The Fire Keeper (The Storm Runner 2) - Page 134

His clothes, finely tailored in a burnished-bronze-colored fabric, were all real. What caught my eye was the badge on the breast of his coat. It marked him as an official investigator of the Thousand Worlds, the league to which Jinju belonged. There weren’t literally a thousand planets in the league, but it encompassed many star systems, all answering to the same government. I’d never been off-world myself, although I’d often dreamed of it. This man might have visited dozens of worlds for his job, even the government seat at the Pearled Halls, and I envied him for it.

More to the point, what was an investigator doing here? I could only think of one thing: Something had happened to my brother, Jun. My heart thumped so loudly I was sure he and Mom would hear it.

“Your son vanished under mysterious circumstances,” the investigator said. “He is under suspicion of desertion.”

I gasped involuntarily. Jun? Deserting?

“That’s impossible!” Mom said vehemently. “My son worked very hard to get into the Space Forces!” I didn’t need my nose to tell me how freaked-out she was.

I remembered the way Jun’s face had lit up when he’d gotten the letter admitting him to the Academy. It had meant everything to him—he would never run off! I bit the side of my mouth to keep from blurting that out.

The investigator’s eyes nar

rowed. “That may be, but people change, especially when they are presented with certain . . . opportunities.”

“Opportunities . . . ?” Mom swallowed and then asked in a small voice, “What do you mean?”

“According to his captain’s report, your son left to go in search of the Dragon Pearl.”

I wasn’t sure which stunned me more: the idea of Jun leaving the Space Forces, or the fact that the Dragon Pearl might actually exist.

“The Pearl? How . . . ?” my mother asked incredulously. “No one knows where it—”

“The Dragon Council has made strides in locating it,” the investigator said, rudely cutting her off. “And they would pay handsomely to have it back in their possession. If he found it, your son could have found the temptation irresistible. . . .”

No. I knew my brother wouldn’t risk his career by trying to cash in an artifact, even one as renowned as the Dragon Pearl.

Mom’s shoulders slumped. I wanted to tell her not to believe the investigator so readily. There had to be some other explanation.

“Jun is not here,” she said, drawing herself up again, “and we have not heard from him, either. I’m afraid we can’t help you.”

The man was not put off. “There is one matter you can assist us with,” he said. “Your son’s last report before he left—it included a message addressed to Min. I believe that’s your daughter?”

A shock went through me when he said my name.

“I have been sent here to show it to her. It may offer clues to Jun’s location—or the Pearl’s. Perhaps he wrote it in a code language only she would understand.”

“Again, I think you have the wrong impression of my son,” Mom said haughtily. “He is an honorable soldier, not a traitor.”

“So you say. But I am not leaving these premises until I have shown Min the message. Are you not curious to see his last communication?”

That did the trick.

“Min!” Mom called.

Keep reading for a sneak peek at Sal and Gabi Break the Universe by Carlos Hernandez!

THERE’S ALL SORTS of bad advice out there about how to deal with bullies. Ignore them. Stand up to them. Tell a teacher, tell a parent, tell your dentist while he’s jamming your teeth back into your face.

The real way to deal with a bully is to stick a raw chicken in their locker.

I had my showdown with Yasmany Robles just three days after I had started my new life at Culeco Academy of the Arts, a magnet school in the middle of Miami. To get in, you had to have good grades, pass an interview, and either submit a portfolio (for painting or writing) or audition (for theater or music). You’d think all the effort someone has to go through to get into Culeco would’ve kept out bullies, but I guess not.

I guess there are just too many of them in the world. If your school only allowed in kids who’d never pick on anyone, you’d have an empty school.

Whatever. It’s not like I hadn’t learned how to handle bullies back in Connecticut.

On Wednesday, between fourth and fifth periods, I went to the lockers, along with half a million other kids. I stowed my history book and grabbed math so I could do my homework during lunch, then opened my bag of magic tricks and put on my GOTCHA! stamp ring. We would be doing introductions in my eighth-period theater class, and I thought I could use it to demonstrate some sleight of hand. Magic is kind of my thing.

Tags: J.C. Cervantes, Jennifer Cervantes The Storm Runner Fantasy
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