by RJ Metcalf
Zak turned to face the darkness, a brief shudder of fear tingling down his spine. He straightened. He found this passage, and he was going to know where it led. Maybe he could feel his way through? Fingers stretched out blindly, he groped for the wall, and he loosed a nervous chuckle when his fingers touched brick. It was only darkness. He’d heard no sounds, so that meant he was alone here, right? He was safe.
As long as he didn’t get lost. No one would know where he was. Zak gulped, his foot hovering over the ground as he debated. No. He was a Monomi. Darkness was their friend, their ally. Not something to be feared.
He walked cautiously in the black, his eyes wide open, straining uselessly for any speck of light. He slid one foot in front of the other, unsure if the ground would be smooth the whole way, or—nothing met his foot. He sat, and reached out, his nerves jangling. Brick met his fingers and he grinned to himself. Steps.
The steps continued further than he’d expected, and it felt like more than one landing. Partway down, the wall changed from familiar brick to hewn rock. Eventually the steps smoothed out, and he resumed his cautious shuffle.
After some time, the stone under Zak’s hand changed to a mix of dirt and rock that was hard packed enough that it didn’t crumble as he ran his hand over it. A muted, dim, green glow shone in a meandering line directly above him, illuminating the passage just enough that he could see where he walked. He glanced over his shoulder to see the same low light just behind him.
His stomach twisted at the unexpected surprise. What did it mean? It looked like rocks in the ceiling, but did they always glow like that? What were they? He looked down, but the ground didn’t glow. But his shirt glowed! Or, part of it did. He used his free hand to pat at his chest. His linen shirt, his racing heartbeat, and his necklace. He tugged on the chain and yanked out the glowing crystal.
Father hadn’t been kidding when he said that the Monomi symbol and green rock was a guide. Did that mean that Father knew about this passage too? Confidence surged through Zak. This was the best day ever!
The light seemed to be centralized around him, extending a few feet in front of him and a few feet behind him. It wasn’t much, but it was way more than he’d had previously, so he quickened his pace through the tunnel, his hasty steps kicking pebbles left and right.
Not much further, and the passage opened up to a cavern with an underground river running through it. He could barely see the water—the ceiling rose high over his head, and the faint glowing line faded in the center of the cavern. Gooseflesh spread along his arms, and he shivered in the cold air, listening to the water gurgle.
Now what? He could barely make out other dark holes across the water. They might be other passages. There might even be some on this side, but did he dare move his hand off the wall? What if he couldn’t find his way back? He didn’t even have a snack! What would Zane do? Zak looked back the way he came, then removed his necklace, using the glowing crystal as a light for his feet, searching for a rock or something he could use. He found a small stone and lifted it to the wall, about to draw an arrow when something else, further up the wall, caught his eye. He lifted the crystal higher, and a dim picture of a book glowed in the upper right of the passage.
Well, that made life easier, as long as all the passages weren’t marked like that, to confuse bad guys or anything. Zak dropped to his knees and scratched a small arrow into the dirt wall, pointing back the way he’d come. Zane always said it was better to be extra safe.
Zak slipped the necklace back on, took a deep breath, and stepped out from the egress, cautiously walking up to the edge of the river. Maybe this would be the end of the exploring. He didn’t see any boats or way to get across, and it was far too cold for him to try to swim. And Zandra always told him to swim with a friend, never alone. He slowly walked to the left, looking for any hints of glowing green. He reached the end of the cave and then doubled back, gaze roaming the water, the ceiling, the ground.
And there it was. A perfect circular rock glowed an eerie green that looked murky just under the water. It clearly had been placed for an adult’s leg length, but he’d be able to reach it. Maybe. He got as close to the water as he could, and two more circles lit up beyond the first. Oh, yes.
Zak took a moment to shake out his jitters before lining himself up to the circle and carefully hopping to it. His boots met the stone hiding just under the water and the thick slime coating the rock pedestal. He desperately dropped to a knee with a squawk, fingers scrabbling to find something on the slimy rock that he could hold onto, praying he wouldn’t fall in. Cold water soaked through his pants, chilling his knee, and leaking into his boots. But he didn’t slip any further.
He waited there, trying to calm his breathing, before slowly standing, feeling the tug of the water rushing around his boots. If he’d found this right after spring melt, it would’ve been impossible to go across. Zak grimaced. He’d probably have to come back this way, and do it all over again. He took a moment to scrape off as much slime as possible.
Crossing took more time than he wanted, but he didn’t rush, pausing on each stone to clean gunk off of each rock. Giddy relief surged through Zak as he jumped off the final stone and onto the shore. He made it!
Three tunnels loomed in front of him, and he chewed on his finger, eyeing each one. How would he know which to go through? Unless they were all marked like the other one was? He tugged his amulet off his neck and raised it as high as he could, straining on his tiptoes. A glowing book appeared in the darkness and he grinned, slipping the necklace back on and entering the tunnel without second thought.
Just as before, the ceiling lit up above him as he walked the curving and winding path. His stomach growled, echoing strangely in the quiet. He pressed a fist into his stomach, allowing concern to tug at him. What if this was a dead end? He’d been in here for what felt like hours, and if he didn’t find a way out, and he had to double back, he’d be too hungry to move.
Keep going. Don’t give up.
The ground started sloping up and then changed into stairs. Twenty paces up the steps and the green glow disappeared from overhead. He must be getting close. He reached out to the wall, noting that the cold earth was now brick again. Excitement surged through him. He put his right hand back on the wall as he began the shuffle walk again, unsure if there would be any more stairs.
He continued forward grimly until a tiny circular speck of light appeared up ahead of him. He shuffled as fast as he dared, splaying his left hand out, fingers wiggling in anticipation. Coarse stone met his hand, the little pinhole of light shining mockingly above Zak’s head.
He jumped, but to no avail. He groaned, then started sliding his fingers along the edge of the door, looking for a crystal like before. Straining, his fingers brushed the smooth rock, and it flared red.
Bright light poured into the dark passageway, blinding Zak. He threw up an arm with a quiet moan of pain. He stood there, blinking and waiting for his eyes to adjust before looking around. The palace library.
Light-colored walls lined with dark bookshelves took up the edges of the room, portraits of stiff, regal-looking people scattered throughout. Zak stepped out of the dark hallway, his boots sinking into a deep gray rug, looking for signs of people or anything that could close the door. An end table to his right had books and papers scattered on it, but no one was there. He moved to that table and picked up the gleaming white luminary lamp, checking under it for the crystal. Nothing.
Panic wormed its way into Zak’s gut, and he ran to the four other chairs. The doorway gaped open behind him like a beast, ready to howl out Zak’s new secret. He grabbed the nearest lamp and flipped it over, breathing out a sigh at the little red nub he was looking for. He thumbed it, feeling the familiar sting of electricity jolt through him. The bookcase slid into place as if it had never moved.
He set the lamp down and sank into the crimson chair next to him, his entire body tingling. He’d done it. He not only found a secret passage, but he found one
that even connected to the palace! Maybe, if the baby princess could be a friend someday, he could show it to her, and they could go on adventures together!
“Ah … Zak Monomi?”
Zak bolted out of the chair with a yelp. He turned around, shaking. “Doctor Jaxton?” Zak’s face scrunched up. “Why are you here? Shouldn’t you be in your office?”
The raven-haired doctor stood with his hands in his white lab coat pockets, head cocked. “I was going to ask you that myself.” He looked around Zak to the other endtable, which was covered in books and papers, then raised a black eyebrow as he scanned Zak. “If I didn’t know better, I’d assume you appeared out of thin air.”
Zak’s awkward smile froze on his face. His right hand was dirty and dusty from running along the passage walls, and his knee and boots were damp from the underground river. There was no way he could make up a plausible half-truth without risking the passage.
“I was just taking a break. And now I need to go find my mother,” Zak lied. He edged around the chairs and the doctor, getting closer to the open door just beyond. “I’ve got to go now, so good to see you sir, bye!” He turned on his heel and fled the library.
He stopped just outside the doorway to dance in place. Best adventure ever. He paused, and glanced back, but the doctor was nowhere in sight. Would Doctor Jaxton think to look around for a secret passage? Zak shrugged to himself. No way. Adults had no interest in adventures like that. And the doctor worked for the palace, so he was a good guy.
No need to be concerned at all.
Chapter Thirty-One
Slate
“I still can’t believe you actually tailed him for a full day.” Slate snorted as he walked down the street toward the City Circle.
Zane threw his arms in the air in exasperation. “What was I supposed to do?” he exclaimed over Slate’s laughter. “I meet a random old guy who conveniently has the ability to save a friend who’s dying from poison, and who happens to know a secret entrance into the palace, and who knows Void magic? What else should I have done, invite him to the citadel for tea and question him over cookies and scones?”
“Well, I did tell you he was trustworthy.” Slate raised his eyebrows pointedly and swiped at the sweat beading on his forehead. “You didn’t have to stalk him.”
“I didn’t stalk him. I followed him,” Zane replied with humored testiness, crossing his arms. “There’s a difference.”
“A difference? Really?”
“Yes! There’s a huge difference in the semantics. Stalking is for dark intentions. Following is for suspicious people.”
“Yeah, yeah. Whatever.” Slate shook his head in amusement and switched topics. “Did Finn mention to you what he wanted us for?”
Zane had clued Slate in on his private investigation of Finn yesterday. Apparently Zane’s skullduggery, subtlety, and subterfuge was no match for Finn, who’d “caught” Zane early on the second day, and they’d sat for a long conversation that resulted in the two becoming unlikely friends. And to Slate’s great annoyance, neither man was forthcoming in what exactly transpired.
But whatever had happened had been enough for Zane. Now he trusted Finn. And Slate couldn’t let a moment pass by without teasing Zane about his original suspicion.
Zane skirted around a trio of kids playing in the street in front of them. He shook his head. “No, he just wanted us both for something.”
They angled toward a large metal apothecary sign hanging over a doorway. Slate walked right in, while Zane paused to glance at the street before following.
All Slate could see of his old friend was Finn’s brown vest and a sliver of his sleeve, then Finn stood, back still to them, a pad of paper in hand while he tapped a pencil against bottles on the shelf. He scribbled on the paper, then turned, a smile crinkling his eyes.
“Welcome! Thank you for coming, lads.” Finn walked around the display between them and shook their hands, pulling each of them into a back-slapping hug.
“Of course.” Slate stood comfortably with his hands on his hips while Zane prowled around the shop like a cat on the hunt. “You asked for us, so we came. What’s going on?”
Finn’s entire face seemed to light up. “I got a letter from Connor and Maria!”
“Ooh.” Judging from Finn’s expression, whatever they had to say had been good. Understanding warmed Slate like a mug of mulled wine on a winter day. “How are they doing?”
“Quite well, quite well.” Finn moved back to where he had been originally, sliding his pad of paper between the bottles as a placeholder. He looked over at Zane, a glimmer of amusement in his eyes. “Look all you want, but you’re not going to find anything.”
Zane shot Finn a miffed look and continued roaming around. “Someday I’ll figure you out.” He stopped to pick up a vial and sniffed it, then he wrinkled his nose and put it down. “Can’t hide all your secrets forever, Finn.”
The older man released a hearty laugh. “No, not forever, but long enough to remain in anonymity, and that’s enough for me.” He returned his attention to Slate. “They had some exciting news in this letter. They found a baby girl and adopted her! I’m a grandfather!”
Joy burst in Slate’s heart. “That’s marvelous!” Then Finn’s words caught up to him, and Slate paused, raising a finger. “Wait, you said they found her? Where? Is there an orphanage in their area now? How old is she?”
Finn shrugged and leaned against the counter, crossing his arms. “The letter just said ‘found.’ I’m not sure where or when exactly. It did say that Raine is about nine months old or so. Hard to tell with babies.”
“Odd to ‘find’ a baby, but congrats, Grandpa.” Zane hoisted himself up to sit on the counter next to Finn. His leather armor creaked as he leaned forward to nestle his chin in his hand, green ring glinting in the light. “I’m going to guess you’re off to visit them soon, and you want us to watch the shop?”
Finn didn’t bat an eye at Zane’s casual use of his counter. He nodded. “Exactly that. I was hoping to ask you two to keep an eye on both my shop and my house. I’ll close the shop while I’m gone, so you won’t need to be here during the day to run it or anything. I figure two locations split between two friends shouldn’t be too difficult. And I was thinking to leave within the week, if that worked with your schedules.”
“We can easily make that work,” Zane said.
Slate quickly worked through his mental calendar for the next few weeks. “Agreed. How long do you think you’ll be gone?”
Finn pulled his pad of paper out and glanced at it before scribbling down a note. “I’m not sure. A few weeks? Maybe as long as a month? I’ll have a list of what needs to be done here at the shop while I’m gone. Not too much, just rotate certain bottles or stones and such.” He rapped his knuckles against the paper in his hand. “I’m doing my inventory early. I won’t ask you boys to do anything too hard while I’m gone.”
Slate leaned against the smooth wooden counter and shifted the sword at his hip. “Sounds good to me. I appreciate it being easy.”
Finn hummed in agreement as he walked around the counter to pull down a shallow box of vials. He lifted one up to check its contents before writing something down. “Here’s a question for you boys,” he said without looking up at them. “What should I bring for a baby girl as a present? It’s been awhile since I’ve had to actually think about toys for babies, let alone baby girls.”
Zane pursed his lips and tapped his fingers against his chin. He paused. “The letter said she’s about nine months or so, right? That’s just a bit older than Princess Adeline. Slate, what does Adeline have that could work for Raine?”
Slate snapped his fingers. “Blocks! Musical blocks!” He knew his grin was mischievous, and he didn’t care. “Give her a set of blocks that play music and make sounds. Connor would love the music!”
Finn laughed heartily. “No, I don’t think that’d be a good idea. I’m on good terms with Maria, and I aspire to stay that way. Bringing in somethin
g that noisy would probably be a bad for my health. Especially if Raine really likes them.”
“True.” Slate drawled the word. “I was thinking more for making Connor crazy than Maria. Hopefully they’ll come out here soon. I’d love to meet their daughter.” He tilted his head back. “Or maybe suggest to them the idea of me coming out sometime after Richard’s wedding next month?”
“They’d love that,” Finn assured, setting a large bag on the counter. He started slipping a potion bottle here or there into the inner pockets. “I’ll definitely mention it to them.”
“Thanks.” Slate bounced away from the counter with an inarticulate exclamation. Zane drew back, blinking at him. Slate whirled, pointing at Finn. “Can you mix up something for terror burns? I’ve got a friend returning to town soon, and she has two crew members on board who could use some quality medicine.”
Finn turned his back on Slate, his hand raised as he walked along the shelf, pulling down a bottle and then grabbing another. “Of course. Burns take awhile to heal in general, and you say these are terror burns?”
Slate leaned on the counter, watching Finn measure two spoonfuls of dried leaves. “Yes. I want to say the original injury was over three months ago now? I just know that they’re pretty nasty to heal from, and I think this would be welcome …” he trailed off, his voice distant and uncertain. Would it be weird if he showed up with medicine for Samantha’s sister? Sam mentioned that Rebecca hadn’t had any luck finding medicine that worked, so it would probably be fine.
Finn walked back to a shelf of herbs and selected a large, amber glass jar. “As luck would have it, I recently met a new merchant who sells rare dragon items, and I picked up some blood meal for burns caused by dragons.” He moved back to his work counter and mixed two large tins of the remedy. He looked up. “If these are terrors that attacked, I assume there were other scrapes and injuries that aren’t burns as well?” Before Slate could reply, Finn answered for himself. “Of course there are. I’ll make a wound ointment as well.” He pulled out two smaller tins to start working on that.
