She glanced down at the pages of notes she had scribbled during her phone call. Gordy could see numbers and dashes and knew they were coordinates, though he wasn’t sure where they led.
“However, the moment he begins to tinker with the Vessel, we could all be in danger, and not just because he could reverse all that B.R.E.W. has established and managed over the years. I’ve made too many enemies as a Lead Investigator. Enemies who would stop at nothing to pay me back for the years I’ve taken from them.”
Gordy didn’t want to think about an army of evil Scourges trying to hunt down his family, but it was a real possibility now that Mezzarix had control of the Vessel.
“So that lady on the phone just now,” Gordy said. “She’s going to make sure the criminals don’t escape?”
“Paulina. Yes, I believe she will. She was a former partner of mine. We spent seven years together on the force. And she’ll also provide us with any information she discovers on the whereabouts of Mezzarix.”
Gordy scratched his head, trying to understand. “If we’re on the B.R.E.W. Most Wanted List, won’t she get in trouble for helping us?”
His mom smiled. “Paulina Hasselbeck doesn’t work for B.R.E.W.”
“But you said she was your partner, and she has agents.”
“There is more than one organization in the world that monitors potion making,” Tobias said, suppressing a chuckle. “Honestly, Wanda, I never thought I’d live to see the day you teamed up with the Stained Squad.”
Stained Squad? Gordy felt a tingle of excitement.
“I’m not teaming up with anyone.” Gordy’s mom fixed Tobias with a stern gaze. “I’m just keeping our options open. And unless you want us spending the next year crowding you out of your home, you’re going to want their help as well. We have to take back the Vessel from Mezzarix and resume control of B.R.E.W., and we don’t have the luxury of taking our time.”
Gordy’s mind whirled with the information that his mom’s former partner now led a secret team of mercenaries.
As his dad and siblings came into the kitchen for breakfast, the conversation took a less serious tone, and Gordy took a break to go make a phone call.
“What up, bro?” Max’s freckled face appeared too close to the phone. Gordy could hear the rumbling sound of the school bus and the noisy chatter of kids laughing and talking. “You haven’t died yet, have you?”
“Yep, I’m dead,” Gordy answered. “You’re talking to my ghost.”
“Well, your ghost looks way worse than you did when you were alive. Hey!” Max shouted as someone yanked the phone away. “That’s my phone, Rivera!”
Adilene’s face appeared, and she whispered something to Max. Max bellowed, but Adilene moved out of reach of his grabbing hands.
“Hi, Gordy,” she said.
“You’re riding the bus now?” Gordy asked.
“Yeah, it’s the only time I get to talk with Max in private. There are too many people at school who could listen in. Plus, I don’t know for sure, but I believe my house has been bugged.”
Max laughed in the background. “It’s not bugged. You’re so paranoid!”
“No, that’s a good idea. You guys need to be careful.” Gordy wasn’t sure if B.R.E.W. would go so far as to set up listening devices inside Adilene and Max’s houses, but it was better that his friends stayed cautious.
After Gordy had filled them in on all that had happened back at the Brexils’ house, they had agreed to become Gordy’s spies at Kipland. Adilene was taking the mission seriously. Max—not so much.
“What have you heard so far?”
The image shook as Adilene and Max grappled with the phone. Gordy heard Max say a few words in Spanish; they may have been inappropriate words, but they also might have been random, everyday sayings as well. Instead of struggling, Adilene compromised, extending the phone out as far as she could to allow Max into the picture.
Gordy laughed, but he missed his friends. Four days didn’t seem like much time to be away—family vacations had lasted longer—but Gordy had no idea when he would be able to hang out with them again. As long as he and his mom were fugitives from B.R.E.W., they wouldn’t be dropping by the old neighborhood anytime in the near future.
“Sasha came back to school yesterday for the first time all week,” Max said. “She’s been asking about you.”
“I bet.” She probably wanted to douse Gordy with her Ragaszto Ragout and permanently glue him to a wall. Not that he could blame her. If something like that had happened to his mom, he’d be angry too. “What does she want?”
“She told me to tell you that she has information that might be helpful if you decide to go looking for Mezzarix,” Max said. “She believes you did the right thing back at her house and that her mom was way out of line.”
Gordy scoffed. “You don’t actually believe her, do you?” Madame Brexil had probably sent Sasha out looking for him. “I think you guys should stay away from her. Don’t talk to her at all.”
“That’s not going to be easy, dude.” Max smirked. “She came to my house last night and brought cookies as a peace offering.”
“You didn’t eat them, did you?”
“Of course not!” Max grinned awkwardly. “Why? What would happen if I ate them?”
“Maybe she’s trying to feed you a potion to get you to reveal our hiding place.” Gordy had always known that Max’s stomach would end up being his worst enemy.
Max shook his head. “Nice try. There’s not a potion she could make that would work. I slept the whole way there and the whole way back. My mind is like a dry-erase board wiped clean.”
“Gordy,” Adilene chimed in, her brow furrowing with concern. “I think Sasha’s telling the truth.”
For Adilene to think that about Sasha meant it could be significant. Then again, maybe Gordy’s friends had been Blotched. Maybe he couldn’t trust anyone anymore.
“How is she going to help us find my grandfather?” Gordy asked. “He could be anywhere in the world.”
“She told Max that after Madame Brexil became the Chamber President, she added a potion to the Vessel that made it possible to track its location,” Adilene said. “I have this feeling about Sasha. It might be a good idea to give her a call.”
“What kind of potion?” Gordy felt his pulse speed up in his throat. Was this for real? Could Sasha be telling the truth?
“She wouldn’t tell us,” Max said, sounding serious. “But she said she’ll tell you.”
“Yeah, right! Now I know this is a trick.” Gordy looked away from the phone. He didn’t want to snap at his friends, but they were being so naïve. Sasha was playing them both. “If she really does have a way to track Mezzarix, why doesn’t she just give the potion to B.R.E.W. and let them hunt him down?”
“We don’t know. She says she has her reasons and that you would understand,” Adilene said. “Look, we’re almost at the school, so we should go. Think about it, Gordy, okay? It couldn’t hurt giving Sasha a call, just to hear what she has to say.”
“Yeah, okay. I’ll think about it.”
“When will we see you again?” she asked. “It’s not the same without you, you know?”
“I know.” Gordy felt a twinge of sadness. “Maybe we can meet up soon at, like, a secret spot.”
“Ah yeah!” Max said, pumping his fist. “Some place that serves waffles twenty-four hours a day.”
Adilene playfully shoved Max’s arm, and then they said goodbye.
Gordy waited until almost everyone had fallen asleep before he crept into one of the bedrooms and borrowed Bolter’s special phone from his satchel. After checking his own phone for her number, Gordy called Sasha.
“Hello?” Sasha asked, picking up after only one ring. “Gordy, is that you?” She sounded hopeful.
“Maybe,” he said, struggling to keep his voice fr
om cracking.
“Oh, good! I’m glad you called. How . . . how are you?”
“I’m fine, I guess. I’ve dropped out of school, in case you hadn’t heard. It’s not safe for me right now.” Gordy wasn’t trying to sound bitter, but it happened naturally. Gordy knew it wasn’t Sasha’s fault that his family was in this mess, but it was hard not to place some of the blame at her feet.
“I’m sorry about that. I really am. I didn’t want any of this to happen to you, honest!” Sasha was speaking fast, but in a whisper.
“You expect me to believe you?” Gordy asked, trying hard not to shout. “Your mom would have ExSponged us all. She told us that.”
“You’re right. I wouldn’t believe me either. I treated you and your friends like garbage.”
Gordy could hear sniffling. Was she crying?
“But my mom’s different now. She can’t brew anymore, you know? And it’s changed her. She’s not herself. She’s . . .” Her voice broke off, and the phone became muffled, as though Sasha had covered the receiver with her hand. It stayed like that for almost a minute before her voice returned. “Look, it’s not really a good idea for me to be on the phone too long. There are people from B.R.E.W. here going through all of our things.”
“Why?” Gordy asked.
“They’re searching for evidence. Ways to track you down. They know you’re hiding somewhere. They just don’t know the exact location. But they’re going to find it, Gordy.”
“Yeah, probably.” Gordy’s mom was already one step ahead though. They were planning on leaving for a new hideout within the week. “So, what did you want to tell me?”
“Max and Adilene told you already, right? I know a way to track the Vessel. There’s a potion my mom created—”
“They told me,” Gordy interrupted. “Why wouldn’t you just tell B.R.E.W. and have them hunt down Mezzarix?”
“Because part of the recipe is missing. I don’t know what happened to it, but half the page has been ripped, and only my mom knew how to complete it. But she can’t remember anymore. She can’t remember anything about potion making.” More sniffling. Sasha’s breathing became strained and rapid.
Gordy rubbed his forehead in frustration. He felt bad for Sasha, but why was she wasting his time?
“I’m sorry about your mom, but it wasn’t us who did that to her,” he said.
“I know! I don’t blame you at all!”
“But without the full recipe, the tracking spell is useless,” Gordy continued. “No one could complete the potion.”
“You could,” she answered at once.
“Me?”
“I watched you Blind Batch in my kitchen, and I saw you make that amazing potion at B.R.E.W. I’ve never seen anything like it before. I also heard about what you did in our lab and how you stopped Ravian McFarland without a cauldron and nothing but your hands! You could finish the tracking recipe. You could Blind Batch the rest and then use it to find the Vessel.”
Gordy was at a loss for words. Now he understood why Adilene had believed her. Sasha sounded truthful and desperate. He felt goose bumps rising on his skin. Sasha made him sound like a superhero.
“I . . . I don’t think I could—”
“I know you could!” Her voice sobered, and her tone changed to the bossy one Gordy had grown accustomed to hearing. “Don’t act all humble, Gordy. It doesn’t suit you. I know you can complete this potion, and you know it too.”
Gordy swallowed. He felt somewhat frightened of Sasha, even though she was at least a hundred miles away. “Okay, let’s say for a second that I could. Why would you just help me?” Gordy asked. “And don’t say because you want to help restore order to B.R.E.W.”
“You think I care about B.R.E.W.?” Sasha snarled. “They’re treating us like outcasts. They’ve boxed up all our things. Taken away all our ingredients. Our lab is destroyed, and my mom has already been replaced. B.R.E.W. doesn’t care about us. They care about keeping up their appearance to the Community, and they started by wiping the slate clean.”
“Geez, okay. So, what’s in it for you, then?”
“There’s a way to overturn any action taken by B.R.E.W.,” Sasha said. “Whenever a criminal’s sentence ends, the Chamber has to remove their banishment, which they do with the Vessel.”
“You think you can reverse your mom’s ExSpongement, don’t you?”
“Yes, I do. If you find the Vessel and help me cure my mom, then I’ll make sure she drops all the charges against you and your family once she resumes her role as Chamber President.”
Sasha fell silent, and Gordy’s mind raced with the possibilities. It made sense. If anything could reverse the effects of an ExSpongement on an Elixirist, it would have to be the Vessel.
“Okay,” he said. “Tell me the recipe.”
“I’m not going to just give you it over the phone and watch you run off and forget about me and my mom!”
“We wouldn’t do that!” Gordy fired back.
“We do this in person or not at all. I will meet you, and then we will talk about how to get the Vessel back together. Do we have a deal?” Sasha asked.
“Uh . . .” Gordy wasn’t sure he was ready to answer. He didn’t think he knew how. “I don’t—”
“Don’t think about it; just go with your instincts,” she said. “That’s what got you here in the first place. And that’s what’s going to get all of us out of this mess in the end.”
Gordy held his breath and felt as though his back were pressed against the wall. Did he really want Sasha working with him? Would his mom even allow it? There was no way they’d be able to meet on Tobias’s farm. Gordy would have to travel into town, or maybe Sasha could wait for him at some spot in the Swigs. But Gordy had yet to venture deeper into the Swigs. What were they really? What would he discover hiding in the secretive areas not governed by B.R.E.W.?
“Well?” Sasha demanded. Gordy imagined her anxiously tapping her toe against the floor.
“Okay,” Gordy said, letting out a long, slow breath. “I’ll do it.”
Down below the main level of Tobias’s farmhouse, in a room with four musty walls and where thick roots hung down from the ceiling like scraggly whiskers, Cadence and Carlisle Bimini sat on the floor, chained to the wall by manacles clamped around their ankles. At first, it had seemed cruel to keep them shackled, but it didn’t take Wanda long to realize that locked doors had zero effect on the Biminis. Cadence had apparently ingested such a large amount of Silt over the years, the doors simply unlocked whenever she approached them.
There was no way of knowing how old the Biminis were, but Wanda had her suspicions that Cadence might easily be over one hundred years. She wore it well, though, moving about the confines of the small cell with a sort of pep in her step. And, without any warning, Cadence could assume the form of the younger girl whenever she wanted to. It unnerved Wanda to be carrying on a conversation and watching Cadence suddenly change from an ancient lady to an eighth-grader in a blink of an eye.
Carlisle never spoke. He never made eye contact with anyone other than Cadence, his mother.
Thus far, Wanda hadn’t had much success gathering information from Cadence. She danced around questions, threw out insults whenever the mood struck her, and alternately shouted and glared witheringly at Carlisle for his lack of gumption.
However, on the evening of the fifth day following Mezzarix’s escape, Cadence Bimini’s demeanor took a drastic change.
Wanda set down two trays of food on the table near the center of the room and then lowered herself into one of the folding chairs. After several minutes, Carlisle pushed himself off the floor and walked timidly over to collect his meal. He carried the food to the far corner, ignoring the plastic utensils and opting rather to scoop up the tossed salad and spaghetti with his fingers.
Cadence didn’t make any movement toward the
table. She sat shivering in the corner of the room, eyes unfocused, skin bearing more than the usual number of wrinkles. Wanda watched her for a couple of minutes in silence, the only sound being Carlisle’s smacking lips as he slurped up tomato sauce.
“You don’t look well,” Wanda finally said. She folded her arms and sighed, wondering if the conditions of the dingy cell were contributing to Cadence’s diminishing appearance. It was too dangerous to relocate the Biminis anywhere else, though. Too high a risk of them escaping.
“I can make you a tonic that might cure those shivers.” Wanda leaned forward in her seat. “Perhaps you should take the form of your younger self. You seem to fare better that way.” She had no idea how Cadence’s Silt worked, how it allowed the woman to alter her appearance at will, but there was no sense in spending her days in confinement suffering in her elderly frame.
“Can’t,” Cadence muttered, her voice weak and trembling. “No longer able to.”
“Why is that?” Wanda asked.
The woman’s eyes blinked rapidly, returning to focus. “Why do you think?”
“You’ve run out of Silt,” Wanda answered.
Cadence nodded solemnly. “And my age is finally catching up to me.”
“How old are you?”
A faint smile cracked the surface of Cadence’s fissured lips. “It had never mattered before. Not until they passed that death sentence upon me.”
“Who?” Maybe Wanda could squeeze a few answers from the mysterious woman.
“My people,” Cadence said. “My Atramenti.”
“These Atramenti—they live on your island?” Wanda asked. “This invisible island?”
“Not invisible.” A fit of violent coughing overtook Cadence, but she barely had the strength to cover her mouth. Carlisle glanced up from eating, staring with his emotionless eyes at his mother. “Just hidden. Hidden from all. Hidden now from me, thanks to your father,” Cadence said. “He betrayed me. He should’ve come back and taken me home. That was the deal. That was his promise. I kept my end of the bargain.”
The Transparency Tonic Page 26
