Forest of Illusions (The Broken Prism) (20 page)

They decided to stay in the copse for the night, resting their tired bodies and eating and drinking their fill. Everyone’s temper improved
so much that they were even getting along with Oliver for a change as they discussed what might be happening back at Mizzenwald right now and what they might expect in the Forest of Illusions.

Will wonders never cease?

Bonk and Slasher continued to behave more like their normal selves, and the former hadn’t had a nightmare or a hard time eating since they’d left Mizzenwald. Either he knew they were headed to save his friend, or maybe he was just enjoying the change of scenery; either way, Hayden was immensely relieved to see his familiar recovering, and that night he went to sleep with hope in his heart.

It took a full week for them to reach a town, and when they saw posters with their descriptions and names on the front of prominent-looking buildings, naming them criminals and offering a large reward for their capture, they quickly departed.

“Man, it looks like the
Fias are taking our absence really personally,” Zane whistled nervously. “I’ve never been a fugitive of the law before.”

“I wonder if these are up all over
Junir, or if it’s just the towns nearest to Mizzenwald,” Tess mused out loud.

“I hope they’re not everywhere, or it’ll make it that much harder for us to get supplies we might need until we cross over into
Amvale,” Hayden grimaced.

“This looks like
Alyria,” Oliver observed without interest, ignoring their conversation or the startling news that he was a wanted man. “If we make a sharp turn west, we can be in Amvale in a few days, and then we’ll turn south again.”

Hayden trusted Oliver more with geography than
he did himself, so they agreed to the plan and continued west this time.

Things seemed to get easier as the days went on, though it was probably only because they were adjusting to their new routine. Often the familiars went hunting for them, though sometimes Tess took to her bow to bring down larger animals, while the others would divide chores and gather water, nuts, or berries, and tend to the cooking fire. Tess had even begun to show them how to properly dress their kills, though Zane was the only one who proved a quick learner and was able to help her in the evenings.

They occasionally talked about what they might expect from the sorcerers when they encountered them, but as none of them really knew much about their northern counterparts it was hard to make any solid plans along those lines. They did inventory of all the magical weapons in Hayden’s bag, swapping out some on their belts for others that were better suited to them, and in the evenings they made sure to study their new instruments and practice as much as was safe. Hayden stayed near the fire, despite the infernal heat, or else he wouldn’t be able to see through his prisms once the sun set. He could usually look through the violet one now without giving himself a headache, as long as he didn’t rotate it too fast or try to use anything too complex.

It took them almost another week to cross over into Amvale, and another three days to find a town that was large enough to stop in, as the roads in Amvale tended to lead to small trading outposts rather than residential areas.

“It’s weird to think that it’s the
summer holiday right now,” Zane said to no one, as they approached the town with caution. “Everyone else has gone home to their families by now, or is staying at school to do some extra reading…though I don’t see who would want to stay at Mizzenwald with the Fias hanging around.”

“Maybe we’ll be back by
fall term,” Hayden offered hopefully, but Oliver snorted.

“We’ll be lucky to reach the Fores
t by fall term at this rate. I underestimated how long it would take to walk all the way around the cape and back north to the Forest—it looks different on the map.”

In truth, Hayden had underestimated the distance as well. On the maps he’d seen at school everything seemed so close together, but he was beginning to appreciate just how large the continent was. He shuddered to think of making this journey all by himself, if the others hadn’t insisted on coming with him while he was being stubborn and in
lead-Binders.

They tried to look as inconspicuous as possible as they entered the town, just a few school-aged mages on summer holiday traveling through
Amvale. They made it all the way to the cobbler before they saw a poster with their names and crimes on it.

“We’re even wanted in
Amvale?
” Zane made a horrified face. “That means these signs have to be up all over Junir…even in Calypso!”

“Why does that matter?” Oliver scowled haughtily while Tess debated going into the cobbler’s to replace her shoes, which had holes worn into the soles by now
from all their walking.

Zane turned to Hayden and said, “I really hope we die in the Forest of Illusions, because if I make it back alive, my mom will kill me.”

“Are you telling me you fear a lecture from your own mother more than dying at the hands of strangers?” Oliver asked incredulously.

“You’ve never seen my mother angry before. Nothing the sorcerers can do to me will be worse than that.” He shuddered.

Hayden chuckled darkly as Tess made up her mind and entered the cobblers’, Zane following behind her. Hayden was about to step inside as well when Oliver grabbed his arm and said, “This way. I saw a guild bank up that street, and we’ll need money before we go too much farther.”

“But the others—”

“There’s no reason to bring them along; I doubt they have credit to draw upon. Now come on—the sooner we leave, the sooner we can be back and out of this town. Your friends are buying shoes, not battling sorcerers—they’ll be fine.”

Hayden allowed himself to be led away, up the road that Oliver had pointed to
a moment ago. He knew that guild banks were typically used by the magically-inclined, since they were the only ones who understood enough about magic to make appropriate loans and deals. He’d never had reason to enter one before, since he never had any real money to his name, and his mother hadn’t been able to use magic at all.

Oliver walked in like he owned the place, glancing around with casual interest at the polished hardwood floors and marble countertops. Even as dusty and travel-worn as he looked, something in his bearing made it apparent that he was wealthy and belonged here. Hayden tried to figure out exactly what it was that made him look so entitled, but wasn’t able to pinpoint it before they reached the counter.

“Can I help you?” A middle-aged woman with faded red hair asked politely, surveying them with a critical eye.

“I am Oliver Trout. I need to draw funds on a loan against my estate,” he explained easily, and Hayden wanted to punch him for strolling into a place where they were wanted fugitives and announcing who he was.

The woman raised her eyebrows in surprise, and Hayden knew that she had seen the posters calling for their arrest.

“Mr. Trout…” she began quietly, glancing around the room to see if they were being overheard. “It is…I’m surprised you came here, given the charges laid against you.”

Oliver put on his haughtiest expression and said, “Idle threats made by jumped-up commoners do not worry me. Surely you don’t believe that the oldest scions of two Great Houses would have any cause for legal troubles with accountants.” His tone implied that only an absolute fool would doubt his family’s ability to pay.

The woman looked conflicted.

“Well, no…my coworkers and I did think it sounded odd, especially when we heard such prominent families were involved…” she looked between Hayden and Oliver, obviously guessing who the former was by association.

“The
Fias governing Mizzenwald overstepped their boundaries, and when we left school they invented some jumped-up charges to try and teach us a lesson,” Oliver continued in an almost bored tone. “Surely you haven’t received any letters stating that my estate is no longer solvent?”

Hayden had to admire Oliver’s sheer pompous nerve at moments like this. He managed to suggest that the accountants were after their personal funds and not anything associated with the school. It also brought to light just how little Hayden knew about the moneylending world where mages were concerned.

“No, of course not.” She tapped her pencil against the marble countertop. “How much would you like to borrow?”

“One-
thousand, mostly in small denominations,” Oliver said easily, and like that, the deal was done.

Hayden watched in silent awe as the woman wrote up a letter, had Oliver sign it, and then simply handed him the money he asked for, which he tucked away in his pocket. He thanked the woman
cordially and motioned for Hayden to follow him out of the bank, neither of them speaking until they were walking back down the road towards the cobbler.

“How in the world did you manage that without getting arrested?” Hayden marveled. “That woman just handed you money on your name alone…”

Oliver gave him a withering stare and said, “You really don’t know anything about Great—”

He broke off with a curse word and pulled Hayden off of the roadway abruptly, peeking around the side of the tea shop.

“What’s going on?” Hayden asked worriedly, chancing a look for himself, his heart plummeting when he saw what was happening. Tess and Zane were being disarmed and carried off in irons, kicking and screaming the entire way that this was all a big misunderstanding. Hayden immediately went to equip a prism and go after them, but Oliver grabbed him by the arm and pulled him further behind the tea shop.

“Use your head, Frost,” he snapped. “If we go in there blasting commoners out of the way it’ll create a whole mess of trouble that we don’t want or need right now. We really
will
be fugitives.”

“We really
are
fugitives right now, no matter how pompous you sound when you’re lying to bankers!” Hayden retorted, blood boiling as he heard Tess struggling against her captors.

“It’s not our fault they got themselves caught,” Oliver argued, still holding Hayden back. “Look, they’re not going to be thrown into a dungeon and tortured—their only supposed crime was disappearing from school in the company of you, who are wanted for a list of crimes as long as my arm.”

Hayden scowled but couldn’t disagree with him.

“They’ll be locked in a furnished room and given three meals a day while someone from
Kargath comes to pick them up.”

“And then what happens to them?” Hayden was still debating ways to shake Oliver loose and go after his friends.

“Then their very concerned parents show up and take them home, making them promise to be good boys and girls and return to Mizzenwald in the fall,” Oliver finished with an eye-roll. “Besides, do you really want their deaths on your conscience?”

Hayden stopp
ed struggling long enough to demand, “What do you mean?”

“Don’t be simple, you know what I mean. We’re walking into a death trap and you know it.” He didn’t look even remotely worried as he said the words. “Now don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t mourn if you were eaten by wolves, but I don’t deny that you’ve got a stupid amount of raw pow
er. When you’re not being ignorant and hot-headed, you even manage to use it properly.” He looked like this grudging compliment caused him immense pain.

“I happen to be extremely skillful with magic; perhaps you noticed last year when I dominated the I.S.C. in Powders,” he continued. “Between the two of us, there is an infinitesimal chance that we might survive this idiotic plan to go find our missing allies. Tess is handy with knives and bows, and Zane isn’t useless with conjury chalk, but do you really expect them to be able to make it out when we’re being attacked by half the northern continent?”

Hayden frowned, not liking to admit that a small part of him heartily agreed with what Oliver was saying. He didn’t want to risk his friends—especially Tess—and he knew there was very little chance of any of them coming through this alive. His only real plan so far was to wander into a forest full of people with vast amounts of skill he didn’t possess and rely on his natural power and dumb luck to help him recover Cinder and anyone else who might be alive, before Bonk could die of exhaustion from sharing their pain.

“I…but I can’t just leave them behind. They’re on my arena team, they know that I never leave my teammates behind…” he argued feebly, not knowing what the right thing to do was anymore.

He hated the prospect of going off with no one but Oliver for company, but he would feel more at ease knowing that at least his own stupidity wouldn’t get his closest friends killed. Oliver could clearly see him wavering.

“I’m sure that’ll be a really comforting thought when you see them murdered in the Forest. You’ll be able to say ‘At least I didn’t leave them in
Amvale where it was safe!’ ” Oliver snorted.

They’d been arguing so long that Hayden could no longer hear any struggles. When he peered around the corner he saw that the street was clear, which meant that Zane and Tess had been carried off to whatever holding room they were going to be placed in until someone from
Kargath arrived. To get them out now, he’d have to break in and cause a huge scene with magic, which would just get them all in even more trouble.