by Kristen Pham
Valerie refused to let Sanguina know how much pain she was in from this new gash on her leg, from the earlier slash on her arm, and from the dizzying blow to her face. But the pain had the opposite effect from what Valerie had anticipated. Instead of distracting her, adrenaline rushed through her body, sharpening her focus so that she barely noticed the blood trickling down her cheek and leg.
She said nothing, but more of her fear transformed into rage, and the stream of magic inside of her exploded into a torrent. She gave in to her power, fighting purely by instinct. Now Valerie had Sanguina on the defensive, and she slowly backed her into a corner. Sanguina’s face was grim, and Valerie knew that she had to use every ounce of her own strength and speed to fend her off. She could feel Sanguina trying to grasp at her brain to control her, but her attempts to claw her way into Valerie’s mind were useless, as if her consciousness was a ball of fire that couldn’t be contained.
Valerie’s heart raced as she realized that she was actually winning—but she knew that she couldn’t keep fighting this hard for much longer. Her magic would eventually run out. She needed to try something different. So this time, after blocking Sanguina’s sword from lopping off her right arm, Valerie deliberately flashed the luminous blade in Sanguina’s eyes. The light made her squint and flinch. A second of hesitation was all Valerie needed, and she pressed her advantage. She knocked Sanguina’s hand with the flat of her sword as hard as she could, loosening Sanguina’s grip on her weapon. The rapier clattered onto the ground.
Swiftly, Valerie pressed her blade against Sanguina’s neck. “Surrender,” she said quietly, trying to contain the glorious tide of joy rising inside of her. Had she really won? Sanguina stared at Valerie, her hatred emblazoned across her face.
Suddenly, Valerie’s attention was drawn to light glinting off of a crystal hanging on a chain around Sanguina’s neck. She looked down and saw Henry’s image inside the crystal, screaming. With her other hand, Valerie grabbed the chain and yanked it off of Sanguina’s neck. In the process, Sanguina tried to push her away, but she didn’t budge.
Sanguina’s eyes flicked down to look at Pathos, and suddenly shock replaced the seething hate in her eyes. She looked up at Valerie searchingly. “Why do you have Adelita’s sword? Who are you? Tell me. Now!” Sanguina commanded, but her hatred seemed diluted, as if something had distracted her from their fight.
“This time it’s you who’s not in a position to give orders,” Valerie said, pressing her blade against Sanguina’s throat even harder. “You’re not going to distract me.” But she was genuinely confused at the change in Sanguina.
“Could you be… it’s not possible, but…” Sanguina said, so puzzled that she seemed almost unaware of the sharp blade against her neck. “It’s you!” Sanguina cried out, and her face contorted as anger warred with some other emotion that Valerie couldn’t begin to guess.
Valerie realized that Pathos had nicked the thin, chalky skin on Sanguina’s neck. It was only a scratch, but Sanguina shrieked in pain. As Valerie watched, the light from Pathos poured into Sanguina through her wound. Valerie pulled her blade away, but it was too late. The light traveled through Sanguina’s body, illuminating her veins from the inside out. The sight was ghastly, as Sanguina appeared to be nothing more than a network of glowing veins in the blackness.
The pitch of Sanguina’s scream became higher, and Valerie knew, without a doubt, that the light was killing her. But instead of feeling triumphant, she was more horrified than she had ever been in her life. Because of her, someone would die. She hated this woman, but suddenly she wished more than anything that she could take it all back. There was no way that she could live with herself, knowing that she had ended a life. Faintly, she realized that there was a clatter in the hall. Someone was coming. But she didn’t care. She didn’t know if she would ever care about anything ever again.
The door to the room burst open, and dim light streamed in. But Valerie couldn’t take her eyes off of Sanguina’s death throes.
Strangest of all, when Sanguina looked at Valerie now, all of the loathing was drained from her eyes. For the first time since Valerie had known her, Sanguina spoke without bitterness, and said, “If I had known who you were, I never would have hurt you.” Then Sanguina’s eyes rolled back in her head.
It was more than Valerie could bear. Agonizing remorse left her frozen in shock.
Something flashed through her like fire. She was burning with an energy that filled her from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. Sanguina started to fall to the ground, but before she collapsed on the floor, Valerie caught her, and the energy inside her burst from her fingertips and shot through Sanguina. Sanguina’s entire body glowed fiercely with a bright yellow-green light.
Energy flooded out of Valerie and into Sanguina in a torrent, and she could feel her strength fade as her field of vision narrowed to a tiny circle. She knew that if she didn’t stem the tide, she would be swept away with it, gone forever. It was as if she were pushing hard on a door inside of herself that didn’t want to close. With a burst of strength, Valerie slammed it shut.
Abruptly, the light inside of Sanguina went out and her body relaxed. She shuddered in Valerie’s arms and sighed. But then something miraculous happened—Valerie heard the sound of ragged breathing. Sanguina was alive.
You saved her. Azra’s soft voice moved through Valerie’s mind, comforting her.
Valerie struggled to remain conscious and not give in to the darkness that surrounded her mind, inviting her to lose herself in its oblivion. She couldn’t let go, not yet. Henry’s life depended on her. With a struggle, she pushed the darkness back inside her.
She blinked, aware for the first time that Azra and Kanti stood in the doorway, and behind them were a crowd of other Conjurors, some, like Gideon and Midnight, whom Valerie recognized, and many she had never seen before. Everyone was staring at her, stunned. Even Azra’s eyes were wide with surprise and sudden understanding.
“I don’t understand.” Valerie said.
You’re a vivicus, a life-giver. It has been many centuries since a Conjuror has been born with this gift. I sensed something untapped inside of you when we first met, but I never guessed… Azra trailed off with a shake of her mane.
“Will Sanguina be okay?” Valerie asked, resting her gently on the ground. In the dim light, Valerie could see that Sanguina’s skin had lost its pasty sheen. She looked almost—human.
Better than okay—you brought Sanguina the woman back to life, but the vampyre in her is dead. She is as she was before she was changed by Zunya.
“Zunya was the one who made her a vampyre? How—” Valerie began, but Henry’s fear ripped through her. “Henry’s still in danger! I have to go to him!” she cried, realizing that she was still clutching Sanguina’s charm for Henry in her hand. Her exhaustion vanished in her fear for her brother.
Go and comfort him as best you can. We will wait.
She gripped the charm and concentrated. In the space of a thought, she was transported to Earth.
Chapter 43
A barrage of sights and sounds overwhelmed Valerie. Rushing water drowned out almost every other noise and filled the air with a wet mist. To her astonishment, she was standing on a grassy patch of land next to a swiftly moving flood of water. Her eyes followed the flow of the rapids, and she saw that about a hundred yards out, the water dropped away, falling into an abyss of mist.
She realized that she was not far from the edge of the enormous waterfall that she had seen through Henry’s eyes earlier. The view would have been breathtaking if it weren’t for the realization of how easy it would be to slip and fall into the raging water coursing past.
Her assessment of her surroundings was interrupted by a cry, and she saw Henry trying to run away from Venu. He only made it a few steps before Venu leapt onto him, and the two crashed to the ground. Her heart squeezed at the sight of the terror in his wide brown eyes.
“You’re going in, whether you like it o
r not,” Venu barked. Then he smiled, revealing his yellow teeth. “There’s even a surprise waiting for you over the edge of the falls. Time to go find it!”
“Get away from him!” Valerie yelled. Venu and Henry looked at her in surprise. Venu’s grip loosened on Henry, who wrenched himself away. “Run,” she said to Henry, who looked at her with eyes filled with fear and wonder. But before he could take off, Venu deliberately touched Henry’s arm with one finger.
“No!” Valerie screamed, but it was too late. Henry fell to his knees and stayed there, motionless but conscious. Venu clearly didn’t want to kill Henry, she realized. He had paralyzed him so he couldn’t escape.
“This time, you won’t leave alive,” Venu said to Valerie, his eyes narrowing into slits.
“Somehow I doubt that. That will make, let’s see, three times that a girl kicked your butt?” she taunted, hoping to distract him.
Venu’s body tensed, ready to attack. Valerie automatically assumed a defensive stance, but she knew that there was nothing she could do to stop him from hurting Henry—Venu just hadn’t realized it yet. A helpless panic tore through her. She was so close to Henry, but there wasn’t a thing she could do to save him.
Venu crouched, and then leapt toward her. She did the only thing she could—she dodged his outstretched fist. For several minutes, the dance continued as Venu tried to punch and kick her, and Valerie dodged his blows. Venu looked confused when she didn’t go on the offensive.
Finally, one of his blows punched through her shoulder, and the puzzled look on his face vanished. “You’re not here. You’re on the Globe, with Sanguina,” Venu said, and he smiled, revealing his yellow teeth. “You can’t do anything but watch.”
“NO! Please, I’ll give you anything you want!” she cried in desperation, but Venu turned his back on her and trudged toward Henry. “I’ve defeated Sanguina. There’s nothing she can do if you release him. I’ll give you money, find a way to get you to the Globe, anything!”
Venu stopped. He turned slowly, surprised, and raised an eyebrow. “Sanguina’s gone?”
“Yes. Now let him go.”
“It doesn’t matter. Sanguina is not the one who gave me this order. I will be rewarded for this beyond anything that witch could give me,” Venu said with a greedy smile, turning to Henry, who was looking at them both with wide, terrified eyes.
Then he put on his gloves and lifted a limp, helpless Henry off the ground and carried him to the water. Valerie knew he was about to throw him in, and she clawed in vain at Venu. He laughed as her arms went through him. Panic gnawed at her mind, threatening to swallow her whole. But before she could give in to her terror, Thai came tearing past her and crashed into Venu, knocking him to the ground. Venu’s grip loosened on Henry, who rolled dangerously close to the place where the land dropped away and the falls began.
“Thai! You made it!”
“Of course,” he said, kicking Venu hard in the chest. Venu grunted and fell, but only a small flicker of pain appeared in his eyes. He eyed Thai from the ground, sizing him up.
Then, in the blink of an eye, Venu was on the attack. Ripping off his gloves, he leapt to his feet and lunged for Thai. Venu was fighting to kill. Valerie watched as Venu and Thai sparred. Thai carefully avoided the poison oozing from Venu’s hands and feet, and managed to land several more kicks to Venu’s stomach and chest.
To Valerie’s eyes, the fight appeared to be a blur at first as they swiftly attacked and blocked each other’s blows. But Venu was growing tired, Valerie realized, as Thai landed a punch squarely across his jaw. Venu grunted in pain.
Thai’s eyes flashed with triumph, but the look was quickly replaced by terror. “Not now, Tan!” he shouted.
Valerie saw him shudder, and then Tan’s gold eyes appeared in Thai’s face. He looked scared as Venu pulled himself off the ground. Venu saw the change in Thai’s face. He couldn’t possibly know what had happened, but he must have sensed that this change was to his advantage, because he didn’t hesitate. He laid his hand on Tan’s neck, and Tan fell to the ground, moaning.
Valerie was by his side in an instant. He opened his eyes, and Valerie saw Thai looking back at her. “I failed you,” he whispered, and then his eyes closed and his breathing slowed. Venu laughed.
“Don’t give in to the poison. Please, wake up!” she begged, tears pouring down her cheeks.
“Pleeease wake up,” Venu mocked. Grinning, he turned to Henry. “Now it’s your turn,” Venu said, pulling his gloves back on and lifting Henry off the ground.
“I swear to you, if you don’t put him down right now, I will find a way to make you suffer a million times more than Sanguina ever did!” Valerie said. But her words had no effect on him—without saying another word, Venu hoisted Henry above his head, poised to throw him into the rushing water that was racing toward the precipice.
“Help!” Henry shrieked, his tortured eyes connecting with Valerie’s.
Then everything seemed to go in slow motion. A strange feeling filled Valerie, reminding her of all the times that Henry had needed her so badly that his fear had pulled her into his reality. But this time, the world suddenly appeared distorted to her eyes, as if she were looking through a funhouse mirror. It was like she was underwater, unable to breathe. But before panic could set in, the strange sensation was over, and she breathed in the clean, wet air.
Wait—the air wasn’t wet on the Globe. What happened? When the grass tickled her ankles and dirt squished under her shoes, Valerie knew that something inexplicable had happened—she was standing on Earth on her own two feet. She had done what she had been told was impossible—she had crossed the barrier between the two worlds, and returned to Earth from the Globe.
Before she could rejoice or even regain her focus, Venu hurled Henry into the rushing water. His body was instantly swept away by the current. Adrenaline kept Valerie’s mind clear, she knew exactly what she had to do. Without thinking, she pushed Venu to the ground and jumped into the water after Henry.
“How—?” she heard Venu cry.
The cold water shocked Valerie to her core, and the current shoved her forward like a giant hand. She embraced the speed and launched herself forward toward Henry’s blue jacket, which bobbed just out of her reach. Speeding downstream, she came closer and closer to him, but at the last second, the current yanked her away and her fingers closed around water instead of his arm. Her eyes stung and she choked, inhaling water as she struggled to keep her head above the surface.
Downstream, she saw Henry sinking facedown a few feet beyond her grasp. With sheer determination, she surged forward, wrapping her fingers around his sleeve and pulling him toward her. He was unable to move, still paralyzed from Venu’s attack. Valerie held his head above water and he gasped for air. But it could be his last breath, she thought, as together they sped toward the edge of the falls.
Valerie looked around desperately for something, anything to grab on to. Finally, she spotted a rock that rose above the frothing water slightly downstream. With a burst of strength that she didn’t know she possessed without the aid of magic, she steered herself toward the boulder with Henry in tow. Once it was within reach, her fingers scrabbled at the rock, and her hand became bloodied as she struggled to grasp its rough edges. But finally she managed to find a handhold, and her body jerked to a stop as the current wrenched her arm, trying to pull Henry away from her. A few yards away, water zoomed toward the edge of the falls and then dropped out of sight.
Valerie could only enjoy her temporary safety for an instant, as she saw Venu’s bulky form heading toward them. He used his immense strength to fight the current and force his way toward them.
Within seconds, Venu reached the rock. “You will pay for all the trouble you’ve given me,” he growled, his rancid breath in her face making her gag. She had no free hand to fight him with, as one hand held tightly to the rock and the other kept Henry’s head above the water.
“Please, don’t do this,” Valerie begged.
Venu ruthlessly began to pry her hand from the rock, finger by finger, until she lost her grip and was yanked back into the current. She shut her eyes and clutched Henry tightly, knowing that soon they would be swept over the side of the falls and plunge to their deaths.
But seconds before they reached the edge, the bottom of the rapids dropped away from under her feet, and the water rose up to her chest. Then, inches from the brink of the falls, she and Henry slammed into a wall of rock, saving them from being carried over. She stared around her in wonder as she realized that the wall of rock that had rescued them formed a natural pool right on the edge of the waterfall.
“The Devil’s Pool,” she whispered to herself, finally understanding what she had heard last time she had been pulled into Henry’s mind.
She had no time to wonder at their stroke of luck. Venu was upon them already, his face red and contorted with rage at being thwarted again. He lurched toward Valerie, and from the look on his face, she knew that he was going to murder her. She mentally prepared herself for the fight, but without much hope of winning. The water had the advantage of washing away Venu’s natural poison, but without her power, she was no match for him.
Venu captured Valerie’s wrists with one hand and wrapped the other around her throat and squeezed, choking the life out of her. Black spots formed in her vision from lack of oxygen. But abruptly, the pressure on her neck was released. The cold water must have partially revived Henry from his paralysis, because he had grabbed Venu’s arms to pull him away from her. But Henry was still weak, and Venu tossed him aside like a rag doll. Then Venu pulled himself up on the narrow, rocky border of the pool that also formed the edge of the falls. Before she could wonder what he was doing, he hauled Henry up by the hair and onto the ledge with him.
Valerie scratched at Venu’s legs, trying to pull him back into the relative safety of the pool before he could throw Henry over the side. Venu kicked at her, but she couldn’t make him budge. Desperate, she climbed onto the thin strip of rock that separated the pool from the abyss. Using all her weight, she grabbed Henry and threw him back into the pool. Venu roared with frustration.
