Page 148 of Summoned
Madeline moves across the room with a poise that seems to claim ownership of everything she walks on. She crosses half the hall, and nothing slows her down. Then, Dimana Devichoni descends toward her. She’s one of Madeline’s most loyal supporters, head of the Devichoni di Rovero family, a blood-sworn house from Northern Italy. I’ve seen her at countless dinners, raising glasses in Madeline’s name.
“This time you’ve outdone yourself, Madeline!” she exclaims. “This party is much better than when that Joker was lurking around. His illusions were dull, his tricks tired.”
I hold my breath. She’s manipulating my illusion.
Madeline smiles. “It couldn’t be otherwise, considering his magic was never particularly strong.”
They both laugh. A man joins them, another familiar face from her events. “I still wonder why you accepted him as an apprentice,” he says.
Madeline raises an eyebrow. “Gaetano has his strengths. Just not in the realm of magic.” Her gaze locks onto me, even though she shouldn’t be able to see me. Yet, she does. She directs her next words to me: “And now, I’ll prove it to you.”
The illusion shatters, revealing the bleak cemetery landscape. Fear tightens around my throat. Madeline dismantled the illusion with too much ease.
A second later, she stands before me. “Was that your whole trick, Gaetano? To show me… myself?” Every syllable slices into me. “You think I’m one of your little harvests? My fears were burned to ash long ago and reforged into power. And my doubts? I drown them in the blood and terror of my enemies. As you’re about to see for yourself.”
The momentum in my chest fades, like someone has reached into my ribcage and torn it out with bare hands, then thrown it into the grave beneath our feet. Cold seeps under my skin, crawling toward the core of my magic and trying to wrap around it, to smother it. Her words are a trap, meant to drag me back into the old belief that I never could defeat her. That I still can’t.
I glance over my shoulder. The illusion continues to surround Nicole, giving me a false sense of comfort that she’s safe. The clock in the sky tells me otherwise.
Eleven minutes to midnight.
I bite the inside of my cheek until the pain grounds me. If I don’t act fast, Nicole will suffer.
I lift my head. I may have failed to enter Madeline’s mind and access her fears, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t there. Every living creature has them. I just need to sift through my memories of her and find moments when her confidence faltered, when her eyes darkened with unease.
The ticking becomes pounding—maybe it’s the clock, maybe my own heart—as I delve into recollections of the past.
Nothing stands out. Nothingstrong enoughto use. Madeline has always considered herself the greatest witch who ever lived. That her enemies are born of envy. That hatred directed at her is nothing but unrequited love. She’s convinced the entire world worships her.
Then a thought flashes and it stops me cold.
What if that beliefisher weakness?
She cursed me because she believed I was acting behind her back out of idealism. That I was trying to prevent a war. It never crossed her mind that I was planning to rip the crown off her head.
My pulse quickens again. If I’m wrong, I’ll waste another one of my precious few moves. But I can’t think of any other way.
I square my shoulders. “Your second trial is a question, Madeline.”
“Ooh, a riddle?” She glances at the sky, where the clock still hovers. “You do realize I have access to knowledge beyond this world, don’t you? What could you possibly ask that would surprise me?”
“I don’t know,” I say. “You tell me. Why did I try to dissuade the Cantoni family from going to war with the Karelians? What was I trying to accomplish?”
Her eyes narrow, locking onto mine.Please say it: ‘To save innocent lives,’or:‘To get my attention, Gaetano.’ That’s her favorite answer for everything I do.
But her silence lasts too long.
Come on, Madeline. You know this one. It’s easy.
At last, her lips part. “Because you couldn’t bear the thought of everyone submitting to me. You believedyouwere more worthy of leading. So you plotted to damage my reputation among the other witch families, starting with whispering to the Cantoni that the idea to pull back was mine.” She pauses. “Any witch with half a brain knew the Karelians had to be subdued. Claiming otherwise would make me seem unstable. And that was your goal, wasn’t it?”
Her smile is cold, almost polite. “Well, Gaetano… have I answered your question thoroughly enough?”
My hopes collapse. Not because I wasted my second chance so recklessly, but because I’ve spent years convinced she didn’t see through me. If I was wrong about that, maybe she’s right about everything else. That I lack strength. That my magic is just a shadow of hers…
The clock’s ticking pounds inside my skull like a gong, stealing my breath with each toll. Eight minutes to midnight. Whatever illusion I conjure next, she’ll shatter it. The only thing I’ll accomplish is draining the last of my magic.
I scan the yard again, avoiding the spot where I hid Nicole. I’m out of time and options. “Madeline,” I say, my voice flat and final. “I challenge you to a direct magical duel. Your third trial is to defeat me in a clash of energy.”
