Enchantress Under Fire, page 11
part #4 of Arcane Artisans Series
“You could take my cleanup duty whenever Horatio is cooking.”
Fael burst out in a belly laugh. “Sydney, we’re outmatched here. We shouldn’t have taught her to play!”
“I blame you,” Sydney said.
“I’ll take that.”
“And because I blame you, I send six of my fire elementals to attack your vineyards.”
Fael glanced at the gameboard. “Crap.”
“Enjoy your scurvy.”
I caught myself smiling, and not the false smile I’d been wearing most of my time here. A disturbing realization settled on me. Despite everything, I liked these people.
Priorities, I reminded myself. These fleshwriters were my enemies. If one of them became a danger, I would have to eliminate them. I couldn’t afford to care too much, or I might hesitate at a critical moment.
The sparks of affection went into my locked box of emotion, leaving behind a clear head.
I fanned out my cards and studied them. Game pieces, resources to use and discard. That was what I needed to focus on. “Anybody need some fruit?” I asked lightly. “I have a surplus.”
Before anyone could reply, the sound of a mug banging on a table snatched our attention. I twisted in my chair to see Meg set the mug down. “Attention, everybody,” she said. “The Mentor has something we need to know.” Instant silence descended.
A few people moved out of the way, clearing a space by the koi pond. Geralt stepped into that space, smiling amiably, his shoulders stooped by cares the rest of us could never fathom, his brow furrowed with thoughts we could not delve, blah, blah, blah. He wore a pair of black jeans and the sleeves of his button-down shirt rolled to just below the elbow. He looked approachable, relaxed, fatherly. Only the fact that I had stared up into those golden-brown eyes as he channeled a torturous amount of magic into me let me recognize the emotion in them now. Geralt was predatory tonight.
“I’m sorry for interrupting the fun,” he said, arousing a few dismissive murmurs. “I would not have done so if I did not have vital news to share with you tonight. You are all aware of the imbalances in the world’s magical field. My top advisors and I have been working on an estimate of how dire the situation truly is.”
He let the comment sit for a moment, leaving us in suspense before deigning to share what he knew. “I regret to tell you that within a year, the magical hotspots will be so powerful they will instantly burn through any enchanter of moderate power who enters them. Such unfortunate enchanters will die. The magic, channeled through them but without a target to enter, will unleash itself back into its environment, wreaking havoc. Tornadoes, floods, fires, disease. The vortices and super-powered ghosts we have seen thus far are only a taste of what is coming. I’ve concluded that, without intervention, the current trend of magical convergence will destroy most of the earth’s population within five years.”
He couldn’t be serious, could he? My own people didn’t have the magical resources to study the problem, so I didn’t have as much information. But even if he was exaggerating the scale of the devastation, I knew that magic was growing less stable. It was entirely possible he was right.
Tense murmurs rose from the crowd. People looked at one another, fear shining. “How will you stop it?” someone called to Geralt.
At that, Geralt let a smile grace his lips. “I appreciate your trust in me. I do have a plan for how to prevent this disaster. It will require sacrifice, from all of us. But what we give up will be infinitesimal compared to what we save.”
He looked around the courtyard, making eye contact with every person present as he spoke. Somehow he made the message feel personal, as if every individual were a key part of his salvation plan. Across the yard I spotted Lauren leaning forward, as if physically drawn to Geralt’s compulsion. She wasn’t the only one.
I found the theatricality disturbing, even as it impressed me. I’d tried to inspire the Underground with speeches and confidence, and it had worked. But I had nothing like the sway this man held over his followers.
Geralt held out a hand to the side. “Everyone here has given something up to support the Family. Our friends among the enchanted have done the same. Tonight, they welcome a new member into their ranks.”
A man wearing a plain grey robe emerged from behind the palm trees. Head down, he crossed to kneel at Geralt’s feet. Geralt placed a hand on the man’s buzzed brown hair and smiled. “This man has no power in himself, yet he recognizes that the paranormal world controls the future. He is willing to sacrifice his freedom as a normal to take on the responsibility of magic.”
Several people gave “ohh”s of understanding, and I controlled the impulse to join them. “Seeker ceremony,” someone nearby whispered.
“Another one?” replied their companion.
Geralt transferred his smile to the man kneeling before him. “Mortal man, what do you desire?”
The man bowed his head deeply. His voice came out deep and rough. “Power beyond that of normal flesh, Enchanter.”
“What do you offer in exchange?”
“My wealth. My life. My loyalty, Enchanter.”
“In exchange for those sacrifices, I will grant your request.”
Two fleshwriters stepped out of the crowd holding a long red cloth. They draped it over the man’s shoulders, then handed the free ends to Geralt. Geralt wrapped the cloth around his fingers and closed his eyes. My sense of magic in the air dimmed. Geralt’s fingers tightened on the cloth.
The kneeling man stiffened in place. Then gasped. His head jerked to one side, exposing the side of his neck.
An enchantment tattoo marked the previously blank flesh.
Geralt dropped the cloth so it hung around the man’s shoulders like a stole. He took the man’s hand, raising him to his feet. “You have what you sought. Your footsteps will be ever silent, your movements difficult to follow. Go now, and use what you have been given. Do not forget who granted your power, or that what is given can be taken back.”
The man had tears in his eyes over his enormous smile. He swallowed a few times. “My power is at your service, Enchanter.”
“Welcome to our world.” With a benevolent smile, Geralt clapped the man on the back. The Seeker kissed his hand, then returned down the path with the two fleshwriters who’d assisted in the ceremony. The crowd parted for him, and he marched through wearing his red stole like a badge of honor.
I wondered how much Geralt had vetted this man before granting his request for an enchantment. Most Seekers wanted magic for personal reasons–greater dexterity for playing music, enhanced strength to perform better at sports. A request for an enchantment to become sneakier seemed like it had to have ulterior motives. Then again, fleshwriters were often not too picky about the Seekers they enchanted, provided the paycheck was big enough. There was no way to tell the guy’s profession while he wore the ceremonial Seeker’s robe, but maybe he was one of the city’s wealthy powerhouses.
Either way, I’d need to report him to Kendall next time I saw her.
I also wasn’t sure why Geralt was enchanting Seekers at all. Wasn’t the entire problem that enchanters had used too much of the earth’s magic, localizing it into smaller and smaller clusters, while Voids created larger and larger dead zones? So why was he continuing to perform the very kinds of enchantments that had gotten us into this mess?
Geralt was talking again, and I realized I’d missed the closing remarks of the Seeker ceremony. “Allies such as this one continue to spread through the city. They are the Family’s eyes and ears, but you must continue to be its hands. It is vital that we find La Espectra and return her here, where she will have no choice but to fix these imbalances once and for all. We must also continue working to defeat her subversives and locate other enchanters so they may share the safety of the Family. I have the utmost confidence in all of you. We are the keepers of the world’s power. Its protectors. Its very lifeblood. We will defend it, no matter what it takes. Rest assured, I will not ask of any of you anything I am not willing to do myself.”
Bullshit, I thought. But then, Geralt thought he was talking to his army, not his sacrifices.
Geralt looked around the once-more silent courtyard. Flames crackled in the small firepit. He let the quiet linger, then gave a self-deprecating laugh. “I’m sorry for ruining the mood. Please, continue to eat and enjoy yourselves. If you have any questions, please find me and ask. I can’t tell you everything just yet, but I want to make sure you feel confident and comfortable.”
He was promptly mobbed by a swarm of people, Lauren among them, asking questions and seeking more details. Lauren wanted to know if there was a reward for being the person to track down Adriana Molasses.
My hands trembled as I turned back to my tablemates, all of whom were watching Geralt. I picked up my game cards to hide the shaking. Fael stirred as if from a dream and started gathering his cards. “Shit,” he murmured. “How do you respond to news like that?”
Sydney shook her head.
I quietly asked, “What do you think he’s going to make La Espectra do?”
Neither of them answered.
Greg took a noisy slurp from his plastic cup, then snatched the game dice. “No point worrying. So keep playing.”
The dice clattered across the board, and Greg moved some of his summoned creatures into my riverfront territory. “Defend.”
Oh yeah, I thought, reaching for the dice. Defend. And keep playing. The game wasn’t over yet.
Chapter 11
KADUMKADUMKADUMKADUM! I bolted upright in bed, my head a crucible of pain. With a groan I fell to my side as the walls spun. The room’s ambient magic was crawling down my throat, burrowing up my nostrils, sliding under my fingernails. Too much of it, everywhere, a sudden vortex threatening to rip me apart from the inside.
I wrapped my hand in the white sheets, then yanked out several threads of my hair with my other hand. No time to set up a proper enchantment. Already I could feel the magic twisting around the other enchantments in my body, seeking to unravel them and destroy me.
I focused the magic on the sheets and targeted the enchantment on the ripped hair, channeling it through my own body. Be a knot, I chanted, my thoughts fast and frantic. Twist, tie, do not unwind. Twist, tie, do not unwind. Twist, tie, do not unwind ...
Repetition was my life preserver. I clung to the chant, repeating it end over end, my teeth gritted, eyes squeezed shut. After several long minutes, I realized the magical pressure had gone.
My fistful of hair felt ragged and snarled. I cracked open one eye and saw that the strands had become hopelessly knotted. A thin sheen of dark brown tinted their otherwise black color, marking the enchantment placed on the knot.
My breath came out in a relieved puff. I let the enchanted knot of hair drop onto the tangled sheets.
Shivers raced up my spine. It had been a long time since I’d had to dispel magic in the middle of the night like that. Usually I kept on top of an area’s magic so that it never built up to this level of pressure. With magic breaking down, it could now spike without any warning.
This hotspot wasn’t the worst I’d ever felt. If I hadn’t been so strongly magical, I probably could have slept right through the pressure and not felt anything until I woke up. But if these hotspots continued to get stronger, to the point that they bothered even moderate enchanters, what would they do to me?
Thinking of the way others would react to this magic, I suddenly sat upright in alarm. If anyone saw this enchanted knot of hair, they’d start asking questions. Why was I caught so off guard by magic that I had to improvise such a weird enchantment to hold it? Why was I doing this in the middle of the night? Gee, that’s a lot of magic tied up in that hair, Marcela, it seems you can channel about a hundred times more than you let on. In fact, you can channel about as well as that rogue enchantress Adrienne we’re all hunting, and isn’t that an interesting coincidence, and oh, by the way, now you’re dead.
Definitely could not afford for anyone to find this enchantment. I thought about burying it in the compound somewhere, but asking for a shovel would look suspicious. I cast about my room for a good hiding place, until I realized simplicity was my ally. I stuffed the knot of hair behind the headboard, against the wall. If anyone ever bothered to look, it should seem like some random lint that got trapped there and hadn’t yet been vacuumed up. I’d give it to Kendall to sneak out of the compound next time I saw her.
Heart still pounding, I lay back on the bed, but my mind was racing too fast for sleep. Already I could feel the room’s magic increasing, its beat swelling like the rhythms of an approaching army. I’d have to start channeling in here regularly to make sure it didn’t get too strong for me to handle.
From every direction screamed the same message. The problems with magic were worsening. My time was counting down.
I thought I was getting close to reasoning with Fael. Sydney too, possibly. With them on my side, I would stand a better chance of swaying others to my cause. I needed some proof of Geralt’s corruption, some moral dilemma that would bring Fael and Sydney into confrontation with their own consciences. I had a strong feeling that if I managed that, they would come around, and could then help me start recruiting others.
But how to ...
“Hello,” a voice whispered by my ear.
I choked on a scream and sat up in a tangle of sheets and blankets. Kendall crouched across from me, her face peeking up over the edge of the mattress. “Geez, sorry,” she said, still in a whisper. “I was trying to be subtle.”
“You scared the shit out of me.”
“Sorry,” she repeated, stripping the top sheet off the bed to cover herself. “What’s got you so jumpy?”
“Just magic,” I said. I dug out the enchanted knot of hair and handed to her. “Here. Take that outside the compound and bury it somewhere.”
She made a face, but held onto the knot. “So, what’s the news?”
Quickly I filled her in on the events of the previous day, including the fact that Geralt was enchanting Seekers to spy for him. I held myself back from asking about how the Underground was faring. We discussed my current strategy for breaking out the Voids, and I told Kendall the role I needed the Underground to play in the plan. Then I broached the most important topic. “None of this matters if we can’t find the Voids. Did you go to the grocery store? Was Sam able to make a tracker?”
Kendall triumphantly held out a thin silver necklace with a tiny star-shaped pendant. “Found the Void’s diary under the cash register. Sam managed the enchantment pretty well. I’m no enchanter, but it looks like she’s almost fully recovered.”
I rounded the bed and snatched the chain greedily. The star pendant spun as the chain unwound, a sliver of light rotating in the dark room. The chain tugged slightly toward the balcony, the pendant drifting half an inch through the air. My head snapped up, eyes narrow as I peered out into the dark. “It’s working.”
Kendall grinned fiercely. “Yes!”
“I can’t be sure they’ll keep the Void girl in the same place as Desmond. But this is a better lead than any I’ve had.” I pulled her into a hug. “Thank you.”
“You need any help scouting out this place?”
“I can’t risk anyone noticing a squirrel following me around. You’ve done enough. Hopefully the next time I signal you, it’ll be to set a date for the prison breakout.”
“Looking forward to it. I’ll make sure we’re ready.” Kendall headed for the window. “Got to go. My ride is waiting on the other side of some hills.”
“Stay safe.”
“You too.” She shifted to her squirrel form and held out a leg. I tied the knot of my enchanted hair around it. Then she hopped onto a tree branch, then disappeared into the shadows.
I held up the star pendant, watching it drift toward the balcony. Just hang on, Desmond. I’m coming for you.
Chapter 12
I DIDN’T HAVE A CHANCE TO SNEAK AWAY until the following night after dinner. The day had been spent on an uneventful patrol with Meg, Greg, and Sydney, searching for signs of other enchanters in the city and chatting up the few paranormals we ran across. We didn’t return to the compound until five, and I figured my presence would be missed at the game table if I skipped out.
Once everyone started turning in for the night, I excused myself and went inside. I spent a few minutes in my room just for show, then slipped on a sweater and headed out the back door. If anybody saw me, they’d figure I was just going for one of my evening walks.
Only after I’d lost myself among the trees did I draw the silver star necklace from my sleeve. I held it with only an inch of chain exposed, so the star pendant tugged very slightly on my hand. Following its promptings, I trekked through the bushes and trees in a direction I hadn’t yet explored.
Pines cast jagged shadows on the dirt. Squirrels rustled among the branches, and birds called their night greetings to one another. Somewhere a fox yowled, and a large hawk screeched overhead before diving out of sight behind the treeline. A small garden snake slithered under a huge boulder as I passed. My footsteps crunched on fallen twigs and pine needles, the only human sound to break the forest’s night symphony.
The necklace led me to a small building half-submerged in the dirt. The weathered wood and splintering siding looked decades old. Maybe its foundation had cracked during the Loma Prieta quake in ’89, and time had done the rest.
No guards were stationed outside, which didn’t surprise me. If I had to guess, I’d say no more than half a dozen people knew where these Voids were being kept, and all of them had more important things to do than stand around on guard duty. Also, Geralt knew that guarding a building would make it noticeable, and the last thing he wanted was somebody noticing the place he kept his secret prisoners. That did mean the Voids would be well-secured inside, a problem I’d have to face. To be safe, I spent a long time searching the area around the building, looking for surveillance equipment or enchantments.
