Into the Dark (The Conjurors)

by Kristen Pham

  “Dr. Freeman would freak out if he knew how much junk I’m eating! But maybe not. Maybe he doesn’t have time to think about me.”

  “Why do you always do that?”

  “What?”

  “Assume no one thinks or cares about you. Trust me; you’re not the kind of person people forget.” Valerie felt a piece of her heart that she didn’t know was frozen thaw a little. “Anyway, it’s almost dinner time, and Dulcea doesn’t like it when anyone comes late.”

  They burst into the dorm cafeteria in the nick of time, and Dulcea was waiting at the door, watch in hand. “Right on time. Valerie, how are you liking Silva?”

  “It’s wonderful here. There’s so much to see!”

  “Excellent!”

  “And thank you so much for my room. I love it.”

  “Of course! That’s what I’m here for. Now, you two go fill your plates and make sure you leave room for dessert!”

  A long buffet full of strange dishes stood in the middle of the room. On either side of the buffet were round tables filled with other young Conjurors of different ages studying at the Imaginary Friends’ guild. In the group of around 100, Valerie spotted several fairies, two giant people who towered 5 feet over everyone else, and five boys with bright red hair who were completely identical. Valerie wondered if they were brothers, or if one was an amoebiate, like Thai, and they were all clones.

  Valerie put a little bit of everything on her plate, and then she and Cyrus sat alone at a table in the corner. This time, Valerie didn’t hesitate to taste everything, no matter how strange it looked. She was in ecstasy, and she practically inhaled everything in sight. It was as if a part of her couldn’t believe that she was finally going to have as much to eat as she wanted, so she had to fill up before it all disappeared.

  “Cy, you have got to try this purple lumpy thing, it’s the perfect amount of salty and sweet! It’s like mashed potatoes with a little hint of sugar.”

  “It’s muddleberry pudding. It’s really popular in Elsinore, where Kanti’s from. She’s always eating that stuff.”

  Once Valerie had her fill and topped it off with a chocolate filled with a sweet cream, she sat back, content.

  “Finally! I’ve been waiting to give something to you,” Cyrus said. From under his shirt, he pulled out a long chain that he was wearing around his neck. On the end of the chain was a clear sphere. He pulled it over his head and handed it to her.

  She took it, looking curiously at the image that was flickering inside of the sphere. At first, she couldn’t make it out, but then the image shifted, and she realized what she was seeing. Inside the sphere was a moving picture of Valerie when she was little, playing with a dollhouse that she recognized from when she was six years old. It was one of her first trips to the hospital, and it had been her favorite toy. “It’s me in there,” she said in confusion.

  “Yeah. This was made for you. It’s your protective charm, so that when you were on Earth, no one could find you except for me.”

  “Like the charm Venu has that stopped you from finding him?”

  “Yes. For the past few years, the Imaginary Friends guild has been issuing these charms for all kids with imaginary friends so that they can’t be found by the Fractus.”

  Valerie put it around her own neck. “Thanks, Cy. For keeping me safe. Not only with this, but also from all those monsters. You made it fun to fight those guys, so I was never really afraid. I don’t know what I would have done without you all those years.”

  “I never took it off, even after you stopped believing in imaginary friends. I wanted to make sure that nothing bad would ever happen to you.”

  Valerie felt her heart squeeze in her chest. She felt connected to Cyrus. It felt so good to be cared about. Maybe he wouldn’t get sick of her, like the others. After all, he had been her best friend for a long time and he hadn’t abandoned her yet.

  Before they said goodnight, Cyrus explained how to project to Earth. Cy assured her that there was really nothing to it other than a lot of concentration, but Valerie was doubtful. She decided not to try it for the first time in front of Cyrus – she’d definitely embarrassed herself enough in front of him over the past few weeks.

  That night, Valerie entered her room and found that she had the space to herself. As she unwound the flower of light Cyrus had created from her hair, she had to smile at how perfectly Dulcea had decorated her room. There was even a poster of her favorite band, the Crew, on the wall. She put the flower on her bedside table, where it glowed softly, like a nightlight. Then taking a deep breath, she decided that it was time to make her first trip back to Earth. Kanti wasn’t back from her class yet, and Valerie was glad. For some reason, visiting Thai felt private.

  She squeezed her eyes shut and thought of Thai. She pictured his dark, intense eyes, and sound of his voice when he thought he could tell her what to do. She was thinking so hard that it took her a few seconds to realize that someone was talking to her.

  “Valerie! You’re here already, open your eyes,” a familiar voice ordered her.

  Her eyes popped open. Thai was sitting in a green chair next to a hospital bed where Chisisi lay, watching her with interest.

  “Chisisi! Are you really okay?”

  “Yes, yes, no need for more fuss. And my efforts were most gladly given, seeing that you have made your journey safely.”

  She turned her wide eyes to Thai. “He knows?”

  “He knew the whole time,” Thai said with a shake of his head, but she could see that he wasn’t annoyed. His glance at Chisisi seemed almost affectionate.

  “Then you know you were attacked because of me,” Valerie said, all of her guilt rushing back. “I’m so sorry for what happened to you.”

  “It is no fault of yours. It was the Fractus who did this to me, not you. I am proud that I had the chance to thwart their plans and to help you make your way to your new home.”

  “Thank you for everything you’ve done,” she said, and Chisisi nodded his head.

  “Speaking of your new home, how is it there? Are they treating you okay?” Thai asked.

  Valerie filled him in on her fight with Venu in the pyramid, her trip to the Globe, and all of the marvelous things she had seen. Thai and Chisisi listened with quiet attention.

  When she finished, Thai burst out, “I can’t believe that Venu sneaked past me! I was staring at the pyramid, waiting to see you leave, and he must have crawled in right behind my back. I knew I should have come through the tunnel with you, no matter what Cyrus thought. You could have been hurt!”

  “It worked out okay. He’s not following either of you anymore, is he?”

  “The frog man is quite gone, I assure you,” Chisisi said. “My employer said that he has left the country.” Valerie breathed a sigh of relief. She noticed that Chisisi looked tired, and after a moment his eyes closed.

  In a softer voice, she whispered to Thai, “I heard you’re going home for awhile.”

  “I want to say goodbye, since I won’t see my parents and my brothers and sisters for awhile. I’ve missed them. I wish I could tell them what’s going on.”

  “Maybe someday, you will. Obviously, there’s magic in your family. Maybe they’ll understand.”

  Thai’s face darkened. “I hope this doesn’t happen to any of them. I want them to have normal lives.”

  She watched his mouth wrinkle with worry, and wished that she could touch his face and smooth the worry away. “It’s so good to see you.”

  Thai’s face softened. “I know. It’s not the same without you. No one to get me into trouble.”

  “I’ll be back soon. Tell Chisisi I said good-bye.”

  “Bye, Valerie,” Thai said, and she concentrated and let her mind be pulled back to the Globe. It wasn’t until she felt herself sitting on her own bed that she realized she had forgotten to ask him what he thought about choosing between the Contego and the Knights. She’d have to visit him again tomorrow, she thought with a sleepy smile.

&nb
sp; That night, Valerie didn’t fall asleep as soon as she lay down. She loved the Globe, and she knew that this was where she finally belonged, but something was missing. She wondered if she would always feel like a piece of her was still on Earth, sleeping beside Thai in his tent.

  Chapter Nine

  In the middle of the night, for no apparent reason, Valerie suddenly awoke from a deep sleep. It was almost as if a fire alarm inside her head had gone off. A feeling of panic seared through her like a flash of lightning, and she sat up ramrod straight in her bed, ready for an emergency. She wondered what in the world had woken her. Everything was as it should be in her room, and there was no sound other than Kanti’s soft, even breathing.

  Then, without warning, the room faded before her eyes, and Valerie saw the white walls of a strange closet, where she was curled in a ball, shaking. Instantly, Valerie knew that she was in one of her visions like the ones she had on Earth when she was unconscious. But this time was different – she hadn’t fainted, and she was still awake and conscious. If she concentrated, she could even feel her soft sheets clutched in her hands. This knowledge grounded her and allowed Valerie to watch the scene unfold more objectively than she ever witnessed it before.

  She heard Sanguina screeching, “Where are you? Hiding? I love a game of hide and SEEK!” She shrieked the last word as she popped into view, her face inches away. Valerie felt herself screaming.

  “You swore that you would stay away after I helped you last time!”

  “You know by now that I shall never let you go, Henry,” Sanguina said with a low, evil laugh. “I’m always here. And like always, I won’t leave until you give me what I want.”

  “No! Get away from me! Go!”

  Valerie was confused. Why was Sanguina calling her Henry? At that moment, Valerie caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror hanging on the door of the closet. But instead of her own face, she saw the face of a boy about her age. His black hair was oddly streaked with gray. His eyes were wide with fear, and his entire body was quaking with dread. He was terrified of what Sanguina would do to him, Valerie thought.

  “We need another monster, and you’re the only one who can give it to us. And if you don’t–”

  “Valerie, wake up!” Kanti was shaking her, and Valerie felt her vision fade away. For the first time, she didn’t feel weak and helpless, drained by her vision as she did on Earth. She was as strong as ever, and she had the power to save Henry.

  “It wasn’t me! All along, in my visions, it wasn’t me that Sanguina was after! I was seeing through the eyes of Henry. That’s why Sanguina didn’t recognize me when she confronted me in Egypt. She’d never seen me before! But what does she want with Henry?” Valerie wondered.

  “What are you talking about? Are you even awake?” Kanti asked, and then started to shake her again.

  Valerie snapped back to the present, where Kanti watched her with genuine concern, and made a decision. Maybe it was important for her past to be a secret from almost everyone, but Kanti had shown Valerie nothing but kindness and deserved to know the truth about where she was from. Besides, she needed to talk about this right now. She felt so close to solving this puzzle; she couldn't let it slip away.

  “I’m awake, Kanti. I need to tell you something. And you’re gonna want to sit down for this,” Valerie said.

  Kanti sat, and Valerie told her story from the beginning. Kanti listened without interrupting, her jaw dropping further and further with every new detail. At the end, Valerie told her about her vision.

  “So it means that all along, my visions were real! And now there’s a boy on Earth being terrorized by Sanguina. It’s awful, Kanti. He’s my age, but his hair is already turning gray! It must be from Sanguina and her monsters terrorizing him every night.”

  Upon hearing this last detail, Kanti, who until now had been quietly absorbing everything Valerie told her, began to tremble violently.

  “It can’t be! No, he’s not my Henry! My Henry is dead.”

  “That’s a pretty common name on Earth.”

  “Yes, it was what you said about his hair – my Henry’s hair was turning gray too, from the time he was three and his mother died.”

  Valerie felt shock reverberate through her. Could it be true?

  “No matter who he is, we have to find him and save him,” Valerie said, realizing the impact of what she had discovered for the first time. All of the horror that she had felt when she was unconscious, Henry had felt every day! “It’s a miracle that he didn’t die from the strain of being so terrified all the time. I don’t think I could have survived it. The visions of Sanguina alone almost killed me. We have to find her,” Valerie said, her jaw set in determination. If she had to search every corner of the Globe, she would locate Sanguina and put an end to her reign of fear once and for all.

  “I have to go to the guild and tell them about this right away. They’ll know what to do,” Kanti said, already changing into her jeans.

  “Will anyone be there in the middle of the night?”

  “Sure. Kids call on their imaginary friends at all hours, so there’s always a supervisor on duty in case an apprentice needs help,” Kanti replied. “Want to come with me?”

  Valerie slowly shook her head. “I want to try to remember more about my visions. Maybe it will give us clues to where Henry is, or where we can find Sanguina. Until tonight, I didn’t know that it wasn’t me experiencing those things. All that time, I was being pulled into Henry’s mind. But why me?”

  Kanti shook her head. Before she left, she gave Valerie a quick hug. “Thank you for telling me, for trusting me.”

  After Kanti left, Valerie decided that she didn’t want to stay in her bed any longer. The spacious room suddenly seemed stifling. She needed fresh air to clear her head.

  She wandered the winding streets, not paying attention to where her feet led her. She was lost in her thoughts, trying to remember what Sanguina had said to her in the past. It always seemed as if she was coming to get something from her – from Henry, Valerie corrected herself. What could that hag possibly want from a child?

  She had reached the edge of town, and the shadowy forest loomed up in front of her. Somewhere deep in the trees, moonlight glinted on water. The mesmerizing sight seemed to call to her, slowly drawing her in. Without thinking, she made her way through the woods.

  The water was farther away than she thought, and she walked for a long time before the trees opened up to reveal a clearing with a sparkling lake in the middle. She knelt at the water’s edge and drank deeply. The water glittered in her hands, as if there were sparkles inside.

  Satisfied, she looked up. She saw the white form of a unicorn against the trees. Azra nodded at her solemnly, her horn glinting in the moonlight.

  I know what has happened, Valerie. The boy in your visions is real, and he is in great danger. Sanguina is in league with the Fractus, maybe even leading them. For some reason, they need Henry. For what, I’m afraid to ask, Azra said, and the depth of her concern flooded through Valerie’s mind.

  “How do you know all this?”

  The water in this lake connects to the endless ocean of Illyria, and is therefore extraordinary. Have you ever heard of the Akashic Records?

  Valerie shook her head.

  It is all of the knowledge of the universe. Every thought, every feeling, every event that has ever happened has been recorded for all eternity in the depths of Illyria. And as time progresses, more and more of the story of the universe is written.

  “Like a giant underwater library,” Valerie said, unconsciously dropping to her knees so that she could be at eye level with Azra.

  Yes. The Illyrians, the people of the water, are the keepers of this knowledge, and from time to time they will share pieces of it.

  “What have they told you?” Valerie asked eagerly.

  The Illyrians who live in this lake guard their knowledge jealously, and tonight they will tell me nothing. But over the millennia I have learned to interpret a fe
w small pieces of the records. On a clear night, like tonight, I can sometimes find answers to my questions. I was searching for knowledge of Sanguina, and I saw your vision.

  “Did you learn anything else?”

  Yes, but there is so much I don’t understand. You and Henry share a special connection. I think it may be that Henry’s power is psychic, and he is unconsciously reaching out with his mind for help. His mind must have connected with yours originally because you were the only other person on Earth with powers as strong as his. But it amazes me that his mind can reach yours now that you are here on the Globe.

  “But why do I only jump into his mind when Sanguina is near?”

  It is when Sanguina terrorizes him and his fear reaches its highest pitch that he unconsciously reaches out to you. When you were especially weakened by your own magic, he was able to pull you into his mind. I cannot discover why Sanguina is obsessed with Henry, but their names are linked in the records.

  “I hate her! Why won’t she leave us alone?” Valerie cried, rage filling her completely. She had never felt so angry and helpless before in her entire life. She suddenly wanted to use her power, to destroy Sanguina, to crush her with her newfound strength. The thought of what Henry was enduring every day made Valerie furious.

  Azra’s expression changed, and she stepped closer to Valerie. Her soft mane brushed Valerie’s shoulder. There is much you do not know of her, Valerie. I cannot excuse what she has done, but Sanguina was not always like this. Not so long ago, she was an apprentice for the Contego. She was hunting down a member of the Fractus who was haunting children on Earth. She found his lair on the Globe, and she went to fight him. She was over-confident, and went alone, believing that he wasn’t a threat to her. But he was fast, strong, and had the ability to steal her magic. In the end, he defeated her, and changed her into what she is today.

  “Which is what?”

  Long ago on Earth, they were called vampyres. After her transformation, she gained speed and strength, but then she also craved fear. The myths on Earth are incorrect; in truth, vampyres feed on fear, not blood. The taste of terror gives vampyres immeasurable strength, and such a prize is hard to resist. Sanguina might have been able to fight that craving with the help of friends, but it was not to be. As a vampyre, she could never step foot outside because the light constantly pouring into the Globe is said to be fatal to vampyres.