The Waking Magic (Winter's Blight Book 3)

by M. C. Aquila

  She was different and the same as on the day that she had left. Her dark, wavy hair was completely down, not braided in the front, and she wore no colorful headscarf. She was thin, and she was standing stiffly, tense. But her eyes were just the same as they’d always been as they fixed on them—brown and warm like the richest spices, comforting, and bright.

  Iain’s axe hit the ground with a thump and he went to her.

  She had always seemed petite, but Mum looked as if she might break in two, her bones brittle and frail. “Brishen,” she said as Iain reached her, her voice just as fragile. She reached up and cupped his face, trembling. “You were just a boy when I last saw you…”

  “Mum.” Iain bent to her level and wrapped his arms around her. The moment he did, her tense posture slackened, and she gasped and began to weep. Iain buried his face against her shoulder.

  James jolted as he felt a hand on his arm, the gesture unfreezing him. Deirdre was looking at him, nodding to his family and telling him to go to them. When James walked forward, Deirdre stepped out of the way, her hands clasped and a faint smile on her lips.

  “I’m so sorry…,” Mum was saying, still holding Iain close.

  “No, Mum,” Iain whispered. “No. It’s— You did what you had to. For Jal.”

  “You’ve taken such good care of your brother.”

  His voice tight, Iain barely managed, “I… I don’t think I have, Mum. I don’t know if I have.”

  “Why would you say that? Brishen?” Mum reached for his face, but he could barely look at her. When he pulled back, he roughly wiped at his damp eyes with his sleeve.

  When he saw James standing there, he straightened, composing himself, and beckoned him over. James had never expected to feel hesitant or shy in front of Mum, all the times he had envisioned finding her or saving her. All the fear faded when she and Iain pulled him into an embrace.

  “Don’t go,” James whispered, barely aware he had spoken aloud, like saying what he wished he’d said as a child now would change what had happened then.

  They stayed like that for a long moment, squeezing each other tightly.

  When Mum pulled back, she wiped at her eyes and laughed brightly. “Look at you, Jal,” she said, standing back to give him a once-over. When she studied his face, both joy and pain flickered there. “You look so much— You’re so handsome, and— Is that my scarf?”

  James grinned, running his fingers over the material. “I’ve worn it because I knew we’d find you. I knew you hadn’t just left us. And when Marko gave us your letters, we went after you. We were going to find you and rescue you from the Cait Sidhe. We figured it all out from your letters.”

  “How did you find us?” Iain asked.

  Mum shook her head, squeezing her eyes shut tight. “I… I escaped. I heard that he was looking for you, Jal, and I couldn’t—”

  “He let you go?” James asked, breathless. “The Cait Sidhe?”

  “No. I ran. He wouldn’t let me leave.”

  James’s stomach went cold, but he did not want to feel that aching, familiar disappointment now, not when he should be celebrating seeing his mum again and not when everything should finally be okay again.

  “And then your friend Deirdre found me,” Mum said, her mouth stretching into a smile. “And she brought me to you.”

  The brothers looked to their friend, who was standing with her hands clasped and pressed against her mouth, her eyes gleaming. Mum gestured for her to come over, to join them, but Iain got to her first.

  “You’re brilliant! Deirdre, you’re amazing!” Iain ran over to her and embraced her, lifting her up and twirling her around once before setting her back down gently on her feet.

  Deirdre’s eyes went wide with shock as it happened, but then she let out a shriek of laughter.

  Then, realizing what he had just done, Iain held up his hands, placating, his face flushed, and said, “Er, I’m sorry. That was— I got a little carried away, yeah?”

  “It’s fine,” Deirdre said, giggling, rocking back on her heels. “That was kind of fun!”

  “It’s not fun when he does it to me—like when I won that essay contest,” James cut in. “Usually there’s a headlock and a hair ruffle thrown in there. But I guess, uh, he decided not to do that to you.”

  “Well, of course I wouldn’t.” Iain crossed his arms, clearly unaware that James was teasing him.

  Deirdre snorted a laugh, covering her mouth.

  At that point, Cai cleared his throat and stepped in, apparently ready to interrupt with some terrible, unwanted information about the Iron Guard. Mum grabbed James’s hand when he tensed.

  James expected Cai to make some kind of snide remark about their reunion and was surprised when he didn’t.

  “You’ve all seen the Iron Guard heading for the festival grounds,” Cai said, gruff. “We need to decide here and now what each of us is willing to do. The fact remains, the military is coming, and they will not hesitate to cut down anyone who gets in their way.”

  Iain, his expression hard, opened his mouth to speak, but Mum spoke first. “Then we must leave before they even get here. The Master is after James. We need to leave before he finds him.”

  His mouth was dry, but James said, “I agree with Mum, but we can’t leave without telling people the army’s coming.”

  Iain looked between him and Deirdre and then nodded. For once, they seemed to be in agreement. “The Iron Guard—they’re here for us. And we’ll do our best to stay safe, but we’ve got to warn the Summer Court about what Dad’s planning.”

  At the mention of their father, Mum sucked in a breath.

  “James and I made a promise to Deirdre,” Iain continued quietly, gesturing to his friend next to him. “And I have to see it through. And I have a responsibility to try to warn the Court.”

  Mum was already shaking her head like she was saying no to a toy in a shop they wanted, her expression stern. “We are leaving right now. I have just gotten you back, and I am not losing you.” She planted her foot solidly on the ground. “No more magic. No more faeries. No more war. And… and we will simply go someplace where the Master will never find us.”

  James’s hold on his mother’s hand slackened. No more magic?

  He had never thought that Mum would want them to go back—not to Neo-London but back to how their lives used to be. That wasn’t what he wanted anymore.

  “Mum.” James turned to her. “I have to— We have to see the Summer Court. It’s like Iain said—we promised Deirdre. And… and I can still find a way to break the Cait Sidhe’s deal. You just have to trust me.”

  Mum gaped at her sons, not quite believing that they had both talked back to her. Had they been younger, she might have given them a little smack to the backs of their heads with her hand.

  She still might, given her expression.

  “Deirdre,” Iain said suddenly, looking to her. “What do you think we should do? I think we should defer to you since it was your idea to come out here to scout.” But he looked at her with a faint, admiring smile, like he already knew what she was going to say.

  “We have to stay and help,” Deirdre said resolutely, sticking her chin out. “We have to defend the festival.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Before heading back toward the festival, Singh had interrogated one of the soldiers. The soldier was young and bristling mad, easily spilling that the military was attacking the festival because it was harboring Deirdre and other powerful, anti-military faeries.

  When Singh had scoffed in disbelief, the young soldier twisted against the earthen ropes holding him down and shouted about how Deirdre was going to muster the faeries and launch a cowardly attack on the military as they headed north, catching them from behind.

  “You’re human! Don’t you understand?” The soldier looked between Singh and his men. “She and all the faeries just want the same thing—England, all of Britain, for themselves! They’ll do anything to get it! The Cataclysm, the king’s assassinatio
n—” His eyes flashed to Deirdre. “They’ll stop at nothing.”

  Deirdre gulped as a couple of Singh’s men glanced back at her; one gripped his gun’s holster. She felt Cai’s gaze on her but refused to meet it.

  Singh just shrugged. “It’s fine to defend people against the Fae, but you’re attacking all the festival, including the humans here. Aren’t you?”

  “Only because you’re harboring them. Do you even realize what’s happening? They could ruin everything at the barrier, attacking us while we’re sieging the Summer Court—” Suddenly the soldier went pale, gaping, finally realizing just how much he was saying. Then he kept quiet.

  Now Singh and his men were heading back to the festival. Iain, James, and Kallista walked several paces behind them, talking together, with Deirdre and then Cai behind.

  Cai was silent, which grated on Deirdre until she turned around and said, “I never killed anyone.” When he didn’t answer, she pressed, “Everything he said was a lie. I promise.”

  “If you say so.”

  Deirdre gestured toward him, snapping, “You won’t believe me because I’m a faery? You’re just like that soldier and… and everyone else who just thinks faeries are a bunch of sneaks. But I’m not!”

  Cai held up a hand. “It doesn’t matter if I believe you or not. It won’t change that the military is coming. And you want to try to help everyone here, don’t you? That’s why you and Kallista came to me.”

  “Y-yes.” Deirdre bit her lip. “How long until they get here? A couple of hours?”

  “I’d bet on an hour.”

  “Do you think Singh will be able to get everyone out in just an hour?”

  Cai shrugged. “Probably not.”

  “The land and woods will delay the army though,” Iain said, falling back to walk with them.

  Deirdre asked Cai, “Is there any sort of plan? I saw you and the others talking before we moved out…”

  After glancing from her to Iain, Cai replied, “Most likely, Singh will set up blockades while trying to move everyone out the west and north sides. There are also some faeries here who can set up magic barriers, if they’re willing. But since it’ll all be put up in a hurry, nothing will hold for long.”

  “Where will the militia be positioned? Even if there’s more of them”—Iain gestured to the group of men ahead of them—“they’ll only cause a slight delay if Singh won’t be letting any of his men go on the offensive.”

  “You’re right on that. It seems they’ll be grouped at the last blockade, acting as a single line of defense once the military makes it that far… probably near the far western end of the festival. Singh doesn’t need to worry as much about the north since the ground is uneven and there’re thick hedges around that area where those musicians and cultists are now.”

  “But isn’t there anything else we can do?” Deirdre asked. “What if… what if I used my Earth Magic to make some bigger blockades or something?”

  Cai raised an eyebrow at her. “And how long do the effects of your magic last?”

  Deirdre slowed, thinking. “I… actually don’t know. Is it temporary?”

  “I don’t know. I’ve seen both temporary and permanent magic. But…” Cai considered her. “How long have you been using your magic? A few years?”

  Deirdre looked down, blushing. “A couple of weeks, I think.” When Cai gave her a quizzical look, she continued, “I grew up in an orphanage that was right beside a church. We never saw any magic or faeries there, so maybe that stopped things from happening. I think?”

  “In that case, yes, your magic is probably temporary.” The man chuckled, shaking his head. “A couple of weeks, huh?”

  “But there should be something we can do to help slow them down,” Iain persisted, looking Cai in the eye. “Does anything come to mind?”

  For a while Cai didn’t answer, scratching his beard. Eventually he looked up at the trees; Deirdre followed his line of sight automatically, just as they passed one of the overlarge oaks. The small silver bells were there, ringing as a breeze rushed by.

  “Those keep out spiders?” Deirdre asked, pointing. “James mentioned something like that.”

  “Yes. The spiders are in the southern woods. They’re why the military isn’t cutting straight up from the south and is instead coming in from the east.”

  “Could the spiders help? Or are they evil?”

  Iain looked at her in surprise; Cai shook his head. “They’re not evil, just hungry. They’re monsters, but they’re not connected to the Winter Court. They’re just territorial predators.”

  Deirdre tilted her head at the bells. “And you can’t communicate with them?”

  “No.”

  Iain gestured up to the bell. “What would happen if we removed them all?”

  They heard a small gasp from ahead of them; James and Kallista slowed to walk closer to them, James asking, “Would the spiders attack randomly? Or is there some way to lure them toward a certain place or group, like the military? Is there a scent or something—”

  Kallista cleared her throat, stepping between her sons, putting a hand on each of their shoulders. “No one is doing anything with giant spiders. We just need to get out of here as fast as we can. It’ll be fine.” She gave Cai a withering look before steering her boys onward.

  Cai made an odd coughing sound; Deirdre looked and stopped in surprise to see him chuckling. It wasn’t a bitter or sarcastic laugh, and his face lit up and suddenly looked quite younger.

  “What is it?” Deirdre asked, smiling.

  He waved his hand dismissively but chuckled again. “Mothers. Mothers are mothers. And I thought I was the only one crazy enough to think of removing the bells, but I suppose not.”

  Deirdre walked alongside him, asking in a low voice, “Do you really think we should do that? Wouldn’t it be dangerous?”

  There was a lively glint in Cai’s eye as he answered, “We’re already in danger, aren’t we? And if we began removing the bells from east to west”—he pointed at the closest bell, then to another large tree in the distant woods—“the spiders would begin coming up from this side first. And even if they arrived a bit late, there’s no way the military could ignore them. James mentioned scent; the smell of oil in guns and machinery is often sweet and appetizing to monsters like these spiders.”

  “So they’d attack the military first?”

  “Most likely.” He looked at her, slowing his pace. “You’re actually serious about this?”

  Deirdre nodded. “If it’ll help! Especially…” She looked away, continuing, “It is my fault all these people are in danger. I have to do something.”

  “You’re fine with going along with an idea of mine then?”

  Deirdre frowned at him. “Of course. You’re not always very polite, but if it’ll help, then yes. Plus”—she raised her eyebrows—“Iain didn’t seem to think it was a bad idea either.”

  “Ahh, there it is; the plan has the boyfriend’s approval.” Deirdre scoffed, but Cai continued, “You’re athletic, aren’t you? A good runner and climber?”

  She folded her arms proudly. “Uh-huh! I was the best ever in the orphanage.”

  “In that case”—he lowered his voice further, glancing at Kallista, who was still talking with the boys—“you need to be the one to remove the bells. I… can’t do it.”

  “I’m fine with doing it”—Deirdre stretched out her arms—“but you’re not that old! I think you wouldn’t be a horrible climber.”

  Cai snorted. “Thank you for the vote of confidence.”

  Pursing her lips, Deirdre briefly mused over everything they’d just discussed. “You really think it’ll help us?”

  “I think it’s the best chance we have, yes.”

  “I mean, couldn’t I maybe help by using my magic to delay the soldiers when they get closer? That way I wouldn’t have to worry about the magic crumbling away because it’s temporary!”

  “You really think you can do that? Use your magic while on th
e front lines of a real battle?”

  “Yes.” Deirdre bit her lip. “Probably.”

  Cai glowered. “How many times have you used your magic well in stressful situations? That Alvey brat was complaining about your magic being all out of control and bizarre.”

  Rolling her eyes, she said, “Okay, maybe I haven’t been that good at controlling it! But I’m much better than I was a couple of days ago.”

  “You want to help, right?” She nodded, and he continued, “If you want to help people, you have to know your strengths and limits. You know you can get the bells. But you’re limited by your lack of control over your magic. If you try,” his voice cracked, but he continued, “to just do whatever the hell you want without acknowledging your limits, you won’t help anyone. You could even hurt those you want to help. Understand?”

  “I…” Deirdre sighed and glanced at Kallista and her sons, walking arm in arm.

  He’s right. Even if I’ve gotten better, who knows if I’ll be able to control my magic if things get really dangerous? I can get better; I know I’m getting better! But… She clenched her fists, determined. I need to keep doing small steps. And being in a battle would not be a small step.

  “Okay.” She smiled at him, brow set. “I’ll do it.”

  Cai lent his map of the campgrounds, marking the trees with the bells, instructing her which ones to do first to last. They selected a rendezvous point near the final tree, as well as a secondary and third backup point in case the area was overrun or some other problem occurred.

  Then Deirdre handed over her heavy backpack for Cai to carry, slipping off the copper bangles Iain had bought her and placing them inside. Then Cai gave her a small, empty, crumpled leather bag for carrying the bells, which she tied securely around her chest and shoulders.

  “What should I tell them?” Deirdre pointed to Iain, James, and Kallista, not wanting to think of any objections Kallista might have or all the questions James would ask.

  “I’ll explain things,” Cai said, shoving her backpack inside his large pack. “You want to get going without having that conversation, don’t you?”