Reckless Magic (44 page)

And then finally, the darkness
softened around me into the midnight sky and a thousand stars
twinkled above my head. The night air was frigid, whipping
violently through the trees. The river widened once outside of the
cave taking two paths, one through the black tunnel and the other
around it. We were at the bottom of a valley, with hills rising on
either side.

“
Row over to the left bank,”
Amory grunted. I obeyed, grateful to be finished with that part of
the journey.

Once near the river’s edge, Amory
jumped over the side quickly, knee deep in the rough current. He
pushed the row boat up the side of the bank and tied the rope to a
nearby tree.

When finally the boat was secured, he
returned to my side and offered his hand to help me out. I pried my
overworked fingers from the oars and placed a shaking hand in his.
I stood up weakly, and allowed Amory to sustain most of my weight,
nearly tumbling over the edge.

My feet landed in three feet of water,
the violent current still rushing wildly around my shins, doing its
best to knock me over. Amory braced me against his body and
continued his support until we were safely on solid
ground.

I collapsed onto the river bank,
thankful to be out of the boat. I still felt the strange sensation
of the movement of water and clutched the cool grass to steady
myself. The ground was rough, and littered with sticks and rocks.
They punctured and scraped my skin, but I was too exhausted to
care.

Amory walked back to the boat once
again to retrieve my backpack. He took the liberty of digging my
sweatshirt out of the wet pack and tossing it to me. I made no
movement for it, unable to find the strength to sit up.

“
We still have a ways to
go,” Amory’s voice was tired but determined. I opened my eyes to
look at him, hoping I could form words but nothing came. His eyes
deepened with anxiety while he looked around
suspiciously.

“
I can make it,” I finally
mumbled. I pulled myself into a sitting position and found the
strength to put my sweatshirt on. Although my backpack was wet from
sitting at the bottom of the boat, my sweatshirt remained mostly
dry.

Once the warmth of my Huskers
sweatshirt was wrapped around me, I began to feel better. I pulled
the hood up and tied the draw strings tight. Eventually I found the
energy to stand up and shoulder my backpack again.

“
Let me carry that,” Amory
offered, referring to my bag.

“
It’s alright, I can carry
it for now,” I waved him off and then shook both of my feet
simultaneously. My shoes were full of water, and my toes ached from
the cold.

Suddenly a jolt of electricity surged
through my blood. I jumped, startled by the sudden burst of energy.
My blood heated into a boil and my exhausted trembles turned into
tremors of nervous energy. I did my best to dispel the unwanted
magic, but it stayed persistent.

“
They’re here,” Amory
whispered. I realized the mysterious burst of magic was a warning
sign that another Immortal was close. I followed Amory’s example
and hunched over, crawling silently up the vertical
incline.

He gestured with his hand to keep
moving. I stayed as low to the ground as I could without actually
crawling and stepped carefully. I was embarrassed by how clumsy I
was as only human. I repressed my magic, although the temptation to
use just a little bit was strong.

Just like at Kingsley when the other
student’s magic would trigger my own, so this unfamiliar stranger
had shot off a warning sign through my veins. I couldn’t help but
be thankful however, as the hot blood had not only warmed my body,
but given me an extra burst of energy making it possible to escape
quickly now.

“
As long as we stay human, I
doubt they will be able to follow us. Stay close and stay quiet,”
Amory instructed in a soft whisper. I struggled to hear through the
whipping wind and rustling trees.

We continued our trek through the
Romanian wilderness. The wind was strong and with every current of
air the autumn leaves were carried off in all directions. Despite
the chilliness of the night, the sky was clear and the moon shone
bright.

Amory led the way up one steep slope
and down another, over and over again. We may not have been hiking
entire mountains, but these foothills might as well have been. My
arms were exhausted from rowing, but finally able to rest. It was
now my legs turn to bare the weight of our escape.

The nervous buzzing of unfamiliar
magic began to dissipate and I noticed Amory relax a little. He
slowed our pace somewhat, taking his time and treading carefully
through the more dangerous inclines. Never once did he look up to
consult our direction, he seemed to take every step confidently, as
if the path we walked had been traveled many times
before.

Through our seemingly endless
expedition my thoughts drifted to Kiran. My lips burned with the
memory of his farewell; the frantic, determination in which he
pressed his mouth against mine made me push through the pain and
exhaustion. I remembered his aqua eyes deep and searching, begging
me to run.

A shudder slithered down my spine,
totally unrelated to the cold night. Whatever the reason I was
running, Kiran was convinced it was absolutely necessary. I watched
Amory take determined step after determined step and wondered at
his reason for flight. What was it that had these two men so
scared, so ready to risk everything to remove me from some
mysterious danger?

----

“
Here,” Amory panted,
bending over to rest his hands on his knees. “We can rest here,” he
struggled to catch his breath, while stabilizing
himself.

I let out an exhausted sigh and sunk
to the ground. The dirt and mud and damp ground had never offered
such a comfortable resting place. I pulled my knees to my chest and
rested my head wearily on them.

I licked my dry lips, realizing how
thirsty I was. I thought back to the rushing river almost with
regret. I shook my head quickly to rid my mind of the thought. I
would survive.

“
You can use your magic
again,” Amory said with a stronger voice and I saw him stand
upright confidently. “Careful though.”

The small buzzing of frenetic energy
made its way over my body and I realized that Amory was bringing
his back. He turned away from me and stretched out his arm. The
buzzing grew stronger and Amory turned to shield his
face.

A great white light followed by the
sound of a tree exploding pierced the darkness and I let out a
startled scream. I couldn’t help but be relieved however, that I
was not the only one with those kinds of issues. Apparently blowing
things up was just what happened to those pretending to be
human.

I followed Amory’s example, allowing
the buzzing to grow into a steady current of excited energy. I
didn’t bother to stand up, but rather positioned my hands as far
away from my face as I could. The energy continued to build and
build until I could no longer hold it in anymore.

The small sapling that took the brunt
of my built up electricity exploded into a thousand tiny pieces. I
covered my head with my arms as small splinters rained down on top
of me. When they stopped, I took a big breath relishing in the
renewed energy.

Although my exhaustion did not
completely disappear I was able to begin the healing process. As
the magic moved through my blood, my muscles could finally relax.
My scrapes and bruises began to disappear along with the soreness
in my muscles. I rolled my head in a circle, cracking my neck and
then stretched my arms high above my head. I felt completely
renewed.

“
Better?” Amory smiled at
me.

“
Much,” I smiled
back.

“
I don’t know many other
Immortals who could have pulled that off. In fact, I’ve only heard
of two others besides myself that have pulled that off,” Amory sat
down beside me, resting his long arms on top of his bent
knees.

“
Oh really? Most Immortals
can’t do that?” I felt oddly proud of my accomplishment.

“
Oh, no. Most Immortals are
useless without their magic. You are very special, child,” I
blushed at his compliment.

“
Who are the other Immortals
then, I mean the ones who’ve done this before?” I asked,
curious.

“
You’re parents,” he said
simply.

“
Amory I need answers,” I
demanded at the reference to my parents. Although I was thankful to
be that much more like them, I was tired of feeling in the
dark.

“
And you will get them, but
first we need to call your brother. Your journey is far from over,”
He looked out into the dark expanse with a distant expression on
his face. I was not entirely sure if he meant my current journey or
if he was speaking metaphorically. “Now that you have your magic
back, I need you to connect with Avalon; he needs to come pick you
up,” he gave me a look that told me I needed to follow his orders
immediately.

Avalon. I concentrated on my twin
brother, filling my body with strong energy. Avalon.

What? I knew immediately that he was
irritated by my interruption. I felt defensive until I realized he
didn’t even know we were in the same country.

We need your help. Now that our minds
were connected, I felt every emotion, every thought he had, and I
knew he felt the same with me. It was a very invasive
experience.

Who’s we? His thoughts were tight and
constrained, much like the position his body was in.

Amory and I. We need you.

What? Amory? Where are you? The
surprise in his thoughts was evident. He stopped moving completely
to focus on our conversation.

Somewhere in the Romanian mountains.
I’m not sure exactly, but we need you to come pick us up. I kept my
mental tone light and I laughed a little when I realized that I was
driving Avalon crazy. He was completely focused on his extraction
mission, which he happened to be currently in the middle of. A pang
of guilt hit me though and I was suddenly worried about Lilly and
the team.

Can’t it wait? I’m kind of in the
middle of something. Although I could feel his irritation, I could
also sense his concern for us. He would have easily given up the
mission to come to our aid.

“
He’s in the middle of the
mission. Can we wait until he’s finished?” I explained to Amory out
loud.

“
No, we need to get you out
of the country immediately. Tell him to bring Jericho and two cars.
Ryder’s team can finish the mission,” Amory was stern and
commanding.

Amory says to let Ryder take over the
mission and come now. He says to bring Jericho and two cars. And he
says I have to get out of the country immediately. I was
embarrassed to admit the last part.

What are you even doing here? Fine.
Where are you? I felt his body turn in the opposite direction then
he was originally headed and signal to Jericho. Whatever he was in
the middle of he had dropped it instantaneously to follow Amory’s
orders.

“
Where are we?” I asked
Amory in order to relay it to Avalon.

“
He can follow your magic,”
Amory said without giving any more details.

Follow my magic. I relayed to Avalon
and felt him internally irritated, but he didn't ask any more
questions.

“
I want answers,” I demanded
of Amory when I could sense Avalon on his way.

“
I will answer any question
you ask,” Amory continued to stare off into the distance. I folded
my arms stubbornly and opened my mouth. He’s damn right he would
answer any question I had.

43.

“
Ok, first of all, I’m glad
we survived and all, but why on earth was that necessary?” I
vented.

“
You’re survival is
absolutely essential,” Amory was quick to respond. “I’m afraid this
war can’t be won without you and your brother,” Amory said firmly,
although without actually answering my question.

“
Yea, I know; at least I’ve
heard that before. But the question I am asking is why was my
survival in question to begin with?” I turned to face Amory full
on. I needed answers.

“
Well that answer is a
little more complicated. The short answer is because you look
exactly like you’re mother; I’m sure you’ve also heard that
before,” Amory paused for only a moment; just long enough for me to
give him an encouraging look. “The long answer is because you’re
mother happened to be engaged to Lucan before she ran off and
eloped with your father, Lucan’s personal body guard. He would like
nothing more than to find your mother and make her pay for a
lifetime of sins.”

My mouth dropped open in surprise.
That wasn’t exactly the answer I had been expecting. A million
questions began to swirl around in my mind, but Amory, sensing my
confusion, continued with his chronicle.

“
Let’s see, I suppose I
should start from the beginning. Lucan became king at a very young
age because his father, Cedric, died suddenly from the King’s
Curse. At that time kings usually waited until they were 100 or so
to choose a wife; Cedric had done exactly that, fathered a son and
planned on living a long life. When he died, Lucan was only a
teenager. His advisors tried to guide him, but he has always been
stubborn. His personal body guard was a teenager as well, and
although the Royal guard advised him to choose an older, more
experienced titan, he refused. You see, a king’s personal body
guard is chosen at birth; they are always the same age so that they
grow together and learn to trust each other. They are naturally the
best of friends. The same was true of Lucan and Justice, your
father. Lucan at that time, not having finished school but not
wanting to be alone, had a special group of students chosen from
all over the world to study with him at the Royal Palace. Your
mother was one of those students and I’m afraid Lucan fell head
over heels for her the moment he laid eyes on her; I suspect
Justice did as well. Your mother was a very special girl; beautiful
of course, talented beyond any other Immortal and smart, very
smart. So naturally, Lucan pursued her. I’m afraid she saw his
faults from the beginning and although she tried to persuade him to
find someone else, he was persistent. When all of his attentions
came to no avail he finally commanded her to be his wife. You are
so much like her in every way that I’m sure you can imagine how she
would react to a direct order such as marriage. But like I said,
Lucan is stubborn, and blind to all reason, and so he gave her no
choice.”