They reached the end of the line just as the sky turned black. Technically speaking, it wasn’t the top of the tower, but it was as far as Joey and his friends were concerned. They could go no farther. Whatever had blown Celestia apart had completely destroyed a whole section of the building. Chunks of rock were cast about everywhere, ranging in size from great big boulders to tiny pebbles. Half the rubble hung in the air defying gravity, and the rest was scattered across a broken, uneven stone surface. The true top of the tower floated above the children’s heads, impossible to reach. Fortunately, there was no need to try. In the center of the blast site was a cube-shaped room the size of a log cabin.
“I can’t tell you how glad I am to see that,” Joey said as he came off the steps. The journey up the long staircase had been hard enough. He couldn’t imagine going back down in the dark if the rooftop had been empty. The room on the roof had an open door with a soft white light glowing inside. As they moved toward the featureless, cube-shaped room, they saw that it was untouched by the explosion that had wrecked everything else.
“Amazing,” Leanora said, running her hand over the smooth walls. “Not a single scratch. You think someone blew up this tower to get to this room? Is that possible?”
“Anything’s possible,” Joey said.
“Hello?” Shazad called out, poking his head in the door. “Anyone in here?”
No one answered. They went inside. The room was empty, save for a painting of a starry sky set inside a decorative frame. It hung suspended in the air, just like the picture frame Scarlett had used to enter the jungle. The light was coming from the stars in the painting.
“Look at this,” Shazad said, pointing up above them. “Another map.” Joey looked up and saw a faded mural of constellations painted on the ceiling. It had a blue-green background dotted with stars and a clear line running through golden images of zodiac signs. Shazad was right; it was a map of the stars.
“Take the high road,” Joey began.
“The stars will show you the way,” Leanora said, finishing the line.
As soon as they said the words, the light in the room intensified. The painting was large and rectangular in shape, glowing like the screen of a twelve-foot smartphone. The children moved in for a closer look. Joey walked around behind it. The same incredibly detailed image he saw on the front had been reproduced on the back. “It looks so real,” Leanora said, reaching out to touch it. She gasped as her hand went into the canvas and quickly retracted it. “Cold!” she said, shaking her fingers out. “This isn’t a painting—this is it. This is what we’re here for.”
“Let me see,” Joey said, his curiosity piqued. He put a hand on the picture frame and leaned his head in for a look. Sure enough, Leanora was right. And she wasn’t kidding about the cold. It was freezing inside the frame, even worse than the top of Mount Everest, and with much less oxygen. The whole universe stretched out before Joey’s eyes. Nothing but stars, stars, and more stars as far as the eye could see. His fingers tightened around the frame. Joey was afraid if he fell in, he’d end up a human block of ice, drifting from one galaxy to the next on a never-ending journey. A shiver ran through his body that had nothing to do with the subzero temperature. He looked to his right and saw Shazad there, staring into space alongside him.
“Take the high road,” Shazad said again. “Doesn’t get much higher than this.”
They pulled their heads out and looked at each other. There was nothing on the other side of the picture frame but the infinite void of deep space. There was no bridge or path to follow. There wasn’t even gravity. All they could do was jump in and hope for the best. Joey checked his arm. Black paint was dripping down past his elbow. “We should get moving,” he said, putting on a brave face. “The sooner the better.”
As they stepped up and balanced their feet on the inside of the frame, Joey reminded himself that the scene at the Devil’s Teeth had not looked any better than this. The same went for the door in Dracula’s dungeon. That door had looked good only because the other doors were all teeming with swords. The truth was, they hadn’t known for a fact that any of the other portals were safe when they had gone through them. They just trusted the map, believing that it wouldn’t steer them wrong.
On the count of three, they jumped through the frame together. With a whoosh, the room was gone, replaced by an infinite field of stars. The vastness of space swirled in Joey’s vision as he fell forward, landing hard on a brilliant beam of solid light.
“What the?”
It took a second for Joey’s brain to process what his eyes were seeing. When the moment passed, he stood up giggling in wonder. Joey had seen his share of miracles and then some, but this was truly special. The endless black sky was flecked with pinpricks of white light, and he stood on a luminous bridge that ran clear across the cosmos. Joey looked back the way he and his friends had come. Just like with all the other portals, the doorway had vanished behind them. That was the deal. You couldn’t see the path until you were on it, and once you were there, you couldn’t go back.
Joey, Shazad, and Leanora wandered around, marveling at the view and testing the starlight platform beneath their feet. Not only was it strong and sturdy, but it gave off heat. The icy cold they had each felt before was gone. The bridge had warmth, air, and gravity. Three things that were very hard to come by in their present location.
Joey walked to the edge of the bridge and looked down into the vacuum of space. He imagined if he fell from this perch, he would go tumbling through the universe just as he had feared, but as long as he stayed on the light bridge he was safe. Constellations were visible in the sky, their detailed outlines drawn around them in a bluish-white glow. Joey saw Perseus, Hercules, and Orion. The zodiac signs of Cancer, Leo, Gemini, and Scorpio were there too. The sight of them boggled the mind. It was enough to make Joey forget all about his blackened arm for a moment. Even Shazad and Leanora, who had grown up with magic, had never seen anything like this.
“You guys,” Joey said, stunned. “We’re in space—outer space!” he added, as if clarification were necessary. “We’re standing on a constellation!” Joey stomped his feet on the light bridge, punctuating the impossible reality of the situation. “I wonder which one it is.” He stepped back to get a look at the shape of the star line, but it was too big.
“I’ll tell you where we are.” Shazad unfurled the map, sharing Joey’s excitement. His eyes widened. “Look at this!” He turned so Joey and Leanora could watch as a star chart materialized on the Secret Map of the World. A glowing picture overlaid the map with an image that was identical to the mural on the ceiling back in Celestia. Shazad pointed out a series of constellations that bridged the gap between England and Brazil. “Here we are,” he said, finding the X that marked their location. “Ursa Major. We have to cross this distance here.”
“This is awesome,” Joey said, checking the map against the starscape. “I always thought Ursa Major looked more like a dog than a bear, but now I get it.” He traced the route they had to travel, understanding now that the lines between the stars weren’t just there for show. They were real. He didn’t know how they were going to get back down to Earth, but he didn’t waste his breath asking that question. There was only one possible answer. Trust the map. Trust and believe.
“Anyone care for a walk?” Leanora asked playfully.
“Don’t you mean a Star Trek?” Joey corrected. Shazad and Leanora stared blankly at him, not getting the reference. “C’mon, guys! Really?” Joey made a disappointed face, lamenting the waste of a perfectly good pun. He told himself Janelle would have laughed.
They struck off down the starlit path together and walked all night long, or so they assumed. Day and night were relative terms in outer space, but it was a lengthy hike by anyone’s estimation. Had they been anywhere else, Joey would have dreaded such a long walk, especially after riding the raft all day, but under the circumstances he didn’t mind it one bit. The radiant path they followed was easy to travel,
and the view was beyond special. Being up there put Joey and his friends in a very exclusive club. Not even astronauts ever got to see anything like this.
They went from constellation to constellation, walking right up to stars and turning to follow the gleaming bridge on to the next one. Everyone gawked as they passed stars that were larger than the earth itself. Giant balls of gas, constantly exploding with heat and light, were everywhere. Logic told Joey that he and his friends should have been struck blind or burned to a crisp before they got anywhere near a star, but logic didn’t apply up here. They were magically protected as long as they were standing on the bridge. Their only concern was finishing the trip by morning. Because of the way Celestia showed up at night and disappeared during the day, there was a chance the whole bridge would vanish when the sun came up over the Amazon. Fortunately, they were making good time. Very good time. Whatever magic protected them out in space also enabled them to walk at what was essentially warp speed. The distance between each star was literally astronomical, but they covered it easily, traveling light-years with every step. Joey loved it. A shortcut around the world that skirted the edge of the galaxy. The inherent paradox made it even more magical for him. Of all the secret passageways they had found using the map, this one was by far the best.
We saved the best for last, Joey thought.
He realized that with every step he took, his part in the quest was coming closer to an end. Joey’s spirits sank, and Scarlett’s dark mark crept down his arm toward his wrist. He tried to ignore it, but Leanora wouldn’t let him.
“Joey,” she said, pointing at his arm. “It’s getting worse.”
“It’s fine,” he said, playing it off. His arm wasn’t fine, but he didn’t want to talk about it. The more he thought about Scarlett’s curse, the worse it got.
“Hang in there,” Shazad told Joey. He checked their progress on the map. “We’re almost in England. As soon as we get there, we’ll call my parents. They’ll take care of you. You just have to wait until we… you know.”
“Until you guys leave,” Joey said in a sullen voice. “Without me.”
His friends got quiet.
“We don’t have a choice.” Leanora’s voice was heavy with regret. “We have to keep going. You heard what Scarlett said about Camelot. It could change everything. We can’t let them stop us from getting there.”
“I know,” Joey said.
“We’ll never make it if we stay together,” she continued. “Scarlett can track you and hurt you. Badly.”
“I know,” Joey said again, getting testy. “You don’t have to tell me that.” He shook his limp arm as best he could. It flopped around like a stocking full of sand.
“Sorry,” Leanora said, chastened.
Joey closed his eyes and let the frustration pass. “No,” he said, admonishing himself. “I’m sorry. I’m not angry at you. I’m angry at the situation. I hate it.”
“Of course you do,” Shazad said, trying to sympathize. “I’d be angry too. No one’s asking you to like it, but we’re splitting up to protect you. We care about you, Joey. Scarlett could show up right now and torture you to death. I don’t want to see that.”
Joey groaned. He didn’t want to see it, either, but he couldn’t help picturing the scenario Shazad had just described. The black paint spread down to his hand. He wiggled his fingers while he still could, but he felt them going numb. “Can we stop talking about this? It isn’t helping.”
Leanora grimaced. “I wish there was something we could do.”
“Just don’t forget me when you guys make it to Camelot.”
Shazad looked at Joey sideways. “We’re not going to forget about you. What kind of talk is that?”
Joey shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m not going to be there. Assuming your parents can fix me and you guys find the shield, what happens then? You still want to keep it in Jorako? After everything we found out?”
Shazad said nothing. Joey took his silence as a confirmation.
“That’s what I thought.”
“No,” Leanora said, looking at Shazad in disbelief. “Really? Even after Scarlett said the Invisible Hand knows where Jorako is?”
“She didn’t say they know where Jorako is. She said they could find it,” Shazad said. “If she was telling the truth—and that’s a big if—then it’s all the more reason to take the shield there. To protect my family and the magic we’ve saved.”
“If she was telling the truth, it doesn’t matter what’s in Jorako,” Leanora countered. “They haven’t gone after your collection because they don’t care about it. It’s a write-off to them. Acceptable losses. You don’t bother them, and they don’t bother you.”
Shazad scoffed. “I’m sure we bother them plenty. You’ve been to my home. You’ve seen the things we’ve kept out of their hands.”
“I don’t think it matters though,” Leanora said. “They’re still as strong as they ever were.”
Shazad took umbrage at that. “If my family’s work doesn’t matter, then neither does yours. Scarlett said the Invisible Hand lets your family go around putting on shows, hiding magic in plain sight. They don’t care because no one believes it’s real.”
“Not yet,” Leanora said. “Maybe something in Camelot can change that.”
“So what, your family gets the shield?” Shazad asked in a challenging tone. “I don’t think so.”
Joey sighed. “Here we go again. Is it always going to be like this? The three of us fighting over some magical object?”
“You’re the one who brought it up,” Leanora said.
“Not so we could argue. It’s a bigger conversation. We have to deal with it, but this isn’t the time or the place. Look at me. I can’t go on like this. I know that. I’m willing to drop out so you guys can reach Camelot, but you’ve got to promise not to cut me out. Get the shield and bring it back to the theater. We’ll settle this at the Majestic, all three of us. We’re in this thing together, right? Even when we’re not together. All for one, one for all.”
“Where’d that come from?” Shazad asked.
Joey reddened. “The Three Musketeers. It’s their motto. What, too much?”
“No, I mean where’d that come from?” Shazad asked, pointing into space.
Everyone looked up. An object the size of a small moon was barreling toward them. It looked like a fireball, white-hot at the front, with tongues of powder-blue flames trailing off the back end. Only it wasn’t fire; it was ice. A giant ball of ice, gas, and dust.
“It’s a comet,” Joey said in a slightly dazed voice. He was hypnotized by the sight of the massive celestial object. It was breathtaking. Another once-in-a-lifetime sight for the mental scrapbook.
Frozen particles that were traveling with the comet hit the light bridge, making a tink-tink-tink sound, like ice in a cosmic hailstorm. The noise jolted Joey out of his reverie. Apparently, the magic protections that shielded them from the stars didn’t apply to things like comets. It was going to hit them for real. Everyone came to the same conclusion at once and ran, but there was nowhere to run to. There was no exit at the end of the bridge. No escape. Shazad had said they were close to England, but Joey couldn’t see any way to get there. The starlight bridge went on forever, disappearing into the blackness of space.
The comet smashed into the bridge, hitting with all the force of a planet-killing meteor. The impact threw everyone into the air. Joey went sliding across the bridge and came to a halt just short of the edge. Shazad wasn’t so lucky. When Joey got up, he saw his friend hanging on by his fingertips.
“SHAZAD!”
Joey ran as fast as he could and knelt down to pull Shazad up, but he didn’t have any leverage. He had to lie flat on his belly and grab Shazad by the belt with his one good arm.
“Forget about me!” Shazad yelled. “Get the map!”
“What?” Joey said, turning his head to look down the bridge. The map was there in its tube, balanced half on the bridge and half off. The strap that h
ad held it to Shazad had snapped, and the map was about to fall. Joey wanted to run and save it, but he had to save Shazad first. Joey strained with all his might, but Shazad was too heavy. Even worse, as long as Joey was holding on to Shazad, he couldn’t hold on to the bridge. Joey felt himself sliding right up to the precipice, about to go over. Leanora swooped in just in time to save them both. Together, she and Joey dragged Shazad back to safety. As soon as they got him up, he scrambled after the map.
“Don’t let it fall. Don’t let it fall!”
Leanora chased after him. Joey stayed where he was. His friends didn’t know it yet, but it no longer mattered if they saved the map or not. The comet’s collision with the starlight bridge had created a tidal wave of solid light. Joey watched it rise up a mile high—a solar tsunami headed straight for them, moving like a runaway mountain. He couldn’t speak. Leanora and Shazad didn’t even have time to turn around. They never knew what hit them.
15 End of the Road
Joey blinked his eyes open. He was lying flat on his back and staring straight up at a white ceiling. A soft pillow had been placed beneath his head. He realized he was in bed, and for a very pleasant second he thought everything he had been through over the last couple days had been nothing but a dream. Then it dawned on him that he wasn’t in his bed, and the memories drifted back in bits and pieces. The pleasant feeling Joey had briefly enjoyed faded away, replaced by burning questions. He had no idea where he was or how he had gotten there. The last clear memory he had was the light wave hitting his body up in space. After that he had nothing but broken fragments. Joey closed his eyes and thought back, retracing his steps. Images ran through in his mind like flashback scenes in a movie:
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