Even and Odd

by Sarah Beth Durst

  “Lady Vell is separating families,” Even said loudly. “And causing people to lose their homes. Destabilizing the land. How’s that for news?”

  The rabbit paused. “Okay, I’m intrigued. Sounds like a pretty good story. If it’s true.”

  “It’s true,” Jeremy confirmed.

  “We just spoke with her,” Odd said, “and she confessed everything. She doesn’t care about the consequences of her actions. She just cares about her ‘inventions.’”

  The rabbit studied Jeremy. “People will believe it if it comes from the unicorn,” he said. The rabbit thumped his hind paw, obviously excited. “Yeah, that’s an excellent idea. If the unicorn is your spokesman, then I’ll do it.”

  Unicorns can’t lie, Even thought. Of course! It was perfect. Jeremy could explain everything, as well as repeat what Lady Vell had said. “Jeremy, let him interview you! You can tell them what’s happening at the border, what happened to us, and what happened to your home.” He knew about Mr. Fratelli and the lightless fairies. He’d met both Frank and the elf priestess. Plus he’d witnessed the effects of the lake and hill relocating. He could also talk about their encounter with the dragon. If that didn’t impress viewers, she didn’t know what would.

  Talking to himself, the rabbit began to set up the mirror. “Ooh, this is going to be good. Exactly the twist my broadcasts need. This will catch people’s attention!”

  Jeremy began to tremble from his mane to his tail. “Uh, slight problem.”

  Odd patted his neck. “Hey, calm down. What’s wrong?”

  “Mirror shy?” the rabbit asked. “Buck up, kid. This is your chance to be famous. My news reports beam to every mirror in every house, business, and hovel. You’ll be seen by thousands! Your folks back home will be amazed.”

  His eyes wide, Jeremy asked softly, “Even, Odd, can I talk to you a second?”

  “Uh, sure,” Even said.

  They retreated from the reporter.

  “What’s wrong?” Odd asked.

  “I can’t do this,” Jeremy said.

  “Why not?” Even asked. The reporter was offering them the perfect opportunity! It was exactly what they needed to do to reach the people who could fix this mess.

  “Because I always crack under pressure,” he squeaked. “You’ve seen me. I babble when I’m stressed and say the wrong thing at the wrong time. What if I say the wrong thing now? What if I mess it all up? What if people don’t listen to me? Or what if they do and those people are my parents, and they find out I was in your world? What if they’re angry with me? What if Lady Vell is? What if everyone is? What if I make things worse?”

  He’s scared, Even realized. The rabbit was right. Mirror shy. She opened her mouth to say he had to do it anyway, that this was important, but Odd was already talking.

  “You can do this,” Odd said. “I know you can! All you have to do is describe what you’ve seen. Just tell people the truth.” She was using her encouraging-a-stray-puppy voice.

  “But . . . but this is important!” Jeremy said. “And all I’m good at is putting my hoof in my mouth and messing up!”

  Odd positioned herself directly in front of him. “Jeremy, remember when you talked about wanting to be in our world so that you could be different and better? The thing is, being there—being different—wouldn’t make you better. You keep saying you aren’t good under pressure, but look at everything you’ve done already: coming to our world alone, helping us reach your parents and then the city, escaping the dragon. Remember that? You saved us. Here and now you have a chance to save everyone. And who could do better than that?”

  Jeremy was drinking in her words, but he was still trembling.

  It’s working, Even thought. Keep talking, Odd.

  Odd laid her hand on his mane. “We’ll help you. We’ll ask you questions, and you answer. Just talk to us. You don’t even have to look at the reporter or the mirror. Keep your eyes on me.”

  Quietly, the reporter positioned the mirror beside them, just out of Jeremy’s line of sight. Good, Even thought. So far, Jeremy hadn’t noticed him. “How about we practice?” She glanced at the reporter, pointed to the mirror, and mouthed, Do it!

  “Let’s begin at the beginning,” Odd said, keeping her eyes on Jeremy and only on him so that he looked back only at her. “How did you meet us?”

  “I . . . I came to your border shop.”

  “And why did you come?”

  “At first, I went to your shop because I wanted to buy Farmcats cards and soda,” Jeremy said. “But then I couldn’t get back. I thought your father could help.”

  Odd continued. “Who was in the border shop with you?”

  “A centaur and an elf.”

  “And why were they there?”

  With Odd coaching him, Jeremy described everything he’d seen: the centaur who couldn’t use his glamour spell, the fairies whose lights were out, the gateway that flickered open and then closed, the lake and the hill that had switched places, the hungry mermaids, the angry displaced dragon, the scared travelers . . . all of it.

  And the reporter broadcast every bit of it to mirrors across Firoth.

  As Jeremy talked, a small crowd began to gather, mostly kids and teens, some human and many not. They listened. By now Even thought that Jeremy must have guessed that this wasn’t practice, but he kept his eyes on Odd as she stroked his mane and nodded, and he kept going, without babbling, without panicking.

  “And then when we got back to the city, we started seeing these flying boards . . .”

  Even wondered who was seeing the broadcast. How quickly could the Academy of Magic send someone to stop Lady Vell?

  “What brought you here, outside Lady Vell’s tower?” Odd asked. “You said you traveled to the city with us. Why?”

  “My parents said she’s a known expert on border magic,” Jeremy said. “They couldn’t reach her by mirror, so we wanted to try in person. We thought she’d be able to help.”

  “And what did she say when we asked for help?” Even asked.

  “She told us that she is using a power stone to siphon magic from the border. That’s how she’s creating the floating boards that everyone loves so much, as well as a whole bunch of new inventions she plans to sell.”

  The little crowd gasped.

  Jeremy was beginning to fidget, shifting from hoof to hoof. Even imagined it was getting harder to pretend he was just talking to Odd. She glanced at the door to Lady Vell’s tower. It hadn’t reopened, and she didn’t see the centaur butler. Did Lady Vell know what they were doing? Was she watching from within her tower?

  “And what’s the problem with that?” Odd prompted.

  “The border magic is what keeps the gateways open,” Jeremy said. “Without it, people can’t travel between worlds. Worse, the magic can’t travel between worlds. That means no magic in the mundane world. And it means the borderlands have become unstable, without their connection to the mundane world. People’s homes have been moving around, and creatures—sometimes dangerous creatures—are popping up where they don’t belong. And it’s her fault, and she doesn’t care! She has to stop stealing border magic! Someone has to make her stop!” He looked directly at the mirror at last as he concluded, “Because we all just want to go home.”

  The reporter tilted the mirror toward himself. “You’ve seen it right here, folks. Heavy accusations from the unicorn known as Jeremy. Stay with us while we approach Lady Vell herself for her comments.” Carrying the mirror, he marched toward the tower door.

  Everyone who’d gathered to watch followed him.

  “You did it!” Even told Jeremy.

  “I know! I did! I really did! But . . . will it matter?”

  Reaching the tower, the reporter pounded on Lady Vell’s door. “New City Mirror, seeking a statement from Lady Vell on the accusations leveled against her.”

  The tower was silent.

  The reporter banged on the door again. A few of the boarders flew themselves up to the higher window
s. Even joined them, using her magic to rise up above the gardens.

  Below, at last, the door opened. Even swooped down to rejoin Odd and Jeremy as the centaur stepped outside. The crowd pressed closer, eager to hear his answer.

  “Lady Vell is not available for comment,” he boomed.

  The reporter shoved the magic mirror at the centaur. “Can you tell us why Lady Vell doesn’t care about the damage she has done?”

  The centaur recoiled. “This is all inappropriate and unnecessary. Lady Vell cares deeply about the people of this land. Her actions are for the betterment of all.”

  “Not all!” Even yelled.

  “We want to go home!” Odd shouted.

  “The border magic belongs to everyone,” Jeremy said. “It’s not right for Lady Vell to take it!”

  “Lady Vell is a genius,” the centaur said. “Her work—”

  “Her work took my home!” Jeremy said. “It’s endangering mermaids and causing angry dragons and other dangerous creatures to wreak havoc on unprotected regions. And the problems will spread—things will get worse!”

  “Your statement?” the reporter insisted.

  The centaur retreated. He tried to shut the door, but the reporter wedged the mirror inside.

  Suddenly, a whoosh of wind roared out through the door.

  The curious crowd was pushed back.

  Even fell, landing on a boy with a furry face and a squirrel tail. Scrambling to her feet, she rose onto her toes to see what was happening. Lady Vell stood in the doorway, filling it. The wind had pulled strands of hair out of her coif of screwdrivers and other tools. Her silk robe fluttered around her.

  “Can I help you?” she asked.

  The reporter scrambled to grab his magic mirror and prop it up. “What do you say to the allegations that your inventions have caused devastation along the border? Do you believe your work is more important than the well-being of those who live by the gateways? Did you know how much damage you were doing? Now that you do know, do you plan to stop using border magic?”

  Lady Vell studied him and then the crowd. Last, she looked at Even and Odd.

  “The public wants to know,” the reporter persisted. “Will you let these children return to their parents? Will you return the magic you’ve taken and allow the gateways to reopen? Will you stop your activities in the face of the destruction you’re causing?”

  Even held her breath. They’d exposed the truth. Maybe Lady Vell would understand the importance of what was happening. People’s lives were being affected. Damage was being done. Families were being split, homes lost. Now that Lady Vell knew for certain, and now that she knew that others knew and that soon the Academy of Magic would know . . . she had to stop!

  Lady Vell held up her hand, and the crowd quieted.

  Even stepped forward. “Will you stop? Please?” she asked.

  “No,” Lady Vell said.

  And she threw her hands in the air. Fire spurted up around her tower, without touching any of the walls themselves. Even felt a blast of cold instead of heat. As the cold fire spread, the flames turned silver and encased the entire tower. The crowd gasped, retreating back through the gardens, all the way to the yellow brick road.

  Lady Vell smiled, turned, and went inside.

  The door sealed behind her, leaving a wall of silver fire, laced with blue bubbles.

  15

  The silver-and-blue fire burned without touching the trees or gardens. It didn’t behave like an ordinary fire—it didn’t spread, and it didn’t give off heat. Even poked at the flames and then yelped as pain shot through her finger. She popped her finger into her mouth.

  “Don’t play with fire,” Odd told her.

  “Thanks.” Even glared at her sister. Taking her finger out of her mouth, she looked at it, expecting to see it red and burned, but it looked fine. It throbbed for a few seconds more, then stopped. The magic fire hurt but didn’t actually burn. Neither growing nor shrinking, the fire curled around Lady Vell’s tower, making it look like a silver candle.

  Eventually, once it was clear that no further excitement was going to happen, the group of boarders and the last of the wannabe boarders trickled away. The rabbit reporter had settled in to watch the tower, occasionally jotting down lines in a notebook or commenting to his magic mirror. Even, Odd, and Jeremy held out for another hour, as shadows grew across the estate, but when the sun began to set, they trudged back into the city.

  “My parents are going to be so mad when they find out I was in the mundane world without permission. And it was all for nothing.” Jeremy’s head drooped, and even his horn seemed less sparkly.

  “We had to try,” Even told him. He’d shared the truth, and that had to make a difference, even if it wasn’t one they could see yet. Right? She needed to believe that.

  In the city, a few streetlights flickered as fairies flew between them, lighting them with a pinkish amber glow. Except for the abundance of tentacles and wings, it looked like any ordinary city as people drifted home for dinner.

  Jeremy pointed his horn at the streetlights. “We shouldn’t have stayed so long. It will be fully dark soon. I don’t love the idea of traveling in the dark. Especially if there are any more displaced dragons out there.”

  “What choice do we have?” Even asked. “We don’t have any place to stay. We have to go back. We’ll just follow the road.” As she said it, she wondered how that was going to be possible. It wasn’t as if the unicorn had headlights. And the road was a mess, the farther you got from the city.

  “You want to just give up and go back?” Odd asked. “Really?”

  “I’m not giving up! I just don’t know what to do next.” She wished someone were here to tell her what to do. Some hero I’ll be, she thought. If this was a test of her readiness, she’d failed miserably. She couldn’t think of any way her so-called first quest could have gone worse. I’m not ready for any of this. “Maybe if we go back to Unicorn Hill, Jeremy’s parents will have more ideas.” Surely, there had to be someone more qualified than she was to fix all this.

  “Let’s at least eat before we head back,” Jeremy said. “I can buy us food.” He trotted across the street, to where one of the vendors was wheeling a cart. The vendor was a green-skinned genie with heavily muscled arms and smoke instead of legs. It looked like he sold roasted peanuts. And . . . were those dancing frogs? Squinting, Even thought the frogs were wearing top hats and dancing with canes. She saw the genie gesture, and a bale of hay appeared on the street beside the cart with a poof.

  “Not horse food!” Odd called after him. “Human food!”

  “And no cupcakes!” Even called.

  “Definitely no cupcakes!” Odd agreed.

  They watched Jeremy talk to the vendor. “Maybe the broadcast worked, and a hero is already on their way,” Even said. She had to think positive. The alternative was curling up into a ball and crying.

  “What if the Academy didn’t see it?” Odd asked. “Or what if they did see it but don’t care? What happens next? Who can—” She cut off abruptly, and her eyes went wide. “Mom?”

  Even turned and saw her: Mom! In her business suit and ironed blouse, with her hair pinned back, Mom was walking briskly down the street. Spotting them, she started running toward Even and Odd. They ran to her. “Mom!”

  Odd threw herself into Mom’s arms, and Mom squeezed her tight. Even wrapped her arms around both of them. “You’re here!” Odd cried.

  “How did you find us?” Even asked.

  “You were broadcast everywhere,” Mom said. “It was impossible not to know where you were. I went to Lady Vell’s estate and then followed the road straight into the city—and here you are. But what are you doing here? You’re supposed to be home! Why isn’t your father with you? Is he all right? Are you all right?”

  “We’re all right, I promise,” Odd said, hugging her again. Her voice was muffled by Mom’s shirt. “Except for being stuck on the wrong side of the border.”

  “Your father sh
ouldn’t have allowed—” Mom began.

  “It’s not his fault,” Even said. “It’s mine. I thought we could test the portal, see Firoth, and pop back home and tell everyone that everything was fine.”

  “But everything wasn’t fine,” Odd said.

  “You’re right about that. It certainly isn’t fine,” Mom said.

  We’re in so much trouble, Even thought. She was supposed to be home, studying for the level-five exam, which she was supposed to take the day after tomorrow. Instead she and her sister were here, and it was her fault.

  But Mom didn’t yell at them. “Have you eaten anything? Where have you slept?” She examined them both as if they were crystal bowls that could have been chipped. When she didn’t find any bruises or broken bones, she relaxed a bit.

  “We spent last night with Jeremy’s family in Lakeview,” Odd said. She waved to Jeremy, and he trotted back to them, leaving the vendor and his cart without buying anything. “This is our friend Jeremy. He’s been helping us. Jeremy, this is our mother!”

  “You found her!” Jeremy said.

  “She found us,” Even said. “Mom, Jeremy’s home switched places with a lake. And we saw a dragon just appear out of nowhere. But Lady Vell—”

  “I heard what you said, every word, through the mirror,” Mom said. “I’ve been in the border towns, trying to figure out what was going on. Every town near the border is experiencing effects, and I’d narrowed down the cause to a disturbance in the natural flow of border magic. But I lacked the final puzzle piece. I didn’t imagine my daughters would be the ones to unravel this mystery.”

  “Is it true?” Odd asked. “Is it your power stone that Lady Vell is using?”

  “She is, or was, a respected researcher,” Mom said. “A scientist. We believed we were selling it to someone who would study it for academic purposes without using it. We thought she understood its dangers.”

  “A scientist who studies magic,” Odd said. “Isn’t that a contradiction?”

  Mom gave a quick laugh, but Even thought it sounded strained. She tried not to imagine how freaked out Mom must have been to see them appear on a magic mirror. Any second now they were going to get a lecture on how irresponsibly they’d behaved and how she’d expected more from them. “Not at all,” Mom answered Odd. “You can study magic just as you can study butterflies or volcanoes or a disease.”