The Wishmakers by Tyler Whitesides

Author:Tyler Whitesides
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2017-12-23T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 22

I couldn’t help it. I wished for a mattress. Have you ever ridden in an empty boxcar for fifteen hours straight? Let me say—not comfy. In exchange for the luxurious mattress to sleep on, my left shoelace would come untied anytime someone clapped their hands. But it would only last the rest of the week, so it was totally worth it.

I awoke around dawn, suddenly remembering where I was. I leaped from my cozy mattress, my shifting weight causing Ridge to roll off the other side and land with a thump on the floor.

I blinked a few times, trying to force my eyes to adjust to the lighting. Ridge was pulling himself up off the floor. Tina was sitting in the corner, and Vale was standing beside her.

Jathon Anderthon was gone.

“Where is he?” I shouted, crossing the boxcar to face Tina.

She remained seated, her face turned upward to the jagged hole in the roof, a bit of early morning light illuminating her flat expression.

“I let him go,” she said.

“You did what?” Ridge and I shouted together.

“I gave him back his genie jar and let him go,” Tina said, finally rising to her feet. “You’re not the only one with a quest, Ace.”

“So you thought you could save Jathon’s life by letting him go?” I asked. “He’s not even the right person!”

“But his dad is,” said Tina. “And Thackary has a better chance of surviving with his Wishmaker son. I can’t let him die out there.”

“And I can’t let him succeed!” I shouted. We all had our quests. And it seemed none of us could succeed without the other two destroying the world. “So now what? You’re on Thackary’s side?”

“Maybe I should be,” she answered.

Tina and I glared at each other, and I was thinking about having that epic shark-versus-wolf throwdown to prove my point.

Ridge stepped up, patting me on the shoulder. “On a positive note,” the genie said, “your left arm grew back!”

I looked down at my newly regrown appendage. That was good news. In the adrenaline of waking up to find Jathon escaped, I hadn’t even noticed that I was whole again.

“Are you trying to destroy the world?” I shouted, grateful I had two arms to gesture at Tina.

“I’m trying to save it!” she yelled back. “I’m trying to do what the Universe told me. I thought you’d understand!”

“How are we supposed to be a team if you do things behind my back?”

“Maybe we’re not supposed to be a team, Ace,” said Tina. “Maybe I should have left with Jathon.”

“Maybe it’s not too late,” I spat.

We stared at each other for a long, awkward moment. Then Tina moved abruptly. Vale boosted her and she leaped up, catching the edge of the hole in the roof and climbing out of the railway car.

“Come on, Tina,” I said. “You know I didn’t mean it.”

On the roof, Tina produced her genie jar and ordered Vale into it, only to remove her a second later so they were both successfully on top of the car.

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