The crowds began to grow, and Delilah took up one of her favorite hobbies: people-watching. It was enjoyable enough observing the citizens of Grimoire in their daily lives, but here she was engrossed. These were completely foreign people to her, with completely foreign customs and fashion sense, in a completely foreign city. It was all utterly fascinating.
The fashion was very focused on shimmering, subtly reflective materials that could blend into the light. Colors seemingly changed with each movement and depending on where people stood. Men and women both often wore short capes that wrapped around their shoulders, and Delilah didn’t see a single man who didn’t wear a hat. Most were angled in a triangular sort of shape, short and unobtrusive with a subtle brim, though she also spotted several rounded hats in a few different shapes. The female fashion of Starlight Spires appeared to be short, black or white dresses, with the primary source of color coming from their stockings and heels.
The strange thing was the startling absence of children. Looking back along the bridge they’d just crossed, Delilah saw only adults. Descending another flight of stairs, she saw only adults. Wandering through an orderly computer shop, she saw only adults.
As she continued to scan for youngsters, Delilah began to notice that their group stood out, and they didn’t go unnoticed by those they passed. But while the girls’ clothing stood out in most places, Delilah usually found that the adults who noticed the group focused their gazes on two people: herself and Isabelle.
Are kids really that rare here? Delilah wondered, feeling tiny beads of dread begin to roll around in the back of her mind. Even so, her discomfort didn’t grow much more, because there was simply so much new and unfamiliar to take in.
Gwen led them up six stories to Borland’s Bibliography, a place that Delilah could only describe as a book parlor. It wasn’t a bookshop — there weren’t nearly enough books for that. The space was mostly dedicated to comfortable seating, with lush carpeted floors dotted with cushioned leather sofas and armchairs. Bookshelves sparsely dotted the place, and a counter on the left side served as a drink bar.
“Thirsty?” Gwen asked, taking a seat at the bar. “My treat.”
“What do they have?” Delilah asked, hopping up onto a bar stool next to Gwen.
“Juice mixtures,” said the bartender. The sleeves of his white shirt were rolled up, and there was a small hand towel sticking out of the pocket of his waistcoat. “What would you like?”
Delilah scanned the menu, and her eyes settled on a delightful combination. “I’ll have the apple-peach-kiwi blend, please,” she said. Chelsea, Lorelei, and Isabelle joined them, and everyone ordered and took their drinks to a pair of sofas around a low table.
“You need places to kick back like this,” Chelsea said with a sigh. “When there are no elevators and your city’s built around vertical space, it’s easy to get worn out.”
“You weren’t using Enhancement Magic?” Lorelei asked.
“I don’t use it for trivial things like stairs,” Chelsea said. “Besides, you and I are the only ones with it. I don’t want Delilah, Isabelle, and Gwen to suffer alone.”
“It’s not so bad,” Delilah said, smiling. “I’ve been so amazed by all the different sights and sounds that I hardly notice all the climbing.”
Isabelle hummed her agreement, but didn’t speak, bouncing in her seat as she happily gulped down her juice. Delilah quite enjoyed her own juice, as well — she’d have to remember this place.
“Say, Gwen,” Delilah said. “I’ve noticed something strange about this place.”
“No children, right?” Chelsea asked with a frown. “Yeah, I noticed, too. It’s weirding me out.”
“Well…” Gwen started, sighing, “there are only two laws in Starlight Spires. First, all form of harming another person, either bodily or through damage or theft of property, is completely forbidden. And the second law… I think there’s a similar phrase on Earth: ‘children should be seen but not heard.’ Here, it’s more like ‘children should not be seen or heard outside of home or school’.”
“But… why?” Delilah asked. “What’s so wrong about children?”
Gwen pursed her lips. “Children are seen here as chaotic and disruptive,” she said. “We won’t get in trouble — the law about children only goes for Starlight Spires residents, and we’re very clearly visitors — but I can’t say it’s a law I’m fond of. There are many who live and work here that disagree with it as well, but, unlike many other places and governments, the laws here cannot be changed. There is no adding to the law, and there is no subtracting from it.”
“How is that even possible?” Delilah asked. “Who’s in charge here?”
“The law, and the law alone,” Gwen said. “There was once a governing body, but after they established the two laws, they wove them into the fabric of the city and then disbanded. The laws are permanent, and there’s no one to change them.”
“The city functions so well without a government?” Delilah asked.
“I can get on board with the first law,” Chelsea said, “but come on. Chaotic and disruptive? Those aren’t always bad things. If a kid isn’t chaotic and disruptive, that’s a problem in itself. And a perfectly orderly life is no fun.”
“Will we get in any trouble or cause any problems?” Lorelei asked.
Gwen shook her head. “Not as long as we obey the first law,” she said. “And that should be easy.”
“Kids can be great,” Chelsea said. “Right, Isabelle?”
Isabelle lowered her glass, staring at Chelsea. “What?” she asked. “Sorry, I was busy.”
Lorelei laughed. “Busy with what?” she asked.
Isabelle giggled, pointing to the right wall of the parlor. “Isn’t that picture funny?” she asked.
A single painting hung on the wall, depicting a heavily caricatured man slipping on a banana peel. Delilah could only look at it for a few moments before she started giggling, looking away.
“Well, I guess there is one drawback to kids,” Chelsea said with a sigh. “They have such a lame sense of humor.”
“You know Caleb would laugh at it, too,” Lorelei said.
“Shut up.”
Finishing off their drinks, the girls left Borland’s Bibliography, heading across a bridge with a dark blue canvas covering over the top. Dim blue lighting within crafted a calming atmosphere. Delilah was delighted, ignoring the puzzled and sometimes grumpy stares of passersby as she walked along with a smile on her face. There may be strange laws about children, but Delilah was in a brand new and wonderful place — they had a book parlor, something Grimoire really should hurry up and adopt — and she wasn’t going to let some grumpy kid-hating adults ruin her fun.
“What’s this place?” Chelsea asked. Stepping off of the blue bridge, they were on an outer walkway of a spire with rounded walls. Their walkway led around several openings to a lobby with white floors, walls, and ceiling. Inside, uniformed employees rushed here and there with stacks of paper or boxes, while others stood behind counters dealing with customers and stamping items.
“It’s a message center,” Gwen said. “You can send letters and packages and other sorts of mail from here to anywhere in the universe. It’s the only one with its reach in all of creation.”
Suddenly, Lorelei pulled Isabelle back behind a wall, motioning for the others to follow her lead. Ducking out of sight, Delilah looked at Lorelei questioningly, surprised at the look of high alert on her face. Following her gaze, Delilah looked into the message center, and she understood right away.
Standing at one of the counters, speaking with an employee, was the dangerous woman Delilah had hoped to never see again.
Anastasia was here.
Chapter 34: The Lonely Castle
— G —
“Don’t let go just yet
Hope rides on the dawn
Light is coming soon
To set you free”
Shana’s mind clambered up out of the pillowy comfort o
f sleep, the echoes of the song that had so inspired her lighting the way. She opened her eyes and found herself in a bright room, lying in a soft bed under warm blankets.
It wasn’t hers, she knew that immediately, and she quickly sat up, swinging her legs over the side and then standing. She swayed for a moment, but shook off the last vestiges of sleep.
Okay, I like light too, but there’s such a thing as too much.
Three of the room’s four walls were floor-to-ceiling windows, with the curtains drawn back to let in light from outside that was brighter than even the sunniest days Shana had ever experienced. The floor, ceiling, and non-window wall were all white, making the light seem that much brighter. She squinted, turning away from the windows to get some form of reprieve from the glare.
She realized she was wearing her clothes from hiking to the grove — even her shoes were still on. With that realization came a panic.
Where are my friends?
Where’s my brother?
Shana checked her pocket at once, relieved to find her bookmark Talisman there. As a Summoner, and someone incredibly close to her Summon, Shana’s Talisman was more to her than just a device for wielding magic.
It was the only way that Altair existed.
If she ever lost her Talisman… she’d lose Altair. And the thought of that was unbearable.
Comforted by the metal in her pocket, Shana slowly opened the door. Peering through the opening, she didn’t see anyone in the hallway beyond, so she opened it farther, carefully creeping out into the hall.
Where do I go? It would be nice if there were signs. Or if everything didn’t look exactly the same.
Then again, this was likely the Radiant King’s castle. Bright lights, with white and gold as the primary colors gave that much away. So Shana needed to be careful — and she’d have to figure out the place’s layout on her own with nothing to help her.
They were talking about taking all of us to the King, so that means Shias and the others are here. I could have Altair scout the place out, but… he’s really easy to spot. At least I don’t glow.
So Shana looked left and right once again. She couldn’t see defining features for either direction, so it was up to intuition and instinct to guide her way.
Fae and her mother were both left-handed, and Shana thought lefties were way cool, so she went left. It wasn’t long before she reached another door and had to make a nerve-wracking decision.
Do I open it? Or do I keep going?
If there’s someone inside, opening the door will immediately alert them. And if the person inside is one of the King’s minions, then I’m done before I ever began. I can’t fight. All I have is Altair.
Shana couldn’t think of any other options. If she was afraid to open every door she came to, she wouldn’t get anywhere. It was time to test her luck.
She turned the door’s handle, flung it open, and ducked back behind the wall outside, listening carefully for any reactions by people within.
“Guess I can leave, then,” came the bewildered voice of Shias. Shana felt her heart swell with relief, and she rushed into the room, tackling her brother in a hug. He gasped and yelped and flailed in shock, and the twins went tumbling back onto the bed in the center of the room, Shana giggling and Shias squirming to get free.
“I’m so glad I found you!” Shana said, hugging her brother tighter.
“That’s great and all, but… can you let me go?” Shias finally wriggled his way free, sitting up on the bed and staring at Shana, who was grinning from ear to ear.
“Any idea where we are?” Shias asked.
“Probably in the Radiant King’s castle,” Shana said, sitting up.
“Seems about right,” Shias said, squinting. “It’s way too bright.”
“We need to find the others,” Shana said. “And then figure out how to get out of this place. The Radiant King may want to meet us, but I don’t want to meet him.”
“I like the sound of that,” Shias said. “Any idea where the others might be?”
“Probably in rooms like this one,” Shana said, looking around. Shias’ room was a perfect copy of her own. “If you were next-door to me, then the rest might be in this same hallway.”
“Still, we’d better be careful,” Shias said. He stood, taking his pen out of his pocket. “Stay on your guard.”
Shana nodded, following her brother out of the room.
“Which way did you come from?” Shias asked.
Shana nodded to the right, so Shias turned to the left, continuing the way Shana had been going. They reached the next door, and Shias followed Shana’s example, flinging the door open and ducking behind the wall so he wasn’t seen. Inside, they heard nothing. Poking her head cautiously around the corner, Shana noticed Kathryn, still asleep on the bed in the center of the room.
“Two more,” Shias said, smiling. He stood guard outside, and Shana headed over to the bed, plopping down and shaking Kathryn awake.
“Come on, lazybones,” Shana said. “This isn’t your bed. Wake up so we can go home.”
“Mmph,” Kathryn groaned, blinking her eyes open. “What time is it?”
“Did you forget everything already?” Shana asked, rolling her eyes. “We were kidnapped. Come on. I already found Shias, but Ben and Rae are still somewhere else in this castle.”
Kathryn jerked up into a sitting position, too quickly and suddenly, so her head smacked against Shana’s. Feeling like her brains would rattle right out of her skull, Shana fell back, biting back a yelp and rubbing her eyes to keep from crying.
“Ow,” Kathryn said, rubbing her forehead. “You have a hard skull. Sorry about that.”
“Yours is harder,” Shana said, voice breaking. Geez, that hurt! “Come on… let’s go, numbskull.”
“Rude,” Kathryn said, rolling out of bed and standing up. She looked back at Shana, and the two laughed. “You’re a dork.”
“And you’re a klutz,” Shana shot back, still laughing. “Watch where you swing that head of yours.”
“Will do,” Kathryn said, grinning. She and Shana left, meeting Shias in the hallway.
“Do you have to be so loud?” Shias asked in a whisper, to which Kathryn offered an innocent shrug.
They continued down the hallway, arriving at another door. Following the same opening procedure, they found Ben, and in the next room found Rae.
“This was too easy,” Shias said as the five Dawn Riders stood in Rae’s room.
“W-well we still have to find… an exit,” Rae said, eyes fixed on the doorway, clearly nervous someone would enter at any moment.
“So let’s do it,” Ben said. “I can Blink ahead to scout out difficult areas.”
“As long as you can see where you’re Blinking to,” Shias said. “And can reach it in a straight line. Without any obstacles in your path.”
“Hey, every magic has its limits,” Ben said.
“Let’s just be careful and take it slow,” Shana said, heading to the doorway and peering out into the hallway. “It’s still clear.”
“Let’s go,” Shias said. Together, the five continued along the hallway, finally reaching a turn that led them into an open atrium.
“Does it have to be so bright everywhere?” Ben asked in a whisper, holding his hand above his squinting eyes like a visor. The ceiling, several stories above, was entirely made of glass, pouring golden light down into the open space. The floors were tiled, and in the center of the atrium was a white tree with golden apples. Besides that tree, there was nothing else in the atrium. A dozen halls branched off from the atrium, and at either end to the right and left were two sets of stairs each, one leading up, the other leading down.
“Too many options,” Kathryn said, swaying her head as if her brain was spinning.
“Any ideas?” Shias asked.
“Let’s take a look,” Shana said. She walked to the windows on the other side of the hall, squinting against the harsh glare in an attempt to see outside.
Slo
wly, she began to make out the scenery. They were indeed in a castle, and it was massive. Counting rows of windows, Shana judged that there were twenty-seven floors, but three floors — the fifth, twelfth, and twentieth — were taller than the others, holding a space rather like the atrium with the tree. And the castle sprawled out over so much space — Shana couldn’t even see where it ended from where she was looking.
“Looks like we’re on the twelfth floor,” Shana said. “But… I can’t tell where an exit would be.”
It was a strange view. Beyond the castle, there seemed to be nothing but shining light. There wasn’t a ground, or roads, or outer walls.
Greysons of Grimoire Page 40