The Society of Imaginary Friends

Zunya stepped out from behind a large rock. A crushing sense of defeat filled Valerie. Her fight was over before it had even begun. She never had a chance; she had been doomed when she left the relative safety of Elsinore. The Laurel Circle was a ring of ice around her thumb.

As he walked slowly toward her, Valerie’s power ebbed, but her tactical instincts were as sharp as ever. With a sudden revelation, she whispered, “Pathos!” and her weapon immediately returned to the callbox. If she needed it later, she could call for it. She knew that she could never defeat them all, even with her power. Her best hope was to make them think that she would go peacefully, but keep a sharp eye out for an escape. She wanted to face Sanguina on her own terms, not as Zunya’s prisoner.

“You know what I love about humans?” Zunya said, his yellow eyes resting on Valerie. “How gullible and stupid they are.”

“But… but I heard you on the phone, at Cyrus’s house,” she said, wishing her voice didn’t sound so small and shaky.

“You really don’t grasp what magic is, do you? With a little help from Ani to rig the phone, I made sure your call was routed straight to me. The rest was a magical imitation of that pathetic lightweaver’s father. You know, I never guessed that you were so brainless when I watched you back on Earth.”

“And I never guessed what a scum-sucking lowlife you are,” Valerie snapped back, surprised that she was still able to think straight through her fear.

“You’ll address me with respect!” Zunya’s eyes flashed, and she saw a glint of madness in them.

“I would rather eat crap,” Valerie spat.

Without another word, Zunya grabbed her arm. It was pain like she had never experienced before. Her scream pierced the heavy mist, reverberating off of the rocks. The pain shot through her mind and body, tearing her apart from the inside out. It was as if her magic was knit with her soul, and he was ripping it away.

“Uh, boss, didn’t Sanguina want to, you know, see her first?” Valerie heard Shade say dimly through her agony.

Zunya let go of her arm, and the absence of pain was so sweet that she almost fainted from relief. Zunya sneered at Shade in disgust. “You’re pathetic, no better than the rest of your little gang. I thought you wanted this one to suffer.”

“I do! I mean, do whatever you want, I was just saying…” Shade trailed off. He seemed so different from when Valerie had met him in the woods. He was stripped of his arrogant confidence. Shade and his gang were clearly ready to crawl through hot coals if Zunya asked. He was a kid, like her—a kid who was almost as out of his league as she was.

“Take her to the dungeon. Don’t speak a word to her—I’ll be watching every step of the way.”

Shade half led, half supported Valerie down a winding path through the rocks. She was still so weak from Zunya’s touch that she could barely keep herself standing upright. Any hope that she had of defeating Sanguina evaporated. All she could do now was negotiate to keep Cyrus alive. Zunya trailed a short distance behind them, far enough that he didn’t suck away any more of her strength so that she was able to walk, but close enough to make sure that she didn’t try to escape.

The familiar ache of guilt and despair weighed on her soul, threatening to rob her last shred of strength. But she fought it. She wasn’t dead yet, and Zunya had to be keeping her alive for a reason. Even if it was only so Sanguina could finish her off, she still had one last chance. She hadn’t come all this way to give up now.

Finally, they reached the moat in front of the castle, which was desert dry. Up close, the castle still flickered, changing shape every few seconds. But certain parts of it never moved, she noticed as the giant iron door to the castle opened wide enough for them to walk through in single file. Inside, it was so dark that she could barely make out the high walls made of a strange, black stone that sparkled slightly in the light coming through the cracked door. The glittering stone walls disappeared as the giant iron door boomed shut behind them.

“When you’re done, report to me,” Zunya said to Shade, and then strode away, leaving them alone.

As Valerie’s eyes adjusted to the dimness, she saw that a few flickering lights hovered on the ceiling. They were balls of faint light that had been created by magic, and they provided so little light. How could anyone find their way around the castle without becoming hopelessly lost? Shade led her down a long passage. She heard nothing but the sound of her own breathing.

Then he surprised her by breaking the silence with an urgent whisper. “We got a score to settle, you and I. And I plan to collect—but this ain’t the time for that.”

Hearing the tone of his voice, Valerie felt hope. “Will you help me? I have to stop Zunya and Sanguina! They’re trying to hurt—or maybe even kill—my brother and my best friend!”

“Shut up! They got amazing hearing.”

“Please?” she begged quietly.

Shade wouldn’t meet her eyes. “Even if I wanted to help you, I couldn’t. They’re too strong.”

“You could try! Tell them that I escaped,” Valerie said. Shade’s gang edged closer, not about to let her go anywhere.

“You escape and we answer for it,” he said. “Now shut up and listen. I can’t let you go, but I can give you some info that might help you. First off, don’t let Zunya touch you—ever. You’ll lose your power for good after a few minutes of contact. It’s way worse than my power-eater. You gotta avoid it at all cost, or you’re done for.”

“Gee, thanks, that’s really helpful,” she said, not quite managing to keep the sarcasm out of her voice.

“You want to hear what I gotta say, or you want me to throw you in a dungeon cell that’s infested with snakes?” he said, towering over her threateningly.

She was still weak, but she was tempted to take him on anyway. Then Cyrus’s and Henry’s faces flashed through her mind, and she thought better of it. If Shade had information that could help her, she owed it to them to listen. “Sorry, go on.”

Shade nodded, satisfied with her apology, and continued. “Zunya’s not the worst thing in this castle. There’s this crazy lady who’s the boss of him, and you got to stay on her good side. If you don’t, you’ll either wind up in a cell until the end of time or you’ll disappear forever. Even Zunya obeys her.”

“Is it only the two of them? I mean, if we all attacked at once, we could defeat them for sure!”

Shade snorted. “Not likely. Besides all the invisible guards they have with all sorts of powers, there’s another guy who comes here, too. I don’t know anything about him, except that whenever he’s here, there’s always lots of screaming. I get me and my gang outta here then.”

“Is he here now?”

“Nah, I don’t think so. It’s too quiet,” he said as he opened a tall arched door. He led Valerie down a long hall lined with cells on either side. Inside, silent shadows hunched in the corners of the cells, barely moving. They were the prisoners. It was eerily quiet for a prison, and she sensed that terrible, unspeakable things had happened to make these prisoners so silent and motionless.

“I know this is a lot to ask, Shade, but my friends are coming to help me. When they came before, they couldn’t find the castle on their own.”

He nodded knowingly. “It can only be found if the person coming has permission, or someone who does have permission shows them the way,” he explained.

“Would you show them the path if—when—they come?”

He glanced around nervously, and her heart sank. But then, to her surprise, he said, “I’ll do what I can. No promises. I’m not gonna do anything that gets me or mine killed. All right, we’re here,” he said, leading her to a cell. Then he whispered, “It’s the cell next to your friend, the lightweaver guy. I’m not sure what happened to him, but he don’t look so good.”

If she didn’t know better, Valerie would almost swear that Shade was worried. Gripping his shoulder briefly, she said, “Thank you, Shade.”

“My real name’s Jack. And, uh, good luck or whatever,” he said, and then closed her cell with a clang. He and his gang scurried down the hall, clearly eager to be away from the eerie, dark prison.

“Cy?” Valerie called, wishing more than ever for a little light. There was no response. “Hello?”

Not a single prisoner responded. Had Jack had lied? Maybe she was alone here, buried underground, forgotten, forever. Her friends would never know what happened to her, and eventually they would forget about her while she rotted down here. She thought the darkness would eat her alive, and it would be as if she had never existed.