by John Corwin
"Is it just me or has her speaking improved since we met her?" Max said.
Ambria nodded. "It seems the more she hears us talk, the better she speaks our language."
"Let's go," I said, and crawled into the tunnel after the girl. The tunnel ceiling rose until we could stand up. We went perhaps twenty feet more when the tunnel opened into a sea of stars. I yelped and stopped. Max bumped into me, but I gripped the side of the wall and held on. Beyond the tunnel's end was nothing but the void of outer space. Balls of pulsating white energy floated through the void, casting a bright glow around them.
Evadora stepped into the empty black space. I expected her to fall, but her feet padded as though they were on solid ground.
"What is this place?" I asked.
"The rift." She pointed to the glowing balls. "Rift guardians."
Max peeked around me and gasped. "Are we in outer space?"
Evadora shook her head. "The space between worlds." She pointed to a black starless area about fifty yards away. As one of the glowing light balls drifted past, I realized it was the opening to a stone tunnel slightly larger than this one.
Ambria poked her head between Max and me. "How are we supposed to get over there? Fly?"
Evadora shook her head. "No, you run very fast." She pointed at the light balls. "Dodge the attacks."
Max warily observed one of the pulsating spheres. "Dodge what attacks?"
"Zap!" Evadora said. "The rift guardians kill intruders." She stepped forward. "Follow me." She stepped a few feet out and stood in the void. "Once you walk past here, the guardians kill."
I stepped out, but stayed a foot or two back from the limit. Max and Ambria crowded me on both sides.
A ghostly keening sent chills down my spine and I realized it was one of the guardians. Another one responded with a higher pitch, and drifted toward the other side of the rift, trailing a ball of white plasma behind.
Ambria shivered violently. "C-c-creepy."
"Can we go now?" Max backed away a step. "This place scares me."
My skin crawled and it took everything not to dash back through the tunnel. We were in a rift between worlds, and it was haunted by ghosts.
Chapter 4
"How do we get past the guardians?" I asked Evadora.
"Just follow me fast," she said.
Max shook his head. "I'm not going another step. If you want to follow that mental girl, you go right ahead."
"Me either," Ambria added.
Evadora pointed to the tunnel on the other side. "Come."
I spotted more of the ghostly guardians drifting our way. "No." I pointed back to the tunnel. "We're going back."
Evadora sighed. "Bye."
"You're not coming?" I asked.
"I go home," she replied. She looked at the nearby guardians and suddenly bounded forward as if walking on an invisible bridge in outer space.
The keening of the guardians turned to a wail and they streaked toward her. Jagged bolts of electricity exploded from the nearest one, raking the space behind Evadora. Just as one of them swooped in to cut off the other tunnel, she made a wailing sound to match the guardians. The balls of light stopped in place as if confused—just long enough for Evadora to enter the other tunnel.
"This place is a nightmare," Max said. "Let's go." He dashed back through the tunnel.
I stared at the place Evadora had entered for a moment before following my friends back through the tunnel. We emerged in the grove behind the ruined mansion a few minutes later, my knees sore, pants worn thin from crawling on rock.
I stood up and pushed through the branches of the trees concealing the crack and we made my way to the rear of the mansion.
"There is no way I will ever go in there again," Max said. "If you want to see where the other tunnel goes, Conrad, be my guest."
"Perhaps if we brought our brooms we could make it," Ambria said.
"Did you see how fast those guardians moved?" Max said. "Unless you can trick them like Evadora, you're dead."
I brushed off my pants. "I've got to find out what's over there."
"Probably a cave filled with ghosts," Max said. "Or demons. You're crazy if you go back."
Ambria's lips peeled back in disgust. "Max, where's your sense of adventure?"
Max snorted. "You ran out of there just as quickly as I did."
Just as she opened her mouth to reply, I heard voices in the distance and put a finger to my lips. "Someone's coming," I whispered.
"Quick, in here," Max hissed, and darted to the back door of the mansion. He tugged on it, but it wouldn't open.
Ambria grabbed my sleeve and pointed toward a large tree. We ducked behind the trunk and peered around. A man and woman walked around a pile of rubble and headed for the grove of trees. My heart seemed to stop in my chest when I saw their faces.
The man stood tall with thick black hair and a handsome face with a square jaw. The woman's fair skin looked smooth beyond perfection, and her lustrous black hair hung down to her waist. My parents looked far healthier now than they had when first resurrected by their demonologist minion, Rufus Cumberbatch.
Ambria's hand tightened painfully on my wrist and she turned a terrified gaze on me. I should have been every bit as frightened. Instead, I trembled with anger. I wanted to leap from behind the tree and cast deadly spells at the pair. Unfortunately, nothing suitable came to mind, perhaps because my parents' soul fragments didn't want me to harm them.
"Do you think she will believe us, Victus?" my mother, Delectra, said.
"I see no reason why not," my father replied. "If we succeed, we will have all the time in the world."
Delectra shuddered. "We will pave the way to our eternal rule."
"Please slow down." A short blonde woman appeared around the corner.
Max's breath caught in his throat. "Aunt Serena?" he whispered.
My parents stopped and turned toward the newcomer.
"If you'd like I could engineer longer legs for you," Victus said. "Perhaps frog legs so you could leap through the air."
Serena slashed a hand through the air. "Shush, Victus." She smoothed her white dress and nodded toward the grove. "How did you break through?"
"An earth elemental," Victus said. "The original passage was well hidden, but a little detective work revealed the ancient fissure."
"Clever." She tapped a finger to her chin. "How did you make it past the rift guardians?"
"It took a great deal of experimentation," Delectra said, "but I finally crafted a shield they cannot penetrate."
Serena smiled. "I knew you had it in you, dear."
Delectra scoffed. "You know nothing of my magic."
"I know enough." The short woman didn't seem the least bit offended by my mother's condescension. "What I don't understand is if you're so wonderful with magic, why do you need me for this venture?"
"When it comes to magical research, you are second to none," Victus said. "Delectra and I have other matters to attend. Once we introduce you to the queen, everything will be up to you."
"Everything about these folk is buried in folklore and superstition." Serena rubbed her hands together eagerly. "If the legends are true, I think we can get more from this bargain than you think."
Victus yawned. "Yes, perhaps, but I want you to concentrate on the goal at hand, Serena." He stepped closer and gripped her shoulders. Eyes hard, forehead pinched, he glared at her for a moment. "We will take this patiently, one step at a time. Do you understand?"
Serena inspected her nails, as if my father's commanding glare wasn't inches from her nose. "Victus, I was Daelissa's top Arcane because I produce results." Her calm eyes met his. "I do not lose sight of goals. I attain them no matter how unreachable they seem."
Victus released her and straightened, his face a picture of perfect calm. "That is all I needed to hear."
"Hmm, well that's good." Serena walked into the grove.
Delectra rolled her eyes and Victus smiled back at her, caressed he
r cheek. "All will be good, my love," he said.
She pressed her head against his chest. "I know."
"Are we supposed to crawl through here?" Serena called out. "How undignified."
Victus shook his head. "It was difficult enough just to break through." He led his wife into the grove.
I tried to imagine my evil parents crawling on all fours through the tunnel and had to stifle a laugh. We waited several minutes then crept from our hiding place. I walked to the trees concealing the crack and peered through.
"What are you doing, Conrad?" Ambria asked. "We need to go now!"
"Wish I could put a boulder here," I said.
"Do you really think that would stop your parents from getting out?" Max gripped my arm. "If your mum can block those guardians with a spell, a boulder wouldn't be anything for her. Let's go."
I shook my head. "I want to see what's on the other side of the rift. Maybe I can sneak past the guardians."
"You must have a death wish today." Max stepped in front of me. "We can see what's in there another time."
"There's only one way in and out," Ambria said. "If your parents caught you in the tunnel, you'd never get away."
My heart filled with jumbled emotions. I hated my parents for what they did to me. I wished they loved me. I wanted to kill them and make sure they stayed dead.
Cora covers the bruises on her face with makeup.
"How can you see what you're doing without a mirror?" I ask.
Mum flinches we she realizes I'm watching her. "Conrad, you shouldn't see me like this."
"Is Bill evil?" I ask her.
She leans on the sink as tears spill from her eyes. "He wasn't like this before. Something happened to him—something awful." She looks at the blank spot on the wall where a mirror should be.
"He hits you a lot," I reply. "He must be evil."
Cora kneels next to me. "But I love him, Conrad. How can I love someone evil?"
I shake my head. "I don't know."
"Conrad?" Max shook me by the shoulders.
I flinched back to reality. Cora was my real mum, not the evil, twisted Delectra. Cora was the only foster parent who really loved me and I'd loved her with all my heart. But the curse my parents put on me to preserve their souls had given Cora cancer. They'd killed her and death had returned my wicked parents.
"Let's go," I said in a broken voice. I'll never have the love of my real parents.
We ran back around the mansion, through the field of stumps, and past the pond.
Ambria stopped and screamed as we passed the blackened waters.
I stumbled and went down on my knees a few feet from the water and saw what frightened her so. A pale white arm lay on the muddy bank. I got up and peered into the water. A woman's face was barely visible through the murk. I touched her arm, expecting the cold clamminess of death but instead found the tiniest bit of warmth.
"Help me, Max." I gripped the arm and tugged.
Max grimaced. "Why do you want to pull a dead body out of the pond?"
"She's not dead." I glared at him. "Come help."
He leaned down and grabbed the woman's dress and together we pulled her from the water. Her eyes fluttered and opened to reveal black eyes with no whites. She gripped my shirt.
Max yelped and jumped back.
"The anchored world must not be freed," the woman said in a feeble voice. "Else all will be cast adrift in an endless ocean of stars."
"Who are you?" I asked.
Max crawled toward her. "Oh no. That's the Lady of the Pond."
"We need to get her to a healer," Ambria said.
The woman went limp. I put an ear to her lips and detected a faint breath. "Are there healers at the university?"
"Yeah," Max said. "I'll get her feet. You get her under the arms."
"I'll hold her back," Ambria said.
We lifted the woman and awkwardly carried her down the path and out of the gates. Though she wasn't heavy, we shuffled along slowly and finally reached the university.
"The healer station is near the dining hall," Max said, and led us through the curving corridor.
"How interesting," said a familiar voice from behind us.
I craned my neck and saw Galfandor, the school headmaster, exiting a stairwell. "We found her in the Fairy Garden," I explained.
"Yes, that's usually where the Lady of the Pond resides." He placed a hand on the woman's forehead. "What did you do to her?"
"We didn't do anything," Ambria protested. "Someone killed all the trees out there."
"And tried to kill the lady too," Max said.
"It's no secret who did this," I said angrily.
Galfandor raised an eyebrow. "Best not to say it aloud, young man." He stepped forward and motioned us to follow. "Come along. I'll see Mirjana receives treatment."
"Mirjana?" I said.
He nodded. "That is the lady's name."
We trudged along behind him and finally reached the healing ward. No one was in the lobby, so we took our patient into the back. Empty beds lined the walls. A tall thin man with a neatly oiled and curled moustache sat in a chair against the back wall reading a newspaper.
He dropped the paper and leapt up, excitedly rubbing his hands together. "What have we here?"
Galfandor motioned to the first bed. "This will do nicely."
The thin man hovered over the woman. "Is this my first patient of the year?"
"Yes, and a rather important one at that, Percival," Galfandor said.
"Oh?" He touched Mirjana's wrist. "She's alive, but only barely." Percival peered at us and then back at Galfandor. "Who is she?"
Galfandor smiled. "The Lady of the Pond."
The other man leapt back. "From the Fairy Garden?" His eyes narrowed on us. "What did you do to her?"
"Nothing, sir." I placed Mirjana's dangling hand on the bed. "The forest in front of the mansion has been completely cut down, and the pond looks polluted."
Galfandor hissed between his teeth. "Yes, well, we need to talk about that, children." He turned to Percival. "Let me know the moment she's awake."
The healer pressed a hand to his patient's forehead. "If I can wake her. I don't know if our magic will work on her."
"What sort of supernatural being is she?" Ambria asked.
Percival shrugged. "All I know is that she lives underwater as easily as on land."
"A mermaid!" Ambria's eyes widened. "Oh, how wonderful."
Max covered his face with a hand. "There's no such thing as mermaids, silly."
Galfandor cleared his throat. "Follow me, please, children." He left the ward and led us on a rather long hike through twisting hallways, upstairs, downstairs, and finally to doorway that had to be on the opposite end of the university, judging from the distance we'd travelled.
"Where in the world are we?" Ambria said, looking with awe at a huge gallery of portraits with serious-looking people staring back at her. Her gaze wandered to something else and her mouth dropped open. "Did you kill and stuff those poor owls?"
I saw a shelf filled with a variety of life-like owls arranged from largest to smallest. A huge brown one looked nobly down at us while the smallest, a white owl, looked as though it had been frozen into place while taking flight.
Galfandor chuckled. "Someone had the bright notion to use owls as delivery birds." He tutted. "After two teachers nearly lost their eyes and several children were viciously mauled and clawed, we decided that birds of prey simply aren't safe in this environment."
"Safe?" Ambria chirped. "You're concerned about child safety?" She laughed. "You didn't seem concerned about our safety when we rescued the orphans from the Goodleighs all by our little selves."
Galfandor didn't seem the least bit offended. "On the contrary, Miss Rax. I was concerned about your safety, but I was in no position to help."
"Did you kill all those birds?" Max asked.
The old man shook his head. "No, they're merely under preservation spells. I could lift the spell
and they'd be free to fly away." Galfandor seemed to think the matter settled and walked down the hallway and into an office. Windows on all sides overlooked the university grounds. To the right I saw the crystalline dome of the library, and straight ahead lay the valley. Science Academy gleamed silver in the distance on the opposite mountaintop.
"Whoa what a view!" Max ran to the windows and looked around.
Galfandor sat in a red leather chair and looked at me seriously. "Now we can talk about what happened in the Fairy Garden."
I sat down on the couch across from him. Galfandor was someone I couldn't quite classify as a friend, though he'd indirectly helped us rescue other children from the Goodleighs' manor and had given us good advice on most matters. Whatever secret motives he might have, he at least seemed to want to help us and hopefully wouldn't betray us.
Besides, he was the only adult we could really ask for advice or help. In light of that, I knew telling him everything was the best course of action. Starting with Evadora, I told him about our short trip into the rift and what we'd heard from my parents and Serena.
Galfandor nodded and grunted several times, but said nothing until I finished.
"Well," he said, "it appears you've once again stumbled into trouble, children."
Max wrinkled his forehead. "What's on the other side of the rift?"
The old man put a hand to his chin. "The anchored world, she said? I don't believe I've ever heard of such a thing."
Max snapped his fingers. "I just thought of something. What if the place on the other side of the rift is where the pocket dimensions like Queens Gate are located?"
"Yes, yes, I suppose it could be. The rift must be some sort of barrier to keep curious folks out." Galfandor stroked his beard. "The mystery of the pocket dimensions would be a mystery worth solving."
"You certainly can't convince me to go back in that awful place," Ambria stated firmly. "Besides, we have the exam to study for."
The thought of school brought another pressing issue to mind. "Sir, supposing I pass the exam, is there a way to hide my last name from the school—change it, I mean?"
The headmaster raised an eyebrow. "Hmm, yes, the name Edison certainly wouldn't go over well with some."