by Lee French
Drew nodded, answering both of them at once. “Is your aura okay now? Do you need a ley line?”
“A ley line would be great, actually.”
This time, Drew decided to walk.
Chapter 16
Claire
Frustration set in. Ten different scenes played around Claire, all of memories from after her family died. The closest she’d managed was a wispy, misty vision of her father as the ghost who’d tried to kill her. She spun with a growl, slashing her arm through every image to disturb them all.
“Why is it all blocked? I know we had a horse, but I can’t remember what color it was. Dad had a sword and I saw it a hundred times, but I can’t remember what it looked like. It’s not there, like that part of me doesn’t exist anymore.”
“Maybe you’re trying too hard,” Rondy said.
Someone stepped into her demesne. She felt the disturbance and turned to watch Justin step forward, as if he’d walked through an invisible door. All her frustration and worry evaporated at the sight of him. She plowed into him and hugged him.
He squeezed her tight. “Enion had a tantrum at me, so I thought maybe I’d see about coming here.”
Tears sprang out of Claire’s eyes and she sniffled. Rondy taught her stuff and treated her like a human being, but Justin had adopted her. He’d welcomed her into his family. She’d never forget how he rescued her, even if she’d had to rescue him back. “I’m kind of trapped here.”
He let go and smiled at her. “Tell me what’s going on.”
She nodded and wiped her face on her sleeve. “I can only cross over through my locket, and Iulia’s set up a trap to keep me from leaving her little hideout.”
“Sounds like we need to chat with her about that. And by chat, I mean punch her in the face.”
Claire squeezed Justin again. She’d missed having a dad so much without realizing it until she got a new one. Whether her own father would’ve suggested that, she had no idea. But she imagined a dad should say it.
“I’ve missed you too, Claire.” Justin held her tightly. “I told Marie you went to stay with Anne for a few days because I couldn’t choke the truth out yet.”
She let go and wiped her face. “We’ll have to tell them. And somehow deal with the state stuff, and school, and all of it.”
“I know.” Justin scratched at the beginning of a dark beard on his neck. “I’m just not sure how to word it. Let’s leave it for a few days. Until Wednesday. There are bugs to deal with, and apparently we need to have a chat with Iulia. And who knows? Maybe you’ll figure out how to be solid by then and we can lie to everyone.” He flashed her a fake, charming smile.
Claire giggled. “Okay. I’ll try. But bugs first.” Holding out her hand, she summoned the two swords she’d made and offered them to him. “I’m pretty sure these will work, but I can’t carry them across when I go to Earth.”
Justin took the sword meant for him and pulled it from the sheath. “This is exquisite. I’m not sure it’s a perfect copy, but it’s close enough.” He examined the leather-wrapped hilt and showed her a heart-shaped stamp of whorls and dots that matched her locket on the crosspiece. “Are you sure you want to mark everything with this? I realize this is your locket, but it’s also the sign of the seals Caius and Iulia crafted.”
“I didn’t put it there on purpose.” Claire frowned and wondered what it meant. “I didn’t even notice it.”
“Then I guess it’s fine. And one for Avery. Perfect. We can go deal with the ants downtown. I’d go straight to Iulia, but we still don’t know where she is.”
While Claire ruminated over everything Iulia had said, Justin shook hands with Rondy and gave him a one-armed hug. She drifted, thinking, and realized Iulia had told her something useful. “She’s in Portland. She didn’t use the word, but from what she said, she’s definitely there. So it’s a shipping container or semi trailer in Portland.”
“That narrows it down, but it might not be enough. If Drew decides to help, he may be able to find her for us. But I haven’t seen him since he decided to hate me again.”
“He ran away from me.” She crossed her arms and turned to pacing. “What about Anne?”
“I can ask her.” Justin swished the sword through a practice swing and sheathed it. “Can you make any more of these? I suspect some other Knights might need them.”
“Yes.” Claire waved the question off. Now that she knew how, she only needed time to make more.
“How many places could there be in Portland where a shipping container or semi trailer could sit unnoticed?” Rondy asked. “Even more, where someone living inside it would go unremarked? You shouldn’t have to ride around the entire city. Ask Avery, he probably knows where someone could get away with that.”
“Good idea.” Justin looked down and lifted his foot, currently wearing a sneaker. “I know I’m taking without giving much, but—”
“Yeah, I got you covered.” Claire waved her hand and summoned the armored clothing she’d crafted for both men. “I don’t know either of your sizes, so I tried to make it adjust when you put it on. Not sure how well that worked.”
“Thanks, Claire. We’ll find your body and figure this out. Until then, I can reach you through the couch.” Half of his mouth curled into a grin. “I don’t know what we’ll do if Marie decides she doesn’t want it anymore. Stick it outside, maybe. Let the dragons have it.”
Claire stared at him for a second before bursting into laughter. She pictured the dragons making a fort out of the cushions and spreading the stuffing everywhere. “I’m sure that’ll work great. Go Knight some things. If you can, let me know when you’re going to assault Iulia and I’ll do what I can to help.”
Justin flipped her a salute. “I appreciate this, Claire. I hope to see you again soon.” He turned his back on her and walked away. Between one step and another, he disappeared as abruptly as he’d entered.
She watched the spot where he’d stood for several seconds before sighing. “And now, it’s back to the choice between frustration and boredom.”
“I can continue your dagger training. You have no way to predict what I’m going to do.”
“What for? I’m a ghost.”
Rondy chuckled. “Did Justin never teach you why Knights learn to fight with blades?”
Claire blinked at him. She remembered Rondy distracting Kurt with sword fighting. Caius had wanted to battle with blades. Her father’s ghost fenced with Justin. “He said because the ghosts we fight were Knights who knew how to fight with blades. But there aren’t any more Knights. I mean, there are, but they can’t affect me. Even if I give them weapons, those weapons can’t hurt me. At least, I don’t think they can.”
“I thought you wanted to be solid on Earth.”
Her finger already raised to object before Rondy finished his statement, Claire opened her mouth. She paused and reflected. Then she remembered failing to accomplish anything against Iulia.
“In addition,” Rondy continued, “it’s reasonable to prepare for the possibility of other ghosts becoming patrons for other Knights. There could be clashes centering around ideals and goals. I doubt you’d want to stay aloof while Justin and Avery fight your battles for you.”
“Okay, fine. You win. Teach me, Obi-wan.”
Rondy laughed and stood. His clothes, the only thing he could control, shifted to brown and beige robes, and he held up a sword with a glowing green edge.
Claire laughed too. She formed a dagger and shifted her own clothes to the green body armor Caius had once made for her. The form-fitting suit covered everything but her hands, feet, and head. She kept her combat boots.
“How much has Justin taught you about knife fighting?”
“Not a lot. I’ve gotten by because I already know how to fight without one. He was pretty clear he doesn’t know a lot about using short blades. So he showed me how to hold it and we worked a lot on not getting hit by a sword.”
“An admirable way to go.” Rondy pointed for h
er to stand opposite him. “Given your accomplishments, I have no doubt you’ve got the basics covered. Your most important skills now are parrying and dodging, because if a blade can hurt you, it can destroy you. So you’ll work on defense. I expect you already know how to do everything, and only need to get used to a dagger in your hand while you do it.”
“Oh, goody. This sounds like so much fun I can hardly wait.”
Rondy raised his brow at her. “We could sit and stare at each other instead.”
“Fine, fine.” Claire adjusted her grip and tried to let out a breath she wasn’t holding. With a little shake of her head to set that aside, she raised her blade and watched Rondy. Though she’d seen him fight before, she hadn’t paid attention to how he moved, so she had no idea what he’d do.
He stood still, facing her, with his glowing sword held in front of his body. For several long seconds, he met her gaze and did nothing else. Then he pushed his sword in a slow thrust. Claire stepped aside and moved her knife to knock his sword away. Without words, she grasped that he wanted her to focus on precision and not speed.
They danced in slow motion. He attacked. She decided how to defend and did it. Rondy cycled through six attacks. Claire experimented until she determined which defense worked best for each one. When she repeated her choices, he increased the pace.
Claire stopped breathing and focused on the cycle. Her body moved with the pattern. Their rhythm blocked everything else out until she saw nothing but the glowing edge of Rondy’s sword.
Then he punched her in the face.
She staggered back and had to shake her head. At least she couldn’t get a nosebleed here. Or ever again. “What the hell? I thought we were practicing.”
“We are.” Rondy lowered his sword. “But you’re not paying attention. You’re being lazy. Losing sight of the bigger picture. You don’t have muscles. There’s no value to exercises intended to create muscle memory. We’re souls without bodies. Everything we are is what people refer to as ‘the mind.’ You have to accept that, Claire.”
Instead of shooting back that she only reacted to him, Claire clamped her mouth shut. “I died.” She’d admitted it before and thought she’d accepted it. But in her demesne, she could ignore it. Despite being trapped, she’d hugged Justin, forged swords and armor, and chased a deer. She’d panted and sweated. This place seemed so real.
“I hate being dead.”
“You’re not alone.”
Chapter 17
Drew
Drew checked behind trees for the ghost while Sophie tapped the ley line with a happy sigh. He leaned around a prickly spruce and had only enough time to cringe before Mutt leaped at him. They fell to the ground, knocking the wind out of Drew’s lungs and cracking his skull on a rock. This stupid forest had too many rocks positioned perfectly to break him.
“Master! You’re hard to keep track of, Master.” Mutt licked his face. Somehow, he managed to avoid slurping on Drew’s glasses.
Shoving the dog aside, Drew groaned. His vision cleared bit by bit. “Mutt, you need to stop jumping on me.” He wiped dog slobber off with his sleeve.
Mutt lowered his head and tail. “I’m sorry, Master.”
“It’s okay, just don’t do it again.”
“You have to give him an order. He’s our minion. He follows orders.”
Drew nodded as he sat up. “Right. Mutt, no jumping on me. Or other people either. Except Justin. You can jump on him whenever you want.” The man could take it and deserved to be attacked by things. Often. Even if the attack came from an overexcited, affectionate dog.
“Yes, Master.”
“Are you talking to the dog?”
Drew and Mutt both turned to see Sophie watching them. Her aura flickered blue around her body, showing more power than she had before. Maybe she wasn’t as weak as he’d thought, but he still wanted to shield her.
Mutt slunk behind Drew and hid with a wordless whine.
“Yes. He’s my… um…” The explanation seemed like it would take too long. They had things to do. Besides, he had no idea what word to use.
“Vague. Keep it vague,” Kay said. “We don’t really know her.”
“This thing happened?” Not sure what else to say, Drew stood and brushed dirt off his jeans. “It’s kind of complicated.”
“Right. Complicated.” Sophie crossed her arms. She reminded him of Claire. Maybe that explained why he kissed her earlier. He shouldn’t have done that. “An intelligent dog attached to the possessed guy is complicated. Sure.”
“Calling Mutt intelligent is a bit of a stretch,” Kay said.
“It’s not important.” Drew waved off both Sophie and Kay. He needed his head on straight, and Mutt didn’t matter. Not for this. In fact, he hadn’t found a good use for Mutt yet, other than as a heavy, wiggly blanket. With slobber. No, he needed to think about other things. They had more important things to deal with than Mutt’s dogness. Like picking Sophie’s brain to use her expertise.
“I need to know if I’ve got any witch power, and if so, how to use it.”
Sophie huffed, but she stared at him, her eyes unfocusing. “Maybe? I can’t tell. Your aura was weird before and it’s weird now. Different weird, but still weird. It was all silvery before. Now it’s got streaks of blue. So, maybe. You’ll have to try doing something to find out. I can watch and see if that helps, but you’ll probably be able to tell better than me.”
“Great. You took some of her aura and incorporated it into your own. Nothing like a little power vampirism to kick off a relationship. Built on a solid foundation of give and take.”
“Shut up,” Drew muttered to Kay. He needed solutions, not snark. For Sophie, he said, “What’s the simplest thing a witch can do that nothing else can? Like, I can see auras already because of Kay. What makes you a witch instead of just a magical creature who happens to be human?”
Sophie frowned and watched herself scuff the damp leaves underfoot with her boot. “I think it’s the ability to use crystals and gemstones to amplify and shape power.” She twitched her mouth like she considered something, then showed him her pendant. “This belonged to my ancestor, who I guess was also your ancestor. It’s attuned to our bloodline. You might be able to use it.” She unhooked the necklace and held it over Drew’s outstretched hand, then pulled it away. “But I’m not giving it to you, just loaning it. For, like, five minutes.”
Drew saw the uncertainty in her eyes and smiled. He probably looked the same at least twenty times a day. “I’ll give it back, I promise. Kay and I can find our own stuff.”
“And Kay understands that? I mean, he’s a ghost. I don’t know how ghosts are about property rights and that sort of thing. My mother gave this to me for a reason, and that reason wasn’t to give it to somebody else. At least, not until I’m old and decrepit.”
“Seriously?” Without being asked, Kay devolved into wordless, indignant muttering.
Drew stifled a snort and decided to lie only a little bit. “I’m in control. He can’t do anything without my permission. And yes, he does understand and respect the concept of ownership.”
Sophie nodded and laid the pendant in his hand. The moment it touched his flesh, Drew saw Sophie’s aura pulse. The tendrils flared, reaching toward him. He stepped back, out of her reach and glanced around. Nothing else had changed, so he supposed that effect came from her surrendering the pendant.
Idly, he wondered why pendants seemed so important in magic. Claire had one, Sophie had one. Iulia probably had one before Caius took it from her. For all he knew, Anne’s glasses served as a pendant because of the beaded necklace. Maybe he just happened to bump into women who needed one. Coincidence. Which Kay claimed never happened in magic.
He reached for the nearby ley line and tapped it. Instead of the wild, raw force he expected and had become used to already, the power he pulled had a refined, neutral flavor. This power required no taming. With Sophie’s stone, he could tap that wild line under downtown Portland.
<
br /> “No,” Kay whispered. “We could tap the node.”
For a brief, insane moment, Drew considered taking the pendant and running for it. Visions of immense power coursing through his veins teased and taunted him. The things they could do! With access to the node, he could blast those ants to bits, one by one, and never tire. And the precision—he imagined plucking the wings off flies or slicing hairs in half.
“Our hand. Our stone.”
Kay’s words shook Drew back to his senses. He tossed the pendant at Sophie, not trusting himself to keep his word if he held onto it any longer.
The strangled groan of anguish in his head spoke volumes. “We need one of those. Now.”
Sophie fumbled the necklace and had to pick it up. “Is something wrong?”
Drew rubbed his hands on his pants and looked anywhere but at Sophie and her miracle rock. “No. Yes. Maybe. If being able to use that thing means I’m a witch, then I’m a witch. How do I get one of my own?”
“My mom had to find hers. She’d be able to tell you.” Sophie smirked. “If you can convince her you’re not a rapist, or whatever she thinks you are.”
“Anne could probably help me, but then she’d know what I did.” She’d figure it out eventually, Drew knew, but he didn’t want to face her until he had some control. Maybe he could find a way to hide it from her. Then she’d never know. He only had to figure out how to do something complex so he could get her help doing something else complex.
“With a stone like that,” Kay said, “we wouldn’t need to control a ghost to control Claire. If we can get to her before she develops much more power, we can dominate her directly. We just need a stone. And for that, we need a witch.”
They couldn’t go to Anne, Sophie didn’t know enough, and Sophie’s mom wouldn’t help. The rest of Sophie’s coven would talk to each other, ensuring they’d avoid cooperating with him. Drew took a few moments to come up with the only other witch he knew. She’d want something in exchange for helping him. Until he asked, though, he wouldn’t know what she wanted.
