Edge of Pathos (The Conjurors Series Book 4) (3 page)

After a long day of getting
the Society of Imaginary Friends back in order, Henry forced Valerie to rest in
Dulcea’s office, and she didn’t protest too much. She was used to the
exhaustion that followed the release of her vivicus power, but this time, there
was something else. As she turned the incident with Zunya over in her mind, the
details kept escaping her. It was like her memory of what happened had eroded.

The thought made her
shudder. Was her mind beginning to disintegrate, like Darling’s?

The day was almost
over before the Guild was back in some sort of order, though almost everyone
had been sent home. Valerie’s friends joined her in Dulcea’s office after
Zunya’s boys had been transported to the Healer’s Guild and all of the
apprentices of the Guild were safely in the dorm.

Not for the first
time, Valerie wished that Kanti was with them. According to Henry and Kanti’s
sister, Isabella, Kanti was busy with her duties as a princess in Elsinore.
Aside from the fact that they could use her practical advice right now, Valerie
missed the support of one of her closest friends. But they were all doing what
they had to, and Kanti was hopefully raising an army in her home country that
would give them an advantage against the Fractus.

“This guild is in
one piece thanks to all of you,” Dulcea said, passing around a tray of her
famous chocolates. “I’ve been Grand Master for five minutes, and already, it
was nearly destroyed.”

“Strictly
coincidence,” Jack said, kissing her cheek. “You’re the best thing that ever
happened to this guild.”

Dulcea smiled as
Cyrus, Valerie, Thai, and Henry all chimed in with their agreement.

“I know we’ve got
business to talk about, but first, I want to toast Dulcea,” Valerie said. “In
the middle of an awful time, you becoming Grand Master of this guild is a
bright spark.”

“Now I’ll have a
vote when the Grand Masters convene,” Dulcea said. “And you can bet I’ll be
harassing the ones who are working with the Fractus to see the light and join
the Fist.”

“I pity them, trying
to resist your sweetness,” Jack said.

His exuberance was
unmistakable, and Valerie could see that having his friends safely in Arden,
away from Zunya at last and being treated by the Fist’s healers, had removed
any dark clouds hanging over him. Now, he could enjoy being young and in love,
even if they were in the middle of a war.

“Enough already,”
Thai teased. “I’m on sugar overload watching you two.”

“I’m shocked that I
have to be the voice of reason here, but can we talk about Zunya? I think I
should go and finish him off once and for all. Did you see how I almost killed
him?” Cyrus couldn’t keep the pride out of his voice.

“Whoa there, Super
Mario. He’s not going to make that mistake twice,” Thai said.

Valerie and Henry
released a surprised laugh at Thai’s reference, but everyone else looked
puzzled.

“It’s an
Earth-thing, from a video game,” Henry said. “Mario is this little plumber who
can throw fireballs…”

Henry trailed off as
Dulcea, Jack, and Cyrus stared at them in obvious bewilderment.

Valerie found
herself really laughing for the first time in weeks. She and Henry gripped each
other, unable to stop giggling. She suspected that they were both a little
hysterical.

Dulcea,
Jack, and Thai smiled at them, but then Valerie met Cyrus’s gaze and her humor
vanished. He was staring at her with something unfathomable in his gaze, but it
wasn’t amusement.

After the meeting
ended, Cyrus and Valerie left the Guild together, their hands loosely linked,
while Henry walked next to them, his expression distracted.

“It was good to see
you laugh tonight,” Cyrus said, letting go of her hand. “But I thought I’d be
the one to finally make you do it.”

Valerie didn’t know
what to say, so she changed the subject. “Thank you for not running after Zunya
today. I know you wanted to.”

“But you are
planning to send me after him, right? Once we form a good plan?” Cyrus asked.

“Cy, maybe you
should practice your new power first. Are you sure you can even do it again?”
Valerie asked.

“Stop talking to me like
I’m a kid! I’ve been fighting this war as long as you have, even if I’m not the
almighty leader of the Fist,” he said. Then, under his breath, he added, “But
maybe if I were the one leading, Zunya would be dead and we’d be a lot closer
to winning this war.”

Valerie could tell
from the scowl on Henry’s face that he’d heard Cyrus.

“Watch it,” Henry
said. “She’s the one in charge for a lot of reasons, one of which is that she
doesn’t have a giant ego.”

Cyrus’s jaw
clenched, but then, his eyes met Valerie’s and he looked down. “Sorry, Val. I
didn’t mean it. I came so close to doing something important today, something
heroic, and it’s killing me that, in the end, I failed.”

“Zunya will get
what’s coming to him,” Henry said with more conviction than Valerie had heard
in his voice for weeks.

Cyrus nodded and
then split away from them, heading to his dorm while Valerie and Henry
continued home.

“Can you imagine if
we really could have ten days of peace?” Valerie asked her brother. “It’s
probably not leader-like to admit, but I’d love one day of doing something
fun.”

“I wanted to talk to
you about that. I believe Zunya. I think Reaper’s offer is genuine,” Henry
said.

Valerie turned to
him in surprise, trying to read his expression in the moonlight, since his mind
was completely closed to her.

“Are you sure enough
to put the people of Plymouth at risk?” she asked.

Henry nodded. “It’s
not easy transporting things across the Globe, especially big things or people,
fast.”

“Even if his offer
is genuine, it must be pretty important stuff he wants to move around if he’s
willing to give us a break,” Valerie argued.

“Maybe he wants a
break, too. We’ve got him on the defensive, at least on Earth, with that
program Thai created. They’re not making the progress finding the charm binding
Earth’s magic they thought they would. I mean, I’m guessing.”

Valerie considered
his words. “All right. I’ll talk to a few people first, and if no one has
strong objections, I’ll accept Reaper’s offer.”

Henry stopped
walking and turned to her. “Just like that?”

“I trust your
judgment, Henry. Every single one of us needs a break from the constant
battles. Even if it’s for a little while.”

Henry winced at her
words.

“What is it?” she
asked.

“You have so much
faith in me. I don’t deserve it,” he said.

“You’re my brother,
my only family. I love you more than anyone in the universe,” she said.

“Me, too,” Henry
said, his voice a little wobbly.

The rest of their
walk home was quiet. Valerie thought about how grateful she was that even
though she’d lost her father, she still had a family. She wasn’t alone.

But what Henry
thought about that put such a deep, worried frown on his face she couldn’t
guess.

“This is an insult.
They know the leader of the Fist has come to meet with them, so where are they?”
Sanguina’s voice rang out in the grove of trees, sending a cluster of birds
fluttering into the sky.

“It’s okay. I can
wait,” Valerie said.

She, Sanguina, and
Chisisi had arranged to meet with the contingent of the People of the Woods who
had returned to Earth, but they were an hour late.

“I see a flicker in
the trees,” Chisisi said, his voice calm as ever.

“Finally!” Sanguina
huffed. “If I were still a vampyre, I’d leave them shaking with fear for days!”

“Probably best that
you’re not, then,” Valerie muttered. “Now keep your voice down. They have
amazing hearing.”

She’d forgiven
Sanguina for the years she’d spent terrorizing Henry and herself, but hearing
her mention her prior life so carelessly made her shudder.

Sanguina was
contrite. “I’m joking, of course.”

Before Valerie could
reply, two People stepped from the trees. She recognized them as elders who led
the contingent of People on Earth, Oak and Meadow.

“How fare you,
vivicus?” Oak asked her, nodding his head. His skin glinted with a touch of
gold in the sun. He didn’t acknowledge Chisisi or Sanguina.

“The attacks on
Earth and the Globe have only gotten worse,” Valerie said. “Have you had any
luck following the leads that Chisisi sent your way?”

“This human didn’t understand,
but you will,” Meadow said, her passion evident in the defiant thrust of her
chin. “We have been occupied cleansing the rivers of the pollution that humans
have dumped into the waters. Without pure water, we cannot help the animals
that depend on it for survival.”

“I know how
important it is to help the plants and animals on Earth thrive,” Valerie began
carefully. “But if we don’t stop the Fractus now, who knows what kind of
destruction they could visit on the land?”

“Did you visit the
lake in Armenia I spoke to you about, to see if there were any traces of
ancient magic?” Chisisi asked.

Oak finally turned
to Chisisi. “We did visit the site. There was once a great power there, but it
is gone.”

“What do you mean,
gone?” Sanguina demanded.

“The object that is
binding magic on Earth may once have resided there, but it was moved,” Meadow
explained, as if she were speaking to a small child.

“Could the Fractus
have beaten us there, and they already have it?” Valerie asked, her heart
beating faster.

“Not unless they did
it many centuries ago,” Meadow said.

“Are there any
traces you can follow to see where it might have gone?” Valerie asked.

“We do not have the
ability to follow magic trails, so there is no more we can do for you,” Oak
said. “We will leave you now for more important work.”

“We wanted to ask—”
Valerie began, but Oak and Meadow had turned and were already vanishing through
the trees.

“Say the word, and
I’ll drag them back by their hair,” Sanguina seethed.

Chisisi sighed.
“Forcing them to help is more difficult than finding another way. Especially
when we have a willing Conjuror on hand who is an expert at tracing magic
trails.”

“Chrome,” Valerie
said with a smile. The wolf was an old friend, and she would welcome the chance
to see him.

“He’s been following
up a lead in Brazil, but it appears to be a dead end,” Chisisi said.

“He’s restless,”
Sanguina said. “He needs something to do, or he’s going to search out more
Fractus to fight again.”

“Again?” Valerie
asked.

Chisisi and Sanguina
exchanged glances.

“The wolf Knight has
been volatile,” Chisisi said diplomatically.

“He attacked a
Fractus crossing his path without being provoked,” Sanguina explained. “The man
would have surrendered, but Chrome was out for blood.”

“Was the man
killed?” Valerie braced herself for the worst. Gideon had warned her of
Chrome’s bloodlust.

Chisisi shook his
head. “The man is safe, and a captive. But I thought it best to keep Chrome in
remote areas where he is less likely to encounter his enemies.”

“That’s a temporary
solution,” Sanguina said.

“I’ll talk to him,”
Valerie said. “I’m sure he’s still grieving for Jet.”

“As you command,”
Chisisi replied in his formal way.

“There’s something
else I wanted to talk to you about,” Valerie said, and she launched into the
story of her encounter with Zunya and Reaper’s offer of a temporary truce.

“Do you think I can
trust him?” Valerie asked Sanguina.

“In all the years I
was with him, he never broke his word that I saw,” Sanguina said. “It was a
matter of pride. But it’s a big risk.”

“I’m planning to
accept, unless either of you gives me a good reason not to,” Valerie said.

“It would be a gift
from the gods to have some time to regroup,” Chisisi said.

“Thank
you both,” Valerie said, and returned to the Globe.

Valerie knew when
she smelled lilies that Azra and her foal were waiting for her near her house.

She saw a flash of
silver fluttering in the wind. Azra was trotting from the trees, searching the
area carefully before turning back and nodding to Clarabelle that it was safe
to emerge.

The presence of the
baby unicorn was almost as all-consuming as the first time Valerie had met her.
Peace enveloped her like a glow, and everything seemed possible—even defeating
the Fractus and ending this horrible war.

“You’re here!”
Valerie burst out joyfully. “Welcome! Is it safe?”

Safe or not, we had
to come. Clarabelle is drawn to you. I could not keep her away.
Azra gently nudged
her baby with her nose, and Valerie heard her gentle cooing response in her
mind.

Valerie knelt before
the little foal, who left her mother to nuzzle Valerie’s shoulder.

“It’s so good to see
you, little one,” Valerie said.

Clarabelle made
little noises in Valerie’s mind. They weren’t fully-formed thoughts, like
Azra’s, but Valerie understood the essence of what she was communicating.
Connection, joy, a kinship of spirit.

Unicorns have always
been drawn to the pure of heart.

Azra’s words made
Valerie unaccountably self-conscious.

The youngest
unicorns are also the most powerful. To deny her instinct to find you would be
like depriving her of food.

“But it’s dangerous
near me,” Valerie said, looking up at Azra’s eyes and seeing her own worry
mirrored in them.

Unicorns are also
drawn to war, with an overpowering drive to bring peace. It may be why our race
is nearly extinct. I cannot fight Clarabelle’s impulses, especially since they
echo my own, so here we are.

Despite her worry
for Azra and Clarabelle’s safety, Valerie was also relieved to have someone to
help guide her down the road ahead.

Summer, an ancient
centaur who had helped Azra give birth to Clarabelle, emerged from the trees.

“The woods are
clear,” Summer said.

Summer has decided
to act as our guard.
Azra answered Valerie’s unspoken question.

“This is my life’s new
purpose. I never thought I’d have one again,” Summer said.

Despite her age and
the painful way she moved after being tortured by Reaper, Valerie knew she
would be a formidable foe if anyone tried to hurt the unicorns.

We are here now to
tell you that we will be hidden in a protected grove in your woods. If you
reach out with your mind, Clarabelle and I will hear you.

The tiny unicorn
then poked her mother gently with her sky-blue horn.

Azra’s eyes clouded
.
She is trying to tell me something. That there is an offer of peace, a truce?

Valerie couldn’t
hide her surprise. “How did she know that? Reaper offered us ten days of peace
in exchange for access to Plymouth.”

I have only dim
memories of my own days as a foal, but when unicorns are young, they sense the
possibilities of the universe like you would smell a scent on the wind. This
offer is pleasing to her.

“It would be safe to
accept?”

Clarabelle’s
certainty overpowered her mind, a sensation so sweet that she could almost
taste it on her tongue.

“It confirms
what I was already planning to do. I think I have a visit to make,” Valerie
said.

When Valerie told
Henry that she was planning to accept Reaper’s offer on his own turf, she was
expecting resistance. But Henry embraced her idea.

“If he isn’t willing
to honor my visit under a flag of truce, then he can’t be trusted in Plymouth,”
Valerie explained.

“Agreed. But I’m
coming with you,” Henry said, and she knew he was deliberately opening his mind
to her so she would see that he wouldn’t change it on this point.

“I don’t want it to
look like it’s an attack, so it can’t be anyone other than you and me, at the
most,” she said.

“Then let’s not tell
the others. Cyrus, in particular, would never agree,” Henry said.

“They’ll only worry,
and we have to do this,” Valerie agreed.

Without any more
verbal discussion, they turned their steps toward the woods behind The
Horseshoe. The Fractus had made camp a couple of miles away, and Valerie knew
from the People of the Woods that Reaper had been living there for the past few
weeks as the Fractus had stepped up their attacks on Silva.

Valerie knew the
instant they had been spotted. The branch of a tree moved slightly, and she saw
a little rainbow on the ground as light reflected through something almost
transparent. One of the invisible Fractus was the lookout.

The leaves rustled
in the breeze, and adrenaline pumped through her system. She guessed that the
wind carried the news of who was entering camp.

Her suspicion was
confirmed when three Fractus appeared in front of them, as if they had stepped
out of thin air. Which they might have, Valerie realized, thinking about
Reaper’s ability to bend space.

The Fractus could be
from Elsinore—they were tall men dressed in elaborate armor that was as
fashionable as it was functional. They all carried swords that looked as if
they had been dipped in black ink.

Henry’s fear swept
through her before he closed his mind. She stared at him, confused. They knew
that they would have to fight before their message to Reaper became clear. Why
was Henry so frightened?

“We’ve faced these
weapons before,” she reminded him. “They won’t be able to steal our powers.
Pathos and your machete were both created by the People of the Woods and imbued
with light by Cyrus. They’re stronger than what the Fractus are wielding.”

“That won’t be
enough this time,” he replied, his face grim.

Before Valerie could
ask him what he meant, the men attacked. She let her magic rush through her,
and Pathos was a blaze of light, flashing as she parried with two of the
Fractus who attacked her at the same time.

“She really isn’t
bad,” one of the Fractus said with a sneer, though Valerie could see that he
was breathing hard.

Next to her, Henry
blasted the third man with his telekinetic power, sending him skidding across the
ground.

In a move so fast
that her attacker didn’t notice, Valerie cut his armor in six key places, and
it dropped to the ground with a clatter, leaving him clad only in his
underwear.

“My next attack
won’t leave you unscathed,” Valerie said with a smirk of her own.

She ducked as her
second attacker swung wildly at her head. He became unbalanced by his move, and
she expertly knocked him in the head with her elbow without even bothering to
watch.

She kept eye contact
with the first man the entire time.

“Tell Reaper we’re
here to discuss his truce.”

Valerie was so
confident of her victory that she didn’t see that the man was smiling, in spite
of looking ridiculous. She stumbled backward when his eyes turned black. She
was so transfixed that she didn’t notice at first that Pathos was no longer
glowing. In fact, the area around them seemed dimmer, as though it was quickly
becoming twilight.

“What’s happening?”
she asked, sparing a glance at Henry.

It was a mistake.
Henry was grappling with his attacker on the ground, and Valerie could see that
he was gritting his teeth to avoid making a sound of pain. His attacker’s eyes
were black, too.

Her distraction cost
her, as her attacker knocked Pathos, which was now devoid of light and
ice-cold, out of her hands. The black weapon of her attacker sucked away her
powers. She fought the urge to drop to her knees.

It was so dark now
that it was difficult to see. She tried to summon the energy to leap at her
attacker before her powers vanished entirely.