The Keeper (26 page)

W
E WALKED ALONG
meandering forest paths for three full lights and nights without encountering a single threat. This should have made me feel better. But it didn’t. In fact, I was feeling more and more depressed because I was certain that around the next bend, we would be attacked by something we could not defeat.

Each time we stopped to eat, to rest or for water, I could tell the others were thinking the very same thing. After nearly dying at the hands of the dreadful alectos, it was no surprise that we were all on edge.

Another two lights and nights passed and we saw not a single living creature, either friend or foe. I would have taken a right good fight over the sea of endless trees, placing one foot in front of the other and feeling my spirits continue to ebb away. The forest here was so dense that all we saw were twisted trunks and tangles of branches and dark leaves with not one bird on them. They wedged in on us the farther along we went, to where I had to use the
Illumina
spell as soon as we set off. There was something very disconcerting about being in darkness all the time. And combined with how tense we were already, the effect was one of suffocating melancholy.

It got to the point where we dragged ourselves up at first light, ate a bit of food, packed up and set off without a word to one another. As we trudged along, glances were sullen and the few remarks were short and abrasive. Our body language was that of defeat.

Lackland almost never talked; he just glared at everyone.

Petra didn’t glare, but I could tell she was not happy.

Even Delph was not himself. He once snapped at Harry Two just because my canine accidentally bumped into him and caused him to spill a bit of water. Only my canine seemed to be able to rise to the occasion. He trotted along, his smile wide but his senses, I knew, on high alert. He was the only thing during that time that could lift my spirits. But still, it wasn’t enough.

We had stopped for our night meal and were clustered around the campfire, when Lackland finally erupted. “This is bloody stupid, this is,” he snapped.

“What is?” I demanded hotly.

“We have no idea where the Hel we’re going. We could be going in circles, for all you know. Or can you tell one ruddy tree from another?”

“Well, I don’t see you jumping up to lead us,” snapped Delph.

Petra barked, “He’s just saying what we’re all thinking.” She pointed a finger at me and added, “Do you know where we’re going? Really?”

I eyed her and when I did, I felt a degree of malice rise to my chest that almost made my skin burn. I stood and held out my wand. “This makes me the leader,” I said. “If you want to strike out on your own, then go ahead. You’ll last a sliver, if that.”

Lackland jumped up. “We can’t do that. You took us from what we knew.”

Now Delph leapt up and together we faced off against Lackland and Petra.

Delph shouted, “You begged to come with us.”

“ ’Cause I thought you knew what you were doing,” roared Lackland.

He held up his sword.

Delph hefted his ax.

Petra pointed her crossbow.

I raised my wand. But then something popped up in my head. Something that Astrea had said, that I had not really focused on. But now I did. Because now I understood what she meant.

The Second Circle is full of depression, and if we allow it, those feelings will come to dominate.

I looked at Delph. “It’s the depression of the Second Circle that Astrea told us about. It’s in the air. It’s everywhere. It’s driving us mad!”

Delph half lowered his ax. “Blimey.”

At that moment, his senses evidently stricken clean from him, Lackland suddenly shouted, “Pet, shoot the canine. I’ll take care-a them two.”

I raised my wand and shouted, “
Embattlemento
.”

His sword and her arrow hit my shield spell with such force that the reverse concussive blow knocked Lackland and Petra off their feet.

I next said, “
Ensnario
.”

Thin ropes of light shot out of my wand, enveloping them both, and with a cast like that of a fishing pole, I flicked my wand to snatch them up and deposit them by the clump of trees. I cried out, “
Impacto
.” One end of the rope drove itself deeply into the ground.

“Vega Jane,” shouted Delph. “If it’s in the air, you can use the —”

“I know, Delph, I know what I have to do.” I grabbed his arm. “Hold on to me. Come, Harry Two!” I patted my harness.

My canine jumped up and I buckled him in. I pointed my wand at the ground and said, “
Ensnario
.”

Thick roots emerged from the ground and wrapped themselves around our legs.

I pulled the Finn from my pocket and looked at Delph. “Silenus said this would be far worse than what we experienced in that cave.”

Delph swallowed a lump in his throat and then put one huge hand on me and one on Harry Two.

“Ready?” I said.

He nodded. “Ready.”

I said a silent prayer and untied the second knot.

It was akin to a mighty, raging river that had been turned into air. Pretty much every tree in the forest was pushed nearly sideways by the force. I had to close my eyes and then cover my mouth and nose because the wind was so strong I could barely breathe.

I had never felt such force as this. Even with the bindings around our legs, I felt myself lifting off the dirt. My fingers were being pulled off my wand. And if I lost that in this gale, we were done for. In unleashing the second knot of the Finn had I ruined any chance we might have to survive? Delph screamed as he started to lose his grip on me and Harry Two. My canine was being pulled away from me. I could hear my magical snares tearing one by one.

I glanced over at Petra and Lackland. They were completely off the ground with only one magical tether holding them from oblivion, for anything that was swept loose in this maelstrom would be smashed against the trees.

I had just killed us all.

I watched as the last strand of magical rope broke. I couldn’t say another spell because the force of the wind prevented me from even moving my mouth. We were done for. The three of us shot up into the air. I looked to my left and saw Petra and Lackland propelled upward like they’d been shot from a morta.

And then the wind stopped, and we plummeted back down, landing hard on the dirt, but otherwise alive.

I cautiously rose and peered around. Petra and Lackland were slowly rising. Some trees had been uprooted and lay toppled in the dirt. Others were still bent over, perhaps permanently so. Most, though, had returned to their original positions, which was a testament to their strength.

I touched my head and, despite my aches and pains from the long fall to the dirt, I broke into a smile. The terrible depression that had engulfed me was gone. It was like a —

“Like a refreshing wind drove it all away?”

I spun around to see who had spoken.

It was Seamus. He was perched on a fallen tree. He was no longer dressed shabbily. He wore black trousers, a white shirt, a vest laced with golden threads, shiny shoes and a well-brushed top hat.

“Who the Hel is that?” Lackland and Petra exclaimed together.

“Seamus the hob,” Delph answered. “We know the bloke.”

The truth struck me. I said, “Astrea’s been following us in the Seer-See, hasn’t she?”

“Well, of course she has,” said Seamus, as though that was the most obvious fact ever uttered. He hopped off the fallen tree and walked toward us.

“You made good use of the Finn.” Seamus scratched Harry Two behind the ears. “Canines are immune to the depression, you know.”

“Astrea sent you here?”

“Yes, but not to interfere. If you perished, I was instructed to give you proper burials in the Wolvercote Cemetery.”

“Well, that was ruddy nice of her,” I said sarcastically. I drew a deep breath. “How is Archie?”

“He no longer remembers anything about you.”

I looked at him curiously, taking in the new clothes. “You seem different.”

His eyes twinkled. “Hobs are actually quite a formal lot. But we are also quite good at playing other roles when circumstances require it.” He bent over and added in a croaky voice, “Seamus is a good hob he is, dearie, dearie.” This made me smile in spite of myself.

“Does this mean we’re at the end of the Second Circle?” asked Delph anxiously.

“I think you can presume that, yes,” said Seamus, eyeing Lackland curiously. “The Third Circle commences just beyond that rise in the dirt.” He added in an admonitory tone, “But the Third Circle, as you well know, has its own unique challenges.” He smoothed down his clothes and tipped his top hat. “And now it is time for me to depart. I doubt you will see me again. I wish you luck.”

“Wait, I have more questions,” I began.

But right before our eyes, Seamus vanished.

W
E PICKED UP
our tucks, and with our spirits greatly improved, we made good pace. We soon cleared the trees at the spot Seamus had indicated.

Then we all stopped. We had to, just to take it all in.

“Blimey,” exclaimed Lackland.

Blimey indeed
, I thought.

If we were tired of trees, we had come to the right place, because there wasn’t a single one ahead of us. It was as flat and open as any piece of land I had ever seen in my life. In the distance was a huge block of what looked to be granite, miles wide and a mile high. But except for that, the land just stretched on past the horizon, flat.

And bright.

The forest had let in no light.

This place seemed incapable of leaving any out.

It had been cool though foreboding among the trees.

Here it was hot and glaring, the air seemingly seared with the heat from above. We had been used to the darkness for so long that all of us put a hand to our eyes to shield them from the harsh light.

I looked at the others. “I guess we best get a move on.”

I went first, with Harry Two at my side, Lackland and Petra following and Delph bringing up the rear. We had gone barely a mile when I took off my cloak and then my overshirt. The others did the same as the heat continued to build. Then I rolled up my trouser legs. My boots felt like blazing rocks around my feet.

On we trudged, mile after mile, as it became hotter and hotter. We stopped for water, but as soon as we finished our fill and started to walk again, we sweated it away. Harry Two was panting so hard I thought he might pass out.

Delph came up next to me after we had trudged what I calculated to be twenty miles. In a low voice he said, “Do you see that rocky outcrop over there?”

I nodded.

“Well, it’s as far away as when we started walking, Vega Jane.”

I stared at the thing and realized that he was exactly right.

I looked up to the sky and got another shock.

Though we had been walking for a long time and the light should have been well turning to night, the sun was in the same position it had been when we first stepped into the Third Circle.

“Delph, the sun.”

He nodded. “I know.”

I thought back to what Astrea had told us about this place.

A vast, flat expanse that stretches seemingly forever
.

Forever.
I shuddered. Maybe her meaning had been quite literal. And what did that bode for us?

After more trekking, we stopped and set up camp. If anything, it was even hotter. I looked up at the sun and then down at our little campsite.

I raised my wand directly over the camp and said, “
Embattlemento.
”

The large shield spell rose from my wand and hovered in the air over where we would be sleeping. It suddenly grew darker under the shield, and the air became much cooler.

“Thank you!” exclaimed Lackland as he rubbed the sweat off his face and let the cool air wash over him. Then he collapsed onto his back and just lay there.

Later, we made our meal, and sat around cross-legged on the ground. What worried me the most of course was what Delph had already observed: We weren’t getting anywhere. If Lackland and Petra hadn’t realized this yet, they soon would.

Delph took the first watch while the three of us slept. Well, Lackland and Petra slept. I tried for a long time but then gave it up as a bad job. I took out the parchment and summoned Silenus. We looked at each other over the span of several inches.

“You live,” he said in mild surprise.

“I live,” I said. “Barely. We’re now in the Third Circle.”

He nodded benignly. “I am glad.”

I cocked my head. “Why? You’re a remnant. I wouldn’t think a remnant would have emotions.”

“Well, very clearly, you do not know everything,” he said in an even tone.

I refocused on the matter at hand. “Do you mind if I show you to a friend of mine?”

“Is he a good friend?”

“He’s my best friend.”

Silenus nodded and I carried the parchment over to where Delph was keeping watch, sat down next to him and introduced him to Silenus. It took Delph a bit of time to get comfortable with seeing the face on the parchment, but he finally settled down after a few “Cor Blimeys!”

I said, “We have a problem, Silenus.”

“Just the one? I’m positively astonished.”

“We walked for most of the light, but the sun remains overhead bright and hot. I used a shield spell to give us some relief from it.”

“Very smart of you, Vega Jane.”

Delph added, “The thing is, we walked all that way and didn’t go anywhere. It’s like we’re not even moving.”

Silenus nodded. “I can see that that would be a problem.”

“You can say that again,” interjected Delph.

I said, “Astrea told me that the Quag moves. I mean, it really doesn’t. It’s just a hallucination spell.” I suddenly blurted out, “
Transdesa hypnotica
.”

“Pardon?” said Silenus.

“It’s the incantation that makes the Quag appear to be moving. But it’s really not. It’s all in our heads. Astrea told me about it.” In a rush of panic I realized something else. She had never told me how to counter it. How could she have forgotten to do that? How could I have forgotten to ask her?

Then something else occurred to me. I looked wildly around.

I couldn’t see the mountains in the distance. Nor the ridges, nor anything else that Delph and I had seen before.

I looked back at Silenus.

“Bit of a pickle, eh?” he noted imperturbably.

“Yeah, a bit,” I mumbled, my spirits falling out through the bottoms of my boots. I stared down at my wand. “But I’ve got a wand.”

“Quite so. Then you know the reverse incantation?” asked Silenus.

“No, I bloody well don’t,” I admitted miserably.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, Astrea never said.”

Delph spoke up. “But, Vega Jane, Astrea never told you how to summon this bloke Silenus. And remember when you knocked us all silly back at her cottage? You done that all on your own, eh?”

Silenus smiled at Delph. “Your ‘best friend’ is quite perceptive.”

“That’s right. I … I just said, ‘Make sense.’ And you showed up.”

“Magic and spells conjured are borne
of necessity
,” explained Silenus.

I shot him a glance. “What, you mean I can come up with the spells that I need to get through this place? Not just the ones Astrea taught me?”

“Of course. That is part of being magical, after all.”

And with those parting words, he disappeared.

Delph said encouragingly, “You’ll figure it out, Vega Jane.”

“No, I think
we’ll
figure it out, Delph.” I smiled.

He held my gaze. “So you told the bloke I was your best friend?”

“You are my best friend, Delph.”

He gave me the biggest smile in return. I started feeling very warm. He touched my arm and leaned toward me. I closed my eyes and —

The growls reached our ears. We leapt up and looked around. Yet all I could see was vast open expanse.

“Use your wand,” urged Delph.

“
Crystilado magnifica,
” I cried out.

Now revealed as though they were dead in front of me were four beasts moving with alarming speed and heading our way.

Delph screamed, “Get up. Lycans. Wake up!”

I glanced behind me. Lackland and Petra had already grabbed their weapons.

I withdrew the
Embattlemento
shield from overhead so we could see better, and the sun burned down brightly once more and the temperature soared.

I was about to incant my magnification spell again, but then I gasped because the lycans had risen out of the dirt right at my feet. Before I could strike with my wand, an arrow hit one of the creatures in the chest. It screamed in fury, and recoiled as blood flew everywhere. Then it toppled over and died.

There were three more to deal with, however.

“
Jagada
,” I cried out, pointing my wand at the second lycan.

Huge gashes sprouted all over its body. It thrashed about in great pain before it collapsed. I was knocked back by its flailing, and landed in the dirt so hard that all the breath was forced from me.

I scrambled up in time to see Delph use his great ax to cut the creature in two. Then he fell back as the third lycan attacked. I pointed my wand and yelled, “
Rigamorte
.” But the lycan abruptly turned and my spell missed.

The next moment I was hurtling backward as the fourth lycan crashed into me. I came within an inch of being bitten by the thing. My wand fell from my hand and our combined struggles kicked it away.

Without Destin and my wand, I would be no match for a lycan. But I was not going down without a fight. I rolled away and jumped to my feet. He leapt at me, but I managed to dodge out of the way. I pulled my cloak off, rolled it up between my hands and held it out in front of me. With a snarl, the thing attacked again. I dodged it again, jumped on its back and wrapped the cloak around its throat.

Before I could start to squeeze, its claws grabbed my hair, yanked and threw me off. I landed on my bum five feet away. When I looked up, the lycan was leaping right at me, its fangs poised for the kill.

“
Rigamorte!
”

The black light hit the creature square in the back. It froze for a moment in midair and then plunged, landing full on me. I managed to push it off and scrambled away from the dead thing.

Then I looked over and saw a very pale Petra clutching my wand.
She
had cast the spell. And it had
worked
.

She looked at me with terrified eyes, even as Delph and Lackland stared at her too, obviously having witnessed her slaying of the lycan with the wand.

The next moment, she dropped my wand and clutched at her hand, tears streaming down her face.

I rushed over to her and picked up my wand.

Delph and Lackland had also hurried over. Lackland said in amazement, “You … you can do that … stuff what Vega can do.”

“Sorcery,” added Delph breathlessly.

She was still clutching at her hand and she was still crying. I looked down at her hand. “Petra, let me see.”

She shook her head and kept her hand covered.

“Let her see, Petra,” said Delph. “Vega can sort you out with the Stone.”

I had already pulled it from my pocket. But I had to pry her fingers open. I shivered and my stomach lurched when I saw it. Her hand was blackened as if it had been forced into a fire. It looked painful and stiff indeed. I stared at it and then at Petra. There was both pain and confusion in her features.

I waved the Adder Stone over the wound and thought good thoughts. Nothing happened. Surprised by this, I held my wand over her hand and tried several different spells to heal the wound. Not a single one worked.

She jerked her hand free and snapped, “Just leave it.”

As she walked away clutching her injured hand, I looked at my wand. Why had it burned her? Because the wand didn’t belong to her? I already suspected her of being a Maladon. She had cast the death spell. She had known how to use the Finn, a magical element created by dark sorcerors.

I glanced up to see Delph watching me curiously. I wanted to tell him what I was thinking, but Lackland was standing right there.

“Thank the Steeples for Petra being a sorceress,” I said with a forced smile that I’m sure Delph saw right through.

“Aye,” said Lackland, who appeared still to be dazed by the whole thing. “I’ll just nip over and see how she’s doing.” He headed to where Petra sat slumped over.

I so wanted to tell Delph that Petra was our enemy. Then maybe the admiring look in his eyes whenever he glanced her way would be gone for good. But there was just one problem with all I was thinking.

Petra had used the wand to save
my
life.

“What is going on with Petra, Vega Jane?” asked Delph.

“I don’t know, Delph,” I answered. And I really, really didn’t.