CHAPTER THIRTEEN

I followed Luke up the creaking stairs to the third floor of the castle, where we’d find the door leading to the room of The Star.

Behind me, Magnus had his sword drawn, which wasn’t exactly safe, considering we were walking up a spiral staircase, in single file. Luckily, he towered over everyone, so no one was in danger of getting impaled (except for, maybe, the ceiling). My mother trailed behind Magnus, and she was doing her best to cling to the metal handrail while she tiptoed up the stairs. Her main challenge was keeping her stiletto heels from getting caught in the grates. Rocco and Yolanda were bringing up the rear and busily yapping about something that was, decidedly, stupid.

“Luke,” I said quietly, “how are we supposed to get into the bedroom if we don’t have the key?” Not that I wanted to remind him that Valerian had taken it, but still...

“We’ll figure it out when we get up there,” he replied, his voice confident despite what I had to imagine was his own uncertainty. I mean, it was probably logical to imagine that Valerian had most likely locked the door behind him to ensure that none of us would be able to follow him, right?

“Are we going on some kind of treasure hunt, Magnus baby?” Mom piped up as her fingernails tapped against the metal railing.

“No,” the untalkative man replied.

“Treasure?” Rocco snorted, his hooves almost clomping in time with her fingernail tapping. “What kinda treasure did ya think we was gonna find, huh? ”

“Maybe pirate treasure?” Yolanda asked.

Rocco shook his head and sighed. “Ya wouldn’t know no treasure if it bit ya on the ass, ding-dong. Well, that is, if ya had an ass ta bite anyways.”

“Enough,” I growled, casting a glance back at the goat who was on the stair right below me. “God, your constant commentary is enough to give anyone a headache.”

“Who are you talking to?” Mom asked before I remembered she couldn’t understand Rocco.

“The goat,” I answered.

“Oh,” she replied, like a talking goat wasn’t anything out of the ordinary.

The ordinary, talking goat meanwhile was now braying his annoyance in a couple of sharp, angry bleats aimed in my direction, each one louder and more insistent than the last. “Not like I was talkin’ to you, boss! Gee-whiz!”

“Not like anyone invited you to come with us,” I reminded him. Rocco just made a spitting gesture at me but at least he remained quiet.

“Magnus, where are we going, honey?” Mom started in again. “If I’d known you wanted to take me out for a hike, I would have worn different shoes. ”

Maybe she would have and maybe she wouldn’t have—when it came to footwear, my mom pretty much only owned stilts.

“Our mission is to find and destroy the enemy,” Magnus simply responded, seeming completely unconcerned with my mother in general, let alone, her feet.

“Actually,” Luke interjected, “we’re on a mission to find Valerian, not destroy him.” Then he took a breath and cocked his head to the side as he further considered it. “Unless we’re absolutely forced into that position.”

Magnus frowned. “We have already been forced into that position.”

“Nobody’s killing Valerian,” I snapped, surprising myself with the intensity of my own reaction. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who got surprised because Luke gave me a sideways glance. Defensively, I retorted, “What? He shouldn’t be killed for stealing a key and opening a bedroom door!”

“We’ll talk about it later,” Luke said softly, and judging by his frown, I was pretty sure he was bothered by this whole thing. Well, join the club!

He guided me forward as we reached the third-floor hallway that would lead to the door decorated with the painting of The Star. As with the second floor’s hallway, this one also featured tapestries of the Major Arcana on the walls, as well as statues of various tarot figures in between each door. There was a mural on the ceiling of the card of The Chariot, revealing a strong, determined man who was standing tall in a chariot, like something you might see in a movie about ancient Rome. The chariot was an impressive looking thing, ornately decorated with symbols of victory and conquest. Pulling it was a white and black horse, which probably represented duality, or yin and yang, or maybe a black and white cookie. Honestly, I was so over trying to figure out what all the intricacies of this castle meant. Above the charioteer, the ceiling transitioned into a night sky full of twinkling stars.

We walked past three doors—The Hierophant, Strength, and Temperance—before we reached the door leading into the room of The Star. Naturally, the door was closed, just like I’d imagined it would be. No doubt, it was probably also locked. Which begged the question of just how could we get in? Maybe the ape in our party would be able to smash it down…

Luke paused in front of the door, then turned to face me. He was still wearing the same expression he had when he’d first walked in and found me stuck to the dining room wall, clasped by his runes. It was an expression that spoke of disappointment and concern and the more he looked at me like that, the more annoyed I became.

“Well, you might as well try and open it,” I said as I motioned to the door with my chin. To my surprise, he shook his head.

“The honor is all yours, Kate.”

“Why?”

“You were the one who was meant to find the key in the first place.” He paused, like he wanted to say more, but probably thought better of it. Then he finished with, “the door might not even open for me.”

I hesitated for a moment, but then figured what the heck, so I stepped forward and turned the doorknob. To my surprise, the door swung open effortlessly, and I was beyond pleased. As to what was inside the room, the only thing I could see was an incredibly bright light that was emanating entirely from the room. Luke took one look at the bright light, then immediately turned to face the others.

“Only Magnus, Kate, and I will enter the room.”

“Of course! ‘Cause when the hells do we ever get invited anywheres? Never, that’s when!” Rocco bleated out, shaking his head as Yolanda’s tiny face was overcome with an exaggerated scowl.

“You want me to stay here ?” Mom asked, jutting out her hip and throwing her hand on it. “ With them ?” Then she motioned to Rocco and Yolanda with the expression of disgust written all over her heavily made-up face.

“More like they’s leavin’ us here witch you, granny-hood-rat!” Rocco replied, glaring at my mother. “Ya definitely ain’t no GILF, lady.”

“Why’s that goat looking at me like that?”

“Mom, please just do what Luke said, okay?” I asked, completely not in the mood to get into any of her protests right now.

“This is a real pain in my hoof,” Rocco continued as he turned from my mother to glare at me again. “Who d’ya think ya are, huh, boss? Ditchin’ us like this?”

“It’s safer for all involved,” Luke explained.

“Well, I ain’t none too happy ‘bout babysittin’ ol’ Granny-Goodtime, I’ll tells ya,” Rocco continued.

“Are you ready, Kate?” Luke asked as I turned to face him with a quick nod. Once he separated himself from my mom, Magnus was the first to walk into the room. He disappeared into the light and then Luke gave me a quick nod that indicated I should enter next. With a deep breath, I crossed the threshold, my heart pounding in my chest as I took in the sight before me.

The room was like nothing I’d ever seen before—in fact, it wasn’t really a room at all. Gone were the walls, the floor, and the ceiling. Instead, I was surrounded by the breathtaking imagery of a landscape that puzzled me, but the more I looked at it, the more I began to recognize it.

“I think we just walked into the card of The Star,” I said as I looked to my left, where I imagined I’d see Luke but there was no one there. When I looked to my right, it was the same thing. I turned around, only to find I was completely alone.

“Fuck!”

Well, there was only one thing left for me to do—keep going. So, that was exactly what I did. Walking forward, I took in the sky above me, which was an expansive canvas of midnight blue, studded with countless stars that twinkled with an almost hypnotic brilliance. Beneath the celestial canopy was an expanse of yellow meadow that seemed to stretch into eternity. Through the meadow ran a crystal-clear stream and I decided to follow it for a little while, keeping a look out for Magnus, Luke, and Valerian or, failing to see the three of them, Dorothy and Toto …

The sound of the gently flowing water was soothing, a melodious whisper that helped to calm my nerves. I followed the stream to a pond that mirrored the star-filled sky above, creating an illusion of endless depth, almost like an M.C. Esher painting.

It took me a second or so to make out the figure who was kneeling in the pool of water—a woman with long, brown hair. She was wearing a white nightgown or maybe it was a dress (but similar to one of those dowdy frocks you’d see on Little House on The Prairie ) and she was holding two terra-cotta pitchers, one in each hand. She was busily pouring water from one of the pitchers into the pond, while she poured the other onto the ground like she’d never heard of the word ‘drought’ before. Not that Vermont was prone to droughts—if I even was still in Vermont. One thing I did know? I was pretty sure I wasn’t in Kansas.

Around her, the water glowed, creating ripples of light that danced across the surface of the pond. Surrounding the pond were willow trees, their long, silver leaves rustling softly in the gentle breeze.

“Hi,” I called out with a wave because I figured I was probably supposed to talk to her, seeing as how she was the only other person here. “I’m Kate,” I started as I stepped closer.

As soon as she lifted her head, my breath caught in my throat, because she was… well, she was me . Well, obviously she wasn’t me since I was technically myself, but she sure as hell looked like me—maybe an Amish version of me anyway.

“I’m glad to see you, Kate,” she said softly, giving me a smile. “I am the maiden.”

“Cool,” I replied, not really sure what more I should say, even though my mind was busily filling in movie lines. Go figure. Regardless, I didn’t think telling her I was the key-master or the gate-keeper would manage to earn me a laugh. No, it would probably reward me with something more along the lines of There is no maiden, only Zuul .

Stop thinking about Ghostbusters and pay attention to your mission, dummy, I scolded myself.

Right. My mission.

“Have you, uh, seen a vampire dressed in a pink robe coming through here?” God, it sounded like the setup for a bad joke. “Or maybe a really big guy who looks kind of like Fabio—and carries a really big sword?” Not that she would know who Fabio was anyhow… “Or maybe another guy who, well, who just looks normal?”

She simply stared at me as if she didn’t speak English. Great, I was off to a really good start.

“The lesson of The Star is one of hope, renewal, and inner clarity,” she said after completely ignoring my questions. I had to figure that meant that no, she hadn’t seen Valerian, Magnus or Luke or even Dorothy and Toto, for that matter. As to her voice—it was soft and lilting—nothing like my own voice at all. So, she might have looked like me, but she definitely didn’t sound like me.

There is no Kate, only Zuul!

Jesus, really?

“Even in the darkest of times,” the maiden continued, “there is always a guiding light that can lead you toward healing, inspiration, and a brighter future.”

I frowned, trying to make sense of her words and, further, what I was supposed to do with them. At this point, all I wanted was to find Magnus, Luke or Valerian and get the hell out of Dodge. “Thanks for that, but I’m really trying to find my friends.”

Did I consider Valerian a friend now? I mean—no, I guess I didn’t. So, why had I referred to him as one? Hmm, was my subconscious trying to tell me something? And, if it was trying to tell me something, should I listen to it? Probably not.

“Hope is essential, Kate,” the maiden continued. “There is always the potential for renewal and growth. Clarity of mind and spirit can be achieved through reflection and connection to the greater universe.”

“Great,” I said as I gave her a half-assed smile. I mean, everything about this new calling of mine felt like I was getting served a heaping pile of mumbo-jumbo, covered in a miasma of confusion, and accompanied by a side of ambiguity. And let’s not forget the sprinkling of chaos, which really spiced up the flavor.

The maiden just smiled like she wasn’t perturbed by my lack of excitement and gestured toward a stone bench that suddenly appeared near the pond. It seemed as if the air had just spat the thing out.

“Please, sit.”

I hesitated but then decided, what the hell?—maybe she might actually tell me something I could use—like what I was supposed to learn in this place, and what power I’d be given once I did. Besides, it wasn’t like I had a clue as to where I was supposed to go anyway. So, I decided to take a seat and find out what this chick who looked like my mirror image wanted to tell me.

“Behold the water,” she said as she motioned to the serene pool in front of me.

“Okay.” I gazed into the water and found nothing but my confused and slightly annoyed reflection staring back at me. And wouldn’t you know it? I had a freaking zit on my chin! As I leaned closer, trying to see the zit more clearly so I could hopefully scratch it off, the water in the pool began to shimmer and ripple, like the narwhal from Elf was about to tell me he hoped I’d find my dad.

There is no Buddy, only Zuul!

Really, Kate? God, what was wrong with my brain?

Just pay attention to the freaking water, you trainwreck!

Right. The water.