David Baldacci - The Keeper

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.

I cast the shield spell over us as we walked along the next light. It kept the sun and heat off us, but that was not our major problem. The granite outcrop was still as far away as ever. And when Lackland finally walked up to me, I knew what he was going to say.

“Vega, we don’t appear to be moving a jot all this time.”

“I know, Lackland.”

He scowled. “And do you have a plan to take care-a this wee problem?”

I looked up into his bearded face. Then I glanced behind us to see Petra and Delph walking together. They were talking in low voices. I turned back to Lackland. “I’m working on it.”

He looked at me skeptically. “Oh, well, there’s a relief.”

“Do you have any ideas?” I countered.

He held up his sword. “You want something run through with this, I’m your bloke. This wand and words stuff, that falls to you.”

I glanced back again. “And to Petra, apparently.”

His features clouded. “Never knew that about her.”

“Are you sure? There were never any signs?”

“Well, what sorta signs would there be?”

“Did she ever do something inexplicable?”

He shook his head. “Not that I can remember. But then again, till our village was attacked we didn’t spend all that much time together. I mean, we’re not family or anything. Just Furinas.”

“Who was left of your family?”

His gaze became downcast. “Me mum and me sister. Me dad and older brother were killed a long time ago.”

“How?”

“Colossal. There... there was nothing I could do. Bloody lycans killed the rest of the Furinas. ’Cept for Pet and me. When I saw them things charging us, all I wanted to do was slaughter ’em all!” he added fiercely. He paused and looked once more at Petra. “Pet and me been together a while now. Like having me sister back, I guess. Nobody wants to be alone. Not in here.”