by S. M. Boyce
But Fyrn had been wrong before.
***
Fork in hand, Luak took the first bite from a perfectly round chocolate cake on the counter in a small suburban home on the outskirts of London. His fork clinked against the crystal platter the cake sat on, the delicate sound the only noise in the massive home.
A corpse was sprawled over the couch, proof that no mortal could run from Luak. He ate the dead man’s cake, furious with himself.
There had been humans to greet him, of course, but there had been no Rhazdon Artifact to collect. Not one. No one in this home had even known of Oriceran and magic, much less of the Rhazdon Artifact that was supposed to be here. He had already ransacked the house for the ornate crystal and gold ring, but he had found nothing.
Once again, Luak’s sources had been wrong.
Furious at his failure, he grabbed the platter and threw it against the wall. The fragile crystal shattered, and the dessert splattered on the damask wallpaper. Chocolate goo dripped to the floor.
Pacing the kitchen, Luak ran his hands through his hair to calm himself.
The last four homes had been dry, filled with nothing more than pathetic mortals who gasped and pleaded for a few more seconds of miserable life. His trails were getting cold, and that meant he was out of time.
To remain his master’s favorite, he needed to take Fairhaven over. He had already planted the seeds of dissent, and now it was time to harvest what he had sown.
And it had all begun with that stupid girl who had stolen his Rhazdon Artifact. He would bleed her dry for the trouble she had caused him, and he would see to it that every second of her death was pure agony.
Chapter 6
Victoria laughed, her shoulders aching with joy.
After the news from Fyrn she had paced her home like a caged tiger, simultaneously excited and nervous. The pent-up energy had gone to her head. She’d decided she had to play a game of Berserk or she would lose her mind, and since she couldn’t leave the tunnels, the Plits had brought the game to her.
And she was having the best damn time of her life.
“Get it, get it!” Victoria pointed toward a hundred-point green fidget. The little indestructible creature curled into a ball and sped off down the tunnel, an emerald blur in a sea of gray. Thankfully the hundred-point fidgets were far easier to spot against the cave floor than on the Berserk field. She felt a little like she was cheating, but this was all in good fun.
The tunnel they had found was perfect for Berserk—as wide as a regular field, with a smooth floor and few boulders or stalagmites to crash into. Barriers at either end blockaded their little game, and Fyrn had cast a magical shield to hide their noise. Magically suspended flames hovered in the air all over the makeshift arena, casting dappled light over the barebones playing field.
It was far from a fair Berserk match, since the green and gold fidgets stood out like sore thumbs. But really, this was all in good fun. Besides, they were a bit harder to spot down here, since a few alcoves and boulders offered hiding spaces the fidgets otherwise wouldn’t have had. Still, the lack of exits made it a perfect impromptu arena.
As the green fidget sped past Audrey dove at it, her bare elbow scraping the rocky ground as she pinned the creature. To her credit she barely winced as blood pooled on her skin, and she held it tightly. “Edgar!”
“On my way!” the big ogre shouted. The ground shook beneath him as he charged toward her and reached for the fidget, snatching the wriggling creature from her death-grip as he passed.
Victoria pumped a fist in the air. “We’re killing it! Let’s see Team A beat that!”
Audrey rolled her eyes and laughed. “Victoria, you’re on Team A!”
Victoria stared, too caught up in the moment to remember that she and Audrey had agreed to face off. Since Audrey and Victoria were hiding, no one could know where they were. They had trusted a few with an approximate location, however, which included those on their Berserk team. They had split the ten-person Plits team in half.
“Oh, right. Shit,” she muttered, scanning the ground for another hundred-pointer. “I’m used to you and me being on the same team.”
Audrey laughed. “It’s all in good fun. There’s another green one over there.” Audrey nodded to the far wall and winked as a green fidget scampered by.
“You’re the best!”
“I know!” Audrey jogged toward a golden fidget running around the fire-lit tunnel.
***
The Berserk game only lasted an hour before the scrapes, bruises, and broken bones tapped everyone out. Playing in the rocky tunnel had resulted in more wounds than a plush grassy playing field, and thus the blood and broken bones added up more quickly. Several elves limped with broken bones and bloody faces toward Fyrn, their chosen medic wizard. Audrey waited her turn, and Victoria kept her company as they neared the head of the line.
Fyrn, ever the grumpy old fart, groaned and cursed beneath his breath with every wound he healed.
“Oh, it’s not that bad,” Victoria chided him as his hand hovered over Audrey’s broken pointer finger.
The digit snapped back into place, and Audrey sighed deeply. “Oh, thank goodness. That hurt like a bitch.”
Fyrn grumbled, “I’m the most powerful wizard in Fairhaven, and I’m playing medic. It’s disgraceful. Why couldn’t you have summoned Diesel? Good gracious! I said relax, not order me around like I’m your intern.”
“Summon Diesel? Yeah, great idea.” Audrey patted Victoria on the back. “Your lover would certainly have dropped everything to be here. He might have just fawned over you rather than healing anyone, but at least it would have been hilarious.”
“Hush, you,” Victoria said, narrowing her eyes. She preferred Fyrn’s grumbling to Diesel’s incessant romantic advances any day.
Victoria was pretty sure she had a fractured arm and a dislocated shoulder, since the pain radiating from her left side was almost too much to bear. But her Rhazdon Artifact’s healing ability would take care of her wounds, so she hadn’t held up the line for others.
She sucked in shallow breaths while she waited for the magic to work its wonders, and she felt her shoulder sliding into place. With a final pop, it seated. Stretching her arms, Victoria sucked in a deep and happy breath. She shook them out, relishing the relief her mended joints gave her. “Thank you for agreeing to help us, Fyrn.”
“Well, someone had to. Can’t have an official medic come down to moderate your match, now can I? What if they’re on Luak’s payroll? What if…”
“Let’s let him fume. Come on,” Audrey whispered in Victoria’s ear. She led the way back to their hideout while Fyrn bickered with Edgar about something to do with spoiled fruit. It didn’t seem to matter to Fyrn what was he going on about, so long as he got to complain.
As they walked down the tunnel, the conversation from their makeshift Berserk field began to fade until it was nothing more than a hollow echo. The golden barrier Fyrn had set up to protect their match became visible around a corner, and they walked through it. A shiver went down Victoria’s spine, and she looked over her shoulder. Fyrn had told her that from outside no one would even know it was there, which she now knew was true. That had kept the match safe and suspicious passersby out of the know.
She and Audrey strolled in silence for several minutes, Victoria enjoying the quiet.
But most of all, she enjoyed being with Audrey. She was relaxed again, and normal—like she used to be back when they didn’t know about magic or Fairhaven. The tension from before their trip to Atlantis was gone, and they were once more simply friends.
They had been through hell and high water and there would be more disaster to come, but at least they had each other.
“I’m grateful you’re my friend, Audrey.” Victoria wrapped her arm around the Atlantean, its sudden weight disrupting Audrey’s smooth gait a bit.
Audrey wrinkled her nose in mock disgust and poked Victoria’s side. “Ew! When did you get all gooey and senti
mental?”
“Hey, I gave you a fidget in today’s match. You have to be nice to me.” Victoria nudged Audrey’s shoulder, grinning.
Audrey laughed. “In all seriousness, I’m grateful for you too, V. If you’re beside me when all this goes south, I know we’ll be okay.”
“Likewise.”
To the end, Victoria thought to herself. At this point they didn’t even need to say it. Through pain, death, and murder, they would have each other’s’ backs.
Chapter 7
Deep in a massive cave beneath Fairhaven, Audrey let out a long, slow breath as she focused her energy on the tiara fused to her forehead. Warmth swept through her body as she tapped into its powerful magic.
The crackle of flames filled her ears, and she could sense the heat from the dozens of magically-suspended flames Fyrn had littered through the cave for light. To concentrate, she did her best to tune out the soft trickle of the underground waterfall in the cave where she had been invited to train with Victoria and Fyrn.
A flicker of glee interrupted her thoughts. She couldn’t help but inflate with pride at the thought of being invited to train with them. Fyrn had finally accepted Audrey as his pupil, and she felt at home practicing her gifts alongside her best friend. This meant she would only get better magically. She had already become an adept sword fighter, having taken on a snarx before she knew anything about Atlantis or her innate abilities. And now she would master her new magic as well.
Fucking awesome.
“Focus, damn it!” Fyrn shouted.
Audrey chuckled. She even enjoyed the grumpy old wizard’s abuse. His yelling at her meant she was growing. Learning. It meant she was part of a brutal and unstoppable team.
You can do this, little one. The koi’s melodic voice echoed in Audrey’s mind.
Audrey’s task was to use her Atlantean Artifact to shapeshift into a witch. Her grip tightened around the wand Fyrn had given her, a training tool used for witch kindergarteners to hone their skills. The dull rune-covered wood weighed on her palm, and she hoped she could make it spark to life.
She had never done this before—never even tried—but the thought of tapping into new power exhilarated her. Shifting into the form of a different race would give her that race’s gifts and abilities. Even if she wouldn’t have immediate mastery of them all, she could at least practice.
And wow, to be a witch for even a second was a dream that made her inner child beam with joy.
Fyrn tapped his staff on the rocky floor—probably to get her attention, since she had obviously messed up in her focus. His voice carried effortlessly through the cave. “This is tricky, Audrey. Clear your head. Think of nothing. Say nothing. Focus only on the wand and the shift. Don’t be disappointed if you can’t get it the first time.”
Watch me, she thought with a smirk.
“She’ll get it. Just watch,” Victoria said from somewhere nearby, echoing Audrey’s thought. Even with her eyes closed, Audrey smiled with gratitude.
Changing into a witch would be tough, because physically they didn’t appear much different from humans. For this shift she had to change her body internally and alter how it interacted with magic, rather than just create a different appearance.
If the wand sparked to life, she would know she had succeeded.
It’s an essence. A flow. A heartbeat, the koi said in Audrey’s mind.
The thought simmered in her brain, and Audrey ran with it. The dull pulse of something distinctly other began to radiate through her fingertips, and for a second she panicked. The sensation reminded her momentarily of the voice that had all but taken over her back in Atlantis, urging her to stay and obey the king.
You are safe, the koi said in her mind.
With a deep, shaky breath, Audrey pushed the memories of her time as a brainwashed almost-princess from her mind.
She tried again to access the dull pulse from before, focusing her attention on the enchanted tiara resting on her brow. The sensation of other returned, and this time she let it be. Waited. Listened. Did her best not to judge.
After a few seconds, the magical heartbeat swelled into something immense. It thrummed against her very soul, brimming with power and promise.
The wand began to shake ever so slightly in her palm, twitching to the otherworldly pulse within her. Her breathing steady now, she waited.
In a sudden and almost violent rush, the dull wood became something more. Something powerful. It called to her, urging her to tap into this new gift.
A bolt of energy burst from the tip, scorching the opposite wall. Stunned, Audrey gasped and took a step back, her grip on the rune-covered wand loosening.
When her focus shattered, the pulse faded until the wand was again nothing more than a dull stick of carved wood. As the rush of magic left her, exhaustion took its place. She felt suddenly heavy, as though she were wearing a wet coat.
But it didn’t matter how tired she was—she had done it. For a split second, she had shifted and accessed another race’s magical abilities. She smiled despite her sudden fatigue.
“Holy shit! Yes!” Victoria pumped her fist into the air and jumped, apparently too excited to contain herself.
To her credit, Audrey would have done the same had she not been so stunned by the experience. A witch’s relationship with magic was beautiful. Otherworldly. Entrancing.
She had loved every second of it.
You will do great things, the koi said in Audrey’s mind.
Audrey smiled, her grip tightening on the wand. “Damn right.”
“I’m truly impressed,” Fyrn said, leaning on his staff. “Have you tried this before?”
Audrey shook her head. “The koi helped me.”
“Ah, the water spirit tied to your Artifact.” Fyrn stroked his beard, eyes glazing as he stared at a nearby cave wall. “I do wish you had managed to secure a few of them for me. It disappoints me that there weren’t any on the Atlanteans who crossed the portal into Fairhaven with you.”
“Well, tough cookies, because we’re never going back.” Victoria crossed her arms and frowned. “Those assholes tried to kill me and Diesel.”
Audrey wistfully looked at the waterfall. A part of her soul called for her to return. Atlantis was full of jackasses, sure, but it was her home. The Atlantean within her ached to go back, but she suppressed the nostalgic desire with a sharp breath and a grimace.
The Atlanteans had tried to take Victoria from her—Audrey’s true family—and not even a homeland and a kingdom were worth risking her friend’s life. “I definitely think we should stay away. Besides, after killing their General and defying their king we would hardly be welcome.”
Fyrn paced the small cave in which they were training. “True. Regardless, I believe much of your connection to your Artifact comes from your heritage, Audrey. Should Victoria or I try to connect with one, we would likely have far more trouble mastering its gifts. I doubt we would have pleasant experiences with the spirits tied to the Atlantean Artifacts, either.”
Audrey shrugged. It was probably true, but she wasn’t proud of the elitist nature of her newly-discovered people.
Fyrn sighed. “Ah, well. We have other means of helping Victoria achieve the strength she requires. Back to work, both of you. Audrey, we have a few more forms to try.”
The mood shifted suddenly, and neither spoke or moved despite Fyrn’s command. Victoria bit her nail, eyes out of focus as she stared at the cave wall. Audrey knew that look—Victoria was trying to hide her nerves about the dark magic in her future.
Audrey set her hand on Victoria’s shoulder. “You’ll be okay, V. Another Rhazdon Artifact isn’t going to change who you are. It’ll just make you more badass.”
Victoria looked at her and, after flashing a bittersweet expression containing simultaneous panic and gratitude, smiled. “I know. Especially when I have you to keep me in check and Fyrn to shout obscenities.”
“Damn it all, will you two focus?” Fyrn scowled.
�
��See?” Victoria chuckled.
Fyrn pointed at Audrey. “We don’t have enough time to train you fully in the ways of magical combat, but Bertha has done a fine job of preparing you in swordplay. For now, therefore, we need to make sure you can handle a few more forms before we leave tomorrow. Now, Audrey, an ogre, if you please.”
Audrey nodded and took a deep breath. This one she had done successfully twice, and she knew she could do it again.
Exhaustion pulled on her limbs and urged her to rest, but she couldn’t. Not now. They had dark magic to find, and Audrey had to be at the top of her game if she was going to keep Victoria out of harm’s way.
Chapter 8
Victoria was packing her bags. They would leave in an hour.
She couldn’t help the excited tremble in her hands as she stuffed her clothes unceremoniously into her pack. Screw folding her shirts! Her mind wandered over what awaited them in the rocky desert of Arizona, where her new Rhazdon Artifact had been hidden for centuries.
And soon it would be hers. Soon she would have six terrifying abilities instead of just three.
She paused, tensing at the thought of more dark magic in her blood. Fyrn had said there might even be more Rhazdon Artifacts down the line. More blood. More death.
She sucked a deep breath through her teeth. Victoria needed to focus her mind on something—anything—else.
Their trip to Sedona would be successful. If she focused only on the next step, she wouldn’t panic about what would come after.
Sedona was a magical marvel that even the humans knew was special. Fyrn had told her a bit of the lore, but only enough to whet her appetite. There had once been a kemana there deep beneath the ground, but someone had destroyed it thousands of years ago. Someone powerful. Someone deadly. According to rumor, there had only been one survivor.
A witch. And once she had left, she had never gone back.
Rumor was, something had taken over the ruins. Something dark. Whoever—or whatever—now lurked there would take no prisoners, and yet she and the people she cared most about in this world were about to kick in the front door.
