by Simone Pond
“How much farther till we get to this staircase?” I asked.
“Another few blocks,” said Matthias.
We continued winding along the sidewalks, following the directions to perfection. The clip-clop of horses pulling carriages echoed through the streets, along with the dinging of streetcars. The city was locked in an old-fashioned time period that I found romantic, yet haunting. As Matthias rounded another corner, taking us deeper into the city’s web, I made sure to commit the route to memory in case we got split up.
Finally, I caught a glimpse of a gothic street sign across the street. Hazleton Bridge.
“There.” I pointed to the trellis above the footbridge and started to cross the way.
Matthias took my arm. “Wait. We must follow Adele’s instructions. This way.”
Benjamin and I followed Matthias to the corner and crossed a busy street, nearly getting pummeled by a speeding streetcar. As we headed to Hazleton Bridge, my stomach began fluttering. I gestured for the guys to stop.
“What is it?” asked Matthias.
“I think my magic shield is trying to protect me,” I whispered.
Matthias leaned down. “You have to figure out how to control it, J. We can’t risk calling any more attention to ourselves than we already have.” He glanced at Benjamin, who was pacing around, and yanked him over to us. “You need to chill, dude.”
A gentleman sauntering across the bridge gave a slight tip of the head, and the three of us straightened up and made room for him to pass, smiling a bit too enthusiastically. We might’ve looked the part of two Endor warlocks and a witch, but we were proving to be horrible actors.
“We’re almost there,” said Matthias. “All we have to do is cross this bridge, turn left, then turn right onto Coventry Place. Can you two keep it together?”
Matthias was telling me to keep it together. “I was just giving you a heads-up.”
“Just keep your magic in check,” he said.
I nudged Benjamin. “If something does go wrong and my magic craps out, shift and get us out of here, okay?”
“Sure thing,” he said.
“And if you can only take one of us, take Jordan,” added Matthias.
“Wait, what?” My corset tightened around my ribs.
“You’re the Chosen One,” blurted Matthias, then he lowered his voice. “It’s your job to get those ships north. I’m expendable. You are not.”
His words planted into my heart. I wanted to pull them out before they took root. I shook my head feverishly as though the act might shake the word expendable right out of my body. Matthias fiddled with a strand of my hair, smiling with a slight sadness in his gray eyes. He didn’t say another word. He didn’t need to because we both knew he was right. I was the one sent to fulfill the prophecy.
“Let’s go,” I said.
The three of us stepped onto the footbridge, our shoes clomping across the wooden planks. We made our way safely to the other side, turned left, then took a right onto Coventry Place. We ended up in a vacant alleyway wedged between two crumbly redbrick buildings—the old merchant on the left and the textile building on the right. At the end of the alley sat the steep and doddery staircase. The idea of climbing those steps was beyond daunting.
“That looks safe,” said Benjamin.
All of us laughed a moment, more from nerves than comic relief.
“Adele said only one of us can go up the stairs to get the next breadcrumb,” said Matthias.
I gave him the side-eye. “Sounds like you’ve already made up your mind who that is.”
“Like I said, I’m expendable. You’re not. If something goes wrong, Benjamin can fly you out of here and back to our ships.”
“What about you?” I asked.
Matthias grinned and unbuttoned his waistcoat, tossing it to the ground as though he’d just been released from a straitjacket. “I’ll be fine. I’ve been on the run for the better part of my life. I’m a pro.”
Benjamin started undoing his buttons.
“Oh, no,” I warned. “You stay as you are. We have to keep up appearances until Matthias returns.”
The eagle shifter grumbled under his breath as we watched Matthias strut toward the tottering staircase of crumbling stone.
He turned back and called out, “Whatever happens, I’ll find you.”
It felt like he punched me in the gut. “Can you say something a little more positive?”
He laughed, shaking his head. “I’ll be back before the witching hour.”
Benjamin shuffled next to me so our shoulders touched, and the two of us watched Matthias ascend the staircase. He used cautious steps at first, but once he got a comfortable rhythm, he started taking two at a time. My stomach tightened and I found myself squeezing Benjamin’s hand.
“Sorry,” I mumbled.
“He’ll be okay.”
Just as Benjamin uttered those words, Matthias’s body began to fade in and out of view. He glanced back at us—his eyes wide and confused—then attempted to run back down the staircase. But it was too late. His entire existence disappeared mid-step.
Matthias was gone.
I darted toward the staircase. “Matthias!”
Benjamin chased after me, grabbing my arm. “Stop, Jordan. You know you can’t go.”
“But what in Ancients’ name just happened?”
“No clue.”
“Where’d he go? Do you think he’s dead?”
The sound of footsteps clapping on the pavement filled the alley.
“He’s not dead, sweetness.”
The baritone voice was so throaty and husky I was shocked to find an exquisite and stately raven-haired woman looming like a tower when I turned around. She took a deep pull from the cigarette burning in the sleek holder, then blew a puff of smoke directly into my face. I coughed as I studied her brocaded black corseted dress and the onyx gemstone that sparkled in the afternoon sunlight. Her dark eyebrows arched like two bridges as she peered down the slope of her thin nose. I didn’t need an introduction to know who was standing before us. And I wasn’t surprised my magic remained dormant—the High Witch had obviously cast a spell over me.
“You must be Jordan Bachar,” she purred.
“Temple. My name’s Jordan Temple.”
I elbowed Benjamin to make a break for it, but he remained by my side.
“Let me introduce myself,” she said, reaching out her slender hand. “Glendora, High Witch of Endor.”
With slight hesitation I inched forward and stretched out my hand. I half expected the earth to quake when our fingers touched, but nothing happened. It was just a simple polite handshake. She blew another stream of nasty smoke in my direction, clouding up the air and making me a bit queasy. Whatever the witch was doing was intense because I could barely scoot back to join Benjamin. He tugged my shoulder, pulling me out of my daze.
“What do you want with us?” asked Benjamin.
Glendora released a trickle of guttural laughter, pulling another drag from her cigarette. Did all the witches in Endor smoke?
“I don’t have much use for you, Eagle-boy. But you …” She gazed at me with her shiny black eyes. “You, sweetness, are just what the witch doctor ordered.”
I bristled and took a fighting stance. “What’s that supposed to mean?” The witch might’ve cast a spell on me, but I still had five golden stars inside my drawstring purse.
“Easy, easy,” she said, grinning like a playful cat. “You and I have a common interest.”
The snort came out before I could stop it. “I doubt that. Highly.”
Glendora tapped the ashes onto the alley pavement and took another drag. “Let me rephrase that … You and I have a common enemy.”
“You’re talking about Magnus,” I said.
“Indeed I am, sweetness.”
I turned and whispered to Benjamin, “You should get out of here.”
He shook his head. “Nope.”
Stubborn eagle shifter. I sighed. “What do you want, Glen
dora?”
“I have a proposal for you,” she said.
“And what’s that?”
“Oh, I’m not discussing business in this wretched alley. I discuss my dealings at the estate. Come.” She opened her arm toward a spectacular onyx carriage with gold-spoked wheels and four black stallions.
“We can’t just leave our friend,” said Benjamin.
“And I’m not about to go back to your estate,” I added.
She released a low succession of soft laughs. “Darlings, darlings. Your friend isn’t coming back anytime soon. He’s now trapped inside the other city.”
“What other city?” I asked, my heart starting to pull across my chest like a rubber band.
“The real Endor,” she explained. “This, you see, is all one big elaborate illusion. Magic at its finest. And trespassers whom I don’t approve get sent to the other city where they are sent to wander until I grant their freedom.” She flicked some ash to the ground. “Or not.”
Isabella must’ve been rescuing people from the real Endor. The stranded ones Adele had mentioned wandering about. It was all so confusing. Either way, Matthias was trapped in a realm that I couldn’t access. And he’d be stuck in there until this High Witch decided to set him free. It took every bit of control to mute my rage and stop myself from winging one of the golden stars right into Glendora’s buxom chest. It was an easy target, her heaping bosom only five feet away. But I couldn’t kill the High Witch yet. I needed to get Matthias out of the real Endor first.
“I take it my friend stays in this other city unless we come with you?” I asked.
Glendora nodded.
“All right,” I said.
“Smart girl.” She flipped around and sauntered down the alley toward her carriage.
Benjamin grabbed my wrist and whispered, “What are you doing? This is a trap.”
“I’m not an idiot. But we don’t have much of a choice. Matthias is stuck in that realm. We still need to find the girl. I’m thinking going with her might get us closer to the High Tower. If we get to Isa—the girl, she’ll be able to release Matthias. That’s why Glendora locked her up in the first place—for helping the stranded inside that realm.”
Benjamin let out a sigh and tugged at his collar. “I just hope you know what you’re doing, Jordan.”
So did I.
We climbed into Glendora’s carriage and sat in the cushioned seats across from the witch. She lit up another cigarette and filled the cabin with her smoke. Benjamin’s eyelids began to droop. I elbowed him in the side. We had to fight through whatever Glendora was casting over us.
Chapter 8
The horses trotted up to Glendora’s majestic estate, slowing at the entrance, where a team of servants stood awaiting their mistress’s arrival. Benjamin’s eyes were red and puffy from the dense cloud of noxious smoke the witch had polluted our lungs with the entire ride. When the driver opened the door, the fresh air wafted into the cabin and I fell into a coughing fit. My lungs felt like they were being pressed by a juicer. I was weak from the lack of clean oxygen to my brain. No doubt this was intentional.
Outside, the sun blared into my eyes, blinding me to my surroundings, so when a swarm of blurry shapes surrounded me and swept me into the estate, I lost track of Benjamin. I tried calling on my magic, but my reserves seemed as dark as a cave. I had absolutely nothing. I kicked and squirmed at the sets of hands pawing and grabbing at me as the group pulled me up a grand staircase to a second-floor bedroom. My eyes started to adjust and I realized they were just three chambermaids and not a coven of witches taking me into a prison cell. But I didn’t want them touching me another second, so I pressed against the wall and shooed them away.
“Thanks for showing me to my room. That will be all,” I said.
The head maid gripped my shoulders and pulled me away from the wall. “Girl! We must bathe and prepare you for supper if you’re to eat at Glendora’s table.”
“I’m not hungry,” I replied.
“Not really something you can refuse,” said one of the other ladies with her gaze aimed at the hardwood floor.
“I can handle it on my own.” I attempted to undo the tiny buttons on the back of my midnight blue dress, but the corset had limited my movement.
“That’s why we’re here,” said the head chambermaid.
The three of them circled me and began to strip me down. When one of them tried to snatch away my purse containing the five golden stars, I clasped it against my chest like it was my very own heart. They weren’t getting my purse, no matter how much yanking occurred.
“This stays with me,” I warned them, tightening my grip.
“You cannot take it into the tub!”
I stepped away from the three women—clad only in my bra and underwear—and held up my fists. I didn’t care if I looked ridiculous. “Trust me, you do not want to remove this purse from my hand.”
My tone got them to back off and there was no more discussion about the drawstring purse. I followed them into the bathroom and sank into the steaming tub of water. The three of them scrubbed me down and washed my hair. If Glendora wanted to give me a free makeover, fine by me. The ring of dirt I left behind in the tub indicated just how badly I needed it.
In the guest room, the ladies suited me up in a gown of royal red that had more buttons than the other dress Sawyer had given me. They piled my hair in a bundle of elaborate curls, then painted my face with a ton of makeup. When they were finished, I looked like the portrait of a lady … witch.
“One of us will call you down when it’s time,” said the head chambermaid.
I gave her the thumbs-up. She cocked her head in confusion. After I closed the door to my room, I laughed to myself and my ridiculous reflection. The whole charade seemed pointless. An illusion within an illusion. I wanted to know what the real Endor looked like for them to go through all this trouble. Dreadful, I imagined.
I opened my purse and laid the five golden stars on the bedspread. I picked up one and held it in my palm, calling on my magic. Still nothing. Had the Ancient One abandoned me? How was I supposed to fulfill the prophecy if the only way through the Rankin Canal was with the help of a witch who was locked away in some obscure prison?
Unless there’s more than one way …
The thought echoed from a distant place and I knew it had to be the guiding star dropping some sort of hint. I would’ve appreciated a more direct answer, but I was happy to have heard anything at all. I hadn’t been abandoned. That alone gave me enough hope to keep going.
The knock at my door startled me and I quickly put the five stars back into my purse. I wished the red dress with all of its layers of material had an extra pocket or two to hide the stars, but it didn’t.
“Yes?” I called out.
The door creaked open and Benjamin poked his head inside. “Can I come in?”
I yanked him inside and slammed the door. I tried stifling a laugh, but I couldn’t. If Benjamin had been ill at ease in his previous pinstripe suit getup, he must’ve been exceedingly more uncomfortable now, wearing a tuxedo with coattails and a top hat.
“You look pretty ridiculous yourself,” he said.
“Oh, I know. This whole thing is a farce. But we might have a better chance at finding the girl.”
Benjamin tugged at his crisp white collar. “You think Matthias is all right? What if something goes wrong with the deal?”
I paused because we both knew something would definitely go wrong. “Like I said, the girl is our priority. She can help us get him out of the real Endor.”
Someone knocked at the door and announced, “Supper is being served.”
“Coming,” I called out.
I held out my purse. “You have to hold them for me.”
He shook his head. “No way. I’m not gonna be responsible for those things.”
I patted myself down. “I don’t have a single place to hide them in this silly dress, and the purse stands out like a sore thumb. If I go d
own there clinging to it, she’ll know I’m hiding something of extreme value and take it away.”
“Okay, I’ll take a few of them, but look, if your magic isn’t working I’m not letting you go downstairs completely unprotected. You gotta take a couple.”
I stared at my reflection, looking for a potential place to hide one or two of the golden stars in that suffocating dress. The only place would be in my bloomers but retrieving anything from underneath all of those layers of skirt would take way too long. But my hair. I had quick access to my hair. I could tuck at least one of the stars—if not two—into my curls just like Sawyer had done with the pearl combs earlier. I leaned down in front of the mirror and wedged one of the stars into one of the sweeping side rolls, making sure not to unravel any of the fine artistry.
“Smart,” said Benjamin.
I put the other star into the curl on the opposite side of my head.
“Protected on both sides,” he added.
Benjamin rolled up the drawstring purse with the three remaining stars and placed it in the inside pocket of his tuxedo jacket.
I hooked my arm into his and we strolled out into the hallway and down the grand staircase to the main dining room to discuss “business” with Glendora.
***
Glendora tipped the ash from her cigarette into a large crystal dish. She hadn’t once touched her glazed chicken or potatoes throughout the meal.
“So, are we going to discuss business?” I asked.
“Sure, sweetness.”
“What’s this proposal you mentioned?” I asked.
“I’ll help you get up the river, in exchange for your help with Magnus.”
“Why do I need your help getting up the river?” It was a bold thing to say to the High Witch of Endor, but midway through dinner I’d realized she needed me. Otherwise she wouldn’t have gone through the trouble of keeping me alive; she would’ve offed me in that alley. I was getting the sense Glendora couldn’t kill Magnus on her own. Also, she didn’t know that Isabella was the Overseer of the canal, otherwise she would’ve used that as leverage. Because even if I did get up the river without her help or without Magnus stopping me, I still needed to get through that channel.
