Lilly shrugged. “Mostly out here, in the trees. I’m good at hiding. Escaping, too. That’s not the first time they caught me, I always get away.” Then, her chin trembled. “Not the first time they hurt one of my friends, either.”
“Temper?” Julianne asked gently.
Lilly nodded. “He’s my favorite. He doesn’t like people, and neither do I.”
“He sounds like a pretty clever cat,” Danil whispered. “And you sound like a pretty clever kid. I bet he’s already found a nice warm place to curl up by now.”
Lilly seemed to accept this. The corners of her mouth lifted in a wavering smile. “Next time, he’ll claw the bastard’s eyes out.”
Julianne darted a glance at the girl. Nope, she really did look that young. Julianne reminded herself that even she had learned salty language by that age, and this girl had gone through a lot more than she had.
The low rumble of distant hoofbeats caused a sharp intake of breath from all of them, but they passed by without stopping. They sat in silence, watching the shadows lengthen. Julianne allowed herself to drop into a light meditation, keeping her senses alert for anyone approaching.
When the sun finally painted the sky in hues of purple, she roused herself. Lilly had fallen asleep, her small body tucked in next to Julianne for warmth. Tenderness rushed through her as she gently rubbed the girl’s arms to wake her.
“We need to go, Lilly.”
They shook off the dirt and twigs and traipsed through the pine forest, back towards the road. Despite the cloud-covered darkness, they kept to the long grass. Lilly gripped Julianne’s hand tightly and shoved at the tickling blades, trying to keep them away from her face.
“Lilly,” Bastian whispered. “How about a ride?” He leaned down and gestured to his back, and Lilly’s eyes lit up.
She looked to Julianne for permission, then raced over and climbed onto his shoulders.
Is that wise? Danil sent to Julianne. The whole point of the grass was to hide us.
Hush, Danil. The poor child is exhausted and these reeds are as tall as she is. She was making a valiant effort, but she was struggling.
Danil walked on, surer footed in the darkness than Julianne was. Ahead, Bastian seemed to have no issue with the uneven ground, loping along as if Lilly weighed no more than a feather.
“Do you hear that?” Danil asked.
“Hoofbeats,” Julianne confirmed.
Lilly slid off Bastian’s shoulders and dove into the brush, Bastian close behind her. Julianne was about to throw herself in when Daniel grabbed her arm, a fierce grin lighting his face.
Julianne reflexively reached out with her mind, and had to scrub tears of relief from her eyes when she immediately recognized Bette and Garrett.
“Over here,” Danil called, as the pair almost flew straight past them, leading two spare horses.
“Thank the Bitch in all her glory,” Bette breathed, pulling her horse to a halt. “Marcus would have had our heads if we'd had to go back without ye. The lad’s downright beside himself with worry.”
Julianne gave a brief explanation of their trip, and introduced Lilly. By the time she'd finished, Bastian had mounted Lilly on one of the horses and the girl was lying over its neck whispering to it, eyes as green as a casting mystic’s glowed white.
“We only brought two spare nags, thinking Bette and I could share the one, and the three of ye would have one each left. I suppose Cloud could carry both Julianne and the wee girl. She looked like she'd not weigh more than a leaf.” Garrett looked to Bette for confirmation.
“I'll ride with him.” Lilly pointed at Bastian. “This is his horse. She doesn't like the way he rides, but I can show him how to make her comfortable.”
Garrett gaped. “Ahh. I dinna think the old beast can carry ye both, child.”
“Oh, she can,” Lilly said confidently. “She said his legs are long, but he's not all hard muscle like you and Bette. She likes Bette most, though.”
Bette barked a laugh. “The girl knows. Go on, close yer mouth, rearick, and climb yer horse. Lilly, can young Duster here hoist both me and Garrett?”
Lilly shrugged. “He's strong, but he thinks you'd be better to let the blind one ride with the lady. Her horse—Cloud Leaper? She's carried them both and said she's happy to again. She wants to get moving, though. It's late and she thinks it’s silly to be outside when you could be in a nice, warm stable.” Lilly punctuated her words with a yawn.
After a few raised eyebrows and a quick reshuffle, Bastian mounted up behind Lilly, and they set off. She showed him how to move his legs and relax his posture while the others caught up. “There, that’s better. You must have been awfully uncomfortable riding like that.”
Bastian groaned. “You've no idea.” He still had aches in muscles he didn't know existed.
“That girl is certainly one of a kind,” Danil said into Julianne’s ear.
“She's strong. Not just her magic—I can't judge a druid’s power, but I think she may have some real talent there. But to stay in the town, hiding from those awful men for so long?”
Danil murmured his agreement. “She needs training. Perhaps we could organize something.”
They pushed the horses to make the journey home a short one. Lilly insisted on helping Garrett rub them down, leaving Bette to announce their return to a very impatient Marcus.
“What happened? You found them? Was anyone hurt?” he demanded.
“Lots, about a mile down the road, and no.” Julianne answered his rapid-fire questions in order as she entered the house, Danil at her heels.
“The situation in town is worse than we expected,” Danil added. “The New Dawn have enslaved basically the whole village, using mental magic as both punishment and reward. They're working them into the ground.”
“The people we found were in a pitiful state, working their fingers to the bone for nothing but a false sense of happiness.” Julianne chewed at her lip, remembering the man who had taken the flogging. “They’re broken, Marcus.”
“Will they help us fight?” Marcus asked.
Julianne shook her head. “There's no way to tell. Even if we could break whatever spell holds them, they’ve been tortured and starved. They could be itching to fight back, or past the point of wanting to.” Julianne cursed herself for not seeking the answer to the mind control tactic when she had the New Dawn members under her spell.
“Looks like it’s up to us, then. That is, if you're intent on seeing this through?”
“I don’t have a choice, Marcus. You should have seen—” Julianne bit her words off as Lilly walked inside.
“Where's Annie?”
“Lilly? Child, where have you been hiding? I hadn't heard from you in days, I was worried sick,” came Annie’s voice.
“Annie!” Lilly threw herself into the old woman's arms and burst into tears. “Annie, they hurt Temper! They made him run away.” Her words fell to pieces as she sobbed against the old woman's chest.
“Oh, Lilly. You poor thing. That crotchety old beast will come back just as soon as his belly starts to rumble; you take my word for it.” Annie patted the girl's hair, her eyes closed against the pain unleashed in the safety of her arms.
Tears sprang to Julianne’s own eyes. The girl had shielded her emotions so savagely, not even the Mystic Master had realized the depth of her anguish.
“Lilly… I'm so sorry. If I'd known, I'd have gone back for him.”
Red, puffy eyes stared blankly up at Julianne. ““Why? He wouldn’t talk to you, you’re just a human.” Lilly's voice cracked on the last word, and she buried her face back into Annie's shirt.
Julianne ached to strip Lilly of her grief, to numb her pain and flood her with soothing comfort. She did not. Humans had a tremendous capacity to withstand grief and pain. Doing so was how growth was attained. Empathy, strength, love. All could spring from a hurt so terrible that it felt like it would choke the soul dry.
Instead, Julianne reached her mind out to touch her sur
roundings. The instant connection with the universe soothed her own roughened nerves and dulled the throbbing grief that pulsed through the room.
Waves of emotion passed through her. Sadness, for the dead mystics at the Temple all those weeks ago, for Annie's sorrow over her missing sons, for Temper, and for a little girl who shouldn't be worrying about more than dolls and play dates.
Frustration, at the blocking spell that had thwarted her attempts to stop Donna and see her plans, at not knowing who here could do the same, at not having a plan.
Finally, anger. A righteous fury blossomed in Julianne's breast. This corruption was born of a magic she lived and breathed, one she had studied for most of her life, one she had dedicated her every heartbeat to.
The New Dawn had taken what was once pure, something made of kindness and empathy and a living connection with the universe, and perverted it. They'd twisted it into a tool to oppress instead of help, to enslave instead of liberate.
Julianne let that weight settle inside her, let it coalesce into a tiny ball. It shrank until it was no bigger than a pinhead, compressing and straining under the pressure.
The New Dawn had done this.
The New Dawn was going down.
34
After the house was quiet, Julianne, Annie, and Marcus sat at the rickety old kitchen table. Julianne gripped a mug of hot tea, untouched. Annie stood and reached into a nearby cupboard. When she unscrewed the bottle of brandy and dumped a slug into Julianne's cup, the mystic simply smiled.
“Thank you, Annie. I don't doubt I'll be needing that by the end of the night.”
“Julianne, you can't really mean to attack them directly?” Marcus nodded at Annie as she waggled the bottle in front of him, and gratefully accepted the glass. “You have no idea how many there are, how they're armed; you don't even know how strong their magic is.”
“You said it yourself, Marcus. I can't walk away from this; I have to see it through.” Julianne sipped from her cup, then closed her eyes as blissful warmth tingled through her body. “I do have one trick up my sleeve, though. I figured out how they can shield so strongly. I can’t do it myself, not yet, but all it takes is to distract one of their circle to break them all.”
“This is crazy, Jules. I thought you meant you'd go for help, not dive into the hornet’s nest! Maybe Amelia can send in a patrol from Arcadia. I know there’s not many she can trust, but she might be able to do this. And what about your mystic friend?” Marcus’s eyes were slightly wide, evidence of his worry in his creased brows.
Julianne shook her head. “Amelia has her own problems to worry about. And anyway, a patrol would take far too long to organize. As for Artemis, we don't even know where he is, or if he could or even would help us.”
“Oh, he'd help alright,” Annie said. “He might be odd, but he's no coward.”
“Regardless,” Julianne cut in. “He isn't here. Unless you know something we don't?” A tendril of hope flared at the chance Artemis might participate in the fight.
Annie shook her head sadly. “If I knew where he was, I'd tell you.”
The tiny spark of hope died. “Well, then. It's just us. Well,” she looked at Marcus, “not you.”
“What?” Marcus’s eyes snapped brightly.
Julianne shrugged. “You're injured. You can't swing a sword, draw a bow, or throw a hammer. I know you have your magitech, but you can’t rely on that alone. It does damage, but the range isn’t there. By the time they got close enough for it to be effective, you'd be fighting for them.”
Marcus sputtered. “I'm your best fighter, even injured!”
“So… you really think you're up to it?” Julianne leaned across the table, brows furrowed.
Marcus nodded eagerly. “I'll have to watch the wound, sure. Don't want to split it open again. But it's a shallow cut, and there's no trace of infection thanks to Annie's salve.”
Annie nodded at that.
“Fine. Annie, I don't want you and Lilly here tomorrow, just in case they trace us back here. I'm so sorry to have to ask you to do this, but is there somewhere safe you can go for a little while?”
Annie snorted. “I know this whole region like my own backyard. There's some caves a little way north; the hunters used to stay there when they were off collecting furs. Now that winter’s broken, it won't be too uncomfortable for the girl, and I'm tough old bones. It'll be fine, dear. You go do your thing and don't you worry about us.”
Julianne breathed a sigh of relief, glad that the old woman and the Druid child wouldn't be caught in the crossfire. “Thank you, Annie.”
Together, the three sketched out a map of the town, marking key locations where the higher-ranking mystics would likely be found. August was rumored to have taken up in the old Lord’s manor on the southern side of the city. Julianne’s preference was to attack there first, to try and take out the head of the serpent.
Marcus pursed his lips, thinking. Her plan was solid. It would avoid fighting in the streets, an act that was likely to have them surrounded in moments. They'd be able to take down the leader and search his apartments for information on the rest of the Dawn, then flee before being discovered. They could make more plans from there.
“No, Marcus.” Julianne interrupted his train of thought, reaching out to grab his arm urgently. “This isn't a reconnaissance mission. We finish this today.”
Her eyes flashed with determination, and he knew it was a fight he wouldn't win. Marcus groaned. “You really don't know what you're in for,” he said. “But, it's your choice. I'm just along for the ride.”
“Go get some sleep,” she said. “We all should. It's past midnight, and we need to leave before dawn.”
35
A tiny hand shook Julianne awake. She blinked her eyes and squinted into the darkness before reaching out with her mind to the small figure sitting on her bed. She groggily reached out to Lilly's thoughts. Seeing the urgency there, Julianne shot up.
“Marcus!” she yelled. “Bette, Garrett, get up.”
The house exploded into action as lamps were lit and people tumbled out of bed, grabbing weapons and swearing as they looked around for the threat. Marcus shoved past the door, into Julianne's room.
“What is it?” he asked, eyes quickly taking in the dazed rearick, and the mystic still tucked under her blankets next to Lilly.
“Marcus, the New Dawn are on their way. I need you to take Lilly and Annie somewhere safe.”
Anger and frustration boiled under Marcus's skin. “No! We talked about this. You can't send me away, Julianne.”
She touched his face and opened her mind. She let him see her true self, her care for him, and her worry about his safety. Then, she led him into her mind as Master. Here, she thought of pragmatism.
Even with all emotion removed from the equation, she knew Marcus was the best person to lead the civilians to safety, that Bette and Garrett would fight better together than if they were separated, that she needed Danil and Bastian, but also needed to know someone she trusted was looking after the innocent people caught in a war that had nothing to do with them.
Worry stabbed at Marcus’s chest, but he nodded. “Fine. I'll take them somewhere safe, but as soon as I can, I'll return to help.”
“That's all I ask of you,” Julianne said. Her heart brimmed with gratitude, but her soul was crippled with worry for him.
He turned to go, but she caught his hand, jerking him back to her. She pulled him down and stared into his green flecked eyes. “Stay safe, soldier. I mean it.”
Then, she kissed him, long and deep. All the pent-up emotion inside her flowed through it, the pain and the passion and frustration not only of their task, but of being so close to him for so long.
Marcus pulled back, panting for breath and trembling a little.
“Now go,” Julianne instructed. She stepped past him and spoke to Garrett. “I'm fairly certain I know how their shields work. I needed you and Bette to help me disable them. Get dressed, we have less than an hour
before they get here.”
“I…” Marcus looked around the room, still dazed.
“Ye heard the Master, ye love-struck fool. Get goin’!” Bette chided. She gave Marcus a gentle push that seemed to shake him out of it. He strode out, calling for Annie.
“Lilly, is Tarchus still flying over them?” The image that passed from the bird to the girl—and then to Julianne—had showed a column of dark-robed people marching down the road in their direction. They were led by a figure whose golden robes almost twinkled in the moonlight. That one had made them both shudder. “Don't tell me. Just think it, and I'll know.”
Julianne had tried reading the bird’s mind through Lilly's mind, but it was like trying to decipher a foreign language. However, as soon as Lilly translated the images, Julianne had a clear picture.
Julianne saw the road she'd walked the day before, but from above. The mystics were on the very outskirts of the farms, marching behind their leader in two lines towards Annie's house, flanked by a column of plainly dressed fighters on either side, armed with swords and cudgels. The road ran to her door; the only thing past it was the Madlands, and even Danil wouldn't bet against that being their destination.
She watched as the bird idly drifted lower and noticed an abnormality in the formation. Three of the group was too close together, instead of evenly spaced like the rest. Lilly, can Tarchus see what's happening at the end of that second row?
Tarchus waited a moment, then directed his laser focus where Julianne had requested. He didn't need to fly closer—his sight was incredibly good. He just had to look right at them. It only took a second for him to pick out the ropes that bound their wrists and ankles.
The top-down view gave little impression of their faces, but when one of the three wiped his face on his sleeve, tilting his head for barely a moment, Julianne immediately recognized his slicked hair and sculpted beard.
Black tooth, Julianne thought, forgetting to shield the thought from Lilly.
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