A small yellow lizard with two tails streaked across the clearing, avoiding the fire and passing in and out of his circle without any trouble.
It just traps ghosts, maybe.
Had Orb captured them again? If so, where was Vua? Maybe she’d gotten away.
He didn’t like his predicament. The elf was angry that the magical essence inside of him was her father. Wizard Itzel had really not told him enough. While Vua had given him a rundown of the bad guy, he still felt in the dark.
“Vua?” he said, louder this time.
Hugo listened intently, impressed and frightened by the unknown animal and insect calls that sounded throughout the woods, many too close for his liking. If some big predator stepped out of the underbrush or crashed down through the canopy, he was a sitting duck. Unlike the lizard that could come and go as it pleased, he remained trapped.
He tamped down the rising panic. It wouldn’t do any good. There had to be a way out of his jail.
Hugo eyed the stony forest floor. Maybe he could drift down into the ground and slip free that way. He concentrated, imagining his molecules separating and willing his spirit to be less dense. He jumped, envisioning his feet sinking through the dirt. That didn’t happen. He tried two more hops, but neither worked.
The purple leaves of a tall bush to the right of the fire moved, and a low growl sounded from the same spot.
“Vua?” he said weakly.
The leaves shook even more vigorously.
Hugo panicked and jumped, instinctively willing his ghost body to take to the air. He flew straight up, through the branches overhead, and out into the open air. His ascent stopped a few seconds in, and he floated high above the forest.
Kicking and finding no barrier, Hugo leaned forward and shot into the air, letting himself enjoy the thrill of being airborne and not being chased.
Scanning the woods below, he feared whatever had been in the bush might also take to the air, but nothing burst free of the canopy. Other than several small birds winging along, he had the night sky to himself.
Hugo spotted a decent-sized patch of red far ahead and adjusted his flight path to take him there. Approaching the large area, he suddenly realized it was a desert.
He looked back, seeing just miles of mountainous forest behind him. No way I can find my way back to the campfire. What if Vua had wandered off to gather some food for them? Obviously, she’d built the fire and had intended to return.
He spun around and headed back, cursing himself for not figuring out a reference point when he’d initially shot out of the forest. Not that it would’ve been easy. Every tree looked either blue or purple, and with just moonlight, they were all rather dark and seemed to blend into each other.
Something black flew at him, its wings flapping at a furious pace.
Before Hugo could react, it crashed into his chest and scrambled up toward his neck. He was about to rip it off when he saw its body transformed from a snake to a key. Not just any gauntwing, his gauntwing.
“Key, you’re alive!”
The creature didn’t respond, but it did climb onto his shoulder and launch itself into the air. It flew away and then circled back, chittering and hissing at him before shooting off in the same direction as before.
Key dropped into the woods, and Hugo gave chase, flinching when he rushed toward the branches and then simply passed through them. Despite knowing he was a ghost, the act of slipping through objects was still new and a little terrifying.
Hugo dropped onto the ground in the same clearing as before, only this time he stood outside the red circle of dirt. He avoided approaching it and instead marched up to the fire. There were additional logs burning now. Like four more than when he’d left. The light from the blaze was even more impressive than before.
He glanced over at the yellow bush where the animal had been rustling about. With the added light, he could see that nothing lurked amid its branches and leaves.
Vua dropped from a nearby tree and landed with the fire between them.
“Excellent escape!” She nodded at the red circle.
“You saw me do that?” He glared at her.
“Yes.” She retrieved a limp animal from a side pouch. It was a furry creature with large, fat ears and a skinny striped torso. She pulled out a knife and sat down near the fire and began skinning it.
Hugo looked away at the first sign of exposed muscle. In the video games he played, he often crafted items from the animals he hunted, but the cut scenes depicting the removal of the hides weren’t as graphic and bloody as what the elf now did.
Vua said, “Smart of you to figure out that up was the only route open to you.”
“If you were watching, why didn’t you step in and knife the thing in the bush?”
She smiled and held up a cleaned animal before skewering it with a branch and sticking it in the fire. “You want me to stab myself? What have I ever done to you?”
For starters, almost dislocate my ghost jaw. And now, apparently, spook me into jumping out of my skin. Well, that’s not completely true. I was already out of my skin. “That was you? Why?”
“Same reason I put you within that soul circle.” She paused to take in the greasy snaps and pop coming from the animal. “Need to see who I’m dealing with. If you’re running around with my dad inside you, I want to make sure you’re resourceful enough to protect him.”
Hugo made a fist and just as quickly hid it behind his back. He didn’t unclench his fingers, though.
She turned the animal slowly whenever it started to burn too much. “I was mad that he’s in there with you, but then I realized that’s better than him being gone for good. And I bet the other parts are inside your friends, right?”
“I guess. I don’t really know. I got separated from the wizard before he could tell me everything.”
She focused on her cooking. Finally, she said, “Well, I think maybe this is fate, like I’m supposed to run into you and then we get all the pieces of my dad and put him back together. Do you know where your friends are now?”
“Somewhere here.”
“Yes, but can you sense them? Try.” She removed the charred animal from the fire and propped it against a rock to cool.
“Like, how do I do that?”
“Go inward and try to feel for my dad, get a sense of his unique magic, and then cast your mind outward and see if you come across them. Chances are they’re also looking for you.”
He suddenly felt very hungry. He hadn’t eaten since Sunday afternoon, and as far as he knew, it was late Sunday night or early Monday morning. The cooked animal smelled delicious.
Vua said, “You can eat after you try finding them.”
“How’d you know I wanted a bite?”
She smiled. You don’t hide your true feelings and motivations that well. Plus, elves are quite gifted at reading others. And I’m very talented in that.”
He liked her spirit. “Okay.”
Hugo closed his eyes and sent his thoughts inward, not to his brain but toward his chest, figuring magic would have more of an affinity with his heart than the home of reason and logic.
At first, all he sensed were his own feelings. Fear and awe were the strongest. He couldn’t help himself. He was marooned in a magic world with a pretty elf. While he thought . . . sucks to be me, he also thought . . . how great is it to be me?
He opened one eye to spy on Vua. The elf was already slicing off strips of meat and laying them on the flat rock. She took two for herself and chewed with her mouth open.
Hugo winked his eye shut the second she turned to look at him. Had she seen me? Would she harass me or throw something my way? Neither happened.
Hugo returned to looking in his heart. He imagined the organ as a silver onion and started peeling layers off, thinking that he’d uncover the elf warrior’s magic soon. He decided the elf magic should be gold and applied that requirement to the image. Since he was in his imagination, he felt comfortable making the rules. Maybe that was h
ow he made magic work; he simply had to come up with reasonable rules and it would surface.
Three more silver layers fell to the wayside before he came across emptiness. He didn’t dwell on the idea of the center of his heart being hollow because, as Nelson would’ve quickly pointed out, it truly contained four hollowed-out chambers. Hugo thought about their names, left and right ventricles and atriums.
He redirected himself to the void and, seconds later, a golden gem appeared. He reached out, pleased to find it.
The gem pulsed, and his entire body thrummed. He shivered, and then his mind swam with images of the wizard. It was a chaotic mess. Hugo tried to decipher what assailed him, but it was too much. A parade of strobelike impressions flickered through his head: a storm, a cliff, a dark pit, some gauzy white streaks zipping by.
He opened his eyes to escape.
Vua kneeled in front of him, staring into his eyes. “Are you okay?”
He sucked in a breath, again thrown by how his ghost form still went through the motions of his regular body.
“Too much.”
“What’s too much?”
“I found the elf and his memories. There were too many.”
Vua looked concerned. “Did you see anything specific?”
“No, and it’s slipping away. A pit and white streaks or something.”
She exhaled a settling breath. “Well, don’t focus on the memories. It might be overwhelming for a person to try to sort through two sets of memories. But, try to hone in on the feel of his magic and then cast your mind out and see if you can locate that.”
He shifted his weight to sit up straighter. “I don’t know . . .”
She leaned in and gave him a quick hug, pressing her cheek against his. “You can do this. You’re strong. You can find your friends.”
He felt better knowing she was so confident.
Hugo stood and again closed his eyes. He nudged around until he found the gem. He kept his distance. The gem gave off a distinct feel, a ‘frequency’ for lack of a better word. He locked on it and let it lead the way. He flew up past the trees and into the open air, feeling bad he was abandoning the elf.
Floating high over the woods would’ve been rather peaceful if he wasn’t on a mission to find his friends. He flew forward, heading in the direction of the red desert. Were they there?
His astral form veered suddenly left and traveled over more trees until he stopped above a large field filled with tents and campfires. Large creatures lumbered about, but he didn’t spot Lou or Nelson. It wasn’t easy seeing much in the dark, but he could tell the dark figures had impressive spikes sprouting from their heads and shoulders.
Despite not spotting his friends, he was confident they were there, possibly in one of the tents.
Hugo needed to get back and tell Vua what he had seen. Maybe she would know the creatures and the precise location of the camp. He streaked back toward the desert.
Suddenly, he felt his mind being yanked, as if some unseen force had grabbed hold of it
Without any say in the matter, he was dragged out toward the desert. He struggled to break free and control his flight, but he couldn’t.
He flew over the desert until he came across a lake at its edge. Standing along the shore was a strange sight. He blinked and rubbed at his eyes.
Mounted on two long legs was a castle. Well, almost a castle. It just had one turret or tower.
He now headed toward the top of the structure. Hugo had no idea what was happening. He fought to gain control of his flight but failed and found himself entering through an opening atop the tower. At a breakneck speed, he rocketed down spiral stairs which delivered him into a large room.
Hugo hit the floor and stood, shaking his head to dispel the dizziness.
A large round wooden table sat in the center of the room. Arranged in chairs around the table were over a dozen ghosts like himself, only a few human, while the rest were clearly other magical species. He saw two elves, a minotaur, a lizard creature of some sort wearing goggles, and many others.
They all stared at him.
A man in a hood and a thick robe rose from his seat and glided over to him. He had a ring on each finger, and his face was all wrinkles, topped with a big nose.
He rubbed at the scruff of whiskers on his pointy chin. “How are you out on your own? How did you escape from the baron?”
“What? I don’t understand.”
This angered the man, who clenched his fists and looked ready to throw a punch. Hugo stiffened. If the man did, Hugo would just make himself immaterial.
Another ghost, this one a small girl covered in mummy wraps, except for her face, flew over. “He is different, Kilg. Don’t you sense his magic is off?”
The wizard lowered his eyelids slightly. “Yes, he is different. He’s got borrowed magic.” He went wide-eyed.
The rest of the ghosts tensed and looked ready to launch themselves at Hugo.
The minotaur stood, knocking his chair to the ground. His horns almost scraped the ceiling as he marched toward Hugo. “He must be in league with the baron. The foul villain lent him some of his pilfered magic.” He poked a finger at Hugo’s chest.
“The baron has sent him to invade our refuge. We must flee.” A stocky ghost with fangs pointed at Hugo.
“Um, wait, I can explain.” Hugo stepped back.
“Subdue him!” the mummy ghost yelled.
The minotaur drove a fist at Hugo.
He concentrated, willing himself to ghost. He didn’t feel any different.
The minotaur’s fist smashed into his jaw.
That’s twice now, he thought as he lost consciousness.
Chapter 16
Lou Rubs Elbows With a Notorious Wizarding Crowd
Lou had no time to think. Georgie ran away, heading down the creek bed. Kanzu took off after the golem, while Nelson and Horvuk stood frozen in place.
The tower dropped to its knees and angled its stacked stone upper half so that its door was only a few feet off the ground. She pictured the door opening and an incredible vortex within pulling them inside.
The wooden door flew open, and out poured hundreds of scrits. The yellow lizards spilled into the canyon and surged forward like the channel had suddenly filled with rapids.
The orc waved his spear as the lizards raced about at their feet, amassing quickly around all three. In no time, the tide of lizards was up to their knees.
The scrits hissed and snapped at them but didn’t bite. They used their twin tails as whips, herding them toward the tower entrance.
Lou searched for Kanzu and Georgie but saw no sign of them. And the scrits didn’t look like they were going after them either.
Horvuk shouted, “Unhand me!” His face twisted in fury as he tried to skewer his attackers. Seemingly as one, the lizards darted out of the way with impressive speed.
She saw Nelson watching the same strange action.
Every time the orc drove his spear at the piling lizards, they moved as one in the same direction. How could they be so coordinated in their movements?
The lizards surged at the orc until they came up to his chest, making it harder for Horvuk to use his spear.
The orc tried one last attack, but it failed miserably. A dozen scrits grabbed onto the spear and managed to yank it out of his hands.
Nelson said, “Just stop. They’re not biting or clawing at us. Do what they want.”
Lou wondered if Nelson was in communication with the lizards like he had been with the owl. If so, maybe they’d told him to chill.
She walked toward the Wayward Keep. The scrits swirling underfoot parted ahead, creating a narrow path leading to the tower.
Horvuk looked like he was working himself into another short-lived tizzy.
Lou barked at the orc, “They give you space if you go along with it. Just listen to Nelson and walk toward the tower, and they’ll back off.”
The orc sent Nelson a wicked look. “The child doesn’t know what he speaks
. These cunning creatures are merely herding us to our deaths.”
“No, they’re not.” She walked toward the tower with more confidence as the lizards had cleared a path for her. “I trust my friend.”
She drew up next to her neighbor. They both were a far cry from waving at each other from across the street.
A few feet away from the door, their open paths converged and grew even wider. “So you talked to these little guys and found out they aren’t going to harm us?”
Nelson didn’t look at her. He kept his gaze focused on the open door. “I could definitely talk with them, but they refused.”
She stiffened. “Wait, then why are we not trying to bolt?”
“It just seemed the fastest way to get answers.”Nelson looked back at the orc, who had reluctantly adopted their compliant approach.
In fact, Horvuk was too accommodating. “I am so sorry if my clumsy feet squished any of you good fellows. I feel so bad for losing my temper.”
Orcs were so weird. Their sudden mood changes were annoying. Although, Lou was glad Horvuk didn’t have all his magic, as being around someone in a constant rage would only land them in deeper trouble. She wondered if the orc could settle on a happy medium—not too hot under the collar and not so much a welcome mat to be stepped on.
As soon they entered the tower, the lizards climbed onto the walls to clear the floor of the narrow corridor they found themselves passing through. One or two brave, or foolish, scrits tried navigating across the ceiling with less than sterling results. Most fell, hit the stone floor, and then scrambled to the walls a little stunned. One dropped into Lou’s hair, and she helped it relocate to a wall.
Lanterns filled with blue magic lit their way every ten feet or so. The lizards avoided the fixtures mounted high on the walls.
Behind them, the orc was back to working himself up. “This passageway is not meant for my rugged build. Stop hassling me, lizards. I’m going as fast as I can.”
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