Balance Keepers #1: The Fires of Calderon (24 page)

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Authors: Lindsay Cummings

BOOK: Balance Keepers #1: The Fires of Calderon

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“Yeah, just a few more days,” Albert said, imagining his old Pap as a Balance Keeper and wondering what adventures he’d had long ago. “I wish I could stay. But I miss home, too.”

“I know just how you feel,” Pap said, a glimmer in his eye. He went back to playing his game and Albert watched as the Tiles stacked up. He thought of how great Leroy was at the game, and suddenly missed his buddy.

“I hear they’ve had clear skies over New York for days,” Pap said, playing a Tile as he uttered the words. “I wonder what could have caused that?”

Albert shrugged. He didn’t feel like telling Pap about everything just yet.

Pap moved the Tiles around in front of him, organizing them just so. “That’s a unique necklace you have there, son.”

Pap looked up from his Tiles and winked at Albert. Farnsworth growled playfully.

“Have you ever seen it before?” Albert asked.

“Wouldn’t remember if I had,” Pap said, but Albert saw, for the first time, that Pap had a cord around his neck. He guessed that Pap’s old Balance Keeper Tile was concealed just under his flannel shirt.

Later that week they would barbecue some burgers and play Tiles, all three Flynn men, while Farnsworth slept at Albert’s feet. Albert would also write a thank-you note addressed to the one friend he had had to leave behind in the Core. He might not have been here without Petra’s help.

But for now, for just that moment, Albert could be alone and walk and think about all that had happened. He touched the Master Tile around his neck. He might have discovered what it was, and what it could do. But it was still the strangest of them all. It made him wonder:
Am I destined to live in the Core for the rest of my life?

The thought of it saddened him then, because he did so love the town of Herman, Wyoming. He brightened at the thought of Guildackers and King Fireflies and besting Hoyt’s team, though. He didn’t have to make a decision now. Albert looked down at Farnsworth and smiled.

“What do you say we go have some fruitcake, huh, boy?”

As Albert returned home to his mom in New York City, two figures were meeting in the shadows of the Core. One was a man who wore a long, black cloak. No one had seen him in a very long time. The mere mention of his name was cause for concern, and so he was rarely mentioned at all, even in the highest ranks of the Core. The other was a person who everyone in the Core was aware of. The fact that this person was there, speaking to the most notorious man who had ever entered the Core, was a mystery.

The man in the black cloak spoke first.

“You were right to inform me of the Master Tile’s appearance after all these years.”

“Thank you, your grace.”

“The boy is strong,” the one in the black cloak said. “Stronger than I expected.”

“He’s not so special.”

“And yet he made short order of all my work in Calderon. He orchestrated quite a save.”

“I suppose he did.”

The two moved farther back in the shadows, near the door to an unseen Realm of the Core.

The cloaked man continued: “The longer Albert Flynn has the Master Tile, the more powerful he becomes. And you and I both know the only way
we
can control the Master Tile is if the boy dies in one of the Realms.”

“Timing must be perfect, your grace,” the other voice said. “Or the power will not transfer from him to you.”

“Let’s see how he does when the Ponderay Realm is in chaos and his First Unit has fled.”

“That will take some time and planning.”

A gruesome smile appeared on the cloaked man’s face.

“So start planning.”

The cloaked man began walking toward the entry to the Realm of Ponderay, and as he went he pulled his own Tile out and observed its shiny black surface.

The Core fell silent but for an echoing laughter that rang through the night, which ended with the sound of a slamming door.

Acknowledgments

I’
ve dreamed about writing an acknowledgments section in a book since I was a little girl. Now it’s here, and it’s actually REAL, and there are so many people I have to thank for it. Thank you to my stupid years of illness, which led me to writing. Here’s to you, chronic fatigue: I WIN. YOU LOSE. HAHAHA!

To my lord and savior Jesus Christ, who gave me the drive to never, never quit.

A million thanks and hugs to my amazing editors, Katie Bignell and Katherine Tegen, who changed my life and made my dreams come true when they said YES to Albert’s story. You both have put so much love and care into this, and into my writing career. Working with you has been above and beyond RIDICULOUSLY AWESOME.

To my dear friend, author Patrick Carman, whose genius goes without saying, who looked at a little “nobody” like me and decided to give me a chance. You are my Yoda, my Mr. Miyagi, my Magic 8 ball with all the right answers.

To my agent, Louise Fury, who is a book goddess as well as a book rock star. You are the dream agent—an answer to many prayers, and I’ll forever consider you a part of my family! You are the BEST agent in the entire world!

To Peter Rubie, who helped make this all happen. Thank you!

To the cover designers, Joel Tippie and Tom Forget at Katherine Tegen Books, who are amazing. To the illustrator, Kevin Keele, for being ridiculously talented.

The entire team at Katherine Tegen books, who made this book SHINY.

To my best friend, Cherie Stewart, who helps keep me sane and reads all my early drafts. To my husband, Josh Price, who listens to my ramblings about the publishing world for hours without interrupting. To Abby Haxel and Landon Davies, for being beautiful book nerds. To Karen, Lauren, and Don Cummings, for all of your endless love and support. To the Ryan family, aka the in-laws, for more love and support! To my extended family for all the prayer and support. Thanks to Jen Gray, who is my soul sister and Mini-Me. I love you, girly! To my dogs Hurley, Kai, and Kimber, who were the inspiration behind Farnsworth.

Many thanks to the ladies at my Tuesday bible study, for praying for me for so many years. To DFWcon, my Texas bookish group (you ladies rock), the YA Valentines, and the YA Rebels. The Burleson family, for being so supportive of my dreams. The book-blogging community, for rocking at life. And special thanks to my army of #Booknerdigans. You know who you are, and you’ve made this journey a blast!

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

About the Author

LINDSAY CUMMINGS
is a book blogger and the author of the teen series the Murder Complex. She lives in Texas with two German shepherds, one wolf cub who isn’t very smart, a horse named Dan the Man, and a husband named Josh. She eats too many hot Cheetos and can’t stop dyeing her hair crazy colors. You can visit her online at www.lindsaycummingsbooks.com.

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Credits

Cover design by Tom Forget

Copyright

Katherine Tegen Books is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

BALANCE KEEPERS #1: THE FIRES OF CALDERON

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

www.harpercollinschildrens.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Cummings, Lindsay.

The fires of Calderon / Lindsay Cummings.—First edition.

pages cm.—(Balance keepers ; #1)

Summary: “Eleven-year-old Albert Flynn is trained to restore balance to the hidden earthly realms that have fallen into chaos and threaten to destroy the world”—Provided by publisher.

ISBN 978-0-06-227518-9 (hardback)

[1. Adventure and adventurers—Fiction. 2. Magic—Fiction. 3. Friendship—Fiction. 4. Imaginary creatures—Fiction. 5. Animals, Mythical—Fiction.] I. Title.

PZ7.C91466Fir 2014

2014001888

[Fic]—dc23

CIP

EPub Edition © AUGUST 2014 ISBN: 9780062275202

14 15 16 17 18
CG/RRDH
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1