The Dragon Heir (22 page)

“How would a hex get into
one of Madison's paintings?” Ellen sat down on the swing, kicking off with
her feet. “I never heard of that.”

“Who knows?” Seph
said.

“How could a hex work
here in the sanctuary?” Jack asked.

Seph shrugged. “Nick
thinks it might be some kind of elicitor thing.”

Ellen planted her feet,
bringing the swing to an abrupt stop. “Hold on. He thinks Madison did
it?”

“He's just throwing out
possibilities. We don't know.”

“Madison wouldn't hurt
you,” Ellen said with conviction.

I hope you're right, Jack
thought. In wizard politics you always have to watch your back.

Seph rose and began pacing.
“I still don't get it. Madison says Jason never showed. Something must've
happened to him on the way down there. But we're the only ones who knew he was
going.”

“Well,” Jack said
reluctantly. “He has Linda's car. Is it possible he might have just…taken
off?”

Seph swung around.
“What?”

“It's no secret he's been
wanting to go back to England, you know, and…”

“Jason wouldn't do
that,” Seph said dismissively.

Okaaay, Jack thought. If
Madison had hexed Seph, was it possible she had something to do with
Jason's disappearance?

Jack knew better than to voice
that theory aloud.

“What about Maddie?”
Ellen asked. “Is she coming back?”

Seph shook his head. “She
says she can't. Not now, anyway.”

Jack thought it best to change
the subject. “So what do you think we should do? About the assassins, I
mean?”

“Everybody seems to know
about the Dragonheart,” Seph said. “I can watch for magical activity,
and do something if I see it, but anybody can walk into my house and try and
kill me. Or walk into St. Catherine's and walk out with the Dragonheart. There's
always the chance they'll get away with it.”

“That'd be a trick,”
Jack said. “None of us can get near the stone without getting slammed.
Plus isn't the crypt totally warded?”

“Too many things I didn't
think could happen are happening,” Seph said. “Like the
hex.”

“Not that it's done us
any good so far,” Jack pointed out. “The Dragonheart, I mean.”

“And the sanctuary is
open to everybody, technically speaking,” Ellen said.

“That's going to have to
change.”

They both turned to look at
Seph.

“We need to change the
way we handle security in the sanctuary.”

“How do you mean?”
Jack asked.

Seph released a long breath.
"Wizards are collecting like vultures. The White Rose, the Red Rose, the
unaffiliated. The Dragonheart must be drawing them here. It's like something
woke it up—and now it's sending out a
beacon. Wizards are constantly in and out of town, like they're looking for
something. I'm using mind magic to keep them away from the church. Like when
Leesha was poking around in there today.

“It's delicate, though.
If I'm too heavy-handed, it'll draw their notice. If I lose focus, they'll be
into the church in no time. Meanwhile, I always have to watch my back. Nobody
wants to close the perimeter, but I don't think we have a choice.” He ran
his tongue over his cracked lips. “I just … I just can't do this much
longer, and there are other things that need attention. As long as there was
hope that no one knew about the loot from Raven's Ghyll, fortifying the
boundary would've only tipped them off. I think we're past that.”

“But how can we do
that?” Jack asked. “It's a town. Not a fortress. I mean,
people commute to Cleveland and everything.”

“We still let the Anaweir
come and go. It's risky, but we can't help that. We build a Weirwall that will
keep the gifted out. We'll get the sorcerers involved. Mercedes can be in
charge, she's good with materials. We establish a gate, with gatekeepers.”
He looked up at Jack and Ellen. “That would probably be the warriors,
living and dead.”

“Isn't Mercedes tied up
with the artifacts at the church?” Ellen asked.

“We've catalogued
everything we've been able to classify. There are still a few mysteries, but
we've kind of run into a dead end.”

Jack eyed Seph. “I still
don't see how that would work.”

“I'm responsible for
security within the sanctuary,” Seph snapped. “And I'm going to do
whatever I have to.”

Jack spoke into a dead
silence. “You're in charge of security? Says who?”

“Hastings. He handed the
responsibility to me, and I'm going to do my best to see it through.”

“Why   you?” Jack  
raised   his   hands   in   preemptive surrender. “Not that I'm disputing his choice, or
anything.”

“He's been working with
me all summer,” Seph said. “Well, when he's been here. Him and Nick.
Teaching me how to monitor magical activity within the sanctuary. And now that
Linda's gone …”

“No offense, but why not
Nick?” Jack asked.

“He and Hastings talked
about it and decided it should be me. Nick's got other things to worry about, I
guess. He's acting chair of the sanctuary board since my mother left, and he's
still working on the things in the church.” Seph glanced up at Jack and
down at his hands. “I … I don't really want it,” he whispered.
“I … feel like it's an impossible job, but if I mess up…” He
shuddered.

Jack shifted in his chair,
remembering how Aunt Linda had handed him the knowledge of his warrior destiny,
then left him to sort it out on his own. “What does Nick say?”

“We talked about the
wall, if that's what you mean, and he's on board with that. Especially after
last night.” He hesitated. “You know, Nick doesn't look so good. I'm
wondering if his age is catching up with him. Or if his staff breaking had some
kind of effect on him.”

“Nick's okay,” Jack
said, too quickly. “He's just working too hard, lately.”

“It'll be way easier once
we get the wall up. I won't have to do so much scanning. And we can boot out
and keep out violators.” Seph flexed his hands. “I just wish we had
more wizards to help. We could really use Jason back again. If…” Seph's
voice trailed off, as if he didn't want to make their worries come true by
speaking them aloud.

No wonder Seph's so stressed,
Jack thought. “I know Madison's been writing to you and all. But maybe we
should send somebody else to Coalton County. You know, to see what's going
on,” he said. “Except it's kind of like one of those horror movies,
where they keep sending people to check on the missing guy, and they keep
disappearing.”

“Can't we wait on the
wall until Hastings comes back?” Ellen suggested. “By then we'll be
out of school.”

Why are we talking about high
school? Jack wondered. At this point, it's pretty far down on the list.

“We can't wait any
longer,” Seph said. “Like I said. There are fifteen wizards in
Trinity at the moment. Any of them could be spies or assassins. And only three
are on our side.”

The doors and windows of
Trinity College's McAlister Chapel shimmered with magical wards designed to
exclude the uninvited. The portraits of James and Mallory McAlister frowned
down from the walls, as if disapproving of the proceedings.

There were probably three
hundred people spread among the pews—disappointingly
few, Seph thought. And they were mostly Anawizard Weir: sorcerers, seers,
enchanters, and warriors. The elected board sat down front— the wizard Iris
Bolingame, the seer Blaise Highbourne, and the sorcerer Mercedes Foster, of
course. Plus the enchanter Akana Moon, who'd been with them at Second Sister.
After her experience there, Seph was impressed that she was willing to sit as
representative again.

Nick had insisted on bringing
Leesha Middleton, who sat off to one side. A small group of unfamiliar wizards
sat together at the back.

Conversations in a dozen
languages reverberated around the room. Shimmering ghost warriors in period
dress slouched up the side aisles and peered down from the balconies.

Well, we have the votes at
this point, Seph thought. What we need are sorcerers to sign onto this project.
He glanced down at the notes on the scrap of paper in his hand.

“Let's begin,” Nick
murmured, touching Seph on the shoulder. The old wizard shuffled to the podium
and gripped it with both hands. “Guildfriends!”

Conversations died away.

“Thank you for
coming,” Nick continued. “Most of you know me. I am Nicodemus
Snowbeard, acting chair of the board of governors of the sanctuary in Linda
Downey's absence. We've met as a board to discuss matters such as the
development of emergency housing and language programs, to mediate disputes,
and so on. But tonight we are here for a different purpose—to discuss a change in security procedures for the
sanctuary.”

He paused, scanning the room
for questions, then continued. “Recently, we have seen an unusual influx
of wizards into Trinity. They may be innocent tourists, they may be spies, or
they may intend to make off with our arsenal of magical weapons. We don't know.
But redirecting them requires constant vigilance.”

“What magical
weapons?” demanded a twitchy-looking wizard in the back. “Where are
they? Why weren't we told?”

“Wizards? Innocent
tourists? Bah!” a young French seer in the front row said. A rumble of
assent followed. “We should expel them all before they knife us in the
back.”

Ellen stood. “I've got
more reason to hate wizards than most people,” she said. “But we need wizards
to fight wizards, and they've got a plan. I think you should listen to
it.” She glared at the crowd until the grumbling subsided, then sat down
quickly.

“All right,” Nick
said, taking advantage of the lull. “Seph McCauley has agreed to
coordinate security matters for the sanctuary. He'll answer any questions you
have.”

Seph mounted the steps to the
stage and sat down in a folding chair onstage. Conversations rose on all sides,
beating against his flame-sensitized ears.

“He's just a boy,”
said one of the wizards in the back, looking down his long nose at Seph.
“Why is he handling security? Are things that desperate?”

“He's Hastings's
son,” the twitchy wizard muttered. “He's bound to be juiced.”

“Juice is one
thing.” The first wizard snorted. “Experience and common sense quite
another.”

A third wizard, a youngish
woman with Asian features, shushed the other two. “Didn't you hear what he
did at Second Sister?” she hissed. “Dueled twelve wizards at once and
killed them all.”

“Like I said, Felicia, no
common sense,” the first wizard said.

“He's a wizard,”
Seph heard one sorcerer say to another. “And he's going to be protecting
the Anaweir?”

Great, Seph thought. Everybody
already has an opinion. He looked out over the crowd, making eye contact with
several people he knew. Mercedes winked at him, and he relaxed a fraction.

“So,” Seph said.
“As most of you know, some of us have been—um—standing guard since then, to make sure the rules written
at Raven's Ghyll hold here in the sanctuary. But it's been harder, lately,
because of all the intrusions.”

“They aren't
intrusions,” the long-nosed wizard said. “The sanctuary is open to
all.”

“We have to change
that,” Seph said from his chair on the stage. “Lately wizards have
been swarming in. If we leave the sanctuary open, there's a chance the balance
of power will be tipped in favor of the Roses. With things as unstable as they
are, we could be overwhelmed before we can mount a defense.”

“What do you have
in mind?” the Asian wizard asked.

Seph straightened and met the
wizard's eyes. “We're going to put up a Weirwall.”

There was an instant uproar.
He'd expected it. Weirwalls were controversial. They were first used during the
Wars of the Roses, to ensnare wizards. They were mostly the work of sorcerers,
but some wizards (like Barber) had the skill as well. Many wizards considered
them foul play.

“What kind of
Weirwall?” one of the sorcerers finally asked, shouting above the hubbub.
“And who's going to design and build it?”

“Great question,”
Seph said, relieved it was a question he could give to someone else.
“Mercedes?”

Mercedes Foster strode up to
the podium and glared out at the Weir. “Give the boy a chance!” she
shouted. “He didn't ask for this job. He deserves your thanks, not your
criticism. He's trying to save your sorry butts.”

The noise diminished somewhat.

“Where's Hastings?”
Long Nose demanded. “And Linda Downey? Seems like they created this mess,
they should be here to handle it.”

“Looking   back   to  
the   good   old   days,   are   you, Randolph?” Mercedes said acidly. “When
wizards ruled the guilds?”

“It was certainly … a lot
more efficient,” Randolph retorted.

“If you don't like it
here, leave.” Mercedes turned away from him, waving a sheaf of papers in
the air. “I've agreed to coordinate the building project, but I'd welcome
input from anyone experienced with this sort of thing. I've made a map and some
preliminary sketches. It's a traditional curtain wall that selects for Weir.
Nobody'll get stuck in it, if that's what you're worried about. You can come
and go through the gate. Anaweir can pass freely.”

“So the Anaweir can pass,
and not us?” Randolph said, vainly looking around for allies. “Who's
going to staff the gate?”

Jack stood. “The Warrior
Guild has agreed to stand watch at the gate,” he said. “Unless you
have a better idea?”

Randolph settled back, still
fuming. He had nothing.

“Just so you know,
Jack,” Iris said. “Some of the merchants around the square have been
complaining about ghost warriors bivouacking on the green. Well, actually, the
Anaweir think it's some kind of reenactment group. They've been hanging out in
campus bars, playing cards, flirting with patrons, and getting into
fights.”

“Well, they are soldiers,”
Jack said, shrugging. “I'll check into it. I guess I can move them off the
green and up into one of the more remote parks.”

“The building of the wall
will require considerable magical labor,” Mercedes said, firmly turning
the topic back to the matter at hand. “The board has already voted to
proceed. But we need volunteers to help. Sorcerers and wizards primarily.”

“When are you planning to
start this?” one of the sorcerers asked.

“Tomorrow morning,”
Mercedes replied. “I have a signup sheet here. Anyone willing to help
should see me.” She glanced at Nick, and he nodded. “That's it. The
meetings adjourned.”

Wizards and sorcerers lined up
to volunteer for wall-work. Seph was surprised to see Leesha among them. When
she was finished, she walked over to where Jack, Seph, and Ellen were waiting
for Nick. She looked almost cheerful.

“This is cool,” she
said. “I like the idea of a wall. We don't want just anybody coming in
here.”

“If you're talking about
Barber, you promised you'd help us find him,” Jack reminded her.
“Otherwise you might be the one on the outside.”

Leesha immediately looked less
cheerful. “I know. Only, I'm still trying to figure out how to get him to
come into the sanctuary.”

“He's not going to come
in here,” Seph said. “Especially with the wall going up. Whatever we
think about him, he's not stupid. We're going to have to go after him on the
outside.”

“Well,” Leesha said,
fussing with her hair. “Um…how about this? I could set up a meeting with
him, and you could be waiting with a dozen wizards.”

“We don't have a
dozen wizards,” Seph said. “If I went after Barber, Nick would have
to stay here.”

“Besides, I think we want
you right there with us,” Ellen said. “You know. Just in case there's
a double cross or something.”

Leesha   clasped   her  
hands   together,  looking   a   little panicked. “But, I really … I'd really rather not
leave the sanctuary,” she said in a small voice.

“If you try and back out
of this, you'll be leaving the sanctuary in a hurry,” Jack said. “You
said Barber knows something about Jason, and we want to know what he
knows.”

“Okay,” Leesha snapped. “I said I'd do it. I'll
figure something out.”