A gleaming jeweled chalice appeared above them.
“This is the Chalice of Hope,” Maeve declared. “Go through my challenges and find it, and I’ll let you go. Refuse, and you’ll never be free.”
The chalice vanished, and the endless field disappeared to be replaced by inky darkness. Raine cast a light spell, as did a few of the others. The illumination revealed that they stood in a low-ceilinged maze of cracked and weathered stone.
Adrien snorted. “You do realize what this is, then?”
“I have no idea what this is,” Cameron complained. “We don’t even know what Maeve is, let alone where this is.”
“It doesn’t matter. This is simply a fancy Louper match. The only problem is, if we lose, we don’t get to come back and try again next year.” The elf ran his free hand along the stone with a frown.
William raised his palm. A small flame appeared. “But Louper’s not real.”
“Is this?” Adrien shook his head. “It might feel real, but if it’s a game, we can win it.” He raised his hand and conjured a tracking orb. A slight smile followed as the orb reacted. “She hasn’t blocked the tracking spell. I visualized the chalice. It shouldn’t have been that easy, but it’s working. That means this will be easier than many Louper matches.”
“Somehow, I doubt that,” Cameron said and shifted. “Whether this is a simulation or a world, Maeve rules here.”
“Then be ready for anything.”
A half-hour walk through the maze brought them to three large golden doors with inscriptions in Enochian. Each bore a different alchemical symbol in the center—air, earth, and fire.
Adrien frowned. “What does it say?”
“I’m glad I’ve taken magical languages.” Raine stepped forward and looked at the inscription. “It’s all one phrase. It says, ‘birth to death.’ But what does that mean?”
The elf pointed his sword at the air symbol. “This reminds me of the puzzle in the quarter-finals Louper match. It’s different in details but very similar. I wonder if we have to put the right kind of magic into it like we had to during the match.”
“That’s worth a try.” William stepped forward and raised his hand. He blasted a fireball at the symbol for fire, but nothing happened. “Darn.”
“Maeve made it sound like she could read my mind. I wonder if she read yours, too.” Raine tapped her lips. “She could have used a language I haven’t studied or used a harder phrase so it was enough of a challenge but not impossible.”
Evie sighed. “So you guys understand it, great. What does it all mean?”
“I’m not sure. I only know what it says.”
Philip’s gaze flicked between the doors. “It’s a riddle, I think. Birth to death. It’s an order. But what order?”
Sara walked to the door and raised her hand.
Maeve’s face floated into existence above the doors. “Fair warning. What good is a game without rules and a chance to fail? You get one chance at each puzzle. If you fail, you’ll never get the chalice. Have fun!” She vanished.
Cameron growled and shifted back to human form. “Oh, come on. That’s stupid.”
“Maybe she’s lying.” Evie shrugged although she was a little panicked and it was obvious in her voice.
“I doubt it.” Raine crept toward the door. “We’re lucky she’s even given us this chance. She wants us to enjoy being here, and maybe playing a game is part of that.”
“Maybe the professors will be able to help.”
“That’s assuming they can even get to where we are. Let’s face it, if they knew everything that was going on, they wouldn’t even have let me try this.” Raine frowned and studied each of the symbols. “I did an escape room with my friends back in Grand Rapids during the summer. We have to think like that. So, less Louper, more escape room.”
Philip moved to her side. “Birth to death, huh? That’s first to last, right?”
“But none of those things are born or die.” Sara pointed to the symbols from left to right. “Maybe that’s the order. Air, earth, fire? Or maybe it’s about the kind of magic we’d use for it and the order we learned it.”
Raine laughed as the puzzle clicked into her place in her mind. “We’re overthinking it because we’re all too used to magic, where we should simply think about basic non-magical chemistry. You need oxygen to start a fire, and you kill a fire by smothering it. Air, fire, earth.” She reached toward the air symbol.
“Are you sure?” Adrien asked, an eyebrow raised. “If you’re wrong, we might not be able to escape.”
“I’m sure. Do you trust me?”
He smiled. “With my life.”
Cameron grinned. “You know I trust you, Raine.”
The others all smiled and nodded their agreement.
“Here we go.” She touched the air symbol and bright blue light infused it. When she touched the fire symbol, it summoned a red light. Finally, she touched the earth symbol and both lights disappeared.
Her heart sank, and her stomach tightened. She’d been so sure, but now, she might have doomed her friends. A few seconds later, a low rumble shook the chamber and the center door slid open.
“Excellent,” Maeve said from all around them. “Let’s see how you do with the next one.”
They walked through a long corridor that seemed to stretch forever until eventually, two flickering dots appeared—distant torches. Another ten minutes passed before they arrived at a large silver door illuminated by the torches on either side.
Cameron pulled it open and looked around. There was nothing but more flickering torches and a dirt floor. He moved farther into the room and the others filed in. When Philip, who brought up the rear, stepped inside, the door slammed shut.
A large hourglass appeared near the ceiling and inverted so the sand flowed to the bottom.
“The last one was too easy, I think,” said Maeve, still nowhere to be seen. “And there wasn’t enough pressure. You only have so much time. Get going, or you’ll time out.”
“Where’s the puzzle?” Raine looked around for some clue about what they were supposed to do but only saw torches.
“Figure it out. That’s all I say. You don’t have to solve this one on the first try since you have the time limit. Good luck!”
Something about the steady flow of sand pounded the short time limit into Raine’s mind. She rushed over to a wall and felt for a secret panel. The others split up to do the same.
Adrien sent out a pulse to look for differences in the flow of magic like he had during the Louper match against Orono, but such high levels of magic radiated from everything, including the floor, that he couldn’t distinguish anything.
Raine walked over to one of the torches and pulled on it. It wouldn’t budge. She glanced at the hourglass. They’d already lost, by her estimate, several minutes in searching.
Evie looked up and gasped in surprise. “Look at the ceiling. Like straight up.”
When they’d walked into the room, they saw nothing, but when they craned their heads upward, there were paintings of Oriceran, Earth, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, Uranus, Pluto, the Sun, and the Moon, along with their accompanying alchemical symbols.
“What does it mean?” Raine stepped beneath the painting of Earth. It glowed. “Maybe we need to light them all up?” She stepped away and the light vanished. “I guess we can’t light them all up. Not with only a few of us. Maybe there’s some sort of order?”
“But what order?” Philip frowned as he moved slowly across the room. “I understand how a certain order might work normally, but what about Oriceran? How does that fit into things?”
The sand continued to pour relentlessly into the bottom half of the hourglass.
William pointed at the ceiling. “I remember Professor Hudson mentioning something last year when she talked about old magical techniques and rituals and how Oriceran fit into that. She talked about the stars and the seven classical planets. The stuff people could see at night with th
eir eyes before all the cities and the light if you knew where to look. Remember?”
They all nodded.
Raine rushed under Mars. William ran to Jupiter. Cameron decided the Moon was appropriate for him. Sara went for Saturn and Philip to Mercury. Evie lit Venus up, and Adrien stood beneath the Earth.
Nothing happened.
“What’s wrong?” Philip looked around. “Isn’t this right?”
William looked around before he pointed at Adrien. “He needs to be the Sun. Not Earth.”
The elf boy sprinted until he stood underneath the Sun. With a loud rumble, a huge panel opened in the wall and bright sunlight flooded into the room.
They all ran out with a quarter of their sand still left.
Adrien snickered and summoned a sword as he surveyed the vast rolling hills in front of him. “Now it’s a little more like Louper.”
A line of giant ferrets in mail armor with spears advanced. Unlike Hap, who was only large for a ferret, these creatures were as tall as any of the boys.
“Why ferrets?” William summoned two balls of fire in his hand.
“Like I said, I think she’s drawing some of this from our minds. Maybe even all of it.”
Sara groaned. “I guess it’s a good thing we didn’t have an altercation with a bunch of Kilomea in the kemana.” Her hand dropped to her satchel.
“Let’s take these things out and try tracking the chalice again,” Cameron said and shifted.
Raine raised her wand. Fighting a dozen giant ferrets in armor was about the last thing she’d expected to do that day, but somehow, it didn’t seem like the weirdest.
Chapter Forty-Two
The ferrets charged with a mighty roar more appropriate for lions, their spears in hand, and the rings of their mail jangled with their movement.
Adrien rushed forward with his sword ready and Cameron howled loudly as he bounded after him. William didn’t bother to move and instead, fed magic into a large fireball that he threw after several seconds.
The attack exploded against one of the ferrets and flung him skyward. He sizzled and vaporized into a dark, rising smoke.
Sara fumbled in her satchel and withdrew several small seeds. She took a deep breath and pushed magic into the seeds while she imagined how she felt when she saw the Trickster’ faces on April Fool’s Day. With the seeds imbued with power, she arced one high through the air toward the ferrets’ feet.
The mini missile hit the ground. A massive vine burst free, wrapped around two of the animals, and slammed them together. They disappeared in a puff of smoke.
She tossed another. This one exploded in a shower of multi-colored sparks before another vine wrapped around the next ferret. Something flowed through her, deep and resonating—the joy not of power, but of a trickster.
Sara threw her head back and laughed.
Philip waved his wand and shouted an incantation that broke some of Sara’s vines off to wrap around another creature. “I’m glad you’re having fun.”
“You don’t get it. I think my magic has fully awakened.”
“That explains why you’re getting such awesome vines. Keep it up.”
It was hard to put into words but now, she understood why no one could help her. Her understanding of and relationship with her magic had changed. It was no wonder she’d had trouble. It wasn’t a matter of controlling her magic. The very idea of controlling it seemed silly and even pointless. Her magic was a joy to revel in, not something to be forced out.
Adrien allowed himself a pleased smile as he burst forward and flanked a ferret easily. His sword did its deadly work and another foe turned to smoke.
Evie yanked out a red vial from a pouch and threw it directly at an attacker. The vial exploded and the animal vaporized.
Raine decided Philip had the right idea and used her magic to wrap more of the vines around the legs of another creature. “You all seem well prepared.”
Sara laughed as she threw her final enchanted seed. “We didn’t know what would happen, and we are the FBI Trouble Brigade. We got prepared after you first asked the headmistress.”
Cameron tore into a ferret and reduced him to smoke. He howled in victory.
The battle continued for a brief few minutes. Soon, thick, dark smoke choked the air, but no battle ferrets remained alive, if they ever were. The students gathered together and watched warily as they waited for the next bizarre challenge.
The smoke flowed into a humanoid form and solidified into Maeve with four golden orbs that floated near her.
“Isn’t this fun? Isn’t this what you wanted?” Maeve raised her hand and the field vanished, replaced by a moonscape. “Adventure and excitement.” The moonscape vanished and was replaced by a sprawling crystal palace. “Exotic lands.” The palace morphed into an upside-down city that faced another normal city. “Challenges the real world can’t provide you without real risk. I can give that to you. They can’t give that to you. My world is perfect, and you can all stay here, forever, happy with your friends and every day an adventure.”
Raine pointed her wand at Maeve. “But this isn’t real. And, yes, we’re all friends here, but what about our other friends? Our families?”
The city vanished, and Maeve narrowed her eyes. A vast, featureless desert stretched toward the horizon. The sun was the only thing that broke the monotony of the scene.
“Distractions.” Maeve cut through the air with her hand and stepped forward, but the glowing orbs remained in place. She pointed at Cameron. “What do you need other than him and your other friends?” She jerked her jade finger at Adrien. “I can provide whatever challenge you need. Do you want to be a Guardian? Of what—Earth? A place filled with corruption and dark magic? Think about the Ravens. Think about how you’ll have to face them again. More death, your life on the line against people you can’t even be sure are enemies.”
The elf snorted. “If the Ravens couldn’t manipulate me with their stories, what makes you think you can?”
Sara lifted her chin. “I don’t know what you are, but I don’t want to live here in your world of make-believe. Let us go and release the other students too.”
Philip moved to her side, his wand at the ready. Cameron padded over until he stood beside Raine and growled at Maeve.
Evie fingered another potion. “We don’t want to be here. I love my friends here, but I also love all my other friends—Tori, Christie, and my family.”
Maeve’s head swung toward William. “They spat on you. Tried to cast you out. This is what your world is.”
The half-Ifrit shrugged. “I’m over that.” He smiled at Evie. “I don’t care about the past. I only care about the future.”
Raine lowered her hand and sighed. “We beat your challenges, your puzzles, and your monsters. What about the Chalice of Hope? You said if we won, we could leave.”
Maeve’s face twitched. She pointed a slender finger at the golden orbs. “I’ll give you an option I didn’t give them.”
“Meaning what?”
“They tried to leave. I didn’t have enough power to take their bodies, so I took their minds. But you still have your bodies. I’d have to make them bodies. Don’t you see how good you have it?” Maeve waved her hand and the golden orbs dropped to the ground. The chalice appeared in a puff of dark smoke in front of Raine. “Fine.” The jade-skinned woman sneered. “I thought you might be worthy to join me, but I don’t need you. I still have the other four. They’ll come around. Take the chalice and go, but they stay.”
“No way,” Raine shouted. “We won’t leave without them.”
Maeve raised an eyebrow. “No?” She sauntered forward. “No? You ungrateful wretch of a child,” she screamed. She raised her hands and orbs of energy pulsated and crackled in her palms. “You don’t make demands of me. I’m the Queen of New Arcadia, and you will either join me or leave, or you will die.”
A jagged tear of light appeared in the air off to Raine’s side accompanied by a loud, dull roar that rattled her b
ones as if the world was ripped open by an invisible giant. Her heart pounded, as did her friends’. They weren’t even sure they could win against Maeve, let alone against her and whatever she might have summoned.
The tear spread and the world itself peeled to either side. A hazy portal appeared. The library gnomes and most of the professors stood on the other side and their magic flowed into it. It wasn’t Maeve who had summoned a monster. Instead, it was the professors trying to save them. Agent Connor stood on the other side with his gun out. He shouted something but Raine couldn’t hear him.
Maeve screeched and turned toward the portal. Shuddering lines of green energy burst from her hand and struck the gateway. It shuddered, and the adults on the other side shouted and gesticulated.
The ground quaked and pieces of the sky shattered like glass to leave a featureless, dull orange haze in their place as the pieces tumbled to the ground. Large fissures split the earth.
“We need to get out of here,” Adrien shouted.
“But we need the orbs,” Raine shouted.
“I have an idea,” Sara replied and yanked an acorn from her satchel. “Get ready to get out of here fast and cover me.” She didn’t worry that they might not understand. They’d fought together enough. She trusted them with her life and knew that they would guess what she had in mind.
The kitsune counted to three in her mind and threw the acorn—not at Maeve but the orbs on the ground.
The Queen of New Arcadia snapped her head in Sara’s direction. “How dare you attack me?”
The seed landed and Sara waved with a bright smile. “Who said anything about attacking you, your highness?”
A second later, dense but small branches erupted from the ground, wrapped around the orbs, and grew toward the portal.
William blasted more fire at Maeve. The fireball shrank and vanished inches from her, but the distraction was all the time Sara’s spell needed. The orbs passed through the portal and disappeared in a bright flash.
The students sprinted toward the gateway and flung a few more spells at Maeve, but none scratched her or even inconvenienced her.
Oath Of The Witch: An Urban Fantasy Action Adventure (School of Necessary Magic Raine Campbell Book 4) Page 19
