Again, they searched, opening, it seemed, hundreds of doors, but the same, empty rooms met them at every turn. Kinsey was not within the palace walls, and after another tedious hour, they got together again, sitting on the steps at the bottom of the stairs.
“I can’t even imagine a place like this having a dungeon,” Albert said, with his chin on his hand.
Malcolm nodded. “I know. But there must be something.”
The worst of Seth’s fears were coming true. What if they never found her? What if she’d been taken somewhere else? Accepting her death had never even occurred to him. Seth banished the thought. She had to be here! Wincomb had told him so. Some darker part of the palace. That’s where they’d find her.
“This doesn’t make sense,” Gavin said. “This place is too weird. How do you have a place this big, all these things, these rooms everywhere, and not find a living soul? Except for our little party, of course.”
“Maybe it’s a ghost palace,” Albert said.
“I wouldn’t be surprised,” Gavin said.
Seth was helpless and frustrated. He’d made a promise. They all had. They would not leave without Kinsey.
Eddie stood up, wandering around. He looked like a smaller version of Harry Potter in his cloak and glasses, Seth thought.
“Should we check again?” Malcolm suggested. “There might be someplace we overlooked.”
The idea exhausted Seth.
For Kinsey, he thought.
He got up with the others.
“We can probably split up this time,” Malcolm said. “We should know enough by now not to get lost. Why don’t—”
“Hey, guys!” Eddie called.
The boy had drifted out of sight. Seth and the others followed the sound of his voice. Eddie stood under a section of the stairs obscured in shadow. Seth had passed by the same spot three or four times and hadn’t even noticed. He didn’t know whether to feel relieved or more frustrated.
“Look there,” Eddie said, pointing.
Under the stairs was a round, wooden door.
“Heck of a place for a dungeon,” Albert said.
“If it’s a dungeon,” Eddie said.
Eddie reached out and grabbed the handle. The door opened easily. “Sesame,” he said, and smiled.
“Looks like we’ve found the weak spot in this place, after all,” Malcolm said. “Way to go, Higgs.”
Eddie smiled and nodded a single time. “Glad I’m here for something, at least.”
Seth unsheathed the black sword and started down the steps. A damp, musty smell rose from the darkness, and his friends followed close behind.
iii
Chilly air caressed Seth’s face as he moved down the steps. Daylight emerged from somewhere up ahead. Straw and dead grass littered the stairs. The steps gave way to a floor of gray stone. To Seth’s left, a line of barred windows—letting in the light—traveled a short length along the wall, but where it ended darkness filled the end of the passage. The grass and snapdragons were visible outside the crude windows. To his right was a strange, primitive row of barred cells. Seth and his friends were standing in a medieval jail under the palace. They were still moving, he realized, in and out of the Land of the Dragon and Ben’s primitive, magical landscape.
“Kinsey?” he called.
Seth and his friends spread out, stepping slowly along the passageway. Seth moved ahead while the others followed.
A footstep sounded, crunching lightly over the straw-littered floor. Malcolm screamed Seth’s name, and the boy ducked just in time as a massive broadsword swung from the darkness, missing his head by inches. It clanged into the wall to his left, showering sparks. A knight in full armor stood directly in front of him.
Cold wind touched Seth’s face…a familiar darkness. Shadows escaped the knight’s armor like smoke, the same substance as the black palace.
The knight raised the blade again and swung. Seth crouched low, moving to his right. The blade ricocheted, sending sparks off the stone floor. Behind him, his friends retreated. Seth saw Albert trying to get the rifle ready, but wondered if the bullets would have any effect. Seth took a step backward and held his sword defensively.
When the knight stepped forward, Seth swung the blade at its legs. The sword cut cleanly through, severing it at the knees. Black air swirled up and out. It almost seemed too easy. The knight dropped its sword, and fell forward, clattering against the floor.
“Seth?”
The shout did not come from his friends, but farther down the corridor.
But three more knights came into view, holding broadswords, barring the way. Another wave of cold air moved over Seth. The chill burrowed into his bones, and for a second, he was incapacitated.
Ben was suddenly in his mind, telling him to charge. His head cleared and turned chaotic at the same time. He advanced on the knights, holding the sword high. Seth screamed and charged. Holding the blade with both hands, he swung, sliced and severed steel plates, helmets, and forearms. For a strange instant, it seemed as if the sword were fighting for him. Ben was in control, directing the sword, forging his spirit into the black blade.
Warring, fighting instincts took over. His small size gave him an advantage over the gangly knights. He ducked easily from their blows, darting here and there when the swords came at him. The knights were simply too tall and cumbersome. The fight lasted minutes. Seth let the sword and Ben direct his movements.
When it was over, pieces of steel lay around him like aluminum cans. Seth labored for breath. He was sweating. Kinsey called again:
“Seth?”
Seth ran the length of the corridor, following the sound of her voice. Kinsey was in one of the cells farther down the passage, her hands gripping the bars. Her eyes were wide, hair in disarray. Her coat and pack were gone, but she still had on her shirt, jeans, and boots. She looked tired, malnourished. She looked like a wild animal.
But she’s alive! Seth thought. Oh, thank God! She’s alive!
The Dragon hadn’t killed her, and he had no idea why. Maybe Ben had interceded somehow and knew he’d find her here.
Seth stepped closer. Kinsey threw her arms between the bars of the cell and pulled him to her, weeping and kissing him at the same time.
“Oh God!” Kinsey said. “Thank God! Seth! Thank God, you found me!” Tears made tracks on her dirty cheeks. She was hysterical. “Get me out of here! Please, get me out of here, Seth!”
Dark rings circled her eyes. Seth wondered if the doorway into the tavern was still accessible, if they could get Kinsey something to eat before they left.
“Stand back,” Seth said.
Kinsey nodded, stepping away from the bars. He raised the sword and brought it down on the connecting lock. Sparks showered, and the door swung slightly open. Kinsey threw the door back, where it clanged against the other side of the cell. She threw her arms around Seth, hugged, cried, and kissed him some more. Seth didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Her chest hitched with sobs. He’d known she was alive, but seeing her, holding her now, made him weep with joy! Seth closed his eyes. Yes, he loved her, and the relief he felt holding her was proof of that love.
Tears splotched her face when she pulled back and looked at him.
“We made a promise,” Seth said, smiling and wiping his eyes. “We all promised. We weren’t leaving without you. We weren’t going home until we found you.”
Kinsey finally managed to chuckle and wiped her eyes as well.
Seth turned to his friends, and his smile, just as quickly, fell from his face.
A fifth knight had emerged without anyone noticing, standing directly behind Gavin Lolly. Its blade was positioned at the small of the boy’s back. Seth opened his mouth to scream, but it was too late. The others turned, the same dawning look of horror crossing their faces.
The knight placed a gauntleted hand on Gavin’s shoulder and yanked the boy backwards and into the blade. Gavin’s body stiffened immediately, back arching, eyes goin
g wide. His mouth hung open.
The sword pierced the inside of his stomach and emerged out his front. Dark blood dripped between his boots.
Seth couldn’t move. His friends, too, were stunned, immobile.
Gavin looked down, raised his hands, and lightly touched the blade with his fingers. In the next second, his knees buckled.
The knight pulled the blade free, thrusting Gavin forward. The boy sprawled face down on the floor.
Seth sprinted, screaming, and raised the sword. The knight stood its ground, but Seth jumped, knocking the blade out of the way, and showered blow after blow onto the creature’s faceplate and visor, as though hammering visage to death.
Tears welled in his eyes. In a fury, he continued to batter at the knight’s casement. Severed armor lay around him, but still, he continued to hammer at the ghostly sentinel. Sparks showered off the stone floor as the blade sliced through.
But soon, the strength went out of his arms. He stopped, dropped the sword, and panted for breath, falling to his knees.
Malcolm knelt beside Gavin and rolled the boy over, positioning his head onto his lap. He looked at the wound, eyes widening. Blood plated Gavin’s stomach. He was still alive, but barely.
Eddie knelt beside Malcolm. “It’s not that bad, is it? He’ll be okay, won’t he?”
Malcolm clenched his eyes shut and shook his head. He put his hand over the wound, but the blood continued to spill.
Tears coursed down Eddie’s cheeks. He took Gavin’s hand. Kinsey, too, knelt beside him and shook her head. Albert looked on just as stunned as everybody else.
Gavin’s eyes fluttered, his forehead damp with sweat. The color was draining from his face.
Malcolm looked away and bit back tears. His chin trembled.
“Never even saw him,” Gavin said, weakly, referring to the knight. He coughed violently, closing his eyes. Blood spilled from his lips, and he turned pasty white. Sweat coated his neck and forehead.
“No,” Seth said, quietly. “No. Please, God. We didn’t come this far to die.”
Malcolm brushed the boy’s hair behind his ears. He leaned over and hugged Gavin’s head to his chest.
Gavin tried to sit up, but fell back on Malcolm’s lap.
Kinsey sobbed. Eddie leaned over and put his forehead on Gavin’s hand, unable to watch.
“Mandripoore…that’s a big river,” Gavin said, and managed to smile.
If only he’d paid more attention, Seth thought. If only any of them…if only a million different things…
“I win,” Gavin said. He was not looking at them, but at a space above their heads.
Seth closed his eyes, putting a hand to his head.
“We love you, Gavin,” Malcolm whispered in the boy’s ear.
The light went out of his eyes. He was still.
Kinsey’s sobs were loud.
“We love you, Gavin,” Malcolm said, and bowed his head.
No one moved. No one said a word.
iv
In silence, Albert and Malcolm carried Gavin’s body up the stairs, out of the palace, and into the open air. The beauty they’d witnessed earlier had been tarnished. The landscape did nothing but turn their hearts to ice, their faces stern.
No one to blame, Seth thought. No one to blame. No one but the Dragon, and the Dragon, Seth thought with sudden rage, is going to die.
As Seth looked at his friends, the same determination etched their faces.
The trek home seemed longer and more painful now than ever before.
If I can just make it to the palace…
The words echoed through Seth’s mind. No, Gavin would not have to endure the violence of his mother anymore. The palace had seen to that.
Seth and the others gathered stones and branches from a grove of trees and made a crude bier in which to put their friend. They would rather bury him, or send him down a waterfall in a boat grave, which seemed a more proper burial for a fallen warrior of Gavin’s ilk, but this was the best they could do.
Erecting a pavilion in the middle of the snapdragons, they placed stones around Gavin’s body. Albert and Malcolm set the boy on top of some dry timber they’d found.
No one wanted to be the one to set Gavin’s body on fire, but Malcolm finally relented. He found a pack of matches, lighting the smaller twigs, and before long, larger pieces began to smolder and burn. Soon, Gavin’s body was encircled in sheets of orange flame.
No one said a word, and they stood in silence, watching.
“He’ll pay for this,” Malcolm finally said.
Seth agreed, nodding.
They’d taken Gavin’s pack and coat for Kinsey, but laid him to rest with the black cloak he’d been given. Kinsey felt awkward and reluctant to carry the boy’s things, but she wanted to get home as badly as the rest of them.
“Carrying his stuff kinda makes me feel like he’s still with us,” she said.
Seth returned to the room of the palace where he’d met Percy and Wincomb, anxious to ask what they should do, but behind the door, there was only emptiness, as if the scene had never been. Seth felt betrayed.
“Well?” Malcolm asked, when he returned.
“Nothing,” he said, a hint of anger in his voice. “They’re gone. It’s just an empty room.”
Seth adjusted his pack, the hilt of the sword visible behind his head.
Mourn for him, but do not seek blood.
He ignored this. “Come on,” he told the others.
The palatial structure had lost its magic, and Seth tried to push the pain of Gavin’s death to the back of his heart.
The rest of them shouldered their packs, moving across the land of snapdragons. The toil back to Ellishome would be long, painful, and tiresome. They wanted to get some ground behind them before they set up camp again.
When he looked at the multitude of colors all around, Seth wondered if maybe Gavin wasn’t in a better place. It was easy to tell yourself that when someone you loved passed away, but when it happened, it was the last thing you wanted to hear. That his mother should live, and that Gavin should die, seemed unjustly cruel and bitterly unfair.
Once atop the valley floor, Seth looked back one last time. With the sun behind the crags, rays of colored light shot out in every direction across the sky. The white and purple marble absorbed the colors and emanated rainbow fire, a kingdom fit for the gods. Seth imagined Gavin among them.
The others stopped and looked back as well.
“Where do you think he is?” Albert asked.
“In someplace better,” Kinsey said.
Malcolm nodded. “Definitely someplace better.”
“Maybe he’s with Percy and Wincomb,” Eddie said. “That wouldn’t be so bad.”
Seth looked at the small boy and smiled. “Sometimes, Eddie, you really know when to say the perfect thing.”
Eddie thought he was joking, but Seth walked up and squeezed the boy’s shoulder.
“For Gavin,” Malcolm said, shouldering his pack, and started forward.
“For Gavin,” they replied.
They turned from the palace for the last time, heading east under the rays of the setting sun.
CHAPTER XI
A sudden drop in temperature announced their exit from the magical land, back to the cruel, ruthless winds and mountains. Once again, they were in the midst of a harsh winter, and like Gavin’s passing, it was another reminder of how unfair this world had become. They had lost the sled of deer meat, but Albert had become their forager and trapper, finding nuts, berries, even rabbits to keep them fed.
Eddie and Kinsey were starting to lag farther behind. Eddie began to talk to himself regularly, making comments about home, as if he were already there. Kinsey, too, had taken a turn for the worst, coughing and feverish, and Seth, Malcolm, and Albert grew increasingly concerned.
It did not feel like October or November anymore. Even December and Christmas seemed to have passed them by. The winter they were traveling through felt like it had bee
n here for some time.
A painful look hung in Eddie’s eyes. He was pale and dehydrated. Yet, the boy showed an incredible amount of stamina, and continued to venture on without complaint. He endured the harshness of Mother Nature by focusing his attention, like Seth and the others, on Kinsey.
The drop in temperature had turned brutal, and what fires they made did little to strengthen and alleviate them. The land turned to hard, unyielding rock again, and they looked for softer ground in which to pitch the tents. When they did, the wind threatened to tear the tiny shelters away. They kept Kinsey inside, trying to keep her warm and nourished, melting snow in the canteens under their sleeping bags. They tried to get her to eat what rations they had left, only she was never hungry, or simply refused.
Seth began to lose hope. He didn’t want to acknowledge the idea of losing another companion. They would have to find Ellishome on the same faith in which they’d found the palace.
Hadn’t Ben said something similar?
He wanted to raise his fists to the Heavens and scream.
Kinsey slept fitfully, sweating, crying out in the night. Seth, Malcolm, and Albert, did what they could to make things easier, but they were starting to lose hope again. Kinsey worsened as the days passed.
Perhaps the Dragon had known all along, welcoming them into the land, conditioning horror after horror, only to slay them in the end.
Even Ben seemed to have abandoned them.
ii
Eddie’s Journal:
Whut date? Who nose? Not I. And why shuld we bother? Im gonna kep this short bekuz I haven’t bin feeling well.
I don’t know why I puled out this jurnal Sumthing to pass the tyme maybe this is the ende, the length, the miles weve put behind us, only to be forgotten.
Seems weird. We’ve lost, but I stil manige to hold onto a pen and stupid notbooke my brain feels like someone’s boot heel has stepped on it and grond it into big pile of mudd Kinsey’s even wurse.
How can this happen—all we’ve been thrugh?
Snapdragon Book II: In the Land of the Dragon Page 22
