by Davis Ashura
“Because that’s my car.”
“I thought your car was yellow.”
“It was, but my dad always wanted to repaint it red. He would have loved this.” William went up to the T-bird and ran his hands over the paint. His expression became both wistful and melancholy.
Jake could only guess at his thoughts.
William seemed to shake off his sadness. He slipped the car key into the slot for the trunk and twisted. It popped open.
“Guess that answers that,” Jake said, and they tossed their backpacks into the trunk.
“Looks like they also redid the headliner and carpeting,” William noted after they settled inside the vehicle. He keyed the T-bird’s engine to life, and it roared and sputtered before settling into a healthy growl.
“How fast can you get us to Cincy?” Jake asked.
William goosed the gas, and the T-bird rumbled, a lusty, full-throated roar of V-8 power. “Real fast.”
William hunched his jacket closer about himself while he pumped the gas. While he and Jake had packed plenty of clothes, they’d forgotten to bring any food. As a result, they’d had to make an early pit stop. Ironically, it was the same gas station in Rio Grande, Ohio where he, Jason, and Serena had paused two years ago during their mad flight following Kohl Obsidian’s attack in West Virginia.
Jake went inside to buy some snacks while William pumped the gas. He glanced around, searching for any differences from when he’d last been here. The gas station’s broken pavement still needed repairing, and like last time a skinny girl ran the register. She might have been the same cashier as before. Even a rusty pickup—he remembered seeing one before—belched black exhaust as it rumbled out of the gas station’s parking lot and onto the highway. It hauled a thudding tractor behind it. The only difference William detected was in the rolling hills and fields. Last time they’d been winter bare, but now they gleamed green and alive under the spring sunlight.
Otherwise, as far as William could tell, nothing seemed different, which wasn’t surprising. Other than the weather and the seasonal scenery, small towns probably didn’t change much. Maybe that constancy was why some people enjoyed living in them.
Jake stepped out of the convenience store with a grocery bag tucked under an arm and a newspaper in his hands. He flipped through it as he approached. “George Bush is president,” he said when he reached the T-bird.
“Reagan’s vice president?” Until that moment, William hadn’t given any thought to politics or the presidential election. It would have been the first one in which he would have been eligible to vote, a milestone he’d once looked forward to.
Then again, was he even still an American? He supposed not.
“Anything else happen while we were gone?” William asked.
“The Bengals lost the Super Bowl.”
“Who’d they lose to?”
“Forty-Niners.”
“Again!” William cursed under his breath. “Any good news?”
“Nope. It says Pete Rose might have bet on baseball. It says he’s probably going to be banned for life, and even from the Hall of Fame.”
William sighed. “All right. Enough bad news. I don’t want to know any more.”
The pump snapped off, and William went inside to pay. As soon as he finished, they hit the road.
William glanced at Jake. “We’ve got to ease you in with your family,” he said. The bare, rolling hills passed by as they drove, while some group William had never heard of—Milli Vanilli—sang-rapped some song he wished he’d never heard. He snapped off the radio.
“What do you mean?” Jake asked.
“You can’t just go up to your front door and ring the doorbell.”
“I was thinking of using the key we leave under a rock next to the porch and walking on in.” Jake chuckled. “Can you imagine what their faces will look like when they see me?”
William rolled his eyes. “Yeah, and I’m sure your dad won’t have a heart attack when you do that.”
Jake’s smile left him.
William glanced at Jake and his eyes widened. He’d actually planned on doing exactly that. He shook his head in disgust. “You jackass. You can’t do that to them.”
“I want to do something dramatic,” Jake said.
“It’ll definitely be dramatic,” William scoffed. “Your dad with a heart attack and your mom fainting.”
“Nothing like that would happen,” Jake said.
“What if they have company?” William said. “You’d have to lay a braid of forgetfulness on all those extra people. You might not manage it.”
“Yes, I could,” Jake said.
“No, you couldn’t.”
“Then what do you think we should do?”
“Let me handle it,” William said. “Since we can only weave braids of forgetfulness on people we can actually see, you’ll have to let me go first and scout out who’s there.”
“How’s that any better than if I show up unannounced? They think you’re dead too, remember?”
“Your family doesn’t know me from Adam,” William said. “I’ve never even met your parents. We weren’t friends back then.”
“They’re bound to know who you are by now,” Jake said. “We both disappeared right after I had dinner at your house. They’ll have learned everything they could about you.”
“But they won’t react with heart-attacks and fainting spells when I show up,” William said. “Sure, they’ll have questions, but they won’t freak out. I’ll tell them you’re alive and on your way home.”
“What if they have company?”
“Then I’ll braid who I can, and let you handle the rest.”
Jake shook his head. “If you have to braid anyone, you’ll kill them. Your control sucks.”
“I’m better than you think,” William said, wiggling his fingers suggestively.
Jake laughed. “You look like an idiot doing that. And I’m not lying. Your control sucks.”
“You want my help or not?” William asked, mildly offended.
“Fine. We’ll do it your way, but it better work.”
“It’ll work,” William promised.
A few hours later, William pulled into Jake’s tree-lined neighborhood of mansions.
William whistled in appreciation. “You did grow up rich.”
“Yeah,” Jake said with a smug smile. He hadn’t stopped grinning since they’d reached the city.
William parked across the street from Jake’s house, a tan, two-story modern home with a peaked roof.
“No cars out front,” Jake noted. “Looks like no one’s visiting.”
“Wait here,” William said. “I’ll signal when they’re ready.”
Jake’s smile slipped and his eyes glistened. He wiped at them. “I can’t believe this is really happening.”
William stepped out of the T-bird and quickly crossed the street. He rang the doorbell and waited. Footsteps echoed from within, and shortly afterward the door opened.
A big, balding man, a larger, older version of Jake, stood in the doorway. “Can I help you?” he asked. A frown creased his face before his eyes widened in recognition. “Wait. I know you.” Excitement dawned on his face. “William Wilde! You’re alive.”
“May I come in, sir?” William asked.
Mr. Ridley opened the door wider. “Yes. Yes. Please come in.” He ushered William inside and closed the door. “Helen!”
A woman arrived in the foyer. “What is it?” she asked. Her eyes darted to William and her face went pale. “William.” A desperate longing filled her face. “Jake! Is he alive?”
William smiled. “He’s near. Is Pete home?
“Yes,” Mr. Ridley said. “Let me get him.” He lumbered off, and moments later came back with a younger version of Jake, slender and more bookish.
“Where’s Jake?” Mrs. Ridley demanded.
“Jake’s alive,” William said. “I wanted to warn you, so it wasn’t too much of a shock when I call him in.”
William opened the front door, and Jake stood directly outside. He burst into the house, and his family enveloped him in hugs, tears, and love.
Envy settled in William’s stomach as he watched it unfold. He’d never have a glad homecoming like this. He’d never again see his parents, and maybe not his brother, either. In the years following their battle against Kohl Obsidian, he hadn’t heard from Landon.
“How is this possible? Where have you boys been?” Mrs. Ridley asked.
Jake’s reply was a ball of lightning dancing in the palm of his hand. “I have a story to tell you.”
May 1989
serena paused for a quick rest when she reached Clifftop. She’d jogged the entire way, and it took her a few seconds to catch her breath. Once she could breathe easily again, she pressed on, her basket of food tucked close. She called greetings to those out and about on the Village Green, and in that instant, it struck her how many people she had come to know on Arylyn, how much she enjoyed talking to them and learning their stories. She even enjoyed sharing her stories despite the fact she’d always thought of herself as a private person.
Maybe she was willing to open up because she’d finally found what she’d always longed for: friendship and community. In a deeper sense, she’d even entered an extended family through Sile and Ms. Sioned.
It left her feeling as warm and bright as the golden sun, and she said a prayer of gratitude to whichever deity had blessed her.
Serena reached her bicycle, which she always left racked near the Village Green when she didn’t need it. Many others did the same, since it was easier than keeping them at their homes and hauling them up and down the stairs whenever they were needed.
“Serena!”
She searched for whoever had called her and saw Lien waving as she came Serena’s way.
“Where are you going?” Lien asked.
“Linchpin Knoll.”
“Want some company?”
“Sure.” Serena reracked her bicycle, since Lien didn’t have one, and they set off.
“Are you going there for any particular reason?” Lien asked.
“Mr. Zeus says William and Jake are supposed to return from the Far Beyond this afternoon,” Serena said.
Lien eyed her sidelong. “You’re taking them some food?” she asked, pointing to the reed basket in Serena’s hands.
“Stuffed grape leaves and chicken-salad sandwiches.”
Lien broke into a chuckle.
“What is it?”
“Nothing. I’m glad you found your place here is all,” Lien said. “I didn’t think you would. When you first came here, I thought you were an arrogant bitch who nobody would like.”
“I was an arrogant bitch who nobody should have liked,” Serena agreed. The words didn’t upset her. She’d long ago made her peace with the person she’d once been.
“What changed?” Lien asked.
“William. He pointed out my behavior and forced me to think about things I didn’t want to think about.”
“William changed you,” Lien noted, and slyness marked her features. “I wonder why he would care what happened to you.”
Serena overlooked Lien’s obvious implications and her not-so-subtle near-leer. If she reacted, it would only incite the other girl to laugh at her, smirk more knowingly, or do something equally annoying. Pretending ignorance of Lien’s intentions usually worked better.
“You’d have to ask him,” Serena said.
“He never told you?”
“He did,” Serena said, “but you’ll probably laugh at his answer.”
“What did he say?” Lien asked. Her eyes twinkled and she grinned with relish. “Did he fall in lust with you again?”
Serena made sure Lien saw her eyeroll. “Don’t be stupid. He’ll never think about me like that again.” She felt satisfaction when her words wiped away the other girl’s smirk. “He said he forgave me because of something Rukh had told him. Rukh said that William had to figure out what kind of man he wanted to be, the kind who hates or the kind who forgives.”
Lien frowned. “Rukh and Jessira say weird things,” she declared.
“You know what’s even weirder about them?” Serena asked. They reached Linchpin Knoll and started upward. “They’re only supposed to be juniors in high school.”
Lien startled. “Holy crap. I’d forgotten about that.”
“Mr. Zeus and the Village Council know something about them,” Serena continued, “but they won’t say what it is.”
“Secrets are terrible unless you’re the one who knows them,” Lien agreed.
“Secrets and knowledge are currency on Sinskrill.”
“They’re currency most places,” Lien said when they reached the point on Linchpin Knoll where all the anchor lines were attached.
“Are you going to be at the meeting next week?” Serena asked.
“The one where we go over William’s plan to steal the troll and your grandmother?”
Serena nodded.
“I’ll be there,” Lien answered.
They chatted while they waited, talking about Daniel and Magnus’ work in bringing more irrigation into Janaki Valley.
“It’s easier drawing the water straight from River Namaste instead of creating it with lorasra,” Lien said.
“Sounds like a lot of work.”
“It is, but it’s necessary,” Lien said. “Ms. Sioned and Afa can’t provide all the lorasra we need. I’ve heard it’s not as dense as it used to be.”
“Maybe when William and Jake are fully trained it will.”
Minutes later, Serena felt a tremor and saw the air pulse. “They’re coming.”
A line split the air. It rotated and revealed a doorway opening onto a rainbow bridge. William and Jake stepped off it.
“It went well?” Serena asked.
Jake smiled broadly, happier than Serena had ever seen him. “The best visit ever. I’m going back in a few weeks to see them again.”
“Here. I brought some food,” Serena said. “Figured you’d be hungry.” She held up the basket. “Chicken salad sandwiches and stuffed grape leaves.”
William and Jake wore famished-wolf countenances when their eyes lit on the basket.
“Maybe you should drop the food and let them fight over it,” Lien suggested.
Dropping the basket and letting William and Jake go at it might have been funny, but Serena chose to divide the food evenly between them. She watched in bemusement as they devoured the food. It was like they’d never seen food before.
“Bless you,” Jake said, his mouth full of stuffed grape leaf.
“How long has it been since you’ve eaten?” Serena asked.
“Hours,” Jake answered.
William eventually surfaced from his food long enough to breathe. “Thank you,” he mumbled around a mouthful of chicken salad. “By the way, I’ve got something for you.” He reached into his backpack and handed her a cassette: October by U2.
“What do I do with this?”
William reached into his backpack again and handed her a Walkman. “Ward told me there’s a way to power these things without batteries.”
Serena stared at the Walkman and the cassette. “Why October?”
“You’re always humming “Gloria.” Now you can actually listen to it again.”
Serena smiled, touched by his thoughtfulness.
A week after returning from the Far Beyond, William called for a meeting to be held in Mr. Zeus’ courtyard. He wanted plenty of illumination for the meeting, so he’d lit all the landscape lights, the string of bulbs woven throughout the pergola, and even the tiki torches. The pond gurgled as the waterfall dribbled into it, and a warm wind blew. It set the tiki torches shivering.
William felt like shivering, too. He would be the one to run the meeting, and it left him with a belly full of nerves.
One by one the people he invited to the meeting arrived and took seats on a cluster of chairs, cushions, and couches. Jason, Lien, Julius, Dan
iel, Mr. Zeus, Rukh, Jessira, and Magnus and Trace Karllson. These were the people who had experience in the Far Beyond and had agreed to help save Fiona and Travail. Conversations had broken out amongst them, and William cleared his throat, calling for everyone’s attention.
The conversations stilled.
Here goes.
“First, I want to thank everyone for coming,” he began.
Jason hit him with a piece of popcorn. “Get to the point. This isn’t an awards show.”
William almost flipped Jason the bird, but he thought better of it when his eyes fell on Mrs. Karllson. She was a very formal lady and wouldn’t appreciate such a gesture.
“Fine,” William said. “All of you know why you’re here. We want to free Travail, a troll trapped on Sinskrill, and Fiona Applefield, the raha’asra, enslaved there.”
Rukh cleared his throat. “Since Sinskrill’s lorasra comes from their supposed god, Shet, why do the mahavans still need her?”
Julius answered. “Because only a raha’asra can repair the leylines.”
Rukh nodded understanding.
William took up the explanation again. “We’ve come up with a plan.” He gestured to Jake and Serena. “Me, Serena, Julius, Daniel, Rukh, and Jessira will travel by boat from the Faroe Islands to Sinskrill. Once we get there, Daniel and Julius will allow themselves to be seen trying to kidnap Fiona.”
“Why do you want them seen?” Rukh asked.
“Fiona wears a necklace that will decapitate her if she leaves Sinskrill without the Servitor’s approval. My hope is that if she’s seen taken against her will and manages to escape and swim back to shore, the necklace will tighten but not kill her. If so, then the Servitor will have to remove her necklace. He wouldn’t want Sinskrill’s only raha’asra to slowly asphyxiate.”
“You’re certain this will occur?” Rukh asked.
William shook his head. “No. We can’t be certain, but we’re pretty sure it will work.”
“This is actually Fiona’s part of the plan,” Serena said, taking up the explanation. “She dreamed it to me.”
“After the Servitor takes off the necklace, we’ll have a few hours to enact the rest of our plan,” William said.
