The Familiars #3: Circle of Heroes by Adam Jay Epstein, Andrew Jacobson Read Free Book Online

in sight. What’s more, the sound of drumming had faded completely.
    “They must be hiding,” said Gilbert, stating the obvious.
    Aldwyn looked around, and at first, the surrounding area appeared completely desolate. But then he was able to make out a number of huts that were almost completely camouflaged by the treetops. Skylar had spotted them, too, and flew in their direction. Aldwyn and Gilbert gingerly stepped onto the leafy meadow, which fortunately turned out to be strong enough to support their weight. As they got closer, Aldwyn saw that the huts formed a ring around a giant wooden platform, on which he could see drums, a shrine, and a large barnlike structure. Skylar had already landed on the platform and was looking around.
    “Banshee, come out,” she called. “I know you’re here.”
    Aldwyn looked at Skylar, wondering if she had lost her mind.
    “Um, Skylar,” he said. “You do realize that no one is here, right?”
    “Clearly you aren’t aware of what the howler monkeys’ special talent is,” she replied. “Invisibility.” Then she called again: “Banshee!”
    But again there was no answer. Aldwyn began to wonder: If somebody who could turn invisible didn’t want to be found, how exactly did one go about finding her? That’s when something brushed against his fur, and it didn’t feel as if it was the wind.
    “They seem harmless enough,” said a female voice. A moment later a sandy-brown howler monkey materialized before them. “I’m afraid there’s no one who goes by the name of Banshee here,” she continued.
    Aldwyn felt a sharp tug on his tail, but when he turned, no one was there.
    “Simka,” said the female howler monkey. “That’s not polite.”
    A young monkey appeared, looking embarrassed from the scolding.
    Still more howlers discarded their camouflage and revealed themselves.
    “Is there another village in these trees?” Skylar asked the female monkey.
    “None inhabited by the howler monkeys,” she answered.
    “Banshee would have left your village many years ago to become a familiar,” said Skylar.
    “Many of our kind go off to assist wizards,” said the female monkey.
    “But this one might have come back,” said Skylar.
    A knowing look immediately crossed all of the howlers’ faces.
    One with red fur and bulging eyes walked up to them. “You mean Elbara. Banshee must have been her ground name.”
    “Do you know where we can find her?” asked Skylar.
    “She spends most of her time in the cloudbush, meditating,” said the red monkey, pointing to one of the far branches stretching skyward from the platform. The familiars looked up and spotted a lone figure, silhouetted against the sky.
    By now close to a hundred howler monkeys had materialized. A few had resumed their drumming, but most were simply watching these strange visitors from below. From the curious looks he was getting, Aldwyn figured that strangers rarely stumbled upon this treetop community, and that the familiars’ heroic reputation had not preceded them.
    The female howler monkey who seemed to be the leader of the colony directed them to a vine ladder hanging down from a branch. Aldwyn and Gilbert started climbing it, and Skylar soared alongside them. As they ascended the gently sloping limb, the sunset’s pinks and purples faded, and stars began to shine out from the dark blue.
    At the top, a female howler monkey sat cross-legged with her eyes closed. She was beating her hands slowly and rhythmically against a fur-covered drum on her lap, almost as if in chorus with the wind. Her coat of black fur was short around her face, revealing her delicate features.
    “Banshee,” Gilbert blurted out excitedly.
    The monkey opened her eyes with a start.
    “Gilbert, Skylar, I can’t believe it,” she said, leaping to her feet and giving them both big hugs with her arms and her tail. “And who’s this?” she asked, turning to Aldwyn.
    “I’m Aldwyn, Jack’s familiar.”
    “Oh, right, Marianne’s