Matched in Magic

by Alex C Vick

  His expression flickered. Then his hand was clasping my shoulder, fingernails digging in hard, and the Truth Spell prickled against my skin.

  "Tell me, are you trustworthy, Serena?"

  "Y-y-y… I… I d-don't know," I stammered, suddenly thinking of Galen. He'd trusted me to keep myself safe, and I most definitely hadn't. I tried again. "I'm n-not s-sure."

  I didn't dare look at Art.

  Gentus nodded. "As I thought. And do you want to live?"

  "Yes," I said immediately. A wave of emotion caught me unawares, and I had to take a slow breath to control it. I wanted to live. I wanted to see Galen and Claudia again. I wanted to escape this man and this place.

  "Of course I want to live," I added, unable to remain silent. "What kind of a question is that?"

  I stopped talking with an effort. Surely I could do better at resisting the spell than this?

  "I'm curious," said Gentus, his mild tone of voice at odds with the fierce grip of his hand. "Would you betray Ammartus to save yourself? If it was a choice between his life and yours?"

  The answer rose up almost too fast to stop. I ground my teeth, determined not to give Gentus the satisfaction of an immediate answer. "I… I…"

  Across the room, Art met my gaze for a second, his face miserable. He lowered his head. At that moment, I knew what Gentus wanted. And he wasn't going to get it. This was a question I didn't need to resist.

  "I would never betray him. Not for any reason," I said calmly.

  "Exactly," said Gentus, turning to Art. Then he did a double take. "What did you say?"

  "I would never betray him."

  Art lifted his head. His eyes were wide.

  "I don't think you understood what I asked you," said Gentus. The energy of the spell increased, and I winced. "If I offered to spare your life on the condition you leave Art behind, what would you do?"

  My words came out in a rush. "I would say no. No, no, no. And I understood. Both the question and your motive. I couldn't be happier the answer isn't what you wanted. A magician doesn't need to be bonded to keep their promises. What I said earlier about my feelings is true as well. I think Art is perfect. I—"

  "Stop," said Gentus, lifting his hand from my shoulder. His face seemed carved from stone, its wrinkles deep. He blinked several times and straightened his cuffs with short sharp movements.

  "Serena," said Art. "Serena."

  "Shut up," said Gentus coldly. "There'll be no more touching sentiment, or I'll pierce your skulls without a Stasis Spell, and you'll die as slowly as I can make you."

  He marched over to the table and threw open the chest sitting on top of it. The glow brightened. At its centre was a Gallium Dagger.

  25 Too Close To Call

  Art and I exchanged disbelieving looks. Gentus has the dagger right here? I felt dizzy. I wasn't sure if it was from blood loss or from the terror crawling over my skin. I looked around the room, desperately searching for a way out. I wasn't ready to die. And especially not at the hands of a man like that.

  "This is smaller than the dagger at the clinic," said Gentus. He seemed to have recovered from his rage at my answers. "But fear not. It's still lethal. It will seek out the heart of your magic and incinerate it."

  Art was kicking at his chair in an attempt to escape, his expression furious. Gentus ignored him. He put on a pair of titanium gloves, turning his hands this way and that as he adjusted the fit.

  "And of course, this is not a transition," he went on. He could have been talking about the weather. "Accuracy is irrelevant. I can hack my way through your brains with as little finesse as I wish."

  Art redoubled his efforts. I copied him, clenching my jaw as the pain in my wrists exploded into life.

  I might as well go down fighting.

  Gentus paused. His expression was disappointed. As if he expected us to have given up by now. Or did he wish we were giving his poisonous monologue our undivided attention?

  "Ammartus first," he said. "I'd like you to watch, Serena. You'll be dead soon enough, and there's not much that will make your punishment worse. However, I think a front-row seat at his execution might do it."

  I stopped attacking my chair. "And what about Art's parents? Are you going to save a seat for them?"

  He didn't react. "Besides, I still have a few questions. I want to make sure we're prepared for any additional Androvans who might show up looking for you."

  "I won't give you any help on that score," I said, scowling.

  "Indeed?" said Gentus. "That seems unlikely, given how susceptible you are to the Truth Spell."

  Gloves finally adjusted to his satisfaction, he picked up the dagger.

  Has he forgotten the Stasis Spell?

  I felt sick. If I reminded him, Art's eyes would close all the sooner. If I didn't, he might actually kill him while he was conscious and able to feel the blade entering his head. What if it was a game? What if Gentus wanted us to ask for the Stasis Spell?

  At that moment, something shifted in my force field. Like a blanket lifting. In my distracted and panicky state, I didn't recognise it at first. Then I knew.

  My Sygnus. Galen's Concealing Spell is gone.

  I kept still, lowering my gaze and doing my best not to attract the old man's attention. Cautiously, I redirected my force field so that the symbol would become its primary outlet.

  Gentus walked over to Art. As soon as his back was turned, I projected my magic, silently creating a Reduction Spell and aiming it at the chair. I shifted as far to one side as I could, so as to keep the energy of the spell away from my body. Seconds later, the chair shrank, and my arms were free. I collapsed onto my knees with a muffled thud.

  The pool of blood was scarily wide. I ignored it, using an Unlocking Spell to get rid of the chains. They fell from my wrists more quickly than I'd expected, and I only just caught them before they landed on the floor. My hands were clumsy. Whenever I moved my fingers the pain was intense.

  But there was no time to heal myself. I had to stop Gentus, and for that I needed a Containment Spell. The advanced version. I put the chain down and got shakily to my feet.

  Gentus was standing in front of Art. He cleared his throat. "There are some words I would traditionally use when carrying out sentence on the Board's behalf. But I think we can dispense with the formalities. Don't you?"

  Art turned to look at me, then blinked. I frantically shook my head as his expression wavered. He pressed his lips together, controlling his shock.

  "Even now, you would seek out the stranger who is directly responsible for ending your life."

  Gentus, who hadn't deigned to look in my direction, grasped Art's chin with his free hand and forced him to turn his head back. I stepped closer.

  "Any final thoughts?" said Gentus.

  "My parents," said Art. "Do they know what you're doing?"

  "Your father does. And his vote was all I needed," said Gentus.

  "What about my mother?"

  "I don't believe she knows yet." Gentus smiled slowly. "Vidian is looking after her. She can hear all about it when the Sedating Spell wears off."

  I was close enough. I extended my hands and projected my spell, throwing as much force behind it as I could. A circular band of bright white magic tightened immediately inside Gentus's head, crushing the source of his force field. The spell was extremely painful. If I was lucky, he'd lose consciousness.

  Gentus stumbled, bracing himself against the arms of Art's chair, and the dagger clattered to the floor. His shoulders stiffened, and his breath rasped loud in the silent room. Art looked from his grandfather to me and back again, hope in his eyes.

  I had counted on my spell being unique to Androva so Gentus would not know how it worked. The only way to escape the band was to suppress your magic and remove the band's focal point. Resisting magnified the pain.

  Slowly, Gentus turned his head. His face was a grimace of agony and hatred. Satisfied the spell was holding, I moved closer.

  "Having trouble,
old man?" I said softly.

  "You…" he managed.

  "What was that? Speak up," I said, hoping to goad him into pushing harder against the band. I could hold it in place for a while yet, but I'd much rather Gentus passed out already.

  "Really, I expected better," I added with an insincere smile.

  Gentus made a strangled noise in the back of his throat. His face turned white. Then his eyes rolled back in his head, and he collapsed onto the floor as the containment band overcame him.

  Unthinking, I bent to pick up the dagger. The second my fingers curled around the handle, a surge of magic engulfed my force field, almost knocking me off my feet. The boost in clarity and strength was jaw-dropping. This dagger hadn't been used in combat for centuries, yet the power it had retained was immense.

  I'd known what to expect from Adelle's description, but feeling it was something else entirely. Magic flowed through my body like liquid lightning. I pushed the tip of the dagger against one of my injured wrists and projected a Healing Spell. The skin closed up in front of my eyes, leaving a jagged white scar in place of the gaping wound it had been just a minute earlier.

  I flexed my fingers. It was remarkable. The blade glittered with energy. It was beautiful. Mesmerising. The possibilities…

  "Serena," said Art cautiously, "you're not planning to keep that, are you?"

  I started at the sound of his voice. Whoa. This thing is dangerous.

  "Sorry. I got a bit distracted. Of course I'm not planning to keep it. Let me just—"

  I unlocked Art's chains. He put them on Gentus while I healed my other wrist. Then I returned the dagger to its chest, shutting the lid with a decisive click.

  We used Solo Transference to position Gentus in Art's chair with his arms pulled behind him. I fetched my own chains and looped them around his ankles. Finally, to make sure he wouldn't wake up in a hurry, we gave him a couple of drops from the silver Stasis Spell bottle on the table. They trickled into a fold of skin on his neck.

  "That should do it," said Art.

  "I hope so," I said. "He's not exactly charming when he's awake, is he?"

  Art shook his head. "You were amazing," he said.

  "No more than you," I said, smiling.

  A second later, we were hugging. I breathed into his neck, feeling his magic expand until it joined with mine, comforting and exhilarating at the same time. For someone who'd never hugged anyone before yesterday, he was very good at it.

  "I underestimated this," said Art, leaning back to look at my shoulder and the Sygnus symbol. It was impossible to miss, even though my top was grey instead of the traditional Androvan black. Glittering with magical energy, the overlapping circles projected a three-dimensional glow.

  "I thought it would be like a drawing," he said. "But it's so much better. No wonder you kept it hidden."

  Reluctantly, we ended the hug. According to the clock on the wall it was still early. Galen wouldn't be expecting me for a few hours yet.

  "What do you want to do now?" I said. "I think Adelle is our best chance of stopping Gentus permanently."

  "I agree," said Art. "Let's go and wake her up. And try to avoid a direct confrontation with my father."

  Art pocketed the Stasis Spell in case of emergencies. We checked the antechamber under cover of an Invisibility Spell and discovered three wardens positioned at the door. Although they each had one hand resting on the spell bottles tied to their belts, their posture was relaxed. They weren't expecting to be challenged.

  Even so, it would be difficult to get past them. They filled the doorway. We returned to the main hall.

  "We should only use the Stasis Spell as a last resort," said Art. "It will be too conspicuous."

  "How about a Distraction Spell?" I suggested.

  "Risky. I don't know that kind of magic yet, and there are three of them," said Art.

  I looked around the hall. "What about the side windows? We're on the ground floor."

  Art grinned. "Yes. That should work."

  It was a little undignified, but we climbed out of the window without incident, and it was only a short walk around the perimeter of the tower back to the entrance.

  We made our way to the left-hand staircase next to the mage-tunnels, Art holding my hand as if he were worried I might disappear. I held on just as tightly. I wasn't letting him go now.

  His parents' apartment was on the same floor as his but on the other side of the tower. It would overlook the main square instead of the mountain.

  "I'm going to knock," he said in a low voice.

  Before I could ask him why on Androva he would announce our arrival, he'd lifted his free hand and rapped on the door.

  Quick footsteps approached from the room on the other side, and Vidian started speaking as he opened the door. "Father, I wondered when you—"

  Art's hand had already retrieved the spell bottle. Without hesitation, he dispensed several drops straight into Vidian's face. Vidian crumpled heavily to the floor, his astonished expression the last thing to soften.

  After pushing him inside, we checked the corridor was still empty, then closed the door. Art ran his fingers through his hair and made a face.

  "Are you OK?" I said.

  "I don't know. I can't believe I just used a Stasis Spell on my father."

  "Well," I said, "to be fair, I think chaining up your grandfather was probably worse."

  Art laughed, then covered his mouth. "It's not funny," he said.

  I was struggling not to laugh myself. The situation was so awful it had become a little ridiculous.

  "We'd better keep going," said Art. I followed him into the main living area. It was very tidy. There were hardly any personal touches. The colour scheme was severe—black and white, with touches of silver here and there. Art's apartment was much more welcoming.

  "I suppose she's in the bedroom," he said. "Let me see if I can find a concentrated Energy Spell to wake her up."

  Once Art had obtained the correct spell bottle from a tall cabinet by the window, he crossed to a door at the other end of the room. It was ajar, and the room inside was in darkness. After a moment's hesitation, he pushed the door wider, and we both walked in.

  Adelle was lying perfectly still in the centre of the bed. Her position was odd, as if she'd fallen awkwardly. Strands of hair were loose on her cheeks, and her shirt was rumpled. It looked like she went down fighting, which was reassuring proof she had disagreed with our captors.

  Brushing his mother's hair gently out of the way, Art positioned the bottle and dispensed a fine mist of the spell toward her nose and mouth.

  "Forced waking isn't recommended," he said. "But we can't afford to wait."

  "How long until—"

  Before I could finish my question, Adelle's eyes snapped open and she scrambled to a sitting position. She looked from Art to me. Her eyes, blank at first, quickly regained their focus.

  "No," she said urgently. "You shouldn't be here. It's not safe for you."

  "We're as safe here as anywhere," said Art. "It's the last place they'd expect me to go willingly."

  "But your father. If he should return…"

  "He hasn't left," said Art.

  Adelle pushed past us to the doorway. Her shoulders stiffened. I guessed she'd seen the back of Vidian's blond head, just visible on the other side of the living area.

  She faced us again. "Stasis Spell?"

  "Yes," said Art.

  "How many drops?"

  "Um… three?"

  "Maybe four," I said. "There wasn't time to be precise."

  Adelle nodded. "Good. What about Gentus? Where's he?"

  "He's incapacitated as well. Are you all right, Mother?"

  "Am I…?" Her expression became gentler. "I'm well. I was only sedated. Fortunately, your father had no Stasis Spell to hand. I think my resistance was a surprise."

  She walked up to Art and took his hands. "And you? Are you hurt? How did you escape?"

  "It was all Serena's doing," he said
.

  "No," I protested. "You fought just as hard as I did. The visibility of my Sygnus was lucky timing. That's all."

  "Sygnus?" said Adelle.

  I looked down at the symbol on my shoulder and her gaze sharpened.

  "That is not Xytovian," she said.

  "Nor is she," said Art, and Adelle's mouth fell open.

  "We'll explain," he added.

  In the living area, Art and I shared the sofa, and Adelle took the chair facing away from her husband's unconscious body. We took turns relating the story of our escape and an abbreviated version of the events leading up to it. She listened intently, only asking one or two questions.

  "That's it," said Art at the end. "That's when we woke you up."

  For a few seconds Adelle didn't speak. Her eyes glistened.

  "Mother?" said Art.

  She shook her head. "I apologise. My emotions are becoming hard to deny lately. We'll have to move fast. I know who we can go to, if we can only—"

  "Wait," interrupted Art. His expression hardened. "I have a question for you first."

  "Of course," she said, slightly taken aback. "What is it?"

  "Why? Why did you endorse the sponsorship model all these years if you knew what it was hiding? I'm grateful you changed your mind, but Mother…" He paused, clenching his jaw.

  "That model condemned so many people to death. And I don't just mean from the procedure. I mean all the others. The others who never knew they should have been magicians, with a spark to keep them safe from mage-sickness."

  Adelle shifted in her chair as his voice rose.

  "How could you do it?"

  "The model was introduced before I was born," she said quietly. "Four magicians collaborated in its creation. Gentus, on behalf of the Bavois family, was one of them."

  Art and I exchanged glances. No wonder.

  "Yes," she said. "Representatives from the other three families were part of the group Gentus put together to search for you both yesterday.

  "I grew up in Helex," she went on. "We lost some of our best citizens once the model was properly established. Cotidians wanted to know their children would be safe, and those with the lumien or the skills to pass the admission criteria went to Vayl.