Quest Maker

by Laurie McKay

  By the right front exit, Rath Dunn ushered students out. He crushed the insects foolish enough to come near him. His mouth was twisted in a feral smile. His fists were fast and sure. He seemed to be enjoying himself.

  Caden, Ward, and Tonya needed to escape. Caden turned so that Mr. McDonald could tell them what to do, but Mr. McDonald was gone. Caden spotted him running out the rear exit without so much as a glance back. It seemed Caden, Ward, and Tonya were on their own. Mr. McDonald zoomed out the door just as part of the swarm dived at him.

  Suddenly, Caden understood. He’d seen the faces of Mr. Bellows, Rath Dunn, and Mr. McDonald in the bee swarm, and they’d been attacked. The swarm faces were targets. That meant Caden was a target. Tonya huddled beside him. So was she. They would be attacked next.

  He grabbed Tonya’s hand with his left and Ward’s hand with his right. Ward tensed. It was obvious he didn’t like unannounced contact, but he didn’t argue. “We must go.”

  It felt as if Ward wanted to pull away, but he didn’t. Instead, he nodded. Tonya squeezed Caden’s hand. Her eyes were saucers.

  The right front exit was closest. Together, they dashed to it. Rath Dunn saw them and motioned them to run faster. Just before they got to him, he stepped out and shut the door. Caden shoved on the door, but it wouldn’t open. Someone—no doubt Rath Dunn—held it shut from the outside.

  Beside him, Ward grimaced and swatted a bee from his forearm. Caden rammed the exit with his shoulder. Still it didn’t budge. He looked around. Everyone else was gone. Caden and Tonya were the only targets left inside.

  The swarm was thick. The buzzing vibrated against the walls. They needed to get to another exit right away. Toward the rear exit, the swarm was so dense Caden couldn’t see the back wall of the auditorium. Between them and the left front exit, the bees were still numerous, but there were fewer. It was their best hope of escape.

  Tonya seemed to be thinking the same thing. She pulled Caden’s hand in that direction. “We have to get out,” she said. But the only way out was through stinging, angry insects.

  Quickly, Caden catalogued his possessions. He had his coat. It would offer some protection, but not enough, and not for all three of them. His compass and paper clips were in one pocket, his cell phone and the whisk in the other. The compass wouldn’t help. The paper clips were supposed to hold things together, but right now he needed to break through the bees. There wasn’t time to call for help with his cell phone. He pulled out the whisk.

  If nothing else, the whisk could act as a projectile. He hurled it. It tumbled through the swarm and landed on the floor in front of the stage. “Run, now!” Caden said.

  The bee swarm began to swirl in long, dark ripples, like Rosa’s eggs in the mixing bowl. Maybe the Enchanted Whisk of Mixing deserved more respect than Caden had realized?

  Although the swarm had been broken, stray bees still attacked. Caden, Tonya, and Ward had made it halfway to the exit when Tonya collapsed. Ward knelt beside her. His face was red with two stings. Tonya only had one bee sting that Caden could see, but it was swollen badly. Her cheeks were flushed. She looked like she couldn’t catch her breath.

  “She’s allergic,” Ward said.

  Like Jasan, Caden thought, as he felt a bee land on his cheek.

  Ward laced his arm around her to help her up. Caden did the same and reached down to snatch the whisk as well. Something sharp and needlelike plunged into his neck. He slapped at it and felt another sting on the back of his hand. A third landed on Tonya, and Ward reached out and knocked it away with his thumb. She looked at the door, determination etched in her red, swelling face.

  Around them, the bees were reforming into a dense swarm. In the rear, the dark wall of bees started to roll toward them. With no time to lose, he pointed the whisk upward, and the bees began to swirl again. Then he pointed it away from them, and the bees moved, as one, in the opposite direction. The air was clear—for now. There was only time to run.

  Between them, Tonya wheezed.

  The door in front of them slammed open. Jasan ran inside. He seemed to have little trouble dodging stray insects using his gift of speed, though his eyes went large at the rolling swarm that was about to overtake them. He grabbed for Caden, but Caden pushed Tonya toward him instead. “Take her first!” he yelled in Royal Razzon.

  With a nod, Jasan picked her up. Caden saw her slump in his arms, and they ran out and into the Ashevillian sun. Caden pulled the left exit door shut behind him.

  The side and front lawns were crowded. Jasan laid Tonya on the ground. Ward, often so quiet, yelled loudly for help. Soon a large woman in a paramedic’s uniform jammed a giant needle into Tonya’s thigh. Her breathing started to improve.

  The Ashevillian paramedics loaded Tonya, Derek—who Caden disliked but mostly didn’t want dead—and another young student into an ambulance. The teachers darted furtive glances at one another. Students huddled in small groups, many nursing bee stings, while the school nurse flitted from group to group like a bee herself. Jasan moved to the side of the crowd, then farther away.

  Towering above everyone, Ward’s father, Manglor, strode toward them. He held his mop like a scepter. His hair fell in dark braids. Caden didn’t know who Manglor had been before he was banished from the Greater Realm, but Caden felt more and more certain that Manglor—and by lineage, Ward—was royalty.

  Manglor glowered at Caden. “Move, child,” he said. Caden stepped back. Manglor put his large hand on Ward’s small shoulder.

  Trusting Manglor would keep Ward safe, Caden jogged after Jasan. Jasan needed to know Caden believed in him. Caden caught up with him by a large rhododendron bush. “Wait!” He reached in his pocket, pulled out the whisk, and held it out.

  Jasan spun around and grabbed his wrist. “I told you to be careful,” he said in Royal Razzon. He looked at the whisk and his frown deepened. “What’s that?”

  At least the whisk was getting Jasan talking. “The Enchanted Whisk of Mixing. A gift. For you.” Caden pointed toward where Jane stood in the crowd. “It would be rude to refuse.”

  With a huff, Jasan snatched the whisk. Then his gaze lingered on Caden’s cheek. “Go get your injuries treated.”

  Caden touched the sting on his cheek. It felt hot. His face was swelling. “They’re minor.”

  That seemed to annoy Jasan. “Then you’re lucky.” He pointed to the auditorium. “That was an attack.”

  Caden knew magically controlled attack bees when he saw them. He didn’t have to be told. “I know.”

  “Then you know you should have taken refuge sooner. You’re not that slow that you’d be last out.”

  Jasan was not gifted in speech like Caden, but he knew how to goad him. Caden wasn’t slow at all. Jasan just was faster than everyone. There was a difference. Caden bristled. “You’d have me leave my allies in a bee swarm?”

  “I’d have you save yourself.”

  Jasan had run into the auditorium to help. He’d carried Tonya out. “You didn’t do that. You ran back into the attack, and you’re in the most danger. You’re allergic. Rath Dunn wants your blood, and Ms. Primrose is hungry.”

  Jasan didn’t look like he cared. His nostrils flared. He looked at the crowd, from one teacher to the next, his expression growing colder with each shift. Finally, he looked at Caden. “I’m different. My life doesn’t matter now.”

  Caden felt like he’d been punched. His brother wasn’t even trying to survive happy, villain-filled Asheville. “It matters to me,” Caden said. He had to sound certain when he next spoke. He held his brother’s gaze. “And I know you were wrongly accused.”

  “Do you?” Jasan snorted and ran his hand through his hair. “You’d say that about any of us, any of your brothers.”

  Was that a bad thing? Caden wasn’t sure how it could be. And doubting his brothers was what Rath Dunn wanted. Still. He wasn’t saying it to all of them. “I’m saying it to you.”

  Jasan was stubborn, surly, and difficult, but if he understood how m
uch Caden needed him, he’d be less reckless. He’d agree to work with him. Caden just needed to be persistent, charming, and equally stubborn.

  “We’re brothers,” Caden said. “We must work together. We have enemies here.”

  The pink-flowered branches swayed, and Jasan swatted one away with the whisk. Pink petals fluttered into the spring air. They swirled in a small whirlwind above the bush. “You’re my half brother,” Jasan said. He walked away but seemed to hesitate. He turned back. “And sometimes brothers are enemies. Remember that.”

  The words felt like another burning sting. “You’re not my enemy,” Caden said, but Jasan had disappeared into the crowd. Only the rhododendron blossoms heard him.

  These days, Caden felt that he spent as much time standing on the lawn as sitting in the classroom. Tito and Jane stood beside him. The spring day had turned cold. Parents started to arrive to pick up students.

  Tito scrunched up his nose and pointed at Caden’s cheek. “Ouch,” he said.

  Stinging things seemed to especially dislike Caden. It was fortunate he’d no allergy or he’d be dead many times over. “It’s sore. Nothing more.” He smiled at his friend. The spelling contest was important to Tito, and the bees had ruined the bee. “I’m sorry you weren’t able to win your award.”

  “Yeah, whatever,” Tito said. He kicked at the ground. “I can still sweep the grade awards. And beat Derek. He didn’t win either.”

  “He was taken away in the ambulance. That’s the opposite of winning.”

  Tito frowned, and his mouth turned lopsided. “Yeah. I almost felt bad for him.” Then a slow smile spread across his face. “Maybe he’ll miss a few days and fall behind.”

  “Doubtful,” Caden said.

  “No one misses many days here,” Jane added. “Rosa sent me back the week after I was rescued. But I know you can still win.”

  And Derek wasn’t Tito’s only competition. Brynne also got excellent grades. “You also must beat Brynne,” Caden said.

  Tito grinned. “She’s not eligible. She’s been here only four months.”

  “That’s fortunate for you.”

  “I’d still beat her.”

  Caden wasn’t as sure. “She’s a sorceress. Studying is one of her greatest skills. Besides, she magics herself before each quiz.” Caden felt his brow crinkle. “Where is Brynne?”

  “I’m here,” Brynne said from behind him. “I thanked Prince Jasan for saving Tonya.”

  Caden turned and frowned at her. He should demand that she make her presence known before she snuck up behind him. She could text him a smiley face or the like. “I helped save Tonya, too.” He turned his head so that she could better see his swelling cheek. “And I was injured.”

  “You always get stung by things. You look puffy but fine.”

  Tito snickered.

  There was nothing funny about a puffy prince. With a huff, Caden motioned to the auditorium. Now that Brynne was here, they needed to discuss the bee incident. “That swarm was no accident.” When he spoke, he could see his breath. The temperature was dropping.

  Brynne shivered and nodded. “The bees were controlled.”

  “There are magic bees now?” Tito said.

  That was a silly question. Caden raised a brow. “Of course not, Sir Tito,” he said. “But there are dangerous creatures that can control bees. And not only bees but other things that swarm.” This bee swarm was another not-accident. Another embarrassment for the school. He was failing in his quest for Ms. Primrose.

  Caden scanned the crowd. Ms. Primrose stood near the drive talking to a paramedic. Three parents surrounded her, and none looked happy. There was no doubting that the dangerous chill in the air was because of her. She saw Caden and glared. The chill spread. Students huddled together. He understood the meaning of the cold, the meaning of her glare: find out who is sabotaging my school or become my dinner.

  Even the sunlight was tinted the cold blue of an angry Elderdragon. He tugged his coat tighter. “This is another act of sabotage. We must search the school and find out who’s responsible.”

  Of course that was when Rosa drove up. She jumped out of the pickup and spent several minutes frowning at Caden’s stings. Once she seemed content that he wasn’t seriously injured, she said, “Get in the pickup. I’ll take you all to lunch.”

  Caden sat in the front seat. Away from the school, the air turned warm again. People strolled on the downtown sidewalks. Two women played string instruments while begging for coins. A man walked by with a small fluffy white dog under his arm.

  Caden’s thoughts of bees dimmed at the sight of the dog. Truly, he hoped the dog was a pet, and not food for one of the local eateries. Some of the food sellers included hot dog on their menus. Rosa insisted hot dog wasn’t made of dog, but as she couldn’t explain what exactly it was made from, Caden feared for the fluffy white dogs of Asheville.

  He pointed at the man and dog. Before he could speak, Rosa said, “I’ve told you, Caden. There are strict guidelines about what we eat and how it’s prepared. There are sanitation rules. We don’t eat dogs.”

  Caden wanted to believe her, but the Ashevillians ate all form of strange things: round meats, square fish, round grains and milk. Officer Levine had once offered to bring him pigs in a blanket as a snack. Caden didn’t eat pigs. In the Greater Realm, farrow pig flesh had hallucinogenic properties. As for blankets, Caden didn’t eat those either.

  Rosa parked, and they walked to a sidewalk café just north of the bookstore, the chocolate shop, and an art gallery. The table had a wooden top with an attached red umbrella. Nearby, sidewalk street performers played twangy guitars. The air smelled fresh, but each time a car passed on the nearby street, the fresh smell was mixed with exhaust.

  The restaurant served vegan food, which Caden liked, and hamburgers, which he didn’t. He stared at the menu and felt his cheeks heat. Despite his hard work in the literacy class, he couldn’t understand much of it. Also, something red, either ketchup or blood, was smeared on the side. He showed Tito.

  “Lick it,” Tito said. “Then you’ll know.”

  Eighth-born princes didn’t lick strange menus in foreign lands. Caden tossed the menu aside. His plate looked smudged. He polished it with his napkin while the others ordered.

  The waiter wore thick-rimmed glasses, a black T-shirt, and an apron. The outfit was far simpler than the ornate silver and gold trimmed costumes the Winter Castle butlers sported. It was also far less interesting. When it was Caden’s turn to order, the waiter tried to sell him on the hamburgers. In the Winter Castle, the servers knew better than that. “We’re famous for ’em. All our beef is grass fed and locally raised,” the waiter said.

  Caden wasn’t clear what Ashevillian steers ate if not grass. “Is the beef round?”

  “Actually, our chef makes the patties square.”

  “How is that better?” Caden said, and peered at him. “It’s not made of dog, is it?”

  Rosa placed her hand on his. “Give him the vegetarian special,” she said. “Please.”

  Proper food would help him prepare for the turmoil of the next five days. “I suppose that will do,” he said.

  While they ate, Jane recounted the bee swarm. “Mrs. Belle led us out right away. No one in our class got stung,” she said.

  Caden considered. Mrs. Belle’s class hadn’t been attacked, and her face hadn’t appeared in the swarm with the others. That was definitely interesting.

  About the time the food arrived, Officer Levine joined them and ordered a square burger. Tito glanced between him and Rosa. “Why are you here?” he asked. “None of us have done anything illegal.”

  Caden thought it was obvious. “Officer Levine is wooing Rosa,” he said.

  Officer Levine choked on his water and cleared his throat. “The important thing is that you kids are all right.”

  It was a change of subject, but not one Caden minded. “For now,” he said, and forked his greens. “There is danger at school. First gas, now bees.
These not-accidents”—Caden would call them what they were—“are the work of a villain.”

  Officer Levine picked up his hamburger. “Why do you think that?”

  Neither Rosa nor Officer Levine believed Caden’s accounts of the villains at school or of the Greater Realm, but Caden wouldn’t hide who he was or his royal heritage. He wouldn’t keep quiet when there was danger. “Ms. Primrose gave me a quest to find the culprit. She’s going to eat me if I fail.”

  Rosa reached out and squeezed his hand. “No one’s going to eat you, Caden.”

  “Not if I succeed, no,” he said. “But if I disappear in five days, I want you to know why.” He turned to Tito. “And I’ll bequeath my confiscated sword to you, Sir Tito.”

  “It’ll be better than that mop,” Tito said, and bit into his grass-fed square burger.

  Then Caden smiled at Jane. “And I’ll leave you my compass, enchantress.”

  She smiled. “Thanks, but I know you’ll succeed.”

  Rosa seemed less than amused. She peered first at Tito then at Jane. “I’ve told you two not to encourage these stories. I meant it.” She turned to Caden. “And that’s enough. I’ve told you, no more stories about dragons or other realms.”

  “No more truth, you mean,” Caden said.

  “Son,” Officer Levine said, “you need to learn when to be quiet.”

  “Actually, I’ve been practicing that.”

  “Then practice it now.”

  “I will,” Caden said.

  Tito snickered.

  Caden opened his mouth to say something to Tito about that, then changed his mind and took a bite of his beans. Officer Levine pulled Rosa away from the table for a moment. They stood near the sidewalk. His face was flushed, so Caden suspected his words were of love.

  Tito watched them with a frown.

  Suddenly, Brynne kicked Caden under the table. Hard. She arched a brow. “But what about me?” she whispered. “What do I get?”

  Should Caden leave the sorceress something? He wasn’t sure she deserved it. She’d thanked Jasan and not him. She had cursed him. And the curse would overlap his quest. Caden set down his fork. Suddenly, he wasn’t hungry.