Cards of Death Box Set

by Tamara Geraeds

  She just shakes her head. “Think, Dante.”

  I clench my fists so violently they hurt. “I am thinking. My mother is dead because of you.”

  She just shakes her head. Her calm demeanor infuriates me more than anything. “No, she’s not.”

  I wave at the body behind me. “What do you call that then?”

  There’s a pitiful, patient expression on Vicky’s face. “Look again, Dante. Really look.”

  I stand there fuming for a second before turning around. With gritted teeth I take in the sight of Mom’s stained body.

  Then I blink. My heart rate drops. My head jerks left and right. I can’t believe what I’m seeing.

  She’s gone. Mom is gone. And so is the house. The living room, the stairs, the furniture. Everything is gone. The only thing that remains is the puddle of red at my feet.

  “I… how… where?” I stutter.

  Vicky smiles warmly. “None of it was real, Dante. It was just the Shadow World playing tricks on you.”

  My head hurts as new tears roll down my cheeks. I don’t know whether I’m crying from shock or relief. The feeling of loss still clings onto my heart.

  Vicky wraps her arms around me. “It’s okay.”

  For a moment I give in to the hurt and soak Vicky’s shirt with tears. The blonde tips of her hair tickle my cheek.

  Jeep pats my back sympathetically and D’Maeo raises his eyebrows questioningly.

  I give Vicky a grateful squeeze and let her go. “I’m sorry for all of that. Let’s go get our friends back and get the hell out of this sh…” D’Maeo frowns at me and I swallow the curse I was about to use, “…unpleasant place,” I finish.

  We all grin at that, and after I shake the feeling of sadness, I lead the way into more emptiness.

  It’s not long before a familiar voice calls over the shouts of others.

  I search the faces of what remains of the Shield. “Is that Taylar?”

  D’Maeo looks doubtful. “It could be.”

  “It could also be another trick,” Jeep points out.

  “How would we know?”

  He shrugs.

  Vicky is already moving towards the sound. “Maybe we just have to concentrate on Taylar.”

  The fog gets thicker before it clears. Taylar, or something that looks like him, is standing on the bank of a river. He cups his hands around his mouth. “Maël! Are you there?”

  Vicky throws us a look over her shoulder. “It has to be him, right? The monsters here can’t know we’re looking for Maël.”

  D’Maeo’s face is grim. He is stroking his beard again. “Don’t underestimate what they can do. Or know.”

  “Taylar!” Vicky shouts.

  The boy whirls around. A broad smile lightens up his face. His white hair is damp and his trousers and green shirt are sticking to his body. “Finally. I’ve been looking for you for ages.”

  “I’m glad we found you.” Vicky moves towards him to give him a hug.

  “Wait,” another voice shouts.

  It sounds eerily the same as Taylar’s.

  We all turn around and gasp.

  Vicky stops dead in her tracks. Her head turns left and right, as if she’s watching a tennis match.

  “What on earth is that?” The boy at the waterside curls his lip in disgust.

  “Don’t listen to him,” the other boy says. He sounds panicked. “He’s mimicking me.”

  Anger flares up in the eyes of the first Taylar. “No I’m not. You’re the fake one.”

  Vicky slowly backs up. She jumps a little when she bumps into me.

  “How will we know which one is the real Taylar?” she whispers.

  “Please guys,” the one at the waterfront says. “Don’t leave me here.”

  “We won’t,” I say. “If you can prove you’re really Taylar.”

  “I can prove it,” the other one says cheerfully. He points at us. “You’re Dante, you’re Vicky. D’Maeo and Jeep.”

  I let out a relieved sigh, but Vicky grabs me by the shoulder. “Hold on. That doesn’t prove anything. It looks like they can read minds.”

  “Just look into my eyes,” waterside Taylar says. “You’ll see it’s me.”

  I’m not going to fall for that trick. I’m not going near either of them. But how will we know then?

  Suddenly it hits me. The perfect way to find out which of these boys belongs to my Shield.

  ”Okay, listen up, I’ve got a question for the both of you.”

  They both look at me eagerly.

  “What did I find under your bed?”

  The one at the river answers immediately. “Pictures.”

  The other Taylar hesitates. He stares at me for a minute, before saying, “Pictures and a letter.”

  For a moment I’m confused. This is not what I was expecting.

  “Get ready to fight,” I whisper to Vicky, and her hands ball into fists.

  “Mentally,” I remind her, “not physically.”

  She relaxes her arm and takes a deep breath. “Right.”

  D’Maeo and Jeep wait patiently for my next move.

  “I must say, you’re very convincing.” I bring my hands together in a silent applause. “Both of you.”

  Jeep’s muscles tighten. He understands the meaning of my words. He’s ready for the mental fight.

  “You almost fooled us,” I continue. “But the game is over. You lost. We have to move on.”

  “Without me?” waterfront Taylar asks in a sad voice.

  “Yes, without you, you monster,” Jeep hisses at him.

  The other Taylar grins and steps closer to us. “I knew you would know the real me from the fake one.”

  D’Maeo holds up his hand. “That’s far enough. We have no intention of hurting you. Just leave and we will move on.”

  “Why?” The look of surprise on its face could win him an Oscar. “It’s me. Really.”

  Jeep steps forward. His dagger glints as he moves it. With one clean swipe, he takes off the monster’s head. Without pause he turns towards the other boy, who raises his hands in defense.

  Blinded by rage, Jeep jumps onto him and stabs him in the chest until he lays still.

  I’m impressed, but when I want to give him my approval, he lashes out at me with his dagger.

  I jump back. “Wow! What are you doing?”

  “You’re all fake. Nothing more than a bunch of ugly monsters.”

  The tip of his blade nearly pierces my throat.

  Vicky approaches us carefully. “Jeep, calm down. We are not monsters.”

  He responds by plunging the dagger into her stomach. With a yelp she goes down. Blood oozes out of the wound and paints the ground red. The fog thickens.

  I want to help her, but Jeep isn’t backing off. His eyes are darker than usual and his face is set in anger. I have never seen him like this before.

  Suddenly I understand what’s happening.

  “The Shadow World has got a hold on him,” I warn D’Maeo. “What do we do?”

  I expect the old man to say we’ll have to reason with him, and prove that we are real, but he moves like lightning and hits Jeep on the head. The tattooed ghost crumbles to the ground.

  I drop down next to Vicky, who is bleeding out rapidly. “Hold on.” I look up at D’Maeo for help. He just shakes his head at us. “Concentrate guys. We have no bodies here. So how can we bleed?”

  Vicky’s breath steadies instantly. She closes her eyes, crinkling her forehead. The red river slowly stops flowing. Relief floods over me, but before I can even smile, someone rushes to my side.

  “Oh no. What happened?”

  It’s Taylar. Or at least, I hope it is.

  He has a worried look on his face and grabs Vicky’s hand. “Who did this to you?” He looks at me. “We have to get her back.”

  Vicky doesn’t react. She squeezes her eyes closed. The wound slowly closes.

  Taylar g
apes at it. “Wow! How did you…?” Then realization hits him. “Oh, right.” He sighs with relief. “Nothing can physically hurt us here. I keep forgetting.” He gives me a crooked smile. “That’s why that octopus monster was able to use me as a baseball.”

  Vicky sits up and pulls the white-haired boy into a hug. “It’s really you. Thank God you’re okay.”

  With a surprised grin Taylar hugs her back. “I never knew you liked me this much.”

  She gives him a little push. “Don’t be silly. I’m crazy about all of you.”

  Taylar’s eyes light up. “Speaking of which… I’ve got some good news. I found Maël.”

  D’Maeo looks up from Jeep, who is slowly coming to. “Is she okay?”

  Taylar avoids our hopeful stares. “Well uh… sort of.”

  CHAPTER 20

  It takes a while to convince Jeep we’re all real and not monsters in disguise. But at least he’s not trying to knife us anymore.

  He puts away his dagger and nods at Taylar. “Lead the way.”

  While we follow him into the fog, Vicky tugs at my shirt. “How did you know those two were fakes?”

  I grin. “Taylar wouldn’t have answered, he would have been mad that I saw his photos.”

  She frowns at Taylar’s back. “Yeah, you’re right. I wonder why he hides pictures under his bed. What was on them?”

  I shake my head. “I’m not telling you, Vicky. I’ll ask him later.”

  We walk on in silence. I hope Taylar knows where he’s going. It looks like it, but I can’t figure out how he knows when to turn. Everything still looks the same to me. Dirty black ground and a sky full of fog. I speed up a little to catch up to the boy. His lips are moving and he turns right again.

  I look back, squinting to find some point of recognition but there is none. “How did you know to turn there?”

  His lips are still moving. He holds up his hand and comes to a halt several paces further. “I counted my steps.” He waves at the air around us. “Just nineteen more steps straight ahead and seven to the left. That’s where Maël should be.”

  I must have a cynical expression on my face, because he says, “Trust me. That’s where I left her.”

  Since I don’t have any clue where to find her myself, I follow him. A minute later we come to another clear spot. Brown grass crackles under our feet and the temperature rises. Taylar waits at the bottom of a hill for the others to catch up. They’re not far behind – we’d lose each other in the fog if we didn’t stay close – but with the strange passing of time here, it still takes a few minutes for them to reach us.

  Taylar points to the top of the hill. “She’s up there.”

  “Well, what are we waiting for then?” Jeep strolls past him.

  Taylar grabs his arm. “I have to warn you. It’s not a pretty sight.”

  “All the more reason to hurry up.”

  He starts climbing the hill, which is somehow a lot steeper than it looks. As soon as I step on it, it feels like I’m walking vertically. A look down confirms this, and I’m grateful that D’Maeo is behind me. He steadies me. “Don’t look down.”

  “Yeah, I got that,” I mumble.

  I swallow to get rid of the nausea rising in my throat and climb on.

  “It helps if you remember you have no body here,” D’Maeo comments from behind me.

  I can float to the top, I can float to the top, I repeat over and over in my head. Before I realize it’s working, I’m already at the top. I smile proudly, but the corners of my mouth drop when I see Maël.

  A large black tree looms over us. Its branches stick out in every direction, like claws reaching out. It’s swaying slowly. A deep moaning emanates from the wide trunk. Steam rises in puffs from the ground around it, as if it’s breathing.

  And in the middle of all of that, Maël is hanging limply. Only her upper body is visible, the rest of it is trapped in the soggy ground. Her arms are held up by two clawlike branches. Another tree limb is squeezing her waist. She looks like a queen of death. A tortured queen. Her eyes are open, but they’ve lost their sight.

  Vicky gapes at her with one hand over her mouth. She shakes her head. “Oh no, oh no.” Her gaze flicks to me. “Are we too late?”

  I grit my teeth and step closer to the tree. “It’s never too late.”

  The tree moves instantly, groaning in anger. The dark mud near my feet fizzes and the branches shoot out towards my head.

  I jump back. “Breathe,” I tell myself. “It can’t hurt you.”

  I gather all my courage and take three steps forward. The grime on the ground pulls at my feet, but I ignore it. I muster all of my anger and aim it at the tree. “You let go of her right now.”

  The tree leans backward, but doesn’t release Maël.

  I grab a branch and pull with all my might. “Let go of her or I’ll tear you apart bit by bit.”

  The mud bubbles and steam clouds up my vision. My hand gets hotter and hotter, until the burning sensation spreads through my body.

  I don’t let go. This is a mind game and I am going to win it.

  Suddenly the whole tree bends forward. Sharp claws wrap around me and dig into my flesh.

  I cry out before I can stop myself, and the tree shudders with delight.

  “I could use some help here,” I yell over my shoulder.

  The branch is slipping from my hand, tearing my palm open.

  A hand rests on my shoulder. “Let it go, Dante. This is Maël’s fight.”

  I give D’Maeo a disgruntled look. “It’s our fight now. We can help her.”

  “Not like this.”

  “Fine.” I let go of the branch and the tree swings backward.

  I point my finger at it. “Don’t think for a second that I’m done with you.”

  “Don’t talk to the tree,” D’Maeo says calmly. “Talk to Maël.”

  I know he’s right. It’s just hard to see her this way. I haven’t known her very long, but somehow she has become a part of me, as all the ghosts have. I hate to see her suffer like this. She is such a strong and wise woman. And look at her now.

  “Maël,” I say. “You are not really here. Your body is still at Darkwood Manor. This tree is just trying to drain your energy. Don’t let it. Remember how strong you are.”

  For a moment I think she can’t hear me. Her gaze is empty and she doesn’t move. Branches slither from her legs to her neck, leaving dark spots all over the golden flowers on her dress. Her ripped cape is twisted around the bark.

  Then she blinks. A spark of life glints in her eyes.

  “That’s it. You can do it,” I shout.

  While Maël’s arms start jerking, D’Maeo holds up his hand at the tree. “You have no power. You have no strength.”

  Vicky and Jeep join him, with raised hands and firm expressions. “You have no power. You have no strength.” Their words fill the air.

  The tree lashes out with its claws, but the three ghosts don’t even step back. After taking a deep breath, Taylar joins them.

  Meanwhile, I focus solely on Maël, who is struggling with the branches that are keeping her captive. “This tree can’t hurt you, Maël. Use your willpower to free yourself.”

  While the other ghosts keep chanting, the African queen stops moving. She relaxes all of her muscles and a peaceful look descends upon her. The tree screams in frustration as its hold on her slackens. Her arms slowly slip and the tree limb around her waist is pulled back. Her cape unwraps itself.

  I nod. “Good. Keep going.”

  But the tree isn’t giving in yet. With one shake of the trunk, its claws are replaced by wooden spikes. Before anyone can react six of them pierce Maël’s body. She lets out an earth shattering holler and goes limp.

  “It’s not real,” I yell at her. “Fight it.”

  The others stop their chanting.

  D’Maeo gives me a sad look. “It’s no use, Dante. She’s unconscious.”

&nb
sp; I could strangle him right now, but I know he’s right.

  “We have to think of a way to free her.” Is there a way to trick this tree, as I did with the Taylar copies? Once it knows the game is over, it will give up. If only I knew the rules of this game.

  The tree is rocking Maël like a baby. Blood pours from her wounds. The mud laps it up in seconds, leaving no trace.

  A low rumbling sound rises from the trunk, and it’s vibrating.

  I curse under my breath. “That thing is laughing at us. We have to defeat it.”

  “It’s feeding off our despair,” Jeep says.

  I grit my teeth. “So, what, we should think happy thoughts?”

  He shrugs. “That might not be such a bad idea.”

  Suddenly the tree stops moving. We all hold our breaths. And then, without warning, it pulls the sharp branches out of Maël’s body. With a gurgling sound, she vanishes into the soggy ground.

  I reach out to her, yelling “Nooo!” but the ground spits sweltering mud into my face until I back up.

  Taylar’s shoulders drop. “We’ve lost her. We’ve really lost her.”

  I can’t believe that. I can’t give up.

  I wipe the dirt from my face and reach for my knife. It’s not there. I must have lost it after I fought the tentacle demon.

  I hold my hand out to Jeep. “Give me that dagger please.” In one motion I take Taylar’s shield hanging on his back.

  Jeep hands me the dagger and without hesitation I jam it into the palm of my hand. It goes right through. The pain cuts off the oxygen to my brain for a second. I stare at the blood oozing out. D’Maeo rushes to my side, but I stop him with one look. “It’s not real.”

  His eyes bore into mine. He is probably trying to decide whether I’ve been struck by insanity or a brilliant idea. I hope it’s the latter.

  I carve a message into the straps on the back of the shield. Then I fill them with my blood. Without binding the wound, I step towards the tree. “You will never win this.”

  The branches move towards me fast, but I have no intention of protecting myself. Grinning, I hold up the shield and drop it into the mud.

  It gets swallowed immediately and the branches freeze. The tree seems to hesitate. It doesn’t understand what I just did.