Edge of Pathos (The Conjurors Series Book 4) (37 page)

But Valerie wasn’t
as eager. What if she was wrong, and the statue wasn’t her mother? Or what if
she couldn’t awaken her, now that her vivicus powers only slept within her? The
hope was so sweet, it was terrifying to imagine the void that would be left if
she was wrong.

Henry and Kanti
emerged from the newly restored entrance to Plymouth in the center of The
Horseshoe. Gideon was already walking to meet them, and Valerie gripped Thai’s
hand and followed. Henry’s nerves amplified her own as he jogged toward her.

“Whatever comes,
we’re going to find a happy ending for your mom,” Thai said.

His dark eyes met
hers, and a little of her fear eased.

“To Babylon?” Henry
asked, and Valerie nodded.

It was a quiet walk
through Arden’s woods. Gideon walked a little ahead of them, occasionally
stopping to wait for the rest of the group to catch up. When they stepped
through the screen of vines, everything was quiet and still.

“She’s behind the
waterfall,” Valerie said. “If it’s her, I mean.”

Even Gideon’s steps
had slowed now, so Valerie took the lead, first climbing the tiers overflowing
with flowers, and then making her way carefully down to the cave behind the
waterfall.

They filed in, and
the muted light in the cave clearly illuminated that statue of the warrior
reaching for the sword that wasn’t in its sheath.

“You found her,”
Gideon said, gently touching the statue’s face with his fingertips. Valerie saw
tears in his eyes.

“She’s reaching for
Pathos,” Valerie said. “She must have forgotten that she left it on Earth for
us. When Reaper attacked, she was defenseless.”

“Adelita is never
defenseless,” Gideon said. “She didn’t win every battle, like she must have
lost this one with Reaper, but she’s lethal with nothing but her fists.”

“Like her daughter,”
Kanti said, flashing Valerie a grin.

“I can sense her
mind in there, like she’s in a deep sleep,” Henry said.

Valerie wiped her
sweaty palms on her jeans. “I don’t know for sure if I can wake her.”

“Let’s try,” Thai
said, and he laced his fingers with hers and let his power amplify her own.

She reached within
herself for the ember of her vivicus power. Channeling it was like trying to
light a fire with a wet match. She touched her mother and reached within
herself, but her vivicus power wouldn’t leap to her command.

Henry’s mind touched
hers, and his steady certainty that she could do this calmed her nerves. She
reached again for her vivicus power, and it sparked. The spark was all that was
needed to wake up her mother.

Stone melted into
flesh, and Adelita sucked in a breath of air, like she’d been underwater for
too long. Her mother was alive. Valerie’s heart pounded in her chest, and her
hands trembled. Henry’s joy echoed her own through their mental connection. But
neither of them stirred, as if a sudden movement might pop this dream like a
bubble, and their mother would disappear.

Adelita’s gaze was
disoriented. What was it like, one moment to be facing Reaper and possible
death, the next to be surrounded by a group of strange kids?

“Gid?” Adelita said
when her eyes met Gideon’s.

Gideon was crying
now. She’d never seen her mentor’s face so expressive. How much had grief
numbed him? Who would he be now that Adelita was back?

Gideon hugged her.
“You’ve been gone for eighteen years. We only found you now.”

Valerie saw her
mother scanning the group for the second time as the weight of Gideon’s words
sank in, and tears filled her eyes that she quickly blinked away. There were
faces that should have been there, and her mother must know what it meant that
they weren’t. But her mother didn’t say anything, and neither did Valerie. She
and Henry would have to be enough.

“It’ll be okay,
Mom,” Valerie said.

At her words, her
mother’s gaze settled on her and Henry, and her expression changed. Her eyes
shone.

“My babies,” she
said, and she smiled. It lit up her whole face, and Valerie knew then why her
dad had fallen in love with her so quickly. “I love you. And I’m so very
grateful that you found me, so I can know you both.”

Adelita crushed
Valerie and Henry in her arms, and Valerie felt very small and safe as the
biggest, most hopeless wish of her life came true.

Adelita pulled back,
staring at both of them as if she couldn’t look enough. “Now, tell me
everything.”

Chrome couldn’t get
used to the lack of space in Ming’s crowded neighborhood, but that one
complaint was a speck of dirt on a meaty bone. Guarding the human pup called to
him like a full moon on a cloudless night.

Even now, when he
was sitting by her feet while she ate dinner with her family, the restlessness
in his heart was quiet. He hadn’t thought it ever would be again. He listened
to Ming chattering with her family about the new powers that everyone was trying
to come to grips with.

“It’s like I can
sense the minds of everyone around me,” Ming’s mother said.

Ming was pouting,
her bottom lip sticking out a little. “Everyone’s got magic but me.”

She was wrong.
Chrome sent her an image of a flame bursting into a fire. It was hard to tell
what was happening to his little charge, but the scent of the magic within her
was unmistakable, and vaguely familiar.

After dinner, Chrome
slipped outside for a run while Ming got ready for bed with her mother. When he
returned, she was sleeping. He rested his front paws on her windowsill and
watched her breathe until the sun came back over the horizon and Ming’s eyes
cracked open.

She grinned when she
saw Chrome watching her. “Hi, puppy.”

He sent her a vision
of himself tackling her on the grass outside as playful punishment for her
teasing, and was rewarded with her giggle.

She tumbled outside,
and as promised, he tackled her. Shrieking with joy, she ran across the small
lawn, and he let her get away, only to chase her again when her back was
turned.

He surprised her,
and Ming released a burst of magic, opening a portal to her bedroom. Chrome was
so stunned that he stumbled, and they both went through.

The smell of her
magic was unmistakable, like burning leaves in the forest. The last time he’d
smelled that magic trail was when he’d followed Reaper. Ming had inherited the
powers of his greatest enemy.

Ming was on her
knees, eyes wide. “What happened?”

He’d heard of such a
thing, of course. It wasn’t uncommon when powerful Conjurors died that their
powers were released into the universe and ignited in someone else.

“Chrome?” Ming’s
uncertainty came off her in waves as she gently patted his back. “Did I do
something wrong?”

Chrome sent her a
vision of a wolf pack surrounding a fire, hoping she understood that he was
telling her that she was safe. Her face smoothed. No one had understood him as
well as Ming since Jet.

He sent her an image
of Azra, and the girl’s eyes sparkled.

“Yes! Can we see
Azra and Clarabelle? Now that Mom has met her, she says I’m allowed to see her
any time I want to.”

Clarabelle’s scent
was the only one that was easy for Chrome to detect through the cloud of magic
hanging in the air, burning his nose like gunpowder since the battle two months
ago. Clarabelle was in the woods of Arden. Chrome was thinking of the spot as
Ming continued to stroke him, and another little burst of power came from her.

A portal opened, and
through it he could make out the hazy image of two unicorns.

“I did that,” she whispered,
and Chrome nudged her with his nose so she could walk through.

You must be the
guests Clarabelle said were coming today.

It was strange to
see Azra now that she had no scent, having given her magic to her daughter.
Chrome had to rely on his other senses to communicate with her, and it put him
a little off-kilter.

Clarabelle was
nuzzling Ming already, and the unicorn was pinging messages into the minds of
everyone in the little grove. Ming could create portals, manipulate matter at a
cellular level, defy laws of physics, like gravity, and even the laws of magic.

“I don’t understand,
what is she saying?” Ming asked.

Chrome’s and Azra’s
eyes connected. Ming’s magic had been awakened, and it was fully as powerful as
Reaper’s had ever been.

The magic that lives
within you is awake. You are a powerful Conjuror now, little Ming.

“Me?” Ming’s voice
squeaked with glee. “Will I be able to help heal people, like Dr. Freeman? Or
protect people, like Valerie?”

You can do both, and
more. We look forward to seeing what you will do with this magic of yours.

Ming began dancing
around the grove, and Clarabelle frolicked with her.

Azra’s next message
was to his mind alone.
The power is the same as Reaper’s, but it is hers to
wield, and I think it is in good hands.

Chrome did, too. In
his own mind, a vision unfurled of running through the open grasses he had been
raised in as a pup, and he knew that his adventure, which he thought was
winding to a close, had only begun now, at Ming’s side.

THE END

It wasn’t only me who spent many hours bringing this series
to life. I am lucky to have incredible support from my friends and family, and
this series would be a sorry sight indeed without their love and expertise.

My books are so much stronger thanks to my editor, Shelley
Holloway, who helped me take my prose to the next level. Glendon Haddix of
Streetlight Graphics designed my covers, and managed to capture the spirit of
each book with more artistry than I could ever dream up.

A big thank you to my beta readers, who are skilled editors
with a keen eye for detail. Ladonna Watkins, Theppong Sae-Low, and Kathy
Schmidt, all of your input has been invaluable.

To my brothers, Keith and Davey, thank you for your advice
and cheerleading. I never would have begun my self-publishing journey if Keith
hadn’t urged me to.

Dad, your big picture advice has changed the way I think
about writing. You keep my cup half full.

Mom, your unconditional love has made me who I am, and I know
that any other kid who says they have the best mom in the world hasn’t met
mine. I love you.

My husband, Tom, has tolerated many nights of rambling
about plot points, and made me laugh even through my first 3-star review.
Knowing someone as smart in you believes in my series me helps me believe in it
myself.

Last, my sister Cheryl has been my biggest fan. I am so
grateful for your moral support, brilliant mind, and the many hours you put
into reading, editing, and providing feedback on everything from cover art to
website copy to blurbs. You inspire me.

There are many more friends and fans who have read my
stories and provided their encouragement and insight, and each of you has
touched my life and writing.

Thank you to all of you! I am blessed to have you in my
life, and so grateful for your years of help, encouragement and love.

Thank you for reading
Edge of Pathos
. I
appreciate feedback and welcome your reviews on the site where you purchased this
book. If you’d like to learn more about
The
Conjurors Series
, please check out
www.kristenpham.com
, where you can sign up for my
newsletter and be the first to hear about giveaways, contests, and new releases.

Kristen Pham lives for really
great fudge, rollercoasters, and exploring new worlds via fiction. She lives in
San Jose, CA with her family, where she eagerly waits for her kids to turn
eleven and receive their invitations to Hogwarts. Her childhood memories of
adventures with her imaginary friends inspired
The Conjurors Series
.

You can reach her on Twitter (
www.twitter.com/theconjurors
),
Facebook
, and her website (
www.kristenpham.com
).