Guardians of the Boundary (The Conjurors Series Book 3) (34 page)

Meet Clarabelle.

In Valerie’s mind, Azra’s voice
sounded more tired and happy than she had ever heard it. Valerie turned and saw
her friend for the first time since she’d arrived, and almost didn’t recognize
her. Azra’s mane had turned a lustrous shade of silver, and her coat seemed duller
than it had before. But her eyes were lit with a depth of love that Valerie
knew she’d never be able to completely fathom unless she had a child of her
own. A few yards away, Summer rested in a patch of grass, sound asleep.

“I knew your baby would be
special, but I had no idea how special,” Valerie said.

Clarabelle returned to Azra and nestled
into her mother’s side. She blinked twice and then fell asleep. She
occasionally made sounds that pinged Valerie’s mind with sweetness.

“I hope it’s okay that I came,
too,” Henry said, sitting next to Valerie and the unicorns on the grass.

I hoped you would both come. My
baby is blessed to have you for her first visitors.

Valerie couldn’t find the words
to express how much the honor was hers, but she didn’t need to. Azra’s gentle
eyes took in first Valerie’s and then Henry’s faces, and she seemed to know.

“Oberon’s gone,” Valerie said,
and though the words opened a yawning, infinite sadness inside her, the
bitterness had disappeared.

I sensed his power being
released into the universe just as Clarabelle entered it.

“I’m glad something good came
into the world that day,” Henry said.

“It gives me hope that something
so beautiful exists,” Valerie added.

Azra’s next words were in
Valerie’s mind alone.
It
already existed before my daughter was born. I see it every time I look at you.
You are light, and love, and a world reborn.

Valerie hugged Azra, and her
mane smelled like it always did, of lilies, even though its color had changed.

“Only you could see me that
way,” she whispered in the unicorn’s ear.

Today, that may be true. But
soon, the whole world will see.

Valerie let herself fall
backward into the grass next to Henry, Azra, and Clarabelle. She breathed in
the sweet smells around her and stared up at the blue sky, thinking of how her
father had been the one to build the Globe’s atmosphere and weather patterns,
and, in a way, the sky was his creation.

Then she turned her thoughts to
the future, to possibilities beyond the next battle, to a world as beautiful as
the new life burrowing in the grass next to her.

Henry didn’t know why he was
drawn outside that night to walk alone in the woods by his house. He didn’t
question the impulse. Sometimes, it seemed like only constant movement kept his
pain and rage from burning him up inside.

The night air was cool, and Henry
moved faster to stay warm. His mind was so occupied that he almost didn’t
notice the strange distortion in the air ahead of him until he was almost upon
it. He recognized it for what it was—one of Reaper’s portals. He almost turned
and ran to wake up Valerie and Gideon, but something made him look inside, and
after that first glimpse, he stepped through the portal.

“It’s exactly what you’re afraid
it is,” Reaper’s voice grated against Henry’s ears.

Henry didn’t even think of
raising the knife he had tucked into his belt to defend himself. Instead, he
ran to the side of a stone statue standing in the middle of the throne room in
the Black Castle. It was an exact replica of Kanti.

“What is this? Some kind of
awful voo-doo doll?” Henry asked, and his magic simmered just beneath the
surface. He would blast the statue into smithereens, even if Reaper killed him.

“Did you know that among my
powers, I can alter cells? The laws of physics don’t apply to me,” Reaper said.

Henry’s jaw clenched as he
listened to Reaper brag.

“I can even turn human cells to
stone,” Reaper continued. “Luckily for you, I can also turn the stone back into
flesh.”

The realization of what he was
seeing hit Henry like a truck. He reached out to touch the statue with his mind
and hand at the same time, and then drew back as if he’d been shocked. Kanti
was inside there. Some part of her mind slept inside the stone, unreachable.

“What did you do? Change her
back!” Henry shouted.

It took all of his control not
to lash out at Reaper with everything he had and kill him once and for all.
Only the knowledge that Reaper was probably the only one who could change Kanti
back to living, breathing flesh kept him in check.

“Whether she remains in this
state or another is up to you,” Reaper said. “I think you know now that when I
make promises, I keep them.”

The memory of his father’s face
in his last moments flashed through Henry’s mind. He forced it aside, knowing
that letting it in had the power to unman him completely, and he needed his
wits about him.

“What are you promising,
exactly?” Henry asked, scrutinizing Reaper.

He tried to turn off his
emotions the best he could so he could concentrate. He knew that this might be
one of the most important conversations of his life.

“For you to imbue my army with
some new powers that I’ve selected,” Reaper said.

Henry narrowed his eyes. “How
many people? I want a number, after which you set Kanti free. Otherwise this
could go on forever.”

“Agreed,” Reaper said.

“There’s something else I want,”
Henry said, and a cold, angry hatred slithered over his heart.

Reaper cocked his head
curiously. “Ask.”

“I want to kill Zunya,” Henry
said.

Surprise flashed across Reaper’s
face before he could hide his reaction. “You really aren’t your sister, are
you? We could work quite well together if you gave the Fractus a chance.”

“You’re holding an axe over the
head of someone I love, so I don’t have a choice here. But let me be clear—I’ll
never be one of your minions,” Henry said, and he briefly assessed if he was
capable of attacking Reaper’s mind with his psychic powers and controlling him.

But when he reached out, it was
like touching a wall. Nothing would easily get past Reaper’s defenses, and he
held Kanti’s life in his hands.

“Very well. We’ll do it this
way, much to my distaste,” Reaper said, and his face transformed into something
ugly. “You will equip five hundred of my soldiers with the powers they require,
and Kanti will be returned to you unharmed, as she was.”

“What about my other demand?”
Henry asked.

“Zunya’s life is yours, whenever
you decide to claim it,” Reaper said with a tiny smile.

A dark, twisted triumph washed
over Henry’s mind. He knew he could never come back from that murder, but he’d
made Zunya a promise that he would suffer for what he did to his father, and he
intended to keep it.

“Then we have a deal,” Henry
said.

Whatever Reaper wanted, whatever
it took, he would break every rule to save Kanti’s life.

Thank you for reading
Guardians of the Boundary
.
I appreciate feedback and welcome your reviews on the site where you purchased
this book. If you’d like to learn more about
The
Conjurors Series
, please check out
www.kristenpham.com
, where you can sign up for my
newsletter and be the first to hear about giveaways, contests, and new
releases.

The final book in the series,
The Edge of Pathos
,
will be released in early 2015.

Kristen Pham lives for really
great fudge, rollercoasters, and exploring new worlds via fiction. She lives in
San Jose, CA with her family, where she eagerly waits for her kids to turn
eleven and receive their invitations to Hogwarts. Her childhood memories of
adventures with her imaginary friends inspired
The Conjurors Series
.

You can reach
her on Twitter (
www.twitter.com/theconjurors
),
Facebook
, and her
website (
www.kristenpham.com
).