The Mapkeeper and the Rise of the Wardens (3 page)

Her heart continued to pound in her chest as she followed the four body guards out of the bleak, unmarked building into the icy morning air. Her head spun, unable to discern whether this was all real.

Snow had begun to fall while they were inside. It came down in light drifts, flouring her hair with soft, fuzzy flakes. The helicopter was waiting right where they’d left it. They filed in, and Lucy found herself whisked away above the trees through the dense, silent sheets of snowfall toward Algid, her mind a complete muddled mess.

“Where did they take you?” Luke asked, wide-eyed.

“Was it cool being in a helicopter?” Mack prodded, unable to contain his enthusiasm as the three siblings walked home after school. It was their first opportunity to be alone together since Lucy had returned.

All day since being dropped off back at Frostbite High, she had endured relentless questioning about where she went, what her job at the Capital would entail, and what Mr. Quincy was like. She’d gone from a quiet girl her classmates labelled “antisocial” to a celebrity in a few short hours.

With each question she delivered the generic, canned story Mr. Quincy had provided: “In a few weeks I will begin working on Mr. Quincy’s personal staff, but my exact job description wasn’t revealed yet. I’ll work part-time at the Capital, spending the rest of my time at home here in Algid,” she recited again and again

“What was Mr. Quincy like?” everyone wanted to know.

“He seemed nice enough,” she had choked out several dozen times behind an exhausting false smile. She recoiled inside each time she forced it out. Her long-held dislike of Mr. Quincy had not decreased since meeting him face-to-face. Rather, it was stronger than ever.

She’d felt like she was in a haze, just going through the motions of being alive since the encounter. Not having had time to process everything that had taken place, she still wasn’t convinced that it was all real. The constant attention was starting to give her a headache.

“The helicopter ride was pretty cool,” Lucy admitted to her brothers, grateful to be alone with them at last as they walked home from school. She glanced over her shoulder, then around at the little log cabins of Algid. She didn’t dare reveal anything out in the open. “I’ll have to tell you guys the details later.”

A vision flashed across her mind: Mr. Quincy and a staff of white-garbed, antiseptic, soulless Commune employees tracking her position from somewhere in the Capital. A thin bespectacled woman with a too-tight bun rattled off reports to Mr. Quincy, who sat behind his team of professional stalkers, sipping a beverage and barking orders as one of his goons rubbed his shoulders. She shuddered, willing the unpleasant image to vanish from her mind.

They walked for several minutes in silence. Lucy stuffed her gloved hand into the pocket of her jeans and touched the map. She was excited to discover that it grew warm beneath her fingertips! She admitted to herself that the mystery of the map was intriguing, but her suspicion edged out her curiosity. If Mr. Quincy supported something, she would remain guarded against it.

“Do you think Dad knows about my new assignment?”

“There’s no way he couldn’t. The whole town knows by now!” Mack grinned. He was right—there had been an immense turnout that morning at the high school. They took their usual route home through town, but today, clusters of finger-pointing people lined the sidewalk ahead.

“Let’s go this way.” Lucy grabbed Luke’s coat sleeve and tugged him off the sidewalk into the snow-dusted woods. Mack followed.

The quiet hum of small-town life diminished as they trod along a narrow deer trail into the solitude of the deep woods. They walked in silence for several minutes, listening for signs of life among the trees. They knew this part of the woods well, and a few minutes later, Lucy came upon a familiar, thick fallen tree trunk and plopped down on it.

She scanned the surroundings, straining her ears through the silence. Her brothers fell to their seats on the log beside her. When she was sure all was quiet, she spoke in a whisper.

“It was insane! They gave me this map that has supposed magical powers and is a portal to another universe.” She scrunched up her face in disbelief. She knew her level-headed brothers would have a hard time believing it, too.

“Umm…” Mack and Luke looked at one another, incredulous. Lucy pulled the map out of her pocket. It began to glow as she unfolded it on her lap. Her brothers’ eyes bulged.

“See? It kind of glows and warms up when I touch it. It’s sort of like… like it responds to me. When I come near it, I feel it pulling me in…” She trailed off, losing herself in the incredible detail of the map. The inked black lines were thicker where less precision was necessary, but fine as spider silk in areas of minute detail, like the A-frame wood-trimmed houses of the village. The thought of exploring the map’s power both enticed and frightened her.

“So… why you?” Luke’s question jerked her back into the moment.

“I have no idea! Apparently the map chooses its keeper. See?” She pointed to her name at the bottom right corner of the map. Her brothers seemed suspicious, but impressed. “They said the previous Mapkeeper held the position for over fifteen years! But I can’t figure out what I did to be chosen…” She trailed off. She felt as though the past day were nothing but a dream, unable to wrap her head around the possibility that this was real. She rubbed her forehead—the dull ache in her head was beginning to develop into a pounding headache.

“So what does the Mapkeeper do, anyway?” Mack leaned in to get a closer look.

“They said I’m supposed to try to figure out how to read signs the map puts out. How to make the map work for me. If the people of the other world, called Praxis, need help, I guess somehow the map lets me know. And then I’m supposed to be able to use the map as a portal and do whatever they need me to. I don’t know—it’s as confusing to me as it is to you. I don’t even know if I believe it’s real. It’s crazy, right? It can’t be real.”

“I don’t like that Mr. Quincy is involved.” Luke voiced what they were all thinking. “We should tell Dad. This is all way too weird.”

“Please, don’t tell anyone else!” Lucy interjected, a chill of fear creeping up her spine. “I’m not supposed to tell anyone at all, so I’m trusting you both not to tell anyone. Mr. Quincy said if I lose his trust he’ll move me to the Capital!” A knot formed in her stomach at the thought.

“Don’t worry Lucy, I won’t tell a soul.” Luke met her gaze.

“Me either,” Mack promised, wide-eyed. They knew better than to test the Commune. “I still can’t believe that Mr. Quincy himself came to talk to you. It
must
be a big deal in one way or another,” Mack mused, rubbing his chin in thought.

Overwhelmed, Lucy re-folded the map and slipped it back into her pocket as she stood. She glanced over her shoulder, half expecting to see Commune agents creeping out from behind tree trunks and coming for her. She shuddered. She still couldn’t believe the map was magical. This had to be some sort of Commune ploy. A terrible trick.

“We should keep moving. Who knows if we’re being watched,” she muttered. Her brothers must have been thinking the same thing, as they were already scanning the surrounding woods too.

“Don’t worry Luce, I’ve gotten pretty good at fighting since Drew and I started wrestling after school,” Mack offered. His mention of his best friend Drew was a momentary distraction.

“Is he coming over today?” Lucy asked.

“Yeah, he’s coming by after soccer practice to watch the Form of the Nation address. I told my coach I wouldn’t make it to practice today because of what happened to you—he understood.”

“Oh, that’s right, the Form of the Nation is tonight! I completely forgot. Can’t believe it’s that time of year already,” Luke said. They made their way along the deer path through the woods toward their side of town.

“Maybe I should just bury the map in the woods,” Lucy blurted out. “If I ditch it, I won’t have to worry about it, right? I don’t want this thing anyway.”

“Uh… yeah, I guess…” Luke agreed with hesitation.

“I don’t know, that might be a bad idea,” Mack retorted. “What if Mr. Quincy retaliates somehow?”

Lucy deliberated for a moment, considering on one hand potential punishments the Commune might dole out if she ditched the map… but held back by the mysterious connection she felt to it. Shaking her head to free herself from the inundation of unsettling thoughts, on impulse she yanked the map out of her pocket and ran several dozen paces off the deer trail, stooping to dig a hole in the snow. She pressed the map deep into the drift and covered it, skimming her glove along the top of the flaky mound to even out the surface.

“There,” she announced, breathless and rosy-cheeked as she rejoined her brothers on the trail, brushing snow off her gloves. “I don’t want it. I’m leaving it here.”

They exchanged a look of uncertainty, but shrugged and fell into step beside their sister. The Barnes siblings emerged from the woods at a point where they would only have to pass a few houses to get home. By taking the trail through the woods, they had avoided the heart of town, which was sure to be overrun with nosy neighbors. Lucy set a brisk pace, head down and hands balled up in the pockets of her puffer jacket. The boys kept up.

“Hey there, Lucy! Heard you’re the newest celebrity in town!” Mr. Moscowe called from across the street. He was standing on his front porch beside his wife, waving frantically.

“Yes, Mr. Moscowe, I guess so!” She waved back and smiled without stopping.

Crunch crunch crunch
. Their rubber boots smashed footprints into the fresh pad of sidewalk snow. In a few minutes they would be home.

“Hey, Lucy!” Mrs. Beadleback appeared out of nowhere in front of them, layered up for the cold. Lucy jumped, startled. It was rare to see Mrs. Beadleback venture outside.
She must have been waiting to ambush us
, Lucy thought with irritation. “I saw you this morning at Frostbite! Where did Mr. Quincy take you? Is it true you’re going to the Capital for good?” The plump, middle-aged woman fell into step beside Mack. The Barnes siblings did not slow down.

“No Mrs. Beadleback, I will travel back and forth to the Capital, where I will work as a member of Mr. Quincy’s staff.”

Mrs. Beadleback was not discouraged. The short, squat woman scurried along beside the siblings, awkward beneath too many layers of outerwear. “How exciting! Why were you chosen? Did they tell you?” She scampered around behind them and popped her head in between Lucy and Luke, trying to insert herself into the group.

Lucy turned away from Mrs. Beadleback and rolled her eyes in Mack’s direction. They had almost reached the end of the block—just a left turn and a half-block until they were home. “I’m not sure why they chose me—they didn’t say. I’m sorry Mrs. Beadleback, but we have to get home. Nice seeing you!” She waved, putting the other arm around Luke and making a sharp turn at the corner of their street. Mrs. Beadleback had no choice but to accept the blatant dismissal. The woman shuffled home, no doubt with the intention of planning her next ambush.

“I’m nobody for seventeen years, and now all of a sudden everyone wants to be my best friend,” she complained under her breath to her brothers.

They could see their house now, and the little log cabin had never seemed so inviting! Several more faces peered out windows as they passed, and Lucy scanned the neighborhood, her senses heightened.

They set the fastest pace possible without breaking into a run. As they approached, she saw their father Peter step out onto the porch. He stood with his arms crossed, his posture straight as a match stick. Worry lines creased his face, though his expression was devoid of emotion.

“Hi, Dad!” Lucy called. They ran the final steps across their snow-covered yard, past the big evergreen tree and up the front steps. Lucy gave her dad a hug, relief washing over her. He returned the embrace, squeezing her against his chest.

“I heard you had a busy day today, Luce! Hi, boys. Let’s go inside and you can tell me all about it.” Peter peered up and down the quiet street before ushering his children inside, closing and locking the front door. A light snowfall began to coat the town of Algid.

Lucy and her brothers removed their jackets and boots and hurried to the living room to settle in and discuss the day’s happenings as Peter plopped into his favorite armchair. He wore one of his standard plaid work shirts and jeans with thick woolen socks. He blew on a steaming mug of coffee as his children dove onto the couch, enfolding themselves in blankets and sinking into the doughy cushions.

“Let’s choose our words with care, kids. You know what I mean by that,” he said in a low voice, giving them a ‘don’t say anything stupid’ look. “I was hard at work troubleshooting the outboard motor on a six-meter when my assistant Sam came running in and informed me not only that the Representative of the People was at Frostbite High, but that he’d selected my daughter for some prestigious honor. I dropped everything and Sam and I got to Frostbite as fast as we could, but by the time I arrived you’d already been whisked away. Some neighbors filled me in on everything that happened. I was about as shocked as I’m sure you were, Luce. At first.” His eyes were suddenly sad, focused on some far-off thought.

“It’s okay, Dad. They just needed to take me somewhere private to talk about my future job working part-time on Mr. Quincy’s staff in the Capital.” She looked down at her hands in her lap, desperate to tell her father what really happened that afternoon, but she knew it would have to wait until they were alone together. Her dad was right—they could be under close surveillance. The thought was both terrifying and infuriating.

It was clear that Peter understood, because he began to ask all the questions that would be expected of him.

“When will you start? Did Mr. Quincy say what your role will be? How will you travel between home and the Capital?” She provided the canned answers Mr. Quincy had instructed her to give. Peter’s act reached its climax when he announced, “Well, I am honored that my daughter was selected for this rare and prestigious opportunity!” Mack chuckled aloud. Lucy never thought they would hear their father praise the Commune, but she smacked Mack’s leg and he quieted. This was serious business.