“Grandpa, I’m so sorry—” Brianna backed away suddenly, staring in wonder at her grandfather. His armor. And his sword.
“Grandpa—are you—?”
Grandpa Tony chuckled. “I was going to tell you all about it,” he said. “But that was when you didn’t want to—”
“Help you clean the attic,” Brianna said, lowering her gaze. “I’m sorry, Grandpa. . . .”
“Thank you, Levi. You’re a good friend. And a fine Prince Warrior.”
“Um . . . Ivy helped too,” Levi said, pointing to Ivy, who was standing a few feet away.
Grandpa glanced at Ivy and smiled. “Thank you, Princess Ivy.”
Ivy grinned. Mr. J. Ar and the other boys gathered around them, high-fiving each other, celebrating their victory and Brianna’s return.
“Mr. Arthur? Is it okay to come out now?” Mr. J. Ar turned to see Mary Stanton standing in the doorway, looking around curiously. “Is it—over?”
Mr. J. Ar turned to her and smiled. “Yep,” he said. “It’s over. Tell the kids it’s safe to come out.”
Ahoratos—Outside the Quaritan
4:34 PM
“Is that all of them?” Evan asked, glancing up at the newest skypod floating in the red-gold sky. “Are they all gone now? For good?”
“No, not all,” Ruwach said. “There are many more. And more quaritans to hold them.”
Evan felt disappointed. “So what’s the point then? If we can’t ever destroy them completely—”
“Prince Evan. You win a war battle by battle. You keep pressing on. That is victory.”
“But couldn’t the Source have won this battle all by himself? Why did I need to open the quaritan?”
Ruwach was silent a long moment. Then he spoke quietly, almost tenderly: “That is the wrong question, Prince Evan. The question is not why did the Source need you to open it, but why did the Source want you to open it.”
“Okay then. Why did the Source want me?”
“The Source is not only in control of all things but how all things are accomplished. Yes, He could have done this alone. But then you would never know what could be accomplished through you, young Warrior.”
Evan thought about this. “So, that’s why He doesn’t just fix everything here and on earth? That’s why He doesn’t win our battles for us?”
Ruwach’s hood nodded slowly. “His ways are mysterious. You may not always understand them. But there is one thing the Source does want you to understand with all your heart: through Him all things are possible. Even the most difficult things.”
Evan once more thought he glimpsed a pair of glowing eyes deep within Ruwach’s hood. Something about that made Evan feel bigger and braver and . . . safe. But it did something else too—it made him want to be better. To get rid of any hidden things weighing him down. To tell the whole truth.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out the key.
“I took this,” he said, holding his hand open so Ruwach could see. “It was wrong. I’m sorry.”
Evan noticed that Ruwach wasn’t shocked or alarmed. In that moment, he was certain that the guide had known all along.
Ruwach reached out with his glowing hand and gently plucked the key from Evan’s open palm. One of his shining fingers touched the edge of Evan’s hand. And with the touch, an unexpected peace swept over Evan, like a cool breeze on a hot summer’s day. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply. Evan knew, even though Ruwach hadn’t said any words, that he’d been forgiven.
“I will see that it is returned to its proper place,” the little guide said, his hand disappearing once more in his sleeve. “Remember, Evan, it is never too late to make things right.”
“That’s for sure,” said Rook with a laugh.
“However,” Ruwach went on in a different tone, “you broke the rules of this realm and, for that, there are consequences.”
“What consequences?” said Evan.
Ruwach didn’t answer. Instead, he let that word drape over Evan like a heavy blanket: consequences. Evan didn’t know exactly what they would be, but he was pretty certain they would not be good.
Chapter 35
Homecoming
A large banner, made from a bedsheet, was hung across the front porch of Brianna’s house, with “Welcome home, Nana Lily!” written in purple glitter paint. In the cool of the evening, Brianna’s sisters and her friends Levi, Xavier, Evan, and Manuel stood underneath the banner, shouting and cheering as Grandpa Tony’s battered old station wagon pulled up in front. Mr. J. Ar, who had driven the kids over to welcome Brianna’s grandmother home from the hospital, stood to one side, his arms folded over his broad chest, a huge smile on his face.
The three sisters ran down to the car, shrieking happily. Grandpa Tony emerged from the driver’s seat, waving his arms to get them to calm down.
“Hold up, hold up! Let’s not get too excited, okay? Don’t want to give her a relapse now. Winter, Crystal, get the wheelchair out of the back.”
Brianna jumped out of the backseat—Grandpa Tony had given her the honor of accompanying him to the hospital to pick up her nana. She waved to her friends and then opened the passenger-side door excitedly.
Her sisters pulled the wheelchair out of the trunk and rolled it over while Grandpa Tony and Brianna helped Nana Lily out of the car. She had trouble moving one side of her body, but the other side was ready for action.
“Stop fussing already! I’m just fine, I tell you!” she said, waving the help away. Her voice sounded funny, like she was having trouble pronouncing all the words correctly. “Doctor says I need to do for myself if I want to get better.” Once she was settled in her wheelchair, she relaxed, looking up at her granddaughters and smiling. “Thank you, girls. You’re gems.”
“I’m so glad you’re back, Nana,” said Crystal, hugging her. Winter and Nikki took their turns hugging her too.
Nana Lily nodded, lifting her good arm to wave slightly. “It’s good to be home.”
Brianna nodded, tears filling her eyes. “Can I push you?”
“Go right ahead,” said Nana Lily.
Brianna reached around to the handles and started to push her grandmother proudly up the sidewalk to the house. Her friends gathered around to greet Nana Lily, everyone talking at once.
“Bean,” said Levi, “look.” He pointed behind her. Brianna turned around to see Ivy standing under the streetlight, holding a small bouquet of flowers. Ivy walked up to Nana Lily and held out her offering.
“Hi, I’m Ivy,” she said. “I live down the street—I heard you were coming home today, so I brought you these.”
“How lovely!” said Nana Lily.
Brianna looked at Ivy, surprised at her new confidence. She didn’t seem at all like the shy girl she’d known before.
“They’re lilies,” Ivy said. “Because of your name . . .”
“Lilies! Of course. Well, come in, come in. Perhaps we have some cookies—”
“I made a cake!” said Crystal.
“Uh . . . sure,” said Ivy, eyeing Brianna carefully.
“Cake? I want some cake!” shouted Evan.
They all began talking while Mr. J. Ar and the boys picked up the wheelchair and carried it up the steps to the house. Brianna hesitated, turning to look at Ivy.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “About the way I acted toward you. I don’t know what got into me. Well, actually, I do know what got into me. But anyway, I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine. Actually, it’s better than fine. Ruwach knew exactly what we both needed.”
Brianna looked at her quizzically. Ivy realized that she’d have to explain. “Here’s the thing. Ru gave me you as an assignment. He wanted me to make friends with you. I assumed it was because you needed something . . . that you needed saving.” Ivy paused, searching for the right words. “But now I realize
it wasn’t just about saving you. It was also about saving me.”
“Saving you?” Brianna tilted her head, confused.
“Yeah. It’s strange, but in Ahoratos I could leap off a cliff without even thinking about it. There I have courage that, for some reason, I’ve never had here. In school, or at the Rec . . . I’ve always felt afraid. I can’t even tell you how hard it was for me to talk to you the first time. But now I see I can do it. And so much more. I can be brave. I can take risks. I can really, truly be who I was always meant to be. A Princess Warrior.”
Brianna smiled. “Yeah, I get that.” She turned to go up the steps, and Ivy followed. But then she stopped again, took off her headband, and turned to Ivy.
“Here,” she said.
Ivy looked at the headband, uncertain. “What are you doing?”
“I’m giving you this. You said you liked it. You did like it, right?”
“Yeah, I did.” Ivy blushed, taking the headband and putting it on. “How does it look?”
Brianna quickly opened the front door and flipped on the porch light so that she could get a better look. “Stellar,” she said.
A butterfly fluttered past the girls, and Brianna ducked, covering her head and gasping a little. Ivy laughed. The butterfly landed on a flower near the front steps, batting its wings slowly.
“Is that what I think it is?” Brianna whispered.
“It’s a butterfly. Just a regular old butterfly.”
“You sure?”
Ivy nodded.
“Do you think it’s—watching us?”
Ivy studied the butterfly for a moment, then shook her head. “Nope.”
“Girls! You coming in or what?” Grandpa Tony peeked his head out of the door. “If you don’t hurry, you’ll be out here in the dark of night! And plus these boys are going to eat all the cake.”
“Hey, we can’t let that happen,” Brianna said. She straightened, standing tall, like the Princess Warrior she still was. “Let’s go.”
Ivy nodded. The two girls charged toward the door, scaring the butterfly, which fluttered lazily away.
As Brianna walked into the house she was startled by Levi, who stood there as if he had been just about to come out.
“Oh . . . hey,” Levi said. “I was—looking for you.”
“For me?” Brianna said.
“I’ll just go in,” said Ivy with a smile. She moved through the door.
“Uh . . . Ivy?”
Ivy stopped and turned to Levi, wincing slightly as if she was afraid of what he might say.
“Yeah?”
“Thanks, for helping Bean . . . and me. I sort of—misjudged you, I guess. I’m sorry about that.”
Ivy’s mouth dropped open slightly. Then she smiled.
“No big deal,” she murmured. She glanced at Brianna, grinned, then went into the house.
“What’s up?” Brianna asked Levi. “Cake gone already?”
“No, I . . . I wanted to give you this.” Levi pulled something out of his pocket and handed it to her.
“My lip gloss!” Brianna shrieked. “I was looking all over for it!” She took off the cap and smeared it over her lips, which soon shone with a fresh application of glitter.
“Now you really look like yourself again,” Levi said with a smile.
“I feel like myself again,” said Brianna. “Thank you, Levi. Thank you so much. For everything.” She leaned toward him and gave him a glitter-filled kiss on the cheek.
Just then Evan came running toward the door. “Hey, Levi, where’s the—” He stopped and stared at Levi, who stood frozen like a statue as if he’d lost the ability to move.
“What’s that?” Evan said, pointing to Levi’s cheek, which was stained with a lip-shaped glob of glitter. “Is that what I think it is?”
“Huh?” Levi finally moved, his hand reaching to his cheek.
“Evan!” Brianna said, stepping toward him. “I need to thank you too. For going into the quaritan all by yourself. That was really brave.”
Evan backed away from her, suspicious. “Yeah, it was nothing.”
“Nothing? Are you kidding? That was like the bravest thing I’ve ever heard of a kid—a Prince Warrior—doing.”
“Well, I wasn’t really alone. Ruwach was there. And so was Rook. . . .”
“Well, I thought it was incredibly brave,” said Brianna.
“Really?”
“Really. In fact, I think you deserve a hug.” She opened her arms and stepped toward him. Evan yelped and made a mad dash back into the house. Brianna burst into peals of laughter.
Levi just shook his head. “Girls,” he said.
Brianna chased after Evan with her arms still open, laughing. She saw him dart into the kitchen and followed, stopping in her tracks when she got to the doorway. Her family and friends were gathered around the candlelit table, on which sat a large chocolate cake.
But the cake didn’t say “Welcome Home, Nana.” It said, “Happy Birthday, Brianna.” Brianna stared at the cake, puzzled.
“We never did get around to having that birthday party we planned,” said Grandpa Tony, standing beside Nana Lily’s wheelchair.
“Well, that’s okay,” Brianna said. “You didn’t have to. . . .”
“You mean you don’t want your surprise?” said Nana Lily. She spoke slowly, but there was a mischievous sparkle in her eye.
“Surprise?” Brianna had almost forgotten about the surprise. She assumed, because of her behavior, that she didn’t even deserve a birthday present. She thought of how she had thrown aside Levi’s present—her helmet—so abruptly. It still made her wince to think about it.
“Close your eyes, and put out your hands,” Grandpa Tony said.
Brianna looked around at all the faces—her sisters smiling with great anticipation, her friends trying hard not to laugh. She could barely breathe for the excitement she felt in her stomach. Maybe it was the hoverboard she wanted! Or new clothes? Her mind raced through all the possibilities.
“Close your eyes, silly!” Crystal cried. “Hurry!”
Brianna closed her eyes and held out her hands. She heard some shuffling and muffled giggles. Then something plopped into her arms. It wasn’t heavy and hard like a hoverboard. It wasn’t light and soft like clothes either. It was . . . squirmy. And fluffy.
“Open your eyes!” said Nana Lily.
Brianna opened her eyes and gazed into a small furry face with large, dark eyes. She opened her mouth and let out a shriek.
“A . . . puppy?!”
Everyone broke into cheers and laughter. The little animal recoiled at all the noise. It was black with a white patch on the top of its head. Brianna pulled it into her arms and buried her face in its fur. A puppy. Something—someone—all her own. She couldn’t ever remember being as happy as she was at that moment.
“Thank you,” she managed to say. “She’s the sweetest thing I’ve ever seen.”
The puppy whined and licked her face several times.
“It was my idea,” said Nikki.
“Was not,” said Crystal, elbowing her.
“You’ve got to take care of her yourself,” Grandpa Tony said. “Feed her and train her and all. I’m sure your sisters will be glad to help.”
“Sure, for a price,” said Nikki with a laugh. “But it won’t be much.”
“I will, I will!” Brianna said.
“I’ll help too!” Ivy said. “That is, if you want me to.” Brianna smiled at her. Her friends gathered around to pet the puppy, all but Manuel.
“I’m rather allergic,” he said with a sniffle.
“What are you going to name her?” Levi asked.
“I think I’ll call her . . .” Brianna paused, gazing down at the white furry center of her puppy’s forehead. She thought of Stella. That creature hadn’t l
ived up to her name, but maybe this one would. “I’ll call her Star,” she announced, “in honor of this cute white patch. It kind of looks like one, I think.” Brianna chuckled as the puppy burrowed into her arms as if she was planning to stay there a long, long time. “I always liked that name.”
“Ah!” said Nana Lily. “That’s perfect.”
As if in approval, the night sky outside lit up with a million stars. And, from somewhere above them, Ruwach hovered, watching his Warriors and their loved ones celebrate this happy moment. He was proud of them, but he knew their journey was not yet finished. There would be struggle and challenge that would test them to their very core. But it would not come without victory and joy and hope.
Because they were, after all, Prince Warriors.
Epilogue
A sleek black dragon glided through the fog-filled sky on silent wings, headed for the enormous skypod that hovered over the blackened shell of what had once been the Fortress of Skot’os. The Forger on its back—a huge metal creature that looked more machine than man—guided it to a quiet landing and slid down.
This skypod was not like the others that dotted the sky over Ahoratos. For when the Forger’s metal feet touched the surface, a crack appeared, widening to a trap door that led to a spiral staircase descending into the skypod’s dark interior. The dragon let out a muffled growl as the Forger dropped through the hole and the door closed over him.
A moment later the Forger pushed through tall iron doors and entered the throne room, snakes hissing and slithering over his metal boots, annoyed by the disturbance. It approached the throne slowly, its iron-plated legs creaking, its footsteps like clanging cymbals in the vast space.
The twisted figures embedded in the massive throne began to moan, as if in terrible pain. The Forger stopped before the formless shadow that occupied the seat of the throne and bent to one knee with some difficulty.
You—failed? The voice of the shadow was low and searing, like a brand on flesh, and yet so loud it echoed throughout the room.
We could not stop them from opening the quaritan, lord. The Forger’s voice was mechanical, without any modulation. They had—help. The elders. The purple one—
The Prince Warriors and the Unseen Invasion Page 19
