Lives of Magic (Seven Wanderers Trilogy) (31 page)

“The third magician returned. Our tribe saw two of them killed. Everyone thought he had disappeared, but he came back and used magic to make me follow him. He had woven a spell so thick I could not see through it. In this time, now, the magicians had woven the same spell. We stepped through together, and I was here. That was seven years ago.”

I sat in shock. While time travel, though seemingly impossible, was the least of my worries, I hadn’t really considered Kian’s existence before. He had alluded to being brought here, but hearing it was jarring. The spell had kidnapped him from his own land. My experience of being kidnapped didn’t rival his of being brought forward through time against his will.

“What did they promise you?” I asked quietly.

Kian pursed his lips. Anger seethed below the surface. “To go home,” he said through gritted teeth. “I wanted to go home. I was told that if I helped to capture you now, I would be allowed to go back and Seth would be allowed to come with me. I was given their word.” The rage threatened to boil over. “But it meant nothing.”

I waited for more.

“I was beginning to reconsider. That’s why they hurt him. To get him away from me and at their mercy. To keep my loyalty. The attack on Moira was to steal her power and hurt her. To show their power.” He paused. “I abandoned everything, Gwen,” Kian said. “The rebellion, my tribe, my father. Everything. Now I can only read speculations about their terrible fate.”

“You don’t know that,” I tried.

Kian glanced at me, pain in his features. “They are all forgotten. Nothing more exists.”

I rushed to reassure him. “They used magic on you. It wasn’t your fault!”

Kian shook his head, brushing off my words. “But I could have been good here. I could have accepted my fate.” He spat the last word as if it was a bad taste. “Instead I was tempted. I agreed to be compliant. To be their
servant
. I collected you. Sent your pictures and information to them. I was going to betray my own kind for an empty promise.”

I remembered the pictures on his cell phone. He had truly been on their side since the beginning.

“Going back is impossible. What is done, is done,” Kian said angrily. “I knew it in my heart. When I learned their rituals, it was confirmed. Still, I helped them keep track of you … I brought you to them.”

I stared at the road ahead of me. Kian’s guilt and regret crashed into me and reverberated in my chest like his words echoed in my ears. Would I have done any different? Brought to this time, alone, did he have any other choice? If he had said no, he would be dead.

“I was the only one who could work with them and get close to you,” Kian said, “knowing you for who you truly are. I tried to help you prepare for them, but I failed. I knew you would be the strongest after the first attack.”

I mulled over his actions. Mentally picking my personal feelings for him from my brain and placing them to the side, I tried to think clearly. No matter how many scenarios ran through my mind, I could not think of anything different that would have resulted in all of us being alive and not enslaved to the magicians.

I knew that even if it wasn’t for Kian, our memories would have trickled in and the magic would have surfaced. Just like when I used mine during the earthquake. I would much rather have Kian kidnap me than Bald Man or Smooth Voice. Taking a deep breath, I left Kian’s actions behind me like the snow on the road.

“Gwen?”

I hadn’t said anything in a long time. He was glancing over at me worriedly.

“Yes?” I asked innocently. When I smiled at him, Kian’s eyes widened in shock.

“You’re not angry?”

Secrets bubbled to the surface of my mind. “I was having an affair with Seth,” I blurted out. “I didn’t tell you before because I was ashamed. I knew I had a husband. I thought Seth was a Roman soldier, but I know now he just led them away from us. He was trying to help. Seth and I tried to run away together before the ritual that killed us. We knew we could be a better help against the impending danger than something in the unknown future. My husband tried to stop me. He was going to kill me. I killed him. Seth thought that I had changed my mind about running away and went to the ritual. I followed him there. That’s why I was late.”

I sat back and took a deep breath. My chest was tight against his reaction, but it did feel better to have revealed the truth. I had spoken so quickly that a part of me wasn’t sure if Kian had caught all that. Finally, he nodded understandingly.

“It’s a new life,” I said. “You told me that. You did what you had to do and we’re all alive. That’s what’s important. I’m sorry for what happened to you, but we need to move forward, not back.”

As Kian thought over my words, I settled into my seat, digging through my emotions to see if my words matched my feelings. A sense of contentment resided in my stomach and I felt certain that I had. Everyone made mistakes. Kian had saved my life and won my heart, and that’s what mattered.

“I think I have a good idea of how we can begin to move forward,” Kian said as the truck came to a stop. He seemed to have absorbed the information about my past and moved on. I breathed a sigh of relief.

We were pulled into an empty gas station. A camper van was parked, but its lights were on. The evening was quickly approaching and I strained to see in the fading light. A door off to the side of the vehicle opened, and Seth walked out, followed by Garrison and Moira.

M
y hand moved to the door handle but I paused, hesitant. The desire to see my friends warred with the knowledge that I would have to explain everything, including Kian’s betrayal. The truck quieted.

“Why me?” I said, never letting my eyes stray from my friends as they moved towards us. Why had he taken me? Why could he not have just tipped me off?

“You are the strongest,” Kian replied, his gaze focussed in the same direction. “Restraining all of you would be a drain on the magicians. Easier to pick you off, one by one.”

The cold set in. Before they reached us, I had to know one more thing.

“When did you change your mind?” I asked then held my breath for a second. “When did you know that you would rescue me?”

“In the cabin. When you fell in my arms.”

At that moment, Seth reached my door and yanked it open, dragging me with it. The truck’s cabin was higher off of the ground than I was used to and I stumbled into Seth’s arms. At least he was warm.

“What the hell happened?” he exclaimed as he wrapped me in a tight hug.

I caught myself as tears welled in my eyes. The bitter cold grabbed a hold of me now that we stood outside, but my friends crowding around me warmed me down to my soul. When I saw their concerned faces and heard the sympathy in their voices, I thought I would break down all over again.

Garrison didn’t wait for Seth to let go of me and instead joined us in a three-person hug. Moira stood off to the side but smiled in relief.

“I’m glad you’re okay,” she said, ducking her head in my direction. I smiled in return until Kian took hold of my arm.

“We need to leave and get as far away from this place as possible,” he said. The others nodded as he hushed their questions with a look.

The camper’s interior was musty and old but clean. Everyone but me had to duck slightly as we stood in the living area. A small kitchenette was bordered by a closet, which I assumed was the bathroom, on one side and a few couches on the other. The colour scheme was yellow and orange, making me feel like I had stepped into the seventies. Garrison had not turned off the ignition, so I took off my coat in the warm space.

I revelled in the cosiness of it and took off my cold, wet boots, sitting down on one couch. Kian sat next to me. When the others only stood and stared, he urged them to get moving. Garrison sat in the driver’s seat while Moira was in the passenger seat. Seth sat across from us on another couch. Only a thin curtain separated us from Moira and Garrison, so we pushed it aside to talk and drive.

Kian told Garrison to drive back to the cottage. It was starting to snow and the narrow, slippery roads made it hard to steer. Several times Garrison made me nervous by muttering to himself about the location of pedals and how to start the van. When he saw me staring he shot me a smile.

“Relax,” he said, “I’ve never done this before, but I made it here, didn’t I?”

When we were on the road, Seth eyed us expectantly and Moira turned in her seat, but I begged for details of what had happened to them first. Seth looked down at the carpet. When he looked back up, guilt played across his face.

“I thought you were right behind me,” he said to me. “When we got to the top of the hill, I saw you were gone. I just figured you had gone back to the house.” He ran an anxious hand through his hair. “We pieced it together … random bits and pieces from our lives. I was a prince! Can you believe that? I had a brother and a family and everything. I never knew for sure.…”

I could feel Kian tense but didn’t mention it. Again, I knew it was his story to tell.

“But everything centred around those magicians,” Garrison chimed in. Moira nodded.

“The memories of life are like …” she thought for a moment, “exactly that. Memories. Something you think you know but remember through your senses. Like it did happen in the past, even through the eyes of our magic. But everything with the magicians is crystal clear. In the present.”

“It was just like Kian had said,” Seth explained. “The ritual sent them forward in time but no one knew where. The king …” he hesitated, “my father, thought they would be the problem of the next generation. Not two thousand years later. He decided to … let us go.”

Seth met my eyes and I was reminded of the meeting in the woods. We had both planned to run away. How different would things have been had my husband not interfered and made me late? Would I be here at all? The Romans might not have been successful. My tribe could have flourished. Kian would have had a different life altogether.

“When we got back,” Seth said, “we found a note from Kian telling us to take this from the garage,” he motioned all around us, “and meet you here at five o’clock.” When I looked at him confusedly, Seth widened his eyes at me. “The night we last saw you was two days ago!”

It felt like ages, but I knew I shouldn’t be surprised. I picked up a bag of chips they must have bought at the gas station and began munching mindlessly. I was starving. I felt the time had come for me to explain. Hesitancy wafted off Kian in waves, but it had to be done. I opened my mouth when Moira cut me off.

“Turn left here,” she said to Garrison.

Kian’s eyes snapped up at her. “How do you know that?” he asked. His voice radiated intensity. “Where’s the map I left for you?”

Moira glanced back and immediately recoiled from his gaze. “It’s … I don’t need it.” She hesitated. “I see with my magic. Power. Whatever. I can change my perspective. I’m seeing through the eyes of an owl overhead.” Her tentative smile and pride turned into shock as she saw the twin looks of horror on our faces.

Kian bolted from his seat but at that moment Garrison hit the brakes hard. We all flew forward. The back of the driver’s seat stopped me, and Seth had braced himself against Moira’s. Kian flew forward and landed by the dashboard. Garrison’s seat belt had snapped taught, and he winced as he loosed it from his chest.

“What the hell was that?” I called out.

“There’s someone in the road,” Moira replied as she cradled her wrist.

“What?” Kian and I asked at the same time.

He picked himself up and stared out of the windshield. I didn’t have to guess who by the look on his face when he turned.

I couldn’t be mad at Moira for using her magic. We hadn’t warned them against it. I kicked myself for stalling the telling of our story. It was a colossal mistake. Her power had acted like a beacon. I slowly made my way to stand near Kian.

The three magicians stood in front of the camper van in the dark. Snow billowed around them. A dark car was parked across the road some way back.

I found my heart in my throat again as I caught sight of Bald Man. Now it was he who stared at me with a deep hatred. Compared to his black look, Smooth Voice’s glare was nothing. The third magician stood off to the side, again seeming uncomfortable with the scene. His eyes widened and he averted his gaze when he saw the four of us together.

We all stood and stared in dumb shock until Bald Man flipped his hand and the windshield popped off as if the vehicle was a toy. The angry wind billowed around us. I shielded my face from the cold.

“Gwyneth,” Bald Man called to me. His tone was razor-sharp. There was magic in his voice. Even over the wind I could still hear it perfectly. It resonated around us. “Truly, you must end this now. You know I won’t kill you. But I could make life extremely unbearable for you and your friends.”

Suddenly, Kian crumpled to the ground next to me. His hands were clamped to his ears and he screamed in pain.

“Stop!” I cried into the night. My voice was lost in the chill. “Stop!”

Bald Man took a few confident steps forward into the bright beam of our headlights. “No,” he said simply.

Kian writhed at my feet. I was panicking, as was everyone else. While Seth, Garrison, and Moira did not know what was happening, they had figured out these were the magicians. Kian groaned again and I knelt by his side, taking his head in my lap and stroking his hair while I thought. His pain echoed in my limbs as I thought frantically.

“Uh, Gwen?” Garrison’s tone brought my attention back to the magicians.

Smooth Voice stood in the light, snow and wind obscuring him. He had his arms raised to the side and his eyes closed. I could feel the magic before I sensed it. The earth beneath us began to shake.

“What is taking you so long?” Bald Man screamed angrily at us. “You are thinking of fighting us?” His voice boomed. “You must not understand the full range of our capabilities. Let me enlighten you!”

The ground lurched to the side and we toppled. The storm seemed to double in a matter of seconds and the magic in the air was suffocating me. It was too thick to think or move in. I felt completely enveloped.

Kian was covered in sweat. He suffered. I felt torn in a million directions at once. I looked up and noticed that everyone looked toward me for directions. Bald Man still screamed his ire at me but I ignored him. I could feel him trying to skirt my magic and reach my mind, but I brushed him aside.

“Moira?” I turned to her as another shake sent me crashing into Garrison. The van rattled as if it was about to fall apart. “You have mental powers?” I yelled. When she nodded, I said, “Get the magician out of Kian’s head.” She nodded at me again and settled into her seat, gripping the sides of the van for support against the earthquakes.

“Seth?” He was next to me in an instant. “Confuse them. I don’t care how or what, but get into their heads. Give me some time, okay?” He nodded and sat back down on the couch that threatened to topple over.

Lastly, I turned to Garrison. His strength of moving objects was similar to mine and I needed his help. He looked up at me, still buckled in, his nose red from the storm that had made its way to us. The wind had given me an idea and brought me back to a memory of when I had controlled it. I had dangled over a cliff edge and fought the storm. The magicians’ words from the mansion came back to me.

“They stole their power with rituals and sacrifices!” I yelled at Garrison over the tempest. “The power they have is strong but artificial!” He looked confused. “You and I, our magic is natural. We were meant to do this. Like Kian said, the roots are in the earth. We can take the control back!”

Garrison nodded, but I knew it was my job to show him it was possible. I turned back to the scene before me, hoping that Seth’s magic had taken effect.

The third magician stood staring at the scene before him, his eyes wide and his mouth agape. He didn’t move. Smooth Voice still controlled the earth but now he frowned. Bald Man noticed me looking. He sneered and pointed at his head.

“You think you can get in here?” he yelled. He knelt towards the ground, pulling at air as if he was a mime trying to lift a great weight. My knees buckled when I felt the earth directly in front of us rise. The van was going to be flipped.

“Now!” I yelled to Garrison.

I jumped through the space where the windshield had been and onto the hood. I heard him following. It was a long jump from the hood to solid ground since jagged earth had been lifted to propel us into the air.

Bald Man leered at me. The magician was about to move towards grabbing me when, hoping my hypothesis proved accurate, I knelt on the snow-covered ground, planting my hands firmly against it.

Magic awoke inside of me and pressed on my mind. It felt heavy and pushed against my insides like the time I had gathered it to myself and released it. I didn’t want an explosion this time. I wanted to reconnect. I pushed it deeper through my hands, feet and knees. I pushed it so far into the earth that I felt my awareness melt into the past.

The density of it weighed down on me and I sent soothing thoughts, taking power away from Smooth Voice and calming the earth. When my feet had stopped rocking, I tentatively opened my eyes at the same time as the magician. He looked confused for a second then saw what I had done.

A cry of outrage broke from his lips as he lunged towards me. I ducked just in time. Garrison came to help me. He pulled their dark car forward and it slid silently in the snow. As Smooth Voice prepared for another attack, he was knocked backwards from behind. Garrison ran in front of me and took on the magician. Movement in the corner of my vision signalled Bald Man coming towards me.

I threw up my arms as the wind began to form around me. Bald Man stopped in his tracks. His mouth opened in shock. I focused my magic out into the night. The snow and wind expanded as far as I could reach. I pushed further out and it threatened to overwhelm me. Feeling myself losing control, I gripped the storm around me in my mind and clamped down on it, sending it at the magicians.

A strong magical barrier pushed against me, but my feet were planted on the ground and reached down to the roots of the earth. I used the strength as an anchor. I was gaining control but I felt my magic retracting back to my body. I fed it my thoughts and feelings, urging it to blow in anger.

Memories of the magicians, being kidnapped, the ritual, and running away surged through to my magic. The night swirled around me. The magicians were losing, but not retreating.

I focused my mind on the snow and turned it to ice. Trying to aim at the magicians as best I could, I sent the ice flying like sharp daggers. The hail flew from me like an arrow from a bow as I used my magic to send it out. Power blanketed the night and I controlled it.

Small stabs of pain distracted me from my task but I brushed the sensation aside. The wind and ice spun around me until I was the centre of the storm. My hair billowed and my cloak was lost, but I was getting dragged into the power. The earth was sucking me in. I poured my life energy into the fringes of the storm, keeping it going and stirring it up. I fed it until I was lost in the noise of wind. I could not see. I could not feel. I let the last of my energy escape and dissipate in the air around me, as I fell to my knees.

At once, the air was quiet and deadly still. I fell onto my back and closed my eyes.