by A. R. Cook
Or maybe, she didn’t want himto think she was weak.
Before he could say anything else, Acacia spoke the runic spell. The doors opened with a welcoming flourish, as before. The color of Acacia’s skin was growing pale, and her lips were becoming dry and cracked. But she continued on into the next room. David sighed to himself and followed.
Yet again, another ballroom. And again, a pair of marble doors at the other side.
Trails of steam drifted up from Tanuki’s head. “This is pointless!” he barked angrily. “We’ll be here for a thousand years at this rate.”
The stress was getting to Acacia as well. She clutched her paws to her head, her teeth clenched in rage. David turned and saw the doors behind them were closed, barring them inside the room. He rubbed his chin, thinking.
“Nico has obviously put some kind of enchantment in place to make this barrier repeat itself, but how?” He tried to think of any stories he had read where the hero was put in a similar situation, but he couldn’t remember how any characters had overcome this type of obstacle. There must be something in the room itself. All he could see were paintings on the walls, the candlelit sconces, and the chandelier …
While he was thinking, Acacia stormed off to the next set of doors and was reading the expected inscription on them. David, knowing that she was going to speak again, ran over and pulled her back. “Acacia, this is exactly what Nico wants you to do! He set this trap up so you would keep talking. Your family is not on the other side of these doors. This is going to go on forever until the Shade kills you!”
David received a reaction that he did not expect. Acacia bared her teeth at him, and growled so disturbingly that it caused him to step back. Her ferocity subsided when she saw the bewildered look on his face. She placed her paws on the door, like an arrested criminal, and hung her head. Her hair draped over her face so David couldn’t see her, but he thought he saw a drop of sweat fall and splash on the floor beneath her. It could have been a tear.
“Calm down, calm down,” he said quietly. “We’re going to figure this out. There must be something in this room that’s the key. Something behind one of these paintings, maybe …” He began to start looking behind the wall paintings, checking to see if anything was hidden beneath the wallpaper, tapping various spots along the walls. He looked back at Acacia. She was sitting on the floor, hunched over like a dog being punished. “We can’t give up now. This is just like a riddle, isn’t it? You’re good at those. Besides, Nico could be watching us right now, so let’s not give him the satisfaction of despair. Come on, get up.”
David returned to Acacia, lifting her up onto her hind feet so he could look her in the eye. “Acacia, I don’t know a lot about you, but I know you’re strong. You’ve fought against that Shade inside of you. You protect your family, at the risk of your own well being. You even saved me, when you didn’t have to. So, keep being strong, okay? No doubt, no giving in, no fear.”
Whatever distant plane of hopelessness she had been lost in, Acacia was returning from it. She took a deep breath. She placed her paws on her stomach, curling her claws, indicating the parasitic essence inside of her. “Nullus metus,” she said softly.
Nullus metus. No fear.
David nodded. “That’s good, Acacia. Don’t be afraid of the Shade. We’re going to get rid of it. You’ll be fine.”
She took his face in her paws, holding him as one would cradle a sacred relic. She gazed deeply into his eyes. Then, very softly, very slowly, she spoke. “I am sorry …what I’ve done …”
It was the first time he had heard her speak his language. It was somehow even more beautiful than her dream voice. Instantly, however, her speaking triggered the Shade inside of her, and it had a more rapid effect on her than before. She gasped as something greenish-blue in color swam through her veins, the sickening shade visible through her skin.
“Acacia, don’t!” David demanded. “You’re only going to—”
She put her paw over his lips to hush him. “I am not afraid … of what lies inside me. I … promised myself … I would speak with my own voice … to say this.” She steadied herself, as the poisonous Shade poured more heavily through her body. “I thought … when you found me … you … were one I was supposed to find. I was told … about a vision … and I hoped it meant you … but I cannot … put you through more … grief … David, I … don’t want you to … be hurt … I—”
By now, Acacia’s skin had turned nearly paint-white as the Shade sucked the color out of her. She was withering away before David’s eyes. As she gasped and coughed, her tongue turned a nasty green. Even her hair was changing from its rich dark brunette to smoky gray. Her hands dropped lifelessly to her sides. Her eyes rolled back in her head.
“No, no!” David wrapped his arms around Acacia as her body crumpled over. She was growing feral, the pain causing her to gnash her teeth and hiss and spit like an enraged cat.
Tanuki backed away. “That’s very bad, David! Grandpa Raiju started acting like that right before—” He morphed back into a cloud and floated up to hide up inside the chandelier.
David could only think of one thing to do. He reached into his pocket and pulled out Gullin’s pouch of herb pellets. He didn’t know what medicinal value they had, but he had nothing else on him. He took out one of the pellets and managed to get it into Acacia’s mouth. He kept his hand over her lips so she wouldn’t spit it out, and she swallowed it. She gradually stopped thrashing about as the pellet induced a calmness within her. She still looked terrible, but the pain that the Shade was causing was subsiding for the moment. Acacia looked up at David, the gold of her eyes faded to yellow. She rubbed her head against his shoulder, purring weakly.
“We’re going to be all right,” David promised. “We’re going to find your family, get out of here, and then I’m going to find out how to get that Shade out of you. But please … don’t talk anymore for now.”
“Do chandeliers normally have mirrors in them?” Tanuki called out from his hiding place. “That’s odd, don’t you think?”
David looked up at him. “A mirror?”
Tanuki poked his head out from the crystal chandelier. “Yes, it’s pointing face down. See?”
David set Acacia down gently for her to rest on the floor. He stood and walked directly under the chandelier, and sure enough, he could see a small mirror facing down at him. It was about the size of a tea saucer, and it was angled so that one could only have seen it by standing where David was now. “Can you bring that mirror down here?” he called.
After a minute, Tanuki called back, “Nope, it’s welded on here. It won’t budge.”
That was curious. David contemplated as his gaze wandered down to the floor. The highly reflective floor that mimicked his image like a mirror. A mirror above him, and one below him …
“That’s how Nico did it!” he confirmed. “He’s got two mirrors facing one another.”
“Huh?” the badger squeaked.
“If you’ve got two mirrors facing one another, the reflections in each one go on forever,” David explained. “That’s why this room keeps repeating itself over and over. It’s a never-ending reflection!”
“Oh, I knew that,” Tanuki replied. “Well, let’s get rid of this then. It might take me a little while, but I’ll chew through this chandelier’s cord—”
“We don’t have a little while. We need to get Acacia out of here right now!” David readied his bow and pointed an arrow straight up at the mirror above him. He let the arrow fly just as Tanuki was calling, “Let me get down from here first!!”
The arrow impaled the mirror dead center, shattering it instantly. It released a burst of blue energy that made the whole chandelier combust. Tanuki was flung through the air in a shower of glass. The whole structure came plummeting down, and David jumped and rolled out of the way before it crashed on the ballroom floor, sprinkling crystal shards everywhere.
A feather gently glided down to the floor, before it popped back into t
he familiar form of Tanuki. The badger chattered angrily at David in an animal language that David couldn’t understand. “Idiot,” Tanuki finished under his breath.
With the mirror shattered, the marble doors at both ends of the room creaked open. Through the doors where Acacia was lying, they could see the three stolen caravan wagons at the far end of a dimly lit corridor.
Acacia bolted to her feet, but she stumbled in exhaustion. David dashed over to help her, and this time she accepted his assistance. He put his arm around her middle to hold her steady. They walked out of the ballroom and down the corridor with Tanuki scuttling after them.
David glanced over at Acacia, glad to see that the color was returning to her face. “Are you feeling any better?” he asked.
Acacia smiled at him, and pressed her forehead against his.
David smiled back. “Let’s go free your family.”
Chapter Ten
The three wagons stood patiently as the rescuers approached. There were heavy inch-thick chains with iron padlocks enveloping each wagon in criss-crossing webs, making it impossible for anything to get in or out. Tanuki transformed into a skeleton key, zipping through the air and unlocking every padlock. Acacia pulled the clanking chains away and yanked down the walls of each wagon with surprising strength, given her condition.
The gypsies had been crammed together inside the wagons, without any light or space. They flooded out of the wagons with shouts of joy, crowding around Acacia in a mass of embraces. Gullin swept up Acacia in his arms and gave her a mighty hug, and she nuzzled his cheek. The Scotsman placed her down and gave David a hearty slap on the back.
“Knew you’d come through for us, boyo,” he laughed. “Sorry I missed out on the fun.”
“I’m not sure if the ‘fun’ is done yet,” David replied. “We still need to get out of here.”
“Good point. I see you brought a few of my ‘special girls.’ ” Gullin looked over the hunting weapons David had brought. He plucked the dog-headed metal tube from David’s belt. “Ah, you brought good ol’ Orthrus. You have good taste, lad. Don’t mind if I keep her warm for now?” He stuck “Orthrus” in his own belt.
“Well, it’s your … stick,” David answered.
“Is that gopher with you?” Gullin asked, gesturing at Tanuki, who poked his head out from behind David’s legs.
Tanuki cocked his head to the side. “Is he talking about me?” he asked. “Is he saying how marvelous I am?”
Gullin blinked in curiosity at the talking animal. “Heh, it talks, eh? Can’t understand a bloody thing it’s saying.”
At first, David was confused as to why Gullin and Tanuki could not understand what each other was saying. Then he remembered that Tanuki spoke Japanese and not English, and Gullin was the other way around. It was because of the kappa’s mystical waters that David could understand Japanese. It hadn’t occurred to him that he was automatically switching back and forth between the two languages, depending on who he was talking to.
“This is Tanuki. He’s been a big help to us,” David told Gullin. “He can change into different shapes.”
Gullin scratched his beard. “I don’t trust those shape-shifting types. Dirty little tricksters, the lot of ‘em.”
David looked down at Tanuki. “Gullin says you’re the most brilliant animal he’s ever seen.”
Tanuki beamed.
“But right now, I need you to turn into something that can carry us all out of here and back to someplace safe,” David said.
Tanuki frowned. “Even the most divine being in all Kyoto has his limits. I haven’t figured out how to turn into anything larger than a human on horseback yet. Everyone here can walk, can’t they?”
“But it’ll take us forever to climb up out of this cavern and through the swamp to get back through the Curtain on foot. We better go find Master Yofune.”
“That’s going to be a bit of a problem,” interjected a voice as dark and slick as oil.
Everyone turned to see Nico standing in the doorway at the end of the corridor. He was dressed in a garish blue suit, which accentuated the bright orange of his hair and wickedly-gleaming eyes.
“Honestly, I leave for a short while, and you disobedient pets get out of your cages?” He shook his finger at them, clicking his tongue. “Clearly your former owner didn’t train you properly.”
Acacia flexed her claws, preparing to bolt straight at her canine cousin, but Gullin beat her to it. As the Huntsman came within range and raised his fist, the fox leapt, somersaulting over Gullin’s head. He landed lightly on the ground behind Gullin, who pivoted back around to attempt another strike. Nico glided sideways and catapulted himself at the man, striking him in the shoulder. Gullin twisted backwards from the blow and landed heavily on his back. Nico took hold of him by the leg, swung him around and released. Gullin flew across the corridor before colliding into David’s legs, bowling him over.
Nico casually dusted off his coat, not having broken a sweat. “You may have muscle, but my bloodline has been blessed with the fortune to never be caught. Don’t embarrass yourself.”
Acacia started to charge at Nico, but she faltered. She clutched her stomach, feeling the burning of the Shade in her blood and organs. Her resolve drove her forward, her teeth and claws bared for shredding. She stopped when Nico began laughing hysterically, wiping a tear from his eye.
“My goodness, Cousin,” he chortled. “This is the most pathetic thing I’ve ever seen. The mighty sphinx, thinking she can protect her pride, and she looks like a withered old tabby. Even I would feel guilty fighting you. Go on, run along now, kitty. I’ll take care of your filthy little brood. I’ll even be nice to your favorite, and make him my personal servant.”
Murder filled Acacia’s eyes. She wouldn’t let this horrid poison inside defeat her, and she sure as Hades wasn’t going to let Nico get away with this! She summoned all of her strength to attack, but then she heard the tightening of a bow string. David was aiming an arrow right at Nico. Gullin stood up, his arms up in a fighter’s pose. Behind them, the rest of the gypsies banded together into a tight formation, angry faces all focused on Nico.
“You hurt her,” Gullin bellowed, “and you’ll be little more than a mess of bloody fur and broken bone!”
Nico sighed, and stepped backwards into the ballroom. “I’m beginning to think you pets aren’t worth the trouble,” he remarked. With a few quick words of Latin, he commanded the ballroom doors to slam shut.
“Don’t let that mongrel get away!” Gullin ordered. The group rushed towards the doors.
Alarm rang in David’s mind. “Wait! Stop! This could be a—”
The doors flung open as the gypsies reached them, and the walls peeled back and disintegrated. They were standing on the front veranda of the mansion, and right in front of them was the gaping mouth of the Sleepless Dragon.
Everyone froze, paralyzed with fear. Acacia extended her wings wide to shield the others and ushered them away from the monster. Gullin planted his feet firmly, removing Orthrus from his belt. “Aye, I owe you for the last time, you fat lizard! Come at me, then!”
The Sleepless Dragon did not hesitate. His massive maw shot down at Gullin, ready to ingest the man. Gullin placed his fingers on the two dog heads on each end of Orthrus, and twisted subtly. There was a soft click, and out from the dogs’ mouths extended a collapsible staff. Sliding like a telescope, it elongated to eight feet in length. As the dragon’s teeth were closing in over Gullin’s head, he jammed the staff into the beast’s mouth, locking its jaw in place. The dragon reared its head back with a furious roar, and Gullin held onto his staff, carried upwards inside the dragon’s jaws.
“Now, boyo!” he called down to David. “The only way to wound a beast like this is from the inside! Shoot an arrow into the roof of its mouth, into the brain!” Gullin punched the dragon in the gums with his bare fist, and broke the tip of one of the teeth.
David readied his bow, but the dragon was thrashing about too wildly for hi
m to get a clear shot. He saw a faint light in the dragon’s throat, and he knew it was a fireball igniting.
“Tanuki! Go up there and give Gullin my dagger!” he ordered, yanking his dagger out of its sheath.
The badger looked at David blankly. “You must be joking.”
“That dragon is about to fry Gullin. You can turn into a rain cloud to douse the fire. Please, Tanuki, I need your help!”
The badger twitched his whiskers nervously, but he took David’s dagger from him. “You owe me soooooooo much sake for this.”
Tanuki turned into a pouring rain cloud, and he whisked up to the dragon’s mouth. Steam immediately began filling the air as the heat from the Sleepless Dragon’s gullet clashed with the cold rainwater from Tanuki’s cloud. The cloud dropped the dagger into Gullin’s hand, but at that moment, Orthrus collapsed under the pressure of the dragon’s crushing jaws.
The dragon’s mouth snapped shut. It swallowed.
David, Acacia and the gypsies were petrified. Acacia’s bestial cry of rage brought everything back into motion. She pumped her wings, leaping up to pulverize her grand-uncle. David caught her hind leg in mid-air, struggling to keep her earthbound.
“Acacia, stop!” he cried. “He’ll kill you too—”
They heard the sound of distant thunder.
The Sleepless Dragon’s eyes shot wide open, and his jaw dropped. The thunder grew louder. The dragon looked down at his belly. A faint light flickered under his skin.
David had often mused on how dragons could breathe fire when he read stories about Saint George or Sir Lancelot. One theory he had devised was that they store gas in their stomachs from the breakdown of food, and when it passes through the lungs, it mixes with various chemicals and ignites upon exhalation. If his theory was to be believed—taking into account that dragon gas would be extremely flammable—then a dragon that has swallowed a creature capable of generating lightning would be an explosion waiting to happen.