Knights of Light (Book 2 of The Conjurors Series)

Chapter 10

The next few weeks went by quickly. Valerie communicated with Henry every day through an enchanted mirror that hung in Dulcea's room. Kanti was unchanged, and Henry was pale, but he still had hope in his eyes. Valerie trained intensively with the Knights, and her magic slowly began to return, like a puddle in the core of her being. She couldn't get used to being stopped on the streets by people who wanted to meet her, but at the Knights' Guild, they were beginning to adjust to her and she wasn't constantly in the spotlight.

Every night she visited Thai, and even though she couldn't touch him, it was the best part of her day.

"What you've got to do is interview Chrome's suspects," he suggested one night. "You're really intuitive when it comes to understanding people. Maybe interacting with them will give you some clues."

She shuddered a little. "My biggest suspect is Sanguina. But I don't want to go near her."

"I don't get it. Why are Azra and the other Guild Masters even letting her live in Arden?"

"She used to be very powerful in the Guardians of the Boundary Guild—they're the ones who defend the barrier between Earth and the Globe," she explained. "Supposedly she's being very useful in helping to block any Fractus who are projecting to Earth. But I think the real reason is that everyone feels guilty for abandoning her after Zunya turned her into a vampyre. And now that she's back to her old self, they want to let bygones be bygones."

"Never mind that she mentally tortured a kid!" Thai said indignantly.

"Don't get me started."

"I have an idea. Why don't you talk to Midnight and see what she thinks?" Midnight was the Grand Master of the Guardians of the Boundary, and the Conjuror who had coached Thai through his adjustment to magic.

"Don't you think it would be a little weird, showing up and asking her twenty questions?"

"It's a heck of a lot safer than talking to Sanguina. What's the worst that could happen?"

"She could send me back to Earth," she joked.

"And would that be so bad?" he said, and his eyes locked on hers and turned her brain to mush.

"No," she whispered softly. "I think I could live with that." He touched the air next to her face, and she could swear she felt warmth on her cheek. She drew in a breath.

"Night," he said, finally breaking his gaze.

She returned to the Globe, but her head was still in the clouds.

She decided to take Thai's advice. The next day, she and Cyrus left the dorm to find Midnight.

"It's good to be on another adventure with you," he said with a mischievous wiggle of his eyebrows.

"This is serious!" she insisted, but she couldn't help sharing his excitement.

They exchanged theories about who the spy could be as they walked to the sweeping building that housed the Guardians of the Boundary. Once they were there, she was struck again by the magnificent structure, which reached up to the sky like a white cathedral. Inside was just as she remembered it, with muted light through stained glass exuding peace.

Cyrus led her up an elegant, winding staircase to a dark wood door engraved with a crest of two crossed swords. He knocked in a strange rhythm—knock, knock, KNOCK, knock knock.

"It's a code," he explained with a smile. "Midnight always makes time to see the kids from the Society of Imaginary Friends who visit to tell her about Sightings of Fractus on Earth, but sometimes she doesn't answer for anyone else. She gave us the knock so she'd know it's important."