by Laurie McKay
Caden glared. “All loyal and brave men.”
“You think so? Maybe, maybe not. There were whispers of dissent among them even before my banishment.”
Tito’s cheeks turned red, and his shiny hair fell into his face. “Caden’s dysfunctional family can wait. Where . . . is . . . Jane?”
The distance between Tito, loyal and brave foster brother, and Rath Dunn, the releaser of the devil blight, was too close, too dangerous. “Get to your point,” Caden said to the tyrant.
Deliberately, Rath Dunn turned to him. “You show up here—that’s curious enough.”
He glanced again at Caden’s arm, near the spot where he’d wounded him, and sighed. It seemed whatever he’d meant to accomplish had not been accomplished. Caden lifted his chin. That was good. And Rath Dunn had also been written up by the mysterious collector of shiny things and school vice principal, Ms. Primrose.
Rath Dunn continued. “You speak English, not such a feat really. There are spells and tricks and charms that can accomplish that.” His gaze went to Tito and back to Caden again. “Then I hear you speaking Spanish with your little friend here. Two new languages, fluent at the same time, that’s more curious, and there’s the illiterate part.” He paused and chuckled as if he found that especially amusing. “What is your gift, prince?”
“You seem to already know,” Caden said.
“Tell me.”
“Tell me about Jane Chan.”
Rath Dunn spread a huge, catlike grin across his face. “The perfect reply!” he said, and laughed. Then, more to himself than anyone, he added, “Gifted in speech. Axel must love that. You need to practice, though, if you want to bring it up to your potential. You may still be useful. I’m glad I didn’t try harder to get you killed.”
“You tried hard enough.”
“If you think so, your father has sheltered you too much.”
Beside Caden, Tito fumed. “Are you going to tell us about Jane or continue to torture us with your theatrics?”
Rath Dunn was in front of Tito quicker than seemed possible. “If I was torturing you, you’d be screaming.” Slowly, smile in place, he caught Caden’s gaze. “Maybe Caden could charm me into telling. Ms. Primrose seemed quite charmed by him.”
“Maybe I could charm her into getting rid of you.”
“Doubtful,” Rath Dunn said, and sounded not in the least bit concerned. “You’ve barely developed your skills. But the fact that you can charm her at all is of great interest to me.”
Caden was good at knowing what to say to get what he wanted, but it didn’t work all the time. It wasn’t like his compliance curse. His gift never forced anyone to do anything. People could choose to say no and, often enough, they did.
“I can’t make anyone do anything,” Caden said.
“I know. You can do something better: you can convince them to choose to,” Rath Dunn said. “Well, you could if you practiced.” His eyes were bright. “I could use someone of your talents. Here’s the deal, son of Axel. I want a vial of Ms. Primrose’s perfume. Use your gift to convince her to give it to me, and if you do, I’ll help you find the girl.”
Caden rubbed his arm near the wound. Rath Dunn had wanted Caden’s blood. That Caden was certain about. Now, he wanted something from Ms. Primrose, the “she” who seemed to keep the other villainous teachers in line. “Why do you want her perfume?”
Rath Dunn cocked his head. “I have my reasons.”
Whatever they were, they were certainly evil and vile. “No, I won’t help you.”
“No?”
“We have no reason to believe you didn’t kidnap her yourself,” Caden said.
Rath Dunn feigned offense but seemed to be enjoying the bargaining. “If I kidnapped her, would I be offering you information?” he said. “You can trust me. I’ll tell you what, I’ll give you a hint, free of charge and obligation. As a show of good faith.”
“Free?” Caden said at the same time that Tito grumbled out, “What’s the catch?”
Rath Dunn looked at Caden and then at Tito. “The catch is next time, it won’t be.”
The statement was like the web of a Korvan spiderbird, sticky and full of bloodsucking traps. Once Caden and Tito entered his web, fighting their way out would be almost impossible. Caden pushed Tito toward the door. “We’ll find her without your trickery.”
Rath Dunn reached out and grabbed Caden’s arm. He wrapped his other hand tightly around Tito’s wrist. “Believe this, boys, you won’t find her without my help. And if you don’t find her before the next new moon”—he paused and his eyes widened dramatically—“she’ll be dead.”
Caden doubted his truth, meaning, and usefulness. “Why should we believe you? You sent your dragons to devour Sir Horace.”
“They’re not mine,” Rath Dunn said. He dropped his voice low and confident. “And it’s unwise to call them that. You’ll insult her.” He glanced out his window to the winter sky. “Here’s my information; think on it carefully, son of Axel,” he said. “The locals call Asheville the Land of the Sky.” He looked at Caden. “But I and the other teachers, we call it the Land of Shadow, the land of the banished.”
Asheville was not the Land of Shadow. It couldn’t be. It was a quaint city with small mountains, colorful cars, and artists selling wares on each corner. It was not a dumping place for the Greater Realm’s worst villains.
Caden took a deep breath. It was important to breathe. “This isn’t the Land of Shadow.”
“I’m afraid it is. I’ll admit,” Rath Dunn said with a dramatic arm flare, “it’s nicer than advertised. One of the better prisons I’ve known. You worry about me, but there are twenty-four others banished here just like me.”
The room fell quiet. Rath Dunn stood in front of them, unmoving, his red velvet jacket glistening under the harsh indoor lighting.
“The new moon’s only four days away. Bring me Ms. Primrose’s perfume, and I’ll help you find Jane before she’s dried up and empty. Or don’t,” he said with a shrug, “and she’ll die screaming and alone.”
Outside, the sky was blue and the air crisp. The hills cracked with shifting ice. Caden’s enjoyment of it, his respite from his heavy thoughts, was short-lived. The new moon would bring about an end to Jane Chan. Then the half-moon would reinvigorate his curse. Both his fate and Jane’s were tied to the moon phase. He was so lost in thought, he almost didn’t dodge Tito’s poorly aimed fist. He did, though, and it swished past his shoulder.
Caden looked at him. “What are you doing?”
Tito lowered his arm and glowered. “Rathis says he’ll tell us how to find Jane and you decline? Bro, we’re doing what we have to do to find her. Period.”
Caden replayed the conversation. The dragons didn’t belong to Rath Dunn. Don’t call them dragons. Most ominously, Jane would die by the new moon. He watched the English instructor talking to a parent. He saw Mrs. Belle stumble on the sidewalk as she walked toward her car. Ward and Tonya said they were evil. Rath Dunn claimed they were banished like him. If they were all villains, any of them could have taken Jane Chan. As hints for a missing enchantress went, those were weak at best, designed to confuse at worst. “Falling into his trap will not bring her home.”
“Finding out what he knows might.”
Rath Dunn had wormed his way into the trust of men older and wiser than him and Tito. Their path was becoming twisted, their journey treacherous. The ground beneath his feet felt slick like the ice on the side of the road.
“He can’t be trusted, even if he speaks the truth,” Caden said, to remind both Tito and himself.
Tito rubbed his wrist, the one Rath Dunn had grabbed, and looked to the sky. “I don’t care.” There was iron in his voice, and he kicked at a nearby bench. The metal structure echoed with the force. Ice broke from it and landed whole on the hard ground. “He said she’d be dead soon.”
The kick, in Caden’s opinion, showed more promise than the punch. Maybe the bench with its stationary, unconcerned manner was just a better target
. Tito had power and some natural fighting ability but he lacked finesse. With practice, he’d improve. His height and build were similar to Caden’s, and Tito looked fit enough. Caden had an idea.
Tito narrowed his eyes. “Stop looking at me like that.”
Caden would start Tito with the Korvan battle staff. It was easier for a beginner to wield, and unlike the sword, mistakes rarely resulted in lost fingers, arms, or feet. Besides, Caden’s sword remained confiscated by the police and a battle staff could be forged easily.
“I’ve decided to teach you the ways of the Elite Paladins,” Caden said.
“No,” Tito said.
“It’s a great honor.”
“No.”
“It will help us in finding your Jane,” Caden said. Tito’s bad mood would pass. Once Caden had assessed Tito’s skills, he’d plan a training schedule and revised weapon list. “We should not rely on the villainous tyrant’s help. We face enemies of great evil.” He placed a hand on Tito’s shoulder. “We must be prepared.”
Tito huffed, sat on the icy bench he’d attacked moments earlier, and glared at the icicle on the ground. In the parking lot, cars pulled in and out, their roofs covered in thick hats of snow. Student after student got into white-tipped red cars, black trucks, and blue vans. The drive emptied and the flood of cars became a trickle. Rosa’s shiny truck was nowhere.
“Your guardian is late,” Caden said.
Tito peered up and toward the road. “Our guardian.”
Caden was well trained, clever, and the son of a king. He needed no guardian and accepted none. Those arguments, however, seemed lost on Tito. Truth be told, they seemed lost on Brynne as well and she better knew of Caden’s skill and birthright. He sighed, straightened his stance, and revised his list of suspicious people at the school.
Five minutes later a familiar silver and black police cruiser pulled into the drive. The window descended and Officer Levine smiled at them from the driver’s seat. “I’m off duty this afternoon. Get in. I’ll drive you home.”
“Where’s Rosa?” Tito said.
“Delayed.”
“Delayed why?” Tito said.
Grudgingly, Caden decided Rath Dunn was right. Tito was good at getting to the point.
“She took Brynne shopping,” Officer Levine said, but he didn’t elaborate.
He should tell them everything without prodding, and he should stop demanding that Caden sit in the back. Royalty belonged in the front. Officer Levine would take neither point seriously, though. Caden calmed himself, climbed in the back, and smiled charmingly at Officer Levine.
Tito looked at Caden, exasperation clear on his face, and climbed in beside him. “What are you going to do now?” he whispered in Spanish.
“He investigated Jane Chan’s disappearance. I’m going to ask him for information,” Caden said, and motioned to the front. “Distract him. He’ll say more that way.”
“Sure,” Tito said, but he sounded skeptical.
The rearview mirror reflected the intensity in Officer Levine’s eyes. “You speak Spanish?” he said to Caden, demonstrating unexpectedly good hearing and no mastery of the Spanish tongue.
Like many questions he’d asked Caden, it felt heavy with meaning. Before Caden could answer, Tito leaned forward. “Yeah, man, I’m fluent.”
In the rearview Officer Levine’s eyes crinkled a bit, and Caden got the impression he was fond of Tito. At the moment, Caden was also fond of Tito, as he seemed good at being distracting.
“And your foster brother there?” Officer Levine said.
“Him?” Tito stuck his thumb at Caden in a gesture that was considered obscene in Razzon. “His royal wordiness speaks many languages.”
“That so?” Officer Levine said. He pulled out of the school drive and started up the hill. “What other languages can you speak, Caden?”
“I suppose I can speak them all.” With a sly grin, he added, “Rosa doesn’t know. It would be a reasonable excuse for you to speak with her.”
Officer Levine looked straight ahead, Rosa likely prominent in his mind. Beside Caden, Tito scowled.
Caden looked back to the front seat. “She needs comfort,” he said. “She’s distraught.”
That brought Officer Levine’s attention back. “You think?”
“She doesn’t understand why Jane ran away.”
Tito watched. His discomfort with the conversation was evident in his expression, in the tight pull of his muscles.
“She told you that?” Officer Levine sounded justly suspicious. Rosa did not seem the type to burden others with her worries, especially people like Caden who were quite unnecessarily put in her care.
“No,” Caden said, “but I’m observant and it would be easier if she knew the truth.”
Officer Levine exhaled, slowly. “And what’s that?”
“Jane did not run from her. She was taken.”
“The state police deemed otherwise.”
“But when we met, you were looking for a missing girl.”
“A runaway girl.”
“Jenkins said runaway. You said lost.”
“Get to your point, son,” Officer Levine said, and Caden suspected that his gift of charm might not be working.
The next words were important. Caden needed to say the right thing, something that would get Officer Levine to see things his way, something to get him to investigate the school so that Rath Dunn was not their sole source of information. He concentrated. It seemed he did need practice.
While he was thinking, however, Tito leaned forward and peered toward the front seat like in his mind the puzzle pieces had already fit together. “You don’t think she ran away either.”
At that, Officer Levine stopped the car beside the metal sun sculpture and they got out. “I don’t know what to think.” His voice turned kind. “But it’s not your fault she’s missing.”
“No, it’s your fault for not finding her. It’s Rosa’s fault for thinking she’d ever run away,” Tito said.
“Rosa’s doing her best, Tito.” After a moment, he glanced between Tito and Caden. “The two of you really believe she was taken?”
“Yes,” Caden said. “And we believe someone at the school knows by who.”
“Okay,” Officer Levine said, and started toward the porch.
Rosa met them at the door with a weary expression. Caden gave her Ms. Primrose’s note and her brow wrinkled further.
“Already?” she said.
“My hand was forced. Derek called Tito ‘Tito nonbonito.’”
Rosa’s mouth thinned. Officer Levine motioned Tito to the kitchen. As soon as they’d disappeared through the door, Rosa opened the note and read it. “You threw spaghetti,” she said, and didn’t sound nearly as happy as Tito had when he’d found out.
“It seemed a good solution.”
She held his gaze. “Throwing food is not the way to solve a problem.”
“Respectfully,” Caden said, straightening the blanket on the couch. “I disagree. Derek will rethink before he insults me or Tito. And when he does so, he’ll smell tomato sauce.”
She tightened her jaw and glanced toward the kitchen. “This Derek, he makes fun of Tito?” she said. “I don’t get that. Tito hasn’t said anything to me.”
“It’s his problem, not yours.”
“It’s my problem, too.” Her expression turned fierce, and her mismatched clothes did nothing to distract from it. “And no one at school does anything about this name-calling?”
Caden considered his next words carefully. He needed to convince her that his actions were not only justified but honorable. “I did something.”
“And now I’m going to do something,” she said, and he imagined her with a sword, charging the school and demanding justice. “I am calling this boy’s mother and you’re going to apologize. After that, I’ll discuss his bullying and name-calling with her.”
Wait? What? Caden was speechless for a second. That was not the outcome he expected. He clenc
hed his fists. “I’m not apologizing. I’m not sorry.”
He was playing on her temper, but antagonizing her would not get him anywhere. He took a calming breath and smiled.
Rath Dunn was right about one thing—the gift of speech was a blade Caden had yet to sharpen. He needed to practice with persuasion like he now practiced with his fighting stances, like he’d once had to concentrate really hard when speaking other tongues. If Caden was to direct her away from such foolishness, he would need to work at it.
Before he could speak, she held up her hand. “That’s enough. If you wanted to talk your way out of this, you should have done it before you threw the food.”
Suddenly, her demeanor felt familiar. She’d learned he was clever of word, so she was refusing to listen to him. It wasn’t the first time a shrewd person had used this approach. He felt his charming smile falter.
“I’d like to explain—”
She held up her hand. “The discussion’s over. You’re apologizing.”
Whether Caden said what he said next because he was frustrated or because it was true, his hands shook as he said it. “My father never lets me explain either.”
Officer Levine and Tito came back at that moment. Obviously, they’d also had a frustrating conversation. Officer Levine patted Tito’s shoulder, but Tito shrugged him off. Rosa walked out with Officer Levine to his patrol car.
Tito spun on Caden as soon as they were out the door. “What’s your problem? My issues with Derek are none of Rosa’s business, and definitely none of Officer Levine’s. Don’t go telling them. Not cool, man. Not cool at all.” He pointed at the door. “And what’s with the matchmaking?”
“One,” Caden said, serious and irritated. He raised a finger. “If Rosa knows the details of our interaction with Derek, she will understand my actions.”
Suddenly, Tito seemed to be having a hard time staying angry. His twisted expression twitched and a laugh burst out.
Anger wasn’t useful, but laughter wasn’t appropriate either. “This conversation doesn’t require giggling.”
Finally, Tito calmed. He reached out and pushed Caden’s finger down. “Don’t use the middle one, bro.”
