Cradled

by Christina Bauer

Rowan rested his hand gently on my shoulder. “We need something to help us to see inside,” he whispered. “Or get some intelligence on what’s within.”

  I knew what Rowan what kind of something Rowan was talking about.

  Magick.

  “It’s a risk,” I said in a low voice. “We’re both low on magick.”

  Rowan shrugged. “There are some novice spells that wouldn’t be too taxing, especially if we used our hybrid power.”

  “True.”

  My thoughts then spun through every kind of spell we could cast. The choice was overwhelming. Over the past months, Rowan and I had practiced dozens of spell combinations. In each case, we took a Necromancer and Caster spell, brought them together, and made something more. There were castings for enemy insight, seeing through walls, mapping the placement of possible foes, the list went on and on.

  And there were ones for seeing the future, but really, that was Jicho’s area of expertise.

  My poor Jicho.

  Somewhere below this building, our precious boy was being held by Kronos. I could only hope Jicho was safe.

  At that thought, the perfect spell appeared in my mind. “How about the bird’s eye spell? It combines Necromancer spell crone hands with the Caster jila bird.”

  Rowan rubbed his chin slowly. “Crone hands increase the power of any spell. The jila bird gives insight on what will help you. It’s perfect.”

  Rowan laced his fingers with mine. A trickle of warm Caster energy flowed from his hand into mine, while I sent necromancer power to him. A moment later, both our free palms glowed with faint violet light. Since this was a compound spell, I would speak my incantation first.

  “The beauty of gnarled bone

  The strength that drives its touch

  Bring me the hand of a crone

  To heal, give, and clutch.”

  Tendrils of purple mist lifted off my free palm. The small cloud quickly congealed into the form of a skeletal hand that hovered before me at shoulder height. Normally, I could use real bones in the nearby ground and repurpose them in my spell. However, on Quetum there was nothing around but metal for miles. Even so, my magick was strong enough to create the skeletal hand on its own. As the spell requested, the bones were gnarled, full of wisdom, and ideal. I focused on Rowan. “Your turn.”

  Rowan lifted his free hand. His palm still glowed with purple light. Closing his eyes, Rowan whispered his incantation.

  “Color. Beauty. Sight. Fly to me, little bird.”

  Violet-colored mist lifted off Rowan’s free hand, congealing into the shape of a small bird with a white body and a red and green tail. The bird fluttered over to land on the skeletal crone’s hand. Once safely on its perch, the bird focused its tiny button eyes at Rowan, as if to ask: What do you wish of me?

  “Take strength from the hand of the crone,” said Rowan. “Then give your gifts to Elea’s eyes.” He set his hand on my shoulder, just so there would be no confusion about whose eyes we were talking about. Low level spells needed extra clarification like that.

  The bird tweeted once and then pecked at the skeletal hand beneath it. The bones there glowed blue with power. The brightness moved up the bird’s stick-like legs, across its rounded little belly, and settled onto its multicolored tail. Those feathers now gleamed with shades of red and green that were so strong, they lit up the entire hallway. For the first time, I could see every detail of the rusted walls and moldy floor.

  Myla and Lincoln stepped closer. Lincoln was the first to speak. “Your magick is beyond beautiful.”

  “Thank you.” I turned my attention to the little bird and clucked my tongue in its direction. “Come on, now. Finish our your work. Give me your gifts.”

  The jila bird pecked at the bones beneath it once more. The crone’s hand had been hovering place for some time. Now, it rose up until the bird was at eye level with me. I closed my eyes and felt the soft tickle of feathers, followed by low chuckles from my companions. I couldn’t see what was happening, but I could imagine it easily enough. The bird would have twisted around so its tail feathers were by my closed eyes, and then shaken itself so the feathers—and more importantly, the magic—brushed across me. A calming chill sunk into my eye sockets.

  When I opened my eyes again, the bird and skeletal hand were gone. Rowan, Myla and Lincoln stepped back. They were all staring at me so intensely, I started to worry that the spell had gone wrong somehow.

  I patted my eyes. “Is everything all right?” I asked.

  “Yes,” said Rowan, his voice husky. “The whites of your eyes are glowing either red or green. It’s lovely. Do you have any insights yet? Dangerous things will seem to have a red light in them that only you can see. The same is true for green. That means it will help you.”

  I scanned the far wall. “I don’t see anything different.” I carefully looked over Myla, Lincoln and Rowan as well. “None of you look lit up in any way, either.”

  “What about behind you?” asked Rowan.

  “Good idea.” I shook my head. “Of course.” I turned around gasped. “The entire door glows with red light. Do you see that as well?”

  “No,” said Rowan. “The spell is working. The casting will be at its most powerful now. For a little while, you’ll be able to see through things as well. Can you see anything from the other side of the wall?”

  Every nerve in my body went on alert. Because I did see something on the other side of the wall. It was a vision in red light that shown through the metal door.

  An Oculus Warrior.

  The monster was only a few inches away from me, and it was pushing on the other side of the door. All thought vanished from my head. The Oculus Warrior gave one last shove against the side of the door and it spun around like a top.

  One moment, I was standing in the passageway with Rowan, Myla and Lincoln. The next it was just me and a hundred Oculus Warriors standing in neat rows by the low metal benches they must use as beds. None of them seemed to notice me, so I stood perfectly still.

  The barracks themselves were long, rectangular, and made entirely of bronze. I was standing on one short end of the rectangle. The exit door was at the other side because, well, that just seemed to be how my day was going now.

  The only good thing? The other Oculus Warriors kept facing toward the opposite wall and the exit door.

  I balled my hands into anxious fists. Every nerve in my body was urging me to run, but right now? No one was attacking me with evil metal antennae, so I was going to stay put. If anything, the Oculus Warrior beside me seemed more curious than combative.

  My heart beat so hard, I could feel my pulse in my throat. I scoured my mind for some way out of this disaster.

  Think, Elea. There must be a way to escape.

  The Oculus Warrior who’d pushed the door stepped up closer to me. Up close, these things looked like a mish-mash of random parts and smelled of old grease. The warrior poked my shoulder. I didn’t move.

  I scanned the warrior from head to toe. It didn’t have any red or green glow to it. Neither did the other warriors in the room. If they were a danger to me, they’d be giving off red light, right? At least, that’s what has happened with the spin door.

  Behind me, I could hear faint scratches and thuds against the access door. From this side, the thing didn’t even look much like a door at all. It blended in perfectly with the other metal wall panels that lined the room. Sweat beaded along my temple.

  Please, let me get out of here alive.

  The Oculus Warrior leaned in closer and inhaled deeply. What was it doing now? Sniffing? My day was growing stranger by the moment.

  After that, the warrior stood up straight again. Red light encased it entirely. The spell was warning me.

  Oh, no.

  A low croak of a voice came out from under the warrior’s helmet. “Kitty.” Based on the tone the warrior used, I’m guessing it was not a friend of our clockwork cat. And evidently, I smelled like her.

  One by one, every one of t
he Oculus Warriors took on the same red glow, at least to my eyes. It was the spell warning me that danger was arising.

  I was starting to think this wasn’t the most useful spell. It’s not like I needed to have the illusion of these monsters glowing with red light to know they were dangerous. Moving in unison, all the warriors turned around to face me. As they moved, their boots hit the floor in a perfectly synchronized pair of stomps.

  “Attack!” cried the warrior closest to me.

  My mind soaked in every aspect of this moment. The pounding behind me became more fierce as Rowan tried to reach me. Hundreds of Oculus Warriors spouted identical antennae from their backs. Some of the metal arms ended with round saws. Others held knives or corkscrews. Still more had needles.

  And then, I saw it.

  All their helms glowed with the faintest green light. That had to be a good sign. At last, my mind broke out of its haze of fear. I sorted through everything that had happened since we met Kronos. How Kitty said that the mechanical king had torn apart her friends to make his Oculus Warriors…The power held in Kronos’s walking stick…And the green hue that emanated from those identical helms over mismatched bodies.

  Suddenly, I knew exactly what to do. Cast skeletal sledges. As many as I could. These were like skeletal servants, only far more hefty and battle hardened.

  In other words, they were perfect for my plans.

  Pulling in magick from the corners of my soul, I spoke the incantation.

  “Power from bone

  Blood and stone

  Warriors of might

  Battle and fright”

  This time, I wouldn’t be able to share my powers with Rowan, so the spell would use only Necromancer energy. The bones in my left hand glowed blue.

  And that’s when the Oculus Warrior closest to me struck. Its back antennae popped out and, lucky me, those thin arms ended with spinning saw blades. One sliced into my right shoulder. Pain radiated down my arm. With all my will, I pushed out the magick from my uninjured arm and out into the world.

  Blue mist filled the room. When the cloud dissolved, a dozen hefty skeletons stood around me in a semi circle. “My sledges,” I called. “Tear off their helms.”

  I didn’t wait to see what the sledges did. Reaching over, I gripped the edge of the hem of the Oculus Warrior nearest to me. Wrapping my fingers around the bottom lip of the massive helm, I pulled with all the strength in my good arm. The Oculus Warrior counter attacked, jamming round saw blades into my thigh and back.

  I heaved harder. Warm blood dripped down my arm and pooled at the base of my spine. At last, the helm gave way. I tore it from the Oculus Warrior’s head. The metal monster stood in place for a moment.

  After that, it collapsed into a pile of spare parts. Gears, wire, and springs littered the floor. Around me, my skeletal sledges were doing the same thing. They pulled off helm after helm, turning more of the Oculus Warriors into junk piles. Kronos had used the helms to transform the remains of Springlets into Oculus Warriors. Taking away the helm returned them to their previous state.

  More blood dripped onto the floor. My head felt too light on my shoulders. Nearby, my skeletal sledges were still fighting the remaining Oculus Warriors, but there was something else I needed to do. I squinted, trying to focus my addled mind.

  Door. That’s it. I needed to get Rowan.

  With hesitant steps, I turned to face the wall behind me. I pushed on the panel, leaving streaks of red blood everywhere I touched. White spots appeared in my vision. I wouldn’t stay awake for much longer. A thin cord glowed between one of the seams between the metal wall panels. I smiled. The wire was shining with green light.

  I gripped the edge of the cord and pulled. The force of the effort sent me falling onto my knees, but the move worked. The door swung halfway open. Myla, Lincoln, and Rowan rushed inside. My husband pulled me against him.

  “You’re going to be fine, Elea.” He began whispering the words to a Caster incantation for healing. The last thing I remembered was the warm touch of his hands on my wounds. After that, everything became quiet and dark.

  Chapter Ten

  I awoke with a gasp. Rowan held me in his lap, his solid arms encircling me with warmth and love. His lips brushed the shell of my ear. “You’re healed,” he said in a low voice. “The Oculus Warriors are all gone. We’re safe here for a few minutes.”

  I blinked a few times to clear my head. Where was I? What was happening? The memories appeared in a flash. I’d been fighting Oculus Warriors. One had sliced into me with the round blades. My eyes widened. I’d lost a lot of blood. I may have recovered, but I wasn’t the only one to worry about.

  “I’m fine,” I rasped. “But what about the…” I couldn’t force the word from my mouth.

  “Baby?” finished Rowan.

  “Yes.” My heart cracked. This wasn’t how I’d planned to have this conversation. “The baby.”

  “The baby is fine.” Rowan fixed me with an unreadable stare. “You’re fine.”

  After so much panic and worry about the whole topic of pregnancy, words began pouring out of me in a rush. “I’d been trying to tell you, but I didn’t know how. It wasn’t my plan for you to find out this way. I didn’t want to shock you.”

  “It wasn’t a shock.” Rowan cupped my face in his hands, guiding our gazes together. “I suspected something back in the tunnel. You were asking Myla so many questions about her son; I could tell children were on your mind. Then, you kept resting your hand on your belly. So I had a good sense what was happening. And then when I healed you, my magick sensed the child.”

  “And your magick says that the baby is fine.” For whatever reason, I needed to hear that last part again. “Right?”

  “Yes, she’s fine.”

  My pulse stuttered. “She?”

  “That’s right. A girl.” Rowan let out a long breath. “I know we never planned to have children, and for very good reasons. But now? I keep picturing a little girl with your long dark hair and wise brown eyes.” Leaning in, he ran the length of his nose along mine. “The more I think about it, the more I’m comfortable with the idea. I just want you to know that.”

  Words began tumbling from me again. “But you just almost lost me to evil mechanical monsters. That might be clouding your thoughts.”

  “No matter what happens,” said Rowan. “Know this. I love you with all that I am.” I met his gaze again. Nothing but true respect and love shone in Rowan’s green eyes. “Everything else, we’ll work it out. Together.”

  There were a thousand things I could say to him now. I wanted to share how the last year with him had been the best of my life. How much I loved waking up at his side. And how he was my true partner in both joy and trouble. Only two words fell from my lips, though. “That’s good.”

  Something tapped at my heel. Looking down, I saw Kitty perched by my feet. Her large gear eyes stared up at me. “You better be worth this.”

  I blinked hard. Kitty was here? That didn’t seem real. “You ran off.”

  “To let Tank know to prepare the charge,” said Kitty. “We’re still invading the entrance bridge to the tower. Tank is waiting for us to get him. We can’t attack without getting Tank first.”

  “You could have mentioned that fact,” I said. “We thought you’d deserted us.”

  Kitty lifted her chin. “But I’m a feline.” And that was the sum of her explanation.

  Again, since I’d had cats of my own, I knew exactly what Kitty meant here. Felines do what they want, how they want, and when they want.

  Kitty sniffed. “Also, I went and checked on your Jicho. Bronze boy? Bald head?”

  My heart thudded against my rib cage. “That’s right.”

  “He’s alive,” said Kitty. “Kronos had him locked up in a magickal prison cell. The false king is even waiting down in the dunegons with him.”

  Jolts of both excitement and dread moved through me. “I don’t like the idea of Kronos down there with Jicho, but if that’s t
he case, where’s that Bezel Wand of his?”

  “He keeps the want in the control tower room,” says Kitty. “Unless he’s smiting someone with it, Kronos allows it to eke out a little power to keep the rest of the planet going. Barely.”

  Myla stepped closer. “The Bezel Wand?” she asked. “You mean that walking stick thingy that’s jam packed with extra vitamins and magickal power?”

  Rowan nodded. “We just need to sneak in there and get it.”

  I looked to Kitty. “What do you think? Is it possible to steal it?”

  “Kronos is known for leaving the Bezel Wand unguarded,” said Kitty. “Sometimes people from other worlds come to visit us.” She lowered her voice. “I think they come to steal the Bezel Wand, but they never do. Everyone says the Oculus Warriors get them first.” She shivered. “All of them end up dead.”

  Her words set my thoughts racing. “But what about my parents?” I asked. “When they came here, did they try to steal the Bezel Wand?” Because that’s something I’d totally expect them to do.

  Kitty lifted her chin. “They didn’t touch it. They’re freedom fighters who have no interest in magick or gateways.”

  I frowned. “That really doesn’t sound like my parents.”

  Myla tapped my shoulder. “Hey, muchacha. I’m getting worried on the timeline here.”

  I looked her over intently. “I’m not sure what you said, but I think it’s something like, we’re running low on time.”

  “It was,” said Lincoln. That smile sound was back in his voice.

  “I’ll take Myla and Lincoln to the Windings,” said Kitty. “That’s where Tank is hiding.”

  I’d been leaning against Rowan’s chest before. Now I sat bolt upright. “Did you say windings?” I asked.

  Kitty sniffed. “Of course, that’s what I said. The Windings. Capital W. It’s a little town. Was a little town. Then Kronos razed it. Now the place is a gully and Tank is hiding out in there. He’s very important so we have to get him before we invade anything.”

  I snapped my fingers, trying to force a memory. “Jicho said something about the Windings before. He said the lightning goddess and her consort were to go there with their fire swords. It must mean that Myla, Lincoln, and Kitty should all go get Tank together.”