A Tale of Sorcery... Page 2

  The observing citizens found the family discussion peculiar. Confused looks were exchanged throughout the coliseum—even the Righteous Brotherhood were scrunching their foreheads under their masks. The emperor, on the other hand, wasn’t paying any attention to the Evergreens. He had other concerns.

  “Something is wrong…,” Seven muttered to himself. “She should be here by now.… Her favorite brother is seconds away from death, and she’s nowhere to be found.…”

  The emperor’s heart was racing with anticipation. He feverishly scanned the horizon with his binoculars, worried he had missed something.

  “Hang him on three!” the High Commander called to the gallows.

  No, this can’t be right… Seven thought. She would rather die than let her family perish.…

  “ONE!”

  So where is she? Why hasn’t she flown to their rescue? What is she waiting for?

  “TWO!”

  “Unless…” Seven said as he was struck by a troubling thought. “She’s already here!”

  “THREE!”

  The emperor spun around and faced the gallows. The floor dropped out from below Barrie’s feet, and his body fell straight through the wooden platform. The horrified crowd gasped; however, the prisoner’s neck didn’t snap as they expected. Instead, Barrie Evergreen’s neck began to stretch and stretch like a rubber band until both of his feet touched the ground. All the citizens throughout the arena screamed—a few even fainted.

  “THAT’S NOT BARRIE EVERGREEN!” Seven shouted from the balcony.

  “The jig is up!” Justice Evergreen told his family. “It’s go time!”

  Suddenly, the chains wrapped around the Evergreens’ bodies evaporated into thin air. The family pulled the skin off their faces and the hair off their heads—they had been wearing enchanted disguises the entire time! As the wigs and masks were removed, the imposters’ true identities were revealed. Justice Evergreen was a chubby young woman with white feathers for hair, Mrs. Evergreen was an enormous doll with button eyes and burlap flesh, Brooks was a walking plant with chlorophyll skin and leaves growing from its scalp, and Penny had wings, bulging eyes, and a stinger like a giant insect.

  As if his skull was made of clay, Barrie’s head slipped completely out of the noose, and when he removed his disguise, he turned into a young woman with whiskers and a skunk tail.

  “WE’VE BEEN DECEIVED BY WITCHES!” Seven screeched.

  If that wasn’t enough to shock the crowded arena, the five clansmen at the gallows abruptly flung off their silver uniforms and five very colorful young people appeared. The first was a young man in a metallic golden suit with fire burning on his head and shoulders. The second was a young woman with curly dark hair who wore a robe made of gleaming emeralds. The third was a girl with a bright orange beehive and a dress made from dripping patches of honeycomb. The fourth was a girl in a sapphire bathing suit whose hair flowed down her body like a continuously flowing waterfall. And finally, the fifth was a beautiful young woman in a sparkling pantsuit, wielding a crystal wand.

  “IT’S THE FAIRY COUNCIL!” Seven roared. “KILL THEM! KILL THEM ALL!”

  The archers throughout the coliseum aimed their crossbows at the newcomers. Brystal Evergreen pointed her wand at Stitches, Sprout, Beebee, and Pip and broomsticks appeared in their hands. The witches hopped aboard the brooms and flew in circles around the arena. The citizens and clansmen ducked and dived out of the way as the witches looped through the air mere inches above their heads. The motion discombobulated the archers and they didn’t know where or who to shoot first.

  “FOOLS! DON’T LET THEM DISTRACT YOU!” Seven ordered. “FIRE AT THE FAIRY GODMOTHER! SHE’S THE PRIORITY!”

  “Xanthous! Skylene! Give me some steam!” Brystal said.

  A fiery jet erupted from Xanthous’s outstretched palms and a geyser of water sprayed from Skylene’s index fingers. The fire collided with the water, creating an enormous cloud of steam. Brystal waved her wand and a strong wind blew the steam around the center of the coliseum, blocking the fairies and the prisoners from the archers’ sight.

  “WHY AREN’T YOU SHOOTING?!” Seven screamed.

  “Sir, the archers can’t see where they’re firing! And we still have men down there!” the High Commander said.

  “I DON’T CARE WHO OR WHAT THEY HIT! JUST FIRE!” Seven ordered.

  The archers fired their crossbows, and bloodstone arrows whizzed through the center of the coliseum, barely missing Brystal and her friends. The clansmen among them tried to use the prisoners as human shields. Brystal waved her wand again and the cowardly clansmen joined the cloud of steam and whirled around the fairies like they were caught in a powerful tornado. The archers lowered their crossbows, afraid they might hit fellow clansmen.

  The emperor howled with rage at the Brotherhood’s incompetence. He dashed to the other side of his balcony and called to the dead soldiers patrolling the entrances.

  “GUARDS! GET IN HERE AND ATTACK THESE HEATHENS! NOT A SINGLE WITCH OR FAIRY LEAVES THIS COLISEUM ALIVE!”

  “Emerelda! Quick! Free the rest of the prisoners from their chains!” Brystal instructed.

  While the Army of the Dead rushed inside, Emerelda dashed from prisoner to prisoner and turned their chains into a weak talc stone that crumbled off their hands and feet.

  “Lucy! Tangerina! Block the entrances before the soldiers get in!” Brystal said.

  The girls raced to the entrances on opposite sides of the coliseum. Lucy hit the ground with a fist and a giant crack zigzagged across the earth. The crack hit the first entrance like a bolt of lightning, causing the doorway to implode before the dead soldiers could get through it. Tangerina sent her swarm of bumblebees into the second entrance and the bees doused the approaching soldiers in honey, sticking them to the floor and walls. Soon the entrance was jammed by sticky skeletons.

  “The entrances are blocked, but that means the exits are, too!” Lucy announced. “How are we going to get the prisoners to safety?”

  “Leave that to me!” Brystal said.

  Brystal pointed her wand at the prisoners and each one’s body was surrounded by a giant bubble. To the prisoners’ amazement, the bubbles rose into the air, carrying them high into the evening sky. Once all the prisoners had floated out of the coliseum, Brystal pointed her wand at Emerelda, Xanthous, Tangerina, Skylene, and Lucy, and then waved it around herself. She and her friends joined the prisoners in bubbles of their own and Stitches, Sprout, Beebee, and Pip followed on their broomsticks.

  After the fairies’ departure, the cloud of steam in the arena slowly faded away and the whirling clansmen dropped to the ground. The citizens cheered for the escapees but then quickly fell silent, remembering that such sympathies were illegal. The emperor was so enraged to see the fairies and witches floating away with his prisoners he began foaming at the mouth.

  “HIGH COMMANDER, ALERT THE ARCHERS IN THE CITY!” he ordered. “IF YOU LET THE FAIRIES GET AWAY, I WILL HAVE YOUR HEAD ON A PLATTER!”

  “Yes, my lord!” the High Commander said.

  The High Commander blew a horn to notify the archers positioned on the rooftops throughout the capital. The archers were quick to comply, firing hundreds and hundreds of bloodstone arrows as the escapees drifted over the city. The bubbles were pelted by the arrows, which caused many of them to pop and the prisoners to fall from the sky. Brystal waved her wand and restored their bubbles, but she couldn’t keep up.

  “Stitches! Sprout! Beebee! Pip! Help me catch them!” Brystal said.

  The witches immediately dived through the air and caught the falling prisoners just moments before they hit the ground. Unfortunately, the archers’ relentless attack showed no signs of slowing down, and the witches quickly ran out of space on their broomsticks.

  “YES!” Seven cheered as he watched the bubbles burst. “They’ll never make it out of the capital! They’re all going to drop like flies!”

  “Emerelda!” Brystal called over her shoulder. “Call for
backup!”

  Emerelda nodded and pressed a small emerald whistle against her lips. She blew the whistle with all her might and a sharp tone echoed through the sky.

  “Sir, look!” the High Commander said. “Something’s approaching the capital!”

  The emperor peered into the distance and every ounce of celebration drained from his spirits. An enormous black shadow appeared on the horizon, moving through the air like a veil caught in the wind. As the shadow flew closer and closer, the emperor realized it wasn’t just one object but thousands moving together. He raised his binoculars for a closer look and discovered a massive flock of gryphons had entered the city!

  The magical creatures soared between the buildings of Chariot Hills and attacked the archers throughout the capital. They knocked the clansmen off rooftops with strokes of their wings, they ripped crossbows out of the men’s hands with their beaks, and they snatched handfuls of bloodstone arrows with their claws. The archers were completely caught off guard by the majestic beasts and many abandoned their posts. While the gryphons assaulted the clansmen, the fairies, witches, and prisoners drifted far away from Chariot Hills. Once they were out of the archers’ reach, the magical creatures joined the procession of bubbles, and they all soared safely into the horizon.

  “NOOOOOOOOOO!” Seven roared so loudly the entire city could hear him. “HOW IS THIS EVEN POSSIBLE?! HOW COULD WE LET THEM ESCAPE?! AGAIN!”

  The High Commander gulped and took a cautious step back.

  “My sincerest apologies, my lord,” he said. “I thought our plan was foolproof!”

  The emperor’s binoculars began to crunch under his tight grip, but he suddenly went very still and very quiet. His fury was interrupted by something strange he had spotted in the sky.

  “Wait a second,” Seven said. “Where did the Fairy Godmother go? She and the fat witch aren’t with the others!”

  The emperor scanned the horizon over and over again, but Brystal and Lucy had disappeared.

  “Your orders, my lord?” the High Commander asked.

  “Gather your men and search the city at once!” Seven demanded. “They’re still here!”

  Brystal’s and Lucy’s bubbles descended into the Chariot Hills town square and popped on impact. As soon as they landed, Brystal took off running and Lucy sprinted after her.

  “Well, the rescue was a smash but the performance was a flop!” Lucy griped. “I guess that’s what I get for casting amateurs. There’s nothing worse in show business than a novice who thinks they can improvise.”

  Brystal abruptly stopped in her tracks and looked around like she was lost. She barely recognized the city she had grown up in. All the buildings were covered in silver banners bearing the emperor’s face or the Righteous Brotherhood’s white wolf symbol, all the doors and windows were boarded up or chained shut, and all the statues and tributes to past rulers had been removed or demolished. The streets were also covered in large piles of ashes, although Brystal couldn’t tell what had been burned. A smoky haze still lingered in the air, making it hard to see more than a few yards in each direction.

  “Brystal, what’s wrong?” Lucy asked. “Why did we stop moving?”

  “Everything looks so different I can’t tell which building is which anymore,” she said.

  “Is there a town directory somewhere?”

  “No—but maybe I can make one.”

  Brystal closed her eyes and visualized the Chariot Hills from her childhood. She waved one arm in a large circle, and thousands of tiny lights emanated from the tip of her wand, as if she was spraying the streets in a glittery mist. However, the lights didn’t stick to the buildings as they were now, but re-created the city as Brystal remembered it. After she opened her eyes and got her whereabouts, the lights disappeared.

  “The library’s over there!” she said. “Follow me! We don’t have much time!”

  Brystal grabbed Lucy’s hand and pulled her toward a building with a glass dome, at the far end of the town square. Just like the other buildings, the library was covered in silver banners, but unlike the others, the library’s front steps were surrounded by a tall metal fence. A sign bolted to the fence read:

  SUBJECTS BEWARE!

  Under Section Two of the Emperor’s Righteous Constitution,

  This Building Is Officially Closed to the Public.

  Unauthorized Access Is Forbidden.

  Trespassers Will Be Sentenced to Death.

  The warning made Brystal’s blood boil. She blasted the fence with her wand, and then Lucy hurried up the front steps and kicked the double doors open. As soon as they stepped inside the dark building, Brystal’s stomach turned. The library had been ransacked beyond recognition! All the furniture was knocked over and the seat cushions had been ripped apart. The large silver globe that once stood regally in the center of the first floor now lay in pieces across the carpet. And most horrifying of all, every bookshelf in the three-story library was empty.

  “Slim pickings,” Lucy said.

  “No, this isn’t right,” Brystal said. “This place used to be full of books!”

  “What do you think happened to them?” Lucy asked.

  “Seven must have hidden them somewhere,” she said. “Let’s have a look around and see if they left anything behind.”

  Brystal and Lucy wandered through the aisles of the spacious library like rats in a multilevel maze. Unfortunately, not a single page had survived the emperor’s purge. Even the Justices’ secret chamber, which Brystal had discovered when she worked as a maid, was completely vacant. Defeated, Brystal began pacing by a window on the third floor. Her gaze drifted toward the town square outside and her whole body went tense. It had suddenly dawned on her what had created all the ashes in the streets.

  “Seven didn’t hide the books—he burned them!” Brystal said in disbelief.

  “I’m confused,” Lucy said. “Why would Seven burn a bunch of books?”

  Brystal sighed and shook her head. “Because reading inspires thinking, thinking inspires ideas, ideas inspire change, and nothing threatens a tyrant more than change.”

  Lucy groaned and made fists with both hands. “God, I HATE that guy!” she declared. “Just when I think it isn’t possible to loathe someone more, he always proves me wrong!”

  “Luckily, books can be replaced,” Brystal said. “Well… most books can be replaced.”

  Lucy gulped. “Do you think it was destroyed with the others?”

  “Honestly, I doubt it was even here to begin with. A book like that would definitely have caught my attention when I was a maid, and I don’t remember seeing anything even remotely like it—not even in the Justices’ private collection.”

  “But this is the only library we haven’t searched. If it isn’t here, then where is it?”

  Brystal went quiet as she asked herself the same question. However, her train of thought was interrupted by a strange red light that began to glow around them. She and Lucy turned around and saw the Righteous Emperor standing at the end of the aisle. His bloodstone wardrobe radiated crimson light through the dark library and his unwavering scowl radiated pure hatred.

  “Seven.”

  At first, Brystal was glad to see the emperor. Part of her wanted to believe Seven was the dashing young prince who had swept her off her feet—not the dangerous young man who had tried to kill her.

  “I’m guessing your real family is alive and well,” Seven sneered.

  “They’ve been safe and sound for months,” Brystal said.

  The emperor’s mouth curved into a sinister grin but the hatred never faded from his eyes.

  “I have to give credit where credit is due,” he said. “That was quite a stunt you pulled off at the coliseum. Sadly, your most impressive charade will be your last.”

  The emperor snapped his fingers and he was joined by his High Commander and the Righteous Brotherhood. The clansmen backed Brystal and Lucy into a wall at the very end of the aisle. Brystal desperately wanted to wave her wand and
knock the men across the library, but she knew her magic was useless against their bloodstone weapons. With his guards in place, the emperor strolled toward the girls and looked Brystal closely in the eye.

  “Tell me, Brystal, exactly how many lives do you have?” Seven asked. “On second thought, let it be a surprise. I’m willing to kill you as many times as it takes.”

  “Killing me won’t ensure your victory,” Brystal said. “It doesn’t matter how many laws you enforce, how many lies you tell, or how many books you burn—your day of reckoning will come. Your people are much smarter and stronger than you think. With or without me, it’s only a matter of time before they get sick of your tyranny and rise against you.”

  “And that’s where you’re wrong,” he said. “You see, a successful resistance takes courage, it takes intelligence, it takes resilience—and people aren’t born with those qualities. No, no, no. Bravery has to be inspired, brilliance has to be championed, boldness has to be encouraged—but if you destroy everything that nurtures a society, then society will never gain the tools to destroy you. And nothing will dishearten my people more than seeing the great Fairy Godmother’s head on a pike!”

  “DISHEARTEN THIS, YOU WALKING SUNBURN!” Lucy shouted.

  SWOOSH! Lucy shoved the nearest bookcase with all her might and WHAM! The bookcase fell directly on top of the emperor, pinning him to the floor. He moaned and struggled to free himself, but the bookcase was too heavy.

  “Now that’s how you improvise,” Lucy said. “Sorry, Brystal, you didn’t want to keep chatting with him, did you?”

  “I’m just jealous I didn’t think of that first,” Brystal said.

  “DON’T JUST STAND THERE! KILL THEM!” Seven screamed at his men.

  The clansmen charged toward Brystal and Lucy with their swords and spears raised. Lucy hit the floor with a fist and sent a giant ripple through the carpet. The ripple made all the bookcases in the aisle begin to teeter until, one by one, the bookcases came crashing down on the clansmen.