Comet Rising

by MarcyKate Connolly

  “Hello?” Lucas calls, but no one answers. Only dust motes float through the beams of light streaming in from the windows.

  We search the house and find no one. When I reach the second bedroom, I halt in the doorway. This must be the fire breather’s room. And it must be where they were taken. Everything is black and charred, as though they put up the biggest fight of their life. Maybe this house is empty because they escaped. One can always hope.

  Lucas gasps behind me. “Do you think they made it out alive?”

  I shrug helplessly. “I hope so.” But even I have to admit it doesn’t seem promising. I close the door, unable to bear the sight of the room anymore.

  Lucas sinks into one of the kitchen chairs, and as he does, a slip of paper floats to the floor. I pick it up. The script is old fashioned but legible enough.

  Beware the hollow dolls. They are everywhere.

  An odd chill settles over my shoulders. The writing looks the same as the note I found in the tree house. But what are hollow dolls?

  “What’s that?” Lucas asks, and I show him. He frowns, looking around warily.

  I study it for a moment then tuck the paper into my bag for safekeeping.

  “What do we do now?” Lucas puts his head in his hands, running his fingers through his hair. The light toys with it—he may have more control over his powers, but he still does things unconsciously.

  I pull out the list but don’t join him at the table. That charred bowl of fruit is too eerie. Suddenly, my face brightens.

  “There’s only a couple more homes in Abbacho. One of them must be the Rodans. They’ve known your family for years. Surely they’ll be able to help us form a plan to get your parents back.”

  Lucas cracks a smile. “It would be nice to see Doyle and Cary again.”

  “Then let’s get going, though perhaps a little more cautiously this time.” Now that the villagers know what I can do, I don’t want to run into them again. Lady Aisling has spies everywhere. They don’t need to know what direction we’ve gone.

  I collect all the shadows in the little house and craft a cloak to cover me and Lucas. Then we sneak away, hoping no one notices the wayward shadow slinking along the edges of the village.

  Chapter Thirteen

  The next day, we reach the area where we hope the Rodans’ new home is. Lucas remembered Doyle once saying something about them moving close to the border of Parilla, and this fits that description. But we see no sign of a house. The terrain is hilly, with giant boulders sticking out of the earth, like the tips of buried fingers grasping toward the sky. A few scattered trees provide some shade, and a stream snakes between the rocks, the water tumbling over smaller ones and smoothing them.

  “Do you think your parents had the right location? Maybe they moved,” I say, but Lucas shakes his head.

  “No, they would have told my parents. They were close.”

  “Then where are they?” I throw my hands up.

  “They’re here somewhere. We’ll just have to keep looking.”

  I scramble on top of the nearest boulder to get a better view of what’s nearby. In the distance, the forest sways in the wind. To the other side, and much closer, a cliff rises above the foothills where we search.

  Where the terrain evens out into rolling fields in the distance, far to the north beyond the forest and cliff, there is the hint of village rooftops shining in the sun. But not here. The one thing I don’t see in these foothills is a house.

  I call down to Lucas with my report, and his brow furrows too. But only for a moment. Then his face brightens, glowing with sunshine.

  “What is it?” I ask.

  “I think I know where they are.”

  Curious, I drop to the ground. Lucas is already running ahead. The shadows of the boulders trail behind me as I chase after him. They skitter along the ground like fish racing underwater. I am breathless and laughing by the time I reach him.

  “Where are they?” I ask, but he only smiles with a spark in his eye.

  He leads me toward the cliff, and I can’t help wondering what I missed that seems clear to him. The rocks thin out the closer we get, and the stream cuts across to meander a few feet away from the base.

  Lucas stops when we reach the cliff face. “My parents once told me about clever homes some in the network create, like the tree house we found. Some are buried in the earth under a hill, burrowed from the trunk of an ancient oak tree, or even carved into a cave. I’m willing to bet their house is built right into this cliff.” He frowns. “Somewhere.”

  I take in the long stretch of rock face we’ll need to explore. “That may take a while. You go left, I’ll go right. And if we find it, send up sparks or I’ll send up a shadow kite. If there’s danger, meet back here where the stream runs into the rocks.”

  Lucas agrees, and we each head in opposite directions. The cliff rises next to me, stretching into the sky and blocking my view of the sun. Now that I’m alone, I swirl the shadow cast by the cliff around my body like a second skin. If any of Lady Aisling’s men are nearby, they will not see me. I only hope Lucas is as careful on his side too.

  As hopeful as I am we’ll have success this time, I’m nervous. The last time I saw the Rodans was the night Lady Aisling’s men found Lucas’s family’s cottage while they were visiting. They left us, furious. I don’t expect a friendly greeting. But I try to put these worries aside and examine the rock wall carefully as I walk, searching for any seam or hint of an entrance. Halfway to the end of the cliff, I hear a shout and sparks shoot up from Lucas’s side.

  He found something.

  I run back toward him, excitement racing through my limbs. I can’t help wondering how the Rodans’ home is hidden and how far into the rock it goes. The cliff looks big enough to house a palace.

  I release my shadows when I reach Lucas. “What did you find?”

  “Here,” he says, pointing to a perfectly straight seam in the rock—too straight to be natural. My eyes follow it up where it meets a second seam, this one horizontal, that stretches until it hits yet another vertical seam that goes back into the ground.

  The outline of a door. One I’d never have noticed if we hadn’t been looking for it.

  I grin. “Should we knock?”

  “Definitely.”

  Together we each hold up a hand to the rock and rap soundly three times. It echoes, like something vast and unknown hides behind it. Scarcely daring to breathe, we wait for an answer. It feels like an eternity passes before anything happens.

  But then something creaks and clicks, and the outline of the door begins to sink into the cliff face. It swings open, revealing a girl a little older than us standing in the doorway—Cary. Shock lines her face, then she lets out a small cry and rushes forward to throw her arms around us both.

  Finally, we have found someone we had hoped to find.

  But before relief can fully wash over us, it’s clear something isn’t right. Cary is crying—not a thing I’d ever have expected from her. She didn’t cry even when Lady Aisling’s men had Lucas’s old cottage surrounded.

  She pulls back, her face red and puffy. “I’m glad you’re here.” She wipes her eyes. “Where are your parents? Maybe they can help us.”

  All the joy at finding the Rodans vanishes from Lucas’s face in a heartbeat. “They’re gone. Lady Aisling captured them.”

  Cary leans back against the wall, and for a moment I fear she is about to weep again. But this time, her features harden even as the light in her eyes dims. “Then what are you doing here?”

  “We were hoping you and your family could help us,” I say.

  “We need to rescue my parents,” Lucas says. “We’ve been searching for other talented children to convince their families to help.”

  “And that’s not all. The Cerelia Comet returned twelve years too early just the other day. We t
hink it is Lady Aisling’s doing. We need to find the sky shaker under her control and get them to set the skies right before other objects are thrown out of alignment.”

  Cary’s expression shifts at the mention of the comet. “Wait a minute. What happened?”

  I swallow hard. “Dar tried to warn us. We thought it was just another ploy, but then the Comet appeared, and not long after, Lady Aisling’s men came for us.”

  Cary frowns. “Who is Dar?”

  I’d nearly forgotten that the Rodans never did witness the full depth of my betrayal so many months ago, or the real reason why. I quickly explain, and Cary rolls her eyes, reminding me of the girl we met before.

  “So far, your family is the only one we’ve found intact,” Lucas says.

  The resolve on Cary’s face cracks, and as soon as it does, the truth punches me deep in the gut. But I don’t dare say it out loud. I don’t want it to be true.

  Cary licks her dry lips as her hands squeeze into fists. “I’m afraid you’re mistaken. You have not found our family intact. Not even close. Come inside.” She gestures for us to enter the dark hall as she closes the door behind us, spinning some kind of lock on a dial.

  Lucas stumbles inside, his face pale as moonlight. “Doyle? Is he…?”

  “Gone,” she whispers. Lucas hangs his head, and I put a hand on his shoulder. Doyle was a good friend of his, a wind whistler. I liked him very much. The thought of him trapped in Lady Aisling’s garden is horrible.

  A small torch flares on the wall, and Lucas instinctively tugs the light with us as Cary leads us into her home. At first, it is just a long, dark hall, but then it brightens, and we enter a living room with smooth stone walls and chairs carved from the rock. A bookcase is carved into one side too—the middle shelf has sheet music and a few flutes, pipes, and other wind instruments.

  Doyle’s, no doubt. My heart aches again.

  “Where are your parents?” I ask at the same time Lucas says, “What happened to your brother?”

  Cary snorts and sinks onto a chair. “Oddly enough, the same story will answer both questions.”

  Lucas and I exchange a wary look and settle into chairs while Cary fidgets with her sleeves.

  “At first the move here was great. We had a new home that was secure. We thought we were safe.” She huffs. “We should’ve known better. A few weeks ago, someone knocked on our door just like you did. My parents assumed it had to be someone from the network. How else would anyone know our house was here?”

  “It’s cleverly hidden,” I say.

  “Not cleverly enough,” Cary says. “My parents found a woman on our doorstep with a serving boy in tow. I was a few feet behind my parents, so she didn’t notice me. She claimed to be a traveler thrown off her path by a storm who was now seeking shelter, but I could sense something was strange right away. I thought my parents could too, but when she reached through the doorway and touched each of their arms, something changed.”

  “How so?” Lucas says, frowning.

  “Their minds. They agreed to let her in. She barely gave me a second glance, but the moment she saw Doyle, she fawned over him. And Doyle loved the attention. There were no guards, no hint anyone would take him by force like we’d heard the Lady’s hunters were doing.” Cary violently wipes a stray tear off her cheek. “It’s…it’s my fault Doyle is gone. But I trusted my parents knew what they were doing. And the woman seemed so innocent and young, not at all what I’d expected.”

  I place a comforting hand on her arm. “I’m sure it’s not your fault, Cary.”

  She shakes her head vehemently. “Oh, no, it is. I’d been quarreling with Doyle all day. I don’t even remember what it was about. But I got annoyed when he began showing off his talent and at how much praise he was getting from our visitor, and I went to bed early. The next morning, he, the woman, and her servant were gone.”

  Cary takes a deep breath and rubs her arms. “If I had stayed up, if I’d been paying more attention, I could’ve done something. I could’ve seen the woman for who she really was.”

  Horror seeps into my skin, as unshakable as a shadow. “Lady Aisling,” I whisper.

  Cary’s face darkens. “She clouded their minds somehow, and it hasn’t faded. They’ve been acting oddly ever since. Their memories of Doyle fade with every day. All I know is if I’d been awake, I’d never have let her take him.”

  “Cary!” calls a voice I recognize as Mrs. Rodan’s. “Dinner’s ready!” She sounds completely normal, like nothing strange has happened recently. Like her son did not just up and disappear.

  “Just a minute!” Cary calls back.

  I shudder. “What did they say about where Doyle went?”

  Cary shrugs. “Not much. I don’t even know if he went willingly or was forced. The guards may have descended right after I went to bed and dragged him off.” She curls her knees up to her chest.

  I remember when I first met Cary, she always seemed a little annoyed by her brother and bored with his talent. I almost thought she might have been a little jealous, especially when the three of us were working on our talents together and all she could do was watch.

  But now all trace of resentment is gone, leaving only regret and guilt in its wake. The urge to put a comforting arm around her shoulders is strong, but I doubt she’d appreciate it from me.

  Lucas is lost in his own world too. I’m not sure what to do with the pair of them. He’s been moved around so often by his parents that he doesn’t have many friends, and Doyle was one of the few.

  But before the heavy silence stretches too long, Mrs. Rodan appears in the room. A smile breaks over her face when she sees me and Lucas. “Lucas! Emmeline. How nice of you to stop by. You must stay for dinner.” She glances around with a confused expression on her face. “Are your parents here too?”

  Lucas and I shift uneasily in our seats. We don’t want to lie, but I’m wary, knowing that Lady Aisling did something to their minds. Only Cary seems safe to confide in.

  “They’re staying over in the nearby village. We heard you were close and wanted to say hello.”

  This answer seems to satisfy Mrs. Rodan. “Of course. Well, how nice. You’ll stay for dinner, won’t you?”

  Lucas answers immediately. “Yes, thank you.”

  Part of me wants to say no, that it would be best to move on to the next house. Staying is too depressing. But then my stomach growls. It’s been hours since our last meal.

  I suppose having a bite to eat wouldn’t hurt. And perhaps we can dig a little deeper into the mystery of what happened to Doyle while we’re at it.

  “Thank you,” I say. “That would be lovely.”

  Cary gives us a half smile as her mother retreats down the hall.

  “Come on,” Cary says. “I’ll show you what I mean about them being different now.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Cary leads us down a dark tunnel that branches off the living room, brightened by the light Lucas brings with him. She leads us into a kitchen and an adjoining room with a table and several chairs.

  Mr. Rodan is already at the table, having just set down a plate of vegetables and rolls. He nods at us in greeting. All trace of the disdain they felt for me the last time I saw them is gone. I wonder if they even remember how much danger I accidentally put them in.

  I’m beginning to see what Cary means about them being different. All the suspicion, the weight of it, that they carried before, has vanished. They seem free and light—and in some ways, empty.

  That slip of paper with the warning Beware the hollow dolls springs to mind.

  Lucas takes a chair, and I sit next to him, rubbing my arms. I want to pull close a shadow or two, but I don’t feel comfortable using my craft around them. It’s already too late to tell Lucas not to show off his light singing.

  We’ll stay here for dinner, but I’m not convinced it’
s wise to spend the night.

  Mrs. Rodan and Cary take their seats too, and we begin to eat. The food smells wonderful—roast potatoes, chicken, and steamed carrots and green beans like the ones Lucas and his mother grew in their garden. The taste sours in my mouth at the thought. If Miranda and Alfred were here, they would know what to do. They’d know what was wrong. They might even know how to get the Rodans to snap out of whatever Lady Aisling has done to them.

  Instead, it is only me and Lucas hoping to stumble upon the right answer.

  The Rodans are oddly quiet while we eat, nothing like the happy banter I recall from their visit to Lucas’s cottage in Parilla. Instead they smile absently, seemingly oblivious to the disappearance of their son.

  I can stand the silence no longer. It feels too grim here without Doyle to break it.

  “So, where is Doyle?” It’s probably the worst question I could ask, but I’m too tired to be anything other than straightforward. Cary’s mouth drops, but the edges curl up in a smile.

  Her parents frown, almost like they’re puzzled. Like it’s a struggle to remember who Doyle is. Then Mrs. Rodan brightens. “Oh, Doyle, yes of course. He is in Zinnia. He was recruited ages ago for a special institute for particularly bright children. He’s doing wonderfully there. They keep him busy!” She laughs, no sign whatsoever that this institute is the same ruse that terrified her only a few months ago.

  “Yes, we’re proud of Doyle,” Mr. Rodan says. “I’m surprised you remember him, Emmeline. He’s been away for so long I didn’t realize you two had met.”

  Now my mouth drops open. Cary raises an eyebrow. This is exactly what she was talking about. Their memories have been altered.

  “But he hasn’t been gone long at all,” Lucas objects. “He was with you when you visited us in Parilla not three months ago!”