Only it didn’t come close.
One small swipe of the hand, and Victor sent it careening off into the distance, striking the wall and catching fire. It exploded into a row of police cars, all parked side-by-side. Their drivers had run a mile.
But that gave me an idea.
Looking around, I realized what I had to do.
“Okay, wait.” I held out my hands, keeping Victor from reacting, making him stop, confused. I took a moment, dusting off my knees and pulling back my hood. Oppressive heat rose from my head and neck, and I needed the air. When I was done, I had strategized my plan of attack. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
Victor laughed; a harsh, chesty sound.
“Well, don’t say I didn’t warn you.” I used my power to summon the rocks from my feet, and hurled them toward Victor at a frightening speed. They, of course, were sent to his sides as he willed them, but that was okay. I didn’t need them to hit – I only needed that second head start to the nearby scaffolding.
As I ran, I kept raising anything I could see, throwing them at him and beginning my ascent up the scaffolding. Paint buckets, hammers and drills were my arsenal as I continued to climb. I shot a look behind me to see Victor hot on my trail.
Good.
“You can’t run forever,” he spat, his voice threatening. Closer now. Fear infiltrated my being as surely as if his mouth hovered at my earlobe.
“I don’t plan to.”
I finally reached the top. My eyes darted around, assessing the area because I’d just ran out of runway. There was nowhere to go from here, save for the ground below. I studied it quickly to see if it might hurt. If I were mortal it would have, but I wasn’t sure how much my new strength would affect that. I could only guess.
Victor caught up to me, and stood on the opposite end of the scaffolding’s roof. A diabolical smile danced on his lips, his eyes hosting a darkness that I had never seen before. I didn’t know where the real Victor Kronin had gone, but sanity didn’t live inside his head anymore.
“You did well,” he said. “But you’re really not good enough.”
Nervous, I looked down at the ground below. It must have been at least thirty feet.
“Before you die,” he said, raising his hands to prepare an attack, much like a scorpion does with its tail, “would you like to know the difference between you and me?”
Not really, jerkweed. I stepped back, where no more room waited for me. “I already know the difference,” I said, the wind whipping at my hair. “I’m going to live to see another day!”
With no further warning, I leapt from the great height of the scaffolding. The air tore through me as I fell, and I prayed that my last words weren’t wrong.
I hit the ground with a thud. It hurt, but not enough. I didn’t have time to cherish the moment. Before Victor could make his play, I shot up to my knee and focused on the bottom bar of the scaffolding. I summoned it with everything inside me, pulling with my mind, begging it to follow my command. When the bar slipped, I felt a smile curve my lips.
The bottom floor collapsed first. All other poles continued to fold in on each other. The structure toppled in a rush of wood and metal, clunking and clanging as each floor struck the ground in frightful demolition. In the heat of it all, I only caught a brief glimpse of Victor, plummeting to the bottom and howling in pain.
When the dust settled, I got to my feet and ran forward. I spotted Victor, crawling out slowly, coughing his guts up and slowly making his way out of the rubble. I put my boot in front of him, letting him know that he had been beaten – that I had stopped him, and he was now nothing more than a hopeless, heartless creature.
“You’re coming with me,” I told him.
Victor began to laugh. “You really think that’s enough to stop me?” he said, struggling to his feet.
It was my turn to smile. “I was hoping you’d say that.”
In the blink of an eye, I raised my leg and planted my heel into his stomach. As he bent over holding his gut, his magicard was exposed. I used my telekinesis to bring it to me, and in that split second where he looked up at me with horror, I had no time to feel sorry for him.
My mind spun, summoning the row of flame-coated police cars from beside us, launching them at Victor all at once. I leapt back, hearing the bone-crunching sound of metal against human. It all happened far too quickly for the eye to see. I could only make out the cars knocking him into the air above the water, and then exploding into a huge ball of fire.
I stood there for a minute, catching my breath. Had I really just killed a human being? I was sure I hadn’t – at that very last second, I could have sworn I’d seen…
Never mind. The threat had been dealt with, and I had won.
But I had also lost.
I spun on my heel and ran back to Francis, whose body glowed. I knelt by his side, examining the entry wound but trying not to touch him. I didn’t know what the hell was happening; his entire body sparkled as if covered in glitter. That same sparkle seemed to consume him, and then float into the sky like ashes on the breeze. It was like… well, like magic.
All that remained of Francis was the magicard that stayed behind.
“There she is!” came a voice from the distance.
Before I had time to weep – time to mourn – a crowd of police officers came running in my direction. Was I being blamed for this shitstorm? I mean, sure, I was responsible for some of it, but couldn’t they see that I had been saving lives?
Quickly, I scooped up Francis’s magicard and sprinted toward a nearby alleyway. If they had managed to keep up and follow me, I didn’t know about it. All I knew for sure was that I was tired, afraid, and completely alone.
Chapter 10
Although there was one place I could go. It wasn’t perfect, but I wasn’t exactly overwhelmed by options. It was this, or keep running until… well, what exactly would have happened if I’d continued holding three different magicards at once?
I rushed into the VHS store, finding the door unlocked and the room empty. I ran into the back, still wearing my robe, and gawked at the quiet space which had once become a portal – where I had left a normal life behind.
“Is anyone there?” I called. Perhaps it was dumb, but I imagined someone watching me in the fire. After all, I had been shown a world of magic. Anything was possible. “I need to come back to the Vault, so could you please make me a portal?”
Nothing.
I heard my desperate panting ringing in my ears.
I sighed. “Fine.”
Dreading the possibility of returning to a plain existence, I reached into the pocket of my robe and pulled out the three magicards. I held them up as if someone really was watching me, and then left them on a nearby shelf. I remembered the robe itself, and began to unbutton it, but I’d only unhooked two before I heard the sweet sound of burning fire.
In front of me, a red fiery ring appeared in the air. Seconds later, I could see the Vault, sitting on the horizon like some unwelcoming host. I swallowed and grabbed the magicards, took in a deep breath, and ran up the dirt path to the tower. A frigid chill had cast itself over the mountains, but I had other things to worry about – bigger things.
I made my way to the Grand Hall, leaning into the doors as they creaked open, and saw Dalton and the Elders waiting for me by the great fire. I had a feeling thereafter that this would be the only place I would see them. That, or it was coincidence.
“Come, Lady Keira.”
Hesitant at first, I strode into the hall and approached the three robed men. I didn’t know what to do, what to say. How could I tell them that their Cardkeeper had died? How could I explain to them that it was my fault?
I pondered this, and then dropped to a knee, holding the three cards out to them. “These belong to you,” I said. “Francis has… I mean, Francis just…” I couldn’t finish that sentence. Thankfully, I didn’t have to.
“It is a great loss, but it is not your fault.”
&nbs
p; Heart racing, I tilted my head to look up at Dalton. I could almost see his face, but his expression remained shrouded in darkness. When he took the cards from my hand, I rose and averted my gaze. “I’m responsible for what happened. I let Victor go, I led Francis into the battlefield, and I got distracted. If I had been at his side–”
“If you had been at his side, countless civilians would have been killed.” It came as a shock – I had only seen them as three – when Dalton broke away from the two Elders and placed a hand on my shoulder. Like that, he led me on a slow walk around the gigantic hall. “Yes, you allowed Victor into the real world, but you did so on the basis of something you believed was right.”
I crooked an eyebrow. “But I wasn’t right.”
“That isn’t the point.”
“Then what is?”
“You saw a friend in need, and in spite of the repercussions, you aided him. When you discovered what had happened, you took responsibility and tried to undo the wrong. Francis’s death was not in vain, as I hope you have learned a valuable lesson.”
I stopped walking, crossed my arms and stared down at the floor. “It’s not too late to correct my course.”
“Indeed.”
We walked around the length of the Grand Hall, which took a surprisingly long time. We discussed Francis’s passing, and what had happened to his body.
“It’s called interference, and it occurs when one mage is killed by another,” Dalton explained. “Although it is true that Victor Kronin was not a mage, he was still in possession of a great magic.”
I remembered Francis’s body, crystalizing and drifting into the sky. As final memories went, it wasn’t a bad one. I guess it was nice to know that he was still a part of something, rather than simply rotting flesh in the ground.
We returned to the fire, and I began to wonder if this was the last time I would see this place. I considered the first time I had been here, when I had first met these three mysterious men. Not to mention Victor and– “Wait, where is Jasper?”
“Ah,” Dalton exhaled on a weary sigh. “After you left, he opened a viewing portal for us to watch the battle. When he saw what happened, he became distressed and went outside to get some air. He will be just fine, so worry not.”
It occurred to me then that, of the three of us, not a single one was worthy to take Francis’s place. But as I came to that thought, I had a suggestion to make. “Could Jasper be considered as a Cardkeeper?”
“Oh, not at all.”
I felt my face twist in confusion.
“His magic isn’t nearly strong enough. We have, however, offered him to take employment at the store. His portals are impressive and strong, which makes him well suited as a guardian to the Vault’s doorway.”
This time I couldn’t help but smile. I could imagine Jasper sitting in that dusty chair, watching movies all day until somebody – whoever that somebody was – asked him to let them through. The task fit the man, and I hoped he would be happy.
“As for you,” Dalton went on, “I would very much like to appoint you Francis’s successor.”
I froze. My nerves rattled, my head a jumble of thoughts. “But… me?”
“You have the strength, the mindset, and the morals. A suitable replacement indeed.”
“Wow, I…” I didn’t even have to think about whether I would do it. Returning to a life of baking cakes no longer interested me. Now that I knew the world was full of magic, how could I ever look back? “It would be an honor.”
“Please, Lady Keira, get some rest.” Dalton smiled and gestured toward the door. “The ceremony will commence at sunrise, and I expect you to be fully alert. If not for that, then for the further training that follows.”
After all that had happened, I couldn’t imagine my life without magic and I yearned to learn more, soaking it all up like a human sponge. Any proficiency I could gain from practice, I wanted to take up. Francis had put his faith in me as a mage, and I wanted to do right by him. If that meant working harder – fighting harder – then I was ready to begin.
As for Victor Kronin, the authorities never found his body. My last memory of him involved his face, contorted in a blinding rage as he was thrust toward the water by a ball of fire. If he lived, he would continue to be a threat. It would be hard to survive an accident of that magnitude, so I had no idea if I would see him again. All I knew for certain was that, if I ever did, I’d be ready for him.
I’d damn well be ready.
Also by A. C. Nicholls
Keira’s journey continues at Amazon, where more titles are frequently being published by A. C. Nicholls.
TAKE ME TO THE LIBRARY
Author’s Note
Maybe you’ve heard of me, maybe you haven’t. My name is Adam Nicholls and I’ve been writing books for quite some time now. For a couple of years, I was writing crime novels under my real name (those books can be found here). It wasn’t until recently that a friend got in touch and asked why I hadn’t tried my hand at urban fantasy.
* * *
Why hadn’t I? Well, to be entirely honest with you, I had no idea that it was even a thing. Of course, I’d seen some TV shows (take ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ and ‘Supernatural’ as two examples) but I’d never really known what category they fell under. With a lot of help from that same friend, I dug in and started to explore the idea of using magic in my stories.
* * *
One long winter later, ’Stolen Chaos’ was born. Those of you who have read it will recognize some of the characters in this short story. I had to do some digging, but I eventually discovered how Keira Poe had become a Cardkeeper. Did it come out anything like how I’d planned? Not at all, but the best stories rarely do.
* * *
Now, with these two books under my belt, I’ve decided to give urban fantasy my undivided attention (at least for the time being). There are plenty of Cardkeeper stories left to be told, and I have a ton of ideas for other novels too. But there’s one thing they all have in common: I can’t wait to share them with you.
* * *
My best,
A. C. Nicholls
Want to connect with this author? You can find him at www.adamnicholls.net, email at [email protected], or follow on Facebook at www.facebook.com/authoracnicholls
Acknowledgments
I want to offer my sincerest gratitude to the friends who have kept me afloat: Leo (for teaching me everything I needed to know about Chicago), Giles (for listening to my rants about every idea that popped into my head), and most of all to Charlotte, the most caring and supportive girlfriend a guy can ask for. Thanks for being involved.
* * *
Of course, all of this would mean nothing without an amazing editorial team. It all starts with Tami Stark, my line editor and friend (her services can be found here). Without her, this book would be an utter mess. I also want to thank my beta readers, who do all they can to make sure these stories work the way they should.
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Most of all, I want to thank you, the reader. I hope that you found this book worth your time, and decide to continue the series. It’s great to have you around.
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