by J. R. White
“Just you.”
Meredith should have expected that answer. Redirecting her question, she asked, “What made you want to go?”
Shrugging, Malcolm cut his eyes to the side as he thought about it. “I don’t know. I heard some old kook talking about how all the library does is hoard stuff away from the rest of us. That got me to thinking about some of the old tracking spells my family doesn’t have anymore.”
Joshua was quick to grab onto the logic that was running through Meredith’s mind. Letting out a groan, he said, “You took the bait, Malcolm, you idiot. All of this is because you wanted more tracking spells.”
“They’re really good spells,” Malcolm said defensively.
Showing the same frustration Meredith was feeling, Joshua said, “That thief probably used your visit to the mansion as cover to sneak in and steal that book too.”
The brothers started bickering, and Meredith tuned most of it out as she thought over the possibilities. With just anchoring and binding spells, the major dragon line shouldn’t be bothered, but there was no telling what else was in the thief’s pocket. “That dragon line is a major power source. It is going to be diverted straight off the continent,” she said, and the brothers went quiet. Whether she thought it was possible or not, that was exactly what was going to happen if someone didn’t stop it.
And if it happened, it would start a war.
The magical families and factions had all carefully negotiated all of this. If one of the major dragon lines was messed with on this scale everyone would start blaming everyone else. If the line was just diverted to go deeper into North America, there could be new negotiations and treaties, but heading straight out into the ocean and away from them, it was a lost asset. Apparently Joshua had this understanding too, because he called out, “Meredith, you have to get there and stop it from happening.”
“What?” Both Meredith and Malcolm asked in unison.
Waving his hand out aimlessly towards the forest, Joshua said, “Meredith can get there before us. We’ll meet her there, but someone has to get there now.”
“How the hell am I supposed to do that?” Meredith asked, trying not to yell out that she wasn’t a traveler. Hopping in the car or on a bus wasn’t going to get her anywhere fast enough to stop this. She didn’t even know exactly where it was. It could take hours, if not days, to find that rooftop.
“The candle on the mantel.” Malcolm’s voice was soft and he sounded less than thrilled.
Worried, Meredith moved her hand over the water, wanting to give him a hug. “I can’t use that,” she admitted. He knew she wasn’t a traveler. Using his candle was out of the question.
Nodding, Malcolm was making it a point not to look at Joshua as he said, “Yes you can. I made that candle while we were still connected and sharing magic. It’ll answer to your magic. You just have to concentrate on the place, light the candle, and be careful.”
Meredith stared at her hands hovering over the water for a second. She never would have thought she would be considering picking up one of Malcolm’s tools and trying to use it. Sure, she’d longed to be able to transport from place to place like him, but it had never been one of her gifts or even a skill she could train. “Malcolm, are you sure?” she asked, worried about the possible results of trying to use magic she didn’t know.
The candle could drop Meredith in a black void of nothingness or just dump her right back in her study if she didn’t use it correctly. That’s just how magic worked. Rarely did it offer a middle ground. It was either the worst possible outcome or it failed completely.
“Babe, you’ve got this. Just use a match and concentrate on what you saw. We’ll be there soon,” Malcolm assured her. His voice was soothing and gave her a bit more confidence that she could do it.
Glancing over at the candle, Meredith nodded. “Okay. Just picture the place, light the candle, and stay calm,” she said, adding the last step for her own personal well-being. “How are you going to get there?”
“We’ll track the magic signature. It won’t take us too long and we’ll be there right behind you.”
“Joshua?” Meredith asked, needing to know that he would go along with it.
The elder brother was quick to chime in. “I can get us there as long as Malcolm can track the magic.”
“Alright. Malcolm, if I end up in the void, you better find a way to get me out,” Meredith warned
Malcolm didn’t even crack a half-smile at her half-joke and that made her worry more. His eyes finally looked up and meet hers. Even though he couldn’t see her, he said, “You won't, but I promise I won’t rest until you’re safe.”
Meredith swiped her hand over the surface of the water, cutting their conversation. If she was doing this, she couldn’t stay connected to Malcolm. Otherwise she might distract herself. All she really needed to see was that rooftop. Just the rooftop.
And the last thing Meredith was going to do at that moment was say goodbye.
Chapter Six
With a blink, Meredith was standing somewhere else. The force of the change made her stumble a little. Thankfully, she was on the rooftop and not spiraling through black nothingness. As she regained her bearings, she tried to focus the rest of her attention on finding whoever or whatever was going to cause this big mess. Across the top of the buildings, she could see the last bright curve of the sun.
That meant Meredith was early by a few minutes. There didn’t seem to be anything unusual on the roof. A huge heating and cooling unit, what looked like a storage shed or access to the building below her feet, and an odd tower that could have been for almost anything. The aged black tar that covered the roof was still warm from the heat of the sun.
An eerie silence covered everything. Meredith couldn’t hear the busy city just beyond the rooftop. Her slow steps seemed to echo around her. With a thought she wrapped her magic around her like a protective coat. Without thinking about it she’d tightened her fingers around the candle that had brought her there. It wasn’t until the sharp edges of the hardened wax dug into her palm that she realized she was doing it.
Meredith was amazed she’d managed to travel at all, and once she unfurled her fingers, she slipped the candle into her pocket. It was nice knowing she had an escape route if she needed one. Glancing up at the sky, she spotted the evening star starting to appear.
The sun was quickly disappearing and Meredith knew she had little time to search the roof for signs of spell work or the thief. Just because she didn’t see any evidence of it yet, didn’t mean it wasn’t there. Cautiously moving forward, she kept in mind the traps set all around the dragon line where Malcolm was.
Traps were the first thing to look for. Meredith couldn’t just send her magic out scouting like Malcolm. She had to look for physical signs of traps before she stepped into one.
Taking the first step towards the center of the roof, Meredith easily found and stepped right into a trap. Static magic shot up around her and wrapped itself around her shield. As she struggled to get away from it, she could see sparks shooting off around her. Her feet refused to move back or forward and her movement was limited to the space just in front of her.
That was when the thief decided to appear. From the far corner of the roof, he appeared. “So, someone did figure it out.”
Still able to turn her head a fraction, Meredith shot the man an angry glare and demanded, “Let me out of this trap.”
The man was calm and stone-faced. Whatever group this guy was with, he was well trained and clearly used to being in control. “No. I think you should stay there until everything is finished,” he uttered with an odd air of indifference.
Meredith took a moment to get a good look at the man. The streaks of grey in his beard gave him a distinguished look, but the way his fists rested on his hips, parting a flowing over coat like robe, gave him a gluttonous and prideful tilt. Everything about him screamed controlling mystic. From the deep blue robe to the light blue tattoos that framed his face, she re
alized who, or at least what, he was. “You’re a magi? You have no claim to the dragon lines on this continent. What are you doing here?”
The magi moved closer, circling around the center point of the roof, and said, “This line has been trapped for centuries. Balance must be restored.”
A valid point, but the problem was being corrected. Didn’t he understand that? “That’s why it’s being opened. Are you the one that messed with the hidden dragon line?” Meredith asked, struggling to shift around in her static prison.
The man’s face twisted into a snarl and he threw his hand up toward the west and the nearly vanished sun. His voice boomed with authority as he said, “I tore that wall down. It had been illegally dammed and you lot did nothing to correct it. Now it will flow free again.”
Realizing that he was talking about the imbalance of the minor line being blocked, Meredith paused. It was an injustice that the dragon line had vanished, but it was still no excuse. “No one knew. It was dammed up long before we arrived on this continent, but it still has nothing to do with you, magi.”
“That line used to flow straight through my territory. It intersected with another minor line that made my home prosperous. It will be prosperous again,” the magi declared harshly.
Meredith didn’t have to search her memory to figure out that the minor dragon line that had been blocked had at one time ran straight through Northern Africa, the Middle East and across parts of lower Asia. All the magi orders were from those regions. Most had never played nice enough to establish new homes anywhere else, but they rarely came into conflict with outsiders. Though, having a dragon line that supplied magical power for countless generations suddenly disappear could cause a group to get testy.
Holding her hands up to offer some sort of peace, Meredith said, “Okay. I get that, but the line has been opened again and you can’t divert a major dragon line.” She flinched as the trap around her sparked with magical energy, but her own magic kept it at bay. “Let me out of this spell and we can find a way to work through this. The Counsels are set up to help fix these problems.”
The magi spun around on his heel and put his back to her. The long braid of dark hair that reached down his back bounced, mocking her, as he said, “Balance must be restored. To make up for hundreds of years without our rightful power, we will take tenfold what is owed to us.”
Cutting her eyes back and forth between the magi and the sky, Meredith tried to think. If she could beat her way out of the trap, she may still have time to stop the man, but she would have to drop her shield to accomplish it. The static trap wouldn’t kill her, but judging by the random sparks it gave off, she would take a shock. A hell of a shock that could lock her muscles up and slow down her attempt to stop this madness.
The dragon lines broke almost at once. First the major line flooded the rooftop and then the second, just like in her vision. Within seconds, Meredith saw the spells the magi was busy weaving together. She threw her own magic at the static shield that had her trapped as four large spikes appeared from nowhere. Each one glowed from a magical charge and the first shattering strike that drove them down into the dragon lines shook the roof.
Beating against the trap, Meredith screamed, “You can’t do this.”
“I already have,” the magi declared, lifting his arms as the spikes hit the raw power of the earth. Another rumbling strike sent them in deeper.
Knowing that something had to be done, Meredith dug the candle out of her pocket along with the lighter she’d used to light it. Dropping her protective coat of magic, she lit the candle and hoped the trap had been set up without failsafes. For the instant before she transported, the static trap shocked her. It stung, like a sharp power from an electrical outlet, but once she was flashed away, it stopped.
The candle took Meredith to exactly where she wanted. She appeared directly beside one of the large spikes. Closer, she could tell that they were iron nails over a meter long and as thick as a hose pipe. Even though they looked like they were being shoved down into the roof of the building, they weren’t. The metal was melting and molding itself to the magic in the dragon line itself. The deeper in they went, the more they became fused in place.
Dropping the candle, she reached out and grabbed the end of the spike. The iron was hot from the power coursing through it and the instant her hands wrapped around it, magic sprang loose, flowing rampant like electricity.
Lightning-quick magic rushed from the nail and into her. It caused her teeth to clench and her muscles threatened to seize up. The force of it nearly threw her off of the iron completely, but somehow she managed to stay there. It was more power than she’d ever felt in her life. If she wasn’t careful it could stop her heart, but she had no idea how or if those spikes could be pried out of the dragon line once they were set.
Physically pulling at the spike wasn’t going to be enough to remove it or even stop its sinking into the dragon line.
Meredith did the only thing she thought might shove the thing out of the line. She pulled more of the magical power to herself. Drawing straight from a dragon line was dangerous, but if enough pressure was put on the spike, it would have to come out.
Meredith could hear the surprise in the magi’s voice when he declared, “My entire order has placed this spell. One woman will never break it.”
Knowing that the man’s entire group was putting work into slamming these things into the dragon line explained the quacking pound of magic. They were wielding the spell like a hammer.
Clenching her teeth and tightening her grip on the iron, Meredith wished Malcolm would show up already. The magi was right about one thing. Alone there was no way she was going to stop more than the one spike from embedding itself into the line. Removing at least three, maybe just two, would put the flow back to rights, but when she felt the magical hammer slam of the spell rattle her bones, she knew she needed help.
****
Time wasn’t moving fast enough for Malcolm. Every second it took the spell to decay around them was another second Meredith was alone dealing with an unknown enemy. Sending her on her own to deal with this wasn’t right. As powerful as she was, she was still the woman he loved. Part of him hated that his brother had thrown it out there, but slowly logic had pointed out it was the only way.
So the damn spell needed to break down so Malcolm could find Meredith and get to her as quickly as possible.
Finally, after only a few moments, the obstruction spell dissolved around Malcolm and Joshua with a disappointing sizzle. It was almost a letdown that it didn’t burst in some kind of explosion, but he had other things to worry about. Immediately he sent his magic out, trying to track the thief. The entire area had the same feeling as the red mist, but the further he reached, the more it faded. “Damnit, he’s too far away.”
“I can’t set Meredith as my intent, Malcolm. You have to find something,” Joshua said, worry clear in his voice.
Looking down at his palm, Malcolm could still feel the tingle of his and Meredith’s connection. “I can get us there, but you have to trust me,” he said, knowing the link should be kept between them. There was no telling what kind of rant Joshua would go on if he found out.
Joshua, thankfully, didn’t hesitate to agree. He clamped his hand on Malcolm’s shoulder and nodded. “Alright. Say when.”
Reaching down the long length of their tether to each other, Malcolm searched for Meredith. A gentle tug with his magic gave him a direction and another tug gave him a path to her. Hoping they weren’t too late, he said, “Now.”
Malcolm heard the loud pop as they left the forest behind and appeared as close to Meredith as his intent and Joshua’s magic could get them. It dropped them on the edge of a roof. Both of them had to lean and stumble forward to keep from falling back.
With his feet away from the ledge, Malcolm straightened up and searched for Meredith. The scene on the roof was hectic. Silvery magic swirled in the air above them and golden magic was flooding around them. He found his
lover standing in the near middle of all of it. Her hands were wrapped around a long shaft and she looked like she was straining to rip it up.
On the other side of Meredith and the convergence of the ley lines, the thief spun around. At once Malcolm hated the man. The way the man’s lip curled in disgust, the tattooed lines on his face and the overly flowing and complicated robe made it clear the guy was some sort of magi.
“What the hell is going on?” Joshua asked from behind Malcolm.
Meredith barely looked up at them, but Malcolm could see the brief flash of relief cross her face. Without removing her hands from the spike she shot a pointed look at another spike across from her. “Stop them! They’re being soaked into the dragon lines!”
Even as Malcolm started running toward the other stake, he stared at Meredith. She was working so hard to stop this. The staggering amount of magic charging through her from the ley line was shocking. The Blackburns and Blackwoods had been channeling magic for countless generations, but he worried the prolonged stress of it could break her. Both physically and mentally.
As Malcolm neared the magically charged spike a wall of wind howled to life in front of him. The heavy wind slowed him, but the drive to help Meredith pushed him hard. Getting to the nearest spike, he grabbed hold and immediately felt the hot magic driving the thing downward. It rung out in his head like a sledge hammer on a railroad nail. The first pound rattled his teeth and a few heart beats later a second jarred his spine.
Over the roar of his rushing blood, Malcolm heard the magi yell, “You can’t possibly pull that out. No one can channel that much magic.”
Joshua’s voice carried through the chaos in response. “That’s what sets our families apart from others. The blood that runs through our veins can stand an outrageous amount of magic.”
Malcolm was surprised to hear his brother’s praise. When he saw Joshua race to another of the four spikes, he felt something he hadn’t felt in years. Family pride. “We are a part of a class all to ourselves. These things are coming out,” Malcolm declared through clenched teeth.
