by Linda Palmer
Chapter Twenty-Seven
In the Lair of the Shadows
Ayrasaironalis stretched before us, gorgeous with fluorescent rock formations and a natural spring that reflected the glow of strategically placed torches in the ceremony area. I let my thoughts search unseen nooks and crannies, hoping for possible tunnels and hidden passageways that might open into the Void at a lower level. In my mind's eye, I saw a likely one. I motioned to my companions and led the way to a narrow passage that sloped gently downward, skirting the abyss as it circled into the depths of the cavern.
Just a few yards down the passageway, we left the torches behind. Matt, who'd actually thought to bring a flashlight, turned it on and directed its beam ahead. We'd walked another few yards when I noticed that the wall oozed something black and sticky looking. Instinctively, I knew it was evil and came from the Gilmarden Void. I whirled to warn the guys just in time to see John stumble over some loose pebbles underfoot and touch the wall for balance. The inky substance enveloped his hand instantaneously.
"I'm stuck!" John used his free hand to pull at his other wrist. The mysterious black goo slithered right up to his elbow. He shrieked. "Help me!"
I grabbed for the tail of John’s shirt. "We've got to pull him free!"
Matt and Kenny each seized a shoulder and jerked their friend back hard, successfully breaking contact with the wall. But the black stuff snaked right on up his arm, shoulder and neck, then over his head, momentarily distorting his facial features as it passed through. John coughed, then strangled, sure indication it now filled his mouth and throat.
I saw pure panic in his eyes as he gasped for air. I shivered with the memory of how horrible it felt to be taken over. "Fight it, John! Don’t let it win. Remember we love you."
John growled like a caged animal, a sound that echoed eerily. He struggled wildly to loosen Matt's and Kenny’s holds on him.
"Think about Ashley." I yelled, desperate to reach him. "Think about Tirafalen. Wasn’t she hot in that yellow dress? Wasn't she incredible?" Both Matt and Kenny gawked at me as if I’d gone off the deep end. But John stopped fighting. "Memories." I as good as threw the word at the pair. "He needs good memories to fight this."
Kenny never even questioned my logic. "Hey, fishing buddy, remember that trout you caught the other day? Twelve inches, and man, did it put up a fight. But you got it in, didn't you? And remember how good it tasted?" Kenny's laughter sounded forced. "Mad Matilda nearly knocked some heads together when we didn't save her any, but it was worth it, wasn't it, to keep her from tasting it?"
The ploy worked. John slipped from their grips and slumped to the rock floor, seemingly lifeless. But a single shaft of light from a hole in the wall a few feet away revealed the terror in his wide eyes. Immediately we dropped to our knees around him.
"What the heck was that?" Kenny's voice was little more than a hoarse whisper.
I tried to answer. "It’s what happened to me, I think, when I pushed Jor into the abyss. It's like the shadows that had Raine and Skye, but with more—" I forgot what I was going to say. Distracted, I ran my hand through the beam of light and followed it to its origin with my gaze. A thought struggled to surface.
"More what?" Matt's question pierced my concentration.
I gave him my attention again. "Substance. Jor tried to get me to focus on something positive, but did it too late. Now I realize why he did that. This stuff, which I believe has leaked out of the Gilmarden Void, can’t handle good feelings or happy memories or compassion. Somehow he must’ve guessed."
"I think you’re right."
Startled, we jumped up to find Tirafalen standing nearby. "When I healed Raine and Skye, I sensed deep-seated anger in both. I think the Dagonel used that."
To possess them. I automatically looked at Matt for confirmation. He said nothing, but I saw it in his eyes.
Kenny frowned. "The twins are angry? Sure couldn't prove it by me. They never said anything."
"They've been abused," I told them. "Overheard their caseworker talking to Matilda about it. She said their crack head mom and her boyfriend did it."
Matt slowly shook his head. "Man oh man."
"I never knew." Kenny was visibly troubled.
John began to stir and moments later sat up, much to everyone's relief. "What happened?"
I left the guys to explain and beckoned for Tirafalen to follow me the short distance to the light source in the tunnel wall. "What do you make of this? The rock right here must be hundreds of feet thick, but light is still coming straight through."
Tirafalen peered through the hole, being careful not to get close to the walls that bubbled thickly like tar at a slow boil. "I believe I can see Nodyra." She turned to me, her eyes now charcoal in color thanks to the lighting. "I've never heard of a window like this in Balmythra. This is an injury to the essence of this world. I need to transform myself to check it out."
By now John was on his feet. He, Kenny, and Matt joined me just in time to see the creature that was Tirafalen melt into a vapor. I noted how cool and pleasant she felt as she filled the entire passageway and pressed outward against the tiny hole, only minimally blocking the sunlight that poured through it.
After what seemed an eternity, the vapor returned and compressed into the Sunsanean, who dropped right to the floor.
"Tir!" John and the other boys sprang forward. But I was already there.
I dropped to my knees and lifted her head from the cold stone floor onto my lap. "Are you okay?"
She didn’t answer. Her skin, always creamy in color, had blanched to palest white. Her shallow breathing sounded labored.
"We've got to get her out of here!" Matt exclaimed. But before we could, Tirafalen stirred and opened her chameleon eyes, now jet black in color.
"Wait." She lowered her eyelids and took several deep breaths before raising them again. They were now like snow in moonlight, almost iridescent. With our help, she sat up.
"What happened?" Fear clutched my heart.
"There's great weakness here. Something is interacting with the essence of Balmythra and destroying the fabric of our reality. My very being was affected."
Before I could reply, Kenny pivoted on his heel and strode right up to the hole. On tiptoe and with obvious care to stay free of the tunnel wall, he stared through it. Everyone heard his sharp intake of breath. "You guys are so not going to believe this. It's the nuclear plant. The Wexton Nuclear Plant. And right outside. Why, this rock isn't thick at all, Leah. In fact, I think I could stick my fingers clear through to the other—"
"No!" yelled John, Matt, and I at the exact same time.
"Okay. All right. Wasn't going to." Kenny backed away, his hands up and clear of the wall.
I turned to Tirafalen. "Should we worry about the nuclear plant being so close? I mean, they're pretty controversial on Nodyra."
"But safe," John said before Tirafalen could respond. "They've always told us they're safe." He appeared to be back to his usual nervous self. "Unless there's a meltdown, or a tsunami, or an earthquake or something, anyway."
"Safe for your world, maybe." Tirafalen sounded thoughtful. "But maybe Balmythra is different."
"Should we get outta here, then?" John appeared positively spooked by now. "Just in case it's radioactive?"
Tirafalen touched his arm as if to reassure him. "This damage has occurred over centuries. I don't think we're in immediate danger."
"We need to get on with it, then," I said. "We came here to rescue Jor and my parents, remember?" I turned back to examine the walls. "If this stuff can leak out of the Void, then I can get into it."
Matt was having none of that. He grabbed my arm. "But you saw what happened when just a little of it took over John. How can we rescue anyone if we're stuck to the walls?"
"We have to keep ourselves free of anger or fear." I again searched the narrow passage. "So think good thoughts, guys."
"Sure thing." John's voice shook. "I've always got a pocketful of those."
"Remember Peter Pan? Happy thoughts made those kids fly." That came from Kenny the reader.
John snorted. "Very funny."
I ignored them both and caught Tirafalen's eye. "Do you think we should follow this tunnel farther or go back and try another one?"
"Perhaps this is a good time for you to use your sensing abilities again."
Her sound advice made me feel like an idiot. "Right." Closing my eyes for better concentration, I sent imaginary feelers straight through the solid surface of the thick rock walls. That brief mental exploration resulted in waves of revulsion, but I braced myself and went on. "It’s too solid here. We need to go lower."
The five of us set off with me and Tirafalen in front. The beam of Matt's flashlight revealed that the gradually descending tunnel curved to the left. After another turn, I asked to borrow the light. I used it to illuminate the ceiling and walls before directing it to the cavern floor once again. Our steps echoed as we progressed ever lower and deeper into the mountain.
"Anyone else got the feeling we’re walking down the gullet of some monster?" John's voice sounded weak.
Though I'd just pushed that very thought from my own mind, I directed the beam to the floor. I remembered what I’d seen created during the Sairon's secret ceremony. What was the nature of that repulsive entity to which they'd given life? Could it and the sticky substance seeping from the walls near the opening to Nodyra be one and the same? And did the blackness then ooze through that opening in the rock, thinning into shadow the farther it got from the Void?
I swallowed hard, horrified by the idea that the Sairons could create anything so malevolent. The nuclear plant lay mere blocks from Badpringle's. What if the shadows that escaped Balmythra had invaded Pringle's and the surrounding area? And what if possessed Nodyrans were actually what Balmythrans called "Dagonel"?
"I believe that's the answer." Tirafalen kept her voice low as we rounded another bend in the passage.
Startled, I guessed I'd sent out my thoughts when sending out my mental feelers to discover any weaknesses or openings in the tunnel walls.
"I didn't mean to intrude." She'd clearly sensed my dismay.
"That's okay. Things are beginning to make sense, I think, and the truth's a little scary."
"Yeah? Well, how about sharing that truth with the rest of us. Oomph!" Matt bumped smack into me since I'd stopped in my tracks.
"Here." I flashed the beam of the light over the wall to my left. As before, they rolled with motion. I turned to the others who stood cautiously back. "This is a way in."
"Are you sure?" Matt studied the writhing blackness.
I nodded.
"So what do we do now?" He turned to look at me and tensed. "No way. You are not going in yourself...not after what happened to you before."
"But I was furious at Jor then," I said. "If I keep my cool and don’t let anger or fear take me over, this stuff can’t either. You know it’s my only chance to save everyone."
"She’s right." Tirafalen ended the argument before anyone else could protest.
Matt crossed his arms over his chest. "Then I’m going in with you."
"You can't," Tirafalen told him. "Your Nodyran body won't penetrate this wall."
"If she can get through there, I can, too." Matt turned to me. "You said it was a weak spot, after all."
I touched his arm. "You forget I’m Balmythran, Matt. My cells were created here, which means I can open any weak spots in Balmythran substance." Seeing his confusion, I sighed. "I’m just as scared as you are, but I know it's true. My collective memories tell me so."
Matt arched an eyebrow. "Eniywan?"
"Exactly."
He grinned. "Then you're still the Guardian."
Relief instantly flooded me, lifting my spirits. I gave Matt a huge smile meant just for him. He gave me back a kiss…right on the lips. With our friends' hoots ringing in my ears, I turned and walked straight into the wall.
