Equinox (Book One of the Firebird Chronicles) WATTY AWARD HIDDEN GEM WINNER 2015

Chapter Twenty Eight: Best Laid Plans

A/N: Hello again, and hope you enjoy this last peaceful chapter of Equinox....! Media is how I imagine Fabian to look.

'What a nightmare,' I said, arriving back at my room with Iggy, Kirsten and Fabian in tow. For ease, our rooms were all located near one another. As I reached my door, I turned to bid them goodnight, finding three exhausted faces staring back in reply.

Two hours it had taken to quiz Valkyrie before the girl would tell us who had placed the spell upon her. After my rebuke about being too young, the headstrong child had gone in search of an Exchanger that could manipulate time, and came across a young girl that had the power. Valkyrie had convincingly lied to the girl that she wanted to be older to be with a boy she liked. Before perfoming the Exchange, the girl told Valkyrie that the cost of her magic would take away Valkyrie's years.

Morwena will kill me.

Valkyrie had given up her childhood to join our cause. A further hour had added onto the day in which a great discussion broke out on whether Valkyrie was actually of age to make her own decisions. Several believed that she was now simply a child in an adult's body, but a group, lead by Kaelan and Sakura, that said the spell had altered Val's time course, and as such, she had aged ten human years within a day. 

The girl herself had to be escorted to her rooms as she would not listen to any disapproval of her actions. Finally, there had been a vote that she should not be put in danger,  and her mother Morwena should be informed as soon as possible. From there on, Morwena would tame her unruly child.

'Morwena is going to be so angry,' Kirsten said, 'I should have watched over her more thoroughly, maybe this wouldn't have happened...'

'We all could have stopped this happening,' Iggy said, and the group sagged.

Kirsten put a hand to her forehead. 'Is there no way we can turn her back? Make a deal ourselves?'

Fabian looked uncharacteristically dark as he contemplated the thought. 'I don't like these spells the Exchangers do. I don't understand any of it, and all I know is that whenever they do something, someone I love pays the consequences.'

He didn't even need to look at me; Iggy and Kirsten did that for him.

'My mother died to give me eighteen years,' I agreed, 'And Valkyrie's is nearly that much...'

'Let's wait until we tell Morwena,' Iggy reassured Kirsten as she groaned at my words. 'And then we panic.'

Kirsten pinched his cheek. 'That's not helping!'

But the shapeshifter boy only stuck out his tongue, whirling away from her hands. He backed along the corridor, and I saw him slip inside his room before Kirsten could catch him. She left out a muffled cry of fury.

'This isn't over, Ignacio,' she hissed at the closed door.