Guardians of the Boundary (The Conjurors Series Book 3) (18 page)

The faintest red glow still shone
from his chest, and Valerie reached out with her mind, like she did when she
connected with Henry. With his defenses lowered, she caught a glimpse of the
inside of his head and couldn’t prevent a gasp from escaping.

Darling had no clear
understanding of who he was. He was a creature of pure feeling, drawn to pain
like a magnet, determined to heal it. Even now, exhausted as he was, he would
have gone to Henry to heal his arm if he had been able to. It was as if Darling
was absorbing everyone else’s physical and mental suffering. His life was one
mad dash from trauma to trauma, and every time he failed to save someone, it
was torment.

Tears rolled down Valerie’s
cheeks for the life that Darling lived. Since he could heal himself as well as
others, this could be his life for eternity. She saw that there were moments of
peace and joy when he saved a life, but soon, the nagging urge to save the next
person in pain consumed him.

Valerie knew that this would
eventually be her destiny, too. Every time she used her vivicus power, it
burned away a piece of who she was. Eventually, she’d be a shell of herself,
existing more as a force of magic than a human being.

Oberon gripped her shoulder, and
Valerie met his eyes. “He will find his peace someday. He is not the universe’s
first vivicus, and neither are you. There are other paths.”

Valerie nodded, and
the light, warm weight of Darling in her arms disappeared. Already, he had left,
called to the next soul in need.

After Valerie and her team had
eaten and rested, Sibyl spoke up.

“I brought you into more danger
than I knew, and I can never express my sorrow,” she said gravely. “You could
have easily overpowered Putrefus, but this morning, a flood of Fractus were
upon us, and I had no way to warn you.”

“I don’t understand, why did
they come to the Roaming City now?” Kanti asked as she wrapped Henry’s wrist
tightly in a white bandage.

“Someone informed the Fractus of
what we were planning,” Oberon said, his voice certain.

Valerie turned to him sharply.
“No one but us knew of our plan. It had to be a coincidence.”

“There was one who knew who is
not with us today,” Gideon said.

“Tan,” Cyrus said, and for once,
there was no gleam of humor in his eyes. “I’ll wring his neck personally.”

“We could have been killed,”
Henry said, shaking his head with disbelief. “I find it hard to believe that
he’d knowingly put us in serious danger. He seemed cool most of the time when
we camped with him last summer.”

Valerie and Henry had spent
several months camping and hiding from the Fractus on Earth with Thai and Tan,
before the two had separated. Tan had always had a temper, but she wouldn’t
have thought him capable of putting them in serious danger, at least not then.

“He changed a lot after he
separated from Thai,” Valerie said, thinking of the black handprint on Tan’s
neck that was a remnant of the poison that had entered his system when Venu had
attacked him two years ago. He’d been determined to murder his nemesis, and
anyone who wouldn’t help he considered an enemy.

“If we see Tan again, he will
answer for this,” Oberon said with a dangerous glimmer in his eye that Valerie
didn’t like.

She put a restraining hand on
his arm and then turned to Sibyl. “We’ll have to go back to rescue the rest of
the Oracles who oppose Putrefus.”

Gideon nodded. “With the city
crawling with Fractus, we will need to bring a smaller team in to facilitate
their escape with stealth. Sibyl, do you know of a way to enter the Roaming
City undetected?”

“My friends have managed to
escape,” Sibyl said. “We would have left sooner, but we did not want to
surrender the city to Putrefus when we thought there was a chance that he could
still be defeated. But when the Fractus arrived, I evacuated everyone.”

“How did you manage that?”
Valerie asked.

“Through the pool by the
pillars,” Sibyl explained. “Leo convinced the Illyrians to give us safe access
through their realm to the shores of the Lake of Knowledge in Arden. I was
checking to make sure that no one was left behind when I saw you arrive.”

“Does Putrefus know you’re gone?”
Kanti asked.

“He was triumphant,” Sibyl said,
narrowing her eyes. “He and his friends chased us through the streets when the
Fractus arrived. They threw rocks at even the youngest novices. It was
something I never thought I would see in our city. When Pythia was alive,
decades would pass without violence.”

“They let you leave alive,”
Gideon said, and Sibyl’s face resumed its usual calm.

“For that we must be grateful.
Perhaps someday we will regain our seats in the Roaming City,” she said.

“You will,” Valerie promised.
“The Fractus will eventually have to divert their resources to other parts of
the Globe, and we’ll help you unseat Putrefus.”

“I know that the other Oracles
and I would be glad to be of service to those who support the path of light,”
Sibyl said. “Perhaps in this time, we were meant to leave our isolation to join
you in your battle.”

Valerie was taken aback. She’d
never considered the Oracles as potential partners in the upcoming battle, but
Oberon’s advice to make allies wherever she could flashed through her mind.

“We would welcome your help,”
she said.

“I think Dulcea would be willing
to give you shelter while you’re in Arden,” Kanti offered. “Rastelli’s in jail
now, and without him, the Society of Imaginary Friends is once again a place
that welcomes those without a home.”

“Maybe you and your friends
might also be able to give us a prophecy to help with some problems we’re
having,” Henry jumped in, forgetting his arm in his excitement. “I have to find
where the Fractus are holding my dad, and I hoped you could help.”

“I’m sorry, Henry, but I am not
being drawn to deliver your prophecy,” Sibyl said gravely. When his face fell,
she added, “But one of the other Oracles may have words for you.”

Valerie saw Sibyl’s eyes briefly
flick to Cyrus, and Valerie thought she might have words for him instead. If
she did, she wasn’t going to mention it in front of the rest of the group.

“Then we’ll go meet the other
Oracles at the Lake of Knowledge and find out now,” Henry said, his eyes
already searching for the path back.

Valerie had to go to Elsinore to
meet with the Grand Masters, so they agreed that Henry, Cyrus, and Sibyl would
return to Arden to get the Oracles settled in the Imaginary Friends’ dorm.
Juniper also had to return home so as not to alert the Knights of his absence.
Privately, she asked Oberon to go with them to watch over Henry and make sure
his arm healed.

Valerie, Gideon, Kanti, and
Chrome would go to Elsinore. The icy kingdom was where Kanti grew up, and she
would be able to help them navigate the tricky nuances of the culture.

Cyrus pulled Valerie aside
before he left. She gently touched a bruise under his eye. She knew from her
own experience that it would turn all kinds of nasty colors before it got
better.

“You fought like a hero,” she
said.

“I consider my performance in any
battle that I don’t get to carry you out of as falling short,” Cyrus joked.
He’d had to carry her unconscious form off the battlefield at the Black Castle,
a fact that he was very sorry she’d missed.

Valerie leaned in and kissed him
lightly on the lips. When she pulled back, her face burning with embarrassment,
she saw his pleased surprise at her public display of love. Her gesture had
been worth it.

Then Cerise led the group headed
to Arden away, and Valerie watched Cyrus retreat through the trees, his head
already bent close to Sibyl’s, deep in conversation.

“Lead the way,” Valerie said to
Gideon, who knew the path that would lead them closest to the border of
Elsinore.

“I think the leading is in more
capable hands than mine,” Gideon said. “But I will show you the path you seek.”

The trip to Elsinore was much
longer than their walk to Ephesus had been from Arden. They passed the
occasional abandoned home in the hollow of a tree, but they didn’t encounter
any of the People of the Woods.

“It’s kinda creepy up here,”
Kanti said when they rested beside a tree with blooming pink flowers. “I
thought there would be more people traveling these paths.”

“The People of the Woods are
gathering in the cities to discuss their tactics for the upcoming battle,”
Gideon said. “The Fractus have decimated their population before, searching for
magical objects of legend, powerful weapons, and charms.”

“The Fractus managed to invade
the cities in the trees?” Valerie asked, her mind reeling. The People of the
Woods seemed apart from the rest of the world, like the Conjurors hidden below
the ground in Plymouth.

Chrome sent Valerie an image of
Fractus chopping down trees and using a strange rope to climb up to Arbor
Aurum. Chrome and his partner Jet had fought for the People of the Woods in
that battle, leaping onto attackers and sending them falling to the ground. She
winced at the overlay of satisfaction that Chrome sent at ending his enemies’
lives.

“The last time the Fractus
infiltrated the cities in the trees, it was because a Conjuror trusted by the
People of the Woods betrayed them. Since then, the People have been more
distrustful of the Conjurors on the ground than ever,” Gideon said, lowering
his eyes. “I was fortunate that they allowed me to stay in Arbor Aurum, since I
was adopted.”

“Surely they wouldn’t throw out
a child,” Valerie said, unable to imagine Elden allowing something like that.

“It wasn’t officially
sanctioned, but those harboring Conjurors were often driven from the safety of
the trees. And those who remained were outcasts. Even me,” Gideon said, his
voice devoid of emotion. He stood up and the others followed, continuing their
long walk toward Elsinore.

Chrome sent a vision to Valerie
of Gideon arriving at the Guild of the Knights of Light, still a young, scrawny
boy who was very intimidated by the world around him. Valerie stole a glance at
her mentor, realizing for the first time that he understood what it was to be
an outcast, like she had been on Earth. No wonder he’d chosen to leave Arbor
Aurum behind to find a place where he could belong.

“It sounds a little like
Elsinore, with so much importance put on being in the right family and coming
from good blood,” Kanti said, her eyebrows furrowed. “That and having a strong
power is all that matters.”

“With Elden at the helm, things
have gotten much better with the People of the Woods,” Gideon said with a
return of his usual equilibrium. “Perhaps those in Elsinore will see there is a
better path as well.”

Kanti chewed her lip. “I hope
you’re right.”

“Kanti, do you know where
Calibro lives?” Valerie asked her friend. “I didn’t think to get directions
from Skye.”

Kanti nodded. “I’ve never met
her, but everyone knows about her. She’s famous in Elsinore. Her parents were
from a prominent family, and they both died when she was really little.
Everyone was horrified when Calibro moved to Arden when she was eight, but as
she quickly rose in the ranks in the Justice Guild, everyone was impressed,
since they figured it meant she probably had a lot of magic in her blood.”

“She’s definitely smart,”
Valerie said. “But I don’t know if that has anything to do with magic. Even on
Earth, there are kids who are prodigies and excel at a particular talent.
Calibro’s seems to be logic.”

“She almost never returns to
Elsinore, which I totally understand,” Kanti said with a snort. “So how she’s
going to escape attracting attention coming with a crowd of Grand Masters, I
can’t begin to imagine.”

“I guess we’ll find out when we
get there,” Valerie said, and then turned to Gideon. “Will we arrive tonight?”

“We will sleep in the trees for
safety until morning,” Gideon said.

Valerie was relieved
that she’d be able to rest before meeting with the Grand Masters. She would
need all her wits about her if she wanted to convince them that she had what it
took to be their leader.

The next day, Valerie woke up
and discovered that Gideon had found some fruit and nuts from the forest below for
breakfast. He also pointed her toward an alcove in the side of a tree, where
stored rainwater formed a kind of natural shower. When she was done, she saw
that Kanti had thrown an elaborate dress over the wall of the alcove.

She put it on, and the expensive,
red material fell in heavy folds down to her feet.

“I feel like a fraud outside of
my jeans. Is this really necessary?” Valerie asked Kanti when she stepped out,
her short, wet hair dripping on the dress.

“If you want to blend in, then
yes,” Kanti said. Then she lifted a wry eyebrow. “You were willing to have your
gorgeous hair chopped off to be disguised as a boy to get inside the Black
Castle, but wearing an expensive dress is where you draw the line?”

Valerie grinned at her friend.
“I didn’t even know you put this in the callbox.”

“That’s because I knew you
wouldn’t like it, but that you might need it. You can thank me later,” Kanti
said, and then went into the shower herself.

Valerie saw that Gideon was
dressed up as well, in a pale blue suit with gold braid that looked a little
like a military uniform.

“She really thought of
everything, didn’t she?” Valerie asked as she examined her mentor.

Gideon was as comfortable in his
suit as he was in anything else he’d ever worn, and she envied his confidence.

Chrome flashed an image of
himself, preening, and she knew that he was mocking her because he didn’t have
to wear a costume.

“You might want to wait before
you gloat. Maybe Kanti is going to make you pose as a fancy dog on a leash,”
Valerie teased.

He gave her a mock growl, and it
was good to see Chrome be lighthearted, even for a moment.

Then Kanti stepped out, and
Valerie caught her breath. Her friend’s long hair was pinned up, and she wore a
beautiful blue dress that plunged in the front and back. It was hard to believe
that less than a year ago, Kanti had resembled a witch, warts and all.

“Stop staring,” Kanti said,
grumpy. Then she stuck out her tongue, making even Gideon grin.

“I know, I know, you miss the
days of being the ugly duckling. It’s hard being the swan,” Valerie said.

She was joking, but she knew the
words were true for Kanti, who didn’t know who to trust in Elsinore now that
she was a beautiful, powerful Conjuror.

“Let’s go stir up some gossip,”
Kanti said, flinging back her head with exaggerated drama.

They stepped off a nondescript
platform and landed on a cold, empty street in the outskirts of Elsinore.
Valerie shivered, glad that the dress provided more warmth than her thin
T-shirt would have.

“I didn’t pack any coats,
because this is summer in Elsinore. It’s as warm as it gets here,” Kanti said.

Chrome hunched his shoulders,
shivering, clearly not enjoying the weather, either.

“Do we need to go over the
plan?” Valerie asked.

Kanti gave a dramatic roll of
her eyes. “I lead you to Calibro’s house and then return to my family’s castle
and draw as much attention to myself and away from your little gathering as I
can. I’m the distraction. Again.”

“And what a beautiful
distraction you are,” Valerie said, which made Kanti punch her in the shoulder.

Kanti checked the street signs.
“We’re not too far, but we need to hurry. Once the birds spot us, they’ll
spread the word around the city. They get up early.”

Even as she spoke, Valerie saw
bright blue birds fluttering near the rooftops, probably scanning for any
interesting news. Kanti saw them, too.

“Walk slowly. They’ll only notice
us sooner if we run.”

Kanti led the way through the
streets, which were much more organized than the ones in Silva. They walked at
a brisk pace, and Valerie, Gideon, and Chrome kept some distance between
themselves and Kanti, in case she was recognized.

They approached a majestic house
with eight tall pillars. Kanti gave a little nod toward it, and continued on
her way home.

Valerie glanced at the sky
nervously, noticing that several birds were circling above, watching with
interest. She increased her pace as she approached Calibro’s house.

“Let’s go around back so we’re
not spotted,” she whispered to Gideon and Chrome.

An image flashed in Valerie’s
mind of a swarm of birds at a distance. Chrome’s vision, which was much sharper
than hers, had already detected a flock headed straight for them.

They began to run, and the sound
of chirping grew louder. Frantically, Valerie looked for open windows or any of
the Grand Masters who might be nearby, but the house seemed deserted.

The birds descended, three
landing on her shoulders and one in her hair.

“Is it true that you’re here
with Princess Kanti?” a tiny voice asked.

“Do you know whose house you’re spying
on? What are you here for?” chattered another voice on her shoulder.

She turned to Gideon and Chrome
for help, but she saw they were similarly bombarded.

“No comment,” Valerie mumbled,
trying to swat the birds away. But they were only briefly loosed from their
perches on her body, returning seconds later.

“Tell us your name!” squeaked
one of the birds flying near her face.

Valerie had no idea how to
combat these tiny gossips. She was about to suggest that they leave Calibro’s
house and return later when she saw Chrome’s ears perk up. His power was to
detect magic trails, and he was clearly on the scent of something. He trotted
around to the enormous backyard, and Gideon and Valerie raced after him.

The birds easily kept pace, but
when her small team crossed into the backyard garden, they were suddenly enveloped
by silence. The birds were fluttering around, puzzled.

“I don’t think they can see us,”
Valerie said, confused.

“It must be a protective spell
on the property,” Gideon explained. “Calibro must have known that the birds
would trail anyone near her house.”

Valerie breathed a sigh of
relief and admired the silent, frozen wonderland of flowers etched out of ice
and a few hearty flowers that could bloom in such chilly weather. But Chrome
ran faster now and stopped at the side of a small, frozen pond.

He sent Valerie and Gideon an
image of leaping onto the surface.

“What if the ice breaks?” she
asked, but Chrome only stared at her, pawing at the ground.

“He’s a Master Knight. You can
trust his instincts,” Gideon said, and Valerie flushed.

“Sorry, Chrome. Let’s jump,” she
said.

They all landed in the middle of
the pond, and the ice around them splintered. But instead of plunging into freezing
water, they dropped safely down into a small cavern beneath the pond. Above
her, the shattered ice had already repaired itself.

She could see that a tunnel led away
from the cavern and into another room that gave off a warm, golden glow. The
chatter of many voices echoed off the walls, and the three hurried toward the
noise.

Valerie didn’t know what she was
expecting to find at the end of the tunnel, but it wasn’t what she saw. Golden
yellow sand met warm, lapping blue water. It was like being on a beach in
California. She blinked as her eyes adjusted to the bright light that emanated
from a ball on the ceiling.

Around her, the Grand Masters
were lying on beach chairs and swimming in the water, which looked like it went
on forever, like the ocean.

Next to her, Gideon and Chrome took
in their surroundings as well, but if they were shocked, they hid their
amazement better than she did. Valerie saw Calibro’s curly blonde head coming
her way.

“Welcome, Valerie and friends,”
Calibro said formally. “I hope you will be comfortable here, but that you will
also bring order and purpose to this gathering. As I feared, it is difficult to
escape the party atmosphere of this hideaway. I am beginning to suspect that my
parents had it spelled by an Empath to encourage people to forget their
worries. They did love their parties.”

Calibro shook her head
indulgently, and Valerie tried to fathom how such a serious little girl had
come from parents who had created this summer playground in a land of ice and
snow.

“Thank you for opening your home
so we could all meet. I know it could put you in danger if the Fractus discover
where the dissenting Grand Masters are hiding,” Valerie said.

Calibro considered her words
with grave eyes. “I fear that our government will descend into dictatorship
unless we can regain the balance of voices in Arden that makes it great.”

Valerie was struck by her words,
thinking of the etching on Pathos about the Balance. Were Calibro’s words
connected somehow?