by Lizzy Ford
Summer grinned.
Beck was eyeing him as if he suspected Noah knew where Dawn was. Noah glared back, not about to give an inch to the person who helped push Dawn over the edge and whose brother wanted her dead. He wasn’t certain whether or not to believe Beck could separate his emotions from his duty as a Master with regards to Dawn. He wanted to believe it possible that Dawn might be saved.
Even if he himself didn’t think so.
Decker and Morgan emerged from the room. Morgan was pale, her lips pursed. Noah sensed her weakness; her magick was calmer than usual, and she looked beat.
“I need to head home,” Decker said. “I gave her my credit card, so you guys should be covered.”
Noah said nothing. There was a time he’d refuse it, but he was in no position to turn down money when he had no way to support two people let alone himself. He’d been living in a rundown youth hostel for the past month.
“Come on, Noah,” Morgan said without meeting anyone’s gaze. “Let’s get out of here.”
While he’d never had a reason to dislike Morgan, Noah liked her more in that moment than he had to date. She, too, didn’t seem to belong or maybe, seemed far more troubled than the others. She was more like him than she was the others.
He joined her walking down the hallway. “We’ll get some food as soon as we can,” he told her.
Morgan’s gaze flickered to him. She appeared almost haggard now that the others weren’t looking. Accustomed to a high maintenance mother and sister, Noah was sensitive to the subtle change in the looks and moods of women. Morgan was struggling to hang on, either about to cry or pass out.
“I’ll protect you, Morgan,” he said quietly. “I promise.”
“I can take care of myself,” she replied.
He said nothing, aware that she was barely on her feet.
The enormity and importance of his task didn’t settle upon him until they set foot into the cheerful spring afternoon. Noah led Morgan towards where he’d parked his motorcycle, his gaze roving their surroundings.
Whatever the stone did, Dawn had already demonstrated she was willing to kill to get to it. If he failed, Morgan died, and probably, so would Dawn and her baby, if the Masters had to act to stop her. Yet Noah wasn’t willing to give up on his sister completely either.
I need to talk to her one last time. Disturbed by how weak Morgan was, he gave her his helmet and climbed onto the bike. First things first, he had to get Morgan settled somewhere safe and far away from the location where he knew Dawn to be.
Chapter Ten
“I don’t like this. At all,” Beck said and watched Noah roar away on his motorcycle with Morgan clinging to him.
“He’s the best chance she has right now,” Decker replied. “And the last speed bump in case Dawn finds her again.”
“Did you learn anything about the stone?”
Decker was quiet for a moment. Summer took his hand, and Beck waited for a response. “I don’t know for certain. It’s very powerful. I had thought maybe I could take it, but …” He stopped.
Beck understood what Decker wasn’t yet willing to talk about: how far he’d fallen into the Dark when he thought he lost Summer. Like a recovering addict, Decker would remain susceptible to the effects of Darkness for the rest of his life with only Summer standing between him and complete surrender.
“I wouldn’t ask you to,” Beck replied firmly. “We’re going to find a way where no one I care about ends up suffering because of this. I think you’re onto something when you said her family was special like ours. Sam might know why or what trait Morgan possesses that enables her to tolerate the Darkness without falling into it.”
“Worth a shot,” Decker agreed. “You find the fur ball. I want to … research something.”
By Summer’s uncertain look, she liked Decker’s claim as much as Beck did.
“See you tonight at dinner?” Decker asked.
“Eh. I’ll be at the cabin,” Beck replied. “Keep him out of trouble, Summer.”
“Always.”
Distracted by his concern, Beck smiled and strode away, out of the hospital and to a garden area beside the hospital so he could unleash his magick without being seen. His fog swept him away seconds later and left him in northern Idaho, near the tree where he’d been staying.
Sam, he called mentally to the forest creature.
While he waited, he bent to the ground to communicate directly with the Light source beneath the school. Its power and strength reassured him of the progress he had made, and he moved to sit on a tree stump while waiting.
Sam, the yeti charged with helping to managing the balance between Light and Dark, soon approached, his auburn hair clashing with the forest.
“Hey, Sam,” Becks said.
Good morning, Beck. Did you bring your rent? The yeti’s question was accompanied by a chortling laugh.
Beck grinned. “You’re getting chubby. Do you really need more chocolate?”
Winter fat. Will melt in spring like the ice. Sam patted his lower belly. He perched on a fallen log. You are better, but not yet you.
“Yeah. Lots going on,” Beck said, thoughts drifting to Morgan. If he let his mind stay on her, he’d end up confused again and desperate to convince her she was safer with him. “We need to know everything there is to know about the soul stone.”
I have told you all I knew. It is solid Darkness and can hold a soul.
“Okay, then what can you tell me about Morgan’s family. Why they were chosen. If they’re special like mine.”
Sam cocked his head to the side. His ugly face scrunched as he thought. I am asking the others.
Beck waited anxiously. Sam’s connection to the other yetis was telepathic, and if he sought their council, it meant two things. One, there was knowledge and two, it was closely held enough that it wasn’t to be given to the Master of Light without permission from the community. Unlike his twin, Beck was patient with Sam, aware of the creature’s role as a balancer.
Her family was chosen by the Masters in a distant era, Sam confirmed. They are special. Their fire magick is unusually strong. It offers them a defense against the soul stone.
“So it’s not just fire keeping the soul stone from freezing them. It’s more.”
Yes. They do not fall prey to its evil and are not corrupted by the Dark the way Dawn has been by Bartholomew.
Beck’s heart and hope began to sink. “So only she can do it,” he murmured. “The others in her family who are Dark, it is natural Darkness stemming from their trials and not the soul stone pulling them in?”
Natural Darkness, correct.
“Sam …” Beck rubbed his goatee and leaned forward, elbows on knees. “This means we can’t be together.”
Unless she is a Light witchling. But she would be the first fire witchling to go Light in five hundred years and the most powerful since your ancestor, Tranin-the-Restorer.
“If she chooses Light in her trial, then what?”
Fire is a purifier. A Light fire witchling is the most powerful of all purifiers. She can cage the stone.
“Cage. Explain.”
Light can become a weapon and fire has the potential burn away Darkness. Sam motioned to the ground, where the Light source was.
“I used Light magick against Decker when he was stuck in the Darkness. I’ve been having trouble yielding it that way again, though,” he said in frustration. “So if she goes Light, she can bind the stone? Its Darkness?”
Sam nodded. Yes. With fire that burns hotter than anything known to man. This ability has a name from a long passed era: Whitefire. Whitefire purifies the Dark and can hide the stone from the Dark and Dark witchlings, including your brother. It cannot be near the Light source still as a precaution, but there is less of a chance it will corrupt the Light if she can bind it.
“Interesting.” But … not as useful as he had hoped. Morgan had to turn Light first then learn to use Whitefire. He knew better than to question Sam about Morgan’s tr
ial; it was forbidden for anyone, even a Master, to interfere with the trial of a witchling. That no fire witchling in five hundred years had chosen Light was a bad omen. His gaze went to the ground and he traced the line separating the Light from the rest of the forest with his eyes. “Dawn wants me, and the Light, gone.”
Dawn is under the influence of Bartholomew. He can only be fully freed if there is no Light.
“If Morgan chooses Dark, we can’t be together. If she passes, she helps me with the Light.”
Correct.
The chances weren’t good. The reality hurt as much as losing her. Beck stood, agitated. “My hands are tied until Morgan finishes her trial. What if it takes too long or Dawn captures the stone? How do I protect the Light?”
The Light can defend itself as well. You can build a shield around the Light source. It is risky and will require my help.
Beck looked up, startled by the creature volunteering to help. “If you’re willing to do that, then this is worse than we think, isn’t it?”
It is. And … you need the help. My community does not like us to be involved with human struggles, but I feel it is sometimes necessary to interfere.
“Like you did with Summer the night she jumped into Miner’s Drop.”
Yes. You all are so young for such trials. Sam’s voice was sad. Decker is stabilized by Summer, but even he can be knocked off balance if he possesses the stone. Its ability to corrupt will trump the Light in anyone except for you and a fire witchling born into Morgan’s family.
“That’s really bad. And Bartholomew is loose. Decker needs to rein him in, and I need to keep the stone and Light safe.”
Yes.
“Decker … I don’t think he can tolerate Bartholomew again.”
I have begun to suspect such as well. I’m seeking out alternatives. Morgan is the key. Bartholomew will know she has the potential to become a threat. She needs to be safeguarded until she completes her trial.
Beck’s heart sped up as he considered how powerful Morgan could potentially become, strong enough to help him expand the Light, drive away Bartholomew and purify Darkness. While he didn’t fully understand Whitefire or how it worked, the concept amazed him. The girl who thought she was flawed and alone was the most incredible witchling born in at least five hundred years.
And she’s mine. His earth magick stirred at the resolve in his thoughts.
The balance between Light and Dark had been off for more than the twenty years where there was no Master or Mistress of Dark. It had been off almost since the beginning, when Bartholomew unleashed such evil as had never been known before, only to be slayed by his son, a Master of Light who happened to be a fire witchling. The pool of Light had failed to grow in a thousand years and then, with no one to safeguard it for a quarter of a century, began to shrink.
“I want her to choose Light so badly,” he whispered, stricken by the bleak fate Sam painted of their future, should any of them fail. But it wasn’t just his duty that made him want her by his side. It was the instinct of belonging, the sense she was destined to be beside him and together, they were meant to right the shortage of Light in the world. “More than anything, Sam.”
I know, young Master. But it is her choice.
Desolation crept through him. There was no timetable for her trial, either. She could spend years running from Dawn and then face her trial or happen upon it tomorrow. The trial for every witchling was different and for Morgan, unusual in every way. Like Summer standing between Decker and the Darkness, Morgan was going to effect the fate of every witchling in existence.
If Beck had learned anything from watching Summer’s trials, Morgan’s relative importance likely meant her trial was going to test her ability to help him. If she weren’t strong enough in any aspect – mentally, physically, spiritually – to help him save the Light, she was going to fail. It pained him to admit that he really didn’t know if she’d pass, given everything they’d been through to date.
“Okay. Help me shield the Light,” he decided, aware of how determined Dawn was.
If we do, you realize only Light witchlings will be able to cross the barrier.
“Good.”
There will be no refuge for the Dark witchlings or those caught in-between. No refuge for Decker and if Morgan chooses Dark, none for her either.
Beck met the yeti’s gaze, understanding crossing his thoughts. “So if Dawn gets the stone and awakens Darkness, then only the Light students who are on campus will be spared.”
Potentially.
“The alternative is she or Bartholomew destroys it trying to get to me.” He swallowed hard, unable to fathom a world without Dark witchlings. “I don’t have a choice, Sam. If I don’t protect what’s left of the Light in the world, there will be nothing left to salvage if she succeeds.”
Then let us begin.
Not entirely convinced what he planned to do was the right thing, Beck didn’t think there was any other option. This was his fault. He had pissed off a woman who went above and beyond the norm when it came to plotting her revenge. Dawn wasn’t content with upsetting him; she wanted him destroyed and was putting everything else at risk to see it come true.
I did this, he thought. Shaking his head to rid it of such thoughts, he knelt beside Sam, whose earth magick was more powerful than that of ten earth witchlings combined. I have to fix this.
Chapter Eleven
Noah was hiding something. The instinct had been tugging at Morgan since they left the hospital. Not yet recovered from her ordeal, she sat on one of the two beds in the hotel room, watching him stand at the window and stare out at the night sky. He’d been withdrawn and quiet, his thoughts elsewhere.
I don’t trust him. Not all the way. He wasn’t going to hurt her, but she had an idea of what secret he kept from how he ducked his head every time someone mentioned his sister at the hospital. Morgan understood wanting to take care of a sibling. Her brother was a year younger than she was, and she had always protected him.
But Dawn … Dawn was a monster.
You’re Beck’s counterbalance, like it or not. Why aren’t you trying to help us with the Light? As hard as she tried, she couldn’t get Decker’s insistence she was supposed to do more out of her thoughts.
What more was there? She was staying away from Beck and the Light and using her fire magick to prevent the soul stone from hurting anyone around her. What was she missing? What else could she do?
From her few weeks at the witchlings’ boarding school, she had learned that fire was a purifier. But it had no affect on the Dark contained in the soul stone, which made her think her magick wasn’t strong enough to purify anything.
Still … there had to be something she could do to help Beck. Seeing him made her yearn to be with him, to figure out some way of balancing her duty safeguarding the stone with what he deserved: a Light witchling who could protect him and the Light.
Morgan clutched the phone in her hand. Beck had texted her the number for his new phone. If she messaged or called, he’d come to her in seconds.
Whatever Noah was planning, she was banking on him not being stupid enough to bring Dawn here, but she wasn’t certain he wasn’t going to give them away, even if by accident.
“Noah, is something wrong?” she asked him.
He blinked and shifted away from the window. “No.”
He crossed the room to his bed and sat heavily on a corner. “I need to go out.”
“Where?”
He glanced at her and put on his shoes without answering.
“I think I know where,” she said. “Don’t, Noah. You can’t reason with what she’s become.”
“I owe it to her to try before Beck and Decker slaughter her.”
“She’s not herself. She’s possessed.”
“She’s still my sister.”
Morgan fell silent, disturbed. She would do the same for her brother and could think of no logical argument that would persuade her otherwise.
“If I’m
not back in two hours, leave,” he instructed her. He placed the room keycard and credit card on the bureau opposite the beds.
“Call Biji first,” she said. “If something happens, she deserves closure.”
He nodded stiffly and left.
Morgan watched him, gut twisting.
She had no intention of being there when he got back. If Dawn didn’t kill him, she or one of her minions might follow him back or start tailing them wherever they went. There were a million things that could go wrong with his plan. He was operating on emotion, not sense, and she knew very well the danger accompanying this.
Morgan went to the window and watched him start his motorcycle and roar away from the highway motel. When she saw him merge onto the freeway, she pulled on her shoes and swiped the cards from the top of the bureau.
Shoving her hands into her pockets, she emerged from the hotel room into the chilly spring night and started walking to the office. They were nowhere near a bus station, but there were always cabs willing to come at any hours to the hotels. She pulled out money from the ATM in the lobby and had the night clerk call her a taxi.
The taxi arrived in ten minutes, and Morgan had it take her to the bus station. Only after she had bought a ticket did she start to relax and sat in the overheated waiting area beside the ticket booths. Of all the people on her mind, her thoughts were on her mother, who passed down the stone to her. How much strife had her mother gone through because of her duty to protect the stone?
How much more did her mother know about the stone than she did? Was there any institutional knowledge remaining at all, or was the history of their duty as vague as the instructions on keeping the stone safe?
There had to be something that would help her help Beck. Morgan tapped her phone, fire magick agitated enough to irritate her.
She had never really thought about her mother’s past or how she had to lie to everyone around her to prevent the stone from falling into the hands of any other witchling. It was a burden, and she viewed her mother and those who came before her with newfound appreciation for their dedication to their duty.
