The Society of Imaginary Friends

The next day, Valerie awoke to find a strange green creature bustling around her room. He was about half her size with enormous ears, long, tapered fingers and sharp, fanged teeth. At first, his appearance frightened her, reminding her of an evil goblin in a fairy tale.

But the creature’s demeanor was all business, and when he saw that she was awake, he walked briskly to her side. “I’m Nightingale, Master Healer,” he said in a low, soothing voice. “I’ve been watching over you for the past two days, and it’s high time that we got you up and out of that bed. The only way you’ll completely heal is if you stretch your muscles.”

“It’s nice to meet you. And thanks for taking care of me.” Without thinking, Valerie sat up and swung her legs over the side of her bed. Her body ached, protesting the quick movement.

Nightingale winced in sympathy. “Sorry, I should have warned you. Though your broken bones and muscle tears were healed, there is still some bruising. You’ll have to tread carefully for the next couple of weeks,” he said, handing her a glass of bubbling liquid. “You’re from Messina, right?”

“Um, yeah,” she replied, uncomfortable with the lie.

“Then this is probably your first time drinking Elixir. Think of it as a kind of magical painkiller. One that will not just make you feel better, but will also accelerate your body’s healing process.”

Valerie gulped the drink down, trying not to gag at its bitterness. Even on the Globe, medicine tasted terrible. But seconds later, the stiffness in her muscles eased and she was able to stand with Nightingale’s help.

“There are some Conjurors hovering at the door who have been waiting to see you all morning. Shall I let them in?”

She grinned and nodded. When Nightingale opened the door, Kanti and Cyrus burst through.

“Sleep late enough, Val?” Cyrus said.

“I’d think you’d be up at dawn, ready for our adventure! We’re already packed—I put some clothes and your sword in the call box for you,” Kanti added breathlessly, her eyes sparkling. “I can’t believe you get an armed guard! This is so cool.”

“Back up a sec. What’s happening?”

“Keep your voices down; this is a place of recovery,” Nightingale admonished before he left the room.

“Azra’s sending the three of us to Messina to hide out at my parents’ house. We’re going to get a Knights’ escort and everything! It will be almost impossible for Sanguina or anyone to find you in Messina, because if anyone uses their powers anywhere on the island, an alarm goes off and the police are there within seconds to arrest them,” Cyrus said. Then he winced. “Unfortunately, I know that from personal experience.”

“They take the whole not using magic thing really seriously there, huh?” Kanti said, intrigued. “I mean, I knew that using magic was taboo, but they actually arrest you?”

“Oh, yeah. I had to spend a night in jail once after I used my power to impress this gir-um, I mean, when I used my power,” Cyrus said. He glanced at Valerie. “Not an experience I want to repeat.”

“I don’t get it—why do they hate magic so much?” Kanti asked.

“My parents say that using magic only leads to war and violence, and that if all Conjurors had repressed their powers, they would never have had to leave Earth in the first place. So they have tried to make Messina as much like Earth as possible—a country of science instead of magic.”

“It sounds so different from any place I’ve ever visited,” Kanti said.

But Valerie wasn’t paying attention. “I don’t understand why Azra is sending me away,” she said, bewildered. What about their conversation the night before about finding a way to save Henry?

“She didn’t have a choice,” Cyrus explained. “She’s leading a team into Dunsinane to try to capture Sanguina. She didn’t want to leave you in Arden without being here to guard you herself. It’s too dangerous.”

“Henry’s going to be okay now. Azra will fix everything,” Kanti said, and Valerie understood now why she seemed so excited about their trip. She was relieved that her old friend was going to be rescued at last.

And Valerie herself was surprised how relieved she was at the news, too. Azra would take care of everything—she’d find Sanguina and get the charm that was blocking her from finding Henry. Valerie wouldn’t have to fight Sanguina again. It was strange, but comforting, having someone take care of her. She never thought she would like having someone swoop in and save the day for her, but for the first time, her fear ebbed away. Someone was going to take care of her and keep the monsters away.

“Cheer up. This is gonna be great! Do you know how hard it is to visit Messina? You have to get special permission to enter. I’ve never been there before! There was no way I was gonna miss out on this trip. It’s the opportunity of a lifetime. Think we’ll have time to visit the science museum?” Kanti asked, her enthusiasm infectious.

Valerie grew excited for the journey ahead, and she quickly cleaned up, ignoring her aches and pains. She groaned when she saw her reflection in the mirror, finally understanding Thai’s reaction last night. Her face was various shades of mottled yellow and brown from her bruises, making her look like a walking corpse. She tried to comb through some of the knots in her hair using her fingers, and then just gave up and put her hair in her usual ponytail.

As she turned to leave, she caught a glimpse of something silver in the mirror. A streak of gray now wound its way through her dark brown hair. It started at her neck, and she could only see it with her hair up.

“Just like Henry,” Valerie thought with a shiver. What had Sanguina done to him? His hair was half gray already. She pulled the elastic out of her hair so that no one would see the gray streak yet. She wasn’t ready to talk about it—even with Cyrus.

But even that couldn’t get her down when she returned to her hospital room and saw that Gideon was one of the Knights who would escort her to Messina. With him were two wolves, one jet-black and the other a pearly gray.

“Gideon! How can they spare you?” she asked, secretly thrilled that her teacher would be coming on the journey with her. Knowing that he was coming blew away the last cobwebs of fear from her mind.

“It’s an honor to be a part of this mission. I volunteered,” Gideon said in his quiet, commanding voice. “And these are two Master Knights, Jet and Chrome,” he added, gesturing to the wolves at his side. They both nodded silently, and Valerie noticed the intelligence in their eyes. She nodded back, respectfully returning their greeting. She was starting to understand that judging Conjurors by their appearance didn’t make any sense on the Globe, where no one was what they seemed.

“If you’re comfortable with it, they will communicate with you by sending you mental images,” Gideon said. “It’s tradition for wolves to ask permission to talk to you this way, because touching minds is a very personal experience.”

“Um, sure,” she said, not knowing what to expect. Suddenly, images of a pack of wolves gathered around a fire filled her mind. Somehow, she understood that this image meant safety and protection, which the wolves were promising to provide her with as long as they were her guardians. “Thank you for watching over me,” she said, touched by their gentle offer to her, even though she was a stranger to them.

“Jet and Chrome are famous Trackers,” Cyrus said, excited. Then he turned to the wolves. “I’ve heard of you guys—you tracked down the hideout of three of the Fractus living right in downtown Silva!” Valerie could almost swear that the wolves were grinning at Cyrus’s admiration, and images of the two wolves running across open fields and through forests, following a strange scent, filled Valerie’s mind.

“They can follow magic trails,” Gideon explained. “Magic leaves behind a unique signature every time it’s used. Trackers can sense where magic has been used and trace it back to its source. They will ensure that no one evil is using magic near us on our journey. And once we’re in Messina, they’ll be able to sense if anyone on the entire island is using magic.”

“How will we get there?” Kanti asked, bouncing excitedly on the balls of her feet.

“It would take us days to travel by foot or even rollercoaster to the Illyrian Ocean. But Azra gave us special permission to use the Shortcut. It’s a tunnel that goes straight from Silva to the ocean. A powerful spell placed on it reduces the distance so that every hundred miles is cut down to one mile, so instead of taking days to get there, we’ll be there in hours,” Gideon replied.

“Almost no one gets to use it—the Shortcut is only for emergencies, so this is a real privilege,” Cyrus added reverently. But Valerie shuddered inwardly at the thought of being cooped up in a dark tunnel for hours and hours.

“Then we’re taking a boat to Messina, because there’s a law against arriving on the island magically. So thankfully, no magical rollercoasters or bending space to get there. We’re traveling Earth-style—for the most part,” Kanti said.

“Enough talk. It’s time to leave before this location is discovered by someone unsavory,” Gideon said firmly.