Glory Alley and the Star Riders (The Glory Alley Series) (100 page)

A sharp pain pierced Glory’s heart
.
She had forfeited
George
's life for
Mom’s
and
she
was going to die anyway
.
What
a
cruel fate
.
Glory
wobbled
ever so slightly
.

The
sound of a car
crunching down the gravel lane diverted everyone’s attention.

“They’re here!
”
Patrice
shouted excited
ly
.
“And they’ve brought more presents!”

The
arrival of guests
distracted everyone
, allowing
Glory
to steal out
on
to the back porch
without being noticed.
Gray clouds muted the sun
.
Falling snow blurred the vision of Queen’s Mesa in the distance. The
black forest
she loved so much seemed foreboding now. The rolling white hills were
familiar
and lovely, but she felt lost and alone.

Shivering, she
sunk into a neatly painted red bench, one that hadn’t been there in the old version of her life. Pulling her knees up to her chest, she stared out over the horizon. This was what she had worked so hard to get?

“I want to go home
.” Her voice came out a stra
ngled
whisper. “But how can I when I’m already here?”

A painful lump swelled in her throat. “George—I’m so sorry…”

She
pulled
her
knees
up
to
her
chest
and
wept bitterly
.

After a long while
, her body and emotions
numb, she considered the idea of
allowing herself to freeze to death
, but
t
he sound of a clearing throat
made
h
er
look up.

T
hree
squat men
stood before h
er
, each holding a fedora h
and—the star riders—she took in a sharp breath
.
Seeing the
m again
filled her with conflict
. On one hand
,
it was comforting to
realize
she hadn’t lost her mind. On the other hand
,
it was terrifying to realize all those crazy things
had really hap
pened.

"Those were mighty big wishes,
”
Needle said
.
"We tried to warn ye
.
But what's done is done."

"
George
is dead!"

"Not
dead
—
never was,” Needle said.

“My mother is doomed!”

“No, no, no,”
he
shook his head from side to side
.
“Your mother's fate
w
as
not
cast
in stone
.
A different set of events have led to t
his mom
ent, so there
be
no reason to expect
that
events will unfold
exactly
the same
way in this new reality
, especially
not
now, since y
e
’ve unleashed the power
."

“
The
power
?”
Glory
’s
throat tightened and
her
bottom lip quivered
.
"What have I done?"

"Y
e
don't know the half of it," Bone said, getting a hard knock in the ribs from Needle
.

"The
Elboni
be back where it belongs
—
safe and sound
,” Needle said. “
Did ye get
the
Nightburner?"

“Yes
.
"
Glory
h
eld
up the silver spike
, noting
that
Needle still had his own Nightburner tucked safely in his hat
.
“
Thank you."

“Thank
the
Elboni
.
”
Needle corrected
.
"Another mighty wish
.
T
he
Nightburner
weighs very little, but carrying it requires wide shoulders
.
May ye find
the
strength to bear it with honor."

“
No one remembers
George
.
”
Glory
sniffled, struggling to understand
.
"To be the only person to remember what
never was…what no longer is...
”

"
Be
a terrible burden to carry," Needle said.

"
Courage
,
Rock Collector
,"
White Feather
explained
.
"The form which bound
George
to
Tullah
,
be
no more and never was
, yet
he remains
firmly
in
the
eye of
the
Elboni
.
Ye shall see another face, but know ye this,
one day
the
essence hidden beneath
someone unfamiliar
may
well
be your
own
beloved
George
."

“I don’t understand.”

“Spoken like a wise
man,” Bone smiled.

“Ye mean lady,” White Feather said, while Needle
patted h
er
hand like a proud father.

"How will I
recognize
George
if he returns to me?"

"Ye will know,” said Bone.

“
My father
choking on the bone
s
—was that your doing?
”
Glory
asked hurriedly, sensing the
star riders’
visit was drawing to a close.

“It be your wish, so it be your doing
,
”
Bone said, holding up
the Thunderbone
. “
F
orever
in this life
hard drink will turn to hard bone upon contact with your father’s throat.”

Glory
gulped
worriedly
. “That sounds dangerous.”

“Aye,” Bone agreed. “Pray he learns fast.”

“You guys were so sure I was tainted,
unworthy of
the
Elboni’s
magic
,
so
you didn’t
even
bother to try
to help me
. We
could have avoided a lot of trouble
if you’d just done it at the beginning.
”

“Not true,” White Feather said
.
“Ye weren’t ready
for a wish
when we first met, and
I
admit, I never
even
considered the possibility.
Not so with
Lady
Gost
.
She r
ecognized your potential from the beginning
.
That’s
why she gave you so many chances
, and order
ed
us star riders
to answer all your annoying question
.”

“Whaddaya mean annoying?”

“Annoying,” White Feather emphasized. “
Through second sight
she
knew
about
the
list of conditions
in your coat pocket, and she knew ye were very close to unlocking the ritual
.
She used the rules to buy y
e
time.
T
he
Bamboozle, the
W
ein
, were her only options.”