The Ever Storms by Amanda Foody

Author:Amanda Foody
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Published: 2023-01-30T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

“The Ickypox Plague is more commonly—and mistakenly—known as the Kankerous Plague,” Instructor Dudnik droned from the front of the classroom, white-knuckling the podium as though she’d teeter over in excitement if she let go. “After originating in the Tundra five centuries ago, it spread to the Jungle, the Mountains, and across the rest of the Wilderlands. It causes large pustules to form on the skin, filled with a gooey green liquid that has a terrible odor—”

Dudnik yelped as the doors swung open and whacked against the walls. All the students napping or doodling jolted. Rohan even tumbled out of his seat.

“I’m sorry to interrupt, Grusha,” Cyril said, “but the Guardian apprentices have all been summoned to the Guild House.”

The Guardian students perked up. Barclay and Tadg met each other’s eyes curiously.

“Why?” Cecily asked. “What are we doing?”

“You’ll see when we arrive,” Cyril answered. “And we better hurry. Asfour doesn’t like to waste time.”

Each of them hastily collected their books and dashed out the door. Cyril led them off campus onto the busy streets of Menneset.

“Do you know what’s going on?” Barclay whispered to Shazi.

“No,” she replied. “But if it’s just the Guardian apprentices, that must mean it’s something exciting.”

Barclay had visited two Guild Houses before. In the Woods, the Guild House had been little more than an oversized, crumbling cabin, with a gigantic tree that jutted right out of its center. In the Sea, it’d been a lighthouse.

The Guild House of the Desert resembled a fortress, with huge walls and columns, all engraved and painted with designs of Beasts. Inside, the vaulted ceiling was covered in so many patterned tiles that it looked like the world’s largest kaleidoscope.

The apprentices shuffled into a central courtyard, where at least a hundred Lore Keepers gathered on stone benches, all arranged in a circle. In the middle stood High Keeper Asfour, Runa, and several people Barclay didn’t recognize. Asfour’s Raptura perched on her shoulder, and between the two of them, it was hard to tell who had the sharper gaze.

“Thank you for fetching them, Harlow,” Asfour said. “Apprentices, take a seat and listen closely.”

Asfour nodded to the first row, roped off and empty except for a single person: Viola. She didn’t say anything as Barclay sat beside her, only nodded at him seriously.

“A fourth Ever Storm appeared last night, this time near the Salt Plains,” Asfour told the apprentices, making Barclay’s stomach roil with panic. A fourth Ever Storm? How many more would it take before the Desert was thrown into peril? “Apparently the Grand Keeper has no more Guardians at his disposal to send to our aid.”

From the irritated clip of her voice, Asfour clearly believed otherwise. Barclay glanced at Cyril, and he was far from the only Lore Keeper to do so. If Cyril noticed everyone’s stares, he gave no sign of it, only stood stiffly at the edge of the courtyard.

“Because our personnel has been spread thin,” continued Asfour, “we’ve decided to evaluate each of you to determine if any of you can lend extra support to our teams.

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