Power corrupts. At least that was what they always told me. As I saw the mountain range around Loch Ness come closer, through the cab window, I hoped that they were wrong.
“You’ll let me know when we get there?” the driver asked, as we passed through Fort Augustus. The low sun cast long shadows on the sleepy town, as it set in red and orange stripes behind the hills.
“We’re close.” My fingers tightened around my phone as I stared at the dot on the map. I could feel the stress rising high.
In the magical world, there was one authority that everyone bowed before, an institution that dated back thousands of years, and were like royalty now: the Guild. The rules that they set were obeyed by every mage who knew what was good for them.
And I had broken those rules. Big time. Now, I was on my way to find out just how grave the consequences of my actions would be.
I took out my small mirror. In the glass, my expression looked plain—the nervousness didn’t show. The gaze in my blue eyes betrayed nothing. I’d have to keep it that way. The last thing I needed was to display fear. I tightened the band around my black hair and put the mirror away.
On my phone, the blue circle neared the destination. Behind us, I could no longer see any houses, even in the distance. Here, it was stretches of forest and farm fields, with narrow, unkempt paths: ferns, sharp nettles, mud and midges.
At least it wasn’t raining. Though, if it was, I could make it stop.
“Julie?” The driver turned to me, hesitant. We’d talked on the very long way here, and at some point, I told him to address me by my first name.
“Right over there.” I pointed at the trees ahead—which to him was a random spot in the woods. “You can stop.”
“Stop now?” He raised his eyebrows in the mirror.
“Yes, now.” My voice had certainty, authority even.
He slowed and came to a stop. “Are you sure?” He looked at me, hesitant.
“Like I said, it’s a hiking trip and I missed my flight—my friends are camping by the shore tonight.” It was my well-rehearsed story. I unbuckled. Hiking trip…if only.
He glanced at the rucksack I had brought with me—in order to keep up appearances. I’d also dressed the part. “Right. Er…do you want me to give you the number of a local taxi company, maybe? Just in case you can’t find your friends? You shouldn’t stay here too long. A woman alone in the wild is not the best idea, you know.”
“Happens all the time—there are women professional hikers.” I had to make sure he didn’t linger here. “And I’m good with outdoors. I came fully geared: waterproof jacket, GPS, tent, food, fire blanket, an emergency tracker with an SOS button. I’m a fitness trainer.” That last bit was true.
He didn’t seem convinced. He watched me with worry lines as I stepped out to pay him.
Was it also because he’d noticed the tension? Was he picking up on my fear? I couldn’t allow that—no damsel-in-distress vibes tonight. I grabbed my pack and shut the door.
I walked to the front of the vehicle, my hand fishing inside my bag for the wallet.
My fingers landed on a small square box: my engagement ring. I had chosen not to wear it tonight. For a moment, I reconsidered. It didn’t matter, really. But it could make me feel like Mark, my fiancé, was close. I missed him already. But, hard as it was, I didn’t regret coming here.
I pushed the box deeper into the pack, found my wallet, and inserted my credit card into the machine.
“Metal?” He stopped. Then he chuckled. “Er…you must be a very good fitness trainer.”
I simply smiled. The card was from a joint bank account and showed my family name, which was still Evans. But not for long. In less than a week, I would become Julie Ralston, and that name on a card would get me into completely different conversations. Ralston was Mark’s family name and also the name of his well-known software company, which was in the recent news because it was entering a new major partnership with Google.
As I made my way through the trees, I thought of the first time we met, only a couple of months ago. His incredible smile, with the dimples on the sides, the bright eyes and short hair—golden like the sun—that had grown since and fell on his forehead. The broad shoulders. That loving gaze. My chest warmed.
We were destined to be together. Mark was my Charge—the person I was born to fall in love with and magically protect for as long as we both lived, which would be a few centuries—I was his Guardian.
I also thought about the fight we had, because I came here alone, without telling him. I’d escaped between the wine tastings and flower selection, slipping out of the old house in Dunbar, near Edinburgh, where we were having the wedding. And I texted him only an hour ago to fill him in.
He called back immediately. That was one phone call! Even the cab driver gave me “the stare.” But this was something I had to do on my own. The invitation was only for me. Yes. I could have told him, but I also had to respect the Guild’s will—he’d come if he knew.
Especially considering I was about to meet with the head of the Guild.
A shiver passed through me. I ignored it. There was no turning back now. At least I knew I was probably safe. They’d allowed me to choose where to meet, and this was the one place where I would be protected.
“There she is!” Between the trees, a little red head popped up, and then a chubby dinosaur-looking creature ran to me, excited, its yellow eyes shining. “Julie!”
“Hi! Wow, look how much you’ve grown,” I said excitedly. I knelt as it approached me. It was just two feet high, had elephant legs, a long tail, and hand-sized wings that were carefully tucked against its body.
“I want a cuddle,” it said in its tiny toddler voice.
“Me too!” Another small red dragon joined in.
I opened my arms to hug them, and they put their little heads on my shoulders. A few other toddlers joined, followed by a group of adult dragons—these were green and blue, about three feet high, and with larger wings compared to their body.
I had powerful friends with me tonight: friends with spell power, who could magically transform to tall and massive beasts, and breathe fire.
They surrounded me. The toddlers all started to talk at the same time, telling me everything they had done since I last saw them: who became the best at tag, new teeth that came in, learning to fly. The adults watched, smiling, and let them have their fun until one adult made a motion with their head. Another saw it and hushed the toddlers, and then everyone went silent. They turned to look at the path up front.
Three adult dragons made their way toward us. A fourth walked behind them, taller than the rest. Her bright-blue skin glowed as she stepped gracefully, radiating both serenity and power. I rose when I saw her, and the others around me stepped aside.
“The new protectress of Loch Ness,” one of the three dragons introduced, once they stopped in front of us.
I bowed my head. Everyone else around was still, waiting for her to speak.
“Julie.” She uttered my name, her voice resonating.
“Nelly,” I replied.
She was different than I had imagined. We hadn’t met when I was here before. We spoke for the first time when we arranged this evening and the dragons said that I could meet with the Guild here, under their protection. Now, upfront, she looked younger than I expected, gentler perhaps. I was comparing her with her sister.
Nelly smiled. “We are honored that you chose to come to us at your time of need.”
“Thank you so much for helping me with this.”
“We are glad we can help.”
She turned, and we started to move away with some of the adult dragons, leaving the toddlers and my heavy backpack behind. The box with my ring was now safe in my pocket.
“Your mage isn’t here yet.”
It felt like that silence before the storm—a storm that I knew was imminent. I breathed hard.
Nelly noticed. “You are safe—rest assured of that. Few places are safer than those protected by dragons, though you must have heard these same words from us before.”
I had. And Mark had, too—when we were here together. This was where it all happened.
Right after Mark and I met, we got threatened by a powerful mage called Eduard Davies, who was out to kill us. To save us, I had to do something unthinkable: I magically hand-fasted us and transferred a copy of my powers to Mark. It was our only chance to survive. It was strictly prohibited for the consequences that came with it: magic was not compatible with humans. Those born to it had certain limitations that mortals didn’t. There was one known case in history where a mage twinned his power and the Charge went mad—dangerously so.
This was the Guild’s fear.
Mark had urged me to do it, risking himself, because we had no choice.
He trained rigorously now, juggling magical practice with his busy life, desperate to maintain control. He worked with my siblings and my father, but he refused to try with me. When it came to magic, he would shut me out, fearing I’d get hurt from what could get released.
But I saw it: his battle against the growing darkness inside. Every day. Like a shadow that would suddenly wash over him. It was also present in non-magical circumstances: an almost hissing type of stress that I learned to recognize—a tension that came from a perpetual conflict with something that challenged his strong, generous nature. He was different from when I’d met him; so much had happened to the both of us.
Only I sensed the darkness, as far as I knew. My family knew about it. As did the Guild. And now, the dragons who had fought and paid a heavy price to protect us from Eduard. Lucy, Nelly’s sister, was the protectress of Loch Ness then. She had welcomed us here. And Eduard killed her. Despite that, the dragons were helping me now! Or maybe they hoped to avenge her, if they got the chance.
“I am so sorry for your loss,” I said to Nelly. Finally, I got the opportunity to tell her that face-to-face.
“You tried to save her. Everyone here knows how bravely you fought for my sister.”
I could see the resemblance now. Something about the shape of her mouth and her body. Her voice had similar warmth, too. But her eyes were different. Larger. Those reminded me of another dragon, who wasn’t here tonight: Leonard. He and Mark were friends, since that visit. He wanted to be here, but he was somewhere in the Bahamas. Leonard liked to travel. Dragons had camouflage magic, and he made the best of it by seeing the world. We were expecting him back for the wedding.
The meeting point now came into view: a clearing with dense trees around. The rugged ground felt familiar, as I recalled a morning when I sat here with Mark, listening to Lucy’s stories of the history of the loch.
“The mage is close.” A dragon approached from the other side of the clearing.
I sensed it too. Someone was walking toward us from the south. My heart beat fast. From between the trees, the final rays of the sun disappeared behind the mountains.
Was Mark safe without me? The thought suddenly crossed my mind. Yes. If they wanted to “get me out of the way,” they would have had plenty of other opportunities. I was indeed here to talk—and that was scary enough.
What would I hear tonight? What was the Guild planning to do to me and Mark? And how do I keep face—and give them the right answers—answers that could protect us?
I am strong, I reminded myself. The challenges I’d faced with Eduard had shaped me. I can do this.
There was a rustle in the bushes up front. And onto the path came a tall woman. Isadora Gifford.
The first thing I noticed was the ring on her finger. The Blue Diamond—an ornamented golden band with a large blue stone set in the middle. Every member of the Guild had one. Through them, they shared their powers. At any point, each could pull on the cumulative magic of the collective, which was normally around eighty mages. So any member of the Guild alone was a walking lethal weapon.
But Isadora’s ring was different. It had two white diamonds on each side—the ring of the head of the Guild. It gave her certain elements of control over the collective. I had seen this one ring before: on Eduard’s finger.
I could still remember what fighting him felt like. Every spell was enhanced by many mages. The only reason I was still alive was because the other Guild members decided not to support him at the moment of our fight and took their rings off. But they would support Isadora now. After what I did.
She came closer. Her eyes fixed on me.
Behind me, one of the dragons cleared his throat and mumbled something to the others. I caught the words, “This isn’t a corporate event,” and two of them laughed. It was only then that I noticed her clothes: in the middle of the woods, Isadora chose to wear a dark-green suit with a silk scarf, and pearl earrings. Her salt-and-pepper hair, with its round bob cut, sat tamed around her face.
She was making a point in dressing like that—a show of her status. Of course, she had already made a huge statement of power by agreeing to meet here, surrounded by dragons: that no grounds on Earth could give me any kind of “home advantage.” Not even this one.
“Miss Evans.” She looked around her. “You’ve chosen strange surroundings in which to meet.”
“I’ve chosen what I know best.”
“I see.” Isadora smiled. There was something…intimidating about that smile.
Nelly stepped forward and stood beside me—a show of her status, and that she stood united with me.
Isadora nodded at her, acknowledging her place, and then looked back at me. “Let me start by saying that the Guild feels responsible for…what you had to do.”
“That’s because the Guild is responsible—Eduard was head of the Guild.”
I had prepared this sentence. Eduard’s corruption was a stain on the Guild. They were normally considered an elite order that did great work in the world and provided a source of guidance and protection to mages.
To add to it, I was the one who’d eventually dealt with him. Not that it justified giving Mark my magic. Not in their eyes. Even though there was no other way.
“We didn’t know about Eduard’s crimes against you at the time.” Isadora then continued slowly, her tone low, almost majestic, condescending. “You, despite your young age and lack of experience, exposed him for us. And we are thankful for it.”
My age? I was twenty-six and Mark was twenty-nine. How old was she? Three or four hundred years maybe? But then, why mention our differences in age and experience—it sounded patronizing. She was already royalty. This was unnecessary.
“We are not here because of the Guild’s deep gratitude,” I replied, upset at the way she’d just spoken to me.
Next to me, Nelly smiled. Dragons didn’t like the Guild. Not even before they killed their protectress. And it wasn’t the first time they and the Guild had crossed paths in the wrong way.
“No.” Isadora’s voice was cold. “We are here because the Guild wants what’s best for everyone. Including you.”
What did that even mean?
“Mark must already be struggling and you, as his Guardian, must face that every day.”
She was right about that.
“We can help you. There is no need for you to deal with this all on your own. And after careful consideration, we’ve found a way to ensure that you’re not alone with this burden. We can help you, if you’re in trouble and you need—”
“What are you saying?” I needed her to cut to the chase. Her prolonged speech was stressing me out.
She looked around her and then back at me. “There is one sure way we can protect you.”
“How?”
“By giving you a place among us. Join the Guild.”
What?! “Never!”
It would give them control over my magic, and the ability to monitor Mark through me.
She continued despite my response. “Think about it: you’ll have the power of the collective to help you. The Guild is a well-established organization with old, experienced mages. Your father used to be one of us.”
“Used to be.” That came out with intensity that I didn’t intend—I didn’t want to defy her in any way.
Yes, my dad was one of them once. And he’d done great work there. For decades. So much, that they promised to protect our family after his service. But they didn’t. I got threatened in my teens. They did nothing. I was attacked and nearly drowned, and had to bind my powers to save myself and my family—the magic only returned when I met Mark. My father detested the Guild for this.
“I’m very sorry for what happened to you.”
She knew about it. Of course she knew. And her voice was warmer when she spoke these words.
“Unfortunately, it can’t change what’s going on right now. But I do want to help you.”
She still didn’t tell me the other side of the Guild’s offer: what would happen if I didn’t comply. “What exactly is the threat here?”
“Well…”
Just get to it! Please.
“There are two problems with what you did: firstly, any magical powers are incompatible with humans. But yours are unusually strong—that was why you were threatened then.”
Obviously.
And she knew I’d be more powerful now: intimacy with a Charge releases our magic to its fullest.
“Secondly, Mark is no ordinary man. He already handles large amounts of wealth and influence. Add magic to that? It’s as we’ve been warned over the centuries, by experienced mages who had put together the Guild’s rules: Thou shalt not create an immortal king.”
“He’s not a king.”
“In this world, he’s as good as. We are afraid of him abusing so much power.”
Nelly now spoke. “Look within your own ranks!” Murmurs among the dragons seconded her words.
Isadora nodded at her again. “You are right. What Eduard did was unforgivable. And I am deeply sorry for your loss.”
That resulted in more muttering around. By the tones, I could tell that some dragons were surprised at her sympathy and others were enraged by her attempt at it.
I had to bring the conversation back to Mark. I couldn’t give Isadora an opportunity to stray.
“So…Mark? What does the Guild say?”
She returned to me. “That, in addition to it all, he’s also famous: if he accidentally does something that exposes magic—the whole world will know.”
“If anyone exposes magic, the whole world will know.”
“True. But the spotlight is already on him.” She took a long breath, as if considering whether to say her next words. Her face softened. “You don’t need to convince me, Julie. Off the record: I would have done the same thing that you did, under the circumstances. But other mages in the Guild, perhaps even most of them…you will need protection from what they want. There have been cases in the past where a Guardianship had to be compromised.”
And there it was. Finally. There was a threat on Mark’s life!
This was what I’d feared the most.
“You won’t get to him! Not without going through me.” Anger, fear, and frustration radiated through my voice.
“Famous last words, I’m afraid. Let me help you. When I came here, I thought of how I could. If you join, I can protect you inside the Guild. I will guide you through this. Otherwise, my hands are tied.”
She actually wanted to help me? Not just as some sort of arrangement that would put me in the Guild’s control? Her words before hinted that she could see the situation from my perspective. I didn’t expect this.
Was she just being cold and tough at the beginning of the conversation, because of her position and…personality? But underneath it all, this was what she wanted?
Still, there was no way I would give the Guild access to my magic.
“Thank you. For your kind offer. But I cannot accept it.”
She observed me with patience. “Perhaps think about this? Give yourself time? My door is always open.”
She was being kind.
But, like she’d said, she was only one mage. I still had the rest of the Guild to deal with.
And then, a thought came. Something I hadn’t considered in the many days I had been thinking of what to say tonight. “Mark is famous. If the Guild messed with him, it could expose you, and under the worst circumstances. It would be Salem all over again.”
“Yes. That is indeed possible. However, the Guild is the reason that the magical world survived the dark days of Salem, and others. We’ve buried larger secrets than the ones that were exposed there. Anyway…I’ve said all I could, so I will not linger. The choice is yours. Think about it.”
There were murmurs in the crowd again, as the dragons realized she was about to leave. The mood lifted.
“There is one more thing I must tell you. Unfortunately. In case we don’t meet again.” Isadora’s voice was grim.
What could possibly be worse than a threat on Mark’s life? My blood went cold.
“I’d advise you to wait with having children. It’s only fair you knew that the biggest concern people have is not you or Mark, but—”
What the hell? “What’s that supposed to mean?”
She just stared. A sad stare. Letting it sink in.
“They wouldn’t…” No… “The Guild will kill my children?!” And in those words, which I now shouted, were the pent-up emotions from this conversation, from preparing for it, and from the whole situation of dealing with the Guild.
“I’m sorry. I suggest you tell Mark that—”
“Tell me what?”
I turned. Mark approached from between the dragons, behind me.
He was here?! All this time? And I didn’t even sense it?
He walked toward us, enraged, looking straight at Isadora, his eyes piercing. If a look could kill.
He stopped between us, a few feet from her, out of respect. If he got any closer, he would tower over her.
“Threaten us again, and you’ll have a lot more than Julie and me to answer to.” His wide chest rose and fell. Tense. Aggravated.
“Mark—” Isadora started.
“Save it. Save it for the Guild. Go back and tell your friends that if they know what’s good for them, they will never come near us again.”