by M S C Barnes
Looking at The Caretaker, whose pale eyes still stared off into nothing, he tried one last thing. “Morgan, Aelfric needs you here! He’s in danger,” he shouted and instantly The Caretaker flinched, blinked and stared around, looking, Seb guessed, for Aelfric. “It was an illusion,” he explained, quietly.
The Caretaker, looking slightly surprised, gave a brusque nod, then, retrieving the small sword and slipping it into a pocket, immediately began examining the shaft, turning in the confined space and staring along each tunnel before looking at the damp wall behind them.
Waiting, Seb also faced the blank wall and noticed that, every time he blinked, a residual image of the owl standing on the grave under the yew tree appeared on the clay surface. He turned to look along the tunnel on the right but instantly felt drawn back to the wall. The residual image appeared again. He blinked and rubbed his eyes and blinked again.
“What Seb?” The Caretaker asked, noticing him fidget.
“It sounds silly, but I feel like we should go this way,” Seb said, doubtfully, pointing at the solid wall. “It can’t be though; it’s just a wall.”
The Caretaker looked at him keenly then turned, took one step and placed a slender hand on the wall; it passed straight through the solid surface.
“I trust your judgement — And so should you,” The Caretaker said, smiling.
Seb looked back up at the silhouetted heads above him.
“Please don’t follow us,” he called to them. “I have The Caretaker and we will find Zach,” he said with some conviction now, his confidence boosted. “Go and help the others.” He heard Nat sigh and sniff, though she didn’t speak.
Aiden’s head appeared momentarily over the opening and he yelled down, “Seb, you may need this.” He dropped a shiny object into the hole. Before he caught it Seb already knew what it was — Aiden’s tin.
“Thank you.” He smiled up at him. “I will bring it back.”
Now Henri spoke quickly, “Seb, if you have not returned with Zach by the time I have healed those in need, I will come and find you all,” he said.
One by one the heads above them disappeared until just Nat remained looking down. Her aura shone brightly and Seb could see in it the emotional pain she was feeling. He couldn’t help though; as desperate as he was to stay with her and not cause her upset, he had to find Zach.
“I love you, and I will come back to you,” he whispered up to her.
She nodded. “Be sure you do,” she said and slowly retreated from the hole. Seb was left staring at a pale circle above which dark branches moved slowly. And suddenly the circle disappeared. Henri, he guessed, had closed the entrance.
In total darkness now he stood with The Caretaker and hoped he was still facing in the direction of the wall. He flipped open Aiden’s tin. Nothing happened, no light, no images, he couldn’t even see his own reflection. He wasn’t surprised; the tin had only ever worked for Aiden. As he clicked it shut and stuffed it in his pocket, he heard a twanging sound, like a rope being pulled taught.
“Give me your hand,” The Caretaker mumbled to him and feeling down his arm, grabbed his right hand and tied a leather cord tightly around his wrist before continuing in a quiet voice. “Seb, remember that Heath intended this Sanctum as a hide-away. When he designed the maze, he told me that the best way to prevent those he didn’t want to from finding the Sanctum was to make it elude them if they tried.”
“What does that mean?” Seb asked.
“Seek and you shall not find,” The Caretaker said. Seb, not really understanding, nodded slowly, and rather pointlessly — given the darkness.
“We’re not seeking the Sanctum though,” he said. “We are seeking Zach.”
“Yes, who is more than likely within a part of the Sanctum — which is why the totem led you this way,” The Caretaker said. “Now, I know that Heath used a Deflection Spell on this lock passageway, to ensure that anyone who sought the Sanctum — or him — would never find either. What I don’t know is whether the same would apply to seeking anyone else who may be in the Sanctum or within the shadow of its influence. But the totem led you this way for a reason.”
“So what do we do?” Seb asked.
“What Heath told me to do if I ever came here — seek the exit,” The Caretaker answered simply. “In doing so, I believe we will find the Sanctum — and Zach.”
The logic made sense to Seb, but standing in the dark below the shaft entrance he struggled with that. “But we know the exit is right above us,” he said.
“Heath told me that it is impossible to get out the way you come in, so that is not our exit,” The Caretaker said. “Before we proceed, I need to know that you understand that you must not think about finding Zach or the Sanctum, but must concentrate only on seeking the exit. Do you understand that Seb?”
“Yes,” he answered, guiltily, realising that the thought of being trapped in this dark place was actually making him more interested in finding the exit than in finding Zach. “Should I go first?” he asked.
“No, always me unless there is no choice.” Seb felt a tug on the cord as The Caretaker stepped away from him.
He began to shuffle his feet forward wary of the fact that, were he able to see, he would be walking towards what appeared to be a solid wall. The Caretaker didn’t seem at all hesitant and Seb felt the cord pull more forcefully, dragging him through the darkness. And suddenly, as though a blackout curtain had been drawn back, there was light above them — blue light — shining in clusters on the ceiling. It was like looking up at a starry night sky and delicate, glowing strands hung like spider web threads from the shimmering clusters.
“Wow!” Seb couldn’t help exclaiming. “What is all that?”
“Arachnocampa nests,” The Caretaker said. “Bioluminescent insect larvae. Those threads you see are their prey snares. They are not native to England but Heath brought them over here and used them often, in places such as this, to create a natural source of light.”
Seb was walking with his mouth open. Although not very bright, the blueish light these insect larvae provided was enough to illuminate the walls and floor of a tunnel which stretched ahead of him. Looking along it though, he was disheartened to see that the tunnel itself seemed to go on for miles without a turn or any other apparent offshoots or openings. He had expected a maze, not an endless path.
“Shouldn’t a maze have different turnings? Different paths? This is just one long passageway,” he said.
“Keep concentrating,” The Caretaker said, still walking forward, the leather cord pulling Seb along behind.
After several minutes trudging in silence, the bottoms of Seb’s feet were hurting so much he had to slow his pace. “Are you okay?” The Caretaker asked, turning to check on him and then stopped abruptly, staring back the way they had come. Seb turned to look and gasped. Behind them, instead of the one long tunnel they had walked along, there were three tunnel openings which all converged at the point where they stood.
“Did we just step out of one of those?” he asked. “I didn’t think we came out into a new tunnel.”
“Neither did I,” The Caretaker said, looking interested more than puzzled.
“Does it matter do you think?” Seb asked. “I mean, if we hadn’t looked back, we would never have known…”
The Caretaker mulled his words over then said, “That is true.”
“So what do we do? Carry on straight ahead, or try one of these?”
“I don’t have an answer,” The Caretaker said, shrugging then, moving around Seb, took one step into the tunnel to the right and stood looking and listening.
Seb stared along the one in the middle. All he could see were the starlight dots of the arachnocampa larvae stretching away for miles. He turned back to the original direction they had been heading in and was dismayed to find that instead of the one long tunnel there were now three, like mirror images of the ones behind them. He tugged The Caretaker’s sleeve.
“Look,” he said. The Caret
aker stepped out of the tunnel and stared in surprise. “Is it mind tricks do you think?” Seb asked.
“More than likely,” The Caretaker said.
They stood in virtual silence for a moment, the only sound the slow drip, drip of water which echoed along the tunnels.
“Do you know what to do then?” Seb asked. “I mean, Heath would have wanted you to be able to accompany him to — or meet him in — the Sanctum wouldn’t he? If it was a hideout because he was in trouble, he would want his Guardian with him wouldn’t he? So you must know what to do?”
The Caretaker turned to him and spoke quietly. “I have told you all I know about what Heath devised. If I had needed to know anything more, he would have told me. When I discussed the lock passageway with Aelfric, his view was that if we ever had to come to this place, we should simply just enter the maze and walk — until something caused us to stop — he believed that, as long as a person ensured they did not try to find the Sanctum and kept the exit as their goal, they would find it. And I am still convinced it is as simple as that. If we want to find the Sanctum we need to not try and if we want to avoid it, we need to seek it. Everything else is just a trick.” Seb nodded as The Caretaker smiled at him and pointed at the middle tunnel of the three in front of them. “I don’t believe, therefore, that it matters which tunnel we take or where we walk, so we may as well continue the way we were going — which was that way.”
“Lead on then,” Seb said. As The Caretaker once more stepped into the middle tunnel there was a whooshing sound and Seb felt a sudden breeze which was gone as fast as it came. The other two tunnels disappeared and they were left, as before, walking along what appeared to be an endless passageway. “So it was just a trick,” Seb mumbled and glanced back. The three other tunnels were still there and, strangely, although he was walking away from them, he never got any further from them; they remained, gaping behind him, like they were following him along the passageway, enticing him to turn and take one of them instead of heading straight on. He shrugged and continued walking, following The Caretaker, trying to ignore the soreness in his feet.
They walked on for what felt like ages and, unable to keep track of time, Seb began counting his paces, hoping it would help him judge how far they had gone. As time dragged on and the number of paces he counted reached the thousands though, far from concentrating on finding the exit, he now found his thoughts focussing on whether Heath had told The Caretaker the truth about how to navigate this place.
“How long do you suppose we have been walking?” he asked.
“It feels like about an hour,” The Caretaker answered, still walking purposefully forward, “but —”
“So Zach could have drowned already!” Seb interrupted. “Don’t you think we should have got somewhere by now?”
“Seb, I said it ‘feels’ like about an hour,” The Caretaker said, nonplussed. “But I have been on many journeys into unusual places and have found that either my perception of time in such places is unreliable or time itself is unreliable. Are you having doubts?”
“Yes,” Seb answered truthfully but then said nothing more.
“Why?” The Caretaker asked.
Seb felt slightly embarrassed as he answered, “Well, if I hadn’t roused you — you know, when you first jumped into the shaft — you would still be standing there I think. So if you had come here alone, without Heath, you would never have got past the entrance and made it to him. And — And it was only because I saw a totem in the wall that we found out the way to go, otherwise wouldn’t we have taken one of the three tunnels we could see and that would have been wrong? And this isn’t a maze is it? It’s a pathway — and we are still walking along it together when Heath told you anyone using the lock passageway would approach the Sanctum alone.” The Caretaker stopped and turned. “So maybe Heath lied,” Seb continued, “and we are in serious trouble because we will just keep walking and walking and never get anywhere, not to the Sanctum, not to Zach and,” he waved a hand ahead of him, “not to an exit.” He realised he was shouting; embarrassed, he looked at his feet.
The Caretaker regarded him calmly. “Seb, I don’t believe Heath ever envisaged I would travel this path without him, so any tricks or traps at the beginning are irrelevant. And this is a maze. Most people, interpreting that word, will instantly think of a complex system of pathways designed to confuse; but Heath wasn’t most people. The word maze comes from the Middle English word amasen — to amaze. In reality, I believe Heath meant that this place would amaze — in other words it would confuse, bewilder and stupefy — It does, does it not? And with regard to our still being together,” The Caretaker frowned, “we are not!” Seb blinked, confused. The Caretaker pointed to his wrist. He looked down; the leather cord hung from it, its end severed. Now, as he glanced back up, The Caretaker raised a hand and tapped. Between the two of them was a barrier — it wasn’t solid like glass, there was no sheen or reflection, in fact nothing to show anything at all occupied the space — but as Seb reached out and tried to touch The Caretaker, his fingers struck something and his hand was pushed gently back. “I believe this is a repelling field, like the ones Custodians use to contain golems. It separates us — and has done since we set off again along the passageway — that is when the cord was severed. The field moves with us ensuring that we proceed in isolation. I believe, therefore, we are being successful in our endeavour. Now, if you are ready, concentrate on seeking the exit.” The Caretaker smiled.
Stunned, but reassured, Seb nodded that he was ready. The Caretaker turned to face front once more and strode confidently along the passageway. Following, Seb tried to concentrate on finding the exit but, in truth, all he really wanted was to find Zach and get back to Nat so he struggled to keep his mind from wandering. The only thing that helped keep him focussed was the knowledge that, in finding Zach, he may also find Nicole. Each time that thought crossed his mind he found it easier to want to seek the exit.
A shuffling noise behind him distracted him and he glanced back over his shoulder. The three tunnels were still there — no nearer or further away than before — and then something caught his eye — a fleeting movement as a shadowy figure crossed left to right some yards into the middle tunnel.
“I, I saw something,” he shouted to The Caretaker who once more stopped and turned. Seb pointed. “In the tunnel behind us, I saw something move.”
“We are looking for the exit, Seb, nothing more,” The Caretaker said without even looking where he had indicated.
“But what if something — or someone — is following us?” Seb asked.
“Then let them follow,” The Caretaker said and, turning round, began walking along the tunnel again. Feeling the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end, Seb followed. “Do not stop again,” The Caretaker called to him. “This is a maze and it will bemuse you. Keep walking.”
It seemed so simple to The Caretaker, Seb thought — just walk with one end in mind, the exit. But The Caretaker wasn’t the one at the back, the one with an unknown something creeping around mere feet behind them. Seb sped up but each time he looked back — and he looked back many times — he saw the same thing — the quickest of movements — a shadow darting left to right at the same spot in the same tunnel, which was still right behind him. Soon he was walking so fast he was becoming breathless. The Caretaker sped up too; whether due to concern as to what may be lurking behind them or simply because Seb was now going faster, Seb didn’t know. They still, however, seemed to be getting nowhere.
He felt something drip onto his head and looked up as he walked. The roof between the insect nests glistened as though it were wet. Another drop splashed down on him, this time landing in his eye. He blinked and rubbed it away.
“There’s water dripping from the ceiling,” he called out. The Caretaker said nothing and didn’t look up or around. Gradually, the spits and spots became a steady stream and within minutes it was like they were walking through a shower of rain.
The sound of the fa
lling water and their splashing footsteps masked any other noises. Still aware that there might be something behind him, Seb couldn’t help but look back again. The three tunnels were still there but now, like the passageway they were walking through, water cascaded from the ceilings. The fleeting shadow passed left to right once more and Seb gasped. This time he had been able to make out some detail — enough to recognise what he had seen.
“We have to stop!” he shouted, bringing The Caretaker to a standstill. “I know what it is in that tunnel — It’s us,” he yelled. “I don’t know how, but we are going round in circles and I keep seeing you cross from there,” he jabbed a finger at the left wall of the middle tunnel, “to there.” He pointed at the right wall. “These tunnels are all joined and we are just going round and round.” There was still not even a flicker of uncertainty in The Caretaker’s eyes. Staring into the middle tunnel, Seb watched and waited. After several minutes, with no sign of the shadow, he sighed. “See? It doesn’t happen now we have stopped, but I bet if we walk again I will see you cross the tunnel. Try,” he said. Shrugging, The Caretaker walked on and Seb followed, glancing back over his shoulder. Seeing that fleeting figure move left to right again, he stopped abruptly. “I was right, and this is pointless,” he mumbled.
“It isn’t pointless and you need to just keep walking. It doesn’t matter what you see Seb,” The Caretaker said, sounding positive and striding along the tunnel, “or where you think we are; it is all designed to confuse. Ignore it and focus on finding the exit.”
With no better plan, and influenced by The Caretaker’s firm belief that this was the way to deal with the maze, Seb fixed his mind on hoping that, with each hobbling step he took, the exit, leading to somewhere warm and dry, would appear.
The torrent of water cascading from the roof had become so heavy he groaned as it pounded on his sore head and back. He squinted ahead, trying to keep The Caretaker in sight; he could see nothing but a wall of water and lifted his left hand, stretching it out in front of him, feeling his way forward and then, as if he had passed through a waterfall, he suddenly emerged into a palatial room and strangely, instantly, he was dry. He stopped and looked back; the deluge continued behind him and this curtain of water circled the room, like a liquid wall. He didn’t have much time to take in the new surroundings, however, as a figure he hadn’t noticed, huddled in a wing-back chair in the centre of the room, leapt up and screeched at him.