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akinoame"The Theory of Everything"
Chapter Three: The Dying of the Light
Chapter Summary: With Ben's life on the line, Devlin volunteers for a risky mission to find another copy of the Archamada.
The Theory of Everything
Chapter Three: “The Dying of the Light”
Devlin walked into the medical ward and stopped short when he saw Ben lying in the bed, connected to various devices. There was a ventilator, an IV drip, a heart monitor with automatic defibrillator… It was hard to look past all the medical machinery and see the man underneath, the one who had always stood strong against anything.
“I’m sorry, Dad,” Devlin said, his voice nearly cracking.
It was a word he’d never called Ben. Sure, he’d referred to him as his father without a problem the past decade, but actually calling him “Dad” was another thing entirely. “Dad” had been a monster who had thrown him aside like garbage. It had never felt right trying to call Ben that.
“I screwed up again,” he confessed. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. Every time I try to do something good, it backfires. I tried to release Da—Kevin—and he tried to kill you. Now, I tried to stop Charmcaster’s spell, and I might have really killed you this time.”
The sound of air pumping, the sound of the monitor beeping—the slow, steady rhythms were maddening. They shouldn’t have been this slow. They shouldn’t have been here at all.
“Ken thinks it’s his fault because you saved him. But I know better. I didn’t think through the situation. I lost my temper again. I charged Charmcaster and I attacked her book, and because I didn’t think, you have to pay for it.”
“At least you understand.”
Devlin turned in surprise at the sound of Gwendolyn’s voice. The sorceress must have come straight from the scene of the attack—there were evidence packs clipped to her belt. She gave Devlin a soft smile as she walked over, coming to her cousin’s bedside with an ironic quirk on her lips.
“I told you not to fight her without calling me first,” she scolded. “It’s just like you, Ben. You never listen. For a cousin, you sure act like an annoying little brother sometimes.”
“Aunt Gwendolyn?” Devlin asked as she reached for a Charm of Bezel.
Gently, she removed the Charm from her sleeve and held it over Ben. The rune for Reincarnation flared to life in golden light. With the same gentle movements, Gwendolyn placed the Charm on Ben’s chest, and gold light suddenly surrounded him. Devlin had to turn away from the brightness of the light, but he could hear the effects as the magic did its work: the heart monitor began to beat more regularly, and the ventilator stopped pumping quite so hard.
The light faded around Ben, but the Charm still remained active. Watching it, Gwendolyn said, “We’ll be able to start taking him off some of this equipment. The Charm’s doing enough to help his body.”
It hit Devlin suddenly that Gwendolyn hadn’t so much as flinched from the bright flash of the magic. He tried to hide the uneasiness from his voice as he asked, “Won’t you need that?”
“He needs it more,” she insisted. Turning toward him, she said, “Come on. We need to get to work.”
After Gwendolyn managed to get a record of Devlin’s and Ken’s memories of the attack, they all gathered in the control room to go over the evidence. The lights were dim, with ambient light from the main computer and Gwendolyn’s magic as she displayed the various crime scenes Charmcaster had been present at since she’d discovered this spell. Devlin flinched at the sight of the other victims. Rigor mortis had set in quickly thanks to the spell, freezing the looks of horror on their faces.
“Dad…” Ken started, but he had to clear his throat before he could continue. “Dad didn’t look like that.”
“Charmcaster probably didn’t finish the spell,” Max realized.
Gwendolyn nodded. “With all the others, we’ve arrived too late to help them. She’s drained every last bit of life energy from their bodies. When Devlin attacked her, he interrupted the ritual, so she couldn’t take the last of it.”
Ken looked over at Devlin, giving him a look he probably thought was reassuring. “You saved his life.”
“But I also destroyed the cure, didn’t I?” Devlin challenged, looking at Gwendolyn.
Solemnly, she nodded and took out another evidence pack. The Archamada Book of Spells was sealed in plastic—or at least, what was left of the book. Char patterns were present all over the cover, and several of the pages had been reduced to ash.
“It might be magic, but paper still burns at Fahrenheit four fifty-one,” she said. “We’ve tried magical trace, but the page with the spell on it was reduced to ash. The counterspell would have been on the same page.”
“The Archamada is old,” Max reminded her. “Standards may have been different when it was written. Are you sure it wasn’t on another page?”
“I’ve looked through it,” Gwendolyn answered. “None of the spells left produce any similar effects.”
Devlin gripped the edge of the steel table tightly enough that he put dents in it. Seeing his distress, Ken asked, “Isn’t there any other spell you could try? Something from another book?”
“The Archamada is the authority on the highest-level spells and magic,” Gwendolyn explained. “If something’s not in there, then it’s not in any other book.”
“There’s got to be something,” Ken insisted. “What about time-travel? You managed that once, didn’t you?”
The entire room went silent as everyone stared at Ken. Even Devlin gave him a look that said it was a stupid idea. Finally, Gwendolyn said, “I can’t go back in time to retrieve something that already exists in our time. Displacing anything in time can have dangerous effects. If I went back and took the Archamada, I’d leave behind a magical trace on the page I used. Even if I put it back, it would be there. Magic calls to magic. The next mage who picked it up would know to look there.”
Ken lowered his head. “Sorry. It was stupid.”
“Not completely stupid,” Gwendolyn insisted. “Whenever someone travels through time, it branches off to create an entirely new timeline—a separate world. Worlds are more difficult to travel to, but if I can find a point in time when that spell exists, it might be easier.”
“Magic calls to magic,” Ken realized. He practically leapt up from the table as he said, “Send me. I can find the book and get it back to you guys.”
“It’s dangerous,” Gwendolyn warned. “It would have to be a one-way trip. I’m already using one of the Charms for your dad. I won’t have the energy to keep a portal open that long.”
“I don’t care,” Ken insisted. “Dad’s life is in danger, and this might be his only shot. I’ll find the other version of you in the timeline and explain everything.”
“You can’t,” Max argued. “With Ben out of commission, you’re the only one with an Omnitrix. Anything attacks, you’re the one who’s best-qualified to handle it.”
Ken deflated, staring at him as he tried to protest. But he knew that Max was right. Charmcaster was still out there, along with any number of the family’s enemies. Max was too old, Gwendolyn had to focus on the investigation and healing Ben, and Devlin’s powers were unreliable. Ken’s Omnitrix was their only hope.
“I’ll go,” Devlin said, standing up.
“No,” Ken protested, turning toward him. “If you’re doing this because you think it’s your fault, you’re wrong.”
“But it is,” Devlin insisted. “The book’s destroyed because of me.”
“I’m the one Dad had to save,” Ken reminded him. “If anything, I’m the one who got him into this mess!”
“But you didn’t hear the spell,” Devlin argued. “Aunt Gwendolyn can bring the words up in my mind, so I’ll be able to match them to the book. I’m the only one who can find it.”
Ken was looking at him with desperation and reluctance. “But…”
“I’ll be okay,” Devlin promised. “You take care of things here. I’ll get the spell.”
“If we do this,” Gwendolyn interrupted, staring at them pointedly. “I already said this could be dangerous. We don’t know who might have the book in another world. It could already be in Charmcaster’s hands.”
“Then I’ll just take the spell,” Devlin said. “Ken was right—it’s Ben’s only chance. Every second we waste is killing him.”
“It’s exactly that kind of impatience that got the both of you in trouble,” Max warned. “You just said yourself that you should have thought your situation through.”
“I did this time,” Devlin insisted. “If anyone can think of something better, say it. Otherwise, let me do this.”
The desperation was painted all over his face, and the pain in his plea was impossible to ignore. At long last, Max sighed and looked away. Devlin looked over at Gwendolyn, and her eyes were closed, her expression set.
“Please,” he begged.
“All right,” she relented. “Meet me in the library. I’ll get everything set in there.”
She turned on her heel and stormed off, and Devlin watched her hesitantly. The door hissed shut behind her, and everything was silent for a moment.
“It’s not your fault,” Max explained as he got up to leave. “You just remind her too much of your father sometimes.”
Devlin lowered his head, his expression sour. “Oh.”
Ken put a hand on his shoulder. “Not Kevin, trust me.”
Devlin shot him a puzzled look, but before he could ask, Max called, “You’d better head to the armory. You’re going to need to restock your belt before you go.”
“Right,” Devlin remembered, racing to the door.
Devlin adjusted the cloak to make sure he had easy access to his belt. The nestled, scarf-like hood kept the cloak together, but if he needed to move fast, the folds of the cloak opened to reveal his weapons. One tonfa was strapped to either of his thighs, and his belt was freshly stocked with flash grenades, fire-bombs, and containment capsules.
“You sure you want to do this?” Ken asked.
“I have to,” Devlin responded.
Ken snorted and shook his head. “You decided this the minute you heard the idea.”
Devlin managed a half-smile. “I told Great-Grandpa I thought it through, didn’t I?”
Ken snickered as they started walking to the library. But soon enough, his expression became distant, and he admitted, “You know, when you first came here, I was pretty jealous.”
Devlin looked at him in surprise. “What?”
“Dad took time off and was actually home for a few weeks, trying to help you adjust. Meanwhile, he missed about six of my birthdays in a row. I wasn’t sure what to think.”
“Ken,” Devlin hesitated, trying to think of some way to assure him that he’d never meant to be a problem.
“But I realized how dumb I was soon enough,” Ken insisted. “Pretty much around the time you lost it and tried to destroy that old ID bracelet.” Devlin nodded, remembering how they’d first learned how bad his unstable biofield could be. He’d morphed an arm and gotten stuck for hours. “I realized then how bad it was for you and how much you needed the help.”
“I never meant to take up Ben’s time,” Devlin promised. “Or to make you jealous.”
Ken shook his head, grinning. “I know. Besides, what little brother isn’t jealous of his big brother sometimes?”
They reached the library and found the doors marked off with an array in chalk. Seeing the ward, Ken said, “Well, this is my stop.” He held up a hand. “Take care of yourself, got it?”
Devlin clasped his hand. “You too. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” Letting go, he put a hand against the array. The magic circle glowed, and after a moment, the doors opened to admit him. Ken watched as the doors closed behind him before he finally walked away.
Devlin tucked the locket under his clothes again as he walked inside the library. All around, Gwendolyn had drawn various runes and arrays with chalk, leaving a large circle in the center of the room, marked with runes. A triangle was inscribed in the circle, its points marked off by candles.
He could feel his skin prickling. This was big magic.
“Aunt Gwendolyn?” he called out.
“I’m here,” she said, stepping forward with a battered old scroll. “I needed to find the spell.”
He cast an uneasy glance at the large array and asked, “Wouldn’t that have been in the Archamada?”
“It was,” she admitted. “But years ago, I managed to tear out the page. We’d just defeated Hex, and he decided to cut his losses and try another world to conquer. I made sure he couldn’t.”
Devlin gave her a hesitant look. “I’m afraid to ask.”
“Don’t be,” she answered with a smile. “I just stripped him of his magic. He lived a long enough life—behind bars.” He managed to laugh in relief. Seeing that he was still nervous, she asked, “Are you afraid?”
He hesitated for a moment before answering, “Terrified.”
“You should be,” she admitted. “This is more than a long shot.”
“What other choice do I have?” he replied. “Ben needs this, no matter how small the chance.”
Gwendolyn gave him a sad smile. “I wish I could give you the Charm of Luck for this.”
Devlin shook his head. “No, you guys need it more here.” Ben needed all the luck he could get.
“But I’m not letting you go without giving you something.” She took a small silver blaster in a holster and handed it to him. “Here. Call it an anniversary present.”
He took it from her hands and looked the blaster over, noticing the runes carved into the side, particularly the runes for Luck near the barrel. “Magic?”
She smiled. “A little. Just to correct your aim.”
Devlin snickered and clipped the holster to the back of his belt. “Thanks.”
She unrolled the paper and pointed at the triangle within the circle. “Stand inside there.”
He started to walk over, but a thought hit him suddenly. Looking back at her, he asked, “If that spell’s in the Archamada in the other world, I’m going to have to tear it out. That way another Hex or Charmcaster doesn’t try to use it.”
Gwendolyn gave him a look of surprise for a moment before smiling. “Good thinking.” Her eyes glowed blue as she placed a hand against one of his temples. Pale blue light filled his vision, and he knew that his eyes had to be glowing too.
When it was finished, he pulled away, trying to hide his alarm. “What was that?”
“A simple memory charm,” she explained. “It’ll help you match the spells you’ve heard to the Archamada—both this one and the one Charmcaster used on Ben.”
That made sense. It was a little disturbing, but it was helpful. Devlin nodded and made his way over to the array.
“Remember,” Gwendolyn warned. “I won’t be able to open this again. You’ll have to find an alternate of me or some other mage who can handle high-level sorcery.”
“I understand,” Devlin answered, pulling up the hood on his cloak.
Gwendolyn nodded and began to recite the spell: “Aut viam inveniam aut faciam.”
Bright blue light spiraled throughout the array, spreading both along the circle itself and in the triangle. The light hit the candles, and the flames flickered as if a sudden wind blew.
“Nec spe, nec petu.”
The runes along the walls and the rest of the floor began to glow, and glittering traces of blue magic, like stars, began to float all around him.
“In omnia paratus.”
The candle flames suddenly surged, tracing the triangle in a ten-foot wall of fire. Devlin nearly jumped in shock, but he quelled his fear and stood his ground.
“Omne ignotum pro magnifico.”
The starlight circled the flames in a manic dance, and the air rushed all around in a whirlwind. It became harder and harder for Devlin to hear Gwendolyn’s voice as she read the last words of the spell:
“Sic itur ad astra.”
In a blinding flash of light, everything seemed to wink out of existence. Once she was sure the spell had been cast, Gwendolyn held up a magic-lit hand. The arrays and runes were burnt, reduced to charred dust. The candles had been blown out, leaving only smoke. And Devlin was gone.
“Good luck,” she said.
In a whirlwind of stars and flames, Devlin appeared inside a small bedroom. For a moment, he looked around in confusion, wondering if Gwendolyn had miscalculated, but he reminded himself that magic called magic. The Archamada had to be near.
He looked around the room before finding several books on a shelf. He slowly moved his hand down the line of books before he saw the one he needed. Quickly, he pulled it out and flipped through the pages. As if drawn to the correct spells, he saw certain words glowing in his vision until he’d finally found the right string of them.
“Here it is,” he realized. “Beati possidentes, memento mori.”
The words were blazing in blue light, with the earlier words fainter. Below was another spell, prefaced by the words “Contra: Vivere”—the counterspell. He started to tear the page out when he heard a door open next to him.
“Who are you?” demanded a female voice, oddly familiar.
Devlin immediately got into a defensive stance, but the unknown girl held out a hand glowing with pink magic. His eyes widened in terror, and she sent a blast of energy at him. The Archamada fell out of his hands as he flew into the wall, pinned against it by some kind of magical construct. The girl held her hand up, maintaining the link to the construct as she leaned over and picked up the fallen book.
“I don’t know who you are,” she growled, her eyes glowing bright pink, “but you’re going to give me answers.”
The title for this chapter also comes from the Dylan Thomas poem, finishing off the famous couplet: “Do not go gentle into that good night / Rage, rage against the dying of the light.” As with the Mori Spell, the Astra Spell is composed of several Latin phrases I picked from Wikipedia: “Aut viam inveniam aut faciam” (“I will find or make a way”—attributed to Hannibal), “nec spe, nec petu” (“without hope, without fear”), “in omnia paratus” (“ready for anything”), “omne ignotum pro magnifico” (“everything unknown appears magnificent”), and “sic itur ad astra” (“thus you will go to the stars”). Ken’s comment about Gwendolyn having used time travel once is a direct reference to “Ben 10,000”—I’d always gotten the impression that “Ken 10” took place within the same universe (particularly given Ben’s insistence on moving the Null Void Chamber after he’d said Animo had broken in). The further rules for time-travel are based off the 2009 Star Trek movie, where a new timeline branches off from the main Star Trek timeline, thanks to the actions of Nero.
Chapter Three: The Dying of the Light
Chapter Summary: With Ben's life on the line, Devlin volunteers for a risky mission to find another copy of the Archamada.
Chapter Three: “The Dying of the Light”
Devlin walked into the medical ward and stopped short when he saw Ben lying in the bed, connected to various devices. There was a ventilator, an IV drip, a heart monitor with automatic defibrillator… It was hard to look past all the medical machinery and see the man underneath, the one who had always stood strong against anything.
“I’m sorry, Dad,” Devlin said, his voice nearly cracking.
It was a word he’d never called Ben. Sure, he’d referred to him as his father without a problem the past decade, but actually calling him “Dad” was another thing entirely. “Dad” had been a monster who had thrown him aside like garbage. It had never felt right trying to call Ben that.
“I screwed up again,” he confessed. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. Every time I try to do something good, it backfires. I tried to release Da—Kevin—and he tried to kill you. Now, I tried to stop Charmcaster’s spell, and I might have really killed you this time.”
The sound of air pumping, the sound of the monitor beeping—the slow, steady rhythms were maddening. They shouldn’t have been this slow. They shouldn’t have been here at all.
“Ken thinks it’s his fault because you saved him. But I know better. I didn’t think through the situation. I lost my temper again. I charged Charmcaster and I attacked her book, and because I didn’t think, you have to pay for it.”
“At least you understand.”
Devlin turned in surprise at the sound of Gwendolyn’s voice. The sorceress must have come straight from the scene of the attack—there were evidence packs clipped to her belt. She gave Devlin a soft smile as she walked over, coming to her cousin’s bedside with an ironic quirk on her lips.
“I told you not to fight her without calling me first,” she scolded. “It’s just like you, Ben. You never listen. For a cousin, you sure act like an annoying little brother sometimes.”
“Aunt Gwendolyn?” Devlin asked as she reached for a Charm of Bezel.
Gently, she removed the Charm from her sleeve and held it over Ben. The rune for Reincarnation flared to life in golden light. With the same gentle movements, Gwendolyn placed the Charm on Ben’s chest, and gold light suddenly surrounded him. Devlin had to turn away from the brightness of the light, but he could hear the effects as the magic did its work: the heart monitor began to beat more regularly, and the ventilator stopped pumping quite so hard.
The light faded around Ben, but the Charm still remained active. Watching it, Gwendolyn said, “We’ll be able to start taking him off some of this equipment. The Charm’s doing enough to help his body.”
It hit Devlin suddenly that Gwendolyn hadn’t so much as flinched from the bright flash of the magic. He tried to hide the uneasiness from his voice as he asked, “Won’t you need that?”
“He needs it more,” she insisted. Turning toward him, she said, “Come on. We need to get to work.”
After Gwendolyn managed to get a record of Devlin’s and Ken’s memories of the attack, they all gathered in the control room to go over the evidence. The lights were dim, with ambient light from the main computer and Gwendolyn’s magic as she displayed the various crime scenes Charmcaster had been present at since she’d discovered this spell. Devlin flinched at the sight of the other victims. Rigor mortis had set in quickly thanks to the spell, freezing the looks of horror on their faces.
“Dad…” Ken started, but he had to clear his throat before he could continue. “Dad didn’t look like that.”
“Charmcaster probably didn’t finish the spell,” Max realized.
Gwendolyn nodded. “With all the others, we’ve arrived too late to help them. She’s drained every last bit of life energy from their bodies. When Devlin attacked her, he interrupted the ritual, so she couldn’t take the last of it.”
Ken looked over at Devlin, giving him a look he probably thought was reassuring. “You saved his life.”
“But I also destroyed the cure, didn’t I?” Devlin challenged, looking at Gwendolyn.
Solemnly, she nodded and took out another evidence pack. The Archamada Book of Spells was sealed in plastic—or at least, what was left of the book. Char patterns were present all over the cover, and several of the pages had been reduced to ash.
“It might be magic, but paper still burns at Fahrenheit four fifty-one,” she said. “We’ve tried magical trace, but the page with the spell on it was reduced to ash. The counterspell would have been on the same page.”
“The Archamada is old,” Max reminded her. “Standards may have been different when it was written. Are you sure it wasn’t on another page?”
“I’ve looked through it,” Gwendolyn answered. “None of the spells left produce any similar effects.”
Devlin gripped the edge of the steel table tightly enough that he put dents in it. Seeing his distress, Ken asked, “Isn’t there any other spell you could try? Something from another book?”
“The Archamada is the authority on the highest-level spells and magic,” Gwendolyn explained. “If something’s not in there, then it’s not in any other book.”
“There’s got to be something,” Ken insisted. “What about time-travel? You managed that once, didn’t you?”
The entire room went silent as everyone stared at Ken. Even Devlin gave him a look that said it was a stupid idea. Finally, Gwendolyn said, “I can’t go back in time to retrieve something that already exists in our time. Displacing anything in time can have dangerous effects. If I went back and took the Archamada, I’d leave behind a magical trace on the page I used. Even if I put it back, it would be there. Magic calls to magic. The next mage who picked it up would know to look there.”
Ken lowered his head. “Sorry. It was stupid.”
“Not completely stupid,” Gwendolyn insisted. “Whenever someone travels through time, it branches off to create an entirely new timeline—a separate world. Worlds are more difficult to travel to, but if I can find a point in time when that spell exists, it might be easier.”
“Magic calls to magic,” Ken realized. He practically leapt up from the table as he said, “Send me. I can find the book and get it back to you guys.”
“It’s dangerous,” Gwendolyn warned. “It would have to be a one-way trip. I’m already using one of the Charms for your dad. I won’t have the energy to keep a portal open that long.”
“I don’t care,” Ken insisted. “Dad’s life is in danger, and this might be his only shot. I’ll find the other version of you in the timeline and explain everything.”
“You can’t,” Max argued. “With Ben out of commission, you’re the only one with an Omnitrix. Anything attacks, you’re the one who’s best-qualified to handle it.”
Ken deflated, staring at him as he tried to protest. But he knew that Max was right. Charmcaster was still out there, along with any number of the family’s enemies. Max was too old, Gwendolyn had to focus on the investigation and healing Ben, and Devlin’s powers were unreliable. Ken’s Omnitrix was their only hope.
“I’ll go,” Devlin said, standing up.
“No,” Ken protested, turning toward him. “If you’re doing this because you think it’s your fault, you’re wrong.”
“But it is,” Devlin insisted. “The book’s destroyed because of me.”
“I’m the one Dad had to save,” Ken reminded him. “If anything, I’m the one who got him into this mess!”
“But you didn’t hear the spell,” Devlin argued. “Aunt Gwendolyn can bring the words up in my mind, so I’ll be able to match them to the book. I’m the only one who can find it.”
Ken was looking at him with desperation and reluctance. “But…”
“I’ll be okay,” Devlin promised. “You take care of things here. I’ll get the spell.”
“If we do this,” Gwendolyn interrupted, staring at them pointedly. “I already said this could be dangerous. We don’t know who might have the book in another world. It could already be in Charmcaster’s hands.”
“Then I’ll just take the spell,” Devlin said. “Ken was right—it’s Ben’s only chance. Every second we waste is killing him.”
“It’s exactly that kind of impatience that got the both of you in trouble,” Max warned. “You just said yourself that you should have thought your situation through.”
“I did this time,” Devlin insisted. “If anyone can think of something better, say it. Otherwise, let me do this.”
The desperation was painted all over his face, and the pain in his plea was impossible to ignore. At long last, Max sighed and looked away. Devlin looked over at Gwendolyn, and her eyes were closed, her expression set.
“Please,” he begged.
“All right,” she relented. “Meet me in the library. I’ll get everything set in there.”
She turned on her heel and stormed off, and Devlin watched her hesitantly. The door hissed shut behind her, and everything was silent for a moment.
“It’s not your fault,” Max explained as he got up to leave. “You just remind her too much of your father sometimes.”
Devlin lowered his head, his expression sour. “Oh.”
Ken put a hand on his shoulder. “Not Kevin, trust me.”
Devlin shot him a puzzled look, but before he could ask, Max called, “You’d better head to the armory. You’re going to need to restock your belt before you go.”
“Right,” Devlin remembered, racing to the door.
Devlin adjusted the cloak to make sure he had easy access to his belt. The nestled, scarf-like hood kept the cloak together, but if he needed to move fast, the folds of the cloak opened to reveal his weapons. One tonfa was strapped to either of his thighs, and his belt was freshly stocked with flash grenades, fire-bombs, and containment capsules.
“You sure you want to do this?” Ken asked.
“I have to,” Devlin responded.
Ken snorted and shook his head. “You decided this the minute you heard the idea.”
Devlin managed a half-smile. “I told Great-Grandpa I thought it through, didn’t I?”
Ken snickered as they started walking to the library. But soon enough, his expression became distant, and he admitted, “You know, when you first came here, I was pretty jealous.”
Devlin looked at him in surprise. “What?”
“Dad took time off and was actually home for a few weeks, trying to help you adjust. Meanwhile, he missed about six of my birthdays in a row. I wasn’t sure what to think.”
“Ken,” Devlin hesitated, trying to think of some way to assure him that he’d never meant to be a problem.
“But I realized how dumb I was soon enough,” Ken insisted. “Pretty much around the time you lost it and tried to destroy that old ID bracelet.” Devlin nodded, remembering how they’d first learned how bad his unstable biofield could be. He’d morphed an arm and gotten stuck for hours. “I realized then how bad it was for you and how much you needed the help.”
“I never meant to take up Ben’s time,” Devlin promised. “Or to make you jealous.”
Ken shook his head, grinning. “I know. Besides, what little brother isn’t jealous of his big brother sometimes?”
They reached the library and found the doors marked off with an array in chalk. Seeing the ward, Ken said, “Well, this is my stop.” He held up a hand. “Take care of yourself, got it?”
Devlin clasped his hand. “You too. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” Letting go, he put a hand against the array. The magic circle glowed, and after a moment, the doors opened to admit him. Ken watched as the doors closed behind him before he finally walked away.
Devlin tucked the locket under his clothes again as he walked inside the library. All around, Gwendolyn had drawn various runes and arrays with chalk, leaving a large circle in the center of the room, marked with runes. A triangle was inscribed in the circle, its points marked off by candles.
He could feel his skin prickling. This was big magic.
“Aunt Gwendolyn?” he called out.
“I’m here,” she said, stepping forward with a battered old scroll. “I needed to find the spell.”
He cast an uneasy glance at the large array and asked, “Wouldn’t that have been in the Archamada?”
“It was,” she admitted. “But years ago, I managed to tear out the page. We’d just defeated Hex, and he decided to cut his losses and try another world to conquer. I made sure he couldn’t.”
Devlin gave her a hesitant look. “I’m afraid to ask.”
“Don’t be,” she answered with a smile. “I just stripped him of his magic. He lived a long enough life—behind bars.” He managed to laugh in relief. Seeing that he was still nervous, she asked, “Are you afraid?”
He hesitated for a moment before answering, “Terrified.”
“You should be,” she admitted. “This is more than a long shot.”
“What other choice do I have?” he replied. “Ben needs this, no matter how small the chance.”
Gwendolyn gave him a sad smile. “I wish I could give you the Charm of Luck for this.”
Devlin shook his head. “No, you guys need it more here.” Ben needed all the luck he could get.
“But I’m not letting you go without giving you something.” She took a small silver blaster in a holster and handed it to him. “Here. Call it an anniversary present.”
He took it from her hands and looked the blaster over, noticing the runes carved into the side, particularly the runes for Luck near the barrel. “Magic?”
She smiled. “A little. Just to correct your aim.”
Devlin snickered and clipped the holster to the back of his belt. “Thanks.”
She unrolled the paper and pointed at the triangle within the circle. “Stand inside there.”
He started to walk over, but a thought hit him suddenly. Looking back at her, he asked, “If that spell’s in the Archamada in the other world, I’m going to have to tear it out. That way another Hex or Charmcaster doesn’t try to use it.”
Gwendolyn gave him a look of surprise for a moment before smiling. “Good thinking.” Her eyes glowed blue as she placed a hand against one of his temples. Pale blue light filled his vision, and he knew that his eyes had to be glowing too.
When it was finished, he pulled away, trying to hide his alarm. “What was that?”
“A simple memory charm,” she explained. “It’ll help you match the spells you’ve heard to the Archamada—both this one and the one Charmcaster used on Ben.”
That made sense. It was a little disturbing, but it was helpful. Devlin nodded and made his way over to the array.
“Remember,” Gwendolyn warned. “I won’t be able to open this again. You’ll have to find an alternate of me or some other mage who can handle high-level sorcery.”
“I understand,” Devlin answered, pulling up the hood on his cloak.
Gwendolyn nodded and began to recite the spell: “Aut viam inveniam aut faciam.”
Bright blue light spiraled throughout the array, spreading both along the circle itself and in the triangle. The light hit the candles, and the flames flickered as if a sudden wind blew.
“Nec spe, nec petu.”
The runes along the walls and the rest of the floor began to glow, and glittering traces of blue magic, like stars, began to float all around him.
“In omnia paratus.”
The candle flames suddenly surged, tracing the triangle in a ten-foot wall of fire. Devlin nearly jumped in shock, but he quelled his fear and stood his ground.
“Omne ignotum pro magnifico.”
The starlight circled the flames in a manic dance, and the air rushed all around in a whirlwind. It became harder and harder for Devlin to hear Gwendolyn’s voice as she read the last words of the spell:
“Sic itur ad astra.”
In a blinding flash of light, everything seemed to wink out of existence. Once she was sure the spell had been cast, Gwendolyn held up a magic-lit hand. The arrays and runes were burnt, reduced to charred dust. The candles had been blown out, leaving only smoke. And Devlin was gone.
“Good luck,” she said.
In a whirlwind of stars and flames, Devlin appeared inside a small bedroom. For a moment, he looked around in confusion, wondering if Gwendolyn had miscalculated, but he reminded himself that magic called magic. The Archamada had to be near.
He looked around the room before finding several books on a shelf. He slowly moved his hand down the line of books before he saw the one he needed. Quickly, he pulled it out and flipped through the pages. As if drawn to the correct spells, he saw certain words glowing in his vision until he’d finally found the right string of them.
“Here it is,” he realized. “Beati possidentes, memento mori.”
The words were blazing in blue light, with the earlier words fainter. Below was another spell, prefaced by the words “Contra: Vivere”—the counterspell. He started to tear the page out when he heard a door open next to him.
“Who are you?” demanded a female voice, oddly familiar.
Devlin immediately got into a defensive stance, but the unknown girl held out a hand glowing with pink magic. His eyes widened in terror, and she sent a blast of energy at him. The Archamada fell out of his hands as he flew into the wall, pinned against it by some kind of magical construct. The girl held her hand up, maintaining the link to the construct as she leaned over and picked up the fallen book.
“I don’t know who you are,” she growled, her eyes glowing bright pink, “but you’re going to give me answers.”
The title for this chapter also comes from the Dylan Thomas poem, finishing off the famous couplet: “Do not go gentle into that good night / Rage, rage against the dying of the light.” As with the Mori Spell, the Astra Spell is composed of several Latin phrases I picked from Wikipedia: “Aut viam inveniam aut faciam” (“I will find or make a way”—attributed to Hannibal), “nec spe, nec petu” (“without hope, without fear”), “in omnia paratus” (“ready for anything”), “omne ignotum pro magnifico” (“everything unknown appears magnificent”), and “sic itur ad astra” (“thus you will go to the stars”). Ken’s comment about Gwendolyn having used time travel once is a direct reference to “Ben 10,000”—I’d always gotten the impression that “Ken 10” took place within the same universe (particularly given Ben’s insistence on moving the Null Void Chamber after he’d said Animo had broken in). The further rules for time-travel are based off the 2009 Star Trek movie, where a new timeline branches off from the main Star Trek timeline, thanks to the actions of Nero.
