Edge of Pathos (The Conjurors Series Book 4) (17 page)

“Save it. People are
dying, Val. On the Globe, on Earth. I shouldn’t have to tell you that. How can
you be dancing right now? Don’t you have better things to do?”

Part of Valerie was
humiliated because there was truth to his words. But the bigger part of her was
consumed by an emotion she only recognized as rage when she saw that the Laurel
Circle was a warm, bright gold.

“You’re my best
friend, the person who knows me better than anyone else in the universe. What
do you think?” Valerie said. “It’s a fundraiser. I had to show up to raise
magic for the Fist. And, yeah, I forgot myself and enjoyed a dance. You’re the
one who said that we had to snatch moments of happiness when we could in the
middle of all this horror, remember?”

“But I meant with
me! Not with him!” Cyrus said.

Valerie had no
reply, and Cyrus sucked in a breath.

“Some days, I wake
up and I can’t believe that you’ll never be mine again,” he said. “You’re so
woven into my heart, cutting you out will kill me.”

“Then don’t cut me
out. We can find our way back to friendship,” Valerie said.

Cyrus sagged.
“You’ll never understand. That’s why there’s no point talking about this
anymore.”

He stood a little
straighter as if he was consciously trying to cast off his pain.

“I found
you to tell you that Elle and Will need to see you,” he said. “They’re in my
room.”

Valerie and Cyrus
went to his room in the dorm of The Society of Imaginary Friends, and she found
Elle and Will on the bed Henry slept in sometimes. Their hair was slightly
damp.

“How are you both?
Are you safe in Illyria?” Valerie asked.

They nodded, but
neither twin smiled.

“What is it? Has
Illyria fallen completely to the Fractus?” she asked.

“Illyrian politics
are complicated. And decisions are never made quickly,” Elle said.

“There is an endless
amount of information to be gathered and analyzed,” Will explained. “I think
they forget that just because
they
are immortal does not mean that time
moves slowly above the waves.”

Valerie let out a
breath of relief. “I feared the worst, after my trip there.”

“Your trip wasn’t a
waste. There are Illyrians who agreed with your logic and are supporters of the
Fist,” Elle said.

“It is those
supporters,” Will said, “who informed us that the Fractus have tapped into a
new source of magic, one that is far more powerful than the black weapons
they’ve been wielding.”

Valerie sat down on
Cyrus’s bed. “Where?”

“Plymouth,” Elle
said. “Beneath the bedrock is a special kind of dark magic that pooled there
during the early wars on the Globe. The records call the magic
Carne
. There
is a river of this stuff that Reaper can use to enhance his army’s powers.”

Valerie remembered
her own trip to Dunsinane through the tunnels of Plymouth, and how she’d sensed
something evil far below.

“What will happen
when Reaper uses this magic?” she asked.

“The Akashic Records
hold all of the information in the universe, but they do not predict the
future,” Will said. “For that information, you must visit Ephesus.”

“In the meantime, send
some scouts of the Fist into Plymouth to see if you can uncover what they plan
to do with the Carne,” Elle said. “Their plans are shrouded, and even the most
skilled readers have not found that information.”

“What about you two?
Are you going back to Illyria?” Valerie asked.

“It’s our home,”
Will said. “We belong beneath the waves.”

He gave her a shell
that buzzed a little in her hand.

“If you need us,
toss it into the lake,” Will said.

“I hope I’ll see you
again soon,” Valerie said.

“You will. The time
for change has come, and that includes Illyria. We are with you, and the Fist,”
Elle said.

While Cyrus sent
messages about the twins’ news to the various leaders in the Fist, Valerie ran
to the Empathy Collective, where Sibyl and the other Oracles who had fled the
Roaming City in Ephesus were living.

Despite the late
hour, Valerie found her friend in the garden behind the Collective. Sibyl
fluttered from flower to flower, absorbing each scent. But when she turned and
saw Valerie, she appeared unsurprised.

“Is it time?” Sibyl
asked.

“I’m not sure what
you mean,” Valerie said.

Sibyl’s little body
shook silently, and Valerie realized she was laughing.

“I am still unused
to living around anyone other than Oracles. One of our novices said that the time
was nigh for us to retake the Roaming City. Is that the news you bear?” Sibyl
asked.

Valerie sat down on
a bench. “I came to see if any of you were drawn to give me a prophecy about
how Reaper will use the magic he’s tapped into in Plymouth, but maybe you’re
right. There are a number of answers that can only be found inside your city.”

Valerie knew that
Putrefus had given Reaper a prophecy when he’d visited the Roaming City with
her when she only knew him as Chern, the bumbling Grand Master of the History
Guild. The words of that prophecy could give them an inside look into his
motives, or possibly explain why he so badly wanted Valerie to kill someone by
her own hand.

“The tug of our home
has grown ever stronger, but we did not wish to draw away resources when you
have so few,” Sibyl said.

“You can always come
to me and tell me what you need,” Valerie said. “The Oracles’ insights have
given us an advantage in many battles. It’s our turn to help you.”

“Fighting for right
is not a favor,” Sibyl said sternly. “But I do believe that we are being drawn
back to the desert for a reason.”

“I’ll gather a team
to take back the city,” Valerie said. “With Cyrus’s new light magic in our
weapons, and Reaper’s forces being funneled to battles on Earth, I think this
is a fight we can win.”

“So say our
prophecies, as well,” Sibyl agreed.

“Then
let’s take your home back,” Valerie said.

Valerie allowed
herself two nights of rest and a full day of planning before trekking to
Ephesus. Thai came with her, and Mira and Claremont would join them at the
border of the desert of Ephesus.

“Do you think there
are enough of us to take over the Roaming City?” Thai asked as they climbed a
tree up to Arbor Aurum.

“Enough or not, it’s
all the soldiers we can afford,” Valerie said. “I’d even leave you in Arden,
saving lives, if you’d let me.”

“I know you fight
the Fractus on your own all the time, but this is different. You don’t know who
will be waiting for you in the Roaming City, and I want to be there in the event
Reaper shows up with an army to support him,” Thai said.

Valerie shrugged,
but she was glad of his company. The warmth of his presence kept the chill of
her guilt and fear at bay.

They pushed their
way up the trunk, through the leaves, and found Cerise waiting for them at the
top with her son, Emin. Emin’s eyes sparkled with delight when he saw her, and
he immediately jumped onto her back.

“I missed you, too,”
Valerie choked out as he gripped her neck with his little hands.

“Lemme come fight
with you! Mom says no, but you can make her let me, since you’re her boss!”
Emin said.

Valerie suppressed a
smile as Cerise glared at her, daring her to overrule her decree.

“It doesn’t work
that way, Emin. Your mom’s always the boss of you,” Valerie said, and was rewarded
with a small nod from Cerise. “But even if I could, I wouldn’t bring you. Every
good knight knows that he has to train before he can fight in a battle. That
training takes a long, long time.”

Emin dropped off her
back and stamped his foot before scampering away into the trees.

“I hope this war is
long over before he would be of an age to fight in it,” Cerise said, her voice
weary.

“It will be,” Thai
said with certainty.

Valerie was glad
he’d answered, because she didn’t have the same faith that he did. Maybe if her
father, or even Gideon, were still around to guide her, it would be different.

As they hiked
through the cities in the trees, Valerie was grateful that her companions were
quiet. She reached out with her mind to see if she could sense Henry, but other
than a vague sense of his pain and guilt, his thoughts were shrouded from her.

“Is Henry doing
okay?” she finally asked Thai, when Cerise was walking ahead, scolding Emin for
carelessly leaping from branch to branch.

“Not really,” Thai
said. “If we were on Earth, I’d say he needs to see a therapist. But since he’s
in the Empathy Collective, which is the closest thing on the Globe, I’m not
sure who else could counsel him.”

“I’ll talk to Dasan,
his Grand Master. The physical distance Reaper put between us when he reversed
my polarity is cutting off our mental connection, too,” Valerie confessed.

“Exactly what Reaper
was hoping for. But don’t worry too much about Henry. When I’m not around to
keep an eye on him, Cyrus and Ceru watch out for him. He hasn’t been going
anywhere other than his guild and Cyrus’s dorm room,” Thai assured her.

“I don’t think he’ll
ever help Reaper again. But the damage is done,” Valerie said.

Their conversation ended
when they reached the edge of the platform that led down to the border of
Ephesus.

“Emin will remain
here, but I will join you in this fight,” Cerise said, and Valerie noticed that
she wasn’t asking for permission.

“Is that a risk you
want to take?” Valerie asked, casting a meaningful glance at Emin.

For the first time
since Valerie had known her, Cerise shifted uncomfortably on her feet.

“I seek a prophecy,
and likely would not find the city on my own. You would be doing me a service,
and I would not forget this favor,” Cerise said formally.

“Of course. The
thanks is ours,” Valerie replied.

Before
Valerie stepped off the platform, Emin gripped her in a quick hug before he
squirmed out of her grasp. His little gesture reminded her of her visits to
Clarabelle, obliterating the cobwebs of pain in her mind with his innocence.

Claremont and Mira
were waiting when they descended.

“Glad you could make
it. Now that you’re leader of the Conjurors, the rules of proper punctuality
don’t apply, I take it,” Claremont said, her eyes stormy.

Valerie ignored her,
knowing that a good fight would put Claremont back in good spirits.

“The Oracles are
returning to Ephesus the way they left—through Illyria, entering the city through
the pool,” Valerie explained. “Elle and Will are going to guide them back. I
want to keep them out of the fighting, so they should emerge only when the city
is safe.”

“Good. They’d only
get in the way,” Claremont said, gripping the mace that Cyrus had infused with
light for her.

“If things go as
planned, this takeover will be bloodless,” Valerie reminded her. “Mira, are you
ready?”

Mira nodded, and his
form shimmered as he shapeshifted, growing taller and human. He was a perfect
copy of Putrefus, the most powerful Oracle in the Roaming City, and the leader
of the pack that had driven Sibyl and her friends out of their home.

Valerie, Claremont,
Thai, and Cerise all pulled up the hoods on their plain brown robes. It wasn’t
much of a disguise, but Valerie hoped being escorted by Putrefus himself would
deflect attention from their little group.

“Let’s get this
done,” Valerie said, and they trekked into the desert.

For nearly an hour,
they saw nothing but sun and sand. It was disconcerting, because every other
time Valerie had sought the Roaming City, she had found it quickly. But at
last, the simple brown huts appeared in the distance, shimmering like a mirage.

“Move quickly. Let’s
blend in before anyone examines us closely,” Cerise said.

“Duh,” Claremont muttered
under her breath, and Valerie shot her a look. No bickering mid-mission.

A novice wearing
white greeted them as they neared the pool from which Sibyl and her friends
would emerge. The pillars surrounding the pool, which had fallen the last time
Valerie had visited the Roaming City, were upright, but crooked.

“Welcome,
wanderers,” the novice began, but her eyes widened when she saw Mira in his
Putrefus disguise.

“Sir, I didn’t know
it was you,” the novice said, and bowed subserviently.

“Of course not. If I
wanted you to know, you would have. But novices are not informed of my
activities,” Mira said in a fair impression of Putrefus.

Valerie was
impressed, considering Mira had never met the Oracle. He had copied his looks
from a drawing by Sibyl, but his tone and word choice were all his own.

“Be off with you,”
Mira said, dismissing the novice with a wave of his hand.

“But…you told me to
stay here, to make sure no one entered who couldn’t pay,” the novice said,
confused.

“Yes. Right.
Maintain your post, then,” Mira said, and he hurried off with the rest of the
group behind him.

“Down this alley,”
Valerie hissed, and the group followed her as she hustled toward the hut of an
ancient Oracle called Mer, who had been all but cast out of the city, forbidden
to deliver prophecies. He had helped her once, giving her information that led
to her reuniting with her father, and she hoped he’d help her again—as well as
answer a question that had been buzzing in her head for over a year.

The huts were all
alike, and Valerie began to worry that they were lost. The Oracles they passed
stared at the group strangely, and a few raised their hands to hail Putrefus.
But Mira stuck his nose in the air and pushed on, and no one forced them to
stop.

At last, she came to
a hut at the edge of the city that was a little more run down than its
neighbors.

“Here,” Valerie said
with a little breath of relief.

Valerie knocked once
before pushing through the fluttering curtain at the entrance, and her team
followed her inside.

At the sight of her,
Mer dropped the pan he was cooking with, and it clattered on the makeshift
stove. His face turned pale, and his eyes were huge as he took her in.

“Mer, it’s Valerie.
Do you remember me?” she asked him.

Mer regained some of
his color. “I thought you were someone else. I did not think to see you again,
especially in such company.”

Mer glared at
Putrefus, but after a minute he squinted. “You are not Putrefus.”

“Your mind is
strong,” Mira said, resuming his true shape. He stretched, cracking his neck once.

The old man’s eyes
sparkled as he took in the little group. “You’re here to take back the city.”

“That’s right, old
man,” Claremont said. “And we’re commandeering your hut for that purpose.”

Mer raised his eyebrows,
and Valerie subtly stepped on Claremont’s foot, hard enough to make her yelp.

“We ask your
permission to hide here while Mira scouts the city in the shape of Putrefus,”
Valerie explained.

“You’re welcome to
stay, but the Oracles will not be deceived by his shapeshifting for long.
Anyone who takes a good look will not be fooled. Oracles spend years training
to steel their minds against magical attacks.”

“Much like my own
people,” Cerise said with a nod of approval.

“We want to see
where Putrefus and his key supporters are located. We’re going to kidnap them
and lock them in a hut,” Thai chimed in, removing a charm from his pocket.

The stone, once
activated, could turn any room into a prison. Only the bearer of the stone
could leave at will.

The curtain on Mer’s
doorway moved, and Valerie gripped Pathos’s hilt, only releasing it when she
saw Sibyl walk into the hut, her telltale wings hidden under a novice’s white
robes.

“We’re not ready for
you and the other Oracles yet,” Claremont said.

“My friends remain
beneath the waves in the pool. But I will fight with you,” she said. “I know
this city and its inhabitants, and that will make all the difference if we’re
going to resolve this without bloodshed. This is my home, and it is right that
I am part of taking it back.”

Valerie didn’t
argue. She’d learned to take soldiers where she could find them, though her
heart hurt every time one of her friends was put at risk.

Mira resumed the
shape of Putrefus, and he and Sibyl ducked out of Mer’s hut.

“I can’t wait around
in here,” Claremont said, pacing the hut restlessly.

“You’re the least
likely of us to be recognized,” Valerie said. “If you want to don your robe and
scout the perimeter of the hut for any threats, go ahead.”