by Nichols, TJ
If they had freedom, they wouldn’t stay in Vinland. They’d find a way out. The underground must suspect them. Jim had said as much. But how much of what Jim said could he believe?
People did leave Vinland. He was sure that some of the stories about the surrounding lands were just to scare people. But he didn’t want to find out if the Mayans really sacrificed those who crossed the border, and he didn’t want to cross the no man’s land between the Nations and Vinland because it was said to be patrolled by creatures that weren’t human or demon.
The telestone was cool in his hand. He wanted to sit outside and use it, but one of their guards was there, happily smoking a pipe and reading a newspaper. So Angus did another lap of the yard and another, as though he were getting his daily exercise by walking around the space like a rat on a wheel.
He was sick of the propaganda on the TV, but that was all they could get. The hacks into the outside world had been shut down, and he didn’t know enough to find any for himself. Eventually he sat at the table with the guard. Sour blue smoke coiled out of the pipe. The man glanced at him, but he didn’t seem to hate him like the other guard did.
Angus took it as an invitation to start a conversation. “Any exciting news?”
“Vinland has taken out several Mayan Empire ships that were forming a blockade to stop supplies getting through.”
That was the front-page news, but was it the truth or something cooked up to make Vinland look good? “Who fired first?”
The man smiled. “What does it matter? We’re at war.”
“Who with?”
“Anyone who wants to stop us. They want our magic.”
Except it wasn’t Vinland’s magic. Magic was like air or the oceans. It flowed and circulated. It made its way back and forth across the void. Or it should flow and circulate. Holding it stagnant had caused all the damage.
And that amount of magic couldn’t be hidden.
The guard seemed to believe that Vinland was entitled to all the magic. Even those countries that banned demon magic and only allowed the use of what was naturally available must understand the flow.
“So what? They’re going to bomb us until we give it up?”
The man nodded. “There was bombing over New London while you were away. The college fought back, created a storm that knocked the planes out of the sky.”
Until that moment Angus had scanned the front page of the newspaper and tried to guess the words hidden beneath the man’s thick fingers. He looked up. “New London was bombed?”
That wasn’t the bit he was interested in. The college had made a storm. Had that been what triggered the storm in Demonside?
“Yup.” The man flicked through a few pages and showed Angus the photos of the storm and the article that praised the quick work of the college—like the paper was ever going to criticize the college. The editor and writer would find themselves vanished.
“The underground must be concerned that they aren’t acting fast enough.” They were supposed to stop the college before it got serious.
The man shrugged and put down the paper. “I’m just here to make sure the college doesn’t get a hold of you lot.” He puffed out a cloud of smoke and then stood. “Have a read. Just remember, not everything in the paper is true. Hasn’t been for a long time. Not since I was in college.”
The man took his pipe and walked to the other end of the garden.
Angus wanted to read the paper—he hadn’t read a good story in a while—but he desperately wanted to talk to Terrance. With the stone in his pocket and clasped in his hand, he stared blankly at the story of the attempted bombing and willed Terrance to answer.
Had the stone gone flat already or were they too far apart? It would be that much harder to charge, given that he couldn’t work magic in the house and he was watched when he was outside. He should be grateful they didn’t put a dampener on him when he stepped through the door. If they did that, he’d never be able to recharge, and he’d go back to Demonside depleted of magic and die that little bit faster. Maybe they didn’t realize that. He wasn’t going to tell them if they hadn’t made the discovery.
He should’ve made another to swap it with Terrance and keep his own charged. He was about to give up, but he felt the touch of Terrance against his mind.
Then he was as clear in Angus’s mind as though they were together. Angus didn’t know if he was actually seeing him or recalling a memory. He’d have to ask Saka.
I really need to see you, Terrance said.
Me too. Angus knew his lips were moving. Hopefully the guard would just think he was sounding out the words. Are you well?
Terrance nodded, and a lock of his dark hair fell forward. He flicked it back in a move that Angus knew well. He was seeing Terrance, not a memory. He was almost sure of it. Or was he seeing a little of both? The image was what he knew, but it was given life by Terrance’s thoughts.
We should ask them if we can get together for Solstice. Have a bonfire here or something. There would be music and dancing and bigger bonfires in the city as people rejoiced on the shortest day because the days would start to get longer until Spring arrived. Was there anything to celebrate this year? The days might lengthen, but winter wouldn’t release its grip. Or do you have plans?
Terrance had a life. He wasn’t trying to live between two worlds. He had a fledgling career and teammates and friends. For a moment Angus was jealous that Terrance was able to put aside everything and have a life, even if rugby was no longer his dream.
My only plan is to be with you.
Angus could hear the smile in his voice. He didn’t deserve what Terrance offered. We can only ask.
I have already. Terrance paused. I might have some good news by then. I’m meeting with someone. These bracelets can be tampered with. Not everyone plays rugby without using magic.
What do you mean?
That some wizard players have found a way around the dampeners.
Angus’s chest tightened for a moment. There’s a way around them? Why does no one talk about it? Why isn’t the underground eliminating all of them?
How could he switch off the ones in the house and stop the smothering that happened as soon as he walked through the door? He spent as much time as he could outside, bundled up against the cold, because he felt as though he couldn’t breathe in the house. He let the guards assume it was because he was used to being outdoors in Demonside and that he was quite uncivilized. They had no idea how complex demon society was, how essential it was that everyone contributed.
Even him. Even when he was being a selfish idiot and making his own swimming pond. Saka had used him as bait to provide a meal for the tribe, instead of ordering him out of the water, but he had learned the lesson. The moment the riverwyrm made its presence known as it moved through the underground river, Angus had nearly gotten out of his little lake. Or was it a large puddle? Instead he signaled the hunter.
Panic had made his heart race, but he kept silent. The hunter drew her weapons, and a few heartbeats later, it was over. The riverwyrm broke the surface, tunneled through the sand, and burst into the pond. A spear through the head killed it, and his heart almost stopped. He’d been staring into the creature’s eyes and could see its teeth. His hand shook so badly that it took him several tries to get dressed. If he hadn’t been reaching out and feeling the magic that ran through Demonside, he would’ve missed it. Did riverwyrms also swim along the magical currents?
Terrance frowned. Am I seeing bits of Demonside?
Angus blushed. He hadn’t realized Terrance was able to glimpse all of his thoughts. Yes. That was me playing bait so we could get dinner.
It looked dangerous.
It was. I think it’s safer over there.
Terrance gave him a grim smile. If I can get free of the dampeners….
They won’t know? You won’t get into trouble?
I’ll be careful. No one wants the college to know they can be gotten around. But I need to do it.
&nbs
p; Given the way they’ve infiltrated the underground, they probably do know. It was the safest assumption to make—that the college knew anything the underground knew. How worried are you about what’s going on? He’d thought Terrance safe and protected from the fear and hunger that was spreading everywhere. And Angus was sure he could only see a tiny part of the truth.
When I see you for Solstice, I don’t want to go back. I need the bracelet disabled.
Angus swallowed. That was so soon—only days away. No one had made any good plans. There’s nowhere to go.
Didn’t you once say you’d rather take your chances in Demonside?
Yeah. That sounded like him. But it’s dangerous.
But I’d be free and not constantly waiting for the threat to change to violence. I can’t keep living like this. I know it’s only a matter of time until the underground uses me to get to you… or the college makes me vanish.
Angus’s heart lurched. He didn’t want to imagine a world where Terrance wasn’t around. And Terrance was more worried than he’d ever let on.
Footsteps crunched through the snow, and Angus looked up from the newspaper he was supposed to be reading. He hadn’t turned a page, and he had no idea how long he’d been staring at the same one.
I have to go. He wanted to say more, but couldn’t make the words, and he didn’t know if he should say them even.
You too, Terrance said with a smile, as though he understood perfectly what Angus didn’t say. Had Terrance sensed it? He was gone before Angus could ask what he had meant.
The guard drew closer, and Angus turned several pages at once to make it look like he’d been reading, not talking to someone using magic rocks. The telestone was hot in his hand.
New Holland was under attack by its northern neighbors. The paper called it another attack on demon magic by those who wanted to outlaw all magic.
“Time to go in. It’s freezing out here.” The guard took his paper away and tucked it under his arm. “I’ll come out for a smoke after lunch.”
Angus looked up at the man. That was an invitation to come out again. Angus could search for the college’s telestone—their magical storage facility.
He smiled. “Are there any plans being made for Solstice?”
If Terrance was there and they got together with the other trainees, they might have a chance to flee. But there would be no coming back. He’d learned to not give up his magic. The others would have to learn fast or do no magic. Demonside would suck them dry. And once they got there, what then? They couldn’t stay with Saka’s tribe. They’d need to find the other demons.
The guard snorted. “You really think there will be a Spring to look forward to?”
The globe would still turn, the days would lengthen, but the world would be frozen for as long as magic was locked up. “I hope the underground will give us a reason to celebrate.”
But he wasn’t relying on them—not anymore.
He wasn’t just a rogue warlock with a price on his head. He would soon be a traitor. But dying in Demonside would be a gentle death compared to what Vinland would give him, Terrance, and the other trainees.
Chapter Twenty-Five
The tribe was settled in their new location and water was assured. It hadn’t dropped below the spike that was driven into the sand years before to provide ease of access for traveling tribes. Saka sat in his tent and unwrapped his telestone. A web of them now spread over the sand, but he wasn’t sure if they’d be enough.
He didn’t even know if the tribe was moving in the right direction. What if the other demons lived across the sea?
Before he tested his web of telestones, he did his job and contacted some of the other mages. He needed to find out how they fared during the storm. The news was troubling.
Demons have gone missing. And not just from this tribe.
During the storm? But Saka already knew what Dayth was suggesting.
No. Some of the demons had warlocks. The people last seen with them also vanished. It seems as though the warlocks are determined to take whatever they can. There is talk that we should do the same.
Usi would know that, and she would agree with those who wanted to take warlocks.
Dayth went on. I know that we are supposed to wait for the humans to fight their own battle, but will there be any of us left? That storm was unprecedented in my lifetime.
There is talk that large storms happened during the last war. Saka wasn’t ignorant about the past, but he didn’t want to relive it either. The war had devastated many tribes. It was said that before the war, there was much less desert. If Demonside hadn’t healed from the last war, would it survive another?
Yes. Perhaps the war has already started, and we are refusing to see.
The war started the moment the warlocks broke the unwritten rules and stopped rebalancing.
How could they fight an enemy that controlled when the void would open?
Dayth nodded in agreement. Some have been fighting back.
What do you mean?
Not my tribe, but I heard that some have been attacking the warlocks. Demons with warlocks should be armed at all times. If nothing else, they should take their own life before the warlock can use it.
Saka rocked back. He didn’t want to tell any of the demons in his tribe to take that precaution. All demons with warlocks must be taught to open the void so they can escape from Humanside.
And drag the warlocks through with them? Yes, it’s already happening. But the warlocks are no longer summoning alone. They are gathering in groups and hitting hard. The animals are helpless. Warlocks have already grabbed a pack of scarlips. And that’s just the one we know about. Your trainees didn’t return them.
No. Angus had wanted to, but Saka understood Angus’s reluctance to disobey the underground. Terrance would pay the price. Saka was in a similar position. He didn’t want to push too hard in case Angus ended up suffering.
He had to put the tribe first, but how did he do that? What would guarantee the tribe’s survival? Killing themselves to avoid capture wouldn’t help them in the long run. The warlocks would just seek new demons to bond with. Saka doubted that any mages would step up, though they had the best chance to fight back, and that was the only way to win.
He wasn’t ready to say that yet, certainly not to a mage he didn’t count as a friend and ally. Dayth had supported the trainees because he wanted to know more about the humans, not because he thought it would save them. Saka only wanted the chance to avoid war, but he hadn’t realized they were already fighting.
The scarlips didn’t end up in the hands of the Warlock College, Saka said. If Angus was right, the underground was the college. The loss of Guda and her high-level warlock didn’t seem accidental anymore. If the demons didn’t fight back, the warlocks would drain Demonside until there was no more magic and no more demons. Nothing.
At dusk Saka contacted the half dozen mages he trusted the most. They gathered magic, and Saka pushed his mind through the web of telestones. He fragmented a little with each leap to the next one, until he was spread thin across the sand and stretched like a fiber to the point of breaking.
The other mages pushed their magic into the connection, and he reached to the next stone. In his mind he saw the stones glowing softly like fallen stars on the dark sand. He wasn’t touching them all, so he reached a little farther.
The whole time he pushed out a message. Mage Saka of the Lifeblood Mountain tribes is seeking contact with mages from across the sand.
He was careful to keep the message open and not focused on any demon he knew. He wanted mages he didn’t know.
There was another telestone, and a ripple brushed against the fraying edge of his mind. One of the supporting mages faltered. The stars in the sand wobbled. Then the flow of magic cut off, and all the stars went out.
Wek shook him. “Saka.”
There was a herd of tacra stampeding in his head, and his mouth tasted like blood.
Wek touched his cheek. The c
ool brush of healing magic invaded his nose and head. At first it was pleasant, but it became painful fast. He grunted but didn’t have the strength to fend her off.
Why was Wek in his tent?
He tried to form words, but nothing came out. Had he lost part of his mind? Reached too far? For just a moment, he’d felt the answering mind of another mage. He didn’t know who they were, but they’d heard him. It was a small victory.
He let Wek work and tried to recall the direction of the contact so he would know which way to focus. It was close to where the sun rose.
When Wek finished, Saka tried to sit up. She helped him and handed him a cup of water.
“Whatever you were doing, I felt it ripple over me. Then Becha called me and said I had to get to your tent.” Wek squatted in front of him, concern etched on her face. Saka was head mage, but he wasn’t invincible.
Becha had probably saved his life by calling Wek. Saka had warned Angus about the dangers of pushing too far, and then he did exactly that. Saka sipped the water. His mind couldn’t be that broken because his thoughts seemed to be clear.
“I am okay. Thank you.” Forming the words on his tongue was harder than it should be.
Wek looked skeptical. Saka saw the blood on the floor of his tent. It wasn’t a few drops. His brushed his hand over his top lip, and dried blood came away. For how long had he lain bleeding? Had his brain also bled? “Was it bad?”
“You would have been dead by sunrise. Do not do it again without someone here. Becha told me to tell you that. I have to agree, even though I don’t know what you are working on.”
Saka breathed out and tried to contain the panic that speared his heart. He couldn’t die. He had too much to do, and he had reached another mage—someone far away.
He wanted to try again that night, but he wasn’t a fool. He’d need to wait—add more stones and increase the web. But there was no time. Every day he wasted was another day the warlocks stole and stored magic.
