Jamyria: The Entering (The Jamyria Series Book 1) (7 page)

“How many years, Shomari?!” she wails, growing impatient.

His face scrunches up as he tallies up the years. A low growl escapes through his set jaw. “It must have been fifty,” he says shaking his head in disbelief.

The Queen rises from her throne, her hands tense and in fists. “
Fifty?
” she repeats much harsher than he had said it. “Shomari, what is the one threat to this world?”

He pauses only because he hates being spoken to as mother would her child. “The New Mark.”

“So wouldn’t you find it appropriate to pay attention to the years considering there is only a New Mark every fifty years?”

“It’s the immortality…. It is almost as if time doesn’t matter. Or even exist —”

“
Enough
!”

The word echoes through the room. Shomari follows her order and remains silent, clenching the fist he has buried in the fluff of the tiger skin. The Queen walks the width of her corridor and paces before her throne, her grand dress coiling behind her. She ignores the nervous faces of her Crew. Her mind turns faster than her pacing.

Something has to be done, surely. The last Mark nearly led her prized Nobles to disaster, and her lower ranks are no match to one freshly created; they have the potential to be dangerous and unpredictable. But if the Mark were to end up in the wrong hands…

“Guards,” she speaks abruptly. “Send out a small team to locate the New Mark. Be discrete. We don’t want anyone knowing we are hunting him yet. And we can assume he does not know what is going on yet. That is, unless he somehow makes contact with someone who will inform him of who he is; though, that is doubtful. Send word to our insiders. You,” she points to Luka. “Give them the coordinates of where you saw the light. That’s where they will begin.

“And when you find the Marked One, bring his body to me.”

Chapter Seven: Hidden Surprise

A speck of golden light dances before her face. Margo reaches out and grasps at the air, but the bug slips between her fingers and floats off into the night. She takes a deep breath of the humid air. Summers on the farm are always memorable, especially during the six weeks the Hunters spend with their grandparents. They are Margo’s favorite thing about living on the Hedermans’ property. Each summer, Cameron and his older sister Crystal are sent to the farm to enjoy their vacation properly while their parents stay behind to work in Nashville. They wind up spending the majority of their time with Margo and Kylie, and it is always perfect.

The purple sunset reflects off the pond, surrounded by dozens of fireflies that dot the night air. The past month and a half surely has flown past. Margo cannot believe it is already over. The four of them sit quietly in the grass occasionally bringing up some of the highlights of their time together, but mostly they sulk because tomorrow afternoon it must come to an end.

The Hedermans’ front door creaks open across the field behind them. They all seem to shrink a little at the sound. “Supper time,” calls Mrs. Hederman from their front porch. “And I only made enough for us,” she tacks on sourly.

“Guess that’s our cue,” Kylie says, stretching out her long limbs. She brushes off her shorts as she rises. She helps pull Crystal up, whose long chestnut hair falls over her shoulder.

“Right,” Margo agrees ruefully, also getting to her feet.

A hand lightly touches her shoulder. “Hey,” says Cameron softly. “We still have all day tomorrow. Besides, we’ll be back next year.”

Margo tries to smile without success, finding it difficult to look upon his face.

“Come over first thing,” Crystal urges Kylie. “Let’s have one last shopping trip before we head out.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Kylie agrees with a giggle. “You too, little sis?”

For some reason Margo cannot lift her head. She nods with a weak smile on her face wondering why this year it is so hard to say goodbye.

Kylie sighs and grabs Margo’s hand. “We’ll see you then. Let’s see if Mom has dinner ready, too.”

Her feet move her, but Margo doesn’t look to see where she is being led.

“Night, Margo.” The boy’s voice is somber, but at the sound of her name, Margo perks up a little. Warmth fills her chest, but her happiness is shattered when she remembers he will be gone by this time tomorrow. Just then, he turns to follow his sister across the field toward the Hedermans’ home.

Margo raises her hand in response far too late, but for some reason her throat is thick and no words come out.

“Come on,” says Kylie, giving her sister’s hand a tug. They walk the length of the pond. “If I were you, I’d just make out with him and get it over with already.”

Margo plants her feet and Kylie stumbles backwards against the sudden jerk. “What?” says Kylie. “I mean, it’s pretty frustrating seeing you two all googly-eyed over each other. Neither realizing it. Neither willing to make a move. You like him — just admit it!”

“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Margo’s cheeks darken again for some reason. “Or why you’re accusing me of this.”

“It’s not an accusation, sis!” Kylie wraps her arm around Margo’s neck. “I’m just calling it like I see it. It’s cute.”

Margo brushes her off and stomps harder through the grass. “I do not like him in that way. It’s Cameron. The
jerk
.”

Kylie’s voice softens. “He hasn’t been a jerk since the first summer he visited. And that’s ‘cause of you.”

Margo thinks back to when he and his sister first visited. He teased her for nearly everything she did, called her every bad name a seven-year-old could conjure, until her temper got the best of her. He was the first person she ever stood up to. She had told him he’d better start treating her like a lady or else. A lady? She was only six-years-old.

A giggle slips out.

“See! Admit it.”

Margo shakes away the hint of euphoria. “I’m fifteen, Ky. I have more important things to worry about than boys.”

“Do you even hear yourself? We’re young and should be out living life carefree! Not worrying about —” Kylie scrunches her eyebrows together, perfectly imitating her sister’s voice “—
important things.
”

A laugh breaks through again, but what surprises Margo the most are the feelings inside her that also seemed to break through in that moment. “You’re right,” her voice cracks when she admits it aloud. “I do like him. A lot, actually.”

Kylie sits down on their porch steps looking up at Margo. “So tell him….”

“Can’t.”

Her face grows serious. “Margo, he’s leaving tomorrow. It’ll be another year before you can let him know how you feel.”

“Exactly.” Margo pauses. It makes the most sense to wait. “Imagine telling him the truth and then having to say good-bye right after.”

Her sister frowns. “What if, God forbid, something happened between now and next summer?”

Margo plops next to her on the porch, beaming at their strange reversal in character. “We’re young, remember? Stuff doesn’t change that drastically overnight. At least not in St. Joseph, Tennessee.”

*

“Any crushes?” Janie asks.

Nick left abruptly after breakfast on some secret errand leaving Margo alone with Janie and her hundreds of questions. Her own questions of her impending mission will have to wait. Margo can hardly get a word in other than a quick response to Janie. For some reason she seems to have taken an interest in Margo’s mundane life outside of Jamyria.

Blushing, Margo answers with a lying ‘no.’ Most of Janie’s questions are easy enough to answer. From school to free time — Margo chuckles at that one as free time is nearly nonexistent considering her work schedule — to favorite books and recipes. Those answers are simple and one-worded, but every once in a while Janie slips in an unexpected question.

“And your family? What are they like?”

“Oh,” Margo gasps, not prepared to answer this question. Of course, for most the answer would be easy. The truth is her family was once close, but they have been damaged. The broken pieces are still scattered about awaiting repair. Even if it were possible to move on, Margo knew that some of the pieces will never find their home again. It just takes time, she’d been told repeatedly. She still isn’t convinced.

“We aren’t how we used to be. Things were always great between us, but now we’ve…drifted. It’s been difficult.”

For probably the first time that day, Janie’s smile disappears. Margo’s eyes dart away knowing a lecture of some sort is brewing. That is definitely a conversation she wishes to avoid.

“So tell me more about this mission,” Margo says quickly.

Janie grins at her forced enthusiasm. “Well, that’s Nick’s area of expertise. He’s been through this already, so I think it’d be best if he gave you the answers you’re looking for. He should be back pretty soon…with a surprise.”

Now Margo struggles looking for another way to distract her, so she asks the one thing she is too embarrassed to ask in front of Nick and a part of her really needs to know the answer.

“What happened to Nick’s hand?” she blurts.

Janie places her mug on the table and lets out one small, humorless laugh. “Nick has been through a lot for this world,” she mutters to herself mostly. Margo expects her to leave it at that. Maybe it’s the eagerness or urgency Janie sees in her eyes, but something makes her continue. She leans in and sighs, speaking each word rather harshly. “Many of the people of Jamyria don’t give him the respect he deserves. They’re ashamed of his failure. Makes me wonder if they really understand the risk he’s taken for them — for
us
.

“He traveled for months searching for answers, but was faced with dead end after dead end. He couldn’t find the way out, obviously. And after almost a year of searching, he and his followers decided to start back at square one. So he headed for the castle —”

“Which he was never allowed to go back to.” Margo finishes her sentence.

“Exactly.” Janie’s smile grows darker. “He was caught, of course. It’s almost impossible to enter the palace without someone finding out. You see, the Queen can keep track of people in this world. She always watches us.”

Margo shivers.

“There are a couple of exceptions, though.” Janie nods once towards Margo.

“Me?”

“The original marks are cloaked. There’s about a ten-foot radius around them at all times that makes them and anyone standing within those ten feet invisible to the Queen.”

“So for the most part, I’m safe.”

“
Should
be safe,” corrects Janie. “Nothing in this world is definitive — don’t ever completely rely on anything anyone says. Your power
should
cloak you from the globe, but who’s to say she won’t find a way around that someday? I’m sorry we don’t have any better answers, but this is a learning process for all of us.”

“The globe?” Margo asks curiously.

Janie winces, as if aware she has spilled too much information. “Remember how you found that globe before you entered?”

Margo nods.

She picks up her tea and takes a sip to stall. “The Queen also has a globe very similar to the one that brought you into this world. Hers is much larger, though, and contains a lot more power. She can locate anything or anyone in Jamyria with just a few words.”

Margo thinks about this and finds herself wondering if there is more to the globe than that. It seems too simple a feature to react the way Janie had. Either way, she decides she shouldn’t push luck on the subject. “So, Nick was going back to the castle…?”

“Right,” she says. “He snuck back in with a few people. I still don’t know how he managed to do
that
. The Queen was furious after learning the Marked One was in her castle. She was even more upset to see that the New Mark was Nick, one of her first true prisoners in Jamyria.”

Margo remembers the sign to Nick’s house labeled as ‘The First Man,’ but she cannot get a word in to ask if this is the reason why.

“The first great rebellion took place, a battle the people of Jamyria will never forget.” Janie clenches her teeth. “But they were no match against the Queen and her Guard. Nick was soon on his back, others dead. The Queen pulled out her sword to finish him off, but just as she struck, he raised his marked hand blasting her away with his power. From what I hear, she was injured, too, but was able to heal herself without leaving a scratch in the end. The same is not true for Nick. As you saw, her blade cut off half his hand.”

Her eyes fall to her cup. “He and his followers retreated, and the Queen never looked for him again. I’m sure her arrogance played a role in it, knowing that he lost most of his mark.” Janie chuckles darkly to herself. “She no longer saw him as a threat, so she just let him go….

“It wasn’t long until he moved back into his home here. What was left for him to do but to come back? Of course, now he has to deal with the locals’ bad attitudes.” She scrunches her nose up in disgust. “But like I said, he deserves all the respect in the world for what he did for us.” Janie tilts her head. The corner of her mouth pulls up slightly, and she stares into the space between herself and the table as if recalling a private memory. Margo realizes just how strongly she feels about Nick. Perhaps, there is more than friendship between Nick Thomas and Janie Saunders. The way she defends him against the people here… It obviously strikes a nerve every time she mentions his failure. Her expression moments ago tells Margo that she does not condone the actions of these townspeople nor would she allow them to hurt him.

Thinking of his failure and the many people who seem to dislike Nick, Margo wonders if she would have a ‘Janie’ to look after her if things were to end similarly. Would she be left alone to deal with the heckling? The thought of having to shoulder the lives of everyone within this world is difficult enough to fathom, but failure could mean a lifetime or two of ridicule.

“That’s going to be me, isn’t?”

Janie’s face freezes, holding her smile in an unnatural way. She places her cup on the saucer with a barely audible clink. “You will be faced with obstacles, yes, but these challenges will be your own. Mostly, you will find yourself faced with mental difficulties as you begin to learn the uniqueness of this power. You seem like a strong girl, Margo, but if you don’t feel you’re ready for this, please tell me. Nick feels you’re capable of the task, but if you’re worried, speak now before you’re in too deep.”

In Janie’s eyes, Margo finds something unexpected. This is no cry for help, but instead a plea for her to stay behind. Whatever lies ahead is so dangerous Janie would rather wait to return home than see Margo through it.

But she’s already decided she can’t sit around and wait for the Queen to find her.

“I’ve sort of made up my mind,” Margo says. “I’m going to do it.”

Janie’s smile grows more genuine. “Well, then, we must prepare you for the journey. Nick will be back any minute now.”

*