Ravens In The Clouds

by Taylor Wilson

  The Lost Voice of the Dark World

  Ravens in the Clouds

  Book 1

  By: Taylor Wilson

  Copyright © Taylor Wilson

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Description

  Lacey Wyndham lives her everyday life in Toronto, but she can't stop thinking about her adventure in the Dark Dimension, about her friends and her birth parents, and the mysterious being called the Voice. Alex, the old Court Wizard, shows Lacey a way to contact the dark dimension, but Lacey suspects that all is not well. Clouds once again cover the skies and many of the villagers show signs of a strange illness. Then Lacey has a mysterious dream that confirms her fears. Can she do anything to help her friends or is she stuck in her own dimension, powerless to help them?

  Table Of Contents

  Description

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Other Books By This Author

  Review This Book

  Chapter One

  "Lacey Ellen Windham! Can you please stop your nerdy Eighties dancing long enough to tell me how you want your burger?"

  "Sorry, Dad! I can't hear you over our nerdy Eighties music!"

  Lacey waved mischievously at her father and kept on dancing. She was somewhat of an introvert, not as much as her best friends and current dance partners, Sara and Oliver. However, the Canada Day neighborhood cookout was an annual event and the three of them had lived there almost all of their lives. They all felt perfectly at ease in that setting and they laughed loudly and danced wildly along with their neighbors.

  Of course, Lacey's dad cooked her burger perfectly. He was the amateur master chef of the neighborhood and he humbly accepted praise from all those who feasted during his shift at the grill. Lacey watched him pensively as she ate; this was the first cookout after her mother's death and she hoped her dad was holding up as well as he seemed to be. With all that happened the month after her death, she doubted he had allowed himself to grieve properly. She knew she hadn't. Even while she was out dancing with her friends or cheering on the street hockey game, she felt a hole in her heart because her mom wasn't there.

  "I'd say 'penny for your thoughts,' but the government stopped making them years ago."

  Lacey looked up from her musings to see Sara's dad, Alex, standing beside her, offering her a pop. Smiling, she took it and gestured toward the space next to her on the low wall where she was sitting.

  "Besides," Alex continued, nodding toward his friend at the grill, "it doesn't take a genius to know what you are thinking. And for the record, I am a genius." He grinned at her as he opened his own can of pop and she breathed a laugh. "Your dad is putting on a brave face right now, but it will get easier eventually; for both of you."

  Lacey sighed. "I know… time heals all wounds, and all. This wound is still pretty raw, though, and at times like this it’s hard not to think about Mom."

  "You shouldn't try," Alex retorted. "Janet was a lovely woman, and you and William were lucky to have her in your lives. We all miss her." Lacey looked away and took a swig of her pop, hiding the tears welling in her eyes. "Janet would be the first one to tell you to enjoy yourselves even though she's gone. She loved seeing William blushing at all the praise he got for his mad grill skills. Wasn't she the one that started the annual Bad Dancing Contest?"

  "Yeah," Lacey giggled, thinking of her mom's ridiculous gyrations. She gestured toward the dance floor. "I think Sara and Oliver have their eyes on the prize this year.

  "That's my girl," he beamed wistfully as he watched his daughter and her boyfriend bopping and twirling, almost in time to the music.

  "You do realize they will get married eventually, right? They're perfect together."

  Alex slumped dramatically. "Yes, I know," he exasperated. "He's great. She loves him. I'll be happy about it when it happens. Let's just… not rush it along, okay?"

  "Deal," Lacey smiled. "I think they are both determined to graduate first, so you're safe for a few more years. I wouldn't be surprised if Oliver uses the ribbon from his diploma as an impromptu engagement ring, though. Or maybe they will head to the church in their graduation gowns."

  Alex gasped, wide-eyed. "Oh, what a great idea! That would save me a ton of cash! Can you push them in that direction for me?"

  They laughed, and she slapped playfully at his arm for suggesting such a thing. Slowly, their laughter faded to an expectant hush. Lacey kept watching her friends on the dance floor, not knowing if she wanted to bring up the subject that hung between them. Alex solved the problem for her.

  "So, how often do you think about the dark dimension… princess?" he asked mischievously.

  "Oh my God, stop that!" She slapped at his arm again, rolling her eyes, and Alex chuckled as he shied away from the blow. "That was the worst part of our… adventure… or whatever that was!" Lowering her voice and leaning in toward Alex, she whispered, "It did happen, right? I mean, it wasn't a hallucination due to a serious head injury, was it?"

  "Nope! It was all real," answered Alex. "Every bit."

  Shortly after Lacey's mother died, her dad told her that she was adopted. William and Janet Windham found Lacey abandoned at a park, and with her was a mysterious old grimoire and a magical jeweled necklace called the riviere. Before Lacey had a chance to absorb this news, she was whisked away to another dimension that was shrouded in twilight. She made new friends and found her birth parents, who were indeed the King and Queen of the area. With the help of the riviere and the advice of a strange oracle/mountain spirit called the Voice, Lacey returned to her own dimension long enough to find the old Court Wizard. It was Alex himself, who had watched over her all her life from next door. He accompanied her back to the dark dimension and joined the group in their efforts to save the kingdom. Together, they defeated the sorceresses and restored the light to the skies.

  "To answer your question, yes, I do think about the dark dimension. Well, it's not so dark anymore!" Lacey quipped. "It's still hard to believe that my real birth parents are royalty from a kingdom in a dimension I didn't know existed."

  "The name of the kingdom is Alinn, by the way. Did anyone ever mention it?"

  Lacey stared, open-mouthed. "No, I don't think they did! Oh well; we were a little busy, weren't we?" They smiled at each other, remembering. "Of course, my parents gave up their titles after we won the battle. Now they're just plain Ravi and Willow."

  "I don't think they'll ever be 'just plain' Ravi and Willow to anyone," Alex remarked. "But I do think it was wise of them to step down and name Ric and Moira as the new leaders of the kingdom. Those two already have the respect of the younger generation who barely remember the old times, if at all."

  "Don't forget that your son Matt will be serving as the new Wizard," Lacey reminded him. "Like father, like son!"

  "Yes, I'm rather proud of that, proud of my son." The nostalgic look came back to Alex's eyes. "It's weird, but even though I was born in that dimension, I feel very little attachment to it, other than Matt and the other people we know there. My place is here, with Jenna, who you've known as Jennifer," he nodded toward his wife nearby, "and my dear Sara. I do miss Matt fiercely, but if we can't all be together, I'm glad he is safe and with other people I love."

  "He and I made a deal to trade parents. He said he would take care of my parents and I would take care of you."

  Alex smiled again. "Sensible. Such sensible children we have!" He patted her hand warmly, trying to hide
the mist in his eyes.

  "I know what you mean, though," Lacey said quickly, helping with the distraction. "My place is here. I could have made a life if we had gotten stuck there, but given a choice, that's not where I'm meant to be. Still, I would have liked to get to know my parents better. I do miss them, and I think about them a lot. About all of them, wondering where they are, or if they ever go up to Sky Mountain to see the Voice…."

  She trailed off, too many "wonder ifs" to speak aloud. Suddenly she realized that Alex was staring hard at her, one corner of his mouth raised. "What?"

  After a moment, he seemed to make a decision. Patting Lacey's hand again, he said, "Come with me."

  Curious, Lacey followed Alex away from the party, walking the few doors down to his house. They entered, and Alex led her to his small study, so like her dad's that it was almost comical. Of course, Alex and William had been colleagues at the University of Toronto for nearly two decades. They were best friends just like she was best friends with Sara.

  The smell of parchment and ink wrapped comfortably around Lacey as they entered the study. A strange excitement emanated from Alex, as if something important were about to happen. She felt a sense of déjà vu as Alex reached down to open the bottommost drawer of his desk and pulled out a small bundle wrapped in cloth. Just a few months ago, her dad had pulled the grimoire and the riviere from the same drawer in his own desk. That moment began her sometimes wonderful, sometimes terrible journey into the dark dimension. Watching Alex lay the small bundle on the desk in front of her, Lacey had the ominous feeling that something big was about to begin. Was it good or bad?

  Giving Lacey a conspiratorial wink, Alex unfolded the cloth. Inside was an emerald about the size of a cherry tomato. It was an exact match to the emeralds and diamonds that had formed the riviere, the necklace that once held the magic of the kingdom of Alinn.

  "Wait, we put the seven jewels of the riviere back on the rim of the Stone Cup. That's how we destroyed the darkness and brought back the light. Why did you take this one?" Lacey frowned, concerned.

  Alex reassured her, "This isn't from the Stone Cup, but it does come from the same mine within Sky Mountain." He reached to pick it up, and Lacey saw it was mounted as a pendant on a bronze or antique gold chain.

  "Hey, now that I see the whole thing, it looks like something I saw Willow wearing," said Lacey, a little more at ease.

  "Oh, good! That will make this easier." Lacey looked puzzled, and Alex continued. "Now, when we left the dark dimension, I said that would be the last time we could see our friends, your parents, my son. That wasn't exactly true, but I didn't remember this until a few minutes ago when we were talking. I haven't used it in years." Alex's eyes sparkled with excitement.

  "What does it do?" Lacey asked.

  "With this emerald, we can contact the person with the matching pendant. Willow has the other one."

  "No way! Really?" Lacey boggled. "Why haven't you been using this the whole time?"

  Alex shrugged. "It was just… too hard. When Jenna and I first left the dark dimension, we talked to Ravi and Willow regularly. We told them about finding the right couple to be your parents, about what they named you, and so on. This happened before William and I became good friends, so we couldn't tell them much."

  "Anything is better than nothing, maybe?" Lacey sympathized.

  "That was the idea, anyway. We thought contacting each other would help us all cope, but it didn't work so well. Ravi and Willow were glad to hear that you were safe and thriving, but they missed you terribly. Even though Jen and I had just had Sara, we were still grieving for Matt, when we thought he was dead. Communicating across the dimensions made us almost as depressed as it made us happy. Then the sorceress Val started snooping around the areas where Ravi and Willow were hiding, and she could sense active magic. So, we agreed it was too dangerous to use the pendants except on rare occasions. I left mine lying out in my office for a while, in case they did try to contact me again, but when Sara learned how to walk and started getting into things, I put it away."

  "That’s kind of sad, but I see where keeping in touch would be hard… emotionally, I mean. When someone moves away, people always promise to stay in touch. Even with the ease of Facebook and email, it doesn’t always happen.”

  Alex nodded. “Even without Val making it dangerous to use the stones, I think we would have slowly stopped using them. The last time we communicated, I did get to tell them you spoke your first word, so I think that made them happy.”

  “Really?” asked Lacey amused that she didn’t know this story. “What was my first word?”

  “Gobble. It was at a faculty potluck near Christmas.” Alex smiled, remembering the moment. “William was holding you, standing next to the big turkey on the table. You said it so confidently; he almost dropped you in surprise!” Lacey laughed. “Of course, Ravi and Willow didn’t understand the Christmas part, but they enjoyed it all the same.”

  The conversation faded awkwardly. Alex took a quick, deep breath and let it out. “So, do you think we should use this pendant to try and communicate with them? If Willow is indeed wearing hers, then I think we can do it.”

  “Sure!” Lacey said enthusiastically. Even if we don’t do it often, I’d like to know they’re doing well. Do we have to do it at a specific time?”

  “Jen and I used to contact them about 8 pm. With the differences in the dimensions, that’s somewhere between noon and 2 pm, isn’t it?”

  Lacey rolled her eyes. “Since it was twilight-dark for most of the time I was there, I have no idea! Everyone else could always tell what time it was, but I never got the hang of it.”

  “Right, I forgot!” Alex chuckled. “Well, we need to get back to the party tonight. Maybe in a few days? Wait… should I tell Sara and Jen? Jen already knows about the pendant, but it’ll be a surprise to Sara that she might get to meet her brother.”

  Lacey tilted her head, thinking. “Would that be satisfying enough? To meet Matt on what is virtually a Zoom call? Heck, will Matt be anywhere near Willow when we try to contact her? I don’t know. But, it’s better to be open and honest whenever possible. Why don’t you tell them and let them decide if they want to try it?”

  Alex grinned. “Sensible. Sensible again, young lady! I’ll let you know what they say.”

  Back at the party, Lacey joined in the water balloon war and other games, and she cheered Sara and Oliver when they nailed the Bad Dancing trophy. As the night deepened, the three friends sat together and watched the fireworks lighting up the sky.

  Sara gripped Lacey’s hand hard as they both stared at the sky. “Your mom sure did love the annual Canada Day party. I wish she were still here.”

  “Me too,” Lacey squeezed back. “Of course, if she were here, she would have won that trophy instead of you.”

  “No contest! She was the Dancing Queen!” Sara agreed. They sat in companionable silence for a few moments as the mortars whumped, sending bright flares into the sky. The flares would disappear for a second before the sky exploded in color. “I saw you and Dad sneaking away. Was it some secret dark dimension stuff?”

  Lacey smiled. “Not a secret, but yeah. I’ll let your dad talk to you about it, though.” She laughed as Sara shot her a wary, raised eyebrow. “Really! We won’t keep it from you. But I think it’s better coming from him first. Family stuff.”

  Sara’s eyebrow stayed raised. “Lacey, you’re as much a part of our family as Oliver.”

  “What?” Oliver roused from his fireworks-induced awe at the sound of his name, and the girls laughed.

  “Oh, nothing,” Sara said in a sing-song voice, picking up his arm and putting it around her shoulders. “Just saying how lucky I am to have you two in my life.”

  He smiled and squeezed her affectionately, and then both of them reached for Lacey to add her to the hug.

  Chapter Two

  Lacey and Sara were lying in deck chairs in Lacey’s back yard, soaking up the summer sun. Suddenly, the quick
musical chirp of Lacey’s phone interrupted the sounds of nature around them. Checking her screen, she saw a text message from Alex.

  Can you meet tonight at my office on campus, about 7:30? We can try the pendant.

  Lacey sent a quick affirmative reply and resumed her relaxed state, physically, at least. Her mind began to spin with excitement and curiosity, and for some strange reason, a tiny bit of dread. What is that feeling about? She thought. I am thrilled to talk to them. What’s ominous about that?

  “Anything important?” Sara asked, drowsing next to her. “Hope not; I’m too comfortable.”

  “Your dad,” Lacey answered, adding mildly, “weirdo. Why is he acting so secretive?”

  “Well, he did spend seventeen years hiding in plain sight. Being secretive is kind of second nature now, don’t you think?”

  “I guess so,” Lacey conceded. “He did talk to you about the… the thing, right?”

  “The magical dimension-crossing cell phone necklace, yes. Now who’s being secretive?” She opened one eye and smirked teasingly at Lacey.

  “Sorry. I just thought your dad really wanted to talk to you about it first. So, what did you think?”

  “Mom and I told him to keep it a secret.”

  Lacey rolled her eyes and flounced her arms. “Oh my God, Sara! Seriously!”

  Sara giggled helplessly, and then explained, “No, we did. Mom and I thought about it and decided just a few minutes to meet Matt would be too much of a tease. We’d want more, and we’d feel bad because we couldn’t get it. Right now, we can think about him and wonder about his life, but in a kind of abstract way that doesn’t make us ache for missing him. Does that sound weird?”

  “Not at all!” Lacey grinned. “Matt said just about the same thing to me before I left the not-so-dark-anymore dimension.”

  “Oh, good; I’m glad he gets it. Who knows, maybe someday we’ll get to see each other in person, and we’ll get enough time together to make it worth the pain of missing him later. So, are you and Dad going to try and make contact?”