Guardians of the Boundary (The Conjurors Series Book 3) (5 page)

BOOK: Guardians of the Boundary (The Conjurors Series Book 3)
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Valerie stopped his words with a
kiss. She gently pulled his head toward hers and let herself memorize the touch
of his lips. It wasn’t like kissing Thai, where there was fire and lightning.
But it was good and warm, like Cyrus himself. He deepened their kiss, and she
felt something else, something more exciting. How much would it grow if she let
it?

Cyrus made a low sound in the
back of his throat that started a little fire in Valerie’s stomach. He held her
tighter, and she stopped thinking, stopped comparing. The world dropped away,
and she lost herself for a while.

 

Chapter 5

Valerie grinned at her
reflection in the mirror the next day. Henry passed by at that moment and nudged
her in the shoulder.

“It doesn’t take a twin bond to
know you had a good date,” he said. Valerie flicked him with her towel.

“No mind probing when it comes
to our love lives,” she said, but her tone was light.

In the kitchen, Oberon was putting
pastries on a plate on the table. Henry stiffened at the sight of him, but
Valerie gave her brother a sharp nudge with her elbow and he nodded. Oberon’s
movements were jerky, and she examined him sharply.

“What’s wrong, Dad?” she asked
as he sat in the chair next to her.

“Azra has asked if you and Henry
would join the Grand Masters today at the Capitol building. My first instinct
was to say no. You’ve been attacked there twice,” Oberon said.

“You have no right—” Henry
started to say, but Oberon interrupted him.

“I know, Henry,” Oberon said,
sounding tired and a little sad. “Azra reminded me that the choice is yours,
and she’s right. I know that letting you be involved in this problem with the
Fractus is what’s best for the Globe. But I can’t help wanting to shield you
both from all of it.”

“I’m sorry, Dad. We have to do
this. We can’t let innocent humans be hurt. We’ve got friends and family on
Earth we have to protect,” Valerie said as gently as she could.

Oberon sighed. “I suspected you
would both want to help. You’re so much like your mother.”

Oberon’s expression changed, his
eyebrows rising imperiously and his tone stern. “However, from now on, if
either of you enters a risky situation, I will escort you. That is not up for
debate. Azra has agreed that I may join the meeting with the Grand Masters, as
long as I only use my power to protect you if the situation arises.”

Valerie did her best to hide her
grin. Her father had a way of talking that made her think that he was used to
getting his way.

“Sure, Dad. Now
let’s go see how we can help,” she said.

Valerie stepped through the
doors of the Capitol building with Henry and Oberon, knowing they were a
powerful team. A spark of confidence and hope flickered inside her. What
couldn’t they accomplish as a family?

Azra was waiting for them, her
silver horn glinting in the glowing lights of the hallway. She was always
beautiful, but something in her appearance made Valerie catch her breath,
unable to speak. Azra glowed with life, her white coat glossy and her
iridescent mane making rainbows against the walls when the light hit it.

Thank you for coming
. Azra’s voice in Valerie’s mind
was soothing.
The Grand Masters are growing restless. They are discussing
the conflicting information coming from the Society of Imaginary Friends and
Guardians of the Boundary about the Fractus’s presence on Earth.

“They will not take my
daughter’s word on what she witnessed?” Oberon asked, anger lacing his words.

Azra flicked her tail.
No. They believe that the
Fractus kidnapped Darling, and Valerie and her team helped rescue him. Rastelli
denies that there have been Fractus sightings on Earth, and Oleander
corroborates this.

It rankled Valerie that Oleander
was still walking around, when she should be in jail for her role in Midnight’s
death.

“What about Chern?” Henry asked,
using Reaper’s other name, the only one by which they had known him as the
Grand Master of the History Guild.

He’s been missing since Midnight
died. I suspect he is directing the Fractus on Earth. His absence has aroused
the suspicions of the Grand Masters, but they have not ordered his arrest.

Valerie was used to not being
believed after years at various foster homes, but Henry’s fists were clenched.

“That murderer is walking
around, free? Valerie is a vivicus! Everyone’s always talking about how that
makes her pure and good. Shouldn’t her word have enough weight for them to
believe her?”

Valerie, too, has been absent
for several weeks. Perhaps if the Grand Masters hear her story from her own
mouth, their hearts may change.

“Let us go to them. My daughter
will win their trust,” Oberon said confidently.

Valerie was less sure, but she
followed Azra into the enormous room filled with the Grand Masters. They all floated
in their own bubbles that they directed with their thoughts.

Azra, Henry, Oberon, and Valerie
floated toward the center of the room, Valerie saw that they attracted stares
from many of the Grand Masters. Some grumbled defensively, but a few, like
Dasan, the Grand Master of the Empathy Collective, nodded sympathetically at
them.

When they reached the spotlight
in the middle of the room, the general bustle died down. Azra stood with her
head erect, proud and beautiful.

Valerie and Henry have come
today, at an enormous risk to their safety, to share with you the threat that
they have witnessed from the Fractus.

But before Azra could continue,
a pinprick of light from the ceiling above pierced the room, bouncing off of
Azra’s silver horn. Everyone looked up, and Valerie watched with growing unease
as the hole grew in size, as if the domed ceiling was dissolving.

Through the opening, Reaper
descended on a platform, for all the world like an angel coming down from on
high. There was no bubble around him. He was entirely unprotected, and he
stretched out his arms as if he were pleading. He didn’t wear the black robe
that Valerie associated with him when he had attacked her as Reaper, but
neither did he pretend to be the bumbling fool he had played as the Grand
Master of the History Guild.

“My friends, hear me,” Reaper
said, his voice booming. All eyes were on him, stunned. Oberon raised his
hands, which sparked with lightning.

“Dad, no,” Valerie whispered
urgently. “They’ll never believe our story if we attack him now while he’s
defenseless.”

Oberon lowered his hands, but
his eyes still burned. “If he so much as makes eye contact with either of you,
I will bring down the full power of my wrath upon his head.”

Reaper continued. “I come to you
today with all of my masks put aside. I come as a friend you have trusted for
many decades, and I hope you will all believe that your trust is not misplaced
after you hear my words.”

The Grand Masters nodded, and
Valerie knew that his appeal was working.

“Centuries ago, when the Globe
was still new, I was a child on Earth.”

There was a collective gasp from
the Grand Masters at these words.

No one knew he’s been alive this
long
. Azra
explained to Valerie.

“My mother was brought to the
Globe, her powers too strong for her to survive Earth’s rules. This was a time
when magic was still rife on the planet, and many were born with the power in
their bones. My father and I were forbidden to follow her, told that we did not
have enough magic to allow us to come to the Globe,” Reaper explained, unable
to hide the derision in his voice.

“And so I was left alone with a
man who beat me daily and starved me into submission. My mother could only
watch from a universe away, helpless, as her son wasted away. And did the
Guardians of the Boundary make an exception for me, and allow me to come to my
mother? No. The Grand Masters turned a blind eye to my plight, to the plight of
all of the children left behind by magical parents.”

“Is this true?” Valerie
whispered to her father.

Oberon didn’t meet her eyes as
he answered. “No one was allowed on the Globe unless they had too much magic to
survive on Earth. We were creating a place of pure magic, not a second Earth.
If those without powers were allowed on the Globe, they could have been
exploited.”

“But that’s so heartless,” Henry
said, his face stricken. Valerie sensed through their bond that he was thinking
of his father.

Reaper continued, after he
seemingly composed himself. “My mother couldn’t protect me. She died by her own
hand, unable to watch me suffer. She never knew that one day my own magic would
enable me to come to the Globe.”

“We are sorry for your past, but
why are you telling us this?” Skye interrupted, his voice ringing loudly
through the room. “Is it true that you lead the Fractus? And where is Midnight?
We want answers, not stories.”

A crackle of electricity
skittered across Reaper’s body, and his face darkened at the interruption. “I’m
coming to my point now. Without the guidance of the Conjurors, humans have
disintegrated into a dark age of hatred and warfare. Conjurors are needed on
Earth to bring back peace. Without us, humans will destroy themselves.”

A hundred voices burst out in
response, creating a cacophony of sound. But Skye’s voice rang out again, above
the rest. “You admit it then—you are leading the Fractus.”

Reaper glared at Skye as if he
wished he could end him on the spot. But Valerie knew he wasn’t stupid enough
to lose his temper in front of some of the most powerful Conjurors on the
planet.

“Yes, I lead the Fractus. But
our goal is not destruction. It is to rebuild, to return to Earth and teach the
humans how to behave. Like children, they need boundaries. With free travel
between our worlds, the proper order can be restored,” Reaper insisted.

The room had quieted again.
Valerie wondered who was buying Reaper’s story. Some of the Grand Masters shook
their heads in open disdain, but a few nodded as they listened to his words.

In our bones, there is a
yearning to return home.
Azra’s words chilled Valerie.

“Not on the Fractus’s terms.
They want to dominate humanity, not help it,” Valerie said.

Azra nodded.
Reaper has a way of obscuring
dark realities with ideals that seem bright. But his world would be one where
humans are second-class, subject to the rules of those with the most power.

“It would be a return to the
days when the mightiest made the rules. That never worked out well,” Oberon
said, his voice distant, as if he were remembering something from long ago.

Reaper’s platform began to rise,
and he spoke again, obviously wanting to have the last word before Skye or
another Grand Master could ask him questions he didn’t want to answer.

“I will leave you with this, my
friends. Is it right to hoard our magic, containing it on this island in the
middle of the universe? Or should we bring it back to the hungry, tired hoards
of people who are desperate for our help? Decide for yourselves what is right,
and where your loyalties lie. The Fractus will always welcome those who wish to
rebuild Earth and return home.”

Reaper vanished
through the hole in the ceiling he had created. It closed after him, repaired
to its former state as if he’d never been there. His entrance and exit were
more than a dramatic way to attract attention. It was a display of his power,
and what his enemies would be up against if they opposed him.

In Azra’s office, the mood was
somber.

What worries me most is that I
suspect from the way he talks that he has discovered the existence of the Byways.

“The word sounds familiar,”
Oberon said. “But the details were privileged information.”

When the Globe was created, the
Guardians knew they needed a failsafe, a way to turn off the magic that prevented
travel between the worlds, in case of a disaster. Humans could be brought to
the Globe if Earth was about to be destroyed, and vice versa. And so they
created the Byways.

“That makes sense,” Henry said.
“Who knows about this failsafe?”

Myself and the Grand Master of
the Guardians of the Boundary. If there are others, I do not know who they are.

“Midnight,” Valerie said softly.

Azra nodded.
And now Oleander. She must have
told Reaper, but even she may not yet have discovered the location of the Byways.
There are two objects, one on Earth and one on the Globe, which must be
activated in order to allow free travel between the worlds.

“How do we know he hasn’t
already activated them?” Valerie asked.

I would have sensed such an
immense burst of power.

“So tell us where these Byways
are, and we’ll destroy them so that the Fractus can’t activate them,” Henry
said.

A glimmer of amusement lit
Azra’s eyes.
That
would indeed be simple. But the Guardians of centuries ago were not trusting.
They jealously guarded the secret of the location of the Byways. Even the
Guardian Grand Master must pass tests proving her unselfish motives to learn of
their location. Until then, the office of the Grand Master will remain locked
against her.

Valerie released a sharp breath
of relief. “So there’s no danger of Oleander breaking into Midnight’s office
and figuring out where the Byways are. She’s far from unselfish.”

Perhaps
. Azra flicked her tail, a sign
that Valerie now recognized, meaning that she wasn’t entirely comfortable.
We cannot know what the test
entails, or if there are other legends that could lead Reaper to the Byways.
Many guilds have their secrets, and there may be Conjurors who know more than
they realize
.

BOOK: Guardians of the Boundary (The Conjurors Series Book 3)
2.31Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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