Jeremy Chikalto and Leviathan Island (Book II of The Hazy Souls)

by T.S. DeBrosse

  Chapter 24

  Portal

  The map led them down a series of staircases. Jeremy and the ferret went ahead, while Lyrna guarded the back of the caravan. “What is the purpose of all this architecture?” Jeremy grumbled.

  “Free exercise,” offered Tina. As they walked down the stairs, Maren noticed that Tina was flexing her butt muscles more than necessary, presumably to maximize her workout.

  They came to the bottom of a spiral staircase. "This one here," said Jeremy. He pointed to the upper right corner of the door, which had a red-brown smudge.

  "Blood," said Tina.

  The doors highlighted in the map were marked. A smudge on the top right corner meant that you'd next take the door immediately to the left. A smudge on the lower left meant you'd take the door to your right.

  Jeremy opened the door. A staircase dropped sharply in front of him. He looked down, spun around, and smiled. "Music," he said. Faint singing and drumming filtered up the staircase.

  Maren raised her eyebrows and peered down.

  "No harm in a little jam." Jeremy bounced down the stairs in time with the beat, occasionally indulging in one of his famous staircase slides. Tina giggled.

  The bottom of the stairs twisted and a purple light illuminated the wall. Jeremy stopped short when he saw his shadow take a bow. He turned to his shadow and watched it play on the wall. It lifted one foot, and then the other. Now it leapt up high, shaking its fist. Jeremy stared at his shadow. "I don't look like that, right?" he said, striking a pose.

  "I'm glad you find the humor in this," said Maren dryly.

  They continued down the stairs, and soon Maren, Tina, and the ferret's shadows danced on the wall as well. Lyrna didn't have a shadow. She growled.

  "What is this?" said Maren, shading her eyes and looking across the room at the source of the purple light.

  "Music and dancing, probably some jolly ghost jamboree."

  Maren gave him a concerned look. "You're not making any sense."

  Jeremy stepped forward. He could see now that the purple light emanated from a stone fountain bubbling in the center of the room. The music, strangely, was also coming from the fountain instead of the expected gurgle. The purple pulsed slightly as Jeremy approached it. "Hey, ferret!" He spun around. "Is the art scene any good down here?" The ferret was gone.

  Jeremy frowned and stepped closer to the pool. He felt deja vu and leaned over the water and flicked it with his finger. The ripples rushed to the edge, as though the fountain was getting excited. He leaned in further now, and the music beat in sync with his heart. The music grew louder and closer, and he now felt it distinctly. It was savage and visceral—dense polyrhythmic drums underneath, hollow voices in the middle, and flutes on top, darting in and out.

  "Jeremy?" Maren stepped forward.

  But Jeremy could barely hear her, so consumed was he with the sound of his heart, the music, and the purple swirls. A skeletal hand shimmered below the surface of the water, then burst through and grabbed Jeremy by the collar, pulling him down. Jeremy drifted into a dream. He was alone in a room with Dr. Adler. The good doctor was strapped to a chair, unconscious, and there was a lamp with a narrow beam focused on his face. Jeremy slapped him hard.

  “Wha—Jeremy, what's going on!”

  “Oh, how nice of you to join me. I was just thinking about what you said, about how sometimes troublesome thoughts need to be executed. Because you helped me so much with my personal demons, I'd like to return the favor. In fact, I've discovered an entire region of your brain that is troublesome. I mean the prefrontal cortex, of course. I wonder what it would be like to have your prefrontal cortex removed and to still be alive, assuming that's even possible. Worth a try I would say.”

  “Oh my God, Jeremy you don't need to do this!”

  “I'm the doctor now, and my professional judgment determines what is necessary.”

  Jeremy was holding a scalpel. He made an incision in the forehead as the man screamed. Then the vision began to fade into another vision. Jeremy was face to face with a hooded demon with a dull gray aura, the skeletal face of a cow shrouded in darkness. The first vision was seeping out of Jeremy's head in wisps, and entering the hood of the demon. Beneath them was a sea of demons whispering. Black wisps from the clouds were slowly seeping towards the crowd.

  Jeremy flung his body back, tearing his shirt and falling on the floor. “Demons!” he shouted. Tina screamed.

  "Apollyon's animus," breathed the demon as it wriggled out from the purple fountain, leaving a ghastly trail of smoke in its wake. Jeremy could see now that the purple fountain was a portal to the Haze. The demon stretched out across the room.

  "Through here!" yelled Maren, and she threw a door open that led to another descending staircase. Jeremy sprang to his feet and raced down the stairs after Maren. Tina and Lyrna followed. Before the door shut behind them, Jeremy glanced back and saw that more demons were slipping through the portal and into the Maze. They were rallying. The door closed with a thud.

  Maren hastily threw open one door and then the other. "We're still on track, let's go!"

  "Maren!" Jeremy grabbed her hand and pulled her to the floor. They were wedged under a sharp rock that jutted out from the wall.

  "I memorized the sequence for a couple of doors, we're okay!" explained Maren.

  But Jeremy could see that Maren was not okay, and that she was shaking. "Lyrna, any ideas as to what's going on?"

  Lyrna snuggled between him and Maren, and Tina crawled in after.

  "Haze pierced."

  "Has that happened before?"

  Lyrna hesitated. "Yes... but different."

  "How so?"

  Lyrna growled and wrinkled her nose. "Hole no accident."

  Maren leaned in towards Jeremy. "What did you see on the wall?"

  "Huh?"

  "You were admiring your shadow."

  "My shadow was dancing to the music."

  "What music?" Maren frowned.

  "You didn't hear the music? I danced down the stairs to it, it was like my heart beat, only jazzier."

  Lyrna pressed her paw on Jeremy's lap. "Demons need you, pierce Haze."

  "So I let them in?" Jeremy stood up abruptly and smacked his head on the rock wall above him. He cursed and reeled in pain.

  "We have to go," said Tina.

  "Tina's right," said Maren. "Let's just get some supplies for Fedonis and head back straight away. Lyrna, are you ready?"

  Lyrna hissed, but nodded. Maren pulled out the map and pointed to a series of doors. "Left, left, right, straight through. Let's make a run for it. No waiting to see what lies behind the door; nothing is worse than what's behind us."

  They ran quickly, barely noticing each room as they passed. One room flashed red and orange; another was plain; still another was arranged to be asymmetric so that it felt like they were running sideways.

  When they arrived at a room with mirrors, they rested to take in the next set of directions. Maren pulled her knees to her chin as she sat on the floor and watched Tina study the watch. "So?"

  "The clock says it's a little past two. We have five hours to make it there, get some trinkets or whatever, and get back to that old man. We're almost there, right?"

  Lyrna puffed and did a backflip. Jeremy raised his eyebrows. "Yes?"

  "Worm." Lyrna rested her chin on the floor. Two feet in front of her was an inch worm. It paused, and then continued inching its way towards a tall mirror just behind Maren.

  Jeremy pondered the inch worm. "Is it dangerous?" he said at last. "Is it... special?"

  "Worm very old," said Lyrna.

  "Is that a problem?" Jeremy bit his lip and suspiciously eyed up the inch worm.

  "Worm many soul parts," said Lyrna. "Many lives." Lyrna felt each universe of memories simultaneously and let out a sad mew.

  "Oh Lyrna!" Maren placed her hand over her mouth. "Maybe you could help it?"

  "Good want Haze. Bad want Maze." Lyrna flattened her ears. She
felt the acute pull of her duty, and suddenly pounced on the worm and disappeared into the Haze.

  "Oh Lyrna! Stupid cat!" Jeremy paced back and forth. "What if she brings a demon back?" But Lyrna appeared in front of him.

  "Worm split into five-hundred."

  "And the demons?"

  "Demons in line. Demons enter Maze portal."

  Jeremy closed his eyes and saw the line of dark, robed figures, each with its hand spread out before it, parting the Haze. He shivered. "How many?"

  "Like stars," replied Lyrna.