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

take long for Aldwyn to realize that riding a moth was very different from flying through the air by way of magic wand. He had seen moths bob and weave around candle flames before, and he had found it dizzying to watch them. Now he was hanging on for dear life as the large insect tipped and tossed through the night sky. Gilbert had gone extremely pale in the face. Banshee, meanwhile, was grinning from ear to ear.
    The Forest Under the Trees began to fade away behind them until it looked like nothing more than a green mountain in the distance. The familiars were one step closer to gathering the animal descendants needed to form a circle around the glyphstone. But if Banshee was supposed to be the easy one to find, Aldwyn wondered how they would ever manage to collect the rest before it was too late.

GLOOM HILLS
    A s the gigantic moth zigzagged through the darkness, passing birds desperately tried to steer clear of it. Gilbert had his face buried in his hands.
    “Just go to one of your happy places,” said Aldwyn, trying to comfort him.
    “None of my happy places fly above the clouds,” replied Gilbert.
    Just then they took an unexpected dip, soaring into a haze of fog that prevented them from seeing anything past the tip of the moth’s antennae. It had been an exhilarating ride thus far for Aldwyn, but now he was overcome with melancholy. Missing Jack and thinking about his parents and sister, he wondered if he should be on this mission at all.
    Turning to his companions for comfort, Aldwyn noticed that they also seemed disheartened. Even Banshee, so exuberant at the beginning of their flight, had lost her joy.
    “Can you feel it, too?” Skylar asked Aldwyn.
    “Yes, a deep sadness,” he replied.
    “Try not to let it overwhelm you,” she said. “It’s the mist of the Gloom Hills.”
    The moth began spiraling downward, blindly heading for a landing.
    “Whoa, girl, whoa!” cried Banshee, pulling up on the reins. But the insect ignored her, spinning downward too quickly. The howler monkey turned to the familiars. “It must be affecting her, too. She’s not responding.”
    The moth was no longer flapping its wings, as if all hope had vanished. Aldwyn dug his claws into the furry patch on the moth’s back. The others prepared for a rough landing as well. But it was only seconds before they crashed into the ground. When the creature made impact, Aldwyn lost his grip, rolling off its back and hitting the dirt with a thud. He could barely bring himself back to his feet; not because of injury, but because his heavy heart was weighing him down like an anchor.
    Once he finally dragged himself onto all fours, Aldwyn was unable to see either the insect or his friends through the thick mist.
    “Gilbert, Skylar!” he called out weakly.
    “Over here,” responded Skylar without emotion.
    “I’m so depressed,” called back Gilbert. “What’s happening to me?”
    Aldwyn dragged himself in the direction of their voices. He should have been excited when he finally reached his friends, but he didn’t feel anything. Gilbert stared ahead sadly.
    “I feel worse than the time I almost threw Aldwyn off the Bridge of Betrayal over a backpack full of flies.”
    “That was a horrible day.” Skylar curled up into a feathery ball and tucked her beak into her wing. “Go on without me,” she said.
    As Aldwyn looked at his sad companions, he nearly forgot that Banshee was still unaccounted for.
    “Banshee,” he said. “She’s out there somewhere. All alone.” Aldwyn dropped to his knees, eyes clouding with tears. “She must be so afraid.”
    “Don’t cry,” said the tree frog. “If you cry, I’m going to cry.”
    Aldwyn began to sob.
    And soon the two were both weeping loudly.
    Gilbert moved over to Aldwyn and wrapped his webbed arms around him, burying his face in the cat’s fur.
    Suddenly, Aldwyn felt a surge of relief, as if the sadness was starting to lift and he was becoming himself again.
    “Thanks, Aldwyn,”