by Safari,B. C
‘We’ve arrived,’ said Sasha, striding to the kitchen’s backdoor.
Charlotte examined the rigid door immediately, ‘there’s no keyhole,’ she muttered. ‘How do we break in if there’s no keyhole?’
‘I’ve got an idea,’ smirked Junior, clearing his throat pretentiously.
‘What?’ blurted Charlotte.
Junior studied the kitchen’s backdoor for a few moments.
‘Stand back, ladies,’ he muttered, suddenly resolute.
After sucking in a deep, defiant breath, Junior bolted at the rigid door. With a thunderous BOOOOOM, he collapsed to the ground. He growled from pain, and more from the fact that the door still hadn’t given way.
‘Get up, you idiot!’ cried Charlotte, ‘a great idea that was … you’ll probably set off an alarm!’
‘You can be awfully stupid sometimes!’ said Sasha, patting the gravel from Junior’s back.
‘I felt something… all it needs is one more push!’
Once more, Junior positioned himself towards the door (this time, with his good shoulder facing it). After another deafening BOOOOOOOM, the door collapsed inwards, sending Junior flying, face forward, onto the tiled kitchen floor.
‘Yes…you did it!’ beamed Sasha, striding into the school’s kitchen.
Junior groaned, their mission was not even half complete and he had already acquired two sore shoulders.
‘Great work, Junior,’ chortled Charlotte, sardonically, ‘because a bolted in door does not scream break-in at all!’
‘I didn’t really think about that,’ replied Junior, heaving himself from the ground.
In a manner that spoke more of anger than of playfulness, Charlotte smacked her brother’s already sore arm.
‘I just got us in!’ scowled Junior, ‘that’s more than you’ve done!’
Charlotte tossed her brother another warning glare, before starting towards the kitchen’s front door. Junior, Charlotte and Sasha followed the school’s main corridor to Williamson’s office.
Sasha was well versed in breaking into Mr. Williamson’s office, so as she approached the door, she removed her hairpins. The door gave way instantly. Sasha sneered at Junior smugly and mouthed, ‘now that’s how you break in!’
Junior dared not retort, in fear that his swollen arms would be given another pelt.
‘So where is it?’ shot Sasha, once inside the familiar office, ‘the bust that acted as the lever.’
‘They’ve removed it,’ muttered Junior.
Charlotte pointed into the dark hole in the wall (which had since been plastered with red and white sticky tape). ‘They’ve sealed off the passageway as well,’ she murmured.
Sasha, who was not nearly as afraid of the passageway as she had been the first time, ducked underneath the tape and crawled to the other side of the wall.
‘It’s just the same as before, we won’t find anything here,’ muttered Sasha, swivelling her torch over the spiralling steps. She shivered, the last time she was here, she’d discovered a corpse. Sasha did not wish to relive the nightmare but she could not filter the memory of Mr. Williamson’s decaying cadaver any longer. Soon after, Charlotte and Junior followed into the dark hole.
‘I don’t see anything either,’ confirmed Charlotte, ‘it’s just a dark, circling staircase.’
Junior ran his fingers along the blank walls, ‘how can you not see the inscriptions!’ he cried, ‘the dark marks over the walls, they’re everywhere!’
‘I fear you may have banged your head harder on those kitchen tiles than we’d thought,’ said Sasha, shooting Junior a deranged glance. ‘All jokes aside, there is nothing written on these walls!’
‘I’m a lot of things, but crazy is not one of them!’ barked Junior.
Suddenly, a muffled noise reverberated about the chamber. Charlotte staggered backwards, treading onto Junior’s feet. ‘W-w-what was that?’ she stammered.
‘Ouch!’ yelled Junior, sending pain-filled echoes bouncing about the passageway.
‘Shhhhhhhhhh! shrieked Sasha, gaping down the circling steps, ‘the sound came from down there...someone else is here.’
Junior waved his torch over the dark chamber, ‘you know what happened the last time we went down there,’ he muttered.
Feeling unusually brave, Sasha started down the circling staircase.
‘Wait!’ hissed Junior, ‘if we’re going to go down there, we can’t be defenceless.’
Junior turned on his heels and disappeared into the headmaster’s office; a moment later he returned with a cricket bat.
‘Woah!’ gasped Charlotte, ‘I hope we don’t need to use it.’
The spiralling staircase appeared to go on forever. Charlotte’s pulse palpitated more intensely at every turn; she feared that the notorious Shorebridge Ripper would appear out of the darkness any moment. Junior, however, was still deeply intrigued by the inscriptions pasted over the chamber walls. They became more numerous the deeper he ventured into the chamber. Junior was utterly astonished at Sasha and Charlotte’s denial that the inscriptions even existed. He was utterly confused and found himself doubting everything he had seen. When they reached the bottom of the circling staircase, Junior clenched the cricket bat tighter.
‘Who’s there?’ yelled Sasha, illuminating the room with her torch.
Junior batted the thin air and gasped, ‘he’s there!’
‘There is no one here!’ cried Charlotte, distressed at her brother’s unusual behaviour.
‘Sure there is!’ shouted Junior, ‘he’s here!’
The young man angled his bat at a dark figure; Charlotte and Sasha saw nothing but air.
The light from Sasha’s torch hit the figure, revealing a startled young man. His expression told that he was just as confused as the two girls, and probably not used to having cricket bats swung at him. The young man had spiky blonde hair, piercing blue eyes and wore an all-black suit. He ducked quickly and was surprised when Junior’s eyes followed him. Then oddly, he began to circle and swivel from left to right, testing whether Junior would trail him each time. He was positively astounded.
‘You can see me!’ the young man exclaimed.
‘Well of course I can see you!’ shot Junior, ‘I have a pair of eyes, don’t I?’
Sasha modelled her most impressive bewildered expression and exclaimed, ‘who said that… who are you talking to Junior!’
‘Why, this man of course!’ cried Junior, waving his bat at the mysterious, swivelling blonde man.
‘It’s no use, they can’t see me …unless I want them to,’ said the young man, unperturbed.
‘We can hear you though!’ retorted Charlotte, ‘show yourself, Ripper!’
Beckoning Junior to lower his weapon, the smug young man teased, ‘that’s no way to speak to a gentleman, now.’
‘I’m no ripper,’ the voice explained, ‘but I am looking for one.’
‘Why am I the only one who can see you!’ cried Junior, wavering his bat.
‘That’s because, you, sir… are a parler, and they’re just meres.’
‘Who’re you calling a mere!’ hurled Sasha, batting the air.
‘There’s that word again, ‘parler’. What does it mean!’ cried Junior.
‘Why just look at yourself and you would see the definition of a parler!’ the young man exclaimed.
Charlotte’s eyes widened hysterically, ‘this is getting weird!’ she cried, ‘how can I hear you but not see you?’
The invisible man squinted at Charlotte, ‘that girl is also a parler,’ he whispered, ‘only somewhat bewildered.’
‘What is a parler?’
After a dramatic pause, he whispered, ‘if I show myself to you, will you drop the bat …I’m not fond of theatrics.’
‘Deal,’ muttered Sasha, beckoning Junior to comply.
When Junior lowered his weapon, a slender figure materialised out of thin air. The young blonde man turned to the two girls, w
ho were not yet acquainted with his face.
‘Excuse my manners, my name is Felix… Felix Corneli.’
Sasha was suddenly faint and Charlotte, who was too stunned to respond, simply gawked at the figure. Finally collecting some words together, Charlotte gasped, ‘how did you do that!’
‘I’m a parler, like you are,’ said Felix, serious and mocking at the same time.
Lifting Charlotte’s wrist and examining the Roterbee neckless which Charlotte had, long ago, disguised as a bracelet, Felix cried, ‘Aha! So that’s why you could not see me at first, your bracelet contains sapphire dust.’
‘This, my dear friend,’ said Felix, pointing at the trinket, ‘contains something that can dampen the powers of any gifted parler.’
Turning to Junior, he muttered, ‘you, sir, adorn no such trinket…that’s why you were able to see me.’
‘And you,’ harped the young man, now facing Sasha, ‘well, I sense that you have no supernaturalism about you…you must be a mere.’
‘Parlers, powers, meres…what on earth are you talking about?’ cried Sasha.
The young man’s jaw dropped a few centimetres, he was positively astounded by the bewilderment in the faces of the teenagers.
‘Would I be correct to assume that you have no knowledge of parley at all?’
The trio shook their heads in sync.
‘My goodness, what a strange generation!’ the blonde man exclaimed, ‘to have these brilliant gifts and not even know they exist … tut, tut, tut.’
‘Gifts?’ said Junior, raising a brow.
‘I tell you what! I’m going to show you something superb!’ exclaimed Felix. The freakish blonde man rotated in the air and vanished from everyone’s sight except Junior’s.
Junior reached for his bat again.
‘Not so fast boy!’ demanded Felix.
‘You,’ he muttered, pointing at Charlotte, ‘pass your bracelet to the mere.’
Bewildered as ever, Charlotte untangled her necklace and braided it around Sasha’s arm.
Charlotte looked up and cried, ‘I can see you again!’
‘And I can see you too!’ exclaimed Sasha.
Felix smirked, ‘a remarkable quality of sapphire dust…it dampens the power of parlers but enhances that of meres.’
Beaming freakishly, the blonde man muttered, ‘I hate when I have to materialize, I do everything I can to stay in my phazed state, out of the view of meres.’
‘Phazed?’ repeated Junior, ‘so, you’re in your phazed state now?’
‘Correct!’ beamed Felix, ‘I’m almost like a ghost now! I have recently acquired another state of invisibility that not even parlers can detect.’
Felix grinned again, freakishly.
‘So let me get this straight,’ muttered Junior, ‘if I was wearing my ring, I would not have been able to see you?’
‘Only if the ring contained sapphire dust, of course,’ explained Felix. ‘Very valuable, sapphire dust …but very hard to come by. It must’ve been over 30 years ago when I last came across a sapphire bound trinket.’
‘You couldn’t be up to 30 years of age –’
‘Oh, but yes I could!’ cried Felix, ‘that’s another thing about parlers which you ought to know!’
‘Excuse me, Felix… that is your name right?’ stammered Charlotte.
The blonde man nodded eagerly, to which Charlotte replied, ‘you haven’t even explained what a parler is!’
‘Ah –’ mouthed Felix. Suddenly, a loud shuffle emanated from the headmaster’s office; the blonde man hovered worriedly.
‘Who’s there?’ mouthed Sasha.
Gazing up the spiralling staircase, Felix whispered, ‘I fear we may have company. Everyone get behind me!’
‘What!’ shrieked Junior.
‘Get behind me and shut up!’ The freakishly buoyant Felix beamed no more. The staircase creaked lightly with every downward footstep of the intruder. Felix stood still and the trio, too afraid to draw attention to themselves, imitated him.
‘This is silly,’ whispered Junior, ‘they are going to see us, let me at least get my bat ready!’
‘Silence!’ Felix snapped, ‘you will not move an inch!’
A torchlight was projected from the higher levels of the staircase, it circled the room without stopping.
‘He can’t see us!’ gasped Sasha.
‘Of course he can’t see us…I’ve cloaked you. As long as you stay near to me, you will be as invisible as me.’
‘Let me guess,’ whispered Charlotte, ‘that’s another thing about parlers that you left out.’
Felix twisted his face, expressing his firm disapproval of Charlotte’s sarcastic tone. The group stooped to the ground as two figures, each flashing torches, stumbled to the basement of the chamber. The cloaked figures rotated their lights about the entire room many times; at one point, Sasha was certain that the torchlight was suspended her way. However, the cloaked figures could not perceive any other persons in the chamber. At this moment in time, the ability to make one’s self invisible was exceptionally resourceful. Junior, however, who was struggling to not breathe aloud, had yet to master the skill of maintaining unqualified silence.
‘Are we clear?’ the first cloaked figure whispered. The second figure nodded cagily. When the two men finally let down their hoods, Sasha, Charlotte and Junior each suppressed a gasp. From the dark hoods, emerged the familiar faces of Mr. Brown and Dr. Willow. Both men appeared unusually troubled.
‘Nicholas, I urge you…do not act brashly,’ said Dr. Willow, grasping the mayor’s arm.
‘Do not act brashly he says!’ howled Mr. Brown, ‘may I remind you, Augustus, that I can be done with this secret at any time and just tell the world.’
‘And who would entertain you!’ the doctor exclaimed, ‘it’d be all over the papers, mayor gone mad – you would certainly not have my witness.’
‘Oh but I will, I assure you, Doctor!’ hissed Mr. Brown. ‘I cannot hold for any longer, I receive death threats by the day…claiming that I haven’t done enough in wake of the disappearances.’
Mr. Brown chortled hysterically, ‘if only they knew, Augustus…if only they knew!’
The doctor froze, his eyes widened with horror.
‘Cato could not be back,’ muttered Dr. Willow.
‘So who is responsible!’ exclaimed Mr. Brown.
‘He is dead…Cato is dead.’
‘Then who is the killer, Augustus!’ barked the mayor, ‘the people of Shorebridge have me by my neck.’
‘I am restless too, Nicholas… I think about it day and night!’ cried the doctor. ‘If Cato is alive, he would come for the Roterbee’s…I’m certain he would!’
‘Dr. Willow, you know as well as I do that he would not come unless he was certain that the Roterbee’s powers had manifested.’
The mayor shot Dr. Willow a wary glare.
‘Have they?’ he muttered.
‘No,’ said Dr. Willow, decisively.
The mayor glanced at Dr. Willow dubiously, ‘if you knew they had transitioned, you would tell me Augustus… wouldn’t you?’
‘They have not!’ affirmed the doctor, angrier than he had been at first.
‘I was so sure that the boy had transitioned,’ muttered Mr. Brown, ‘I was sure his ability would certainly have involved time…from the moment he came to Madison’s rescue that very first day.’
‘You planned it…didn’t you!’ gasped Dr. Willow, ‘you knew they were coming, you set Maddie to play in the train tracks just to see if the boy would tap into his power and save her.’
‘And what if I did?’ muttered Mr. Brown, ‘Madison was in no real harm! I knew that if the twins were anything like their father, they would search their power to save her.’
‘That is against Arthur’s instruction!’ exclaimed Dr. Willow. ‘He did not wish for the twins to tap into their abilities… he gifted them sapphire jewels for that very reason.
’
‘I don’t care about Arthur Mannox’s instruction!’ barked Mr. Brown. ‘My concern is the safety of this town. If their powers are what Cato wants, that is what he’ll get…I’ll have no more bloodshed!’
‘You understand little of this matter, Nicholas!’ snapped the doctor. ‘If it is true that Cato is alive, then he will kill us all when he acquires whatever he wants.’
Mr. Brown circled the room, but somehow evaded the paths of the four invisible persons.
‘I never signed up for this when I took the job, Augustus!’ whispered Mr. Brown, ‘this is not my world…I am a mere!’
‘You are a mere who is well versed in matters of parlery, Mr. Brown!’
‘People are asking too many questions,’ spat the mayor, ‘they are speaking of taking back my seat!’
‘Is that all you think about, Nicholas?’ muttered Dr. Willow. The doctor managed a cynical chortle, ‘what about our dear friend, Percy, who worked all his life in this school, safeguarding its secrets?’
‘Till Cato got to him, of course!’ cried Mr. Brown, ‘we might as well just give him what he wants and be done with it.’
Mr. Brown’s terror-filled eyes appeared to gloss in a transient shaft of light from the headmaster’s office. ‘To think that Percy went down… protecting this!’
The mayor strode to the chamber wall and ran his fingers over it. On accepting Dr. Willow’s nod of approval, he knocked the wall twice, before pausing. After a moment, the mayor knocked once more. The following moment was filled with unadulterated silence. Suddenly, the chamber grounds trembled. The concrete wall parted sideways, revealing a shimmering vault.
‘See,’ said Mr. Brown, pointing at the vault, ‘nothing has changed, Cato has not gotten to it… it’s safe.’
‘Williamson did not die in vain,’ sighed Dr. Willow, ‘he died protecting whatever lies beneath that vault and, not even Cato, with all his power, can unseal it.’
‘But you know who can open it Augustus!’
‘For heaven sakes, Nicholas!’ exclaimed Dr. Willow, ‘they are only children…the boy is audacious and poorly mannered, the girl is obnoxious and a somewhat timid version of her brother – but they can be excused, for they are children!’
