The Society of Imaginary Friends

By the time Henry and Valerie lugged an unconscious Thai across five miles of open grasslands to the closest hospital, they were exhausted. The hospital turned out to be not much more than a simple building with one large room that contained rows of cots. Luckily it wasn’t busy, so Thai was given immediate attention. Valerie vaguely explained that he had been bitten by a poisonous frog on their hike, hoping the nurse wouldn’t be too suspicious. She breathed an internal sigh of relief when the nurse nodded, unsurprised.

“Many people come here after they’re bitten by frogs and snakes near the falls,” she said. “We’ll fix him up in no time.”

The nurse opened a drawer, took out a syringe filled with a milky fluid, and injected it into Thai’s abdomen. Color quickly returned to his cheeks and his eyes fluttered open.

“I’m okay,” Thai rasped, seeing Valerie hovering over him anxiously. She squeezed his hand, and his eyes searched hers. “You’re really here? You’re not just projecting from the Globe?”

Her heart lifted at the energy returning to his voice. “It’s a long story—I’ll tell you everything when you’ve had a chance to rest. I was so afraid that I was going to lose you.”

“Did you really think a little poison could get the best of me?”

“How silly of me,” she quipped.

Then Thai slept, and the hospital staff let Valerie and Henry collapse on two of the unused cots nearby. As she rubbed her gritty eyes, she noticed that the Laurel Circle was just a gray lump of metal around her thumb. It was dull and plain choked off from the magic that lit it up from the inside out. Now that she was back on Earth, she also felt as if her energy had faded without her magic to lend her strength. Her old illness tugged at the back of her mind. How long would she survive with Earth’s rules binding her power? However, despite these worries and physical exhaustion, her mind was at peace. At last, everyone she loved was safe.

The next day, while Thai lay in bed recuperating, he and Valerie gave Henry a very long explanation of everything that had happened to them. When Thai got to the part about Venu attacking Mrs. Leeds in the alley, Henry became tense.

“He hurt Mrs. Leeds? Is she okay?” he asked anxiously.

“She’s fine. The paramedics got there in time. I thought Venu’s attack on her was random, but I guess not, since you obviously know her.”

“She’s my teacher. Why would he hurt her?”

“Maybe Venu thought she might know where to find you,” Valerie said thoughtfully.

“You’re probably right,” Thai agreed. “But no need to worry, Henry. I made sure that she was okay before I left. She’s probably back at work by now.”

Henry nodded, reassured, and Valerie continued the story, telling Henry all about the Globe, how she had discovered that he was her brother, and the defeat of Sanguina. As he listened, fascination replaced the fear in his eyes.

“All this time—Sanguina couldn’t touch me,” Henry said, shaking his head as if he couldn’t quite believe it. “It all seemed so real, like she could choke the life out of me at any time. But that wasn’t the worst part. She knew things about my family, like how my dad blames himself for my mom’s death. Once, when I disobeyed her, Sanguina punished me by pretending to be the ghost of my mother, blaming my dad for letting her die. My dad believed it was Mom and was so depressed that he didn’t come out of his room for days. He’s never been the same since. After that, I was too afraid not to do whatever she wanted.”

“How horrible,” Valerie said. It was still so strange to hear about her brother’s life—so different from her own in many ways, but filled with the same loneliness and terror.

“I still don’t get it—what did Sanguina want from you?” Thai asked.

“It sounds so stupid, now,” Henry said, embarrassed. “She told me that I had the ability to give other people magic powers. I guess that was a lie, too.”

“I don’t know about that,” Valerie said thoughtfully, and then explained how Conjurors like the not-so-invisible Blake had been appearing with powers that had never been heard of on the Globe before.

“Hey, I did do that! Sanguina forced me to make a bunch of these guys appear invisible, and to make their magic untraceable by other Conjurors. Did it really work?”

Before Valerie could reply, Cyrus popped into view. Henry jumped up in surprise.

“Nice to meet ya,” Cyrus said to Henry. “I didn’t want to visit until Val filled you in.”

“H-hi,” Henry replied uncertainly.

“There’s a bunch of people who are dying to say hi. Is it okay if they visit?”

“Yes! Send everyone!” Valerie said, eager to see her friends.

Only Azra and Kanti walked through the door, obviously trying not to startle Henry by appearing out of thin air like Cyrus had done. Still, Henry gawked at the sight of a real unicorn approaching him.

We didn’t want to overwhelm you, so I thought only Kanti and I would visit for now. The others will stop by later, Azra said with a concerned glance toward Henry. Valerie could see that Henry was a little dazed by all of the information being heaped on him and by the fact that a unicorn was talking to him in his head. I am so glad to meet you, Henry and Thai.

“It’s an honor,” Thai said, nodding respectfully.

Valerie saw the same calm on Henry’s awestruck face that Azra always brought to her. “Glad to meet you, too. Valerie’s told me a lot about you,” he said with an affectionate glance at his sister.

“So what happened? How is it possible that I’m on Earth?” Valerie asked, unable to contain her curiosity.

Midnight was with us when you disappeared from the Globe. No one knew what had become of you, but she explained to me later that there are exceptions to the rule that no one can return to Earth. Those exceptions are guarded secrets. One is that a blood relative on Earth can call back a family member in times of great need. This rule hasn’t applied to anyone for decades, because no one has come to the Globe from Earth in a long time.

“ ‘When blood calls blood, answer its thrumming call,’ ” Valerie quoted. “That’s what the prophecy said.”

“So—I brought Valerie back to Earth?” Henry asked.

Yes. There is powerful magic inside of you, Henry. Aside from the ability to grant powers to others across the universe, which is a feat in and of itself, you have many untapped psychic abilities. You and Valerie are two of the most gifted, powerful Conjurors I have encountered in centuries.

“Then it’s true—there really is magic inside me, like Valerie,” Henry said.

“I always knew it,” Kanti said, speaking up for the first time. “Remember your old imaginary friend?”

Henry looked at her closely, confused. But seconds later, recognition spread across his face. “Kanti? You’re real?”

“Yep!” she said with a grin, her reservation gone. “Miss me as much as I missed you?”

“More,” Henry replied. Then the two went to the other end of the room and began to chatter, rapidly catching up and sharing stories about the time they spent together when Kanti was Henry’s imaginary friend.

“So what happens now?” Valerie asked Azra when Henry was out of earshot. “Can Henry survive on Earth? And how long do I have before…” she trailed off. She knew that coming back to Earth to save Henry would kill her before long, but she didn’t regret it for a second. Even if her return did kill her, now she could die loved, surrounded by her family.

Now, you will begin a new journey. Much has changed, but one thing remains true. Earth is no place for you, Valerie. Or for Henry.

“How much time do they have?” Thai asked, putting a protective arm around Valerie’s shoulders.

I believe that Valerie’s sickness was accelerated because Henry’s magic was pulling on hers every time he reached out to her with his mind when he was afraid. The magic inside of her was trying to burst out in order to help him, but Earth’s rules stifled it. And when her magic was stifled, so was her life.

“So she’s gonna be okay now that Henry is free of Sanguina, right?” Cyrus said, his blue eyes anxious.

Without Henry’s magic pulling on yours, Valerie, you won’t die as quickly. But neither you nor Henry will live to grow old here, either. That is why you must both come to the Globe to live. The magic inside of you is too great, and unless you are free to use it, that magic will wither and die, and you will perish with it.

“But the Great Pyramid—it was destroyed!” Valerie exclaimed. Azra’s eyes twinkled, and Valerie’s pulse quickened with hope.

There is another way. When you’ve had a chance to recover, I’ll tell you all about it. It’s not going to be easy, and it will definitely involve some traveling. But I have the feeling you’re up for it, Azra said with a slight toss of her mane.

“I have never been more ready for anything in my entire life!” Valerie could have jumped for joy. Her adventure wasn’t ending. It was beginning.

Epilogue

Within the darkest room of the highest tower in the black castle of Dunsinane, Sanguina shivered on the bare, stone floor, waiting. The desolate chamber was icy cold and completely devoid of any comfort whatsoever. Only Reaper’s blood red throne cast an ominous glimmer in the darkness.

Had it always been so dim in here? Yesterday, with her super-sharp vampyre eyes, every crack in the walls was visible to her. But now, with her senses dulled by her human frailty, she realized how terrifyingly pitch black the castle really was. Gloom was everywhere, suffocating what was left of her soul. Soon that same blackness would invade her body. She would be dead, executed for her failure to obey Reaper’s order. But she accepted her fate, only regretting that she’d never have the chance to bathe herself in light one last time, now that it could no longer destroy her.

Suddenly, Sanguina heard a crackling, as if the air was full of charged particles. Reaper was here. When he was angry, the air always crackled like that, and it prickled her skin like little electric shocks. Despite being resigned to her death, fear filled Sanguina, choking her. When she was a vampyre, she couldn’t experience fear herself—she could only feast on the fear of others. It had been a very long time since fear had made her heart thump rapidly and caused sweat to bead up on her forehead. Strangely, a tiny part of her heart relished her ability to actually feel something again.

“Why?” The agony in Reaper’s roar cut through Sanguina like a carving knife.

“I wasn’t strong enough,” she replied, knowing she could never tell him the truth. “And for that, I know I must forfeit my life.”

“Everyone I trusted had disappointed me in some way, until you. You were different. It wasn’t only that you were strong and smart. You shared my vision.”

“I still do!” Sanguina said automatically, but even as she said it, doubt crept into her mind. She didn’t know what she wanted anymore.

“This was the final test, and I never doubted you would pass it. You were so close to sharing my power. If you had killed the girl, you would have been my partner, my equal, maybe even more. Together we could have made my vision a reality,” Reaper said wistfully.

“I’m sorry,” Sanguina whispered. And she was sorry—sorry that she had disappointed the person who had made her what she was, who had trained her and taught her to use her powers when others would have abandoned her to her fate as a vampyre, shut away from the light and the rest of the world. She was sorry that now they would never explore the bond that was growing between them. She regretted many things, but she couldn’t bring herself to be sorry that she had not killed Valerie.

Reaper’s voice hardened. “Hearing those simpering words from you disgusts me. Enough with what could have been. You failed me. Now you will never be more than one of my henchmen, like the others.”

His words humiliated and hurt Sanguina, but she also found a thread of hope forming inside her. “Can it be that you will let me live?”

“Why should I?” he asked, standing over her imperiously.

“I won’t beg,” Sanguina replied, her voice cold. She had nothing, now, no friends and none of her vampyre power. All she had left was the last dregs of her pride, and she was willing to die for them. She rose from her knees and stared him directly in the eye. “Go ahead. Kill me,” she commanded.

Reaper laughed. It wasn’t a cold laugh, but rather a chortle of true enjoyment. He had always despised weakness in others, and he punished it more severely than defiance. “Good! You have some fight left in you. Maybe you can be of use to me yet.”

“I know I can still help you. I believe in your vision,” Sanguina enticed, knowing that only her ability to help him would keep her alive.

Reaper eyed her critically. “Your failure does present an opportunity. I have been watching the Grand Masters closely. They have knowledge that I need in order to take my next step, but they guard their secrets well. I require someone else I can trust to keep an eye on them with me and help me learn their secrets.”

“Reaper, I will obey any order you give, but I ask you—why would they ever trust me? I would undoubtedly arouse their suspicions.”

“Perhaps not. If you surrender and repent, I believe those feeble Conjurors, especially Azra, will forgive you out of their own guilt for how you were treated when you first turned into a vampyre. Use their guilt to your advantage.”

Sanguina nodded thoughtfully. “I accept the challenge.”

“Now, there is one more thing we need to discuss. Your payment.”

“I require no payment but the honor of serving you,” she said, bowing deeply.

“Ha! No, Sanguina, it is you who must pay me for what I have given you. Your life.”

Fear flashed through her like lightning, making the hair on her arms stand on end. “What payment do you demand?”

“You will pay with power, and with your own flesh.”

Despite herself, Sanguina physically recoiled from his words. Only once had she seen Reaper exact such a price—from Zunya after he had turned her into a vampyre. Zunya used a glamour to hide his missing hand, but nothing could make Sanguina forget his pain. As if remembering him, Reaper summoned him to the room. Zunya entered, a cruel sneer on his face. Sanguina could see his undisguised joy at finally making her suffer for replacing him at Reaper’s side. He would relish sucking away her power, just as much as Reaper would revel in taking her flesh.

“Kneel!” Reaper commanded. Sanguina forced herself to fall to her knees. Disobedience was not an option. She knew, without a doubt, her life would be the forfeit. No one left the black castle unless Reaper permitted it. “Remember, you brought this on yourself.”

Then, Reaper tore apart her right leg cell by cell, dissolving it before her eyes, and Zunya sucked away all but the dregs of her magic from her soul. Sanguina’s anguished screams filled the black castle, and their echo reverberated around the Globe. For a moment, Conjurors everywhere tasted her fear.

THE END

Afterword

The rest of the books in The Conjurors Series are now available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, iTunes and Smashwords.

If you write a review on any of the sites above and email me a link to your review, I’ll send you the next book in the series for free.

I hope you continue to follow Valerie on her journey!

The Society of Imaginary Friends

Knights of Light

Guardians of the Boundary

Edge of Pathos

About the Author

Kristen Pham lives for really great fudge, rollercoasters, and exploring new worlds via fiction. She lives in San Jose, CA with her children, where she eagerly waits for them to turn eleven and receive their invitations to Hogwarts. Her childhood memories of adventures with her imaginary friends inspired The Conjurors Series.

You can reach her on Twitter (www.twitter.com/theconjurors), Facebook, and her website (www.kristenpham.com).