by Linsey Hall
As if he couldn’t help himself, his gaze landed on me. A tiny light of happiness lit in my chest. He did trust me. At least, mostly. More than Oya.
Cade and I had something. We just had to muddle our way through what it was.
Twenty minutes later, we hurried across the lawn toward the Protectorate castle. We’d hightailed it out of the Vaults and headed straight back through the portal for our meeting with the rest of the gang.
Cade glanced at his watch. “We’ll be just in time.”
“Good. I want to get started looking for Rowan.” I was itching to. All the years of searching for her….and we finally had a real clue.
Sunlight glinted off the mullioned glass windows of the castle, a massive structure that I still couldn’t believe was my home. If someone had told me I’d be turning in the dust of Death Valley for the cool mist of the Scottish Highlands, I wouldn’t have believed them.
But here I was.
As we neared the great double doors that led to the entry hall, Mayhem flew out of the castle and hurtled toward us, her squished pug face beaming with happiness.
She yipped and flew circles around me, her wings moving so fast they were a blur.
“Someone is happy to see you,” Cade said.
I reached out and ruffled the fur at the top of her head, which felt like a weird tingle instead of dog fur. One of the hazards of being a ghost, but Mayhem didn’t seem to mind.
We entered the castle and headed directly to the round room, where all the important meetings took place.
Technically, I was still in training at the Protectorate Academy, trying to earn my stripes so that I could be admitted to a division and become a full-fledged member. It’d been going pretty well. But now that we’d almost found Rowan, I wasn’t sure if there’d be a break in my training. All I knew was that I’d be dedicating every moment to finding her.
We entered the round room, which was mostly full. Judy and Hedy sat next to each other, along with my friends Caro, Ali, and Haris.
But it was Ana and Cass who caught my eye. Cass had come all the way from Magic’s Bend to help us track down Rowan. She shot me a grin, her red hair glinting in the light of the sconces. She’d draped her leather jacket over the back of the chair and looked right at home in the Protectorate.
“You discovered the horned Rebel God’s identity, I hear?” Jude asked as we sat.
“We did,” Cade said. “The Celtic war god Cocidius.”
“Florian and Dr. G are finding what info they can,” Ana said. “They’ll be here soon.”
“Dr. G?” I asked.
“Dr. Garriso,” Cass said. “I brought him from Magic’s Bend. I thought he could help.”
“Thank you,” I said.
Cass nodded.
Jude leaned forward, her gaze on me. “We’re gathered here to find Bree and Ana’s sister, and to take out the Rebel Gods. Bree, it will be part of your training.”
“What about Ana?” I asked. I was getting all the good opportunities. I didn’t want her left out in the cold.
“My magic hasn’t manifested,” Ana said. “Yours has.”
I could hear the wistfulness in her voice—she still didn’t know what kind of DragonGod she was.
“Ana will be part of the team. But you, Bree, will lead. With supervision. I’ve discussed it with Arach and the other division heads. If you save your sister and take out the Rebel Gods, you’ll have finished your training. It’s an unusually fast training period, but you’ve come into your powers. And without a doubt, taking out the Rebel Gods would be the greatest trainee accomplishment that this institution has ever seen.”
At this point, I only cared about saving my sister. But the idea that Arach, the dragon spirit who presided over the castle, knew about my mission made me feel a bit better. I didn’t know if she supported me, but I hoped she did and I liked the possibility of it.
I leaned forward. “All right. If I’m leading this, then here’s what I think. Cass, Del, and Nix were never able to track Rowan. She’s blocked somehow. But that doesn’t mean we can’t try to find the Rebel Gods who abducted her. Now that we’ve destroyed their stronghold in the ether, that means they’re probably hiding out in one of their godly realms.”
“That makes sense,” Jude said. “It takes great magic for a god to walk upon the earth. It’d be easiest for them to recoup in their own realm.”
“Exactly,” I said. “It’s only a matter of time before they create another stronghold. We have to find them before that. So Cade and I will seek Cocidius in his realm.” I looked at him. “You think you can find him?”
“With research and a bit of luck, yes. Florian said that he had resources that might help us track him down. Or at least, his realm.”
“We do have one thing that might help you,” Jude said. “To be used only in a case of sincerest emergency. It is a heavenly transport charm. As you know, regular transport charms don’t let you enter or exit another realm. You have to use a portal for that. But we have one—just one—transport stone that would allow you to escape Cocidius’s realm if you were in a bind.”
“Oh, perfect.” Excitement welled in my chest. “This improves our chances even more. We can grab Rowan and run.”
“Fighting our way out of a godly realm will be difficult. This will be immensely helpful,” Cade said. “Thank you, Jude.”
“We’ve been saving it for an appropriate time. This is it.”
“Thank you.” I smiled at her, then looked at Cass. “Back at the Rebel Gods stronghold, you wrestled with the goddess wearing the ancient robes. The one covered with blood. Do you think you can use your magic to track her?”
“I can try.”
“I’ll go with her,” Ana said.
“So will I,” Caro said. “Ali and Haris can stay and do research into the third god. Try to find out who he is so we can track him.”
Ali and Haris both scowled, likely at the idea of being left behind to do research, but both eventually nodded and grinned.
They were team players, no matter what the job. It made me like them even more.
“You’ll get to go into the field to hunt him down if you find some leads,” Jude said.
The guys grinned even wider.
“Oh, we’ll find leads,” Haris said.
Ali grinned. “You can count on us.”
“Perfect. We’ll split up and see what we can find,” I said. “Hopefully, that will be Rowan.”
2
The others had just departed the room, leaving only Cade and me, when Florian hurried in, followed by an older man with wispy white hair and a tweed jacket that had patches on the arms.
“Sincerest apologies on our tardiness!” the ghost librarian cried. “We were required to locate some documents, and one was being quite stubborn. Wouldn’t come down off the shelf.” Florian dropped some books on the table, along with a few rolled up maps.
The old man stepped up to Cade and me and held out his hand. “I’m Dr. Garriso, director of the Museum for Magical History in Magic’s Bend. Cassiopeia Clereaux asked me to come and lend my assistance.”
I shook his hand. “Thank you for coming.”
He nodded as he shook Cade’s hand. “My pleasure.”
“Come!” Florian said. “Look at what Dr. Garriso found.”
We moved over to the table, where Florian had laid out several open books and maps.
“One of my specialties is ancient Celtic religions.” He pointed a gnarled finger at a little drawing on one of the book’s pages. “As soon as we received the message that the god was Cocidius, I remembered this carving found on Hadrian’s Wall.”
“The ancient Roman wall that was built between Scotland and England?” I asked.
“Yes. That’s where Cocidius was worshipped primarily. He was a more minor god favored by the Celtic poor and the Roman military. Not a high status god.”
“Ah, no wonder he has a chip on his shoulder,” I said.
“He wants more power
. And the idea that the other gods would give some of theirs to the DragonGods rubs him the wrong way,” Cade said. “If we want to find him in his realm, where he’s no doubt licking his wounds and stoking his rage, we need to find the entrance.”
“Exactly.” Dr. Garriso nodded. “And I think I have an idea.”
“It’s somewhere near Hadrian’s Wall?” Cade asked.
“Yes,” Florian said. “It’ll be at the point where the most people worshipped him. His power will be strongest there, able to create a bridge between the human world and his godly one.”
“He’s a lower god, so his realm should be much easier to access,” Dr. Garriso said. “The Celtic gods are very hierarchical. Higher gods occupy larger worlds that are harder to get to. True god realms. Those are the true Celtic afterworlds. But Cocidius owns a realm that is lesser. It’s more of a mirror realm—one that is on Earth, layered over top of the world that we know. Those are easier to create, and therefore easier to access.”
“Thank fates.” I didn’t want to be kept away from Rowan by some godly hierarchy that hid her in an inaccessible realm.
“I think I may have found the entrance to his realm. Roughly.” Dr. Garriso pointed to several places on the maps. “At these locations, scholars have found ancient carvings of Cocidius, dug into stone by those who once worshipped him.”
My gaze followed his fingertip as it traced over the locations. An idea clicked in my mind. This was like an old-school version of CSI. “The entrance will be at the center of all those carvings.”
“Exactly,” Florian crowed.
“You must go there and find where the magic is strongest,” Dr. Garriso said. “Then you can find the entrance to his realm. But be careful. It will be dangerous.”
Ha. I was used to dangerous. And to save Rowan, I’d throw myself into hell.
Cade and I left immediately for Hadrian’s Wall, each of us wearing a version of Celtic attire so we’d blend in when we arrived. The leather pants and tunic weren’t far off what I’d normally wear, fortunately.
Ana, Cass, and Caro had set out twenty minutes before us, following Cass’s dragon sense to see if they could find the blood-covered goddess.
“I hope Rowan is with Cocidius.” I patted the heavenly transport stone in my pocket as we walked out onto the main lawn. I couldn’t wait any longer to find her.
“Don’t worry, Bree. We’ll get her back.”
I smiled at him, and adjusted the small backpack. Each of us carried a pack filled with food and water. We were unsure of what we’d be stepping into in Cocidius’s realm, and we wanted to be prepared.
“Ready?” Cade asked.
I nodded, swallowing hard.
Suddenly, my chest felt tight. I was so close to something that I’d wanted for so long, but it brought with it a visceral fear of failure.
I sucked in a ragged breath, trying to calm myself.
Cade hesitated, the transport charm clutched in his hand.
“Are you all right?” Concern shadowed his gaze.
I looked up, breathing raggedly. “Yeah. Yeah.”
“You don’t look all right.”
“I know. Funny how monsters and demons don’t bother me a bit, but I’m so close to Rowan and the odds of failure are so great.” I shook my head. “It scares the shit out of me.”
He pulled me close, tucking me under his chin. I shuddered, leaning into him and absorbing his strength.
“You can do this, Bree. You’re the fiercest, most determined person I’ve ever met. You’ll save your sister.”
My breathing calmed. Not that I wasn’t still scared, but his confidence gave me confidence.
And I loved that he had faith in me. He didn’t say that he would help me—that was obvious—just that I could do it.
And I could. I had to.
I squeezed him back and then drew away, my chest looser. My breathing no longer sounded like a wheezy air conditioner.
“Thanks for the talk. Let’s do this.”
“On three.” He counted, then hurled a transportation stone at the ground.
The glittery gray dust billowed up, and I stepped inside. The ether sucked me through space, spitting me out at the edge of a low, broken wall.
Cade appeared at my side, then knelt to study the stones.
It was only four feet tall and about twelve wide. In the two thousand years since it’d been built, time had taken its toll.
“Here’s the carving,” Cade said.
I bent down to look at the small man holding a sword and shield. It was the best carving of those that Dr. Garriso had found, and was located roughly at the geographical center of all the other carvings.
I touched it, and magic spark through my fingertips. A brief scent of blood hit my nose, followed by the anxiety of waiting for a battle to start.
I shuddered.
That was the worst.
I’d only recently started to gain control of my own anxiety over battle—the nerves that made me leap before I looked. But it turned out that one of Cocidius’s magical signatures was that same anxiety.
Great.
I stood and turned, taking in my surroundings. Hills rolled out in all directions, some leading back into Scotland and some leading into England. In the distance, near a copse of trees, a broken-down, stone structure hulked behind an earthen mound.
I pointed to it. “Dollars to donuts, that’s an old Roman fort.”
“Aye, let’s check it out.”
We set off across the grass. Cool wind rustled my hair back from my face, but it couldn’t distract me from the ugly magic that rolled from the fort.
Anxiety rose in my chest, and the scent of blood filled my nose. “That’s definitely his magic.”
Cade nodded, brow furrowed. “This feels odd.”
I climbed to the top of the earthen mound that surrounded the ruined remains of the fort. At the top, I could see that the mound was hexagonal in shape, surrounding the stone foundations of the old fort.
Up close, the crumbled stone building that I’d seen from far away looked like an old square castle.
Cade pointed to it. “That’s medieval. Too late for Cocidius’s time. But this fort… It’s definitely Roman. And the stones that made up the foundation were probably used to create the castle long after the Romans had retreated.”
“So they broke apart the fort and used it for their own stuff.” I climbed down off the mound of earth and entered the fort. As soon as I stepped past the walls, magic shivered over my skin.
Anxiety ratcheted up within me, and the scent of blood clouded my senses. “You feel that?”
Cade stepped down into the grassy interior of the fort and shuddered. “The magic is dark here. Definitely his. The Roman soldiers who lived here worshipped him. No question.”
“So we’re hopefully at the entrance to his realm.” I paced the length of the stone foundations of the fort, which only rose a foot off the ground. “We just have to find it.”
Cade joined me, pacing through the fort. Birds chirped and the sun shone as I studied the area around me, hoping for a clue.
The whole time, Cade was silent, but I could feel his unease. It was strange, since he rarely seemed to feel anything other than comfort and confidence.
“You all right?” I asked.
“I feel a connection here.” He grimaced. “It’s unpleasant.”
I knelt and studied a tall, slender stone that made up one of the six corners of the hexagonal fort. It extended up above the rest of the broken foundation.
Little hatch marks had been carved into the edge of the stone. They looked kinda familiar and definitely not natural.
“Hey, Cade, come look at this.”
He joined me, kneeling at my side. His arm pressed against mine, warm and strong, and I shivered.
I looked at him. He squinted, studying the stone and the carvings.
“What do you think?”
“Ogham script,” he said. “Ancient Celtic writing from Irelan
d. Examples are rare in Britain and Scotland, but not unheard of.”
“What does it say?”
He frowned. “Normally Ogham depicted only names. But this… I think it says that the god must stand within the center of the place of worship to ignite the portal.”
“Wow, you’re good at reading Ogham. All that history study paid off.”
“Aye, it did, but in other ways. This, I was born with. Perk of being with the Celts.”
I nodded. “Must be a god thing. I understand runes and Old Norse, even though I haven’t studied.”
“It must.” He stood. “The god must stand at the center of the place of worship. I’m not the right god though.”
“You can still try. You are a war god, and so is he.”
A grin tugged at the corner of his mouth. “You read my mind.”
He walked to the center of the hexagonal fort. The castle sat on the far edge to the east, a ghostly structure that looked lonely against the clear blue sky.
Cade stood directly in the middle, waiting for something to happen.
I counted to ten.
Nothing happened.
Damn.
We really needed this to work.
“Maybe there’s a worship center?” I began to pace, searching again. “Like a shrine or something?”
Cade joined me in my hunt. We searched the entire length of the wall, finally finding a large flat stone set into the side wall east of the fort. It’d been hidden behind the castle. The foundation of the wall showed an alcove built into it.
Excitement thrummed in my chest.
Cade looked at me, then stepped into the center of the stone.
Magic flared on the air, surging with a ferocity that almost made me stumble. The air swirled with sparking magic as the stones that made up the castle began to break away, returning to the foundations of the Roman fort.
“Holy fates,” I murmured.
Light glowed around Cade as the stone blocks flew through the air. Soon, the castle was gone, and the foundations were complete. Wooden walls began to grow out of the foundation, the fort returning to how it had once been.
“Whoa.” I spun in a circle, taking it all in.
The walls rose twenty feet into the air, platforms built at the top for defense. The Romans had been trying to hold on to their territory in England, and this fortress had clearly been one of their main garrisons.
