Lost Kingdom

by Matt Myklusch

  The footsteps in the distance made Joey want to run, but he couldn’t do that. The bridge was strong and wide, but the path over it was a bumpy road riddled with potholes and jagged protrusions. If Joey went too fast, he was likely to turn his ankle or catch a toe and go tumbling down into who knows what. It was worse for Leanora and Shazad, who couldn’t see a fraction of what he saw. Joey had to go at a pace that allowed his friends to watch where they put their feet. The bridge covered half the distance of the cave and started out pretty high up. As its arc bent down to touch the ground, it got steeper and passed over a river of mystery sludge. All the more reason to exercise caution. At first Joey thought it was water down below, but it was too thick and viscous for that. Whatever it was didn’t move like water. It was the wrong temperature, too. Hot air rose off the slow-flowing, bubbling slime.

  “What is that stuff down there?” asked Shazad. “Oil? Tar?”

  “It smells terrible,” Leanora said, wrinkling her nose. She was right. The air smelled like rotten eggs.

  “I don’t know what it is,” Joey said. “It looks like purple lava.”

  “It’s purple?” Shazad asked.

  “I think so.” Joey held up the gruesome Hand of Glory. “This hand gives everything I see a bluish tint. I don’t know if it’s because of that, or if that gunk down there really is purple. I still can’t believe I’m touching this thing. I can’t wait to get out of here.”

  “You’re sure this is the way?” Leanora asked.

  “It’s the only way I can see,” Joey said. “There’s definitely doors ahead—lots of them. I can’t say for sure they lead anywhere good. For all I know, they’re just more cells.”

  “We have to trust the map,” Shazad said. “We can’t go back.”

  “No turning back,” Joey groused. “We should get T-shirts that say that. It’s like our motto for this trip.”

  They arrived at the bottom of the bridge. It dead-ended in a little island surrounded by more of the steaming purple sludge. From there, a stepping-stone path led to the back wall of the cave, which was covered with doors from top to bottom in ten rows of ten. Iron scaffolding, ladders, and platforms had been erected in front of the doors and anchored into the rock, providing access to every portal. But Joey and his friends had to cross the boiling river of slime to get there. Joey checked behind them. The vampire had entered the cave carrying a torch.

  “Come on,” Joey said, his heart speeding up. “Keep the light on me and step where I step. We’re almost there.” Acting fast, before he lost his nerve, Joey stepped over the strange, scalding liquid onto the first stone. He knocked a few pebbles into the purple ooze as he adjusted his feet, balancing his weight. The tiny pebbles frizzled as they went under and little sparks of blue flame flared up where they sank. Joey’s throat tightened. It was a preview of what would happen to him if he fell into the muck. His whole body would melt like an ice cube in a bowl of soup. He had to be careful. Ahead, some of the stepping-stones were large, as big as rafts, and some of them were small, the size of coffee-table books. He pressed on, knowing he never would have found the courage to do this if he weren’t being chased by a monster.

  Once again he had to go slow. Every time Joey took a step forward, he had to wait for Leanora to move onto the stone he had just left, then turn around and shine the light back for Shazad to follow. If Joey went too far, too fast, Leanora wouldn’t be able to see him. He had to stay within range of the flashlight on his phone. It was a nerve-racking trip across the river, every bit as bad as the rickety bridge. If anything, being able to see the danger around him made it worse.

  Fortunately, the vampire didn’t seem to be going any faster than they were. Joey kept checking over his shoulder as the creature continued its pursuit. He couldn’t see the vampire from his angle below the bridge, but he saw the torchlight advancing at a surprisingly slow pace. Joey wondered why he didn’t turn into a bat and fly ahead to cut them off. Also, he thought vampires were supposed to be superfast and strong. Either none of that stuff was true, or he was just toying with them. Joey got the feeling the creature was doing the menacing slow walk that bad guys did in movies when they knew their victims couldn’t escape. He really hoped that one of the doors up ahead was an exit.

  Joey kept moving forward, stone by stone, thinking about what would happen if they ended up trapped in the back of the cave. Nothing good. Leanora’s sunstone pendant was tapped out, and they had no holy water, wooden stakes, or crucifixes to speak of. Shazad had his cape and Leanora had her boots and the firestone, but all Joey had was a deck of cards and a mask that didn’t do much unless he hooked it up to a laser. He told himself he’d have to pack better next time—if there was a next time. Joey’s fears mounted, and he nearly slipped stretching to reach a faraway stone. He realized he was too preoccupied with what might happen next. He had to focus on what was happening now, or he’d die before the vampire got the chance to kill him.

  One thing at a time, Joey. Just a little farther…

  He made it to the other side of the river without any more close calls. Clinging tight to the Hand of Glory, Joey climbed over a series of boulder-size rocks and came down in a smoothed-out clearing in the rear of the cave. A small circle of white stones had been arranged in the center of the floor. Beyond that, a hundred doors filled the wall, towering above him. Joey ventured into the circle, and twenty torches on the scaffolding burst into flame, lighting up the doors as bright as day.

  Leanora and Shazad came over the rocks looking frayed and spent, but their faces lit up when they saw the torches blazing in the darkness. “We have to hurry,” Shazad said, breathless. “That… thing is still on the bridge, but it’s coming. It’ll be here any minute.”

  “Which one of these doors is the way out?” Leanora asked, sounding harried. Her momentary flash of relief was already gone.

  “We have to choose,” Joey guessed. On a hunch, he held up the Hand of Glory, and the doors all swung open. There was a terrible clattering of steel as dozens of swords, spears, lances, and knives appeared in every doorway but one. The weapons were all clustered together, floating in the shadows. They shook their sharp edges and points as if they were alive and adamantly wished for Joey and his friends to be otherwise. But one door was different. Down at their level, right in front of them on the cavern floor, lay salvation. Less than ten feet away, golden light poured out of an open door as if it were the gateway to paradise. “I say we take that one,” Joey said. “All in favor?”

  “I don’t know,” Leanora said, scrunching up her face. “This is too easy. Don’t you think?”

  Joey snorted. “You’re joking, right? None of this has been easy. Also, I like easy. We don’t have enough easy in our lives. Let’s get out of here!” Joey went for the door, but as soon as he left the circle of stones, every single door slammed shut. Then they started moving. Joey’s heart sank as the doors shuffled position on the wall like tiles in a mix-and-match memory game.

  “I told you,” Leanora said. Joey just grumbled, hating that she was right.

  “Either of you have eyes on the right door?” Shazad asked. “I already lost it.”

  “I can hardly see to begin with,” Leanora complained.

  “Quiet!” Joey hissed. “I’m trying to concentrate.” His eyes were glued to the wall, darting up, down, left, and right, tracking the door with the golden light as it tried to hide itself in the crowd. He blocked out everything, afraid to lose focus for a second. If Joey was right about the way this shell game worked, he was going to get only one chance to pick the correct door.

  100 doors in the dungeon. The count gave his prisoners a chance…

  A long life of exile and mercy, or a short one impaled on a lance.

  The real Count Dracula, assuming there was one, had probably thought of this as good sport. His prisoners could either choose to rot in a cell, or run the gauntlet to these doors. One of them was a way out. The others were a death sentence. A hundred doors. One chance. Now it was
Joey’s turn. His fingers squeezed the wrist of the monstrous severed hand hard enough to grind the bones inside. Sweat beaded up on Joey’s forehead. His nose itched, but he couldn’t scratch it. His eyes stung, but he couldn’t blink. He heard footsteps behind him, but he couldn’t turn around. He had to stay focused. The doors sped around the wall, moving in every direction. Meanwhile, the world was creeping in, trying to distract Joey. He couldn’t keep this up much longer. He blinked involuntarily. He couldn’t help it. Panic gripped his heart as he wondered if that tiny, momentary lapse was all it took to lose the count’s game. Was the door he was following with his eyes still the right one, or had he lost track of it? He’d find out soon enough. At last everything stopped moving and settled into place. Joey marked the position of one door in his mind. “I think I’ve got it. Let’s go before it’s—”

  “Too late,” Leanora said, tapping his shoulder.

  Joey turned around. The vampire was right behind him. And he had Shazad. The torch he had been carrying lay at his feet, bathing him in flickering light, not that Joey needed it to see. Thanks to the Hand of Glory, he got a good look at the vampire, much better than the quick, fleeting glance he’d gotten by the bridge. Joey’s mouth went dry at the sight of him. It was as if the classic 1930s Bela Lugosi version of Dracula had stepped out of a movie screen. He had slick black hair and a pale white complexion. He wore a high-collared black cape over a black tuxedo with a clean white shirt. A gold medallion with a red ruby in the center hung around his neck. Shazad’s neck was dangerously exposed. The vampire held him fast, with one of Shazad’s arms bent painfully behind his back.

  “I was watching the doors,” Shazad said. “I didn’t even hear him come up behi—ahh!” He winced as the vampire twisted his arm in a direction it didn’t want to go.

  “Stop!” Joey pleaded. “Don’t hurt him.”

  The vampire said nothing.

  “What do you want?” Leanora asked.

  The vampire’s cold eyes narrowed. He studied them a moment before saying anything. When he finally spoke, it was with the same heavily accented, deep baritone voice that Shazad had used earlier as a joke. “I vant to know how you found this place. Vat are you doing here?”

  “We were just leaving,” Joey said. “Let him go and we’re gone. History. If you want, we’ll even play your game with the doors. I already started,” he added, holding up the Hand of Glory. “Just let us go, please.”

  “My game?” the vampire repeated, looking over the doors and the severed hand as if seeing it all for the first time. “I think not. You’re not going anywhere until I get answers. Vy are you here? Vat are you looking for?”

  “Just the way out,” Joey said. “That’s all, really.”

  “We’re only passing through,” Leanora said. “Whatever magic items you’ve got in this castle, we’re not after them.”

  “Vat are you after?”

  Joey hesitated. He was desperate to get away, but at the same time his gut told him the less they said about what they were up to the better. “It’s nothing to do with you. It doesn’t matter. Just let him go, and you’ll never see us again. I promise.”

  The vampire bared his sharp, terrible teeth. “I don’t like repeating myself. If you need incentive to talk…” He opened his mouth, moving closer to Shazad’s throat, but he didn’t bite him. The vampire spun Shazad around and gripped him by shoulders. Shazad tried to get away, but the red ruby in the vampire’s medallion lit up and Shazad stopped struggling. His arms fell to his sides, lifeless. “Vat are you doing here?” the vampire asked again.

  “We’re on a quest,” Shazad replied. His voice was monotone and tired. Entranced. “A quest for Camelot.”

  “Camelot?” The vampire closed his mouth and lifted his chin. “King Arthur’s Court? Here?”

  Shazad shook his head in a zombielike motion. “Not here. This castle’s just on the way.”

  The vampire seemed taken aback by the revelation. Joey and Leanora watched helplessly as the hypnotized Shazad spilled their secrets.

  “How do you know this?” the vampire probed.

  “Don’t tell him, Shazad!” Leanora shouted. “Fight it!”

  Shazad twitched, seeming to hear her. “We’ve got…” He paused, straining against the vampire’s influence, but it was no use. The red light in the vampire’s medallion intensified, and Shazad was overpowered. “I’ve got a map.”

  “A map.” The vampire’s eyes fell on the tube-shaped container Shazad had slung over his shoulder. He pushed Shazad away, ripping the map tube off him in the process. Shazad stumbled and fell to the ground right next to the burning torch. He rubbed his head, shaking off the vampire’s control. Leanora helped him up and asked if he was okay. He said he was. Meanwhile, Joey watched the vampire take the map out of its container, silently freaking out. What were they going to do now? They couldn’t lose the map. How would they complete their quest without it? For that matter, how would he get home before his parents found out he was missing? Joey briefly considered snatching the map back and running away, but that was no good. The way the vampire was looking at the map, Joey knew he wouldn’t give it up easy. But something about the situation rubbed Joey the wrong way.

  Why was the vampire so interested in the map? And why all the questions? Why didn’t he just swoop in and attack, trying to drink everyone’s blood? From the looks of the castle, no one else had been there in years. Joey and his friends were likely the vampire’s first shot at a decent meal in forever, but he didn’t seem to care. He didn’t seem hungry at all. A funny feeling gnawed at Joey. Inconsistencies started jumping out at him. The vampire’s outfit was too polished. Too put-together and perfect. Everything else in the castle was a dusty ruin, so why did he look so good? And why hadn’t the sunstone killed him, or at least hurt him really bad? Leanora had said there was an actual ray of sunshine trapped inside it. Sunlight was death to vampires—everyone knew that. Also, weren’t vampires were supposed to be able to hypnotize people with their eyes? This guy used a magic object to make Shazad talk.

  Not just any object, Joey thought. A red crystal…

  He caught himself scratching at an itch on his neck again, and all at once he tumbled to a realization. He knew exactly who he was dealing with.

  The vampire’s eyes widened as he looked over the map. “This is incredible.… Where did you get this?” His accent was slipping. Joey smirked.

  “Why do you care?”

  The vampire looked up from the map with a hard stare. “I’m asking the questions here.”

  “I noticed. I also noticed you didn’t ask who we are.”

  “I don’t care who you are.”

  “Or maybe you already know. Lea, is there something on my neck?”

  Joey pulled down his collar, and Leanora shined the phone light at him. “It’s covered in paint,” she said, confused.

  “That’s what I thought. Light up your firestone. Hit her.”

  “Her?” Shazad asked.

  “Hard and fast,” Joey said. “She’s no vampire.”

  The faux-vampire’s eyes widened, anticipating an attack. He reached for something inside his jacket, but Leanora got there first, swinging a fiery, red-orange fist. As always, her punches sent their targets reeling, and Count Fake-ula went flying back into a large rock, hitting it with an ugly splat. The splat was the sound of black paint splashing across stone in the shape of a person. Underneath the impromptu mural, their true enemy was curled up in a ball on the cavern floor, unmasked. It was Scarlett, the red lady of the Invisible Hand. She was clutching her side, her face a picture of pain worth a thousand words. “I think you broke my ribs.”

  “Look at that,” Shazad said, taken aback.

  Leanora chuckled, pleased with her handiwork. “I told you there’s no such thing as vampires.”

  “Yeah. You told me,” Joey said as Leanora took back the map. Scarlett reached out to stop her, but lifting her arm was agony and she had to abandon the effort. “Get her jacket off
,” Joey said. “Grab her brushes before she can use them for something besides a Halloween costume.” Leanora stripped Scarlett’s coat off, taking away her brushes and her hypnotic crystal.

  “Give those back or you are entering a world of hurt,” Scarlett said, but her voice was strained and the threat rang hollow.

  “Sounds like you’re already there,” Leanora said, tossing the coat to Joey.

  “The question is, why are you here?” Joey asked. “How did you find us?”

  Scarlett stood up, bracing herself against the wall. She let out a snicker behind an unhinged, eerie smile. “I’m here because you’re here. I marked you, Joey Kopecky. I can follow you anywhere.”

  “How?” Shazad demanded. “How can you even find this place without our map?”

  “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

  Joey scowled. “You know what I’d like? To never see these things again.” He took out one of Scarlett’s brushes and threw the rest of them into the purple sludge, jacket and all.

  “NO!” Scarlett shouted as her trendy red coat sailed through the air to land on a stepping-stone. She sighed with relief when she saw they hadn’t been lost.

  “You’re lucky,” Joey said. “I couldn’t hit that target again if I tried.”

  Scarlett gave Joey a look of death. “You’re going to pay for that.”

  “Then I guess I’d better keep this,” Joey said, taunting her with the brush in his hand. “If I were you, I’d go get the other ones. They look pretty hard to replace.”

  Scarlett bit back an insult rather than gamble that Joey wouldn’t be able to use her own brush against her. Struggling with the torch and her injury, she climbed back over the rocks to go collect her magic items. Joey had a feeling they were her most prized possessions and, without them, she was nothing. He really wished they had gone into the steaming purple slime.

  “Time to go,” Shazad announced.

  Joey pointed behind him to the wall of doors. “Third level, second door from the left.” They took off running and were there in a flash. When they got there, Leanora reached for the doorknob, but Joey stopped her.