow globe. I bet it must kill you on the inside that you can’t reach out and end me right here.”
“Come a little closer, Crisanta, and I promise I’ll kill you on the inside far more viscerally.”
“I think I’ll pass.” I glanced around at her followers. “Besides, your friends here might get jealous. Looks like they all want a piece of me too. What kind of leader would you be if you didn’t share the wealth?”
Crisanta Knight: The Lost King Page 31