by Erin Johnson
“It’s all right—you’re going to be just fine.” I tried to sound more confident than I felt. Maple and Wiley now sat on their mattresses, watching with concerned expressions, and Sam wrung his hands.
The light faded from Hank’s eyes and he grew very still. “And the prison break?”
I swallowed, my throat tight, and gave a slight nod.
A muscle jumped in his jaw as his face darkened. “And you almost running away with Horace? And—” His nostrils flared. “And lying to me about it—” His voice came out choked. “For months?”
I felt like I was going to be sick. I’d expected Hank to wake up and be as overjoyed to see me as I was to see him. But I nodded. “Yes, but I can explain—I need to explain—”
Hank’s face closed off like a door shutting. He fell back down against the pillow and covered his face with both big hands. I was left kneeling over him, speechless. I blinked and two tears trickled down my cheeks. What had just happened?
The paper door to the hallway whisked open, but I kept my back to it. My friends, all awake now, turned their gazes that way.
“It’s time to wake— Oh.” Misaki’s surprised voice broke the heavy silence. “You’re already up. Good. Weird vibe in here.” She cleared her throat. “You have fifteen minutes to get dressed and get downstairs for some food and tea before we head out. We’ve given you spare guard uniforms to wear, and your boots will be outside on the porch.”
Her footsteps padded away down the hall.
I swallowed and licked my lips. “Hank—we have to go on a quest and—”
He kept his hands over his face. “Fine.”
I blinked away more tears. “Fine?” I let out a shaky breath. “Don’t you want to talk about this, about everything and—”
He cut me off and dropped his hands from his face. “What I want is some space.”
I froze. A wave of heat rushed over me and I felt slightly woozy. “Space? What does that mean?”
“I don’t know.” His nostrils flared. “But I can’t talk to you right now.”
Desperation tightened around my heart. I could feel my friends averting their eyes. This was so uncomfortable. “When can you talk?”
“I don’t know, okay?” His blue eyes grew glassy and hard. “I don’t know how I feel about all this, I don’t know where we’re at—all I know is that I need some space.”
I leaned back. My heart felt like it’d plummeted to my feet. “I’ll give you space.” Did he hate me? Did he regret standing up to his father for me? Had I ruined his life? My lip quivered and tears poured down my face in the awkward, heavy silence.
“Uh!” Rhonda bolted upright and threw her head back. A golden circle glowed in the center of her forehead. Hank remained still, but the rest of us turned to watch her.
“What’s going on now? I can’t see.”
I unshuttered Iggy’s lantern, and his big eyes found my face. “You okay?” he mouthed.
I shook my head and fought hard to hold back a sob.
Rhonda’s shoulders slumped and she let out a heavy sigh. “Oh, man.” She rubbed her temples, her fingernails painted in wild neon colors. “That one was up to interpretation.” She looked at Wiley and Maple in the corner and shrugged. “Best I can say is, keep Cat off drugs.”
Maple lifted a brow, her blonde hair mussed from sleeping.
Wiley grinned. “That shouldn’t be hard.”
Francis dropped from the ceiling and flipped midair, managing to land on his feet. He shook his wings and lifted his hooked nose. “Now seems as good a time as any.” He cleared his throat as my friends and I all looked on. “I feel I must apologize, for lack of a better word, for tattling to the king.”
I sniffed.
“We get it.” Annie yawned and rolled her neck. “He made you do it.”
Francis nodded. “I was forced to perform many unseemly tasks and keep many secrets for King Roch. But I did my best to undermine him, in my own way.” He cleared his throat and turned to Hank, who still lay on his mattress. “I spent many years deceiving you. You believed me to be your bodyguard, Hank. However, your father had assigned me to be a check on your power, should you ever decide to defy him.”
“Great,” Hank muttered.
“However, I am thrilled to be out of King Roch’s control.”
“Here, here!” Rhonda winked.
“And am now attached to you, Hank.” Francis bowed his head. “And I am certain that you will handle that power with restraint and goodness and—”
“I don’t want to control you, Francis.” Hank managed a humorless grin. “I don’t want any of it. Find a way to free yourself.”
“Er, well—” Francis lifted a brow, his long, black hair still impeccably slicked back.
Rhonda scrambled to her feet and skipped over to the vampire.
“Ow!” Yann yelped. “You stepped on my feet.”
“Sorry!” Rhonda flashed a grin and then grabbed Francis’s wing. “We can talk about this later, honey.”
Hank sniffed. “No. Don’t let me put a damper on what you talk about.” He narrowed his eyes at Francis. “But why do you have wings?”
Wiley spoke up from the corner and Hank craned his head towards him. “They hit us with this potion that shuts down our powers.”
Hank sneered. “Wow. If only my father had known about that, he wouldn’t have had to hire a team of Air Kingdom magicneers to do his bidding.”
I frowned. This wasn’t the Hank I knew—since when was he… bitter?
Wiley’s face flushed red. “I forgot about that. The king’s such a horrible jellyfish of a— Ow!” He glanced at Maple, who’d pinched his arm. She jerked her head at Hank. Wiley’s throat bobbed. “Oh yeah. Sorry, Hank, I forgot that was your dad I was talking about.”
Hank scoffed. “Don’t worry about it. He’s not my dad anymore—he disowned me, remember?”
Iggy’s eyes slid to mine, and he mouthed, “Awkward.”
“Yeah, you know, I’m banished, an enemy of my own people.” Hank coughed out a humorless laugh. “I’ll probably never see my family again—”
Iggy scoffed. “Your family sucks!”
I rounded on my little flame. “Iggy!”
“No!” Hank waved it off. “It’s true. I’m just the unloved son of a bloodthirsty tyrant.”
Rhonda grimaced and sucked in a breath over her teeth. “Wow. This is getting dark.” She dropped to a sit and stole Sam’s pillow, fluffed it up, and scooted her hips on top of it. “All right, that’s better.” She nodded at Hank. “Continue.”
Maple rose and cleared her throat. “Um—we only have about ten minutes left to get ready, so I say we all just get ready and, and—” She gulped. “And think all of this over and talk again soon.”
Wiley nodded up at her from his spot on the floor. “Good plan.”
The next few minutes passed in a flurry of activity. I found my neatly folded stack of ninja clothes outside in the hall and slipped into my pants and wrap-front shirt, then wrapped the wide fabric belt around myself a few times. Maple found me downstairs as I ladled some soup into my bowl.
“Are you all right?” Her big eyes widened. “That was intense.”
I shrugged and willed myself to be numb. If it thought about it I’d break into tears, and we had a quest to go on.
She bit her lip and squeezed my shoulder.
After a rushed meal, Misaki gave us heavy packs to wear, loaded with sleeping bags, food, and tools. Hank managed to get around on his feet, but moved slowly, and winced when he turned too quickly. I squared my shoulders as we stood on the porch and slipped into our split-toe leather boots. I finished tying mine on, then went over to my boyfriend.
“I’ll carry your pack for you.” I let out a shaky breath. “I’d be happy to. I want to help.”
Hank kept his hard eyes on his feet. He winced as he bent over to tie on his boots. “You’ve done enough.”
“Don’t worry.” Yann appeared at Hank’s side, a green backpa
ck over each shoulder. “I’ll do da carrying.”
I nodded, grateful that Hank wouldn’t be burdened by the heavy pack, but saddened that he’d dismissed me like that. Looking at the pack, I suddenly had an idea. I ran to the curtained doorway and pushed the fabric aside. I leaned my head in, not wanting to step inside in my boots.
“Fumi?”
Misaki’s skinny little sister looked at me with wide eyes.
“Would you do me a favor? Could you please get me a pen and piece of paper?”
She skipped off and came back with what I’d asked for. I hastily penned a quick note. If Hank wouldn’t talk to me, maybe I could get through to him this way.
I’m sorry. I understand why you’re mad at me, and I deserve it. I messed up. But please, talk to me soon. I love you—Imogen.
I folded it up, lifted the flap on Hank’s pack, and slipped it inside without Yann or Hank noticing.
I followed Yann as we snaked back through the narrow, winding streets of the town. Up ahead, Cat rode on Wiley’s shoulders, waving his monkey paws at all the townspeople who’d gathered to see us off. Jun paused in front of a tea shop and bent his tall frame to kiss a middle-aged woman on the forehead. She must be his mom, the one who needed the potion.
And soon we crossed the long, wooden bridge over the moat and reentered the wild forest of the Badlands.
8
The March
My toe caught on a raised, gnarled tree root and I lurched forward. “Uh!” I threw my arms out, but a strong hand caught my shoulder and stopped my fall. I looked up, heart racing, and found Yann looking down at me.
I nodded, breathless. “Thanks.”
His mouth stretched wide in a tired smile behind his unruly red beard. “Yah. Yust be careful.”
He plodded on ahead of me up the narrow trail. The lush forest twined in on us from every angle. As the big man marched on, his two army-green packs bounced and shifted against his back. He carried Hank’s in addition to his own. My stomach tightened at the thought of my boyfriend, and I stole a quick glance over my shoulder.
The trail wound upward at a gentle angle, and I spotted Hank toward the back of the line, down below. He shuffled forward, a gnarled walking stick clenched in his pale hand. Francis, riding Rhonda piggyback, came behind, while Wiley hiked in front of Hank, with Cat perched atop his shoulders, tufts of his hair clenched between his monkey fingers. They’d agreed to keep watch over Hank. I swallowed, my throat tight, and tears welled up in my eyes. I should just be grateful that Hank had recovered enough to walk on his own—that he was even conscious. And was it so bad that he just wanted a little space? I sniffled and plodded on. It wasn’t, really, but I hated it.
I sighed and lifted a stiff leg to climb over a log that had fallen across the path. I cleared it and continued on, staring at Yann’s back. I’d tried to do everything I could to show Hank I loved him and that I was there for him. I’d found him that walking stick, and I’d even offered to carry his pack. He’d ignored my offer and allowed Yann to do it instead.
I blinked some tears away, then roughly swiped my hand across my cheeks. I didn’t blame him. He was hurt taking a lance for me—his girlfriend who’d been keeping things, big things, from him. He’d lost his family and his home all in one fell swoop. And now when he should be resting and recovering, he had to march through the jungle to find some herb—which, of course, I’d volunteered us to do. I didn’t blame him for being upset with me, but I would’ve thought he’d be able to get over it enough to speak to me, at least. I sniffed. It hurt, more than my legs ached, more than I feared what our future would be after being sentenced to Carclaustra and attacked by the king… more than all that, it hurt that Hank wouldn’t even let me help him when he needed it the most.
Maple jogged up to me, her pack bouncing against her back. She fell in step beside me and hooked her thumbs under the straps. I could feel her eyes on me.
I sighed. “He hates me.”
“Oh.” Her face fell and she sidled up closer. “He doesn’t hate you. He just—” She glanced back. “He just had a lot of surprises all at once, and that’s thrown him for a loop. I bet—I bet he’ll come around really soon.”
I shot her a watery and doubtful smile. “You’re very sweet, but he’ll barely even look at me.” The words, once out of my mouth, made me feel heavier and older and more depressed than I could say. More tears trickled down my cheeks.
Maple slid her hand into mine and gave it a squeeze. “He loves you and once you two talk, I’m sure you’ll work it out.”
“I feel like I just want to lie down and sleep forever.” I’d never felt so emotionally and physically exhausted in my life.
“Well,” Iggy piped up from his lantern in my other hand. “If you lie down here, you will sleep forever because a monster will eat you.” A sharp crack sounded in the near distance, and I froze. Goose bumps rose on my arms. Maple and I exchanged wide-eyed looks and then marched on, our footsteps silent on the soft dirt path. My flame’s voice grew smaller. “See.”
About half an hour later, the path finally leveled out and Maple, Iggy, and I caught up to some of the others. Misaki, Jun, Kai, the stocky guard, and his angry surfer-looking friend, Sora, stood a ways off in the woods, barely visible through the thick tangle of moss-covered tree trunks. I spotted Yann’s red beard near them, and Sam beside him. I stepped off the path to join them, then hesitated. My stomach twisted with nerves at the thought of leaving the path.
“Should we wait here?” Maple’s blue eyes darted toward the path behind us, where the others trailed pretty far behind.
I gulped. I didn’t want to wait here alone. “Let’s go see what they’re looking at.” I sounded more confident than I felt.
As we approached the group through the thick undergrowth, a tall bamboo cage came into view. It towered above us, twice as tall as Yann. We reached Sam first, who stood with his back to everyone, shivering.
I put a hand on his shoulder, and he jumped. “You all right, buddy?”
He pushed his glasses up his nose and scratched at the back of his neck. White flakes of skin powdered the black scarf we’d wound around his neck to hide his shedding. I looked around and found the guards busy inspecting the empty cage. I quickly dusted Sam’s back off.
His bottom lip quavered.
I pulled my thin friend into a hug. “We’re in this together.” I leaned back to look at him and squeezed his shoulders. “Just do your best to stay calm, all right?”
He nodded, then let his head hang almost all the way to his chest.
I shot Maple a look and she pulled her lips to the side, eyes full of concern for Sam.
“Hey, buddy.” I squeezed his shoulders again. “Chin up.”
He gave a slight nod, then threw his head back, staring straight up at the sky. I blinked and realized what he was doing. “Not up that high.”
He lowered his face and I slid my eyes to the cage. “What’s everybody looking at?”
Sam gulped. “It’sss a cage for catching monssstersss.” His chin quivered. “Will they put me in a cage too?”
I opened my mouth to answer, but closed it as Misaki came around the corner. Her eyes scanned every inch of the cage as she walked along it, her wand out at the ready. “Empty. Again.” She shook her head as she stomped toward us, Jun on her heels.
“Isn’t that a good thing?” I lifted my palms.
She reached both hands up and tugged roughly at her top knot. “The cages are invisible until a monster wanders into one and triggers the spell that traps them inside.” She dropped her arms to her sides and chewed her bottom lip. “So, if you see a cage, you want to find a monster inside it.”
I frowned. “So… it escaped?”
She threw a hand at the tall, strong bamboo bars. “How? The cage isn’t damaged, but the spell’s broken.” She threw her head back. “Grrr. It’s so frustrating. This has been going on for months now. It started sporadically, but lately we’re seeing it all the time.”
Misaki shot me a flat look, though her eyes blazed.
Geez. I lifted my hands. “Or not.”
Jun cleared his throat and pointed a long arm to the side of the cage. “We considered the same thing when this first started, but the monster left prints. Something was definitely inside the trap.”
My friends and I followed his gaze.
“Sea snakes.” The hair on the back of my neck rose at the size of the track. Four long finger trenches stretched away from the hole left by the palm, to form a print that had to be at least ten feet across.
“Nope.” Iggy sniffed. “Not good. I want to go home.”
“You and me both, buddy.”
Misaki scowled. “Our island’s only like this because your people dumped all the monsters here.”
“Sorry, you’re right.” I lifted my hands. “It’s just a bit scary to be out here among that.” I gestured toward the print. “Without our magic, we don’t even have the ability to defend ourselves.” I shot her a quick side-eye look. Had I sounded pitiful enough?
“Nice try, but you’re not getting your magic back.” She lifted a thick brow. “We’ll protect you.”
Iggy sniffed. “Excuse me if that doesn’t flood me with confidence.”
Misaki bristled, her face reddening, but Jun looked at her with lifted brows. She turned away with a heavy sigh. Jun looked between her and my friends and me. “We truly will do all we can to keep you safe.” He glanced up and I followed his gaze. The tops of the tall cedar trees waved in a wind that didn’t reach us at the base of the tangled forest. The fragrant tree boughs bobbed against a gray sky with swift-moving clouds. The light was soft and filtered, though it was still early afternoon. He glanced back at Misaki. “We’d better keep moving if we want to reach the springs before sundown.”
She folded her arms tight across her chest. “Captain Kenta might have been here the other night.” She bit her lip and looked down. “I wish he’d told me what he suspected. It would have given us a better sense of where to look at least. Or what might be happening. Is someone releasing the monsters?” She threw her hands up. “Who would want to? What motive could they have? Or is there a monster who can break free? Or have the creatures begun to adapt somehow?” She sighed. “I feel like I have stones for brains.”