by Krista Walsh
Counsellor Brady Reed bore his new title well. He had gained back all the weight he’d lost while Raul was draining his life. Jeff remembered how gaunt Brady had been by the end, the hollows of his cheeks so deep his cheekbones looked sharp. He had died skeletal, and even now dark circles remained under his eyes, suggesting sleep had not been his friend. But his cheeks were tinged a healthy pink, and his grey eyes were bright, removing any fears Jeff might have had about lingering effects of Raul’s spell.
“You guys look great,” said Jeff. “I hardly would have recognised you, Brady.”
Brady smiled. “Amazing what not being slowly drained of life can do for a person. Die for a while and you bounce right back.”
“Yes, yes, let’s all crack jokes about that time you died,” said Jasmine, amused but serious at the same time. Shaking her head in wonder, she came to stand in front of Jeff, scanned him from toe to head before meeting his eyes with a bright smile. “Gods-be-damned, Powell.”
Jeff heard everything he needed in those words and wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug. She returned the embrace, and then pulled back, keeping her hands on his shoulders.
“Where’s Cassie?” she asked, looking from him to Venn. “You two didn’t fall out again, did you? Jeff Powell, if after three months I have to welcome you by calling you an idiot—”
Jeff forced a smile to reassure her. “No, we didn’t. She’s here in Andvell. Somewhere.” He brushed a stray hair out of Jasmine’s face as he swallowed his pain and anxiety. “We haven’t been back a full day and I’m already full of adventures to share.”
Jasmine eyed him with concern, and Jeff understood the silent promise that she would help him figure it out.
“So why don’t you tell us about this business of yours. And let’s sit. I’m sure we all have a lot of news to share, so we might as well be comfortable.”
Jayden claimed the large wingback chair by the fire, propping up one boot on the antique coffee table. Jasmine shot him a glance, which he pointedly ignored, and she rolled her eyes and let it be.
She and Brady took the sofa next to Jayden, with Maggie, Venn, and Jeff cozying up on the other. A servant arrived a few seconds later to lay down a tray of fruit, bread, and cheese, but Jeff refrained from picking at them, still full from his steak dinner.
He debated where to start, but knew his story, especially since it would end in a request for help, would probably take a while. “How about we start with your guys’ news first. You’ve obviously been busy.”
Brady cleared his throat, and a look passed between him and Jasmine that made Jeff feel almost smug. He had written their relationship, and in spite of Jasmine’s best efforts to prove Jeff wrong, things must have been going well between them.
Jasmine smiled and said, “We were married a month ago.”
Jeff’s mouth fell open. He wouldn’t have thought things were going that well.
“Married? As in exchanged vows, official in the eyes of the law, walked up the aisle in a white dress married?”
“Green. My dress was green,” Jasmine corrected. “But otherwise, yes, that’s about accurate.”
Much to his surprise, Jeff felt disappointed. Although he had said he hoped his last goodbye would be the final one, he wished he could have been there to celebrate with them.
“I’m sure you looked beautiful,” he said.
Jasmine’s smile softened as if she saw through to his feelings. “We’re sorry we didn’t wait for you, but we didn’t know when or if you’d be back. After everything that’s happened, we didn’t want to press our luck by waiting anymore.”
“I completely understand. It’s hard to take things slow when it hits you how much time we don’t have,” Jeff said.
Venn crossed her arms. “I’m kind of glad I wasn’t here.” At the shocked looks she received, her cheeks turned pink. “You would have made me wear a dress or something. I think I prefer hearing about it after it happened.”
“You two were mentioned in the speeches, though,” Maggie cut in, resting her hand on Jeff’s knee. “In pretty much all of them, actually.”
“Not always in a flattering way,” added Jayden. “I may have made one or two slurs against your name.”
Jeff rubbed his lower back. “Is that what those shooting pains were? Glad to know who was doing the stabbing.”
The teasing felt good. Natural. As if they’d been having these chats all their lives. Which in a way, they had. In Jeff’s head. He was glad he still had moments like this, where it amazed him that he was sitting with these people in person. It reassured him he would never end up taking this miracle for granted.
“No matter what you guys said about me—or if you said anything at all—I’m just happy it worked out.”
“You would say that,” said Jasmine, giving him a wink.
He chuckled and looked around the room. “That’s some big news to start with. Anyone have anything equally major? Maggie, any new children? Jayden, married any other princesses?”
They all shared a laugh, but Jeff noticed the expression on Jayden’s face darken, his gaze dropping to his boot as his sea-green eye narrowed.
Interesting.
Jeff made a point to watch Jayden closely, because it was clear to him the Feldall lord wasn’t as satisfied with his life as he seemed to be out in the field. Jeff wondered if Jayden had heard from Princess Ariana—the secret wife even Jeff had known nothing about until she announced it to the entire court and in front of the Queen of Andvell. Or maybe the problem was that he wanted to hear from her?
He made a note to talk to Jasmine when the opportunity arose.
“That’s about it for us. On a personal nature, anyway,” said Jasmine. “I can’t say everything is bimmelberries and cream right now.”
“Mm, bimmelberries and cream,” said Venn, closing her eyes in imagined bliss.
Jeff ignored her and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “What’s up?”
Jasmine looked to Maggie, and Jeff turned to face her. Flustered by the sudden attention, Maggie raised her hands in an “I don’t know” gesture as she gathered her thoughts.
“We’re not sure what it is,” she said. “That’s what it comes down to. Obviously, it’s got some kind of magical foundation, but whether it’s a spell or a side effect, we’re really not sure.”
“What sort of spell?” Jeff asked. If Maggie didn’t know how to pinpoint it, he guessed it wasn’t anything good.
Maggie leaned back into the sofa. “Vortices keep opening up. Like little swirling doorways into nothing. They’re small, but they’re opening with increasing frequency, essentially swallowing up anything in their immediate paths.”
Jeff blinked. “Swallowing as in…”
“One of them tore up a tree,” said Maggie. “We haven’t seen any personally, but word came from a village not far from here. Flagston. Three farmers were chatting outside one morning and they said it looked like a storm from a single cloud gathering over the field. Flashing lights and swirling colours, and then it was gone and a hundred-year oak tree gone with it, with a giant hole in the ground where the roots had been pulled up.”
“That sounds impressive and terrifying,” said Jeff.
Jayden rubbed his eye. “I took a few men to take a look at the damage. They’re telling the truth. At least that the tree is gone. I figured at first it was just one farmer trying to scare the others in some kind of prank. Maybe some feud they wanted to take advantage of. But then we saw it happen.”
“What?” Jasmine exclaimed, turning in her seat. Brady edged closer and rested his hand on her back. “You didn’t tell me that.”
“We only just got back. It wasn’t a big one. Not big enough to eat a tree, anyway. I don’t think it opened all the way, or whatever the hell it has to do to leave the kind of damage it did in Flagston. But the horses spooked, and Addison got thrown. Broke his neck.”
Jasmine’s hand flew to her mouth to cover a gasp, and she reached out and gripp
ed Jayden’s fingers. “I’m sorry, Jay. We’ll toast his honour tonight over dinner.”
Jayden nodded and squeezed his sister’s hand before letting it go.
“But even now that I’ve seen it happen, I have no idea what could be causing it. We interrogated every villager, even searched a few homes to look for magical paraphernalia that might have caused it. It’s no one there, I’d stake my life on it.”
“Which makes sense,” said Maggie. “It’s happening all over the country. Whoever or whatever is causing it might be anywhere. I’ve started researching what we know, but now that you’ve seen it happen, maybe I can get a better description from you, more information about what we’re looking for.”
Jayden nodded again and returned to absent-mindedly staring at his boot.
Jasmine blew the stray hairs out of her face and leaned back against Brady. “So that’s pretty much all our news. Your turn.”
Venn slouched down in her seat. “Sounds like we’re not the only ones who’ve been busy. I guess we chose a bad time to bring trouble.”
Jeff couldn’t disagree with her, but he still meant to ask for help, tree-eating vortices or not.
“Venn and Cassie convinced me to use the Sisters’ key and come back to barter for my imagination,” he said.
“Gods-be-damned,” said Jasmine. “And?”
Jeff tapped his temple. “It’s all in there. Everything I need to continue my career messing stuff up for people I consider fictional.”
“Jeff, that’s incredible!”
Jasmine had been the first, and for a long time the only, person who knew what Jeff had sacrificed to get Cassie out of Treevale. It meant a lot to him that she was as thrilled as he was to have his creativity returned.
“So where’s Cassie?” asked Brady, in a tone that suggested he already knew the answer.
“The Sisters took her,” said Venn, one decibel above a growl. “Part of the trade, they said. So they sent her off somewhere, and we don’t know where.”
Jasmine’s face dropped back into an expression of concern. “No ideas at all?”
Jeff shook his head. “They said she has her own role to play in the world’s survival. No pressure or anything, right? They wouldn’t give me anything more than that. Then they said Andvell’s in trouble and I’m needed again. That I should ask Maggie, or Brady, or… the child sorcerer? I didn’t really pick up on that one.”
“Ah,” said Maggie. “That would probably be my son. Although at nineteen I don’t think I can call him a child any longer. Turns out William doesn’t only carry some magical ability, he’s quite adept at it.”
Jasmine smirked. “By adept, you mean he likes to experiment. If ever you see smoke coming up the stairs from the Haunt, don’t walk—”
“Run,” finished Brady with a soft smile.
A sudden shadow of pain rippled across the counsellor’s expression, and he wiped his brow to clear a few beads of sweat. Jasmine squeezed his hand, and he relaxed, casting her a look of reassurance. Everything happened so subtly that Jeff didn’t feel comfortable asking if he was all right. That conversation could come later.
“But I’m sorry, Jeff,” said Jasmine. “I can’t think of where they might have sent her.”
“Unless the Sisters know the cause of these vortices?” Maggie suggested. “Maybe they sent Cassie to help stop it from happening.”
Frustration roiled in Jeff’s chest, and he pressed his fingertips into his eyes. “That doesn’t help us, does it? We still have no idea where to start.”
“Jeff, cut it out,” said Jayden, the first words he’d spoken since Jeff had made the crack about marrying princesses.
Jeff dropped his hands and blinked at him, not sure if he should respond with the anger Jayden’s tone had provoked, or back down before the warrior got even angrier himself.
Once Jayden knew he had Jeff’s attention, the firmness left his voice, although a hard edge remained. “I know Cassie means the world to you, but some unknown magic is eating holes in my world. If the two are somehow connected, then solving one will solve the other, right? So help Maggie with her research and we’ll find Cassie.”
A short pause followed Jayden’s speech as everyone recovered from his sudden admonition. Jasmine couldn’t take her eyes off her brother, confusion and worry written on her face.
“Jay’s right,” said Brady.
Jasmine nodded. “It’s too cold for you to go traipsing around looking in every nook and cranny across the country for her.”
Jeff sagged into the sofa, still not able to shake the rest of his discouragement. The Sisters had sounded so sure his friends could give him the information he needed. “Look, I know you guys have bigger problems on your hands, and one missing woman is not high on your priority list—”
“Cassie is my friend,” Jasmine interrupted, her tone and the furrowing of her brow alerting Jeff that he had offended her. “You know I would do anything to make sure she was all right. But just like before, with Raul, we don’t have the resources to send out hundreds of men to look for her. Not with some unknown threat hanging over our heads. We’ll be no good to Cassie, either, if we don’t figure out the bigger problem.”
In the face of Jasmine’s irritation, Jeff felt his anger dissipate. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I guess I’m just exhausted. It’s been a long day.”
Jasmine ran her hand over her face. “We’re sorry too, Jeff. I know what you must have gone through, losing her again. There’s no question of us getting her back. You just need to trust us.”
Maggie nodded. “I’ll get right to work. As of today, William and I made progress with some tomes sent to me from Margolin. It turns out this may not be the first time the vortices have opened. We’ll figure this out.”
“In the meantime, do either of you need a trip to the healer?”
Jeff ran a quick inventory of bruises and scratches, but didn’t think any of them were worth getting checked out.
“I think I’m all right.”
Venn nodded her agreement, and Jasmine stared at both of them a moment longer before saying, “Then you should get some sleep. Both of you.”
“I’m not tired,” argued Venn.
“I don’t care,” Jasmine replied. “You’ve been yawning since you sat down, and I don’t want to have to haul you upstairs myself. Now move it.”
Venn groaned, her expression of irritation undermined by a yawn halfway through.
Jeff rose to his feet and looked over at Jayden, who had reverted to his brooding posture. He’d never seen the warrior, far more a man of action than reflection, so wrapped up in his thoughts before. Even after the battle that had lost him his eye and arm, all Jayden had wanted to do was get back up and fight.
Definitely something not right about all of this.
As he headed up the stairs towards his usual room, it struck him that no one had mentioned the wolves and what they might mean.
Later. Problem for later.
For tonight, he was willing to sleep it off and see what revelations came in the morning.
And who knows. Maybe my dreams will help decipher some of the Sisters’ crazy riddles.
***
He dreamed of snow. Up to his waist, it bogged him down, made walking almost impossible. Every step took an age, and even though the scene ahead of him appeared peaceful and quiet, he knew something behind wanted him dead.
He struggled to hurry, but the snow weighed heavy on him, still falling as though it wanted to bury him alive. Threats from above and behind.
And then ahead as the ground opened up before him, the carpet of snow in his path crumbled away in a cracking fissure, the snow rippling like water as it cascaded towards the gap.
He lost his footing and tumbled into the snow, tried to stop himself from sliding, but the force of the avalanche dragged him forward. He scrambled to grab onto something to keep from falling, but the snow had no grounding, and he continued to slide.
A hand grabbed his wrist, and he
breathed out with relief. He wouldn’t fall now. He couldn’t. He was safe.
Smiling, he looked up to see the face of his saviour, and his smile turned to horror, the blood in his veins turning colder than the snow.
Raul stood before him, wearing his suave grin and bespoke suit, eyes red and blood dripping from the gash in his neck.
“Ah, Jeffrey, won’t you allow me to help?”
***
Jeff woke with a yell, sweat pouring down his chest, the sheets below him damp and tangled around his feet.
“Jeff, hey, calm down,” Jasmine’s voice floated to him in the darkness. “It’s just me.”
“It’s Raul,” he said in a panic, everything falling into place in his mind. He could still see the sorcerer standing in the room, at the end of the bed, grinning at him. “He came to me in my dream. He’s the one causing these holes in the world.”
Jasmine’s shadow cut in front of the open window, and she sat down on the bed beside him. “Raul is dead, Jeff. He’s not coming back. You saw it happen.”
As Jeff moved closer to full consciousness and his breathing slowed, the certainty brought about by his dream faded. Raul’s face, that creepy-ass smile, dimmed, until only he and Jasmine were left in the room.
But his fear was soon replaced by another as he caught sight of Jasmine’s face in the moonlight. Her cheeks glittered with half-dried tears.
Sitting up he rested his hand on her knee. “Jax? What’s wrong?”
“It’s Brady,” she said, her voice steady in spite of her distress. “He’s asking for you.”
Jeff scrunched his brow in confusion, but didn’t waste time with more questions.
He grabbed his clothes from the chair beside the bed and scrambled into them, cringing as the snow-wet denim of his jeans slid over his legs.
“Ready,” he said, and Jasmine led him out into the corridor.
He stayed close to her in the darkness. At first he wondered why she hadn’t bothered to light a candle to guide them, but she was moving so quickly, she’d probably not even thought about it.
“Is he all right?” Jeff asked as they hurried.
