by John Corwin
Nightliss tried to speak. "Yes, but—"
"I don't think you want to be pervy, Nightliss." Ivy shrugged. "Besides, I really like Conrad."
Cold sweat broke out on my forehead. "I like you too Ivy, but—"
She shook her head. "I'm not pretty enough, am I?"
"Of course you are." I scrambled for words to make her feel better, but I didn't even know where to start. "Max likes you a lot."
Ivy blinked her big blue eyes. "Really?"
I nodded. "Can't you tell he's infatuated with you?"
She exchanged a confused look with Nightliss. "I guess he's nice and all."
"I think things will change once you have your memories back." I patted the top of her hand. "You're not thinking straight right now."
Nightliss nodded. "Conrad is right. Our personalities might change when we remember everything."
Ivy got up and looked into a mirror. "Max told me I'm supposed to be nineteen or twenty. But look at me. I barely look fifteen because I've been locked away under a preservation spell."
"You look sixteen at least," I said.
"All these years stolen from me right along with my memories." Ivy turned and narrowed her eyes. "No offense, but I want to kill your dad so bad I can taste it."
I offered a sheepish grin. "Be my guest."
Ivy huffed and paced the room. "I can't sit in here. I need to do something." She took my hand. "Let's go on a walk."
I looked over at Nightliss. "Want to come?"
The angel shook her head. "I will watch Galfandor. If he awakens and no one is here, it will confuse him."
"You're right." I got up and looked at my dirty clothes. "Wish I had something to change into."
"We can walk down to the store and get you something." Ivy pulled out a wad of Euros. "Stan gave me some money for clothes."
"That would be great." We stepped outside into the waning sunlight and started walking toward the main road connecting this tiny village to the larger town of San Gimignano just up the road. The others had taken the bus to get groceries, but Ivy insisted we walk instead.
"It just feels good to be on my feet again." Ivy blurred down the road a few yards, spun and came back. "I can't channel a single spell, but at least I have my strength."
I pretended to run in slow motion. "I'm almost as fast."
"You're silly." She punched me lightly in the shoulder. "You could probably run faster with the right spells."
I resumed walking and shrugged. "I hadn't really thought about using spells like that."
"You should. I'll bet it would come in handy." Ivy picked up a rock and tossed it toward the fertile green fields and the rolling hills. The stone buildings of San Gimignano rose on the horizon, seemingly closer than they actually were.
An old pickup truck rattled past in the opposite direction, followed by a tiny red sports car. The screech of tires jerked my attention behind us. The red car skidded to a stop. Talbot sprang from the driver's seat, a malicious grin spreading across his face.
"Well, bless my stars." He tucked the leather duster behind his holster. "Looks like my lucky day."
I didn't even remember drawing my wand. The next thing I knew it was in my hand, firing a storm of electricity at Talbot. His eyes widened with surprise. A hand blurred to his waist and drew his wand. His shield was too late to stop my first attack. Energy crackled and burned a hole in the shoulder of his duster. My other attacks struck his shield, driving cracks into the shimmering surface.
"I'll be a monkey's uncle, boy! You're quick." He shrugged out of his smoking duster and scowled. "That was my favorite coat."
I backed up a step and looked back at Ivy. She wasn't there. "How did you find us?" I wondered if Ivy had run into the bushes to hide.
"Good old-fashioned tracking." He showed his teeth. "You left a trail through those woods a blind monkey could follow. Didn't take much detective work to figure you must be in one of these two towns."
"Where's your sister?"
Talbot stomped on the burnt patch of his coat. "Why don't you throw down your wand and get in my car? Then I'll answer all the questions you want."
I wondered where Ivy had gone. Was she sneaking up behind Talbot, or had she left me behind? Ivy didn't seem like the sort who'd run from a fight, so I imagined she was sneaking up behind Talbot.
"That's not going to happen." I kept my wand at the ready in case I needed to cast a shield or return fire. "I'm more than capable of protecting myself."
"Why don't we make this interesting?" Talbot holstered his wand. "A duel. Me and you, right here."
"Like an old west gunslinger duel?" I backed up a step. "If you kill me, you won't get anything."
"Oh, I won't kill you, boy." Talbot bared his teeth. "I'll just wing you."
"You're really that confident that I won't win?" Where in the world is Ivy? I had no intention of risking a wand duel. I might have been quick on the draw when I saw Talbot, but this was a man who lived to fight duels. His hand moved like lightning when he needed to fend off my attacks. I imagined he could beat me in a quick draw, no problem.
"I'll sweeten the pot for you, Conrad." Talbot rested a hand on his holster. "If you win and I survive, Delilah and I will pack our bags and go home. Seeing as how there ain't another bounty hunter worth their salt after you, you'll be home free."
"You'll leave me and all my friends alone?" It actually sounded like a risk worth taking. Maybe I could have the best of both worlds. If I accepted the challenge and lost, Ivy could still save me. If I won, then that would be one less danger to worry about. I holstered my wand. "Challenge accepted."
"That's so cute."
I spun toward the voice behind me, hand reaching for my wand. But a grinning Delilah poked her wand into my chest. I put my hands in the air.
They had me.
Chapter 14
I didn't know where Delilah had come from, but I had a terrible feeling about Ivy's disappearance. She wasn't hiding. Delilah must have knocked her out when I had the standoff with Talbot. He tricked me!
When Delilah's wand touched my chest, two thoughts echoed in my mind. They want me alive. If I give up now, I'm done for.
Delilah was tall, but petite. I had no idea how capable she was physically, but I was about to find out. I dropped into a crouch and swung my leg at hers, just as Kanaan had taught us in our magitsu lessons. She tried to jump, but that only helped me. I swept her legs out from beneath her, and Delilah crashed into the ground.
Using my momentum, I swung around and kicked her wand hand. She shrieked in pain and the wand clattered to the road. With Talbot still at my back, I didn't dare pause to take her wand, or try to knock her out.
"Stop right there, boy!" Talbot shouted.
I spotted a pair of feet poking from behind a bush on the right side of the road and dove for them. I landed next to an unconscious Ivy—at least I hoped she was just knocked out. I couldn't drag her to safety with Talbot and Delilah to worry about, so I took out my wand and fired a jagged bolt of energy at Delilah.
The spell struck her calf and burned through her jeans. She screamed. A breeze blew the odor of burnt flesh into my nostrils. I grabbed Ivy beneath her arms. She was a little shorter than me, but heavier than expected. I dragged her a few feet and gave up on the idea. I couldn't get her upright long enough to get her on my shoulder.
Use a spell, you idiot! I ran through a list in my head, trying to come up with something useful. I flicked my wand through a pattern and pointed it at Ivy. Levator! Ivy remained on the ground. Apparently, I'd forgotten how to cast the levitation spell. I tried one last time to pick up Ivy and nearly launched her into the air because she was light as a feather.
I grabbed her hand and yanked her through the air after me. Running and stumbling through the brush, I heard Talbot shouting behind me. I didn't know if he'd stopped to help Delilah, but I wasn't going to stop and find out.
"Huh?" Ivy twisted in my grip. "What's going on?"
I looked bac
k over my shoulder and nearly tripped over a rock. "The wandslingers are after us!"
"Why am I floating?" Ivy gripped my wrist hard enough to make my bones ache.
"Ow, not so tight!"
Her grip loosened, but still held fast. "Why am I flying?"
"Levitation spell," I panted. "Don't worry." I stopped and looked toward the road. It was too far to make San Gimignano, so I doubled back through rows of olive trees toward Monteoliveto. I didn't hear Talbot anymore, but that didn't mean he wasn't right behind us.
Branches crackled. "Ouch!"
I looked back and realized Ivy had floated a little too high. I pulled her down, grabbed her by the waist, and tucked her under an arm.
"This is so weird!" Ivy flailed her feet, but couldn't make them touch the ground.
"Stop wriggling and let me get us out of here." I hid behind a bush and peeked around it while I caught my breath. The thud of hooves and snapping limbs drew my attention to the right.
A golem horse burst through the foliage and raced up a small rise in the middle of the olive grove. I ducked back behind the bush at the fringe of the grove, but not before Talbot's eyes flashed my way. He saw me.
The horse thundered straight at us, confirming my fear. I whipped out my wand. Counted to three. Jumped out and fired a blast. Talbot ducked in the saddle, but I wasn't aiming for him. The spell exploded halfway up the front leg of the horse. The wood cracked, splintered, and snapped. Talbot flew headfirst off the horse and crashed through the bushes.
I flicked my wand and engulfed the bushes in flames. Talbot stumbled out, shielding his face with his arms. I fired another spell, but he dove to the side, firing magic bullets. Ivy screamed and went limp. Bubbles of blood sprayed into the air, floating serenely as if there were no gravity.
"Ivy!" Blood seeped from a wound in her abdomen. I pushed her beneath the branches of the bush to keep her from floating away and ran toward Talbot, blasting the tree he hid behind.
Talbot stumbled out. I flicked my wand in a cocking motion and hurled magic bullets at him. One caught him in the shoulder and threw him spinning to the ground. "I'm going to kill you!" I screamed.
A bullet whistled past my ear and thunked into the trunk of an olive tree. I rolled to the side and saw a limping Delilah training her wand on me. I hate these people! Rage boiled over. I wove a pattern of destructive spells, layering each one into the other and melded them into the most powerful spell I knew—Fireblade. A beam of brilliant red hissed through the air and sliced the trunk of an olive tree Delilah used for cover. She shrieked and threw up her arms as the small tree toppled onto her, pinning her to the ground.
I slashed viciously at her wrist, but missed and cut her wand off at the base. The spell fizzled and I stumbled, overcome with fatigue. Using Fireblade came at a cost, and I was already tired from running and fighting. More blood bubbles hovered around Ivy. If I didn't staunch the wound soon, she'd bleed out.
Her complexion blanched. For all I knew, she was already dead. I pulled off my shirt and tied it tight around her waist to cover the wound.
"You busted my favorite wand!" Delilah shouted. "I'm gonna tan your hide, boy."
I ignored her shouts and dashed away with Ivy. I burst into the cabin, startling Nightliss. A dazed Galfandor sat on the edge of a bed, blinking blearily and shaking his head.
"Hmm? What's wrong, Conrad?" Galfandor tried to stand, but dropped back onto the bed.
Tears clouded my eyes. "I think Ivy is dying!" I put her on a bed, but she kept floating away.
Nightliss gave me a confused look. "Why is she flying?"
"Levitation spell." I held out my hands helplessly. "I don't know how to get rid of it."
"Basic dispel," Galfandor said. "Unless you used Levator, then you need a strong dispel."
"I'm too tired for a strong dispel!"
He held out his hand. "Might I see your wand?"
I gave it to him. He traced the Levator spell pattern, added a circle, some slashes, and tapped Ivy. The tip of the wand flashed, and Ivy sank into the mattress. Drops of blood still floated in the air.
Nightliss untied my blood-soaked shirt from Ivy's waist and lifted the girl's blouse to reveal a nasty hole pooling with crimson. "She should be healing, but she's not. I don't understand."
"Seraphim have strong healing powers?" Galfandor asked.
"Strong enough to clot the wound by now." Nightliss dabbed the blood with my shirt. "Something is wrong."
Galfandor rubbed his eyes. "Sorry, my mind is still fuzzy." He used my wand to create a suction spell that cleared the blood. Sickly green veins lined the fair flesh beneath. "They laced their magic bullets with a festering spell."
"Can you dispel it?" I asked.
He shook his head. "No, it's already infected the wound. The longer it's in there, the deeper it'll spread."
"We need Percival." I looked out the window, but there was no sign of the others.
I heard scratching on the door and opened it. Natalia in black cat form strode inside and morphed back to human. She stared in horror at Ivy. "What happened?"
"I need you to go get Percival." I gripped her hands, trying to ignore her nudity. "Ivy is hurt badly."
Natalia melted into leopard form and raced through the open door without hesitation. I hoped she didn't cross paths with any noms or she might cause a panic.
"I will go too." Nightliss ran outside.
The seconds ticked past, feeling like hours while Ivy, still unconscious, whimpered. I called Max's arcphone.
"Hey, Conrad, do you want any grapes?" Max asked before I could utter a word.
"Ivy is hurt. Have you seen Percival?"
Max gasped. "What? Hurt how?"
"The wandslingers are here. I escaped, but they shot Ivy." I looked down at her. Galfandor pressed my blood-soaked shirt to the wound and shook his head sadly. "We need Percival!"
"I'll find him." Max hung up.
I stared out the window, minutes passing so slowly but all too fast. I sat back down next to Ivy and stared with horror at my shirt. It was so soaked with blood it probably wasn't helping anymore.
"Can you clear the wound again for me?" I asked Galfandor.
"Why?" He looked at me with gentle concern.
"I have an idea." I grabbed Galfandor's wand off the chest of drawers and handed it to him. "Just keep it clear."
He pursed his lips. Nodded. "Okay, son." Galfandor set my shirt aside and cast the vacuum spell. Blood swirled into a miniature vortex and pooled in the air. I traced my wand, weaving two of the spells used for Fireblade into a less powerful spell. I focused my will and finished the spell. A thin scarlet beam sliced into the infected flesh, cutting and cauterizing. Galfandor's spell drew the cuttings out of the wound as I worked, keeping it clear until I eradicated all the infection.
White bone showed beneath the skin. The magic bullet had apparently been stopped by her hip bone, or it might have spread infection into her organs. Exhausted from the effort, I dropped my wand and slumped backward. The cauterized wound seeped blood but not nearly as much as before.
Galfandor levitated the tainted flesh and blood into my ruined shirt and released the spell. He patted my arm. "That was excellent thinking, Conrad. I don't think I've seen those two spells used in quite that way."
"Destructive spells don't have to kill or maim." I moved to the next bed and lay down. "It's all how you use them."
"Did you learn that on your own?" he said.
I shook my head. "It's something Esma—I mean, Delectra—told me once."
"Purpose is driven by the wielder." Galfandor chuckled. "I remember Esma telling me that once. Had I known she was your mother in disguise, I would have been surprised to hear her say such a thing."
"She wasn't truly evil." I wiped away a tear. "Victus tainted her with demons."
"I believe that now." Galfandor looked at his bloodied hands. "I should wash up. Where is the bathroom?"
I pointed in the general direction. "Down that
sidewalk outside. Just don't let anyone see your hands or they'll think you murdered someone."
"Yes, that might prove awkward." He picked up my shirt and tossed it in the plastic-lined rubbish bin. "Unfortunately, cleaning all the blood from the bed and floor is another matter." He gingerly pinched the doorknob between fingers to avoid covering it in blood and went outside.
My eyelids grew heavy, but visions of Ivy jerked me awake. I sat up and looked at her. The wound, nearly the size of a small coin a moment ago, had shrunk a fraction. I hoped that meant her natural healing process was working.
Galfandor stepped back inside and took a chair. "Progress?"
I nodded, managed a smile. "Progress."
Nearly twenty minutes after my call to Max, the others burst through the door, Percival at the lead. Max nearly beat him to Ivy's side, but Percival barred the way with an arm. He knelt next to Ivy, lifted her shirt, and inspected the wound.
"It appears to be healing." Percival frowned and looked over at me. "I thought this was an emergency."
"It was, but quick thinking by Conrad may have saved her life." Galfandor inspected a spot of blood on his long beard. "Unfortunately, the wandslingers have found us again."
"Wait a bloody minute." Percival glared at me. "What did you do?"
"The bullet was infected with a festering spell," Galfandor said. "Conrad cut out the infection before it spread."
"Cut it out?" Percival scratched his head. "Like nom doctors do?"
"So simple, I didn't even think of it." Galfandor shrugged. "Perhaps you should add that to your arsenal of medical wonders."
Ambria sat next to me and shook her head. "Conrad, you're covered in blood."
"I'm out of shirts too," I said. "I don't suppose anyone picked up clothes."
"Max bought nearly a dozen T-shirts," Ambria said. "I'm sure you can borrow one."
Asha sat on the other side of me and took my hand. "My god, what happened?"
Nightliss and Natalia came in behind the others and looked worriedly at Ivy.
"Is—is she okay?" Max pushed his way past Percival and put a hand to Ivy's forehead.
"I think she'll be fine." Percival threw up his hands. "But since the wandslingers somehow found us, I can't make time to concoct the memory potion." He spun to Stan. "Is there anywhere in this accursed country we can go for some peace and quiet?"
