Fly by Midnight (13 page)

The three mages instructed him to develop the magical barrier for all of Everland. The north wall also had the only gate in or out of Everland to the Otherworld—the fabled arch. Except for a few mail deliveries, the gate opened once every ten years to allow a group of travelers to leave Everland to explore the outside world. While Jonathan continued with his story, Honora kept quiet about her mother being one of those travelers a decade ago.

Jonathan Rainer’s knowledge of the wall and his ability to train the wardens and maintain the magical barrier was imperative. Few wizards understood the magical theories behind it, and it would be years, maybe a decade, before other wizards would have the skills to maintain the wall without him. The wardens were able to monitor the magic and keep the wall intact, but Jonathan was the real genius behind it.

Being the inventor of the wall, Jonathan was kept close to the council and to Stargazer City, living an invisible life as a scholar. Whenever he was needed, they sent word and he was whisked away. Few people knew his real identity—a select few members of the council and his wife. His youthful appearance was also part of the guise.

“Sounds like a lot of precautions have been taken to keep you safe. The council hid the wall by making it a mystery. You’re a myth. But I sometimes wonder, if the Witch Council had been honest about the wall, might you have been safer?”

“I once thought the secrecy was unnecessary, precautions taken by paranoid witches from the old-world order afraid of being hunted, but now I know they were right to worry. The Otherworld is filled with beings that see Everland as an opportunity. They seek to destroy the wall and have one magical world. There’s growing distaste in the Otherworld that the witches are alone, above them, separate.” His eyes were bloodshot.

“They want to come here the way some of us want to go there?” Honora had an uneasy feeling. It all came back to the travelers leaving Everland on pilgrimages. The archway was the crack in the wall.

Jonathan cleared his throat. “There has always been a way out of Everland. Over the decades, a few brave witches and wizards have been allowed to leave for scholarly purposes. But the arch was sealed after them. They weren’t allowed to return whenever they want. There were rules to their leaving.” He nodded knowingly at her. “I recognize the name Mayhem. Your mother was a traveler, correct?”

“Yes. She left ten years ago, but didn’t return.”

The wizard continued, “As you also know, some correspondence from the travelers was let through and word spread, rumors that factions of others were trying to breach the wall.” Jonathan shook his head. “We should have never let the travelers go.”

“The wall is secure, especially with the four wardens on duty. I’ve only met the Woodsman, but he would lay down his life to protect Everland,” Honora said.

“The wall has always seemed secure, and yet something found a way to breach it.

I don’t know how many, but I know one was sent as an assassin to kill me and bring down the wall entirely.” His face was filled with sorrow. “We’ve failed. We were so foolish. Perhaps you’re right, and if the wall weren’t such a mystery, the entire witching world could have protected it, but now it’s too late. That creature, whatever it is, infiltrated my life. One day I woke up and realized my wife wasn’t herself anymore, so fearing for my life, I planned my escape and went into hiding. I don’t know who to trust.”

“I’m so sorry. I trusted her, too,” Honora said, the reality of the situation becoming all too clear. A hot mix of fear and anger spread across her skin. Jane was an impostor hunting Jonathan, using the loving wife guise as a ploy. “Do you know what she is?” Honora asked, trying to imagine what was really lurking behind the cardigan-loving witch pretender.

“No, but I don’t think she’s a witch. I’ve been too distraught and in hiding to focus on figuring it out. But I think it’s clear that she’s dangerous.”

“You must realize that you can’t stay here. We have to go.” The Woodsman stood like a stone statue by the door, his enchanted ax clutched in his massive hands. Honora hadn’t realized he was there. She should have known he was wise to her little search.

“Not before I show her what’s at stake,” Jonathan said.

They followed the Woodsman out of the tree and back to the station. He directed Honora to the arch and to the waist-high stone pedestal with a large crystal embedded in it.

“How do you do it?” she asked, captivated by the magical device.

“My
persuasion
is strange. I always called it ‘the gift of loneliness.’” He held up his palm and an invisible wall pushed Honora back.

She pressed her body forward against the pillow of air. “You can repel anything? That’s amazing,” She smiled warmly.

“Not to a young wizard wanting to make friends. I wanted to pull others to me, not push them away. So I developed my mind to compensate for a wasted
persuasion
.” He sighed. “That’s what I thought when I was young. As my mind grew, so did my understanding of the magical potential and what I could do with it.” He directed her attention to the pedestal. “The crystal is ancient. It helps conduct the magic.”

Jonathan waved his wand, and the wall came alive, appearing as sparkling swirls of opaque energy shooting up into the sky. The power felt warm and alive. Her gaze shifted to the gate. “How did the fake Jane get through if the gate isn’t open?”

“We aren’t sure. There’s speculation that she had help from one of the travelers.”

“Which one?” Panic flared in Honora.

“We don’t know. The council is still searching for the traitor,” he said, with eyes cast down as another wave of sorrow rolled over his face.

Her mother was many things, but she wasn’t a traitor. Honora focused on the archway. “How does a traveler pass through the wall? Tell me how the arch works.”

“We let a door open. A small space in the magical energy stream is disrupted for the exchange. We set a time for return and then we reopen the door to let the travelers back inside. The correspondence is passed through by the guardian while the Woodsman stands guard.”

“Can anyone else do what you do to keep the wall up?”

“The wardens maintain the magical levels and make sure the energy current stands, but I’m the one who created the network of spells. I’ve tried to pass on the craft, but I need more time to train the wardens.”

“We need a strategy,” Honora said. “I can’t let that impostor use me to get to you.”

“I have an idea, but first we must return to Stargazer City. I have a favor to ask of you.”

“Name it. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you safe.”

“I don’t want you to keep me safe. I want you to kill me,” Jonathan said, grabbing Honora’s arm.

“Kill you?” she said, jerking out of his grasp. “That sounds like a terrible plan.”

“I know, but it could be our only hope.”

13

J
onathan’s plan was insane, completely crazy, verging on utter madness. It was just the kind of plan Honora could totally get behind—so crazy it
had
to work. And yet her nerves were on edge. The next part of the investigation was crucial. They were attempting to outfox a fox, and it could really go either way. Part of her hated having to leave the North. She kept thinking that maybe Jonathan would be safe here with trained protectors, but he was determined to return to his life, what was left of it, and face down the darkness that had slipped into Everland. After what happened to his wife, she really couldn’t blame him.

Honora loaded up her gear and prepared to head back to Stargazer City. Ren’s rough beard had brushed against her cheek when he gave her a hug goodbye that morning, and the sensation kept returning as thoughts of him lingered in her mind. She was such a sucker for a handsome wizard carrying dangerous weapons.

“I’ll do anything I have to do to end this for good.” Jonathan leaned against the porch railing. He was young again—at least, he
looked
young.

“You shouldn’t talk that way.” Honora fingered the silky cocoon Ren had made for her and stuffed it into the bottom of her backpack.

“Killing me is the only way, real or not. It’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make. The wardens will have to do without me for a while until we can find out who on the council can be trusted. The creature chose well in hiring you. I can’t hide forever. It will find me eventually, unless we do something drastic.”

“I’m all for a good fake-out, but I’m worried this could go very badly. It’s your choice, and I’ll support your decision.” They weren’t really going to kill him, but they were going to get pretty close.

“The creature must believe I’m dead, and then we must identify its species. Then you’ll have to discover who else from the Otherworld has crossed the wall.” Jonathan adjusted his glasses. “We assess the damage done and confront the council.”

“Can’t we use one of your illusions? You could change your identity again.” Honora wanted to make sure they had all options on the table.

“The creature will suspect an illusion from me. It knows my work. We must make my death look real. Very real. I know it sounds harsh, but truly I want to live. I’m counting on you and your sister to pull this off. We can do this, and we must. Just remember to never turn your back on that creature pretending to be my wife.”

“Don’t worry. I’ve learned my lesson. What I need now is for you to stay at the station with the Woodsman until I get back. I’ve got an idea, and I need to go alone. I’ll be back as soon as I can,” Honora said.

She made her way back to Rawlands and took the train to Willow Realm to Vivi’s shop, The Potion Garden. Keeping a low profile, she hadn’t sent a message and just dropped in on her sister unannounced, hoping she could get some serious potion-making help.

Walking into The Potion Garden was like stepping into a jewel box of multicolored glass bottles filled with the most spectacular potions a witch could dream up. She was proud of her sister for starting her own business and admired her creativity. Even more so, she was glad Vivi finally admitted that her true
persuasion
wasn’t potion-making, but prophecy.

For her sister’s own safety, Honora wanted to divulge as little information as possible, and she wasn’t about to ask Vivi if she sensed the demise of the witching wall and the collapse of Everland’s safety, doomed to be overrun by Otherworlders. Prophecy was the
potential
future. No need to muddy the waters now.

“Hey, this is a nice surprise. I didn’t expect to see you again so soon,” Vivi said, giving Honora a big hug.

“I found him,” she whispered in her sister’s ear. “But it’s hush-hush. No one can know. I came here because I really need your help.”

Vivi’s eyes widened. “Sure. I’ll do whatever I can. What is it?”

All Honora needed was a potion that would sort of kill the wizard she’d been paid to find, convincing her client he was dead. No problem. Honora tried not to flinch under Vivi’s eagle-eyed glare after she explained the kind of potion she needed.

Vivi’s spunky assistant, Pepper, wandered in from the back.

“Let me get this straight,” Vivi said. Her long brown hair was pulled up on her head and was filled with stalks of dried flower and herbs. Her feet were bare, and the bottoms of her jeans were frayed. “You need a potion to make a wizard appear dead in every way, but he will eventually wake up.”

“Can you do it? Please? I know it’s short notice, but I’m really counting on you two and your potion-making skills.” Honora looked at her watch and winced. “I only have a few hours until I need to be back in the city.”

“We’ll try,” Vivi said. “I hope you know what you’re doing.”

“Is this some kind of joke? Are you having a party?” Pepper was Vivi’s resident potion master. “Is it zombie-themed?”

“I wish. No, this is the real deal.” Honora poked around the vast collection of spellbooks. “There has to be some kind of concoction in here, right?”

“We could try a dead man’s potion,” Pepper said. “But they’re dangerous. The wizard who takes the potion is technically dead and may not come out of it really well.”

“That’s true,” Vivi said. “He might lose some short-term memory and maybe a few toenails.”

“Gross. And, no, he can’t lose any memory. This wizard’s mind is the most important thing about him. I can’t risk him waking up a veggie. He’s got to wake up sharp.” Maybe this wasn’t going to be as easy as she thought. “Don’t you have a sleeping spell that resembles death or maybe a deep-napping potion?”

“We could try a lover’s deathbed potion,” Vivi said. She twisted up her mouth in a contemplative look. “When star-crossed lovers wanted to escape their families to be together, one of them gulped down a potion to appear dead, but it just stills the heart and makes the lover
appear
dead. The potion was inspired by an old Otherworld story Mom read to me once.”

“What happened in the story?” Honora asked.

“The other lover commits suicide, thinking her true love is dead,” Vivi shrugged. “You asked for a convincing potion.”

Honora cracked her knuckles. She wasn’t a handwringer, but she was getting desperate. “I need him to look like a corpse. You’ve got to help me. His life is depending on this potion.”

“A divine corpse potion!” Pepper yelled. “I forgot about that one.” She raced to the shelf, grabbed a huge, weathered spellbook, and spread it open on the counter. “It’s like a dead man’s potion and a sleeping beauty potion all in one. Whoever takes it will appear dead for at least three days, but will stay in suspended animation. No memory loss or no graying of the skin.” She shuddered. “I know a guy who did a dead man’s potion back at the academy to avoid an exam, and his toenails looked like daggers when he woke up.”

“The divine corpse sounds good. Well, it sounds creepy, but that’s where I am right now in my career.”

“Let’s look at the ingredients and see if we can whip this up. You’re sure this is what you want?” Vivi gave her sister a concerned look.

“Positive.”

Pepper went to the front of the shop to check the supplies and help a customer.

“Are you really okay with this?” Vivi asked. “A divine corpse potion is one of my stranger requests.”

“It’s what he wants. I have to trust his judgment. I can’t argue with such a distinguished wizard. He’s my elder, and it’s his call.” Honora rested her elbows on the counter while her sister worked. “I just hope everything goes according to plan.”

“When do things ever go wrong for us?” Vivi snorted. “We’re Mayhems. Our lives always go exactly as we plan.”

Honora smiled at her sister. “You’re right. I really should be planning for the unexpected, if that’s even possible.”

While Pepper and Vivi made the potion, Honora watched the shop and strategized on how to pull off a fake death. She had to come up with a good location to place the body and make it
appear
Jonathan had died of natural causes, someplace visible where he’d be safe. Plotting a death scene was more complicated than she realized. There were so many variables. She couldn’t let the creature Jane get the body. She hated to admit it, but with everything at stake, she needed help.

Sitting on the front stoop of the shop, Honora wrote a quick note to Jenny Liu, warning her that Jane was really a dangerous impostor. She asked Jenny to keep an eye on her and find out if she was meeting with anyone. The cardigan queen had turned out to be a real threat. Finding out what was down the Rainers’ drain was more important than ever, Honora realized, recalling the creepy talon. Whatever it was that had killed the real Jane, it wasn’t going to be pretty.