by E. G. Foley
When tears started to sting his eyelids again, Jake squeezed them back and reminded himself how young and happy she had looked with Celestus.
Still, he did not know how life went on without the ol’ girl. After both Derek and Red had been captured by the Dark Druids, the indomitable curmudgeon had remained the one sure pillar in his life. Well, he was on his own.
And so was the Order, for that matter.
Without the Elder witch or Balinor, Jake could not see how this rupture thing was going to be fixed.
Straightening up from leaning on his elbows, Jake sighed and wondered if perhaps the damaged state of the Veil explained why the ghosts of London were so restless tonight.
Maybe they were the first supernatural creatures to feel the weakening of the usual barrier that separated the human and magical worlds, since they, too, straddled two realms—those of life and death.
True, he mused as he listened to the rattling of the dead leaves above him still clinging to the trees, ghosts came out more at night in general, and especially loved haunting in October.
But Jake could see several translucent spirits on and around the river right from where he stood. A ghostly drowned girl sat on a moored fishing trawler with her feet dangling over the side. A few minutes ago, a whole party barge of Renaissance aristocrats had floated by, entertaining themselves with jugglers and spectral music from their time.
Not long before that, a half-blown-up frigate from Admiral Lord Nelson’s era had come limping slowly upriver from some Napoleonic sea battle, seeking its home port.
But it wasn’t just the ghosts who’d begun to react to the Rupture. Jake had caught a snatch of some water nymphs’ song as well. He gathered that the naiads were offering up a moonlit dirge for the fallen Elder witch.
Still, they knew full well they should not be weaving their alluring melodies this close to human populations. It was dangerous. People could become enchanted, wander into the river in a trance, and drown.
Jake marveled they’d even come this far downriver anyway, polluted as it was near the city. They must be really upset.
Still, they could not be as crushed as Jake’s friends were. His heart hurt at the thought of them. They were inside Beacon House at the moment.
Each had retreated to separate bedchambers to weep and mourn privately. Isabelle was inconsolable; Nixie was furious with grief; Archie sat in the dark in a guilt-stricken daze.
Dani had cried so hard that the royal garden fairies (who loved her, and often congregated at Beacon House when they were off duty) had gathered around the carrot-head anxiously, trying to console her with kind words and flittering antics.
It didn’t work.
Though Dani had found “Her Ladyship” intimidating, the Elder witch was the first adult who’d ever taken real notice of Dani O’Dell since her mother died. The dowager baroness had given the penniless Irish lass a chance—first, merely making her Isabelle’s hired companion, but eventually, putting Dani forward for the Lightrider program, for the dauntless redhead had won no lesser prize by her deeds than Aunt Ramona’s genuine respect.
So Dani kept crying, and not even Jake could comfort her.
Alarmed, Gladwin had finally sent her fairy friends to go fetch Teddy from Buckingham Palace. They had done so at once, bringing the wee dog to Dani so swiftly in their worry for their favorite that they didn’t even care who saw.
But perhaps this was the new normal state of affairs in the world, now that the Veil had been torn: for ordinary folk to look out their windows at night and see a dog floating over the roofs of London, gently carried along by a tiny troop of fluttering fairies leaving sparkle trails behind them.
Humph. In any case, Jake knew that having Teddy back in her arms would help his poor carrot-head tremendously. What to do about the Bradfords and Nixie, though, he had no idea.
He wasn’t even sure what to do with his own grief. There didn’t seem to be much time for it. Wyvern had just seized power as the new Dark Master and had real plans—however insane they might sound—to take over the world.
Jake wouldn’t put it past him, to be honest. But where he fit into Wyvern’s dark fantasy at this point was difficult to say.
Wyvern had tried three times now to kidnap him. First, at Griffon Castle, then through the Nightstalkers, and finally, through Tazaroc. The Nephilim warlock could not be happy that Jake had slipped through his fingers again.
Maybe the sight of his dead dragon would finally help the madman get the message that Jake was never going to become the Black Prince.
And yet Jake’s very victory today gave him fresh cause for fear. He had better not take it out on my parents. He had better not take it out on my friends. Or the Order.
You really think he’s just going to give up?
No, Jake admitted as he watched a leaf swirl by on the current. If anything, Wyvern was only going to fight harder from here on out.
Perhaps, like the dragon after Jake had thrown it down the steps, the warlock’s goal also would change from capture to kill when it came to him.
Anything was possible—especially now, with the rupture.
How Jake longed for life to go back to normal, but deep down, he knew it probably never would.
Just then, a voice spoke up behind him and nearly startled Jake out of his skin.
“There are you,” came the deep, familiar baritone.
It was Derek—hardly a threat—but Jake clutched at his thumping heart, ridiculously startled. Blimey. Ah well, perhaps his jumpiness was understandable after the last few days he’d had.
The big, rugged Guardian prowled out through the double doors that opened off the enchanted library and joined Jake on the terrace with a frown.
“You shouldn’t be out here alone. They could still be looking for you,” Derek said.
Jake shrugged. “It’s been quiet.” I can take care of myself. Hadn’t he proven that today? “Was there something you wanted?”
He just wanted to be alone.
Derek stopped across from him, rested his hands on his hips, and gave Jake an assessing stare. “It’s time to go. I’ve been summoned back to Merlin Hall for an emergency meeting of the Elders, and I’m taking you lot with me.”
Jake heaved a sigh, exhausted. “Can’t we just sleep here? Mrs. Appleton—”
“No. I’m needed, and I’m not letting any of you out of my sight. Besides that, your aunt Claire and uncle Richard want their children brought back to them, posthaste.”
“I can imagine,” Jake mumbled. His cousins’ diplomat parents might be a bit lackadaisical, but at least the glamorous pair attended occasionally to their children, instead of being locked up somewhere in a warlocks’ castle.
Jake shook off a twinge of self-pity and glanced at his mentor. “Congratulations, by the way. I heard about your big promotion this morning.”
Derek snorted in reply, as though taken off guard. His stern face relaxed a bit. Then he drifted over to sit on the wide stone balustrade near Jake. He shook his head wryly and folded his arms across his chest. “I hope Her Ladyship knew what she was doing.”
“She usually does—did,” Jake corrected himself with a wince. Then he turned his back to the river and slumped onto the balustrade beside Derek.
“By the way,” said the warrior, “after my meeting with the Elders, they’re probably going to want to interview you about everything you saw and experienced inside the Black Fortress.”
“Tonight?”
“They might let it go until tomorrow, under the circumstances, but they’ll probably say the sooner the better, before you have a chance to forget any details.” Derek eyed him. “Think you can handle it?”
Jake let out a weary exhalation. “Why not? Won’t be getting much sleep tonight anyway.”
Derek studied him intently, his craggy face illumined in the golden glow from the nearby lanterns. “How are you, lad?”
Jake snorted. “Been better.” Then he shrugged. “I dunno. I’m all right, I gue
ss. It’s the others I’m worried about. I was thinking, maybe Uncle Richard and Aunt Claire should take my cousins home to Bradford Park for a few days. Izzy would feel much better, I think, if she could see her unicorns, and Archie always manages to sort himself out after a few hours in his lab.”
“Not a bad idea,” Derek agreed, staring harder at him. “What about you? And don’t give me that ‘I’m fine’ rubbish. I invented that. I know it when I see it.”
Jake gave a wan smile and considered the question. “I just want this to be over. Whatever we have to do.” He paused, recalling the Lightrider cavern. “I only wish…”
“What?” Derek asked while the river babbled by and the autumn leaves shivered on the branches above them.
“Derek—I was in there today!” Jake finally blurted out in frustration. “The very same cavern room Tex described, in the basement of the Fortress. I got away from the dragon and searched until I found the chamber where the Lightriders are being held. I was in the same room with my mother and father for the first time since I was a baby. I was so close! But I never even got to see them. I was so sure I could save them if I tried—”
“No, you couldn’t,” Derek said matter-of-factly.
Jake scowled.
“Jake, listen to me.” Derek laid a hand on his shoulder. “Janos and Ravyn barely made it out alive the night they rescued Tex. They’re both battle-hardened warriors, and there were two of them. You were just one kid. Don’t do this to yourself. You did brilliantly today.”
“You don’t understand! I risked my neck to find them, but after all that, I’m no better off now than I was when these rumors first started and I found their empty caskets.” Jake shook his head in dismay. “Just because what Tex said is true and that the cavern is real, that doesn’t mean that my parents are still in there. I didn’t have time to look for them, and that means I still can’t be sure if they’re dead or alive. This hope is what’s killing me,” he said, quite pouring his heart out for once. “Maybe I should just give up and tell myself they’re dead, because this hope, not knowing…this is torture.”
Derek fell silent.
Jake suddenly realized his mistake. “Oh—I’m sorry! I shouldn’t use that word around you, after what you went thr—”
“It’s all right. Jake…” Derek took a deep breath. “There’s something I have to tell you.”
The uncertainty in his voice nearly stopped Jake’s heart. He pulled away. “No, please don’t, if it’s bad. I can’t take one more thing—”
“It’s not,” Derek said quickly. “It’s a good thing. I just wasn’t sure…if you were ready to hear it. But I think now’s the right time.”
Jake relaxed slightly, but something in Derek’s eyes worried him. “Very well.”
The warrior stared hard at him. “Jake: your parents are alive. We’ve just had confirmation of it. Enough to convince even me.”
Jake’s mouth dropped open slowly. “You’re joking.”
Derek shook his head.
Jake’s heart started pounding. He leaped to his feet. “What kind of confirmation? How? From who?”
“Waldrick.”
“What?” Jake cried angrily. “He’s a liar!”
“Just hear me out,” Derek said.
Jake folded his arms across his chest and scowled, but waited to hear his wicked uncle’s latest cock-and-bull tale.
“After you battled the airship and left through the portal with Dani, Waldrick defected from the Dark Druids. He came racing out of the Black Fortress and threw himself on the mercy of the Order. He surrendered to me personally.”
Jake shook his head in disgust. “It’s some kind of trick. Obviously.”
“I don’t think so, because I saw both Wyvern and Fionnula try to kill him before he reached us.”
Jake mulled it. “Why would he do this? He must be up to something.”
“He says it’s because he did see your parents in that cavern with his own two eyes, and it shocked him back to his senses.”
Jake narrowed his eyes, but his heart pounded with the yearning to believe. “He’d say anything to save his skin.”
“Perhaps. But Waldrick says he wants to clear his name and try to get his life back. He swears he didn’t murder them, and the fact that his supposed victims are still alive is his proof.”
“Proof…”
“Aye,” Derek said. “Waldrick wants them rescued now almost as much as you do—only for more selfish reasons.” Derek shrugged. “That’s what he says, and I believe him.”
Jake pondered the news with guarded fascination. Derek Stone was no fool.
“You see,” the warrior continued, “after the Black Fortress left Merlin Hall and things there started calming down, I went in and interrogated Waldrick myself. I thought he might know where the Dark Druids were headed next. He didn’t. He claims he does have other information to barter, but seeing your parents was ultimately what drove him to change sides.”
“Again,” Jake pointed out sarcastically.
Derek did not argue that point. “Apparently, Waldrick also did some sneaking around while he was in the Black Fortress. He found the same underground cavern room that you did today. But, unlike you, with no one chasing him, Waldrick had more time to look and managed to locate your parents. Seeing Jacob’s face again shocked him back to his senses.”
Jake thought of the blond man in the family portrait back at Griffon Castle and swallowed hard. “He’s sure my dad was still alive? Not just preserved somehow?”
“Your father opened his eyes and looked right at him.”
Jake drew in his breath.
“Your mother was in the alcove right above your father. Waldrick did look to confirm it was she, but then he had to get out of there because one of the scientists noticed him.”
Jake sat down hard on the balustrade.
“How’s that for your reward after slaying a dragon today?” Derek asked.
Still struggling to absorb the news, Jake looked again at his mentor. “You really believe him?”
“Aye. I know a lie when I see one. He was tellin’ the truth.”
Jake blew out a quiet breath and sat dazed for another moment, his pulse fluttering.
A ghostly ferryman rowed by on the Thames, whistling a sea shanty.
Jake ignored the specter and glanced again at Derek. “Do you really think we’ll ever get them back?”
“I think we just might, lad. We just might.” The warrior gave Jake’s shoulder an encouraging squeeze, but Jake flinched and could not hide his grimace. Derek quickly lifted his hand. “What is it? Blast it, boy, you’re hurt all this time and you didn’t say anything?”
“It’s not serious!” Jake assured him. “That’s just, um, the shoulder I landed on when the dragon threw me like a dog toy. Ow.”
“Sorry.” Derek shook his head with a chiding look. “You gave us quite a scare today.”
“That makes two of us,” Jake muttered.
“Well, you came back. That’s all that matters.” Then Derek slapped his hands down onto his thighs and pressed up from the balustrade. “Right! That’s enough jawing. We need to get going.” He headed for the double doors. “Let’s have one o’ the healers take a look at you when we get to Merlin Hall.”
“I’m fine!” Jake gathered his strength and heaved himself up from his cold perch on the balustrade.
“Just do it,” Derek replied, then eyed him strangely as Jake went toward him.
“What?”
The warrior shook his head again with a rueful laugh. “I can’t believe you slew a dragon today, you little scamp!” As soon as Jake was in arm’s length, Derek rumpled his hair affectionately.
“Hey!” Jake swatted the callused hand away. “You know I hate that!”
“Why do you think I do it?” Derek flashed a roguish grin while Jake scowled and quickly fixed his hair again.
Then the big man opened the library doors and gestured Jake in with a flourish. “Your Lordship.”
<
br /> Jake snorted and tried to look disapproving as he stepped into the enchanted library.
Derek pulled the terrace doors shut and locked them. The Inkbug watched them pass as they strolled across the room.
Then the warrior slung his arm around Jake’s shoulders, taking care not to hurt him. “So,” he said. “You killed a dragon, eh? Clearly, I am an excellent trainer.”
“Oh, I see, so you’re gonna take the credit for my heroics?”
Derek laughed and rumpled his hair again, much to Jake’s annoyance. “I’m bloody proud of you, lad.”
Warmed by his words, Jake smiled up at the towering knight. “And here, I was worried you’d be annoyed. You like dragons.”
“Yeah, but I like you better, I suppose. C’mon, then.” Derek released Jake and walked ahead of him into the narrow passage at the entrance of the library. “They’ll be waiting for us in the foyer,” he said over his shoulder. “Helena already rounded up your mates. You were the last straggler.”
“How are you taking us, anyway? I hope you don’t expect poor Dani to open another portal.”
“Nah. Got something else in mind.” A mysterious smile played at Derek’s lips as he looked askance at Jake.
“What, the train?” Jake hoped so. He liked train rides. “Did you get us a private car?”
“Nope.”
“Oh.” Puzzled, Jake followed Derek through the passage. “So, we’re just taking a carriage, then?”
“You’ll see.” With that, Derek opened the door and walked out into the stately foyer, where Jake had recently given Mrs. Appleton such a dreadful scare.
As Jake’s eyes adjusted from the dark terrace and dim library to the brightly lit foyer, he beheld the rumpled, ragtag sight of all his dispirited friends.
Already wearing their coats, they leaned, stood, or slumped around the room, dazed, red-nosed, puffy-eyed, lost.