The Society of Imaginary Friends (The Conjurors Series)

by Kristen Pham

  Dulcea accepted her gift graciously, but after a quick dinner, she sternly reminded her three little fugitives that they had to clean the bathrooms before bed. Starting at the top, the three began the arduous process of disinfecting showers, toilets, and sinks.

  “I knew Dulcea wasn’t one to cross, but I never imagined she’d make us do this,” Cyrus said disgustedly as he pulled a hairball out of a shower drain.

  “I gotta admit, I never knew how spoiled I was until now,” Kanti said, scrubbing a toilet. “I never thought I’d see the day when I got this close to a stranger’s skid marks.”

  Valerie was tempted to laugh. This was definitely not the nastiest bathroom she had ever cleaned. That honor went to the time she lived with four boys in a foster home that was so filthy that she waited to go to school to use the toilet. When her foster mother finally made her help clean the bathroom, she had almost gagged. Compared to that, these bathrooms were hardly dirty at all. On Valerie’s first day on the Globe, Kanti had explained to her that the bathrooms were completely sterilized by magic every three days, so at least she knew that not a lot of dirt and germs had accumulated yet.

  “Guys, you don’t get it. Dulcea’s not only mad at us, she’s hurt. We really scared her. And with good reason—look what happened to us. We weren’t gone for more than a few hours before Shade attacked,” Valerie said.

  “I know. I thought about that. And I feel really bad,” Cyrus said, repentant.

  “Me, too. And this is definitely a punishment I’ll never forget,” Kanti added.

  “I think that’s the point,” Valerie replied. “But let’s take our minds off the grime. I had an idea I wanted to ask you guys about.”

  “What’s up?” Kanti asked.

  “I hate the thought of waiting around while Azra looks for answers. So I was thinking that I could make Thai one of those protective charms so that no one from the Globe could find him except for me. At least I’d be doing something, not sitting around waiting for Azra to find a solution. And I don’t want Sanguina hunting Thai down like she hunted Henry,” Valerie said, her fingers clenching into a fist at the thought of her brother still being tortured by Sanguina, while she, his own sister, couldn’t do a thing to stop it.

  “Sure, we can do that. There are some caves on the southern edge of the forest that have the crystals that are needed to make the charm. We can collect some tomorrow,” Cyrus said.

  “I’ve got a class tomorrow morning that I can’t skip,” Kanti said, obviously disappointed to be missing out on the adventure. “You guys should wait till I’m done—strength in numbers, after all.”

  “How will we ever survive without you to protect us?” Cyrus said sarcastically.

  Kanti was about to snap back at him, but Valerie interjected, “I don’t want to delay this, even by half a day. If I wait too long, he could be lost to me, like Henry.”

  Kanti’s expression softened. “I understand. Anyway, at least I can help after you find the crystal. I know someone back home who can help craft the charm for it,” she offered.

  “Thanks, Kanti. It’s frustrating, after a lifetime of wishing for a family, to find out I have a brother, but I can't help him, or even talk to him. I can’t wait until we find out where Sanguina is hiding so I can crush her and get the charm she made to block Henry from being found.”

  “Now we have to convince Dulcea to let us go,” Cyrus said gloomily.

  “I’ll talk to her. Maybe it’s time I shared my secret—I think after everything I put her through, she has a right to know.”

  That night, after Valerie finished scrubbing the last bathroom, she went to Dulcea’s room and quietly knocked on the door. When Dulcea called her in, Valerie entered and breathed in the sweet smell that always clung to the room, a welcome scent after working in bathrooms for the past three hours.

  Dulcea was busy in her kitchen, carefully painting a layer of chocolate onto plump, juicy cherries. When she saw that it was Valerie entering, she looked up at her with eyes that were no longer full of anger, but without the unquestioning trust that had been there when they first met.

  “Good timing. The chocolate on these cherries needs to set,” Dulcea said, licking some off of her index finger. “What’s up?”

  “I wanted to tell you a story—about me. I’ve been thinking a lot about how what we did must have made you feel, and I want you to know why it was so important for us to go to Ephesus.”

  Valerie described everything to Dulcea, from her lonely life on Earth to her trip to the Globe to what her prophecy revealed about Henry. Dulcea didn’t say a word, but her face was so expressive that Valerie could read her reactions as clearly as if she said what she was thinking.

  “I should have told you all this from the beginning.”

  “I’m glad you told me now,” Dulcea said, her voice full of an emotion that Valerie couldn’t name. “It will seem so strange to you, but I know how you feel. I lost my parents when I was a baby—they were hit by lightning while they were crossing the mountains in Dunsinane. After that, I was on my own, like you. I yearned for a family so much that it seemed to eat me up inside—until I became the dorm matron here, that is. Now this is my family, and you are all my little brothers and sisters. Being a part of this family finally filled up that hole inside of me. So when I thought I could lose one of you, it was more than I could bear.”

  “Azra told me that we had a lot in common, but I had no idea that you were an orphan, too.”

  Dulcea nodded thoughtfully. “I think she likes us to discover these things for ourselves.”

  “That makes sense—it means more hearing your story from you.”

  “So what’s next in your search for Henry? You must be desperate to do something to help him.”

  “Yes, I’m going crazy with all this waiting. I know that technically we’re grounded, but I was hoping to create a charm for Thai to keep Sanguina from finding him. At least I can protect him, even if I can’t help Henry. Could Cy and I have your permission to search the caves for the crystals?”

  “With the increase in attacks in Arden from the Fractus these days, I can’t send you alone.”

  “I understand,” Valerie said, her face falling in disappointment.

  “So I’ll have to come with you! I’ve had my share of experience getting out of sticky situations. I’ll make sure that we stay off the Fractus’s radar,” Dulcea said, bringing the tray of cherries over and giving one to Valerie.

  “Thank you!” Valerie said, popping a cherry into her mouth. She shut her eyes as the chocolate melted on her tongue. It tasted rich and milky at the same time, making her tongue sing. “You make the best treats in the universe, without a doubt. And it’s nice that you included the cherry, too—it’s the first Earth-food I’ve had since I’ve been here.”

  “Now that I know you’re from Earth, I’ll make sure we have some food you recognize at the dinner table.”

  Valerie’s heart warmed at Dulcea’s thoughtfulness, and also with the knowledge that Dulcea viewed her as a little sister. Her dreams of having a family of her own were finally within reach.

  “Not to be a party-pooper, but it’s time for lights out. I’ll see you first thing in the morning.”

  “I can’t wait. And Dulcea—thanks for everything.”

  Valerie walked back to her room, relieved that the weight of her guilt wasn’t squeezing her heart. But before she could collapse into her bed, there was one more visit that she needed to make.

  Quietly, so as not to wake Kanti, Valerie slipped into her bed and concentrated. In seconds, she was on a dark, deserted street on Earth, watching Thai peer around a corner.

  “What’s going on?”

  He whirled around, surprised, and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Valerie had joined him. He motioned her to be quiet, and then hurried down an alley. It was strange to follow him, allowing her mind to effortlessly drift behind him without any effort required from her body.

  “That stench is disgusti
ng,” Thai said, looking like he might gag. Valerie expanded her mind-to-mind connection with Thai, sharing his senses. She breathed in a nasty, familiar smell that filled her with dread.

  “Venu. You have to get out of here!”

  “Don’t you see? Sanguina might have sent him to find your brother. I have to stop him.”

  “But if he sees you—”

  “I can take care of myself. This time he won’t have the element of surprise.”

  Valerie was about to argue when Thai tripped over a dark shape on the ground. A pained groan pierced the night, and she realized that the shape was a woman. Thai rushed to the woman’s side and felt for her pulse. Yellowish-green slime dripped down her arm.

  “I’ve got to get her to the hospital right away,” he said, squinting down the street to see if he could make out Venu’s enormous shoulders in the distance. Valerie looked too, but could see nothing but shadows.

  Thai dialed 9-1-1, and within minutes an ambulance rushed down the street, lights flashing. He turned to Valerie and said hurriedly, “You better get out of here. I have to explain to the paramedics that somehow she has poisonous frog venom in her system so they know how to treat her. The story is going to sound crazy—I don’t want to accidentally talk to you and have them think I’m nuts.”

  “Okay,” she said reluctantly. “But when can I talk to you?”

  “Come tomorrow night. Unless I find Venu’s trail, I’ll be in my tent at the Yosemite National Park. No one will be around to hear us talk.”

  Then Thai turned to talk to the paramedics, who were rushing over with a stretcher, and Valerie let herself return to the Globe. Her heart was still thumping in her chest when she burrowed under the covers of her bed.

  Chapter 28

  The next day, Valerie woke up early after dreaming that Sanguina had found Thai and sent Venu to kill him. Her dream made her all the more anxious to create the charm to protect Thai as soon as possible.

  When Cyrus and Dulcea met Valerie in front of the dorm the next morning, their moods were much different from hers. They were both excited for the trip, and they talked and joked as they walked into the forest toward the caves. But she couldn’t join in, unable to shake the sense of urgency and danger that had gripped her last night when she visited Thai.

  Venu and Sanguina were acting more openly, attacking a stranger on the street. Valerie wondered whether Venu had targeted that woman, or if she had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Either way, he was getting bolder, and if he discovered that Thai was trailing him, Valerie knew that he wouldn’t hesitate to attack with full force. She shivered, remembering how pale Chisisi looked lying in the hospital after the attack. With a little more poison, who knew what would happen to Thai.

  She was abruptly distracted from her thoughts by the sight of a glinting waterfall in the distance. The water rushed over white rocks and sent up a spray that caught the light, creating dozens of little rainbows. She veered away from her companions, drawn toward the waterfall with a powerful sense of urgency that she didn’t understand.

  “Hey, where are ya going?” Cyrus called.

  Several yards away, Valerie stopped. A screen of vines hanging thickly from the surrounding trees blocked her path like a curtain. When she pulled the vines aside, the sight behind them made her breath catch in her throat. Spreading out before her was a spectacular garden. Four white marble tiers were stacked on top of each other, each containing thousands of flowers in brilliant shades of purple and gold, creating a cascade of petals that seemed to be flowing all the way down to her feet. Elegant waterfalls gracefully flowed down the marble tiers, adding to the sensation of movement within the garden.

  The strangest feeling came over her, as though this place belonged to her, even though she’d never seen it before. Valerie heard Dulcea’s and Cyrus’s steps as they came closer to see what she was looking at. Dulcea gasped.

  “What is this place?” Cyrus asked, his voice full of wonder.

  “You don’t know?” Valerie asked, surprised, as she stepped into the wonderland with her friends behind her. Inside, the garden was still, like she’d entered a church. There was something almost holy about its intense beauty.

  “I think you found Babylon, Valerie,” Dulcea said.

  “I thought that was a story,” Cyrus said, confused.

  Dulcea shook her head. “This was a really popular vacation spot a couple decades ago. Conjurors traveled from all over the world to rest here for a few days and take in the beauty. And then one day, it vanished, as if it had been wiped off the map. No one knew exactly what happened, but it would take a very powerful Conjuror to seal off this garden from the rest of the world.”

  “I wonder why we found it now,” Cyrus mused.

  Valerie noticed that between the flowers, a set of stairs wound their way up to the top tier. Despite the urgency of her mission, she had to see where they led. She quickly ascended the steps, and the sight when she reached the top made the detour worth it. An enormous waterfall rushed down into a pool surrounded by trees with leaves in every color imaginable. The leaves were reflected in the pool, turning the water into a liquid mix of colors.

  Valerie heard Cyrus shout, and then he came running past her and cannonballed into the water below. Seconds later, he bobbed to the surface, laughing. “It’s warm, like bathwater! You guys have to jump in!”

  “You don’t have to ask me twice!” Dulcea said, following him into the water with a splash.

  “I guess you’ve found your inner child,” Valerie laughed.

  “Come on, Val!”

  “I can’t swim,” she said. But then she spotted a small dirt path that wound down the side of the waterfall to the bottom, and she hurried down it. When she was almost at the bottom, she saw that behind the rushing waterfall was a small cavern. Carefully, she inched closer, and slid past the waterfall without falling in, getting thoroughly drenched with spray in the process.

  Inside, the cavern was dim, the only light coming through the pounding water that rushed past. At first, she thought it was empty, but then she noticed someone standing at the back. Her heart pounded.

  “Hi, I’m Valerie. Sorry to bother you.”

  The person didn’t move a muscle. She stepped closer and realized that it wasn’t a person, but a statue of a female warrior, looking as if she was about to draw her sword from the sheath that hung at her side. Looking closer, Valerie noticed that the sheath was empty, and the woman’s hand was closing around air. Had the statue’s sword been stolen? The woman’s face had a fierce expression, her eyes narrowed and her body tense, ready to fight.

  Valerie wondered why someone would put such an intricate statue behind a waterfall where no one would see it. She touched the statue’s hand, and a strange feeling ran through her, reminding her of when she had touched the face at Stonehenge and the Sphinx’s paw. Did this statue guard a secret, too?

  “Valerie, where are you?” Dulcea called, worry in her voice.

  She hurried out from behind the waterfall. In the bright sunshine, she recalled her goal for the day, and was ashamed of being so distracted from her quest. Every day that went by was another chance for Sanguina to find Thai and tell Venu where he was. Or worse, Sanguina could create a charm of her own and she would never see Thai again.

  “Hey, guys, we should go find the caves. Didn’t you say it could take days to find the right kind of crystal, Cyrus?”

  “Yeah,” Cyrus said, reluctantly getting out of the water and wringing out his clothes. “But when we come back here, I’m teaching you to swim.”

  It was only after they were tramping through the woods that Valerie thought of the statue behind the waterfall. But neither Cyrus nor Dulcea had heard anything about any statues or art in Babylon. Something about the woman tugged at her mind, and she promised herself that after this was all over, she would go back and discover what secrets the statue guarded.

  When they reached the caves, tucked inside of a rocky hill, Cyrus and Dulce
a explained what kind of crystal they needed to make the charm. It had to be at least the size of a walnut, and perfectly clear, without a single speck or deformity that could twist the spell to make it do something that it shouldn’t.

  Inside, the caves were dark and damp. Valerie had imagined that they would be beautiful, covered wall to wall with glittering crystals, but instead, they were eerie inside, the crystals sending light slanting in strange ways, sometimes blinding her. The work was tedious. They had to gently wipe away a layer of muck on top of each crystal to see if it looked promising. If it seemed to be clear from deformities, they gently pried it free with their fingers and took it outside to examine it more closely.

  After hours of searching, they still hadn’t found any perfect crystals, and they decided to split up, each taking a different cave. The caves were close enough that they could call to each other if they ran into trouble.

  Valerie worked quickly and methodically in the mouth of the caves. The repetitive nature of the task allowed her mind to finally relax for the first time since she had heard her prophecy from Pythia. Without realizing why, she wandered out of the cave into the woods. At first, she didn’t think about where she was going, but after she had walked for several minutes, a part of her mind pestered her, questioning where she was going and insisting that she shouldn’t leave without telling Dulcea and Cyrus.

  She knew she had to turn back, but somehow she couldn’t make her body obey her directions. It was as if someone had seized control of her mind and was forcing her to body to do things that she didn’t want it to. Panic rose inside of her as she struggled to regain control of herself. Her breathing became rapid, and she started to shake. Something was very wrong.

  Her feet led her farther and farther away from her friends, and she worried that they would never find her now. Finally, her body slowed down, stopping at the entrance to a crystal cave much like the one she had left. Dread made her stomach sink, and she struggled with all of her mental might to stop herself from entering the cave. But it was a fight she lost, as her body entered the shadowy cave against her will. As she waited for her eyes to adjust to the darkness, she fell to her knees.