Page 11

ELEVEN

Wren

Even Ruby sleeps longer than usual the next morning, though once we’re up they quickly forage a bunch of golden chanterelle mushrooms to cook with several rainbow trout the friendly Water Elemental tossed onto the creek bank. After we finish breakfast, the firebird reappears when Lily calls her and extinguishes the log, and then I open the map again.

Ruby, Lily, and I study it as Viento hovers beside me. “First, I have to say how relieved I am that we don’t have to wait until night to read this page. Don’t know why, but I’m grateful for it.”

“It seems like once we pass an Elemental symbol and the map shows us a new section, like this one”—Lily points to the piece of paper I’ve smoothed out—“the map is set, which makes sense. How would we follow it if we couldn’t keep checking it? It’s obviously magick, and that magick understands we actually need to read it to follow it, whether it’s night or day.”

“Good point,” I say as we study the map. “Okay, so, we get to follow the stream again for most of the way, but what do you think this is?” I point to where the map changes. Instead of trees, there are a bunch of craggy black lines that rise and fall and are, in some places, just black blobs. The slim red ribbon that marks our path snakes around and between them but heads consistently north until it comes to something that looks like a horizontal ladder. Near it is the yellow feather.

Ruby squints at the map. “Are those black things supposed to be mountains?”

Lily looks up in surprise. “Mountains? How can there be mountains on this little island?”

The three of us turn to Viento.

The Realm of Elementals does not adhere to the physical laws that rule Mundane lands , Viento’s voice inside my mind explains, which I pass along to Ruby and Lily.

“So the island is like the Tardis?” Ruby asks, straight-faced.

I do not know what the fierce one means , says Viento.

“Oh, um, what Ruby means is that the island may appear small, but there’s a lot more to it than appearances.”

Exactly.

“Yeah, that’s right,” I say to my friends. And then I sigh. “Which means those definitely could be mountains.” My attention returns to the map. “But the way they’re drawn reminds me more of the canyons in Central Oregon, like at Smith Rock State Park.” When Lily and Ruby just stare at me I shrug. “I could be wrong, but my parents and I used to camp all over Oregon.”

“You camped?” Ruby says, raising their brow skeptically.

“In an Airstream, with air conditioning and a bathroom,” I explain.

“ Ohhh ,” Ruby and Lily say together. As I frown at them Ruby mumbles, “That makes a lot more sense.”

“What? I don’t like to rough it,” I say a little defensively.

Lily grins at me. “Hey, no judgment. I think roughing it is a Marriott instead of a Ritz-Carlton.”

“Yes!” I say.

Ruby snorts.

I do not know what all that means, but I believe I agree with the fierce one , Viento tells me.

I roll my eyes and say nothing as we head out, following a narrow but clear path that runs along the cheery stream. The path is just wide enough for the three of us to walk beside one another and as we move out we don’t talk—we just take in the gorgeous midmorning filled with birdsong. Wildflowers surround us, and as they sway in the soft breeze they look like an ocean of brightly colored waves. Each time the wind blows it brings their sweet scent and the day seems perfumed.

“Sam would love this.” For a brief moment I forget that my best friend is dead and I’ll never be able to share a magickal day like this with her.

“You must miss her,” Lily says.

My throat clogs with the tears I do not want to shed, so I just nod.

“You probably know this already because you lost your parents,” says Lily slowly, “but talking about it helps the grief. Or that’s what I’ve learned in my counseling lectures this summer.”

I should tell her the truth. I should say, If I talk about Sam I’m going to dissolve into tears and not be any use on this quest at all. But if I say that I might fall apart, so instead I get defensive. “Have you ever lost anyone you’re close to? A grandparent? A sibling? A best friend?” The words come out clipped and angry, even though I’m not really mad. I’m just very, very sad.

Lily nods her head sadly. “Yes. I lost my grandma. But I’m sorry if I overstepped. I’m not really a counselor. I shouldn’t have said anything.”

Ruby shoots me a sharp look as they take Lily’s hand. “Lily was just trying to help.”

I clear my throat and feel my cheeks getting hot. “I know. I didn’t mean to sound like that.”

“Angry? Stubborn? Mean?” Ruby says.

I sigh. “Yeah. All three. Sorry, Lily. I can’t talk about Sam. Not now. Maybe not ever.”

Lily smiles sadly. “Hey, I really do understand, and I’m here if you need me. I can help if you let me.”

“Thanks. Let’s just get through this whole quest thing and then…” My voice trails away. And then what? Sam will still be dead. I’ll still miss her every day. How will talking help that?

We walk in silence as the trail narrows and I fall back so Ruby and Lily can walk side by side. They hold hands, heads tilted together as they talk. I slow even more to give them some privacy and decide that I love the sound of Lily’s laughter as it drifts back to me, cutting through the sticky, suffocating grief that clings to me whenever I let myself think of Sam.

They complement each other well.

I glance to my left and startle a little, not realizing that instead of hovering above us, Viento has drifted down to move beside me.

I—I did not mean to frighten you. The voice in my mind sounds sad and he begins to lift with the breeze, moving away from me.

“Don’t go. You didn’t scare me,” I say quickly, glad when he comes back to my side. We walk on silently for a while—well, I walk and Viento floats. It’s another beautiful day and the unnaturally brilliant colors of the land around us are so breathtaking that I can almost forget my singed hair and the fact that we’ve only faced what is looking more and more like the first of four Elemental barriers we have to get past to reach the center of the island.

A thought comes to me and I smile at Viento. “When this is all over and we’re back in civilization I have a movie I want you to watch with me.”

A movie?

“Yeah. Do you know what that is?” I ask.

Entertainment on the flat boxes in the halls?

“Yep. There’s a movie called Avatar that I think you’ll like a lot because the made-up world it’s set in, Pandora, looks a whole lot like the Realm of Elementals.”

I would like that. He pauses and I can tell he has more to say, so I stay quiet and wait. Little Bird, it pains me that I cannot protect you through all of this. I want you to know that if I could, I would.

I meet his amber gaze, which is as dark and sad as his voice. “I know you would. It’s not your fault that you can’t. Ruby and Lily and I understand that.” I hesitate and then choose my words carefully, not wanting to cause either of us pain. “When this is all over. When I complete what needs to be completed.” He nods quickly. “Will the spell be broken?”

Yes.

“Good,” I say.

Yes! he repeats.

We continue to follow the path and I think about how much my feelings have changed for Viento since that first night when I was so intimidated by him. I’ve come to care about Viento—to depend on him—despite the spell. He’s my friend and I trust him.

I give him a side glance. “Can I ask you something?”

Is that not a question?

“You know what I mean.”

He snorts, sounding more and more like Ruby. Yes, you may ask me any question you’d like, though as you know I cannot always answer you.

“Oh, I’m not going to say anything about the R word,” I assure him hastily. “I was just thinking about when I first came to the Academia de la Luna. You were so intimidating and more than a little creepy sniffing me and whispering all that Spanish at me.”

That is not a question.

“Right. My question is why? You’re not actually creepy at all, though you’re a powerful Elemental, which can be intimidating.”

He is silent so long I begin to think he’s not going to answer, but finally his voice drifts through my mind. It is complicated, but I will try to explain. Your scent told me of your power. At first I was shocked. There has not been a maiden born for almost two full generations. He pauses and his amber eyes study me. You are so young, and you were frightened and unsure of yourself.

“I’m just short. Everyone at the school is my age,” I say with a frown.

His airy laughter echoes in my mind. You are all so young.

It’s my turn to snort, which makes him laugh again.

Most maidens are excited about discovering their powers and more sure of themselves than you were. I worried for you.

I chew the inside of my cheek and then say, “I was scared and really worried about how I’d fit in because I was totally blindsided when my power manifested. I’ve been living with my uncle and his husband for the past five years, and they’re Mundanes. The only Moonstruck adults I knew were Lee’s parents, and they were never very friendly to me. Then after his sister died two years ago they moved to the East Coast, so I’ve only been around Mundanes for years.” I clear the grief from my throat. “It would’ve been different if my parents had been alive.” I look at him. “So, you were being creepy because you were scared for me?”

Yes. I hoped you might leave. Some of the maidens did. Not many of them, though.

When he says no more I press him. “And the ones that didn’t leave the Academia?”

Dead.

I swallow. “All of them?”

All of them.

“Oh.” I feel cold. “Did they all have the same power I do to boost others?”

Yes. Without that power they couldn’t be the maiden.

“Were you friends with any of the other maidens?”

Yes. Almost two hundred years ago there was an Aquarius moon child who was my friend. His eyes glow with a soft, warm light. Adelaide, little Ada. Like you, she was a diminutive girl who was friendly to me. Like your Sam, she was very smart. And like Lee, she believed in following the rules.

“What happened to her?” My voice is just a whisper.

Celeste told her that because she was special she must conquer the Trials on her own to discover her powers. I encouraged her to partner with another student, if just for the first Trial, so she could discover her power. But Ada believed Celeste. Ada always believed Celeste. So she did not team with another student. Alone, out on her first Trial, she was buried alive. Celeste made sure another group of students had a Trial that involved Air Elementals at the same time. I was watching over them and not able to help Ada. I did not even know she was in danger. It took her quite a long time to die, and even longer for us to find her. Viento bows his head, his cowl covering his eyes.

I take his hand and squeeze it gently. “That’s not going to happen to me. I have friends. I will never be isolated from them, even when you can’t help me. And I will never believe Celeste.”

Viento squeezes my hand in return but says nothing.

Sometime in the early afternoon, the land around us changes drastically. The difference is abrupt and shocking. One moment we’re walking along the stream with ferns and wildflowers, willows and oaks framing it and pines beyond that, and the next it seems we’ve been transported to the high desert. The stream shrinks to a narrow creek, and as we continue following our winding path around jagged rocks and up and down shallow canyons the flowing water makes an abrupt turn and disappears underground.

“I hope that reappears after we pass the air symbol,” says Ruby as they reach down to pick up a round stone and put it in their hoodie pocket.

Silently, I agree, tightening the lids on the refilled water bottles in my backpack while I share the last of my granola bars with my friends. “What’s with the stones? That’s probably the sixth one I’ve seen you pick up,” I ask as I take out the map to recheck the path.

“Defense,” says Ruby.

“Defense?” I ask.

They nod. “I don’t have a slingshot, but I’m accurate and can throw hard enough to hurt someone.”

“Oh. Good.” I grin at Ruby. “I think I’m going to start calling you what Viento does.”

Ruby lifts one dark brow. “Which is?”

“Fierce one,” I say, and Ruby grins back at me before they look up at Viento.

“I like the nickname!” they call to him.

Your friend has earned it , says Viento.

We turn our attention to the map. It’s easy to follow—so easy that it’s clear we’re well into the canyon part of today’s travels, and not far from the feather symbol.

“We’re definitely going in the right direction,” says Lily as Ruby nods agreement.

“I think the ladderlike symbol that’s ahead of us is a bridge,” adds Ruby.

My stomach drops at the thought of coming up against angry Air Elementals as we cross a bridge, but I have to agree with her. “Yeah, I don’t think anything else makes sense.”

Ruby glances up at the sky. The day has been clear and warm, but as the sun begins to travel down toward the western horizon low clouds drift into the area. “Let’s pick up the pace. If we’re crossing a bridge today it would be smart not to do that at or after dusk.”

Viento drifts above us as we hurry forward. We don’t do much talking, because the path goes from a gentle trail to a challenging hike.

Then the fog rolls in.

Even though I’ve lived my whole life in the Pacific Northwest, fog makes me uneasy. When I’m home it doesn’t stress me out too much, but I swear I will never be comfortable driving in it. I’ve hiked in it before, but not like this—not somewhere I don’t know with the possibility of danger around every bend in the trail (and the bends are getting increasingly harder to see as the fog thickens).

“We have to slow a little,” Ruby says. “The canyons are getting steeper. If we aren’t careful we could fall off the trail.”

Lily and I nod. I’m glad we slow because soon the trail widens, but it’s like it’s been carved into the rock wall on our right while the left side of the trail falls off into foggy nothingness. My legs burn and my shoulders ache with tension as we keep moving at the quickest pace possible and concentrate on not tumbling off the side of the cliff.

“Aaaaaah!”

The shriek echos off the rock wall and the three of us halt so suddenly I run into Lily.

“W-what is that?” Lily’s voice shakes.

“Aaaaaah!”

The shriek sounds again, making gooseflesh rise on my arms.

“Is it a big cat? Like a cougar?” Lily asks.

“I’m not sure if there are cougars on any of the Pacific Northwest islands,” I say as I look overhead for Viento. “Hey, Viento.” I squint up into the thickening fog. “Is that a cougar?”

Silence. There is no friendly hovering Air Elemental and no voice in my head.

My heartbeat increases and my stomach feels sick. “Viento’s gone,” I tell Ruby and Lily.

Ruby nods grimly and Lily moves closer to them. “He left when the Fire Elementals attacked us, too,” she whispers, reminding us of the trouble lurking ahead.

“Aaaaaah!”

Lily and I startle. The shriek is so much closer that my palms are suddenly sweaty.

“I don’t like how near that sounds. You two stay here.” Ruby speaks confidently and quickly as they reach into their pockets to fist a stone in each hand. “I’m going to scout ahead. While I’m gone look for anything you can use as a weapon.” And Ruby disappears down the path, swallowed by the fog.

“Okay, there has got to be a limb we can use to hit something. We’ve passed a bunch of scrubby trees,” Lily says as she searches around us, being careful not to move too far off and get lost in the fog.

“Yeah, Ruby used one like a baseball bat against the fireflies,” I say as I help her search.

We find one usable branch and one rock that’s oblong and roughly the size of a big knife. I lift it, holding it like a blade.

“Lily! Lily! Lily! Lily!” Ruby’s voice bounces off the rock wall.

“Ruby! Are you okay?” Lily shouts back.

“Lily! Lily! Lily! Lily!” More echoes are her only answer.

“Ruby! We haven’t moved. Where are you?” I call out into the fog.

“Here! Here! Here! Here!” Ruby’s voice answers, still echoing eerily.

“Ruby has to be ahead of us,” Lily says.

I agree. The path we’ve been following is the only way through the mess of canyons, cliffs, and boulders. Ruby couldn’t have circled around behind us. “Let’s go after them.”

Lily and I start forward. We walk briskly, but stay close to the rock wall that has risen on our right. On our left there is nothing but fog.

The wind increases then—suddenly, drastically. We have to bend our heads against it and struggle to move forward.

“Lily! Lily! Lily! Lily!” Ruby’s voice echoes around us and we stop, listening intently, trying to figure out where they are, but it’s impossible. Not only is Ruby’s voice echoing, but the wind is howling, distorting their voice even more.

“Ruby, we’re coming! W-where are you?” Lily’s voice shakes and I can tell she’s close to tears.

“Here! Here! Here! Here!” Each of the four echoes sounds like it’s coming from a different direction.

We move forward, fighting against the increasing wind, and the path splits, snaking within a break in the rock wall to our right.

“Should we take that path?” Lily asks.

I don’t need to consult the map. I can see it in my mind. It didn’t split. It didn’t change direction. It kept going north in one solid red line to the bridge and feather symbol without deviation.

“No. We’d just get lost in there,” I say.

“But what if Ruby’s in there?”

“They’re not.” I believe it, too. “Ruby’s too smart to leave our path. The wind is doing weird things to their voice. It might not even be Ruby’s voice. We can’t know. All we can do is keep calling them and keep going forward.”

Lily nods tightly and we walk on. I lead and she’s close behind me.

“Ruby! We’re coming!” Lily calls.

“Ruby! Ruby! Ruby! Ruby!” echoes around us as the wind picks up the name and twists it into a wail.

“I hate this!” Lily cries, dropping the branch and clutching her head like she’s trying to keep it from exploding. “This wind! I can’t stand it!”

I move to Lily’s side and take her hand. “It’s okay. It’s going to be okay,” I keep telling her as we move forward again, calling out to Ruby periodically.

We don’t hear their voice. They don’t call for Lily again.

We round a bend in the path and the whipping wind parts the fog long enough for my stomach to drop at the sight several yards in front of us.

It is a bridge. A long, narrow rope suspension bridge with wood planks as a bottom. I can’t see the other end of the bridge. I can’t see the ground below it. It’s like the bridge has materialized from the fog, an apparition more ghostly than real.

“Ruby, where are you?” Lily is frantic. She stares into the cloud-filled gorge beneath the bridge, and I know she’s imagining Ruby down there, broken and bleeding.

“Ruby, where! Ruby, where! Ruby, where! Ruby, where!” echoes from all around us, and I can’t take it anymore.

“Shut up!” I shout into the wind. “Stop taunting us! We haven’t done anything to hurt you. We don’t even want to hurt you. So please just give us a break and stop!”

Everything goes silent. The wind stops. The echoes cease.

“There you are!” Ruby jogs to us from the path ahead.

“Ruby!” Lily rushes into their arms and hugs them tightly. “I was so worried!”

Ruby kisses her gently. “I’m okay. I don’t know what was making that noise. I saw nothing out there.” The three of us huddle up. “How did you get the wind and those horrible echoes to stop?” Ruby asks.

“Wren told the Air Elementals to shut up and it worked,” says Lily with a relieved grin.

“Well, I said more than ‘shut up,’” I explain as I put my knifelike stone into my backpack. “I also told the Elementals that we’re not trying to hurt them. I think that’s what got through to them. So now all we have to do is cross the bridge and we’ve gotten past the air symbol.”

We turn to look out at the long bridge and the wind whips around us one more time, clearing away the last of the fog. My stomach flip-flops. The gorge is the deepest one we’ve seen yet. It reminds me of the Royal Gorge in Colorado, which I crossed with Uncle Brad and Uncle Joel with only one mild panic attack. (Okay, one massive panic attack.) At the bottom of it I can just glimpse a glistening line of water. Except for that, there are only boulders and the steep cliff sides that frame it.

“Anyone else not like heights?” Lily asks as she picks at her bottom lip.

I raise my hand. Ruby shrugs, takes my backpack from me, slings it around their shoulders, and puts an arm around us both. “You’ll be okay. Just don’t look down.”

“Has that advice actually ever worked?” I ask.

Ruby grins. “Only when it’s followed.”