by John Corwin
I almost blurted the precise address, but quickly stopped myself. "Just down the road a ways. We were on a walk when this house collapsed and that monster flew out of the debris and chased us."
The man waved over my friends. "I'll need your names."
"I'd like to see some identification first," Ambria demanded. She crossed her arms and stared at the man.
His comrades gave him amused looks while he regarded her with confusion.
"Our uniforms should be all the identification you need, young lady."
Ambria didn't relent. "What's your name?"
"I'm Stave, head of the Templar Guard in Queens Gate." He crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes. "Your turn."
She nodded as if satisfied. "I'm Ambria, this is Max, and Conrad." She pointed a finger to each of us in turn. "I'm afraid we really don't have much more to add to the story. The monster chased us here. Mr. Galfandor saved us and killed it." She pointed down the street in the direction of Levi's house. "If you walk down there a little way you'll see the house."
Stave spoke again. "I'm afraid—"
"I'm afraid we're late for a study session, Mr. Stave." Ambria brushed her hands together as if cleansing herself of the matter. "We really must be going."
The man looked as if he wanted to detain us, but finally nodded. "Don't leave town just in case I have more questions."
"Of course, officer," I said.
He squinted, confused. "Just Templar is fine, young man." Stave turned on his heel and headed toward the dead frogre, the others following in a neat line behind him.
Ambria gripped Max and me by the arms and practically dragged us away from the crowd. When we'd walked around the street corner, she sighed. "That was close."
Max's forehead wrinkled. "Close?"
"We can't have those Templar people linking us to Levi's house."
He raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"
She released an exasperated breath. "If they investigate the house, they'll figure out Levi is missing. They might find out he's dead and then we'll all be tied to his death, and probably Brickle's."
"That's a lot of ifs. If they excavate the place, they'll find all the bones in the tunnel and figure the frogre ate him." Max turned to me. "What do you think?"
"I think you're both right." With the excitement over, I became aware of a piercing pain in my temples. I pressed my hands to the sides of my head.
"Are you all right?" Ambria asked.
"Headache." I wondered if it was the same headache I'd had after first seeing the frogre and remembered the vision. "When I first saw the frogre, I had a weird daydream."
"Not a great time to be daydreaming," Max said.
"What was it about?" Ambria asked.
"I saw a laboratory with all these big glass tanks." Closing my eyes helped me remember the details better. "There were elephants growing in them, and these awful fetuses that looked like someone attached half a baby onto a goat." I opened my eyes and the headache slowly faded, as if remembering was the cure.
Max's eyes flashed with alarm. "Oh, man. You just described Overlord minions."
"I did?"
"Yeah." His lips peeled back. "The baby-goat hybrid was one of the really awful ones, from what I've read and seen in the war records. There were all sorts of monsters, but the Overlord's foot soldiers were mostly bistaurs—kind of like centaurs but with bison hind ends instead of horses."
"How awful." Ambria made gagging noise. "He actually took human babies and melded them with animals?"
Max shrugged. "Nobody knows exactly how he did it, or at least if they do, they're keeping it top secret." He jammed his hands in his pockets and scuffed a shoe against the pavement. "The best explanation I heard was that he and Delectra mixed science and magic to create these things from scratch."
"I hope he wasn't stealing babies." Ambria's face reddened. "That would be the most evil thing in the world."
"Not the most evil," Max said. "There are plenty of other eviler things."
"Oh, really?" Ambria crossed her arms. "Please, inform me."
I closed my eyes and let their conversation fade away. My head felt much better by now and it helped me think. Realizing my parents created such abominations sickened me, but that wasn't my most pressing concern. Instead, I wondered how I could remember the laboratory in the first place. Had I been in the room with my parents? Had I witnessed them plotting and planning their takeover? I must have, because there was no other explanation.
I'd obviously been old enough to remember such things, and yet, unless the memories spontaneously popped into my mind, I couldn't make myself recall anything. "Is it possible to make someone forget their past?"
Max and Ambria stopped their argument about evil things and looked at me blankly for a moment.
Max spoke first. "Yeah, sure. A skilled healer can repair memories or hide them from you. I guess anyone who understands mind manipulation could do it."
"Why do you ask, Conrad?" Ambria put a hand to my forehead. "Are you feeling strange?"
"I think my parents wiped my memories of them. I think that's why I've been remembering all this weird stuff." I smiled at Ambria. "I'm feeling better though, thanks."
She removed her hand and pinched her eyebrows. "That's awful, Conrad. Maybe they didn't want you to remember the terrible things you saw when you were little."
"It's hard to imagine Victus and Delectra caring about anything or anyone but themselves," Max said. "If they wiped your memory, there's probably a good reason for it."
"But he's their son," Ambria protested. "Of course they loved him. They didn't want him to be scarred for life so they took away the bad memories."
Max scratched his head and gave me an uneasy look. "I don't want to make you mad, Conrad, but all the stuff I read in history class about the Overlord was plain terrible. He killed a lot of people and didn't care about anything but power."
I put a hand on his shoulder. "I know. If they'd cared about harming my mind, they wouldn't have made me go inside that laboratory with them. Just remembering that place makes me feel sick." I didn't dare tell them it had actually made me feel proud and happy. If my parents had mind-wiped me, they'd done it too late. Only a sicko would feel happy about creating monsters out of innocent animals and humans.
I blew out a breath and leaned against the storefront for Hinky's Fine Books. Max and Ambria took up positions on either side of me.
"Where do we go now, Conrad?" Ambria's eyes were big like a lost kitten's. "We don't have anything except the clothes on our backs."
All our belongings had been in the house. We'd lost the carpet and two school broomsticks in the destruction and the following chase. I hoped the university didn't know we'd borrowed them. A shock of dismay twisted my stomach as I thought of my most valuable possession. I patted my pocket and, much to my relief, felt the square lump of the phone. With it, we had money and could replace our meager belongings.
I gave our dilemma some thought and arrived at a quick conclusion. "There are a lot of abandoned houses in the area. We could probably find another place to stay."
"I suppose we won't be trapping the Goodleighs." Ambria brushed a tear from her eye. "We've lost the chance."
"We could still take them on," Max said. "We just need to plan it out."
Two separate thoughts found a connection and an idea blossomed. Fairy mushrooms in the fairy cakes had lightened us and allowed us to fly away on one broom. We had to figure out a way to get the other orphans quickly away from the orphanage. How or why those thoughts connected, I didn't really know, but I was pleased with the result.
I had the perfect plan.
Chapter 22
"We can take everyone right from under their noses," I said.
Ambria and Max turned to me and questioned me at the same time. "How?"
I cupped my hands as if holding something. "We need whole fairy mushrooms. The other children eat them, and then we use three brooms to fly them away."
Max's f
ace brightened. "Brilliant! An entire mushroom would last for at least an hour."
"They could hold hands and form a human chain," Ambria said. A wicked look flashed across her face. "Then we go back and burn the place to the ground."
"I like the sound of that." Max smirked. "I still have some fireball scrolls we could use."
I imagined a fireball striking Marcus and Felicity. Picturing them flailing, screaming, and running in circles as they burned alive brought a smile to my face. I saw the smiles on my friends' faces and immediately sobered. Killing is not good. It shouldn't make me happy. Unfortunately, it might be the only way to stop the Goodleighs forever. This rationalization made me feel good about the decision. I didn't want to feel good about killing of any kind.
I don't want to be like my parents.
"There's just one problem." Max folded his arms and pursed his lips. "We have to steal the mushrooms without the Lady of the Pond or any dryads catching us."
"Obviously," Ambria said as if she knew all about the challenges. "We'll need to scout the location, but to do that, we'll need brooms."
"Will we get in trouble for losing our brooms?" I asked.
"We're supposed to check them out properly," Max said. "Lucky for us, I can bypass the security."
Ambria tilted her head slightly. "You broke into the shed?"
He shook his head. "No."
She slapped his arm lightly. "Don't be mysterious, Max. Tell us this instant."
"It doesn't matter how I got in," he said in an exasperated tone. "The point is, we can go back and get more brooms without anyone knowing." He looked up at the cliff. "The problem is, we have to go back to the sky lifts."
"I think we should get the brooms first, then hunt for a house," Ambria said. "We might be able to do it all in time for dinner with the old man."
The topic of Galfandor's dinner invitation caused me to realize I had no idea where he lived. I turned to Max. "Where is Galfandor's house?"
"He lives in Moore Manor." He quickly seemed to realize this wasn't enough of an explanation. "Just behind the university is Greek Row where all the fraternity and sorority houses used to be. The first house on the right is where Ezzek Moore, the founder of the university, once lived."
Ambria held up a hand. "Wait, Ezzek Moore founded Arcane University?"
"Yeah. He founded the Arcane Council, came up with rules to protect normal people, and helped pull together the Overworld Conclave." Max smacked his lips. "He's a real legend."
"What happened to him?" Ambria asked.
"Everyone thought he died hundreds of years ago, but found out he was still alive under the name Jeremiah Conroy." He let that sink in for a moment. "Turns out Ezzek Moore was alive back in ancient times under the name Moses. He fought in the First Seraphim War and helped Justin Slade in the Second Seraphim War." Max's lips twisted into a wistful look. "Then Daelissa killed him for good."
Ambria gave me a meaningful look. "Now we know why the Goodleighs thought so much of your potential."
Max squinted. "Huh? What does Ezzek Moore have to do with it?"
"My mother was his descendant," I said.
"Ah." Max snapped his fingers. "Yeah, I didn't think even think about it, but her last name was Moore." He chuckled. "I'll bet old Ezzek had a bunch of kids over the centuries."
A heavy sadness formed a tense knot in my chest as I thought about my dead ancestor. He'd been a great man. It made me wonder how my mother could've been so evil. With great effort, I turned my attention back to more immediate issues. "Since Galfandor lives near the university, maybe we should hunt for a house first and then get brooms on our way to his house."
Ambria pinched her lips. "Oh, I suppose, but looking for a house on foot might take a lot longer."
Max pointed to an empty horse carriage being drawn by a tiny goat. "We can take public transportation."
"That poor little goat is going to pull all of us?" she asked in a dismayed voice.
Max laughed. "No, that's just an illusion." He waved a hand and the carriage stopped. "What sort of animal do you want?" he asked Ambria.
"It can be anything?" she asked.
He nodded. "Anything."
"Well, in that case, I'd like a unicorn."
I snorted. "A unicorn?"
"Purple," she added.
Max waved at the carriage. "Well, tell it what you want."
Ambria clasped both hands behind her back and faced the carriage. "I'd like a purple unicorn, please."
An illusionary purple unicorn pulled our carriage back toward the street where Levi's house had stood. We disembarked one street over and peered at the remains. People in black uniforms crawled over the rubble. I hoped we hadn't left anything incriminating.
The row houses on this street looked a lot like the ones on Levi's street.
"How are we going to find out if anyone is living here?" Max asked.
Ambria tapped her chin. "I have an idea. Just follow my lead." Before we could say anything, she knocked loudly on the door of the first house, a tall gray-stoned building with black shutters and large windows.
A moment later, a man in green robes answered. His eyes looked over our soiled clothes and grimy faces. "What do you want?"
"We're selling vacuum cleaners," Ambria said. "Would you be interested?"
"A what?" the man scratched his head. "Are those something new from Science Academy, or are they magical?"
"It sucks dirt off your floor," she said.
"Oh, I don't need that. I've got hedgehogs."
I gave Max a confused look, but he didn't seem to notice.
"Do you think your neighbors would be interested?" Ambria asked. "We're raising money to help orphans."
The man visibly relaxed as if that explained why we filthy ragamuffins stood on his doorstep. "Aw, well that's very sweet, young lady." He motioned down the road. "Don't bother stopping at one fifteen, one twenty-two, or one thirty-seven. I know for sure nobody's lived in those houses for years. I haven't seen the Hendersons for a while either. Terrence mentioned trying to find a job in the nom workplace." He shuddered. "Awful thing to do, but if you can't make ends meet, you do what you have to do."
Ambria put a hand to her mouth. "Oh, how awful. Which house is that?"
He pointed down the block. "The brownstone over on the corner."
"Thank you so much for your help, sir," Ambria said in a sweet voice. "The orphans will be ever so grateful."
He mussed her hair and smiled. "Of course." He nodded at Max and me. "It's heartwarming to see kids trying to do good in this troubled world."
We waved goodbye and walked down the street a little way.
"Heartwarming indeed," Max said. "You'd think he'd at least give us a little money for the cause."
Ambria clucked her tongue. "Max, are you actually upset he didn't donate to a fake charity?"
Max straightened. "You know what? I am. The nerve of some people." He shook his head and burrowed a fist into his palm.
"But I just made it up on the spot, you silly boy." She looked at him and rolled her eyes.
"It's the principle of the matter," Max explained. "If it really makes him so happy, he needs to do more than talk. He should donate money and especially candy."
"Candy?" Ambria giggled. "The important thing is, his advice actually will help orphans." A sly smile creased her lips.
I nodded. "Very clever."
"And a bit devilish," Max said in a lighthearted tone. "But I like it."
Ambria crossed her arms and smirked. "Sometimes I surprise even myself."
We pretended to knock on the doors of a few houses just in case the helpful man was watching us, and made our way to the Hendersons' brownstone, skipping the other houses in the middle. I liked that the house was on the street corner. It meant we could keep an eye on the neighborhood more easily.
As with Levi's place, this house and the ones around it bore all manner of statues. A thick stone frame around the front door and windows supported fier
cely poised mythological creatures. Griffins stood guard over the front door, front legs raised as if striking an enemy. Smaller versions of the same statues perched at the top corners of the window frames.
I led the group around the street corner in case the man we'd spoken with was keeping an eye on us and walked into the backyard of the house. I peered through the backdoor window and saw only a dim, empty kitchen. I rapped on the door and waited. No answer. I tested the door but it was locked.
"Can we change the door into a frog with one of the scrolls?" Ambria asked.
Max shook his head. "They only work on animals, not dead stuff."
"Hmm." She twisted the doorknob again. "What if we break the window?"
I looked at the houses behind this one to see if anyone might be looking out. Lights shone from the windows of a row house a couple of doors down. "Better not. Someone might notice."
"Wish we had a rot potion right about now," Max said.
"Oh, yes, and demolish this house like the last one." Ambria sniffed. "You really need to think things through, Max."
He stuck out his tongue. "The reason the last house fell apart was because the entire rot potion vaporized it. Just a little bit would be enough to take down the door without destroying the house."
"Then we wouldn't have a backdoor, and wouldn't that look odd to the neighbors?" She raised an eyebrow. Max didn't rise to the challenge.
I noticed a window someone had left cracked open on the second floor. "If only we had a broom."
Max sighed. "Told you we should've gone for the brooms first."
Ambria ran a hand along the thick concrete window frame on the first floor and pointed to the griffins perched on wide ledges at each corner. "Maybe one of us could climb and pull ourselves up to the window ledge."
Max puffed out his chest. "I can do it." He grabbed the lower ledge and balanced a knee on it. He stood and stretched toward the upper window ledge, but his fingers missed by several inches. He looked back at us. "Give me a boost."
Ambria and I pushed on his backside, huffing and puffing to get him up.
Ambria gave up. "You're heavier than you look." Her eyes wandered to me. "Conrad is thin as a stick. Let's help him instead."
