by Kristen Pham
Kanti peeled off from Valerie to go in search of Henry, so Valerie forced herself to mingle with the Grand Masters and Conjurors of the Fist. She immediately knew that Kanti had been right. Her soldiers needed to see her. She had to be no more than a ghost on the battlefield with them.
The food was incredible, but it reminded her of Dulcea’s culinary creations, and turned to dust in her mouth.
The Grand Master of the Glamour Guild, Roza, glided over on eight long tentacles. Her upper body was human, and very beautiful, though Valerie knew that she could choose to look any way she wanted.
“Skye assured us that you wouldn’t miss the fundraiser, but I admit I had my concerns,” Roza said.
Roza handed Valerie a glass of something bubbly that would temporarily increase the volume of her voice, and she took a sip. She cleared her throat, and the room went quiet.
“Seeing you all here, selflessly giving your time, your lives, your blood, and your power, gives me hope not only for this war, but for what comes after. Thank you all,” Valerie said.
Everyone cheered, and Valerie raised her glass. She saw Skye across the room, and he nodded his approval at her words. Then she drained her drink, and relief worked its way through her as lilting music began to play.
As people started to dance, she headed toward the door to make her escape from the party, stopping every few feet to shake hands with soldiers who wanted to meet her.
She’d reached the door and was about to make her getaway when she saw Thai hurrying up the steps of the Guild. He saw her and stopped moving.
“Kanti said…you needed me?” Thai asked, still staring.
“Oh, sorry, did she pull you away from your work? I don’t know what she was thinking,” Valerie said, vowing to give her friend a good shake when she saw her next.
“I’m really, really glad she did,” he said. He’d reached her side then. “I hear music in there. Want to dance?”
Valerie knew that the right answer to give was no. She had a million things to do, and this would only give Thai false hope.
Before she could shape an excuse, Thai pulled her back inside. The ballroom was less overwhelming when he held her hand. Valerie was able to appreciate the fairytale lights, and the fact that everyone was smiling for a change.
A heavy beat melted into a slow tune. The Conjurors began a couples’ dance that had moves Valerie didn’t recognize. Thai watched for a little while and then pulled her to the dance floor. He effortlessly guided their movements. He was so sure on his feet that she didn’t stumble, didn’t even have to think about what the right steps were.
She looked up and saw that he was staring down at her, his dark brown eyes intense. Every place their bodies touched tingled. Her hands, her waist, her shoulders… They had never been more sensitized.
Thai fiddled with the ends of her hair, and Valerie remembered the nights in their tent back on Earth when she’d lain next to him and he’d played with her hair.
“You rocked in short hair, don’t get me wrong. But I missed it like this,” he said.
Valerie let her hair fall forward to hide her blush. Another benefit of having long hair again.
Then he tipped her chin up so she couldn’t avoid his eyes. The yearning in them made it almost impossible not to lean forward to see if his kisses were as good as she remembered. But the little part of her mind that was still capable of logic was screaming at her. She couldn’t have this, have him, even if she wanted it.
Valerie forced herself to look away from Thai’s eyes before she changed her mind. That was when she saw Cyrus watching them, his lip turned in utter disgust. Valerie pulled herself out of Thai’s arms. He followed her gaze and saw Cyrus.
“Go ahead and talk to him,” Thai said, and Valerie saw only sympathy in his eyes.
Cyrus ran out of the party, and Valerie chased him down the steps of the Guild.
“Cyrus, wait!” Valerie said.
He turned on her, his eyes flashing. “I have actual news about the war we’re fighting, the one you’re supposed to be leading. But maybe you’d rather play dress up and dance with your boyfriend.”
“Of course not, I was—” Valerie began.
“Save it. People are dying, Val. On the Globe, on Earth. I shouldn’t have to tell you that. How can you be dancing right now? Don’t you have better things to do?”
Part of Valerie was humiliated because there was truth to his words. But the bigger part of her was consumed by an emotion she only recognized as rage when she saw that the Laurel Circle was a warm, bright gold.
“You’re my best friend, the person who knows me better than anyone else in the universe. What do you think?” Valerie said. “It’s a fundraiser. I had to show up to raise magic for the Fist. And, yeah, I forgot myself and enjoyed a dance. You’re the one who said that we had to snatch moments of happiness when we could in the middle of all this horror, remember?”
“But I meant with me! Not with him!” Cyrus said.
Valerie had no reply, and Cyrus sucked in a breath.
“Some days, I wake up and I can’t believe that you’ll never be mine again,” he said. “You’re so woven into my heart, cutting you out will kill me.”
“Then don’t cut me out. We can find our way back to friendship,” Valerie said.
Cyrus sagged. “You’ll never understand. That’s why there’s no point talking about this anymore.”
He stood a little straighter as if he was consciously trying to cast off his pain.
“I found you to tell you that Elle and Will need to see you,” he said. “They’re in my room.”
Valerie and Cyrus went to his room in the dorm of The Society of Imaginary Friends, and she found Elle and Will on the bed Henry slept in sometimes. Their hair was slightly damp.
“How are you both? Are you safe in Illyria?” Valerie asked.
They nodded, but neither twin smiled.
“What is it? Has Illyria fallen completely to the Fractus?” she asked.
“Illyrian politics are complicated. And decisions are never made quickly,” Elle said.
“There is an endless amount of information to be gathered and analyzed,” Will explained. “I think they forget that just because they are immortal does not mean that time moves slowly above the waves.”
Valerie let out a breath of relief. “I feared the worst, after my trip there.”
“Your trip wasn’t a waste. There are Illyrians who agreed with your logic and are supporters of the Fist,” Elle said.
“It is those supporters,” Will said, “who informed us that the Fractus have tapped into a new source of magic, one that is far more powerful than the black weapons they’ve been wielding.”
Valerie sat down on Cyrus’s bed. “Where?”
“Plymouth,” Elle said. “Beneath the bedrock is a special kind of dark magic that pooled there during the early wars on the Globe. The records call the magic Carne. There is a river of this stuff that Reaper can use to enhance his army’s powers.”
Valerie remembered her own trip to Dunsinane through the tunnels of Plymouth, and how she’d sensed something evil far below.
“What will happen when Reaper uses this magic?” she asked.
“The Akashic Records hold all of the information in the universe, but they do not predict the future,” Will said. “For that information, you must visit Ephesus.”
“In the meantime, send some scouts of the Fist into Plymouth to see if you can uncover what they plan to do with the Carne,” Elle said. “Their plans are shrouded, and even the most skilled readers have not found that information.”
“What about you two? Are you going back to Illyria?” Valerie asked.
“It’s our home,” Will said. “We belong beneath the waves.”
He gave her a shell that buzzed a little in her hand.
“If you need us, toss it into the lake,” Will said.
“I hope I’ll see you again soon,” Valerie said.
“You will. The time for cha
nge has come, and that includes Illyria. We are with you, and the Fist,” Elle said.
Chapter 20
While Cyrus sent messages about the twins’ news to the various leaders in the Fist, Valerie ran to the Empathy Collective, where Sibyl and the other Oracles who had fled the Roaming City in Ephesus were living.
Despite the late hour, Valerie found her friend in the garden behind the Collective. Sibyl fluttered from flower to flower, absorbing each scent. But when she turned and saw Valerie, she appeared unsurprised.
“Is it time?” Sibyl asked.
“I’m not sure what you mean,” Valerie said.
Sibyl’s little body shook silently, and Valerie realized she was laughing.
“I am still unused to living around anyone other than Oracles. One of our novices said that the time was nigh for us to retake the Roaming City. Is that the news you bear?” Sibyl asked.
Valerie sat down on a bench. “I came to see if any of you were drawn to give me a prophecy about how Reaper will use the magic he’s tapped into in Plymouth, but maybe you’re right. There are a number of answers that can only be found inside your city.”
Valerie knew that Putrefus had given Reaper a prophecy when he’d visited the Roaming City with her when she only knew him as Chern, the bumbling Grand Master of the History Guild. The words of that prophecy could give them an inside look into his motives, or possibly explain why he so badly wanted Valerie to kill someone by her own hand.
“The tug of our home has grown ever stronger, but we did not wish to draw away resources when you have so few,” Sibyl said.
“You can always come to me and tell me what you need,” Valerie said. “The Oracles’ insights have given us an advantage in many battles. It’s our turn to help you.”
“Fighting for right is not a favor,” Sibyl said sternly. “But I do believe that we are being drawn back to the desert for a reason.”
“I’ll gather a team to take back the city,” Valerie said. “With Cyrus’s new light magic in our weapons, and Reaper’s forces being funneled to battles on Earth, I think this is a fight we can win.”
“So say our prophecies, as well,” Sibyl agreed.
“Then let’s take your home back,” Valerie said.
Valerie allowed herself two nights of rest and a full day of planning before trekking to Ephesus. Thai came with her, and Mira and Claremont would join them at the border of the desert of Ephesus.
“Do you think there are enough of us to take over the Roaming City?” Thai asked as they climbed a tree up to Arbor Aurum.
“Enough or not, it’s all the soldiers we can afford,” Valerie said. “I’d even leave you in Arden, saving lives, if you’d let me.”
“I know you fight the Fractus on your own all the time, but this is different. You don’t know who will be waiting for you in the Roaming City, and I want to be there in the event Reaper shows up with an army to support him,” Thai said.
Valerie shrugged, but she was glad of his company. The warmth of his presence kept the chill of her guilt and fear at bay.
They pushed their way up the trunk, through the leaves, and found Cerise waiting for them at the top with her son, Emin. Emin’s eyes sparkled with delight when he saw her, and he immediately jumped onto her back.
“I missed you, too,” Valerie choked out as he gripped her neck with his little hands.
“Lemme come fight with you! Mom says no, but you can make her let me, since you’re her boss!” Emin said.
Valerie suppressed a smile as Cerise glared at her, daring her to overrule her decree.
“It doesn’t work that way, Emin. Your mom’s always the boss of you,” Valerie said, and was rewarded with a small nod from Cerise. “But even if I could, I wouldn’t bring you. Every good knight knows that he has to train before he can fight in a battle. That training takes a long, long time.”
Emin dropped off her back and stamped his foot before scampering away into the trees.
“I hope this war is long over before he would be of an age to fight in it,” Cerise said, her voice weary.
“It will be,” Thai said with certainty.
Valerie was glad he’d answered, because she didn’t have the same faith that he did. Maybe if her father, or even Gideon, were still around to guide her, it would be different.
As they hiked through the cities in the trees, Valerie was grateful that her companions were quiet. She reached out with her mind to see if she could sense Henry, but other than a vague sense of his pain and guilt, his thoughts were shrouded from her.
“Is Henry doing okay?” she finally asked Thai, when Cerise was walking ahead, scolding Emin for carelessly leaping from branch to branch.
“Not really,” Thai said. “If we were on Earth, I’d say he needs to see a therapist. But since he’s in the Empathy Collective, which is the closest thing on the Globe, I’m not sure who else could counsel him.”
“I’ll talk to Dasan, his Grand Master. The physical distance Reaper put between us when he reversed my polarity is cutting off our mental connection, too,” Valerie confessed.
“Exactly what Reaper was hoping for. But don’t worry too much about Henry. When I’m not around to keep an eye on him, Cyrus and Ceru watch out for him. He hasn’t been going anywhere other than his guild and Cyrus’s dorm room,” Thai assured her.
“I don’t think he’ll ever help Reaper again. But the damage is done,” Valerie said.
Their conversation ended when they reached the edge of the platform that led down to the border of Ephesus.
“Emin will remain here, but I will join you in this fight,” Cerise said, and Valerie noticed that she wasn’t asking for permission.
“Is that a risk you want to take?” Valerie asked, casting a meaningful glance at Emin.
For the first time since Valerie had known her, Cerise shifted uncomfortably on her feet.
“I seek a prophecy, and likely would not find the city on my own. You would be doing me a service, and I would not forget this favor,” Cerise said formally.
“Of course. The thanks is ours,” Valerie replied.
Before Valerie stepped off the platform, Emin gripped her in a quick hug before he squirmed out of her grasp. His little gesture reminded her of her visits to Clarabelle, obliterating the cobwebs of pain in her mind with his innocence.
Claremont and Mira were waiting when they descended.
“Glad you could make it. Now that you’re leader of the Conjurors, the rules of proper punctuality don’t apply, I take it,” Claremont said, her eyes stormy.
Valerie ignored her, knowing that a good fight would put Claremont back in good spirits.
“The Oracles are returning to Ephesus the way they left—through Illyria, entering the city through the pool,” Valerie explained. “Elle and Will are going to guide them back. I want to keep them out of the fighting, so they should emerge only when the city is safe.”
“Good. They’d only get in the way,” Claremont said, gripping the mace that Cyrus had infused with light for her.
“If things go as planned, this takeover will be bloodless,” Valerie reminded her. “Mira, are you ready?”
Mira nodded, and his form shimmered as he shapeshifted, growing taller and human. He was a perfect copy of Putrefus, the most powerful Oracle in the Roaming City, and the leader of the pack that had driven Sibyl and her friends out of their home.
Valerie, Claremont, Thai, and Cerise all pulled up the hoods on their plain brown robes. It wasn’t much of a disguise, but Valerie hoped being escorted by Putrefus himself would deflect attention from their little group.
“Let’s get this done,” Valerie said, and they trekked into the desert.
For nearly an hour, they saw nothing but sun and sand. It was disconcerting, because every other time Valerie had sought the Roaming City, she had found it quickly. But at last, the simple brown huts appeared in the distance, shimmering like a mirage.
“Move quickly. Let’s blend in before anyone examines us cl
osely,” Cerise said.
“Duh,” Claremont muttered under her breath, and Valerie shot her a look. No bickering mid-mission.
A novice wearing white greeted them as they neared the pool from which Sibyl and her friends would emerge. The pillars surrounding the pool, which had fallen the last time Valerie had visited the Roaming City, were upright, but crooked.
“Welcome, wanderers,” the novice began, but her eyes widened when she saw Mira in his Putrefus disguise.
“Sir, I didn’t know it was you,” the novice said, and bowed subserviently.
“Of course not. If I wanted you to know, you would have. But novices are not informed of my activities,” Mira said in a fair impression of Putrefus.
Valerie was impressed, considering Mira had never met the Oracle. He had copied his looks from a drawing by Sibyl, but his tone and word choice were all his own.
“Be off with you,” Mira said, dismissing the novice with a wave of his hand.
“But…you told me to stay here, to make sure no one entered who couldn’t pay,” the novice said, confused.
“Yes. Right. Maintain your post, then,” Mira said, and he hurried off with the rest of the group behind him.
“Down this alley,” Valerie hissed, and the group followed her as she hustled toward the hut of an ancient Oracle called Mer, who had been all but cast out of the city, forbidden to deliver prophecies. He had helped her once, giving her information that led to her reuniting with her father, and she hoped he’d help her again—as well as answer a question that had been buzzing in her head for over a year.
The huts were all alike, and Valerie began to worry that they were lost. The Oracles they passed stared at the group strangely, and a few raised their hands to hail Putrefus. But Mira stuck his nose in the air and pushed on, and no one forced them to stop.
At last, she came to a hut at the edge of the city that was a little more run down than its neighbors.
