Page 26 of A Door in the Dark

“We keep them alive by remembering those things.”

Her friend nodded. She wiped away the tears and collected more firewood before the two of them returned to camp. Theo and Cora were piling up their own stacks. Avy had traced a circle on the ground and was carefully turning the rocky soil with a sharp branch. Ren watched him work at the task for a few minutes, building the dirt up into a solid mound. When he finished, he turned to look at what they’d gathered.

“ ‘Start small, sticks and all,’ ” he recited. “We need more tinder. Dry leaves, needles, smaller twigs. Easier to get the fire going that way.”

Everyone turned and started a second round of gathering. Ren watched closely as Avy stacked the largest logs at the base. He set out the next logs in a crosshatch pattern and went on like that until the firewood was about four or five solid rows high. Then he took their gathered kindling and tinder to place on top of the makeshift pyramid he’d built.

“Now we need fire,” Avy said. “Theo?”

“Can’t you start it without magic?”

Ren couldn’t believe how petulant he made everything sound. Avy shook his head.

“Without a piece of flint? I could sit here for an hour trying to get this to light. Or you could open up your precious bankroll of magic and get the fire started. Up to you. We’ll just sit here in the cold until you make up your mind.”

Theo seemed ready to object, but as he looked around, Ren knew how pitiful they appeared. She and Timmons stood there hunched and shivering. He offered a begrudging nod before crossing over to the stacked pile. In spite of everything—the malfunctioning spell and Clyde’s death and their chances of survival—Ren hadn’t forgotten that this was a chance to impress a high-ranking member of House Brood. If she could help them survive, it was possible he’d recruit her. The coming week was like one long interview, and Ren could do more out here than she’d ever been able to display in a classroom with her nose in a textbook.

She cleared her throat. “You can use Aria’s spell—”

Theo scowled. “I know the spell.”

His feet shifted slightly. She watched him invert his hand, bringing his fingers into a clawlike grip that resembled a torch. Magic whispered through the air. A flickering flame appeared in his palm. He held it out to the tinder long enough to let it catch. Smoke curled to life. He turned a satisfied look back at Ren. She was used to this kind of challenge from other students. They liked showing up the smart girl in class. Usually her best move was to let them think that they’d won.

Not this time. Not today.

“I was going to say you could use Aria’s spell for temperature change. It’s the more basic version. Your spell costs three ockleys. That costs one. I know you don’t normally have to think about how much something costs, but out here it might end up mattering.”

Theo shook his head in annoyance. Ren was ready to dig into him even more, but Timmons waved a tired hand to cut her off. “It’s too late to fight. We need to sleep. What kind of spells do we need to cast around the camp? Please tell me there’s a snake-repellent charm.”

Begrudgingly, Ren turned her attention to the new subject. The crew walked through all the potential wards that might be useful. A tripwire spell to alert them to movement. A warding line that would discourage the interest of larger creatures. Lastly, a weather spell that would keep out rain without trapping the smoke of their fire, thereby torturing all their lungs in the process.

She quietly counted the cost: seventeen ockleys. The spells would need to be cast three times a night, which added up to fifty-one. And that was assuming no fizzled spells or wasted magic. Her best guess was that they’d be out here for at least seven nights, which multiplied the number up over four hundred. About one fifth of their supply would be used on evening wards alone.

Theo agreed to cast the barricades tonight, but what happened if he cracked his skull in the mountains? Ren knew they’d never survive without him. She was thinking through all the possible options when Theo approached her with a look of mild embarrassment on his face.

“The weather spell’s not working.”

He gestured. Ren’s eyes trailed upward. The smoke was gathering in dark swirls along the invisible barrier he’d summoned. She drank in this brief taste of humility, letting it roll around on her tongue like honey, before nodding.

“It’s how you’ve layered them. You’ve got the ventilation spell above the weather ward. The smoke is hitting the weather barrier first. It’s obeying that magic before it can reach the second layer of the spell. Just reverse them.”

He chewed his lip for a second and nodded. “Thanks.”

She resisted telling him how much magic he’d just wasted. At least he’d muttered a thank-you this time. Ren felt like that was a step in the right direction. He’d come to her for information. Trusted her to have the answer. It was a starting point.

Everyone took a few minutes to settle in. Cora was already snoring. Avy had his head cradled in those massive hands, lying with his back to the ground, eyes tracing the stars above.

Theo eventually returned to the fire, choosing a spot that was carefully separated from the rest of them. He sat leaned back, legs stretched, his arms behind him to prop up his upper body. She was finally able to look at him closely for the first time.

A tapered jaw, sharp cheekbones. He had the body of a runner, tight with corded muscle. He was more handsome when he wasn’t smashed drunk, his golden hair falling imperfectly down a pale forehead. But when he looked her way, she saw that he had his father’s pitted eyes. They looked out on the rest of the world as if it were already in his possession. Ren tucked back beneath her jacket, nestling in next to Timmons. Her friend curled a little closer before whispering good night. Exhaustion tugged at Ren’s tired limbs. It didn’t take long for her to drift off to sleep.

16

A bell tolled.

Ren sat up straight, briefly thinking she was back on Balmerick’s campus, late for some forgotten class. The sound reverberated as she took in her surroundings. At this hour the dark forest had a far more sinister appearance. The fire cast its dying light on the curtain of surrounding branches. Everything beyond the first red-tipped leaves sat in shadow. That strange bell continued tolling as the others stirred. Theo stood nearby with his wand raised.

“What is that?” Timmons hissed.

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