Creeping Shadow (The Rise of Isaac, Book One)

by Peckham, Caroline

  "It's not your fault. You were trying to help. He's the one who's to blame," Oliver said, hatred coursing through his body.

  "Don't think about that now," Anna whispered to him and his anger ebbed away as he met her dark eyes.

  "Let me through. Right now," Ely's voice sounded from outside the tent. He rushed in with Laura at his side and they flew over to May.

  "Wh-what happened?" Ely asked in a shaky voice.

  "Is she alright?" Laura asked, gripping May's arm.

  Oliver explained about the vark and Truvian Gold and, when he was finished, Ely and Laura's faces were twisted into shocked expressions.

  "What? What do you mean? A vark?" Laura asked frantically.

  "That's not possible. And Truvian Gold? That celebrity fellow?" Ely questioned in a tumble of words.

  Oliver's head started to pound. "Yes, a vark appeared at the top of the cliff and forced me and May over the edge of it. Truvian was waiting for us at the bottom. He attacked us." Oliver could barely keep his voice down, his breathing becoming erratic once more.

  "Alright, calm down. Did anyone else see the vark but your team?" Ely asked.

  "Yes, Larkin's team was there. They ran away," Oliver said.

  "Wasn't it all filmed on the survision?" Anna asked.

  "It will have been. They probably didn't want it broadcast to the worlds," Ely said thoughtfully.

  "Did Larkin's team see Truvian, too?" Laura asked in a serious tone.

  "No, that was just us. Truvian ran off. Maybe someone can still catch him?" Oliver suggested.

  "Catch him? I only saw him a few minutes ago down in the village," Laura said with a confused expression.

  Oliver's brow furrowed, trying to understand what she was telling him. "What? He can't have been. He ran off into the forest. He disappeared into thin air. Why would he still be here? He attacked us!"

  A couple of the medics turned their attention to Oliver but he didn't care.

  "I don't know but I think the sooner I go and talk to the Race Committee, the better," Laura said, getting to her feet. "I'll return here as soon as I've spoken to someone. The medics will give you something to eat if you ask them, you look like the undead."

  Oliver nodded as she exited the tent. His brain was almost as exhausted as his body. He squeezed May's hand again and she groaned. Her eyelids fluttered open and Oliver's heart skipped a beat.

  "You're awake. Are you okay? How are you feeling?" he asked anxiously.

  "Like I got hit by a truck," May mumbled.

  Oliver laughed with relief.

  "What's a truck?" Anna asked with a frown and May grinned sleepily.

  Rogan looked over, placing Quinn's hand gently down on the bed. He joined them and planted a kiss on May's forehead. "You scared the crap outta us," he said, his mouth hooking up at one corner.

  "Aww," May said quietly as her eyelids drooped.

  "You can rest as much as you need to," Ely said with a look that was full of emotion.

  May's eyelids fluttered a few more times before they closed completely.

  Oliver sighed and sat back in his chair. The crushing fear in his chest finally ebbed away and he felt like he could breathe again. Exhaustion gripped him and he sagged in his chair a little. Anna and Rogan looked as tired as he felt. Their eyes were puffy and dark circles hung beneath them.

  "You need to get some rest too," Ely said softly. "Laura's staying in a cottage down in the village, you can all go there to get some sleep."

  They stumbled their way through the village following Ely. Oliver felt his rage at Truvian Gold itching at the back of his mind. But he didn't want to think about what had happened and what it all meant just then. First, he needed to sleep.

  He and Rogan finally crashed into beds made up on the floor for them in Laura's cottage. Oliver was so grateful to have a pillow beneath his head that he wanted to turn around and kiss it. Instead, he passed out into oblivion.

  The final, fluttering, hopeless, terrifying thought that crossed through his mind was that they hadn't placed in the race and his only chance of getting May to Brinatin was gone.

  31

  Bittersweet

  Oliver awoke and pushed himself up into a sitting position, gritting his teeth against the pain coursing through him. The mage had cured the wounds on the surface of his body but his muscles had grown stiff and sore overnight. He rolled over and his hand hit something soft.

  "Ouch, watch it," Rogan groaned as he woke up.

  "Oh, sorry," Oliver said.

  A dim light lit the room which Oliver realised was coming from his friend's hand. Oliver could see a pair of net curtains concealing a window. It was still dark outside. He groaned as he rearranged and his muscles resisted the movement.

  "You alright, man?" Rogan asked.

  "Just stiff as hell," Oliver said with a sigh of relief as his head sank back into the pillow.

  Rogan rolled over, reaching a hand towards him. Oliver frowned.

  "Don't go getting the wrong idea. I know how irresistible I can be," Rogan said with a smirk.

  Oliver rolled sideways and punched him despite the pain it caused. He laughed at Rogan's expression and ducked backwards as he launched a counter attack.

  "You want me to heal you, or what?" Rogan asked with a laugh and green light ignited in his palm. He touched Oliver's arm, letting the light ebb out over his body. It felt like warm water was seeping through his skin and reaching into his muscles, making them relax. The pain ceased.

  "You're a lifesaver," Oliver said, stretching his arms above his head, enjoying the restored flexibility.

  "Yeah, I know," Rogan said through a yawn.

  Oliver yawned heavily in response. The soft pillow was calling to him again but his head was beginning to buzz with unanswered questions.

  "Do you reckon they've arrested Truvian by now?" Oliver asked.

  "Yeah, must have," Rogan said.

  "Laura said she saw him down in the village after we got back to the first aid tents. Why wouldn't he run for it?" Oliver wondered.

  "Maybe he knew they'd catch him anyway?" Rogan suggested.

  "Or he's hoping no one will believe us," Oliver said, concern creeping up on him.

  "There's five of us and one of him, course they'll believe us," Rogan said.

  His confidence calmed Oliver's anxiety. "Plus he has a bruise on his face where I kicked him," he said with some satisfaction.

  "Yeah, he might have had a mage heal that up though. Anyway, we can go straight to Abbicus Brown in the morning," Rogan said, his voice becoming sleepy.

  "Hey, err, Rogan?" Oliver said after a moment.

  "Mmm?"

  "Thanks for saving our lives and all, you know." He was terrible at thanking people.

  "No problem, man."

  Oliver lay awake thinking over the events of the previous day and, at some point, sleep took him again.

  * * *

  "Wake up, wake up!" Anna's voice called through the door.

  Oliver opened his eyes to find light filtering in through the net curtains. He sat up next to Rogan who was squinting against the daylight.

  "Just a sec," Rogan called as he got to his feet.

  Oliver got up to put some clothes on and Anna burst through the door. "Oh, sorry," she said, shielding her eyes and backing out of the room. "Come outside when you're dressed."

  "Imagine if we burst in on the girls like that?" Rogan said in mock outrage.

  "It's not the same!" Anna called through the door in a sing-song voice.

  "Oi, get out of here!" Oliver called back to her, grinning at the sound of her laughter disappearing down the corridor outside.

  They dressed and exited the room, weaving through the narrow corridors in the tiny cottage. Oliver opened the front door and they ducked through the small frame, finding everyone gathered out in the small garden.

  A few other houses were dotted around under the shadow of the rising mountain on the island. Oliver thought he could see the cliff where
they had encountered the vark the day before; the memory seemed like a horrible nightmare that had never really happened.

  Ely was there with Abbicus Brown and the girls were standing around them. He and Rogan joined the group and Oliver was pleased with how well May looked, if perhaps just a little pale. He touched her shoulder and she broke into a relieved smile at the sight of him.

  Abbicus Brown stepped towards Oliver. "Ely's been telling me what happened and he's made some very serious accusations. We are fully aware of the vark's presence on the cliff. We caught most of its attack on camera but what's been said about a certain guest commentator is beyond my belief. Now, Mr Knight, Miss Knight I would like to talk to you both in private," Abbicus Brown said sternly, walking past them into the house.

  Oliver and May followed him through to the small, country kitchen.

  "Are you alright?" Oliver whispered to her.

  She nodded as they took a seat opposite Abbicus at a wooden table.

  "So, I'd like you to go through the exact events that transpired after you fell over the cliff," Abbicus instructed without any empathy.

  "You mean when that thing forced us over the edge of it," May corrected.

  "Yes, yes. Please be patient with me, Miss Knight, I've had an extremely long night with all of this."

  Oliver noticed the bags under his eyes that had been badly disguised with a dab of powder.

  "Sorry you're tired," May said sarcastically. "But there are worse things."

  Oliver nodded, resting his elbows on the solid, greyish wood of the table.

  "If you could just begin," Abbicus said, sounding exasperated.

  Oliver took the lead and explained what had happened in as much detail as he remembered.

  He couldn't read anything from Abbicus's expression. There was no hint of surprise at the mention of Truvian's name or that Rimori had sent the vark as a distraction. Oliver neglected to mention that Truvian had insisted his father was alive, unsure whether he believed it himself.

  When he finished, Oliver could feel his anger rising but took a deep breath to keep a level head.

  Abbicus shook his head making his jowls wobble. "Well, whilst that's a fascinating story, Mr Knight, I'm afraid to tell you that Mr Gold was commentating with Ray Falls at the time you say he was attacking you in the forest. We have a hundred cameras as well as a very large crowd of people to confirm that."

  May blinked in surprise and Oliver slammed his fist down on the table. "That's not possible," he snapped, certain that Abbicus had got his facts wrong somehow.

  "The way I see it, either you two have some unknown, personal vendetta against the man or you both imagined the whole thing."

  Oliver was on his feet with a screech of wood as his chair slid backwards. "Firstly, our friends: Rogan, Quinn, and Anna all saw him and, secondly, why would we imagine the exact same thing? That's ridiculous."

  "I'm sure your friends would go along with you if you asked them to. Otherwise, you could discredit your whole team," Abbicus said.

  "And I suppose you think we planned the vark as well? To come and push us off a cliff?" May growled, also getting to her feet.

  Abbicus tutted. "Of course not, that's impossible. The appearance of the vark was a very rare, very unfortunate event that couldn't be foreseen. No one can control them, not even Isaac Rimori. I can see you aren't going to be truthful about what really happened. Perhaps you are even truly convinced it did but, I warn you now, if you push this matter, you won't win. Truvian Gold is a highly respected man and, as I said, the whole world witnessed him standing up on that stage when he supposedly attacked you."

  Oliver's head was reeling. He had imagined Truvian locked up and shamed for what he had done. He couldn't understand how he had managed it.

  "What if one of them was an imposter?" Oliver blurted, convinced it was the only explanation.

  "My boy, you really must stop it. You sound like a raving lunatic." Abbicus Brown got to his feet. "And if you're not willing to drop this-" he fixed Oliver's gaze, "-I have the power to withhold your team's keys from you."

  Oliver's next words caught in his throat.

  "We won keys?" May breathed in shock.

  Abbicus's gaze roamed over them. "Yes, by some mad luck your team still placed tenth. The three hour time limit ran out during the vark's attack."

  "And you'll give us our keys if we keep quiet?" May asked in shock.

  "That's blackmail," Oliver spat.

  "If you want to put it that way, yes," Abbicus said, looking back and forth between the two of them as he assessed their reaction.

  "Can I talk to my sister alone?" Oliver asked, not bothering to do so politely.

  "Of course. I'll wait outside." Abbicus walked around them and turned back before he left. "Just remember, I won't offer you this deal again," he said then exited the room.

  "What do you think?" May asked.

  "We have to take it. We don't have a choice. You have to get to Brinatin as soon as possible."

  "I know," she said sadly. "It just seems so wrong. Truvian's gonna get away with what he did to us."

  Oliver fell into a thoughtful silence which was broken by the emergence of his friends in the doorway.

  "Sorry, we couldn't wait," Anna said anxiously. "What did he say?"

  Oliver looked at their concerned faces. "Abbicus said he'll confiscate our keys unless we agree to keep quiet about Truvian."

  "We won keys?" Anna asked in disbelief.

  Oliver nodded.

  They all gazed back at him in surprise then Rogan said, "Why would he want to cover it up?"

  "He doesn't believe it even happened," May said furiously. "Truvian was commentating on stage at the same time he was attacking us so he has about a thousand witnesses to prove he didn't do it."

  "How did he manage that?" Quinn asked, her voice was hoarse and her lips looked pale. Oliver wondered why her magic hadn't helped heal her yet.

  "He must have a mage helping him," Anna said.

  May nodded, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "I reckon the Truvian on stage was a fake."

  "No, it's unheard of. A mage would have to be constantly using magic to keep themselves looking like someone else. It's impossible," Rogan said dismissively.

  Quinn nodded her agreement.

  "But how else do you explain it then?" Oliver asked.

  Rogan shook his head. "I dunno. It just, can't be that."

  "Did Truvian say anything, like why he wanted May dead?" Anna asked.

  "Truvian said Rimori sent him," Oliver revealed. "But he didn't say why just that May's death was important somehow."

  "Oh, Vale, do you think he was being serious?" Anna asked, looking frightened.

  "Why would he lie?" Oliver asked rhetorically. "He also said Rimori sent that vark as a distraction."

  "How?" Rogan asked in disbelief. "Varks can't be controlled."

  "Maybe they can. It's not the first vark that's shown up since we've been in Aleva." Oliver proceeded to fill them in about the vark that had attacked them in the pod tunnel. "Truvian suggested Rimori had sent that one too."

  "Varks are seriously rare. There's only been a handful recorded in the last century. What are the chances of two turning up where you two are, twice?" Anna asked, gesturing at Oliver and May.

  "It's unheard of," Rogan said, running a hand through his hair.

  "That one that attacked us," Quinn chipped in. "I think it was a hunting vark. Only a couple of drawings exist to record their appearances. I saw them at university."

  "So, you reckon Truvian was telling the truth?" May asked the group.

  "It's the most likely answer, which suggests he was telling the truth about everything else," Rogan said ominously.

  Oliver attempted to swallow the lump that had formed in his throat as he decided to reveal the final piece of information. "He said my father's still alive."

  "What?" Anna said, her eyebrows raising in alarm.

  "You're kidding?" Rogan exclaimed. />
  "Nope. Do you reckon he was telling the truth about that too?" Oliver almost felt hopeful then a flood of guilt consumed the emotion. From what he knew about his father, he wasn't someone he wanted to associate with.

  No one answered but Oliver could guess what they thought. "We better go tell Abbicus we accept his offer." He sighed and walked out of the room.

  They returned to the garden where Ely and Abbicus were talking.

  "TICK TOCK!" Abbicus shouted at them across the lawn.

  Ely walked over to join them. "That sorry excuse for a man just filled me in on his deal," he said angrily, huffing his frustration. "I'm sorry to say that I must insist that you take it." He looked at May. "We need to get to Brinatin as soon as we can."

  "We're going to agree. It's just so, wrong," May said, throwing a look of distaste at Abbicus.

  "I know, but we don't have a choice." Ely said with a sad look. He walked back towards Abbicus and they followed.

  Rogan slid his arm around Quinn as they walked across the grass and green light emitted from his hand as he pressed it against her side. She stood up straighter, the pain having eased.

  "We accept your offer." Oliver stepped toward Abbicus.

  "Good. I look forward to seeing you all at the key presentation ceremony this afternoon, then. It'll be held up at the Gateway so if you want to go through to Glacio today you better bring your things." The large man turned on his heel, waddled out of the garden and headed off down the path.

  Anna walked slowly after him. "I'm going to go see my parents. They're down in the village. I'll come back later," she said and waved goodbye to them.

  Oliver sensed that she wasn't happy but didn't know why. He watched the back of her head as she disappeared down the lane.

  "Where's Laura?" Oliver asked Ely, wanting to say goodbye to her.

  "She's up at the Gateway. You'll see her this afternoon at the ceremony," Ely said.

  "I think we better go down and see our families, too. Quinn's not feeling too good," Rogan said, squeezing her arm.

  "Okay, do you wanna meet here later before we go up?" Oliver asked.

  "Yeah, I'll be alright in a bit I just need a rest," Quinn said with another wince. Rogan supported her as they headed after Anna down into the village.