Luthier's Apprentice, The (11 page)

“Shhh…” After wiping off her tears, Elizabeth took her sister’s hand in hers and squeezed gently. “I know.”

“I’ve tried so hard.”

“I know.”

“Her power… is too great. I can’t compete… with evil itself. She has a legion of demons behind her.”

Turning her gaze to the window, Elizabeth took a deep breath. There had to be way. “If I had been born with the psychic gift, things would be different,” she said. “We could have joined our powers and defeated her. But I don’t have the power... and neither does Emma.”

Lili was propped against two pillows and perspiration covered her pale forehead. “Are you sure? I have a feeling you might be wrong. Why, just a while ago, I could have sworn…” Her voice trailed off. She seemed confused.

Elizabeth shook her head. “I’ve always watched Emma carefully. There’s never been a sign of the power in her, and she’s already sixteen. The powers always show up by twelve or thirteen. She hasn’t got them. We have to face the fact that we can’t stop
her
, not this way. We’ve got to think of something else.”

“Emma could be a late bloomer,” Lili said hopefully. “Have you told her anything? About our family and the curse? Anything at all? Father is old now.”

Elizabeth gave a long breath. “Not yet. Why make her suffer in advance? When the time comes, I’ll tell her. Father is still strong and healthy, except for his back, as you know.” She paused. “What’s going to happen now? Where are the violinists?”

“She has them waiting for the ritual. I doubt they know what awaits them.”

Once again, Elizabeth’s gaze turned to the window, to the purple twilight beyond. “What did you mean before, when you said that a while ago, you could have sworn…?”

Lili stared at Elizabeth with bewilderment… and a twinge of hope. “I’m not sure... Only that a while ago I felt something quite strange. I felt myself suddenly infused with a surge of power. For an instant, I felt stronger.”

Elizabeth’s eyes widened. “Why? What does that mean?”

“I’m not sure, but I think—I’m hoping…”

Elizabeth brought one hand to her chest. “You don’t think—”

Lili whispered, “Yes… Emma.”

E
MMA OPENED HER EYES. SHE FELT
as though she had slept for a long time.

Drowsy, limbs heavy, she propped up on her elbow and stared in awe at her new surroundings. Clearly she was in another world, another dimension. Everything here shimmered with an alien purplish glow: the trees, the grass, even the sky. To her right was a huge clearing that ended at the edge of a forest. To her left, a massive lake stretched as far as the horizon, its still waters purple. Beyond the lake she saw yet another forest and also a strange-looking object—a building?—but it was too far away to make out any details. The strangest thing of all was a small purple airplane stationed about thirty meters from the edge of the lake.

Corey lay by her side. He seemed profoundly asleep. For a moment she could only stare. Washed in the soft purple light, he looked almost painfully handsome, his hair a splash of dark ink on the grass.

She shook him. “Corey? Corey, wake up.”

She had to shake him several times before he stirred. Finally, he opened his eyes. He was soon on his feet, slowly turning to look at this strange, new place. He nodded thoughtfully. A bizarre expression covered his face, as if he had, somehow, been expecting this.

“Are you okay?” she asked, rising as well. “You don’t seem too surprised.”

“Of course I’m surprised,” Corey said quickly, looking away. “Are
you
okay?”

Emma nodded. “I’m fine.”

“What
is
this place?” Corey asked, more to himself than to her.

“It seems some sort of parallel world, some other dimension,” she said. “The problem is, the portal’s gone.”

They looked at each other. They knew what that meant. No portal, no way back.

“No sign of Annika or Blackie either,” Emma said. “Where are they? Do you think they could have ended up in a different place?”

“That’s always a possibility. Or maybe Annika went into the forest.” He gestured to the woods. “It’s either that or the lake, but I don’t see a boat. And I don’t see how she could have crossed the lake. It’s huge.” He stared at the distant object beyond the lake. “What’s that?”

“I don’t know. Looks like a building or a monument of some sort,” she replied uneasily. She cupped her hands and shouted, “Annika! Annika!”

Corey joined her. “Annika!”

After a moment they stopped.

“Oh wait,” Emma said, digging into her pocket. “Let me try my cell phone.” But it was completely dead.

They tried Corey’s phone next, but it, too, was dead. “I guess cell phones don’t work around here. Somehow I’m not surprised.”

Emma sighed. She squinted across the lake. “Do you hear that? There’s some sort of resonance.”

Corey stood motionless. “Sounds like music. Very distant.”

She pointed. “It seems to come from the woods on the other side of the lake. And it’s not just music. It’s
violin
music.”

“So it seems…” Corey seemed mesmerized by the plane. “That looks like a Cessna 150,” he said, walking over to it. Emma followed him. It was a tiny, toy-like plane. Inside the cockpit, there were only two seats.

“Did I tell you my father was a pilot?” Corey asked, opening the door.

“No,” Emma said softly.

“He died in a plane crash. I’m wearing his jacket.”

“I’m sorry,” Emma murmured, feeling her heart contracting. “I lost my dad, too. I don’t remember him. I was too young.”

He stared at her for a moment, his face serious, intense. “I’m sorry, too.” He climbed into the plane. “It’s warmer inside. Come. Jump in.”

Emma grasped his hand and hopped inside the cockpit. They settled side by side with Corey at the controls.

Corey ran a hand across the instrument panel, inspecting the gauges and switches. “My dad left me dozens of books on aviation and airplanes. Once, when I was little, he even gave me a flying lesson. I still remember his every word, the exact pitch and tone of his voice.”

Watching his beautiful profile, Emma was overcome with a strong emotion she wasn’t able to identify. She admired his intelligence and inner strength. She had to admit it...she was irresistibly drawn to him.

“I’ve been studying flying manuals for so long I’ve memorized the lines from cover to cover,” he went on.

Keeping in mind the way he effortlessly remembered lines from Holmes, she believed him.

“You should fasten your seatbelt,” he said, fastening his own.

She looked at him sharply. “You’re not flying this thing, are you?”

“Why not?”

“But—but you’ve never flown a plane before!”

“I told you, I’ve been studying how to fly planes for years. These over here are the airspeed and attitude indicators; this one is the altimeter; that’s the vertical airspeed indicator over there; these are the throttle and mixture controls; and this here is the ignition switch.” He pointed as he talked. “This will be a piece of cake.”

“Studying how to fly a plane and actually flying a plane are two completely different things.”

Ignoring her protests, he played with a couple of flaps and turned on the ignition.

“That does it. I’m getting off. You can stay and play pilot if you want to,” Emma scoffed, jumping off the plane.

“Hey! Where do you think you’re going?”

She turned around to face him. “I’m
not
flying a plane with you, Corey. I’m going to check out the woods and call Annika. Maybe she’s in there somewhere and she’ll hear me.”

Without waiting to hear his reply, Emma headed in the direction of the forest. “Annika!” she called. “Annika!”

When she was midway between the plane and the edge of the woods, a long mournful cry cut through the stillness. Emma froze in mid step.

Wolf
.

Okay. Maybe it was just one wolf.

Before she could follow that thought another howl broke through the air. And then another. And another. Worst of all, the yowls and yelps seemed to be getting closer.

Emma glanced behind her shoulder and saw Corey hop off the plane. “Um... Emma? I think you’d better get back.”

She looked back to the woods just in time to see a pack of wolves emerge from the trees and bound in her direction.

“RUUUUNNN!” Corey shouted.

She felt the blood drain from her face. She spun around and ran as fast as her legs would carry her.

“Start that plane!” she screamed.

Corey climbed back into the cockpit and a moment later the propeller started turning.

“
Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God...”
Emma chanted, leaping into the plane and rummaging for the seatbelt with shaky hands.

“Ready?” he asked over the roar of the engine as the propeller began to turn faster and faster.

Emma looked at the vast expanse of lake before them. “You better know what you’re doing or we’ll end up kibble for whatever creatures or purple monsters live under these waters.”

“Either that or the wolves.” Suddenly his serious face broke into a cocky smile. “Trust me.”

C
OREY TURNED THE PLANE TOWARD THE
widest part of the clearing. Then he pulled back on the throttle. Emma leaned back against the seat, watching in horror through the windshield as they left the wolves behind and everything began moving past them faster and faster.

“Let’s go!” Corey said, pressing the accelerator all the way.

With surprising speed, the plane raced across the clearing in the direction of the woods.

When they began to get too close, Emma panicked. “What are you doing? We’ll crash against the trees.”

“Not yet,” Corey said, gripping the control wheel.

“But look. We’re getting too close. We’ll—”

“Now!” Corey pulled back on the wheel to lift the nose.

The plane took off with the ease of a remote-controlled toy. And just like that, they were flying.

Emma screamed. Her stomach lurched as the plane rose higher.

“
Yesss
!” Corey said.

She glanced at him. He was grinning and there was a spark of purpose in his green eyes.

She mumbled a prayer as she saw the clearing, lake and forest moving further and further away.

Corey turned the plane in a wide arc over the forest and toward the lake. Once more, Emma felt her insides rise up to her throat. She’d never experienced this kind of thrill before. This was definitely the wildest, most exciting thing she’d ever done in her life. All thoughts of Grandpa, Annika, and the missing violinists vanished from her mind. Reality was here and now: Corey and her, flying to an unknown place, not knowing what to expect, or whether they would get out of it dead or alive.

After a moment, Emma pointed to the dark object they had seen earlier from the other side of the lake. As they flew closer, the shape began to reveal itself.

Emma gaped. “What is
that
?”

“What the—”

“That’s
creepy
,” she said. “It’s like a castle. A castle made of giant violin parts!”

C
OREY TRIED TO FOCUS ON FLYING
the airplane, but the weird castle-like structure staring him in the face did not help.

Unlike normal castles, this one looked like it was built from polished wood instead of stone. The drawbridge was in the shape of a fingerboard; the towers were pear-shaped like violins and from them emerged triple turrets like tailpieces and fine tuners. The windows were f-holes. The keep, or highest point of the castle, shot up toward the purple sky like a violin’s neck, complete with scroll and tuning pegs. A ditch filled with bubbly, steamy, plum-colored liquid surrounded the structure.

“Like a Salvador Dali painting,” Emma said. “Like something out of a nightmare.”

He glanced sideways at her. Her brown eyes were wide with awe and her glossy dark hair fell in tousled waves down her shoulders. Corey captured all of her in a second before quickly turning his attention back to the flight...and to the problem at hand.

“Or out of somebody’s very sick mind,” he murmured. He closed his lips grimly. Years ago, standing by his father’s grave, Corey had made him a promise: a promise to avenge his death, and he was determined to fulfil it, whatever it took.

He felt her questioning eyes on him, but he kept his attention on the plane.

He began to lose altitude, seeking a landing site.

A clearing surrounded the castle and separated it from the woods and the lake. He tried to land the plane as far from the castle as possible. They still didn’t know what the place was, or what lay inside it.

He pointed to the edge of the lake. “We’ll land over there.”