Dead Magic (35 page)
Green light burst from the stone and a thin branch captured Valeda's wrist. Several more branches peeled away from the tree, wrapping around her arms, legs and waist. She fell against the trunk and craned her neck away, trying to get free, but the branches pulled her forward, pulled her into the suddenly pliant surface of the tree. She closed her eyes and held her breath as her face passed through a soft, moss-like substance.
She heard a million voices all at once, saw a million indistinguishable things and ceased struggling under the sheer magnitude of what was being shared. She saw the ark in Delgora. Dorian and Elsie and several others lay flat against the ark's outer hull as vines rammed against a barrier of magic too thick to cross. Valeda immediately recognized the golden symbols protecting the ark.
Magic Himself,
she thought.
She'd never fully understood the synergism between the man-god and his Witch-Born, but she could feel his affection for them.
Not just for the witches,
she realized,
but for every sentient being on the battlefield.
He was just as pained at the loss of the Wild men as he was for the Untalented scattered through Magnellum.
The fighting had to stop.
The tree groaned around her and she sensed its agreement. The stone suddenly burned her hand. She tried to look down at it, but still couldn't move. She couldn't even open her eyes. She was breathing, somehow, but her chest wasn't moving. Her rational mind began to panic, but then an image replaced the ark in her mind; the golden rope that represented her Talent. It was unraveling, slowing pulling away from her center. She could feel it leaking out of her, through the stone and into the tree.
"She was almost too late," an aged voice said.
"No, she was right on time."
She thought it should hurt more. Her Talent continued to pour into the tree, but instead of the pain she'd felt with the Dellidus, Valeda could only sense a growing warmth around her.
The tree,
she realized,
is coming back to life.
She thought of the way Median had become stuck in Time and began to panic again.
They wouldn't have sent me here to have history repeat itself, would they?
Valeda struggled to break free, but still couldn't move. The warmth spread, curling around and through her with a sense of vitality that she'd never experienced before. It was almost tempting to let it take her, just to remain inside the tree and keep the healthy feeling alive. But she thought of Winslow fighting Voruke and knew she couldn't stay. She needed to get out. She had to help him somehow.
She shouted, but the noise was muffled in her ears.
Valeda stopped as several more images flashed through her mind. They went so fast she felt sick, but she managed to recognize them. The tattoos on Elsie's arm, a train wreck that made her think of Winslow, and the balcony at Three Points.
It was strange to see the balcony from an outsider's perspective. From this new vantage she could see Bartholomew and Winslow's Talents fighting, churning about in elemental battle. And there on the ground beneath Winslow's body was herself, with a clear golden glitter seeping into her skin from all sides.
"Do you see?" Magic asked.
She knew his voice now. Somehow, she'd always known it. And she knew what he was telling her, too. They'd needed Magic's body to die. They'd needed him outside corporeal form, capable of fusing with someone else at will. But that fusing had needed a powerful explosion to initiate it, which explained the elemental battle between Bartholomew and Winslow.
The stone in her hand was acting as a conduit. And the core of who Magic was, or is, now slipped out of her and back into the Host tree.
What she had thought to be her Talent was really Magic Himself. But then, what was Elsie carrying in her arm?
"I am a part of every Witch, Valeda. Elsie just had more of me than most."
But why her? Why had they chosen to use her? Valeda was nothing, just a nosy reporter from Tormey.
"Because you sought me out."
The vines released her and she pulled out of the tree. Valeda took a long, deep breath before staggering away from the Host tree. It was no longer sick, but full and vibrant. She watched as the trunk began to close the hole she'd been sucked into. The stone was gone and she was in one piece and, for some reason, that took its time registering. Then she heard Winslow's voice shouting from the pit and turned away.
They'd returned Magic. Surely the Wild would cease its assault now.
Valeda hurried to the edge of the pit. Below Voruke was screaming, writhing on the ground and alternating between human and cat form. Winslow stood a few feet off, panting and watching the spectacle, but otherwise unharmed. Valeda breathed in relief, too happy to see Winslow in one piece to appreciate fully what she was seeing.
Voruke emitted a tortured sound that cut into her core and she remembered that the people hadn't changed until after Magic left the Host tree. Voruke's form finally settled on his human body, but then Time started in, rapidly aging him. His skin wrinkled, sank into him, and finally he stopped screaming. But then he started to decay, muscle and sinew melting off him so fast that Valeda fought the urge to be sick. When it was over, his bones steamed and an unpleasant sizzling sound filled the air.
Valeda tried hard not to think of how many Wild creatures had undergone the same fate.
Fayree and Mirabella,
she wondered.
Would they be all right?
They'd lived in Magnellum for a while, so there was a chance that Time's reinstatement wouldn't hurt them.
Winslow leapt out of the pit and moved to stand beside her. He looked horrible, all blood-soaked and sweaty, but he was alive. She smiled and hugged him, burying her face in his chest. The Pillars had fallen, Magnellum was sacked, but at least they were alive.
For the first day after the fighting ended, Elsie didn't know if she wanted to laugh or cry. She had awoken inside the ark with Dorian sleeping in a chair beside her bunk. Disoriented was a mild word to describe her emotional state. She was simultaneously overjoyed that they had managed to survive, and grieved at the loss of her Talent. She even missed Magic's intrusive voice popping in at unexpected moments.
They had placed her in the ark because it was the only habitable structure left in Delgora. The manor and village were gone, torn down as the Wild had rampaged through. What had been meant as a safe haven was now a base of operations as they began rebuilding.
All of the wolves had disintegrated as Time took its rightful place in their lives. It seemed uncharitable for her to be glad, but at least the fighting was over. Fayree and Mirabella were fine, which relieved her to some degree. She'd almost considered the two as an endangered species or something, but if Magic was back in the Host tree, then they were all of the same race again.
Except that many of the Witch-Born who survived still had a substantial amount of Talent to work with. And Fayree couldn't change form to a cat anymore.
More than a month had gone by and Elsie finally had enough strength to start working. She stood in the middle of her decimated garden, staring down at the remains of her mother's rose bush. She knew Dorian was nearby. The man hadn't left her side since she'd opened her eyes to the new world they were left with. He seemed anxious and uncertain, as though he wasn't sure what he should be doing now.
She couldn't blame him. She didn't know what she should be doing, either. Even if she had her Talent back, there wasn't anything for her to do anymore. It wasn't right to keep the title of "Lady". The people didn't need Witches to protect them.
She was, for the first time in her life, free from obligation.
"You understand now, I think."
Elsie looked up. Valeda Quinlan walked toward her, looking small and powerful all at once. Elsie recognized the stance of a Witch and, for a brief moment, mourned the loss of her Talent again.
"What is it I'm meant to understand?" Elsie asked.
Valeda smiled compassionately at her and Elsie was struck with the irony of the moment. They had completely swapped places. Valeda had come to her seeking answers and now it was Elsie hunting for clarity. And Valeda seemed to play the part of furtive Witch-Born quite well.
"Magic knew the greatest reward he could offer his most faithful Witch was to set her free," Valeda said gently. "The rest of the Witches will be sought after, put back into places of power, because that's what brings the people the most comfort. But you, Elsie Delgora, can become something more. Or less. You can choose your own destiny."
Elsie frowned and looked down. Several dirty, trampled rose pedals littered the ground with bright pink and white.
Free,
she thought. No more politics or assassination attempts. No more servants jumping every time she entered a room. She tried to imagine a life where the only trouble she might face was arguing with Dorian over cutting his hair.
Maybe there would be children.
The images that that brought to mind made her smile.
"Free?" she asked and looked up at Valeda.
"With Magic's sincerest compliments," Valeda said with a nod. "Though he may look in on you from time to time."
Elsie chuckled. "Oh, I would expect as much."
"Expect what?" Dorian asked as he walked into their conversation.
"Nothing," Elsie smiled and took his hand.
She nodded to Valeda and turned him away, leading them both out of the garden. They passed through the remains of the Manor House, walking in comfortable silence. Several of the villagers were out, picking through what had once been their home. Elsie saw them all, alive and healthy, preparing to start again. With a deep breath, she squeezed Dorian's hand and prepared to do the same.
The End.
From Double Dragon Publishing
www.double-dragon-ebooks.com
Witch-Born
Smash witchcraft and steampunk technology together and you get the world of Magnellum, where Witches are nobility and the populace depends on Magic to keep the Wild at bay. Witch-Born is a Fantasy with steampunk tendencies revolving around the lives of Elsie Delgora and Saldorian Feverrette. Fate literally thrusts these two together when Saldorian stumbles over the seditious plot Elsie has been conducting for 23 years. As the two struggle to find an accord the House Lands of Delgora begin to crumble under the tyranny of Vicaress Reonne, whose hidden pet known as the Dellidus slowly eats at the Magic keeping the Wild away.
Deviation
On the brink of a religious war between Makeem and Novo Femina, Celeocia Prosser's struggle for gender equality leads her to Reesa Zimms; the one woman in all of history who can identify the first Mavirus victim. Believing the information surrounding this patient zero to be pivotal in the fight against the Makeem, Celeocia sets her sights on Reesa Zimms, also known as Caresse Zimmerman. There's just one problem; Reesa Zimms is a science fiction novelist who lived and died hundreds of years in the past. Utilizing wormhole travel and antimatter discs, Celeocia sends her son Hedric and the crew of the ship known as the Lothogy careening through time. When Hedric finds Reesa, the novelist is accompanied by her best friend Kate, who just happens to look like his recently murdered wife. Stunned and reeling, Hedric abducts both women, bringing Reesa and Kate on a not-so-gentle ride into the future. Time travel might be easier for Reesa to accept because Hedric Prosser, the High Priestess, and the very ship they're traveling on, all belong in Reesa's novels. Confused and pretty sure she's going insane; Reesa tries to prepare her friend Kate for the very male-dominated society they've been dumped into. When she finds herself abandoned by Hedric, Reesa must rely on Matthew Borden, the villain of her books to rescue Kate and fight their way home.
