“We should write,” Kendra said, smiling Rafael, “but I’m in a traveling carnival.”
“I’ll address my letters to the most exciting girl in the world,” Rafael said, grinning back. “I’m sure they’ll find you.”
“Or, I’ll hand them to her when they come to me,” Eleada said with a wink.
“Exciting,” Ben said with a laugh. “Rafa said exciting, not exacerbating.”
“Big word for a little man,” Eleada said, squinting down at Ben. “And don’t even think about writing me.”
“Write?” Ben said, leaning back to look up at Eleada. “Why would I write when I can come see you?”
“Is that a threat?” Eleada said, raising her chin.
“Nope,” Ben said, holding Eleada’s gaze. “It’s better than a threat. It’s an aspiration.”
“I’m sorry,” Leanna said, stepping over to Alex. “It was me who dropped the ride on you.”
“You weren’t yourself,” Alex said, his voice forceful, yet forgiving.
“That’s the thing,” Leanna said, staring at the ground, tears in her eyes. “I was myself. My worst self. If the noise of the ride crashing down hadn’t drawn the other carnies so quickly, I don’t know what I might have done. If it weren’t for you and your friends, I don’t know what might have become of me.”
“Yes, we are all very thankful,” Nathan said, stepping up and taking Leanna’s hand.
“Very thankful,” Leanna said, looking up as she squeezed Nathan’s fingers in her own.
“Thank you, in particular,” Nathan said as used his free hand to shake Alex’s.
“We’re very thankful to all of you, as well,” Victoria said as she cantered over to stand beside Alex. While it was clear to Alex why they might be thankful to Eleada and Kendra and Nathan, he knew Victoria was thankful in a different manner toward Leanna. He knew because he was thankful to her for the same reason.
“That thing you asked me to see about is all seen to,” Eleada said with a mysterious tone as she shook Alex’s hand.
“Thank you,” Alex said.
“What thing is that?” Victoria asked, looking quizzically at Alex.
“It’s a surprise,” Alex said, trying to keep his face from betraying what that surprise might be.
“A well-deserved surprise, from what I understand,” Eleada said with a husky laugh.
There were goodbye hugs and more than a few goodbye kisses, which Alex took as a good excuse to kiss Victoria again. Now that he had finally realized nearly any excuse for kissing was a good one, he intended to come up with as many as possible.
As the carnies piled into their colorful trucks, Mr. Apollo stepped around a dust-crusted Ford flatbed and walked toward Alex and the Guild. He moved slowly, using his cane to compensate for a limp in his left leg, acquired from Eleada’s arrow during the fight in the Silent Swamp. As he stepped up to Alex, Mr. Apollo removed his black-felt, stove-pipe hat and held it in his hands. His eyes were bloodshot, his face drawn tight. He paused for a moment, seeming to collect his thoughts.
“Alex,” Mr. Apollo finally said. “I want to thank you. You, and Victoria, and your brave friends,”
“I’m sorry,” Alex said, knowing Mr. Apollo would know the source of his sorrow.
“You bear no fault,” Mr. Apollo said with a sigh. “I am indebted to you for finally freeing me. Me and all the others. Without your actions, and those of your friends, my friends and I would still be under her sway.” He paused again, swallowing slowly. “I don’t know if I ever really loved her, or if it was all her dark magic. An odd feeling not to know what is real in your own heart. If ever you and your friends are in need, you have only to ask.”
“We could use a carnival next summer,” Alex said with a grin.
“Yes,” Mr. Apollo said, the tightness in his face loosening into the hint of a smile. “I believe that can be arranged.”
“Take care of yourself,” Victoria said as she stepped forward to hug Mr. Apollo.
“And you, the same,” Mr. Apollo said, stepping back from Victoria’s embrace, donning his hat with a flourish and showman’s smile. He turned smartly on his heel and strode toward the lead truck of the carnival caravan, his limp a little less pronounced.
Alex and the Guild waved to the carnies and watched them climb into their trucks and begin the long drive out of the Rune Valley, out into the world beyond, and on toward the next secluded well of magical energy that would become their temporary home. As they watched the dust trails of the trucks billow in the air, Clark ushered in the second momentous event of the day.
“Well, so then, are we all ready for the big transformation?” Clark said, standing beside Daphne, holding her hand. After their miraculous kiss the day before, Daphne seemed oddly insistent on holding Clark’s hand at every opportunity. Clark seemed to think he was in a waking dream and simply smiled like he hoped he would never wake up every time she grasped his massive palm with her petite fingers.
“Blazing banshee bogeys,” Daphne cursed. “I almost forgot.”
“Seriously?” Ben asked. “With all the constant reminding, how could you forget?”
“She seems to have something else on her mind,” Rafael said, nodding toward Daphne and Clark’s entwined fingers. Daphne looked at Rafael and stuck out her tongue.
“You’ve all had something else on your minds,” Nina said with a slight frown, “and now it’s time to have something more important on your minds so I can get something off my mind and we can all start thinking about more vital things.”
“Right,” Alex said, chuckling at his sister’s words. “Would you like to do the honors, Victoria?”
“I would be honored to do the honors,” Victoria said, turning and looking solemnly at Nina.
“Do you, Nina Ravenstar, swear by the Runes of the Runestones to always abide by all the rules of the Young Sorcerers Guild?”
“I do and I will,” Nina said, straightening her back and standing to her full height, augmented by leaning forward on her toes.
“All those in favor of Nina being accepted as a full member of the Guild, say, ‘Aye,’” Victoria said.
“Aye!” everyone shouted together.
“Unanimously approved,” Alex said to Nina. “Welcome to the Young Sorcerers Guild, Sis. How does it feel?”
Nina cocked her head in thought. Scrunched up her face. Then sighed. “Not very different, actually.”
“What were you expecting, a parade?” Rafael said in a teasing tone.
“Parade?” Ben repeated, excitement in his eyes. “A parade is an excellent idea.”
“You’re right,” Alex said, grabbing his sister and hoisting her into the air by her waist. It took only a moment before everyone else in the Guild grabbed a limb and held Nina aloft as they made their way back along the edge of the field toward town.
“I want a parade for every birthday,” Nina said, laughing as the others carried her aloft.
At the front of the field, near where the main entrance to the carnival had been, and a short distance behind the Town Hall, Alex spotted a group of people. His father was among them. Mayor McClint stood in front of Alex’s father, shouting and pointing in the direction of the Guild and their parade. Behind the mayor stood Anna, Dillon, and the rest of the Mad Mages. They looked very smug and Alex could guess why. Technically, Alex and the entire Guild were all still grounded and supposed to be confined to their homes until the conclusion of the investigation into their supposed burglary of the town museum.
It seemed Alex’s father had not informed Mayor McClint of the decision to allow the Guild to forgo their confinement in celebration of their victory at the cave the day before. From what Alex’s father had told them the previous night, Mayor McClint was disinclined to give much credence to his description of the events at the cave.
Alex and the Guild saving the town from the Shadow Wraith again wasn’t as appealing a story as Alex and the Guild getting caught in the middle of robbing the town museum. Of course, Alex and the Guild had not stolen anything, and with Eleada’s help, Alex had returned the stolen property that had fallen into his possession.
“Are you ready for your birthday present?” Alex asked his sister as he began the third exceptional event of the day.
“Does it taste like chocolate?” Nina asked, still giggling as the Guild neared the rear of the Town Hall where his father, Mayor McClint, and the Mad Mages were clustered.
“Nope, but you’re going to like the smell of it,” Alex said as he reached in his pocket and clasped his fingers around a coin. Then he spoke the rune-word for fire as he focused on the coin in his pocket — the coin that he had linked to his great-great grandfather’s tracking coins — coins that now burst into flame.
Anna and Dillon screamed and shouted as the pockets of their shorts smoked and flames flared up around them. Alex and the Guild could not help but laugh.
Alex causally pulled his hand from his pocket as they passed by. Anna and Dillon slapped at their shorts, each yanking a coin from their pockets and tossing them on the ground, staring at the currency like it might combust again at any moment.
“Let me see those coins,” Alex’s father said, bending down to pick the coins up from the grass. As Alex’s father stood up straight and examined the coins, a frown crossed his face. “These are the magical tracking coins that were stolen from the town museum. How did you two come to have these in your pockets?”
“What?” Mayor McClint said, lumbering over to stand next to his son. “What stolen coins? Let me look at those. Stolen coins in my son’s pocket. Nonsense.”
Alex and the others continued to carry Nina past as Alex’s father held Anna and Dillon in his steely gaze. Alex glanced back and caught Anna’s eye for a moment. He didn’t smile. He didn’t laugh. He simply held her eyes for a moment.
She wouldn’t be able to explain how she had the stolen coin in her pocket and she couldn’t possibly blame Alex. Neither he, nor anyone from the Guild, had been near her in two days. Eleada had, however, and she was as deft at slipping things into pockets as, she had assured Alex, she was at slipping them out of pockets.
“That was the best birthday present ever,” Nina said with a laugh once they were out of earshot. She was still laughing as they finally lowered her to the ground. Alex took Victoria’s hand as they walked side by side down the sidewalk.
“So what do you want to do with the rest of your birthday, Sis?” Alex asked. “Keeping in mind, of course, that we have to go home and pretend to be grounded and confined to the Guild House.”
“I was thinking about another root beer float,” Nina said, “but I suppose I could be convinced to spend the afternoon pouring over some old burnt up magical map trying to figure out how to get it to reveal the location of the Rune Tree, so we could get into more trouble trying to find it than we’ve managed to get into so far.”
“Funny, that’s exactly what I was going to suggest,” Alex said as he and the others laughed.
“Hereditary,” Ben said. “Crazy runs in their family.”
“Apparently, Alex wasn’t the only one dropped on his head,” Rafael said.
“Hmm, maybe he’s a bad influence,” Clark said.
“Maybe she’s the gorping bad influence,” Daphne added.
“It’s entirely possible Alex and Nina are a good influence on all of us,” Victoria said, giving Alex’s hand a small squeeze. The others, Alex and Nina included, turned and looked at her in astonishment. “I said it was possible. I didn’t say it was very likely.”
Alex laughed again and the others joined in as they headed back to the Guild House and the beginning of what he hoped would be a great adventure.
###
After a childhood spent whizzing through the galaxy in super sleek starships and defeating treacherously evil monsters in long forgotten kingdoms, G.L. Breedon grew up to write science fiction and fantasy novels. He lives with his wife in Brooklyn, NY.
For more information please visit:
Table of Contents
Chapter 9: Carnival Confections
Chapter 10: Carnival Conversations
Chapter 15: Museum Misadventure
Chapter 16: Feinted and Foiled
Chapter 17: Beyond the Barrier