Gabriel Stone and the Wrath of the Solarians

by Shannon Duffy

  “Who said I wanted to be healed?” Tahlita called out from her seat on the porch.

  “Yes,” Prince Oliver said to Dane, ignoring her. “I can try, but there are no guarantees it will work.”

  “It has to work!” Dane snapped. After a moment, he pressed a fisted hand to his mouth, then added, “If it works, I vow to do whatever I can to assist your cause. Even … gifting these human children with powers to aid in the return of your mother and sister.”

  “Wait. What?” Piper said, stepping back a few steps. “Why are you able to do that, but not the prince?”

  Dane snickered. “I am an older Zeveron than he. In order to perform such magic, a Zeveron needs to either be eighteen, or the ruler of Valta. Since the prince is neither of those, he cannot.” Dane returned his focus to the prince. Extending his hand he said, “Do we have a deal?”

  Prince Oliver grasped Dane’s hand and shook it. “Deal.”

  “Hang on a sec,” Gabriel said. “All great that we get to have some kind of powers and stuff again, but we still don’t know where to look for them. Do you think they’re here or back in Valta?”

  “Wait for it,” Prince Oliver said with a nod.

  Thunder rumbled, the wind ruffling Gabriel’s hair. A vision flew into his head like watching a movie. Gabriel remembered the prince had done the same thing before they left Valta. Prince Oliver had showed them in a vision where he’d taken Malgor for eternity in the Tower of Doom.

  Gabriel watched the images in his mind. Prince Oliver walked up to the castle in Valta, his boots clicking against the cobblestone walkway. The sun shone down on the unnaturally golden, twinkling mountains, and large dragonflies whizzed by. The smell of the fresh mountain air filled Gabriel’s nose. It felt like more than just a movie—it seemed as though he was really there—invisible, but there.

  Way cool.

  Prince Oliver pulled the thick, wooden door to the castle open. “Mother?” Prince Oliver called. “Sorry I am late.” He stepped inside and headed toward the fountain in the center of the room. Empress Malina’s statue towered in the middle of it, clear water flowing down over her turquoise dress. The sound of water trickling echoed off the high ceilings and stained-glass windows.

  Prince Oliver tugged a pewter-colored mug from his bag, scooped up some water, then swallowed a mouthful. “Mother?” Prince Oliver called again, setting the cup down on the fountain’s ledge. He headed to the small set of white, marble stairs at the back of the room.

  When the prince climbed two steps, he stopped suddenly. The smile dropped from his face like a stone. “Andimian!” Prince Oliver shouted.

  Gabriel’s pulse raced, his blood like fire. Andimian—the majestic, flying white tiger and mighty protector of the throne, sprawled on the floor, bleeding. His enormous paws stretched wide, his fangs bared as he gasped for breath, and blood pooled under the tiger’s stomach.

  The prince raced up the remaining steps and dropped to his knees beside the tiger. “Andimian,” he called, sliding a hand over the tiger’s coat. “Who did this to you?”

  The tiger panted. Gabriel was sure he could even feel Andimian’s hot breath on his face. Andimian lifted his ice-blue eyes slowly, then stared at the empress’s throne. Prince Oliver (and Gabriel) followed the tiger’s gaze. A piece of paper dangled from a knife—a knife that had been sunk into the arm of the empress’s throne.

  Prince Oliver scrambled to the throne and yanked out the knife with a low growl. He lifted the note, the knife dropping to the ground with a loud thud. Panic filled his eyes as he read the words on the page.

  Return Duke Malgor within 3 days, or the empress and the princess die. A curse has been placed on Valta as a reminder of my power and the seriousness of my demand. The plague of the poisonous locusts will only be lifted when Malgor is returned to me at his castle.

  Dacho ~ Ruler of the Solarians.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  After the heart-slamming imagery misted away like wisps of fog in the wind, Gabriel realized that at some point he had sunk to his knees. He pressed his palms onto the cool blades of grass and swallowed hard, trying to steady his hands. What he’d just seen, and the idea of the Solarians, freaked him out more than when he’d fallen down a well when he was a little kid—if that was even possible.

  “Now you all know what happened,” Prince Oliver whispered.

  Gabriel gazed at his friends, then Dane and Tahlita. He knew they had seen the vision, too. Piper’s face was the color of paper, and Brent looked at Gabriel like he’d just heard the worst news of his life.

  Tahlita stood, her eyes wide open, then she narrowed them in thought. “Was that Valta you showed us?”

  “Yes,” Dane said. “It’s beautiful there, love.”

  “Seems dangerous to me,” she said, gazing off.

  Prince Oliver pressed a hand against a thick tree trunk. “It’s not always like that, Tahlita, I can assure you. And Valta is where you belong. I know of this too, and I have nothing to gain by lying to you about this fact.”

  “Then why do I forget?” she asked the prince before turning her stare on Dane. “And why did you forget me here?”

  Dane grimaced. “I never forgot you. Not for one day. I have been looking for you since you left, I swear it. It tortures my heart to know you were lost in this world … if I could—”

  Tahlita raised a hand, silencing Dane.

  Wow. She silenced Dane. That girl really has special powers.

  Tahlita marched up to the prince. “This memory potion thing? I’ll try it. If I’m really from this place you just showed us, then I want to at least know more about it, get my memories back. It doesn’t mean I want to go anywhere though,” she said, throwing Dane a look before she held a flattened palm up to Prince Oliver. “Can I have some … please?”

  The prince nodded, and handed her the red elixir. Dane smiled which was a total miracle. She gulped it down in one mouthful.

  While the prince spoke in private with Dane, Piper sat beside Tahlita on the front steps. Gabriel and Brent stayed close by on the grass.

  “You feel anything yet?” Piper asked Tahlita. “Remember anything? Anything at all?”

  Tahlita shook her head, looking stunned.

  “You sure?” Piper pressed.

  “Maybe you should give her a few minutes,” Brent suggested.

  “Every minute counts when, you know, the empress and the princess are kidnapped,” Piper snapped.

  “Chill already,” Brent said. “I’m just saying that rushing her won’t get her to remember any faster. And what if that stuff doesn’t work? The prince said he’d try.”

  “You chill,” Piper said. “I’m only trying to help, too.”

  Gabriel watched as Tahlita rolled her eyes, then tilted her head and stared at Dane. Gabriel glanced over at the prince and Dane, still in a deep discussion, and then back at Tahlita. She kept her gaze locked on Dane and began gnawing a thumbnail.

  “Shoes … ” Tahlita mumbled after a moment, dazed.

  Piper and Brent stopped arguing and turned their attention on her.

  “Shoes?” Gabriel asked, lifting his brows.

  She nodded. “I remember my red shoes,” she said in a hushed voice. “They broke … and he fixed them.” Tahlita pinched her brows together and rubbed the sides of her head like she had the worst headache ever.

  “You mean Dane?” Gabriel asked. “Dane fixed them?”

  “Figures a girl’s first memory would have something to do with shoes,” Brent said with a laugh.

  “Shh!” Piper scolded, then turned her focus on Tahlita. “Anything else? Do you remember Valta?”

  Tahlita shrugged and shook her head again.

  Desperate to get Tahlita to remember something other than shoes, Gabriel tugged out the titanium necklace with Andimian’s image in the center that the empress had given him. He approached Tahlita with it. The blue stones representing Andimian’s eyes shone like pools of water. “What about this? Look familiar?”

 
; Tahlita reached out and ran a finger around the circular edge of the emblem. Suddenly, she yanked her hand away with a gasp and clasped her fingers over her mouth.

  “What?” Piper asked, jumping to her feet. “Did you get a memory?”

  Tahlita stood slowly. “No, no. It’s nothing. Never mind,” she said, her face pale. She inched backward toward her front door.

  Dane and Prince Oliver rushed over.

  “Tahlita?” Dane said. “Are you okay, darling?”

  Tahlita gave a quick nod. She opened her mouth, closed it, and bit her lip. “Father … I—I was pushed through a portal by Duke Malgor into Harmony.” She looked as stunned by her own revelation as everyone else. “He dragged me to the portal, then just before shoving me through, he hit my head.” Her voice broke and a lone tear spilled down her cheek. “He—he whispered something harshly in my ear just before he hit me over the head, but I can’t remember what.”

  Dane uttered a curse. “Duke Malgor did this to you?” He reached a hand out to Tahlita. She didn’t take it, but she didn’t push it away either.

  Gabriel’s face burned over the thought of what Malgor did to her. But at least Tahlita was remembering something other than red shoes. That was progress.

  And Tahlita called Dane “father”!

  Dane placed his hand on her arm, looking at her with sad eyes. “Malgor will pay for this.”

  “Why would he do that to you?” Brent asked.

  “Seriously,” Piper said. “Does Malgor need a reason? He’s just evil.”

  “True,” Brent said. “But still, he might have had his own reason, even if it was a dumb one.”

  “You’re okay, Tahlita,” Piper told her with a smile. “He can’t hurt you now.”

  “Try not to worry,” Prince Oliver said. “Your memories will come back a bit at a time. But in the morning we must all go back to Valta.” He turned his attention on Dane, who now cradled a sobbing Tahlita in his arms. Gabriel didn’t like to see her cry, but he had to admit, he was totally relieved her memories were coming back. He just wished they were better ones.

  “I trust you will hold to your end of the bargain and give these children the special powers we discussed a minute ago?” Prince Oliver asked.

  Great.

  Dane and Prince Oliver had already decided on what powers Dane would give them. Gabriel hoped he’d be able to choose one himself this time. Something epic like flying would really rule.

  “Of course,” Dane whispered, patting Tahlita’s head. “I want to help now more than ever. If Duke Malgor hurt my daughter and caused all of this, I never want him to escape.”

  Prince Oliver handed out the memory potion meant to make their parents forget them until they could get back home.

  Gabriel popped the stopper on the vial and inspected the red liquid with little gold flecks swirling in it. He took a whiff. It smelled pretty good—something like flowers mixed with cinnamon. Gabriel figured it had been made to smell good so that it’d be easier to trick people into drinking the stuff.

  But then, a sickening thought hit Gabriel. What if they could never get back home this time? Gabriel realized that if that happened, their parents would never even look for them. It’d be like they never existed. Since there wasn’t any plan for Tahlita to come back, that was a good thing for her and her adoptive parents. But it wasn’t such a good thing for Gabriel and his friends. Along with that sickening thought, guilt rushed over him for planning to do the memory zapping on his parents.

  Gabriel tried to put on a brave face, struggling to ignore the twisting, gyrating mess otherwise known as his stomach. Making their parents forget them seemed wrong. They’d only gotten home from a mind-bending adventure a few weeks ago. To make their parents forget them and head back into another unknown situation seemed scary. But making them worry seemed worse. Gabriel corked the vial and sunk it deep into his jeans pocket.

  Gabriel looked across First Street at his house. Whoever kidnapped the empress and princess threatened to kill them both if Malgor wasn’t returned in three days. They needed to help no matter what. But setting that maniac free seemed almost as wacky as Malgor was. Seriously, Duke Malgor had almost destroyed all of Valta the last time they had been there. Add to that fact that he had cast a nasty spell on the prince and created a virus that turned anyone infected into a half-lion, half-wolf beast. They had barely managed to fix all that crap last time. Who knew what mess Malgor would cause if he was set free? No, somehow, they had to get the empress and princess back without releasing Malgor the monster back into Valta.

  But who were these people that had kidnapped the empress and princess—the Solarians? Did they have special powers like Zeverons? And what was with the locust curse? The idea of that sent a chill rushing down his spine. He gripped his fingers around his emblem. He squeezed his eyes shut, wishing the necklace could give him courage.

  Prince Oliver cleared his throat, bringing Gabriel back to the land of the living. The prince squared his shoulders, slipped one hand between the buttons of his vest, and rested the other on the hilt of his sword. “Give the potion to your parents in the morning, then let’s all meet at the waterfalls. There you will receive your special powers.” Prince Oliver’s voice grew quieter, huskier. “I thank you for agreeing to help.” His eyes drifted over each of them. “Empress Malina and Princess Evangeline thank you as well. And Valta waits.”

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  The next morning, Gabriel, Brent, and Piper headed for Beachy Cove Falls. But halfway down the street, Gabriel stopped, his stomach twisting in knots. He wondered if the potion he’d given his parents had really worked. He needed to know for himself.

  “Guys, hang on. I’ll be right back,” he said.

  “Dude,” Brent called, as Gabriel sped into a jog in the direction of his house. “What now?”

  “Just be a sec,” he called over his shoulder.

  Gabriel rang the doorbell to his house and scraped at imaginary dirt on the white paint of the doorframe. If the potion didn’t work, his mother would wonder why Gabriel was ringing the doorbell instead of coming inside like usual. They never locked the door. Just when he was digging up some lame excuse he could give, his mom pulled open the door.

  Seconds seemed like hours as Gabriel’s heart formed a lump in his throat. He waited for it. Some sign of recognition.

  But it didn’t come.

  “Hi, there,” she said with a smile. “You the new newspaper boy? I heard Tyler was sick.” Gabriel’s stomach sank. She didn’t know him. A mixture of weird feelings squirmed through him. He was definitely happy the potion worked. He didn’t want his parents to be worried about him taking off or anything, but at the same time it was creepy to have your mom totally not recognize you. And as much as Gabriel knew it was right to have given his parents the memory potion, seeing the empty look in his mother’s eyes when she looked at him stabbed a hole straight through his heart.

  He squeezed his hands together behind his back. “Um, no,” he said, backing away and nearly stumbling over the steps. “I—ah, rang the wrong doorbell. Sorry, ma’am.”

  He turned around and bolted all the way back to Brent and Piper.

  “Bathroom break?” Piper asked, grinning as he skidded up beside them.

  Gabriel shrugged. “Something like that.” He didn’t feel like talking. Instead, he trudged to the falls behind Brent and Piper and concentrated on the sounds of the wind rustling the leaves on the trees and the skittering of critters through the brush. When they reached Beachy Cove Falls, Prince Oliver, Dane, and Tahlita waited for them by the edge of the rushing river. All the ice had melted since the last time Gabriel and his friends were there. The familiar crashing of the waterfalls onto the riverbed below drew Gabriel in. He stared across the river, letting the spray of water mist his face. The smell of earth and spring air filled his nose.

  It both relaxed and scared him. It relaxed him because he’d hung out there so many times with his friends, and being there felt familiar. It freaked
him out because the last time they hiked up there, Cedric and Piper had fallen in. Then they had all been sucked down into the water and pulled through the portal into Valta. As if that wasn’t bad enough, at the time Valta was on the verge of imploding.

  Brent dropped a hand on Gabriel’s shoulder. “Yo, you okay?”

  Gabriel thought about telling Brent about his uneasiness, but he would’ve felt stupid. Seriously, they had taken on so much the first time they’d been in Valta, you’d think he’d be all brave and fearless. Not. Yeah, he’d gotten over his stupid fear of the dark, but taking on Duke Malgor and his death mongers again—or some other kidnapper unknowns? It still freaked him out. “Yeah, I’m good,” Gabriel said.

  “Well now.” Dane sidestepped a moss-covered rock and approached them. “You ready to be empowered, Gabriel?”

  Gabriel nodded and twisted his hands behind his back. He hoped whatever power he was gonna get was something awesome. “Yeah, I’m ready. How do we do this?”

  Dane picked up a large rock, held it over Gabriel’s head, and closed his eyes without a word. The sky suddenly clouded over, turning everything gray. Thunder rumbled loudly and ripped through the air.

  Gabriel swallowed hard. “Is everything okay?” he asked, trying to keep his voice from cracking. “Is this, um, normal?”

  Piper tugged up the hood on her jacket and tied the strings tight as the rain pelted down. Her honey-brown eyes peered out, full of alarm.

  Prince Oliver stood beside Dane looking as regal as ever. Even when his wavy-blond hair dripped water down his face, the prince didn’t move, just kept his focus on Gabriel.

  Gabriel tilted his head back, staring up at the rock in Dane’s hand. The stone hovered inches from Gabriel’s face. His heart hammered. The rain poured down harder—sideways sheets of rain that soaked his face, making him squint. The rock and the blackened sky blurred into one.

  A huge spray of light lit up the sky. A deafening crack of thunder burst out.