Runebinder

by Alex R. Kahler

  He knew the Kin would be back. He knew he was still a target. But he wasn’t as afraid, not anymore. He wasn’t alone. And, frankly, he had someone that put even the incubus to shame.

  Someday, though, he would have to tell Jarrett about Tomás. He would have to. He just wanted to ensure he was ready—he had to be able to kill the incubus before Tomás could kill anyone else. It made him burn inside, this secret, but at least he knew it was keeping the others safe.

  Still, something tugged at the edge of his consciousness. Something that sounded like fading screams.

  He uncurled himself from Jarrett’s arms, then pushed himself out of bed and wrapped a fallen quilt around his shoulders before padding over to the window as silently as possible. Moonlight peeked out from the clouds. Everything glowed silver in those patches of moonlight, gently covered with snow—the farmhouses, the gas station, the trees. Straight out of a painting.

  He readjusted the quilt and began to turn from the window when something shifted in the corner of his vision.

  A shadow darted between the trees.

  Tenn opened to Earth. Blood thundered in his ears as he searched...and found it. He’d hoped it was an animal—maybe a deer or a raccoon.

  It wasn’t.

  It was humanoid. Broken and bent.

  “Kravens!” he yelled.

  Jarrett woke in an instant. Tenn leaped over to the bed and threw on his clothes. Jarrett was right behind him.

  Tenn wanted to scream as they thundered through the house, rousing the twins and trying to get their hazy brains into action. This wasn’t supposed to happen. Not like this. Not this soon. He just wanted one night with Jarrett. One goddamned night of calm and warmth before the blood had to fall again. Tenn grabbed his staff from the hall and raced up the stairs to the roof. Blood pounded in his ears. He wanted to scream. He wanted to make the Howls pay for ruining the last few hours of perfection. Outside, the screams of the Dark Lady’s horde pierced the pastoral night.

  “How many?” Dreya asked.

  They stood on a rooftop balcony, one of those stargazing platforms no one ever really used. The frozen air made their breath come out in tiny clouds. All four of them were open to their Spheres. Tenn knew perfectly well that she could sense that they were surrounded. She was just trying to make conversation while they waited for the enemy to attack. The fact that the beasts were just out there biding their time made Tenn’s hair stand on end. The Howls were waiting, moonlight making their gray, twisted bodies even more ghastly. Howls didn’t wait. Not unless they were under strict order.

  “Hundreds,” Jarrett said. “We’re surrounded.”

  Tenn’s dream filtered into his thoughts, a terrible déjà vu. “It’s almost like you want to be found...” Matthias’s warning chilled its way up Tenn’s already frozen spine, sending a new wave of shivers across his skin.

  He’ll never give up, Tenn thought. He looked to his companions. He’ll never give up, and you’ll all suffer for it.

  “Why aren’t they attacking?” Jarrett asked.

  “Because it’s not an attack,” Tenn said. “It’s a safeguard.”

  The Howls stared up at the rooftop like grotesque marble statues. He could smell the rot of their flesh even from here.

  “He doesn’t want us to flee,” Tenn continued. The others didn’t ask who he was talking about. They knew. “He’s coming back for me.”

  As if to accentuate the point, the kravens below them began to part. Someone else moved out there, a darker shadow in the silvered landscape coming steadily toward them.

  “And so we meet again,” Matthias called. It echoed through the air, amplified by magic. Tenn could see the Spheres burning in Matthias’s body, glowing brighter the closer he got. Other flickers of power manifested around them. Each one sent another wave of dread through him. The Spheres of the encroaching necromancers burned like gas lamps in the shadows. Dozens of them.

  “As you can see,” Matthias said, “we have you completely surrounded. There will be no easy escape like last time.”

  His feet crunched up the snowy drive, until he was only a few yards away from the SUV.

  “Stop right there,” Jarrett said. He pushed a bit of power through the air and a gust of snow kicked up around Matthias, sending him back a few steps. Matthias chuckled. The laugh was colder than ice.

  “You have guts,” the man said. Tenn could see him clearly now: just as dapper as ever. Just as deadly. “And soon, my minions will feast on them.”

  “What do you want?” Jarrett asked, clearly trying to bide time and figure out an escape.

  “I think you know what I want,” Matthias said. “Hand over the boy and I’ll make sure they kill you quickly. You defied me when I was prepared to let you live. I do not like being defied. This is my final mercy.”

  “Fuck your mercy,” Jarrett hissed. “You aren’t getting him.”

  Tenn put a hand on Jarrett’s shoulder. His stomach was twisting double time. “Jarrett, don’t. I’m going. This ends tonight.”

  Jarrett turned his fury on him and pushed off his hand. Air burned in his throat, and Tenn knew the guy he fell for was gone for the moment, replaced by a machine of cold calculation and ferocity.

  “Like hell you will. I’m not letting you go. Not without a fight.”

  “If you two are done with your lovers’ quarrel,” Matthias said, “I believe Tenn and I have some unfinished business.”

  Resolve settled itself into Tenn’s bones. If he went down there, maybe the others could escape. Maybe he could distract Matthias long enough to leave that window open. He looked at Jarrett and felt tears burn in the back of his eyes. He wouldn’t let Jarrett die for him. Not today.

  Jarrett took his hand.

  “We fight together,” Jarrett whispered. He wasn’t looking at Tenn. He was looking at the twins.

  “I wouldn’t recommend—” Matthias began, but the scream of a storm cut him short.

  The world erupted in white.

  Power swirled from the twins, snow raging in an instantaneous blizzard, the moon blacked out in a breath.

  “We have to get out of here,” Jarrett yelled through the roar of snow. The house stood in the eye of the storm, the sky above them clear of clouds. It was only a matter of seconds before the necromancers would launch a counterattack, before Matthias regained his bearings and brought hell raining down on them.

  “There’s no way,” Tenn said. “He’ll follow us. He’ll always follow us. I have to give myself up.”

  “This is all very touching,” came Matthias’s voice. Light flared in the heart of the blizzard, a strobe that floated up into the air. Matthias was silhouetted inside it, the storm raging around him. “But if that is the best you can do, I’m afraid you are wasting your time.”

  Snow turned to flame.

  Dreya and Devon gasped as the magic was wrenched from their control. The world was red, and hot, and screaming, burning like the devil’s beating heart.

  “I have to end this,” Tenn said.

  “No,” Jarrett said. He glanced to the twins. “I do.”

  He leaned in close and kissed Tenn fiercely on the lips.

  Then he pushed Tenn away and, in a gust of power, rose into the air. Devon grabbed Tenn’s arms as he screamed, but Jarrett wasn’t listening. He shot forward, his Sphere blazing bright, wreathing him in power that burned like a comet. Straight toward Matthias.

  “No!” Tenn screamed. He struggled against Devon, reached deep into Earth and made the whole world shudder. Water howled inside of him. He saw the two figures meet in the haze of fire, Jarrett glowing brighter than the sun, Matthias burning with equal fervor. They met in the space of a heartbeat, and when they collided, the world flashed white.

  Then the twins surrounded him, wrapped their arms tight as they sandwiche
d themselves against him, and the world was replaced by screaming wind. Screaming wind and pain.

  They flew.

  Tenn struggled, or at least he tried, but the twins bound tight to him and something stronger held him in place, a barrier of Air that kept him still. Earth kicked in, some reflex he didn’t know he had, knitting his flesh back together. He didn’t want it to. He wanted the wind to tear him apart. He wanted to hurt.

  He could do nothing but struggle.

  The scream of wind was over in a heartbeat, and then they were on the ground, and the twins were pulling him forward. Running. Running. His limbs were numb and his brain was dead and it was the three of them, running in the snow, in the night, as the twins gasped and pulled him along and he stumbled drunkenly between them. He didn’t want to run. He had to go back. He had to go back.

  They wouldn’t let him.

  Jarrett.

  Jarrett...

  Moments later they were in a car. A huge SUV. They threw Tenn in the backseat and Devon jumped in the front and they were moving. Driving through the silent night. It was only then that the magic gagging Tenn vanished. Only then that he could force himself to sitting in the cold, hellish backseat.

  Just him in the backseat.

  “Take me back!” he screamed. Earth was still open, and when he yelled he lashed with power. The ground rumbled, making the car sway and veer. Still Devon raced forward.

  Dreya turned and slapped him. Hard.

  “Quiet!” she yelled. Air flared and wrapped around his throat, stilling the words in his lungs. Her chest was heaving and tears raced down her eyes.

  “He is gone, Tenn,” she said. She didn’t break eye contact. A single tear fell down her face. “As he knew would happen. As he planned.”

  Tenn struggled against the invisible bonds around him. Another flare of power, and another tremor vibrated through the car. This one weaker. Things weren’t clicking. Things weren’t clicking.

  She didn’t raise her hand again. She barely raised her voice.

  “He knew you were being chased,” she said steadily. “We had planned for this.” She gestured to the SUV. “We had this escape route ready. In case.” She swallowed. But she still didn’t look away. “In case Jarrett needed to get you out of there. He knew this would happen. And he knew he would die to keep you safe.”

  Why me? Tenn wanted to ask. He couldn’t speak, even though she’d released his gag. His words were snarled in tears.

  “Keep quiet. Do not use magic.” Her words were so quiet. Distant. Like she was repeating something Jarrett had told her. “We must keep you alive, no matter the cost. Do not let Jarrett’s death be in vain.”

  The hum of the truck was quiet. Too quiet. Things weren’t clicking.

  Then, suddenly, things were clicking.

  Jarrett had died to save him.

  Jarrett had died to save him.

  Tenn’s world inked to black and fell away.

  Jarrett was dead.

  Jarrett was dead.

  Jarrett is dead.

  PART

  2

  THE DEVIL’S MINIONS

  “We have turned our backs on the gods

  and the gods

  as one

  have turned their backs on us.”

  —Rhiannon’s Diary.

  1 P.R.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  DO NOT LET his death be in vain.

  Those words kept Tenn silent as they sped through the night. Devon veered back and forth through the snow, through the storm, but Tenn was past caring if they crashed or made it through. Air glowed in the twins’ throats, both to guide them and to gust the snow away. It was enough magic to be followed. It was enough to be seen by Matthias.

  Tenn didn’t care about that. Let Matthias follow them; he had nothing left.

  Jarrett had died to save him.

  Jarrett had known he would die to keep Tenn safe.

  Tenn could barely convince himself that Jarrett was a future he could have.

  Jarrett had known Tenn was worth sacrificing his own future over.

  The thoughts sloshed in his head as the SUV drove through the night. He didn’t even try to hold Water down. He didn’t need to; the Sphere didn’t need to do a damned thing to drag him down into despair. He was there. Sinking. He was there, because Jarrett was not.

  What could Water show him that would outmatch this?

  He didn’t know how long they drove. Hours, maybe. Maybe only a few minutes. The sun rose and the world was filtered gray and dark and his insides felt the same. He wanted the twins to say something. Anything. They didn’t. And that meant he couldn’t say anything, either. This wasn’t a world for mourning the dead; he would get no comfort from either of them, and he knew that. But he wanted it. He wanted someone to acknowledge the loss that gaped in the car like a wound. Did they expect him to just follow along now? Not that he really had any other choice. He would keep ambling forward until he died.

  Tears ran down his cheeks as he slumped against the window and watched the gray world go by.

  Twelve hours ago he’d been snuggled in the backseat with Jarrett.

  Twelve hours ago he’d thought he could have a future.

  Now, he had nothing.

  Eventually, the tears ran out and he could only slouch and watch and wait with cold dread for Matthias to come. Because, eventually, Matthias would come. In Tenn’s dreams, and now his reality, Matthias was always waiting.

  He couldn’t even be angry at Matthias.

  What use was revenge when he no longer had a future to fight for?

  This was the world they lived in: it was always spelled out that, eventually, one of them would die. If anything, the whole situation just felt inevitable.

  And, if he was being terribly honest, it was almost a relief.

  He’d now experienced the worst. There was no need to wait for the ax to fall anymore.

  He tried to quell the thought. Tried to figure out if it was Water talking or his depression. Eventually, he decided it didn’t really matter. Water was a part of him. So were all the terrible thoughts he ever tried to hide away.

  They weren’t made better by the scenery. The snow lessened as they drove, and the open expanse of fields quickly turned to thick pine forests. But that wasn’t what kicked his numb heart into gear. It was the sign they passed that made him want to jump from the car.

  Silveron Academy

  for the Magical Arts

  40 Miles Ahead

  Maybe he’d been kidding himself about the worst already happening.

  The green sign was pockmarked with bullet holes. Below it was a sign he’d become all too familiar with in the days before the Resurrection.

  MAGIC USERS

  ARE THE

  DEVIL’S MINIONS

  Howls weren’t the first monsters spawned by the Spheres. The protesters had almost been worse.

  Tenn had never heard of a Howl barricading children in a school for magic and burning it down. That had been in Texas, two weeks after his classes at Silveron began. A week after that, an academy in Georgia had to close after a fanatic blew up half a dorm. His school had never suffered the same fate, but that didn’t mean the locals enjoyed having a school of sinners so close to their homes. Protesters continually lined the front gate, and the school received a multitude of threats. And Tenn received anxious calls from his parents every week, making sure he felt safe, making sure he didn’t want to go home.

  Tenn hadn’t realized, when he applied, that the first and last time he would be allowed to leave the campus was after the first Howl was born.

  The fear in his chest was a nice change from the numbness. Another inevitability. Of course they would be passing by his old school. Of course.

  He slid down in hi
s seat and closed his eyes. He didn’t expect to fall asleep. He didn’t want to fall under, didn’t want to cave to Matthias’s gloating, but the hum of the car overtook him, and the stress of the last few hours finally gave way to exhaustion.

  Sleep came on ragged wings, carrying with it a silence as deep as death.

  The last thing he thought before he was dragged under was Jarrett’s face.

  I’m sorry, he mouthed to the darkness. I’m sorry.

  * * *

  He didn’t dream of Matthias.

  But he didn’t know if that made him feel better or worse.

  “Now, now, Tenn, crying won’t help anyone,” Tomás said, reclining on the leather armchair. “If you want revenge, you’ll have to take it.”

  Tenn’s thoughts slurred with his emotions. He was dreaming, he knew he was dreaming, and he’d experienced enough of these to feel a sort of indifference. It was just a dream. Of course Tomás would find a way to infiltrate them.

  “Fuck off,” Tenn said. He was on an armchair across from the Howl, and manacles secured Tenn to the leather.

  Tomás just smiled and adjusted his pose, the leather creaking under his skin.

  “You’re hurt,” Tomás said. His voice dripped saccharine. “I understand that. But let’s be honest—we both knew Jarrett was just using you. Why do you think he even showed up at your outpost? Everything he said was a lie, Tenn. He only told you those things so you wouldn’t leave him. So he could do his duty. So he could interfere with your destiny. But now, he is out of the picture for good.”

  Tenn wanted to burst to his feet, to rage against the incubus, but the chains held him in place. He struggled for a second, until he saw that it was only making Tomás smile.

  “Don’t stop on my account,” the incubus said. “You’re giving me so many ideas.”