Blade tipped his head to the side and pounded on his temple, like he was trying to knock water out of his ear canal at the beach. “Hold on, I must be confused. I thought we already got rid of Queen Whatsername, but I’m still hearing her talk.”
“She’s got a point,” I said angrily. “Within the barrier, we’re safe. I mean, I think it was a good call to send an army to the summoning circle, and I’m not just saying that because we would have died. We needed the barrier. But now that it’s back up, why risk going beyond it?”
“So your counsel is to sit here, supposedly safe within our wall of magic, and wait for Chaos to overrun the world outside?” Greystone said. He slammed his staff down on the stone floor in anger. “Chaos grows bolder and bolder by the day. The Free Kingdoms struggle against them in every corner of the land. Shadows in numbers we have never seen roam freely, and it is only a matter of time before they break through the barrier.”
“And if they do, we kick them back out,” I said stubbornly. “We already defeated an army and a hellion, and we barely knew what we’re doing. Next time we’ll be better prepared.”
“An army? The gaggle you fought was a drop in an ocean. The hellion nearly destroyed you all, and it was a whelp. Plus, I must point out that you only defeated it because you threw it into the barrier itself. When the world outside has been consumed with darkness, then Chaos will bring the full weight of its rage to bear. And at the head of their forces will be Terrence, his new powers fully realized, untold millions of Shadows at his back. Even with your powers at their peak, you would not stand a chance.”
“Besides, do you seriously just want to sit here and let millions of people die outside?” Raven asked furiously.
“No, I just don’t want to go outside and die ourselves,” I said, angrily.
“But dude, we’ve already risked our lives,” Calvin pointed out. “We fought the hellion, like you said. We put up the barrier, even though Shadows were about to kill us all. Heck, Blade even punched one in the face. Which was epic, by the way,” he said to Blade.
“Darn tootin,” said Blade.
“That was totally different,” I said. “We didn’t ask to fight outside the summoning circle. We were just put there, and we did what we had to do to survive. Same thing with the barrier; we stood our ground because we had to, because otherwise we all would have died. And we only fought the hellion and the Shadows at the barrier gate because they broke through. They would have hit Morrowdust if we hadn’t, and then we’d all have to fight them anyways. But this is completely different. Now we’re going out there, looking for a fight.”
“Welcome to my life,” said Blade with a broad grin.
“Miles, I understand that you’re scared — ” began Sarah.
“Oh, right, I’m just scared,” I said. “This is just a totally selfish Miles thing, right? Well, guess what? We die out there, we die back home. And your parents are going to wake up to find you in your bed, not breathing. We’ve got lives, Sarah. And I used to think you understood that.”
This time it was Sarah who got angry. “I understand that perfectly,” she said. “And if you think I don’t spend every day thinking about my family, you’re dead wrong. But you know what happens if Midrealm goes down, Miles.”
“You waste your breath,” Greystone said. “It is as I said in Jada’s tomb. This one has no sense of responsibility.”
That did it. I stood so quickly, my chair fell over behind me. I thrust an accusing finger at Greystone. “You don’t get to say that to me,” I said. “You don’t know anything about me. You don’t know anything about my family or my life back home.”
“For which I can only thank Destiny,” Greystone said. “Now, the rest of us must formulate a strategy to save the world you will not lift a finger to help. Please, fling your cup at me like a child and leave us.”
I looked down where my hand was gripping my goblet, my arm tensed. I forced it to relax, uncoiling my fingers from its silver rim. Then I turned on my heel and walked out of the room without a backward glance.
MILES
SARAH FOUND ME BACK AT the Runehold. I was sitting in the great hall in my chair. She entered alone. Maybe she’d come ahead of the others in order to talk to me. Maybe she’d asked them to wait outside until she was done. I didn’t know, and right then I didn’t care.
Rather than speaking, once she entered she merely strode to her own chair next to mine and pulled it out, sliding into it. Then she kicked her feet up, resting her heels on the table like Blade liked to do. It was obvious she was trying to seem more relaxed, like it was just a friendly chat between the two of us.
She wasn’t fooling me.
She turned to Cara and Melaine. “Would the two of you mind letting us talk for a minute?” she asked.
Melaine looked at Cara for confirmation. Cara nodded. Without a word, both of them headed for the Runehold’s front door and stepped through it, letting it swing shut behind them with a resounding boom.
The great hall fell into silence. Still, Sarah didn’t say anything.
Well, if she wanted to talk to me, I wasn’t going to make it any easier on her. I held my peace, waiting for her to begin.
“So, want to talk about it?” she said.
“I don’t,” I said. “I said what I wanted to say. Do you want to talk about it? You came to me.”
She nodded. “Fair enough. I was hoping to change your mind about this mission.”
“And how are you going to do that?” I asked, rolling my eyes. “Got some secret plan that’s going to make sure all of us get back safely? You can’t promise that, Sarah.”
She shook her head. “You’re right. I can’t. But whatever dangers we might face out there, I know we’ve got a better chance of surviving it with you along than without.”
“Nice try,” I said. “But I know my limits. I’m still just as new at this as all of you are. Sure, I can do some stuff. But that’s not gonna matter if we run into an army of Shadows waiting to ambush us.”
“Miles,” she said, dropping her feet from the table and leaning forward to put her elbows on her knees, “this is important. You’re right that we have to be careful. But we also have to stop Chaos. Midrealm can’t fall.”
“Because then Earth falls, right?” I said.
“That’s right,” she said, nodding.
“And how do you know that?”
Sarah’s mouth opened, then shut. She cocked her head.
“How do you know?” I asked. “Sure, Greystone told us that. But we don’t know anything. I mean, alternate dimensions? A portal from Midrealm to Earth? If that’s true, then why don’t people come over all the time? You can’t tell me that no one else in this crazy world wants to go to a universe with central air conditioning and penicillin.”
Sarah blinked a couple of times. “Okay. I guess that’s a fair point. And we can ask Greystone that if you want. Will that convince you to come along with us?”
I shook my head. “No. That’s just an indicator of something more. We’re tools, Sarah. We’re swords, and Greystone’s just trying to point us at things, hoping we’ll solve his problems. But they’re not our problems. We’ve barely been here two weeks. We don’t know anything, not really.”
“Look around you, Miles,” urged Sarah. “Can you really see all of this around you, magic and wizards and Chaos and all the rest of it, and not put at least a little faith in what Greystone was telling us?”
“No, I can’t,” I said. “I’m not you. I get it, really, I do. Greystone tells you you’ve got a responsibility to people, and you snap to. That’s who you are. Responsibility Girl.”
“Worst superhero name ever,” Sarah remarked.
“But me, I’ve gotta ask: why were we chosen? Why us, out of anyone? We’re too young. Jeez, Sarah, we’re not even out of high school yet. We’ve got so much to do with our lives, too much to risk them in a fight we don’t know anything about.”
Sarah shrugged. “People a year younger than us
can join the army,” she said. “And they do. I don’t think it’s always about what’s fair or right.”
“Right,” I said. “It’s just destiny. Sorry, I don’t believe in that.”
“Maybe it’s not fate,” Sarah said. “Maybe it’s about choice. Maybe we were chosen because, out of all the people of Earth, we were the ones who would say yes.”
I shook my head. “Well, I didn’t say yes. So you can go roaming around Midrealm risking your life. I’m not willing to turn up dead back on Earth. I’m just not. If you are, that’s your choice. Maybe one day, after I’ve graduated high school and I’m old and grey, I can tell your parents what happened, and that you’re sorry you got yourself killed fighting in another world.”
I regretted it as soon as the words left my mouth, but it was too late. Sarah’s nostrils flared. Rather than blowing up like I was expecting, though, she just stood. Her hands were balled into fists at her side.
“You’re a coward,” she said finally, shocking me with her venom. “And you’re right. I don’t want you to come any more. I’d rather fight with four people I can trust than an army and one person I can’t. So we’re leaving. Immediately. Tonight, so that we can reach the tomb tomorrow morning. Nestor’s given us a hundred soldiers for backup.”
She whirled and strode for the front door. Right before she left, she turned one more time.
“I almost forgot,” she said. “If you still want a tutor to help with your classes, you can find someone else. Because there’s no way I even want to be in the same room with you right now.”
That pretty much deflated me. I put a hand to my forehead. “I won’t bother,” I said quietly. “Schumacher failed me in social studies. So, there goes my GPA.”
For a fraction of a second, Sarah’s face softened. For a fraction more, I thought she was going to say something. But she didn’t. Instead, she turned and stepped through the door, walking out into the sunny afternoon.
I took a potion immediately and passed out in my room in the Runehold, coming awake with a start in my room on Earth. I looked at my watch. Its glowing dial told me it was four o’clock in the morning.
Not a great start.
I sighed and got up, pulling out some trig homework I hadn’t wrapped up the night before. I sharpened a pencil and, still yawning, began to work my way through the rest of the problems in the textbook.
By the time eight o’clock rolled around, I was dead tired. But I dreaded the thought of going back to sleep, even if only for a couple of minutes. I’d only wake up in Midrealm to Melaine’s accusatory glare, to Greystone’s scornful scowl.
Instead, I took a shower. It woke me up a bit, but just barely. I finished getting ready for school, making myself breakfast and heading out the door before my mom even hit the kitchen.
I got to school way too early for Clarissa to be there waiting for me. To pass the time until she arrived, I put my backpack in my locker, then went to the gym to change into my PE clothes in advance. That done, I made my way back to the front stairs of the school.
It was another half hour before Clarissa got there. She smiled brightly as she approached me on the steps, then pulled me into a hug.
“Hey, cutie,” she said, giving me a peck on the cheek. “How you doing?”
“All right,” I lied, smiling and kissing her back.
Her face fell. “No, you’re not,” she said, concerned. “What’s wrong?”
Just then, Calvin passed by. I almost raised a hand and called out to him, but he kept his head ducked down and brushed right on by, ignoring me.
Clarissa watched him go, looking back and forth from my face to Calvin’s retreating back. “What’s up with him?” she asked. “Do you even know that kid?”
“He’s…Sarah’s cousin. He kind of wants to get into sports,” I said, thinking on my feet. “He’s trying to get me to teach him basketball, even though I don’t know anything about it.”
She rolled her eyes. “Figures. It’s actually kind of gross. People shouldn’t make assumptions about you.”
Yeah, like assuming I’d want to fight in some crazy war, I thought. But outside, I just smiled weakly. “Whatever. I’m kind of used to it.”
She searched my eyes. “You’re sure there’s nothing else going on?”
“Nothing at all,” I shook my head. “Life is beautiful.”
Her eyes narrowed further. “That’s not exactly a happy film.”
I laughed, and it was even half earnest. “Would you give me a rest? Come on, let’s head inside.”
I made it to track without getting any more questions, and I wouldn’t get any more until lunch. So after PE I went from class to class. Though I tried to avoid them, I couldn’t help but pass the others in the hallway. I’d been afraid that they’d all give me the same treatment as Calvin, but the truth was worse — they all looked at me accusingly, and soon I started avoiding their eyes. Even Tess looked at me like I was being a big baby.
Whatever. They wanted to get themselves killed, that was on them.
It was actually a relief when the lunch bell rang. Clarissa had questions I couldn’t answer, but that was better than stares I couldn’t meet.
We took lunch outside. I’d fixed myself a sandwich rather than risk the slop they served in the cafeteria. I unfolded it and sunk my teeth into the roast beef and mustard, chewing slowly. I could barely taste it.
“Okay,” Clarissa said in exasperation, slamming her spoon down in her yogurt. “What’s up? Seriously? I’m not an idiot.”
“Nothing, babe,” I said, not looking up. “I’m just tired. I woke up at four and couldn’t get back to sleep.
“Come on,” she said, exasperated. “That’s not it. I know tired Miles and Miles bugging out. They’re two different, incredibly cute guys.”
I had an idea. I sighed, finding it easy to put on a show of being really bothered by something. “It’s Mr. Schumacher,” I said. “We didn’t get to talk yesterday after history class, but…”
She gave a disgusted little snort. “Don’t tell me he’s trying to hit you with that cheating thing again? I thought the principal and Mr. Oliver already cleared that up.”
I shook my head. “No. He…he failed me in history.”
Clarissa didn’t make a sound, but her hand flew to cover her mouth. Her eyes welled up a bit, and she blinked hard. “Was it because of the biology exam?”
I nodded. “Yeah, I guess. He marked my answers wrong for the stupidest stuff. I spelled ‘Napoleon’ wrong. Things like that.”
Clarissa leaned over, pulling me into a hug. I rested my head against her hair, breathing deeply.
“This is my fault,” she whispered.
“No, it’s not,” I said. Yes it is.
“You were writing down the answers for me,” she argued. “If you hadn’t been, Schumacher never would have accused you of cheating.”
I shrugged. “Maybe. But he had it in for me before that. He’s…you know…not fond of me. Like, because he doesn’t like people from my part of town.”
Her eyes widened and she sat back. “What are you saying? Because you’re black?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. I feel that way. He’s definitely never liked me.”
She stared into the distance. “Maybe…I don’t know, maybe we can call him on it. Like an affirmative action thing.”
I barked a laugh. “That doesn’t have to do with high school,” I said. “Besides, I don’t want to get into it. He’ll just resurrect the whole biology exam thing. And if they look too closely into it, they’ll find out I was doing it to help you. Not only will they give me an F on the biology exam, but they’ll fail you, too. It’s a lose-lose.”
“It’s just so unfair,” she said.
“Whatever,” I said, shaking my head dismissively as I downed the last bite of my sandwich. “That’s life. And now I’ve got to figure out a backup plan to USC.”
“They’ll take you anyway,” Clarissa said. “You’ve still got your track going for
you. And your grades in biology are stellar. Same as chemistry.”
That was true, at least. Biology was the only thing that ever really came naturally to me. Maybe I didn’t have to be some world-traveling marine biologist or whatever. Heck, I would have been happy as a vet if I could have made a decent living at it. A living, I had to admit, that I’d always seen Clarissa being a part of.
But now USC seemed so far out of reach, along with the career I’d always wanted. The one the scholarship seemed guaranteed to give me.
“Talk to Mr. Oliver,” Clarissa said. “Promise me you will. Even without the scholarship, I bet he can get you into one of USC’s programs. I mean, with a letter of recommendation from him…”
I waved my hand. “Yeah, yeah. I’ll talk to him about it.”
“Promise me,” Clarissa repeated.
“I promise!” I said, laughing. “It’s my first class up after lunch. I’ll hit him up afterward.”
Clarissa finally smiled and leaned into me. “Okay. I know everything’s going to be fine, baby. It will. You’ll see.”
In the distance, I saw Blade outside the gym, smoking. He was looking right at me.
“I really hope it will,” I said.
The bell rang, and we headed back inside. Almost as soon as I’d found my seat, Mr. Oliver, the biology teacher, brought the class to order.
“Surprise test today,” he said, to groans from most of the class. “Come on, guys. You know how October goes. Got to make sure you didn’t lose too many brain cells over the summer.”
I didn’t join the others in complaining. I hadn’t been preparing, but I knew I was rock-solid on the material. I took my question sheet without a word. Mr. Oliver finished passing them out and went back to the front of the room. “Forty-five minutes,” he said. “Starting…now.”
My pencil flew across the paper. After twenty minutes I dropped the pencil to the desk, then stood and walked up to Mr. Oliver. I plopped the paper down on the desk in front of him.
“Sure you don’t want to double-check your work?” Mr. Oliver asked, but only half-heartedly. He loved me in his class, and though he asked the question every time, he knew the answer before it left his mouth.
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