by D P Rowell
“Aw,” Lag said, “I’m sorry to hear that. Sure you can’t stay any longer?”
Grudge looked at Ace with cold eyes. “We really insist. You must stay for lunch.”
Ace’s pulse quickened once more as he backed from the other side of the couch, slowly making his way to the front door. “I wish I could, really. Thank you for your hospitality. But I should get going before the drake gets too worried.”
Before the jags had time to argue, he realized he had reached the foyer. He turned, grabbed the door, and pulled it open. There was the road. The city of Hillrun before him.
Free, Ace thought.
The door slammed shut. Ace’s heart dropped to his gut and sweat seeped from his skin. He kept his eyes ahead, fearful of turning behind him. He pulled the door open once more. It slammed shut again. Cold chills traced the hairs of his neck. He turned slowly to find Grudge and Lag at the other end of the hall. Both of their eyes a dark yellow, black smoke coming from their bodies. They were shutting the door with magic.
“Please.” Grudge said. “We insist.”
CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
Ransom
Ace looked around the room for an exit. There was none. What was he to do? Could he take them both? He wished he had Kareena next to him. But was using the elyr to fight them wise? What if word got out about his abilities and the elite, including Rio, didn’t trust him? What if he just ruined everything by using the Light to burn Grudge?
The jags advanced slowly to him. “Now, calm down there,” Grudge said. “We won’t hurt you now, we promise.”
Ace said nothing. Behind his back, he made a tiny pale flame, ready to attack if needed. The Light flickered as his hands shook with his nerves, worsening with every step the jags took. What if his light wasn’t strong enough?
“No, no,” Lag said, a wicked smile on her face, “we won’t hurt you at all.” She and her husband continued to slowly move forward until they towered over the boy, “But your family. . . we’re not so sure we can guarantee their safety.”
The Light from Ace’s hand vanished. “What do you mean, my family?”
Grudge grabbed the boy’s arm. “Come.” He dragged him from the foyer to the living room and threw him on the couch. “TV,” Grudge said, “show camera twelve.”
“Oh no,” Ace whispered to himself as he sensed the color draining from his face. The TV showed Marg’s house. His living room, exactly. On their knees, with something like a black smoke wrapped over their mouths, were Cameron, Julie, and Tamara.
“Let them go!” Ace cried.
Grudge grinned wickedly. He stepped toward the television, then turned to face the boy. Grudge’s meaty fingers cracked as he waved his hand across the television screen and cringed his fingers. Cameron’s body twisted and contorted in unpleasant ways. His older brother groaned in pain. The Peppercorns screamed in horror and went to help him. But Grudge’s magic kept them held down.
“Stop it! Stop, Please!” Ace said as he jumped from the couch. “I’ll do whatever you want! Please, just stop it!”
Grudge released Cameron from the spell. Cameron fell limp and thudded to the ground. Ace struggled to keep his body from trembling.
“Very well,” Grudge said, “now that we have your attention, our request very simple. Give us Emerson Stone.”
Ace didn’t know what to say. How did they know of the stone? How did they know he had it? And if they knew he had it, why not just take it from him? A thought came across his mind as he remembered Grandpa’s story. A similar thing had happened with Jakka and Oliver.
“What makes you think I have it?” Ace said.
“Please,” Lag said, now stepping beside her husband. It was then Ace could see that she had turned completely a witch. Her skin had gone black, emitting smoke. “Don’t play dumb with us, human. We saw you enter and return from Shywater. Only an elyrian could do such a thing.”
Grudge said, “Only stone could grant human such power.”
Ace’s nerves quaked. How did they know these things? How could they have seen Shywater? He stared at them wordlessly.
“You know,” Lag said as she crept toward the boy. Her breath was like rotten meat, as well as her skin. “We were questioning ourselves when you first arrived. Whether or not you had stone. But once we told you about fae at inn. The way your eyes lit up. As if you’d found treasure. We watched you that evening. We watched you vanish from behind inn and return to existence.”
“I don’t have it,” Ace said.
Grudge grunted and twisted his bony fingers, causing Cameron to twist and convulse horridly again.
“Stop!” Ace yelled with fury. “I mean I don’t have it on me! I will have to get it for you.”
Grudge stopped. Ace, seeing the Peppercorns’ horrified faces on the screen, wished he could take back the mean things he’d said to them before.
“Where is it?” Grudge said. “Tell us now!”
“The inn!” Ace said. “It’s at the inn!”
Grudge and Lag looked to one another curiously. Then back to the boy.
“Here’s what’s going to happen,” Grudge said. “You’re going walk us there. You’re going be quiet, and not bring any attention to us. If you do, your family is good as gone. Understand?”
Ace nodded silently. As he stared at Cameron’s limp body on the floor, his blood boiled.
Lag spoke before Ace was instructed to stand, “Don’t think by killing us you can save family. We have members in Gathara watching over them now. Kill us, and they will find out and surely harm family.”
They grabbed Ace’s arm and yanked him from the couch. They slowly settled back to their jag appearance as they walked him to the front door. Ace kept silent, but his eyes were focused on the people around him. He prayed every corner they turned he would find Rio. But the drake was nowhere to be found. Where had he gone to? The town wasn’t so big. He thought in his head of every which way he could escape from this situation. Maybe they were bluffing about their friends in Gathara, but Ace wasn’t about to gamble with Cameron’s life. But nothing came to mind. Was Cameron okay? What had they done to him?
How could they know all these things about him? His family in Gathara? As the possibilities traveled through his head, only one seemed the most plausible. The parcel in Gathara must know about all of this. Whoever it was must have found out about their trip to Hillrun and set this up. It was the only explanation. It didn’t matter then. Getting Cameron and the Peppercorns to safety was the priority. Everything else could be figured later.
The jags stayed behind Ace the whole way, smiling and saying hello to their fellow townspeople. Ace simply kept a straight face and ignored everyone, hoping not to give away any possible signs he might be trying to warn people. They turned on Cloudy Street and came to New Nile Suites.
“Hello, welcome to New Nile Suites,” said a fae. Her name tag read Elly, and Ace scoffed at the irony. She was old, bent, and fragile as glass, but her hair was still as new and silver as Kareena’s. Ace and the jags returned the greeting as they made their way to his room. The boy opened the door to darkness. Before he could flip a switch, the jags shut the door behind him.
“Find it! Now!” Lag said in a shrill voice. Ace felt the wall until he found the switch and turned it on. He quickly ran to his bed and rummaged through his backpack.
Hopelessness took him.
Everything he’d worked so hard to protect had been ruined.
His eyes went dark as he frantically sorted through his backpack. For the chest, and the Emerson Stone, were gone.
CHAPTER FIFTY
Ace Found Out
“It was here! I swear!” Ace said.
“Don’t play games with me!” Grudge said, reaching to grab Ace. “Your family is—” Something whistled through the air and popped the jag in his stomach with the sound of a thump. A small yellow sun. Ace turned in the direction it came from.
Rio! Sitting up from behind the bed. Ace ducked under his bed as the drake continue
d to rapidly fire until he caught Lag as well, and they both fell to the ground, screeching in agony. When the shooting ceased, Ace ran to Grudge, who was becoming increasingly harder to see as the orange glow from the anti-magic cage began to swarm him.
“Please, don’t hurt my family! Please! I’m sorry!” Ace yelled with desperation. Rio’s hand grabbed Ace’s arm and pulled him away from the parcel.
“Get back, kid!” Rio said. The witch and parcel’s shrill screams slowly came to a halt as their cage wrapped them in a cocoon of magic proof material.
“Rio! You don’t understand!” Ace said as he turned to the drake, “they have Cameron and the Peppercorns! They’re going to kill them!”
“Calm down, your family is fine,” Rio said. “Grab your things, we need to get you back to Gathara right away.”
“I can’t,” Ace said, “I can’t leave without. . .” Ace wasn’t sure whether to tell Rio or not. But what was he to say? How could he explain his situation without giving away his possession of . . .
“Your precious stone?” the drake said with disgust.
Ace stared blankly. “What are you talking ab—”
“Your stone is safe. C’mon, we need to get you to Gathara! I’ll explain everything on the way.” Rio picked his bags up, then threw Ace’s bags at him. Ace wanted to ask more, but the moment didn’t allow it. He threw his arms through the loops in his backpack and followed the drake out of the inn.
The jags of Hillrun glanced eerily at the boy and drake as they sprinted through the town.
“What about interrogating him?” Ace said.
Rio turned his head back as they continued running. “Forget him. He was planted here to distract us. The whole thing was a set up!”
They reached outside the city wall where their hovercraft awaited them. Rio threw his stuff inside and hopped in, followed by Ace. Within seconds, they had taken off and were gliding over the dirt surface.
“Rio,” Ace said. “What’s happening?”
“The night we arrived in Hillrun, I heard you sneaking out of the inn,” the drake said. He looked at Ace with disappointment. Ace gave him a blank stare, caring more about what Rio had to say next than obtaining his approval. The drake faced the road again. “I followed you and saw you vanish on the other side of the inn. Immediately, I thought you might be a sorcerer,” the drake gave him a piercing glance.
Ace’s eyes widened. “Rio, you don’t understand what’s going on.”
“I think I do,” Rio said. “Just as quickly as you vanished, you reappeared, and began walking toward the inn. I found my way back to the room before you could notice. This morning, when we set out, I mentioned we should split up for a reason. When you left, I returned to the inn and went through your things. That’s when I found this. . .” Rio reached in the backseat and pulled the chest which held the Emerson Stone from a pile of his things. Ace snatched it with relief.
“My chest! Why did you take it?” Ace yelled.
“I think a better question is why you had not told me what you were carrying?” Rio said.
“How much do you know about what’s in the chest?” Ace said.
“Enough to know it’s a witch magnet! Enough to know it’s a power unreasonably great for a twelve-year-old boy!” Rio said.
Ace was taken aback by Rio’s term “witch magnet.” Such a phrase reminded the boy of Grandpa’s advice before he disappeared.
“When you begin to uncover the map, the evils in Yutara will be awakened to your presence and possession of the stone,” Grandpa had said. Now he knew he was an elyrian. Now he knew how to grow the Light . . . he was getting closer to the seventh realm . . . to uncovering the shadows. This was it. The council was becoming aware of his presence in the world.
Ace huffed and said, “Rio, you don’t understand. I need this. The fate of Yutara depends on me having it.” Rio glanced back to the boy a few times wordlessly. “Why did you take it?” Ace persisted.
“Because,” Rio said. “Once I saw that chest, I knew whatever parcel was in Hillrun would be after it. And I know enough to know how dangerous it could be if they found it . . .” Rio paused, “I knew then, sending you out on your own was a terrible mistake. Whoever the parcel was in Hillrun, they would be looking for you. That’s when it hit me. If they wanted that stone from you, they wouldn’t be able to just take it. Your immunity protects you from their magic. So, they would have to find another way to get to you.”
“My family,” Ace said. I guess the stone still makes me immune to witchcraft.
“Exactly. So, I hid it, and went searching for you. I called Keele right away and told her the situation. I told her to send hunters to Marg’s house immediately to protect your family. But after I found you, you had already been captured by the witches. I knew I couldn’t jump in and save you, for the sake of your family. So, I followed you three, waiting for the call from Keele to know when your family was safe, so I could attack. After I saw they were taking you to the inn, I got there quickly and hid before you could find me.”
“So, Keele has my family then? They’re okay?” Ace said.
Rio nodded.
“What about Marg?” Ace said, “is he okay?”
The drake’s eyes squinted as they remained focused on the road. The drake slowly shook his head.
“Oh,” Ace said, hand over his mouth, “I’m sorry, Rio.”
After a brief pause, Rio began to speak again. As if to brush aside the grieving of Marg at the expense of more important matters. “The mole in Gathara knows you have the stone, and he’s been trying to get it from you. He sent us on a wild goose chase in Hillrun to get you and me away from your family. The witches in Hillrun were planted there as a diversion. Once I called Keele, and she gathered a group of hunters to protect your family, it caught the attention of our enemy. That’s when he realized we’d discovered his plan. He also gave away a crucial piece about himself. The sorcerer is a parcel, not a witch, because he sent witches after Keele, trying to get to your family again. Lucky for us, Gathara is full of witch hunters.”
“Are you saying that witches are in Gathara right now?” Ace said.
Rio’s eyes went dark as he turned to Ace. “It’s worse than just that. This parcel has countless witch slaves. Including all the witches from the cellar. He’s incredibly powerful. They all were under his command. Apparently, the witches we’d been capturing weren’t really for capturing. But to give this parcel more power. He’s released them into the city to wreak havoc . . . But I think you’re missing the bigger picture, Ace.”
“What’s that?”
“We’ve narrowed down our search. Only an elite could’ve freed the witches from the cellar. The parcel has to be either Sebastian or George!”
Ace shot a curious glance at the drake. How could a parcel find his way into the most powerful witch hunters in the most magic proof city in Yutara? How deceptive could he be?
“Our parcel is resorting to using his slaves. He’s nervous. Scared. And having been an elite for so long, there’s not many more places he could run. Right now is the perfect opportunity to attack! We may have to fight our way through a million witches to get to him. But once we do, we can take this parcel down, you and the other elite! And we can get the Indies back to the place where they began with your grandfather! With you as the Halder!”
Ace lit up. It was his first chance to grow the Light and start working toward his purpose. He could do it. The Light would guide him. Its power surged within him as he readied himself.
Kareena! Ace thought. Where was she in all this? Was she okay? What if she had fled the city for safety? He had to find her. Ace looked out the window. The desert was nothing but a brown and red blur as Rio kicked the hovercraft into high gear.
“Where’s my family now?” Ace said.
The drake replied, eyes still focused on the road. “Right now, they’re with Keele. Cameron is helping her protect your cousins I’m sure. She’s waiting for us there. Once we arrive, we will make
our way to Indie Headquarters.”
Ace nodded, eager to return to the city. His priority was Kareena. She could help him fend off the witches, and he needed to make sure she was safe. He felt confident in Keele and Cameron’s ability to protect the family in the meantime. His heart ran as if it were in a race with the hovercraft. He looked to the red blur of the desert they sped by, eager to accomplish his mission.
“Well, King Vinan,” he whispered to himself, “we’ll find out soon if Emery made the right choice.”
CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
Family
Rio flew the hovercraft to the edge of the Gathara’s outer wall. Masses of people fled the city screaming and tripping over one another. Hunters guided civilians to the trains and hovercrafts. Witches flew over the crowds, casting spells, capturing civilians, throwing bombs of magic. Hunters shot them down. Some of the witches had magic like Rio had spoken of before, making things like wind and water obey their spells and sweep masses of shrieking civilians away.
Rio grabbed some weapons from the trunk and tossed a hunter’s rifle to Ace. The boy had his moves planned out in his head. Save the gift of the elyr only for a life-or-death moment. No need to give away his abilities in the elyr.
He held his rifle, buttstock to his right shoulder, finger on the trigger, left hand on the front grip, knees bent, and a slight lean forward. Rio did the same as they marched through Gathara. Witches by the thousands flew through the skies, preying on the civilians. The boy and drake ignored as many as they could, attempting to get to his to his family first. But there were some Ace felt compelled to jump in and save.
Rio’s skill with a rifle was exceptional, but the boy’s training had proved not to be in vain. He seldom missed. He kept himself focused, his emotions under control. The moment he entered the city, his mind tunneled in on the mission. He’d pull the trigger with purpose, at the exhale of his breath, and listen to their shrieks as the anti-magic brought them to the ground. One by one, they took the witches down as they fought their way to the courtyard of stone, to Marg’s house.