The Society of Imaginary Friends

by Kristen Pham

  Chapter 36

  For dinner, Valerie, Cyrus, Kanti, Gideon, and Cara went to a popular restaurant that served Earth food, and Valerie relished her hamburger and fries, which were as tasty as any that she had eaten on Earth. It was nice not to be a newbie in Messina, like she was when in Arden where every new feat of magic astonished her but didn’t make anyone else look twice.

  After they finished their milkshakes, they headed back toward the car. “It’s a little early, but why don’t we head over to the Where-o-well for the party? It’s less than a mile away,” Cyrus said, pointing.

  “Yes, I ran past it last night while scouting. Since it’s close, I’ll run over,” Gideon said. “It will give me a chance to make sure the surrounding woods are safe. I’ll meet you there in fifteen minutes.”

  With that, Gideon took off at a speed that Valerie would have sworn required magic, if she hadn’t known that he didn’t have a power. A twinge of worry pinched her as she watched Gideon race off. She and the rest of the group piled into the car.

  “Where-o-well is such a funny name. What is it? A park?” Kanti asked.

  “Actually, it’s one of the most famous landmarks in Messina. It’s the only magical place on the whole island,” Cara said importantly. “It appears to be a normal stone well, but it’s filled with magic, not water. Eighteenth birthdays here are marked by a special ceremony. The birthday person jumps into the Where-o-well. Instead of hitting the bottom, the well spits the person out at a random location somewhere on the Globe. Then they have to find their way back to Messina with only what is in their pockets. It’s kind of a rite of passage to prove that you’re an adult. By coming back, you’re saying that you accept the rules of Messina and you want to live here. Of course, some people can’t wait until they turn eighteen to jump in,” Cara said, grinning at Cyrus.

  “What does she mean, Cy?” Valerie asked.

  “It wasn’t my fault! When I was six, I was visiting the Where-o-well on a fieldtrip. When the guards weren’t watching, I sneaked past them so I could peer down the well, because I was curious about the magic in there. Well, I leaned over the edge, and sort of fell in. I wound up in Arden. Luckily, Azra found me and delivered me to an aunt who lives there. But as soon as I saw Arden, I fell in love and never wanted to leave. My parents finally let me go to school there because I kept trying to run away after I came back.”

  “I can’t wait till it’s my turn!” Cara said excitedly. “You’re supposed to make your mind completely blank, so that the Where-o-well sends you where fate says you’re meant to be or something. But I’m going to think of Arden, and hope it sends me there!”

  “So you can control where it sends you?” Kanti asked. “I thought you said it’s random.”

  “It’s only a theory, but some people say that they concentrated on a certain spot, and they wound up there. But it doesn’t always work. It’s definitely not a reliable way to travel. No matter how hard you concentrate, you could always wind up in the middle of the desert.” Cyrus explained.

  “I totally want to see this weird well,” Kanti exclaimed.

  “Me, too,” Valerie said. The idea of the Where-o-well intrigued her. If she made her mind blank, would fate send her to someone who could help her find Henry? Then she shook her head. Even Cyrus didn’t know exactly how the Where-o-well worked, and the last thing Henry needed was for her to wander around a desert or some remote forest where she couldn’t help him at all.

  Cyrus pulled into a parking lot at the edge of a large park with an immense expanse of bright green grass bordered by a dark, dense forest. Valerie could see the Where-o-well in the distance, a cylinder of neatly packed stones about twice the width of her arm span. The park was mostly empty, except for three guards in grey uniforms. They were talking to a group of girls having a picnic while another group tossed around an oddly shaped ball nearby.

  They all got out of the car and began walking into the park. Suddenly Valerie had that strange tingling in her stomach. Something wasn’t right. The trees at the edge of the park were full of shadows. It would be easy for someone to hide in there. She hoped that Gideon would join them soon to tell them that there was nothing in there to fear.

  “Guys, I think—” Valerie started to say, when light flared behind her eyes and her mind was pulled away from her body. Henry was pulling her into his reality. The urgency of his call seared through her body and she fell to her knees.

  “Who are you? Why are you doing this to me?” Henry cried. Fear coursed through Valerie’s body—it was like there was no separation between her own mind and her brother’s. They were inside a dark bedroom, and Valerie tried to absorb every detail, searching for a clue that would help her determine exactly where Henry lived.

  “Shut up or I’ll make sure your daddy doesn’t wake up tomorrow,” a deep voice growled.

  “Don’t you hurt him! Dad! Are you okay? Please be okay!”

  Valerie saw through Henry’s eyes that a large man lay unmoving on the bed in the middle of the room. A sour smell filled her nostrils, and Valerie’s stomach twisted. Venu had found Henry. She was too late to save him.

  “You’ll do exactly what I tell you, or I’ll add one more drop of poison to his skin and he’ll die,” Venu said viciously, pulling a pair of black gloves over his slimy hands. “Now get moving!”

  Henry’s arm was yanked in the darkness, and he was dragged down a long, narrow hallway and through a door. Outside, cold hit them in the face like a stinging slap. Valerie tried to will Henry to notice street signs, landmarks, anything that could tell her where they were. But Henry stared up at Venu, watching his hulking shoulders as he yanked him down the street.

  “Please, I can’t leave my dad like that. When he wakes up, he’ll think I abandoned him. He won’t know what to do without me,” Henry pleaded.

  Sanguina suddenly appeared next to Henry, her black eyes staring into his. Henry jumped backward, away from her. But Venu’s gloved hand was clenched tightly on his wrist, preventing him from going far.

  “Be glad he’s waking up at all,” Sanguina said coldly. “Starting now, know this: your father’s life is in my hands. If you make one wrong move, he’s dead. So you’ll do everything Venu and I say, without whining. Got it?”

  Valerie was distracted by a pull on her mind from the Globe. Her friends needed her. But she clung to Henry’s reality, not wanting to leave without knowing where he was going. This could be her last chance to save him. Where could Venu and Sanguina be taking him?

  ‘Please, Henry, tell me where you are!’ Valerie thought, trying to will Henry to help her.

  “Where are you taking me?” Henry asked, his voice trembling. Had he heard her, somehow?

  “Shut your mouth,” Sanguina said coldly, her eyes boring into him and making him tremble. Venu grinned at his obvious terror.

  “Ask them—” Valerie started to think, and then light flashed behind her eyes again, and Henry’s world disappeared.

  “Wake up! Val, look out!” Cyrus shouted at her.

  Valerie turned and saw a boot coming at top speed toward her head. Her reaction was automatic. Magic rushed through her veins and she caught the boot with one hand and twisted. The Conjuror who was wearing the boot was almost entirely transparent, as if he were made of glass, and when his body smashed into the ground, with his leg twisted beneath him, she heard the sound of glass shattering. Her attacker screamed and clutched his leg, which was now shattered into a million tiny pieces.

  Alarms started blaring, She must have set them off by using her power. She saw that her friends were grappling with two more of the semi-transparent attackers. All three guards lay unconscious but breathing near the Where-o-well, the first victims of these strange attackers. The loud noise of the alarm covered up her voice as she tried to yell advice to her friends. “They’re breakable! Try to shatter them!”

  “What?” Kanti shouted back.

  “Gideon! Jet! Chrome!” Valerie called, searching the horizon for her guardia
ns. Gideon was already emerging from the trees, racing toward her at top speed with Jet and Chrome at his heels.

  A pair of steely hands grabbed her, pinning her arms against her sides. No matter how hard she struggled, she couldn’t break free from his grasp. But she bent and threw her weight forward, flipping her attacker over her back and sending him crashing to the ground in front of her with a crunch.

  The wolves leapt on the creatures that were attacking Kanti and Cyrus. Almost simultaneously, they tried to sink their fangs into the transparent Conjurors, but then they immediately let go, howling in pain. They fell to the ground, and blood gushed from their mouths, which were filled with dozens of cuts made by the sharp, glassy shards that formed their enemies’ flesh. The wolves’ assault gave Kanti and Cyrus the chance to break free, and their attackers fled back to the woods. Cyrus grabbed Cara, who was standing behind Gideon as he sparred with another transparent Conjuror.

  Gideon grunted as he punched her attacker in the chest, and a crack appeared in his almost invisible torso from his heart to his stomach. He groaned and retreated, clutching his heart as he ran toward the woods. “Get out of here,” Gideon commanded. “More are coming.”

  Shadows moved in the woods. Then her power weakened, like it had when Shade had turned the power-eater on her. Seconds later, Zunya stepped out of the trees, surrounded by more of the transparent Conjurors. His yellow eyes locked on hers, and he held out his hand toward her and smiled darkly. The last of her power vanished. Her panic rose. She was defenseless against her old enemy. The Laurel Circle, which had been warmer as she had fought, suddenly became cold.

  But even without her powers to defend her, she couldn’t abandon Gideon. Hadn’t she been training for this, learning to rely on only her own strength and wits? “There is no way that I’m leaving you here to deal with those guys on your own. Zunya is with them! I have to stay and fight.”

  “Zunya can do nothing to me. I have no powers for him to steal. Now listen to me. That Where-o-well—jump in it. They’re after you, Valerie. If you jump in, they’ll follow. With luck, you won’t all come out in the same place. It’s the only solution. There are too many of them. If we’re forced to fight, we’ll lose. Now go—that’s an order.”

  Valerie desperately searched her mind for another solution, but as more transparent figures emerged in the distance, she knew she had to act—now. “Kanti, Cyrus, Cara—run for the police. I’ll distract these breakables.”

  “No, you’re not going alone!” Cyrus said, taking a step toward Valerie. But Cara stood pale and trembling beside him, and his expression changed.

  “Protect her, Cy. She needs you more than I do,” Valerie said, anxiously watching the attackers begin to break through Gideon’s and the wolves’ defenses.

  “You’re not going without me,” Kanti said, and Valerie could see from her expression that she wasn’t going to change her mind. She nodded, and they both took off at top speed for the Where-o-well.

  “Hang on to me and think about ice when we jump in—I have an idea,” Kanti said, breathless.

  They sped toward the Where-o-well, leaping over the unconscious guards and reaching the edge of the well just as the transparent Conjurors clashed with Gideon, Jet, and Chrome, trying to fight their way past them to get to Valerie.

  “On three?” Kanti asked.

  “Forget that. Let’s jump!” Valerie said. Then she grabbed Kanti’s hand, squeezed her eyes shut, and leapt.