Chapter 57: Make This Right
Between the newborn daughter and magical exhaustion, Wil collapsed in bed that night and had to force his eyes open the next morning. Six AM was a terrible time to be awake if you didn’t have to be, but with their presentations starting at noon, Wil and Thomas had to get going as early as possible.
Once he made sure Darlene and Mina would be okay for the day, Wil slipped out and took the car to Gallard Springs. He hated leaving his Thunderhawk behind when it was faster and more fun to ride, but it was as unique as it was fast and would give him away. If he could avoid getting the attention of Sheriff Boone, all the better. Then there was the other reason, which Bram was already awake and doing.
By the time he got to the cottage Thomas had inherited from the other three, he felt rested. It might’ve been possible to do the rest of the work himself, but not without ending up just as exhausted as he was before. Besides, it was a good opportunity for the Cloverton wizard to make good on his promise to make things right.
“Do you want coffee first, or should we get moving?” Thomas looked as groggy as Wil felt.
“I wouldn’t say no to some coffee,” said Wil. “But we can’t linger more than half an hour. You’re not as good at changing leylines as me, so I want to make sure we have enough time to get it right.”
Thomas raised an eyebrow. “That didn’t feel pointed, but it still felt like you took the opportunity for the diss.”
Wil shrugged. “Maybe I’m being honest about the differences in our abilities. If it happened to get in a dig at you, is that something to be avoided?”
His friend and rival chuckled and welcomed him in. As the coffee brewed, Wil filled him in on exactly what he wanted to do, in what order, and what he hoped the effects would be. After two cups of coffee each, Thomas wasn’t just ready, but excited for the final experiment. Even if he did linger on what it would mean for his presentation.
“I’m happy to do all of this,” said Thomas, “but I won’t say I’m not a little tempted to hold off and hog the spotlight for once in my life. I’m not going to do that, but if helping you is doing the right thing, it’s not easy.”
“Yep. Which is why I appreciate you at least making an effort. If we happen to fail because your ability to rearrange the earth isn’t good enough, I won’t hold it against you.” Wil smiled and finished the last mouthful of coffee.
They hit the road a couple minutes later and went straight east, where Wil had left off when Sheriff Boone chased him off. As he got to the area where the earth was disturbed, some of it had been cleaned up. His blood ran cold as he wondered about the rest of the leylines. It had only been a couple of days, and his father swore he’d do his best to run interference, but what if they had undone any of his work?
“You okay?” Thomas asked as they pulled to a stop.
“Yeah,” Wil lied. “I was thinking about possible complications. We’re fine. Probably.”
“Uh-huh,” said Thomas, eyeing him. “If you say so. This is where you and your awful cat ran away?”
“It sure is,” said Wil. He pointed at the tall rock he’d been sitting on. “I think that’s a safe place to work while you rearrange stuff.”
Thomas nodded, and they both got out. They climbed the rock and Wil sat on the edge while the other man worked. It took a lot longer for Thomas to grab hold of things, and even longer to change it. They had half a dozen leylines to go through, and this one took Thomas a good fifteen minutes to contort the river of power southwards on one end, and another ten to connect it to the one flowing from the north.
“How many times did you do this when you were setting up?” Thomas asked after he finished. He collapsed to the rock, covered in sweat and panting.
“I lost count after thirty,” said Wil. “I’m good at this, though. It’s easier for me. According to the map, we only have another six to do, if you think you can. If not, I won’t hold it against you.”
“Screw that,” said Thomas. “I owe you a debt, and I intend on paying it. I need a drink and then I’m good to go.”
As Wil expected, having Thomas along helped deflect a lot of questions. Just as he was well known in the Harper Valley, the last couple of weeks of displaying their experiments had elevated Thomas and the others to a semi-favored status. It made things more exciting, and, Thomas added, Ferrovani had provided plenty of bribe money to oil any squeaky wheels. It seemed only fitting to use the old man’s resources against him.
The next two went as smoothly as they could, all things considered. It took a lot out of Thomas each time, and it ended up being roughly forty-five minutes for each leyline, plus travel time and rest, bringing it up to about an hour each. This was going to be close.
Trouble came when they reached the southeastern corner of the basin, where the fourth and final anchor rune of their massive array was to be placed. The best place for it, with the biggest and most vibrant leyline, was in the heart of Gallard Springs’ biggest hot spring.
“Let me do the talking,” Thomas said as they came in.
“Gladly,” Wil muttered, suddenly wishing he brought Isom with him, even knowing he’d be recognized immediately with the wampus cat’s ugly mug with him.
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When Wil was young, he expected summer to be the least likely time for the hot springs to be busy, but that wasn’t the case. People came from hundreds of miles to bathe in the rejuvenating mineral water, naturally heated from below, or in one of the surrounding cool, crystalline pools. On a sweltering summer day or frigid winter night, there was always someone at the hot springs.
Thomas led them through. An hour before noon, there were several dozen people there, though it was a far cry from the hundreds that visited daily. To Wil’s relief, no one paid them much attention as they went to the office to the side of where the springs began. Thomas knocked, then entered anyway.
“Sorry to bother you,” said Thomas to the middle aged woman sitting behind a desk, “but it’s time. We’re going to go ahead and close down the springs in light of the president’s visit.”
Wait, what?
The woman blanched. “That was you on the phone, then. Are you sure there’s no other way? We can offer the president one of the more exclusive springs for his use. Wouldn’t that be enough?”
Thomas shook his head sadly. “I’m afraid President Bullworth was very clear on his needs. Within the next month you’ll be compensated for your day of lost profits.”
“I guess there’s nothing to be done about it,” she said with a sigh. “How long do we have?”
“If you let me take care of it, it’ll be done in fifteen minutes. If you’re willing to send a few runners to check and make sure no one’s coming by. We have to do one last security check before the president’s arrival.”
The woman, Norma, the sign at her desk proclaimed, stood. “You got it. Might as well do it as soon as possible. You’d think they’d give us more advanced warning, but nooo…” She continued to grumble as she pushed past Thomas and Wil and went out.
“What was that?” Wil asked incredulously.
“Clearing the way without causing a panic or getting shot at,” said Thomas. “This is going to be hard enough without permanently damaging the hot springs. If we’re even able to do so.”
“It’s smart,” said Wil. “When did you set this up?”
“Yesterday, after leaving the clinic. You told me what our big target was, and I figured you’d probably just try to wing it instead of, you know, thinking things through.”
“Yeah, well…” Wil came up blank.
Twenty minutes later, the springs were mostly cleared. There was no getting rid of the manager or her employees, but they didn’t need to. They had a bit of time to work with, which left only one remaining thing.
“I’m not sure I know where to begin,” Thomas admitted as they stood in the center of the springs, seeing through their wizardsenses. The leyline was one of the biggest in the basin and already coiled in a spiral. Wil thought that would make it easier, but Thomas didn’t have his experience.
“Try feeling for the edges of the leyline and work the earth from there,” said Wil. “It’s not a one for one translation, so you have to be ready to listen to the earth, and feel the changes as they’re forming. Do that and it will come pretty easy.”
Thomas shot him a withering look. “Do you have any advice that works for those who had to actually try in school?”
Eventually, the elder wizard went for it. At first, nothing happened, but then the water in one of the pools bubbled and shot into the air. Thomas exhaled and nearly collapsed before Wil caught him.
“I don’t know this one’s going to be possible,” said Thomas with a grimace. “I’m sorry, I want to help, but this is…wow.”
Wil shook his head vehemently and reached for the leyline. It felt like pouring hot water on a fresh burn, but he could handle it for a little. He felt where Thomas tried to push rock and stone up and out. Actually doing it himself would be beyond him, but maybe…
“Do you trust me?” Wil asked. When Thomas nodded he then said, “Then look me in the eyes, and don’t fight me.”
His friend, rival, enemy, savior, whatever Thomas was, did as he said. Wil let himself fall forward halfway, but didn’t go inside his mind. He stayed there, as a bridge, and did something difficult, even for him. He shared his senses to a partially closed connection, and took some from Thomas.
Through his eyes and wizardsense, Wil felt how Thomas perceived the leyline and the rock and stone beneath it. Immutable, heavy objects that were anchors for magic and life. Even after all this time, he still had trouble seeing them as changeable. Wil shared his impression, of every spec of dirt and rock, the water carrying rich minerals and heat, and how it shaped this little corner of the world.
“Try changing it now,” said Wil. “Slowly.”
Thomas reached out, and through feelings and flashes of thought, Wil guided his hand. He couldn’t lend his raw strength, whatever was left of that, but he could share his intuition and senses. It took a few minutes of prodding around and following the rush of water underground, but then they found a weak spot and Thomas pushed with his strength.
Rocks cracked, loud enough to feel like the world was being torn asunder. All around them, in the four main pools in an upward spiral leading up to this rocky overlook, cracks grew and spread. Water erupted skyward in blasts of steam and pressure. And little by little, the leyline changed.
As the hot springs warped and shifted into something new, Wil and Thomas worked together to shape the leyline into something old and familiar. One final rune in their array, to bring the others together. Something they knew would work, and hopefully unite the rest. In the other corners, Wil had set the runes for Awaken, Unite, Embrace, and now Thomas set the final one: Feed.
Thomas did collapse at the end, and Wil joined him for a casual sit on the ground. Both were pouring sweat from the effort and the already relentless sun. “There’s no way you did three of these and the rest of the filler in just two days,” Thomas protested.
“I’m going to earn that victory,” Wil said, wishing they had a couple of cold drinks with them.
“If it works,” said Thomas. “Which, I hope it will. If not, I’m content stealing your thunder and letting you share partial credit for my weapons and war chariot.”
“Very magnanimous of you,” said Wil. He was about to give Thomas some good natured crap back when he pointed off in the distance.
Sometime during their efforts, Norma and the others had run off. Wil could hardly blame them for it, with all the earth-rupturing noise and spewing water. But she had returned with, who else, Sheriff Boone. And even though Wil hadn’t done direct work, he was too tired to run or fight.
“Let me handle this too,” said Thomas. “I’m not sure we’ll have time to finish the other three leylines. Not when my part of the presentation is in an hour. Do you think you could finish the other three?”
Wil grimaced. “If I do, I’m not going to be happy, but Bram’s already going to cover the last minute things at the house. What if, instead…”
He explained his plan to Thomas, who laughed and nodded. “You and your melodrama,” he said. “I’m up for it. Let’s do this.”