The Society of Imaginary Friends

For one thrilling moment, Valerie hurtled down, down into the well in a complete free fall. Remembering what Kanti had said, Valerie forced herself to turn her thoughts toward ice, snow, anything cold. A strange sensation seized her entire frame. For a split second, warm bubbles tickled her and a sweet taste filled her mouth.

As she fell, the sight of stone and dirt vanished and Valerie’s vision went blank. She was hovering alone in the middle of nothingness, suspended in time and space. She didn’t know if she was frozen there for a second or a millennium, but suddenly time sped up, and a cold blast of air hit her in the chest, knocking the wind out of her. Bright blue sky blinded her, and she fell several feet to the ground, tumbling into a tangled heap with Kanti.

“Yes! It worked!” Kanti exclaimed.

“What worked?” Valerie asked, rubbing a sore spot on her knee.

“We’re in Elsinore, in the woods right behind my house. We can hide out there while we try to figure out what to do next.”

“It’s freezing here!”

“Don’t worry, we’ll be inside soon,” Kanti said.

“I hope Cyrus and the others are okay. Do you think the plan worked and those transparent guys jumped in after us?” Valerie asked anxiously. Had she made the right choice by running? Her place was by Gideon’s side, fighting like a warrior.

Suddenly, the sky flashed above their heads, and one of the transparent Conjurors who had attacked them in Messina fell from midair and landed in a pile of snow that had fallen from a nearby tree. Instinctively, Valerie leapt into one of the defensive stances that Gideon had taught her, positioning herself between Kanti and their enemy and curling her hands into fists.

The breakable rolled over in the snow, groaning. Valerie tensed, ready to fight, but he yelled, “Wait, please, don’t hurt me! I don’t want to fight.”

“Yeah, right!” Kanti said, almost shouting.

“Why should we trust you? You ambushed us!” Valerie added.

“I didn’t have a choice! Zunya’s punishment for disobedience is worse than death,” he said, shuddering. “He ordered us to capture you, and I had no other choice than to obey.”

Valerie straightened from her crouch but didn’t let her fists relax. Her mind raced. “What happened to the others?”

“I don’t know—Zunya told us to jump in the well after you, so I did. I think the others followed me, but I jumped in first, so I can’t be sure.”

“If you are so against Zunya, why did you join him in the first place? Who are you?” Valerie asked.

“And why shouldn’t Valerie kick your butt right now?” Kanti added.

“I’m Blake. I wish I never got into this whole mess. I wanted a power so badly, and Zunya said that he could take me to someone who could give me one. In return, I’d work for him for a while. It was cool at first—I was given the power of invisibility. No one could track my magic and no one could see me. I thought I’d be the perfect spy and become really famous.”

“Wait a sec, wonder boy,” Kanti interrupted. “Magic always leaves a trail, and we had experts following us 24/7. So cut the crap.”

“Oh yeah? Well I guess you’re not as smart as you thought you were because my friends and I followed you all the way from Arden to Messina, and you had no idea we were there—even those wolf trackers didn’t have a clue!” Blake grinned triumphantly until Kanti gripped his shoulder tightly. He shrank away from her touch.

Valerie ignored his comment, lost in her own thoughts. It seemed like his power defied the laws of magic, and even Azra and Gideon hadn’t known about this. Would she ever be safe, since someone like Blake could slip past any defense and ambush her when she least expected it? Even the most skilled guardians on the Globe hadn’t been able to stop them.

“But as you can see, the power is wearing off,” Blake continued, woefully holding up his hand. It was true; Valerie could see that he was already less transparent—more like a ghost than glass.

“And that’s not the worst part. The power had a side effect. I’ve become breakable,” he said, his eyes wide with horror. “I have to be careful all the time, or I’ll shatter. But Zunya keeps sending us out to fight, knowing what could happen to us,” he finished, showing them a shattered finger that might blow apart from the next strong breeze.

“Who gave you your power?” Valerie asked.

“This crazy vampyre with red hair cast a spell. Someone was helping her, but I didn’t get a good look at the guy. I wish my power was to turn back time, so I could avoid this whole mess!”

Blake fell to his knees and started to sniffle. She knew that she could disable him with little more than a kick, but she didn’t have it in her heart to leave him crippled in the snow. Besides, he seemed more concerned with his broken finger than capturing Valerie now that Zunya wasn’t there to give him orders.

“All right, I guess I believe you. Go on your way,” Valerie said.

“But if you breathe one word to Zunya, we’ll tell him that you revealed his secrets,” Kanti warned.

“Thank you!” Blake said gratefully. “You can count on me not to say a word.”

He started to walk away, but Valerie called him back. “One last thing. If you, or anyone you know, needs a power, go to Azra next time. She’ll help you, no strings attached.”

He hung his head glumly. “I know. But I heard that it’s hard work developing a power with Azra. It takes time and training for her to bring it out in you. I thought this Zunya guy would hand it to me. I should have known there’d be a catch.”

After Blake had gone, Kanti turned to Valerie. “We better figure out our next step, fast.”

“Yeah, I don’t trust Blake.”

“Me, either. He’ll give us up in a second to the next person who threatens him,” Kanti replied.

“Then let’s move,” Valerie said with determination.

As Kanti led the way out of the woods, Valerie’s mind sped a million miles an hour over what had happened. Even the bitter cold, which her thin sweater did little to keep out, and her chattering teeth couldn’t distract her from her worries. Was everyone safe back in Messina? Where could she possibly hide so that Sanguina wouldn’t find her? How would she ever rescue Henry now?

Then, almost as if thinking his name triggered the connection, Valerie saw a flash of light and was pulled into Henry’s reality. “Kanti…” she tried to tell her friend what was about to happen, but before she could, the world around her vanished.

“What did Sanguina tell you earlier?” Venu said angrily to Henry, who was trying to back away in fear. Venu grabbed him roughly by the front of his shirt. “She said to do everything I said.”

“Please, I want to call my dad,” Henry said, his voice trembling with emotion. It broke Valerie’s heart.

“No calls! And no more warnings,” Venu said, his voice dangerously angry.

As they spoke, Valerie desperately tried to make sense of where they were. It seemed as if Venu had taken Henry somewhere busy. People bustled by purposefully, and she saw a food court. Was it a mall? Henry turned, and she saw through his eyes out a large window. Outside, airplanes taxied down a long runway. Her panic for Henry increased. Wherever Venu was taking him, it was far away.

‘Show me your ticket, give me a clue where you’re going, Henry, please!’ Valerie tried to shout her thought to Henry, hoping that somehow he might be able to sense her wish.

“Please, tell me where we’re going,” Henry said as Venu yanked him through the crowd. “I’m really sorry about the call. It won’t happen again.”

“Shut your trap. You know everything you need to know,” Venu replied, his fierce eyes boring into Henry’s.

Henry’s fear was consuming him. Then, finally, she caught a break. Venu gripped Henry by the arm and pulled him to a gate. As he handed the flight attendant two tickets, Valerie caught a glimpse of the final destination—Zambia, Africa.

“It’s okay, Henry. I’m going to find a way to help you. I promise,” Valerie said, and his heartbeat slowed a little. At least she knew where he was going now. But without the strength of his fear to connect them, Henry’s world dissolved before her eyes. She hoped that maybe she had comforted him a little.

Back on the Globe, Kanti had propped Valerie up against a tree. Kanti paced worriedly in front of her, and then knelt next to her when Valerie made eye contact. “What happened? Is Henry okay?” she asked anxiously.

“No. But I know where he’s going. Let’s get moving while I tell you everything. It’s freezing out here,” Valerie said through chattering teeth.

Kanti and Valerie began walking, and for the first time, Valerie was hopeful. She finally had a concrete clue as to how to find Henry. She then related everything she had seen to Kanti, who gnawed on her fingernails as she listened.

“Now I have to tell Thai where to find Henry,” Valerie concluded.

“The sooner the better!” Kanti agreed.

“I hate sending him after Venu with no protection. I wasn’t even able to create that charm to protect him from Sanguina and the Fractus.”

Kanti’s eyes lit up. “I have an idea. I know someone in town who sells the crystals with the charm already cast on it. They can be pretty pricey, but that shouldn’t be a problem.”

Valerie was about to protest, but they stepped out of the forest, and standing in front of her was an enormous castle that was straight out of the pages of a fairy tale. It seemed to be carved entirely from ice, and it sparkled in the late afternoon sun. Other than a few stray groundskeepers sweeping snow off of immaculate stone paths, there was no one to witness their arrival.

“Ah, home sweet home,” Kanti said sarcastically.

“I remember you saying something about your house, but I had no idea…” Valerie drifted off.

“Yeah, I know. It’s a little bigger than you imagined,” Kanti said with a shake of her head.

Valerie had to smile at her understatement. “A tad.”

“Let’s just say my family’s motto is something along the lines of ‘the bigger and more expensive, the better.’ Trust me; it’s not as big a deal as you think. We’ll only be inside for a minute. I just have to grab something from my room that we’re gonna need to get the charm for Thai,” Kanti said, leading Valerie toward a small door at the back of the castle.

Kanti opened it and peeked in. She motioned Valerie to be quiet, and the two slipped inside. Valerie stared around in amazement, her body beginning to thaw as the warm air chased away the chill that had crept into her bones during their walk through the forest. All of the walls and furniture were carved out of ice, yet it wasn’t freezing inside the castle.

“Magic keeps the ice from melting, even when the heater’s turned on. The spell is a guarded family secret,” Kanti whispered, seeing Valerie staring at everything with amazement. “Now if we can sneak up to my room and out of here without anyone noticing—”

“Kanti, darling! What a splendid surprise!” A tall, beautiful woman with streaming hair descended lightly down a sweeping staircase of ice.

“No such luck,” Kanti muttered under her breath. Then she turned on a fake smile. “Hello, Mom,” she said with forced cheerfulness. Kanti stood stiffly as her mother kissed the air beside each of her cheeks. “Mother, this is my friend, Valerie. Valerie, this is my dear mother, Pauline.”

“Nice to meet you,” Valerie said with a polite smile.

Kanti’s mom stared into Valerie’s eyes searchingly, and Valerie sensed a slight hum of magic. Pauline’s eyes widened in surprise, and she gushed, “I like your new friend, darling! She’s powerful. She’ll fit in well here. At last, you’re making quality friends.”

Kanti narrowed her eyes. “We’re friends because she’s cool, Mom, not because she’s powerful.”

“Sweetheart, let’s not argue. Of course, Valerie’s lovely, I’m sure. I’m simply surprised to see you, that’s all. Is everything well?”

Kanti’s face softened a little. “Actually, we could really use your help. You see, what happened is—” she started to explain, but her mother interrupted her.

“This will be a long story, won’t it? Darling, I want to hear all about it, but right now I’m off to the duchess’s party. I really must be seen there before it’s too late. We’ll catch up later.” Kanti’s mother whisked herself away, leaving behind only the sickeningly sweet smell of her perfume.

Kanti paled, heartbroken, but she quickly recovered. Valerie gave her hand a sympathetic squeeze. “She seems, um, nice.”

“I can’t stay mad at her anymore. I can see now that she can’t help the way she is—like cotton candy—all sweet and no substance,” Kanti said with a sigh. “She and my dad are so alike. They were so relieved when I moved far away where I can’t embarrass them. She seems to like you, though.”

“Yeah, what’s up with that?”

“My mom’s power is that she can sense how strong others’ powers are. She must have sensed that you have a lot of magic inside you. Around here, that counts for a lot.”

“Sounds like living here must be a lot of pressure.”

“You have no idea.”

Kanti led Valerie up the stairs and down a long hall. They turned so many corners that Valerie was certain she wouldn’t be able to find her way out on her own. Finally, Kanti stopped and entered a room in which the ice walls had been stained black and covered in posters of bands that Valerie recognized from Earth. Despite the many thoughts and worries spinning inside Valerie’s head, she smiled. Kanti was so out of place here. Her room seemed like a piece of another world that was accidentally dropped into this storybook castle.

Valerie heard the most beautiful singing coming from somewhere nearby. She went to the window and opened it. She saw an angelic-looking girl with golden hair who was a few years older than Kanti leaning her elbows on her windowsill and singing. Below, several handsome young men stared up at her adoringly.

Kanti stood next to Valerie and peeked out the window. Then she gave an exaggerated gag. “Peach. She’s the most musical of my sisters. She’s out there every day, rain or shine. She can’t get enough of the attention. Am I the only one who thinks she’s ridiculous?”

Valerie shook her head in disbelief. “I’m relieved it’s not only me who thinks that’s weird. I can see why you had to get out of this place. It’s like, the exact opposite of your personality.”

Kanti grabbed a small pouch from under her mattress and stuffed it into her pocket and then tossed Valerie a coat. “I know. How could my parents have ever made a kid like me? But enough ranting about my family. Put that on and let’s get outta here.”

Valerie’s mind immediately snapped back to the task at hand, and suddenly the glittery surroundings and chirping princess seemed silly to her. She gratefully wrapped herself in Kanti’s coat and followed her out of the castle.