Witch and Wizard_ The Fire - James Patterson [68]
“What is this river? And what are you guys doing here?”
Mom’s voice is soft, coaxing, like when she tried to help me with a difficult math problem in my homework when I was a kid. “You know what it is, Whit. It’s the river to the other side.”
“And what’s on the other side?” I ask stubbornly.
“We all find out in our own time,” my dad says. “Whit, this is the most important time in your and Wisty’s lives. The world is in terrible upheaval, and the backup at the river is just a symptom of it. We never dreamed it would happen this way, this quickly.”
“What exactly is happening?” I demand. Despite how relieved I am to see my parents, I find myself angry with them, too. They should have prepared us better. And they’re still feeding me these half-truths.
Mom holds my hand as if she never wants to let it go. “The One Who Is The One has raised the bridge across the River of Forever, and chaos has erupted. The natural flow of life, of fate, of the Prophecies, has been critically interrupted.”
“Very soon we’ll find out if the Prophecies will or will not be fulfilled,” Dad jumps in. “But Wisty is as much a part of it as you are.” He puts his hands on my shoulders, his voice pleading. “Whit, where is your sister?”
“I have no idea where she is,” I say, exasperated. “Why don’t you ask your friend Mrs. Highsmith? She’s the one who said Wisty had to deal with The One. She’s the one who sent each of us off on our own. But right now it all seems nothing short of insane. I should’ve never trusted that old lady. I don’t even want to think about what could’ve happened to Wisty.”
I feel a pang as I get the words out and instantly regret it when I see my parents’ faces sag. I’d been trying to focus on just what was in front of me. The truth is, I’m crazy with worry about my little sister.
“Mom, Dad, I …” I put a hand on Mom’s wrist.
“She’s here,” Celia cuts in. “I feel it somehow. It’s like her light, her fire, is changing the energy of this place. She’s in the Shadowland. I’m sure.”
Dad beams at Celia, but my mom’s brow creases. “Time is running out, though.”
Celia looks scared. “I know. I’m not sure she’ll be able to get here in time.”
“This is exactly what The One wanted,” Dad says angrily, realizing the implications. “If he gets to Wisty in the Shadowland, and gets to her alone … it could be the end … of everything.”
“What do you mean, the end of everything?” I ask.
A look passes between my parents and Celia. What do they know?
“What’s supposed to happen?” I press, but they won’t meet my eyes.
I’ve had it with the meaningful looks meant for only the all-knowing dead. I’ve had it with secrecy. I know that my sister is important in all of this, and that she’s in an absurd amount of danger, and that’s all I really need to know. If she’s here, I’ll find her.
I turn away from all of them and take off at a clip.
“Whit!” my father calls after me.
“I’m going to find her,” I call over my shoulder. “I’ve looked out for Wisty my whole life, and I’m not going to stop now.”
Chapter 73
Wisty
BYRON AND I barrel through the mazelike turns of the Shadowland, desperately trying to make it to Whit and my parents before this so-called end of everything.
We’re deeper into the Shadowland than I’ve ever been before, and the lightening sky isn’t a comfort when the clouds are bloodred and the forest seems carnivorous. The trees, which appear to be made of … bone? … lurch toward us, whispering things I can’t decipher. I stop for a second, ears perked up.
“What is it?” Byron asks, but I shake my head. I can’t explain why, but I feel like I can hear Celia’s musical voice echoing through the hollow passage, and I can sense my brother, as if he had been here not long ago.
“Nothing, I just think we’re on the right path.”
Just then, a bone snaps behind us, and I jump a mile high. Byron lets out a yelp, which doesn’t exactly defuse the tension.
A low chuckle erupts at our expense. I whip around to see Pearce,