Panic blinded Valerie before the calm that always followed in emergencies took over, and she was able to think. "Call 911 before the poison incapacitates you. Hurry!"
Thai shook his head and sat down, opening his desk drawer. He pulled out a syringe full of yellow fluid and immediately shot it into his thigh. Valerie yelped in surprise.
Thai raised an eyebrow at her and then collapsed on his bed. "I guess I should have mentioned that the person who attacked me the other night was Logan. I've kept the antidote for Venu's poison with me ever since. Chisisi thinks she was targeting us from the first time we met her."
"You called the attacker a 'he'. Why didn't you tell me the truth?" Valerie asked.
Thai sagged on his bed. "We don't tell each other a lot of things."
"We used to," Valerie whispered.
Before her eyes, Thai's face became a blank mask, and when he spoke, his voice was devoid of emotion. "To be clear, this doesn't change how I feel about you. Logan and I may be over, but so are we."
A tickle at the back of Valerie's throat warned her that she might cry. Whatever she'd thought had been between them was in her imagination. The Thai she'd loved could never have said something so cruel. But she wouldn't let him see how much he had hurt her ever again.
"I'm already moving on. I wanted to reassure you about Tan, for old time's sake. But I need to get back to the Globe to get ready for my date," Valerie shot back, even though she and Cyrus hadn't picked a day yet.
She enjoyed the pained dismay on Thai's face before she let her mind return to her bedroom. She curled into a ball on her bed and forced her tears to stay unshed. For once, she'd had the last word, but wounding Thai didn't heal her shattered heart.
Over the next few days, Valerie was forced to relive the awful end of her conversation with Thai over and over, along with all of her worst memories, as Gideon continued to drill her mind with the prepotent crystal to make it stronger.
One morning, she noticed that they had an audience. Kellen was at the window, watching her be forced to her knees with a smug smile on his face. He wasn't much bigger than her hand, with delicate wings that belied the steel of his personality. It would be comical how much she feared the presence of such a little person if it weren't for the fact that she'd witnessed the power of his magic firsthand. Gideon followed her gaze, and his faced turned as hard as marble.
"Kellen has lost his way. He no longer embodies the Knights' ideals of power, courage, and mercy."
"He's Fractus," Valerie said. She didn't have concrete proof, but her instincts told her that was true.
Gideon's eyes were troubled. "You may be right, but he remains our Guild's Grand Master, and the Knights will follow his lead."
Kellen had disappeared from the window, but he reappeared a few moments later at Gideon's side.
"You should have more honor than to show your face here, after attacking me and my Knights," Kellen said to Gideon. "If it were up to me, you and your little protégé would both be expelled."
Gideon and Valerie had fought Kellen and several of his Knights to free Sanguina so that she could lead them to the Black Castle a few weeks ago. Valerie remembered the rage in Kellen's eyes when he had been overpowered, and had known that he wouldn't drop the matter, even after they had rescued Darling.
"Then I am grateful it was not up to you, and that the round table of Knights convened and decided otherwise," Gideon responded calmly.
"They stripped you of your title! Your word carries no more weight here than the lowest novice," Kellen said, his voice high and angry.
It was the first Valerie had heard of Gideon's punishment, and the guilt that followed was like a kick to her stomach. He had been second in command of the Knights after Kellen before they had rescued Sanguina, and now his life's work had been snatched away.
"Why'd I get off so easily?" Valerie asked.
"As your mentor, I abused your trust," Gideon said, giving her a warning look. "You are an apprentice, following the orders of your superior."
Kellen's wings beat even more rapidly as his gaze narrowed on Valerie. "Your actions haven't been excused. You're being watched. There's also the matter of your sword."
Kellen's gaze landed greedily on Pathos, which rested at Valerie's side. "I came out here to tell you that you must forfeit your weapon until I deem it time to return it to you."
"No," Valerie's voice was cold, and she backed up a step.
"It isn't a request," Kellen said, and the air around him sparkled.
Gideon stepped between them. "Under whose authority?"
"The round table agrees with me. She is too immature to wield such a powerful weapon. Maybe someday, but not today."
"Then I quit," Valerie said, gripping Pathos's hilt so tightly that she was sure it was wearing grooves into her palm.
"Excellent choice. But you must still forfeit your weapon," Kellen said, and glitter burst around him in a mini explosion.
Pathos levitated out of Valerie's sheath, but she grabbed her hilt and jammed it back in. She tried to swat the little fairy out of her way, but she missed.
Three Knights raced out of the Guild and tackled Gideon. Gideon was a match for his opponents, but barely. Punches were thrown so quickly Valerie couldn't follow the fight.
Before she could step in to help, she breathed in some of Kellen's glitter dust, and her limbs were like lead.
"Hand it over," the fairy commanded.
Kellen's mind touched hers, trying to control her. Frantically, she reached for her locus. But Pathos no longer seemed like such a reliable constant for her. Hadn't it been taken from her before?
Her brief distraction cost her. Her mind was lost in the whirlwind of Kellen's magic. Inside, she was screaming at herself, running away with Pathos firmly in her grip. But on the outside, she calmly kneeled before Kellen and drew Pathos from its sheath. The malignant smile on his face made her sick.
"Strong of body, weak of mind. Why Reaper ever cared to keep you alive instead of killing you when he had the chance I'll never understand," Kellen said. Then he turned to his Knights, who were kicking an unconscious Gideon. "Enough. He's learned his lesson. But don't be afraid to repeat it if he comes back."
Kellen and his thugs left, but Valerie still couldn't free her mind from Kellen's control. It was several agonizing minutes before Gideon's eyes opened and he struggled to his feet.
His face was set, but not angry. He knelt in front of Valerie. "Fairy dust is a powerful magic. Even many Master Conjurors are helpless against it. Though he cannot break my mind, he is able to render me unconscious with it. Do not be ashamed that you could not fight his hold."
Whether the dust had worn off or Gideon's words had unlocked her mind, Kellen's magic loosened, and she was in control of herself again. Together, they left the Guild. Her sheath was too light at her side without Pathos's reassuring weight.
"I don't think I'd stand a chance against Reaper without Pathos," Valerie admitted.
Gideon considered her words gravely. "Pathos in the wrong hands would be only a well-crafted piece of metal. In your hands it comes alive."
Gideon spoke the words as if they were an absolute truth, and even Valerie found herself trusting them. She'd lost her locus, but she hadn't lost herself.
Valerie's first instinct was to be alone after parting with Gideon at the Healers' Guild so that he could have his injuries treated. But the surreal distance that had separated her from her life for weeks had started to fade during her training with Gideon as she confronted her grief about Midnight's loss. It was being replaced by the burning worry that time was passing, and the problem of the Fractus was only getting worse.
She'd purposely avoided checking in with Dulcea about the attacks of the Fractus on Earth, but it was time to pay her a visit. Valerie headed to the beautiful, playful building that housed the Society of Imaginary Friends.
She pushed against the enormous front doors, but they wouldn't budge. Instead they glowed red, like she was some kind of intruder. A short while later, Dulcea appeared, a little out of breath.
"I didn't know you were coming. Sorry, these doors used to be open to everyone. But Rastelli wants all guests escorted when they're inside the Guild now," Dulcea explained.
Kanti ran up to them, her face relieved when she saw Valerie. "I saw Valerie's picture appear on the intruder alert. I came here to rescue her before she got doused in goo."
"What are you talking about?" Valerie asked.
"Unless someone shows up to escort them within five minutes of their arrival, unexpected visitors are sprayed with cannons of nasty-smelling goo. Obviously, it makes them leave... and seek a shower," Dulcea explained. "Another one of Rastelli's ideas."
"He's so different now," Kanti said. "Something in him has gone missing, like his love of making people happy."
"Let's talk in private," Dulcea said, pulling them into a little room with floor-to-ceiling windows and a long table.
"I came to see if you had any more news about what the Fractus are up to on Earth," Valerie explained. "Have any imaginary friends seen anything weird lately?"
Kanti and Dulcea exchanged a glance, and then Kanti spoke up. "I didn't want to overwhelm you after everything you've been through, but things are going from bad to worse. There are multiple incidents every day of Fractus appearing around the world. In person, not as projections."
"What are they doing?" Valerie asked, afraid of the answer.
"Stuff that seems random. They've stolen some technology, interrogated a bunch of people, and in a few cases, they've kidnapped people who are important, like a senator and the Prime Minister of Japan," Dulcea explained.
"There's no pattern to it," Kanti continued. "The people they target are usually rich and powerful, but other than that, we don't see the connection."
"Maybe they're searching for something," Valerie said, remembering how Logan was examining the contents of Thai's computer.
"The people the Fractus are harassing don't even know the Globe exists," Dulcea said, bewildered.
"Whatever they're after, they have to be stopped," Kanti said. "Aside from everything else, there are a lot of terrified kids out there."
"Wait—are you saying that the people who are being targeted by the Fractus all have children with imaginary friends?" Valerie asked.
"Those are the ones we hear about. Other humans could be targeted, but we have no way of knowing," Dulcea explained.
Valerie sat down on the table, chewing her lip. "A few instances every day of kids with imaginary friends witnessing Fractus attacks. That can't be an accident. It's not like every child on Earth has an imaginary friend."
Kanti was nodding slowly. "Val's right. And these children of kids with powerful parents—who assigned them an imaginary friend in the first place?"
Dulcea sat down with a thud. "It's decided by the Masters of our Guild. Of course, lots of children are calling out for companionship, but we can't answer every request."
"What if the Masters are giving priority to the requests of certain kids with rich or powerful parents?" Valerie asked.
"But why?" Dulcea asked.
"It's possible that the Masters of this Guild are using the imaginary friends on the Globe as a spy network to learn things from powerful humans," Kanti suggested.
Dulcea's face was pale. "Maybe not all of the Masters of this Guild. Just one."
"Rastelli," Valerie said.
A fist banged angrily against the door, and it burst open. As if saying his name had summoned him, Rastelli barreled into the room.
"I've been looking all over for this intruder," he said, glaring at Valerie. Rastelli's orange hair was always messy, but today, it stood up in odd clumps, as if he'd been tearing at it with his hands.
"She's my guest," Dulcea said sharply.
"She's not allowed in this Guild!" Rastelli barked. "She attacked her own Guild's Grand Master! She ought to be in jail!"
Rastelli grabbed Valerie by her arm and began propelling her down the hall. She yanked herself out of his grasp.
"I'll leave on my own," Valerie said, and her magic surged, ready if she needed to fight him off.
Rastelli blinked as if he was coming out of a daze, not sure where he was. His tone changed from angry to dreamy. "Yes, yes of course."
He patted her on the head and left.
Before Valerie could make sense of the abrupt change, Kanti hissed, "Let's get out of here."
They hurried out of the building, leaving Dulcea behind to follow Rastelli and make sure he didn't scare any of the younger kids.
Valerie and Kanti found Henry and Cyrus tossing a makeshift football back and forth on the lawn of The Horseshoe. Henry had promised Cyrus he'd teach him some of the popular sports on Earth, and from the grin on Cyrus's face, he was enjoying it. But the two stopped playing and jogged over when they saw Valerie and Kanti.
Henry's mind briefly connected with hers.
"You're finally ready to start planning how we can fight the Fractus," he said, and she heard the relief in his voice. He'd concealed the depth of his worry about her.
Valerie nodded. "I'm sorry it took so long. I couldn't face it. I thought Azra or my father or someone else might try to fix things."
"They are," Cyrus said, flashing her a dimpled smile and stepping close to her. He smelled pleasantly of grass and sunshine. "Azra has been trying to convince the Grand Masters to send representatives to Earth to hunt down the Fractus. Oberon's been pumping Rastelli for info, too."
Valerie was surprised. Her father had never mentioned anything to her.
"He said you'd ask him about it yourself when you were ready," Henry said, answering the question in her thoughts before she spoke.
"What else can be done?" Kanti asked.
Valerie thought. "Our best bet is to work with Chisisi. He's a Guardian of the Boundary on Earth, and who knows if he has any reliable guild contacts on the Globe now that Midnight..."
Valerie couldn't force herself to finish her sentence. Everyone was quiet.
"I think Oleander's leading the Guardians now. No one believes that she's an ally of the Fractus," Cyrus said. "Chisisi knows she's not trustworthy, but I'm not sure that he's in regular contact with someone on the Globe who can exchange information with him."
"That changes now," Valerie said. "Until the Grand Masters take this threat seriously, it's up to us to figure out what the Fractus are after. It must be something that will help them get the rest of their team to Earth. There can't be much of Darling's fur left."
Reaper had kidnapped Darling in order to use the magical properties in his fur to send some of his own army to Earth. But since Valerie's mission to rescue Darling had been successful, Reaper no longer had access to the fur and wouldn't be able to send his army to execute his mission to take over Earth.
"Contacting Chisisi is a good place to start," Henry agreed.
Hertwin's purpose strengthened her own and gave Valerie a renewed energy. TheFractus's grace period was over. It was time to take on the enemy.