Mark Francis

The Haunted House

Young Vampires Publishing

Copyright © 2017 by Young Vampires Publishing

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

ISBN: 978-1-7752329-2-6

Cover Art: Tadheus Putra

Cover Design: Jewel Designs, YVP

www.youngvampires.com

To Mandy,

whose love and support

makes

everything possible

Special thanks to: Tamara and Sheryl

CHAPTER 1

Crouched on the seat of her desk, Daea’s sole focus was the classroom clock. “Fifty-six, fifty-seven, fifty-eight, fifty-nine,” she counted. “Sixty,” she shouted as she jumped out of her desk, exploding like a starfish. “Summer vacation!”

The exasperated teacher watched the small, dark-haired, ten-year-old girl run around the room screaming and waving her hands in the air. He shook his head and watched her with a resigned look on his face.

“Settle down, Daea,” Jesi-Sera, the team’s leader, said in a lilting Scottish accent. The beautiful, tall, blonde-haired student stood and placed her books into a stylish handbag. “Just because we don’t have school for the next two months doesn’t mean that there isn’t anything to do.”

“But we don’t have school!” Daea ran up to Eli, who was thanking the teacher for his time. She pulled on his suit jacket. “Come on. Let’s go.”

Eli pulled free from the girl’s grasp and told the teacher that he was looking forward to continuing their studies in the fall.

“Not me,” Daea said. “I haven’t understood a thing you’ve been talking about since January.”

“That’s because you don’t try,” Eli said. “If you spent more time listening instead of drawing those pictures of us fighting monsters, you would understand a lot more.”

The girl pulled a crumpled piece of paper out of her pocket, unfurled it, and showed it to the boy. “My pictures are important. They’re tactics. We can use these ideas on Stomps.”

Chuck, the sandy haired, mousey looking sixteen-year-old Sight, crept up behind Daea and snatched the paper out of her hand. He turned his gold-flecked eyes on the small girl and said, “You think this is useful on Stomps?”

Daea grabbed the paper back and said, “What? This is useful.” She pointed at the paper. “Look. Here’s me and Jesi-Sera at the front fighting, and Eli is over here shooting Fire, and you are invisible because you used your Hideness to get behind the monsters.” She pointed at two dogs. “I even drew Buddy and Whiskers since they help too.”

Chuck’s eyes narrowed. “That’s pretty much how they all go. I don’t see how this is helpful.”

“It helps me,” Daea said, sticking her tongue out at him.

“Let’s head home and do some work before we head out tonight,” Jesi-Sera said.

Eli said, “I wonder if we will have a mission tonight?”

Daea’s face blanched. “Is that possible? Could there be a mission? I thought we didn’t have missions on holidays because kids around the world are so happy that it drives the Suffering away.”

Eli said, “First, the last day of school is not a holiday.”

“It should be.”

“And, second,” he continued, “different places and different schools have different last days of class. We finish on the last day of June, but some schools have been done for weeks.”

“Really? Which ones? I want to go there.”

As they walked through the lower levels of the Canadian Museum of Nature from the classroom to their home, Jesi-Sera put her arm around Daea and said, “I hope your excitement is enough to drive the Suffering away.”

“Then we can have a night of fun?”

“We’ll see about that. We still have to find the A-team, remember?”

“How could I forget?” Daea said. “Ever since they went missing in December, we haven’t had a night off. If there isn’t a mission, and there usually is because we are doing the work of two teams, then we are searching for clues to find them. What’s the point in being a Childaar if it’s all work and no play?”

“We don’t have missions every night,” Eli said.

“It seems like it.”

Eli shrugged to show that he had made his point.

“We are always busy, and I have big expectations for this summer. We can’t even go outside until after nine o’clock, when the sun sets.”

Jesi-Sera said, “Even though Ottawa is a small city, it is a capital, and being down a team has been hectic.”

“See,” Daea said, giving Eli a sideways look.

“But that doesn’t excuse us from our responsibilities,” Jesi-Sera added. “Would it be nice if we were posted to a quieter place? Aye, but that is not the reality of our situation.”

Chuck nodded and said, “She’s right, Daea. We have to do the job whether we like it or not.”

“Why can’t they send us another team, then? Take some of the pressure off of us.”

“The Orakles are aware of our situation,” the team leader said. “We just don’t have enough Childaar for all the places.”

Daea’s nose scrunched as she said, “Have the Orakles figured out how a team can go missing?”

Jesi-Sera shook her head. “They haven’t.”

Chuck said, “They are a strong team. Owen could be one of the strongest Sovereigns on the continent, and he isn’t a risk-taker. Liam is as big and strong as a freight train, and Marion and Cameron, while a bit young, are top prospects.”

Jesi-Sera said, “We have to do what we can. Hopefully we get some help soon.”

“Or find the A-team,” Eli added.

“That would be ideal,” the team leader said, giving the small boy an approving nod.

They stopped at a large door in an otherwise empty corridor. Chuck pushed it open into their home. The central living room was comprised of a TV area, several sofas, and a desk for each of the kids. Beside the living area, four doors led to the kids’ rooms. A long oak dining room table sat beside the modern kitchen—with its surprising number of deep freezes. Further into the home, near the shelves full of games and toys, a popcorn maker welcomed people to a full-sized movie theater. Down from the theater, a gymnasium and Olympic-sized swimming pool offered the Childaar a place to exercise and practice their martial arts.

The team leader said, “Check the newspapers and police reports for anything suspicious, but after that ye can take it easy until nightfall.” Jesi-Sera headed to her room and closed the door behind her.

Daea headed straight for the kitchen, where she rummaged through the fridge. “Did anyone see my fudge? I put it in here last night.”

Chuck was already reclined on a sofa. He had a stack of newspapers beside him and turned the TV on to a Thai kickboxing match. He held up his hand. “I didn’t know that was yours. I ate it. Sorry.”

The girl’s nose scrunched for a moment, but then she laughed and said, “No problem. I’ll find something else. It was good, wasn’t it?”

The Sight grunted in agreement.

Daea opened a freezer and took out a box of Cornettoes. She walked to the TV area and plopped down on an oversized couch. She offered Chuck one of the ice cream treats. He took one, and by the time he had finished eating his, Daea had finished two. She took a newspaper and flipped through it. “This is always the same. There are never any happy stories.”

“I agree,” Chuck said, changing the channel to baseball. He held up the front pages of a few newspapers. An unflattering picture of the Prime Minister adorned each one. “The government seems to be failing at everything.”

Eli sat in a tall chair at an ornate desk made of cherry wood. He pushed several sheets of paper away from him and said, “Nothing out of the ordinary in the police reports. It was another busy day, but nothing points toward the A-Team.”

“Big surprise,” Daea said with a sigh.

The Smart opened a high-quality journal and began transcribing the ephemeral Childaar lore from a dusty Tome into the new book.

“Want to play a game?” Daea called over to the small boy.

“Not yet. I’d like to get a few chapters finished first.”

“Don’t you get tired of always writing those things?” she asked.

“Not really. I find the history of young vampires fascinating. Owen has an amazing collection of Tomes, and maybe I can find some information that will help us find the A-team or that blue, bat-faced, cat-like monster that helped us after the car race.”

“Any luck finding that thing?” Daea asked the Sight.

The Sight replied, “I swear I’ve seen it in the corner of my eye, but when I look, nothing.”

“I’ll bet you catch it.”

“You know you could help me with these Tomes,” Eli suggested.

The girl pretended not to hear him.

“The sooner I get these pages transcribed, the sooner that I can play with you.”

Daea stayed silent.

Eli lowered his head and returned to writing.

Daea walked over to Jesi-Sera’s room and banged on the door.

“What?” the team leader said, opening the door with a stack of papers in her hands.

“Want to play?”

“I can’t. I’ve work to do. Besides, have you finished yours?”

“It was the same stories in the news.”

“Are you sure?”

Daea nodded.

“Check again.”

“What are you doing?”

“I’m writing reports to the Orakles. With all the upheaval in the city, they need to know everything that is happening.”

“Too bad you can’t text them.”

“Aye, couriers are fast, but not that fast.”

“Can we play later?”

“Maybe.”

“Maybe means no.”

Jesi-Sera closed her door, and Daea announced, “I’m going to watch a movie.”

Nobody replied.

She scrunched her nose, made some popcorn, then entered the theater. She watched the first of the big summer action blockbusters. After the movie, she returned to the living area, where nothing had changed.

“How was the movie?” Eli asked.

“Kind of boring.”

“What? Boring? I don’t believe that. Every movie in the franchise has been great so far.”

“It was all detective work and policing. There were only three or four really good fights.”

“Not every movie needs to be a beat ’em up action flick.”

“But, that’s what I wanted.”

“I’m excited to see it now.”

“Enjoy. I won’t be watching it again.”

Eli returned to transcribing.

Daea looked around the room. “You guys are boring.”

“Learn to love sports,” Chuck told her.

“Or Tomes,” Eli added.

“I think I will stick with movies. Did you know my parents work in the movie biz, and I’ve met…”

Before she could finish her sentence, both boys said in unison, “We know.”

Daea looked at the clock. “It’s almost time to check the Suffering. We had better not have a mission.”

Eli put the Tomes in the desk drawer, cleared the quilled fountain pen of ink, and put the cap on the ink pot. Chuck set the TV to record sporting events, then rolled off the couch.

Jesi-Sera emerged from her room and said, “It’s time.”

The Childaar left their home and walked up a staircase that led to the surface.

Daea had her fingers crossed. “No mission, no mission, no mission.”

They stepped into the cool night. A strong breeze rustled the branches of the big maple trees beside the street. While the sun had set, its rays still illuminated the edge of the horizon. The moon shone bright above the big rectangular stone museum. Since the museum was protected against the Suffering, they all looked across the road to where inky black waves rolled around the sidewalk and beyond. While they all had basic Seeingness, which allowed them to perceive better than Kinedaar, as well as track the Suffering, they all looked at Chuck, who had Perception, the first level of that Gift, which allowed him to oftentimes pinpoint and identify a night’s mission.

He shook his head and said, “Sorry, Daea, we’ve got work.”

“No!” she screamed. “It’s not fair. It’s the last day of school, which should be the first day of freedom!”

“Sorry, luv,” Jesi-Sera said, patting the girl on the back. “Maybe we will finish early.” The team leader turned to the Sight and asked, “Any idea where?”

He answered, “Not exactly, but it’s a downtown Op.”

Daea stepped outside and started kicking at the grass on the wide museum lawn. “Another A-team job? We need to find them so that they can get back to their work, and we can focus on ours. I’m getting real tired of this.”

Standing atop the green copper roof of the East Block building of the Parliament of Canada, Daea took a grappling hook out of her backpack and tied it to the rope slung over her shoulder.

“You sure you don’t want me to do this?” Chuck asked. “I’ve made this throw before.”

The small girl wiped away a strand of hair that the windy night had blown across her face. She looked up at the tall stone Peace Tower of the Center Block. “I can do it.”

A delegation of RCMP officers protected the three large stone buildings on Parliament Hill. The wilted lawn between the buildings was awash in Suffering, much like the shrubs and bushes that landscaped the area. The black-and-gray supernatural substance roiled and thrashed around the grounds. It splashed up onto the large square stage that had been set up to host the Canada Day activities. Behind them, boats docked at the top of the Rideau Canal as they awaited dawn, when the lock system would lower them down to the Ottawa River by raising and lowering the water through a series of chambers. The locks separated Parliament from the magnificent Château Laurier, a castle-like white sandstone hotel.

Chuck pointed at the looming tower rising high from the Center Block building. “Try and get that hook as high up on the Peace Tower as you can.”

Spinning the hook, Daea eyed the tall clock tower. “No problem. Alert Jesi-Sera and Eli.”

Chuck cupped his hands around his mouth and hooted like an owl.

Daea threw the hook. Its faint silhouette flew through the clear night sky, and latched into the stone tower. Daea gave the rope a solid tug to secure it, grumbling, “I still can’t believe we have a mission on the last day of school.”

“Better today than tomorrow,” Chuck responded. “Canada Day is the best party of the year here in Ottawa. I’m always excited for July first.”

“Maybe for you, but I’m American, so it’s not too important for me. Is there anything special that happens on July fourth? That’s the day I would like to party.”

“Maybe at the American embassy or the Ambassador’s residence, but nothing like this,” he said, overlooking the grounds. He pointed north and said, “There will be even more things happening over there at Major’s Hill Park.”

Daea tied the rope off on one of the roof’s stone pillars. “So long as we don’t have a mission…”

Jesi-Sera and Eli pulled themselves over the roof’s edge.

Chuck asked, “Are we good?”

“Aye, they should go off right about…” Before Jesi-Sera could finish the sentence, the speakers on the stage came alive, blasting a popular pop song. The police officers all jumped and ran toward the unexpected music.

“Now,” Chuck called as he used his Hideness to disappear. The rope dipped as the Sight crawled across to the Peace Tower. The other Childaar crawled across in full view, but the distracted officers didn’t see them.

Chuck reappeared once they had all crossed between the two buildings. “Quick,” he said, “crawl down the other side. We should be able to find an open window.”

The majestic Library of Parliament came into full view as they scaled down the north side of the tower. The moon and Ottawa River provided a stunning backdrop for the round sandstone building. All around the library, flying buttresses and long spires reached up toward the night sky. Ornamental flower and animal carvings decorated each gothic window. The circular building became increasingly narrow, until it was nothing more than a single pointy tip atop the copper roof.

They scrambled down the clock tower onto the roof of the Center Block. It didn’t take Chuck long to find an office with an open window.

“On hot days like this,” he said, “someone always leaves their window open.”

“Have you done this before?” Daea asked.

“When I first arrived in Ottawa, Owen had me join his team for a few weeks. I was a new Childaar, and he wanted me to understand the life according to him. It’s kind of surprising that we haven’t had a mission here yet.”

Daea frowned and asked, “Are they always Ops?”

“Usually,” the Sight said. “Although once we did fight some suits of armor which had been possessed by Geists, but like I said, I only did a few missions with the A-team before permanently joining the B-team.”

They crawled through the open window into the dark office. “Don’t turn on any lights. It could draw attention,” Chuck said. “There’s enough light from outside for our Seeingness to be almost as good.”

A green-and-yellow flag adorned with a prairie lily hung on the wall next to a small desk with an armchair, too big for the room, behind it. A picture of a man shaking the Prime Minster’s hand hung on the wall opposite. Two other seats for visitors sat in front of the desk, and a couple of filing cabinets took up the rest of the space.

Chuck said, “Pretty small, eh? I always thought the Members of Parliament would have bigger and nicer offices.”

Eli nodded. “I think our senators and representatives have bigger and nicer offices than this.”

“U.S.A.,” Daea shouted.

“Shhh,” Jesi-Sera scolded the girl. “Did ye forget we are on a mission?”

The Suffering inside the office churned. It was so thick that the Childaar couldn’t see their feet on the floor. Its highest points rolled up past Daea’s and Eli’s thighs.

“We had better hurry,” Chuck said. “This doesn’t look good.”

“Where to?” the team leader asked.

“I’m not sure. All I know is that it’s somewhere in this building.”

“What kind of security can we expect?”

“A few parliamentary security officers will be patrolling the halls.”

“You should inspect ahead of us,” Jesi-Sera told the older boy.

Chuck disappeared in front of the team. The office door’s deadbolt unlocked and then the door opened enough for the Sight to get his body through, then closed as if on its own.

“That’s such a useful Gift,” Eli said in awe. “I wish Smarts got Hideness.”

“Would you trade it for your fireballs?” Daea asked.

Eli stretch his hand out with his palm facing the ceiling. A small ball of fire spun in the palm of his hand. He concentrated on the flame and it grew bigger and spun faster. He then closed his fist, extinguishing the fireball. “Not a chance.”

Daea gave her friend a high-five. “Yeah, Fire is pretty cool.”

“I wish I had more Gifts, though. You are so lucky to have manifested your two levels of Tuffness, as well as single levels of Powness and Formness.”

The small girl crouched low to the ground and spread her arms out like an eagle. Thick, sharp claws extended from the ends of her fingers. “Nothing can stop me,” she said, daring anyone to challenge her.

“Aye, Daea, ye are indeed lucky to have manifested four Gifts so early. Ye will be a force to be reckoned with as they further develop.”

“Ye know it,” Daea said, imitating the leader’s Scottish accent.

Jesi-Sera turned to Eli and added, “When I was a young Charm, I didn’t develop any Gifts beyond Awe for years. Be patient.”

A quiet knock sounded and the door opened. Chuck reappeared.

“Find anything?” Jesi-Sera asked.

The older boy shook his head. “Nothing.”

“How’s the security?” Eli asked.

“Not bad. There is a guard in front of the Senate’s Red Chamber and another in front of the House of Commons, and a third patrolling the halls. I must have missed something,” the Sight said, shaking his head.

“Or maybe we have to wait for something to happen,” Jesi-Sera suggested.

Chuck looked down at the Suffering. “If something is going to happen, it had better happen soon.”

“Should we split up and investigate?” Eli suggested.

“What’s your gut say?” the Charm asked.

The older boy kicked at the Suffering on the floor. His foot breezed through the wispy mist. “I’d guess one of these offices.”

The team shuffled into the hallway. Eli tried to open the door across from the one they had exited. The handle turned, but when he pushed, the lock held it tight. He rattled it a few times before looking back at his teammates.

“I got this,” Daea whispered, grabbing a black folded pouch from her backpack. She unrolled it, revealing a set of lock picks. She looked into the lock, then removed a rake and tension wrench from the pouch.

“You stuck with that?” Eli asked. “I thought it was a passing interest.”

Daea gave the boy a funny look. “I’ve even been practicing. Check this out.” She didn’t stand much taller than the lock, which gave her a good vantage from which to work. She moved the tools back and forth, pressing and depressing the lock mechanisms. A click sounded, and she opened the door, which led to an office similar to the one they had entered. “Tada,” she said, congratulating herself.

“Nice one,” Chuck said. “Go to the end of the hall and start unlocking doors. We will follow you and inspect the rooms.”

“Got it!” Daea said as she ran down the hall.

“And be quiet,” Chuck whispered loudly after her. “This Op will pop if we’re caught.”

As if on cue, the sound of footsteps echoed from the staircase at the end of the hall. A flashlight beam heralded the arrival of a guard.

Daea skidded to halt, turned, and then ran back. The Childaar darted back into the office they had just left. Jesi-Sera closed and locked it without making any sound. The footsteps grew louder as the guard patrolled the hallway. The guard stopped on the other side of their door. The door handle rattled, but when it didn’t open, he continued down the hall, and the steps receded into silence. The Childaar breathed a collective sigh of relief. They moved back into the hall, where Daea darted to the end and continued unlocking offices. Eli, Chuck, and Jesi-Sera alternated rooms for their inspections. By the time they had cleared the hall, the Suffering was up to the small girl’s waist.

“Next floor down,” Chuck whispered to the team, and they descended the staircase and repeated the process. Daea was halfway done when Eli stuck his head into the hall and whistled. When they entered, the Smart was behind the desk, pulling up coils of sulphurous smelling red-and-white cord.

Daea said, “It smells like a firecracker.”

Chuck took one of the coils and inspected it. “It’s a fuse.”

“What needs fuses?” Jesi-Sera asked.

Eli said, “Cannons, old guns, fireworks…”

“Fireworks!” Chuck exclaimed. “Tomorrow is Canada

Day, and Ottawa has the best fireworks show in the country.”

“But why would these fuses be in this office?”

The Sight shrugged. “Who knows, probably some disgruntled politician trying to make a point about something.”

The Suffering rose.

“Where do these need to go, Chuck?” Jesi-Sera asked.

“They set up at Nepean Point, and without them, there won’t be a show tomorrow night.”

“Where’s that?”

“Down at the river beside the National Gallery.”

The Suffering swayed.

“We have to get them there,” Daea said, the concern in her voice clear.

“Give them to me,” Jesi-Sera said. “I’ll use my Speedness to get there faster than anyone.”

“But if you get caught by the guards,” Chuck said, “the Op will pop. I can use my Hideness to get them there for sure.”

The Suffering crawled up and splashed across Daea’s stomach.

“Your call,” Chuck said, looking at the team leader.

“Meet me there,” Jesi-Sera said as she grabbed the fuses. She was a blur of motion as she exited the small office.

The three Childaar returned the way they had come. Chuck stopped Daea before she could crawl out the window. “We will wait here until this Op resolves. We don’t want to get caught before Jesi-Sera returns those fuses.”

Daea placed a foot back onto the floor.

The Sight sat in the big chair behind the desk and inspected the wilted plants, while Daea sat across from him, digging through her backpack for candy. Eli sifted through the filing cabinets. The Suffering was wild and turbulent, but then, like a balloon punctured by a needle, it began to recede like a bathtub’s draining water.

“Alright!” Daea cheered, high-fiving her teammates. “She did it.”

Everyone smiled and high-fived.

“Let’s go down to the island and see how it’s going,” Chuck said, relieved.

“Do we need to go through the window?” Daea asked. “We solved the Op.”

Chuck said, “I suppose we don’t, but I’m not sure we need to startle the guards.”

“But it would be more fun to go out those big doors at the front. Please.”

Chuck said, “OK, but follow me. We’ll try to avoid them if possible. I’ll use my Hideness to distract them. Listen for me. I’ll make mouse sounds.”

Daea and Eli both grinned and followed the Sight to the staircase, where he disappeared. A few moments later, a squeaky chirp sounded from down the hall. The pair raced down the stairwell.

Chuck waited for them at the bottom. “It’s a straightaway from here, but there is a guard at the front door. I will lure him away. When he leaves his post, run as fast as you can down the hall and out the door. Got it?”

“Got it,” Daea and Eli said in unison.

The pair of Childaar peered around the corner, waiting for the guard to move. He sat in a chair playing on his phone, but then his head snapped up. He rose and walked away from them.

“Race you,” Daea said, bolting down the hall.

Eli was quick on her heels as they ran down the wide, shadowy hall. The darkness cast spooky shadows over the paintings and ornate ceiling.  As they got close to the large double doors, Chuck reappeared and opened one. The night was still cool, but the Suffering had receded significantly. The Sight closed the doors behind them as they exited. He stopped them and said, “OK, now walk as if we didn’t just come out of the building. We’re allowed to be here.”

They walked as innocuously as they could. One of the Mounties gave them a funny look. Daea winked at the woman and threw a candy into the air, which she caught in her mouth. They passed the stage and headed out of the iron gates surrounding the grounds, where Jesi-Sera waited for them.

The Charm smiled and said, “The fireworks techs were relieved to see the fuses. They didn’t know where they would get any more for all the fireworks they have planned. You should see it. We are going to be in for a treat tomorrow night.”

Daea smiled, looked back at the large stone buildings, and said, “We saved Canada Day.”

CHAPTER 2

Chuck ran into the Childaar home hurried and out of breath. “The Suffering has come in strong. Quick! We have to go, and we only have a couple of hours left before sunrise.”

Daea was waist deep in a freezer. She shimmied out with her arms full of freezies. “What? No way! Eli is skateboarding. He’s still at the skate park.”

“Go get him.”

Before she could leave, however, Eli ran into the room. “We’ve got a mission. The Suffering is surging.”

Jesi-Sera exited her room. “Suit up, team. We’ve got work to do.”

“What else is new?” Daea said. “Are we going to have any fun this summer? We’re already a week in, and tonight’s skateboarding is the most fun I’ve had yet.”

“Stop complaining,” the team leader ordered. “You’re lucky to have been allowed out at all tonight after your lack of effort this evening.”

The girl was about to protest, but Jesi-Sera had already turned her attention to Chuck. “Do ye have any information on the mission?”

Chuck nodded. “Downtown Op.”

The team ran up the museum stairs. Upon exiting into the warm summer night, Chuck took one look at the Suffering across the street and said, “Constitution Square.”

“That’s the office towers on Albert Street, right?” Eli asked.

“It is.”

Daea asked, “Where are Buddy and Whiskers? Are they coming with us?”

“They are out of town tonight,” Chuck told the girl.

They ran across the parking lot to their black SUV. Daea began immediately rummaging through her backpack. She pulled out a handful of Pixy Stix. “Would anyone like a little pre-mission boost?”

Eli shook his head, while Jesi-Sera and Chuck focused on driving. The little girl shrugged and tore off the tops of the tubes and began dropping the sugary powder down her throat.

The team arrived at the office complex. A two-story enclosure connected three glass towers together. The waning moon reflected in the buildings’ blue glass. The Suffering was nearly up to Daea’s knees when they arrived. They parked on the street in front of the buildings. Jesi-Sera used her Speedness to zip around the structures looking for an open door, but returned, without success, to the Childaar in front of the middle tower.

“Can I pick the locks?” Daea asked.

The team leader shook her head. “It’s all electronic. And the security guards won’t let us in without proper authorization.”

“Want to try and use your Adoreness to charm them?” Daea asked.

The Charm shook her head and said, “Unlikely that would work. The procedures will override our Gifts.”

Chuck pointed at the middle tower. “Whatever it is, it’s happening in there.”

“Roof entrance,” Eli suggested.

Chuck said, “Perhaps, but I don’t think any of us could climb the glass exterior.”

Jesi-Sera said, “I used to be on a team with a Sovereign with Upness 3. She could always find interesting ways of getting into places.”

Daea pointed at the doors to the underground garage. “Think we could lift those doors?”

“We could,” Chuck said, “but it would set off an alarm, which would likely fail the mission.”

Eli said, “If a car comes out, we would be able to get in.”

Chuck nodded. “Do we want to bet on getting lucky?”

“Do we have a choice?” Jesi-Sera said.

The team walked beside the garage door. The Suffering churned.

The team leader said, “I’m going to keep looking around. If it opens, yell for me.”

Daea ate a few more Pixy Stix, Eli observed the happenings on the street, and Chuck stepped away from the building and crouched near a bush. The small girl walked toward him, but stopped short when she saw the Sight engaged with a fat black squirrel. She watched him chatter with the little critter.

He stood, saw her looking at him, and shook his head. “Squirrels are so dumb. It doesn’t even understand the concept of inside or outside.”

Daea laughed and said, “But they are pretty cute, so they have that going for them.”

Chuck gave her a strange look. “You think they’re cute?”

Before she could answer, though, a whirring sound preceded the opening of the garage door.

Daea and Chuck ran next to Eli, who was pressed tight against the wall. Chuck yelled for Jesi-Sera, who zipped back to join them.

A black car with shaded windows and a red license plate exited. As the garage door lowered, the team snuck into the building through the deserted underground parking lot. They couldn’t access the elevator without a badge, and looked for other means of entry.

Chuck tried the door to the stairwell, and found it unlocked. “This way,” he called. The rest of the team followed the Sight as he ran up the stairs taking the steps three at a time. The Suffering washed over them as its thick waves crashed down the stairs. He halted the team when they arrived at the seventh floor. “Here,” he said, opening the door to an office corridor. The Suffering oozed between the cracks of the door at the end of the hallway. A black, yellow, and red flag beside the door welcomed entrants to the embassy for the Kingdom of Belgium.

Eli said, “That explains the car leaving the car park,” as the Childaar ran down the hall.

“The red plates,” Chuck said.

“What about red plates?” Daea asked.

“Diplomatic vehicles have red license plates,” Eli answered.

“So this Op has something to do with that car?”

“Probably.”

Jesi-Sera arrived at the door first and attempted to open it, but it was locked. Chuck banged on it, but if anyone heard it, they didn’t want to answer.

“Let me at it,” Daea said, pushing the Charm and Sight out of the way. She popped four lumps of bubble gum into her mouth as she studied the lock. She retrieved her lock picks and pried them into the narrow opening. A bubble started to grow out of her mouth as she worked it. It grew bigger and bigger. Daea turned the lock picks and the door clicked open just as the bubble popped, covering her face in a thin layer of gum.

The Suffering swirled throughout the room. A reception desk with room for two people behind it greeted the Childaar as they stepped into the embassy. A small stand near the entrance held brochures and pamphlets for prospective tourists. Doors to offices lined the sides of the office, and a wide window at the back showed a large desk in the middle of a boardroom.

“Guys…” Eli said, pointing at a flashing red light on the security panel near the door.

“We tripped the alarm,” Chuck said as the Suffering whipped and grew.

“Hide,” Jesi-Sera instructed the team. Chuck used his Hideness, while Daea and Eli scooted under the reception desk.

The elevator dinged, and two security guards exited. A husky voice yelled, demanding to know who was in the room. Jesi-Sera stepped into the hallway, where she adopted a broken Belgian accent. She explained that her dad was an assistant to the ambassador, and that he was working late, but had to leave for a while. She told the guards that she didn’t know that the alarm had been set when she left the office in search of a vending machine for something to eat. The security guard was suspicious and asked her a series of questions, and the older girl had an answer for each, which she enhanced with Adoreness. He finally relented and said that he would reset the alarm, and that she should tell her father that he shouldn’t leave kids in the office so late. She told him that she would and apologized for the inconvenience. The guards restored the alarm and wished her a good night.

Daea and Eli jumped out from behind the desk, where they had been submerged in Suffering. Chuck reappeared next to them and said, “Quick, search for clues.”

The Childaar scrambled throughout the embassy looking for anything to help in solving the Op.

“In here,” Jesi-Sera yelled. The rest of the team followed her voice into the ambassador’s office. Boxes wrapped in red, black, and yellow gift paper sat atop the ambassador’s desk in the middle of the room.

Daea picked up and shook one of the boxes. The Suffering surged when she began to unwrap it.

“Stop,” Chuck said, plucking the gift out of her hand and putting it back on the desk. The Suffering eased.

“What’s that smell?” Jesi-Sera asked.

“Smells like chocolate,” Chuck said, sniffing the air.

Daea’s head snapped up. “Chocolate?”

Eli ran to the reception desk and brought back a day planner. “It says here that the Belgians, along with the Canadians, have a meeting at the French embassy tonight.”

“Why so late?” Jesi-Sera asked.

“It’s early for them,” Eli said. “They have a teleconference planned with Europe. Because of the time zone difference, they have to do it now, while it’s morning in France and Belgium.”

“What’s the purpose of the meeting?”

“Something about trade exports and cheese.”

“Maybe that car was supposed to bring gifts to wherever they were going,” Jesi-Sera said.

“We need to get these gifts to the French embassy before the Op pops,” Chuck said.

Eli started gathering boxes in his arms. “I think Chuck’s right. These were meant to be gifts for the other delegations, but they forgot them.”

“What time is the meeting?” Jesi-Sera asked.

“It starts in ten minutes,” Eli answered.

“Can we get there in time?” she asked Chuck.

“It’s not that far away. A little past the National Art Gallery, next to the Prime Minister’s residence.”

“Let’s go then,” Jesi-Sera said.

The Childaar grabbed all the boxes and followed the team leader out of the embassy. They jumped down the flights in the stairwell. Jesi-Sera stopped at the main level. One door led to the foyer, where the security guard who had questioned Jesi-Sera sat playing on his phone. Another door had the words ‘EMERGENCY EXIT – ONLY; SORTIE D'URGENCE – SEULEMENT written across it. She looked at Chuck, who gave her a nod, and pushed the door open. A blaring, intermittent buzzing sounded throughout the stairwell. They ran around the building back to their vehicle. Jesi-Sera had the doors open and SUV started by the time the others arrived. The tires screeched as the Charm accelerated down the street.

“Get onto Wellington,” Chuck directed. “Then we just need to follow Sussex.”

Jesi-Sera plowed through the heavy Suffering as she steered the vehicle past Parliament and Château Laurier, where she turned left onto Sussex at the National War Monument.

“You can drive faster than this,” Daea said. “Eli and I were going way faster, and that was in the middle of a blizzard.”

“I know,” Jesi-Sera said. “Ye have told us before.”

“A million times,” Chuck quipped.

“It wasn’t a million,” Daea said, kicking the back of his seat.

“Ye have mentioned it a lot,” the leader said.

“So put the pedal to the metal.”

“On a night like this, in a city with a strong police presence, I’m going to drive within the speed limit. If the police stopped us, we would fail the mission.”

“If we’re too late, we’ll fail anyway. Maybe Eli and I should have driven.”

Jesi-Sera said, “I’m not sure ye two should have been in that race.”

“But we won and solved the Op.”

“Aye, but the ends don’t always justify the means.”

“So, we shouldn’t have raced?” Eli asked.

Jesi-Sera’s voice lowered to emphasize the seriousness of what she was about to say. “We have a lot of responsibility as Childaar. Did ye consider that ye could have gotten someone hurt?”

“But we didn’t,” the younger girl replied.

“But ye could have. Then what? Were you prepared to face the consequences of such reckless driving? No one should have been out that night racing in a storm.”

Everyone in the vehicle sat in silence.

Jesi-Sera continued. “What I want to impress on ye is the importance of making good decisions. We don’t have a rule book. We need to be wise in order to help as many people as we can.”

“You wouldn’t have raced?” Eli asked.

Jesi-Sera paused before answering, “I probably would have, but I have a license and a lot more experience.”

“So, you could have, but we shouldn’t have?” Daea said.

“I’m just telling ye to be careful because your actions can have unintended consequences. Keep that in mind. I’m not going to be a Childaar for much longer. I won’t be here to tell ye what to do and not do. Ye will find yourself in many difficult situations for which wisdom will be your most valued skill.”

“How much longer do you have with us?” Daea asked.

“Less than a year.”

“I don’t want you to leave.”

The Charm smiled and said, “I don’t want to either, but it’s not like I have a choice. My time has come, and it will be time to move on.”

“What are you going to do?” Eli asked.

“I’m not sure. I imagine I’ll go back to Scotland, where I’ll attend uni. I was thinking about studying biology.”

“Back to school?” Daea said, aghast.

“Aye.”

“Not me. After my Sleepining, I’m going to get a job and have fun.”

“What kind of job do ye think will be fun?”

“I’ll be a race car driver.”

They passed the massive American embassy, National Art Gallery, and National Mint as the road curved parallel to the Ottawa River. The road darkened as they left the downtown core, and Jesi-Sera pushed the vehicle above the speed limit. The Suffering spilled over the windshield, making it hard to see the road ahead.

Chuck unrolled his window and stuck his head out. “We’re getting close.” Big government buildings lined the road, and they crossed a short bridge over Green Island, whereupon the Sight said, “Here! Left!”

Jesi-Sera pulled the steering wheel hard. The SUV rocked, and the passenger side tires came off of the ground. At least a dozen cars sat parked in the embassy’s driveway.

“One of my favorite buildings in the city,” Chuck said as they pulled up to the three-story granite building with long rectangular windows and a shallow roof. A deep green lawn surrounded the premises, along with artistically placed plants and shrubs. Embassy staff greeted the visitors inside the palatial glass double doors.

The last member of the group of people entering moved inside the building, and the Suffering popped. The Suffering rose and washed over them. The power inside the embassy flickered.

“There goes that trade agreement,” Eli said.

“Can we keep the chocolates, then?” Daea asked.

Chuck gave her a hard look. “Is that what you are thinking about? Don’t you realize that people will be left worse off because we failed here?”

The girl’s cheeks reddened and her eyes narrowed. “Maybe we could have gone a little faster out of downtown.”

Anger passed across Jesi-Sera’s face, but before she could say anything, Chuck pointed at the ground and said, “We have another mission.”

Daea’s eyes bulged.

“Two in one night!” Daea screamed. “It’s not fair.”

The Sight said, “Who said anything about this being fair?”

Jesi-Sera looked at the girl through the rearview mirror. “Times are tough, but we can make this one up with a win.”

Jesi-Sera sped out of the beautiful embassy’s parking lot in reverse. “Where to?”

Chuck looked at the Suffering. Its dark waves rolled across the street. He pointed to a lane, which Jesi-Sera followed to the Vanier Parkway, which ran alongside the narrow Rideau River. Because of the late hour, the streets and sidewalks were mostly empty of cars and people. The parkway turned into Riverside Drive, where Chuck announced, “Mooney’s Bay. It’s a Stomp at Mooney’s.”

“What’s that?” Daea asked.

Eli answered, “It’s a recreational facility. They have cross country ski trails in the winter and a beach in the summer.”

“There are beaches here?”

“Yes, but they aren’t like the beaches at home, which are on the ocean.”

Chuck pointed at a sign that indicated the entrance to the Terry Fox Athletic Facility.

“Fox,” Daea said with a laugh. “I wonder if he was a Sight.”

The older boy turned in his seat and said, “Surely you know who he was?”

Daea raised her hands and shrugged.

“Come on, Daea. He’s one of the greatest Canadians of all time,” Eli said.

“Do you know?” the small girl asked the team leader.

“Of course,” Jesi-Sera replied. “It would be hard not to. There is a statue of him right across the street from Parliament.”

Daea crossed her arms and scrunched her nose. “It’s summer, and this isn’t class.”

Chuck said, “He was a young man who had been diagnosed with cancer and had to have his leg amputated. To raise money and awareness about the disease, he decided to run the Marathon of Hope; he planned to run across the country.”

“The whole country? It’s so big,” Daea said.

“And don’t forget he had a prosthetic leg,” Eli added.

“Exactly,” Chuck said with a nod. “He started in St. John’s, Newfoundland, which is about as far east as you can be in Canada, then proceeded to run a marathon every day. The country rallied behind him, coming out to donate, cheer, and run with him.”

Daea’s eyes widened. “How long did it take?”

Chuck’s eyes lowered and he said, “He didn’t make it. He had to stop running in Thunder Bay after one hundred and forty-three days. He passed away a few months later.”

“What? No.”

“It’s true,” the Sight said. “But he left a legacy. Now every year, all across the country, people do the Terry Fox run to continue raising money and awareness.”

The girl wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “That’s not fair.”

Eli rubbed the girl’s shoulder and said, “You’re right. He was too young and too good.”

“Aye,” Jesi-Sera said under her breath.

The driveway steered them toward a single story brick building. Chuck pointed at it and said, “You would be hard pressed to find any city or town in the country that doesn’t have a park, road, or building with his name on it.”

A scattering of lamps provided the park with illumination. The crescent moon hid behind a large cloud. A light breeze rustled the trees around the park. The Childaar disembarked, looking at the Suffering for a sign of where to go.

Chuck pointed at a big hill. “Let’s go up there and take a look.”

Daea unwrapped a candy bar and finished eating it before they got to the top of the incline.

Trees and shrubs decorated the area. The beach wasn’t long, but it was enough for people to gather during the day to bask in the sun and play in the water.

“You’re right. That’s not much of a beach,” Daea said, unwrapping another bar.

“It’s got water,” Eli said. “Which is the same wet as any place in the world.”

The girl nodded. “I guess when it’s hot, even a paddling pool is nice. Should we go for a swim?”

The other teammates all looked at her.

“After the Stomp, of course.”

“Hey,” Eli said, interrupting the conversation. He pointed at humanoid creatures walking out of the river toward them. The aquatic monstrosities tromped toward the hill on webbed feet. Their hands were similarly webbed, except that they each had three long spikes extending from where fingers might have been. An expression of hatred covered their scaly fish faces. They surrounded the base of the hill before starting the climb to the top.

“Ever see these before?” Jesi-Sera asked Chuck.

“I haven’t.” He turned to the Childaar and said, “We’ll fight them here at the top, since it looks like they are coming for us.”

“It’s like King of the Hill,” Eli said.

“I’m going to be the Queen of the Hill,” Daea said, unleashing her claws and crouching low into her kung fu tiger stance.

One of the creatures crested the top, and the Hardy ran at it, ducked its swinging attack, and swiped her claws through the monster’s stomach. The Suffering oozed out of the slash wound. The creatures moved in to flank the girl. Daea ducked and weaved, trying to avoid their attacks, but there were too many and she suffered multiple rakes across her body. She pressed the attack with a series of quick punches and low kicks, and destroyed the assailants, which unraveled into inky darkness and rejoined the Suffering. More fish monsters moved toward her, and the girl looked back to see dozens of the creatures around her teammates.

“Get back, Daea!” Chuck shouted.

Eli blasted a path through the fish creatures for Daea to run through to rejoin them. The stream of fire incinerated the monsters, turning them into puddles of Suffering, which then streamed down the hill.

Daea, Chuck, and Jesi-Sera surrounded the Smart, who continued to use his Fire to take out wide swaths of the horde. The team leader used her aikido to block attacks, and when the opportunity presented itself she would push a hand out to use her Fear to turn the creatures; some walked away, while others dissipated back into dark, inky nothingness. Daea and Chuck used their kung fu and karate, respectively, to finish any which happened to get near the team. They found a rhythm to the fight, and had little difficulty repelling the swarm of attacks. The fish creatures, however, were relentless and plentiful.

Faint traces of light glowed on the horizon.

“We don’t have a lot of time left,” Chuck informed the team. “Let’s hope this ends soon.”

Dozens of the creatures stepped onto the hill’s top, while hundreds more continued to walk toward them, and even more continued to emerge from the river.

The waves continued. Jesi-Sera and Eli felled large groups, while Daea and Chuck engaged any who happened to get close. Minutes felt like hours as the team fought the throng of monsters.

Tiny spokes of yellow and orange light peeked from under the horizon. The horde had thinned, and the monsters no longer pressured the Childaar on the hilltop, but rather walked aimlessly around the park. The Suffering continued to swirl around the area. Daea ran off the hill, toward the river, where she finished two monsters with a double drop kick.

“We have to go, now!” Chuck yelled at the girl as the rest of the team began running back to the parking lot. Eli picked off a few stranglers on the move with tight, quick fireballs.

“We can get them. We still have time,” Daea yelled behind her as she dropped four more creatures.

“We don’t! Let’s go!” Chuck barked.

The girl continued fighting.

Jesi-Sera yelled, “Daea, get back to the car!”

The small girl surveyed the park and saw only a few remaining fish monsters. The Suffering swayed in and out around them.

The rest of the team was at the SUV.

“Daea! Now!” the team leader shouted.

The Hardy turned and ran back to their vehicle. The sun was about to peek over the horizon. She leapt into the back door, and Eli slammed it closed behind her.

Chuck and Jesi-Sera riffled through a duffle bag they had retrieved from the back of the storage area.

“What’s going on?” Daea asked.

“We’re not going to have time to get back to the museum. The sun will be up too soon. We’re out of time,” Chuck said, fastening black plastic covers onto the front window with duct tape.

What does that mean?” Daea asked.

Jesi-Sera answered, “We’re going to have to spend the day in here.” She tossed supplies to the Childaar in the back. “Cover those windows.”

Eli proceeded into the rear of the vehicle, where he secured the back windows, while Daea did the ones beside her. It didn’t take long before the only source of illumination in the vehicle came from the interior lights.

“Get comfortable,” the Charm said.

Daea poked Eli.

“Hey,” the boy exclaimed.

“Daea!” Chuck yelled. “Don’t make this worse than it already is! Got it?”

The Hardy pulled her backpack off of the floor, unzipped it, and said, “If you’re going to yell at me, I’m not going to share my candy with you.”

CHAPTER 3

Daea walked up to Eli, who was reading a local newspaper. She slammed a piece of paper down on the desk, dropped a pair of shoes on the floor, and said, “It’s time.”

“What’s this?” he asked, inspecting the paper.

“It’s an itinerary. The carnival is finally in town, and this is the plan. And, I found us platform shoes so that we can get on all the rides even if we’re not tall enough.”

Eli sighed. “It’s the day of reckoning.”

“What’s that mean?”

“It means you’ve been arguing with Jesi-Sera ever since you learned about this carnival, saying that you are going every night, and her telling you that we have too much work for that to happen.”

Daea’s face scrunched. “Oh that? I think she was joking.”

Eli’s eyes bugged out of his face. “Joking? She wasn’t joking.”

“I’m sure she’ll be so excited for the carnival that she suspends all work for the next three nights.”

Chuck grunted in disbelief from the TV area.

Eli inspected the paper. “It says here that you plan on eating one of everything at the carnival each night.”

“At least,” the girl responded.

“Hey, Chuckie,” Daea yelled across the room to the sandy haired boy lying on the sofa watching sports on the big screen TV, “are you coming to the carnival with us?”

Chuck didn’t move, but from behind the couch he yelled back. “Not if you keep calling me Chuckie.”

“OK, Chuck. Do you want to come to the carnival?”

“I’m not sure that’s going to happen, Daea. You might want to brace for disappointment.”

Eli said, “I agree with him. We’re only two weeks into the summer, so you might want to be careful about picking your battles.”

Jesi-Sera exited her bedroom with a handful of envelopes.

Daea ran to the older girl and said, “Can I help with those? I could take them to the mailbox for you.”

“That’s sweet of ye,” the Charm said, handing off the envelopes. She then added, “Don’t think ye are going to the carnival tonight. We have too much work to do.”

Daea was halfway to the door. She stopped, turned, and said, “No way. The carnival is only in town for three days. I have an itinerary.”

“We have more important priorities.”

“I’m going to the carnival whether you like it or not.”

“Ye won’t.”

“You’re not my mom.”

“Aye, but I am in charge here.”

“What if I go anyway?”

“Then perhaps I’ll request you get moved to a different team, or expelled.”

Daea’s lips quivered. Before she could say anything, Chuck looked over the sofa back and said, “Take it easy, Daea. Don’t do or say anything you’ll regret.”

The Hardy dropped the letters, stomped to her room, yelled, “This isn’t fair,” and slammed the door.

Daea spent the day in her room watching movies on a humongous flat screen she’d had the museum staff install, only going into the main living area for snacks, and she didn’t talk to anyone.

Eventually a knock sounded on her door and Eli said, “Ready to go?”

Daea rubbed her tearstained eyes. “No.”

“Well, get ready. We’re leaving soon.”

“What if I don’t want to go?”

Eli opened the door and slipped inside. “We have work to do.”

“Who cares? What if I just want to stay home?”

“Don’t be sore. Let’s go.”

“I don’t feel well.”

“Childaar don’t get sick.”

“I can not feel well and not be sick.”

“You’re just being sore. Come on. Change that attitude. Maybe if you try really hard tonight, if it’s possible, Jesi-Sera will let us go to the carnival. She certainly won’t if you just sit here sulking.”

Daea considered his words, then kick flipped off her bed and jumped at Eli. He ducked the girl’s flying kick, and she rolled out of the room. “Hey, Jesi-Sera, if we find the A-team tonight, can I go to the carnival for the next two nights?”

The Charm laughed. “We’ll all go.”

“Even if there’s a mission.”

“No, we would have to do the mission first, but hopefully there would be enough time to do both.”

“Alright! Let’s find them. I bet they will want to go to the carnival too.”

Chuck gathered the team to give the nightly assignments. “Eli and I didn’t see anything particularly new in today’s papers. It’s still all about the Prime Minister and his problems, which grow every day. It’s as if he is trying to fail. Not to mention that the city seems like it’s falling apart. In all my time here, I’ve never seen such disarray.”

Eli said, “There was also a lot of police activity last night, and the police chief announced that the department is already over budget for the year.”

“I’m going to look into that,” Chuck said. “I’ll check with my police contact, then I am going to gather the CCTV footage from the downtown core.”

Jesi-Sera said, “I’m going to revisit all the people we know who had contact with the A-team.”

“For the millionth time,” Eli said.

“Aye. I’m sure they are getting tired of me always asking the same questions.”

“I don’t think anyone ever gets tired of you.”

“That’s sweet,” the Charm said with a smile.

Chuck turned to Daea and Eli. “I want you two to patrol east of downtown, then meet me at the National Art Gallery. Their facilities are better for monitoring video footage.”

Daea raised her hand and said, “We could cover more ground if we could drive. We know how.”

The Sight shook his head. “You keep asking, but I’m going to keep saying no. Use your bikes, and stay fresh. Trust your gut.”

The girl scrunched her face and crossed her arms.

Eli said. “Understood. Can we take Buddy and Whiskers?”

“No, they’re coming with me.”

Jesi-Sera patted the Sight on his back. “Good plan, Chuck. I see your leadership skills grow more each day. I think ye will eventually be a tremendous leader of your own team.”

Chuck started to blush, but then clapped his hands. “OK, be vigilant out there; clues aren’t highlighted like in video games.”

Eli said, “We’ll do our best.”

Daea’s eyes widened and she looked at Jesi-Sera. “If we work hard, can we go to the carnival tomorrow?”

“We’ll see,” the Charm answered.

“We’ll see means no.”

“Worry about tonight,” Jesi-Sera said with a smile. “Who knows what tomorrow will bring.”

Daea gave her a weak smile and said, “OK, we’ll do our best.”

Upon exiting the museum, Chuck announced that he didn’t expect there to be a mission that night. The sky was dark with heavy clouds, and the Suffering surrounded the perimeter of the museum like a heavy blanket. The heat combined with humidity made everyone’s clothes stick to their bodies.

Buddy and Whiskers greeted each teammate with jumps and licks.

Chuck used his Animalness to bark at the Rottweiler and German shepherd, who barked back. He said, “They say that the stink of fear and anxiety in the city is getting worse every day.” He patted his leg and the dogs followed him off the museum property. Jesi-Sera walked to their SUV in the parking lot, while Daea and Eli unlocked their bikes from the bike rack.

Eli rode a sturdy black mountain bike. Daea preferred the maneuverability and control of her red BMX.

The two Childaar traveled north toward their assignment.

“Stay focused,” Eli said, watching the street for anything strange.

Daea raised the front wheel of her bike and cat wheeled out of the parking lot. She performed all kinds of bike tricks while they traveled to their destination. Her frequent three-hundred-and-sixty-degree bunny hops impressed all the passersby who witnessed them.

It didn’t take long for them to arrive at Rideau Street, which was filled with low-rise buildings, shops, and a few apartments.

They stopped at Cummings Bridge. Eli said, “Across to Vanier, left into Lower Town, or right into Sandy Hill?”

The girl pointed forward. “Let’s go up through Vanier, then circle around to the Vanier Parkway, which will take us back here, then we’ll go around Sandy Hill, cross into the Market, get some Beaver Tails, then meet Chuck.”

Eli gave the girl a sideways glance. “That’s ambitious.”

“I need to go to the carnival.”

Vanier was busy. Cars and people filled the streets and sidewalks. The Suffering poured toward downtown. After inspecting the main street, they doubled back and rode through the much quieter side streets filled with houses full of families getting ready for bed. They covered everything from the Beachwood neighborhood to the Queensway, the busiest road in the city. Eli said, “We’re running out of time. I don’t think we’ll be able to get to Sandy Hill tonight. I don’t think we missed a street, and you took far fewer candy breaks than usual.”

“There’s work to do.”

They once again crossed the Rideau River back toward the downtown core.

“Follow me,” Daea called behind her. “We still have time for Beaver Tails.” She led them down Wurtemburg Street. A small, well-maintained park was on their right. The buildings ran the gamut from ordinary to extraordinary.

Eli pointed. “That’s the Turkish Embassy.”

“It looks like a fancy house.”

“A lot of the embassies are like that. They are both a consular office and residence for the ambassador.”

“Whoa, look at that house,” she said, pointing at a large beige house with six tall white columns supporting the overhanging roof. “Is that an embassy too?”

They stopped in front of the building. Eli said, “I don’t think so. There are no signs or flags.”

“Fancy.”

St. Patrick Street was busy with traffic as cars and trucks entered and exited the downtown area.

“Now that’s an embassy,” Eli said. A large stone building sat behind an impressive stone wall.

“Which country is that?”

Eli pointed at a red flag with five stars in the top left corner.

The girl cocked her head. “Umm…”

“Come on.”

Daea burst out laughing. “I know that’s China’s flag.”

A wave of relief crossed Eli’s face. “I wonder what an Op would be like there. I’m not sure how we would get in.”

“Chuck would find us a way.”

“I’m sure, but still, they sure have a lot of security. Especially compared to the French embassy, remember?”

Daea nodded. “Yeah, I didn’t realize there are so many different kinds of embassies. The Belgian one was just an office.”

Eli said, “I guess it comes down to money and the relationships between the countries.”

“We’d better hurry,” Daea said. “We don’t have a lot of time if we’re going to get Beaver Tails before meeting with Chuck to review the tapes.”

Eli gave the girl a curious look, but she was already on her bike riding toward the Byward Market.

The Beaver Tails stall was closing when they arrived. Daea begged the young adults working to open up, but the woman working explained that they had cashed out and couldn’t use the till. Daea said that she would pay cash, and that she didn’t need change. The worker apologized and said she couldn’t do it. Daea persisted until the woman relented and baked some pastries, and she gave her a sizable tip for her efforts.

The National Art Gallery was only a minute’s bike ride away. They locked their bikes at a rack in front of the main doors by Maman, the humongous spider statue. They walked around to the door which led to the A-team’s home and descended the staircase. The A-team’s home had a nearly identical layout to their place at the Canadian Museum of Nature.

Chuck said, “Just in time. I just got here.”

Eli looked around the place and asked, “Anything different?”

The Sight shook his head. “Same same.”

“Wouldn’t it be great if we came here some night, and they were here?”

Chuck grunted in agreement.

Daea held the bag out to the Sight, who took one of the Beaver Tails. “Take more,” the Hardy said. “I got lots.”

“Thanks. Maybe later.”

Eli said, “You think there will be any left later?”

Chuck laughed, grabbed another pastry, and set it to the side. “Find anything out there?”

Eli shook his head. “Just another night in Ottawa. How did it go getting the videos?”

“No problems. With Hideness it’s easy to climb the poles and roofs to access the cameras.”

They walked the TV area, which instead of having one large flat screen TV, like the B-team’s home, had multiple smaller screens set up against the wall. Each of the small TVs had input ports, which Chuck connected to a storage device he had used to copy the information from the cameras around the city.

They spent the rest of the night watching silent footage of the happenings in Ottawa. Daea remained vigilant on her assigned screens. They all agreed it was boring and that they would rather watch a movie or show.

Thirty minutes before sunrise, Chuck turned everything off and said, “That’s it for tonight. We didn’t find anything useful, but you never know.”

Daea stretched and said, “Time to go home?”

Chuck nodded and said, “Yes, we’ll finish these tomorrow.”

They raced home, and even though Chuck didn’t have a bike, he and the dogs weren’t far behind them when they arrived at the Museum of Nature.

“How did it go?” Jesi-Sera asked.

“Nothing new,” Chuck replied. “How about you?”

“I may have found a lead,” the Charm said. “It’s a long shot, but ye never know.”

“We’ll keep at it tomorrow,” Chuck said, stretching as he walked to his room.

“Unless we go to the carnival,” Daea suggested.

Jesi-Sera looked at the girl, then said to Chuck, “How was she tonight?”

The Sight turned and looked at Daea. “She did well.”

The Charm gave Daea an approving look then asked, “Do ye understand why we have to work so hard? We need to find the A-team. They would do the same for us.”

A sad look of acceptance crossed Daea’s face. “I get it. We’ll continue the investigation tomorrow. We have more footage to watch.”

“Actually,” the team leader said, “I think ye will all be going to the carnival.”

The room was silent for a moment, and then the other three Childaar all said, “What?” at the same time.

“Ye earned it.”

“Yippee,” Daea exclaimed. “You’re going to love it.”

Jesi-Sera shook her head and said, “I’m not going to go. I can drop ye off, but I want to follow that lead, and it might be better if I go alone.”

Chuck said, “In that case, we’re not going either. We work and play together.”

Daea frowned. “How about you come in with us, eat a little food, play some games, and go on some rides. I’m sure you’ll have so much fun that you’ll want to stay until it closes.”

Jesi-Sera was about to respond, but Daea interrupted her. “You need some fun too.”

The Charm grinned and said, “Aye, I’ll come in for a bit, but I may duck out a tad early.”

Daea jumped in the air and ran around the Childaar living room. “Carnival! Carnival! Carnival!”

CHAPTER 4

The carnival was in full swing when they arrived not long after sunset. Jesi-Sera wore an orange, floral-patterned sundress, while the rest of the Childaar wore T-shirts and shorts. Groups of people laughed and screamed from behind a thin wall that surrounded the fair grounds.  The wet ground indicated that it had been raining, but the thin crescent moon hung high in the sky and the clouds had dispersed. They paid the entrance fee at a small shed designed to look like a gingerbread house. Daea insisted that they all buy wristbands, which gave unlimited access to the rides. The entrance to the carnival offered avenues to the midway, food stalls, games, and shopping.

Jesi-Sera gave the amusement park a good look and said, “Ye know, I’ve never been to a carnival before.”

“Really?” Daea said, aghast. “They don’t have carnivals in Europe?”

“We have funfairs, which are similar. I’ve just never been.”

“We sometimes call them fairs too. You are going to love it.” She spotted a vendor selling cotton candy and purchased four bags. She offered one to each of her teammates. The boys each took one, but Jesi-Sera declined, so she squished it together and stuffed it into her pocket.

“What should we do first?” the team leader asked.

“Ferris wheel,” Daea said. “We can get the layout of the land from up there.”

“So, you’ve never been on a Ferris wheel before,” Chuck said to Jesi-Sera.

“Not exactly. Do ye know the London Eye?”

Chuck nodded.

“While in London, my team had numerous missions occur on that blasted thing. While I see the appeal, my memories aren’t exactly the most pleasant. It does offer incredible views of the city—if it’s not raining.”

“What’s the London Eye?” Daea asked.

Jesi-Sera said, “Imagine this ride, but about four times as high, and each capsule is more like a large pod that can hold twenty-five people.”

The girl’s eyes widened. “It’s like a super Ferris wheel?”

“Aye.”

“I want to go there.”

A long and slow-moving line awaited them when they arrived at the Ferris wheel.

“Hey, Jesi-Sera, think you could use your Gifts to get us to the front of the line?” Daea asked.

She frowned and said, “Probably, but I won’t. We can wait in line like everyone else. It’s only fair.”

Daea’s nose scrunched. “You know what’s not fair? Only getting three hours tonight. The rest of these people can come here when it opens during the day.”

Jesi-Sera said, “That doesn’t change the fact that these people are waiting in line now. And, who knows, maybe they aren’t able to come earlier for reasons of their own.”

The Hardy climbed atop the thin railing used to corral the queue. She rested a hand on Chuck’s head to help her balance.

The Sight swatted her hand. “Don’t do that. Get down.”

His swat made the young girl lose her balance. Without a second thought she jumped, tucked into a tight backflip, and landed on the other side of the barricade.

The people around her gasped at the impressive physical feat. Daea climbed back over the fence to rejoin her teammates. She stuck her tongue out at a man who told her that she had to go to the back of the line.

A teenaged girl with dark red, curly hair removed herself from the group of friends she was with and approached Daea.

“Hi,” the girl said. “I saw what you just did there, and I have to know, are you in gymnastics?”

Daea dusted her hands. “Nope. I’m a natural.”

“Really? Are you interested in joining a gym? I’m learning to coach, and I think you could have what it takes to be successful. Who knows, maybe you could go to the Olympics.”

Daea smiled. “Yeah, I’d like to win a gold medal. USA. USA.”

A moment of surprise crossed the girl’s face, but she recovered and said, “If you are interested, it doesn’t matter where you’re from.”

Chuck stepped in and said, “She’s ineligible for the Olympics.”

The Kinedaar girl asked, “What? Why?”

Chuck grinned and said, “She’s got super powers, it wouldn’t be fair to the other competitors.”

The girl giggled. “That’s funny.”

“My name’s Chuck,” the Sight said, offering his hand.

The girl shook it. “I’m Maddison, but my friends call me Maddie. Are you American too? Are you here for a summer trip?”

Chuck gave a hearty laugh.

Daea and Eli looked at each other in surprise.

“I’m not. We’re all students at a kind of boarding school.”

“In the summer?”

“Yeah, that part can be rough.”

“Where are you from?”

“BC. How about you? Are you from Ottawa?”

“Born and raised.”

“Oooooo,” Daea snickered.

Eli laughed and whispered, “Chuck has a girlfriend.”

The Sight gave the kids a hard look.

Maddie said, “We’re almost at the front. I’m going to go back and join my friends. Maybe I’ll see you later?”

Chuck smiled. “I hope so.”

The ride attendant opened the gate so that the team could get into the pod. The ride began with a lot of starts and stops, but then the stops became less frequent, until finally, the engines whirred and the capsules circled without pause.

“Wheeeeee,” Daea screamed into the night air. When they reached the apex, she began pointing out the layout of the carnival. “It looks like that is the food area, and over there are the games.” She pointed down. “There is the haunted house. A group of people just ran out screaming. It must be scary.”

Eli said, “They are never scary.”

Daea shrugged. “Maybe this one is.”

“Doubtful.”

Their capsule swung back down toward the ground. It began stopping to switch passengers. “They’re not going to make us get off, are they?” Daea said. Three capsules before it would be their turn at the base of the machine, Daea screamed at the attendant, “More, more!” They swung past the man and went back around. “Yes!”

Chuck looked behind him at Maddie and her friends. They all waved at him.

On the third go around, the worker stopped their car and let the team out, ignoring Daea’s protests.

“That was fun,” Jesi-Sera said. She turned to Daea and said, “More rides?”

“Aye,” Daea said, impersonating a Scottish accent.

Chuck stood back and watched as Maddie and her friends exited the ride. “I’ll catch up with you later.”

Daea said, “Ooh la la.”

Jesi-Sera put her hand on the girl’s shoulder. “Be nice.”

Daea pulled a hard clump of spun sugar from her pocket and gnawed on it while they meandered through the midway. She jumped in the air and pointed at a ride that was two large towers, upon which a cable ran from the tops of to a small seat between them. As the team walked up, the seat was released, and the two people seated in the chair were flung high into the night sky.

The girl stuffed the rest of the cotton candy in her mouth and jumped in the air. “It’s the SlingShot. This one is especially good because it will spin upside down. Who wants to come with me?”

Jesi-Sera said, “I think I’ll watch.”

Eli joined the small girl. It didn’t take long before they arrived at the front of the line. The man was about to move the rope to let them through when he spotted their platform shoes. He was about to speak, but Daea interrupted him and told him to hurry things up since they were paying customers and moonlight was burning. He shrugged and let them through and helped get them buckled into the ride. He told them that the harness should hold them, but if there was a problem, it would be because it was too loose, and they should hold on as tight as they could. Daea told him that she would be alright even without the harness—that she would survive being thrown straight into the air. The man guffawed and told her she was a funny girl. He walked back to the control machine.

“Ready?” Daea asked.

Eli’s knuckles blanched as he held onto the bar in front of him.

The man pushed a button, and a loud beeping sound counted down.

“Blast-off!” Daea yelled as the ride shot them high into the air.

Eli closed his eyes and kept hold of the bar.

“Yippee!” Daea yelled, raising her hands into the air as the seat they were in spun them upside down.

They descended, and the cable sprang them back into the air with less force than the original takeoff. They bobbed up and down until they came to a full stop.

Eli, eyes closed, said, “I don’t think I want to go on any more rides like this.”

“What’s not to like?”

“The jarring motions.”

“It’s fun.”

“Not for me.”

“That’s ridiculous. Rides are fun.”

“For you.”

“For everyone. You just need more practice.” She pointed at another ride, a pirate ship that swung back and forth before circling completely upside down.

“How about that?”

“Nope.”

Come on. It’ll be fun once we’re on.”

“For who?”

“Us.”

“Speak for yourself.”

“Let’s go on one more ride then eat,” Daea said. “Your choice.”

Jesi-Sera said, “While you two do that, I’m going to do some shopping. Meet me when ye finish, and we can have a snack.”

“We could go have a snack now,” Daea said.

Eli said, “It’s my turn to pick the ride.”

Daea nodded and said, “OK, Jesi-Sera, see you soon.”

The Smart surveyed the area. “I want something that isn’t so wild.”

“Like the Tilt-A-Whirl,” Daea suggested, her voice laced with sarcasm.

“OK.”

Daea laughed.

“That’s my choice.”

“You can’t be serious. The Tilt-A-Whirl?”

Eli just gave her a look and began walking through the midway toward the red spinning cups.

Families with small children filled most the line.

“This is embarrassing,” Daea commented, hiding her face with her hand.

“My parents took us to Disneyland when we were younger, and this was the only ride that we could all go on. That was a great day.”

“Sweet story, but it doesn’t mean it’s a good ride.”

“Perhaps not, but it’s my turn to pick.”

Daea and Eli stepped into a car with an elderly couple. They told the kids that their first date, forty years ago, was to a traveling amusement park passing through their small town. The woman told them that she knew she loved the man while they were on a Tilt-A-Whirl. The man told them that the ride itself was one of the oldest still going, and they had originally been built in the nineteen-twenties. Fascinated by the couple, Eli laughed and reveled with them throughout the entire ride. Daea placed her chin on her fist and endured the spinning motions.

“That was fun. Way more so than the Slingshot,” Eli said as they left the ride.

“Are you crazy? That’s an old person ride.”

“And young persons. There were lots of little kids on it with their parents too.”

“Exactly.”

“But wasn’t that couple the sweetest thing you’ve ever seen?”

Daea gave the boy a strange look.

“Maybe our approach to rides is different. I like the human connections and memories. You seem to just like getting tossed around like a rag doll.”

“Yeah.” She paused then added, “It was nice to see that couple so happy. It seems like they’ve had a happy life.”

Eli patted her on her back and said, “See, you do have a heart.”

“Know what else I have? A stomach. Let’s get something to eat. I saw that they have giant pretzels dipped in chocolate and rolled in peanuts.”

“Sounds good. Let’s get Jesi-Sera.”

They found the Charm amidst stalls selling jewellery, novelty shirts, toys, gadgets, cleaning products, and more.

“Find anything?” Eli asked.

“Nothing but tat.”

Daea said, “What’s tat?”

“Cheap, souvenir type stuff,” Eli answered.

Daea rubbed her hands together and said, “Time to eat. Eli, you get corn on the cobs and pretzels, Jesi-Sera, could you get the slushy drinks, and I’ll get the salty potatoes. We’ll meet at the picnic tables.”

Jesi-Sera was sipping on a pink drink in a see-through cup when Daea returned with two bags full of small, bite-sized potato wedges. Two drinks for the other Childaar rested atop the picnic table. She said, “I am going to leave. There is something I want to check out tonight.”

Daea looked worried. “We’re leaving?”

Jesi-Sera shook her head and said, “No, you stay here and have a good time. It may even be better if I do this by myself. I can use my Gifts to their fullest potential.”

A wave of relief passed over the little girl’s face. “You should stay. We’re having a good time.”

Jesi-Sera smiled and gave her a playful squeeze. “I’m good. I’ve now had a carnival experience. Thanks for taking me on the Ferris wheel and showing me around.”

Daea offered a bag of the potatoes. “Here, take these. They are good. You should also wait for Eli, and try one of the corn on the cobs. Usually, corn isn’t my favorite, but with all the salt and butter, they’re almost as good as candy.”

Jesi-Sera shook her drink and said, “This will do. Have a nice rest of the night.”

“I will,” Daea said, waving to the Charm.

A few minutes later, Eli returned with the corn on the cobs. He looked puzzled when he saw two slushy drinks on the table. “Where’s Jesi-Sera?”

“She left. Remember she said she wanted to check on something.”

“We should go tell Chuck. Remember he said we do things together?”

“It’s OK. She said to say bye to you guys and told us to have a good time.”

Eli looked uncertain, but Daea prepared their table with all the food. She began to wolf down the meal, and between bites said, “Eat quicker. We have more rides we need to go on.”

“We need to find Chuck, and tell him Jesi-Sera is gone.”

“Alright,” Daea said, finishing off the Charm’s portions as well.

They disposed of the garbage and walked back to the midway.

“There he is,” Daea said, pointing to a corner of the park that had a few trees, the only ones in the area. When they approached, Daea started making kissing sounds, but Eli’s elbow got her to stop. Maddie hadn’t heard, but Chuck’s Gifts allowed him to. His eyes bulged out of his head, and he mouthed the words, “Go away.”

“Jesi-Sera left. She went to check on whatever it was she had mentioned.”

“What?” Chuck said, worry clear on his face. “Why did you let her leave? You heard me tell her that we do everything together. We don’t split up the group.”

Maddie asked, “Do you have to leave?”

“Don’t worry,” Daea said, answering for the Sight. “She told us to stay and have a good time.

Chuck looked doubtful.

Daea continued, “Besides, now you and Maddie can go to the tunnel of love.”

Maddie blushed.

“Come on, Eli, let’s give these two some privacy,” she said, leaving the couple at the bench under the tree.

A wave of anger crossed Chuck’s face, and he was about to speak, but Maddie interrupted. She said, “Let’s go on a ride.”

The Sight’s demeanor changed. He smiled and led the girl to the midway.

Eli looked around. “Let’s play a game.”

“Great idea. How about ring toss,” Daea said, pointing at a stall that had a series of soda bottles lined up. Little discs sat at the station’s counter.

Eli nodded and they walked up, and the woman working the booth immediately started to tell them that the game was easy-peasy, and that they’d be going home with the biggest stuffed toys in the city. She waved her hands to show the stuffed animals hung around the tent. As a demonstration, the barker dropped a ring onto one of the bottles and told them that was how it was done.

The kids paid their money and picked up the rings. Eli threw his first, and it landed on the bottle, circled, then bounced off.

“Maybe you should use a fireball,” Daea said with a laugh before she threw hers, which had the same effect. Their second throws were no different.

“This game is too hard,” Eli said.

Daea said, “I’m just warming up.”

The barker said that if they got threes rings, they’d get a plastic trinket, six would get them a small stuffed toy, nine would get them a larger one, and finally, if they could get twelve rings, they would get the largest toy, a stuffed pink bear that was as large as the Childaar themselves.

“This game is designed to be impossible,” Eli whispered. “The hard plastic bounces right off of the glass bottle.”

“I’ll get it,” Daea said, making her final attempt which also didn’t land.

“Let’s get out of here,” Eli said as he began to walk away.

“Wait,” Daea shouted. “I’m going to get it.”

The woman told her that she had the right attitude.

Daea placed more money on the ledge and picked up three more rings.

Eli whispered, “Try to flip them end over end.”

Daea held the ring in one hand, then placed her fingers at the edge. “Like this?”

“Maybe?”

Daea gauged the distance and used the unconventional technique. The carnival worker’s face changed from smug to surprised when the ring landed and stayed on the bottle. Daea landed the next two rings and won herself a small stuffed purple worm. The worker asked if she would like to take the chance to win something bigger. Daea nodded her head and grabbed three more rings and landed them all. The worker seemed puzzled, but continued to offer Daea the chance to win a bigger prize. A crowd gathered behind the girl and cheered with each shot she made. In the end, she won the largest stuffed toy in the booth. It was a pink panda that was bigger than she. The Hardy hoisted it above her head and walked out of the cheering crowd. People lined around her to pat her back, then plopped down their money to throw rings, but they didn’t have Daea’s skill, and few people were able to land even one.

“I don’t want to carry this thing around. Do you want it?”

Eli shook his head. “Thanks, but no thanks.” He pointed at the kids running around. “Why not give it to one of them?”

“I have a better idea. Follow me.”

Eli followed her though the midway, where they found Chuck and Maddie sharing a waffle cone ice cream on a bench, away from the busyness of the amusement park.

Daea walked up to the girl, held out the large pink panda, and said, “Hey, Maddie. Sorry I was rude to you. Would you like this?”

Chuck stared wide-eyed at the girl.

Maddie screeched with excitement and took the panda doll. “Really? You don’t want it? It’s amazing.”

“I’m glad you like it. I’ll leave you two alone now.” She gave Chuck a wink before leaving.

They walked back toward the midway. Daea said, “Let’s go to the haunted house.”

“They’re never any good,” Eli said. “Have you ever been scared in one of those things? I say we do something else.”

“Even if it isn’t scary,” Daea replied, “it might be funny.”

“Alright.”

The long lineup crawled toward the entrance. A wooden façade, painted to look like an old stone house, covered the truck trailer containers pushed together to create a building. A green, ominous glow pulsed from the cutout windows. Painted above the entrance, a flaming green sword dared anyone to enter.

“Whoever painted that did a great job,” Daea said, pointing at the decorative front.

A door banged open and then closed. A woman and man ran out the side door of the building screaming. Once away from the building, they turned and looked back. Fear covered their faces. Then they looked at each other, remembered where they were, and laughed.

“Maybe it is scary,” Daea said.

Eli shrugged.

People continued to flee the building as they waited to get to the front of the line. Every few minutes another group of people would explode from the exit door, running and screaming.

“OK, it has piqued my interest,” Eli said, surprised at the people’s reactions.

They got to the front of the line, where a woman, dressed in a medieval tunic, looked at the kids, then shook her head and pointed at a sign, which read that all entrants must be eighteen years or older. Daea’s scrunched up her face, and she told the lady that she had better let them in, and that nothing in it could be scarier than the monsters she’d fought in real life. The woman apologized and said the carnival had received too many complaints from parents, and they’d adopted a hard policy of adults only. She said she understood the children’s disappointment, but she couldn’t make an exception. Daea argued with the woman until the people in the line behind them started to grumble.

“Come on, Daea, let’s go,” Eli said, pulling the girl’s shirt. She tried to resist, but the group immediately behind them pushed by to present their tickets and enter the haunted house.

“That’s not fair,” Daea complained. “They’re being ageist.”

“The woman said that it was too scary for kids. She doesn’t know we’re Childaar and that it wouldn’t be scary for us.”

“I was telling her that.”

“She had no idea what you were talking about.”

“We’re coming back here after they close to see what’s in there.”

“Can’t you let it go?”

“No.”

“Of course not,” Eli said, looking at his watch. “The carnival is about to close soon anyway.”

Daea led them to the food vendors, who were packing things up for the night, and even though nothing was fresh, she was able to buy the remaining candy apples and popcorn.

A horn blared across the exhibition grounds, signifying the carnival’s closing. Most people had already left, but the few remaining stragglers made their way to the exit gate. The carnival owner, wearing a tuxedo and top hat, stood by the gate next to the gingerbread house and thanked everyone for their patronage. They met up with Chuck and Maddie, who said they were going to a coffee shop. The Sight’s tone made it clear that they were not invited.

Daea and Eli walked to the back of the parking lot, eating the snacks the girl had purchased on their way and watching the workers power down the carnival and cover the stalls to protect them from the weather. After the workers left, a security guard patrolled the grounds, ensuring everything was safe and sound before returning to a hut where a television’s glow shone from a small window.

The Childaar found an opening at the back of the carnival and snuck onto the dark fair grounds. The Suffering swirled around their feet as they crept toward the haunted house.  Daea found and flipped the power switch for the ride. The windows came alive with a green glow, and a low hum emanated from the inside of the building.

“Don’t you think the security guard is going to notice?” Eli asked.

“He just did a patrol. We won’t be that long. We’ll turn it off when we leave.” She turned the handle of the front door, and it swung open. She looked at Eli, who gave her an impatient nod. They stepped into a porch entry. The only objects inside were an empty shoe rack and an empty coat rack.

“Scared yet?” Daea asked.

“As if,” Eli responded.

They entered and passed a short staircase that led up. The door at the top was unreachable, as police tape had been wrapped back and forth across the hallway.

“I wonder what happened up there,” Daea asked.

“Nothing,” Eli answered. “It’s just a prop.”

They rounded a corner into a hallway lined with mirrors, which twisted their reflections to make them look round, sallow, tall, and short. Daea made a face, and Eli joined her. They laughed looking at their oblong bodies and goofy faces.

The hall of mirrors led into a dining room. Attached to the room’s walls, the stuffed heads of dozens of animals—lions, foxes, grizzly bears, a Komodo dragon, and even a shark—looked down on them. Their bared teeth made them look especially aggressive. A table, set up for dinner, had half-eaten plastic food atop it, which gave the impression of an interrupted meal.

“This isn’t scary,” Daea said, looking around the room with the heads of stuffed predators from around the world.

“It’s kind of weird how their eyes seem to follow you wherever we move.”

Daea walked around the room examining the taxidermy heads. “I see what you mean. Wherever I go, their eyes are on me. Is that how it looks to you too?”

Eli nodded.

“How can it be that they are looking at the both of us when we’re on opposite sides of the room?”

Eli approached the head of a tiger. He inspected the face. “It’s the glass that the eyes are made from. The backs have pupils all across them so that it doesn’t matter where you are, that’s what you see.”

Daea laughed. “OK, I’ll admit it’s better than my first impression. I don’t know if I would say it’s scary, but it’s unnerving.”

“I know my younger siblings would be freaked out in this room.”

“Yeah, I guess it’s scary for kids.”

“You’re a kid.”

“You know what I mean.” Daea looked around and walked to the exit, through a doorway with a magnificent eagle mounted above it, and into a kitchen. Daea peeked into the room, then stopped Eli. “Maybe we should go back. I don’t think you are going to like this.”

Eli pushed past the girl to see for himself.  “What? It’s just a kitchen. They tried to make it scary by having all those knives hanging overhead and covering it in red paint to look like blood, but that’s it.”

He stepped into the room, and a high-pitched wail assaulted their ears. He stepped back and it stopped. “They have pressure plates that make that sound when you step on them. The noise could alert that guard.”

Daea backed up several paces, then ran at the room. She jumped before the threshold and landed on top of the kitchen. She winked at the boy, then jumped off it toward the door leading out. Eli followed her lead, but included front flips to his jumps.

He landed beside her in a short corridor with eight doors along the sides. Each door had a Roman numeral inscribed above it. Daea tried to open a door, but the Smart said, “These doors are just attached to the wall. They don’t go anywhere.” He pointed left. “That’s outside”—then right—“and that’s the kitchen.”

“Why do they have them?” Daea asked.

“I guess it’s just kind of strange wondering where the doors lead. What’s with those numbers? They seem pretty random. VMMDCCCLIV is seven thousand eight hundred and fifty-four. That’s weird.”

Daea nodded. “It is.”

A bedroom awaited them at the end of the doored hallway. A small bed pushed up against the right-side wall, flanked by two bedside tables. What was unordinary, however, were the clown portraits interspersed amongst hundreds of porcelain dolls on the shelves. The clowns and dolls all looked sad, angry, indignant, annoyed, upset, dazed—anything but happy.

“This is pretty creepy too,” Eli said. “Could you imagine if this was your room?”

“No thanks,” Daea agreed. “I like my clowns smiling.”

“That one’s smiling,” Eli said with a laugh.

“Yeah, like the Joker. It looks like it wants to kill us.”

“Let’s get out of here.” Eli looked around. “Where do we go?”

Daea scanned the room, then pointed at a cubby door. It opened into a tunnel. She crouched and entered. “Kinedaar adults would struggle to crawl through here.” The little square door slammed behind them, leaving them in complete darkness. “I can’t see a thing,” the girl said.

A globe of fire appeared in Eli’s hands.

“Nice one,” Daea said.

Plaster carvings of various bone shapes covered the walls. The Childaar crawled through the narrow winding tunnel, which exited into a cold storage room. Instead of the usual root vegetables ordinarily found in a cellar, the boxes and baskets held ceramic human skulls.

“This is pretty gruesome,” Daea said, leading her friend through the room to a nondescript hallway that vibrated like a heartbeat. A smoke machine billowed clouds of white vapor into the room ahead of them. An ornate rug covered the floor, and shortly after they entered the room, the smoke cleared, revealing a tall glass box, and inside the box stood a bald genie, arms folded across a bare chest.

“Want to make a wish?” Eli asked, walking up to the enclosure.

“I wish this place was scary,” Daea said.

As soon as the girl spoke, the genie came to life. Its movements were mechanical, and then in a robotized voice it spoke. “I am Hritz, the last of my kind. What brings you into my domain?”

Daea giggled and said, “We’re here to find out why this haunted house isn’t even scary.”

“Free me and be set free.”

Eli said, “Free it? What does that mean?”

“Should I punch the glass and pull it out?”

“Free me, please,” the genie begged.

“No, don’t wreck the place.”

“Free me, please.”

“What should we do?”

“Let’s leave.”

“Free me, please.”

Daea frowned and said, “I think it wants us to help it. And who knows, maybe we will get a wish.”

Eli shook his head, but before he could speak, the genie’s lips parted and said, “Free me, please.”

“Let’s go,” the boy said. “This thing is creeping me out. It’s just a machine, but the way it keeps saying ‘free me’ is disconcerting. I don’t like it.”

“Free me, free me,” Daea said, imitating the machine.

“Stop it, and let’s get out of here.”

The machine kept repeating itself. “Free me, please; free me, please…”

“Wait, where is the door out of here?” Daea asked, looking around.

Eli followed her gaze. “It’s a puzzle. We have to do something to get out.”

“Free me, please.”

“Let’s unplug this machine,” Eli suggested. He walked over to the glass enclosure, but it was up against the wall without a visible plug.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to punch it?”

“Tempting, but we don’t need to break the carnival’s things.”

“Free me, please.”

“We could leave and go the other way,” Daea said.

Eli’s face looked determined. “It’s just a puzzle that we have to solve—like an Op. Scour the room.”

The Childaar split up and examined the surroundings. Upon closer inspection, the rug was not as fancy as they’d first thought as it had been worn down after years of people walking over it. Beside the glass enclosure, large pillows were piled high. Against the back wall opposite the glass case stood a sturdy armoire made of a cherry wood. Daea and Eli approached the large piece of furniture.

“Free me, please,” the mannequin continued to beg.

Daea gave the boy a hard look and swung open one of the massive doors. Sitting on a shelf inside the ornate closet was a shiny gold lamp. It had a round, coiled handle, a narrow stem led to a round base, the spout looked like a rhinoceros horn, and it had a lid, which was soldered to the rest of the lamp. The girl attempted to pick it up, but it was fastened to the shelf. “What should we do with this?”

“Free me, please.”

Eli pushed the lamp forward, and a loud click sounded. They looked back at the genie in the box, and the case filled with smoke.

“You shall be free,” the mannequin’s voice said. When the smoke cleared, the genie was no longer there.

“Look at that,” Eli said, pointing at the armoire. At the back of the closet, a hidden door opened, revealing a pulsing green glow. “We found the way out!”

The Childaar walked to the door, but when they peeked inside, they couldn’t see anything. The green glow continued to pulse.

“Do you feel that?” Daea asked.

“Yeah, what’s going on?”

“I don’t know. I’ve got a bad feeling.”

“Me too.”

“We have nothing to be afraid of,” Daea said. “We’re Childaar. We fight monsters.” The girl stepped ahead and said, “Follow me.”

The hall was empty, but the feeling persisted. Once they were inside, however, the door to the mannequin room banged shut. The Childaar looked behind them, and above the door, perched on a ledge, rested a large steel sword. It was as tall as a human and had an eerie, faint green glow about it. Daea’s and Eli’s eyes grew wide. They screamed and ran for the door at the end of the hall. It swung open, and they fell outside.

The door slammed shut behind them. Facedown on the ground, all they could see was a pair of black boots. When they looked up, they saw the carnival owner, who had changed out of his tuxedo into regular clothes, and demanded to know what they were doing. Behind him stood two of his employees, arms folded across their chests. He told them they were being kicked out and that they were no longer welcome on the carnival grounds.

Daea protested that she hadn’t gone on all the rides yet and was hoping to return the next night, but her pleas fell on unsympathetic ears. She then got angry and said she could fight the men and that they couldn’t stop her. Without mirth, the owner laughed and said he had no plan to have a physical altercation, and if they refused to leave, he would call the police and let them deal with the trespassers.

Eli stopped the young girl before she could further protest. “Let’s go, we’re not welcome here, and we don’t need any problems with the police.

“It’s not fair. All we wanted to do was see the haunted house.” She pointed at the men and said, “It’s actually your fault for not allowing kids into it.”

The men ignored the girl and escorted them off the fair grounds.

When they were alone, near the parking lot, Daea asked, “What happened in there?”

“I think we found an Artifax,” Eli replied.

CHAPTER 5

“Are ye sure?” Jesi-Sera asked with a look of curiosity on her face.

Eli shrugged. “No. I’ve never seen an Artifax before, but I have read about them.”

“I’ve never seen one either,” Chuck said.

Eli asked the team leader, “Have you?”

“Aye, I retrieved one once. It was a decorative bell, like the ones ye buy at touristy places. It was bad luck. It belonged to a lady who lived in the English countryside. That poor woman. Anything that could go wrong for her did.”

Daea sat with her arms crossed and a sour look on her face. “Eli said that Artifax belong in museums and that we’re going to have to take it from the carnival.”

“Aye,” Jesi-Sera said.

“But the carnival is using it for the haunted house, which is fun for people.”

Eli said, “The Contaminated can use Artifax for ill effect. People can get hurt because of them.”

“What if it puts the carnival out of business?”

“They will be fine,” Jesi-Sera said. “They have other rides and things to do.”

“The haunted house was the best, though.”

Jesi-Sera said, “The point is that we don’t have much of a choice. Childaar are obligated to retrieve them. There are good reasons to want to keep Artifax in museums, where they can be observed and protected.”

“I don’t like it,” the small girl said, scrunching her nose.

“You don’t have to,” Chuck said. “But you do have to follow Jesi-Sera’s lead on this, and if she says we’re retrieving it then that’s what we’re doing.”

Daea slouched in her chair. “It doesn’t seem fair.”

The team leader turned to Chuck and asked, “Do ye think ye could sneak into the carnival tonight to retrieve that sword?”

“That shouldn’t be a problem.”

“I guess we’re thieves now,” Daea said.

“It’s for the greater good,” Jesi-Sera told the small girl.

“Stealing’s stealing.”

Eli turned to Daea. “Why are you so invested in this? There have been many times on Ops where we have had to take extraordinary measures to make things better.”

“It doesn’t feel right.”

“Because it’s a carnival?”

The small girl hesitated before answering. “I guess. They are places of happiness, and we will be taking some of that away.”

Jesi-Sera knelt so that she could look the Hardy in the eyes. “Ye understand why we must do this? We can’t ensure that the Artifax will always be used for a haunted house.”

Daea said, “I suppose. It’s just too bad for the owner. It’s an important part of his business.”

Chuck looked at the clock and said, “We still have a few hours before sunset. Daea and Eli, you’re on tunnels until then.”

“I hope we find something,” Daea said, extending her claws. “I need to let off some steam.”

The museum had its own entrance to the tunnel system that ran underneath the city’s central core.  The Childaar opened the heavy round steel entrance near their home. It didn’t take many steps before the museum’s protection wore off and they were ankle deep in Suffering.

The pair’s rainboots kept their feet dry as they tracked through the dirt-walled, muddy caverns. The ground inclined and declined as they moved through the tunnels, and at times they had to wade through ankle-high water.

“Think we’ll find anything?” Daea asked, cinching the straps on her backpack.

Eli responded, “Maybe a few Crawlies, but as you know it is better to do a little consistently than it is to wait for a massive build up down here.”

“Jesi-Sera and I found a Slugg down here one time.”

“I know. Remember you came back and got me and Chuck to help.”

“Oh yeah. That was a hard fight. Its large tentacles and slimy body were disgusting.”

“It went down to my fire pretty quickly.”

“I did a lot of damage up front. Probably more than you.”

“Nah.”

“Uh huh.”

Before they could get into an argument, a rustling sounded from down the dark corridor. Only a few emergency lights for city workers interspersed the hallways, but the Childaar’s basic Seeingness allowed them to see with little illumination.

“Did you hear that?”

“I did,” Daea answered.

“What was it?”

“How should I know? Oh yeah, let me use my Scry and I’ll take a look around the corner. Oh yeah, I don’t have Scry.”

“Relax,” the boy told the girl. “Go take a look. If it’s anything more than a Crawlie, get its attention and come back, then I’ll blast it.”

“Why don’t you go look?”

“How many times do we need to have this conversation? Because you have Tuffness 2, you can take the hits. As much as I like my Fire, you are at a real advantage being an L4. I still can’t believe you manifested more Tuffness, and a level of each Powness and Formness. It’s not fair.”

The girl flexed her arms and kissed her biceps.

“I’d better get something else soon.”

“You will. What would you like most?”

“I’d take anything. Seeingness would be great. Then we wouldn’t have to rely on Chuck so much for tracking the Suffering, and I’d be a step closer to Scry. That’s what I’d like.”

“You could be an Orakle.”

“Yeah right. I’m not even sure how they get chosen.”

“But they all have Scry, right?”

“Yes, it’s a necessary requirement.”

“Well then, we’d just have to introduce you and tell them you want in.”

“You’d come with me?”

“Sure, someone needs to protect you.”

“Good to know. I’m sure you’d explain all this to them?”

“Someone has to, and I’m the one who knows how to get things done.”

“You are?”

“Of course. I always get what I want,” the girl said with a laugh as she crept up to the corner. She peeked around it, then turned back to Eli, shaking her head.

The boy moved up to her, and then Daea snuck down the hallway to a T-intersection at the end of the hall. She looked around that corner, then froze. Eli waited for her to give him a sign of some sort, but she wasn’t moving at all. Eli rushed up and tapped her on the shoulder. The girl shook her head and looked at Eli, eyes glassy.

“Daea!”

“What? What’s going on?”

“What do you mean what’s going on? We’re cleaning out the tunnels. You peeked around the corner and got dazed or something.”

The girl slapped herself on the side of the head. “Oh yeah? I don’t remember anything after moving up.”

“It must have been a monster able to transfix or petrify. I know Madusi can petrify.”

“If you get petrified, I’ll put your statue in my room.”

“I’d rather you put me out in the sun.”

“I guess we’ll see,” the girl said with a laugh.

Eli looked serious and said, “No. You would expose me to the sun. There is no other cure for a monster’s petrification.”

“I was only joking. Of course I’d expose you. But maybe I’d put a funny hat on you first.”

“Sometimes it’s hard to tell when you are joking.”

“Pfftt,” the girl sounded before taking a quick look around the corner. “All clear.”

“We should go get the others. We are up against something we’ve never fought.”

“We can do this.”

“No way. I’m going to go get them.”

“Whatever. I’ll tell you all about the monster I destroyed by myself when you get back,” Daea said, moving around the corner.

Eli rushed after the girl. “I’m going to tell Jesi-Sera about this when we return. I bet she scolds you.”

“She will praise me for taking initiative.”

“I guess we’ll see.”

“I guess we will, tattle-cat.”

“What?”

“It’s a tattletale and scaredy-cat combined. That’s what you are.”

“Am not.”

“Are too.”

“Shhh, I heard it again.”

As they approached the corner, Eli asked, “Do you have a mirror?”

“Why would I have a mirror?”

“I don’t know—to check your hair?”

Daea gave him a hard stare.

Eli shrugged with his hands. “I guess not. I’m just wondering if there is another way we can see around that corner. That’s what you’re supposed to do with a Madusi, anyway.”

Daea stuck her head around the corner, then quickly pulled back.

“I saw something.”

“What?”

She took another peek.

“It looks like a small hippo or something. Thick hide.”

“Don’t make eye contact.”

The Hardy bolted around the corner, head bowed, looking at the ground.

“Daea!”

His warning was useless. The girl charged the monster, which looked like a six-legged miniature hippopotamus, taking it by surprise as she jumped on its thick gray hide back, like a lion on a water buffalo. It snorted in anger, and sparkles burst from its snout.

The girl extended her claws and began ripping strips off the hide. The monster squealed and spun as Suffering poured to the ground. “Now, Eli, start shooting.”

Eli popped around the corner, fireball ready. He launched it from a centerline punch before jumping back behind the corner. The solid ball of fire hit the broad side of the monstrous beast, which had begun smashing itself into the walls trying to dislodge the girl. Her claws hooked into the creature. She swung around but maintained her position atop it. “Come on, Eli. Get more Fire on this thing. I have it distracted.”

Eli popped back around the corner, where he launched four smaller fireballs in rapid succession then, again, moved behind the corner for protection. The monster charged down the hall searching for the source of pain.

“Careful,” Daea called. “We’re headed your way.”

The creature rounded the corner. Eli was running toward the next intersection, but looked behind him before he got to it. He stopped dead in his tracks. His eyes glossed over and he swayed back and forth. He was sent rolling back through the muddy ground when the six-legged hippo finished its charge with a solid headbutt.

Daea rode the hippo-monster like a bucking bull. She had sunk one of her claws into it and clawed down with the other. The Suffering grew thicker and darker as it oozed down the creature’s body, where it joined a swirly mess of Suffering on the ground. The monster smashed itself into the tunnel walls. She lost her grip and fell to the ground, where heavy hooves stomped on her as the creature bucked around the narrow corridor.

The Hardy absorbed the heavy blows, rolled from underneath the beast, and kickflipped back onto her feet. Crouched low, claws extended, she felt and anticipated the monster’s movements. She moved forward, but took a kick in the stomach and was sent skidding across the ground. Unsure where the monster was, she opened one eye to take a quick look at the ground. Water splashed in her peripheral vision. Closing the eye again, she charged at the hippo-beast. After a few steps, she jumped toward the wall, kicked off of it, and hooked a claw into the creatures hide as she slide along its back.

The monster howled as it attempted to dislodge the unwanted rider. Daea held tight with her knees and slashed with her claws.  It grew weaker, and eventually slumped over and dissipated into the Suffering.

Brushing her hands off, she walked up to Eli and gave him a shake. “We’re done.”

The boy’s eyes focused and he said, “You beat it?”

“Of course.”

“We still should have gone back to get the rest of the team. Had that thing hypnotized both of us, that would have been the end of our Childaar lives.”

“But it didn’t. Are you still going to tell on me?”

“No. But in the future, I’d like my suggestions taken seriously.”

“OK.”

“Why don’t I believe you?”

“Tunnels clear,” Daea announced upon their return home. She beelined to the kitchen, where she grabbed a bag of cheese puffs from a cupboard and tossed four high into the air, catching each one in her mouth.

Chuck said, “Don’t get comfortable. We’re heading out soon.”

Eli said, “What’s going on? Don’t we have to wait for the carnival to close before we retrieve the sword?”

“Yes, but we are going to put it in an iron crate to transport it. That should dampen some of its power. I know a guy who lets me use his shop.”

“How are we going to make that?” Daea asked before pouring the cheese puff crumbs at the bottom of the bag into her mouth.

“I’m going to weld it together.”

“Can you teach me?”

Chuck frowned, but before he could decline the girl’s request, Eli interrupted and said, “How often does she want to learn anything?”

“Hey,” Daea said with a look of feigned offense on her face.

Chuck laughed and said, “Sure, I’ll teach you.”

Clouds hung low in the overcast night. The Suffering swirled, but no mission presented. The team drove to an industrial area on the east side of the city and pulled into an empty parking lot. Suffering swirled all around them.

Jesi-Sera said, “Eli and I will go back to the carnival. I want to see that sword for myself.”

“Could you bring some dinner back when you return, please?” Daea asked.

The team leader laughed. “Aye.”

“Teamwork,” Daea yelled, hopping out of the vehicle, and she and Chuck approached the building.

Chuck pulled a key from his pocket and unlocked the door, revealing a clean, well-equipped shop.

“Whoa,” Daea gasped. “This is great. What are we going to do?”

Chuck led her to a workstation. “The first thing,” he explained, “is that safety is important. I know we are strong and have our own resistances, but trust me, we can still flash our eyes.” He threw Daea a mask and an apron. Both were far too large for the young girl, but she was able to get the strap on the mask cinched around her head.

“The next thing we have to do is lay everything out.” He handed the girl some iron rods and told her lay them down flat, because they were making the first panel of the box.

She did as told.

“What we’re going to do now is weld them together with tacks. Watch me.” Chuck turned on the tanks, and a spark flared from a torch. He leaned into the bars, and sparks flew as two bars became one. He then did the next bar, then the next. When he finished, a flat iron panel sat on the workbench. He lifted his mask. “One down, five to go. Do you want to do the next one?”

Daea grinned and nodded her head.

“Do you remember how I did it?”

She took the tools from the Sight. “Yes.”

Chuck laid down iron bars and observed the girl as she sparked her torch and went to work. It took her a little longer, but in the end, she too had created a flat iron panel.

“You’re a natural,” Chuck said. “Want to do the next four?”

“You bet I do.”

“Alright, I’ll just stand back here and watch.”

The small Hardy went to work, and after an hour of straight welding, she had completed the other panels.

Chuck stepped in and said, “Now comes the hard part. We have to bring these pieces together. The most important thing is measuring. We have to make sure everything is square.” He put two of the panels into vices, then made a bead between them. They connected at a right angle. “That’s the hardest one because if it’s off, everything else will be too. It looks pretty good to me, so I think you can complete the box. Don’t do the last one. We’re going to attach it with hinges. I’ll show you how to do that when you finish.”

Daea took back the torch, and it didn’t take her long to bring together the five sides. She threw back her mask and said, “This is fun.”

Chuck walked over and gave her a high-five.

Eli and Jesi-Sera returned.

Jesi-Sera said, “Aye, it’s an Artifax. How is the box?”

Eli placed bags of fast food on the table.

Daea’s eyes brightened. “I forgot you were going for food.”

“I’m not sure I believe that,” Eli said.

“It’s true. I was completely into the welding.”

Eli laughed. “We’ve finally found something that can take her mind off food.”

Daea rummaged through the bags and pulled out a large box of french fries and ate the whole thing in one shot.

“Did you even taste that?” Eli asked.

The girl unwrapped her sandwich and said, “Hard work makes me hungry.”

“You work hard?” Eli joked.

Daea stuck her tongue out at the boy, but with all the food in her mouth, everyone recoiled at the sight.

“How’s it going?” Jesi-Sera asked.

“Very well,” Chuck answered. “Daea did most of the work.”

The team leader inspected the box. “Where’s the top?”

“We were just about to do that,” Daea said, slurping the last drops of a strawberry milkshake. She walked over to the workstation and inspected the heavy iron hinges Chuck had brought over. She looked at Chuck for approval to start working, and he gave her a nod as he sat back and enjoyed his meal. She marked the pieces with chalk, sparked the torch, and expertly completed the box’s topside.

“Done!” she said, picking up the long, heavy box to show the team.

“Nice,” Jesi-Sera said.

Chuck took the box and gave it a thorough inspection. “Honestly, Daea, this is fine work. No offense, but I am a little surprised.”

“None taken,” she replied.

Eli took the box and said, “It’s heavier than it looks.”

“That’s iron,” Daea said. “It’s not light.”

Jesi-Sera looked at her watch and said, “We don’t have much time before sunrise. Let’s get going.”

They arrived back at the carnival. The security presence was greater than it had been the night before. Floodlights illuminated the fairgrounds, and three pairs of security guards patrolled the area.

“It looks like our visit last night put them on alert,” Eli said.

Daea said, “It’s going to be tough getting in there.”

Chuck said, “I’ll do it. I have Hideness, so they won’t be able to see me.”

Jesi-Sera cocked her head. “We may need my Adoreness to get at the sword. A little extra courage.”

Chuck shrugged and said, “I’ll give it a try. If I can’t do it, I’ll come back and get you.”

The Charm found a parking spot not far from the grounds, but far enough that they wouldn’t draw suspicion. She said, “Alright, but don’t take any risks. We’re a team.”

The older boy got out of the SUV, opened the back hatch, took the iron box, then proceeded to disappear.

“That’s such a great power,” Eli marveled.

“Aye, it’s always nice to have someone with Hideness on the team.”

Daea sat in the back seat. She had a bag of assorted bulk candy on her lap. Fiddling with a wrapper, she asked, “Which Dynasty has the best Gifts?”

Eli answered, “That’s a controversial question. You have to clarify what you are talking about. Are you asking which Gift is the best? Or which L9 would be the most powerful, or perhaps which combination of Gifts would be most powerful at each of the levels.”

Jesi-Sera said, “Aye, I think the most important thing is that a Childaar is happy with their Dynasty and Gifts because then they find ways to use their Gifts in different ways. It’s always sad to see a Childaar who is unsatisfied with their Dynasty. I’ve met a few. They are happy to help, but ye can see the envy in their eyes when they can’t do what they would truly like to be doing.”

“I’m happy with being a Hardy,” Daea said. “I wouldn’t want to change even if I could.”

Eli said, “Being a Smart is great, but it would be better if I manifested more Gifts.”

Jesi-Sera smiled at the boy through the rearview mirror. “Ye will.”

“How about you, Jesi-Sera, do you like being a Charm?” he asked.

The older girl took a moment before answering. “It’s what it is. When I was a wee lass, before my Awakening, I was quiet and shy. Since then, I’ve had leadership thrust upon me, because that’s what Charms do. It took me a while to get used to that, but I’ve accepted it as part of the job. If ye had asked me then, I would probably have chosen Quick or Sight…”

“For the Hideness,” Eli said.

“Aye. Like I said, I was shy. But since then I’ve grown to like being a Charm. Having all the levels of Adoreness can be a little sad at times. I’m never sure if people like me for me or my Gifts.”

“I like you for you,” Daea said, reaching between the front seats and giving the Charm a hug.

“Me too,” Eli concurred.

Jesi-Sera said, “That’s sweet.”

The passenger side door opened, and Chuck appeared, his face blanched and eyes wide. Before he could say anything, he slinked to the ground, unconscious.

The other Childaar jumped out of the vehicle. Eli cradled the Sight’s head in his lap, while Daea and Jesi-Sera ran to attend him.

“Is he alright?” Daea asked, worry clear in her voice.

“He’s stable,” Eli replied.

Chuck stirred, and his eyes opened. He tried to whisper something, but the sounds came out as wheezing gasps.

“He’s conscious,” Eli said, helping the Sight back into the vehicle.

Daea surveyed the area. “Where is the sword?”

Jesi-Sera zipped thirty paces away, where Chuck had dropped the iron box. “Open the back. I’m bringing it in.”

Daea opened the back hatch. The Charm hesitated a moment, then picked up the iron box and raced it to the back of the vehicle. The box landed with a hard thud when she threw it into the trunk.

The team leader got back into the SUV, looked at Chuck plopped beside her, and said, “I’m sorry, Chuck. I should have done this myself.”

His eyes opened slightly, and between chattering teeth, Chuck stuttered, “I’ll be OK.”

“He’s a tough cookie,” Daea said, giving him a pat on the back.

Chuck’s convulsions eased as they drove back to the museum. When they arrived, Daea and Eli hopped out of the vehicle and yelled for Buddy and Whiskers. The two dogs ran out of the darkness. When they neared Chuck, they both started howling into the night. The Sight brought them in close. They whimpered and licked at his face. He embraced the dogs and smiled.

“Can they stay inside with us tonight?” Daea asked.

The team leader, who had removed the iron box, said, “Aye.”

They helped Chuck into the museum. Buddy and Whiskers were underfoot as they stayed as near to their friend as possible. Jesi-Sera had Chuck’s arm around her neck, while Daea stood in front of them, ready to catch the Sight if he fell. Eli moved ahead to open all of the doors. Once inside, they got Chuck tucked into his bed.

Daea asked, “Do you need anything? Would you like some ice cream or popcorn?”

The dogs leapt into the boy’s bed, but his eyes were already closing. He managed to whisper, “I’m just going to rest.”

Jesi-Sera left their home, then returned with the sword-filled box.

Eli said, “I hope we aren’t keeping that in here.”

Jesi-Sera said, “I suppose ye are right. Where do you think we should put it?”

Eli said, “We should move it to the Canadian Museum of History, but for now why don’t we put it in one of those storage rooms filled with museum items not on display. There are some which I don’t think anyone has been in for years.”

“Good idea. Want to come with me and find one?”

“Sure,” Eli said. “In fact, I think I know the perfect place.”

Daea said, “I want no part of that,” as she walked toward the kitchen.

CHAPTER 6

Daea looked up from a newspaper and said, “It’s been a week since the carnival, and we haven’t done anything else besides read newspapers, fill out reports, patrol, interview, and review footage of the city. I haven’t done even a fraction of what I wanted to do by now.”

Eli sat beside her at an oval wooden table in the dining area. He stretched and said, “Don’t forget about the Stomps and Ops. Maybe we should play a game. Take a rest. I think we need a break. We’ve been working hard all day. Anyone want to play a game before nightfall?”

“Sure, but that only works for now. I meant we haven’t gone zip lining, to the water park, or anything else on my list.”

“Chuck, Jesi-Sera, are you interested?” the boy extended the offer.

The Sight, who was reading a police report and watching a baseball game on the TV across the room, said, “OK.”

The two younger Childaar at the table looked at each other, surprised. Daea said, “Wow, that’s a first.”

The Sight shrugged. “Why not?”

Jesi-Sera, who had taken a stack of newspapers to the recycle bin, used her Speedness to zip back to the table. She stopped in front of Eli, forcing the boy to reel back. “Don’t ye dare,” she said through clenched teeth.

Eli recoiled, fell out of his chair, and scrambled back on his hands and feet like a crab.

Daea jumped between the Charm and Smart. “Jesi-Sera! He didn’t do anything but ask you to play a game.

The beautiful blond girl snapped out of her fury. She shook her head and collected her thoughts. “Eli, I believe you just manifested a power.”

“Mindness? I have Mindness level one!”

“Which one’s that?” Daea asked.

“Suggest,” he answered. “People will be more receptive to an idea I give them.”

“Did you just use it on me?” Daea pressed.

“Maybe? I’d guess I used it on Chuck since he agreed to play a game with us.”

The Sight said, “Don’t do that again.”

Jesi-Sera helped Eli off the floor. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare ye. I reacted before thinking. That said, you are going to have to learn to control that power. And ye should never use it on Childaar.”

“Yeah, that’s rude,” Daea agreed.

Jesi-Sera continued, “It’s more than rude. It’s considered an assault. It’s the equivalent of attacking a Childaar. It’s grounds for expulsion.”

“What about Kinedaar?” Daea asked.

“Suggest can be helpful on Ops, but he’ll have to be cautious at other times. Suggest is a powerful Gift that can be used for the wrong reasons. It may be tempting to use it to get your way, but always remember, we are here to ease the Suffering, not help it. It would be like if Daea used her Powness and Tuffness to rob a bank. Ye wouldn’t do that?”

Daea extended her forefingers and thumbs to make guns, which she shot in the air then blew smoke of the top.

“Do you understand, Eli?”

The young boy nodded. “Of course. And, sorry I used it on you. I didn’t realize I could do that.”

The Charm gave the boy a hug. “I know ye didn’t.”

Eli then smiled the biggest smile he could. “I got a new Gift!” He danced around the room.

Daea gave him a high-five. “Nice one. Is that what you were hoping for?”

Eli said, “I didn’t really care so long as I got something. Now I’m lined up for level twos in Wizardness and Mindness—Illusion and Command.”

Chuck added, “I’d like him to get Seeingness. Then I wouldn’t always have to be the one to go check the Suffering.”

“I’ll do what I can, Chuck,” Eli said, walking over to the wall of games. “Does everyone still want to play?”

Jesi-Sera said, “Aye, a little fun before we have to head out will be nice.”

“Any requests?”

“Nothing too complicated or long,” the Charm replied, clearing space on the dining room table.

Eli pulled out a box and said, “Settlers of Catan?”

Daea was in the kitchen dumping bags of chips into bowls. “We haven’t played that, right?”

“Not yet,” Eli answered. “But it’s a classic.”

Chuck muted the baseball game he was watching before joining everyone at the table.

Eli opened the box and started sorting hexagonal tiles. “These are the land tiles,” he explained. “They provide the resources you need to build settlements, cities, and roads.”

“What do we fight?” Daea asked.

“There’s no fighting in this game.”

“What? Why not?”

“The goal is to be the first player to get to ten points. Settlements are worth one point each and cities two. Your locations need to be connected by the roads, and the person with the longest road gets an extra two points.”

The small girl looked unconvinced.

The Sight shuffled the land cards, placed them on the table, and completed the board layout by putting water tiles around the outside to make a big island. He then took some small discs, shuffled them, and placed them on each of the land tiles. Each disc had a number between two and twelve. “If you have a settlement on a land tile, and that number is rolled on two six-sided dice, you get a card of that resource. If you have a city, you get two resources.”

Jesi-Sera inspected the land tiles and pointed to one that had a forest on it. “That’s wood?”

“It is, and those”—he pointed at the other tiles—“are brick, wheat, ore, and sheep.”

“Sheep?” the Charm said.

Eli laughed. “I thought you would like that.”

“Aye, Scotland has more sheep than people.”

Daea removed a black pawn from the box and inspected it.

Eli said, “That’s the robber. You get to place him anywhere you want, and if that tile’s number is rolled, players with locations on it don’t receive any resources.”

“I’m going to use the robber all the time,” Daea said.

“You don’t get a choice. You have to roll a seven. Also, if you have more than seven cards in your hand when you roll a seven, you lose half of them, so don’t hoard your cards.”

“Anything else?” Chuck asked.

The Smart looked at the board. “A couple of things. On your turn, you can trade your resource cards with other players or the bank.” The young boy shuffled a deck of cards and said, “These are the development cards. They can give you more resources and victory points, but most of them are soldiers, which allow you to move the robber. And, anyone with more than three soldiers has an army, and the player with the largest army gets two points, just like the person with the longest road gets two points.” He surveyed the board and said, “That’s about it. You’ll get it as soon as we play a round.”

The Childaar placed their two starting settlements and then took turns rolling dice. Daea accumulated lots of wood and brick, and used them to build a road across the board. Eli passed her a big card that said she had the longest road. His strategy was to forgo expansion and focus on developing cities. Chuck had cornered himself on a side of the board and didn’t have many options, so he kept buying development cards and keeping the robber on a tile on which the other three Childaar had locations. Jesi-Sera found a port that allowed her to trade two sheep for any resource she wanted. Halfway into the game, the team leader was ahead with six points, while Eli and Chuck each had five, and Daea trailed behind everyone else with four.

Eli asked Daea, “Would you like to trade a wheat for a brick and wood?”

“Two for one? I don’t think so.”

“How else are you going to get the wheat you need to build another settlement, which you should be trying to get, so that you can get more resources.”

“I like working on my road.”

“But you already have the longest road card. It doesn’t need to be any longer. I think it would be a good trade for you.”

The girl’s eyes squinted. “Are you using your Suggest on me?”

Shocked, Eli responded, “No.”

“That’s not nice, Daea,” Jesi-Sera said. “Ye shouldn’t accuse people like that.”

“I was joking.”

“Sometimes it’s hard to tell.”

With a laugh, Daea held out two cards to Eli and said, “Deal.”

On his turn, Eli used the cards to expand onto a new tile, build a settlement, and upgrade it to a city.

A few more turns passed, and Eli and Jesi-Sera pulled ahead on points. Chuck reached past Daea for a bowl of chips. He said to her, “I think we’re out of this game. It looks like one of those two are going to win.”

“I’m never out of it.”

The Sight shrugged and passed the dice to the Charm.

“Watch this,” Jesi-Sera said. She had a handful of sheep cards and was ready to make a big play. She picked up the dice and shook them vigorously, even pausing to blow them a kiss. She rolled the dice, and they turned up seven. “What! Anything but seven.”

Everyone laughed, and Eli said, “Sorry, but you have to lose half your hand.”

She pretended to cry as she returned seven sheep to the bank. “I could have won.”

“That’s Catan,” Eli said. “There is a lot of luck involved, and the strategy is about finding ways to mitigate it.”

The older girl laughed. “Serves me right for getting greedy by holding on to so many cards.”

They each got one more turn, and when it came back around to Eli, he was able to get the resources he needed to build another city to win the game.

“It’s been a good day for you, Eli,” Jesi-Sera said. “Congratulations.”

“Thanks.”

“I’m still not convinced he wasn’t using his Suggest.”

“Daea…” Jesi-Sera warned.

“Sorry, sorry. Congratulations. Good game. Should we play again?”

The team leader looked at the clock. “It’s almost sunset. We should start getting ready for the night.”

Daea sighed, but then her face became serious. “How did you know Eli had used his Gift on you?” she asked the team leader.

“I sensed it. I knew it was him and what he was trying to do.”

“Why didn’t I sense it?” the girl asked.

Eli answered, “Mindness has a chance to work on all Childaar without them knowing, but the older and more experienced Childaar have a better chance to detect its effects.”

Daea looked at Jesi-Sera and asked, “Would it be OK if he tries it on me, to see if I can sense its use?”

Eli nodded. “And it would give me an opportunity to practice.”

Jesi-Sera nodded. “It’s alright if you consent, Daea. I’ll stay and watch just to make sure.”

Eli and Daea sat across from each other, staring into each other’s eyes.

The boy said, “Touch your nose.”

Daea extended her arm and touched her nose. She laughed and said, “I didn’t feel anything. I just touched my nose without thinking about it.” She faced the boy. “Try again.”

Eli looked at her and said, “Scratch your head like a monkey and make monkey sounds.”

Like a chimpanzee, she scratched her head and grunted, “Ooo ooo ooo.” She recovered and said, “Very funny. Try again.”

Eli said, “Say, Eli is the best.”

Daea’s eyes squinted. She shook her head and ignored the suggestion. “I felt that, and I was able to resist.” She laughed. “Nice try. We both know that Jesi-Sera’s the best.”

The Charm laughed. “I think we are all the best, but that’s enough for now. Let’s get ready. Chuck, could you check the Suffering, please?”

The Sight was flipping through the channels to see if he had missed anything in the world of sports. He turned the TV off and said, “On it.” He returned moments later and announced, “We have an Op in South Keys.”

Daea groaned and said, “Of course we do.”

CHAPTER 7

“Come on! Play with me,” Daea whined.

“Go away, Daea,” Eli complained. “Or, better yet, make yourself useful, and do something before we have to go out tonight.”

“That’s all we’ve done today.”

“No, that’s all we’ve done,” he said, pointing at the other Childaar in the room. “All you have done is watch movies and pester us to play with you.”

“That’s not true. I reviewed some video.”

“For how long before you got distracted?”

“You said all I’ve done is watch movies and play games, and you were wrong.”

From behind the couch in the TV area, Chuck growled and said, “You know what he meant. You aren’t being helpful.”

“I’m helpful on Stomps. Don’t you like it when I’m taking down the monsters? I’m a Hardy, my skills are martial.” She shadowboxed in place before turning to head into the movie theater.

“You’re going to watch another movie?” Eli said.

“I like movies.”

“Who doesn’t, but we have more important work to do.”

“Well, then, I’d best leave you to it,” said the young Hardy as she walked to the movie theater.

Jesi-Sera stepped out of her room with an envelope in hand. “Not so fast, young lady. Eli is right. We need all hands on deck. We’re nearing the end of July, and you only seem to work with us when you want something.”

Daea paused before saying, “What should I do?”

The team leader gave one of the Tomes Eli had stacked on his desk to the girl. “Read this.”

“Haven’t you read it?” Daea asked.

Eli said, “I have.”

“We all have,” Jesi-Sera added.

“Then why do I need to read it?”

Jesi-Sera placed her hands on her hips. “It will teach you some things about the Childaar world, which ye are woefully ignorant about even though your Awakening was almost a year ago.”

“Fine,” the girl said as she stomped to the beanbag chairs, plopped down, and opened it on her lap. It wasn’t long before she was curled up in the chair and snoring.

“Wake up!” Chuck barked.

Daea startled awake. “What? What’s happening?”

“We have a mission. A Stomp. Get ready.”

The team prepared. They left the Museum of Nature. The night was warm, and only a few tufts of clouds passed through the sky. Chuck looked at the ground. “It looks like it’s somewhere in the south.”

Jesi-Sera opened the SUV and they all got in. Chuck rode in front with the leader, while the younger kids hopped into the back seat. Before they could drive away, a big German shepherd and a Rottweiler ran from behind the museum.

“What about Buddy and Whiskers?” Eli asked. “Can they come?”

“It looks like they want to,” the Sight replied. He got out of the vehicle and opened the back for the dogs to jump in.

The team drove south on Elgin, then onto the Airport Parkway.

“Looks like the airport,” Chuck said.

“We should take a plane for a ride,” Daea suggested. “Can anyone fly?”

Nobody responded.

“I’m going to learn to fly airplanes,” Daea said. “I’ll be the team pilot.”

Jesi-Sera laughed. “Aye, that is a useful skill to have on a team, but I think you’ll have to wait a while yet. You’re still too short to reach the pedals.

“That’s OK, Eli can work the pedals while I fly.”

Eli said, “I don’t want to ever do that again.”

Before they got to the entrance for departures and arrivals, Chuck pointed to a side road. “Follow that. We won’t be going into the airport.”

Jesi-Sera drove the SUV toward a large airplane hangar. The Suffering whirled angrily.

“In there,” Chuck said.

Jesi-Sera reached over and patted Chuck on his back. “Great job.”

They stopped in front of a massive building designed to store and repair airplanes and jets.

“Any experience at the airport, Chuck?” Jesi-Sera asked.

The boy’s gold-flecked eyes twinkled in the clear night sky. “I’ve been to a few missions out here, but every time they were Ops. This is the first Stomp.”

“What do ye reckon?”

The Sight brought the team together in a huddle. “It’s game time. We will start with the basic play, and then adjust from there. Jesi-Sera, you and Daea take the lead. We will go in the front door. Eli, stay back and find opportunities to shoot your fire. I’ll stay hidden and try and get surprise attacks on whatever we find.”

“Sounds like a plan,” the Charm said. “Everyone understand?”

Daea said, “Hands in.” Each of the Childaar put a hand into the huddle, and even the dogs got their paws in.

Daea said, “On three—one, two, three.”

“B-team,” the Childaar shouted, raising their hands into the air. Buddy and Whiskers each howled into the night.

Daea ran at the building. “Let’s do it!”

The rest of the teammates chased after her. Jesi-Sera outpaced the younger girl. “Don’t be so hasty, Daea. We need to be careful.”

Suffering spilled through the wide openings around the hanger door.

“Ready?” the young girl asked her teammates.

Chuck checked to make sure Eli was at a safe distance and said, “Game on,” before disappearing.

Daea adjusted her grip at the bottom of the door, grunted, and pulled. It took a moment, but she was able to lift the door enough so that they could duck under. A big passenger carrier sat in the middle of the room. No monsters were in sight, but a large puddle of Suffering around the airplane indicated their location.

Daea extended her claws and approached the jet. “Let’s get in there and fight some monsters.”

“But how will we get inside?” Eli asked.

Chuck pointed at a mechanical staircase parked alongside the wall.

“I’ll do it,” Daea squealed as she ran toward the airstair. She started the engine and accelerated across the cement floor.

“Slow down,” Jesi-Sera yelled.

“Yipee!” Daea yelled as she drove toward the plane. She hit the brakes and decelerated just in time to bring the top of the platform in line with the passenger door. She ran her hand through her hair and announced to the team, “Like a pro.”

“I can’t believe she didn’t destroy that thing,” Chuck remarked.

Eli nodded. “What would have happened if she had?”

Jesi-Sera answered, “It would have been needless destruction. The airline would find the wreckage and either have to pay to fix or maybe get it covered by insurance.”

“Would they be able to trace it back to us?”

“Unlikely. Just like how adults rationalize our use of powers, investigations lead away from us too. It’s called collateral damage, and we should always try to avoid it.”

“Daea’s nickname should be collateral damage,” Chuck growled as they walked toward the stairs to join the girl.

Daea had overheard the end of the conversation and said, “You can call me C.D. for short,” and then asked, “Is everyone ready for me to open up this can?”

“Wait until I get up there,” Jesi-Sera answered.

The two dogs waited at the bottom of the stairs.

Chuck added, “Be careful. We are going to be in confined quarters. We won’t have a lot of room to maneuver.”

“Not my first rodeo, cowboy,” Daea said, prying open the door. The girls braced themselves as it opened and Suffering washed over them. Once it cleared, they found themselves face-to-face with decrepit, rotting humanoids.

“Gool,” Jesi-Sera called out. “Don’t let them hit you.”

Before Daea could move, the undead monsters raised their arms and slammed them down on the small girl, who stiffened and absorbed the hits. She was able to trade blows with the monsters, but her attacks became increasingly less effective. “I’m not hurting them.”

Jesi-Sera pulled on her teammates, leading them back down the stairs. She pushed a hand toward the monsters, using her Fear to turn a few into oozing Suffering. “Gools sap strength when they hit. Ye can’t let them hit you.”

The smaller girl’s eyes widened. “But it hit me.”

“Which is why I warned you.”

“You should have told me before now. I didn’t know about Gools.”

“Maybe you should read those Tomes like I tell you to.”

Once back on the hangar’s concrete floor, Daea said, “What can we do?”

“Keep back. We’ll lead them off the plane, and Eli can take care of them with his Fire.”

The girls backed down the stairs. Eli stood against the hangar wall, but the monster didn’t follow.

“They are not coming out!” Daea shouted.

“Eli, start blasting,” ordered the Charm.

Eli stood in his Wing Chun pose, shoulders and hips square. He threw a centerline punch, and a solid red fireball exploded from his fist. It entered the plane’s door and exploded.

“Keep them coming,” Jesi-Sera said.

Eli alternated left and right punches. Fireballs shot rapidly from his fists. The entrance to the airplane became a wreck.

“Here they come,” Daea announced as the monsters pushed out of the jet.

Seven Gools exited and fell down the stairs, where they picked themselves up off the ground and lumbered toward Daea and Jesi-Sera, who had placed themselves between Eli and the plane.

Chuck appeared beside them. “Gools, eh? Good thing we have Eli.” He barked at the dogs, warning them to stay away.

“No doubt,” Jesi-Sera said. “Daea’s already been hit a few times.” She turned to the small girl. “How are you feeling?”

“Pretty weak. When will I regain my strength?”

“It usually takes about day. You’ll feel better tomorrow night.”

“How can I fight them?” she exclaimed.

“Ye won’t. We’ll circle around this hangar and lead them away from Eli, who can shoot them from afar.”

Eli dropped one of the Gools with a big yellow blast.

“That’s it? I don’t get to kung fu them at all?”

“Not today, luv. You definitely don’t want to get hit anymore. Not only will it take longer to recover, but if you get hit enough times, ye won’t even be able to walk.”

Daea pouted, but then began waving her arms in the air. “Catch me if you can, you stink-monsters.”

Buddy and Whiskers joined her, barking at the creatures as they followed the small girl around the hangar.

The Gools followed the noisy sounds of the young girl as she ran them in a circle around the building. It didn’t take long for Jesi-Sera and Eli to finish them off.

“Great job, team,” Jesi-Sera called after the Suffering subsided.

The team gathered in the middle of the room and surveyed the damage to the hangar and plane.

Daea shrugged. “Now that’s what I call collateral damage.”

CHAPTER 8

The heavy door slammed behind them as Daea and Eli ran out of the museum into the hot and humid night. The Suffering across the street rocked, but did not indicate that there would be a mission.

“Finally,” the girl said. She took a deep breath of fresh air. “I think I had a bit of cabin fever today.”

“A bit?” Eli said. “Jesi-Sera and Chuck were yelling at you all day. You were a little hard to handle.”

“It wasn’t that bad.”

Eli gave Daea a sideways look.

“We’re outside now. That’s what matters. We can go anywhere so long as we investigate.”

Chuck exited the building and passed them without a word. He was at the end of the block when Buddy and Whiskers tore from behind the museum to join him. He laughed and played with the dogs as they walked out of sight.

Unlocking her bike, Daea asked, “What should we do?”

“We should at least do something productive. We’ve got so many dead ends on the A-team situation. It would be nice to turn up some sort of clue.”

“I know. It’s the end of July and it feels like we haven’t had any summer vacation.”

“If we were missing, would you want the A-team to take a night off?”

“I suppose not, but still, I thought being a Childaar would be more fighting monsters and more fun.”

“Don’t forget that fighting monsters is only half of the battle. We’ve also got Ops.”

“I know, but the problem is when we still have work to do when there is no mission.”

“I’m sure after we find the A-team, things will go back to normal, and we’ll be free on nights without missions.”

“OK, where should we go? Was there anything in the news?”

“Nothing stands out. Maybe we should surveil an area.”

“Let’s bike around?”

“Sounds good.”

Eli unlocked his mountain bike, and rode toward the Rideau Canal. It was early enough groups of people were still walking along the picturesque pathway. Daea weaved her way around the Kinedaar, and even jumped her bike onto an unoccupied bench.

Eli caught up to her and said, “Be careful. There are people around. You could hurt someone.”

The girl laughed and popped a wheelie. “Don’t worry.”

“Yeah, but you make people scared when they see you zipping around like that.”

“They should relax and have some fun.”

“A little girl riding recklessly around them isn’t fun for most people.”

“Let’s get off the canal, then. Where could we go for me to show my sweet moves and tricks?”

Rather than go left into downtown, they turned right and biked into the University of Ottawa. The Suffering parted as they entered the campus grounds, which was different than a lot of universities’. Its buildings weren’t the massive complexes often seen to hold various colleges, but rather a series of high-rises and old houses converted for the school’s purposes.

“Check this out,” Daea screamed as she jumped her bike in a courtyard on its nose. She continued to do tricks: front to back, one-hundred-and-eighty-degree handlebar turn, pogo, and riding backward. A small crowd of students stopped to watch and applauded after she finished her routine.

Eli, who had parked his bike, walked up to the girl. “That was pretty good.”

“Thanks,” the girl replied.

Slouched against a lamppost with his arms folded, an older boy with an ivory complexion, steely hazel eyes, and slick brown hair watched them with a sneer on his face. He was overdressed for the hot summer night in a black denim jacket, black T-shirt, black jeans, and black boots. He removed the toothpick that he’d been rolling around in his mouth and flicked it into a garbage can as he sauntered toward the Childaar. He was taller than he looked from afar, and towered over the duo when he stopped in front of them. “You’re not that good,” he said, in a low, gravelly voice. “I’ve seen better tricks than that.”

Daea and Eli moved into a defensive combat position. “Who are you?” the girl asked.

“Call me Hudson. I’ve been following you for a few days, and I have some questions.”

“We have some questions for you,” Eli said with his fist cocked back, ready to launch a fireball.

“Be cool,” the new boy ordered using Mindness, and Daea and Eli relaxed. “I’ll ask the questions. What’s going on in this city? Something seems off.”

“Who are you?” Eli asked.

“Just answer my questions.”

“Things are off,” Eli answered.  “Ottawa is a capital city, so we should have two teams, but our A-team went missing last winter. We are trying to find them.”

“Missing?

“I’m not sure we should be talking to you. Why don’t you come with us and meet our leader?”

“Who is that?”

“Jesi-Sera.”

“What’s her Dynasty?”

“She’s a Charm,” Daea answered. “She’s an L6, and she’s the best.”

Hudson shook his head. “I think I’ll stick with you two; I avoid Charms. Tell me everything about yourselves, your team, and the city.”

Daea and Eli took turns recounting the story of their arrival in the city, the A-team and B-team, the mysterious blue monster that saved them, and anything else they could think of.

When they finished, Hudson asked, “Does Owen have Mindness 3?”

Eli answered, “No, Memory is the only Gift he didn’t manifest.”

Hudson’s eyes narrowed.

“Why?” Daea asked.

“Someone implanted memory blocks in your mind. I can’t penetrate them, so whoever did it must be quite powerful.”

“What?” Eli said.

Hudson said, “Are you deaf?”

The young boy turned to Daea and said, “Who could have done that?”

Daea shrugged and gave Hudson a skeptical look. “Tell us about yourself. Who are you and why are you here?”

“Make me.”

Daea crouched, prepared to leap, and said, “Maybe I will.”

Eli put a hand on his friend’s shoulder and said, “Hudson, would you please tell us why you are here? Are you on the replacement team?”

“I’m a Rogue. I don’t have a team.”

Daea’s eyes widened. “That’s an option? Why didn’t anyone inform me?”

“Sure is,” the older boy replied.

Eli said, “You wouldn’t want that, Daea. When we find Rogues, we are expected to forcibly expose them.”

“You are not going to do that,” Hudson replied.

Eli gave the boy a hard look and said, “And it’s not an easy life. Much like you don’t want to be in the same city as too many vampires, having too few can lead to overwhelming loneliness.”

A pained look crossed Hudson’s face.

Eli’s eyes narrowed, and he asked, “How old are you?”

“Sixteen, but I’ll be seventeen soon.”

“Why are you here?”

“I’m looking into something.”

“What?”

Hudson grabbed Eli by the shirt collar, pulled him close, and said, “Don’t you dare use your Mindness on me.”

Daea was quick to react. Her claws extended and she moved to engage the new boy. He shot her a hard stare and said, “Back off.” The girl stopped in her tracks. He turned toward Eli and said, “You will not do that again. Got it?”

Eli nodded, but before he could say anything, Hudson repeated himself, and Eli said, “Got it.”

Daea asked. “What’s your Dynasty?”

“I’m a L5 Sovereign. Mindness 3 and Upness 2.”

Without using his Suggest, Eli again asked, “So, why are you here?”

“That’s personal, and on a need-to-know basis. And you don’t need to know.” He again wiped his hands through his hair. “Have you been following the news? Have there been any disruptions?”

Eli said, “The city is falling apart. There doesn’t ever seem to be any good news.”

“Like what?”

“The current government is embroiled in scandals. They seem to have a new crisis every day.”

“When did this start?”

“What do you mean?”

“Are these crises a recent development?”

Eli considered the question, then answered, “They were stable until about late last year, then everything started unraveling.”

Hudson nodded. “Let me guess. Money for infrastructure has gone missing, resources have been taken away from health care and education, and the press is attacked when they investigate these stories.”

Eli said, “How did you know?”

“I’ve seen the pattern before.”

“What’s happening?”

“That’s for me to know and you to find out.”

“What? This is important to us. It might help us find the A-team.”

“It’s on a need-to-know basis, and you don’t need to know.”

Eli turned to Daea, who still stood locked in place. He put his arm around her shoulder and led her away. “Come on, let’s go home.” The Suffering had begun to swirl and grow.

“This might be a mission,” Hudson said. “Let’s check it out.”

Daea turned and replied, “No, we’ll get our team and take care of it. We don’t need you.”

Hudson raised his arms in a pacifying gesture. “I don’t get a lot of opportunities to work with other Childaar. If it’s an Op, I’ll show you how it’s done. If it’s a Stomp, you can go get your team.”

Eli looked at the ground. “It looks close. Maybe we could do it before Jesi-Sera and Chuck even know it’s happening.”

“Come on,” the Sovereign said.

Daea sighed and said, “Sure, let’s go see what it is.”

The three Childaar walked deeper into the Sandy Hill neighborhood, with its tall trees and triple-story brick houses. The Suffering was strong and indicated that the mission of the night would be an Op. It led them straight to a low-rise apartment building.

“Why did you go Rogue?” Daea asked.

“It’s personal.”

“How do you operate without a team?”

Hudson looked into the distance, his eyes glazing over. “I had a team once. Now I make do with what I find in the cities I visit.”

Eli snorted. “You think it’s alright to recruit Childaar against their wishes to help you?”

Hudson shrugged. “It’s not ideal, but at the moment it’s my only option.”

“It’s not right,” the Smart said.

“What’s he doing?” Daea asked her friend.

Eli explained, “Hudson has Mindness level three, which lets him control Childaar to help him. Using Gifts on Childaar is a big no-no. It can be grounds for immediate expulsion. In the case of Mindness, it most certainly would be.”

“He’s mind controlling us?”

“It’s the only way I can get the support I need.”

“Hey!” Daea said, poking Hudson in his chest. “I don’t want you in my head.” She turned to Eli and said, “Since we know this, can’t we refuse to do his bidding? We should tell Jesi-Sera.”

Eli shook his head. “Unlikely. He has probably already implanted contingencies in our mind to prevent such actions.”

“I have,” the Sovereign admitted.

“Well, I’m not going to help anymore. I’m out.”

“Everyone ready for this Op?”

In unison, Daea and Eli said, “Yes.”

“Great,” Hudson said. “Let’s get this done before your teammates show up.”

The team walked to the apartment building. The security doors prevented them from entering.

“I’ll get us in,” Daea said, removing her lock picks from her backpack. She had the door open in seconds.

Hudson gave her an approving nod.

The team walked into the building. It was a four-story low-rise. Dents and chips in the paint adorned the corridor’s wide walls. The shin-high Suffering swirled out of control as it washed back and forth through the corridors.

“Now what?” Daea asked.

“Let’s walk around and see if we see or hear anything,” Hudson said.

They walked up the stairs to the top floor, where televisions murmured from the other side of the doors.

Daea tried to slide down the banister to the third floor, but it was narrow and sticky, and she was unable to get any glide. Rather than get off and walk down, she hung upside down with her knees curled around the handrail. She then let go, dropped, flipped, and landed softly on her feet.

Eli grinned. “Nice one.”

They opened a heavy door that led into the hallway. As they entered, the door on the other end did as well. A woman wearing light blue medical scrubs walked toward them. Arms laden with groceries bags, she struggled to retrieve the keys in her purse. The Childaar all rushed forward to hold bags while she opened the door to her place. She gave the Childaar a strange look, but thanked them for their help.

Once she was inside, Daea looked at the floor. The Suffering continued to rise. “I was hoping that that would have solved it.”

Hudson said. “Ops are never that easy.”

The second and first floor corridors were empty and quiet.

They moved to the basement, where there were a few suites, but a maintenance room and a laundry room occupied most of the space.

Eli rattled the maintenance room door, but it was locked and wouldn’t open.

“I got this,” Daea announced, taking out her lock picks.

The room was messy, tools and winter equipment stacked nearly to the roof.

Hudson found a path to the large, humming furnace. He inspected it for gas leaks. “Everything seems in order here,” he said before returning to the hall.

Eli rummaged through the stuff in the maintenance room. He said, “Go ahead, I’m going to stay here and see if there isn’t a clue amongst this junk.”

Hudson beckoned Daea to follow him.

The laundry room was also locked, but a small wiry man sat in one of the two plastic chairs which flanked an end table stacked with outdated magazines. Hudson rapped on the door’s window, and the man opened it for them, whereupon the two Childaar entered. The man’s eyes narrowed as he watched them. Hudson asked him what he was up to. He said he was doing laundry, to which Hudson asked why then weren’t any machines running. His eyes twitched, and he told them they should leave. Hudson stared hard into the man’s eyes before telling him that he knew he was there to steal the coins from the machines. The Sovereign berated him, calling him a loser and laughing that he didn’t have a home, and that he wondered if his cardboard box was nice.

“Hey!” Daea yelled. “Back off, that’s not nice.”

“Who cares? He’s a thief, and I don’t need to be nice.”

“He’s a person.”

“Who lives on the street in a box. Maybe he should get a job.”

“You don’t know his story.”

“Actually, I do. He’s a loser.”

The girl’s claws extended, and she crouched low in her kung fu tiger pose.

Hudson held out a hand and said, “Back off.”

Daea’s nostrils flared, and she stepped forward.

The Kinedaar stood, frozen, watching the Childaar conflict.

The older boy raised his hands and said, “Who cares about this.” He turned to the man and told him to leave the money he had taken and get out of the apartment.

The man was quick to move. He emptied his pockets onto the table and ran out of the room. The Suffering released and washed onto the floor like a cascading waterfall.

Eli walked into the laundry room and asked, “What happened?”

Hudson answered, “We had a thief. He’s gone now. Daea seemed to like him. I think she wanted to marry him.”

The girl gave the Sovereign a hard look, but before she could retort, Eli said, “Did you read his mind?”

Hudson nodded. “I did. Mindness is really useful on Ops.”

“I bet that I could have used my Suggest to solve it,” Eli said.

Daea patted the boy on the back. “I’m sure you could have.” She gestured toward Hudson and said, “We don’t need this schmuck. Let’s get out of here.”

Hudson followed them out of the building. “Suggest is good for small-time stuff like this, but when the stakes are raised or the Kinedaar have strong willpower, it can be limiting.”

“I hope I develop it further.”

“Don’t count on it.  I’ve been waiting for Powness for eight years.”

“What do you do in fights?” Eli asked.

He shrugged. “I mostly take care of the trash and, if working in a team, can use my Jump and Glide for battlefield positioning.”

They walked out into the humid night, where the Suffering had receded and only the usual wispy gray fog remained.

“We should go to a diner for a late-night celebration,” Eli suggested. “Daea always likes to celebrate successful missions with a poutine.”

“Not tonight,” the girl said, walking away.

Eli looked puzzled.

“I can’t anyway,” Hudson said. “But I’m sure we’ll see each other again.”

Daea stopped and turned. “Did you program our minds to make sure that happens?” she said with a hint of anger in her voice.

Hudson shrugged and used his Jump to soar straight up into the night sky.

Daea and Eli walked back toward the university.

“What happened back there?” Eli asked. “Why so angry?”

“I don’t like that guy. He’s rude.”

“He is, but maybe being alone all the time has affected his sensibilities.”

“There is no excuse for that kind of behaviour.”

Before they got to the end of the block, their team’s black SUV squealed around the corner. They waved them down.

Chuck lowered his window and said, “You solved it?”

Daea nodded. “It was easy. Some guy was stealing money from the washing and drying machines in that apartment. We retrieved the money and sent him on his way.”

Chuck gave the kids a curious look, but ultimately nodded and said, “Good work.”

Jesi-Sera called over from the driver’s side, “Want a ride back?”

Eli said, “We have to get our bikes, but we’ll be home shortly.”

“We will celebrate your success, but remember, it can be dangerous doing missions without a complete team.”

CHAPTER 9

“I found something,” Eli called.

Daea opened the door to her room and peeked out. Jesi-Sera and Chuck hovered over the boy and a stack of newspapers on the desk before him.

“Can I come out?” she asked.

Jesi-Sera looked at the sliver of an opening and said, “Are ye going to behave?”

“Am I going to be treated fairly?”

The Charm made a motion for her to close the door, but Daea changed her tune. “OK, OK, I’ll leave it alone.”

“How can I believe you?” the team leader said. “You’ve promised to behave countless times, then distract us from the work we need to be doing.”

“The last time wasn’t on me. It’s not my fault Chuck can’t take a joke.”

“That was a joke,” the Sight said. “I guess it was so funny that I forgot to laugh.”

“Ye haven’t learned anything. Stay in your room until tonight.”

Daea had begun creeping her way toward the team at Eli’s desk.

“I want to see what Eli found.”

Eli held up a newspaper dated August 3rd. Its headline read, “Canadians Paying Too Much for Healthcare.” The name of the article’s author was circled in red.

“What’s this?” Jesi-Sera prompted the boy.

“I was looking through old stories, and I found this author who, up until almost a year ago, was writing stories about the Canadian healthcare system. He was a champion of the cause, pointing to inefficiencies and threats to the program. Now, he has joined the chorus of newsmakers attacking the institution.”

“How so?” Jesi-Sera pressed the boy.

Eli continued, “Canada has a universal healthcare system, which means that everyone, regardless of how much money they make, receives the same care.”

With concern in his voice, Chuck said, “And now?”

“Over the past year, there has been a noticeable increase in stories claiming that this system is both inefficient and unfair.”

Chuck’s hands balled into fists. “Canadians are proud of our healthcare system. Are you saying that it’s under attack?”

Eli shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe? I think we should talk to this journalist and see why he has changed positions, and if he knows anything about this seeming attempt to steer the narrative of the story.”

The team drove to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation headquarters on Sparks Street, which was only a block away from Parliament. The low-rise building looked similar to the quaint shops and restaurants that lined the street. Televisions broadcasting news and other kinds of programing lined the wide windows.

“Is this a television channel?” Daea asked as they approached the building.

“It’s more than that,” Chuck said. “It’s the CBC, our country’s radio, TV, online news, and more.”

“It’s not very big.”

Chuck took the girl to the other side of the street, where twelve stories rose into the air. “It’s bigger than it looks. Besides, Toronto has the big building.”

The doors to the entrance were locked, but a security guard saw them from her desk and opened the door. They asked about the journalist, wondering if he was still around, and if not, how they could get in contact with him. The guard said she didn’t know, but that they should try social media. Jesi-Sera told her that wasn’t an option and sweet-talked her into calling his office to see if he was still around, and if he wasn’t to leave a message. The guard said she would try, and minutes later, a haggard, middle-aged man in a rumpled beige suit that looked two sizes too big exited the building.

He gave the kids a suspicious look. He scanned the street with a mix of fear and worry on his face. Jesi-Sera introduced them as a group of exchange students. She said they were interested in the Canadian system of governance, especially the health system. The man’s face blanched, and he said he had nothing to say about that, and turned to return into the building. Chuck pushed him up against the building’s wall. The reporter told them he couldn’t talk about it. Jesi-Sera pulled the Sight back. She told the man that they had noticed the difference in tone when it came to his stories, and that they just wanted to know why. The man looked scared as he looked around the street. Under his breath, he said that he couldn’t talk there, but for the team to meet him at Major’s Hill Park in an hour.

It took the team ten minutes to walk to the scenic park squeezed between the Parliament buildings, the National Art Gallery, and the American Embassy. Daea excused herself to go into the Byward Market to get ice cream for everyone. It didn’t take her too long to walk around the embassy and return with ice cream cones for her teammates.

“I hope you like the flavors I got for you,” she said, passing out the cones. “Tiger Tiger for Eli, Mouse Tracks for Chuck, Cookies and Cream for Jesi-Sera, and Bubble Gum for me.”

Eli said, “Thanks, but I don’t think we needed quadruple scoops.”

Daea said, “I’ll eat what you don’t finish.”

Jesi-Sera laughed and said, “Thanks. This is refreshing on such a hot night.”

They sat on a bench, enjoying their treats and a great westerly view of the Canadian Parliament buildings. The journalist arrived and sat down on the bench behind theirs. He told them not to turn around and that he didn’t have much time.

Chuck asked him what was going on with his stories: why the sudden change in reporting. The reporter told them that about a year ago, instructions had come down from management to start being extra critical of everything the government did. They went so far as to give the journalist stories to push—even if they weren’t true. This was happening throughout all of the city’s newspapers, TV channels, and radio stations. The journalist said that he had refused to follow the orders because he went into journalism to tell the truth, not report falsehoods.

Then late one night, after meeting a deadline, he went to pick up his child at daycare. The workers told him that his daughter had been signed out by the girl’s aunt, and he was supposed to meet them after work. They said she told him to go to the chip truck on Bank Street. Daea interrupted to tell everyone she knew the one, and that they had very good poutine. Chuck shushed the girl and apologized to the reporter, who said that when he got there, sitting on a bench near the truck, his daughter and a woman he had never met before sat in conversation. He said that the woman had an aged face, but her skin was pulled tight like a young woman’s. Her hair was wild black and silver frizzled like she had been recently electrocuted. The woman told him that his daughter was lovely and smart, it would be a shame if anything were to happen to her, and it would be in his best interest to start telling the stories that were expected of him. The man, taking the threat to his daughter seriously, did as told, and that’s why his stories had changed.

Chuck asked if he had any way to get in touch with the woman, but the journalist said that he did not. He said once he started writing the false and misleading stories, he never saw her again or got any heat from management. He stood, and without saying goodbye, walked away from the bench and out of the park.

“I wasn’t expecting that,” Eli said. “Any ideas who this woman could be?”

Chuck said, “We need to investigate Health Canada.”

“Where’s that?” Eli asked.

“The headquarters is at Tunney’s Pasture,” the Sight replied. “Not too far from here,” he said, pointing west down the river. “We should drive, though.”

Close to twenty buildings of various sizes filled the Tunney’s Pasture government campus. Chuck led Jesi-Sera off of the John A. MacDonald Parkway into the complex. A few cars lingered in the parking lots, but it was late and most of the government employees had gone home for the night. The Suffering swirled lazily through the area.

Eli said, “I get it, but sometimes I’m still surprised by how many of these government centers there are in Ottawa. This one alone must employ thousands of people.”

Chuck nodded and said, “It’s a capital city.”

“I imagine D.C. is similar, but even bigger,” the smaller boy said. “I’d like to see that one day.”

“Hope ye never get assigned there,” Jesi-Sera said. “Everyone says it’s one of the worst gigs going.”

With a shudder, Eli said, “Yeah, I don’t think I would want that. I just meant I’d like to see it someday, preferably after my Sleepining.”

They walked across a wide roundabout for busses, toward the fourteen-story, rectangular Brook Claxton building, which was built upon a big square concrete platform. The building’s small rectangular office windows were separated into five sections by concrete bands that ran up the sides. The top was encircled with a brown enclosure that took up the space of a couple of stories.

“Did you ever have a mission here?” Daea asked Chuck.

“Owen reserved Tunney’s Pasture for the A-team, so no. But like all these complexes, they get missions regularly. How many Ops have we had at the National Resources campus?”

“Ugh,” Daea exclaimed. “If we never go there again, it will be too soon.”

Jesi-Sera eyed the surroundings. “Another government building, another puzzle on how to get in.”

Parked in the rear, a pair of workers unloaded a delivery truck. Chuck pointed at an exit door around the corner. “Meet me there,” he said before disappearing.

It didn’t take the Sight long to open the door. The team gathered inside at the base of a concrete stairwell. He said, “Let’s avoid the elevator, it could draw unwanted attention,” and led them up and into the building.

“I want to see what’s at the top,” Daea said. “Let’s race.” Before anyone could prepare, she yelled, “Go!” and began to sprint. The other Childaar were quick on her heels, jockeying back and forth for position. It didn’t take them long to get to the top. Jesi-Sera arrived first, followed by Chuck and Eli. Daea brought up the rear.

“You need to work on your cardio,” Eli ribbed the girl. “You can’t just rely on strength alone.”

“Jesi-Sera pushed me out of the way with her Speedness, and I wasn’t able to get ahead of you guys.”

They all laughed and took a moment to catch their breath.

The top floor housed an atrium full of plants and flowers. It was empty of people, so they began making their way down, stopping to inspect each floor, only to be greeted by empty offices and cubicles. When they were about halfway through, a look of concern crossed Chuck’s face. “There’s someone in here.”

“I don’t see anybody,” Eli said.

The Sight shook his head and stepped into the hall. The floor plan was the same as all they had seen. The middle area was open cubicle space, and the outsides were lined with individual offices. Chuck motioned for the team to follow and placed a finger over his lips to ensure silence. They crept into the cubicle area. He gazed at a workstation, then pointed.

Before them, an elderly looking woman with a youthful aura about her materialized out of thin air. Elongated fangs extended over her bottom lip. She was crouched beside a computer and had removed its side panel. Annoyance swirled in her eyes. “Childaar,” she hissed.

“Thraldaar,” Chuck said, surprised. “I can see it in her aura.”

The team moved into their fighting formation. Daea’s claws extended as she crouched into her kung fu tiger stance. Eli did a backflip onto a government worker’s desk. Papers, pencils, and a stapler skidded onto the floor. Chuck retreated to the back, while Jesi-Sera moved up to protect everyone.

“What’s a Thraldaar?” Daea asked.

Eli answered, “You should know this. They are the vampires Eldaar make by sucking their blood then giving them a taste of their own. They are servants to their sires, and need to drink the Eldaar blood to sustain their Dark Gifts. It explains why the journalist described her as both young and old.”

The Thraldaar looked at the team, then pushed through a freestanding low riser designed to give the semblance of individual space.

“Get her,” Jesi-Sera ordered as they chased the old woman down a hallway. The team spread out to cut her off at the T-intersection created by the building’s outer wall. She looked over her shoulder, then seeing that she was trapped, leapt though the square window into the night.

The Childaar stopped at the broken window and watched her spin through the air, hit the ground, then roll to her feet. She turned and shook her fist at the kids looking down on her.

“We need to follow her,” Daea said, beginning to climb out of the broken window.

The Thraldaar disappeared in front of them.

“She has Hideness,” Daea said.

Chuck nodded and said, “It must be one of her Dark Gifts.”

Eli walked back to the tampered computer. He reached into the machine and held up a dongle. “Check this out.”

“What’s that?” Jesi-Sera said, moving toward the boy.

“A keylogger,” Eli answered. “It records all the keystrokes taken on a computer. He pointed out more security breaches. “This building is seriously compromised.”

Jesi-Sera’s face darkened. “The city is compromised if there’s a Thraldaar here.”

CHAPTER 10

“Hurry up! Let’s go,” Chuck barked at Daea.

Daea scowled and said, “I’m coming, I’m coming. A few more seconds won’t matter to the tunnels,” as she filled her backpack with candy from the cupboard.

“Let’s go!”

“What’s the hurry?” Daea asked as she walked to the door, where the Sight waited, his foot tapping on the ground. She offered him some licorice as they left their home, but Chuck shook his head and hustled toward the tunnel entrance.

“Where to?” Daea asked.

Chuck examined the light waft of Suffering on the floor. It washed over and across their feet. It oozed slowly out of cracks and crevices in the wall. “Let’s check Lowertown, near the Bruyère hospital.”

Daea made it a contest to see which of them could destroy more Crawlies as they navigated the underground corridors, and Chuck was content to let her win.

“That’s five for me, none for you,” she said once they reached their destination.

“Good job, sport.”

“I don’t think you are trying very hard.”

Chuck’s head snapped to the side as a small, hedgehog-like creature with red eyes and a spiked tail jumped at him from a corner. Daea intercepted the tiny monster, swatting it to the ground and grinding it under her foot.

“Six nothing,” she said through a beaming smile.

They didn’t find anything more than Crawlies over the next few hours.

Chuck looked at his watch and said, “The sun just set. Let’s head up and see if there is a mission.”

They found a sewer drain and climbed the ladder, emerging out of a manhole four streets away from the hospital. A man walking his dog gave them a funny look, but Daea just gave him a perfunctory nod, and he shook his head and continued on his way.

Chuck examined the area then said, “There’s nothing happening. You can head back to the museum if you like. We’re done.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Never mind.”

“Tell me.”

“No.”

“Well, then I’ll just go with you.”

Chuck disappeared. He had a smirk on his face when he reappeared moments later.

“OK,” Daea conceded. “Can I please go with you?”

“No.”

“Pleeease.”

“Don’t whine.”

“Pleeeeeeeeeease.”

“You wouldn’t even like it.”

“How do you know?”

“I’m just going to play with Buddy and Whiskers.”

“I love them. Why wouldn’t I like that?”

The Sight shrugged his shoulders. “Alright, come on.”

He put his fingers in his mouth and whistled. A few minutes later, Buddy and Whiskers came bounding from out of an alley. The dogs ran around the Childaar, their tails wagging vigorously. They jumped on Chuck, who wrestled Whiskers to the ground. Daea jumped in to pet Buddy behind his ears. It didn’t take long before the Rottweiler was on his back seeking a belly rub, which Daea gladly provided.

After they had finished their greeting, Chuck said, “Alright. Are you ready?” The dogs bounced up and down.

“Ready for what?”

“Follow us,” Chuck said and started running north.

They crossed a tiny bridge onto Porter Island. Light radiated from the windows of a large seniors’ complex in the middle of the island. “Watch out for people,” Chuck whispered to the girl. “We don’t want to draw suspicion and get the match called off.”

“Match?”

“Be quiet,” Chuck said, leading them through a hedge. He held a hand out for everyone to stop. An elderly couple strolled along a winding path, oblivious to the Childaar and dogs hidden in the bush.  Once they were out of Sight, Chuck gave a hand sign to proceed. They rushed across the grounds to get behind the complex and near the Rideau River, where they were met by the most beavers Daea had ever seen.

The beavers greeted them with cute and endearing barks. Chuck made similar sounds, and the beavers all began to slap their tails on the ground.

“What’s happening?” Daea asked.

“They don’t like that we have an extra player.”

“For what?”

“I suppose it best translates as branch sport, or something like that. I call it stickball.”

“It’s a game?”

“Yeah, me and the dogs have a long-standing rivalry with the beavers. We usually play once or twice a month while the weather is nice. Unfortunately, we’ve been so busy that we’re now halfway through August, and this is our first match since school let out.”

“How do you play?”

“The two teams line up on their side of the river. Then one of the beavers will take a branch upstream and release it.” Chuck pointed at a felled tree and continued, “Once it floats to that spot, the two teams rush to get it. If a team can get it to their opponent’s side, they score a point. The first team to get to three points wins.”

“Are there any rules?”

“No biting or punching.”

“That’s it?”

“Pretty much.”

The beavers chattered amongst themselves, and a solid, youthful beaver joined their team. One of them chirped at Chuck, who said, “They are taking … Small Nose for their extra player.”

“Small Nose?”

“That’s probably the best translation. Beavers aren’t very creative with names.” He pointed at the other three and said, “That’s Loose Tooth, Quirky Tail, and River Eyes.”

“We play one-on-one? Give them more,” Daea boasted.

Chuck shook his head. “Have you ever seen a beaver swim? Wait and see. It’s not that easy.” Small Nose chattered and enthusiastically slapped his tail.

The team of beavers waded into the water and swam across the river to their side. Beavers from all around the city sat alongside the river’s edge to cheer on their brethren.

A frail looking beaver with missing patches of fur ambled out of a bush. A baseball-sized stick, with the ends whittled into sharp points, rested in its mouth.

“That’s Ol’ Ma, she’s the colony matriarch,” Chuck said. “When she releases that branch, it’s game on.”

“Like a referee?”

“Not really. She won’t enforce rules. She just starts the rounds.”

Ol’ Ma glided into the water and swam effortlessly upstream. She turned, slapped her tail on the water, and then released the whittled piece of wood. The strong current pulled it swiftly toward the two teams.

“Go!” Chuck yelled as he ran into the river, lifting his knees high to get as far as he could before diving into the water. Buddy and Whiskers were ahead of him, paddling toward the stick. Daea stood still, momentarily shocked, then shrugged and joined her team in the water.

“Eek,” the girl shrieked. “It’s cold.”

“Of course it is. It’s a river,” Chuck yelled behind him as he front crawled toward the middle. “Hurry up.”

The four beavers moved in a line formation as they swam through the chilly water.  River Eyes was the first to arrive, and she grabbed the stick and dove under the water. The others pushed forward to engage the Childaar and dogs.

Buddy and Whiskers, tails wagging, stuck their heads in the water to look for the beaver with the stick, but Loose Tooth and Quirky Tail jumped onto their backs to prevent them from finding their teammate. Daea stood waist high in the rushing water unsure what to do. Chuck tread water, scanning the water for signs of the stick carrier, but she had already gotten behind him. River Eyes scooted onto the shore, where she dropped the branch. The sound of slapping tails reverberated around the river as the spectating beavers all cheered for their team.

“Daea, you have to stop them from getting on land if you’re going to play defense.”

“I didn’t know what to do. I’ve never played this before,” the young girl said.

“Now you do. We’ll get it back.” He held up his hand for a high-five. Daea looked at him strangely, smiled, and slapped his hand.

The teams returned to their respective sides.

Chuck picked up the stick and tossed it toward the matriarch, who was swimming their way. She swam it back up the river, where she once again released it to start the match. Both teams jumped eagerly into the rushing water. The beavers’ strong swimming skills once again got them to the floating branch first, and Small Nose chomped down on it. Buddy grabbed the beaver by the scruff of his neck and dunked him into the water.

When Small Nose reemerged, he no longer had possession of the gnawed branch. Everyone scrambled to find it. The stick popped up away from the pile, and Daea and River Eyes raced to see who could get it first. They arrived at the same time, and both latched onto the wood baton. The brief tug-of-war ended when Daea pulled hard and ripped it out of her opponent’s teeth. Before she could react, however, the rest of the beavers quickly overwhelmed her.

Whiskers barked. He had found empty space down the river. Daea attempted to throw the branch to the German shepherd, but River Eyes held onto her arm, and went flying through the air along with stick, which landed short of its target. The beaver chirped excitedly, grabbed the piece of wood, and dove under the water.

“Get down!” Chuck yelled at Daea.

The Childaar dove underwater. The moon’s light and Daea’s basic Seeingness made visibility no worse than being in a swimming pool without googles. She saw Chuck attempting to hold onto River Eyes, who was squirming and wriggling to get free. The other beavers piled onto the Sight. Whiskers was paddling back toward them, and Buddy was close to the shore, playing defense. Daea swam toward the group, but River Eyes escaped with the stick after the other beavers overwhelmed Chuck.

Buddy moved forward to intercept. The beaver tried to dodge past the dog, but Buddy was not fooled. The Rottweiler moved in, bit hard on the branch, and lifted it partially out of the water—beaver still attached. The dog pulled the stick and beaver through the water as he waded into the middle of the river.

Buddy sank after each player from each team had converged onto his location. Daea grabbed Small Nose and threw him back toward his side of the river. She was reaching for another when she heard Buddy yelp. Quirky Tail scooted out of the pile and dropped the stick on the Childaar’s side.

The crowd of beavers went wild. Buddy bounded out of the river with loud, angry barks. He lunged at the beaver who had just scored and snapped in his face. The beaver returned a bark and didn’t back away from the snarling dog. Chuck, also barking, ran at the quarreling animals. He stepped between them, and Quirky Tail scooted back into the river, where she returned to the beavers’ side of the playing field.

“What was that about?” Daea asked.

Chuck looked annoyed and said, “Buddy thinks Quirky Tail went too far with the bites.”

The black dog paced the riverbank like a boxer ready for the next round to start. Blood matted the fur of his haunches from gashes in his leg.

Daea ran to the dog to inspect the wounds. “Those beaver teeth bite deep. This isn’t good.”

“He’ll be OK,” Chuck said, taking Buddy to the river’s edge and washing the blood away.

“What? That beaver was out of line. I wonder how it would like it if I punched it.”

“Don’t do that.”

“I won’t. But they should be penalized or something. The goal shouldn’t count.”

“I warned them.”

“So it counts?”

“Yep. Let’s not make excuses. Let’s get back out there and win this.”

He matted the dog’s wet hair over the puncture wound, slapped the dog on its rear, and gave Ol’ Ma an approving nod to restart the game.

As the old beaver swam up the river, Chuck said, “We’re down, but not out. They’re a good team, and we’re injured. But we have something they don’t…”

“Hands?” Daea suggested.

“Grit,” the Sight responded. “We have a desire to win. And that desire is going to make us do what’s necessary to get the next three goals.” He paused and looked at the team. “Everybody got that?”

Buddy and Whiskers barked. Daea barked along with them.

“Paws in,” the girl said, lowering her hand. Chuck put his hand on hers, and the dogs did the same.

“On three,” the girl said. “One, two, three.”

They all whooped, hollered, and barked.

Daea pointed and said, “It’s about to start. Let’s go.”

Ol’ Ma released the stick. All the members on each team hurried into the water. This time the branch veered toward the Childaar. Chuck grabbed the piece of wood and tossed it back to Daea. Three beavers corrected their course and swerved toward the Hardy, while Loose Tooth stayed back to protect their goal line. Daea began swimming forward, but the beavers latched onto her, pulling her under the water. She retreated back to where she could stand on the ground. With leverage under her feet, she was able to swat the beavers away. Looking for options, she saw Chuck treading water in the middle of the river, while Buddy and Whiskers flanked the sidelines deep into the beavers’ territory. Loose Tooth panicked and moved toward Whiskers, who was closer to Daea. The girl threw the stick. It rose high into the air and dropped in front of Buddy, who picked it up and walked it in for a point.

“Yes!” Daea shouted.

The crowd of beavers chattered, unimpressed. Chuck and the dogs returned to their side. “Nice throw,” the Sight said, giving the girl a high-five. Buddy shook himself and sprayed water over everyone. Chuck laughed and patted the dog’s side. “Good job, Bud.”

Across the river, Ol’ Ma had retrieved the stick and was in place to drop it.

“Let’s do that again,” Chuck said. “Let’s tie it up.”

“Yeah!” Daea agreed.

The branch floated down the river, and both teams rushed in the cold, flowing waters. The hot night made the water feel even colder.

Buddy was quick off the start. He managed to get to the stick before the beavers. He swam through the opposing team, who were climbing on top of him, pushing him under the water. He had to let go of it or risk not being able to breathe. Chuck tread water near his team’s side, and Daea played defense, standing hip high in the river. Whiskers and a beaver each had a side of the stick in their mouth. They pulled back and forth, and eventually the dog, who was stronger, took possession, but he couldn’t move forward. There were too many beavers in his way. He flung his head back and tossed the branch to Chuck, who quickly threw it across the river, where Buddy was waiting. This time, however, Loose Tooth was prepared, and being faster he got to the stick first, grabbed it, and dove under the water.

“Hold up,” Chuck yelled. “Form a line.”

Chuck was in the middle with Daea beside him. Buddy and Whiskers took the outside.

The other beavers formed an arrow formation and slammed into the Childaar team. Chuck took the brunt of the force and was thrown back. Daea absorbed the impact. Buddy and Whiskers were pushed to the side.

Chuck reached out, grabbed the baton, and pried it out of the beaver’s mouth. One-handed, he began paddling toward the other end. The beavers surrounded him. It was aquatic mayhem. A beaver biting into his shorts pulled him under the water. Before he got completely submerged, however, he tossed the stick to Buddy, who had moved ahead of him. The Rottweiler picked it up and swam it to the other side to score.

“Alright, Bud!” Chuck yelled.

Whiskers gave a happy bark.

Buddy swam triumphantly back to their side.

“Great job, Buddy,” Daea said, rubbing the dog’s wet body. He jumped and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

“Next goal wins,” Chuck announced. The Childaar high-fived, the dogs barked, and the beavers slapped their tails. Each of the spectators on the river’s edge was transfixed on the match.

Ol’ Ma took the branch upstream and started the final leg of the game. Both teams rushed in, and the beavers’ superior swimming skills got them to it first. The beavers, as per their strategy, took it underwater. The dogs dove to catch them. Chuck roamed in the middle, while Daea stayed back on guard.

Whiskers surfaced with the stick in his mouth. Attached to it was River Eyes and Loose Tooth. Quirky Tail and Small Nose popped out of the water, with the former joining the fray and the latter moving back into a defensive position. Buddy circled behind the group, waiting for something to give. Chuck attempted to swim into the entanglement, but the chaotic thrashing prevented his engagement. Whiskers yelped and snapped at something behind him. In doing so, he let go of the piece of wood, and before he could retake it, River Eyes had taken it below the surface.

Chuck looked under the water, and then upon lifting his head, he yelled, “They’ve retreated. They’re regrouping. Line up!”

Daea’s teammates lined up beside her. When she looked under the water, all she saw was four brown lumps of fur swimming furiously toward her.

“Everyone, down!” Chuck yelled before diving under the water.

Swimming at full speed, the colony of beavers attempted to smash their way through their opponents for the win. Daea grabbed the nearest beaver. It wriggled in her arms, but she quickly realized it was not the stick carrier. She looked behind her, afraid she might see that the game had ended. She whooped loudly when she saw Chuck holding River Eyes above his head. The branch was in the beaver’s mouth, from which Whiskers leaped and latched onto it. With the piece of wood in his mouth, Whiskers started swimming toward the other side of the river hoping to score. However, the other beavers were quick to converge on the dog, and he was quickly weighed down, eventually needing to let go of the baton so that he could get to the surface for air.

Chuck, who had unceremoniously dropped River Eyes, plucked the stick out of the water. “Daea,” he called, tossing it back to the girl.

“Go long,” the Hardy called to her teammates. Buddy and Whiskers moved to the sidelines and began swimming across the river, while Chuck made his way toward the middle.

Small Nose moved toward Daea to pressure her into action. The others hovered near the center of the playing area, waiting to see what she would do.

“Whiskers!” she yelled, pretending to throw the stick to the German shepherd, who was swimming along the right-hand side. She had dropped the stick behind her back and caught it with her other hand. She only made the throwing motion, she didn’t actually throw it. All the beavers fell for the ruse and shifted to the right side. The move opened space for Buddy on the left, and Daea hurled the tooth-bitten branch to the black dog, who caught it in the air and walked it in to score.

“We win. We win,” Daea shouted, jumping in the shallow water.

The crowd of beavers disappointedly chattered amongst themselves.

Her teammates joined her on their side of the river. Chuck gave Daea a big hug, then petted and rubbed the dogs. “Hat trick, Buddy. You were the MVP.”

“He certainly was,” Daea said, scratching him behind his ears.

Their opponents gathered on the other side of the river. They slapped their tails in unison. Eventually, the crowd stopped their chattering and joined them.

Chuck said, “They are saying good game.”

“That it was,” the girl agreed.

Wet and dirty, the two Childaar walked back to the museum.

Daea said, “That was fun.”

“We’ll play again in a couple of weeks.”

“I can play again? Really?”

Chuck grinned and said, “Sure, you were pretty good once you got past the cold water.”

“It was chilly.” Daea then asked, “Hey, whatever happened to your friend Maddie, who we met at the carnival?”

“We’re friends, but we don’t meet too often. Being a Childaar makes it hard to find time for friends.”

“I suppose that’s true, considering we can’t leave the house until sunset.”

The hairs on the dogs’ backs bristled, and they began to growl.

Hudson stepped out from behind a building and said, “Tell your dogs to relax.”

Chuck patted the dogs on their sides, and the dogs sat quietly.

“Who are you?” Chuck asked.

Daea answered, “That’s Hudson. He’s a Rogue, L5 Sovereign.”

Chuck’s eyes widened as he looked at the girl. “You knew we have a Rogue in the city and didn’t mention it?”

“He mind-controlled Eli and me to not say anything. If I could have, I would have.”

Hudson shrugged and wiped his hand through his hair. “Get over it already. I have things to do.”

Chuck assumed a fighting stance. “Daea, get ready.”

“Ease up,” the Sovereign said.

“What are you doing here?” Chuck said through gritted teeth.

“He’s chasing a Thraldaar,” Daea answered.

Hudson’s eyes narrowed. “How did you know that?”

“We found her, and I put two and two together.”

“You found her? Where?”

“That’s on a need-to-know basis.”

Hudson gave the girl a hard look. His brow furrowed. “Tell me.”

“She was at a government building. Health Canada,” Daea answered.

“What’s going on?” Chuck demanded.

Hudson turned to Chuck and said, “Her name is Ismerelda. She’s a Thraldaar who travels the world and destabilizes cities and countries.”

“Why are you so interested in her?” Chuck asked

The Sovereign looked away and didn’t say anything.

The awkward silence was broken by the rustle of a wrapper as Daea popped a candy into her mouth. Broken from a reverie, Hudson said, “We have a history, and I’ve made it my goal to bring her down. I’m going to need your help.”

CHAPTER 11

“Daea, go to your room!” Jesi-Sera yelled.

“What? Why me? Why not Chuck? He’s the one who called me a bad name.”

“Because ye provoked him. Ye have to understand that since the summer days are longer, we are together here in this home. I understand ye feel cooped up, but ye have to find more positive ways to deal with that energy.”

“Well, Chuck didn’t have to say that.”

Jesi-Sera nodded. “That’s true. Chuck, apologize to Daea.”

The Sight peeked from over the couch, where he lay watching sports. “Sorry, but leave me alone,” he growled.

Jesi-Sera pointed to Daea’s room. “Off you go. Ye need a time-out.”

“Whatever,” Daea said. She stomped hard on the ground with every step as she headed to her room.

“Chuck, ye need to have more patience. Don’t forget she’s still a ten-year-old girl.”

“Got it,” Chuck said before reclining back on the sofa.

The girl spent the day in her room watching TV and movies. Eli knocked on her door and said, “Daea, it’s time to go. We have a mission.”

“Of course we do,” the little girl replied. “There are only two more weeks left in August, so why shouldn’t we keep working every night?”

Daea met her teammates by the door, and they followed Chuck outside to where Buddy and Whiskers awaited them. After getting belly rubs, the dogs jumped in the back of the open SUV.

“Ugggh,” Daea sighed. “It’s so hot and sticky.”

“Yep, that’s an Ottawa summer,” Chuck said.

“In Los Angeles, it’s always nice.”

“Always?”

“Almost always. Have you ever been there?”

“No,” the boy answered, “but someday I would like to.”

“You can stay with me, at my family’s house. If you want, we might even get to go to a movie set with my mom. I’ve met famous actors, like…”

“I know. You’ve told us,” the Sight told the girl.

“Where to?” Jesi-Sera asked once everybody was in their seat and ready to go.

“I’m not sure yet. Let’s head east. Maybe get on the Queensway.”

The team leader got onto the main roadway that intersected the city.

“Keep going,” the Sight said as they left Ottawa proper and headed toward Orleans.

When they arrived at the Ottawa suburb, Chuck indicated that they should keep going.

“This is quite far,” Eli said.

Chuck nodded. “This is about as far out as I’ve ever seen a mission. It’s surprising that I picked it up, being so far away.”

Daea said, “There’s a waterpark out this way. Hopefully the mission is there, then we can have some fun too.”

Chuck nodded. “I’ve been to it. It’s pretty good.”

The young girl said, “The museum staff has a standing reservation for us if we ever want to go. I say that if we finish the mission in time, we go for a dip afterward.”

Jesi-Sera looked at the small girl in the back seat and said, “We’ll see. We still have lots to do in the city.”

“We’ll see means no,” the girl said, crossing her arms.

Daea looked out the window at fields, pastures, and small groups of trees that lined the edge of the highway. She said, “Chuck, sorry I was bothering you this afternoon. I’ll try to be better.”

Chuck smiled. “Forget about it. I’d rather be outside too. Waiting until after nine o’clock is too long to be inside—especially in the summer. We have to find the A-team to at least get some sort of summer vacation.”

“Will you go home?”

“If I can.”

“What’s it like?”

“My home? Have you ever seen the Rocky Mountains?” the Sight asked.

“Only in pictures.”

“Pictures don’t do them justice. They are magnificent. I live in a small town, which is fine by me. What I really like is getting out into nature, of which there is plenty. I’ve made friends with a lot of the local wildlife.”

“Like what?”

“Bears, eagles, mountain goats.”

“Bears!”

“Yeah, lots of them. Brown, black, and even a few grizzlies.”

“I’d like to see that.”

“You should come visit. I’d introduce you to all the animals.”

“Deal.”

Over an hour passed as the dark road led them deeper into Quebec.

“Where are we?” Daea asked. “It’s like we are in the middle of nowhere.”

Chuck pointed at a sign that read “Château Montebello.”

“What’s that?” Daea asked.

Eli answered, “It’s a hotel. You know the Château Laurier in Ottawa?”

“It’s a castle too? Out here in the middle of nowhere?”

“How many times do I have to explain to you that the Château Laurier isn’t a castle? Its architectural style is…”

“Yeah yeah,” Daea said. “So, it’s like the Château Laurier.”

“No. It’s different.”

“How so?”

“You’ll see.”

“Tell me. I want to know what it’s like.”

Jesi-Sera looked at the girl through the rearview mirror and said, “Patience is a virtue, Daea.”

“Do you know what it looks like?” Daea asked the team leader.

“Aye.”

“What does it look like? Tell me,” Daea persisted.

“You’ll see. And I think ye will like it.”

“Please,” the girl whined. When Jesi-Sera wouldn’t say anything, she said, “Chuck, do you know?”

The Sight smirked and said, “You’ll see.”

Daea sat back in her seat and crossed her arms. “I don’t think it’s very nice the way you are all teasing me. You always pick on me.”

Everyone laughed at the ridiculous accusation.

They exited the main highway, turning onto a dark road that led into town, then followed the signs pointing toward the hotel. “This isn’t special,” Daea said, feigning disinterest.

The vehicle rounded a corner, bringing into view what could be the world’s largest log cabin. The hotel had six spokes, built with huge black logs, sticking out from a central hub. Red-painted trim around the windows and doors, a stone base, and well-placed awnings all enhanced its rustic appearance.

“Wow, look at that,” Daea exclaimed, pointing at the building. “This place is impressive.”

The Charm shook her head. “Aye. Now that I’ve seen this amazing place I think we’ll have to come more often. Chuck, have ye been here before?”

The older boy shook his head. “No, but I’ve heard lots about it. I think it would be pretty incredible in the winter.”

Daea nodded. “Yeah, with all the snow, we could have the best snowball fight.”

Eli groaned. “Let’s not start talking about winter yet.

The parking lot was full, but they found a spot at the far end. Chuck let the dogs out of the back. Buddy and Whiskers bolted away, happy to stretch their muscles after the drive. They bounded into a small thicket, where the sound of breaking branches eventually faded into the sounds of night.

The team walked toward the large wooden hotel, and Eli pointed and said, “It’s the Ottawa River.” A couple of streetlamps illuminated a marina full of small yachts.

“The same one from the city?” Daea asked.

Eli nodded. “Yeah. This river goes through Montreal, where it turns into the St. Lawrence Seaway, which leads to the Atlantic Ocean.”

“We should have taken a boat,” Daea said. “Look at those. I’d like to take one of them for a spin.”

“Don’t get any ideas,” Jesi-Sera warned.

The hotel’s lobby was the central hub from which hallways lined with guest rooms extended. A huge fireplace was centered in the main area of the hotel. Each side was longer than Daea and Eli put together. It rose to the ceiling, which was more than four stories high. A concierge looked at the kids then at her watch and asked if she could help them. Jesi-Sera said that they were just looking around. The woman asked them if she could get them anything. Daea asked if they had hot chocolate, to which the woman replied that they did. Daea ordered a round for the team with extra marshmallows.

The open dining area was full of men and woman dressed in tuxedos and gowns for a black-tie gala. Servers cleared the last of the plates from the ten-course meal. The Kinedaar guests were oblivious to the Suffering that swirled around their wait staff’s feet, occasionally lapping up to wash over the tables. Musicians, all dressed in black, emerged from a side door carrying violins, oboes, guitars, and a few percussion pieces. They sat on a low-riser stage. The low din of conversation mixed with the sound of instruments being tuned.

Daea pointed at the women and said, “My bet is someone is going to get their jewelry stolen.”

Eli laughed. “I’m not taking that bet. We should go and mingle to see if we can find any information.”

“I’ll be right back,” Jesi-Sera said. She exited the hotel lobby.

The concierge returned with a tray full of hot chocolates for the Childaar. Daea squealed when she saw hers overflowing with marshmallows. Jesi-Sera returned shortly after wearing an elegant red dress.

“Woah, look at you,” Daea said. “You are more beautiful than ever.”

The Charm gave Daea a smile and a wink. She then turned to Chuck and asked, “Do ye have a plan?”

The Sight nodded and said, “I think you should investigate the party. I will check the hallways and rooms.” He turned to the young Childaar and said, “Eli, see if you can find anything at the marina. Daea, circle the premises for clues.”

Before the team split up, Jesi-Sera said, “Remember, if you see anything, get the team, and we’ll do it together.”

Daea and Eli left the hotel, and the boy headed straight toward the boats on the river, while the girl followed the road back toward the highway. Low streetlights lined the narrow road, but other than the Suffering swirling around her feet, nothing was amiss. She found a trail near a little creek close to the highway. She couldn’t see them, but she heard cars whirring by in the distance. The wind gusted and the Suffering swirled.

She startled when a voice spoke from the darkness. An old, weathered looking man stepped into sight. He wore a jumpsuit that identified him as a hotel maintenance worker. The shovel in his hand was caked with dirt. In broken English, he warned the girl that the trail wasn’t a good place for her in the late hour. She gave him a thumbs-up and said she would be fine. He clicked his tongue and told her that she had been warned and continued walking toward the inn.

The Hardy stepped onto the trail, and the forest canopy canceled all light from the moon and the scattered lamp posts around the hotel. Even with her basic Seeingness, the path was dark. The trees created a black corridor into ever more darkness. She heard a faint banging in the distance and stopped, almost turning to return to the hotel. The sound subsided, and Daea moved further into the forest.

A rustling sounded from a bush to her side. She thought she saw something move, but couldn’t be sure. The hairs on the back of her neck bristled. She walked over to a shrub and pulled some branches to the side to see if she could find the source of the movement. She didn’t see anything, but the feeling of being watched persisted. Again, she stopped to consider returning to the hotel to gather the team, but the banging sound from down the path lured her further into the dark forest.

The path wound through the woodlands. She rounded a corner to see a tall barn-like structure. She walked up to the building and pressed her face against a window, but she didn’t have enough of a light source to see anything on the inside. She found a gate to the wrought iron fence that surrounded the structure. The forest became completely silent as she pushed open the gate, and its creak pierced the night. Dark outlines, not much higher than the girl, protruded from the back of the building. She moved in to inspect the mysterious objects. Gravestones were scattered around an overgrown cemetery. She looked up at where a moonbeam had made its way through the clouds and canopy, and saw a cross perched atop the abandoned chapel’s roof. The back door was also locked or jammed shut. Before she could retrieve her lockpicks to unlock the door, the banging sound resumed. She returned to the trail in front of the small church and followed the sound.

The Hardy kept looking behind her as she walked, unable to shake the feeling that she was being observed. A few times she even jumped and turned to see if she could catch whatever followed, only to see the dark trail and silhouette of waving tree boughs.

She continued walking toward the banging sound, which grew louder. It sounded like someone opening then slamming a box or chest. A much louder thrashing grew from the side of the trail. Something was running at her. She crouched into her kung fu pose and extended her claws. She didn’t need to fight because Buddy and Whiskers leapt out from the bushes. They didn’t greet her by looking for belly rubs like usual, but rather took defensive positions on her sides. The Suffering grew, as did the banging sound and feeling of being watched.

The trail opened into a wide clearing, where a light-colored, four-story mansion sat overlooking the river. Inspired by French architecture, windows uniformly covered its façade, and two conical towers flanked the square edifice. A signpost told the story of Papineau, a local politician, who had lived in the region and built the house between 1848 and 1850. The banging sound emanated from the large mansion.

Daea walked to the front door and wriggled the handle, but the locked door remained shut. She saw something move behind the door’s window, but upon closer inspection realized it was her reflection. She dug her lock picks out from her backpack. The simple lock clicked, and she opened the door into a wide front room.

Bang! Bang!

The sound resonated throughout the house. The foyer had posts for guests to hang their jackets, along with racks for shoes. The wind gusted, slamming the door shut behind her.

Bang!

She saw something move outside, but couldn’t be sure that it wasn’t her reflection in the door’s window again. She moved forward further into the house, where a staircase spiraled to the upper floors. Buddy and Whiskers followed, on guard, beside her.

The banging originated from one of the upper floors. She crept up the stairs toward the sound. The stairs creaked with every step. She paused on each landing to listen, but only heard the banging interspersed between eerie silence. She reached the top floor, where the doors along the hallway were closed except for one door at the end, from which the sound emerged. The Hardy walked down the long corridor toward the open door.

Bang! Bang!

The Suffering rushed around her legs. She then saw the source of the noise. The shutters on an open window slammed against the window frame.

Bang! Bang!

She stepped into the room, checking the corners before moving in further.

Bang! Bang!

The wind howled and gusted through the room. It looked like a guest room given the simple décor. An old single bed, a night table, and a short dresser filled the tiny area.

The girl walked up to the window. She scanned the area, but not seeing anything, closed the window. She dropped the latch to lock the shutters in place, and the Suffering drained from the room.

She smiled to herself, then left the house the way she had entered. The trail she had been following curved back toward the hotel, where her teammates awaited her.

“You solved it?” Eli said. “What happened?”

“And why didn’t you come get us?” Chuck asked, annoyance clear in his voice.

Daea said, “There was nothing to get you for. I found a house with an open window. The Op resolved when I closed and locked it.”

“That’s it?” Jesi-Sera asked.

“I did have a feeling of being watched the whole time. That was a little strange.”

“Did you see anyone?” Chuck pressed.

The girl shook her head. “No.” Then before anyone could ask any more questions, she said, “Since we finished this so early, and we won’t have time to do much else in the city, can we go to the waterpark?”

Jesi-Sera laughed. “I suppose we can do that.”

It took the team an hour to drive to their destination.

“We won’t have much time,” Daea grumbled. “We only have a few hours before sunrise.”

“And don’t forget that it will take us time to get home,” Jesi-Sera said.

“Or,” Daea said, “we could waterslide for the extra hour, then spend the day in the SUV.”

“No,” the other teammates said in unison.

“It was just a suggestion,” the girl said with mock hurt in her voice.

Jesi-Sera drove the SUV into an abandoned parking lot. Floodlights illuminated the waterpark. Before the vehicle came to a full stop, Daea jumped out the door and ran toward the gates.

“She didn’t take her bag,” Eli said, grabbing his and his friend’s things from the back of the SUV.

“Are you surprised?” Jesi-Sera asked with a laugh.

“I guess not,” Eli answered.

“She’s lucky she has a good friend like you to look out for her,” the Charm told the boy.

Eli nodded. “She is.”

The rest of the team walked to the gate, where a security officer had stopped the girl.

“This guy needs to see our pass,” Daea yelled at the upcoming group.

Jesi-Sera reached into her purse and produced an envelope and handed it to the man. He took out the letter, read it twice, and looked at the kids before letting them through with a warning that they had to be very careful because there were no life guards on duty.

Daea told him that they didn’t need lifeguards, but the security officer reiterated his point.

Once inside, Daea ran straight for the first body of water, a small paddling pool. She leapt into the air, performing a well-executed shallow dive. The guard saw it from the other side of the gate and yelled at her, telling her it was a dangerous thing to do.

Daea glided through the water to the other side of the pool, where she climbed out and ran straight toward a large waterslide structure. She ran up the stairs. The water was turned on. It gushed from the faucets. She dove headfirst, screaming as loud as she could all the way down.

She flew out the bottom of the tube and skidded across the water before plunging below.

They spent well over an hour, in the warm night, under a bright waxing moon, going on all the rides.

Chuck screamed, “Everyone out of the pool!”

The Childaar scrambled out and met him near a fence.

“What’s going on?” Daea asked.

“I saw it again. The blue monster. It’s here watching us.”

“Where?”

Chuck pointed through the fence toward the empty parking lot. “It was over there, but I don’t see it anymore. It was the best look I’ve had of it yet. It looked like a tiger with a bat’s head.”

“Let’s patrol the premises,” Jesi-Sera said. “Be on guard.”

The team searched the area for the mysterious creature to no avail.

“We have to go,” Jesi-Sera said. “We need to get back to the city before sunrise.”

Chuck’s face reddened, and he said, “I am going to catch that thing.”

CHAPTER 12

“Are you sure?” Chuck asked. “I don’t like splitting up. You shouldn’t be going to Montreal by yourself.”

Jesi-Sera gave the Sight a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “It’s fine. That lead I met the night of the carnival wants to meet me there, but he doesn’t like groups or crowds. Even if ye came with me, you’d have to wait in the car or a coffee shop.”

Chuck’s brow furrowed.

“Don’t worry. If this works out, I think we can get some solid information on the A-team.”

“How so?” Eli asked.

“He told me he saw a group of kids that match the description, and will show me where. He was an odd fellow, but seemed sincere in his belief.”

Daea’s claws ripped out of her fingers. “Maybe we should go and show this guy what will happen if he doesn’t cooperate.”

“You catch more flies with honey than you do vinegar.”

She retracted her claws and said, “That’s true. Honey is nature’s candy.”

Jesi-Sera looked at the worried Childaar before her. A light glow outlined the Charm, who gave them her biggest smile and said, “I’ll be back before morning. Don’t forget we have work to do here too, and ye need to do that.”

“You’re the quarterback,” Chuck told the team leader.

“We need to do all we can. So, if that means me going to Montreal for the night and ye staying here, that’s what we will do.”

Daea said, “This had better lead to the A-team because we’re in the last week of vacation, and besides a night at the carnival and a couple of hours at the waterpark, we haven’t done much. It would at least make the sacrifice worth it.”

The Charm picked up her large stylish handbag, waved good bye, and left their home.

“Pizza! Games! Fun!” Daea shouted.

Chuck gave the girl a hard look.

“Or we could do our work.”

The three Childaar rode their bikes to the Rideau Canal and headed toward Lansdowne Park, a sports and entertainment area for the city’s inhabitants. Chuck rode a mountain bike similar to Eli’s.

The park was busy. Ottawa’s professional football team, the Red Blacks, had a game that evening. The sun had set, and the crowd cheered. The parking lot and the surrounding streets were full of cars.

The Suffering rolled around the ground like little tufts of candle smoke.

“Ottawa must be making a comeback. When we left they were down by sixteen,” Chuck said.

The crowd erupted in a roar. Minutes later the doors of the stadium flung open and elated fans flooded onto the street.

“They won,” Chuck said.

“Then why aren’t you happy?” Daea asked.

“Unfortunately, they were playing my favorite team, the B.C. Lions.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s OK. It’s just sports. Some games are won, and others are lost. Mostly I wish I could have gone to the game, but because of the long summer days, I can’t leave the museum until it’s too late.”

Eli inspected the area. “Over there.” He pointed.

Well away from the stadium and people, near an orchard, the tall pale Childaar with slicked back brown hair watched the event unfold. Even though everyone around wore shorts and T-shirts, he remained committed to his black jacket, shirt, jeans, and boots.

The Childaar rode toward him.

Hudson gave them a snort by way of greeting, then asked, “Where’s Jesi-Sera?”

“She went to Montreal for the night,” Chuck told him.

Hudson’s eyes narrowed before he said, “That’s good. We don’t need her interrupting us.”

Daea said, “What are we going to do?”

Hudson looked at the ground. “It doesn’t look like a mission. Chuck, do you see anything?”

The Sight shook his head. “All clear.”

“That means tonight we can focus on finding that Thraldaar.”

“Did you find any new information? Everything I looked into was a dead end,” Eli told the Sovereign.

Daea rummaged through her backpack looking for something to eat. She pulled out a plastic container filled with donuts, opened it, and offered them to the team. Everyone declined. The small girl ate a sugar powdered jelly donut in three bites then began working on cake donuts with maple glazed icing.

“I did,” Hudson said, wiping his hand through his hair. “The Health Minister is leaving the country for an international meeting. I want to stake out her house and see if anything happens.”

“Nice find,” Eli said.

“Where does she live?” asked Chuck.

“Gatineau.”

“Ughh, do I have to go?” Daea said. “I don’t want to have to speak French.”

Eli poked her and said, “How many times have I told you that French isn’t that hard? There are a lot of similarities to English. If you want to know a hard language, try learning Japanese. Even with all my practice I still feel like I’m not getting it.”

“I just don’t see why everyone can’t speak English,” the girl complained.

“That’s an arrogant thing to say,” the Smart added. “You only think that because you speak English. I bet if you spoke French, or any other language, you would think everyone should speak that one.”

“Probably.”

“How are we going to get there?” Chuck asked.

“Lock up your bikes,” Hudson ordered the team. “We’ll take my car.” He pushed a button on his key ring, and a security alarm beeped not far from where they stood. A classic blue muscle car sparkled under the streetlights.

“Wow, that’s old,” Daea said.

“Late 1960s?” Eli asked.

“Correct,” Hudson said.

“Shotgun!” Daea yelled.

Chuck growled. “No way. You know the rules. I ride shotgun.”

Hudson raised an eyebrow. “That’s not how the shotgun rules work. The first person to call it gets to sit in the front.”

“But I’m senior,” Chuck protested.

“The shotgun rules don’t follow Childaar rules. Better luck next time.”

The Sight gave the girl a hard look.

The younger boys had to move the seats forward to crawl into the small back seat.

The engine roared to life as Hudson turned the key.

“Let’s get some tunes going,” Daea said as she pressed the power on the custom stereo. A quick-tempo punk beat exploded from the speakers.

Hudson turned down the volume. “Don’t play with the music. I’ll do it.”

Daea scrunched her nose and cranked the volume. She unrolled the window and screamed, “Woohoo.”

Hudson turned the power off and pulled her back into the car. “Sit down and put your seat belt on!”

“I don’t need a seatbelt. My Tuffness will protect me from anything.”

“It won’t protect from the police when they pull us over and give me a ticket.”

“Whatever, I’ll pay it.”

Hudson’s eyes narrowed and his lips pursed as he stared down the girl.

“All right, all right. Don’t get your panties in a bunch,” Daea said, fastening the buckle.

“You’re making me rethink these shotgun rules.”

Chuck leaned forward and said, “She’s not going to stop either.”

Eli said, “It’s true. She can’t sit still. Just be glad that your seat isn’t getting kicked. Jesi-Sera won’t even let her sit in the seat behind her anymore.”

“Hey!” Daea protested. “Don’t gang up on me. We’re a team.”

“Don’t be annoying,” Chuck replied.

“Whatever. I’m in the shotgun seat and you’re back there.”

“I’ll get it next time,” the boy replied.

“No you won’t.”

The team drove down Bank Street to Wellington Avenue.

“Go faster,” Daea told the driver. “One time, Eli and I were in a car race which began and ended here.” She pointed at the Library and Archives building. “We were going much faster than you. I bet we could beat you in a race too. Want to race sometime?”

Hudson turned the car wheel hard. The tires screeched as they pulled into the Supreme Court parking lot.

“This is where we found out about the race,” she continued.

Hudson slammed the brakes, throwing everyone forward. “Get in the back. Chuck, you’re in the front.”

“What!” Daea screamed. “That’s not fair. I called shotgun.”

“Don’t talk,” Hudson said, using his Command on the girl.

Daea opened her mouth to protest, but no sound emerged. She banged her fists on the car seats.

“Behave,” Hudson warned.

Daea got out of the car. Chuck pushed the seat forward and let the girl hop into the back before getting in. Daea sat in the back, arms folded, quiet, and with a frown on her face.

They drove across the Portage Bridge into Quebec.

Eli said, “Il est agréable quand Daea est calme. Oui?”

The boys in the front laughed. The girl stuck her tongue out at the Smart.

Hudson navigated to an affluent neighborhood with big houses and big yards. The Sovereign parked the car and turned it off.

Daea shot her hand in the air and waved it around.

Hudson said, “Yes, you can talk, but watch yourself.”

She poked the driver on his shoulder and said, “Don’t use your Gifts on me!”

“Maybe if you behaved like a proper little girl, I wouldn’t have to.”

“Who are you to say how girls should act!” Daea lifted the lever to push the car seat forward.

“Stop it,” Chuck said.

“I have to get out.”

“Why?”

“I thought we are going to check out this house?”

“No, it’s a stakeout. We are going to watch the house.”

“We’re going to sit here in the car and watch a house? That’s it?”

“Yes, that’s what a stakeout is,” Chuck told the girl. “Get comfortable.”

“What are we going to do while we wait?”

“Watch the house.”

“This is boring already.”

“Just be quiet,” Chuck said, turning his attention to the red house at the end of the block.

“Can I go find a store? I need snacks.”

“Not yet. Let’s see if anything happens,” Hudson said.

Daea sat still for about a minute before she started patting her knees rhythmically. The drumming grew faster and louder. Before long she was banging on the seats, the roof, and the side of the car.

Hudson turned and gave her a hard look. “I can make you behave.”

She stopped and crossed her arms. “That’s an assault on my person.”

Hudson said, “I don’t care. I’m not going to sit here for hours with you monkeying around.”

“There’s nothing wrong with monkeys.”

“Except when they’re like you—jumping and banging around my car,” Hudson replied.

“Don’t call me a monkey,” Daea said.

“You look and act like a monkey.”

“Why are you so rude? It’s like you don’t want to have friends.”

“Stop talking,” the Sovereign said, his voice sharp.

“Are you going to make me? Is that the only way you can make friends? By forcing people to hang out?”

A look of anger flashed across Hudson’s face.

“Maybe people would like you more if you tried being nice for a change.”

Hudson swung around in his seat to face the girl. His eyes were cold. “I won’t use my Mindness on you, but sit back and be quiet.”

Daea opened her backpack and grabbed a box of chocolates. She opened them and tossed four in her mouth, then made a big show of not offering any to the other Childaar. “How old is Ismerelda?” she asked through a mouth full of chocolate.

Hudson let out a long sigh. “I can’t be certain, but my best guess is about two hundred years. I traced her history to Italy, where I found a mysterious disappearance of a young woman. Everything fits, but she must have changed her name somewhere along the way.”

“I didn’t expect her to be that old,” Eli said. “Don’t Thraldaar suffer derangements as they age?”

Hudson nodded. “Yes, and from what I can tell a Thraldaar’s power is contingent on their sire. I suspect Ismerelda’s is very powerful.” He wiped his hair back and continued, “Many of the stories surrounding Eldaar apply to Thraldaar too.”

“Like what?” Daea garbled, a drip of chocolate running down the side of her face.

Eli recoiled in disgust, and he looked away from her.

Hudson answered, “The usual: garlic, silver, running water, fixation on objects of beauty, amongst others.”

“What about stakes?” Daea asked.

“Stakes work on both Eldaar and Thraldaar alike, but sometimes the Eldaar remove their hearts and keep them elsewhere, in which case stakes won’t work.”

“What about reflections in mirrors?”

“That’s a bit of a misnomer. All vampires reflect in mirrored surfaces, but the belief arose because adult Kinedaar rationalize away vampire activities. They will remember or forget a reflection depending on the story their mind makes up to explain the bizarre events they witnessed. If you have a five-year-old child looking at these events in a mirror, they will remember them every time.”

“That’s why the police dismiss cases involving Childaar and Eldaar,” Eli said. “Even though there is lots of evidence, they rationalize away what they can’t understand.”

Hudson nodded. “Yep, that happens all the time when law enforcement and the vampire worlds overlap.”

“So, all Thraldaar have these weaknesses?” Daea asked.

“I think so, and they grow stonger over time, which is why Ismerelda is so dangerous. She is powerful, evil, and deranged.”

“How did you find her?” Daea asked.

Hudson’s shoulders drooped and he said, “I don’t like to talk about it.”

“Maybe it will help us fight her,” the Hardy suggested.

The older boy exhaled loudly, ran his hand through his hair, and said, “I am from Wichita, Kansas. When I first Awakened, I found my way to St. Louis, the closest place with a Childaar team. From there I was sent to Detroit, to be a member of that team.”

“How was that?” Chuck asked.

“Not good. Detroit had a lot of problems, and we had to work hard. Our team leader was a Sight named Xandra, who was extra diligent and realized things were worse than just the Suffering.”

“Ismerelda?” Eli said.

The Sovereign nodded. “She was operating there much like she is here. She had influence over the city’s politicians, judges, police, and bureaucracy. She had set numerous plans in motion to damage the infrastructure and people of the city and surrounding areas.”

Daea, Eli, and Chuck sat transfixed by the story.

“Xandra developed a plan to take her down. We cornered her at an abandoned power plant she was using as her lair, but things went bad for us quickly. She had the support of constructed monsters made of steel. Not only did we lose the fight, but my teammates got permanently knocked out and the plans Ismerelda had set in motion triggered, hurting a lot of Kinedaar.”

“How did you get away?” Daea asked.

“After they were all knocked out, I used my Jump to escape the situation.” He gripped the steering wheel of the car so hard that his knuckles whitened.

Silence filled the car.

Daea said, “There was nothing you could do.”

“I should have at least gone down fighting with them, rather than returning to gather their bodies. They didn’t Awaken for over a week, and I had to take them outside for an early Sleepining. New Childaar had been assigned to the city, but I couldn’t do it. I vowed revenge and am determined to find and bring down Ismerelda.”

“And here you are,” Eli said.

“Here I am.”

The car was silent, the Childaar sitting with their own thoughts, when an unshaven man in a trench coat shuffled into view.

“Who’s this?” Hudson said, sitting up straight.

The man had a slight limp. He turned onto the sidewalk leading up to the minister’s house. He disappeared around the corner. His silhouette walked past the house’s front window. Chuck jumped out of the car and disappeared.

Hudson exited the car as well. “Get out,” he ordered.

The Childaar hid behind the car as they observed the house. A bedroom light turned on upstairs, but the blinds prevented them from seeing what was happening in the room.

The light turned off, and then after a few minutes the man emerged from the back of the house.

Chuck reappeared beside the team. “He retrieved some data from electronic surveillance that has been set up in the house.”

“Why not do that remotely?” Eli asked.

Hudson said, “These ministers’ houses are scanned for this stuff, and it’s much easier to detect when they are transmitting signals, so they use devices which need to be physically retrieved.”

“I’ll follow him to see where he goes,” Chuck said. “Meet me at the Parc Jean Drapeau.”

Hudson shook his head. “We’re going to take him down now.”

The Sovereign sprinted at the man. The rest of the team were close behind. Hearing footsteps, the burglar began to run. He couldn’t outrun the Childaar, and Hudson used his Jump to tackle him from up high. He slammed the man into the ground a few times, demanding to know the whereabouts of Ismerelda.

The man, trying to protect himself, said he didn’t know anyone named Ismerelda. Grabbing the man by the head, Hudson looked deep into his eyes. It didn’t take long before He looked at the Childaar and said, “She’s out of town right now, but I know how to find her when she gets back.”

CHAPTER 13

“We’re back,” Daea yelled, walking into their Childaar home.

Eli scanned the room. “She isn’t here.”

Chuck said, “She doesn’t have much time. Sunrise is near.”

Eli said, “Things must have taken her longer than expected. Maybe she had to get a hotel room?”

Daea’s nose scrunched. “That had better be all that happened. It would be nice if she could send us a message, though.”

“She’s good at what she does,” Chuck said. “Let’s not start worrying yet.”

The girl shrugged and then said, “Is anyone hungry? I’m going to make waffles.”

Chuck shook his head. “No thanks. I’m going to get some rest.” He walked to his room and closed the door.

“Same here,” Eli said, walking to his room.

“Suit yourselves,” Daea said. “There will be a day when you’ll wish you could have one of my waffles.”

By the time the young girl finished cooking, she had five large waffles stacked on her plate. She included maple syrup, whipped cream, ice cream, chocolate chips, sliced bananas, and a light sprinkle of cinnamon. She plopped down in a bean bag chair and dug into the meal.

After licking the plate clean, she set it on the floor, near a stack of comic books Jesi-Sera had been reading. She rummaged through them, and a copy of Detective Comics caught her eye. On the cover, Batman and Robin hung in the air, caught by a snare on a tropical island. Catwoman was in the lower right corner cutting the rope to release the trap.  She removed it from the plastic sleeve and made it to page three before she fell asleep.

She woke to the sound of a chopping knife. Opening an eye, she saw Eli in the kitchen. She pulled herself out of the soft chair and joined him.

“What’s for breakfast?”

“You mean lunch?”

“What time is it?”

“Well after noon.”

“Already? It feels like I just closed my eyes for a few minutes.”

The young boy shrugged.

Daea inspected Eli’s preparations. “Salad? You are making salad?”

“I like salad.”

Daea’s nose scrunched. “I’m going to make a pizza.”

“You can use some of my veggies if you like.”

“I don’t. It’s going to be a marshmallow, pineapple, and caramel drizzle pizza.”

“I’m not sure if that’s really a pizza.”

“Of course it is.”

Eli took his salad to his desk, where he flipped through the day’s newspapers.

Daea prepared her pizza and threw it in the oven. “No word from Jesi-Sera?”

The Smart shook his head. “No, but it would be nice if she could courier us a message.”

“She had better be here at sundown.”

“Unlikely,” the boy replied. “She wouldn’t be that close; otherwise, she would have been here already. I’ll be happy to see her by the end of the night.”

“That’s true,” Daea agreed. “As long as she returns.”

Evening arrived. The team opened the door into the hot and sticky night, hoping to see their team leader waiting for them. She wasn’t there, but when they looked across the road, the swirling Suffering indicated that there would be a mission.

“Op. Downtown,” Chuck announced.

“Shouldn’t we wait for Jesi-Sera?” Daea asked.

“Nope. I’m guessing she still has to leave Montreal, so she won’t be here for a couple hours at best.”

Daea and Eli stood in melancholic silence for a moment before Chuck clapped his hands and yelled, “Get your head in the game. We have work to do.”

Buddy and Whiskers bounded into sight and raced to the team. They took turns getting belly rubs from each of the Childaar. Buddy raced around as though looking for something before barking at Chuck, who barked back.

“What was that?” Eli asked.

“He wants to know where Jesi-Sera is. I told him we don’t know.”

Buddy and Whiskers leaned back and howled into the night.

Daea crouched beside the dogs and petted them. “It’s OK, guys. She’ll be back.”

“Where is the Op?” Eli asked the Sight.

Chuck looked at the ground. “I can’t pinpoint the location, but it’s downtown—at or in Parliament.”

“Let’s bike,” Daea suggested.

Chuck shook his head. “It will be easier to walk with all the tourists and people.”

They walked down Metcalfe, straight toward the Parliament buildings. Throngs of people also walked toward Parliament to watch a light show broadcasted onto the stone walls of the Center Block.

A human statue stood in the middle of the sidewalk in front of the Parliament entrance. His clothing had been painted the same red as found on the Canadian flag, while his visible body parts were all painted white, except for a single red teardrop under his left eye. When people put money into the hat that sat on the ground in front of him, he would move his body like a robot and assume a new position.

“Look at this guy,” Daea said, smiling. “Usually they are silver or gold, but I like how he uses the Canadian colors.” She pulled some coins out of her pocket and threw them in the hat. The human statue bent to give the girl a deep bow.

A young couple was amongst the group of people watching the street performer. The boy was muscular, and he wore an unbuttoned short-sleeve shirt and a pair of pants. The girl wore a simple summer dress with a pretty floral pattern. The boy pretended to whisper in the girl’s ear, but spoke loud enough for everyone to hear. “Sad clown. What a goof.” He laughed and looked around to see if anyone was laughing with him.

The girl gave him a hard look and said, “That’s not nice.” She grabbed his arm and pulled him away.

A look of annoyance flashed across Chuck’s face. “Let’s go. We have to solve this Op, no time for silly games.” He led the team into the grassy courtyard, where hundreds of people milled about waiting for the show to start.

Music began, and red and white maple leaves began dancing across the Parliament building.

The crowd applauded.

“What’s the plan?” Eli asked.

“How are we going to find anything amongst all these people?” Daea shouted over the music.

Chuck brought the team into a huddle so that he didn’t have to yell. “We are going to split up to look for clues.” He turned his attention to Daea and said, “If you find anything, and I mean anything, you get us before doing anything else.”

A look of feigned indignation crossed the girl’s face.

“Understood?” the Sight asked.

Daea nodded.

Eli said, “You should tell her she can’t make a snack run either.”

“I have all the snacks I need in my backpack, thank you very much.” With a scowl on her face, she turned to walk away from her teammates.

Chuck grabbed her before she could leave and said, “You are going to explore the perimeter. Eli, work the crowd. I am going into Parliament—even though I don’t think the Op is inside, I want to make sure. Buddy and Whiskers are going to widen their search to see if they can find anything around the downtown perimeter.”

The dogs took a few moments to get pets from the Childaar before running out of the parliamentary grounds. The younger Childaar watched the Sight disappear before their eyes.

None of the adults saw his disappearance, but a small boy with his family stood with his jaw open. Daea smiled and waved to him.

“He should be more discreet when using his Gifts,” Eli said with a frown. “Even though adults can’t remember if we use our Gifts in front of them, Kinedaar children can. We don’t need to be distorting their realities.”

“But won’t they forget as they become older anyway?” Daea asked.

“Yeah, but it leads to situations where they aren’t believed. Imagine if that boy tells his parents that he saw someone disappear. What do you think his parents will say?”

Daea said, “They’ll tell him he’s making up stories.”

“And how do you think that boy will feel?”

“Pretty crumby, because he is telling the truth.”

“Exactly, and that’s why we should be careful when using our Gifts in public.”

“But it’s OK if it’s an emergency, right?” Daea asked.

“Sure, but discretion is the better part of valor.”

Daea gave Eli a funny look and said, “Whatever.”

The Hardy left the parliamentary grounds and went back onto Wellington Street, where she turned right and jogged toward the Supreme Court building, but the Suffering eased at the corner of the West Block, so she turned and ran back the other way. She passed the human statue, who was stuck in a pose with his shoulders and head lowered.

“Cheer up,” she said, but his still body gave no signs of him having heard her.

The Suffering eased once again as she arrived at the river locks just before the Château Laurier. Sweat beaded the young girl’s forehead, but no matter how many times she wiped it away, it would not dry in the humid night.

She walked back toward the parliamentary grounds. She stopped to watch the human statue on the empty sidewalk, now that everyone else was watching the show being broadcast against the stone walls of the Center Block. Scenes of old-world folk clearing the land to farm spread across the stone walls of Parliament.

The girl got her wallet and a handful of candies, which she threw in her mouth. She dropped a bill into the hat, and again the street performer moved to change positions.

“Want to tell me why you’re so sad?” she asked, but the statue just held his position. The girl looked at the ground, and the Suffering was converging toward their spot on the sidewalk in front of Parliament. She turned and walked back toward the iron gate that would allow her onto the parliamentary lawn.

She scanned the crowd for signs of her teammates. Near the back of the crowd, she did notice the young couple from earlier. The boy looked like he wanted to kiss the girl, but each time he moved in close to her, she would turn her head and push him away. Daea frowned and began walking toward them, but before she could take two steps, Eli and Chuck walked up to her.

“Find anything?” the Sight asked.

Daea said, “I think so. The Suffering seems to be converging toward that human statue out on the sidewalk.”

They left the grounds, and the blaring sound of Canadian rock classics quieted somewhat.

“Looks like he’s still not talking,” Eli said.

“I can get him to talk,” Daea said, grabbing her wallet from her backpack. She dropped a few bills into his hat. “There’s more where this came from if you will talk to us.”

The street performer rotated at the waist and pointed at the girl, but said nothing.

She put a few more bills into the hat, and he still didn’t speak but rather performed a robotic dance. He stopped moving after she stopped giving him money. He lowered his head and crossed his arms.

“I don’t think he’s going to talk,” Eli said.

Daea punched her hand. “Want me to make him talk?”

Chuck frowned and said, “You know better than that.”

The Suffering wadded around their calves, and the girl nodded. “I know. It’s just frustrating. Why won’t he talk to us?”

Eli clapped his hands hard in front of the street performer. Startled, the street performer looked up, and Eli caught his gaze. “What’s going on?” Eli asked, using his Suggest.

The human statue broke his silence and said, “I recently broke up with my girlfriend, Brittany. We’ve dated since grade eleven, but she is moving away for university, and I am staying here to help with my family’s business. It’s been tough, but then tonight I see her show up with another guy. That hurt.”

“You’re lovesick?” Chuck said, unimpressed.

Daea’s hand shot into the air. “I know who he’s talking about.” She ran back onto the parliamentary lawn, and it didn’t take long before she spotted the girl in the yellow dress. She grabbed her hand and said, “You have to come with me.”

The girl pulled her hand back and said, “Who are you?”

“I’m Daea.”

“What do you want?”

“I need your help. Your old boyfriend is too sad, and we need to reconcile this.”

“Joey’s not being reasonable,” the girl said.

“We’re going to fix that.”

The ox-like boy said, “Forget about that clown. Come on, babe.” He tried to pull Brittany away. “Let’s get out of here, this place is boring. Let’s go back to my place.”

Daea stepped up to the older boy and poked him on the chest. “I’m getting real tired of you, pal. Back off.”

He held his hands up in the air, “OK, OK, relax.”

They arrived back at Joey, who saw Brittany and moved in his robotic fashion to put his arms over his heart.

She pointed and said, “See what I mean.”

Daea led the girl to Joey and said, “OK, Romeo, you have to get yourself together. I have better things to be doing than consoling a heartbroken puppy. Life happens. You both just finished high school? You’ve got your whole lives ahead of you. Can’t you agree to be friends?”

“That’s what I wanted,” the girl said. “He won’t stop following me around.”

Joey said, “You don’t have to parade a new boyfriend in front of me.”

“Chad?” the girl said. “He’s not my boyfriend. We both know Sally, and he asked me if I’d like to come to the show tonight.”

“Let’s go, babe.”

Daea stepped toward Chad and said, “I don’t want to warn you again. You need to be more respectful.”

“What are you going to do about it?”

Daea pushed him and said, “You’re done here. Go home.”

“Make me.”

Daea stared him down, and the boy relented. “Whatever. This place is boring anyway,” he said before storming off.

Joey took Brittany’s hand and said, “I’m sorry. I was acting childish. I’m happy for you. You are going to have a lot of opportunities.”

“I’ll miss you,” the girl said. “We had some good times.”

The boy said, “Keep in touch.”

“Will do.”

The Suffering caused by the Op washed away, leaving only the permanent gray wisps usually found around the legislative buildings.

“There, that wasn’t so hard,” Daea said. “Now let’s head back and see if Jesi-Sera has returned.”

The team returned to Metcalfe Street, when between the high-rises, Hudson swooped out of the sky and skidded to a halt beside them. A group of adults witnessed the landing, but they all shook their heads in disbelief as they continued on with their night.

“I’ve been looking for you,” the Sovereign said.

“You found us,” Daea said. “What’s up?”

“I know Ismerelda’s plans for tomorrow. Be ready at sunset to take down a Thraldaar,” he said before using his Jump to soar straight up in the air and out of sight.

CHAPTER 14

Daea, Eli, and Chuck stood around the wide wooden table in the dining room. The air conditioner clicked, heralding a stream of cool air.

“Do you think she’s OK?” Daea asked.

Eli paced and said, “No, I don’t. She should have been back yesterday at the latest, so something went wrong.”

“We don’t know anything yet,” Chuck said. “If she’s not back by tonight, we will have to go to Montreal.”

“I think we should go as soon as the sun sets,” Daea said.

Chuck raised his hands helplessly in the air. “Do you think we will be able to? I’m pretty sure Hudson has us helping him take down Ismerelda.”

Eli said, “Yeah, we can be pretty sure he implanted contingencies in our minds.”

“We’ll help him, and if we have time afterward, we will go to Montreal. Otherwise, we will go tomorrow night if she’s still not back,” the Sight told the younger Childaar.

“We should at least reach out to the Montreal team to let them know what is happening.”

Chuck nodded. “I couriered them a message yesterday. We should hear back from them soon.”

“There’s nothing we can do?” Daea said.

Chuck shrugged his shoulders. “We will wait to hear from Jesi-Sera or the Montreal team, but while we do that, we can prepare for tonight.”

“To take down Ismerelda?” Eli said.

The Sight nodded. “We need to find anything here at the museum that could help us.”

“Like stakes?” Daea asked.

Eli said, “We’re in a nature museum, so it shouldn’t be too hard to find wood to make those. We also need silver, iron, garlic, and holly.”

“I’ll check for garlic,” Daea said, walking to the kitchen. She opened the fridge, found a jar of pressed garlic, and grabbed a couple of chocolate bars before returning.

Eli said, “I’ll check the rooms down here in the basement. We might be able to find those minerals, but even if I do, I don’t think they will be in a useful form.”

“See what you can find,” Chuck said. “I’m going to the National Art Gallery to see if there is anything we can use there.”

Daea watched the boys leave. She wandered around their home looking for anything that might help fight the Thraldaar. After not finding anything, she tried playing a video game, but was too distracted by thoughts of their missing leader to have any fun. She was unable to watch a movie for the same reason. She entered the tunnels, where she spent the next few hours fighting Crawlies.

Eli and Chuck were waiting for her when she returned. Silver jewelry, some sticks that had been whittled into sharp points, chunks of rock, and even a few paintings covered the table. The boy’s expressions looked grim.

Daea picked up one of the sharpened sticks and gave it a thrust. “What’s going on?”

“The Artifax is missing,” Eli said.

“The sword?”

The younger boy nodded. “It’s not in the same place Jesi-Sera and I placed it. We asked the staff if maybe they had moved it, but they didn’t know anything. We scoured the whole museum. It’s gone.”

“What’s that mean?”

“It’s not good,” Chuck said looking at his watch. “It’s time to meet Hudson. We’ll figure it out when we get back.”

After being in the temperature controlled museum, the heat of the night hit them like a brick wall.

“This is not comfortable,” Daea complained as she pulled her already sweaty shirt away from her body.

“Welcome to Ottawa,” Chuck replied.

They walked under the Queensway to a grocery store, which they felt would be a good place to meet Hudson. They patrolled the parking lot looking for his car.

“There he is,” Chuck said, pointing at the blue classic muscle car pulling into the parking lot.

Hudson parked away from the store, got out of the vehicle, and waited for the Childaar to walk to him. He pointed at the bags they carried. “What’s that?”

“We gathered some materials to help fight Ismerelda,” Eli answered.

The Sovereign scoffed and opened the trunk of his car to show a well-organized vampire fighting trove: coils of silver and iron chains, wooden stakes, braids of garlic, torches, and a few bags of flour.

Daea pointed at the bags. “What’re those for? Are you going to bake a cake?”

Hudson gave her a hard look and said, “Think about it.”

The little girl squeezed her eyes together, then when she opened them, said, “Ismerelda has Hideness.”

“A dark form of the Gift,” Eli corrected.

“We can throw it on her so that she can’t disappear.”

“Bingo,” Hudson said and turned to Chuck. “I hope your Seeingness will allow you to get her with the flour so that the rest of us bring her down.”

“Sounds like a game plan,” Chuck said.

“Get in,” Hudson said, slamming the car’s trunk closed.

“Shotgun,” Daea shouted.

“Nope,” Hudson answered. “Get in the back.”

“Not fair,” the girl complained.

“Where are we going?” Chuck asked.

“She is going to sabotage the Bruyère Hospital.”

“To create discord?” Eli asked.

“Exactly, it’s part of her motive everywhere she goes. I’ve seen her do this countless times, but never knew the time or place to catch her.”

Hudson drove them down Bank Street, to Wellington, where he turned in front of Parliament, and then to Sussex, past the National War Monument. The large stone hospital was across the street from the National Art Gallery. The parking lot was half filled with cars, and scattered light came from the building’s windows, but it was clear that regular operations were done for the day.

“We have to go inside,” Hudson told the team. “I don’t know exactly where she will be.” He turned to Chuck and said, “I’m hoping your Seeingness can spot her.”

The Sight shrugged. “I’ll do my best.”

The team gathered their supplies from the trunk.

“We’re not going to be able to get in the front door geared up like we are,” Eli said. “That would trigger security.”

Chuck said, “Follow me.” He led the team around the hospital, where they found an unlocked staff entrance. Taking a quick glance around the area, they rushed into the building. The wide hallways led past a staffroom, where a few janitors on break played on their phones while a TV droned in the background. They moved past a series of lockers and into the public area. He used his Hideness to reconnoiter ahead of the group, then whistled like a bird to have them join him in an empty room. They climbed a set of stairs to the top floor.

Hudson said, “This is where all the big, expensive equipment like MRIs are found. Given her past actions, she will come here. We’ll ambush her in this hallway.”

The corridor ended in a T-intersection, where Daea and Chuck hid on one side, while Eli and Hudson hid on the other. A hospital bed lined the wall beside a triage cart. The Sight disappeared from view and peeked around the corner to watch for the Thraldaar’s arrival. They waited for over an hour, and then Chuck appeared and silently pointed toward the hall and held a finger to his lips. He picked up the bag of flour and disappeared.

“Now! Now! I got her,” Chuck yelled down the quiet hallway.

Daea sprinted around the corner. All she saw at first was Chuck lying on the ground with his arms wrapped around nothing. When she got closer, the faint outline of a face and shoulder floated through the air. Chuck had only managed to get a part of Ismerelda with the flour, but it was enough. The Hardy unwound the silver chain she had slung over her shoulder. She pounced onto where she figured the hidden figure’s legs would be, and tied the chain around her feet. A bloodcurdling scream echoed throughout the hall. Eli and Hudson joined the fight. The Smart used his iron chain to tie up her upper legs, while the Sovereign wrapped her arms.

Ismerelda became fully visible and wriggled violently on the ground. Her screams continued. A doctor ran down the hallway to find the source of the commotion, but when he saw the altercation, he turned and ran away screaming for security. The howling continued until Hudson was able to gag the Thraldaar with a silver chain, at which point she could only lay squirming on the floor in pain. From afar, she had seemed to have a youthfulness to her appearance, but up close, the creases in her face aged her beyond human years.

“What now?” Eli asked.

“Hold her still,” Hudson ordered. “I’m going to read her mind.” He moved up to Ismerelda’s head and pulled her eyes open with his thumbs. An alarm sounded throughout the hospital just as the Sovereign’s body jolted as if it had thousands of volts of electricity surging through it. Chuck grabbed him by his black denim jacket and pulled his body off the writhing Ismerelda.

“Hudson,” Daea screamed.

“Get back,” Chuck, said waving the kids away. He crouched and inspected the unconscious boy. “He’s knocked out.”

“What are we going to do?” Daea asked.

Chuck picked up Hudson and slung him over his shoulder. “Let’s get him out of here. Daea, put this thing out of its misery,” he said, giving the wriggling body on the floor a kick.

The young girl pulled a stake from her belt and thrust it into Ismerelda’s heart. The Thraldaar imploded into a ball of blood and guts, which turned to dust and scattered across the hospital floor. The chains fell to the ground as the remains disintegrated into nothingness.

“Security,” Eli called. “We have to get out of here.”

“We can’t go out the front door,” Chuck said.

Daea pointed and said, “There’s an emergency exit over there.”

“Let’s go,” Chuck yelled to the team, who ran through the door, down the stairs, and into the hot night.

They were on the other side of the hospital. Sirens blared in the distance. When they ran around to the parking lot, two security guards jumped in front of them to block their passage. They held out their hands and told the Childaar to drop the body and lie down on the ground.

Eli stepped up and used his Suggest to tell them to back off.

Under the influence of the boy’s Gift, they held up their hands and moved to the side.

The team hurried to the blue muscle car. Chuck fished the car keys out of the Sovereign’s pocket.

“I’ll drive,” Daea said.

“Get the door,” Chuck ordered the girl, who obeyed. He dropped the limp body into the passenger seat. Daea and Eli crawled into the back, while the Sight moved to the driver’s side and started the vehicle.

“Where are we taking him?” Eli asked.

“Home,” Chuck said. “He can’t sustain his Mindness while he is unconscious. Jesi-Sera can now know that we have a Rogue in the city.”

“What if she exposes him?” Daea said. “I don’t want that to happen. It wouldn’t be fair. He’s trying to do good, even if it’s in his own way.”

“That will be up to her.”

Eli said, “I just hope she’s there to make that decision.”

CHAPTER 15

The team stood at the door, waiting to go outside. It was a minute before sunset. Chuck had a hand on the handle while he looked at his watch.

“We should be going to Montreal,” Daea said. “I can’t believe their team asked us to stay here with Jesi-Sera missing.”

Eli said, “Childaar policy states that we are not supposed to leave our respective cities.”

“But Jesi-Sera did that when she left Ottawa the other night.”

“And she shouldn’t have done that,” Chuck said, watching the seconds count down. “I shouldn’t have let her go alone.”

“There’s also only one team in Montreal. They aren’t used to having more than four in a city,” Eli said. “I can understand it from their point of view.”

Daea began to protest, but before she could say more, Chuck cut her off. “Enough. Bellyaching won’t help. It’s bad enough that she’s missing, and Hudson is still downstairs, knocked out on the couch, and that we have a missing Artifax. The Montreal team understands the situation. I trust them to help to the best of their abilities.”

Daea and Eli quieted.

The Sight looked at his watch, said, “It’s game time,” and threw open the door. The murky Suffering was thick and rolling like waves of black-and-gray syrup. It encroached onto the museum’s lawn.

Daea said, “And of course we have a mission.”

“I’d say we have two,” Chuck said, frowning at the massive buildup of Suffering.

Eli said, “With only three of us? This isn’t good. We need more help in the city.”

“The Orakles know and are working on it,” Chuck said. “Let’s focus on what we can do.”

“Can you see what kind of missions?” Daea asked.

Chuck nodded. “Both Stomps. One is west, and I’m not sure where the other is.”

Daea punched into an open palm. “At least they’re not Ops.”

“Will we even be able to do these?” Eli asked. “Being down a teammate, and not having Jesi-Sera’s buffs, it won’t be easy.”

Chuck bared his teeth and said, “That’s what we’re here to do. Otherwise, we might as well expose ourselves and go home.” He gave a low whistle and added, “Besides, we’ve got Buddy and Whiskers to help.”

The two dogs ran around the corner of the museum. Tails wagging, they wove between the three Childaar. The Sight barked at the dogs, and they barked back. Chuck turned to the kids and said, “They still haven’t found her scent. They spent the whole day tracking around the city.”

The Smart said, “It’s your call, but if we get into a losing position, make sure you call the mission off. We’re no good to anyone if we also get knocked out.”

“That’s not going to happen,” Daea said with claws extended and determination on her face.

A silver truck’s alarm beeped as Chuck unlocked the replacement vehicle he had requisitioned. The dogs jumped into the box. He walked around to the driver’s side and said, “Both of you in the back.”

“What? Why?” Daea protested.

“Because I don’t want you two fighting about it.”

Daea was about to argue, but the Sight’s hard look silenced her as she crawled into the back seat beside Eli.

They drove west all the way down Wellington to where it turned into the Sir John A. MacDonald Parkway.

“This is where Eli and I raced last winter. This was the beginning of the track.”

“We know,” the other Childaar said in unison.

The girl slammed herself into the back of the seat, crossed her arms, and stuck her tongue out.

“Where are we going?” Eli asked.

“Mud Lake or the yacht club.”

Daea asked, “Is the lake really made of mud? That sounds fun. Maybe we’ll fight mud monsters.” She raised her hands in the air and then tickled Eli. In a deep voice she said, “I’m a mud monster.”

Eli swatted her hands to the side and said, “Stop it!”

Chuck drove the truck down a narrow road past some darkened tennis courts to the yacht club.

No sooner had the team stopped than throngs of Kinedaar ran past them screaming.

The Childaar stepped out of the cab, while Buddy and Whiskers jumped out of the back. They all ran toward the hundreds of boats docked inside the marina. The visitors traveling on the Ottawa River and sleeping on their boats for the night had awakened to a disaster and were running away.

When they arrived at the water, the source of the panic was obvious. Medium-sized water creatures, which looked somewhat humanoid, attacked the boats. Their heads were featureless bulbs attached to watery torsos from which club-like water arms protruded. Their lower bodies looked like long dresses on a watery dance floor.

“Ellies,” Chuck said.

Daea extended her claws and ran toward the wooden dock.

“Daea!” Chuck yelled with a hint of anger in his voice.

The girl skidded to a halt and looked back at the Sight.

“Get back here. We need a plan.”

“I’m going to dive in the water and rip those things to shreds.”

“No, you are not. That’s their turf. We need to fight them with a home field advantage.”

“Then make a plan already. We need to get in there.”

The Sight gave the girl a hard look, then surveyed the scene. “We’re not going to be able to lure them onto land. They’ll just continue to destroy the boats.”

“Do you think any of the fish could help?” Eli asked.

“Doubtful. Perch, walleyes, and bass wouldn’t be useful in this situation.”

“Too bad there weren’t sharks,” Daea said.

Chuck grunted and then said, “Take a few shots at them, Eli. Let’s see what happens.”

Eli jumped to the side and threw a series of rapid-fire punches. Fireballs blasted from the end of his fists. Embers created a trail of sparks as they flew through the air, but upon contact with the water monsters, plumes of smoke floated into the air as the projectiles fizzled. He grimaced and said, “As I expected, my fire is useless against their water.”

The attack captured the Water Ellies’ attention, and they ceased beating on the docked boats and turned their attention to the source of aggression. In near unison, the monsters shot heavy streams of water toward the team. Like a blast from hundreds of fire hoses, the water shot toward the shore. Eli threw a palm strike forward and created a wall of fire, and the incoming shots transformed into mist.

The Smart grimaced. “I can’t hold this wall up for much longer. There are too many of them.”

Daea, Chuck, and the dogs rushed behind Eli, and he concentrated his wall to only protect the team, while the trees and buildings behind them flooded. Water and Suffering mixed around their feet, and Chuck yelled, “We have to go down there and fight them.”

“See,” Daea said. “That’s what I was doing.”

Chuck ignored the insolence. “Eli, hold this wall up. We will all walk down there together using it as protection. Then when we are in striking distance, let it go, and we will rush in for the fight.”

“Let’s do it,” Daea said, crouching low behind the wall beside Eli. Buddy and Whiskers flanked the youngest Childaar, while Chuck stood behind, observing the situation.

“Let’s go!” Chuck yelled as the team moved toward the boats.

Step by step, Eli pushed forward to get the team within striking distance.

“Now,” Chuck barked, and Eli dropped the fire shield.

“Let’s kung fu some monsters,” Daea said to Eli as she ran forward, ducking a blast of water, to confront the watery creatures straight on.

The boy smiled and struck his Wing Chun pose.

“Stay behind me,” the girl said. “I’ll take the hits, you focus on striking.”

Daea partly deflected and partly absorbed some blows before she was able to deliver a hard side kick into one of the Water Ellies. Her foot passed through the creature and out the other side, at which point the monster turned into liquified Suffering and fell off the side of the boat and into the river.” Eli poked out from behind his friend to deliver a rapid series of punches. Chuck had disappeared, but Buddy and Whiskers were able to move up and snap at the monsters.

“I sure wish we had Jesi-Sera’s buffs,” Eli said. “My attacks aren’t doing much.”

“Just stick with me,” Daea said as she punched across her body, then ducked an attack, only to rise and punch across her other side to finish two Ellies that had flanked her.

Blindsided by a club-like watery appendage, Daea was thrown back into Eli, who caught her as they both fell to the deck. The Hardy kick flipped back onto her feet and blocked an incoming attack, but there wasn’t much room to maneuver on the side of the boat. More of the Ellies engaged the team. They merged together, and where there had been smaller individuals, they were now half as many, but they were twice as big. Their new size gave them a better reach. One of them swung its arm at the group. Daea evaded the attack, but Eli was caught off guard, and with nowhere to go, he was sent flying. He splashed as he rolled back onto the flooded land.

Chuck appeared beside the girl and delivered a well-placed karate chop into one of the monsters. It transformed into the Suffering, but not before hitting and sending the Sight back to land hard beside his teammate. Buddy and Whiskers darted in and out, but couldn’t land any attacks. The dogs dodged strikes, but couldn’t advance, but rather were also pushed off the dock.

Daea jumped forward, ducked a watery fist, and landed a front kick. Her foot sank into the water creature. It recoiled and pulled back. The Ellie beside the recently attacked monster caught her off guard with a swinging punch, and the small girl was thrown over the side of the boat and into the water.

“Daea!” Eli yelled, running forward, but the Ellies continued blasting them with the heavy pressure streams of water. He threw up a flaming shield to prevent any damage. Chuck joined him, but their pace was slow as they tried to get back to the boats by the dock.

Daea surfaced and caught her breath, but was dragged back down into the river. The girl thrashed about the water as she struggled to get to the surface.

The boys had finally gotten to the boat’s edge. Chuck yelled, “Daea, reach up. I’m going to grab you, but you won’t be able to see me.” The Sight disappeared.

Daea did not hear the boy as she continued to fight for survival. She was unable to break free and used all her efforts to get to the surface for brief gulps of air.

Chuck reappeared. He was lying on his stomach, hanging over the edge of the wall. “I can’t get her,” he yelled. A smashing water club swung at him from overhead. He rolled to the side, got onto his feet, and jumped back. “I’m going in after her.”

“You can’t do that,” Eli yelled. “You’ll be even more helpless.”

“We need to do something.”

Buddy and Whiskers barked as they sparred with the Ellies.

The water churned, and the Suffering converged on top of the girl. Her trips to the surface became less frequent.

Just as Chuck prepared to leap, a dark body dropped from out of the sky and plunged into the water. Seconds later Hudson used his Jump to emerge from the river with the little girl in his arms.

Daea sputtered and coughed water. “Whoa,” she said after finally catching her breath.

Hudson said, “You’re welcome. Ready to punish these things?”

“Oh yeah!”

The pair soared high into the night sky. “We have to finish this immediately. There are more pressing matters happening at Parliament.” The Sovereign hesitated before adding, “Thanks for getting me to safety after my mind got nuked.”

“Are you OK?”

“I’ll be fine.”

“What did you learn?”

“Let’s finish this Stomp, then I’ll tell you all about it.”

The duo reached the apex of their ascent. The night’s full moon caught their silhouette as Hudson twisted them around to face the dock headfirst. “I’m going to dive toward them and then throw you when we’ve reached maximum velocity. Try to swim away from them once you hit the water. I’ll pick you up and we can repeat the process. Got it?”

“Let’s do it!”

The yacht club looked like a toy set from their vantage point. Hudson aligned them parallel to the river and began their descent. Daea’s hair flew back. She tried to speak, but the wind resistance made her lips flap and her speech incomprehensible. The Sovereign threw the girl forward, propelling her toward a set of the water monsters. Arms outstretched, claws extended, Daea flew like a missile toward her target. The creatures exploded into a fountain of Suffering as she tore through them. Her speed caused her to skip across the water before submerging. She resurfaced away from the monsters as they had planned. Hudson used his Glide to dive into the water, where he picked up the girl and then used his Jump to rise back into the sky.

They repeated the attack until the last of the water elementals had rejoined the Suffering. With the monsters vanquished, Daea swam to the shore and pulled herself up on to the ground. Her wet hair matted against her head. The Suffering receded back to its usual light wispy strands, but signs of the second mission resonated within. She ran to her teammates.

Hudson landed beside the team and said, “We have to hurry. He has Jesi-Sera.”

“Who?” Chuck asked.

“Dracul.”

CHAPTER 16

Horror draped Chuck’s face. “What do you mean Dracul has Jesi-Sera?”

“When I connected with Ismerelda’s mind, I saw visions of a tall, slim, dark-haired vampire. In the background, an old European castle stood in front of a series of jagged mountain peaks. Thousands of screaming bats circled the castle. It was his name that was at the forefront of all the imagery.”

“What does that mean?” Daea asked.

Hudson answered. “Dracul is Ismerelda’s sire. They are behind all the chaos happening in the city. He’s been in and out of Ottawa for years now. I saw it all in Ismerelda’s mind.”

“The Dracul?” Eli said, astounded.

“Yes, one of the most powerful Eldaar in the world. He is her sire, and you three have also met him.”

“What!” the three Childaar said in unison.

“Childaar have protections from Eldaar, but Dracul has found a way to exploit and threaten us.”

Daea, Eli, and Chuck stood still, shocked.

“Those blocks in your mind I detected when we first met were placed there by him.”

Chuck took a deep breath and asked, “When was that?”

Hudson shrugged. “Halloween?”

“For all we know, we could have led to Jesi-Sera’s disappearance,” Eli said.

“How is Jesi-Sera involved?” Daea asked.

“I’m not exactly sure about that, but I saw her too,” Hudson continued. “It was a recent development. It has something to do with a sword.”

“The Artifax,” Eli said.

“We have to hurry,” Daea shouted at her teammates. “We have to save Jesi-Sera.”

“Where is she?” Chuck said.

“Parliament,” the Sovereign answered. “The government called for a snap vote to remove the universal health care system tonight. The opposition were told at the last minute and many of them couldn’t make it. The vote passed.”

“We can talk on the way,” Daea said, leading the team back to their silver truck.

Chuck tossed Hudson the keys. Buddy and Whiskers once again jumped into the back of the box.

The Sovereign’s nimble driving skills translated from his muscle car to the truck. While almost doubling the speed limit, he expertly navigated the John A. McDonald Parkway.

Hudson explained everything he’d seen in Ismerelda’s mind. He’d seen her childhood in Italy two hundred years ago, Dracul turning her into a Thraldaar, and finally her life in the service of evil. She had done many horrible things over the years. At the moment, the machinations she had set into motion in Ottawa had come to fruition. Dracul trapped the A-team, and it seemed like he had pulled a similar ruse on Jesi-Sera.

“Does the blue monster belong to Ismerelda?” Chuck asked.

“No, it’s Dracul’s pet that he uses as a spy.”

“It’s been spying on us this whole time?” Chuck asked.

“I guess.”

The parkway turned into Wellington Avenue at Bay Street in front of the Library and Archives building. They passed all the street’s grand buildings until they were at Parliament Hill. Protesters with makeshift signs spread across the parliamentary grounds, while more people continued to stream into the area. Hudson parked the truck in a bus loading zone. The Childaar and dogs hopped out of the vehicle.

The team walked toward the buildings, but an RCMP wall had formed in front of the Center Block to prevent people from getting too close.

“This is just waiting for a spark to turn into a bonfire,” Chuck said, eying the crowd. “And it’s going to make it hard for us to get in.”

Hudson asked, “Do you have a secret entrance?”

“We don’t,” Chuck answered. “It’s been attempted using the tunnel system, but security finds and closes them every time.”

The Sovereign wiped his hair back. “So, how do we get in?”

The Sight cocked his head. “An open window is our best bet, but we’re going to have to approach from the back.” He waved a hand over his shoulder and said, “Follow me.”

They ran to the locks and followed them down to the river, where a path led them to the bottom of Parliament Hill. Only the looming Peace Tower and top of the Library of Parliament were visible.

Chuck scrambled up the hillside. He was much quieter than his teammates, and had to stop a couple of times to shush them. Once at the top, he lay on his stomach to observe the situation. The other Childaar followed suit. They all gasped when they saw a sleek and shiny black helicopter. Four well-armed security guards stood at its corners. Their armor and weapons, just like the helicopter, were shiny and black. They all held machine guns and had side arms on their belt.

“I wonder who that belongs to?” Hudson said, his voice laced with sarcasm.

Daea said, “If it’s Dracul’s, those guards are going to be waiting for their passenger for a long time.” Her claws extended instinctively, but she retracted them.

Chuck pointed to an office window. “That MP forgot to close his window again. We’ll go in through there.”

“The guards will see us for sure when we cross the grounds,” Eli said.

“Do we have a plan?” Daea asked.

The Sight gave the girl a wink. “Wait here, I’ll be right back.” He disappeared in front of them and only a few rustles indicated that he had moved back down the hill. A chittering sounded from down by the river, then Chuck reappeared beside them. “Watch this.”

A few seconds later, Loose Tooth, Quirky Tail, River Eyes, and Small Nose emerged from the bushes near the helicopter. They chattered and barked as they approached the guards, who jumped back and trained their guns on the beavers. Seeing that the way was clear, he whispered, “Go, go, go!”

They sprinted across the parking lot to the stone wall.

“Wait,” Eli said. “Buddy and Whiskers can’t climb.”

“Hudson can jump them up,” Daea said.

The Sovereign picked up the Rottweiler first, and effortlessly leaped into the open window, where he released the dog. The rest of the Childaar had scaled the wall by the time he dropped down and returned with the German shepherd.

Chuck chattered from the window, and the beavers turned to return to the bushes. One of the guards laughed and gave Loose Tooth a hard kick, sending her head over heels down the hill.

Hudson asked, “Where’s the House of Commons?

“Follow me,” Chuck said, leading the team through the high, vaulted halls. The building was quiet, as all the Members of Parliament who had voted had snuck out before the protest could begin, while the opposition MPs were outside with the protesters, whose chants resonated through the stone walls into the building.

The Sight put a finger to his lips and motioned for everyone to slide up against the wall. Two security guards walked past them, not looking back to see the Childaar. They tiptoed through the building and finally arrived at the House of Commons. Twelve loud rings rang from the Peace Tower as the clock struck midnight.

The Childaar walked into the spacious room. An aisle separated the room into two sides filled with green chairs. Tables and desk for clerks and administrative staff filled the aisle, while at the end of the passageway sat a large chair, and above it was a viewing gallery for spectators to observe the proceedings.

Seated on the large throne at the front, Dracul sat with a cruel grin on his face, a pair of fangs peeking out from his thin lips. He wore a dark purple velvet suit, and his dark slicked-back hair created a distinctive V-shape atop his head. His alabaster skin nearly glowed in the dimly lit room. At his feet, a blanket covered what looked to be a body. A tiger-sized feline with a bat’s head and taut blue leathery skin sat beside the chair. The Eldaar stroked Hyelsing’s bald head, and the creature arched its back with a stretch and opened its mouth wide to show a full set of shark teeth.

His smooth tenor voice had hints of a Transylvanian accent. “You are too late,” he said as they walked in. “The vote has happened, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

Daea stepped forward, claws extending from fingers. “It’s not too late to put you down.”

A mirthless chuckle escaped from the Eldaar’s thin lips. The tall and skinny Eldaar stood, and a long scabbard attached to his belt revealed itself. He bent down and tossed the blanket to the side, and revealed Jesi-Sera lying on the ground, ropes binding her hands and feet, her scarf used to gag her mouth. He picked the girl up and slung her over his shoulder and said, “It truly has been a good night, but I must bid you adieu.”

“Get him,” Daea shouted.

The Childaar and dogs charged the Eldaar. Dracul stepped toward them unconcerned by the threat. When they were close to striking distance, Buddy leapt in the air, while at the same time, Dracul pulled a steel sword with a glowing green aura from the scabbard. Whiskers and the Childaar stopped in their tracks, halted by the fear emanating from the Artifax. He raised the sword high and brought it down, cleaving the black Rottweiler in half.

Chuck screamed in anger seeing the lifeless dog on the ground. The power of the Artifax wasn’t enough to overcome his anger, and he rushed at the Eldaar, who punched him in the face with the hilt of the sword. Blood exploded from the Sight’s broken nose, as he crumpled to the ground.

Dracul and Hyelsing sauntered down the aisle, past the clerk desks. The Childaar, stunned by fear, could do nothing but watch. He turned casually and said, “Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of your precious Jesi-Sera.”

He turned and walked out the room. The Charm wriggled. The spell broke once they had exited the room.

“After them,” Daea yelled, running toward the door. She saw Dracul and his pet turn down the hall.

“He’s headed for the Parliamentary Library,” Eli called.

A deep whirring sound grew louder as they chased the Eldaar and his captive. They entered the decorative library, where the back door was open and the helicopter, rotor blades spinning, prepared for takeoff.

The Eldaar turned and raised the sword toward the Childaar. “Until we meet again.” He crouched low and ran to the shiny black helicopter with a side-mounted machine gun, which was already lifting off the ground. Hyelsing was nowhere to be seen.

Jesi-Sera worked the gag out of her mouth and shouted, “Under the mace. The A-team is under the mace. Ye have to save them.” As the Eldaar threw her into the helicopter, the last thing they could hear her say was, “I’m sorry.”

The team watched the helicopter fly away into the night sky.

“We have to get her,” Chuck yelled.

Hudson used his Jump to follow, but the staccato sound of bullets rang from the helicopter’s large machine gun. He was forced to veer away, and circled back to the Childaar on the ground.

“Do you think the A-team is really in there?” Eli asked. “We have to be careful. What if it’s a trap?”

“Jesi-Sera said to do it. I think we have to trust her,” Daea said.

“But what if she is being manipulated by Dracul,” Hudson replied. “I don’t think she’s that trustworthy anymore.”

“She wouldn’t mislead us. We have to believe that.”

CHAPTER 17

The team walked back through the ornate library, into the wide halls of the Center Block, and toward the House of Commons, where Canadian legislators create law.

Daea said, “She said to look under the mace. What’s a mace?”

Chuck, seething with rage and sadness, pointed to a large golden club with a crown atop it.

“Is that a weapon?”

Eli answered, “In the old days, they used them to fight, but this is ceremonial. It embodies the authority of the sovereign.”

“Sovereign? Like Hudson?”

Hudson shook his head. “No, sovereign as in the king or queen of the country.”

Daea stopped listening and walked to the table upon which the ceremonious weapon rested. She picked it up and swung it around in a wide arc. The Childaar behind her had to jump back to avoid being struck.

“Watch it with that thing,” Chuck growled.

“I like this. I think I’m going to keep it.”

“It won’t work on Stomps,” Eli said. “We can’t use weapons.”

The girl rested the heavy weapon on her shoulder as Hudson tossed the table upon which it had rested to the side. He ripped the carpet from under the table to reveal a trapdoor and pried it open.

Light music drifted up from the hole. A solid oak ladder led down into darkness. Eli spun a little ball of fire, showing that the ladder led to a square, luxurious antechamber. The walls were painted in gold leaf, while oil paintings depicting scenes of craggy mountain passes adorned the walls. Two high-backed benches upholstered in gold fabric lined the two sides of the room, a door pinched between them.

Chuck was the last to climb down the ladder. Before closing the trapdoor, with tears in his eyes, he barked at Whiskers to pull the carpet back over the trapdoor, mess up the rest of the room, and distract anyone who entered. He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand before pulling the hatch closed.

The Suffering covered the Childaar’s feet. Daea opened a wooden armoire only to find it empty of jackets and footwear. Two umbrellas stuck out of a holder, and a series of high-backed chairs and small corner tables lined the room. An iron double door with ornate carvings was the only visible exit.

Daea approached and inspected the door. She turned to Chuck and said, “I bet we could make a sweet door like this.”

Chuck didn’t respond to the girl, but rather cleared his throat and said, “Pay attention, and don’t get cocky. We are in an Eldaar’s lair.” The team gathered around the Sight, who said, “This isn’t a run-of-the-mill Stomp. Be careful, damage down here could do more than just knock us out.”

Daea had brought the mace down with her and gave it a few more practice swings. “Think I will be able to use this?”

Hudson said, “Perhaps. I don’t think any of us knows what we will find in an Eldaar’s lair.”

Chuck said, “Give it a try, just be careful you don’t hit us with those swings.”

“You be careful that you give me some room,” the girl said.

“Daea, you are on point.”

“You know it,” the girl said.

“Eli, stay close behind her and get fire on anything that looks dangerous. Hudson, hold the rear, and help any way you can. I’ll stay hidden. You won’t see me, but I’ll be there,” the Sight said.

“Don’t tell me what to do,” the Sovereign replied.

Chuck gave the tall boy a hard look and Hudson returned the stare, but before anything could escalate Daea yelled, “Hey, you two. Get it together.”

“Yeah, we have more important priorities,” Eli said.

Chuck gave Hudson one last look before disappearing.

Daea pulled one of the large doors inward. The light from the fireball in Eli’s hand shone into a deep cavern. A few torches rested in wall sconces. Eli brought them to life with small balls of fire. A stone spiral staircase descended down into the cavity.

Daea said, “I wonder where this goes,” and her voice echoed back.

“Just be careful,” Hudson said. “Eli, light every torch you see.”

The clack of each step echoed through the cavern as they moved deeper underground. Eli lit torches as they came into view, and the team reached the bottom of the staircase. The same lush carpet covered the floor, along with paintings of mountain ranges and castles. Another wide iron double door led out of the stairwell.

“Everyone ready?” Daea said, getting ready to pull on the circular door handle. She looked behind her. Eli was in his Wing Chun stance, ready to shoot Fire, while Hudson gave her an approving nod.

The girl pulled and the door opened. A grand dining room with a long table and twenty-four high-backed chairs, upholstered like the ones in the antechamber, centered the room. Portraits lined the room’s tapestried walls. A throne-like chair headed the table, and a massive, full-body painting of the Eldaar Dracul hung on the wall behind it. His alabaster skin shone off the canvas, contrasting with his black hair, which came to widow’s peak in the center of his forehead. He wore a wine-red doublet underneath a lavishly embroidered cape. Two doors flanked the room on the long side of the table.

Four wolves faced them, but they were not ordinary animals. They were bigger, longer, and had sharper teeth, claws that looked more like talons, and spiked ridges running down their back. Their tails had been cut so that only a short nub remained.

“What are those things?” Daea wondered aloud.

“They look like monsters, but not…” Eli replied.

“They’re modified animals,” Chuck said, appearing. A look of painful sadness mixed with anger crossed his face.

Hudson said, “It’s a Dark Gift. Dracul’s powers are legendary. This must be his making.”

“That’s horrible,” Daea said. She was crouched low in her kung ku pose, facing off against the snarling canines.

Chuck barked at the wolves, and they snarled and growled back. “They are too far transformed. I can’t talk to them.”

“Then we have to go through them,” Daea said, approaching the wolves, who had spread out to surround the girl. She held the ceremonial mace like a baseball bat, ready to strike.

Eli launched a hard fireball and the fight began. The large ball of fire singed the pelt of one of the wolves. It howled and moved back on its haunches, preparing to leap at the small boy. Before it could jump, Daea swung the mace down on the transmuted animal. A crunch sounded as the mace struck the wolf’s shoulder. The wolf hobbled and tried to regain its balance, but before it could stand back up, Daea struck again, hitting the wolf’s head, whereupon it dropped lifelessly to the floor.

The three other wolves attacked the girl. One bit at her feet, another her body, and the last jumped at her face. She screamed as the lower wolf punctured her leg with its bite and she took a wide gash across her face from the topmost animal.

Chuck appeared and sent a wolf flying across the room with a front kick. Eli blasted it with Fire as it attempted to stand up after rolling across the floor. Hudson pried a wolf off Daea. He had it in a headlock, but it struggled, twisted, and bit at the Sovereign.

The wolf Eli had attacked regained its footing and ran at the boy. Standing square to the animal, he threw a series of punches, and quick fireballs exploded from his fists, but the wolf dodged them and pounced at the boy, taking him to the ground. Chuck had moved to help Hudson, while Daea abandoned her weapon and dropped hard elbows onto the wolf who had locked onto her leg. Unable to sustain many of the blows, it released its grip and fell to the floor.

Picking up the mace, she ran at Eli, who was pinned on the ground fending off attacks from the enormous animal atop him. She finished it with a hard swing. Eli rolled out from under the canine’s massive body.

Chuck and Hudson had the last wolf flanked, but couldn’t get in close enough to attack without it snapping its large teeth at them. Daea ran to help. The wolf was powerless against the heavy mace, and with three heavy strokes, the last wolf fell to the ground.

The Childaar stood in silence in the empty room amidst the carcasses on the ground.

Hudson said, “It looks like Dracul has been working on this lair for quite a long time.

Chuck nodded. “A project like this would take decades.”

“Who would even want to eat in here?” Daea said, inspecting the surroundings.

“Maybe politicians and policymakers who he has seduced to his side?” Eli suggested.

The team approached the door behind the head of the table. Daea pressed her ear to the wooden barrier. She didn’t hear anything, so she pushed it open into a modern, industrial kitchen, where cooks and servers could prepare meals and drinks for the room’s patrons. She riffled through the cupboards. “Everything is empty. Only plates and cutlery. No food, and definitely no candy.”

“Let’s check the other side,” Chuck said as the team walked through the dining room to the door behind the foot of the table.

Daea once again listened for activity, then pushed it open. They walked into a big, lavish office. An ornate desk centered the room lined with bookshelves. On the wall in front of the desk, six flat screen TVs broadcast news channels from around the world. They were muted and featured various talking heads opining on the day’s events. The chyrons at the bottom of all the screens focused on the healthcare vote that had just passed.

“There are no more doors,” Eli said, inspecting the room and taking a second look out into the dining area.

“There must be a secret door,” Chuck said. “Inspect everywhere, and be fast.”

The Childaar spread out, inspecting the desk drawers and bookshelves.

“There has to be something we’re missing,” Hudson said, pulling books off the bookshelf.

“Maybe it’s not in here. We should search the entire lair,” Eli suggested.

Chuck nodded, “Spread out and tear this place apart if you have to.”

Daea returned to the kitchen. She pulled utensils, glassware, silverware, and anything else she could find out of its cupboard or drawer. She then moved into the dining room to continue her investigating.

The team searched the lair for well over an hour before they reconvened in the bedroom.

Hudson shrugged and said, “I think your team leader may have misled us.”

“She wouldn’t do that,” Daea said, scowling at the Sovereign.

“So where is the A-team?”

Chuck sighed and said, “We have no idea what’s going on. It is possible that Dracul duped Jesi-Sera, and they are not in fact here.” The Sight continued, “We don’t have a lot of time left before sunrise, so let’s give this place another once-over.”

The team split up, going to rooms other than those they had originally checked. Daea was in the bedroom, which Chuck had ripped to pieces, when she heard Eli yelling. She found him, along with the rest of the Childaar, back in Dracul’s office.

Eli pointed at a small crack in the bottom corner of a wall. “If he can transform himself into mist, he would be able to move through that opening.”

The team moved in to inspect the fracture near the corner on the floor. Daea extended her claws and dug into the wall. She pulled a chuck of dirt away to reveal a tube had been bored through the wall. She excavated through the soft earth like a badger on a mission, while the rest of the team cleared the debris away.

“I’m through,” she called. “There’s another passage. I see light ahead.”

The team crawled into the tunnel to join her. Sweaty and dirty, they emerged on the other side. Eli extinguished the flame in his hand as they neared the source of light. An electric hum led them into a laboratory. Counters lined the outside of the room, and three slabs of granite sat in the middle. Each slab had a sheet covering what looked like bodies.

Before they could inspect the rooms, the sheets moved and fell to the ground as fleshy primate creatures rolled off the tables and into a guarded, standing position. The creatures looked like they had been stitched together. They each had a monkey head, but their bodies and arms were more like those of chimpanzees, while their legs and feet were as big as a gorilla’s.

“Did Dracul make these too?” Daea asked.

Hudson said, “He must have. This must be the laboratory where he practices his Dark Gifts.”

The three lumbering fleshy creatures began walking toward the team.

“Do we fight them?”

“Do we have a choice?” Chuck asked. “Same plan, everyone. We’ll take them down one at a time.”

Daea tossed the mace to Hudson, then charged the center fleshy golem. Hudson spun the mace a few times before holding it over his shoulder like a baseball player. Daea engaged the creature, which swung a thick appendage at her head, but she ducked it effortlessly and ripped into the creature’s torso with her claws. Instead of the usual black inky gunk of Suffering, red blood poured from the wound. The two other flesh monsters flanked and attacked the Hardy. The small girl was thrown into the other monster, which slammed her into the ground with an overhead swing. She rolled back from under their feet, where she kick flipped into a fighting position. The monkey-monster she had attacked had lost a lot of blood and fell to its knee and wailed in pain.

Eli crouched behind one of the granite slabs. Using it for cover, he threw a centerline punch, and a hard, fast fireball exploded from his fist. He threw two more punches, and two more fireballs flew at one of the monsters engaged with Daea. A waft of burning flesh filled the area. The creature howled in pain, falling and writhing on the ground. Chuck appeared beside the burning creature and finished it with a stomp to its head.

Hudson jumped and flew at the last remaining monster. He zipped through the air and swung the mace, but it swatted the weapon out of the way and caught the boy in its large flabby appendages. The monster squeezed the Sovereign, whose face contorted as he struggled for breath.

Daea moved in low and climbed the creature, creating wide, deep, bloody gashes as she rose to the top, where she pried the monster’s arms from Hudson. Both Hudson and the monster fell to the ground, but only the Childaar rose.

“How are you doing?” Daea asked.

Hudson shrugged and said, “I’m fine.”

Chuck said, “Don’t rush in. If we have more monsters like that, wait for Daea and Eli to get damage in, then we can move in to finish them off.”

The Sovereign prepared a snarky response, but before it came out, he nodded and said, “Got it.”

Chuck pointed at two doors on the far side of the room. “Daea, kick down the door on the right, but then move to the side. Eli, be ready to blast anything inside. Hudson, stay back with us.”

Daea ran at it, leapt into the air, and drop kicked the wooden door. It fell flat into a big supply closet. Vials, beakers, glassware, and all sorts of medical instruments lined the shelves. She twisted upon landing so as to have her back to the door frame, ready to move into the room.

“Clear,” Chuck yelled. “Next door!”

The girl sprinted along the wall, spun, and executed a roundhouse kick, which sent the door in and flying down a staircase.

“Go, go, go,” Chuck yelled, leading the boys toward the exit.

The staircase spiraled down to another doored landing, which Daea easily unhinged with another roundhouse kick. The room ahead of the team was luxurious. A canopy bed with thin satin drapes sat in the center of the room: however, instead of a bed underneath the canopy, a large coffin rested on the ground. Tapestries with wolves, bats, and mountains covered the room’s walls. Majestic carpets covered the floor. A sliding door was open on the far side of the room, which revealed a large closet full of dark suits and pointy shoes. A curtain beside the bed separated the room into two parts. Chuck walked up and pulled it back.

A massive metallic creature looked down on the Sight. Its helmeted head had no features except for an eye slit in which a tiny pair of red irises hid. Its body, arms, and legs were protected by chitinous iron armor. The monster reeled a drum-sized fist back and punched the Childaar square in the chest. Chuck flew across the room and hit the wall behind him with an audible thud.

Behind the creature, four clear prison cells had been erected—one for each of the missing Childaar from the A-team.

Owen, the onyx-skinned leader of the team, had grown a full beard. Fear and anger flashed in his eyes when the curtain was flung back, but turned into hope when he saw the B-team. He banged his fist on the plastic wall as he yelled in a strong French accent, “Get me out! Get me out!”

The rest of the A-team sprung to life. Marion, the A-team’s Smart, yelled, “Be careful. The golem is extremely strong.”

“Get me out,” the A-team leader shouted.

The diminutive Asian girl added, “Don’t release Owen yet. He is now older than eighteen.”

“Get me out! Maintenant!”

Eli had rushed over to Chuck and helped him off the floor. The Sight rested his hands on his knees to catch his breath.

The golem stepped up to Daea, who was crouched in her kung fu pose, and smashed her with a crossing fist. The girl tumbled across the floor, and was slow to kickflip back onto her feet.

Hudson ran at the golem and hit it with the mace. A clang resonated through the room, but if the monster felt it, it didn’t show any signs of pain, but rather backhanded the Sovereign, knocking him back and knocking the weapon out of his hand.

Eli shot a fireball at the monstrous creation, but besides a small scorch mark, didn’t seem to do any damage.

“Get me out of here!” Owen continued to scream.

Liam, the short and stocky Hardy, stood at his cell’s door staring at the monster, while Cameron, the redheaded Charm, yelled in a German accent, “You need a better plan. Get us out of here so that we can take it down together.” A fiery glow surrounded the boy for a moment, giving everyone more confidence.

Hudson stood and asked the captured Childaar, “Where are the keys?”

“Dracul has them,” Marion answered. “You are going to have to smash these locks off.”

Daea looked at the locks holding the cages closed. “I can open them,” she said, pulling her lockpicks from her backpack.

The metallic golem stepped forward and booted the girl. She grabbed the curtain, stopping her slide.

Chuck ran over and pulled Daea off the floor. “Regroup!”

The Smart and Sovereign rushed over to their teammates, while the iron construct plodded toward them.

The Sight said, “Eli, we’re going to distract that thing while Daea opens the cells. Shoot fire then retreat. When it gets close to you, I will appear behind it to pull it away.” He turned his attention to Daea and said, “Get everyone except Owen out as quick as you can. Hudson, you need to protect Daea while she works.”

A look of annoyance crossed Hudson’s face, but it was replaced by one of determination.  “Got it,” the pale boy said.

The girl already had her lock picks in hand. “Let’s save the A-team.”

“Go!” the Sight shouted before disappearing.

The golem was almost upon them, but Daea and Hudson were able to roll under its swing, while Eli moved to the side while preparing a thick fireball, which he launched at the creature from behind Dracul’s coffin. The attack caught the iron guard’s attention, and it moved toward the Smart, but before it could punch at him, Chuck appeared behind the monster and kicked its back. The creature turned to chase the new attacker, but the Sight disappeared once he had pulled it away from Eli, who in turn shot another fireball.

While Eli and Chuck continued to pull the monster between them, Daea moved into the makeshift jail to rescue the A-team. Hudson stood guard over her with the mace cocked back and ready to swing.

Marion shouted, “Get Liam first. He’s a Hardy and can help tank that creature.”

Liam stood in his cell, eyes focused on the monster, punching his fist. Daea caught his eye and stuck her tongue out at him playfully as she started working her tools in and out of the lock.

“Get me out!” Owen demanded.

The iron monster had become wise to Eli and Chuck’s plan, and focused on the Smart, who it had backed into a corner.

Daea felt the mechanism click to release the lock. She opened the door, and Liam barreled out of the cell. He was quick for his size as he rushed the iron guard. Eli lay in the corner, having taken a hard blow to his body. Chuck attempted to pry the monster off the Smart, but could not get enough leverage to succeed. The burly Hardy leapt in the air and hit the golem into the wall with a full body tackle. Chuck adjusted his position and pulled Eli out of the corner.

“How is he?” Hudson yelled as he ran into the melee.

“Battered and bruised, but he’ll be OK,” Chuck responded.

Liam stood overtop the golem and kicked it down whenever it attempted to stand up.

“Get me out!” Owen continued to scream and bang on the clear plastic walls.

With an understanding of how the locks operated, Daea released Marion with ease. She then moved over to Cameron’s cage. Even in his captive condition, he managed to look handsome. He wiped his disheveled red hair back and watched her with a bemused expression through cool green eyes. Daea opened the lock and he stepped out of the plastic cage, giving her a curt nod before running toward the fight. Daea was quick behind him.

The seven Childaar surrounded the golem and kicked, stomped, and smashed the iron monster. Dents became caved metal, and finally the thing groaned like seizing gears, and its lifeless body rested on the floor.

“Get me out of here. Right now, I command it,” Owen yelled at the freed Childaar.

“What are we going to do about him?” Daea said, pointing at the big Sovereign.

“What time is it?” Marion asked.

Chuck looked at his watch. “Ten minutes past sunrise.”

“He needs to expose himself.”

“I’m going with him,” Liam said.

“You weren’t kidding,” Marion said.

“Nope,” the thick boy said. “I’m done with the Childaar life.” He paused and turned his attention toward the members of the B-team. “What’s the date?”

Hudson said, “It’s the end of August.”

Liam grunted and said, “We’ve been captive for eight months? Yeah, I’m done.”

Marion turned to Cameron. “How about you?”

“I’m going to stay,” he said. “I will get my revenge on Dracul.”

“Get in line,” Daea said. “He captured Jesi-Sera.”

Owen continued to bang and scream.

“Let’s get this over with,” Marion said, walking toward the remaining captured Childaar. The Sovereign quieted. “You’re going to be OK? We’re going to let you out, and you and Liam are going to go to the surface.”

“Oui, oui. Let me out!”

The tiny girl stepped to the side to allow Daea at the lock. It didn’t take her long to get it off. Owen slammed the door open. His wild eyes darted around the room.

Liam was beside the room’s exit. He whistled and said, “This way, sir. Follow me.”

Marion wiped a tear from her eye, as she and Cameron gave their leader one last salute.

“What now?” Daea asked.

“We spend the night down here,” Hudson said.

“What? This place is creepy, and there isn’t even any food in the kitchen.”

CHAPTER 18

Daea, Eli, Chuck, and Hudson sat in the main area of their home in the Museum of Nature.

Eli said, “It didn’t take the Orakles long to get Marion and Cameron out of here.”

Chuck said, “They thought it best to relocate them given the nightmare they just experienced.”

“I’m not sure I’d want to stick around here after what they just went through,” Eli said.

“And now that the Orakles know Ottawa was infiltrated by Dracul, they have made it a high priority to get us another team. They start arriving tomorrow,” the Sight said.

“Are they keeping us together?” Daea asked.

“They told me that I’m the new leader of the A-team in Ottawa, and it’s going to be up to me to make the rosters. I plan on keeping us together,” Chuck answered.

“Well forget about me,” Daea said, finishing off the last cookie in the family pack she had opened. “I’m going Rogue with Hudson. I’m going to find Jesi-Sera.”

Everyone turned and looked at her.

“You can’t do that,” Eli said. “They’ll track you down.”

“Hudson knows how to hide. He can teach me.”

“You don’t even have Hideness, let alone any other Gifts that could help you out there alone in the world.”

Hudson said, “It’s not an easy life, and I can’t say that I would recommend it. The loneliness can be overwhelming, and revenge isn’t the best motivation.”

“We’ll figure it out.”

The Sovereign looked apprehensive. “I don’t know if that’s the life for me anymore. With Ismerelda gone, I have to make a decision on what I am going to do. I’m leaning toward my Sleepining.”

“You could join us,” Chuck said. “I’ll inform the Orakles that we’ve brought you back into the fold.”

Daea interjected, “What about Jesi-Sera? Are we just going to forget about her?”

Anger and grief washed over the new team leader’s face, but he composed himself, shook his head, and said, “We’ll never forget her. We are going to do whatever we can to get her back, but our best chance of helping her rests with the resources of the Orakles.”

Daea didn’t look convinced.

Hudson ran his hands through his hair and said, “Would you really accept me into your team?”

Daea and Eli looked at Chuck, who said, “Yes, but you would have to promise to never mind control us again.”

Tears welled in the pale boy’s eyes.

“I thought after I lost my old team that I would never have one again.”

Daea said, “I’ll stay if you join us. You are part of our family now. We’ll take care of you.”

Eli and Chuck moved in to pat him on the back, but Daea grabbed them all and forced a group hug. “We’re all in this together.”

Eli said, “That means you will be just in time for the new school year.”

Daea fell limp in their arms. “Already? I didn’t get to do anything.”

Chuck gave the girl a reassuring pat. “It wasn’t an easy one.”

The girl sighed. “Worst. Summer. Vacation. Ever.”

THE END

LEXICON

Adoreness

Gift. Level 1: Awe, Level 2: Fear, Level 3: Love. Only Charms have access to this Gift.

Animalness

Gift. Level 1: Talk to Animals, Level 2: Summon Animals, Level 3: Possess Animals. Only Sights have access to this Gift.

Artifax

Rare objects with special powers. Childaar policy requires that if found, they must be recovered and placed in museums for safekeeping.

Awakening

The time when a Kinedaar child becomes a young vampire. Newly Awakened Childaar develop physical and mental capacities which reach the upper limits of human achievement. Over time they develop Gifts. They also gain the ability to see and track the Suffering. The Awakening process completes within a week.

Charm

One of the six Childaar Dynasties. Charms have access to the Adoreness, Speedness, and Tuffness Gifts.

Childaar

A young vampire.

Dynasty

Each Childaar belongs to one of six Dynasties: Charm, Hardy, Quick, Sight, Sovereign, and Smart. A Childaar’s Dynasty determines which Gifts they have access to.

Eldaar

Vampires who were once Childaar but skipped their Sleepining. Eldaar receive Dark Gifts and are evil. They must drink the blood of Kinedaar for sustenance.

Ennui

Kinedaar who were once young vampires but underwent the Sleepining. They tend to have a love for nature.

Formness

Gift. Level 1: Claws, Level 2: Dirt Sleep, Level 3: Transform (bat, mist, wolf). Only Hardys have access to this Gift.

Gifts

Young vampire powers: Adoreness, Animalness, Formness, Hideness, Mindness, Powness, Psiness, Seeingness, Speedness, Tuffness, Upness, and Wizardness. Each Gift has 3 levels. The longer a Childaar has a Gift from a level, the stronger it is.  For example, a Sovereign who develops Jump at ten years old will be able to jump further than if they had developed it at sixteen. Similarly, martial arts are stronger the longer they are practiced.

Hardy

One of the six Childaar Dynasties. Hardys have access to the Formness, Powness, and Tuffness Gifts.

Hideness

Gift. Level 1: Unnoticeable, Level 2: Stranger, Level 3: Cloak. Quicks and Sights have access to this Gift.

Kinedaar

Normal humans. Adult Kinedaar rationalize away and forget supernatural activities. Child Kinedaar see and remember supernatural activities. The younger they are, the clearer their memories.

Mindness

Gift. Level 1: Suggest, Level 2: Command, Level 3: Memory. Smarts and Sovereigns have access to this Gift.

Missions

An encounter in which young vampires attempt to ease a buildup of Suffering. There are two kinds of missions: Stomps and Operations.

Operation

A mission in which a situation must be resolved in order to ease the Suffering. Young vampires must be careful to not draw unwanted attention during an Operation or the Suffering pops and they fail.

Orakles

A group of young vampires with Scry who organize Childaar around the world by assigning them to teams and placing them in various cities.

Powness

Gift. All Childaar have access to basic Powness, which lets them punch x2 as hard as the strongest person in the world. Level 1: x10, Level 2: x50, Level 3: x100. Hardys and Sovereigns have access to this Gift.

Psiness

Gift. Level 1: Shield, Level 2: Telekinesis, Level 3: Blast. Only Quicks have access to this Gift.

Quick

One of the six Childaar Dynasties. Sights have access to the Hideness, Psiness, and Speedness Gifts.

Rogue

Childaar who forsake the social structure as set up by the Orakles. If found, Childaar are expected to bring them back into the fold or force them into an early Sleepining.

Seeingness

Gift. Level 1: Perception, Level 2: Telepathy, Level 3: Scry. Sights and Smarts have access to this Gift.

Sight

One of the six Childaar Dynasties. Sights have access to the Animalness, Hideness, and Seeingness Gifts.

Sleepining

The process of changing from Childaar to Ennui through prolonged exposure to the sun. Childaar must have their Sleepining before their eighteenth birthday or risk becoming Eldaar.

Smart

One of the six Childaar Dynasties. Smarts have access to the Mindness, Seeingness, and Wizardness Gifts.

Sovereign

One of the six Childaar Dynasties. Sovereigns have access to the Mindness, Powness, and Upness Gifts.

Speedness

Gift. All Childaar have access to basic Speedness, which lets them move x2 as fast as the fastest person in the world. Level 1: x10, Level 2: x50, Level 3: x100. Quicks and Charms have access to this Gift.

Stomps

A mission in which young vampires fight monsters to ease the Suffering.  The general rule is that the rarer a monster, the more dangerous it is. At Daybreak, should they fail, the remaining monsters return to the Suffering stronger than before the buildup.

The Suffering

An omnipresent force that manifests as a gray and black, wispy, swirling mist or fog. Only Childaar can see the Suffering. Locations such as museums, galleries, libraries, and schools are mostly safe from it. Furthermore, the friends and family of Childaar also have protections.

Thraldaar

A vampire that is created by an Eldaar. While not as powerful as their sires, they too have Dark Gifts and derangements.

Tomes

Handwritten books of the finest materials, used to store vampire lore. They fade and become forgotten over time.

Tuffness

Gift. All Childaar have access to basic Tuffness, which lets them take x2 damage as the toughest person in the world. Level 1: x10, Level 2: x50, Level 3: x100.  Hardys and Charms have access to this Gift.

Upness

Gift. Level 1: Jump, Level 2: Glide, Level 3: Fly. Only Sovereigns have access to this Gift.

Wizardness

Gift. Level 1: Fire, Level 2: Illusion, Level 3: Time. Only Smarts have access to this Gift.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Lexicon