by Brandon Mull
“We can’t get too specific,” Cole said. “But it involves stopping a torivor.”
The woman looked perplexed. “Trillian remains safe inside—”
“Not him,” Cole said. “Ramarro.”
The woman nodded. “You realize Lorenzo Debray was a Grand Shaper hundreds of years ago.”
“Yes, and he’s in hiding near here,” Cole said.
The woman shook her head. “I’ve never met a crazier troop of rascals. You’re all far too fond of nonsense.”
“The world walkers collected these things from Outside?” Violet asked.
“No more of that talk,” the woman said. “The world walkers were officially disbanded more than sixty years ago. Their unofficial excursions tapered off roughly twenty years ago. Those in charge questioned the ethics of securing these items and the propriety of too much attention fixed outside our world.”
“Then this stuff is just junk,” Jace said. “Relics from an abandoned project.”
“A few of us still find value here,” the woman said. “We’re allowed to curate the caches as long as we keep them closed to the public. So your presence endangers my life’s work.”
“Were you a world walker?” Twitch asked.
“I have worked with some of the best of them,” the woman said. “And I keep talking too much! I must be lonelier than I realized! One ride, then you depart, lips sealed.”
“We’ll depart and look for Lorenzo Debray,” Cole said.
“Why not find Kendo Rattan while you’re at it?” the woman asked.
“We expect to,” Cole said. “One step at a time.”
The woman threw up her hands as if the discussion was hopeless and teetered over to a shed. She unlocked the door and went inside.
“Did you see her face when you mentioned Lorenzo Debray?” Mira whispered. “She knows something.”
“Seemed like it,” Jace whispered.
“Think she’ll help us?” Cole asked.
“Depends if we can get her to trust us,” Mira whispered. “The location of Lorenzo Debray is an enormous secret. She has to be good at keeping it.”
Thousands of light bulbs came on all over the carousel. Music began to play, and it slowly started to turn.
“It works,” Jace said with a smile. He rummaged in a satchel, pulled out the hat he got in Zeropolis, and put it on.
“Grab something to ride,” Cole said. “Make sure your pole connects to the crank at the top or it won’t go up and down.”
Everyone claimed a mount as the carousel sped up. The old woman exited the shed and watched, a smile on her lips.
Cole looked back at Jace, eyes closed, grinning, his tiger rising and falling. He opened his eyes and took off his hat, waving it in the air.
“You love that hat,” Cole called.
“Perfect for holidays,” Jace replied.
Cole could not help imagining life as a slave—a life without holidays. He realized he couldn’t even begin to understand what it was really like for someone who had spent their whole life that way.
Mira laughed on her horse. Twitch bobbed up and down on a colorful rooster, trying to look in every direction at once, soaking in the experience. Violet contentedly held the pole above her dolphin with both hands.
“Had enough?” the old woman called as they passed her.
“Nobody is waiting for a turn,” Cole called back. “Keep it going!”
Something slammed into Cole and constricted around him, knocking him from his horse. He fell short of hitting the floor of the carousel. It took Cole a moment to recognize the crisscross pattern of a net pressed to his face, and enveloping the rest of him as well. He hung, trapped, off the side of his horse, head lower than his feet, unable to do more than barely squirm.
“Run!” Jace shouted over the chiming music.
Cole struggled fruitlessly. The world scrolled by as the carousel spun. In flashes from his awkward dangling position, Cole saw his friends scrambling and Enforcers approaching. They had been ambushed.
Cole had no connection to Violet, Twitch, or any of the weapons. He reached out but could not get a sense for where his friends were, let alone connect to their powers.
Then Jace was at his side, hatless, thrusting the golden strand against his shoulder. “Quick,” Jace said.
“My hands,” Cole said.
But both hands were trapped between his chest and the side of the horse.
“Hurry,” Jace said, holding the golden strand against his elbow, as close to Cole’s hands as he could manage.
Cole fought to make his hands available. He also tried to feel the power of the rope through his sleeve. And then Jace was yanked away. An Enforcer stood in his place.
Cole redoubled his effort to remotely connect to the golden rope. If only he could energize the rope, Jace could probably handle the Enforcers. But Cole could establish no connection.
The carousel slowed to a stop. The music continued, and the lights remained on. Hands detached Cole’s net from the horse. Somebody seized Cole’s feet, dragged him to the edge of the carousel, and swung him off. Still hopelessly ensnared in the net, he landed in the dust, shoulder first, and did his best to absorb the impact by rolling.
The net shrank around him, constricting so tight that Cole could barely breathe. From his helpless position on the ground, Cole watched the Enforcers round up his friends. Mira wielded her Jumping Sword against an Enforcer with four arms. Without energy from Cole the sword was useless for jumping. The Enforcer outfought her with a pair of long knives and knocked the sword from her grasp.
Another Enforcer moved with supernatural speed, first hurling Jace to the ground, then tracking down Twitch, who had tried to run off. Violet surrendered without a fight.
Soon all his friends lay on the ground as well, hands bound. Cole counted a total of five Enforcers. The old woman seemed to have disappeared. Could she have slipped into the shed?
“Keep them away from Cole,” the fast Enforcer said. “Jermaine, where’s our wayport? Let’s get them to the boss.”
“Having a little trouble,” Jermaine said. “I tried to hold our wayport open, but it collapsed.”
“That’s why we have two Wayminders,” the fast Enforcer said. “Eric?”
“The cache must be shielded,” Eric said. “I can’t open anything here. We may have to take them outside the fence.”
“Not much of a fight,” the Enforcer with four arms said. “Any two of us could have handled this.”
“We had good intelligence,” the fast Enforcer said. “Isolate Cole. Nice work, Carson. Easy job after that.”
“It was a solid plan, Lars,” Carson said.
Cole miserably strained against the squeeze of the net. The Enforcers were right. Without him to energize the others, they had been easy prey.
“What kind of net is that?” Mira asked. “Looks really tight.”
“Never you mind,” Lars said. “No talking. Boys, what is the best way to convey them outside the fence?”
Mira stared purposefully at Cole. She was right! The net was supernaturally tight. Sure enough, he could sense shaping power in it. Pressing his hands against the confining strands, he connected to the power.
How was it energized? The power in the net felt like Sambrian shaping. Could somebody else energize objects to work outside their proper kingdoms? No. The power originated with one of the Enforcers. The guy called Carson. He wasn’t energizing power inherent to the net. He was using Sambrian shaping to directly control it. Carson’s power had been mangled by shapecrafters to allow his Sambrian shaping to work in Creon.
Cole knew he needed to act decisively. It would be easy to block Carson’s power from controlling the net. With the net’s embrace loosened, Cole might be able to move. But better if he could shake Carson up along with it.
Using his connection with the power guiding the net, Cole traced the power back to its origin. Gritting his teeth, Cole connected directly to Carson’s power. Not to energize it. To te
ar it apart.
Carson screamed and fell.
The net slackened.
Cole pushed a hand free. Lars stood nearest, and Cole grabbed his ankle. Cole felt his shaping power more distinctly than Carson’s. It was marred throughout, tangled with darkness. Without the darkness, it felt Ellowine.
Pushing with all his might, Cole burned away the darkness. Lars cried out and collapsed.
Flailing to free himself from the net, Cole lunged over to Jace. The other Enforcers looked stunned. Cole took the golden strand from Jace’s bound hands and forced energy into it.
The four-armed guy charged, but Cole quickly ensnared him with the rope, then used the contact to find the man’s power. With a mighty surge of energy, Cole burned away the darkness throughout his power. Two of the man’s arms disappeared.
Cole swung the stunned man violently into Eric. They connected with a clang of armor and a crunch of bone. Lars returned to his feet, looking shaky.
Cole drew his Jumping Sword and forced energy into it. “Surrender or you’re all going to die,” he warned.
Jermaine charged forward, sword in hand. Cole snared his ankles with the golden rope and whipped him into the air.
Crouching, Lars set down his weapon and raised both hands. “This is over. Stand down.”
“What did you do to me?” Carson asked with a miserable groan.
“He went right to your power,” Lars said. “Went straight to mine, too.”
Eric and the other Enforcer remained motionless. Cole flopped Jermaine onto the ground, not gently, and retracted the rope.
“On your faces,” Cole said.
The Enforcers who could move complied.
“No shapecrafter can connect to your power that easily,” Carson said, his voice still unsteady.
“They warned us he was good,” Lars said. “I didn’t think of him using the net to get to you. What did you do to me? I can’t feel my power.”
“I healed you,” Cole said. “Took away all the shapecrafting done to you.”
“No fooling,” Lars said with some admiration. “That quickly? I know shapecrafters who can adjust modifications to your power. I don’t know anyone who can simply undo them.”
“Seemed like the fastest way to take away your shaping here,” Cole said, using his Jumping Sword to carefully cut Jace’s cords. “It’ll still work back in Elloweer.”
“You didn’t do that to me,” Carson said. “I feel . . . wrong inside.”
“I’d say sorry,” Cole said, “but you were trying to capture us.” The cords fell away from Jace’s wrists, and Cole passed him the sword. Jace started freeing the others.
“You followed my power through the net and back to me?” Carson asked. “Who does that?”
“The guy who is going to stop Ramarro,” Cole said.
“Who?” Lars asked.
“Ramarro,” Cole said. “You call him Nazeem.”
“What?” Carson asked.
“You guys don’t even know who you’re following?” Jace asked.
“Explain,” Lars said.
“Your leader is the torivor Ramarro,” Cole said. “Going under the name Nazeem.”
“You’re like those poor suckers who fall under Trillian’s power,” Mira said.
“Who do you think taught Owandell to mess with the shaping power?” Cole asked. He crossed to Carson. Crouching, Cole touched the back of his neck. The Enforcer’s shaping power was not only marred with darkness but torn, almost scrambled. “I really hurt your power.”
“You’re telling me,” Carson said. “I feel some of the results physically. Like I’m permanently dizzy. It’s turning to nausea.”
Cole engaged with Carson’s power, gently healing it, and then burned away the darkness. It wasn’t very difficult.
“You fixed it,” Carson said. “All of it.”
“You can feel your power,” Cole said. “But you can’t use it here.”
“Yes,” Carson said.
“Don’t let them maim you again,” Cole said. “Jermaine, hold still.”
“I’m a Wayminder,” Jermaine said, facedown. “My shaping power belongs here.”
“I’m going to check you,” Cole said, touching the back of his head. His power was mangled, with darkness woven into it. “What did they do to you?”
“Boosted my abilities,” Jermaine said. “I can open wayports more frequently than most.”
With an effort of will, Cole burned away the darkness. “Not anymore. But your shaping is whole.”
Cole went over to Eric and to the Enforcer who formerly had four arms, who was perfectly still. He didn’t seem to be breathing. Cole reminded himself that, like the others, that man had been ready to do harm to Cole and his friends.
Eric groaned as Cole approached. “Stay away.”
“Hold still or I’ll smash you around again,” Cole said, touching his neck. He burned away the darkness.
“Enough of this,” a shrill voice called.
Cole turned to find the old woman approaching. He held the golden rope ready, just in case.
“Time to send our unwanted visitors on their way,” she said. A shimmering wayport appeared. “Sorry if you find the destination inconvenient. Then again, you were never invited to trespass here.”
“Does this include us?” Violet asked.
“You were not invited either,” the old woman said. “But I wouldn’t send children to Outer Yurgo for wanting to ride a carousel. I refer to the Enforcers.”
“You heard her,” Jace said. “Head through the wayport. Be glad you’re alive. Well, except the dead one.”
“Wait,” Mira said. “Do we want to use a couple of them to spread the word about Ramarro through the Enforcers?”
“There are surer channels,” the old woman said. “These men will say whatever they can to get free, then double-cross you in a heartbeat.”
“I didn’t know we fought for a torivor,” Lars said. “And we are an elite unit. If we didn’t know, very few know.”
“There are better channels,” the old woman maintained.
“Into the wayport,” Mira said.
“Help Eric,” Cole suggested.
“I see that crossbow,” the old woman said. “Leave your weapons.”
“What about hunting?” Jermaine asked.
“Get creative,” the old woman suggested.
Jermaine and Carson carried Eric into the wayport. Lars paused before stepping through and looked at Cole. “If you really are up against a torivor, good luck, kid.”
“Like it or not, know it or not, we’re all up against a torivor,” Cole said.
“Maybe so,” Lars said, then stepped through.
The wayport closed.
The old woman crouched over the Enforcer who used to have four arms. “He’s not pretending.” She raised her voice. “All clear.”
A man came out of the shed. Clad in the robes of a Wayminder, he had long hair knotted atop his head and a short beard that followed the edge of his jaw.
“Greetings,” he said. “I understand you’re looking for Lorenzo Debray. I am he.”
CHAPTER
16
HIDDEN
I pictured him older,” Jace murmured to Mira.
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Lorenzo said.
Violet looked like she was about to pass out. “Are you really Lorenzo Debray?”
“Fair question,” Lorenzo said. “You’re all involved in some high-stakes trouble. You can’t afford to get duped by an imposter.”
“Can you prove who you are?” Jace asked.
Lorenzo held up a hand, and Jace became motionless.
“Your friend is unharmed,” Lorenzo said. “He is now experiencing time in an unusual way. Not many Wayminders can accomplish this.”
“Nobody can do that,” Violet said.
“Not many,” Lorenzo replied. He waved a hand, and Jace could move again. “Edna informed me that you had come to look for me, and then Enforcers attacked y
ou. I came to survey the situation.”
“How did she inform you?” Twitch wondered.
“I opened a wayport to him,” the old woman said.
“You’re a Wayminder too?” Cole asked.
“Yes, though opening ways here in the cache is easy,” the old woman said. “Especially if you belong here. Numberless shortcuts have been established over the years.”
“Their unfamiliarity with the protections here hampered the Enforcers,” Lorenzo said. “I closed their wayport and prevented them from opening a new one. I thought I would have to rescue you, but then you saved yourselves. I must say, Cole, your abilities are extraordinary.”
“Lorenzo Debray knows your name,” Violet mumbled in awe.
“I heard the Enforcers use it,” Lorenzo said. “And I sensed what he did. So impressive. Are you really trying to stop a torivor?”
“We need help,” Cole said.
Lorenzo held up a hand. “Say no more. Come to my lair. We can speak freely there.”
A wayport opened.
“We were worried we wouldn’t find you,” Mira said.
Lorenzo gave a nod. “You have found me. Please, after you.”
Jace went first. Then Mira. Cole followed.
He stepped through the wayport into a large, underground chamber, rectangular as the inside of a box, the rock walls, ceiling, and floor unnaturally smooth, the corners perfect. Despite the subterranean appearance, it had been turned into a home. Furniture abounded, and rugs softened the floor. Several lamps lit the space. Taking a closer look, Cole found electric light bulbs inside them.
“These are from my world,” Cole said.
Lorenzo had come through after Violet and Twitch and closed the wayport. Edna had not joined them. “This surprises you after riding a carousel?”
“Good point,” Cole said.
“How deep are we?” Twitch asked.
“Well below the surface,” Lorenzo said. “None will find us here.”
“North of the cache?” Mira asked.
“Some distance north, yes,” Lorenzo said.
“We had directions to you,” she said.
“Who told you this?” Lorenzo asked.
“Dandalus,” Cole said.
“Dandalus has moved on,” Lorenzo said.
