Wizard Hall Chronicles Box Set

by Sheryl Steines

  With that, the department split into three teams of two and headed off to reduce the risk of exposure.

  Chapter 39

  In total, four wizard guards died in the desert. A joint funeral was held for them in the courtyard of the U.S. Wizard Hall. Four pyres burned, and Annie cried when Lial was consumed in the fire. She would miss him. On that day, she decided she was done feeling guilty for events that took place long before she was born. It was time, she knew, to move on with her life.

  With that, she sat on the dock at the edge of the island that housed Tartarus and looked into the lake. She found peace here as the water lapped against the shore, wetting the sand.

  In her lap were two letters, one of which was from Archibald Mortimer. Not much of a man of words, he simply wrote:

  Girl, I told you to run and hide. Glad you didn’t.

  A. Mortimer

  She had smiled when she read it the first time; now it made her chuckle.

  The second letter was addressed to her in Sturtagaard’s flowery handwriting. She had grimaced when she read it but did as he requested and sat at the dock in the lake, waiting for him.

  When she heard his footsteps, she didn’t turn. She swung her legs like she used to when she was a kid. She enjoyed the sun as it beat down on her skin.

  Sturtagaard limped as he walked. At one point, his shoe caught in the space between the wooden slats of the dock and he nearly fell. Annie stifled a laugh. When he reached the end, he lowered his lanky body and sat beside her. The chill off his skin made her shudder.

  Sturtagaard handed her a stake.

  Annie glanced at the stake and returned her gaze to the lake as it shimmered in the sun. “I’m not in the mood.”

  “None of this would have happened if I didn’t tell them about you. That makes you in the mood,” Sturtagaard quipped.

  It no longer mattered to her anymore. What was done was done. She was grateful for the time she had with her father again and felt a little guilty she hadn’t spent the time more wisely. But, it wasn’t Jason’s time. Losing him again didn’t hurt any less; the pain pierced her heart in a way she couldn’t explain.

  Annie stared at the stake, which was carved into such a point that she wouldn’t have to push hard to pierce his breastbone. “Why don’t you just go off and do whatever it is that you do?”

  “I’ve lived my life. I’ve lived other people’s lives. I’m done,” Sturtagaard admitted.

  “Killing you doesn’t change what happened. I actually don’t care about you anymore,” Annie said. She returned the stake to him. Since she returned from the desert, the magic billowed from her palm at a slower pace, but it still followed her. She made a fist and released the magic until it dissipated. She was certain now that it would never go away.

  “I have no place to go,” Sturtagaard said.

  Annie laughed. “I don’t care.”

  “I need to be done of this earth,” Sturtagaard said.

  “Then kill yourself. I’m done with you.” Annie stood and left the vampire alone to stew in whatever emotions he had.

  *

  “Have you seen Mom yet?” Samantha asked.

  “No. Between the funeral and Cham, I haven’t stopped by the townhouse,” Annie explained. She paced the den as she spoke on the phone. She didn’t want to talk to Samantha about their mom.

  “She’s leaving. The Wizard Council said she was brainwashed and therefore won’t be charged with a crime. She was given permission to go back to Israel and the Middle Eastern Wizard Guard will check on her periodically,” Samantha said.

  “Okay. I guess that’s good for them.” Annie cleared her things from the sofa. She had taken to eating meals in front of the television. She carried her dirty dishes to the kitchen.

  “You’re okay letting her go?” Samantha asked, nearly crying.

  “Sami, she came here to kill me. I’m having trouble with the whole thing. Just because she’s leaving doesn’t mean you can’t see her,” Annie said.

  “Annie, you need to talk to her. You can’t just let her go,” Samantha pleaded.

  “Sami. My heart is broken. Dad is gone. I can’t. I just can’t see her. Have you seen Zola at all? I haven’t seen her since I left for the desert.”

  “I—come to think of it, I haven’t seen her either. Have you called for her?”

  The doorbell rang. Annie peered through the peep window. “Actually, I’ll have to do that later. Emily’s at the door. I’ll call you later.”

  “Be nice,” Samantha said.

  “Always.”

  Annie placed the phone on the stair and let her mother in. Emily nervously entered the house where she once raised her children. She glanced up the stairs and into the front room.

  “Hi, Mom. Come on in. Have a seat.”

  Emily nodded and sat on the sofa, still taking in the house and the changes Annie had made. “I remember when we bought this house. Your dad and I looked at, I don’t know, maybe twenty different places. I loved this one.” She smiled at the memory. “You did a good job updating it.”

  “Thanks. Is there something I can help you with before you go?” Annie asked as she sat on the ottoman opposite her mother.

  “I’m leaving and I wanted to say goodbye. Can’t a mother do that?”

  Annie smiled cautiously. “Of course. I’m sorry I haven’t had a chance to see you.” She glanced at the door. “Um. Where’s Shiloh?”

  Emily smiled. “He’s getting ready for our trip.”

  “Too bad. I’d love to say goodbye.”

  Emily reached for Annie’s hands. Annie felt her mom’s hands trembling in her own.

  “I want a relationship with you,” Emily said. “Sami agreed. You can come out for a visit. We’ll take you all over. Shiloh really wants to get to know you.”

  Annie pulled away. “I—I suppose we could work something out. Why didn’t Shiloh come?”

  In her heart, Annie knew she wanted nothing to do with Emily and Shiloh; it was much too painful. But her gut told her not to upset her mother in case there really was a trigger.

  “Shiloh is a boy. He’s confused. I thought it best if he remained at home and packed.” Emily began to cough.

  “You okay? Can I get you something?” Annie asked.

  “I could use a glass of water,” Emily said. “I feel parched.”

  Annie nodded and headed to the kitchen. She filled a glass with water from the spout on the refrigerator. When she turned, Emily was in the kitchen. Annie startled.

  “I really like it here. It’s so comfortable. So big,” Emily said as she took a sip of water. She stepped closer to Annie, who looked at her with curiosity and careful observation.

  “When are you going back home?” Annie asked. She kept a watchful eye on Emily’s face; her demeanor changed. Annie felt a cool chill from her mother. Emily didn’t blink as she remained focused on her youngest daughter.

  Sami, call for help! Annie shouted in her head.

  Emily drained the glass and handed it to Annie, though she could have placed it on the counter herself. As Annie took the cool glass, Emily whipped out her hand and stuck something sharp into Annie’s neck. The glass slipped from Annie’s fingers and shattered on the floor as she fell.

  *

  Opening her eyes, Annie found herself on the ground, unable to move. She blinked rapidly, confused for a moment by her predicament. Her eyes darted around her kitchen until she found Emily above her, smiling.

  “They told me you’d be blindsided.” Emily chuckled and knelt beside Annie, touching her cheeks and smashing them into weird shapes.

  Annie would have cringed if she could have moved her head. “What did you do?”

  Emily showed her an empty syringe. “It’s filled with a potion that quickly renders a person paralyzed. Easy peasy.” She dug in her pocket and pulled out a vial for Annie to see. “And this potion will give you a heart attack, one that won’t be detectable.” Emily waved the small vial in front of Annie before donning rubber gl
oves. Annie’s eyes widened as Emily opened the jar.

  Sami, help me! Sami!

  Annie mentally screamed at her sister, hoping her telepathy would work and her second request would inspire Samantha to do something. Emily dropped the stopper on the vial. Annie tried to glare at her mother, but her face was nearly frozen now.

  “What was the trigger?” she mumbled. Her lips were barely able to move; she couldn’t take in a breath to raise her voice.

  Emily’s smile was cold, emotionless, unreal. “I was told that under no circumstances were you allowed to live. You cost them everything. Most of them are in jail. The rest will be back.”

  Annie held her breath as she looked from her mother to the vial and back again. Her panic grew so strong; she began to whimper. Emily grabbed Annie’s chin and pried her mouth open.

  Samantha! Emily’s going to kill me!

  Annie screamed in her head, hoping against hope that her telepathy could reach her sister in time. Annie’s eyes darted from Emily to the hallway door. Unable to move and barely able to speak, she tried again to twist her head away from her mother’s grasp.

  While Annie lay incapacitated, Emily prepared a small dropper of potion for her and held it for Annie to see. “This will kill you. All I have to do is…”

  Annie closed her eyes and concentrated on the vial, the stopper that was nearly at her lips.

  My magic. The telepathy? Can I use my powers without my hands?

  Annie imagined herself jinxing Emily, concentrated her whole being on that one act. Emily flew against the cabinet doors and bounced to the ground.

  The front door burst open. Annie heard footsteps running for the kitchen. While Spencer jumped over Emily to reach Annie, Shiff ran to restrain Emily.

  Spencer checked Annie’s pulse and looked into her eyes. “What did she do?”

  Shiff pulled Emily up and began to tie her legs and hands together.

  “Did Sami call you?” Annie asked. She closed her eyes. Her tears fell quickly.

  Spencer wiped the tears as they trickled down her neck. “Just in time, it seems. Can you tell me what Emily did?” He gently touched her cheek.

  “Syringe paralyzed me. Potion… heart attack,” Annie struggled to say. Spencer scanned the ground, found the syringe and sniffed the contents. He glanced at Annie and then at Emily, whom Shiff had left slumped against the wall, tied with magical rope, a smile on her face.

  “Do you see a small vial or bottle?” Spencer asked. “Annie said it was meant to give her a heart attack.”

  Shiff took to his hands and knees, searching for the vial. He found it open and drained of the liquid. “Did you use this on her?” he shouted in Emily’s face.

  Emily smirked.

  “No,” Annie whispered.

  Spencer turned back toward her. “Good. I need to get you out of here.” He looked back at Shiff. “She didn’t give the potion to Annie yet.”

  Shiff closed the lid of the potion and bagged it. “Where’s the boy?”

  Emily still smiled but said nothing of Shiloh’s location.

  “I can’t worry about Shiloh. Get her back to Tartarus. Annie needs the hospital.”

  Shiff pulled Emily from the ground and dragged her back to the prison, while Spencer gently lifted Annie and teleported her to the hospital.

  *

  “Can you move?” Dr. Christine asked.

  “Yeah.” With the remnants of the potion, the Wizard Guard lab had easily made the antidote to the poison. But Annie still felt dizzy, weak, and in need of sleep.

  “What was the trigger?”

  Annie glanced up and smiled. Cham was being wheeled in. His missing leg still surprised her.

  “She was told under no circumstances was I allowed to live,” Annie said.

  Cham reached out held her hand. She looked at him.

  “I’m supposed to take care of you,” she said.

  “Yeah, yeah. You always have to have the last word.” He turned the chair to get closer to the bed and kissed her hand. “It’s over.”

  She knew he was trying to make it better. While Cham had forgotten for a moment that Jason hadn’t planned on surviving, he still tried to save him. For that action, he lost his leg. He was trying to be brave for her, and she for him.

  “Yeah. It’s definitely over.” Annie heard a noise and looked at the door. “Come in, Sami.”

  Samantha cautiously walked in and sat on the other side of the bed. “You were right,” she said.

  “I’m always right,” Annie teased. “You need to be more specific.”

  Samantha chuckled. “You are a smart ass.”

  “Agreed. What was I right about?”

  Samantha took Annie’s free hand. “About Dad, about Mom. I should have trusted your instinct. You knew this was going to turn out badly.”

  Annie turned her head, grateful she could move it again. “Optimism is good too.”

  Samantha chuckled. “Mom came to kill you. There’s nothing optimistic about that.”

  “I knew she would. I never trusted her. She tried to get me to like her, call her Mom. I couldn’t.”

  “And Dad?”

  “He was here to save us. He did that and I will forever be grateful. My heart aches, though. I lost them both all over again.” Annie felt contemplative. She rested her head against the bed. “You should go back to bed,” she said to Cham.

  “Not yet. You need me now; I’ll need you later.” Cham held her hand tighter.

  “It’ll all hit me in a few days. Or maybe it won’t. If it happens, I might fall apart then. I’m alive and engaged and can step into the future knowing that she can’t come after me and that I’m safe.”

  “You’re my brave, baby sister. You did good.”

  For the moment, Annie would hang on to that.

  Chapter 40

  The house was quiet when Annie returned from the hospital; Cham wouldn’t be released for another week.

  “Zola!” she called out. Annie realized she hadn’t seen Zola for days. Her fairy hadn’t been there for the battle, didn’t come for her when her mother tried to kill her, and she didn’t even come when Annie was in the hospital.

  “Zola!” she called again. It was odd for her not to respond to Annie’s calls. The last time it happened, Zola had been kidnapped and held hostage in the dungeon of the original black market. In her panic, magic rose from Annie’s palms. She made a fist and sent the magic billowing in air.

  She texted Samantha. Is Zola with you?

  No. I still haven’t seen her.

  Annie strolled through the house. The bedrooms were empty and clean; the front room and den had been picked up and dusted. She walked the stairs to the basement and stopped. She held her breath. Jason’s clothes were folded neatly on the sofa and his items were laid out on the shelf beside the bed. Pictures Annie had never seen lined the television stand.

  She sat on the couch and touched his T-shirts, which were neatly folded like an Aloja fairy would do.

  On the coffee table in front of her, she saw an envelope with her name scrawled across it. She recognized Zola’s handwriting. With shaky hands, she opened the envelope.

  My darling Annie,

  It pains me that I have been absent to you in your most dangerous hours, but I had to ensure you had a long, long life. You were right. I made a deal to spare your life.

  When I returned home to the Fates and bargained for your life, they promised me that if I did as they asked, you would most certainly return from the past alive and well. But it came with the highest of costs. They took Gibbs from you. In order to save you, he would have to die in your place. I am so sorry. But if I had the choice to make all over again, I wouldn’t hesitate to make it. I would do it wholeheartedly.

  But it came with a higher cost to me and to you. The worst thing that can happen to an Aloja Fairy is to be removed from their charge. For my insolence, I was taken from you. Our ties have been cut. I was ordered to return home, and I will no longer be allowed a charge.
I will live out my long life alone. That is my penitence.

  I will always love you. Be good to your sister and to Cham. Love wholly, be wise, and be strong. You are my brave girl, and I will never stop loving you.

  Zola

  Always keep my amulet close to you. Always.

  Annie pulled Jason’s flannel shirt from the pile, wrapped herself in it, and cried.

  *

  The Wizard Guard’s best tracker had died in the desert. Shiff was sure Lial would have found the boy by now. Feeling a deep sense of guilt at the thought, he put down his scrying crystal and placed his face in his hands as he rubbed his stubble.

  “Any luck?” Spencer asked. He dropped a flimsy paper bag on the table and sat across from Shiff at the conference room table. The smell of fast food wafted out.

  “Nothing. I went with the VAU to physically search the townhouse and looked for any hiding places in the walls, under the floors. The house was stripped. No sign of Shiloh. I did bring a bunch of his things from home to search for him, though. And I’m guessing Emily was less than helpful.”

  Shiff watched Spencer as he fiddled with the scrying crystal. “She’s suddenly catatonic after flipping out when I arrived. Where else has the VAU been?”

  “They were at Gloriana Worthington’s. She hasn’t seen her grandson. Actually, she didn’t realize she had one. Annie never told her. But she did willingly let the VAU check all of the outbuildings on her property and gave them several locations of interest to the family.” He crossed off the townhouse location and the Cave of Ages on the map.

  “He’s not at the Cave of Ages. The Middle Eastern guards went in and found nothing. Antique Symposium, maybe,” Spencer suggested.