Midnight Law

by Geanna Culbertson

  We arrived in front of the portal. Daniel glanced at me then Kai, clearly not happy that we were not getting along, but he did not interfere. “You girls ready?”

  I gestured for Kai to go first and she did so. Mauvrey still seemed a bit off-color, so I offered her my hand. “Come on. We will go together.”

  Mauvrey took my hand and she and I crossed worlds side by side.

  We emerged in a picturesque landscape. Grassy fields dotted by the occasional village stretched out on either side of us. To my right, the valley was crowned by a distant collection of lavender mountains capped with snow. The mountain in the center stuck out much larger than the others. All peaks reached toward the translucent clouds, which looked like floating chunks of glass. Sheep and llamas grazed nearby. A twisting crystal river cut across the valley and passed by next to us, curving down into an area of land that sloped and fell out of sight. Our new green trail of light lay in the sky overhead and followed the same trajectory.

  Daniel came through the portal. It closed behind him and we stepped forward to have a look at what we were dealing with.

  The river and our magical path sloped into a chasm, the other side of which we could not see. While our green trail consistently floated above the water, the river took on a strange, unstable quality as it ran deeper into the chasm. Different parts of it would periodically shoot up like fountains—debris jettisoning into the air along with the water.

  Daniel activated his Hole Tracker and raised an eyebrow. “This is a new one. We’re in Xanadu. Haven’t been to that Wonderland realm before.”

  “Perhaps we should start bringing back souvenir key chains,” I jested. “There are fourteen Wonderlands; we could try to collect them all.”

  Kai blinked at me. “Sorry?”

  “I was trying to make a joke,” I said awkwardly. “You know, lighten the mood like Crisa and Blue do at arguably inappropriate times.”

  “Maybe you should stick with what you’re good at, SJ,” Kai suggested. She looked at the whole of our group, seemingly unaware of the unkind nature of her comment. “Any of you protagonists learn anything about this realm at your fancy schools that could help us?”

  Daniel shook his head, as did Mauvrey.

  “Surprisingly I have a lot of knowledge about other realms and fairytales in here from my time under Tara’s possession.” Mauvrey tapped her pointer finger to her head twice. “However, there is essentially no literature available on Xanadu, minus a few confusing poems.”

  “Blindly going where people haven’t gone before then,” Kai said. “Typical. Come on, Daniel. Your friend clearly isn’t going to save herself.” She started down the sloped path of land that ran beside the river. Daniel turned off his Hole Tracker and shot me a look. He seemed like he wanted to say something, but I shook my head. It was not his job to apologize for his girlfriend’s blunter comments.

  The temperature dropped as we descended into the chasm. We traveled at a swift, consistent pace, even with Mauvrey stalling every time the river sent up another geyser. Oddly, the debris that shot out with each spurt consisted of jagged rocks and diamonds

  When our team was several hundred feet below valley level where we began, I paused momentarily to gaze at the beautiful surroundings. Drapes of moss hung off the edges of the cliffside overhead. Graceful streaks of sunlight poured in from above. Cranes perched on outcroppings close to our level, some strutting on the path alongside us.

  Suddenly these birds took flight and soared for higher ground. That was a red flag if I had ever seen one. I did not have time to voice my concern though. Just then, the entire river shot up and levitated twenty feet above the ground, nearly touching our green trail of light. My friends and I looked on in astonishment. Fish continued swimming through the river, seemingly undisturbed by the effect. Then, just as unexpectedly, the river dropped down and we all leapt back to evade the massive splash. Mauvrey got hit on the skirt with a flailing fish, which she picked up when the shock faded and tossed back into the river.

  Long strips of ice started to appear on the chasm wall soon after that. The ice formations held strange, moving visions as if acting as windows to other worlds. We saw shadowy silhouettes of armies fighting, horses charging, and arrows launching within these patterns of ice, right up until the point when we reached the end of our journey. The walls of the chasm concluded in towering cliffs and we stepped onto a white sand beach. The river emptied out into a sparkling ocean ahead. Meanwhile, our trail of green light curved right, going across the beach into a cave that appeared to be made of ice. It sat in the glaring sunshine, unusual palm trees with crooked branches and pale melon fruit creating a semi-circle around the entrance.

  “How is this cave not melting?” Mauvrey marveled as we approached.

  We followed the green light trail inside the cave, which penetrated the side of the cliff. I reached out a finger to touch one of its walls. It was cold—definitely ice—so I did not have an answer to Mauvrey’s question.

  Somehow the ice of the cave conducted the sunshine, and also morphed it. Even as we journeyed deeper through the connecting ice tunnel, our path remained continually illuminated by rainbow patterns of light as though we were walking through a kaleidoscope. Between that, and the radiation of our magical trail, the whole experience felt surreal.

  Faint music—mainly string instruments, a couple of flutes, possibly a harp—began to reach us, floating from an unknown source ahead. In the trance of the peaceful melody, my mind wandered to vague memories of being a toddler in my crib and looking up at my mother singing while my father played the guitar. It was a faint memory—the kind from so far back you wondered if it was even real or just your imagination. But I knew in my heart it was real. I felt it. And as a person rooted in logic and reason, if I felt something strong enough to outweigh that rational nature, I gathered I should listen to it.

  “Argh!” Mauvrey suddenly grunted and clutched her head, taking a wobbly backward step.

  “What’s wrong?” Daniel asked, hastening to her side.

  Surprisingly, Mauvrey stood straight a second later, her eyes determined. She glanced at Kai, looked at Daniel, and then took a deep breath. “I . . . I am fine. Just a headache.”

  “That didn’t look like a normal headache,” Daniel responded.

  “Never mind me, Daniel, I am not going to faint or anything. Let us carry on.” Mauvrey strode along with purpose. The rest of us could do nothing but follow.

  Soon we came to the exit of our ice tunnel and found ourselves with the cliffs behind us and a verdant jungle ahead. More strange melon palms grew here, along with many other types of trees. From the moment we stepped out of the tunnel, enormous stalks of bamboo sprouted on our left and right, forming thin walls that guided us toward an iron pergola. Vines of unique pink flowers climbed the pergola, blossoming vigorously.

  “I’ve never seen flowers like these,” Kai commented. She touched one of the blossoms which, when hanging down, was shaped like a pink heart with a little red tail coming out the bottom and white fins on both sides.

  “They are called bleeding hearts,” I said. My friends looked at me and I shrugged delicately. “I earned an A in Floral Arrangements at Lady Agnue’s a few years ago. This cannot surprise you.”

  We followed our green light through the pergola and then along the path that followed, thick jungle on either side of us. The music grew louder until we reached its source: a grand building modeled like a temple, but large enough to be a school or an impressive office building.

  A ring of blooming magnolia trees surrounded the structure, a majestic mountain rose in the distance behind it, and our green trail hovered above the jade-tiled, triple-decker roof. On the front steps of the building, a group of girls in red and gold robes were playing instruments. They stopped playing a second later when they noticed us.

  “Do you think they’re friendly?” Kai asked.

  I heard a whistling sound and sidestepped faster than my friends did. Nets hit the dir
t all around us, two ensnaring Kai and Mauvrey. They had been fired from unknown locations in the jungle. Daniel managed to evade the attacks. We both kept moving while I pulled out my slingshot and a handful of portable potions. I fired an ice potion at the ground in front of me then hunkered behind the resulting frozen barrier that shot up. Daniel ran over and ducked for cover beside me. “Did you see where the nets were being shot from?” he asked.

  “No, did you—”

  A dozen ladies in red and gold robes materialized from the trees, surrounding us. Their arms were raised in fighting stance, prepped for unarmed combat. A few women swung down from ziplines in the taller trees, landing and taking up defensive positions. And one woman executed an impressive running leap and flipped over the ice barrier that Daniel and I hid behind, touching down like a professional gymnast in front of us. Daniel’s hand inched for his sword sheath as I continued to raise my slingshot, daring them to come closer.

  Ouch!

  A slight prick penetrated my arm. I glanced down. There was a tiny needle—no, a dart—sticking out of my shoulder. Daniel had one too. We looked at each other. Then lights out.

  I awoke lying on the ground of a pale green room, my wrists bound together with rope. Daniel, Mauvrey, and Kai had received the same treatment. It was a poor situation to be certain, but this was the nicest prison I had ever been in. Sitting up, I saw two sofas trimmed in gold, decorative vases on podiums, and dark wood double doors decorated with elaborate carvings.

  Daniel had already risen from the tranquilizer dart, which was not surprising. He and Crisa always seemed to be the first ones to their feet. I admired and sometimes envied that resilience. Kai had touched a bit of a sore spot when she called me out on falling unconscious in Oz. Given that my mother was most famous for falling under a sleeping spell, sometimes I felt like I needed to work extra hard to prove I was more than a helpless victim. Clearly I was failing at that so far on this quest. Also not that surprising.

  I had been coming into my own in a lot of ways lately, but commanding respect in one’s element was a lot easier than doing so on less comfortable terrain. While the peace talks had played to my strengths of public speaking, debates, diplomacy, and planning, being out on quests was different. Action-packed fighting, rushing into peril without preparation, and dealing with unpredictable enemies—those tasks did not fall under my department. I insisted on coming on this quest because it was about saving Crisa; nothing could have stopped me from being here for her. However, as proven by the last two confrontations, despite my best efforts and skill, trying to cross departments was not advisable for me. One look in Daniel’s eyes every time he came to my aid spoke volumes to that effect.

  “Hey, you doing okay?” Daniel asked me.

  I nodded, then realized something was missing. “My potions sack and slingshot!”

  “They took all our stuff,” Kai said. “Our swords, Daniel’s pocket watch, even Mauvrey’s gloves. They hit Mauvrey and me with those darts before releasing us from the nets, so we don’t know where we are or who those women were.”

  Footsteps echoed from the other side of the doors.

  “We will soon,” Daniel muttered.

  The double doors opened in a flourish. Seven women stepped through; they varied in age but shared similar features of black hair, dark eyes, and fair skin. Six had on the red and gold robes I had seen earlier. The woman at their helm wore gold and black robes more elaborate in design than the others. She was perhaps in her late twenties. Her hair was twisted in a tight bun.

  “My name is Nian Zhen,” the woman said, face impassive. “Please, come with me.”

  She turned on her heels and started walking back up the connecting corridor. We looked at each other, then we followed. The other six women flanked our group in two parallel lines.

  The halls we traveled down displayed many artifacts—vases, statues, sculptures, tapestries. Garnet chandeliers dangled overhead. All the ceiling was one continuous painted mural. The center of the walkway was composed of thick glass that separated us from a river below the floor in which large, colorful fish swam.

  Nian Zhen pushed through another set of impressive double doors. Daylight flooded in and we were led outside, coming upon an outdoor garden with two gold statues, each at least thirty feet in height. Several robed women sat in the area in meditative poses with their eyes closed. Nian Zhen stepped aside and gestured for us to proceed past her.

  I approached the larger-than-life statues. Both depicted women. One wore boots, pants, and a long dress shirt beneath her chest armor and skirt armor. Her short hair had been pulled back in a ponytail, and she stood in a fighting pose with one fist clenched and the other holding a straight sword. The second statue also had armor over her clothes, but her hair was long and she wore a decorated helmet that had wings on each side and a tail that extended from the top of the headpiece. This warrior held a sword in each of her hands.

  Standing beneath them, I felt humbled and inspired. The statues had plaques at their bases. The plaque of the woman with the helmet and two swords read:

  Princess Xianniang

  (General Xianniang the Unbreakable)

  Dutiful Daughter of Dou Jiande – King of Xia

  Beloved Wife of Lou Cheng

  I moved to the second statue. Her plaque read:

  Hua Mulan

  (Defender of the Homeland)

  Dutiful Daughter of Hua Hu

  “When arriving on new terrain, it is important to make your best effort at understanding where you are and who came before you,” Nian Zhen said. I turned as she approached us. “While you slept, our energy readers ascertained that you mean us no harm. However, we do not often get unexpected visitors to Mount Aborra, so precautions had to be taken. A mystical green flame arced through the sky and came to rest at our school hours before your arrival. I assume you are connected to it, so now would be the time to explain yourselves. I have asked our In-House Historian to meet us here, as she recognized the kind of flame that this was.”

  “Did you say this is a school?” Kai asked in surprise.

  Nian Zhen nodded. “We call our school Mount Aborra in honor of the grand mountain behind us.” Nian Zhen pivoted around and noticed that the peak of the mountain was concealed in fog. “Apologies, she is hiding today, but I assure you she is the highest mountain in all of the Wonderland realms. And as such she is a reminder of the tall possibilities and mighty strength that our founders embodied.”

  Nian Zhen tilted her chin toward the statues. “Princess Xianniang and Hua Mulan were two of the greatest warriors in my country’s history. They were laotong who believed in fighting to defend their families, honor, and the greater good.”

  “Laotong?” Mauvrey repeated.

  “It means eternally bonded spirits. It is the highest form of sisterhood. In modern times, a simpler version of this title could be best friends, or ‘besties’ as Yunru has translated.”

  This got Daniel’s attention. “Wait. Yunru?”

  “Please excuse my lateness,” said a short woman in her mid-thirties as she crossed the garden toward us. She wore robes like the others, plus a wide gold sash. She bowed quickly to Nian Zhen. “I was updating our record on world leaders. Many interesting things are happening on Earth. I will need to make another visit there in the near future to follow up on—”

  The woman abruptly stopped talking when she saw Daniel. Her dark eyes widened and she stepped closer to him. She stared up at Daniel intensely. He studied her too.

  “It couldn’t be . . .” she muttered. “Germany?”

  “Pied Piper,” he replied.

  The woman broke into an astonished smile and turned to her associates. “Please untie our guests. They are not strangers—at least, this one is not. I am willing to give him and the others the benefit of the doubt.”

  “Why is that?” Nian Zhen asked.

  Yunru glanced back at Daniel. “Because I would not be here without him.”

  Our bindings were removed
and our belongings returned. We sat at a round marble table where tea had been poured for each of us. The pot steamed in the center of the table. Nian Zhen and Yunru convened with our group; the other robed girls had dispersed at Nian Zhen’s command.

  As I sipped my tea, I noticed Mauvrey shifting a little in her seat—almost leaning away from Kai, seated next to her.

  “It is so strange,” said Yunru to Daniel. “I am of course aware of time zone differences between realms and dimensions, but I have never faced them quite so personally. For me, it has been about fifteen years since you and I crossed paths in Germany.”

  “Yunru was one of the people who helped Knight and I get across Germany,” Daniel explained to the group.

  “Crisa told me about that adventure,” I said to Yunru. “The Pied Piper drew you into Book, but she said you drove your car back to Earth before the wormhole closed. How did you end up in our dimension again?”

  “Crisa left a note in one of my textbooks,” Yunru replied. “She wrote down a date and time, and coordinates that led me to the city of Copenhagen. I traveled there and a black hole opened that took me to the Portalscape. I selected the door to Xanadu, and once I was here, I found Mount Aborra. I have traveled to other realms in this dimension since then, but have made this school my home. It is so strongly tied to my culture and heritage after all.”

  “Knight didn’t tell me about that note,” Daniel commented.

  “She did not tell me either,” I said. “Yunru, why would she leave you directions to a wormhole?”

  “Why does Crisa do anything?” Kai shrugged. “She’s a wildcard who makes choices on a whim.”

  “That’s not fair, Kai,” Daniel responded, looking at her with disapproval. “Knight can be unpredictable, but she doesn’t do anything without a well-meaning reason. Plenty of us are still alive because of that, including you.”