by Jen Pretty
"Stop," Falcor said softly as we approached. "No more, until we get some things in place for you here, okay?"
Oban nodded and tucked his hands into the front pocket on his hoodie. Edvard slung his arm over Oban’s shoulders. We had all stripped off our extra layers of clothes when we got on the plane, but Oban only wore a sweater and sweat pants, so a fine sheen of sweat covered his forehead. I wanted to lay in the sun for a week now that we were back. I wouldn't tan, of course, but I sure could suck up the heat like a cat.
Alar met us at the edge of the parking lot. Pete had called him and warned him we were bringing a couple of people along.
Alar shook Edvard’s hand in greeting, then stuck out his hand to shake Oban's. The boy puffed up at the gesture.
"It's nice to meet you, Oban. Can I ask how old you are?"
"Twenty-one," he lied easily.
Falcor cleared his throat and gave Oban a look.
The boy deflated. "Fourteen, sir."
Closer to Colvin's age than my own. Though Colvin still hadn't hit a growth spurt, I kept promising him it was right around the corner.
"That's great. I have several students your age who will be happy to show you around and get you comfortable here."
"But I'll be going with Selena and Falcor, will I not?" he looked confused.
"Your education is really important," I said a moment before the door to the school opened, and Nick strode out, his eyes, like laser beams, locked onto me, making me grin.
He moved toward us, and I stepped around Alar to meet him.
"No!" Oban said. "Stay away!"
Magic streams floated out from Oban's outstretched hands and swished past me, aiming for Nick, but my magic was faster, interrupting Oban's in a flash that went off like a bomb. It knocked everyone out of the way, but Pete moved just as fast, tackling the young warlock to the ground, harder than was absolutely necessary. Luckily for Oban, Falcor was there, his magic softening their landing and preventing what probably would have been a serious injury for the young man.
The magic streaming in every direction set off an alarm within the school. Teachers came racing out, ready to fight and protect the school.
That’s when I noticed all the kids staring out the windows of the cafeteria.
"Shit," I whispered as everyone turned to look at what I was looking at. "I guess that whole 'keep it under wraps thing' is off the table."
Falcor snorted an unhappy laugh. "I'd say."
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
"Does someone want to explain that little display in the yard?" Alar asked the group of us as we crammed into his office.
Nobody spoke up right away, so I forged ahead. "We found Oban here in a book. He's from quite a while ago and doesn't much like vampires."
Alar stared at me for a long silent moment, then opened his mouth and closed it again. The silence hung.
"In a book?"
"Yes," Falcor jumped in. "He had been locked in a book which we found in the vampire library. Francis has no idea how long the book had been there, but my guess is the Civil War, based on the way Oban was dressed when I pulled him out."
"I have never actually met someone who had been trapped in a book. My understanding was that they were criminals or dangerous witches and warlocks, locked up before the DPI designed their jail. What prompted you to set him free?"
Falcor shrugged. It was a good question. What the heck was he thinking? It could have been some kind of evil monster ready to wage war on everyone and everything.
"I had a feeling," Falcor said, his eyes on Oban.
For Oban's part, he hadn't said a word since we had scraped him up off the ground after Pete hopped off him.
The door behind us burst open, and a ball of wild child launched himself at me from behind. His head crashed into my lower back and his arms grabbed on like an octopus around my stomach.
"I'm happy to see you too," I whispered to Colvin as the conversation about Oban continued. Finally, Colvin let me go and circled to look up at me, completely ignoring everyone else.
"Why were you gone so long?" he asked, his big blue eyes blazing up at me.
"I had a little situation," I replied in a whisper, so I didn't disturb the conversation between Falcor, Edvard, and Alar. I caught bits of it, and it was mostly a run-down of what we had learned about the witch, the wraiths, and the underworld.
"But you are staying here for a while?"
I didn't want to lie to Colvin, so I told him the truth. "I hope so, but no guarantees."
He nodded and finally looked around the room until his eyes landed on Oban. "It's you!" he shouted.
Everyone stopped talking and looked at Colvin. Oban was looking at him like he was crazy.
"This is Oban," I said. "Oban, meet my brother, Colvin."
Colvin looked up at me again. "He's here!"
"Yeah, buddy. Have you seen him before?" I replied, cautiously asking the question we were all wondering but not wanting to give away too many of Colvin's secrets. Not everyone in the room knew he could see the future sometimes.
Whatever Colvin had seen, he just bit his lip and grinned. "No. I just knew he would come."
After a brief pause, in awe of the weirdness of the situation, the conversation between Falcor and Alar picked back up. Colvin tugged my hand, and I silently waved to everyone in the room as I let my brother drag me away.
We took off in a sprint as soon as we were out of the office. "Come on, we have to go see him!"
"Who?" I asked as Colvin led me through the cafeteria and out the back door.
"Niri. He's going to be so happy to hear the news."
"Alright," I said and continued until the tree line where Colvin finally got tired and slowed to a walk. A second later, a thick, calloused hand slipped into mine, and a grin spread across my lips before I even looked up into Nick’s eyes.
"Where are you two headed?" he asked.
"To see Niri," Colvin said, squishing in between us to hold both our hands. It was a bit awkward as we wove through the trees toward the graveyard, but we made it work. The soft sounds of the forest were as welcome as the sun that glittered through the trees adding warmth and a green glow that was sorely lacking up north.
Our boots crunched over the crisp earth until we finally pushed out through the edge of the forest into the mowed, green space of the graveyard.
"Are you sure that it's safe here?" Nick asked.
"Of course, it is," Colvin said. I hadn't told him about what almost happened with the witch, and I probably wouldn’t. He had enough doom and gloom in his mind without me adding to it.
I just gave Nick a nod, and Colvin streaked off toward Niri's grave. It always had bright flowers around it, I was sure thanks to Colvin and Alar. The two weren't quite as close as Colvin and Niri had been, but it was a close second.
"Are you sure about this?" Nick asked again once Colvin was out of earshot.
"I'm not going to hide forever," I replied. "Besides, I kind of need to find the bitch so I can get my knife back and stop whatever bullshit she's up to."
Nick nodded and then took my hand and led me toward where Colvin was already cutting his arm and bringing Niri up from the ground.
Niri's familiar smile was exactly what I needed. It crinkled his face in familiar lines, surrounding his thick beard, and sent a wave of peace through me.
"Hello, again," Niri said.
"Niri, Selena came back, and she brought a wizard!"
"A wizard?" I asked.
"Yeah," Colvin said with a roll of his eyes like, of course, Oban was a wizard. I had never heard of anyone called a wizard. The only magic-users I knew were witches or warlocks.
"What's the difference between a warlock and a wizard?" I asked, expecting Niri to answer, but Niri just looked at Colvin and waited for his reply.
"Wizards don't have anything stopping them from using magic."
I wasn't quite sure what that meant until it pieced together. He didn't need the magic from the ground that we
all used. He didn't need power from a source. He was a source. And that explained why I felt stronger when I was around him. It wasn't much, but I had noticed that magic flowed easier when I was close to him. Like he was a battery.
"That explains it," I whispered.
"What?" Nick asked.
"Nothing, just a weird feeling."
"I felt it too," Colvin said. "But I knew he was coming. I just didn’t know when." He turned back to Niri. "Do you think he can help me?"
"Help you what?" I asked. Worried about Colvin and Oban spending time together. I didn’t quite trust Oban yet. Not after his reaction to both Pete and Nick. I wasn't ready to leave the two alone together anyway.
Niri set his gaze on me. "Colvin has a plan to save his girlfriend."
"She's not my girlfriend," Colvin complained. "We are just friends. Like normal friends."
Nick ruffled Colvin's hair, which just made him scowl harder.
"What is this plan?" I asked.
"I'm going to keep her from danger. From all danger."
"And how will you do that?" I asked.
"Cause I can see her all the time."
I glanced up at Niri before returning my eyes to Colvin. "What does that mean?"
He tapped his forehead. "I just know where she is." His eyes slid past my shoulder, and he grinned. "Be right back!" he called as he ran off toward a wraith that had appeared over a grave a few rows down. It was an old woman with her hair in a bun and a happy, grinning round face, like a stereotypical grandmother. I took a moment to run back over Colvin's words. He could see Gracie? It didn't quite make sense to me, but Colvin had a power that didn't make sense to me. I watched as he greeted the old woman.
"Who is that?" I asked once Colvin was out of earshot.
"That's Mrs. Amberly," Nick said. "Or granny as Colvin calls her."
I grinned and remembered some of the older wraiths I had raised back in my youth. I sometimes would gather a whole family and have my lunch with them, raising one each day and just sharing a conversation while I ate. They were almost like invisible friends, except they weren't invisible.
"So, what's the story with Oban?" Nick asked Niri. Even though Colvin had left, he was still keeping his magic flowing through the graveyard and kept Niri above ground.
"From what I remember of the rumours, there was a particularly gifted boy. His birth was a big deal, but then he vanished, and nobody knew what happened."
"He's Falcor's brother. Or cousin. Oban is the child of Falcor's mother and his uncle."
Niri's eyes went wide. "That would explain it. Two powerful magic users had no hope of producing a normal warlock."
"Falcor is normal," I said.
"Is he?" Niri asked.
I had to think about that for a moment. He was the only warlock I spent much time with. Perhaps he was stronger than most. But wasn't that a feature of being king? I shrugged.
Niri smiled behind his beard, and a soft glow flickered behind him. I peered around him to find that Colvin had returned his granny to the earth.
"Anyway, I found out some things about the underworld. I don't have a plan yet, but I think I can get my knife back and stop the witch. I just need to gather a team."
"And actually use them?" Nick asked. He said it with a grin, but I knew the words struck closer to home than he anticipated. I had been trying to do everything alone all the time, and even when I had a team, he was right. I often didn't let them do the dangerous work.
"Yes. Actually, use them."
"Can we go get lunch?" Colvin asked as he walked up to join us.
"Of course," Nick said.
Colvin pulled the small blade out of his pocket and slit his finger to allow a drop to hit the earth. "See you next time, Niri," he said before grabbing Nick’s hand and pulling him back toward the Sanctuary.
"Farewell, young friend," Niri called back as he faded and drifted back beneath the grass that covered his burial plot.
It was as though Niri wasn't actually gone at all, with the way we could always bring him back, and I was thankful for that. He didn't have much to say sometimes, but, somehow, talking to him filled a space I had been keeping open for too long.
I took Colvin's other hand, and we crossed the grass back toward the forest path. I was looking down at Colvin as he regaled us with one of Granny's tales from the olden days. So, I wasn't the first to notice, but at Nick's gasp and the force he used to shove Colvin into me before stepping in front of both of us. I looked past his shoulder to find a tall man in a pressed suit and black hair standing on the edge of the forest. In his hand was my blade.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
A deep growl came from Nick, but the man only grinned. "Such a vicious species."
"What do you want?" Nick asked.
Colvin's clutched at my shirt, his fingers tugging my clothes sideways as he fought to get closer to me.
"You know," the man said, but his eyes had skidded past Nick and were locked on me. "The underworld has something of mine, and I intend to retrieve it."
"That's not possible,” I replied. "Even if you kill my sister and me, you won’t open the door."
The man grinned again. "I see you have been doing my work for me. Do you think I hadn’t figured out all the ins and outs of crossing the boundary? Do you not think, perhaps, the brothers Grimm might consider a favour if I set them free again?"
I scoffed with more confidence than I had. "You're mistaken."
"Hmm, he looked unsure for a split second, then his image started to morph and squish until an older woman was standing in front of us. Her hair was a solid grey, and she was shorter than I was, but I could feel a power radiating off her. It was thick and familiar. I knew it was coming from my knife. That was my power she was using to try and intimidate me.
"Back off," Nick said.
"I don't think so," she said, her voice high and feminine now.
At least now, I knew for sure it was her in different forms that had been following me. I could be pretty sure that it was the witch that was chasing them away.
"You can't hurt my sister!" Colvin yelled a second before his magic spilled out in a flash of anger. It was blue slices of lightning aimed straight at the witch. But before they reached her, she had already vanished and shifted back into sight a few feet to the left. Colvin's magic hit a tree, and the crack of the thick trunk was so loud it rang through my ears as I turned and moved toward the witch. I wasn't going to wait around for her to get the upper hand. I lashed out, my power splintering down my arms to flash toward her. Nick attacked at the same time, his arm swinging toward the witch's head as my magic slammed into her chest.
She shifted again but was bent slightly as she reappeared. We had hurt her somehow, and that gave me enough courage to try again. We kept moving her back into the trees. Pushing her with our power and Nick's quick vampire reflexes.
We had almost moved her completely back into the forest when she shifted, but this time she reappeared behind me, my blade at my neck.
"Do you think if I completely remove your head this time, you’ll actually die?" Her breath was acrid and her voice too loud in my ear as she held me tight to her chest. The blade bit in and spilled my blood without cutting too deep yet, but the vision of the witch and me stopped Nick in his tracks.
"That's right," she said. "Stay put, you measly vamp scum. This is for us to discuss. Perhaps some privacy would be better."
I expected the world to slip sideways, but when nothing happened, the witch screamed behind me. "Unhand me, you freak!" she screamed.
I realized that Colvin had his hand on the witch's arm, his little fingers gripping her tight. "No, she's mine"!" he yelled back.
The witch tried to shake him off, but Colvin had a good grip, both hands wrapped around her arm now, and I knew he was much stronger than he looked. He wouldn't let go if he didn't want to.
Nick didn't seem to know what to do. He was frozen in place. It wasn't until the witch took the knife from my neck and lifted he
r arm back to stab Colvin that we both moved fast. Nick slammed into her, knocking her off balance, and I rode her down to the ground, my magic splashing out along with Colvin's to light up the whole forest.
I climbed her fallen form, trying to get to her hand, which was still gripping the knife. If I could get it away from her, we could end this.
"NO," she yelled and flipped onto her stomach, tossing me off. Colvin's still had a hold of her, but she managed to wiggle free and then shifted away, vanishing from the forest.
"Shit," I said, rolling onto my back and staring up at the trees above me.
"Language," Colvin said. He stood over me, looking down as if he were completely unaffected by the whole experience of almost being stabbed with my magic blade by a crazy form-shifting witch.
I gave Colvin a firm look. "You shouldn't have gotten in the way."
His face fell suddenly. "I was helping."
"Selena," Nick said in a chastising voice.
"What?" I asked, turning on Nick. "That was very dangerous."
Colvin's face fell, and if I hadn't been so scared for him a moment before that I still saw red, I would have pulled back my words, but as it was, I was still shaking in fear for my little brother and replaying the image of him with a deadly knife pointed at his chest.
"You should have run as soon as she showed up."
Colvin climbed to his feet. "And let you get stolen? No way! I'll never do that, Selena."
"Well, then it’s not safe for me to be here with you right now."
"Selena, wait," Nick said.
"Then why did you even come home again?" Colvin asked, his voice a shriek.
I realized what I had said, but Colvin had already turned and was racing through the forest back toward Sanctuary.
"Shit," I said, much louder than the first time.
"I'd say," Nick muttered.
I wanted to be mad at him, but I was the one who had just stepped in it. I got to my feet and dusted off my pants, wishing I could just curl back up in the leaves and call it a day. It was too heavy. Too emotional. I needed a fucking break.
