Knights of Light (The Conjurors Series Book 2) (2 page)

“Can
I cut in?” A low, threatening voice from Valerie’s nightmares wiped the smile
off her face. She whirled around to see the squinty yellow eyes of Zunya glaring
at her with smug triumph. And if Zunya was projecting from the Globe, his
henchmen on Earth couldn’t be far.

As
if on cue, Venu’s hulking form stepped out from behind her tent. “Henry, Thai,
step back,” Valerie commanded.

“Not
on your life. We do this together,” Thai said, but unexpectedly his face
contorted and his eyes turned a soft gold. His younger alter ego, Tan, had
taken over his body. Thai was an amoebiate, which meant that he was splitting
into two people, making an exact copy of his genes, like an amoeba.

“I’m
gonna kill you,” Tan cried, stepping toward Venu.

“How
did you survive dropping off the edge of Victoria Falls?” Valerie asked Venu,
shifting so that she stood a little in front of Tan, where she could protect
him. She wished that she had her sword, Pathos, with her. But it was back on
the Globe, and without her magic, she wasn’t sure how effective she would be
with it anyway.

“Val,
he didn’t,” Cyrus said, standing next to her. “I heard that he went through
some vortex and now he’s on the Globe. He’s just projecting. Neither of them
can hurt you.”

“Yeah,
it’s a scare tactic,” Kanti said. She was kneeling next to Henry, who was
breathing shallowly, his eyes dilated with fear. He had been terrorized for
years by Zunya and Sanguina, who had manipulated his fear to force him to use
his magic to give the Fractus new powers. Seeing one of his tormentors again
was almost sending him into a panic attack.

“You’ve
made your point. Now get out of here,” Valerie said with as much command as she
could muster. She knew that Zunya fed on fear, and the more anxiety she showed,
the longer he would stay.

“Be
a good little puppy and run back to Sanguina,” Cyrus said, immediately
understanding Valerie’s tactic.

Zunya’s
face twisted with rage. “I don’t answer to her. I never did.”

“She
was calling the shots on the Globe,” Valerie taunted, faking confidence.

Tan
lunged at Venu, who released a croaking rumble of laughter as Tan’s fist went
right through the air where he stood. It was lucky that Venu wasn’t there for
real, because his hands and feet had poison in them that could kill a grown
person with a single touch.

“Still
mad about how easily I crushed you at the falls? I’ll do it again if you ever
cross my path on the Globe,” Venu sneered, and Tan shook with anger.

Valerie
thought she was going to have to restrain Tan when, to her relief, he shuddered
and blinked, and Thai was back in control.

“We’re
wasting time,” Zunya said to Venu. “Reaper will want to know where they are
immediately.” Then he turned to Valerie, stepping so close that she could see
the flecks of black in his yellow eyes. Her stomach churned with the old fear
that always hit her at the sight of those eyes, but she refused to let him see
anything but contempt on her face.

“Go
ahead and run,” Zunya sneered. “I like it better when there’s a chase.”

Then Zunya and Venu vanished.

Several hours later,
Valerie entered Thai’s tent and collapsed on the floor next to him. Henry had
finally relaxed enough to fall asleep, and Kanti was still there, watching over
him. Valerie and Thai stared up through the open flap on the top of his tent at
the tiny patch of stars that had become so familiar to them over the past few
months in the hours they had spent talking every night.

“Henry
told me everything that happened to him, but I didn’t understand how messed up
he is from it until tonight,” she confided to Thai.

“He’s
getting stronger. I can see a difference in him every week.”

“I
hope this doesn’t set him back. It seemed like he was finally starting to heal.”

“My
biggest worry has always been his father,” Thai said. “From what Henry’s said,
he seems really fragile, and I worry that he might get depressed again without
Henry to take care of him. And if something happened to him, Henry would never
forgive himself.”

She
shuddered. “I don’t think he would recover if he lost his dad after everything
that’s happened. He blames himself for everything the Fractus put his dad
through. He says it never would have happened if they hadn’t been after him to
begin with.”

“What
did the Fractus do?”

“Henry
says they convinced his dad that he killed his wife. Sanguina pretended to be
her ghost, blaming him for what happened. He was so broken by his grief and
guilt that he believed it.”

“He’s
in a safe place now, away from us. We have to make sure that the Fractus can
never find him again. It will be easier once Henry is on the Globe and can
visit him all the time in person. I’m sure learning all this stuff about magic
is pretty crazy for him.”

“It’s
still nuts to me, and I’ve been living with it for half a year,” Valerie said,
only half kidding.

Their
eyes met and they both smiled. The tension finally drained out of her. Together,
she and Thai would plan their next move, and it would all be okay. He was
sitting close enough that a piece of her long, dark hair rested on his arm. He
picked it up and fiddled with the end, clearly trying to decide whether he
should say something.

Finally,
he sighed. “I’m sorry that I wasn’t there when you needed me the most.”

“We
were never in any real danger.”

“This
time, true. But next time…I just wish you could count on me.”

She
sat up. “I do count on you. More than you know. And Tan’s getting more mature.
He can help in a crisis, too,” she said, though she wasn’t certain if that was
really true.

“He
is getting stronger. I think that we’re going to separate sooner than Midnight
told me we would.”

“But
that’s a good thing, right?” Valerie asked.

“It
will be nice to have my body back. But he doesn’t seem ready to be on his own
yet.”

“Tan’s
reaction to Venu today was kinda weird. He seemed so angry—way more than you
are.”

“I
know. It all started when Venu touched him with his poison at the falls.
Something’s wrong, but I have no idea how to fix it, or if I even can,” Thai
said, his face tense with worry.

“Well,
he shares your genes, so something tells me that he’ll work through what’s
bothering him and come out of this stronger for it.”

“I
hope you’re right.”

“I’m
always right,” Valerie joked. Thai smacked her legs with a pillow and she
laughed. But then he turned serious.

“So
what’s next? Think we should run?”

“No.
Zunya and whoever he’s working for are keeping tabs on us, I’m sure of it.”

“Sanguina?”

She
shrugged. Thinking of the woman she had almost killed, whose life she had
ultimately saved with a power that still confounded her, left her with mixed
feelings. Despite the fact that, logically, she knew Sanguina was likely still
a threat, she didn’t have the alarm bells going off in her mind like she used
to. Still, she hoped that Sanguina would never bother her again. She could
never forgive her for the way she had forced Henry to use his magic for her own
evil devices.

“For
now, let’s wait for Chisisi to get here to guide us. If we leave, it will be
hard to get back in touch, and right now, he’s our best bet for getting you and
Henry back to the Globe, where you’ll be safer,” Thai said.

He reached over and gave her hand a
squeeze. The contact left Valerie’s heart pounding. She thought she saw her
longing reflected in Thai’s eyes, but he quickly let go of her hand. She knew
that he’d never look at her like she looked at him. To him, she was a buddy, a
kid. He’d probably had girls much prettier and more charming throwing themselves
at him all the time before Tan had entered the picture. Somehow, that thought darkened
her mood in a way that even Zunya and Venu hadn’t been able to.

That
night, Valerie’s dreams were full of the Globe. She wandered the winding
streets of Silva and walked around The Horseshoe, marveling at the elegant
white guild buildings where Conjurors learned their trades.

“Took
you long enough. I thought you were never gonna fall asleep,” Cyrus said, and
she saw that he was walking next to her as if he had been there the whole time,
like he always did as her imaginary friend years
ago.

“Why
didn’t you visit me while I was awake instead?”

“All
our best memories are here on the Globe. Besides, I have something fun in mind.”

Cyrus
pulled her down a narrow alley between two strange buildings—one that glittered
as if the walls were studded with tiny diamonds, and one that was carved out of
the giant trunk of a tree. But, before she could take the time to examine them,
they burst through the alley to an open courtyard. It was empty and dark.

“What
are we here for?”

“Just
wait and let me concentrate. I want to remember this right for you. Look up.”

She stared
into the night sky and gasped as a flood of multi-colored lights exploded above
her head with a low bang, like fireworks. Beautiful designs were etched into
the night sky, far more complex than anything she had seen on the Fourth of
July on Earth.

A
unicorn galloped across the sky, mane flowing behind her—clearly a tribute to
the oldest Conjuror and a founder of the Globe, Azra. Scenes from the Globe’s
history flashed in the darkness, blending seamlessly—babies born, castles built,
and wars fought. It was a living, glowing tapestry.

At
the end of the display, the night sky flashed with a hundred colors at once,
and then the light seemed to fall to the ground like rain. When it hit her, it was
soft, like dozens of petals against her skin.

Valerie
was mesmerized, and she turned to Cyrus to see if his awe matched her own.

He grinned
at the expression on her face. “Pretty amazing, huh? That was the Illuminator Guild’s
showcase this year. It’s one of the biggest holidays on the Globe, and I’ve
been waiting for years to take you to it. I wish you’d been here to see it in
person.”

“That
was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen in my life.”

“Happy
Birthday, Val.”

“Thank
you, Cy. I really do miss this place. Even though I wasn’t here long, it was
home.”

“It
is your home. Everything’s waiting for you, just like you left it. I’m taking
care of all your stuff for you.”

She
nodded. “Thanks for keeping my sword safe.”

“You’ll
be wearing it yourself soon enough.”

She smiled, but she didn’t say anything. Her
new desire to stay on Earth awhile longer were too complex to explain yet, even
to her best friend. Her vision faded to black as her mind drifted into a deeper
sleep.

The
next morning, Valerie woke to the loud sounds of breakfast being made, and she
knew that Tan must be up. He was the only one who ever got up before she did.

“Eggs
and toast!” Tan said triumphantly when Valerie and Henry left their tents. “My birthday
present to you!”

“Tan,
this is so thoughtful, thank you,” she said, and gave him a squeeze.

“We
all gotta eat lots of protein and stay strong so we can kill Venu when we get
to the Globe,” Tan said cheerfully.

Valerie
and Henry froze, staring at him. He whistled as he continued to cook, as if he
hadn’t said anything strange at all.

“Nobody’s
killing anybody,” she managed to choke out. “That’s not the way we deal with
our enemies.”

Tan
dropped the pan he was holding with a clatter and turned to face her. He was
scowling, and his cheeks flushed an ugly red. He took a step toward her, and
she could have sworn he was half ready to fight her. But before the thought
could fully register, Tan started to shudder.

“Not
now!” he said as Thai regained control.

“I-I’m
sorry,” Thai said. Then he turned and jogged toward the beach.

She
started to follow him, but Henry put his hand on her shoulder. “Give him space
and time to make sure that Tan’s really out of his system. Remember, you don’t
have your magic to protect you if he goes nuts.”

“Tan
would never hurt me.”

“No,
Thai would never hurt you. Stay away from Tan.”

“He’s
just emotional from everything that’s happened to him. He’ll come around with
time.”

Henry
raised his eyebrows, but he didn’t say anything.

“The
queen of awkward timing has arrived!” Kanti announced, popping into view next
to Henry. It broke the tension.

Henry’s
face softened into a smile. “I thought you’d still be sleeping. If you’re here
to check on me, I’m fine, you know. You gotta take care of yourself, too.”

“Um,
Henry, I hate to break it to you, but not everything’s about you,” Kanti teased.
Valerie loved how she was able to turn her brother’s insecurities around on
him. No one was able to get him to let down his guard the way Kanti could.
Maybe it was because she had been his imaginary friend as a child, but Valerie
suspected it was more than that. The two seemed like kindred spirits.

“Actually,
I come bearing news for our girl Val here. Cy and I bumped into Azra, and Cy
gave her your crystal so she can come visit you wherever you are. She needs to
talk to you about something important.”

Valerie
hadn’t yet mentioned the crystals to Henry, as was evident by the confused
expression on his face. So she quickly explained that, on the Globe, the crystals
were special charms that allowed only the person holding one to immediately
find the person it was linked to. Anyone else, like the Fractus, had to find
them the old-fashioned way—by hunting them down like Zunya did. She told him
that usually Cyrus kept hers and Kanti kept his. Thai’s crystal hung from a
chain around Valerie’s neck, but on Earth it was cold and dead, without magic
to power it.

Valerie
finished her cold eggs and soggy toast. She could never let food go to waste,
given how many times she hadn’t had enough of it. Thinking of her past reminded
her of the friends she had left behind at the hospital when her adventure
began.

What
had become of Dr. Freeman, her personal physician, or sweet Ming who was
struggling with cancer, or Jeremiah who she took under her wing at the
hospital? What had become of them while she traveled to the center of a black
hole and embraced her magic? She had the sudden, overpowering urge to see them
one last time before she left Earth again, this time for good.

While
she was lost in her thoughts, Henry and Kanti became absorbed in a discussion
about what was more important to a great song, rhythm or lyrics.

“I’m
going for a walk,” Valerie said.

“Later,
debater,” Kanti and Henry said at the same time, and then they grinned at each
other.

“I
made that up, originally, you know,” Kanti announced.

“No
way!” Henry protested.

Valerie
shook her head, listening to their fading voices as she headed toward the beach
in the opposite direction that Thai had taken.

As
she walked, she twisted the ring on her thumb, bringing to mind her mentor on
the Globe, Gideon, who had given it to her. He’d called it the Laurel Circle.
Like Thai’s crystal, on Earth it had no power, but it was still beautiful and
reminded her to overcome her fear and trust herself and her instincts.

What
her instincts were screaming right now was that it was impossible to imagine
leaving Earth without Thai, but she knew he and Tan couldn’t come to the Globe
until they separated. What would Henry say if she told him that she was going
to wait for Thai? What would Cyrus think?

I
had almost forgotten how beautiful a true dawn on Earth is
, Azra’s musical voice entered Valerie’s mind,
reminding her of bells. The beautiful unicorn gracefully trotted beside her,
her iridescent mane rippling in the breeze as if she was really next to her on
the beach.

Valerie’s
worries receded in her mind. Azra always exuded peace, even when she was
projecting from the Globe.