Jack Staples and the City of Shadows Read online

  As Elion spoke, the fire sent shadows dancing across her face. “The world changed when you stabbed the Assassin. He cannot heal from a wound given by Ashandar. Even now the evil spills from him, and where it blows, insanity follows.”

  “I didn’t know.” Jack was horrified. “I didn’t mean to … I would never have …”

  “You need not apologize. It was inevitable that the Assassin’s evil would spread. But he is also wounded, and that is a good thing! No matter how many followers he finds, the Assassin is our true enemy. I tell you this because you need to know that just because the scales have fallen from someone’s eyes, it does not make him or her good. We must choose the right thing even when our eyes are open.”

  “Like the man,” Jack said. “Like Korah.”

  A troubled look entered Elion’s eyes. “Yes, like Korah. He was once one of us. He was a member of the Council of Seven and more zealous than most. But he refused instruction and did not seek wisdom. I fear what he will do to Alexia.”

  Jack’s chest tightened. Every time he thought of Alexia, he struggled to breathe. She was his friend. And knowing Alexia was out there, knowing she was also special, made Jack feel less alone. “Will the Assassin hurt her? Will he torture her?”

  “Yes, he will hurt her,” Elion said, “but not in the way you are thinking. The Assassin is a master of distortion and manipulation. What Alexia once saw as evil will become entertainment, and what once sickened may eventually satisfy.”

  With each passing day, Alexia was feeling more comfortable in Thaltorose. She no longer dreaded her time with Belial. But she was surprised to find that her least favorite hours were those spent with her father. He was so different.

  Alexia rose from her massive bed and reached for her cloak and sling, then stopped. Her heart sank—her cloak and sling were gone. The Atherial Cloak had been missing since she’d first awoken in Thaltorose—and now this. In place of her familiar clothing was a black-and-silver uniform just like her father’s.

  Tears welled in her eyes. The evening before, Alexia had gone to the war chamber to meet her father. Here, too, the floor was marble and the walls studded with gemstones, but the chamber also housed thousands of weapons.

  There were barbed spears, spiked axes, and razor-encrusted halberds. There were balls of steel that exploded when thrown and swords with spiked pommels. There were whips with nine tails, each ending in something sharp. The walls were filled with more weapons than Alexia could have imagined.

  As she stood gaping, her father entered behind her. “A sling is a child’s toy,” he’d snarled. “It was fine for a small girl, but you are older now and must learn how to fight with a real weapon.”

  “But you made me this sling!” Alexia said. “And I’m quite good with it. I practice every day.”

  Her father snatched the sling away and tossed it aside. “Do you want to be a little girl forever?”

  She was heartbroken, but she didn’t want to disappoint him. She walked to the wall and retrieved a thin sword with a rounded blade. He nodded approvingly at the weapon and then drew his own bone-white sword. They trained for hours—and her father was an exceptionally harsh teacher. He never showed her something more than once, and when she did something wrong, he screamed at her.

  At the end of the training, her father had called to her. “One more thing, Daughter.” She turned to face him, hoping to hear just one word of encouragement. “You need a new cloak,” he said. “If you are to rule this city, you must dress appropriately.”

  “No!” Alexia gasped. “This was made from the dress Mother made me. I don’t want to stop wearing it!”

  “Do not cross me, girl,” he said. “I expect obedience and perfection from you. Or are these things too much to ask?”

  Alexia backed away. “Please, Father, let me keep it!”

  Her father looked at her a moment, then shook his head. “You are a young woman now. Every time you act like a child, you shame me.” Without another word he ripped the cloak and sling from her arms and stalked away. That night, Alexia had cried herself to sleep.

  Now Alexia sat in her bed feeling sick as she stared at the uniform. I need to grow up, she thought bitterly. I’m not a little girl anymore, and I can’t just sit in bed and cry!

  Until now Alexia had spent her days exploring the palace. But she was growing bored with staying inside, and though she was starting to enjoy her times with Belial, she only met him at the end of the day. Besides answering her questions, Belial had begun teaching her how to control her gifts. In addition to having agility and balance, he claimed, Alexia could manipulate animals. He said she could control them if she learned how. This excited her more than anything. But there were no animals in the palace to try to control.

  Alexia dressed hurriedly and tried not to think of her cloak and sling as she left her room. She didn’t bother summoning a servant. She was still full from the meal of spiced lamb, potatoes, chicken potpie, apple pie, and ice cream she’d had the night before. Today Alexia planned to finally explore Thaltorose. She wanted to find some animals to see if she could control them. If the city really is mine, she thought, I should at least see it. When she stepped out of the palace courtyard and onto the city street, Alexia gaped.

  Thaltorose was absolutely spectacular. The yellow sky seemed somehow more natural than before, and it was filled with magical flying creatures. The streets and buildings were covered in ornate gold and silver scrollwork. And though it still felt hollow, she’d learned to ignore that bit.

  As she walked the streets, Alexia wondered if Thaltorose was like Belfast. Are there two cities here? Are there street urchins and gangs who rule the night? Or is it like Agartha? Although she’d spent much of her time in Agartha trying to escape, she had never once seen a starving face or someone skulking in the shadows.

  Mountains surrounded Thaltorose, but they had a different sort of beauty. Belial’s servants had mined them in search of the gold and gems that ornamented the city. The mountains had been transformed into dark craters or were filled with holes and pockmarks. But there was still something grand about them.

  As she walked farther from the palace, Alexia couldn’t see any signs of a second city. Every building was glaringly extravagant. There wasn’t a butcher or barbershop that wasn’t encrusted with precious metal or jewels. Impressive spires rose spectacularly high, and exotic creatures walked and slithered alongside men and women.

  There were no hungry faces or pickpockets, but something about the people felt odd. No matter how far she walked, Alexia couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched. Yet every time she turned around … there was nobody there. Equally eerie, everyone seemed to know who she was. They smiled and bowed as she walked past, but there was no mistaking the fear behind their eyes. The more Alexia saw, the more she couldn’t shake the feeling of wrongness.

  There are no children! The thought made Alexia stop. She’d been walking for hours and hadn’t seen a single child. And no one is laughing. Everyone smiled, but there was no joy in it. The more she walked, the uneasier she became.

  What’s wrong with everyone? And what kind of city has no children? The men, women, and strange creatures felt unnatural, with their bright colors, gaudy jewelry, pale faces, and dead eyes. As she passed a particularly large building, Alexia glanced inside to see a large structure of interlocking silvery rings. It’s just like the one beneath Buckingham Palace, she thought. She was certain it was a World Portal. Mrs. Dumphry had planned on taking her and Jack and the others through one of these so they could flee the Assassin. The thought made Alexia furious; Belial had been far more gracious with her than Mrs. Dumphry had ever been. He treated her like a proper lady.

  Belial told her Mrs. Dumphry had killed Megan Staples, and the more Alexia thought about it, the more she thought it might be true. She’s the reason Jack and Arthur and I got caught up in all of this! All she ever did was treat us l
ike children. I bet she was lying about all of it!

  Alexia glanced around to be sure no one was watching. She wanted to go somewhere to think, somewhere no one could see her. Now! She darted down a side passage and quickly climbed onto the roof of a nearby shop.

  I think it’s time for a little eavesdropping, she thought with a grin. As she ran along the rooftops, she smiled for the first time in days. This was where she felt most at home. Yet after an hour of listening from the eaves, Alexia hadn’t heard a single conversation. The people of Thaltorose were utterly silent. They walked the streets with those unnatural smiles that never reached their eyes, but they didn’t say a word to one another. Come to think of it, none of them spoke to me unless I spoke to them first, Alexia realized. And even then they only answered my questions.

  The hairs on Alexia’s neck stirred as she walked up a particularly steep roof. When she reached the top, she saw it. Hidden away in a corner of the city, standing bold against the horizon, was the arena that had haunted her dreams almost every night since her fifth birthday. The mammoth coliseum made of sleek black stone called to Alexia, willing her to come.

  Jack forced his eyes to stay open. He and Elion had been walking for ten days, and Elion had no idea how much farther they would need to go before they reached the Forbidden Garden.

  “Elion, will you tell me about my family?” he asked, trying to hide a yawn. “Do you know where my father and Parker are now? Do they know what’s happened? Do they know about Mother and the town?”

  “I honestly don’t know, Jack. All I’ve been able to learn is your father and brother weren’t in Ballylesson when the Oriax attacked because they had been sent on a very important mission. And before you ask”—Elion smiled—“I don’t know what their mission was or who gave it to them or where they are now. But I can promise you this—they are as desperate to see you as you are to see them.”

  Jack turned and stirred the coals of the fire with a long stick. He had been told his father and Parker were gone because they were working on a masonry project. “Why wasn’t I told?” he asked. “Why was I the only one who didn’t know? If I’m so important, why didn’t Mother or Father trust me enough to tell me about all of this when I was younger?” The stick snapped in his hand.

  “I know you’re angry. And perhaps we were wrong not to tell you sooner. But you must understand that knowledge is dangerous. And knowing that you carry the fate of the world on your shoulders is enough to make the bravest warrior tremble in fear.” As Elion grabbed Jack’s hand, her eyes shifted through a rainbow of colors.

  “We do not know what comes next or what will be asked of you. And while there is an answer to every question under the sun, it is not answers that brings peace, but trust. We must trust the Author.”

  “Trust the Author?” Jack threw his broken stick into the jungle. “Everyone’s always talking about this stupid Author. And I’ve never even met him! I don’t even know who he is. How can you expect me to trust him?”

  “This is the most important question you have asked so far. But I am afraid I will not answer it.”

  “What?” Jack said.

  “I am taking you to the Forbidden Garden so you can meet with Time. She wants to show you something. And what she shows you will answer these questions better than I ever could.”

  Chapter 13

  THE GANG OF ROGUES

  Alexia thought longingly of her Atherial Cloak as she sprinted across a rooftop toward the arena of black stone. And then—Wild! Alexia almost stumbled at the thought. How could she have forgotten about him? Wild had risked his life to save her. I’ll have to ask Father when I get back to the palace. She shook off the feeling of guilt and continued forward.

  As she neared the edge of the roof, Alexia dropped to her belly and crawled the rest of the way. Black rock stretched high, forming archways that became lost in the clouds. The entire coliseum looked to be carved out of a single mountain.

  Alexia wanted to sneak inside the arena and see the place that had haunted her dreams for as long as she could remember. Yet she was also afraid of what she would find. I never thought it was real!

  She had just decided to climb down when a filthy boy in tattered clothes sprinted out of an entryway. He skidded to a stop and scanned the surroundings.

  Before he could decide on a direction, four Oriax charged from the same corridor and quickly surrounded him. The beasts snarled and hissed as he turned, trying to watch all four at the same time.

  “Come and get me!” he screamed. “I’m not afraid of you!” But the Oriax didn’t attack; they waited, circling to ensure he didn’t run. A moment later a Shadule slithered out.

  “I warned you what would happen if you tried to escape again.” The creature moved with liquid grace. “Take him to the crack,” it said. The beasts growled and lunged at the boy to corral him back toward the arena.

  “No, please! I promise I won’t do it again,” he cried. “I was just hungry; we all are. We need something to eat!” The Oriax snarled and swiped their claws, forcing him into the corridor until he disappeared from view.

  Alexia let out a long, shuddering breath. She knew this boy. It was Josiah, and he was her friend.

  Six years earlier

  Alexia stared at the beige sheet of paper. She could barely believe it. Josiah hunched next to her, rocking on his heels excitedly. “Five pounds!” he almost shouted. “That’s enough to buy a horse, for goodness sake!”

  Josiah had ripped the paper from a lantern post earlier that evening. The page showed an extremely good drawing of Alexia Dreager, and at the bottom were the words “This child is extremely dangerous: A five pound reward for information leading to her arrest.”

  “Five pounds!” Alexia said. It truly was a ridiculous amount of money. “But why?”

  Sitting nearby were four more children who were all close in age: Juno, Summer, and Benaiah were six, and Adeline had just turned five. Alexia had been living with Josiah and the others for the past few days. The children called themselves the Gang of Misfits, which Alexia thought was an absurd name.

  In truth, they were five street kids who had no place to go and no one to look after them. Either their parents had died or they were runaways. The children had found one another somehow and looked after each other as best they could.

  Josiah had brought Alexia here after they’d escaped from Korah and his Gang of Terror. She’d stayed because she was too heartbroken to go anywhere else. Their hideout was in an abandoned factory in the most dangerous slum in Belfast.

  Alexia hated Korah more than she’d ever hated anyone. The man had ruined her beloved dress! She now wore brown pants and a cream-colored shirt. They were tattered and worn, and she hated them too.

  Alexia looked at the five dirty faces around her. I don’t need these kids getting in my way, she told herself for the twentieth time. I should just leave. It’s not safe here anyway, not with Korah looking for me. But every time she thought of leaving, the look in Josiah’s eyes made her stay just one more day.

  “Why does Lord Korah want you so badly?” Juno asked. “There’s no reward for Josiah.”

  Juno was a small girl with white hair and a thick accent. She was quick on her feet and even quicker with her hands. That very morning Alexia had seen her pick the pockets of five men in less than two minutes.

  “I don’t know what he wants,” Alexia said. Ever since she and Josiah escaped the Gang of Terror, she’d heard rumors that they were looking for her. But five pounds!

  “Does this mean you’re going to leave us, then?” Josiah asked.

  Alexia didn’t know how to answer. She liked these children. Josiah and his friends looked up to her; it made her feel important and responsible for them. “I don’t know,” she said. “I think we should get some sleep now. We can talk about it in the morning.”

  While the children unrolled their blankets and
curled up on the floor, Alexia tried to ignore the guilt that was growing inside her. But as she readied herself for bed, she made her decision. She would sleep a few hours, then wake early and sneak away. These kids would have to make do without her.

  Sleep came almost instantly. Like most nights, she had the same dream of the red wildflowers, the massive arena, the three gravestones. She opened her eyes to see the sun peeking through the broken window—she’d overslept. It would be far harder to leave when the children were awake. She sat up and immediately spotted her opened satchel.

  It’s gone! Alexia stood in a rage. “Where is it? Where is my dress?” she screamed.

  The children sat up groggily.

  “I have it!” Juno called from another room.

  Alexia stalked toward Juno, who held the red dress out to her. Alexia shoved Juno with all her might, screaming, “How dare you steal my dress!”

  “I didn’t steal it, Blade, really! I tried to fix it!” Juno cowered on the floor.

  Alexia stopped. She held the dress up and was confused by what she saw.

  “I couldn’t figure out how to fix the dress, so I used the pieces to make a cloak … I’m sorry, I thought you would like it; I wanted to surprise you!”

  Alexia fingered the crimson cloak. She’d been on the verge of tears for days now. But Juno hadn’t stolen her dress—she had fixed it, rather. She’d transformed it! Alexia studied the stitching; it was beautiful.

  “My grandmother was a seamstress,” Juno said. “She taught me how to sew before she died. I thought you would like it or I never would have taken it, really!”

  “I love it,” Alexia whispered, suddenly teary. “It’s perfect.”

  She tried it on. The cloak fit perfectly!

  “I’m sorry I pushed you. I shouldn’t have done that,” Alexia said. “I’ll never forget what you did for me.”

  Juno smiled as Alexia pulled her to her feet. “It’s the strangest thing,” Juno said. “It never should have been enough to make the cloak, but … there was exactly enough. It is a very peculiar material. I know it sounds crazy, but it’s like it wanted me to make it into a cloak. Do you know what it is?”