Arcane Dropout 5

by Edmund Hughes

  “Surrender, Eldon.” Harper had a fireball in hand. “If you don’t, I won’t hold back.”

  He barked out a laugh. “You already are doing. I would have thought after all your hard words, that you’d fight with a bit more—”

  She didn’t let him finish. The fireball hissed as it cut through the air. Lee dodged to the side but there was a second one, aimed right at where she’d anticipated him fleeing toward. He managed to fling himself down to the ground, but he was facing Harper, and of course, there was a third.

  Lee flung his hands up, using dispel on reflex, unsure whether it could do the job. He felt his stomach flutter as the presence of the spell’s arcane essence entered his ability’s sphere of influence. He held his focus, sweat beading on his forehead from his intense concentration.

  The flaming projectile slowed, then disintegrated, though not completely. A splash of embers hissed against Lee’s hair and he fumbled to pat out the tiny sparks before they could singe him a new style. Harper was staring at him, still controlling her reaction but less convincingly than before.

  “You’re fighting me like you’d fight against a fellow spellcaster,” called Lee. “Maybe my act was more convincing than I realized.”

  Harper crossed her arms over her chest as an aura of green energy pulsed over her body. She rushed forward with superhuman speed, slamming a punch into Lee’s chest that made his ribcage groan with pain. He tried to retaliate with a strike of his own, but she’d already moved out of the way.

  Whatever sense of cockiness he’d been harboring a few seconds earlier quickly evaporated. He was, in many ways, a match for her now, an apprentice risen to stand at his master’s level. But as such, she was still a match for him. She was still Harper Black, and she wasn’t stupid enough to play to her opponent’s strengths once she’d figured them out.

  Lee felt a punch slam into his jaw that knocked him to the brink of unconsciousness. He gripped his hand as he stood up, dazed and unsure of where Harper was. He had an idea, though it was as spontaneous as it was desperate.

  “Brie!” He shot his hand up and focused his essence, channeling directly above his head. Brie, the slime girl, let out a small, surprised cry as she tumbled down through the indigo portal.

  It had been a while since he’d last seen her but she looked no different. Every part of her body from her hair to her eyes, to her breasts, was translucent blue and composed of a sticky, formless goo. Lee felt her jiggle as she fell across his head and shoulders, and she let out a small gasp as she hit the ground, her body flattening into a puddle.

  “Grab her feet!” shouted Lee. “She’s—”

  Harper punched him in the stomach, still sore from when Eliza had done the exact same thing a little over an hour earlier. She made to dodge again before he could fixate on her and counter-attack, but Brie was quick about following his command.

  She wrapped herself around Harper’s ankles, holding her in place like flypaper catching a bug. Harper tipped forward, her momentum searching for somewhere to go, and landed on her stomach and hands. The channeling ended almost immediately with a puff of ambient arcane essence and a flash of indigo light, but Brie had done her job.

  Lee leaped onto Harper, seizing the chance he’d been given. He tried to pin her, suddenly realizing he didn’t have a good way to end the fight. She slammed her forehead into his in a vicious headbutt. He snarled, falling backward. Harper twisted and flipped him down on his back.

  The movement did more than just knock the wind out of Lee. It also knocked his gun loose from its holster. He fumbled for it. Harper was faster, seizing the grip of the Walther P99 and pressing the barrel to the side of his head.

  For some reason, it hurt more than anything else Harper had done or said to him over the past few minutes. It reminded him of their first real conflict, her finding his kris dagger in his bag and confiscating it from him in his dorm. The barrel felt hot where it made contact with his head, but not nearly as hot as his eyes.

  “Is that it then? Is that what all the time we spent together amounts to?”

  His voice cracked. He didn’t care. Harper was glaring at him, her eyes bright with the beginnings of her own tears.

  “Or will you just do to me what you did to Zoe?” he snapped. “That’s almost worse, don’t you think? That kind of hatred… It’s toxic!”

  “Fuck you, Eldon.”

  “My name… is Lee,” he said. “Lee Amaranth. You never really knew me, Harper. You never even really wanted to.”

  “You bastard!” Harper struck him with the gun, the tip of the barrel smashing a gash into his forehead. “You fucking bastard!”

  “Easy, Harper!”

  A new voice cut through the violence and the arguing. A confident, authoritative, but for once, gentle voice. Lee heard Gen’s footsteps slowly approach. He turned his head to face her as he regained his equilibrium. She had both hands out, fingers spread wide like a person trying to approach a pair of panicked and violent animals.

  “Genevieve,” said Harper. “You don’t understand. He stole Savoire Solaire.”

  “I know. I watched him take it. Stand up, please. You can put the gun down, as well. We won’t be needing it.”

  Harper was breathing heavily. She was straddling Lee and made no move to comply with Gen’s command.

  “Harper, it’s been a long day,” said Gen. “A long week. Let’s try and stay clear-headed and not do anything we’ll regret.”

  Harper’s eyes held Lee’s, and they seemed to grow harder with every second. She reached out with stiff fingers and tore the front of his shirt open. The spellchain, her gift to him, lay across his chest underneath.

  “I gave this to my apprentice.” Harper took hold of the necklace and yanked it hard, snapping one of the links in back as it came loose. “I don’t see him here anymore.”

  She finally stood up, looking at Lee’s gun in her hand as though she hadn’t realized she’d been holding it. She offered it to Gen, who accepted with a smile and a nod.

  “Eldon is a traitor,” said Harper. “He isn’t loyal, not to me, not to the Order, not to anyone, as far as I can tell.”

  “That doesn’t matter,” said Gen.

  Harper blinked. “What’s that supposed to mean? He betrayed me! This entire time, he’s been lying, and you have the gall to say—”

  Gen slapped her. Not hard, but with the quick confidence of someone who is experienced in the art of physical discipline. Harper turned to face her, holding one hand to the reddening splotch on her cheek. Lee slowly began pulling himself to his feet, curiosity warring with dread as the predominant emotions in his chest.

  “He might be a liar, and he might be a traitor,” said Gen. “But as far as I’m concerned, he’s exactly what we need right now.”

  “What are you saying?” shouted Harper.

  “Do you forget that we’re on the brink of war? We’ve just suffered a major blow here tonight, and it wasn’t even dealt by the Independent Coalition. We’re already on the back foot, and the true battles are still yet to come.”

  Gen shook her head, her expression distant and pensive. Lee glanced over at Tess who was moving into position behind Harper and Gen. He frowned at her, trying to warn her off from doing anything rash. Neither of the two women would be susceptible to possession, not while they were awake and on guard.

  “Lee,” said Gen. “I need your help.”

  Harper bristled next to her old master, her face contorting with a fury Lee hadn’t seen since his first days at the school, perhaps not even then.

  “I’m listening,” he said. He didn’t see any other choice but to listen.

  “I assume the House of Shadows is very interested in Savoire Solaire. I’ve no doubt it’s due to the lasting effects of the wounds it inflicts, especially upon vampires and the undead. They asked you to steal it for them, did they not?”

  He slowly nodded.

  “You could have brought this request to me first, but I understand why you didn’t,�
�� said Gen. “Had the situation been even slightly less dire, I doubt I would have entertained it for even a second. But it is what it is, and I see no real choice here. You will bring Savoire Solaire to them.”

  “He can’t be trusted!” hissed Harper.

  Gen held up a hand, this time silencing her without a slap. “You might be right. But the sword will change little given the scale of the coming conflict. Having a spy next to the Dealmaker, someone who saves his life, someone he grows to trust, oh, that could certainly change the game.”

  She was already taking her sword belt off. Harper was shaking her head. Lee licked his lips, considering the prospect.

  “I haven’t agreed to this,” he said.

  “The alternative is for me to kill you,” said Gen. “You could either deliver the sword to them or…”

  She didn’t bother to finish her sentence but he could guess what she’d been about to say.

  “There are two parts to the enchantment,” said Gen. “It’s simple to use, really. To use the holy fire in combat, focus your will into the blade in the same way you would focus on a spell. To release the curse and allow wounds it has previously inflicted to heal, hold the sword in one hand and touch the wounds with the other. You’ll feel where the will has been bound and then it’s just a simple matter of releasing the effect.”

  She pulled the saber out of the cloth bundle and sheathed it. Lee stared at the weapon and the belt as she held them both out to him.

  “You want me to be a spy for the Order,” he said. “What makes you think I won’t be a spy for the House of Shadows, instead?”

  “I know what you are. In essence, you’ve been a double agent this entire time. The truth is, double agents provide more value to both sides of an engagement. It’s not a zero-sum game. I wouldn’t describe it as the most noble or respected role, but the simple truth is that you’ll be able to save lives merely by sharing information.”

  He took the sword belt from her and strapped it on. Savoire Solaire felt strange around his waist, heavy and warm to the touch.

  “Fine,” he said. “I’ll do it.”

  “Thank you.” Gen grinned at him. “Here, take this with you. With any luck, Harper and I will be departing through the Arcane Way. You’ll be in the most need of it, given you’ll be traveling for a bit.”

  She took off her winter coat and tossed it to him. It was too small, but he still pulled it on, shivering as its insulation highlighted the parts of his body still affected by the cold.

  “Well, we’re done here,” said Gen. “Harper, we need to be gone. The Unavowed Queen is still distracted in the wake of the battle but if we dally, she’ll notice our presence before we can reach Primhaven’s Way Gate.”

  Harper had turned around at some point during the conversation, refusing to even look at Lee. He stared at her back, trying to imagine the expression on her face, watching her golden braid sway in the wind, snowflakes sticking to strands of blonde hair like decorative crystals.

  It was too much. He turned around, wiped a hand across his face, and climbed onto the snowmobile.

  CHAPTER 44

  The snowmobile’s tiny headlight only lent a thin arc of illumination to travel by, but it was enough for Lee. He rode fast with Tess behind him in his mystic stream, arms firmly wrapped around his waist. He focused all of his attention on navigating through the snow, clinging to the task like a shield against his own thoughts.

  They reached the cabin a few hours before midnight. Lee killed the snowmobile’s engine and closed his eyes, sagging forward against the handlebars.

  “I’m sorry,” whispered Tess.

  “It’s not your fault. It’s my fault. Everything… Harper, Eliza. I fucked it all up.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “I just said it’s not your—”

  “You can’t blame yourself,” said Tess. “I won’t let you! If you have to blame someone, blame me. I made the choice to help you get into Primhaven, and I made the choice to tell Eliza the truth and not Harper. It wasn’t just you, Lee.”

  He shook his head, unable or maybe just unwilling to accept her logic.

  “Hey.” She climbed off and came around to the front, leaning over and putting her face in his. “It’s going to be okay. We’ll find a way to make everything right.”

  “I know,” he said. “I know.”

  He had to believe it. He wasn’t done yet, that was for damn sure. He still had to save Eliza. He still had to find a way to defuse the oncoming conflict between the Order of Chaldea and the Independent Coalition. Once he’d managed that, he could reach out to Harper, maybe explain his side of things with a bit more tact and precision.

  Might as well end world hunger while he was at it.

  “I don’t like the face on you.” Tess poked her fingers into his cheeks and lifted upward. “There! You look so much more handsome when you’re smiling.”

  “You dork.” He grabbed her hands and tried to maintain his misery as she grinned at him. “I need to call my sister.”

  Zoe picked up on the third ring. “…Hello?”

  “Hey. I have it.”

  “You have what?”

  “What do you think? I’m at the cabin. How soon can you send Ryoko to get me?”

  Half an hour later, the water of the well began to spin in a counter-clockwise swirl. Lee had already broken the ice, and he watched with no small amount of fascination as Ryoko’s face appeared within the water, black hair dancing like octopus ink around her shoulders.

  She didn’t even rise all the way out, merely gesturing to him with her hand before sinking back into the portal’s depths. Lee helped Tess up onto the well’s lip and met her eye.

  “Ready?” he asked.

  “Ready.”

  He hugged her to him and stepped into the whirlpool. The water was bitterly cold, and he felt a reflexive shudder run through his body, forcing the air out of his lungs. He was on the other side within seconds, but the ocean wasn’t all that much warmer, truth be told.

  He coughed up a mouthful of water he hadn’t realized he’d swallowed as he collapsed forward onto his knees. It was later in the night on Lestaron Island, within a stone’s throw of morning. Ryoko offered him a hand, which he accepted before offering his other hand to Tess, standing to his feet as he pulled her up.

  Ryoko wasn’t alone. She moved to stand on the edge of the beach next to Zoe and Mira. Ryoko wore her swimsuit while Zoe and Mira were in their nightclothes, which made the otherwise tense confrontation feel almost casual.

  “Eldon,” said Zoe. “Are you okay? What happened to your forehead?”

  He closed his eyes and had to all but force the syllables out. “Harper.”

  Zoe’s hand went to her mouth. She rushed forward and pulled him into a hug. “I’m so sorry.”

  She was probably the only person in the world who truly understood what he was going through, yet Lee felt himself tense within her embrace. He pushed her back, unable to be honest with himself or his emotions.

  “I’m fine,” he said. “I have the sword.”

  “Good,” said Mira. “If you’d be kind enough to hand it over…”

  “It’s staying with me. I’ll take a look at Jack’s injuries and see what I can do about them.”

  Zoe, Mira, and Ryoko exchanged a look.

  “He’s my brother,” said Zoe. “We can trust him this time, I’m sure of it.”

  “You’re sure, but I’m not.” Mira folded her arms. “What’s to stop him from stabbing Jack through the chest the second he’s within range? This could be a veiled assassination attempt for all we know.”

  She reached out a hand, extending several tendrils of shadow energy toward Lee. He snorted at the boldness of her attempt and retaliated with dispel. The tendrils lost their form as they came within a few feet of him, dissolving into wisps of shadowy smoke.

  “Take it or leave it,” he said. “I should mention I also learned how to destroy the sword in case someone attempts to remove it from
my possession.”

  Another lie, as natural as taking a breath. He was disgusted by how easy it was, disgusted by the way his very being had become suffused by dishonesty and subterfuge. Lee Amaranth, mystic, mage, and above all, a complete fake.

  He felt Tess take his hand, her fingers threading through his.

  “It’s okay,” she whispered.

  Coming from her, he could almost believe it. He exhaled, watching the three women discuss what to do in hushed tones.

  “Fine,” said Mira. “But hear me when I say this, Lee Amaranth. If you aren’t being upfront with us about your intentions, we’ll make you pay.”

  “The only thing I want is to help my friends,” he said. “I’m acting in their interests, not yours.”

  “It sounds like we should try to become your friends, then,” said Ryoko. She gave him an earnest, optimistic smile, and he couldn’t help but smile back.

  ***

  The mansion was much as he remembered it. Ryoko insisted on getting him a change of clean clothes before he headed upstairs with the sword to do what he could for Jack. He paused outside the door of the master bedroom, aware of Mira’s watchful eyes on him, though he wasn’t entirely sure which end of the shadowy hallway she was currently lurking within.

  The room was just as dim. He fumbled for the light switch without success, eventually stepping forward into the dark space lit only by a slice of pale moonlight cutting diagonally across the floor from the window.

  “Well, here it is.” He turned to face the bed, watching for any sign of movement. “Savoire Solaire.”

  There was no reply. He took a step toward the bed, unsure of how to get started. He reached a hand forward and felt carefully folded sheets and an empty mattress.

  The light turned on. Jack was sitting in a chair near the window, dressed in a t-shirt and sweatpants. He looked pale but no more gaunt than usual. He was smiling and very much awake, as healthy and energetic as the day Lee had first met him face to face.