Into the Dark (The Conjurors) (31 page)

“Maybe there’s hope for you yet!” Cyrus said, splashing her playfully.

With strong, confident strokes, Valerie swam over to him and immediately dunked his head under the water. Kanti cheered.

“Next time we’re in Babylon, you’ll be able to jump in the lake too,” Cyrus said after Valerie released him.

To Valerie’s surprise, even Gideon and the wolves jumped in for a midnight swim. Splashing in the sparkling, moonlit water with her friends, proud that she had finally learned to swim, she reveled in the realization that this was one of the most wonderful moments of her life. If only Henry and Thai were here to share it with her, her happiness would be complete.

The next morning, Valerie awoke to a slanting ray of sun hitting her face from the porthole in her room. Eager to make the most of her last peaceful hours on the ocean, she quickly got ready, strapped on Pathos, and left the room without waking up Kanti.

    Gideon was already at the wheel, watching the sun rise over the ocean. But this morning, instead of endless miles of shimmery aquamarine, the shadowy outline of a city skyline appeared etched on the horizon. She was surprised to see that it was full of skyscrapers, reminding her of the San Francisco skyline back on Earth that she knew so well.

    “It looks so, like, normal,” she said, mystified.

    “Did you expect it to be different than when you left?” Gideon asked.

    Valerie felt herself blush. “The truth is, I’m not really from Messina. I’m from Earth. It’s supposed to be a kind of secret,” she admitted. Gideon’s expression didn’t change. “I never meant to lie to you.”

    “It’s a necessary precaution; I understand. And it explains several things I have wondered about.”

    Gideon didn’t seem inclined to ask any questions, so she changed the subject. “From the way people talk, I didn’t imagine that Messina would be a big city. I thought these people were living on farms with no electricity or anything.”

    She heard Cyrus burst out laughing, and she turned around. “There’s a ‘no magic’ law on Messina, Val, not a ‘no science’ law. Messina is the science capital of the Globe! They’ve adopted a lot of inventions from Earth, and added a few of their own. It’s probably the only place on the entire Globe that won’t seem totally weird to you.”

    “And I’m excited to meet your family,” Valerie added.

    “Yeah, I can’t wait to see how that goes,” Cyrus mumbled. “When we meet my parents, please don’t wear your sword, though, okay? And tell Kanti to hide that staff of hers, too. There are some pretty strict rules about weapons on Messina, even non-magical ones. My parents believe that fighting, even to save your own life, is wrong.”

    Gideon shook his head in disbelief, but didn’t say anything.

“I’m going for one last swim,” Cyrus said, abruptly ending the conversation. Yanking off his shirt, he jumped into the pool and began swimming furious laps.

    “That reminds me; I meant to ask you about this sword – the Edge of Pathos,” Valerie said, shading her eyes to get a better look at Gideon’s face. “When I came to visit you at the guild last time, you mentioned that I had inherited my sword from a master of the craft. Who is she?”

    Gideon’s usually expressionless eyes clouded over. “It belonged to a Grand Master of the Contego, Adelita. She was a brilliant strategist as well as a swordswoman. She captured many members of the Fractus who were trying to break through the barrier between Earth and the Globe. The sword was a gift that she received for saving the life of the only Grand Master sword maker on the Globe. It’s ancient, supposedly created before the barrier was placed between the worlds. It is said there has been no blade crafted before or since with its power. To see Adelita fight with it was like watching a ballet.”

    “Did you know her well?”

    “We teamed up many times to track down and fight the Fractus. She saved my life more than once, and I hers. We were friends.”

    “What happened to her?”

“She fell in love with one of the Fractus. He swore to her that he would change, give up all contact with the Fractus, but in the end it would have been better if they had never met,” Gideon said, and Valerie could hear the anger in his voice.

She hadn’t even noticed Cam’s quiet approach until an image flashed in her mind. A woman with long, dark hair was passionately kissing a man with stormy eyes – Oberon?

 “Adelita was Oberon’s love? She was the one who convinced him to work for the good guys instead of the Fractus?” Valerie asked, shocked.

Gideon gave Cam a stern, knowing look. “It is beneath my honor to gossip.”

She knew she should back off, but she had to ask, “What happened to Adelita?”

“Being with – that man – made her even more of a target to the Fractus than she was before. She knew too much, so they killed her,” Gideon said, his anger becoming mixed with sadness.

It was horrifying to learn that the last owner of Pathos had died so brutally. Seeing the look on Gideon’s face, she didn’t dare to ask any more questions about Adelita. After a long moment, his usual calm returned.

    “Now a question for you – where did you find the Edge of Pathos?”

    “It was in the launch chamber on Earth, embedded in the floor. It sounds weird, but I felt like it was waiting for me.”

    “That’s not strange – sometimes weapons recognize their new owners. But I do wonder why she put such a beautiful sword on Earth. Of course, if anyone would know how to send an object to Earth, it would be Adelita. She was one of three Grand Masters of the Contego, so those secrets must have been known to her. But why? What could it mean?”

    She left him to ponder those questions while she practiced with Pathos and her magic, aware that she wouldn’t be able to use either once they reached Messina.

    When they were a mile or two away from the shore, Valerie eagerly strained her eyes for her first glimpse of land, trying to imagine what wonders would be in store for her in this corner of the Globe. But as the boat drew closer, she was slightly disappointed to see that Messina looked remarkably similar to any major city in America, filled with cars, people, and lots of skyscrapers.

    They docked the boat on a wooden pier, and she stepped onto dry land with a twinge of regret. The past two days had been the most peaceful in her entire life. She had a feeling that it would be a long time before she had a chance to relax like that again.

At the end of the dock, crowds of people rushed past, buying things from the colorful vendors’ stalls and hurrying to their next destination. She was surprised how vulnerable she felt without the endless sea surrounding her, protecting her from attack. What if Sanguina was lurking somewhere in that bustling mob, watching and waiting for a chance to snatch her away from her guardians?  Valerie took a deep steadying breath, reigning in her fear and telling herself to focus on impressing Cyrus’ family rather than the possibility of another encounter Sanguina, who was probably halfway around the world right now.

    “Cyrus,” summoned a tall man in a gray suit.

    “That’s your dad?” Kanti asked. Cyrus nodded.

    Curious, Valerie took a closer look at him as he stepped out of the throng of people at the dock. He looked much like Cyrus, except his blond hair was very trim and neat, just like everything else about him, and his cold blue eyes didn’t sparkle with humor the way Cyrus’ did. He approached Cyrus and patted him stiffly on the shoulder, as if he were a mere acquaintance rather than his only son.

     “Hello, father,” Cyrus said solemnly. “Please allow me to introduce Valerie, Kanti, Gideon, Cam and Chrome.”

    Gideon bowed deeply. “Many thanks for hosting us during our stay in Messina.” His voice carried a power in it that made everyone standing near him on the dock stare in awe. But instead of being impressed, Cyrus’ father looked uncomfortable with the attention he was drawing to them.

    “Thank you for your hospitality, sir,” Kanti added.

    “You may call me Mr. Burns, young lady,” he said imperiously.

    “I’m so happy to meet you, Mr. Burns,” Valerie said softly, intimidated by his tone.

But Cyrus’ father looked at them with mistrust, talking only to his son, as if the rest of them didn’t exist. “I trust you have explained to these Conjurors the rules of this island.”
    “Yes, of course. We just need a place to sleep. You’ll barely know we’re here,” Cyrus said. Valerie could hear a thick chord of tension in his voice.

    “Mr. Burns, we will always be near, but you won’t see Cam, Chrome, or myself for the rest of our stay here,” Gideon said, still respectful, but with a chilly condescension of his own laced into his words. Then he turned to Valerie. “We will scout the area for any magical activity or potential threats. One of us will always keep you in sight, watching for any trouble. Farewell, for now.”

Without another word, Gideon and the wolves disappeared into the crowd. Valerie was sorry to see him leave, but she felt comforted by the knowledge that her guardians would always be watching over her, protecting her from another attack.

    Mr. Burn’s voice interrupted Valerie’s thoughts as he said to Cyrus, “Your mother will be relieved that it’s only the three of you who need lodging.”

    Cyrus’ father led them to a dark blue car that was different from any that Valerie had seen on Earth. It had sharp, crisp edges rather than the fluid lines of the cars that she was familiar with, and apparently ran on energy captured by metallic panels on the roof that she assumed worked like solar panels.

It was a silent trip to Cyrus’ house, despite the fact that Kanti and Valerie each made a few attempts at small talk. Their questions were met with one-word answers from Mr. Burns, so they gave up and stared out the windows at the city. Kanti looked fascinated by everything she saw, and Valerie had to smile, wondering if that was what she herself looked like when Cyrus and Azra first showed her around Arden.

    After a half-hour drive, the tall buildings gave way to rows of identical houses. Apparently suburbia wasn’t only an Earth invention. Mr. Burns pulled into one of the plain, concrete driveways, and Valerie was surprised that she felt nervous about meeting Cyrus’ mother and sister. Would they be as unfriendly as his father?

    Before they went inside, Cyrus pointed at a spot in the distance. “That’s the lighthouse where my dad works. I’ll take you there tomorrow. It’s pretty cool. When the sea’s rough, the water splashes halfway up the tower.” She squinted and could see the tall lighthouse standing among the rocks at the edge of the ocean. The light at the top shone so brightly that it stood out like a star, even in the middle of the day.

    “Who wants to see the lighthouse when there’s a world-renown science museum to check out?” Kanti asked eagerly.

    “Fine, we can do both. Any excuse to get us out of here early,” Cyrus replied.

    “Enough dawdling. Your mother made dinner, and I don’t want to eat it cold,” Mr. Burns said impatiently.

    Inside the house, everything was in meticulous order. There wasn’t a speck of dust or an item out of place. The walls were painted white, and there was something almost clinical about the extreme order in the house. Valerie was distracted from her observation by a delicious, familiar smell. She turned to Cyrus, delighted. “Is that roast turkey? I didn’t think I’d ever get to eat turkey again!”

    “Sheesh, if I’d known you’d get this excited over turkey, I would have brought you here ages ago. Sometimes you’re ridiculously easy to please, Val,” Cyrus said, the anxiety leaving his voice for the first time since he’d seen his father.

    A short woman with long red hair appeared. “Welcome home dear,” she said, giving Cyrus a light hug and kiss on his cheek.

    “Missed you, mother.”

    “You must be Valerie and Kanti. You’re exactly as Cyrus described you,” she said with a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.