by Lucia Ashta
“And what makes you believe that?”
“Because we have goodness on our side.”
“Oh, child. Stupid, foolish child. Goodness doesn’t win in this world. Might does.”
My brain sputtered. There was a whole lot of bad in the world. A lot of suffering, caused by people like him. “In magic it does make a difference,” I said anyway, probably to convince myself.
“My sister’s right,” Nando said. “The force of good is on our side, and that will make the difference.”
“Believe what you want. It won’t change anything.” Maurisse sounded like he was enjoying himself.
But his words triggered Arianne’s teachings in me. Belief would change everything. And right then, I chose to believe in myself. I chose to believe in Nando. And I chose to believe that our lives had more meaning than to end in yet another dank basement dungeon at the hands of a cruel man, whose life contributed nothing good to existence.
I had faith that Nando and I would find the way out of this, and that when our friends arrived—and they would come to our rescue—we’d be prepared to tip the scales in our favor.
I chose to believe that I’d returned to life for a very good reason, an opportunity I wouldn’t squander.
I pushed the duke’s diatribe away from my awareness. No doubt, he didn’t need me to continue his chat. He liked the sound of his voice.
I excavated within myself for my courage, my strength, my power... all the way to the source of my magic.
There, I found it! The magic thrummed contentedly in my heart, glad that I’d finally come to retrieve it.
I was all that I needed. Within me, I had all I would become.
Maurisse’s reign of terror was about to end—because I believed.
Chapter 9
Maurisse must have grown bored when I stopped responding to his taunts, and Nando soon followed suit. When the only one to talk was Sinter, and every word out of his mouth was crafted only to please, Maurisse said, “It will take some time for your friends to discover your location. If they manage to follow the path of the portal, which with time Mordecai and Giselle should, I included some particularly clever spells that will misdirect them. The earliest they might arrive is late tomorrow, and that’s presuming that they work on the problem through the night.”
Late tomorrow? I clamped down on my lips to keep the groan inside. All I wanted was to make it back to the academy, sink into my bunk bed in the girls’ dormitory, and sleep for an entire day. Was that really too much to ask?
“That’s quite a long time I’ll have to wait,” Maurisse continued, only concerned about himself, true to form. “I’ll have to keep myself otherwise preoccupied so as not to become impatient. I do enjoy a good showdown, and this one is going to be particularly good. I have some excellent tricks up my sleeve, ones that not even the likes of Mordecai and Giselle are aware of. I’ll take them by surprise and finish them off before they’ve realized what hit them.”
He paused, enjoying his performance. “A shame, really. It’s more fun to draw the fight out, to wait and see whether the little rats might surprise me with their unexpected intelligence.”
What, now we were rats in a maze to the creep?
“But I’ve grown weary of this game.” He sighed breathily. “I have more important things to occupy myself with, don’t I, Sinter?”
“Of course, Your Grace. Your time is precious.”
“Correct you are. Now, come with me.”
“We’re not going anywhere with you,” Nando said.
Maurisse laughed. The sound was heartless, and I cringed. “I wasn’t speaking to you, boy. Your only purpose now is as bait. I don’t need you for anything else.”
Well, at least he was going to leave us alone—finally.
“Come, Sinter. I have missives to dictate.”
“To whom, Your Grace?”
“Have you learned nothing? I will tell you when you need the information.”
“Of course.” Sinter would be bowing his head in deference.
Maurisse did, however, proceed to disclose the details. “I’ll be drafting a call to action for the entirety of the Sorcerers for Magical Supremacy. It’s time to put our plan into effect. The world will learn of our might, and every member of our force needs to prepare for action.”
“Yes, Your Grace.” Sinter sounded a bit excited, making me lose any sympathy that had been building for him at the way the duke mistreated him. Sinter deserved the duke.
“Then I shall need to draft another letter to my brother, the king.” Maurisse sighed heavily. “I’ll have to keep up the ruse. A group of believers in sorcery and wickedness attacked me and my castle, trying to impose their depravity on me. They were worshipers of the Devil. Blah, blah, blah. I was forced to flee to spare my life, which of course is nonsense. I would never flee.”
But hadn’t he? I supposed a man like the duke wasn’t much bothered by the truth.
I didn’t care to engage him at all. I wanted to keep my mouth shut. But in the end the gnaw of curiosity won out. “Why would you make up stories that lead the king to believe that magic is bad and depraved? Doesn’t that support the persecution of witches and wizards that you supposedly are working to cease?”
“Supposedly? You think you’re smart, huh? Well, you aren’t. My plan runs so much deeper than your feeble imagination can fathom.”
Only, my imagination was not even one bit feeble. Not anymore. Not now that I’d discovered that therein lay the source of my magical powers.
“I don’t need to explain myself to the likes of you, but I’ve had to hide my brilliance for so long, that it is sometimes pleasurable to share with others.”
All right....
“I’ll only have to keep the ruse up until the sorcerers of the SMS are in place. When we attack, I’ll no longer need to coddle the king. I’ll tell him the truth myself. He’ll understand the power of magic. He’ll realize that I’m the powerful one, that I’ve been all this time. That he, and not I, is the pawn in all this.”
A grin spread across his voice. “Nothing will stand in the way of the rule of magic when I slit his throat.”
Sinter gasped before catching himself. Apparently, the SMS didn’t realize that regicide was a part of their leader’s plan.
“I’m next in line to the throne. I’m paving the way for greatness. History will always remember me as the one who laid the foundation for the might of magic. I’ll be remembered forever.”
Yeah, as a bloodthirsty madman, no doubt.
“Now, in case you get any funny ideas, you’ll be locked in here and I’ll be sealing the only door with magic. There’s no way for you to get out.”
Neither Nando nor I said a thing. What was there to say?
Footsteps retreated until they sounded on a staircase. “Oh, and you can’t do spells of any sort down here. I prepared to imprison Mordecai and anyone else that came along with him. This space is spell proof even for him. So I wouldn’t bother trying.”
Then without another word, he marched up the stairs, Sinter close behind him.
A door opened, allowing in a sliver of light, before slamming shut behind them. Then came the sound of a turnstile swinging closed, locking us in the dungeon.
Immediately I scrambled to find the hope and sense of power I’d found before. I needed it... and I needed it now.
Chapter 10
“What are we going to do, Isa?” Nando asked as soon as no more sounds filtered down to us from above. He sounded desperate and, more worrisome, already defeated. “The others are going to come up for us, you know they will. And when they come....” He trailed off.
“And when they come, they’ll beat that nasty man at his own game.”
“But... how? You heard what he said. He—”
“I’m not inclined to care much about what he said. All he made clear is that he’s so full of himself that he’s likely to have overestimated his abilities.”
“The Duke talks a big game,” S
ir Lancelot said, his voice faint. “It’s true that he does, lady Isa, lord Nando.” He paused to pull in a rattling breath. “But from all that I’ve heard of him, he has the skill to back up his boasts.”
“That very well may be,” I said. “But he’s underestimated us.”
“How so?” Nando asked.
“You and I are an unknown, unquantifiable factor. We both have magic, that much is clear, but no one, not even the magicians at the academy, know how much, nor how exactly our magic will manifest.”
“That’s true.”
“For starters, you can see in the dark. Can you even see in this situation?” There wasn’t a speck of light that filtered in from anywhere. The door was sealed above, and there were no windows or vents to allow in diffused light.
“I can see.”
“And that is incredible. Maurisse doesn’t realize you can see where we are.”
“I’m sure he doesn’t. But it doesn’t really matter. The only thing that gets us is my awareness that there’s truly no escaping where we are. We’re in a big open space. There’s nothing but floor, ceiling, and walls. No way out of here.”
“Ah, but there is.”
“Where? How?”
I pointed to my chest, right above where Sir Lancelot rested.
“What does that mean, Isa?”
“It means that I have plenty of magic inside me. I found it, Nan, I actually found it. I can feel it inside my heart, waiting for me to use it.”
“Great, but....”
“You’re not understanding me. I can get us out of here.”
“How?”
“Nando, listen to me. I can get us out of here.”
“All right.” Nando adjusted his position on the floor next to me. “How?”
“Because I believe. For the first time in my life, I truly believe, through and through. And you remember what Arianne says, that’s all it takes to do magic.”
“That’s wonderful, Isa, really, it is, and I’m so happy for you. But that won’t get us out of here. You heard him. He said he proofed the space so no one could do magic. Not even Mordecai or Giselle could break through his wards. What chances do we have, no matter how much we believe?”
“He didn’t say we couldn’t do magic in here. He said we couldn’t do spells.” I waited for Nando to realize what I was saying.
“And your magic doesn’t rely on spells.” Finally, he was starting to sound excited. “Maurisse doesn’t know that. He probably doesn’t even know that Clara can do magic without spells. He wouldn’t have the first clue that you can do magic in this little prison of his.”
I smiled, mostly to convince my heart that we could do this, to ignore the walls of this space, that though big, was prompting my sense of claustrophobia. There was no way out of here under ordinary means.
“Exactly,” I said. “While Maurisse is away dictating his little letters of manipulation, we’ll be getting free of this rat trap.”
“Yes! That’s exactly what we’ll do. What you’ll do.” Nando’s words were coming faster now. “You’ll do your magic and maybe we’ll even be able to warn the others before they arrive.”
“Honestly, I have no idea what it will look like, only that I can do magic. What do you say? Shall I get started?” I smiled, knowing Nando would see me.
“Absolutely. What can I do to help you?”
“Keep watch.” Though chances were low anything would come at us, the space was dark and large enough that something could be hiding in the shadows.
“I can do that. Anything else?”
“Keep quiet so you don’t distract me. That goes for you too, Sir Lancelot.” Though the normally loquacious owl had been unusually quiet in his convalescence, as soon as he started to feel better, his beak would start running. It’s how he was.
“Of course, Lady Isa. You won’t hear a peep from me.”
“Great. There’s something else the two of you can do for me.”
“What’s that?”
“You can believe in me. Give me all you’ve got. Believe like the power of your belief alone will get us out of here.”
“I’ve always believed in you,” Nando said. “Even when you didn’t realize how amazing you are, I did. Believing in you will be the easiest thing I’ve ever done.”
My heart glowed warmly as I dove in. There was no time to waste, not when there was an evil sorcerer to put in his place. I was about to stop him from destroying the magical world. I was sure I would.
In that moment, that’s all it took.
Magic pulsed to life as soon as I reached for it. I imagined it in my mind’s eye as a blazing ball of light, capable of shifting the balance of magic.
I closed my eyes and settled into myself. I had a war to win.
Powers Unleashed - Book 13
Continue Isadora’s adventures in book 13 of the Magical Arts Academy.
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Acknowledgments
I’d write no matter what, because telling stories is my passion, but the following people make creating worlds (and life) a joy. I’m eternally grateful for the support of my beloved, James, my mother, Elsa, and my three daughters, Catia, Sonia, and Nadia. They’ve always believed in me, even before I published a single word. They help me see the magic in the world around me, and more importantly, within.
I’m grateful for every single one of you who’ve reached out to tell me that one of my stories touched you in one way or another, made you smile or cry, or kept you up long past your bedtime. You’ve given me reason to keep writing.
Read more by Lucía Ashta
MAGICAL ARTS ACADEMY
First Spell
Winged Pursuit
Unexpected Agents
Improbable Ally
Questionable Rescue
Sorcerers’ Web
Ghostly Return
Transformations
Castle’s Curse
Spirited Escape
Dragon’s Fury
Magic Ignites
Powers Unleashed
SUPERNATURAL BOUNTY HUNTER
Magic Bite
Magic Sight
Magic Touch *
SIRANGEL:
Siren Magic *
Angel Magic *
Fusion Magic *
MAGICAL CREATURES ACADEMY:
Thunder Mountain *
POCKET PORTALS
The Orphan Son *
DRAGON FORCE
Invisible Born
Invisible Bound
Invisible Rider
THE WITCHING WORLD
Magic Awakens
The Five-Petal Knot
The Merqueen
The Witching World Omnibus, Books 1-3
The Ginger Cat
The Scarlet Dragon
Mermagic
The Witching World Omnibus, Books 4-6
Spirit of the Spell
PLANET ORIGINS
Planet Origins
Original Elements
Holographic Princess
Planet Origins Omnibus, Books 1-3
Purple Worlds
Planet Sand
Holographic Convergence
Mowab Rider
THE LIGHT WARRIORS
>
Beyond Sedona
Beyond Prophecy
Beyond Amber
Beyond Arnaka
Huntress of the Unseen
A Betrayal of Time
Daughter of the Wind
The Unkillable Killer
Whispers of Pachamama
Immortalium *
(* coming soon)
About the author
Lucía Ashta, a former attorney and architect, is an Argentinian-American author who lives in Sedona with her beloved and three daughters. She published her first story (about an unusual Cockatoo) at the age of eight, and she’s been at it ever since.
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LuciaAshta.com
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