TWENTY

The library was a bust. Thomas stepped out the front door without a single shred of new or useful information. The afternoon was warm and sunny, with hardly a cloud in the sky. The street, on the other hand, was completely clogged with traffic. He grimaced. The smell of exhaust fumes blended with distant sirens and the closer-by sound of a motorcycle revving its engine at the stoplight.

Sensory overload was putting it lightly. On the positive, it was still early enough to get home and take a crack at The Book of Sorrows. He hung a right and headed for the bus stop.

At the corner of Oak and Main, the familiar prickling tickled at the back of his neck. He glanced over his shoulder. The beige van was back, five cars behind and edging closer. The shape of the hulking driver lurked behind the tinted window. Thomas’s footsteps and heartrate accelerated in unison. The light changed, and traffic surged forward, rushing toward the next set of bumpers half a block away.

Thomas glanced sideways. The van was next to him, the side door sliding open. A slight figure crouched inside, her features hidden by shapeless clothes and long black hair. Light illuminated her right hand, a crackling reddish-white that flickered in the shadows. A taser?

Adrenaline flooded Thomas’s body. He started to run. The engine roared and the van shot forward, veering into the bike lane just a few feet away. Thomas cut right, dodging under the awning of a bakery. A sudden flash of purple lit up the air. Tires squealed and the van sped around the corner and out of sight.

Thomas stopped running and put a hand on the brick wall to steady himself. The breath whooshed from his lungs. Did that just happen? There’s no way that just happened.

The flash of purple triggered something in the back of his mind, but more urgent thoughts thundered through his brain. I almost just got kidnapped. Holy shipwreck! I almost just got kidnapped!

He looked around, his breath ragged and legs like jelly. The people walking on the street kept going like nothing had happened. The guests sitting in front of the bakery either had their faces buried in cell phones or were looking at menus. Nobody seemed to have noticed or cared.

A scrap of olive caught at the corner of his eye. He looked down the street. Half-hidden by a lamppost, the overcoat man stared after the van, his scruffy face obscured by concrete and locks of tangled black hair. The man turned and swept into an adjacent alley without so much as a sideways glance, the tail of his jacket trailing behind him like a cape.

Thomas stood frozen, unsure which way to go or what to do. The guy in the overcoat was that way. The giant and taser-lady could be just about anywhere else. He slumped to the sidewalk, his back pressed into the warm brick wall, and reached into his backpack. A sigh of relief escaped as his fingers closed on the crinkled twenty tucked in the zipper pocket. The stash would cover a cab ride home, which was good, because there was no way he was walking anywhere. He pulled out his phone and dialed, wishing for the thousandth time he had a smartphone and ride-sharing app.

• • •

The taxi took almost half an hour to arrive, but eventually it came and got him home. Thomas gave the driver the whole twenty, even though the fare was less than fifteen bucks, and felt like it was totally worth it. The house was still empty, so he ran upstairs, pulled the box out of his backpack, and dropped into his beanbag chair.

The cover had continued to change, but the differences weren’t dramatic. Knowing his mom could be home any minute, he flipped to the start of the next chapter. It picked up with Isham still unwilling to tell stories and hounded by people who would never understand the impossibility of the choice he faced. The elders tried to make him take his place by the fire, but he refused every request until his most beloved wife became deathly ill and asked to hear one last story. Isham couldn’t refuse.

The people then carry Elaria unto the fire and set 
her beside Isham, that she may lay her head upon his breast. The very body of Elaria burneth with fever, and the eyes thereof grow dim. With heart exceeding heavy, Isham holdeth her close and beginneth to speak, that his wife may know wonder once more and mayhap be healed.

Long into the night continueth Isham, and long into the night do the words of his mouth take shape in the night sky. The people behold in wonder as all that he speaketh doth appear in the sky, for the magic of his words hast not failed.

But alas! Elaria passeth over the threshold of darkness unto death. Grief and fury filleth the heart of the storyteller, at himself above all, for he didst not possess the power to stay the steady hand of death.

A terrible thing then entereth into his mind, a beast greater and more terrible than the destroyer of Kala. Unbidden, the words of his mouth give unto the creature form and shape until it filleth the sky, blacker than night, greater than the dwelling places of the chief men; with scorpion tail the beast striketh the hero of Isham’s tale. The man falleth, and from the people of Asharia ariseth a groan.

Yet the tale endeth not, for in the eye of Isham’s mind, the beast emergeth, like unto life, and yet the words of his mouth wilt not cease. Fear o’ercomes 
fury in the heart of Isham, and the people cry out, for behold! earth and air and ether gather together, and in the night sky, the creature taketh shape and form most real.

Yea, in flesh the creature descendeth upon Asharia, and upon the people thereof. The living flee, whilst the sounds of dying follow Isham unto the tent whereto he beareth the lifeless Elaria.

Thomas and his mom were wrapping up a quiet but pleasant dinner of microwave meat loaf when the doorbell rang.

“That’s Enrique!” Thomas had weighed the possibility of breaking his promise to Huxley against his willingness to continue on the adventure without a friend in his corner. The choice wasn’t easy, but he’d made up his mind and called while waiting for the cab. Enrique was in. “Love you, Mom. See you later.”

Thomas dashed down the hallway and used his sock-covered feet to slide the last ten feet to the front door.

“ ’Rique! What’s happening?” Thomas said as the two bumped knuckles.

“Same old,” Enrique answered, walking in. “What’s happening with you?”

“Tell you in a minute,” Thomas replied.

“Hi, Mrs. Wildus,” called Enrique, kicking his shoes off by the front door. “Thanks for having me over.”

“You’re very welcome, Enrique. Help yourself to anything you can find in the kitchen if you need a snack,” she replied.

“We’ve got fudgecicles and ice cream,” Thomas offered.

“Nah, I’m cool. Just finished eating at my place a couple minutes ago,” Enrique replied. “Maybe later.”

“We’ll be upstairs, Mom. Yell up if you need me,” Thomas called out.

“Mmm-kay. Will do,” came her reply as the boys barreled up the stairs and into his room.

“All right,” said Enrique. “What’s such a big deal you’ve got to call an emergency meeting of the Jedi council? Did you finally talk to Peggy or something?”

“Well, yeah, kind of. She asked me to be on the dance committee. But that’s not it. I’ve got something way bigger.”

“Wait, what?” Enrique said incredulously. “Peggy asked you to be on the dance committee, and that’s not your big news?”

“Right,” replied Thomas. “But you’ve got to promise that what we talk about stays in this room. Swear it?”

“Yeah, of course,” said Enrique. “When have I ever blabbed one of your secrets?”

“I know, I know. You never have. But this is serious. Just you and me, no matter what. Swear it.” Thomas stared at Enrique, his eyes unwavering.

“All right, all right. Take it easy,” Enrique replied. “I’ll double dog swear if that makes you feel any better.”

“It does.” Thomas smiled. “A lot better, actually.”

“Okay, great. I double dog swear. Now, what’s this big secret?”

Thomas started with his discovery of the bookstore.

Enrique rolled his eyes. “Seriously? Man, you’ve got to get yourself a real life.”

Enrique’s tone changed quite a bit when he heard about the kidnapper van with the giant and taser-lady. “Are you serious?”

“Dead serious,” said Thomas. “It was in front of my house this morning. I’m ninety-nine percent sure it was the same one that chased me yesterday. No joke.”

“That’s messed up. How come you haven’t gone to the cops?”

“With what? I don’t have a name or license plate or anything. I don’t have any idea who they are,” said Thomas. “But I know what they want.”

“What?”

“This.” Thomas pulled the wooden box out from under the bed and handed it to Enrique. The key was already in the clasp. “When I got this, the cover was plain leather with just the outline of a picture on the front. Now check it out.”

“Ow! What the heck?”

“Oh, right. Sorry. The shock will go away in a second. Go ahead and open it.”

Enrique pulled his sleeve down over his fingers and turned the key without touching the metal. The lid popped open.

How come I didn’t think of that? “None of this was here at first.”

“Maybe they used invisible ink or some kind of crazy color-changing chemicals or something.”

“I thought of that, too, but Huxley and Adelia said that’s not it. Besides, have you ever heard of chemicals or ink that can make the entire picture change?” said Thomas. “I mean, check this out. When I first got this, the vine was over here. These flowers didn’t exist. This weird-looking thing was hiding behind the bushes.”

Thomas’s eyes lingered on the creature whose face had previously hidden in the bushes. The creature stared back at him with its mouth partially opened and eyes that no longer seemed shy or curious. He couldn’t help but notice that the thing had surprisingly sharp teeth.

“And you’re sure no one swapped out the book? You know, snuck in here and traded out the old one for this?”

“I thought of that, but no one knows I have it except the people who gave it to me and the creeps who want to take it away. Besides, it’s changed just since morning. If someone wanted to swap it out, they’d have had to do it while I had the backpack with me. Not likely.”

Enrique whistled. “What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know, and there’s no way I can handle all this on my own. I need a partner,” Thomas said. “A wing man. So how about it? Are you in?”

“Of course I’m in,” said Enrique. “You think I’d let you take on an adventure like this without me? No chance.”

“I hoped you’d say that.” Thomas’s relief was tangible and profound.

“So, what’s next?”

“That’s what we’ve got to figure out. I figure a thing like this is going to take brains and muscle. I’ve got the brains. I thought you could help me find some muscle. Any ideas?”

Thomas stuck out his tongue as Enrique’s fist shot out in search of his shoulder. This time, Thomas anticipated the attack. He caught Enrique’s arm and sent his friend tumbling into the beanbag chair.

Enrique sprawled out on the chair, a big smile on his face. “All right, Brainiac. What’s the plan?”

“I have no idea,” replied Thomas. “I’m sure we’ll think of something.”

They talked for a long time before Thomas’s mom called up the stairs, letting them know it was time to wrap things up and get to bed. Thomas walked Enrique to the door.

“See you tomorrow.” Enrique slapped Thomas a high five and fastened his helmet. “Goodnight, Mrs. Wildus!”

“Goodnight, Enrique. Are you sure we can’t give you a ride home?”

“Positive, but thanks for the offer,” said Enrique. “Oh, hey, Mrs. Wildus. Is it okay if Thomas comes over on Saturday? It’s Maria’s quinceañera, and my mom says I can invite a couple of friends.”

“Of course,” said Susan. “Your sister is turning fifteen? Already? That’s hard to believe.”

Enrique grimaced. “Mm-hmm. And all her friends are coming over. All of them.”

“Good luck with that,” said Susan. “Ride safe. It’s dark out there.”

“I will,” said Enrique. “Thomas, no flaking out on Saturday. Seriously, I’m not sure I’d survive on my own.”

“I’ll be there. See you tomorrow.” Thomas waved as Enrique glided toward the street. He felt guilty about breaking his promise to Huxley, but it was worth it to have Enrique on board. Did it matter that their best idea so far was to build an Iron Man suit? Not in the slightest. He wasn’t alone anymore. Sleep came easier than it had in days.