The Familiars #3: Circle of Heroes (18 page)

Aldwyn opened his eyes with a start when he heard Banshee’s panicked voice call out.

“Lothar. He’s escaped,” cried the howler monkey.

Aldwyn needed to look no further for proof than the empty dispeller chains fastened to Orion’s back.

“How did this happen?” asked Skylar, who like the others had been jolted awake by Banshee’s cry.

“I only closed my eyes for a moment,” said Marati, looking sick with guilt and shame. “At least it felt like a moment. I’m so sorry.”

“I knew it!” hissed Navid. “I told you she would betray us. The mongoose set the wolverine free.”

“No,” cried Marati. “That’s a lie.”

“Let’s calm down for a second,” said Simeon. “We don’t know what happened here yet. This could have been an honest mistake.”

“I checked those chains myself before I went to sleep,” said Navid. “There’s no way Lothar could have escaped them. Not without someone’s help.” The cobra spun toward Marati. “I say we chain her up before she tries to stab one of us in the back.”

“How can I convince you that I’m innocent?” asked the mongoose. “Perhaps someone else among us had a motive for freeing him. Perhaps the same animal who threw away the neveryawn nuts. And if you remember, I was not even aware of their existence when they went missing. So it could not have been me.”

“Whoever is responsible, arguing about it now is useless,” said Simeon. “We need to plan how we’re going to get Lothar back. Or track down another wolverine.”

“If there’s a traitor in our midst, we had better find out now,” said Orion.

“But Simeon’s right,” said Skylar. “Our best hope is to find Lothar before he gets too far. We could use the Olfax tracking snout to lead us to him.”

She reached a talon into her satchel and began searching for the nose. When she looked back up, Aldwyn could tell by her expression that there was more bad news.

“It’s not here, either,” said Skylar.

If Aldwyn hadn’t seen Gilbert’s puddle viewing and the blackened feather on Skylar’s wing; if he hadn’t overheard her conversation with Lothar about the Yajmada’s Spear spell; and if he hadn’t known about her past dabblings in forbidden magic, he never would have considered that his blue jay companion could be involved in this betrayal. But that’s precisely what he was thinking right now. Accusing her here in front of everyone else seemed like it would have little purpose; he had no evidence, nothing more than a suspicion. If only he possessed the talent of telepathy, the ability to read minds, like his mother had. As it was, he would have to rely on his intuition—and he still wasn’t sure what it was telling him.

“I don’t know how we’re supposed to find Lothar without that snout,” said Gilbert.

“The mosaic,” Marati exclaimed. “The one on the divide at the fork of our canyon.”

“What about it?” asked Navid.

“The image of the circle of heroes,” she said. “After the lightmare left, a human stood in his place.”

“I don’t know what her motive is,” said Navid, “but Marati speaks the truth. The king cobras believed that there were eight descendants, but only seven were needed to cast spells together.”

“That’s fantastic!” said Gilbert. “We should be able to find a human in no time.”

“Didn’t you listen to what I said when we saw the mosaic?” asked Skylar. “We need a human who has magic. And all human magic is gone from the queendom.”

The silence that descended on the companions was deafening. They had gotten so close, but now all seemed lost. Aldwyn had been right to fear the words Kalstaff had written: the prophecy had been wrong about him and his fellow familiars.

“Wait,” said Simeon. “What if we found a traveler, a wizard who was not in Vastia or even the Beyond when the dispeller curse hit?” The others looked at him without hope. “Or a baby born with magical ability in the last week?”

They were farfetched, desperate ideas, but Aldwyn couldn’t really blame the bloodhound for trying.

Then Banshee whispered: “Galleon.”

Everybody turned to her.

Aldwyn was the first to understand. “Galleon lost his magic long before Paksahara’s dispeller curse.”

“Exactly!” The howler monkey was lighting up with excitement. “When he was defeated by Coriander in their disenchantment duel, his magic was channeled into a protective vial. If we can retrieve that vial and uncork it, Galleon could get his magic back.”

“Now that just sounds crazy,” said Gilbert.

“But it’s also brilliant,” said Skylar. “Paksahara’s curse only affected those with magic when she first cast the spell. It would have no effect on Galleon if he regained his magic now.”

The way forward was clear. They would travel back to Split River, to the Inn of the Golden Chalice, and get Galleon. Then they’d see about getting his magic back. As to who the traitor was among them—
if
there was one—there was nothing that could be done about it now.

The lightmare had the group on his back once more and was galloping with renewed vigor through the Hinterwoods.

The tall trees of the forest went by in a blur. Before Aldwyn knew it, Split River was coming into view for the second time on this journey.

“Ugh, I’m feeling sick …” Gilbert started to say, before catching Anura’s eye. Then in an about-face, he continued: “… of how slow we’re going. Come on, pick up the pace, Orion. You know how much this frog loves speed.”

Swallowing back his nausea, Gilbert smiled queasily at Anura.

“Wow,” she said. “Your stomach is a lot stronger than mine. I feel terrible.”

“So do I,” said Navid. “I’ve been nauseous since we left the border jungles.”

“Oh, thank goodness,” said Anura to Navid. “I thought I was the only one.”

Gilbert watched with a pained grimace as the golden toad and the king cobra bonded over their shared horseback sickness.

Aldwyn looked over to Banshee, who was nervously tapping her drum. The upcoming reunion with her loyal clearly had put her on edge.

“Everything okay?” Aldwyn asked.

“The last time I saw Galleon, things didn’t end well,” said Banshee. “What if he still holds a grudge? What if he doesn’t want anything to do with me or this mission?”

“Then the world is lost,” said Skylar, jumping in.

Orion reached the western edge of Split River and galloped over a bridge that connected the two halves of the port town. A lighthouse just offshore illuminated the nearby waters, which had a slew of derelict vessels stranded along its banks. Banshee knew the way to the Inn of the Golden Chalice, and she directed Orion there.

The streets were mostly deserted at this late hour, save for a few sludge diggers in filth-covered overalls who had fallen asleep on the sidewalk lining the city’s row of drinking establishments. The animals arrived at the inn to find the tavern closed for the night and a sign reading
NO VACANCIES
on the front door.

“Banshee, do you know what room Galleon stays in?” asked Skylar. “I could fly up and peck at his window.”

“His room doesn’t have a window,” said Banshee. “Not much of a view from the basement. There’s another entrance in the back, though.”

Banshee gestured to a skinny alleyway between the inn and a neighboring building, and Orion trotted toward it. As they got nearer, a voice could be heard singing.

“Now I hold my nose / as the foul smell grows / that’s the life of cleaning chamber pots.”

As the companions turned the corner, they saw Galleon, dressed in a flannel nightshirt and apron, long underwear, and boots, standing next to a stack of porcelain bowls. He was dumping their contents into a hole in the ground while wincing from the stench.

“Hello, old friend,” said Banshee.

Startled, Galleon dropped the pot he was holding, sending brown sludge splashing all over his boots. He looked up at Banshee, who was climbing down from Orion.

“Banshee,” said Galleon. “And the rest of the … zoo. What are you doing here?”

“We’re on a mission to save the queendom, and we need your help.”

“
My
help?” he asked. “Do the Knights of the Realm need their bedsheets changed?”

“Paksahara’s Dead Army has destroyed two of the three glyphstones,” Banshee told him. “The only way to stop her is to gather the seven descendants around the last glyphstone. As far as we know, it remains standing, outside of Bronzhaven.”

“That still doesn’t answer why you’ve come to me,” said Galleon.

“We need a wizard to complete the circle, and retrieving your magic seems to be the only way to do that.”

Galleon shook his head and turned his back on the howler monkey.

“You said it yourself. I’m a fool. You’ll be better off with anyone else.”

“Cleaning pots and mopping floors. This isn’t you, Galleon.” Banshee walked around to meet her loyal’s eyes once more. “The only thing that would be foolish is resigning yourself to this for the rest of your life. Come with us. Take back the magic you lost. Be the wizard I know you can be.”

“I think you gave me that same speech three years ago. It didn’t work then.... It’s not working now.”

But Banshee didn’t give up. “I never stopped being your familiar, you know.”

Galleon seemed to consider this for a moment. Then his shoulders slumped again.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I just can’t be the hero you want me to be.”

Just then, from the inn, the barkeep’s voice called out: “Galleon, what’s taking you so long? Go get your mop. Looks like Big Jim got food poisoning again.”

Hearing this, Galleon untied his apron and tossed it to the ground. “All right. So what do I have to do?”

The animals traveled with Galleon to a cliff that hugged the Ebs. They crouched low to the ground and looked out from the cliff edge at a majestic yacht floating in the river amid the broken masts of drowned ships.

“Coriander sails his yacht through Split River Harbor once a day,” said Galleon. “Just to spite me, I’m sure. I know he’s got some muscle on board. Elvin pirates. They come to the inn to drink and chuck tomatoes at me during my act. If you see one with a big scar under his eye, just know that he’s got a really good throwing arm. Especially for somebody so little.”

“We’ll have to find a way to sail as close to the yacht as we can without being seen,” Skylar said. “Then board it from the stern.” She pointed to the back of the ship, where two of the pirates guarded a single rope ladder that led down to the water.

Banshee related the information to Galleon.

“Still the same know-it-all,” said Galleon with a smile to Skylar. “You and Dalton always had that in common.” Then he turned to the others. “I know where we can get a boat. There’s a fisherman who frequents the tavern, and every night he sleeps off his cider on the inn floor. He never makes it back to his dinghy until morning. I’m sure he won’t notice if it’s gone.”

“Let’s go get your magic back,” said Banshee.

They all rose to their feet. Aldwyn was careful to avoid stepping too close to the edge of the cliff.

“I’m afraid I can’t let that happen,” said Orion.

The others turned to see the lightmare staring at Galleon with a strange look in his eyes.

“Orion,” said Gilbert. “What’s going on?”

The lightmare lowered his head and began to gallop toward them. Everyone was too stunned to react. All Galleon could do was brace himself for the collision that would surely send him over the edge.

“The circle will never be complete,” shouted Orion as he charged.

15

SLEIGHT OF HAND

A
ldwyn strained his mind, lifting a nearby log and hurling it in the path of the oncoming stallion. It hit the lightmare, but instead of slowing him down, Orion crashed straight through it. Just before the horse barreled into the human, Marati conjured an astral claw and pushed Galleon out of the way. Orion dug in his hooves and came to a skidding halt, but the force of Marati’s push sent Galleon flying. His body rolled off the cliff—but at the last second, his fingers grabbed onto the edge, preventing his fall.

Orion turned to charge again, determined to finish what he had started. Skylar flew up to him and began tugging at his saddlebag. Simeon, too, leaped up and clamped down hard on Orion’s tail in an attempt to distract him, while Gilbert and Aldwyn tried in vain to hold back the lightmare’s legs.

“Let go of me or I will kill you all,” said Orion.

“Why are you doing this?” screamed Gilbert.

“We trusted you,” squawked Skylar.

“Animals will rule once more,” said Orion with a frightening coldness in his voice.

The animals had gained enough time to allow Banshee to rush to Galleon’s side and pull her loyal to safety.