by SA Magnusson
“I know. And I don’t want to do anything that will disrupt that.”
I didn’t really want to do anything that would, but I also didn’t want to be left out of the discovery of what was taking place. The more that I learned, the more I felt I needed to be a part of it, especially as whoever was involved in this, whether it was Odian’s followers or not, had some connection to me now. It was a connection through Aron, and a connection that felt important to me. I needed to be a part of this, and I needed to ensure that whatever else happened, others weren’t hurt.
It was part of my desire to be both the healer and the mage.
I wasn’t sure how to make that work, and most of the time, it seemed as if it came out while I was in the emergency room, using magic to try to help others, but I also needed to use my healing within the magical world. And I had. Were it not for me, the mage councils would still be separated. I had helped with that. There was a healing involved, even if it wasn’t the same sort of healing that I did on a day-to-day basis in the emergency room.
“You’re welcome to stay with me as long as you need,” I said. “Just think of it like when Phoebe’s apartment burned down.”
“Wait. Are you calling me Phoebe?”
“You are a little flighty like her.”
“What does that make you, my Monica?”
I started to smile when a sudden tingling along my spine caught my attention.
“What? What is it?”
“It’s magic.”
“With you, it’s always magic.”
“No. This is similar to the spell that I encountered earlier tonight.”
And it was close.
Close enough that I might be able to get to it before anyone else.
But did I want to? If I got there, and if I borrowed power from it and something happened, without someone like Darvish there to help me, I might be in danger.
But then, I didn’t necessarily have to use the power the same way as I had before. I could stick with simply sealing it off, but I would need to do so before anyone from the council got there.
And maybe I could get there in time to figure out who was placing the runes.
I leapt to my feet and headed toward the door. Jen followed, and I glanced over at her.
“If you’re going out at night, I’m going to go with you.”
“I’m not sure that this is the safest for you.”
“Which means it’s not the safest for you. I don’t like the idea of you wandering the streets alone. There are dangerous people out at night.”
“I can be dangerous.”
“I have no doubt of that, but I felt better when you were off with your boyfriend.”
“Jen, you don’t have any access to magic.”
“I have other ways to protect myself.”
“I don’t think your sex appeal is going to be helpful with that.”
“Who said anything about sex appeal? Which, by the way, thank you. But, I have something else.” She reached into her purse and pulled out a Taser.
“Good Lord, Jen. Are you sure you should be carrying that?”
“After what we’ve been through? I need to be carrying something. And since you decided that you weren’t going to give me a magic wand, I figured I might as well have something that could help. I thought about getting a gun—”
“Jen!”
“I said I thought about it. I still might.”
“I didn’t think you were with the gun type.”
“What type? You mean the type who wants to protect herself? The type who wants to be ready in case there is some strange magical attack?”
“Fine. But if we encounter someone, just let me lead the way.”
“You’re the badass.”
I shook my head and pulled the door open before hesitating and grabbing my coat. It was way too cold outside for me to go out without the proper attire. Jen grabbed hers and then wrapped a scarf around her neck before stuffing on a stocking cap. “You know one of the worst things about winter in the city?”
“What’s that?”
“Having to cover all this up,” she said, motioning to her body.
“You wouldn’t have to. I’ve seen plenty of college girls who wander the bars without any coat.”
“I’m not an idiot,” Jen said. “I just want to look good.”
I flashed a smile. “Don’t worry. You do.”
“First the sex appeal comment and now that? I’m starting to think that you had a different intention behind inviting me to stay at your place.”
We hurried down the hall and down the stairs before stepping out on the street. It was near midnight, the sky was black, and a cold wind whistled in the air. An occasional snowflake fell, early for the season. But then, the cold had been early for the season, too.
I paused, searching for a sense of the magic I had detected, and didn’t pick up on anything at first. I had detected it in my condo, which meant that it was here, but where? I needed to find it. And I needed to find it before the council—either council—managed to come across it.
“Um, Kate?”
“What is it?”
“Are we going to keep moving, or did you want to just stand here a little longer?”
“I thought that we could just stand here for a little while.” As I spoke, the sense of magic came again, a hint of cold. For some reason, it seemed farther away than it had before. I started down the street, focusing on the sense of magic before turning the other direction.
“Did you forget something?” Jen asked.
“I’m just trying to get my bearings.”
“What sort of bearings are we talking about?”
“The sort that let me figure out where the magic is coming from.”
“You have to wander the street in order to find it?”
“To have a sense of direction, I do. Otherwise, I’m not always aware of which way the magic comes from. Aron used to drive me around when he needed to use my ability to detect magic.”
“Do you want to drive around? My car is right over there,” she said, pointing down the street.
Her Volkswagen was there, the windows frosted. If we took her car, it would take time for us to defrost it. I could probably do it with magic, but I would just as likely melt something. I knew better than to attempt to use magic on a car like that.
And it would distract me from what I was trying to do.
“I don’t know that we have time to drive around,” I said.
“It would be warmer,” I muttered.
Continuing down the street, I felt the growing sense of magic. As I did, I realized where it was coming from. Especially if these spells were tied to ley lines.
“Why are you hurrying?”
“Because I want to get there before anyone else.”
“You always were the gunner.”
I glanced over at her. It was a derogatory term used to describe people in our class who did anything to get ahead. “Just because I did well in medical school doesn’t mean that I was a gunner.”
“Still sensitive about it?” Jen asked, smiling.
I didn’t have a chance to respond. Magic surged once again, and I followed its trail, heading toward the Mississippi River.
Not only was this spell going to be near a ley line, but it would be near the ley line. Minneapolis was unique in that there were several rivers that came together to provide power, a kind of magical perfect storm that wove through the city. It was part of the reason that the mage council kept one of their offices here, and likely the same sort of reason that the Dark Council had remained here. Because of the power of this place, power that flowed through the natural waterways, both the shifters and the vampires were here. It brought us close to the Veil, but it also brought us close to dangers.
I slowed as we neared one of the riverside parks. The grass had long since died and the leaves on the trees dotting the park had fallen. The branches swayed in the dark, sending strange shadows twisting. And yet, a light
in the distance drew me forward.
“What is that?” Jen whispered.
“That’s the spell.”
“Why can I see it?”
“Because I don’t think they’re trying to conceal it.”
“What’s the purpose of it?”
I built a barrier, wrapping it around both me and Jen, holding it tightly so that neither of us were in any immediate danger. I couldn’t tell if the mage who had placed the spell was anywhere nearby, but I wasn’t about to take that risk.
“The purpose is to draw additional power.”
“Sort of like you with that fairy lady?”
“We really have to work on the way you refer to magical beings.”
“Why? I mean, you do have a mermaid who is a shifter. You have your grandparents who are special powered mages. And you have this fairy lady who sits on an island feeding off of teenagers bonking.”
“Bonking?”
“Would you prefer boning? I can give you a few different euphemisms if you prefer. I know how you like euphemisms.”
The spell and the power within it continued to rise. I focused on it, not needing to be close to it to feel the effect. This was different than the last spell that I intercepted, though the power was enough that I worried about getting too close to it. I didn’t want to put myself into a place where I might end up injured. I needed to protect—and defend—Jen, and without having some way of doing it, I wasn’t sure that this was a good idea.
The distant sense of magic pulled on me.
A mage was coming.
I glanced over at Jen. “You might want to get your Taser ready.”
“Why?”
“It’s about to get interesting.”
Power began to flicker, getting closer. Each time it did, I felt the effect of the spell, and when the various mage factions arrived, we would be forced to either confront them to maintain this spell so that I could understand what it was, or we needed to act now.
“Keep an eye on me,” I said.
“What are you going to do?”
“Something that might get me in trouble.”
I jogged forward, nearing the spell. This one had a strange glow to it, and as I made a circle around it, dragging my foot through the dirt, I could feel the way that the spell directed the power. I hadn’t been aware of it when I had found the first one, and there hadn’t been anything like it when I had been with Darvish.
This time, I wondered if it was the proximity to the river. With as much power that flowed through here, it had to be the cause. It was the reason the spell had been placed here in the first place. The caster had wanted access to the ley line and the power from it.
I finished my circle. I stepped back, sending a surge of power into it.
It wasn’t enough.
The spell continued to glow, directing toward the Mississippi, the power more than what I could cut off.
Was it all about tying into the ley lines?
I hadn’t experienced a spell like this before and didn’t know how to seal it off, but I had managed to do so at least once before, so I had to believe there was some way of doing so again.
I couldn’t do it on my own, but could I use the power of the Mississippi, drawing from the ley lines?
I knew that I could use them, but wondered if I could easily use the river. Would I be able to reach that power if it were already manipulated by the spell caster?
I glanced back at Jen. Raising a hand, I motioned to her before realizing that I might’ve made a mistake. Separating from her meant that the barrier that I held around her wasn’t nearly as potent as it should be.
Something slammed into me and I went staggering.
I shifted, turning my barrier, trying to reposition it so that I could hold it in place when another spell struck me.
Almost too late, I realized that I had detected nothing.
7
Staggering to my feet, I looked around. The attack had come from somewhere nearby, but I didn’t see where. Solidifying my barrier, I managed to get it in place just as another attack struck me, this time sending me staggering toward the river. I managed to keep on my feet, not slipping the same way as I had before.
Whoever attacked me was strong.
Could be the same person who had placed the spells in the first place?
Checking my connection to magic, I realized I still held the barrier around Jen. Hopefully she didn’t need it, but I wasn’t about to leave her exposed, not when she had come out here with me.
If the councils detected this the same way as I had, there would be other mages coming soon, but would they make it in time to make a difference?
If only there was some way for me to summon Darvish and Barden. I hated that I was becoming dependent upon them, not really liking the idea of being dependent on anyone, let alone a pair of dark mages, but they were far more reliable with their help than anyone else in the council had been, and that included my grandparents. The only person within the mage council who had helped—really helped—had been Aron, and I couldn’t rely upon him, not until he was better.
If he ever got better.
What I needed was a way of illuminating my attacker.
Magic struck me and my barrier crackled, but I managed to keep on my feet. At least this time they weren’t able to send me sliding down the shore to crash into the water.
But then, maybe that wouldn’t be a bad idea. If I slipped into the water, I would have the power of the Mississippi and the ley line it formed to augment my natural strength.
What I needed was my sword.
I paused and, dragging my foot in a quick circle, I used that to help anchor my barrier so that I wouldn’t need nearly as much strength. Then I focused on summoning my sword.
It burst into existence, a deep glowing purple and black that resembled the demon sword I once had carried. I still didn’t know what had happened to my demon sword, but this had been a suitable replacement. It didn’t connect me to power on the other side of the Veil, not the same way that the demon sword had, but it still allowed me certain things that the demon sword had not. It lit the night, letting the bright light of the sword push back the darkness, and it would unmask hidden mages.
I spun around, holding onto the sword, and nearly came face to face with a green-eyed woman. She looked probably ten years older than me. Her dark hair was shoulder length and pulled back in a ponytail. She was dressed in a strange jacket and pants. Two others went racing away into the darkness.
Followers of Odian. They had to be.
I slammed the barrier into place, determined to hold onto it.
“What do we have here?” the woman asked, sneering at me.
I glanced down at her hands, looking to see if she held a wand or anything that would allow her to draw more power. Somehow, she had attacked me without me feeling the effect of magic. That had only happened a few times before, and usually with runes involved.
I aimed my sword at her, twisting it so that it presented a more threatening appearance. She glanced down at it, her mouth twisting into the hint of a smile.
“You don’t need that.”
“Who are you? Are you with the mage council?” Her clothing was odd enough that I couldn’t quite tell. I’d met several mages whose idea of appropriate dress involved something that I would consider similar to this.
“The mage council? They wouldn’t know what to do with the kind of power that I have.”
“Dark Council?”
She sneered. “Must it be one or the other?”
“When it comes to the kind of power that you seem to be throwing around, it generally is. Why are you placing that spell here?”
“And where else should I place them?”
“What’s your intention behind them? Why are you trying to draw from the other side of the Veil?”
There was a flicker of hesitation in her eyes.
“You didn’t think that we would work it out?” I asked.
I brought my
sword around, sweeping it toward her.
She reacted, simply pointing a finger, and my sword parted past the magic.
It took considerable power to summon the sword, and in my experience with it, it was something that others within the magical world didn’t know how to counter.
Or that had been my experience.
I’d fought others who I had difficulty with when it came to the sword, but this seemed to be something else. It wasn’t quite like facing the vampire who managed to stop my attack with little more than a series of augmentations. This seemed to be a spell, but what sort of spell did she use?
And how was she able to summon a spell without me detecting it?
“You would attack without asking questions?”
“I’ve already asked you questions, and you don’t seem interested in answering them.”
“Perhaps I don’t,” she said, smiling at me. “Don’t hurt yourself.”
Something struck the barrier. Thankfully, I had it anchored enough that I managed to keep from getting harmed, but the force of the attack required that I push even more strength into my barrier, drawing it away from the sword. It flickered, the light growing dimmer, and when the attack faded, I sent another surge of power back through it, casting back the night.
The woman was gone.
Where was she?
She had significant power, but it was nothing like I had seen before. Stepping outside of the circle, I continued to hold onto my barrier, keeping the sword raised to push back the night.
The ground around me trembled.
That was new. Even when we had been dealing with the spell on the soccer fields, there hadn’t been any sort of trembling of the ground. That it would do so now suggested that there was something else taking place.
Could this be their endgame?
I’m not even sure what they were after, but at least this time I knew how to reach the ley line. I started toward the river when I realized that I had lost track of Jen.
I spun, using my sword to look for where she might be, and saw two figures on the hillside. One of them was Jen… And the other was the strange mage who had just attacked me.
