Embrace (12 page)

Bird’s eyes were wide with disbelief, too, but he nudged Colin’s arm meaningfully.

“Yeah, I’m doing the right thing. I know,” said Colin. “This is just …” he paused. “So different than my life. Right now, I should be heading back to Cobbscott for the summer, and dealing with bullies, and meeting up with the Jendayas.” Colin sighed. That life was so far out of reach now.

He shook off his apprehensions and dug out his first aid kit, locating a cream that would heal the cut on his face. It stung to put on, but within seconds the bleeding had stopped and the wound had closed. Colin then took out Corny’s map.

“We should be at our destination tomorrow morning,” he told bird. An electric pulse shot through his nerves, as he thought of actually meeting the real Catrina.

“Abdo Remotus Aspectus,” he whispered.

His mind’s eye left the cave and raced to where Catrina lay sleeping. He had no problem locating her. She was clear to him now. He gazed into the glass coffin where she serenely slept.

A shadow hovering in the room stole Colin’s attention. A hooded figure edged closer to the coffin. A long knife sparkled in its hand.

“No. No. No!” screamed Colin.

Catrina’s eyes flew open, looking straight into his. She placed her hand on the inside of her glass coffin, gasping.

“Hurry, Colin. Please,” she begged.

A gloved hand covered her face from Colin’s view.

He lost control of his spell and instantly surrendered his contact with her. He arose, as if to depart.

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“I have to go. I can’t wait.”

Bird flew in front of Colin, attempting to stop him.

“I can’t wait,” argued Colin. “If I do, I’ll be too late!” Bird’s attempts to stop Colin failed. He stepped out into the valley, just as Nona bounded in front of him, trying to push him back into the cave and safety. Colin did not give Nona a second glance and took only a few steps when something grabbed hold of him, yanking him off the ground.

Colin came face to face with a Goblin.

An eerie grin spread over its red rock face.

“Straight to Eidolon with you,” its rough voice announced. The Goblins body wriggled along the ground, like a slug.

Colin went limp. He knew instantly how stupid he had been. He might never make it to Catrina now.

Worse yet, he might never make it home.

14

It was late morning. Meghan and Ivan stood at the entrance to their destination: another cave.

The moment of truth. Was the Svoda who had wandered into the valley still alive? Was he being held captive? Did whatever he have on his person, which Juliska did not want to leave in the valley, still exist? Or had it been taken by Eidolon?

Ivan took hold of two torches, which hung from a wall, unlit.

“Hm hm,” mumbled Ivan. “If you don’t mind…”

“Oh, right,” said Meghan. She snapped her fingers over the torches and they roared to life.

“We need to try and keep to a schedule in here,” informed Ivan. “This is not a safe cave.

Once it’s dark, the Goblins will be able to find us in here.”

“Okay,” said Meghan, apprehensively. “You do realize,” she added, “that even the best laid plans hardly ever go smoothly?”

Ivan rolled his eyes.

“I am aware, Meghan, and to be honest, other than walking in here and searching for what we are looking for, there is no other plan. We’ll be winging it.”

“Winging it! Oh that’s sounds nice and solid,” she criticized.

“There’s no telling what’s going to happen. We will just have to plan as we go.” Ivan stepped in, unafraid.

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Again, Meghan had to talk herself down from her inner ledge. I am too young for this. I’m not good enough for this. What could Juliska have been thinking when she agreed with Ivan that I could handle this?

She stepped in after him, glad at least that the cave floor was relatively flat and smooth.

Somewhere, not too far in, was supposed to be a series of rooms, like a stone dungeon.

Another twenty steps in and the rooms came into view.

Meghan’s heart raced faster and faster. Each room they searched so far remained empty.

One of these rooms was going to have a person in it, dead or alive.

Meghan and Ivan then froze in place. Three rooms down a door creaked. Feet shuffled inside. Meghan wished in that moment that she could talk to Ivan’s mind, as she could with Colin.

They edged closer to the door. With one smooth step, Ivan jumped to the opposite side, motioning for Meghan to burst through the door, together.

The element of surprise… Would it be enough?

Ivan held up three fingers. Meghan understood, on the count of three they would enter.

When he held up his third finger, they simultaneously barged into the room. Ivan had his palm ready for a fight, and Meghan held a ball of fire, ready to throw it.

Her fire fizzled.

Ivan’s hand fell and his head cocked awkwardly to one side.

They were not alone. There was someone else already there. Someone they both recognized, instantly.

Colin awoke. Apparently, he had passed out after being taken by the Goblin. Figures, he chided himself.

“At least Meghan wasn’t here to see that,” he whispered. What sucked most was that he did not have any clue where he was.

One lone torch hung on the side of a wall, lit. Overwhelming thoughts hit him all at once… What about Catrina? Where’s Bird? And … Oh crap, where is my bag, and… double crap… Where’s Magicante?

Colin’s breathing began to accelerate and his nerves made him sick. He needed to get out and fast. Was it day or night? Was Eidolon on his way? Did he come out only at night, too?

Colin located the door, but he was too short to look out of the window.

Something moved outside, flapping wings, and then feet shuffling closer.

“Colin?” a male voice whispered.

“Yes, it’s me,” Colin croaked. “Who’s there?”

“It’s… Bird, in my human form.” Bird’s voice sounded muffled.

“What’s going on out there?” asked Colin. “Are you okay? They took the Magicante.”

“Actually, they did not,” Bird replied. “I have it safely hidden. I grabbed it before they could see it.”

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Colin breathed a huge sigh of relief.

“Thanks, Bird. Seems like I, or my sister, cannot succeed at any quest without you!” Bird chuckled.

“Maybe someday we’ll be able to discuss that. Right now, we need to hurry.” An inflection in Bird’s voice insinuated something bad was on its way.

“There’s a spell, Colin, one that can open the door, but you must do it.”

“You name it, I’ll do it!”

“Fenestra,” said Bird.

For some reason that sounded familiar to Colin, and his brain searched for the answer.

Meghan. She had used that spell before, to free Timothy. He should have remembered it.

Colin faced the door and said the spell. One second and a loud pop later, the door detached from its hinges and thudded to the ground.

Bird flew in. Colin could not help but be disappointed; he had hoped to meet the Bird-Human.

That is when Colin froze. They were not alone. Someone was coming.

“You!” said Ivan, shaking off his confusion and readying himself for battle, once again.

“How is this possible?” interrogated Meghan.

Shocking blue eyes pierced her own, angrily, but this time, the hooded boy dropped his hood. His face was young and fierce, partially hidden by disheveled reddish-blond hair. He stared at the duo, but made no move to strike. He appeared confident, even considering his hasty retreat in Grimble.

“I came here to make a deal,” he then told them. “I was betrayed by Eidolon and locked in a cell a few doors down.” He then added hotly, “Eidolon doesn’t seem to know about Catawitchs.”

The boys evil Catawitch was nowhere in sight.

However, another was.

“Nona! Where did you come from?” asked Meghan, as her loyal pet came bounding in.

Meghan was both relieved and confused to see her.

“You’ll find out soon enough,” her cattish voice replied. Nona’s story would have to wait.

The blue-eyed boy stepped closer to what he had been looking at. Meghan and Ivan now noticed there was something else in the room.

A glass coffin.

And there was a body inside.

A small body.

A child’s body.

Meghan stepped back, taken off guard.

“Why would someone leave a child here?” she questioned. Who could she be? She added silently.

The boy answered Meghan as if he had heard her thoughts.

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“I was trying to find the way out when I found her. And even stranger, I don’t believe she’s actually dead.”

Not dead? Meghan’s mind repeated.

“No, not dead,” the boy told her again.

“Wait… How did you hear that?” asked Meghan.

Ivan looked between the two, perplexed.

“You didn’t say that out loud?” asked the boy.

“No. It was only in my thoughts.”

Then, in Meghan’s mind, she heard the boy’s response.

“Why is this happening to me? This sucks! Why can I hear this stupid girls’ thoughts?”

“Stupid girl!” retorted Meghan.

The boy’s face contorted in anger.

“Get out of my head!” he clamored.

“Man does that sound familiar,” muttered Meghan, blocking the boy from her mind.

He obviously could not do the same, and struggled with the extra thoughts racing through his own.

Why can I block him, now? She wondered then.

The boy heard her thought and demanded to know how blocking worked. Meghan just stared in disbelief.

“How did you get here?” asked Ivan, trying to ignore whatever strange situation was occurring. “Why are you here?”

“How am I supposed to function with her stupid thoughts raging in my head?”

“You have to block me,” advised Meghan, unsure why she cared to help the boy that had a few months prior, attempted to kill her.

“How do I do that?” he yelled.

“There’s a point in your brain, you have to reach for it, and then set up the block.” Meghan was not sure how to explain it. With Colin and her, they had each just discovered it on their own.

After a minute, the boy regained his composure.

“I don’t know why I can hear your thoughts, but I’m done here. You’re lucky I’m not here for you today!” He then booked it to the room’s exit, but Ivan blocked him, using magic. The boy fell to the ground.

“You haven’t answered any of my questions, yet!”

The boy smiled.

“I suppose that was payback for when I threw you up against that wall. You should’ve died from that blow I gave you,” he added. The boy then glanced at Meghan. He was quickly getting the hang of speaking to her while blocking what he did not want her to hear. Yes. I know about your little secret, he sent to her.

Meghan was aghast.

“Don’t you dare,” she shouted.

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Ivan, again, looked between the two, ready to explode in anger himself. Meghan decided to take another approach.

“What is your name?” she tried to sound calm as she spoke. The boy scowled, his palm readying again for battle.

“Don’t know why you care, but its Colby.”

“Colby. Huh. Well, Colby, if what you say is true and you were put here by Eidolon, you’re in as much danger as we are.”

“Hardly. I came here to make a deal with Eidolon, and if he doesn’t make that deal, he will pay for that choice!”

“You actually think you’re powerful enough to take on the Goblin King?” Ivan jested.

“My magical energy has no boundaries, and I won’t leave before I get what I came for!” The three paced inside the stone room, circling the glass coffin, each staring and deliberating their next move.

What kind of deal was Colby making with Eidolon? Moreover, why would Eidolon renege on that deal?

For the first time, Meghan and Ivan found they were on the same train of thought and knew they needed to discover the answer to this before Colby could escape.

Colby extended his palm, throwing a spell at Ivan, who blocked it, sending one of his own.

Nona encouraged Meghan to hide behind the glass coffin, where she got a closer look at the girl sleeping inside. There was something familiar about her face.

In the chaos of the moment, no one heard the footsteps rapidly approaching.

Bird urged Colin out of his room, where the sounds of rock grinding against rock were edging closer. Bird flew deeper into the cave, the opposite direction that Colin wanted to go.

He followed, nonetheless. Bird had never let him down.

He ran and ran, passing empty cell after empty cell. He was running so fast that he could not stop. Not even when he heard spells cast, and rock blowing apart. He skidded past a room where from the corner of his eye, Colin saw his prize.

“Catrina,” he yelled, sliding to the ground. The magic taking place inside the room ceased and all went quiet. Colin got up, leaving the fresh dirt on his clothes, and darted inside the room, where he again came to a sudden stop.

“Colin?” yelled Meghan.

“Wh-what are you doing here?” asked Colin, in shock over seeing his sister and Ivan.

“Now you see what I meant,” advised Nona.

“This is becoming a freakin’ circus,” mustered an ill-tempered Ivan. “Do I even want to know what you’re doing here?”

Colin shrugged nonchalantly and nodded at Catrina’s glass coffin.

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Before Ivan could question Colin further, Colin’s own memory had been trying to place where he had seen the blue-eyed boy before. He realized it came from his sister’s memory of her battle in Grimble.

“Why are you here?” Colin asked him.

“His name is Colby,” Meghan interjected.

“And we were just getting around to finding that out,” added Ivan.

Bird, fluttering over their heads, chirped a warning.

“Hey, you did follow us,” said Meghan, seeing the bird for the first time.

Ivan looked as though he might blow a gasket, seeing Meghan speaking to a bird.

“We have to get out of here,” Colin announced, understanding Bird’s warning.

Colin let Meghan back into his mind and hastily showed her all he had been up to, and that something was following him through the cave.