Echo, p.35
Echo, page 35
"We won’t have to." I raised a finger. "Not if I use magic to erase my memory."
When Jivar told me the truth about my powers, I hated how we were connected, then I realized it was my loophole. Whatever magic Jivar acquired, I could borrow, including the Magic of Minds. If someone was going to play in my head, it’d better be me.
***
"I read your post on the Magic Web, and I’m glad to help," Cassandra greeted me politely.
"My post?" It felt like I was lost in a maze.
"It’s all right, Echo," Doyle shot me a wink, switching off my memory spell. That was the deal. Whenever he winked at me, I’d regain my memory long enough to make a decision or finish a task.
The memories rushed into my mind. Kirby and I were talking on the roof, and after he left, I logged on to the Magic Web and used Cona’s account to post a message:
“To all the witches in the world, I’m Echo Blackwood, and I’m reaching out to you. Months ago, I learned I’m chosen for a mission bigger than myself. The Magic Board declared war on me, and instead of fighting on the same side, we fought each other. They’ll never accept a Blackwood as a hero, but I’m no longer trying to be one.
A wise friend told me the world doesn’t need a hero. It needs dedicated people willing to share their powers and make the world a better place for everyone. As witches, we are meant to be guardians, leaders, and healers, and unless we work together, we’ll never be able to fulfill that purpose.”
I ended the message by informing everyone of Jivar’s rising and asking them to join the battle. That post went viral, and I got hundreds of hate comments. Nevertheless, my voice reached those who cared.
"I called my cousins. They should be here tomorrow," Cassandra said. "Though we’re not noble, our collective magic is powerful."
I thought about the wording of Lú’s prophecy: The chosen shall lead her army into war. As I glanced over the fervent faces in the room, hope strengthened my heart. Vanna, Kirby, Viessa, Doyle, Cassandra, and the witches—that was my army. Together, we had a chance of winning the war.
***
I left the room when I heard yelling. In the hallway, Doyle stood facing his father. Rose’s gaze flitted between the two. She had rubber gloves and was holding an unrinsed plate in her hands. She must have hurried out of the kitchen when she heard them fighting.
"What’s going on?" I asked. "Mr. Miles, Rose, you’re supposed to be in Italy."
"Echo, can you teleport those too out of town?" Doyle turned to me, his jaws all stiffened and his face flushed.
"Don’t you hear what I’m saying, son?" Zachery shouted. "We’re not leaving. This is our home. We have the right to defend it."
"I’ve already explained why you can’t." Doyle balled his hands. "You’re not meant to fight witches and beasts."
"Neither are you," Zachery said. "If you’re going to fight, we will."
"Yeah, I’m not leaving, Doyle," Rose cried out. "I just found you, and I’m not leaving you behind in the middle of—"
"Stop it." Doyle exploded. "If you stay, you’ll be a hindrance to everyone."
"We’re staying." Zachery thrust his chest out.
"Our mind is made up," Rose added.
The two failed to hear Doyle’s unspoken words. But seeing the uneasiness on his face, I understood his biggest fear. If something was to happen to these two, it would kill him.
"No, you won’t." I interrupted. "I am not going to allow civilians in this. That’s why we evacuated the town. If you don’t leave on your own, I'll use magic to force you."
"You can’t do this," Rose gave me a scornful glare. "We have the right to choose."
"Not today, no," I spoke unapologetically. "Until the eclipse is over, I make the decisions. You have thirty minutes to pack, and then I’ll teleport you to the nearest airport where you’ll take a plane to Italy." I couldn’t risk teleporting them any farther and depleting my magic.
Shaken and clearly annoyed, Zachery and Rose stiffened. I was afraid they’d hate me forever, but I had to be tough to protect them. Doyle’s nod reassured me I was doing the right thing.
The doorbell broke off the tension. "I’ll get it," I said as I swaggered away.
Outside awaited a familiar face. The tanned skin, the dark hair, and the eyes that resembled mine—not much did the years change. Instead of her old overalls, she wore a cardigan and jeans. And instead of a long braid, her hair was chopped to chin-length.
"Grandma." I seized her in my arms. "I knew you’d come."
Ebba tittered. "You look so surprised. I told you I was coming when you called."
"I called?" The memory wiggled its way into my consciousness. "Oh, I called."
"You said you have a plan."
"I do, I do," I said. "Doyle will fill you in. Did you have any problems getting here?"
"I called Heidi as you told me," she replied.
"Good, good." I didn’t remember any of that.
"Mom?" Viessa emerged from behind. "Why did you come? It’s not safe here." She turned to me with a concerned look. "She is not a witch anymore. Tell her to go home."
"It’s okay, Viessa," Ebba said. "Echo fixed the amulet for me."
"That’s true." The memory surprised me. Bug-eyed, I searched for the amulet in my pockets. I used the Magic of Recreation to restore the power of this amulet, and since nature must balance itself, the amulet with Jivar is now useless. Good move, Echo.
"I still don’t want you to do this, Mom."
"Viessa, can we sit down for this? I traveled a long way."
"Yes, but—"
"I’m tired, Viessa. Show me where I can rest."
"Fine." Viessa frowned and walked away. "I’ll show you to the guest room, but first, you have to pay your respect to the Miles who welcomed us into their home."
"That’s my girl." Ebba followed her along the hallway.
***
Over the following hours, more witches arrived at the Miles’ house. A few of them came from Oracles Island, but most were foreign. By the rising day, we had twenty witches gathering in the backyard.
Who are these people? I peeked at them through the kitchen window. On the table, I had set a brass bowl full of herbs and feathers, but I didn’t remember why.
"Did I tell you I’m proud of you?" Ebba startled me when she entered the kitchen. "I love that you reached out to other witches for help."
"Grandma?" I asked, gawking before running to hug her. "I knew you’d come."
"It’s the memory spell again," she said with a giggle.
"Memory spell?"
She patted me on the back sympathetically. "I’ll go get Doyle."
As soon as Ebba left the kitchen, I forgot about her ever coming. That memory wouldn’t return until a few days after the rising. Without a care in the world, I sat at the table, humming and swaying my head. What’s this? I gazed at my brass bowl, grimacing when I sniffed the smell of burned rice.
Tara once asked me, "What would you change if you went back in time?" Though I know better than to mess with the past, if there was one thing I’d change, it’d be that moment in the kitchen with Ebba. I’d switch off the memory spell before she came in, and I’d be conscious of what she had to say. "Did I tell you I’m proud of you? I love that you reached out to other witches for help."
"I learned this from you, Grandma," I’d reply, pulling her in my arms one more time before we parted.
A few minutes later, Ebba returned to the kitchen with Doyle, and I turned off the memory spell for good.
"It’s time," Doyle said, extending his hand with the amulet. Ebba clutched her cardigan, overwhelmed by fleeting hesitation.
"It’s okay if you don’t want to do this," I told her.
"I have to," she said, forcing a smile. "I started all this. I should be there when it ends."
"If you are sure about this, let’s begin," I said. The two of us sat at the kitchen table. I circled my hand above the brass bowl, and the ingredients burst into flames. Like precious emeralds, Ebba’s eyes glinted in the firelight. Her hands shuddered as I held them and chanted: "Lude oculum. Lude mentem." Trick the eyes. Fool the minds.
***
In front of the Miles’ house, Doyle, Ebba, and I waited, but the asphalt showed the shadows of two people. Although it was mid-morning, the temperature plummeted, and the soon-to-disappear sun gave the colors of twilight.
Silence prevailed in the empty neighborhood. I could hear Ebba’s shallow breaths and Doyle cracking his knuckles.
From a distance, the silhouette of a man strode towards us. My chest grew tense as he approached.
It can’t be.
"Zaros," Doyle uttered in a resentful tone.
"Long time no see, Doyle." Zaros drew a wicked grin. "Last time we met, we were in Sattarum on a quest. What happened to you?"
The change in time had brought a new Zaros to life, one that gave Jivar his loyalty and held fewer grudges towards Doyle. Of course, Doyle had no memory of that version of Zaros, so he seemed confused by his words.
That Zaros standing in front of me might not have been the one I fought, but he was still the one who murdered my parents. Around his neck, my mother’s amulet dangled. He probably realized it had lost its power.
"The eclipse is about to begin," Zaros told Ebba. "You can teleport, can’t you?"
She nodded nervously.
"What are you waiting for, then?" he asked.
Ebba swallowed. I waited for her to wave her hand before I teleported everyone to the Lone Mountain.
Chapter 34: From the Unknown
Five thousand and seven hundred feet above land, the Lone Mountain flattened out into a narrow plateau before it stretched in a sharp sheer. The clouds overhead shrouded the view of the peak, and the town below seemed like a swath of green, small enough to fit in my palm. Only once did I dare to glance down. My head spun, and I felt unprotected, exposed. Glimpses of my recurring nightmare came to mind.
A few steps away, Zaros set his altar. With a paste of blood, bones, and dirt, he painted an inverted pentacle on the ground. Doyle and Ebba sat in the middle with their hands and feet tied in chains.
"How are you doing?" Doyle asked.
"Can’t breathe." Ebba’s head swayed limply, struggling to adjust to the altitude.
"Keep it together." Zaros held her face and shoved a potion into her throat. "We need your strength for the ritual."
Ebba grunted. The red potion dribbled out of her mouth. Off the ledge, Zaros threw the empty bottle. I couldn’t help but imagine myself in its place. As I fell to my knees, I tried to think of a soothing spell to calm my nerves.
It wasn’t long before the shadows crept in, diminishing the sun into a ring. I looked away to avoid the burn, but I heard Zaros chanting, "Peta babkama luruba anaku."
He’s opening a portal.
For a split second, everything vibrated. I clung to the rocky wall behind me as a shelter. The gravity pulled my eyelids down.
When I lifted my gaze, I saw a breach in the sky. Zaros’s altar became the point where our world and the Land of No Return met. The two suns illuminated the merged worlds, and while my feet were still on Earth, I was steps away from an army of Katarus.
I looked at Doyle, whose jaws quivered with the shock written all over his face. "Katarus can’t fly."
"What?" Ebba whispered.
"This portal—Katarus can’t fly through it," he said. "They are not a part of Jivar’s army. They’re his sacrifice. Am I right?" He looked at Zaros, who snickered and said nothing.
Among the Katarus, Jivar appeared, marching towards us with his arms tucked behind his back. A knowing smirk crossed his face when he saw Ebba, whose nose flared.
"My lord." Zaros bowed down, and the two exchanged curt nods.
"Appear to me," Jivar commanded. Six grimoires came into sight. Earth, Air, Water, Fire, Vision, and the Magic of Minds—I had borrowed all of them on different occasions, though my power could never match his.
"The time has come," he said, raising his hands to the sides. Thunder blasted, and the wind swept his hair to his face. Six portals opened in the sky of the Land of No Return, unleashing beasts of all shapes and sizes.
***
Light streamed through the portals above, concealing the eclipse. Dragon Kirby circled the sky of Shady Mews, flapping his wings and breaking the silence of the town. On his back, Vanna rode. She raised her sword, preparing for the battle.
"Ready to do this, sister?" Kirby asked.
"It’s what we came here for," she said. "Let’s just hope the two idiots are safe."
Vanna felt uneasy because of what had happened ten minutes earlier. She and Kirby were about to leave the house when Zachery and Rose showed up at the door.
"We sneaked into town through an old road I know," Zachery told her.
"We couldn’t leave Doyle behind," Rose added.
"So you decided to commit suicide?" Vanna remained unvexed. "If something happens to you, Doyle won’t be able to live with it."
"We are doing what we think is right," Rose said.
"You’re being selfish," Vanna replied.
"Young lady," Zachery shouted. "I won’t let you speak to us this—"
"Listen to me, you two." Vanna curled her lips in a scowl. "In a battle, every warrior takes a calculated risk. They’re aware of not only what they can lose but what they have to offer. You two have nothing to give. Your participation can cause more harm than good. This is not bravery... It’s selfishness. So get out of here."
Zachery and Rose traded a look. Vanna didn’t care about their feelings as long as they stayed away from the battlefield.
"The eclipse is about to start," Zachery said, pointing up at the darkening sky.
Vanna huffed and crossed her arms, thinking of the safest decision. Neither could she take them with her nor leave them unprotected.
"I hope you don’t mind flying." She signaled them to follow her.
"Did she say f-flying?" Rose whispered to Zachery as they walked into the house.
***
On the roof of Shady Mews Hospital, ten witches joined their hands to close the portals. Viessa and the other ten stood guard with piles of potion capsules at their reach. They waited as the first beast appeared, whirling in the sky with its four wings and gushing gusts of air.
"Viessa," a voice called from behind. Viessa turned to see Zachery and Rose running towards her.
"You won’t believe how we got here," Zachery gasped his words. Rose’s face was as blue as a smurf.
"What are you doing here?" Viessa asked, but the two needed a moment to breathe. Viessa looked up to see Vanna, who swayed her sword, cleaving the beast into halves.
"Oh my God," Rose said, cringing.
"More monsters are coming." Zachery pointed above.
Everyone watched as Vanna flipped in the air and launched herself onto another beast. She slit its throat before hopping on the next one. Kirby flew below her, slowing his speed to cover her back.
Flapping its wings, a fly-shaped beast blew Vanna away, but Kirby caught her on time and attacked the fly with his fire.
No matter how many beasts Vanna and Kirby killed, more kept coming. Within seconds, red, blue, and black blood streaked the town. Corpses of dead beasts dropped, smashing rooftops and school buses. A small one hung on a light pole.
A mischievous smile dangled on Viessa’s lips when a beast escaped Vanna’s sword and dashed towards the hospital. It was a massive, bat-like creature with orange iris-less eyes.
"Demons of Qiashitara, Doyle told me about you," Viessa murmured. She pulled a megaphone to her lips and instructed her troop, "Everyone, get ready. Two o'clock, blue capsule; Now."
***
At the sight of the bloodcurdling massacre, Doyle screamed out his rage. Jivar’s beasts burst in from the portals, mercilessly devouring the Katarus. One of them passed right by me, rubbing its scaly skin against my arm. It had the slenderness of a snake and the pectoral wings of a manta ray.
"Witches are attempting to close the portals," Jivar said, seeming to have sensed resistance against his spell. "Take care of them," he told Zaros before sending him away.
In a glass, Jivar stirred a black powder into a blood-red potion. He walked over to Ebba and removed her chains. Keeping eye contact, he grinned. "The ritual shall begin."
His eyes flashed red.
He pulled Ebba to her feet and motioned her to the edge of the altar, standing with one hand on Doyle’s head and the other raising the glass. "To you, Echo." He eyed Ebba, who gave a sly smile.
After my encounter with Jivar, I realized he had a great advantage over me. Staring into my eyes, he could compel me to do his ritual, and I wouldn’t be able to resist. The best thing to do was to avoid all staring.
Before we left the Miles’ house, Ebba and I had sat around the kitchen table, and I had used a shapeshifting spell on her. She pretended to be me while I was invisible, thanks to the Elixir of Phantoms. And thanks to Ebba, Jivar’s ritual didn’t start. The sigil on her arm protected her from the Magic of Minds. Instead of obeying Jivar’s command, she shouted, "Prohibere tempus."
No longer did the portals swirl. The beasts hung motionless, and the splattered Katarus blood froze in the air. Only Ebba had the ability to bring time to a halt and stretch an otherwise fleeting moment into eternity. "Prohibere tempus," she chanted, stopping time to give me time.
Good job, Grandma. I smiled, watching the worlds around me freeze, but as I readied myself to cast my spell, I glimpsed a blink in Jivar’s eyes.
He’s still moving.
"You thought you could fool me, Lú?" He snapped his fingers, and Ebba transformed back to herself. "Your magic might have worked on me in the past, but remember, you changed time."
Ebba’s lips quivered in rhythm with my shaking hands.
"In this reality, I have a seventh grimoire," he said. Waving his hand, he revealed one last book he had been hiding, a spellbinding, mighty book that forced Ebba to back away.
"T-the M-magic of T-ti-me..."
"It is naive to think you are the only master of time," Jivar preached. "But perhaps the time of learning had passed."A spark of electricity emerged from his palms, growing into a bolt that darted towards Ebba.
