Hunter Brown and the Eye of Ends

by Chris Miller

“But I don’t understand. Where are we? What’s going to happen to Dad? We can’t just leave him behind.”

  “Why not?” Mom said bitterly. “He’s never done anything for us. He made his choice…he doesn’t need us.”

  Just then, a heart-wrenching scream echoed through the halls of the Maze. It was the voice of my father. He was in pain…horrible pain.

  “Was that…Dad?” Emily whispered.

  None of us answered; we all knew it was. We froze in our tracks. It was one thing to lose your father or to have him leave you, but it was an entirely different thing to hear him suffering and not do anything about it. Before I could stop her, Emily turned and ran back to see what had happened to her daddy.

  “Emily, no!” I shouted, chasing after her. She was too quick; she was a track star and I was…well, not. By the time I caught up to her, she was standing at the entrance, peeking back into the center of the Maze. What we saw froze us in our tracks. Tonomis was nowhere to be seen; in his place stood a being that was unlike any I had ever encountered. The inky black thing had the shape of a man, and a pair of devilish, red eyes glowing in the place where its face might have been. The inkform and my father both had a hand on the Bloodstone, but neither seemed able to release it. The Bloodstone was in control now, searing itself into my father’s hand and connecting him to the black thing before him. Then, the voices began.

  “We are of one mind, one will, one being,” the thing and my father said in unison. “Immortal and man, in one combined….” The black being had no mouth, but its eyes flashed hotter with each word. At first, its voice sounded like Tonomis, but soon was joined by a third voice…a hissing voice I recognized immediately. Sceleris.

  “All the powerssss of the Author will be ourssss. It issss our desssstiny.”

  Like a vacuum, the Bloodstone consumed the black being as if it were nothing more than smoke. The blackness swirled like a storm inside the stone.

  “Now, complete the sssacrifice and become one with ussss.”

  Entranced by the voice, my father raised the now blackened Bloodstone in front of him and with closed eyes plunged it deep into his own chest where his heart should have been. The implanting of the Bloodstone was painful and frightening to see. Dad screamed at the top of his lungs and nearly collapsed from shock. He pulled his hand out and looked down at the black hole that remained in his chest. The hole healed quickly…sealing the stone within him. The stone was now his heart.

  Emily gasped and looked away. A black oozing substance began to bubble out from his chest wound. It spread across his body like some sort of strange skin disease. The blackness covered everything. Starting with his chest and torso, it traveled like wildfire across his arms and legs until all that remained was my father’s face. In the end, that too was consumed by the entity that now owned his body—the black inkform of Tonomis.

  The hissing voice of Sceleris echoed through the cavern. “Risssse, my ssservant. Risssse and be one.”

  My father stood, and the glowing red eyes that once belonged to Tonomis flashed open over what was likely his face. The eyes burned with a fire that could only be fueled by the power of the Bloodstone itself. The voice of Sceleris commanded his next move.

  “It is time,” the inkform said to Desi and the black-eyed goons that remained. “Today we destroy; tomorrow we restore.”

  “Sir,” said the Black-Eye woman, her voice as lifeless as the way she moved, “the enemy has already been alerted. The entire Resistance force is headed toward the Black Curtain.”

  “Good,” the inkform chuckled, “let them come. Shadow warriorssss are ready to fight acrossss every shard in Ssssolandria. When the Codebearerssss arrive we’ll have plenty to keep them disssstracted. We will give them the epic battle they have been waiting for.”

  “They outnumber our forces two to one,” the male Black-Eye said dryly.

  “It does not matter. The battle issss only a diversion anyway. While they are busy fighting a pointlesssss battle, I will bring the realm to its kneessss by erassssing each shard into oblivion one by one, until there issss nothing left to fight for.”

  “What about the boy?” Desi asked, pulling her whip rods from her belt and fingering them. “I was hoping I might get to…enjoy his company for awhile.”

  “Do what you want. Just make sure none of them leave the Maze. I want to ssssave them for last.”

  Desi smiled deviously, and with a quick flick of the wrist she ignited both of her whips. “I won’t disappoint you.”

  Having seen enough, the inkform roared and grew into a massive form several times its original size. It sprouted black dragon wings and launched itself into the air over the labyrinth. The dragon circled the pillar of fire several times before sending a stream of red light out of its eyes and into the center of the flame. The flame reacted by turning red and shifting erratically above the center of the ring.

  “Free ussss,” the black dragon commanded the flame. Submitting to the dragon’s word, the red fire split in two and created a portal to the world beyond the Maze of Rings.

  The inkform dragon flew through the rift, and the red flame thinned until it was no more. I had seen enough. We needed to move quickly to warn the Codebearers of Tonomis’ true plan and his alliance with the Shadow. Emily tiptoed with me on our way back into the Maze where Mom was waiting. Unfortunately, before we were free and clear, one of the moths that had been wandering the Maze fluttered straight into Emily’s eye, catching her by surprise.

  “Ew, gross!” Emily screamed. She swung her hands at the hapless creature and batted the insect away, causing more than enough commotion to draw attention. Desi was the first to notice us and locked eyes with me from across the inner circle.

  “Fetch him for me,” Desi said to the Black-Eyes, pointing our way and smiling maliciously. The two Black-Eyes turned their heads mechanically to see what she was pointing at.

  “Run!” I shouted, pulling Emily away by the arm.

  The Black-Eyes removed a handful of fire darts from their pocket and flung them at us as we ran. The darts flew with incredible speed across the expanse of the inner circle and embedded themselves in the floor beneath our heels.

  “Wait for me!” Mom replied, ducking behind the wall and throwing her high-heeled shoes behind her.

  Chapter 29

  The Scent of a Spider

  Actually, being chased through a maze is really quite exhilarating, so long as the things you’re running from aren’t trying to kill you.

  With the dart-tossing Black-Eyes hot on our trail, I did my best to guide Mom and Emily on a winding chase through the Maze of Rings. Mom did her best to keep up, but she was constantly falling behind. It wasn’t entirely her fault though. After all, she wasn’t exactly dressed for the occasion. She was wearing a business skirt and blouse, and had been running barefoot the whole time.

  “Slow…huff huff…down…huff huff,” Mom gasped. We doubled back through what must have been the twelfth passageway. The Black-Eyes moved quickly.

  “Quick, let’s hide in there,” I said, dousing my Veritas Sword and ducking into a small cave-like room that was connected to the passageway. We sat in absolute darkness for what seemed like an eternity until a pair of hurried footsteps passed us.

  We sat still for a few minutes longer, waiting out the second Black-Eye pursuer. In the meantime, I did my best to catch Emily and Mom up on where we were and what had happened. I explained about Solandria, the Shadow and the Resistance known as the Codebearers. I told them how Dad used to be a Codebearer and that he had found the Eye of Ends…how the visions he saw within it were predictions of the future and ultimately were the reason he left us for fear they would come true. I told them of Tonomis and his desire to become the Author.

  “I can’t believe,” Mom said quietly, “that all this time your father’s stories were so real…and I didn’t believe him.”

  �
�What do you think happened to Dad?” Emily asked. “Is he…you know….”

  “Dead?” I asked.

  “Yeah, that.” I couldn’t see her face, but I could hear a slight sniffle coming from where she sat. I had rarely heard Emily cry over something genuinely important. She usually cried only when she wanted something.

  “I don’t know. Maybe a part of him is still in there. If we ever get out of this place alive, I hope to find out.”

  Mom sighed. “Hunter, you know more about the Author than we do. Do you think he can help us, even here?”

  I couldn’t believe my mom had asked the question.

  “Yeah, I’m sure he can,” I said. “You know, the Codebearers have a saying about that….”

  “What is it?” Emily asked, sounding genuinely interested.

  “We are never alone,” I said. “The Author is always watching over us.”

  There was a long silence in the dark.

  “Well, I sure hope he knows what he’s doing,” Mom said.

  Watching the Author’s plan unfolding, I was beginning to wonder just how things might end. I knew the Author was in control, but if Solandria was destroyed…what would happen next?

  “He brought us back together, didn’t he? I don’t think that was an accident.” The more I thought about it, the more I realized that there had to be a purpose in all of this.

  “Well, enough sitting around in the dark. Let’s go find a way out of here,” Mom said.

  After lighting my Veritas Sword, I kind of wished I hadn’t. The room we were in was crawling with Crag Spiders—so many in fact, that Emily couldn’t find her voice to scream! She was petrified, as was Mom. Thankfully, the spider horde was both deaf and blind. Each one of them remained still, focused blindly on the task of managing their complex network of threads.

  Remembering what Dad had told me about the smaller ones being more dangerous as pack hunters, I tried to settle both Mom and Emily down before we triggered a feeding frenzy.

  “Don’t freak out,” I cautioned. “They won’t know we’re here as long as we keep clear of the lines.”

  Mom seemed to appreciate the assurance and gave a frightened nod.

  “On three,” I said, “I want us all to move slowly and carefully toward the cave entrance.”

  “One…two…” but before I could say “three” Emily made a wild dash for the mouth of the cave and out into the passageway screaming. She narrowly missed triggering one of the lines that passed by the door. That was the good news.

  The bad news was that our pursuers most certainly would have heard Emily’s screams. Sure enough, as soon as Mom and I exited the spider’s den, I heard a telltale shout come from somewhere further in the Maze. They were coming for us. We didn’t have much time. I had to think of a plan…and quick!

  Fearfully, Mom ran toward where Emily had stopped, shuddering just at the edge of my sword’s light. I could hear the pounding footfall of our three pursuers growing louder. They would be on us before we could make any effective escape. Suddenly, I had a brilliant idea!

  “Wait here,” I told Mom and Emily. To their horror, I then ducked back into the Crag Spider’s den. They both nearly freaked when I came back out moments later, dragging the dead body of a spider, a thin trail of its purplish oil leaking out behind it.

  “What are you doing?” Mom gasped.

  “No time to explain,” I said hurriedly. “Grab a leg, Em!”

  My sister looked at me with a “you’ve got to be kidding me” expression. Mom pushed her aside and took hold of a shiny leg, pulling along with me.

  “Where to?” she asked.

  I looked back at the den door and focused on the direction I’d seen the majority of the spider’s threads leading. “This way!”

  We ran to the right, heading for the turn just up ahead. As soon as we reached it, I dropped the creature and told the girls to stand back. Using my Veritas Sword, I sliced open the area where I figured the spider’s oil gland was, letting the smelly liquid spill out freely, covering the floor.

  As I did, I caught sight of a flashlight beam dancing across the other end of the passage.

  “Go!” I told Emily and Mom, sending them on up ahead. If my plan was going to work, I’d have to let the Black-Eyes see me. A distant figure suddenly came racing into view, swinging the wide beam of the flashlight across my face. Immediately a fire dart flew at me, missing me by a few feet. They’d seen us, all right…perfect.

  Climbing up and over the dead spider, I ran on as fast as I could to catch up to my family.

  “Keep going!” I shouted. “Faster!”

  Behind me, the Black-Eyes were shouting too, having fallen prey to my slippery trap. That should slow them down. I grinned, imagining the smell that would be covering their pretty little suits.

  We raced through a few more turns in the Maze before Mom and Emily came to a screeching halt. They had recognized the nearly invisible threads weaving across the floor from our visit to the Crag Spiders’ den. From the sound of the shouting coming up behind us, the Black-Eyes were catching up. There was no going back…or forward.

  “We’re trapped!” Emily shrieked, squeezing Mom’s arm tightly.

  I looked down at the trip lines, and thought of the hungry horde waiting on the other end. It was time to finish my plan.

  I sure hope Dad’s theory was right. Lowering my Veritas Sword to the ground, I aimed it at the first thread.

  “Follow me,” I said boldly.

  “Hunter, no!” Mom shouted.

  It was too late; I’d already cut through the first one and wouldn’t stop until I’d sliced a clear path for us through the rest. If we could get through this without the deadly scent marking us, we’d be home free. I hadn’t counted on being outwitted.

  “Stop right there!” the female Black-Eye demanded, having suddenly appeared to block the path in front of us. She brandished a fistful of fire darts and shined her blinding flashlight directly in our faces.

  Part of me wanted to take this threat head-on. I was a trained Codebearer, after all. But a voice from behind convinced me otherwise.

  “Put it down, Mr. Brown,” the man’s voice said. I glanced behind me to see the second Black-Eye advancing toward us from the other side, darts at the ready.

  “That’s right…nice and slow,” he coaxed, watching as I squatted to lay my weapon down. As soon as I let go, the blade of light disappeared, leaving mostly darkness, except for the light from the two flashlights.

  “Kick it to me,” the woman commanded, glowering. I caught a strong whiff of the spider oil soaked into her clothes. Smelling it made me want to gag because the scent was horrid, yes, but also because I feared what was coming. I’d set a deadly game in motion and now we had no way out of it.

  “I said, kick it to me!” the woman yelled angrily. When I kicked it, the metal on the sword hilt scraped noisily across the ground. The unpleasant sound seemed to echo off the stone walls, bouncing up and down the corridor, but strangely never fading. Instead, it crescendoed into a loud chorus of hissing.

  Emily looked up to where the noise was coming from and screamed. The Crag Spiders had come to dinner…every single one of them.

  The Black-Eyes looked up at the army descending on us and immediately started firing their darts into the swarm, killing a good number of them…just not enough. For every one that fell, two more surged forward in their place.

  “Stay close to me!” I shouted to Mom and Emily, hugging them tightly. Terrified, Mom and Emily buried their faces in my shoulder as the horde finally closed in around us. When I’d imagined this part of the plan working, I hadn’t expected being there to watch.

  Drenched in the spider’s oil, the Black-Eyes didn’t stand a chance of survival. It was only a matter of time before the Crag Spiders got their prizes, claiming the man first, then dragging the woman under.
The two fallen flashlights were kicked around, providing an eerie effect to the whole grizzly scene.

  Amazingly, Dad’s theory about the Crag Spiders’ hunting by scent held up. More importantly, the scent I’d been marked with from the larger, elder spider acted like a repellent to this smaller horde, keeping them a safe distance away.

  “They’re not going to harm us,” I said to Mom and Emily, once I’d realized this truth. “We’re free to go.”

  Still shaking, Emily started to pull away, but I held her tighter. “Don’t let go yet,” I said, walking us together as a unit toward my Veritas Sword. “We’ve got to stay close. It’s my smell that is protecting us.”

  How many times does a little brother get to say that? I wondered.

  “Ew! You can be so gross,” Emily groaned, wiping away the tear streaks on her face.

  Using the light from my Veritas Sword, we quickly navigated safely around the bend in the Maze, free from the threat.

  “Where to now?” Mom asked the obvious question.

  “We’ve got to find a way out,” I said. “We’re not safe in here.”

  “Now, there’s an understatement,” Emily groaned.

  Admittedly, it was kind of a silly thing for me to have said. And knowing what I knew now about the Maze, it was a pointless thing to say. There was no escape from the Eye of Ends unless…unless we found a vision! I’d found one before; we’d find one again. I quickly explained the plan to Mom and Em as we jogged through the twists and turns of the Maze.

  “Just keep your eyes open for anything unusual,” I said, “especially any kind of light. The last vision I saw was hidden around the corner of a dead end. You might see these luminescent moths… those can be helpful too.”

  “What about birds?” Emily asked.

  “Birds? What birds?”

  I looked in the direction my sister was pointing and suddenly stopped in my tracks. The silhouette of a raven could be seen set against the fiery cavern ceiling, gliding above the towering Maze walls.