The beast wanted her. Van had to give herself to it.
She stepped forward and almost crushed Wiglaf.
He had the Coin in his mouth and stood upright, bouncing from foot to foot.
“Wiglaf!” Van said in surprise. “You’re alive! How is this possible?”
“Holy crow!” Paley shrieked. “It’s a miracle!”
“I don’t think so,” Van said. “Solana tricked us by killing a similar-looking bunfy, not Wiglaf.”
“Now the shadow-wolf will eat Wiglaf, too!” Paley cried. “Oh, why did he come back?”
Van grabbed the Coin, thinking Wiglaf wanted her to figure out how to use it, but instead, Wiglaf nudged Van’s shins and scurried across the Salus Valde border. He sat on his hind legs and spoke urgently in animal talk.
Van pushed Paley toward Wiglaf. “You go. I’ll get Brux.” She inched over to Brux, who appeared to have only minor wounds and was up and fighting.
The beast saw Van and fought with renewed vigor to reach her.
“Van, get away from here! Are you insane?” Brux screamed, as he slashed his sword at the beast.
“We need to get across the border,” Van begged. “Come on. Trust me.”
The remaining soldier tackled the beast, giving Brux the break he needed to sprint away.
As he and Van crossed the border into Salus Valde, the shadow-wolf massacred the last soldier.
It turned its vile red eyes at Van and raced directly at her, snarling and chomping.
Brux stepped in front of Van, his sword raised. “Van, go!” he said, breathing heavily.
“You were right, we can’t outrun it.” Van accepted her fate by standing firm.
Paley made a move to run, then changed her mind and stayed with Van. They wrapped their arms around each other, trembling.
The beast sprang forward.
With a loud thud, mid-pounce it hit an invisible wall marking the Salus Valde border.
It slid to the ground but continued clawing and snapping.
The creature repeatedly threw itself against the wall—its claws tearing, its awful red eyes never wavering from Van.
“It can’t cross into Salus Valde,” Brux said, relieved, lowering his sword. “Van, how did you know?”
“Wiglaf told me,” Van said. “He’s alive.” She craned her neck, searching the darkness for the bunfy. She heard a chirrup by her feet and looked down to see him.
Brux flashed a smile at Wiglaf, then said, “Let’s get moving. There might still be time to hold off the invasion.”
Paley remained still. “What—the hell—is that thing?” She couldn’t take her eyes off the creature, as it attempted to bite and claw its way through the invisible wall.
“I’m not sure, but we’re safe now,” Van said. “Let’s go.” She tugged Paley’s sleeve, spurring her friend to action.
The three of them dashed through the woods.
Fynn and another man stood anxiously waiting outside the main entrance to Lodestar.
“Only three of you?” he asked, though overjoyed by their return. “We had a sentinel round-the-clock here for the past week.” Fynn ushered them through the lobby, up the main staircase, and into Uxa’s office. Wiglaf scuttled in after them.
It was fifty-three minutes past midnight.
The trio spoke in a rush, words and emotions gushing forth, all of them eager to tell their story.
Uxa let them pour out their tale, as she rose from her chair and glided to the front of her desk.
“My warriors,” Uxa said, holding up her hands to quiet them. “Take a breath. You made it back in time.” She lowered her hands and honored them with a genuine smile. “I am happy over the success of your mission and offer my sincerest condolences over the loss of your teammates. Brux, I am sorry to hear about Daisy’s capture. And Van, your father.”
Van couldn’t help it. The reality sank in; her father was dead. Tears streamed down her cheeks. Paley gave Van a hug. Brux put a comforting arm around her shoulder and left it there.
Paley noticed and furrowed her brow.
Van used her knuckles to wipe her tears. She bent down and picked up Wiglaf. Brux stayed close but didn’t put his arm back around her. He knew it would bother Paley, which would then upset Van.
“The Elemental meeting with the Balish Counsil is happening now,” Uxa said. “Their top members will go to the Celestial Tower to view the Coin shortly.”
“The Counsil waited for us to get back?” Brux asked. He was bloody and sweaty and had a smudge of dirt on his nose.
Van thought he had never looked more handsome.
“Of course not,” Uxa proclaimed. “It is easy to create a filibuster among politicians. Then I told the Counsil I needed to check the Celestial Tower to make sure the Coin was secure for viewing, whenever they were ready.”
Van raised her eyebrows. “You told the Counsil we had the Coin before you knew we had it?” she asked rhetorically. “Awesome.”
Uxa’s chest puffed in pride and she said, “Congratulations! You have all, indisputably, earned your place.”
The three of them beamed.
Uxa stretched her palm to Van. “The Coin, please.”
Van hesitated. She had no desire to give Uxa the Coin. “Uh, I have some questions first.”
Paley groaned. “C’mon, Van. I want to go home!”
“Fynn,” Uxa said. “If you would escort Brux to the medical wing. Stop in the parents’ waiting area on the way back. Tell the parents I will speak to them once the Counsil meeting has concluded. Tactfully pull away Brux’s father and take him to see his son.” Uxa turned to Paley. “Fynn will escort you back to Providence Island, where you will be tended to in the medical area of the Complex. You will both be debriefed once your injuries are properly treated.”
“I don’t want to leave without Van,” Paley said.
Van noticed the pallor of her friend’s skin and the desperate need for sleep in her eyes. Paley needed additional medical care right away. “It’s okay. I’ll see you soon.”
Uxa turned to Van. “Are your injuries stable enough for us to talk before I send you to the Complex? I would like to speak with you privately.”
Van nodded, as she stroked Wiglaf.
The bunfy purred.
“May Fynn have your Twin Gemstone, please?” Uxa asked Van.
Van placed Wiglaf on the floor, then reached into her pocket and pulled out the Gemstone.
Fynn extended his palm to Van. She handed it to him.
“Wait,” Brux exclaimed, still in hyper-protective mode. “Van can’t be separated from her Gemstone.”
“Brux,” Uxa said calmly. “Fynn needs it to take Paley back through the portal, only a few floors below us. He will re-attune the Gemstones once he gets there. Van will be fine.”
Brux barely relaxed his stance.
Van and Paley hugged their goodbyes, as did Van and Brux.
“See you soon,” he whispered to Van.
Then Fynn led Brux and Paley out of the room.
As the door snapped shut behind them, Van felt strangely alone.
CHAPTER SIXTY
Day 31: Lodestar Station, Living World
Uxa waited expectantly for Van to ask her questions, but Van didn’t know where to begin.
“Would you care to use the ladies room?” Uxa asked. “To freshen up?”
“Nah,” Van said. “I’m good. Thanks.”
“Come with me.” Uxa guided Van from her office down a long, white marble hallway. Van glanced at the floor to make sure Wiglaf followed them. He raised his tiny whiskered nose at Van, giving her a reassuring glance as he scampered down the corridor, keeping pace with them.
“Where are we going?” Van asked suspiciously.
“To the Celestial Tower,” Uxa replied, “a magically protected room designed to hold the Coin.” Her sky-blue cape flowed from her brisk pace. “On the way, you can tell me more about your journey.”
Van’s experiences spilled forth as if she
couldn’t speak fast enough. She told Uxa about Solana’s guilt and her father’s innocence, about Amaryl’s cryptic messages from beyond, and about Lady Loka and her Lake of Tears.
“You beat Solana,” Uxa stated proudly. “Our Reservation Program seems to be working well.” Uxa flashed a grin, then became solemn again. “With Solana gone, her younger brother, Ferox, is next in line for the Balish throne. Ferox is known to be good and fair. This is seen as a weakness by Balish society. Other Balish royals also have a burning desire to rule the kingdom, including Ferox’s cousin Merloc. There may be a fight for the throne.”
Van wondered whether Uxa had just hinted about using the Coin to prevent the Balish royals from squabbling over their kingdom, so she described finding Manik’s text in her father’s study. She explained Manik’s warning that evil is created by our actions and so can be prevented, and that she learned from many sources, including the text, about correctly using the Coin’s power.
Uxa didn’t seem surprised that Van had found Manik’s text and again asked Van if her father had given her anything the night he died.
Van’s thoughts flashed to the necklace her father had given Genie and wondered why Uxa wanted it so much. Again, Van answered truthfully. “My father didn’t give me anything.” Uxa led Van up a tight winding stairway.
Van grew pensive.
“We have one thousand one hundred and twenty-two steps,” Uxa said. “Ask.”
“D-Did you know my father was dead the whole time?”
Uxa’s expression became stern. Van wondered whether she felt sad—or guilty.
“When I told you your father’s soul was in jeopardy, I believed it,” Uxa said. Her eyes became glossy; she averted her gaze away from Van.
They remained silent the rest of the way to the top floor. Uxa opened a heavy white marble door. Van and Wiglaf followed her into the Celestial Tower, a cylindrical room with a funnel-like ceiling made from elongated, elaborately braced windows. Moonbeams spilled into the room, falling on four statues, two women and two men, in various poses, dressed in togas and sweeping robes. The statues, evenly spaced and facing outward, surrounded a mosaic on the floor depicting two serpents that formed a figure eight by swallowing each other’s tail.
“She is Gaea Mater, the Guardian of the Earth.” Uxa indicated the highlighted statue facing north. One of the statue’s hands lightly gripped the arm of throne; the other was raised, palm up, with her thumb and forefinger lifted as if holding a small object. “If you place the Coin in her fingers, she will guard it.”
Van’s eyes narrowed, as she scrutinized this newest guardian of the Coin. Gaea Mater sat securely on a stone throne, flanked by two trees forming the back of the chair. The side of her throne facing Van was engraved in a pattern of halved pomegranates, full with seeds. Gaea Mater wore a toga and a crown of wheat. At her feet lay a cornucopia of fruit and flowers.
The statue reminded Van of Lady Loka, which comforted her. Still, she struggled with her desire to keep the Coin. It was her Coin. She had earned it, and it was way better than her All-Grades Trophy. Yet she knew she had to give it up. Keeping it meant corruption and ultimately her downfall, as had happened to Amaryl.
“Do not worry,” Uxa said. “The Coin will be safe here.”
Van turned and faced Uxa. “I was the first one called into the meeting before the briefing because you knew I was the Anchoress-in-Waiting. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Ah,” Uxa nodded, as if she now understood Van’s hesitation. “I could not tell you. Discovering the truth within yourself was part of your journey. A person does not know how brightly she can shine until she is challenged by that which is dark.”
“It would’ve been a hundred times easier if you had just told me!” Van said heatedly.
“Hearing and listening are two different things,” Uxa said.
Van crossed her arms. She still wasn’t buying it.
Uxa sighed. “Telling you would have made you feel like a victim of your circumstances,” she confessed. “It would have disempowered you, which would have led you toward self-sabotaging behavior. For you to connect to your abilities, you had to acknowledge and accept your power. A person cannot transform when she does not recognize the part within herself that needs to change.”
The truth of Uxa’s reasoning resonated deeply within Van.
“You would have been told, eventually,” Uxa said. “The Anchoress-in-Waiting is made aware of her position, the curse, and the guidelines for her marriage after she turns of age at eighteen. In the end, it is your choice what to do with this information. As it was your mother’s and father’s. They broke the rules assigned to them. As a result, they were banished to live on Providence Island, and your father was demoted. As you know, Amaryl also made poor choices.”
“Let’s hope I don’t make the same mistakes, right?” Van said, finishing Uxa’s thought.
Uxa placed a comforting hand on Van’s arm. “Thanks to you, the Balish invasion will be put on hold by satisfying the Elemental ruling. Your island, friends, family, Lodian culture—all are safe. Your mother and father would be proud.”
“But what about Daisy?” Van asked, thinking Professor Lake wouldn’t be pleased after discovering his daughter had been captured by Merloc. “Why did you send her team out if you knew I was the Anchoress-in-Waiting? You must have known that only I could get the Coin.”
“Ah,” Uxa said, raising her eyebrows enough for her forehead to crinkle. “During your father’s undercover research in Balefire, he told me that he discovered Goustav had an heir who could also retrieve the Coin. There were many people whom I thought could be his descendants. The most likely candidates were on both of your teams.” Uxa contemplated for a few seconds before speaking. “From what you have uncovered on your journey, I now know that you are Goustav’s only heir.”
The hair on the back of Van’s arms prickled, indicating that Uxa was lying to her. If Van’s intuition was right, it meant that Uxa had known that only Van could retrieve the Coin, and Uxa had intentionally sent Daisy’s team out as a decoy. Startled by this negative thought, Van feared the idea might be the result of having attached to the dark part of her Self when she used the Coin against Solana. She inwardly shook away the disturbing notion. Of course, Uxa was being truthful about not knowing Van was both heirs.
Uxa continued, unaware of Van's inner turmoil. “After Amaryl cursed Goustav, he had no other children besides Astrid, his child with Amaryl. Since then, only one child, a female, has been born to that ancestral line.”
“Because of Amaryl’s curse?” Van asked.
Uxa gave a curt bob to her head. “I believe so. It is easy to conclude that Regina and Romet Lake adopted Astrid after Amaryl’s and Rowen’s deaths. They are Brux’s and Daisy’s ancestors.”
“That’s why so many people thought Daisy was the Anchoress-in-Waiting!” Van exclaimed. She fidgeted, thinking about poor Daisy trapped in the dungeons of Balefire, scared and alone. “I want to stay and help Brux rescue his sister.” Plus, she felt empty without Brux. They had made plans to see each other, but if Van stayed in Salus Valde, it would be easier, and they could be together more often.
“Your concern for Brux is only natural,” Uxa said. “As you may have already guessed, he is your Assigned Protector.”
Van felt stunned. She had no idea. Even worse, Brux being her Assigned Protector made him undatable. Numbness spread through her body. Of all the boys in both of the worlds, why did the Elementals pick Brux?
“I will award him his position shortly,” Uxa said. “Brux’s innate drive to be a protector was misdirected toward Daisy. He will not be allowed to search for his sister. His only concern, now, is to protect you.”
Van was acutely aware this newest arrangement would be unacceptable to Brux. Assigned Protector or not, he had a bond with his sister that wouldn’t easily be put to rest.
“Brux’s father has been reassigned to work in the Complex,” Uxa informed Van. “Arrangements will be made
for the Lakes to live on Providence Island. Brux will be transferring to Canterbury Bells and placed in the Reservation Program with you.”
Van’s stomach twisted with anguish. She would be forever close to Brux, yet they could never be together. She would feel tormented, the same as Lady Loka when her prince was trapped in the labyrinth. With a sinking feeling, Van realized she had been catapulted on the same trajectory as her mother and Amaryl. She had thought she was done being tested. She was wrong.
“You must return to Providence Island as soon as possible. You are not safe here at Lodestar,” Uxa said ominously.
“Solana knew about the island. I’m probably not safe there, either.” Van waited for Uxa’s reaction.
Uxa’s serene confidence faltered. “The spy,” Uxa said, as if it caused her pain. “It wasn’t your father.” She cast her eyes downward.
Van scrutinized Uxa’s moment of silence. Was she trying to figure out who was the real spy or who to frame next? But again, Van didn’t want to attach to her dark Self and inwardly brushed away the idea of Uxa being a traitor.
“I am certain the spy is not a Grigori or one of the Elders,” Uxa said. “You are safest on the island. No one can get there from our world without going through the portal, and our Grigori track all transports. The Elders, Brux, and the Grigori stationed on the island will watch over you. For those select Grigori who know your identity, their main oath is to protect the Anchoress-in-Waiting.”
A pang of sorrow wrenched Van’s heart, as she thought of her father. He had fulfilled this oath to the fullest. The cost was his life.
“Do not worry,” Uxa said, misreading Van’s concern. “The island was designed to protect you, your line. The same way the Celestial Tower was designed to protect the Coin.”
“Is that why my classmates pretended to like me?” Van asked. “You told their parents I was someone special and for them to become friends with me?” She felt queasy knowing Pernilla had spoken the truth.
“Yes,” Uxa said bluntly. “I instructed the adults on the island to be overprotective of you. They, along with Island Security, were told you are to be safeguarded as someone who is spiritually important to the tribe. But the only people who know the real reason for your protection are the Elders and select Grigori.”
Shock of Fate: A Young Adult Fantasy Adventure (Anchoress Series Book 1) Page 43
