The Society of Imaginary Friends

The next day, they woke at sunrise to continue their journey. The sight of the sun shining brilliantly on the turquoise ocean infused Valerie with energy and purpose. One way or another, she would find a way to make sure her brother was safe, even if Azra’s mission didn’t succeed.

A short distance down the beach was a dock crowded with dozens of boats. Gideon led the group to a boat that reminded her of yachts that she had seen on television. It had three little cabins, a kitchen, and even a small pool.

“With all this water, why would anyone need a pool on a boat?” Valerie asked, mystified. “And it seems way too fancy for a day trip.”

“Actually, it’s almost a three-day trip to Messina. The island’s really remote,” Cyrus said, bouncing a little on the balls of his feet with nervous energy. Was he worried about bringing such a strange crowd to his parents’ house?

“You okay?”

“Oh, yeah. I hope everything goes smoothly.”

“I hope they don’t think I’m a total weirdo. I want them to like me,” Valerie said, wondering for the first time what Cyrus’s parents were like.

“Of course they’ll like you. Who could help it?” Cyrus said, trying to sound confident, but she heard the worry in his voice.

“Something’s bothering you.”

“It’s nothing. I hope they don’t tell embarrassing stories about me or anything,” Cyrus said. She let the subject drop, hoping he’d open up to her later.

The next two days passed like a dream for Valerie. Gideon captained the ship, with Jet helping him with navigation. The ocean water was so clear that they could stare down into the depths and sometimes see hints of the vast city beneath the waves. At night, lights glimmered through the water, and she couldn’t help but be entranced, imagining Leo living below the waves. But just as when she had been in Plymouth, it gave her a chill to imagine living so far away from the surface and the sunshine.

A few times, she even caught a glimpse of mermen and mermaids, the immortal residents and record keepers of Illyria. Their long hair was silky and fluid under water as they curiously approached the boat and then quickly swam away, satisfied that they were visitors skimming across the surface, not intruders trying to force their way into the underwater world.

Every morning, she checked in with Thai back on Earth to give him the update. At first, she felt guilty that he was sitting around, waiting for her to figure out where Henry was, but he seemed to be enjoying the time he spent in the woods, talking to Tan and exploring. At least he wasn’t miserable, because she didn’t know when she’d have any news for him now.

Valerie, Kanti, and Cyrus’s time didn’t go to waste during the long days of travel. On the first morning, the three friends practiced the moves that Gideon taught them on the bow of the ship. As Gideon watched and called down instructions, Valerie noticed Jet and Chrome watching her closely.

When she finally took a break, the wolves approached her, and Valerie’s mind was flooded with images, almost like a daydream, of a warrior in full armor being attacked by a group of assailants armed with many different types of weapons. The warrior’s incredible speed and skill kept all of the enemies at bay, and one by one, the attackers fell. When the warrior was the only one standing, the helmet that was hiding the warrior’s identity slid off. Valerie gasped when she saw her own face.

Gideon was standing beside her, sharing the vision. “Masters Jet and Chrome are showing you what you’re capable of, as well as what you need to work on—focus and speed. They want to help train you.”

“Yes, thank you,” she said eagerly, staring into the eyes of each wolf in turn so that they could see her gratitude.

For the rest of her time on the boat, she spent a large part of every day training with Jet and Chrome. She used a practice sword and shield, and her mission was to prevent the wolves from forcing her to the ground. Initially, she thought she would never be able to block even one wolf’s attack, never mind two. She was constantly being hurtled to the ground as they attacked her from all sides, and her bruises from her fight with Sanguina were joined by new black and blue marks all over her arms, knees, and back.

Physical combat was only part of the wolves’ training. Jet and Chrome also spent hours taking Valerie, Kanti, and Cyrus through a series of mental exercises that Valerie found as difficult as fighting. The wolves sent visions to the three friends of battles that they had witnessed in the past, and then quizzed them on the details of what they had seen. The wolves expected them to remember everything from the techniques of the fighters to where the defenses were weakest to who was wearing a red shirt. The visions seemed chaotic to Valerie at first and she had trouble remembering any of the details that they asked about.

But then Kanti commented that there was a rhythm pulsing through the battles. “It’s almost like a dance. Now that we’ve seen a few of these battles, I can recognize most of the moves. It’s like the battle has been choreographed.”

In the next vision, Valerie searched for the rhythm that Kanti had mentioned, and suddenly, as if something unlocked in her mind, she could see the pattern of the battle unfolding before her eyes. Every move was in reaction to something else, and she started to see the battle as a whole, rather than the sum of its parts. From that point on, her answers to the wolves’ questions became increasingly accurate.

She also noticed that she had a better awareness of where the wolves were located in relation to her at all times. When they were fighting with her, she was able to block out the details that weren’t relevant to the fight, like Kanti’s and Cyrus’s shouts of encouragement and the rocking of the boat.

The intensity of her focus was also critical in helping her speed—it was as if she was seeing her next two moves in her head, which enabled her to move without thinking. After two days of practice, she was able to block some of the wolves’ attacks as long as she channeled her magic, though she had yet to touch the point of her sword to their fur and claim a victory of her own.

When Valerie was sweaty from practicing all day, Kanti and Cyrus harassed her, insisting that it was time to learn how to swim. At the thought, the Laurel Circle turned ice cold. She remembered one day when she was six years old, and the boys who lived in the neighborhood of her foster family decided it would be funny to throw her into a lake and watch her drown. They’d pull her out at the last second and laugh as she threw up water. They’d done it three times before they finally got bored and left her alone. Since then, she’d never dipped so much as a toe in a body of water bigger than a bathtub.

But it was time to leave that behind, she decided. This was one fear she could conquer right now. She decided to let Cyrus coax her into the little pool on the boat. He showed her how to float on her back, blow bubbles, and eventually swim. She was surprised how quickly she caught on. The second night, when Gideon anchored the boat and told them they’d be there until dawn, Cyrus and Kanti told her it was time to jump in the ocean and practice her swimming for real.

But peering into the dark depths of the ocean, Valerie wasn’t so sure she was ready for that. Anything could be down there, ready to grab her and pull her into the darkness forever. She shuddered, remembering a special on sharks that she had seen on television. Sharks were probably tame compared to the mysterious creatures lurking in the depths of the Illyrian Ocean. Even the moonlight shining down on the water with its shimmering light dancing on the surface did not bring Valerie any comfort. No way was she getting in there, she decided, ready to turn back.

Then Cyrus stepped next to her and whispered, “So, let me get this straight. A gang of thugs attacking us in the middle of nowhere and robbing us of our powers doesn’t freak you out, but faced with a little water, you completely chicken out?”

“Hey, to be fair, it’s not exactly ‘a little water.’ It’s an ocean!”

“Whatever. Come on, wimp!” Cyrus yelled, and then cannonballed into the ocean.

“Show off!” Kanti shouted, and then dove into the water gracefully.

The Laurel Circle was freezing on her thumb. This was the chance to do what Gideon had said and fight her fear. She leapt off the side of the boat, briefly suspended in the air before crashing into the water below. Everything was dark, quiet, and cold under the waves. But then she clawed her way to the surface and gulped in a giant breath of air. Surprisingly, the cold ocean made her feel alive instead of frightened, as if every one of her senses was tingling. She felt so different from the girl she’d been back on Earth who had no one but the hospital staff to love and no new experiences in her life.

“Maybe there’s hope for you yet!” Cyrus said, splashing her playfully.

With strong, confident strokes, Valerie swam over to him and immediately dunked his head under the water. Kanti cheered.

To Valerie’s surprise, even Gideon and the wolves jumped in for a midnight swim. Splashing in the sparkling, moonlit water with her friends, proud that she had finally learned to swim, she reveled in the realization that this was one of the best times of her life. If only Henry and Thai were here to share it with her, her happiness would be complete.