Annie wrapped her arms around her father and kissed his cheek. His familiar scent and touch were so comforting to her. “I love you, Daddy,” she said.
*
As Annie waited for Spencer to pick her up, she paced her house, unsure how long it would be before she could return home. While Jason remained in the basement preparing, Annie glanced at her phone for the hundredth time. Just as she tucked it into her back pocket, it buzzed with a text from Bucky.
Harrison Plank is Melichi Davis.
She grimaced and texted acknowledgement before pacing again.
The back door squeaked open. Cham entered the kitchen. “Can’t sleep?”
“Could you?” Anne said tersely, her anxiety showing through her voice.
“Sorry.”
Annie created a small fireball and let it float above her palm. She dropped the magic and created a new one. “The itching’s awful. How did it go with Starla?”
“She denied it. Said she didn’t know what Antique Symposium was or how the money got in her account. I left her to stew in Tartarus, staring at stone walls. She called me back ten minutes later and admitted everything,” Cham said.
“That was… easy.” Annie stared out the back window into the yard. Cham wrapped his arms around her. “Did she tell you why?”
“She really believed she was doing good work for the Fraternitatem. They convinced her you messed up.” He rested his head on her shoulder. “There’s enough evidence for treason.”
For several minutes, they watched out the window in silence. Annie felt safe with his muscles against hers.
“Spencer will be here soon.” She glanced at her phone again.
“Please stay away as long as you can,” Cham pleaded.
Annie shuddered. “I promise.” Turning toward him, she placed her arms around his neck and looked at him sternly. “Promise me you will call me to end it if you need me.”
“I hope we won’t need you.” He kissed her forehead as Spencer’s distinctive knock echoed against her back door and Jason appeared in the doorway.
Annie took a deep breath. “I love you,” she whispered and kissed him.
“I love you,” he whispered back.
*
The protection spells had been increased around the Snake Head Letters, allowing Annie, Spencer, and Jason to land on the roof unseen. Annie punctured her finger against the small needle in the blood lock, popping it open. Spencer led them down the dark staircase and past Mortimer’s apartment to the first floor. At the hidden door, Annie again stuck her finger in the blood lock and pulled the door open.
Hidden safely inside the small basement, they sat on three metal chairs surrounding the portal. Annie let out the stale air in her lungs as she stared at the hazy anomaly, an ancient reminder of her magic, of all that had come before her and all that would come after. She reached out and shivered in the chill.
“And you’re not going to the desert, correct?” Jason asked.
“If they need me, I’ll have to go.” Annie held her palm up. The magic billowed upwards and was consumed by the portal.
“I just don’t—” he stopped.
Annie knew what he would say and held her hand up to stop him. “Dad, let me do my job.” She took a deep breath and glanced at her phone. As they waited, wizard guard units across the planet were gathering in the desert. The clock on her phone ticked off another minute.
“Just promise me you won’t go to the desert unless absolutely necessary. I came back to keep you safe. Let me do that,” Jason said.
“I promise.” She returned to her phone while Spencer scrolled through emails, if only for something to do while they waited.
News about the Fraternitatem operatives in Tartarus came through in emails. They had been moved to new locations within the prison and additional spells were placed on their cells. As each person was moved, Spencer showed Annie the notifications.
“The prison’s still safe,” he said. His knee bounced up and down.
Annie glanced at his phone without interest, her head churning with other thoughts. Beside her, Jason summoned his field pack and fiddled with the contents, checking that he had everything he needed.
Annie glanced at her phone. “We haven’t been summoned yet,” she said as they waited for word.
*
The list of assignments was neatly folded and stuffed inside Lial’s shirt pocket. After spending hours with the list of wizard guards and a map of the desert, he had spread out the teams across a wide range and hoped it would be enough to keep the Fraternitatem from escaping. He held his breath when he entered through the temporary portal with another American wizard guard, Stephenson McKay.
“This is it,” Stephenson said as Lial peered around the large boulder, surveying the rocky outcropping.
“Yeah. This is it,” Lial responded. His heart beat rapidly and sweat poured from his forehead. Though the sun was low and still at the horizon, the desert was hot and the air hung heavy around them. He let out stale air and motioned for Stephenson to follow him. They slunk from the landing location and placed themselves in their hiding spot with a clear view of the wizard guards as they came to though the portal.
Lial surveyed the flat land though his binoculars, noting the hidden entrance to the caves and the clifftop where Cham and other managers were landing to watch the scene. He looked out into the desert. It was barren, though his eye caught a shimmering mirage.
“It begins,” he murmured to Stephenson, who stood guard beside him.
The first team to cross through the portal was Shiff and Brite. They spotted Lial, nodded quickly, and teleported to their pre-assigned location. When they were hidden, Lial scanned the rocks for signs of the Fraternitatem. Once he ascertained that the wizard guards were still undiscovered, he texted the next group. Eddy and Isaak landed in the tight space behind a large boulder, nodded to Lial, and teleported again to their own location. As each new team entered the desert, Lial scanned the area before texting the next team. After the teams from South and Central America took their positions, Lial texted the Middle Eastern guards. He recognized Sari, Michael, and Avraham but not the five others who landed with them. As the plan had unfolded during the night, Avraham had been insistent that they take the location closest to the hidden entrance in the rocks. Of all the Wizard Guard units that had ever chased the elusive Fraternitatem, they had done it longer than any of them. Lial obliged and watched anxiously as they each took off for the boulders just outside the entrance to the Cave of Ages.
His heart grew heavy as he recognized the teams: Jory, Roland, Sabine, and Olivier from France, along with Marcus and Phillipe from Amborix. Lial fully understood the danger in what they were all taking on and he couldn’t help feeling responsible for their safety.
Teams from Italy, Morocco, Canada, and Germany streamed through the portal at safe intervals, finding their places in the field. By the time all teams had found their assigned hiding spots, Lial was weary and hot; he wiped his wet forehead with his sleeve.
He sent the last text and the U.S. Wizard Guards entered two at a time, filling in the empty spots in the outcropping or taking the line between the outcropping and the desert; their focus would be to keep any nonmagical Fraternitatem members from escaping into the desert.
Lial scanned the landscape one last time. He checked the cliffs where upper management placed themselves, verified where the Vampire Attack Unit had hidden themselves, and noted Cham’s location where he would view and direct the action if needed. Lial glanced at his watch; it had taken forty-five minutes for the groups to enter and set themselves in place. When no more were due to arrive, he sent the final text to Cham.
*
The United States Wizard Council was the largest in the world and had multiple departments that could assist with such an operation as this. The Vampire Attack Unit was made up of several better-than-fair fighters, who had positioned themselves on the tops of several cliffs overlooking the field of engagement, just before daw
n.
Graham Lightner lay on his stomach, viewing the scene through his binoculars. From his location behind the action, he could see each guard as they took their place and prepared for the fight to begin. Beside him, Guenther Grimm from Amborix lay in the dirt and observed.
“They’re nearly set, it appears,” Guenther whispered in case their voices could carry below.
“It’s a large-scale cooperative operation,” Graham said. He shifted his position and watched another section of the flat land.
“It’s dangerous. We don’t have an absolute number to match the Fraternitatem,” Guenther said.
Graham chuckled. “You’re a little late for that.”
“Aren’t we always?”
“I have faith in the wizard guards.” Graham sat in the dirt, wiped dust from his clothes, and watched with intensity and unease as the next text update came.
*
The phone buzzed in Annie’s hand. Jason and Spencer glanced at her. “It’s time.”
Annie pulled out Jason’s athame. He reached for it like it was an old friend and held his hand over Annie’s.
“Please keep her safe,” Jason said to Spencer.
They stood beside the portal and Annie thought of the Cave of Ages. Together, father and daughter jammed the cursed knife inside.
Through the heavy wind, Jason looked through the portal into the empty cavern and turned to Annie. It was so clear now that his face and body had caught up to the age he would have been now, had he not died nine years ago. It was most shocking on his head, where the salt-and-pepper hair was mostly salty in a frizzy, unkempt way. Annie wasn’t positive if his wrinkles were as deep as they were because he was worried or just older.
“I love you. Don’t ever forget it.” Before Annie could answer, Jason jumped through the portal. As his second foot crossed the plane, the portal closed, dropping them in the darkness and quiet.
“I love you, too,” she murmured.
“He’ll be fine,” Spencer said when the portal closed shut. He placed his hands on her shoulder to calm her.
“He won’t be. He’s human.”
He squeezed her shoulder. “I guess ghosts don’t age.” He stared at the remnants of the portal. The chill radiating from it made him shudder.
“You saw that, too?”
“It doesn’t mean he won’t be fine. He should have his magic now.”
Annie shook her head. “I conjured him because I was frightened, because I needed him. He came. I made him corporeal and he vowed to stay with me, to keep me and Sami safe. That hasn’t changed. He will die to keep me away from them.”
“He doesn’t belong here. It isn’t his time,” Spencer whispered.
“It doesn’t make it hurt less though.”
“You had a month with him that you wouldn’t have had otherwise. Most of us aren’t so lucky.”
Annie nodded and wiped the tears from her eyes. “I know. I appreciate your concern. Still, knowing I wouldn’t have him for very long, doesn’t lessen the pain.”
“He is here to protect you. Let him do that, regardless of the outcome. You are very fortunate in that you know just how much your father loves you and what he would do for you.”
Annie reached out for the portal with the athame.
One touch and I can help him.
She lowered her arm, sat on the chair, and waited for her text instead.
*
Jason had last seen the shimmering blue walls of the Cave of Ages nine years ago, the night he was forced into the desert and up the narrow mountain path. It was a draining hike as he had been pushed and pulled in the heat. His only thought had been how he was going to get back home to his girls.
He clearly remembered the awe he felt when he stared at those shimmering blue walls. Even recollecting the awe, he couldn’t forget the fear he felt when Melichi issued his stern warning that Jason drop the case and return the Chintamani stones. He had gladly given them up as long as he could return home.
It was then that he had seen her: the wife he buried twelve years prior, alive and seemingly well hiding behind the throne. It was the same throne he saw now, in the same location at the back wall. He had thought he imagined Emily standing there, but he soon learned it was really her. At that moment, everything changed. Seeing it again brought on an unexpected rush of emotions, from sadness to pure anger. He hadn’t expected that.
The throne was intended as a display of power to create fear amongst those in the cave. Emily had hidden there, much to Melichi’s dismay. She had been so young and so confused, almost sorrowful as she used the throne to distance herself from him.
After stepping through the portal to this place, Jason remembered the exasperation and anger at seeing Emily there and the hurt he felt when she ignored his pleas to come home. Every word uttered that night replayed in his head as if he was living it all over again. Every scent and emotion from the past invaded him and tormented him. He thought of Annie in an attempt to rid himself of the pain.
If he did his job as planned, Annie wouldn’t have to come to the desert and use her magic to save them all. If he followed the plan, she would remain safe and hidden and away from the Fraternitatem. He held his breath as he scanned the cave and listened for voices or footsteps or any sign of life inside the walls. Determining he was alone, he ran for the large entrance of the cavern that overlooked the desert and the narrow, rocky mountain pass he had taken here the first time he visited.
When this is over, I should blow it to pieces.
Jason pulled out two crystals. He bent beside the entrance and embedded the first rock in the lower left corner where it met the floor. As his magic liquefied the rock, the crystal sunk inside until a dime-sized piece remained. He looked into the cave and ran for the opposite side, repeating the process.
Once both crystals were hidden in the mountain rock, he placed his palm above the nearest crystal and murmured the powerful spell. Magic burst from the crystal and searched out the other on the opposite side. The blocking spell buzzed inside the large entrance. Jason tossed a loose rock at the spell. It exploded on impact, flinging small particles of rock into the cavern. He hid himself behind a convenient boulder near the entrance and waited. When no one from the Fraternitatem took notice of the small explosion, he took one last look at the shimmering blue walls, turned on a small pink quartz crystal to light his way, and followed the tunnel deeper inside the mountain.
Jason had studied both Arden and Emily’s maps of the caves, noting the differences and paying careful attention to what he would come across as he trapped himself in the rock. As expected, the first room he came to was empty, devoid of furniture, people, and animals. He continued on, examining the next five rooms along this passage and discovered them to be much of the same: dark, empty spaces.
Maybe the Fraternitatem isn’t as big as we thought.
As he came to the next room, he expected more and was not disappointed. This room was a large cavern loaded with bookshelves storage boxes, baskets, books, scrolls, and artifacts. When asked, Arden was sure the room would still be there, but Emily’s map hadn’t shown this particular room. Jason sighed at the verification that Emily’s map was less than truthful. He was not excited about what he was to do inside.
If I had time, I could save it all.
But there wasn’t time for anything except the job he came here to complete. As much as it pained him to do this, the information found in this room would be risky if it found its way into the world. He summoned the first of several magical bombs and tossed it into the cavern. The glass bomb shattered on the table top and exploded. The force of the magic sent ancient tomes across the room and set baskets and books on fire. Rather than watching a millennium of work and knowledge become consumed in flames, Jason ran down the passage and turned left at the next junction.
Voices wafted from the first room on the right. He peered inside the nearly closed door and saw three Fraternitatem members working and laughing. He thought he heard Annie’s
name and would have liked to strike them down there and then. Instead, he slunk past them to the end of the short hallway where three rooms had been carved into the rock. The final room on the right was still open, so he slipped inside, closing himself in.
The walls were covered in pictures of Emily and Shiloh. This small, musty, drafty room must have been Emily’s home for several years. Though Jason had known she was a member, he hadn’t realized how far they had isolated her and the boy.
He glanced up at the thin vent in the ceiling. They had been carved into the clifftop, venting the entire cave system which allowed people to live and work inside the stone. Throughout the night, the Middle Eastern wizard guards and the VAU had covered the vents; Jason hoped the blocks would contain the smoke and fire.
With one last look at Emily’s past, he exited the room and tossed the next bomb. He ran back down the corridor, past the occupied room, and turned left, deeper into the caves.
Smoke began collecting in the passages. He ignored the bitter stench as he made his way to the end of the cave system. A distant din of voices began to rise as the smoke billowed across the rocks, choking out the fresh air.
I’m almost done.
Jason stood at the final few inches of the passage. He glanced down the hallway, unable to see through the thickening smoke. He took a deep breath and dropped the largest of bombs he had with him. Before it hit the stone, Jason teleported himself away and landed in the Cave of Ages, behind Melichi’s throne.
His lungs burned and his heart pounded. Jason peered out from behind the throne and listened for the sounds of people escaping. The magical fires continued to eat away the magical energy trapped inside the complex cave system. It continued, unsatiated, through the narrow passages, its only purpose to consume. With the room vents blocked off, the smoke had nowhere to go and continued to build up and hang in the air.
Panicked, shrieking voices echoed against the rock as Fraternitatem members made their way through the caves, running for the main entrance. The first man lunged for the fresh air beyond. He was thrown from the spell and landed on his back. His face, hands, and clothing had been scorched. When he fell, he bashed the back of his head and didn’t move as his flammable clothes burst into flames. Many Fraternitatem members tried to beat the fire with their thick, heavy robes, but the fire was cursed. Only the anti-spell could quell the flames.
Wizard Hall Chronicles Box Set Page 170
