The Night Of the Solstice by L.J. SMITH

Author:L.J. SMITH
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Aladdin
Published: 2010-07-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

OUTSIDE IN THE WILDWORLD

One more time,” said Janie. “Bicycles in garage, garage door unlocked. Pillows ready. Alarm clocks set—”

“And the foot bone’s connected to the anklebone,” said Charles. “Believe me, Janie, we’ve got it. Enough.”

Afternoon sunlight slanted across the floor of the nursery where they sat, and a Sunday quiet pervaded the outer world. But there was no peace here. The moon that night would rise at 10:19 P.M., and they were going to leave their beds secretly to go to the Wildworld.

The suggestion had been Janie’s, and Janie had dominated the discussion afterward. Alys was tense and withdrawn, only nodding in silence when Janie said flatly that they needed a new strategy. “They know about us now,” Janie had pointed out. “There aren’t enough of them to guard all the mirrors, but we can’t just wander around the castle anymore.”

“What else can we do?” said Charles.

Janie had told them. Her idea was that they should forget about looking for Morgana and should concentrate instead on getting a message to the Weerul Council. The Council might not be entirely trustworthy, but it had a history of wanting to keep Wildfolk in the Wildworld, and it was far better equipped to deal with Cadal Forge than they. And the Council was the only thing the Society seemed to be afraid of.

The idea was so logical that Charles said he was surprised they hadn’t thought of it before.

“Why didn’t the vixen tell us to do that?” said Claudia.

Janie glanced at the silent Alys, then lowered her spiky lashes. “Well … she was probably thinking of Morgana.” She raised her purple eyes to look around at them all. “I mean, Morgana’s back in the Wildworld—you see? She’s breaking the law as much as Cadal Forge is. And I believe the vixen said the penalty was death.”

“Then we can’t,” said Claudia, and Charles almost simultaneously added, “We promised the vixen—”

“There are only five more days till the solstice,” said Janie, and watched Charles slowly shut his open mouth, his protests dying unvoiced.

Claudia saw this, too, and in dismay she turned to Alys with pleading blue eyes. “Alys—”

“Oh, I don’t know,” said Alys. “I don’t like it, but nothing I’ve done or thought so far has been right. Janie, how could we get a message to them?”

“I don’t know any way. But … the serpent might.”

Alys threw up her hands. “Do what you want, then. Claudia, I’m sorry.”

Tears welled in Claudia’s eyes, and she fell silent.

And so it was decided. They would each take an alarm clock to bed that night, set for eleven-thirty. By that time their parents would be asleep. When the alarms went off they would stuff pillows under their bedclothes, dress, and climb out their respective windows. The pillows would fool any parent who happened to look in, and as long as they were back in their beds by morning, no one would ever know.

Everything went just as planned. At ten minutes to midnight they were all gathered in the garage, Claudia heavy-eyed and stumbling, the older three prickling with alertness.

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