Glory Alley and the Star Riders (The Glory Alley Series) (92 page)

There was a long silence
.
Glory
and the
Wybbil
s stared at each through the barrier.

Finally,
Glory
said
, eyes looking at the ground.

"
I didn’t mean to steal the Elboni. After checking my rock collector
’
s guides and not finding it, I figured it wasn’t worth any money. Still, it was so beautiful
that
I thought it would make a nice
present for
my mom
.
By the time you
guys came along,
I
’d already given it to her
for her birthday
,
so
it’s really no longer mine to give away.

“Then, when
I saw what was behind the black door. You see, the
authorities came to
my
house
. They were taking
me and my
brothers and sister away. And my father got shot. He was dying, star riders, my dad was dying.” Her voice crackled. “So, even if you hate me, at least try to understand why I saw the Elboni as my last and only hope.

“
I still don’t know—did
it
really happen
?
Is my Dad okay?
Are my brothers and sister
still at home or have they been s
cattered
across Tull
a
h
?
”

The
star riders
looked at one another, raising their palms, apparently not knowing the answer themselves.

“What would you do in my place?
”
Glory asked
.
“Would you sacrifice your family for strangers
—
strangers who’ve done nothing but threatened you, pushed you around
,
and
got you
sentenced to de
ath
?”

Clash
squeezed her shoulder
.
“Anybody would have done what you did—that is if they had the courage to even try
.
Don’t feel bad for loving your family
, Glo
.
You’re the bravest girl I know.”

The t
hree
star riders stood there tight-lipped, each tapping a foot, looking every which way, except at Glory.

“
You can't blame a
girl
for
trying to
save h
er
family
,
”
Clash
said.
He
walk
ed
around the perimeter of the circle
.
“
Don’t be such
duds
-in-the-mud
.
Dare to
bend the rules just this one time.”

“
Careful,
” Glory warned.
“Stay away from the edge.”

“
Wybbil
s have families too,” Needle said
, holding up
the Nigh
t
burner, trying to light it
, managing only
a faint glow
.
“
The magic will be gone by morning, taking Wybb
and all our loved ones
with it.
”

Not paying attention
,
or
not
realizing
only
a thin rope of magic
held the star riders
,
Clash’s
foot step
ped
across the willow reeds into the circle
.

“No!
”

Glory’s warning came too late.
Bone didn’t waste a second
.
H
e pounced on
Clash’s foot,
dragging h
im
by the ankle
into the circle
. In a flash
,
he had Clash in the nook of his elbow, pressed tight against his chest.

“Battan!
”
he said
.
A
puff of smoke came from the Thunderbone.
A
knife
of bone
appeared out of nowhere,
twir
l
i
ng
in the air
, landing deftly in
Bone
’s outstretched hand. He set the blade against
Clash’s
throat
, drawing a trickle of blood.
“
I’m sorry it has come to this,
Rock Collector,
but ye have left us no choice.”

Glory froze looking across the barrier to
Clash
.
He looked
like a laptop dog
surrounded by hungry wolves
.

“
We’ve exhausted all
the
civilized options,” Needle hissed
.
“Time to
negotiate
in
the only way
a
Tullahn
can understand
.
”

“
About time,” said Bone. “
Yo
ur friend’s life in exchan
ge for the Elboni
.
”

Mind spinn
ing, Glory stood there in shock
, fighting for the right words, a clever way to get them out of this mess
.
The delay angered
the Wybbils even more
.
She could see their chests heav
ing.
Bone
pinned
Clash
’s elbow behind h
im,
causing him to cry out
in pain
and gasp for breath
.

“Stop it!
”
Glory yelled
.
“You’re hurting h
im
.”

“What’s h
is
pain compared to the suffering of Wybb
?
Hold h
im
down
fellow star riders
, while I strike the fatal blow
!”
Needle took hold of
Clash
’s shoulders, while White Feather took h
is
feet, pinning h
im
to the ground. “Our world be in great peril,” Needle pleaded. “If
either of
ye know where the Elboni be, tell us now
!”
Bone stood
with
his bony knife
raised overhead
, ready to bring it down into
Clash’s chest
.
Clash
turned h
is head away,
unable to
watch h
is
own bloody end
.
“One
Tullah
n life won’t make up for the millions of Wybbils about to die,
” Bone said, “B
ut it’s a start!
”
The knife raised a little higher
, rallying strength in order to deliver the fatal blow
.
“For the glory of Wybb!
”

“
You win!
”
she
rushed forward
into the circle
.
“I’ll tell you where it is!
I
’ll tell you where it is!”

Bone slowly lowered the
knife.

The snow
c
a
me down
like fluffy
cotton
balls, floating leisurely to the ground
.
How could such a pretty world be so
cold and indifferent
?

“What will happen to me if I confess now?” Glory said.

“The Law says a life-for-life,” White Feather said. “If any Wybbils have died on account of ye, that’s
the
price.”

“Th
ere,”
s
he pointed to the ground
.
“Take
the useless thing.
It’s been under your feet the whole time
.”

The
star riders
dived for it, digging in the dirt with
their
bare hands
, losing all
inte
rest in
Clash
.
Glory hurried
over to him, pulling him into a big bear hug.
“I’m so sorry
for dragging you into all of this
,” she sniffled
.
“I shouldn’t have let you get involved
.
I should
have returned the stone sooner
.
You were right the whole time.”