Glory Alley and the Star Riders (The Glory Alley Series) (75 page)

Glory
w
oke
up
in
a
room with walls made of round stones.
Someone had dressed her in a plain white gown
and had
made a partial effort to
wash her skin,
but
sand was still caked beneath her nails. Smudges of dirt were left here and there. Numerous cuts and bruises needed attention. She spied her clothes at the end of the dresser all
neatly pressed and folded
.
The
room’s
ador
n
ment was strictly utilitarian with a
cot, dresser, porcelain
water pitcher
and matching basin
.
Clash
was nowhere in sight
.
The
star riders
had
said no harm would come to him. She had to believe them.

Glory went to the window to watch white-capped waves crash on the boulders below. Storm clouds swirled in threatening gray masses. She appeared to be in some kind of tower, probably somewhere inside
of
North Star Cathedral.
Lightning flashed in the distance
, but still exhausted, she returned to her got and curled up in a thin sheet
.
It generated its own heat and glowed like a nightlight
—
magic, she noted
and fell asleep.

She woke a few hours later to see her door was opened. Cau
tiously
, she poked her head outside into a long
corridor
. F
our
stout
Wybbil
s
guards stood
sentry outside
.

“Do you know where my friend
is
?
H
e
wears glasses and is
a
Tullah
n like me
.”

No response.

“Um,
a
ny chance I could have something to eat?
”

The guards made no reply
. She
gave up and closed the door
.

“My left arm for a bar of soap and a shower.”

A basin bath would have to do. She p
our
ed
water
from
the pitcher
, noting the volume
never went down
.
More magic. A bar of soap sat near the basin. She wetted it and rubbed it directly on her face. The bar took on a life of its own, sliding over her body of its own accord. As it glided over scratche
s and bruises
, the sting
ing sensations instantly cooled. Overall, it felt like a gentle mass
a
ge.

Next, s
he wetted a washcloth, and it too
became animated
. She giggled as it pleasantly caressed her skin.

Now for
her hair.
What a ratty mess!
She
released her ponytail, and picked up
a fancy-looking b
rush. Its silver handle was emb
o
ssed with butterflies and flowers.
How lovely. As she pulled it through her hair, it took over the job.
S
he was
happy
to let the brush deal with it. As the magic groomed her sore and aching body, she fished through her coat for the list of
conditions
.
Noting the coat had been washed, she prayed it would still be there.
She found it, unfolded it, and noticed the creases were slightly damp.  She studied what she’d previously written.
Numbers 1 through 3 were already filled in.
Now that
s
he
ha
d been to Wybb,
more conditions were known.
She chewed on the end of
her stubby
pencil studying the list, wondering if some of the numbered items were really the same condition, worried if a vital piece of the ritual.
Starting with number 4, she started to amend. When finished, she studied the list some more.
Wishing for unlimited credits was just too shortsighted.
So she crossed it out.
This was the chance to get something
that
all the credits in the world couldn’t buy.

How To Get A Wish (
8
conditions)

1)
the wish must be for something very specific.

unlimited credits

2) 
elboni must be present.

*
How do I get
a wybbil
to my secret hiding place?

3)
wybbil must take an oath.

oath (noun):

a formal or legally binding pledge to do something

4)
oath must be uttered inside circle (see below
)

5)
elboni must be in
side
a circle

6)
circle must be alive or once alive
—
?

7)
must be in the good graces of the Elboni

8)
wybbil
must
feel compelled to grant the wish.

“
But a
re these the true eight
?”
She sig
h
ed. “How am I going to get a Wybbil to Mom’s grave and perform the ritual without them
noticing
?”

T
he door
suddenly
swung open
. She curled
the list into her
fist
and grabbed the nearest
bed
sheet
.
A guard appeared.

“Have you ever heard of knocking
?
”

He
made no apology
,
presented h
er
with a tray of food
,
and
then
left without a word
.
The soap, towel, and brush had set themselves back onto the dresser.
The brush had left her hair smooth and tangle free.
She fished through the pile of clothes, making sure everything was in order. The torn and bloodied pajama bottoms were mended. The print still looked faded, but they were free of rips and stains. The rest of her clothes looked clean and smelled like strawberries.

She quickly
dressed and returned her hair to a ponytail.
A glass decanter held red liquid
.
Glory
sniffed it and decided it was berry juice
.
There was bread topped with white seeds, rolls swirled with nuts, and a tub of butter and jam
.
A jar full of
...
s
he held the jar closer
...
pickled eyeballs! It fumbled on
to
the bed, where
s
he
promptly
covered it with
a
pillow
.

Eating
and dr
inking
until h
er
stomach felt like it would rip
, the
last thing
s
he thought of before
falling
asleep again
was
Dad,
how he
had
bled
on the front lawn
, and the look of shock on his face as death
closed in on him.

“
T
ime
to get up
,” a voice rumbled.

Glory
sat up with a start.

Bone, Needle and White Feather st
ood
around
t
h
e
bed
.

“This looks familiar,”
Glory
said
, recalling
the first time they woke h
er
up at home
.
Never in a million years would
s
he have guessed that someday
she
would
wak
e
up
on the green side of the
Elboni
.

“Where’s
Clash
?”

“If ye mean
the boy
,” Needle said, “
H
e’s
asleep in another room.”

“Can I see h
im
, please?”

“
No
.”