Before I make a conscious decision, my hand moves towards the small square. I push it, without knowing why. It gives way with a soft grinding sound and reveals a small hole. I can’t stop now, so I reach into it. My fingers find something that feels like leather. When I pull it out I immediately recognize it as a notebook. It doesn’t look very old. The dark red leather binding is intact, save for a few large scratches and a fraying edge.
When I open it, yellow symbols pulse at me. It looks like a book of evil. I turn the page and my breath catches in my throat. There, in swirly yellow ink, a name is written. John Banner…
CHAPTER 9
For a moment I forgot my surroundings, but now they seem to be closing in on me. When I turn around, the black void tries to pull me in. I run backward until I bump my head against the birdcage. I pull it, sealing the tunnel in front of me. The flame of my torch dances wildly all the way back to the last bend, where I extinguish and leave it. A thick fog blocks the view of the mining site below and does nothing to calm my nerves. I don’t know what I just saw, but it was ten shades of wrong. Those symbols, that dark hole and... My gaze drops to the notebook I’m gripping with white fingers. I knew this whole card thing had something to do with my father. But what is in this book? Does it contain dark magic? I want to open it and take in every word, right now. But at the same time, I’m scared of what I will find.
I take some deep breaths before I descend. It is hard to find my footing, harder than usual. It’s been a long time since I have seen this much fog. I don’t want to think about the possibility that I caused it by opening that tunnel. That I released something into the world. Something that doesn’t belong here.
Panting heavily I finally arrive back at my car. I fumble with the keys, taking a few seconds to unlock the door. The fog strokes my neck and I grit my teeth as I drop into the driver’s seat. The notebook lands on the seat next to me with a heavy thud and it takes all my determination not to pick it up again. The black hole swirls before my inner eye and I swallow. “I need my Shield.”
They haven’t all been that nice to me, but they know a lot that I don’t. And after what I just experienced, I am positive that the voice is not one of them. I don’t think it’s evil, either. So I need the ghosts to tell me what they know.
I turn the key. My headlights barely cut through the fog, which only makes me want to get out of here faster. The tires shriek when I turn Phoenix and soar back into town.
I calm down halfway through Main Street and slow my pace. The fog is lifting a bit and by the time I reach Darkwood Manor, the sky is clear.
For a moment I stare at the front doors. Will I ever feel at home here? Will these ghosts ever be on my side? Or are they already, as they claim? They have told me about my father. Thanks to them I found out more about him than I have ever been able to on my own.
Sighing, I get out of the car, clutching the notebook to my chest as if someone is about to steal it.
The door opens with its usual creak. It still scares me a little, so I must be more of a wuss than I thought. But I won’t be scared of the ghosts anymore.
“I’m back!” I yell to prove it.
No answer. The house is eerily silent, just as I left it. Empty. Hollow. Soulless.
I grin. Soulless. How ambiguous.
“Guys? Hello?”
Still nothing. Not even the creaking of a floorboard.
I look up towards the ceiling, as if my Shield might fall out of the sky. “I’m sorry, alright? I was upset, I shouldn’t have sent you away.”
My gaze shifts towards the stairs. Was there a flicker of a shadow there?
“Please come back. I need you guys.”
Pleading with ghosts, great.
I walk into the kitchen, hoping to find all of them at the table. I can’t believe I feel so incomplete without them here. I would do anything to get them back. I must finally have gone mental. Right now I would even laugh if a knife started to bob towards me.
“Please guys…”
A chuckle behind me. I whirl around and grin when Jeep’s head appears. He doesn’t have a body, but that doesn’t bother me.
He raises his eyebrows at me. His bowler hat moves an inch. “You’re starting to sound a bit pathetic, boy.”
For the first time, his mocking tone doesn’t get on my nerves. “I know.” I pause and he looks at me questioningly.
“It’s good to see you again,” I add. “Or part of you at least.” I gesture towards his missing body.
“Yeah, well… that happens when a master bans his Shield from the place they are bound to.” He’s still grinning, but there’s a tinge of hurt in his eyes.
I frown. “What? Are you saying you only have a head now because of me?”
He nods. “Basically. Like we told you before, we can’t leave this house, unless we come with you. When you ban us without setting us free, we get weaker and weaker, until…” He makes a whooshing sound.
“That doesn’t sound like such a bad thing. Don’t you want to move on?”
“If we vanish like that, we will be stuck between life and death. We will be lost, alone and in pain for eternity. Does that still sound nice to you?”
I clasp my hand over my mouth and shake my head. “That’s horrible, I’m so sorry!” I look around frantically. “What about the others? Have they disappeared completely?”
Jeep stares solemnly at the ground.
“Oh no,” I collapse on the nearest chair. “I can’t believe… I am so sorry. I thought… I just…” Tears form in the corners of my eyes. I feel utterly defeated. I am caught in a whole lot of trouble and now I have killed the only people that can help me.
“Come on, we’re not gone yet,” a cheerful voice whispers in my ear.
I jump upright. Tears blur my vision, but I can see Vicky standing next to me. She has no legs, but her face is as pretty as ever.
“Oh, thank goodness,” I wrap her into a hug she returns enthusiastically. “I’m so happy you’re okay.”
When I let go, the other ghosts are standing – or rather floating – next to Jeep.
I grimace. “I am so, so sorry.”
They all nod their forgiveness, except for Taylar, who has crossed his arms over his non-existent chest. “You said that already. And it’s great, but it doesn’t help, does it?”
I shoot him a pleading look. “No, it doesn’t, I’m really…” I swallow another ‘sorry’. “I will do whatever I can to restore your… bodies. Please forgive me.”
Jeep looks very pleased with my groveling, but I don’t mind. I made a mistake, and they are paying for it.
“Don’t mind him,” Vicky says with a flip of her hair in Taylar’s direction. “He’s a little touchy when it comes to being left behind. I think it has something to do with his life, but he won’t tell us.”
I shift my gaze to the young boy. He doesn’t deny it. Being an outcast myself, I can relate to him. I put my hands together and place the top of my fingers against my lips. “It was stupid. I acted like a turd. Can you forgive me?”
Taylar stares at me for a second and then sighs. “Alright then. But don’t do it again.”
I hold up my hands. “No, of course not.”
There is an uncomfortable silence as we all stare at each other for a moment.
“So uh…” I begin. “How do we fix this?”
Jeep waves a hand with only three fingers. “Don’t worry, we will get stronger again now that we’re back at the house.”
Relief floods through me. “You will?”
They all nod. Then it hits me. “Wait, you will? So you got me all stressed out for nothing?”
Jeep gives me a stern look. “Not for nothing. If you hadn’t come back in time, we would have vanished completely.”
I glance away, embarrassed. “Right. Thank goodness for the secret tunnel.”
That spikes their interest. “What secret tunnel?”
I gesture towards
the chairs. “Sit down.” Then I flinch a little. “If you can.”
They just float above the chairs, so it looks like they’re sitting, and turn their heads towards me.
“I went to the silver mine to think. It’s abandoned, and I go there often. But this time was different. The voice led me to a secret tunnel.”
D’Maeo raises his hand. Hey, he has hands again! And arms! Great. “Wait, what voice?”
“Oh right, you don’t know about that yet. You see, I thought one of you was pulling my chain, speaking to me at home, talking about saving someone or all will be lost.”
The ghosts seem to be taken aback by that. Which gives me chills, because they don’t get spooked easily.
Maël’s gaze flickers from me to D’Maeo. “That is not a good sign.” She stands up and starts pacing the room.
I sigh. “Yeah, I figured that much. But anyway, that’s why I got angry before. I thought you guys were trying to drive me crazy.”
Vicky gasps. “We would never do that.”
Jeep’s eyes sparkle. “I would.”
I wave my hand towards him. Exactly my point.
Vicky’s eyes turn frosty, like before, when she put that spell on me. But now Jeep is her target. “Your little demo with the knife wasn’t very nice, was it?”
Jeep’s mouth twitches in agony. “No, it wasn’t. Stop that.”
“Anyway,” I continue, trying not to look too pleased with this little punishment.
Vicky releases Jeep from her spell. He rubs his face and then turns to me. “I’m sorry about this morning. It was wrong. Can we please just forgive each other and move on now?”
“Gladly.”
D’Maeo cuts in before I can go on. “This voice you heard, what did it sound like? Have you heard it before?”
I shake my head. “Yesterday I heard it for the first time. It said I needed to save someone. Him. I think it meant the person on the demon card. The ice card contains clues, so I suppose they will lead me towards a man I have to save. If I don’t, all will be lost, and everyone will die, whatever that means.”
“Well, it doesn’t mean anything nice, I can tell you that much,” Taylar mumbles.
D’Maeo taps his fingers on the table. “Taylar is right, but your feelings might have been spot on. It could be a trick. Once again, Dante, what did the voice sound like? Was it friendly, low, high, soft, loud?”
I try to recall the exact sound and the way it made me feel. “It sounded warm I guess, but not very compassionate. A bit pushy. Very pushy when I didn’t listen immediately. It made me very nervous. But later, at the mine, I somehow felt that I could trust it. That whatever it was trying to tell me was very, very important.”
Maël stops pacing. “Always trust your instinct, but keep in mind that you may get tricked.”
“I don’t think it was a trick. I think this voice is trying to help me save the world.”
I have no idea where those words came from, but I suddenly know without a doubt that they are true.
CHAPTER 10
I tell my Shield about the secret tunnel, the black hole and the notebook, which I’m still clutching to my chest. They look worried and that gives me the jitters. I can’t even be happy that they are almost whole again. There are just little parts of them missing now, which makes them look weird. As if someone blew holes in them using a cloud blaster or something.
“So, what am I saving the world from?” I ask after a long silence.
“I wouldn’t worry about that too much,” D’Maeo says. “Let’s take it step by step.”
Vicky appears next to me and says sternly. “And it’s us saving the world. You are not alone, you know."
The others agree with nods and mumbles.
“Thank you, it’s good to know my Shield has my back. Together we may figure this out.”
D’Maeo shakes his head. “That black hole worries me. I haven’t even seen it and already it makes me feel like I did in 1969.”
I frown. “Why? What happened in 1969?”
Taylar makes a cutting gesture along his neck.
“He died?” I translate.
Jeep spins his hat on his finger. “Yes, but what happened before that is much more interesting.”
Vicky’s body blurs and she makes Taylar’s and Jeep’s chairs rock. “If you guys would just let D’Maeo finish, Dante would understand what he’s talking about.”
They agree, grumbling softly.
D’Maeo scratches his beard. His eyes look in my direction, but his gaze is distant. “A few days before I died, there was a collision. Two trains ran into each other and four people died.” He holds up his hand when I want to respond. “That wasn’t the worst of it. Something evil escaped from one of the trains. I saw it. It was dark and empty.” His eyes bore into mine. “Just like that hole you saw.”
My chest tightens. “You’re right, that doesn’t sound good.”
“That thing killed me, whatever it was,” he finishes.
I rub my arms, trying to drive out the cold. Then I place the notebook in front of me and stare at it. There must be something useful in it.
Jeep’s hand shoots forward. “Hey, I’ve seen that before.”
I withheld the fact that it’s my father’s, but I know I have to tell them now.
I open the book and show them the first page.
Jeep shakes his head gravely. “I knew it. It’s your father’s book of dark magic.”
I drop it like a hot pan.
Jeep grins. “Don’t worry, it won’t hurt anyone as long as you don’t use any of the spells inside.”
D’Maeo brushes his beard. “It might also contain some white spells, though. It could be useful.”
Taylar leans forward. His body is whole again, his feet are tapping the floor eagerly. “Well, what are you waiting for? Show us the next pages.”
Hesitantly I pull it towards me. Dad’s name shouts out at me again and I swallow a lump in my throat. Quickly I flip the page. I recognize his handwriting from notes he left me when I was young. He used to surprise me with treasure hunts in the house on my birthday. He never just gave me a present, I always had to work for it. He knew I loved a good mystery. Now I’m not so sure about mysteries anymore. I just want answers.
Taylar interrupts my memories. “What does it say?”
My eyes move over the page. “It’s not a spell book, it’s a diary. He’s talking about… me.”
Jeep narrows his eyes. “Are you sure?”
I flip some more pages and read a couple of lines here and there. “He writes about his power. How he discovered it, how he trained himself.” I point at the next page. “Here he met you guys.” I blink violently when I read the next part. “And here…” I clear my throat. “He talks about leaving me and Mom.” I swallow. Everyone is silent. “He says he misses us, but that he has no choice.”
I slam the book shut and try to contain my swirling feelings.
“No dark spells?” Jeep asks incredulously.
I shake my head. “It’s only half filled.”
“Then there has to be a second notebook. One that looks exactly the same.”
“Maybe.” I’m not really interested in that right now. My father didn’t want to leave us. That is all I can think of.
“You need some time,” D’Maeo says. “Take it. Come back later. We’ll try to figure out the symbols on the card.”
I nod, barely registering his words.
They let me go without arguing. I don’t have the energy to hide my feelings.
When I open the front door and the cold wind hits my face, I realize ‘see you later’ is not sufficient. So I turn around, give the Shield – invisible from here, but clearly listening – a small smile and say, “Thank you.”
Mom is practically running around the house again when I get back. Eighties music almost makes the speakers in the living room explode.
I quickly tuck the notebook behind the
waistband of my pants and watch her move around the kitchen for a while. She’s so busy she doesn’t even notice me. The smile that makes the corners of my mouth rise also eases the stressed out feeling I have had since I first went to Darkwood Manor.
Mom finally looks up when she’s whipping cream for a cake she’s making. “Oh, hey honey, you’re back. I didn’t hear you come in.”
I laugh. “I wonder why.”
I walk towards her and kiss her on the forehead. “How are you?”
It sounds like a stupid question, even to me, but it has become a force of habit, and even though she looks great and is almost jumping with joy, I still want to know.
She whips more frantically. “I’m still fine. Great even. I told you, it’s over.” She lays down the whisk and stares into the distance for a second. “It’s finally over.”
I grab her and squeeze all the air out of her. “I think you’re right. You can finally live again.”
She breaks free and strokes my cheek. “So can you. You can have your own life now.”
She turns around and rummages with pots, pans and cake tins in the cabinet. “Speaking of which… how is the house your father left you? Is it nice?”
A chortle escapes me. “Nice isn’t a word I would use. Yet.” I think about my conversation with the Shield today and smile again. “I think it will be beautiful.”
“That’s great, honey. I’m so happy for you. I’m baking a cake to celebrate.”
I take in the scene around me, all the things scattered through the kitchen. “Are you going for a record? America’s biggest cake?”
She prods me in the side. “I’m also baking some cookies. I always loved to try different recipes, don’t you remember?”
A pang of sorrow shoots through me as my memory hits me with a picture of Mom and Dad having a flour fight, right on this spot. “I do remember,” I say softly, and then I quickly turn around and make my way upstairs, before she sees the tears spilling out of me.
Cards of Death Box Set Page 7
