by Steve Bevil
“I’m with you,” said Leah, energetically. Nathan looked worried as he watched Leah place the medallion around her neck.
“Okay,” said Lafonda, with a sigh. “But how are we getting out of here?” She looked sorrowful as she eyed the bloody slash across Jonathan’s chest. “Are we expecting him to travel back to the other side and find someone to open a doorway for us?”
“No,” said Nathan, checking his pockets. “He doesn’t have to.” Lafonda and the others looked on. “I totally forgot I had this.” Nathan held out a sparkling blue vial from his pants pocket. “One doorway to Colorville coming right up. And, based on the color, I’m guessing the blood came from a Traveler.”
Malick nodded.
“And how will we find Monique and the others?” asked Lafonda. “They could be anywhere by now.”
“I don’t think we’ll have a problem,” said Malick, with a grin. He pulled out a small, maroon, burlap bag from the pocket of Liz’s trench coat.
“Tracking Dust!” said Nathan. His face lit up.
“I’m guessing that’s how they knew where to find us,” said Malick, somberly. He reached into the pocket of the trench coat again and held out what looked like a scrap of paper. “I also found this.”
“What is it?” asked Jonathan, taking it into his hand. He closely examined both sides of the paper, feeling the texture with his hands. “Based on the thickness and quality — I would say this was torn out of a book.”
“And how do you know?” asked Malick, doubtfully.
“Because I spend a lot of time with books,” Jonathan sneered, forcing a smile. He handed the piece of paper to Nathan.
“Who is J.G. Grimm, J.P. Grimm, and J. Grimm?” asked Nathan. He handed the paper back to Jonathan, who placed it into his pocket. “Are any of these Grimms, James Grimm?”
“It looks like an account of a bloodline,” said Malick. “Gannicus Grimm, the Grandmaster before my grandfather, had two sons: Japheth and James Grimm. So, I’m assuming two of the J’s belong to them.” He shrugged while shaking his head. “As far as who the third one could be, I don’t know. But we do have books with family bloodlines in the Hall of History, Books, and Records.”
“So, are we ready to go?” asked Nathan, taking a deep breath. He looked into each of their faces. Everyone, but Malick, nodded.
Malick, with his head hung low, headed toward one of the trees that were closest to the trail, leading into the forest. Slowly, he lifted his head and hung the trench coat in his hand onto one of its’ branches. “I’m ready now,” he said.
Lafonda, Malick, Jonathan, and Leah watched closely as Nathan put the sparkling blue vial to his lips, finishing it. “Okay,” said Nathan, with a frown. He smacked his mouth in distaste, as his brown eyes quickly flashed a bright blue. “What’s next?”
“What does it taste like?” asked Lafonda, appearing to gag.
“Don’t ask,” said Nathan.
Malick reached into the small burlap bag and began tossing fists full of black dust into the air, around Nathan.
“So, how does this work?” Nathan asked.
“You’ll see,” said Malick and then, suddenly, an outline of the vanished blue doorway became visible.
The black outline of dust that revealed the door sparkled like tiny diamonds. Nathan approached the outline and, immediately, felt the need to close his eyes. “This is weird, but I think I know where they’ve gone,” he said.
Nathan gave in to the heaviness of his eyes and involuntarily raised his hand. Soon, a trickle of blue light crept from his index finger. It filled the outline and recreated the door.
*
Nathan let out a huge sigh of relief as he and the others stood outside. They appeared to be in a park. He never thought he would be this happy to see color again, even if it was just a hint of the color green that he caught in the dark. The full moon that nestled high above him appeared to be hovering in a midnight blue sky. He smiled as he detected the color green in the wall of hedge that bordered the area around them.
“Looks like it worked,” said Nathan. He watched as the bright blue doorway began to dissipate, still casting light into the fog that swept the ground. “I have no idea where we are, but at least we’re out of the Space-In-Between….”
“Unfortunately, I do,” spoke Malick, softly. He had turned completely around and Nathan had a good view of the back of his head for a moment, before he noticed the not-so-modest structure. It was built with several protruding towers that overlooked all, in the darkness.
“Where are we?” asked Leah, standing in awe beside them.
“T–the courtyard of Malick Castle,” said Malick, hesitantly. He toke a dry gulp, keeping his back to the others. “It’s the home of — the Order.”
“The Order!” blurted Nathan, and immediately Malick tried to shush him. “H–how? I mean, obviously, we tracked Monique and Eleazar here, but Malick Castle — the headquarters for the Order? How connected are you to these people?”
“Y–yes,” said Malick. He appeared to wince a little after his eyes connected with a discerning Lafonda. “Malick castle is the headquarters for the Order, but it was built by my ancestor Grandmaster Abraham Malick a long time ago. He had it built after the fire that destroyed most of Grimm Castle. I believe it was in December — December of 1699.”
“You’re referring to the Winter Fire,” said Jonathan, and Malick looked surprised.
“Alan,” explained Jonathan, smirking back at him. “He sent me a text about it back at Black Manor.” He cradled the wound across his chest before adjusting his glasses. “Along with a few other things, he also filled me in on the original scrolls and the Grimm Diaries.”
Malick rolled his eyes and shook his head before continuing. He then suddenly looked gloomy. “Until my grandfather, Abraham Malick was the last Malick to serve as Grandmaster for almost three centuries. A Grimm has always served after him….”
“Until your grandfather,” said Jonathan, incredulously.
“You’re just full of secrets,” commented Lafonda. She switched sword hands, after pocketing her cell phone.
Lafonda looked up at the castle while crossing in front of them. “I got a text from Angela,” she said, following Leah to the hedge wall. “My father hasn’t returned yet with my grandmother. And Alan and Angela are alright. Apparently, Liz and the others left soon after we did.”
Malick ran his hand backward through his hair and his cheeks grew red, “Secrets?” he said, with a nervous chuckle. “I would like to think of it more as … surprises.”
A gust of wind blew through the courtyard, rustling the leaves on the nearby hedge wall, bringing a chattering sound. “Malick?” asked Nathan. He watched as Lafonda and Leah examined what appeared to be an opening, or entrance in the wall. “What’s over there, behind the wall?”
“Do you hear that?” asked Jonathan. “I hear other voices.” He gestured toward the wall. “Do you think that’s Monique and Eleazar, over there?”
Nathan looked at Jonathan and both their eyes grew wide.
“Guys, wait!” shouted Malick, but Nathan and Jonathan had already taken off toward the wall.
The wind blew through again and Lafonda and Leah cleared the hair from their faces. “Leah just said she thought she heard voices coming from somewhere over here,” said Lafonda, turning to address Nathan and Jonathan.
“We heard it, too,” said Nathan, and Leah drew her lips into a smile.
“This hedge has to be at least 8 feet tall,” said Jonathan. He bent over and examined a dense cluster of hedge leaves. “The way this shrub has been trained to grow is really quite fascinating. It’s like a living wall.”
Nathan got an unsettling feeling in his stomach, as Leah peered through the dark opening in the hedge wall. He watched as Leah clutched tightly to the crescent-shaped medallion around her neck.
“I don’t hear the voices anymore,” said Leah, turning back around.
“Guys!” said Malick, joining them. He st
opped running, short of Nathan. “We really should leave from over here.”
Another gust of wind swept through the area, rustling the leaves and carrying a foul voice over the air. “Firewalker,” echoed the voice, and chills ran up Nathan’s back.
Nathan and the others froze and Leah started to back away from the dark opening. The medallion around Leah’s neck glowed. She paused to look down at it and then a pair of large hands emerged from the shadows, grabbing her and pulling her into the darkness.
Lafonda, the closest one to her, recoiled in shock.
“Leah!” Nathan yelled, and he immediately took off running.
Over the sound of his pounding heartbeat, Nathan heard Malick calling after him. He entered the dark opening in the hedge and stopped at another hedge wall in front of him. Left or right? He thought to himself.
Nathan turned his head to the left, and then to the right. Both passageways were dark, narrow, and long. He looked down both corridors again, trying to see to their end, but there was no sign of Leah. He couldn’t believe how fast she had disappeared, vanishing with no signs of a struggle.
Nathan started to trot to his left, but then, he heard a scream. “To the right,” he muttered.
He ran past the hedge opening and caught a glimpse of Malick and Lafonda. “This way!” he yelled.
“Wait!” he heard Malick say, but Nathan kept running.
The passageway went on for several feet, but soon noticed a difference in the monotony of the green, leafy walls. “Another opening,” he muttered.
Carefully, Nathan walked inside. Another hedge wall barred his way. Quick, Nathan, left or right? He urged himself.
Nathan looked around, searching for any sign of Leah. The hedge walls on both sides were tall, casting dark shadows that eclipsed the moon light.
Nathan decided to go left again, but heard the sound of footsteps to his right. Quickly, and as stealthily as possible, Nathan proceeded toward the sound. He lowered his head, keeping his ear close to the hedge wall as he followed the narrow passageway.
It sounds like the footsteps are coming from the other side of this wall, he thought.
Nathan quickened his pace but, abruptly, he stopped. Swirling at the base of his feet were clouds of fog. They seemed to drain away into an opening in the wall.
The sound of Nathan’s heartbeat swelled inside his ears as he peered into the dark passageway. Sweat accumulated at the edge of his brow and he thought he felt a trickle of it run down his arm.
Nathan was surprised. He expected to see someone walking or running alongside the wall on the other side, but there wasn’t a path to the left or right of him, only a long pathway.
I could have sworn I heard someone running alongside this wall, he thought. Nathan heard a scream again and it sounded like it was right behind him. What is this place? These sounds, are they just echoes? They’re playing games with my mind.
With each gust of wind, the leaves that made up the hedge walls appeared to move up and down like waves in the ocean. Nathan continued to make his way down the pathway, until he met a corner.
To his surprise, the narrow passageway opened up to a larger area. The four hedge walls formed a box around him. Suddenly, Nathan’s stomach dropped after he noticed the three dark passageways cut into the longest hedge wall in front of him.
“I’m in a maze,” he muttered.
“You’ve gone too far,” he heard someone say, behind him. He soon recognized Malick’s voice. “I tried stopping you.”
Nathan spun around to find Malick red-faced, and out of breath. Jonathan and Lafonda were behind him.
“I tried to stop you,” he said again. His hands were on his hips as his chest labored. He began to pace the area. “But it’s too late now … we’ve gone too deep. We’re in the heart of the maze now. Now it’s either become the hunter, or be captured.”
“What!” blurted Lafonda. She quickly moved the long strands of black hair from her face, while trying to hold her sword. “What kind of maze is this?”
“I believe it was first created as an elaborate maze garden, but later transformed into a training ground for the Order,” said Malick. “Only the most skilled members of the Vanguard, those who have mastered the art of Pneuma Novo, are allowed to enter the maze. And of those, most of them are highly-trained trackers.”
Lafonda took in the space around her. “And let me guess,” she said, “you guys train by tracking each other in all this….”
Malick nodded. “And not just each other,” he said. “They have different kinds of Shadow Creatures in here. And this maze is just a taste, compared to the other one.”
“What!” she blurted. “Are you guys crazy?”
Nathan felt a trickle down his arm again. He looked down and found a constant drip of blood; running alongside his arm and pooling at his feet.
“Oh my, God!” yelled Lafonda. “You’re bleeding!”
Malick eyed Nathan’s shoulder as blood continued to ooze. “The center of the maze,” he said abruptly. He appeared to be thinking aloud. “There’s supposed to be a safe haven. I’ve never been this far inside the maze before, only on the fringes, and that was only on a dare from Liz, when we were younger.” He grew quiet for a moment. “But at the center, there’s supposed to be a safe haven. From there we can exit. That’s where we need to go.”
“We have to find Leah,” said Nathan, holding up his bloody arm.
“Well, it won’t help her any if you bleed to death,” said Lafonda. She handed her sword to Jonathan and then ripped the already torn sleeve from Nathan’s arm. “Hold still while I tie this around your arm. Hopefully, this will stop the bleeding.”
Suddenly, what sounded like an angry voice echoed at them. “Traitor!” they heard someone say.
Nathan, Lafonda, Jonathan, and Malick frantically looked around, trying to ascertain from where they heard the sound.
“You’re going to pay for this, Firewalker!” someone screamed.
“W–who is that?” asked Lafonda, her voice shaking.
Nathan and the others slowly drew closer to one another, as if they were trying not to make a sound.
“She trusted you!” the voice reverberated angrily across the area. Nathan immediately spun around.
“It’s coming from over there,” he whispered, pointing toward the longest hedge wall. “One of the dark passageways.”
A gust of wind swept through the space, carrying with it an ominous warning. “The Angel of Death is coming for you!”
After the passing of the wind, there was silence and, surprisingly, there was a stale scent in the air. Nathan began to relax his shoulders and then, inquisitively, looked at the others.
“Hello,” said a soft and sensual voice from behind them.
Startled by the subtlety, the group spun around. Standing in front of them was a woman dressed in what appeared to be an 18th century ruby-red gown. It appeared to be quite brazen for that era.
The lace that ran in front her gown was tied in a shoelace pattern, from top to bottom. It appeared to be the only thing holding the top portion of the garment together, revealing much of the already low bodice.
The rest of her gown flared out dramatically from her tiny waist. There was a soft rustling sound from underneath her dress as she strutted toward them.
Her ruby-red lips pouted at them as she eyed them suspiciously. Her milky-white skin appeared with the touch of perfect rosiness in her cheeks. Her long hair, also ruby-red, was tousled and curly, as if she had just awakened from sleep.
“No swords, no shields, and no armor?” she spoke flirtatiously. She continued to walk toward them, her hands placed firmly on her hips as they swayed from side to side. “You aren’t my usual visitors.”
“Back away!” warned Malick firmly, and he raised his hand, instantly forming a raging blue fireball.
“Oh,” said the woman, appearing caught off guard. Her facial features started to change as the pitch in her voice grew higher and higher. “No swords
, no shields, no armor — it’s just a trick!”
Malick and the others started to back away and the woman in red screamed. Everyone in the group cowered, covering their ears. The high-pitched sound was deafening, cutting through the air like a piercing whistle.
One of Jonathan’s lenses formed a crack and, before he knew it, he was dangling in the air. The woman had sprouted enormous wings, and her hands and feet were now talons. Abruptly, the screaming stopped. With only three flaps of her feathery wings, they soared through the air.
Jonathan struggled to get free, but together they flew through one of the three dark passageways, vanishing out of sight.
“Jonathan!” Lafonda yelled. They started to chase after but, suddenly, echoing down at them, they heard more head-splitting screams.
“More Screeching Sirens!” shouted Malick, pointing in the air.
Swooping over the tall green hedges, like hawks in the night, they barreled down at them.
“Duck!” yelled Lafonda.
Quickly, they crouched down. When Nathan looked up, the last thing he saw was Lafonda’s flailing arms and legs as they disappeared through the second dark passage.
“No!” Nathan yelled. He started to feel like he did in the Space-In-Between, after Lafonda fell over the cliff that overlooked Lake Charleston.
“Come on, Nathan!” Malick yelled. He tugged at Nathan’s arm, forcing him to follow. “Let’s go before we lose Lafonda. Quickly, before the sirens make another pass.”
Malick entered the dark passageway, pulling Nathan behind him. After several feet, Nathan pulled away from Malick, freeing his arm.
“This is too much!” he yelled, and his voice reverberated through the tight passageway. “First Leah, then Jonathan, and now Lafonda? I just, I just … I can’t!”
“Nathan, snap out of it!” shouted Malick, shaking him by the arms.
There was a brief silence, and then Malick looked at Nathan intently. “Remember earlier?” he said, trying to connect with his eyes. “We need to go on the offensive.…”
Slowly, Nathan nodded.
Malick gave him a quick pat on his good shoulder. “Come on,” he said, with a reassuring nod. “It’s our turn to bring the fight to them.”