“Susannah was a magical warrior,” Fitch said into the skeptical silence. “Like Ellen and Jack.”
“They've been fighting off an army of wizards, Ms. Downey,” Will added. “Remember when we went down to Coal Grove with Aunt Linda to do genealogy? We found the sword, but then wizards attacked us, trying to steal it, and we had to hide in a church. Aunt Linda pulled up in the parking lot, and Jack, he flamed…”
“Linda? What about Linda?” Becka interrupted. “You're saying she's a warrior too?”
“Well.” Will cleared his throat. “Ah, no. She's an enchanter.”
“An enchanter,” Ross Childers said, grinding the heel of his hand into his forehead. “Right.” He'd asked Linda out— several times—before her relationship with Hastings became public knowledge.
“We made it back to Trinity, but then wizards came after Jack here,” Fitch said. “Remember when those dudes tried to snatch him from the high school and Mr. Hastings chased them off?”
Becka's head came up and she wore that familiar lawyer expression that said she was about to drill an unreliable witness. Though she hadn't totally bought the story they'd told at the time, she wasn't buying this one either.
“They were traders,” Will explained. “There was this huge price on Jack's head, and they were going to sell him at auction. You see, wizards play warriors in these big magical tournaments. Called the Game.”
“You're telling me those men were wizards. And Leander Hastings chased them off?” Becka lifted her eyebrow.
“Well, actually, they're sort of buried under the school parking lot,” Jack admitted. “He had to do something with the bodies before the police came.” He shot an apologetic look at Ross, who'd been the commanding officer on the scene.
“Mr. Hastings is a wizard, too,” Will said. “So is Nick.”
Everyone turned and stared at Nick, who inclined his head slightly. “Indeed,” he said. “I'm afraid so.”
Bill Childers looked from Nick to Will, then conjured up an explanation of his own. “You got us all out of our beds to talk about…about some kind of role-playing game?”
“No,” Jason said from his spot against the wall. “It's real. And there's going to be a massacre if we don't…if we don't do something.”
“Now hold on,” Bill glared at Jason, who never looked particularly reliable. “A massacre?”
“Wizards have this town surrounded,” Mercedes said in her clipped fashion. “We put up a Weirwall, a magical barricade. That's the only thing that's keeping them out at the moment. Now the wizards have put up their own wall—a wizard wall. They mean to capture or kill everyone who tries to leave.”
“Look,” Ross said, shedding his jacket and tossing it over a chair. His shirt had big sweat spots under the arms. “I've been in and out of town a dozen times over the past two weeks. I haven't seen any one wall, let alone two.”
“You can't see the Weirwall,” Mercedes said. “It's invisible to the Anaweir. The non-gifted. Those without Weirstones. Like you.”
“The other wall went up tonight,” Jason said. “That one, you can see. I can show you, but we'll have to be careful. They're already out there waiting.”
“You expect us to believe that someone built a wall all the way around the town since sunset.” Ross rolled up his sleeves, exposing his beefy arms.
Mercedes sniffed. “Well. It is an ugly thing. Slipshod. But we have to assume it's effective.”
“You've seen this wall?” Bill asked.
“I have,” Jason said. “When they start grabbing the townies, there'll be mass panic. We have to find a place to stash the Ana—the non-gifted—until this war is over. One way or another.”
“We're wasting time.” Seph spoke for the first time. “The morning commute begins in two hours. We've got sentries posted to turn people back, but anyone who slips through will be trapped inside the outer wall and taken. I'm not going to let that happen. I'll immobilize them all if I have to.”
Becka blinked at him. “Seph?”
“Look,” Ross growled, exasperated. “I've known most of you kids all your lives, but I have to say, you're scaring me. I'm thinking we should all get back to bed and see if those wizards have disappeared by morning.”
“Listen with an open mind,” Nick repeated softly.
“Hey.” Jason stared out the terrace doors toward the lake. “Come look at this.”
They crowded onto the terrace, lining up against the wall, hunching their shoulders against the ice pellets drilled into them by the wind. Jason extended his hands. Light spilled from his fingers, gilding the tops of the waves across a gray expanse of water until it struck a thick black barrier a hundred yards from shore that stretched from horizon to horizon. It resembled storm clouds come to earth, or a layer of thick, roiling smoke with greenish lightning playing around its edges.
“What the hell?” Ross stared out at the lake, scrubbing his palm across his bristled face. “Is that some kind of waterspout or squall line or…”
“It's part of the wizard wall,” Jason said flatly, “And it wouldn't be a good idea to try and take your boat through that. It means there's no escape by water.”
“How'd you do that?” Bill demanded. “That thing with your hands?”
“Magic,” Jason said matter-of-factly. “Get used to it, because you're going to see a lot more of it, whether you like it or not.”
Jack recalled his own experience, two years before, when Aunt Linda had told him that she was an enchanter, that Jack was a warrior, that wizards were hunting him down.
There was just no way to ease into it.
Jack ducked inside, retrieved Shadowslayer from the table, and strode back onto the terrace.
“Stand back,” he said.
Gripping the hilt with both hands, he swung the great sword in a wide, hissing arc, sending bolts of flame screaming across the dark waters to smash into the wall, feeling the familiar exhilarating release as he did so. Smoke and flame fountained into the night sky and smaller explosions reverberated along the rocky lakeshore. And again. Flame ripped into the night, exploded against the barrier, painting the waves in gaudy colors of red and orange. When the smoke dissipated, the wall remained, though a bit more ragged than before.
“God almighty,” Bill said, after a moment of stunned silence.
An acrid, burnt scent came back to them, carried by the onshore breeze. Dogs barked furiously, all along the shoreline.
Becka slumped against the wall, bracing herself with her hands. Emotions tracked across her face. Astonishment. Fear. Regret. Guilt. “This has got to be a dream,” she said.
“It's okay, Mom,” Jack said, embarrassed, sitting down next to her and leaning Shadowslayer against the wall.
Ellen took one look at the two of them, then firmly herded the rest of the group inside. “Take ten, Jack. We'll bring the townies up to date.” She pulled the doors shut.
“There's not much time,” Jack said. “I'm sorry it had to come out like this.”
“I must've been blind,” Becka said. She looked up at Jack. “When did you know?”
“Not till my sophomore year. Warriors don't manifest until they're old enough to … um…fight.”
“But what about after that? Why didn't you tell me?” She caught his chin with her hand, and forced his face around so she could look him in the eyes. “I should have asked more questions. You've had to deal with this all on your own.”
“Mom. You asked,” Jack said desperately. “About a hundred times you asked what was up. I just couldn't tell you. I didn't know how.” He looked down at his lean, muscular body. Designed for one purpose.
“How was I supposed to tell you I'm a warrior? A hardwired killer? This is so totally opposed to everything you believe in—that I've believed in, all my life.” He leaned his arms on the wall, his chin on his arms, staring out at the lake. “I mean, I wasn't totally on my own. Linda knew, all along. And Nick was here, to keep an eye on me, I guess. He taught me some wizardry. And Hastings taught me how to fight.”
“Hastings.” She let out a long breath. “What about Ellen?”
“Ellen's had the life I might've had if… things were different.” He paused, collected his thoughts. “They sent her here to kill me. And she could've. But she didn't.”
Seph stuck his head through the doorway. “Jack.”
Jack stood, looking down at his mother. “All year you and Dad have been trying to get me to focus on my future, I don't know if I have a future, if I'm even going to get through the year. I know we need to talk. And we will. But for now I want to say I love you. And I'm sorry.”
Becka stood, reached her hands up, pulled his face down, and kissed him on his forehead. “I love you, Jack,” she said fiercely. “And I believe in you. Wizard, warrior, whatever.” And led the way back into the house.
The others were gathered around the kitchen table, slugging down coffee in lieu of sleep. Something had happened in the interim. Wizardly Persuasion, perhaps. The mayor and the chief of police had moved from dogged skepticism to foot-dragging belief.
“I still don't get it,” Ross was saying. “Why would they attack a little college town in Ohio? What do they want?”
Nick and Seph exchanged glances. “We have something they want,” Nick said gently. “A magical object that is said to be extraordinarily powerful. A small group of wizards hope to use it to seize control of the magical guilds. In effect, to rule the world.”
“Can't we use it against them?” Bill asked.
Seph shook his head. “We don't know how.”