Page 5 of Echoes of War

Everyone turned to face me, and the size of the room tightened under their scrutiny. Sloan closed in on me, moving around Reina only to be stopped in her tracks by Alexiares. Something I’d seen him do a lot since we’d arrived. Another oddity we all pretended not to notice, but everyone did. Alexiares was the one person in this damned place that silenced Sloan. One would almost say, scared her.

I didn’t know much about his past, hadn’t given a shit enough to ask, let alone pry too deep with my magic. All that mattered to me was that he was now on our side, and all I could do was hope it stayed that way. Riley hadn’t come along with us on thisadventure, but he’d be in for some competition for Amaia’s shadow when we got back. There was one place you could count on Alexiares being these last few weeks, and that was at Amaia’s side.

Perhaps that was where the root of my anger stemmed from, why I let it linger for nearly a month. Only one of us would die happy, knowing an intense love. The understanding of completion, of having a home no matter where you went, as long as you went together. At least that’s all I could see right now.

I braced myself, ready for the recoil. “About my practice, about paganism.”

A few people winced, the thought of it still making them uncomfortable. Not the religious aspect, or the practice of it, but rather at the fact of more sci-fi shit being possible. Being true.

“The spell I used had an … extra component to it.”

“Meaning?” Reina leaned forward in her seat, the scientist in her intrigued.

“It wasn’t just a protection spell. I used blood as the binder. It strengthened the effectiveness of the spell. I think,” I muttered.

Seconds passed before anyone spoke again. I knew Reina and Amaia were mulling things over, but the rest of them … yeah, they were probably thinking of the closest cross to burn me on.

“Why do you sound hesitant about that?” Sloan asked, her hands toying with the matchbook in her hand.

“Because I didn’t write the spell down.” I said, “It was my own creation, a mix of different practices found in my research. I called on different cultures throughout time—Aztec, Mayan, Roman, Egyptian, Greek. Even modern practices.”

Recognition passed over Amaia’s eyes. Somewhere inside her know-it-all mind, she was running through whatever historical facts she had from each culture. “The books that were scattered across your room before we left, when you were trying to channel more of the lab vision. You were studying something.What was it?”

I nodded, tugging on the sleeves of my black hoodie. “Yeah. I was trying to figure out which part of the spell allowedthisto happen. Then how to strengthen it.”

“I’m still not seeing the problem here. You can’t channel a vision and watch a replay?” Sloan’s voice erupted, the impatience creeping back into her monotone voice.

“Magic has its limitations. The magic that runs through our veins, it’s natural. Well, natural in the sense that it only amplifies the elements of the universe. Relies on them. The same magic that practitioners over time molded and used at a much smaller scale throughout time.” They all stared at me like I had four heads. I rolled my eyes, dumbing it down to what they could understand, “Witchcraft. But dark magic, bloodletting, that’s not natural. It’s forbidden, and thus the universe has consequences for its use. My current limitation being one of them.”

“The larger problem is she can’t remember which practice got us here. Since she didn’t write it down, she’ll have to test them out to see which one sticks.” Amaia added.

Reina’s knotted brown hair fell in front of her face. “I don’t get it; you got it right the first try the last time you did it.”

“I didn’t know if itworkedthe last time I did it. It was something I did in a manic-drunken rush. I can barely recall the night itself. I was so spooked after I did it, scared I’d cursed my family once again … I trashed it all. Haven’t practiced since.”

“You’re about to,” Sloan commanded. “What research and resources do you need?”

Always to the point. Relentless. Whatever got the job done. Every interaction we’d had with her since we’d been freed from our little cell and placed into our individual ones had been transactional. Which was fine by me considering the stench of tobacco off her was unbearable in close quarters. Eating meals around her when our days were long was up there on the list of worst experiences I’d been through. Ever. And I’ve been through a lot of shit.

Not only was the stench, and sight, of her nauseating, but she insisted on having a pre- and post-meal smoke. If this war didn’t kill her, her lungs would. I wouldn’t tell her that though, not when she treated my sister the way that she did.

“If this is true, Tomoe, if you can figure this out, our armies will be unstoppable,” Amaia said, a sly grin teasing the side of her lips.

She was already doing the math. The face of a general stood before me. She’d made it clear that she was capable of doing anything to win this war. Seth’s departure had been nothing but a casualty of war to her. Instead of receding into a depressive, drunken state we’d feared her slipping into, she’d emerged the next morning unfazed. Determined to end anyone within Covert Province that supported Moore and his war.And Seth, she’d said. For with this betrayal and the certainty of his role in Jax’s death, Seth was dead to her. Had only signed his death certificate the moment he’d walked away.

I sighed, shaking my head. “Even if I figure out the spell, I can only perform a few of the rituals myself. We’ll need more power than what I have. A fuck ton more.”

We’d never be able to connect an entire army. That was something even at my novice level I didn’t think conceivable. What was possible, however, was connecting soldiers within units. Nowthatwould be game-changing. Maybe even enough to win the war before it truly begun, before we lost too much.

“Okay, so how do we do that? Can’t be too hard.” Reina said, that hint of optimism still alive somewhere deep inside her.

“We’ll need more practitioners,” I mumbled, doing the mental math, “people comfortable with bloodletting.”

They all stared at me with stupid, empty eyes. I huffed, their faces asking me,what’s the issue?

“It’s frowned upon,” I said, making ‘woo woo’ hands at them. “Dark magic.”

Reina took a step toward me, hope in her eyes. “There has to be someone willing, and I’m sure that someone will know someone.”

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