The camper’s interior was musty and old but clean. Everyone but me had to duck slightly as we stood in the living area. A small kitchenette was bordered by a closet, which I assumed was the bathroom, on one side and a few couches on the other. The colour scheme was yellow and orange, making me feel like I had stepped into the seventies. Garrison had not turned off the ignition, so I took off my coat in the warm space.
I revelled in the cosiness of it and took off my cold, wet boots, sitting down on one couch. Kian sat next to me. When the others only stood and stared, he urged them to get moving. Garrison sat in the driver’s seat while Moira was in the passenger seat. Seth sat across from us on another couch. Only a thin curtain separated us from Moira and Garrison, so we pushed it aside to talk and drive.
Kian told Garrison to drive back to the cottage. It was starting to snow and the narrow, slippery roads made it hard to steer. Several times Garrison made me nervous by muttering to himself about the location of pedals and how to start the van. When he saw me staring he shot me a smile.
“Relax,” he said, “I’ve never done this before, but I made it here, didn’t I?”
When we were on the road, Seth eyed us expectantly and Moira turned in her seat, but I begged for details of what had happened to them first. Seth looked down at the carpet. When he looked back up, guilt played across his face.
“I thought you were right behind me,” he said to me. “When we got to the top of the hill, I saw you were gone. I just figured you had gone back to the house.” He ran an anxious hand through his hair. “We pieced it together … random bits and pieces from our lives. I was a prince! Can you believe that? I had a brother and a family and everything. I never knew for sure.…”
I could feel Kian tense but didn’t mention it. Again, I knew it was his story to tell.
“But everything centred around those magicians,” Garrison chimed in. Moira nodded.
“The memories of life are like …” she thought for a moment, “exactly that. Memories. Something you think you know but remember through your senses. Like it did happen in the past, even through the eyes of our magic. But everything with the magicians is crystal clear. In the present.”
“It was just like Kian had said,” Seth explained. “The ritual sent them forward in time but no one knew where. The king …” he hesitated, “my father, thought they would be the problem of the next generation. Not two thousand years later. He decided to … let us go.”
Seth met my eyes and I was reminded of the meeting in the woods. We had both planned to run away. How different would things have been had my husband not interfered and made me late? Would I be here at all? The Romans might not have been successful. My tribe could have flourished. Kian would have had a different life altogether.
“When we got back,” Seth said, “we found a note from Kian telling us to take this from the garage,” he motioned all around us, “and meet you here at five o’clock.” When I looked at him confusedly, Seth widened his eyes at me. “The night we last saw you was two days ago!”
It felt like ages, but I knew I shouldn’t be surprised. I picked up a bag of chips they must have bought at the gas station and began munching mindlessly. I was starving. I felt the time had come for me to explain. Hesitancy wafted off Kian in waves, but it had to be done. I opened my mouth when Moira cut me off.
“Turn left here,” she said to Garrison.
Kian’s eyes snapped up at her. “How do you know that?” he asked. His voice radiated intensity. “Where’s the map I left for you?”
Moira glanced back and immediately recoiled from his gaze. “It’s … I don’t need it.” She hesitated. “I see with my magic. Power. Whatever. I can change my perspective. I’m seeing through the eyes of an owl overhead.” Her tentative smile and pride turned into shock as she saw the twin looks of horror on our faces.
Kian bolted from his seat but at that moment Garrison hit the brakes hard. We all flew forward. The back of the driver’s seat stopped me, and Seth had braced himself against Moira’s. Kian flew forward and landed by the dashboard. Garrison’s seat belt had snapped taught, and he winced as he loosed it from his chest.
“What the hell was that?” I called out.
“There’s someone in the road,” Moira replied as she cradled her wrist.
“What?” Kian and I asked at the same time.
He picked himself up and stared out of the windshield. I didn’t have to guess who by the look on his face when he turned.
I couldn’t be mad at Moira for using her magic. We hadn’t warned them against it. I kicked myself for stalling the telling of our story. It was a colossal mistake. Her power had acted like a beacon. I slowly made my way to stand near Kian.
The three magicians stood in front of the camper van in the dark. Snow billowed around them. A dark car was parked across the road some way back.
I found my heart in my throat again as I caught sight of Bald Man. Now it was he who stared at me with a deep hatred. Compared to his black look, Smooth Voice’s glare was nothing. The third magician stood off to the side, again seeming uncomfortable with the scene. His eyes widened and he averted his gaze when he saw the four of us together.
We all stood and stared in dumb shock until Bald Man flipped his hand and the windshield popped off as if the vehicle was a toy. The angry wind billowed around us. I shielded my face from the cold.
“Gwyneth,” Bald Man called to me. His tone was razor-sharp. There was magic in his voice. Even over the wind I could still hear it perfectly. It resonated around us. “Truly, you must end this now. You know I won’t kill you. But I could make life extremely unbearable for you and your friends.”
Suddenly, Kian crumpled to the ground next to me. His hands were clamped to his ears and he screamed in pain.
“Stop!” I cried into the night. My voice was lost in the chill. “Stop!”
Bald Man took a few confident steps forward into the bright beam of our headlights. “No,” he said simply.
Kian writhed at my feet. I was panicking, as was everyone else. While Seth, Garrison, and Moira did not know what was happening, they had figured out these were the magicians. Kian groaned again and I knelt by his side, taking his head in my lap and stroking his hair while I thought. His pain echoed in my limbs as I thought frantically.
“Uh, Gwen?” Garrison’s tone brought my attention back to the magicians.
Smooth Voice stood in the light, snow and wind obscuring him. He had his arms raised to the side and his eyes closed. I could feel the magic before I sensed it. The earth beneath us began to shake.
“What is taking you so long?” Bald Man screamed angrily at us. “You are thinking of fighting us?” His voice boomed. “You must not understand the full range of our capabilities. Let me enlighten you!”
The ground lurched to the side and we toppled. The storm seemed to double in a matter of seconds and the magic in the air was suffocating me. It was too thick to think or move in. I felt completely enveloped.
Kian was covered in sweat. He suffered. I felt torn in a million directions at once. I looked up and noticed that everyone looked toward me for directions. Bald Man still screamed his ire at me but I ignored him. I could feel him trying to skirt my magic and reach my mind, but I brushed him aside.
“Moira?” I turned to her as another shake sent me crashing into Garrison. The van rattled as if it was about to fall apart. “You have mental powers?” I yelled. When she nodded, I said, “Get the magician out of Kian’s head.” She nodded at me again and settled into her seat, gripping the sides of the van for support against the earthquakes.
“Seth?” He was next to me in an instant. “Confuse them. I don’t care how or what, but get into their heads. Give me some time, okay?” He nodded and sat back down on the couch that threatened to topple over.
Lastly, I turned to Garrison. His strength of moving objects was similar to mine and I needed his help. He looked up at me, still buckled in, his nose red from the storm that had made its way to
us. The wind had given me an idea and brought me back to a memory of when I had controlled it. I had dangled over a cliff edge and fought the storm. The magicians’ words from the mansion came back to me.
“They stole their power with rituals and sacrifices!” I yelled at Garrison over the tempest. “The power they have is strong but artificial!” He looked confused. “You and I, our magic is natural. We were meant to do this. Like Kian said, the roots are in the earth. We can take the control back!”
Garrison nodded, but I knew it was my job to show him it was possible. I turned back to the scene before me, hoping that Seth’s magic had taken effect.
The third magician stood staring at the scene before him, his eyes wide and his mouth agape. He didn’t move. Smooth Voice still controlled the earth but now he frowned. Bald Man noticed me looking. He sneered and pointed at his head.
“You think you can get in here?” he yelled. He knelt towards the ground, pulling at air as if he was a mime trying to lift a great weight. My knees buckled when I felt the earth directly in front of us rise. The van was going to be flipped.
“Now!” I yelled to Garrison.
I jumped through the space where the windshield had been and onto the hood. I heard him following. It was a long jump from the hood to solid ground since jagged earth had been lifted to propel us into the air.
Bald Man leered at me. The magician was about to move towards grabbing me when, hoping my hypothesis proved accurate, I knelt on the snow-covered ground, planting my hands firmly against it.
Magic awoke inside of me and pressed on my mind. It felt heavy and pushed against my insides like the time I had gathered it to myself and released it. I didn’t want an explosion this time. I wanted to reconnect. I pushed it deeper through my hands, feet and knees. I pushed it so far into the earth that I felt my awareness melt into the past.
The density of it weighed down on me and I sent soothing thoughts, taking power away from Smooth Voice and calming the earth. When my feet had stopped rocking, I tentatively opened my eyes at the same time as the magician. He looked confused for a second then saw what I had done.
A cry of outrage broke from his lips as he lunged towards me. I ducked just in time. Garrison came to help me. He pulled their dark car forward and it slid silently in the snow. As Smooth Voice prepared for another attack, he was knocked backwards from behind. Garrison ran in front of me and took on the magician. Movement in the corner of my vision signalled Bald Man coming towards me.
I threw up my arms as the wind began to form around me. Bald Man stopped in his tracks. His mouth opened in shock. I focused my magic out into the night. The snow and wind expanded as far as I could reach. I pushed further out and it threatened to overwhelm me. Feeling myself losing control, I gripped the storm around me in my mind and clamped down on it, sending it at the magicians.
A strong magical barrier pushed against me, but my feet were planted on the ground and reached down to the roots of the earth. I used the strength as an anchor. I was gaining control but I felt my magic retracting back to my body. I fed it my thoughts and feelings, urging it to blow in anger.
Memories of the magicians, being kidnapped, the ritual, and running away surged through to my magic. The night swirled around me. The magicians were losing, but not retreating.
I focused my mind on the snow and turned it to ice. Trying to aim at the magicians as best I could, I sent the ice flying like sharp daggers. The hail flew from me like an arrow from a bow as I used my magic to send it out. Power blanketed the night and I controlled it.
Small stabs of pain distracted me from my task but I brushed the sensation aside. The wind and ice spun around me until I was the centre of the storm. My hair billowed and my cloak was lost, but I was getting dragged into the power. The earth was sucking me in. I poured my life energy into the fringes of the storm, keeping it going and stirring it up. I fed it until I was lost in the noise of wind. I could not see. I could not feel. I let the last of my energy escape and dissipate in the air around me, as I fell to my knees.
At once, the air was quiet and deadly still. I fell onto my back and closed my eyes.
Chapter Thirty-Five
The smell of cleaner touched my nose and I was startled into wakefulness. I was convinced I had been kidnapped again until my hands grabbed a quilt and I became entangled in my sheets.
“Relax.”
Moira came over and sat next to me, picking up the pillow I had thrown to the floor. She placed it behind my back.
“Everyone’s fine.” She smiled hesitantly.
I opened my mouth to speak but no sound came out. I tried again. Only a croak emerged.
“I’ll get you some water,” Moira said and left our small bedroom.
I sat up, trying not to panic. Her cleaning supplies sat on the dresser and snow still obscured my view out the window. The sun hid behind low, grey clouds. Within a minute, Moira came back with a glass of water and Seth and Garrison on her heels.
They crowded my bed, asking me how I felt and what had happened. I raised a hand to quiet both of them and then raised my eyebrows at each in turn, the universal sign of demanding an explanation.
Garrison sighed. “They ran off,” he said. “I fought the steely-looking one. His magic was stronger, but he was mostly spent. The weird one ran off first. I thought you were going to tear that bald one apart.” He grinned at me. When I continued to look confused, he explained.
“That storm you brewed up was deadly. We were fine, but I thought you were going to shred them to pieces. Spent all your energy, though.” He ruffled my hair. I raised my hand to brush him off and winced at the sight. Small cuts marred my arm like freckles.
“Mirror,” I croaked.
Seth hesitated but brought me a small mirror from the dresser.
A gasp escaped my lips, even if I had prepared myself. I was covered in little cuts that had begun to heal, but I could only hope the majority wouldn’t scar. My face looked similar to when I had had chicken pox as a child.
Moira gently took the mirror from me.
“You saved us,” Garrison said. I shook my head and motioned to all of us. It hurt to speak. Everyone saved us.
“No.” Garrison lowered my hand back onto the bed. “You did. You had a plan. You stepped up to the challenge. We beat them this time. You knew how to …” he gestured, looking for the right words, “… get to that place. The magical place. We thought we lost you.” He squeezed my hand.
“After the strange one ran and the grey-haired one lost his grip on the earthquakes and was beaten back by Garrison, it was easy to get into their heads.” Seth shook his own head as if to clear it. “It was … confusing … but I encouraged them to leave. To forget about us. I don’t know how well it worked or how long it lasted. I was barely able to get to the bald one, though. You had him surrounded.”
The magic had felt as if I held it in my fingers. I had moulded it and wrapped it around the man I hated. I could barely even feel the magician behind the power I sent at him. I didn’t know if I had a goal — I knew not to kill him, but what was I trying to do? I shook my own head. The night already felt like another life. I didn’t like the feeling of having so much power in my grip. I didn’t like the hate I had sent into the storm and at the magician. After everything that had happened, it was feeling the hate and wishing to hurt that caused me to feel least like myself.
“We’re safe for now, I think,” Garrison explained. “Kian said —”
Suddenly, my heart sped up in a panic. I tried to get out of bed. Seth forced me back down. I could tell he understood.
“Kian?” I asked, hoarse.
Seth looked to Garrison, and Garrison looked to Moira. The way they all avoided me made my stomach sink and my panic increase. Tears sprang to my eyes. Seth saw them and rushed to explain.
“Don’t worry — you lessened the magicians’ reach and Moira was able to get to him. He’s fine,” he said.
I sighed in relief. If I had the voice to scold hi
m for making me worry, I would have.
“But,” Seth began, “he left.”
My eyes widened and I didn’t have to speak for my question to be understood.
“He said he would only hold us back,” Garrison continued. “He … explained everything. He told us what happened to you, and what he did.”
My hand was at my throat, trying to soothe the lump that was growing. My heart felt like a cold stone in my chest. A silence grew between us.
I waited for them to reveal their verdict on his betrayal. I reached out towards Seth, taking his hands in mine. His eyes widened.
“Yeah,” he ducked his head, “he told me that part too … it’s weird … him being the older brother now.…”
Another silence stretched.
“We’re not mad,” Garrison said finally. “I think he did help us. He made us ready. And, if you forgave him, then the rest of us had no reason not to. But he still wanted to leave.”
I ached with the knowledge that I could not see him or touch him. A hollow appeared in my chest. It echoed with sorrow and loss. I felt the tears well up again.
Moira rushed into action. “We’ll give you a few minutes to rest,” she said, already nudging the other two up and out the door. She gave me a smile, and for the first time I felt true kindness from her.
Though I was ashamed of it, as soon as the door closed, I allowed myself a few quiet sobs as tears spilled over. The lack of Kian’s guidance and friendship, coupled with the new magic resonating inside my body, scared me. I needed someone to lean against.
The magic I had used from the earth now beat inside me in a different rhythm than my heartbeat. Though more powerful than ever before, I felt like I was about to melt into the earth and disappear. I needed someone to tell me I was real.
Eventually, I pulled myself together and decided I would have plenty of time for self-pity later. I left the bedroom and was able to pass Garrison and Moira question-free. I grabbed a piece of bread, and putting on Moira’s coat came out to the front yard, where a rough wooden fence jutted out from the house and into the landscape. Seth sat on it.
Lives of Magic (Seven Wanderers Trilogy) Page 28
