Glory Alley and the Star Riders (The Glory Alley Series) (101 page)

“You mean all the time I thought I was playing you guys,
you
guys
were playing me?”

“We were as
much
in the dark as ye.
Lady
Gost
played us all.”

‘Aye,” said Bone. “
The laws be set in stone, so she worked within them,
encourag
ing
ye
to
find the goodness within
.
That ye did, preserving
Wybb
, saving your family
,
and setting
Tullah
on a strange new course.
”

“I remember one of you saying Tullah wasn’t ready for
the
magic, unleashing it would be devastating
. What changed?”

“
Ye changed,” said Needle.

“
The Guardian of Sacred Things be very wise,” Bone
added
.
“If ye unlocked the secrets, she knew ye’d be ready to unlock
the
magic.”

“Aye,” Needle agreed.

“You
were in on
her scheme all along?”
Glory asked.

“No,” Bone said
.
“Speaking for myself, I
still think
ye
be
a lying stone
-
napp
ing thief
from the beginning to the end.
”
His mouth puckered
.
“Just because you be in the good graces of the Elboni now,
ye be
ing a
Tullah
n
,
who knows how long it shall last?
”

“Aye,” said White Feather
.
“
One has to be willing to sacrifice her wish in order to gain it
.
How’d ye figure that out, Rock Collector
?”

“I didn’t
.
Just luck, I guess.”

“Regardless, y
e have turned the Council on its head, giving them much to discuss
.
Y
e be
the talk of the
universe
at the moment.
”

“I am?”

“Aye,” the star riders replied, nodding their heads, and talking rapidly with each other. She couldn’t make out what they were saying.

“Time
for us
to depart,” said Needle.

“
But wait a second,”
Glory
said.
“
What do you mean about
me
setting
Tullah
on a strange new course
?
”

“Ready or not, magic has come to
Tullah
.”

“What does that mean?”

“
Nobody
seems to
know exactly,
”
said
White Feather
as he drew a
n oval
in the air
.
“
A
Tullahn holding
the
Nightburner signals the beginning
of great
change.”

The space inside
the oval
filled
with glimmering blue waves
.
“We’ll be back.”

“Wait
!
”
she held up her hands like a crossing guard. “I have so many questions!”

“And some things never change,” Needle winked. The star riders shared a knowing laugh at her expense.

“Until we meet again,” said Needle.

"Happy Father Winter’s Day
!
"
Glory
called out before they left.

The
star riders
paused, their eyes twinkling.

"Same to ye,
”
Needle said
.
One
-
by
-
one
,
they stepped through the
shimmering
doorway
.

“I’ll be watching ye,
Rock Collector
,” Bone said.

The
circle closed in on itself
, leaving the night as it was before: quiet, cold and mysterious.

A minute later
Grandpa
Kracker came around the corner, and to
Glory
’s
amazement
, he was walking strong.

“
Where's your wheelchair?
”
she
hurried over to assist.

“
Wheelchair
?
I'm old,
but
not infirm,
”
he
said
pushing away Glory’s well
-intentioned hands
as she tried to steady him.

Gr
andpa
sat on the bench and
Glory
joined him.
Sh
e had no idea where their relationship stood in this version of his life, but
in
the past
,
he’d been a
loyal confidant
.
Glory
got down to business
because she was dying to talk to somebody trustworthy about every
thing
that had happened.

“
Grandpa
, d
id you ever meet
Budd
?
”

“
Budd
?
”

“
The
Hoogula
that lives in Queen's Cavern
—
huge and meaner than a badger on a bad day.
”

“
He ha
s
a name?
”

“
Yep.
”

“If I would have known that, I’d have put it in my
autobiography.
S’pose it don’t matter
.
Nobody
seems to want to
read the darn thing.
”

“
And know what else I know?”

“What?”

“How to bind a
Wybbil
.
”

Grandpa
raised an eyebrow and chuckled. "Nobody except a
Wybbil
knows how to bind a
Wybbil
,
Glory
.
Y
our mom
told me over the phone that you were having trouble talking
.
I guess not anymore
.
But, how is it you came to know about such things?
”

“
Well, I learned some on my own
.
And the other stuff I learned from you.
”

“
Me
?
I don't recollect.”

“
We talked about it on the front porch just last week.
”

“
Poor kid.”
Grandpa
tousled h
er
hair
.
“The accident at the cemetery scrambled your noggin
something
awful
.
We only just arrived.
”

“
It wasn't exactly an accident out there in the cemetery.
”

Grandpa
's head swiveled
.
He gave
a scrutinizing frown then took her chin in his hand.
“
Your accident wouldn't have something to do with those
Wybbil
s you were speaking with a minute ago?
”

“You spied on our conversation?”

“Couldn’t make out a word they said, but I saw their ugly hides, that’s for sure.”

“You don’t seem surprised.”

“Nope.”

“Because you and Grandma had a run in with them in the mesa when you were kids?”

This time his eyebrows raised high. “What? How’d you know about that
?
”

“Like I said, you told me about it on the front porch not that long ago.”

“Uhhh,”
G
randpa’s
mouth fell open, but he didn’t get a chance to reply
.
The back door swung open and it was Aunt Martha
.

“
There you are,
Dad
.
” Her voice softened when her eyes fell on Glory. “
Hello,
sweetie
.
I’m so glad to see you safe and sound
.
I’ve been so worried
.
” Aunt Martha’s voice got loud again. 
“
Hey, D
ad, d
id you hear the news?
Rose
is
having another baby
!
If it's a girl, she's going to name her after me—Martha
!
Isn't that wonderful?
”