Chapter Eighteen
Vara shut the door of the master’s room firmly behind her before she joined the others standing nervously in front of the master’s desk. The master ignored them for a moment or two, finishing the sentence he was writing in a small, black book. When he decided to look up at them, he removed his glasses as though he didn’t want anything between them and his fierce stare.
“I want you to travel to another world,” he informed them, without so much as a hi! How are ya?
Omar let out a deep throaty laugh that echoed in the sudden quiet in the room. No one else found it funny. Emily was staring at the potted plant, refusing to meet the master’s eyes with such vehemence that Vara wondered, again, what he’d said to her. Darius had raised one eyebrow and lowered the other, looking so comically confused that at any other time Vara would’ve burst out laughing. Kerr looked as though he didn’t know if the master was telling a joke to lighten the mood or if he’d finally gone mad. Vara had already had the master talk to her about precious stones and travelling to different worlds so this was nothing new. And Leo… He just stood at the back, as still as stone, looking gravely at the master like he knew every detail of the master’s plan.
Omar’s laughter died.
“I am perfectly serious,” the master continued. “Once I’ve briefed you I want you all to travel to another world.”
Everyone except Emily and Leo sent each other glances as if to say he’s lost it. Time to go before we get sacrificed to the Sun God. Or something along those lines.
The master ignored them. “The preparations have been made.” He extended an arm to make a long, sweeping gesture at a heap of rucksacks and briefcases piled on the sofa. “Everything is ready.”
“I – I don’t understand.”
Vara just loved how painful it was for Kerr to say those three simple words.
“You don’t need to understand, Kerr.” The master sighed. “This role I have assigned to you is beyond comprehension.”
“But-”
“Enough. This is a simple mission which requires no background explanations from me. All you need to know is your assigned task.” The master picked up some papers and began to place them into neat piles. When he spoke, his voice was calm and controlled again. “When Kieran disappeared he took something very precious with him. The reason he, Sven and Rick had been sent on their mission. It was a stone. An…” he trailed off as he looked up at Emily. She’d taken her eyes off the potted plant for a split second and had narrowed them thoughtfully at the master. As soon as his gaze met hers, she looked down at the plant again and the master returned his attention to the papers on his desk. “An amber one.” The master cleared his throat. “It took him to another world.”
“Bullshit,” Omar grunted, only to wince when the master stood.
“I have not ordered you into my office so you can question me,” he hissed, placing both of his hands on his desk as he leant forward. He looked like a grizzly bear, all hooked claws and bared teeth.
Omar took an unconscious step backward. Then he took a few more when the master stepped around the desk so there was nothing between them and him. Thankfully for Omar, however, it wasn’t so the master could bleed him dry, it was so that the master could show them whatever he was taking out of his trouser pocket.
A black box.
“Recently, I have obtained this. You will use this to start your journey.” He lifted the lid of the box to reveal what was inside. Vara shoved Darius out of her way so that she could crane her neck and see what the master had.
A stone. A white one. It nestled against the purple silk lining of the box, incongruously humble.
Vara looked up at the master, searching for any bright twinkle in his eye that would let her know if this was a joke. There was nothing. Only the stern set of his jaw, the slight frown. He believed everything he said.
Which meant that after all these years, he’d finally snapped.
“Leo will show you how to use it. When you arrive at your destination there should be many more like these, all varying in colour. Inside the rucksacks are small bags, one for each stone. It is vital that when you are there, you do not let any of the stones touch. Are we clear?” His dark eyes nailed each of them in turn. “Failure to keep from doing so will result in your instant execution.” He looked at Leo, making it clear who the executioner would be, then back at them all. “The back-up provided will not be there to help you with this task. They are there to secure the area. If any of you should ask for their help, you will be executed. Any infantile behaviour resulting in the disturbance of the area and you will be executed. Any thievery and you will be executed. This is the most important task any of you will ever undertake. Do not screw up.”
The most important task we’ll ever undertake is collecting stones? Vara thought, struggling to keep an eyebrow from rising.
“Why do you want these … stones?” Kerr asked carefully. He flinched a little when the master turned to face him.
“So they can be distributed.” The master smiled. Emily narrowed her eyes at him and tilted her head to one side.
“To who?”
The master’s smile faded. His eyes were cold as they swivelled to Vara. Obviously, Vara had just taken it one question too far.
“Leo will instruct you how you are to begin searching for Kieran, Vara.” The master side-stepped her question, pretending she’d asked another. Vara wasn’t going to piss him off any more and demand an answer. It was pretty clear that that information was classified stuff.
“Is he in this ‘other world’?” she asked carefully.
“He will be in one of them. Most likely the orange one.”
She blinked. “An orange world?”
“That was the colour of the stone he used, so it is most likely it would have taken him there. Once you have all collected the stones, you will use them to help search for him.”
“Wait, wait,” Emily interrupted. “Where is Kieran?”
“That is the question.” The master forced a smile.
“You’re talking like he’s purposefully gone somewhere. I was told he was kidnapped. That he needs to be saved.” Emily gazed up at the master. “Why are you standing here talking about finding stones? You should be finding Kieran and helping him!”
The master’s smile began to fade. “My dear, Kieran has something very important with him-”
“Kieran is the most important thing.” Emily glanced back at Vara, like she wanted her to back her up. Her mouth was a single, tight line and her eyes were wide, confused, angry.
Vara raised her chin and kept quiet.
Wrong move. Emily figured out exactly what was going on. Her mouth fell open and she stared at Vara. “You lied.”
From the corners of her eyes, Vara saw the master glance impatiently at the clock on his desk. They didn’t have time for this.
“You said-”
“Leo, hand out the equipment,” the master ordered, watching Emily with a frown on his face. Leo headed toward the bags piled on the sofa. Vara held Emily’s gaze. The girl wasn’t about to let the master break up their discussion.
Sure enough, as Leo began to throw the bags at them, Emily said, “You lied to me.”
Vara turned and took her bag from Leo. The unexpected heaviness of it made her twist her wrist, sending pain shooting up her arm. “So?” she growled. “I lied about the coffee. You’re still here so I guess you’re not the type to hold any grudges.”
Emily stared hard at Vara. Her eyes glistened and she had this look on her face, a cross between disbelief and heartbreak. Her voice, when she managed to speak, was just a broken whisper.
“I didn’t know you were lying about Kieran.”
Leo shoved Emily’s bag into her chest, forcing her to stagger back and grab it automatically. He gave her a hard look before he turned and glanced at the master. The master scowled at him, telling him without any words to watch his behaviour.
“Kieran has betrayed us, Emily,” the master said as gently as he could. “We must find him and discover his reasons for doing so. You want to help him that way, do you not? I’m afraid in these modern times one is no longer innocent until proven guilty; one is guilty until proven innocent. Will you not help Kieran prove his innocence to us?”
Kerr opened his mouth to say something, but the master sent him a sharp look. One that said shut the hell up before I cut off your tongue and shove it down your throat. It was clear then that the master was just tricking Emily so that they could go and find Kieran.
And kill him.
Vara smiled as Emily looked up from the ground and back up at the master, missing all of their silent, significant looks and glances.
“You want to hurt him. How can I help you do that?”
“No, no, no.” The master gave her his most gentle smile. “We want to hear the truth.” Seeing that Emily still didn’t look convinced, he added. “Although… I’m sure that if you were there to keep my employees in check, Kieran shall be as safe as he can be. When it comes to safeguarding Kieran, they will follow only your orders.”
Another quick smile made everyone except Emily relax. Emily had about as much control over them as a cat-loving spinster had over her non-existent love-life. Not a bit.
Emily stared at Vara, torn. It was clear from the expression on her face that her gut instinct was telling her not to trust them, but the master had a way of convincing anyone to do anything.
“I wasn’t lying about Kieran being really glad to see you,” Vara added, hoping to drag Emily over to their side. “We’re still going to find him. If you’re going to be there when we do… Well, I guess that’s up to you. But I’m willing to bet that your face will be the best thing for Kieran to see when we catch up to him.”
Emily crumbled. As tears ran down her cheeks, she lowered her head and nodded miserably.
Vara nearly cheered. Everyone around her visibly relaxed, all but pulling hankies out to wipe the sweat from their brows.
“The bags Leo has given to you,” the master began, acting as though no tense conversation had taken place, “contain the necessities. A tent. Food. Water. Keep this pack with you at all times, if you become separated from the group it will be your only means of survival.
“Now, you know what to do when you arrive at your destination-”
“But how will we find Kieran?” Vara interrupted. “There’s no paper trail. No witnesses. No way at all of telling where the hell he is.”
“You will find him.” The master stared hard at her. “He will not be hard to find wherever he has ended up. Most people would have heard of his arrival and be most surprised. But Vara,” he added, “remember that the stone Kieran had with him was orange. So he must have landed in-”
Emily glanced up sharply, the tears clinging to her cheeks forgotten.
“-Brunelle.” The master turned and smiled strangely at Emily. “The land of dreams.”
“Is that in Brazil?” Omar asked, a confused frown on his face.
The master ignored him and stepped closer to Vara, lifting up the black box he still held in his hand. The white stone gleamed in the light from the windows, looking as polished and shiny as glass.
“Here, Vara.” The master offered it to her. “Just hold it and wish with all your heart.”
“For what?”
“For anything.”
Okay, so this was normal. She reached out and took the stone from the master’s box, unable to keep the frown off her face. Something told her that today was going to be one of the weirdest of her life.
The stone was cold and smooth, but when she touched it something strange happened. It began to do vibrate softly. There was no sound, only a strange electric energy hummed within it, like it was alive.
“What-?” she started to ask the master, but he cut across her.
“Everyone needs to hold each other’s hands and-”
Shouts rang out as everyone told each other where they could put their hands. For people who not only weren’t in touch with their softer side but kept it locked away in a cave under the ocean on the other side of a world on a different planet, singing songs about love as they squeezed each other’s germ-encrusted hands was a definite no-go zone. The protests didn’t even show any sign of stopping nearly five minutes after the master had suggested it.
So Leo drew a gun from his holster and pointed it at them. Vara’s hand immediately went to hers, but she hesitated, realising that by the time she’d got the gun out, Leo would have already pulled the trigger on his. Besides, after she’d shot him, what would she have done next? Casually waved bye-bye to the master as she strolled out of the room?
She forced her hand away from her gun and let it hang limply by her side.
“Now,” the master said calmly, “each of you take a hold of each other’s hands.”
Murderous glares broke out as they eyed each other’s dangling mitts.
“Don’t be childish,” the master sighed. “This isn’t school and this most certainly isn’t a healing circle of love. This is business. This is what you need to get the job done.”
Still, Vara wasn’t going to be the first to volunteer. She’d never hear the end of bad jokes about flowers and handholding. Especially from Kerr, the little ginger git.
Leo waved the gun.
Omar reached out and took Emily and Darius’ hands. Emily winced a little as he squeezed her delicate hand in his great, meaty paw.
“Thank you, Omar,” the master said pleasantly. He raised his eyebrows at the others.
Vara gritted her teeth as Darius and Kerr grabbed her arms, the next best thing since she was busy holding her bag in one hand and the stone in her other.
“Now, Vara,” the master began in a soothing voice when everyone had linked hands, forming the wonkiest circle she’d ever seen. “I want you to relax, close your eyes if that helps.” She did it, so that she wouldn’t see Kerr snickering at how much of an idiot she looked. “Calm yourself. Take a few deep breaths. In and out. In and-”
She opened her eyes. “Master, I’m sorry, I don’t see what this is doing. I-”
“Vara, do as I ask.” His jaw tightened as he frowned at her. “Close your eyes.”
She ground her teeth again and shut her eyes.
“Good,” she heard the master say. “Now … what do you want most in the world, more than anything else? Think about that thing, Vara. About how much you want it.”
Vara frowned, not a huge fan of pouring her heart out, even if it was to herself. What did she want? Fortune? Fame? No, that was all clichéd crap. Understanding? Love? That was even worse than the other two. Reverence and respect? To be something and someone? Yeah, she could hope for that. After all, no one wants to feel like they’re going through life doing nothing. Everyone wants to leave a mark, to accomplish something. Maybe with the help of this mission, she could do just that.
“Yes, that’s right,” murmured the master. “Now concentrate on the stone you’re holding. It’s the key, Vara. It opens the door to what’ll make you great. Now yearn, Vara. Yearn to be where what you want most in the world is waiting for you.”
Vara was having a Dorothy moment. Maybe it was the fact that she couldn’t see anyone else, that the softness of the master’s voice and the hands holding hers made her feel connected to something bigger. Something powerful. Where anything was possible. Respect for all that she had done. A future where she didn’t have to worry about the master growing bored of her. A chance to prove her goddamn worth.
Take me there, she thought. There’s no place like someone’s deepest wishes and desires.
The stone in her hand started to vibrate. The droning noise grew louder and louder until Vara felt like she was holding a very pissed off wasp. Warmth spread over her skin as though it was made of gasoline and someone had dropped a match. She opened her eyes, wondering what on earth was going on. A bright white light nearly as strong as the sun blinded her, forcing her to shut her eyes again.
Over the blood roaring in her ears and the thrumming of the stone, Vara heard a darker, more disturbing sound before she was snatched away.
The master’s laughter.
