The Villain Keeper (26 page)

Near the beginning of the trees, Caden saw the unmistakable hoofprints of Sir Horace. He'd visited in the night. The prints were at the bottom of the hill and led back toward town. As long as Sir Horace continued to stay within the city limits, he'd be safe. He was back at his horse prison eating apples by now. No doubt, he'd return to Caden come nightfall. Caden made a mental note to leave him treats and instruct him to keep to town. Then he sprinted up the mountain.

The rush of the race made his blood pump and his muscles burn. Above him, the sky was the deep blue of thick ice. The ground was crunchy under his boots, a combination of melting ice and wet earth. The air smelled of cedars. With each breath, his lungs stung from the cold.

He stopped halfway up near the orange tape that marked the edge of Rosa's property and the city limits. He sat on a fallen log and waited for Tito and Brynne. They arrived minutes later. From their leisurely pace and unwinded look, they'd not run as fast as they could have run.

“Elite Paladins must always push themselves, Sir Tito.”

“Look,” Tito said and collapsed on the log beside him. “I practiced with that stupid broom last night,” he said, “and I did some of your weird exercises this afternoon. That'll have to be good enough.”

Brynne sat cross-legged on Caden's other side. “I'm going to teach him magic,” she said. “It's more fun.”

“Tito is on the path to being a—” Caden didn't get the chance to finish. With no warning, his pocket began to buzz. He pulled his phone from it, tossed the phone to the crunchy ground, and jumped away. The phone quaked—shaking and bumping like it was a dying crater wasp.

Tito and Brynne just watched. The phone continued to buzz. If there were any animals Caden truly disliked, they were wasps. Always, they stung him. “What new mischief is this?”

Carefully, Tito reached down and grabbed the phone. “Dude, it's set to vibrate. It's just a text.”

With caution, Caden returned to his spot.

Tito showed him the message. “Ward says his dad will meet you Monday before class.”

“Ward knows I don't read,” Caden said.

“I could cast a spell on you,” Brynne said.

He scowled at her. “I'll learn on my own.”

“You're just making it harder for yourself. Am I not right, Sir Tito?”

Tito shrugged, either not caring or too smart to answer, and typed into Caden's phone. He paused, frowned, then
typed some more. “Ward says Monday morning, no sooner.” He looked up. “That's the last day we have to save Jane. We're cutting it too close—we have to see him sooner.”

There was a reason patience was one of the ten virtues of the Elite Paladins. In battle, in rescue, in all things noble, waiting was often necessary. They couldn't make anyone else hurry. Caden put his hand on Tito's shoulder. “If we push, I fear he'll back out,” he said.

Tito visibly swallowed. “Yeah,” he said. With a slump of his shoulders, he stood up and returned the phone to Caden. “I just hope that's soon enough.”

Brynne also stood. She put her arm around Tito's shoulder. “It will be,” she said. Then she beamed at Caden. “Caden's gifts are great. He can make almost anyone talk.”

Tito nodded. “And no one can make him stop,” he said.

“You aren't funny,” Caden said.

“You do talk a lot,” Brynne said as if it was a revelation. Suddenly, she got quiet and her cheeks became rosy. She twisted her hands together. “I like that though.”

Caden felt his own cheeks heat. Before he could respond, Rosa's voice echoed from below, calling them to return to the house.

Brynne fidgeted like she was embarrassed. “Best we go back,” she said. Then she turned and ran down the path.

Tito patted Caden on the shoulder. “Now I see why you cleaned the kitchen for her. Nice.” He sprinted after her.

Caden stood on the hillside a minute longer. He took
a few breaths of the cold air to cool his cheeks and calm his mind. He felt they were close to finding Jane; he felt his father would be proud of that. Then he ran, dodging branches and jumping roots, to race down the mountain to the house.

T
he next day, Sunday, sped along way too fast. It was a blur of housework and training. Tito was quick to learn fighting stances and attacks. He didn't seem to need the endless practice that Caden had needed. Like Caden's brothers, Tito had natural ability, and the clear skies and bright sun gave them hope. Sparring with broom and mop, however, was not the same as the clink of metal on metal from the sharp blades of swords or the thump, thump of sturdy Korvan battle staffs.

By Monday morning the hope and clear skies of the weekend had given way to anxiety and heavy clouds. It was difficult to tell dawn from day. Caden stood on the porch and looked at the sky.

“A bad omen,” Brynne said.

She was dressed in jeans and a fuzzy white sweater. Her coat was the color of pressed steel and fitted to her. Everything she wore looked rich, yet her clothes came from the same sale racks as the too-long jeans and too-big turquoise sweater he wore. It was a frivolous waste of magic.

“You should save your energy for something other than fashion,” he said, and pulled on his magical coat to hide his hideous sweater. The day would be cold and dark; at dusk the sun would set. The new moon would rise into a dark sky. “We must find her today, bad omens or not.”

Brynne nodded and adjusted a pack on her back.

Caden pointed at it. “Why do you have that?”

“I start school today.”

Caden clenched his jaw and looked away. “That will complicate things.”

“You need me, prince.”

Caden didn't deny it. She was vital to saving Jane. “We need you alive and well. We need you to prepare while we're at school.”

She put her hands on her hips and narrowed her silvery eyes. “I'm not going to sit at home and do nothing. Not when there are Elderdragons to meet.”

Caden couldn't believe what she was saying. “You were terrified of Ms. Primrose not three days ago. And we still don't know if she's the legendary Silver dragon or the infamous Blue.”

“She must be the Silver. She runs a school,” Brynne said.

“Where the teachers are villains.”

“Who teach math, science, and reading,” Brynne said. “They haven't ripped you apart. Certainly, they must want to. Most people do.”

Caden resisted the urge to rub his bandaged arm. “Tomorrow,” he said. “Stay out one day more, that's all I ask. You're our unknown advantage. Gather supplies, prepare for the fight. With luck, the janitor will know where Jane is.” He hesitated. “And I need you to bust Sir Horace from his cell.”

Brynne scrunched her nose at the mention of Sir Horace. “That beast can jump the fence.”

“He still needs to be summoned,” he said. “Please.”

With a huff, she pulled off the pack. “Rosa wants me to go. What do you want me to do, put her under a spell?”

That's when Caden felt inspiration. He felt the tingling feeling of accomplishing two things at once. “Tell her of the shaking,” he said. Using a weakness to an advantage was different than showing it accidentally. “Use it to get your way.”

Brynne looked scandalized. She glanced left and right as if to make sure no one had heard. “No.”

Caden looked straight into her silvery eyes. “You live here, Rosa will likely find out.” He nodded back to the house. “And I doubt Tito will keep it quiet for long. He thinks you should tell her. He thinks she can help you.”

“Tito knows?”

“He needed to know. Perhaps Rosa does also.”

Brynne's embarrassment and anger zeroed in on the closest target—Caden. “I can't believe you told Tito,” she hissed, and stomped inside. “You just wait until the half-moon, prince.”

That angered Caden. She should be working at removing the curse, not using it to threaten him. “Do as I say, sorceress, or I'll tell her myself.”

Brynne slammed the door. During a tense breakfast, however, she did take Rosa aside for a talk, and Rosa hugged her tightly afterward. When it was time for school, Rosa told Brynne she could stay home another day.

“How'd you work that one?” Tito said, after he and Caden were dropped at school.

The grass on the lawn was stiff from the cold and crunched as they walked. Before them, the school looked like a gray castle in front of a dark mountain in front of a stormy sky. It looked like the home of a dragon.

Caden stepped onto the sidewalk. “I told her to tell Rosa about the shaking.”

Tito looked relieved but only for a minute. He reached in his pocket and pulled out his phone. “She says she'll get the beast? What does that mean?”

“It means she'll collect Sir Horace. If we need to cover distance, he'll be essential.” First, though, they needed to find where Jane was hidden. He surveyed the steps leading to the school. “Where am I to meet this janitor?”

“Behind the gym.”

“After, we meet in the boys' restroom.”

Tito looked to the dark sky and nodded. “Right,” he said.

For as small as Ward was, the janitor, his father, was the opposite. He was as tall and sturdy as Caden's second oldest brother, Maden. He clutched a plastic bucket of sawdust and within his grip it looked deadly. His hair was braided and he wore a blue jumpsuit.

When he spoke, his voice was deep and soft. “What do you want?”

Caden wanted many things. He wanted to slay a dragon. He wanted to return home and have his father be proud of him. More than anything, he wanted Chadwin to be alive. Right now, though, he just wanted to save someone. “To find Jane Chan.”

“Is that it?” the janitor said. His voice was the type that belonged to a commander of armies. “I think you seek honor, you seek fame and fortune.” He shook his head. “Leave the girl for the police, boy.”

As he moved, underneath his sleeve, Caden glimpsed the colorful tattoo of the great Sunsnake—the markings of the Summerlands' desert people. He stepped back and peered up at the man. He was like the others, then—a villain banished from the Greater Realm and collected by Ms. Primrose for her school.

Ambassadors from the desert peoples were rare in Razzon, but Caden's father, King Axel, welcomed them. His father traded weapons and wares for their books and their knowledge. Their battle strategies were unequaled.

Though limited, Caden had had enough contact to speak their flowing tongue. He used it now. “You're of the desert peoples,” he said. Caden studied the janitor's face, his tattoos. This man had been a villain. “You're like the others. You were banished.”

The janitor peered at Caden and answered in English. “Long before your time.” He swept a hand out to encompass the area. “Most people who fall from there to here, she eats. Those she likes, she lets teach. The teachers and staff you see are a wretched bunch. I was one of them. Given an undeserved gift, but through it, I've seen the error of who I was.” He looked down like he was ashamed. “My life is one of penance now.”

Hearing his words, Caden spoke softly. “If you seek penance, find it by helping me find Jane Chan.”

He shook his head. “What I seek will never be in my reach. So I work and humbly accept the gift of my prison. I can't be involved beyond my job and my son. I can't trust myself.” He turned as if to leave. “These police are good men, capable men. Let them find the girl.”

They had so little time. Caden had to be bolder. If the janitor sought redemption, better he work for it than hide behind his cleaning bucket. “Good, capable men of this
land won't find her. I will. She was stolen by dark magic. I know of magic; they don't. And her life will end by tonight's new moon if I don't find her. The villain of the math room told me so.”

The janitor flicked his gaze to the building, somewhere in the direction of the math room and Rath Dunn, and his frown deepened. He clutched the bucket and it made a crumpling noise. When he spoke again, his voice was softer. “You're a child, and a foolish one at that, to trust one like him.”

“I don't trust him,” Caden said. “But I think he knows who took her. Don't make me bargain with him for her life.”

The janitor turned back to Caden, blocking the sky, a crumbling tower of a man. “My life is one of quiet reflection and simple work. I don't get involved.”

If this man had done such bad deeds as to be banished, if he'd learned such guilt as to be sorry, he should help. “You told Officer Levine you saw her things. You are involved.”

He looked as sad as someone so large and seemingly dangerous could. “I lied, child.”

The statement was so casual, so easy, that Caden stepped back. In Razzon, honesty was upheld. Caden's father and brothers, the men and women of the Elite Guard, all lived and died by their words. So did the peoples of the neighboring kingdoms. Even Brynne's people with their twisting speech, their thieving, and their mischief were mostly truthful about it. People of the Greater Realm told
the truth. People of the Greater Realm held lies as heavy, serious things.