And I found one. On the far side of the clearing, there was a rune. I raced over to it and found it lying on the ground. It was attached to a stone. I lifted the stone, frowning. The rune was fresh, and the nature of it was unusual. As I focused on it, pushing power through it, I wasn’t sure if I was meant to use that power or not, but I could feel something about it. That power was there, flowing outward from that stone. And it was connected to something else. The more I focused on it, the more certain I was that it was not an isolated power. There were others. How could I find them without triggering it?
There came a howl from deep in the woods.
Barden glanced over at me. “I will be back, Dr. Stone.”
“Be safe.”
He flashed a smile, and then went racing off, disappearing quickly into the woods.
I searched around the clearing until I found another stone, like the first one. There would be more. There had to be. The more I focused on them, the more certain I was that there were other runes like them. I didn’t recognize the markings, though I wondered if the chauffeur would.
I brought the stones over to him and held them out. “Do you recognize anything with these?”
He took the nearest of the stones, and he traced his finger along the rune. “It’s familiar, though it’s not anything I would expect.”
“Why is it familiar?”
“It carries with it the nature of a sedative spell, though it’s not entirely like that.”
“A sleeper.”
I patted my pouch. I had experience with sleeper spells, though this didn’t remind me of them. Then again, as I looked around the clearing at the fallen shifters, I couldn’t help but think they might have been targeted by such a spell. With enough power pushed through it, a sleeper might become something more and change over from being a sedative to a deadly spell.
If it was a sleeper, then I could use it, couldn’t I? If I found the other runes, then I could trigger them and disrupt what had been done here. It was possible not all of the shifters had died.
I searched through the clearing, moving past the various fallen shifters, turning bodies over, searching underneath them as I searched for anything similar.
It was taking too long. There was another way I could be trying to do this. They would be towards the outskirts. They wouldn’t be here in the center of the clearing. If it was a sleeper spell, it would need to circle everything.
I trailed around the entirety of the clearing, looking for any other stone. I pushed out power, drawing from Jean-Pierre. The chauffeur watched me, saying nothing. Every so often, I thought I felt something. I drew another trigger spell out my pocket, and I focused, sending power rolling through me. It washed into the trigger spell and away from us. There came another surge of power, and it struck the next stone. Then I hurried over to it, seizing it, adding it to my collection.
Doing this, I moved around the clearing, using trigger spell after trigger spell, and I came across seven different stones. By the time I was done, I set them off to the side.
Seven stones, and they all had power flowing through them. Moving them didn’t seem to have any effect, though I hadn’t expected it to do so. I needed to find another way to disrupt the power going through the stone, but I wasn’t sure what that was going to take.
What if I used a different spell to push into the stone? It wasn’t that I had to somehow counter the nature of the sedative. I could disrupt it. Holding onto a coin, I pressed one of them up against the nearest of the stones. It was an explosive spell, one meant to be just destructive. I focused on it, sending power through it. The stone beneath cracked, bursting with a surge of power. Then, I moved through the stones, going one by one, pulling on them, letting power go through me, and striking each of the stones. As it did, they were destroyed.
By the time I finished with the last one, I was feeling my own strength begin to wane. I looked over to Jean-Pierre. He watched me, weariness washing over his face. “I’m sorry,” I said.
“Do what you need to do,” Jean-Pierre said.
“I don’t even know if this is going to do anything or not,” I said.
“And if it does, what do you expect it to accomplish?”
“I don’t know how many of these shifters are actually gone.”
I might not be able to help them by removing the spell used on them. All of them were in human form, all of them naked. But if they could shift, then maybe they could restore themselves. Except I didn’t know any way of triggering a shifting. Barden hadn’t taken the time to help me with that spell. Even if he had, I didn’t know if it would make a difference here. I didn’t know if there would be any way for me to use anything he’d taught in order to trigger the shifters to change shapes.
There came another howl from out in the woods. Was that Ariel or was there another shifter out there? Barden still hadn’t returned, but I wasn’t as worried about him. If Barden were out there, fighting on behalf of Ariel, I knew he had enough strength and power to withstand any attack. And because of that, I had to believe he would be able to handle anything which came his way.
There had to be something for me to do to help these shifters. I made my way through the clearing, going from one after another, looking at them.
As I was wandering to the clearing, a sense of power built. Could it be Barden? I focused, searching for signs of him, but there wasn’t anything. Then I saw a shadowed form moving at the edge of the clearing.
I reached for barrier coins, and raced toward Jean-Pierre and the chauffeur, throwing the coins down, surging power through them. I didn’t know what was out there, but I wanted to be safe, and pushed enough power through them to create a barrier around us.
The figure at the edge of the clearing stayed just at the edge of my sight.
“What is it, Dr. Stone?” Jean-Pierre said.
“I don’t know. There’s someone over there, and I don’t recognize who it is, but there is power out there.”
“Are you sure?”
I could feel it, and the more I focused, the more certain I was what I detected. We needed to be careful. I held onto the power within me, clutching it to myself, ready for whatever else might be here, but there wasn’t anything that came.
When the power in my barriers failed, I dropped another coin, sending power through it. I was glad I’d taken as many barrier coins as I had from Barden. I looked over to Jean-Pierre, worried I was drawing too much strength from him, and found he was sagging.
I held my arm up. “Do what you need to do,” I said.
“Dr. Stone?”
Even his voice was weak, and I breathed out. “Do what you need to do.”
Jean-Pierre lifted his head, tilting it back, and bit down on my wrist. There came a surge of pain, but then it faded. It was less than it had been the last time he’d fed on me, and I didn’t know if I should be troubled that it didn’t seem nearly as uncomfortable as last time, but the pain wasn’t there.
He fed for a moment, nothing more, not even taking enough blood to be dangerous. It was like a blood sample, or more accurately, more like a blood culture, a few tubes of blood and nothing more. It wasn’t enough that I would be weakened by it. When he was done, he breathed out, the fatigue along the corners of his eyes gone.
I looked at my wrist, wiping away the dried blood, and trying not to think about what it did to me. I knew it changed something, and I knew it had somehow bonded us in a different way, but I couldn’t be concerned by it. If I was, then I wouldn’t do what needed to be done.
“Thank you,” he said.
“Do you always need to feed this often?”
“It is the nature of our connection,” he said.
“Does it help you that you’re feeding on me?”
“I don’t know,” he said.
“Why don’t you know?”
“I’ve never made a mage a familiar before.”
“When was the last time you had any familiars?”
“It has been a long time
.”
I stared out toward the forest, and a sense of power flowed through me more strongly than it had before. It was as if feeding on me had recharged Jean-Pierre’s batteries, giving him enough strength to be able to withstand anything we might face. The power which was flowing from me, and borrowed from him, poured into the barriers and solidified. I was tempted to drop another coin, to push more power through it, but I didn’t know I needed to.
The darkened figure at the edge of the clearing approached. I tensed, sorting through my pouch, prepared to take a coin out and flick it at whoever was approaching. Barden had been trying to work with me, to train me so I would be prepared for the possibility I might need to fight. I had plenty of spell coins, and I understood how to trigger them, and with my own innate power, and my ability to trigger those coins, I was able to use them in a way that others were not, but I didn’t know if I could do so now.
I remained tense, holding onto the sense of power, worried there would be another attack. As the figure continued to approach, I was prepared to throw out coins. In one hand I held out a dozen different barrier coins, prepared to hold onto the protections around us, while in the other, I had as many different attacking coins as I thought I might need.
The figure continued to approach, and shadows swirled around it.
“Who are you?” I called out.
The figure staggered forward. That was unusual. Then the figure stumbled, and then sprawled out on the ground.
I leaned forward, but Jean-Pierre seized my arm, holding me back. “I’m not sure that’s the best idea,” he said.
“I don’t know who it is, but we need to find out why they are here.”
“Again, Dr. Stone, I’m not sure that’s the best idea.”
“We should find out who this is,” I said.
“Dr. Stone…”
I stepped forward, passing through the barrier, but I held the barrier up behind me, maintaining it around Jean-Pierre and the chauffeur. I reached for the fallen figure, prepared to use an explosive spell if I had to.
As I neared, my breath caught.
“John Adams?”
11
He rolled over, looking up at me. His eyes had a glaze to them, and there was a sense of power rolling through him, though it was different. Muted. It was almost as if the injury he’d sustained had weakened him. I didn’t know what he’d been attacked by, and I had no way of testing whether there was anything I could do to heal him magically, but I could feel something severe had happened.
I pressed the trigger spell onto his chest. It was the only thing I could think of. I didn’t have any way of healing like other mages did, but as he was a mage, I wondered if I might be able to jumpstart him.
I sent power through the trigger coin, and it rolled through him. Power surged. And as it exploded around him, he gasped. Magic built up, climbing faster and faster, and the more it did, the more uncertain I was I was doing the right thing. What did I really know about John Adams? I knew he had helped me on the other side of the Veil, but he had done so out of a sense of self-preservation. He had needed me like I had needed him. When we had crossed back, he had disappeared.
There was danger in helping him, but I was a physician. I had to try. More power flowed from me into John Adams, slamming into him.
And then he opened his eyes, looking outward. “Dr. Stone.”
I leaned back, holding onto a barrier coin. I was tempted to place it, but it didn’t seem as if John Adams were even going to be able to do anything to attack. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m chasing my rogue operatives,” he said.
“You’re responsible for what happened here?”
He got to his feet, still leaning forward heavily on his thighs, looking at the clearing. As he did, his brow narrowed. “This wasn’t me.”
“Are you sure?”
“Why would I have any reason to kill shifters?”
“I don’t know, why would you?”
“Dr. Stone, you have reason to believe me more than anyone else.”
Although I wanted to distrust him, I didn’t think he was responsible for what happened here. “They used a sedative spell.”
“And you think they’re all dead?”
“I don’t know if they are or not.”
“Have you tried to heal them?”
“I don’t know that I can. I think they need to be shifted back into their wolf shape in order to restore themselves.”
“That’s a good idea,” he said.
“I don’t know how to do it.”
John Adams took a deep breath, looking around. He locked eyes with Jean-Pierre and then frowned as he saw the chauffeur. “What are you doing with them?”
“They came with me,” I said.
“Why?”
“Does it matter?”
“I suppose not. I see you have protected them in a barrier.”
“I thought it would be best. I didn’t know who was here.”
“And you don’t know whether you can trust me.”
“I don’t,” I said, agreeing with him.
John made his way over to the nearest of the shifters and crouched down, leaning over an older woman. He touched his finger to her forehead and closed his eyes, whispering something softly, and power built. It was soft and subtle, but the nature of the power continued to build, rising up from within him. It washed over the woman, and she shifted. It happened slowly at first, but then the shifting increased, rolling over her. By the time it washed over her completely, she had taken on her wolf form.
“How hard was that for you to –“
Magic began to build, and I looked around. A spell came streaking toward us. I threw down a barrier coin, pushing power through it just as the spell struck. The nature of the spell was powerful, and it slammed into where John Adams had been. Thankfully, the barrier had protected him.
I looked around, searching for the source of the spell. I didn’t see it at first, but then realized Barden was striding into the clearing. “Barden. Don’t. He’s trying to help.”
“Dr. Stone, I would advise you to move out of the way.”
“He’s trying to help.”
“You may believe that about him, but I was just facing him in the woods.”
“Is that true?” I looked toward John Adams.
He was watching me, and it seemed as if a debate was warring behind his eyes. “I encountered something, but I didn’t know it was. I thought it was my rogue operatives.”
“He knew it was me,” Barden said, stopping in front of my barrier.
I didn’t know if I could lower it. If I did, I had no idea what Barden might do, or whether he would continue to attack, but I didn’t want to risk Barden doing something to John Adams. Not if John had a way of helping the shifters. “Let him help with this first,” I said.
“Help with what?”
I waved my hand around the clearing. “We need to shift them back into wolf form.”
“You heard what Ariel said. She doesn’t want to bring them back.”
“What if they aren’t gone?” I nodded toward the fractured stones I had destroyed. “I found spells around the clearing. There were seven of them, and I destroyed them, but they were heavy sedatives. If they are responsible for what happened here, it seems to me there should be a way of undoing what happened here.”
Barden stared. “They’re gone.”
“I’m not sure they are. Help shift them back,” I said.
“Ariel isn’t going to be pleased.”
“Let’s do it before she returns.”
Barden let out a frustrated groan. “If he betrays us…”
I looked over to John Adams, and he clenched his jaw. I was curious who would be the stronger of the mages. John Adams had battle experience, but Barden had years of experience running from the mage council, outwitting them, and trying to withstand their attacks. It might be more evenly matched than either of them realized.
I released the barrier,
and the two mages worked through the clearing, triggering the shifters back into their wolf form. They went quickly, moving from one to the next. As they went, the wolves took form.
They were nearly done when a voice called out through the clearing. “What is this?”
I stiffened, turning toward Ariel.
She stormed into the clearing, shifting and taking her human form. “I made it clear how I felt about this.”
“They might not be gone,” I said positioned myself in front of John Adams. I didn’t want her to attack him. I had no idea if he would be able to withstand an attack from a shifter, and I wasn’t about to try and test it to find out.
“They’re dead. You said they were dead.”
“I said they looked to be dead, but I could be wrong. Listen. If there’s anything that can be done, don’t you want to do it?”
“I only want to do what’s necessary for my people, but death is a part of life. There is a time for all of us.”
“They used a sedative spell,” I said.
“What?”
“That’s what it was. It was a sedative spell. It wasn’t meant to kill, or at least, it wasn’t meant to kill quickly. With enough sedation, anyone can die. It’s like using anesthetic. It can be used just to put somebody under, but enough anesthetic can cause somebody to stop breathing.” I cut myself off, realizing I was saying something I didn’t know if Ariel would even understand.
“They aren’t gone?”
“I don’t know. I wanted them to be back in wolf form, because if there’s anything that can be done for them, and if they are able to heal themselves, I thought we needed to do that.”
Ariel stared at them, and she said nothing. “They’re gone,” she whispered.
“I don’t know whether that’s true or not,” I said.
Someone moaned nearby, and I span around. The first shifter we had pushed back into wolf form rolled over.
Ariel’s breath caught, she went running over to her, and ran her hands across the woman’s fur.
“It worked,” I whispered.
“You weren’t sure that would?” Barden asked.
End Stage Page 11
