by Jen McConnel
When I stepped into the front room downstairs, ten pairs of eyes turned toward me. Feeling self-conscious, I sat down on a rough wooden chair just inside the door. It was uncomfortable, but I didn’t want to draw more attention to my late arrival by moving. I hoped I wouldn’t end up with splinters in my ass.
“I say we move now,” Samuel resumed the conversation, speaking firmly, but Dr. Farren shook her head.
“There must be more study. We cannot risk harming the child.”
Frances twisted her hands. “We may already be too late.”
Dr. Farren smiled gently at Frances. “But this must be done with caution.” She glanced at me wryly. “Rushing into things has not improved the situation. I say we wait to learn more.”
No one spoke, but I saw Julia and Jewel nodding thoughtfully, and even Matthew looked like he was considering Dr. Farren’s words.
After a moment, Marcus stood up. “Is that your decision, then?” His jaw was set, and his tone made me want to take a few steps back.
“Understand, boy,” Roy stood to face his son, “that we want to save your sister. We simply won’t agree to do anything rash.” There was a tense silence, but finally Marcus shot me a look that spoke volumes and stomped out onto the porch.
“Excuse me,” I whispered to the room, not meeting anyone’s eyes. Then I followed Marcus outside.
He was sitting on the steps, staring across the empty field. “I told you this was a mistake.” He didn’t turn around.
“I’m sorry. I thought they could help.” Carefully, I sat down beside him. Our knees brushed gently, and I felt a pulse of electricity. I slid closer to him.
Marcus snorted. “They want to study the situation. It’s probably too late!”
“You don’t really believe that, do you?”
Marcus looked at me, his eyes flashing. “Of course not. But it will be too late if we leave things up to that group.” He jerked his thumb toward the farmhouse.
“But what can we do? We don’t even know where she is.”
“Set has her; he shouldn’t be too hard to find, especially for a couple of Reds.”
I shook my head, remembering what the Coven had said about Set. “But how will we defeat him, even if we find him?”
Marcus looked at me, and I froze. “There’s always plan B.” His green eyes bored into me, but I couldn’t look away.
“You mean Loki’s deal?” I swallowed nervously. “But the Coven says he’s just as bad as Set.”
“So what? ‘The enemy of my enemy is my friend,’” he quoted with a smirk. “If Loki will help us get what we want, why shouldn’t we keep our bargain?”
I breathed out sharply through my teeth, looking away. “It’s dangerous.”
“It might be more dangerous to defy him, now that we made the deal.”
My heart clenched. I knew he was right, but memories of the destroyed earth from my dreams rose up in my mind, and I shook my head.
“The world won’t really end.” Marcus’s voice was gentle, and I wanted to believe him.
“But nuclear power is so tricky.” I risked looking at him again.
He smiled. “But two Reds together can do amazing things. And,” he added, almost as an afterthought, “you’d be able to bind Hecate.”
“The problem doesn’t seem to just be Hecate anymore,” I reminded him.
“Fine! Bind all the damn Red gods. Just help me get my sister back.” He stood swiftly, his hands clenched.
I looked up at his tortured face, unable to speak for a moment. Emotion surged in me, and I realized I wanted to do whatever it took to wipe some of the strain from his face. Finally, I croaked, “Is this really what you want?”
He nodded, kneeling in front of me. “I told you,” he spoke so low I had to lean forward to hear him, “this is my fatal flaw.” The words hung in the air like a spell, and for a moment, neither of us moved.
His lips were inches away from my face. Without considering what it might mean, I leaned the rest of the way in and kissed him. I didn’t think about Justin, or Izzy, or the end of the world. For a moment, I just wanted to lose myself in the warmth of Marcus’s lips. Electricity tingled through my body, and sparks pulsed back and forth between us. He exhaled sharply, and then he kissed me back, hard.
A year and a day. So much had changed since then, and yet because I hadn’t felt the passage of time, I hadn’t realized that I was different in any way. But everything had changed. After a moment, Marcus pulled away. I smiled at him, tentatively, and he slammed his fist down on the porch railing. Startled, I jumped.
“Damn it, Darlena, what right did you have to come here? None of this would have happened if I’d never met you.” Regret laced his voice, and he wouldn’t look at me.
Tears pricked my eyes. He had every right to be angry with me, but gods, did he have to act like such a jerk right after I kissed him? I swallowed, trying to steady my breathing. “I know. But I can’t change the past.”
“But we can at least save Izzy.” His jaw was set, and he strode swiftly down the driveway.
I glanced back at the farmhouse for a heartbeat, but then I turned and hurried after Marcus.
“Shouldn’t we say good-bye?” I panted, trying to catch up to him.
He snorted. “They won’t care. They’re so busy deliberating, it could be weeks before anyone knows we’re gone.”
I knew he was wrong, but I didn’t want to argue with him. I changed the subject. “What did you have in mind?”
“France.” He gripped my forearm, and the world spun. Even if Marcus’s method for traveling was fast, I would never get used to the way it turned my stomach inside out.
“I wish you’d warn me before you do that again!”
Marcus smirked as I staggered to my feet. The field didn’t look that different from the one in the Scottish countryside, but the farmhouse was nowhere to be seen. The air smelled different, too, and I sniffed a couple of times, trying to identify the strange odor.
“Why France?” I was breathless from the trip, and from standing so close to Marcus. He took a quick step back, his eyes hooded.
“Best place I could think of for a nuclear meltdown. In my territory, at least.”
“But what about my territory?”
He smirked at me. “I thought you didn’t want to mess with things in your corner of the world.”
I took a deep breath. “It might be more convincing.”
He nodded, smiling sharply. “Have you worked from a distance before?”
“Yes, but only with a map.”
“Well, you’ll just have to wing this. What’s the worst that can happen?”
His words made my skin crawl. “Can’t we find me a map or something?”
“There’s not time.”
“But I don’t want—”
“Damn it, Darlena, whose side are you on?”
I stared at the sparks that shot off his hands. “Yours,” I ventured after a moment. “I’m on your side.”
Marcus took a deep breath. “France relies heavily on nuclear power. They have over a dozen plants scattered around the country.”
“So what are you planning to do?”
“It’s like we said. If we can trigger a nuclear meltdown, it will look like the world is ending. Once Loki follows through on his part of the bargain, we do damage control. You said you’ve got control of the U.S., right?”
I nodded.
“Isn’t there a nuclear plant somewhere in the desert?”
“I think there are some in the Southwest, but I’m not sure.”
He frowned. “Maybe we should just focus on France.”
Fighting my relief, I asked, “Are you sure that will be enough?”
Marcus looked grim. “It’ll have to be.”
We walked as we made our plans, and in a few minutes, we cut into a clearing that was far from empty. Two gray chimneys rose off the landscape, and a tall chain-link fence surrounded the compound. My heart started pounding quickly again
st my ribs as I realized that we were really about to do this.
“Welcome to Belleville, Darlena. This should suit us; it’s almost in the center of France.”
I glanced nervously at the smoke billowing out of the chimneys, remembering my horrific dream. “I wish there were another way.”
Marcus’s jaw tightened. “I can do this without you, but then Loki doesn’t owe you anything.”
Determined, I shook my head. “I need to stop Hecate, and we both need your sister back. Let’s do it.”
Marcus knelt down in the field, facing the nuclear plant. “So here’s what I’m thinking. If we use this plant as our focal point and project our energy out through the other French plants, we can simultaneously break the cooling mechanisms. Things should overheat fast. Once Loki’s free, we can cool them down, fix the machines, and leave without doing any harm.”
I nodded. “Can we work from out here?”
“We can, but it would be better if we were inside the plant. The closer we are to the source of the spell, the easier it will be.”
I wanted to contradict him; the two times I’d used Red magic on such a massive scale, I had been thousands of miles away. But Marcus had been a Red a lot longer than me, and I had promised to trust him. Hiding my concern, I stood up. “How do we get inside?”
“Easy.” He smiled, and his form flickered. “Glamours do more than changing your looks.” In a moment, he was gone.
“Marcus!” I kept my voice low as I called his name.
Something pinched my elbow.
“Damn it, Marcus, stop screwing around. Show me how to do that.”
He reappeared, smiling. “It’s easier than you think.”
He was right: it was easy. After only a few moments of practice, I watched my arms and legs fade into nothingness. “Okay. Now we’re invisible. How do we get inside?”
“Carefully.”
We walked quietly across the dry landscape, and I tried to remind myself that it was just dead because it was winter. We hadn’t done anything to destroy the earth, and our plan wouldn’t cause the harm that I’d dreamed about.
A car whipped past us on the dirt road, and I heard Marcus’s breath quicken. “Speed up. This might be our chance.”
The guard at the gate checked the driver of the car, and then waved it through. I started to run. We slipped between the gates just as they swung closed, and I leaned on the fence to catch my breath.
“You’re not in very good shape, are you?” Marcus’s voice was near my ear, and I could tell he was trying not to laugh.
“I can hold my own. Now,” I looked around the compound, “what do we do?”
“Inside would be best.”
I glanced at the doors. “Security seems pretty tight.”
“They can’t see us.”
“I’m not sure I can hold on to this glamour for long.”
There was a pause. “Yeah,” Marcus finally agreed. “I guess we’re close enough.”
I heard the dead grass rustle, as if he were sitting down. His hand brushed mine, and I yelped.
“Shh,” Marcus whispered, “we don’t want to give ourselves away.” He tugged my hand until I was sitting across from him. It was a strange sensation; sparks crackled where our knees were touching, and he still had a firm grip on my hand, but all I could see in front of me was the power plant.
I flexed my palm, but he didn’t let go. Instead, he grabbed my other hand.
“It’ll be easier if we’re linked. Do you know anything about nuclear power?”
I shook my head before I realized that he couldn’t see me. “Not really. Do you?”
“I know enough. Look, we need to raise energy, but I’ll direct it. Can you just concentrate on giving me as much Red magic as possible?”
Despite the cold air, my hands were sweaty. “I think so.” I hesitated for a moment. “You’re sure that we can do this without causing any harm?”
“I promise. I’ll stop the meltdown as soon as Loki’s free and we have Izzy back.”
I drew a deep breath and closed my eyes. “Okay. Then I guess I’m ready.”
“Ground yourself first. You know how?”
I nodded again, even though he couldn’t see me. “That was one of the first lessons at Trinity.”
“Then do it.”
I forced myself to take a deep breath, and then another. Carefully, I emptied my mind and just focused on breathing. When I felt intense warmth spreading up my spine and into my arms, I was pretty sure I had managed to root myself to the core of the earth the way I’d been taught. It was a strange feeling: peace flowed through me, but at the same time I felt almost drunk with power. It was as if I were drawing up more magic than I had ever tried to hold before.
I directed the hot energy up through my spine to the top of my head. For a moment, I felt as if I had the worst migraine ever, and then there was a bursting sensation. My eyes opened and I focused on the streams of golden light cascading down my invisible body like I was caught in a rainstorm. As the energy flowed up into me and out my head, the heady sensation dissipated. I hoped we were doing the right thing.
“Okay,” I said, my voice sounding far away, “ready when you are.”
Power coursed through me and swirled around in my chest, but I forced the energy to begin flowing through our clasped hands. It was excruciating. I felt drunk, and the urge to use all that magic myself nearly overwhelmed me. This isn’t about you, I reminded myself, clenching my teeth. With effort, I sent the power through our linked hands to Marcus. His hands grew hotter and hotter, until it hurt to hold them. I couldn’t break his grasp, though, or I risked breaking the spell. With my hands stinging, I drew up even more Red energy and passed it on to Marcus.
I don’t know how long we were linked like that; time slowed down, and all I was aware of was the power surging through me and the feel of Marcus’s hands in mine. Eventually, the faint wail of a siren came from somewhere inside the compound, but I shut my eyes and focused on directing the energy into Marcus’s hands. Another alarm sounded, closer to us, and shouts began to echo around the compound. I shivered, but I didn’t let go of Marcus. Whatever was happening, I prayed it would be enough to set Loki free; I didn’t think we’d get a second chance.
I could hear the increasing sounds of chaos around us; the sirens wailed, and voices shouted panicked commands in French. With one final surge of heat, Marcus let go of my hands. I opened my eyes and stared at him, completely drained. He was visible again. “Did it work?”
“I think so.” He rubbed his arms like he was cold.
I looked around. Smoke was billowing out of the looming chimneys, and the sirens droned on. “Just here?”
He shook his head. “I was directing the energy through the entire nuclear network. We’ll have to check the news to know for sure, but that should have caused chaos all over France.”
I concentrated on turning invisible again, but I felt like I had the flu. Not even a flicker of magic responded to my attempt. I just felt empty. Is this what Nons feel like? I shivered at the thought of a life without magic. “The glamour broke.” I gestured to Marcus, and he looked down at himself.
“I know. But I think they’ve got their hands full. We should be okay.” He reached over and helped me to my feet. We were both wobbly, but we managed to stand up, leaning against each other.
I looked back at the building. The smoke billowing out of the chimneys had thickened, and I could see people running frantically on the roof of the power plant. “When do we know if it worked?”
“Oh, it worked all right.” The familiar voice spoke from behind me, and I turned slowly to face Loki. He flexed his fingers and bounced on his toes. “Gods, it feels good to be free. Here.” He threw something at me, and I reflexively caught it. “You’ll be needing that.”
Dumfounded, I looked at the chain in my hand. It was slimy and squishy and felt strangely alive. My stomach roiled at the texture. When I pulled on it to test its strength, the links thrumm
ed with an angry sound and I felt like I’d snapped a rubber band against my skin. Loki had kept his promise!
Loki laughed. “Bind whoever you wish with that, but I won’t be going back to my prison.”
Marcus stood up and clenched his fists. “My sister?”
The god with flaming hair put his hand against his heart as if he’d been struck. “Are you implying, boy, that I would break my word?” Before Marcus had a chance to answer, Loki chuckled. “She’s behind you. Use your eyes, Witch!”
Marcus whirled around and I peered over his shoulder. Sure enough, Izzy was lying on the ground, curled up like a sleeping cat.
“Is she okay?” I hurried to her side, but Marcus got there first.
“She’s breathing. I think she’s just asleep.”
I tugged on Marcus’s hand. “We can make sure she’s fine in a minute. We have to stop what we started. We got what we wanted.” He ignored me, leaning over Izzy. The persistent alarms grew louder, and I snapped my fingers in front of his nose. “Marcus! Help me.”
With a long glance at Izzy, he grabbed my hands again. “Give me as much as you can.”
I tried to summon Red magic, but it was like turning a broken faucet. Nothing happened. Nervously, I looked at Marcus, but his eyes were closed as if he were concentrating deeply. I shut my eyes and reached for Red energy again. Gradually, warmth began to fill me, and I felt it moving sluggishly into Marcus’s hands. Hurry up, I thought, hurry up. The sirens screamed around me, and I struggled to give Marcus as much magic as I could. For a minute, the flow of energy seemed like it was working, but abruptly, I felt the magic rushing back into my body.
Something made a sharp snapping sound, and Marcus’s hands clenched mine painfully. My eyes flew open, but I didn’t understand what I saw.
