Curse of the Spider King (43 page)

Nelly nodded.

“Drefids,” Johnny muttered.

“Yes,” Nelly whispered.

Autumn folded her hands and glanced out of the window. Streetlights went intermittently by. “It's not an accident that you gave us the book and then the Drefids came to our house . . . is it?”

“No,” Nelly replied. “They were hunting you.”

“Hunting us?!” Johnny exclaimed. “Why? What did we ever do to them?”

Nelly laughed sadly. “It's nothing you've done . . . but something they are afraid you will do.” Nelly looked in the rearview mirror and saw the confusion on their faces. “Ah, now see,” she muttered as much to herself as to the kids. “All this I would have explained to you when you came back to my shop.”

A bright orange glow appeared in the distance off to the right. Many flashing lights, too. Johnny leaned forward. “A fire!”

Nelly was silent. She crept along in traffic, passing fire engines and police cars. In spite of the firemen's best efforts, flames engulfed one of the buildings on the right. Autumn had to squint because the fire was so bright, but she recognized the shape of the store. She leaned forward, “Nelly, your bookstore!”

“What happened?” Johnny asked.

“The Drefids attacked me . . . six of them. They wanted to keep me from coming to your aid.”

“Six?” Autumn swallowed. “You beat them all?”

“Barely,” she replied with a deep sigh. “They used arc stones . . . to burn me, but they underestimated how the books would burn. I escaped through the back door and locked them in with the security doors. A few escaped, but I took them out. That was when I raced to—”

“Uh, . . .” Aunt Norma blinked at the flashing lights.

“Aunt Norma!!” Johnny and Autumn cried. “You're all better!”

“Not quite all better,” she said, smiling weakly and looking around. “Are you okay?”

“We're all fine.”

She looked at the driver. “Who are you?”

“Annelle Brookeheart, but call me Nelly.”

“Nelly,” Aunt Norma repeated. She put a hand on Nelly's forearm and looked on her kindly. “You're the one who fought those . . . things and rescued us.” She coughed harshly, turned her head, and started to close her eyes. “Thank you. Thank you.”

“We're taking you to the hospital,” Nelly said. “We want a doctor to see you.”

“I won't argue.” Aunt Norma whispered so low the kids in the back could barely hear her. “Please, Nelly, take care of Johnny and Autumn.”

“I will,” said Nelly.

After getting Aunt Norma admitted to the hospital and making sure she was okay, Nelly tried making a call on a pay phone. She tried three times. “I don't understand,” she said to the kids. “I can't reach any of them.”

“Any of who?” asked Autumn.

“It's a long story,” said Nelly.

“This the stuff you were talking about?” asked Johnny. “The stuff you would have told us if we could have come to your shop again?”

“Yes,” she replied. The moment she answered, she had Johnny and Autumn making a scene, begging her to explain. “We have a bit of a drive ahead of us,” Nelly said. “That will give us time.”

41

Kinship

AT 3:00 a.m. the private jet carrying the Sentinels, Dreadnaughts, and the three young lords touched down at Edinburgh Airport. After a short bus ride to Dalhousie Castle, and a brief introduction of Jimmy to the rest of the Elves who had gathered in Scotland, the four young lords had been escorted to their chambers while Mrs. Galdarro and a handful of the senior Elves met with Edward to plan for the day to come.

“Are you tired?” asked Kat. She lay in the dark in a tall bed in between Anna's bed and two Sentinels she'd come to know as Ril and Lexi.

“I'm exhausted,” Anna replied. “But you already knew that, didn't you?”

“Not this time.” Kat laughed.

Ril sat up in her bed. “Can you read minds all the time, then?”

“It was off and on at first,” Kat said. “But it seems to be getting stronger. I still have to try . . . have to concentrate.”

“Does it have a range?” came Lexi's muffled question, her chin resting deep in a pillow. “Or can you just think of someone wherever they are and hear their thoughts?”

Kat scratched her head. “The farthest I've ever been was about thirty yards.”

“Still, that would be quite an advantage in battle,” said Ril.

“Battle,” Kat repeated. She'd played many battle-oriented computer and TV games, but she couldn't imagine physically engaging and trying to kill an enemy hand-to-hand. The very thought of it soured in her stomach. “When we get into the Elf world—”

“Allyra,” said Anna.

“Allyra . . . when we get there, are you going to teach us how to fight?”

“Grimwarden will take you to Whitehall,” the Dreadnaught replied. “There you will learn many things: weapon-craft, combat technique, and most important how to use your powers in concert with the other young lords.”

Kat was quiet a moment. She wasn't really used to working together with others. Mostly, when it came to friendships, she'd found herself on the outside looking in. “When will the other girls get here?”

“Kiri Lee will be here Thursday,” said Lexi. “She's staying at the Royal Palace in Edinburgh.”

“We saw her yesterday,” said Ril. “She's quite extraordinary. Walks on the wind.”

“Is she pretty?” asked Kat.

An awkward silence followed. Lexi turned on a bedside lamp. “Kiri Lee has silky, dark hair; huge, brown eyes; and a perfect complexion. She is stunning.”

“Great,” Kat replied.

There, Anna felt she needed to speak up. “Kat, you've no doubt been wounded by very mean and shallow people . . . people who don't realize how beautiful differences are. In Allyra you don't need to worry about such things. You know, we have a saying in our home world: ‘Ellos cares not for garments, flesh, or any outward thing. Ellos cares for the heart.'”

“Ellos?”

“It is our favorite name for God,” said Ril.

“Oh,” Kat replied. She pondered that a moment. “I guess I understand what you're saying, but living on earth . . . things are different. Guys don't even look at me except to make jokes. And now, it's just that . . . well . . .”

“What?” asked Anna.

“Do you think Tommy's cute?”

Anna and the two Sentinels laughed. “I see now,” said Anna. “And yes, Tommy is very handsome.”

“You have to love that curly hair,” said Lexi.

“Great smile,” said Ril. “Of course, Jett is quite the charmer, too.”

“Don't forget Jimmy,” said Lexi. “He's a romantic, I can just tell.”

Kat burst into fits of laughter. The others joined in.

“I'm so embarrassed,” said Kat. “I can't believe we're in here talking about the guys.”

“Don't worry about it, Kat,” said Anna. “The boys are probably talking about the same kinds of things.”

“How much blood was there?” asked Jimmy.

“It was coming out of my mouth and nose,” said Jett. “And the paramedics said a broken bone in my leg stuck right out of the skin.”

“Cool!” said Tommy and Jimmy simultaneously.

Tommy shook his head. “Man-n-n, I wish my parents would let me ride a motorcycle.”

“Yu got to ride in a helicopter, too?”

Jett nodded. “A medivac helicopter, but not exactly the way I wanted to do it. I was in a lot of pain.”

“Gentlemen,” said Mr. Spero, “I think you've heard enough about Jett's bike accident. You'd better get some sleep before the sun comes up.”

They all lay quiet in their dark chamber for some time. Then Tommy asked, “What do you think the girls are talking about?”

“I dunno,” Jimmy replied.

“Beats me,” said Jett.

The next morning, some two hundred twenty-one Elves (including a few Sentinels and Dreadnaughts who had arrived just before sunup) met for breakfast in the castle's cavernous dining hall. There had been no word concerning Nelly and the Briarmans. Kiri Lee wouldn't arrive until later that afternoon. But the four young lords who sat together at the end of a long table looked to have been in the castle since medieval times.

“Yu should have seen 'im,” said Jimmy, half-choked with laughter. “Straight away into the ketchup, mustard, and tartar sauce. Looked like he lost a paintball fight, he did.”

“Sounds like he had it coming,” said Jett.

Tommy nodded. He'd seen his share of bullies, but his growth spurt between sixth and seventh grade had mostly solved that problem. Tommy stretched to see around Mr. Charlie and a few of the other Elves.
Where is that server?
he wondered.
I'm starving.

“I'm curious about our special gifts,” said Jett. “Kat, you read minds; Jimmy, you can see the future—”

“Just scenes so far,” Jimmy clarified. “And not always when I want to.”

Kat piped up: “Same with me.”

“Okay,” said Jett. “I've got strength and healing, Tommy's an expert archer, and this Kiri Lee kid, she can fly?”

“Walk on air, I heard,” said Jimmy.

“She walks on air?” Tommy grinned. “How cool is that?”

Too cool
, thought Kat, but she said nothing.

Jimmy asked, “Anyone know what the others can do, Autumn and . . . Jerry?”

“I think it's Johnny,” said Jett. “No idea what they can do.”

“Mrs. Galdarro said their powers haven't developed yet,” said Tommy.

“I hope they're okay,” said Kat. The rest nodded.

At last, the server arrived at their table. Tommy was just about to give his order when Jett interrupted. “Wait, Tommy,” he said. “I want to try something.” The rest of the table went quiet. “Kat can read minds, and Jimmy can see the future. Let's see who can figure out first what Tommy's gonna order for breakfast. Cool?”

Kat shrugged. Jimmy said, “Okay, but no guarantees, you know.”

The Elven server looked at Tommy expectantly. Tommy started to speak, but Kat interrupted. “Western omelet and home fries,” she said.

Tommy looked at her with a kind of curious amazement. He smiled and started to order, but this time it was Jimmy who interrupted. “No, he's not going to order that. He's going to get the sausage sandwich on a croissant with DOUBLE home fries.”

“Is that true?” Jett asked, comically turning from Tommy to Jimmy and back again.

Tommy nodded. “As Jimmy would say, ‘spot on!'”

Kat frowned. “But that's not what you were thinking at first,” she complained. “You just changed it because I was right.”

Tommy smiled at her. “Um . . . under the circumstances, I guess there's no point in denying it.”

“Will you be having the sausage sandwich and the double hash browns, then?” asked the server.

“And the omelet,” said Tommy. “I'm starved.”