Sorcerer's Secret (8 page)

“I knew it!” Bridget exclaimed. “But it's gone! We were in the cave where he'd hidden it and there was nothing there anymore!”

“It's only been moved,” the Fortune Teller replied. “Kieft has good reason to keep it hidden and his Munsee ally has been instrumental in making certain no one stumbles upon it. Soon after the Trap fell, the two of them moved the treasure to a secret, ancient place, where Kieft hoped no one would ever find it.”

“Where?” Rory asked. The Fortune Teller smiled.

“If I sent you directly there, you would surely die. No, you must follow a path laid out for you by your Dutch benefactor, Mr. van der Donck. He did not realize it would lead to Kieft's treasure—he left this trail behind for a different purpose—but if you follow his path, you will find what you seek.”

“What path?” Nicholas asked.

The Fortune Teller rose to her full height. “Van der Donck's trail leads through all five boroughs: Bronck's Land, which is now the Bronx, Queens, Breuckelen, which you know as Brooklyn, Staaten Eylandt, which is Staten Island, and, of course, Mannahatta. In each borough you will find a legacy, left behind by your erstwhile God of Justice. You must gather together the pieces of this trust and it will lead you to the root of everything, where Kieft's treasure waits. And his treasure is the key to his downfall.”

“And my mom will be saved?” Rory asked.

“Follow this path to the end and your mother will live,” the Fortune Teller said. “Her salvation lies in your actions.”

“Can't you tell me anything more specific?” Rory asked, but she would say no more. Rory took a deep breath, trying not to become overwhelmed. “So how do I find these legacies?” he asked. “Am I supposed to talk to everyone in the five boroughs?”

“There are signposts, of a sort,” the Fortune Teller continued. “In Queens, you must look in the belly of the royal steed. In Breuckelen, you must speak to the Fair Engineer. On Bronck's Land, you must look behind the Beloved. On Staaten Eylandt, you must seek out the Unlucky Patroon. And in Mannahatta, you must find the home of the Swindler. Make certain that the Swindler's home is the last you visit, or you will surely fail.”

“What are you talking about, lady?” Fritz demanded. “That doesn't make any sense! Why would he hide these all over the place?”

“Van der Donck had many enemies,” the Fortune Teller told them. “These are powerful secrets he left behind, and such things must be protected.”

“So we're supposed to go wandering around all five boroughs looking for these things?” Nicholas asked, incredulous. “The Fair Engineer? The belly of the royal steed? What does that even mean?”

“You have a different task ahead of you, Nicholas,” the Fortune Teller told him. “The only way to protect your city is to bring everyone together, including the Munsees and even your brethren, the children of the gods. They need someone to inspire them. It is your job to find that person.”

Nicholas nodded. Soka spoke up.

“What about me? What about my magic?”

“Your path lies with Rory, at least for a while,” the Fortune Teller told her. “You will find your answers on the way. As will you, Bridget. Fritz, your path will go in many directions, but by the end, if you listen to your heart, you will know where you are needed most.”

For a moment there was silence, and then they all began to speak at once, demanding more answers. The Fortune Teller put up one well-manicured hand to silence them. “That's all I have for you. Now, I've got a game to finish. So you're gonna have to get going. Good luck! You're gonna need it . . .”

T
he man didn't know where he was. All he could see was black. Was there a bag over his head? He could smell . . . medicine? Decay? He was terrified, but not surprised. He knew his old master would catch up with him eventually. He'd grown careless since his family became ill. He knew he should have stayed away from them, especially after Rory somehow pulled the location of that wretched Fortune Teller door out of him, but even then, he couldn't bring himself to leave. And so he'd allowed himself to be caught by someone he never saw, waking up here in the dark.

Suddenly light flooded in as the bag over his head was pulled away. He was sitting in a grim, dank cell, tied to a chair. Askook stood before him, flicking his knife with his fingernail as he stared down at him. The man began to struggle, trying to break free of his bonds. But then another man stepped into view and the fight drained right out of him.

“I really should have seen the resemblance,” the man with the black eyes said, staring down at him intently. “He looks just like you.” The man's hands began to shake uncontrollably.

“Please,” he whispered, ashamed at his weakness but unable to stop. “Please, don't hurt me.”

“I can hurt you, you know,” the man with the black eyes mused, leaning in to regard him thoughtfully. “I cannot kill you, of course. But I certainly can hurt you. As I'm sure you remember. Do you remember?” The First Adviser pointed a finger at him and waved it.

Suddenly the man began to heave as nausea and sickness washed over him. He leaned forward, vomiting on the cell floor. When he was done, he fell back, exhausted, as tears streamed from his eyes.

“And that was nothing at all,” the man with the black eyes said, smiling absently. Askook peered in at the prisoner, fascinated, no doubt wondering how this magic was accomplished. The man with the black eyes leaned in again. “What fun we will soon be having, you and I. I was always able to make you dance, because of our . . . connection.”

“I will die first,” the man said defiantly.

The First Adviser snorted. “Well, we both know that won't be happening anytime soon,” he said. “Though I did assume you'd never come back to Mannahatta, not after you ran off with Buckongahelas. Yes, I knew what you did—such a meaningless gesture, saving that savage's life. It gave me pleasure to know you were out at sea, and working as a lowly sailor, no less. And when I heard you were aboard the Half Moon! I almost died laughing. I thought for sure you would stay away. But instead, you snuck ashore and made yourself a little family right under my very nose. And lo and behold, your son turns out to be a Light! Young Rory Hennessy. Oh yes, I've met him. What does he think his father's name is, if I may ask?”

“Peter,”the man whispered, staring down.

“Peter Hennessy.” The man with the black eyes rolled the words on his tongue. “Very Irish. So unlike you. Well, here we are. Your wife and daughter's bodies lie in Shorakapkok by the wampum pit, sick and dying. Your son is causing no end of trouble. He hasn't learned the lessons I taught you, Peter. Perhaps he should take a class with me.”

“No,” the man moaned. “Leave my family alone!”

“I wish I could,” the First Adviser replied, mock sighing. “But somehow your son discovered the second door to the Fortune Teller. I don't know who could have told him that.” The First Adviser glared. “I wonder what he learned there? I don't like being in the dark, Peter. I need your help. I want to know what your little brat is up to.”

“I'd never do anything to hurt him,” the man insisted, feeling the fire of defiance flicker in his belly. He braced for the black-eyed man's punishment, but it never came. Instead, the First Adviser shrugged.

“But I have no such qualms,” he said. “I could march over to your wife right now and step on her neck without hesitation. The little hound that protects them is nothing to me. Then I'd put my hand over your daughter's nose and mouth until her lungs explode. And when I catch up with your son, I will take great pleasure in burying him in pain. I will destroy every last vestige of humanity in him, until he is my dog, just like you. And you will watch it all.”

“Please!” the man cried, disgusted with how quickly he'd fallen apart. “You can't . . . ”

“You know I can,” the First Adviser said, bending over to stare at him with those impenetrable eyes. “But I won't. I won't if you help me.”

“If I do what you want, I want your word you won't hurt any of my family,” the man said, his voice sounding pathetic to his own ears.

“I promise,” the man with the black eyes said.

“Promise on the Lady's name,” the man insisted. A flash of irritation crossed the First Adviser's face.

“You know I won't be doing that. But you have my word, they won't come to harm as long as you help me. But if you fail me, they will pay dearly for it. Remember that. Now here's what I want you to do . . . ”

A
fter emerging from the lighthouse, Rory filled in the other Rattle Watchers on his mission.

“We'll help whenever we can,” Alexa promised. “I have Bronx blood, so I can guide you there. Simon has Queens blood—”

“Wait, I'd be guiding them by myself?” Simon asked, his face draining of color. “That sounds a bit risky . . . ”

“Don't be such a baby!” Lincoln punched him in the arm so hard Simon staggered. “I wish I could help, but I only have Manhattan blood.”

“We'll make sure that there are friends to help you in Brooklyn and Staten Island,” Nicholas promised. “And don't worry, Lincoln. We've got plenty to do right here.”

“Should we tell the council?” Alexa asked. “This is an important task, after all.”

“They'd want to get involved and that could be disaster,” Nicholas replied. “We don't even know who can be trusted. No, if we don't want Kieft to hear about Rory's task, we need to keep a low profile. Whitman, my father, maybe a few others. The rest need to be kept in the dark.”

“And you need to figure out who should bring us all together,” Lincoln told Nicholas. “Maybe Hamilton? Tackapausha?”

“Maybe my dad,” Nicholas mused.

“I don't know about your father, Nicky,” Simon said. “He's not exactly a diplomatic genius.”

“He's getting better,” Nicholas protested.

“He called the God of Open-Air Concerts a damned hippie and tried to have him thrown into the Tombs for wearing a poncho,” Alexa reminded him.

“So he's a little high-strung,” Nicholas admitted. “I'll keep looking. Fritz, we need your help, too. Can you go to your battle-roach brethren and see if they will join our cause? We don't want to lose them to Kieft.”

Fritz glanced at Rory, clearly torn, but then he nodded. “The Fortune Teller did say my path would lead me in different directions. But don't worry, Rory. I'll catch up.”

Nicholas, Simon, Lincoln, and Fritz took their leave, heading south. Simon called out, “See you in Queens, kiddies!” before they disappeared into the trees. Alexa remained behind, deciding that her father's farm in the Bronx would be the best place for them to start their search. After all, there was a chance he'd left some clues behind.

They traveled north, crossing the Broadway Bridge into the Bronx. As they moved deeper into the borough, Soka fell in beside Rory.

“I've been thinking,” she said. “I've got an idea how Kieft's treasure might help your mother.”

“How?” Rory asked.

“You remember how Abigail Hamilton found those Munsee spells written on parchment when she stumbled upon Kieft's hiding place in the park? Kieft had been stealing our magic, writing it down for himself. My people have lost much of that magic over the years, but Kieft still has it. Which means there is a good chance that the healing magic of my grandmother, Alsoomse, survives on those pieces of parchment. The spell to save your mother is somewhere in those pages, I bet.”

Rory nodded excitedly. “Of course! You can use that spell to save her!”

“Or my mother can,” Soka replied, looking away. “If I can't manage it.”

“We'll fix you, I promise,” Rory said, then regretted his words as Soka's eyes flashed.

“I can look after myself. And I certainly don't need you to risk your life for me, so please stop doing it.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You risked your life for me in the lighthouse with your coin-flip game. I didn't ask you to.”

“I knew she wouldn't let me bet my life,” Rory reminded her, wondering why she was suddenly so irritable. “So it wasn't really a gamble.”

“Just . . . don't do it again, okay?” Soka said. She quickened her pace, catching up to Alexa. Rory sighed. He'd never understand women.

They traveled down a busy Bronx street until at last they turned into a small alley. Though the sun was high in the sky, the buildings on both sides left the alley half shrouded in darkness. Alexa turned to face them.