Free Crystal Keepers by Brandon Mull Page A

knew in that moment that if I took her, I would be a villain. However much I loved her, however much she once loved me, I had no right to drag her here. So I left. I came back through the way empty-handed.”
    â€œShe’s still there?” Cole asked.
    â€œAnd I’m still here,” Joe said. He smirked. “The next time I tried to check up on her using a thruport, I got caught. City Patrol raided the place. The guys running the thruport got taken away. It was my first offence. I got probation. It’s whatwrecked my true ID. The City Patrol is aware of me now. It makes me less safe to travel with.”
    â€œYou used your fake ID today without trouble?” Jace asked.
    â€œYeah, it went well,” Joe said. “We should be all right to take the monorail tomorrow. How backward is a place where it would have been legal for me to kidnap Gwen and bring her here, but I’m not allowed to browse the Internet? I could have made Gwen my slave without any legal trouble.”
    â€œThis is why you wanted to leave Zeropolis?” Mira asked.
    Joe nodded. “I got depressed. Really low. I knew I’d never see Gwen again. I was on probation. I was done with Zeropolis. I needed to get away. I went to the Unseen and told them I wanted a mission as far from the city as possible. I’d done some good work for them. The right people trusted me. That was when they let me know about you, Mira, and sent me on a mission to warn you about the legionnaires coming for you.”
    â€œYou went straight from that to this?” Mira said with concern.
    Joe flashed a tight smile. “This was exactly what I needed. Something to lose myself in. I threw myself at the danger. Part of me didn’t mind the idea of dying. But I keep surviving. And now fate has brought me back here.”
    â€œWhat are you going to do?” Cole asked.
    Joe gave a grim chuckle. “I’ve been pondering that long and hard ever since I learned we’d be coming here to find Constance. I think I just keep helping you kids. Focus on thework. Do I still miss Gwen? Take a wild guess. I’ll miss her until the day I die. I know Cole hangs on to hope that there might be a way to get home. I’m open to that, but I don’t dare to hope for it yet. I don’t think my heart could take another disappointment. But I won’t tell you to give up. If you find a way, please take me with you.”
    Cole’s throat felt thick with emotion. It was hard to feel hopeful after hearing Joe’s experience. “Trillian told me that there might be ways to change how things work here. It kind of makes sense. Pretty much everything else can be shaped. I’m not giving up until we try every option. We’ll bug the Grand Shaper of Creon. We’ll find out more about shapecraft. We’ll go back to Trillian if we have to. We’ll figure something out.”
    â€œMan, you guys really hate it here,” Jace said.
    â€œIt’s not our home,” Dalton said.
    â€œNo, but it’s my home,” Jace replied. “And I’ve lived most my life as a slave. So I get not loving it.”
    â€œI admire your optimism, Cole,” Joe said. “I know you really mean to tackle the impossible. I’ll help however I can.”
    â€œFirst thing I’m going to try is getting some sleep,” Jace said. “Those days as a wolf are catching up with me.”
    â€œWe’re all tired,” Joe agreed. “Sorry for the long story.”
    â€œDon’t apologize,” Mira said. “It was brave and generous of you to share it. We’ll do our best to help you.”
    â€œSorry about Gwen,” Cole said. “That’s really rough.”
    â€œNo worse than what you boys are going through,” Joe said. “You were ripped away from your families. I can only imagine what that feels like at your age.”
    Cole didn’t trust his voice. Dalton wiped at his eyes.