by Claire Luana
Damn. This was complicated.
“Gen was our girl on the inside,” Cass said. “She worked for us and was trying to discover the location of the final anchor.”
“So, that’s why the king sabotaged her ring.” My eyes grew wide. “Cass, I’m so sorry.”
Cass’s face was grim. “Thanks. The Brotherhood has been on us through this whole operation. They raided our main headquarters in Elfame, and we barely made it out. Gen knew there was a risk that she’d be exposed, and she went in willingly.”
“Doesn’t make it any easier to lose a friend, though,” Auberon said, rubbing Cass’s back gently.
“No, it doesn’t.” She shook her head.
Everyone was silent for a moment.
“You don’t know where all the anchors are located, then?” Orin asked quietly. “If that’s what Gen went in to do.”
Auberon stood and walked to the desk, retrieving a wrinkled piece of parchment. “According to the old records that the ICCF keeps, there was only one rendering of the locations of the anchors. The magicians who created the Hedge didn’t want the anchors to be easily located. Somehow, my father had gotten his hands on it. When I left the palace, I stole it, but I didn’t realize the map was so old, the bottom had torn off. We only know the location of four of the anchors.”
He knelt down between the couches, placing the weathered scrap of paper on the coffee table. Orin and I leaned in, inspecting its ancient, faint writing. I tried to orient myself, to look for any landmarks I recognized. Not that I was a geography whiz, but I had tramped across some of Faerwild by this point. “Ohmygod. Is that Emerald Mountain?” I asked, pointing at a little peak depicted on the map.
Cass nodded. “We think so.”
I looked up. “I saw some crates there when we were fighting the dragon. I forgot about it until now. They had the rose and thistle on the side.”
Cass and Auberon exchanged a glance. “That confirms our suspicions. They’re getting everything into place to blow the anchors.”
“Is this the Sylph palace?” Orin asked.
“We think that some of the checkpoints for the various trials have been strategically located at the anchor points, so the Brotherhood can place their explosives there without suspicion,” Auberon explained.
“How many anchor points have they gotten to?” I asked, my heart speeding up in my chest. How close was the Brotherhood to making their twisted plan a reality?
“We think four,” Louis said. “The final trial will take place here in Elfame. Which makes sense, because we think the final anchor is located somewhere in the city. But we don’t know where.”
I sat up, my eyes wide. “If they manage to place the final charges and get their magician in place at the last checkpoint, then when we get to the end of the race, to the final checkpoint…”
“Boom,” Cass said, spreading her fingers wide. “Life as we know it ceases to exist.”
7
Silence rained down on us. It was such a bold statement. Terrifying even. Life as we know it ceases to exist.
“What exactly does that mean?” asked Orin. “It’s not like everybody would die, right?”
Cass shook her head quickly. “Nothing that dramatic. But the Earth of the twenty-first century—the world we know, it’ll all be gone. Faerie magic interferes with electricity. To sustain technology like the cameras used by the FFR takes complicated spells that require constant maintenance. If the Hedge comes down, there will be no cars or internet or air-conditioning or credit cards.... it’ll all be gone. It will be like going back to the dark ages. Can you imagine the chaos as humans try and adapt to living that way again?”
I leaned forward, trying to take it all in. “What can the king possibly have to gain by plunging us all into darkness?”
“I think I can answer that,” Auberon chipped in. “In a word, power. My father’s the king of Faerwild, but that isn’t enough for him. He’s always hated that humans, without the aid of magic, have managed to build cities and amazing technologies. In comparison, Faerwild looks like a backward little village. We are able to watch you on TV, but it’s not like TV’s you have. The FFR is broadcast using magic and not everyone has access. Basically, just like everything else here, it’s highly regulated. There are billions of humans on Earth, but only seven or eight hundred thousand faeries in Faerwild. He wants to conquer the humans so he can rule over them. The easiest way to do that is to take away the one thing that all humans rely on. Technology.”
“I told you he was a psychopath,” butted in Cass. “That’s why we need to stop him. We were hoping you and Orin would go back into the race and help us look for the last anchor point. We need someone who can get close enough to see what the king and his lackeys are doing. You two are really our only hope.”
I looked over at Orin. He was shaking his head. “I don’t know. I don’t want the Hedge to fall, but for me, this was always about winning. Getting the boon and freeing my parents. I need to focus on that.”
“I think your parents would want you to help,” Auberon said. “I think they would believe the greater good is more important than two faeries.”
Orin looked up, his dark eyes blazing. “How the hell would you know? You don’t know them.”
“Actually,” Louis said gently. “We do. We have certain sources on the inside, feeding us information. Your father is one of them.”
Shock froze Orin’s features.
“Is that true?” I asked Cass, who nodded.
“They’ve been instrumental in getting us information about the race and the other Brotherhood members. For instance, we believe there’s a Brotherhood member among the race staff.”
“Patricia,” I said.
“You knew?” Auberon said.
I nodded. “She’s not very subtle with all her rose and thistle jewelry. I guess once I knew there was something to look for, the signs were obvious. I think Niall, one of the original coaches, worked for the Brotherhood too. He started to provide me information before the first trial, but I think he got in trouble for it because he was kicked off the staff the very next day.”
“Will you consider what we’re asking?” Louis said. “Even if you could find the remaining piece of the map, that would be hugely helpful.”
I bit my lip, considering. I wanted to help, but I didn’t want to speak for Orin. We were a team—and something more. I didn’t want to force him to do anything.
So he surprised me when he stood up, his hands balling into fists. “I’ll do it. Someone has to bring him down. I’m glad it’s going to be me. I want to see the look on his face when he falls.”
There were no prizes for guessing whom he was talking about. “It won’t be just you bringing him down,” I stood up too. “I’m going to help too.”
“And we’ll have your back,” Cass said.
“That’s right,” Auberon added. “You won’t be alone in there. You’ll have our support.”
“And the full support of the ICCF,” Louis said.
So just like that, an agreement formed between our strange group. Two sisters from Montana, one human dressed like a bank manager, and two faeries, one of which had stolen my heart and the other who was the son of the king we were trying to bring down.
I knew that we couldn’t stay here forever; we had to sneak back into the palace before dawn. But I needed some time alone with Cass. It had been so long, and we had so much to catch up on. We drifted to the far side of the bunker, facing each other. Part of me still couldn’t believe she was really here. She asked about our parents, I asked about her life in Faerwild. We talked and talked, falling into the comfortable pattern we’d had when we were young.
“I nearly died when I saw Peaches on TV,” Cass said, talking about the raggedy doll my mind had conjured up in the Sorcery Trial. “I thought it was a trick or something to make me come out of hiding. And when Orin swiped me with that sword. Auberon had to talk me down from the ceiling I was so scared. It all felt so personal.”
I thought back to that part in the first trial. It had been personal. The magic of the mirror had taken our memories and twisted them into something grotesque. No wonder Cass had freaked when she’d watched it.
“It’s time to go,” Auberon said, hours later. “Orin is nearly falling asleep on the sofa, and you two have a job to do in the morning....well, later this morning. It’s nearly 4 a.m.”
“Huh? What job?” I asked stifling a yawn.
“The third trial starts in about five hours.” Auberon reminded me.
Crap. In my happiness of seeing Cass again, I’d forgotten about the race and the madness that surrounded us all.
I didn’t want to leave. I’d spent the last few years doing everything in my power to get to this point. To find her. Cass must have seen my reluctance because she hugged me tightly and whispered in my ear. “We’ll all be together when this is over. I’ll finally be free and able to come home.” It was the jolt I needed.
“We’ll be together again soon.” I nodded.
She passed something to me that looked like an old-fashioned hand-held mirror, in a little round compact. She passed an identical one to Orin.
“In case I need to powder my nose?” he said around a yawn.
“To communicate with us,” she said. “If you want me, call my name into the mirror. Don’t do it in front of anyone else and make sure there are no cameras on you. Hide in a sleeping bag or something so they don’t see you.”
I nodded at her instructions. It didn’t feel like nearly enough, but knowing I would be able to speak to her whenever I wanted helped soothe the burning ache in my chest.
Auberon passed me the magic mask that had fallen off at some point en route and escorted me to the strange car. This time Orin and I sat up front with Louis who was driving.
Auberon and Cass stayed behind.
Out of the back window, I watched her waving at me, slowly disappearing from view as we sped up the tunnel and out into the city.
It was quiet at this time of day, and we barely saw anyone as we drove. Louis pulled up a few blocks from the palace, where we could get out beyond the sight of the guards. “Good luck in the next trial,” he said to us as we got out.
“Feel free to help us cheat at any point,” I said with forced cheer. The thought of the impending trial hung over me like a cloud.
He laughed. “We’ll see what we can do.”
Getting back into the palace was easy, as doors were being opened and shut for early morning deliveries. We silently padded back to Orin’s room without event.
I flopped into bed, my eyes aching with lack of sleep. As I felt Orin’s arms gently pull me towards him, I fell into a peaceful slumber.
Seconds later, someone knocked urgently upon the door. At least, it felt like seconds, but as the sun was now streaming in through the windows, there was a good chance a few hours had passed.
I practically fell out of bed.
Opening the door, I found a squat woman with short-cropped bright red hair and a nose ring.
“Hello?” I bleated, trying to keep the surprise out of my tone. I had no clue who she was, but she looked as out of place as you could get in Faerwild.
“Still in bed, were ye?” The older woman snapped in a thick Scottish accent, surprising me even more. “There’ll be none o’ tha’ nonsense while I’m with ye.”
My brain obviously hadn’t had nearly enough sleep because I couldn’t understand a word she said. I turned her words over in my mind and attempted to translate. She’ll have none of that nonsense while she is with me. With me? Why would she be with me anywhere?
“I’m sorry. Who are you?”
“Tha name’s Ruth. I’m ye new camerawoman. The king asked me to come an’ git ye.”
My mind stuttered. Oh. So she was Ben’s replacement. It had to happen, but it didn’t mean I had to like it. Thoughts of easy-going Ben flashed through my mind, and the pieces of my heart seemed to crumble further. Poor, sweet Ben, with his blood spilling out onto the white sand. He was irreplaceable. He hadn’t even been dead twenty-four hours. It felt wrong to have anyone take his place. It felt wrong to even continue to the next trial. This whole damn thing was wrong, wrong, wrong.
All I could manage was, “We’re coming,” before I closed the door in her face.
I turned and sagged against the door. “It’s time to go,” I said to Orin, my voice flat. A heavy weariness washed over me that had nothing to do with my lack of sleep.
God, I hated this trial already, and it hadn’t even started yet.
8
We followed Ruth to a ballroom where a spread of food had been laid out for us. There were only two round tables in the cavernous room, one of which was filled by Tristam and Sophia and their camerawoman. I piled a generous helping of eggs and bacon and fruit onto my plate, doing my best to ignore them. Ruth was humming before me as if she didn’t realize that her predecessor had been brutally murdered by faeries just one day before. Maybe she didn’t know. I wouldn’t put it past the FFR to leave that little nugget of information out of the job description.
We sat down and dug in. Orin leaned over, nodding his head towards where Tristam and Sophia sat. “It’s strange, isn’t it,” he said. “That it’s down to us four.”
I nodded. “I think part of me never believed we’d make it this far.”
“Me too. In another few days, this could all be over.” His words struck me sideways. He was right, but there was one part of this race that I didn’t want to be over, not at all. And that was spending my days with Orin. I put my fork down, my stomach churning.
He seemed to know what I was thinking. No doubt he’d thought of it himself. “We’ll figure it out,” he said, putting a hand on my knee. “I promise.”
But would we? There was no way in hell I’d want to live in Faerwild, and would he want to live on Earth? Away from his parents, from everything he’d ever known? It was notoriously difficult to get a permanent visa for a faerie to live on Earth…though I supposed the ICCF would totally owe us if we helped them save the world and all. I tried to imagine walking down Sunset Boulevard with Orin, hand in hand. Going to the beach…cooking dinner together in an apartment. It was so hard to picture those domestic scenes when all we’d ever known was danger and adrenaline. What if we didn’t even like each other when things were normal? Safe?
“I said we’ll figure it out,” he said again, shaking my knee. I met his eyes. “But later. For now, we have to stay focused.”
I nodded and bit down on my bacon, chewing mechanically.
Patricia breezed into the room in a shirtdress of olive green with tan leather booties, and to my surprise, she pulled up a chair next to me. I tried not to look at her boobs, imagining how they’d been magically enhanced just hours ago. I focused instead on the two white envelopes in her hand. “I just wanted to extend my condolences for the passing of Ben, your cameraman,” she said. “It was a tragedy, and there will be a full investigation.”
“Really?” I leaned back, surprised. She almost sounded sincere.
“We take safety very seriously at FFR,” she said, nodding.
I grimaced, crossing my arms over my chest. Now I knew she was full of shit. But she pushed to her feet and walked to the middle of the room, signaling one of the cameras. I guess her little apology was over. “Contestants, it’s time to receive your final clue and start the next trial, the Master Trial. This race will take place right here in Elfame.”
We all stood, forming into a little semi-circle around her to get our instructions. There was a distinct gap between the two teams. Oh yeah, it was on.
“At different times, and in different ways, the last two trials tested your magic, your knowledge, your logic, your strength, and endurance. This final, Master Trial will test all those and more. It is down to just two teams. At the end of this trial, two of you will be millionaires.” Patricia paused for dramatic effect. “I hold in my hand a clue for each of you. You will be dropped at different l
ocations in the city. Don’t open your envelope until the race begins.” She handed Sophia and me the envelopes in dramatic fashion. And then the cameras went dim. I hurried back to my plate to grab my last piece of bacon, and we were off.
I had gotten my first glimpse of Elfame last night, but no one was supposed to know that, so I did my best to look amazed as we sat in a carriage that carried us away from the palace.
We crossed bridges and large plazas, and the city began to change, morphing from the bright white marble of the palace to dingy brick and stone.
“This is the old town,” Orin said as we passed through an opening between what looked like two old stone walls. “The original Elfame. It was contained within these walls. Now it’s in the center of town, surrounded by the rest of the city that built up around it.”
“Tha king has cleaned oot tha ol’ town,” Ruth said, waving her hand out the window.
“The whole thing?” Orin goggled. “There must be thousands of homes in here. I can’t believe people would agree to it.”
“Reckon he dinna give ‘em much choice.”
Our carriage ground to a halt outside a large rectangular building of red stone. “End of the line,” our driver called down. “Head inside.”
The three of us got out of the carriage, and I realized how strange it felt to be separated from the other contestants. This was different—starting out alone. Somehow, it felt more final. Orin pulled open the large wooden door painted with black lacquer, and we ducked into the low light of the building.
It was a large warehouse, empty but for a few ratty couches and a battered table. High windows leaked light through their dingy faces. Strangely enough, the floor beneath our feet was painted bright white. Why would someone go to the trouble of sprucing up the floor, while leaving everything else dusty and worn?
