The Villain Keeper

by Laurie McKay

  Carefully, Tito reached down and grabbed the phone. “Dude, it’s set to vibrate. It’s just a text.”

  With caution, Caden returned to his spot.

  Tito showed him the message. “Ward says his dad will meet you Monday before class.”

  “Ward knows I don’t read,” Caden said.

  “I could cast a spell on you,” Brynne said.

  He scowled at her. “I’ll learn on my own.”

  “You’re just making it harder for yourself. Am I not right, Sir Tito?”

  Tito shrugged, either not caring or too smart to answer, and typed into Caden’s phone. He paused, frowned, then typed some more. “Ward says Monday morning, no sooner.” He looked up. “That’s the last day we have to save Jane. We’re cutting it too close—we have to see him sooner.”

  There was a reason patience was one of the ten virtues of the Elite Paladins. In battle, in rescue, in all things noble, waiting was often necessary. They couldn’t make anyone else hurry. Caden put his hand on Tito’s shoulder. “If we push, I fear he’ll back out,” he said.

  Tito visibly swallowed. “Yeah,” he said. With a slump of his shoulders, he stood up and returned the phone to Caden. “I just hope that’s soon enough.”

  Brynne also stood. She put her arm around Tito’s shoulder. “It will be,” she said. Then she beamed at Caden. “Caden’s gifts are great. He can make almost anyone talk.”

  Tito nodded. “And no one can make him stop,” he said.

  “You aren’t funny,” Caden said.

  “You do talk a lot,” Brynne said as if it was a revelation. Suddenly, she got quiet and her cheeks became rosy. She twisted her hands together. “I like that though.”

  Caden felt his own cheeks heat. Before he could respond, Rosa’s voice echoed from below, calling them to return to the house.

  Brynne fidgeted like she was embarrassed. “Best we go back,” she said. Then she turned and ran down the path.

  Tito patted Caden on the shoulder. “Now I see why you cleaned the kitchen for her. Nice.” He sprinted after her.

  Caden stood on the hillside a minute longer. He took a few breaths of the cold air to cool his cheeks and calm his mind. He felt they were close to finding Jane; he felt his father would be proud of that. Then he ran, dodging branches and jumping roots, to race down the mountain to the house.

  The next day, Sunday, sped along way too fast. It was a blur of housework and training. Tito was quick to learn fighting stances and attacks. He didn’t seem to need the endless practice that Caden had needed. Like Caden’s brothers, Tito had natural ability, and the clear skies and bright sun gave them hope. Sparring with broom and mop, however, was not the same as the clink of metal on metal from the sharp blades of swords or the thump, thump of sturdy Korvan battle staffs.

  By Monday morning the hope and clear skies of the weekend had given way to anxiety and heavy clouds. It was difficult to tell dawn from day. Caden stood on the porch and looked at the sky.

  “A bad omen,” Brynne said.

  She was dressed in jeans and a fuzzy white sweater. Her coat was the color of pressed steel and fitted to her. Everything she wore looked rich, yet her clothes came from the same sale racks as the too-long jeans and too-big turquoise sweater he wore. It was a frivolous waste of magic.

  “You should save your energy for something other than fashion,” he said, and pulled on his magical coat to hide his hideous sweater. The day would be cold and dark; at dusk the sun would set. The new moon would rise into a dark sky. “We must find her today, bad omens or not.”

  Brynne nodded and adjusted a pack on her back.

  Caden pointed at it. “Why do you have that?”

  “I start school today.”

  Caden clenched his jaw and looked away. “That will complicate things.”

  “You need me, prince.”

  Caden didn’t deny it. She was vital to saving Jane. “We need you alive and well. We need you to prepare while we’re at school.”

  She put her hands on her hips and narrowed her silvery eyes. “I’m not going to sit at home and do nothing. Not when there are Elderdragons to meet.”

  Caden couldn’t believe what she was saying. “You were terrified of Ms. Primrose not three days ago. And we still don’t know if she’s the legendary Silver dragon or the infamous Blue.”

  “She must be the Silver. She runs a school,” Brynne said.

  “Where the teachers are villains.”

  “Who teach math, science, and reading,” Brynne said. “They haven’t ripped you apart. Certainly, they must want to. Most people do.”

  Caden resisted the urge to rub his bandaged arm. “Tomorrow,” he said. “Stay out one day more, that’s all I ask. You’re our unknown advantage. Gather supplies, prepare for the fight. With luck, the janitor will know where Jane is.” He hesitated. “And I need you to bust Sir Horace from his cell.”

  Brynne scrunched her nose at the mention of Sir Horace. “That beast can jump the fence.”

  “He still needs to be summoned,” he said. “Please.”

  With a huff, she pulled off the pack. “Rosa wants me to go. What do you want me to do, put her under a spell?”

  That’s when Caden felt inspiration. He felt the tingling feeling of accomplishing two things at once. “Tell her of the shaking,” he said. Using a weakness to an advantage was different than showing it accidentally. “Use it to get your way.”

  Brynne looked scandalized. She glanced left and right as if to make sure no one had heard. “No.”

  Caden looked straight into her silvery eyes. “You live here, Rosa will likely find out.” He nodded back to the house. “And I doubt Tito will keep it quiet for long. He thinks you should tell her. He thinks she can help you.”

  “Tito knows?”

  “He needed to know. Perhaps Rosa does also.”

  Brynne’s embarrassment and anger zeroed in on the closest target—Caden. “I can’t believe you told Tito,” she hissed, and stomped inside. “You just wait until the half-moon, prince.”

  That angered Caden. She should be working at removing the curse, not using it to threaten him. “Do as I say, sorceress, or I’ll tell her myself.”

  Brynne slammed the door. During a tense breakfast, however, she did take Rosa aside for a talk, and Rosa hugged her tightly afterward. When it was time for school, Rosa told Brynne she could stay home another day.

  “How’d you work that one?” Tito said, after he and Caden were dropped at school.

  The grass on the lawn was stiff from the cold and crunched as they walked. Before them, the school looked like a gray castle in front of a dark mountain in front of a stormy sky. It looked like the home of a dragon.

  Caden stepped onto the sidewalk. “I told her to tell Rosa about the shaking.”

  Tito looked relieved but only for a minute. He reached in his pocket and pulled out his phone. “She says she’ll get the beast? What does that mean?”

  “It means she’ll collect Sir Horace. If we need to cover distance, he’ll be essential.” First, though, they needed to find where Jane was hidden. He surveyed the steps leading to the school. “Where am I to meet this janitor?”

  “Behind the gym.”

  “After, we meet in the boys’ restroom.”

  Tito looked to the dark sky and nodded. “Right,” he said.

  For as small as Ward was, the janitor, his father, was the opposite. He was as tall and sturdy as Caden’s second oldest brother, Maden. He clutched a plastic bucket of sawdust and within his grip it looked deadly. His hair was braided and he wore a blue jumpsuit.

  When he spoke, his voice was deep and soft. “What do you want?”

  Caden wanted many things. He wanted to slay a dragon. He wanted to return home and have his father be proud of him. More than anything, he wanted Chadwin to be alive. Right now, though, he just wanted to save someone. “To find Jane Chan.”

  “Is that it?” the janitor said. His voice was the type that belonged to a commander of
armies. “I think you seek honor, you seek fame and fortune.” He shook his head. “Leave the girl for the police, boy.”

  As he moved, underneath his sleeve, Caden glimpsed the colorful tattoo of the great Sunsnake—the markings of the Summerlands’ desert people. He stepped back and peered up at the man. He was like the others, then—a villain banished from the Greater Realm and collected by Ms. Primrose for her school.

  Ambassadors from the desert peoples were rare in Razzon, but Caden’s father, King Axel, welcomed them. His father traded weapons and wares for their books and their knowledge. Their battle strategies were unequaled.

  Though limited, Caden had had enough contact to speak their flowing tongue. He used it now. “You’re of the desert peoples,” he said. Caden studied the janitor’s face, his tattoos. This man had been a villain. “You’re like the others. You were banished.”

  The janitor peered at Caden and answered in English. “Long before your time.” He swept a hand out to encompass the area. “Most people who fall from there to here, she eats. Those she likes, she lets teach. The teachers and staff you see are a wretched bunch. I was one of them. Given an undeserved gift, but through it, I’ve seen the error of who I was.” He looked down like he was ashamed. “My life is one of penance now.”

  Hearing his words, Caden spoke softly. “If you seek penance, find it by helping me find Jane Chan.”

  He shook his head. “What I seek will never be in my reach. So I work and humbly accept the gift of my prison. I can’t be involved beyond my job and my son. I can’t trust myself.” He turned as if to leave. “These police are good men, capable men. Let them find the girl.”

  They had so little time. Caden had to be bolder. If the janitor sought redemption, better he work for it than hide behind his cleaning bucket. “Good, capable men of this land won’t find her. I will. She was stolen by dark magic. I know of magic; they don’t. And her life will end by tonight’s new moon if I don’t find her. The villain of the math room told me so.”

  The janitor flicked his gaze to the building, somewhere in the direction of the math room and Rath Dunn, and his frown deepened. He clutched the bucket and it made a crumpling noise. When he spoke again, his voice was softer. “You’re a child, and a foolish one at that, to trust one like him.”

  “I don’t trust him,” Caden said. “But I think he knows who took her. Don’t make me bargain with him for her life.”

  The janitor turned back to Caden, blocking the sky, a crumbling tower of a man. “My life is one of quiet reflection and simple work. I don’t get involved.”

  If this man had done such bad deeds as to be banished, if he’d learned such guilt as to be sorry, he should help. “You told Officer Levine you saw her things. You are involved.”

  He looked as sad as someone so large and seemingly dangerous could. “I lied, child.”

  The statement was so casual, so easy, that Caden stepped back. In Razzon, honesty was upheld. Caden’s father and brothers, the men and women of the Elite Guard, all lived and died by their words. So did the peoples of the neighboring kingdoms. Even Brynne’s people with their twisting speech, their thieving, and their mischief were mostly truthful about it. People of the Greater Realm told the truth. People of the Greater Realm held lies as heavy, serious things.

  “You’re surprised,” the janitor said. “You can imagine how it served me, the only liar in a world of truth tellers.” He looked to the side with an expression of pure shame, “and even now, humbled and aware of my atrocities, when I try to help, I return to my sordid ways.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “I want the girl found, so I lied about her backpack.”

  “How does your lie help find her?”

  “Hearing my story, a good policeman would eventually question the cafeteria staff. I saw them watching her days before she disappeared.” He bent down to pick trash from the ground. “Be careful,” he said. “They devour youth and suck life force. That is what they want to steal from Jane.”

  When Caden arrived at the boys’ restroom, Tito wasn’t there. In his place was a stern, somewhat hungry looking Ms. Primrose. Her suit was printed with white and black lilies, and she looked out of place beside the urinals. “Why aren’t you in class, dear?”

  Caden kept her in his sight as he glanced under the stall doors. “I’m trying to save a life. Where’s Tito?”

  “I sent him to English. I like you well enough, but he’s one of my shining stars. His grades better not drop because of you.”

  Caden turned to her. She definitely looked hungry. “Ms. Primrose,” he said, and used all the respect he could muster. “I believe I know who took Jane. The lunch witches—”

  Before he could finish, she waggled her finger at him. “You must go to class. You need to do your job, and your job is school. My tolerance of you has its limits.”

  Though small and old, she somehow seemed to fill the bathroom. He felt as if they were crammed inside, him and the massive thing that she was. Though she stood several paces away, he felt her cold breath near his cheek, and worried that unseen teeth were close to his flesh. Against the tiled walls, her shadow looked a shocking blue color.

  Caden felt his heart flutter and his stomach turn. The Blue dragon was said to be ravenous. “Will you eat me if I miss class? Even if I do so to save a lost girl?”

  In the dull bathroom lights, her skin started to take on the same bluish tint as her shadow. “Oh my, but you can be blunt. Yes, I will.” Her hunger seemed to flare; her anger, too. “Like my teachers, you can do what’s in your nature. Search for all the missing girls you want.” The room grew colder. “But do not miss class. And if you think someone here took Jane Chan, you best prove it. First it’s Mr. Rathis, now it’s the lunch witches. Your baseless accusations on the matter are making me cranky. I get hungry when I’m cranky.”

  “I see.”

  “And don’t embarrass my school.”

  It seemed the school and her collections were all she cared about. “I won’t,” he said cautiously. He added one more thing because he thought it important. “If I find Jane and unmask her kidnappers, it will be they who bring shame upon the school and I who bring it honor.” He forced a polite smile. “Not only that, but if my suspicions are correct, they are greater in number than me. They would make a much better dinner.”

  Ms. Primrose took his arm and walked him out and toward the computer room. Her skin felt like smooth, soft hide. Her shoes tip-tapped on the tiles. “Well, you do amuse me,” she said. “I’d prefer to eat someone less interesting.”

  “I’d prefer you eat fruit.”

  “Fruit gives me gas, dear,” she said. “But, Caden?”

  “Yes?” Caden turned back around.

  “If you are wrong in your accusations, it won’t matter to me if you are interesting or not.”

  It wasn’t until science that Caden got to speak to Tito. Tito’s relief was palpable when Caden scooted into the desk beside him. “Ms. Primrose bust you, too?” Tito said.

  “She’s hungry.”

  Tito looked like he was in shock, like he was beginning to truly understand that there was a dragon at this school, and she was collecting villains like baubles. “Yeah, she told me if my grades fell, she’d eat you.”

  “That’s hardly fair.”

  “Yeah.” Tito nodded. “And she’ll eat us both if we skip class. Bro, her stomach was rumbling.” He held his green pen and flicked it back and forth, back and forth. “I don’t think we can get out of here before the end of the day.”

  For Caden, though, the final bell would not mean freedom, not today. Today was Monday. “I have detention this afternoon.”

  “Dude, if Rathis is right, we have to find Jane before moonrise tonight,” Tito said. Though he acted mostly normal, Tito’s fears were beginning to show more and more. His voice had an edge. He kept flicking the green pen back and forth. “Get out of detention,” Tito said.

  “I can’t,” Caden said. He took a deep brea
th and squared his shoulders. “But I know who has her. We just need to find out where.” He explained the janitor’s statement about the lunch witches, and hoped the janitor was right.

  Tito took it as truth. At lunch, he stood in front of the mashed food tray and demanded to know where Jane was. “Where is she, Ms. Jackson?”

  Ms. Jackson, her smile radiant, her skin glowing, laughed. “Brother, Sister,” she called. Decrepit Ms. Aggie and Mr. Andre shuffled over. “Tito is looking for someone. Who was it?”

  “Jane.” The fury in his voice was startling.

  From behind Ms. Jackson, Ms. Aggie let loose a low cackle. “No need for anger,” Ms. Aggie said.

  Mr. Andre clattered the bread tray against the counter and smacked his lips. “No need at all,” he echoed.

  Ms. Jackson offered Tito an extra large scoop of food. “Don’t make a scene, Tito,” she said, and grinned. “We’d hate to have to report you to the vice principal.”

  Their guilt seemed as thick as their stew. Caden had to drag Tito away then; he had to spend the rest of the lunch talking him down while other students insulted their brotherhood and Caden’s sweater. The lunch witches weren’t going to talk. They had no reason to do so. None. They’d taken Jane without conscience or caring. They wouldn’t give her up now.

  “Look,” Tito said, “instead of using your talky, talky on me, why don’t you go back and get them to spill.”

  “I can’t make someone do or say something. I’m just good at getting my way. Their silence benefits them too much. There is nothing to be said.”

  “And what? We’re supposed to just let her die?”

  “No,” Caden said. “Find out where the lunch witches live, how they have permission to leave the city. It may help us find Jane.”

  Tito stirred his potatoes. His new hatred for the lunch witches didn’t seem to translate to their food. He contemplated his carrots. “The cafeteria’s all organic. They get food from local farmers.”

  “Where are the farms?”

  Tito swirled his spoon in a big circle. “All around. Some are outside the city limits, I’m sure.” Suddenly, he dropped the spoon and it made a startling clink. “How are we going to find her by tonight?”