Quest Maker (12 page)

Protecting his royal self from swarming roaches was smart, not cowardly. He took in Brynne's raised brow. It seemed he needed to prove his courage. He hopped down.

Around the green curtains, there were no signs of magic. There were no words carved into the floor or painted onto the green velvet. There were no lingering smells of incense and spices like those used in ritual magic. There was nothing sour in the air as from harmful sorcery. There was nothing dead or sacrificed. Nothing he could see anyway.

He crouched so that he could investigate the area between the broken mirror and the wall. A roach huddled in the shadow like it feared Caden would crush it if it moved. Truly, it seemed an innocent, if not disgusting, creature. Caden granted it his royal mercy.

The wall behind the mirror was also cracked. Within it, he could see wriggling termites. He heard squeaking that sounded like mice or rats. But there were still no runes. No signs of ritual magic. Not even any lingering scents of sorcery.

“There is no evidence of ritual magic here,” he said.

Who could have controlled the bees? Without signs of ritual magic Caden doubted Ms. Jackson was responsible. Ritual magic was her weapon. Maybe Mr. Bellows? But he'd been distraught over the disruption, and the bees had been alive, not reanimated. Rath Dunn was a menace who was collecting ingredients for a sinister spell—could he have done it somehow? Yet Mr. Bellows and Rath Dunn had both been targets. Why would they target themselves?

Those three had seemed so gleeful after the gas incident. Caden had felt almost certain they were involved with the school's not-accidents. Now, he wasn't as sure. After all, evil beings delighted in suffering, even in suffering not caused by them.

And there was still Mrs. Belle. She hadn't been targeted. Her students hadn't been hurt in the swarm. The broken fingernail seemed to burn in his pocket. Of all his teachers, Mrs. Belle seemed to like teaching the most. Why would she do such a thing? As Sir Tito had wisely said, this type of evil had to have a motive.

Caden stood back up.

The floor creaked. In and near the walls, the skittering of rodents resumed. He didn't want to fight rats, and Brynne wouldn't want to fight roaches. Not to mention, they'd soon be missed in their classes. Bathroom passes only excused a student for so long. Caden caught Brynne's gaze.

She nodded and grabbed his hand. “We should go now,” she whispered.

They sneaked from backstage through the auditorium and to the rear exits that led into the school hall. He squeezed Brynne's hand. “But we should return later,” he said.

A grin flirted with her face. “When the school is closed? And locked? And empty?” she said.

“That would be ideal,” Caden said.

Her smile turned dazzling, her eyes bright with mischief. “This is the best idea you've had since I've known you, prince.”

A
t lunch, Caden briefed Tito and Jane about their time in the auditorium. Tito looked disgusted as he shoved rosemary mashed potatoes into his mouth. “So, in your fantasy world cockroaches spit excrement?”

“You're missing the important part.”

“That is the important part,” Tito said. He pointed his mashed potato–covered spoon at Caden, then at Brynne. “The fantasy world is my world. You—weirdo and sorceress—live with me.” He motioned at the teachers. “The fantasy world villains are my teachers. And the head of this school is an Elderdragon. Odds I run into some spitting cockroaches or carnivorous rabbits seem pretty high to me. I see a half-size bright red cockroach, I know to step on it first, ask questions later.”

Jane had been casting her daily death stare toward Ms.
Jackson in the serving line. She paused to turn and smile at Tito. “And if you see a giant fanged rabbit you know to run.”

“That's just good sense,” Tito said, and motioned to Caden. “I knew that even before his craziness.”

Caden sat back and crossed his arms. “This is serious.”

Jane seemed to reconsider. She turned back toward Ms. Jackson. “I still think it was her.”

Brynne swiped some of Tito's balsamic glazed carrots. “The likelihood she's responsible is low. There were no signs of ritual magic. None,” she said. “We checked.”

Jane looked annoyed.

“Well, we did,” Brynne said.

That night, once Rosa was asleep, Caden climbed from his bed and rushed to dress. He kicked Tito's bed to wake him.

Tito blinked slowly. “What?”

“We're going to search the school for clues,” Caden said.

Tito pushed up to his elbows and checked his phone. “It's two a.m.”

“We won't miss class, and Ward told me his father has Friday nights off. It's a good time to investigate.”

“It's a better time to sleep.”

“You wanted to help,” Caden said. “I'm letting you.” He tossed Tito's backpack to him. Tito was good at packing things Caden didn't always know existed. “Sir Horace will take us.”

Tito put his forearm over his eyes. “The school will be locked.”

Caden pulled out his phone. It was true, he didn't know many words to text, but he was learning. He hit the
z
. Then he hit it thrice more.
Z
s had something to do with sleep. He added a frowny face because he liked frowny faces, then hit Send to Brynne. “Brynne will come and handle the doors.” A moment later, Caden's phone buzzed. It was a text of a smiley face. He pulled Tito's arm from his eyes and showed him. “See,” Caden said, “she's already ready.”

“I've got no idea how you two manage to communicate like that,” Tito said.

Caden yanked Tito's arm and pulled him up. “I have only until Tuesday to complete the quest. Time grows short. Get up, Sir Tito. We must find proof of the true culprit lest I and my brother be devoured, lest the guilty villain causes more not-accidents.”

Tito groaned, but he got dressed. He frowned as he helped lower down the escape rope. “If Rosa finds out about this, she'll blow her top.”

Tito often worried about Rosa blowing her top. Caden put his hand on Tito's shoulder. “After which she'll ground us and send us to counseling.” He smiled. “Neither of which is true punishment. Not compared to Winterlands ice shard immersion. It's—”

Tito held up his hand. “Yeah, I don't want to know what it is,” he said. “Look, I know counseling isn't awful, but it's
not fun either. Some of us don't want to talk about everything.”

Caden leaned closer. “The gnome people of the lower Springlands force people to talk by cutting out their tongues and using ritual magic to make the tongue talk.” He pointed to his mouth. “If they find you innocent, they use the spent blood to magic it back. It takes several weeks, though.”

Tito scrunched up his nose. “You can't help it, can you? You told Rosa that one yet?”

Rosa found Caden's knowledge of Greater Realm punishments distressing. He opened the window. “I'm waiting for the appropriate time,” he said, which would most likely be when Rosa was about to take Caden's phone for texting emojis with Brynne at dinner.

A few moments later, Caden and Tito stood at the edge of the woods, Tito with his backpack, Caden with his magical coat, compass, and pocketful of paper clips. Soon after, Brynne ran up to them with moonlight shining in her hair and silvery eyes.

“Jane said she'll cover if she hears Rosa get up.” She looked between them, seemingly excited. “To the school?”

“The royal weirdo wants to break into it.”

Brynne beamed. “An excellent idea.”

“We're not breaking in, we're investigating. We are on a mission given to me by the principal. We are doing so to protect the school, not steal from it.”

“We could steal a little,” Brynne said.

Caden didn't dignify that with an answer.

He whistled for Sir Horace. His noble steed should be near. He often came to check for the snacks Caden left him this time of night.

The clouds cleared, and the moon appeared. It was over half-full—a waning gibbous moon according to Tito. Brynne stood beside him.

In two days, Caden would again be cursed. He'd be at the mercy of any command given him. His brother needed him, he'd a quest to complete, and Brynne's careless magic could destroy Caden's ability to help him.

“You said you'd break my curse.”

She shifted on her feet. “I am trying, prince,” she said. She bit her bottom lip and looked up again. “I have one idea. . . .”

From the gentle slope of the mountain, Caden heard hoofbeats. He felt them pounding the ground as he waited for Brynne to tell him some reasonable way to break the curse. She twisted her hands together, then reached them out as if to gather the moonlight. “We could destroy the moon.” She smiled, unsure. “No moon, no curse.”

Tito laughed.

Caden glanced back up. “I'm not sure that would be honorable. Although,” he said, and reconsidered, “Mrs. Belle once claimed the moon is a hunk of uninhabited rock. Destroying it wouldn't be much different than crushing a stone.”

Brynne's face lit up. “I know,” she said like she was
thrilled Caden was in favor of her scheme. “But I'm not sure how to destroy something so big and far away.”

“You once blew up Mr. Rathis's door from afar.” No one would suffer at the destruction of a moon. He met Brynne's gaze. “I believe in you. You can do it.”

Tito stopped laughing. “No, bro, you and Miss Magic here can't blow up the moon.”

Brynne seemed a bit insulted. “I might be able to do it.”

“No, we need the moon,” Tito said. “It controls the tides and other important stuff.” He looked between them. “No destroying the moon.”

A moment later, Sir Horace poked his mighty muzzle from the trees. At Caden's command, he knelt by the yard's edge. They climbed on his back, Caden in front, Tito in the middle, and Brynne tail side. Tito shifted as if uncomfortable. “If we get caught,” Tito said, “you're the one who's going to have to explain why we snuck out.”

Brynne laughed. “Like you could stop him, Sir Tito.”

That also made Tito laugh.

More jokes about Caden being chatty. No matter, he would simply explain to them why they were wrong on the ride to the school. Sir Horace stood, pawed the ground, and released a mighty whinny. He was a Galvanian stallion ready to run through the night, and he got them to the school faster than Rosa's pickup ever had.

Except for circles of light from the lampposts on the roadway and walk, the campus was dark against the Ashevillian night. The moon, a mere two days from half
full, backlit the mountain.

“Let us be careful now,” Caden said as Sir Horace cantered up the drive.

They approached the side of the building, and Caden felt Sir Horace tense. Sir Horace knew of the danger here, of the villainous teachers and the Elderdragon. Caden often talked of it on their nighttime rides. “Easy, friend,” Caden said, and patted his neck.

At the side door near the gymnasium, they stopped, and Brynne hopped off. Sir Horace snapped at her shoulder as she walked close to his head. She looked indignant and spoke in hushed tones. “Control that beast, prince.”

“He's being playful.” Caden also spoke in a low voice. “It was meant as an endearment.”

To prove Caden's point, Sir Horace nipped her long hair.

“Ow,” Brynne said.

“See,” Caden whispered, “he's warming to you.”

Behind him, Caden felt Tito moving about. Caden looked back and watched as Tito scooted backward, then slid roughly down Sir Horace's majestic gray rear, and caught his nose in Sir Horace's tail. It was a dangerous dismount, indeed. Sir Horace also watched, obviously dismayed.

Once on the ground, Tito moved away and looked up at Caden. He frowned his lopsided frown. “What?”

Caden hopped from Sir Horace with ease. “You need riding lessons.”

“I really don't,” Tito said, and pulled two flashlights
out of his book bag. He handed one to Caden. The other he switched on and shone at the lock.

Brynne crouched in front of the door and pulled a pin from her hair. It shimmered gold in the yellow light of the flashlight. Caden bent down to better examine it. It was an extremely nice-looking hairpin, much finer than seemed possible. It had a shimmery aura around it. Enchanted, no doubt. As Jane had given Rosa a magic-looking stapler earlier that day, which Caden had deemed enchanted item number one hundred and thirty-two, the Enchanted Stapler of Stapling, the pin would be number one hundred and thirty-three, the Magical Hairpin of Unlocking.

Between Brynne's magic and thieving skills—not to mention her enchanted hairpin—the lock clicked open almost immediately. Nothing exploded, cracked in half, or crumbled. She grinned at Caden, then pushed open the door.

She and Tito crept inside first. Caden tried to lead Sir Horace into the hall by his mane, but Sir Horace didn't want to enter. Also, he was too big to fit through the door.

“Maybe you should leave Sir Horace outside,” Tito whispered.

Sir Horace edged back.

Caden supposed Sir Horace was more suited to outdoor adventure. “Stay near,” he told Sir Horace. “We will be back soon enough.” Then he let the door softly click shut.

The hall was long, dark, and deep. The tiles seemed to
disappear into shadow. The classroom doors were black voids between rows of dented lockers. It felt cold and quiet like a crypt. They kept their voices as low as possible.

Although Caden couldn't see Tito's face, he could feel his frown. “It's not supposed to be this dark,” Tito said. “Or creepy.”

“It's night,” Brynne said. “Night is dark.” She had her cell phone out. It made her face glow, and she looked like a beautiful ghost. She pushed a few buttons—updating Jane, no doubt.

“Schools usually keep one or two emergency lights on all the time,” Tito said.

At the foster prison, Rosa insisted they turn off all lights whenever they left a room. She said it saved money and the planet. Still. Tito did know more about schools than Caden, and it was odd to see the school encased in darkness. Usually, it was only the long hall that felt so like the Winter Castle catacombs, and even the catacombs had torches kept alight with fairie fire.

The school at night was not the same as the school during the day. It was almost unrecognizable.

Caden switched on his flashlight. Brynne stepped so that she was shoulder to shoulder with him. She switched her cell phone to its flashlight mode. “We should look in Mrs. Belle's classroom,” she said. “That's where the first accident occurred.”

The science classroom was locked, but this time no one
lurked about and kept them from finding a way inside. Brynne opened the door with the Magical Hairpin of Unlocking, and Caden shone his light inside.

Broken beakers and toppled shelves lay wrecked on the floor. On the front counter, three lone flasks were lined up like Mrs. Belle had put them there for a class that never happened. The door to the chemical cabinet in the back hung open. The shelves were empty, the contents missing.

The classroom smelled bad. It was a different bad smell than the green gas, however. It wasn't deep and rotten like the fruits of a fartenbush. This bad smell was like decaying flesh, like dead mammal.

Tito closed the door behind them. He shone his light on the window, but there was no glass. A thick piece of wood was placed in the frame like a false exit. “Well, this is fun and smelly,” he said. His voice sounded muffled. Then he shone his light in Caden's face. “What are we looking for?”

Caden squinted and shone his flashlight so that it was Tito who was blinded. Tito had his shirt pulled up over his nose.

“Anything odd,” Caden said.

Tito spoke through his shirt. “Well, there's the smell. . . .”