Wyrmspire (Realm Keepers Book 2)

by Garrett Robinson

  “We’re almost there!” said Nora.

  “Aye, and possibly into the mouth of another goblin horde,” said Barius. His grip tightened on his sword as he held it at the ready.

  “Everyone stay quiet until we get a good look outside,” Sarah whispered. She left her own sword in its sheath, holding a hand up instead so she could call on her power in an instant.

  Soon I could see a faint blue glow coming from ahead of us, a few shades lighter and much weaker than the light from my own electric ball. I let my light die away slightly, making the glow ahead seem brighter. Once we could see the cave mouth and the bright moonlight pouring through, I extinguished my lightning ball completely.

  Slowly, step by step, we approached. The breeze coming in smelled sweeter than anything I could have imagined, a combination of perfectly scented flowers and fresh spring water, green grass and rich, fertile soil. I felt my heart lighten and my spirits rise with every step.

  “It must stink worse in here than I thought,” I said. “Outside smells amazing.”

  “It’s not just the difference between here and there,” Barius muttered. “We’re entering the Elven lands. There’s a magic about their kingdom. I’ve felt it before.”

  “Well, sign me up,” I said. “We should hang out with them more often.”

  “Aye, if they don’t kill us.”

  “Quiet,” Sarah said sharply.

  We reached the mouth of the cave in dead silence, scanning all around for any sign of movement. But there was nothing at all to be seen.

  Except for the forest.

  It was like something from a dream. I saw the same kinds of trees I’d seen on the rest of our journeys, but they were different somehow. Thicker. Healthier. More beautiful and more alive at the same time. The light breeze we’d felt earlier was still there, and in it the boughs of the trees swayed lightly back and forth, seeming to dance.

  But what really got my attention were the flowers. Though it was the dead of night, they were in full bloom. They looked like they were glowing, but I realized they were just reflecting the silver light of the moon, causing them to glimmer and glisten as they swung back and forth in the wind. Though it was spring, I saw the occasional petal or leaf come loose and drift toward the ground. It almost seemed—and I know this sounds crazy—but it seemed like they did it on purpose, loosing their hold on tree branches just so they could spin beautifully on the wind, illuminated by the shafts of the moon’s glow that fell through the boughs above.

  I heard a twig snap to the left and I nearly panicked as I reached for my power. But my alarm died instantly as I saw the source of the noise: a tiny white rabbit hopped into the open space before the cave. It was heading for the forest on the opposite side of the clearing, but the instant it saw us it stopped in its tracks and turned. It sat up on its haunches, its nose twitching as it studied us. There was something incredibly intelligent in its eyes as they met each of ours in turn.

  “Hey, little guy,” I said, kneeling and holding out my hand. I’m a goth, not normally a cute and fluffy sort of person. But this thing was so cute and fluffy that it was overwhelming my defenses.

  The bunny took a couple of hops forward and stopped just out of arm’s reach. Not afraid, just cautious. It sat back upon its hind legs once again.

  Struck by an idea, I reached into the pouch at my belt and pulled out another slice of dried apple. I actually had no idea if rabbits liked apples or not, but I figured it was worth a shot. I held the slice out, barely grasping it with just the tips of my fingers.

  The rabbit took the final step forward and seized the apple in its teeth, munching away on the thin, dry slice of fruit. Then it turned and made a sound like a sneeze. Two tiny black apple seeds flew from its mouth, falling softly to the grass beneath our feet.

  Nora laughed in delight as the rabbit took another step forward, nuzzling its head against my still-outstretched hand. Then it turned and raced off into the night, disappearing into the underbrush in the blink of an eye.

  I stood, unable to stop myself from smiling. “Okay, so that was awesome.”

  “Too bad you didn’t catch it,” Darren said, shaking his head ruefully. “We could have had hot rabbit stew.”

  Sarah, Tess and I stared at him in horror, but Barius took it a step farther. He leapt forward, slamming his hand over Darius’ mouth.

  “Quiet, you fool!” Barius hissed. “Are you trying to get us all killed?”

  Darren stared at him with wide eyes.

  Barius looked at us all solemnly. “The elves take grave offense to any outsiders hunting within their woods. They have a very low threshold for the death penalty among humans, and hunting falls firmly within it.”

  “No hunting at all?” I asked, somewhat surprised. “What, are they vegetarians?”

  Barius shook his head. “They eat meat as freely as humans do. In fact, they have perfected the art of the hunt over long millennia, and therein lies the danger—they consider any game improperly killed and used to be an insult to the forest and all Elves who live there. They have a belief in the spirit of life that inhabits all things.” He gave a nod to Tess. “It is another understanding of your power of Mind, my Lady.”

  Tess looked surprised. “But my powers are all up here.” She gave her temple a tap. “They don’t have anything to do with any kind of spark of life.”

  At that, all three Runegard looked at her, confused. “How do you mean, my Lady?” asked Nora. “They are one and the same.”

  Sarah stepped in. “We don’t really have time to get into a philosophy discussion right now,” she said firmly. “We’ve got to get back to the other side. If the others are all right, they’re probably already asleep and waiting to talk to us on True Earth.”

  The others. I was so awestruck by the Elven forest, I’d almost forgotten about them again.

  “What about Greystone?” Tess asked in a small voice.

  Sarah sighed. “I’ve been thinking about that. There’s nothing he can do for us right now, and we need to get back immediately. We’ll talk to him as soon as we wake up tomorrow morning. By then we’ll have more information anyway if we’ve been able to talk to the guys.”

  Darren nodded. “That is wise, my Lady. After the mood you left the Watcher in the last time, I would not envy you if you were to tell him of the group is split now.”

  Sarah cocked an eyebrow at him. “The mood I left him in, huh?”

  Darren started. “Er…that is, the mood he was in after hearing of the Association. I didn’t mean to—”

  Sarah giggled. “Relax, Darren. I was just giving you a hard time. I know what you meant.”

  I rolled my eyes, dragging my bedroll from my horse’s saddle. It was one of the few items Barius had managed to save before the chase; most everything else had gone sailing over the horse or bounced off its back. “Well, I guess we’d better hit the sack, then,” I said.

  “Hold on,” said Sarah. “Let’s move a bit further into the cave, out of sight of the entrance.”

  I grumbled, but she was right. We didn’t want goblins or anyone else to see us if they passed by the cave’s mouth. We moved away from the entrance until it was hidden by the first bend in the underground tunnel, and I tossed my blankets to the ground once again. Now that all of the excitement of the day had faded away, my body was overtaken by a bone-chilling weariness.

  Sarah must have felt the same, because she hit the ground like a ton of bricks. Just before she closed her eyes, she turned to look at Barius. “You three should rest, too. We’ll probably be fine with only one person on watch—the other two should sleep. We’ve got a long day ahead of us tomorrow.”

  “I’d feel safer with two, my Lady,” Barius said, frowning.

  “You are light sleepers,” she argued. “If one person is on watch and gives a shout, the others will be up in an instant. And I don’t want you to be out of it tomorrow when we’re in the Elf kingdoms.”

  Barius sighed. “Very well, my Lady. One it is.”


  “I’ll take first watch, sir,” said Darren eagerly.

  Barius waved a hand vaguely. “Very well.” He crashed to the ground, sitting against the stone wall a few feet from me, closing his eyes and leaning his head back against the stone, his sword unsheathed and at hand. Nora had already found her place beside Tess. Darren went to sit beside Sarah, facing toward the front of the cave.

  Barius’ massive leather boots were only a couple of feet away from me. I reached out and gave one of them a tap with my knuckles. One of his eyes shot open, peering between his bushy eyebrows above and his massive mustache below.

  “Hey, old man,” I said, feeling a yawn building in my chest. “Thanks for watching out for me today.”

  Barius gave a quick glance at Darren to make sure he wasn’t listening, then grinned a secret grin. “You’re welcome, girl,” he said. “It grows harder every day, but I haven’t lost my edge yet.”

  I laughed and settled into my blanket. Just as I drifted off to sleep, I saw Barius reach into his shirt and clutch the gold ring he always kept hanging on his chain.

  The world faded to black.

  LOST

  RAVEN

  I WOKE UP TO FIND my phone buzzing on the desk across my room.

  I dove out of my bed, leaping across the room to snatch it up.

  Calvin Wells: 87 Messages

  I laughed. “Holy cow, Calvin,” I said aloud. I clicked the phone open to read the texts: they were all variants on Where are you guys, Are you okay and Why aren’t you answering my texts.

  I hit “reply” on the most recent one and quickly dashed out, I’m fine. With Sarah and Tess “over there.” You with Miles and Blade?

  Calvin’s reply shot back in seconds. It was scary how fast he was.

  No, got separated. Don’t know about Miles. Kinda freaking out. Blade’s asleep in my room. Still breathing. I’m with Cara. Over there, not here. Obviously.

  I sighed. At least Calvin and Cara were okay, but that left Miles and Blade totally unaccounted for. Blade was alive here, which meant he was alive there. That was something. But why wasn’t he waking up?

  I got dressed and ready for school, my mind in a fog of concern. Two or three times I caught myself simply sitting there as I got ready, staring off into space, racing scenarios through my mind. My makeup didn’t seem to want to go on right. My clothes didn’t seem to fit or go together, even though they were the exact same clothes I’d had for years.

  I growled and slammed my closet shut. I might as well give up trying to be lucid. I slapped together my getup and shot out of my bedroom.

  It was a short couple of blocks to the bus stop, and I took the time to look around and try to get my mind focused outward. I inspected cracks in the sidewalk. I looked at the leaves of the trees that were well into their autumn colors. I saw neighbors leaving their homes and driving off in their cars. Most of them smiled awkwardly at me and gave me half-hearted little waves. I gave them only nods in return. I’d long ago given up trying to apologize for who I was and how I looked. If it still made people uncomfortable, that was on them.

  By the time I reached the bus stop, I was feeling a tiny bit better. Sometimes looking around at things was the only way I could get out of my own head. But then the regular pickup time came, and the bus was still nowhere in sight. And the longer I stood there, the more my attention seemed to sink back into myself—and more importantly, into Midrealm.

  “‘Sup, freak?” came a nauseatingly familiar voice.

  Startled from my thoughts, I looked over to see Chuck’s leering, pig-nosed face.

  “Hey, loser,” I replied. “Why are you at this stop? Normally I have to wait until I get to school for you to darken my day.”

  Chuck’s leer grew wider. “Spent the night away from home. If you know what I mean.”

  “I don’t, except I guess if I lived in your home, I’d want to get as far away as possible, too,” I said. I turned away and looked down the street in the direction the bus would come from, hoping that was the end of it.

  It wasn’t. I must have struck a nerve, because his mood darkened. “What, like your little life’s so perfect that you just have to dress up like a psycho mime?” he snarled.

  Ooh, a mime joke. Clever. I looked back at him disdainfully. “People like me eat mimes for breakfast. This is just a disguise so we can sneak up on them. But I understand how you’d be confused—it must happen so often.”

  I half expected and half feared he’d get even angrier. Not that I was afraid he’d really do anything; there were too many people around, and besides, even Chuck had limits when it came to girls. But Chuck could get downright nasty if he had half a reason—or no reason at all. You couldn’t always tell what he’d do.

  Fortunately, I wasn’t about to find out. His scowl turned back into a leer. “You’re funny, freak. And probably not too hideous under all that freak makeup, either. If you’d wipe it off and put on a real dress, maybe show a little skin, you might get lucky enough to get asked out by a guy like me.”

  I widened my eyes. “Really? You mean it? I’ve always wanted that.”

  In contrast to mine, Chuck’s eyes narrowed, like a cow that suddenly grows suspicious of the big smelly white room it’s being led into. “What? You have?”

  “Oh, totally,” I said earnestly. “I’ve been crafting a rejection for just such an occasion for years. It starts out, ‘Dear Chuck, I can’t tell you how much your proposal means to me. I can’t tell you because mathematics hasn’t developed the terminology to describe a number as small as I need for my purposes.’”

  Chuck’s scowl returned. “Whatever, freak.” He raised a palm in the universal “talk to the hand” gesture and began to walk off.

  “Wait, I haven’t even told you my favorite part!” I called to his retreating back. “I’ve got a whole section that compares my emotional reaction to the physical trauma of a bunch of terminal illnesses!”

  Chuck ignored me. A couple of the other kids at the stop chuckled behind their hands, hoping he wouldn’t see. I gave them a mocking half bow.

  Ember appeared at my elbow as if from nowhere. “Nicely done,” she said.

  I smiled. “I didn’t see you there,” I said, reaching out to pull her into a tight hug. “You saw that, huh? I enjoyed it. It was as funny as it was disgusting. It’s a shame he left. I wasn’t joking—I’m really proud of that terminal illness part.”

  “You would be,” she said with a chuckle. Then her smile was wiped away as her eyes widened. “Oh, God, I didn’t mean that—”

  “No sweat,” I said, waving a hand and ignoring the growing pit of blackness that had formed in my stomach. I’d had a long time to learn how to cover up that particular wound. “I know what you meant.”

  At long last, I heard the hydraulic hiss of the school bus’ brakes as it puled up to the stop. We waited in an awkward silence for the minute or two while the kids in front of us got on the bus, and then I followed Ember up the steps to find our seats near the back. I noticed with some delight that Chuck chose a seat on the other side of the bus, several rows ahead.

  Soon I realized that Ember was too embarrassed to resume the conversation on her own. “So, hey,” I said, finally breaking our silence. “How’s things at home? You know, with the…thing?”

  “My parents?” Ember said wryly, looking relieved to change topics. “Oh, same old same old. They hate each other, say they love me, and make that seem like a lie every time they look at how I dress.”

  “You know that just because they’re uncomfortable with your life, doesn’t mean they don’t love you, right?” I asked seriously. “My dad’s old school, conservative, second generation Asian American. You think he’s all super happy about me looking like a raccoon?”

  Ember gasped. “He’s never said that, has he?”

  I shook my head. “Of course not. That’s my point. I know I make him uncomfortable sometimes, but he ignores it as much as he can because he loves me. Not like my mom.”
>
  “Well, take your mom times two and you’ve got my folks,” Ember complained. “Nothing I do is good enough for them. They complain about everything—clothes, friends, grades, college. Everything. My mom even gets mad sometimes because I don’t have a boyfriend.”

  I stared. “Seriously?”

  Ember shrugged. “It’s whatever. But it’s like, why does she even care? Doesn’t it matter to her that I don’t want one? Sometimes I feel like she wants me to live the exact same kind of life she did growing up—and hey, spoiler alert, she’s getting divorced. Why would she even want me on that same path?”

  I shook my head. “Parents are nuts.”

  Ember sighed. “Yeah. I just keep telling myself that.” She leaned over to rest her head on my shoulder. “Thanks, Rave. Seriously, I think I’d straight up die if I couldn’t talk to you about stuff.”

  I tugged my arm out and gave her an awkward side-hug. “Hey, I already told you—you need friends when stuff like this goes down.”

  My phone buzzed in my pocket, snapping my attention back to the others. It was probably from one of them—Calvin, or more likely Sarah. But I couldn’t pull it out. What if they said something about Miles or Blade? Ember was right there. There was no way she wouldn’t see.

  Thankfully, the bus pulled up in front of the school right at that moment. As Ember stood and stepped into the aisle, I took advantage of her distraction to yank the phone from my pocket and check the message on the screen. It was from Sarah—even without her name above the message, it was instantly recognizable by its perfect grammar and punctuation, and the lack of any shortened words.

  We’re going to meet at your locker for a quick coordination before the day starts.

  Thank goodness. My mind was racing, and I needed more information on the status of Miles and Blade. Otherwise, I’d truly be useless all day at school today.