One Quillitary officer, Liam Healy, had been in on the most recent attack along with governors’ teenage sons Dred Crandall and Crawledge Prize, and knew they had their work cut out for them. But Liam was willing and eager to lead the next charge.
Unfortunately, the giant stone monster, or whatever it was, was now stationed at the gate, and that left the Restorers puzzled about how to attack next.
Eva Fathom spoke up. “This afternoon around three o’clock, that monster, as you call it, will be absent from the gate for at least an hour.”
Aaron grinned at his former adversary. “Well done, Eva.” No wonder Justine had kept Secretary by her side all those years.
Eva smiled conspiratorially in return. “May Quill prevail with all I have in me,” she said. The rest of them echoed the mantra. Hopefully, they would all get their lives back one day.
Liam Healy had been able to confiscate several Quillitary weapons, including two pellet guns that still worked, a large sack of gunpowder that no one knew what to do with, a long piece of rope, and several rusted metal knives. He handed them over to be stored with the rest in Eva’s house, and then Crandall and Prize each presented Aaron with the most stunning score of them all’both had been able to sneak off with their fathers’ pistols.
“We should save these for the ultimate battle with Artimé,” Gondoleery said. “Not waste them in skirmishes.”
“I agree,” Aaron said. “But I’m not sure I like them sitting in Eva’s unoccupied house with no one there to protect them.” He scratched his head and looked around the room. “Who should keep them? My vote is for Gondoleery. Anyone second it?”
“Me?” Gondoleery exclaimed. “Why not you?”
“They are not safe with me. I fear Mrs. Haluki may return at any time, whether to live or to retrieve something on a whim’daily I leave the house exactly as I found it because of that fear, except, of course, for the food in the pantry. I just hope they don’t remember the exact contents, living large as they are in Artimé. So it’s that fear which prevents me from holding the pistols. I wouldn’t want them falling into the wrong hands.” He gave the old woman a meaningful look, and then said again, “Is there a second?”
“Second,” said Eva. “They’d be no good with me, either.”
“All in favor?”
“Aye!” said the Restorers in unison.
“Opposed?”
Silence.
“Then it is settled. The pistols go home with you, my dear Gondoleery.”
“All right,” she said, secretly pleased. “Now, what’s our plan for three o’clock?”
Magical Weapons Galore
Alex and Samheed waited impatiently in Mr. Today’s office for the old mage, not because they were so eager to start the meeting, but because they’d realized a rather crucial problem’Meghan and Lani still couldn’t see the mostly secret hallway, so they couldn’t enter it. While the boys waited, Alex studied some of the pictures that hung on the wall. There was a series by one particular artist, it seemed, made up of dot designs that didn’t look like much of anything at all, which was what made them so curious, not to mention hideous. He moved from one to another, but couldn’t really understand why they warranted placement in such special locations.
But art is subjective’Alex knew that as well as the next Unwanted. Mr. Today certainly had strange taste. Then again . . . one look at his robes would tell anyone that.
Finally Mr. Today breezed into the office through the back wall as he’d done before. “Greetings! Are the ladies coming as well?”
“They can’t get in,” both Alex and Samheed said at once.
“Good heavens, so they can’t,” Mr. Today mused. “Well then. We shall have to go elsewhere. Which works quite well, actually. We’ll all meet at the gate. The girrinos are back from their mourning period and were going to take over for Simber during the meeting, but I’ve become nervous about them being there alone.”
“Great,” Alex said.
“Sounds good,” Samheed said.
Mr. Today and the boys strode quickly out of the office and down the hallway, bursting through the wall, or so it seemed from the perspective of Lani and Meghan. “We’re meeting at the gate,” Alex told them.
They met Ms. Morning and Ms. Octavia on their way up the stairs, and Florence at the entrance. The strange-looking party headed toward the gate just as Simber was saying good-bye to the girrinos.
The leaders decided on a spot a short distance from the gate so that Tina, Opal, and Penelope wouldn’t be distracted by their discussion or accidentally hit by a wayward spell.
Mr. Today jumped right into the meeting. “First, a few business items,” he said. “Alex, well done with the creation of the sick wing. You are officially one of the only students to successfully perform such a difficult spell without the use of a component.”
Alex couldn’t stop a wide grin from spreading across his face. “Thanks. That was cool how you sent me the verbal component.” He blushed as his friends punched him in the shoulder or patted him on the back, and he bowed his head when Ms. Octavia gave him a very pleased nod.
“It was a new idea born from the urgency of the moment,” Mr. Today said. “I rather liked it too.”
He turned to the group. “As for the patients, they are alive and being treated,” he went on. “But not responding to anything yet. Our hope is that they regain consciousness so that we might at least know from whence they’ve come.” He lowered his voice. “The metal thorns around their necks are quite worrisome. I’ve seen it once before, when a ship landed on our shore. The dead men inside wore something similar around their necks. I admit I don’t know what it means.”
Alex remembered Mr. Today saying something about that in the Museum of Large.
“It sounds like it could be a rite of passage,” Ms. Morning said. “Perhaps a sign of achievement.”
“I’m glad we don’t do that here when we achieve something,” Meghan whispered.
“Me too,” Lani said.
Alex and Samheed looked at each other and nodded.
“Whatever the case,” Mr. Today went on, “we want to help these castaways find their way back home once they’re quite well enough.”
“What island do you think they’re from?” Samheed asked.
“I can’t begin to imagine. Warbler, the nearest one, was quite a paradise when we left it, and they did nothing of the sort back when I knew it. I can’t fathom they’d have come from there.” Mr. Today turned to Florence. “How goes the training?”
Florence smiled a rare smile. “My advanced students are excelling, but the beginners . . . well, the young ones are doing well, but the older folks just aren’t making the connection between mind and magic. We’ll keep trying.”
“What about my old friend Eva?”
“She’s the exception. She’s doing very well. Her childhood magical abilities have come back quite naturally in our environment and she’s very interested in learning. She’s quite a delight. I’ll probably move her up soon to work with her daughter Carina, who, by the way, would make an excellent group leader. She’s quite skilled.”
“Wonderful,” Mr. Today said. He conjured up a pad and scribbled a few notes to himself. “And what do you and our resident experts have to show us today?”
“Well, Marcus, I invited these four because they have really taken spells to a new level. Their combined abilities are quite beyond anything I’ve seen before’though of course we’ve never had a focus as big as this on creating new spells, since we’ve obviously never needed to. Still, alone they are each excellent fighters, but together they are a team of innovators.” As she was speaking, Florence waved the four to their feet. “Why don’t you show us what you’ve got? Explain first, then demonstrate.”
Alex, who had been to many meetings with leaders, went first at the others’ urging, as they were understandably nervous. Alex pulled a heart-shaped piece of clay from his vest and held it up.
“This is something I cal
l ‘heart attack.’ With those words as the verbal component, the clay heart immediately grows wings and sails to your intended opponent’s chest. Upon impact, it causes the enemy to collapse. Because of the wings, the spell has great distance and accuracy, and it’s quite potent, rendering the attackee useless in less than half a minute, and quite dead-looking until the spell is released.” Alex smiled and stepped back into the line. He looked at Samheed.
Samheed focused on Florence, which was easier than facing Mr. Today, since Florence was the instructor he was most used to talking to. He fished around in his vest and pulled out a small ball of rubber that looked like a tiny brain. “I just created this the other day,” he said. “This is called ‘dementia.’ It renders the target completely confused and unable to cope with what’s happening around him.” He stepped back in line rather stiffly and turned to Meghan.
Meghan stepped forward with her component, a tiny aluminum spring. “This is what I call ‘backward bobbly head.’ It causes your opponent’s head to turn a hundred and eighty degrees and bounce around, leaving him unable to command his body properly and unable to focus his eyes on anything.” She moved back in line and grinned shakily.
Lani looked up, smooth and confident. “Hello,” she said. “This is called ‘pin cushion.’ ” She held up a ladybug-size piece of stuffed fabric with a tiny pin sticking from it. “The opponent will feel as though a thousand needles are sinking into his skin, and any movement he makes from that point on will only worsen the effects, until the spell is released.” She smiled pleasantly.
The instructors were very impressed and applauded for the students.
When they grew quiet again, Florence invited Ms. Morning, Ms. Octavia, and Mr. Today to volunteer as targets. They all agreed as if it were a wondrous adventure, for they rarely got the chance to attend Magical Warrior Training. Mr. Today stood opposite Alex, Florence took on Samheed, Ms. Octavia faced Meghan, and Ms. Morning stood across from Lani.
Florence confirmed all were ready to begin, and then she counted down. “Fire!” she cried.
The four attacked, and almost instantly Mr. Today collapsed to the ground, Florence started groaning and acting completely confused, wandering around. Ms. Octavia’s head spun around and her great alligator snout bobbled about uselessly. Ms. Morning let out a bloodcurdling scream as magical pins pierced into her.
Just then, a shout from the girrinos rang out. Simber turned sharply and rose to his feet. He bounded toward the gate. “Attackerrrs at the gate! Hurrry!”
The four friends, staring at their now-helpless instructors, hesitated and then ran after Simber, realizing there was no time to release the spells if they were to defeat the attack from Quill.
The four students drew components from their vests as they ran to the entrance where the girrinos were already fighting mightily. Simber charged after several Quillans who tried to sneak past the gatekeepers. Alex, Samheed, Lani, and Meghan all fired and hit their targets, then pulled out another round and fired, knocking flat four more attackers, all the while hearing Ms. Morning screaming in the background, Florence stomping around like a giant robot, and a loud sproing, sproing coming from Ms. Octavia’s bobbly head.
Others came running just as Simber chased the remaining attackers into Quill. When Alex saw that everyone had been contained, he hurried back to the instructors, releasing Ms. Morning first to stop the screaming, then the other ladies, and then finally he knelt down next to Mr. Today and released the heart attack spell. The old mage’s face had gone gray. After several long, stressful moments of waiting finally the man gulped in a breath and coughed quite savagely. He lay still for a moment, his eyes confused, and then slowly a wide grin crossed his face. He struggled to sit up, and then weakly he clapped Alex on the back.
“That’s a keeper,” he said, eyes wide. “Stunning.” He shook his head as everyone else ran off to get a look at the enchanted attackers, two of whom were still screaming. “I really thought I was gone there for a moment, Alex. Make a note not to wait too long to release the spell on that one.” He chuckled good-naturedly and held out a hand. Alex helped him to his feet. “Did anything exciting happen while I was out?”
Ms. Morning’s Secret
Once the eight remaining Quill opponents were disarmed, Alex put their arms into connecting clay shackles, and then the original spells were released.
Ms. Morning, back to her usual self, stood tapping one foot impatiently next to the heart attack victim, waiting for him to regain consciousness. A variety of Unwanteds took care of the other seven, prodding them toward the gate and sending them on their way, still connected. Mr. Today called on Charlie the gargoyle to communicate with Matilda at the palace, informing them that the high priest might find the prisoners along the road if he should choose to incarcerate them.
The instructors and the students, except for Ms. Morning, stood around in a circle discussing excitedly what had happened, when heart attack victim number one came to. He opened his eyes, sucked in a breath and coughed, and then looked up at his captor.
The two had exchanged glances once before, at the last attack, but he’d gotten away. Now, shackled and weak, he was trapped.
“Hello, Claire,” he said, defeated. He coughed again.
“Liam,” she said evenly.
He struggled to get up, and she did not help him. It took him several moments to finagle his way to his feet, his arms shackled as they were behind his back, and he toppled onto his face twice before he succeeded. Finally he stood up, wiping the gravel from his cheek with a shrug of his shoulder.
Ms. Morning stood with one hand on her hip, her eyes searching his face, betraying nothing. “Your family?” she asked.
“Both parents in the Ancients Sector,” he said.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
He appeared puzzled by the sentiment. “Why?”
“Because it’s hard to watch your parents die.”
“It’s the way things are. Soon enough forgotten,” he said.
“Maybe for you. For people like you.”
“You say that with contempt.”
“That surprises you? Look what you’re doing to Artimé! It wasn’t enough to kill us once?”
Liam stepped back, alarmed, but spoke in the calm, brainwashed voice of Quill, “I didn’t kill you. I didn’t kill anyone.”
“No, of course not. No one is responsible,” Ms. Morning said, her voice dripping with sarcasm and bitterness. “No one in Quill is responsible for any of your sickening ways. No one questions anything. No one has a conscience. I’m surprised you even remember me’aren’t you programmed to forget?”
Liam stared at her. “You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said, but he didn’t sound convinced. “Quill was a perfect land before Artimé was exposed. We just want our country back.”
Claire’s eyes blazed. “Everyone in here is your countryman. Did you ever think about it, Liam? Did you? After they took me away in chains, and we exchanged one last look’did you think I deserved that? Did you ever try to stop it? Or did you just accept that others knew better than you?”
Liam’s lips parted, but he didn’t speak.
Claire wasn’t finished. “Did you even think about me afterward or did you just do as they told you to do? How is that human? Can you tell me how being forced to forget the ones you love is natural and good and right? Because I don’t understand.”
The small group of instructors and students had turned their attention to Ms. Morning and all now watched in silence.
Liam grew pale. “I’”
Ms. Morning lowered her voice. “Do you have a heart in there somewhere, Liam? You must, or the spell wouldn’t have worked.” She laughed bitterly. “I always held out hope for you. For twenty-five years I’ve thought, ‘He’s not like the others.’ Yet here you are.” She shook her head, caught between anger and tears. “You are disgusting.”
With that, she turned abruptly and ran, nearly colliding with her somber students, to the n
earest mansion door and disappeared inside it.
Samheed looked at Liam. “You really messed that up, didn’t you.” He grabbed Liam by the arm and pulled him toward the road to Quill, then shoved him in the direction of the palace. “You just put a big target on your back, buddy,” Samheed called out. “Next time I see you . . .” He didn’t finish the threat, making it even more ominous.
Liam didn’t respond. He shuffled toward the palace, head down.
Along the way Liam passed Sean Ranger heading toward Artimé. Sean narrowed his eyes, but kept walking. Finally Liam caught up with the others. They took a side path to the housing quadrants and snuck to Gondoleery’s house so she could release the spell on their shackles before Haluki or anyone else could track them down. And then they got back to work, harder than ever before.
The Mysterious Guests
Every day after Advanced Magical Warrior Training, Alex and Lani slipped into the hospital wing of the mansion to visit the strange collared guests, who remained unresponsive. Often Alex and Lani sat in chairs between their beds, wondering aloud what their story might be, while working feverishly to make new spell components. Mr. Today had put in a request for a thousand each of heart attack spells, backward bobbly heads, pin cushions, dementia, and bee swarms, which was a Cole Wickett design that Alex had taken a strong liking to.
Alex and his cohorts now carried supplies with them wherever they went so they could create components whenever they had a few extra moments, quite like someone might carry around a book, or a satchel full of knitting, to fill in the unexpected lulls of life.
On one such occasion Mr. Today came in and pulled up a chair next to Alex. They sat in silence for a while, Alex and Lani working, Mr. Today examining and admiring their products, and then Alex said out of the blue, “I think they were trying to escape.”
Lani nodded as if she’d been thinking the same thing at that very moment. “Me too.”