Fly by Midnight (19 page)

“A golem spell,” Honora blurted out.

The ghouls’s head jerked at the word, but she recovered quickly. “It doesn’t matter that you know, but yes. Golem spells are hard to master. I knew the spell would be perfect to bring the glorious stone creature to life, and now he’s mine to command.”

A golem was a clay figure created to do the bidding of whoever commanded it. The ghoul had modified the spell, using the gargoyle as a ready-made pawn, no sculpting required. For a golem to work, a piece of parchment with an animation spell was placed inside of the figure’s mouth. Remove the parchment, and it returned to an inanimate mass of clay. The gargoyle was strong, and typical magical spells had no effect on pure stone. The ghoul
had done well.

But Honora wasn’t in a congratulatory mood. Aggression surged through her as she charged and threw the ghoul to the floor. They tumbled and thrashed. If she couldn’t take down the golem, maybe she could incapacitate his master. Ghoul Jane’s wiry fingers wrapped around Honora’s wrists, but she was still able to flip her onto her back and pin her to the ground.

Honora drove her knees into Ghoul Jane’s elbows, and with a twitch of her wand, whispered a glue spell. The smell of adhesive brought back memories as Honora sealed the ghoul’s mouth shut. Clover had taught her that trick when they were young. More than once, Honora had had her mouth sealed shut by her older sister, and now the spell came in handy, keeping the ghoul from ordering a command to her stone henchman.

Honora leaned up with self-satisfaction. Sure, it was a bit immature, but it had infuriated the ghoul. Her face turned red and sweaty. Garbled noises filtered out from behind the glue. The gargoyle was motionless, not reacting to his master’s distress, since the last command he’d received had been to stand down.

“I want to talk to it,” Jonathan said from the doorway.

Ghoul Jane grew motionless beneath Honora, who jerked up at the sound of his voice. “What are you doing here? Where’s Slader?” The rope dangled around Jonathan’s waist, the end frayed. Her heart plummeted. “Why? You were safe. You were far away from the creature, and now…” He’d walked right into the lion’s den. How was she supposed to protect him?

“I told you I don’t like heights, and I have unfinished business with this creature.” His eyes blazed with anger. Honora had mistaken his fear for weakness. This wasn’t a weak wizard standing before her, but one in pain. He was seeking answers, finality.

The ghoul wiggled under Honora, freeing one arm. She
raised a closed fist toward her face, opened her palm, and threw something. A glittery dust flew into Honora’s eyes, tingling and blinding her. She screamed, blinking her eyes rapidly. The room blurred, spun. She could have sworn she saw the ghoul extend her finger, where a claw appeared and sliced through the glue on her mouth. She mumbled a command.

The gargoyle stirred, growled, eyes burning red.

Honora’s heart raced. She wiped madly at her eyes, but the wizard was her biggest concern. “Please, Jonathan. Find Slader. Go back to the roof!” Her vision began to clear, though she was a little lightheaded.

He ignored her, practically in a daze with grief and anger. His attention focused on the ghoul. Jonathan stepped forward, his eyes wild, his fists clenched. “You killed my wife.” He lifted his wand, but it was already too late.

“Maybe I did, and maybe I didn’t. It’s complicated, and I’ve got a tight schedule to keep.” Ghoul Jane flicked her wrist, and the gargoyle took two steps across the room, lunging at Jonathan. The powerful wizard threw up a ward, using his
persuasion
to keep the stone beast at bay, but his heightened emotions made his magic weak. His shoulders trembled. Tears streamed down his face. His fists were bunched. The creature was too strong. The ward collapsed, and the gargoyle grabbed him in his arms, holding him in a stony embrace.

The terrible string of events played out before her. Honora fumbled for her staff, but she was hesitant to throw a spell, fearful of hurting Jonathan by mistake. The ghoul grabbed Jonathan’s wrist and slipped something over his hand. She leaned close and whispered something into his ear. He slumped in the gargoyle’s arms, standing on his own power, but his head was bowed. Honora tried to call out to him, but he didn’t respond.

She took to the air but couldn’t get close enough. The gargoyle grabbed her by the neck and held her, feet dangling. She watched helplessly as the ghoul led Jonathan out of the apartment. Before the ghoul left, she turned and gave the gargoyle one last order. “Kill her!”

Honora panicked. The ghoul was gone, and she’d taken the most important wizard in Everland with her. Honora couldn’t stop her, especially with a killer gargoyle strangling her. Her throat burned. She kicked and thrashed, pulling at his claws. She grabbed madly at her boot, finding her knife. Honora pushed backwards into his body and stabbed wildly at his head. He loosened his grip, and she pulled herself onto his back, trying to drive the knife into the flesh of his neck, but the blade glanced off the surface of the stone, not making a dent. She attacked over and over. The knife barely scratched the surface, his stone skin impenetrable.

The gargoyle grabbed her and flung her toward the window. Honora banged her head on the frame as she went hurtling outside, flying head over heels. She fell, reaching out at the last second to hold on, clutching the ledge, her fingers scrambling for purchase on the slick stone. Her arms trembled. She’d never taken a hit like that before. Her head spun. Her balance was off, keeping her from accessing her
persuasion
. She was afraid that if she let go, she would fall. She sucked in mouthfuls of air and closed her eyes, trying to center herself.

A familiar whistling sound filled the air. Honora’s head began to clear. She saw two flyers approaching at top speed. Jonas sprang to her aid. He lifted her onto the ledge, and she slumped against the wall. Relief washed over her aching arms.

“What happened to you?” Jonas asked.

“Gargoyle!” Honora pointed to the apartment.

The gargoyle crawled out onto the ledge and scaled the building.

Harper flew up to Honora’s side. “We need to draw him out!” she yelled, assessing the situation.

“I tried that. It’s a golem spell.”

“Seriously?” Jonas scratched his head. “Golems are activated by a piece of parchment placed inside of their mouths. We need to remove the scroll to deactivate the spell. It’s the only way.”

“Let’s do it and end this,” Honora said, taking flight.

Jonas’ eyes narrowed, his chest lifted, and he was off, with Harper in quick pursuit. Slader bounded through her apartment and leaned out the window. He slumped, breathing heavily. “I lost him. He used a ward and then stunned me on the roof.” His face was red. He rubbed his hand over his beard. “Where’s the ghoul?”

“They’re gone.” Honora grabbed his arms. “We can’t worry about that now. We have to take down this golem gargoyle first, and then worry about Jonathan Rainer. Now, let’s go. Take your frustrations out on the stone.”

“Got it.” Slader jumped out the window and rocketed skyward.

Honora regained her composure, following her friends to the roof. Unfortunately, she arrived just in time to see Slader charge into action. Not one to hang back when faced with conflict, the wizard flew right at the gargoyle, taking an aggressive tactic. He carried a heavy wooden staff and used it to cast a series of stunning blasts, followed by a few well-placed body blows. He executed his attack perfectly. Too bad the gargoyle didn’t get the message, because once Slader flew in close, the creature grabbed him right out of the air, tossing him aside like a rag doll.

Honora cringed and flew to his side, but the big wizard brushed her off. “I’m fine,” he said, clutching his arm. “Go on! Stop that thing!”

Jonas and Harper circled the gargoyle in a joint attack. Spells went flying, and sparks erupted as the magic bounced off the stone exterior. Honora had seen nothing like it. None of their typical and usually effective takedown magic worked, except to make the gargoyle angry. The stone creature was surprisingly agile, leaping across the roof and swiping with his claws as he tried to catch the flyers in the air.

Honora hurled a series of stinger spells at the gargoyle’s face, hoping to find a sensitive spot on the stone creature. His huge claws swatted the air. Maybe she was on to something. Nothing else was working. How else were they supposed to get up close and personal with the huge beast unless he was disoriented? She motioned to Jonas and Harper, and they joined her. “The stinger spells are working. If I can distract him long enough, one of you can get to his mouth.”

“How do we get him to open it?” Jonas asked.

“His snout is vulnerable. I’ll try and irritate his nose and get him to breathe through his mouth.”

“Sounds like a plan. I’m going in,” Harper said.

“Not on your life,” Jonas said, protectively.

“I’m smaller, faster, and cuter. It’s me.”

“She’s right. She’s the best option. You stay with her, and if anything goes wrong, head in,” Honora said, wiping sweat from her brow.

Within seconds, Honora was blasting the gargoyle with a series of stinger spells right to his face. Sparks hit his eyes, ears, and snout, causing him to swipe at his muzzle. Losing his balance, he swayed on the roof, causing Harper to dodge his body. She couldn’t touch his face with him thrashing around without taking a hit. They needed to pin down his arms. Jonas pointed to his nose and Honora peppered him with stingers to his thick snout. He huffed and snorted. His mouth hung open for a few seconds. Jonas flew in, grabbed the gargoyle’s arm, and twisted it behind his back.

Harper followed and reached her hand inside of his mouth, pulling out the piece of parchment that contained the spell. She ignited the paper, and it went up in flames. With one last swoop, the gargoyle swatted Jonas, clipping him on the forehead, before falling face forward onto the roof.

Finally, the gargoyle was down, but so were some of them.

19

H
onora tried not to look at the carnage that was her apartment.
The place needed redecorating anyway
, she thought, failing miserably to make herself feel better. Her mind reeled. Somehow Ghoul Jane had found out Jonathan wasn’t in the coffin prior to its going to the crematorium and that he was alive and well. Not surprisingly, the ghoul put the pieces together, realized Honora was behind the switch, and came searching for her prize—the wizard of the wall. Honora replayed her mistakes over and over. Returning to her apartment had been a risk, but Honora had foolishly thought she could sneak in and grab her stuff and get out. She didn’t want to think about how she let Jonathan Rainer get taken from right under her nose.

Honora paced through the wreckage, planning her next move. Harper had grabbed a first-aid kit from the bathroom and was attending to their wounds. Jonas bandaged Slader’s arm, but he’d need to have it worked on by a professional healer. After getting a hard glance from Harper, Honora sat on a stool in the kitchen while her friend slathered a healing salve on her neck and made her swallow three different healing tonics. The swelling began receding, the pain in her throat and back lessening with a tingling sensation.

Joining the rest of the group, Honora perched on the edge of her dust-covered sofa, surrounded by debris. Slumped in a broken chair, Jonas pulled the cork to a healing potion and swallowed it in one gulp. “Remind me to practice more defensive magic spells, will you?”

“I’ll start taking you to my sparring gym,” Slader said through gritted teeth. He was holding his arm tightly to his chest while Harper performed magical binding to the wound. Honora had no idea her friend knew so much about healing.

“Are you going to send your glee after them?” Jonas asked. “At least we’ll know where the ghoul took the wizard. They won’t be far ahead of us.”

“I already know where she’s taking him.” Honora arched her brow. “She’s going north. I don’t need elfin magic to tell me that, but I’ve got a special mission for the glee.”

“Give me ten minutes, and we’ll be out of here and on her tail.” Slader would not be deterred by a few cuts, bruises, or a broken arm.

Honora’s heart was heavy. Her friends had sacrificed so much for her, literally throwing themselves into the fight, but she needed their help elsewhere. This was going to be hard. “I can’t let you guys come with me.”

“Not a chance. We’re going.” Slader tried to stand and stumbled into Harper, who did an admirable job of supporting the big wizard. The sight of her injured friends was gut-wrenching.

“We can’t abandon you now,” Jonas said with unflinching loyalty. His face was ashen save for a purplish bruise that marked his cheek. A few bloody rags littered the floor at his feet. “You’ll need us.”

His concern was heartwarming. He was right, she needed their strength by her side, but the tactics had changed, and the council’s involvement was even more imperative. “I know.” Her eyes welled with gratitude. “But right now our best option is for you three to plead our case to the council and break the bad news to Beatrice about what’s happened. Convince her that Everland is in danger. If the wall falls, we have to be ready.”

The gravity of the situation weighed heavy in the room.

“She’s right,” Harper said. “Having you two as witnesses to what happened will go a long way in convincing the council what the ghoul is capable of.”

Slader shook his head and winced. “I don’t like it, but I won’t be much use to you with this arm.” His brow was slick with sweat, his gaze filled with worry.

“I’ve got to go north, alone.” Honora let out an exasperated sigh. “I wish Jenny would send a message. I have a bad feeling about what’s going on with her.” She still hadn’t heard from her and had no idea what happened after she and Hexer Min had gone to check out the naturalist.

“Jenny’s a tough witch. She’ll be okay. Mark my words,” Slader said.

“I’m coming. With Jenny unaccounted for, you’ll need backup,” Jonas said, his arms crossed defiantly over his chest.

“You’re too banged up. You’ve already helped more than enough. I won’t be alone, trust me. I’ve got plans for reinforcements.”

After making sure her friends were okay, Honora took to the air and flew to her office. This was not going the way she had intended, but she had to push forward. No way was she done fighting. Honora went directly to the wall behind her desk to a hidden safe installed about a year after her investigating practice took off, when she realized she needed a place to hide her valuables. She stared into the gilded silver mirror that was both modern and chic. If anyone were to lift it off the wall, they would find nothing but a solid surface. She waved her wand and deactivated the concealment spell. The glass surface wavered, as if she had tossed a coin into a wishing well, and when the ripples settled, the mirror was gone, and the interior of the safe was revealed. It was empty except for a small bag of gold. Or so it appeared.

If an intruder found the safe, managed to open it, and snatched the bag of coins, a security spell would activate, and the safe would shut down.

Simple, practical, and effective. A witch could never be too careful.

But there was more.

Honora tapped the back of the safe three times with her wand and spoke another spell, revealing the true contents of the safe, her most treasured possessions: an old iron ring of keys, a locked box, and the glee. Her attention focused on the glee. It was time to put the magical present to good use. She opened the office window.

Honora didn’t need the glee to tell her the ghoul and Jonathan had gone deep into the woods to the station. She popped the glee out of the box and whispered the activation spell Slader had given her on her birthday. Her orders to the tiny familiar were specific. She pulled back her arm and threw the stone. Honora tracked it with her eyes as instantly it began to change, and sparks flickered. The golden orb unfolded, splitting open, revealing a tiny creature inside. The glee looked like a cross between an insect and a hummingbird, but the tiny eyes seemed sentient and aware of what was going on around it. What appeared to be its shell exterior transformed into iridescent-colored wings that were almost transparent and razor-sharp. It zinged in the air, slicing through the sky, and was gone.

“It’s alive,” she gasped.

“What’s alive?” Sawyer asked from behind her, making her jump. “You look like you’ve been in a fight.”

With renewed purpose, Honora filled Sawyer in on the latest. “I didn’t listen to my instincts. I delivered the most important wizard in Everland to a devious ghoul on a silver platter. Talk about screwing up in one fell swoop.”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself. Ghoul Jane was pulling a con to get you to find Rainer,” Sawyer said. “I checked the mail and even called the courier station, and we still haven’t gotten any word from Jenny.”

Honora’s stomach clenched, and a wave of dread washed over her. “That has me worried most of all. Where are they? I’m afraid something really bad has happened, and after the encounter tonight with a gargoyle, I don’t want to think about what that ghoul could have unleashed on Jenny and Min. We have to assume that one of the witches on their list was the traitor.” Her shoulders sagged.

“If Ghoul Jane’s working with the traitor, she could have easily gotten to them. But I’m surprised the Hexer wasn’t better prepared. I thought those guys were supposed to be invincible,” Sawyer snorted.

“Me, too.”

Min was a tough wizard and an expert fighter, so Sawyer had a point. He should have been able to handle himself, and Jenny was no slouch in the butt-kicking department, either. A fresh wave of concern mixed with suspicion bubbled up inside her. “See what you can find out about the witches on their list. If you can dig anything suspicious up, send word to Harper at the council building. She and the guys will be there soon.”

Sawyer nodded and went to work. Barnaby landed on the sill and ruffled his feathers. Honora stroked his silky back and gave him a snack. “I hope you aren’t too tired, Barnaby, because we’re going north.”

Honora took the portal system as far north as she could before hopping on the Silver Train. It would take Ghoul Jane just as long to get to the station, and she’d also be traveling by train, as it was faster than any hovercraft and much easier to travel with Jonathan in whatever magical trance he was under. Even if Harper could convince the council to send out the Hex Division, Honora still had the best chance of catching them, and maybe the only chance before the wall came down.

Once off the train, Honora made her way to the station, flying inside the tree line for cover. The air was cold and wet, terrible for flying. She pitied any wayward flocks of birds that got in her way. This time, she didn’t need a map or Ren to guide her back to the North Wall Station. The location easily came back to her, and soon the station appeared in the distance. She coasted closer, spreading her arms wide, riding the wind. She took cover in a small outcrop of trees. Could a ghoul really take down the Woodsman and his guardian?
Never.

The ghoul was right where Honora knew she would be—the arch. Through the trees, she saw Ghoul Jane standing before the stone pedestal, dressed in a white snowsuit. The collar and chest were embroidered with pale blue snowflakes. With her chin held high, she leaned casually against the pedestal with an air of arrogant confidence. Why shouldn’t she? Her plan was moving along smoothly. Jonathan, on the other hand, looked terrible. His face was ashen. He was shaking even though he wore a thick black coat and a huge woolen hat that the ghoul must have given him. His hands were bare, and the skin on his palms was bright pink. He focused his attention on the stone pedestal that controlled the arch. The crystal glowed to life under the direction of his
persuasion
.

Honora scanned the area, and her stomach plummeted. Hexer Min stood a few feet away from the arch. His dark, beady eyes practically shimmered against the wintery white backdrop. Confusion mixed with anger flooded her with the inevitable realization. Hexer Min was the traitor. His stream of lies had fooled her and the council. Beatrice’s golden boy had fooled them all. A bitter wind stung her face, making her eyes water. A terrible feeling of betrayal tore through her—the plan to bring down the wall was just beginning. She swallowed hard and focused her resolve. Min’s hand clenched the guardian Alexis’ shoulder. She was on her knees. Her wrists were bound with vines. Blood oozed from her nose, but her expression was hard.

Honora’s gaze jerked around the platform. Where was Jenny? And even more importantly, where was the Woodsman? Searching the surrounding area desperately for some sign of him, she saw nothing. Had he gotten away? Had he somehow evaded the attack? Her attention drifted skyward, and she got her answer.

The mighty Woodsman was hanging in the trees, cocooned in a huge knot of vines and twisted tree limbs. For a terrible second she thought he was dead, but then a series of coughs rattled his body, causing him to jerk and sway. He groaned, and blood sputtered from his mouth. Thankfully, he was alive, but coughing up blood only intensified her need to get him out of that tree before it was too late.

First, she needed to free Alexis. Barnaby coasted overhead. He always found her, no matter where she went. She whistled and gave a hand signal. His job was simple: alert Alexis to her presence and distract the Hexer. The owl took flight and circled the arch, gradually descending. Ghoul Jane noticed him first and alerted Min, but they had no way of knowing he was Honora’s bird, so they didn’t seem too concerned.

Alexis’ shoulders lifted, and alertness lit up her face. She’d clearly gotten the message. Her shoulders tensed, her gaze darting around the clearing. All she’d needed was the sign for, without hesitation, Alexis jumped to her feet and threw a series of kicks at the Hexer. His wand went flying across the stone steps, and he took a bad blow to the chin. Using her teeth, Alexis pulled a glowing magical knife from her bodice and sliced through the bounds on her wrists. Next, she slid a small ax from her boot and sent it flying at Min’s face before diving for cover in the woods.

The Hexer spun out of the trajectory of the blade, shooting off spells like a trained combat magician. For a wizard so young, Min was magnificent, but something else was happening to him as he performed the spells. His ears turned pointed, and the skin on his hands grew mottled. His eyes glowed red as a series of strange spells spilled out of his lips. He was using Otherworld magic, but Honora had no sense of how it worked. The witching world had been hidden for so long that they ignored the ways of the others; not understanding their magic put the witches at a huge disadvantage.