Mr. Today nodded as he pulled the yacht closer to shore and cut the motor. “And for all of you. Best thing I’ve ever done. Still, it’s not enough to make up for all the wrongs,” he said. “Whatever I do—it’ll never be enough.” He scanned the rocks, muttering something to himself as he searched to remember the exact location of the magical passage. “Aha,” he whispered.

Simber landed gracefully on the rocks next to the boat. Mr. Today placed the anchor spell while Alex climbed over the side of the craft, and the two embarked onto Simber’s back for the short journey to dry land.

Once they reached the shore, Mr. Today put his hand on the wall and recited an incantation. A great chunk of the concrete block slid aside, and the three walked through it. They found themselves in a dark, narrow, enclosed room. Mr. Today recited a second incantation, and the wall in front of them crumbled to dust. They stepped over it and looked around the dimly lit passageway.

Everything was gray, just like all of Quill. The ceilings were very high, the hallway just wide enough for Simber to walk through without scraping his wings on the walls.

“Be ready,” Mr. Today whispered in the echoing chamber. “There will be six guards, but they’ll most likely be stationed at the entrance.”

Alex fingered his pens and balls of clay inside his vest pocket.

They moved slowly into the heart of the palace, first Simber, then Mr. Today, and then Alex bringing up the rear. They passed doorways on the left and the right, Simber sampling the air, his ears tuned and twitching this way and that. After a moment he stopped short and pointed with a long, sharp claw. Mr. Today and Alex squeezed past Simber’s body to get a look.

Four Quillitary guards stood at the windows near the palace entrance, peering out, and two more sat, leaning against the wall, asleep.

Mr. Today gestured, Alex nodded, and together they attacked. Alex flicked his paintbrush at the first sleeping guard. The paint seeped over him entirely, and within seconds it solidified. Then he tossed two tiny balls of clay at the second sleeping guard. The clay stretched and clamped the guard’s legs to the floor and his arms to the wall. Alex whispered, “Silence,” as the surprised guard awoke, but the guards at the door heard the noise and whirled around. They all shrieked in terror at the sight of Simber, but two of them still had the presence of mind to pull their guns and point. One managed to get a shot off before Mr. Today simply turned all four of them to stone. The bullet pinged off the palace wall harmlessly, leaving a small chip in it.

“A souvenir for Justine,” Mr. Today said.

Alex grinned and looked around. “That’s it?”

Simber grumbled. “Well, that was borrring.”

Mr. Today teasingly sympathized with the great beast. “Oh, Sim, I’m sorry. Say, how about you eat that one over there, hmm?”

The silenced, shackled guard’s eyes widened in fear.

Simber grunted and moved back down the hallway from which they had come, anxious to get back to the action in Artimé.

“Patience,” Mr. Today said. He waved a hand at the palace entrance, and the doorway became a solid wall. He turned in a circle in the large entrance, pointing all around, sealing up all the windows and doors throughout the entire structure.

There was no way into or out of the palace now, except for the secret passage.

“Well, that should do it. They won’t be able to get back in. Nice work by the way, Alex,” Mr. Today said. “I rather liked that clay spell. Did you create that yourself?”

“I did,” Alex said proudly.

“It certainly seems solid,” Mr. Today remarked, leaning over and rapping his knuckles on the frightened man’s shackles. “You’ll have to teach me that one sometime.”

Alex beamed.

“Remind me that we’ll need to come back and feed these guards in a few days, will you?” Mr. Today said lightly.

“Sure,” Alex said. “So this is it? You’re sure there are no more guards?”

“Only six. I’ve watched carefully over the years. Justine had little to fear.”

“Until we came along,” Alex said, a bit smugly.

Simber rolled his eyes impatiently and moved farther down the hallway. “Marrrcus.”

“Oh, dear. Quite right, Sim. We should be getting back.” His face turned grim, as if he had just remembered that the people of Artimé were still fighting.

Simber growled impatiently and glided back down the hallway the same way they had come. Mr. Today hurried after him, and Alex, feeling a bit relieved despite his concern over the battle in Artimé, followed them into the narrow passage, his mind overflowing with more questions for the mage.

And so it was that when a fist, like a bolt of lightning, shot out from what seemed like nowhere, Alex toppled like a toy soldier.

Severing Ties

A stunned Alex lay still for a short time until he had figured out what happened. He quickly reached for a weapon and cried out to Mr. Today for help. Mr. Today turned to see what the commotion was just as Alex pointed the highlighter at his brother and wildly shot a round of blindness spells, missing Aaron but hitting Mr. Today squarely in the eyes, causing him to double over in pain and lower himself blindly to the floor.

“Simber!” shouted the mage.

Simber, who had made it all the way to the secret passage, had to back up the entire way because nowhere was it wide enough to allow him to turn around. He roared his frustration and scuttled ungracefully in reverse.