Sovereign (Realmwalker Book 3)

by Jonathan Franks

  “Okay.” Laura grimaced as the car went over a rough railroad crossing. “I’m sorry. Thank you, Mr. Summers.”

  “And you’re not leaving me in the house alone,” Gabby said. “I’m coming, too. We have plenty of room in the van for all of us and some of Michelle’s stuff.”

  Geoff sighed. “All right. Family road trip.”

  Gabby chuckled.

  They drove back to the Summers’ house and Geoff and Gabrielle walked inside, then came back with the keys to the minivan, four plastic spoons, and Laura’s chocolate cream pie. “Let’s go!”

  “I can drive her, dad,” George offered.

  “Nonsense. The roads are still terrible. We’ll all go. After all, we stick together when we need each other, don’t we?”

  “Yeah.”

  The van was reluctant to start in the cold but it eventually got going and they set off. Several of the streets were still unplowed and it was slow going, but around noon, they reached the Lachance house. The pie was long since gone. The driveway was covered by feet of snow and Laura’s Jeep was buried up to the door handles.

  “Oh, no.” Laura’s voice was shaky, like she was about to start crying again. “How’m I ever going to get my car out? How am I going to drive it?”

  “Calm down, baby,” George said. “My dad and I will shovel the driveway. I’ll drive the Jeep home. It’ll be fine.”

  “Mrs. Summers, could you walk with me to Mrs. May’s house to get Michelle?”

  “Of course, sweetheart,” Gabby said. “Come on, I’ll help you.” She helped Laura out of the car and they carefully and slowly stepped through the snow to the neighbor’s house.

  “The shovels are in the garage,” George said, and he and Geoff tromped up the driveway to the garage. George punched in the code and opened the garage door. It stuck at first and didn’t want to go up, but Geoff and George helped push it up to break it free from the ice and snow. George walked to the far wall to get the shovels.

  Geoff whistled through his teeth and walked up to Wes’s motorcycle. “Wow,” he said. “This is a real beauty.”

  “You sound like the fishing guy,” George laughed.

  Geoff ignored him and crouched down next to the gleaming BSA motorcycle. “Yeah, wow, he really kept it in great shape, didn’t he?”

  “Yeah, he got it all, like, tuned up, too. I got to sit on it and start it up. It’s awesome.”

  Geoff gazed at the motorcycle for another minute and stood up. He took a shovel and he and George got to work clearing the driveway. They shoveled a path from the street to the garage, then began to excavate the Cherokee. They were still digging it out when the girls came back.

  Michelle looked tired and worn-out, still in some shock. Like Laura, Michelle had puffy, pink eyes and looked like she’d been crying much of the night. She stumbled up the slick driveway and into the garage, then Gabby, Laura, and Michelle went inside to pack some of Michelle’s things.

  It took about an hour to get the driver side door uncovered and to dig away some of the snow behind the Jeep.

  “I bet it’d climb out of the rest of that on its own,” George said. “In any case,” he grinned at his dad, “I’d like to try it!

  Geoff stepped away and took George’s shovel. “Have at it.”

  George hopped into the Jeep and started it. He shifted into low-range four-wheel drive and slipped the shifter into reverse. He feathered the clutch and rocked the Jeep out of the deep snow. The wheels spun for a moment, then the tires bit into the snow and it crawled up the mound of snow. George kept going, sinking into the snow every now and then, until he pulled the bright red Cherokee out into the street. He parked it behind the minivan and turned it off.

  “Wow! That thing is amazing! It climbed right out! This snow would be over the roof of my car. Crazy,” George laughed.

  Geoff went into the garage and put the shovels away, then the girls came out of the house.

  Gabby carried a large duffle bag. “We were waiting until you got the car out,” Gabby said. “Let’s get going.” She turned to Michelle. “You sure you have everything you need? We can always come back if you missed anything.”

  “I’m fine, Mrs. Summers,” Shelly said. “I just want to go.” Her voice was tired and flat. She held two plastic grocery bags with chips and other snacks in them.

  Geoff and Gabby helped Laura and Michelle to the minivan. Geoff opened the sliding door and Michelle climbed in. Laura turned around to look at George.

  “Go ahead,” he said. “With your cast, you’ll need the extra room. I can drive myself.”

  Laura nodded and looked at George’s parents, then back to George. “Can I have a hug, baby? Please?”

  “Of course!” George rushed to Laura and wrapped his arms around her. “I love you. It’ll be okay.”

  Laura put her right arm around him. “I can’t even hug you properly.”

  George knocked on her cast. “It’s for your own protection.”

  “Yeah.” She kissed him. “Drive safe, okay?”

  “I’ll be right behind you.”

  He helped Laura into the car and buckled her seatbelt for her. “You should’ve sat on the other side so you could buckle this yourself,” he chuckled. “But at least I get to lean over you like this.”

  “I love you,” Laura told him.

  “We’ll see you at home,” Geoff said.

  -

  “I just can’t believe the weather you get here! This is ridiculous! You know, I used to be able to walk to the ocean!” Portia twirled the phone cord with her fingers as she talked.

  “Well, there’s the lake, I guess…” Jim said.

  “It’s a lake! Not the ocean! And you can’t walk there from here.”

  “Yeah, I guess that’s true.”

  Portia gasped. “Hey, look! The plows are here! Have they done your street yet?”

  “Yeah,” Jim said, “the regular plows came already and my dad always pays to have our driveway plowed.”

  “Good. Now that I don’t need snowshoes, I’ll be right over. Love you, bye!” She hung up the phone before he could answer.

  Jim smiled and turned off his cordless phone. He looked around his room to make sure it was clean, then he went downstairs and turned on the TV and waited for Portia.

  About ten minutes later, the bell rang. Jim opened the door and Portia slid past him and stomped her boots on the floor.

  “Holy hell! It’s cold out! And look what I have all over me!” She laughed and shook snow off of her head and arms.

  Jim helped her out of her coat and she took her boots off.

  “Look!” Jim pointed at the television. “Die Hard is on HBO now. It just started!”

  “Oh, you want to watch a movie, huh?” Portia blinked innocently at him.

  Jim blushed and grinned at her. “Well, I mean, we could start watching a movie…”

  They curled up on the sofa together, tucked themselves into both of the blankets on the sofa, and started watching the movie. About halfway through the movie, Jim was distracted by movement outside. He leaned over to look out the window.

  Gabby was leading a girl about his age into the house and George and Mr. Summers were helping an injured girl out of the car. Jim gasped when he realized it was Laura. Her entire left arm and shoulder were in a cast.

  “Oh, my god!” Jim shoved the blanket off and ran to the window. “I have to go see what happened!”

  “Ok, I’ll go with you.” Portia followed him to the door and they quickly slipped on boots and coats and rushed across the street.

  “Mr. Summers? George? What happened?” Jim asked.

  Laura turned to look at him and he saw how bruised her face was.

  “Oh, my god,” he said, again. “Are you okay? What happened? Are you guys all right?”

  Laura’s gaze fell to the ground and then she closed her eyes and took a deep but shaky breath.

  George said, “Laura and her folks got into a bad car accident during the storm last nigh
t.”

  “Oh, no. Are they okay?”

  George bit his lip and shook his head.

  Jim’s eyes widened and his mouth dropped open slightly. “Oh, no. I’m so sorry.”

  Laura nodded slightly and George helped her up the slippery driveway. Geoff carried a duffle bag and some groceries and stayed close to Laura’s other side, ready to catch her if she slipped.

  “If you guys need anything, uh,” Jim stammered, “you know, just, like…”

  “Thanks, Jim,” George said, and they went inside and closed the door.

  “That was kind of rude, don’t you think?” Portia asked. She slid back and forth from foot to foot in the snowy street.

  Jim stared at the Summers’ house and shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess so. Let’s go back inside.”

  -

  Laura sat on the love seat with extra pillows under her cast. Her arm was set at shoulder height and she was getting tired of the constant feeling that she was going to tip over.

  Michelle sat on the recliner, not reclined, and stared at the television, which was turned off.

  Neither one of them said very much. Every so often, they’d look at each other, then resume staring into space.

  George sat next to Laura on the love seat. “How are you guys? Is there anything I can do?”

  Laura shook her head.

  “I guess I’m hungry,” Michelle said. Her voice was still flat and monotone.

  “Okay. My mom’s making dinner now, but it won’t be ready for an hour or so.” He stood up. “Come on. Let’s go look for something to eat.”

  Michelle stood and slowly followed George into the kitchen. George opened the pantry for her and read off some of the things they had, but she didn’t want any of it.

  “You look like you need some rest, sweetheart,” Gabby said. “You can use the spare bedroom. George, why don’t you bring her upstairs so she can lay down?”

  “The spare room?” George asked. “You mean Gen’s room?”

  “You know which room I mean,” Gabby said.

  George shrugged and brought Michelle’s bag upstairs. He showed her to Gen’s room.

  Michelle ran her finger over the top of the dresser and looked at the thick film of dust.

  “Nobody’s been in here for a while,” George explained. “We can dust.”

  “It’s fine.”

  “You want to take a nap, then? I’ll come get you for dinner?”

  “Yeah.” Michelle went to the window and looked across the street. “Who was that boy?”

  “That’s Jimmy. He lives across the street. He and my sister were dating.” George walked to the door and turned the light off.

  Michelle whirled around. “Can you leave the light on? Please?”

  “Sure.” He turned it back on. “We’ll be right downstairs. Come down if you need anything. But try to rest a little. It helps.”

  Michelle pulled back the covers and crawled into Gen’s bed. “Thanks, George.”

  He nodded and smiled at her, then he closed the door behind him and went back downstairs.

  -

  After Portia went home, Jim went up to his room. His heart fluttered when he saw Gen’s light on across the street. He hadn’t seen the light in her room turned on since she left. He went to his window and saw a girl about his age standing in Gen’s window.

  She was the girl Mrs. Summers walked into the house earlier - Laura’s sister, probably. He put up a hand and waved to her. She waved back. He smiled at her. She looked incredibly sad. She turned around and left the window and Jim couldn’t see her anymore.

  Chapter 20

  “We won’t have very much time here,” Hope said. “Spider Island is a little weird. Twice a year, all of the fairies go on sabbatical to other Realms. Blue pearl spiders come from all over the Realms here every summer to mate and lay their eggs. The entire island is completely overrun with them. Then in the winter, the spiders hatch and millions of them crawl away to wherever they go.”

  “Millions of them?” Shae shuddered. “That’s too many spiders. And the hatching is coming up?”

  Hope nodded. “We need to make sure to catch this fairy before they all leave.”

  “Why would they live in a place that they have to abandon twice a year?” Slynn asked.

  “It’s a gorgeous place,” Hope said. “The weather is perfect. The living is pretty easy. There aren’t any predators around, not in the sky or on the ground or in the water. They say that’s why the spiders go there.”

  They crossed the border from The Great Prairie to Spider Island. The tall, waving grasses thinned and ended at a long, beautiful, sandy beach. A crystal clear sea lapped calmly at the shore and in the distance was Spider Island itself. Several times, Hope glanced back over her shoulder at the sky behind them as they flew onward.

  Shae swooped down low to fly over the surface of the water. It was so clear that she could see all the way down to the bottom. She squealed with delight when she saw brightly colored fish swimming in the water. She lowered her arm and trailed her fingertips through the water and large, golden fish swam to meet her at the surface. Some of them leaped out of the water and glided next to her for a moment before splashing back through the surface.

  Hawn flew next to Shae and swooped down. She caught one of the leaping fish in her mouth and swallowed it whole.

  Hope smiled down at Shae and chuckled. She turned to Slynn. “Shae sure does take a lot of joy in life, doesn’t she?”

  Slynn said, “It’s refreshing.”

  David was quiet as they flew. He had them change course several times to try to triangulate a more precise location with the arrow, and now that they closed on Spider Island, he was intent on reaching their destination and finding the link-seer.

  They reached the island and flew over a long pier. Dozens of boats of all sizes were moored along both sides of the pier and there were fairies busily working all along the docks. A few fairies noticed them as they passed overhead and several of them stopped their work and stared up at Slynn and David in particular.

  Hope, Shae, Slynn, and David flew into the city and touched down near a large tower with dozens of bells, which had cables running down into the tower.

  “A carillon,” David said. “How interesting.”

  “A what?” Shae asked.

  “A carillon. It’s a tower with bells on it that are each sounded by striking a key. Those bells all make different notes. They have those in the human world, but they’re not incredibly common.”

  “How interesting,” Shae said. “Who plays them? Just anyone?”

  “No.”

  Shae had more questions but somehow David’s one-word answer indicated that he considered that to be the end of the conversation.

  They touched down in a large plaza. Several fairies stopped and gaped at Slynn and David. David ignored them and glanced at the golden arrow.

  “This way,” he said, and immediately began walking down the street.

  Shae and Hope glanced at each other and, simultaneously, they both shrugged. They laughed and followed after David. Slynn followed close behind.

  “This is making me somewhat uncomfortable,” Slynn whispered to Hope.

  “Yeah,” she whispered, “me, too.” Hope sighed. “Gen would know how to handle this.”

  “Gen is fine, you know.”

  “I know she is, just…” Hope shrugged.

  “You wish she was here.”

  Hope nodded.

  “She’ll catch up, I’m sure of it,” Slynn said. “She’s with Herron. He’ll take care of her.”

  Shae looked at Slynn at the mention of Herron’s name. “Yeah, of course he will. She’s fine. Of course she’s fine. Besides, what could hurt her anyway? I mean, like, she could get eaten by a whale and she’d be fine!”

  Hope shot Shae a look. “That would be… unpleasant.”

  “Maybe so,” Shae said. “But you know she’d be okay.”

  Hope narrowed her eyes at Shae and too
k a breath to say something, but David interrupted.

  “Look. The arrow points here.”

  They stood in front of a two-story house. It looked exactly like the houses around it.

  “Are you sure this is the place?” Hope asked.

  Shae said, “Yeah, she’s here. And she talks kind of weird!”

  “Enough,” David said. His voice sounded tight and strained. He knocked on the door and they waited for a while. Nobody answered.

  “Maybe they’re not home,” Shae said.

  “Can’t you see?” David asked.

  “It doesn’t work like that, David,” Shae shook her head at the angel.

  David sighed heavily and stared at the door.

  “Don’t be passive-aggressive, David,” Shae muttered.

  David glanced back at Shae and knocked on the door again. “If the arrow is pointing here,” he said, “that’s because that’s where the link-seer is.”

  “Maybe,” Shae said. “Maybe not.” She rolled her eyes at the angel and delicately rapped on the door. After a brief pause, the door opened.

  A tall, thin, female fairy with coal black hair that looked like it had just come loose from an elaborate hairdo flung the door open. Her face had an irritated expression that softened immediately when she saw Hope.

  “Hope!”

  “Jewel?” Hope’s eyes widened in surprise. “What are you doing here?”

  Jewel strode forward, past David and Shae, and embraced Hope warmly. “I’m overjoyed to see you! How did you come to be on Spider Island? Were you seeking me particularly?”

  Hope grinned at her old friend, enjoying the odd cadence of her speech. The way Jewel spoke always reminded Hope of a winding river, flowing and bending over and around whatever might get in its way. “As it turns out,” Hope said, “yeah. We didn’t know it was you we were looking for, though.”

  Hope gestured at David. “This is David, an angel from the human world. He’s seeking a link-seer.”

  Jewel blinked her large eyes slowly and looked David up and down. “An angel? How fascinating. And you’re looking for a link-seer?”

  “We are,” David said. “It’s of critical importance that you come with us. There are pixies in the human world and they’re plotting to kill humans. We need to stop it. The past-seer said that I should return with a link-seer.” David bowed low. “I would humbly beg your help.”