“Any objects remaining here after one is removed will be vulnerable, protected only by the physical barriers that hide them, making them much easier to track down. Any object brought back to the material plane will become material again too, reclaiming its full power. Not only will its cloaking magick vanish, but the sudden infusion of ancient Arcana power on the material plane will leave a massive magickal signature. The Dark One will eventually sense it—he’s been working toward this end for millennia.”
“So by bringing back the Sword tonight, we’re basically creating a homing beacon. Awesome.” I rub my temples, trying to see a way around this fuckery. “Okay, so we’ll need to find all the objects tonight. And then we’ll have to cast a new cloaking spell once we get to the material realm. There might be a small window of time when things go unprotected, but the Dark Magician can’t just find us and break through the Academy wards that quickly, right? I’m sure Doc and the other professors can figure something out before that happens, and… and…” I narrow my eyes, scrutinizing her face. “There’s more, isn’t there? You’ve got that bad-news wrinkle between your eyebrows again.”
“Made manifest,” she says, “the objects will not only act as homing beacons, but as anchors, allowing the Dark Arcana to manifest their energy through the objects without having to manifest in a physical body. Academy magick will be no match for the Magician’s connection to those objects. They were forged from his father’s body, blood, breath, and bones—they call to him ceaselessly. Hewillfind you there, Starla. He will use the tools to manifest his darkness back home. And from there, he will unleash all hell to get what he wants.”
“Complete control of magick. His birthright.” I fall to my knees on the shoreline, soaking my dress once again. It’s almost too much to bear. At every turn, another new obstacle befalls us, each one more impossible than the last. “But my mother’s prophecies… The clues… All of my research with Kirin… Even the dreams as I had as a child…” I look up at her with wide eyes, desperate for someone to tell me everything will work out okay. That there’s even ashredof hope here. “I feel like everything in my life set me on this very path. Led me right here. Like mymotherled me here.”
“Indeed, she has.”
“But why would she do that if I wasn’t meant to retrieve the objects?”
“Oh, youmustretrieve them. The risk of leaving them here poses a much greater threat. In hiding and cloaking them, I’ve only prolonged the inevitable—paused the falling dominoes long enough for you to come into your power, just as your mother knew you would.”
“But Ihaven’tcome into my power,” I protest. “My parents forbade me to use magick at home, and I’ve only been at the Academy for a semester. Kirin just started teaching me air magick… I’m not even sure I’m passing all my intro classes. This doesn’t make any sense, Lala.” Stating it out loud like that, I hear the ridiculousness of it all, magnified by a hundred.
But I also hear something that shakes me right out of my funk: defeat.
Dark prophecies, doom and gloom, impossible odds? Since when do I ever back down from that stuff? I practically get off on it these days.
The waves lap at my knees, inviting me back in. Back to the bottom of the sea, where I can close my eyes and all of this can be swiftly forgotten.
But screw that.
I get to my feet, take a deep breath. Right now, in this very moment, everything is fine. I’m alive. In the dream realm. Ready to complete our mission. Until those circumstances change, I will do what I came here to do.
As for the rest? We’ll figure it out like we always do—when it drops on our heads, and not a moment sooner.
When I look at Lala again, she’s beaming at me, her eyes shiny with tears.
“Are you a mind reader?” I ask. “Just wondering.”
“No. More like a mirror.” She winks, then pulls me in for a tight hug. “Find your friends, sweet girl. You need one another, now more than ever.”
“Wait, you’re not coming with me?” I pull back, imploring her. “But I need you, Lala. You’re one of us—a Keeper of the Grave. What if I run into Judgment or the Chariot? Or worse, the Magician himself?”
She shakes her head and covers my hands with hers, holding tight. “For long years, I have protected the objects in the dream realm—long enough for you to find your way to them. That was my task, and now I must leave you to yours.”
“Can’t you just, like, add a new task to your list? They even have these notes apps for your phone now, with reminders, and you can just…” I trail off with a resigned sigh. My charms are obviously lost on her.
“Not all Arcana are meant to fight,” she says. “I have shone a light upon your path. A small sliver, perhaps, but a light nevertheless. It is up to you to see what lies beyond.”
Lala leaves me with one last mysterious smile, then turns and walks straight into the sea, vanishing before my eyes.
Okay, girl. She’s right—it’s up to you now. You’ve got this.
More determined than ever, I tear off some of the excess fabric from my so-called sacrificial gown, shortening it to a much more respectable miniskirt length, perfect for kicking ass. Jogging back up to the rise, I mentally psyche myself up for the night ahead by visualizing the victory celebration that will most definitely happen later. In my bed.
That’s the spirit!
I’ve just crested the incline when I catch sight of a lone figure at the edge of the chasm, his shoulders slumped. Even from this distance, I know he’s one of mine.
“Kirin!” I cry, but he doesn’t hear me. I skid down the other side of the incline and break into a run, pushing hard to reach him.
Something is definitely wrong.
He sways on his feet, then falls to his knees, revealing another figure behind him—a man in a dirty white robe, fire sparking between his palms.
I would recognize him anywhere—the monster who’s been burning his way through my nightmares for weeks.
