by Sever Bronny
“Well, you did ask him to the Star Feast.”
Mr. Goss set down his tea, brows traveling up his forehead. “An interesting development indeed! May I ask who the lucky fellow is?”
“His name is Chaska,” Bridget said, face scarlet. “He’s a Solian Henawa.”
“Well that is just splendid. Congratulations, Bridget. I am sure he must be very honored to be going with such a pretty young lady.”
Bridget shrank a little while curling strands of cinnamon hair behind her ear.
Mr. Goss glanced out the window. “Let us only hope the weather clears.”
“Have you ever missed a Star Feast before due to weather, Mr. Goss?” Leera asked in an overly cheerful manner that made Augum suspicious.
“Only once, when I was your age. It was the worst blizzard I have ever seen. But you know what we did? Those of us with dates ran off to an abandoned barn and had the most marvelous supper anyway.”
“Aww, Mr. Goss, that’s so romantic!” Bridget cooed.
“Wonder how Mrs. Stone is doing,” Augum muttered, hoping to switch topics.
Mr. Goss cleared his throat. “Yes, well, perhaps we should not celebrate too much. After all, there are people in great trouble tonight.”
The table fell quiet.
“The castle is called Bahbell,” Augum blurted. “It means gateway to hell.”
Jengo swallowed hard.
Augum felt a kick from Bridget. “So, uh, think the weather will improve soon?” he asked in a forced jovial manner.
Bridget rolled her eyes as Mr. Goss jubilantly recounted an occasion when the clouds miraculously parted, allowing for a last-moment Star Feast.
Mr. Okeke and Jengo soon served lunch consisting of leftover leek soup, herbed salmon, buttered steamed carrot, and for dessert, Sierran custard pie.
After lunch, Mr. Goss and Mr. Okeke retired to the living area to have tea, while Augum checked on Haylee again. She hung sleeping as a quiet voice spoke nearby. He wondered if it was Erika or Robin. When he withdrew, it was to a silent table, everyone’s face showing concern.
“Nothing new to report,” he said after wrapping up the pearl.
“Time is running out,” Bridget said. “It’ll be sundown in a few hours. Hope Mrs. Stone hurries.”
“Let’s use the time to train,” Leera said.
“An excellent idea,” Jengo said, “as long as we do it safely.”
Leland moaned loudly.
“Of course you can help us,” Bridget said. She retrieved the yellow and blue books from the rucksack and paired off with Augum while Leera paired with Jengo. Leland scuttled between the two groups, moaning.
While rehearsing the 1st degree, Augum tried not to steal glances at Leera and Jengo. He had a harder time than usual casting the spells.
Mr. Okeke and Mr. Goss would occasionally stop their conversation to watch, commenting on the wonders of arcanery.
Later, Augum and Bridget switched to the 2nd degree. To his secret satisfaction, Leera had gotten nowhere with Jengo, who seemed far more concerned about dying than learning.
Leland lined up some pillows in a row for Augum and Bridget to send flying backwards with Push, much to Jengo and Mr. Okeke’s delight. Leera kept telling Jengo to focus, but his eye would inevitably wander over to what Bridget and Augum were doing.
The pair eventually moved on to Shield. Augum asked for a volunteer. Mr. Okeke eagerly offered, using a carved ebony cane to attack with. Augum summoned his shield of hard lightning again and again, gradually feeling more comfortable with it.
At the third hour, Jengo was reading the blue book on arcaneology and Leland snoozed by his father on the settee, having exhausted himself. Bridget practiced wrapping things with her vine while Leera practiced brightening and dimming her palm. Augum moved on to Disarm, a spell he was not nearly as proficient at. Mr. Okeke once again volunteered to help, but Augum only managed to yank the cane from him once every three attempts.
Eventually, everyone decided to rest in case they needed their arcane energies to help Mrs. Stone. Jengo continued studying the blue book while Augum checked on Haylee. She now sat limp in a chair, unmanacled, the room still lit by that single dying candle. Two Legion guards in half helms stood behind her. There must have been more people nearby because he heard shuffling feet and quiet voices.
Sundown would come soon. Was Nana on her way there now? Had she failed in her studies?
“Anything new?” Bridget whispered when he withdrew from the orb.
“Not really.”
“Let’s take turns watching. You shouldn’t be the only one burdened.”
“I’d rather you didn’t. It’s … disturbing.”
“More disturbing than watching you tortured by Robin?”
He looked at her, bit his lip, and handed the pearl over.
The waiting and watching went on for a while. There were no new developments other than the doubling of the guards and the occasional appearance of Erika, who paced relentlessly, red robe fluttering.
Then, just as Augum was monitoring Haylee, he heard an implosive sucking sound back in Milham. One of the guards must have heard it as well because his head snapped to the orb. Augum felt a sharp tug and withdrew, stifling the pearl in his fist.
In the Okeke home, Mrs. Stone was being helped to a chair, back bent, eyes encircled by tired lines.
“We are so very happy to have you return, Mrs. Stone,” Mr. Goss said.
Everyone gathered close while Mr. Okeke set a pot of water over the fire for tea.
“I have not slept,” Mrs. Stone croaked, “and I am late and quite tired, but I may have a solution.” She withdrew two scrolls from within her robes, one large and one small. The small one was crinkled and yellow from time. She handed it over to Bridget. “Decide amongst yourselves who will be the one.”
The trio crowded around the ancient scroll. It turned out to be a complex set of instructions on how to cast spells through the Orb of Orion. Near the bottom, it revealed a crucial piece of information—only someone who was tuned to the orb stood any chance of success.
“I don’t understand, Mrs. Stone,” Bridget said. “How are we to free Haylee with this? None of us know spells powerful enough.”
Mrs. Stone handed over the larger scroll. “This may work.”
Bridget unfurled it—it was a Group Teleportation scroll. They had used one before to escape the Legion.
Augum glanced between the two scrolls. “But … how? We can’t read inside the orb.”
“The scroll must be cast within the orb.”
“That makes no sense, Nana, how are we to—”
Bridget grabbed his arm. “—by memorizing it.”
“Correct,” Mrs. Stone said. “The spell will be triggered if spoken correctly. All you need do is have the scroll in hand while your attention is within the orb.”
Augum gaped at the long set of instructions and the arcane phrase that would trigger the spell. The words were complicated but rang with familiarity. The plan seemed ludicrous and far-fetched.
“What about the tuning?” he asked.
“Looking into it—” Bridget said, skimming the yellowed scroll. “I’m guessing you’re supposed to have spent a lot of time with the orb.”
“Augum looked through it the most,” Leera said. “You can do it, Aug. If anyone here can, it’d be you.”
“Nana, maybe you should—”
“I spent the last half day teleporting all over Solia and beyond in a frantic attempt to track down this scroll. My arcane energies are spent, I have had no sleep and I am not tuned to the orb. I daresay it would be foolish for me to make the attempt.”
“Don’t worry, Aug, we’ll help you prepare,” Bridget said. “Give me the pearl.”
Augum handed it over, throat suddenly dry. This was far beyond anything he had ever tried before. Memorizing a complex spell and casting it while peering through the Orb of Orion? Was she mad?
Everyone sat in tense silence as Bridget glance
d through the orb. “There’s a whole bunch more guards in there now,” she said after withdrawing and wrapping up the pearl. “Erika’s there too, and who knows who else. I think the best way to do this is to somehow get Haylee to touch the orb just as you finish reading the Teleportation scroll.”
“But how’s he supposed to do that?” Leera asked.
“I may have a solution to that problem,” Mrs. Stone said. “My research has uncovered it is possible to move the Orb of Orion, as long as one is tuned to it.”
Augum frowned. “Move it? But how?”
“I think I understand,” Bridget said. “If we can lock it, we should be able to move it using the same principle, right? Maybe give it a command like move or something.”
He sighed. “I can try. Give me a bit of time to memorize this.” He began reading the instructions to Group Teleport. Nothing was sinking in though—there was just too much pressure. Leera sidled in beside him and began reading it aloud, which helped somewhat. The difficulty came with the pronunciation of the arcane trigger phrase. Luckily, Mrs. Stone patiently guided him through that part of the challenge.
“Unclutter your thoughts, great-grandson. Do not fear your training. Do not fear success. Remember, too, that you can cast other spells within the orb.”
Augum looked up. Of course—Centarro! It was by far their favorite and most interesting spell. It was ancient and off-the-book, allowed for pure concentration, but also had a serious side effect upon expiring—the dulling of wit and slowing of reflex. It was risky, but probably his best chance.
They discussed various strategies some more, settling on Augum taking the time to figure out how to move the orb first before doing anything.
“It’s almost sundown,” Bridget said at last. “Think you’re ready?”
“Think so,” he replied, taking the pearl. “Let me just look a moment.”
His consciousness dove through the orb. Augum counted no less than eight guards, of which two stood behind Haylee’s chair. Erika Scarson stared at the orb, knife in hand.
He retreated to Milham, pearl tight in his fist. “If only there weren’t so many people in there …”
“Allow me.” Mrs. Stone opened her palm and he handed the pearl over. “Prepare yourself, and remember—they are expecting me to show up at the gates.” She closed her eyes and spoke in a firm voice: “I am coming!” Augum imagined the words booming on the other end. She opened her eyes and handed the pearl over, giving a slight nod.
Bridget gave his elbow a squeeze. “Good luck,” she whispered.
He looked over the old instruction scroll and the teleportation scroll one last time before taking a deep breath. This was it—Haylee’s life now depended entirely on him.
He closed his eyes and allowed himself to see through the Orb of Orion, taking in all the details— the stone block walls, wet from a leaky ceiling; the single mocking Endyear candle that sputtered, almost at its end; the four remaining guards positioned near Haylee; and Erika issuing commands to soldiers out of view.
“… and be sure to inform Lord Sparkstone of the crone’s words,” she finished saying, earrings jingling. She yanked up Haylee’s chin. “Your wait is almost over, my sweet dove of a traitor.” Haylee stared at her with distant red eyes. When Erika let go of her chin, her head fell forward limply.
Augum guessed the orb sat on a table.
Go forward, he commanded.
Nothing.
Fly. Go up and forward. Move. Then he realized he had to picture the orb doing that very thing. He commanded it to roll forward—and it worked! The orb rolled, falling off the pedestal. For a moment, Augum feared it smashing on the ground like glass, yet it bounced instead. Erika turned around just in time to catch it. She gaped at it stupidly.
“Your Ladyship,” one of the guards said. “What is happening?”
“I don’t know … it has never moved before.”
Augum ignored them. He had to get Haylee to touch the orb just as he finished the trigger words for Group Teleport. But would the spell work through the orb like that? There was only one way to find out …
Erika’s eyes suddenly widened. “We have to get this thing out of here!” But just as she began to move, Augum used his Shine extension—Shock. Erika yelped and let go of the orb. It bounced again. One of the guards caught it, but Augum was ready. He imagined himself shoving at the air.
“Baka!”
The guard was sent sprawling, the force sending the orb flying backward into a corner. Erika raised her palm and yanked at the orb using Telekinesis.
Lock, Augum thought, and the orb froze in midair. Erika tried jerking her hand but the orb stayed in place.
“Get in here and help me!” she screamed at the guards, never taking her eyes off the orb. This was it, Augum had to do it now or lose Haylee forever—
“Centeratoraye xao xen!”
The fluttering of the candle slowed. Every detail of the room stood out in sharp contrast—the unpolished surface of the floor; the arched doorway with its keystone; the splash of water on Erika’s hide boots. His thinking clarified as if his mind had previously been working through fog. Everything became simple and understandable.
Unlock, he thought. The orb started to fall. Erika was moving her lips to cast another spell.
“Grau!” Augum yelled, making the motion in his mind. The room crashed with the sound of thunder. The puddles on the floor vibrated as the candle snuffed. The guards dove to the ground, hands over their ears, before darkness enveloped the room.
There was a cool moment of ringing silence.
“Shyneo,” Erika said, hand erupting in flame.
“Haylee, get the orb!” Augum yelled, but one of the guards had grabbed her, soon joined by another. They picked her up and were about to carry her from the room.
Augum sensed he only had one chance at this. He remembered how the orb recoiled after casting Push and thought to use the same principle, this time with Telekinesis. He reached out arcanely and yanked the lead soldier dragging Haylee. The orb shot straight for him, slamming into his chest and falling right into Haylee’s lap. She wrapped her hands around it just as Augum began reciting the complex arcane phrase that would trigger the Group Teleport spell.
Yet just as he neared its completion, another pair of hands encircled the orb, trying to yank it from Haylee’s grip. He glimpsed the cuffs of a red robe as everything began glowing hot white. A wind kicked up as he felt himself being pulled away.
Then the air crunched and everything collapsed on itself.
The Singhs
Augum opened his eyes. He stared at the world with the mind of a simple child. Shapes and colors were all that interested him. Movement was too complex, but there was a lot of it. Sound was unknown and unintelligible.
As time passed, he slowly became aware he was lying on a wooden floor. The movement sharpened as did the pain in his head. He felt queasy and weak. Someone had their arm around his shoulders, someone with raven hair, dark eyes and freckles.
“Take your time, Aug,” the girl said. “Everything’s under control here.”
There was the sound of a muffled struggle. “Help me tie her up, Jengo,” an older ebony-skinned man said to a towering youth.
Augum rubbed his head. It throbbed along to the beat of his heart, a familiar pain he vaguely understood happened when he pushed himself arcanely.
Eventually the girl helped him sit up and fed him a cup of water, brushing hair aside from his sweaty forehead.
“What happened?” he mumbled. “Where am I?”
“You’re just experiencing the side effects of Centarro,” said a cinnamon-haired girl sitting across from him. “Everything’s all right. She’s restrained.”
Who’s restrained? What was she talking about?
The shapes in the room came into focus and began to look familiar and comprehensible. That was a statue over there; a chair over here; a settee; a hearth; two ebony-skinned men—father and son; an old woman—Nana—his great-gran
dmother. She was casting spells on another woman tied in a chair, wearing red robes. That woman …
That woman was Erika Scarson!
Things quickly became clear. Mr. Goss bumbled along helping Mr. Okeke and Jengo clean up the room, the contents of which lay strewn about as if a small tornado had barreled through. Haylee slept on the settee, golden hair matted with blood. Bridget covered her with one of their Dramask blankets. The pumpkin-sized Orb of Orion sat on a pillow on the floor—it had made the trip back.
Leera’s gaze was locked on Augum. “You did it,” she whispered, smiling.
“She is subdued,” Mrs. Stone said at last, reaching for Mr. Goss. “Please take me to a bed, I must rest now.”
“This way, Mrs. Stone,” Mr. Okeke said, leading them to Jengo’s bedroom.
Jengo stood behind Erika’s struggling form, hands tied behind her to a chair. She was looking about with vacant eyes, mouth screaming silence.
“She’s blind, deaf and mute,” Bridget said. “Soon as she arrived, Mr. Okeke and Mr. Goss jumped on her, while Mrs. Stone cast some spells.”
Augum glanced to Haylee’s still form. “How is she?”
“Mrs. Stone put her into a healing sleep. She won’t wake until tomorrow. Everything seems to have worked out.”
“What do we do with Auntie Erika?” Leera asked, refilling Augum’s cup from a skin of water. “Drop her in a deep well maybe?”
“You know we can’t do that,” Bridget said with an admonishing frown. “We have to keep her prisoner or something. Maybe conduct a trial, I don’t know.”
“I was kidding,” Leera said, adding under her breath, “sort of.”
Jengo brought a small basket of dried fruit. “Keeping her prisoner is extremely risky. It’s already amazing we didn’t all die in this skirmish. Besides, she’s a warlock—there’d have to be safeguards.” He examined a broken nail. “This is sure to get infected …”
Bridget made a dismissive wave. “You’ll be fine. Anyway, there used to be warlock trials in the court of Blackhaven. Until the Legion took over.”
Leera scowled at Erika’s struggling form. “Well we can’t drag her along with us.”
