by Laurie McKay
Caden thought of the five-jeweled emblem, of Landon’s emblem. People would die in Asheville and in the Greater Realm if they didn’t stop it. He got in the front seat, and no one complained. “Let’s hurry home,” he said. “I need to contact my family.”
Rosa glanced at the three in the back, then at him. “All right.”
“My brother is coming over.”
She took in a deep breath. “That should be interesting.”
“He’s a noble Elite Paladin,” Caden said. “It should be an honor.”
Rosa glanced in the rearview mirror, seemingly watching the school get farther away. She seemed relieved when they turned the curve. “We’ll see, Caden,” Rosa said. “Elite Paladin or not, he needs to behave in my house.”
Jasan was waiting on the porch when they pulled up. He’d gotten to Rosa’s house fast, but he got everywhere fast. They wasted no time once home. Brynne spelled Jasan to speak English; and as Rosa and he tried to be civil, Tito, Brynne, and Jane set up the tablet.
Tito plugged his fully charged tablet into the wall, then set it on the coffee table. The cord stretched from wall to table like a tripping trap. He plopped on the floor with his back against the couch.
Brynne prepared the water and pan. She sat on the floor, too, cross-legged. Caden remained standing. He could see the tablet easily that way. Also, the floor had yet to be swept today. Better he be neat and clean to speak to his father.
Jane gathered her Enchanted Hammer of Smashing and the other items: the Enchanted Whisk of Mixing brought by Jasan, Brynne’s Magical Hairpin of Unlocking, and two more shimmery metal items Caden hadn’t seen before—an enchanted coin and an enchanted spoon—and kneeled by the table and tablet.
“Those are new,” Caden said.
“I made them this morning,” Jane said. “Just in case we need more power.”
Thus they were enchanted items one hundred and thirty-six and one hundred and thirty-seven: the Enchanted Coin and Enchanted Spoon of Spell Sacrifice. But would a lot of small enchantments add up to the same thing as one big one?
Jasan glanced at the window, likely thinking of the fading day, likely thinking of their brothers and people also in danger a realm away. “We need to hurry.” He sat on the green interrogation couch, in the middle, as if he were the highest-ranked person in the room. Which, Caden supposed, he was.
Rosa soon made him move over, though, so she could sit on the couch, too. The house was hers, so Jasan couldn’t protest. “How will this work?” Rosa said.
Brynne explained the telepathy magic and made sure they were thusly spelled. Then, to make the contact easier, she also magicked Rosa, Jane, and Tito so they would understand anything they heard spoken. Jane demonstrated how she would smash enchantments, and Tito told Jasan about the tech of his Ashevillian tablet.
Jasan nodded, but Caden didn’t think he really understood. Caden was fairly certain Jasan didn’t understand much of this odd world. He certainly understood less than Caden.
“We’re ready,” Brynne said.
This needed to work. Caden held his breath. Rosa and Jasan watched from the couch. Both had their arms crossed; both had iron expressions. Brynne sat by the tray of water. Tito cringed as he watched.
Jane raised the Enchanted Hammer of Smashing. She brought it down with a large splash. And missed every item in the pan. Her cheeks went rosy. “I can’t see that well,” she said, and Caden worried about her eyes. She raised the hammer with renewed vigor.
Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound.
The four enchanted items turned dull and dented. Silver flowed across the water’s surface. Quickly, Brynne grabbed the pan and poured the enchantment-and-life-force-enriched water atop the screen.
Caden leaned closer for a better view. So did the others. Jane got especially near to it. The electricity in the house flickered as if drained by a great power. The strange electrical noises Caden had grown accustomed to went silent. Caden’s stomach sank. Had it not worked? He didn’t know much about Ashevillian tech, but he did know nothing good came of a blank screen.
The quiet lasted only a moment. Soon the house, the electricity, the sounds and the lights returned to normal. Then the tablet’s screen glowed silver, and the silver turned into an image.
An octagonal room came into focus on the screen. Caden knew it at once—the king’s strategy room. They viewed it from a round mirror opposite the heavy carved door that served as the only entrance or exit. The mirror allowed the king and whoever else might be in the room constant vigil over the entry point.
Two people stood and faced each other.
One was Caden’s father, King Axel.
Caden had not seen his father in many months now. His chest felt tight. His stomach fluttered. His father was alive and well, and Caden would warn him; then he would tell him Jasan had been wrongly convicted of murder and treason.
But what would the king say to Caden? Certainly, he’d be happy Caden was alive. Then again, Caden had gotten stranded in another world. He’d yet to slay a dragon or stop a villain. Would the king’s brow also furrow with disappointment?
It didn’t matter. The king needed to be warned, and Jasan needed to be vindicated.
King Axel wore his grand robes, those of the finest midnight-blue elvish wool and embellished with gold and silver threads. His sword was strapped across his back. His scepter—both a symbol of the king and a weapon—sat nearby on a small pedestal table. It was strange for him to be doubly armed in the castle and while wearing his finery. Obviously, the king thought these were dangerous days.
The other person in the room wasn’t visible immediately. He wore black and blended into the shadows. Small, glinting daggers were attached strategically from his thigh to his ankle, and Caden was certain there were more blades hidden underneath his garments. It was third-born Lucian, gifted in stealth, the only Elite Paladin Caden knew of who also acted as a spy.
Jasan gestured Caden and the others to move back. He leaned close to the screen. “King Axel,” he said. He hadn’t said “Father,” Caden noticed. No response. “Lucian.” Again, no response. Jasan glanced up at Brynne.
“It should work, if there’s enough magical power,” she said, and chewed on her bottom lip. “We used more this time.”
“Do they need the telepathy mojo cast on them, too?” Tito said.
Brynne shook her head. “No. Only one side needs the sorcery.”
The king’s voice rang from the tablet’s speaker. “What of Crimsen?”
Crimsen was Rath Dunn’s home in the Autumnlands. “They move their mercenary army near our borders, as do the Valley gnomes. They look too few in number for a credible attack, but they seem ready to start one.”
“Are you certain?”
“Tomorrow, midday, they wait for a signal.”
Caden wondered at that timing—midday. The first part of Rath Dunn and Ms. Jackson’s spell had happened at dawn, the second as dusk, the third was to occur tonight at midnight. If Caden was guessing, midday would be the planned time for the fourth part. Was what was happening in Crimsen connected?
The king seemed suspicious. “You know this how?”
Lucian smiled. His cheek was dimpled on the right side, and it made him seem younger than he was. “I took a walk around the gnome captain’s planning tent.”
The king didn’t smile. “You were ordered to stay to the border, Lucian, not venture beyond it.”
To break even a small command of the king seemed completely insane. Lucian hadn’t done as he was ordered? Caden was taken aback.
Lucian seemed unrepentant. “I did as I thought best, Father.”
“You did as you wanted.”
“I did.”
Now Caden was certain he was hallucinating. No one ever talked to the king like that. Not even first-born Valon. Not even traitorous, second-born Maden. No one.
Caden glanced at Brynne. She blinked at the screen as if confused by what she saw. Jasan, however, sighed. He didn’t seem surpr
ised by this at all. Truth be told, neither did the king.
Jasan seemed to notice Caden’s shock. “He’s often like that,” Jasan said. “In private. With family only.”
Was not Caden, although younger and with only one shared parent, part of Lucian’s family, too? “I’ve never seen him act like that.”
“It’s because the king shelters you from his behavior,” Jasan said. “He shelters you from a lot of things.”
Jasan was honorable and honest. Caden was certain he spoke the truth. He wasn’t sure, however, the king sheltering Caden was the only reason. “If you say so.”
Caden focused back on the screen. The king paced the room. He cleared his throat. “And the other thing?” Did the king’s voice crack? Caden thought it might have. “What have you found?”
Lucian’s dimple disappeared, as did his grin. “Landon isn’t the only one missing, which isn’t a good sign. But Maden’s heard rumors he was last seen near the dark woods. He and I will search all night through the snowfall if we must.”
No. No. No. The one person third-born Lucian should not venture into the dark woods with was traitorous, second-born Maden. And he should definitely not go with him on a night when a sacrifice was to be made. Caden looked at Jasan. “Lucian is in danger.”
Jasan’s face was stone. “Assuming he and Maden aren’t accomplices.”
Just because Maden was a traitor didn’t mean their other brothers were. “Why do you think Maden has an accomplice?” Caden said.
“Why shouldn’t I? They all convicted me, and even the powerful need help toppling a king. How could Maden not have allies in the castle?”
Caden wouldn’t listen to that type of reasoning. “Maden’s accomplice is Rath Dunn.” He signaled to the screen. “And it seems the mercenaries of Crimsen and Valley gnomes. Not another of our brothers.”
“Maybe,” Jasan said.
Caden looked back at the screen, at his father. The king pulled his hand into a fist. “Find Landon,” he said. “I lost Chadwin, I lost Caden,” the king said. “I won’t lose a third son to these dark times.”
“Third?” Lucian moved like a midnight panther. Silent and certain. “Not fourth? As we banished Jas—”
The king stopped him with a glower that would give the bravest of panthers pause. “Don’t say that name in my presence.”
Lucian stepped beyond the king’s reach and near the door to the chamber. “If he were the cause of our troubles, if he betrayed us,” Lucian said, “then why have our problems only increased since”—Lucian paused—“Jasan was banished?”
Caden never had seen the king strike one of his brothers, but he feared he was about to. Luckily, he didn’t. The king turned away. “I’ll deal with you later. Go find Landon. Get out.”
Lucian did. Quickly and quietly, and the king was left alone.
“Lucian seems no traitor to me,” Caden said.
The green interrogation couch creaked as Jasan stood. His body was tense, his jaw tight. Obviously, Jasan was troubled. Rosa looked like she wanted to pat his back. “I’ll be outside,” he growled before she could.
“I’ll go with you,” Caden said.
“I want to be alone. Stay here and figure out how to communicate with them,” Jasan said. “I’d prefer to warn them before Lucian, the one brother who seems to have finally considered I’m innocent, is murdered.”
Why did Caden feel angry? Well. No matter why. He did. And he needed to say something. Often, he needed to say things. “I never thought you were guilty,” Caden said. “So he’s not your only brother who has considered that you might be innocent.”
Jasan ran his hand through his hair. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “I meant,” Jasan said, slowly and carefully, “the only brother besides—” If Jasan said half brother, Caden was going to punch him. Jasan didn’t. “Besides my little brother.”
Brynne, Tito, and Jane watched Caden now instead of the screen. The attention was uncomfortable, and Caden felt his face flush. “That’s more accurate,” he said. However, while Caden preferred “little brother” to “half brother,” neither was ideal. “Younger brother, you mean.”
“Don’t push it, little brother,” Jasan said. He grabbed his jacket and pulled it on. In three quick steps, he was gone. The screen door creaked open and slammed shut.
Caden got up to follow him, but Rosa reached out and stopped him. “Let him go, Caden,” she said. Then she looked back at the tablet like she didn’t know what to think of what she’d seen and heard.
Caden collected his thoughts. Landon was missing. Lucian was about to go out alone with Maden. They needed to speak to the king, to warn him, warn Lucian and the others. He felt his heart begin to race; he felt his breath catch, and he had to calm himself.
“Are you okay, Caden?” Jane said.
Rosa stood up and did pat Caden’s back.
“Mostly,” Caden said. “But we need to speak, not watch.”
Brynne pulled at her cap. “Then we need more enchantment power.”
Caden looked down at the screen. The king stood, his back to them. How could he continue to believe Jasan was a traitor? Truth be told, Caden wasn’t completely surprised. If King Axel had been convinced Jasan was traitorous, it would take irrefutable proof to convince him otherwise. Once the king made up his mind, it was hard to change it. The king’s gift, resolution, was something to behold.
Tito tapped the screen. “Is it frozen?”
The king was unmoving like a mountain. They watched. Nothing happened.
Brynne sat back on her heels. “No, he’s just not doing anything.”
Not true, he was standing. “He’s deep in thought,” Caden said.
Brynne frowned. Jane cocked her head pensively. They needed to find a way to do more than watch the king. They needed to speak to him.
On-screen, the king scratched his rear.
“Huh,” Tito said. “I guess even royal butts itch.”
Suddenly, Jane stood and faced them. “I’ve decided,” she announced. “I’m going to enchant the tablet. It needs to be done.”
“First of all, no,” Tito said. “Second of all, how would you even do something like that?”
“Like I do all of them. I hold the item and concentrate on what I want it to do. Like with the hammer. I wanted a hammer to magically smash things. So I held it, concentrated on that, and I pricked my finger. Once the blood hits the item, I feel energy flowing from me to it.”
Tito scrunched up his brow. “Life force, you mean.”
Jane nodded. “To enchant the tablet, I just need to concentrate on it as a device to contact another world. It’s more complex, so it takes more thought, and the metal parts are smaller.” She squinted at the screen. The king had left, and the room was empty. “But once I figure out how I want it to work, the rest should be quick.”
Quick was good.
Caden had never realized enchantment was such fast magic. No wonder enchanters so easily spent their life spans. An enchanted tablet, however, sounded like no small bit of item magic. “It sounds like a powerful enchantment.”
Brynne touched Jane’s elbow. “Small enchantments only, remember. That’s how you’ll live. That’s how you’ll become an enchantress until old age. The first of your kind.”
Rosa held up a hand. “Wait? What do you mean by life force?” She peered at Jane. “And what does it have to do with how long you live.”
“Oh, you’re not going to like it,” Tito said. “Her enchantments take years from her life.”
Rosa’s frown deepened. “What?”
“I told her to stop,” Tito said.
The sound of a heavy door opening came from the tablet. Caden and the others looked at the screen. First-born Valon entered the octagonal room. His expression was schooled, his jaw tight.
“That’s Valon,” Caden said. If he and his friends couldn’t warn Caden’s father, Valon would be the next best thing. “He’s first-born and crown prince.”
Cad
en tried to speak to him, but as expected, there was no response.
“I don’t have a choice,” said Jane. “I have to enchant it. I don’t want Ms. Jackson to win.”
“None of us do,” Caden said.
“And it’s not only your brother who’s in danger,” Jane said. “If the spell is completed, it will drain many lives in Asheville and in the Greater Realm, right? Including your family.”
Brynne nodded. “Ritual magic drains life. That’s what fuels the spell,” she said. “A powerful spell with powerful ingredients will drain the city. The communication spells are small by comparison. The one by the river killed all the grasses and trees. Probably some animals, too. The four-part spell is larger. It requires four human sacrifices. It will drain human and plant life alike if completed.”
Rosa listened to them, her mouth a tight line, her arms crossed.
“We need to warn the other side,” Jane said. She rubbed her finger along the edge of the tablet. On-screen, fourth-born Martin entered the room. “We need to save Lucian. Caden shouldn’t lose another brother. I know what it’s like. I lost my mom. I’ll enchant the tablet,” Jane said. “One last big enchantment.”
“That’s what you said about the ladle,” Tito said.
“No,” Rosa said, and her voice was like steel.
Caden tugged his coat tighter around his shoulders. Jane was willing to give up years of her life span, possibly her life, to help him, his people, and his kingdom. “Your life is as important as Lucian’s, as everyone’s.”
“This is my best chance to help,” she said. “I want to do it.”
“You’re not enchanting that tablet, young lady,” Rosa said. “And that’s final.”
An idea was battering around in Caden’s mind, an idea he didn’t really like and one he didn’t want to say out loud. It was a good idea, though. “Watch the tablet. I’ve a better idea,” he said, and turned toward the kitchen. “There is something Jane needs to enchant, but it isn’t the tablet, and it isn’t complex.”
