by Mary Swift
“You don’t need paper, you have us.” Bryn said.
Killian put a period on the last sentence. The house materialized. He found himself smiling. Home. “I’ve never really belonged anywhere before.”
“We know.” they said in unison.
Chapter 25
Nora and Gareth rowed out to the island to see its one and only prisoner, Dante. Nora was thrilled to find out that the conditions had deteriorated since she had last been there. Dante’s cell was dirty and damp. There was a rat sniffing under the wooden cot that Nora had graciously allowed her husband to sleep on.
“Hello slave.” Nora said to him as she and Gareth entered his cell.
Dante stood up. He didn’t look nearly as afraid as she thought he ought to be. “Nora, I didn’t think you would come.”
“You asked for me.” Nora said. She touched the slave band on his neck, reveling in her power. “I suppose you want to beg me to let you go?”
Dante grabbed her wrist. “Shut up Nora. I’m sick of listening to you.”
Gareth shoved Dante against the wall. “Try that again and I’ll run you through.” He put his hand on the hilt of the sword that was strapped to his hip.
Dante raised an eyebrow at Gareth and then returned his attention to Nora. “I’ve had a visitor while I’ve been in here.”
Nora pointed to the rat. “I see that. It looks just like you Dante.”
He slapped her face. “Cut the crap Nora.”
Gareth took his sword from its scabbard. “One more word Gavrashelli and you die.”
Dante stared at the tip of the sword which was now pointed at his face. “I don’t know why you are so loyal to this woman Gareth. She’s a mortal.”
“She’s the only one that’s worn the robe who has any common sense.” Gareth told him. “I certainly don’t fancy your poetry.”
Dante’s mouth dropped open. “My poems are works of art.”
Nora laughed out loud. “You keep telling yourself that Dante. Now what was so important that you had to see me right away? I’m very busy.”
“I told you, I had a visitor.” Dante said. “She gave me a gift.”
“She?” Nora asked. “If you dragged me out here just so you could tell me about some fantasy woman then I might just let Gareth kill you.”
“One of the Founders was here Nora.”
“The Founders?” Nora snorted. “Those are just folk legends.”
“No they’re not.” Gareth said solemnly. “They’re real enchanters.”
Nora wasn’t sure if she believed that but she was willing to play along. “Why would someone like that want to see you Dante? You’re a rotten slave who’s rotting in prison.”
“She wanted to help me. She put a spell on me.” Dante said.
Nora chuckled. She sometimes forgot how stupidly entertaining Dante was. Maybe she should make him her court jester. “Is this spell supposed to make you better looking? Because that’s about the only one I would ever cast on you.”
“No. It’s going to help me escape.” Dante told her. He pulled at the slave band around his neck. It shattered into a million pieces that fell to the floor in a musical tinkle. “Goodbye Nora.”
Smoke began to curl at Dante’s feet. It rose up around him until Nora couldn’t see him at all. Suddenly the smoke vanished and Dante was gone.
“No!” Nora spun around in a circle, hoping that Dante was behind her.
“He’s gone.” Gareth said quietly.
“Do you mean he was telling the truth?”
“That type of spell, a moving spell, it’s usually cast by a very powerful enchanter.”
“Like a Founder?” Nora asked.
“Yes.”
“And you’re sure they’re real?”
Gareth looked shocked at her question. “Of course they are.”
“Why would they help Dante?”
He shrugged. “That I don’t know. It appears we’ve lost him Master Enchanter.”
Nora stared at the rat. “For now.” She would find him one way or another. Dante was not going to win.
Chapter 26
The adults were arguing about what to do. Kip wanted to cast his spell and get back to Firesea as soon as possible. Logan wanted to stay in Wildbush. Lucy wanted to try and sneak into Firesea to talk to Nora. Rowan had no say in what happened, he knew that much.
“Don’t you want to avenge Mother and Casper?” Kip shouted. “They were shot in the street for nothing!”
“I’m tired of war.” Logan told him. “Getting revenge on Firesea won’t bring back your mother or your brother.”
Kip stood up and kicked his chair. “That’s bullshit! I can cast my spell without your permission.”
“I know you can.” Logan said. “But Firesea is a powerful circle. We are nothing compared to them. I know what it’s like to be young and ambitious.”
“Don’t pull that kind of shit with me Dad.”
Logan stood up. “Don’t talk to me like that.”
They were in the parlor. The protectors were sitting together on the floor. Rowan and Constantine were on the sofa. Constantine was flipping through a book and eating a sandwich that Arden had made for him.
“Kip, your father is right. Firesea is powerful.” Lucy said.
He glared at her. “I remember the war Lucy. I know Firesea is powerful, you know that too.” He pointed to Arden. “You take a Firesea man to bed every night.”
Constantine snickered from behind the book.
“Watch your mouth Kip.” Lucy warned. “You’ve got a temper just like Mother.”
“Oh that’s nice Lucy, blame our dead mother.”
Constantine threw aside the book. “I’m getting a headache listening to this.”
“Stay out of it.” Lucy told him.
Constantine yawned and motioned to the protectors. “A little wine.” Beal left the room.
“I’m casting my spell.” Kip said. “I don’t care what anyone thinks.”
Logan shook his head. “I’m not going back to Firesea. Now that I’m here I want to stay.”
“What about Finnegan?” Lucy asked. “You told him that you were coming back.”
“We don’t stand a chance and neither does he.”
Beal returned with a glass of red wine and handed it to Constantine. He took a sip and then set it aside. “I think Whip should cast his spell.”
“My name is Kip you jerk.”
Constantine looked at Arden. “Slippers.” Arden left.
“I had wanted to enchant a sword that would kill only Firesea enchanters but Killian said no.” Kip told them.
“You won’t be able to, we’re not that strong of a circle.” Logan told him.
Arden returned. He knelt down and took off Constantine’s boots, replacing them with the slippers. Rowan figured they must have belonged to Killian.
“Can’t you do anything for yourself?” Lucy asked.
Constantine ignored her. “Can you make a multiple spell Kip?”
“What are those?” Rowan asked.
“Some enchanters can cast spells that create more spells” Lucy said. “Like Daddy’s pen.”
Constantine rolled his eyes. “That infernal pen. I’ve been hearing about that thing all of my life. But your sister, what’s her name, is right. It’s a multiple spell. Weaker enchanters have to cast a spell that does one thing like look through walls or start fires.”
“But you start fires.” Rowan said.
“I know.” Constantine replied. “I’m one of the weak ones.”
“I’m casting my spell today.” Kip said.
“What about me?” Rowan asked. “I could cast my spell too.”
“No, it’s out of the question.” Lucy said.
“Why? I’m an enchanter.”
“The traditional age is eighteen.” Logan told him. “And you should have your parents here.”
“Why shouldn’t he cast his spell?” Kip asked. “Lucy didn’t wait until she was eighteen and her p
arents weren’t with her. We are going to need all of the help we can get.”
“My father wouldn’t want this.” Lucy said.
“Your father isn’t here!”
They began the argument all over again. From across the room Arden smiled at Rowan. Above the voices Rowan thought he heard a knock on the front door, no one else seemed to notice. “I think someone is at the front door.” he told Constantine.
“Then go find out who it is. What do you want me to do about it?”
Rowan slipped out of the parlor and went into the front hall. Someone was banging on the door. He hesitated. It was probably better to get Arden and the protectors. “Just open it.” he heard someone say on the other side.
The lock made a clicking sound. The door opened and his father walked in followed by three strangers. Rowan let out a cry. Killian bent over and Rowan wrapped his arms around his neck. “Oh Dad, I’m so happy to see you.” He buried his face in his father’s neck.
“It’s all right son. I’m here. Are you all right?”
“Yes, but Lucy said there’s something wrong with Mom.”
“I know about that son.”
Rowan heard the cry of a bird he couldn’t identify. He looked out of the open doorway and past the strangers that lingered behind his father. They weren’t in Wildbush anymore.
Chapter 27
Nora leaned back on her throne and smiled. She had recovered from the shock of Dante’s escape and was back to having fun as the ultimate ruler. Gareth had combed Firesea for three young men capable of protecting her. They were dressed in the traditional uniform and lined up against the wall. The final member of the quartet was going to be Finnegan Murphy, the heir to the robe.
A door opened and Gareth came in leading Finnegan by a leash that was attached to his collar. He was in the same uniform as the others, except that on his thin pasty frame it looked appalling. Nora noticed with some disgust that the hair on his chest was gray. She stood up. “Oh this won’t do.” She wrinkled her nose. “How old are you?”
“Fifty six.”
“You haven’t kept yourself in very good condition, have you?”
He looked down at himself. “I haven’t been myself for the last thirteen years.” He wasn’t fat but a flabby fold of skin hung over the top of his shorts anyway.
“I’ll say.” She looked at Gareth. “We’ll have to find something else.”
“It is getting colder Master, there may even be snow up north. Perhaps we should consider something in wool.”
“The more fabric the better. Do it right now.”
“What about them?” Gareth pointed to the other protectors.
“Take them too.” Nora said. She didn’t need any distractions from her plan.
The men left the council hall. She strolled about listening to her gold shoes tap on the stone floor. On the wall was a map of the sixteen circles. The ones that Dante and his son had destroyed had a black smudge across them. Just because they were destroyed didn’t mean there weren’t survivors who could rebuild. She hoped there were survivors, the more the enchanters there were the more she had to rule.
It was a long way to Darkhill. It would take several weeks to get there. She supposed she could give everyone wings and let them fly but there was always a chance that someone might try to rebel. She would tolerate no dissension.
A few more minutes passed. Gareth returned with the men. They were dressed in blue wool trousers and white sweaters. They were each wearing white fur boots. Finnegan was tugging at the collar of his sweater.
“That’s much better.” Nora said. She looked at Finnegan. “What’s the matter with you?”
“These clothes are awfully hot.”
“At least your dismal body is covered up.” She turned to Gareth. “Leave us alone.”
“Yes Master.” He and the other protectors left.
She grabbed Finnegan’s leash and led him to the map. She pointed to Darkhill. “Tell me about that place.”
Finnegan coughed. “What place?”
She tugged on his leash. “Don’t get smart with me. You know what I’m talking about. Darkhill.”
“I don’t have much of an enchanter’s education.”
“I know you’re stupid. Just tell me about the circle.” she said. He reached out to touch the robe. She caught his arm. “You’d just love to get your hands on this, wouldn’t you?”
“It belongs to me.”
He was the heir, but not the rightful one, that would be her.
“Nora, do you remember anything of your life before this?” he asked.
She pushed him to the floor. “This is my life! I’ve always been here.”
“Don’t you remember Killian and Rowan?”
That last name reminded her of something, or maybe she had just heard it before. She put her foot on his stomach. “You are my slave, don’t you forget that.”
“Don’t you remember Killian’s red hair?”
Red hair. There was something familiar about that. An image of a head of copper hair flashed in her mind. She pushed it away. “We’re going to Darkhill.”
“Why?” Finnegan gasped as she pressed her foot down on his middle. “What’s there?”
“The Founders of course.” She took her foot away and he curled onto his side and coughed. “They have to be dealt with.”
“What are you going to do?”
She grabbed his leash and pulled him to his feet. “What do you care? Do you have some kind of interest in Darkhill?”
He shook his head. “No, of course not. I just wondered, you’re so, so powerful.”
Nora smiled. Of course she was. “I’m going to Darkhill to let the Founders meet their new leader. If they don’t like it I’ll destroy them.”
“That might be difficult.”
“What do you know about it?” She poked her finger into his chest.
“I don’t.” He was shaking. It pleased her. “I just think it would be hard to do, they’ve apparently been around for a long time.”
Nora laughed. “They’re just a bunch of relics. They’re no match for me.” Finnegan’s fingers tried once again to catch the robe. She could feel it wanting to connect with him. She caught his hand. “You try that again and mark my word you will be sorry. I can make your life a living nightmare. If you want the robe you’ll have to kill me first.”
Chapter 28
Lucy stopped arguing with Logan and Kip. She heard voices in the hallway. She ran out of the parlor and found her father and three other enchanters in matching robes. Rowan was holding Killian’s hand.
“Daddy!” she cried as she ran towards him. She hugged him tightly. The worries of the last week melted away. He would know what to do. “I guess you weren’t in Darkhill after all, you could never have gotten here so fast.”
The three strangers leaned in close to Killian. She noticed that one of them had red hair. That was unusual. She also began to notice that the view out of the front door didn’t look like Wildbush. “Lucy, this is Darkhill. I moved the house.”
She ran to the door and looked out. Half-burned timber buildings lay smoldering in a circle. The air was pungent and stung her throat. In the center of the circle were hundreds of men and women. Their eyes were open but they were motionless. Several of them looked like her father. “This is Darkhill?”
“Yes.” Killian said. “Things have changed.”
“Who are you talking to Lucy?” Logan came into the hallway followed by Kip. “My word, Killian!” He looked at the three strangers and bowed.
Kip stared out of the door and shook his head. “How am I supposed to cast my spell now?”
“Were you going to cast your spell?” Killian asked.
Lucy took her father’s hand. “We’ve been arguing about it for days. Finnegan is in Firesea.”
“I know.”
“How do you know?”
One of the men stepped forward and put a hand on Killian’s shoulder. “He’s one of us now.”
; “One of what?” She looked at Killian but he didn’t say anything. She noticed he was wearing a ring that she had never seen before.
Constantine strolled out of the parlor followed by his protectors. They bowed at the enchanters next to her father, then Constantine turned to Killian. “So, you are the infamous Killian Cramer.” He looked him up and down and shrugged. “I don’t see anything special about you except that rather shocking hair color.”
“Who are you?” Killian asked. The other three stayed near him, as though they couldn’t leave his side. Lucy noticed they were all wearing the same ring as her father.
“Who am I?” Constantine snorted. “I’m stuck here with your annoying family. All they do is argue, it gives me a headache. But the food is good.”
“He’s Dante’s son.” Lucy explained. “Constantine Gavrashelli.”
“I should have known that.” Killian said vaguely.
“Yes, you should have.” said the dark haired man next to him.
“Who are these people?” Lucy asked. “And who are the people out there? What is going on here? There’s something different about you Daddy.”
“I don’t want to talk about it in front of everyone.” He put his arm around Rowan and kissed the top of his head. “Do you mind if I talk with your sister alone?”
Rowan sighed. “I guess not.”
The other redhead put his hands on Rowan’s shoulders. “We’ll watch over him.”
Killian took Lucy’s hand, he led her into the kitchen. As soon as the door shut she began firing off questions. “What is going on? Who are those people? And what about the ones outside? Some of them look like you. Are we leaving soon? What about Finnegan?”
Killian sat at the table. “I think you should sit down Lucy.”
She slid into a chair.
“Those three are the Founders.” he told her.
“The Founders?”
“Yes.”
“I guess I should have known that.” she said. “I’ve forgotten so much of my education.”
