by H. L. Burke
“No, sir, but one of my men just came from the inner garden. Someone has placed a magical barrier around the rift room.”
Janus’s jaw clenched. “It has to be the third man. How did he find it? Is my niece still there?”
“We can’t see through the barrier to be sure.” The sprite rubbed his hands together.
Auric fluctuated between hope that Jericho had escaped with Rill back to the safety of the mortal realms and fear that Jericho had left him and Father behind. He swallowed, using all his willpower to keep his expression neutral.
Turning on his heels, Janus jabbed his finger at Father. “There’s no way this is simply your servant. No servant could make a barrier that would hold my sprites at bay.”
“No, he’s not a servant.” Auric smirked. “He’s Jericho Carver, my father’s apprentice and my friend. He can work magic as well as any full-fledged magician, and he’s as cold blooded and wily as any Fey. Oh, and did I mention you kidnapped the woman he loves? Heaven help you.”
For a split second, Janus flinched. Then he waved dismissively. “No human is a threat to me.” He strode out of the room, Ferros following.
“You sure it was a good idea, exaggerating about Jericho like that, son?” Hedward whispered.
“Oh, I meant every word of that. Doesn’t mean he won’t need us, though.” Auric wriggled in an attempt to get his arms free. “Best for us right now if Janus’s attention is elsewhere.” The bonds had a slick feel to them, like polished metal, only supple so that they flexed with Auric’s straining. He grunted. He’d managed to keep a hold of his stylus, though it wouldn’t do much good without a tablet or quire to inscribe with it. “You said you were out of quires?”
“I was on my last one when Janus—” Father shuddered. “I hadn’t actually inscribed a spell on it yet, though. I didn’t have time.”
Auric swallowed. His father had thrown himself, defenseless, between Auric and danger. In his dread over the expected deathblow, Auric hadn’t had time to consider that. Now warmth and gratitude crept through him. “Thank you, by the way.”
“Look, the quire’s still there.” Hedward jerked his chin to where the thin slat of wood lay, an arms-length from them.
“I think I can worm my way to it.” Bracing his heels against the all too slippery floor, Auric managed to scoot his rear a few inches at a time until he sat beside the quire. If he used small spells, ones that wouldn’t take up the whole surface of the quire or cause it to burn up from the excess energy, he might be able to use it more than once. Of course, it was hard to write with any great precision with his arms trapped to his side. First things first, arms free.
“These bonds are pure Fey energy,” Hedward said. “You should be able to disrupt them with a simple spell to rechannel it. Here, let me get closer so you can do both our bonds at once.” He managed to inch his way to Auric’s side.
Auric sprinted through the spell, and the bonds disintegrated into sand. He held up the quire. “We might be able to get one big spell out of this, maybe two or three smaller ones.”
Hedward’s mouth pinched. “Not ideal. You have any quires left in your pack?”
Auric shook his head. “I always use wax, so I let Jericho carry the quires while I had the extra food and rosemary oil … though I imagine he has to be running out, by now.” He tried to count the incidences of his friend using wooden quires during their journey. Too many, especially if all their paper ones had been ruined by the sprites’ water attack.
“Well, we’ll just have to make do. Let’s use it for an invisibility spell and hope that lasts until we can reach Jericho. Hopefully, he’ll have some on hand.”
Auric grimaced. The invisibility spell would definitely consume the quire’s magic channeling capabilities. Still, his father was right. Stealth was their only chance.
A rumble like thunder shook the room. Auric and Hedward exchanged a glance. Auric’s stomach sunk. Had Janus blasted his way to Jericho?
“What was that?” Hedward frowned.
“I don’t know, but we better hurry.” Auric stepped forward only to have his foot sink through the tiles. The floor beneath him gave like mud, capturing his other foot as well. He tried to wrench himself to safety, but suction pulled him through the floor up to his knees. His heart sank as well. “It’s a trap. Father, get out of here!”
Instead, Hedward grabbed Auric’s wrist. “I’ve got you.”
The floor rippled beneath them, and both men toppled through. They landed in a heap, Auric at the bottom. He gasped for air. Birds called out, and green-tinted light shone about them. They were in a lush garden.
“Sorry for the rough landing,” said a familiar, sardonic voice.
Auric and Hedward scrambled to their feet, both gaping at Jericho.
“You did that?” Hedward’s eyes widened. “I didn’t even know a spell existed for such a purpose. How did you do it, boy?”
“I didn’t, sir.” Jericho pointed behind them.
Both men turned. Rill stood in the doorway to a marble dome. She flushed.
“Your daughter is amazing,” Jericho said.
“Rill!” Auric tackled her with a hug.
She rested her cheek against his chest. “Oh, Aurry, I’m glad you’re safe.”
Reluctantly, he released her, allowing Hedward to take his turn. Auric crossed his arms and faced Jericho. “Thanks for leaving us midway through the fight of our lives, by the way.”
Jericho’s grin weakened about the corners, but he shrugged. “Looks like you got through it all right.” He shifted from foot to foot. “Seriously, though, it was a calculated risk. I thought my best chance to find Rill was when you had Janus occupied. Still, if something had happened to you because of that … yeah, I’m glad you’re all right.”
“The risk paid off.” Auric smiled. “We’ve got Rill. Now we can go home.”
“I’m afraid it’s not that simple.” Rill pried herself away from her father. “I purposefully had the spell bring you out here rather than inside because I needed to explain something before you saw.”
Auric’s smile faded. “What?”
“Mother’s alive, Auric. She’s alive, but—oh, wait!”
He didn’t listen. Pushing past her, he burst through the doors into a chamber filled with blue and purple light. The glow dazzled him, and he threw his arm over his eyes.
“Auric, darling, is that you?” a quavering voice asked.
Memories exploded inside of him, a warm touch, a gentle voice, laughter. He lowered his arm from his face, staring at the woman. His heart stopped.
Veins of energy held her in place, like a fish in a net. Lines of pain creased her beloved face, but it was her. He darted forward, arms outstretched, but upon contact, Fey magic jolted through him. Pain seared his nerves. Crying out, he fell to his knees.
“Careful!” she gasped.
“Mother.” He turned his gaze to her, his whole body trembling. Footsteps echoed behind him.
“Iris!” Hedward stammered. “It really is you! You really … oh, Iris! What has happened to you? How do we get you out of there?”
“Why will you two never listen to me?” Rill stomped her foot. “Really, I can explain everything. Just calm down.”
Rill began to talk, but Auric could only stare at his mother. A hand touched his shoulder.
“You all right?” Jericho asked.
Auric shook his head, overwhelmed.
Jericho smiled softly. “It’s all right, Auric. We have a plan.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Auric mulled over all his sister had told him. “It sounds like it will work, but if it were that easy, and Janus truly only kept her here to prevent the Fey energy from overwhelming the mortal lands, why hasn’t he simply done this?”
“Our best guess is it takes both human and Fey magic, so he only had half the ingredients,” Jericho said. He placed one of their remaining quires on the ground before the energy web. “Rill and I could potentially do the spell on our
own, her creating the orb to catch the magic, me stabilizing it, but we think it is best if your mother gets out of the web at the same time as our containment spell goes into it. Auric, do you think you can figure out a way to free her?”
Stepping forward, Auric examined the web. A simple energy disruption spell, like the one he’d used to untie himself and his father except much bigger, would do the trick. “I think I can manage.”
“Are you in pain, Iris?” Hedward stared up at her as if in a daze.
She nodded. “I’m just hoping this works. Really, it isn’t worth the risk. You should get our children back to the mortal realms now.”
“I’m not leaving you!” Hedward’s tone sharpened.
Her blue eyes softened. “Oh, Hedward, beloved. I have missed you.”
“The bad news is that if I shift the energy from the barrier to the containment spell, Janus will be able to get in here to plague us,” Jericho said. “Are we ready for that?”
“I can handle my brother.” A faint smile crossed Mother’s face. “He tends to be careless in his methods, but his motives are good. I can make him understand.”
“Everything is set up.” Rill flexed her fingers. “All right, on the count of three, Jericho finish the stability spell on the quire, Auric, free Mother.”
Auric and Jericho nodded. Jericho stooped over the first quire, while Auric took out another quire and scratched out the first several symbols in an energy disruption spell.
“One …” Rill said. An orb of lavender light, heavy with the scent of lilacs, formed between her outstretched hands.
Auric’s pulse pounded. What if it wasn’t enough? What if he couldn’t free her?
“Two …”
Jericho glanced back and gave Auric a thumbs up. Auric felt dizzy.
“Three!”
Auric dashed through the last symbol. Energy coursed through the quire, causing it to glow like an ember. The web around Mother disintegrated into a shower of stardust.
“Got it!” Jericho shouted.
The orb in Rill’s hands shot forward. It landed in the web, and the strands of Fey energy reached for it.
Mother crumbled into Father’s arms.
“We did it!” Rill cried.
Father eased Mother onto the floor. Removed from the glow of the web, her skin looked pale, corpse-like. Her eyes twitched beneath thin lids.
A chill overcame Auric. “Is she …all right?”
Hedward’s hands shook. “Iris? Can you hear me?”
Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! Auric’s thoughts screamed at his mother, but his limbs and lips remained frozen. He couldn’t move, couldn’t speak, couldn’t think.
“Iris?” Hedward gave her a gentle shake. “Answer me, please.”
“She’s fading.” Tears welled from Rill’s eyes. “Oh, Jericho, what did I do wrong? This is all my fault. I never should’ve taken her from the web.”
Jericho stepped forward and slipped his arms around Rill’s waist.
A crash echoed from outside. Jericho’s expression hardened, and he angled himself between Rill and the door. “Janus is coming.”
Auric dropped to his knees beside his mother, unable to process Jericho’s words. He took her hand. Cold sparks of Fey magic flew between them. He remembered running into the parlor to speak with her, only to find her chair empty, her book lying on the floor, not answering his calls. Panic flooded his lungs, and he couldn’t breathe. “Please, don’t leave me again,” he somehow managed to whisper. “Please, Mother. Please stay.”
A blast of energy pushed him to the floor.
“Look out!” Jericho shouted.
“I’ve got this!” Rill snarled. Another blast, this one heading away from Auric, swept the room.
“What have you done?” Janus cried.
Auric dared to look up. Janus rushed to them. He pushed at Hedward, trying to get him away from Iris, but Jericho and Rill grabbed the Fey man by the arms and yanked him back.
Rill’s fingers glowed, and her lips curled menacingly. “If you can help, help. If not, don’t get between my parents again.”
Janus flinched. “You are much more powerful than I anticipated, Trillium.” He trailed his hand across Iris’s forehead. “She’s cold, fading. But why?”
He stood and examined the net. Rill’s sphere glowed within. “Clever … It seems to be holding back the energy for now.” He squinted at the strands of energy. His mouth dropped open. “Oh, powers, no.” He whirled about. “Her life force must’ve become tied with the net. Separated from it, she won’t last long.”
“Can we reattach her?” Jericho asked.
“The energy required will most likely end her life. She was already weak, but this … we need something steady to channel her life force through, the way the Fey energy was grounded through her body.”
Something in Auric’s brain clicked. “Another human might work.” He put his hand. “Rill, you can manipulate the energy here. Guide it from Mother to me in a loop.”
“No, through me!” Hedward interrupted. “We don’t know what it will do to you, Auric. Besides, this whole thing is my fault.”
“I’m a man now, Father.” Auric frowned. “You can’t keep taking risks upon yourself to protect me.”
“She’s going to die while you two argue.” Rill scowled. “Besides, I’m the one who does the spell. I will make the choice.” Her gaze darted between her brother and father.
Rill took her father’s hand. “I hope this works.”
Auric stepped back, uncertain whether Rill choosing Father over him as a potential sacrifice meant she loved him more, or respected Father more. His heart forced its way into his throat, threatening to choke him as Rill busied herself, waving her hands as if conducting an invisible orchestra. Janus murmured some suggestions, but they droned through Auric’s ears like the buzz of angry bees.
Someone touched his shoulder, and he jumped.
Jericho gazed down at him. “Rill’s got this, all right. Deep breaths.”
Auric opened his mouth and tasted salt. He quickly dabbed at his eyes. “I just don’t want to lose my mother again.”
“I get that.”
A swirl of light shot from Rill’s fingers. It spiraled about Auric’s parents, binding them together. Iris’s eyes snapped open, and she gasped for breath. Hedward slumped forward. Rill and Janus propped him up.
“I’ll be fine.” Hedward tried to wave them away, but his gray pallor belied his brave words.
Auric drew himself up. “You and Mother need to get home. Janus, you’re supposedly the doorman of this world. What’s the quickest way to get them back?”
Janus narrowed his eyes at his nephew. “Don’t be impudent with me, young fellow.” He raised his hands and swiped them down. A blue field of light marked with pink lines and starbursts descended before him. “I can control all the rifts from here, see which are open, which are able to be expanded upon. It seems the number of rifts you two have opened right inside your home has created a potential weak spot there. I should be able to send you back right where you came from.”
“So that’s it? We’ve done it?” Jericho frowned.
Exhaustion flooded through Auric. They’d succeeded. His family was safe. They could all go home.
Rill, however, stood, staring at the web of energy. Her bottom lip shook.
“What is it?” Auric asked.
She pointed to the orb. Already it shone like a lantern, brighter than when she’d originally placed it. “I think … I think it’s filling up. Oh, Auric … what happens when it overflows?”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Auric swallowed, staring at the mystical glowing orb that was supposed to have saved them all but now seemed an hourglass, the slipping sands heralding their eventual doom.
Jericho placed his hands on Rill’s shoulders. “Can we just make another when it fills up?”
“I don’t know … maybe … I hadn’t planned to be here that long.” Rill bit her bottom lip.
; “How long do you think we have?” Auric whispered.
“I’m not sure. Let’s get Father and Mother safe then talk to Janus about it. Father’s been through enough today without drawing him into this.” Rill turned to their parents.
Father rested his forehead against Mother’s cheek, his skin still pale but a look of absolute bliss on his face.
Janus waved his hands, opening a silver doorway in the air. “This should take you to your home.” He took his sister’s hand, helping her to her feet. “I am sorry to say good-bye, but I’m glad you will be with your loved ones again.”
“Thank you,” she whispered, her voice still quavering. A tear slipped down Janus’s cheek, and he pulled her into a quick embrace before stepping away.
“Are you coming, Auric? Rill?” Father asked.
“You go first. We want to see to a few things with Janus,” Auric said.
Father and Mother stepped through the rift and were gone.
Janus faced them. “What did you want—oh—” His gaze burned into the orb. “It’s filling up, and fast.”
“How long do you think we have?” Rill stammered.
“Maybe an hour.” Janus shook his head. “It did seem a brilliant solution, but the magical energies of this world will swell to fill any gap. Your mother had the ability to loop them, push them back from the rifts into our world, over and over again. It wore on her, ate away at her, but it kept the mortal realms safe. This … this won’t last much longer, and when the orb is filled, the energy will flood through the rifts, poisoning everything in its path.”
Auric’s stomach clenched. “We have to find a way to stop it.”
“I had, but it was your mother … or your sister.” Janus dropped his eyes.
Rill’s trembling hand searched for Jericho.
He pulled her to his chest. “No! Rill, don’t even think about it. We’ll find another way.”
“But what if there isn’t another way? Jerry, I can’t let everyone in the mortal realms die.” She tightened her grip upon him. “If I take Mother’s place, I can hold the energy back. I can save everyone.”
