The Black Fortress

by E. G. Foley

  “Everything’s just fine, Sir Peter,” Prue simpered. “How are you today?”

  He ignored the question. “Miss O’Dell?”

  “Fine,” Dani mumbled.

  The wizard frowned at the Badgerton triplets. “You three, aren’t you supposed to be somewhere right now?”

  It was enough of a hint to make the bullies leave her alone. The skunkies made vague excuses and retreated, heading back toward the palace, but Sir Peter stayed planted.

  “Thank you,” Dani said once they were out of earshot.

  “For what?” he asked in a mild tone, then gave her a wink and strode on. “Oh! I almost forgot…” He turned absently, his black academic robes swirling around him. “You’d better hurry along, Miss O’Dell. Lady Bradford was looking for you a while ago. Some sort of family meeting.”

  Dani drew in her breath. “Was she? Goodness. Thank you, Sir Peter.”

  “Cheerio,” he said, and strode on, making his way homeward toward the elegant Chancellor’s House.

  Dani clutched her books and ran the rest of the way back to the Bradford suite, wondering what was afoot. Only now did she realize how she’d lost all track of time in the library. She was alarmed that she may have forgotten one of her duties in her pursuit of Lightriderdom.

  I hope I’m not in trouble… Oh no! A dreadful thought occurred to her. Teddy!

  She’d become so absorbed in her studies that she’d forgotten the need to take her dog out so he could do his business.

  I hope he hasn’t had an accident in the suite!

  She ran faster, her heart in her throat, for the only thing worse than getting in trouble herself was when her dog made a nuisance of himself in the eyes of the Bradford adults.

  After all, if she had little right to be there, Teddy had even less. He was a good dog, but every animal was sometimes a little naughty. All Dani knew was that if they ever tried to make her get rid of Teddy, she would pack up her things and leave too.

  She pounded up the fancy marble staircase and went racing through the elegant corridors of the guest block, until she arrived at the door to the Bradford suite.

  She flung open the door and rushed in, slightly out of breath. “Lady Bradford, you wanted to see me?”

  She stepped into the suite, but the only one there was her dog. Dani looked at the floor, but didn’t see any sight of doggy mess. Whew.

  Teddy danced and yipped and ran in circles around her as Dani checked the various rooms. But she soon verified that, other than her terrier, no one was at home. Where is everybody?

  Maybe they’d all gone down to lunch.

  She venture into Izzy’s room to see if the older girl had left a note. But the moment Dani peeked into her friend’s little jewel box of a bedchamber, she gasped so hard that she nearly had an apoplectic fit.

  All of Isabelle’s things were missing!

  Alarmed, Dani rushed to the boys’ room and found the same situation. All of Jake and Archie’s belongings had vanished too. Yet when she checked her own little chamber, her confusion mounted, for nothing had been touched.

  What is going on here?

  At that moment, she heard a faint knock at the door. It was a small knock, and it made her wonder if Gladwin had come back with another message.

  Dani ran to answer it with Teddy barking at her heels. She scooped him up to contain him and opened the door.

  Instead of a fairy, one of the little pointy-hat gnomes stood there, looking grumpy, as usual. The knee-high gnome held up a note that looked oversized in his tiny hand.

  “Oh… Thank you,” Dani said, taking the message.

  The gnome just stood there without saying, You’re welcome. What did it want, a tip?

  “I’m sorry, I don’t have any money.”

  It hissed at her but remained.

  Dani looked down at the note. Her name was written on the front of it in the Dowager Baroness Bradford’s own hand. She quickly opened it and read.

  Miss O’Dell,

  Please join us in Parlor 12 downstairs as soon as possible. Follow the gnome. He will show you the way.

  Lady B.

  Dani looked down at the gnome again. “Will you take me to them?”

  The gnome beckoned to her with its little gloved hand. Then it started trudging down the hallway, and Dani had to hurry. She set Teddy down in the suite. “Sorry! I’ll take you out soon, I promise.”

  Teddy whined as she pulled the door shut in his fuzzy face, then she scrambled down the corridor after the gnome, her shoes slapping the marble floor loudly in the quiet.

  The gnome led her to the first floor, through the lobby, and into a side corridor, and then, finally, to one of the many formal sitting rooms the palace had to offer.

  As Dani approached the closed door to Parlor 12, she faintly remembered another occasion when Lady Bradford had called them all into one of these rooms to share serious news. That time, the Elder witch had told them she’d be taking them on a Grand Tour so they could stay ahead of the Dark Druids, who were after Jake.

  Dani wondered if it was something big like that again. The gnome pointed at the door, then walked away.

  Cautiously, Dani opened it and peeked in. To her surprise, the parlor was crowded with all of the major players in their lives.

  The Elder witch leaned against the elegant writing table at the front of the room. Henry and Helena waited by the wall on the right, and Derek stood, arms folded, to the left of Lady Bradford’s desk.

  All her friends were there, Dani saw as she slipped into the room.

  Jake stood gazing out the window with a faraway expression. He was dressed in gentlemanly garb, looking handsome enough to make her blush. Red sat contentedly beside his younger master.

  Archie and Isabelle were also there…

  Hold on, Dani thought all of a sudden. Why are they wearing traveling clothes?

  Maddox and Nixie had also been summoned, but they were dressed as usual, and looked as confused about all this as Dani felt.

  “Oh good, you’re here,” the Elder witch said. “Please, come in, Miss O’Dell.”

  “Sorry I’m late. I-I was at the library.” Pulling the door shut behind her, Dani noticed the grim, serious mood that hung over the room. Her pulse lurched.

  Had something bad happened?

  “It’s all right, child. You are right on time. Please, sit down.” Lady Bradford beckoned her toward a chair.

  As Dani crossed the parlor, the Gryphon left Jake’s side, prowling over to her and giving her an affectionate nudge. Dani patted him on the head, then sat down beside Nixie.

  Her friend shifted sideways on the settee, making room. Dani lowered herself onto her seat, but as she waited to hear what was going on, she exchanged a worried glance with Isabelle.

  The empath gave her a soulful look. Dani knew Izzy was still distraught over the murder of Janos’s family, but even Archie did not look cheerful at the moment.

  “What’s going on?” Dani ventured, uneasy at how grave they all looked.

  Jake turned from the window and walked somberly to the front of the parlor. Mother Mary, she had never seen such a haunted look on his face before—and for a boy who saw ghosts, that was saying something.

  He seemed pale, shaken up by something.

  Tensing with worry, Dani instantly wanted to give him a hug, but clearly, Jake had something important to say to the rest of them.

  She braced herself to hear what it was. But, honestly, if some new disaster had happened, she was going to be furious.

  Wouldn’t they ever get a break? She had assumed that once Jake got Red back, everything would finally be all right.

  Now it seemed perhaps she had been wrong. The next few minutes would tell. Lacing her fingers anxiously in her lap, she braced herself to hear whatever it was he had to say.

  After a pause, Jake looked around at everyone. “Thank you for coming. The reason I’ve called you all together, as the adults already know, is that I am leaving Merlin Hall.”
r />   “What?” Dani asked.

  “I’m going back to Griffon Castle. Derek and Red will both be coming with me. Henry and Helena have agreed to come along too, as Archie and Isabelle will be going home to Bradford Park. Aunt Ramona will stay here, however. As will Maddox, Nixie—and you, Dani.”

  She stared at him in confusion, then exchanged a baffled glance with Nixie.

  “Will you be gone long?” Dani asked.

  “I’m not sure,” Jake said. “But you three need to stay here for the sake of your studies. Archie and Isabelle will have Henry and Helena for instruction, same as always.”

  In a heartbeat, Dani went from baffled to upset. “Why are you leaving? Did something happen?”

  Jake glanced at Derek and Lady Bradford; they nodded to him as though giving him permission to speak.

  Since when had that cheeky ex-pickpocket ever waited for permission for anything?

  He was starting to scare her. Feeling uneasier by the second, Dani sat stiffly, waiting to hear his explanation.

  “This morning, after Archie and Nixie freed Aleeyah from her smoke form—”

  “They did?” Dani blurted out. “Sorry.”

  But she gave the geniuses a congratulatory look. This was the first she’d heard of this.

  “As soon as Aleeyah was back in human form, we took her over to the parliamentary chamber. She wanted to see the Elders right away.

  “Well, the session was underway and it sounded pretty interesting, so I asked if the three of us—Nixie, Archie, and I—could listen to the speeches. The gnomes said we weren’t allowed.” Jake lowered his head. “But, um, me being me—as I’ve explained to Derek and Aunt Ramona—I snuck in anyway.”

  “Oh, did you get caught?” Dani asked with dawning understanding. They must be sending him away as his punishment.

  But Jake shook his head. “No. I freely confessed to what I’d done. Because what I heard in that session…scared me. By now, word is already spreading about the news Aleeyah brought back concerning me. I called you in here because I’d rather the rest of you heard it from me.”

  Dani frowned at him, increasingly concerned. “What news?”

  Jake lifted his gaze and stared at her from beneath his blond forelock, an absolutely tormented look in his blue eyes. “Aleeyah found out that the Dark Druids have a prophecy about me.”

  “What?” Dani whispered.

  “That, one day, I might turn evil and become the greatest leader they ever had. Either that or their nemesis.”

  Her jaw dropped. “You? Evil?”

  Jake nodded. “I need to get away from here for obvious reasons. If I’m a threat, I don’t want to draw the danger here to everybody else. Besides, I’m, er, not really welcome at the moment.”

  Red nudged him with his head as if to say, Well, I still love you.

  Jake scratched the Gryphon’s feathers. “I don’t want to cause any more trouble than I already have. If there’s any chance I really could become the leader of the Dark Druids someday, then, clearly, I need to buckle down and get serious about all the things I’m actually supposed to be doing.”

  “Like what?” Dani just stared at him in shock from across the room.

  “Work on my studies with Henry. Train with Derek.” Jake glanced at the two men. “And I’m going to start getting Griffon Castle ready for my parents when they come home someday.

  “I know there are no guarantees. But after what Tex told the magical parliament, I’ve got to believe it really could be possible. Tex said the enemy has a program where they’re keeping the Lightriders they’ve abducted unconscious but alive inside the Black Fortress as part of some nefarious future plan.

  “Well, maybe my parents were taken as part of that plan. If so, that means there’s a real chance that they’re alive and I’m going to get them back someday. That it wasn’t just some cruel lie from Fionnula Coralbroom.

  “All I know is that if I ever do get to meet my mother and father, I want them to find me the sort of son they can be proud of. Not a scapegrace.” Jake glanced ruefully at his aunt Ramona. “The way I see it, I’ve been a cocky know-it-all long enough.”

  “You are not!” Dani said, but Maddox gave a low snort.

  “I am,” Jake said softly. “And worse. But that’s all about to change. It’s time for me to be an ordinary boy and let the Elders do their job. I’m to go home and do the things a lad my age is supposed to be doing. I’m going to stay out of trouble, and, for once, I swear I am going to do as I’m told.”

  Dani’s jaw dropped.

  Never in her eleven years, ten months of life had she ever expected to hear him say something so un-Jake-like. Did he have a fever? Had someone put a hex on him?

  Maddox seemed as confused as Dani was, while Nixie gazed at Archie with a pained look, realizing they would be separated, too.

  “Sorry, Nix,” Archie said. “Jake’s family. He needs us right now.” The boy genius glanced at his sister, and Izzy nodded.

  “I don’t understand,” Maddox said to Derek. “Not to question your judgment, sir, but wouldn’t it be safer just keeping him here?”

  Derek sent the Elder witch an inquiring glance; it was she who answered.

  “On the face of it, Maddox, you are not wrong,” Her Ladyship conceded, sounding worried. “However… Last night, after Ravyn came through the portal, she sought me out privately, and gave me an additional warning that she did not share with the full assembly today in her speech.” Lady Bradford glanced around at them. “We don’t want this news getting out. But since this concerns our own dear Jacob, you need to know the situation—and I am confident that you can all be trusted.”

  Everybody nodded.

  Dani sat with her spine ramrod straight, muscles tensed, her hands clasped on her lap. This sounded bad.

  “What Ravyn also managed to learn during her ordeal is that the Dark Druids…have sent a spy into our midst.”

  Dani gasped, as did Isabelle.

  “It seems we have a mole somewhere here at Merlin Hall. This spy is probably reporting back to the Dark Druids about all of Jake’s activities, since they are obviously interested in him. Thus, it is better if we send my nephew elsewhere until the traitor in our midst has been caught and dealt with.”

  Maddox made a low sound of astonishment at this revelation, but the Elder witch sighed.

  “At least now we finally know why our enemies are so interested in you, Jacob. I have already started adding more protective spells to both Griffon Castle and Bradford Park, and I have several more planned, one of which resembles the Kinderveil.

  “Our enemies can scry for Jake all they like; they won’t be able to find him. In addition, he’ll have Derek and the twins to protect him. And Red, now that our dear Gryphon’s back. Nor do I need to mention my nephew’s rather remarkable ability to take care of himself.”

  “Even so,” Dani said, staring at Jake in distress, “I should go with you.”

  “Not this time, Dani,” Lady Bradford said gently. “You have been chosen for the Lightrider program. This is where you belong now.”

  Dani looked across the desk at the dowager baroness and her heart sank.

  She could not believe the irony of her predicament. Her greatest fear for ages had been that she would be sent away from Jake and her friends because of her lack of magical powers. But now it was she who had been recruited into the Lightrider program, while Jake was the one being sent home.

  And there was not a thing she could do about it.

  “I’m sorry, but how is Jake supposed to be good without me there?” she blurted out, gesturing at him as she looked at his aunt. “I’m the one who stopped him from stealin’ half the time in London. Jake, you know it’s true. You need me to keep you on the straight and narrow.”

  He gave her a tender smile. “I don’t deny it, carrot,” he replied. “It’s just that the stakes are too high now. I can’t rely on you to be my conscience all the time. I need to be, you know, responsible for my own decisions
. Your sense of right and wrong is already sound. That’s why Gaia picked you. Mine still needs a bit o’ work.”

  Her heart clenched. But she realized that this was happening whether she liked it or not.

  As the adults exchanged a few words on the logistics of returning to the two adjoining family estates, Dani’s mind whirled.

  She and Jake stared at each other, at a loss. They had been practically inseparable for as long as she could remember, so how would she possibly get through her day without him nearby? Let alone without Archie and Isabelle and Red?

  The very thought of it frightened her. She felt as though she were the one being punished.

  True, she’d still have Nixie and Maddox—and Teddy—but Jake was more or less everything to her, with the Bradfords a close second and third.

  Yet her own panicked reaction told her something important.

  It made her realize that if Jake needed to work on shoring up his conscience, maybe she needed to work on something, too.

  Like figuring out who she was, other than just the tagalong friend of the famous Lord Griffon and his aristocratic cousins.

  “When are you leaving?” she asked, already feeling desolate.

  Jake gazed woefully at her. “Today. Our things are already packed. We’ll go as soon as the meeting’s over.”

  Far too soon, she was standing by the carriage, holding Teddy on his leash, and saying heavy-hearted farewells to all those who were leaving.

  Archie gave her a hug and a brotherly kiss on the cheek. “Look after Nixie for me, will you?”

  “You know I will, Arch. I’ll miss you.”

  “Same here.” His brown eyes were soulful behind his spectacles. “Good luck with your Lightrider studies. I know you’re going to be one of the best the Order’s ever trained.”

  She smiled gratefully at him, then turned to Isabelle. The empath gave her a pained stare. At least Isabelle knew exactly how Dani was feeling behind her attempt to seem brave on the outside.

  Dani stepped closer and hugged her. “Tell me you’ll be all right, Iz. You know I’ll worry when I’m not there to look after you.”