The Cypher Wheel (6 page)

The attendant scrunched his face a little at her
question. “Uh, yeah. There's one in the undercroft.” He pointed to
a doorway to his left.

“Thanks,” Faedra said before she and her friends
started for the doorway.

“Oi! You can't just go in there. That'll be five
pounds each for admission, thank you.”

“What? But, we're with the treasure hunt,” Faedra
explained.

The attendant scrunched his face again.

“The cypher wheel treasure hunt?” Faedra
continued.

“Never heard of it. Don't know anything about any
treasure hunt. But if you're wanting to see the treasure chest,
it's still five pounds each.”

Faedra turned to Faen. “Surely they would have
mentioned if we needed to pay to get in to these places to find a
clue. Maybe we're in the wrong place, after all.”

“It is a possibility,” Faen agreed.

Faedra took out the clue again and gave it another
read. She sighed.

“Well, if it is the wrong place, it's a very close
fit. I can't think of anywhere else in the city that would fit with
those clues.”

“Do you mind?” the attendant said, holding out his
hand to see the clue.

Faedra handed it to him. “Any ideas?”

The attendant read it and scratched his head.
“Certainly sounds like this place, all right,” he said, resolute.
“Sorry, Miss, but if you want to go down there, I have to charge
you an entrance fee.”

Faedra looked at her team. Their faces all said the
same, 'don't look at us, we don't have need of money.' She sighed
again and wondered how they could get by for so long in the World
of Men without any money. She dug around in her purse, pulled out a
couple of ten pound notes and handed them to the attendant.

“Thank you. You'll find the treasure chest in the
undercroft. Go down the spiral staircase and walk through cellars,
down another set of steps and you're there,” the attendant
directed.

“Thanks,” the four cohorts said, before leaving the
gift shop in the direction given.

“What is it with old buildings and spiral
staircases?” Faedra mused as she and her friends made their way
carefully down the narrow stone spiral that let into the belly of
the building.

A musty smell hit their nostrils the further they
descended. They wandered through a couple of rooms that showed how
the building had been excavated. Then another set of narrow stairs,
with a sign saying 'mind your head', led them down into the
undercroft. Faen and Etyran had to crouch to get down the steps
without bumping their heads. The undercroft was set up as a
show-piece so people could see the kind of things that would have
been stored here when it was a merchant's trading hall. There were
a few wine barrels stacked in one corner, a fake sack of grain in
another, and then they saw it. The object of the team's desires.
Tucked in one of the alcoves sat a real, honest-to-goodness,
treasure chest.

“How corny is that?” Faedra said to her friends.

They gave her an odd look.

“Ah, let me guess. You guys still put your treasures
in treasure chests.”

“Of course. Where else would we put them?” Jocelyn
asked, bemused at the statement.

“A bank?” Faedra said with a smile. Knowing full well
they didn't have banks in Azran.

“Well, let's open this puppy up and see what amazing
riches we've won, shall we?” Etyran said.

“You do the honors this time,” Faedra offered,
gesturing for him to open the chest.

Truth was, her heart was in her mouth. She was so
excited at finally finding the treasure she could hardly stand
still.

Etyran looked at his friend. “Let's do this together,
mate.”

Faen took a step forward and leaned over with his
friend to open the chest. It gave a loud disgruntled creak as they
lifted the lid.

“Well?” Faedra asked, hardly daring to look.

She didn't like the expression on her Guardian's face
or Etyran's for that matter.

“You have to be kidding me. How many flippin' clues
are there?” she exclaimed after peering over Jocelyn's shoulder
into the empty chest. Empty, apart from another golden piece of
paper. This time only one line of text was written on it.

Jocelyn leaned in and picked it up. “We have gotten
this far, Faedra. We have to be close now.”

Faedra pulled the cypher wheel out of its pouch one
more time. After deciphering the text, she waited to hear what the
clue said. She looked up to see Faen and Etyran peering over the
young fairy's shoulders. All of them wore the same confused
expression.

“Well, what does it say?” Faedra asked, stepping
closer to the group that was huddled around the clue in front of
the treasure chest.

“It says,” Jocelyn started, “‘we will see you on the
other side’.”

Faedra drew her eyebrows together and held her hand
out to see the clue. Before Jocelyn could give it to her, Faedra's
eyes grew wide. A bright light was coming from the chest behind her
friends. When they saw her expression, the three fae turned to look
at what prompted it. In a flash, all four were sucked into the
chest and the lid slammed closed on top of them.

CHAPTER SIX

“What the...?” Etyran exclaimed before turning
invisible.

Faen and Faedra just looked at each other,
expressions unreadable.

Only a second passed before all four friends were
back to back in a small circle; a defensive position Faen had
taught Faedra in one of her very first lessons as Custodian.

“Is everyone okay?” Faedra asked.

Faen and Jocelyn had conjured their swords, which
they held out in front of them, sure and steady. Faedra's body
responded before she even had a chance to think about it, and two
purple balls, a mixture of electricity and fire, were bursting from
her palms. She waved them about in front of her as she scanned the
territory in all directions, except directly behind, knowing her
back was covered.

“Okay here,” Jocelyn replied.

“And here,” Faen continued.

“Whoa, watch where you're pointing those things,”
Etyran shrieked as he
unwrapped
himself and patted his
sleeve where Faedra's fire had singed his coat.

“Sorry,” Faedra said, “but, in all fairness, I
couldn't see where you were to avoid you.”

“Good point,” Etyran conceded.

All four looked around, diligently taking in their
surroundings. They were standing under a tree in the middle of a
lush grassy meadow. A huge bough lay on the ground to one side of
the tree. The obvious casualty of a lightning strike.

The field was surrounded by forest-covered hills in
all directions and Faedra felt as though she were in a coliseum of
sorts. Just waiting for someone to let loose the lions.

When it looked like they were on their own, Faen and
Jocelyn relaxed a little and lowered their swords.

“Well, that was unexpected,” Etyran said, breaking
the tense silence.

Faedra turned on him. “What could possibly go wrong,
hey, Etyran?” she snarled, her energy balls getting larger by the
second.

Etyran gave her a wary look and put his hands up as
he took a step back. “Now, steady on, Faedra. How was I supposed to
know this would happen?” he replied, a nervous tone to his voice.
He looked from Faedra to her energy balls and back again. “Err,
you're not going to do anything hasty with those, are you?” He
moved his gaze to the balls of flame and sparks in her palms.

Faedra could feel the fear flowing from him. She
visibly shook her head and blinked, then looked down at her palms.
“Ugh! I hate this!” she cried as she turned away from her friend
and flung the balls into the field, as if flinging something slimy
and disgusting off her hands. The balls hit the grass and exploded,
sending clumps of sod flying and leaving two good sized craters in
the dirt. She turned back to Etyran. “Sorry.”

“No worries, no harm done.” He gave her a warm smile,
but she could feel the relief coming off him in waves and realized
she had scared her friend. That was unforgivable. She couldn't bear
the thought of her friends being scared of her. She had to get rid
of Savu's power, but how? She had no idea, but made a vow to
herself to find a way.

Faedra looked down and huffed out a breath when she
saw the cypher wheel lying on the ground at her feet. She leaned
over and scooped it off the grass before lumping herself down on
the fallen tree limb. Jocelyn joined her.

The Custodian turned the wheel over in her hands and
gave it a cursory glance before looking up at her Guardian and the
Lightbender, who were now standing before her and Jocelyn. “This
must be some sort of transporting device,” Faedra said. “Anyone
want to hazard a guess as to where it brought us?”

Jocelyn shook her head. Etyran hung his in a mark of
admonishment and Faen's expression was blank.

“No, didn't think so.” Faedra sighed.

“We could still be in the World of Men,” Etyran
suggested. It was a fair assumption; the field they were in didn't
look any different to any other meadow on Earth. But the sound of
an otherworldly shriek above them at that precise moment, shot the
idea in the foot. They all looked up to witness a hideous winged
creature, unlike any they'd seen before, flying overhead. Its body
was covered in what look liked snakeskin and its leathery wings
beat a foreboding rhythm as it circled around the field, eying them
with studious intent, before taking off over the trees. They looked
back at one another.

“Not the World of Men, then.” Etyran said, running a
hand through his hair and avoiding eye contact with Faedra.

“Yeah, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas, anymore,”
Faedra mumbled.

“But, Faedra, we were not in Kansas to begin with,”
Jocelyn remarked, looking perplexed.

“The Wizard of Oz?” Faedra said, but got nothing more
than a blank expression from her young friend. “Never mind.”

“Why is it always me that messes up?” Etyran
asked.

Faedra turned her attention from Jocelyn back to the
Lightbender, only to see the look of dejection on his face.

“Etyran, it's not your fault,” Faedra said, noticing
the awkwardness in his posture. “I'm sorry I snapped at you. You
weren't to know any of this would happen. I was just frustrated,
that's all. Just for once, it would be nice to go out and enjoy
myself without my world being turned upside down.”

“Faedra is right, you know. None of us blame you.”
Jocelyn agreed. Etyran's face lit up at her words and Faedra gave
Etyran a knowing smile.

“So, what do we do now?” Faedra asked.

“Well, out here we are sitting ducks in this meadow,”
Faen replied. “I suggest we take cover in the trees and try and
find out where we are. We have no way of knowing if this place is
hostile or not, and until we find out I think it best that we try
and stay out of sight.”

Faen held out a hand for Faedra and she took it with
a smile as she allowed her Guardian to pull her up from where she
was sitting. She tucked the cypher wheel back in the pouch that was
still slung across her body.

Etyran offered his hand to Jocelyn.

“Thank you.” Jocelyn almost sang the words as she
accepted Etyran's gesture. A rosy glow permeated Etyran's
cheeks.

The four friends only made it a few yards towards the
trees before they heard a noise in the distance. Faen held out his
arm, stopping Faedra in her tracks from going another step forward.
Etyran scooted Jocelyn behind him so fast she let out a squeak of
surprise.

“What is it?” Faedra whispered, heart thudding in her
chest.

“I hear something.” Faen explained. “Do you hear
that?”

They stood silent for a moment, hardly daring to
breathe. Faedra's ears were straining to hear whatever Faen had
picked up.

A moment later, Faedra heard the soft thud of hooves
in the distance. She would recognize that sound anywhere. A second
later, two white horses emerged from the trees on the far side of
the meadow. Their riders cloaked in blue robes that billowed out
behind them like ripples on a lake. The horses cantered across the
meadow towards them, prompting the four cohorts to take defensive
action, once again.

Faen held his sword in front of him, as the riders
closed the gap between them.

“Etyran, I am quite capable of looking after myself,”
Jocelyn said, looking a little bemused. The young fairy extricated
herself from his grip and conjured her own sword. Etyran's cheeks
colored up, and despite the danger they could be in, Faedra
couldn't help but smile and stifle a chuckle.

As the riders got closer, Faedra looked down at her
ring. There was no warning tingle and the horses were nearly upon
them now. The horses slowed to a walk before taking another few
strides and came to a halt a few feet in front of the group.

The tension in the air was palpable, but still there
was no warning from Faedra's ring. These riders were not there to
hurt her, or her friends.

With almost synchronized precision, both riders
pushed down their hoods to reveal their faces.

Faedra's eyes grew wide with recognition. “Hey, I
know you!” she exclaimed. “You're the lady from Falconchase. I knew
there was something strange about you in the pub.” Then Faedra
realized something else as she sensed the woman's emotions. “You
were following us around the city, too, weren't you?”

The woman did not respond to Faedra's outburst, but
rather looked agitated, as she scanned the sky above them.

“There is no time to explain.” she said, bringing her
attention back to the group. “He knows you are here. We must get
you to safety before they come,”

“Who knows we are here?” Faedra and Faen said
together.

“Yeah, and who are
they
?” Etyran chimed in,
following where the woman was looking in the sky.

“And where, exactly, is here?” Jocelyn joined in the
interrogation.