(Rose)

Rose sat on the roof of the Bell Towers and watched the city below. People and their problems seemed so inconsequential from high above. Her mouth was set in a straight line as she glared at the world.

She fumed!

She rubbed her bandaged shoulder and winced. Her injuries from the fight at the gate had not allowed her to hunt more Shadow casters. She knew that at least one of them had escaped the city after setting a granary on fire.

“Rot and ruin,” she cursed. “The only good Shadow caster is a dead Shadow caster.”

She peered down with a sour look on her face. Thousands of Shadowcloaks were being loaded into prison carts, many of them were still sleeping. The other shifters were scouring the city, looking for saboteurs and spies.

She saw groups of healers going from house to house.

They’re probably administering the sleeping counteragent. She yawned.

The fires had been extinguished but smoke was still rising from the east.

“You can’t fly because you’ll aggravate your injury,” Rose mimicked the Prime Healer’s stern voice.

“Just watch me!”

She adjusted the bandage, shifted, and flew clumsily toward the castle.

(Mary)

After Pike had been freed, Mary was ecstatic to be back home. Though things were a bit weird. For the first time, people did not look down on her and John like scruffy urchins.

She took a bite from her apple and grinned. I can go to the fancy places in the city without being chased away. As a caster, I can even go to the castle.

In the past, the closest she had ever gotten to the castle had been at the edge of the outer courtyard. Now, she could stroll down Swanky Lane, saunter into the inner courtyard of the palace, and the guards might even greet her by name.

It’s crazy, she thought. Her eyes gleamed.

Mary smiled. She was having a fantastic day. That morning, she and her brother had checked on Gerald to see if he had survived the invasion. The Old Bull was very much alive, still kicking, and bossing everyone at the Bright Bell tavern around. The miser had even treated them to a free meal.

He must’ve really missed us to give us free food.

Gerald thought that they had died in the invasion. After breakfast, he promised her that when she came back, she could take Daisy out for a ride in the city. Daisy was her favorite mare.

“Hey, I’m talking to you.” John nudged her. “Stop daydreaming.”

“Uh, what did you say?”

John sighed. “I said, do you think he’s still sleeping?”

“How should I know?” she snapped. “Sheesh, do I look like a healer? Anyhow, your guess is as good as mine. He got the full undiluted dose from that Fairy brew. A whiff of that stuff could knock out a horse.”

“Oh man, he’ll be really disappointed that he missed the battle,” John said. “You know, he likes being in the thick of things. I mean, he was talking about kicking Shadow casters’ butts all the way from Scar.”

“Nah, he hides his fear with bravado.” Mary waved her hand.

“Does not,” John cried out.

“Does too!”

“Shush, lower your voice,” John chided. “We’re almost there.”

Mary knocked on a tall oak door when they reached the end of the hallway.

“Come on in.” She heard a muffled shout.

Mary opened the door and poked her head inside. She winced when she saw Ivan. He had a busted lip and a bruised-up face. Rose did not look much better. Her shoulder was bandaged, and she looked banged up.

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Rose, who was sitting cross-legged on a rocking chair next to William’s bed, waved them in.

A badger, perched on a pillow, snored quietly. Ivan sat at the foot of the bed with a book on his lap.

“I can’t believe he’s still maintaining that shift,” Mary whispered. “He’s been asleep forever.” She narrowed her eyes and looked at Rose with suspicion. “Lady Summerbreeze, please tell me that this isn’t one of your pranks?”

“Yeah, she probably went out, snagged a random badger, drugged it up, and put it on William’s bed.” John rolled his eyes.

“Oh, I wish I’d thought of that. I know William would’ve gone along with it.”

Rose leaned toward William and placed her hand under his furry chin, looking thoughtful. “It’s impressive though, isn’t it? You know, it usually takes months of practice to maintain a prolonged shift while sleeping.”

“How long do you think he’ll stay asleep?” John asked.

“I don’t know.” Rose shrugged. “Do I look like a healer?”

Mary snorted and playfully elbowed her brother.

Rose leaned closer to William and screamed at the sleeping badger, “WAKE UP!”

The twins jerked back, startled. Ivan just continued to read, looking completely unperturbed.

(Ivan)

Ivan spent the rest of the day keeping an eye on his brother. William had many visitors. Claire, Toby, and Lin had arrived shortly after John, Mary, and Rose had left. A few hours later Rose had returned, accompanied by Rob and Zen Golding. Zen put two drops of the concentrated counteragent under William’s tongue. He spoke with Rose and then left.

William still slumbered as evening arrived. Ivan was content to sit and wait for his brother to wake up. He was drained. His body was bruised, and every muscle felt sore. It did not take him long to fall asleep.

The sounds of distant barking woke Ivan up. He rubbed his neck and yawned. He looked over at the bed and noticed the change immediately. William was still sleeping, but he was no longer a badger.

He pushed the footrest to the side, got up, and walked toward the bed.

“William.” Ivan gently shook his brother. “It’s time to wake up.”

“Ugh, it’s too early,” William grumbled and pulled the blanket over his head. “Five more ticks,” he mumbled from under the covers.

Ivan knew how to motivate his brother to get out of bed. “It’s breakfast time,” he announced and pulled the cord that rang a bell in the kitchen. William sprang up from under the covers.

“Really,” he exclaimed. “What are we having? I’m starving.”

William looked around in confusion. “Uhhh… Where am I? What happened? Did I complete my mission? Scraps, what happened to your face?”

The door swung open, and Rose barged in.

“You’re finally awake,” she blurted out. “I was in the hallway, talking to one of the guards when I heard you asking about food.” Rose put her hands on her hips. “William, you slept when we left Scar, you slept during the battle for Pike, and then you slept after we captured the city.” She shook her head.

“You’re giving Nature Kingdom casters a bad name.”

“We captured Pike!” William’s eyes widened. “What happened? Tell me everything. The last thing that I remember is pushing the flask toward the well.” William closed his eyes and his face scrunched up.

“Gah, I don’t even remember if the flask actually went into the well.”

“You were amazing!” Rose clapped him on the shoulder. “You did a great job in the tunnel. You did so well, that we’ll overlook the fact that you fell asleep on the job. All I had to do was a bit of clean up and then haul your hairy hide out of there.”

Rose recapped the events that had unfolded after William had fallen asleep.

“Scraps, you fought a Shadow caster.” William’s mouth was agape as he stared at her injured arm.

“Well, it wasn’t much of a fight.” Rose looked disappointed. “She must have been a greenhorn. She used Invisibility in an area full of smoke. I would’ve seen her a mile away. Most of the other enemy casters were dead asleep. We rounded them up and secured them with nullifying collars.”

They were interrupted by a knock on the door.

Rose shifted her nose and inhaled deeply. “Come on in!” she cried out. “I can smell the bacon from here.”

The door swung open, and the castle chef personally delivered their breakfast. Trays of food were unloaded onto the table. The smell of freshly baked bread and bacon filled the room. The trio moved to the table and Ivan poured himself a cup of hot cocamon. William greedily attacked the breakfast platters.

“A bear armed with a spear!” William cracked up. “Oh Rose, I wish I could’ve seen that. You come up with the craziest ideas.”

“I know, right.” Rose snorted.

“It’s your turn, Ivan. I’ll guess I’ll have to relive the battle through both of you.”

“Well, with most of the city sleeping, we made quick work out of the defenders,” Ivan explained. “Most of the resistance that we encountered was at the gate. During the night, we rounded up the rest of the Shadowlanders.”

“Pfft, you sound just like Rob,” Rose groused. “You’ve got to tell a proper story. Tell him about the jumper. You could’ve died. That’s exciting!”

Ivan gaped at Rose.

“What happened?” William gasped.

“Well, there isn’t much to tell.” Ivan shrugged. “We were ambushed. I got knocked off my horse, and there was a scuffle. Rose likes to embellish, you know that.”

“You say scuffle, but your face says otherwise.” William grimaced.

Rose shook a finger at Ivan. “You’ll never be a good storyteller. Let me show you how it’s done.”

Rose went on to describe in vivid detail, based on her secondhand knowledge, the epic battle between the lone horseman and the leaping giant. At the end of her story, she turned toward Ivan.

“And that is why you will never be a bard.”

After breakfast, William healed Rose and Ivan and then he had a second breakfast.

#

Five days after Pike had been liberated, Lord Harvin held a citywide celebration. People gathered near the Bell Towers, where drinks were aplenty. They sipped aged apple beer, elderberry wine, and apricot cider. The kids played Smash Ball, Grab the Banner, Chase the Chicken, and plenty of other games.

Ivan took a bite from his roasted wild boar as he watched the festivities. Funsters were doing magic tricks and handing out bonbons.

Without question, the highlight of the dinner meal was the dessert. Flossy Breadcrumb personally served his brother an entire cherryberry pie.

Hmm, I wonder if he’ll share this time.