Guardians of the Boundary (The Conjurors Series Book 3) (11 page)

“Chisisi said he’ll post guards
at your house for as long as you want,” Valerie said at the end. “I’m sorry you
were dragged into my mess.”

To her surprise, Leila gave her
a shaky smile. “Without you, a monster more deadly than even these Fractus you
told us of would have stolen away her life.”

“Cancer,” Ming whispered, squeezing
her mother tightly.

For the first time since she’d
found out that Joe had been kidnapped, Valerie allowed herself to relax. She’d
been in time to save Ming.

Chisisi came through the door
then and spoke to Leila. “Your safety is secured. A trusted friend will take you
home.”

Leila and Ming left, and Valerie
noticed that Dr. Freeman was sitting with his head in his hands. She’d had the
chance to tell him about her magic before, but she had hesitated because she worried
his scientific brain would break under the strain of all this new information.

“I wish you never had to get
involved with this. I’m sure it’s more than you ever wanted to know,” she said.

But Dr. Freeman’s eyes were
bright with curiosity and something more—hope. “The possibilities of magic
could mean that thousands… millions of lives could be saved. I might never have
to see the light leave another child’s eyes.”

Valerie could see a hint of a
smile on Chisisi’s face, and her own heart glowed at the doctor’s words. “So
you’re not sorry to learn about magic, even though you were almost killed
today?”

Dr. Freeman shook his head. “It
sounds like these Fractus need to be eliminated if we want to bring magic back
to Earth.”

“There’s a battle ahead,”
Valerie said.

“Count me in.”

Valerie left Dr. Freeman with
Chisisi so he could ask all of his questions while she used her charm to return
to Thai. She found him outside of Ming’s house, his eyes scanning the street.

“Chisisi chose you to guard
Ming?” she asked him in surprise.

“I volunteered,” Thai said.
“There’s a few of us, and we’ll be taking turns. I know everyone on the team,
and I promise she’ll be safe.”

“Thank you,” Valerie said,
touched by the gesture.

“It’s nothing you wouldn’t do
for me. I’d stand guard 24/7, except that Chisisi has me heading up the mission
to find Joe,” Thai said.

“Any leads?” Valerie asked, but
without hope.

Thai shook his head. “Not yet.
But we’re tracking all of the locations where there have been attacks that
sound magical. We’ve found a few places where they’re clustered. We think the
Fractus must be building strongholds in those places, and it makes sense that
they’d take Joe there.”

“What’s next?” she asked.

“Right now, our network is
watching the cities with the most magical action to see what they can find. When
we hear of any sightings of Zunya, I’ll be on the next plane,” Thai said, the
intensity in his eyes reminding Valerie why she’d fallen for him.

“I’m grateful,” Valerie said.
“Knowing that someone I trust is taking care of Joe means a lot.”

Thai nodded. He reached out his
hand toward her cheek, and Valerie’s face tingled as if he had really touched
her.

“Who hurt you?” he asked, his
voice gravelly.

She touched her face,
remembering the bruises that Rastelli had left. “Long story. Everyone’s okay,
and the guy who did it is in custody.”

“I bet he looks worse than you,”
Thai said with a little grin.

Valerie swallowed,
wishing she could banish her comfort from the warmth in Thai’s eyes. She had no
right to yearn for that now that she was with Cyrus.

Valerie slept better that night,
and she didn’t want to admit to herself that part of the reason was because
Thai was leading the search for Joe. Some instinctive part of her still trusted
him, and she knew that he was Joe’s best hope.

She told Henry everything as
they walked to their morning training with Gideon, and he seemed comforted by
the news, too.

“It’s killing me to be doing
nothing. If I could at least be on Earth, searching, it would be something,”
Henry said, his eyes bloodshot from lack of sleep.

“You are searching. You can
travel much farther and faster by mentally projecting, remember?” Valerie
reminded him.

“It’s like looking for a needle
in a haystack. Sometimes, I think I should go to Reaper and do what he asks,”
Henry said. He met Valerie’s eyes. “Don’t panic. I’m not going to do it.”

“Of course he won’t,” Tan piped
up. “You’re one of the good ones, Henry.”

Valerie wasn’t surprised to see
Tan at their morning training. He’d shown up to her trainings with Gideon ever
since he’d arrived on the Globe. She also saw him at the Knights of Light and
knew that he was considered a promising novice.

“Thanks, man,” Henry said to Tan.

“Remember, your dad told you not
to give in to the Fractus. And we can both guess what they want from you—to
help build an army on the Globe by giving them new powers. If you did that, a
lot of people would die,” Valerie said.

“I know,” Henry said. He started
to bite his thumbnail but stopped, since there was nothing left of it now.

“Yup, our boy Henry is all that
stands between us and oblivion,” Tan said, managing to make Valerie sound like
she was being dramatic.

Valerie was relieved to see
Gideon waiting for them at The Horseshoe, effectively ending the conversation.

“Before we begin, you should
know that Kellen has chosen not to charge Rastelli. He’ll be released today,”
Gideon said.

Henry clenched his fists. “He
tried to murder Cyrus and Valerie!”

“Kellen has chosen to dismiss
the testimony because of a lack of reliable witnesses,” Gideon said.

“Why are we surprised?” Valerie asked.
“Kellen’s Fractus, and Reaper admitted that he sent Rastelli to hurt us. But maybe
it’s not the worst thing. I think Rastelli needs a Healer, not a jail.”

“Your thoughts echo my own,”
Gideon agreed. “For now, let us turn to the task at hand.”

Without any further discussion,
Gideon used the prepotent crystal to attack Valerie’s mind. In the weeks since
they’d begun, she had continued to struggle for a locus that would protect her
mind more effectively. Time and again, Gideon was able to control her.

Henry was much more skilled at
shielding his mind from Gideon’s attacks, especially since Joe had been
kidnapped. He used his rage as a locus, and it worked for him. But when Valerie
tried it, it was less effective than even Pathos had been for her.

“You’re more distracted than
usual today,” Gideon said after he broke into her mind with little effort for
the third time. “Has there been new activity by the Fractus? Or word from Joe?”

Henry and Tan were partnering a
few yards away, practicing shielding their minds from each other, and Valerie
stepped closer to her mentor so they wouldn’t hear her.

“It’s killing me to interact
with my father every day, knowing what he did to Dulcea’s parents. But he’s my father,
and I love him.”

“Have you talked to Dulcea about
this?” Gideon asked her.

“No,” Valerie admitted. “I’m
scared of hurting her.”

“And of hurting your friendship
with her,” Gideon added, and Valerie nodded. “Guilt is one of the demons that
holds you back from finding a locus for your mind. It is a constant distraction
for you, and one you must eliminate.”

“So you’re saying I need to tell
Dulcea the truth,” Valerie said.

“Make the decision you think is
right, and it will be one less pull on your mind,” Gideon said.

They were interrupted by Tan’s
shout of triumph.

“Even Henry can’t get into my
head!” Tan said.

“You’re doing great,” Henry agreed.

Tan never volunteered what he
used as a locus, but whatever it was had to be powerful, because neither Henry
nor Gideon had managed to bend him to their will. It didn’t surprise Valerie,
since Tan shared DNA with Thai, who was one of the most stubborn people she
knew.

“You have a gifted mind,” Gideon
said to Tan. “There is no more I can teach you. Perhaps Kellen could show you
more, but consider carefully before you allow him to try to breach your mind.”

Tan glowed at Gideon’s
compliment, struggling to hide his grin of superiority.

“You guys will catch on soon.
I’m sure of it,” Tan said to Henry and Valerie, trying and failing to look
modest.

Henry shook his head,
but Valerie welcomed the glimpse of Tan’s childish side. In many ways, he was
still maturing, and it was a relief to see him act like a kid for once.

After their training, Valerie
headed to the Society of Imaginary Friends to check in with Cyrus and Kanti, who
were now leading the search for the Garden of Babylon and the Byway.

Cyrus met her on the Guild
steps, pulling her into a tight hug.

“Any luck?” she asked him.

“None. It’s like it vanished off
the map. A powerful Conjuror must be hiding its location,” Cyrus said.

“It doesn’t make sense that you,
Dulcea, and I tripped over it when we didn’t even mean to,” Valerie said,
turning the puzzle over in her mind. “Have you talked to Dulcea? Maybe she’ll
have an idea why the garden might have revealed itself to us that day.”

“She came with us to help look a
few times, but she didn’t have any idea how we found it, either,” Cyrus said.

“Maybe I’ll check in with her
anyway,” Valerie said. She knew in her gut that she’d been delaying the inevitable.
She needed to talk to Dulcea about more than finding Babylon.

“Are you finally going to tell
her about Oberon?” Cyrus asked, and Valerie nodded.

“Just tell her and be done with
it. Like ripping off a Band-Aid,” Cyrus said, making Valerie grin at his use of
an Earth cliché, which was probably his intention.

Cyrus let her through the doors
of his Guild and dropped her off at Dulcea’s office. When Valerie peered in,
she saw that Dulcea and Kanti were in a strained conversation with Rastelli,
who was gesturing wildly.

Valerie tensed, ready to run,
thankful that Cyrus was out of harm’s way. She leaned toward a crack in the
door to listen before she barged in.

“Don’t ask me how I know, I
simply do! I can feel the truth in my bones. Valerie must be hunted down and
killed,” Rastelli said.

“Don’t be crazy,” Kanti said
with her usual abruptness.

“I’m not crazy!” Rastelli
shouted.

Dulcea met Valerie’s eyes. She
gave Valerie a warning glance, and Valerie stepped back into the shadows.

“Promise me you’ll stay away
from the Guild,” Dulcea said. “Whatever you think about Valerie, I know you
never meant to hurt Cyrus. If you get angry again, you won’t be able to forgive
yourself if someone gets hurt.”

“I know, I know! I wasn’t
myself,” Rastelli said, standing up to pace the room.

“You’ll find your way back to
yourself again,” Dulcea said gently, her blue eyes full of faith. “But until
then, keep the children safe.”

“Keep the children safe,”
Rastelli echoed. “Yes, yes…”

“Kanti is going to take you
home,” Dulcea said.

“A babysitter,” Rastelli said,
but he sighed, his energy expended. “It can’t hurt.”

Kanti led Rastelli out the door
and down the hall, and Valerie slipped into Dulcea’s office.

“Did you mean what you said?
That Rastelli can heal himself?” Valerie asked.

Dulcea slumped. “I don’t know. I
noticed something was off about him last year, but compared to now, that was
nothing. It’s like his mind is unspooling. I hope you don’t mind that we’re
going to try to help him, since we know this is Reaper’s fault.”

“I’m glad you’re helping him,”
Valerie said. “Beneath the damage Reaper has done to his mind, he’s a good
person. He refused to join the Fractus, and this is the result.”

Dulcea gave Valerie one of her
homemade candies. “I knew you would understand. You always see beyond yourself
to what’s right. That’s why everyone trusts you, I think.”

The guilt on Valerie’s heart
threatened to crush her. “I have to tell you something that may change your
mind about that. I found out something about your parents.”

Dulcea sat down. “Mom and Dad?
How? They’ve been gone so long.”

“I’ve known for a little while
now, but I’ve been selfish, and I didn’t tell you. Oberon… my father, sent the
storm that killed your parents,” Valerie said, her heart hammering as she
watched Dulcea’s face crumple.

“Why? What did they ever do?”
she asked.

“He did it because the Fractus
threatened my mom’s life if he didn’t do as they asked. It was the price they
asked for her safety,” Valerie said. “She never would have wanted him to do it,
and neither would I. In the end, it didn’t matter. Mom’s dead anyway.”

“They died for nothing,” Dulcea
whispered. Grief made Dulcea look younger, as she clutched her body tightly
with her arms.

Valerie moved closer to her
friend, but Dulcea pulled herself back. Her eyes, which had been shadowed by her
grief, flashed with something else.

“How long have you known about
this?” Dulcea asked.

“Since I visited the People of
the Woods,” Valerie said, her voice barely above a whisper.

“That long? I thought we were
friends. You should have told me as soon as you found out. You owed me that
much!”

Tears sprang to Valerie’s eyes,
but she struggled to hold them back, knowing that she didn’t deserve the relief
of spilling them. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I was scared to tell you. I knew
there was a possibility that I’d lose your friendship, and you are my family.”

Dulcea didn’t seem to hear
Valerie’s words. She drew herself up, dashing away her tears with her hand. “I
know this isn’t your fault. You’re not your father. But I can’t stand to be
near you right now.”

“I know what it’s like to live
without your parents. I can’t believe the father I’ve longed to find all these
years is the man that did that to you.” Valerie’s voice trembled.

“All this time, I thought it was
an accident. Fate. But it was murder,” Dulcea said, her face in her hands. She
raked her fingers through her hair.

Valerie tentatively reached for
her friend’s shoulder, but Dulcea jerked away as if her touch stung.

“Please leave me alone. Go!”
Dulcea shouted.

Valerie turned and fled from the
room as fast as she could, sprinting down the halls and out the front doors.

As she raced through The
Horseshoe, she thought she caught a glimpse of a familiar face—that of a
withered old man she had met once in Kanti’s hometown of Elsinore. She couldn’t
place how she knew the man, but the sight of his faded blue eyes struck a chord
of danger.