Creeping Shadow (The Rise of Isaac, Book One)

by Peckham, Caroline

"Yes, and often the teams that do best in the race are made up of friends. You'll be at a disadvantage but you'll just have to work extra hard to cooperate with your teammates."

  "Okay, cooperate, check. What else?" May asked, determination etched in her features.

  "The race will also test your resilience and perseverance to win a key. This is what most contestants focus on. They try to make it through the race on strength and speed alone. It's tough. It'll push you to your physical limits, that's why most people train for it.

  "You won't have time to gain an advantage that way but you can pace yourselves. Don't exhaust yourselves straight off the bat. Let the stronger teams go ahead of you and hope they knacker themselves out whilst you progress steadily through the course."

  "What do you mean course?" May asked.

  "The first race day consists of a series of challenges that you'll have to work through to reach the finish line. It's a much longer day than the second but this is where most of the competition will be knocked out. The second and final day is a simple, flat out race to the Gateway for the remaining teams," Ely said.

  Oliver nodded slowly.

  "So, what chance do we actually have here, considering we don't even have a team together yet?" May asked, slumping down in her chair.

  "Don't worry about that until we get to Crome," Ely said.

  "Actually, I might have found us a team member," Oliver said excitedly.

  "Oh? Who would that be then?" Ely asked, raising an eyebrow.

  "Yeah, who?" May asked curiously.

  "Her name's Anna. She's a waitress on the train." Oliver felt his cheeks heating up as May eyed him.

  "Oh? Forgot your jumper, did you?" May teased. "You just wanted an excuse to talk to her."

  "Shut it. No I didn't," Oliver said, overly aware of Ely's presence.

  "Sure," May said airily and Oliver shot her an angry look.

  "Why hasn't she signed up to a team herself if she wants to race?" Ely asked, ignoring May's taunts.

  "Well, that's the thing, she can't really afford to enter," Oliver said awkwardly.

  "Ah, I see." Ely rubbed his chin. "Why don't you ask her over later and I can decide if she would make a suitable team member?" he suggested.

  "But you'd have to-"

  "Pay. I know, but we don't have a lot of options. We aren't going to find many people who want to race but can't. If we start signing up people we have to convince to join then they're not going to give it their best shot at winning, are they?"

  "That makes sense, I guess. I'll see if I can find her later," Oliver said, his stomach swooping at the thought of seeing her again.

  "Good," Ely said, getting to his feet. "I'll see you both later." He let himself out of the room.

  Oliver felt restless. "Wanna go explore the train?" he suggested to May.

  She sprang to her feet. "Sure. Maybe you'll bump into Anna."

  Oliver rolled his eyes as he got up to exit the room. He lobbed a silk cushion at her before heading out the door.

  They roamed the corridors, passing the empty dining car towards the head of the train. The next room they entered was a spa where several people were sat around having their hair and nails attended to with Alevinum devices.

  Oliver spotted Delphine on the other side of the room and caught her eye.

  "Oliver, May, come join me over here," Delphine called, beckoning them with a manicured finger.

  The woman doing her hair finished and Delphine pressed her thumb to a panel beside the mirror to pay. "What do you think?" she asked, bouncing her curls at them.

  "Looks great," May said vaguely, eyeing the woman with disdain.

  Delphine twisted around to eye herself in the mirror, adjusting a curl with a flash of light from her palm. "I could do it myself with magic but it's nice to be pampered occasionally," she said.

  A woman shied away with a look of awe on her face and Delphine winked at her.

  "Will you come and join me for lunch in my room today?" Delphine asked, turning back to face them.

  Oliver shared a brief look with May. He wanted to know more about his grandmother but hadn't appreciated her tone with May when they had first met. "Sure," he said hesitantly.

  "I'm in the Bane suite. Go past the pool and you'll find it in the next corridor. You'll need this to get through security." She pressed a token into Oliver's palm and he read the words upon it.

  Traverser

  Restricted Access Pass

  "Shall we meet at midday?" Delphine asked lightly.

  "Okay, see you then," Oliver said with a smile.

  She beamed at them as a beautician returned to her. "Charge my account for any treatment these two would like," she said to the woman, pressing her thumb against the panel again.

  "Oh no, we couldn't," May said in surprise, shaking her head.

  "I insist. You've both missed out on a lifetime worth of gifts from your grandmother, it's the least I can do," Delphine said warmly.

  She shooed the beautician away and got to her feet, sauntering out of the room and wiggling her fingers at them as she left.

  "Would you like to see a treatment menu?" a beautician asked.

  May nodded eagerly. "Maybe she's not so bad."

  Oliver laughed. "Now that she's buying you things?"

  She shrugged, fighting a grin.

  * * *

  May's freshly styled hair bounced and swung about her as she walked beside Oliver. May had convinced him he needed a haircut. Admittedly, he did feel better for it but it had served to remind him of his mother's regular trims.

  At lunchtime, they walked into a carriage filled with a large swimming pool and were hit with a wave of humid air. The ceiling and walls were constructed entirely of glass, revealing the vast and wild landscape rolling past outside.

  Oliver showed the token to an attendant guarding a door at other end of the room. He let them pass with a bow and the door slid aside as he pressed his thumb to a scanner. They emerged in a large corridor with two doors.

  Oliver knocked on the door labelled The Bane Suite and waited, tugging at the hem of his t-shirt.

  Larkin answered, his face contorting into a grimace at the sight of him. "What do you want?"

  "Delphine invited us," Oliver said with a frown, thrown by Larkin's presence.

  Larkin looked as though he was about to slam the door in their face when Delphine appeared over his shoulder.

  "Hello, darlings. Move aside Larkin," Delphine said, sending a wave of light from her palm into his hair as he passed. The magic smoothed it back flat and he immediately ran a hand through it to mess it up again.

  "Mum," he said through gritted teeth, then disappeared around a corner.

  Oliver suppressed a smile.

  They emerged in a lounge with a roaring fire to one side and a water fountain at its centre surrounded by a leather suite of furniture. The midday sun was reflecting into the space as it bounced off a lake outside; the light made a crystal chandelier sparkle and cast jewels of light about the room. Beneath it was a dining table laden with tiny, blue dishes upon which were morsels of food.

  "Chester's having lunch with a colleague so it will just be us," Delphine said brightly.

  Oliver wondered if she was including Larkin in that scenario and felt a pang of disappointment as he remerged a moment later and sat at the table.

  Delphine gestured for them to sit and Oliver moved to sit in the chair furthest from Larkin, using May as a barrier between them.

  "So, Alison still hasn't appeared? That's really rather worrying," Delphine said, after a round of polite chit-chat.

  Oliver helped himself to a minuscule pastry puff and nodded. "Yeah. We moved in with Ely after she went missing."

  "I imagine you're rather curious about your grandfather and I?" Delphine asked, using a delicate knife and fork to slice a pastry in half before eating it, one tiny mouthful at a time.

  "Do we have to talk about that?" Larkin asked, shooting her an angry look.

 
"Don't be rude, I'm sure Oliver and May are quite curious about their family. Imagine if you had never met any of your relatives," Delphine said.

  "Sounds like bliss," Larkin muttered, folding his arms.

  Delphine pretended not to hear him and continued on. "Ely and I had an arranged marriage. It was always the agreement between us that we would have three children as required then petition for divorce to live our lives how we wanted. Though, perhaps, he is a little bitter towards me now," Delphine said with a sad look.

  "Is that what most mages do? Divorce after they've brought up their children?" Oliver asked.

  "It used to be but, nowadays, the High Mage of the Council is tightening the law so petitioning for divorce is much more difficult," Delphine said sadly. "The poor dears get stuck in a loveless marriage their whole lives. It's not right."

  "But some mages must grow to love each other?" May asked hopefully.

  "Yes, but it's not quite the same as having the freedom to choose, is it?" Delphine said, with a sharp edge to her voice.

  Oliver couldn't help but agree. "Why is the law on divorce being tightened though?"

  "The Council recently carried out a survey on the upbringing of mage children. Apparently those whose parents never divorced have a higher success rate at university and in their later careers. I think it's absolute nonsense. My children turned out just fine."

  Larkin snorted. "Yeah one went to prison and another married a mage illegally. Good job, Mum."

  Delphine snapped her hand backwards through the air and Larkin flinched his arm away in pain as a flash of magic struck him.

  "Argh," Larkin hissed.

  "Watch your mouth," Delphine warned and Larkin's face darkened as he dropped her gaze.

  A moment later, Delphine got up and disappeared into the bathroom.

  May kicked Oliver under the table as the silence stretched on between the three of them. He strained for something to say and decided to try and dissolve some of the tension. "You're racing right, Larkin? Got any tips?"

  "Why would I give my competition advice?" Larkin said, his face contorting. "Only a moron would do that. But, then again, you are from Earth."

  "So? What does that matter?" May piped up.

  "Just that Earthies have got a reputation," he said with a sneer.

  Oliver could tell he was trying to insult them. He remembered the way Anna had laughed when she found out that he was from Earth. "Yeah, and what's that then?" Oliver challenged him, his anger rising.

  "That you're a bunch of idiots. You live next door to six other worlds and you don't even know it. It's embarrassing," Larkin said, smirking.

  Delphine reappeared and Oliver took a calming breath.

  "So, where are you headed? You must want to race for a reason?" Delphine asked as she returned to her seat.

  "We're going to Brinatin to see someone Ely knows," Oliver said.

  "Ah, and who might that be?" she asked, drumming her long fingernails on the tablecloth.

  He decided it was best to stay vague. "I'm not sure, we're just going along for the trip really."

  "But it's urgent enough for you to enter the race a few weeks before it begins? When you are clearly unprepared?" Delphine questioned lightly but her voice held a confidence in it that set Oliver on edge.

  "Well, he can't travel if we don't have keys and he can't leave us on our own at the manor," May tried to cover for them.

  "He could have left you in someone's care," Delphine said, running a fingernail around in circles on the cloth.

  Larkin listened eagerly, making Oliver even more uncomfortable.

  "He didn't want to abandon us so soon after mum went missing," Oliver said, holding her gaze.

  "Of course," Delphine said.

  They ate quietly for a while longer until the silence became awkward.

  "How are you coping with everything after your mother's disappearance?" Delphine asked, looking at them as if they were abandoned puppies.

  "It must be difficult hearing such complicated things about your family," Larkin jibed. Delphine threw him an angry glance.

  "We're coping just fine," Oliver said, looking to his sister.

  She nodded, smiling brightly.

  "Of course, you've only been given one side of the story. I can hardly bear to imagine the terrible things that you've been told about your father and Isaac Rimori. It's not all true you know. You should really be given the chance to make up your own mind," Delphine said, clearly trying to tempt them in.

  Larkin narrowed his eyes at her curiously.

  "I think knowing Rimori murdered my father is enough evidence for me that he wasn't a great person and it sounds like my father supported most of his ideas along the way," Oliver said firmly, determined not to be rattled.

  "And your mother of course," Delphine said presumptuously.

  "I know she was friends with them, yes, and Eugene," Oliver said. "She loved my father."

  "She loved him, yes, but she was as much of an anti-Gateway rebel as they were," Delphine said dramatically.

  "What's your point?" May asked coolly.

  "My point is that she was onboard with all of their ideas, including entering Vale. They would have done anything to achieve it," Delphine said, her nails raking across the tablecloth.

  "She wouldn't murder someone," Oliver stated.

  "She might understand why they would though, might go to the man who did, the man who fulfilled the plans they had all so carefully forged together." Delphine's eyes lit with excitement.

  "Mum, what are you talking about?" Larkin asked.

  "I think Alison went to Rimori. My girl, she was brave like that, she wouldn't have feared going to him," Delphine said wildly. "You're going to meet them, aren't you?"

  Oliver was stunned into silence.

  "Aren't you?" she demanded, slamming her fist down onto the table.

  Oliver got to his feet, his blood boiling. "My mum would never be friends with a murderer, let alone one who killed her husband," he snapped.

  Larkin's eyes flew back and forth between his mother and Oliver.

  May got up. "Thank you for lunch but I think I just lost my appetite." She threw her fork to the table and it clattered down on her plate.

  "There's no need to overreact. This is a good thing. We can all go together," Delphine said, her voice returning to silk.

  "No thanks," Oliver said and turned his back on her. May followed him to the door and he glanced back before leaving. "She'd be ashamed to call you her mother. I can see why she cut you out of her life." Oliver knew it was harsh but he didn't care. He slid the door sideways, stormed out of the room and marched down the corridor.

  He was furious. His heart pounded against his chest as he stormed past the swimming pool in a rage.

  "Who does she think she is?" Oliver blurted as May hurried to keep up. "As if Mum would ever go anywhere near that creep."

  "I knew there was something off about that woman," May said and Oliver could hear the anger in her voice.

  He huffed loudly, not paying attention to where his feet were taking him as they barrelled through the dining car.

  "My dad was murdered by him for God's sake. What about that would Mum want any part in? I doubt either of them knew what Rimori was capable of," he snapped, turning back to look at May.

  He stumbled as he collided with someone and a crash of plates smashed to the floor. Oliver spun around to see what he had done.

  Anna was standing there covered in sauce, the plates scattered around her feet. Her arms were raised as if she were still holding them.

  Oliver's mouth opened and shut like a fish out of water for a few seconds before he found his voice. "I'm so sorry."

  Her mouth hung open for a second then she started laughing. "You clumsy idiot," she said, kneeling down to pick up the pieces.

  May rushed to help.

  "No don't. Let me do it," Oliver said, immediately impaling his hand on a sharp piece of china.

  "What's going on here?"
It was Ely's voice.

  Oliver looked up at him guiltily and Laura appeared next to him grinning. "I knocked the plates," he said, gesturing to the floor pathetically.

  "Get up," Ely said tutting.

  They stood aside and Ely raised his hands. The glow from them spread across the floor and the plates pieced themselves back together. The food collected into a swirling ball which he sent careening into a bin. He finished and the people around the room applauded.

  "A mage. An actual mage, Mummy," squealed a little girl nearby.

  "Come with me," Ely said, steering Oliver and May towards the exit with Laura hurrying along beside them.

  "Wait, Anna," Oliver said and turned back to her, his heart suddenly hammering.

  "This is Anna?" Ely asked, his bushy eyebrows rising.

  Oliver nodded.

  "Hi," she said, beaming.

  "Can you join us for a minute?" Ely asked, siphoning the sauce from her apron with a flash of light.

  Her eyes widened a little at the magic and she nodded. "Erm, sure."

  Oliver smiled at her and they followed the others from the room.

  "Are you alright?" Anna asked Oliver as they stood in the corridor outside their rooms.

  "Yeah, why?" he asked with a frown.

  "You're bleeding," Laura said, pointing at his hand.

  As soon as he was reminded of the wound it started hurting. "Oh, it's nothing," he said with a shrug, glancing at the thin laceration in his skin.

  Ely held his palm out and Oliver lifted his hand to let him heal it.

  "Why were you charging through the dining car like a rhino?" Laura asked, suppressing a grin.

  "We went to see Delphine," May said, with a look that said it didn't go well.

  Ely cleared his throat, clearly sounding his irritation.

  "Why were you there?" Oliver asked.

  "Dad and I were getting lunch." Laura smiled.

  Ely unlocked his room and they filed inside.

  "Anna take a seat, don't be shy," Ely said encouragingly as he settled himself into an armchair. "I'm Ely, Oliver's grandfather. I believe you would like the opportunity to race?"

  Oliver sat on the sofa and Anna joined him.

  "Well, yes, but I can't afford it right now and I know Oliver suggested you might offer to pay but I really couldn't accept," she said in a rush of words.