by S. J. West
“If you weren’t married, I would kiss you for already making the coffee.” I stroll over to the island and inhale the addictive aroma of freshly ground coffee beans steeping in hot water.
Jered laughs. “After the night we had, I assumed this would be the first thing you wanted this morning.”
“You assumed right.” I walk over to the cabinet where the coffee mugs are stored and grab my favorite owl shaped cup.
“Do you know if Silas is awake yet?” Lilith asks.
“He is. He should be down any minute. We were both hoping Jered could take us over to the castle to see Cal before school started. I doubt he’ll feel like coming to the academy today.”
“Poor Cal.” Lilith begins twisting the half orange in her hand on the point of the juicer. “As if he didn’t have enough to handle. I can’t imagine what he’s going through right now. To lose Rose and the baby in the span of only a couple of days has to be devastating.”
Jered pushes the plunger on the French Press. I hold out my cup to him like a beggar child waiting for her daily portion of liquid courage. Once my cup is filled, I place two spoons of sugar and a dollop of heavy cream in to sweeten it. After my first sip of the heavenly concoction, my brain feels less fuzzy, and I’m ready to face whatever challenges await me during the day.
Silas walks into the room shortly after. I notice a glance and a nod of recognition happen between him and his father before he comes to stand beside me. It’s small but it shows their talk last night is having its desired effect.
Silas shakes his head in dismay as he peers into my cup. “I still don’t see how you drink that stuff. Are you sure we’re soulmates?”
Lilith snort laughs into her glass of orange juice.
“And I don’t see how you don’t love coffee. Do you think it’s possible Lux was wrong?”
Silas grins. “I don’t think so. Sometimes, I think she was smarter than the both of us.”
“I can’t argue with that.”
As quickly as I can without burning my throat, I down my coffee so we can go see Cal. Before we leave, Jered kisses Lilith and promises to return so he can phase her and Myst to the academy.
When we arrive at the castle, I feel like I’ve been dropped into an ocean of chaos.
Jered phased us to the middle of the main hallway that spans the length of the castle. From here, you can go to all of the primary rooms, including the throne room which seems to be where everyone is heading.
“Hey,” Jered catches the arm of one of the castle’s guards, “what’s going on?”
The young man looks startled by the question at first. Then he seems to recognize who Jered is.
“The king and queen have found the leader of the Wardens,” he says. “They’re about to interrogate her in the throne room. You should probably be there, Commander Alburn, to listen to what she has to say.”
Jered lets the man go. His instant scowl tells me he isn’t happy about this new development.
“What is it?” I ask him. “What has you so worried?”
“Ethan shouldn’t be questioning this person in front of everyone.” At a clipped pace, Jered starts to make his way to the throne room. Silas and I follow along. “There’s no telling what the Warden will say about the Void and Levi. What in the world is Ethan thinking?”
Odds are, he’s probably not thinking straight. His grandson has been kidnapped and the Warden may be our only way to find Alred. Considering what was said last night, Ethan and the rest believe Azrael may have hopped into Alred’s body to escape his prison. Since that’s their theory, it makes perfect sense to bring the leader of the Wardens here for questioning.
When we enter the throne room, there’s practically no standing room left. So many of the castle guards are circling the red-haired woman standing in front of Ethan and Jules that all I can see is the top of her head. This definitely won’t do. Jered seems to be of the same mind. He grabs a hold of our wrists and phases us to the side of the dais where the thrones are situated.
I recognize the Warden. I saw her in Warden 99’s memory. Her name is Maggie. I had no idea she led the other Wardens, but I’m interested to hear what she has to say. From what Azrael told me, if what he said can be trusted, Alred never made it down to see him. Maybe I’ll learn whether or not he was telling me the truth.
“I don’t have time to beat around the bush.” Ethan sounds angrier than I’ve ever heard him before. Being king of a whole planet can be trying, but this is the first time I’ve ever heard his voice sound so cold. “Is it true that you are the leader of the Wardens?”
Maggie grins. “I assume you wouldn’t have dragged me away from my home and family if you didn’t believe that was the case, your majesty.”
The way she said “your majesty” made it sound like a curse word instead of a royal title.
Ethan returns her grin with a leer of loathing. The animosity between the two hangs in the air like a thick fog of unbridled, mutual disdain.
“Where are the djinns known as Alred and Rayna?” Ethan demands, pounding his fist against the arm of his throne chair. “Where are you hiding them?”
Maggie arches her back as if it’s hurting her to keep standing. She plops down on the floor and crosses her legs, drawing gasps of surprise from the crowd. No one is supposed to sit in the king and queen’s presence in the throne room. She’s not only broken castle etiquette, but she’s also announced to all present that she has zero respect for the rulers of Laed-i.
“Alred is around here somewhere,” she says, picking at her fingernails. “I believe Rayna left last night for you-know-where. Whatever it is she came to get, she apparently found. By the way, is it true that your grandson is missing?” Maggie looks up at Ethan with her eyes as round as saucers in false surprise. “You don’t think she kidnapped him, do you? That certainly would be a shame.”
Ethan quickly leans forward like he’s about to pounce on Maggie and throttle her with his bare hands. Jules rushes to place a hand on his arm to stop him from acting rashly. We can all tell what Maggie’s game is. She wants to goad Ethan into attacking her so she can finally prove to the world that the King of Laed-i can’t be trusted.
“You’re a mother of two children, are you not?” Jules asks her.
Maggie seems taken off guard by Jules’s question. It’s obvious she didn’t expect the queen to intervene.
“I am,” she says, sitting up straighter.
“Then you can understand how devastated our son is by losing his child. If there is even a shred of decency left in your body, I’m begging you to tell us what you know about our grandson’s disappearance and about Alred’s plans here. Have you already taken him to see our mutual friend?”
“Not yet.” Maggie’s straightforward answer surprises me. Not so much because it backs up what Azrael already told me but because she gave it so freely. I expected her to be as tight-lipped as a clam on the subject. “We asked him to do something for us before we grant him his wish.”
Uh oh. That can’t be good. A djinn in the wrong hands could wreak havoc anywhere.
“I don’t suppose you would be willing to tell us what you’ve asked him to do for you,” Jules says.
“You suppose correctly.” Maggie licks her index finger and holds it up in the air like she’s testing which way the wind is blowing. “But I wager you won’t have long to wait for the answer. It should be arriving any moment now.”
Anxious murmurs run through the nervous gathering. Ethan and Jules exchange troubled glances. When Ethan nods to Jules, it seems to be a silent signal that she should continue with the interrogation. Ethan was getting nothing from Maggie except open loathing. At least Jules is gaining some useful, if cryptic, information.
“Please,” Jules says humbly, wiping away tears from the corners of her eyes, “do you know anything else about our grandson? Do you really believe Rayna took him home with her?”
Maggie looks genuinely touched by Jules’s distress. Maybe she actually has a hear
t after all.
“I’ve told you all I know about that situation.” She seems sincere in her answer. I guess we’ll find out soon enough. “I’m sorry I can’t give you more hope than that, Queen Jules. Family means everything to me. That’s why I do what I do.”
“What you do is terrorize people for being different than you!” Ethan’s temper is bound to make Maggie close herself off again, but maybe they got all the information they’re going to get from her. It might be better in the long run if he blows off some steam instead of keeping it all inside. “I think a little time in the dungeon with your co-conspirator would probably help you reprioritize what’s most important.”
Ethan waves two fingers to a couple of the guards standing on the sidelines. They flank Maggie and force her to her feet before escorting her out of the throne room. Ethan practically leaps off his throne in open frustration. Jules slowly rises from hers with the dignity of her station. The weight of her sorrow surrounds her like a shroud. I wish there was something I could do for them, but I know my hands are tied. Without being able to open a portal to the Void, there’s nothing any of us can do.
Ethan walks over to us with Jules following close behind.
“I guess you heard that woman’s rubbish,” he says angrily. “I shouldn’t have expected more from someone like her.”
“I think she told us what she knew about the baby.” Jules uses a kinder tone to cut through her husband’s fury. “But I am worried about this agreement the Wardens made with Alred. What could they have asked him to do for them?”
“It could be anything,” Jered says, clearly as frustrated as Ethan. “We probably won’t know until it happens.”
“I’ll get the information out of her.” The angry scowl on Ethan’s face scares me, and I’m not easily scared.
When he phases, Jules looks to Jered with urgency. “You have to keep him from doing anything he’ll regret later on, Jered. Please.”
Jered phases to keep Ethan from letting his anger get the better of him. The first time I met Ethan in the Void, I knew he had anger issues, but since we returned home, he’s been far kinder and gentler. Jules is probably the reason for that. She keeps him grounded, but in this instance, his emotions are getting away from him.
“Did the two of you come here to visit with Cal?” she asks me and Silas.
“We wanted to see how he was doing before we returned to the academy,” Silas says.
Jules smiles wanly. “He’s doing about as well as we can expect, considering everything he’s been through. He finally fell asleep about two hours ago. If you don’t mind, I would rather not wake him. Would you mind coming back this afternoon, if you have time? I know he would love to see you both.”
“We’ll do that,” I promise.
Before any of us can say something else, Jered phases back. The look of shock on his face makes me wonder if he was too late. Did Ethan kill Maggie? What else would make him look so upset?
“He’s dead,” Jered says.
“Who’s dead?” I have to know what happened. He can’t possibly be talking about Ethan.
“Warden 99.” Jered looks into my eyes. “What did you say his real name was?”
“Nathan.” Now I feel as shocked as Jered looks. “How did he die?”
Jered shakes his head in disbelief. “I have no idea. There weren’t any wounds on his body that we could see. He’s just . . . dead.”
“Could it have been a heart attack or possibly a stroke?” Jules asks.
“We won’t know for sure unless we do an autopsy, but both of those are logical assumptions.”
“He wasn’t that old,” I say.
“Stranger things have happened.” Jered shrugs helplessly.
Strange, indeed. Strange that a man who seemed in perfect health would suddenly die out of the blue.
“Do you know when he died?” His time of death might lead to a clue.
“There’s no way to tell just by looking at him, but the two meals that were shoved under his door yesterday are still there untouched. It could be that he died sometime yesterday or even possibly the night before.”
The night before is when we released Azrael from his cage, but what reason would Azrael have to kill Warden 99? It doesn’t make any sense, and yet it seems like too perfect of a coincidence. I won’t know the truth until I ask him. Whether or not he answers my question is another story.
“Ethan is taking care of the body,” Jered tells Jules. “I’m afraid we need to get to the academy. I have to prepare for the assembly speech I’m giving this morning to explain the situation to the students. I’m not sure if we’ll have any cadets left to train after today. A lot of them will probably want to spend as much time with their families as they can before Levi arrives. I can’t blame them for that. I probably would too if I were in their young shoes.”
“You never know,” Jules says, giving Jered an encouraging smile. “They might surprise you. Young people often do. Just when you think they’re only capable of thinking about themselves, they do something selfless and heroic.”
“You’re right. I shouldn’t doubt them all. We have some really fine young people there.”
Jered looks at me and Silas. “Are you two ready to leave? Or should I come back for you after the assembly. You already know everything I’m going to say to the others.”
“No, we’re ready,” Silas says. “Cal is sleeping. He needs to get as much rest as he can.”
“Be careful today,” Jules warns. “We have no idea what Alred is planning.”
Jered phases Silas and me to the front rotunda of the academy.
When we get there, the strongest gust of wind I’ve ever felt slams me against a nearby wall hard enough to knock the breath out of me. Jered is lifted up into the air but is able to phase to the hallway nearest the auditorium, and Silas is thrown like a rag doll down the hallway nearest me. Screams fill the air as I see students hanging on for dear life to anything they can get their hands around.
The front doors of the academy are gone. Only their torn hinges remain behind.
“Well, this is interesting!” I look to my left and see Azrael poking his head out around the corner of the hallway Silas was just sucked into. The wind is making his dark wavy hair stand on end. “Maybe we should go see what’s causing all this wind!”
Azrael struggles against the gusts and grabs hold of my wrist. He phases us to a nearby hilltop that overlooks the academy. The wind is still strong here, but it gives us a perfect view of what’s happening down below.
What looks like fifty or more waterspouts are churning in the ocean just south of Halo Harbor. They dance across the water in perfect synchronization as they head straight for the academy.
9
(Azrael’s Point of View)
“It’s beautiful.” Seeing such a massive demonstration of destruction firsthand fills me with awe and excitement. Nothing this marvelous can be natural. I suspect the storm is the result of djinn magic.
“This has to be what she was talking about,” Lora says as she stares in horror at the water spouts.
One by one, they slowly begin to merge into one gigantic funnel of wind and water. There’s no way the academy will be able to withstand its power, and the people trapped inside will probably be tossed like toys if not outright buried underneath its rubble.
Lora turns to me in her desperation. “Can you stop it?”
I don’t mean to laugh at Lora’s naïve question, but I find it funny she believes the angel of death can control the weather.
“No. I’m not God or a djinn for that matter. Who is the ‘she’ you just referred to? Did someone predict this would happen?”
“Maggie, the leader of the Wardens. I’m sure you know all about her. During her interrogation at the castle this morning, she implied that Alred agreed to do something for them so they would take him to see you. This has to be him keeping his side of that bargain.”
“I see.” In fact, I do know a great deal about Maggie.
Too bad I couldn’t connect to her. It seems I could have learned quite a bit about her shenanigans. “Well, that’s definitely unfortunate. Whoever wished for this storm wasted it since I’m no longer in my cage.”
“That’s the first thing you think of at a time like this?” Lora’s ire seems real, but I’m not sure why my statement made her so upset with me.
Are you serious? If you want Lora to start liking you, you need to show her you don’t always think about yourself first. She’s upset because you’re not helping her figure out a way to stop the storm.
“Oh, that’s easy,” I tell my lesser half.
“What’s easy?” Lora asks, having only heard my side of the conversation.
“Caleb seems to believe you want me to help you stop this storm from destroying the academy.”
“Well, he’s right!” Lora grabs my arm and squeezes. It’s the first time I can remember her touching me with such fervor. I like it. I like it a lot. “Can you help me, Az?”
“Like I said before, I don’t have the power to stop this, but we both know someone who can try. Do you happen to know where Sariah is this morning? Please tell me she isn’t at the academy.”
“She’s at home.” Lora clutches my arms even tighter.
Interesting. She’s so desperate to help her friends and gain my help. This seems like a perfect opportunity to get something I want from her in return.
I wouldn’t try to blackmail her right now if I was you.
Why not?
The lives of her friends are at stake, you idiot! Just help her!
Against my better judgment, I phase us to the patio of Lora’s home. The wind here isn’t as turbulent, but still rather strong. With no time to waste, she runs into the house. I’m really not one for running, so I follow her inside at a leisurely pace. As I enter the cozy living room, I hear Lora shout for Sariah. By the time I make it to the entryway, Lora is already halfway up the stairs.
“Caleb?” I hear Lilith say in surprise.
She and her hellhound run toward me down the hallway from what looks like the direction of the kitchen. Her face is flush with panic and she’s breathing hard.
