Magic's Divide

by Serena Lindahl

  Jenira nodded. Everyone was guilty in her eyes until proven innocent, but it wasn’t her case to judge. “Do you think she’ll come with us?’

  “I don’t know. I wish I could make her, but she’s not a kid anymore. She’s changed. She used to be so snarky, so full of energy, so strong - like you; whatever happened caused serious trauma. I still see her underneath the fear and the sadness, but it might take a miracle for her to return.”

  “The whole world is changing, Davin. Maybe it’s not too difficult to believe one person may change along with it. What do you think of Eden?”

  Davin shook his head, his large hands stroking the length of her back. “Innocent, but so powerful. I can’t believe that single piece of jewelry managed to contain her power.”

  Jenira agreed. It was the same assessment she had made, and she sensed magical ability better than Davin. The girl was overflowing with power - power she didn’t understand and didn’t know how to use. The idea was frightening. The creator of the amulet would be a formidable foe if he or she weren’t dead already.

  “Only a Magitech could have made that amulet, Davin, and we met another one tonight.”

  Davin pressed her body against his while his magic jumped and danced in an emotion resembling fear. “The world is changing,” he whispered.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Alena

  Alena woke with a start, feeling like she hadn’t slept at all. Her skin was chilled, and fear for something she couldn’t identify sank into her bones. She and Alec had fallen into bed fully dressed; they hadn't even bothered to slip under the blankets. Alec snored softly next to her. She called for Zar, trying to catch the wrongness floating in the air. Evil nudged her – once, twice... Enemies tested the wards. Springing upright, she shook Alec roughly.

  “Alec, trouble!” her words were interrupted by a scream she instinctively attached to Eden. She jumped out of bed and flung open her door, running down the hall. Doors opened along the way; bleary eyes questioned her, but she didn’t see them. Eden was alone in her bed, her eyes huge and glowing in the darkness. They were more yellow than usual, nearly matching her owl’s. Alena shook off the strangeness of the sight and ran to Eden’s side, only dimly aware of Alec directly behind her.

  “Eden, what is it?”

  Eden turned her head toward them, but she was still lost in a dream; her open eyes were unseeing. Alena’s spine shivered as the vacant gaze stared through her.

  “They’re here,” she said, her tone calm and abnormally flat. “They’ve come for me.” She slumped over in bed, her eyes closed, and Zar released a howl that rang of danger and intruders and made every nerve in Alena’s body spark with fire and fear. Alena shook Eden, but Bette appeared on the other side of the bed. Her face was set in firm lines and she held a rolling pin.

  “She’ll be fine,” Bette said. “Alec and I will watch over her.” She listed a string of commands, her voice strong and steady. “They’re attempting to dismantle the east ward. Take the big man, his warrior woman, Mac, and Elliott. The rest will remain in the house.” When Alena didn’t move immediately, she barked, “Go, now! Don’t let them past the tree line or they’ll bring others.”

  Alena hurried to comply. She looked at Eden one last time and pressed a quick kiss to Alec’s cheek. “I’ll be back,” she promised, her eyes sparkling with green fire. In the hallway, she banged on Mac and Elliott’s doors. She didn’t know why Bette had named these two, but her brain was too focused on the intruders to consider it further. Mac opened the door. She was fully dressed, her stormy eyes hardened like flint.

  “You’re coming?” Alena asked. Mac hesitated a moment, licked her dry lips, and nodded assuredly.

  Elliott wasn’t as easy to convince. “Why me?” he whined from inside his room.

  “Elliott, it’s your choice,” Alena said impatiently, “but Bette said you should come.” Elliott exited his room reluctantly. His face was pale with fright, and his thin form shook like a leaf, but he followed Mac and Alena. Davin and Jenira were already waiting in the hallway, standing at the top of the stairs.

  “We have trouble?” Jenira’s deadly voice was calm with no trace of sleep.

  “Against the east ward. I don’t know how many, but I think there’s more than one.” She closed her eyes briefly and felt for Zar. He was prowling along the ward, growling at the intruders, but she couldn’t see more than that. Davin had shed his jacket, and his muscles bulged obscenely under his t-shirt. He locked eyes with Mac who stood behind Alena.

  “Kenzie?”

  “It’s Mac, Uncle Davin. I go by Mac now. And yes. I’m needed here.”

  The exchange was strange, but Alena’s body and mind were already preparing for a battle. She readied her deep well of magic, riling it so it would come when called. “Come on,” Alena growled, sounding more like Zar than herself. She ran down the stairs and hoped the others followed. She didn’t bother with shoes. Her elemental abilities preferred a direct connection with the earth.

  The night was dark with a bite of cold, but Alena barely noticed. Her skin was on fire, her need to protect the house and everyone in it filling her with righteous anger and sparking her magic. They would not get past the wards. The full moon peeked from behind the clouds and lit their way as they walked across the lane. Jenira and Davin kept pace with her, Mac wasn’t far behind them, and Elliott struggled to keep up. The way was clear. The strangers were pushing at a ward on the eastern border, which was just past a thin tree line. She pointed in that direction.

  “They’re past those trees, Zar and I sense about six separate individuals.” She picked up her pace, and they burst from the trees, Alena prepared a shield in case they attacked on sight. Six figures, dressed in dark red robes, stood just beyond the ward line, their bodies inhumanly still. Zar prowled the house’s side of the ward, resembling the beast he was as drool dripped from his sharp canines and a ridge of dark fur rose on his back.

  “This isn’t really a fair fight,” Jenira drawled. Alena agreed. They had six mages, and Zar made seven. They all appeared to be about the same size, and Alena honed her sensing skills on the group.

  “They’re all mages. I sense moderate elemental abilities,” Alena told her team quietly. Something nagged at her; the assessment didn’t seem correct. Why were they all mages? Were they planning on talking and not fighting? She held up a hand, and the party stopped.

  “What do you want?” Alena called out. About fifteen feet separated them from the cloaked figures. The moonlight, though bright, revealed nothing under the hoods.

  “We want the girl,” the lead figure said, two steps ahead of its friends. Its voice was a strange rasping whisper but still clearly heard. Alena shuddered; it irritated her that she couldn’t get a clear read on them. Davin and Jenira had twin looks of confusion and concentration on their faces. “If you give us the Magitech, we will leave, and no one will be hurt.”

  Alena frowned. Their demands were arrogant, considering they out-numbered and overpowered them. She wondered if this group was merely a decoy, but the wards around the rest of the property were steady and unharmed.

  “You can’t cross the wards,” Alena replied in a shout. “If you cross without invitation, you revoke your right to life as according to mage rule.”

  The lead figure made a sound that could have been a laugh, but it was far more sinister. Zar growled low at the sound. The other cloaked beings were eerily still and silent. Alena shivered again, unseen eyes studying her. “You are refusing to give us the Magitech?”

  Alena’s mouth tightened into a hard line. “You shall not have the Magitech!”

  “Very well, then.” A smile hid behind the genderless voice. The lead figure made a small motion, nothing more than a twitch of one cloaked arm. The group stepped forward in uncanny synchronicity. They each stepped one booted foot next to the ward; their next step led them over the invisible line. The wards rippled and shattered, allowing the enemies to step through. Then, they sprung back into p
lace.

  Alena’s jaw dropped open. She was prepared to protect the house and engage in a fight, but she had no desire to kill anyone. She looked sideways at Jenira; the warrior woman didn’t have any such misgivings. Magic swirled in the air, the casting of a spell tingling along her exposed skin. Alena threw up a shield, catching the ball of sizzling energy which flew from one of the figures. It crackled in the air before her and crashed against her shield with such force Alena stumbled back a step.

  Events happened so rapidly after that first shot that Alena had difficulty tracking them. Zar leaped at one of the figures; it swung an arm outward and effortlessly swatted the huge beast back to the ground. Zar shook his head, rattled, and Alena’s breath panted from her. What could bat away a two-hundred-pound animal like a balloon?

  Jenira threw a dagger. A strange clunk rang through the air as the blade pierced the darkness of a cloaked hood, but the figure didn’t even stumble. It stepped closer, the hilt of the dagger protruding from its hood. Zar jumped again, approaching from behind, and grabbed a mouthful of one of the cloaks. The fabric ripped away and metal glinted in the pale moonlight.

  “What the hell?” Jenira cursed beside her. They were instinctively edging closer to each other as the six figures advanced. Zar continued to tug, the cloak swinging from his massive jaws, and Alena gaped. More metal gleamed, and bright red lights shone from their eye sockets. It had arms, legs, and a torso, but their entire bodies were coated with steel and wires.

  “Robots.” Davin's voice was stunned and angry. “They’re not human!” Their group edged backward as they debated how to kill the inhuman enemies.

  “But they have magic,” Alena protested, staring at the abominations.

  Davin’s jaw hardened. “Magitech,” he spat. Despite his own nature, the word was coated with revulsion.

  “Resourceful humans,” the lead one said. Alena recognized the hiss and crackle of static under its voice now that she knew it wasn’t flesh and blood. The creature cocked its head at Davin. “You’re an interesting one,” it mused in a surprisingly thoughtful tone. Davin’s eyes widened and then hardened just as quickly.

  “Kill them,” he commanded softly.

  “How?” Alena squeaked, her limbs starting to shake. Mac stepped past her. With one indecipherable glance at her uncle, she extended one arm. A bright energy ball similar to the one the robot had flung at them sparked through the air and crashed into the chest of the one that had been stripped of its cloak. It stumbled, wires sparking along its body as each one caught fire. The chain reaction caused it to shake in a seizure. The robot’s form flared briefly with strange blue flames, and it fell to the ground, the red leaving its eyes. Alena felt its magic abandon the body, like it couldn’t wait to flee.

  “They can die,” Mac muttered in a hard voice, smirking at the rest of them. Alena saw the fireball hurtling toward the younger woman, but she wasn’t fast enough. Davin jumped in front of Mac, knocking her to the ground. The energy ball sizzled past them, but a lick of blue fire sputtered against Mac’s leg. She stumbled to the ground and slumped forward. Alena froze in fear, but Mac’s chest was still moving. She wasn’t dead, just unconscious.

  Jenira screamed a bloodcurdling battle cry and flew forward. She danced around the figures, her daggers flashing. Sparks flew where she sliced wires or cut exposed connections. Davin growled, a sound similar to Zar’s. After one last glance at his niece’s body, he catapulted his muscular body forward. His massive fist landed in one of the robot’s faces. The head snapped backward, but it didn’t stumble or stop. Davin continued pummeling it with kicks and punches, even as blood dripped from his hands from the bite of the sharp metal.

  Zar hopped around another robot, snapping at wires. He yipped when a spark singed his fur. Three bodies remained upright, including the leader who seemed to be the only one able to speak and think. Alena glanced at Elliott. His eyes were wide and his lanky form shook.

  Standing protectively in front of Mac, Alena called to Elliot. “Elliott, I need your help.” She focused on her magic, forming the intent in her mind. She grasped at the night air and the dew on the grass and stripped the clouds from the sky, pulling all the water to her. Elliott understood her intention. When the wave was formed, Elliott helped her direct it with his air ability.

  “Incoming!” she shouted. Jenira and Davin stepped away from their targets. Jenira’s last victim twitched on the ground, spitting sparks. Davin might have been losing his fight with the metal monster. Alena and Elliott pushed the wave forward. The massive mountain of water broke over them. Electricity popped and steam hissed into the air. Zar leaped back with a yelp when a spark flew several feet and glowed in his fur. The water fizzled in the robot’s innards, slowing their movements, but the lead figure lurched forward single-mindedly as his comrades fell around him. His cloak had ripped and exposed his strange bald, metal head. Red eyes glowed with malevolence.

  “Pitiful humans,” it rasped, its voice so coated with crackling sounds, it was almost impossible to decipher. “Every time we fight you, we learn. We learn what we cannot fight against. We will find the Magitech.” Its head wobbled towards Davin. “We will find every Magitech.” It might have said more, but Jenira flashed behind it. Her dagger slice separated its head from its body. The light in its eyes blinked as the head bounced in the grass, the wires in its neck sparking and spitting fire. Finally, the glow faded and the night returned.

  The five mages stared at the picture before them, still disbelieving. The mangled metal and strangely human body parts still steamed and fizzled. Alena kneeled next to Mac. She was regaining consciousness, holding her head as she attempted to rise. Davin held her steady and glanced at Jenira.

  “Can you take her inside?” The fierce woman nodded. Alena started to protest, worried that carrying her would jostle her too much, but she didn’t have time. Jenira cradled Mac gently, stood up, and disappeared. A moment later, she reappeared. Alena blinked.

  “You’re a phaser,” she murmured in shock. Jenira merely nodded.

  Davin stood in the middle of the robotic mess, magelight glowing above his head. “They’re all gone,” he announced needlessly. Alena had felt the magic flee when the leader’s eyes dimmed and died. The power dissolved into the night, eager to escape its techie prison. Nothing remained but a pile of metal and wires covered in torn and soaked fabric.

  “What the hell were those things?” Alena breathed, leaning over her knees. The energy she had used had nearly depleted her. Davin’s eyes were haunted.

  “They’re the reason Magitechs are considered dangerous. They weren’t alive, but they are still a creation of magic and tech. I thought I was at the top of the tech industry; I thought I had gone the farthest to integrate tech and magic.” He chuckled, but he wasn’t amused. “What we have learned is nothing compared to this.” He kicked a metal arm and looked at Jenira. “It’s not about the components; we’re missing something. We need your sister to look at these. She will be upset she’s looking in the wrong direction, but we need to know what we’re dealing with.”

  Alena gawked at the things with revulsion. “What if there are trackers?”

  Davin nodded. “A good question. I’ll have the useful parts taken to my office in Brenville. I believe the leader’s last words tell us that he was communicating with its master, owner, or creator – whatever he prefers to be called. He will know what has transpired here. They know now that I am also a Magitech; for some reason, the robot was able to separate me from the others. They also know Eden is here.” He stared into the darkness thoughtfully. Alena kneeled by Zar, searching him for injuries. His fur was burnt, his ribs were injured, but otherwise, he seemed fine. She redirected her attention to Davin.

  “How are you feeling? You punched a metal machine, one strong enough to fling a two-hundred-pound beast around like a rag doll.”

  Davin smirked and stretched his bloodied knuckles. “I’ll be all right. But we have to talk. Let’s go back inside and check on Kenz
- Mac.” He frowned again at the broken forms, unwilling to leave them on the ground.

  “Unless they send a whole army of robots to drag these parts away, they’ll still be here in the morning,” Alena assured him. “I don’t know how they crossed the wards, but it felt more like a scouting mission than a full-on attack. The creator wants us to know they exist. I don’t believe any more will arrive tonight, but I’ll let you know immediately if something pushes against the wards.”

  Davin nodded and stood, swaying on his feet. Jenira propped his sizable bulk up by wrapping his arm around her shoulder. Besides a smear of dark liquid across her cheek which looked like oil, she didn’t seem injured. Alena suspected her magic contributed to her speed and ability to fight. Elliott was standing as still as possible, staring at the machines on the ground. Alena smiled at him.

  “Thanks, Elliott. That would have been a lot more difficult without your help.” He nodded, but his mind was distracted and far away. The house was bright, light shining out of nearly every window. Alena suspected that everyone was awake and waiting for them to return. Voices rose in the larger living room they rarely used, confirming her hunch. It was set up similarly to the small sitting room.

  Eden and Alec occupied one of the couches, their faces pale and nervous. Alena noticed with pleasure that they were sitting close to each other, their thighs pressing together. She was glad they had found comfort while they waited. Bette bent over Mac, assessing the small bump on her head.

  Charity was attempting to corral the younger girls, who stared at everyone with disbelieving gazes. “Charity, get the younger ones upstairs.” One of the twins groaned, but none of them dared disobey the housekeeper. Alena embraced a grateful Alec, smoothing the worry lines from his forehead, and squeezed Eden’s hand when she held it out to her. She collapsed on the couch beside Alec, her mind and body still reeling.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven