Thief of Lies (Library Jumpers)

by Brenda Drake

  “Where exactly is Asile?”

  “On the border of England,” he said. “The Mystik world has seven main wizard havens. The others are in Ireland, Spain, France, Italy, Russia, and South Africa. All are near hidden cities.”

  “Okaaay,” I drawled. “I get we’re in England, but what part…you know, can you give me a familiar landmark to go by? Like, say, Stonehenge or something?”

  “Well,” he said. “Asile’s true location is kept secret. It’s in another realm and cloaked by magic. The only entrance and exit is the outbuilding we just came from, and the walls surrounding Asile have wards that prevent anyone from venturing past her boundaries. All the havens are the same. There are many labyrinths in the Mystik world and many entries that can lead to traps. It’s a world intertwined with mysteries and dangers. You’d best stay within the walls.”

  I stumbled over the beginning of a rocked pathway with tangled bushes and thick grasses choking its borders. I braced myself—hands hitting hard against the ground—and barely avoided smashing my face against the stone. I sprung to my feet, waving Arik’s offered hand away.

  I scolded myself as I swiped my stinging palms across my jeans, brushing away the tiny pebbles sticking to my skin. How freaking embarrassing, Gia. He definitely thinks you’re a moron now.

  Arik shook his head and snickered. “We should have one of our curers see to your leg.”

  “I’m fine. It just needs to heal.” I hobble-trotted ahead, keeping my eyes on the path as I went. His snickers followed me. I glanced over my shoulder at him. There was a playful spark in his eyes.

  “What?”

  “You’re stubborn, aren’t you?”

  “I like to think I’m determined.” I turned back and continued up the path.

  Ahead of us, the others stopped at a wooden door in a brick wall surrounding the medieval-looking castle. In the night shadows, the vines snaking up the length of the wall looked like dark invading creatures. Smoke puffing from the chimneys of the small homes at the base of the castle incensed the night air.

  Carrig pushed the thick splintering gate open. He waited for us to pass, and then he leaned his weight against the stubborn door to shut it.

  We walked into a manicured courtyard. It had several intricate stone walkways cut into its grasses that branched off to the many entries into the castle. Salt-white benches and planters surrounded a circular patio in the middle of the courtyard.

  As we approached the main entrance, two stately doors crawled open. Twenty or more men in black uniforms with metal breastplates lined the entryway. A few creatures were in their ranks—some with fangs, some with horns, and some with unnaturally colored skin. I smiled nervously at them as I passed. Not one returned the gesture.

  After the black veil of night, it took a moment to adjust to the light of the foyer. A chandelier loomed above our heads, one of its flame-shaped lightbulbs flickering final bursts of life, casting ominous shadows on the walls. A door on the right led to a darkened room.

  This isn’t at all intimidating. I wiped my clammy hands on my jeans and wondered, again, what I’d gotten myself into.

  Lei stopped beside me. “No need to worry, ducky. It looks scarier than it is.”

  “I-I’m not scared,” I protested.

  “The look on your face and the quiver in your voice says differently.”

  I straightened my shoulders and stuck my chin out, trying to seem less terrified. A massive tapestry of a gray-bearded man holding a smoky globe in his outstretched hand hung high above the stairs. “So who’s the man on the rug?”

  “Rug?” Her eyes went to where mine were focused. “Oh, you mean the tapestry. That is the Seventh Wizard, Taurin. He’s the founder of our haven. He’s sort of creepy, isn’t he?”

  “That’s an understatement,” I muttered. My ears started to thrum. The tapestry fluttered and turned fluid, ripples rushing down the fabric like wakes across a lake. An electric current forked across the globe cradled in Taurin’s hand, sending out a series of crackles and thunders. His eyes sparked to life and stared directly at me. Goose bumps erupted across my arms. Overhead, the chandelier flickered before dimming. All the voices around me dissolved, and the present faded.

  I stood just behind Taurin and right beside a blazing sconce. He balanced an electric ball on the tips of his fingers.

  “Stand back,” he yelled at a cloaked figure across the corridor.

  “I shall not,” the other man hissed. “Give me the Chiavi, Taurin.”

  Chiavi? That’s Italian. It’s the plural form of Chiave—key. He wants keys? For what?

  “Thou art an infectious, dog-hearted lout,” Taurin said, taking a step toward the man. “The havens fester in thy greed. I will not surrender the trinkets. The Tetrad shall stay entombed forever.”

  Taurin raised the ball, but before he could lob it at the cloaked man, a knife pierced his back. The electric ball fell and then exploded on the ground, blowing a hole into the floor and charring the wall nearby. Taurin’s body crumpled to the floor.

  My hand was wet, so I inspected it, but I found myself looking at long, thick fingers and a massive palm. It wasn’t my own; it was a man’s hand. Blood dripped down the blade of the knife in the man’s hand. A hand that was just used to kill a man. I would have screamed, but the body wasn’t mine, either, and I couldn’t make the mouth work.

  “Fool, now he is unable to tell us where he hid the Chiavi!” the cloaked man yelled down the corridor at me.

  A vision of seven thin, smooth rods about the length of a hairbrush went through my mind. The body I now mentally shared tagged the rods as the Chiavi. When combined they made one magical key. A key to what, though? The cloaked man turned fuzzy and my ears started thrumming again.

  “He would never give them up,” came out in a deep voice. “By torturing his sons, we shall find the charms…” I tried to dig deeper into the mind, learn more about the key, but the words vanished as I slipped into darkness.

  “Gia, you all right?” Lei’s voice pulled me back to the present and into the light.

  “Um…” I inspected my fingers. The bloody knife had vanished, and my hand was my own again. Great, now I’m seeing things—a vision from inside the body of a murderer. It felt like I’d stabbed Taurin myself, which creeped me out. I had to work to avoid shuddering. There was some sort of significance to what I’d seen, but I knew I couldn’t tell anyone. Don’t trust anyone, both Nana and Arik had said. I gave Lei a slight smile. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

  A man somewhere in his forties, wearing a tweed jacket, hints of silver in his dark hair, cleared his throat as he stepped into the foyer. I moved to Nana’s side.

  Carrig headed over to the man. “Good evening, Merl.”

  “I trust your journey was safe?” Merl said.

  Carrig shot his hand out. “For the most part, we’ve made it unscathed.”

  Merl hesitated, giving him a curious look before shaking his offered hand.

  What’s up with that?

  Carrig looked at Nana and me. “This be Gia and her grandmother, Ms. Kearns.”

  “You may call me Katy,” Nana said.

  Merl’s face brightened. He stretched his hand out to Nana, and she took it. “I’m delighted to meet you.” His deep, warm voice sounded as if it dripped with syrup.

  “It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance,” Nana said, their hands lingering in a hold.

  Ew. It was time to interrupt Nana’s obvious flirting. “I’m Gia.”

  Merl released Nana’s hand. “Yes, I’d know you anywhere. You have your mother’s beauty. Our people are quite excited to have a most talented Sentinel’s daughter return to Asile.”

  My cheeks warmed. “Thank you. Um, but how did they know I was coming?”

  “The story about how you were found and that you are the daughter of Marietta Bianchi and Brian Kearns was placed in Asile’s weekly Scroll. I have found if you give the public information, fewer questions are asked.”

  That�
�s clever. And it would’ve made me feel a little less nervous if everyone’s eyes weren’t on me.

  “You both must be tired,” he said. “Faith will show you to your rooms.”

  “We want to room together,” I blurted. There was no way I was going to sleep alone in this enormous spooky place, especially after the freaky vision of Taurin. I was sure the castle was a haven, all right—for ghosts, and not the normal ghoulish type. Any poltergeists living here would be deceased wizards, warriors, or worse. I couldn’t imagine what would be worse, and that’s what scared me most—the unknown.

  “That’s a good idea. Adjoining rooms will do,” Nana was saying as I drifted back to the living. “Don’t you agree, Gia?”

  “Oh. Sure. Adjoining rooms,” I said, uncertain.

  “I’m Faith,” said an extremely pale girl, startling me.

  Where had she come from?

  “Follow me, please.” She sounded American.

  As Nana and I shadowed the apparition, or rather Faith, Arik gave Merl the details of his face-off with the compelled man. “When I left the subway station, he cornered me in an alley—”

  A door slammed shut on their conversation. I assumed Merl, Carrig, and the Sentinels had gone into the room off the entry for privacy. I made a mental note to find out more about compulsion.

  Faith’s drab blond hair swayed limply against her back. She glanced back several times to make sure Nana and I were following. Her pale skin glowed in the dim light of the foyer, and her willowy body looked starved for food.

  We climbed the curved staircase to a landing with a thick mahogany banister. On each side of the landing, two tall archways led to long corridors. Our footsteps echoed against the stone walls. A strange herby smell hung in the air, reminding me of when Afton would burn incense in her room.

  I leaned over to Nana as we went to the right. “You were flirting with Merl. He’s too young for you.”

  “Nonsense.” She waved me off. “He’s one hundred and two, which in wizard years is about forty-eight. That’s what the Mystik tabloids say, anyway.”

  I stopped. Mystik tabloids? Realizing I’d fallen behind, I rushed up to them. “So if he was human, that would make you fifteen years older than him. And that would make you a cougar.”

  She laughed. “I never go for men my age. They’re too…old.”

  Okay. I’m done with this convo. Seriously. Old people and flirting. So not right.

  I decided to inspect the artwork, hoping to forget the subject of Nana’s love life. In stark contrast to the heavy paintings and metal weaponry hanging on the walls, delicate crystal sconces lit the halls. There were more corridors and staircases at every turn. We snaked through several adjoining passages until we stopped at a door halfway down a smaller hallway.

  “This is your room,” Faith said, looking at me. She unlocked the door and then pushed it open. Her head snapped in Nana’s direction. “Yours is next door, but you may go through this room with us.” She smiled, her large canine teeth coming out to greet us. I swear I heard theme music from a horror movie go off somewhere.

  She held the key out to me. I hesitated before taking it from her bony fingers. “Um, thank you. I’m sure we can find what we need.”

  “They didn’t tell you about me, did they?”

  “Is th-there…um…something to tell?” I stammered.

  “There’s always something to tell,” she said. “Ms. Kearns, please step inside.”

  I shook my head at Nana and mouthed No!

  Nana just smiled and walked straight into the lion’s lair, and I was stupid enough to follow her. As I passed by Faith, I almost gagged. She smelled ripe.

  The room was just like a hotel suite, except the furnishings were medieval couture.

  I dropped my backpack on the floor. “What, no TV?”

  “There’s a media and game room in the basement, along with a snack bar,” Faith said. “It’s always open, if you feel like going—”

  “No. No, I’m good.” There was no way I’d go off on my own in this place.

  I inched cautiously across the room and peeked into the bathroom. There was a door leading to another room.

  Faith swung the bedroom door shut behind her. Then she glided to the bed and sat on the billowy comforter. “I take it you haven’t seen my kind before.” She crossed her abnormally long legs, resting her frail hands on bony knees. Her chest was unusually wide and lacking in the boob department. She reminded me of a greyhound. “You needn’t be frightened of me.”

  “Why would we be frightened?” I asked uneasily.

  “Not only do I work on Merl’s security team, but I’m also a Laniar,” she said. “Actually, your kind mistakes my kind for your fabled vampires. Because of these”—she opened her mouth and tapped her tongue against one of her long canines—“some of the legends about vampires began with Laniars, from when we lived openly with humans. Others believed us to be werewolves.”

  “Yeah. I get it. You’re like a cross between the two.” Her teeth looked like they could puncture a tire. “Does your kind suck blood or what?” Fearing she might want a snack, I tried to pull a turtle, lowering my neck into my shoulders.

  Nana narrowed her eyes at Faith. “If we’re all about announcing ourselves, then I should warn you. I’m a Pure Witch skilled in the magic of Incantora. Are you aware of her legacy?”

  “She had the power to make a person’s insides erupt in flames, burning the poor soul from the inside out, right?”

  “That’s correct. This is my granddaughter, and I will incinerate you if you touch her.”

  “Or suck my blood,” I interjected.

  Faith snorted. “Contrary to popular belief, humans don’t taste at all good. They’re bitter and salty. Lucky for you, I’m on your security detail. I promise not to eat you while on duty.”

  “Yeah, lucky.”

  “You could have Herman, instead. He’s an Aqualian.” I detected a hint of teasing in her voice. “But he’s kind of slimy.”

  I liked her, but she needed a spritz of perfume. “So, if you’re staying the night, you could take a bath here. We won’t mind.”

  Faith lifted a smile. “That would be fun. I don’t remember the last time I had one.”

  “You don’t remember?”

  “No one ever told me how often I should take a bath. I was raised by the pack after my parents were killed.” Faith sniffed her underarm. “Oh, that’s bad.”

  “You mean you were born a Laniar?”

  “Did you think I was made?” She laughed. “I’ll say it again; we are not vampires or werewolves, or hounds, for that matter.”

  “I’m sorry,” I said.

  “No need to be sorry. I barely remember my family. I enjoyed living with the pack. I met Ricardo there.”

  “Oh, is he your boyfriend?”

  “He was until he broke things off. I fell hard for his charms, so I was devastated and I left the pack. That’s when Merl took me in.”

  “I had me a Ricardo in my younger days. It was a lovely, fleeting moment.” Nana walked over and put her arm around Faith.

  Oh God. Not this again. No one should ever have to hear their grandmother swoon about past, present, or future lovers.

  “Come on, dear, we’ll get you in the bath. A lady takes a bath or a shower each day.” Nana was always taking in strays, even if they had sharp canines.

  “Or, if you’re like me and you work out a lot, you might want to take two a day,” I added, following them. I grabbed a small knife from a cheese and fruit tray on the coffee table as I passed and then tucked it into my back pocket. Who knew what might be lurking in the corridors…or the walls…

  Coaxing Faith out of the bathtub later was like trying to drag Afton out of a mall. The sun was rising, and apparently, Laniars fried in the sun because their skin was paper-thin and their blood combusted under extreme heat. I was beginning to suspect Laniars were vampires, but they just didn’t like the stigma that came along with the name. I got it. I hated
when people called me a tomboy.

  After the bath, and against my protests, Nana insisted Faith stay on the couch in the sitting area instead of out in the hall. Not that she didn’t seem okay, but I didn’t want her to suddenly develop a hunger for salty food. Faith sank into the backrest cushions and flipped through one of Nana’s many tabloid magazines.

  I traced my finger around the gold curlicue design on the comforter and stared at the curtain enclosing the bed, waiting for sleep to overtake me. I couldn’t fight it any longer. My eyes burned. Anyway, if Faith wanted to eat us, she’d had enough time to have her two-course meal, flee somewhere, and be happily digesting us by now. Plus, I was more at ease about things after Merl had stopped by to check on us and assured me Faith wouldn’t eat my face off.

  “Gia, are you still awake?”

  “Yes.”

  “We’re not vampires.”

  What the heck? Can she read minds?

  “I wanted to clarify, you know, just in case you were still wondering. Vampires are dead. We are living. I’m warm. Come touch me, if you don’t believe me.”

  I figured if I didn’t touch her, this could go on forever. I slipped out of bed, padded over to her, and placed my hand on her arm.

  “You are warm. Toasty, in fact.” Okay, so maybe she was telling the truth. I dashed back into bed, shut the curtains, and pulled the covers up to my chin. “Good night…um…morning. Whatever.”

  “Sleep tight,” she said. “Oh, and thank you for being honest with me, for the bath, and for letting me stay on the couch while I guard you. This is much better than standing in the hallway.”

  “No problem.” I slid a hand under my pillow to make sure the cheese knife was still there.

  “One thing about Laniars, we make excellent protectors. Our hearing is better than a dog’s.”

  “Good to know,” I said around a yawn and shut my eyes, yielding to sleep.

  Images flicked across my closed eyes. I bolted down a long hallway lined with burning torches. Fear twisted my stomach as broken thoughts rushed through my mind.

  I can’t fail at this. Thousands of people will die if I do. Epic storms. Death. So many. So many already gone. I’m almost there. The trap. Where is it?