The Untamed

Chapter 13: The Book and the Brother

    The following morning wasn’t as peaceful as Clyde had hoped. It didn’t matter whether he was in Endnark or back home, Sundays were the days to sleep in. Extra sleep, however, was something he did not get because the first thing he heard was someone hammering on his door. Red-eyed and annoyed, he wrenched his door open to see a little boy standing nervously with a paper in hand.

   The kid was short – just over four feet tall. He was skinny and his whole body seemed to wobble just from the weight of the single sheet of paper he held. Instead of going berserk on him, Clyde twitched a smile and was quickly reminded of Tony.

   “Are you Clyde Sky?” the little boy stammered. He had a tiny little voice that Clyde could barely catch.  He sounded like he was around eight or nine years old.

   “Skiles,” Clyde corrected.

   “O-oh… This is for you.”

   He handed Clyde the paper and immediately took off before he could say anything. Half amused and half confused, Clyde shook his head and slowly closed the door. He was almost wide awake now and he rubbed his eyes. After an enormous yawn, he unfolded the sheet of paper that the boy had given him. It was a note written in unfamiliar handwriting:

Come to the palace as quick as you can. Anya and I are about to prove to my Sis that Balthazar DOES exist. We are going to get the book from my dad’s library. I’d really like it if you could come!

   -Jassy

For four sentences, she sent a messenger from the palace? Did these people not have a concept of phones here? Or text messaging? Or at least send a Kin to deliver a message instead of making the poor kid run all the way here?

   He shook himself awake and got ready. He had only stepped foot in the palace twice since he had arrived in Endnark almost two weeks ago. It was a good fifteen minute walk which was a good enough reason for him to only go there sparingly. This time however, being invited to the palace made the walk seem worth it for a change. After all, he used to walk back and from his high school.

   Very few people were awake at this time on Sunday. The sun rose triumphantly into the air and the sea breeze sent that chilly, but fresh scent into the atmosphere. Clyde took a deep breath of the air, held his jacket close to him and began to make his way over to the palace.

   The weather was finally starting to turn a bit chilly. Clouds hung in the sky for hours before they finally melted away. Even then, the temperature for the island was much lower than what Clyde was used to.

   As he walked, he couldn’t help but to think of how his life had changed in such a short period of time. It felt like yesterday he had just received that ticket from the policeman for J walking. And now, less than a month later, here he stood, in a land full of weird creatures.

   Come to think of it, his life was in jeopardy twice already since he had walked out of the apartment that night. Was becoming a Tamer really worth all this effort? What if he had just stayed home that night? One thing was certain if he had just stayed home: He would definitely be asleep, not even thinking about a guy named Balthazar.

   It took some time, but he got to the palace just as the island was coming to life. The instant arrived, Anya, Kassy, and Jassy all walked out of the building, each wearing a grumpy expression.

   “It’s about time!” Jassy exclaimed cheerfully, giving him a wave.

   “Sorry, I didn’t know you were waiting for me,” he replied, trying to sound as cheerful as possible.