“I could carry you on my back,” Nathan said in a helpful tone.
“I’m fine, thanks,” Alex said, trying not to show on his face how annoying he found Nathan’s seemingly helpful suggestion. “Besides, we don’t want to miss the festival.
After what Alex hoped was a convincing performance pretending to recover from a heat-faint and fending off the offers of help from several passersby, he convinced the others to begin heading for the town center again. The bright side of his dramatic faint was that he now found himself walking beside Victoria instead of Leanna, who seemed far happier to be strolling beside Nathan. Alex caught Leanna give him a look that seemed a cross between worry and curiosity, but then she turned to talk with Nathan again, a bright smile on her face.
“What was that all about?” Victoria asked in a low voice as they walked.
“Not enough water,” Alex said.
“You’re not half that good an actor,” Victoria said. “Besides, we all know that look on your face when you aren’t in your body. It took all we could do to keep Leanna from shaking you awake. She’s the one who poured water on your face in the end.”
Alex was a little deflated at the knowledge his performance had not been entirely believed, but at least it had been good enough to fool Leanna and the other carnies.
“I had to check the barrier,” Alex said. “It’s moving.”
“What?” Victoria said. “How?”
“Because the artifact must be small enough to carry,” Alex said. “And someone is carrying it toward the center of town.”
Chapter 15: Museum Misadventure
“But why?” Victoria asked, looking around to make sure they would not be overheard.
“I’m not sure,” Alex said, glancing over his shoulder, “but I have hunch. There is a way I could see who we are looking for, but not with the barrier in place. If the carnies are all going to the festival, the people we’re looking for could be exposed.”
“So they’re taking their protection with them,” Victoria said.
“Right,” Alex said. “Which means it must be small.”
“We should tell the others what to look for,” Victoria said.
“Later,” Alex said as they neared the center of town. “When we don’t have so much company.”
Ten minutes later, Alex had to admit to himself the Guild might have the company of Eleada, Kendra, Leanna, and Nathan for the rest of the afternoon. They stood in a loose group at the western side of the town center, near the back of where the townspeople and carnie folk had congregated to hear the opening speech of the festival, listen to music, and partake of the festival activities.
A wide wooden stage had been set up at the end of Lake Street, where it flowed into the circular path around the town center. A local band, the Corn Fed Crooners, played on the stage, singing tunes by Elvis Presley, Fats Domino, and Johnny Cash. They had an odd way of adding a bluegrass twang to every song they played.
The fountain at the very heart of the town center was surrounded with tables where farmers and crafts people from the Rune Valley had come to sell their wares. Flowers decorated the statues of the founders in the middle of the fountain, chains of daisies draped around the necks of the stone man, woman, dwarf, giant, and tree elf.
The shops circling of the town center had all added booths and tables to the sidewalks outside their facades to facilitate the sale of their goods. The Truffaut Café and Uncle Sal’s Soda Shop and Burger Joint had cloth-covered tables and chairs set up to accommodate the additional clientele for their lunch specials.
Alex caught sight of his parents and waved, but did not move toward them. Word of his
fainting spell
had apparently not reached them or his mother would have insisted on inspecting him as she always did.
Alex had tried subtle hints, but there was little that could convince Rafael and Ben to leave the sides of Kendra and Eleada. Nathan seemed equally invested in remaining in sight of Victoria, if not right at her side, and Leanna appeared similarly inclined toward Nathan, even when she was talking to Alex. Clark and Daphne were of no help, either. The two had become so engrossed in discussing the cauldron hidden back at the Guild House, Alex suspected they didn’t even notice the festival going on around them. Nina was the only one who seemed to understand her brother was trying to convey something to the rest of the Guild.
“What’s the scoop, Snoop?” Nina said as she slid up beside Alex and Victoria.
“We have a better idea what we’re looking for,” Alex said, lowering his voice.
“You mean for the thing that does that thing so you can’t do your thing,” Nina said, looking out at the festival as though she were talking to herself.
“Yes,” Alex said. “It’s something small enough to carry and it’s here.”
“Well, that narrows it down,” Nina said with a sigh. “Should I start checking people’s pockets?”
“Funny,” Alex said.
“Nina has a point,” Victoria said, flicking a fly away from her hindquarters with her tail. “We’re no closer to finding it simply because we know it’s small.”
“Closer,” Alex said aloud, realizing something. “It must be with someone here in the town center. Now that we’re all close together, maybe I can sense it. Put your arm around me.”
“I’m sorry?” Victoria said, blinking in surprise. “Put my arm around you?”
“So I don’t fall down,” Alex said, feeling his face grow a little warmer under Victoria’s gaze.
“Ah,” Victoria said, sighing a little as she slid her arm around Alex’s shoulder.
“Not again,” Nina said. “No one is going to believe it twice.”
“Believe what?” Alex asked.
“That you’re not doing the astral mambo,” Nina said.
“Was it really that bad a performance?” Alex asked.
“Only for someone who knows you,” Nina said.
“Great,” Alex said. “Well, I won’t be gone that long this time. Only a few seconds.”
“I’ll keep an eye out in case anyone notices,” Nina said, nonchalantly peering around at the crowd.
“Right,” Alex said, leaning against Victoria’s horse shoulder and smiling up at her. “I’ll only be a second or two.”
“I’ll make sure you stay on your feet,” Victoria said, pulling him tight to her side.
Alex closed his eyes and forced his mind to calm. Oddly, it was harder to subdue the thoughts in his mind than it had been when pretending to faint. All he had to contend with then was the sound of his friends’ voices and Leanna setting him down on the ground. Now he needed to avoid thinking about Victoria’s arm around his shoulder and how close she was holding him and how much she smelled like honeysuckle. It took more than a few seconds to will his mind to obey his soul-essence and to leap into his astral form. It took less than a second to realize something was pushing him back into his physical body the way one might shove a hand into a glove.
Alex opened his eyes, looking between Victoria and Nina.
“Nothing,” Alex said. “It not only creates a barrier from the outside, it creates one from the inside, as well. If I could get close to the person with it in astral form, I could probably see or sense it. But this way, I can’t get near them except in the real world. ”
“Maybe one of the four we saw today has it?” Nina suggested.
“Good idea,” Alex said. “We can try and find them and see if they’re carrying anything.”
“I can see Elektra or Medea now,” Victoria said. Alex and Nina followed Victoria’s gaze across the plaza to the center of town and saw one of the Siren Sister twins talking with Mr. Apollo.
“Could Mr. Apollo be one of them?” Alex asked aloud.
“I don’t know,” Victoria said. “I wouldn’t think so. He has such a reputation for fairness and honesty. All of the carnies look up to him and I’ve never heard anyone say a bad word about him.”
Alex’s thoughts on the matter and his possible response were drowned out by an amplified voice ringing throughout the town plaza. It was a voice Alex knew well and one that sounded enough like its familial counterpart to make his stomach clinch instinctively.
“Welcome to the annual Founders Festival,” Mayor McClint said, his voice booming and echoing off the walls of the buildings. Alex looked to the stage and saw Mayor McClint adjusting the ever-present wide-brimmed hat covering his enormous, balding head. The mayor leaned into the magically amplified microphone, his ample belly keeping him from standing too close to the black-lacquered lectern sitting at the center of the stage. “We are privileged today to have with us fellow magical citizens of the world to celebrate the founding of our fair town. Townspeople of Runewood, please join me in welcoming the members of the Conundrum Carnival and Magical Mystery Show!”
Alex raised his hands to join the applause, seeing for the first time a face that reminded him of another mission he and the Guild needed to tend to that day. Dillon stood at the side of the stage, watching his father. Beside him stood Anna, Mei, Koji, and Earl. Alex had been so consumed with ferreting out the Shadow Wraith’s followers within the carnival he had completely forgotten about the Mad Mages plan to pull some prank at the town museum. Whatever they were planning, they hadn’t done it yet. At least Alex hoped not.
“When we celebrate the founding of our fair town, we do not memorialize a particular date,” Mayor McClint said as he continued his speech. “The founding of Runewood did not take place on a single day. No, the town was built up brick by brick, stone by stone, over many days and years by the first families who settled here. It is therefore only right that we celebrate not a year of founding, but the founders themselves.”
Alex had heard this speech before. The mayor gave practically the same speech every year and Alex’s attention was no longer for the mayor’s words, but for the mayor’s son.
Dillon was not paying attention to his father’s speech, either. Instead, he was bent down in conversation with Anna. They seemed to be having some kind of argument. Whatever the source of the conflict, Anna seemed to obtain the result she desired. Dillon reluctantly nodded his head and Anna gave him one of her sugary sweet smiles. Then she turned to the other Mad Mages, said something briefly, and led them back through the crowd, away from the town center. Dillon glared at their backs for a moment and then turned back to the stage. The look of anger on his face only deepened as he appeared to listen to his father’s words.
“We need to go,” Alex said to Victoria and Nina.
“Yes, I saw,” Victoria said, turning from the stage and the mayor’s speech.
“Saw what?” Nina said, bouncing up to get a better view. “I hate being short.”
“The Mad Mages are on the move,” Alex said.
“We have to follow them,” Nina said, hopping up again to try to see above the heads around her.
“Let’s get the others first,” Alex said. “We know where the Mad Mages are headed.”
Gathering the rest of the Guild was not as easy as usual. Extracting Ben and Rafael from the pleasant company of Eleada and Kendra proved time consuming.
“We’ll go with you,” Eleada said, after Alex had declared he needed to take Rafael and Ben to help with some Guild business.
“We can be helpful,” Kendra added, nodding toward Eleada.
“That’s a very kind offer, but there are rules,” Alex said.
“Guild rules,” Victoria said. “The Guild is very strict about the rules.”
“What?” Ben said, “We always bend the rules.”
“And Nina certainly bends the rules,” Rafael added.
“I don’t bend the rules,” Nina said, raising her chin. “I’m outside the rules.”
“What are you planning?” Eleada asked, her eyes probing Alex’s with an intensity he found a little disconcerting. “Something dangerous? I haven’t done anything dangerous in ages.”
“You haven’t done anything reckless and life threatening, you mean,” Kendra said with a laugh.
“It’s nothing dangerous,” Alex said. “Just some boring Guild thing we need to deal with.”
“Super boring,” Nina said. “I’m bored by it already.”
“We’ll be back before the speeches are over,” Alex said, grabbing Rafael and Ben by the arms and tugging them away from the two girls.
“Yes,” Victoria said, stepping between the two carnie girls and the rest of the Guild. “Hold our places. We’ll be right back.”
Alex didn’t wait to see if Eleada and Kendra would follow, but pulled Rafael and Ben toward the side. Victoria stopped near where Clark and Daphne stood, spoke to them briefly, and the three were soon right behind Alex. He caught a glimpse of Leanna and Nathan through the crowd, but they seemed to be engrossed in some conversation and didn’t appear to notice the Guild’s departure.
“Hey?” Ben said, shrugging off Alex’s grip on his arm. “What’s the rush?”
“The Mad Mages,” Alex said, breaking into a run as they left the crowd of townspeople behind.
“Why didn’t you say so?” Rafael asked, dashing to catch up with Alex.
“I like Kendra and Eleada and the others, too,” Alex said, “but we don’t need them following us.”
“Backup,” Ben said. “It might be nice to have some backup for once.”
“Especially since we don’t know what the Mad Mages are planning,” Rafael said.
“Backup schmack-up,” Daphne said. “We can handle this ourselves.”
“Besides,” Victoria said, the tone of her voice suddenly diplomatic, “as much as I admire Eleada, she can be rather…unpredictable in dangerous situations.”
“Hmm, we’re unpredictable enough by ourselves,” Clark said.
“Keep running,” Alex said, turning down Owl Street and seeing the four Doric columns adorning the facade of the Town Museum two blocks away.
They saw no sign of Anna and the Mad Mages when they reached the front of the museum, so they raced around to the back entrance of the large marble building. Alex in the lead, they approached the rear of the building cautiously. They found the back door to the museum ajar, but no one guarding it.
Sloppy
, Alex thought to himself as he slowly pulled the large metal door open and peered inside.
Alex slipped inside the darkened corridor, sliding to the side to allow the rest of the Guild to follow him and let his eyes adjust to the shadows of the windowless hallway. Alex briefly considered slipping into astral form to scout ahead in the museum proper, but decided against it. It would take too much time. Time the Mad Mages might use to slip away.