by K. R. Bowman
The large room was maybe fifty feet wide, other tunnels were arranged along the walls, there were ten tunnels in all. In the middle of the space was a round dais, and on top of it was a stone statue of a man with a sword. The fire threw strange shadows across him. The man had all his armor on, including his helmet, so his face was partly covered. A cloak was tied around his neck and hit the ground at his feet, pooling on the ground. The statue looked almost personified.
“This is Jonathon Smith, the first Leader,” Callum replied.
Something like a whisper traveled through the room. The statue seemed to light within, the stone changing to a stark white. Light burst forth from the statue; it engulfed us and traveled through each of us. The white light blinded my sight, except the light came out my eyes. All of us screamed, whether from the pain or the surprise of the unknown. The light disintegrated as quickly as it had engulfed us.
We were left standing, though we were bent over trying to catch our breaths and waiting for our eyesight to readjust.
“What was that?” gasped Raleigh.
Callum stood up straight, “A test, to see if we were part of the Realm.”
I turned wide eyes to look at Callum, “What would have happened if we hadn’t been?”
“I’m not sure, but my imagination is supplying my mind with plenty of things that could have happened. Okay, so each of these tunnels is dated. See,” Callum walked over to one of the openings, he pointed to a set of numbers that had been carved into the stone, “these give the years, so we need to find the one that has the 1990s.”
Raleigh grabbed my arm. Her fingers dug into my skin, “Do you see that?”
I looked around the room then back at her to see where she was focused, “See what?”
She glanced at me then back to one of the tunnels, “I, uh, a woman is standing there watching us.”
My eyes grew larger, and my body and mind instantly said to run. Callum stopped, and Ashlen turned slowly to survey the room, her eyes about to pop out of her head. I clenched my teeth to keep them from chattering.
“Are you being serious?”
Raleigh nodded and continued to stare at the tunnel. Her eyes swung to her left, and her grip on my arm tightened. Her nostrils flared. I looked over at the tunnel next to us and saw nothing.
“Let’s just get a move on. I want to get out of here right now.”
I nodded, “Okay.” I lowered my voice, “Do you see anything else?”
“A little boy,” she whispered. She swallowed hard, then tightened her shoulders and lifted her chin. I could see resolve and determination settling into her features. Her fingers released my arm. “Let’s go.”
Callum continued around the room, looking over each set of numbers. “Here it is,” he stopped at the side of one of the openings to the left of the tunnel that we had traveled through; it had the numbers 1950-2000 carved into the stone.
Of course, this tunnel was dark as well. Callum stepped forward and lit another trough of kindling that was along the side. The fire leapt up and traveled down the tunnel and disappeared into another room. Callum took the lead and headed down the tunnel. This tunnel was a little smaller than the first, so we had to walk single file. As we traveled down the hall, we passed extended rectangular cut-outs in the brick. Raleigh stayed as far away from them as she could.
I stopped suddenly and pointed to one of the rectangular boxes, “Are these, what I think they are?”
Callum stopped and looked back over his shoulder, “Yep, tombs.” He kept walking.
I stared wearily at the tombs set into the walls and shuddered. I’m sorry, but it’s creepy. I can’t help it. We were surrounded by dead bodies. I turned to the girls; they had the same look on their faces as I did, and Ashlen was trying to get as far away from them as she could without catching on fire. We walked cautiously down the hall. The tombs had each person’s name and the dates of their reign carved into the stonework. We passed about twenty of the tombs. These people had died in the nineteen-fifties. The farther we traveled through the tunnel, the more the dates began to increase.
The tunnel opened up into a long oval room. Another tunnel was at the opposite end of the room. A large three-foot-wide wall was centered in the room; more tombs were inside the wall. Callum walked to the other tunnel, and lit a torch within then, came back into the room.
“Okay, look through the tombs for Charles Tomas Sullivan,” he immediately started scrutinizing each tomb.
The stone wall next to me was rough and crumbling away at the edges. I hesitantly ran my fingers over the edge of the rectangle that had been carved into the masonry. I looked around the room. Ashlen and Raleigh were spread out, inspecting the tombs.
My eyes landed on the wall, situated in the middle of the room. I walked unhurriedly to stand in front of the wall; it felt as if it loomed over me. I scanned the stones, and the names ran together. I knelt down, resting my knees on the dirt floor. I reached out with my right hand and brushed the dirt off the carvings. My fingers scraped over a name and dates, revealing Charles Tomas Sullivan, 1934-1994. I let my breath escape from my mouth.
“I found him,” I spoke softly, but Callum appeared at my side at once.
Callum ran his hands over the tomb, rubbing the excess dirt off. The dirt piled on the floor underneath the tomb. He looked at me.
“We are going to have to tear the brick apart,” his mouth set into a line. He wasn’t very happy with the idea.
“I’ll break it.”
“No. No way am I letting you,” his eyes were adamant and his face stern.
I studied him for a moment, “I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to do this, whether it’s by myself or with you helping me.”
“I’m opting for me helping you.”
“Okay, let’s get started,” I scooted away from the tomb, about a foot, and put my feet against the rock.
Callum smiled and copied me. The girls stood behind us, waiting. We braced our hands behind us on the dirt floor.
“One, two, three,” simultaneously, we pulled our knees up to our chest then kicked out. The whole wall shook. Nothing happened to the tomb.
“Umm, I don’t think kicking it is going to do anything,” Callum said softly.
Dammit, why can’t things be simple?
“Okay, any ideas?” I raised one eyebrow.
Callum ran his fingers along the edge of the rectangle. He unsheathed a small knife and started digging his knife into the crevice. Dirt fell out onto the ground. He was at one end, so I pulled out my small knife, Masada, and started scraping the crevice too.
“Okay, Masada, help us out.”
My knife glowed a soft blue. I dropped it.
“What is it?” Callum stopped what he was doing.
“Her knife turned blue,” Ashlen said from behind me.
He craned his neck over to look at her then over to me, “It changed colors?” he focused on the knife, which had changed back to its normal silver color.
I nodded.
He picked it up, turning it over in his hands. He put the blade up to the crevice and pushed the knife into the stone. Blue light ran from the tip to the handle. Callum turned his wide eyes to me. He let go of the knife, leaving it pushed into the stone. The knife still glowed pale blue.
I tentatively pulled the knife out again. It turned back to the steel color. I plunged the knife into the stone again and held it there, where the blue point of the knife had been embedded. The blue light began to travel out across the stone like veins of electricity. Slowly the stone crumbled away.
A dusty skeleton laid inside.
“So, I wasn’t expecting him to look like… that,” I said. I’m not quite sure what I was expecting, maybe pristine bones? Or maybe a body untouched by the elements. Not the pile of bones before me seemed kind of disappointing. Callum had a disgusted look on his face.
Ashlen pressed herself up against the wall, and Raleigh’s face had an ‘ugh’ expression written across it. I turned back to the
tomb and carefully bent forward so I could see inside.
“Ugh, be careful,” Ashlen replied from against the wall. “Don’t touch it.”
I paused then peered closer at the skeleton. I was not about to call it a body. His clothes had rotted away and his hands were clasped over where his stomach had been. Dirt had fallen around and on top of the skeleton. I scooted forward on my knees and reached inside the darkened tomb to see if I could feel something that resembled a sword. I grasped something and pulled it out. A femur was held in my palm. I gasped and immediately dropped it, wiping my hand on my pants.
“Shit,” I shook my head, took a breath careful not to breathe in the dead smell, and reached back in with my eyes closed.
“I think I could have given up on opening this tomb a long time ago,” Ashlen replied, this time she was leaning over my shoulder.
“I have to agree with her,” Raleigh said from her spot against the wall, her eyes roamed across the expansive room.
“You know what would help is if someone would shine a light in here,” I glared at Callum, who was kneeling on the ground beside me just watching.
Callum fished in his pocket and pulled out something that resembled a small stick. It was maybe a foot long, but only a couple centimeters in diameter. It was smooth and had a sheen that made it appear as if it glowed from the inside. He placed the stick, so it was inside the tomb.
I stared at him like he was crazy, “How is a stick going to…”
The stick became a pulsing white light. It blinded me for an instant then dimmed slightly, so my eyes could adjust. The entire stick glowed steadily, illuminating the whole tomb. The light glowed through Callum’s hand, making his hand red. It was so bright you could see the bones in his hand. I looked at Callum with a shocked expression on my face.
“Remind me to ask you about that later.”
He smiled slightly and nodded; his eyes were locked onto the skeleton.
I tried to see through the dirt and skeletal remains for the sword. I moved slightly closer to the edge of the tomb to feel on the opposite side. I swept my hand over the dirt, trying not to let my arm touch the bones. I dug my fingers into the dirt and felt a hard-cool metal. My heart leapt for joy, and I smiled. I wrapped my fingers around the metal and started pulling it up and over the skeleton.
“I got it.”
21
As the sword cleared the remains, it hummed. The sound filled my ears, blocking out any other. I watched as the sword started to emit a red glow. The red light filled my vision. I barely registered seeing movement. I squeezed my eyes shut. The floor dropped out from beneath me. I screamed. I tried to open my eyes, but they wouldn’t open, making me scream even more.
“Would you shut up?”
My eyes snapped open to a world where the sun was shining bright, and a breeze blew across my face. I turned slowly around from where I was sitting on a soft bed of grass and saw the same white house with the front porch and blue shutters—the one that I saw when that girl in the bar had grabbed my hand, and I passed out. A man sat on the porch step, watching me. He motioned for me to sit by him. I looked around incredulously, trying to see a way out. I peered up into the pale blue sky to see if I spotted the bright white light again, nothing appeared. I shifted my eyes back to the man.
He sat with his broad shoulders slightly rolled inward, his elbows resting on his thighs. His dark blue jeans, slate gray shirt, and brown leather shoes were clean and unruffled. He had thick salt and pepper hair and gray-blue eyes. His eyes were demanding and restless. He tapped the boards beside him.
I looked around again then walked hesitantly toward him. I watched him as I sat on the porch. I made sure there was a good two feet between us.
“You weren’t who I was expecting. Who are you?” His voice was hard and authoritative.
“I’m Sloane.”
“I’m guessing you broke into my tomb?” he asked me accusingly.
“Well, I was trying to retrieve Willow.”
“Willow? Of course, you want to try and use her power, but you can’t unless you’re blood, and there’s no way you are. I only had two sons, and they disappeared before I died.”
“Well, remember that girl James told you about? She’s my mother. My father never knew about me.”
His eyes became unfocused like he remembered something. The man studied me for a few minutes, “Give me your hand.” He held out his hand, waiting for me to respond.
I weighed my decision. I laid my right hand gently in his. His hand was large and rough. His fingers wrapped tightly around my hand, squeezing uncomfortably hard.
Before I knew what he was doing, he had swiftly cut my palm. A sharp sting ran up my arm from my palm. I stared, with my mouth open, at the red welling up from a long gash that ran from my pinky finger to my thumb. I looked up at him. He was watching the blood run down my arm. He quickly sliced his hand, which I noticed wasn’t as deep as my cut. He wrapped his hand around mine, and it burned. My mouth stayed open in a silent scream. Our hands started to change colors. I watched in horror as our linked hands became blinding white. Light exuded from our hands. I searched his face, which intently watched our hands.
The light suddenly extinguished, and he released my hand. I stared at my palm, which was now unscarred and slightly pink.
“What the hell?”
“It was a test to see if you were indeed family,” he crossed his arms over his chest, “it appears that you are.” He didn’t look overly excited about the idea. He turned his gaze out over the bright green grass and flowers.
“So, what does that mean?”
He didn’t answer right away. He clasped his hands in front of him and looked down at his interlocked fingers.
He met my eyes, “The sword you found is not Willow, but it will help you release her.” He nodded toward me, “I notice you have James’ necklace, Artemis, she will help you find the sword. It won’t be easy, though. When you find her, you will have to fight for her. She is a great prize, and I made sure that when I concealed her that the only person who could retrieve her would be someone worthy.” He looked at me carefully before he continued. “The sword you currently have can still be used, but you will have to activate it. Once you activate the energy within your blood, it will answer you and become yours fully.”
“How am I going to activate it?” I was quite sure I wasn’t going to like the answer.
“You’re of my blood. I have no doubt you will discover that answer quickly.”
“So you’re not going to answer me?” my mouth was slightly open because it was hard for me to believe that he wasn’t giving me real answers.
“You have the same strong will and stubbornness of James...”
He looked down at the boards of the porch. I didn’t know what to say, although my heart kind of swelled when he said that, so I watched him, waiting for him to do something.
“Have you found James?”
I took my time answering him, “No, I’m sorry I haven’t. That’s part of the reason why I’m trying to find Willow.”
He nodded and continued to stare at the boards.
“If you do see him, will you tell him I’m sorry for not listening to him?” he watched my expression.
I smiled slightly, “Sure.”
He nodded and looked back out across the pastures.
“Wait a second, how are you here?” I blurted out.
He looked at me with a half-smile that somehow transformed his hard, stern features into a handsome, gentle face, “I’m a collection of memories that were stored within the sword so that when someone tried to engage the sword, I would act as a sort of security system. I am a way to prevent the sword and our family secrets from falling into the wrong hands…” He shrugged his massive shoulders.
“Can you tell me what kind of powers Willow holds?”
He locked his eyes on me, making me want to squirm. He turned his gaze back to the green pastures, “Willow is an old artifact from the beginning. She w
as forged here in this world using the magic and resources from the very ground you walk on. Anything she cuts through will fall, no matter what.” He looked at me, “She will be the key to the destruction of the Nightlins if only you can strike the heart of them.”
“The heart? Do you know where it is?”
He shook his head, “We never were able to locate that information. I only know that somehow they are able to move it when it senses danger.”
I ran my fingers across the boards of the porch, “Therefore, it has to be small, easily carried.”
He nodded again, “Of course, but don’t think of it being an actual heart. Things in this world are never really as they seem. I may speak more metaphorically than literally.”
This was definitely not going to be easy. Why would I even dream to think that it would be? I sighed out of habit and rubbed my hands together, dirt and dust falling away.
“Okay, next question,” I looked around at the unfamiliar sloping hills and bright blue sky, “how am I going to get back?”
“Oh, that’s easy,” he grasped my arm. I instantly tried to pull away, but he held my arm firmly. His eyes swept across my face and finally locked onto my eyes like he was taking a picture of my face. “You look like him.” A sharp pain sliced up my arm and through my mind. A white light pounded through my senses, shutting out everything around me. I gasped to catch my breath.
Someone was shaking me. Things in my head were being rattled. My eyes fluttered open, and a bright light was shining in my eyes. I tried to focus on what was going on around me, but everything was very fuzzy. Sound slowly began to filter into my ears. Three dark shapes hovered around me. I tried to tell them to move away, but I’m pretty sure what came out was a jumbled mess.
I could feel them lifting me up, but my body wasn’t fully cooperating. I felt like Jell-O.
“Sloane?” said a female voice
Oh, someone was saying something. What were they saying? I was bouncing around as someone carried me. Fire light blinked in and out as we rushed by. Fresh air hit my face as we came out of the tunnels.