Secrets in the Dark

by KD Blakely

  Enthusiasm made my voice sound like I’d just taken a hit off a helium balloon. “Doug, we have to bring a shovel next month. Something could be buried in here!”

  “I always wanted to dig for buried treasure.”

  “Think whatever it is will be safe here for a whole month?”

  Olivia laughed. “Who’s gonna find it? We haven’t seen anyone in here.”

  I stooped down to pet Shadow, who was sitting by my feet looking pleased with herself. Anyone who said cats can’t smile doesn’t know cats! I had the feeling a lot of time had passed and I was starting to worry about getting home late. That would be bad! I couldn’t violate my no-more-being-grounded-ever rule so soon. “I think we better head back.”

  “No, wait. We should try digging now,” Doug said.

  Olivia sounded offended. “Are you kidding? I am not digging in the dirt with my hands!”

  Of course not.

  “We’ll bring shovels next time,” I assured her.

  “Fine.” Doug’s huge sigh would have been great, if he were trying out for Drama King.

  I turned to Shadow and asked her to lead us back. At least going out felt shorter than going in. When we reached the main cave, Brady and Faith were waiting for us.

  “How’s our time?” I asked.

  “We need to go. We’ve been in Chimera four hours. It’s going to be pretty late when we get back.”

  “Did you finish writing everything down?”

  “Got it all.”

  As we turned to leave, Doug filled Brady in on the hidden cave. Brady was appropriately enthusiastic about the idea of buried treasure. But I’d had time to think about it while we made our way out of the second tunnel. I said, “Ghalynn isn’t here. And we didn’t find anything to show he ever made it here. Next time, before we start digging, we should check the other tunnels for any sign of him.”

  Doug said, “I think we need to go to the secret cave and dig up the floor. It looks like something was buried in there!” When he saw the mutinous look on my face, he added, “Ghalynn might have buried something there.”

  That cheered me up. Though we hadn’t found Ghalynn, we’d made some good discoveries — the writing at the end of the first tunnel, and maybe something buried in the second tunnel. As we hurried from the cave, Brady and Doug were already planning what we should bring to dig up the cave next month.

  What if something is buried there? That would be so cool!

  “Hey Brady, where’s the Rejects?” Doug asked. We hesitated at the mouth of the cave as Brady checked the map by the light from the berries. “No sign of them.”

  Maybe Polly convinced them it’s too boring in here. Maybe they won’t ever come back. One can wi — um, hope.

  Brady looked at his watch and said, “We need to hurry! According to my calculations, it should take us seventy-two minutes to get to the tree. It will be nearly dark when we get home.” He shoved the berries and the map in his pocket.

  After that, we didn’t talk much, saving our breath to hurry. Thank goodness it was mostly downhill. I didn’t know how the others felt, but I wanted to prove Brady wrong. Seventy-two minutes? Only Brady would estimate to the minute.

  When we got in sight of the tree, I asked how long it had taken. “Sixty-eight minutes,” he said.

  So much for his seventy-two minutes!

  I’d just started to smile when he said, “That leaves us just four minutes to say goodbye to our animals and get through the tree.” My smile died and my teeth ground together instead.

  How irritating was that?

  Everyone said goodbye to their animals, but Brady and I took an extra minute to thank ours for their help. I leaned over and ran my hand down Shadow’s back. She purred and arched her back under my fingers.

  When it was my turn to step into the tree, I sucked in a deep breath. Going back through was different than going back through the tunnel in the cave. That had seemed quicker. But going home through the tree always felt longer. Sometimes it seemed really long. This was one of those times. I felt myself start to shake, wondering if there would ever be a time I wouldn’t get out.

  Stumbling into the cemetery felt soooo good. I checked my phone, and saw we still had a little over an hour before Olivia and Faith’s dinner curfew. I called Ronny and asked her to meet us at Johnny’s. She said she’d be there in five minutes.

  

  As we got seated, Ronny said, “So, tell me what happened today.” She leaned forward, looking so hopeful I wanted to be anywhere else. I hated knowing we were going to disappoint her again. “Was there any sign of Ghalynn?”

  We took turns describing what we’d found. Brady rummaged in his backpack and pulled out several pages of notes from the cave wall. He showed them to Ronny and they spent several minutes looking over them while she shook her head in confusion. “I cannot make this out. It looks like Runic, but none of the symbols are in the right order. And I do not recognize any of these pictures. Are you sure it was written exactly like this?”

  I was afraid Brady would feel insulted by her question. Even in the short time I’d known him, I was sure he’d made an exact copy. In fact, I’d be willing to bet it was a precise to-scale replica. Fortunately, Brady didn’t seem bothered. “It’s an accurate duplication of everything on the wall of the cave.”

  Ronny shook her head, “This will take great time to study properly.”

  “I’ll make copies and bring them to your house tomorrow if that’s okay. I want to work on it too. It’s a great opportunity. I mean, trying to break a code that isn’t even based in English.”

  He glanced around hesitantly and said, “I’m pretty sure I was able to translate part of it on the walk back to the tree.”

  “Why didn’t you say so before?” Olivia asked, her expression a strange mix of impatience and excitement.

  “Well, I’m not sure my translation is completely accurate. After all, some of the symbols were larger and cut deeper into the wall, like it was on purpose. They may have a different meaning. You’ll see in my notes.” He tapped the pile of paper in front of him. “This part translated with great ease. Almost too easy. But the message doesn’t make much sense, so maybe I missed something.”

  “Let’s hear it,” I told him.

  Brady then shuffled through his notes and took a deep breath. He picked up one of the pages and began quoting.

  SHADOWS OF THE FUTURE

  Time shall come when silence rules

  Echoes of what was remain

  East and South dark MALICE pools

  Set loose as protections wane

  Two worlds WITH one dire test

  With the entrance breached by man

  Mundane MAGICK marks the quest

  Fate awaits the final plan

  Only clear to those with Sight

  Direction is necessity

  Paths revealed within the Light

  Resolution is the Key

  Greed with evil SPELLS entwine

  Without courage faith will quail

  Magick and mundane COMBINE

  For one without the other fail

  ANNIHILATION

  Ronny’s face turned white. Not just pale. White as the paper Brady held. She held out a shaking hand and he passed the paper to her. She stared at it with wide, empty eyes.

  Brady said hesitantly, “Ghalynn’s name was written under it.”

  “So Ghalynn was at the cave,” I said, keeping a close eye on Ronny. She did not look good, though this seemed like good news to me.

  “So what are those words supposed to mean?” Faith asked. “Brady’s right. They don’t make sense.”

  It was Ronny who answered, in a low hoarse voice that didn’t sound like her. “I cannot tell you what it means.”

  She was gripping the table so hard it looked like the skin over her knuckles was going to split open. “No one knows what those words mean. But those who live in Chimera can quote every word.”

  She turned to Brady and gave him what I th
ink was supposed to be a smile. “Your translation into English was perfect, Brady. This is our Annihilation Prophecy, written hundreds of years ago. I never heard it in English before. I did not even know it rhymed. No one knows who wrote it. But according to legend, it refers to the end of Chimera.”

  “The end of Chimera? Why would your friend Ghalynn write an old prophecy about the end of Chimera on the wall of that cave?” Brady asked, looking confused.

  “That is a good question. A better question is, why did he write the Prophecy on the wall of a cave right before everyone in Chimera disappeared? I am very much afraid for my friends and my family. Discovering the meaning of this Prophecy is imperative.”

  There was a pause as Ronny fell silent and no one could think of something to say. Finally, Faith said quietly, “I guess we know why Ghalynn wrote ‘Cave of Prophecy’ on the map.”

  I was watching Ronny as Faith spoke. The look on her face scared me. “Are you okay, Ronny?”

  She had to clear her throat twice before she could answer. “Do not worry, Kat. I will be fine.”

  She began speaking hesitantly. “I know you have been scared in Chimera, and it has not been easy. You are children, and you have been alone, with no one to help. I will understand if you do not wish to continue. It is clear you will not find Mother or Ghalynn. But I hope you will consider going back to find what all this means.”

  Doug’s answer was immediate and enthusiastic. “Are you kidding? I’m going back. A secret land, a magic quest, a hidden cave, and maybe buried treasure? It’s better than a video game.” A very small smile lifted one corner of Ronny’s mouth as he spoke.

  I told her, “I’m sorry we haven’t found out what happened to your mom. But I’m not giving up.”

  Brady said, “If the information I copied in the cave doesn’t help, maybe we’ll find something next time.”

  Ronny got up to leave, and then paused. “Thank you. I do not have the words to tell you how much I appreciate this.”

  I thought she looked so very alone as she walked slowly out of the door. I hoped Chris would get home soon.

  Chapter 31

  Buried Treasure

  Now that we’d started eighth grade, Andrew and Ray were worse than ever. We were doing everything we could to avoid the Rejects in the halls, but that wasn’t always possible.

  Twice Faith wished they would leave us alone, although she wasn’t that polite about it. I reminded her wishes didn’t work in Santa Ramona. Once Olivia got so mad she wished they’d drop dead. That time, I was glad wishes wouldn’t work.

  Could you be arrested for murder by wish?

  Just two weeks later, I got my first chance to try one of the insults from the library book I found that summer. We were in line in the cafeteria. Ray and Andrew had come up and were walking next to us, making it impossible to get out of line without causing a big scene. I remembered the chocolate pudding and ketchup they’d smeared all over me a few months ago, and for a moment I saw red all over again.

  They kept their voices low and filled the air with their nasty insults. Both of them smiling so innocent no one would believe the mean things spilling out of their mouths like vomit.

  I smiled at Ray just as innocently and in a disgustingly sweet voice told him, “You brainless babbling baboon. You should really stop while you’re ahead.”

  He opened his mouth as if he were going to say something else, so I quickly said, “Don’t say it, you gigantic sniveling puke-faced glob of reeking toad snot.”

  Ray did stop. His mouth was hanging open, and his eyes were bugging out. He still hadn’t moved or shut his mouth when I grabbed Faith’s arm and towed her away, with Olivia following closely on our heels.

  Faith’s mouth was hanging open almost as far as Ray’s had. Finally, she started cracking up. “That was great! Where did you learn to do that?”

  “Remember the library book I found a couple months ago? It shows how to make up lots of crazy insults. I have a bunch I’m planning to use on Ray and Andrew.”

  “Cool! I’ll never forget the look on his face.”

  

  September seemed to pass in fits and starts. A few days before Chimera opened, I heard from Ronny. She was having trouble deciphering the information from the cave. She assured me, “I have not given up. What is your saying, ‘Slow and steady wins with grace’?”

  “Uh…I think you mean ‘Slow and steady wins the race’,” I told her. That made her laugh. “How can you win a race by going slow?”

  She made me promise to tell her the story of the tortoise and the hare some other time.

  At lunch, when I told the others what she’d said, everyone laughed. “Maybe I should tell her not to quote famous sayings. She really mangles them.”

  Doug was still laughing. “Don’t tell her to stop! I can’t wait to hear what she comes up with next.”

  Faith turned to Brady. “How ‘bout you? You been able to figure any of it out?”

  Brady admitted, “No such luck. Yet. It’s like whoever wrote it wanted to be sure most people would never understand it.” He grinned. “Good thing I’m not most people.”

  Knowing we had no real clues to our nearly impossible riddle cast only a momentary cloud over us. Though it would be nice to know what it all meant, I was too excited about going back to worry about it now. Doug said he’d get a shovel, hammer and lantern. No one else could bring anything helpful, but we didn’t care. We were going to dig for buried treasure!

  Most of us. Not Olivia, obviously. The rest of us were probably ready to dig with our bare hands if necessary.

  

  We’d decided not to wait as late as the last few times. Instead, we planned to go at eight o’clock. Even Olivia, after groans and plenty of gloomy faces, said she’d be ready to go. I didn’t mention it to anyone, but I was a bit worried she’d never manage to get ready that early.

  So I was really glad to see her waiting at the corner. Her eyes were half closed, and she looked more zombie than human, but she was there.

  Faith came running up then, and the three of us made our way to the cemetery. Doug and Brady were already waiting by the tree. I asked, “Did anyone see the Rejects?” I kept my fingers crossed, waiting for their answer.

  “Not a glimpse of them,” Doug said. Brady nodded.

  Maybe we’ll get lucky. Maybe they won’t come near us. Maybe they’ve given up!

  After we stumbled into Chimera, we hurried down the road, trying to take as little time as possible. We all wanted more time at the cave. It still took more than an hour to get there – sixty-four minutes, Santa Ramona time, according to Brady.

  As we rounded the last switchback to the cave, I paused to catch my breath, marveling again at the sight of the opening. It really did look just like the silhouette of a sleeping dragon.

  I wondered if it was natural, or if someone had made it look that way with magic. If I could work magic, what would I do with it? Good question.

  Note to self — Think about what you’d do with magic. Who knows what we’ll be able to do when we know more about this place.

  We entered the cave and began to head carefully down the second tunnel by the light of Brady’s berries. I laughed when Olivia pulled her brother’s flimsy yellow plastic construction helmet out of her pack. It didn’t look like it would help much, and barely fit, but Olivia looked satisfied as she plopped it on her head. There were times, as I bumped my head and bruised my elbows on the hard rocks, that I thought my skateboard gear would be helpful.

  When we got to the small round room, I said, “So, can anyone see the hidden tunnel?”

  “Give me a moment. You described it as an optical illusion.” Brady cast his eye over the walls and ceiling.

  “It’s like Labyrinth. You have to look at things properly. At their blank looks I said, “You know, where that little worm thing tells her how to see the labyrinth.”

  Faith and Olivia were still staring at me like they didn’t get it, so I recited in a sin
g-song voice, “You don’t never want to go that way. That way leads straight to the castle.’’ I stopped as I realized they were all staring at me. I wanted to feel around my neck to see if my second head had grown back.

  I decided it was time to defend myself. “Oh come on. Faith and Olivia saw Labyrinth. We watched it together.”

  “Yeah,” Faith said, “but we don’t memorize every word.” She was grinning at me as she said it, so I decided I didn’t have to get offended. Much.

  I called, “Shadow, can you show it to us?” She sat by what looked like a blank part of the cave. I moved next to her and scratched the top of her head. She purred as I straightened up and put my arm down the hidden passage.

  I grinned at Faith and Brady’s startled exclamations. I waited a moment, feeling smug, then explained how the tunnel wasn’t visible unless you stood in exactly the right spot.

  Once everyone fell silent, they took turns checking it out before we made our way down the low twisting passage. Once again, I made sure to go first, and sighed in relief when we entered the small cave with the disturbed dirt floor. It looked exactly the same as last month.

  “I’m so glad we’re here. Finally!” Olivia dumped the heavy bag she’d been carrying onto the ground. Between the shovel, hammer, lantern, candles, matches, Doug’s slingshot, pencils, paper, water, lunch and other things some people had decided they couldn’t live without, like Olivia’s lip-gloss, we were all weighted down.

  “Don’t get too comfortable,” Doug warned her. “We’ve got to start digging. We all hope its buried treasure, but someone might have already dug something up.”

  “Spoil sport,” Olivia said. “First you tell me I have to work, then you tell me I may be doing it for nothing. Didn’t your mom ever tell you — keep quiet unless you have something nice to say.”

  I turned to Shadow who was purring at my feet. I squashed the momentary feeling I was about to do something stupid. Who talks to a cat like it could answer? “I wish you could help us find something in here. Can you?”