“Mom!” Alex mumbled as he chewed.
“Manners,” his mother said, frowning at Alex for speaking with his mouth full.
Alex swallowed a chunk of potato that really should have spent more time between his teeth and repeated his exclamation. “Mom!”
“Don’t ‘Mom’ me,” his mother said. “You’ve just told us people at the carnival are working to free the Shadow Wraith and are trying to kill you. How can you possibly think it’s a good idea to go back there?”
“I’ll keep him out of trouble this time,” Nina said. “I just need that leash.”
“You’re not going, either,” his mother said.
“Mom!” Nina said.
“They may have a point,” Alex’s father said.
“Don’t you start being irrational,” his mother said, turning to his father and giving him a look that might have frightened a lesser man into a year of abject silence.
“They know who he is and where to find him,” his father said, the normally hard lines of his face softening with the tone of his voice. “Locking Alex away until the carnival ends might stop them from killing him now, but who is to say someone else won’t arrive in town with the same intent? Or that one of the townspeople won’t turn to the Shadow Wraith’s side? Or one or more of them haven’t turned already?”
“I can’t believe anyone in our town would ever willingly side with that creature,” his mother said.
“I’m sure everyone at the carnival would say the same thing,” his father said. “But maybe you’re right. Maybe they aren’t willing accomplices. Maybe the seal on the Shadow Wraith’s prison isn’t as solid as we all hoped.” It was a thought that had been worrying Alex, as well.
“So what do you propose we do?” Alex’s mother asked with a frown. “Use your own son as bait to draw them out?” That was basically Alex’s plan, but it sounded far more ridiculously dangerous coming from his mother.
“Yes,” Alex’s father said, staring calmly at his wife. It sounded like an even more dangerous plan with his father’s agreement to it. “Think like the warlock, not the mother.”
Alex’s mother squinted at his father, her lips curling into something that might have been a snarl. Then she let out a long breath and turned her gaze to Alex. Alex held her stare, his heart beating strongly as she seemed to examine him from the inside out. It was similar to the look she gave him when he was telling her a wild excuse for some impossible calamity that had befallen him. It was a calculating look, and more so than usual. He shifted in his chair, but held her eyes.
“You’re right,” his mother finally said. His father let out a long, slow breath, which made Alex realize he had been holding his own breath, as well. He exhaled as his mother reached out and cupped his face with her hand. “We can’t risk the safety of the town and the world to try and keep our son safe.”
“Not when our son is who he is,” his father said, reaching out to hold his mother’s free hand.
“No,” Alex’s mother said, smiling at him. “They don’t know what they’re up against, do they?” Alex found himself grinning back at his mother, her sideways compliment filling him with a warm confidence he hadn’t known he was missing until that moment.
“They watch him,” his father said.
“And we watch for them,” his mother added.
“And when they show themselves,” his father said.
“We do what we do best,” his mother said. The smile that spread across her face was both beautiful and frightening. A similar countenance sat upon his father’s face. Alex wasn’t sure what his parents might do to someone who tried to kill their children, but if the looks on their faces were any indication, it would be extremely unpleasant. It made Alex feel both a little afraid — of what the combined wrath of his parents might be capable of once unleashed — and a fierce sense of love, knowing not only that his parents cared so deeply for him, but what he might do to someone who harmed them would be terrible beyond imagining.
“Does this mean I get the leash?” Nina asked. “Because part of the plan is keeping track of him, and I don’t think I can keep track of him without a leash, and I think it’s only fair the cost of it come out of Alex’s allowance, although I’ll chip in for the name tag, in case he chews through the leash and gets lost.”
Alex’s father and mother burst out laughing and the tension at the table slowly faded away. Alex wasn’t sure how serious Nina was about the leash, and part of him suspected she wasn’t merely being sarcastic, but he was thankful his sister knew how to manipulate his parent’s mood when the need struck.
“We’ll see about the leash,” his father said, smiling at his children.
“I was certainly tempted to use one when he learned to walk,” his mother said with a motherly chuckle.
“What about the bank?” Alex asked. His sister wasn’t the only one who knew how to redirect a conversation.
“The bank is as safe as any building can possibly be,” Alex’s father said with a frown, “but I’ll make sure Mr. Osprey, the bank manager, knows to tighten his security.”
“Should you tell the mayor what we know?” Alex’s mother asked his father.
“If we wanted the whole town to know,” his father said. “For now we should keep this to ourselves. And the other parents, of course.”
“What other parents?” Alex asked.
“Of your club,” Alex’s father said.
“It’s a guild,” Alex said out of reflexive habit.
“Whatever you call it,” his mother said, “the parents of your friends deserve to know what kind of danger their children are in.”
“I guess that kind of makes sense,” Alex said. The worst-case scenario would be that the rest of the Guild would be grounded and kept at home for safety’s sake and only he and Nina who would be exposed to any danger. Of course, he doubted any of the Guild members would let a little thing like being grounded keep them from finding a way to join Alex and Nina in the hunt for the Shadow Wraith’s followers.
A smile spread across his face as he imagined Daphne’s parents trying to keep her safe at home when there was an adventure this deliriously dangerous unfolding.
“I’ll talk to the parents,” his father said.
“It might be best if someone a little more persuasive spoke to them,” his mother said, her face taking on an angelic look of innocence as she turned to his father.
“I am very persuasive,” his father said, brows folding together.
“You certainly are,” his mother said, “but mostly because people are terrified of you.”
“They only think you’re the sweet and nice one because they don’t really know you,” his father said.
“Then they don’t really know you, either,” his mother said.
“Fine,” his father said with a sigh. “You’re right. You are more persuasive. You’ll have them convinced in five minutes that dangling their children out as bait for the Shadow Wraith’s followers is not only a brilliant idea, but was a plan they thought up all on their own.”
“Sounds very similar to another proposal I remember hearing years ago,” his mother said, her eyes twinkling with mischief.
“I asked you to marry me of my own free will,” his father said.
“But whose idea was it?” his mother said, cocking her head to the side with the question.
“Children, I think dinner is over,” his father said. “You’re mother and I have certain things to discuss.”
“Such as…?” his mother asked.
“Such as what magic you use to still look so beautiful after all these years,” his father said, taking his mother’s hand in his.
“It must be the company I keep,” his mother said.
His father and mother laughed and kissed each other.
“Yuck,” Nina said as their parents kissed again.
“Your father and I will clean up,” his mother said. “You two run along and get ready for bed.
“Come on, Sis,” Alex said.
“I need your help with something, anyway.”
As Alex and Nina headed upstairs, it occurred to him his mother and father were far better at changing the direction of conversations than even he and his sister combined. They’d probably go back to being serious and discussing his likely odds of surviving the weekend as soon as he and Nina were out of earshot, but that was okay with Alex. It would keep them busy. His plan to find the Shadow Wraith’s followers was still taking shape in his mind, but one part, the part he hadn’t mentioned to anyone yet, was spying on them at night. And, Alex could spy on the carnival in a way almost no one else could.
Chapter 8: Night School
“How am I supposed to watch you if I can’t even see you?” Nina asked, crossing her legs as she perched at the edge of Alex’s bed.
“I’ll be right here,” Alex said, adjusting a pillow behind him as he sat leaning against the headboard. “At least my body will.”
“I hate sitting around watching you sleep.”
“I’m not really asleep.”
“Boring,” Nina said, resting her face in her hands as she leaned forward on her elbows. “And what if something happens to you?”
“Wake me up.”
“You said you wouldn’t be asleep.”
“You know what I mean.” Alex rolled his eyes in exasperation.
“How will I know if something is wrong?”
“Watch my breathing.”
“If you stop breathing, I’m getting Mom.”
“No,” Alex said. “My physical body and my astral body will still be linked. If something is really wrong, my real body will start to breathe faster like it would if I were awake.”
“Should I get a bucket of water?” Nina asked, an innocent look on her face.
“Just shake me,” Alex said with a frown.
“Oh, I’ll shake you all right,” Nina said. “Be careful.”
“Aren’t I always?” Alex asked as he settled back against the pillow behind him. Nina snorted with derision, but said nothing more.
Alex cupped his hands in his lap and closed his eyes. He had been practicing astral travel and other Spirit Magics with Batami nearly every day or night for the last two months. One result of this study was that he no longer needed to fall asleep to separate his soul-essence from his body and enter the astral realm. He had learned to attain a meditative state where he was able to assume his astral form without fear of falling into slumber.
Alex breathed deeply and focused his mind, quickly finding the inner perspective that allowed him to see beyond the normal physical realm. As he stilled his mind, he felt his astral form as easily as his physical body. Willing himself away from his flesh, he found himself floating in the air beside his sister.
Alex had not only been learning how to easily enter the astral realm, he had also been learning how to use magic while in that otherworldly state. He formed the rune-word for wind clearly in his mind and Nina’s hair whipped around her face with a sudden gusty breeze.
“Funny,” Nina said and punched his physical body in the arm. Alex felt a slight jarring sensation, but no pain. He would, however, feel the bruise on his arm later that night. Had she punched him harder, it might have caused him to slip from his trance. It occurred to him a bucket of water might be preferable to what his sister might do to his body in order to being him back to his physical senses in the event something did go wrong on his mission.
Alex cleared his mind and willed himself to where he needed to be. The scene around him blurred and he floated outside the carnival grounds. He thought about his decision not to tell his parents about his plan to spy on the evil carnies that night. It would only make them worry and he doubted they could stop him without keeping him awake. But, they would know if he lied about what he did in his astral form, and they might rescind their decision not to keep him locked up until the carnival left town.
He would have to be quick. His parents would only stay in the kitchen for so long before coming upstairs and wondering what Alex and Nina were up to in his room. Worse, they might already suspect what he was doing. He had considered waiting until bedtime and spying on the carnival in astral form without Nina to watch over his body, but had rejected the idea. Everyone might think he was reckless, and they might be right sometimes, but he wasn’t an idiot. Someone in that tent had been able to sense him, and at least one of the evil carnies would need to be a Spirit Mage to try to free the Shadow Wraith.
Alex willed his astral body to drift upward and toward the carnival. He wasn’t sure where the evil carnies might be, or if they would even be together, but he had little time to search them out before his parents finished cleaning up from dinner. He also had a lesson with Batami planned for later that night. With so little time, he needed to be quick about his task. A view from above the carnival grounds might help him pick the best spot to begin his search.
The carnival spread out across the old rye field behind the Town Hall in an elliptical circle, the wagons and trucks forming a sort of outer wall around the well-ordered rows of tents and booths and rides arrayed throughout the inner circle, creating a series of curved lanes that all seemed to lead back into each other, as much as toward the large red tent in the center. Alex could see now why it was so easy to get lost in the carnival. It was set up that way. The layout of the rides, games, and sideshow attractions was designed to keep people constantly walking around in circles, continually passing things that might catch their interest, and upon which, they might spend their money.
Alex saw the remains of the ride that had magically collapsed down around him and tried to follow the path he had taken to reach it. His astral eyes could not see through darkness and shadows any better than his physical eyes. Although Batami had taught him to shift his perspective and see the world as it existed in the astral plane, it was such a disorienting whorl of color and light that it would be more of a hindrance than a help in the present situation. After a few moments of concentration, Alex managed to locate the tent where he had heard the evil carnies whispering.
Knowing whoever might be in that tent could possibly sense him in his astral form, Alex decided to move slowly. Rather than willing himself to the interior of the tent, he focused his mind and floated down toward the tent from above. His progress was swift, and much like flying, but it was also short-lived. When Alex came within two hundred feet of the carnival tent, he found his movement suddenly arrested. He focused his mind more clearly, willing himself forward, but some invisible astral barrier separated him from the carnival grounds. He concentrated and willed himself to the outside of the tent, but nothing happened.
Alex moved back and tried from another angle with no success. He floated around the entire encampment, but it was if some invisible dome of astral energy had been erected around the carnival. Whatever the wall of magical energy was, it prevented him from entering the carnival grounds in any way while in astral form.
Alex floated a few feet above the ground at the edge of the field, near where the low grass gave way to the forest north of the town. Clearly, spying on the evil carnies was not going to be as easy as he had hoped. Moreover, at least one of them was a very skilled Spirit Mage to be able to create such a large and effective barrier to astral travel. That left only one option. Alex would need to find the evil carnies in the real world — a much more dangerous task.
Something caught Alex’s attention at the edge of the forest. He did not know how long it had been there, but the black cloaked figure stood at the edge of the tree line, staring at the carnival grounds. Alex willed himself forward slowly, trying to get a better glimpse within the cowl of the long black cloak. This was the clearest view Alex had yet obtained of the figure. It was tall, but not exceptionally so. Slender, but not thin. Its hands were hidden in the folds of the sleeves and its face concealed by the hood of the cloak. It was impossible to tell if a man or a woman stood beneath the black fabric.
As Alex came closer, the figure turned and looked at him. The motion so startled
Alex that he came to an abrupt stop, only ten feet away from the cloaked figure. The cloaked figure stared at Alex a moment longer, and then stepped backward into the shadows of the forest, disappearing from view. Alex willed himself forward into the forest, but the moonless blackness clinging to the trees was too thick to see through.
Alex focused his mind in the way Batami had taught him and his vision of the world shifted into the astral plane. The forest was suddenly aglow in shades of pearlescent light. The trees looked like they were on fire with a deep green light, the ground between them appearing like a bluish field of cold flame. Alex scanned around, but could see nothing resembling the blue-white light that would indicate a living being. Had the cloaked figure managed to vanish before Alex could look into the astral realm? How was that possible? Or was it not alive in the normal way of things and thus invisible to his astral sight?
That thought, combined with the knowledge that whoever the cloaked figure was, he or she, was powerful in ways Alex did not understand, helped him decide the best place for him might be back in his bedroom. A moment later, his eyes opened to see Nina staring at him intently.
“What’s the status, Gladys?” Nina asked, leaning forward.
“Something weird,” Alex said, unfolding his legs to stretch them. He quickly told Nina about the twin failures of his reconnaissance mission.
“Is it one of the carnies?” Nina asked, referring to the cloaked figure Alex had encountered.
“I don’t know,” Alex said. “It was outside the carnival, so I don’t think it was one of the carnies. But that doesn’t mean it’s on our side, whoever it is.”
“You should tell Batami about the astral barrier,” Nina said, her face serious.
“That’s exactly what I plan to do,” Alex said.
It was the first thing he mentioned, twenty minutes later, after his parents had come to say their goodnights, when he appeared in astral form in the yard outside Batami’s little wooden hut. His parents knew of his nightly astral assignations with Batami, and they encouraged them wholeheartedly. Especially in light of the evening’s events at the carnival.
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