The laughter did help, actually. It was good to see Monty attempt a smile, even if it was at my expense. It helped keep the thoughts about his rapid aging in the back of my mind.
“Come here, lad.” Dex waved me over. “I’ll help you massage it into shape.” He almost burst into another fit of laughter. “Sorry, I meant I’ll give you a hand.”
He let out another burst of laughter as I waited, staring at him. His face hit beet red, and he was short of breath by the time he composed himself.
“Are you done?”
He nodded and waved me over again. “Sit down over here.” He patted the chair in front of him.
I sat across from him and swiveled the chair to face him.
“Who taught you this spell?”
“Thomas the traitor,” I growled. “While we were in London.”
“Ach, there’s your problem right there.” Dex pointed at me. “Every time you use this spell, you’re angry. It’ll never work that way. You have to let go of the anger and the hate.”
“He tried to kill me, Monty, and Peaches,” I shot back. “You want me to have warm, fuzzy thoughts about him?”
Peaches opened an eye, looked at me, and raised his head.
He closed his eyes and settled back down. A few seconds later, he was snoring.
Dex looked at me. “You have to let go of the hate and anger. Casting is all about being in control. You’re not a mage, so you don’t have the benefit of years of training. If you try and cast this way it will lead you to—”
“The dark side?”
“Are you daft? What dark side? It will lead you to sprain that thick skull of yours. The hate and anger get in the way of control. Are you going to take this seriously or not?”
“I’m sorry, I thought you were going to go all Yoda on me for a moment.”
“Yogurt? Who’s talking about curdled milk? We’re talking magic here, boy.”
“I was just making a reference to—”
He waved my words away and held up a finger, silencing me.
“Light, dark, and everything in between depends on the magic-user. The energy isn’t good or bad. It all comes down to the wielder. Now…pay attention!”
He flicked me on the forehead with his index finger. I heard a chuckle from the rear of the plane and caught LD covering his face and looking to the side.
“Fine, show me what I need to do.”
“The first thing we need to change is the word of power.”
TWENTY-TWO
“ARE YOU SURE it’s safe to do this in here?” I looked around the plane and especially in the direction of the cockpit.
“We can’t very well go outside now, can we?”
“That’s not what I meant. I mean what if I lose control and damage René’s plane?”
“I strongly advise against that. She’s quite particular about her plane.”
“That’s not helping. We’re in a pressurized environment. If the orb punches a hole in the plane, we can crash—or worse, explode.”
“Oh, that would make René extremely angry indeed.”
“Dex, this is serious. We should do this someplace like the Danger Room at the boutique.”
“Deadly serious, yes. Consider it incentive to get focused.”
“Why am I even doing this?” I threw my hands up in the air, frustrated. “The Sanctuary will be locked down against magic. I won’t even be able to use this spell.”
“Let’s say for a moment that you learn the spell, I mean really learn it.”
“Hard to believe, but okay. Then what? I’m still in a place where I don’t have access to magic.”
“Unless that access is changed somehow,” he answered. “The mages will see you as a special human most likely, but not a threat. Except, you know a spell, you have a—”
“A magic missile,” I finished. “They’ll never expect that from me.”
“Well, to be honest, I don’t expect much from you either, but let’s give it a go, shall we?”
“Well, I’m all confident now, thanks.”
“You’re welcome. Now, focus. Did he teach you the pattern to the incantation?”
I did the complicated pattern Thomas had taught me. It still felt like watching the third-base coach telling me to steal home before the next pitch. Dex nodded in approval as I went through the different gestures.
“That was bloody excellent.”
“Thank you, it took a while before I got the entire pattern down and—”
“And bloody useless. Forget it, forget all of it.”
“What? Thomas said it was necessary to learn the pattern.”
“Bollocks.” Dex leaned back in his chair, steepled his fingers, and stared at me. “Do you know why mages do all the finger-wiggling and gesturing?”
“Because the gestures unlock the mysteries of the cosmos?”
“Who sold you that load of shite? If that were the case, I’d be all enlightened by now, which I can guarantee you, I’m not.”
“I thought the gestures were special diagrams symbolizing contained power and runes.”
He leaned forward. “So what you’re saying is, if I scratch my arse or pick my nose, I’m unlocking power? What power am I using now?”
He proceeded to extend his middle finger into my face.
“None.”
“Damn right. All of that is rubbish. You train with that…Master Yak, don’t you?”
“Master Yat.” I nodded. “If you call practiced agony training, then yes.”
“He teaches you drills, doesn’t he? Forms that you have to learn to remember the techniques, yes?”
“Yes, he calls them kata or prearranged forms. It helps me remember groups of techniques by grouping them into a prearranged sequence.”
“And when you face off against an enemy, do you fight with the kata?”
“No, that would get me killed. The techniques are modified to fit the situation.”
He leaned back and stared at me. It took a moment, but it dawned on me. He nodded when the realization hit.
“Tell me,” he said, glancing over at Monty. “Tell me why the gestures exist.”
“They’re kata?”
He slapped my knee and grinned before becoming serious again. “Most mages think the gestures are the key to using their magic. Those of us who are older are a bit wiser.”
“The gestures are shorthand to the runes, but it’s deeper than that,” I said, putting it together. “The study and years of training. The runes affect the energy around us, but it comes down to the will. This is why mages don’t use a focus. They are the focus.”
He pointed at me and nodded. “It comes down to manipulating energy and use of will. Even the words of power are just giving energy shape and form. Those are used when the spell has a unique component.”
He held his hand in front of me, palm up. With his other hand, he pointed at his palm.
“A special component?”
“This incantation requires life force. In your case, since you’ve been cursed by Kali to have an abundance of this, it becomes an especially dangerous spell. Do you understand?”
“Being immortal means I have an unlimited supply of magic missiles?”
“We’ll call that close enough.” He shook his head and looked down at his hand. I followed his eyes as he spoke quietly. “Ignisvitae.”
A green orb of power the size of a basketball formed in the center of his palm and floated just above his hand. I felt the energy coming off the orb in waves. He looked at me, grinned, and closed his hand around the orb, absorbing i
t. He nodded to me.
“You want me to do that?”
“Use the word and create the orb. No gestures, no anger or hate. Just focus and make the orb.”
“Dex, is that a good idea?” LD said from the back. “He won’t be able to control it if he does make one.”
Dex swiveled his chair to face LD.
“Have you seen his orbs?” he said with a chuckle. “They’re the size of grapes. Besides, it takes years to master an Incantation of Light. We’re safe. This is just an exercise to get him to stretch his—”
“Ignisvitae,” I whispered and felt a rush of power. It raced down my arm and pooled in my hand, coalescing.
“Uncle Dex,” Monty said, staring at me, “you may want to reconsider…”
“Dex!” LD yelled and pointed at me. “Shit!”
I held a violet orb of power about two feet in diameter in the palm of my hand. The energy of the orb coursed through my arm.
Dex turned and stared at the orb in my hand, and then he stared in my eyes. “That’s not a grape-sized orb, lad.” He kept his voice calm and modulated, and I realized LD was right. I had no idea what to do with this orb.
“I don’t think I can hold on to it, Dex. It wants to push off my hand. Should I focus more?”
“No! I mean no,” he said quickly. “Bloody hell, you’ve surprised us all, but now we—and by we I mean you—need to get rid of that orb.”
Holding on to the orb felt like trying to push the two like poles of magnets together. It wanted to push it off my hand and I had to keep adjusting to maintain its position.
“Do I just close my hand like you did?”
“Let’s start with that.” He nodded and I saw his hands give off a green glow. “I’ll try to give you a hand.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Monty start gesturing.
Jonno’s voice came over the intercom. “In an effort to save time and fuel, we’ve bisected the Bermuda Triangle. We’re approaching the point near Puerto Rico where we will experience the greatest runic turbulence.”
“It doesn’t surprise me that she went through the Triangle,” TK said, raising her voice as her eyes began to glow a deeper green. “She’s trying to kill us!”
“TK, trying to focus here, thank you,” Dex said, never taking his eyes off the orb.
“Please fasten your seatbelts,” Jonno’s calm voice continued. “From there we will head south and hug the coast of Brazil. Please strap in, the Triangle is bumpy at the best of times. Once past, we will begin our approach to the nexus. Thank you.”
“Oh, bugger,” Dex said as the plane lurched up and then slammed down. The orb bounced out of my hand and shot down the aisle to the rear of the plane as we stared at its trajectory. “That’s not good.”
LD was already moving. He gestured and formed a lattice of gray energy in his fingers. The Strix shifted to the right and yawed, throwing us against the wall. LD missed the orb as the lattice sailed past me and enveloped Dex.
“Bollocks!” I saw Dex wrestling with the lattice as it wrapped itself around him and constricted his movement.
TK and Monty, the only two who were still wearing seatbelts, swiveled their chairs and cast a spell, which intercepted the orb with a black and golden lattice and suspended it mid-cabin. It remained frozen in place, and I breathed a sigh of relief as the orb vibrated against the forces holding it there.
“LD, try and siphon the energy from it, that way Simon can absorb what’s left,” Dex said as he undid the lattice from around his body.
“On it.” LD approached the orb unsteadily as the plane lurched and bounced. He gestured as he stepped close.
“Brilliant idea, Dex.” TK glared at him. “Why don’t we have the immortal use his life force to create an orb that can basically punch through anything, while we’re in a plane?”
“Make it quick, boy,” Dex hissed, ignoring TK. “We hit any more runic turbulence and it’ll punch a hole right through the Strix.”
I approached the orb from the other end and closed the distance, using the chairs to keep me from falling over as I headed down the aisle. LD did the same.
René’s voice came over the intercom. “TK, are you secured safely in your seat?”
“Of course I’m secured in my seat, you maniac!” TK yelled back. “You should rename this piece of flying debris the Ostrich. You fly almost as well as one!”
“Just checking,” René singsonged over the intercom. “Wouldn’t want any of my passengers to experience discomfort as we evade the next wave of runic turbulence.”
“What wave of runic turbulence?” TK asked.
“Please brace yourselves,” René said over the intercom. “We will be leaving the Triangle and the worst of the turbulence shortly.”
I heard Dex curse and secure his seatbelt. Monty gestured, forming a violet lattice that descended on Peaches and secured him in place.
“You wouldn’t dare,” TK hissed as black energy covered her arms. “I’m going to strangle her.”
LD and I both stared at each other. “Oh, shit,” I said.
We moved to close in on the orb as the plane ascended and entered a canopy roll. LD and I bounced off the ceiling, into the lattice holding the orb, and landed in a heap. The Strix was still shaking from the turbulence when I heard the high-pitched whine.
The orb, reacting to the force we had applied to the lattice, shot straight up and out of the Strix, blasting a hole in the cabin.
“That wasn’t me!” I looked up into the hole as klaxons blared and red emergency lights flashed throughout the plane.
“Strap in,” LD said, pushing me to the front and then gesturing. “It’s going to get dicey on the approach.”
I ran to the chair opposite Dex and strapped in. Dex grinned at me and patted me on the knee. “I’d say that was a good first attempt.”
I stared at him as the cockpit door slammed open behind me.
“What happened to my plane?” René screamed as she approached the extra ventilation my magic missile had provided. She whirled on TK, who was sitting, quietly wrapped in black energy, and staring back at her.
“It wasn’t me, but if you like, I can finish the dismantling of this flying heap you call a plane.”
“Do not insult the Strix.” René pointed at TK and glared. “Be thankful we were flying so low, or we’d all be gasping for air in freefall right now.”
“LD will take care of it.” Dex grabbed René by the wrist. “Get us to the nexus.”
“He’d better get it fixed, Dex,” she growled and pulled her arm away before heading back to the front.
René stomped back into the cockpit, slamming the door behind her. A few seconds later, Jonno ran out and joined LD as they reformed the Strix.
“We’re approaching the nexus,” René’s angry voice came over the intercom. “If you can manage to refrain from punching any more holes in the Strix, we will land in two minutes. We’re going in dark, which means no magic use.”
The klaxons turned off and the plane went dark. I could still see the faint gray glow surrounding LD and Jonno as they repaired the plane.
“That should do it.” LD sat in a chair and gasped. “I need a vacation.”
Jonno looked at the location where the magic missile had broken through the cabin. He placed his hand on it and the ceiling was covered in a light blue glow. After a few seconds, he nodded and the glow subsided.
“Nice work, LD,” Jonno muttered as he examined the repair again. “I’ll have to take her to the shop for a thorough fix but it should hold for now.”
“You won’t be able to stay on the nexus long.” LD nodded and rested his head back. “Drop us and get the hell away.”
Jonno bumped fists with LD and glanced back at the green glow that was surrounding TK, before heading over to Dex. “This smells just like you, Dex. No more magic practice until you are off the Strix.”
Dex held his hands up in mock surrender. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“No more magic, I’m serious.”
“Jonno,” René’s voice came over the intercom, “T-minus one twenty.”
Jonno headed back to the cockpit and shot Dex one more look before closing the door.
“It’s almost like they don’t trust me.” Dex looked over to where TK sat, still glowing green and simmering.
“Yeah, I wonder why that is?” Peaches, now free from the lattice, came over and plopped at my feet. The runes on his collar pulsed in the low light conditions, as did my matching bracelet.
I ran my hand over Peaches’ collar and felt the energy pulse along its length. “Dex, why do we have to go in dark, again?”
“The nexus is covered with a dense runic field that acts as a defensive measure. Any runic activity on approach activates it. Once we’re on the island, we can cast, but even that is dangerous. I wouldn’t cast more than a teleportation circle on the nexus. Why?”
“The limiter and my bracelet.” I held up my wrist holding the pulsing stones. “Do these count as runic ability?”
“Ten seconds to touchdown,” René said over the intercom.
The air in the cabin shifted, and I felt the hair on the back of my arms stand on end as it became charged. I saw small arcs of red energy dance between Peaches and me.
Fear filled Dex’s eyes as he realized my observation. The fear I saw in his eyes kick-started the voice in my head into full-blown panic. I slapped the voice upside the head and grabbed it by the throat until it shut up.
Dex flung green discs of energy at all of us. He shoved Peaches and me away and tossed the last two discs through the cockpit door, as a bolt of bright red energy sliced through the Strix where I had been standing seconds earlier, severing the cabin in half. We fell for half a second before a green flash blinded me.
TWENTY-THREE
PARTS OF THE Strix littered the island we stood on. Above us, the sky was a borealis on steroids as the runic defenses danced across it in a kaleidoscope of color. I looked around to take in where we were. The nexus was about half a square mile of flat, featureless land.
Homecoming A Montague & Strong Detective Novel Page 11
