Jala shuddered, and her crystal skin twinkled. “We had never seen anything like them. They were huge land beasts with rows of teeth and black, scaly skin. Their front limbs had three separate paws on each, with long dagger-like nails coming from them. And the smell...” Jala shook her head. “They attacked us before we knew what happened. I lost so many friends that day. Only a few of us managed to escape. But when we made it back to our captain, we found out we had been set up. He was working for the KaKonians all along. Whatever ancient texts they wanted, they found. And the rest of the force was made to look like traitors of Turgor. I was stripped of my title and thrown in prison.” Jala ran a hand through Rena’s hair. “I never saw my family again.”
“Well, you’re free now,” Nia said. “And we could use all the help we can get.”
Jala frowned. “What is going on?”
“We’re at war, Mother,” Rena said. “The KaKonians attacked us last night. Turgorians have fled here, to Caldbeck. We saw the Harpies battling in the sky this morning.”
“Good heavens,” Jala murmured. She turned and focused her deep blue eyes on Grandpa. “So it has begun.”
Grandpa nodded. “Yes, Jala. I’m afraid it has.”
“But what are we going to do?” I piped up. “Sitting here isn’t helping anything1”
“You’re right, dear.” Grandpa stood up and looked down at us. “We need to continue on with our plan.”
“Plan?” I squeaked. “What plan?”
Nia sighed. “We have to get the Death Walker, sis.” I began to shake my head in protest, but she held up her hand to stop me. “It’s not about you, Kathleena. It’s about innocent people out there who are counting on all the help they can get. We can’t do this without you.”
My throat felt tight. “I’m just a kid,” I mumbled. What did they want from me, anyway? This stuff happened in fairy tales, not real life. I could be killed!
“So am I,” Nia reminded me.
“And me, too,” Rena added. “I’m scared just like you are. But this is something that has to be done. People are depending on us.”
I looked down and gloomily took a bite of my biscuit.
Grandpa cleared his throat. “We’ve got to go. Nia, can you create a doorway for an underground tunnel?” Nia squinted as she thought.
“Sure,” she said slowly. “But that’s really complicated. I mean, you have to have an Awakener in there immediately to make sure the actual tunnel doesn’t collapse.”
“But you can do it,” Grandpa said firmly. “Just think about the time you created the underground bunker in Dia.”
I frowned. “Wait,” I began, “how do you know—?”
“No time for questions, dear,” Grandpa interrupted. “We’ve got to get a move on.”
Nia stood still for a minute, gathering her concentration. She then reached down to the floor and made an imaginary box around her with one finger. As she traced the outline of the box, the floor opened up. Nia gave a surprised yelp and fell into the hole.
“Nia!” I shouted and ran to the edge of the hole. But Nia was laughing.
“I’m okay!” she shouted back. “Just made a rookie mistake.”
I sighed in relief, gave a wary glance to Grandpa, and then climbed in after her. The darkness was cold and eerie. I shuddered and touched a hand to one of the surrounding walls. I could feel Nia’s breath on my neck as she waited.
“You are strong, sturdy, a sense of protection,” I whispered to the wall.
The dirt immediately became rock solid. I did the same to the wall on my other side and behind me. Finally, I Awakened the ground underneath us. Nia turned to the wall in front of us and put her hands on it.
“Open up and guide us along,” she commanded. The wall immediately gave way, bits of dirt falling from the top.
“Come on, you guys!” I yelled back up to the top. “Rena, I’m going to need your help.”
Grandpa jumped in first, followed by Rena and then Jala. We moved along at a slow pace, dodging pipes and bits of foundation that had buried their way into the ground. After what seemed like hours of Nia creating and Rena and I Awakening, a sudden BOOM came from on top of us. Our tunnel shook dangerously, and I held my breath. But nothing collapsed on us.
“We must have made it from under Caldbeck,” Jala murmured. She had taken on the same dull brown color of the ground we were in.
“Keep moving,” Grandpa ordered.
“We don’t even know where we are!” I cried. “We’ve been walking for hours1”
Another boom shook us, and Nia cried out. I grabbed her hand and held it tightly. The smell of smoke leaked into the ground above us. Rena sniffled.
“Kids,” Grandpa began, “I know I’m asking a lot of you, but we have to keep moving.”
“Do you have a compass I don’t know about?” I demanded.
Grandpa shook his head. “No, you do.”
“What?” I exclaimed. Yolonda cleared her throat. I jumped in surprise. She and Finny had been silent this whole time.
“We have a built in compass,” Yolonda offered. “When we get close to Giza, we’ll let you know.”
“Oh, and you decide to tell us this now?” Nia challenged. She looked back at Grandpa. “What’s with all the secrets?”
“No one’s keeping secrets from you,” Grandpa soothed. “I’m simply trying to keep you calm and alive. You have to trust all of us, including your Evrodes. Remember, they are protectors as well.”
Nia huffed and continued moving. I glared at Grandpa for a second longer, and then followed my sister. We crawled for what seemed like forever. My knees began to ache, and I could hear Rena stumbling along behind us. Grandpa’s breath became labored. Jala was still glowing a dull brown, but it seemed to be getting fainter with each step.
“Grandpa,” Nia began weakly, “I’m—”
“We’re here!” Finny shouted. Yolonda had warmed against my chest, and Finny was buzzing.
“Are you sure?” Grandpa asked, sounding weary. The smell of smoke mixed with the limited air had started getting to all of us. The walls seemed to move lazily around me. I blinked my eyes and shook my head, attempting to wake myself up.
“Yeah man, I’m sure.” Finny sounded indignant. “What kind of question is that?”
“Shut up!” Nia snapped.
“HEY!” Yolonda yelled.
“O-kay!” I threw up my hands, as if surrendering. “We’re all tired. Let’s just trust Finny. Where do we go now?”
Finny buzzed silently for a moment. “Up,” he said finally. We all glanced up at the same time.
“Okay,” Grandpa said. “Nia, open me a door. Jala, come in behind me. Kids, don’t come up until I give the word.”
We all nodded silently. Nia tapped on our makeshift roof twice, and it swung open, allowing a swoosh of fresh air to fill our tunnel. I closed my eyes and let the cool air flow around me. When I opened them again, Grandpa had climbed out and Jala was on her way as well.
After a few moments of silence, Grandpa finally yelled, “Come on up, kids!” I climbed out first, followed by Rena and then Nia. Nothing but fog filled my vision as I looked around me. Tall willow trees swayed eerily in the wind, their dark branches drooping down above us. I looked down and realized the ground was not hard, but rather soft like it had just been rained on. As I shuffled side to side in an attempt not to let my feet sink, I heard Rena suck in her breath.
“Look,” she whispered.
As I followed her gaze, the fog swirled around us, parting every now and again to give us a glimpse of what lay ahead. Large hills dipped and reappeared for miles it seemed, and on those hills were thousands of tombstones. Some were small and crumbled, others large and magnificent. A huge iron gate stood separating us and the dead, its large handles two iron skulls with hollow eyes. There were no stars in the sky, and the moon had disappeared. The smell of the damp ground filled my nose, and I strained to hear any type of animal life. A guest of wind whipped around us, and the fog sw
irled furiously, making a sign appear on the gate. I read:
“Know ye who come this far
Once you enter
Never remain
For those who do
No sun rises again.”
Rena shuddered and grabbed Jala’s hand. Grandpa lifted his chin. Yolonda and Finny had become ice cold against my skin. We had found Giza Graveyard.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“Great, so what do we do now?” I muttered.
Grandpa looked down at me. “Nia’s going to create a door in the gate so we can pass through unharmed.”
Nia nodded and walked up to the gate with caution, us following close behind. After studying it for a few moments, she took her finger and made a large square, knocking twice. We all watched as a door materialized. Rena went up and whispered instructions to the door. With a loud groan, the door opened, and we had access to Giza. Finny shuddered on my neck.
“I’ve never been able to get used to this graveyard.”
“Been here much, Finny?” Nia mumbled. Yolonda warmed, but didn’t say anything. We walked slowly in, careful not to knock against any tombstones or step on any graves.
“How are we supposed to find our Death Walker?” I huffed.
We continued to walk slowly through the dark, foggy land. The ground was soft underneath my feet, and I shuddered. We were probably walking over graves.
Grandpa spoke up, “You’ll just know when you find him.”
“Well, that’s helpful,” Jala mumbled. “Rena, what on Turgor have you gotten yourself into?” The graveyard was far from quiet. Owls hooted in the distance. The wind gave off a smooth whoosh, bouncing off the trees that loomed overhead. Twigs and dried leaves crackled and snapped underneath our every step, causing me to jump. I sighed and stopped walking.
“Kay, what’s the problem?” Nia frowned and looked at me. “We’ve got to keep moving.”
“For what?” I asked. “Look around. Unless this Death Walker decides to give us a big sign, we’re never going to find him.” I turned to Grandpa. “What do you want us to do—wake up every single being here?”
Grandpa opened his mouth, but was stopped by a cough behind and above us. We all turned around and stared up at a tall, grayish boy with dull eyes and long gray hair that fell in his eyes. He looked irritated.
“How on Turgor am I supposed to get any sleep with you all making this much noise?” he thundered.
Rena whimpered and stood closer to me.
“Who are you?” Nia asked, raising one eyebrow. “Last time I checked, this was a free planet and we could walk anywhere we wanted!”
The boy moved closer, and Grandpa stiffened. “My name is Kristopher Letticus Amherst.” I snorted. Who was this kid? He looked at me and seemed to draw himself up even more. “Does my name amuse you?”
I smirked. “Look, we’re kind busy, so if you don’t mind...bye.” I turned to leave and felt a cold hand on my shoulder. The hairs on my neck stood up and, suddenly, I was sad. Very sad. Tears leaked out from the corners of my eyes. I felt my knees weaken. We were never going to be able to find the Death walker. Turgor was doomed. Grandpa would never come home. What was the point? I—
“Stop it!” Grandpa yelled and snatched me from Kris’ grip. “Don’t you dare touch her!” The coldness I had felt vanished. What was going on?
“He’s a Death Walker,” breathed Jala. “I should have guess it.”
“I am,” Kris confirmed. “And you are getting on my nerves. So, I’m asking nicely. Leave.”
Rena trembled then shook her head. “No can do. We came here to find a Death Walker and looks like we did.”
Kris cocked his head. “Why on Turgor would anyone willingly seek a Death Walker?” An owl hooted in response to his question.
“It’s a long story,” I murmured. “Look, we don’t know why we need a Death Walker. We just do, okay? And we’re running out of time. The KaKonians just attacked Caldbeck and everyone’s panicking and—”
“The KaKonians?” Kris thundered. I took a step back. This kid hand anger issues. “This was not supposed to happen. They have been under control for centuries!”
“Yeah, yeah, we know, but somehow they’re out of control and have decided to wipe out the rest of the beings on this planet.” I took a breath and continued. “And where have you been? If you’re up and walking around, you must have heard some type of commotion.”
Kris huffed. “I had affairs that needed attending to.”
“Oh yeah?” I scoffed. “I thought the dead didn’t get out much?”
Kris made another threatening step in my direction, and Grandpa raised his hands in defense.
“Enough! Kris, we need your help. We think you are an important key to an ancient legend.”
Kris cut him off. “If this has anything to do with the Akearman Stars legend, forget it.”
“You know about it?” Nia asked.
Kris looked offended. “Of course I know about it. When you’re dead, you don’t have much to do besides talk. And I’ve been around these parts since folks started whispering about the legend. But, that’s not my fight.”
“Well that’s great,” I said out loud. “We finally meet a Death Walker and turns out he’s a coward.”
“You know,” Kris said, his face darkening, “you talk a lot for a small girl.”
“Ha! First of all, I’m seventeen. Hardly a small girl. And second of all, ever heard of Women’s Rights? No? Dead folks don’t dip into politics much? I can talk as much as I want, buddy.” It was my turn to take a step towards Kris. People could be dying, and even though I don’t want to be a hero, someone had to do it. “Now look. You have a choice. We all do. You can either spend the rest of your days here, looking after the dead, or you can do something with your life...er, afterlife. You can help save people from the same thing that happened to you.”
“You...know...nothing,” Kris hissed, “Of what happened to me.”
I nodded. “That’s fair. But is what happened to you a good enough reason to let others share the same fate?” Kris stood up straight and stared at me. It was very unnerving. The rest of the group was watching us as I stared back. I was tired, hungry, and sore from running. We were leaving with a Death Walker, or my name wasn’t Kathleena Nicole McLaughlin.
“What do I have to do?” Kris growled.
I shrugged. “Who knows? That’s the sucky part about this legend. It didn’t really give specifics. All we know is that we need you somehow to help us stop the KaKonians.”
Kris sighed. “I suppose I don’t really have a choice.”
“Cut the crap. You just know our choice is better.”
He continued to stare at me until Nia cleared her throat. “Well, I hate to interrupt this, but we really have to go. I personally don’t like hanging around graveyards.”
“That’s a shame,” came a voice from behind us. “Because this is going to be your new home.” We all whipped around, and through the fog appeared Senior Paul Lynch.
“Uh, Senior Lynch? What are you doing here?” Nia asked.
“Funny, Nia, I could ask you the same thing.” Lynch’s eyebrows rose. “Why aren’t you at Caldbeck with the rest?”
“Wait,” I broke in, “what did you mean this is going to be our new home?”
Senior Lynch sighed and walked towards us. “Girls, I have it good here on Turgor. I can come and go as I please. I have complete freedom. And I am the law.” He stopped a few feet away from us. “But you, my dears, are threatening this way of life. The KaKonians have been good to me. And I shall ensure I return the favor.”
“What are you talking about, Senior Lynch?” Nia asked, her voice lo.
“He’s talking about loyalty, girl,” came a raspy voice from behind us. We turned again to find the glowing KaKonian I had faced at Nipsin’s Lodge. “Commitment. Understanding that there is a food chain...and knowing your place in it.” He looked at me. “You have been much trouble for me, girl.”
“So I’ve be
en told,” I retorted. “What do you want?”
“It’s simple,” Lynch said from our other side. “We want the Death Walker.”
“And you dead,” the KaKonian added, gleefully.
“Who are you?” Grandpa asked the KaKonian. Grandpa had been standing silently behind us.
“My name is Jarem.” And with that, he shot out both hands, lights flashed, and the world became muted. I was sent flying backwards, and even though my mouth was open, I couldn’t hear my screams. I fell on the ground with a hard thud. I could see Rena on my right, lying on her side with her eyes closed. Silver blood ran down her forehead. I struggled to move towards her, but something was pressing me down. She wasn’t moving, so I turned to my left for help. Nia was down on all fours, her face twisted in pain. I closed my eyes and thought of Grandma. We were never going to see her again. No, I thought, that’s not fair. I can’t leave her alone. She doesn’t have Grandpa. She doesn’t have Mom and Dad. She needs me. She needs Nia. Pressing my hand against the ground, I focused on using the little energy I had left. You are strong, and angry, I told the ground in my mind, my eyes still closed. You are moving, shaking, tearing apart.
Exhausted, I lay still, listening. For a second, the world stood still with me. And then...a tremble. Maybe I didn’t use enough energy. My throat was dry and scratchy. I swallowed and winced. Tears leaked out of the corners of my eyes. We were going to die.
“Come on, small girl,” a voice said. I opened my eyes. Kris was hovering above me. Behind him, I could make out Jala and Nia, both fighting with the KaKonian. Jala had produced a glowing thing and she was jabbing it at Jarem, but he didn’t seem to be too hurt by it. “I’ve shown you what dying feels like. Do you really want to experience that again? Are you willing to allow your friends to succumb to that?”
“I can’t move,” I croaked. My throat was very dry. Kris reached down and scooped me up. His hands were icy cold. Instinctively, I reached out and touched his face. “You are warm...a source of power,” I murmured. The world was spinning. Round and round it went. “You are...alive.” Somewhere in the distance, I heard Kris gasp, and I fell back to the ground with a thud. I closed my eyes, and the world finally stopped spinning.
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