by Vivien Reis
Her body shifted slightly to face him. “You have my word. All we need is the information she has. I understand your concern. Your mother will have plenty of time to reverse the damage done to your father before we extract what we need.”
How did she know about that?
“That is what you’re worried about,” she said, raising an eyebrow. “Isn’t it?”
Something shattered behind him, making him jump. A barista stared down at a broken cup, dark liquid spreading away from it.
Ben turned back to Evelyn. "What do I have to do?"
Her pointed nails nudged the box on the table. "I assume you've performed incantations with your tutor. You have instructions inside the box, with a summoning stone and herbs to allow your mind to locate your mother. Perform this tomorrow night, under the full moon. We'll know when you've completed it."
"Why can't you just be there? Why can't we do it tonight? I've never done one by myself."
"It has to be a full moon, and it has to be a cast you do. Anyone else would cause an interference in the signal. We can't take that chance."
He became aware of his own heartbeat, slow but strong. Too strong. It burst in his chest with each beat, making him fidget in his seat, adjusting his jacket collar.
The box was smooth. He lifted the lid and checked inside. A baseball sized sphere sat in the center, various objects surrounding it.
"The piece of paper has an incantation. Burn it before the ritual." She moved her head as if to catch his gaze. He looked up at her. "Burn the paper after you’ve memorized its text. Understand?"
He nodded. “That’s it?”
“That’s it. We’ll take over from there. This time on Sunday, you’ll have your father and your sister back.”
But what would be the cost? Nothing came for free, and Mr. Flynn had warned him against seeing this woman again.
“You have until midnight tomorrow to decide. Then you either do the ritual, or you don’t.” She pushed the box toward him again.
He picked it up and left, afraid that if he stopped, he would think of this, take the box back to her and tell her he didn’t need her help.
But he did.
Everyday his sister was in danger, and every day was another without a vision of her. He had no way of knowing if she was even alive anymore.
Ben looked left and right before crossing Third Avenue, and caught sight of a man, tucked between two buildings. His eyes were trained on Ben, face shrouded with a black hood but he knew the strange was looking straight at him.
The man reached the sidewalk, turning in the opposite direction as Ben. As the man moved, he kept his eyes trained on Ben, craning his neck at an unnatural angle.
Ben blinked, and he disappeared. The man hadn't been there at all. His mind was slipping.
He pulled his baseball cap out of his pocket, fixing it low over his face. There weren't that many people on the streets, as most were still at work or school, but he didn't want to chance being recognized.
It was cool, but warm enough that a majority of the snow had melted, forming slushy piles that Ben had to maneuver around. It had taken him close to two hours to walk the distance to the cafe, and now that he had what he needed, he wasn't looking forward to the walk back.
As soon as he passed the last shop in town, the sidewalk ended, forcing him to walk in the muddy grass on the side of the road. Each time a vehicle drove past him, he ducked his face from view, glancing toward the trees.
He trekked on, feeling vulnerable so close to the trees, until he reached the first residential neighborhood.
Cora's was on the other side of town, and anyway, she was at school, but Ben wanted to talk to her. He hadn't received any texts from her since they had fought and was curious to know if she had finished translating his mom's journal.
He had been wrong to yell at her like he had. She was helping him when no one else seemed interested in finding his family. Without her, he never would have been able to figure out the pattern to his mom's madness.
He probably never would have found the journal to begin with.
When he got back to Gran's, he removed his boots outside first, and climbed in through the window so no mud would get on the carpet. Careful to place his jacket and hat where he had last left them, he took a shower but the cold never left his bones.
The journal beckoned to him once he had gotten dressed, but he collapsed on his bed instead.
He woke up standing in the middle of the kitchen. Gran was talking to him about something, but he hadn't heard any of the conversation.
"—got detention and your coach apparently sidelined him for the next two games." She removed chicken from the refrigerator, the smell of raw meat assaulting Ben's nose through the plastic wrap. He clenched his stomach and left to lie back down in his bed.
The box Evelyn had given him was at the back of his sock drawer, and he fought the urge to pull it out and open it. But he needed to wait. If he took it out now, he would be tempted to just do it already. How important could the moon possibly be?
He stared out his window through the tiny slits between the blinds, watching as the sun finished setting, the world fading to black until all he could see was his own reflection in the glass.
Gran had knocked on his door at some point but he feigned being asleep. She’d left and hadn't come back.
His stomach growled but the thought of eating sent goosebumps down his spine. He closed his eyes, wanting nothing more than to sleep the next day away.
Before he could drift off, something tugged him up and away.
When he opened his eyes again, he was standing in someone's bedroom. The color had drained from everything, and a thick mist hung in the air, tasting like metal on his tongue. Ben drew closer to the dresser, trying to discern who was in the pictures stuck to the mirror.
He recognized the two girls—Abi and Cora. A bed rested against the wall on his right, and he approached it on tiptoe. Cora lay underneath a mound of white blankets, her hair fanned and tangled around her.
Leaving the bed, he found her laptop on the floor. Printed out pieces of paper lay scattered around it, as if she’d recently been working on it.
The first page he picked up was one from the journal, with letters circled in groups. He moved the pages around until he found what seemed like a packet of translated pages.
Most of it didn't make sense. His mom mentioned much of the same as she had through the rest of the journal. He flipped the page to find a large highlighted section, a different shade of gray than the rest of the page.
It's my fault. All my fault. I owed the King, and he's collecting his debt. He's trying but I can't let him take my child. The necklace. I need to protect it. I want to run, take this danger, and disappear. But he's already part of my child. My baby. My Bennie.
He flipped the pages, frantically now, searching for something more. Another highlighted section appeared.
…tried to destroy necklace. Nothing worked. If I can destroy it, they’ll never know. I can save him.
“Bennie.”
It was Him. His voice stretched, curling around Ben like a tightening rope.
A low purr vibrated through his throat as he rolled his neck.
“Find the necklace, my son.” The words sent a chill through him as warmth spread over his body.
Of course he would find the necklace.
He strode downstairs, descended the creaking steps to the basement and flipped on the light. Energy pulsed at him from behind a shelving unit.
“Yeessssss.”
Warmth radiated from the stone as he picked it up.
“Good.”
He let the necklace slip around his neck, dangling with a comforting weight.
"Ben?" A hollow voice echoed behind him. His head hung sideways as he turned, a foggy Cora standing in front of him. "What's wrong with your skin? Are you all right?" She spotted the necklace and her expression changed. "What are you doing?"
His head jerked upright and he le
t a toothy smile spread across his face.Cora. The name rolled off his thoughts and tumbled around in his head like a playful kitten. He shivered.
Cora took a step back but Ben grabbed her. When she tried to scream, he stole her voice, watching as her mouth opened and closed without a sound.
He drew her face closer to his as she mouthed his name. She didn't have much energy to her, but he needed all he could get. She kicked and struggled to get away, but holding her was easy, so easy, as if the thought was merely all it took.
Ben leaned in closer, closer, closer until his lips locked against her. She softened for a moment, surprised, and then he inhaled. Her vapor was heavy and it stung at his senses, tingling through his body.
He inhaled until only a tiny wisp of her was left, and let her body drop to the floor. It wouldn't be enough for the ritual, but he was closer. He rolled his shoulders and flexed his hands, absorbing the vapor into his own.
Cora lay motionless on the ground, wide-eyed, mouth still open.
Ben shot up in his bed with a gasp, trembling. His sheets were soaked through and the comforter was on the floor.
Something was wrong. He didn't feel right anymore.
His head pounded as he swung his legs off the bed. When he leaned over, resting his elbows on his knees, something glinted in the light.
The stone was hanging from his neck, glittering and glowing bright red in the darkness around him.
# THIRTY-NINE
She wasn’t sure how long it had been, but she was tired of their questions. Apparently, it was improper for them to sweep her mind to see what she had endured while with the King’s Army, so she had to tell them again and again what had happened, answering questions so similar to one another that she felt like a broken record.
“Thank you, Abi. We’ll have to talk amongst ourselves and have our analysts take a look to see if we can come up with a reason why the KA took you in the first place.” She turned, addressing the rest of her Consul. “We have another matter to discuss, unfortunately. Abi has a root. From her time with the KA, we suspect.”
Another hush.
Abi’s heart thrummed loud in her ears.
“Roderick, please locate an aegis for the incantation to block this root.” Cecelia hadn’t give them an opportunity to panic, but Abi could tell it was coming.
“Right away,” and while his words still hung on the air, he vanished.
“What’s an aegis?” Abi whispered to Jesse, who sat next to her on the first row of the stone steps.
"It's a temporary solution to form a seal between their mind and yours," he explained.
"If what you say is true, then this root is dangerous," the Vikar Gowri said forcefully. "No one has ever entered Elysia with a rooted Kingsman in their mind. She is putting all of us at risk."
"Now, now, Gowri," Cecelia chided. "We are just as guilty for not finding the root as Abi is for having it. That is to say, none of us are to blame here. We'll discuss the issue and move forward."
That wasn’t enough to appease Gowri, and the eight of them burst into a debate until Roderick returned with the stone.
Half of the Vikars were concerned with what Abi might have already exposed to the King’s Army, and the other half wanted to lock her away so she couldn’t see anything else that the root might allow the enemy to know of Elysia.
Abi was close to her limit now, not just emotionally but mentally. Her brain was fogging up from the effort, and having someone snoop in her mind wasn't exactly a walk in the park. She sat there, listening to people talk about her like she wasn’t there, sometimes like she wasn’t a person at all.
Cecelia eventually calmed everyone down enough to do the ritual. Abi stood in the center of the room holding the aegis, and the Vikars gathered around her. It was strangely similar to the incantations the King's Army had performed on her, but nothing alike at the same time. They formed a circle and candles appeared. Cecelia lit hers first and lit the candles to the left and right of her. One by one, the Vikars lit one another’s candles until the circle of light was complete.
Myra and Jesse stood outside of the circle, watching.
Each Vikar mumbled a string of words that Abi couldn't recognize, all out of sync from one another. It was over in a few short minutes. Abi didn't feel any different, but they all sat down looking satisfied and more at ease.
"That stone will require recharging every other day," Cecelia instructed. "Other than that, you're free to resume your normal activities and training."
The yellow stone had a long chain on it and she slipped it around her neck.
Cecelia’s thank you was sincere, and she smiled slightly before dismissing them.
When they had reached the exit of the cave, Abi turned to Jesse and Myra. "That seemed a little too easy..."
"What? Fixing the root? It's just a temporary—" Jesse started.
"No, I mean the whole spy thing. How do we know Cecelia is going to be able to take care of it?”
“Abi,” Myra said, “she didn’t become the Grand Vikar by accident. She knows what she’s doing.”
And how hadn't the Consul known about this root? She felt violated, like someone had snooped through her belongings. What had this person listened in on? Would she have been able to notice it all prior to her training?
"Does this root thing happen often?"
"No,” Jesse explained. “It's rare in normal circumstances. It means someone can tap into your mind at random, almost as if they have a constant stitch to your mind."
"Do you think it's my mom? Maybe she's part of the King's Army now and figured out a way to root into my mind."
"I don't know. Honestly, it could be anyone,” Myra hesitated. “I have to get back to the hospital. I’ll catch up with you guys later.”
They said goodbye and Jesse started down the path with Abi.
She didn’t tell Jesse where she was going but strode toward Elysia Square, wishing now she was able to hop the distance. He followed her until they reached the library.
"Researching the stone?"
"Yes." She stopped, turning to face him. "I saw that necklace again. The one at your house. We need to get it. We need to figure out what it’s for.”
"I can go get it, but it’ll be a little while. I’ll have to wait until everyone goes to bed. I’m supposed to be back at boarding school until Christmas.”
She nodded, but her gut told her that wouldn’t be fast enough.
"Let me help you."
She hadn't expected this. They had never been together this long, and Abi wondered if he was neglecting his duties to be with her.
The idea filled her chest with a warm and happy weight.
“Let’s see Gertrude. We need answers.”
“I’m all for skipping a research sesh in the library.” He led the way to the markets.
As they got closer, the smells of the food made her stomach growl. A small shop sold steaming bowls of ramen, and curried spices wafted out of another but she stayed focused.
Until Jesse veered into a shop, leaving her standing in the street. “Hey! Where are you…” She was about to follow him inside, but he popped back out, carrying two things that looked like giant hotpockets.
“They’re meat pies. We need some fuel,” he said, handing her one.
The outside was incredibly flaky and the meat and gravy on the inside was seasoned perfectly. She’d nearly finished hers by the time they got to Gertrude’s.
Some of the shops this far down seemed to be closed and Abi’s heart sank when Jesse jiggled the knob. It was locked.
Jesse seemed to be debating what they should do next when the door swung open.
"Well, hello again." Mrs. Gertrude ushered them inside and grabbed Abi's hand as if to steady herself, but Abi knew better. The woman seemed to get around just fine.
"Mrs. Gertrude, we wanted to ask about a red crystal I found a couple weeks ago," Abi explained once they were inside. She closed her eyes, thinking of what the crystal looked like specif
ically, and sent the image out to Gertrude.
"Oh, child. You need more practice at that. I can't discern if that's an opaque white crystal or a off white, clear crystal. They are quite different in their energy capabilities, you know."
"Is it possible for you to link with my mind and see it for yourself?"
"No, no, no. That's frowned upon outside of the Consul circle. I didn't expect you to know that, but here." She shuffled around behind the counter and came up with a piece of paper and pencil. "Draw it for me, dear."
Oh, god. Abi might have excelled at academics growing up, but art was not her strong suit.
She did as best as she could, ending up explaining more of what she saw than drawing it.
"Ah, I see. And when you held it, did it give off a warmth or was it cold?"
"Definitely warm. And it—I didn't think anything of it at the time, but I could have sworn when I had first seen it that it was red."
Gertrude hummed to herself for a moment, occasionally saying words like changing and influence. "I can’t know for sure. Crystals can change colors when near another crystal, a certain Oracle, an object, or it could be a blood stone. It’s impossible to know without seeing it in hand."
She could tell this wasn’t the answer they wanted.
“But what of the metal work?” Abi asked, grasping for anything that might lead them somewhere.
“It’s a popular design unfortunately. I’m sorry I couldn’t be more helpful.”
They left, and Abi marched back to the library, Jesse following her.
"What else did you want to look up?" She didn't miss the slight whine to his question. He obviously wasn't the library type.
"Crystals that change colors. I stumbled on a few references before but I didn't think they were related." If her mother had possessed this crystal, what would she have used it for? What purpose did it have? She had wanted to ask Gertrude these questions, but the woman was in a rush to kick them out, saying she had a shipment of blue Austrian spider veins being delivered, and the shop required neutral energy for the handling.
The last rays of sunlight cast the majority of the library in a purple hue. She took her regular seat, picking up where she’d left off after gathering up some crystals.