Greysons of Grimoire

by Tpaul Homdrom

  “So we’re going to fight them together,” Caleb said.

  “There’s no ‘we’,” Midnight said. “I fight them on my own turf, when they do things they shouldn’t here. But the Human world is the jurisdiction of Humans. And that’s why I’m going to train you. Those maniacs are one step closer to going back to Grimoire and ruling over it and the rest of the planet. You’ve got guts and good instincts, being able to last against Void as long as you did. But you’re clearly not trained to fight against other mages. You don’t just need to get your Time Magic in order — you need to learn how to fight with all of your tools. Those chains and discs you use have outstanding potential. You just need a proper teacher.”

  “I’m glad to have your help,” Caleb said, smiling.

  “I won’t go easy on you,” Midnight said. He leaned forward, and Caleb was again startled by the man’s strange eyes — completely white, except for those black points at their center, but the longer he looked at them, the larger the blackness became, like it was swallowing him up.

  “I didn’t expect you to,” Caleb said, wrenching his gaze away. “That’s part of the reason I picked you. I need someone who’s going to push me as hard as possible. I have… a lot of people I need to protect.”

  “I can see that in your eyes,” Midnight said, smiling. “Don’t you worry, Greyson. I’ll whip you into shape. Ready to get started?”

  “Definitely,” Caleb said, grinning. “Show me what I need to learn.”

  Chapter 28: The Girl in the Grove

  — G —

  “Why don’t we tell mom and dad?” Shias asked.

  Shana was staring at him, her expression making it clear how incredulous she thought his suggestion to be. He thought her own suggestion was equally incredulous — that the Dawn Riders go check out the grove right now, with their training not even close to complete.

  “There isn’t time!” Shana insisted, her shortness of breath making it clear she and Kathryn had run the entire way to Greyson Manor.

  “But we’re not ready,” Ben said. “And Caleb and Delilah were already missing and you weren’t so urgent then.”

  “But Fae isn’t a fighter,” Shana said.

  “Neither is Delilah,” Shias said.

  “She has a beastly Summon,” Shana said, folding her arms over her chest. “She saved Fae and me outside Grim Night’s the same night she disappeared.”

  That was news to Shias. When had Delilah trained?

  “Mom and dad would be able to handle things better,” Shias said. “Why does it have to be us?”

  Of course, he’d been against the Dawn Riders from the start. Why not tell mom and dad? Being the children of two of the most powerful mages in Grimoire had its perks. Shias liked their team and enjoyed training for the sake of training, but things seemed more dangerous the more he thought about it. Shana’s plan would only get her hurt.

  “Because this was why we formed the Dawn Riders,” Shana said, glaring at Shias. “You agreed to this. You agreed to search for the missing children, and Caleb, and Delilah, and Rae’s dad.”

  Shias couldn’t argue with that. He had agreed, against his better judgment.

  Shana was too persuasive, at least to him. It was always too hard for him to refuse her. He had a feeling things were going to take that kind of turn once again, which is why he tried his best to fight back.

  With plenty of time and proper training, Shana’s plan might be a sound one. But despite their progress so far — and Shias was impressed at how far the group had come in just a few days — they weren’t remotely close to being a team. They could probably handle a single Hollow, depending on what type it was. But what if the grove was crawling with monsters?

  Their lives were on the line. Shana realized that, Shias knew she did, but he also knew that she was very emotional about their siblings disappearing. Fae vanishing was the final straw.

  “We need more training, Shana,” Shias said. He tried and failed to put on a stern voice.

  I’m way too soft with her.

  He’d known that for years, but it had never mattered until now.

  “One of us could disappear next!” Shana cried, eyes wide and glistening with the beginnings of tears. “Fae’s gone now. What if mom and dad disappear next? What if one of us is gone tomorrow? What is happening and why is everyone disappearing and how do we stop it and why don’t you care about how big this is?” Shana grew more intense and urgent the longer she talked, nearly screaming at the end.

  “I-I don’t think t-that’s very f-fair to say,” Rae said softly. “I… um… we all know how bad things are. That’s why we’re… training.”

  “Shias gets it,” Kathryn said, resting a hand on Shana’s shoulder. “He just doesn’t think there’s anything we can do yet.”

  Shana took several deep breaths, letting them out slowly with her eyes closed.

  “Please,” she said softly. “We have to save them.”

  Shias felt it then, the same feeling he felt so often — Shana had won him over. He didn’t agree with her, he didn’t want to do what she asked, but he found himself unable to refuse. He let out a long, reluctant sigh.

  “Let’s check out the grove,” he said. Shana looked up in shock, but Shias held up a finger before she spoke. “We’re just doing reconnaissance. You and Altair have been training for that, right? Let’s test out those abilities, see what we can see from a safe distance. We need information before we can act.”

  Shana nodded emphatically. “Right,” she said. “Right, right. We need information. Right. Got it. We can do that.” She smiled, tackling Shias in a hug. “This is why you’re the most important part of the team. You’re the smart one.”

  Shias shook his head.

  You give me way too much credit.

  “So… wait, we’re going?” Rae asked, clearly frightened by the possibility. “B-but… we need more training, right?”

  “We’re just doing recon,” Ben said with a shrug. “Plus, more information will help us better train for what’s in store for us.”

  “We still have a few hours of daylight,” Kathryn said. “And Hollows don’t show up until midnight. We have plenty of time.”

  And so the Dawn Riders packed and changed for the hike up to the grove. Shias had studied the maps of the hiking trails around the grove several times, and he was familiar with a lot of the land up there. The low, forested parts of the mountains east of Grimoire were a favorite spot for him and Shana when they were younger and spent their weekends outdoors, hiking and exploring the “wilderness.”

  About an hour’s walk from here, Shias thought to himself as he packed a bag. Maps of the area, protein bars, water bottle, flashlight… He didn’t necessarily need the flashlight — forming magic lights was one of the easiest things for a mage — but he felt it was always good to have a backup.

  “Thank you,” Shana said to him as they were packing. Shias couldn’t handle her grateful smile, so he swallowed the retort he had ready and just nodded.

  Greyson Manor was near the southeastern edge of Grimoire, so the walk to leave the city behind was a short one. Soon, the five members of the Dawn Riders were walking along the sloping, grassy hills up towards the beginnings of the eastern mountains. Open grassland gave way to pine trees galore, and as the five started along one of many hiking paths, the openness of before seemed to suddenly close in, leaving them walking in two lines, sometimes closing in to single file when the path grew especially narrow. Once they were on the paths and out of sight of most people, Shana pulled out her bookmark Talisman and summoned forth Altair. The blue pup was more excitable than usual lately, enjoying his training with Shana, and he constantly dashed ahead, wagging his tail and barking happily.

  “This is the way, right?” Ben asked. He had the best eyesight of the group, so he stayed in the lead, with Shias close behind, map in hand.

  “Right,” Shias said, tracing their path on the map with a finger as they walked. It was late October, and the climate
tended towards cold around Grimoire, so there were few sounds aside from the five teens walking along. Birds had already mostly migrated south, bugs had all hidden away from the chill, and animals like deer, squirrels, foxes, wolves, and bears tended to live away from the paths in more densely forested areas, keeping to themselves.

  “We’ll take Grisham’s Stair,” Shias said. “Should see a sign soon enough.”

  They did, and hung a left at the fork, hiking a steep incline that led to a rocky set of natural stairs. Shias didn’t know where they’d gotten their name, but he always enjoyed this path to hike along. It started with Grisham’s Stair, then crossed Grossman’s Bridge, wound its way along the banks of Gerta’s Current, and finally ended at the rocky overlook known as Gradle’s Lookout. The names fascinated Shias, and it was such a delightful path. Stairs formed naturally out of the rocks of the mountainside, and Grossman’s Bridge was a stone arch that went up and over a small stream that was always dammed up with a massive beaver-made construct. Even late in the year, beavers could still be seen around Grossman’s Bridge, not a care in the world for the frigid waters as they swam and wrestled and played and chomped away on trees, adding more and more to their dam as it wore away, never letting it lose its massive size and domed shape.

  Crossing Gerta’s Current was also up to nature. After heavy rains, Gerta’s current was impassible, leaving Gradle’s Lookout only accessible via a five hour detour. But in the drier summer and fall seasons, there were large rocks poking up from the water, forming an easy enough path to walk across, as long as you were careful. Rae was nervous about it, but Kathryn and Shana helped her along, staying by her side to make sure she didn’t fall. Altair also did his part to assist, staying ahead of the three girls and offering reassuring tail wags as he looked back at them.

  Unfortunately, today their path wouldn’t take them all the way to Gradle’s Lookout. They had to veer off on their own detour after crossing Gerta’s Current, following narrow deer paths downhill for nearly a mile before finally coming to a stop.

  “The grove is just ahead,” Shias said softly, “through these trees.”

  Shana nodded, kneeling down and scratching Altair’s ears. “Ready, buddy?” she asked. Altair nodded, knowing not to be loud now. Shana grinned, pointing towards the trees and the grove that lay beyond. “Okay. Altair, recon!”

  Altair dashed forward, completely silent as he wriggled his way through the densely packed foliage, until even his blue light vanished from sight.

  Along with Shana training in Support and Healing Magic, she’d also worked on another role for Altair — that of a scout. Using Divination Magic, she could see whatever Altair saw, hear whatever Altair heard, smell whatever Altair smelled. Right now, Shias’ twin sister had her eyes closed, focusing on the experiences of her Summon.

  The wait for information from Shana and Altair was excruciating. Shias did all right, idly studying the map (despite there being no need, now that they’d reached their destination) and occasionally looking up and around at the pine trees.

  Ben was his usual anxious self. His fingers wouldn’t stop drumming a staccato rhythm on his pant legs, and several times Kathryn shot him dirty looks, which he pretended not to see, or smacked his hands, which didn’t deter him.

  Rae kept her eyes closed, taking in deep breaths and then letting them out slowly and softly. Shias felt she had nothing to worry about, and had done his best to tell her so through their training. She had a shockingly strong Summon in Brutus, and a number of powerful attacks and strategies to call upon. She was still a nervous wreck like she always was, but Shias had noticed a slight upswing in her demeanor. She had a bit more confidence, and was more easygoing around her friends.

  Shias would never mention it, though. Drawing attention to Rae’s changing behavior would easily crush the natural improvements she’d made so far.

  Kathryn was puzzling to Shias. She’d been with Shana when they arrived to deliver the news about Fae’s disappearance. She seemed firmly on Shana’s side — Shias wondered what would have happened if he’d been able to more forcefully deny Shana’s wishes. Kathryn probably would have served as a backup, making it impossible for Shana’s plan to fail.

  That was fine. Shias was glad Shana had such a close friend. His sister had always been the social butterfly, easily making and keeping friends, and Kathryn’s loyalty for Shana was a good thing in his mind.

  “There are… people,” Shana said slowly, eyes still closed. “This is it, all right. There are mostly kids, but there are a few adults. They’re all wrapped up in some kind of… I can’t tell. Rope? It looks like silver rope. It’s all over the place.” She opened her eyes. “They’re there. And they’re unguarded. We can save them.”

  “Hold on a second,” Shias said. “What else can you see? Are Caleb or Delilah or Fae there? Is Rae’s dad there?”

  “Is he…?” Rae echoed hopefully.

  Shana closed her eyes. After a few moments, she shook her head. “I don’t see them,” she said. “There are… there are only about twenty? It’s a lot less than the number of missing kids that Pipers have taken away. But I recognize some of the faces from posters.” Shias could hear the pain in Shana’s voice. “They’re all sleeping or unconscious, but… they all look so frightened. We have to —”

  “Shana, we need information,” Shias said quickly. “We can’t just go rushing in there. How big is the space? Are you sure they’re unguarded? Is there anyone awake? What do you hear, or smell?”

  It was moments like these that Shias wished he had a Summon. Going through Shana was frustrating to him, because he didn’t know how much information she was skipping in relaying it to the team, or how well she was investigating the space. He felt the need to see it for himself, to examine it with his own eyes and ears. But he had to rely on someone else’s account, and that made his mind race with questions.

  “I don’t hear anything,” Shana said. “It’s so… so quiet.” She opened her eyes, staring at Shias desperately. “We have to do something. They’re right there.”

  “And there are so many people missing,” Shias said. “Where is everyone else? What happened to the rest? What if going in there springs a trap? What if there are multiple groves where people are being held, and saving everyone from one means that the rest are moved to somewhere that we might never find them?”

  “Stop being so analytical,” Shana said, frustration evident in her voice. “You spend too much time thinking. This is the time for action. Don’t you see?”

  Shias was about to continue arguing with her, when Shana turned away, charging into the trees towards the grove. “Shana, wait!” Shias cried out, but it was too late. She was gone, and Kathryn was close behind her, with a determined expression that said she was going in there to help Shana with her plan rather than stop her.

  “Looks like we’re going,” Ben said, shrugging.

  “D-do we have to?” Rae asked. “My dad…”

  “We’ll find him,” Shias said, nodding to Rae. “Even if he isn’t here, we’ll figure out where he is and find him. For now, we need to back Shana up. Are you ready?”

  “I…” Rae started. She took a deep breath, let it out, then nodded. “I can clear a path. Brutus!”

  She summoned her massive Summon, who quickly charged forward, clearing a path with his big, burly arms, shoving aside trees like they were toothpicks. Shias followed close behind with Rae and Ben, running through combat strategies in his mind.

  His specialty was Guardian Magic. That meant he really should have been the first one into the grove. He could only hope that Brutus got them there fast enough that he could still defend his sister if danger sprang up.

  But Shias’ fears faded as he reached the grove. Brutus stepped aside, revealing Shana and Kathryn standing in the center of the grove, unharmed and looking around in shock.

  Shias recognized some of the faces of the numerous children wrapped up in silver, tied to the trees. These were some of the missing children
, ones who had been abducted by Pipers, some several years ago.

  Wait…

  Why did they still look the same age as they did in their posters? Five year-olds looked like they hadn’t aged a day in years.

  “Don’t,” Shias called out as Shana moved to free one of the kids wrapped up close to the forest floor.

  “What are you talking about?” Shana asked, glaring. “They need to be rescued.”

  “Why are they all still the same age?” Shias asked. “Some of them have posters dating back as much as ten years ago. Why are they still little kids?”

  “They’re frozen in time,” came a girl’s voice. Shias held up his pen, spinning slowly around to survey the entire grove.