by E A Foley
“I’m pretty sure he’s second on the list of whom to capture. It wouldn’t do anyone any good if both people who know how to get to Gemina Terra wind up out of commission. Not to mention he’s the first person Brett and Jaden will assume can get to Gemina Terra after me.”
“Ah. I see your point. But, why me?”
“Your strength. Natural talent. Length of time as a magic user. Ability to pick up on new things. And that little trick of yours and Vi’s talking to each other through your own special way. Jaden and Brett don’t know about that skill. If they did, you and Vi would shoot to the top of the to be captured list.”
“Why not Vi? Or Roz? Or Thorin?”
“I don’t think Vi has the necessary skill. I seriously considered Roz, but she’s too pissed off at Jaden and Zarina right now to have a clear head. As far as Thorin goes . . . Well, one-on-one sessions with him never end well for either of us. With how short my temper is these days, I’m sure I’d do something stupid.”
“Good point,” Cirrus agreed. “Okay, I’m in. When do we start?”
“Right now if you can. I’d like to keep this between us. Not even Violet or Nimbus can know. If something happens to anyone else, I don’t want Jaden or Brett—and especially not Mr. Moreno—to find out I taught you how to get to Gemina Terra. I’m sure they’d forget about capturing me and come after you immediately. It’s a huge responsibility. You can say no.”
“I already decided I’m in, so let’s get started.”
“Thanks, Cirrus. I know I’m asking a lot and I really appreciate your being up for the challenge.”
“Of course!”
“Is your place empty? Roz and Rowen are at mine.”
“Yes. It’s empty. I have to pick Vi up from the library in about an hour, and Thorin is at Kyxy’s, so we’ve got some time to get started. You want me to come get you?”
“No. I’ll ask Roz to form a doorway to Rowen’s room. That should be enough to keep Jaden away for a bit.”
“And Brett?” he asked casually.
“Not stalking me at the moment. I think the constant contact with me has started to wear him down. Usually once I’m home for the day, he only checks on me every hour or so until I go to bed. He’s been pretty consistent the last few weeks.”
“Okay. Sounds like a plan. See you in a sec,” Cirrus said with a jovial wave.
“See you in a sec,” Iris agreed.
“Hey Roz,” Iris called as she headed into the living room.
“Yeah?”
“Can you form a doorway to Rowen’s room to keep Jaden from realizing I’ve left the apartment? I’m going to go hang with Cirrus.”
“And Roz forming a doorway to my room is totally normal and should throw the jerk off. I like your thinking, Iris Faye,” Rowen grinned at her.
Iris smiled back.
“Here ya go,” Roz said as her dragon etched door appeared a few feet in front of her. “When will you be home?”
“If I don’t go with Cirrus to pick up Vi, about an hour. If I do go . . .” Iris shrugged.
“Cool. Well, call or knock if you need anything.”
“Will do. Thanks!” Iris waved and stepped through Rozlynd’s door into Rowen’s room. “Hey!” She called as she opened Rowen’s bedroom door.
“Hey! I’m in the kitchen,” Cirrus called back. “Want a snack?” he asked as she joined him.
“Sure! What are my options?”
“Popcorn or potato chips.”
“Potato chips.”
“Here you go.” He pulled a large bag from a cupboard and opened it.
“Thanks! You ready!”
“Yup. Let’s get to it,” Cirrus said as he grabbed a handful of chips.
Iris snagged the bag and followed him to the living room. “Okay, so the concept for forming the archways and bridge to Gemina Terra is similar to forming a doorway. You have to think about the golden archway—but not in as much detail as your doorway—as well as the iridescent bridge through the greyness, and the silver arch. On top of that, you have to concentrate on the location. I also think about how Gemina Terra feels like home to me but I’m not sure you have to do that part.”
“Jeez. Sounds complicated.”
“It’s not as hard as it sounds. There are just multiple parts, that’s all.”
Cirrus nodded. “Just out of curiosity, how long did your first success take?”
“Weeks, actually. But it was during that period of time I tried to give up magic. I’ve been most successful in creating the archways and making it to Gemina Terra when I’ve had a great need.”
“Like after New Year’s?”
“Precisely.”
“And with you being watched, you probably can’t show me, can you?”
“I can’t. You’ll have to try this one on your own. It will take a majority of your power, so you won’t be able to make many attempts before you’re completely drained.”
“Any advice on where to start?”
“For today, just concentrate on the golden arch. You won’t need as much power to form one of the three aspects of the full bridge to Gemina Terra . . .” Iris trailed off as she thought about what she just said.
“What?”
“I just realized why Brett refers to his black rectangles as a bridge.” Iris shook her head. “Sorry. Got distracted. Anyway. Like I said, concentrate on the golden arch. Its size. The planets and expanding solar system surrounding it. You won’t need precise detail like when you form your doorway since the archway never looks the same because of the shifting images. Keep Gemina Terra in your mind as you concentrate on forming it.”
“All right.” Cirrus exhaled. He closed his pale-blue eyes to block out all visual distractions the same way Iris did.
Iris stared at Cirrus’s face. She bit her lower lip to keep from saying anything and ruining his concentration. She tilted her head to the side as she took in his features. On the surface, Cirrus looked nothing like his brother—a result of Cirrus’s lack of pigmentation. When she looked at his features in more detail—the shape of his face, eyes, mouth, and nose—the family resemblance was unmistakable. Even his current stoic demeanor matched Nimbus’s serious nature.
“What?” Cirrus asked with his eyes still closed.
“What?”
“You’re staring at me. I can feel your eyes on me.”
“Sorry. You look a lot like Nimbus. That’s all.”
“You’re one of the few people who’ve noticed that. I guess the different skin and hair colorations between us are hard for most people to see past.”
“Probably. Anyway, how’s it going?”
Cirrus opened his eyes. “I think I’m ready to put a little magic into a request to form the golden archway.”
“Great. Try half your power at first. And don’t expect a full arch on your first try. Or dozen. Any light or shimmering is a success in my book.”
“Okay. Here it goes.” He closed his eyes to refocus on his request before drawing power into his being and funneling it into a desire for the golden archway to appear.
Iris held her breath. Nothing happened. Ten seconds passed. They turned into thirty. At the minute mark she readied to tell Cirrus to take a break when she noticed a shimmering in the air between them. It reminded her of a heat haze.
“Whatever you’re doing, it’s working,” she whispered so as not to break his concentration.
Cirrus pulled more power into his being. Almost doubled what he funneled into his request. He opened his eyes. The heat haze grew. Golden flecks sparkled within the haze hanging between them. A small, brilliant light of gold the size of a piccolo spun in a slow circle at the center. Iris couldn’t contain her smile.
Chapter 24
Cirrus released all the flows he held. “That’s exhausting!” He expelled a large breath of air and slumped back in the couch.
“That was awesome! Way better than my first few attempts.” Iris’s grin turned to a grimace as a prickling sensation bloomed at the b
ack of her neck.
“Which one?” Cirrus asked.
“Brett,” Iris told him. A few seconds later, pins and needles joined the prickling. “And Jaden, apparently. We should probably call it for now. I’m sure the amount of power you used piqued both of their interests and my being here will clue them into the fact that I’m teaching you something.”
“Or they may think I’m working on something and want your help since you aren’t using any power,” Cirrus countered.
“That’s also a possibility.”
“Let me try one more time. Now I have a feel for it, I don’t think I need as much power.”
“Be my guest. I’ll stop you if you’re using too much.”
“Sounds good. Okay, here it goes.”
Cirrus sat up. Iris watched him focus before opening himself to the flows of power surrounding them. He pulled in half as much as his first attempt. The heat haze shimmered into existence within ten seconds. The golden flecks of light formed moments behind. They combined at the center of the heat haze. Grew into a rectangle the size of her hand. Continued to expand. Cirrus pulled a little more power into his being.
Iris paid close attention to the competing pain at the back of her neck. Neither increased as the golden rectangle expanded once more. The sensation of a great distance bloomed in front of Iris. The pins and needles intensified.
“Cirrus. I need you to stop funneling power into your request,” she cautioned.
He ignored her.
Iris pulled more power into her being than necessary and formed her doorway. She hoped her power would overshadow Cirrus’s and keep Brett and Jaden from realizing what he’d just done.
Cirrus opened his eyes. A fully formed golden arch sat in the middle of his living room. “Whoa. I didn’t think I’d managed anything that time. Can I open it?”
Iris held up a finger. She closed her eyes and searched out Jaden. He was somewhere unusual for him, but very familiar in location to her. She switched her request from wanting to locate him to wanting to see what he saw. Brett walked past Jaden’s line of sight. Their images and voices came to her as though through a heavy mist as Iris tried to keep her presence from them.
“She formed a doorway to her house, that’s all. I told you it was nothing,” Brett said. He glared at Jaden from across the room. “Now get the fuck out! And stop forming bridges to my apartment without permission. The next time you do, I will not hesitate to treat you like someone breaking and entering.”
“I’ll stop showing up whenever I choose when you stop talking to her. She’s mine. You think you can win her over with false pretenses of love? Think again. You’re going to fail to capture her just like you did in the mansion.”
“And she’ll . . .” Brett stopped. He cocked his head to the side.
Iris pulled her mind back to her body. The prickling sensation that indicated Brett tracked her increased. Had he realized her presence was in his apartment for a short period? She added it to her list of things to ponder and try at a later date. Though she shifted her shoulders as they both increased their scrutiny of her, it made Iris happy. Neither would care what Cirrus did.
“Go ahead and open it,” she told Cirrus with a grin.
“You sure?”
“Yeah. They’re both completely focused on me. Be quick, though. I don’t want them to realize my magic is hiding yours.”
Cirrus stood and walked to the archway without hesitation. He exhaled, gripped the door, and pulled. It wouldn’t open. “What does that mean?” he asked as he turned to face Iris.
“Dismiss it and release all the flows you’re holding.” Cirrus complied. His residual magic dissipated a few seconds later. “Let’s head to my place. At least then they’ll be less suspicious as to why I formed a doorway to my room.”
“Cool.”
The pair stepped through Iris’s doorway. She longed to send a shock at Jaden and Brett but refrained. Even that small amount of power used against him or Brett would probably allow Jaden to end the contract they’d made.
“Iris?” Roz called from the living room.
“Yeah. It’s me. And Cirrus,” she said as she headed to the living room. Cirrus trailed her. “We’re going to take the 4Runner to get Vi and then grab some dinner. You guys want to come?”
“Nah, we’re good. Why did you form the doorway and not Cirrus? Aren’t you trying to keep Brett and Jaden from knowing where you are.”
“I was. And then they both increased the power they use to track me. It reached uncomfortable, so I figured letting them know my exact location would get them to back off.”
“And?”
“It hasn’t worked yet,” she said with a sigh.
“You know, I’m not part of the contract. Neither is Nimbus. Why don’t the two of us deal with them for you?” Rowen offered for what Iris guessed was the seventh time.
“Same answer as last time. No. I don’t want to give him any reason to go back on our deal. I just don’t trust the guy not to find some loophole in what we agreed to—which, at its base, is that none of us will attack any of them.”
“Where’s your sense of adventure?” Rowen asked with a huge grin.
Iris shook her head. “See you guys later,” she told them and headed to her car. The pressure at the back of her neck decreased.
A quick check told her Jaden had returned to Zarina’ and Brett remained in his apartment. Jaden’s being at Brett’s was both comforting and disturbing. They obviously weren’t too willing to help each other, but they were to some extent. Or Mr. Moreno ordered them to work together.
If that was the case, there were a lot more variables to consider. Was Brett going along with it to assure his father and Jaden didn’t know he was slowly breaking away from them? Did it instead mean that Brett was back under Mr. Moreno’s full control? Had her relationship with Nimbus sent him back to his father? Whatever the answer, Iris would have to monitor them more often.
“So . . .” Cirrus prompted the second they climbed into the 4Runner.
“You couldn’t open the archway because the bridge hadn’t formed behind it. My guess is it’s a safety precaution. But two tries to form the first archway, Cirrus, that’s amazing! Seriously amazing!”
“To tell you the truth, I formed the archway the way I used to try forming doorways until I got the hang of them. Honestly, the archway was way easier.”
“That’s great. Feel free to try it again when you’re alone, but only focus on the golden archway. And try not to use more than half your power. Don’t start working on the iridescent bridge until I’m there. I’m positive I’ll need to hide your magic from Brett and Jaden if you try forming more than the golden archway.”
“Makes sense.” He paused for a second. Turned toward Iris and asked, “Why haven’t you taught us how to track another magic user?”
“I honestly have no idea. Well, I did try senior year. Remember?”
“No. When?”
Iris contemplated her single attempt to teach her friends how to track each other. “It was on the way to Disneyland senior year. Sorry. Girls’ trip.”
“Ah. Why didn’t you try again?”
“That was when that random guy tracked me down in Disneyland and I realized having magical abilities wasn’t a good thing. Remember?”
“Yeah, I remember. But why not after you started using magic again?”
“I don’t know. I guess it got pushed to the back of the line of things to teach. Let’s be honest, I freaked out and decided offensive and defensive magic trumped everything else. I should fix that. Hm . . .”
“I know that look. What are you thinking?”
“Well, I won’t be able to show you guys how I track another magic user with Brett and Jaden constantly tracking my movements and magic use. And this is a skill that requires showing as it’s super complicated and hard to describe.”
“And . . .” Cirrus prompted her verbally and with a circling motion of his hand.
“Well, Nimbus can t
rack another magic user. So what if we all go to the island, I form a darkened barrier around us and make it sound proof? Then Nimbus can teach you all the skill and Jaden and his minions won’t be able to attack us.”
“How long do you think you’ll be able to keep a large barrier like that in place?”
Iris shrugged. “An hour? Won’t know until I try.”
“Well, it sounds like we have something else to practice this weekend besides concealment.”
“Definitely,” Iris grinned at Cirrus. “You let Vi know she’s looking for my car and not yours?”
“Just did,” he grinned. His phone chimed. “She says she’s almost here.”
Iris ran her weekend training plan past Nimbus before telling everyone else training sessions were back on. His one question was why they couldn’t practice in Davis. Iris had no real reason besides a lack of space, so they did.
Everyone crammed in her living room and Nimbus took a few seconds to review concealment from another magic user. He allowed everyone ten minutes to try concealing their magic from Iris who headed to her room. She searched out Brett and Jaden—both of whom were concealing themselves from her at the moment—and her friends.
Iris sent half her mind to the Gallery of Doors and knocked in code on everyone’s door. One knock meant she couldn’t sense them and two meant she could. She paced about the room, constantly reminding herself of the code she’d come up with and applying it to the doors. With her as close to her friends as she was proximity wise, successes were brief and sporadic.
“I’m heading to the guys’ apartment and see if being further away helps you guys be more successful. I’ll be back in ten,” she told everyone after reentering the living room five minutes later.
“You want me to come with?” Cirrus asked.
“No. You should stay here so you cat get pointers from Nimbus. I’m useless on this one. See you guys in ten.”
She formed and stepped through her doorway. Waited a few moments to see if Brett or Jaden tracked her, but they didn’t. Iris flopped onto the couch and reentered the Gallery of Doors. Violet, Aerianna, Sienna, Gavin, and Nimbus disappeared as soon as she shut her doorway. She gave each of their doors a single knock and never needed to give them a double knock.
