by Jill Cooper
It was coming for all of them.
Chapter Fifteen
Tarnish Rose
As the hour grew late, we found refuge in an old farmhouse on the edge of a ruined plantation field. Everything was dry and brittle but, like in the Wizard of Oz book I carried, I could imagine it lush and green. It’d be filled with corn, and the hot sun would beat down on the Earth instead of everything being so cold and dull.
I doubted I’d ever get rid of the chill in my bones.
Inside the farmhouse, there was broken furniture and enough debris to hint at the family who might’ve lived here once. Except for some old blankets, there wasn’t much left. Even part of the roof was missing. I sat with my back up against the wall while Sebastian readied some of our rations for dinner.
My heart craved to read my books or stare at the crystal, but I was too afraid to look at either of them. I couldn’t draw attention to us again. My heart weary, I hoped sleep would bring some sort of peace I couldn’t have while I was awake.
Sebastian handed me a can of beans before he sat down beside me. We both ate a few small spoonfuls in silence, avoiding everything there was to talk about.
“Now I wish I had taken all her canned goods,” I said wistfully. “You said not to trust her. I—”
He placed his hand over mine. “Your heart is much purer than mine. I wish I could protect you from it, but I also wish you’d been right. I was starting to like her.”
If that was Sebastian starting to like someone, I’d hate to see how he reacted to someone he didn’t like at all.
“Are you all right? You’ve been so quiet since we left on the bike.”
Sebastian stroked my hair back, studying me like an older brother might care for his sister. I was starting to think of him that way, too, and I didn’t know if it was right. Maybe it was better not to care at all.
“Not in the least. I don’t know what happened back there. The books, the shard.” Tears rose up in my eyes. “Me.”
“That’s never happened to you before, I’m guessing.”
I shook my head. “Just like the words never glowed so intense like they did back at the museum, and you saw what happened. It brought the ravengers, and your father, along with the others, were driven out.” I took a deep breath and spoke what I had been feeling for a long while now. “No one is safe around me. If you were wise, you’d leave me to fend for myself and find your people.”
Sebastian smiled kindly. “My people’s mission was to find you and see you find each of these relics. We had the first, now it’s up to us to find the rest. You’ll learn to control what you can do.”
“How do you know?” I begged for the answer. My heart needed it more than my head.
“It’s your gift, your magic. Your power comes from the written word, and only you can use it to rid the world of darkness and evil. From you comes great light. My father believed it, and the more time I spend with you, the more I believe it, too.” Sebastian smiled. “You’re her, Tarnish.”
I shoved a spoonful of beans into my mouth, and I believed his words; I just wished I could learn to control the magic already, understand it.
Sebastian propped up his knee and leaned his wrist on top casually, peering at me. “Why did you first start taking the books? Why keep them safe?”
“I don’t know.” I swallowed hard and licked the sauce from my bottom lip. “I tried to part with them more than once, but I just couldn’t. I love them and the stories they tell. It feels like…”
“Like…” Sebastian edged on and sat closer.
“Like magic. I thought they were magic, not me.”
He nodded, seeming to understand. “I think you’ll come to believe you and the magic are intertwined, unable to be separated. The books, you. You’re meant for each other.”
We fell into a comfortable silence, and I was left to wonder if it was true. “Will the bike get us to the labor camps?”
“It should, but unless we find a source of gasoline, it won’t get us back. We’ll have to travel on foot—or by horse, if we get so lucky as to find one.”
“Horses out here?” I snorted. “I think this time it’s you who are overly optimistic.”
“There are a few humble farmsteads further out. We might reach them if we’re careful. They’ve helped me before.”
Surprising news. “Someday you’ll have to tell me how you know this area and what you were doing out here.”
“A story for another night, Tarnish Rose. Just know they’ll have the food we’ll need to survive. We’ll need to find something along the way to trade. We have little to offer in the way of trade other than your books.”
And those… those weren’t for sale.
****
We lay close by each other as we slept but had no need to share a blanket. Sebastian was breathing deep and easy, lost in a dream I suspected. I gazed up at the stars through the broken rooftop. The fog had thinned as the night wore on, and I marveled at their twinkling beauty. The world was such a grand place, I wish everyone could see it as I now did.
Sebastian’s mouth was partially open as he snuffed out a snore, and I nearly laughed. Most of the time he was such a grump, but now he looked comical. I couldn’t help swiping a piece of hair off his brow.
His eyes snapped open, and it startled me. “Sorry,” I whispered as I tucked my hand back beneath the blanket, “I didn’t mean to wake you.”
“You didn’t wake me. I’ve been awake the whole time.”
“Oh, please. You were snoring.”
Sebastian’s eyebrow furrowed. “I don’t snore.”
“You do,” I said with a laugh. “And I’m sorry I woke you. I was just thinking.”
“About?” Sebastian asked.
I shook my head. I didn’t really want him to know, and I really didn’t have enough energy to talk.
“You should get some sleep, too. Early start, and morning will be here before you know it.” Sebastian closed his eyes again and rested his head back down on his arm. I stayed close to him and placed my head down in the crook of my elbow, closing my eyes. Part of me didn’t think it was even safe to do so. I couldn’t help wondering if the hunters were out there, just waiting for me to make a false move.
I thought of George and everything we had been through as Sebastian’s soft strokes lulled me straight to sleep.
Chapter Sixteen
Tarnish Rose
Our bike ran out of gas before Sebastian thought it would, so we traveled on foot through a dry, brittle land where the rolling grey fog turned brown like fallen ash. No grass grew where we were, and the ground was cracked and dry, not like a dessert but like the Earth was parched for water. We scaled a tall hill and took a break to drink some of the little liquid we had.
My bones were weary from our long travel, and my soul was more vulnerable, but as I gazed beyond the trees, looking like more than just giant twigs, I saw a giant crater.
This must be it, I nudged Sebastian. His chapped lips were bleeding, and he wiped it away. Excitement settled into his eyes as he thought as I did.
“Could we be so lucky as to be here already?”
“Only one way to find out.”
I wet my lips, and we hurried down the hill together. The crater was further away than I thought, and as we got closer, the width and depth of it impressed me.
We stood at the edge, gazing down hundreds of feet. There were entrances into caverns and old bones covered by the blowing dust. Old rags stuck up beneath the dry dirt that caked everything like stucco. I bent down to touch what was left of a chain. There was a handcuff still attached but, luckily, no hand.
“You ready for this?” Sebastian asked with worried eyes.
“We came here to do a job. I’m not turning back.” Truth be told, I wasn’t sure we’d survive the journey back. I wasn’t sure if we’d reach the next remnant after this, but I couldn’t think about that. All I thought about was doing what we had come to do. The next piece of the puzzle could be ours. I
had to believe.
Sebastian took a rope from his bag and tethered it to a rock. After a few pulls to test its strength, I went down into the pit first, using my feet to kick off the side and my hand on the back of the rope to slow my descent.
I landed on my feet, and as Sebastian started after me, I gazed around. The thick air at the bottom made it hard to draw breath. My chest rose and fell as I struggled for a big gulp of air, and the mild feeling of panic set in, as if someone was watching me.
Sebastian landed beside me, and he started forward, but I held my hand up. “Something’s here.”
“I don’t see anything.”
I didn’t either yet, but I couldn’t deny how my skin shivered and the hair on my neck rose up. An eerie feeling consumed me as the wind picked up and something sparkled in the distance.
“There!” I pointed off toward the other end of the pit where something took shape, but my eyes couldn’t decipher what it was.
Sebastian pulled his bow from his back and readied an arrow. It was clear I wasn’t the only one who felt the eeriness of this place.
The sound of pick axes colliding with rock came at us next, as well as the wrestling of chains. I stood closer to Sebastian, who held himself defensively as a green mist along the rocks rose up and formed into the lifeless shape of a man.
It charged toward us as it screamed in torment. I grabbed my head and ducked down as the mist collided with me, but it disintegrated like it had never really been here.
“Echoes in time,” Sebastian whispered and gazed all around. “Such traumatic things happened here, they left their mark in the air and on the ground. They wish not to be disturbed.”
I wasn’t sure if he had gone superstitious on me or if there was any truth to what he said. “Then let’s be on our way and get what we came for.”
With my hand firmly on my satchel, we made our way across the crater. As we got closer to the furthest cavern entrance on the left, ghoulish noises and apparitions appeared to block our way. One with a distorted face, twisted eyes, and a bone jawed mouth scared me, and my heart leapt out of my chest. I took a deep breath as my eyes locked onto its empty socket and I heard its warning.
“Turn back! The dead have no patience for the living!”
“It can’t hurt us,” Sebastian said. “Push on.”
True words, but I still feared what might happen. As I walked through the mist, it dissipated as we crept closer to the cavern entrance. Hearing a hum, I lifted my satchel and it glowed from within.
“This is the right way.” Was it possible this ghostly vision was trying to keep me from the crystal remnant?
I had to suspect it was the truth and ducked down low into the cavern. I stayed to the side and waited for Sebastian to join me. I took in the sight of the cavern walls covered in some sort of sticky moss. The damp air clung to my skin, and off in the distance, a dripping echo.
When Sebastian joined my side, I lifted the satchel and it lit the cavern enough to guide the way. “I’ll go first,” I swallowed hard as fear rose in my throat, “but don’t stray too far behind.”
“I promise.”
With a deep breath, I started forward. The cavern twisted around corners, and a steep hill met us not much further down the path. I stayed close to the wall, using a hand to guide me down, and the further I went, the brighter it became. The wet ground was slick, as something dripped overhead. I didn’t know where the water was coming from as we descended. On solid footing again, rock pillar structures surrounded us and spun out in all directions.
The cavern had been almost mined dry, and multiple corridors spiraled outward. Which path was the correct one to take?
I lifted my bag higher and angled it in all directions. When it glowed brighter, I moved forward. Behind us, the ghastly screams of the past drove us on quickly, but in front of us wasn’t much better. Chains clacked, and a whip cracked. Ghostly visions flew through the air, and I couldn’t make out anything except twisted faces with broken noses and gaping mouths.
Something bad had happened in here. My flesh tingled, and everything in me screamed to get out, but my bag was shining so bright, it proved this was the right way. My free hand twisted behind my back, and I sought Sebastian’s hand for strength. When I found it, he squeezed my fingers and slowly I crept up, avoiding the mist flying all around, and approached the cliff's edge.
Down below was a cemetery of twisted bones, as if people had simply been tossed down to die. It stilled my breath, and the horror sped my heart, as pebbles from the cliff started to disintegrate beneath my boot.
Sebastian yanked me back hard and wrapped his arms around me. “You were walking off the cliff.”
“I wasn’t.” He had to be exaggerating. I wouldn’t simply walk to my death.
His eyes were sincere, and his words implored me. “You were, and you were saying something about the ministers. I fear something down there was calling you, and I think you better not respond.”
Sebastian was right about one thing. There was evil in this place, but I had to get closer; the remnant was leading me to the edge, and it was where I had to go.
I reached into my bag and pulled the crystal out. I unwrapped it from its cloth and allowed the full glow of it to light up the cavern brightly. Markings were written along the walls in something other than letters. Sebastian ran his hand along the rock, and I had to believe he understood what it meant.
“What is it?” I asked.
“Not words but heliographics, ancient as I’ve ever seen in the old world.” He took a minute to glide his fingers across the markings. “This is a place of sacrifice, an appeasement of the Lord, it says, but religions were outlawed long before these marks…” Sebastian’s throat bobbed up and down as he swallowed, and his fearful eyes locked with mine… “Sacrifice to the king of the Dark Lord Creighton. The one they all answer to. They didn’t just kill the disobedient. They killed them all to give him power. To fuel Creighton.”
All of them. I turned and faced the crypt where the victims had fallen and lifted the remnant so I could stare at its blinding light. “Is this what you wanted to show me? Is this where you’re hidden?”
No answer lay in the shard, but instead mist manifested in front of me, but this time it appeared whole with its top hat and cane; it was a minister but one long dead. He blinked his eyes and stared at me with understanding, and then he laughed.
“You’ll never get it. Keep your hands to yourself, Tarnish Rose.”
I held up the crystal on instinct, and the minister squeezed his eyes shut as the shard’s light turned from blue to a blinding white. He disappeared, and in his place, a parchment scroll fell out of the air.
Sebastian caught it with a dumbfounded expression and studied the red fabric tied around it.
Suspended in midair was a metal shard. Could it be the piece I was looking for?
With a shaking hand, I touched it, and it turned to crystal just like the other. In my hand it was hot, but not enough to burn me. I took it and knelt on the ground. I placed the two pieces beside each other, moving them around until they looked like they might fit.
I couldn’t believe I found them. I couldn’t believe the story had been real. Slowly, I slid the pieces together, and when they touched, the sharp edges etched together, fusing into one until it formed a sphere two-thirds complete. As the seams bonded together, music chimed and colors of pink and blue drifted up from the pieces.
An organ played and a beautiful melody emanated from an orchestra. Slowly, this magic, this creativity, was being leaked back into the world, if only for a short span of time. It filled my heart with such happiness, I felt as if I might explode with contentment.
The remnants have come together. Magic will return to the world.
Where had the voice come from? I peered into the fused remnant pieces. Somehow, books, art, and music had become these remnants I now collected, and now I was tasked to make them whole.
Make them one.
I touched t
he top of the completed shard, and a bright light shone from it directly into my face. Just like before, I was transported to a time, into a person, long forgotten.
Once again, I became the first curator, and this time I was racing across the plain on horseback with death hunters charging on my tail.
Chapter Seventeen
The First Curator in the Past
The death hunters gained on me. Soon, they’d overtake me.
My horse, the beautiful Goldie, pushed herself as hard as she could, the calls of the death hunters terrifying her. Staying low to her blond mane, I gazed behind us as we whipped through the remains of the forest. The death squad was twenty strong and had picked up my scent over five miles ago.
Their hands outstretched, they were nearly able to grab Goldie’s tail and my cloak.
“Faster, Goldie!” I drove the spears of my boots against her side, driving her through the branches of the trees. Dryer than usual, the branches cut at my face as we cleared the brush and came to the lake.
The death hunters hated to cross water, no one knew why, and they slowly dried all the seas on Earth. My heart fell as we came to the dried over basin, and I saw the lake was gone. It couldn’t have dried up so quickly. It had to have been drained by the ministers or those who followed the death hunters.
“Yaaah!” I screamed and drove Goldie down the basin and through to the other side. The death hunters squawked and cried. Goldie failed. Her legs buckled, and she crashed below and I barely dismounted in time.
Spinning the golden staff in my hand, I backed up as the death hunters closed in on me. I held one arm out to them to steady their movements.
It’s over, the big one said to me as it floated closer, causing the other death hunters to part ways. He removed a giant sword from beneath his cloak.
“It’s never over.” I spun the staff above my head, the precious metals glowed brightly, and a shudder of sound emitted from it, tossing the hunters back. I slammed its end down into the ground, repeating the sonnet I had memorized in the library before I left.
