Madly (20 page)

“I know.”

“And Arjun is totally crushed too.” She spins around now, to face me. “You owe him an apology.”

I cringe. “Of course. Of course.”

She opens her arms, and I rush up the stairs two at a time and fall into them. Immediately, we both burst into tears.

“I am so stupid,” I say through sobs.

“Yeah, you are,” she replies, but there's laughter in her voice now. Our tears have made ridiculous figures of us both, clutching each other on the landing. Still clinging to each other, we sidestep along the hallway toward her room, collapsing on her bed.

“So, what happened?” she asks, finally.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, you look like you've just run through a bramble bush backward—did you run here? Something must have happened. . . . Was it Zain?”

My eyes open wide. “How did you know about that?”

“The rescue was all over the casts, and you two looked pretty cozy in all the pictures after the mountain rescue.”

I blush, but then words tumble out of my mouth before I can stop them. “We went through so much on the mountain. And then we had this crazy talk back at the hotel and I just felt so close to him. I think he feels the same way about me. Wow, I haven't really admitted that out loud before! But then I figured out that the next ingredient is unicorn tail.”

“No way, really?” Anita asks, her eyes wide.

“Apparently the rumors about unicorns aren't true—it's not about being a virgin, it's about never being in love at all . . . and because of my feelings for Zain, Kirsty and Dad are convinced he's used me to prevent us from getting the ingredient. They think he duped me for the sake of the hunt, but that's crazy, because I know he isn't like that.”

“Isn't he, Sam?” She looks at me.

“Look, I know you don't know him very well, but we really bonded. I mean, we saved each other's lives, but he also really understands me. He's got the same kind of pressures at home that I do. And I know he always came
across like a bit of a stuck-up jerk in school, but when you talk to him he's not like that at all . . .” I keep babbling, but she remains quiet. It even starts to annoy me slightly.

She sees it in my face, though, because she responds. “Sam . . . have you heard from Zain since you got back?”

I check my phone, even though I know there are no messages from him on it. I flick it on and log in to Connect. Nothing there either. He's not even added me again as a friend.

I want to keep my heart, my hope, above water, but he's making it damn hard. So is the look of—is that pity?—on Anita's face. “It hasn't been that long since we got back from the mountain,” I say defensively. But even in my mouth, the words seem hollow.

Anita leans over me and grabs a remote control off the bedside table. “You haven't seen any casts since you've been home, have you?”

I shake my head, suddenly filled with trepidation.

She puts her hand on my arm and squeezes it. “Sam, you're my best friend. I'm not going to pull any punches with you, okay? Just know that I love you and that essentially, boys suck.”

A vice tightens around my heart. I'm not sure that I can breathe. I don't know where Anita is going with this, but it can't be good. I opened up to Zain, against my better judgment.
Please don't tell me my better judgment was right,
I plead to the television.

She taps the top button on the remote, and the TV jumps to life. It's already showing the main newscast, the breaking story about an earthquake in a far corner of the globe.

“And now, in national news . . . after last night's devastating breakdown at the palace, Princess Evelyn appears to have taken a turn for the worse. We are told now the government is considering evacuating Kingstown Hill, and with the hunt suffering several setbacks, insiders fear that time is running out for our nation's sweetheart.”

“Oh no,” I say. “What happened to Evelyn?”

Anita shushes me with her hands. I shut up and keep my eyes glued to the screen. I couldn't stop watching anyway, not after the presenter's next words hit my ears:

“Son of ZoroAster's CEO and friend of the princess, Zain Aster, visited her earlier today, and came out making a shocking announcement.”

“I spoke with Princess Evelyn and I can confirm that the poison she took was a love potion meant for me,” Zain says, to the snap and fizzle of flashbulbs, and the furious shouting of reporters.

“Zain, Zain, tell me, why did the princess feel the need to use a love potion? Do you not feel the same way?”

I can see Zain's brow furrow, his face the picture of concern. “I don't know why Evie chose to use a love potion.” His voice chokes up as he speaks, and the tip of the knife slides into my heart. “I've always loved
Princess Evelyn. I love her now. And I will do anything to get her back. The ZA team are doing everything we can to win the hunt, and we are confident that we will have the cure—before it's too late.” He doesn't sound like himself. He sounds older, more serious. He leaves the screen, descending the stairs of the palace to cries of his name.

The news presenter comes on again and looks like she's almost holding back tears herself. “We here at News 21 wish Zain the best in bringing back the princess from her love sickness. We know that these two are meant to be.”

There's a click as Anita changes the channel. Another newscast takes over, but this time it's a panel show with four commentators all debating the hunt. One of them is Dan, but his rounded shoulders and pale face tell me he's losing whatever side of the debate he's on. A woman so tanned she glows bright orange mentions my name. “That Sam Kemi,” she says, “is clearly just out to seduce Zain so he won't have a chance at saving the princess.”

“That's not true,” refutes Dan. “She—”

But the woman cuts him off. “You weren't on the mountain, so we can't rely on your ‘on the scene' reports anymore, Dan. I'll tell that ordinary girl one thing: True love conquers all, missy, so you might as well back down.”

Anita rushes to turn the TV off. She takes my hand in hers, but I barely even feel it. I've gone numb all over. I try to make it compute in my mind. Everything Zain said
about Evelyn, and how he felt about her, and how he felt about me . . . Was it all lies? Every word of it?

I can hardly believe that I let myself fall for him.

What an absolute fool. And now the media have turned on me too. But I don't care about them. All I can think about is Zain.

My parents were right. He must have found out what the last ingredient was when we were in the hotel, and then decided to make sure I could never get the ingredient myself. He's slick. He knew how to get me to fall for him. And I fell. But this time there's no safety net. Only a hard, painful crash.

I collapse onto Anita's bed and she strokes my hair gently. “I'm so sorry, hon.”

I curse myself for ever daring to take our friendship for granted. I just want to curl up in a ball and let my emotions wash over me like a pebble on a beach.

“Look at what the hunt has done to us. Dad is devastated about the lab,” Anita says, her long hair tickling my cheek. “He doesn't think it's worth repairing. I guess he'll have to retire early or find another job or . . .”

I sit up. “It'll be okay.”

She smiles, holding back her tears. “It'll only be okay if it was worth it. You have to win. How is the hunt going apart from the unicorn?”

“I'm constantly feeling one step behind. I don't know if the unicorn tail is the last thing, or if there's
more . . . It feels like we're close, but we still don't have the jasmine.”

Anita's eyes light up. “Come with me,” she says, lifting my chin up and grabbing hold of my hands. “I have something to show you that might help.”

“What is it?” I can't think of anything that will help in this situation. Unless it's some kind of tonic for selective memory loss.

We head back downstairs, through the kitchen where the sweet smell of chai tea wafts in the air. “Would you girls like a cup?” Anita's mum asks.

“Not yet, Mum,” Anita replies for the both of us, heading out to the garden.

Tucked to one side is a little greenhouse. “In there,” she says.

I lift the latch on the door and a wave of heat hits me first, followed quickly by the humidity. All around me are lush plants, their leaves green and healthy. And in the corner is a flash of bright pink.

Pink jasmine.

I spin around as Anita squeezes into the greenhouse beside me. “What? How?”

“Ah, so you spotted it.”

“How could I miss it? I thought Emilia had burned it all?”

“She had. But, as I would have told you if you hadn't been in such a hurry to get on that motorcycle, she hadn't
burned it completely down to the roots. I managed to salvage a root and regrow it here. I was carrying it to show you when you left.”

A memory hits me. Anita's dark handprints on my backpack. Dark because she had been burrowing in the ashes and soot, looking for the root.

Anita shrugs. “Like I said. It's okay. I forgive you, and you're going to need it to complete the potion, now that we don't stand a chance. And you need to beat Zain more than ever now. So, it's yours.”

My eyes well up with tears again. I reach forward and pull her into a hug. “Thank you so much. I'll let everyone know how you've helped me. Now we have to wait to see if my parents can commission a Finder for the unicorn tail.”

Just then, like a curse, my phone vibrates. I take it out of my pocket, and my heart sinks. It's not him, calling to apologize like I thought he might, or to offer some kind of explanation. Because I mean nothing to him, nothing at all, not when he's declared to the whole world who he's really been waiting for this entire time.

The call is from my mum.

I debate not answering. But I can't be mad at them too long. Not when they were right.

I pick up. “Sam, oh, Sam, thank goodness.” Her voice is filled with fear.

“What is it?” I say. I reach out and grab Anita's hand. Anita looks at me quizzically.

“It's Kirsty. She's gone, and she's taken Molly with her.”

“What?” I screech.

“They've taken your Wilds pass, so we can't even follow her out there. Oh, Sam, what are we going to do? It's so dangerous!”

“Don't worry.” My mind is racing, my words reassuring her, but in reality I have no clue how we're going to get to Molly. Mum's right. Where she's going, where the unicorns are . . . it's more dangerous than anywhere I've been yet, including the mountain. “Don't worry, I'll figure something out. I'll be right there. I'll get Mr. Patel to drive me home.”

I click off the phone and feel the blood drain from my face.

“What is it, Sam?” says Anita.

“Kirsty's taken Molly to Zambi.” I race out of the hot, sticky greenhouse and into the fresh air outside. I pace in her garden. “What am I going to do? Kirsty is so reckless . . . she just wants to get the ingredient no matter what.”

“We'll go,” says a voice from the back door of the house.

I look up and see Arjun standing there. “We'll go,” he repeats. “We still have two Wilds passes for the hunt. If you and I leave now, we can catch them.”

I run at him, almost tackling him into a hug. He pats my back awkwardly. “I'm so sorry, Arjun.”

“Don't even think about it. Pay me back later.”

“Deal.”

“Come on, then, guys. I'll drive you—Dad let me borrow the keys earlier today,” says Anita. “Mum? We're—”

Mrs. Patel nods before Anita has finished speaking. “You go and get your sister,” she says, but not before pulling me toward her and giving me a big kiss on my forehead. She does the same to Anita and Arjun before waving us off.

We run through the hallway and all pile into the car.

This feels right, the three of us together again. And we're going to get Molly back.

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Samantha

“I'M SORRY, BUT I CAN'T discount these prices,” says Joan, a dippy brunette hostess with bright red glamoured lips, from behind the desk at the Kingstown Transport Terminal. “It's twenty thousand crowns to transport to Zambi this evening. We're very busy. Haven't you heard about the evacuation? Everyone is getting out in case these earthquakes get worse.”

“But we need to get there! It's for the hunt! You don't want to be responsible for the death of the princess, do you?” I don't care about hiding my comings and goings anymore.

She narrows her eyes at me slightly, as if trying to remember my face. “Wait—you're that Kemi girl, right? I saw you on TV last night. What are you up to now? Who knows what you'll do to stop that poor boy, Zain.” She looks over at Arjun. “Are you some other poor sap she's suckered into helping her?”

I let out a muffled cry of frustration.

“Do you honestly believe everything the casts tell you?” Anita snaps.

Joan purses her lips and taps her keyboard. “There's nothing I can do. There's a flight to Zambi leaving from the airport in four hours. You have to stop over in Ellara, but you'll be there by tomorrow evening.”

“We don't have until tomorrow evening!” I cry, and slam my hands down on the desk.

“Now, calm down, young lady, or I'll have to call security.” Joan looks alarmed, her hand reaching for a phone.

“Now, now, now, what's this fuss? Let an old man through.”

I recognize that voice. I spin around. “Granddad, what are you doing here?”

“Sam, I've come to take you home. Arjun, Anita, you should go too.”

“What? But Molly . . .”

“Thank you, sir,” says Joan, who drops any pretense of being nice to us. “Your granddaughter is out of control.”

Granddad stands so close to the counter, he's practically leaning on it. He reaches over to pat her hand. “I'm so sorry they inconvenienced you,” he says, tutting. “Youth nowadays.” But then he grips her wrist tightly. She squirms, looking uncomfortable, but Granddad is the picture of frailty and he starts to cough. The cough builds into a hack, until his entire body is shaking.

“Granddad!” I try to comfort him, but he waves me
away with his free hand. He delves into his pocket and pulls out a handkerchief. He faces Joan, flips open the hankie and blows a cloud of dust into her face. It settles over her like a sprinkling of icing sugar, then disappears.

Granddad's coughing stops immediately. “So, two tickets to Zambi?” he asks Joan with a sly smile.

“Right away, sir. Here you go, sir. Transport safely.”

Granddad needs to usher Arjun and me away from the desk, as we're both slack-jawed with awe.

“Quick, the potion won't last much longer.”

“What did you do to her?” Arjun asks.

Granddad winks at me.

“Charm powder!” I release a long breath. “And it worked so well!” Another banned potion, incredibly difficult to make. He hasn't lost his touch one bit. “But what about when she recovers?”

“She won't know a thing is wrong. I'm not a Kemi for nothing,” he says. “Now get moving.”

I give both him and Anita a quick hug, then dash through the portal zone to get to the security area and beyond to the launch screens.

I turn to Arjun, who has little beads of sweat appearing on his forehead. “You okay?”

“I haven't done this yet . . .”

“Oh wow, I forgot.” I'm not sure how, my first experience was terrifying. “Honestly, it's fine. Just remember the rules. Especially about maintaining eye contact.”

He nods. “I guess I better get used to it if I want to be a proper Finder. Let's go. If I think about this for too long, it's going to get the better of me.”

“You go first. I'll follow right behind you. I just have to make one phone call first.”

*   *   *

When I land, the area is in chaos. Arjun is shivering violently, and guards suround him with reflective blankets.

“He's going into transporting shock,” one of the medics says.

“Don't you have a potion for that?” I say.

Crushed silver meteorite, mixed with essence of shepherd's purse and threads of glow worm, to bring him out of the streams of magic and tie him to the earthly ground, where he belongs.

A mix that would help. Not that I have it. I wish I could turn my brain off.

The medic pulls out a blister pack of pills, the logo ZA imprinted on them. “Here, these will help. I'll get some water.”

“I'm already feeling better,” says Arjun. “I . . . I'll be fine.”

The medic shrugs. “These will make you feel way more normal. Otherwise”—he turns to me—“make sure he stays warm and rested, if you don't want him to experience any long-term damage.”

“Fair enough,” I say. I take the pills from him anyway.

As soon as we step out of the terminal, the heat is extreme, but in a different way to Bharat—it's so dry. I wonder briefly why we live in the land of drizzle and constant gray clouds when there are other places in the world with much better climates.

I open my phone—immediately accruing roaming charges, but what are you going to do—and see that Anita has sent us the details for our rental car into the Wilds. Despite the fact that Zambi isn't particularly well-developed, they are much stricter about their Wilds laws than almost anywhere else in the world. It's a dangerous, unpredictable place. They say that the source of all Talented magic is in Zambi. If the magic over Nova flows in streams, here it flows like a waterfall. Magic pounds at the earth, and even as an ordinary I feel like I can reach out and grab it with my hands.

We pick up the keys to the car and thankfully it starts without any trouble. Since we've come in via portal, this is probably the most affluent area of Zambi. Everything is well manicured, rhododendron trees lining the streets in neat, evenly spaced lines, and there's even an arrangement of luscious fountains, which seems particularly ostentatious considering the fact that over 80 percent of the Zambi Wilds are in drought.

“Are you okay to drive?” I ask Arjun. He sways slightly, his eyes unfocused.

“I think I just need some rest.”

“Okay, you rest. I'll drive. You can help navigate.” I help him into the side door, and he slumps against the window. He still doesn't want to take the pills, and all I have to offer him instead is water. I press a bottle into his hand and force him to take a few sips.

“Seriously, I'm fine. I just feel a bit woozy, that's all.”

Once we're out of the portal station, the driving takes on an altogether different sort of challenge. It's not nearly as bad as Bharat, but I'm trying to concentrate on navigating our route and the road ahead of me as well. I wish we'd borrowed Mr. Patel's satnav.

The Wilds of Zambi. I can hardly believe that this is going to be my first time here—this rushed, crazed trip. On a hunt for unicorn tail. But this isn't just about getting the ingredient. I need to rescue Molly.

The Wilds of Zambi intrude on almost all of their big cities, and so it doesn't take us long until we reach a border. Once I saw on a nature documentary cast that a sabre-tooth lion stalked through the streets of Jambo, causing a city-wide panic. In the rich neighborhoods, they have to put barbed wire at ground level to stop the double-tailed crocs from taking a swim in their pools.

The border is just a small hut with a thatched roof and a sleepy-looking guard. I drive up and hand over our passes.

“Everything should be in order, sir,” I say in my politest tone possible, even though I feel like bursting and telling him to hurry up.

“Stay here; I can't let you through.” He stands up, stretches, and starts to walk away from the car toward another small building marked
WILDS GUARD
. Without thinking, I get out of the car and walk after him. “Wait—sir, can we have our passes back?”

“No, I have to pass these to my manager to examine.”

“Please . . .”

Then I remember something. Something Kirsty once told me about Wilds guards, the crap job they have, forced to guard a border that not many people really want to cross. “I know you want to check with your manager, but maybe this will help speed things up?” I flash him a twenty-crown note. He pockets the bill and hands back the passes in exchange.

“You can go through.”

I walk back to the car, my hands shaking.

“Did you just bribe that guy?” Arjun asks, his head leaning against the window.

“I think I did.”

“Samantha Kemi, you're a bit of a badass.”

I grin at him and rev the engine. The car jumps forward, and we're into the Wilds.

Something akin to elation—maybe it's the adrenaline—­finally takes over me. We're here. We've done it. And only a few hours have elapsed since we found out that Kirsty had taken Molly. Maybe there's actually a chance of catching up with them out here, before anyone gets hurt.

I take out my phone, about to text my parents the good news.

“Crap.”

“What is it?” Arjun says weakly.

“No signal.”

“Seriously?” He pulls himself more upright and digs his phone out of his pocket. “Same here. That's weird. I took a course on communication in the Wilds last semester. Zambi was one of the first Wilds areas to be completely overlaid with signal because the risks are so high. Rescue teams need to be able to get out here fast.”

“I say again—crap.”

“Something—someone—must be jamming the signal.”

I slap my hands against the wheel. Three guesses who that must be. “Emilia.” I don't dare take my eyes off the road, which is becoming less like a road and more like arbitrary lanes, winding through the tall grass in the savannah. “What do you think we should do?”

“We keep going.”

“But, where?”

He places his thumb and forefinger on the inner corner of each eye, and squeezes. It's what he does whenever he's trying to remember something. I don't know how many times I've seen him do it in exams. Whatever it is, it works.

“Unicorns . . . Okay. We almost never have to cover this stuff, you know? First year Finder training consists of the basic stuff. And this is not basic.”

I swerve to avoid the branches of a huge baobab tree hanging over the road. “Come on, Arjun. I know you go above and beyond your training at every moment. You must have read something . . .”

“Yes, hang on. Okay. Okay.”

I pull to a stop in the huge open savannah. How are we ever going to find them out here? Grass, plains, and trees as far as the eye can see—but no sign of another car. No sign of any other life. What if they went into the Wilds and turned left instead of straight on? Turned right? We could be searching the savannah for days and not have any clue where they are.

I try not to wonder if we're going to run into Zain and the ZA team. It's over. I keep reminding myself of that.

Suddenly there's a screech overhead, and hundreds of thick black silhouettes fill the sky, casting a shadow over the sun. I scream, despite the fact that we're inside the jeep. Arjun takes out his phone, opens an app, and points it at the sky.

“What are those things?” I cry.

He shows me the screen. There's a picture of the creatures on it, and a little whirling white circle indicating that the phone is working. “The Finders app helps us identify species out in the Wilds, like a Finding database which anyone can tap into.” The screen flashes up with a picture of a vicious-looking bat, the tips of its wings curved into cruel-looking claws. Under
the picture are the words
Zambiera desmodus
.

“Vampire bats?” I ask.

“No, these are like vampire bats 2.0. Look at their wings! They're vicious, and a huge pack like this . . .” He pauses. “We have to follow them. Follow the bats, Sam!”

“What, why?”

“Their favorite blood is human. If someone is injured, they'll be drawn to the scent.”

I put my foot down flat on the pedal, swinging the wheel in the direction of the bats.

Arjun braces himself against the dashboard. “It could be the ZA team that's in trouble . . .”

“Or it could be Molly.” I'm in a race now. A race to find Molly, against these evil beasts in the sky. I grit my teeth as the steering wheel judders in my hands, the tires bouncing over the rough terrain.

“Left! Angle left!”

The bats are still flying straight, but I give Arjun the benefit of the doubt.

“Okay, straighten up!”

I can see what he's spotted now. A jeep, up ahead. It's parked in front of a thick clump of trees, the thickest I've seen in the savannah so far.

“It's a gallery forest!” Arjun says. “According to the database, that's where unicorns like to hide out because it means there's water nearby, but also cover. Maybe that's where they are. The bats should circle for a bit, but
when they descend on the forest, they'll be everywhere, okay? You don't have long.”

I jump out of our vehicle as we come level with the jeep. I peer inside, but I don't recognize anything. It could belong to Molly and Kirsty. It could be ZA. It could be Emilia. I just have to pray that it's Molly.

Arjun slumps in his seat. I can see the ashen determination on his face. When I find Molly, I will drive us all back to safety, and home. But this part, I'm going to have to do alone. No Finder to help me.

“I'll be back,” I say to him. I grab his phone and punch in a number. “The moment there's a signal, you dial this.”

“If you're not here in half an hour, I'm coming in.”

“Okay. Or, you know, if you hear any screaming.”

He smiles. I run toward the forest.

It's deathly quiet inside. The trees absorb all the sound, the wind, the birds and the bats that had seemed so loud outside now snuffed out, replaced by a claustrophobic silence. I make my way through the thick trunks, deeper into the forest.