Shadowed by Death

by Jane Beckstead

  A giant sea surrounded me, and my strength and swimming abilities would only carry me so far. Soon enough they would fail me, and the sea would claim me as its own. Before that happened, I had to put myself far, far away from where I was right now.

  The time had come to do something radical. A spell with The time had come to do something radical.

  A spell with

  Beckstead / Shadowed by Death / 383 extraordinary emotion at the root of it will do extraordinary things.

  I began to build a wizard door.

  ***

  The chill of the water felt almost comfortable to me now. I didn’t dare levitate myself out of the water, for fear of making myself a bigger target for Cat. So I bobbed there, up and down and back and forth, and pulled at the magic around me, drawing it to me as I cast each spell that built the door, winding the strongest emotions I’d ever felt into each part of it. Heartbreak, grief, loss, humiliation, elation, friendship, love. I saw faces as I built the spell—friends, family, acquaintances, people who had come into my life and given me their emotions in return for my own.

  This had to work. We were far enough from Faronna by now that it would take me three wizard doors to return there, and I knew I wouldn’t have the strength for that. I needed this spell to span three times the normal distance of a wizard door, and I needed it to do it fast.

  “Avery!” Cat’s voice came to me, thinned by the wind, and I glanced back. She’d sighted me now, and the ship had begun to turn. Cat was coming back for me. If I didn’t hurry, soon she would be close enough to spell me again.

  I worked on. Why did door spells have to take so long?

  Every ounce of myself went into that door—Gavin’s last Every ounce of myself went into that door—Gavin’s lastBeckstead / Shadowed by Death / 384

  breath, Mama’s smile, Papa’s fake drunken stupor, Ivan’s trusting glances, Orly’s faithful friendship, and yes, Master Wendyn’s kiss and the disappointment that followed. I put everything raw and real, painful and perfect, and beautiful and ugly into it. That door was the most exquisite, tortured thing I’d ever created, and I watched as it took place before me, a radiant, solitary monolith standing above an undulating black floor.

  Except it didn’t stand above the sea completely. I’d built it too low. The bottom quarter of the door sat below the water. I hoped it wouldn’t be a problem, because I couldn’t very well go back and fix it. Not now. My strength was sapped from treading water and my limbs felt numb and my hands had become claws.

  Then, with a foop that I could almost hear, I felt myself slip inside Cat’s dampening spell again. The ship had sailed back into range of me. And if I was in range of the dampening spell, then I was in range of Cat’s magic. I gave a cry of rage and slapped the water with my hands. I couldn’t open the door now. I hadn’t cast the revealing spell yet, the one that would activate the portal I’d created on both ends.

  I lifted from the water, drawn by Cat’s pointed finger through the air.

  That ship had to move, or I’d never get my door open. But inside her dampening field I couldn’t cast any spell.

  Beckstead / Shadowed by Death / 385

  And yet I had managed a spell through the dampening field when I levitated Papa. Could I do it again? With my hands extended, I sent a psychokinesis spell at the water beneath the ship.

  Nothing happened. At least, nothing noticeable. I tried again, thinking of emotion this time, of the

  feeling that had filled me as I watched Papa and Master Wendyn floating in this same sea. Had they made it home to Faronna, or were their bodies buried in the water beneath me now? The incantation for the psychokinesis spell left my lips, and I knew it had worked when the waves lifted the ship high in the air and then dropped it down.

  The drop threw Cat off her feet and, for the second time, I found myself falling from her levitation spell and smacking into the sea below.

  I took longer to come up this time, as everything about me felt made of rubber. My head broke through the surface of the water and I treaded, panting. And then the wake of the wave I’d created broke over me, pushing me sideways and under. I tumbled through the water, fighting for the surface. I found it again and gasped for air, and then it pushed me down again.

  This couldn’t go on much longer.

  Blessedly, I felt the kiss of magic against my skin. This time I did levitate myself from the water, floating myself up an entire body length. I let myself hang there while I coughed and entire body length. I let myself hang there while I coughed andBeckstead / Shadowed by Death / 386

  choked and breathed the wet sea wind. The ship hadn’t turned back for me yet. Where was my wizard door? I glanced around and found it between me and the ship. Was it outside of the dampening spell now?

  It took my last bits of strength and magic to float myself nearer to find out.

  No. The door lay clear of her field. My spell floated me lower and lower, and I recognized I’d used up the last of anything I had to give. In moments I’d be in the water again.

  I grasped the door handle with shaking, numb fingers, and uttered the revealing spell. My fingers fumbled with the handle and, at last, turned it.

  Would this door lead to Faronna? Or would it drop me in the middle of the Waldrinish Sea?

  I pushed the door inward just as my levitation spell dropped me back into the water. The open door pulled seawater in, and me with it. I tumbled through its opening, banging and scraping my limbs into the door frame.

  And then I didn’t even care what it knocked me into, because I landed on soft sand. Seawater gushed around me, sucked through the door by virtue of its placement below the level of the water. I jumped to my feet and collapsed again, legs wobbly. Water splashed into my face and rushed around me and pinned me in place. I’d never be able to get that door closed again.

  I could still see the Lovely Witch floating on the other

  I could still see the

  Lovely Witch

  floating on the other

  Beckstead / Shadowed by Death / 387 side of the door, Cat on its main deck shouting things at me I couldn’t hear. She would follow me through this door if she got the chance. I couldn’t give her that chance.

  Wherever Orly and Rumford were on the ship, I hoped that they knew I would come back for them. I would not leave them to Belanok.

  Not without some regret, I did the only thing I could—I disassembled my beautiful spell. The wizard door flickered and disappeared, and the flow of water finally stopped.

  I collapsed backward on the sand, shivering, cold, wet—but most of all, thrilled to be on Faronnan soil.

  ***

  The day, for autumn, was relatively warm. But I wore no shoes, and had been soaked to the skin several times over, and the October warmth did nothing for me. I shivered on the sand until my brain cleared enough for me to remember there was such a thing as a warming spell. The spell took all of three seconds to cast, and immediate warmth radiated through me. But I knew it would pass quickly unless and until I dried out and donned some warmer clothes, including shoes.

  I tried to think if I knew a drying spell. I’d read one before, I was sure of it, but obviously it hadn’t stuck with me.

  Too bad Orly wasn’t here. She remembered everything.

  Something panged in my chest, and I had a feeling it would continue to do so until I found Orly again. I pushed myself to continue to do so until I found Orly again. I pushed myself toBeckstead / Shadowed by Death / 388

  my feet and discovered myself covered in sticky sand. I brushed off what I could and decided to live with the rest. I hugged arms around myself as the cold started to seep back into me, and started for Osseley. It would be a long walk back.

  Heavy footsteps slapped the path behind me. Was someone running? Did Cat have more unknown spells up her sleeve, spells that had transported her back here?

  “Avery?” I turned, hands at the ready for a battle. But Cat bore no resemblance to the man whose arms folded around me in t
he middle of the path.

  “It is you,” he said into my hair. “Garrick?” I said, his given name slipping out without my even realizing I was going to do it. “You’re alive?”

  He hugged me to him.

  “Wait,” I protested. “I’m wet, and there’s sand—”

  “I don’t care. You’re back. You’re safe.” Something pressed against my temple.

  Had he just kissed me?

  I was dreaming. Obviously. I must have died in the sea.

  Still, it was a nice dream, and I didn’t feel much like ending it. So I submitted, standing there in the October sun and enjoying his arms around me.

  And then he destroyed the illusion by stepping back and asking, “Where’s Orly?”

  Beckstead / Shadowed by Death / 389 My breath caught in my throat. I didn’t want to talk about Orly. “You haven’t mentioned Papa yet. Is he—”

  “I left him in front of the fireplace in the library, feet propped up on my white settee, reading his primer.”

  My eyes closed, and I felt a rush of gratitude. “Thank you.”

  “It was no big thing, getting back here,” he said modestly. “One wizard door built in the middle of an ocean, that’s all. To be honest, your father is full of enough hot air that he probably could have floated home to Ryker Hall on his own.”

  I laughed. “I built a wizard door in the ocean as well.”

  “Just one? You crossed that distance with just one wizard door?”

  “And some extraordinary magic.”

  He glanced at me curiously, but didn’t ask. His hands still gripped my own, thumbs moving back and forth over the cold skin. I hoped he never let go.

  “How did you come to be here, anyway?”

  “Warning spell. I cast one on the beach. It alerted me to any movement in the area. I got a handful of false alarms—a sea turtle, a dog, and a clam-digger—but it was the only way I could think of to track you if you returned here.”

  “And did the Council release Oscar?”

  “They did. They’ve had me in for an interview as well, to explain your connection to Ingerman and why she sabotaged your explain your connection to Ingerman and why she sabotaged yourBeckstead / Shadowed by Death / 390

  trial. They didn’t know anything about her ship or the fact that she’d been employed in my household. They were thrilled to find out anything, honestly. Ingerman has covered her tracks well.” After a brief pause he admitted, “I lied and left your father out of it. Seemed safer.”

  “You lied to the Council?” I repeated, almost disbelieving. “I’m having a bad influence on you.”

  “You really are,” he agreed. “Now, let’s not get sidetracked. What about Orly?”

  I frowned and fell silent. Apparently he wasn’t going to let me avoid this question forever. I searched for the right words. “She—she didn’t—”

  He dropped my hands in favor of grabbing my shoulders. “She didn’t die.” The words were a statement, but also a question.

  “No, not that,” I assured him. “She must be in Belanok by now.”

  Relief covered his face. “You had me worried for a minute there.”

  My frown deepened. “Didn’t you hear me? She’s in Belanok!”

  “Right. But Belanok isn’t dead.”

  I pulled away from him. “It might as well be!”

  “Wrong. We can rescue Orly from Belanok. But we can’t bring her back from the dead.”

  “I guess.” The cold had found me again, and my teeth started chattering. “We need to come up with a plan to rescue started chattering. “We need to come up with a plan to rescueBeckstead / Shadowed by Death / 391

  her. How to infiltrate Belanok. Will the Council help, do you think? How soon can we leave?” He ran hands up and down my arms briskly as he really looked at me for the first time. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but you’re shoe-less, wet, and cold. Let’s talk about infiltrating Belanok later.”

  “All right,” I said. I wished he would throw his arms around me again and that we could stand here for a while longer, but that was probably asking too much. I walked with him back to the shore where he called up his wizard door. I followed him through, though I took one last look backward toward the sea and thought of Orly.

  # CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT Ivan caught me up in a great hug as I emerged from my room. Bewildered at his exuberance, I returned the hug.

  I’d been home less than an hour, having returned from the beach at Osseley and straightway gone to my room to bathe and change my clothes. For, as I had explained to Master Wendyn, there was someone I had to see, and it couldn’t wait.

  “Ivan, is your ankle better?” I asked, patting him on the back.

  Beckstead / Shadowed by Death / 392 He pulled away to answer with his hands. You left me behind. Not good.

  “Next time don’t get injured and I won’t have to.”

  He shook his head. No worry. I will be master wizard and stronger than Cat soon.

  “Yeah, Ivan. Cat. Can you believe it was her? I still can’t.”

  Master Wendyn told me. Glad you are all right.

  “Me too.” I looked down the hall and edged away. “Not that I don’t want to talk, but right now I have somewhere to go. We can finish catching up later, all right?”

  Wait. More to say.

  “Later, Ivan. I promise.” I turned to go, even though he seemed more anxious than usual to talk. But what I had to do absolutely couldn’t wait. I waved at him over my shoulder as I went.

  Papa caught me at the bottom of the stairs. “Well, there you are. Garrick said you were back, and I heard you got dunked in the sea too.”

  “Several times,” I acknowledged.

  He nodded. “Only seems fair.”

  I tilted my head to the side. “How do you figure that?”

  “This whole master wizard thing is your venture. And yet somehow I got dragged into the middle of it. I had my leg broken for your sake, Avery. My fingers broken. I had to leave my home for your sake, Avery. My fingers broken. I had to leave my homeBeckstead / Shadowed by Death / 393

  and everything familiar to me. And then I was tossed into the sea. Seems only fitting for you to endure a tiny bit of the same.”

  “Oh,” I said. “I guess so.” He had endured a fair amount of torture on my behalf. “You know, it’s probably safe for you to go home now, Papa. If you want. To Waltney, I mean.”

  “Is it,” he said.

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Do you…want me to go?”

  “I want you to do what makes you happy,” I said, although

  truthfully the thought of him returning to Waltney and resuming his position as the slobbering town drunk hurt my heart a little bit.

  But the alternative was keeping him here, where he could cause trouble aplenty.

  “That’s easy then,” Papa said. “Avery, you’re my offspring, and we drive each other crazy most of the time, but you’ve filled a void in my life I’d forgotten I had. I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. Tell Garrick I’m pleased to accept his offer of permanent residence.”

  He dropped an absent kiss on my head as he passed me on the stairs.

  Master Wendyn was going to kill me.

  ***

  The master waited for me in his study, seated behind his The master waited for me in his study, seated behind hisBeckstead / Shadowed by Death / 394

  desk. He looked up as I entered. “You look warmer. Good,” he said approvingly. “I have the address here. Shall we go?” I bit my lip. “Er…I need to tell you something first. I… sort of just invited Papa to live here. On a more permanent basis.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I don’t know what happened,” I said, throwing my hands in the air. “I think it was guilt. That’s what it was—guilt. He pointed out all the torture he’d been through on my behalf, and the offer spilled out of me.”

  “Avery,” he said slowly, “I invited your father to live here on a more permanent basis as well. Two d
ays ago after we returned from the ordeal at sea.”

  “Oh,” I said. “You did?”

  He nodded. “To be honest, I was worried you would mind. I’m glad to know I was wrong.”

  Something welled up in me that I couldn’t name, and I smiled at him tremulously. “Thank you. We’re both going to regret it, and probably sooner rather than later, but thank you just the same.”

  He nodded. “And now we’d best get going.”

  Yes. Back to the visit I kept getting sidetracked from. “I’ve been thinking. Wouldn’t it be better if I went on my own?”

  He made a disbelieving noise. “After what you’ve just been through? I don’t think letting you wander the streets alone is a through? I don’t think letting you wander the streets alone is aBeckstead / Shadowed by Death / 395

  good idea. Besides, I’ve already been there once this week. I can show you where to find it.” I considered for a moment and, at last, relented. “Very well.”

  The Conclave was having a slow afternoon as we passed through it to the streets of Hampstone. I glanced in at the library as we passed. An unfamiliar man sat behind the circulation desk. No Maximo in sight.

  It made sense that he had left his usual post. His daughter was missing.

  Late afternoon. I pulled my cloak closer around myself and followed the master down a street whose name I couldn’t remember. Ahead of me, the giant dome of Pamplar Abbey flexed against the sky.

  Once past the abbey, I saw the East Bridge ahead, which crossed the River Rodan. It marked the boundary with Fogletown.

  I knew parts of Hampstone quite well, and this happened to be one of them. I had no idea this was where Orly lived.

  Master Wendyn came to a stop before a squat stucco building, surrounded by taller brick dwellings. It looked like an afterthought, one not planned and certainly not planned well. The windows sat crooked and cracks and chips lined the stucco.