I followed his gaze and spotted a blazing fireball, like a shooting star, zooming through the sky. It arched over the water, a fiery arrow following a parabolic arc that would likely end somewhere near our ship, if not directly in the middle of it. He raised his chin and swiped his hand in a broad arc, as if wiping fog from a large window.
The air thickened. The edges of my peripheral vision sparkled. The hairs on my arms rose. “What’s happening?”
He offered no answer. Instead, he gritted his teeth as his gaze narrowed, locked on the comet hurtling toward us. Moments before impact, it exploded like an egg thrown against a window. Fire spewed across Jackie’s invisible shield. His barrier shivered, dim waves of pearlescent light rippling outward, dispersing the firebomb’s energy into the atmosphere.
The night fell still, dark, and silent again.
“What in the Shadowlands was that?” Clarice demanded.
“A test,” Jackie said. “Perhaps a warning.”
Three more glowing comets—this time green, violet, and gold—soared from the Council’s ship, flying fast enough to leave trailing streaks of light.
“That’s no warning,” I said.
Jackie braced himself for impact. Out of curiosity, I reached for the sky and shoved two giant copses of clouds toward each other. They crashed together, discharging a brutal crack of thunder and a ragged lightning bolt. I grabbed the bolt and hurled it in the comets’ paths.
With a horrendous screech, the lightning collided against the green and violet orbs, spraying drops of molten light over the water, raising plumes of sizzling steam.
“Well, wasn’t that interesting?” I said as the third, golden orb crashed into Jackie’s shield and melted away.
“Interesting indeed,” he said. “You didn’t know that would happen?”
I clamped my mouth shut, not willing to admit what I did and didn’t know about my own abilities. Before he could press me for an answer, another volley of lights screamed toward us. A terrible shadow chased the orbs, growing taller and wider as it raced toward us like a speeding mountain.
Clarice yelped. “Is that a—”
“A wave!” I shouted as sudden and violent surges rocked our ship. “Everyone hold tight.”
I whipped up a torrent of winds, a battering ram of angry air. The wave and winds met like two bulls butting heads, forming an instant and monstrous waterspout that swallowed the Magicians’ orbs. Turbulence rocked the Velox, throwing us all to the deck.
The ship’s timbers groaned. Rain pelted us. The sails whipped and snapped.
I pushed myself up, fighting to recover my balance. Jackie stumbled to his feet as I latched onto the cyclone with my thoughts and tore at its bindings. It flew apart in a blast of wind and water and disappeared.
“You might be exhausted, Evie, but they’ll catch us if you don’t do something.”
I squinted at him. “Sure, expect me to bleed out all my energy so I’ll be too weak to defend myself when we get to Fallstaff.”
“That wasn’t what I—”
“Stop lying, Jackie,” I said in a bored tone. “If you don’t want the Council to catch us, maybe you should do something about it.”
His face screwed into a sour expression. Before I could react, he threw his arms around me and shouted a harsh word. The world spun like a top. Then, as if losing momentum, it slowed and stopped. I swayed drunkenly, clutching my head. When my vision stabilized, I blinked. Other than catching a nasty case of vertigo, nothing appeared to have changed. We remained on the Velox’s deck. Jackie gave me a dumfounded look.
“What was that all about?” I asked.
“We should’ve been transported to shore, at the rendezvous point.”
“I thought you didn’t want to waste your Magical energy on such things.”
“It wouldn’t take much, now that we’re so close.”
“Then what happened?” I tried for an innocent expression, but I’d always been a terrible liar. I suspected Brigette’s charm had worked to prevent Jackie from using his Magic on me.
He narrowed his eyes, his expression full of suspicion. “Perhaps you could tell me.”
“How should I know?”
He growled, his arm tightening around me. Before I could shove him away, Clarice yelled again. “Incoming!”
I pushed. Jackie stumbled back. Another fireball, twice as big as the last, plummeted from the sky. Jackie swung his body into a defensive position, arms raised over his head, and coughed a string of strange and foreign syllables. The firebomb exploded, but either its Magic was more powerful, or Jackie had reacted too slowly. Like fall leaves in a stiff breeze, burning flecks rained to the deck, charring timbers. Errant sparks ignited Clarice’s top-most sail.
On instinct, I squeezed the clouds, bringing down a torrent of rain. The flames went out but not before doing their damage.
“This wasn’t part of the deal, Faercourt.” Clarice, still at the helm, glared at the tattered remains of her sail. “I would never have agreed if it risked harming my ship.”
“Did you think you could transport a fugitive of the Council without any risk?”
“It’s not like you gave me much choice.”
“If you don’t like it, then why don’t you come up with another idea? Quickly.” He jabbed a finger at her. “You might actually have to use your Magic for once.”
“For once?” She stomped her foot. “I already used it once, and that was once more than I ever wanted after leaving Zhou Min. I swore I was done with Magic, and you made me break my promise.”
“You’ll break a lot more than that if you don’t get me and Evelyn off this ship.”
“While you two waste time arguing, the Council is gaining on us.” I poked Jackie’s shoulder with a sharp finger. “Quit being such an obstinate prick, Jackie.”