Guardians of the Boundary (The Conjurors Series Book 3) (10 page)

Valerie sucked in a breath
without meaning to. “I don’t believe you. Your power isn’t that unlimited.”

“You know nothing of my power.
As it happens, I have tuned it to a degree of precision you cannot fathom. I
can control matter at a molecular level, which means if I wish to distort a
part of the brain by moving cells or eliminating them altogether, I can.
Rastelli is a work of art, my first proof. But unless you both lend me your
power, he won’t be the last.”

Valerie’s controlled rage
started to slip into fear at Reaper’s words. Who would Reaper target with his
power? He obviously had someone in mind. A year ago, she might have done
whatever he asked to prevent that. But he’d underestimated her if he thought
she was the same girl.

She stepped in front of her
brother now, answering for both of them. “If you hurt our friends, we will never
stop storming your castle until we find a way in and get to you. You may think
that we are no match for you, but at least believe that we can make your life
hell.”

Reaper’s face turned to stone.
“You should do it because my mission is righteous, but it clear that you don’t
understand that sometimes you must sacrifice a few for the sake of the many.”

“No,” Valerie said. “There is no
threat you can make that will convince us to help you hurt as many people as
you’re planning to, even if that means sacrificing someone we love.”

For the first time, Valerie was
aware of Henry’s uncertainty. He didn’t contradict her in word or action, but
she knew that he didn’t agree with her.

“Maybe you should hear who is in
my power before you decide,” Reaper said, his voice icy. He turned to Henry,
who was white as a sheet. “Have you talked to your father today?”

Henry managed to wait until Reaper
had left before he started to shake. Valerie half dragged, half carried him to the
garden in front of their house, where Oberon took one look at them both and ushered
them inside. Her father’s rage was a powerful thing, even when he took care to
hold it in. His eyes flashed like an angry god when he heard of their encounters
with Rastelli and Reaper.

But instead of hunting Reaper
down immediately, like Valerie thought he might, Oberon made Henry a tea of
strange herbs that calmed him. Henry eventually slumped in his seat, exhausted,
and Oberon carried him to his bed.

When her father and brother
left, Valerie heard quiet footsteps behind her and little Emin placed his hand
into hers.

His large, dark eyes shone with
tears when they met hers. “I wish I could stay with you. I know I could help.”

“You’re not staying with these
Conjurors.” Emin’s mother’s voice cut through the stillness of the room.

Valerie turned and saw Cerise
standing in their doorway, and wondered how much she’d overheard.

“Emin’s been safe,” Valerie
said, wearily. “Didn’t Azra tell you what happened? It wasn’t like we kidnapped
him.”

Cerise’s face softened a
fraction. “Perhaps that wasn’t fair. I am—grateful—” she almost choked on the
word, “that you guarded my son in my absence. I couldn’t get here as quickly as
I wished, and I can see that he is unharmed. But your help is no longer
needed.”

Valerie knelt beside Emin so she
was at eye level. “I wish you could stay with us, but your family and the
People of the Woods need you, too.”

“But I want to be a Knight, like
you,” Emin insisted.

Valerie whispered in his ear.
“Someday the choice will be yours, and if you still want to be a Knight, I’ll
train you myself.”

Emin’s eyes lit up. “I’ll
remember!”

Valerie gave him a squeeze and
shook Cerise’s hand. Before she could tell Oberon or Henry that Emin was
leaving, Cerise had already hurried her son away. Maybe it was for the best.
She doubted that Henry had it in him to endure another farewell.

Oberon still hadn’t emerged from
Henry’s room, so Valerie went to Henry’s door and peeked in. Henry was asleep
on his bed, and Oberon was staring down at him with watery eyes.

He turned and saw
her in the door. “I should have seen this coming and spared him this. I’ve
failed you both again.”

Valerie kept vigil in Henry’s
room that night, in a chair by the window. Kanti and Cyrus both stopped by, but
left without waking him up. Valerie eventually must have dozed off, because
Henry’s voice startled her awake.

“I want to see my home.”

“I’m coming with you,” she said.

They held hands and mentally
projected to Henry’s old home on Earth, where his father, Joe, still lived.
Immediately, Valerie wished that she’d tried to convince him not to go back.
The house was torn apart, with books flung off shelves and furniture
overturned. She suspected that it was made to look as if something horrible had
happened here on purpose.

Her instinct was confirmed when
they found Zunya sitting in a chair in Joe’s bedroom. His yellow eyes gleamed
with satisfaction when they met hers.

“Where is he?” Henry said, his
voice a whisper. Valerie was proud that he managed to keep the hysteria that
was churning inside him out of it.

“Safe, for now,” Zunya said.
“But not for much longer if you don’t meet Reaper’s terms. Henry will come to
the Black Castle, unarmed, and perform a task. When it is complete, his father
will be returned safely.”

Valerie didn’t miss the fact
that Reaper was no longer demanding that she lend him her magic, as well. He
must have sensed that, though she would never bend to his will, Henry might.

“We’re supposed to trust you to
keep your word?” Valerie asked.

“Hear for yourself,” Zunya
sneered. He walked to the door that led to Joe’s basement and knocked sharply.

“Try me again, you monster!” Joe
yelled. “Fight me like a man!”

“Dad!” Henry screamed. “Are you
okay?”

“Henry? Get away from this
place. Whatever they’ve threatened, don’t give in. Remember, you’re my boy and
you always do what’s right.”

Valerie tried to mentally
project to the other side of the door so that she could see Joe for herself,
but something stopped her. It was like running into a wall—her mind couldn’t go
beyond the door.

“We’ve found a way to block
ourselves from being found by anyone on the Globe who is mentally projecting,”
Zunya said, the triumph in his voice making Valerie wish that she could
throttle him. “I’m allowing you both to come here so you can see for yourselves
that he is unharmed for now. When this conversation is over, we’ll disappear,
never to be found unless you do as Reaper asks.”

“Don’t do it, son!” Joe said.
The strength in his voice made Valerie swell with pride. She knew from what
Henry had told her that Joe had been fragile for a long time after his wife had
been killed, but she didn’t hear a trace of that weakness now.

“Enough!” Zunya roared at the
door Joe was behind.

“Dad, I’ll find a way to save
you, I swear it!” Henry said.

Before Joe could say another
word, Valerie was thrust back to the Globe. Somehow Zunya had cast their minds
out of Joe’s house.

Henry leaned against his bed,
taking deep, shuddering breaths.

“We’ll save him, just like you
promised,” Valerie said.

Henry’s eyes burned. “I can’t
lose him.”

“You will not,” Oberon said from
the doorway. “I know you are both training at your guilds in the use of your
power, but it’s time for me to teach you what I know.”

“What are you talking about?”
Henry asked, his eyes wary but hopeful.

“I have harnessed my power
longer than anyone on the Globe other than Azra. I can teach you both to
embrace the full potential of your magic, to twist it in ways you cannot
imagine. Even Reaper will not be able to stop you,” Oberon said.

“How can we trust you? We want
to use our powers for what’s right, not warp them,” Valerie said.

“I’ll do it,” Henry said.
“Whatever the cost. I’ll never be at the mercy of someone ever again.”

“Trust me, Daughter,” Oberon
said. “Your magic will only ever be what you choose it to be.”

Valerie nodded,
knowing that she didn’t have a choice. She couldn’t leave Henry to train alone
under Oberon, now that her faith in him was broken.

Over the next few days, Valerie
began to be thankful for Oberon’s training. She suspected that it was the only
thing stopping Henry from going to the Black Castle to take his chances with Reaper.

“Think of your magic coursing
through you like a river,” Oberon said, and Valerie squeezed her eyes shut and
imagined it. Her magic had shrunk to the tiniest trickle after using so much to
save Cyrus. “Now build a dam deep inside of you, where your magic can pool. You
can store your magic here for when you need it.”

“You mean, like stockpiling it?”
Henry asked.

“How is that possible?” Valerie
asked. “Won’t it vanish once I’m not concentrating anymore?”

“You will learn to keep
trickling your magic into that dam at all times. In the back of your mind, it
will always be there, pooling, growing, waiting for you to unleash it,” Oberon
said, his voice almost hypnotic.

“That sounds exhausting. We’ll
always be working, even when we sleep?” Valerie asked, struggling to wrap her
mind around what Oberon was saying.

“If you practice, it will become
second nature. You will no more need to remind yourself to grow your magic than
you will to breathe,” Oberon said.

Valerie saw beads of sweat
forming on Henry’s brow, and she started to shake from the prolonged effort of
gathering her magic.

“Enough for today,” Oberon said
finally, and Valerie saw his glance flick over Henry, who was almost gray from
exhaustion.

Oberon’s training
was more intense than her training with Gideon, which she and Henry now did
together in the mornings. She worried that it was all too much for him, but she
could see from the set of his mind that, if he didn’t push himself like this,
he would go crazy with worry about Joe.

One night, when nothing of note
was going on, Valerie took the opportunity to quickly visit Earth. She had made
a point to visit people who were important to her and Henry several times a day
to make sure that Zunya wasn’t lurking near them.

After checking on Henry’s few
friends, she visited Ming. She wasn’t at her home, but Valerie saw a car
pulling out of the driveway, her mother at the wheel, with Ming in the back
seat. She mentally projected herself from block to block to make sure that they
were safe. When they pulled up at the Oakland Children’s Hospital, Valerie’s
tension eased. They must be going for a checkup.

Valerie waited inside the lobby
in a corner where she wouldn’t be noticed. Ming saw her right away, and her
eyes lit up. Valerie put a finger to her lips, and Ming nodded. While her
mother talked to the receptionist, Ming skipped over to where Valerie waited.

“You’re back again. I’ve missed
you!” Ming said with barely repressed glee.

“I’m sorry it’s been so long,”
Valerie replied, wishing she could hug her little friend.

Before Ming could say anything
else, she and her mother were ushered into an exam room. Wanting to see Dr.
Freeman, Valerie followed, choosing not to let herself be seen by anyone.

There was a kind of comfort in
seeing Dr. Freeman’s face. He had taken care of her for many years, and even
though he rarely let her see past his professional demeanor, she believed he
cared about her.

She was about to project to
Chisisi to check in with him when the door to the exam room burst open so hard
that it slammed into the wall, chipping the plaster. Standing in the doorframe were
Logan and a familiar woman with dark hair and green eyes. Valerie examined her.
It was the woman who killed Chisisi’s brother, Zaki.

Valerie let herself be visible,
and Ming’s mother and Dr. Freeman jerked back with surprise.

“Get Ming out of here and run!”
she commanded.

“You never could see where you
weren’t wanted,” Logan shot at Valerie before slinging a kicking Ming over her
shoulder and barreling down the hall. The dark-haired woman punched Ming’s
mother in her chest, followed by a swift kick to the temple, leaving her
crumpled on the ground.

Dr. Freeman was faster, and he
chose to race after Ming when he saw that the dark-haired woman wasn’t going to
kill Ming’s mother.

“I’ll get help!” Valerie said to
him. “Don’t let Ming out of your sight.”

Frantically, Valerie let her
mind return to the Globe, where she grabbed Thai’s charm. Instantly, she was by
his side in his dorm room.

“Tell me what you need,” Thai
said when her eyes met his.

“Call Chisisi and go to the
Oakland Children’s Hospital. The Fractus are trying to kidnap Ming,” she said.

Thai was on the phone before she
finished her sentence. Valerie quickly projected back to the hospital, not
wanting to lose sight of Dr. Freeman and Ming.

To her surprise, Logan was
sprawled on the sidewalk outside of the hospital, unconscious, and Ming was
running back inside. Valerie saw a needle in Logan’s arm and guessed that Dr.
Freeman must have managed to inject her with something to knock her out. She
was impressed by his quick thinking.

But Dr. Freeman’s troubles
weren’t over. The dark-haired woman had caught up to them, and he grunted when
she landed a sharp elbow to his gut. In rapid succession, the woman struck him
in his face, chest, and legs. But Dr. Freeman remained standing, as if he
refused to give in to the pain.

Helpless to provide any support,
Valerie could only watch and wring her hands.

To Valerie’s astonishment, Dr.
Freeman’s determination seemed to grow during the attack. He was watching how
the woman moved, and managed to dodge first a punch, then a knee to his groin.
Valerie sensed that he was waiting for the opportunity to strike.

In a motion so quick that
Valerie almost missed it, Dr. Freeman hit the woman in a spot on her head with
one hard punch, and she dropped soundlessly to the ground.

Out of breath and sweating from
exertion, Dr. Freeman turned around and faced Valerie.

“Ms. Diaz. It’s time for us to
talk,” he said between breaths.

“This may be hard for you to
hear, because I know you don’t believe in magic,” Valerie began.

“Last time we met,
that was true. Today, I’m willing to listen.”

An hour later, Ming’s mother,
Leila, and Dr. Freeman were patched up. Chisisi brought a team to take Logan
and her accomplice to a secure location, but Logan had already left. Valerie
had to tell Leila, as well as Dr. Freeman, the whole story about Ming’s miraculous
recovery from Darling’s magic and why she was now at risk of being taken by the
Fractus. Ming sat on her mother’s lap through the entire story, her eyes round.