Valleron (Book 2)

by Jennifer Redmile

  Lyricus squeezed her hand and his worried eyes met hers. “You okay? What’s up?”

  Belle’s eyes filled with tears. “Lyricus… there’s no school any more at Valleron! What’s going to happen to the children who are sent there? We can’t let them step through the portal into Valleron!”

  Lyricus’ eyes widened. “I never even thought of that…” He stopped walking, and turned to Raff and Leah behind them. “We need to stop and talk as soon as we’re out the other side of this village.” He looked pointedly towards the school full of children, and then looked back at them. “We closed Valleron College!”

  Belle knew the reality of the situation had hit them when Leah turned white, and Raff’s mouth started doing the fish-thing. Without saying another word, they instinctively picked up the pace and hurried down the road.

  * * *

  Raff pulled a sandwich from his backpack, and proceeded to devour it as if he hadn’t eaten in a week. It never ceased to amaze Belle how he could eat when they were in the middle of a stressful situation. Her stomach was in knots!

  She sighed in frustration. “So how do we stop the children turning fourteen from stepping into the portal on their birthday? We can’t let any more kids go through to Valleron! Who knows what’s going on there since we left! And from what Kafoops was saying, any kid who ends up in Dragardia has to be a mixed-blood throwback, because they don’t even send their kids here! And we know first-hand what their fate will be…”

  Raff scratched his head, frowning at his lap. “I wish we’d thought of this before we left Florisia. I’d have liked to talk to Madame Persimmons and the Oracle about what to do.”

  Belle felt the old anger flare up again. “Are you kidding me? It’s obvious what we have to do! We need to take them all back through the veil into Florisia, just like we did in Valleron. I didn’t want to discuss whether we should take them back or not, that’s a given as far as I’m concerned. What we need to be talking about is how we’re going to do it!”

  Leah nodded. “I’m with Belle on this one. We need to somehow organise to get these kids outta here, and find the Orb of Truth.” She shrugged and grinned. “How come the words always sound so simple, and the actual doing usually turns out to be a nightmare?”

  Raff looked at Lyricus, and he nodded as well. “Okay, so all we need to do is get the kids from fourteen different villages and convince them to come back through the veil with us to Florisia. Do you realise how insane these people are gonna think we are? Does anyone even remember how naïve we were before we arrived in Florisia? We didn’t even know there was another village half an hour down the road, let alone the fact that magic wasn’t just something out of fairy tales.”

  “At least in Valleron the kids were all in one place, and we had the principal on our side. Plus, the kids knew they’d be better off anywhere but there. Getting the kids out of Naissance is a whole different story. Unless we can get some of the Guardians to see what’s really going on, we have no hope. Not to mention the fact that here, there are babies and toddlers to worry about as well. In Valleron they were all teenagers.”

  The four friends sat looking at each other, finally taking in the gravity of the situation. They needed help to get these kids out of Naissance, and they had no idea where to start.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  -Empty Villages-

  Unable to come up with any immediate solutions to their problems, Leah suggested they keep moving while they tried to come up with a plan. She linked her arm through Raff’s as they passed through the second village, and headed towards number three, her old home.

  “Maybe we could talk to our old Guardians about what’s going on?” Leah said, trying to pull Raff out of the brooding silence he’d been in since they’d discovered their latest challenge.

  Raff shrugged, still frowning. “I think Garth would be okay, and from what you’ve told me about your old Guardian, she sounds like she might listen. But we’re going to need more than two Guardians on our side to pull this off. I’m hoping we can find this Orb of Truth, and see if that helps in some way? Otherwise, I’ve got nothing!”

  Leah squeezed his arm. “Okay, so we make it our main priority to find the Orb first. Knowing our luck, it’ll be hidden somewhere in village fourteen! Have I mentioned how much I hate walking? I am so missing Solange right now!”

  Raff chuckled. “Unbelievable! We’re not even at village three yet, ya slacko! I suppose I could always carry you?” With a wicked glint in his eyes, he reached down to grab her legs. Leah squealed, trying to push his hands away.

  Belle and Lyricus stopped walking, and turned to laugh at their antics. “You two right there?” Belle asked, hands on hips and eyebrows raised.

  Raff gave up and grinned, throwing his hands out in an attempt to look innocent. “What…? She was whinging about having to walk, so I was just offering to carry her?” He chuckled, as Belle and Lyricus looked at each other and rolled their eyes.

  Belle sighed. “You know what? Hearing you guys enjoying yourselves just then made me realise how long it’s been since any of us had any fun. I am so over everything having to be serious, and dangerous, and having to carry the problems of the world, or should I say worlds, on our shoulders. What’s with that anyway?”

  Leah, Raff and Lyricus stared open-mouthed at her for a minute, then burst out laughing.

  Leah hugged her. “Yay! Welcome back, my old friend Belle! I’ve been so worried this new, angry, ‘we-have-to-save-the-world-right-NOW’ Belle had squashed the old Belle for good. You’re right, we need to have some FUN again. Just as soon as we find the Orb of Truth, save the children of Naissance, kill Serbus, and take down the Kitsune Supreme Council. That shouldn’t take too long!” She crossed her eyes and poked out her tongue for effect, at which point they all dissolved into fits of laughter.

  After they’d all fallen to the ground with tears of laughter rolling down their faces, Leah sighed and stretched out on her back, looking up at the clear blue sky. How long had it been since she’d ‘stopped and smelled the roses’? Life had been so chaotic lately, they’d all forgotten how to just relax and have fun. She felt Raff move to join her, his head inches from hers.

  He sighed. “Wow, I think we all needed that! It sorta feels like all the problems just got smaller.”

  Leah smiled up at the sky. “Yep, sure does! So, at the risk of ruining the moment, what do we do now? 'Cos even though the problems may feel smaller, I’m pretty sure they’re exactly the same as they were ten minutes ago.”

  Raff groaned, and sat up. “You’re right. We need a plan. I know it’s important to stop any more kids stepping out of the portal into Valleron or Dragardia, but I think we need to find the Orb first. Whadya all reckon?”

  Leah sat up, grinning at the sight of Belle and Lyricus stretched out like she and Raff had been a moment ago. “Oi… you pair… party’s over! Reality calls!”

  Belle and Lyricus sat up, grinning sheepishly. “Yeah, yeah, okay… killjoy!” Belle said. “I get it! Orb first then kids… happy?”

  Leah felt some of the tension leave Raff’s body. He’d obviously expected a fight from Belle over their immediate priorities. He pulled out the amulet, and held it between them. “Thought we may as well check we’re still heading in the right direction before we get moving.”

  Leah and Belle reached out and joined his hand holding the amulet. The soft blue cord of light streaked out of the tip, and continued down the road as it had before, disappearing into the distance.

  Raff smiled, and returned the amulet to the sheath at his side. “Guess we need to keep going this way then. Let’s go!”

  * * *

  It was recess at the school in village three when they walked through, hidden inside a shield. Leah’s heart skipped a beat when she spied her three foster-sisters in the playground. She hadn’t realised how much she’d missed them, until she saw them happily playing with their friends. At least none of them was in danger of having to step through the portal
any time soon.

  She laughed as she pointed each of them out to her friends. Twelve-year-old Ellie was bossing her friends around in a game of skipping, eight-year-old Sari pushed a friend on a swing, and six-year-old Rhia was concentrating on putting a puzzle together, her tongue stuck out and twisted to the left, just as it always was when she was concentrating. Leah felt a thrill of excitement at the thought of them coming to Florisia sooner rather than later.

  Raff was smiling at her excitement. “Do you wanna go see Miriam now, or wait 'til we know a bit more about what we’re gonna do?”

  She squeezed his arm and shook her head. “Thanks for offering, but I know we need to get moving. I’ll catch up with her after we find the Orb, and hopefully know a bit more about what we need to do.”

  Raff nodded, and they continued walking through the village and out the other side. Now that she’d seen her foster-sisters again, she was eager to get on with finding the Orb so they could work out how to get the kids to Florisia.

  They’d been walking for just over an hour, passing quickly through village four and getting close to the next village, when Leah had a thought. “Hey Lyricus… I can’t believe we’ve never asked you what village you came from, or what your Guardian was like? I guess because it was such a long time ago.”

  Lyricus turned and chuckled. “Hey, I’m not that much older than you guys! You make me sound ancient!”

  Leah felt the heat rush to her face. “Oh Lyricus… I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean…”

  Lyricus smiled, and held up his hand. “Don’t stress Leah… I wasn’t offended. Belle and I were discussing where we grew up earlier. I grew up in village eleven, totally oblivious to the fact that I was only half an hour away from Belle all those years.”

  “Yeah, it was lucky we went to the Forever Forest, or we might never have met!” Belle said.

  Raff cleared his throat. “Ahem…. do you think we could maybe talk as we walk! We’re never gonna reach village fourteen at this rate!”

  Just around the next bend, village five came into sight. Leah’s stomach tightened into knots as they got closer. The bad feeling was back… big time. She gritted her teeth and tried to act normal. What was the point of worrying the others? It wasn’t like they could turn back.

  Raff frowned, and scratched his head. “The place looks deserted. Why would an entire village have been closed down?” His frown vanished, and he was smiling again. “Of course! Florisian babies aren’t being sent here anymore! That would have made the numbers arriving drop heaps. I guess it makes sense that they’d close a village, rather than have the kids spread out everywhere.”

  They were passing the empty houses as Raff spoke, and Leah’s feeling that something was wrong was getting stronger. “I know that makes sense, Raff, but I get the feeling something bad happened here. Can we please move a bit quicker? I didn’t want to say anything, but my bad feeling thing is in overdrive. I need to get out of here before I throw up.”

  They all nodded, and moved quickly through the deserted village. When they were back on the road heading towards the next village, Raff squeezed Leah’s hand. “Hey, what was that all about? I’ve never seen one of your premonitions affect you like that.”

  Leah shook her head. “I’ve no idea. It didn’t feel like my usual bad feeling either. Instead of feeling like something bad was going to happen, it was like it had already happened. The feeling’s still there, just not quite as strong.”

  Raff frowned, his eyes full of concern. “Well, hopefully it will be gone soon.”

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  -The Health Inspector-

  Raff knew Leah wasn’t getting any better, even though she hadn’t said anything. By the time village six came into view, she was as white as a sheet.

  “You okay?” he asked, already knowing the answer.

  Leah shook her head. “This one is the same as the last one. Can we please just get through it as quick as we can?”

  Raff tapped Lyricus on the shoulder. “Looks like this one is deserted too. We need to get through it and out the other side before Leah gets any worse.”

  Lyricus nodded, and they picked up the pace. They didn’t slow down to look around, knowing what they’d find… an exact replica of village five. When they were finally well clear of the village, Raff noticed the colour coming back into Leah’s face.

  He sighed with relief, and suggested they stop and have some lunch. He knew they were coming up to his old home, and had been worried sick they’d find it deserted as well. He hoped the fact that Leah felt better meant village seven was fine.

  They sat by the side of the road and ate their lunch in silence. Raff couldn’t get the images of the abandoned villages out of his head. He wasn’t sure whether it was just Leah’s bad feeling affecting him, but he had definitely felt the wrongness she’d mentioned in the previous village.

  Eager to get to his home village, Raff wolfed down his lunch and pulled out the amulet. It was weird… it seemed to be glowing less than the last time they’d checked it, yet it kept telling them to go forward. He shrugged, and held it out for the girls to touch. Sure enough, the blue light shot out in the same direction as it had the last time – straight down the road towards the next village.

  Leah leaned her head on his shoulder. “Thanks for suggesting we stop for lunch. I feel heaps better already. This whole ‘bad feeling’ thing is getting ridiculous! I used to be able to ignore it, but it seems to be getting stronger lately.”

  Raff wrapped his arm around her and squeezed her shoulder. “Maybe it’s something to do with your empathic abilities affecting your premonitions. Knowing what horrors people are capable of inflicting on others might be intensifying the possibilities.”

  Leah grinned up at him. “Wow, that was deep! What’s with all the big words, Professor?”

  “Okay, I’ll try that again. Maybe the crap we’ve seen just makes it all the more sickening. Is that better?”

  “Much better. Now you sound like Raff again. For a minute there, it felt like I was talking to the Oracle!”

  Raff laughed and got to his feet, reaching out a hand to pull Leah up beside him. “Right, let’s get going then. We still have eight more villages to visit!”

  Groaning in protest, the four headed towards village seven.

  * * *

  Raff released the breath he’d been holding as soon as he saw the signs of life in his old village. He’d been secretly dreading finding Garth and his foster-brothers missing, and he’d have no way of knowing where they’d gone.

  He felt the familiar shield settle around them as they moved closer to the village. He smiled as memories of a time when he’d been carefree played through his mind. The happy squeals of children playing in the school grounds told him they’d arrived before the end of lunchtime. As far as he could tell, nothing here had changed.

  He heard Belle’s sharp intake of breath as they got closer to the school. She was looking towards the classroom, her eyes wide and filled with terror as she literally swayed on her feet. Raff was sure she’d have collapsed if Lyricus hadn’t slipped an arm around her waist and pulled her against him.

  “Belle? What’s up? You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Lyricus said, his eyes scouring the area where she’d been looking to find the source of her terror.

  Belle replied with one word. “GRIZ!”

  No one needed to ask what she meant. She’d seen Griz, her cruel ex-Guardian, here in village seven!

  Raff’s eyes followed the direction of Belle’s glazed stare. A woman he didn’t recognise was talking to his old teacher at the door to the classroom. He heard the growl coming from Lyricus’ throat, and knew he had to do something… now!

  “Okay, everyone needs to stay calm. I think we need to go and talk to my old Guardian, Garth, and see if he can tell us what’s been going on.” Raff could see the warring emotions flickering in Lyricus’ eyes. He placed a steadying hand on his elven friend’s arm and shook his head quickly. “I know what we�
��d all prefer to do… but now’s not the time or the place! Follow me,” he said quietly. Lyricus finally nodded his head, and Raff turned to lead them towards his old home.

  They found Garth chopping wood in the backyard, and had to wait until he’d finished, and gone inside, before they revealed themselves. As Raff watched his old Guardian pile the wood next to the fireplace, he signalled to his friends to stay where they were, and stepped out of the shield alone. He figured it would be better to talk to Garth first, before the three other complete strangers appeared in his house.

  Raff stepped up behind Garth and tapped him on the shoulder. “Hey Garth, remember me?”

  Garth went white, then red, and was in the process of turning purple before he could get any words out. “Raff? How the… what are you… where did you come from?”

  Raff smiled. “It’s a long story, believe me! I need to talk to you, in private.”

  Garth was shaking his head and chuckling. “Somehow I always knew I hadn’t seen the last of you. I had the feeling you were either destined for greatness… or would end up mixed up in something dangerous. So which is it?”

  Raff sighed as the heat rushed to his face. “I suppose you could say it’s a bit of both. Can we go to your office? I’d rather not let anyone know I’m here.”

  Garth threw his arm around his shoulder as they headed for his office. “Well, unless you’ve been invisible, I’d say quite a few people would have seen you come through the village in broad daylight!”

  Raff waited until he knew his friends would have had time to enter the office, then closed the door. He smiled at Garth, and chuckled. “Yeah, about that invisible thing… I think you’d better sit down.”

  He waited until Garth was sitting in the chair behind his desk, the totally confused expression on the poor man’s wind-weathered face making him smile.