As a multiethnic kid, Keon Wesley has always had to straddle two worlds. He just never expected that metaphor to become a literal reality.
Ever since his dad left five weeks ago, he's struggled to adjust to life in a single parent household. When a...
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An emerald haze of interlocking leaves filled the forest. It was hard to tell where one tree ended, and another began, the only break in the uniformity a patch of grass where golden pillars of light streamed through a gap in the canopy. Some feet away, Asya lay where she'd fallen, nestled beside a felled tree trunk atop a bed of dried leaves, her Codex open on the Appendix. Dawit eyed it with caution, jaw clenching with simmering adrenaline as though at any moment some terror would emerge from the pages. Avana knelt over Asya, dabbing gently at her forehead with a damp rag.
"Aslan?" said Shem.
"As in Narnia?" added Kai.
"Asya's brother."
"And you're saying he's done this before?" said Avana.
Keon nodded; arms folded tight. He chewed his bottom lip in thought, what little stubble he had tickling the other lip.
"When I was lost in France," he replied.
"Wait, you were in France?! You never said you were in France!" Kai exclaimed.
"Shhh!" said Avana, turning her scrutiny back to Keon, "What else can you tell us?"
"He wasn't alone," said Keon, pacing, "Had two others with him, and they had my Mirror. He didn't know I was eavesdropping through my Codex, but I think he does now. He's baiting me."
"How do you know?" asked Dawit.
"'Cause that's what he said to me last time..." he said, motioning to Asya's open Codex, "'fetch my flippin' sister.' He's doing something to her Mirror. That's why she's like this."
Kai stood incredulous, hands on hips.
"Well, it's obviously a trap. We can all agree on that, right?"
"Aye. Th'question is, where are they plannin' tae spring it?"
Keon shook his head, resorting back to pacing. Suddenly he slowed, remembering.
"It's gotta be somewhere close," he said, turning to the others, "He's from East. Tower Hamlets. My Mirror was lingering near where I lived. Maybe it's the same with Asya's."
"Are there any Moonlamp Strongholds in that area?" said Avana, turning to Shem.
He shook his head in disdain, huffing through his nostrils.
"There's one. A big one. It would explain how they got here so fast, but that puts us too close to the Tower for my likin'."
"Well, let's think about this logically," said Kai, stepping between them, "Asya set her Mirror free, right? It ain't exactly gonna hang around near a Moonlamp Stronghold and it would avoid the Tower like the plague. Chances are it would head east, which means coming our way..."
"R-i-i-ight?" said Dawit, an eyebrow raised.
"So, we head west," Kai continued, gesturing with both arms as though showing the way, "Chances are we'll stumble across them sooner or later."
