by Halle Dean
"My pleasure," Mason said, sounding very tired.
"Remind me not to upset you," James mumbled. Layla jumped in surprise as a hand grasped her arm. "Layla," James said kindly. "Are you all right?" She felt his arms wrapping around her as he helped her up, but she was still afraid to open her eyes. "Layla?"
"I'm all right." She shook her head, eyes tight shut. "Well, not entirely. My thumb is broken and I hit my head very hard against the wall. And I feel very tired. And you and Mason are injured beyond reason. And I very much don't want to see what happened to that man."
"There is a good amount of blood," James said. "Don't look. I'll help you." She felt his hands on her arms and let him help her stand. He took her uninjured hand and led her through the room. She didn't realize how powerful the blood smell had been until she reached the fresh air of the hall. "You can open your eyes now."
She did as he said, but tears sprang to her eyes as she saw him up close. "You're hurt so badly," she said, wishing she had some way to help him.
"It's not so bad as it seems," he said. "I'll live. We must find Sophie though, or Mason may not."
Layla looked over to see Mason sitting against the wall, panting and bleeding. He gripped his sword in one hand and held the other over a gushing wound in his abdomen. "I must agree..." he said weakly. "However… they don't know where the princess is... Munday is looking for her... Melody and the girl are hiding..."
"Lane!"
"Were hiding..." Mason grumbled. He turned his head slightly in the direction of Melody's voice. She was running towards them, a sleeping Ella on her back. She skidded to a stop next to Mason and knelt down, setting Ella on the floor. She leaned over Mason, frantically trying to tend to his wounds. "Ow..." he grunted. "Melody…"
"I'm sorry!" she gasped. "I don't know how to help—"
"Why… are you here?" he asked, his brow furrowed in anger. "What if—"
"I don't care!" she said. "You need help!"
"I've accomplished my goal..." he said, his expression softening. "He can't hurt you any longer..."
He started to close his eyes, but Melody grabbed his shoulders and shook him. "Don't you dare die, you son of a bitch!"
"Melody, that won't help," James said.
"It's not fair!" she shouted.
"Ow..." Mason groaned as she continued to shake him. "Please stop..."
"Promise you won't die!" she insisted.
"That's… unreasonable..."
"I demand that you agree to my unreasonable requests!" she said, her voice breaking as tears spilled down her cheeks.
"He won't die," Sophie's voice said. Everyone looked around—except for Mason, who only took a shuddering breath. Sophie shimmered into view a little ways down the hall. "I don't have much magic energy left, but I can do this, at least."
She hurried to kneel down next to Melody, holding her hands out over Mason. Green light flowed from her fingertips and spread out to all of Mason's worst looking wounds. He started looking better almost instantly. Layla thought the spell seemed far more powerful than when she had seen it before.
"Where is Warner?" Sophie asked as she worked.
"Searching for you." Mason's breathing was still labored, but he already sounded revitalized. "He came to find me… thinking that you might do the same."
Sophie nodded solemnly. "You were already gone when I got there," she said. "I'd have reached you sooner, but I… was afraid to see Edric. I'm sorry."
"You won't have to be afraid of that anymore," James said. "He's dead."
"Are you sure?" Sophie asked, looking at Mason. "Last time—"
"I'm sure of it this time," Mason said. The color was coming back into his face and his eyes were brighter. Melody was sobbing into his shoulder and he was patting her gently. "He is dead."
"You can see, if you wish," James said, raising his eyebrows and gesturing to the door.
"Don't," Layla said. "There's so much blood."
"I'm sick of blood," Sophie agreed. "We must find Warner and get out of this place."
Thirty
Too Much Blood
Melody was having immense trouble handling her emotions. She had been so sure that Lane was going to die. She didn't know what she would have done if he had. Tears still filled her eyes, half from relief and half from fear of what could still happen. At least for the moment, it seemed that Lane was stable, but Edric wasn't the only one they had to fear.
"I'm so sorry I can't fix your hand," Sophie was saying to Layla, adjusting her hold on Ella as they walked through the halls. "I'm entirely out of magic energy. I wasn't even able to fully heal Mason."
"I'll be all right," Layla said. "As long as no one dies, it's worth a little pain."
"Thank you, Princess," Lane said to Sophie, leaning on Melody for support as he limped along. "I wasn't sure that you truly trusted me, after all that happened—"
"It wasn't your fault," Sophie interrupted. "Edric deceived you, like he did everyone else."
"What must the other knights be thinking now?" Melody wondered aloud.
James shrugged. "That it's a strange coincidence for the second Knight Captain in a row to commit treason and run away?" He looked to Lane. "What will you do about them when you go back?"
"I'm not sure," Lane said. "The princess is the only remaining member of the Cameron family, but no one knows she still lives."
"We'll think of some way to convince them," Sophie sighed.
"I should be able to get a few of them on our side," Lane said. "Williams and Lin, at least, will be easy to convince. Their respect for Munday never dwindled, even after everything. They're likely to believe us when we explain the truth."
"Must we explain everything?" Melody mumbled.
Lane looked down at her. "No one will blame you," he said.
"They should," she said glumly.
"We'll omit your part," Sophie said. "It could only serve to confuse them more anyway."
She stopped in front of a hallway that led to a heavy, wooden door. It stood ajar and a trail of blood led out. Everyone quieted; the room looked dark and empty. There was no sign of Warner or Barry. There was an eerie silence and Melody hoped they would find Warner soon and be able to leave. She was tired of the Magics Society building and everything horrible that had happened since their arrival.
"I would rather not go in," Melody said. The door reminded her of the dungeon she had spent the past five years in. Along with that, she knew that Lane's blood must coat the floor of the chamber beyond. She wasn't in a hurry to see.
"I feel the same," Lane mumbled. "Though, I must help find Munday."
"He's not in there," said James.
Everyone looked to see him hurrying down to the next hall. At first, Melody felt relief, but then she saw what James had seen. A pair of boots stuck out into the main hall, accompanied by a scarlet puddle that was slowly increasing in size. She wished to run forward at once, but it was slow going since Lane still needed her to keep him standing. Sophie, on the other hand, handed Ella to Layla before racing after James.
"Warner!" Sophie shouted, skidding around the corner and dropping to her knees. "Please, no..." He could not be dead. Melody refused to believe that he was. "Wake up," Sophie pleaded. "You must be all right. I have no magic left. I can't heal you. So you must be all right."
Melody and Lane finally made it to the corner. Layla was standing back with Ella, not wanting the little girl to wake up and see. When Melody finally set eyes on Warner, she understood why. There was so much blood it was hard to believe it was all his. He had a deep cut across his chest and another in the top of his shoulder.
"Let me do something," Melody said, helping Lane sit down. "Move back, Sophie." Sophie leaned away from Warner, tears streaming down her face and Melody knelt beside her. She focused her magic first on holding together Warner's gaping wounds and keeping the tattered fabric of his shirt out of the way.
"How are you doing that?" James asked.
"Telekinesis," Sophie said
, calming slightly. "They can use it on humans."
Melody took a deep breath, hoping she had enough control over flame magic to accomplish her goal. She concentrated on one cut at a time, slowly and carefully burning the wounds shut. She had to turn Warner over to get to even more on his back, and James had to help hold him up so he wouldn't drown in his own blood. He did appear to be breathing, so that was good at least. Once all of the wounds were sealed, they laid him further up the hall and did their best to clean the blood off of him.
"He's still not waking up," Sophie sniffed.
She was starting to panic again. Melody wished she knew how to help, but she was beginning to panic herself. Warner's heart was beating, but it was very faint. Even though he was no longer bleeding, he had still lost a lot of blood and no one except Sophie had healing powers. Melody was feeling extremely useless, but then she had an idea.
"He needs more blood," she murmured to herself.
"What?" Sophie said.
"I have blood," Melody said, sitting up straight in realization. "I have the same blood. As Warner, I mean."
"What are you saying?" James asked.
"How can I give him my blood?" she asked, mostly to herself.
"You can't," Lane said. "What are you thinking?"
"I must save him," she said. "Is there a spell?"
She looked desperately to Sophie, who seemed conflicted. "I—I—Melody…" she stammered.
"Is there?" Melody persisted.
"Well, yes, but—"
"What is it? How do I do it?"
"You can't give him that much blood," James said, his voice frustratingly reasonable. "You're smaller than he is. If you gave enough to save him, you wouldn't have enough left to keep yourself alive."
"I don't care!" she exclaimed.
"I do," Lane interjected.
She looked to him and saw that he was glaring at her. It was amazing how he could still be intimidating while half lying on the floor.
"But—" she started.
"No!" he interrupted, using the wall to help himself get to his feet.
"Lane, be careful," she said, moving towards him. He braced himself against the wall with one hand and held the other out to halt her. "You need help," she insisted.
"I suppose I'll have to become used to it if you're planning to go through with this," he said, voice cold.
"I cannot let him die," she said, distressed.
"That doesn't mean that you must die in his place," Lane argued. "We've made it this far and haven't died yet. There must be another way to save him."
"Almost everyone has nearly died," she said. "It's only a matter of time. And I've already died once, so I'll be used to it!"
Lane reached out and grasped her arm, yanking her towards him and glaring down at her. "I won't let you!"
Melody tried to pull away, but froze when she heard a pained cough from behind her. Everyone turned to look at Warner, who was stirring. Sophie looked overjoyed and went to hug him, but James quickly grabbed her and dragged her away.
"James!" she protested. "What are you—"
"It could be the other Warner," he said.
At once, fear filled Sophie's eyes. Melody felt afraid as well, stepping away from Warner as his eyes slowly blinked open.
Thirty One
On Fire
Sophie was afraid for many reasons. Foremost, if it was other Warner, it meant that her Warner was dead, which meant that everyone would soon die. Even if they survived, Warner would be gone again, for good. She wondered how she could explain it to Ella.
"Warner?" she asked, trying to keep her voice from breaking.
"Everything hurts," he groaned, closing his eyes again. "Am I on fire? It seems to be that sort of day."
"You're not," Sophie said. "Melody burned your wounds shut. Are you all right?" She tried to pull away from James, but he held her back. "It's all right, James," she said. "It's him."
"My head hurts," Warner said. "I feel dizzy. My arm doesn't work. I think my leg is broken. Today is not a good day, I think."
"He's acting strangely." James sounded suspicious, but Sophie was insistent.
"He's low on blood. Trust me. This is how he acts. The same as when he's been drinking. This isn't other Warner."
"Other Warner can't talk right now," Warner said woozily. "Ella is blocking him. Good girl, Ella." He opened his eyes again and smiled toward his daughter, who was a good twenty feet away and still sleeping. "We can go on an adventure now."
"No, we cannot," Sophie said, wrenching herself from James' grip. She knelt beside Warner once again and brushed the hair out of his eyes. "We must fix you up first."
"Yes," he agreed. "I don't wish to be on fire any longer."
"You're not on fire," she said.
"Oh?" he asked, seeming surprised. "I thought I was. Hmm. Perhaps I'm mixing up the feeling of being on fire and the feeling of not being on fire. Then, perhaps—"
He raised his arm shakily and Sophie recognized the hand sign for fire. She took hold of his wrist and pushed it back to the floor.
"Let's not try that now," she said.
"Oh, later then," he said.
"You should stop speaking," she said. "Conserve your energy. We shall find a way out of here so we can recover. Then I can heal you."
"And you'll put out the fire?"
"You're not—" she started, but then gave up. "Yes, I'll put out the fire. But we must leave here first." She stood up and looked to James. "I'll need help to carry him," she said. "We must hurry to your magic saucer. The fastest way is—"
"What do we have here?" The sound of Barry's cold voice filled Sophie with dread. "Your little party is looking worse for the wear, isn't it?"
She turned to see him glaring at them from the end of the short hallway. He seemed very injured, limping and bleeding from several wounds.
We must escape, she thought. We'll distract him somehow and then… She looked over at Melody, whom Mason was still holding onto. "Take us through The Void," Sophie told her. "All of us. Can you do it?"
"You remember what happened last time, don't you?" Barry asked, a cruel smirk on his face. "Do you need another of you out of sorts? Who will be left to fight me? The little girl?"
Sophie glanced at Ella, who had chosen a terrible time to begin waking up. "Momma," she mumbled, rubbing her eyes.
"Go back to sleep," Sophie said. "It's all right."
Ella pushed away from Layla, who was forced to set her down.
"I want to go home," Ella said, trotting towards her mother.
"What a precious child," Barry said, looking her over. "Her magic feels very strange. Very strong."
Ella looked up at him. "There's two of you." She tilted her head to the side and frowned. "Both are not good. Very, very bad."
Barry raised his eyebrows. "Very interesting. Tell me, are you the one causing all the trouble?"
"No," Ella said, still glowering up at him. "I'm a good girl."
"Hmm. You'll be a delight."
"Don't you dare touch her," Warner growled. He seemed to have gained back some of his lucidity.
"Oh, are you alive?" Barry asked. "You are difficult to be rid of, aren't you? Though, it does look as though a small push would send you on your way."
"Daddy?" Ella said, seeming to notice him for the first time. "Daddy, are you sleepy?"
"Yes," he said. "Now go with your mother and run away."
"Daddy will run too?" she asked.
"I can't," he said.
Ella pouted and sat down, crossing her arms. "Me neither," she said. "I'm sleepy too."
"Ella," Warner and Sophie protested at the same time.
Sophie saw Barry wave his arm and then felt herself shoved backwards by an invisible force. The breath was knocked out of her as she hit the ground. Everyone else, with the exception of Warner and Ella, had been subjected to the same treatment. By the time Sophie got her bearings back, Barry had approached Warner and Ella. Sophie tried to run to them, but was blocke
d by a trap spell.
"Your little girl seems very powerful, Warner. I thought your magic was in a fragile state, but it's nothing compared to this."
Warner groaned and tried to get up, but Barry placed his foot on his chest and shoved him back to the floor. Warner gasped in pain and Ella stood up, eyes wide. She glared at Barry; Sophie had never seen her look so angry.
"Stop it!" Ella shouted.
Barry lifted his foot and, for a moment, looked like he was going to do what she said. But then he shook his head, as if to clear it.
"You have a strange magic, child," he said with interest.
He stomped down again and Warner's cry was accompanied by a terrible cracking sound.
"No!" Ella screamed and stomped her own foot on the ground. The air rippled around her and Barry was sent flying down the hall. He crashed into the stone wall and fell to the ground. "No more!"
Sophie was in so much shock that it took her a moment to realize that the trap spell around her was gone. She ran to Warner's side and felt his chest to find that, as she suspected, a few of his ribs were broken. Unable to deal with that for the moment, she looked to Ella, who was radiating a strange, red aura.
"Ella," Sophie said gently. "Calm down now. You stopped him."
Ella was seething. Her eyes were still narrowed at Barry's crumpled body.
"If he's still alive," James said, "now is the time to kill him."
"Please do," Warner gasped.
Before anyone could act, Barry shimmered and vanished. Sophie didn't have time to worry about him anymore. She had to get Warner out as fast as possible.
"We must leave now," she said. "We'll find him another day. For now, we must get Warner to safety."
"Safety," Ella repeated, calming down considerably. "Daddy is hurt."
"Should we go for the magic saucer?" Layla asked.
"No time," Sophie said. "Barry could come back. We must use The Void. I'll be all right."
"No," Warner said weakly.
"No time to argue, Warner," she said. She grabbed his hand and Melody's. "Ella, hold Daddy's hand." Ella did as she was told and, soon, everyone was linked. Sophie braced herself and closed her eyes. "Go!"
