by Casey White
His leg tingled. He glanced down, watching in fascinated horror as a tendril of light rose from the pools underfoot and wrapped around his still-wounded leg, his arm. A twinge of pain shot through him—and then the pain vanished. The light faded, revealing only smooth skin beneath.
A crash, and the roar of someone splashing through the wet. Another Bookbinder ran past, his eyes wild. He vanished from sight, but Daniel saw him lean out from behind a bookshelf, raising a hand.
The waters beneath Daniel’s feet churned, starting to form a whirlpool. The rest of the sea around them wavered, joining in the motion. A wave splashed up, crashing against the bookshelf—and Daniel heard the Bookbinder bellow in pain. A shape flitted through the shelves as he fled.
The whirlpool didn’t stop, though. It rose higher, filling the air around him with a silver-blue haze. Gunshots cracked out from corners he couldn’t quite see. It didn’t matter. The growing waves washed them away, spraying up to block every last attack.
Where was Madis? Daniel scanned the shelves, feeling as though a tidal wave was at his back, pushing him forward. He could feel Alexandria’s intensity, the single-minded focus radiating off her presence in sheets. She wanted him.
He didn’t understand why. Not yet. He’d make her tell him, in time—but right now-
There. A trio of men ran past, pale-faced. The hallway stretched on, impossibly far, but at the end stood what Daniel hazily remembered as the front door.
And halfway down the row of books, a pair of figures stumbled along. One clutched the other, who was half-crumpled, ready to topple over at any moment.
Rickard—and Madis.
There. Alexandria’s voice lashed out, triumphant. Daniel stumbled forward, the whirlpool around him building. Blue flames lapped at the bookshelves, rising from the surface of the waters.
Rickard looked up, cursing. He hurled himself forward, dragging Madis alongside him. Halfway there, Madis crumpled, dragging Rickard down.
“Move, damn you,” Daniel heard Rickard cry.
A flicker of movement at the edge of his vision drew him in. Daniel glanced over to a corner, half-hidden behind a bookshelf.
Indira lay on the floor. Unlike the others, she hadn’t moved, hadn’t risen.
Olivia hovered over her, clutching at Indira’s shoulder. She looked up, latching onto the sight of Daniel. Tears streamed down her cheeks. Will kept yanking on her arm, bellowing something incoherent, but she didn’t move.
The guards that had hovered near her earlier were gone. Daniel jerked his head, mouthing come.
A woman burst around the end of the shelf alongside him, a wordless roar on her lips. Something crackled from her fingertips. Lightning.
“N-No!” he heard Olivia gasp, her voice hoarse and raw. She lurched up, yanking free of Will. “Daniel, look out!”
He’d already begun moving. The closer Alexandria wrapped herself around him, the more it was like settling into a trance. The chaos faded away, leaving only the methodical process of it all behind.
Lift his arm.
Stretch out his fingers. Carve the shape that appeared in his mind.
Watch the waters rise, coursing through the air at his beck and call.
It was just so close to what he was used to. The magic was right there at his fingertips, ready and waiting—he just needed to give it structure, to guide it into the shape he wanted. The incantations he whispered gave him that, and Alexandria gave him them.
A wall of water sprayed up. Bullets from somewhere alongside him slammed into it, falling into the murk with a faint splash. He saw the woman’s hand hit the water, driving through the layers.
Before she could breach it or pull back, Daniel pushed the wall outward, toppling it onto the woman’s head. Energy crackled out, turning to harmless jolts through the waves.
And then she was gone, leaving just a necklace that tumbled down into the waters, and Daniel stumbled on. His leg didn’t hurt at all, anymore. The relief of being able to walk again, to move without every twitch coming filled with agony, was nearly palpable.
Yelling—and footsteps, splashing behind him. He hardly noticed, just a ripple on the edge of his awareness as he floated onward.
“Olivia!” Will roared. “Olivia, you can’t-“
Someone slammed into him. Olivia. She clung to his side, gasping through her tears as the water coiled back in around them. It thickened with every churning pass it made, the storm growing.
This was the power of Alexandria given form. He realized he was smiling, his vision foggy around the edges. This was what they could do—together.
“Move!” he heard Rickard cry. “Come on!”
Madis was still crumpled on the ground, reeling. He shook his head as Rickard tried to yank him to his feet, his eyes wide and confused.
What did you do to him? Daniel took another step forward, pulling himself through the growing waves. He could still see Alexandria in front of Madis, her hand flat against his book and rivulets of ink dribbling down the pages. What happened to him?
He didn’t get a reply—but he felt her satisfaction all the same.
Will scrabbled for something in the waters, his eyes glued to Daniel and Olivia. A gun. Fear shone in his eyes. Fear, and hate.
End it. Daniel’s hands came up as he pulled another step closer, drifting past a cloud of smoke puffing off what had to be a wall underneath the glow of the spectral bookshelves. The waters coiled tighter and tighter, thrashing against his legs. Olivia’s grip on his arm tightened.
Other voices yelled. Bookbinders, Booklenders...he didn’t know, anymore. And he didn’t really care. A knot of exhaustion took root in his gut, hollow and cold—and the knot was growing. His power here wasn’t bottomless.
He had a job to do before he lost his grip entirely.
“Up,” Daniel whispered. Other words followed. Words he didn’t know, words he was fairly sure hadn’t been spoken in centuries. Longer. But as Alexandria coaxed the phrases past his lips, the waters of her magic came alive in response. The air thrummed, glistening with mists washing off the pool’s surface. The waves around Daniel grew stronger. Deeper. With every splash, the smoke filling the air choked in thicker.
Rickard backed away. He still clung to Madis’s arm, trying to haul his boss with him, but the looks he flashed Daniel’s way were starting to turn guarded. “Madis! Would you just-”
Daniel clenched his fists. Alexandria’s energy was starting to dwindle, he could feel that much. He grabbed at what was left, at the magic filling the room around them. Cries echoed through the air. Gunshots, from Will and the others. Warning bursts of light and noise from their mages.
He hardly heard them. Bullets and magic vanished together into the misty haze, crackling with barely-contained energy. Their attacks were just pinpricks against the seething mass of Alexandria’s collected rage.
His eyes settled onto Madis and Rickard, the senior Bookbinder still sprawled across the ground. Maybe in a different time or place, he’d have offered...something. A final word, a taunt, a bit of comfort or mercy.
But they’d attacked him. They’d attacked his friends. Daniel was tired, bone-tired, and there was no room left in his heart for taunts or mercies.
The waters thrummed. A pulse shot away from Daniel’s legs, coursing through the pool with an ominous chime.
For a moment, the churning of the waves stopped. The droplets spraying through the air froze. The air in the room glistened, full of tiny, glittering spots of moisture.
A hand closed around his—a hand full of strength, no matter how small and slender. “Now,” Alexandria whispered in his ear.
Daniel exhaled. The magic collected in his hands quivered, nearly bursting free of him.
Now.
Rickard saw their impending doom coming first. His eyes widened. One more time, he tugged at Madis’s hand—but when the older Bookbinder half-rose, stumbling back into the waters, Rickard pulled free.
Madis hit the ground in a splatter of
water that hung in midair. He lifted his face, its lines deeper than ever. “Rickard,” he whispered. Daniel could hear it. He could hear everything. “Please. H-Help. I can’t seem to-”
“I’m here,” Rickard said. For a moment, his expression softened. “I’ll help you.”
The waters shivered, starting to pulse with the energy that radiated away from Daniel. The surface of the pool shook with tiny reverberations.
A smile stretched across Madis’s craggy face. He lurched forward, reaching for Rickard—who clasped hands with him, pulling him closer.
No. Daniel gritted his teeth, calling his magic up. Faster. We need to move, Alex, before-
His eyes widened.
He saw Rickard pull Madis closer.
He saw him plunge a hand into Madis’s coat, yanking a familiar book from within.
And he saw him drop Madis back into the waters, taking a step away.
Madis stumbled forward, trying to rise again—and just like before, he tumbled back into the waters. “Y-You can’t-”
“You asked for my help,” Daniel heard Rickard say. The man was still backing away, casting a wary eye toward Daniel. “And I am. You’ll live on. And I’ll do a better job from here on out.”
“Rickard-”
“It’s Madis, now,” Rickard spat. He turned, clutching the book to his chest, and burst into a dead run.
“Like hell,” Daniel gasped, his eyes narrowing. He took a step—and with that, the power simmering within him erupted. The waters burst from the ground, blossoming into a circular wave that swept out and away from him.
The roar of gunshots increased to fever pitch. Daniel didn’t even look.
Silver washed over the world, wiping everything away. The smoke. The bookshelves. The people. Will’s eyes widened, illuminated by the glow. The wave hit him about the chest, carrying him to the ground.
Screams. The gunshots rang out for one final moment, then went quiet. The crackling of mages around them died away. Daniel pushed on, fingers tensed. The tidal wave surged on, crashing down the aisles with furious intensity.
Rickard ran. He bolted ahead of the devouring wave, disappearing from sight a scant few seconds later. Daniel gritted his teeth, urging the magic after him, but there was…nothing. No impact, no searing point of gleaming magic. He was too damn fast.
With a pang, he saw Indira’s body vanish beneath the wave. Olivia pressed her face to his shoulder, biting back a sob.
Madis lurched to his feet, wobbling dangerously. Pale-faced, he plunged a hand into his jacket, pulling a gun free. Alexandria’s presence in Daniel’s mind sharpened in an instant.
She needn’t have worried. Daniel spun, bringing his other hand up.
The ground beneath Madis’s feet shook. He went down hard.
The waters surged in.
And then it was quiet, and still, and the world gently shimmered with silver-blue light.
Daniel panted, his hands still outstretched. His senses strained, searching for...something. A footstep. A hint of movement.
The mists grew thicker. The water was evaporating, fading out to fog before their eyes. Within seconds, the wooden floors were bare.
Daniel reeled as the building around them started twisting, warping again. Alexandria’s help was ending. Normalcy would return.
“Is...Is it over?” Olivia whispered.
He hardly noticed. His head screamed in pain, like someone was standing beside him with a hammer, drumming on it. That nosebleed was back. He hit the ground hard, his vision going grey.
Someone moved with him. Olivia. Right. “H-Hey,” he heard her say. “You good? Stay with me.”
“I’m...f-fine,” Daniel rasped. He wasn’t. That was a lie. He pressed a hand to his face, trying to convince the world to stop spinning. It merrily refused.
“You...You got them.” Olivia didn’t quite sound like she believed the words herself. “Holy shit. What was that? What was-”
Her hands tightened around his arm. Her words died in a muted hiss.
Daniel lifted his head, peering blearily out at the library—only, it wasn’t a library anymore. It was the wreckage of a home-turned-office, the walls blackened and burning. The rafters hung overhead, partially sheared through. Everything around them had been scorched away.
Everything, and everyone.
But he’d heard it too. Voices. Angry voices. Getting closer.
“Holy shit!” he heard someone cry. “Did you-”
“I saw it.”
“Were Rickard and Madis-”
“They’re still in there. Go get the others. We have to-”
“Move,” Olivia whispered. Her hand around his arm became a vise, lifting him into the air. Daniel nodded, trying to help as best he could.
His leg didn’t hurt. Alexandria’s help on that front seemed to be permanent. Of course, he couldn’t quite decide between ‘nothing hurts’ and ‘everything hurts’, when it came right down to it. The haze filling his vision came from more than just Alexandria’s magic, he knew.
Stumbling awkwardly, he let Olivia tow them toward a door on the side of the house. Or a hole. He couldn’t remember if it’d been a door, before.
The voices got louder and louder—and they found friends. He’d have been utterly panicked, if he’d had the strength to feel anything at all.
Olivia peered through the hole-door, and he heard her let out a low hiss. “O-Okay,” she whispered. “We’re going to run.”
Run? She wanted him to run, when it felt like his legs might give out beneath him at a moment’s notice. But...Olivia knew that. She wouldn’t suggest it if it wasn’t necessary. So Daniel nodded, steeling himself.
Her hands tightened around his arm—and then she pulled him out into the light.
Grass. Grass underfoot, and the smell of smoke, and houses off in the distance. A forest pressed in around the Booklenders’ house. Olivia dragged Daniel toward the houses and their street, filled with cars. The lights were all off, but-
“Hey!” someone cried from behind. “Someone’s there! It’s-”
Their words cut off sharply, but Daniel heard them cursing, underneath the unnaturally-sharp sound he instantly recognized as a safety clicking off.
When he glanced back, still getting dragged, he saw them—a pair of men, one wielding a pistol he’d leveled in their direction. The other hadn’t been expecting them, clearly, but his fingers tensed, tightening around the open air.
There was no way to dodge them. Nowhere to run. Daniel’s mind ran the calculations at an impossible speed, eerily distant from his battered, aching body. He had no magic left. That much, he knew in an instant. He had no gun. Neither did Olivia, unless the Bookbinders had been stupid enough to leave one within arm’s reach of a prisoner.
And there was nowhere to hide.
Daniel twisted, pushing forward with every last ounce of strength he had to angle himself between Olivia and their pursuers. It was useless. He already knew that. But she’d taken a shot for him.
Even if it only lasted as long as it took for them to reload, it’d be nice to return the favor.
With his blood rushing in his ears and the world flying beneath him, he never heard the pounding of footsteps.
“Shit!”
With a muffled curse, a figure darted past him—right as the asshole with the gun fired. Daniel tensed, flinching at the noise.
No jolt of pain accompanied it. No stab of agony as the bullet lanced through him. Daniel tumbled to the ground, carrying Olivia down with him.
As he fell, he caught a glimpse of Leon standing there. Something gleaming brass hovered in front of his hand, smoking faintly.
Leon ducked away, yanking his hand free. The bullet sailed away into the wreckage of the house. He spun, bringing his hands back up, and-
The air between them and their attackers flickered, going blurry. The gunfire didn’t slow, but when Daniel peered across the distance, he could see the bullets hanging in the barrier. Just as quickly, they shudde
red, then blasted back toward their source.
Once again, a fresh set of screams rang in the air.
More footsteps, pounding closer. A woman made an irritated noise. “Damn it, I told you to-”
Leon hurled himself at Daniel, yanking him over to lie flat. “S-Shit. Hey. Are you-”
“Leon,” Daniel squeaked. “You’re...You’re-”
“Oh, thank God,” Leon mumbled. His chin dropped to his chest. “We made it. Jesus, we-”
“Hey,” the speaker from before snapped. A woman, with black hair past her shoulders and a scowl on her face. She clutched a gun in one gloved hand, but the fingers on the other were tense, extended. “We’re not out of shit. Pull it together and stand up, right now.” Her eyes flicked to Daniel. “Can he walk?”
Leon looked to Daniel, but he was already nodding. Something told him not being able to walk was not an acceptable answer.
Olivia hauled him up, but before Leon could snatch his other side, someone else took hold. Daniel blinked, his brow furrowed. A young man. A teenager, really, with glasses and watery brown eyes. “They’re coming,” he said. “We don’t have long. Some of them were thinking about reinforcements.”
“I know that,” the woman muttered. “Get me a route.”
“Back the same way we came,” the man said. “There’s still a gap, if we move quick.”
She didn’t hesitate—just nodded, stalking back out in front of them, and twiddled a finger. The blurry barrier pulled in closer, tucking behind them as they started to move.
Within seconds, the whole situation seemed more dreamlike than real. Caught between Olivia and the newcomer, Daniel didn’t have to walk, didn’t have to think. His thoughts grew dimmer, quieter by the second. Alexandria’s presence had receded somewhere between the house and their rescue, disappearing as though she’d never been present at all. The hollow numbness in his gut had not.
Her silence was worrying, but Daniel couldn’t bring himself to worry about that. Not that, or the figures who darted out behind them, or the flashes of light as magic coiled around them.