by Kristen Pham
As she raced through The Horseshoe, she thought she caught a glimpse of a familiar face—that of a withered old man she had met once in Kanti’s hometown of Elsinore. She couldn’t place how she knew the man, but the sight of his faded blue eyes struck a chord of danger.
But Valerie was too blinded by tears to stop, and too torn apart by her guilt to care.
Chapter 12
A flash of blonde hair caught Valerie’s eye when she walked beneath the arches of the Guild of the Knights of Light. Oleander was walking the perimeter of the courtyard with Kellen, deep in conversation.
The sight made Valerie’s stomach clench. The injustice of Midnight’s killers walking around unpunished made her sick. But picking a fight with the new Grand Master of the Guardians of the Boundary would only cement her in everyone’s mind as the unstable little girl that Kellen was painting her to be. The news that her power had led to Azra’s pregnancy had made the Conjurors in her guild stare at her more than ever, and she never had a moment where she wasn’t conscious that her every move was being scrutinized.
“She’s been here all morning,” Juniper said, joining Valerie in their usual corner.
“I wish we could hear what they’re saying,” Valerie said.
“You’re about the last people they’d tell anything important to,” Claremont said, nosing into their conversation with a smug grin on her face. “I know what’s going on, but all I’m authorized to say is that the future of our Guild is in good hands.”
“Right, I’m sure you’re in the inner circle,” Juniper said, his voice laced with derision.
“Closer than you are,” Claremont bit back.
“Let the big kids finish talking,” Juniper taunted.
Claremont turned red, and Valerie was sure she was about to attack again, when Kellen’s voice resounded around the courtyard.
“I’m pleased to let everyone know that the Knights and Guardians are declaring a formal alliance,” Kellen said.
“Alliance? Against who?” Juniper whispered to Valerie.
“Maybe it’s not who it’s against, but who it’s in support of,” she whispered back.
“The old ideas about how guilds are run has become outdated,” Oleander said to the group, her voice musical. It didn’t hurt that she was beautiful, too, and the Knights all listened. “It doesn’t make sense for guilds to be like islands, each with its own rules and secrets. It’s time to band together for a brighter future with the Fractus.”
“We must help in the mission to return to Earth and save the humans from themselves. And for Conjurors to return home after centuries away,” Kellen said, and Valerie saw Oleander shoot him an annoyed glance that she quickly hid. She didn’t like having her little speech interrupted.
“Starting today, each of the members of our guilds will be interviewed to determine the best role for you in this new vision of the future. There is real work to be done, and there is a place for everyone with a willing heart,” Oleander said.
“And for those of us who refuse?” Mira spoke up, his voice loud in the courtyard. Valerie was surprised that he would question Kellen’s decision.
“Like you, I used to think of the Fractus as the enemy. But my eyes have been opened. The Fractus are going to be the winning team this time, and anyone who doesn’t want to be a part of that should leave,” Kellen said, his words clipped. “But what do you think those who oppose the Fractus are going to wind up with? Nothing!”
“The Knights have always decided the direction of the Guild by vote,” Gideon spoke up, his usually quiet voice carrying over the crowd. Valerie wondered how he had snuck in past Kellen’s thugs, but she was relieved he was there. “Are you our leader, or our dictator?”
A murmur of agreement followed Gideon’s words, and Kellen began turning red, a telltale sign that he was angry.
“He’s right,” Mira said. “We vote on the new direction, or else we vote on a new leader.”
“Now listen here,” Kellen began, but Oleander interrupted him.
“Of course,” she said smoothly. “That is your way, and we certainly don’t want to force anyone’s hand. Let’s take some time to discuss and debate, and we’ll vote in the next few weeks.”
“I don’t see why we should wait so long,” Claremont grumbled. “I’m ready now.”
As the crowd began to disperse, Valerie’s mind was hit with the force of a battering ram. She recognized the touch of Kellen’s magic as she fell to her knees.
Valerie struggled to her feet, only to have Kellen bring her to her knees again. He flew over to her, his eyes blazing with rage.
“I don’t know how you did it, but somehow you’re undermining me,” he said. “If you value the lives of those you love, you’ll leave this Guild.”
Mira stepped in front of her then, and the magical assault on Valerie’s mind receded, allowing her to stand.
“Valerie has been no more than a faithful student,” he said. “You have my word that no treason has occurred during her training over the past few weeks.”
“And can I trust your word? You spoke against me,” Kellen said, his wings trembling with rage.
“I spoke for the ideals of the Guild. Not against you,” Mira said, but Valerie saw the tension in his stance. He was ready to fight if he had to.
Oleander approached, and she eyed the little group around Valerie. Olwain, Alex, and six other Knights were watching the showdown.
“Don’t be paranoid,” Oleander hissed to Kellen. “This girl is easily disarmed. Let her be, or think of how this will look to everyone. We need their support.”
Kellen huffed, but he fluttered away without another word. Oleander glided after him, smiling sweetly at everyone who stared at her.
“Let’s get out of here,” Juniper said. “Everyone’s too distracted for training today.”
Mira hesitated and then nodded. Valerie and Juniper left the Guild and found Gideon and Chrome waiting for them beyond the arches.
“The Knights are on the brink of becoming Reaper’s army,” Gideon said gravely.
“But thanks to your words today, we have a chance to change people’s minds,” Valerie said.
A barrage of images from Chrome flooded Valerie’s mind—dozens of attacks by the Fractus against the Knights that had resulted in injuries and death. Valerie wished she could shut her eyes and make Chrome’s memories stop. She saw from Juniper’s and Gideon’s faces that Chrome was sharing his thoughts with them as well.
“It is true, the Fractus and Knights have a long history of violence. There was a time I would have thought it impossible that they could ever be allies,” Gideon said.
“This is insane. How could the Knights ever forgive all this?” Juniper asked.
“The older Knights will resist supporting Reaper,” Gideon said. “But Kellen has recruited heavily over the past five years, and there are many apprentices and journeymen who haven’t had to battle the Fractus. They will be easier for him to convince.”
Another image flashed from Chrome’s mind, this one of a Knight kneeling before Reaper. As they watched, Chrome tore out the Knight’s throat. Valerie understood that this was a vision not of something that had already happened, but what Chrome was willing to do to anyone who supported Reaper and the Fractus.
Valerie sucked in her breath, disturbed by Chrome’s threat. She knew he was grieving for Jet, but to slaughter everyone who made the mistake of following Reaper was unthinkable.
“I’m not naïve,” Valerie said. “I know that a battle is coming, and people will die. But there are many who are supporting the Fractus because they don’t understand what they’re planning. We can’t slaughter everyone who agrees with them.”
“I couldn’t be a part of that, either,” Juniper said, rubbing goose bumps on his arms.
Gideon glanced sharply at Chrome. “Your desire for vengeance cannot override the oath we have all taken as Knights.”
“To use our Power to protect, Courage in the face of danger, and
Mercy to your greatest enemies,” Juniper said solemnly.
Hearing the values of her Guild triggered something in Valerie. She was reminded of the stories of King Arthur and his knights that her mother had left for her to read. All of this time, she’d been struggling to keep her head above water that was constantly rising, frantically paddling against a current that wanted to tug her down. But that force wasn’t Reaper or the Fractus. It was her own uncertainty. She was afraid to take a step, fearing it was the wrong one. She needed to find the courage she knew she possessed and move forward.
It was time to stop paddling and swim.
Chapter 13
Valerie knew what her next step should be, and she was glad that Henry was distracted by his activities at the Empathy Collective. He was talking to the Grand Master of his Guild, Dasan, about psychic tactics that could be used to locate his dad.
Kanti and Cyrus were in their dorm cafeteria, poring over maps of Arden’s woods, when Valerie found them.
“We’ve been over this ground a dozen times. Babylon isn’t there,” Kanti said, flashing a brief but dazzling smile when Valerie approached.
“It’s time to talk to someone who can break whatever spell must be cast over Babylon to hide it,” Cyrus said. “I have some contacts in the Charm Guild I’ll talk to next.”
Cyrus pulled Valerie close to his side and buried his face in her neck, breathing deeply. He still had an extra glow about him, as if being touched by a vivicus had increased how much light he attracted.
“Missed you,” he said. “Please tell me you came here for a break and we’re all going to the beach. Messina has some great ones.”
“Better. I’m here because I need to do some breaking and entering, and I don’t want to do it alone,” Valerie said, grinning as Cyrus’s face lit up.
“Anything that gets us away from these maps,” Kanti agreed. “Whose privacy are we violating?”
“Oleander’s,” Valerie said. “Well, the Guardians of the Boundary, really.”
“I like this plan already,” Kanti said.
“Azra said that Oleander can’t get into Midnight’s office to learn the location of the Byways due to magic that only allows those with unselfish motives to enter,” Valerie explained.
“It’s more complicated than that,” Cyrus interrupted. “Midnight told me once that the person also has to have the potential to be a true Guardian Grand Master. We’re as locked out as Oleander.”
“We have to try,” Valerie said. “Even if we can’t get into Midnight’s office, maybe we’ll learn more of Oleander’s plan to get the guilds to support the Fractus.”
“Less talking, more walking,” Kanti said, rolling up the maps and heading out the door.
Cyrus led them around the back of the guild buildings that faced the forest of Arden, rather than straight through The Horseshoe, so that they were less likely to be spotted.
From the back, the Guardians of the Boundary Guild was even more gothic than it appeared from the front. An enormous stained-glass window depicting Earth and the Globe connected by a thread took up a huge portion of the back wall.
“That must be beautiful from the inside when the sunlight pours in,” Kanti said. “But only Guardians are allowed far enough into the building to see it.”
“Any thoughts on how to get in undetected?” Valerie asked. “It’s not really breaking and entering if we walk through the front door.”
Cyrus was examining the building closely, his eyes flicking over the surface of the walls.
“Do you guys see how the light refracts differently on the lowest pane of the stained glass?” he asked.
Valerie squinted, but nothing looked out of place to her.
“There,” Cyrus pointed, and a beam of light shot out of his finger to a spot on a large, red pane of glass.
Valerie’s eyes widened. She’d seen Cyrus do amazing things with light, but it had never burst out of him before.
Cyrus turned his hand over, staring at it like he’d never seen it before. “I thought my powers had stopped growing years ago.”
Kanti glanced at Valerie. “Maybe this has to do with… recent events.”
Cyrus’s blue eyes were wide. “She’s right. Val, maybe your magic changed me, like it changed Sanguina and Azra.”
Valerie was less certain. “It’s a natural extension of what you can already do. Maybe it’s a belated growth spurt. After all, wasn’t it only last year that Kanti accessed her powers?”
“Let’s dissect this later, and get into Midnight’s office now before we’re caught,” Kanti interrupted.
Cyrus nodded and led them to the stained glass. He gently pushed on a spot in the corner of the pane, and it swung open noiselessly. Then he ducked inside, and Valerie and Kanti followed.
“I bet that’s the door that most of the Guardians use to get in,” Cyrus mused. “I never see anyone other than visitors go in through the front.”
“They do love to be mysterious,” Kanti said, her voice sounding a little derisive.
“Can you find Midnight’s office from here?” Valerie whispered. Even though her voice was low, it seemed to echo off of the stone walls.
Cyrus put a finger to his lips and gestured for them to follow him. Staying in the shadows, they hurried as quietly as possible down a long, narrow corridor. They stopped at the stairwell that led up to Midnight’s office.
Valerie bit the inside of her cheek hard, willing herself not to play her last visit to the office through her mind like a movie reel.
Cyrus slipped his hand in hers when she squeezed her eyes shut.
“It’s okay if you want to leave,” he said.
“But you’re strong enough to do this,” Kanti added.
Valerie nodded and forced back the tears that hovered behind her eyes. She led her friends up the stairs, taking them two at a time. A Guardian could spot them at any moment.
She stopped in front of Midnight’s office and froze. She reached out to touch the handle, and it shocked her. She jerked her hand back in surprise, stung.
Symbols on the door illuminated red. It reminded Valerie of her first trip to the Globe. The inside of the Great Pyramid had stones that were etched with symbols like this, but they had been blue.
“It’s magic, right? Maybe if we think about our intentions, it will let us in,” Valerie said.
“I don’t know,” Cyrus said doubtfully.
“What can it hurt?” Kanti asked.
Valerie shut her eyes and thought of Midnight and everything she stood for. She thought of her own intentions: to only use the Byways to protect humans and Conjurors from the Fractus’s abuse of power. With her thoughts firmly in her mind, she tried the handle again.
This time, it shocked her so hard that she was flung back and fell down three steps. Cyrus was at her side in an instant, helping her to stand. She rubbed a spot on her back that ached from the impact.
“I could try to kick it down,” Valerie said doubtfully.
“You’d bring every Guardian in the building here in a matter of seconds,” Cyrus said.
“If the office would consider anyone a potential Grand Master to the Guardians, it would be Valerie,” Kanti said. “I don’t think we’re getting in.”
As she spoke, Kanti reached out to jiggle the door handle to prove her point. To their surprise, the symbols on the door glowed blue and swung open.
Kanti, Cyrus, and Valerie stared at each other, their mouths open.
“The office thinks Kanti’s a potential Guardian Grand Master?” Cyrus asked. There was so much disbelief in his voice that Kanti punched him in the shoulder.
“Shut up and let’s see what’s here,” Kanti said, stepping inside first.
Valerie closed the door behind them and examined the room, hoping that there wouldn’t be any traces of Midnight’s death. To her relief, the room seemed undisturbed.
“What are we searching for, exactly?” Kanti asked.
“I thought we should take her globe, for one
thing,” Valerie said. Midnight had a magical globe that allowed her to zoom in on any part of Earth that she wanted to see. It was a powerful scrying tool, and the Fractus could possibly use it to send more of their army to Earth if they still had Darling’s fur stored away.
Cyrus went over to the table with the globe and spun it. Then he lifted it and staggered a little under the weight.
“What else might be here?” Kanti asked.
“Somewhere, there must be clues to the Byways on Earth and the Globe,” Valerie said, rifling through books on Midnight’s shelves. They all had titles in languages that Valerie had never seen before, like ancient hieroglyphics and complicated characters.
“It could be in any of these,” Valerie said, overwhelmed as her eyes traveled over the floor-to-ceiling shelves. “Azra can probably read most of them, but how will we sneak them all out?”
“Maybe we don’t have to,” Cyrus said.
Kanti and Valerie came over to Midnight’s globe. Cyrus was staring at it strangely.
“There used to be a marking or writing here,” he said, pointing to a spot in Japan.
“I don’t see anything,” Kanti said, squinting.
“It’s been rubbed away, but the way the light touches this globe tells me that something used to be here,” Cyrus explained.
“Let’s take it and go for now,” Valerie said. “We’ve got a clue, and if we get out of here before we’re caught, we can always come back and search for more information.”
Cyrus hefted the globe off of its stand, brushing aside Valerie’s help. She decided not to point out that it would be effortless for her to carry it, given her fighter strength.
Instead, she opened the door as quietly as she could and peered out. She didn’t see anyone in the shadows, and she waved Cyrus and Kanti out the door. They were less than halfway down the curving staircase when they almost smacked into Oleander, who smiled wolfishly. A handful of Guardians stood behind her.
“Stealing from a guild is a major offense,” Oleander said.
Valerie stepped in front of her friends, holding out her arms to shield them.
“Let’s go, you and me, right now,” Valerie said, her rage blazing hot. She burned to smack the grin off of Oleander’s face. She didn’t even worry about the fact that she didn’t have Pathos with her. It would be more satisfying to fight her with her bare hands.