She stopped to share an apple with Jupiter and used the short break to check her phone. There was no service. It made sense—there were no cell towers this high up in the mountains. She thought about her mom and dad back in Jorvik City. They must have been worried by now. And her friends. She got a wrenching pain in her stomach when she thought about them. She should have said something. What if something happened to her or Jupiter on the way? No one would ever find them. She shuddered, then continued. It was too late for second thoughts.
Concorde, my angel, I’m going to save you. I’m on my way! she thought, urging Jupiter on. The fog was dense around both horse and rider when they trudged up the last steep slope to the place where she sensed the Secret Stone Circle might be located. It wasn’t a place you’d find on an ordinary map. And yet, Anne somehow knew it wasn’t much farther now.
But then Jupiter stopped.
“Go on, sweetie,” Anne said, stroking her old friend. “Just a little bit farther, then you get to rest. You’ll see.”
She dug around the saddlebag and pulled out a carrot. He snorted happily and, after finishing the carrot, forged ahead again.
She could just about make out big boulders at the top of the slope. They seemed to glow in the sun. Everything she was journeying toward was so close now; only an old bridge separated her from her destiny.
There was just one problem, though: the bridge was broken. In the middle of the bridge, which looked to have been in a state of disrepair for decades—maybe centuries—there was a gap almost ten feet wide.
Anne felt dizzy. Was the bridge strong enough to hold her and Jupiter? If they cantered at high speed, they should be able to jump it.
Underneath the bridge . . . no, she didn’t want to look down. She urged Jupiter on, clenching the reins tightly.
She thought about how she and Concorde managed to get away from the SUV in the woods. Could she do that again?
She wasn’t sure, but she had to try.
Is this where it all ends? she wondered to herself. The wind whipped her cheeks. She closed her eyes and the world shimmered pink and blue behind her eyelids. Just like in the woods.
Then she felt Jupiter stretch out to jump underneath her. Time and space folded and unfolded. The moment they were soaring through the air, over the gap in the bridge, seemed to last an eternity. Anne, who had never believed in heaven, started to wonder if that was where she’d end up. Everything was so still and quiet now, her ragged breathing was the only sound.
She opened her eyes and looked down. Jupiter was calmly walking across the last part of the bridge like nothing happened. When they reached the other side, she dismounted and wrapped her arms around the horse.
“We did it, Jupiter!”
32
On the last day before the fall break, Lisa’s seat was empty during first period. And then second period, too.
“Do you think she overslept?” Linda whispered to Alex in math class. Their teacher looked up and hushed them. The girls coughed discreetly and turned their attention back to algebra. Alex picked up her notepad and wrote a note to Linda.
She’s not out sick, is she?
Linda kept working intently until Alex kicked her foot under the desk. She let out a small yelp and was rewarded with another stern look from their teacher. Linda shook her head irritably, picked up her pen and wrote.
We’ll text her later. I’m sure it’s nothing.
But seriously, where IS she? The Soul Rider thing? Do you think Elizabeth reached out to her? Alex wrote in big red block letters on the back of her notepad.
Linda started writing a response but was interrupted.
“Alex, would you please come up here and show your work for problem three?” their teacher said with a long, stern look at the girls. Alex gathered up her things and walked up to the board. The bell rang just as she was about to start writing. The rest of the class immediately started packing up their things.
“Have a lovely break, and don’t forget all the fascinating things you’ve learned about quadratic equations!” their teacher called out after the students, who could not get out of the classroom fast enough.
Alex and Linda talked over each other as they followed the stream of students into the hallway. Their voices were drowned out by the growing excitement for fall break among the swarm of students.
“What if Dark Core has kidnapped them, too?”
“What if Jessica hurt Anne?”
“That ravine in the Northern Mountains . . .”
“Sabine . . .”
They were interrupted by their phones dinging at the same time. They read Lisa’s message immediately.
Set off a bit earlier than planned. Told the school I’m sick. In position now. All’s well so far. Talk tonight? :)
Lisa turned her phone off to save the battery before slipping it back into the bag sitting on the concrete next to her. She was standing at the top of an old water tower with a breathtaking view of Jorvik City. She could see straight down into Dark Core’s curious industrial complex. It looked like a twisted interpretation of a fairy-tale castle, built from entangled blue and green pipes and steel girders. The area was fenced off with barbed wire. Signs on the tall fence read “NO TRESPASSING.” Men in green coats were rushing this way and that inside.
She adjusted the binoculars and spotted a helipad. At that very instant, she heard the roaring sound of a helicopter overhead. The wind howled around and whipped her hair into her face, sometimes getting in her mouth. She instinctively dove for cover and hid as best she could. The blue and green helicopter, with the Dark Core logo on its sides, descended and landed on the helipad. Moments later, a man stepped out.
She gasped.
Sands.
“Are we really doing this? For real?”
Alex was tacking up Tin-Can. She sounded hesitant. This worried Linda. It wasn’t like Alex to hesitate. If even Alex, who was never afraid to jump the tallest fences, stand up to bullies, or banter with the teachers, was unsure, it must be a difficult journey ahead of them.
Linda sighed and put Meteor’s bridle on.
“I know, it feels completely surreal. Especially now that Anne and Jupiter are missing. And Concorde. What if we disappear, too?!”
“But what choice do we really have? We have to go . . .” Alex said, adjusting Tin-Can’s saddle pad.
“To be completely honest,” Linda said, “I have no idea what we’re going to find. But I know we have to try. At least we’ll be doing the first part of the ride together.”
“That’s something,” Alex said.
They led their horses out of the stable, tightened their girths, and adjusted their saddlebags. The low rays of the Saturday morning sun fell over the yellow stable wall, forcing them to squint. Just as they passed through the gate, Herman called out from behind them. He came running with a bag that he shoved into Linda’s saddlebag.
“Some extra provisions, girls,” he said. “My homemade cookies. Don’t forget to eat. And ride carefully! Promise me!”
“Yes, we promise,” the girls replied in unison.
“Say hi to the druids,” Herman said when they mounted.
“It might be a few days before they get your message,” Alex said. “We’re making a few other stops along the way. First in Winter Valley, and then . . .”
“Thanks for the cookies, Herman!” Linda interjected. “Hopefully we’ll see you soon.”
And then they rode off.
33
The last incline seemed endless, but after Anne and Jupiter battled up the steepest part, the sun suddenly broke through the thick, iron-gray clouds and beamed down on them.
Huge, ancient oak trees towered over the stone circle like gnarled giants. Anne walked Jupiter between two stone gateposts. An old iron gate lay discarded in the grass next to it, green with rust and moss.
The tide of history, Anne thought to herself. She had always thought that was a silly expression, but now she could feel it for the first time: the ebb and flow of history all around her. Everything’s connected.
“Welcome. Anne?”
Anne was startled and quickly turned around to look behind her. She didn’t know what she expected, but not this.
“I’m Fripp.”
She looked down at the creature. Astonishingly, it was talking. She had never seen anything like it before. The creature’s fur was blue and shiny; its eyes were large and almost entirely black. Its tail was big and fluffy. If she had to describe it, she would have said it looked like an unusually big squirrel. Or maybe a rabbit with strange ears. She assumed, though, that it was something entirely beyond her experience.
Anne dismounted and took off her helmet. She took a long drink from her water bottle. Suddenly she had the overwhelming feeling of being part of something significant. It felt a little scary, but exciting at the same time. She squatted down to be more level with the creature.
“You’re the first of the Riders to come here,” Fripp said, “and I know why. Concorde needs your help. I can show you how to win back his energy and life force . . .”
Anne was buzzing with hope and anticipation as she followed Fripp. He hopped ahead of her to one of the runestones. A big rune in the middle of the stone was shaped like a sun.
“All of you—and you know who I’m referring to—have each been blessed with special powers. Yours is perhaps the strongest of them all, Anne. You can channel Pandorian energy flows and open portals.”
“I’m sorry, but . . . Pandorian energy? I think you might have to explain that to me,” Anne said, looking confused. She sat down on the ground and pulled off her riding boots.
“She has come here too soon,” Fripp murmured to himself. He hesitated before continuing. “I understand that all of this seems strange to you. But this is where it begins. You are simply going to have to try to quickly comprehend. There is no time to waste. First you must open your mind. Shut out everything you thought you knew from before.”
Cede all control, Anne thought with a shudder.
“Pandoria is a world that co-exists with ours,” Fripp continued. “Pandoria’s unreality seeps into our reality and vice versa. That is the essence of magic.” Anne saw stars and galaxies reflected in Fripp’s eyes. When he turned to her, she could see a big sun burning in his eyes. “You have to get to Pandoria. It’s very important. He is waiting for you there.”
“Is that where he is? Concorde?”
Fripp nodded.
“Both his body and his soul are being held captive in Pandoria by the general.”
Anne pictured Concorde’s empty stall and inhaled sharply.
“Fripp,” she said with a frown. “I would do anything to save Concorde. But how am I supposed to get to Pandoria? And what do I do when I get there?”
“I will teach you how to open portals,” Fripp replied. “In this world, you have somehow already learned to teleport, to move a short distance in the blink of an eye. Now, you need to learn how to open a portal to Pandoria. Close your eyes, please, and focus on Concorde and where he is, and we’ll see how you do.”
Anne did just as she was told. Time passed; minutes or maybe hours. She wasn’t really sure how long it was because it was hard to tell. The runestone glowed pink. Fripp emitted a low, rumbling hum as pink light flowed through Anne’s body and mind.
Suddenly, she was no longer in the Secret Stone Circle. She was soaring above a place where everything was pink and in flux. She heard a voice calling her. Concorde. Then she hurled back to Fripp and the stone circle. She inhaled and got to her feet. Fripp seemed to look impressed. At least Anne thought he did. She found it difficult to read his expressions.
“You learn more quickly than I expected! Now we know you can contact Concorde across the two worlds. That’s necessary for your magic to work the way it is meant to. Before you transport yourself over to Pandoria, we need to practice portal opening and energy flows. Makes sense, right?”
Anne mumbled something in reply.
The air around Anne swirled with a mix of color and energy while she learned to control the energy flows and weave magical light patterns around her using her hands. She was beaming with her success. Perhaps she got a little too cocky, though, because suddenly the color splashed her face. Fripp jumped up and down with laughter while she wiped herself off with her shirtsleeve. It was streaked with color that slowly faded away.
“Nice and steady!” he said. “Shall we try opening a portal to a place you’re familiar with? Stand completely still and imagine a place. Any place. A safe place. You should be able to open a crack through time and space with your mind, making it possible for you to get there. But don’t disappear, just yet! You can look, but don’t touch the portal until I tell you to!”
Anne thought about the lake she and Concorde liked to ride to on warm days. She usually went bareback and rode out into the water until Concorde swam off with her on his back.
“Okay,” she said. “I know a place.”
Anne intently focused on this place in her mind and then began to feel something stir inside her. She started moving her hands slightly and meticulously created patterns around her. Soon, a magical disc of light appeared in front of her, as tall as she was. It rotated slowly, wreathed with pink spirals.
“Try it,” Fripp suggested.
Anne stuck her arm into the magical disc. Her arm instantly appeared in the air a few feet away, facing her. She waved to herself and laughed. She put her foot in, too and it appeared below her arm. Anne stepped through and then completely appeared in a different location, but it wasn’t the lake.
“Hmm,” Fripp said. “The teleportation seemed to work. But your actual destination was unclear. Try again.”
Anne repeated the process. This time she got it right and felt a cool breeze when she put her hand through. She angled one leg inside and felt her foot step into a cold September lake. The chilly water gave her goose bumps. She leaned her upper body through, careful not to lose her footing, and saw the lake exactly as she remembered it.
Anne was awestruck. She could feel the sun’s warmth reflecting off the glittering surface of the lake. But the other half of her was still standing in the stone circle with Fripp.
“Help!” she screamed. “I’m stuck! What do I do!”
“Don’t panic!” Fripp called back. “Take a big step back and breathe.”
She followed his direction and collapsed in front of him.
“Smooth,” she mumbled.
They practiced several more times, and eventually, Anne stopped messing up. She was able to smoothly step between two alternate places.
“Bravo!” Fripp said. “Now you are ready to open a portal to Pandoria, Anne.”
“But how do I get there?”
“They say the Path of the Winds leads to Pandoria,” Fripp continued. “You must believe in yourself and what you have learned. Use your powers like we practiced, and you will not fail. We believe in you!”
Who is we? Anne wondered, but she had no time to think any further about that. She pulled a cracker out of her bag and quickly wolfed it down. Should she have offered Fripp one? She really was inexperienced when it came to multidimensional etiquette.
“All this teleporting and portal juggling has made me hungry,” she said with a giggle at the absurdity of it all.
Fripp laughed.
“All right, so how do I get to the Path of the Winds?” she asked.
Fripp slowly turned his head to the small stone altar. It leaned out over the precipice and the narrow sliver of land that sloped down into nothingness.
Anne turned cold.
“You’re kidding me, right?”
Fripp shook his head slowly.
“You have to go out there. Belie
ve in yourself, Anne. It is the only way. The paths to Pandoria have sadly been abused and exploited. This is the only one I have left to offer. The other ways have been destroyed . . .”
Anne looked inquiringly at Fripp, but he said nothing more.
She walked up to the edge and was overcome with vertigo. All that lay beneath was a bottomless pit, an abyss. A bird flew by far below. Her stomach ached. I can do it, Anne told herself. For Concorde. And then: It’s such a long drop . . .
Anne tried to comfort herself by thinking that she would be falling for a long time. Maybe long enough to teleport back if it didn’t work out the way Fripp said it would. She had made up her mind.
Anne stroked Jupiter’s nose and led him over to Fripp.
“You will make sure Herman picks him up, won’t you?”
“Of course,” Fripp said. “Jupiter will return to Jorvik Stables. This last bit you must travel alone. You, and only you, can rescue Concorde from Pandoria.”
“Okay. So bye, then,” Anne said and wondered why it felt easier to talk to a mythical creature than to her classmates. She would have to bring that up with her therapist when she came back. Or not. Anne took a few deep breaths. Fripp raised his paw in a silent farewell.
Anne took a step toward the precipice. Her heart was pounding. She gritted her teeth and turned toward the Path of the Winds. Are you waiting for me there?
And then it felt like she was flying.
In the western part of the Northern Mountains, not far from where they slept during the Light Ride, Linda and Alex said their goodbyes to each other. This was where they must part and go their separate ways on their individual missions. They were sad to be splitting up and gave each other a long hug before setting off.
“Talk tonight,” Alex said. “And see you soon, right?”
Linda nodded, but something in her eyes made Alex’s heart pang. She missed everyday life: having lunch in the school cafeteria, playing basketball with James, doing homework, and hanging at the stables. She even missed detention. At least there she was safe.
Soul Riders (Book 1) Page 15
