Secrets of Yden (4 page)

****

While driving home from school, Jon had to remind himself to stay under the speed limit. Adrenaline pumped through his veins, and without realizing it, he kept pressing the gas pedal. He knew he shouldn't get his hopes up about the exhibit, but he couldn't help it. Even if the curator agreed to let just one of the smaller pieces into some tiny, out-of-the-way corner of the exhibit, it would be fantastic.
Being in an exhibit won't make me into an instant girl-magnet or anything, but I'd be considered a serious artist.
An exhibition of his artwork would look good on his college applications, too.

Jon's shoulders crept upward at the thought of college.

For some time, he'd actively avoided the subject of his future. It made him sad to think most of his friends would scatter at the end of the school year. Fred, at least, was sticking around town. He was applying to Cal State Pacific, but if he didn't get in, he was going to take classes at the local community college. Casey had already been accepted early to Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Brett had mentioned University of Southern California as her top choice, but if she wanted to continue to study magic, she'd have to split her time between worlds. Transporting to and from Yden quietly and privately would be problematic in a dorm.

As for Jon, he'd been struggling to make a decision. His life had changed dramatically since he turned sixteen and learned he was a wizard, and everything would change again next June. College had always been a certainty before, but now he was torn. Either he could finish his apprenticeship with Quixoran, or he could go to school on Earth and continue to train part-time. His parents weren't much help in the matter, insisting Jon decide for himself. Since college applications were due just after the first of the year, he had to decide soon.
If only I could hold on to things just the way they are for a little while, maybe I could figure it all out.

****

When he materialized at his usual spot on the beach, there was still daylight left on Yden. He waved at Adam, who was circling high overhead, and headed to the bungalow. After tossing his stuff into his locker, Jon hastened to the tree house. As he drew closer, he noticed a long, low canopy had been constructed over the eating area, thatched with the same waterproof leaves covering the bungalows.

Everyone was still at dinner when he arrived. He greeted his grandfather and the wood sprite Cressidia, said a general hello to everyone else, and plopped down at a table. To his disappointment, neither Kira nor Brett was there.

"If you've already eaten dinner, then help yourself to dessert," Cressidia said. "Your mother shared her recipe for lemon pie with me on her last visit."

The wood sprite could always be counted on for food, medicine, or a kind word. As he pulled the pie plate over, Jon gave her a grateful smile. "Thanks."

After dinner, the apprentices gravitated toward the fire pit, but Jon lingered to speak with Quixoran. He filled his grandfather in on his school schedule and then, saving the best for last, told him about the upcoming art exhibit.

"I couldn't be more proud," Quixoran said, beaming. "Does your exhibit include your battle sketch of Kira?"

"
Warrior Princess
. Yeah… it's kind of the centerpiece."

"Have you told her?"

"I haven't had the chance. You'd think with Kira at Pacific High, I'd see her more often." His excuse sounded lame, even to him. It wasn't like he didn't know where to find Kira or how to use a telephone. He desperately wanted to get a more significant relationship started with her, but it was proving a little tough to make the first move.
Maybe I'm paralyzed by fear of rejection or something.
When he'd asked Brett out to the Spring Fling, she'd made it simple. With Kira, on the other hand, nothing had ever been easy.

Although homework beckoned, Jon joined the apprentices at the fire pit to hang out. Mo was feeling a lot more confident in her abilities and demonstrated how she could magically juggle several pebbles at once. Ian and Ilene told several funny stories about each other, and Ronny showed Jon the neon blue streak in her hair that actually glowed in the dark. Jon was excited to learn Lora and Linda had begun to learn transformation. As it grew late, the apprentices began to turn in until only Max and Jon remained. Max was shirtless as usual, his bulging muscles golden-brown from the sun.

"I wonder where Brett and Kira are?" Jon asked.

"Girls like that don't sit around the fire pit on Friday nights," Max said. "As a matter of fact, why are
you
here?"

Jon shrugged. "Wanted to hang out with you guys, I guess."

"You mean you wanted to see Kira. Have you ever asked her out?"

"I want to ask her to the homecoming dance, but it's a month off."

"She wants to have fun
now
. Try asking her out sometime and maybe you won't be talking to me on Friday nights anymore."

Max was right, which increased Jon's irritation. "Okay, hot shot, if you know so much about women, how come
you're
here on a Friday night?"

Max gave him a cold stare. "Because I don't have any money to spend on a date. And if I did have any, I'd give it to my mom to help her with bills. Ever since Efysian kidnapped and killed my dad, she's struggled to make ends meet."

Jon felt like a nasty little green wiggling worm crawling out of a half-eaten apple. "Sorry. I didn't have any idea," he mumbled.

I've been so focused on my own problems it didn't occur to me Max has problems too.
Fortunately, though, there was an easy fix. "Listen, I can help you with money."

Max lurched to his feet. "I don't need anything from you. Not your money or your pity."

Jon stood up too. "Why don't you can the attitude for just a minute and let me finish? There's a cavern full of raw diamonds in the mountains north of here. When Dorsit transported with Kira to Earth looking for me last year, he sold some of the stones to buy regular clothes and a car. You can do the same thing. I'll take you there whenever you want."

Max peered at Jon as if he were trying to figure out his angle. "Why would you do that?"

"Because you're my annoying, self-important, arrogant, sort-of friend who apparently can't afford to buy a shirt."

Max laughed in spite of himself. "When can we go?"

"No time like the present. And we should bring a knapsack. The other apprentices could probably use money too." With a wave of his fingers, Jon snuffed out the flames in the fire pit.

****

Clad in jeans, tennis shoes, and sweatshirts to guard against the chill in the cavern, Jon and Max emerged from the bungalow. "Let's head down to the beach so nobody hears us transport," Jon whispered.

"Good idea. I have the feeling we're breaking a bunch of unwritten rules right about now."

Jon chuckled. "Maybe, but I'm always up for an adventure."

They traipsed through the garden on their way to the beach. Even several hours after sunset, Quixoran's sculptures glowed in the dark from the lingering heat of the suns. As Jon and Max moved through the garden's final honeysuckle archway leading to the sand, they practically smacked into Brett and Kira.

Four startled and somewhat guilty gasps ensued.

"Well, hello," Jon said, when he'd collected himself. "You two are out late."

"So are you," Brett replied.

The cloud blocking the moonlight moved off and the darkness on the beach suddenly lifted. Jon's jaw dropped when he realized Kira's waist-length hair had been cut and styled. Her dark, wavy locks now hung past the top of her shoulders, and she was wearing makeup and fashionable clothes. She looked more like a teen princess than the warrior kind, and to Jon's embarrassment, Kira caught him gaping. She lifted her chin and folded her arms defiantly.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Your hair and everything… it's great."

"I wanted to fit in." Her color rose, even under the moonlight.

"So what are you doing here?" Brett asked. "Sort of looks like you're sneaking out."

Jon exchanged a glance with Max. "Couldn't sleep."

"Yeah, we're out for a walk," Max added.

Kira eyed the knapsack on Jon's shoulder. "You're taking a walk with an empty bag? Where are you really going?"

It was Jon's turn to fold his arms across his chest. "I'll tell you where we're going if you tell me where you've been."

"We went to a cinematic experience," Kira replied, her face shining. "It was absolutely wonderful."

Having been born on Yden, Kira was unusually delighted with Earth culture.

"You went to the movies?" Jon asked.

"Yes. I even loved the short move-ease at the beginning," Kira said. "But I don't understand how they train the animals to dance to the refreshment center without using magic."

"It's, er, special effects," Jon said.

"So where are
you
going?" Brett asked.

Jon was trapped into keeping his part of the bargain, although he felt like Brett and Kira had gotten the better deal in the exchange. What he'd actually wanted to know was if they'd gone to the movies alone.

"Treasure hunting," Jon replied. "See ya."

Before Brett or Kira could react, he grabbed Max's arm and transported him into the center of darkness.

****

Jon fashioned a huge, everlasting orb of light and hoisted it overhead. The fantastical display of stalagmites, stalactites, and iridescent minerals sparkling on the walls and ceiling of the expansive cavern drew a gasp from Max. The cavern was one of the most extraordinary places on Yden, but Jon found it difficult to enjoy its beauty due to all the pain and suffering Efysian of the Wolf Clan had inflicted here.

"What
is
this place?" Max asked.

"Efysian's former lair," Jon admitted.

Annoyance flashed across Max's face. "You didn't think to tell me before now?"

"If I had, you wouldn't have come."

"You got that straight. I'm transporting back to Dragon Isle."

"Listen to me," Jon began, but Max put up his hand.

"You listen to
me
. Efysian killed my dad here. You should have told me where we were going."

As he stepped away, Max's toe encountered a pile of diamonds. The stones went skittering across the cavern floor like a spray of stars.

"Think of it as reparations for everything Efysian took from you," Jon said.

"No amount of money could pay for the pain he caused."

"I understand, believe me, but those diamonds will go a long way toward setting your mother up financially. Think about that."

Although he'd been poised to transport, Max hesitated. A muscle quivered in his jaw as he stared at the diamonds and other precious stones piled in abundance. "This still doesn't feel right, but I suppose I have no choice. I don't think I'll tell my mom where the stones came from."

"Probably a good idea," Jon said.

Max glanced at the reddish-black stalactites overhead. "Those look like big gobs of red cake icing dripping from the ceiling."

"I always thought they looked like bloody fangs."

"Guess that's why you have the nightmares and I don't." Max focused his gaze on the remnants of a stone figure lying on the ground nearby. "Is that him? Is that Efysian?"

"Yeah, that's him. Formerly the most feared wizard on Yden, fossilized by Quixoran."

"Is he dead?"

"Not technically. But unless my grandfather lifts his spell, Efysian is stuck as a statue forever. Did you know he enslaved Brett's grandmother Lialia to be his Guardian? She's a nymph, formerly of the Andresen Waterfalls."

"Brett's father is a wizard and her grandmother is a nymph?"

"Her mother Marina is a nymph, too."

"That's an extraordinary heritage." Max knelt down next to a pile of crystals and seized a handful. As he let the precious stones fall through his fingers, they shimmered under the light from the everlasting orb. "So you're telling me these are genuine diamonds?"

"Yep. I'm not really up on precious stones, but my uncle got his fiancée a practically flawless diamond when I brought him here this past summer. I think it was at least two carats." Jon tossed Max the knapsack. "Try not to take anything too big. You don't need to attract any unwanted attention when you sell it on Earth."

"I can finally buy my mom a comfortable life," Max said, incredulous. "This is amazing."

Jon and Max gathered up enough gemstones to make a pirate swoon with envy. The bulk of the harvest would go to Quixoran to meet the financial needs of the apprentices on Dragon Isle.

"Your knapsack looks like it's stuffed with a bowling ball," Max said finally.

With some effort, Jon hoisted it over his shoulder. "It feels like a bowling ball, too. I hope the straps don't bust." He gave Max a mischievous glance. "C'mon, there's something else I want to show you before we leave."