by Kristen Pham
Valerie found herself really laughing for the first time in weeks. She and Henry gripped each other, unable to stop giggling. She suspected that they were both a little hysterical.
Dulcea, Jack, and Thai smiled at them, but then Valerie met Cyrus’s gaze and her humor vanished. He was staring at her with something unfathomable in his gaze, but it wasn’t amusement.
After the meeting ended, Cyrus and Valerie left the Guild together, their hands loosely linked, while Henry walked next to them, his expression distracted.
“It was good to see you laugh tonight,” Cyrus said, letting go of her hand. “But I thought I’d be the one to finally make you do it.”
Valerie didn’t know what to say, so she changed the subject. “Thank you for not running after Zunya today. I know you wanted to.”
“But you are planning to send me after him, right? Once we form a good plan?” Cyrus asked.
“Cy, maybe you should practice your new power first. Are you sure you can even do it again?” Valerie asked.
“Stop talking to me like I’m a kid! I’ve been fighting this war as long as you have, even if I’m not the almighty leader of the Fist,” he said. Then, under his breath, he added, “But maybe if I were the one leading, Zunya would be dead and we’d be a lot closer to winning this war.”
Valerie could tell from the scowl on Henry’s face that he’d heard Cyrus.
“Watch it,” Henry said. “She’s the one in charge for a lot of reasons, one of which is that she doesn’t have a giant ego.”
Cyrus’s jaw clenched, but then, his eyes met Valerie’s and he looked down. “Sorry, Val. I didn’t mean it. I came so close to doing something important today, something heroic, and it’s killing me that, in the end, I failed.”
“Zunya will get what’s coming to him,” Henry said with more conviction than Valerie had heard in his voice for weeks.
Cyrus nodded and then split away from them, heading to his dorm while Valerie and Henry continued home.
“Can you imagine if we really could have ten days of peace?” Valerie asked her brother. “It’s probably not leader-like to admit, but I’d love one day of doing something fun.”
“I wanted to talk to you about that. I believe Zunya. I think Reaper’s offer is genuine,” Henry said.
Valerie turned to him in surprise, trying to read his expression in the moonlight, since his mind was completely closed to her.
“Are you sure enough to put the people of Plymouth at risk?” she asked.
Henry nodded. “It’s not easy transporting things across the Globe, especially big things or people, fast.”
“Even if his offer is genuine, it must be pretty important stuff he wants to move around if he’s willing to give us a break,” Valerie argued.
“Maybe he wants a break, too. We’ve got him on the defensive, at least on Earth, with that program Thai created. They’re not making the progress finding the charm binding Earth’s magic they thought they would. I mean, I’m guessing.”
Valerie considered his words. “All right. I’ll talk to a few people first, and if no one has strong objections, I’ll accept Reaper’s offer.”
Henry stopped walking and turned to her. “Just like that?”
“I trust your judgment, Henry. Every single one of us needs a break from the constant battles. Even if it’s for a little while.”
Henry winced at her words.
“What is it?” she asked.
“You have so much faith in me. I don’t deserve it,” he said.
“You’re my brother, my only family. I love you more than anyone in the universe,” she said.
“Me, too,” Henry said, his voice a little wobbly.
The rest of their walk home was quiet. Valerie thought about how grateful she was that even though she’d lost her father, she still had a family. She wasn’t alone.
But what Henry thought about that put such a deep, worried frown on his face she couldn’t guess.
Chapter 5
“This is an insult. They know the leader of the Fist has come to meet with them, so where are they?” Sanguina’s voice rang out in the grove of trees, sending a cluster of birds fluttering into the sky.
“It’s okay. I can wait,” Valerie said.
She, Sanguina, and Chisisi had arranged to meet with the contingent of the People of the Woods who had returned to Earth, but they were an hour late.
“I see a flicker in the trees,” Chisisi said, his voice calm as ever.
“Finally!” Sanguina huffed. “If I were still a vampyre, I’d leave them shaking with fear for days!”
“Probably best that you’re not, then,” Valerie muttered. “Now keep your voice down. They have amazing hearing.”
She’d forgiven Sanguina for the years she’d spent terrorizing Henry and herself, but hearing her mention her prior life so carelessly made her shudder.
Sanguina was contrite. “I’m joking, of course.”
Before Valerie could reply, two People stepped from the trees. She recognized them as elders who led the contingent of People on Earth, Oak and Meadow.
“How fare you, vivicus?” Oak asked her, nodding his head. His skin glinted with a touch of gold in the sun. He didn’t acknowledge Chisisi or Sanguina.
“The attacks on Earth and the Globe have only gotten worse,” Valerie said. “Have you had any luck following the leads that Chisisi sent your way?”
“This human didn’t understand, but you will,” Meadow said, her passion evident in the defiant thrust of her chin. “We have been occupied cleansing the rivers of the pollution that humans have dumped into the waters. Without pure water, we cannot help the animals that depend on it for survival.”
“I know how important it is to help the plants and animals on Earth thrive,” Valerie began carefully. “But if we don’t stop the Fractus now, who knows what kind of destruction they could visit on the land?”
“Did you visit the lake in Armenia I spoke to you about, to see if there were any traces of ancient magic?” Chisisi asked.
Oak finally turned to Chisisi. “We did visit the site. There was once a great power there, but it is gone.”
“What do you mean, gone?” Sanguina demanded.
“The object that is binding magic on Earth may once have resided there, but it was moved,” Meadow explained, as if she were speaking to a small child.
“Could the Fractus have beaten us there, and they already have it?” Valerie asked, her heart beating faster.
“Not unless they did it many centuries ago,” Meadow said.
“Are there any traces you can follow to see where it might have gone?” Valerie asked.
“We do not have the ability to follow magic trails, so there is no more we can do for you,” Oak said. “We will leave you now for more important work.”
“We wanted to ask—” Valerie began, but Oak and Meadow had turned and were already vanishing through the trees.
“Say the word, and I’ll drag them back by their hair,” Sanguina seethed.
Chisisi sighed. “Forcing them to help is more difficult than finding another way. Especially when we have a willing Conjuror on hand who is an expert at tracing magic trails.”
“Chrome,” Valerie said with a smile. The wolf was an old friend, and she would welcome the chance to see him.
“He’s been following up a lead in Brazil, but it appears to be a dead end,” Chisisi said.
“He’s restless,” Sanguina said. “He needs something to do, or he’s going to search out more Fractus to fight again.”
“Again?” Valerie asked.
Chisisi and Sanguina exchanged glances.
“The wolf Knight has been volatile,” Chisisi said diplomatically.
“He attacked a Fractus crossing his path without being provoked,” Sanguina explained. “The man would have surrendered, but Chrome was out for blood.”
“Was the man killed?” Valerie braced herself for the worst. Gideon had warned her of Chrome’s bloodlust.
Chisisi shook his head. “The man is safe, and a captive. But I thought it best to keep Chrome in remote areas where he is less likely to encounter his enemies.”
“That’s a temporary solution,” Sanguina said.
“I’ll talk to him,” Valerie said. “I’m sure he’s still grieving for Jet.”
“As you command,” Chisisi replied in his formal way.
“There’s something else I wanted to talk to you about,” Valerie said, and she launched into the story of her encounter with Zunya and Reaper’s offer of a temporary truce.
“Do you think I can trust him?” Valerie asked Sanguina.
“In all the years I was with him, he never broke his word that I saw,” Sanguina said. “It was a matter of pride. But it’s a big risk.”
“I’m planning to accept, unless either of you gives me a good reason not to,” Valerie said.
“It would be a gift from the gods to have some time to regroup,” Chisisi said.
“Thank you both,” Valerie said, and returned to the Globe.
Valerie knew when she smelled lilies that Azra and her foal were waiting for her near her house.
She saw a flash of silver fluttering in the wind. Azra was trotting from the trees, searching the area carefully before turning back and nodding to Clarabelle that it was safe to emerge.
The presence of the baby unicorn was almost as all-consuming as the first time Valerie had met her. Peace enveloped her like a glow, and everything seemed possible—even defeating the Fractus and ending this horrible war.
“You’re here!” Valerie burst out joyfully. “Welcome! Is it safe?”
Safe or not, we had to come. Clarabelle is drawn to you. I could not keep her away. Azra gently nudged her baby with her nose, and Valerie heard her gentle cooing response in her mind.
Valerie knelt before the little foal, who left her mother to nuzzle Valerie’s shoulder.
“It’s so good to see you, little one,” Valerie said.
Clarabelle made little noises in Valerie’s mind. They weren’t fully-formed thoughts, like Azra’s, but Valerie understood the essence of what she was communicating. Connection, joy, a kinship of spirit.
Unicorns have always been drawn to the pure of heart.
Azra’s words made Valerie unaccountably self-conscious.
The youngest unicorns are also the most powerful. To deny her instinct to find you would be like depriving her of food.
“But it’s dangerous near me,” Valerie said, looking up at Azra’s eyes and seeing her own worry mirrored in them.
Unicorns are also drawn to war, with an overpowering drive to bring peace. It may be why our race is nearly extinct. I cannot fight Clarabelle’s impulses, especially since they echo my own, so here we are.
Despite her worry for Azra and Clarabelle’s safety, Valerie was also relieved to have someone to help guide her down the road ahead.
Summer, an ancient centaur who had helped Azra give birth to Clarabelle, emerged from the trees.
“The woods are clear,” Summer said.
Summer has decided to act as our guard. Azra answered Valerie’s unspoken question.
“This is my life’s new purpose. I never thought I’d have one again,” Summer said.
Despite her age and the painful way she moved after being tortured by Reaper, Valerie knew she would be a formidable foe if anyone tried to hurt the unicorns.
We are here now to tell you that we will be hidden in a protected grove in your woods. If you reach out with your mind, Clarabelle and I will hear you.
The tiny unicorn then poked her mother gently with her sky-blue horn.
Azra’s eyes clouded. She is trying to tell me something. That there is an offer of peace, a truce?
Valerie couldn’t hide her surprise. “How did she know that? Reaper offered us ten days of peace in exchange for access to Plymouth.”
I have only dim memories of my own days as a foal, but when unicorns are young, they sense the possibilities of the universe like you would smell a scent on the wind. This offer is pleasing to her.
“It would be safe to accept?”
Clarabelle’s certainty overpowered her mind, a sensation so sweet that she could almost taste it on her tongue.
“It confirms what I was already planning to do. I think I have a visit to make,” Valerie said.
When Valerie told Henry that she was planning to accept Reaper’s offer on his own turf, she was expecting resistance. But Henry embraced her idea.
“If he isn’t willing to honor my visit under a flag of truce, then he can’t be trusted in Plymouth,” Valerie explained.
“Agreed. But I’m coming with you,” Henry said, and she knew he was deliberately opening his mind to her so she would see that he wouldn’t change it on this point.
“I don’t want it to look like it’s an attack, so it can’t be anyone other than you and me, at the most,” she said.
“Then let’s not tell the others. Cyrus, in particular, would never agree,” Henry said.
“They’ll only worry, and we have to do this,” Valerie agreed.
Without any more verbal discussion, they turned their steps toward the woods behind The Horseshoe. The Fractus had made camp a couple of miles away, and Valerie knew from the People of the Woods that Reaper had been living there for the past few weeks as the Fractus had stepped up their attacks on Silva.
Valerie knew the instant they had been spotted. The branch of a tree moved slightly, and she saw a little rainbow on the ground as light reflected through something almost transparent. One of the invisible Fractus was the lookout.
The leaves rustled in the breeze, and adrenaline pumped through her system. She guessed that the wind carried the news of who was entering camp.
Her suspicion was confirmed when three Fractus appeared in front of them, as if they had stepped out of thin air. Which they might have, Valerie realized, thinking about Reaper’s ability to bend space.
The Fractus could be from Elsinore—they were tall men dressed in elaborate armor that was as fashionable as it was functional. They all carried swords that looked as if they had been dipped in black ink.
Henry’s fear swept through her before he closed his mind. She stared at him, confused. They knew that they would have to fight before their message to Reaper became clear. Why was Henry so frightened?
“We’ve faced these weapons before,” she reminded him. “They won’t be able to steal our powers. Pathos and your machete were both created by the People of the Woods and imbued with light by Cyrus. They’re stronger than what the Fractus are wielding.”
“That won’t be enough this time,” he replied, his face grim.
Before Valerie could ask him what he meant, the men attacked. She let her magic rush through her, and Pathos was a blaze of light, flashing as she parried with two of the Fractus who attacked her at the same time.
“She really isn’t bad,” one of the Fractus said with a sneer, though Valerie could see that he was breathing hard.
Next to her, Henry blasted the third man with his telekinetic power, sending him skidding across the ground.
In a move so fast that her attacker didn’t notice, Valerie cut his armor in six key places, and it dropped to the ground with a clatter, leaving him clad only in his underwear.
“My next attack won’t leave you unscathed,” Valerie said with a smirk of her own.
She ducked as her second attacker swung wildly at her head. He became unbalanced by his move, and she expertly knocked him in the head with her elbow without even bothering to watch.
She kept eye contact with the first man the entire time.
“Tell Reaper we’re here to discuss his truce.”
Valerie was so confident of her victory that she didn’t see that the man was smiling, in spite of looking ridiculous. She stumbled backward when his eyes turned black. She was so transfixed that she didn’t notice at first that Pathos was no longer glowing. In fact, the area around them seemed dimmer, as though it
was quickly becoming twilight.
“What’s happening?” she asked, sparing a glance at Henry.
It was a mistake. Henry was grappling with his attacker on the ground, and Valerie could see that he was gritting his teeth to avoid making a sound of pain. His attacker’s eyes were black, too.
Her distraction cost her, as her attacker knocked Pathos, which was now devoid of light and ice-cold, out of her hands. The black weapon of her attacker sucked away her powers. She fought the urge to drop to her knees.
It was so dark now that it was difficult to see. She tried to summon the energy to leap at her attacker before her powers vanished entirely.
“Truce! Tell Reaper truce!” she called desperately, considering for the first time that this might be a fight she and Henry wouldn’t win.
Beside her, Henry managed to head-butt his attacker, and she swept her foot in front of her. Her attacker stumbled, but didn’t fall. He must already be channeling her magic, which had been absorbed by his black weapon.
“Stand down,” Reaper said, and the two Fractus who were still conscious dropped their weapons and stepped back, their eyes returning to normal. Abruptly, light returned to the woods.
“Good puppies,” Valerie said, struggling to keep fear from entering her voice. Reaper couldn’t know how close he’d come to defeating her, or he might decide that having her dead or captive was more important than having access to Plymouth.
The men scowled at her, and she was glad that her words had found their mark.
“Enough,” Reaper said. “You are here to accept my truce?”
“Yes,” Valerie said.
As her heart rate reached a more normal pace, her loathing for the monster in front of her surfaced. It would be so easy, so tempting to kill him in one move.
But that was what he wanted. He’d done everything he could to provoke her into killing him, and he must have a powerful reason for doing so.
“Tell me how to gain entrance to Plymouth,” Reaper commanded.
“No. I will allow you to enter on my terms, or not at all,” Valerie said. “Gideon will let you in, and he will monitor your movements while you are in Plymouth.”
Reaper considered her words. “He may watch from the ground. I won’t let you see what we are doing, or this truce is worthless.”
