by D P Rowell
Kareena looked as if she were going to respond, but before she could, Ace grabbed the video disc and thrust it towards the wall with all his might. The metal disc clanged against the concrete wall and fell to the ground. Kareena’s hologram disappeared and a blue light flickered in the middle of the disc. Ace took note of its dents and scratches as the flickering light faded away until nothing shone at all.
He backed against the wall and sprawled his legs out on the ground. Memories rushed into his mind of the day he ran away to the bush outside Marg’s house. When Julie and Tamara had made him so furious he had no interest in saving them anymore. When he made a pact to find and kill Uncle Marcus then. He considered the irony. Now all he wanted was to save the Peppercorns and free Uncle Marcus from the curse of the witch, but he couldn’t. The common denominator, preventing him from achieving all of those goals, was him. Inadequate, ill equipped, and unprepared.
Ace looked up at the patter of light footsteps. Father peered in the doorway. They stared at each other wordlessly. Father stepped inside, sat down just beside Ace, back against the wall, and pulled him into an embrace with one arm. Ace squeezed his dad and a few angry tears escaped his eyes. Every time Ace squeezed harder, his father returned the favor. Neither of them spoke a word, but his dad's mere presence spoke volumes.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Escaping Naraka
When everyone had their things gathered, Sebastian took a small walk around the city to check for any witches on the prowl hiding among the city people. He returned with unfortunate news. Witches were everywhere. Ace knew exactly what he meant, too. The day he and Cameron arrived in Naraka, the council's presence was tangibly present. But this time it was different. They knew Ace and Cameron’s faces, they suspected the Israh, and they’d be stopping them from leaving the city at any cost.
They debated the best mode of transportation. Father and the pirates had no hovercrafts. Sebastian left his miles across the other side of the city in the wrong direction. Luckily, Juneg and Easley knew the train routes in the Neutrals like the backs of their hands. Sebastian didn’t like it at first, taking public transportation when they’re trying to stay hidden, but there were no other options. It made no sense for a group of hunters to traverse the entire witch-ridden land of Naraka only to find a
hovercraft capable of seating four people.
They left in separate groups and planned to regroup at the train station. Sebastian, Easley, and Juneg left in one; Ace, Colton, and Trilo left in another; the pirates unstrapped Uncle Marcus from the wood and guided him with AMHBs pointed in his back. They were the last of the pack, and Cameron went with them.
With only a few to spare, Sebastian gave at least one person in each group a set of earpieces to communicate. Ace glanced at Trilo as they made their way out of the warehouse. He pondered to himself how much further along they’d be if he’d had the chance during this journey to train him in the elyr. His frustration took him back to his video call with Kareena. Thinking of his behavior made him sick, so he refocused on the present immediately.
They stepped outside to a poorly lit suburban area of the city. Small buildings of brick, stone, and wood stood on either side of the street. A sheet of gray clouds covered the early evening sky. Street lights lined the sidewalks in beams, all of them a deep yellow. Flickering, neon lights told of the few pubs open for business; but a vacant stillness swept over the rest of the town. Speckles of golden lights dotted the small hills in the distance, where Naraka buzzed with early evening things. Ace, Father, and Trilo kept their heads down and casually fell into step on the path to the train station. Father took the lead, and Ace and Trilo lagged behind, side by side.
“How far of a walk is it to the train station?” Ace said.
“Juneg said it’d be about ten minutes,” Trilo replied.
Ace nodded at Trilo. “How do you feel about them?”
Trilo turned to Ace. “Easley and Juneg?”
Ace nodded.
“They have a lot of heart. Easley was very grateful for you freeing him from the witch.”
Ace half smiled. “Are they picking up quickly on hunting?”
Trilo shrugged. “We haven’t had much of a chance to train them yet. But, honestly, we need elyrians more than hunters right now.”
Ace sighed. “I know.”
“Kinda stinks, huh? I was just about to start learning how to shoot flames out of my fingers when you lose your light.”
Ace gave Trilo a piercing stare.
“Sorry, didn’t mean anything by it. Just tryna lighten the mood.” Trilo paused a moment before speaking again. “Don’t worry, Ace. You’ll figure this out.”
Ace’s mouth slanted upward at Trilo, and the fae patted him on the shoulder.
“In the meantime,” Trilo said. The fae leaned into Ace’s ear as they continued marching forward. “I don’t feel it’s a good idea to be discussing the elyr out loud here.”
Ace half grinned. “Agreed.”
“Taking a left on Dunmar Square, about three blocks from the safe house,” Sebastian’s voice said in Ace’s ear. Ace nearly forgot he had the only earpiece in the group, and almost didn’t tell them to turn on the next street.
The trip went surprisingly undisturbed. The trio traveled in silence, always aware to keep a sharp eye out for suspicious activity along the way. They turned into a few alleys taken by clouds of cigarette smoke, garbage stained air, and creepy people glaring at them as they passed by. Though nothing happened, Ace found himself on the tip of his toes many times throughout the trip to the station. Sebastian gave them a few more direction cues before they found themselves opening massive glass double doors into a nearly vacant station. Footsteps of the few who populated the station echoed through its emptiness. The jags’ hooves clopped along the tile, proving to be the loudest of all the travelers among the station. Shops and restaurants along the station stood on either side of the hallway leading to the gates. Only the lights of two shops remained on, and in one of them, a young lady jag stepped out and punched a few buttons on the wall. A gate closed in over the shop, the store light went off, and she clopped her way to the station’s exit.
“Something feels off about this,” Trilo whispered to Ace.
“Yeah, something feels off about this entire city. I’m gonna be glad to get out of here,” Ace whispered back.
The trio ignored the few in the station until they arrived at gate sixty-three, as per Sebastian’s instructions. As they waited in the stiff and rigid hover chairs, Ace grew relieved to notice the others waiting at the same gate, sitting on the row of chairs across from them. Everyone avoided eye contact, dismissing each other’s presence until the train arrived.
“Ace,” Father whispered.
Ace turned to his right to find Father looking back at him.
Father whispered again. “Don’t you feel like this is a little too easy?”
Hints of fear crawled on Ace's skin. He turned his head to glance behind his father as the last group arrived with Uncle Marcus. Ace eyed his uncle, and his uncle stared back with a wicked smile. His body went numb a moment as he considered the possibility of a trap. His dad had suggested this might be so. If Uncle Marcus wasn’t a parcel, was another among them? He looked at the pirates flooding into the gate as they awaited their train. He quickly glanced back to the others sitting across from them. Sebastian leaned over his interlocked fingers held up by his elbows on his knees. In a moment, the elite glanced up and he and Ace caught eyes again. Ace’s nerves wriggled with anxiousness. The speed of recent events had allowed him to forget his suspicions of the hunter. Why had Sebastian wanted them to leave Naraka so badly? They made it through the city without the slightest threat of a witch. Without so much as a hesitation concerning their safety. In fact, Sebastian had taken the lead on getting them to the train station. Was it a trap? Was the elite working with Rio? As they shared eyes for a second or two, Ace’s anger grew more evident, until he felt a tap from his father beside him and j
erked himself back into reality.
“Ace,” Father whispered, “Did you hear me? Don’t you think this was too easy?”
Ace smirked at his father, then turned back to Sebastian, who was looking about the room once again. “Yes,” Ace whispered back, “It was too easy.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Next Stop, Dorneg
After the train arrived, the crew strategically split up among the tiny crowd boarding the train and each of them ended up in a different car. A train worker came down the aisles and received payment for each passenger’s ticket. Ace’s sleepiness had taken him soon after the train made way. The last thing he remembered before drifting into unconsciousness was the faint voice of the conductor rambling of safety precautions over the intercom, ending with the phrase, “Next Stop, Dorneg.”
Ace found himself in a place of painful familiarity. His recurring nightmare. Before he had quite fallen to sleep he suspected such would be the case. The nightmares arrived in nights when his sleep reached the deepest state; and though his head rested on the cold glass window, his legs bent from no room to stretch, and his body shivered from the absence of a sheet and blanket, the exhaustion overtook him once he finally had chance to sit down and step back from the madness.
He looked at his mom sprawled out on the floor, Julie leaning over her stiff as a board. Dad ran in from the other room and grabbed Mom just as before. Ace looked to his right to find Uncle Marcus standing in the doorway, mouth agape and hands over his face. Ace touched his face, pinched his skin and flinched at the sharp pain. He touched the railing at the bottom of the staircase and experienced its cold, smooth surface. He couldn’t have been dreaming. He was actually there somehow.
As Father sobbed over Mother, Cameron screamed at Julie, asking what happened while the young Peppercorn cried in shock. Uncle Marcus grabbed Julie and dragged her away as she screamed in plea of her innocence. Ace glared at his aunt nodding at Julie again. His blood went cold. He took advantage of his time in this moment. Despite the painful emotions this memory surfaced, he had to know one thing. He stepped further into the kitchen.
“Aunt Kaitlyn!” Ace yelled at her. At the sound of his voice everyone in the room went silent and looked at him. “What are you doing?” He demanded. Aunt Kaitlyn looked at him, her face cold and still. She expressed no emotion towards him and said nothing. Nobody around said anything either. In fact, it seemed the others were drifting into darkness around him.
“What are you doing?” Ace said again.
Aunt Kaitlyn replied, “What are you talking about?” She sounded strained. As if every word caused her pain.
“What are you doing?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Let go of my Mom!”
Kaitlyn’s face went from complete stillness to her jaw nearly touching the floor. Her eyes went wide, and her face stretched far on all corners. “Why!” She screamed at the top of her lungs. The rest of the room went to darkness until only he and his aunt stood in a sea of pitch black.
Ace covered his ears and shut his eyes. The screaming fled and was replaced with a gentle whisper.
“Why are your eyes shut?” said the whisper.
Ace slowly opened his eyes and his heart exploded with joy. Grandpa Marty stood before him. But not the old Grandpa Marty he knew, this Marty looked much younger, as if he were in his early twenties. His hair was brown and just longer than the top of his eyebrows. He had a full brown beard and was clothed in a gold robe like a fae.
“Grandpa!” Ace said.
“Why were your eyes shut?” Grandpa said.
“I didn’t want to look at Aunt Kaitlyn like that,” he replied.
“You can’t shut your eyes from the world, Ace. You can’t close your heart off from the truth. The truth is often painful but always necessary. You’ll get it soon. You’ll find a way. Because you’re my Ace of Spades,” Grandpa’s voice drifted as he spoke the last words. “You’re my Ace—” Grandpa repeated but his voice grew softer. “Ace.” Softer. “Ace.” Softer.
“Ace!”
The boy jolted and opened his eyes back to reality. He turned to his right to find Father leaning over him, tapping him on the shoulder. Ace wiped the muck from his eyes and stretched.
“You okay?” Father whispered.
“Yeah, sorry. Just a dream.”
Father half smiled. “You were making noises in your sleep, so I wanted to come check on you.”
Ace acknowledged it with a tip of his head. Father responded in kind and walked down the aisle. Ace turned to face the window once more. The terrain revealed their progress made overnight. The sun had reached the tip of the sky. The few breaks in the clouds allowed for spotlights on the patches of green over the flat, brown surface as they transitioned from desert to forest.
Someone sat beside Ace, drawing his attention. It was Sebastian, dressed in his casual getup and leather jacket.
“Don’t look directly at me, kid,” the pale elite said.
Ace scoffed at the elite but turned his head to face the window once he realized Sebastian’s point.
“I know you still don’t trust me,” Sebastian said.
Ace coughed a laugh. “What gave it away?”
“Wanna know why I’m helping you find your cousins?”
“No.”
Sebastian set something on Ace’s leg. Ace looked its way to find a photograph. He glanced back up at the elite, whose eyes remained about the car of the train. The photo revealed a young girl—couldn’t be much older than five or six—with darker skin than Sebastian’s. Her hair was frizzy, big, and reached the length of her shoulders. Her wide smile revealed two missing teeth, one on the bottom of her jaw and another on the top. Her eyes were blue, joy written on her face.
“Her name was Monette,” Sebastian said.
Ace looked to Sebastian with sad eyes. “Was?”
“Before my wife left with her to join my father in Eveland. Before the council took her from me.”
Ace turned to face the window. The pale elite was just clever. This couldn't be real. The boy’s heart played tug of war with his mind.
Ace kept his eyes on the blur of the forest outside the train. “Why are you showing this to me now?”
“As someone who has been haunted by witches himself, you may understand my wanting to keep this a secret. You’re the only one I’ve ever told outside some relatives of whom I no longer speak with. But I’m telling you because I need you to trust me now. I need you and you need me. We have to start working together.”
“We have been working together,” Ace said.
“We’ve been pretending to.”
Silence.
“If you and I are gonna stop Rio, it’s gonna take some trust. We’ll be facing impossible odds together. If there’s any distrust between us, we’ll be torn apart, and that’s just what Rio would want.”
Ace turned to face Sebastian again. “So, I’m just supposed to trust you without proof? Parcels play at emotions, Sebastian; all you’re doing is raising my skepticism.”
Sebastian gave Ace a frustrated glare, then folded his arms and faced the aisle.
“You get my trust when we get my cousins back,” Ace said.
Sebastian snarled at the boy. “And what would that prove, huh? Who’s to say a parcel wouldn’t help you get your cousins back just to gain your trust, then use it against you?”
“Good point. Maybe I shouldn’t trust you at all!” Ace's voice rose above his comfort level. He tried to quiet himself, but his pounding heart argued otherwise.
“Rio is in your head, tyke. They’re trying to poison your trust.”
“Well, it’s working.”
Sebastian sighed and sat back in his chair. The elite placed his hands in his face, then combed his fingers through his hair. Then he shook his head as he placed his hands on his knees. “We’re not getting anywhere here, lad.”
“Nope.”
“I’m sorry about what’s happened to your fami
ly, Ace. I’m sorry about all you’re having to go through at your age.” Sebastian leaned close and breathed a whisper in Ace's ear. “But Yutara needs you right now. It may not be fair, but that’s where we are. Your ability to control your emotions and discern witchcraft from all else will determine the outcome of Yutara’s future. Something tells me you know this, too. You didn’t hesitate when you suspected Easley in the hotel in Naraka. But when I told you to use the elyr to test me, you refused.”
Anger slowly began to fade from Ace’s face as Sebastian spoke.
“You know me, Ace. You can discern witchcraft. Stop using your false distrust of me to hide behind whatever it is that’s blocking your elyr.”
Ace had no words. He battled with his heart, telling himself to be angry with Sebastian for being so insensitive. However, it struck him true. It jabbed a part of him left undisturbed until Sebastian said what he did.
Before he had a chance to respond, Father burst down the aisle. When he arrived, he kneeled before them. His dark, bold eyes showed no fear.
“There're witches on board,” Father whispered.
Ace eyed Sebastian fiercely. The elite ignored him and turned to Colton Halder. “Of course there are witches aboard,” the elite whispered. “We’re in the Neutrals right now. There’s bound to be a few of them here.”
“I knew this was a trap,” Ace said, still looking daggers at Sebastian.
Sebastian said, “We’ll be fine, alright? Just keep it low-key and stop snooping.”
“Yeah,” Father said while rubbing the back of his neck, “that’s kinda why I’m here, actually.”
Sebastian sighed. “Are they onto us?”
Father nodded.