The Ladder: Part 1

by David Hodges

  He wasn’t there. She knew too little to take his life, but she had to make sure she was not vulnerable if he woke. There had to be someway to restrain him. She searched his pockets and found a key, then went to the door and tried it. It worked. She would have felt better if there was some way to restrain him. She looked to the pail of water on the ground. It had to have come from somewhere. Maybe there was a well nearby.

  She took a lit candle, picked up the knife, then walked out to the living room. She noticed a stack of wood next to the fireplace. She did not want to leave her plan to the mercy of a pair of candles. She stacked the wood in the fireplace, and after a few minutes had a fire burning within it.

  She went out into the darkness, careful this time to shield her dainty light, and searched the back and sides of the house. She spotted a stone well. From a wooden pulley, a rope dropped to the side of the well, coiled in a loop. She untied the knot wedged in the pulley and pulled the rope through. She carried it back into the room.

  She looked at the bloody stain on the man’s shirt. She was curious of the state of the wound. She lifted his shirt up to find a border of dried blood surrounding a wound that looked as though it had already begun healing. It was a hole with a ball protruding half way out of it. The area around it was covered with a pale pink film.

  She thought back to the liquid he had poured onto her shoulder and looked down to where the wound had been. There was only a fresh scar there. He may have used the same medicine on himself. She needed to restrain him quickly. She set to binding the man’s wrist, tying as many knots as she could. She used up the entire length of the rope to secure his arms and legs. She left the room and locked the door.

  The fire was burning low. She added a few logs to it, then curled up with a blanket in front of it. She kept her candles and knife closed to her. It was late, and she was exhausted. She was confident the rope would hold if the man woke. It seemed best that she try to rest. She had a long trek ahead of her in the morning.

  Alexandra woke to the sound of loud knocking at the door. She jumped up and grabbed the knife beside her.

  The logs were still intact in the fireplace. It had not been long since she fell asleep.

  There was more knocking, then a man’s voice. “Is anyone in there?” he shouted.

  Alexandra kept quiet.

  The door opened, and a pair of men with lanterns walked in. “Oh, sorry, miss...” one of them said as he looked down at the knife. “We’re just looking for a bit of respite from the cold. We came out unprepared.”

  “What are you doing out here?” she asked.

  “Hunting...”

  The man next to him spoke. “Is your husband here or your parents? We’ll pay if you’ll let us stay the night.”

  They seemed to be telling the truth. They must not have had anything to do with her abductor. “You have to help me,“ Alexandra pleaded as she rushed toward them.

  One of the men stepped toward her. “What’s wrong, pet?”

  “I’ve been kidnapped. There’s a man in that room. He brought me here.” Alexandra went to the door and unlocked it.

  The men stared into the room, then went and examined the unconscious man.

  “Looks to me like you’ve told it to us backward. What happened to him?”

  “I’m not sure. I think he was shot. He fell unconscious, and I tied him up. I don’t know where I am, I just want to go home.”

  He nodded. “We can take you to the nearest village, we’ll wait till morning.”

  Alexandra could not help but throwing herself at the man. She hugged him tightly and cried, “Thank you!” She burst into tears.

  “We’ll be right back.” The men went out and returned with bags and blankets and settled in. One of the men looked to the other. “Why don’t you go in there and make sure he’s not going anywhere.” When they were alone in the room, he approached Alexandra and stopped close to her. He brushed his hand over her cheek. “You must be scared, why don’t we take your mind off of it.” He tried to kiss her.

  She moved out of the way. “What are you doing?” she asked timidly.

  He pulled her toward him by her waist.

  Alexandra slapped him and tried to back away.

  With a sudden change in demeanor, he grasped her face viciously. “That’s no way to treat your rescuer!”

  She screamed, “Help me! Please!”

  “He’ll be having his turn next,” he said as he forced her to the ground and started to lift her dress.

  She kicked his face and scrambled away from him. Her limbs felt weak as she struggled to move herself back.

  He spat blood onto the floor, then grabbed her ankle and dragged her back toward him. He unbuckled his belt with his free hand.

  There was a loud thud in the other room. The man stopped and looked up toward the door. It creaked open. Alexandra’s kidnapper stepped out slowly. As he stepped farther into the light of the fireplace, Alexandra realized he did not look himself. There was no white in his eyes, his pupils were horizontal slits against dark green.

  The man on top of Alexandra rose and drew a dagger.

  Her abductor walked toward him.

  The man shouted, “I’ll kill you if you come any closer!”

  Her abductor continued forward until the man slashed at him. He grabbed his arm with one hand and his neck with the other. His hands turned gray as his fingers elongated and squeezed tighter around the man’s neck and arm. He held the man in place as his face turned red, his eyes fluttering until they closed. He dropped him on the ground.

  “Please...” said Alexandra as she sank into the corner of the room.

  His hand and eyes returned to their normal appearance. He rushed back to the bedroom and returned with the pail of water and doused the fire Alexandra was stuck there, burying herself into the corner.

  He picked Alexandra up by her wrist and took her to the room. He held out his hand. “The key.”

  She fumbled to get it out with her shaking hands and handed it to him.

  The other hunter was limp on the floor with his eyes open. His neck was bent at a sharp angle. Her abductor shut her in the room and went back out to the living area. Alexandra backed away from the body on the floor and laid down between two of the cots where she curled up and wept. She was so close.

  Cabinets opened and slammed closed outside of the room, then the man returned to the room with a bag over his shoulder and a lantern in his hand. He led Alexandra to the back of the house where the well was, then jumped in. Alexandra knew better than to try and run.

  A few seconds later, his grotesque fingers reached out and he pulled himself up. He was holding a metal ball. It was perfectly spherical. It could have been a cannonball, but it was too exquisitely polished, almost silver. It had to be something much finer than iron. He placed it carefully into the bottom of his bag.

  Alexandra stumbled to keep up with his hurried pace as he pulled her around front where a pair of horses were tied to a tree. They must have belonged to those men. They could have rescued her so easily.

  Just as they reached the horses, the man noticed something and froze. He listened, then Alexandra could hear it too—the sound of horses galloping. He blew the lantern out and set it next to it a tree. He took his jacket off then stripped off his bloody shirt and wet it with some water from a canteen. He brought one of the horses to the side of the house and rubbed the shirt against several trees, then tied it tight around the horse’s leg. He pulled out a knife and nicked the horse’s leg, sending the horse off into the forest.

  He returned to Alexandra. Long appendages took over his hands and feet. He grabbed Alexandra with one arm, and he climbed up the tree effortlessly. His hands were wet, slimy even. He stopped at a branch well into the foliage, and sat Alexandra on it, crouching over her. She felt a sharp tip at her neck. “Stay quiet,” he whispered.

  A pack of dogs ran toward the cabin and four men on horseback followed after them. Two of them went inside cautiously while the oth
er two waited outside watching the dogs. A short while later they dragged the bodies of the hunters out. One of them said, “He’s not here. The fire’s just been put out and the bodies are still warm.”

  Another looked to the dogs who were sniffing their way to the side of the house. “They’ve picked up a scent. Quickly, he can’t be far.” They mounted their horses and rode toward the back of the cabin.

  Alexandra was carried down the tree as the man descended. He lifted her up onto the horse, then mounted the saddle behind her. They rode away through the darkness.

  By the time they were out of the woods, Alexandra was barely awake. She kept sinking back into the man and he eventually needed to hold her up to support her. She was accustomed to riding side saddle. The lack of stirrups only added to her soreness and fatigue after hours of riding.

  The man shook her awake. It was pouring rain. They were in a town, riding over an empty cobbled street. They stopped at a posting inn near a river. The man tied the horse to the exterior fence and led Alexandra away.

  She could barely walk.

  He picked her up and carried her for several minutes until they reached a door at a row house. He unlocked the door and carried her to a bed where he laid her down. He set to starting a fire in a wood stove in the corner of a bedroom; it was cozy. It had a woman’s touch.

  The man started to undo her dress.

  “Please,” she said weakly.

  “You’re soaking wet.” He took it off quickly, then did the same with her shift, leaving her exposed for a moment before covering her with the blanket. He hung her clothes up.

  “Why are you doing this? What do you want with me?” Alexandra asked desperately.

  The man looked down and sighed. He went to his jacket and pulled out a wrinkled envelope. It had a wax seal stuck to the flap. He handed it to her and asked, “Do you recognize this?”

  13

  CAMERON

  Cameron stared up at the familiar forest canopy. The morning sun peeked through yellowed leaves. He turned to Alexandra and brushed her hair with his hand.

  She turned over with a look of consternation and held on tightly to Cameron. “Don’t let me go.”

  Cameron was confused. “I won’t.”

  The leaves were falling from above, faster and faster, until he was surrounded by them, barely able to see or move as he held on tight to Alexandra. In an instant, she was lifted by an invisible force toward the bare branches above.

  “Cameron!” she screamed down at him as she went higher and higher into the air.

  “No!” He woke screaming as he jumped out of a bed.

  A powerful gust of air filled the room. Cameron felt a heavy weight on his back. His chest was sore. He looked down and saw something covering his torso. A thick cord of tendons converged at the center of his sternum and reached around toward his back. He tried to peel it off in a panic. It was attached him. He saw something in his periphery, dark brown and massive. He turned to look at it, and it turned with him, knocking over a painting on the wall before colliding with a bedpost. He felt a pain from the collision. He felt the thing on his back as if it were a part of him.

  A lithe man burst through the door. “Cameron! Calm down, be still!” He stepped toward Cameron.

  Cameron backed away and another rush of air filled the room, this time more powerful than the last. A pair of massive wings shot forward, scraping against the walls. He was thrown backward into the bedpost behind him, breaking it in half.

  The man in front of him staggered backward at the force of the air, then ran toward Cameron and grabbed him. “Be still, you’re hurting yourself!”

  Cameron was stunned from the force of the impact. His vision blurred, and he saw two more men coming into the room. “Cameron!” one of them shouted.

  He recognized Daniel’s voice. His vision cleared and he calmed down at the sight of Daniel and Fergus in front of him. They wore a look of bewilderment at the sight of Cameron and the massive feathered wings slumped at his sides.

  The wings slid toward Cameron, retracting into his back until they were no longer there. His chest returned to its normal bare appearance. He wondered if he was still dreaming, only moments before he had been lying in the woods of Leicestershire. It was wishful thinking. He was in too much pain to be dreaming.

  The man holding onto Cameron released him. “Are you alright?”

  Cameron nodded, “I think so.”

  Fergus looked to the man, “were those...”

  He nodded in affirmation.

  Daniel went to Cameron and tried to help him, reaching around to his back.

  Cameron felt a shot of pain at his touch, his back was tender. “Ah! Careful.”

  “Sorry! let me take a look...”

  Cameron leaned forward, showing his back to his cousin.

  Daniel winced empathetically at the sight of his swollen and scratched back. “You’re hurt.”

  “What happened, what have you done to me?” asked Cameron.

  The lithe man said, “Cameron, I cannot explain this simply to you. You must be patient and listen carefully, will you do that for me?”

  Cameron was too exhausted to argue. “Fine... just tell me what’s going on.”

  The man extended his hand. “First, allow me to introduce myself. I’m Faron.”

  Cameron looked down at his hand and ignored it.

  Faron continued, “You’re here because we found you in our forest, at the ruins of an old castle. You were with a search party, do you remember this?”

  “Yes... we were attacked, then they came and blindfolded us, they took us somewhere...” Cameron began to recall the events more clearly. “We were in a study, a man, he made us touch that thing.”

  Faron nodded. “That thing, was Dréimire, the Ladder. It’s ancient and powerful. It defines my people, our people, Cameron.”

  “Ours?”

  Faron focused. “You were changed by the Ladder because you are one of us, Athraithe, the Changed, it’s what we call ourselves. The Ladder only opens for our descendants.” He looked to Daniel and Fergus. “It’s the reason it did not affect them.”

  Cameron entertained the notion. “What do you mean by changed?”

  “The Ladder allows us to undergo a metamorphosis of sorts; it unlocks our gifts.”

  “Gifts?” Cameron scoffed. “Do you mean those things on my back?”

  “In your case, yes. It’s not that simple, though. Athraithe adopt the traits of an individual animal, any animal.” He showed his hand to Cameron. Tan, spotted fur grew on the back of it and sharp claws emerged from his fingers. They quickly faded away and his hand regained its normal appearance. “This is only a small fraction of what we can do, you’ll learn all of this in time.”

  Cameron looked to Daniel and Fergus, searching for some kind of affirmation of what he had just observed. They stared back at him and nodded.

  “Is that why you brought me here? So you could... change me?

  “No. We didn’t know you were one of us. We brought you here because of the attack you witnessed. It was only when we saw that the Ladder was open that we realized one of you were Athraithe.”

  Daniel said, “Cameron, the man who attacked the campsite, he’s Athraithe too. They think it was him who took Alexandra. That thing in your neck, he used the same weapons on the soldiers, only they never woke up.”

  “What would he want with her?”

  A voice from the door answered, “The better question may be, what would he want with you?”

  Cameron recognized the man who had made him touch the Ladder, Plantagenet.

  “Allow me to introduce myself properly, I am Ayalon.” He extended his hand.

  Cameron was no more inclined to meet this man’s handshake than the others.

  Ayalon left his hand extended. “Forgive me for my behavior the other night. We must be wary of outsiders. You can understand that now, can’t you?”

  Cameron shook it begrudgingly.

  “Good.” Ayalo
n began pacing. “Now, the man we were discussing, his name is Einar. He is powerful, cunning, and ruthless. We think he took her to provoke you. We can only assume it has something to do with advancing his agenda.”

  “And what is that?” asked Cameron.

  Ayalon looked down and sighed. “He is in denial… the world is changing around us. Talamh can’t go on tucked away and undiscovered as it has in centuries past. There are measures that need to be taken to protect our anonymity. I have been prioritizing this of late, and Einar is not willing to accept what must be done.”

  Cameron noticed Faron casting a glance at Ayalon. There was a trace of surprise in it.

  Ayalon took in a deep breath. “We all have important roles in making sure Talamh thrives. Some of us lead, some of us protect, and most of us keep one another fed, sheltered, and supplied within Talamh… all of these roles are equally important, but it seems Einar wasn’t content with his role.”

  Faron looked away from Ayalon.

  “What does that have to do with me?”

  “We can’t be certain, but I have an idea. Before I explain, let me send the nurse to tend to your wounds.” He looked to Faron. “Bring him to the Sphere when he’s ready.” He left the room.

  A few minutes later, a middle-aged woman arrived with a small bag. “Alright, what’s the matter?”

  Faron answered, “He’s cut and bruised his back.”

  “Lie down on the bed and let me have a look.” She palpated his back, prodding at his bones and muscles.

  He grimaced at the pain.

  “It’s just the flesh, should be a quick recovery. I’ll give him some dilute serum to seal the open wounds.” She pulled out her bag and uncapped a dark green vial. She poured a thick liquid from the vial and mixed it with a clear liquid in a bowl. It was tainted with red.

  “What’s that?”

  “Just a bit of watered down medicine, don’t want to waste any. You won’t need much for these cuts, they’re not deep. Should help the bruising heal faster as well.” She poured the solution onto his back and spread it over the wounds.

  He immediately felt the pain fade away and sighed with relief.