The Golden Tower

by Holly Black

  For a moment, Call felt that odd sensation of the world tilting sideways again, but it wasn’t because an evil mage’s memories were getting tangled up with his own. It was because this wasn’t supposed to be his role.

  He wasn’t a hero. Jasper wasn’t supposed to ask him for favors or act like he was important.

  That was Aaron. It was supposed to be Aaron.

  Hey, came the voice in his head. I’m good with it not being me. I was good with it not being me back then, but there was no one else. And now there’s no one else but you.

  Call nodded. “If we do this mission, you’ll be a hero, too. You could ask them yourself.”

  Jasper’s look was dubious. “Just say you’ll do it. You’re the Makar.”

  “I can’t tell them to release your dad, but I can insist that they don’t give him the death penalty no matter how his trial goes,” said Call. “And I can insist he has a trial, a fair one.”

  For a moment, Jasper was silent. Then he gave a long sigh. “Promise?”

  “I promise. Do you want to spit-shake on it?”

  Jasper made a face. “No, I trust you. Besides, that’s disgusting.”

  Call grinned, glad Jasper was acting normal around him. Together, they walked toward the diner attached to the motel. Alastair was already there with Gwenda and Tamara, sitting in a booth. They’d even gotten their drinks: Alastair was drinking coffee and the girls had milk shakes.

  The overhead lighting was flickering and yellow. The linoleum was worn and cracked. But behind the case, there were pristine, glistening pies and top hat–high cakes topped with cherries and coconut flakes. Call’s mouth started to water.

  Jasper sat down on Gwenda and Tamara’s side, leaving Call to sit with Alastair. Tamara grinned at him as he slid in across from her.

  The waitress came back and took their order. Jasper got an orange soda and an enormous burger with bacon. Tamara got a tuna fish sandwich. Gwenda got a gyro. Alastair got steak and eggs. Call ordered a ham steak, a single pancake with chocolate chips, and french fries. Then he ordered two more hamburgers to go, rare, for Havoc.

  “Got some news,” said Alastair. “I checked in with Master Rufus on the tornado phone. Alex’s tower is close to being finished. They think they can stall him, but only for three more days. Master Rufus said that we needed to complete our mission by then.”

  “Three more days?” Call squeaked. “How are we going to find three Devoureds that fast?”

  “Let’s just focus on the task in front of us,” said Alastair. “Convince Lucas and maybe he can send us in the direction of some other Devoureds.”

  “But what if he can’t?” Call asked, which was admittedly not the most heroic thing to say.

  “You really think this plan will work?” Alastair asked.

  Call nodded.

  “Then we’ll find a way,” his dad reassured him.

  Their food came, but even though it looked delicious, Call couldn’t taste it.

  That night he tossed and turned on the bed, sleeping only in fits and starts. Havoc licked his face, letting him know that the wolf was there with him. It helped, but he woke up over and over anyway, coming full awake as dawn was cresting outside the window.

  It was time to go to Niagara Falls.

  A few hours later, nursing an enormous cup of coffee, Call piled into Alastair’s Rolls-Royce. There was less chatter today in the car and more nervous tension. Everyone seemed stressed, and when they stopped for lunch at McDonald’s, even Jasper could only eat five hamburgers and a bag of fries.

  After a few hours, everyone in the car had nodded off except Havoc, Call, and Alastair. “I’m sorry,” Alastair said, peering into the rearview mirror to make sure the others were asleep. “I shouldn’t have suggested running away, back at the Magisterium.”

  Call was startled. “You’re the one who was right,” he said. “Way back when. I never should have gone to the Magisterium at all.”

  Alastair shook his head. “No, Master Joseph would have found us eventually. I was sticking my head in the sand. I was wrong. You wouldn’t have known how to protect yourself from him. You might have died, along with all the people you’ve saved.”

  Call fell silent. He thought of himself as fighting the evil inside him so often, he never stopped to consider any good he might have done.

  The road went on and on. Eventually Call dozed off. He was awoken at a gas station by the smells of coffee and microwaved cinnamon buns. He drank some of the coffee, stretched, went to the restroom, and decided against washing his face with the slightly brownish water coming from the tap.

  Back in the car, he drank more coffee and ate three glazed cinnamon buns. By the time they arrived at the parking area of Niagara Falls State Park, he was ready to buzz off his seat like a hummingbird from the sugar.

  They found a place to put the car and proceeded on foot, ignoring the aquarium and the other fun stuff, to head straight for the visitors’ center. There, they got the explanation that they could go to the observation tower and from there, if they wanted, they could take an elevator down to the bottom of Niagara Falls and go on a boat ride. There was even a place called “the crow’s nest” where they were pretty sure to get mist right in the face.

  Call had wondered if the elevator would be made of glass, but it was ordinary metal. When they reached the bottom, the doors opened on a torrent of noise. They hurried out onto the deck. They could see tourists walking back and forth on red wooden decks, clad in bright yellow ponchos. The decks were connected by wooden walkways leading up and down.

  The falls poured down so close that Call was awestruck, even though they weren’t there to sightsee. As the water hit the rocks at the bottom, it exploded into white mist, then ran in torrents over the boulders past the falls and rushed away at incredible speed.

  “Come on,” said Alastair in a low voice. “Follow me.”

  He led them down several walkways as they ducked among tourists in ponchos. They were all getting wet in the downpour, and Call’s leg was starting to hurt. Alastair moved purposefully to the edge of a deck and beckoned them close, then climbed nimbly over. He helped Call over next — it was a short drop — and the others, even Havoc, landed quickly beside them.

  They were on a narrow path that led by the water. Something about the path told Call it was a mage path, something invisible to normal eyes. Maybe the fact that no one else was on it. Maybe the fact that the only footprints in the dirt weren’t footprints at all, but stamps that looked as if they were in the shape of the symbol for the element of water.

  The sun had come out, and it dried them as they made their way along the path, the noise of the river drowning out any conversation that wasn’t shouting. Alastair stopped at a place where the path jutted out into the water in a small promontory. He cupped his hands around his mouth. “Lucas!” he shouted. “Lucas, can you hear me?”

  Tamara suddenly gasped. “Look!” she yelled. “There! A kid is drowning!”

  She pointed.

  A boy in a yellow poncho had slipped somehow, even with all the precautions and the railing. He’d fallen into the torrent frothing over the rocks and was being carried along, spun around like a leaf. For a moment he disappeared underwater and bobbed to the surface. Call couldn’t tell if he was conscious or not, couldn’t tell how hard he’d hit the rocks.

  “We have to do something,” Tamara said, rushing to the water’s edge.

  “Try to pick him up. Jasper and I will concentrate on calming the water. Gwenda, you make sure none of the people notice,” said Call.

  Jasper nodded. Gwenda scrunched up her face in concentration. She intensified the fog of the spray, creating a mist that hid them. Then she intensified two of the rainbows so that they were beautiful enough to distract onlookers. It might not be enough to keep his family from noticing what was happening, but it might mean no one else was looking.

  Call had never been particularly good with water magic, but he reached out with it now, trying to con
trol the flow of the rapids to clear a path for Tamara. He saw Jasper was concentrating on slowing the movement of water close to the boy, who was slowly rising in the air and floating toward them.

  The boy opened his eyes and looked at them, but when he did, Call saw that his eyes were full of water. Tamara’s magic brought him closer, but the nearer he got, the less he looked like a boy. His skin rippled and became translucent, as though he wasn’t made of flesh at all. Then he collapsed into a puddle, leaving no child at all, just a yellow jacket.

  “What?” Jasper demanded.

  A geyser shot out of the water — and out of that came a manlike shape. “You’ve passed my test,” he said in a gurgling voice. “Now what do you want?”

  “You recognize me, don’t you, Lucas?” asked Alastair.

  “Alastair Hunt.” The man was translucent, but the water formed a clear picture of his features, even the sketchy outlines of curly hair. “It’s been a long time.”

  “This is my son and his friends. We need a favor,” Alastair said.

  “A favor?”

  “We need your help. There’s a Devoured of chaos and he wants to take Constantine Madden’s place, fighting the mage world.”

  “He wants to hurt a lot of people,” said Jasper. “Maybe wipe out humanity.”

  “And what can I do about that?” asked Lucas.

  “If you were to stand with three other Devoureds, you’d be able to strip away his chaos,” said Call. “He will return to being just a mage and we could fight him. Dad told me you fought in the war. Alex is the last of Constantine’s minions with any power. Once he’s defeated, the war can finally be over.”

  “That was when I was human,” said the Devoured. “But I am human no longer.”

  “You could live anywhere,” said Tamara. “But you choose here.”

  “I like Niagara. I like the power of the waterfall, the rush of the water.”

  “And the people,” said Tamara. “You could be out at sea, far from anyone. You could be in one of the great rivers. You could even pick a remote waterfall. But no, you pick a place where there will always be humans nearby. And you tested us by showing us a human child in danger. I think that, whatever you are, you still care about people.”

  “Perhaps I do.” Lucas spun slowly in the water. Gwenda and Jasper watched in wonder. “I find that I do not like the idea of humanity being wiped out. I will help you.”

  Call’s shoulders sagged in relief. “Great,” he said. “Do you know any other Devoureds? Like, of other elements?”

  Lucas frowned. “This does not sound like a well thought-out plan.”

  “We already have Ravan, Devoured of fire, on our side,” said Tamara quickly. “We just need a Devoured of earth and a Devoured of air.”

  Lucas made a thoughtful noise like splashing water. “Maybe Greta,” he said. “Last I heard, she had taken up residence in a sinkhole near Tampa.”

  “Greta Kuzminski?” said Alastair. “She became a Devoured of earth? Was that because she likes dirt or hates people?”

  “Mostly she hates people,” said Lucas. “She was betrayed by the Assembly. They were willing to say anything to get her on their side in the war against Constantine, but after the truce, they betrayed all the promises they’d made. I’ll tell you exactly where to find her, but you may have difficulty convincing her the way you convinced me.”

  “Great,” muttered Gwenda. “I knew this was too easy.”

  “You don’t know another Devoured of earth, do you?” said Jasper. “Someone friendlier?”

  “I do not,” said Lucas. True to his word, he gave them detailed directions, which Call tried to memorize. “Good luck to you. When you have collected everything you need, touch water and speak my name. I will be summoned to you.”

  With that, he melted away into the water, turning to foam and mist.

  By the time they all made it back to Alastair’s car, Tamara was wringing out her braids, and Call felt as if his soaked clothes weighed a hundred pounds. After glancing around to make sure no one was looking, Tamara summoned up enough fire magic to create a miniature bonfire they could all warm themselves with. (Except for Havoc, who just bounced around shaking the water off his fur.)

  “So who’s Greta?” Call asked Alastair. “Old girlfriend or something?”

  “Just a crabby classmate. I guess things don’t change.” Alastair, holding his hands out to the bonfire, looked absent. “It’s too bad she’s all the way in Tampa. It’s a long drive for you to make.”

  “Don’t you mean it’s a long drive for us?” said Call, surprised.

  Alastair shook his head. “I think I’ve got a lead on a Devoured of air, but there isn’t time for us to travel together if we’re going to make it back to the Magisterium in time. You just make sure to convince Greta and I’ll meet you there.”

  “You want me to take the car?” Call asked. Alastair’s Phantom was his most beloved possession; he took care of it every weekend, polishing and tinkering. Call couldn’t believe Alastair would trust him with it.

  “Just treat her kindly,” said Alastair, taking out his wallet and peeling off a bunch of twenties, then reaching into his pocket to pull out the keys. “You’re a good driver and a good kid. You’re going to be fine.”

  Call looked at the keys and money in his hands. He thought about suggesting they fly, but he knew their own magic would only take them so far. And they didn’t have time to find an elemental that could take them. “What are you going to do?”

  “I’ve got a friend who can give me a ride. Don’t worry. I’ll be at the Magisterium with a Devoured of air by the time you get there.” Alastair clapped a hand on Call’s back, then, changing his mind, pulled him into a fierce, brief hug. “This is almost over.”

  Letting him go, Alastair waved to the other kids. Whistling, he walked through the parking lot, heading toward the road.

  “You think he can really convince a Devoured of air?” Gwenda asked.

  “We better hope so,” Call said, sliding into the driver’s side of the Rolls-Royce. He put his hands on the wheel. The last time he’d been sitting in this seat was when he was a little kid, pretending to drive, making vroom-vroom noises.

  Tamara took shotgun, leaving Gwenda to sit with Havoc and Jasper.

  He turned the key and pressed his foot to the gas, starting the car.

  Remember when I had to drive because you didn’t know how, Aaron said.

  I’m still not sure I know how, Call thought back.

  Tamara fiddled with the radio while Call carefully steered out of the parking lot and toward the road.

  “You have your license, right?” Gwenda asked him.

  “Provisionally,” he said.

  “What does that mean?” she wanted to know, looking worried.

  “It’s a provisional license,” he said. “I haven’t had a lot of practice, what with being imprisoned and then kidnapped and then nearly dying and then living in a cave.”

  That did not seem to calm Gwenda, but Jasper didn’t seem worried. He petted Havoc and looked out the window.

  “I like road trips,” he said, watching the landscape roll by. “And road-trip games. We should play one of those.”

  Gwenda punched him in the shoulder.

  “Ow!” he yelled.

  “Punchbuggy.” She smiled. “What? I thought you liked road-trip games.”

  He reached over and tickled her under her arms, sending her into fits of laughter as she squirmed away. Havoc barked and tried to relocate himself.

  “Gwenda is so great,” Call told Tamara, looking at them in the rearview mirror. “Finally someone who dislikes Jasper even more than I do.”

  Tamara rolled her eyes, like he was not only wrong but also maybe an idiot. Since Call had no idea what he’d said that was so stupid and didn’t want to admit it, he kept his eyes on the road.

  Maybe she was jealous. Maybe she didn’t want to hear him compliment another girl. But Tamara didn’t look particularly uncomforta
ble. She was leaned against the window, hair in a tidy French braid, watching the cars go by, a small smile on her face.

  A few hours later, though, no one was smiling. They were bored and restless and hungry. The route took them back the way they’d come, through Pennsylvania again, then through West Virginia, Virginia, North and South Carolina, and finally through Georgia to Florida itself. It would take nearly a full day — eighteen hours — to get there. Call figured they could break it up into two long days of driving with another hotel in between.

  Eventually he pulled into the parking lot of a Taco Bell. The Rolls gave a little shudder when it turned off that made Call nervous. He hoped he wouldn’t have to repair the notoriously finicky car on his own.

  “My butt is numb,” said Tamara, climbing out. “Let’s grab food to take away and go find somewhere to sleep.”

  They were all starving, and wound up staggering back to the car laden down with sodas and bags of tacos. Jasper tried to use his phone to find them a hotel, and there was a lot of yelling and Call driving the wrong direction and then having to make U-turns. Eventually they made it to a Red Roof Inn and Jasper used his dad’s credit card to book them three rooms, which was all that was available.

  “Tamara and Gwenda can share,” he announced, “and Call and I will each have our own room.”

  There was a chorus of discontent, but Jasper pointed out that he had paid for the rooms, so he got his own, and if one of the girls wanted to sleep in the room with Call, it was their business. In the end, they wound up eating cold tacos and nachos in the courtyard of the motel as the sun set in the distance.

  That night Call lay in bed for a long time trying to sleep. Everything felt like a weight on his shoulders. It was hard to stay focused when he knew that he was the reason they were all there, and he was the reason they had to fight Alex, and he was the reason pretty much everything bad in the world had ever happened.

  Which was only sort of an exaggeration.

  That’s not true, said Aaron.

  There was a knock on the door. Call dragged himself out of bed, wondering if Jasper was here to ask for another favor. But it wasn’t Jasper. It was Tamara.