by John Corwin
Hopping on my good leg, I went through the opening. Closing the shelf wouldn't do a thing to stop her and I couldn't shield my back while hopping backward. She'd just shoot my other leg. I fought past the nightmares and formed an image in my head. I flicked the wand through the patterns, weaving them into the shield spell I'd learned from my mother's soul fragment.
Instead of casting it at the tip of my wand, I attached it to the center aisle, virtually invisible except for a slight shimmer. I turned and limped across the aisle to the next shelf. Pushed it open.
"One more step, boy, and I'll put a hole in your ass."
I really wanted to thumb my nose at her, but it was all I could do to keep moving forward. I heard a thump. A fist banging against the shield. A cry of frustration.
"You think you're mighty clever, don't you, boy?" A bolt of white streaked over my head and exploded against the shelves in front of me. The shockwave threw me backward with a painful jolt. "You ain't going nowhere!"
I staggered to my feet. Delilah stepped back a few feet from the shield, aimed her wand and unleashed a fierce volley of explosive charges at it. The shield shimmered and crackled. I hopped frantically toward the next opening and made it through, shoved open the next. Three more rows!
But when I pushed against the next shelf, it wouldn't budge. I pushed harder. Suddenly, it rammed into me, knocking me over backward. Fire raced up my injured calf. Max dashed through the opening and grimaced. "No wonder it was stuck!" He grabbed my arm and yanked me up. "Hurry!"
I lurched to my feet and screamed as my weight landed on the wrong leg. Another explosion threw me forward and sent Max staggering backward. "Run!" I shouted.
Max threw my arm over his shoulder and took off through the next opening. Silver energy whizzed past. Ambria appeared from the left, wand arm weaving a shield. Magic bullets pinged off the surface. She and Max dragged me back toward the portal.
"They're escaping!" Delilah shouted.
"I thought you had him!" Talbot yelled back.
I glanced back. Delilah thrust her wand forward. A kinetic bullet the size of a small missile snaked through the middle row, above Ambria's shield, and toward us. If size was any indication, it would blow us to bits. "Run!"
Max and Ambria picked up the pace and tugged me around the corner.
"Keep going, I'm right behind you," Gwyneth shouted.
Max shoved me through the portal. Ambria piled in after me and Max staggered through. The spell rammed into the shelf and obliterated whatever was on it. Ashes and pieces of ingredients rained down. The blast caught Gwyneth as she ran toward us. She flew backward and landed in a lifeless heap.
Chapter 9
Gwyneth twitched once and lay still. She can't be dead.
"Get her!" I shouted.
Max and Ambria snapped from their dazes and dashed back through the portal. They grabbed Gwyneth by the feet and tugged her like a sack of potatoes across the polished stone floor. I desperately wished to help them, but my calf hurt even worse than before. They dragged Gwyneth through just as another spell smashed into the shelves.
I tried to close the portal, but pain shattered my concentration. Delilah dodged around the corner and aimed her wand. A volley of kinetic bullets streaked our way.
"Off!" Max screamed. The portal closed an instant before the bullets reached it.
I gritted my teeth and rolled onto my knees. Put two fingers to Gwyneth's neck. A strong pulse beat beneath her skin. She took a shuddering breath and opened her eyes. "What happened?"
"Explosion," Ambria said. "It knocked you silly."
"I thought wandslingers just used kinetic bullet spells." Max inspected his singed clothes. "Those were more like magic missiles."
Ambria wiped soot from her cheeks. "They've obviously upgraded."
Gwyneth pushed herself into a sitting position. "Did we get everything?"
Panic gripped my heart. I opened my satchel, grimacing at what I might find inside. Two vials of oil were shattered, but the other two had survived. I sighed with relief. "I got mine."
"Me too," Ambria said.
Max nodded.
Gwyneth removed a vial of elephant tears from her satchel. "Thank god."
"Oh crap." Max grimaced. "I got slugs instead of snails."
"You what?" Ambria's face burned bright red.
Max guffawed and produced a wooden box labeled Toasted Snails. "Just kidding."
Ambria shoved him. "I'll turn you into a snail, Maxwell Tiberius!"
I collected the ingredients and stuffed them into my satchel. "We've got another problem."
"What's that?" Max asked.
"Asha and Galfandor don't need to go to the university anymore." I took out my arcphone and hesitated before texting Asha. Will she be mad that I went? A part of me didn't care, but another part didn't want her to think I'd gone behind her back. Either way, it didn't matter. Going to campus was far more dangerous than we'd thought.
I tapped out the message. Do not go to the university. We have everything already.
My phone rang an instant later.
"Conrad, how did you get the ingredients?" Asha sounded tense.
"An omniarch." I glanced at my injured calf. "We were in and out fast." At least that isn't a lie.
"How did you—never mind." Asha said something muffled, probably to Galfandor. "Well, I guess we'll turn around and come back. But you and I need to have a talk."
The tone of her voice rubbed me the wrong way. "Look, you might be my teacher at school, but outside of it, you're my sister. You're not my boss."
"I'm your older sister, Conrad."
"I've survived just fine without you and I don't need you and Galfandor acting like we're a bunch of babies." I caught nods of affirmation from Max and Ambria. "If you'd just let us help, we could've saved you a trip."
Asha sighed. "It's just that—" Another sigh. "I like having family, Conrad. I want to keep you safe."
A lump formed in my throat. "I want you to be safe too. Maybe we look like kids to you, but we've been through a lot. Kanaan's given us extensive magitsu training, too."
"You definitely got all the ingredients?" Asha asked.
"Yes." I patted the satchel. "We're about to open a portal back to Stan's. Would you like us to open a portal so you can come back with us?"
"No, Galfandor took us on a small detour to gather some other supplies, so we'll drive back."
"Okay, we'll see you soon?"
"Soon, Conrad." Asha ended the call.
Max rubbed his hands together. "I don't know about you, but I'm anxious to see if Percival can make this potion work."
"He'd better," Ambria said.
I turned to Gwyneth. "I know you don't think Underborn will help us, but can you at least ask him?"
She nodded. "I'll see what I can do."
Max nodded at her necklace. "I don't suppose we could borrow that mini arch of yours?"
"Underborn would be very upset." Gwyneth ran a finger down the chain. "Otherwise, I'd happily let you borrow it."
"He's not a very nice person," Ambria said.
"It's not that he isn't nice," Gwyneth said, "it's that he's self-centered."
"In other words, selfish and mean." Ambria raised an eyebrow in challenge, but Gwyneth didn't pursue an argument.
"Well, thanks for the help." I took Gwyneth's hand. "Are you certain you feel okay?"
"I'm a bit bruised and sore, but it's nothing I haven't been through before." Gwyneth winced as she climbed to her feet. "By the way, Conrad, Liana asks about you all the time."
A heat wave flushed up my neck. Liana was every bit as pretty as her older sister. "Oh, um, I hope she's doing well."
Gwyneth laughed. "You're adorable when you're embarrassed."
"I can't help it," I said. "Fighting my father frightens me, but women can be almost as scary."
"Tell me about it," Max said.
Ambria huffed. "It's time you started acting like men instead of boys."
Max grunted. "I do
n't know about Conrad, but I want to enjoy being a boy for a while longer."
"Too late," I muttered. "Besides, we might not survive to manhood."
Max's shoulders slumped. "Don't remind me."
Gwyneth hugged me and kissed my cheek. "I'll tell Liana you asked about her." She must have felt my shoulders stiffen, because she giggled. "Don't worry, she doesn't bite."
"I do," Ambria said in a threatening tone.
"Hmm." Gwyneth's gaze wandered to Ambria and back to me. "Sounds like someone already has you in their sights." She knelt and sealed the silver ring around the omniarch, wincing and holding her ribs. "This is going to hurt in the morning." She concentrated on the arch and a gateway opened into an alleyway paved with cobblestones.
"Is that the Grotto?" Max asked.
"Yep." Gwyneth made a thoughtful noise. "The portal opened right away this time. That portal alarm spell at the university must have been the reason it took so long to open there."
I'd noticed the same thing. "Well, maybe we can use that knowledge to our advantage next time."
Max pshawed. "I don't know about you, but I'm not going anywhere near the university without Ivy and Nightliss to back us up."
Ambria smirked. "That's one of the smartest things you've said all day, Max."
Gwyneth waved farewell and stepped through the gateway. It blinked off an instant later. Ambria opened a portal to the field in front of Stan's farmhouse.
Max took a long last look around the arch control room. "Man, I really hate going back to the middle of nowhere again."
"Not for much longer," I said.
Ambria nodded. "Provided Percival comes through."
I prayed he could. Time to find out.
I limped through the gateway and into the dark field. The burn in my injured calf had receded to a deep ache, but it still couldn't take much weight. Max and Ambria followed me through and closed the portal behind us. Natalia in leopard form bounded up to us moments later, eyes curious.
"Is it bad that I want to pet her?" Max said.
Natalia bowled him over and stood on his chest.
"I think she'll pet you instead," Ambria said with satisfaction.
Max pushed back to his feet after Natalia let him up. "Geez. Girls are so touchy."
When we went inside, Stan came out of his bedroom already dressed in his pajamas. "Goodness, you're back already?" He looked down at my bloody pants leg. "You've been injured!"
I slumped into a chair and closed my eyes, exhausted and aching all over. "It's not too bad."
"What happened?" Percival said.
I blinked open my eyes. "We've got your ingredients. Can you make the memory potion?"
"What? But I thought Galfandor and Asha went to fetch them." He knelt and pushed up my pants leg to inspect my calf. "You've been shot!"
"Yeah." I suppressed a groan. "Maybe something for the pain?"
"I have just the thing." He darted away.
"No ghost pepper potion!" I shouted.
Max's face paled. "They got you good."
"It's awful!" Ambria gripped my hand and stroked my hair. "Is the pain unbearable?"
I leaned my head against her arm. "I've had worse. Besides, it was worth it."
"How did the bounty hunters find us?" Max asked.
"They told me the entire campus is warded against portals." I leaned down and looked at the hole in my leg. The skin around the edges was puckered and crusted with blood. "That's the reason the portal took so long to open, and when it did, it set off an alarm."
"I didn't realize you could ward against portals," Ambria said. "I thought you had to have portal blocking statues."
"They could've set wards to detect changes in atmosphere," Max said. "When you open a gateway, it's bound to change the air pressure, or something detectable. It's all about hacking a weather spell to suit the purpose."
Ambria tapped her chin. "I suppose you're right. Those bounty hunters are very clever."
Natalia, still in leopard form, sniffed my leg and growled.
"I agree," Ambria said.
"I'm relieved you made it out alive," Stan said. "Did you tell Galfandor and Asha?"
"Yes, I called them," I said. "They're on the way home."
"Good, good." Stan shook his head slowly. "I'll admit, I was worried sick, but here you are, mostly safe and sound."
Percival returned with a green potion that he brushed onto the wound. I winced at the initial sting, but it soon faded to numbness.
He pressed a thumb to the wound. "Feel anything?"
I shook my head.
"Good." Percival applied a thick white gel to the injured flesh on both sides of my leg then wrapped a poultice with cotton. "That should heal up within a few days, but the pain potion will only hold you for a day or so."
I tried to stand, but Percival pushed me back down with a stern glare. "Just because you don't feel pain doesn't mean you should put weight on the injury." He huffed. "Take a breather. I think you've bloody earned it."
"Yes, you should go to bed." Ambria put a hand on my shoulder. "I think we've had enough excitement for one day."
"If Percival had let me up, I planned to limp to bed, not run a marathon." I looked expectantly at the healer.
"In that case, you may go." Percival picked up the satchel of ingredients. "While you slumber peacefully, I'll be hard at work." He frowned and took one of my hands. "Have you been applying the lotion I gave you?"
I nodded. "Yes, why?"
He peered at the skin in the middle of the back of my hand. "It's scarring, and it shouldn't be."
I examined the pale spot of rough skin. "My skin has been peeling. Maybe that's why."
"It's scarring here, too." Ambria rubbed a similar patch on the back of my other hand.
Percival examined my arm, neck, and face—all places I'd been sunburned. "Yes, there's another patch on your throat." He touched the hollow of my neck. "How did this happen?"
I told him about the incident with Lulu.
He huffed. "Sometimes I think you're out to test the limit of my abilities." Percival tapped his chin. "My god, I hope dragon breath doesn't give cancer."
Images of Cora wasting away in a hospital seized in my chest. "Cancer?"
Percival waved a hand. "Probably not. I think the pure aether in her maw probably singed you. Hopefully the scar tissue will recede over time."
I hoped he was right. Lulu, what did you do to me? Why had she burned me? Why was I so sensitive to aether now?
Nightliss came downstairs, eyes curious. "What happened?"
Ivy leapt down the stairs behind her and nearly bowled her over. "What's all the excitement about?"
Max's eyes took on a dreamy look. "We sneaked onto the university campus and stole the ingredients for the memory potion! Then the wandslingers found us and nearly murdered us."
Ivy's eyes widened. "Oh, really? Did you blast them to ashes?"
"We're not nearly strong enough to do that." Ambria rolled her eyes. "No, we all ran for our lives, including Max."
"We ran through a hail of magic bullets to rescue Gwyneth," Max grumbled. "I mean, give me some credit."
"Yes, you were very brave, Max." Ambria pushed him toward the stairs. "Perhaps Ivy will reward you with a kiss."
Max's face turned bright red. "What?"
"Oh, a hero's kiss?" Ivy bounded down the stairs and wrapped her arms around Max's neck. "For being a hero, I reward you one big smooch!" With that, she pressed her lips enthusiastically to Max's and held them there until he pulled away gasping for air.
A drunken grin crossed Max's face. He stumbled backward and might have fallen if Ambria hadn't propped him up.
"Did you like it?" Ivy asked.
"I love you," Max said.
Her big blue eyes sparkled. "Aw, that's sweet!"
I looked at Nightliss and found myself hoping she'd give me a hero's kiss too, but considering our age gap, she might consider it inappropriate. The angel did walk over and look with c
oncern at my leg.
"Oh, you're hurt, Conrad." She knelt and touched the skin around the bandage, her cool fingers sending shivers up my leg. Nightliss stood and kissed my forehead. "You are a brave boy. Thank you for helping us."
Boy? I couldn't help but wish that kiss had been on my lips, but I smiled and nodded. "I'd do anything to get your memories back."
Ambria huffed. "Well, I'm going to bed." She stomped upstairs and a door slammed shut.
I instantly felt guilty, and wasn't even sure why.
"She loves you," Nightliss said.
"Friendship love, or love-love?" I asked.
She smiled. "I think you know already."
"Yeah." I sighed. "I do." Part of me felt the same way, but another part felt conflicted. Ambria was my best friend. She was like family to me. Would it change things too much if we liked each other as something more? I wasn't ready to risk our friendship yet.
"Would you like some tea?" Max asked Ivy.
She batted her eyelashes at him. "Like a date?"
He grinned stupidly. "Uh, sure."
I wondered if Ivy would change a great deal when her memories returned. Max's blossoming relationship might be short-lived. It might break his heart, but at least he could have a moment with his crush.
Purah emerged from the kitchen and walked purposefully toward me. She took my arm. "I would speak with you, Conrad."
"Sure." I limped as she guided me toward the kitchen, not from the pain, but to make sure I didn't put too much weight on my injured leg.
Gallifer and Sithain sat at the kitchen table when I came inside, pizza crusts the only evidence of what they'd eaten for supper.
"We heard you returned victorious," Sithain said.
I shrugged. "We survived."
"So modest." Purah pursed her lips. "A mere boy with little power, and yet he throws his spark of life so casually into danger."
I didn't know if she was commending or demeaning me. "I have more power than you right now," I reminded her.
"As you say." Gallifer nodded. "Forgive Purah. She sees mortals as playthings."
"I'm immortal," I lied.
"We know this is untrue," Sithain said. "You are a wizard—a human of limited lifespan."
"We all have limited lifespans," I said. "Seraphim can die just like humans."