Conjuring

by Ciara Graves

  “We got this, right?” she whispered. “Whatever we see out there, we’re good.”

  “Together,” I emphasized, squeezing her hand. “There’s no Cleansers out there waiting to attack us, though. We’ll be fine.”

  Brogan nodded.

  “Yeah, right, I know,” she rambled. “But we’re ready, just in case.”

  “We’re ready,” I agreed.

  “Steady, Rori,” Brogan added.

  The three of us breathed as one, centering our focus and drawing on each other for strength and resolve. After about four or five breaths, the tension between us faded away and what remained was a reserved calm.

  The rest of the drive went by quickly. We peered out the window at the small town. The power was out, but several fire mages and priests were setting up torches and lighting the way for the Vanguard to evacuate the people.

  Our truck stopped, and we stepped out. As did Agnes, who was looking for Moran. He stood outside what appeared to be the town hall with a few people in plain clothes, with the Vanguard flanking him.

  “Moran,” Agnes said in greeting. “Wounded?”

  “A few, but nothing serious,” he replied. “This is Mayor Thomas Bean.” He pointed to the white-haired man standing beside him, shaken, but still standing. “He says it all began as a protest on the outskirts of town. Shortly after, there was a great show of lightning, followed by the power going out. Said there were a few military personnel with the protesters.”

  “And they never attacked?” I asked.

  Moran shook his head. “No, the protestors seemed spooked and took off. We scoured the surrounding area upon arrival, but there’s no one hiding out that we could find.”

  “Was anyone directly attacked by the electrical shocks?”

  “Shocks?” Mayor Bean repeated looking confused. “There were no shocks as far as I can tell.”

  “So this wasn’t an attack by the Cleansers then?” Brogan glanced about. “Why knock out the power if they weren’t planning on attacking?”

  “We’ve set up a perimeter, so we’ll see them coming. I need your help to get the townsfolk out of here. I will not leave anyone behind, in case they do come back. Chas, Brogan, Rori, you three round up the townspeople and escort them to the trucks. Check every house and building, understand?” Moran ordered. “And stick together.”

  “Yes, sir,” I said, and we took off down the street. Nothing about being here made me feel at ease. Each time I looked into the darkness surrounding the town, I was tempted to shift into bear form, ready to fight.

  “I’m going to check that house on the end.” Rori sprinted away.

  Brogan muttered a curse, but he was helping a family with their kids get clear of another house.

  “I’ve got her,” I growled and ran to catch up. “Rori, slow down,” I called after her, but she’d already disappeared into the house. “Damn it.”

  The house was the last one this street that gave way to a dead end. Beyond it were thick woods, so dark the moonlight and firelight from the town barely penetrated the shadows. I was about to step onto the front porch when a stick snapped.

  I froze, looking into the shadows thinking it could be an animal.

  Until a blue explosion lit up the darkness and the sound of panicked yells filled the air. That’s when I realized it had been a trap, after all.

  A second explosion hit closer to the house. I heard glass break and bellowed Rori’s name, sprinting to get inside the house.

  She barreled out the front door, right into me, taking us both to the grass. She threw her hand out, her staff at the ready.

  A shield of ice surrounded us as a third explosion struck, blowing the house apart. The ice saved us.

  “Are you insane?” I yelled.

  She let the ice fall around us, and we scrambled to our feet.

  “What? How the hell was I supposed to know they’d attack?” she yelled back and slammed her staff into the ground.

  Merlin appeared at her side, snarling and ready for battle.

  “Where’s Brogan?”

  “Here,” he yelled, rushing up to join us. “Ready for round two?”

  Men yelled as they charged out of the trees, all wearing the same uniforms as the ones who attacked us at Four Point.

  I shifted and roared, slamming my paws to the dirt.

  Moss shot out, racing to trip up the soldiers.

  Rori and Brogan formed a wall of ice shards, and lightning then launched it.

  The soldiers fell, but more sprinted out of the trees to replace them.

  Gunfire cracked around us and Rori was quick to form another wall of ice to give us a chance to move for better cover.

  “Do we have a plan?” she asked.

  “Don’t get caught up in one of those damned grenades again.” Lightning crackled at Brogan’s fingertips.

  All around us was chaos.

  The town’s citizens fled in all directions as the Vanguard moved to protect them. Keeping them safe had to be our top priority. If we could find a way to distract the soldiers, contain them, we could give everyone the chance they needed to escape. And once they were out of the way, we could fully attack the soldiers without fear of hurting anyone else.

  I shifted back and told the other two what I was thinking. They nodded, and we came up with a hasty plan.

  I couldn’t decide if Moran would praise us for stepping up or yell at us for being so reckless. But this was our duty, right?

  Merlin trotted out of the carnage to Rori’s side, carrying a bloodied glove from one of the soldiers.

  It was high time we started doing what we were meant to do. Be an Elite Guard team.

  “Merlin, I need you to do me a favor,” Rori told her familiar. “Go bite a few asses. Get them riled up make them follow you. Got it?”

  He huffed in reply then took off into the darkness.

  Brogan leaned back, focusing on the sky. A thunderstorm appeared in his eyes.

  Overhead, heavy clouds rolled in, lightning cracked, and thunder rumbled.

  When he faltered, Rori and I reached out and bolstered his strength.

  The thunderstorm whipped the area, lightning striking the ground around us in a circle, then spread out wider.

  More soldiers emerged, trotting in the direction of the townsfolk.

  Rori slammed her staff into the soil, and a burst of ice shot out across the ground.

  The soldiers slipped and fell.

  Merlin was there a second later, snapping at them and pulling their attention our way.

  The lightning pushed out further, striking in a wider circle until it reached the trees and stretched toward the center of town.

  One of the soldiers pulled something out from his front vest.

  “Grenade,” I yelled.

  Green and blue mist swirled around my hands. I crouched down, digging my hands into the dirt. The soldier threw the grenade and at the same moment, I forced a wall of earth to shield us from the electrical pulse.

  We couldn’t contain them forever, but we needed a little longer. I hoped the lightning would keep doing the job while the three of us ran toward the center of town. We had sequestered ourselves within a circle of cyclone level winds and lightning.

  A glance behind me verified the rest of the Vanguard were taking on the soldiers we hadn’t managed to foil.

  Rori nodded at me, then shuffled to her right as I moved left. Brogan stayed where he was, keeping the storm raging. If they got to him, we’d lose our hold on the enemy, and I was sure there would be more waiting out in the darkness.

  Two soldiers raised their guns. I shifted, dodging bullets as I charged them. One swipe of my massive paw broke their arms. Their weapons went flying as I slammed the men into the ground, leaving them for dead. Moss and vines followed me, lashing out at the soldiers as they charged.

  Somewhere behind me, Merlin howled and snarled.

  Rori shouted curses. The temperature plummeted, and a soldier sailed over my head.

 
I grabbed another by his vest and shook him hard, then tossed his body, just as I spied of two soldiers creeping toward Brogan. I roared a warning, but three men grabbed hold of me from behind, strangling me.

  I flailed and snarled, rolling onto my back and crushing them.

  Rori whirled around, swinging her staff in a mad arc just in time to stop the soldiers from getting Brogan.

  There were only a few remaining, and I was hopeful that we were going to pull this off.

  Until another explosion struck the lightning, making it flare blue and white.

  Brogan cursed, sinking to one knee. But his wall stood.

  Rori lunged forward to give him more strength. A soldier snatched her ankle, tripping her, then attacked with a knife, slashing at her throat.

  I roared, lumbering toward them when another explosion broke the lightning.

  Brogan collapsed to the ground, shook out his head, pushing himself back up.

  A small, black disk landed at his side. He rolled but wasn’t fast enough. An electrical shock burst, latching onto him. His back arched off the ground as he shook and jerked. It didn’t stop, the shock kept going.

  I shifted back, kicking the damned thing away as he hit the ground, smoke rising from his clothes. He was conscious, but didn’t speak.

  “You’re alright, we’ve got you.” I picked him up to throw him over my shoulder. “Rori!” I shouted to get her attention and let her know I was getting Brogan to a safer spot.

  She whacked the soldier across the face with her staff and yelled, “I’ll cover you—Chas, look out!”

  A high-pitched sound stunned my ears and made my vision blur. I was thrown off my feet, taking Brogan with me. We rolled across the ground, and he ended up a few feet away from me. I waited for the electrical pulse to hit us, but nothing.

  Then I noticed the blood on my hands.

  Brogan’s side was red, and he wasn’t moving. That sound hadn’t been an electrical grenade. It was a real one.

  Then the pain hit me, and I dragged myself forward, reaching out for Brogan.

  Rori yelled, but I couldn’t see her.

  More yelling sounds filled the air around us.

  Another blast threw us into the side of the house. I smoked my head on the siding and slid to the ground.

  Brogan grunted.

  I grabbed hold of his hand, unsure of how we were going to get out of this and thinking how much of an idiot I’d been to think we could stand against an army alone. And succeed. The soldiers were only yards away. We were going to be taken. Or worse,

  “No,” Rori screamed.

  Suddenly, she was there, standing in front of us. She slammed her staff down, and ice shot toward the soldiers, taking them down, one after another, but they quickly got back up, guns at the ready.

  She created a shield of ice just in time to stop a barrage of bullets, but each hit to the ice wracked her body.

  I stretched my fingers out, brushing them against her leg while holding onto Brogan.

  Our connection solidified, and her power gained a new burst of life. She pushed the shield of ice into the line of advancing soldiers, giving us space to move. I’d just managed to rise, barely and was helping Brogan, when he collapsed with a groan, and didn’t move again.

  The ice wall cracked down the center, while Rori struggled to keep it going.

  “Brogan? Come on, man. Wake up.”

  Rori turned back and caught me checking Brogan’s pulse. Her eyes narrowed, concern on her face.

  I couldn’t find one and cursed, starting compressions.

  A subtle change came over her and whatever balance Rori might’ve had disappeared. Her eyes flashed a dark violet, and her hair blew back. On the staff gripped in her fingers, the stone shifted from blue to violet. She stepped forward, raising both her arms. It was like she was sucking all the air in from around her.

  I checked Brogan’s pulse again. Finding nothing, I kept up compressions, not willing to give up on him just yet.

  A cry filled with pain ripped from Rori’s throat, and she slammed her staff into the ground.

  A shockwave shot toward the soldiers and trapped them with a bright flash of golden light.

  The first line of soldiers grabbed their chests. Swirling ice flung the rest of them into the trees. A sickening sound of crunching was their bones breaking.

  Rori twisted her staff, and the yellow light flared higher, then was sucked back into Rori’s staff.

  The men hit the ground, but she whirled around and directed that power back at Brogan. The yellow light cut through the earth, and when it hit Brogan, he shot off the ground with a strangled gasp of air, clutching at my shoulder.

  “You’re alright. You’re alright,” I assured him. “You’re alive.”

  “What… what happened?” He looked around wildly.

  The violet light of Rori’s eyes was fading. She took two steps, then collapsed.

  Behind her in the trees, the soldiers were rallying, but the Vanguard—having spirited the townspeople to safety—rushed past us and into the woods, finishing the fight.

  Brogan and I staggered toward Rori. He knelt and drew her up into his arms, tapping her cheeks, but she was out.

  “What did she do?” Brogan asked me, reaching for her hand which still had a white-knuckled grip on her staff.

  “She drained them of their life, then gave it to you.” I was stunned by the display of power I’d just seen from her. She’d used both paths simultaneously, done it without batting an eye. Because at that moment, whatever happened, that hadn’t been Rori. There’d be time to deal with that she did once we were back at the outpost. “Can you walk? I’ll carry her.”

  Brogan gently handed Rori over to me, and I took her in my arms. His wounds were open, and he pressed a firm hand to his side, cursing that he would need stitches this time around.

  Rori hung limply in my arms on the way back to the convoy.

  Moran and Agnes were absent.

  Blade was there. “They’re chasing down whatever soldiers remain.” His face was bloodied though I wasn’t sure if it was his blood or not. “You three are insane. I hope you know that.”

  “Mind getting us back now so we can collapse in peace?” Brogan muttered.

  “Did you see Merlin?” I’d lost sight of him during the fight. No sooner had I asked, he was nudging my side. “Never mind. Come on, get up there.”

  We piled into the truck and Blade yelled for the driver to punch it. Told us we’d see Moran and Agnes back at the outpost.

  As we drove away from the town, the rising flames and destruction were reminiscent of Four Point after the Cleansers’ attack. Only this was worse. This involved civilians. Non-magic people.

  Rori stirred between us in the back of the canvased truck, but her eyes remained closed.

  We each took a hand while Merlin lay at her feet. We all stayed exactly like that all the way back to the outpost.

  Chapter 7

  Chas

  I leaned against the doorway of Rori’s room, waiting for her to wake up.

  It had been two days since the battle, and Brogan was still recovering. He’d woken up once, briefly. Not sure if he’d remember or not, but it gave me hope.

  As far as Rori, not so much. She was still out. Completely out.

  I sighed again, watching Merlin. He’d rested his head by her hand, and was whining.

  “Then wake her up,” I snapped at him. “You can get inside her head. What’s going on in there?”

  He grunted as if to say he had no idea, and that worried me more. What I’d seen her do was insane. Especially for someone who only months ago was unable to use her powers. Now she was able to drain the life from multiple targets at once? She’d said she found her balance.

  After what I witnessed out there, I knew she’d been wrong. Rori had taken lives without hesitating. Even during our first major fight, she’d attacked, but she wounded more than she killed. This time, she took them out without a thought. Now I was worried
the Rori I knew—the Rori I found myself caring for—was not going to be the same one who opened her eyes.

  If she ever opened her eyes.

  When she did, we’d have to have a long talk about getting a handle on her abilities. She couldn’t pass out for days every time she used them.

  “Nothing yet?” Moran asked as he joined me in her doorway.

  “Nothing,” I replied bitterly.

  “She’s at war with herself; it’s why this happens. I suppose, in a way, this is my fault. Pushing you three too hard, too fast.” He stood tall, as always, with his hands clasped behind his back, but the regret in his eyes let me know his concerns. That another Elite Guard team under his command was falling apart because of his orders.

  “No, it’s not,” I assured him. “This is our calling, remember? We just have to figure out how to help her find her balance and keep it.”

  “I would like to say you have all the time you need, but after this last assault, I’m afraid time is running out.” He indicated with his head for us to get out of there.

  After one last look at Rori, I followed him down the hall.

  “That town was not the only one to experience the same protest that ended with their power being cut off.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Ten others between Montana and Colorado. Same thing happened.”

  “They were all attacked?”

  “No,” he muttered. “I was an idiot. I should’ve seen it as a trap.”

  “What are you saying?”

  He stopped short and shook his head, looking older. “I’m saying they played us. They were hitting towns to try to draw out you three. Now they know where you are. Or at least which area. They’re going to be coming for you soon.”

  “There’s no way they can find this outpost though. Right? We’re underground.”

  “That leads me to my other problem. The only way for them to know so much about our organization, the Vanguard, the Elite Guard, is to have an insider. Somewhere. Here or in the government,” he snapped. “There’s a traitor, and until flushed out, we’re going to have to play this as safe. You three are grounded. Until further notice.”