The Society of Imaginary Friends (Book 1 of The Conjurors Series)

Chapter 22

As Valerie began to walk toward the immense desert, she heard a rustling in the trees behind them, and what sounded like the whimper of a wounded animal. Instinct told her that someone was in danger.

"Did you hear that?" Kanti asked.

"Let's check it out."

Valerie quietly made her way back through the trees. After she had walked for little while, she heard a boy's voice say, "We've been waiting a long time to get our hands on you."

Again, Valerie heard the weak whimpering. Peering through the trees, she saw a lanky, unwashed older boy who wore grungy clothes that were full of holes. The small creature he was talking to was no larger than a baby bear cub. He was like no animal Valerie had ever seen on Earth. He had wide, innocent eyes and was covered in soft golden fur that was trembling from fear. But the strangest thing about him was that something was glowing deep inside him. It was his heart, she realized with surprise as she watched the red light pulse softly under his skin.

"It's Darling!" Cyrus said in surprise. Seeing Valerie's confusion, he explained, "He has healing powers, and he visits sick children all over the Globe."

Seeing a helpless creature at the mercy of someone much bigger unlocked the anger inside of Valerie, making her fearless. After all, this scraggly boy would hardly be a threat when she unleashed her powers. She stepped out of the trees.

"Wait, no!" Cyrus called behind her, but it was too late to turn back.

"Really? Picking on someone one-fifth your size? You're such a coward that it makes me sick," she said, stalking over to the boy.

The boy laughed. "You have no idea the world of trouble you walked into, just to help this little rat."

"You're not the first person to underestimate me and regret it," she snapped back. Never breaking eye contact with the boy, she knelt down, and Darling ran into her arms. A wave of protectiveness washed over her, and she hugged him close. Darling's safety was more important than her urge to fight this thug, so she turned to leave.

But before she could take two steps, the boy's voice said mockingly, "Going so soon? We haven't had a chance to get to know each other."

"We're not going to let you hurt him," Cyrus said harshly.

"Do you really think you have a choice? And he's not the only one who will be giving us what we want. Give us a taste of your magic, or we'll take it," he said with a dark grin. The trees behind the boy moved, and seven dirty kids of various ages with nasty sneers on their faces stepped out of the shadows.

"Take a hike, jerk," Kanti said, stepping forward. Valerie tried to yank Kanti back. The dynamics of the fight had changed dramatically. Couldn't she see that they were completely outnumbered? It didn't mean that the fight was lost, but they did need to use a different strategy than she had planned on.

"Those are some nasty words for such a pretty little yellow thing," the leader replied sarcastically. He stepped forward threateningly. "They call me Shade—and I'm your worst nightmare."

Kanti laughed out loud. "Really? Nice line, Shade. It goes so well with your super-cool name."

Shade's eyes narrowed. "I'm going to enjoy watching you take your words back and beg me to forgive you."

"Kanti, no!" Cyrus whispered. "You don't know what you're doing! They have a weapon." Then he spoke more loudly to Shade, "How much do you want? Our powers are still developing."

Kanti looked at Cyrus incredulously. "Are you kidding? We're not giving these thugs anything."

Without another word, Shade whipped a small black cone out of his pocket. But it was clearly much more, because dark magic hummed from it. "Run, Darling!" she whispered before releasing him behind a tree. He scampered into the forest.