Exposed
The sun was low over the sea off the shore of Artimé, making the distant islands look like flaming drops of lava on the horizon. An enormous winged cheetah named Simber came into view, flying over the nearby jungle. Clinging to his stone back were four Unwanted teenagers: Alex Stowe, Meghan Ranger, Samheed Burkesh, and Lani Haluki, all slipping and sliding and shrieking while they tried desperately to hang on. As they approached the lawn, Simber dove, nearly losing Lani off his back, but at the last moment grabbing her around the waist with his tail.
Mr. Today looked up at them as he walked toward the mansion from Artimé’s entrance. An angry-faced, broken-looking woman walked alongside him. The head magician held up his hand to signal Simber, who immediately spanned his wings to catch the air, and floated to the ground in a slow, surprisingly gentle sort of way. The beast took a dozen long steps before coming to a full stop, and then he knelt to let his passengers down. The four slid off and flopped to the grass, breathless and laughing.
Simber growled. He stood again regally on all fours and started walking away. “Therrre, now leave me alone,” he said, pretending like he hadn’t enjoyed any of it.
“Thanks, Simber,” Alex called after him. The wind had twisted Alex’s dark brown hair into tangled curls. He raked his fingers through it. It was getting long, and Alex had good reason for not cutting it. He didn’t want anyone to mistake him for his twin brother, Aaron, ever again. He stood up and reached out his hand.
Lani grabbed it and pulled herself to her feet. She adjusted her component vest, and then smoothed wisps of straight black hair back into her braid. “I almost died,” she said matter-of-factly. “Good thing Simber caught me with his tail or I’d be completely dead right now. Not sure I’m ever doing that again, Alex.”
“We would have saved you,” Alex said. “Right, guys? I would have, anyway.”
When Meghan and Samheed didn’t answer, Lani and Alex turned to look at them. Samheed’s grin was gone. His face paled and he stared past the others, toward Mr. Today and the woman who accompanied him.
Meghan reached out for Samheed’s arm. “What’s wrong?” she whispered. But she knew. They all knew, once they followed Samheed’s gaze. It was the same thing that had happened over and over again in the past months, ever since Mr. Today had removed the gate between Artimé and Quill. Now Wanteds and Necessaries could visit and even reside in the land they never knew existed, and see the children they had once condemned to death’the family members they had thought were long gone.
The old mage, his hand on the woman’s elbow, stopped her several yards from the group of teens. He turned and spoke to her with an earnest look on his face. The wrinkles around her eyes grew deeper, and then she nodded reluctantly and stood firm, crossing her arms and tapping one foot slowly on the footpath, as if she had to be somewhere. Mr. Today approached alone and stood in front of the four friends, a kindly, sympathetic look crinkling about his eyes, and he said in a gentle voice, “Samheed, my boy. Your mother has come by to see you.”
Not All Tea and Roses
In the months since Artimé and Quill had opened up their border for the first time, after the deadly battle that showed Quill that creativity could hold its own in a fight, there had been many instances such as the one currently facing Samheed. In fact, it was all Mr. Today could do to accomplish his normal magely duties, what with the newly installed door knocker to the mansion being clacked all the time by frightened-looking visitors, unaccustomed to the bright colors and wandering creatures of Artimé. Daily Mr. Today was met with Necessaries who wanted to escape their slavelike conditions in Quill and take up residence in the magical world of Artimé. Even a Wanted or two who felt the urge to rebel and ride the cutting edge of society joined them. Besides, the food and the landscape of Artimé were definitely more appealing than the newly fractured goings-on in Quill.
But at this moment, Samheed stared at the mage, his eyes as wide as a beavop’s at the hour before dawn. “What does she want?” he asked in a quiet voice. “I have nothing to say to her.” And while his tone was solid, he trembled inside, because he knew why his mother had finally come.
“She didn’t say,” Mr. Today said, “but I assume she’d like to talk about your father.”
Samheed nodded, and then stood on tiptoe to peer over the tall mage’s shoulder. “She doesn’t look happy,” he said. “But then, I guess she never did.” He glanced tentatively at Alex, and then at the girls. “What do you think?” he asked gruffly. Samheed was not one to enjoy asking for advice.
Meghan, her expression hard, spoke up first. “I think you should say no right off.” She bit her lip to keep herself from saying more, and her eyes filled with angry tears. She blinked hard to disperse them. But she couldn’t contain her thoughts. “It’s not worth it, Sam. It’s not. All they do is tell you how much they wish you really were dead.”
Alex looked earnestly at his best friend. “Aw, Meg,” he said, shoving his hands into his pockets. He didn’t know what else to add’nothing seemed to comfort her these days. She and Sean had gone into Quill to approach their parents early on, hoping to be welcomed. But while their parents seemed almost pleased to see Sean again after so many years, they held some sort of bitterness toward Meghan, blaming her for their sorry lives because she was the second Unwanted they’d produced, which made them outcasts in Quill. Meghan hadn’t been the same since then.