Chapter 20

Once more Ren imagined the magic as the first, nervous steps in a dance.

She took a deep breath and drew on her knowledge of the spell. The bracelet flashed as magic chased through her veins. She carefully attached her first anchor to the solid earth beneath their feet. She made sure it wasn't a single stone that might be ripped free as her spell extended. She would not make the mistake Theo had on the night of the party. Once she'd anchored the first half of the binding spell, she took another steadying breath.

"Timmons."

A hand fell on Ren's shoulder. The answering churn—the depth that Timmons rendered in Ren's magic—was unmistakable. No wonder they all want you. Ren allowed that adrenaline to pump through her veins, chasing all the way to her fingertips.

Then she made a gathering motion in the air. It was like raking a hand across the surface of the water. The threads of sunlight pooled in her grasp. Once she'd gathered them all, she cast the next step of her binding spell. The threads grew taut in her mental palm. When they were as tight as she could draw them, she flexed Timmons's power along that line.

A visual ripple raced across the water.

She knew it was real because the others gasped. The golden road tightened and straightened. It had looked fickle before. Something they had to pretend was a road. Ren's binding spell solidified every particle into a single entity. Pretense became actuality. She felt the first resistance farther down the line. She was asking a great deal of the magic, but the power Timmons was offering helped her stay the course. It was a relief when her mental touch finally landed on the other bank.

Ren carefully twisted her wrist. A circular motion to tie off the second anchor. As soon as it was set, her entire body felt the relief. All the tension vanished. The sunlight was bound now between the two banks. It had worked. The magic held. Now for the second part in the spell.

She raised her horseshoe wand in the opposite hand. Some wizards liked using the same vessel when layering their magic, but Ren had found it easier to use two. It kept the magic from merging in unexpected ways. With Timmons's hand on her shoulder, Ren reached out mentally for the sunlight she'd just bound together. It wiggled at her touch, new and joyous and slippery. Ren hunted for that moment when the sunlight from above became the sunlight reflected back.

Alter the alteration.

It was a moment as brief as a grain of sand, but she set her fingers on its pulse and unleashed the final wave of magic. The golden light shivered into more. It coalesced into something like paved gold. There was a sound like a thousand fingers all snapping at once as every piece slid perfectly into place. A bridge. She'd made an actual bridge.

Ren's chest heaved. "It worked."

I can't believe that it actually worked.

In her breathless excitement Ren almost forgot about Timmons. She took a step forward, but her friend hooked her by the arm, careful to maintain physical contact.

"Can't invite a girl to the dance, then leave her behind," Timmons whispered.

"You literally did that four days ago," Ren reminded her.

Her friend laughed. Avy let out a whoop from behind them. When Ren glanced back, Cora offered a salutatory nod. Theo's face was priceless. Ren knew this was breathless magic. The entire reason she studied and worked as hard as she did. For moments where a wizard could do the unthinkable. And now a member of House Brood knew exactly what she was capable of doing. Survive the journey home, and everything would change.

She and Timmons took the first testing steps. A little jolt of shock ran down her spine when the road actually held. Water was splashing over the sides, slickening everything, but her magic was clearly working. She'd made a bridge out of sunlight. Ren briefly savored that triumph before remembering to give instructions.

"Go ahead of us," she called over one shoulder. "Try not to block my line of sight to the other bank. It's safest if you go in front. As we cross, I'm not sure how well the bridge behind us will hold, since it's not directly in my vision. Go on."

Avy slid around them first. "Pree always said you were a genius."

Theo and Cora followed. Vega winged above. Ren was still trying to fully grasp the moment. She'd performed magic before. She knew that feeling, but this was magic as solution. Not magical theory she'd created for some manufactured problem summoned by a professor. Not a practice duel against a friend. It was achingly real, this magic.

They needed to reach the other side before she'd begin celebrations, though. Cora slipped once and Theo caught her by the arm. They shared a nervous laugh before pressing on. Ren had to tell Avy three separate times not to stand directly in front of her. She could feel the magic trembling underfoot. One of the great paradoxes in magical theory was that unbound magic enjoyed order. It liked direction. But as soon as it was shaped into a spell, that same magic wanted nothing more than to be free, so that it might dissipate back into the ether. It was why spells around Kathor always needed to be refreshed and maintained. Very few magics lasted forever.

She felt that tension in the threads beneath her feet. The bridge would hold, but it would not hold for long. Ren was well past the halfway point when she heard the noise. It grated against the even, continuous churn of water all around them. A familiar moan.

The hairs on her neck stood on end. She knew she shouldn't look back. It would endanger the bridge, but thankfully, Theo heard the noise too. He'd spent a small part of that first night listening to the sound with her. It had likely made him more attuned to it than the others. He turned to look and his face instantly paled.

There was terror and dread and anger and fear written there. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came. Cora finally noticed that he'd stopped walking. She turned, and the same haunted expression echoed onto her face. The moan sounded again—a little closer—as Ren and Timmons maintained their slow but steady pace. Keep walking, she thought. Get to the other side.

It was so tempting to look over her shoulder. How close was the creature? How big? Was it a wyvern or a bear or a wolf? She quickened her steps as much as she dared. If she slipped, though, the entire spell would flicker out. All of them would drop into the water, and there was no telling if the creature pursuing them would have the advantage then or not. She could think of several predators that would be more suited to the water than they were.

Avy finally noticed the others had stopped. When he turned back, his good eye widened like a moon. "What the hell is that?"

Theo still hadn't moved. Ren and Timmons were approaching his position. She was trying to stay calm, trying to keep her eyes on the golden road ahead. "Theo. Start walking. Now."

His mouth hung open. Sweat trickled down his forehead.

"But it's Clyde."

Those were the only words that could have made Ren turn. There was no logic to them. Clyde? What was Clyde? A dark curiosity forced her to look back.

There was the golden road, and the pearl-blue river, and him.

Clyde was seventy paces back, making his shambling way forward. He looked like something that had crawled out of the morass. Something from a cruel fairy tale. His entire body was a giant scorch pattern. It had bubbled up on his skin. There was color only in places where the magic had failed to fully burn it away. His left eye was still blue. One bone-pale button glistened near the center of his chest. Checkered fabric slashed across his stomach like the tattered remnants of a flag.

He raised a burned hand. Ren felt magic flick against her senses like a whip.

Nothing physical manifested. Instead she felt her mind briefly plunge into darkness. There was a slight rip at the back of her conscience. Like something too large was trying to force its way through a narrow door. A second later her vision of the world returned.

She was on the river. And she saw the others had been hit by that wave of magic as well. Hands were pressed to temples. Eyes squinted in pain. A glance back showed Clyde closing the distance. Their only advantage was the physical weakness of his body. All the corporeal damage forced him into a graceless shamble. Still, he was coming.

Ren solidified her grasp on that golden light, pinned her eyes to the waiting bank, and started walking. Timmons stumbled once before picking up the rhythm. Theo looked frozen in place until Ren kicked him in the shin. He let out a cry, but it worked. His eyes locked on hers.

"Get moving," she snapped. "We need to get to the other bank now."

He started to backpedal. Cora was already putting distance between herself and the monster pursuing them. Clyde, Ren thought. The monster chasing us is Clyde. The waiting riverbank wasn't steep. Water-slick stones formed a gentle slope. Avy took Cora's hand, pulling her to safety and urging her to start climbing. Theo maneuvered past him without a word. Ren and Timmons had fifty paces left when Avy began backtracking to help them.

"Keep moving," he whispered. "Just keep moving."

The next moan transformed into a growl. Avy's reaction made it clear the creature was close enough to charge them. He settled into a wrestler's stance and slid protectively around them, intentionally placing himself in Clyde's path. Ren had no idea how her magic would react, but she was forced to turn sideways. It took every ounce of her mental energy to keep the golden bridge on both sides steady and intact.

One hand was aimed at the bank they'd left behind. The other was aimed at the bank ahead. Timmons was well trained. She ducked in time with Ren's movements, keeping both hands touching Ren's shoulders, never once breaking contact. The two of them continued sidestepping toward the safety of the waiting bank as Avy called out a warning to Clyde.

"Last chance to go back before I break you into a hundred pieces. I don't know what the hell you are, but you're not welcome here. Turn around now or I'll…"

As Ren reached the riverbank, she heard a voice. Not echoing out over the water, but whispering through her mind. It was dark and rasping.

I am hungry and you are food.

Avy was still crouched in a wrestler's stance with his hands out. The bright sunlight glinted over his bronzed skin. Every muscle was flexed and ready, a body prepared to do what it had spent years training to do: violence. But as Ren watched, Avy straightened unnaturally. All the bravado vanished. He stood there in silence. The creature leapt on him. Charred legs wrapped around the bigger boy's waist. Clyde's arms circled Avy's thick neck, interlocking so that they were chest to chest. Avy didn't resist. He didn't cry out. He just stood there as Clyde draped around him like a lover.

The creature stared over Avy's shoulder, watching them with that lonely blue eye.

Theo and Cora were there, dragging Ren and Timmons safely up onto the bank. The golden light of the bridge trembled in earnest now. Clyde stared with that hungry expression before adjusting his position. He set a blackened hand on each side of Avy's motionless head. All the others could do was watch as the creature snapped his neck with a sharp twist.

The bridge vanished. Solid gold became sunlight again. The two figures plummeted into the river below. The last thing Ren saw was the creature, riding Avy's body downstream.