by Kristen Pham
“I don’t think I’d stand a chance against Reaper without Pathos,” Valerie admitted.
Gideon considered her words gravely. “Pathos in the wrong hands would be only a well-crafted piece of metal. In your hands it comes alive.”
Gideon spoke the words as if they were an absolute truth, and even Valerie found herself trusting them. She’d lost her locus, but she hadn’t lost herself.
Valerie’s first instinct was to be alone after parting with Gideon at the Healers’ Guild so that he could have his injuries treated. But the surreal distance that had separated her from her life for weeks had started to fade during her training with Gideon as she confronted her grief about Midnight’s loss. It was being replaced by the burning worry that time was passing, and the problem of the Fractus was only getting worse.
She’d purposely avoided checking in with Dulcea about the attacks of the Fractus on Earth, but it was time to pay her a visit. Valerie headed to the beautiful, playful building that housed the Society of Imaginary Friends.
She pushed against the enormous front doors, but they wouldn’t budge. Instead they glowed red, like she was some kind of intruder. A short while later, Dulcea appeared, a little out of breath.
“I didn’t know you were coming. Sorry, these doors used to be open to everyone. But Rastelli wants all guests escorted when they’re inside the Guild now,” Dulcea explained.
Kanti ran up to them, her face relieved when she saw Valerie. “I saw Valerie’s picture appear on the intruder alert. I came here to rescue her before she got doused in goo.”
“What are you talking about?” Valerie asked.
“Unless someone shows up to escort them within five minutes of their arrival, unexpected visitors are sprayed with cannons of nasty-smelling goo. Obviously, it makes them leave… and seek a shower,” Dulcea explained. “Another one of Rastelli’s ideas.”
“He’s so different now,” Kanti said. “Something in him has gone missing, like his love of making people happy.”
“Let’s talk in private,” Dulcea said, pulling them into a little room with floor-to-ceiling windows and a long table.
“I came to see if you had any more news about what the Fractus are up to on Earth,” Valerie explained. “Have any imaginary friends seen anything weird lately?”
Kanti and Dulcea exchanged a glance, and then Kanti spoke up. “I didn’t want to overwhelm you after everything you’ve been through, but things are going from bad to worse. There are multiple incidents every day of Fractus appearing around the world. In person, not as projections.”
“What are they doing?” Valerie asked, afraid of the answer.
“Stuff that seems random. They’ve stolen some technology, interrogated a bunch of people, and in a few cases, they’ve kidnapped people who are important, like a senator and the Prime Minister of Japan,” Dulcea explained.
“There’s no pattern to it,” Kanti continued. “The people they target are usually rich and powerful, but other than that, we don’t see the connection.”
“Maybe they’re searching for something,” Valerie said, remembering how Logan was examining the contents of Thai’s computer.
“The people the Fractus are harassing don’t even know the Globe exists,” Dulcea said, bewildered.
“Whatever they’re after, they have to be stopped,” Kanti said. “Aside from everything else, there are a lot of terrified kids out there.”
“Wait—are you saying that the people who are being targeted by the Fractus all have children with imaginary friends?” Valerie asked.
“Those are the ones we hear about. Other humans could be targeted, but we have no way of knowing,” Dulcea explained.
Valerie sat down on the table, chewing her lip. “A few instances every day of kids with imaginary friends witnessing Fractus attacks. That can’t be an accident. It’s not like every child on Earth has an imaginary friend.”
Kanti was nodding slowly. “Val’s right. And these children of kids with powerful parents—who assigned them an imaginary friend in the first place?”
Dulcea sat down with a thud. “It’s decided by the Masters of our Guild. Of course, lots of children are calling out for companionship, but we can’t answer every request.”
“What if the Masters are giving priority to the requests of certain kids with rich or powerful parents?” Valerie asked.
“But why?” Dulcea asked.
“It’s possible that the Masters of this Guild are using the imaginary friends on the Globe as a spy network to learn things from powerful humans,” Kanti suggested.
Dulcea’s face was pale. “Maybe not all of the Masters of this Guild. Just one.”
“Rastelli,” Valerie said.
A fist banged angrily against the door, and it burst open. As if saying his name had summoned him, Rastelli barreled into the room.
“I’ve been looking all over for this intruder,” he said, glaring at Valerie. Rastelli’s orange hair was always messy, but today, it stood up in odd clumps, as if he’d been tearing at it with his hands.
“She’s my guest,” Dulcea said sharply.
“She’s not allowed in this Guild!” Rastelli barked. “She attacked her own Guild’s Grand Master! She ought to be in jail!”
Rastelli grabbed Valerie by her arm and began propelling her down the hall. She yanked herself out of his grasp.
“I’ll leave on my own,” Valerie said, and her magic surged, ready if she needed to fight him off.
Rastelli blinked as if he was coming out of a daze, not sure where he was. His tone changed from angry to dreamy. “Yes, yes of course.”
He patted her on the head and left.
Before Valerie could make sense of the abrupt change, Kanti hissed, “Let’s get out of here.”
They hurried out of the building, leaving Dulcea behind to follow Rastelli and make sure he didn’t scare any of the younger kids.
Valerie and Kanti found Henry and Cyrus tossing a makeshift football back and forth on the lawn of The Horseshoe. Henry had promised Cyrus he’d teach him some of the popular sports on Earth, and from the grin on Cyrus’s face, he was enjoying it. But the two stopped playing and jogged over when they saw Valerie and Kanti.
Henry’s mind briefly connected with hers.
“You’re finally ready to start planning how we can fight the Fractus,” he said, and she heard the relief in his voice. He’d concealed the depth of his worry about her.
Valerie nodded. “I’m sorry it took so long. I couldn’t face it. I thought Azra or my father or someone else might try to fix things.”
“They are,” Cyrus said, flashing her a dimpled smile and stepping close to her. He smelled pleasantly of grass and sunshine. “Azra has been trying to convince the Grand Masters to send representatives to Earth to hunt down the Fractus. Oberon’s been pumping Rastelli for info, too.”
Valerie was surprised. Her father had never mentioned anything to her.
“He said you’d ask him about it yourself when you were ready,” Henry said, answering the question in her thoughts before she spoke.
“What else can be done?” Kanti asked.
Valerie thought. “Our best bet is to work with Chisisi. He’s a Guardian of the Boundary on Earth, and who knows if he has any reliable guild contacts on the Globe now that Midnight…”
Valerie couldn’t force herself to finish her sentence. Everyone was quiet.
“I think Oleander’s leading the Guardians now. No one believes that she’s an ally of the Fractus,” Cyrus said. “Chisisi knows she’s not trustworthy, but I’m not sure that he’s in regular contact with someone on the Globe who can exchange information with him.”
“That changes now,” Valerie said. “Until the Grand Masters take this threat seriously, it’s up to us to figure out what the Fractus are after. It must be something that will help them get the rest of their team to Earth. There can’t be much of Darling’s fur left.”
Reaper had kidnapped Darling in order to use the magica
l properties in his fur to send some of his own army to Earth. But since Valerie’s mission to rescue Darling had been successful, Reaper no longer had access to the fur and wouldn’t be able to send his army to execute his mission to take over Earth.
“Contacting Chisisi is a good place to start,” Henry agreed.
Her twin’s purpose strengthened her own and gave Valerie a renewed energy. The Fractus’s grace period was over. It was time to take on the enemy.
Chapter 4
Valerie debated skipping her required apprentice training at the Knights of Light after her encounter with Kellen, but she decided that she’d never learn more about his intentions if she kept her distance.
She immediately spotted the other apprentices gathering in the corner of the courtyard. As usual, Claremont gave Valerie a superior smirk. Valerie ignored her and walked to her friend, Juniper.
“The rumor is that Gideon’s not allowed to show his face, even if officially he hasn’t been expelled from the Guild,” Juniper whispered to her. For the past few months, Gideon had been the apprentices’ primary instructor.
Valerie nodded, deciding not to go into detail with so many people around who might overhear. “I wonder who will teach us instead.”
They didn’t have to wait long. Mira, a Knight who was loyal to Kellen, made his way to the group. Mira had the power to change his shape at will, and he had fooled Valerie more than once.
“Today, we’ll start with sparring. Pair up,” Mira said, shooting a suspicious glance at Valerie. She couldn’t blame him. The last time they’d met, he’d fought against her under Kellen’s orders to prevent Sanguina from escaping. Their fight had been brief but brutal, and she’d left him unconscious.
There was an odd number of people in the group, and Valerie was left without a partner to spar with.
Mira approached her. “You can pair with me. Placing you against any of the other apprentices wouldn’t be fair to them.”
“I don’t have my blade,” Valerie said, hedging.
“No weapons,” Mira said. “We’ll work on hand-to-hand combat.”
For the next hour, Valerie got an incredible workout, both physical and magical. Mira constantly shifted his shape, shrinking to duck out of her holds and growing so that he could overpower her with sheer size. By the end of the lesson, Valerie was sweaty and drained, but she had to admit that she’d learned some new moves.
Mira nodded, satisfied. “You still have the potential to be a great Knight, as long as you don’t let others lead you astray with false promises.”
Valerie shook his hand and met his eye. “I’m sorry that we were on opposite sides the last time we fought. But if you knew me better, you’d know that I’m not one to be led around like a little lost girl. If you don’t mind, I have a suggestion for you.”
“Go ahead.”
“Pay attention and see if you think Kellen is what he says he is. Keep an open mind and decide for yourself who to trust.”
Valerie left the Guild, satisfied that maybe she’d made a tiny inroad into generating doubt about Kellen. It was good to be taking action again.
She hurried home to get ready for her first official date with Cyrus. They’d agreed to meet at the fountain in the center of The Horseshoe, so she’d have to hurry to get ready.
Valerie was surprised that she had some butterflies. She took care with her appearance for once, choosing one of the few dresses in her closet, and returned to The Horseshoe. She saw Cyrus already waiting for her. Night had fallen, but he always seemed to glow a tiny bit, as if the light from the stars couldn’t help but be attracted to him.
He was holding a flower of light like the one he’d given her when she first came to the Globe, and he was dressed up. His face lit up when he saw her.
“You’re always beautiful, but tonight…” Cyrus said, taking a step closer.
“Cyrus at a loss for words? I’ll have to remember this moment,” Valerie teased, trying to hide her blush of pleasure at his words.
Cyrus stepped closer and gently tucked the flower behind Valerie’s ear. His fingers brushed her cheek and she shivered. This close, his eyes were warm and blue. His glance flicked to her lips, but he stepped back.
“I’ve got the whole night planned,” Cyrus said, and he reached for her hand and intertwined his fingers with hers.
“I’m glad this first is with you,” Valerie said to him.
“What first?” he asked.
“My first official date.”
She and Thai had spent hours together, but they’d never had a chance to have a real date with all of the craziness that had surrounded their last few days on Earth.
Cyrus seemed to glow brighter. “No one is gonna top this, I promise you.”
Valerie suspected he was right.
After an incredible dinner at the Cooking Guild, Cyrus pulled her to her feet.
“Lead on, Captain,” Valerie said. “But not too fast. I’m so full I can hardly move.”
Cyrus led her toward the dark woods. “Where I’m taking you is safe, so don’t worry. Anyway, I’ll always protect you.”
Valerie snorted. “You do realize that I can defend us both from most things in those woods myself, right?”
“Let me pretend to be the guy here, would you? And you be the delicate damsel requiring my protection,” Cyrus said, only half kidding.
Valerie forced herself not to roll her eyes, but she quickly forgot Cyrus’s insecurities when she saw where he had led her. It was a field of flowers that all glowed softly, providing a warm white light. The sound of high-pitched, musical giggles filled the air above them, where tiny fairies fluttered around like lightning bugs.
“What is this place?” Valerie whispered, afraid of breaking the spell.
“It’s where the fairy children come to play,” Cyrus said. “Ceru showed me years ago, when we were kids.” His eyes alight, he reached for her hand. “Wait—you haven’t seen the best part.”
A glowing ball floated in the air. It was white, but a rainbow of sparkles burst off of it. The fairy children batted it between themselves, dissolving into giggles after they touched it.
The ball floated toward Valerie, and Cyrus explained the game. “It’s really simple. Don’t let the ball touch the ground. It’s harder than you think. Go ahead, knock it back up.”
The ball descended toward Valerie’s outstretched hand, and she gently hit it up. When she touched it, the sparkles around the ball surrounded her, tickling her from her scalp to her toes. She collapsed to the ground, laughing, and the sparkles vanished.
“Quick, hit it again!” Cyrus said, lobbing it back toward her and bursting out laughing, rolling around on the ground.
The sight of Cy looking so ridiculous was enough to make Valerie start laughing again, but she managed to hit the ball, harder this time. When the sparkles tickle-tortured her, she laughed so hard she cried.
The fairy children surrounded her and Cyrus, all fighting for turns to hit the ball back up.
“So what happens if it drops to the ground?” Valerie asked, wiping her eyes.
A little blue fairy came close to her face. She had big, round eyes. “We pick it back up, of course!” she said in a sweet little voice.
“No penalties for dropping it?” Valerie asked.
The little fairy stared at her, puzzled. “What’s a penalty?” she asked, but then flew away before Valerie could answer.
“Fairy children are creatures of pure joy,” Cyrus said. “There’s no competition, no rules. It’s all about fun. I thought you could use a little of that.”
“It’s hard to imagine that Kellen started out like this,” Valerie said.
Cyrus shook his head. “It’s really rare for fairies to leave their grove. Those who do are always very strong-willed. But let’s not talk about Kellen.”
They were distracted as the sparkle ball returned in their direction, and Valerie playfully shoved Cyrus aside and leapt up in the air to hit it.
“You’ll pa
y for that!” Cyrus exclaimed, tackling her to the ground as the fairy children squealed with delight.
He’d pinned her to the ground, and Valerie was sure he was going to kiss her right then. Which was why she didn’t notice the ball coming back their way. Cyrus leaned closer, and then quickly jumped up and hit the ball, and then dropped to the ground, laughing.
“That was playing dirty!” she said, and ran after the ball herself.
Valerie didn’t know how long they played in the field, racing around with the fairy children for their chance to burst into giggles.
Eventually, the fairies started to drift off. The little blue fairy stopped in front of Valerie, her eyelids heavy. “Will you come again? Cyrus is more fun with you here.”
Valerie laughed and gave her a little wave. “I’ll be back again. I promise.”
The blue fairy circled Valerie twice, and the strangest feeling came over her, reminding her of when the kids in the hospital had hugged her after she’d read them stories and played with them.
“That’s a fairy hug,” Cyrus explained. “They’re rare. You’ll notice I didn’t get one.”
He gave the blue fairy a scolding glance, and her laughter tinkled in the night air as she fluttered away.
“Then I guess it’s up to me to give you one,” Valerie said, and she squeezed Cyrus tightly. “Thank you for bringing me here. For this whole night.”
“It’s not over yet,” Cyrus said, grabbing her hand. “Come on, I’ll race you to the Society of Imaginary Friends!”
He took off and Valerie ran after him, the night air kissing the back of her neck. Cyrus had given her the impossible—a night to forget about everything she’d lost and everything that loomed ahead of her. Minutes later, they collapsed onto the Guild steps, catching their breaths.
“Now for the dangerous part. It’s not a perfect date unless we do something risky. So I’m going to sneak you inside the Guild, even though Rastelli says you’re the enemy,” Cyrus said dramatically.
Valerie’s instinct was to question whether it was a good idea to risk Rastelli’s wrath, but she squelched it. Tonight belonged to Cyrus, and she would trust him. He led her to the back of the building on tiptoe.