Knights of Light (Book 2 of The Conjurors Series)

Chapter 6

Valerie awoke as dawn rose over the mountains. In spite of the chilly night, she had decided to sleep on a lawn chair rather than face her brother's concern. He was sure to sense that something was wrong, and she couldn't handle any questions. But she couldn't put it off any longer, so she crept back to her room and into her bed without waking Henry or his dad. Was Thai back in the driver's seat, or was Tan was still running the show?

"Val, you awake?" Cyrus whispered, appearing next to her on her bed. His golden hair was messy and his clothes were rumpled.

"Did you find out anything about the woman who attacked Zaki?"

He shook his head. "I'm not here about that. Something horrible has happened. It's Kanti."

Henry sat up in bed. "What is it?"

"We don't know," Cyrus said miserably. "We were going through picture after picture of Conjurors who had a history of working with the Fractus, and we both fell asleep. When I woke up, she was surrounded by this mist of sticky threads, like she was inside a cocoon."

"Is she—alive?" Henry whispered.

"Yes, her heart is beating. But we don't know what to do—we can't cut through the threads with any tool on the Globe. Her parents came and took her back to their castle in Elsinore. They're going to bring in the best doctors to check on her."

"I can't believe this," Valerie said.

"It has to be the Fractus," Henry said, and he set his jaw. Instead of falling apart, as she expected, his eyes turned steely. "I'm going to find whoever did this to her and make them reverse it."

She nodded. Any shred of doubt she had about leaving was gone.

"Please tell us if you hear anything more," she said to Cyrus, who nodded.

"I'll see what I can find out and will let you both know."

A knock on the door woke up Joe, and Cyrus disappeared. Zaki and Chisisi were waiting for them, so Valerie and Henry quickly showered and changed.

In the hotel's restaurant, they discussed their plans over breakfast. Thai was nowhere to be seen. It troubled her that she hadn't been able to talk to him again after Tan had taken over—to make sure he was okay.

"It's a long hike. We will need to travel quickly all day to make it there by nightfall," Zaki said.

"When the sun sets and rises, the bonds holding the magic on Earth are the weakest, so we must depart immediately to make it on time," Chisisi explained.

"And spending the night in the wilderness is not as romantic as it seems. Especially for a modern man like myself who values a flushing toilet," Zaki added.

"It goes without saying that I'm coming with you," Joe said to Henry, and Valerie could see the quiet strength behind his tired eyes.

"What about Thai?" Valerie asked nervously. "We can't leave without him."

"We don't have to," Chisisi said, nodding toward the window.

Thai walked out of the woods and toward the hotel. He held his hand to his temples, and in that gesture she guessed how weary he was. Regaining control must have been a struggle.

After checking out of the hotel, the group headed into the woods. Zaki walked confidently, without once checking a compass. At first, she couldn't understand how he could be so certain about the way, but then she sensed it. Power hummed around her, and the pull of magic drawing drew her northeast.

Henry and his dad hung a little behind, murmuring to each other. She gave them some time to talk alone, and caught up to Thai, who was walking with Chisisi.