The New World

by Matt Myklusch

  “If it does, we’ll deal with them,” Shazad said. “Out in the open. No more secrets. People are going to know about it. If you really care about trying to keep people safe from magic, you should be working with us. That’s what our families are going to do when this is over. That’s what we’re going to do—keep the wrong kind of magic out of the wrong people’s hands and help the world use magic for good.”

  Mr. Ivory let out a mirthless laugh, as if the conversation was ridiculous. “If I were you, I wouldn’t make any big plans for ‘after this.’ You don’t know DeMayne like I do.”

  “I know him well enough,” Joey said. “He’s no better than that old witch who tried to eat you. By the way, what do you think is going to happen when he destroys the Order of Secreteers? You’re helping us break down the biggest magic barrier there is. Belief. Once this place goes public, everyone’s going to believe. If you don’t want everyone to have magic, you might want to have a conversation with our tour guide up there.”

  “Ledger DeMayne doesn’t have conversations. He tells you how it is.”

  “He’s a bully,” Jack said, understanding perfectly. “I don’t like bullies.”

  Mr. Ivory shrugged. “The Secreteers are just as bad. They deserve to go down. Messing with people’s memories? That’s a violation. They’re scum lower than the lowest—”

  “His mom was a Secreteer,” Janelle cut in, pointing to Jack.

  “Oh.” Mr. Ivory clammed up. “No offense.”

  “None taken,” Jack said.

  “What are you talking about back there?” DeMayne shouted back, growing suspicious of all the chatter in the boat behind him.

  “Nothing important,” Mr. Ivory called ahead. “I was just insulting the boy’s mother.”

  DeMayne looked puzzled for a second, but he found the answer acceptable and went back to rowing his boat. “In that case, carry on.”

  “Do you have to work for him?” Joey asked Mr. Ivory in a hushed whisper.

  Mr. Ivory grimaced. “If anyone should be rethinking their deal with him, it’s you. The big man’s been at this game a long time. I wouldn’t bet against him.”

  Joey looked at Ledger DeMayne alone in his boat. Mr. Ivory was right, and he knew it. DeMayne almost certainly remembered more than he was telling the group. That was who he was and how he operated. He always had an ace hidden up his sleeve. Joey had a bad feeling he was going to find out what it was before this trip was over. Would he somehow force Joey’s hand and put him in a position where he had no choice but to use the wand? Redondo did tell him he would have to die before this was over.

  “You okay?” Jack asked Joey. When Joey didn’t answer, Jack tapped him on the shoulder. “Hey. Don’t listen to these guys, telling you what’s going to happen to you. I used to have a future that everyone ‘knew’ I couldn’t avoid. It never ended up happening. It came close, but I didn’t want that future, so I made my own.”

  “You’re talking about the evil version of yourself that came back in time to kill you,” Joey said.

  “Everyone here thought I was gonna grow up to be that guy,” Jack said. “And back in Jersey? Forget about it. They thought even less of me. I had to take this placement test at school to find out what my ideal job would be.” Jack snorted. “The answer didn’t come back superhero, I can tell you that.”

  “You’re talking about the PMAP!” Janelle said. “We took that test. Mine said I was going to be a rocket scientist.”

  “Mine said I could do whatever I put my mind to,” Joey said. “What did yours say?”

  Jack stared at Joey and Janelle for a few seconds. “It’s not important. That test didn’t mean anything. The point is, no one knows what’s going to happen. You decide your future. No one else.”

  Jack gave Joey’s shoulder a shake and looked across the water to see what lay ahead. Joey nodded along, but when no one was watching, he stole another glance at Redondo’s old deck of cards. He drew three from the top. Once again, they were three blanks. In his dream, Joey had thought the empty cards meant he had no future, but now he wondered if they meant he was supposed to meet Jack Blank. And now that he had, who could say what might happen next.

  18 The Right Kind of Nothing

  The group met no resistance on the water. It was smooth sailing all the way to the edge of the woods. They hit land and came out of the forest in a meadow identical to the one from DeMayne’s blocked memories.

  “This is it,” DeMayne said. “We’re here.”

  “What are you talking about?” Jack asked. “There’s nothing here.”

  DeMayne smiled. “Exactly.”

  “I don’t understand,” Leanora said. “Nothing is good?”

  “It can be,” Joey said. Redondo’s words echoed in his ears:

  Even nothing can be something if you look at it the right way. Nothing now represents the possibility of something later.

  “This is the place,” DeMayne said, sounding sure of himself. “The castle is here, but it’s hidden. We have to bring it out.”

  “How do we do that?” Shazad asked.

  A crease appeared in DeMayne’s forehead. He looked around at the empty meadow. There was nothing for miles. Just a lone tree that sat on a green hill in the distance. “I don’t know.”

  “You don’t know?” Shazad repeated. “What do you mean, you don’t know?”

  “I don’t remember,” DeMayne admitted.

  Shazad frowned. “I thought you had your memories back.”

  “I remember some things, not all. I know the castle is here. I don’t remember how to unveil it.”

  Everyone scanned the horizon, hoping some kind of clue might present itself. There was nothing there. It was a wonderful place to have a picnic, but that was about it.

  “I’m confused,” Leanora said. “Isn’t ‘remembering stuff’ your job in all this? Isn’t that why we let you come with us?”

  DeMayne eyed Leanora with a scowl. “Let’s get one thing straight. You didn’t let me do anything. I agreed not to kill you in return for protection from the Secreteers. You wouldn’t even be here without me.”

  “You mean here, in the middle of nowhere, with no idea what to do next?” Leanora shot back. “Thank you. This is really helpful. I’m so glad we had you to guide us to nothing.”

  DeMayne aimed a stern finger in her direction. “Don’t test me.”

  “Or what?” Leanora asked. “Right now, it seems you need us a lot more than we need you. Joey held up our end of the bargain and got us past the Secreteers. If you can’t help us find the castle—”

  “We did find it,” DeMayne cut in. “It’s here.”

  “I can see that. It’s very impressive,” she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

  “Why don’t you use the wand to find it?” Mr. Clear asked. He had finally stopped shivering.

  DeMayne raised an eyebrow. “There’s an idea. Good thinking, Mr. Clear. I knew we brought you along for a reason. How about it, Joey? Why not use the wand?”

  “You know why not,” Shazad said. “I see what you’re doing.”

  “What am I doing?” DeMayne asked in a slimy voice.

  “You want Joey to use the wand as much as possible on the way to the castle, so maybe he’s too weak to do anything when we get there. Or worse. You don’t want to help us. You’re just scheming to get your hands on the wand.”

  “I’m doing nothing of the sort,” DeMayne said. “I never told you I share your cause. I don’t want to help you. I simply find myself temporarily in need of your services, just as you find yourself in need of mine. Whatever you might think of me, there’s no scheming on my part. I don’t have to manipulate the situation to usher Joey into his grave. He’s been chasing it just fine without my help.” DeMayne turned to address Joey and motioned to the empty meadow. “I told you I’d take you to the castle. I have delivered. Now do what you came here to do.”

  “He didn’t come here to die,” Shazad said.

  “That depends on h
ow strong he is,” DeMayne replied.

  “Don’t even think about it,” Shazad told Joey. “There’s got to be another way.”

  Joey looked around, wondering what that could be. He knew he couldn’t use the wand to unveil the castle and survive. He still felt a little weak from the spell he had cast to shield DeMayne and his cronies from the Secreteers. There was no telling how strong the magic protections around the Secret Citadel were, but the Secreteers had managed to keep the place hidden for a thousand years, so Joey was guessing they were pretty strong. Breaking down their defenses would almost certainly push him over the edge. Maybe Shazad was right and that had been DeMayne’s plan all along.

  “You realize if I die using this wand, you lose whatever protection I gave you,” Joey told DeMayne.

  “I’m willing to take that chance,” DeMayne replied.

  “Right,” Shazad said. “You’re willing to risk his life. I don’t think so. We don’t even know if this is the right place. All we have is your word on that.”

  Joey considered the possibility that DeMayne was lying. He didn’t trust the man at all, but Joey did believe him when he said this was the place. He recognized it from DeMayne’s memories. Unfortunately, the meadow was just as empty in real life as it had been in DeMayne’s head. There was no magical door to open or puzzle to solve, nothing but an empty horizon. Joey knew in his heart they were standing on the doorstep of the Secret Citadel, but they might as well have been a million miles away.

  He didn’t know what to do. He and his friends had been through so much and fought so hard to reach this point. He couldn’t let their journey end here, but he didn’t want his journey to end at all. Sacrificing himself wasn’t part of the plan.

  Joey pulled the wand out of his sleeve. “Anyone have any good ideas?”

  “Besides waving that wand and hoping for the best?” Shazad asked. “It’s not an option.”

  “What else is there?” Joey asked.

  “Nothing,” DeMayne answered. “You have to do this. It’s why you have the wand. It’s your responsibility, isn’t it?”

  “No.” Jack Blank put a hand on Joey’s wrist, pushing the wand down. “Don’t do it. I’ve got something.”

  “What have you got?” Joey asked, full of hope.

  “Everybody quiet!” Jack shouted. “There’s something here.” Leanora and DeMayne stopped barking at each other as Jack put a hand to his ear. “There it is again.”

  Everyone paused to listen. The forest was dead quiet.

  “I don’t hear anything,” Mr. Ivory said.

  “That’s because they’re not talking to you,” Jack replied. “Not that it matters. You couldn’t hear them if they were. None of you could, but I can.”

  “Who?” Allegra asked Jack. “Who’s talking to you?”

  “Not who, what. And they’re not talking to me. Or us. They’re talking to each other about us.” Jack paused, listening closely to what sounded to Joey and everyone else like nothing. “It’s just whispering now. They know I’m onto them.”

  “Who?” Skerren asked.

  “The machines. This place is full of them.”

  “Machines?” Shazad said. “Where? Next to the castle?” he added with a sarcastic gesture at the tree on the hill. “That doesn’t make any sense.”

  “It definitely doesn’t, but I’m telling you, they’re here. They’re everywhere. Their voices are… old and strange. It’s something I’ve never heard before, but I’m positive it’s mechanical.” Jack wandered around the meadow, investigating. “Where are you?” he wondered aloud. Suddenly he stopped short and spun around to face the forest with wide eyes. “No way.”

  “What?” Joey asked, dying to know what was going on. “What is it?”

  “I don’t believe this,” Jack said. “It’s the trees.”

  Jack walked back to the edge of the forest and put his hands on the nearest tree. Again, he seemed to be listening to it. “Amazing,” he whispered. “Can you show me?”

  “What’s he doing?” DeMayne asked, still confused.

  “He’s having a conversation,” Allegra said. “Relax. This is what he does.”

  Jack rejoined the group a few minutes later, clearly floored by what he had discovered. “This is incredible.”

  “What is?” Joey asked.

  “Watch.”

  “Enough of this,” DeMayne said, fed up with waiting. “If you know something, spit it out. I don’t like being kept in the dark.”

  Jack smirked. “Well, since you asked so nicely…”

  With that, the trees “turned on,” sparkling as if they were decorated with Christmas lights. There were no strings of colorful bulbs draped across their branches or wrapped around their trunks. The light came from the trees themselves. It wasn’t all of them. Only the trees that lined the meadow lit up, but they went on as far as the eye could see. Twilight was setting in, and the light show was a wonder to behold. Leaves twinkled, and a soft glow emanated from between the ridges and bumps of tree bark. Jack tugged on a branch to examine a leaf and told the others to do the same, but carefully.

  Joey looked and saw the veins that covered the face of the leaf were lines of glittering circuits. He was holding an organic microchip in his hand. Joey let go of the leaf and approached a tree with a large knothole in its trunk. He stuck his head inside. The interior of the tree was lit up like a mainframe computer. It was as advanced as anything Joey had ever seen, even at his school.

  “That’s new,” he said when he pulled his head back out.

  “More like that’s old,” Jack corrected him. “A thousand years old, but I know what you mean. I’ve never seen anything like this. I’ve never even heard of anything like it. A living machine, growing, evolving, and learning all this time. Who could have built this?”

  “Dwarves,” Leanora said. Everyone looked at her, wondering how she could possibly know that. “Maybe,” she added, hedging a bit. “There’s an old story from Norse mythology. Two dwarves, Brokk and Eitri, the ones who made Thor’s hammer, had a bet with Loki. If he lost, the dwarves got to take his head. They wanted to use his brain to make a thinking machine. Who knows if it’s true or not, but that combination of magic and machinery… It’s kind of like what Janelle is always talking about.”

  Jack shrugged. “I can’t say if dwarves built them or grew them or whatever, but these trees are what’s hiding the castle. They power some kind of reality distortion wave between us and it. That’s the best way I can describe what’s happening here.”

  “Can you turn the trees off?” Janelle asked Jack.

  “I can turn them off,” DeMayne said. He pulled the Sword of Storms from his belt and aimed it at the forest, planning to summon its hurricane winds and uproot the trees.

  “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Jack warned him.

  “Quiet,” DeMayne barked. “You don’t tell me what to do. I tell you. Understand?”

  The broken sword hummed with power and a mighty storm brewed, but before the swirling winds could even bend a branch, the trees gave DeMayne the shock of his life. Bright blue bolts of light shot out from every glowing twig and stem to zap him with magic energy. He went sailing backward and tumbled across the grass. When he eventually skidded to a halt, his tailored suit was ruptured and burned. His perfect hair was singed and frazzled. His handsome face was flushed red, and his body smoked like a cartoon character who had just been electrocuted.

  “I understand.” Jack smiled.

  Janelle stepped over DeMayne’s sizzling body to join Jack near the trees. “If they’re machines, can you control them? Do you understand how they work?”

  “Not even a little,” Jack said. “This is a mixture of magic and science. Organic living circuitry powered by magic. It’s probably more in your wheelhouse than mine. You want to take a look?”

  Janelle took a peek inside the tree that Joey had looked in earlier.

  “What do you think?” Joey asked her.

  Janelle came out sha
king her head. “If you gave me a year to study all this, maybe I could come up with something. Right now I wouldn’t even know where to begin.”

  “Same,” Jack said. “Except I might need a little longer.”

  “So what do we do?” Joey asked. They were running out of options. It was looking like he might have to use the wand after all.

  “There is one thing I can try,” Jack said. He closed his eyes and reached out a hand to the trees. At first nothing happened, but soon lights began to fade throughout the forest. As the trees powered down, a strange tremor ran across the meadow like a pulse signal being sent out into the world. Joey watched the air ripple as if it were a body of water, and the world began to bend, distort, and reshape itself. The peaceful meadow was a false reality. As the illusion crumbled and fell away, the ground fell away with it. Joey and the others jumped back as the earth beneath their feet turned to ash and dropped down to form the edge of a cliff. The hill in front of them came apart in the shape of a castle. It was more of a tower, really. An incredibly tall spire that ran straight up, perched on a natural stone column. They had found it. The Secret Citadel.

  Mr. Ivory’s mouth fell open. “How did you do that?”

  Jack played it off like it was no big thing. “Simple really. I asked.”

  “You asked,” Mr. Ivory repeated.

  Jack nodded. “Sometimes you have to think small to think big.”

  “That’s it?” Mr. Ivory said. “You asked? And the trees turned themselves off just like that? Magic trees that stood guard here for a thousand years?” He pointed at his boss, who was still dazed and sizzling. “They fried him like a strip of bacon!”

  Jack looked down at DeMayne. “He didn’t say the magic word.”

  “What’s the magic word?”

  “Please.”

  19 Back Where It All Began