D. MacHale - The Lost City of Faar

“What’s going on?” shouted Mitchell, with a touch of fear.

“N-Nothing. I–I’m sick is all.”

Mark tried to get by again, but Mitchell wouldn’t let him pass.

“Show me that ring!” Mitchell demanded.

By this point the ring was starting to expand on Mark’s finger. He couldn’t keep his hand on it any longer. Though it killed him to do it, he had to take the ring off and lay it on the ground. As soon as it hit the floor, the dazzling flash from the stone lit up the dark bathroom with a sparkling spray of light.

Mitchell stood over the ring in wonder. He started to bend down to touch it.

“Don’t!” commanded Mark.

His voice was so forceful, Mitchell backed off. It was the only time Mitchell had ever done anything Mark wanted him to. Mark didn’t feel any victory though; his dominance would be short-lived.

The ring was now expanded to its full size and Mark saw the familiar black hole in its center. The two then heard some odd musical notes coming from deep within.

“Dimond?” yelled Mitchell nervously. “What is this?”

Mark didn’t answer. He knew it would be over soon. If he were lucky, Mitchell would run in terror.

But Mark wasn’t lucky.

Mitchell stayed. The light from the stone blasted out so brightly that both guys had to shield their eyes. The musical notes grew louder, and then a second later, it was over. The lights stopped flashing. The ring was back to its normal size. Sitting next to it on the floor was another roll of pages that Mark knew was Bobby’s next journal. It had arrived the exact same way all the others had, only this time it couldn’t have happened at a worse time.

Mark bent down and picked up the roll and the ring. He put the ring back on his finger, and hoping to keep whatever power he had over Mitchell going, he held out his hand.

“Give me the page,” he said as forcefully as possible.

Mitchell was numb. He actually started to do what he was told. He held the lost page out for Mark. Mark reached for it, and just as he was about to grab it, Mitchell snatched it back. He was slowly getting his balance back.

“What just happened here?” he asked shakily.

“You wouldn’t understand,” said Mark, still trying to hold on to whatever leverage the bizarre episode had given him. “J-Just give me the p-page.” Mark was losing it.

“I ain’t giving you nothing!” declared Mitchell.

The power had shifted again. Mitchell was back in charge.

“I’m starting to think you didn’t write this. I’m starting to think Pendragon’s been writing about where he is, and he’s sending letters to you, special delivery.”

Mark didn’t know what to say. Mitchell had hit the nail right on the head. How was he going to explain this? Mitchell looked at the page again, then smiled a sly little smile. Mark’s heart sank.

“I’ll bet there are a lot of people who’d like to know about these,” he said.

“Andy, you can’t,” Mark pleaded. “This isn’t stupid kid stuff at school. There are things going on here you can’t even imagine. If you told anybody about it, you’d be starting something that I guarantee you’d regret.”

This seemed to hit home with Mitchell. Mark realized it might be his one chance to gain some real leverage over the bully.

“There are only three people who know about these pages,” Mark continued. “Me, Courtney Chetwynde… and now you.”

“Chetwynde knows?” shouted Mitchell in disappointment.

This was good for Mark. Mitchell was just as afraid of Courtney as Mark was of Mitchell. Mark was beginning to realize he had more tools to work with than he thought.

“Yes, Courtney knows everything,” continued Mark. “This is a serious thing. If you start telling people about it, then you might get in just as much trouble as we will. There’s a lot at stake here. You want to go public with it? Go ahead. But your life will never be the same.”

Mark felt as if he had laid that on pretty thick. He wasn’t at all sure whether Mitchell would get in trouble if he revealed the journals, but he counted on the fact that Mitchell was dumb enough tothinkhe could get in trouble. Mark knew that was the one weapon guys like Mark had over guys like Mitchell. They were smarter.

“Don’t be an idiot, Mitchell,” said Mark. “Give me the page, forget you saw anything, and I promise never to tell anyone that you know.”

Mitchell stared at the ground, thinking about the offer. Mark knew that Mitchell was over his head. This was way too much for his brain to process.

“I’ll make you a deal, Dimond,” said Mitchell tentatively. “I’ll give you the page, and I’ll shut up about what I saw. But you gotta do something for me too.”

“I asked you before, what?”

“This isn’t before,” said Mitchell. “This is now. Before I didn’t see the hocus-pocus stuff. My offer is this: I’ll keep quiet as long as you let me read what Pendragon sends you.”

“What?”

This was probably the worst thing Mark could imagine. He didn’t want to share Bobby’s journals with anybody, let alone lame-wad Andy Mitchell. What was he going to say to Courtney? He didn’t know what to do.

“That’s my offer, Dimond,” said Mitchell, suddenly sounding more confident. “Either you start showing me those letters, or I start blabbing to everybody about what’s going on. I might get in a little trouble, but nothing like what you and Chetwynde will catch.”

Uh-oh. Mitchell was being smarter than Mark thought possible.

“Okay,” said Mark, though it killed him to do it. “But I can’t let you read it before me and Courtney. The letters are being sent to us, not you. After we read ‘em, I’ll let you have a look. But the letters stay with me, and if you tell anybody and I meananybodyabout what’s going on, I’ll make sure you get in every bit as much trouble as we do.”

Mitchell thought a second, then handed the lost page to Mark. Mark grabbed it like it was his most valuable possession in the world. And at that moment, it was.

“Deal,” he said. “When do I get to read what you got?”

Mark started for the door. He was feeling bold and lost at the same time. He no longer cared about Mitchell’s bully tactics. Their relationship had just been kicked into a higher gear. It was a dangerous gear that was way beyond petty bully stuff.

“I’ll let you know,” declared Mark, and opened the door.

“You better, Dimond,” threatened Mitchell. “We’re partners now.”

Mark stopped and looked back at the creepy Andy Mitchell. He was right. Theywerepartners now, sort of. The thought made Mark’s stomach roll.

A short while later Mark met Courtney near the gym, just as they had arranged the night before. Courtney was all sorts of excited to know if Mark had found the missing page.

“Well?” she asked impatiently.

Mark’s mind raced. What was he going to tell her? He knew he was going to have to tell her the truth, but right now he felt as if he had failed her, and failed Bobby. It started when he left the page in the bathroom and continued when he didn’t have the guts to stand up to Andy Mitchell. He felt like such a loser. Yes, he was going to have to tell Courtney the truth, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it just then.

“I got the page,” he said. “And this.”

He pulled Bobby’s newest journal from his pack. Courtney’s eyes lit up.

“Double score! Excellent! See, I told you it was going to work out.”

“You were right,” said Mark with absolutely no enthusiasm.

Courtney didn’t sense this. She had enough enthusiasm going for the both of them.

“That’s weird,” said Courtney.

D. J. MacHale

The Lost City of Faar

“What?” Mark shot back, hoping that she hadn’t sensed something had gone terribly wrong.