WendyBecause it seems like the best place to go when you need information, we head for the local library. After an hour of looking through archived news articles, we shift to the computers and try online searches."No Igor Rhodes anywhere in Maine." Sighing, I sit back in the chair and stare at the library's computer screen.Next to me, Alec's face bunches. He's been on his own computer, looking for leads."I guess he's someone who doesn't want to be found," he says.I scrub my face. The internet should be our best bet for locating someone, and yet it's taken us to a dead end."We just need to ask around some more," I say.He nods, but there's no spirit in it. We've already tried asking around. If only we knew where to start, maybe we'd have a chance. Instead, it feels like we're randomly bouncing around this city.A bell rings, and a voice comes over the speakers announcing that the library will close in ten minutes."Anyway, we can't stay here." I reluctantly close my bro
Wendy"You're sure this is it?" Alec asks.I check the address on the scrap of paper. Check it again."Yep." Nodding at the mailbox, I stuff the paper into my pants.Alec rubs his head. "I don't know. This seems off."It's hard to disagree with that. The address the old woman gave us brought us to an old warehouse. The place is definitely abandoned, and the whole place has a creepy vibe.The fence surrounding the warehouse is twisted like a pretzel. The chain link has tarnished with age, the metal corroding and warping. A tree has found purchase on the fence and grown halfway over, branches reaching out towards the warehouse as if to throttle it. The old warehouse has been abandoned for a long time, with smashed windows and a cracked sign.It looks like no one has stepped foot in this place for years.So, why would Igor Rhodes be here?Anger rises in my chest. "We came all this way for nothing," I grumble.That woman must have been lying. She tricked us into giving her that
AlecMy feet hit the ground, and the impact reverberates through me, shaking my bones and making my vision blur. Wendy's hand slips out of mine, and I desperately reach for her."Wendy!"But she's not there.Choking on my inhale, I whirl around. There are noises and sights everywhere.Stalls and tents line what seems to be some kind of underground tunnel, candlelight glinting off the brass and silver merchandise. Fire sparks between magic wands and their brandished spells, the strange sounds of incantations and foreign tongues breaking the peaceful quiet. People from all worlds and all races bustle about. Fairies and elves, giants and halflings, everything from the most fantastical stories to the most absurd myths. Smoke from the marketplace rises into the air, choking the air.The marketplace is larger than any I've ever seen. I went to a magical one once, when I was a kid, but that was nothing compared to this."Wendy?" I call.She's still nowhere to be seen.My heart pick
WendyIn the tunnel, Alec paces back and forth, his fist pressed to his mouth. I can nearly feel the energy crackling off him."I don't know whether to trust him or not," he says.Sighing, I take a seat on a barrel. "What does that even matter? Like it or not, he's all we have."He shakes his head. "He's freaked out. Afraid of something or someone.""Yeah." Using the toe of my shoe, I draw a line in the packed earth. "He didn't seem to be scared of the Silver Hunters, though. It's something else.""And I doubt he'll tell us what.""If he'd just tell us, we could move on.""I don't think he wants to move on," Alec says. "I get the sense he's been underground for a long time. I might actually be worried about him. If he doesn't rejoin the world soon, I think he might go crazy."I nod, agreeing with him. "There's something about him that's just ... off.""What do you mean?"I wrinkle my nose. "He's not a bad guy, but he's been closed up in that cave for so long.""You mean h
WendyAfter a long bus ride, Alec and I finally make it to Lockeport, Nova Scotia, a little after dark. Freezing rain slices through the night, coming down on my shoulders and hair and making me shake. Hunched over, we sprint for a restaurant's overhang."Ugh." I rub my hands against my arms. "I didn't even think about rain.""Soon it'll be snow."My lips draw thin. This is the wrong time of year to do an in-depth tour of thirty-eight hundred islands."The Silver Hunters could have been a little courteous and attacked in spring, don't you think?" I ask.It's a poor and tasteless joke, and it's no surprise that Alec doesn't laugh. Apparently, my new way of dealing with stress is resorting to humor. Whether that's healthy or not, I'm not really sure."They probably have rain ponchos." Alec nods at a tourist shop across the street. "Let's pop in and see.""Sounds good."Igor gave us a little bit of money to get by on, but we'll still need to be tight with expenses. Even though
WendyAlec's eyes widen. "What?"I nod over his shoulder, and he turns just in time to watch the two men saunter to a table. They haven't seen us yet, and without helmets on, I have no way of knowing whether they were at Hawthorn or not.The fact that they're here, though, doesn't feel like chance. They must suspect the Golden Coin is in Nova Scotia.Alec grabs my hand. "We need to get out of here."He yanks me towards the end of the hallway, but we stop. There's no exit.My chest heaves, and I start shaking with adrenaline. It's not my weird strength coming to the surface, though. It's pure fear.The men are talking to the captain, standing on either side of him, their voices so low I can't hear a thing.If we walk across the main room, they'll notice us right away. We're trapped.Alec curses under his breath, and we lean against the hallway's wall, feeling like two animals in a cage."The bathroom." I tug on his poncho, and we hurry back down the hall.Apparently, we've
Wendy"That's it." Alec points at the lights ahead of us. Scarlett Cove looks to be a pretty big island with a decent-sized town on it.I gulp. Where will we even begin?"Your aim is not the object you seek, but the door it's behind," I mutter."What's that?" Alec asks over the ridiculously loud motor."Nothing. See anywhere to put the boat?"The trip to the island has been thankfully short—not more than half an hour—but I've spent most of it thinking about the riddles. Both the one Igor told us and the one I heard come out of the well.The one that I'm sure was spoken by my mother.Which makes no sense since she's been dead for years.Maybe that was some kind of spell meant to confuse people. I saw what the water did to the Silver Hunter who fell into it, how he shrieked in pain. There are probably all sorts of ways that the well is magicked.Still ... even if my mother's voice was simulated, how did I even recognize it as hers? I've never heard it."Over there." Alec poi
HeatherThe third floor is quiet, and I move along the carpet like a mouse. I don't know where all the Silver Hunters have gone, but there have definitely been less of them the last day.I saw about twenty of them crossing the bridge and taking off in cars and motorcycles. Does that mean they're giving up on Hawthorn?I doubt it.I also doubt anyone is coming to save us.Even if I could get to my phone, it wouldn't matter. It's nearly impossible to get any service on this stupid island, in these stupid woods."... we need more boots on the ground,” a woman says from around the corner.My breath freezes in my throat, and I desperately search for somewhere to hide. Spotting an open classroom door, I slip through it.The room is dark, and I thankfully have the cover of night to keep me safe. Crouching low, I peek through the crack as two Silver Hunters turn into the hallway and stop. They both have their helmets off, and the woman has long, blonde hair that falls down her back.