Greysons of Grimoire

by Tpaul Homdrom

  “Told ya we were awesome,” Shana said, grinning. “And I have some ideas for myself of what to practice and work on.”

  “Oh yeah?” Shias asked.

  “I want to be our Support,” Shana said, looking down at Altair, who wagged his tail happily. “I don’t know a lot of Support Magic, but after I woke up from my dream last night and found what I think is the dread nest, I spent the rest of the early morning reading up on Support and Healing Magic. I think it’s exactly what Altair and I would be great at. And it’s the one area where we’re missing someone, right?”

  Shias smiled, and his eyes seemed to shine with pride, making Shana’s cheeks grow hot. “You’re exactly right,” he said. “If you can work on that, and we put together some strategies for our team, well… things are looking up already.”

  “All right then, gather round,” Shana said, pulling Kathryn close and sticking her hand out, palm facing down. Kathryn picked up on what she was doing immediately, and placed her hand on top of Shana’s.

  “Oh, do we have to?” Ben asked, only to be lashed and pulled forward by one of Kathryn’s ribbons.

  “Yes, we do,” Kathryn said sweetly. Ben sighed, placing his hand on top of hers. Shias followed suit, and then Rae, lowered to the ground by Brutus, placed her hand on the top of the pile.

  “All right, here we go,” Shana said, looking around to the rest of her team, smiling. “Dawn Riders, on three. One, two, three!”

  “Dawn Riders!” went up the cry. Kathryn and Shana were the most enthusiastic, so the boys and Rae would need some work, but they’d get it.

  And with that, their first training session began.

  The first day of training had gone well, and Shana and Kathryn were sitting together on the edge of the training room’s loft, their feet dangling over the edge. Shias and Ben were still at it, while Rae was passed out on the cushions behind the two girls.

  “She really pushed herself,” Shana said, looking back at Rae. She was breathing deeply, occasionally on the verge of snoring, a peaceful look on her face. “But I’m impressed. I didn’t think she had that much fight in her.”

  “That Brutus sure is something,” Kathryn said. She passed Shana a protein bar, and then took a bite out of her own. “Summoners are so cool.” Altair was lying between the two girls, and Kathryn scratched him behind the ears.

  “You’re pretty cool yourself,” Shana said. “What made you decide to use ribbon wands, anyway? I’m not saying you shouldn’t! It’s super neat! It’s just that I never would have thought of ribbons as weapons.”

  “Well, I like dancing and gymnastics,” Kathryn said. “But also… gosh, this is kind of embarrassing.”

  “Oh, come on,” Shana said, laughing. “It can’t be all that bad.”

  “I just… it’s kind of childish.”

  “You’ve seen all my GFA stuff. Don’t talk to me about looking childish.”

  Kathryn sighed. “Fair point. You remember the show Princess Starlight?”

  “Of course I do!” Shana said excitedly. “That’s the best magical girl show, I love it! All of the different pendants to transform, and each Star Princess has her own totally unique abilities and design, it’s so wonderful!”

  “Well, you know Princess Platinum’s style…” Kathryn said.

  “Oh, yeah!” Shana smiled as she reminisced. “She fights while dancing, like you!”

  “Yeah, that’s where I really got the idea,” Kathryn said. She was blushing slightly, but she smiled. “I know I’m not training to be a Hunter, and I don’t really want to be one, but it’s fun to fantasize about fighting evil like the Hunters do against the Hollows. It’s kind of like they’re real-life superheroes and magical girls, you know?”

  “Caleb’s said that,” Shana said. “He always talks about himself and other Hunters like they’re superheroes.”

  “And now the superheroes need saving,” Kathryn said, chuckling. “And it’s up to us amateurs.” She kicked her legs, staring down at her feet. “I’m glad you wanted me along for this. Remember how I was so self-conscious about being friends with a Greyson?”

  “Yeah,” Shana said, rolling her eyes.

  Kathryn groaned, shaking her head. “All my parents fault, with the way they’re ingrained in the family traditions, so big on dividing based on big and small houses, and they think they’re so small… they still think it’s crazy that we’re friends.”

  “It’s not crazy,” Shana said, nudging her friend. “What’s crazy is that old style of class divides, where the rich families only interact with other rich families, and the poor families are left to be ignored. It’s not right. And I’m proud that my family isn’t part of that.”

  Kathryn smiled, nudging Shana back. “Me too.”

  “You really can stop on a dime!” Shias said below, whistling in amazement. They’d set up actual dimes around the training floor, and Ben had just done a circuit of Blinks from one to the next, making ten perfectly precise stops.

  “I hope Ben’s starting to realize how cool he is,” Kathryn said, watching the boys. “He always looks at other mages and types of magic and thinks everyone’s way more amazing than he is. But teleporting like that isn’t simple or boring. Shias will find all kinds of cool uses for it.”

  “He sure will,” Shana said. Thinking on what they’d done on their first day, and looking at the boys still going at it, she couldn’t stop smiling. Things were coming together. She had a plan, and she had a team to see it through.

  Caleb, Delilah, I promise I’ll find you. And we’ll save all of the missing children while we’re at it. I promise.

  Chapter 23: Duel at Midnight

  — G —

  Caleb awoke, rubbing his bleary eyes and then putting his glasses back on. He’d been asleep for quite a few hours, but looking out the window from his train compartment, he was pleased to see that there were still amazing sights passing by.

  Man, this is so freaking COOL!

  That was the thought that kept going through Caleb’s mind, and he couldn’t make it go away. Not that he wanted to. With Chronoshin, and now his long train ride aboard the Goodnight Express, Caleb kept seeing amazing things that blew his mind wide open. He’d thought the magic he knew in Grimoire was cool, but he hadn’t seen even a fraction of what there was in the vast expanse of creation.

  Not for the first time, Caleb was happy at his stroke of luck in wearing glasses. He’d now spent roughly forty-eight hours in the Enchanted Dominion. His eyes would be screaming for relief if he’d worn contacts.

  I’ll have to make sure to thank Chelsea when I get back to her.

  Thinking of his girlfriend brought pangs to Caleb’s heart. He wished he’d been able to leave her something more, or even speak to her in person, before heading off on his training adventure.

  I hope she understands.

  Caleb hadn’t even been able to board the Goodnight Express for another ten hours after he bought his ticket in Chronoshin, but that ended up being a good thing. He was able to get new clothes, for one. He now wore the old-fashioned style of Chronoshin — black pants and boots, a white shirt, dark blue waistcoat, and deep red tie. He wasn’t a fan of the tie — he never was a fan of those strangling devices masquerading as fashion statements — but he kept it on at Madame Chronos’ insistence.

  He’d also been able to play more chess with Ted, still losing in spectacularly swift fashion, but having a blast while doing it. Ted was a joy to talk to, a man who clearly had lived a long life, though he didn’t let on much about the details of it.

  One frustrating mystery plagued Caleb, though. The raggedy man in the corner of Chronoshin’s balcony had never once looked up… until Caleb was already on the train and starting away from the platform. Looking out his window one last time at the man, Caleb saw him lift his head to stare straight at him… and then the train and Caleb had left Chronoshin behind, leaving him unable to talk to the man in rags.

  Next time. I’m sure I’ll be back. Then I’ll fi
nally talk to him.

  But, you know, don’t send me back too soon. I still have a life to live.

  He had undone the top button of his shirt, loosened the tie, and rolled up his sleeves once he’d boarded the train. The lady of Chronoshin would be fit to be tied at his insistence on dressing more casually, so he’d waited until he was gone from her sight.

  In a suitcase above Caleb’s seat were several more changes of clothes, along with snacks, a bottle of water, and a black leather wallet that contained nothing, but that Madame Chronos assured him acted as a marker of him as a Time Mage, and kept track of his chronal. “To the trained eye,” she’d said, “your chronal balance, as well as your available clearance, will be as clear as day as long as they see this.”

  The Goodnight Express was named appropriately. The train’s cars were wide, accommodating sizable cabins where the seats were as large as a twin bed, and quite comfy. He had spied several passengers snoozing away in their pajamas as he walked to his own compartment and, even with the amazing sights outside, Caleb’s exhaustion had gotten the better of him.

  The Goodnight Express sped through space and time. Caleb saw wonders he never would have seen anywhere else. They coasted along through a nebula, and Caleb got to see the amazing colors, clouds and sun-fire and pure radiance itself intermingling into a mysterious and beautiful sight. They passed a dying star, lights breaking apart in one final gasp of life, and a star just being born, burning bright in the celestial void with excited brilliance.

  Besides outer space, they passed many Locations within the Enchanted Dominion. Caleb saw Hollow Island once again, this time from a great height, as if viewing it from a plane in flight far above. A huge section of the island looked desolate. It must have been the area farthest from where they’d been. There was still plenty of jungle, but that strange wasteland that took up a fifth of the island was fascinating. It raised so many questions that Caleb would likely never know the answers to.

  He was, after all, hoping he wouldn’t go back there again.

  There were buildings floating in voids of color, citadels on cliffs that gave way to clouds and then sparkling emptiness, winged horses cresting silver waves, and a massive canyon that housed a network of mechanical buildings. Whenever they passed close to — or even through — Locations, no one gave any indication that the Goodnight Express was visible to those outside. While drifting through a bustling city in the clouds filled with spherical architecture, people outside the train frequently almost ran right into Caleb’s window, and yet they never seemed to see him, or the train, at all.

  Coming through the horn-shaped, old-fashioned speaker system was soft, relaxing music. It had a tinny, sometimes static quality to it at times, but Caleb found it charming.

  Chelsea always pokes fun at me for being old-fashioned.

  The music stopped for a moment, and a warm, calming female voice came over the speaker. “Ladies and gentlemen, we are now coming up on Midnight Bridge. The exit is on the left. Please do not attempt exiting on the right, as you will likely never be seen again. If you are disembarking here, please gather your belongings and be ready at the nearest exit. Thank you for riding with us, and we hope you’ll choose Goodnight Express in the future.”

  That’s my cue.

  Caleb pulled down his suitcase from above and exited his compartment, walking through the narrow corridor up to the exit from the car he was in. Watching through the window, the scenery turned to blackness. For several moments, Caleb couldn’t see anything.

  And then, slowly, shapes began to appear. They were dark as the deepest hour of night, and were only visible because the sky had lightened a few shades from pitch black to a deep, dark blue.

  The primary shape that Caleb was able to make out was a massive bridge. It seemed to be made of some kind of stone that arched down and then back up, with its lowest point being the center. Lamp posts ran along the edges of the bridge on either side, shedding strange dark light that didn’t do much to aid in visibility, but instead added a mysterious, ethereal tint to everything.

  “Midnight Bridge, Midnight Bridge,” came the woman’s voice over the speaker again as the train came to a stop. “Now disembarking — Midnight Bridge.” The doors slid open, and Caleb stepped out into the darkness.

  Things were suddenly deathly silent. The Goodnight Express rolled away, but Caleb heard no sound from it. All around him was stillness and quiet. Walking to the edge of the bridge to look out at whatever he might see beyond, Caleb could hear his every step, his every breath.

  And nothing else.

  Suddenly he was gripped by a powerful sense of solitude. Looking out into the blue-tinged darkness, Caleb saw nothing. No stars, no water, no cities, lamps, or people beyond. As he looked back from where he’d disembarked, it looked as if Midnight Bridge simply stopped, with nothing back the way he’d come.

  So forward is the only way.

  Caleb carried his suitcase in his left hand, keeping his right hand in his pocket and wrapped around his pocket watch.

  Don’t you dare use Time Magic. If there’s trouble, you have your discs, you have your chains. And they’re quite bright — you can light this place up very effectively.

  For some reason, though, Caleb didn’t immediately pull out his Talisman and cast light ahead of him. A small voice in the back of his mind told him not to — that the darkness was important, and to disturb it without need would be unwise.

  Would have been nice if Madame Chronos had told me more about my destination.

  She’d been characteristically vague about where Caleb was going and the man he was searching for: Mister Midnight. She’d given him a warning that this place, and the man he sought, would be dangerous, and that was all.

  Midnight Bridge was truly massive, impressive for a bridge made of stone rather than through modern architectural materials and means. Wide enough for a four lane highway, and easily a mile across from what Caleb could see, its size made him wonder at what lay beyond, and where his teacher-to-be resided.

  He didn’t call out for Mister Midnight as he walked slowly on the downward slope towards the bridge’s center. He felt adding any more sound than necessary to this strange, silent place would be — like adding unnecessary light to the darkness — unwise.

  First Hollow Island, now Midnight Bridge. The Enchanted Dominion just wants to shut down chatterboxes like me at every turn, huh?

  He stopped as he neared the bridge’s center. Something had changed in the gloom. He looked up and around at the lamp posts on either side, but their light seemed the same. Back the way he’d come was nothing new. He took two more steps forward, and then he realized what had changed.

  He was no longer alone.

  In the center of Midnight Bridge was a humanoid form. It looked like a man, from what Caleb could see of its shadowy figure, with broad shoulders on top of a lean, muscled build. He seemed to be carrying something in his right hand — a cane? Or was it a sword? It was long and dark and slender, but it didn’t look like it ended in a point, and the way he held it made it seem quite light. A cane, then.

  “Hello?” Caleb asked softly, stopping and waving to the figure ahead. “Who goes there?”

  I’ve always wanted to ask that.

  “In the center lies a burning sphere.” The voice that spoke from the shadowy figure was ice cold, running like frigid nails down Caleb’s spine.

  Silence, for several moments.

  He’s waiting for a response. Some kind of passcode, then?

  Either he’s waiting for someone else, or Madame Chronos neglected to mention the response.

  “I’m looking for Mister Midnight,” Caleb said, his voice now loud and clear, unafraid of tainting the silence. “I need —”

  Caleb didn’t get to finish his sentence. The shadowy figure lunged forward, dashing across the ten yards that separated them. Caleb pulled out his watch, frantically screaming in his mind DON’T USE TIME MAGIC!

  He barely had time to call upon his magic
before the man was upon him. He brought forth a Mobility disc as a shield between him and his assailant. The man sidestepped it, but that gave Caleb a moment to breathe, drop his suitcase, and to gather his wits.

  Chains, Caleb thought, frustrated that he had to put active thought into using his magic. Time Magic was an integral core of his entire way of fighting. Forcing himself not to use it slowed him down, and he was barely able to conjure two glowing white chains to lash at the figure in time to stop his attack. The man blocked with his black cane, leaping backward to gain distance.

  The light from Caleb’s magic revealed more of his assailant. The man was dressed in a long black officer’s coat with silver buttons and ornamentation, and had a strange silver badge pinned at his chest. Black and silver were this man’s fashion sense, it seemed — black pants, black boots trimmed in silver, and black gloves with a strange silver symbol on the back of the hands that Caleb couldn’t clearly see. His face was pale, but it didn’t seem to be from a sickly nature or illness — his eyes blazed with dark focus, and everything about his bearing and movements suggested strength and health.