by D P Rowell
Cameron led him further down the alley to a pile of shrubs. The street lights shone from the courtyard in front of the houses, casting shadows as they trotted along. The shrubs ahead had glossy leaves, reflecting the streetlight beams in a fuzzy glow. His older brother brought him inside the bushes. They ducked and jumped over obstacles for a minute, getting scratched by the sharp branches every now and then, until the shrubs led to a hollow opening inside. Speckles of light covered the ground as the streetlights found their way through the spaces in the leaves.
“How did you find this place?” Ace said.
“It’s like I told ya,” Cameron said, his arms spread wide, “tricks up my sleeve.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Ace Spills the Beans
A knot twisted in Ace’s stomach so tightly he could barely stand. He sat on the soft grass as the weight of the world brought him down. He didn’t feel like training. But he wasn’t going through this alone anymore. Cameron was the only one he could truly trust.
“You okay, bro?” Cameron said.
Ace placed his face in the palms of his hands and shook his head. “I have so much to tell you, Cameron.”
Cameron sat crisscross in front of his younger brother and placed a hand on his shoulder. “You can tell me anything. Halders stick together.”
Ace half smiled. Where to begin? How could he even go about explaining what was happening? What would his older brother think? Cameron broke the silence before Ace could find the right words.
“So, when do I get to fight a witch, huh?” He said playfully.
Ace chuckled. “Well actually, you already met one.”
“Huh?”
“You promise you’ll keep this between us, right?”
Cameron nodded, and crossed his heart. “Promise.”
“We were ambushed by a group of them in Oola. They attacked us, but Rio came with his hunter friends and saved us. They took your memory in a spell just before Rio got there. That’s why you can’t remember.”
Cameron rubbed his head, a confused look on his face. “But why would they take my memory?”
“They don’t want to be found. Rio told me that whenever a witch casts a spell, memory is the first to go.”
Cameron scratched his head, eyes wide. “They really are everywhere, aren’t they?”
Ace nodded. “Except here.”
Cameron tilted his head with curiosity.
“Grandpa had so many secrets from us,” Ace said, lowering his head in sadness. “To protect us. Well, you anyway.” He lifted his head to look back at his older brother, “This city is governed by a group of people called The Indies. Witchcraft is outlawed here in any shape or form. The guards are all hunters who have been trained to detect witchcraft and capture anyone who practices it. It’s the last safe place in Yutara. And the craziest thing is that Grandpa founded this movement. Our Grandpa, Cameron. He even helped design Gathara.”
Cameron scooted closer. “That’s why Grandpa wanted us here?”
Ace nodded. “The witches are after us. They despise Grandpa and what he’s done to the council. They wanted him dead, so they took him from us. And now they’re after his family. More specifically, me.”
“Council?” Cameron said.
Ace took a deep breath as he looked at his older brother. This was it. Time to spill the beans. Everything he and Rio had been trying so hard to keep secret was coming out now. After what he found out about Grandpa, there was no reason to keep his promise any longer. It wasn’t like he was going to the seventh realm anymore. Not to die just to save the Peppercorns. What a waste. He was tired of all the secrets. He thought back to the day at the waterfall when he and Cameron agreed there would be no secrets anymore. It was time to hold up his end of the bargain. Forget his promise to Grandpa.
“Listen carefully, and repeat nothing,” said Ace. “Though we’re safe here, the witches will want information from us. I found this out today. Witches kept whispering to me in my head and tempting me to speak with them. All I had to do was feel the wrong thing, and suddenly they knew who I was, and who I was related to.”
“I thought you said there weren’t witches here.”
“Well, not in the streets. The Indies keep them in a dungeon.”
Ace went on to tell Cameron everything, start to finish. He told Cameron about the Emerson Stone and how once Grandpa gave Ace the stone he gave away his protection, as well as the protection of everyone older than Ace. How Grandpa’s story might reveal the secret map to the seventh realm. How Grandpa set him up to die for the Peppercorns. How the council has taken hold of Yutara. Everything. Cameron sat silently while Ace went on, hardly able to fathom the news. Once he had finished explaining everything, his brother took a deep breath and sat quietly for a moment.
“The Emerson Stone,” Cameron said, finally breaking the silence. “It—it’s real?”
Ace grabbed his backpack, he unzipped the largest pouch and pulled the chest from his backpack. He pulled the watch from his pocket and opened the chest. Cameron stretched his neck to look in the chest. The stone’s red glow beamed across the curves of his expression: wide-eyed and mouth agape
“Wow,” he said quietly.
Ace shut the chest and put it back in his bag. The red glow could have attracted unwanted attention.
“Okay, okay,” Cameron said, his hands forward as if he were pushing something, “So, let me get this straight. Grandpa told you that having the stone means you will have to fight the seventh realm, right?”
“Yes.”
“But the witches told you—”
“The council,” Ace corrected.
“Right,” Cameron said, “Council. Anyway, they told you this was a set up? A way to save Julie and Tamara?”
Ace nodded.
Cameron stood, his hand on his forehead. “I—I can’t believe it.”
“Me neither.”
“When will Julie and Tamara be handed over to this council?”
“When they turn eighteen.”
“Okay, so, we have less than a year to find this realm then.”
Ace stood, confused at what his brother just said. Was he deaf? Did he not just hear Ace had to die to save the Peppercorns? Certainly his only sibling wouldn’t choose the rotten Peppercorns over him! Would he?
“What are you talking about? I’m not going to find the seventh realm!” Ace said, stomping his foot.
“We can’t just let the Peppercorns be turned to slaves, Ace,” Cameron said.
“So, you’re okay with me dying then?”
“No, no, no. Of course not. There—there has to be some other way.”
“What then? Tell me! I’d love to hear it!”
“Just calm down, Ace. Think for a second. Why would you believe everything the council said?”
He stepped back. “Well—I mean—I don’t believe everything they said,” Ace replied.
“Okay, so what do you believe?”
Ace sat again and folded his arms. “I’m not sure. Something tells me the curse is real. The Peppercorns kinda already act like witches anyways. And Uncle Marcus. He’s had so much success and fame. That’s usually a sign of a parcel, at least from what Rio told me. It’s also exactly the kind of person Aunt Kaitlyn would go for. Another way to stay ahead of Dad. And, if the council really wanted to get at Grandpa, having his daughter marry a parcel is a genius move. It makes perfect sense really.”
Cameron nodded in agreement as he sat next to his brother again. “Right. I’m with you there. But do you really think the only way to save them is for you to die?”
Ace wiped his nose, sniffed, then looked at Cameron. “I don’t know. Grandpa dedicated his life to finding this cure apparently. I guess it would make sense that he gave me the stone and sent me away to accomplish it once he found out how to save them.”
“C’mon, Ace. The warlocks said the only way to save her was for someone to die. If Grandpa discovered that, he would have sacrificed himself, and you know that. He
basically sacrificed himself when he gave you the stone. Why would he do that if he could have saved the Peppercorns by dying himself?”
Ace remained silent and slightly annoyed. He wasn’t sure why, but somehow this news seemed to bother him more than the original news.
He shrugged. “We don’t know that. Maybe there’s some reason he couldn’t have done it. Maybe he needed a kid or something. He’s always loved the Peppercorns more than us anyways. It makes sense when you think about it, honestly.”
Cameron smacked his teeth and tilted his head. “C’mon, Ace. You know that’s not true. Grandpa loved us all the same. The Peppercorns may not know that, but you and I do.”
He stood to his feet. “No, I don’t know that. For all I know he’d rather I had never been born.” His face grew hot.
“Okay, Ace. What’s really bothering you?” Cameron said.
“That is what’s really bothering me!” He said. How could Cameron tell he was lying? Every time Cameron called him out, the knot twisted harder in his stomach. “I just don’t want to die,” Ace said, “I think that’s pretty reasonable, don’t you?”
“You know the council was lying to you, bro. You know Grandpa would never do that to you,” Cameron said as he stood, contesting his brother with a height tall enough to win. He was right, of course. Sending him off to his death seemed too far out of character for Grandpa. And his point about Grandpa sacrificing himself by giving the stone away made sense as well. Ace was backed into a corner. Nowhere to go. No excuses anymore.
The knot in his stomach pulled so tight it burst. It traveled up his throat and spewed out of his mouth. “I don’t want to save them!” He yelled.
Silence took over as Cameron faced his younger brother, eyes wide. Ace turned his back and sat back down as tears brimmed in his eyes. Saying it out loud made him realize what had been bothering him. If Grandpa had betrayed him, if Grandpa truly loved the Peppercorns more than him, then he had an excuse not to embark on the journey to save the Peppercorns. He could pin their misfortune on Grandpa’s selfishness, rather than his own. Julie and Tamara would rot as witches in the cellar, and he could use the stone’s power to defend himself against their magic and rule over them. It’s what he truly wanted. He could finally be better than the Peppercorns and make Dad and Grandpa proud. Even though he didn’t want to admit it out loud, his heart leaped at those thoughts. But the Peppercorns deserved it! They were rotten girls. His heart thumped his ribs. It pumped waves of hot anger through his veins. Cameron sat by his side.
“You know,” His brother said softly, “you can blame whoever you want for what happened to Mom, but it won’t bring her back.”
He looked at Cameron as he wiped the tears from his cheeks. “This has nothing to do with Mom.”
“I know you better than you think, little bro,” Cameron said.
He did. Which made Ace angry. He didn’t want to talk about this. It felt gross.
“The Peppercorns are basically little witches already. They’re evil, and spoiled, and deserve nothing less than to become witch slaves for the rest of their lives,” Ace said. “Why should I help them?”
Cameron gently placed his hand on his brother’s back. His body relaxed at the warm touch. “I’m not saying it’s fair . . . I’m saying it’s right.”
“Why are you defending them?”
“Because, like it or not, they’re still family.”
Ace jerked his head to Cameron with a scrunched face. “How can you say that? After everything they’ve done to us over the years! After what Julie did to M—” Ace stopped himself. Cameron shot him an eager look, waiting to hear more. Ace looked ahead and wiped his nose again. This subject had been discussed long enough, so he changed the topic to avoid his unsettling stomach. “Rio knows about the hunting obviously. He’s a hunter himself. But he doesn’t know about the stone. Other than you, me, and Grandpa, no one does. We need to make sure it stays that way.”
Cameron let out a sigh of frustration.
“Well,” Ace said as he stood, “even if we do go to the seventh realm, we’re gonna need to learn how to defend ourselves. Let’s not forget what we snuck out here for in the first place.”
Cameron smirked, standing with his brother. Ace pulled the chrome AMHB Rio had given him from his back pants pocket and handed it to Cameron. The older Halder took it without hesitation.
Cameron chuckled. “Sweet.”
Ace reached in his backpack and pulled his target discs. He placed a few on the other end of the shrub, then stepped back.
“Targets on,” He said.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Dreams
Hologram people shot up in beams of blue light from the discs. They walked through a city landscape of blue pixels. Hovercrafts stacked in lanes as tall as the skyscrapers. Flashing lights covered the city. It couldn’t be mistaken for a city anywhere other than Eveland.
Ace moved a small lever on the side of the blaster in Cameron’s hand. The word “Practice” inscribed on the chrome surface under the lever. “Which one is the witch?” Ace whispered. Cameron looked at his younger brother, then back at the hologram people.
“How am I supposed to know?” Cameron said.
“Pay attention,” Ace said. His older brother squinted as the hologram city people walked along in their daily lives. His eyes moving back and forth, combing every part of the city. Ace stepped back and observed his brother in silence, nearly certain Cameron would prove himself a better hunter than he.
“By the seventh!” Cried a voice. It crackled and popped as if the voice were made of the same pixels as the virtual city. “They have no right. We ought to go in there and give ‘em a nice beat down.”
Cameron walked closer, holding the blaster by his side. He found an alley occupied by two men and a woman. They spoke under a tavern sign just outside the door. The lady draped herself over one of the man’s arms. “Oh, Johnny, you would do that for me?”
The man huffed his chest. “‘Course I would. They’ll think better of kicking us out next time. Now first, we need to get him alone, let’s plan on . . .”
“Blaster! He has a blaster!” A voice shouted nearby. Cameron jerked his head to find a lady in the streets pointing at his AMHB and shrieking.
“Lady calm down, it’s—” Cameron began to say, but police sirens sounded in the distance. He looked down the alley, and the three people had started running the other way. He took off after them, and when he got close enough, he pulled the trigger. The blue hologram version of an anti-magic bullet zipped through the sky and hit the lady in the back, sending her to the ground.
“Got her!” Cameron said. The simulation froze, the blue pixels turned red, and letters popped in front of him reading Mission Failed. “What? How?”
“Remember,” Ace said, “a witch’s most powerful tool is deception. Look closely.” Cameron turned and squinted. His face dropped as he realized what had happened. The lady who saw his blaster and shouted for the cops. She was the wit—
A bright light cut on blaring from outside the bushes. Cameron and Ace jumped back.
“What’s going on out here?” Said a voice. A familiar voice.
“We were just getting some fresh air, Rio,” Ace said. His hand covering his eyes from the blaring light.
“Yeah right!” Rio said as he jumped into the bushes and grabbed Ace’s arm.
“Hey! Let go of me!” Ace said.
Marg stepped inside the bushes as well. “You two shouldn’t be out here training,” the jag said, “it not safe.”
“Ace and I just needed some time to talk. Bro to bro,” Cameron said.
“Spare me,” Rio said, his voice climbing in anger. The drake held his flashlight down and he and Marg’s faces became more visible. Rio stared at Cameron, an angry glare in a frog man’s eyes. It looked spooky. “What did he tell you?”
Cameron looked at Ace, Rio’s grip grew firmer. Weird how strong a grip the drake had for such a slimy hand. Every time Ace thought
he could slip out, the drake somehow held him in place.
“What are you talking about?” Cameron said. Marg stepped forth, placing his beefy hand on Cameron’s shoulder.
“Please, ug,” Marg said. “Let us know what told you. You two don’t know what dealing with, and we trying to help.”
Ace finally pulled free from Rio’s grip and yanked his arm away. “I told him everything!”
“Do you have any idea how stupid that was?” Rio yelled. “I should smack you right now! First you go running off back to the cellar by yourself, whispering to the witches, nearly getting yourself killed, and now this. If the elite hear that you’ve been whispering with witches and telling your brother their secrets, you will never be allowed to lead Gathara!”
“Maybe I don’t want to!” Ace yelled back.
Rio clicked and rattled his tongue in such a way Ace was sure he was swearing. “It’s just as well, then! I knew your grandfather made a mistake picking you! You were showing promise for a while, but you just couldn’t help running your mouth, could you?” Rio said.
“Hey everybody, calm down,” Marg said.
“Look, Rio, “Cameron said, “I’m sorry okay. I convinced Ace to bring me out here. I kept pestering him about it. It’s my fault, not his.”
“No, no. It was all my fault!” Ace said, waving his hand around. The words poured out of his mouth like hot lava. “I told Cameron everything, Rio! You know why? Because we’re brothers! We stick together. We tell each other things, you know? Unlike you!”
“What are you rattling on about?” Rio said.
“When were you planning on telling me about the Peppercorns, huh? When were you planning on telling me that my uncle is a parcel?” Ace said.
Rio’s eyes widened as he stepped back. He sighed. “The witches told you. Didn’t they?”
Ace nodded, his head pulsing with rage.
“You weren’t supposed to know about that yet,” Rio said, “had you not been so stupid as to run off by yourself—"
