Chapter 17
“Master April, were you able to see who tried to drown you?” Oya asked as we walked through the forest.
The smell of pine danced through the cold air. Night had pushed the daylight away, the stars straining for attention beside the moon. Small animals scurried to stay hidden, their movements rustling faintly under the blanket of snow. The ground had hardened as the melted frost froze again, and I could feel the chill of winter clinging to April’s lips as she breathed.
April lifted her feet with each careful step through the snow, still shaking from the cold wetness of the river. She hadn’t said much since thanking us for saving her. We’d been walking for a while now, and though I didn’t want to read her thoughts, I could feel them—her panic, her helplessness, her quiet frustration. I understood.
Even though April was tall—average height for our age—she wasn’t frail. Not skinny, not weak. Solid. The kind of solid that made you think she wouldn’t back down easily if she had to defend herself. But April was more of an intellectual than a fighter. She liked tag, sure, but she’d rather read a book. She reminded me of Belle from Beauty and the Beast—the kind of girl who saw the world in metaphors.
Her breath formed small sprays of vapor that vanished seconds later. She rubbed her hands together, her eyes glistening from the cold and the memories she was trying to hold back.
“Y-yes,” she said finally, her soft tone warming me despite the shiver. Even trembling, her voice carried something familiar—something that sounded like disappointment. I could feel it too: she felt betrayed. She pulled her coat tighter. Her eyes, still soft, narrowed slightly. She didn’t know who attacked her, but she knew why.
“Oya, you can control the weather, can you—”
Before I could finish, Oya raised her arm toward April. The air swirled and shimmered around her, warming her skin. The wetness of her clothes began to evaporate, the snow beneath her feet softening. Heat rolled over her throat, soothing the tension there.
“Already on it,” Oya said. “Now continue, Master April.”
April stopped and touched her neck, rubbing it absently. She nodded at Oya, her shoulders relaxing. Within the invisible sphere Oya had created, she seemed safe—not just physically, but emotionally. Still, when her gaze turned to me again, I felt it—a pulse of disgust. Not at the world. At me.
“Where did you go, Lonnie?” she asked suddenly. Her voice caught me off guard. She wasn’t talking about who attacked her—she was talking about me.
I hesitated. I already knew it had been two figures who attacked her; I’d seen their outlines before fading back to 1776 at Reidlinger’s mansion. The guilt crawled up my throat again, that familiar, unwanted friend. I hadn’t told anyone at the mansion that I was from the future. I hadn’t told anyone what my life was like before.
I said nothing, following her through the trees. I could feel it clearly now—her betrayal, her anger. Like Brenda before her, I had failed April too. The Blue Order had saved her this time, not me. If Intertravel hadn’t pulled me back when it did, she’d be dead. Even now, I didn’t understand how it worked. April had been in danger both times I came back to the present.
But the past? That made no sense.
Maybe it was like Quantum Leap, I thought, but that was just fiction. In truth, I hadn’t helped anyone—not really.
If Dad knew I’d faded while April was kidnapped… he’d be disappointed. Like he always was. For a brief moment, I thought about the divorce, about how many bad decisions I’d made. Reading the summoning spell with April was one of them. We’d gotten caught in this mage-world mess together.
I hadn’t known better then. But that wasn’t an excuse.
April deserved the truth.
She’d helped my mom know I was still alive. She’d been the only person not pushing me to “get help” about my parents. Like Oya, she’d protected me—emotionally, while Oya guarded me spiritually. They both deserved better than me. That’s why I’d stayed with Reidlinger and the Blue Order—to train, to get stronger, to come back and protect April.
But now, I’d betrayed her trust.
“1776,” I mumbled.
April froze as if the cold had pierced Oya’s heat barrier. I couldn’t tell whose heart was beating faster—hers or mine. When she turned, her face was warm but her eyes burned. The softness was gone, replaced by anger—hotter than Oya’s conjured air.
“Excuse me?” she asked, her tone still calm, but I knew better.
“My body’s back in the colonial era,” I said quietly. “That’s why I’m in this astral form. I can only project here—to the present—when you’re in danger.”
My fists clenched. It felt good to finally tell someone, but I didn’t know why it had to be her. She already carried so much—Anna, Daniel, everything else.
She started walking again, her thoughts flickering so fast I couldn’t follow them all.
“This is getting weirder and weirder,” she said at last, as if accepting the insanity for what it was.
“You… believe me?” I asked.
Even Oya looked surprised.
“Why wouldn’t I?” April said. “You can read my thoughts and feel my emotions—same way I can feel yours. We’re not exactly friends, Lonnie—more like classmates—but I’ve always thought you were a good guy. I know you feel guilty about Brenda. She’s from 1776, isn’t she?”
“Yes,” I said softly.
“You both mentioned being attacked and feeling guilty about leaving her behind. That’s because you were pulled into this when you came to help me, right?”
I nodded. “Like I said, traveling to the past connects me back to you.”
“Even that dream you told Daniel about?”
I hadn’t thought about it, but she was right. When I dreamed and came back before, I’d appeared outside her classroom. I thought it was random.
“I guess so.”
“So you can’t control it—the traveling?”
“No,” I said. “It just happens.”
I felt weak saying it. The mage world felt like a bully that kept knocking me down. But April wasn’t angry anymore.
“So, when you fade, you go back to your body? In 1776?”
“Yes.” I paused. “I saw two figures grab you, but once I fade, everything turns to white or black. I wanted to come back because I knew… I could feel you here. I’m linked to you.”
“Stop.” Her voice snapped like breaking ice. Harder than I’d ever heard it.
“Just stop it.”
“Masters—” Oya began, but April was already walking faster.
We emerged from the forest onto one of the main roads leading back to the base. The night deepened, silence thick as the snow around us. No cars passed; no one drove this late in the cold. April paused and dug into her coat pocket.
“Great. No ID card,” she muttered. “Didn’t think I’d get kidnapped before sunrise.”
She sat down on the snowbank, pulling her knees close. I hesitated, then sat beside her.
“I’m sure they’ll let you through,” I said.
“If not…” She rested her hand on my knee. I looked up. Her light skin looked pale under the moonlight, her eyes focused, intense.
“It was Nicole,” she said quietly. “And she wasn’t alone.”
My stomach tightened. “Nicole—as in from our school?”
April nodded. “She was with Laura. They were the ones who took me.”
Oya frowned, lowering to one knee in front of us. “Anna’s protégées,” she said slowly. “The ones who claimed loyalty but never told the full truth.”
April’s voice trembled slightly. “They said I’d overextended my welcome. Nicole told me they didn’t like that I’m already Level Three while they’re still trying. And that Daniel deserves better.”
“Let me guess,” I said bitterly. “She thinks she’s better for him.”
April didn’t answer, and that silence told me everything.
I frowned. “So why now? Why attack you like that?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “But they knew about the vase. About your house.”
That hit me hard. “Wait—how would they know that?”
Oya folded her arms. “Someone’s been watching you both for longer than you realize.”
I felt a chill that had nothing to do with the snow.
April stood, brushing off her coat. “Well, one thing’s for sure—we need to tell Anna.”