by Obert Skye
“We will be gone the moment the gloam settles,” Azure bowed.
“I can’t believe this,” Geth argued. “He has betrayed Foo. The Thirteen Stones aren’t his to possess.”
“Enough,” the Twit said. “Azure’s not on trial and the Thirteen . . . Twelve Stones are not my concern. Our beliefs may differ, but Azure walks our streets freely. And unless you have the money to change my mind, your concerns are not mine.”
“Then you’re a fool,” Geth said.
“Careful,” the Twit said. “My affection for you is not without limits. I can process what I see without your help. Now, who’s the boy?”
“This is Leven Thumps,” Geth pointed.
The courtroom exploded with mumbling and chatter.
“Quiet,” the Twit ordered. “I suspected so.”
“Everything we lithens have prophesied is coming about,” Geth said.
“Don’t speak of prophecy,” the Twit snapped. “What stability does guessing at the future bring anyone?”
“I’m not guessing,” Geth insisted.
“You bring a boy and say he’s Leven,” the Twit said. “And what if he is? His presence does nothing to guarantee Cusp’s quality of life.”
“I don’t believe it. You choose to relax while Azure gains strength.”
“Stop,” the Twit insisted, halting Geth. “This conversation is over. Cusp knows how I feel and my thoughts are now public.”
The small man with the puffy blond hair was writing frantically, trying hard to keep up.
“You’re selling out Foo for the promise of fading comfort!” Winter cried.
“I could have you locked up!” the Twit yelled back. “You should thank fate that I have lunch plans and no time for the paperwork such motions involve.”
The Twit glowered menacingly at Winter and turned in a huff. He then walked through a small wood door and out of the back of the room.
Geth looked at Azure, and the two of them locked eyes. Azure’s smile made his face look fake and plastic. Geth moved towards him and in an instant Azure was gone.
Leven’s stomach lurched, as if in sync with Azure’s disappearance.
“Where’d he go?” Winter asked. She looked around the room.
The crowd began stamping their feet in excitement as the guards filed out of the door through which the Twit had exited. Some spectators shouted with enthusiasm for the Twit while others left the square chamber to broadcast the outcome.
“Where’s Azure?” Leven called.
“He’s never had the ability to disappear before,” Geth said. “It’s a trick. He must still be in the room somewhere.”
Leven moved through the square chamber looking for any sign of Azure. He dropped to his stomach, checking beneath the benches and seats.
“He’s not in here,” Winter reported.
“Outside,” Geth said. “He can’t be far.”
Leven stood up and held his stomach. His lungs heaved and he coughed until he could breathe freely again.
“Are you okay?” Clover asked.
“I’m fine,” he answered.
“What’s wrong?” Winter asked frantically, her emotions out of whack. She put her hand on Leven’s back.
“My insides are messed up,” Leven moaned.
“Can you walk?” Geth questioned.
“Of course,” Leven said hotly.
Geth ignored Leven’s reaction and ran to the spiral stairs.
“Keep your eyes open,” Geth hollered as they climbed down.
“I wasn’t planning to keep them closed,” Leven shot back.
The corridors of Far Hall were packed as spectators who had been in the square chamber poured out and mixed with those who were already there. There were all colors of robes covering all shapes of beings, but no sign of blue.
The four of them spilled out onto the main floor.
“Can he shrink?” Winter asked.
“No,” Geth replied. “Azure’s a lithen. He has no nit gift.”
“Maybe he does now,” Leven said. “They’ve been taking gifts in the hopes of being able to bestow them.”
“There’s no talk of their success,” Geth said. “Over there.”
Geth pointed to the long corridor that ran down the largest wing. At its end a speck of blue slipped between two marble pillars.
Leven pushed through those mingling in the corridor. Even here the effects of Phoebe could be seen. Dignified nits with tall hats and wigs were all over the place talking and arguing heatedly with one another. Some were expressing their love or reciting awful poetry.
When Leven reached the marble pillars, Azure was gone. All that remained were a tall stained glass window and a wide wooden door.
Leven pushed open the door and ran through it. Outside he found himself in an open courtyard filled with large granite orbs that were arranged in a square pattern. The clouds in the sky streaked across the horizon as if their bellies were smoldering. On the opposite side of the courtyard Azure was walking quickly towards a rope.
“We’ve got to get close enough to hear where he’s going,” Geth instructed. “If he takes off without us hearing, we’ll never catch him.”
“Go, Clover,” Leven commanded.
Clover shivered happily. He leapt from Leven’s shoulder and soared through the air. He bounded across the tops of the orbs and ran across the heads of those walking about.
Azure was ten feet away from the rope.
Clover bent his legs and sprang over two old people who were holding hands and confessing their love to one another.
Azure reached the rope and stuck out his hand.
Clover hit the ground and rolled between the legs of a tall, slow-moving man.
Azure grabbed the rope and spoke.
Clover watched Azure become one with the rope and then disappear seconds before Leven, Geth, and Winter made it there.
Clover materialized and jumped onto Leven’s right shoulder. He dusted his knees. Leven was breathing so hard from running that he couldn’t speak yet.
“You okay?” Clover asked.
“Fine,” Leven answered.
“What’d he say?” Geth questioned, not yet breathing easily himself.
“I think he said he’s fine,” Clover replied. “It’s kind of hard to tell exactly, he’s breathing so hard.”
“Not Leven,” Geth scolded. “Azure.”
“Oh, he said, ‘Fourteen Over Zenith.’”
Geth grabbed the rope and repeated what Clover said.
“All right,” Winter said, taking hold and shouting out the address for herself. She was quickly pulled in.
“Ready?” Leven asked Clover.
“Of course,” Clover replied.
Leven wrapped his fingers around the rope.
“Fourteen Over Zenith.”
Leven was pulled into the rope and shot through the fibers. Lights and warmth twisted around him like fingers being dragged down his legs. He could feel others string through him. Three seconds later he shot out of the rope onto the side of the street, directly in front of a red brick three-story building.
Winter was standing there.
“Azure saw Geth come out,” she said quickly. “He took the rope and said, ‘Norton Bend.’ Geth went after him.”
Leven and Winter grabbed the rope. The ride was longer this time. Leven could feel himself rising and lowering as he zipped along.
Leven strung out in front of a large stone outcrop—nobody was there. Winter raveled into place right next to him.
“Where are they?” she asked, panicked.
“Not here,” Leven said. “Are you sure he said Norton Bend?”
“I think so,” Winter said. “He was sort of yelling. It could have been ‘Horton Glen.’”
“There’s a Horton Glen, and a Morton Den,” Clover said.
“There’s a Horton Glen?” Winter asked in disbelief.
“Great—I’ll take that one,” Leven said, reaching out. “Horton Glen.”
&nb
sp; Leven zipped into the rope and was on his way.
“Morton Den,” Winter said, grabbing the rope.
Two seconds later they were nothing but twine and on their way to two completely different stops.
Chapter Twelve
Completely Strung Out
Leven flew out in front of a round lake filled with green water and yellow fish. The fish popped like hot corn from the surface of the lake. Clouds of blue and gold dipped down into the water, their bottoms turning a wet, drippy purple. There was nobody in the immediate area. A short wooden fence ran through a sandy stretch of land surrounding the lake. In the distance a small shack with a picture of a cooked fish on it sat like a splintery squatter.
“It must have been Morton Den,” Clover said needlessly. “I wish we had time to do some fishing.”
“We don’t,” Leven said and grabbed the rope. “Morton Den.”
Like skinny tree roots Leven’s fingers grew long, twisting into the rope. The sound was similar to the noise of creaking wood. The lights and flashes of warmth rushing though Leven were dizzying. He could feel himself lift and zip quickly to the right. The sound of thin tinkling bells and long, drawn-out screams could be heard weaving through Leven’s mind. Leven spun like a corkscrew and sprayed out of the rope into a recognizable pile of himself.
He and Clover were in front of a large glass building with a stone arched doorway. The cobblestone street was filled with people walking and carts being pulled by onicks.
Once again there was no sign of Azure, Geth, or Winter.
Leven stopped a female cog walking by. “Did you see anyone pop out?”
“Excuse me?” the pretty cog said kindly. She had heather in her hair and wore a dress the color of sunshine.
Leven’s cheeks burned.
“A guy in a blue robe and one in a dark green,” Leven said slowly. “And there was a girl.”
“I didn’t see anything,” she replied.
The pretty cog walked off.
“I don’t think I should have released Phoebe,” Leven said to Clover.
“It’s sure making you all act goofy,” Clover agreed.
Leven looked around frantically. In a patch of clean red dirt on the side of the walkway he saw a large word scratched in the soil.
“That’s Winter’s writing,” Leven said urgently.
“How can you tell?” Clover asked.
“It’s messy,” Leven answered. “And there’s a ‘W’ beneath it.”
Leven clasped the rope again. “Twenty-Seven End of Up.”
The rope ride was beginning to feel familiar and comfortable. Leven liked the sensation of others rushing past him. He would have almost enjoyed the journey if it had not been for the urgency in his heart.
Leven was ejected from the rope with a blast. His feet coiled against the stone street as his body wove itself back into shape.
Twenty-Seven End of Up was the end of the line and, by the looks of it, pretty close to the end of the world. The street stopped right up against a large, red, clay cliff. Trees lined the empty street, the low branches holding hands with one another as they stretched across the road, creating a canopy.
Leven looked up. Clover and he were not alone.
“Hello, Leven,” Azure said coldly. “How nice of you to come to me. It’s been a busy few days and this saves me some time and trouble.”
Four rants were standing behind Azure holding Geth and Winter. Geth looked calm as usual, but Winter’s cheeks were red and her green eyes stormy.
Leven reached out to hold the rope again, but a rant moved in from behind and seized his wrist. He spun Leven around, holding him tightly in front of him. The rant was huge and Leven could smell his hot, fishy breath on the back of his neck.
“So impetuous,” Azure said. “Check him.”
A sixth rant stepped in front of Leven and began to roughly search him. Half of the rant searching him was tall and strong. The other half was in the shape of a lumpy avaland.
“Nothing,” the rant growled, trying to control his left half.
“Where’s the key, Leven?” Azure asked.
“What key?” Leven said innocently.
Azure hit Leven across the face with the back of his left hand.
“Don’t be stupid,” he said cruelly. “The sycophant key. It once hung around your neck.”
“The Want took it,” Leven said without missing a beat. “I thought you would know that.”
“The Want’s dead,” Azure said.
“Then I have no idea where the key is,” Leven answered. “He took it from me.”
“Search him again,” Azure barked. “And don’t be so gentle.”
Leven struggled as the rant threw him to the ground and ripped at the robe he was wearing. Azure helped by pushing Leven’s chest down with his own kilve. The rant tore and pulled at Leven. Geth and Winter struggled against their own rants.
“Leave him alone!” Winter shouted.
“Shut up,” Azure growled.
The rants finished with Leven.
“Nothing,” the largest rant said in shame, pulling Leven back up onto his feet.
“Take them to the cottage,” Azure said angrily. “Keep an eye on them. I’ll be back once we’ve covered more ground.”
The rants bowed towards Azure and then pulled them all off the stone road and through the forest. A tiny brown cottage covered in moss and weeds stood barely noticeable among the thick trees.
“Inside,” the rant holding Leven ordered, pushing him in through the front door.
Leven flew to the ground. The floor had been ripped up, exposing the dirt beneath. Leven lifted his chest to push himself up. Geth came crashing down on him, followed by Winter. The door of the cottage slammed closed behind them all.
“I got your message in the dirt,” Leven said, sitting up.
“Sorry,” Winter said. “We thought we were chasing after him, not the other way around.”
“Is Clover here?” Geth asked.
“Of course,” Clover said, appearing.
“See if you can listen to what they’re doing,” Geth whispered. “Quickly.”
“No problem.” Clover smiled and then disappeared.
“We shouldn’t have followed him,” Winter said.
“Why?” Geth asked.
“Honestly,” Winter chided. “Don’t you see where we are?”
“Exactly where fate would want us to be,” Leven answered, looking around.
Geth and Winter stared at Leven—Geth looked proud, like a dad who had just witnessed his son’s first home run.
Finally Winter spoke. “That’s something Geth would say.”
Leven stood and walked around the one-room cottage. The inside was the size of a large living room. There was a wooden trunk sitting in the middle of the torn-up floor and a round stone fire pit in the corner below a leafy funnel for smoke to rise up through. It was dark, but two small windows at the top corners dimly lit the room. Leven could feel the dirt floor hissing.
“We shouldn’t be standing on this ground,” Leven said, holding out his hand to help Winter up.
“I’m okay,” she said, getting herself up and stepping onto the trunk.
All three of them were barely able to squeeze together and sit with their knees up against their chests on the trunk.
“This might work for a little while,” Winter said. “But I can’t sit like this forever.”
“What’s he up to?” Leven asked Geth. “Azure could just get rid of us.”
“I think the Dearth would have a problem with that,” Geth whispered. “And he wants that key. I’m glad you don’t have it.”
“I listen occasionally,” Leven whispered back.
“I think rarely is more accurate,” Clover said from on top of Leven’s head. “Like I asked him not to talk in his sleep, and he still does.”
“Did you hear anything from them?” Geth asked, ignoring Clover’s blathering.
Clover materialized. “Azure was talk
ing to a tall rant and he said something about how it’s taking longer than expected for someone to gain their strength.”
“The Dearth,” Geth said quietly.
“He also said he would be able to fix all of that tomorrow at the Meadows when it begins.”
“Meadows?” Leven asked, looking at Geth.
“On the edge of Cusp,” Geth answered. “The Twit has made it so easy for them. They’ll be right next to the shatterball tournament tomorrow.”
“Go, Cusp!” Clover cheered. “Anyway, he’s going to keep you here until it’s over. After that, I think he’s planning to kill you.”
“What?” Winter exclaimed.
“Why do you say that?” Leven asked.
“Because he said, ‘I’m planning to kill them,’” Clover reiterated. “He said he has no use for Geth or Winter and that it wouldn’t hurt for Leven to bleed a little.”
“Nice,” Leven replied. “We’ve got to get out of here.”
“And the guards are still there?” Winter questioned.
Clover nodded. “There’s two at the front, two at the back, and two standing out by the road. Why are you all sitting on this trunk?”
“The soil’s not safe to stand on,” Geth said, pushing his hair back out of his eyes.
“There’s good news,” Clover continued. “Azure’s gone. He went for that thing that’s gaining strength.”
“And we’re about to be killed,” Winter said angrily.
“It shouldn’t be that hard to break out of here,” Leven said.
“Six huge rants,” Clover reminded him.
Geth jumped from the trunk to the stone fire pit. He knocked against the hard wood wall.
“Could you get us our kilves?” Winter asked Clover.
“Not without them noticing me shoving them through the window,” he answered.
“How about some food?” Winter complained. “I don’t want to die starving.”
“I can’t get you a warm meal, but I’ve got a few things,” Clover said, reaching into his void.
“No way,” Leven insisted. “Don’t eat anything he pulls out of there.”
“I picked up some stuff from the Eggmen.”
Clover fished around and pulled out a round blue ball with gold webbing covering it.
“I don’t know what this is,” Clover said. “But I thought it looked good.”