*
“Any crushes?” Janie asks.
Nick left abruptly after breakfast on some secret errand leaving Margo alone with Janie and her hundreds of questions. Her own questions of her impending mission will have to wait. Margo can hardly get a word in other than a quick response to Janie. For some reason she seems to have taken an interest in Margo’s mundane life outside of Jamyria.
Blushing, Margo answers with a lying ‘no.’ Most of Janie’s questions are easy enough to answer. From school to free time — Margo chuckles at that one as free time is nearly nonexistent considering her work schedule — to favorite books and recipes. Those answers are simple and one-worded, but every once in a while Janie slips in an unexpected question.
“And your family? What are they like?”
“Oh,” Margo gasps, not prepared to answer this question. Of course, for most the answer would be easy. The truth is her family was once close, but they have been damaged. The broken pieces are still scattered about awaiting repair. Even if it were possible to move on, Margo knew that some of the pieces will never find their home again. It just takes time, she’d been told repeatedly. She still isn’t convinced.
“We aren’t how we used to be. Things were always great between us, but now we’ve…drifted. It’s been difficult.”
For probably the first time that day, Janie’s smile disappears. Margo’s eyes dart away knowing a lecture of some sort is brewing. That is definitely a conversation she wishes to avoid.
“So tell me more about this mission,” Margo says quickly.
Janie grins at her forced enthusiasm. “Well, that’s Nick’s area of expertise. He’s been through this already, so I think it’d be best if he gave you the answers you’re looking for. He should be back pretty soon…with a surprise.”
Now Margo struggles looking for another way to distract her, so she asks the one thing she is too embarrassed to ask in front of Nick and a part of her really needs to know the answer.
“What happened to Nick’s hand?” she blurts.
Janie places her mug on the table and lets out one small, humorless laugh. “Nick has been through a lot for this world,” she mutters to herself mostly. Margo expects her to leave it at that. Maybe it’s the eagerness or urgency Janie sees in her eyes, but something makes her continue. She leans in and sighs, speaking each word rather harshly. “Many of the people of Jamyria don’t give him the respect he deserves. They’re ashamed of his failure. Makes me wonder if they really understand the risk he’s taken for them — for us.
“He traveled for months searching for answers, but was faced with dead end after dead end. He couldn’t find the way out, obviously. And after almost a year of searching, he and his followers decided to start back at square one. So he headed for the castle —”
“Which he was never allowed to go back to.” Margo finishes her sentence.
“Exactly.” Janie’s smile grows darker. “He was caught, of course. It’s almost impossible to enter the palace without someone finding out. You see, the Queen can keep track of people in this world. She always watches us.”
Margo shivers.
“There are a couple of exceptions, though.” Janie nods once towards Margo.
“Me?”
“The original marks are cloaked. There’s about a ten-foot radius around them at all times that makes them and anyone standing within those ten feet invisible to the Queen.”
“So for the most part, I’m safe.”
“Should be safe,” corrects Janie. “Nothing in this world is definitive — don’t ever completely rely on anything anyone says. Your power should cloak you from the globe, but who’s to say she won’t find a way around that someday? I’m sorry we don’t have any better answers, but this is a learning process for all of us.”
“The globe?” Margo asks curiously.
Janie winces, as if aware she has spilled too much information. “Remember how you found that globe before you entered?”
Margo nods.
She picks up her tea and takes a sip to stall. “The Queen also has a globe very similar to the one that brought you into this world. Hers is much larger, though, and contains a lot more power. She can locate anything or anyone in Jamyria with just a few words.”
Margo thinks about this and finds herself wondering if there is more to the globe than that. It seems too simple a feature to react the way Janie had. Either way, she decides she shouldn’t push luck on the subject. “So, Nick was going back to the castle…?”
“Right,” she says. “He snuck back in with a few people. I still don’t know how he managed to do that. The Queen was furious after learning the Marked One was in her castle. She was even more upset to see that the New Mark was Nick, one of her first true prisoners in Jamyria.”
Margo remembers the sign to Nick’s house labeled as ‘The First Man,’ but she cannot get a word in to ask if this is the reason why.
“The first great rebellion took place, a battle the people of Jamyria will never forget.” Janie clenches her teeth. “But they were no match against the Queen and her Guard. Nick was soon on his back, others dead. The Queen pulled out her sword to finish him off, but just as she struck, he raised his marked hand blasting her away with his power. From what I hear, she was injured, too, but was able to heal herself without leaving a scratch in the end. The same is not true for Nick. As you saw, her blade cut off half his hand.”
Her eyes fall to her cup. “He and his followers retreated, and the Queen never looked for him again. I’m sure her arrogance played a role in it, knowing that he lost most of his mark.” Janie chuckles darkly to herself. “She no longer saw him as a threat, so she just let him go….
“It wasn’t long until he moved back into his home here. What was left for him to do but to come back? Of course, now he has to deal with the locals’ bad attitudes.” She scrunches her nose up in disgust. “But like I said, he deserves all the respect in the world for what he did for us.” Janie tilts her head. The corner of her mouth pulls up slightly, and she stares into the space between herself and the table as if recalling a private memory. Margo realizes just how strongly she feels about Nick. Perhaps, there is more than friendship between Nick Thomas and Janie Saunders. The way she defends him against the people here… It obviously strikes a nerve every time she mentions his failure. Her expression moments ago tells Margo that she does not condone the actions of these townspeople nor would she allow them to hurt him.
Thinking of his failure and the many people who seem to dislike Nick, Margo wonders if she would have a ‘Janie’ to look after her if things were to end similarly. Would she be left alone to deal with the heckling? The thought of having to shoulder the lives of everyone within this world is difficult enough to fathom, but failure could mean a lifetime or two of ridicule.
“That’s going to be me, isn’t?”
Janie’s face freezes, holding her smile in an unnatural way. She places her cup on the saucer with a barely audible clink. “You will be faced with obstacles, yes, but these challenges will be your own. Mostly, you will find yourself faced with mental difficulties as you begin to learn the uniqueness of this power. You seem like a strong girl, Margo, but if you don’t feel you’re ready for this, please tell me. Nick feels you’re capable of the task, but if you’re worried, speak now before you’re in too deep.”
In Janie’s eyes, Margo finds something unexpected. This is no cry for help, but instead a plea for her to stay behind. Whatever lies ahead is so dangerous Janie would rather wait to return home than see Margo through it.
But she’s already decided she can’t sit around and wait for the Queen to find her.
“I’ve sort of made up my mind,” Margo says. “I’m going to do it.”
Janie’s smile grows more genuine. “Well, then, we must prepare you for the journey. Nick will be back any minute now.”
Jamyria: The Entering (Sample) Page 13
