by Lorna Reid
‘Let’s go before we get caught,’ said Poppy.
‘We should maybe mark the statue we came through, or we’ll never be able to find our way back again,’ said Russell, eyeing the figure they had passed through as if it was nothing.
Poppy marked a tiny cross on the corner of the plinth with a pale lipstick, and with Russell grudgingly satisfied, they set off. No one saw the mark shimmer and then fade, or the torches dim as something unseen passed by.
They had been walking for a few minutes when they found a small opening on their left. The passageway it linked to was identical to the last one, also curving in both directions, and it seemed to Danny that they were gradually, with each opening they encountered, passing through a series of increasingly bigger rings.
The openings were annoyingly skewed, and he was fast losing patience until the last one suddenly spat them out into a vast chamber. He craned his neck, staring up into the darkness, but couldn’t make out the ceiling. The chamber stretched away in front of them and curved back on either side, populated with fat, carved pillars that towered upwards, out of sight.
Many of them bore lamps, which struggled to produce more than a feeble glow, creating puddles of gloom around the thousands of raised tombs that filled the place to the fringes of the shadows that swathed the rest of its reaches.
Danny felt the air change as they walked among the tombs, goosebumps racing up his arms. He turned to look at the others, feeling secretly relieved that they had decided to come.
Russell looked ashen and alarmed. He stared at the tombs with wide eyes, tugging the hem of his checked shirt and twisting the material around his fists. He hurried past Poppy and Katrina, who were looking about them in awe, and took the lead from Danny.
They passed along the rough rows, eyeing recumbent stone figures atop many of the tombs, and Katrina fell behind a little as she paused to examine one.
‘Katrina, come on.’ Poppy’s hushed voice seemed amplified in the vastness. ‘I don’t want to stay here any longer than necessary.’ Danny agreed. Nothing usually bothered him, but this place felt as though it was watching them. Looking back, he swore that he saw something dart past the doorway they had left, and his heartbeat quickened.
Danny picked up speed and noticed with relief some minutes later that a wall was just about visible on the far side of the chamber, the tiny pricks of light either side of a bright opening making his heart flutter. Thank fuck, he thought.
*
Russell led the way, past tomb after tomb, desperate to get out. The place was making him nervous – it felt like they weren’t the only ones there, and there was a lingering air of expectancy, like something was waiting.
He heard something and stopped, causing Danny to sidestep to avoid him. Then he heard it again: whispering, just on the edge of hearing. He looked around, but the only things moving were the dust motes floating in the sombre lamplight. It’s just the atmosphere, of course. I’m imagining things, he told himself. It was only logical. His hands were itching and tingling, despite being knotted round the bottom of his shirt, setting him even more on edge.
‘What’s the matter?’ asked Katrina.
‘I heard something.’
‘Oh come on, that’s not funny – it’s grim enough in here,’ said Poppy, pushing past.
‘It’s true,’ said Russell. He heard it again, the whispering voice, echoing in lurking darkness. He spun around, trying to see where it had come from, but it had seemed to come from everywhere.
‘I heard it again. It was definitely a whisper.’ Terror crawled into his veins and ate its way through him. In the distant lamplight, back the way they had come, a shadow flicked between the tombs. Russell’s heart leapt.
‘Something’s moving – there’s a shadow thing behind us.’
The others wheeled around, alarmed.
Danny shook his head. ‘I can’t see anything.’
Russell’s eyes raked the tombs, searching frantically for any sign of movement. His skin was crawling and his hands were driving him mad, while every sense screamed.
Poppy shuffled and twisted at the key on her charm bracelet. ‘Thom? Thom?’ she called. There was no reply. And then one came.
‘Thom? Thoooom?’ It was high-pitched and mocking. ‘Thom’s not here.’
A shadow flicked past the light, barely a metre from them. It was the final, terrifying straw and they turned and fled.
They tore through the pillared archway with the beckoning lights and into a portrait-lined room. Not daring to stop, they crossed it in seconds, skidding into a similar room, and another, and then one covered in maps, haring past a group of people studying at a table, before coming to a halt in the next room, which was lined in tapestries.
Russell slithered onto a bench, his chest heaving. The girls flopped down beside him, while Danny sank to the floor, pressing his back against the stone wall. Russell eventually composed himself enough to take several deep puffs from his inhaler.
‘Sorry,’ he breathed.
*
Danny watched Russell lose his panicked look and wondered what the hell they had just encountered. ‘I’m not going back now, not through that lot,’ Russell said, shaking his head. Danny glanced back through the doorway and then fished a bottle of juice from his bag and handed it to Russell, hoping that he wouldn’t take too long. Thom would undoubtedly be on their trail.
‘What happened. What was that voice?’ Poppy asked.
‘It moved too quick to be a person. I don’t know what the fuck it was,’ said Russell, gulping at the drink.
Before Danny could suggest that they discuss it while they walked, a voice from the doorway in front of them made him jump.
‘Long time, no see.’ Russell sprayed his drink everywhere in shock and Katrina jumped. To Danny’s astonishment, Knox stood in the doorway. It was barely a surprise that another of his father’s friends was also from this world.
Danny swore under his breath. He’d expected to be followed, not ambushed. They’d barely got anywhere. He stood up and glanced through the doorway on his right and considered his chances. He looked at the others, his determination rocked by a tiny wave of guilt at the thought of abandoning them, but he buried it – he couldn’t think like that now.
‘Thom called me. Said you were heading my way. It’s lucky I was here doing some research. You finally found your way into this world then?’ The man’s bright blue eyes sparkled with amusement beneath a messy sea of bright blonde hair and a lone, white lock over his left eye.
Danny took in the hooded cloak, the collarless white shirt with ties running down the front, and the tight black trousers ending at tall, buckled boots. It was the first time he’d seen Knox in this stuff. Every time he’d seen him over the last few years, he had been in jeans and a plain shirt.
‘I’m not going back, not through there,’ said Russell, scrubbing his shirt with a tissue. ‘Something’s in there.’
Knox nodded, keeping one eye on Danny, clearly sensing trouble. ‘There is. Several somethings, which is why people don’t linger. It’s part of the protection, both of this place and of the Gateway; it keeps people away from the area where the portal is, just in case. It’s remained hidden for this long for good reason.’
Danny watched Knox with narrowed eyes. He wasn’t about to go home and give up on his plans, or give up on his mother. Maybe he could take Knox by surprise. He was about as short as his father, but maybe not as fast?
*
He’s going to run off, thought Poppy. I don’t believe it. We’re supposed to be doing this together. How selfish can a person get? She glared at Danny, willing him to meet her eyes. He didn’t. She looked at Russell dabbing miserably at his wet shirt and felt sorry for him. Jack would certainly find out now, and that would be him grounded for weeks.
Without warning, Danny lunged for the door, but he hadn’t planned on Knox’s swiftness. The man shot forward and yanked him back, but Danny spun around and darted for another exit. To his su
rprise, Thom popped through and, with lightning reflexes, grabbed him and pushed him down onto a bench.
‘Don’t even think about it,’ warned Knox, as Danny glanced at the other doorways before he settled furious eyes on the pair of them.
Russell gaped, while Katrina looked furious at his willingness to abandon them. ‘Bastard,’ hissed Poppy, trading glare for glare with him.
‘Done?’ Thom said, folding his arms and looking down at the mutinous boy.
‘No,’ he muttered.
‘Let me guess … You’re off to see the Oracle, despite not knowing who she is, where you’re going, and what you’ll do when you get there.’ They shared glances and remained silent. ‘You want to ask her about Niri?’
Danny nodded and, for the first time, looked disheartened and upset.
‘She can see the future—’ he began, but Knox cut him off.
‘Not exactly, and context plays a huge part. She’s an Oracle, not a magic window through time.’
‘Take it from one of the best Time Mages we know … It isn’t that easy,’ Thom said.
‘One of the best?’ Knox grinned. Poppy studied his cheeky, boyish face and wondered how someone who looked so young and innocent could be a Time Mage. For some reason she’d expected them to be old, with beards.
‘Anyway, I need to head back to the city. Some of the companies are being assigned to look after the Ianuan Soul Core fragments after a few have gone missing, and I’m going on drift. Stopping off in the city first.’
‘I heard about that,’ Thom said. ‘I’ll go with you. I’ve got business there now.’
‘What’s his or her name?’ Knox said, earning a finger gesture and silence. Thom turned back to them.
‘I don’t have time for this. I also don’t have time to backtrack and wait for Jack to get back to relieve me, as I’ve now been called away, briefly, despite being bloody drained. So it looks like you’re going to have an escort to the city. Maybe we’ll bump into the Oracle.’
‘Bet you will,’ sniggered Knox, dodging a swipe from Thom.
‘Seriously? We’re going now? Are we really seeing her? Do you know her?’ Danny leapt up and bombarded Thom, half drowned out by questions and excitement from the rest of them, Poppy included.
‘Look …’ Thom laughed. ‘Yes to everything, okay? But we need to move.’
Danny threw his arms around the man.
‘That’s fine by me,’ Russell said. ‘I want to be as far away from that room as possible. What is it, anyway? What is this place?’
‘It’s the old part of The Hall of the Ancients,’ said Thom as he ushered them through the doorway after Knox. ‘That part is the Memorial Chamber. It’s a resting place for many of the fallen from ancient times. That’s what it was originally. The rest of the hall is an underground complex full of libraries, archives, maps, and art that’s being restored. It was built around the old part, the chamber where you just were, as a sort of grander memorial and place of knowledge and research. A tribute to the Ancients.’
‘There aren’t just tombs in that chamber,’ muttered Russell.
‘Yeah. Best never to linger back there,’ he said. ‘It’s not officially off limits, but people don’t generally venture through there without good reason. With the depth of knowledge archived in the rest of the hall, they don’t need to, anyway.’
Poppy shivered.
‘So, does Dad know we’re going to the city? Erm, is he fine with it?’ Russell looked more cheerful, but his good mood faltered somewhat when Thom flinched. Knox raised his eyebrows, saying nothing.
‘Erm, not exactly. This is sort of a new development – I’m pushed for time.’ Another incredulous look from Knox. This doesn’t bode well, thought Poppy.
Russell also appeared to think the same, as he was once again looking anxious. He soon seemed to cheer up, however, when they began moving through armouries and into a library room.
It was long and vast, lined from floor to ceiling with overladen bookshelves in dark wood. Dusty chandeliers hung from the ornate plaster ceiling, which boasted panels of vivid artwork: battles, landscapes, seascapes, strange creatures, and violent magic splashed in colour above them.
Poppy’s neck started to strain, and she pulled herself away from the sights above and looked around as they walked. People were scattered around the worn wooden tables, pouring over volumes and papers, unaware of anything around them. One old man was snoring on a tatty sofa, an ancient volume, nearly as big as himself, lying open on the floor beside him. Several other people were sleeping quietly, heads pressed to the pages, oblivious to the small group passing among them.
*
The smell of books mixed with furniture polish reminded Danny of the old bookshops that his father liked to trail around. He had been trying not to think about his dad, about the disappointed look that he got in his eyes when Danny did something bad. What would he think of all this? He was with Thom now, at least, so perhaps it wasn’t all bad.
‘People come from all over the Lands to study here and use the resources,’ explained Knox, drawing Danny’s attention from his troubling thoughts. ‘Some of the rarest volumes and artwork in existence are kept here.’
‘Doesn’t look very well guarded,’ said Katrina, eyeing one man in uniform sleeping standing up, propped against a statue in a corner.
‘You’d be surprised,’ Thom said.
‘Why were you thrown out again?’ Knox goaded, half whispering in Thom’s ear, a cheeky smirk on his face.
‘For something you could do with more of,’ Thom retorted. Knox scowled, but before he could reply, Thom moved ahead and began pointing out locked cases of mouldy-looking books to Russell.
They moved onward through another library area, this one with ornate pottery sitting in spaces among the bookshelves. Poppy and the others craned and turned as they walked, soaking in the details. The odd weight of history pressed down, noticeably, from all sides, and Poppy felt moved to an unusual silence by it all.
After many similar rooms, each bigger and busier than the next, they eventually passed through a neat reception and admin area with warm umbra and earth tones, which complimented the dark wooden desks, wall panelling, and furniture. They arrived at a wide set of stone steps that flowed upward at a shallow angle, the stone worn smooth by millions of footsteps; the top was nowhere in sight. Poppy’s heart sank and everyone else looked similarly horrified.
Instead of starting on the stairs, they travelled along a narrow corridor lined with old, heavy-framed portraits, wooden pallets, and boxes. Thom and Knox arrived at a frame that looked identical to all the others, but for the fact it was empty, and led them through it. If Poppy hadn’t passed through similar ones like it in the Gatehouse, she would have felt more apprehensive, but, still, passing through solid stone was no less of a thrill.
They emerged through the wall into a small square room of bare stone with tall alcoves on all sides lit by small lamps. Each alcove had a stone slab as thick as Poppy’s torso fitted neatly inside, and before she could ask what they were, they were led onto one in the far corner, everyone jostling to fit.
‘What is this?’ she asked, swearing as Katrina stepped on her toes.
‘Just try to keep your feet,’ warned Thom. He nudged a small, slightly protruding block of stone with his knuckle and there was a faint grinding noise. The slab shot upwards, the sudden motion sending Katrina crashing into Russell, who ended up in a heap on the floor, looking greener with each passing second.
Poppy wanted to reach out and touch the glowing walls but decided against it, settling instead for watching the colours change before the slab eventually slowed to a halt.
Russell was helped up by Knox and guided out into a room identical to the previous one, but lit only by two forlorn lamps half hanging from the wall. ‘You okay?’ he asked. Russell nodded, looking unwilling to trust his stomach enough to open his mouth. ‘I wouldn’t worry. You should have seen the mess Thom made when he’d drunk too much a few mont
hs ago.’ Thom scowled at Knox and the man’s blue eyes danced with triumphant mischief.
Poppy and the others followed them through a round frame hanging on the wall and into an empty passageway. The walls were blemished with green mould and the decaying plasterwork was being eaten by trickling damp, water pooling on the uneven floor. There was barely any light – most of the lamps were dark or broken – but from what she could see, many old frames, mostly devoid of artwork, lined the walls, as they had in the lower passageway.
To everyone’s relief, the passage began to brighten as they walked, and Poppy sped up, trying not to touch the walls as they trotted up a set of steps, over a mouldy yet hopeful ‘We’re Renovating’ sign on a chain, and emerged into a large, low hall full of pillars and people milling about. Beyond lay the dreaded stairs.
Clusters of children in uniforms jostled around exasperated teachers; scholars and people in uniforms talked, leaned, or read on one of the low, plush-topped benches. The fresh breeze washed the musty smell from Poppy’s lungs and they headed through the throng and out into the sunlight.
*
Russell blinked in the light as they stood in front of the hall’s entrance, forming a small oasis among those coming and going. Tiny insects danced around the weeds straggling through the cracks in the slabs at their feet, and birdsong filled the trees around them, lending the place a pleasant air that hadn’t been present in the depths.
To their left lay a large, busy yard, full of wagons, stamping horses, and bustle, while a smaller, quieter place lay tucked in a clearing among the trees to the right. There were a number of smaller, straw-filled wagons, and grazing horses being tended to. Boxes and crates lay stacked in a brick outhouse, giving the impression that it was for supplies, or at least provisions for the main yard.
‘We’re just in time, come on,’ said Thom, running over to the smaller yard, where a wagon hitched to a team of horses was moving onto the main road. The driver saw them coming and stopped to let them catch up.
‘Haven’t got all day, ya know, boy,’ he said as Thom gave him a grin and hauled himself over the high-slatted sides and into the straw. Russell looked up to see a dark-skinned old man with a shock of white hair grinning down at them from the driver’s seat. They scrabbled to join Thom, and Russell sank with a sigh into the straw, hoping that his belly would now settle.