The Demon Queen and The Locksmith

by Spencer Baum

  This was a new discovery, an interlacing of the noble and malicious sounds of the hum. Until today, they had always been separate and distinct.

  Kevin heard his dad’s voice, talking to Cassandra late into the night: “The bright sounds are strong, incredibly strong, and they are tied to the dark sounds.”

  What did Cassandra want with his family? She came to Turquoise with a purpose, but did nothing to act on that purpose until yesterday when she blew up the side of the mountain. The picture of her holding the letter to Julius Adams was more than twenty years ago. What had she been doing all this time? Why was she coming to weekly meetings of the Hearers at Kevin’s house?

  Nobility and malice, together in the sounds of the mountain, was a revelation for me, wrote Gerrard.

  I found myself able to hear inside the mountain itself, the way one might hear the inner workings of a clock in a quiet parlor. Then I came to a stop. It was as if I had reached a locked door, and although I was still entirely in my mind, the door was real. It was consistent. Every time I followed the sounds deep into the mountain, I ran into that door, and I couldn’t unlock it.

  His dad’s voice, speaking to Cassandra late in the night: “For years, I felt like I could hear the bright sounds all the way to the center of the mountain, and then I hit a wall.”

  Kevin’s mind raced ahead, wary of the conclusions it might reach.

  He continued reading Gerrard’s manuscript.

  High in the mountains of Switzerland, there is a locksmith, a man named Hobbes, and no lock is inviolable to him. His family has made and broken the best locks in the world for many generations. It is said that the Crown Jewels are placed in a box, and Hobbes is brought in to test their security. The question is not whether Hobbes can break the locking mechanism behind which the jewels are hidden, but how long it will take him. If he requires at least ten minutes, the locking mechanism is deemed successful.

  I wish I could harness the skill of Mister Hobbes for my own problem. In my time in Turquoise, I have discovered principles of nature that will change the world when published. I have found in the hum a stronger and more truthful way to discern reality than the existing five senses combined. I have discovered a new way to capture my thoughts on paper, and can record my discoveries in a format suitable only for those who are ready to share in them.

  But I cannot get past the locked door inside the mountain. I have no key. I have no locksmith.

  Kevin’s dad heard deep inside the mountain too. Like Gerrard, Kevin’s dad encountered a wall, a place where the mental journey via the hum came to an end. Unlike Gerrard, Kevin’s dad had found a way to break through. He told Cassandra about it the night before last.

  “Today, I closed my eyes and listened -- now I can hear through that wall,” his dad had said.

  The next day, Cassandra blew open the side of Turquoise Mountain.

  “What now, Kevin?” said Jackie. “Where are we?”

  Her words didn’t echo as before. There were no walls for the sound to bounce against. Beams from the boat’s headlights spread far and wide. The tunnel had opened into an arena-sized cavern. The flowing river had become a peaceful lake.

  “We’ve arrived,” Kevin said.

  The headlights cut two beams of light all the way to the far end of the cavern, but their glow illuminated the entire space. Downtown Turquoise would fit comfortably inside this cavern. The lake stretched wide in all directions. The walls on either side were so far as to be near-invisible. A twenty story tower wouldn’t touch the stalactites hanging from the ceiling.

  Silhouettes and shadows of strange, giant creatures emerged from the water ahead, like rocks in a cove. The creatures were still. They were dead.

  “Something terrible has happened here,” Kevin said.

  Amy screamed. A shape was floating in the water ten feet ahead. It was only the first. As they floated further across the lake, hundreds of hideous shapes became visible. They were the bodies of demons, floating on the surface of the water, just as they had before a cave-in separated the group from the oncoming horde. Kevin’s eyes told him to scream as well, but the hum calmed him.

  “They’re dead,” he said. “Everything in the water is dead.”

  Deep, dissonant tones reverberated in the edges of the hum. Chaos, violence, death – the hum carried a memory of desperation in this cavern.

  “There’s been a war in here,” Kevin said.

  “Termites,” said Jackie.

  Termites? The word made a vision flash before Kevin’s eyes, a dream of a flow of termites scurrying from a tree stump.

  Kevin looked at the monstrous creatures, perched like statues in the water, ten times the size of the demon ants floating about. Their curved heads, rounded bodies, and translucent shells matched the bugs they had found in the stump at Blackstone Park, only on a gargantuan scale.

  “Why are they so much bigger?” Joseph asked.

  “Soldiers,” said Tom. “Soldier termites are big and powerful, much bigger than ants.”

  “Fire up the motor, Lou,” said Joseph. “I’m not pushing anymore. I want out of the water.”

  Lou did as Joseph asked. The sound of the motor filled the cavern and the boat picked up speed. Joseph flew overhead as they coasted through the floating death. Lou had to steer carefully to avoid the carcasses.

  The scope of the battle had been massive, beyond what was visible on the surface. Kevin could hear it in the hum. Thousands of dead bodies were in this water, most beneath the surface. The ferocity of battle, the rage, the finality of death, all of this echoed into memory within the hum.

  Lou continued his swerving path back and forth through the lake. The crew remained silent so he could concentrate as he steered. Amy closed her eyes, buried her face in Tom’s chest and remained there.

  Minutes passed. A shoreline came into view. Termite carcasses jutted higher above the surface as they approached. The boat hit bottom and stopped.

  Ahead were dry caves, a network of tunnels with a steep upward slope.

  “Cassandra’s path to the outside connects up there somewhere,” Kevin said. “We’re deep inside the mountain.”

  “How deep?” said Lou.

  Kevin searched the hum. Here in the center, the mountain’s sound was enormous, filling the hum like a jet engine. He could hear the flaw. It was so clear now. He understood why it bothered his dad so much. Turquoise Mountain was meant to be whole, the structure in its entirety stronger and more purposeful than its parts; the hole in its side was akin to a broken string on a violin, or a dent in a trumpet. It turned an instrument of music into a noisemaker.

  “I think we’re looking at a couple hours of hiking,” he said, “assuming we don’t run into trouble on the way.”

  “Do you think we’ll run into trouble?” Tom asked.

  “I don’t know,” said Kevin. “There’s more happening in the hum than I can keep track of.”

  “Maybe she’s dead,” said Lou. “Killed in this battle between her demons and the monsters they found down here. Maybe this is all over.”

  “There’s a way we can check. I’ll do a scouting trip,” said Joseph. “I can take a quick flight through the tunnels, if I see something dangerous on the way I’ll rush back. Toss me the flashlight.”

  Lou looked at Kevin, the de facto leader of this ill-begotten crew. Kevin nodded.

  Lou handed over the flashlight and Joseph took off. The incline of the tunnels ahead was so steep that in a few seconds Joseph was out of view and his light was gone. Only the glow of the boat’s headlights kept them out of total darkness.

  “When he comes back, if it’s all clear, we should get the three of you out of here first,” Kevin said to Lou, Tom, and Amy.

  Tom opened his mouth to protest, but said nothing. The Lou Sweeney Global Operation had survived only because of the presence of these three teenagers. Lou, Tom, and Amy were a liability now, and if there was even the slightest chance that the danger hadn’t passed, Kevin needed to be free
of them.

  They continued waiting in silence until Joseph returned.

  “There are more dead bugs, you can follow their bodies all the way to the top,” Joseph said. “Giant ants and termites, all of them dead. They ripped each other to pieces. It’s a long way, but there’s a clear path all the way to daylight. It would take hours to hike and it’s really steep. I was thinking if we went in waves, I could carry people.”

  “We were just discussing that,” said Kevin, “and we’ve already decided who’s going on the first run.”

  Joseph nodded in agreement. “I think I can carry all three of you,” he said. “Amy on my back, Lou and Tom on each arm.”

  Joseph extended his hands. Lou took the left; Tom looked at the right.

  “This doesn’t seem proper,” Tom said. “Taking me out while a lady stays behind.”

  “Tom, how are you even going to climb these rocks?” Kevin said. “You don’t have shoes on.”

  Tom sighed and took Joseph’s right hand. Amy wrapped her arms around his neck.

  “Thank you,” said Lou. “If it weren’t for you, I never would have seen the outside again. After six years locked underground, I can hardly wait.”

  “I bet,” Joseph said. “Guys, don’t worry if this takes me a bit of time. I think it will be slower going with passengers.”

  “We’ll be waiting for you,” said Jackie.

  Joseph took off again, carrying three adults as he flew out of sight, leaving Kevin and Jackie alone in the darkness.

  Jackie took Kevin’s hand in hers.

  “How are you doing?” she asked.

  “Well, let’s see,” Kevin said. “You and I are deep inside uncharted caves, having just been chased to within an inch of our lives by giant ants, and now we’re surrounded by the remains of the world’s first war between over-sized bug families. I think I’m doing alright. How about you?”

  Jackie laughed.

  “I wish we had a flashlight, so we could start hiking,” she said. “The sooner we get out of here, the better.”

  “I wonder how much light we could get from our cell phones,” Kevin said.

  They both pulled phones from their pockets and opened them. The display screens provided a faint glow, Jackie’s more so than Kevin’s, but even between them there wasn’t enough light to make Kevin feel good about leaving the security of the boat and its headlights.

  “Do you trust your ears to take us in the right direction again?” Jackie asked.

  “It’s odd,” said Kevin, “I don’t. The hum is so loud right now, it’s kind of throwing me off. It’s almost like…”

  His voice echoed into silence.

  “Like what, Kevin?”

  “Like…I’m hitting a wall.”

  “Everything’s okay though, isn’t it? Joseph can still fly us all the way out.”

  “Yes, nothing’s changed, I’ve just realized something. The hum is louder than it’s ever been. It’s like there’s a giant speaker inside the mountain, blasting the hum into Turquoise, and we’re right up next to it now. But if I listen carefully, if I try to follow it, I run into a wall, just like my dad.”

  The hum was so full of information Kevin had a hard time processing it all. Giant dead bodies all around them, the lingering memory of a war just finished, the sound itself behind a locked door…

  “Something’s hidden,” Kevin said.

  “What?” said Jackie.

  “I don’t know,” said Kevin. “Something’s hidden in the hum. There’s a hole where there should be a sound.”

  There were potent sounds in his backpack as well. Kevin slid it off his shoulders and unzipped it. Gerrard’s manuscript was buzzing. The crystal was practically screaming.

  Kevin pulled it out. Even in the faded glow of the boatlights, the crystal shimmered with unnatural brilliance.

  “May I see your cell phone?” Kevin asked.

  Jackie gave it to him. Kevin held the display screen to the back of the crystal.

  The crystal magnified the light from the phone’s display screen to a warm glow that spread in all directions, giving a clear view of the cave all around them.

  “Outstanding,” said Jackie. “Let’s start hiking.”

  “You don’t have shoes,” said Kevin. “Maybe you should wear mine.”

  “Very chivalrous,” said Jackie, “and silly. I’m fine. If we come to some really tough terrain, you can carry me.”

  “Good idea, you just let me know when you need a lift.”

  “I was kidding, Kevin.”

  “Oh.”

  Chapter 19

  Despite an unusual light source and Jackie’s lack of shoes, they were able to hike through the tunnels at a good clip. When they rounded the first bend, they came upon a carcass, as Joseph warned they would.

  A giant termite was torn into pieces, and was surrounded by assorted body parts. Kevin and Jackie took as wide a path around it as the cave allowed, and said nothing while they passed. Kevin’s eyes and ears told him this creature was dead, but still he was terrified to be so near to it. They waited until the corpse was entirely behind them before speaking, and even then, spoke in whispers, as if in reverence for the dead.

  “You know what I’ve noticed,” Jackie whispered. “These tunnels we’re hiking aren’t normal caves. Normal caves are carved out by water. These have round walls, and the incline is constant and steep.”

  They walked a few more paces in silence.

  “I think, all this time, Turquoise Mountain has been a nest for giant termites” Jackie said.

  Kevin thought about Jackie and Joseph’s conflicting interpretations of the picture in Cassandra’s bedroom.

  “Do you think Cassandra knew what she was going to find down here?” Jackie said.

  “I have no idea,” Kevin said. “I didn’t expect this.”

  “What did you expect?”

  To die down here, Kevin thought.

  “Nothing, I guess. I really didn’t know,” he said. “The hum is loud, but it’s hard to interpret. I hear something wonderful and something terrible. It’s all really close. I don’t know what it is. I want to find it and run away from it all at once. I hear a big blank space, too. It’s like listening to your car radio and one of the speakers goes out. It’s strange.”

  They continued their climb, passing two more scenes of carnage on the way. The tunnel widened, and split in two ahead of them. The trail of blood and body parts continued to the left, but Kevin’s ears were more interested in the tunnel to the right. Kevin’s feet began veering rightward without any conscious effort on his part. Holding his hand, Jackie pulled him back to the center of the tunnel.

  “What are you doing?” she said, pointing left. “Isn’t this the way to go?”

  “Yes, but…something’s over there,” Kevin said.

  “What? Your treasure?”

  “I don’t know, maybe,” he said.

  “What do you hear?”

  “I…don’t know. I need to get closer. I think we should go that way.”

  Jackie blew a long, slow exhale from the corner of her lips. “Are you absolutely sure we should do this, Kevin?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then let’s be as quick as we can.”

  This tunnel had tighter walls and was entirely clear of the battle remains that littered the main pathway. As they walked, Kevin paid no attention to what he saw, only what he heard. He felt like he had been following this sound, whatever it was, his entire life.

  The walls gradually opened into an atrium, an open expanse of rocks and dirt filling a round room. Ahead of them, the ground fell off on a downward slope, descending into darkness. On either side were rock walls, lined with the carcasses of dead termites. They looked like they had been pushed to the sides, like someone had swept the floor, leaving empty space in the middle of the atrium. Empty, save one object in the very center that did not belong.

  Kevin and Jackie looked at each other for confirmation.

  “This makes
me nervous,” Jackie said.

  “It will be okay,” said Kevin. “We have to look.”

  They approached it together.

  “Why do we have to look, Kevin?”

  “Because this is it. This is the locked door.”

  “The locked door?”

  They stopped. Kevin leaned down to touch it.

  On the ground in the center of the atrium, far removed from any sources of rain or sunlight, was a tree stump. Old, dried, and cracked, it was completely out of place.

  In the center of the tree stump, just as they had seen in Blackstone Park, just as had appeared in Kevin’s dream, was a hole.

  “We’re here,” Kevin said.

  He felt a familiar vibration in the wood. In his fingertips, he could feel what he couldn’t hear. The hum stopped at this tree stump, but the vibration kept on going. It connected to something deep and powerful.

  Kevin pulled his hand away. “My dad talked about a wall. Peter Gerrard talked about a locked door. This stump is it. Behind it is the treasure Peter Gerrard was looking for. The treasure…I think the treasure is the source of the hum.”

  “Good,” came a woman’s voice from the darkness ahead. Revealing itself, it revealed everything. There had been a blank space in the hum, silence where there should have been sound. Cassandra had been hiding there. The silent spot disappeared, and in its place, the hum swelled with the sounds of rage, a thousand demons that had been hiding from sight, hiding from Kevin’s mind. In seconds, an army of monsters came out of the dark and crested the hill at the far end of the atrium. The light from the crystal picked out two human faces in the darkness.

  Cassandra led the group. She rode on the back of the largest ant in the army. Next to her, carried in the grasp of two meathook demon jaws, was Kevin’s dad.

  “Dad! Are you okay?” Kevin ran to his dad, but on his second step, he felt like he was punched in the chest. He fell back, landing hard next to the stump.