Into the Dark (The Conjurors) (5 page)

    “Don’t worry. I’m doing much better.”

    “Good. Now, let’s talk about some ground rules.”

    “Excuse me?”

    “It’s my job to make sure you get to the Globe in one piece. We don’t know each other well, and I want to be certain we’re on the same page in terms of expectations. First of all, what I say goes.”

    She did her best to laugh as disdainfully as possible. “You know I’m fifteen, right? I’m not a little kid who needs my hand held when I cross the street. I’ve been looking out for myself practically my whole life.”

    His eyes narrowed. “You have no idea of the danger that could be lurking out there. Hopefully, everything will go smoothly and we’ll get you to the launch site with no problems. But I also know that some pretty insane stuff can happen that you’d never expect. I’m not used to looking after anyone but myself. I need to know that if I tell you to do something, you’ll do it. If anything goes wrong on this trip, listening to me could save your life.”

    “All right, Thai. You’re doing me the favor here, so I’ll play by your rules. Once I’m on the Globe, I’ll be on my own anyway. So consider yourself the boss.”

    Thai didn’t look like he exactly liked being the ‘boss,’ but he nodded. “Good. If you need to get a message to me, tell Cyrus. You work on your doctor, and I’ll talk to child services again. Let’s get you out of this place.”

    All afternoon, Valerie wandered the halls, searching for Dr. Freeman to try to persuade him to help her again. After awhile her energy began to fade and she headed back to her room. She paused outside the door, hearing a muffled crying coming from inside. She opened the door and found Jeremiah, the 8-year-old with leukemia who slept in the bed next to hers. She knew that he’d had a round of radiation to treat his cancer that morning. His mother was a single mom who had to work during the day, so she wouldn’t be back for a few hours.

    “Hi, Peanut.” At the sound of her voice Jeremiah covered his face, not wanting to be caught crying. She pretended not to notice as he wiped his tears away with the back of his hand. “I wanted to check to see if everyone liked your Halloween costume. You looked like a real pirate!”

    He smiled. “Yeah, my mom didn’t recognize me for a second. And my brother brought me black stuff to put on my tooth so it looked like it was missing,” he exclaimed. He was tired, but excited to tell her about how much candy he collected and what everyone thought of his costume.

    She listened to his chatter, watching his eyes droop. Right before he fell asleep, she took his hand and held it. He smiled as he drifted to sleep.

    Feeling eyes on her back, Valerie turned around. Dr. Freeman was standing in the doorway watching her, looking a little sad. “I can’t tell you how many times over the years I’ve gone to check on my patients and found you comforting them. I’ll miss that,” he said.

     “You mean I can go?”

    Quietly, he took a chair and placed it next to hers. “Yes. I met Thai today and then gave my approval to child services.”

    “Thank you so much,” she whispered earnestly.

    “No, don’t thank me. You’re something of a favorite around this hospital, Ms. Diaz. You’ve taken care of a lot of people here, and we’re going to miss you. But it’s time for you to have some experiences that are as exciting as those stories you’re always telling the kids.”

    “Believe me, I will.”

    He stood to leave. “Goodbye, Valerie.”

Her throat closed up and it took her a moment before she could reply. “Good bye, Dr. Freeman. I’ll miss you too.”

That night, Valerie went to the roof. She needed to talk to Cyrus. It drizzled slightly, but she wasn’t in a rush to call him. Instead, she pictured every beloved face in the building below her. She remembered friends who had shared so many fun and painful experiences with her. Several of them had passed away, like Katelyn, who had spent hours playing cops and robbers with her all over the hospital. Valerie tried to picture her face, but it was like seeing it underwater – all kind of blurry now.

The building below held a world of memories and a life that she had built for herself. She was ready to go, but it wasn’t going to be without sadness for all the familiar faces she would never see again. Would anyone really remember her? Would Dr. Freeman think of her after she had gone, or would she be nothing more than an unusual medical case that he had never solved? Would Valerie Diaz’ face become a blur for everyone she had known, as their lives went on without her?

Though she couldn’t see him, she sensed that Cyrus was there. At least one person cared enough not to forget her. She turned around, and he stood glowing in the night, the excitement visible on his face.

“How did you know I was here?”

“I can sort of feel when you’re around. Like a tingle in my mind.”

“You look sad. Don’t you want to come to the Globe?”

“I do. I guess I realized for the first time that there will be people on Earth that I’ll miss.”

“You won’t be alone, you know. I’ll be with you for the entire trip. And then you’ll be on the Globe, and I’ll be by your side for real.”

As she tried to imagine the possibilities of her new life, Valerie let her little flame of hope grow, and her sadness melted away. She felt a door open inside her, and she couldn’t wait to step through.

Two days later, Valerie packed everything she owned into her backpack, which wasn’t much more than some clothes, a toothbrush, and the one keepsake she had from her grandmother – a faded old book titled
The Legend of King Arthur
. It was finally time to go. It took hours to say goodbye to all of the hospital staff and children. Some cried, but most were happy for her.

She visited Ming last. “I’m going away to get better, like I told you I would,” she whispered.

“You won’t forget about me, will you Valerie? Someday will you come back and tell me about your magical world?”

“It might take awhile, but I’ll find a way. But until then, will you keep this for me?” She asked, giving Ming Mr. Hopsalot, whom she had carried with her since her first Christmas in the hospital. Ming loved to stroke his long ears, and she took it without a word.

They hugged tightly. Ming finally let go, and her mother scooped her up. Valerie blew her a last kiss and then took the elevator down to the lobby.

Thai waited for her, and together they pushed the doors of the hospital open. A cool, fresh breeze lifted Valerie’s hair off her neck, and everything suddenly smelled amazing. She stepped into the light and a thrill sizzled through her entire body. The world shone brightly before her, full of possibility.

Thai walked purposefully down the sidewalk, his eyes sweeping the dingy streets for any sign of danger. Valerie, too absorbed in her new freedom, didn’t even think to ask where they were going. Before she knew it, they were on the open air platform at the MacArthur BART train station, and Thai was opening one of the lockers lining the walls.

“I rented this locker so I didn’t have to lug our stuff all over Oakland. I figure that would look more than a little suspicious to child services.”

“Our stuff?” she asked, confused. The locker popped open, and he pulled out two large hiking packs, handing one to her.

    “You’ll need this. Dump all your stuff in here. We need to travel light. Almost everything we’ll need for the trip is in these two bags, so don’t let it out of your sight.”

    Valerie peeked inside and saw that Thai wasn’t kidding. He’d packed everything from a lightweight sleeping bag to what looked like an extremely fancy, technical pair of sunglasses covered in buttons and dials. She pulled the glasses out and started to try them on.

    “Put that away! And be careful, those night vision goggles were not easy to get.”

    “Unbelievable. I can’t wait until we get to use these! But how will I ever pay you back for all this?”

    “Whatever, it’s a gift,” he said gruffly. “Oh, and you’ll need this,” he added as he handed her a passport.

    “How did you manage to get this?”

    “Those Conjurors have a few tricks up their sleeves. And good thing, too, or we’d never get out of here. Now let’s go. Our flight to England is in two hours.”

    “England. That’s where the launch site is?” Valerie asked, feeling a little embarrassed that she hadn’t bothered to find out before.

    “Not exactly,” Cyrus said, suddenly popping into view next to Thai, who jumped about a foot in surprise.

    “Don’t do that!” Thai growled.

    “Sorry, champ,” Cyrus said with a smirk. Before Thai could reply, Cyrus turned to Valerie. “The launch site is in Giza, inside the Great Pyramid.”

    She felt her eyes widening. “Then what’s in England, exactly?”

“You have go there and take a test to prove your magic.”

    Her mind whirled, trying to take in so much new information at once. “Prove my magic? What am I going to have to do? What if I don’t pass the test? Will I have to go back to a foster home again?”

    “Don’t be such a worrier, Val. You’re bursting with magic, so I’m sure you’ll pass with flying colors. When you do, you’ll get a map that will show you how to find the launch room inside the Great Pyramid.”

    She didn’t feel reassured. What if Cyrus was totally wrong about her and she failed the test? She found it very hard to believe that there could be anything magical inside of her. But she’d come this far; there was no way she was turning back now.

    “Enough chit chat. You zap out of here, pal. Valerie and I have a flight to catch,” Thai said to Cyrus, not bothering to hide the annoyance in his voice.

    But Cyrus just rolled his eyes and disappeared. Valerie stuffed her belongings into her new backpack and followed Thai to wait for the train. Her earlier jubilation at leaving the hospital was already starting to disappear as she worried about the hurdles ahead of her.

Suddenly, for no reason that she could explain, her worry transformed into a shiver of fear. For as long as she could remember, Valerie had always had a kind of sixth sense when danger was near, and now she felt it lurking close by. Her eyes scanned the train station and fixated on a hulking figure standing in the shadows on the end of the platform. His back was huge and muscular, and he was so tall that he would have dwarfed the people around him if it weren’t for the way he hunched over. His beady black eyes darted around the platform, and every few seconds his Adam’s apple bulged in his throat, as if he was swallowing a huge bite of food.

Something about the man made her stomach churn, and Valerie had learned to trust her instincts about people. She felt as if all his attention was focused on her, and he would pounce on her if he could. But strangely, she couldn’t put her finger on why she felt so suspicious – he wasn’t even looking at her.

She quickly glanced away, not wanting to stare, but Thai caught her gaze and followed it to the man in the shadows. His eyes narrowed. “I’ve seen him before. That’s not a face you forget. Stay close by. I want to make sure that we lose that creep.”

“Don’t you think you’re being a little paranoid?” Valerie asked, but she was secretly glad that he was taking precautions.

“Remember your promise and stay close,” Thai commanded with a glare.

She nodded and kept her mouth shut. When the train arrived, Thai and Valerie stepped on board and stood near the door. The stranger boarded as well, several cars down.

But as the doors were closing, Thai yanked her out of the train with him. The doors almost shut on her backpack. Thai grinned, satisfied. “He won’t be catching up to us any time soon. That train isn’t even going in our direction. See, I told you I’d keep you safe. That’s why you’ve got to cooperate with me. No hassles.”