Excantation Page 22

  “It’s cute at this size,” Ciarán noted as he joined us.

  “Isn’t it?” Klaus agreed. “Like a miniature.”

  The platform this time was about the size of a king-sized mattress, which meant I had to adjust the columns so the boxes were still large enough for a human hand to monkey around inside. I still had sigils and glass tubes to put in there, after all. And the columns still had to have enough height to incorporate and sustain the tunnel, when it came up.

  Once I had the stone all in, I put in the sigils and glass tubes in all the columns, then added symbols for dialing out. It had been long enough since anyone had used a platform that I decided a set of instructions was a good idea. I imagined a sign with simple instructions and put it next to the platform. It also gave the address for each of the neighboring platforms. This wouldn’t be an international platform, so I didn’t have to worry about that. Thankfully. As I didn’t know how to designate that anyway. The Hub’s address wasn’t set yet.

  It was lunch time at that point, so I stopped to eat.

  Zoya hiked back up to join us for lunch, and she took in the mini-platform. “That looks adorable, Reagan. Fully functional?”

  “As soon as Aisling gets it prepped for a tether,” I confirmed. “I’ve already got it connected to the other, southern platform in Finland.”

  “Excellent.” She plopped down and accepted the plate Klaus handed her. “You’re more or less ready to go down there, as well. I have the site cleared, the foundation dug, and I’ve had a long talk with everyone down there. They understand that if they mess with the platform again, we won’t come back to fix it. I’m not going to embroil us in their power struggles.”

  I clinked my glass against hers. “Good call.”

  Eoin paused in eating, shifting in his spot across from us to lean in a little. “Wait, does that mean you can possibly be done today?”

  “Hmm.” Zoya eyed me sideways, a look I matched. “Possibly?”

  “It’s not like the size of the platform makes much difference for me,” I pointed out. “And if you’ll make up the glass tubes and help me put the sigils in place, that’ll speed things along. We’ll likely be done before we completely lose daylight.”

  “The southern platform I know is working.” The way Eoin said this, it was clear he half-thought out loud. “Do you need to check on it?”

  “Well, yeah, I need to undo the tether on it that connects it to the old Hub and do some maintenance on it. Where are you going with this, Eoin?”

  “Here’s my thought. Why not travel out of here tonight? We can go to the other platform, stay with that clan tonight. You can do your maintenance work on that platform in the morning. Then we can travel back to London by afternoon.”

  Logistically, it all made sense. I really didn’t have an order on which platforms to get to, or even a map on me of where the rest of them were. We’d made this clan a priority because they’d fallen off the grid, so I’d hurried out here, but I wasn’t prepared to keep traveling. Not at this point. I never intended to start traveling from here, anyway. The point was to get the clan here settled first, figure out the situation, while the adults put together a list of what platforms I needed to do and what order to tackle them in. But I might as well handle Finland while I was here. It was easier to hit that other platform now, while I was still in the country, rather than have to come back the hard way.

  “I like this plan,” Aisling admitted.

  Ciarán nodded. “I agree it makes the most sense.”

  I shrugged at Zoya. Another night of not sleeping outside sounded grand to me. “I’m sold.”

  “We’ll do that, then.”

  After I finished lunch, I lingered a bit to watch Aisling work. I couldn’t really follow it, to tell you the truth. Druidic magic was more nature-based, somewhat faith-based, and it was just different enough to screw with my eyes. I could see the initial pass of her magic, as her hands settled on the stone and infiltrated it like vines crawling over the surface. And I could sense it strengthen as her magic took root. But that was about all I got.

  Aisling pulled back with a sigh and gave me a nod. “Done. Next?”

  “Next,” I agreed. At least it didn’t take her long. That was a plus.

  We hiked down to the valley floor. I approved of Zoya’s choice in location. It was still in the woods so had some foliage cover, but was flat enough that it was easy to build on. With her tag-teaming, we got the platform built in record time. I handled the connection of the other platform to the south while she put a ward and glamour up around the platform.

  Done. I surveyed the area, looking it over to make sure we hadn’t missed anything. It didn’t look like we had.

  “We’re done,” Zoya assured me. She pulled out her phone and called someone. “Klaus? We’re done. Alright, thank you.”

  I didn’t quite follow this conversation. “Aren’t we going back up?”

  “No, they’ve been packing up while we were working. They’ll meet us down here.”

  I didn’t have to hike up another mountain? Sweetness. My thighs and calves thanked me.

  Zoya regarded me in that paternal manner adults often used with me. “How are you doing, Reagan? I have to say, this job has turned out to be much harder than I anticipated, and I wasn’t expecting it to be easy.”

  “Pfft, you’re telling me. Yeah, it’s been a bit rough. But…incredibly satisfying, I think is the best way to say it. I feel very accomplished.” I frowned, struggling to put all of these emotions into words. “Most of my life, I’ve felt left behind. My parents got to travel the world while I was stuck in one place. It really grated. Traveling like this is sort of tiring, but it’s liberating at the same time. I get to see more of the world. Meet really cool people.”

  “So, really, it’s a dream come true for you.” Her expression relaxed into something more pleased.

  “Yeah. It really is. Why do you ask?”

  “I’m a little tired,” Zoya told me wryly. “I figured you had to be. You’re not used to it like I am.”

  “Ah. Good point.”

  “Klaus related what you said about not wishing to have any connection with your parents. Do you still feel that way?”

  I shrugged, my smile a sorry excuse of a thing. “I don’t miss them. My life’s suddenly full and busy, and I just can’t find the emotional energy to care about them anymore. Besides, what’s the point? They don’t seem to miss me, either.”

  A sad sigh slipped from my master’s throat. “You’re likely correct. Still, it angers and saddens me in turns that you don’t feel it’s worth the effort.”

  I shrugged, as I didn’t know what else to say. No, perhaps I did. “My biological family—excluding Nana—kinda sucks. But, you know, my family of choice is awesome. And I wouldn’t trade you guys for anything.”

  She reached out, pulling me into a tight hug. I wasn’t really used to hugs, still, but I enjoyed them immensely. “We do love you, Reagan. I’m a bit concerned that I’ve dumped too much on you.”

  “Why? Because of school?”

  “You should be making friends with your peers right now. School started almost a month ago. I’ve seen this project as a journeyman project for you, a way to expand your skills and your knowledge. And I do feel that what you learn here is superior to what you could gain in a classroom. But it’s not helping you make any friends.”

  I snorted. “I’m not making friends my age, sure, but I’m making plenty of friends. I’m not worried, Mactep. My principal assured me I could catch up when I get home again. I’ll make friends with my peers once I’m back home. We’re only another, what, three months from finishing? I don’t want to go home yet.”

  “We’re both very invested in this now.” She gave me a nod of approval. “I’d like to see it through to the finish.”

  “So would I. I don’t want to go home yet.”

  “Horosho. Then I won’t worry.”

  Everyone else joined us at that point, hauling down cam
ping gear and backpacks, and we broke apart to collect our own bags. Intto was with them, and I bent down to say a proper goodbye to him.

  “Thank you for having us, Intto.”

  He smiled up at me, tail swishing. “I believe that is my line, Imagineer. Thank you for coming. You are always welcome here.”

  The odds of me coming back were slim to none, but I did get warm fuzzies from the sentiment. “Aww, thanks. One of the druids will likely sweep through in a few months to properly connect the platform to the new Hub. But you can use the platform to travel south now, so you’re not stuck here.”

  “So Aisling explained. We will guard the platform better.”

  “Good.” With a last round of goodbyes, Zoya tapped the symbols to connect us to the other platform and we stepped through. I did so with a bounce in my stride. I really had done good work here. Work I could take pride in. And I’d left their world in a better situation than how I’d found it. What could be better than that?

  Visiting the other clan and repairing the platform took no time at all. We stayed with them that night, I spent maybe thirty minutes doing some repair work on the platform, and then voila! Done.

  Aisling and Eoin took us back onto the other plane, and we hiked back to the London tree. Someone, at some point in time, must explain distances on other planes, because it still didn’t make sense how I could walk four hours and end up on a different side of the continent. Like, seriously. What kind of magical physics are we talking about, here?

  I’d ask, but odds were, it was one of those Closely Guarded Secrets that would get me killed if I knew the answer.

  We made it back to Agna’s in time for dinner. I was a bit scuffed from the camping and wanting a hot shower before I wanted food. Zoya opened the door and I kid you not, somehow, even more people were there than before. Like, how? I know kobolds have complete control over their houses and how much space and rooms are in it, but isn’t there an upper limit somewhere? Because I could have sworn that Agna had already hit it before we left.

  “They’re back!” Jackson gave us a wave, a laptop open in one hand as he approached. “Hey, how did it go?”

  “Turns out it was politics and stupidity,” I answered him, coming through and then to the side to give people room to enter. “They’d mortared right over the sigils and destroyed part of the columns to put a roof over it.”

  Jackson’s face screwed up. “Seriously? Woooow. I’m glad you had to deal with that and not me. But we’re all fixed?”

  “Fixed, and all the platforms in Finland reconnected.”

  “Excellent. I’ll pass that along to James. We got your grandmother to list out all of the platform locations and start making up a priority list for you.”

  “Oh yeah? That’s great, she’s got her thumb on the info anyway.” And who better to organize that information?

  Klaus tugged on the backpack straps. “Give that over to me. Go hug your grandmother.”

  “Yes, boss.” I let him have the backpack with relief, because I really didn’t know what to do with all of the camping gear anyway. I was just as happy to go say hi to Nana instead.

  It took some hunting, and more than a few minutes, as people spotted me and asked how things went. I answered but kept my eyes peeled as I went room to room. We’d somehow acquired multiple dens, living rooms, and dining rooms while I’d been gone. The dining rooms functioned more like conference rooms, from what I could see. Lots of computers, blueprints, and the like splayed across the tables. I also saw a lot of lists of materials. I assumed that with this many Imagineers, no one planned to actually buy most of the raw materials. Why bother? But the tools and such to finish off the projects, those likely would be bought.

  I finally found Nana in the very back of the house in a sunroom, her feet propped up in front of her with a laptop on one side table and a map on the other. She looked very comfortable and established, and I marveled again at how healthy she was. I could see it all in a glance. As much as I enjoyed being an Imagineer—and heavens knew I loved it—this was the silver lining I hadn’t seen coming. Restoring my grandmother’s health. And that alone made all the struggles worth it.

  Nana’s head came up and she spotted me, a bright smile breaking out over her face. “You’re back! How did it go?”

  “Ugh, the stupidity over there could be sliced and served on bread. But the firefoxes were cool. And I made lots of notes for you, as I got to see and meet some pretty interesting people.”

  “I’m eager to see them.” She moved her feet off the ottoman so I could sit with her.

  After walking around all day, sitting sounded heavenly, so I plopped right down. I eyed the map with all its blue and red dots and couldn’t help but ask, “You’re mapping out where I need to go next?”

  “That I am. It’s quite a few places, Rea. I think it’s better if you teach another Imagineer how to build a platform. Otherwise, you’ll run yourself into exhaustion trying to do all of these. Not to mention, it’ll take longer.”

  “You speak sense,” I admitted. “James never really intended for me to do it all, anyway. He said he’d find someone to help me, but I think he got sidetracked. I’ll ask around, see who’s willing to do some of this. It’d be nice if we could have the platforms up and running at the same time they finish the Hub.”

  “Are you setting yourself an impossible deadline?”

  “Er…not on purpose?”

  Nana shook her head, chuckling. “I know you’re enjoying the travel now, but it does get old after a while. Pace yourself, Rea.”

  “It’s not like I’m going sightseeing,” I protested. “It’s all work that needs to be done.”

  “I know, honey.”

  Her concern made me wonder, though. “Are you getting tired? I mean, you’ve been here several days already, and it’s a bit much for a woman who’s retired.”

  “No, I’m having the time of my life,” she admitted with a gamine grin. “Retirement is boring. I’d much rather be in the thick of things.”

  I looked around in an exaggerated manner. “I think you’re there, Nana.”

  “We both are.” She sighed in satisfaction. “And really, I don’t wish to be anywhere else. This is much more fun than normal life.”

  “I cannot disagree with you there.”

  Four months later

  The saying goes that the mechanic’s car is the one that never runs. I think that pretty much applied to every profession in some way or fashion. It certainly did here, as the last platform I built was for my own clan.

  Mitsuki was patient with both of his Imagineers being gone, and being the last clan to get a platform. But he was also very, very relieved when we all showed back up with the news the Hub was done, and that all I needed to do was build a platform and call Aisling over to connect it to the Alder Tree.

  I’d built the platform yesterday, in fact, and Aisling was with me this morning as she worked on the connection. I had Mitsuki, Zoya, Ivan, Ciarán, Klaus, and Nana all standing nearby, chomping at the bit to go through the platform and see the Hub. We’d seen pictures and videos of it, but we’d all been traveling so much over the past four months that none of us had actually set foot in the finished product. Which sounded crazy, but that was how crazy busy we’d been.

  Mitsuki had his eyes on Aisling, but he seemed intent on catching up with me. “Your principal tells me you’re a little behind on your school work?”

  I eyed him sideways. Really, he was keeping track of that? “A little, yeah. When it became obvious I wasn’t making it back here for at least the first trimester of school, my teacher started emailing me the school work. Zoya basically homeschooled me, her and Klaus. But I could only work on it in the evenings or in transit, so it was really hit and miss when I could turn it in. I think I’m about a week behind right now.”

  “That’s not terrible. I imagine you can catch up quickly enough.”

  “Yeah, I think so, now that I have the time to catch up. And I plan to start in on school
next week.” I was strangely looking forward to going to my magnet school. Being around peers who were just as magical as I was would be a trip.

  “Excellent. I prefer you finish your education.”

  “Believe me, we all do.”

  After I finished high school, I’d probably have another year of apprenticeship with Zoya before I was a full Imagineer in my own right. And I looked forward to studying with her on a daily basis instead of the evenings and the weekends.

  Aisling stepped back from the platform with a noise of satisfaction. We’d set it up in the back garden of the administration building, in part because it was already under the protection of both glamour and ward, in part because it made the most sense to put it there. And we had plenty of space for it in the back corner of the yard. She turned and gave us a bright smile. “Done. Let’s go see the Hub.”

  Zoya waved a hand toward the platform. “Reagan, do the honors.”

  “You bet.” I had earned the right to do this. Besides, if something went wrong, I’d prefer it happen with me. Not that I had any doubt. The platform looked perfect, and I trusted Aisling’s skills. I hopped right over to the column, tapping the symbols so all were lit and would connect to the Hub. They glowed brightly, a steady and strong signal.

  The tunnel leading in to the Hub immediately opened, the lights flicking on along the base of the floor and the top edge of the ceiling. We hadn’t changed that design, as it made the most sense. The tiny lights kept the area illuminated without it being overwhelmingly bright. Many night-creatures who didn’t handle full light well would be walking the tunnels. This mellow lighting worked best for all.

  I skipped up the ramp and gestured for people to follow. “Come on. We’ve got a bit of a walk.”

  “Should be only a half hour or so,” Zoya commented, readily following me in. “Since we’re on the same continent.”

  That was true.

  We walked. People were too excited not to chatter among themselves, so there were multiple conversations going. I shared the feeling, and despite the fact I’d peter out quickly, I kind of wanted to run. Get there faster.