Carrie Jones - Escape from the Badlands

To everyone who needs magic and friends, this book is for you, and it is most especially dedicated to Emily, who began as Annie and ended up her own brilliant hero, and to Shaun, for believing in me enough to carry a giant gnome everywhere

Also by Carrie Jones

The Time Stoppers series

Time Stoppers

Quest for the Golden Arrow

The Need series

Need

Captivate

Entice

Endure

With Steven E. Wedel

After Obsession

Contents

Alexander wept when he heard Anaxarchus discourse about an infinite number of worlds, and when his friends inquired what ailed him, Is it not worthy of tears, he said, that, when the number of worlds is infinite, we have not yet become lords of a single one?

PLUTARCH, MORALIA

Annie Nobody, the youngest Time Stopper in the world, tied her coat more tightly around her waist as the heat of the Badlands weighed against her skin, sweaty and oppressive. Her best friend, James Hephaistion Alexander, strode next to her, scratching at his shoulder blades. On her other side, Bloom, the last elf, scanned the dark landscape, searching for any trolls, vampires, or kelpies that might attack them while they tried to find the kidnapped elves. Behind them, Eva kept whipping her pigtails at SalGouds stone-giant arms. They all knew they were out therethe elves were stationary, trapped, and dying as the Raiff drained their life forces to enhance his own power. And the monsters Monsters could be anywhere, skulking through the shadows of the broken and burned trees, lurking behind boulders, crawling in the cracks of the crusty land.

Annie shivered despite the heat.

Dont worry, Annie. Weve got this, Jamie said before stepping back to check on Eva, who was walking behind them, her ax held ready in her small, sturdy hands.

They had no choice but to be successful. It wasnt very long ago that Eva, the pigtailed dwarf, had plucked Annie out of the winter woods, shoved her onto a hovering snowmobile, and whisked her away to the magical town of Aurora. But magical didnt mean safe, and they had to save the town from trolls sent by the Raiff, an evil demon. Then, hed kidnapped Annies time-stopping grandmother, Miss Cornelia, and brought her here, to the Badlands, hoping to get her to open a portal to bring him and all his minions back to Aurora, freeing them from this giant trap.

But the children had gone to Ireland, found the Golden Bow and Arrow, and saved Miss Cornelia. Now they would rescue the elves.

Annie just hadnt expected the Badlands to be so dire? Hot? Horrible? Smelly?

And scary.

It was so scary. Black scorch marks marred all the tree trunks, fire had left them crooked and broken as they looked for respite from the heavy air. The red dirt of the ground was so dry that it seemed to crack with every step they took.

Tricking the Raiff and freeing Miss Cornelia had been the most frightening thing Annie had ever donethat any of them had ever doneand sending Miss Cornelia safely home to warn Aurora of the Raiffs return was even harder. Now the children were alone, trying to save the elves.

I hope we find them, especially the grandmother, Bloom said, his voice breaking a tiny bit.

The grandmother? Annie asked, coughing from the heat. He hadnt mentioned her before.

His voice grew strong again. We call her Seanmhthair. Cornelia told me all about her, and sometimes if I think hard enough I can almost remember her. When I was little, I would hear her voice just as I fell asleep, telling me she loved me, that all would be okay, that I wasnt alone. His voice broke, and he smiled as if trying to push away his sadness. I thought it was just that I was just imagining her voice. It gave me comfort.

Annie grabbed his hand and squeezed it. Bloom had thought for so long that he was the last elf living. Hed grown up the only one of his kind and now here he was trying to save the remaining elves.

She glanced over to Jamie, who was trying to convince Eva that drinking water was not for wimps, but an intelligent move to keep from dehydrating. Jamies face looked hopeful despite the grim circumstances, the unrelenting heat, and their limited food supply. He was used to that, though, having grown up with trolls who kept him half-starved and always doing chores.

When angels visit us, we do not hear the rustle of wings, nor feel the feathery touch of the breast of a dove; but we know their presence by the love they create in our hearts. Mary Baker Eddy, SalGoud, the stone giant, croaked out, readjusting his glasses on his long nose. I dont know why I would think that. I think the heat is getting to me.

Its a nice quote, but you seem hot. Your lips are cracked, Jamie answered, scratching his shoulder blades again. SalGoud was so tall, so kind, and so terribly fond of quotes and books that sometimes Annie and Jamie would fret together that he forgot how to live in the real world. Im worried youre too parched.

Badge of a warrior! Eva tossed back at him, latching and unlatching her ax on her belt for the fifteenth time in five minutes. Theres no time for water. No time for wasting. We have elves to save by breaking some evil demon machine with some dwarf treasure, a magic bow and arrow. We have to get those same elves to a portal back to the regular world, and away from this pixie-forsaken place; we have a demon and his minions to defeat and then

Her voice faltered.

And then? Jamie prodded.

And then we have decades of listening to the songs in tribute to our glory! Eva declared, beating her chest with her free fist and knocking the water bottle and its precious contents out of Jamies grasp.

It flew through the air. Bloom caught it with one hand, righting it before more than one drop of water was spilled.

Impressive! SalGoud said.

Eva wiped the sweat off her forehead. So, where is it were supposed to go exactly?

A bird cawed in the distance. They all jumped.

Lichen said there is a Door of Descent at the base of the tallest mountains west side, by the five trees that remain unscorched, SalGoud said, sounding almost as if he was reciting one of his famous inspirational quotes. Lichen, an elf who had escaped the Raiffs clutches and was now hidden with the hag Megan in Aurora, had told them the route to go, but there were so many details to remember.

Over and over, SalGoud had recited the checklist of steps that poor, possibly dying, Lichen had told them:

1. Go to the Badlands
2. Find the Door of Descent
3. Move through the Statues Chamber
4. Get to Scots Land