by S. M. Boyce
“Why?”
Richard sighed. “Gavin heard me confess something I have kept from him his whole life. I cannot remain here.”
Kara nodded. “And you’re like a father to Braeden. A real one. So he wants you safe.”
“Yes.”
No one spoke as she processed that. If Braeden wanted her to protect Richard, she would do everything in her power to make it happen.
Richard cleared his throat. “Last time we spoke, Vagabond, I was not kind to you. I didn’t realize my son would stoop so low as to try to control you, nor did I believe you were telling the truth. I was wrong.”
Kara smiled and held up her hand. “Please, Richard. It’s all right. I’m sorry if I came off as harsh. Everything’s happening so quickly that I tend to forget my manners. I promised Braeden I would protect you, and I’ll do that. But I need you to become a vagabond if you’re going to come to the village. Can you do that?”
Richard’s beaming grin lit up the room. “My dear, I would be honored.”
“Then it’s settled. Are you two ready to go? We have to move.”
Twin paused as she reached for a trinket on the top shelf of a nearby dresser. “Why so soon?”
“I think I’m being followed.”
“But how are we going to leave without being seen?” Richard asked.
“We’re using Flick,” Kara answered.
Flick barked and jumped onto Kara’s shoulder. She ran her finger along his head. He purred.
Twin’s face lit up. “Really? He can—”
“Shh!”
Twin tried again, this time in a whisper. “He can teleport? I’d always heard some could do that, but I never thought I’d meet one who could!”
“Well, Flick is pretty awesome.”
Twin wrinkled her nose at the word ‘awesome,’ and Kara wondered if the girl even knew what the term meant. She shrugged it off. They had to leave.
Twin picked up her bag, but Richard quickly grabbed it from her and slung it over his shoulder.
“Aren’t you bringing anything?” Kara asked him.
“I didn’t want to risk being seen carrying a bag. It would be too obvious.”
“Maybe we could teleport to your room, or—”
“They’re just possessions,” he said with a shrug.
Kara sat on the bed. “All right, then. We can’t teleport through a lichgate, unfortunately, so we need to find a way out. We can’t use the main lichgate, since that’s too public. However, I have a map of the kingdom. Maybe we can find a hidden lichgate few know about.”
She summoned the Grimoire. Blue dust spiraled out of her pendant and into her hands, forming the shape of a book. Richard smiled. Twin even clapped her hands.
Kara opened the Grimoire to the back cover, where she’d stored the folded maps Stone had given her. She paged through them, suddenly grateful for listening to the Vagabond. If only he didn’t force her to do things his way, they might actually be friends.
She thumbed through the sheets and peeked at their titles, stopping only when she saw the word ‘Ayavel’ scribbled at the top of one of the maps. She pulled it from the book and unfolded it onto the bed.
A series of circles clung together in the middle of the page, marked by the word ‘castle.’ Forests covered most of the map, and she even found a small temple hidden in a corner. But Kara skimmed over the page, only looking for a way out. She paused when she noticed four blue stars marked with the word ‘lichgate’ that glowed and glimmered like tiny suns in the four corners of the paper.
Twin pointed at a drawing of a small pond not far from the castle. “That lichgate is by the waterfall where we had our picnic!”
Next to Twin’s finger, a group of rocks with water flowing over them represented the waterfall. The blue star for the lichgate hovered just behind the falls.
“Was it busy while you girls were there?” Richard asked.
Kara shrugged. “Not an hour ago, but that could have changed.”
Twin shook her head. “No, it’s supper time. I haven’t been here long, but I can tell you Ayavelians are strict with their schedules and always eat together. I doubt anyone would be out there. The only non-Ayavelians here are the various kingdoms’ guards, and they don’t seem like the type to picnic.”
Kara rubbed her neck. It still posed a risk. If they appeared and someone was there, she would make it known that Flick could teleport. Considering the consequences she would face if she was found stealing two of Gavin’s subjects to make them vagabonds, though, it was a risk she should take. They could always try to go to another lichgate if they ran into trouble.
She wished away the book and stood. “All right. Let’s go. Will each of you please touch my shoulder?”
Richard and Twin each set a hand on her sleeve. Kara visualized the waterfall from earlier and touched Flick’s forehead.
“So what do we—?” Twin began to ask.
A sharp crack cut her off.
In the blink of an eye, Kara stood by the waterfall. Mist swirled over her arms and clung to the back of her neck. She took a deep breath to savor the water’s chill as it rolled over her.
The rest of the group didn’t enjoy the trip as much.
Twin cursed and put her hand on a tree to get her balance. Richard doubled over, hands on his knees, and heaved. Kara set a hand on his back, but he muttered something about her needing to make sure they were alone.
Kara glanced around. The sun’s evening rays burned through the trees, casting dappled shadows along broken twigs and spots of grass on the ground. A squirrel knocked an acorn against a tree root sticking up from the dirt, but couldn’t quite crack the thing. No one else seemed to have seen them.
Twin laughed and pushed Kara’s shoulder. “What’s wrong with you? Warn me before you do that!”
“I’m sorry, but I had to get us out of there. We still need to hurry.” Kara forced a smile. They were wasting time.
Twin just shook her head and walked toward the waterfall. The girl knelt and peered behind the tumbling water, her body blocking the small passage. After a moment, she wiggled inside. Her feet disappeared. Ragged breaths and muffled curses drifted back as she pushed her way through.
“I see it!” she said, her voice muffled by the small space.
Richard bowed to Kara. “Ladies first.”
Kara knelt. The perfectly round hole only gave her about three or four feet through which to move, and she couldn’t see the other side. She couldn’t see Twin for that matter.
“Twin!” she called.
If Twin responded, the water’s rush drowned it out. Kara hesitated. This didn’t look like a lichgate—only darkness, dirt, and a little bit of mold filled the tunnel.
“Something wrong?” Richard asked.
Kara shook her head and sighed. “Here goes nothing.”
She slid into the small space and crawled on her forearms and knees. Dirt clung to her skin. Twigs pinched her elbows. The waterfall’s echo doubled in here, the noise drowning out even the sound of her own breath. She wanted to call for Twin again, but didn’t see the point.
Light flashed ahead. Shapes formed a short ways off. As though through a screen door, the gray outline of a fallen log sat in the twitching grasses of a meadow. Kara grinned.
What a relief.
Blue light split through her peripheral vision, and her stomach twisted as she passed through the still-unseen lichgate. As if on cue, the meadow came into sharp color. The murky greens of moonlit grasses blinked back at her.
She stuck her head out of the tunnel and took a breath of air. The sweet tang of honeysuckle blooms floated on a breeze that flew down her collar. Sweat dried on her neck. She wiped her face and sucked in another deep breath.
A hand grabbed her arm. Thanks to Braeden’s training, Kara’s first instinct told her to counter, grab the attacker’s wrist, and twist until it broke. She grabbed the hand, but paused long enough to look over before breaking anything.
Twin smiled,
apparently oblivious to the fact she’d almost gotten a broken arm. Kara took a deep breath and smiled back.
Richard grunted from the tunnel. “A little help, ladies?”
His head poked out of the tunnel, sandwiched between his arms as he groped for the leverage he needed to pull himself out. Twin giggled and grabbed one arm while Kara grabbed the other. Together, they pulled the retired king from the tiniest lichgate Kara had ever seen.
“Where to next, Vagabond?” Richard asked with a grin.
Kara smiled and wiped the dirt off her hands. “Next, the village. Are you two ready for this?”
Twin grinned. “You have no idea.”
Richard and Twin set their hands on her shoulder as if on cue. Kara scratched Flick’s head and closed her eyes. She envisioned the Amber Temple, with its four towers and cobblestone road—
Crack!
“It’s beautiful!” Twin said before Kara could even open her eyes.
Kara peeked through an eyelid and sighed with relief when she saw the Amber Temple’s main entrance. Leaves tumbled over the cobblestone and fell from the low-hanging branches above, but the lyth was nowhere in sight.
“All right, guys. Let me show you to your new home,” she said.
Kara would have to introduce them to the lyth later. Some guardian he was. Right now, she had to hurry. She wanted to stop Braeden from whatever mistake he was about to make, but she had to make some vagabonds first.
Kara opened both doors to the Vagabond’s study.
She grumbled under her breath. She really needed to start calling it her study. A ghost hardly needed a desk.
She had given the barest of tours, showing them the war room, treasury, kitchen, and a few bedrooms—just the basics. They could explore the rest on their own. She had to get out of here.
“Are you two ready?” she asked.
Richard leaned against the door to catch his breath. “You just took the stairs three at a time, Kara. Why are you rushed?”
“I need to get back, but I can’t leave you here without changing you. I need to turn you both now.”
“That’s not an answer. What happened to get you so upset?” he asked.
Kara sighed and walked over to the bookshelf holding the Grimoires without answering. She stared at the books without looking at them. To distract herself, she thrummed her fingers along the top of the shelf once she got there.
“Did something happen between you and Braeden?” Twin asked.
Kara sighed. “No. I mean, sort of. Something is wrong with Braeden. I can feel it. He’s going to do something stupid, and I need to get back before he does it. I don’t mean to rush you two, and I’m sorry. I’m just worried.”
Twin nodded. “Well, let’s do this, then.”
“Before we start, I need you to know why I’m doing this. I didn’t want to talk about this in Ayavel, but I need you both to create a vagabond for every Grimoire on this shelf. I have maps to get you into the kingdoms, just like the one in Ayavel. Do you think you can do that?”
“How will we travel?” Richard asked.
Kara paused. Flick purred on her shoulder, his eyes closed. She didn’t want to do it, but it just made sense.
“You need to travel fast,” she said.
“Yes,” Richard agreed.
“You’ll have to be stealthy. Unseen.”
“Makes sense,” Twin added.
“So I think you should take Flick,” Kara finished.
Breep!
Flick made his angry noise, as if he’d understood her. Most of the time, she was pretty sure he could.
“Don’t you need him?” Twin asked.
“Not as much as you do. I need to distract the Bloods while you two do this, but even that won’t buy you much time. You need to move quickly and stay under the radar. Flick is the fastest way to go. If you want to split your efforts, I can also call a flaer.”
Richard laughed. “A flaer! A real flaer! How do you do it?”
Kara chuckled. “I guess we know which one Richard wants to take.”
Flick nudged Kara’s neck, which pulled her away from the plotting. She scratched his tiny head. He whimpered.
“It’ll be okay, boy. Twin will take good care of you, and I’m not leaving yet. I still have to show her how to teleport with you, silly.” She turned to the Hillsidians with her. “Twin, Richard, do you both understand what I’m asking?”
“I do,” Richard said with a nod.
Twin smiled. “Me too. How does this work?”
“Both of you pick a Grimoire. The first Vagabond said they’re similar to mine. Mine has an attitude, so I can only imagine that each book has its own personality, too.”
Twin stepped toward the shelves first. She lifted her finger over the spines of each book, her hand hovering without touching any of them as she scanned her way across them. After a few moments, she pulled a tome from the shelf.
Her fingers brushed a string of silver wrapped around the leather cover. She yelped and dropped the book. It landed on the floor with a thump.
Kara cringed. “I’m sorry, I forgot about the silver. It’ll sear your skin.”
“I figured that one out, thank you.” Twin picked the book up with the edges of her dress and carried it over to the desk. The unclaimed Grimoire made a thud again as she set it on top. A chain dangled from a pendant set into the lock.
Richard followed suit. He grabbed a book and set it on the desk, careful to avoid the silver chain wrapped around his Grimoire. Both he and Twin eyed the pendants.
“This is going to hurt,” Kara said.
Twin looked up with wide eyes. “How much?”
“A lot.”
Twin groaned.
“Hey, I’m here. And you don’t have to do this if you don’t want to. This is your choice. Being a vagabond…it’s lonely, but at least we’ll have each other. This is a hard life, and I want you to know that before you get into it. I didn’t have that warning.”
Twin took a deep breath, nodded, and grabbed the pendant from the lock without hesitating.
A gale ripped through the room. Both Kara and Richard watched in horror as Twin seemed to stifle a scream. Their hair whipped about them, Kara’s stinging her skin as she held onto the desk for support. Twin writhed in agony. Her skin glowed blue.
A mist blew from Twin’s mouth like a ghost. The pale green haze spun from her mouth and dissolved into the air. When the last of it disappeared, the gale stalled. Twin fell into the office chair, panting.
Kara knelt and grabbed her hand. Richard appeared on the other side. Twin couldn’t speak. Kara didn’t expect her to.
“Ow,” Twin finally said.
Kara laughed, and soon the others joined in.
“So this is mine?” Twin asked, rubbing her finger along her Grimoire’s spine.
“Forever,” Kara said.
Twin laughed again, and strength seemed to seep slowly back into her. “So, we have to find owners for the rest?”
“As many as you can. Choose the best of the best—soldiers, scholars, healers, you name it. I brought you here because I trust you. I only brought Richard because Braeden trusts him. No offense, Richard.”
“None taken. I deserved that.”
Kara stood. “I don’t think either of you should bring anyone else here until they’re turned. The first Vagabond isn’t big on trusting those with the blood loyalty.”
Twin laughed. “He must love your little tryst with Braeden, then.”
Kara looked down at the floor. “How obvious is it?”
“I just know you,” Twin said.
Richard rubbed his eyes. “Kara, you’re tough to read. I only knew about the two of you because Braeden cannot help himself around you.”
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“He watches when you leave, waiting for you to turn around and catch his eye. He dove in front of you at the Gala, protecting you when Carden had you at his mercy. My girl, I’m fairly certain Braeden would die for y
ou.”
“I don’t want that!”
“Love is a strange thing, and not often wanted,” Richard said.
“I never—”
Richard shrugged. “Some things need not be said.”
Kara sighed. “Well, neither of you can tell anyone. As far as I know, that’s over anyway.”
“What?” Richard asked.
“Oh, Kara, I’m sorry,” Twin said.
“Don’t be. Just please don’t mention it.”
“What do you mean, over?” Richard insisted.
“He found me after his meeting with the Bloods and…” Kara trailed off. She couldn’t explain what had happened.
“And what?” Twin prompted.
“He said goodbye,” Kara said softly.
“You need to find him and stop him from doing whatever he’s about to do,” Richard said.
“I will. But first, I need to show you both something. I’m not sure what help they’ll be, but there are keys to Losse and Kirelm in that drawer,” Kara said, nodding toward the desk.
“How—?” he asked.
“Drenowith.”
“My life just got a lot more interesting,” Twin said.
“That is one hell of an understatement,” Kara said with a laugh.
Richard rubbed his hands together and reached for his Grimoire.
“All right. My turn,” he said with a grin.
The grin faded, though, as soon as he pulled his pendant from the lock. Kara watched his face distort in pain, and the pang of fear that she’d made a mistake shot through her chest. But Braeden trusted Richard, and so should she. She would show him and Twin how to teleport. Only then would she let herself go back to Braeden.
Trust. She had to trust that this was a good idea.
“Are you sure about this?” Twin asked.
Kara nodded and looked around the moonlit meadow near the lichgate that would take her back to Ayavel. Twin had teleported her here as practice while Richard sewed the maps she’d given them into his Grimoire.
Kara couldn’t bring herself to look at Flick. He just sat on Twin’s shoulder, staring at Kara like she was leaving him at the pound. She reached out and scratched his head, but he pinned his ears back and grumbled.
“Take care of him,” Kara said.