by Hanna Peach
“It started with Tebo, on the training fields yesterday,” said Israel. “I spoke to him just before and he said that his powers are still gone.”
“I am asking everyone who has lost their powers to stay in the infirmary just so we can keep them under observation,” said Tobias. He sighed. “But with Ana, our best Healer, not being herself, our resources are stretched thin.”
“I know of a WaterBearer, a girl in my old community, who has had some experience with healing. I can ask her to help,” Belle said.
Tobias nodded. “Thank you, Belle.”
“So,” Israel interjected, “we don’t know yet whether these effects are temporary or permanent.”
“God help us if they are permanent,” exclaimed Dianne. “I can’t imagine losing my powers.” Her voice got really quiet at the end, and her arms folded across her chest as if she was trying to keep her magic in.
“We don’t know anything yet, Dianne,” Tobias said. “We can’t panic.”
“Michael,” said Vix, “it has got to be that bastard.”
“We don’t know that,” said Tobias. “We can’t jump to conclusions yet.”
“Who else wants to see us suffering and defeated?”
“Is that even possible? Can magic do that?” Israel asked.
“Only GiftKeeper magic,” Tobias said, his face grim. “And Mayrekk is…gone.”
Mayrekk had been the last GiftKeeper and a friend of Alyx’s who had died because of Michael’s torturing. His gift was the only magic that could conceivably “borrow” or “steal” magic off another.
“What if someone is using GiftKeeper blood?” asked Vix.
“If Michael, or someone, was using GiftKeeper magic on us, how would that work?” asked Israel. “Wouldn’t he − or she − have to know where to localize their magic?”
“Indeed,” said Tobias. “The location of our community is unknown to Michael, at least,” he glanced around the room, “to the best of our knowledge.”
“It doesn’t seem like Michael’s style,” said Aaban. “It’s too minor and random. It’s not showy or big enough. If Michael knew where we were, he would have sent in an army, guns blazing.”
Israel nodded. “I think Aaban’s right.”
“Then who is stealing our powers?” Vix said.
“We don’t actually know if our powers are being stolen or just blocked,” Tobias said.
“So what do we do about it?” Vix leaned back into her chair and crossed her arms over her chest.
Everybody was silent. Around the room, they shifted in their chairs or stared at their feet. What could they do? They didn’t know who was causing their powers to disappear or why. How could they stop it?
Chapter 11
Do’hann and Tii’la ran against one of the walls, both trying to stop it from moving. It wasn’t working.
“What the hell is going on?” demanded Varian.
“I do believe the walls are closing in on you,” said Righty. “Duh.” Righty addressed Fred. “I think it’s obvious, don’t you?”
“It’s so obvious,” Fred agreed.
“He’s not very bright, is he?”
Varian growled and looked like he wanted to attack the door again with his sword. He obviously thought better of it and kept his sword by his side, choosing instead to glare at both of them.
“Alyx,” demanded Varian. “You better figure this out and do it now…”
All eyes shifted to her, including Righty’s and Fred’s. Great. No pressure or anything.
“Let me think.” Alyx licked her lips. There had to be an easy way to figure out this riddle. Two lies. One truth. But which statement was true? She thought over the three statements again.
“Hurry, Alyx,” called Tii’la as the walls squeezed closer and closer together.
Yeah, yeah, I’m hurrying. There had to be a way to figure out which was the truth and which two were lies. There had to be an easy way to figure out the truth. There had to be a trick to this riddle. A trick…
Her mind focused on Righty’s last statement, “Listen to Fred, he’s always telling the truth.”
An idea came to her. “Well…” she began, saying her thoughts out loud, “Righty told us that Fred is always telling the truth. If that statement was true, then Fred’s statement would also be true. But we know that’s not possible because only one of these statements is true.” She paused and glanced up. Varian was glaring at her. But Fred and Righty were beaming at her, go on, go on. “Therefore, Righty’s last statement is a lie and Fred never tells the truth. This makes Fred’s statement also a lie. Therefore the only true statement is Righty’s first one: ‘Enter this door’.” Alyx turned to Righty, who was grinning like a wildcat. “I think you were telling the truth when you told us to enter your door. You’re the right door.”
Righty glanced sideways at Fred and back at Alyx before saying, “If you’re sure, then knock on me.”
Alyx stepped up to Righty and lifted his knocker. “This won’t hurt you, will it, Righty?”
“Who cares if it hurts him? Just do it,” growled Varian. “The damn walls are about to shut on us.”
“Oh goodness gracious, no,” Righty said to Alyx. “Doors are meant to be knocked on. But thank you for your concern, young lady. So polite−”
“−such manners,” injected Fred.
“−unlike some of you.” Righty shot a searing look over her shoulder to Varian.
“Okay then,” Alyx said quickly, hoping to avoid angering Varian further. “Here goes nothing.” She hit the knocker against the door.
Knock, knock, knock.
She stepped back and sent a small prayer up to the sky.
The rumbling faded as the walls slowed to a stop. Tii’la and Do’hann both visibly sagged with relief.
Righty grinned. “Well done, Alyx. You are correct. Please enter.”
There was a great sound like a lock unclicking, then Righty swung open, revealing a slim passageway through solid rock. Alyx could see light coming from some sort of source at the end.
“And Alyx,” Righty whispered to her as she stepped to the doorway.
“Yes?”
“Good luck. We’re rooting for you.”
“Thanks, Righty.” She heard Fred clear his throat. “And thanks to you too, Fred.”
“Come on, come on, we don’t have all day.” Varian shoved her forward and she fell into the passageway, scraping her arm on the rough rock.
* * *
Jordan flew low to the choppy waves towards where Siana had claimed this mysterious island was, Lukas flying along beside him. They were out over deep ocean now. Based on where Ana claimed the island was, he estimated that they were less than half an hour away.
Something in the distance caught his eye. A black smudge like thick black smoke was rising from the horizon. Jordan grabbed Lukas, halting them both midair. “What the hell is that?”
“I don’t know,” Lukas squinted. “But whatever it is, I think it’s coming from Ana’s island.”
But the dark smoke wasn’t acting like smoke. It was moving too fast, and it looked…alive, like a cloud of flies. Whatever it was, it covered more of the horizon, spreading like an ink stain as it moved closer and closer to them.
Oh my God. Jordan realized as he made out the shape of the creatures at the forefront − they were limbed and the size of mortals. It wasn’t a swarm of flies. They were a swarm of Seraphim dressed in black.
“Warriors!”
Lukas swore. “We need cover. Now.”
They dove into the water and down to where they could still see the sky through the surface of the water. Then they waited. They watched silently as the great dark army flew overhead, fuzzy and distorted through the surface of the water. Like a giant cloud they blocked out the sun. Jordan felt a shiver go through him.
Only when the last of them had passed and the sun’s light hit the surface of the water again did Jordan and Lukas begin to float slowly to the top of the sea.
&nbs
p; Carefully, Jordan broke his head through the water to the air. He wiped water from his eyes and swiped his wet hair back off his forehead. Lukas’s face appeared beside his. They both watched the dark cloud moving towards the mainland from where they had just come.
They turned to each other at the same time.
“What the hell is going on?” asked Lukas.
Jordan shook his head, a knot of apprehension in his stomach. “It’s not good, that’s for sure.”
* * *
Alyx stepped through the end of the short tunnel. She had to blink to let her eyes adjust to the light. She was standing in what looked like a small section of valley squeezed in between two sheer cliff faces. Rock soared high above her towards an unnatural sky where the light was coming from. Alyx squinted but she couldn’t make out the source of the light. On one side of the pass was a perfectly round cave. Great, more dark, claustrophobic places. What’s the bet they had to go in there?
“What the hell is this place,” Do’hann said as he and Tii’la pushed through the gap in the rock to stand beside her and Varian.
“More importantly, which way do we go?”
Before Alyx could answer, she heard a long, loud neigh like a horse approaching, but there were no hoof steps to accompany it. Alyx squinted as a dark figure flew above, casting a shadow over her eyes. It was some kind of bird. She heard the neighing again from above. A bird that neighed?
“What the hell is that?” Do’hann asked.
“I’m not sure, but I think we’re going to find out soon enough.” Alyx’s body tensed as the bird circled above in the thin gap between the rock faces, then swooped down towards them. This close Alyx could see that it wasn’t a bird. It was a small horse with wings like a bird no bigger than an albatross, a tail like a bird and claws instead of hooves. It was carrying something in its claws.
It circled their heads once, neighed once more and opened its claws, dropping the object almost perfectly into Alyx’s hands; she just had to open her palms for it to fall into them. The horse-bird took off into the sky and disappeared into the depths of the valley.
Alyx looked down at her hands. It was a wooden tube, similar to the communication tubes that the Elders gave to their eagle and falcon familias to transfer messages. The ends were capped with simple brass and tied together with a silken maroon rope.
She began to untie the rope when Varian snatched it out of her hands. “Give that to me.”
Alyx held her tongue. Varian ripped apart the rope and pulled a brass end off, dropping it carelessly onto the valley floor. He knocked out the contents into one hand. It was a scroll on thick, creamy paper.
Varian unrolled it and snorted. “There’s nothing written on it. It’s blank.” He turned it over roughly in his hands.
“Careful with it,” Alyx cried. “Let me see it.”
Varian glared at her, holding the scroll of out her reach. “You don’t believe me when I say it’s blank?”
“You might not be looking at it properly.”
“You think you’ll be able to see something I can’t?”
Alyx folded her arms. “Actually yes, I do.”
“Why you cheeky little−”
“Do you want me to get you to the Amulet or not?”
“Just give her the scroll, Varian, and let’s be on with it,” said Do’hann. “The faster we get out of here, the better.”
Varian glared at her for another moment before he handed over the scroll.
“Thank you,” Alyx muttered. She kneeled down to the ground and smoothed the scroll out, careful with the torn parts. She took a deep breath and opened her Soulsight.
Blue shimmery letters appeared on the page.
Well done, Alyx, you picked the right door,
But your journey is just begun,
Follow the instructions written below,
And don’t forget to have fun!
Travel through the Rolling Caves
Where Up can be left,
And Right can be down,
Just remember which is the right way round.
Enter the Caves,
Take your third Right,
And straight ’til the Upside-down crossroads,
Remembering to inspect the real Up,
Then go Down for two,
Then take your second Left.
When you reach the real golden door,
You know you’ve reached your end.
Alyx’s brain spun. What the hell did that all mean? The instructions seemed clear but the poem didn’t… Where Up can be left, And Right can be down… She didn’t like the sound of it. She read out the poem and the instructions to the others. “I can’t figure out what it means,” she said when she had finished.
“What is there to figure out,” snapped Varian. “The instructions are clear as day. ‘Enter the Caves, take your third Right,’ and so on.”
“It can’t be that simple.”
Varian snorted and flicked his blade point at her. “You go first.”
Alyx sighed and stood, rolling the scroll carefully and slipping it into her pocket. She figured she would need to read it again before long.
She stepped forward to the entrance of the cave, conscious of Varian’s eyes on her back. Her neck prickled with exposure. She took a deep breath…enter the caves…and stepped inside, the others following closely behind her.
She was grateful to see that although the cave was dim, there were odd little fireflies flittering around the air giving off a low glow, allowing her to see at least the next few meters in front of her. One of them landed on her hand. She lifted her hand to take a closer look and frowned. It wasn’t a firefly. It was a tiny horse with wings, glowing from its belly and hooves. It bent over and rubbed its nose against her skin, making a cheeping sound.
“Move it,” Varian demanded, shoving her forward. The horse-firefly launched off her hand and flittered away.
She began to move through the tunnel. The space inside was uniform, the side of the tunnel walls were smooth and cool to the touch. Each section looked like the one before it and the one after it. It would be easy to get lost in here, Alyx thought grimly.
They had been walking not a minute when they passed the first right, a round opening that shot off perpendicularly to the right. Take your third Right...
“See,” Varian said. “That’s the first right. Just two more to go. Simple.”
Alyx held her tongue and kept walking. If she knew anything about anything, this cave maze would not be that simple. With each step her nerves tightened, her ears pricked for any sound that wasn’t made by their movements. Her eyes peeled for any traps or tricks. It couldn’t be this simple as following a set of instructions, could it?
She passed the second tunnel off to the right. They needed to turn at the next one. An odd wind blew across her face and the sound of gears began clicking. It seemed to be coming across from the walls, not up from the tunnel. Her feet went out from under her and she caught herself in the air, her eyes wide. The whole tunnel was moving. It was rolling. She heard cries from behind her telling her that the others were tripping up too.
Just as quickly the movement stopped. Alyx froze, holding herself in the air, staring at the floor, which was now the left side wall. What used to be the ceiling was now the right side wall. Everything was tilted ninety degrees.
…Travel through the Rolling Caves,
Where Up can be left,
And Right can be down,
Just remember which is the right way round…
Of course. Now the poem made sense. This cave, the aptly-named Rolling Caves, was going to keep turning on them as they moved through it. She had to make sure she remembered which was the “right way round” to make sure she followed the instructions correctly. If she didn’t… If they made even one wrong turn, they would be lost in these caves. Forever. Alyx shuddered at the thought.
“Is everyone alright?” she called back.
Grumbles returned to her.
�
�What the hell was that?” Varian complained.
“That was the Rolling Caves, rolling over. We have to make sure we keep an eye on where the original floor was so we know which way is now right.”
“What?”
“Well, ten seconds ago the Right was on the right-hand side. But now that this tunnel has rolled ninety degrees, the Right is now down on the floor. Does this make sense?”
“Bloody Raphael and his damn puzzles. He was always such a crackpot.”
Alyx ignored this comment. “Let’s go. We’re looking for the next tunnel that goes down now.”
Finally they came to a tunnel that went straight down. Alyx floated down and paused as she held herself in the tunnel down to her waist.
“Okay,” she said over her shoulder to the others, “so if we rolled ninety degrees before, it means that when we go down this tunnel, the original floor would be this side.” She reached out her left hand and touched the side of the tunnel. She shifted her position so that she was facing the direction where gravity was pulling her and feet were pointing towards the original floor. “We’re going to have to ignore gravity at the moment and travel as if this is the right way up if this is going to keep making any sense.”
“Whatever. Just get going,” Varian said.
Alyx floated down the tunnel, keeping her feet pointed at the original floor.
…And straight ’til the Upside-down crossroads…
She kept going until she came upon where the tunnel branched out all six ways. She swallowed hard. There was a post sticking out of the “ground” pointing straight Up. From the top of the post were five arrows pointing in all directions, all the arrows reading “Up”.
“Someone needs to sack the sign writer,” Tii’la muttered.
Was this the Upside-down Crossroads?
