by A E M
“Take your Raven and leave me the bag!” Charlotte yelled.
“You are a feisty one!” Philip yelled. “I hope you will reconsider my proposal someday. Perhaps once you see what happens to those who resist when my master takes over!”
“Your master won’t take over! You two should stay here with me. Help the Maguard take him and the other Arxes down swiftly.”
“I would never betray the man who saved me.” Philip hit her harder. Back and forth they fought.
Charlotte’s hands ached. She ignored the pulses of pain throughout her body, but her hands were harder to avoid. Finally, she remembered Basil teaching her in the fields. She ducked and swung her quarterstaff hard and low. Philip fell. She ran to him, kneed him in the lungs, tore his rod out of his hand, and threw it across the garden. “Give up.”
Philip panted and stared at her. He closed his eyes and nodded. “Okay.”
Charlotte sighed with relief, but she kept her weapon on him.
Philip looked to Raven, who had whimpered. “She is dying. Please let me tend to her so that she may live.”
Charlotte tapped him on the chest. “Give me my father’s bag first.”
He slipped the bag off of his shoulders and slid it over to her.
Charlotte kept the quarterstaff close to his body. “You may slide over to her.” She dug the first aid kit out of the bag and tossed it to him.
“You are weak.” Raven sputtered. “You should kill us both right now.”
“It’s not weakness.” Charlotte seethed. “It’s taking all I have not to kill you both right now.” It was true. She wanted to kill them. She had killed in battle before. She could kill them right now. Raven was nearly dead. But she wanted to save them. She wanted them for the information they surely had about this master. This menace. This threat to both the magical and non-magical worlds.
Philip pulled Raven’s wings to her body and tied them to her body. Raven passed out again. “She’s right, you know.” He panted. “You are weak.” He held up one of his hands. A red light shot out of a ring on his finger and exploded into the sky. “Enjoy the waterworks!” He faced Charlotte and rubbed his nose. “Enjoy drowning.” He tapped his ring, whispered something, and he and Raven disappeared.
The red light spilled down from the sky and swept over the ice. The ground rumbled. Several cracks snaked across the garden floor. Charlotte turned in a circle and stepped away from the large cracks. Water reached her ankles. The freezing water bit her skin. She ran to where Faunus lay, now half covered by water. She placed her hands on the wall, but nothing happened. “Help!” The ice was melting quickly at the top, but a shimmery barrier remained.
“Charlotte!” Beau yelled from the other side.
“I’m here!” She yelled back.
She saw the tips of his wings over the melting wall. “It’s some sort of weaver spell!”
“We know.” His voice cracked.
Alcott spoke then. “Charlotte, it’s some kind of box in there. Out here the ice will melt and spread. In there, it will fill up.”
“Well, break it!” Charlotte yelled.
“We can’t break magic with normal weapons.” Zorach said.
“The Maguard! Don’t the Maguard have magical weapons?” Charlotte pounded on the wall. The water lapped at her kneecaps. Faunus’ body bumped against her legs.
“We can specialize our weapons if we have the time and we have a weaver to help us.” Alcott said. “We have neither.”
Charlotte shoved Faunus’ body away and screamed in frustration. She couldn’t feel her legs anymore. She shivered and stepped closer to the wall. Beau’s eyes met her own now. She reached for him. Placed her hand on the barrier. Pain seared through her hand. Beau placed his hand on the barrier and winced. Charlotte felt the tears fall down her face.
“Maguard, retreat to higher ground.” Alcott commanded.
Charlotte’s heart sunk a little further.
“Beau, aren’t you supposed to save the girl?”
He coughed and wiped his face. “My girl’s more of an accomplice than a damsel.”
The water rose to her waist. Charlotte pressed harder into the barrier, not willing to give up the link to Beau. She looked up to Lodestar. “Don’t you have anything? Knowledge? Life experience? The phone number of a speedy weaver? Anything?”
A tear fell down Lodestar’s face.
Charlotte laughed and put her hand on her hip. Ebby landed on Lodestar’s back, but whether or not she spoke, Charlotte couldn’t tell. The water rose higher. One by one, the others left. Beau pounded on the barrier with his other hand. It was only he and Charlotte now. The stronghold had been built on a lake. The ice beneath their feet was almost gone.
“Winguard, don’t you dare forget me.” She sniffled.
“I’ll wear your scars for the rest of my life, Caramia.”
Charlotte covered her mouth to stifle the sob. “Take your hand away and go, foolish man-boy.”
“Not yet, foolish woman-girl.”
Charlotte pulled her hand away first. She had to or he wouldn’t leave. His wings were already soaked and heavy. He needed a chance to get to the shore. She watched him go. Her tears mixed with the lake water. There was no ice under her feet. She floated to the top of the magical box and her head bobbed against the top of the barrier.
Charlotte hit the barrier again and screamed in frustration. Stupid Philip Oscar! Stupid Philip Oscar and his perfect box and his perfect suit and his perfect shoes and his perfect plans and his perfect little world! She shoved her hands into the barrier and let the pain sear into her fingers and palms. I won’t give you a perfect death! I won’t give you a perfect ending, Philip Oscar! Charlotte thought of her transformation. She thought of her run through the fields. She thought of the pain she felt in her body every day. She thought of that pain and she aimed it at her hands and in that moment the world exploded in light and pain and water and nothingness.
22
The Girl Who Finally
Got Her Dance
Charlotte swung back and forth on the attic swing.
“Room for two?” Beau asked.
She scooted to the side. “I have to leave. We won’t see each other much for a few years.”
Beau leaned into her. “We’ve had this conversation before.”
She leaned into his side. “I guess I won’t fly or learn magic after all.”
“I’ll fly for the both of us.” He whispered. “And magic is overrated.”
Charlotte woke. She groaned and lifted her painful hands up. Bandages covered both hands and all of her fingers. She took a deep breath and caught the scent of cooling onion soup. Oh, onion soup! She turned her head to the side. On the nightstand was the old, chipped lilac bowl Basil always used when she was sick. She pushed herself up and groaned; her hands burned. She looked around the room. A book sat by her side, Chime was asleep at the foot of her bed, and a starry sky greeted her from the window. She stretched her fingers a little, sighed, and then sat up straighter. She was alive! She flung the blanket off jumped out of bed.
“Ouch!” Chime rolled off the bed and she and the book hit the floor with two thumps.
“Sorry!” Charlotte called out as she ran for the bathroom.
“Are you okay?” Chime called out.
“I’m alive!” Charlotte laughed her image in the mirror. “Chime, I’m alive!” She held her bandaged fingers up to her face.
“And very awake.” Chime muttered. “I’ll tell the others.”
Charlotte stared at her reflection in the mirror. She was clean. She smelled good. And yet, she swore that she could still see swatches of blood and gore on her skin if she stared long enough. She shook the images away. What had happened? Where was everybody? She looked down at herself; she was decent. Somebody had dressed her. Her eyes widened and she blushed. Had Beau dressed her? She looked away from the mirror and hurried out of her room. She wouldn’t think about that, but she did want to find out what had happened.
She found Zorach and Lodestar in the library; a pile of orbs nestled between them. Zorach waved her over. They were settled on the floor near the potion tables and bookshelves. Two stacks of books towered behind them.
“This is dark magic like I’ve never seen before.” Lodestar cradled an orb in her hands. “It is good that you saved so many.”
“Your father’s backpack is behind his desk.” Zorach said.
“Thank you.”
Lodestar lowered the orb to Charlotte’s eyes. Inside was a young woman her age. “Thank you. We don’t know yet how to free them, but at least they are one step closer to being free.”
Charlotte stared at the orb and the motionless magani trapped inside. “Why would somebody do this?”
“Why wouldn’t they?” Zorach held out another orb. An old man was in this one. “Power, like anything else, can become an addiction.”
“Hold one.” Lodestar nodded at Charlotte.
“Oh, I don’t want to.” Charlotte stepped back. She held her hands up. “I’m not even sure I could.”
“You need to face your fear.” Lodestar tossed an orb. Charlotte caught it. Inside was an elf. Charlotte pressed the orb to her chest.
“We have to free them.” She clutched the orb tighter, half wishing that she could will the orb away or will the elf out. Neither happened.
“We will free them.” Lodestar said. “Given enough time and the right information, we will succeed.”
Charlotte sat down in front of the orbs and set the one she had been holding in the pile. “Where is everybody? What have I missed?”
Zorach placed the orb he had been holding in the pile. “The Maguard returned to their home. They are training and increasing communication between their dens. Evangeline has returned to her homeland; she will need to talk to the Elders of the Elves. I will go to my home in the morning, as will Beau. Once we have told our stories, then our people will need to make some bolder decisions.”
“There will also be another Alliance meeting soon. This one will be larger, and planned.” Lodestar added. “Stonebinder has already planned the date and will be hosting it in his den.” She looked down at Charlotte. “You should go. It is time for you to experience the Magani world.”
“So I have been told.” Charlotte picked at the bandages and muttered. “Multiple times.”
“And so you will be told again and again.” Lodestar snapped. “Until the day comes that you do not need to be reminded.”
“Yes, yes.” Charlotte sighed. “What about the Fauns? I couldn’t tell how many lived after the battle.”
“Most of the survivors returned with us to the castle.” Zorach grumbled. “Phoebe is here with them.”
“Their race has thinned considerably, but they will recuperate.” Lodestar snorted.
“Then they will stay here for awhile.” Charlotte said. “We have the space.”
“I’m not sure anybody has the space for Fauns.” Zorach said. “But the decision is yours.”
Charlotte picked up another orb. Inside was a dwarf. “What would somebody want with a dwarf?”
“This is why you need to experience the magani world.” Zorach said. “You have so much to learn.”
Charlotte nodded. She ran her hand over the orbs. She saw a glimpse of red in one of them. “Where’s Ebby?”
“She and I will go tonight to take the orbs to a safe holding place.” Lodestar placed her own hand on the top of a few orbs. “Then we will meet with the elves and travel with Evangeline and a few others to the Alliance meeting.” She opened a bag and began to place the orbs inside.
Charlotte held her hands up. “Do you know what happened to me out there?”
“Not exactly.” Lodestar admitted quietly. “You shouldn’t have been able to get through, but then we don’t know what you can do, do we?”
Charlotte sighed. “I don’t know how to find out what I can do. What I am.”
“Mysteries are worth the wait.”
“Sure they are.” Charlotte grabbed at a loose end of her bandage and pulled. “Is the spell still out there, holding in the water?”
“No. You destroyed it.” Zorach rubbed his hands together. “The Weaver Council is investigating it right now.”
Charlotte froze. The Weaver Council? What would they think? What would they do? She looked between Zorach and Lodestar. Could she trust either of them enough to ask? She yanked the rest of the bandages off of her hands and flexed her red, aching fingers. She took a deep breath and tried to steady her heart.
“What bothers you, Lottie?” Zorach asked.
She looked deep into his eyes and remembered his demanding, yet steady presence throughout her life. “The Weaver Council. What do you think they will make of me? I’m a magani now, right? Will I keep my memories?”
Lodestar placed her hand on Charlotte’s face. Her skin was rough. “It doesn’t matter what they make of you; it never has.” She pulled her hand away. “You are a magani now; you will keep your memories.”
Zorach chuckled. “I’d like to see them try to take their memories away from you.”
Charlotte watched quietly as Lodestar packed the rest of the orbs. She traced her hands and fingers even though it was painful. She thought of the suitcase and bag under her bed. She could unpack them now. She thought of her father’s bag. Maybe she could pack that bag instead. She wanted to go to this Alliance meeting. She wanted to see Alcott’s home. She wanted to see Beau’s home. She smiled. No, she wouldn’t unpack, but she wouldn’t be running away. Now she was going to go on her own adventures.
Zorach stood. “I must leave now. Charlotte, I am resigning my post. The hobs will take care of all security from now on with consults from Barnabas and Alcott.”
“I will miss you.” Charlotte stood. She reached for him, and then remembered his pride and her burning touch.
“Hmph.” Zorach shook his tail and smirked.
“I will, too!” Charlotte asserted. She smiled up at him. “You always found me when I ran away and you taught me how to clean the stables and you took me star gazing in the middle of the night.”
“You were something else.” Zorach laughed. He tilted his head. “Come see me someday, little Lottie. Come ride like the wind with my people.”
“I will.” Charlotte said.
Zorach nodded at each of them. “Goodnight, ladies.”
“Will you see me off?” Lodestar asked of Charlotte once he had left the library. “It is vital that I also travel tonight.”
“Of course.” Charlotte followed out onto the front lawn, where Ebby flew in circles above them, lighting the sky with small bursts of flame.
“She seems happy.” Charlotte said.
“She is free.” Lodestar said. “Freedom is important.”
Charlotte thought of how she had felt at the end of the summer. How she had felt trapped by the rules of the magical world. How she was devastated by having to choose to love now by force of time or lose her family and her memories.
“Freedom is vital.” She agreed.
Ebby landed on Charlotte’s back and rubbed against her neck. She purred her metallic purr and snaked her neck and tail around Charlotte’s shoulders.
The unitaur and I talk now, too.
Well, I’m glad you are making friends.
Try speaking with her the way I speak with you.
Ebby jumped back into the air. She beat her wings furiously as she flew straight up, and then dove down in a spiral. Charlotte turned to Lodestar.
Can we speak this way?
It seems we can.
Why? Why can I speak with you? Why can I speak with Ebby? Why don’t I burn you two?
I have an idea, but I don’t like to share until I am certain. I will continue to look for the missing information. Someday we will have the missing piece. Someday we will understand.
Charlotte nodded. She hated somedays.
We will see you soon, Lottie. Ebby landed on Charlotte’s shoulder again.
Everyone
is leaving. Charlotte frowned at the castle.
Life is going to be very different for you now. Remember the memories, but don’t hold onto them. Enjoy the part of the ride you’re on in the present.
Lodestar snorted. Get her a card.
I feel like there’s something I should tell you, but I can’t quite remember. Ebby nuzzled Charlotte’s neck. Maybe when I’m older.
Charlotte scratched Ebby’s back. There’s so much I want to talk to you about. I have so many questions I want to ask you about my parents.
Someday we will talk. For now, let me grow. Ebby nibbled Charlotte’s other ear.
Ebby! Charlotte reached up to stop the bleeding.
Someday soon I won’t be able to do that without actually biting your head off.
Charlotte rolled her eyes and stroked Ebby’s back. Dragons.
“Enough you two.” Lodestar stomped her front feet. “It’s time to depart.”
Ebby curled around Charlotte one last time and then jumped into the air.
“Goodbye.” Charlotte hurried back to the castle. She shut the large front doors and walked across the quiet lobby. She smiled as the scent of papers and polish made her walk a little slower through the hallways and into the library. She stood in the middle of the room; arms crossed in front of her chest, and closed her eyes. She was alive. She was home.
She heard the sound of his wings brushing the floor first. His voice was low and strong. “Did you save a dance for me?”
Charlotte opened her eyes. “I did.” She answered softly. She turned to him. He was standing across the lobby, his mouth serious and his eyes intent.
They stood apart quietly, staring each other down in the moment.
Charlotte took a step to the side and put her hands on her hips. “Come here, foolish, man-boy.”
Beau crossed his arms in front of his chest. “You first, foolish woman-girl.”
They crossed the space together and sunk into each other’s arms. Beau lifted her slightly and twirled her in a circle. She kissed him hard and lost her fingers in his hair. His grasp was hard and he returned her hard kiss with his own strength. Finally, he set her down on her feet and they both breathed and smiled and held on to each other.
