Chapter Five
Morning found me sprawled over the enclosed patio of my new temporary home, the pages ripped from my journal and mottled with notes. Paving stones beneath me left indents in my skin. I poked at the ridges in my skin when I ran out of ideas and needed to think.
One page had a list of herbs I knew which might cause a black out of memory. Another page had potions. Yet another page detailed biological possibilities, though the odds of such a selective and perfect erasure of memory hardly made any medical sense, at least to my knowledge. On another page, I listed everyone who had the motive and opportunity to have caused this. It was an impressive list, to be certain, everything from disgruntled clients to demons.
But…none of them would have chosen to give me magic. Unless they somehow knew that I had lost it, and that giving it back would mean I would have to tango with feral magic. No one I had spoken to had suspected my magic would return feral. Healers had presumed it would return as domestic.
I considered that a reason for my memory blanking out was because of my magic. If it was in control, would I remember anything? What little I had learned of feral magic had not encompassed such an idea. It was much too early for me to pester another person with these questions. And I wanted to be left alone for a while.
For over a year, I'd lived completely alone in the barn with a ghost, and I'd been very happy with the arrangement. Being around so many people, so quickly, made me feel as though I couldn't breathe.
I had watched the sun rise through floor to ceiling windows. Even the roof was made of glass. Someone had opened up the exterior wall with giant roman-style arches so I could look into the living room. Slate flooring covered the entire home, the walls were plaster. Windows reigned supreme, even the side that should be facing the common area with Leif, Lilly, Barnes, and Mordon. There were two doors in this house, the french doors which led to the common area, and the door I was staring at which led to a deck overlooking a cliff. All doors and windows were locked, except for the french doors.
True to Lilly's word, the bed was the only furniture. I had not even a rug to my name. What she hadn't told me was how many plants there were. The sun room looked like a green house, bright with blooms and shadowed beneath vines and potted trees. I frowned at them, trying to calculate their life expectancy now that I was in residence. Around me, plants loved to thrive if they were outside plants. It should take me about two months to murder all these lovelies.
A knock stirred me from my musings. I didn't have the chance to answer before the french doors opened and Leif stepped through, closing the door with care as though to not rouse the others.
"I'm back here," I called.
He came, his feet light and soft. Leif wore his serious expression, pulling out his elfin heritage.
A single Tribune scrunched in his fist, and while he stood beside me, reading my notes, I saw a photograph of a woman snarling at the viewer, her face contorted into an expression rather like a cornered raccoon, her hair a nest of tangles. Her eyes were glassy. The caption beneath read, Wild magic animates corpse, terrorizes homes across the nation.
It was me.
My heart stopped and I snatched the paper from his hand.
Wild Woman Caught, Constables Still Taking Damage Reports
BY SIMONA ECCLES / AMERICAN SORCERERING TODAY
The animated corpse marauding houses across the country has been found and cremated, according to an official report issued by the Federal Constable Council. The corpse was unidentifiable and was incinerated upon unsuccessful cross-reference to missing persons reports. The report states, "…wild magic is to blame for the corpse's antics, which though disturbing and frightening, caused damage to property and no harm to any persons or animals involved in the case." The cause for the attacks is unclear, and there are no apparent connections between homes attacked. Damage sustained by the so-called Wild Woman includes mangled lawns, torn rose bushes, a single case of breaking and entering a cellar, and the emotional trauma caused by witnesses viewing the corpse.
"People are wrongly calling this a zombie," said Julian Provost, leading researcher in necromancy. "There's a fine line between zombie and this state of natural re-animation…"
I didn't have the stomach to read what that 'fine line' was. I let the paper fall from my grasp, and groaned, cradling my head in misery. Swallowing, I said, "So…this is me."
"Yes."
I gazed at him, and saw that he was staring steadily at me. I promised Mordon I wouldn't speak of what I'd told him, and so I wouldn't, but how was I to answer this? Acting as stunned as I felt, I said, "And I was…dead. Like, really, truly, dead, or like bullshitting-the-public dead?"
Leif's mouth softened, but he didn't smile. He said, "Really, truly, absolutely dead."
I didn't believe it. I couldn't. It was impossible. I shook my head. "No, there must have been some vital signs that other people just missed. Like, a walking coma or something."
But he shook his head. "We found you on Tuesday. Ripping up a rather ugly bush, and breaking sticks over rocks. Lilly confirmed death, and at the time we thought it was a rogue necromancer, a novice who lost control. But…well, the first spell woke your magic. See, if you were all dead, your magic wouldn't exist."
I held up a hand. "Wait, wait, wait. For now I'm going to pretend this…corpse was someone else because this whole thing just doesn't make sense. Like, if I were dead for a day or more, wouldn't there be enough decomposition to make living again impossible?"
Leif's brows raised and his mouth formed the word, "Well…"
I cut him off. "Fine, whatever, things get weird when magic happens, right, let's leave it at that. I'll ignore what little I know of biology for now. What do you mean, all dead?"
He shifted. "See…there are two parts to being dead. There's bodily dead, and then there's brain dead. I'm using terms you're probably familiar with. A person's only all dead when both parts stop working. Since we are enlightened, I'll tell you that a person's power is closely linked to that 'brain dead' part, though the body part should be tied to the heart instead of the brain, but let's not go there right now. Some spells can kill a person's power. Some spells can kill a person's body. And there are a few which can kill both, but those are more myth than anything…"
I held up a hand, leaning on my other hand, feeling the floor beneath me in an attempt to ground myself. "Wait, I thought murder happened the same here as elsewhere?"
Leif shrugged. "A knife can kill all dead as surely as a spell. There's a lot to be said for willpower. I mean, people can undergo such trauma as to burst their heartstrings and die of a broken heart. Sometimes one death follows the other, sometimes people live when they should die. If a sorcerer is going to cast a death spell, he or she is going to do it in such a way that they aren't going to get caught. This means not leaving a chance of there being one half still living. It can be accomplished by performing one type of spell first, then the other,” Leif said, taking a breath. “I've had some time to think about Railey.”
I blanched, looked away.
“I was thinking that you two encountered one of the rare spells, or were hit with two different types of kill spells. Railey got hit by a body-kill spell, and you were hit by a magic-kill spell. Except it didn't work perfect, you two shared each hit. It…it took her a little while to die. I was with her when she—” Leif closed his eyes and continued, "—when she used what remained of her strength to become a ghost. She felt guilty, and we weren't sure if you would live, and…she wanted to be there for you."
"Railey's gone now," I said, not daring to look at him. "She was with me before. I don't know what happened. I need to find out."
"I know," Leif said. Silence stretched between us for several minutes, the shadows of plants flickering up and down the bricks and ripped pages of notes, before Leif cleared his throat and said, "What I meant to say was…I think that the spell somehow cut off your link to your power, but didn't damage the power itself. When you physically
died, that block to your magic was broken and your magic sustained you. It's all in theory. There are too many unknowns to be certain, but the will to survive is powerful. And it's the only thing we can think of which would account for this."
My head hurt. Releasing a slow breath, I realized I could feel the tug of air, command my power from one room to the other. I sighed. "I need to go after her."
Leif knew I was talking about Railey. "Yeah, I know."
"I want to go now."
"Don't."
I frowned, though I had been expecting that answer. "Why not?"
Leif shook his head. "People are jumpy, there have been odd things in the news, and anyone who can't throw a good kill spell has a shotgun on hand. They don't know you. You haven't been introduced to anyone. There aren't that many sorcerers around, you know?"
I bit my lip. It was true. There were enough to fill a small city, but the point of the matter was that strangers did not randomly approach sorcerers. If someone was outside the community, it was thought that there was a reason for it. I wouldn't get anywhere by nosing around.
"Do you have another idea?" I asked.
"How feral are you?"
I shifted and looked away, wondering that same thing. "I'm not sure."
"I can't have you here if you aren't in control. I can't risk the lives of my people hosting someone who keeps secrets."
I swallowed and looked away. But he was waiting for an answer. "One way or another, I went from alive to dead to alive again. I went from no magic to all magic to an uncertain balance. I should be able to pull through."
Leif inclined his head, but his voice was cold. "You had better. Now, listen to me well. Only a few people go through their lives without forming alliances with other sorcerers. You don't have the pure physical or magical strength to be on your own. You need to find others to be there for you, no matter what."
I felt a sinking sensation following his words. He was too right. And I would be considered a burden more than a benefit, at least until I learned to control myself. Even once I had gained control, I would have a limited skill set to offer to my friends. Lilly and Leif were judges. They had jobs which angered people, and they needed to be surrounded by people who were powerful, who could guard and protect them. I had no place.
"Stop thinking like that," Leif cut in. He crossed his arms, and I saw him counting on his fingers when he said, "Lilly thinks with her heart, Barnes is stubbornly independent, and Mordon does whatever he wishes without warning. We're divided. Lilly and I are family, where the other two have lived alone and been accountable to no one. Barnes respects me and cares for Lilly like a daughter, but he's lived long and has seen much. I'm too lawful for him, and Lilly too innocent for him to consider us confidants. Mordon… He wasn't raised human. He doesn't always understand us. I need someone to glue us all together. Someone a little rogue, a little daring, a little goodie-two-shoes, and a little girly."
"You need a chameleon."
"You have shown that you understand the other two. They have accepted you. I wasn't sure I needed your influence, but…maybe it will work."
My breath stilled. I said, "You want me to join your coven?"
Leif shook his head. "No. But I didn't want the other two, and I didn't want to be in the same coven as Lilly. It happened. We were both elected, and a random draw put us both at Merlyn's Market. It clustered us together. There was another Constable, one who I appointed because I knew him, and I will say, I wish I would have listened to your call on his character."
"Who?"
"Griff."
I felt like a stone had settled in my stomach.
Leif nodded. "He crumpled under pressure. We dismissed him, and a new constable was transferred, Constable Barnes. He was one of those who actually managed to live solo. We were looking for a guardian to watch over Lilly…bridenapping and whatnot happens sometimes. And Lilly has always been pretty. Barnes saved her once or twice, by then everyone in the market assumed we were a coven. There weren't any other good alternatives, however we didn't take up residence here until Mordon."
"How did he get involved?"
Leif smiled. "I'm afraid I'm honor bound to not disclose the details. But I can say that drakes consider it a prerogative to form alliances rather than admit to having rivals stronger than they are."
I tapped my pen against the book, thinking. "Mordon was the one who insisted on establishing a formal coven?"
"And he bought the shop, filled it up, and arranged for all the portals to be linked to our personal homes. The one we are in came with the sale, I guess whoever owned the shop before Mordon bought it had this as their personal residence."
My pen clattered to the ground. I had been trying to copy Mordon's trick.
Leif watched me pick it up and try again. He said, "You see, I didn't plan on these people, but they're good. And the most wayward two have chosen you, so prove yourself. Prove that you'll adhere us into some sort of functional coven, that you are in control, and that whatever is in your past won't be our undoing, and you will have a place here."
I nodded, feeling a knot in my gut.
Leif snapped his fingers and said, "Two weeks."
"What?"
"That's when the ball is. Don't give me that look. If you want to meet Prince Charming and get swept off your feet, then feel free. But, the point is this is where social niceties are performed. Formal wedding announcements, betrothals, birth announcements, formations and modifications to families and covens. It's no private affair, not if you want it to be acknowledged."
"Magic doesn't care," I objected.
"Perhaps not, but people do."
I sighed, knowing he wouldn't budge. "Fine, fine. Two weeks. I have a lot to do in two weeks."
Through the glass roof, I could see clouds passing by, and I felt like I was among them, adrift and prone to the will of the wind. I lifted my head. I would see my way through this, one way or another.