The Society of Imaginary Friends

Kanti breathed a sigh of relief when Azra told them of a quicker way back to Silva—one that didn’t require the use of the Arden rollercoaster system. Azra led Valerie, Cyrus, and Kanti into the desert, and no sooner had they left the outer boundaries of the Roaming City than it disappeared behind them. Valerie glanced over her shoulder for one last look at the city that had changed her life, and it had vanished. Would she ever return?

After walking a short distance, they reached a place where a rectangular patch of air, about the size of a door, flickered. It was strangely out of place against the monotonous sand and sky that stretched as far as they could see. When they drew closer, Valerie could see through the flickering door into the blurry inside of a room with stone walls.

Azra stepped through the door, and Cyrus and Kanti followed her as if crossing through a place where space had been bent was the most natural thing in the world. But Valerie paused before stepping through. Was there any chance that she could get caught in there, trapped between two places? It was too late to ask Azra now.

“Come on, Val!” Cyrus called through the window, his voice sounding muffled.

She held her breath and stepped through. It was as if she was being pulled in two directions at once, and her vision swam. But seconds later she stepped into a room with vaulted ceilings, and walls adorned with maps of the Globe.

The tension left Valerie’s muscles. She made it through safely. Azra noticed, and her eyes became apologetic. I should have explained to you that this was the door Chern had created for me so that I could travel to the Roaming City so quickly. It must have been rather nerve-wracking to step through without any warning. But you are safe in my office now, so you can relax.

“I’m sure it’s completely safe,” Valerie said as her eyes adjusted to the room. She noticed that, in addition to Azra, Cyrus, and Kanti, Chern also stood behind the desk, gnawing at his fingernails as if he was even more anxious than he had when she first met him in the Guardians of the Boundary Guild.

“Well, that’s not precisely true. There’s always a chance that the threshold will collapse on itself with someone inside. The person would literally be torn to pieces,” Chern said.

Valerie’s stomach flipped, and she decided she was glad that she hadn’t learned that piece of information until it was too late.

One-in-a-billion chance of that happening, though, Azra added. It’s one of the safest ways to travel, though Chern here is the only living Conjuror who has the ability to bend space. Chern stood a little straighter at the compliment.

Still, Valerie hoped she would never have to travel that way again, especially since Chern was the one bending space. He was so shaky that he might accidentally make a wrong movement and trap her inside. He clapped his hands, and the flickering window disappeared with a loud crack that startled everyone, including himself. She couldn’t help grinning—she had never met anyone so jumpy.

Thank you for your help, Chern. I will not soon forget it.

He bowed low to Azra. “Always at your service.” Then he hesitated, adding, “However, helping you may make me a target of the Fractus. In fact, they could be on their way to my house right now.” Valerie noticed that his hands started to quiver from fear.

I will call one of the Knights of Light to guard you until we are certain that you are safe, Azra promised. Then she turned to Valerie and her friends. Now, you three had better return to your dorm. Dulcea was frantic when she discovered your note. You should let her know that you’re safe as soon as possible. We will talk about what you learned in the Roaming City when you have had a chance to rest and after I return from a trip to see a friend who may have some of the answers that we seek.

Valerie saw Azra glance at Chern, and she sensed that Azra didn’t want to speak of what had happened in his presence. It made sense, Valerie reasoned, because Chern might let something important slip in a moment of panic, and the wrong person could overhear. So she repressed all of her burning questions for Azra about the prophecy for now, but she hoped she wouldn’t have to wait much longer.

Valerie, Cyrus, and Kanti trudged back to the dorm, exhausted from everything that they had been through and dreading Dulcea’s scolding.

“The real question is, what do we do now?” Valerie asked, as much to herself as to her friends. “Waiting around for Azra to get back is not going to help Henry.”

“I’m outta ideas,” Cyrus sighed. “That’s the problem with prophecies. They’re never straightforward. For once, how about a simple ‘Henry’s living at 222 First Street, Oakland, California’?”

“I still can’t believe he’s your brother!” Kanti exclaimed.

Hearing Kanti call Henry her brother brought the joy of the discovery rushing back—she really had a brother, joined to her by DNA. She was dazed by the news. “For so long, I thought I’d never have a family. Now I have a brother! Do you think he’s older or younger than me?”

A strange look passed over Kanti’s face. “I wonder… Valerie, when’s your birthday?”

“April 5th, why?”

Kanti turned pale, and her eyes filled with a strange glitter. “Your Henry and my Henry are the same after all! His birthday was April 5th, too.”

“Twins,” Cyrus said, awe in his voice.

“That means all this time he’s been alive,” Kanti said, and her eyes filled with tears. “If I only knew. I could have stopped Sanguina, or helped him understand what was happening.”

They had reached the outside of their dorm, and Valerie gripped the railing on the staircase. A piece of a puzzle fit into place. Not having a family had always torn Valerie apart inside, as if a piece of herself was missing. With Henry in her life, maybe she would finally be whole.

Before Valerie could respond to Kanti’s revelation, a thin man with hollow cheeks and sunken eyes who was walking down the empty street stopped in his tracks. He paused, and then met Valerie’s eyes. Her heart seemed to slow down, and she clutched her chest, unable to breathe. Yellow-Eyes had found her. Again. Sanguina wouldn’t be far behind.

“Val? What’s wrong?” Cyrus said, trying to shake her out of her trance.

She tried to tell him, but her breath hitched as she struggled for air. Yellow-Eyes smiled slowly at her, and said, “Found you.”

A girl passing him in the street gasped when she saw his face and ran away, screaming for help.

“We need to get inside, NOW,” Cyrus said, yanking Valerie’s arm. But she couldn’t stop staring into his yellow eyes. Being this close to him in person, something incalculably precious drained from her. It was her magic, and something more. She stumbled to her knees. Kanti and Cyrus struggled to help her to her feet.

“This is no place for you,” Midnight’s voice rang out clearly as she crossed the street. “We’ve been tracking you since you arrived in Silva. Did you think we wouldn’t notice?”

Yellow-Eyes turned away from Valerie toward Midnight, and Valerie sagged with relief, some of her energy returning with a rush.

“You’ve been tracking me for decades, yet here I am,” Zunya sneered. “And you know what happens to those who get too close.”

Midnight’s eyes flashed with a bottomless rage. “I think you’ll find that I’m ready for you.”

Valerie felt the hum of magic, and a high-pitched sound pierced the air. Yellow-Eyes stumbled back a step and his hand involuntarily went to his head.

As if aware that he had shown vulnerability, he firmed his stance and made a strange gesture with his hand. Even from across the street, Valerie saw Midnight pale, and her hands clenched at her sides, every muscle in her face straining. Zunya advanced on her, but Midnight didn’t retreat. Still, the toll of whatever he was doing was telling on her, and a trickle of blood appeared at her nose.

Valerie couldn’t watch for another second. “Get the hell away from her!” she cried.

She launched herself toward Yellow-Eyes, tackling him to the ground. She landed a firm punch to his jaw, but she didn’t even hear him grunt from the force of her blow—her mind went blank from pain. For a second, she couldn’t even see anything, but she knew she was being dragged away by Cyrus and Kanti.

“This is out of your league,” Cyrus hissed.

“The best way to help Midnight is to find a Grand Master,” Kanti said.

“I’m not leaving her. He’s here because of me, I know it,” Valerie said, trying to focus her blurry vision. She saw that Midnight had stepped between her and Yellow-Eyes.

“If you leave now, I’ll let you, for the sake of these children. But if you force my hand, I will take you down,” Midnight said, her voice cold and in control. Maybe Valerie’s distraction hadn’t been for nothing, if it had given Midnight time to regroup. “And I admit, I’m hoping that you decide to stay and test me.”

Yellow-Eyes was back on his feet, and Valerie noted with satisfaction that his teeth were bloody from her punch as he sneered at them. His eyes flicked to Valerie. “Next time, sweetheart. I only came by to welcome you to the Globe. I’ll see you again real soon.”

A hum of magic began to emanate from Midnight, and Yellow-Eyes turned and headed toward the woods, the piercing sound making him stumble as he hurried away. Midnight turned to them, her expression softening.

“Who is he?” Kanti asked, pale and shaken.

“His name is Zunya, and he has repeatedly projected to Earth to sow seeds of dissention and pain,” Midnight replied. Then her voice faltered and she added, “He has also killed more than one innocent here on the Globe.”

Valerie sensed that one of those innocents had been someone very close to Midnight, whose hands were still shaking from the force of her emotions.

“He’s one of the Fractus?” Cyrus asked.

“Yes, and he is a vampyre. A few years ago, in front of hundreds of witnesses, he turned someone into a vampyre against her will. As punishment, the Justice Guild took his powers away. But what they didn’t know was that when a vampyre’s powers are torn from them, it has a strange effect. They start being able to absorb other people’s powers.”

“That sounds like the power-eater that Shade used on us,” Cyrus said.

“Yes—he’s the one who invented the power-eater,” Midnight explained.

“Since he’s a vampyre, why doesn’t light hurt him?” Kanti asked.

“When he was stripped of his powers, he also became much less sensitive to light, though it still weakens him slightly. If it weren’t for that advantage, we might not have survived that encounter,” Midnight said. Then she turned to Valerie. “How does he know you?”

“He’s been following me around for years. He’s after me,” Valerie said, still stunned.

“May I see? My power is psychic, and if you allow me, I can peer into your mind and find your memories of him.”

She nodded a little uncertainly, hoping it wouldn’t be painful. Midnight touched her cheek, and a pleasant hum relaxed her as images from her past raced through her mind. Then Midnight pulled away, and her eyes were sad.

“You’ve seen so much pain,” she whispered, seemingly to herself. Then she spoke up. “All that Zunya and Sanguina put you through is on my shoulders. Again and again I have failed to capture him. And Sanguina… Lydia… She was one of our own, a Master of the Guardians. I failed her as well, and that led to even more of your pain. I am so sorry for all you have endured.”

“No, don’t do that to yourself,” Valerie said.

A terrible cough racked Midnight’s body, and Valerie saw blood on the corner of her mouth. Standing against Zunya had taken more of a toll than Midnight had let on.

“We have to get you to the Healers’ Guild,” Kanti said urgently.

Midnight wiped her mouth and stood a little straighter. “Azra must know of this right away. She will help me recover.”

“We’re coming with you,” Valerie said firmly.

Midnight gave her slight smile but shook her head. “I am in command of myself. You children need to stay inside your dorm. It would be foolish not to take Zunya at his word. He will be back.”

“At least we can report this to the Knights and the Guardians,” Cyrus said.

Midnight nodded. “You were all very brave. I thank you for all you have done. I would never have allowed you to put yourselves in harm’s way, but today, you may have saved my life.”

“And you surely saved mine,” Valerie said. The light touch of Midnight’s magic on Valerie’s mind made a little of her fear recede. Her psychic powers must be powerful. Then Midnight turned and glided away. If she was in severe pain, she hid it well.

Before Valerie, Cyrus, and Kanti could process what had happened, the door burst open with a bang, and Valerie jumped a foot into the air. Dulcea stormed out. “There is NEVER an excuse for what you three did! I haven’t slept a wink since you left. Do you know what kind of people hide in the fringes of the forest of Arden?”

“Actually, yeah, we met this gang—” Cyrus began, but he quickly shut up when Kanti kicked him in the shin.

“A gang?! You’re lucky to be alive! I ought to lock the three of you up for the next year.”

“We’re really sorry. But you’re not going to believe what just happened. Valerie could be in—” Cyrus started to explain about Zunya, but Dulcea interrupted him.

“I don’t want to hear it! I don’t want to hear anything from the three of you right now.”

“But—” Cyrus began.

“Not now, Cy,” Valerie said. She had been in enough trouble with her foster parents to know when to stay quiet. Who knows—if Dulcea was angry enough, maybe she’d kick them out. And Valerie didn’t relish the idea of living on the streets again—even on the Globe.

“This will never happen again!” Dulcea ranted. “The three of you are forbidden to leave the dorm without signing out and saying exactly where you will be going to and when you will be back. And for the next month, you are not to go anywhere other than your Guild without my express permission!”

“A month!” Cyrus cried.

“I’m not done. You will clean each and every bathroom in the dorm for the next three weeks—by hand—no magic.”

“Oh, eew,” Kanti said.

“Go to your rooms, right now. I can’t even look at you.”

“But, Dulcea, we need to go—” Cyrus began.

“Not another word,” Dulcea interrupted, her voice trembling.

Valerie saw the tears standing in Dulcea’s eyes, and guilt hit her like a punch in the stomach. Dulcea really cared about them, and they had scared her. Despite all that, she hadn’t so much as threatened to send them away. Valerie knew she had been ungrateful, repaying Dulcea’s kindness by sneaking away without talking to her first. “I’m going to make this up to you,” she murmured to Dulcea before heading up the stairs to her room.

That night, it took Valerie a long time to fall asleep. By the light of Cyrus’s flower, she read her prophecy over and over until she knew it by heart, but she still couldn’t glean any clues from it. When she shut her eyes, the golden letters floated behind her eyelids. But as much as Henry’s fate preoccupied her, the last image that she saw before she entered the world of dreams was a pair of yellow eyes.