"I hate this chapter," Abeke said, "So embarrassing." "Is this the chapter when you-" Rollan said, but was interrupted by Meilin, who continued reading
The first thing Abeke noticed when she woke up was that it was not quite morning. The room was still blue-edged and black-shadowed, though birds sang thinly outside. The second thing she noticed was that the door was cracked open, and what looked like Uraza's tail was disappearing through it.
"You're gonna be late for another important thing because of Uraza's appetite." Rollan said. "She wasn't hungry" Abeke said
Presumably following the rest of Uraza. As Abeke pushed herself up and blinked, trying to decide if she had seen the leopard leave, she heard a faint padpad-pad-pad and saw Kunaya's dark form trot out into the hall too.
"Your cats are running away!" Rollan said laughing "Better go catch em!"
"Uraza!" hissed Abeke, shooting a glance at the lump that was Meilin's sleeping form. This was not the place to go wandering. But the leopard didn't return. "Mwuwuh?" Meilin asked the room sleepily. "Uraza's in the hall," Abeke replied in a hushed whisper. "I'm going to get her." "Mwuf. Need help?" Even half-asleep, Meilin sounded a little suspicious of Abeke creeping out of the room so early.
"I sounded suspicious?" Meilin asked. "A little bit" Abeke answered "I should have not followed them. Totally regret that"
"I am all right!" "Mwufay." The other girl turned back into her pillow. Abeke headed down the hall. She could smell the faint scent of bread baking — the bakers up early. Maybe that was what had lured the big cat out of the room.
"So they were hungry!" Rollan said. "No Rollan" Abeke said "They weren't. If you're trying to make me spoil it's not working"
It took her a moment to glimpse the forms of the two cats disappearing around a corner. "Uraza!" she hissed once more. But she didn't dare to do it again. If there was a law against leaving your bedroom door open, surely there was a law against sneaking around while no one else was up.
"Okay" Olvan said "I can see that law. That one wouldn't be dumb." "Wait" Conor said "Did you close the door?" Abeke shrugged
She had no choice but to slink after the two cats. Closed doors lined the high-ceilinged hall, and every few yards was an alcove containing something unexpected and magical: a delicate water fountain trailing water over carvings, a cage of sleeping canaries, a pillowed chair with lion's paws, a tree covered with white blossoms. Uraza paused at the next corner, her lavender eyes keen. She wanted the girl to know that she wasn't trying to be disobedient. This was no helter-skelter chase through a castle. This time, Uraza was leading her. Crouching low, Abeke silently caught up to Uraza. Together, the two cats and the girl made their way past the black rectangles of closed doors. From the way the leopard stalked — pausing every few steps — it seemed she wasn't quite sure where she was going or what she was looking for. The hall grew lighter. Gradually Abeke realized she could hear the dull murmur of voices coming from inside one of these many rooms.
"Uraza left so you could eavesdrop?" Rollan said "What if you got caught?" "It was very important information" Abeke responded
From the thrashing of Uraza's tail, this was what she had been looking for. They scouted back and forth, trying to get closer, until Abeke found a long, skinny room full of washbasins. Morning light came in a large window at the end, suddenly strong and bright. One wall was lined with animal-headed fountains, each faucet carved with a different species. Cloths, perfumes, and draping robes sat on a long shelf opposite. Abeke pressed her ear to the washbasin wall, and suddenly the voices came into focus. "Look," said a familiar voice, "clearly Lord MacDonnell is a little crazy. But we aren't going to be here long. All we need to do is find Rumfuss and then find the girl and get out of here before he does any more of his crazy 'my castle, my law' stuff."
"Well at least they agree that the laws are stupid" Rollan said. "The girl?" Meilin said "That's either you or me. Probably you though." "Yep" Abeke said
"How will we persuade Rumfuss to give up his talisman?" asked another voice. This one also sounded familiar, and had a Niloan accent. Suddenly Abeke knew who they were — and why Uraza had been so intent on finding them. Devin and Karmo!
"I should have come with" Meilin said
"Give up?" Devin scoffed. "Look at our beasts! We'll take it." They must have made it to Glengavin in the night! Abeke leaped back from the wall and out of the washroom. She needed to tell the others immediately.
"But you didn't!" Rollan said "Because you got yourself-!" Olvan huffed warning him about spoiling
But as she rounded the corner back to the hall, she was brought up short. She stood face-to-face with Devin Trunswick.
"But I thought he was in the room. How did he get there so quick?" Conor asked. "Honestly, I have no idea." Abeke said
Uraza stood nose-to-nose with his black panther, Elda. Behind him stood tall, dark Karmo, and beside him was his huge hammerkop stork, Impundulu. The bird's head and beak were nearly as long as Karmo's arm. In just a second, Abeke had snatched a large glass bottle of perfume from the table beside her.
"Perfume? Really?" Rollan said "You're gonna make him smell nice and then he'll let you go?"
Makeshift weapon. She had been paying attention in the training room back at Greenhaven "Ah, Abeke," Devin said with a clever smile that he seemed to have learned from Zerif.
"I hate Zerif's smiles" Conor said
He didn't seem at all concerned by the prospect of getting hit over the head with a perfume bottle.
"The bottle was glass right?" Meilin asked. "Yes" Abeke said. "So it could do fair damage, maybe knock him out, but you would still have to deal with Elda, Karmo, and Impundulu."
"I don't intend to murder you.
"If I were him I probably would have" Abeke said "Get one of the Four Fallen out of the way. Plus it would be an easy kill."
We were just talking about you." "How did you get in here?" Abeke demanded. "Glengavin is a hall for heroes," Devin boomed, clearly mocking Lord MacDonnell. He gestured to his spirit animal, who thrashed her tail. "Elda makes me very popular in Eura."
"Not anymore" Conor said/sang
"Not in this particular corridor," Abeke replied. She jerked her chin toward Karmo. "Who is he?" "This is my friend Karmo," Devin said. "He's from Nilo too." I know, thought Abeke, with a pang of homesickness.
"Then why did you ask?" Rollan said
I heard. Karmo's eyes were narrowed, as if Devin and he weren't particularly friendly. He said, "I've come to see if I can change your mind.
"Liar!" the four yelled. "You came to hunt Rumfuss, duh" Rollan said
Come back to us. Come back to Nilo. Our people need us to be beacons of hope." Taken by surprise, she blinked. Was she the girl she had heard them talking about? "What? I am not coming back. I have seen enough to know who fights for what I believe in. The Greencloaks are the good guys." Karmo raised a dark, handsome eyebrow.
"You think he's handsome?" Conor said. "Why?" "Maybe" Abeke said
He was the sort of boy that her sister, Soama, would have been silly over back home. "Are they?" Abeke nodded. "I am very fortunate that they allowed me to switch sides. They understand the value of mercy, unlike your master, Zerif." Devin scoffed. "They would not have killed you, Abeke. You know that. You walk with Uraza. The Greencloaks want you alive." Abeke didn't like this conversation.
"Well running isn't an option and you wouldn't have a chance fighting them" Rollan said, running through options, "So how about shouting." "Already tried that" Abeke said "That one failed"
There wasn't any chance that she would fight with the Conquerors again, but it awoke all kinds of unpleasant tangled feelings inside her. For a pained moment she thought of Shane, the friend she'd had to leave behind.
"Really? Shane?" Conor said "You had to mention him. We were so far without mentioning him!"
"You won't convince me, Devin. My spirit animal chooses the Greencloaks. "But is she right?" Karmo broke in gently. "Of course she is! She's a Great Beast!" The fierceness of Abeke's reply made Uraza growl beside her. Abeke could feel the power of Uraza seeping into her, preparing her for a fight. Her nerves danced. Next to Devin, Elda dropped down, tail thrashing even harder, her black fur scuffed up threateningly. Impundulu clawed the floor with one foot. The atmosphere felt charged and dangerous. "The Great Beasts aren't always right," Karmo said. "They may mean well, but just like humans, their decisions are fallible. After all, aren't you and I here in search of a Great Beast who flees us both?" Abeke didn't want to admit that he was right. But Uraza was not like Rumfuss.
"I don't know why I was comparing" Abeke said "They're nothing alike
She'd died standing up for what she believed in. "Abeke, I came to bring you back so that you and I could lead Nilo to a better future," Karmo said. He held out a hand. "Come with me?" He asked in such a mild, kind way. Not at all as if his hammerkop stood threateningly beside him, one foot raised, giant beak parted. "I have chosen my side," Abeke said harshly. Devin shrugged. "Well, you're coming with us either way. Karmo?"
"You were fighting them while Meilin was sleepwalking and Conor and Rollan were sleeping?" Lenori said "Nice teamwork" Olvan said "F"
Abeke swung the perfume bottle just as Uraza sprang at Elda. Devin let out a muffled cry as he blocked the blow.
"The perfume did like nothing," Abeke said looking at Meilin. "Well that was assuming he didn't block the blow" Meilin said. "I would have been better off spraying it in their eyes" Abeke said
"You have no chance" Rollan said "You versus Devin and Karmo and Uraza versus Elda and Impundulu. Definitely not." "Which is exactly why you three get an F" Olvan said
Karmo stood by quite calmly. As Abeke reached up to swing again, Impundulu flapped its wings. Lifting from the ground, the bird punched its legs into Abeke's abdomen.
"Ow" Conor said
There was an arcing flash of light as the bird's feet touched Abeke. The contact was more than a blow — it was a jolt. Her limbs suddenly went numb. Karmo was on her in a moment, pinning her arms behind her. Kunaya had appeared from nowhere and she wound around Abeke's legs, mewing piteously.
"Right on time Kunaya" Rollan said sarcastically "Now we're even. As long as you take down Devin and Karmo, which would be a miracle, and Uraza takes down Elda and Kunaya takes down Impundulu."
Uraza and Elda fought in the hall, making soft thumps when their bodies hit the walls. Elda was larger, but Uraza was greater. She would win a battle against the black panther... but then what? There were still two humans against Abeke, and another spirit animal with strange abilities. Abeke opened her mouth to shout for help. Devin stuffed one of the cloths into her mouth.
"Told ya" Abeke said "Complete fail. I would have lost no matter which option I chose"
"Put her in passive form," he told Abeke, "or I will cut your throat." She had no choice. She held out her arm pleadingly, and Uraza disappeared in a blitz of light, forming a tattoo on Abeke's arm, right next to where Karmo's hand held her in place. "There was an easier way," Karmo said into Abeke's ear. Devin held out his arm, and Elda immediately vanished into passive form. It was like an instantly obeyed order "Don't look so angry, Abeke," he said. "You're going home."
"How did you manage to tie your bracelet around Kunaya if-" Rollan said. Olvan cleared his throat loudly.
"Can I go?" Conor asked
Chapter Thirteen. Lord MacDonnell