Spark - ARC (22 page)

Even though part of him insisted one of the Chowneys had done it, another part knew better. Who would painstakingly replace each coin with a dead leaf? Nobody. Nobody human, anyway.

Those damn faeries had stolen back his reward.

Aran paced the chilly cement floor. He couldn’t just storm into the Dark Court and demand his coins. The queen would laugh at him, and maybe trap him there for real this time. Unless he had a bargaining point.

Fine. He’d close the wall back up, and if they wanted it open again they’d have to pay in real money. The non-disappearing kind.

But to put that plan into action, he needed to get on a FullD system.

Aran ran one hand through his hair. First thing was to talk to Bix. He glanced out the windows at the pearly sky. It would be good to see the sun again.

Quietly, he slipped out of the garage and snuck over to Bix’s window. The pebble pile he’d made under the bushes was still there. Aran flicked one at his friend’s window. The stone hit the glass with a little tink. Two more pebbles, and then Bix appeared, shoving the curtains aside. He slid the window up.

“Aran—you’re back. Short trip, huh?”

“I’ll explain later. Listen, do you have your FullD yet?”

Bix scrubbed a hand over his sleepy face. “It won’t be delivered for another two days. Two days! That is so tweaked.”

Aran folded his arms against the cold. So much for that plan. He could try to break into a gaming store—but that was too risky.

“I’m freezing my ass off here,” Bix said. “See you in the garage in a few.”

He closed the window, and Aran snuck back to the garage, his brain spinning. How could he get access to a live FullD system?

Spark.

She would help him; she had to. And if he remembered right, her tour brought her back near the city. He grabbed his tablet and found the site showing her itinerary. The VirtuMax tour was due to hit Readle, which was only a hundred miles away. What day was it, anyway? He scrolled up to check the date, then let the air out from between his teeth in a frustrated hiss. The tour wouldn’t be in Readle until tomorrow.

The itinerary glowed up at him and Aran read it again, not skimming it this time. Last night Spark had made an appearance at Bella Boingo’s concert in Landover.

He tapped his fingers on the screen, thinking. The concert hadn’t started until nine. The VirtuMax tour had probably stayed the night there—and might even spend the day. He had to get to Landover. Ninety miles, in the opposite direction from Readle. If he was wrong, there wouldn’t be time to backtrack.

Although… He brought up the lists of the top hotels in Landover. If he could reverse-hack a magic portal, cracking a hotel’s guest list would be no problem.

The garage door opened, letting in a cold blast of air, and Aran set his tablet aside.

“Dude.” Bix shut the door behind him and ambled over to the couch. “Where you been, anyway? And what’s this?”

He picked up the velvet bag and pulled out a handful of leaves. A few drifted down to lie on the garage floor.

“That’s stupidity,” Aran said. “I can’t explain now, but I have a huge favor to ask.”

“Whatever you need.” Bix stuffed the leaves back into the bag and sat down.

“Could I borrow your grav-cycle for a couple days? And some cash.”

Bix blinked at him with sleepy eyes. Then he frowned. “If my parents found out—”

“Okay, not the bike.” Aran knew that was asking too much. “But I need bus money to Landover.”

“No,” Bix said.

Aran’s gut clenched. “I thought you—”

“You’re not riding the bus all that way. Whatever’s going on, I trust you. I’ll figure out what to tell my parents. Hold on while I get the keys.”

Swallowing past the sudden lump in his throat, Aran punched Bix lightly on the shoulder.

“I don’t deserve friends like you,” he said.

“Yeah, well, you’ll have to settle for me anyway.” Bix grinned. “Whatever adventure you’re on, though, you gotta tell me all about it when you’re done.”

“I will.” Aran put every ounce of truth behind his words.

Even if Bix wouldn’t believe him.

CHAPTER
TWENTY

A
rguing voices in the hall outside her door woke Spark. She blinked at the dim light struggling through the curtains, her brain fuzzy. Then memory of what happened last night crashed over her.

She lunged for her messager, heart sinking when she saw the blank screen.

Whoever was in the hall, they were getting louder. And they kept saying her name. Scooping her hair out of her face, she went to the door and looked out the peephole.

Disbelief flashed through her, cold, then hot. She undid the locks and flung her door open.

“Aran!” It
was
him.

“Miss Jaxley.” Her security guard, Joe, had Aran by the arm. “Sorry to disturb you. I was just escorting Mr. Cole out. Burt instructed us he wasn’t welcome.”

“Wait,” she said. “I want to talk to him.”

“You do?” Joe’s look of confusion was almost funny.

“Yes,” she said.

“I told you so.” Aran pulled free of Joe’s grasp and tugged his leather jacket back into place. “Can I come in?”

Spark stepped back and held the door wider. She knew she looked terrible, with her sleep-tangled hair and slept-in clothes, but that didn’t matter. When Joe started to follow Aran into her room, she held up her hand.

“Just him,” she said.

“But Miss Jaxley—”

“He’s safe. And you can check back in a half hour, okay? Aran and I need to talk. Alone.”

“Burt’s going to kill me,” Joe said.

“Tell Burt I insisted. Since that’s exactly what I’m doing. Bye.” She shut the door in his face, then locked it.

Slowly, she turned. Yes, Aran really stood there, hands in his pockets. She wanted to hug him. She wanted to slap him. She wanted to shake him until his teeth rattled.

Instead she folded her arms, wincing as she jarred her wrist.

“Are you okay?” He was suddenly way too close, setting one gentle finger on her splint. “Is this… did you get injured in-game?”

“Yep. No thanks to you.”

His eyes widened with horror. “Oh, crap. I am so sorry. I didn’t know—”

“It’s just sprained. Though, yes, if you get injured in the realm, it carries over to the real world.” She brushed past him, going to one of the two chairs set at the far end of the room. “Tell me how you escaped the Dark Realm. And what happened to the gateway between the worlds.”

“Ah.” He looked down at the floor, then back to her. “I screwed up, and I need your help.”

“
Now
you’re asking for my help?” Anger flared through her, and she was wide awake. “After our little encounter in-game, why would you even think I’d lift a finger for you? You managed to get out of the realm. I’d say you’re doing fine on your own.”

He sat in the other chair and rested his forearms on his knees.

“Ever hear of gold coins turning to leaves?” he asked.

“Faerie gold. Dammit, Aran. What happened?”

He let out a long breath, his dark eyes haunted. “I thought I’d finally be set. Do what the queen asked, open the gateway, get my reward, and be done.”

“And it never occurred to you that the gateway was closed for a reason?”

“I…” He shook his head. “I didn’t think too hard about it. It was a puzzle to crack. That’s all.”

She stood, fury whipping through her. “Let me tell you then. Last night, at Bella Boingo’s concert, the Wild Hunt materialized. In
our
world. Do you know what that means?”

He sucked in a breath. “Oh, hell. We have to close that gate.”

“How could you be so stupid?” She shook her fist in his face, then whirled away.

She’d never wanted to actually attack someone, until now. Mastering her fury, she stalked the length of the room, then back. Aran watched her, his shoulders bent in what had better be remorse.

“We need to get into Feyland now and fix this,” she said. “You can fix it, right?”

“Yeah. I think.”

“Stay there.” She pointed at him, then grabbed some fresh clothes and went into the bathroom. As soon as she was dressed and somewhat groomed, she messaged Vonda.

:Come to my room, please? It’s urgent.:

:Be right there.:

Bless Vonda for not asking questions.

Spark emerged from the bathroom to see Aran still in his chair. He was turning the pink stone around between his fingers, the one he’d given her. The one that, despite herself, she put on the bedside table each night in order to feel a little less lonely.

She was still so mad at him she could spit.

“Give that back.”

She didn’t wait for him to hand the stone over, just snatched it from him and put it in her pocket.

“We’re about to have a visitor,” she said. “Keep your mouth shut, all right?”

“Got it.”

At least he knew better than to push her with questions. Spark pulled the cover up over the rumpled sheets of her bed, then went to the door. Before Vonda could knock, Spark opened it and gestured her inside. Across the hall, Joe watched from the open door of his own room, but made no move to come in. Smart guy.

“Whoa.” Vonda halted in the middle of the room. “What’s he doing here?”

She cast a suspicious glance at the bed, then back at Aran, and Spark hurried to answer.

“He arrived a few minutes ago, that’s all. We need to use a couple of the FullD systems, just the two of us. I can’t explain—but trust me, it’s important.”

“What about your wrist?” Vonda set her hands on her hips. “This is not okay.”

“I know. But we have to do it now. Please.” Spark went up to her manager, hoping Vonda could read the truth in her eyes.

Vonda studied her face, then exhaled sharply through her nostrils. “I don’t know what you’ve gotten into, but I can give you an hour. One hour, that’s it.”

“Thank you.”

“I bet you haven’t eaten breakfast.”

“Not yet, but—”

“Whatever’s going on, you need to eat. Raid the room’s snack bar.” Vonda held up her hand. “Don’t argue. You’re the only one who never touches it. Niteesh decimates his, and the Terabins always eat the most expensive stuff.”

“Okay then.”

Spark opened the hotel fridge and pulled out a couple of nut-packed candy bars and cans of soda. However Aran had gotten there, she’d bet he hadn’t stopped for a hearty meal along the way.

“I’ll let you into the conference room where we’ve set up the systems,” Vonda said. “And I’ll tell the others not to barge in. But when your time’s up, we talk.”

She glared at Aran, then swung back to Spark.

“Right,” Spark said. She tossed a bar and a can of soda to Aran. “Let’s go.”

***

Aran silently followed Spark and her manager to the conference room with the FullD set-ups. On the way, he ate the candy bar and chugged the soda, grateful for the sugar rush clearing his head. It still wasn’t enough to wash away the guilt.

This was going to be tricky, in more ways than one.

He had to fix the code without giving away the fact he’d been trying to hack Feyland all along, try to get Spark to forgive him, and—hardest of all—escape the wrath of the Dark Queen.

He geared up while Spark argued with Vonda about wearing an oversized gaming glove. They sorted it out, and soon Spark was ready. She gave him a sharp nod, and he logged in, sending his avatar into Feyland.

Golden light swirled around him, making his stomach churn. He clenched his teeth against the sensation, and a moment later his Saboteur materialized in a faerie-ringed clearing full of shadows.

Spark’s Kitsune flickered into being beside him.

“Good,” she said. “We’re in the right place. I wasn’t sure this would work.”

“Meaning?”

“I’ve already fought through two of the game levels, so we’re getting close to the Dark Court. This place,” she swept her arm out, “has the right mushrooms, and it’s night.”

He looked up at the dark blue sky speckled with stars. “Night, but not midnight. No moon.”

“Yet.”

She cupped her hands, and a second later held a glowing ball of flame. It rose into the air to hover a few inches above her head, casting a reddish illumination over their surroundings.

“Now.” She turned to face him, her expression stern. “What did you do to open the gateway, and can we fix it from here?”

He glanced around the clearing. The place was completely unfamiliar. No mirror images, no wall of code. At least, he didn’t think so. He went forward a few paces, hand outstretched, stepping over the pale mushrooms to the path leading between dark trees. His questing fingers met no resistance.

“Can’t do it from here,” he said. “We need to get closer to the court.”

“Great. Do you have any idea how dangerous that is?”

“Good thing you’re with me.” His weak smile faded under her narrow-eyed stare.

“Come on.” She started down the path, the ball of flame bobbing overhead. “And don’t do anything stupid. More stupid than you already have, that is.”

“Wait.” He caught up to her and took her arm. “I get it. I totally screwed up. Believe me, I feel like crap about it, and I’m trying to make amends here. So you can quit riding me.”

She stared at him a minute, and then her gaze dropped to the leaf-strewn path beneath their feet.