Edge of Pathos (The Conjurors Series Book 4) (28 page)

Valerie turned the
problem over in her mind. “Even if Reaper is killed, there will always be those
who want to use magic to control others. Humans are at such a huge
disadvantage. How can we protect them in the long run?”

“Your words ring
true. The boundary will be broken again in time, and this war will begin
again,” Chisisi said. “But I can see no other way.”

“How could we amass
enough power to bind magic on Earth, even if we wanted to?” she asked. “And who
would know how to do such a thing?”

With a pang, she
knew that Azra would have the answer. But that avenue was shut to her now.

“I will scour my
sources,” Chisisi assured her.

“I can’t help
thinking that there must be a better answer than making things like they were
before. There are a lot of problems with binding magic on Earth and keeping our
worlds separate,” Valerie said.

“If that
answer exists, then I believe it lives in you,” Chisisi said.

That night, back on
the Globe, Valerie dipped a toe in the Lake of Knowledge, and the water
sparkled in response to her touch. She flicked the shell that she’d dug out of
a drawer in her room into the lake, hoping that it worked the way that Will
said it would.

It had felt like
ages since she’d gone for a swim in these waters, and she plunged in now,
turning over in her head the problem she’d discussed with Chisisi. Was it
possible to find a better solution to protecting humans than separating them
from Conjurors?

Her swim was
interrupted when a tail flicked against her legs, startling her. On the shore,
Valerie found Elle waiting for her, wringing out her hair as she dug her toes into
the sand.

“I can’t stay long.
I know what’s been happening above the waves, and Will and I guessed what you’d
want to know now,” Elle said. “Binding magic on Earth requires an incredible
amount of magic, but luckily, a lot of it you can mine from the Atacama Desert.
All of the magic that ignited the flame isn’t lost, it’s just in a different
form.”

“What do I need to
fix it?” Valerie asked.

“You’ll need a
Conjuror with the ability to bind magic, and an object that can contain all
that power. When the binding spell was put in place last time, a flame was
chosen to contain it because it would never grow weak or tarnish with age. But
any object strong enough will work.”

“What should I look
for?”

“Talk to the People of
the Woods,” Elle said. “I haven’t found more detail than that in the records
yet.”

“There’s something
else,” Valerie said. “Is there another way to stop humans from being exploited
by those with more magic, other than separating them on different worlds? It
seems like a temporary, flawed solution.”

“Now you leave the
realm of facts and enter the realm of possibility. It is a matter of great
debate beneath the waves, but we have found no magical solutions to this
problem so far,” Elle said.

The lake began
bubbling, and Valerie, who was in up to her ankles, yelped as it became hot.
She hurried to the sand, where she had left the sheath that held the makeshift
sword she’d been carrying since she lost Pathos.

“Not yet!” Elle
shouted.

Elle dove into the
water, but emerged seconds later, covered in blisters.

“Will’s below the
surface!” she shouted.

“What’s happening?”
Valerie asked.

“They’re sealing
Illyria off from outside contact. There’s been debate about cutting ties with
the surface, but things move so slowly down there that I thought it would be
decades before drastic action would be taken,” Elle said.

“Maybe this isn’t
coming from beneath the waves. Maybe someone on the surface doesn’t want
Illyrians to have contact with Conjurors any longer,” Valerie said.

“But that makes no
sense! Fractus and Fist alike will be cut off from the Akashic Records this
way,” Elle said.

“Reaper must know of
knowledge down there that he doesn’t want to leak out,” Valerie said.

“What if everything
is boiling down there? What if Will’s hurt?” Elle asked, pacing the shore.

“You’re both
Empaths. Reach out with your mind and find his. Your bond as twins is stronger
than you know,” Valerie said.

Elle knelt on the
sand and squeezed her eyes shut. Her hands, which were clenched by her sides,
gradually relaxed.

“He’s okay,” Elle
said. “I can’t see anything, but I can touch his mind. He’s alive, and he’s not
in pain.”

Elle had relaxed a
fraction, but Valerie’s fear was ratcheting up. Reaper was systematically
cutting her off from any ties to people or knowledge that could help her. There
was no one whose advice she could seek, no research she could do that would
give her the answers she needed.

She could only rely
on herself, and that thought turned the Laurel Circle cold on her thumb.

A loud
banging had Valerie out of bed, weapon in hand, before she was fully awake. She
almost collided with Henry in the hall as they raced to their front door.

“Ready?” she asked
him, hand on the knob. She doubted the Fractus would bother to knock, but who
knew?

Henry nodded once,
and Valerie opened the door.

Standing in the
moonlight was Cyrus with his father, mother, and Cara.

“You’re home,” Cyrus
said, the relief in his voice unmistakable.

“What happened?”
Valerie asked, ushering them in.

As she did, she saw
that Mrs. Burns had a gash on her forehead that had been stitched, but there
was still blood on her face.

 “This Chern
fellow—” Mr. Burns began.

“Reaper, Dad,” Cara
insisted.

“Reaper then, he seemed
so reasonable when we saw him last. But he came today, demanding to see Cyrus,
and when we explained that our stubborn son didn’t care about the well-being of
our family, he proceeded to…to…”

Valerie had never
seen Cyrus’s father upset, but he was gripping his wife’s hand so hard, his
knuckles were white.

“He attacked Mom,
slicing her forehead with his scythe,” Cara said. “I think he meant to kill
her.”

“How did you stop
him?” Henry asked, bringing in a cup of tea for Mrs. Burns.

Cara ducked her head.
“I was home, trying to reason with my parents when he showed up. I diverted the
beam from the lighthouse by our house straight into the living room. It didn’t
hurt him or anything, but that black scythe he carries started to sizzle, like
it was burning.”

“Good to know that
weapons treated with Carne from Plymouth are weakened by light,” Cyrus mused.

“When Reaper saw
what was happening to his weapon, he opened a portal and left,” Cara said. “I
think he’d been hurt recently, because there was scar tissue around his eyes,
and his gaze was unfocused.”

“He thought we’d be
easy targets, and when he found out we weren’t, he left,” Mr. Burns said,
patting Cara on her shoulder.

“We were lucky our
daughter used her lightweaver power to administer pulses of light into my
system, or the wound from that horrible weapon would have killed me before I
reached a healer in Arden,” Mrs. Burns said, watching her husband as she spoke.

Mr. Burns shifted
his weight, not returning her eye contact.

“If Cyrus had come
home with us, like we told him to—” Mr. Burns began, but his voice didn’t hold
any heat.

Mrs. Burns dropped
her husband’s hand. “Don’t blame the actions of that madman on our son. We
should never have been talking to him to begin with.”

Mr. Burns released a
breath. “Perhaps you’re right.”

Cyrus and Cara
looked at each other like they’d witnessed a miracle. Henry coughed to cover
his laughter.

“We’re here to ask
you a favor, Val,” Cyrus said.

“Anything.”

“Reaper could come
back to Messina for Mom and Dad at any time. Can they stay here with you? It’s
the safest place I can think of, with you and Henry to protect them. I know
Emin’s already here, so it’ll be crowded. If you can’t, it’s fine.”

“Cy, of course they
can stay,” Valerie said. “Mr. and Mrs. Burns, you’re welcome to live in our
house for as long as you need it. You can stay in my dad’s old room.”

“Thai can bunk with
me, and Emin can stay in your room,” Henry said.

Valerie closed her
eyes, cursing her brother for mentioning Thai. When she opened them, she saw
that Cyrus had clenched his jaw, but he met her gaze. Henry sent her a mental
apology.

“Thank you, my
dear,” Mrs. Burns said. “It won’t be for long. And perhaps you’d welcome some
help in the kitchen. Cyrus says you like Earth food.”

Henry’s face
lightened at the mention of food. “We love it.”

Henry showed Cyrus’s
parents where they would stay while Cara snoozed on the couch. Valerie followed
Cyrus to the doorway.

“As long as they’re
here, I’ll protect them with my life, like they’re my own parents,” Valerie
said.

“I know you will.
It’s selfish, asking you to watch over them, but I knew you’d understand,” he
said.

“I wouldn’t want
them to be anywhere else. And I don’t think Reaper will attack a place where he
thinks Henry and I are together because of the prophecy he received.”

Cyrus stared into
the darkness, brooding. “Who do you think he’ll attack next? Kanti’s parents?
Thai’s? Does he want to make orphans of us all?”

“He hasn’t managed
to kill us yet, so he’s trying to get to us through people we love. I think he
wants to cut us off from as much help and support as he can,” Valerie said.

In the darkness, the
glow coming off of Cyrus pulsed, and Valerie thought she saw sparks. “Does he
know that instead of scaring me, he’s only making me want to win more?”

His words
woke something up in Valerie. What if she let her terror about everything and
everyone Reaper could destroy be burned away by her certainty that destroying
the Fractus was the right path? Every time he attacked someone she loved or
slaughtered the innocent, it was more proof that right was on her side. And
Gideon had been right when he told her that right was a powerful ally.

The next morning,
there was more bustle in the little house than ever, but Valerie loved it this
way—bumping into a grumpy Cara while she made her tea, assisting a smiling Mrs.
Burns while she made eggs and bacon, watching a pink thread of magic wind its
way through the halls when Emin hummed a tune. When his magic touched her, she
knew the song, and she sang along.

Through her bond
with Henry, she could tell that he was enjoying their crowded home, as well,
though rooming with Thai was a little awkward.

Valerie was thankful
that Cyrus had returned to his dorm room so that he wouldn’t have to see how
comfortable Thai was in her house.

“Emin, want to come
to Arbor Aurum with me today and see some of your old friends?” Valerie asked,
peeking into her bedroom, where Emin was reading a book, eggs untouched.

“Maybe Uncle Elden
woke up?” Emin asked.

“I don’t think so,”
Valerie said, hating to put out the light in his eyes. “But there are lots of
people who miss you.”

Valerie hoped her
words were true. She couldn’t imagine anyone not wanting to see Emin, even if
he was half-human. But the People’s culture wasn’t one she knew well.

“Okay,” he said.

They started out,
but Emin stopped when they were only a couple of minutes from her house.

“There’s an entrance
the other way that’s a lot closer,” he said.

“Really? You’re
helping me already,” Valerie said, and was rewarded with a little smile.

“Mom says I’m the
best boy for helping,” Emin said, marching off the path and into a part of the
woods Valerie had never been in before.

They’d been walking
for a half an hour when Valerie began to think Emin was lost. But before she
could craft a way to ask him without stomping on his pride, he stopped before a
spindly tree.

“Do we climb it?”
Valerie asked, uncertain that the skinny branches would hold even Emin’s slight
weight.

“No,” scoffed Emin.
“Don’t you know?”

He hummed a tune that
reminded Valerie of things growing in the sun. The leaves of the tree rustled
in response to Emin’s magic, and an enormous gold leaf fluttered to the ground.

“Come on,” he said,
holding out his little hand.

Valerie gripped his
sticky fingers, and together, they stepped on the leaf. It rose, swiftly enough
that she gripped Emin to her side tightly so he wouldn’t fall. Emin laughed,
and the sound was as sweet as Clarabelle pinging in her mind.

“You can’t fall!” he
said, still giggling.

“Magic, right,” she
said. “What would I do without you?”

“Get lost,
probably,” Emin said, serious now.

They burst through a
clump of leaves and were deposited on the wooden platform that connected all of
the trees in Arden. The spot where they landed was devoid of the bustle in
Arbor Aurum, but Emin turned as if he knew where he was headed, and Valerie
followed.

“That’s where Mom
and I stayed when we were caught in a rainstorm once,” Emin said, pointing to a
nook in one of the trees. “She sang to me until I fell asleep, and then I woke
her up in the morning with a song. It was an even trade.”

“She was lucky to
have you as her partner, and now I’m the lucky one,” Valerie said.

“That’s where I
stepped off the platform and got lost,” Emin said, not listening to Valerie.
“Mom was so mad when she found me. She made me weed gardens for three years.”

Valerie turned to
him, about to question the term of his punishment, and then remembered that he
was older than she was in years, if not in maturity, because of how the People
of the Woods aged.

“Even if it was only
so she could yell at me again, I wish I could see her one more time,” Emin
said. “I’m never going to stop missing her.”

“You’re right,” she
said. “I miss my dad every day, sometimes so much that it’s hard to think about
anything else. But knowing that I’m fighting for what’s right and keeping on
living and loving would make him happy.”

Emin was
quiet for so long, Valerie wasn’t sure if he’d been listening. “I think Mom
would want the same thing.”

When they arrived in
Arbor Aurum, their first stop was the hospital. It was as full as ever, a
reminder that the People of the Woods were on the front lines of the war with
the Fractus on Earth and the Globe.

Elden lay silent in
his bed, and Emin sat next to him, squeezing his hand.

“He’s got more color
in his cheeks,” Valerie said.

“Uncle, wake up,”
Emin said, giving Elden a good shake.

Valerie pulled him
back.

“Let’s be gentle
with your uncle. He’s still healing,” Valerie said.

“Emin will not hurt
him,” a low voice made Valerie turn.

The woman who’d
spoken was ancient, as gnarled as the trees that made up Arbor Aurum. But she
stood straight, and something about her understated grace made Valerie suspect
she was powerful.

“Grandmother North,”
Emin said, and bowed. The woman touched his little head once, like a blessing,
but she didn’t enfold him in a hug, as Valerie expected.

“You’re Cerise’s
mother?” Valerie asked.

“And Elden’s. These
are dark days for my family since you came among us, vivicus.”

Valerie was
surprised that something stronger than guilt rose in her at the words. “I did
not create the darkness that we fight against. I only offer an alternative for
those that want one.”

North held up a hand
that was gilded with gold, like Elden’s. “You didn’t make this war, you
inherited it. The seeds were planted before you were born. But you are not here
for a philosophical discussion.”

“Emin wanted to see
his uncle,” Valerie said.

“And you are seeking
something from my people.”

Valerie explained
her mission to find an object strong enough to hold a spell that would bind
Earth’s magic, and North’s face was still as she listened.

“My people will
create what you seek. But you must find a Conjuror with the ability to bind magic.
None among my people hold this power.”

“How long will it
take you to make it?” Valerie asked.

North stared up at
the sky, as if she was calculating the time in her head. “A moonspan. We will
need to use Earth’s soil to grow what we need.”

“A month is too
long,” Valerie said. “Reaper might have found a way to use the magic left over
from the flame by then.”

“Even magic cannot
change the tides, or the waxing and waning of the moon.”

Valerie swallowed
her impatience and turned to Emin who was sitting on Elden’s bed, quietly
playing with polished stones and whispering to his uncle all the while.

“Do you want to say
anything to him?” Valerie asked the woman.

North watched her
grandson, but her face gave away nothing. “Perhaps I’m growing softer, for I
once swore that Cerise and her abomination would never be welcome in my nest.”

“Then leave,”
Valerie said, stepping in front of Emin as if she could shield him with her
body from his grandmother’s words.

But North pushed her
aside and moved to stand next to Emin. Emin looked up at her, mouth open.

“Your only home
isn’t with that vivicus. You have one with me, too, if you wish it,” she said.

Valerie let out a
breath, relieved.

“But Mom said you’re
very busy, and that’s why we never see you,” Emin said. “You have time now?”

The furrow in
North’s brow deepened, and when she spoke, her voice was softer. “Yes, Emin, I
have time now.”

“Do I have to decide
now?” he asked.

“No, little sapling.
It is my turn to wait for you,” she said.

North
swished out of the room, but not before Valerie saw the tears she was
struggling to hide.

Emin bounded home
with more energy than Valerie had seen in him since he’d come to live with her.
Thai greeted them at the door, Emin leaping into his arms with enough force
that Thai almost toppled over.

“Good trip?” he
asked, laughing.

“You promised to let
me try your dagger today!” Emin said, racing to Thai’s room to grab the weapon.

Thai saw Valerie’s
look. “I’ll be careful. But he needs to know how to defend himself. We don’t know
what’s coming.”

Valerie sighed. “I
guess you know how to heal him if anything goes wrong.”

Henry joined them in
the hall, wiping his hands on his pants.

“Val, can you let us
talk alone?” Henry asked.

Valerie looked at
Thai and he just shrugged. “Sure,” she said, then went into the kitchen.

She was aware that
she should visit Chisisi or Skye, but instead, she wanted to hear what Henry
had to say.

“I’ve been avoiding
you,” Henry said, his voice muffled by the door.

“I could tell. I
figured you’d tell me why when you were ready. Is it because I got mad at your
sister?”

Henry let out a
surprised laugh. “No, I’m sure you’ve got good reasons. It’s because I couldn’t
face you without guilt swallowing me up. I killed Tan.”

Thai’s voice sounded
farther away when he replied. “I know in a way it wasn’t really you. You were
lost.”

Valerie peeked
around the corner and saw that they’d moved to the bench by the front window.
Thai stared outside.

Henry’s voice shook.
“I wake up at night dreaming about the sound his body made when it hit the
ground. I didn’t even know I killed him. I didn’t tell him I was sorry, or try
to save him.”

“Kanti said he was
probably dead as soon as he hit his head. Even Valerie couldn’t save him.”

Valerie hadn’t known
that Thai had talked to Kanti about what had happened to Tan. Since she’d told
him about what happened to his brother, they hadn’t spoken of it again. She’d
been a coward, afraid that talking about Thai’s grief would unlock her own, and
they’d both drown. So she’d let him wade through it on his own.

“I’m sorry. I know
what it is to hate the person who killed someone you love, your family. After
this war is over, if you and Val want a life that doesn’t involve me, I’ll
honor that.”

“Henry, you’ve got
it wrong. I don’t think of you as the person who killed Tan. Venu, Reaper,
fate, maybe. But the best part of him was long gone before he died.”

“But now, we’ll
never know if we could have brought him back.” Henry’s voice was a whisper.

“I know. That’s the
thought that keeps me awake at night. Maybe we all should have tried harder to
tear him away from the Fractus. But we were fighting a war, saving lives. I
can’t think of a moment when we were just sitting around watching soap operas when
we could have gone to the Black Castle to save Tan. So I’m trying to forgive
myself. And for what it’s worth, I forgave you already, Henry.”

“How?” Henry’s voice
cracked on the word.

“Because you’re my
brother, too.”

Valerie was sitting
on the floor in the kitchen, her head resting against the wall. In the next
room, it was quiet.

“Val, I know you’re
there. Your mind is wide open,” Henry said.

His words broke the
tension, and she heard Thai chuckle. “She’s been an eavesdropper since the
first week I knew her.”

Valerie burst into
the room. “Real nice, Thai.”

She grinned at him
and wished that her mind were whole. If it had been, she’d have kissed him
right then.

“Mind’s still open,
Val,” Henry said, and she blushed.

“So is yours. Why
are you going to Elsinore? To make up with Kanti, finally?”

Henry fidgeted with
the cushion of the bench he was sitting on. “I hope so, but the main reason is
that I think I’m ready to use my power for the Fist.”

“Why use the
soldiers in Elsinore for that?” Thai asked.

“My power works best
on Conjurors who haven’t tapped into their magic. Kanti says there are a lot of
Conjurors in her army who hadn’t had the chance to work with Clarabelle to
develop their powers. They’ll dedicate their lives to the Fist if I give them a
cool power.”

Valerie shamelessly
searched Henry’s mind to assess if he was really ready to tap into the power
that Reaper had wrested from him for so many years. She could see his fear and
guilt, but underneath was a vein of pure certainty that this was the right thing,
that it would help him atone for his mistakes.

Her eyes connected
with his, and she gave him a little nod of approval. “What were you thinking of
gifting them with?”

“It doesn’t work
that way, exactly,” Henry said. “I’ll show you in person when it’s time.”

“I’m glad you’re
ready to do this now. Summer bought us some time by wounding Reaper, but he
could seize the power left over from the flame burning out at any time.”