Tangled Magick (19 page)

A sudden high-pitched scream rent the air. A fierce wind blew around the camp. Three blares of a horn followed, and then a blast of fire so hot it would melt any teapot in the Wedge.

“Ehrmaln!” Brynjar shouted. “Where have you been for the last year? Nothing like showing up at the last second!”

A massive blur of hazy dark green circled above them.

“What is it?” Leif asked.

“He is my dragon, Ehrmaln,” Brynjar said. “I raised him from an egg.” The soldier slid his sword into its scabbard. “To the horses!”

As the trolls retreated, the soldiers untethered their horses from the line set up for them under the shelter of the trees. It took a few minutes for them to calm the horses enough to mount.

Leif ran as fast as he could behind the men and horses but was quickly outpaced. He glanced over his shoulder as he heard hoofbeats bearing down on him. Colm grabbed his arm and swung Leif up behind him.

“That was some impressive magick, little hapenny,” Colm said.

“Maewyn is going to be shocked when I tell her!” Leif yelled against the wind. A sudden thought made his stomach rise in his throat. He reached around Colm and hung on. “I just hope we reach her in time.”

G
eindride and his army of trolls were flying toward Mae, rushing down the forest path. Smoke rose behind them and the trees shook and wavered. The wizard's horse was steaming and foaming at the mouth. He'd been running hard. Another army was close on their tail. Its armor flashed between the trees, lit by the approaching dawn. The sound of hooves bearing down on Geindride was astounding. So was the wind left by the dragon who swooped over the trolls' heads and reeled back up into the sky. A dragon! No,
the
dragon. The one she'd released from the castle. He was helping her!

As the wizard and his company passed from the forest and onto the castle lawn, they stumbled and slowed. What should have been a magickal barrier protecting them from their pursuers was nothing but air. There was nothing to hide Geindride and his trolls from the army that was on their heels. Panic spread through the band like a rumor through the Wedge. Trolls made a break for the surrounding forest—no longer all for one, but all for themselves. The gryphon bolted from the edge of the forest and circled around Geindride.

Mae pulled out her wand and ran heedlessly toward the fleeing trolls. She skidded to a stop and flung her wand at the closest one. “Troll to coal!”

Her spell caught the troll in the arm, and the weight of his arm turning to stone made him fall as he transformed. He broke into several large pieces and rolled to a stop. The trolls
around him staggered in disbelief. Geindride's horse spooked and reared, knocking the wizard from his seat and taking off into the forest. Mae's spell had caused more mass confusion. She picked another troll and pointed to him, repeating the stone spell. His body creaked to a halt and crumbled like the castle walls as the gryphon snapped on to another troll and tossed him into the air. A huge hand swiped down, catching the troll and sending him cartwheeling into the forest canopy.

“River Weed Starr!” Mae yelled. He was really here!

“Maewyn…I've come to help, aid, assist you,” the giant said, grinning.

A burst of yellow magick, another troll freezing into stone, and the echo of a voice yelling Mae's troll spell drew her attention as the human riders circled, herding Geindride and his band like sheep into a cowering circle. The humans' horses were three times as big as the ponies the hapennies rode, and they were clothed. Faded red-and-yellow coats covered their backs. Tattered flags whipped from the reins. One of the riders carried a threadbare banner that snapped in the wind. Mae panted as she chose another troll to release her anger on.

“Halt, young hapenny.” One of the men held up his hand as he dismounted. Another unsheathed a sword and pointed it at Geindride's chest.

The dismounted soldier stepped forward, his sword point wavering near Geindride's throat. “At last, your spell has broken and your cunning is revealed. How long have I scoured these woods looking for a castle that I could not find and a princess that I longed for?”

“You forget that I have magick on my side,” Geindride said. His eyes flashed to the men surrounding him.

“So do I,” Brynjar said. He pulled his helmet off, revealing dark skin, a wide nose, and long plaited hair. The wind lifted the ends around his head and made him appear even more frightening. Bright white flakes of snow floated around him.

“Brynjar,” the princess whispered.

From behind one of the soldiers, another face popped out. Ginger curls framed copper skin. An owl perched on his arm.

“Leif!” Mae gasped.

Leif grinned as he was helped off the horse, the owl taking flight as he dismounted. Leif ran to Mae and threw his arms around her. “I'm so glad we found you!”

Trina uncurled from Mae's jacket pocket as Beau scrambled out of Leif's hat. They tumbled to the ground in excitement, rolling in the frosty grass together like long-lost friends.

The owl hooted as she alighted onto the seat of the wagon.

Mae squeezed Leif back and breathed in his cinnamon smell. “You got my message?”

Leif pulled away and showed her the loop of hair he'd pulled from his pocket. “Loud and clear.”

Mae peered around Leif. “Where is Aletta?”

Leif's face fell as he shook his head. “Aletta gave me a head start. She helped me sneak out of the Wedge, and I called to River Weed Starr. But then I found Brynjar and then I discovered that I have magick, Maewyn, just like Callum said, and then the trolls attacked!”

“Wait! You're talking too fast—did you say you have… magick?”

Leif grinned and pulled out his wand. “Peck—that's what I named the owl you sent me—she brought me a stick and I carved it. I didn't mean for it to be a wand—but it was.”

“So the yellow magick came from you,” Mae said. She was breathless with excitement, but her attention was drawn away from Leif as the dragon circled overhead. She grabbed Leif's hand, twining her fingers around his. The remaining trolls began to stir nervously around Geindride.

“What are you going to do?” Geindride sneered at Brynjar. “You are just as unremarkable as your father.”

“My father is a good man,” Brynjar said through clenched teeth.

“A good man.” Geindride chuckled. His mirth spread over the lawn and sent chills up Mae's spine. “A good man, but not a good wizard. Just like you.”

Brynjar nodded to his men, who backed away, opening the circle around the trolls and Geindride.

“No!” Mae shouted and untangled herself from Leif's grasp. She ran toward the soldiers and whipped her wand out. “You can't just let them go! Troll to coal!”

A
humungous wave of blue magick spouted from the tip of Mae's wand. Geindride counter-spelled. The wizard's spell deflected Mae's, but it didn't destroy it. A few of the trolls on the edges of the crowd groaned as they turned into stone.

Mae glared at Geindride. He was selfish—the worst thing a wizard could be. Obviously he had no qualms about losing a few trolls, or sucking the life from a princess, or enslaving happenies. She took a deep breath and swept her wand to the right. “
Brotswerd
!”

Geindride's wand flew from his grasp and tumbled into the lawn. The wizard's eyes grew wide as she stalked toward him. “You underestimated me because of my size. I know, because it's happened before. You have gotten greedy in your old age, Geindride. Using magick entirely for your own benefit is against the laws of wizardry. Your magick has been diminishing for it, and you know it. That's why you've been keeping the magickal beasts in the dungeon. To drain off their power like a leech sucking blood.”

“I'm as magickally fit as I ever was,” Geindride sneered. “What kind of magick could a hapenny have, anyway? Spells to start their cozy fires and mix their blueberry muffins? What are you going to do to me with a little kitchen-witchery half-magick?”

The gryphon roared from the edge of the forest. Mae pointed her wand at Geindride's heart. “I warned you not to underestimate me. Callum was a great teacher.”

In her mind, Maewyn pictured what Geindride should look like. There wasn't the bright spark of laughter in his eyes like Callum's, or the crinkles around his eyes that softened his face like Aletta's, or even the bright white hair of Mr. Whiteknoll. No, Geindride was an old man—with droopy earlobes, a nose that had lengthened so much it looked like a bird's beak, and rough, weathered skin. She felt the power of youth drain out of the wizard, and she became full of it.

“
No!
” Geindride clutched his chest. His hands shook as they withered. His skin lengthened and folded as brown age spots appeared. His back curled and twisted, thrusting his head into an unnatural position. Geindride's black hair faded to gray. He was no longer the dashing young wizard, but his old, ripe self.

As Mae reveled in the power she held, she understood how someone like Geindride could be tainted by it. She gathered the magick that coursed through her body and focused it in her clenched fist. When it grew white-hot, she opened her hand. Thousands of soft, pink-winged moths fluttered into the air, swirling with the snow that drifted around troll, human, and hapenny alike.

“Curse you, Maewyn of the Wedge,” Gendride spat through clenched teeth.

The few remaining trolls bolted for the forest, the dragon shrieking after them.

“Traitors!” Geindride yelled after them in a weak voice. He shook a feeble fist at them. “After all I've done for you!”

The soldiers' horses pranced under their riders.

“Let them go,” Brynjar said to his men. “Our complaint is with the wizard.”

“To me.” Mae pointed at Geindride's fallen wand, her voice shaky. She hadn't used that much magick since she'd placed
the magickal protections on the bridge leading to the Wedge. Geindride's wand, brittle and covered in frost, flew across the lawn. Mae managed to catch it. She gripped it hard and glared at Geindride as she snapped it in two. A puff of black steam rose from the broken wood, sparkled, and then disappeared.

“What should we do with him now?” Mae asked as she tossed the pieces into the grass.

Brynjar put his fingers to his lips and whistled.

The dragon circled and swooped over them, seizing Geindride in his talons. The wizard shrieked as he was carried off. The gryphon soared after the dragon.

The dragon disposed of Geindride on what was left of the tower floor as the gryphon gently curled his talons around Callum's body and picked up his stiff form. The dragon left Geindride with a blast of fire, then glided down to the castle lawn as the wizard frantically patted the flames licking at his robe. The gryphon laid Callum gently in the wagon and then padded toward Brynjar.

The soldier patted his neck as he would a horse. “Well done, my friend.”

The dragon skidded to a halt beside Brynjar and shook his head, like a wet dog flapping the water from his ears, his mouth half-open and his forked tongue panting back and forth. It looked as though he was smiling at Mae, so she patted his snout as he lowered his head to her. “You did a good job too.”

He made a deep rumbling sound in his throat.

“Thank you both,” she said and bowed her head to the two large creatures standing before her.

“Ehrmaln owed you one for releasing him,” Brynjar said.

“Is that what he said?”

Brynjar smiled. “Not in so many words.”

The dragon flapped his wings and took off into the sky, circling the castle ruins. The gryphon paced around Mae and finally sat on his haunches by her side. He towered over her head.

“What will happen to Geindride?” Mae asked Brynjar.

“The dragon will keep him in line until we can get a message to ALMEs—the Alliance of Magickal Elders,” Brynjar answered. “They will transport him to a secure cell.”

Mae shook her head, confused. “Callum never told me about the ALMEs.”

Hilda stepped forward, her hands clenched together nervously. “Excuse me for interrupting,” she whispered.

It was then that Brynjar looked past Mae. His face softened. “Hilda?”

The princess smiled.

“Hilda!” Brynjar choked back a sob as he gathered Hilda in his arms. He held on to her fiercely and then pulled away to look her over, running his thumb over her cheekbone. “After all these years of roaming, I've finally found you.”

“Geindride and the trolls took her from her father's castle and trapped her here during the Trillium War. She was under a spell,” Mae said.

Leif rejoined Mae and put his arm around her shoulder. She let her head fall against his chest.

Hilda's face glistened with tears. Her cheeks were rosier than Mae would have believed possible. “I've done some really awful things, Brynjar. And I owe Mae my life. If it weren't for her, you wouldn't be here now. I wouldn't be here. I was ugly, inside and out. But Mae broke the enchantment.”

Brynjar turned and dropped to his knee. He placed his hand over his heart and bowed his head. “You have my thanks and my loyalty forever, Mae. And you too, Leif. You and your owl led me to this place.”

“And we should thank River Weed Starr as well,” Leif said. He turned to call out to the giant. “Where did he go?”

Mae shrugged. “Perhaps he returned to the forest.” Although she couldn't believe he'd do so without saying goodbye. “There is no need to pledge your loyalty to me, Brynjar. I am not a princess. But I will accept your help in
escorting us back to the Wedge safely. I'd like to go home. And I need to get Callum—”

Brynjar's head jerked up. “Where is Callum?”

Mae pointed to the wagon. “He's there, in the wagon. I haven't been able to break the enchantment on him.”