The Magenta (The Legendary Keepers Book 1)

by Cassidy Bennett

  “What I meant,” he informed me, “is that he likes you.”

  “Oh.” I blushed.

  He laughed. “I bet you wouldn’t be able to tell if a guy likes you if he said it to your face.”

  “Well,” I said with a laugh, “I didn’t think I was that clueless.”

  “That’s a hyperbole, Miss Magenta.” He studied my face a moment, then said, “You were pretty oblivious, though.”

  “Okay,” I yielded. “How did your dance with Lori go?”

  He made a face. “She went a little over the top with the flirting.”

  “How so?” I inquired.

  “She, um…” He ran his hand through his hair. “She kinda...um...she kinda called me hot. Like, actually told me—to my face—that I was hot. It was weird.”

  Taken aback and unsure of how else to respond, I said, “Wow.”

  He looked at the ground, red seeping into his cheeks. He said something, but not loud enough for me to hear.

  “What?” I asked, cupping my hand around my ear.

  He glanced up for just a moment, then his gaze returned to the ground as he answered with, “Then some other girls—they didn’t have dance partners—told me I was smokin’ and walked away. Then, toward the end of the song, they came back and asked Lori if I was her boyfriend.”

  “Chicken nuggets!” I exclaimed. “Are you serious?”

  He nodded, took a deep breath, and returned to looking me in the eye. “It was on a whole new level of weird.”

  “I believe it.”

  Lori walked up to us, giving me a discreet glare before asking Felix, “So, what are you two talking about?”

  I shrugged and pretended I didn’t see Lori glare at me. “Not much.”

  She gently grabbed Felix’s arm and said, “Okay, because I’m stealing him for a while.”

  As she led him away, Felix looked at me like, Sorry! I am not going by choice!

  I gave him a small smile to let him know I wasn’t mad, waited until they exited the back room, then set off to follow them. When I was younger, I’d tried to train myself to be a secret agent. In all honesty, I don’t think I’ve ever really stopped training. I still catch myself learning new skills just for the purpose of being able to gather information from my peers without suspicion.

  Skills like following people undetected.

  There were a couple close calls, but I followed Lori and Felix until they went into a vacant room and Lori closed the door. For once, I was thankful that much of the Shapeshifter Shack was in disrepair, because the door just bounced back open just the slightest bit so I could hear the conversation. I stayed away from the crack, just in case Lori looked through it and saw me, but stayed within earshot.

  “So,” Felix said nervously, “why did you bring me here?”

  “Haven’t you guessed by now?” she responded flirtatiously. Felix was right. She was going over the top. I could tell that much just from the tone of her voice. “A bit of alone time, obviously! The party was too noisy.”

  “Oh! Um…” I could hear Felix’s discomfort. “My friends are going to be wondering where I am, so I don’t think this would be the best time…”

  “You mean Valida will be wondering where you are?” Lori’s voice dripped with bitterness.

  “Well, she’s my friend, so yeah,” Felix responded heatedly. “Look, I need to get back to the others, before they start worrying.”

  “Just a few minutes,” Lori pleaded.

  “No,” Felix insisted. “I need to get back.”

  “Fine,” Lori yielded. “But not without this.”

  I heard something crash into the wall with a thud. I figured now would be a good time to interfere.

  I thrust open the door to quite the scene. Lori had Felix pressed against the wall and was trying to kiss him, but he kept moving his head and trying to push her away. I cleared my throat as loud as I could. Lori jumped back, startled. When she saw it was me, she shot me a deadly glare. Nothing compared to Ms. Montgomery’s death glare, but still deadly. Felix looked relieved.

  I crossed my arms and gave Lori my most intimidating What do you think you’re doing? look that I had learned from my mother. She withered just the slightest, almost imperceptible, bit.

  “The others were getting worried, Felix,” I said calmly. I hadn’t actually been with the others, but I was sure that they would be worried soon enough if they weren’t already.

  “Scram, Valida,” Lori ordered between clenched teeth.

  I raised my eyebrows. “And leave Felix with you? I don’t think so.” She opened her mouth to present her rebuttal, but I wouldn’t hear of it. “For your own safety, I’ll give you a warning. I’m the Magenta; don’t mess with me or my friends.”

  “Liar,” Lori snarled. “Now back off of my man.”

  “Hold up,” Felix cut in. “Since when am I anyone's man?”

  “Since you met me,” Lori responded.

  Felix just shook his head. “I tried to spare your feelings, but this has gone too far. You dragged me up here, tried to kiss me, and have been downright rude to Valida. We only met today!” He made eye contact with her and said, “Lori, I'm no one’s man. I'm a little young for that, don't you think?”

  “What are you saying?” Lori choked out, trying to hold back tears.

  “I'm saying that I'm not interested,” Felix said in the gentlest tone possible. “You need to let me go.”

  Tears came spilling out of her eyes. “It's because of Valida, isn't it?”

  Felix hesitated, just for a second, before shaking his head. “No. We're too young for relationships like that anyway. We're too young for that kind of heartbreak.”

  “Felix and I are just friends,” I added helpfully. “We're just trying to stay alive and save the Dimensions.”

  “Which is why we're here,” Felix continued. “We need allies, and Darren said the dingvar teens are potential allies.”

  Lori's expression hardened. “Forget it,” she said coldly. “After Connor hears about how he-” she nodded angrily toward Felix -“broke my heart, no one will help you. Only the most cold-hearted would hurt me like this.”

  “I'm sorry,” Felix told her sarcastically, “but I have known you for about an hour, and in that short time, you have tried to kiss me and have been rude to one of my best friends. I don't think I'm the problem here.”

  Without bothering to respond verbally, Lori spun on her heel and stormed away. Felix and I exchanged worried looks. If Lori was right, the dingvars would not be easily persuaded to help us out after this little episode.

  With a sigh from me, Felix and I followed her, hoping for the best.

  Chapter 35

  Felix and I walked back to the party, unsure of what to expect. Lori had sounded serious about the dingvars being unwilling to help us after “breaking her heart” and quite frankly, I was nervous about it.

  The moment she saw us, Lori tapped her brother’s shoulder and pointed at us. Her face was red and tear-stained. Connor approached us with a murderous expression.

  “What are you playing at?” he demanded of Felix.

  “I’m not playing at anything,” Felix replied coolly. “Lori, however—”

  “You hurt my sister,” Connor snarled, his hands balled into fists.

  “I don’t think you have the whole story,” I told him.

  “Stay out of this, Magenta!” Connor growled. “I’ve heard plenty!” He glared at Felix. “Nobody plays my sister.”

  “Let’s get something straight,” Felix cut in. “She played me. She was the one who—”

  “Don’t you dare blame my sister for your mistakes!” Connor thundered. “And forget about an alliance! I hope you die a horrible death!”

  Anger surged through me. Smoke rose from my body. “That was uncalled for!” I exploded.

  “He hurt my sister!” Connor repeated tensely, emphasizing each word.

  “For the sake of all things that are good, she was the one who tried to kiss him!” I shot
back. “When will people get some perspective?”

  “Get out,” Connor growled. “Now.”

  “What is going on here?” Darren asked. The other Legendary Keepers were behind him. Steven looked terrified, looking between me and Connor nervously.

  “Take your new friends and GET OUT!” Connor roared.

  “What did you do?” Tom demanded.

  “Long story, we’ll explain later,” I said, brushing off the question. “Let’s get out of here. Where to next?”

  Darren’s expression darkened. “Lunaka. Home of the Lulins. It's time to rescue my mother.”

  Gabrielle opened a portal, and we left the Shapeshifter Shack.

  ◆◆◆

  As we exited the portal, we were greeted by Lulin guards.

  “Humans!” one of the two hissed. “No humans allowed in Lunaka!”

  “Sound the alarm and seize them!” the other ordered.

  In turn, each of us unsheathed our swords. Gabrielle summoned the Gilded Sword and assumed her fighting stance. The other Legendary Keepers followed suit, summoning their Objects. Steven gripped the Lightning Bolt Amulet, Felix held the Copper Shield, and I had the Silver Mirror and the Bronze Locket. We went back-to-back with one another for added protection. My back was against Darren's.

  “We need to let ourselves—just you and me—get captured,” he said just loud enough for me alone to hear him. “If my plan for rescuing my mother is going to work, I'm going to need you.”

  “Okay,” I agreed. “What's the plan?”

  “Well, first we need to get captured, but we can't let it look like we're doing it on purpose or they'll get suspicious,” he explained.

  “Alright,” I said. “Let's do this before I start thinking rationally again.”

  Reinforcements came for the Lulin guards. They charged at us, lasers firing from their eyes. We were outnumbered, as usual.

  “Surrender!” one of the Lulins commanded in his raspy voice.

  “Never!” Tom shouted defiantly, dodging a laser.

  “I swear, if one of you guys hits my arm again…” Felix trailed off, leaving his threat hanging in the air.

  A Lulin fired a laser in my direction. I dodged it easily, but nearly jumped into the path of another. The Lulin drew its sword and struck, all while firing lasers at me. He stabbed to my left. I parried with my sword. He slashed at my side. I stepped back just in time. My breathing quickened as I dodged lasers and sword strikes. It didn’t take long for a laser to hit me in the shoulder. I screamed. Another laser hit, this one striking my leg. My leg gave out. I hit the ground with a thud.

  “Valida!” Darren shouted. Before long, he was at my side. His cheek was bleeding and he favored his left arm, but other than that, he was fine.

  Dots clouded my vision. My head felt fuzzy. “I don’t feel so good,” I said weakly.

  Felix joined Darren by my side, still dueling with an opponent. “Are you okay, Miss Magenta?” he managed.

  My eyes rolled to the back of my head and I blacked out before I could answer.

  ◆◆◆

  Valida Agnes Smith, the Darkness sneered.

  “Umarek,” I greeted him.

  Taken aback, he asked, How do you know my true name, Magenta?

  “Lena mentioned it while I was there,” I replied. “You know, after you devoured Equestralan and turned it into a Dark Dimension.”

  Lena Zelak? the Darkness—Umarek—demanded. I thought I was done having to deal with that stupid girl years ago!

  “Who are you, Umarek?” I questioned. “What’s your story?”

  I am the most powerful being in the Dimensions, he bragged. I am the Darkness. I am fear. I am—

  Oh please. I could crush you any day, a familiar female voice taunted.

  Shut up, Rekala, Umarek growled.

  You’re the idiot who imprisoned me. You shut up, Rekala retorted.

  You deserved it, Umarek countered.

  The bickering went on between Umarek and Rekala for what felt like an eternity. Finally, I woke up to the sound of Darren saying, “This is bad. This is bad. This is really, really, really bad.”

  Chapter 36

  “Valida, thank goodness you’re awake!” Darren exclaimed when he realized that my eyes had opened.

  I sat up. We were in a dark, smelly prison cell. I wrinkled my nose. “Ugh. I hate this place. Okay, so what is going on?”

  “They have her!” Darren raked his shaking fingers through his hair. “They have Mu!”

  “They have Moo?” I raised an eyebrow. “Do you have a secret pet cow or something?”

  “No! The other Mu!” he corrected, panicking. “M-U. Agent Mu. She’s my sister, Margaret. The Lulins have her! I heard the guards talking. She and Mama are here! She must have come back for Mama, but ended up captured.”

  “We can rescue her with your mother, can’t we?” I asked, not seeing the problem.

  Tears welled up in his eyes. He turned away so I wouldn’t see. “Margaret is as good as dead either way.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked, concerned.

  “If we leave her here, they’ll kill her within the week,” he replied. “But if we try to rescue her, she’ll still die. I just don’t know how.”

  “How do you know that?” I questioned.

  “Family gift,” he answered. “The Tavello family possesses a certain kind of intuition. We can sense when choices lead to death. I’ve always called it death intuition. And right now, Margaret has no choice but to die.”

  His voice cracked, and he broke down, tears spilling out of his eyes. His body shook with sobs. I wrapped my arms around him.

  “I can’t believe this is happening,” he whispered. “She was always there for me, but now…”

  A Lulin guard opened the cell door. “King Bimaedonis wants to speak to you. Both of you. Come with me.”

  Darren sprang to his feet and, to the best of his ability, wiped the tears from his eyes. He pulled himself out of my embrace and followed the Lulin guard, and I followed Darren.

  When we reached the throne room, King Bimaedonis was sitting on his throne, his black onyx crown on his head and his glowing red eyes as unsettling as ever. Two women were standing in front of him, one an adult and the other a teenager. Lulin guards forced them to their knees.

  Darren blanched. “No. Please no,” he begged under his breath.

  “How nice of you to join us,” King Bimaedonis said, his voice as raspy as ever.

  “Please, let them go,” Darren begged.

  “I will make you a deal,” King Bimaedonis announced. “Listen closely; I will free one of them, the other I will kill. You may choose who you want to save.”

  The teenager—Margaret, I assumed—made eye contact with her brother and said, “Please, Darren, save Mama. You know that either way I won’t survive. Mama still has a chance.”

  “No,” the adult woman—Tamara, Darren’s mother—vetoed. “I refuse to outlive my own children! Darren, don’t listen to Margaret! I would rather die than condemn her!”

  “Mama, please,” Margaret begged. “Let me go. For Darren.”

  “Make your choice,” King Bimaedonis ordered. “Who will die?”

  Darren's eyes, sorrowful and scared, darted between his mother and his sister.

  “Mama, I’m begging you. Just let me go,” Margaret pleaded.

  “I can't,” Tamara whispered.

  “Darren,” Margaret addressed her brother, “you know what you need to do. I won't hold it against you.”

  “Darren, don't!” Tamara screamed.

  “Do it,” Margaret commanded. “Let me go.”

  “I choose to save my mother,” Darren gasped out. He fell to his knees and buried his face in his hands, his body racked with sobs. It was done.

  “No!” Tamara screamed.

  A Lulin guard held Margaret in such a way that left her chest unguarded. From the glowing gold eyes of the Lulin King's came the laser that hit her chest, right over her heart. Margaret Tav
ello went limp in the Lulin guard's arms.

  “Well chosen,” the Lulin King taunted. The Lulin guarding Tamara released her. She tried to run to Margaret, but was intercepted by guards as Margaret's body was carried away.

  “Margaret!” she screamed.

  “You have fifteen minutes to get out of my castle with your mother, boy,” King Bimaedonis informed him. “The Magenta, however, stays here.”

  “No, she won't!” Tamara decided defiantly. “You already killed my Margaret; I refuse to let you kill Valida, too!”

  “I have already spared both yours and your son’s lives, Tamara,” he responded. “Don't push my generosity.”

  “I'm with Tamara, King Laser-Eyes,” I said. “I'd like to live. I have a job to do, and I only have three days until Ayaklo Half-Season. I need to be alive for the challenge.”

  “Last chance to take your mother and leave, boy,” King Bimaedonis hissed.

  “Not without Valida,” Tamara insisted.

  “Yeah,” Darren agreed.

  “If that is your final choice,” the Lulin King declared, “then die.”

  Guards advanced, swords drawn. I stood defensively in front of Tamara and Darren. The guards surrounded us.

  General Sygopsis was among the Lulins that surrounded us. He seemed to have recovered from our previous encounter. The Diamond Ring glittered on his finger. I knew I needed to get it to free the Legendary Power.

  The Lulin guards weren't attacking. We all stood at a standstill, waiting for the other to make the first move.

  “What are you waiting for?” King Bimaedonis demanded. “Kill them!”

  “I feel so loved,” I remarked sarcastically. “However, I have a better idea.”

  The Lulins froze, arms tensed as if to strike us with their swords. I looked up at King Bimaedonis and realized that he had one hand up. He was telling them to wait. “Speak, Magenta,” he commanded.

  My heart pounded in my chest as I boldly declared, “I challenge you to a duel. If you win, I stay here to do whatever you want to keep me here for. If I win, I can leave with my friends. Oh, and one more thing.” I pointed at the Ring on the Lulin General’s finger. “If I win, the Diamond Ring is mine.”