Fire N Gold (by Bea Miller)
"Baby, we were born with fire and gold in our eyes, eyes . . ."
There was a lot on Kiel's mind.
For instance, the spell. Despite how incredible Kiel was at magic, he had to admit that this wouldn't be easy. He had only heard of it being cast once, and that was by the Magister. And Kiel wasn't about to ask his old master about it, because even the thought of having a conversation with him made Kiel shudder.
Since the Magister had tried taking over the nonfictional world, Kiel had tried to forgive him. He was a pretty forgiving person, but something like that just wasn't easy to forgive. He knew he could never hate the Magister, because that man had raised him, taken him in, when Kiel was living on the streets. For years, the Magister had been his only family. It was amazing how the events of one day could damage their relationship!
Not to mention, Kiel was pretty sure the Magister was working with Nobody. That didn't sit well with him, even if he didn't know if it was true. He had hoped that if he saw the Magister again, things would've been different. Better. But Kiel didn't think the Magister was willing to ever turn over a new leaf, so asking him about the spell was officially off the list.
He'd have to figure out this spell on his own, but that was no problem! Kiel could perform the spell easily. He didn't remember the exact phrasing, but his spell book had been very clear about how to cast the spell, and what would happen. Back when he was relearning magic, Kiel remembered skimming across that page. It was a good thing he remembered it, or he might've never come up with the idea.
From what he knew about the spell, it would temporarily cause his soul to leave his body. Then it would go into Bethany's. He wasn't sure of all the details, like if he'd be able to see what she was thinking. Unless Kiel was purposely trying to be obnoxious or funny, he wasn't one to invade others' privacy. Especially since he knew Bethany liked keeping things to herself. But if he could see her thoughts, that would really help for finding out what had happened to their missing friends.
As far as he knew, though, he'd still get a sense of what she was going through. He'd be able to feel her emotions as if they were his own. He wondered what she was feeling now. Scared? Worried? Maybe both. Kiel wished he'd gone with her. He should've been there for her. Maybe if he was, he could've prevented the danger they were in. Whatever that danger was.
He always wanted to protect her, and now that she was missing, it was just like last time. When Fowen had tried to drown her, and had given Kiel and Owen only two hours to find out where she was. Kiel had gone out of his mind with worry — and he'd never felt that scared before. When it came to Bethany, Kiel would risk anything so that she'd be okay. Anything.
In a few minutes, he would have all the answers. With his magic, he'd be able to do something about this. That's what kept him hopeful. Not all was lost, not yet. After casting this spell, he'd be able to see where Bethany, Gwen, and Orion were. It was a solid plan, the perfect one to find their friends!
But a part of him couldn't help being unsure about this. He was growing worried, though he didn't dare show it to anyone, forcing himself to stay confident and composed. If his friends knew just how scared he really was, they wouldn't let him go through with this. Kiel knew the risks. He just cared about his friends' safety more.
It wasn't the connecting-his-soul-with-Bethany part that he was worried about; he was pretty excited about that, honestly. It was the side effect of the spell that bothered him.
Losing his memories.
Of course, Kiel knew he could get out there before he lost a single memory. Everything usually worked out in his favor, and this would too. He was sure of it. He also had his friends to help him, but . . . what if he forgot Beth— no, that wouldn't happen! He wouldn't ever let it come to that. He was confident he could handle anything, and he could handle this. It wasn't a big deal.
He was going to do this spell, find out where his friends were, and come out of it with all his memories intact. Piece of nonfictional cake. Or was it pie? He could never remember.
Either way, Kiel wasn't just going to sit back while his friends were in danger. Really, he'd never been one to sit back while anyone was in danger. It was kind of his thing to save people, to protect them from harm — his friends included.
He'd feel awful if something happened to them. They could be anywhere right now. He was done with searching in places they thought their friends could be. That would take forever! What was the point in that when there was a faster way?
The soul-connecting spell would find their friends in minutes, while Charm's plan would've taken hours. Most of all, he just wanted to prove that his plan was better than Charm's. Oh, and he would.
Once he came out victorious, with every memory intact and the knowledge of where their friends were, he'd show everyone that they shouldn't have been worried. Kiel knew what he was doing! Sort of. He might've never casted this spell before, but he'd read everything about it in the spell book. He could do this. Easily.
And if he did lose some memories, he hoped it was a few of his own. He'd rather forget some things about himself before forgetting who Bethany was. She meant so much to him, more than he could even begin to understand. Heck — without her, he would still be living with the Magister! What she was to him . . . a spell would never change that. It was crazy to think a spell could change that.
Of course, he wasn't going to lose any memories. He was Kiel Gnomenfoot — all of his spells worked out great! He knew the risks, and he knew how to avoid them. Losing his memories? He could avoid that! If he didn't have a good reason to cast the spell, he obviously wouldn't cast it. But Bethany, Gwen, and Orion were missing and most likely were in danger, so he figured he had a pretty good reason.
His friends, however, didn't seem to think so.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Owen asked. "We really don't have to."
"I'm sure!" Kiel said.
Owen only sighed.
Owen had been the most uncertain, expressing his worries very clearly to Kiel. Kiel knew that Owen was against this; he was just scared about the possibility of Kiel losing his memories. Possibility being the key word, because it obviously wouldn't happen. Kiel had made up his mind, that this was the fastest option to find their friends. Owen seemed to understand that, even if he didn't look happy about the idea.
"This is going to work," the boy magician added, patting his friend on the shoulder.
"It'd better," Charm muttered, her arms crossed. "I'm not looking forward to this."
Kiel let out a breath. "Have faith. It'll be fine, you'll see!"
After all, Charm was letting him do this. That was enough proof that one of his ideas were finally smarter than her's. Though he couldn't argue that she really was the smartest person in the whole universe, so he wouldn't be able to hold this over her head for much longer.
The four of them were heading out of the forest, arriving at the field of dandelions that they'd walked through on their way. To perform the spell, it was best to have a lot of open space. Kiel thought the field would be perfect for it. It stretched over a mile long, and the warm breeze felt nice on his skin. The dandelions seemed to dance under the stormy sky, their white petals falling off and flying in the wind.
On Magisteria, as Kiel recalled, the flowers were magical. Because of this, he knew a lot more about flowers than he probably should've. Way more than the average fifteen-year-old boy. Although he didn't think the flowers here had any magical properties, he still took the dandelions as a sign of good luck.
The funny part was that dandelions were incredibly rare on Magisteria, because they'd become practically endangered. They were supposed to bring you good luck for the rest of your life. That's what Kiel heard, anyway. He wasn't sure if that was true, but with the amount of people using them it must've been.
If you got your hands on one, you could sell it for a high price. Really, that was the only reason Kiel had cared about dandelions in the first place. He had only found a dandelion once, back when he used to live on the streets. He'd tried selling it to make some money, but it ended up getting stolen by one of the other homeless kids.
Yeah, Kiel was still annoyed by that.
Once they were far out into the field, Kiel stopped, taking out his gigantic spell book. He held it in his hands, picturing the soul-connecting spell in his mind. Usually, the spell book would flip immediately to the spell Kiel needed at that moment.
But the spell book seemed wary, almost reluctant this time. It started by turning a only few pages at a time, much slower than Kiel would've liked. He had a feeling the spell book was annoyed with him, though he wasn't sure why. He wasn't about to do anything horrible! This was the right thing to do. Why couldn't even his spell book see that?
"That's funny," Owen said, peering over Kiel's shoulder. "I remember the spell book doing that to me when it didn't want me using a spell!"
"It wants me to use it," Kiel insisted. "It's just being slow today." He glanced down at the book again, then placed it on the ground, since his arms were beginning to hurt from its heaviness. "Come on, book! Show me the spell!"
At his words, the pages turned much faster until it stopped abruptly. Kiel dropped to his knees, the tall dandelions and grass brushing against his legs. He gently placed his palms on the page, letting the warm glow of the spell travel up his arms. It was comforting, washing over his body like a summer breeze. Even if he didn't want to do magic his whole life, he'd never stop loving the feeling of it.
"You got the spell?" Owen asked, standing to the right of him as he peered at the book. Beside him, Kara shifted nervously, while Charm kept glancing around, her fingers on her ray guns.
Kiel nodded, taking his hands off the spell book. He sat down, crossing his legs. "I got it, and it's a little more complicated than I expected it to be." He paused before quickly assuring, "Nothing I can't handle, of course!"
Kara bit the inside of her cheek. "What do you mean 'complicated'?"
Kiel looked up at his friends. "Oh, it shouldn't be that complicated. Just has some steps. We're gonna need to do some things before I start reciting the spell. You have to stand in a circle around me. Kara go . . . there. Yeah! There. Charm, uh . . . you're fine. Owen, you go there. Do you know what 'there' means? Right — no, no — there. Okay, good. Hold hands, and hop on one foot. And Owen, you need to start the chanting."
Owen flinched. "Chanting? You never said this had chanting! Why do I have to do it? Can't someone else do it?"
"Nope, you're doing it," Kara said, looking like she was holding back a smile. "The spell won't work unless you do it. Do you want the spell to not work?"
Owen reddened. "No, but —" He looked back at Kiel, giving up. "Fine, but this is for the spell. What should I chant?"
Kiel closed his eyes, doing his best to keep a straight face. "Start hopping, and then I'll tell you."
He heard his friends start to hop on one foot, and that was enough to make Kiel crack up. He chuckled, opening his eyes. It turned into full-blown laughter, and the other three stared at him in shock. They stopped jumping, letting go of each other's hands. He couldn't hold the laughter in anymore, not with the confused (and for Charm — annoyed) looks on their faces.
"What are you laughing about?" Charm demanded, her brows furrowed. "Kiel Gnomenfoot, answer me! This is seriously why I prefer science — which is reliable—"
"That was a joke!" Kiel exclaimed, still choking out laughter. "Ha! I can't believe you fell for that!"
"What?!" Kara looked shocked for a moment, before a disbelieving grin appeared on her face.
"Are you insane?" Charm hissed at him.
He winked. "Insanely awesome."
His half-robotic friend didn't look amused. "None of us know how this dumb spell works expect you, so you better stop making jokes that we don't have time for—"
If any other person had insulted magic, Kiel would've been at least a little offended. But he was so used to Charm being anti this and anti that that he really wasn't bothered. He knew she'd appreciated the joke. If she hadn't, she wouldn't be insulting magic right now! Even if she didn't look too happy about it, Kiel would always just assume that she liked his jokes.
"Lighten up a little!" Kiel said cheerfully. "I know you appreciate my jokes. Don't pretend you don't when I know you do."
Charm glowered at him. "I am not pretending. I hate you and your jokes."
"I'm going to pretend you didn't say that."
Owen, who'd been smiling, suddenly paled. "Wait, do I still have to chant?"
"Only if you want to," Kiel said to Owen, who shook his head right away. If Kiel was being honest, though, he probably would die from laughter if he saw Owen do that. Too bad the spell didn't require it!
"Alright, do the spell right this time," Charm yelled, smacking Kiel in the back of the head. "No more messing around!"
"Ow!" Kiel lifted a hand to his head, then flashed her a small grin. "Okay, okay. I'll tell you what you should really do." He took a deep breath, picturing the spell in his mind. "Just . . . be completely silent while I recite this. No distractions! I have to concentrate if I want this to work."
Making jokes always helped when he was stressed or scared, which was especially why he'd needed to make some now. But any urge to make another joke quickly faded. His smile died once he remembered why they were casting the spell. Right, he shouldn't waste any more time. Their friends needed help.
Owen just stared at him. "That's it? No hopping on one foot? No standing in a circle? I thought this spell required a lot of effort! A soul-connecting spell sounds so crazy— and then when you explained what it would do it sounded like it would be really dangerous. I was expecting something big."
Kiel winked. "You can always chant if it makes you feel better."
"No thanks!"
"Then, yeah." Kiel cleared his throat, turning serious. "The complicated part happens once the spell is already cast. That's when I'll need to concentrate the most. Once my soul is connected to Bethany's, I won't be able to hear or see anything that happens around me."
"So how are we supposed to get you un-connected from her soul before you lose your memories?" Kara asked, scratching her head.
"I don't really know," Kiel said. "I've never done this before. I guess I'll just have to get out of the spell on my own. With my excellent capability, I'm sure I can do it." He tapped his fingers on his wand-knives. "That whole losing-your-memories thing must just be written on there to scare people. It's never gonna actually happen."
Charm frowned. "If it's written on there, there is a definite probability that it will happen, Kiel. Make sure you don't mess this up. I'll be watching you."
"We all will," Owen said, looking nervous. "If you start to forget a single thing, just please get out of there, okay?"
Kiel nodded. "Sure. But I'm telling you right now that I won't forget anything."
"Dude, we trust you," Kara said, half-smiling. "But as a time traveler who's seen a billion possibilities, I'm not saying it will happen, but it could! Just be careful."
"That won't be a problem." Kiel smiled back. "Okay, I'm gonna cast it so you guys should really back up." He gestured for the three to back away. They did.
Suddenly, his mouth went dry. He hadn't noticed how fast his heart was pounding until now. His knee bounced rhythmically, almost violently. And his hands were sweaty all of the sudden. He blamed that on the heat. He wasn't nervous. Not at all. This would work out fine. He could do this without losing any memories. He could. All of this was for Bethany. For Orion and Gwen.
Kiel waved his wand, and a blindfold appeared in his hands. When the Magister had performed this spell, Kiel remembered him using a blindfold. Whether it actually helped things or not, he wasn't sure. He lifted it to his eyes and tied it around his head, a little thrown off by how dark everything was. He couldn't see anything, but he could still hear the chirping of crickets and birds, and could still feel the grass prickling against his legs.
There was one thing left to do.
He raised his wand-knives and began to recite the spell. As he did, he turned his thoughts to Bethany. Her face appeared in his mind, and he smiled in spite of himself. He thought of the warm feeling she always gave him, even when she wasn't around. He thought of how sometimes, he just wanted to jump off cliffs with her, just to see her let loose and have fun.
No one else had ever made him feel that way. Not even Owen or Charm — who Kiel also considered his closest friends, but they never made him feel like that. Bethany was just a friend, but at least to Kiel, she'd always been more than that. A person had never meant so much to him before, but with Bethany, things just felt right. Kiel always felt like he could truly be himself when he was around her.
Kiel felt as though his senses were getting duller the longer he sat there. Noises sounded farther away. He became less aware of his surroundings. It was as if he was falling asleep, but without feeling tired. He was just losing all awareness of the world around him. Even his heartbeat, which had been hammering like a thousand drums inside his chest, seemed softer and less noticeable.
Still concentrating on Bethany, he spoke the last words of the spell. At first, nothing happened, making Kiel wonder if it had worked. But then, there was a feeling of weightlessness. It took him a moment to realize that he couldn't feel his body anymore. The world was still pitch black. He felt like he was floating in the air, not being pulled down by gravity. His mind stretched like taffy, being pulled by a force that Kiel couldn't see.
Kiel should've been scared, but he really wasn't. It seemed that his nerves had shaken off as soon as he cast the spell. It was as if his soul were leaving everything behind, his emotions included. He just kept thinking of Bethany, hoping that he was performing the spell right. He imagined his soul connecting with her's, like what the spell said would happen.
And in an instant, everything shifted. The world turned bright again, and he found himself in an entirely different part of the forest. Exhaustion hit him like a train, a complete switch from how he'd been seconds ago. But more noticeable was the drop in his mood. He felt guilt weighing heavily on his chest. Sadness clung to him. There was a spark of anger . . . and even fear that swirled in the pits of his stomach.
Wait, none of this was what he was feeling. He was still sitting in the breezy dandelion field, the haze of a golden afternoon sun on him. This . . . this meant that the spell had worked. It'd really worked! He was in Bethany's head! But the joy at his success faded, once he realized that that still didn't explain anything.
Kiel still had so many questions. As far as he could tell, Orion and Gwen weren't with her. Had they gone somewhere else? Maybe they were walking behind her? And where was she? She was somewhere in the forest, but Kiel didn't know where. He'd have to stay in her head longer if he wanted to find out, which meant . . . risking his memories. First his memories of Bethany, and then his memories of himself.
But Kiel wasn't very concerned about that, not anymore. It was becoming harder to remember the consequences. Probably because he didn't believe it would happen. He could only focus on Bethany. He sensed she'd been through a lot, but at least she was alive, and that was what mattered the most to him. It was clear, though, that someone — or something — had hurt her, because there was no way she'd felt this way when he'd last seen her.
Kiel didn't understand what was going on, not even a little bit. Why did this have to be so complicated? He wished he could read her thoughts like he thought he might be able to do. That would make things so much easier, and he'd know exactly what was happening, and where to find her.
He could only sense how she was feeling, emotionally and physically. And from what he could see, she wasn't doing so great. Why? He wasn't sure. It only made him feel worse, because he hadn't gone with her. Even in her own mind, Kiel couldn't do the one thing he wanted to do: protect her.
Bethany, Kiel thought, hoping to get the message to her somehow. It's Kiel! Are you okay? Whatever you're going through, I'm here for you. Help is on the way, but we have to know where you are. What's going on? Where are you going? Where are Gwen and Orion? Can you hear me?
No answer. Her mind was quiet. For a person that was nervous half of the time, he'd think she'd have tons of thoughts going through her head! Except ironically, it was the exact opposite. It was like Kiel was blocked from communicating with her. Did she know he was there? If she did, did she not want to talk to him? That just wouldn't make sense.
Bethany would never purposely keep important things from him, would she? Kiel had a feeling she kept a lot from him, probably because she liked keeping secrets. It was kind of her thing. He understood that, and it didn't bother him as long as she wasn't hiding something that he should know. All things considered, whatever was going on here was important. Kiel needed to know how to help her.
Compared to the silence in her mind, the forest was ten times louder. A howling wind, accompanied by singing birds filled his (well, Bethany's) ears. He could hear the stomping of Bethany's shoes across the ground, which looked soaked for some reason. It hadn't rained since last night, so he wasn't sure why Bethany's shoes were wet. What confused Kiel the most was the sand that dusted her legs.
Did she go to the beach? Was that where she, Gwen, and Orion had been? Kiel hadn't even known there was an ocean anywhere near here. If he was Charm, he'd have all the answers within seconds. Figuring this out on his own shouldn't be a problem, as long as he could find some clue to what had happened. And where on Magisteria was she going?
Again, Kiel tried to get through to Bethany. But all he received was silence. And since there was nothing in sight but trees, it might be a while before he found his answer.
Even with the help of Gwen's jet pack, the Scouts' camp was a lot farther away than it looked.
At first, she'd started that way on foot. She'd already seen where it was when she'd flown above it, so she knew what direction to go in. Finding it wouldn't be the problem, but flying overhead was. If (or when) the Magister got free, he'd be able to clearly see where she was if she were in the sky. He'd try to kidnap her again, and that'd be that.
That was too big of a risk. She was prepared to drawl the least amount of attention to herself as possible. It wasn't like that would be difficult. Bethany had been doing it her whole life; at school, in books, even in her own home. She wasn't sure if the Magister could somehow track her down again, and that gave her even more reason to go to the summer camp.
There, she'd blend in perfectly with all the other Scouts. It was the best tactic for hiding from the bad guys, which she'd learned from Owen. Apparently, a lot of the heroes in books and movies did similar things to keep a low profile. So if they'd managed to do that without getting caught, Bethany thought she could, too. The only thing that made her stand out was her red hair, and unfortunately, nothing could be done to help that.
She figured that if (or when) the Magister escaped, he'd go straight for the cabin that he thought her friends were at. She hoped that once he saw they weren't there, he'd give up. But Bethany had known the Magister at his craziest — he wouldn't give up that easily. If he didn't see them, he'd find a way with his magic. He could probably track down any of them with his magic, which wasn't a very nice thought.
At least she wouldn't have to worry about the Magister going after her right away, with him being unconscious and all. And when he did wake up? He'd still be trapped by those trees. Owen had been unable to get free from the trees on his own, so maybe the same would go for the Magister. It bought Bethany the time she needed.
As inconvenient as it was that her friends hadn't been at the cabin, she was glad that they hadn't been. In this nightmare of a day, it was the one thing she was thankful for. They really could've been in danger if the Magister had gotten to them, but then again, they were in danger because of something else: pure possibility.
If only they knew.
That was why she had to find them first, to warn them about all of this. Losing Gwen and Orion had been one of the worst experiences of her life. If she lost her other friends — Kiel and Owen, most importantly — Bethany wouldn't know what to do. The thought of it made her even more terrified. She had to keep going, to find them. And to save the whole world, if that was even possible.
Also, she was trying not to get almost-captured again, so that the Magister could take her to Nobody, who'd try splitting her in half for the second time. No way was Bethany about to let that happen. That gave her another reason to safely stay on the ground, even if it took longer. The Magister could already be looking for her right now, so she'd rather stay hidden in the forest.
After walking for maybe a mile, Bethany gave in, deciding to use the jet pack. Who knew how much time she had left? She had to get to the summer camp as fast as she possibly could, so she could find her friends and fix this entire mess.
. . . And bring them the news that she might've caused all of this. After all, the pure possibility hadn't started going crazy until after she put the stone through it. Her friends would be shocked once she told them that she'd failed to destroy the stone, accidentally jumpstarted the pure possibility, and was the reason that Gwen and Orion were gone.
Three things that had gone wrong because of her, and now, she was trying to make up for it. Would her friends blame her? Maybe. Probably. She had a feeling that Kiel wouldn't be so quick to blame her, because he'd never done it before, but the others might. And once she found them, they could blame her all they wanted. She wouldn't even mind.
As she flew, Bethany stayed close to the tops of the trees, sometimes flying lower than that if there wasn't a risk of hitting any trees. The more she used it, the easier flying with the jetpack became. Of course, it'd be a lot easier if she didn't have the Magister to worry about. She hoped that the trees would keep him busy for a while. She could definitely use more time.
The sound of kids shouting came from somewhere in front of her, so Bethany went a bit higher, giving herself a better view. She looked down to see the entrance of the Boy Scouts' camp, with more than a dozen wooden cabins in sight. From what she could see, the summer camp stretched on for miles. Blending in would be easy, but finding her friends? That was about to get even harder.
Still, it was the only place Bethany could think of to go. She'd find her friends . . . eventually. Even if they weren't here, maybe one of the camp counselors could tell her where they were. They had to have some kind of record, right? Not that her friends were real Scouts, so maybe that idea wouldn't work out. But it wouldn't hurt to try.
She just wanted to have her friends by her side again. It felt like a thousand lifetimes since she'd last seen them, even though it'd just been this morning. That seemed like forever ago. With the pure possibility spreading, she wasn't liking her chances. What if she ran out of time and found them too late?
No, it would not come to that. Anyway, there was still time to search for them. Not by much, but she at least had a few more hours. Maybe even the rest of the day. That should be enough, if she looked everywhere in the summer camp. Oh, and in the entire book. She wanted to groan. This really was going to take a while.
Bethany scanned the summer camp, looking for the best place to land without being seen. From the looks of it, it wouldn't be easy. Boys were all over the place, engaging in the same activities she'd been doing two days ago. A group of them played soccer in a field a short distance away, their laughter filling the air.
Everyone looked so happy that it startled Bethany, who hadn't felt happiness since this morning. Since Gwen and Orion had vanished. Her heart squeezed painfully at the memory, and she took a deep breath, trying not to think of it. Dwelling on it just brought her pain.
She'd see them again, she told herself. Just like how she'd see Owen and Kiel again. She missed them so much it hurt, like there was a giant, gaping hole in her chest where her heart was supposed to be. It felt strange to admit that she even missed Orion, but losing him had taught her that he'd become her family. Her brother. Now, family was something Bethany wasn't sure she still had.
She pushed those thoughts to the back of her head, focusing on the friends she could still save: Owen, Kiel, Kara, and Charm. She just had to find them first, and hopefully, that part wouldn't be as hard as she thought it'd be.
Please be here, Bethany thought, taking one last glance at the entrance of the camp. Please let my friends be here.
Still sticking close to the treetops, Bethany hit the throttle on Gwen's jetpack, heading further into the camp. She stayed at the edges of it, not going too close in case someone saw her. As far as she could tell, the layout of the Boy Scouts' camp was the same as the girls'. If she could land behind a cabin without anyone seeing her, that might be her best bet.
Hastily, she weaved in between the trees, glancing every now and then at the camp beside her. Since the camp was so big, the cabins were spread out at great length. It took a while before she reached the area where the boys slept, which had rows and rows of wooden cabins lined up. Right behind those were the bathrooms. And at this time of day, only a few boys occupied the area, since most people were out doing activities.
Bethany lowered herself to the ground, her feet gently colliding with the forest floor. She walked up to the camp, only to realize for the first time that a tall fence surrounded the perimeter. Last night's storm had brought drops of rain that hadn't quite dried up, still dripping from the metal of the fence. Why hadn't she noticed it before? She guessed it made sense, so the kids wouldn't try escaping.
Knowing it'd likely do the opposite of letting her blend in, Bethany tugged at the straps of the jet pack, pulling it off of her. She rested it against the fence, staring at it for a moment. Looking at it, all she saw was Gwen. It was the last piece she had left of her. At least, the only piece that hadn't turned to pure possibility.
Bethany sighed, pushing her darkening thoughts away. She turned back to the fence. It was tall, but not by too many feet. She curled her fingers around it, looking for a good foothold. She'd climbed fences before that were this height, so this one shouldn't be any different.
But what if someone saw her? Would they report her to the authorities? Bethany tensed up at the thought, then huffed. Did the rules really apply if she wasn't a real Girl Scout? No one here actually knew who she was, so they couldn't get her into any real trouble.
And if anyone asked about anything, she could make up a lie pretty easily. Years of lying to her mother about jumping into books (something she'd never been proud of) had given her the skills. Again, not something she was proud of. But lying was often the best way to get around sticky situations.
For a moment, Bethany hung on the fence, looking to make sure no one was watching. There were a few boys hanging out near one of the cabins, and a few were heading into the bathrooms. But none of them were looking her way, so she figured it was safe to climb the fence and jump over.
Her heart hammered in her chest as she began to climb, the fence shaking slightly. It only took a few seconds for her to scale the fence. After swinging her legs over the side, she let go and fell to the ground. She landed on her knees, then climbed to her feet, a bit unsteady. Luckily, the Boy Scouts were still too distracted to take notice of her. She let out a breath.
Okay, she was in. Time to get answers.
As casually as she could, Bethany walked away from the fence and started heading towards the cabins. She broke out into a nervous sweat, and ran her hands over her messy, still-damp hair. It suddenly hit her that she was the only girl in sight, which probably wasn't a great tactic for blending in. That would only bring more questions.
"You thought you could get rid of me, Bethany?" a deep voice called out, and Bethany whipped around to see a man wearing Magisterian robes. He floated down from the sky, landing directly in front of her.
Every ounce of her body grew cold with fear. A deep knot formed in her ribs, tugging her heart further and further down into her chest. Oh no.
The Magister, she thought, and for some reason, it sounded almost like Kiel's voice was saying it instead of her own. Ugh. She wasn't doing a very good job of not thinking of him — she was even starting to hear his voice in her head! Why couldn't her brain listen?
"Yeah, I did," Bethany said, her mouth very dry. "How did you find me?"
"With a simple location spell," the Magister murmured, and that was when Bethany noticed the ball of light above her head. A second later, it faded into nothingness.
"And how'd you get free from the tree?"
"I didn't," he replied, stepping closer to her. His image flickered slightly, almost as if he were transparent. "You see, I made a hologram of myself, so I'm still able to reach you. My magic isn't quite so powerful this way, but soon enough, I will get out. You can't avoid this. Come with me or your friends will get hurt. You will not run from me a second—"
"Hi!" a boy's voice said, and the two turned to see a group of boys approaching them. "Are you here for some kind of performance?"
"Are you a magician?" another boy asked, a huge grin on his face. Slowly, Bethany began to back away, since the Magister had turned his attention to the boys.
"He looks too old to be a magician," another said.
"Yeah, you're right!"
"Where are his magic tricks?"
"His beard is super long. Is that a natural beard? Can I touch it?"
One of them poked him, and his hand went straight through. He gasped. "He's a ghost!"
The Magister bristled, fixating the boys with narrowed eyes. "Excuse me? I've made myself into a hologram because I'm trapped within the branches of—" He sighed deeply. "Why am I explaining myself to you? I am in the middle of a—"
"Whoa, no way! A wand!"
One of them reached over and grabbed the Magister's wand, which was the only part of him that wasn't a hologram. The boy giggled, and began to wave it around. Quickly, the Magister's face melted from shock to anger. He grabbed the boy roughly by the arm, shook him a few times, and snatched his wand back with his other hand.
"Give me that!" His tone was furious. "I am not here for entertainment. I am only here for the girl! I won't hesitate to turn you into toads, do you hear—"
The boys looked around in confusion. "What girl?"
"What?" The Magister looked back to the spot where Bethany had been, and he visibly recoiled. " No! No!" Magical energies began to swirl around him, and he rose into the air. Beside him, the boys jaws dropped in unison, and they bolted away, screaming.
Bethany watched them from behind one of the cabins, almost feeling faint. She held her breath as the Magister stormed across the grass, heading for one of the cabins. Boy Scouts quickly jumped out of the way as he passed, none of them looking too keen about being in the crazy magician's way.
She panted, taking a step out of her hiding spot. She glanced over, making sure that the Magister was still in the cabin. Her head spun. She should've kept her jet pack with her, instead of leaving it back in the forest. The fence was too far away now, and if she ran there, there was a chance the Magister would see her. Hologram or no, Bethany didn't want to face him another time.
An idea came to her. Bethany edged around the side of the cabin, pressing her back against the wall. She continued moving until she reached the front, where she heard boys' voices just past the door. She quickly glanced back the other way, checking for the Magister again. No sign of him yet. Good, she had some time before he came after her.
Hurriedly, Bethany turned the knob of the cabin door and jumped inside. She heard the Magister slam the door of the other cabin, shouting something she couldn't hear. She cracked open the door slightly to see that he was heading to her direction.
Immediately, she slammed the door shut and winced. This wasn't boding well at all. He must've known she wouldn't have anywhere else to hide! There were only four cabins lined up, and she had a feeling he was going to check each one until he found her. She'd better find a new hiding place. A better one.
Bethany backed away from the door and turned around, only to see about eight teenage boys, wearing equal expressions of shock. She was just as surprised, not expecting to see so many of them here in the middle of the day. This was a crazy, stupid idea, and it was the only one she had. One that Orion would surely call her an idiot for, and equally one that Kiel would've agreed with.
"Hi," she said, trying very hard to ignore their stares. "I need your help. You see that man out there who looks like a magician? I need to hide from him."
"Why do you need to hide from a magician?" one of the boys asked. "Are you doing a magic trick?"
"Um . . ." Slowly, she nodded. "Yeah, I am." She glanced nervously at the door. "So can you hide me? Right after that I swear I'll leave." The boys exchanged glances, not saying anything. Bethany tried again. "Please, I can't let him see me. I'm not kidding. I'll pay you with gold, or something. Whatever you want."
The boys looked at each other, clearly skeptical. Bethany held her breath, expecting them to say no. But then, one of the boys nodded with a smile. "Okay, it's cool with us! As long as we get to see the magic show."
For the first time since the incident, Bethany managed a smile. She didn't have it in her to tell him the truth, so she only said, "Of course."
"Okay, good. When he comes, hide under one of the beds. We won't tell him anything!"
She sighed in relief. "Thanks—"
Footsteps came from just outside the cabin, and one of the boys darted to the window. "Hide! He's coming!"
Bethany ran for the nearest bed, the boys scattering out of her way. She pushed herself under, just in time for the door to bang open. Her heart leapt to her throat. As quickly as possible, she latched onto the bed rails with both hands. The blanket on the bed wasn't long enough to cover her all the way, so if she stayed on the floor, he'd clearly be able to see her.
She pulled herself up as far as she was able to go, her knuckles clenched so tightly that they started to turn white. It wasn't long before her arms began to shake, but she ignored the uncomfortable feeling, knowing the Magister might catch her if she let go.
The cabin was quiet for a moment, before the Magister started to speak. "Hello, children," he said. "I am looking for a girl named Bethany Sanderson. Have you seen her?"
"No, I haven't!" someone replied. "Sorry, but this is a boys-only camp."
"Yes, I am aware," the Magister growled. "But she is here, in your camp." He took a step closer to Bethany's hiding spot, and a chill went down her spine. "She would be hard to miss. She has red hair." Another step closer. Her arms ached. "Are you sure you haven't seen her?"
"Completely sure! She must've gone somewhere else."
"Yeah," another boy said. "She could be hiding in the bathrooms. They're right behind the cabins."
"Hmm." The Magister kept walking until he stopped, right next to the bed she was under. Bethany broke out into a nervous sweat, certain that he could hear her. She tried not to breathe. Please don't see me, please don't see me, please don't see me—
"Alright. I'll be off, then."
He walked back to the door, his footsteps fading away. Bethany grunted, her entire body shaking like a leaf. All of her muscles ached painfully. She didn't let go of the bars until she heard the door close. She let out a huge breath, falling back against the floor. She let her tired arms rest at her sides, blinking slowly. She could hardly believe her luck.
That had been exhausting.
"Is he gone?" Bethany whispered, once she regained enough energy to speak.
"Yeah!" a boy replied, as she crawled out from under the bed. "I don't really see how that was a magic trick, though."
"It was," she said, stumbling to her feet. She went to the window, only to see that the Magister was going into another cabin. That should keep him busy for a while. At least, until his hologram faded. She looked at the boys, breathing hard. "Seriously, thank you. I don't know what I'd do if he caught me."
"Sure . . ." another boy muttered. "But I don't think we understand what the magic trick was!"
Bethany shrugged, and again, her mind went to Kiel. "Sometimes, magic can't be explained."
With that, she left the cabin, checked to make sure the Magister wasn't following her, and headed out to find her friends, completely unaware of what was happening miles away.
"Kiel, can you hear us?" Kara asked, leaning forward with her hands on her knees.
Owen waved a hand in front of Kiel's unresponsive face. "Did the spell work? Do you know where they are?"
"That's not going to work," Charm said. She was standing next to them, a frown tracing her lips.
"What's not?" Kara asked.
Charm only rolled her eyes. "Your questions. Until he's out of the spell, he won't be able to answer anything. Which better be soon."
Owen looked at her. "So he can't hear us?"
"I would say no. Now stop bothering him. You idiots could mess up the spell!"
Owen raised his eyebrows. Charm telling him to stop bothering Kiel? That was new.
"What? How would we mess up the spell?" There was surprise in Kara's voice. "Kiel doesn't look like he'll hear us if we say anything."
Charm glared at them. "When I said to stop bothering him, I meant all of us should give Kiel space to do his spell."
"But if we can wake him up before he loses his memories, than that would be a good thing!" Owen exclaimed.
"No, no. We won't be able to wake him up. Kiel is the only one who can pull himself out of the spell."
"Wait . . . what?"
Owen's heart dropped. So they wouldn't be able to wake Kiel up? This was so frustrating! Okay, maybe it wasn't so bad, but they were running out of time. It wasn't that Owen didn't trust Kiel to find their friends. He was the hero here, and he was actually doing something useful. Unlike Owen, who was powerless and planless. This spell pretty much was their plan. Well, Kiel's plan.
But not many things about it made Owen feel good. For a spell, it had way too many setbacks. Since when did a spell cause someone to lose their memories? Owen didn't remember anything like it from Kiel's series, but there were probably more spells with side effects just like it. He'd just never heard of them.
What worried Owen the most was what might happen to his friend. Kiel had seemed to take everything far too lightly, acting as if he wasn't about to put his memories at risk. But he was, and it scared Owen. Each extra minute weighed heavily on his mind. Soon enough, Kiel's memories could slip away. And Owen wouldn't even know.
What if Kiel stayed in the spell too long? He could forget Bethany, and if he stayed even longer he'd forget himself. Kiel wasn't as invincible as Owen used to believe. This could happen to anyone, even heroes in books. After a few minutes, shouldn't Kiel be coming out of the spell by now? Shouldn't he already know where Bethany, Orion, and Gwen were?
"This spell isn't a game," Charm continued. "If he stays there too long he can really lose some memories. And I hate to admit it but this is . . ." She made a disgusted face. "Well, it's a horrible idea but unfortunately it's the best one we have."
"You couldn't have thought of anything else?" Owen asked. "If we looked for them longer we wouldn't have to worry about Kiel losing his memories."
"We might've been too late if we looked for our friends without a spell," Kara reminded them. "So, at least we have a way to find them now. Kiel will be able to tell us where they are." She glanced at Charm. "He said if he stays in there too long he'll forget, right? So how long is 'too long'? How long do we have before he loses his memories?"
Charm looked down at her robotic arm and tapped a button with her finger. "I've never seen this being done, so I can only do an estimate. It's only been six minutes. If I can guess maybe . . . ten more minutes."
"And then he'll start forgetting Bethany first," Owen muttered.
"That's better than forgetting who he is," Charm said. "His memories of Bethany can't be that important. If he forgets her, he'll just have to meet her all over again. It's simple."
And have Bethany lose Kiel like that? No way! Owen shook his head. "Um, no, not really. Do you know how hurt Bethany would be if she finds out?"
The half-robotic girl shrugged. "She'll get over it."
Owen bristled. "No she won't!"
"Hey, that's only if that happens," Kara quickly said. "So far, Kiel hasn't forgotten anything! We still have a few minutes before he should start waking up."
"Right," Charm said. "And he better. We only have ten minutes. Or fifteen, before Kiel starts forgetting things."
Owen gestured to Kiel. "But he'll probably wake up before then, right? He'll have to know where they are by then! We still have sometime."
Suddenly, Kara went rigid, her eyes somewhere past them. "Um . . . maybe not anymore."
Owen followed her gaze, and his entire body went cold. Because there, past the colorful fields and trees, was the pure possibility. It was so startlingly big, looming before them like a white cloud that stretched from the bottom of the Earth to the top of the sky. Except it was a cloud of destruction, ripping away worlds and people and existence itself.
And it was coming straight for them.
Owen's mouth opened and closed, but he couldn't get a coherent sentence out. "How . . . is this . . . what, why—"
Kara gasped. "This is the forth day!" She gave Owen an alarmed look. "This is what the time agents warned me about. The world is supposed to end today!"
See? Owen wanted to say. You weren't the one that caused the end of the world after all! You had nothing to blame yourself for, it really is all Nobody's fault!
Really, that's what he would've said if he'd been calmer, because the last thing he wanted was for her to blame herself for the destruction of the world again.
But he was far from calm, so what came out of his mouth was, "What? No, that can't be true. This is happening way too soon! We still have to find our friends!"
"We will," Charm said. "A little pure possibility can't stop us."
"A little?! It's covering the entire forest!"
"Not yet it isn't." Was that fear in her voice? Owen couldn't tell, but he wouldn't be surprised. He was the only one who probably wouldn't get hurt by the pure possibility, and he was absolutely terrified.
It had the power to wipe out everything. Owen just really, really hoped that wouldn't mean he'd lose his friends. They'd come so close to winning! He'd never considered what might happen if he lost them to the pure possibility, but now their chances weren't looking so good. Everyone was in trouble now — not just Bethany, Gwen, and Orion.
He didn't even know how this had happened so fast! A day ago, the white wall of nothingness had been slowly taking over the worlds, not being much of a threat unless you purposely went near it. Now it'd sped up somehow, and was starting to take over the rest of the forest. Whatever they'd been dealing with before, this was ten times beyond that.
Owen just stood there for a moment, gaping like an idiot. He felt lightheaded, as if he might faint. All of the sudden, things seemed very real. It was a reality check. A slap in the face. He couldn't imagine it away, because the possibility was here. Right in front of them. Owen wasn't even sure how to stop this. What if it was already too late?
It was like Kiel Gnomenfoot and the End of Everything, except changed to Owen Conners, His Friends, and the End of Everything. No one would ever read a title like that! That was a mouthful. If Owen ever survived this and wrote an actual book, he reminded himself to never use a title like that. At this point, though, his dreams of ever being an author were pretty much shattered.
"Hey. Hey." Charm snapped her fingers in his face, getting his attention. "Did you hear me? Get Kiel! We have to go."
"C'mon, help me with this." Kara squeezed Owen's arm, then leaned towards Kiel, grabbing the boy magician's arm.
"Yep, we're going to die," Owen whispered, very sure he might faint any second. Without really thinking, he mirrored her actions, grabbing Kiel's other arm.
Despite the danger, Kara grinned at him. "Good thing we've lived a nice, adventurous life then."
He looked at her in horror. "We're only fifteen!"
"I said good, not long."
"But my life hasn't been that great yet! I was supposed to live until at least once I become an author!"
Kara looked surprised. "You wanna be an author? I never knew that." What looked like a smile came to her face, but Owen wasn't sure if he'd imagined it or not.
He blushed. "Um, yeah. I guess."
She stood, yanking on Kiel's arm with both hands. "Wow, you'd think for someone so skinny he'd be easier to lift!"
"It's the tallness," he said absentmindedly, struggling to lift Kiel with just one arm. His broken one was still fairly useless, and unfortunately, he'd never had much muscle to begin with. If he ever got out of this, he'd really better start lifting weights or something. His mom always told him to. Maybe he should've listened.
"Move aside," Charm ordered, grabbing Kiel from Owen's side. She nudged Owen out of the way. "You're not lifting him fast enough."
"Wait—" Owen's eyes widened once he realized what they were doing. "Kiel's still under the spell!" What happened to not bothering him?
"Yes, I know! Good observation!" Charm yelled, sarcasm in her voice. "We're taking him with us."
With that, she and Kara lifted Kiel the rest of the way, and Owen stepped back, feeling embarrassed about the whole not-being-able-to lift-Kiel thing. It slipped from his mind, however, as Charm threw the boy magician over her shoulder. All the while, Kiel remained unmoving, his eyes still closed. Right, there was still that to worry about.
Owen, Kara, and Charm started running through the fields, Charm a bit slower than usual as she carried Kiel. The wind seemed to pick up even more, pushing them in the direction of the pure possibility. As they ran, the white nothingness quickly swallowed up the trees surrounding the field they were in.
A pang of fear filled Owen once he realized something worse: the possibility was moving at the same speed as them. How were they supposed to outrun it? Having his time powers, or Kara's time bracelet or even one of Kiel's spells really could've helped right now. Anything would be useful.
They reentered the woods, heading back in the direction they'd walked from. There was nowhere else to go besides that way, but then what? With the pure possibility wall only a few feet behind them, Owen was finding it hard to think straight. He couldn't imagine how freaked out Kara and Charm must be, since they were at much more risk than Owen was.
What had caused the pure possibility to move so much faster? Until this point, it'd been moving so slow that Owen hadn't been too concerned about it. Obviously it was moving a lot faster now. Now he was afraid that the entire world would be gone by the end of the day. Even worse, what if his friends disappeared, leaving Owen alone? He had to stop that from happening somehow.
"I have an idea!" Kara shouted, stopping abruptly. "Charm, drop Kiel."
"Why?"
"Just do it, I got a plan!"
Charm gave Kara a questioning look, but let Kiel hit the ground, where he slumped over a rock. His eyes were still closed. Owen's mouth went dry. Uh oh. He'd been under the spell for a while, and Owen had forgotten all about that with the new threat they were facing. He felt like such a horrible friend. How long had it been? Had it been more than ten minutes yet? He should've been counting!
"Um, do we even have time to wake him up?" Owen asked, out of breath from his run. He glanced at the huge wall, which only kept sneaking closer to them.
"I'm not waking him up," Kara said, kneeling down beside Kiel and looking through his pockets. "Where does he keep that teleportation button he was telling me about?"
"Oh!" Owen felt his spirits lift. That was a great idea! "Here, I know where it is." With shaking fingers, he quickly searched Kiel's belt before coming in contact with the teleportation button. Charm held her hand out, so he placed it in her palm. "Just do anywhere! Anywhere but here!"
Charm gave him a look. "I know, Caption Obvious."
They grabbed hold of each other, and Charm pressed the teleportation button. In the blink of an eye, they disappeared.
"Got lightning in a bottle, hands on the throttle. Even in the dust we shine . . ."