Felix interrupted by pointing at the mirror behind Tom and snickering. “Look, Tom, you look like a balloon!”
Tom turned around to look at the mirror behind him. Felix was right. He looked short and stout, like an angry balloon. He glared at his distorted reflection, then back at Felix. “Very funny, Wilson.”
“Remember what the poetry lady said?” Comrade pointed out. “Something about following the path short and stout. Do you think she meant the one Tom is by? His reflection looks pretty short and stout to me.”
“Are you calling me fat, Mystery Man?” Tom accused.
Comrade raised his arms in surrender. “Not at all! Just your reflection in that weird mirror.”
Tom glared at him, but let it drop.
“That path is worth a try,” I said. “Follow me.”
After more turns than I bothered to count, we made it to a small square room with a sign engraved with strange symbols, much like the ones we’d seen at the entrance to the Labyrinth.
Steven stepped forward to translate. He spent a few minutes staring intently at the sign, then said, “I-It says something about an old whistle b-being behind one of these nine mirrors. The others have traps, so choose c-carefully.” He paused, still staring at the sign. “I-I can’t make out the rest. I-It’s too faded. I-I don’t know how we’re supposed to know which m-mirror has the whistle.”
Everyone started pitching in ideas at once. I couldn’t make out what anyone was saying.
“One at a time!” I shouted, waving my arms to get their attention, but to no avail.
“HEY!” Regina yelled. “EVERYBODY SHUT UP AND LISTEN!”
That got their attention.
I cleared my throat and said, “One at a time, please.”
Comrade spoke up first. “We’ve been following the short and stout path for a while. Maybe that has something to do with this?”
“Possible,” Selene chimed in, “except for the fact that four out of these nine mirrors make us look either short, stout, or both. Two of them are both short and stout.”
“Maybe there’s another clue?” Lori suggested. “This can’t be it!”
“You know, this whole thinking thing is giving me a headache,” Felix piped up. “Hey, Regina, can we just wish for you to tell us the answer?”
“I’m pretty sure that’s cheating,” Comrade pointed out.
“I don’t care if it’s cheating. I think Wilson is on to something for once,” Tom supported.
I turned to Regina. “Would that be okay with you? I know this might not exactly be an emergency, but—”
“If it gets us to the Stone faster and therefore to Maserai faster, then so be it,” Regina interrupted. “Make your wish.”
“I wish for you to tell us which mirror the whistle is hidden behind,” I said.
As if in a trance, Regina walked over to a square mirror that didn’t distort her appearance at all, and pointed to it. “This one,” she said, her voice monotone. A few seconds later, the dazed look left her eyes.
Tom didn’t miss a beat, yanking the mirror off of the wall, allowing David to grab the whistle behind it. Tom put the mirror back, not seeming to care that it slid crooked, once David was in the clear.
“Okay,” David said, twirling the whistle between his fingers, “we have the whistle. Now what?”
Another sign appeared below the first one. Steven studied it for a minute, then said, “You have to blow into it. Then, the puzzle will be considered solved and we can move on.”
David wrinkled his nose. “There’s seriously, like, a few centuries worth of dust and dirt on this thing, not to mention we don’t know who all has blown into it.”
Lori snatched it from his hand and blew into it as hard as she could. The screech that followed, although brief, was awful. I covered my ears, but it didn’t stop my ears from feeling like a knife had been sent through them.
“Wimp,” Lori said with an eye roll, dropping the whistle back into David’s hand while he gawked at her. One of the mirrors in front of us opened, revealing a door. “Let’s go.”
Chapter 18
David quietly fumed about Lori's comment for most of the winding corridors we traveled that day. "I'm not a wimp," he grumped under his breath. "I just don't want to put centuries-old garbage in my mouth."
Mallum put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't pay her any mind. Lori is a bit...rough around the edges at times. She meant no harm. She says stuff like that to everyone."
David fumed about it for a few minutes longer before letting it go. "Fine," he yielded. "Is it time for lunch yet? I’m starving."
My stomach let out a loud rumble. I checked my watch. It was past two o’clock in the afternoon. “It’s past lunchtime. Is anyone opposed to stopping for some lunch?”
"If anyone opposes, so help me I will throw my stinky shoe at them," David threatened. "I need nourishment, even if it costs a shoe covered in centuries-old dirt and grime!"
“Oh no, not the shoe!” Mallum exclaimed in mock horror. “Anything but that!”
I laughed. "Okay, I guess we're stopping for immediate nourishment."
David grinned and whipped out a granola bar, sitting down on the dirty ground and starting to open it.
"Hold up," I told him. I grabbed some hand sanitizer from my bag. "You're going to want this. Centuries-old grime and dirt, remember?"
He hesitated a moment, then smiled and accepted some. “I haven’t used some of this stuff in ages,” he said. He motioned to the label, which said what scent it was. “‘Midsummer Melon’,” he read aloud. “That’s one of my favorite scents, actually.”
The rest of us took our seats on the ground as well, passing around my hand sanitizer and digging into our food. I pulled out the beef jerky from this morning. It looked a lot more appetizing now that I hadn’t eaten more than a single piece all day.
“You’re from Earth, aren’t you?” I asked David.
He nodded. “Yeah, but I haven’t been there in about five years, though. Maybe six.”
That was around the time of the incident, I observed mentally. Even though it was likely unrelated, I made a mental note of it.
“Where did you meet Comrade?” Lena asked.
“We met in Emparadroy,” David said, his mouth full of granola bar. “I was part of the rebel group they have there, so I got to work with Comrade on a few missions.” He swallowed before continuing. “Not long ago, we heard about Umarek’s threat through one of our contacts. We decided to follow you in case you needed any help.”
“Well, we’re glad you did,” Lena said.
◆◆◆
Once everyone was done eating, we set off again. I walked at the front of the group, next to Lori. Watching her navigate through the Labyrinth was interesting. Her eyes were fixed firmly on the ground, as if following some sort of trail. From what she’d told us, she was following a trail, but she was the only one who could see it.
It’s strange how desperate circumstances form some of the most unlikely friendships. If you could really call us friends. At this point, I considered her one of mine, even if she didn’t consider me one of hers.
After taking more turns than I could count, we stumbled across a long, sturdy-looking, stone bridge. In front of it stood a revolting creature whose sight I could barely stomach.
His solid red eyes had huge black bags under them and were two very different sizes. His skin was the color of mucus and was covered in various warts and occasional black hairs. Out of the top of his head were six horns, covered in dirt, grime, and what looked like dried blood. He was barefoot, wearing only a torn-looking, grimy shirt and a loincloth. I fought the urge to gag.
“Ah, a traveling party,” it greeted us in a voice that made me want to shudder with disgust. “It’s been so long since I’ve had this opportunity.”
I threw up a little in my mouth, hoping my disgust didn’t show. I stole a quick glance at the others. Their reactions to the creature were similar to mine.
“We nee
d to cross your bridge,” Lori began. Her voice was tight, like she was trying to avoid vomiting too. “What do we need to do?”
“The only way I’ll let you cross the bridge is if you make a deal with me,” the creature said. “So, what do you propose?”
“Can we have a minute to think about it?” Comrade asked. Thanks to his mask, his disgust didn’t show quite as much as the rest of us, though I could tell he was putting extra effort into making sure his voice didn’t give anything away. “I don’t think it will take longer than that.”
“That’s fine,” the creature agreed. “Converse among yourselves.”
“Thank you,” Comrade said. He turned to us. “Okay, huddle up.”
“Do what now?” Mallum asked.
“‘Huddle up’?” Comrade repeated. “You know, gather together to make a plan?”
“I’ve never heard that term.”
“Well, now you have.”
“What’s the deal we’re going to make the…uh...” Selene paused, obviously unsure of what to call the revolting creature.
“Bridge person?” Lena suggested.
“...bridge person...so that we can pass?” Selene finished.
“I’ve got this,” Comrade assured her.
“Are you done yet?” the bridge creature asked, not sounding very patient at all.
“Yes, thank you,” Comrade answered. “Now that our deal is complete, would you mind letting us pass?”
“What do you mean our deal is complete?” the creature demanded.
“I asked you to give us a minute to think about a deal to propose, and you did. That’s a deal, isn’t it?”
Surprised, but clearly not pleased with being outwitted, the creature grumbled something I couldn’t make out and moved to the side, using his gnarled, long-nailed hands to motion grudgingly for us to continue on.
Once we were on the stone bridge, Selene turned to Comrade and said, “That was...actually really clever. How did you come up with that?”
“One of my friends used that trick during one of our role-playing campaigns,” he responded with a shrug. “I wasn’t sure if it would work in this scenario, but I’m glad it did.”
Selene thought for a silent moment, her eyes sad, then said, “You remind me of someone I used to know. He did a lot of role-playing too.”
“What happened to him?” the Comrade asked.
“I guess I didn’t know him as well as I thought,” she said, her gaze hardening and her voice becoming guarded. “He betrayed us. Because of him, an entire Dimension was annihilated.”
“Oh. That’s...awful.” The discomfort in Comrade’s voice was obvious.
“Sorry,” Selene apologized, growing red in the face. “I didn’t mean to imply—”
“Don’t worry about it,” he interrupted. “Do you know why he did it? There had to be a reason, right?”
Selene shook her head. “He said he believed in the Attackers’ cause. He claimed they were just trying to keep the Dimensions from falling into chaos. They killed people—innocent people—and he thought their cause was just? It was unbelievable!”
Even though he wore a mask, I could tell Comrade had more questions, but he didn’t ask any more. He simply looked away and responded with, “That sounds horrible.”
She took a few deep breaths to calm herself down. Then, with her voice barely above a whisper, she said, “It was.”
Chapter 19
The Labyrinth felt like it went on forever.
It was magic and constantly changing, so it probably did.
My legs ached from the last couple of days spent walking. I was thankful when Lori suggested that we stop for the night. I was even more thankful when Tom gave us our watch assignments for the night. I had the fourth and final watch with Comrade, so I would be able to go to sleep as soon as I set up my sleeping bag and ate something.
I fell asleep almost as soon as I laid down. For once, my dream wasn’t a nightmare.
I was in the library at Oakwood High School. A woman I didn’t recognize, with her ginger hair styled in a side braid—much like I often did mine—was walking toward the section labeled “Mythology” with a book in her hands. The title read, The Legends and Tales of Zajahan. After checking to make sure no one was watching, she placed it next to some other books, but didn’t push it in all the way. It stuck out just enough that it would catch the eye of anyone scanning through the titles of the mythology section.
“Here’s hoping a brave young soul finds you and not that awful Dark Elf,” she muttered.
“Good morning, Ms. A!” a boy called out as he walked into the library. The woman, Ms. A, jumped a little, then turned around to face him with a smile. To my surprise, I recognized him from old pictures.
It was my dad when he was my age.
“Good morning, Roy!” Ms. A greeted him. “Done with those already?” she asked, motioning to the books he was carrying.
Roy grinned and nodded. “Yep.”
Ms. A smiled and took the books from his hands, taking them back to the computer to scan them in. While she did that, Roy looked at the mythology books. He took The Legends and Tales of Zajahan out and flipped through it, then took it up to Ms. A.
“Can I check this one out?” he asked.
Surprised, but trying not to show it, Ms. A smiled and nodded. “Of course. Are you branching out in your knowledge of mythology?”
“Mostly for an English, but yes,” Roy answered.
Seeming satisfied, Ms. A scanned the book and handed it back to him. “Take good care of it. It’s one of my favorites.”
“Don’t worry,” Roy assured her, as he held in gingerly in one hand and grabbed the door handle with the other. “I will!”
He left the library with a smile. Ms. A watched him leave, then said, “Well, that was faster than I thought.” to herself. “He’ll take good care of it, though.”
I woke up to Lena gently shaking me. “Time for your watch,” she reminded me. “Can you wake Comrade?”
I nodded, stretched, and went over to Comrade’s sleeping bag. He slept with his mask and hood on, which I found odd. He was tossing and turning in his sleeping bag. His body shook slightly and his breathing was heavy, like he was having a nightmare. I gently shook him, just as Lena had done to me. He shot up in his sleeping bag, blue eyes wide as he panted. I barely got out of the way in time to avoid being headbutted.
“Time for our watch,” I reminded him. “Are you okay?”
He took a minute to catch his breath, then nodded. “I-I’m fine. Let’s go.”
We took our places to keep watch. We sat in silence for a while, but soon enough, I broke it.
“If you don’t mind me asking,” I began, “why do you insist on keeping your identity a secret? We know you’re on our side.”
Comrade hesitated. “It’s mostly a precaution. I don’t know how certain Legendary Keepers would react to my identity. I… I messed up really bad a while ago. I want to make it up to them, but if they knew who I was, I don’t think I’d ever get the chance.”
That made sense. “So, you hide your identity so we’ll let you help us?”
He shrugged. “Pretty much.”
“What did you do that makes you think we wouldn’t give you a chance to change?” I asked. “Mallum messed up pretty badly too, but look at him now.”
Mallum was only a few yards away, sleeping. I noticed he was drooling a little. I snorted a little while trying to keep from laughing.
“Okay, maybe not right this second,” I amended.
Comrade laughed. “He does look pretty comfortable, though. Although, I don’t think Regina has completely forgiven him yet. She’s always really tense around him.”
“True, but I think she’s starting to warm up to him,” I said. “Besides, I’m guessing that if most of us can forgive him, we can forgive you for whatever you did,” I said. “You’re sincere about wanting to change, right?”
He nodded. “Yeah, of course.” His face fell. “There
’s just...there’s no way they’d give me another chance. I completely blew it.” He buried his masked face in his hands.
“Does that…” I hesitated, unsure if I was prying too much. “Does that have anything to do with the nightmare you were having?”
He shook his head. “No, the nightmares are from something else.” He paused, then elaborated. “For the last year or so, excepting a few nights, I’ve had these dreams about the last Magenta, Kristina Jackson. In the dream, she usually delivers the same general message.”
“I had a dream with Magenta Kristina once,” I recalled. “What was her message for you?”
“Lately, she’s been telling me that we have to get Gabrielle and Mallum to the Heart of Maserai before it’s too late,” he said. “Something about cutting pieces of the Heart of Maserai for each of us.” He reached into one of the pockets of his hooded cloak and pulled out a little chisel. “I came prepared to do just that.”
I hadn’t even thought about how we were going to cut pieces for each of us. I was glad Comrade had come prepared.
“She gave me the same message in the dream I had about her,” I remembered. “The faster we find the Stone, the faster we can get Gabrielle and Mallum to the Heart of Maserai.” I sighed and rubbed my temples. “We’re short on time for both, I’m afraid. The others are getting really worried. We don’t know how long Gabrielle can last against Umarek and, if she doesn’t last until we get to Maserai, Mallum is next.”
“I really hope we have enough time for both,” Comrade said.
I bit my lip, feeling sick to my stomach with the knowledge that we might not. “I hope so too.” As an afterthought, I added, “For everyone’s sake.”
Chapter 20
Thankfully, I was able to sleep once my shift with Mallum was over. I even got myself to eat something more than a single piece of jerky the next morning before we headed out.
Walking through the Labyrinth was pretty dull until after a quick lunch break around noon.
The floor of the room had been the normal, neutral color of the rest of the Labyrinth until we walked in. In about the same amount of time asw it took for me to blink, the colors of the floor had shifted. Square, multicolored tiles, arranged in no specific pattern, stretched out before us. Each one was large enough for only one person to comfortably stand on at a time. Around us, everything from statues to snakes to projectiles were frozen, almost as if in some sort of suspended animation.
The Stone of Power (The Legendary Keepers Book 2) Page 8
