Excantation Read online

  I felt more than heard Aisling’s approach as she came to stand at my other side. “I’m Aisling, a druid. To my fellow druids, I ask for your aid as well. The main tether for the platforms to tie into the hub is a honed Alder. It’s not something the three of us here can grow on our own. I can start it, and will tomorrow, but all aid given will be blessed.”

  “We’ll end this video, but please, email us, even if you just have questions. Or suggestions of who we need,” James encouraged. “Thank you and wish us good luck.”

  Jackson ended the feed and gave us a thumb’s up. “We’re off air. Great job, all of you. That was the best I could’ve hoped for.”

  I was still kind of nervous even after the fact and went back to drain the rest of my water glass. Klaus ran a soothing hand up and down my back and assured me, “You did well, child.”

  “Thanks, Klaus.”

  “Let me get you more water, you sit down.”

  “That obvious I want to sit down, huh?”

  He laughed at me as he went into the kitchen.

  I sat next to Ciarán on the two-seater couch and he gave me a hug around my shoulders. “You really did do well. I felt all inspired to march off into battle, and I didn’t even have an army to face.”

  I snorted a laugh at this description. “Wow, thanks. I guess my first public speech wasn’t a hash, which is cool.” I pulled out my phone and checked my email. “Well, let’s see if anyone’s respond—holy guacamole! Uh. Guys? I’ve had over fifty people email me already.”

  People instantly turned to face me, some of them crowding in closer to look over my shoulder at my inbox.

  “Are they all saying they’re coming?” James demanded incredulously.

  “Uhh…one sec…” I scrolled through, quickly reading the first line, as that was displayed along with the subject lines. And most of the subject lines read something along the lines of ‘I’m coming.’ “Like, three of them are just asking for more info. But everyone else is coming. James. Seriously, no joke, we’ve got at least fifty people saying they’re coming and they’ll be here in a matter of days.”

  James looked like someone had taken a two-by-four and whapped him upside the head with it, he was that surprised.

  Zoya outright cackled at the look on his face. “You really didn’t think many people would respond, did you? You fool.”

  “No, but,” he spluttered in protest, “everyone has such busy lives and their own agendas, I didn’t think they’d drop everything!”

  “To be part of one of the greatest achievements of our lifetime?” Zoya countered, still cackling. “Of course they will, you idiot!”

  Apparently. I mean, I know I said that, but this many? Already? And that didn’t include the word of mouth that would spread the message after this. Or the people who would watch the saved video on the drive later, who were in a different time zone, who would respond.

  Klaus brought my water back, and I took it, but that wasn’t my main worry. “Klaus, will Agna be able to expand the house enough to accommodate lots of people?”

  He just patted me on the head like I’d asked a silly question. “We’ll make room for them all, child, don’t worry.”

  Not my job, not my problem, I guess. I just hoped Agna didn’t kill me for this later.

  It was too soon to expect people first thing in the morning, so I wasn’t worried about wandering downstairs, still rubbing sleep from my eyes. I was dressed, though. Mostly. Shoes were somewhere. If I asked House, it would tell me, so I wasn’t too worried about finding them.

  I had the rest of my pumpkin porridge for breakfast (yum!) and then wandered over to the living room to see what everyone was up to. Only James, Zoya, and Richard seemed to be working at this point. “Morning, everyone.”

  “Morning,” Zoya greeted with a wave to join her at the card table. One of those big world maps was stretched out on top. “Join us, devushka. We’re trying to solve the first major problem.”

  “I love how we have multiple major problems.” I took the seat offered and looked at the other two. James had a bottle of aspirin sitting next to his coffee cup, and that pretty much summed up how things were currently going. “So, what’s the first one?”

  “Where to put the Hub,” Richard answered, gesturing to the map. “I think what did the old Hub in was that it had no physical support sustaining it. Suspended buildings are very, very tricky to build. The larger they become, the harder it is. It’s a feat of engineering they managed it at all, but I think that’s why the building warped as it did.”

  “No foundational support and the platform cantilevers weren’t up to the job.” My own study of construction had taught me the importance of that. You screw up a foundation, you screw up a house. And trying to redo a foundation afterwards was no easy feat. “So…you’re thinking, put it on solid Earth this time?”

  “It’s the only viable option,” Richard agreed.

  “But what about powering it? I mean, the old Hub was powered by aether, and with it sitting right there near the aetheric plane, it had power galore.”

  Richard waved this protest away. “With the Hub on solid earth, we have multiple means of powering it. Geothermal energy, for instance. That would supply us with enough power for the Hub and then some. It depends on where we put it. Even wind power might be the ticket.”

  “We’ve basically already debated this while searching for the Hub.” James gave an eloquent shrug. “Where could the Hub possibly go? Not to the other planes because those are all owned, and we can’t give any particular pantheon or clan control of it. Obviously, between planes is problematic, as eventually the structure will warp and fail. We saw that with our own eyes. Earth comes with its own problems, which is why we discounted it so many times. But putting it on a different plane simply isn’t feasible. Earth is our only real option. We’ll have to put it somewhere remote, on land unclaimed. Somewhere Nixes don’t normally go that isn’t prone to natural disasters, etc.”

  Richard nodded in support of this while grunting affirmation. “Planes, or even between planes, isn’t wise. No way to truly support the building. And truly, if they had been able to go outside the Hub and do repairs, or shore up the structure, it might not have reached that point of collapse. Sustaining it between the two planes like that doomed the building, in the end. It didn’t give them a good way to do repairs.”

  “And every building needs repairs, eventually.” I nodded, following this. Common sense, really. “I think it’ll definitely be easier on us to build it here, too. So, the problem is location, I take it?”

  “Location, location, location,” James sighed, holding onto his coffee mug as if he were waiting for the magical beans to supply inspiration. “They put the old Hub where it is for a reason. It was in perfectly neutral territory. That’s a rare thing in this world. I’ve already emailed several people coming, asking for opinions of where to put this. I’m not thinking of any good possibilities right now.”

  “There are a few places no one sane lives in.” Zoya made a face. “For a reason—they’re not very habitable. The Antarctic, for instance.”

  “That sounds distinctly unpleasant to build in.” Just the idea shivered me timbers. Uh, no. Not looking forward to working in subarctic temperatures with the penguins. “Surely there’s other places that aren’t part of any clan’s territory that isn’t absolutely covered in ice.”

  Zoya pointed to the laptop screen at the end of the table. “It’s a short list. Even with the feedback we’ve gotten, it’s a short list. The Arctic, which isn’t viable—there’s no ground underneath that ice. The Antarctic, some uninhabited islands, that’s about it. We’re currently looking at the islands. Most of them are small, far too small to support the Hub’s infrastructure.”

  I followed this fine. I knew the Hub would be rather big out of necessity. Each terminal door connected directly to a specific gate, which meant a lot of gates. It would have to be a very large place to accommodate all of that. At least a mile across—t
hat’s what Jackson said last night. And that didn’t include whatever power source we’d need to keep this thing operational. Obviously, drawing from the aether to support the Hub down here was out. The platforms were small enough and had a small enough draw that it worked fine. But the Hub? Without being tied directly next to the aetheric plane, it couldn’t begin to draw enough power. No way that was feasible.

  Room for a power plant was part of the problem. Location, location, location, indeed.

  “There’s a few places that I think might work.” Richard pointed to a group of islands south of New Zealand. “The Antipodes, for instance. They’re uninhabited, rather large, and have enough resources to make building there possible instead of a nightmare.”

  “They’re also cold, have harsh winds, and are responsible for numerous shipwrecks and deaths,” James pointed out laconically.

  “Tetepare,” Richard immediately countered. “South Pacific, one of the largest uninhabited islands of the region.”

  “Which is also under conservation laws and covered in rainforest. People are going to notice if we start building on it, trust me.”

  “Aldabra,” Richard countered again, pointing to an island off the coast of Africa with a victorious sort of jab.

  “Aldabra,” James replied wearily, as if he was now repeating himself, “is uninhabited for a reason. It’s deucedly hard to get to. We have to be able to get to this place, Richard, remember.”

  Zoya cleared her throat, trying to derail them, I think. “I still like Devon Island.”

  Ever felt like you were taking a geography test you hadn’t studied for? “Where’s that?”

  “North Canada.” Zoya helpfully pointed at the map for me. “It’s rather large, in fact, over fifty-five thousand square kilometers of land.”

  I had to convert that in my head before whistling. Whoa, that was basically twenty-one thousand square miles. “We’d definitely have enough space there. Why is it uninhabited?”

  “Combination of factors.” James didn’t look as if he disagreed with Zoya’s choice. He had his thinking face on. “It gets very little precipitation, it’s at a relatively high elevation and extreme northern latitude, so it doesn’t appeal to anyone. And it is far enough out of the way from any clan territories that no one can dispute ownership of it. Certainly, no one’s going to use it for tourist purposes, either. As long as we avoid the Haughton crater, I don’t see why we’d have an issue building the Hub there. We’d definitely need to put a glamour over the whole thing to avoid drawing attention, though. They like to do studies up there near the crater.”

  How does one acquire all of this knowledge? Or had they been looking things up after I went to bed last night? Probably the latter.

  “But if we put it up there, we can use either geothermal energy or wind turbines to power the Hub. Possibly even both, if we feel we’d like to have a backup in case one of them fails.” Richard pursed his lips thoughtfully, eyes going to the ceiling. “I’m for geothermal if we choose that site. It’ll run like a top, the conditions are right for it there. And we’ll never be short of power.”

  “Not ocean or wind power?” James queried, blinking a bit in surprise.

  “Maybe,” Richard said in a doubting tone. “Depends where on the island we situate it. It’s not a small landmass, and for every foot energy is transferred, power is lost. Maintaining multiple glamours will be hard on our magicians.”

  “Ah, valid point. But the geothermal plant can be included in under the Hub’s glamour, is that what you’re thinking?”

  “Precisely so.”

  The door blew open with a slight gust of air, and a goddess waltzed inside. No exaggeration. Brigid of the Tuatha de Danann had decided to grace us with her presence. She looked as stunning as always with her red hair in vibrant curls around her face, a luxurious green gown of crushed velvet draped around a full figure. She turned her head, spied us, and lit up in a smile.

  “Greetings, all,” she said, voice light and airy. “Zoya, Reagan, how fare you?”

  We all more or less stood to greet her, but it was Zoya who answered, “We’re well, thank you for asking.”

  Agna appeared out of thin air and greeted the goddess with a bow. “Brigid. Welcome to my house. I pray you’re comfortable here. Can I offer a cuppa?”

  “Tea would be lovely, dear Agna, thank you.” She glided to the table and took the only remaining chair with the air of one who intended to be there a while. “It seems you’ve been busy since I saw you last, Reagan.”

  “Have I ever,” I admitted with a wry smile. “You’ve heard about the disaster yesterday with the Hub explorations?”

  “Oh yes. It’s why I’m here today. My sweet Aisling came up last night and bent my ear.” A frown chased its way across her face. “I was not best pleased to hear the news. My druids, of course, they can come and go as they please. But as modern society cuts down more and more of our Trees, well, travel does become more difficult. And that doesn’t speak for everything else in my domain who cannot use the Trees as my druids can. There’s many who would benefit if the Hub and platforms were in operation once more. I understand you intend to build anew?”

  James gave her a respectful nod. “We do. We’ve issued a call to quarters and many people have already stated their intent to join us, to help. We’re currently trying to find a good location.”

  “I see. I’ve come to offer my own aid. Aisling spoke to me not only to update me on the situation, but to ask for the seed of an Alder Tree. I am quite happy to gift you with such.” She gave us all a blinding smile. “Indeed, that is the least of what I’ll do. Find a spot to put the Hub, and I will help you grow the honed Alder Tree.”

  The breath just about whooshed out of me. Whoooa. Crap just got real, folks. We had a live and in the flesh goddess offering to pitch in. “That would be amazing, Brigid, thank you! We want to get the Hub operational as fast as we can, and the Tree was one of the things we’re all worried about. It takes a while to grow it, right?”

  “It can, depending on all who help me. I would suggest finding a spot to build quickly. I can immediately plant the seed and start honing its growth. How long will this take to build?”

  “Depends on how much help we have,” James answered honestly. “I think we can at least get the skeleton of the building up, get it partially operational within three months. We’ve had seventy people commit to helping us—”

  “Hundred and ten,” I corrected him. When his head snapped around, eyebrows shooting up, I shrugged sheepishly. “I checked my email while eating breakfast. Forgot to tell you, sorry. We’re at a hundred and ten.”

  James let out an incredulous laugh, echoed by a heartier chortle from Richard. “I think we can definitely get it operational in three months,” Richard opined.

  “Three months.” Brigid pursed her lips, calculations whirling in her eyes. “I think the Tree will not be fully grown by that point, but it should be mature enough to tether. Very well. Tell Aisling when you have the spot chosen, and I’ll come to plant it.”

  Agna brought tea, which Brigid took with a pleased thanks.

  “We’re very glad for the aid,” Zoya told her gratefully. “It’s a tall task we’ve taken up.”

  “Yes, it certainly is. But I think you’ll find we all wish for its success. Do you have a spot you wish to scout?”

  “Devon Island is currently the most viable place we can think of.”

  “Hmm. The conditions there are a bit harsh for one of my Trees. I think protections are in order to keep it from withering while it grows.”

  I lifted a hand uncertainly. “I can go with you when you plant it, maybe erect a greenhouse around it? If that’ll help?”

  “Bless you, child, it would.” Brigid gave me a nod, sipped at her tea some more, then eyed Zoya sideways. “I think it’ll do her good to experience traveling by druidic methods, don’t you?”

  “I’m certainly not going to deny her the experience,” Zoya replied dryly. “Ciarán wi
ll no doubt want to go with her.”

  “I certainly will.”

  I looked around for him, only to find him in cat form, lounging in the windowsill and enjoying a morning sunny spot. Now, just how long had he been there?

  “For that matter, Brigid, I would like to go with her.” Klaus came in and around the table to stand at my side. “I realize three of us will make travel a bit tougher, but if you’ll allow, I can open a Door on site once Reagan has constructed the greenhouse. It will make travel much safer and faster for everyone else.”

  Brigid shook her head. “I do not want others trampling about my Tree.”

  “I’ll make a separate building for them, then,” I immediately countered. She did have a point. Someone was sure to accidentally step on the seedling. And really, the point of the greenhouse was to keep warm air in, which would be hard to do if people were constantly popping in and out. “A temporary house or storage shed or something. We’ll need that up there anyway. Klaus can anchor the Door to that.”

  “I think that the better path.” She took another sip before allowing, “You may accompany us as well, Klaus. But you’re correct, no more than you three. It’ll become too crowded otherwise.”

  “I understand, and thank you.”

  She finished her cup with a smile. “Everyone, I’ll leave you to it. Contact me through Aisling when you’re ready to proceed.”

  “We will,” James promised.

  Brigid stood, and I swear Agna had bat ears, as she knew to return to the living room at that point. “The tea was lovely, Agna, thank you.”

  “You’re of course welcome,” Agna returned while accepting the cup.

  Then as suddenly as she blew in, Brigid left, leaving us confused mortals in her wake. I looked around the group. “Right. When a goddess says get to it, time to get our game face on. Who’s in favor of a scouting mission today?”

  “I’d prefer to have a designated building site by the time people arrive,” Richard admitted. “And if Devon Island isn’t suitable for whatever reason, best to know it now. Do you think Aisling will take us through? She’ll be faster and can get us at least most of the way, I think.”