The Society of Imaginary Friends (Book 1 of The Conjurors Series)

Chapter 33

The next morning, Valerie awoke to a slanting ray of sun hitting her face from the porthole in her cabin. Eager to make the most of her last peaceful hours on the ocean, she got ready, strapped on Pathos, and left the cabin without waking up Kanti.

Gideon was already at the wheel, watching the sun rise over the ocean. But this morning, instead of endless miles of shimmery aquamarine, the shadowy outline of a city skyline appeared etched on the horizon. She was surprised to see that it was full of skyscrapers, reminding her of San Francisco.

"It's so normal," she said, mystified.

"Did you expect it to be different from when you left?" Gideon asked.

Valerie blushed. "The truth is, I'm not really from Messina. I'm from Earth. It's supposed to be a kind of secret," she admitted. Gideon's expression didn't change. "I never meant to lie to you."

"It's a necessary precaution. I understand. And it explains several things that puzzled me."

Gideon didn't seem inclined to ask any questions, so she changed the subject. "From the way people talk, I didn't imagine that Messina would be a big city. I thought these people were living on farms with no electricity or anything."

She heard Cyrus burst out laughing and turned around. "There's a 'no magic' law on Messina, Val, not a 'no science' law. Messina is the science capital of the Globe! They've adopted a lot of inventions from Earth, and added a few of their own. It's probably the only place on the entire Globe that won't seem totally weird to you."

"And I'm excited to meet your family," Valerie added.

"Yeah, I can't wait to see how that goes," Cyrus mumbled. "When we meet my parents, please don't wear your sword, though, okay? And tell Kanti to hide that staff of hers, too. There are some pretty strict rules about weapons on Messina, even non-magical ones. My parents believe that fighting, even to save your own life, is wrong."

Gideon shook his head in disbelief, but didn't say anything.

"I'm going for one last swim," Cyrus said, abruptly ending the conversation. Yanking off his shirt, he jumped into the pool and began swimming furious laps.

"That reminds me; I meant to ask you about this sword—the Edge of Pathos," Valerie said, shading her eyes to get a better look at Gideon's face. "When I came to visit you at the Guild last time, you mentioned that I had inherited my sword from a master of the craft. Who is she?"

Gideon's usually expressionless eyes clouded over. "It belonged to a Master of the Guardians, Adelita. She was a brilliant strategist as well as a swordswoman. She captured many members of the Fractus who were trying to break through the barrier between Earth and the Globe. The sword was a gift that she received for saving the life of the Grand Master of the Weapons Guild. It's ancient, supposedly created before the barrier was placed between the worlds. It is said there has been no blade crafted before or since with its power. To see Adelita fight with it was like watching a ballet."

"Did you know her well?"

"We teamed up many times to track down and fight the Fractus. She saved my life more than once, and I hers. We were friends."

"What happened to her?"

"She fell in love with one of the Fractus. He swore to her that he would change, give up all contact with the Fractus, but in the end, it would have been better if they had never met," Gideon said, and Valerie could hear the anger in his voice.

She hadn't even noticed Jet's quiet approach until an image flashed in her mind. A woman with long, dark hair was passionately kissing a man with stormy eyes—Oberon?