Creeping Shadow (The Rise of Isaac, Book One) (16 page)

14

An Invitation

O
liver awoke to the smell of Glacian tea. He rolled over to find a steaming cup of the sweet mixture on his bedside table and slurped it down, giving him the kick he needed to get up.

He dressed and went through to the living room, feeling particularly chirpy. "Morning," he said brightly to May who was sat in an armchair, sipping on tea and nibbling biscuits.

She smiled at him then nodded to the window. "Look at the view."

Oliver turned. The view beyond it was breathtaking; the Traverser was gliding through a picturesque valley bordered by towering, snow-capped mountains. A lake glistened and shimmered in the hazy, morning light where deer-like animals bathed in the lapping water.

A knock on the door sounded and Oliver opened it to find Ely standing there.

"Good morning," he said brightly as he entered and took a seat. "Beautiful isn't it? We're entering Crome's outlands. This is the sort of landscape you'll be racing through. It looks stunning, but trust me, it's not easy to traverse. You'll be relying on your team every step of the way to get each other to the finish line," Ely said.

"What place did your team come when you raced?" May asked curiously.

"My team placed seventh. But that was many years ago, they've made the race more difficult these days because it's become so competitive. It's a more popular idea to travel to the other worlds than it used to be."

"Is there any way we can prepare for it?" Oliver asked anxiously.

"There's not much time to build yourselves up physically but, I suppose, I can give you one or two pointers to help prepare you mentally."

"Like what?" May asked, putting down her tea.

"Well, the first thing you need to remember is that you compete as a team for a reason, to test how cooperative you are. It sounds simple, but many contestants are out for themselves and that can be their downfall."

"That would be easier if we knew who our teammates were," Oliver said in frustration.

"Yes, and often the teams that do best in the race are made up of friends. You'll be at a disadvantage but you'll just have to work extra hard to cooperate with your teammates."

"Okay, cooperate, check. What else?" May asked, determination etched in her features.

"The race will also test your resilience and perseverance to win a key. This is what most contestants focus on. They try to make it through the race on strength and speed alone. It's tough. It'll push you to your physical limits, that's why most people train for it.

"You won't have time to gain an advantage that way but you can pace yourselves. Don't exhaust yourselves straight off the bat. Let the stronger teams go ahead of you and hope they knacker themselves out whilst you progress steadily through the course."

"What do you mean
course
?" May asked.

"The first race day consists of a series of challenges that you'll have to work through to reach the finish line. It's a much longer day than the second but this is where most of the competition will be knocked out. The second and final day is a simple, flat out race to the Gateway for the remaining teams," Ely said.

Oliver nodded slowly.

"So, what chance do we actually have here, considering we don't even have a team together yet?" May asked, slumping down in her chair.

"Don't worry about that until we get to Crome," Ely said.

"Actually, I might have found us a team member," Oliver said excitedly.

"Oh? Who would that be then?" Ely asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, who?" May asked curiously.

"Her name's Anna. She's a waitress on the train." Oliver felt his cheeks heating up as May eyed him.

"Oh?
Forgot
your jumper, did you?" May teased. "You just wanted an excuse to talk to her."

"Shut it. No I didn't
,"
Oliver said, overly aware of Ely's presence.

"Sure," May said airily and Oliver shot her an angry look.

"Why hasn't she signed up to a team herself if she wants to race?" Ely asked, ignoring May's taunts.

"Well, that's the thing, she can't really afford to enter," Oliver said awkwardly.

"Ah, I see." Ely rubbed his chin. "Why don't you ask her over later and I can decide if she would make a suitable team member?" he suggested.

"But you'd have to-"

"Pay. I know, but we don't have a lot of options. We aren't going to find many people who want to race but can't. If we start signing up people we have to convince to join then they're not going to give it their best shot at winning, are they?"

"That makes sense, I guess. I'll see if I can find her later," Oliver said, his stomach swooping at the thought of seeing her again.

"Good," Ely said, getting to his feet. "I'll see you both later." He let himself out of the room.

Oliver felt restless. "Wanna go explore the train?" he suggested to May.

She sprang to her feet. "Sure. Maybe you'll
bump
into Anna
.
"

Oliver rolled his eyes as he got up to exit the room. He lobbed a silk cushion at her before heading out the door.

They roamed the corridors, passing the empty dining car towards the head of the train. The next room they entered was a spa where several people were sat around having their hair and nails attended to with Alevinum devices.

Oliver spotted Delphine on the other side of the room and caught her eye.

"Oliver, May, come join me over here," Delphine called, beckoning them with a manicured finger.

The woman doing her hair finished and Delphine pressed her thumb to a panel beside the mirror to pay. "What do you think?" she asked, bouncing her curls at them.

"Looks great," May said vaguely, eyeing the woman with disdain.

Delphine twisted around to eye herself in the mirror, adjusting a curl with a flash of light from her palm. "I could do it myself with magic but it's nice to be pampered occasionally," she said.

A woman shied away with a look of awe on her face and Delphine winked at her.

"Will you come and join me for lunch in my room today?" Delphine asked, turning back to face them.

Oliver shared a brief look with May. He wanted to know more about his grandmother but hadn't appreciated her tone with May when they had first met. "Sure," he said hesitantly.

"I'm in the Bane suite. Go past the pool and you'll find it in the next corridor. You'll need this to get through security." She pressed a token into Oliver's palm and he read the words upon it.

Traverser

Restricted Access Pass

"Shall we meet at midday?" Delphine asked lightly.

"Okay, see you then," Oliver said with a smile.

She beamed at them as a beautician returned to her. "Charge my account for any treatment these two would like," she said to the woman, pressing her thumb against the panel again.

"Oh no, we couldn't," May said in surprise, shaking her head.

"I insist. You've both missed out on a lifetime worth of gifts from your grandmother, it's the least I can do," Delphine said warmly.

She shooed the beautician away and got to her feet, sauntering out of the room and wiggling her fingers at them as she left.

"Would you like to see a treatment menu?" a beautician asked.

May nodded eagerly. "Maybe she's not so bad."

Oliver laughed. "Now that she's buying you things?"

She shrugged, fighting a grin.

* * *

May's freshly styled hair bounced and swung about her as she walked beside Oliver. May had convinced him he needed a haircut. Admittedly, he did feel better for it but it had served to remind him of his mother's regular trims.

At lunchtime, they walked into a carriage filled with a large swimming pool and were hit with a wave of humid air. The ceiling and walls were constructed entirely of glass, revealing the vast and wild landscape rolling past outside.

Oliver showed the token to an attendant guarding a door at other end of the room. He let them pass with a bow and the door slid aside as he pressed his thumb to a scanner. They emerged in a large corridor with two doors.

Oliver knocked on the door labelled The Bane Suite and waited, tugging at the hem of his t-shirt.

Larkin answered, his face contorting into a grimace at the sight of him. "What do
you
want?"

"Delphine invited us," Oliver said with a frown, thrown by Larkin's presence.

Larkin looked as though he was about to slam the door in their face when Delphine appeared over his shoulder.

"Hello, darlings. Move aside Larkin," Delphine said, sending a wave of light from her palm into his hair as he passed. The magic smoothed it back flat and he immediately ran a hand through it to mess it up again.

"
Mum
," he said through gritted teeth, then disappeared around a corner.

Oliver suppressed a smile.

They emerged in a lounge with a roaring fire to one side and a water fountain at its centre surrounded by a leather suite of furniture. The midday sun was reflecting into the space as it bounced off a lake outside; the light made a crystal chandelier sparkle and cast jewels of light about the room. Beneath it was a dining table laden with tiny, blue dishes upon which were morsels of food.

"Chester's having lunch with a colleague so it will just be us," Delphine said brightly.

Oliver wondered if she was including Larkin in that scenario and felt a pang of disappointment as he remerged a moment later and sat at the table.

Delphine gestured for them to sit and Oliver moved to sit in the chair furthest from Larkin, using May as a barrier between them.

"So, Alison still hasn't appeared? That's really rather worrying," Delphine said, after a round of polite chit-chat.

Oliver helped himself to a minuscule pastry puff and nodded. "Yeah. We moved in with Ely after she went missing."

"I imagine you're rather curious about your grandfather and I?" Delphine asked, using a delicate knife and fork to slice a pastry in half before eating it, one tiny mouthful at a time.

"Do we have to talk about that?" Larkin asked, shooting her an angry look.

"Don't be rude, I'm sure Oliver and May are quite curious about their family. Imagine if you had never met any of your relatives," Delphine said.

"Sounds like bliss," Larkin muttered, folding his arms.

Delphine pretended not to hear him and continued on. "Ely and I had an arranged marriage. It was always the agreement between us that we would have three children as required then petition for divorce to live our lives how we wanted. Though, perhaps, he is a little bitter towards me now," Delphine said with a sad look.

"Is that what most mages do? Divorce after they've brought up their children?" Oliver asked.

"It used to be but, nowadays, the High Mage of the Council is tightening the law so petitioning for divorce is much more difficult," Delphine said sadly. "The poor dears get stuck in a loveless marriage their whole lives. It's not right."

"But some mages must grow to love each other?" May asked hopefully.

"Yes, but it's not quite the same as having the freedom to choose, is it?" Delphine said, with a sharp edge to her voice.

Oliver couldn't help but agree. "Why is the law on divorce being tightened though?"

"The Council recently carried out a survey on the upbringing of mage children. Apparently those whose parents never divorced have a higher success rate at university and in their later careers. I think it's absolute nonsense. My children turned out just fine."

Larkin snorted. "Yeah one went to prison and another married a mage illegally. Good job, Mum."

Delphine snapped her hand backwards through the air and Larkin flinched his arm away in pain as a flash of magic struck him.

"Argh," Larkin hissed.

"Watch your mouth," Delphine warned and Larkin's face darkened as he dropped her gaze.

A moment later, Delphine got up and disappeared into the bathroom.

May kicked Oliver under the table as the silence stretched on between the three of them. He strained for something to say and decided to try and dissolve some of the tension. "You're racing right, Larkin? Got any tips?"

"Why would I give my competition advice?" Larkin said, his face contorting. "Only a moron would do that. But, then again, you are from Earth."

"So? What does that matter?" May piped up.

"Just that
Earthies
have got a reputation," he said with a sneer.

Oliver could tell he was trying to insult them. He remembered the way Anna had laughed when she found out that he was from Earth. "Yeah, and what's that then?" Oliver challenged him, his anger rising.

"That you're a bunch of idiots. You live next door to six other worlds and you don't even know it. It's embarrassing," Larkin said, smirking.