Knights of Light (The Conjurors Series Book 2) (7 page)

You never told me of
this. What does he want?

“We don’t know. He took
two of the oldest in our community last season. He sent some strange invisible
creatures to take three of our children several nights past, but we were able
to drive them back. A life was lost in the battle, and several were wounded.”

“Why didn’t you ask for
help?” Valerie asked.

“We ask no favors from
Conjurors, and grant no favors in return. We wish to live apart from your
politics and corruption.”

“Then why help us now?”
Henry asked.

Elden’s face softened. “Azra
saved my daughter from death with healing waters from her horn. There is
nothing she may not ask of me.”

Azra bowed her head, and
her mane shimmered in the firelight. Valerie was starting to think that there
wasn’t anyone on the Globe whose life hadn’t been touched by Azra. Though
Zaki’s life had been lost tonight to protect her, she had saved Azra’s. It
didn’t make up for his loss, but it was something to comfort her and be
grateful for.

“For tonight, there are beds here for you. In the
morning, we travel,” Elden said.

Valerie tossed and turned that night, thinking about
Reaper, until at last something clicked. Reaper was the name that Zunya had
mentioned when he found Valerie on Earth. Whoever he was, Zunya answered to
him. She couldn’t stop the chill that came over her, trying to imagine an evil
powerful enough that even Zunya obeyed.

Valerie woke the next day physically
stronger. Still, her magic was absent—it was like missing a limb. Even on Earth,
she could feel the magic trapped inside her, even if she couldn’t access it.
She quickly met with Thai and Chisisi to tell them what had happened, but her
visit was brief. They were making arrangements to ship Zaki’s body back to
Egypt, and they were about to talk to the police about what had happened.

Her mind returned to the
Globe, and she stepped back into the little room where they had met Elden the
night before. Henry was pacing by the fire, which had diminished to glowing
embers. “Finally, you’re up. I knew you needed your rest, but we’ve got to get
to civilization so we can see if there’s any news about Kanti.”

She rubbed her eyes and
nodded. “Let’s get moving. Where are Azra and Elden?”

“No idea,” he said.

He opened a door at the
end of the room, and Valerie’s eyes widened at what lay beyond it. They were in
the middle of a city entirely settled in the branches of the trees. Houses were
perched at different levels, one or two per giant tree. The roads were made of
entwined branches that formed living walkways and platforms from tree to tree.
Wildflowers in glittering shades of pink, yellow, and purple bloomed
everywhere, making the city look as if it was decorated for a holiday. Long
ropes woven from a golden material formed ladders that fell to the ground,
which was about one hundred yards below.

The people were busy,
children racing among the branches, adults pulling wheelbarrows and selling
food from little stalls carved into niches of the trees. They heard the gentle
clop of Azra’s hooves come up behind them.

It is a wonder, isn’t
it?

“Are these people—elves?”
Henry asked hesitantly.

In human legends,
that is what they are called. But the People of the Woods would be very
offended if you used that term.

“This place is
beautiful,” Valerie said, breathing in the scent of flowers and growing things.

“I thank you for your
words,” Elden said, approaching them from a nearby stall. He handed them a
doughy food that crumbled in Valerie’s mouth. It was warm, salty, and filling.

“How did you ever build
this place? Magic?” Henry asked.

“Some. But mainly from
patience. We have guided branches and vines into place over hundreds of years
to form this city. We never rob a tree of life, but only encourage it to grow
in a direction of our suggestion. Now come, we must move quickly. Word of your
arrival has begun to spread, and there are those who are calling for you to be
cast out before your human ways can spread among us like a disease. Or so they
believe.”

Valerie guessed that he
added his last comment for Azra’s benefit, but she knew that they should be
grateful for his help, however grudgingly it was given. Elden led the way down
a vine-covered path, and they hurried after him. The road wasn’t easy to
navigate, because it wasn’t smooth like the roads on Earth. At one point,
Henry’s foot caught on a root and he fell to the ground.

“You okay?” she asked.

He dusted himself off. “Not
the best city for those of us who are spatially challenged.”

She had a prickly
feeling on her neck, and she saw two people with long, dark hair glaring at
them from a nearby branch. She wondered if Henry really had been clumsy, or if
they had “encouraged” the root to trip him.

She and Henry hurried to
catch up with Azra and Elden, who had stopped at the edge of the platform that
they were currently crossing. They joined them next to a golden rope ladder that
went over the edge and fell toward the ground. But they were so high in the
trees that the ladder disappeared into fog, and Valerie couldn’t see the land
below.

“Here you are. It’s
perfectly safe to jump, but most prefer the ladder,” Elden said.

Henry’s eyes went wide. “Leap
over the edge? Or go down a ladder so high off the ground? Are you crazy?”

Azra’s laugh tinkled in
Valerie’s mind.
It’s safe. Allow me to go first,
she said, and she
galloped off the edge, swallowed by the mist.

“You can’t be serious!”
Henry exclaimed.

“You’re on the Globe
now. Things don’t have the same rules here. This isn’t the last time that
you’ll have to make a leap of faith. Might as well start today,” she said, and
gave him a nudge.

He wiped sweaty palms on
his pants. “All right. I’ll go next. Thank you for your help, Elden.”

Slowly, he climbed down
the ladder, gripping the rungs so tightly that his knuckles turned white. After
a few steps down, the fog swallowed him up.

“You pretended to be
brave for your brother, but I can hear your heart pounding,” Elden said to her.
“This fear, it is why you will not lead?”

“No, it isn’t only that
I’m afraid. You don’t know me well. I’m not the leading type—what if I make the
wrong decision and people get hurt? I’m not sure I could live with myself.”

“You do not understand
what it means to be a vivicus. It is a manifestation of magic that resides only
in one with a completely pure heart. That is why it is so rare, and why
everyone expects you to lead. It is impossible that you could lead us astray
through selfishness or corruption. You have honor.”

“I can’t say for certain
how incorruptible I am, since I’ve never been tested. But even if what you say
is true, there’s no way I could ever lead other people. I can barely lead
myself.”

“You have been tested.
You had the opportunity to justly destroy your greatest enemy, and instead you
saved her life,” Elden said.

Valerie was surprised
that he had heard of her encounter with Sanguina. If the People of the Woods
knew, removed from the world up in their trees, then everyone must know.

She shifted
uncomfortably, and Elden examined her closely. “I can see you are not ready to
accept this truth. But if the day comes when you are, you will have allies in
my people.”

“Thank you,” she
murmured, not sure what else to say. “And thank you for your help and
protection.”

He nodded in acknowledgment and farewell. She stepped
to the edge of the platform and thought about going down as Henry had, rung by
rung. But then she shrugged, sucked in a big gulp of air, and took a swan dive
into the fog.

For several
heart-stopping moments, wind rushed past her, blowing her hair back and
stinging her eyes. But then she slowed, and the fog lifted. She was floating through
the air above Arden, heading gently to the surface. In the distance, she saw
the streets of Silva, which was the capital city in Arden, and knew that they
must be landing in a nearby forest. When her feet touched the ground, Henry was
waiting for her with a huge grin on his face.

“That was incredible.
Let’s go back and do it again,” he joked. “Azra went on ahead. She said it was
urgent to inform the Guild Masters about the threat that Elden told us about—Reaper.
But we just have to follow this path back to the city, and she said you’d know the
way to the Society of Imaginary Friends dorm from there.”

They headed down a well-worn
path through the trees and came out at the edge of The Horseshoe of Guilds. As
they approached the walkway, Valerie explained about the guilds, that each represented
a different profession, ranging from music to weaponry to being the imaginary
friend of children on Earth. Conjurors apprenticed to a guild when they were
young and learned their trade in order to give back to the community.

“There’s the Society of Imaginary
Friends,” she said, pointing to the most interesting of the buildings.
Waterslides came out the window, and children chased each other through doors
and out windows, screaming with laughter. “That’s the guild where Cyrus and
Kanti are apprenticed.”

“Speaking of Kanti,
let’s go find Cyrus to see if he’s heard anything more.”

She led him through the
streets, pointing out different guilds and buildings as they passed each one.
As fascinating as Silva was, she could see that most of his attention was still
preoccupied with thoughts of Kanti. She wished that his first glimpse of the
Globe had been under happier circumstances, as hers had been.

She stopped in front of
a tall, cylindrical building in different shades of blue, which was the dorm
for the Society of Imaginary Friends. “This is where we’ll live,” she said. “It’s
your home now, too.”

“Val!” Cyrus came
tearing out of the front door and swung her around in a joyful hug. She
squeezed him back. He then turned to Henry and they clasped hands and slapped
each other on the back. Cyrus’s blue eyes sparkled with happiness. “I can’t
tell you how good it is to see you guys. I’ve been on pins and needles all day.”

“How is she?” Henry
asked.

“Kanti’s the same.
Dulcea, our dorm matron, is talking to her mom every day.”

“My ears are burning!”
Dulcea said in her sweet voice, whizzing down the building on a platform that
she was steering with her mind. Her blonde hair glinted in the sunlight, and her
wide smile was a welcome sight.

“Valerie! And you must
be Henry! This is so wonderful. I do hope you’ll come to me like your sister
does if you need anything at all. Your room is all set up—you’ll be sharing
with Cyrus.” Dulcea almost bubbled over in her enthusiasm.

“Um, thank you,” Henry
said, taking a small step backward. Valerie could feel through their connection
that he was a little overwhelmed.

“Why don’t I show you
our room? Then Val and I will show you around properly,” Cyrus suggested.

Henry nodded gratefully,
and they zoomed up to Cyrus’s floor. Dulcea and Valerie caught the next
platform.

“I’ll join you. How are
you—really?” Dulcea asked.

“Tired and worried about
Kanti, but very happy to be back. How have things been with you? Last time you
visited us, you said you were in the middle of your big thesis paper on finding
your passion through imagination.”

“It’s been frustrating.
Our Guild Grand Master isn’t supportive of my theories. I’m going to need a lot
of data to prove myself to him.”

“He sounds tough.”

Dulcea laughed. “Rastelli
is probably the least tough person I’ve ever met. He’s hard to pin down on
anything. But he isn’t someone who likes change. And any time I try to talk
seriously with him, he always gets silly. Which is funny, but not helpful. I
guess it’s why he’s Grand Master though—he’s a big kid.”

“I know how determined
you are. You’ll win him over.”

“It’s so good to have
you back, Valerie.”

She hugged Dulcea.

“I left some treats in
your room. I remembered how much you loved my chocolates,” Dulcea said.
Dulcea’s magic was expressed in her desserts, and they were the most delicious candies
Valerie had ever eaten in her life.

The two parted ways, and
Valerie went to her room, now empty, missing her roommate. As she stepped inside,
she remembered the first time she had met Kanti. She was in the room, dancing
to hip-hop. After Valerie got over the shock of her strange appearance, the two
quickly bonded. The room seemed lonely without her.

Her side of the room was
untouched, and Pathos, her sword, lay on her bed. She strapped on her sheath
and slid Pathos into it. It was good to have it by her side again. It was as much
a part of her as her magic, and she had missed its security.

She lay on her bed and
touched the crystal that would connect her to Thai and was instantly by his
side. He was sleeping in a twin bed in a small room. His eyes were shadowed,
and he slept the sleep of the exhausted. But he must have sensed something,
because he woke up, and he smiled when he saw her.

“I was dreaming about you,”
he said. “We were arm wrestling. You beat me.”

“How romantic,” she said
sarcastically, but actually she thought it really was.

“How are you and Henry?
Everything okay?”

“It is now. We’re safe
in our dorm. You don’t need to worry about us. Where are you, anyway?”

“I’m staying in Henry’s
old bedroom. Joe seemed fragile after Henry left, and I didn’t want to leave
him by himself. Chisisi is taking Zaki’s body back to Egypt today.”

She was chilled by his
words. With all the excitement of the past couple of days, she hadn’t processed
the full horror of what had happened to him. He was murdered. The word made
bile rise in her throat.

“What is it?” Thai
asked.

“He wouldn’t have been
in danger if it weren’t for Henry and me. He died because of us.”

“Don’t do that,” he
said, sitting up. “You know that he was part of a larger battle against the
Fractus. They were more after him than either of you, from where I was sitting.
After all, that woman who jumped on the roof of our car tried to kidnap him, but
she left you alone.”

“I can’t believe someone
would murder him. It’s like something out of an awful movie. I don’t want to
believe it’s real. And even though we didn’t know him that well, I can’t
believe he’s gone.”