Into the Dark (The Conjurors)

by Kristen Pham

  “No, she’s from Messina. So it’s all pretty new,” Kanti jumped in. Then she explained to Valerie, “Ani bought a disguise from the Glamour guild a few years ago so that she could go out and about in Elsinore without being recognized.”

  “It gets so DREADFULLY dull talking gossip and going to parties all day,” Ani said with a roll of her eyes. “But no one bothers me when I’m disguised as old Iago. SO much fun to see what people REALLY think. But unless I’m much mistaken, you’re here for MORE than a friendly visit.”

  “We need a protection charm for someone on Earth.”

  “More of your imaginary friends GUILD work, dear? Of course, those charms are very expensive, even for YOU.”

  Kanti hastily handed Ani the small pouch that she had taken from her bedroom. Valerie looked at it more closely, and saw that it was moving, as if something was squirming around inside. Ani peeked in the pouch and raised her eyebrows.

  “I never needed to spend the allowance my parents gave me. There’s nothing here I ever want to buy, and there is no currency in Arden,” Kanti said.

  “What’s inside?” Valerie asked, a little worried. Whatever was in that bag churned like it wanted to get out.

  “It’s magic. That’s the currency around here,” Kanti explained. “The best kind – it can be used for any purpose.”

  “VERY rare,” Ani added. “I accept. Wait here.”

  Ani disappeared down the hall, and they heard her rummaging through some drawers. After a few minutes, she came back, blowing dust off of a crystal so pure that it was almost invisible. Only the light glinting off its surface indicated that it was a real, solid object. Ani dropped it into Kanti’s hand.

  “I DO hope you’ll stay for dinner, and overnight if you need.”

  “We’re as safe at Ani’s as anywhere in Elsinore,” Kanti whispered. “We’ll get outta here first thing tomorrow morning. Everyone sleeps late, so the streets will be empty.”

  Valerie’s stomach felt empty, and a warm bed sounded welcome. “Thank you, Ani,” she said, gratefully.

  Ani showed Valerie and Kanti to a room that was paneled in dark wood carved with roses. The bed was covered in heavy red sheets. Once Ani disappeared to arrange dinner, Kanti handed Valerie the crystal.

  “Might as well go visit Thai now,” Kanti said.

  “How do I make the crystal protect Thai?” Valerie asked.

  “The spell is already inside. Go visit Thai, and before you leave, look at him through the crystal for a few seconds. When you come back to the Globe, there should be a little image of him inside. Then we’ll know it worked.”

  Valerie nodded. It sounded simple enough, even for her. As she settled down to concentrate on Thai, she realized how eager she was to see him. It felt like weeks since they had last talked. She shut her eyes and pictured his smile.

  “At last!” Thai cried. Valerie opened her eyes. Thai was standing outside, and behind him was a magnificent view of the mountains. A little ways away, she saw his tent next to a small, smoldering fire.

  “Still in Yosemite?” Valerie asked, enjoying the sight of his face and relieved that at least for Thai, she wasn’t too late to protect him.

  “Are you kidding? You’re really going to ask me about the view when I haven’t seen you for two days? What happened after you left the boat? I was freaking out!”

  As Valerie related her story, Thai’s face began to relax, until she reached the part about Zunya’s attack.

  “It seems like every time you disappear, my worst worries come true,” he said, his forehead wrinkled with worry. Then his face changed, and his eyes turned gold.

  “H-he misses you. So do I,” Tan said. He looked sad.

  “I miss you too. I promise, when all of this craziness is over, I’ll visit more often.”

  Tan’s face brightened, and then he blinked, and Thai’s dark eyes looked back at her. “He’s getting stronger. He takes over more easily now, and for longer periods of time,” Thai said, sounding proud.

  “That’s great!”

  “Great, but weird. I can’t always regain control of my body right away,” he said. “Anyway, finish your story.”

  “I’m in Kanti’s hometown now. When I got here, I had another vision of Henry, and I finally know where he is. Venu is taking him to Zambia, Africa. But I have no idea why.”

  “Me either. But at least we finally have a clue. I’ll catch the bus out of here take the first flight leaving Sacramento.”

  “Be careful, ok?”

  “Right back at you,” Thai said, softly, the worry returning to his eyes.

  “One last thing. I’m finally able to make the charm that will protect you from being found by anyone on the Globe except for me. I swear I’ll keep this charm with me always and die before I part with it.”

  “No, Valerie, if it ever comes to that, give them the charm. I’d rather have you alive and be harassed by a crazy redhead than lose you.”

  Valerie had an overwhelming urge to touch Thai’s hand, but knew she couldn’t. Before she left, she looked at him through the crystal as he warmed up his hands over the small fire. He looked up at her and flashed one of his rare smiles, and then she let herself be pulled back into her body on the Globe.

  Back on the Globe, Valerie looked down at her crystal and saw a tiny image of Thai inside, warming his hands on the fire.

  “It worked!” Valerie said, and felt an enormous weight lift. She didn’t realize how much she had worried about Thai being taken from her by Sanguina until now. She carefully slipped the crystal into her pocket next to the flower of light, which she always kept with her like a lucky charm.

  “Finally, at least one thing is going right,” Kanti said.

  “If only we could know for sure that Cy and the others are okay,” Valerie said. “I can’t imagine sleeping tonight without knowing for sure.”

  “Actually, I thought we’d give them a call, now that Thai’s safe.”

  “A call? As in a call on a phone?” Valerie asked, confused.

  “Most people don’t have phones on the Globe, outside of Messina. But Ani does business with people in Messina, and that’s the only way to communicate with them. Come on,” Kanti said, and Valerie followed her down the hall. Hanging on the wall was a cordless phone that looked remarkably normal. Kanti picked it up and said “Cyrus Burns,” and then handed the phone to Valerie.

  The phone rang, and Valerie felt her palms start to sweat. “Hello? Who’s this?” Mr. Burns gruff voice answered.

  “Um, hi Mr. Burns, it’s Valerie. Is Cyrus–”

  “I let you in my house, feed you, give you shelter, and this is how you repay us! We will never forgive you for this. You are not welcome in this house ever again–” Mr. Burns’ shouting was suddenly silenced and Valerie heard a brief scuffle on the other end of the phone.

  Then a new voice, deep and slimy, said, “I always knew you were a coward at heart.” A chill went down Valerie’s spine as she recognized Zunya’s voice. “You may be safe, wherever you ran away to, but those you’ve left behind aren’t so lucky.”

  “You leave Cyrus alone!” Valerie tried to shout, but her voice trembled at Zunya’s unspoken threat. She gripped the phone in her hand so hard that she could feel the plastic bending out of shape.

  “Cyrus isn’t here anymore.”

  “What have you done?” Valerie slumped against the wall, so weak she could barely prop herself up. How could she have abandoned Cyrus? Zunya was right – she was a coward.

  “Aw, don’t sound so sad. It’s so – pathetic,” Zunya said with a snicker. “Cyrus is alive. He’s staying with a friend of mine in Dunsinane.”

  “Sanguina,” Valerie whispered.

  “Yes. If you want his head to stay connected to the rest of his body, go, alone, to the castle on highest peak of the Dunsinane mountains. And Valerie, things will go very badly for Cyrus, his family, and the rest of your little Knight friends if you don’t come by yourself.”

  The way Zunya said
her name made Valerie’s flesh crawl. But at least Cyrus was still alive, and there was a sliver of a chance that she could save him. That was all that mattered – more than her own life. “I’ll come. Then she’ll let him go?”

  “Then he’ll stay alive.”

  “Leave the rest of them out of this.”

  “You’re not the one calling the shots here. No, they’re my insurance policy. If you or anyone runs to Azra or the Knights, I’ll strip them of their sanity. Now, scurry off to Dunsinane, little girl. You better hurry or something might happen to one of them. I get so bored when I have to wait.” Zunya hung up the phone.

  Valerie felt the receiver slip out of her fingers and heard it clatter on the floor. As she imagined Cyrus, locked up somewhere under Sanguina’s mercy, her feelings of helplessness and guilt hardened into a cold determination. For Cyrus and Henry, she knew it was time to face Sanguina again, even she knew there was no way to win.

  Chapter Nineteen

  “Valerie, this is insanity!” Kanti exclaimed, her voice high-pitched with panic. “You can’t rescue Cyrus on your own. I’m not doubting your power, but remember what Azra said? Dunsinane is where Sanguina will be at her strongest. It would be almost impossible for you to defeat her there.”

  “I know,” Valerie agreed, amazed by how calm she felt, her sense of purpose giving her certainty. “But if I don’t go, Cyrus and his family will be hurt. If you could have heard Zunya’s voice, you would know that he wasn’t bluffing. He’ll kill them one by one to get to me if he has to. Please, don’t make me live with that on my conscience for the rest of my life.”

  “What about my conscience, Val? Let me come with you! They won’t consider me a threat since I don’t have any magic. But at least then there will be two of us. We can watch each other’s backs.”

  Valerie had never seen Kanti look so desperate. Her face was flushed, and sweat beaded her forehead. There was no way that Kanti was going to let Valerie go without helping her. Valerie couldn’t blame her – she’d feel the same way in her position. But she couldn’t bear the thought of putting another friend’s life in jeopardy. She had caused enough damage already.

  Valerie had an idea. “You can’t come with me because I need you to do something even more important. We can’t leave Gideon and the others in Zunya’s control. Get Azra and as many Conjurors as you can to defeat him. Once they’re safe, you and Azra can come help me in Dunsinane without worrying that they’ll be hurt.”

  “We should do that first, together, and then go rescue Cyrus!”

  Valerie shook her head firmly. “I know Sanguina. She will make him suffer for every second that I delay. This will work, Kanti. We both have to move as fast as we can.”

  “All right. But if you and Cyrus don’t come back in perfect condition, I swear to you that I will find Sanguina myself and tear her apart with my bare hands,” Kanti said with a quiet rage that Valerie had never imagined her capable of.

  “So how do I get to Dunsinane fast?”

  “The wind tunnel is the quickest way. But I’ve never visited the mountains before, so I don’t know how to direct you farther than that.”

  “The castle on the highest peak, Zunya said. It can’t be that hard to find.”

  “Azra wasn’t able to find it,” Kanti said doubtfully.

  “Azra didn’t have an invitation,” Valerie replied. She had a feeling that Sanguina would be all too eager to destroy her as soon as she had a chance. The thought made her stomach roil with nerves.

  At that moment, the booming sound of the knocker hitting the front door echoed through the entire house. Kanti and Valerie exchanged worried glances.

  “Probably just a visitor.” Kanti said, but she didn’t look certain. Together, they crept down the hall and peered through the banister down to the first floor. Ani quickly transformed into Iago and hurried to open the door. To Valerie’s horror, Ani ushered one of the transparent Conjurors into the house and glanced around nervously, as if she was afraid that she would be seen.

  “Wha–” Kanti started to say, but Valerie quickly clapped a hand over her mouth.

  “Could you BE any louder? They’re sure to hear you. You incompetent fools have made enough of a mess already, do you want to add blowing my cover as WELL?” Ani hissed to the man, glancing up toward the banister where Kanti and Valerie were peering. They jumped back to avoid being seen.

  Kanti looked bewildered, and then horrified as she realized what was happening. “How could Ani do this? She’s my family, for goodness sake!”

  “I don’t know, but we have to get out of here,” Valerie said. She pulled a stunned Kanti down the hall back to their room. “Kanti, keep it together. We have to get out of here right now.”

  Kanti took a deep breath and shook herself out of her daze. “Right, ok.” She pointed to the large gargoyles and frills that were sticking out of the wall. “Use the wide ledge and then spider down.”

  “Ok,” Valerie said, gulping back her fear as she peered down the two stories. “Let’s do this!”

  Quietly, Kanti raised the window and stepped out onto the ledge. Valerie followed tentatively. She couldn’t let her fear freeze her mind right now. She had to move, or Cyrus and Henry would be the ones to suffer for her spinelessness. She put one foot onto the head of a nearby stone gargoyle and one hand on the windowsill, and slowly inched her way down.

  “Okay, you can jump now, Val,” Kanti whispered loudly after several heart-pounding minutes of feeling for footholds. Valerie looked down and saw, to her relief, that the ground was only a few feet below her. “Put your hood on. We don’t want any of the birds twittering our whereabouts to anyone.”

  Valerie obeyed, pulling the hood of Kanti’s coat up, and then hurried after her down the cobblestone streets. For almost an hour, she and Kanti half ran, half speed-walked to avoid being noticed. Wherever possible, they took side streets and alleys. Adrenaline coursed through Valerie’s entire body, and she felt alert, noticing every detail of the people on the streets, from the bright feathers in the ladies’ elaborate hairdos to the stiff nods people greeted each other with as she kept a sharp lookout for anyone suspicious.

  Finally, they reached the edge of town and entered a clearing next to the snow-covered forest. “Here you are,” Kanti said, panting slightly.

  Valerie looked around, puzzled. “It looks like an empty field of snow. Where’s the tunnel?”

  Kanti pointed up, and Valerie looked. A tornado of swirling air hovered above the clearing. Valerie’s eyes widened with nervous surprise when she saw her latest mode of transportation.

  “Walk beneath it and jump; the wind will sweep you up. After awhile you’ll land in Dunsinane somewhere, from what I hear. Oh, and hang on to your hair.”

  Valerie’s heart beat hard in her chest, but she didn’t want Kanti to know how terrified she was – not only of the journey to Dunsinane, but also what she’d have to do once she got there. “Thank you, Kanti, for everything.”

  Kanti gripped her in a sudden, tight hug. “Azra and I will stop Zunya, and then we’re coming straight to you.”

  “I know. It’s going to be okay.”

  “It has to be,” Kanti said fiercely. Then she turned and ran in the opposite direction.

  When Kanti had disappeared, Valerie called for Pathos from the callbox and strapped it to her side. Gripping the hilt in her hand lent her strength and eased some of the tension in her muscles. Then Valerie forced herself to walk purposefully to the middle of the clearing, beneath the wind tunnel. She squeezed her eyes shut, jumped and – nothing happened. She looked up, and the spinning air was still there. A few leaves blew around in circles inside of it.

  She jumped up and down over and over again, but she stayed firmly planted on the ground. What was she going to do? Had she come this far only to mess it all up now? Then the air around Valerie changed, stirring the hair on the back of her neck. The breeze, gentle at first, blew harder and harder. Valerie remembered Kanti’s advice about holding he
r hair, but too late – the air was already swirling around her.

  She felt her feet lift off the ground, and suddenly she was in the middle of the whirlwind. She was spun around in circles, and, for a few nauseous moments, felt as if she was going to vomit everything she had ever eaten. But then the spinning suddenly slowed as she was swept into the eye of the tornado, which was comparatively calm and still. For a moment, she hovered a few yards above the ground. Then, like she had been shot from a cannon, she was hurtling straight through the air. Beneath her, the ground was a blur of colors.

  At first, Valerie found the trip frightening. There was nothing to hold on too except for her sword, nothing to support her except the swirling wind that she was in the center of. But as she got used to the feeling, she spread her arms wide. It was like flying. She realized that she could even steer herself a little, like a bird, and she made sure that she stayed in the center of the wind tunnel. No way did she want to be whipped around in the edges again. She felt free. The crisp wind and the exhilarating speed energized her. Maybe she would be able to defeat Sanguina after all, and in a few hours she, Henry and Cyrus would all be safe, she hoped.

  The jagged purple peaks of the mountains of Dunsinane appeared in the distance. The wind whisked her up higher and higher, dashing her past piles of dusty rocks in the foothills of the mountains. Gradually, she felt herself moving slower and slower until she finally hovered above a huge, flat rock about the size of a football field. The whirling wind eased, and she was deposited gently onto the ground.

  She looked around, trying to get her bearings. Her hair was a tangled mess. The landscape looked strange. Instead of the browns, greens and grays that she was used to seeing in nature, here the land was different shades of muted purple, and the few tufts of green weeds growing between the rocks stood out in sharp contrast. Purple was usually one of her favorite colors, but here it seemed eerie and foreboding.