The Society of Imaginary Friends

As Valerie began to walk toward the immense desert, she heard a rustling in the trees behind them, and what sounded like the whimper of a wounded animal. Instinct told her that someone was in danger.

“Did you hear that?” Kanti asked.

“Let’s check it out.”

Valerie quietly made her way back through the trees. After she had walked for little while, she heard a boy’s voice say, “We’ve been waiting a long time to get our hands on you.”

Again, Valerie heard the weak whimpering. Peering through the trees, she saw a lanky, unwashed older boy who wore grungy clothes that were full of holes. The small creature he was talking to was no larger than a baby bear cub. He was like no animal Valerie had ever seen on Earth. He had wide, innocent eyes and was covered in soft golden fur that was trembling from fear. But the strangest thing about him was that something was glowing deep inside him. It was his heart, she realized with surprise as she watched the red light pulse softly under his skin.

“It’s Darling!” Cyrus said in surprise. Seeing Valerie’s confusion, he explained, “He has healing powers, and he visits sick children all over the Globe.”

Seeing a helpless creature at the mercy of someone much bigger unlocked the anger inside of Valerie, making her fearless. After all, this scraggly boy would hardly be a threat when she unleashed her powers. She stepped out of the trees.

“Wait, no!” Cyrus called behind her, but it was too late to turn back.

“Really? Picking on someone one-fifth your size? You’re such a coward that it makes me sick,” she said, stalking over to the boy.

The boy laughed. “You have no idea the world of trouble you walked into, just to help this little rat.”

“You’re not the first person to underestimate me and regret it,” she snapped back. Never breaking eye contact with the boy, she knelt down, and Darling ran into her arms. A wave of protectiveness washed over her, and she hugged him close. Darling’s safety was more important than her urge to fight this thug, so she turned to leave.

But before she could take two steps, the boy’s voice said mockingly, “Going so soon? We haven’t had a chance to get to know each other.”

“We’re not going to let you hurt him,” Cyrus said harshly.

“Do you really think you have a choice? And he’s not the only one who will be giving us what we want. Give us a taste of your magic, or we’ll take it,” he said with a dark grin. The trees behind the boy moved, and seven dirty kids of various ages with nasty sneers on their faces stepped out of the shadows.

“Take a hike, jerk,” Kanti said, stepping forward. Valerie tried to yank Kanti back. The dynamics of the fight had changed dramatically. Couldn’t she see that they were completely outnumbered? It didn’t mean that the fight was lost, but they did need to use a different strategy than she had planned on.

“Those are some nasty words for such a pretty little yellow thing,” the leader replied sarcastically. He stepped forward threateningly. “They call me Shade—and I’m your worst nightmare.”

Kanti laughed out loud. “Really? Nice line, Shade. It goes so well with your super-cool name.”

Shade’s eyes narrowed. “I’m going to enjoy watching you take your words back and beg me to forgive you.”

“Kanti, no!” Cyrus whispered. “You don’t know what you’re doing! They have a weapon.” Then he spoke more loudly to Shade, “How much do you want? Our powers are still developing.”

Kanti looked at Cyrus incredulously. “Are you kidding? We’re not giving these thugs anything.”

Without another word, Shade whipped a small black cone out of his pocket. But it was clearly much more, because dark magic hummed from it. “Run, Darling!” she whispered before releasing him behind a tree. He scampered into the forest.

Shade lunged at Kanti as the other attackers closed around her in a circle, leaving her nowhere to run. Shade pressed the cone against Kanti, and she turned pale and fell to her knees.

“No!” Valerie said, and her defenses automatically kicked into high gear. Two of the thugs stepped closer and grabbed her, trying to pin her down. But she swept her leg underneath one of them, and he fell to the ground. The second attacker pulled out a sharpened stone from his pocket, but she kicked it out of his hand before he could even try to strike her. It was so different from the fights she’d had on Earth—she almost felt guilty at how easy it was to take them down.

Her grin of victory was brief. Cyrus had tried to tackle Shade and blind him with a shield made of light. But Shade pressed the cone against Cyrus’s forehead, and he cried out in pain. The light in his shield was extinguished. To her astonishment, she saw that Shade’s hands were now glowing.

“Cool power,” he said, playing with the light in his hands. Something inside of her snapped. No one hurts Cyrus. Ever.

“Get away from him!”

Shade ignored her, fascinated by the way he could draw light to himself. She took advantage of Shade’s distraction and approached him from behind. With an elegant jab of her elbow, she hit him in the back, hard. He grunted and turned around. She noticed with triumph the pain in his eyes. But then Shade turned the cone on her. Something tugged inside of her, sucking away her strength. It was as if her fighting powers had vanished, and the cone hadn’t even touched her skin yet.

“What’s happening?” she asked, more to herself than her attacker.

“You’re realizing how big a mistake you made when you decided to mess with Shade.”

In the edge of her vision, she saw Cyrus’s head hit the ground. He was unconscious. She knew that she couldn’t let that cone get any closer to her, or she would be knocked out, too. And then they would be completely defenseless.

She took a deep breath and tried to keep her rising panic from taking over. She may not have her power, but she had common sense. As fast as she could, she kicked the cone out of Shade’s hand and then punched him in the face.

Without her powers, her punch didn’t do much damage, but it did make him stagger back. His friends were quickly closing in on her, ready to help their leader if he needed it. But with the cone on the ground, rolling away, her powers returned in a rush.

Her body hummed, and a thrill ran through her as she hummed from her own magic this time. The thugs closed in on her, and she punched one in the gut and elbowed another in the chest in one swift move. Both squealed like wounded piglets and backed away.

Without allowing her to catch her breath, the five remaining thugs attacked all at once, punching, kicking, and biting her. She curled in a ball to shield herself from their blows. Shade stood slightly away from the group, watching with a satisfied smirk. “All right, guys, back off so I can take her power.”

As soon as the blows eased up, she jumped up and kicked one of the thugs in the back, and smashed a second in the knee with her heel. At that point, Shade jumped back into the fray. She had the presence of mind to kick the cone out of his hand immediately. It flew out of his grasp and landed several yards away, out of reach.

Something inside of Valerie took over. It was almost like she was watching herself from above as she fought the last three, blocking their punches and kicks effortlessly. She dispatched one with a jab to the neck, and a second with a well-timed blow to his shoulder.

Finally, she had her chance to fight Shade. His moves were sloppy, and his eye was red from where she had hit him earlier. With her power, his strength was no match for hers. She tackled him to the ground, pinning him beneath her knee.

“Retreat,” Shade said weakly to the rest of his gang, his formerly sarcastic voice now full of pain. She let his friends hobble away, but she kept Shade pinned down.

“Swear you’ll never bother us again.”

“I’m not promising you anything. Without your powers, you’re nothing more than a helpless little girl. Next time, I’ll know to take your powers first. You’d never be able to beat me in a fair fight. I can’t wait to watch you beg for mercy.”

Before she could blurt out an angry reply, Shade pulled his arm free, grabbed a rock and smashed it into her head. She fell back, loosening her grip. Shade immediately grabbed his cone and raced away into the woods before she could get her bearings. She started to chase after him, but Kanti’s groan stopped her.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, it’s my own damn fault. I thought I would be immune to his power-eater, since I don’t have any magic.”

“By power-eater, you mean that cone thing?”

“Yes, it temporarily sucks people’s powers. And now I have a killer headache.”

Darling scampered out from his hiding place and ran over to Kanti. She gently petted his back, and the light from his heart glowed brighter. The pain stamped on Kanti’s forehead eased. “Thank you, Darling,” she said, her voice full of relief.

Valerie hurried over to Cyrus, who was still unconscious. Cyrus wasn’t glowing at all. It was as if the light that was always turned on inside of him had been switched off. Fear gnawed at her stomach. What if Shade had taken more than Cyrus’s power?

“Water!” Kanti called, and a jug of water appeared in her hands. She promptly poured it over Cyrus’s head and he woke up, sputtering.

“A splash would have been enough, ya know.”

In the moonlight Valerie could see the relief on Kanti’s face. She acted tough, but she had been scared for Cyrus, too. “Where’s the fun in just a splash?”

Cyrus rubbed his temples. “That’s the second time they’ve robbed me. Dirt bags.” He absentmindedly stroked Darling’s head, and he made a gurgle of pleasure. Cyrus smiled at Darling as the glow around him returned.

“Who are those guys, anyway?” Valerie asked.

“They’re a gang of kids without powers of their own. I heard that one of the Fractus offered them the chance to steal powers if they worked for him. He created that device, the power-eater, so that the gang can steal powers. They get to keep some of the power, and the rest they give to their leader.”

Kanti snorted. “Give me a break. I don’t have powers, and I don’t rob people. Besides, can’t Azra bring a power out in anyone?”

“Yeah, but the gang lives for the thrill of trying out all the different powers they steal from Conjurors. It gets addictive, and eventually the power they steal runs out and they have to come back for more. So we’d better get out of here before they come back with reinforcements.”

Valerie turned to Darling, who was now curled up in Cyrus’s lap. “Come with us. We’ll keep you safe.” Darling jumped back into her arms, and warmth spread through her. With it, all of her aches and pains from the fight eased. “You didn’t have to do that, Darling. Save your energy.”

Darling made a small noise and then jumped out of her arms and hurried away into the trees. “Where are you going?” she called after him.

“He never stays in one place too long, and he isn’t seen for long periods of time, sometimes months,” Cyrus explained. “I think that he hears the calls of children in pain, and he has to go help.”

Valerie was a little sad that Darling hadn’t decided to join their quest. There was something about him—as if he were created from pure love—that made her heart full. She hoped that she would have a chance to meet him again.

The three resumed their quest and trudged out into the desert. Kanti walked slightly apart from the other two, scouting for any sign of the Roaming City. Cyrus and Valerie walked more slowly, and they stared up at the night sky.

“There are so many more stars here than there are on Earth,” Valerie said.

“Hundreds of times more,” Cyrus confirmed. “And you’re only seeing part of their light. The sky is programmed to dim the starlight so it isn’t too bright at night.”

“I miss seeing the constellations I recognize. What are the constellations here?”

“There aren’t any. Every night the sky is different because new stars are always being pulled into the black hole, and other stars disappear when they’re absorbed by the magic in the Globe’s atmosphere.”

“I guess no one can navigate by the stars here, then.”

“Wishing you were back on Earth?”

She stared at Cyrus incredulously. “Are you kidding? I love it here. Using my magic, making friends—it’s more than I ever hoped for.”

The expression on Cyrus’s face changed, and he pouted. “It must be nice to have Kanti to talk to instead of just me. I bet you two have lots to talk about that I can’t even understand. Boys, clothes, whatever else girls talk about.”

“No one’s replacing you,” she promised. “You always have been, and always will be, my best friend. We have history.”

Cyrus smiled, satisfied with her response. Then Kanti’s shout interrupted their conversation.

“I see it!”

Sure enough, shimmering in the distance like a mirage, the Roaming City rose before them. Valerie’s entire body tingled with anticipation—it was time to learn about her future. She hoped she would like what she saw.