by Simone Pond
Someone tapped my shoulder, causing my bones to jump. I jerked around.
“Matthias!” I lightly punched his arm.
“Really, Temple?” He was back to using my last name. That wasn’t a good sign.
Many of the Ancients had gathered on the deck, their long robes fluttering in the cool night breeze. They stared at me in awe. Or maybe it was confusion.
“Is everyone okay?” I asked.
“No casualties,” called out one of Levi’s men. “Well, except for Levi, Benjamin, and Binx.”
Matthias’s eyes shot open. “What? They’re dead?”
“No, no,” I said. “Their boat is missing.”
“We need to talk,” said Matthias, taking my hand and pulling me away from the railing.
Some of the Ancients waved in gratitude, relieved to be alive. After all, I had stopped those Topaz units from reaching our decks. I smiled and waved back, then turned the corner with Matthias.
The second we were out of view, I yanked my hand out of his. “What’s your problem?”
He stopped walking. “I was gonna ask you the same thing!”
“I just saved us from getting annihilated.”
Matthias brushed his hand through his messy hair, clearly irritated with me. “You come over here—on your own—and go into battle with a bunch of Topaz operatives.”
I laughed, a bit shocked. “You’re missing the point. I took down three of Magnus’s cruisers. We’re okay …”
“You’re missing the point.” He turned away and headed down the corridor.
I chased after him, feeling silly, but I honestly didn’t know why he was so angry. Was it because I didn’t include him in my plans?
“Hey!” I grabbed the sleeve of his jacket.
“What, Jordan?” His expression had returned to that prideful disdain of the first time we met. Had I crushed his ego by not including him?
I let go of his sleeve and held his hand, which was like a block of ice. “I’m sorry … I just … I wanted to protect you. Sometimes you fly off the handle and after what happened with your father and brother … I don’t know. I didn’t want the three of you to get separated again. Okay?”
He chuffed, shaking his head. “I fly off the handle? Me?”
“Are you implying that I do?” I released his hand, backing away.
I might’ve been a bit too loyal to my independence, but flying off the handle wasn’t my thing. At the Academy, my partner, Nils, deemed me one of the most strategic, precise, and practical minds. And Nils Fox wasn’t the type to lie about such things. Or maybe he was … After all, he’d been a double-agent working for the Ancients the entire three years we’d been training together.
“Whoa, sorry,” Matthias said. “I didn’t mean to cut so deep.”
I waved my hand as if swishing the words off toward the passing riverbank. “It’s not that. I was just thinking about Nils. Maybe he wasn’t entirely honest about his opinion of me. Maybe I do fly off the handle. Either way, my intentions were good. I wanted to keep you and the elders safe.”
Matthias gave me a contented smirk and started down the metal ladder to the motorboat he must’ve used to reach the third ship.
“I can teleport us back,” I said.
“I’d rather go the old-fashioned way. You coming?” He reached out his hand.
I took it, not because I needed his help, but because I didn’t want to come off as too independent. I’d already played that hand enough for one night.
When I settled into the boat, Matthias untied the rope and started the engine. We pulled away from the Sinai and instead of heading north to catch up with the Jericho, Matthias steered us in the opposite direction.
“What’s going on?” I asked through chattering teeth.
He tossed me a puffy bomber jacket. “We’re gonna hunt down Levi, Benjamin, and Binx. No Ancient left behind.”
I was quiet for a minute, letting the words roll around in my head so they could come together in the least offensive way. “There’s a strong possibility they didn’t make it. The last time I saw them, they disappeared behind a wall of fire. And this river’s a beast.”
It was as though the River Elin had ears, because at that moment a strong current rushed up under the motorboat, almost capsizing the thing. I grasped the side bar with both hands until the boat straightened out and my stomach returned to its rightful spot. I knew if anything were to happen, I always had my magic. But just in case, I scooted closer and closer to Matthias until our thighs touched. A spark trilled through my body. When our magic coalesced, it became something else; a kinetic energy source with a mind of its own.
“You okay?” he asked over the buzzsaw of the engine.
“Just cold.” I shivered. This wasn’t a total lie, since I was freezing.
“You’re not scared, are you, J?” He grinned, peering down at me.
I liked this version of Matthias. The one that used the moniker J and grinned at me with those pale gray eyes. Like we were out on a date, taking a moonlit ride down the river instead of hunting down three of his zealots. Maybe I sounded sappy or too girly, but it was a nice change of pace after taking down three attack cruisers. I kept telling myself even the Chosen One needs to have some enjoyment after a big win.
Maybe that was my first mistake.
Chapter 3
A loud shot echoed across the river. I lunged on top of Matthias, pressing him against the floor of the motorboat.
“Please get off.” He rolled me off his back and sat up.
“Sorry, thought we were getting shot at.”
“The damn engine backfired,” he said, “and I can take care of myself.”
“I know. Just my automatic response is all.”
Matthias pulled the cord of the engine, but the thing was completely dead. He plunked back down on the seat and checked his watch. The sun would be coming up soon—maybe we’d have more luck finding the guys in daylight, or maybe we’d be sitting ducks. But without the use of the motor, we’d drift southward on the river’s current; right back to Mysterium.
“Here.” Matthias tossed me two paddles and motioned for me to start rowing.
“We’ll never catch up to the convoy by paddle.” I laughed.
“I think I saw a boat.” He pointed with his chin. “Over by the western bank.”
The city of Endor—which meant witches and warlocks—was on the western bank and Pyre—which meant vampires—was to the east. Each city was its own version of hell as far as I was concerned.
“Are you sure?” I asked
“It looked like one of our dinghies.”
“You don’t sound so sure,” I said.
“We’re checking it out.” He glanced over his shoulder. “If we run into trouble, you can always use your magic and save the day.”
Yeah, his ego had been bruised …
We fought and forged with all of our strength to reach the riverbank, ending up farther south than where Matthias had spotted what we hoped was the dinghy. We roped our motorboat to a large tree trunk lodged in the sand and began trekking northward. The black sky shifted to silvery gray with soft streaks of lavender and pink. Dawn was spreading throughout the Confederated Six.
“If we don’t find anything, I’m teleporting us back to the Jericho—no arguing,” I said.
Matthias kept trudging ahead. “We’ll find them.”
A strange cadence of laughter came from the nearby trees. I jerked around to see who was following us.
“What is it?” whispered Matthias.
“I heard someone laughing.”
“Laughing?”
We stood waiting for the sound to come again. Everything around us was so still I could hear Matthias’s slow and heavy breathing. He was about to turn around and continue walking when the giggling started up again.
“See!”
He pulled out a pistol from his waistband and made a cautious approach toward the trees. I paced close behind, keeping my hands up, trusting I ha
d enough magic in the reserves to call up my shield.
The sound of footsteps scuttling through leaves and snapping twigs came from the woods, then that laughter again. It was getting closer and becoming borderline maniacal.
“You think it’s some kids?” asked Matthias.
“Definitely not. I don’t think it’s even human.”
Then the laughter stopped and the sound of multiple footsteps crunching through brush and leaves grew louder. Matthias and I took an offensive stance—his pistol aimed and my hands raised—ready for whoever was coming out of those woods.
When I recognized lanky Levi and Benjamin’s bright smile emerging from the brush, I blew out a sigh of relief and lowered my hands. The third guy from the group—Binx—trailed behind.
“That was some serious damage you did to those cruisers,” said Levi with a proud smile.
Matthias tucked his gun back into his waistband. “I knew you were alive.”
“It was close, dude,” said Binx. “If it weren’t for eagle man here, we’d be fish food.” He fist-bumped Benjamin.
“Our boat was toast. Had to get my boys out of that mess,” said Benjamin.
I ran over and hugged the big fellow.
“We got way off course, but we were hiking north, trying to figure out how to get back to the convoy,” Levi explained.
Benjamin shrugged. “Not easy to fly with two men in tow, a stiff breeze, and Topaz ops bird-dogging me.”
Before I could commend Benjamin for his amazing feat of saving their lives, another rustling of leaves caught my ears. We all snapped to attention, and I raised my hands in an attack stance …
A slender man in green breeches and a waistcoat emerged from the trees. His sandy blond hair arced in a flamboyant swoop across his forehead. “Wait, my lady! I implore you to stop whatever it is you’re about to do!”
My lady?
Matthias stepped forward, training his pistol on the guy. “Who in Ancients’ name are you?”
Levi, Benjamin, and Binx also had their weapons aimed. The scene looked almost comical: the smiling, fancy-clothed stranger being drawn upon by this hardcore pack of left-bank zealots in the middle of the woods. The man started giggling nervously. There it was, that laughter from earlier …
“Have you been following us?” I asked.
“Yes. For quite some time,” he said.
I moved closer and peered into his shifty brown eyes. “What do you want?”
“The news is starting to spread throughout Mysterium, you know. Though Magnus is spinning it. Hehehe. Always trying to control and master the minds, that one …” He swept his hand in the air in a dramatic gesture, causing me to back away a bit.
“News?”
“Of you.” He pointed at me. “The one the Oracle foretold. Hehehe.”
“All right, Fancy Pants—who are you? And what’s so funny?” asked Matthias.
“Pardon me, hehehe, the laughter is a … tic. Like a stutter. My name’s Sawyer Charlton. I originally hail from Lycaeon, but I’ve been residing on the outskirts of Endor for the last few years. On the account of a special lady friend.” He smiled and tilted his head politely in my direction. He was trying to stifle laughter.
“Lycaeon … I knew I smelled a damn shifter,” grumbled Matthias.
“Oh, no, no, no, … hehehehe … I consider myself a shifter no longer since I’ve defected. I’m studying to become a wizard.” He darted his hand into the air, snapped his fingers, and a tiny flame sparked then fizzled.
“What’s your other form?” I asked.
The stately fellow lowered his head and muttered, “Hyena.”
Benjamin and Binx chuckled and murmured a few words to each other that I couldn’t make out.
“We should get back to our ships,” said Matthias.
“Yeah, we should,” I agreed. “Well, Sawyer, nice meeting you. Good luck with the wizard thing.” I turned to leave.
He clasped my shoulder. “Wait!”
Matthias and Levi aimed their guns directly into Sawyer’s clean-shaven face.
“I’m sorry—hehehe—but I just want to help you,” he said.
“Help us with what?” I asked.
“I’m surmising you’re taking the ships north of the Madlands, right? Have any of you ever been that far north?” He eyed each of us carefully and again stymied a laugh.
Finally, Matthias responded. “No.”
“There’s a restricted waterway—the Rankin Canal—and but one way you’ll be able to get your ships through the channel,” said Sawyer. He finally seemed to have the laughter under control.
Matthias sighed and nudged my shoulder. “Come on, let’s go.”
“No, wait. Might as well hear him out,” I said.
“Only the Overseer can open the waterway,” said Sawyer.
“Okay, I’ve heard enough,” said Matthias, tugging my sleeve. “We’ll figure it out when we get there, Jordan. If he’s even telling us the truth. We don’t have time to waste on this jokester.”
I remained still and peered into the shifter’s brown eyes. Sure, they darted around and seemed a bit too beady, but I sensed he wasn’t bluffing.
“So, what’s in it for you?” I asked.
“What …” He paused, breathing deeply to stifle that nervous tic of his, then brushed the swoop of blond hair across his forehead. “What do you mean?”
“Why are you telling us this?” I asked.
His cheeks grew red and he gazed at his buckled boots.
“Isabella and I met while working together on a river cruise. Ahh—she was the most enchanting of cocktail waitresses. And I, a barkeeper. We fell in love. Deeply and truly.” He sighed.
Matthias’s last strand of patience broke. “What’s this got to do with anything!?”
“Isabella originally hailed from Endor and her pedigree was that of a long line of special witches, secretly assigned by the high council to be the Overseers of the Rankin Canal. The waterway was originally set up to protect the Confederated Six from any outside intruders and the channel was to only be opened in the case of an emergency. For centuries, the Six have remained a self-contained and highly protected territorial entity.”
Sawyer paused a moment and blinked away a tear that had gathered in one of his eyes. Matthias heaved a sigh and leaned against a nearby tree. Benjamin and Binx moved in closer, enthralled with the story.
“Let me guess,” said Matthias, “Isabella is locked away somewhere, helpless and distraught.”
Sawyer glanced over at him. “That’s precisely right. The High Witch of Endor, Glendora, locked her away for treason. Her crime, you wonder? Making use of her magic for good. Can you believe it?”
I cut in. “The High Witch?”
“She runs Endor. She incarcerated my beloved Isabella six full moons ago, and I’ve been in shambles ever since.” He bowed his head.
I could see where this was going.
Matthias walked over and rested his hand on Sawyer’s shoulder. “I get it. She’s the love of your life. You’d do anything to save her …”
Sawyer wiped his nose with a crisp handkerchief. “That’s right, I would.”
Matthias continued, “Even make up some cracked story about a gal with a secret power to unlock a channel to get some desperate saps to go up against the High Witch of Endor because you don’t have the gonads to do it yourself?”
Sawyer pulled away. “Pardon me?”
“Matthias! Don’t be so rude,” I said.
“Hehehehe … I’m not making this up. Do your research. Find out about the Rankin Canal. You’ll see. Only Isabella’s bloodline is equipped with the power to open it. And not many people know this information. She told me in great confidence.”
The tugging in my stomach tightened. “Okay, who else knows about Isabella?”
“Members of the high council,” said Sawyer.
I approached Matthias. “Magnus, of course. Which means he’ll be looking for Isabella, too.”
Saw
yer anxiously added, “And if the counselor gets to her first, you’ll never get through.”
“Come on, J. You don’t believe this guy, do you? He’s the shiftiest of all the shifters.” Matthias leaned down and held my chin, his gray eyes pleading with me.
“Doesn’t matter if he’s lying. I’m not willing to take that risk. Are you? We can’t get all the way north to discover there’s no way through the channel. Besides, something is telling me we need to follow this lead, even if it’s sketchy. Just trust me.”
Matthias shook his head. “I trust you. You’re just a pain who wants to do everything her own way. Here’s where I keep getting stuck: don’t any of you find it suspicious that this hyena comes out of nowhere and happens to find us in the woods? We weren’t even supposed to be here. And he happens to know we need to cross the channel? This whole thing reeks.”
Sawyer straightened his waistcoat. “I take great offense at your implications. Hehehe. As I told you from the start, the rumors were spreading that three ships with Ancients were heading north toward the channel. I already knew you’d never get through. But I knew how you could. And so I began tracking Magnus’s attack cruisers, knowing he’d come for you. I saw the battle, then followed the eagle shifter, thinking that would be my best bet. I thought I could strike a bargain. My help for yours.” He paused and took a deep breath, pushing that blond swoop of hair back from his forehead before continuing, “Additionally, I have tried several times to find my Isabella. But the last time I faced the High Witch, I was banished from the city. Why do you think I’m out here in the woods all by myself? I can’t go anywhere near the streets of Endor. Glendora promised if I ever stepped foot in the city she’d have my Isabella drawn and quartered for me to watch! Hehehe. As much as I loathe the idea of asking a group of Ancients for assistance, frankly, I’m out of options.”
The way he’d said Ancients made it sound like he’d just taken a bite of something rotten. His polite veneer had come down and the truth glared like the sun. This shifter wannabe wizard was not a fan of my people. Did this make what he had told us about the channel any less true?
