by Ardis, Priya
I’d landed in the woods and I’d imagined being back at AC High. I touched the bandages again. The hallway may have existed in my mind only, but the monster had been very real. It had saved me. Then, Matt had taken me to the UN meeting?
I rubbed my head, pushing back the beginnings of a headache. “Can someone tell me what’s going on? Why am I in a hospital? Why have I lost two months? Why are the spooks here?”
Matt answered in backwards order, “The First Member asked me to work with Robin. We were in Rawana’s realm for a little more than seven weeks. The Kronos Eye poisoned you and you’re in the hospital because magical healing hasn’t worked. The poison seems to be immune to it.”
“The Lady hid the answers in a thing that poisoned her own champion?” I remarked. “Brilliant.”
Matt frowned at my assessment. “The path to the answers. She didn’t have the answers, only the instrument to get them; and I doubt it was her intention to harm you. Rawana said he waited for a wizard-warrior. You’re one-half of that pairing. The Lady must have expected me to be there with you. Except I didn’t have my magic.”
“Actually, you didn’t have a pure soul,” I corrected.
Grey let out a snort of laughter.
“Because of you, Ragnar,” Matt spat out. “Because I pulled you back from death after the trial.”
“I remember when I died, Emrys,” Grey retorted.
Matt raked a hand through brown hair, messing up the neat style. He explained, “Now that we know what we’re up against and—”
“We do?” I interjected.
Matt gave me his long-suffering Merlin look. “You brought the proof, Ryan. This isn’t conjecture anymore on our part. The leaders of the world have to know the danger we’re facing and we need their help. I’ve given the apple to be studied—”
My mouth dropped open. “You gave away the apple!”
“Well, it seems I arrived just in time.” Vane’s mocking voice filled an already crowded space. With one quick flick of the wrist, he sent both groups—the gargoyles and the two spies—flying across the room, parting the way for his entrance.
Vane said silkily, “I find myself very interested in this apple.”
He should be. It had been in his memory. Perceval had taken an apple from the vault in Carthage.
The gargoyles and spies scrambled up, drawing swords and guns. They tensed for battle as if the Grim Reaper had suddenly appeared. Vane sneered and marched further into small room.
“The apple is being studied by the world’s most eminent physicists in a secure lab even you won’t be able to find,” Robin added.
Vane turned cold eyes on him. “Want to wager?”
Frank almost took a step back before he realized what he was doing and stopped himself. Robin gave him a pat of sympathy.
Vane turned to me.
“Forget your minions—I mean—mermaids?” I said lightly.
“They’re busy,” he answered with an enigmatic smile. He didn’t bother glancing at anyone else as he crossed to the bedside. A critical eye swept over me, stopping at my heart, causing it to ache a little. He said quietly, “You could do better than that gown.”
I fiddled with the papery green material covering me, sticking my nose in the air. “It works well enough.”
“Well enough isn’t up to your level,” he said huskily.
A sting of tears—happy, unhappy, I didn’t know which—sprang to my eyes.
Matt took a step closer to me. Vane’s gaze snapped to him. In a blink, Vane caught his brother by the throat and pushed him face down into the mattress at the foot of the bed.
“Vane!” I squeaked.
Matt flailed as Vane suffocated him. Hard fingers squeezed Matt’s throat. Vane pushed him deeper into white sheets. He yanked the Dragon’s Eye out of Matt’s jeans pocket and threw it on the bed in disgust. He railed at his brother, “You’ve dropped to a new low, Merlin. You can’t control something as powerful as the seeing stone with the little bit of magic you’re managing to steal. Don’t think I hadn’t noticed you taking magic from me. You could have killed her.”
I forced my fading attention onto the scene. Green encompassed Vane. Although I didn’t wear the Dragon’s Eye, I saw the outline of the monster riding him. A hint of sharp teeth shone from his snarling mouth, and for a minute, I actually believed he might harm his brother.
“Vane, let go!” I said, “I trust Matt. So do you.”
“No, I don’t,” he said.
I grabbed the Dragon’s Eye. Closing my eyes, I mentally opened the door between us. The monster stood with its back to me, alone in the grey colorless world of limbo. I went up to its hulking form. Pulling up my courage, I put a trembling hand on its back. Under my touch, hard muscles tensed, as if it debated my sincerity. As if it wanted me to release him and yet was afraid I would.
“Vane,” I said.
With a snarling sound, the monster pulled away. He rounded on me, his face furious. Hot breath blew down on me. Teeth glistened with saliva. The wound, my stomach, gave a twinge in response, but for the first time since the maze, I held my ground.
I found myself back in the hospital room.
“Let him go, Vane,” I said breathily.
His fingers eased a fraction off Matt. Then, a fraction more. He let go of Matt.
Matt sprang up, swallowing big gulps of air.
Grey stared at Matt with a slight satisfied smile. He said idly, “How did you find her? I used fake names and everything.”
Vane raised an arrogant brow. He pointed to a camera hidden at the corner of the room. “I knew you wouldn’t take her too far. I hacked the hospital’s security feed.”
Grey made an annoyed sound.
Matt snarled, “Why can’t you just leave her alone, Vane? She’s needs time to recover.”
Grey said sharply, “As if you care, Emrys.”
“Think you’ve made an enemy of the dog, brother,” Vane said with amusement.
I groaned at the amount of testosterone in the room.
Vane looked at his brother. “You didn’t find the Healing Cup.”
Grey let out a loud breath. Rourke, the gargoyle king, was dying. He desperately needed the Healing Cup. Matt stared back at Vane stony-faced.
“Never mind, I’ve already found a simulation of Kronos’s Fury. I know the endgame.” Vane shrugged. “What’s the next step?”
“As if I would trust you,” Matt retorted.
Vane’s eyes flickered over me. “You’ve never learned to trust anyone.”
I rolled my eyes. As if he was that much better.
Vane scowled and moved closer to me.
Matt said quickly, “I need her to keep reviewing the vision in the Kronos Eye. The answers are in the vision. The sword-bearer and I need to work together to see all the nuances.”
Each condescending word grated worse than the last one. I was the one lying in a hospital bed and he had the nerve to dismiss me as “the sword-bearer.”
My nostrils flared. I snapped, “Fine.”
“I need you—”
“I said fine,” I repeated, cutting him off.
Matt blinked. “Are you upset with me?”
“I’m not upset!” Of course, I was upset. He was just an idiot. I forced myself to look at the boy with whom I’d been obsessed for what seemed like forever. The boy I couldn’t seem to let go. Yet, he certainly had no problem letting go of me. I said in a measured tone, “Exactly when did I not bend over backwards to help you?”
“I-I…” Matt faltered.
“Apparently, she’s not upset,” Vane said dryly.
“How long do we have to figure out all this end-of-the-world stuff by?” Grey asked. “I missed that part of the meeting.”
“So did I.” Vane’s gaze flickered over me. He answered Grey, “Recall, if you will, on Aegae, the Lady said the longest day of the sun. We have until the summer solstice.”
Matt looked at his brother in dismay. “You figured that out?”
Van
e’s lips curved up. “Afraid?”
Grey took out his cell phone and thumbed the screen. “It’s another month until the solstice. A week and a half after the end of school.”
I touched my bandages. Would I be ready?
Vane picked up my hospital chart, flipping through it. “Your vitals are good. The doctors say you’re healing well. You’ll be able to walk with a crutch in a few days, I suspect.”
I stared at him. “You can read a hospital chart?”
He arched a brow. “I’m a genius and have divine powers.”
“Stolen divine powers,” Matt muttered.
Vane ignored him. “The last bit about the crutch is in the nurse’s notes on her computer. You’ll be ready, if you want to be.”
“I have to be,” I answered flatly.
Outside, the sun shone down with serenity. The giver of life, it was a thing to be taken for granted. Soon, though, it would become the taker of life, a thing to be feared. I lay back on the bed as a rush of fatigue overtook me. I glanced at the motley group. “Now, if you’ve got what you wanted, can you get out and leave me alone?”
“I haven’t,” Vane said. The hairs on the back of my neck rose at the edge in his tone, but he wasn’t looking at me. “Give her back the amulet, Merlin.”
Reflexively my hand tightened. I hadn’t realized I’d dropped it. And lost it.
“You have it on you. I feel it. If you’d prefer, I can take it,” Vane said.
With a grimace, Matt took out a handkerchief from his pocket. He unwrapped the sides of the handkerchief to reveal the Dragon’s Eye. For the first time, I got a good look at the necklace. Vane had done something to it in the hallway. A fissure ran down the gemstone. The fissure was a jagged green. Vane snatched the necklace away. He held it out to me. “Put it on.”
I recoiled at the heavy-handed command. My bandages seemed to tighten around me at the thought of being tied to the Minotaur.
Matt read my resistance easily. He said with satisfaction, “She doesn’t want it.”
“Leave her alone, Vane—” Grey started to say.
Green flashed in the room. Everyone, except Vane and I, slumped to the floor.
I gaped at the sleeping bodies. “What are you doing?”
In a velvety voice encased in ice, Vane said, “Do you know how easy it would be to kill everyone in this room? Everyone in this hospital, if you don’t cooperate?”
“And I would hate you. Is that what you want? I’m so done with being ordered around by you and Matt. Get it through your head. You. Can’t. Force. Me.”
His fingers tightened on the necklace. “Then, put it on because I’m asking you.”
His voice, sweet as honey, lulled my tongue into forming the word “yes.” I resisted the pull. “Why?”
“This is what saved you, Ryan. It saved you in that hell with Rawana. It saved you from the Kronos Eye. You were right to not to take it off in Greece when I asked you.” He said hesitatingly, “Now, I’m asking the opposite—just put it back on.”
It was a mistake to trust him, yet I couldn’t look away from him. I was the captured bird. We both knew he wasn’t really giving me a choice. I took a breath. “No games?”
“No games.” He held out the necklace.
I pushed. “If I take it, will you leave?”
He sighed. “For now.”
I took it and fumbled with the clasp for several seconds, until finally the chain snapped in place. Vane watched me with patience. As soon as the amulet settled on my skin, he touched the chain. A small breeze blew around my neck. The gemstone glowed green as he commanded, “Arudh.”
“What did you do?” I squawked, reaching for the clasp. It zapped me.
“I locked it.” Vane leaned close to my ear. My body flushed hot, then cold, as his lips grazed the sensitive edge of my earlobe. He said in a low tone, “No more games, Ryan. I let you toss me away once. This time, I will hold what’s mine.”
A hint of teeth showed between bared lips. His eyes met mine. The fiery intensity in them made me catch my breath, but I didn’t see any hint of green. This wasn’t the Minotaur talking, this was Vane, and I had no doubt he wasn’t playing games. The angry intensity in his gaze, in a sick way, turned me on.
“You came to find me at the UN meeting,” I said.
“I will always come.” Then, as if admitting too much, he stepped back. Putting distance between us, he added, “Sword-bearer.”
I let it go. At the moment, I didn’t have the strength to fight him. He knelt down beside Matt and started going through his pockets. It took me a little while to figure out what he was doing. “You haven’t seen the seeing stone.”
“I was a little busy saving your life.” Not finding the seeing stone on Matt, he stood. His lips lifted into a small grin. “I will, though.”
I looked at him curiously. “I could tell you.”
He stilled. “Would you?”
I hesitated, glancing at the limp bodies on the floor, glancing at Matt.
Vane read my expression. His own tightened. “Still can’t make a move without Merlin.”
“You could take it from me.”
His eyes flickered over my amulet. “Yes, I could.”
I touched the quiet gem. “What’s stopping you?”
“You’re not strong enough. Yet.”
For a second, I stared at him speechless.
He continued, “You’ll be useless if I make you a vegetable.”
I raised a brow and baited the monster. “Or you’re not able to take it.”
Icy green pupils hardened. Internally, I winced. Why was I waving a red flag in front of the bull? On my neck, the Dragon’s Eye heated. A pressure built inside my head. The monster reached inside my mind. It dug its hand into the black mess of my memories. I let out a small cry. I slammed the door shut in its gleaming face. To my surprise, the door held. The gem turned cold under my command. I looked at Vane in shock. “I can shut you out.”
“You’re welcome for the lesson,” he said dryly. “Don’t get used to it. I’m being nice.”
I bit my lip. “I know.”
He glanced down at Matt. “Anyhow, I will know soon enough.”
“You’re going to use me to spy on him.”
“He works better when he thinks he’s not on a leash.” He shrugged. “That’s the side benefit.”
“What’s the main benefit?” I retorted. Why was I asking a question to which I knew I wasn’t going to like the answer?
His lips twisted in a strangled smile. “You work better on the leash.”
“That’s what I am to you? Work?”
Emotion flickered in his eyes. His right hand fisted. “That’s what you chose to be. Get some rest, Dorothy. You’re going to need it to face the wicked witch.”
My eyes raked over his green-tinged ones. “You are the wicked witch.”
Vane arched a brow. “In an alternate version, the green witch was the good one trying to save Oz, and Dorothy was duped into killing her.”
“Is that what you think you are? The good witch?”
A hungry smile curved his lips. “I can be flexible.”
CHAPTER 12 – ACTON-CONCORD HIGH
CHAPTER 12
ACTON-CONCORD HIGH
What does one do when the world is about to end? I went back to high school. One weekend back at home convinced me.
I left the hospital on Friday and felt almost alive by Sunday. Vane was right about the crutch. My strength returned quickly, but then, I was the sword-bearer. Vane also said the mermaids were busy and he wasn’t kidding. While Matt and I were traipsing around Sri Lanka, interesting things were going on at Avalon Prep.
Vane took over the whole school and most of the Council. The wizards were split. Those loyal to Vane remained. Those who disagreed, left. Some went home, but most went to where they thought Merlin might be—Ragnar Manor. In the past month, the elegant, gothic manor had transformed from my home to a halfway house for wizards, candidates, and eve
n gargoyles. Next, I kept expecting to run into a bald professor in a wheelchair in the corridors.
Rows of simple cots lined Grey’s gym. Grey informed me they were taken up during the day for training. What kind of training? Grey wouldn’t tell me. So I asked Colin. And I didn’t like the answer. While I was gone, they went back to the plan of finding replacements for me. Since they didn’t have Vane as a trainer anymore, Grey was chosen. I didn’t doubt Vane had a similar replacement hunt going on at Avalon Prep. It irritated me, but didn’t devastate me. Too much. If only I could lose the sword-bearer title so easily…
The manor was also turned into a high security stronghold. I thought it was bad when Vane had a few wizards patrolling the woods in dark SUVs. Now, about a hundred or so gargoyles, wizards, and hired military muscle guarded the perimeter of the manor’s five-acre plot.
The strangest thing, though, was finding out that I hadn’t been expelled from school. In fact, I was probably going to be in the student president hall of fame (no, there was no such thing) for pulling such an amazing prom together.
Grey drove me to school Monday morning. He pulled the Land Rover out of a three-car garage annexed onto the side of the manor sometime during this century. Water spilled over the turrets and rounded corners of Ragnar Manor. Ordinarily, I wouldn’t have noticed the unusual amount of rain, but after the discussion at the UN, I was keenly aware of the turbulent weather.
A circular driveway held a broken fountain, one that would never get repaired. Nestled in a clearing, surrounded by towering pine trees, the manor had one visible path from the woods. The other way was well hidden. Grey turned onto a one-lane street past a red mailbox that marked the long road home. The narrow streets of Concord ebbed and flowed like gentle waves.
Behind us, Tommy, the school bus driver, lumbered along in the big, yellow bus. About half the kids in the school bus boarded at Ragnar Manor. It was one of a handful of vehicles still allowed in the manor’s new security force. Acton-Concord High had received a big infusion of students these past few months. I wished I could have seen them that first day. A bunch of wizard kids from England going to regular school. I snickered at the image of them standing in line at the cafeteria, instead of the sit-down dining hall at Avalon Prep.
