Master Gigas, as she had called it, nodded and removed an enormous key from around its waist that looked as though it was made completely out of bones. He pointed this at one of the walls, and it opened into a swirling black vortex. Jezreel kissed Takka on his forehead, winked at me, and ran through the portal, which promptly shut behind her.
The creatures corralled the members of the tribe, including Takka, into the cells that circled the room. Me, they saved for last, and imprisoned me in a golden cage that hangs from the ceiling.
Never have I felt so foolish. Perhaps I had grown soft in all the time I spent away from the threat of the Nemes knights. The first thing a paladin must remember is: never trust a nemesis.
* * *
Rich woke up on his side, smelling smoke. The duel had ended, and he found himself back in the school. The people around him looked unfrozen, but there were still a bunch of them on the ground. As Rich looked from side to side, he confirmed his suspicions. These were all the people who had fallen during the duel.
"He won’t wake up!" Julia from work screamed, shaking a guy on the floor. "Somebody call 911!"
Then another scream joined the first, and suddenly most of the people in the gym were genuinely freaking out. But only one thought dominated his mind.
Angela, Nadia, and Trent.
He ran around, trying to find where they might have fallen. Students pushed their way out of the gym, and Rich got more than his fair share of being pushed around. He only hoped nobody trampled his friends.
He found Angela, still awake, and realized she hadn't fallen. Nadia, however, who had lost to Mallory, lay on the floor and looked unconscious. Angela and Trent knelt over her, and Rich could see Angela fiercely wiping back tears. She met Rich’s eyes, her face telling him she was barely keeping it together.
"She's breathing, but I don't know what's wrong. She just fell over while dancing and hit the floor. It wasn’t even a fast dance. "
"She’s not the only one," Rich said. "Did you see what happened? Do you remember?"
Angela wrinkled her brow for a moment as if trying to remember a strange dream after it was over. "No. I felt funny for a second, but the feeling passed. I looked over and saw Nadia falling, like someone just flipped the off switch. What should we do?”
Rich bent over Nadia and confirmed that she was still breathing. He felt her neck and found that she still had a strong pulse as well. She looked incredibly pale, however, and her skin was clammy to the touch. "I’m sure ambulances will be here soon," he said. "Let's just stay with her until then."
Trent looked over at Rich. "Man, what’s going on? I was rockin’ out, and then all of a sudden, I was lying on the floor. You think she’ll be okay?"
Rich honestly didn't know, and he didn't want to lie. He couldn't even figure out how to begin. He’d lost to his nemesis because he tried to save Trent. If not for him, Trent would be lying on the floor too, but Rich couldn’t very well explain that.
“Hey, man, what happened to your tie?”
Rich looked down and felt the front of his shirt where his tie had been. It had been cut near the knot so only a tiny stub remained. His mind flashed back to Mallory. When he'd won their first duel, he’d taken the ribbon from her hair to mark his victory. This time, she’d been the one to take her trophy.
"I don't know. It was kind of cheap anyway."
They all stayed by Nadia’s side, Angela grasping her hand constantly until the paramedics arrived. They stormed into the gym with stretchers, loading each of the victims before rolling back out.
Rich watched them with a sinking feeling. What if his friends never woke up again? Being in a coma was technically still alive, but it was just like a nemesis to sugarcoat the truth when it suited their purposes.
He followed Angela to the front lawn as she ran behind Nadia’s stretcher. He put his arm around her and held her for a few seconds. "Hey, let's get you home."
She turned and hugged Rich, the tears flowing fast. "I don't understand, Rich. All those people falling at the same time? Did someone do this to us? Is this some sort of outbreak?”
Rich pulled her head down onto his shoulder, gently patting her back. "I'm sure they’ll figure it out. Maybe I could have Aunt Laura take us over to the hospital so we can see how Nadia and the others are doing."
She sniffed a few times, stepping back. Rich got out his cell phone and dialed. He gave his aunt the quick version, and she made it over to the school in record time.
She dropped them off at the hospital, and they joined the crowd in the waiting room, the loved ones of the other victims, all waiting for answers. Rich was sitting there, trying to calm his mind, when he felt a tap on his shoulder.
"Aaron!" Rich cried out. "What are you doing here?"
Aaron held a finger to his lips. "Don't say anything. Just follow me, and let me explain."
Rich stood slowly and checked where Angela was. She was talking to a group of other students. It might be okay if he ducked out for a minute. Rich followed Aaron down the hallway until his friend stopped in front of what looked like a supply closet. But instead of cleaning supplies, Rich saw a dark purple curtain that looked completely out of place with its surroundings. Aaron drew back the curtain and motioned for Rich to step inside. "It's a portal back to the sanctuary, but it won’t be open very long."
Rich followed Aaron’s instructions and found himself in a stone passageway lit by torches. Aaron appeared a moment later and motioned for him to follow. After a few quick turns, they landed in the main room, with the long table headed by his grandparents. His grandfather got to his feet, and all the other knights rose with him.
"It’s good to see you, Heinrich," his grandfather said, motioning for the knights to be seated. "You fought bravely."
Rich hung his head as he approached the table. No matter how bravely he’d fought, he had still lost. Where was the good in that?
"I can see that you are troubled, Sir Heinrich," his grandfather said. "But I wish to ease your mind. Yes, you lost the duel to your nemesis, but you still fulfilled the requirements. You showed courage and compassion in what was a nearly impossible situation. You only lost because you were doing the right thing and your opponent took advantage of that. There's truly no dishonor in such a loss."
Rich slumped into his seat, wishing he could really believe the words. Aaron took a seat next to him, already grabbing his goblet and reaching for a drink from a nearby pitcher.
"What does this mean? Do I still get to be a rook if I failed?"
“Why, Rich," Minerva said with a laugh, "you haven’t failed in the least. In fact, you’re here so you can be made a rook officially. Now your power will increase greatly, and you will be even more of a force to be reckoned with."
Rich looked up for the first time, his face still strained. "But I lost! That has to be something, doesn't it?"
His grandfather nodded. "Indeed, it does. Just as when you defeated your nemesis in the first round, you gained greater power when obtaining your rank. This time, she will gain the advantage, though honestly, the draw between you cancels each other out. You won once, she won once, and so you have fought each other to a stalemate. The most important battle, the tiebreaker of sorts, is still to come, but that is not the thing to talk about now. We have a ceremony to perform.”
His grandfather stood. "Heinrich Wulfrich Witz, rise. Come and kneel you before me.” He motioned to a young servant, who brought a shining white rook piece on a purple velvet cushion. He bowed and presented this to Rich’s grandfather. His grandfather withdrew his sword as Rich knelt in front of him.
"I dub thee, Heinrich Wulfrich Witz, a knight of the order of the rook in front of these witnesses. I do this b
ecause you have proved yourself worthy of such a title for your mighty deeds and conduct becoming a knight of this order."
His grandfather looked around and addressed the rest of them. "If there is anyone who has anything against Heinrich obtaining this order, let him please speak now or remain forever silent."
If anyone felt this way, they kept to himself. Because no one else raised an objection, Rich didn't either. His grandfather tapped the sword on top of each shoulder and then extended the rook to him. He surrendered his knight and placed the rook in the silver cage that hung around his neck. A warm feeling of confidence and joy spread throughout his whole body, and a wide grin rose to his face.
Rich turned around, and the entire room erupted in applause. Aaron was the first on his feet and clapped the loudest. When all had settled back down, Rich took a seat again, and his grandmother cleared her throat.
"I do wish we had time for a feast, but I'm afraid we must see Rich off right away. I'm going to have Aaron take him back to the Corridor, and this time, Aaron will accompany Rich on his way."
Rich shot up in his seat, not bothering to mask the incredible relief he felt at hearing that. It was then that he remembered the hospital. He raised his goblet to ask permission to speak. "But Nadia and the others are still at the hospital. I need to go back to make sure they're okay."
His grandmother lay one hand on top of the other on the table and sighed. "Normally, I would agree with you, but there just isn't time. Things have taken a turn for the worst." She glanced up, and the intense look in her eyes told him that she meant business. "A dark knight has escaped from the Corridor of Keys. Her name is Jezreel, and she is your father's nemesis. Now that she is free and your father is not, we must act quickly to ensure that the balance of power does not suddenly tip in their favor. I do not know how long we have, but we must not waste any of the precious time we do have. We will take care of your friends while you are gone, I promise."
Rich moaned, feeling a crushing weariness wash over him. He couldn't think of a day in his entire life that had been such a roller coaster. "Come on, Aaron. Let's go."
Aaron jumped out of his chair and led the way back toward the portal. "I have been learning to drive one of your modern cars," he said. “I heard that most of you start driving when you're fifteen years old, and so I should be fine. I have one waiting just outside the hospital."
Once back in the hospital, Rich arranged for someone to take Angela home, and then slipped out the front door where Aaron’s car waited. He didn’t know what he been expecting. Rich figured that Aaron, as an actual old man, would drive something ancient—but then again, a horse and cart would be more appropriate to his time period. Instead, Aaron ran up to a silver sports car that looked like he’d just driven it off the lot. He opened the car with the remote entry button. "Where did you get this? You didn't steal it, did you?"
"Heavens, no," Aaron said. “The paladins have great financial resources, vaults of treasure and the like. So I just converted some of that into your dollars and purchased this vehicle. Your grandfather said you might like a car like this.”
Before Rich could say anything, Aaron managed to trigger the car alarm instead of engaging the locks. Rich snatched the remote and fixed the problem with a few quick taps.
"I’d like not to give anyone a heart attack," Rich said as he made his way around to the passenger seat. "Are you sure you can handle this thing? This isn’t a beginners’ car."
Taking the driver’s seat, Aaron grinned. "I know. I've been practicing with it. The merchant said it had the power of hundreds of horses. I thought he was exaggerating, but now I know."
The instant Rich put his seatbelt on, Aaron sped away. He took everything ridiculously fast, but never came close to hitting anything. Maybe he really had been practicing.
"So where is the Corridor now?"
"It's only about an hour farther than it was the last time we were there," Aaron said. "It doesn't move all that quickly, though it never stops.”
Rich settled back into his seat as they reached the freeway. He wanted to think of anything but having to go back into the maze again. When he let his mind wander, though, it settled back on Nadia and the others who had fallen in the Duel of Sixty-four. "So, can you tell me about the mission you were on?"
To Rich’s surprise, Aaron nodded. "This time, I actually can because it has to do directly with this mission."
He drew a breath and began explaining. “After your first time in the Corridor, they realized it was again time to try to figure out the mysteries of the Gigantaurs. They've always been a pain to paladins and nemeses alike, but some knights have figured out a surefire way to beat them that doesn’t involve trying to use their own weapons against them. Unfortunately, the exact method has been lost for a long time."
“Let me guess," Rich said. "They sent you to look for it."
Aaron raised his hands slightly and clapped them back down on the steering wheel. "Right you are. Problem is that not every paladin chooses to come to the sanctuary when he or she passes away. Some of their spirits still roam the earth, trying to influence mortals into doing their bidding, trying to complete what they couldn’t do in life. The paladins who have the secret decided to be the roaming kind. I researched every ghost story from here to Finland until I finally tracked down one of them. She was wandering through an abandoned mine when I found her, looking quite distressed. It seemed that her stash of specialty weapons had been cut off when somebody blew up the mine years ago. She wasn’t like me, and hadn’t been given the chance to interact with the physical world again. Sure, she could go through the walls, but you couldn't pick up the weapons and take them out of the mine. However, she could lead mortals to them."
Rich leaned over in his seat, put his weight on the armrest. "What kind of weapons are they?”
Aaron chuckled as he turned on his blinker to pass several cars in the fast lane. “They’re not like any other weapons I've ever seen. They’re long, key-shaped pieces of metal that slide over the tip of a regular sword. Apparently, the Gigantaurs themselves can be unlocked, and once they are, there are easily defeated. The stone creature we see is like an outward sort of armor that protects a much more vulnerable operator. This knight said that some of them were so used to fighting with their armor, they simply surrendered once they didn’t have it anymore.”
That sounded like a much fairer fight to Rich, but it also brought an urgent question to mind. "Well, where's the keyhole?" he asked. "I sure didn't see any.”
Aaron sighed and slowed just a little. "That is the tricky part. It’s never the same for any two Gigantaurs. Often, it's in the hard-to-reach place, like between their toes or on the backs of their necks. Luckily, these key weapons are enchanted to make the keyhole glow when you get close enough. Simply unlock them, and you’re good to go.”
Aaron leaned back on the headrest. "There is another thing," he said. "These keys are fragile. It’s likely no good to use one more than once or twice. I brought a bundle for me and another one for you, so let’s hope that's enough."
Rich grinned his approval and then let himself stare at the window. These weapons didn’t sound easy to use, but at least they would work. “Let's talk about something else," he said. "Anything to take my mind off things.”
Aaron slammed his hand down hard on the steering wheel, accidentally blaring the horn. "Oh, I forgot to tell you. I got to play some of your modern video games. You’re right! They are much better than the one with the monkey throwing barrels at the little red man.”
They spent the rest of the drive talking about video games, Rich telling Aaron about all of his favorite series’, trying to explain how they were played and the story behind each one. He was just trying to explain the complicated world of the Legend of Zelda, and
agreeing that Link would have made a great paladin, when Aaron signaled to leave the freeway. "What—are we already there?"
"Indeed," Aaron said. “But don’t be afraid. This time, I'll be with you every step of the way—not that you’ll really need my help."
They drove a few miles and parked beside a dense cluster of trees. In the center of the grove was a tunnel that led down into the earth. "Ancient knights created all sorts of tunnels that track the path of the Corridor around the globe. Many of them have been untouched for decades, even centuries, but they are always there when we need them.”
Rich followed Aaron down, thinking of how much the passage reminded him of the one closer to his house where he first descended and had seen the Corridor. Sure enough, they came upon it after only about fifteen minutes of walking. Rich fished in his pocket for his wallet, which always held the baseball card that would allow him to get in. He held up the card and drew in a deep breath. "I don’t know if I can do this, Aaron, but I’m glad you’re here with me."
Aaron put a hand on his shoulder. "I have faith in you, Rich. We all do. As they say, it's not a good knight who never fails, but one who never quits."
Feeling a little better about things, Rich drew in another deep breath and spoke the words that would allow him entrance. A moment later, he found himself whisked away.
Chapter 16: The Skeleton Key
The gray knight stood directly in front of Rich and Aaron, guarding the entrance as he had before. On seeing them, he lifted his creaky visor and leaned forward a bit. "Well, it looks as if you've come to try again. No one can accuse you of not having courage. Most people who get out never return."
"I didn't find what I was looking for," Rich said, stepping toward the knight.
"Few people do," the knight said, shaking his head with a groan. "But that doesn't stop many from trying—no, siree. Do you have any keys to claim before entering the maze? Did you find another escape key?"
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