Chapter 58: Land of the Leylines

For a while during the last three months, Wil had wondered if he had some special immunity or resistance to leyline burnout. As much as he worked with them day to day, it seemed a rational question. Well, after reaching his limits and crossing them twice in a week, he believed that while he may have been resistant, he was very much not immune.

As the second to last leyline fused with the one before it, Wil felt a flash of heat. The next thing he knew, his extended senses crashed back into him with all the force of a runaway train. He woke up a few minutes or hours later with the weight of the world crushing him.

“Well, damn,” Wil groaned. He forced himself up on rubbery legs. For a second, he was tempted to reach out to the leyline and double check his work. The thought of it caused a stabbing pain to shoot through his skull, so he threw the thought out as soon as he had it.

He was tired, shaky, and worst of all, unfinished with his job. He and Thomas had already accounted for that as a possibility, and it wouldn’t ruin everything. Not on its own. Wil made his way to the car and guzzled the last of the water he’d brought. He took a few minutes, then started the car up, grateful to the faricite batteries for keeping the strain off him.

The drive home gave Wil many things to think about. The presentation succeeding was high up there, but it paled in comparison to the twin thoughts of getting a nap and holding his daughter again. The exhaustion blurred out the rest of the world until only the most important things remained. He still had a ways to go, but soon it would be time to rest and enjoy the fruits of his labors.

He supposed he shouldn’t have been surprised to find that the president and his entourage were already at his house when he arrived. Including his friends from Faerie, there were about twenty people there to inspect their work and lend their expertise, and they listened attentively as Bram explained something in the front of the house. Their most polished Time-Stretcher lay open and waiting for a volunteer.

Wil got out of the car and trudged over to Bram’s side. As soon as he came up, all eyes shifted to him, but he ignored them and motioned for Bram to keep speaking. Thomas caught his eye and Wil held up one finger and pointed where he came from. The Cloverton wizard nodded and discreetly slipped away to the car.

“....and as you can see, we have applied more of our rechargeable faricite batteries to this one, so it can be used anywhere, regardless of how many leylines are or aren’t around. Once we have our victim and medical technician inside the box, we close it up and it completes the runic circuit, arresting time inside. No more will people die on their way to receiving critical treatment.”

Despite his usual nervousness, Bram spoke loud and clear, with an energy Wil usually only saw after a few drinks. The fact that he was a full head taller than the next tallest person there lent him some added authority and presence, but more than anything, he knew their products well and had a passion for them Wil could never match.

“How do we know it works?” Bullworth called out over the smatterings of applause. “That time reversal or slowdown or whatever, it sounds great. How do we know it’s safe?”

Wil cleared his throat. “We’ve tested it on me. What felt like forty five seconds to me was almost an hour on the outside. If we’ve got any brave volunteers who don’t mind missing out on the rest of the presentation, we can send them in with a pocket watch and compare times. Grandmaster Ferrovani, might we have your help?”

The surly old man scoffed.

Syl raised his hand. “I’d be glad to volunteer! I’ve got full confidence in my dear friend Master McKenzie. Even if it somehow goes wrong, I’ll probably be fine and not explode or anything.”

“As always, thanks for the backup Syl,” said Wil. He motioned to the Time-Stretcher. “Get inside and watch your head.”

The faun climbed in carefully, ducking in a box that should’ve been too small to hold him. Bob pulled out his pocketwatch and held it up. “It says two-twelve,” he announced before dangling it down for Syl to take.

Syl waved one last time before Wil closed it and locked it, activating the enchantment. It would only have about an hour and fifteen minutes of time to it, unless Wil was right. He motioned for Bram to continue, but Bram waved at him. Now that he was here, it was his turn.

Wil looked out over all the people now intently watching him, talking amongst themselves. Several of the Grandmaster’s aides had journals out, furiously scribbling notes the entire day. Now that it was his turn to talk, his throat dried up and the need for a nap flared.

“Well, Syl’s going to be in there for an hour, and I’m sure everyone’s had a very long day so far. I love Harper Valley, but the summers here are rough, right?” He chuckled, but he was one of the only people to do so. His father gave him a supportive nod. “So why don’t we take a moment to adjourn for drinks before we show our grand finale?”

Bullworth didn’t look happy, but he masked it with a casual laugh. “Well, why not? We’ve got some good stuff coming in. It’s a shame you weren’t there for most of it, Wilbur. Did you have something more pressing?”

Oh gods. Wil smiled and nodded. “I did! My side of the presentation required a little more time and work, and it’s almost ready. I just need a quick drink.”

The president waved him off, and Wil disappeared into his house, Bram hot on his heels.

“What happened? Are we not ready?” Bram asked.

“Thomas is taking care of it now,” Wil said. From the kitchen he grabbed a pitcher of lemonade and a glittering blue potion. Grimacing, he pulled the stopper of the potion out and guzzled it. Then he drank straight from the pitcher, guzzling lemonade to get the foul taste of his pick-me-up out.

It worked almost immediately, cooling some of the edges of the perpetual burn. He still wouldn’t trust himself handling leylines directly for at least another week to be safe, but this would let Wil work some easier spells without feeling like he wanted to collapse.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

“Classy,” said Bram. “What if I wanted some lemonade too?”

Wil put it away. “If you’re this high strung, get yourself a beer. We’re almost out of this, I promise. And it’s going to be grand. How did the presentation go so far?”

Bram blew a breath out. “Hard to say. Thomas’ side of things looked great. He has consistency we don’t, and direct appeal. I think the president and others were irritated that we had to go to so many places to demonstrate what we’ve made.”

“They can thank Ferrovani and his men for that,” Wil grumbled. “It’ll all be worth it. We’re buying Thomas some time to finish up. You going to be alright for your part? I know you don’t like heights. Or moving fast. Or --”

“I get it,” said Bram. “I’ll be fine. I don’t even have to do anything exciting, just show that it works. I’ve got this. And…” he squirmed a little. “Thomas called me Master Stevenson, and then some of the Grandmasters did too!”

“They did?” Wil lit up and more of the lingering fatigue vanished. He clapped his hands on Bram’s arms. “You deserve it and more. I’m feeling better, and it shouldn’t take Thomas too long to get there. Shall we, Master Stevenson?”

“After you, Master McKenzie.”

Once more Wil was grateful for Darlene and her foresight. Even in the last days of her pregnancy and with plans changing every five minutes, she managed to organize things for the day of the presentation. She and Sharon together made sure there was water and lemonade, but also places to sit outside the house. No one was happy about having to wait, but it was more pleasant than it could’ve been.

Wil went up to the president, pausing for the bodyguards to give him a once over. “If I may be so bold, Mr. President…”

Bullworth laughed and motioned for him to continue. “Be bold, by all means. You’ve caught me in a good mood.”

“And it’s only going to get better,” said Wil. “But I have had a very long day and there’s a chance this final thing won’t work. Have we given enough to get me out of trouble?”

“Oh, yeah, of course,” said Bullworth with a wave of his hand. “I see no reason to keep harassing you after this. Wouldn’t have had to if you’d cooperated in the first place.”

It was long past worth being angry, but Wil still felt the momentary urge to give the bodyguards a reason to vaporize him. “I would’ve cooperated if I hadn’t been threatened. But who wants to try to find the start of a circle, right? The important thing is that we’re all happy with my progress.”

“You’ve given us a lot to work with, Master McKenzie,” said Jim Rance. He stepped away from the group of wizards he’d been chatting with and inserted himself between Wil and the president. “Happy is an understatement. You’re going to be a very rich man.”

Wil shrugged. “That’s nice, but I’ll be happier if people leave me to my own devices and give me the benefit of the doubt in my actions.”

Rance laughed. “Fat chance. The rest of your life, you’ll be under surveillance and pressure. Welcome to the club; there’s no getting out of it.”

“Great,” said Wil. And then a second later he meant it as a great plume of black smoke wafted into the sky. It meant Thomas was in place.

Magic was a bit harder now, but Wil made his voice carry for a quarter mile. “Attention everyone! Our presentation will now be concluded. If you’ll follow me…”

Wil led them around to the back of the house, where his backyard had been torn up beyond belief. A strange, boxy shape had been carved around the edges, with four faricite batteries in the corners. He ushered people around the area but kept them out of the box.

“Our final discovery is something people have been after for a century. First of all, will all wizards feel for the leyline here?” Wil waited patiently as they humored him.

“There’s nothing here, McKenzie,” Rand Sandoval called up. “Unless you’ve learned to hide them!” He got a couple polite laughs, but it was just as Wil planned.

“Exactly right! There are no leylines here in the center of the Le Guin Basin, but there are a ridiculous amount along the edges. Not only did I learn how to change leylines, but also to fuse them and bend them to my will. And now, you will see the culmination of not only my research, but that of Master Morgan Marlowe!”

Wil gathered his power and sent up a cloud of black as well. He hurried it into the air. Even after he saw it, Thomas would have to quickly move earth and finish things up.

“What are you talking about?” Ferrovani shouted. “Marlowe was a crackpot.”

“Maybe, but he was also brilliant. When I stayed at Marlowe Manor as a guest of the president, I noticed something.” His heart pounded with excitement. A traitorous part of him whispered that it would be funny if he failed and embarrassed himself in front of everyone, but he refused.

“The property was ringed by not just a cluster of leylines, but a cluster connected to one large ring, stabilizing the power and directing it. Before today, Marlowe Manor was the single most valuable place to study magic in the world. After today, Harper Valley will be the magical capital of Calipan.”

Silence, then more derisive laughter from Ferrovani. “This place has a lot of leylines, McKenzie. I’ll give you that. But what does that have to do with anything? What did you do?”

Wil couldn’t have timed it more perfectly if he’d tried. The four faricite batteries in the corners came to life with a glow. He stepped into the center of his backyard and pushed himself. Not a lot, only enough to carve the final rune into the center of the basin. In the corners were Awaken, Unite, Embrace, and Feed, and now in the very center was the key to them all: Vision.

The faricite batteries glowed even brighter, until they were hard to look directly at. The earth rumbled and the box embedded into the ground warped. Some places were raised, others dipped and filled with water. Grass and little bushes grew rapidly. Faster and faster it all came together until in Wil’s backyard: a map of the basin.

“I linked the entire Le Guin Basin into an array, providing power for everything inside its borders,” Wil said, spreading his arms. “As of now, all of our gadgets will work in Harper Valley without needing to be tied to a specific leyline. Which includes…Bram, you want to take it away?”

A muffled cry of terror answered him. A second later Bram flew around the side of the house on the Thunderhawk, newly adjusted to work on leyline power. He shook in the air, swaying from side to side about eight feet off the ground. The nearest people ducked away from him.

“That right there is a man with all brains and no magic, flying a device I made for wizards! As of today, the gap between those with magic and those without shrinks to mere inches. We are now the first place in the world with this power, and I intend on making sure everyone, no matter how big or small, has access to it.”

There was so much more to say, but Wil’s words failed him. The looks on everyone’s faces as they tracked Bram in the sky or looked at the thirty by twenty foot topographical map of Harper Valley said he that had them. So all he had to do is wrap it up.

“This is only the beginning,” said Wil. “But together with the help of Darlene Johnson, Master Bram Stevenson, and Master Thomas Elliot, we’re ready to lead Calipan into a better future.”

He caught President Bullworth’s eye. The man nodded thoughtfully, then brought his hands together. Others joined him, soon whistling and screaming as their excitement caught up. “A better future,” he echoed.