Invocation

by Tera Lyn Cortez

  She turned, looking at Xavier next. “It brightens my heart to see two of his children are with us and have returned to their homeland.”

  I looked at Xavier, unsure how to respond. He smiled at her. “We will do our best to return our lands to the glory they once held.”

  “The prince has told me of your wishes to gather an army here. I have both good news and bad in that regard. The good news is that you will find nearly every creature still living willing to help you on your quest to defeat her. Even better news is that she has not been seen in this realm for many years. She does still have spies to do her bidding though.”

  I watched her, wondering what the bad news would turn out to be. So far, this seemed to be all to simple. The path we are on couldn't possibly turn out this easily conquered.

  “The bad news, my dear, is the reason she has moved on. She sucked every last drop of magic out of the land that she was able. Very few us possess any at all.”

  My jaw dropped. No magic? How was such a thing even possible?

  The queen continued to tell the story of the dreadful years while the mage reigned supreme in this land. “Her minions captured every magical being possible. She began with those who held the most potent skills, stripping them of the power they held. Many of them perished in the process. Those who didn't, returned to their lives a shell of what they had once been.”

  Her telling of the tale ignited my anger once again. Suddenly, even this torture room of horrors seemed too good an end for her.

  She continued on, and finished her story with the statement, “As long as no detectable magic is used here, I do not think we will cause her to pay us any attention.”

  How were we supposed to beat her with no magic? The few of us here could not do it alone. Despondency threatened to overtake what had been staunch optimism just moments before.

  I struggled to remain standing tall when all I wanted was to sink to the floor. It felt like our quest had been dealt a death blow before it ever even started.

  Xavier turned to me and took my hand. “Everleigh, I have a plan. You will not like this but listen through to the end.”

  I immediately tensed. If he had to warn me ahead of time I wouldn't like it, then I knew I would hate it.

  “Celeste, may I request your presence?” He waited to continue speaking until she appeared.

  She smiled serenely. “How may I be of assistance?”

  The sprites had startled somewhat at her sudden appearance, but not as much as I would have had it been unexpected. I suppose when accustomed to a world full of magic, some things don't affect you the way it does others.

  “I'd like you to just confirm that my idea is viable.” He began by addressing Celeste. Once she had nodded her assent, he continued on. “I'll start with the part you will like least, Ev, and go from there. I will remain here—”

  “Stop. Stop right there. No. The answer is no. Absolutely not. I cannot—”

  “Everleigh.” Taryk took his turn to interrupt at the same time as Celeste. “Listen to him, Everleigh.”

  Straightening my shoulders once more, I chewed my lower lip to help hold my silence. Whether I was royalty or not, he could not entice me to agree with his crazy scheme.

  He looked me right in the eye as he continued. “I will remain here in the castle. For a number of reasons. The main one being this: there are only two people who can cross the wards. You and me. One of us must remain in order to bring everyone in.”

  “Why are we even bothering with that plan? No magic means that by gathering them here we are just drawing attention that we wanted to avoid. We cannot protect them all by ourselves if she returns suspicious.”

  He smiled at me and continued. “You will return to Myntas and perform the invocation. Once you have reached the full height of your powers, you will return here. As a Soul Scribe, with Celeste's aid, you can reassign magic to their souls.” He looked at Celeste. “That is within the powers of the reigning scribe, is it not?”

  Celeste appeared deep in thought before she answered. “Yes. The universe will be seeking to correct the imbalance of magic. It is unnatural. It is difficult, however, to do on a large scale, and will take time. Everleigh is only a single person, no matter how powerful she is.”

  “We will begin to work on the details while you are away. Hopefully, by the time you return, we will have a more specific plan. Queen Flora has agreed to help me.” Xavier acted as if all had been agreed upon, but I still wanted to argue with him. I didn't know if I could continue on and leave him behind.

  “The only other question,” Celeste pondered, “is where we can get that amount of magic to distribute. Everleigh needs to be at full strength, and therefore cannot afford to spare any. The other option would be to call their own magic back to them, but that would alert the dark mage in an instant.”

  Queen Flora chose that moment to interject. “From the dragons, of course.”

  My head jerked toward her, giving her cause to chuckle. “There is nothing to fear, my child. There are only three of them left in the realm, and they are our allies. Dragons are the keepers of magic. The only beings who can share it without depleting their own.”

  I stared at her, still in disbelief. Dozens of questions flashed through my brain, but I managed to keep my silence while she continued to explain.

  “They went deep into hiding while the magic was being sucked from the land. The mage did manage to capture a few, and in the end, each of those perished. The clan was not large to begin with, and each loss decimated their chances for survival. The dragons became unable to hatch their eggs as the magic in the realm dwindled. Something about the imbalance has a negative effect on their procreation. The remaining three took the eggs that had already been laid into hiding with them, in hopes that once the balance became restored, they could continue to develop and hatch.”

  In spite of being terrified of them, my heart broke for their losses. To lose your kin while being unable to add to your family must’ve been shattering.

  “We have an emissary who occasionally visits them. I have agreed to send them to tell the dragons of our plans and ask their assistance.”

  Celeste used our bond to prompt me once again, and I almost jumped at the unexpected contact. “Thank her.”

  “I can't thank you enough. As you know, we will need all the assistance we can gather.” She nodded regally in response, and I turned to Xavier.

  “We will need to iron out some details before I go. Perhaps optimizing the wards should be our first step?”

  I may have disagreed with his plan emotionally, but damn it, he made perfect sense. Even if I didn't want to admit it. And if we were going to go through with it, then we needed to get started.

  Yuri announced she would see the delegation to the edge of the ward with Xavier, and then return to us. The rest of us began strategizing.

  While we talked, I returned to pacing the room and waiting for the two of them to return. If I thought my stomach had been a bundle of nerves before, I was now sure I knew what it felt like to swallow live wires. I hadn't yet accepted I would be leaving without Xavier, and I didn't think I wanted to. Taryk may have been my mate, and Celeste my mentor, but Xavier had been my first friend. With the loss of my mother, he was the only true family I had left in any realm.

  Yuri reemerged from the tunnel, and we agreed to move back into the castle itself while we were here. Apparently, the room that powered the wards was on another level, and we needed to go up to get to it. We couldn't make any changes to them from here.

  Returning to the above ground levels of the castle made my muscles burn and my legs shake like Jell-O. Thankfully my self-healing abilities had begun to come online.

  When we reached the level where Xavier had first tried to exit the staircase, he made the left turn. This time, nobody corrected him. He led us through the maze of hallways, following twists and turns that assured I could never make it out of there without a guide. Then we descended again. Luckily, this time w
e didn't have to go quite so far down.

  The spiraling staircase ended abruptly at a large metal door. Xavier worked some magic, and it swung inward. Once we entered, my mouth dropped open. The room was carved out of the solid stone within the ground, not by the work of hands or machines, but nature itself.

  Huge crystals and veins of gemstones covered the walls, hung from the ceiling and jutted up from the rock floor. It looked like the inside of a humongous geode. In the center of the room balanced an enormous prism.

  “This room powers the wards that protect the castle and the grounds. Back when my ancestors built this castle, they chose this site because of the discovery of this exact spot. The location had been intended for another building, but when excavation began, and this spot got uncovered, they elected to make this the site of the royal home.”

  I finally remembered to close my mouth, and my teeth snapped together when I did. Wincing, I continued to stare at the crystals in awe. The prism was completely clear. It looked like its perfect shape had been cut from glass. The rest were all the shades of the rainbow. The colors from the gemstones and crystals bounced off the prism, creating a stunning array of reflections.

  Xavier knelt and placed both hands at the point where it met the floor, almost as if he had cupped his hands around it intending to lift it. He murmured briefly in a language I did not understand, and the prism began to twist. As he stepped back, it rotated counterclockwise approximately a quarter of a turn then stopped.

  After Xavier spoke another short phrase, runes materialized on the facets of the prism as if they had been burnt in. He stepped back to look them over.

  “According to the runes, the wards were set to keep anyone not of the royal bloodline, or not accompanied by such, from accessing the castle or any of the attached grounds...”

  He continued to inspect the symbols. “The lands and buildings are in a modified state of stasis... impervious to all manner of magic and assault... hmm...”

  I waited impatiently, lamenting the fact that I was unable to read the ancient writing, mostly because I was curious. This was the language of half of my ancestors. I added it to the list of things I wanted to learn some day.

  “Okay. The wards were set up to repel any curiosity seekers, but for those who know it is here, which would be pretty much everybody, I would think, it is visible. I am going to change them in a couple of ways. I will leave the main protections the same for safety. Either you or I will have to accompany anyone who wishes to enter. However, I am going to create the illusion of continuity. Everyone who looks in will see the same landscape they have been seeing for all these years.”

  As he spoke, he used his hands to move and, at some points, erase the runes. He replaced them with new ones, sometimes just changing a part of a symbol.

  “On the inside, I am going remove the stasis. The land will again begin to grow and produce food. We will be able to cultivate what we need and support livestock, as well as the creatures we invite inside. I am also adding a shield to keep all magic contained within the boundaries of the wards. To be safe, we will still use as little as possible, but I cannot get this place back on its feet again without some. I am also adding a ward to the tunnel; it will protect our allies and those who mean us no harm, should they need a place to shelter until I bring them inside.”

  He spent a few more minutes making changes, then stood back and checked it over. He knelt again, and swiping his hand across a slightly elevated stone at the base, revealed a clear cube. He beckoned to me, and I knelt to join him.

  Taking my hand, he placed my palm against the upturned surface. It vibrated briefly, and he let go of my wrist.

  “You now have the authority to access and change the wards. It won't do you much good until you learn the runes, but if something should ever happen to me, there are books of them in father's library As they are set up now, you could survive and be safe here indefinitely. My hope is that one day we will be able to lessen them significantly.”

  Reversing the sequence he had used to access the prism, he returned it to its original resting place. As we left, he sealed the door then led us back up the stairs.

  My stomach chose that moment to begin making demands, and I giggled. “So, we can make use of that massive kitchen now, right?”

  The others laughed, and Taryk grabbed my hand. “That giant table is as good a place to make plans as any, I suppose.”

  Reaching the kitchen, Xavier led us to a massive door. Opening it revealed a pantry the size of the main room at the cabin, full of food that smelled as fresh as if it had been placed there yesterday.

  Xavier grinned at my sharp intake of breath. “The stasis applied to everything within the boundaries. This food is just as edible as it was the day we put the wards in place. Help yourselves.”

  Nobody needed to tell me twice. Grabbing a basket from a pile near the door, I began loading up. There were fresh fruits and vegetables. Loaves of bread and biscuits. Cured meats, and tiny jars of condiments. My appetite would be appeased.

  Once the baskets had been filled, we moved to the massive dining hall to eat. For a moment I felt a little silly with just the four of us at such a large table.

  As the meal wound down, I realized we were coming dangerously close to the time when I would have to say goodbye. Plans had been outlined, and many decisions made. Hopefully the next leg of my journey would be just as successful, and I would return here to find that much progress had been made.

  War with the dark mage crept ever closer with each step forward we took. I just prayed we would be ready in time.

  Chapter Nine

  We stood in the main hall. My leathers had been returned to the version I left the cabin with. My tiara went back in its bag and then into my backpack. I had situated the items from the hidden cache in the dungeon on my person. Our packs had been filled with fresh food since they all knew my appetite well.

  Yuri and Taryk were prepared to move on with our journey. Celeste was anxious to see the chateau again. As for me, I was torn. I had an intense desire to see my mother’s heritage. To gain that knowledge and perform the invocation that would open my full-strength scribe abilities. But leaving my brother behind broke my heart, even though I knew I would return to him. So far, he had been by my side every crazy step of the way.

  We believed our bond would continue to connect us, even across the realms. In fact, we were counting on it. It would be our only means of communication since we did not have a pair of journals available.

  I hugged him tightly, refusing to let go even as he attempted to pull away. Speaking through our bond, I tearfully pleaded with him to change his mind and come.

  “Please. I don't think I can leave you behind. I need you.”

  Prying my arms loose, he backed just far enough away to look into my eyes. His voice rang solid in my mind. “You can do this. Taryk is with you. Yuri and Celeste will help you in any way they can. I believe in you. Sometimes being the one everyone is relying on is hard. You do the hard things. Make the hard choices. But it is all for the better in the end. I will be here when you get back.”

  Only a single tear managed to escape as I nodded. “I love you.”

  “I love you too. Now go. The sooner you go the sooner you can return.”

  Turning to Celeste, I opened my mind to the place she wanted me to take us. The room itself appeared to be fairly small. Calling on the ring for help, I brought forth the portal. Celeste popped through ahead of us to be sure it was safe, then beckoned us to follow. Taryk swept me up and carried me through as Yuri zipped ahead of us. I turned one last time to wave at Xavier as the portal winked out of sight.

  Turning my attention to my new surroundings, I couldn't help but notice how beautiful it was. And how empty.

  “Is anyone here?” My voice came out just above a whisper.

  “Most likely not. There are priestesses to serve the reigning scribe when she stays here, but they must be summoned. The magic of the chateau keeps things running sm
oothly in everyone's absence.”

  Yuri whistled, and I turned to see what caught her attention. We had arrived in a small alcove that opened up into a grand foyer. The sounds of the beautiful fountain that stood front and center reached my ears and had a soothing influence almost immediately.

  “This place is a-ma-zing,” Yuri pronounced in a whisper not much louder than my own had been. She zipped to the ceiling, taking a look around before returning. “Holy fairy dust. I am impressed.”

  I grinned at her, and Celeste beckoned us to follow as she started toward the fountain. She reminded me of a tour guide as she introduced us to the areas of the chateau we passed through.

  “This is the entry. On the wall opposite are the main doors that we use to receive guests. They lead to the front gardens.”

  I noticed she used the present tense as if she still welcomed those who had been invited to the residence. She looked thrilled to finally be in her home after so many centuries.

  The foyer opened to three hallways, and we took the one straight to the back, opposite the entry doors. “Through here, we have the main hall. Sometimes we threw grand parties here. We had music, buffets of fabulous cuisine, and we danced the night away.”

  I smiled thinking of my mom at such parties, then grew pensive as I wondered if she’d had the opportunity for such gaiety. So far, I had only heard about the parts of her life where she prepared for the future, and for me. It made me feel better to believe she had indeed had joy in her life.

  We continued on, wandering through the chateau as Celeste kept up a running commentary about where we were and what went on in each area. We stopped at a huge bay window to take in the gardens out back. The displays were stunning, and the intricate pathways led to lush green fields lined with white fencing. A gray barn stood in the distance.

  “There are horses here?” My excitement ratcheted up a notch or ten.

  “Among other things...”

  Celeste took a door that opened into a white marble stairwell and led us down. Why were these places always underground?