“Go to bed or the torivor will get you,” Cole joked.
“Exactly,” Skye said. “Trillian has symbolized fear for generations of Ellowine children. Since he can’t leave the Lost Palace, the people of Elloweer keep away and try to ignore him.”
“And that’s where we have to go,” Twitch said.
“It’s where I have to go,” Mira corrected. “Nobody else has to follow me. I have to try to help my sister.”
Cole knew Mira’s current expression. It reminded him of when she had insisted they go after Carnag. He knew she would proceed alone if necessary.
But was that smart? Of course Mira wanted to help her sister, but what good would it do Honor if Mira got captured too? If people were scared to even go near where the torivor lived, it had to be bad news. Oster had acted like it would be suicide.
Cole frowned. If the mission was ridiculously dangerous, shouldn’t he skip it? If he got captured or killed, who would help Jenna? Cole glanced at Dalton, who appeared thoughtful.
Cole wondered how he would react if the torivor had taken his sister, or his parents, or Jenna. He reluctantly supposed he would do everything he could to help them, dangerous or not.
“I won’t leave you,” Minimus assured Mira. “I’m under orders.”
“I may be useless,” Jace said. “But I’m loyal.”
“Useless?” Mira exclaimed. “What about when you attacked the Rogue Knight? That was one of the bravest things anyone has ever done for me!”
“Yeah.” Jace chuckled darkly. “I really made him pay. He’ll never tangle with me again. Attacking him was the loyal part. Failing was where the uselessness came in.”
“Losing to the Rogue Knight carries no shame,” Minimus said. “I doubt whether any warrior in the five kingdoms could best him.”
“I didn’t just lose,” Jace said. “He didn’t even consider me worth fighting.”
“Be glad,” Minimus said. “Your attempt was valiant, but the fight was not fair. He was a seasoned warrior, fully armored. You were a lad with a short sword. You have a brave heart. That can be more important than size or strength.”
“Easy for you to say,” Jace replied. “You’re really strong.”
“None of us start out strong,” Minimus said. “And none of us have the exact same strengths.”
“Cole, thank you, too,” Mira said. “I couldn’t believe it when you came flying after us. How did you make the Jumping Sword work?”
“I don’t know,” Cole said, grateful to be recognized along with Jace but also embarrassed. “I was really desperate, and it just happened. I haven’t been able to make it happen again.”
“You found Dalton,” Mira said. “I know you two have other friends out there still. You don’t have to feel stuck with me.”
Cole glanced at his best friend. Did he want to expose Dalton to this new threat?
“Cole found me by sticking with you,” Dalton said. “We’ll try to help.”
Cole wondered if Dalton had been able to tell he was wavering. His friend was right—if they were staying with Mira, that meant standing by her through the good and the bad.
“We’re not leaving you,” Cole said.
“We’ve made it this far together,” Twitch added.
“That doesn’t mean we’ll keep surviving,” Mira cautioned.
“Don’t get me wrong,” Twitch said. “I’m not above running away if it comes to it.”
“I’m with you too, Mira,” Skye said. “Hopefully, we’ll never have to enter the Lost Palace. Maybe we can deal with the torivor through his Red Guard. Honor could be our only hope to stop Morgassa. Let’s hope Trillian will listen to reason.”
“Morgassa?” Mira said.
“You need to fill us in,” Twitch said.
Skye explained what they had learned about Morgassa and her horde. Mira and Twitch listened with wide eyes.
“How long before she reaches the capital?” Mira asked when Skye was through.
“The Rogue Knight estimates she’s nine or ten days away from Merriston,” Minimus said. “She doesn’t hold to a straight path. She weaves around to hit any nearby towns.”
“Is the Rogue Knight keeping track of Morgassa?” Skye asked.
“He’s aware of the threat,” Minimus said. “He knows she is using figments to change people. Last week he sent a couple of his knights to investigate.”
“And they came back?” Skye asked.
“He’s never lost a knight,” Minimus said. “We’re not easy to bring down. Any of his men could defeat the greatest champions of Elloweer.”
“How did he find such talent?” Skye asked.
“He’s a unique man,” Minimus said. “Unique men follow him.”
“How much do you know about him?” Skye pressed.
“More than I can tell,” Minimus said.
“What can you tell?” Cole asked.
“The Rogue Knight is the truest person I know,” Minimus said. “I’m proud to serve him.”
“How old are you?” Jace wondered.
Minimus laughed. “Why? Because you’re all taller than me? Don’t worry, it’s a common question. Some people assume I’m a child. I’m more than twice as old as any of you besides Skye. I have never been endowed with great stature. But I embrace my humble proportions. Hence my name, Minimus, and my title, the Halfknight.”
“You named yourself?” Dalton asked.
“Nobody knew I would be so tiny at birth,” Minimus said. “That name would have been quite a coincidence. My parents were both of normal size. They had me and then a brother. He was a dwarf as well.”
“Is he a knight too?” Jace asked.
Minimus chuckled. “In his own way. Like I noted before, we all have different strengths. But my size has advantages. My opponents tend to underestimate me.”
“Are you going to eat?” Cole asked. “We’re all chowing down on the food you brought.”
“I had enough on my way here,” Minimus said. “I’m content. Part of my vow to the Rogue Knight stresses that I keep my armor on while in public. My true identity must remain secret. None of us go by our given names.”
“Do you think you could give me some lessons with a sword?” Jace asked. “Maybe I could become less useless.”
“So long as we journey together, it would be my pleasure,” Minimus replied. He stood. “And I will keep watch during the night.”
“You can’t watch all night,” Twitch said. “When will you rest?”
“I’ve always been able to cheat sleep at need,” Minimus said. “I’ll let you know if it starts dulling my edge. Tonight, sleep well. I’ll rouse you if danger approaches.”
“I’ll lay a seeming over us that will last through the night,” Skye said. “To any onlooker, we’ll appear to be bushes and small trees.”
“You can make that hold while you sleep?” Dalton asked.
“I use some of the same principles involved with a long-term seeming,” she explained. “It will only be good until around sunrise unless I strengthen it.”
“Rest sounds good,” Twitch said, yawning. “That was a long ride.”
“It’ll be a longer one tomorrow,” Skye said.
“If nobody ever visits the Lost Palace,” Cole said, “how do you know where we’re going?”
“Nobody goes there, but everyone knows the way,” Skye said. “We just have to find the Red Road.”
“The what now?” Cole asked.
Sky gave a half smile. “You’ll see.”
The next morning, the sun seemed to rise from all directions, but it never crested the horizon. Instead, the warm twilight persisted throughout the day.
They reached the Red Road two hours into their ride. The trail had almost dwindled to nothing, then all of a sudden they arrived at the start of a broad, smooth road ma
de of seamless red pavement. Maroon curbs ran down the sides. No cracks marred the surface. It looked like it could have been built the day before.
They stopped the horses just shy of the road. It continued as far as Cole could see.
“You see why I wasn’t worried about missing it?” Skye asked.
“You knew our trail became the road?” Cole asked.
“I thought so,” Skye said. “If I had the wrong trail, we could just have cut back and forth across the area. The Red Road runs a long way and is hard to miss.”
“Why is it here?” Dalton asked.
“Nobody knows,” Skye said. “The popular theory is that the torivor’s influence maintains it. The road runs perfectly straight for miles and leads directly to the entrance of the Lost Palace.”
“Do we ride on it or next to it?” Twitch asked.
“Why not ride on it?” Jace asked.
“Trillian can’t see beyond his domain,” Skye said, “but some believe he can see this road.”
“Then we ride next to it,” Mira said.
Skye directed her horse over to the side of the road and began paralleling it. The others fell in behind her.
As they proceeded, Cole couldn’t keep his eyes off the road. It seemed so out of place in this unpopulated wilderness.
“What if we run into Red Guards?” Twitch asked. “Do we have a plan?”
“We’ll try to bargain with them,” Skye said. “We want to use them to contact Trillian.”
“They might just want to capture or kill us,” Jace said.
“If they want a fight, I’ll give it to them,” Minimus said. “The rest of you use seemings and run.”
Something about the Red Road forbade the idle conversations they had enjoyed the previous day. Cole supposed it made Trillian the torivor seem more present. At the end of the road they would reach his palace.
Trees or heavy shrubs sometimes made them veer well away from the road. Although riding on it would have physically been easier, nobody suggested it.
They broke for meals a couple of times. Finally, the light began to fade from all horizons. Skye moved a good distance from the road and made camp. Minimus again volunteered to be the sole sentry.
On his back, Cole gazed at the stars and thought about Jenna. What if he had already missed her? What if she was in Sambria? He could have ridden through the village where they were keeping her without knowing it. If so, he might travel to all the other kingdoms without finding her.
He had located Dalton. That meant there was hope. Cole shifted on the ground, trying to get comfortable. With the help of Mira and the Unseen, sooner or later, he would find Jenna—even if it meant multiple visits to all the kingdoms.
Where was she tonight? Was she scared? Suffering? Comfortable? Bored? What kind of shaping could she do? What if she had already freed herself? Could she be on the run?
Cole had promised he would find her. Did she still expect him to show up?
He pictured a scenario: He was far away, Creon maybe, or Necronum. Evil slave owners had trapped Jenna in a burning building. The Jumping Sword came to life in his hand, and he leaped to her rescue, springing away with her an instant before the fiery structure collapsed.
She would be so amazed! He would seem like a superhero!
The daydream made him cringe. Did he really still want to rescue her so she would like him more? Maybe a little. But those daydreams were more fun in a time without real danger. It would be such a relief to find her safe, to be reunited with another friend from home.
Did he still have a crush on her? Sure, but that wasn’t what really mattered. What mattered more was their friendship. Cole remembered something Jace had said about Mira: just because he was a kid, it didn’t mean his feelings weren’t real.
The next day began with an actual sunrise. Around midday, a dense grove of trees forced them well away from the Red Road. As they made their way around the trees, the Lost Palace came into view.
“Oh, no,” Dalton murmured.
The dilapidated structure looked like the charred skeleton of a castle, spindly and crooked, as if it had survived a prolonged artillery barrage. A tall fence of barbed iron spikes enclosed an area much wider than the palace itself. Sickly mist swirled low across the stony, uneven grounds, eddying in irregular depressions. In defiance of the bright day, a gray haze hovered over the whole area, lending a sickly gloom to the precarious towers.
“It looks abandoned,” Dalton said.
“No,” Jace said. “It looks like somebody massacred everyone and then torched the place.”
“Comforting thought,” Twitch mumbled.
“I don’t see the Red Guard,” Mira said.
“I don’t see anybody,” Cole added.
“Make no mistake,” Skye said. “Trillian is in there.”
The Red Road went right up to the black iron gate. A dark, broken road continued on the far side, the color of old scabs.
“What should we do?” Dalton asked.
“We take a closer look,” Cole said.
They rode down to where the Red Road ended at the outer gate of the Lost Palace and dismounted. Through the bars of the fence, Cole watched a cloud of vapor heaving in and out of a cavity in the rocks, as if a huge monster inside was breathing. Growing out of cracks and creases, sparse, malnourished weeds limply clung to life. Fuzzy scum added mottled brown patches to a few meager puddles.
“Hello?” Mira called loudly, hands cupped around her mouth.
Cole flinched at the sudden noise in this dead, quiet place. Her voice did not echo. The shouted word fell flat, as if swallowed by a vast nothingness. No reply came from the Lost Palace.
Empty minutes passed.
“I don’t think anyone is coming,” Cole finally said.
“Won’t be an easy climb,” Dalton observed, gazing up at the fence. “Those barbs look sharp.”
“I could probably jump it,” Twitch said without enthusiasm.
“I’ll try the road,” Jace said. “The rest of you get back.”
“Are you sure?” Skye asked.
“If we want to bargain with his guy, we need to let him know we’re here,” Jace replied. “But only one of us should risk it.”
Jace stepped onto the road and fell to his hands and knees, his body shaking. Turning slowly, he reached out a trembling hand. “Kill me,” he rasped.
Then he started laughing.
“You’re such a jerk,” Mira said angrily.
Jace stood up. “I couldn’t resist.”
“Um, guys,” Cole said.
“What?” Jace asked.
“The gate is open.”
CHAPTER
27
THE LOST PALACE
“Did you see the gate open?” Skye asked.
“No,” Cole said. “I was watching Jace. I didn’t hear it either.”
“The gate was definitely closed a minute ago,” Twitch said.
“Did anyone see it open?” Skye asked.
Nobody spoke up.
“Let’s wait and see who comes,” Jace said. “You guys might want to hide.”
“And leave you here alone?” Mira asked.
“The torivor knows I’m here,” Jace said. “He might not know about you guys.”
“Are we sure Trillian saw you?” Dalton asked. “Maybe someone is about to leave.”
“It opened right after I stepped onto the Red Road,” Jace said. He looked up and down the road. “I don’t see anybody else coming.”
“We’ll wait with you,” Skye said. “I’m not sure what good hiding will do. We came here to bargain. We don’t want to seem weak.”
“Don’t worry,” Minimus said, drawing his sword. “I won’t let you come to harm.”
Cole silently wished the Halfknight was a little taller.
> They waited. Beyond the open gate, Cole watched tendrils of mist flow like lethargic snakes across the scabby road. Turning to look back down the Red Road, he could see nobody approaching.
“I’m going in,” Jace informed them with a nod toward the gate.
“No, you’re not,” Mira replied.
“What else are we supposed to do?” Jace asked. “The torivor isn’t sending anyone.”
“We don’t just go rushing onto his property,” Mira said.
“He opened the gate,” Jace said. “It’s an invitation.”
“According to the stories, Trillian is a powerful enchanter,” Skye said. “He was locked up for good reason. If we enter his prison, we’ll be subject to his power.”
“We won’t be going anywhere,” Jace said. “Just me. I’ll check it out. Trillian opened the door. He knows I’m here. We want to talk with him. This is our chance to find out about Honor. I’ll come back and let you know how it goes. If I don’t come back, you’ll know the bargaining will be tricky.”
“I should go,” Twitch blurted. “If they close the gate, I have a chance of jumping the fence.”
“No,” Jace said. “If this torivor is half as powerful as everybody says, you won’t get away from him because you have wings. He’ll either let me come back or he won’t. Same with any of us. I’m the one who stepped onto the road. It makes sense that I keep going.”
“Jace, don’t,” Mira said. “Honor is my sister. I should take the risk.”
“If she goes, I go too,” Minimus said staunchly.
Jace gave Mira a lopsided smile. “You’re too valuable to risk, Mira. The torivor wanted your sister, so he’ll probably want you, too. He may not care about keeping me.”
“He may not care about killing you,” Cole said.
“It’s okay,” Jace said calmly. “I’ve felt useless since we left Sambria. At least this is something I can do. It’s just another sky castle to survive.”
“You don’t have your rope,” Mira said.