Third Earth, page 30
I left my subconscious and ignored the fear and pain. Focused intently on my task, I funneled that ocean of light into my shield and willed it to protect me. It swelled into a huge ball of invisible light.
The tentacle of smoke expanded, but it didn’t drop me. Still firmly holding my light shield, it pulled me closer. The swirling vortex’s edge approached, until I had to turn my head sideways to see it. Tainted magic glittered in jagged lines of powerful chaos—the exact same magic in the dream of the baby sun larva on Earth 22. Somehow, this being, this storm, used tainted magic, and now, it tried to steal me from my friends and take me to the Nia Nega Abyss.
Zap.
My light shield hit the edge of the vortex and bounced back a bit. My super-fueled light shield was just a shade bigger than the vortex’s opening.
Zap.
The tentacle couldn’t pull me through. The vortex swirled and expanded. Coincidentally, with some mental effort on my part, so did my light shield.
Zap, zap, zap. The smoke pulled repeatedly at different angles, but I simply didn’t fit.
“Interesting.”
I slapped my hands over my ears to stop my eardrums from bursting. The voice filled the arena. Dragons and humans winced in pain at the sound.
The tentacle of shadow pushed me back, then jerked me with force toward the vortex.
ZAAAP. My truth magic recoiled against the tainted magic like oil and water in a sizzling hiss of energy. Green flame and electric sparks rained down, but my light shield held true.
“This is a rare experience for me.” The voice, though calm, shook dust from the rubble of the destroyed arena. “I’ve only been denied my will once before.”
I didn’t know what this voice expected me to say, so I stayed quiet.
The mountain of smoke billowed across the pale sky over the dead forest. It solidified into a round head and human features sculpted from storm. Rimmed, slanted eyes tried to see into my soul, and a sharp nose protruded over a neat mustache that drooped into a long curl below the calm mouth. Earrings as large as a Ferris wheel hung down to his shoulders. Strung on the left hoop, a small bead glowed with mysterious power. He lifted a hand of clouds and unconsciously rubbed the bead while he peered at me in curiosity.
“Pyranathos promised me a prize. Are you she whom the Seer foretold? The legendary Wielder of the Light of Truth?”
Hands clamped to my ears, I blinked. Holy freaking Hannah, Sadie was right. The time had come at last. I had to lie to save my own life. What did Colucci say? Answer the question with a question? Lucky for me, my sarcasm peaked when I was scared.
I swallowed and sucked in a frightened breath. “Do I look like a legend to you?” I choked out.
“No. You look like a nonentity. A cockroach,” he mused, “or a worm. Who protects you from my summoning?”
“You summoned me?”
Deep within the distant clouds, Pyranathos chose that moment to bellow a frustrated roar of defiance.
“Why would someone strong enough to capture the Dragon of Lies bother with me?”
The slanted eyes shifted to him. “Fair point, worm. Pyranathos failed me. He will be punished but may still be of use once he learns his place.” The tentacle of smoke evaporated, and my light shield halted in space with everyone else. “Return to your futile life while it still exists.”
And with that, the vortex shrunk until every last twinkle of tainted magic disappeared.
33
Did We Win?
The second the vortex blinked out of existence flames burned, rocks crumbled, and spells hit their targets with their former momentum. Among the disintegrating bits of the shattered golden barrier, I fell. My huge shield cushioned the landing, and I rolled along like a hamster ball before releasing the spell. Too weak to stand, I gripped the floor until my knuckles turned white, panting from exhaustion and terror.
Master. Pyranathos called him master. He knew about me. Me. A nobody from a world that banished magic. Why? And why didn’t Pyranathos just grab me on Earth 22? What was the storm guy waiting for? And why in the Nia Nega Abyss? Was he a criminal sent there long ago? If he was, the magical purgatory wasn’t nearly as inescapable as everyone thought.
Running feet pounded toward me, and beneath the ringing in my ears, I heard Temnon shouting my name. He slid on his knees to my side.
“Are you alright?” he yelled louder than he needed to.
I nodded; my head felt unstable on my neck. His embrace lacked its usual strength. All around, the noise and chaos wound down. With Pyranathos sucked into the evil vortex, and the zen-shots taking effect, the traitor dragons lost motivation to rebel.
Slumped with Claude on the witness stand, Odric voiced the question on everyone’s mind. “What just happened? Dominath?”
Weakly, Dominath replied, I have no knowledge of that magic. Perhaps Agnes saw more.
“How is…the regent…Tem?” I asked between pants.
“I left a spell rebuilding the bone,” he said, his breath warm on my neck. “But I can’t do much more than that. He needs a Third Earth alchemist.”
You’ve done well, Temnon, Dominath said, apparently listening in on us. I’ll take over from here.
Dominath, I asked telepathically, are you okay? Did anybody die?
Many of my dear friends, but none of yours.
A bittersweet answer.
A dull ache in my hip made me try to stand, but I had no strength left. From behind, Claude and Odric each grabbed one of my arms and wearily lifted me from the rock-strewn ground. My legs shook like water.
In a flurry of beating wings, Lumi landed, closely followed by Sekmet and Grimmal. “Anyone hurt?” I asked, rubbing Lumi’s ears.
“We are alive and functional,” Sekmet purred. “It was a satisfying battle.”
“We hunted well today,” Grimmal added.
“Ah, Arch Mage.” Adrina, purple toga flowing, waved as she approached. “Only fifty-two hours since you left us, and you’ve already saved another world.”
“Barely.”
“On the contrary,” she said and ruffled my hair, “you practically had this all resolved before we arrived. Cheeky scamp.”
“You’re sweet,” I said. “Totally wrong, but sweet. You and the paladins saved our hides.”
“King Po Lan is thrilled that you came to him for help and hopes you don’t mind the extra support.”
Embarrassed, I smiled. “No, I don’t mind. Thanks for coming. I should have let him help more.”
“Give yourself credit,” Odric said. “If you hadn’t found a way back here, that imposter would have won. You acted with decisive skill and astute planning. When your plan was derailed, you adapted with resiliency and still accomplished your goal. You have grown so much these last few months. I’m proud to know you.”
Indeed. Kyprios lowered his spikey head to my level. His lower jaw brushed the ground. My deepest gratitude for revealing Pyranathos. He has been a tribulation since his birth. And now he is truly dead.
“Uh,” I stammered. “Not dead. He’s in the Nia Nega Abyss. With his boss. But I know how to spot him in any form. Just look for an enlarged shadow. He can’t disguise that.”
“Also,” added Lumi, “he smells like chemicals and oil. It’s quite unpleasant.”
I see. Kyprios was disappointed. I really didn’t blame him.
“Lumi, take Agnes home. She needs to recover,” Claude instructed, pushing me onto Lumi’s back. “We’ll see to the regent and help Kyprios regain order here.”
“Temnon,” Adrina added, “we telekins could use your help rebuilding the court, after you rest and eat something.”
“What about you, Grimmal?” I asked.
“I’ll stay with Temnon and the phar, for now.” He shifted into a saber-toothed tiger and padded over to Sekmet.
“We need to reinforce our alliance with the dragons,” the phar announced, pushing her head into Grimmal’s furry chest. “We magical creatures share a deep bond after all.”
“Lumi,” I said, “I want to say goodbye to Bandlash before we go.”
She picked her way over the indoor battlefield to Menneth’s huge ram horn, where Bandlash stood guard. His round, blue eyes followed our slow progress, but he didn’t move from his post. Once we reached him, Lumi lay down to position me in front of his toothy smile.
“You did it, Bandlash,” I praised. “The natsa fruit saved Menneth’s life.” I put both hands on his furry cheeks. “Thanks for all you did to help me.”
His face fell in shame. No, Arch Mage, I don’t deserve this. You told me about natsa fruit, and you revealed Pyranathos. I nearly fed you to a tyrannosaur.
“You were protecting your world and your laws,” I insisted. “I’m just glad you trusted me enough to bring me to Kyprios. You have good instincts, Bandlash. You will serve the noblesse well.”
Overcome by embarrassment, he covered his eyes with a paw. I’ll miss you.
“We’ll see each other again,” I said. “I promise.”
I’ll keep our best room stocked with natsa fruit.
Sweet little guy.
Turning to the regent, I placed a hand on his horn and poured my light into him. My magic revealed the truth of his condition to me. The natsa fruit gave him enough life magic to support him while Temnon’s magic repaired his spine one splintered shard at a time.
“Oh good,” I said to myself. “Menneth will recover.”
Bandlash heard me and gleefully roared the news to the surviving noblesse.
“Agnes!” Temnon wove between the fallen rocks. “Don’t leave without this.”
He held out his Aether Stone. The one he’d taken from me. As he handed it back, he covered my hand with both of his but had a hard time meeting my eyes.
“Does this mean we are back to normal?”
A sad light dimmed his eyes. “After what I did to you, can we be normal? I broke your trust.”
“And I broke your heart. I didn’t mean to, but it still happened.”
“Then”—he slumped and stuck his hands in his pockets—“we can never be exactly the same.”
“No, not the same. It may take some time, but we’ll be stronger. We just have to keep trying.”
His solemn nod and kind smile told me he agreed.
Unable to hold my own weight anymore, I draped myself over Lumi’s back and laid my head between her shoulders.
“Are you ready now?” she asked, flicking her tail in my face and reminding me who really deserved my attention.
“Almost.” I looked at Temnon sideways from Lumi’s back. “When can I see you again?”
“Soon. Will you come to Grandpa Thayn’s funeral?”
“I’ll be there. See you soon.” I touched my pouch. “Second Earth!”
I fell into the golden circle and returned to my home.
34
Far from Over
Yeah, Mom was ticked that I left for Third Earth without telling her and grounded me from everything except floating in the Fulcrum for two weeks. I insisted on supporting Temnon at his grandpa’s funeral. She only agreed when I promised to cancel all my missions for a month.
Mom yelled at Kymm and Colucci for having no sense whatsoever and threatened legal action for endangering a minor. A few days later, she called them back, thanked them for their help, and invited them to come to the funeral. Kymm nearly ruptured a blood vessel out of excitement.
The morning of Thayn’s long overdue funeral, I stared at my reflection in my bedroom mirror. The only formal dress I owned currently squeezed my armpits into a shrug. I didn’t like the lacy monstrosity three years ago; now it was ugly and too small.
“I look like a satanic doll in a horror movie,” I whispered.
“You do not,” Mom said, in her black, elegantly timeless dress. “It’s just a bit snug.”
“Snug?” I wheezed. “I’m going to pop the zipper.”
Sadie knocked and came in. She wore a designer dress with a flowing, sheer, asymmetrical over-skirt that caught the air and flared around her tan legs
I groaned, flopped on my bed next to Lumi, and popped the zipper on my dress.
“Oh, great,” Mom said.
“Nothing to wear, Ags?” asked Sadie.
The comforter muffled my groans. “I still have Nemantia’s coral gown, but it makes me look like an over-stuffed flamingo.”
“Just go in your skin,” Lumi yowled, bored of the fashion tedium.
The destroyed zipper flapped open as I sat up. “That might be my best option. What am I going to do?”
“Finally,” Sadie breathed to herself. “The right moment. Here.” She opened her purse and handed me a piece of paper with numbers written on it. “Transport to these coordinates and make sure to bring your crest.”
“Why?” I asked, studying the black printed numbers.
“It’s a surprise I’ve been working on in London.” She turned to Mom with a hopeful grin. “If it’s okay with you, Mama Lillian.”
“I guess,” Mom sighed, caving to Sadie’s perfect smile. “I’m coming too, and we double-check those numbers first.”
A few spells later we landed in a luxurious modern room full of impeccably dressed mannequins.
“What is this?” I asked, acutely aware that all the mannequins were exactly my size.
“Ta da!” sang Sadie, her curls bouncing with enthusiasm. “Every Apex needs a magical closet, and now you have one here on Second Earth, too. My mom designed all of these for you. Aren’t they fabulous?”
“Ooo,” Mom pointed to a blue pantsuit, “I get to borrow that one, Agnes.”
“I can’t afford clothes like these,” I protested. “They probably cost as much as a car.”
Sadie didn’t disagree.
“They’re part of the contract,” she said. “My dad made it all legal. Come look.”
She held up a huge folder of papers tidily bound together. I didn’t even understand the first sentence of the legal jargon, but five platinum debit cards were paper clipped to the front page.
“Your dad made what legal?” Mom took the contract, furiously reading the front page.
“I sold the vat of cream you magicked to my mom’s company,” Sadie said, “for like, a zillion euros. I diluted it by one to one hundred parts, so no chemists try to reverse engineer it and get suspicious. It still works like magic, just slowly. That’s what I was doing in Illinois. Making a deal with a soy farmer. It’s a main ingredient in our patented formula.”
“Sadie,” I breathed, “you did all of this on your own?”
“I’m an entrepreneur,” she declared. “Making things happen is how I roll. All you have to do is magic more cream when we run out.”
I ran to her and squeezed her with a grateful hug. Sadie giggled, and dragged me over to a shimmering charcoal gray dress. It had long sleeves and a fitted bodice down to the hips, the skirt rippled in waves to the floor. Beneath the ripples I found a handy slit to access my Aether pouch. Perfect. I slipped it on, and even I had to admit. I rocked it.
“Thanks, Sades.” I blushed in front of the mirror, loving my reflection.
The funeral was beautiful. To see Thayn’s body finally laid to rest next to his precious wife and ancestors offered fulfilling closure to all present—which had to be half the planet.
Late into the night, after all the guests settled into their quarters, Jenz knocked on the door of my gorgeous red bedroom to escort me, Mom, and Lumi to Odric’s super-secret war room. Security spells coated the walls, and paladins scanned us with magical medallions. Already sitting at a conference table were the Odonata family, Phar Sekmet, Grimmal, Grandmaster Shume, and a few generals. A communication spell framing Vice Regent Kyprios glittered next to King Odric at the head of the table.
“Welcome, Agnes,” King Odric said, standing politely.
Serene hugged me gently. “Well done, dear. You lived up to your title with aplomb.”
“Thanks,” I said, returning the hug. “I had help.”
“No one is alone, Agnes,” Claude said. “The key to success is using your resources efficiently.”
Hmm. Pyranathos said something just like that. I checked Claude’s shadow. It was normal. I guessed using resources efficiently held true no matter what side you fought on.
“How is Menneth, Vice Regent?” I asked the glittering window as I sat down.
Eating plenty of natsa fruit and recovering slowly. Kyprios flattened his facial spikes and pointed his muzzle at Temnon. The spell left by the prince is gradual, but meticulous. The regent’s spine will heal completely. Dominath, though gravely injured himself, is skillfully directing our alchemists in the treatments of all injured noblesse.
“I’m sorry for those you lost.”
Kyprios blinked his dark eyes and his spikes lowered. We will remember them and look forward to refreshing our population with new hatchlings. Many females are grateful for the chance to raise young ones. Death on Third Earth is only bitter until the births of new souls.
“I’m glad to hear it.”
“And Dominath?” A guilty twinge lurked under Temnon’s confidence. “Will he fully recover?”
Kyprios attempted a smile that resembled Grimmal’s fierce snarl, but his telepathy brimmed with warmth and gratitude.
Dominath and the remaining noblesse hold you responsible for only our liberation. The Dragon of Lies caused his brother’s injuries, young prince, not you. We are tracing the remaining radical traitors with marks of the curved sword. Not all his followers were among the noblesse.
He blew a puff of smoke in my direction and shook his head, his spikes slicing the smoke into eddies.
We are eternally grateful for the service you rendered our beloved leader and our Magnus Dux. We did find something of interest to you in Ambassador Thayn’s quarters. An enchanted book. Dominath recognized it as a gift prepared for the king of Earth 22.
Jenz brought a heavy box and heaved it to the table. He slid open a bulky lock and pried the lid open. I reached inside, my elbow stretching over the box’s edge, to find King Po Lan’s book.
