by L. E. Fred
“Anyway, let’s get these records, and then maybe Sophia can explain the talismans to us.” Viv stepped to the glass case at the back of the room.
It looked just like a case that would contain some ancient piece of paper at a museum. A circle of what looked like chalk circled around the glass case. The substance I took as chalk, however, glowed with a strange light that gave us the impression that it should not be crossed. It made Viv and Hope, who had ventured farthest in, back away, anyway. The book inside didn’t seem any different from the book Iven carried around; the only difference was that instead of the brown leather cover being blank, like Iven’s, it had a silver inscription of a wolf that glowed eerily in the dim light.
I looked at Kyle and Mitch and saw they were also a little disappointed in the book’s appearance. The Dreamers, however, were looking at the book like a sacred relic — which I guess it was.
“Our history,” Iven whispered, leaning as far as he could without crossing the protective circle around the display.
“Secrets.” Hope nodded, her purple eyes growing very wide.
“Answers.” Viv stepped forward. She took Sophia’s key from her pouch. The bronze skeleton key was glinting in the light of the book’s logo. “Let us see if we are worthy to retrieve them.”
That’s when things went wrong.
Viv took the old key and stepped over the protective barrier around the case. Almost at once, she realized her mistake, but it was too late. A keyhole suddenly appeared at eye-level in front of Viv, blinding all of us with electric blue light. If it weren’t for Hope’s quick magic wrapping us in a protective layer, we would’ve been pummeled by the explosion that followed. As it was, we still slammed into the stone walls.
I struggled to my feet and kept my eyes shut until the light subsided. As the room dimmed, I saw the others standing up as well.
“What was that—” Kyle was cut off by Iven.
“Look,” he whispered, his glowing eyes fixed on the tall tunnel of a ceiling.
I looked up, expecting to see the impossibly long stretch of stone. Instead, I had to quickly look down before hyperventilating.
The Lucid Well had started caving in, trying to crush the intruders. Large hunks of jagged, white stone hovered inches above our heads. There was no way we’d survive something like that.
“How?” I asked, looking around.
“How indeed.” Mitch nodded to the center of the room, though he still glanced above warily.
I looked to the case and saw Viv was crouched over Hope. The younger Dreamer was on her knees in a hunched position, though her arms were held up as if she were holding something very heavy. Just as I focused on her, she looked up and made eye contact with me. Her purple irises were glowing twice as bright, and her brows were furrowed in deep concentration. It seemed her spiky hair stuck up more than normal, as if she were full of static energy. Magenta light radiated off of her body and pulsed up to the stones that wanted to crush us.
“You…” I gasped.
I realized Hope was the one who saved us, not only from the explosion, but also from the impending doom levitating above our heads. I wanted to give her words of encouragement, or even help her somehow, but my voice stopped working. As I gaped at her, Hope’s overly bright eyes remained fixed on me.
“No,” she said, her voice strangely magnified. “You.”
“What?” Everyone’s eyes were now on me. Normally, I would’ve liked Hope giving me attention, but these circumstances were a little different.
“Nah, he can’t help you.” Kyle stepped in front of me. He was looking at Hope strangely, as if he was afraid of her heroic powers keeping him alive. I had the sneaking suspicion that my brother was showing some protective instincts. “Let Mitch help with his sword. Go ahead and see what happens if you draw it—”
“No!” Hope shook her head. Her eyes dimmed a bit, and the stones above us wobbled dangerously.
Hope gasped and shut her eyes. She held her arms higher, though I saw her slender biceps shaking under some unseen weight. When she reopened her eyes, her irises were bright again and she looked even more focused.
“Devon, it’s you,” she said in a more strained voice. “You need to use the key. You’re the only one who can, and you must do it now. I—I can’t hold on.” She grunted with effort and the stones rose a bit higher above us, though they wobbled some more.
“Here.” Viv suddenly appeared by my side. She pressed Sophia’s key in my hand. I looked at her and saw her grey eyes, though confused, felt no qualms about putting me in charge.
“But what am I going to do?” I asked in a somewhat whiny voice. I like being helpful but not when my decisions could instantly flatten me and all of my friends.
“I told you that you were going to have important roles in this world, Devon,” Viv said, cracking a smile despite the tons of stone above her head. “And this was your first test, no? Let’s just hope you don’t fail.”
She patted me on the shoulder before pushing me to the edge of the protective circle. Hope was kneeling just beyond the line. If I squinted, I could see where she was holding up a section of the protective spell, as if she were lifting a brighter patch of air just high enough for someone to crouch under to get inside.
I turned back, the key now sweaty in my hand, to see what anyone else had to say on this matter. Iven was nodded his head eagerly, and Kyle was making “go on” hand gestures in my direction while glancing nervously up at the ceiling. So much for my protective, big brother I guess. Mitch had his arms folded, as if he suddenly felt safe. He gave me a grin and the slightest of nods, just like when we were fighting in the coliseum.
Taking a deep breath, I thought about how confident I felt while fighting in the coliseum. If I got my powers back, I knew my confidence would grow and I could help get us out of here with the book we needed.
I just hoped they kicked in fast enough.
Stepping into the protective circle is not something I would recommend to anyone. You think cramming for a midterm is hard? Imagine massive amounts of information entering your head at once. I’d only made it a few steps before the sheer amount of knowledge pushed me back.
I saw things from human civilization that I’d only brushed over in my own history classes. The ancient civilizations of Egypt, Greece, China, and Rome rushed through my head. I caught glimpses of philosophers like Aristotle and Socrates exchanging knowledge with ancient Dreamers. Then I saw the Nightmares emerge with Roman Caesars and Mongolian warlords backing them up. I caught glimpses of the exodus from Miragean and then the siege of Fantasm. I saw the other tribe slinking away beyond the mountain range, but if I strained on them, my head started pounding suddenly. As it was, catching that much history in a minute already gave me a headache.
These things are what have passed.
I wasn’t sure if I was the one who thought it or if one of the others shouted to me. Either way, it helped me gain a sense of what was really going on. I pretended I was in a really boring history class, hungry, and waiting for the lunch bell. The impatience I felt in the classroom helped me rip myself from the visions that kept swimming through my head.
Before I knew what was happening, I felt cold stone hit my right cheek. My breath came pounding back into my lungs, and I panted on the ground for a few minutes.
“Come on, Devon!”
I heard my brother shout, and I sat up quickly. Despite the woozy feeling, I managed to get to my feet. I heard my brother, Mitch, and Viv cheer.
“Huh?” I stammered, looking at my surroundings. The ancient book in the case had come to life. Streams of passages now swirled above my head, reciting things from history. One passage attacked my face, but I instinctively held my hands up.
To my immense surprise, my ball of light returned full force. I saw my arms in front of me, and they were now glowing with light and power. Gingerly moving my legs, I could feel the surge of power that I hadn’t felt since my time in the coliseum. In spite of my current situa
tion, I had to crack a grin. I may not be a reliable hero, but at least I could provide when others needed me.
“I got this,” I shouted to the others before swatting away the attacking blots of history.
Now that I had control of my powers, moving through the protective circle was easy. I stepped to the glass case with no problem, even though I could feel the Dreamers’ ancient power fighting against me. Why hadn’t I been able to realize my powers before?
Because humans are, and always will be, weak!
The harsh voice cut through me like a sheet of icy water. I staggered, gasping for breath, and my power flickered. Though I heard the others gasp, I couldn’t do anything to prevent it. From where had the voice come? Did the Dreamers believe in ghosts?
“No, Devon!” Hope shouted, turning around as best as she could to face me. “Don’t listen to the voice!”
“What?” I tried looking at her, but the power of the protective circle closed in around me. I was forced to my knees and used all of my willpower to prevent the floating words from invading my mind again.
“The Nightmares know we’re here!” Hope explained, somehow still keeping the roof from caving in. “And they’re using their power to discourage us from attaining the books. I heard them the moment Viv tried unlocking the case!”
“What?” Viv looked at Hope angrily. “Are you saying I let Nightmares into Fantasm?”
“No, but they also influenced Lucids, remember?” Hope gasped, wincing as she kept one of the lower stones from wobbling any more than it already was. “They’re using the new opening in the Lucid Well to thwart our actions. Devon, you have to unlock the case!” She nodded to me, which made me freeze up even more.
You cannot reach the case, the harsh voice whispered in my ear. As if on cue, I fell flat on my face. My power flickered out completely. I heard my friends gasping and shouting, trying to get to me, but I couldn’t do anything except focus on breathing. A shadow started banging on the protective spell, and I knew that was Kyle trying to get me to keep on fighting.
What’s the point? I found myself asking.
It was true. Despite fighting, running, and hiding in this world for days, I belonged in my own world. I was a fifteen-year-old boy with a mom and an annoying brother. I would start school in a month, and I needed to prepare for that. How was I supposed to save those enslaved by Leona while liberating an entire race of Dreamers?
It is too much for anyone, the voice agreed in a much softer voice. No one would blame you for refusing a duty much larger than yourself.
But I had to get the book, I thought to myself suddenly. If no one else benefited from our quest, at least I could get my friends out of this tower safely and get the book in the case. As if I had an energy drink, I was now wide awake.
“Hey, voice,” I said defiantly, regaining my footing. “You think I’m gonna cave in like this ceiling? Well, watch me!”
Like in the coliseum, I could control my power simply by believing that I had it. A stream of words tried attacking my face, but I merely swatted my hand and my ball of light came to my aid. The words dissolved on impact. I heard cheers from outside the circle letting me know that my friends saw me making progress. I smiled to myself, realizing that I finally got to play the hero.
The voice kept trying to speak to me, but every time I heard its deep voice, Hope would shout, causing the voice to subside. She was the only other person who knew what was going on inside of the protective circle enclosing us and the book. I needed her in order to get us out safely. Her protective spell was weakening fast, though, and I knew we only had moments before she’d exhaust her power.
Half-running, half-stumbling while batting away the attacking words, I finally made it to the glass case. I had to shield my eyes from the glowing book and focused on the keyhole shimmering in the crested padlock.
“Come on, key.” I looked at Sophia’s prized possession, shining in my sweaty palm. As if on cue, it started glowing like it knew it was about to do its job. This close to the case, the words stopped attacking. In fact, the entire protective area had gone silent, as if it were holding its breath.
“Do it, Devon!” Mitch shouted, teetering over the edge of the protective circle, like he wanted nothing more than to join me inside of the spell.
I nodded to show him that I’d heard and turned back to the padlock. It was shimmering so invitingly, like it wanted nothing more than to be unlocked. Why would something that had been protected for so long finally want to be free?
The Dreamers are craftier than they seem. The voice hissed in my head. Its voice was shaking with what I thought was laughter.
Hope didn’t protest this time. Maybe she was so exhausted from her fight with the ceiling, or maybe she didn’t disagree with the voice. My stomach dropped. Was this key going to trigger a trap? If we didn’t get the book out of the case, then we’d surely be crushed under the rocks. But if I set off a trap, something worse might happen.
I gasped as a felt a hand on my shoulder. Hope’s bright eyes were focused on me as I wheeled around. For once she wasn’t glaring at me, but I wasn’t sure if I liked the scared look on her any better. She was somehow still holding the ceiling up, but I could tell the effort of standing was depleting her power quickly. The stones all around us started shaking violently.
“When you unlock the case... th-the walls will come down… and all entrances to this tower will be... sealed,” she said, wincing with each phrase.
“Then how are we gonna get out?” I looked around, unsuccessfully trying to find another escape route. The others were looking at us with confusion and urgency.
“Through the ceiling.” Hope nodded up, panting as she moved her head. Bright beads of sweat started popping up on her forehead, and her pixie cut looked droopy. “I can use the rest of my power to clear a path through the top. If your brother can use his Lucid powers to get us out of here, we may be able to make it out safely.
“And for the Nightmares?” I asked, shivering as I heard the deep voice chuckle in the back of my head.
“This is the Lucid Well.” Hope cracked a weak smile. “And your brother was so eager to use his powers again.”
“Right.” I straightened up. Though our plan could go wrong on so many levels, it was our only shot of escaping with what we needed.
“What’s going on?” Iven called to us, clutching his book to his chest.
“Kyle, make something that’ll fly us outta here!” I shouted, locking eyes with my brother. “Do it Leona’s arena-style.”
“Right.” Kyle's face broke into a mischievous grin. “What’s the signal?”
“You’ll see!” Hope yelled to him. She gave me one last look before preparing to use the rest of her power. The hunks of stone above us wobbled as she reserved some of her strength.
I turned back to the case, knowing I’d only have seconds to unlock it, retrieve the book, and get Hope and me to Kyle. I was never known for my speed, but at least I could react fast enough to get us out. Like believing in my magic ball of light, I had to believe that I could pull this off.
The padlock was shimmering a little bit more than before, as if it knew I was about to unlock it. I took Sophia’s key and placed it inside of the keyhole. The brass key vibrated with power, waiting for me to turn it.
Your escape plan will not work. The voice was back. And even if it does, we are waiting outside to capture you and your friends. Surrender now, and we will be merciful.
The voice was tempting, but I’d already made my mind up. I’d seen what the Nightmares could do in my glimpses of history. They, like the barbarians and tyrants of the past, were selfish and would never show mercy to those they thought were beneath them. I’d much rather be on team Dreamer any day.
“This is the Lucid Well,” I said fiercely. “And it gives power to those who are of pure heart. You’re on our turf right now, voice, and we’re not giving up that easily!”
With that, I turned the key, ready to run for my life.
> Chapter 19
Return Trip
As expected, all chaos broke loose after opening the case. If the protective circle hadn’t broken, we all would’ve been dead in seconds. Hope collapsed right after she used the rest of her power to destroy the stones hanging above our heads. More were coming, fast, and I found myself barely able to stand. I hadn’t realized how much of my strength was needed just to stand up and fight off the floating words and spells. How was I going to carry out the plan and help us escape if I could barely keep air in my own lungs?
Thankfully, our friends were in much better shape. Viv scooped up Hope, and Mitch yanked me to my feet to get to Kyle’s rocket. Iven leapt over all of us with surprising agility to snatch the glowing book from its case.
This time, Kyle installed some seats with harnesses for straps. It looked like one of those sketchy rides at a school fair, but I figured getting flattened by tons of stone might be a little more fatal. Besides, I couldn’t even walk properly, and I used the last of my strength to help Mitch get me into a seat. In a matter of seconds, we’d all made it to the rocket safely, and Kyle did his thing.
The ride up was pretty similar to one of those Blaster rides at an amusement park. My eyes stung as we shot upward, and I only blinked to avoid having rubble scratch my corneas. I was so weak that I feared if I closed my eyes for too long, I’d slip out of consciousness.
I was right behind Kyle, and was probably the only one who saw his wide grin as we broke free of the Lucid Well. The cool night air never felt so welcoming, and I swelled with pride at our successful mission as I gave into the weightless feeling of soaring into the starry sky.
My brother had even prepared for the descent. Before the rocket lost complete momentum, he changed our seats into swing-like parachutes. I gripped my ropes as we all glided down. The breeze from the bay caught us and carried us away from Fantasm. I stole a glance at the city, wondering if I’d get the chance to see the city fully restored.