Creeping Shadow (The Rise of Isaac, Book One) (8 page)

The voices began to repeat the words that were on the wall in a torrent of noise.

"
Abandoned. Useless. Weak. Failure. Worthless. Unwanted. Powerless. Alone
."

He was struggling to keep himself grounded in reality, feeling fear creep into his chest. It was as if the maze itself had seen his darkest thoughts and doubts, using them to make him feel vulnerable.

He glanced at the large bell that was hanging on one wall then pressed his knuckles into his eyes, gritting his teeth and grinding them against each other to force the anxiety away.

"It's just words," he said aloud and the whispers stopped dead.

Oliver opened his eyes and his breath caught in his throat. A circular well had appeared directly in front of him, so close that the tips of his shoes hung over the edge. He stumbled backwards and eyed the endless abyss that dropped away before him.

"Help!" a woman cried up from it.

"Mum?" Oliver called in alarm as he recognised her voice, leaning forward and swaying as gravity tugged at him.

"Oliver! Help me!" Her voice echoed up from the bottom.

"
You can't save her
." The whispers returned.

Oliver gazed down into the darkness, balancing precariously on the edge of the void.

A shrill scream rang up from the depths of the black hole, making Oliver stiffen in fright. He shuffled around the rim, frantically searching for a way down. The walls of the well were perfectly smooth and he could see no foothold.

"Mum!" he shouted, though he knew it was pointless.

"
Too afraid, too cowardly
," the whispers said, taunting him.

Oliver's pulse thumped loudly in his ears as he stared down into the black pit.

"
Useless
."

He breathed out through his nose, focusing on slowing his accelerated heartbeat.

"
Worthless
."

He wasn't afraid of heights but the thought of what he was about to do made his instincts scream at him to stop.

"
Coward
."

Oliver jumped forward into the well.

Air rushed past his ears and he let out a shout of fear as he hurtled down. He reached out his hands, trying to grip the wall but they slipped and slid down the smooth stone. He gasped as a jagged protrusion sliced the skin on his palm.

He landed in a taught, rope net and flew back into the air as it flexed from his weight. On the second bounce the net vanished and he cried out, his arms flailing as he plummeted toward the ground.

Oliver hit the stone floor with a
smack.

A shaky breath escaped his lips as he mentally assessed the damage; he was grateful to find that the net had slowed his descent just enough that he had only bruised a few bones.

He stood and blood dripped from the laceration on his palm; he sucked the wound until it stopped bleeding, feeling shaken.

He looked up, taking in the square room and, as he swung around, blinked in realisation. He was back in the centre of the maze and a new exit had appeared opposite the one he had entered through; the words on the walls had vanished. He hurried forward through the exit and heard a rumble of noise as it closed behind him.

The corridor stretched into the distance. It was a narrow alley of dark, dewy walls and a damp floor that was coloured a murky green. There was no fire lighting the space, only a milky glow of what Oliver would have assumed was moonlight if he hadn't known he were inside a cave.

He wondered how long he had been in the maze and panic flooded him as the possibility entered his mind that the challenge could last for days.

He rubbed the sweat from his brow and resolved to continue on. As he stepped forward, a strange noise sounded somewhere ahead: a long
scrape
followed by a
clack
.

It grew closer and Oliver shrank into the shadows to conceal himself, taking slow, shallow breaths. He spotted openings set along the corridor that were barely distinguishable in the gloom and, as he squinted, noticed each one was flanked by a bell.

The noise grew louder and a disturbing figure emerged out of a passage several feet away, swathed in darkness and moving in a slow hobble. The apparition dragged one of its legs, scraping it along the floor behind it. The other foot dropped to the ground with a
clack
as if it were made of wood. The figure limped across the alley disappearing back into the labyrinth through another opening.

Oliver's heartbeat quickened and sweat gathered in his palms, making the cut on his hand sting. He hurried forward and darted down a passage on the left away from the sound of the terrifying being.

He met a dead end and cursed, spinning around in a panic, desperately wanting to put as much distance between him and it as possible.

Oliver walked purposefully toward the exit then stopped dead as he heard the being approaching once more.

Scraaaape. Clack
.

He cursed internally, backing up against the wall and pressing a hand to his mouth to silence his erratic breathing.

The sound grew closer and he watched the space intently, expecting a shadow to cross its path at any moment.

Scraaaape. Clack
.

The noise set his teeth on edge as the scraping ended with a sound like a knife slipping across porcelain.

Oliver stopped breathing as the figure appeared in the exit and paused, lingering in the doorway as if searching for something.

He waited for it to move, the seconds stretching on until his lungs burned for air.

"Oliver," a raspy voice sounded, making a chill run through his body.

The shadow turned slowly, its leg dragging in a sweeping arc behind it, and tipped its chin upwards so the hood fell back off of its head.

Oliver was suddenly face to face with the vision of his father from his nightmares: a skeletal form that looked as though it were decomposing, its bloodshot eyes glaring at him from oozing sockets.

"You're not real," Oliver breathed, though his voice quavered as he spoke, fear inching into his body like needles.

It stepped toward him with a
clack
and Oliver spotted the bloody, footless stump of bone that hit the floor, making his stomach churn violently.

Oliver sidled along the wall in a panic, unable to take his eyes off of the corpse that was pursing him.

The slime on its bare bones and remains of tissue hanging from its face made bile rise in Oliver's throat and sweat stream down his back in rivulets.

"You're dead," Oliver whispered, clawing his fingers into the cracks of the wall as he moved along it.

His fingertips touched something coarse and he wrapped his hand around it, feeling the rough hairs of a rope.

A gurgling sounded from the deathly creature in front of him then words formed from its decaying mouth. “Couldn't save your mother...won't save your sister.”

If he rang the bell he would never be able to help May. The thought filled him with a slither of courage, just enough to make his hand snap back towards him and release the rope.

He turned towards the figure, preparing to face it.

7

Beyond

A
grinding of stone sounded and a warm glow split the darkness in half.

Oliver rushed towards it with a wave of relief that spread through his entire body as he left the apparition behind. He sighed heavily as he found himself back in the underground chamber with his sister and Ely.

"Congratulations. You've both successfully completed the challenge," Ely said, grinning broadly.

"That was horrible," May said, running her hands up her arms.

"What happened to you?" Oliver asked, glancing back at the door as if the grotesque figure of his father might still be lurking there.

May grimaced. "It was like everything I'm afraid of was living in this awful maze."

Oliver nodded, subtly stepping away from the door behind him. "What did you see?"

"When I went in the walls closed behind me and I thought the best thing to do was to stay put. But then this guy appeared, he was huge and his face was just this hollow, black space and I tried to run from him but he grabbed my wrist and dragged me through the maze."

Her voice shook as she spoke and Ely looked at her with pity in his eyes as she continued. "He took me to this podium in the centre of the maze and I was strung up in front all these people, all with the same indistinct faces but their eyes were visible and they were just
staring
at me, waiting for me to speak or do something and I felt so vulnerable. I wanted to ring the bell, I almost did-" she cut off, her breath catching in her throat.

Oliver stepped forwards and hugged her firmly then she buried her face in his shoulder.

"I'm sorry," Ely said. "This Gateway challenge is testing and quite cruel. But you both did so well, do you have any idea how many people ring a bell and fail this test?"

Oliver stepped away from May and nodded. "We had to get through it. Now we can visit your friend who can help May."

Ely smiled brightly. "Yes. Now,
I've got something for you both." He rummaged inside his jacket and retrieved two familiar objects that Oliver recognised from the attic.

Oliver glanced at May in surprise as they each took the heptagonal pendant inscribed with their name.

"They're called Locks. I made them for you years ago. I know your mother never wanted you to know about the worlds but I hoped one day she might change her mind." He winked at them.

Ely strolled over to the Gateway and plucked four, sparkling gems from it before returning to them. Oliver placed the Lock around his neck and May imitated him.

"You can only gain access to each world by possessing a key," Ely said.

"Key?" Oliver asked curiously.

"The keys," Ely held up one of the twinkling jewels from the Gateway. "They're mined for by gem trolls in Glacio." He rubbed the tiny sphere between his fingers.

Oliver looked closer at the translucent key in Ely's hand and suddenly recognised it. He retrieved the ball he had carried in his pocket ever since discovering it in the attic. It was identical.

"Where did you get that?" Ely looked stern.

Oliver realised his mistake. "I found it in the attic," he admitted.

"Oh, so you went exploring, did you?" Ely asked, shaking his head. "You're just like your mother." He softened and broke into a smile. "Well here you are," he said, handing them two each. "The Locks are designed to hold them."

Oliver took the tiny spheres in his hand, cupping them in the crease of his palm where they sat, twinkling up at him.

"Can't I use the one I found?" he asked.

"I'm afraid not. The gems must be taken from the Gateways and encoded within a brief amount of time, otherwise they become useless."

"Why?" May asked.

"The gems feed off of the Gateway, it's where they acquire their magic. The Gateways are intricately linked with the challenges so that a person can only receive a key if the Gateway recognises that they have been successful."

"Couldn't a mage just make their own keys with magic? Bypass the challenges?" Oliver asked.

"No. Dorian Ganderfield's challenges are impregnable, enforced by complex spells of his own design. You cannot go through a Gateway without a key and you cannot get a key without succeeding in a challenge," Ely said.

"Why have you given us two keys each?" May asked curiously.

"One of them is a key to Aleva and the other is your key back to Earth. You are given the one to your world of origin as standard practise once you have completed your first challenge."

Oliver rolled the gems in his hand; they were cool and smooth and looked as though they held a minuscule galaxy of stars inside.

"Hold out a hand both of you," Ely directed.

Oliver and May complied and, in a flash of movement, Ely pricked their fingers with something extremely sharp causing globs of blood to seep from the punctures.

Oliver snatched his arm away. "Why'd you do that?"

May went to suck her finger but Ely stopped her.

"Place the blood on your keys," he demanded.

Oliver gently pressed his bloody finger onto each key whilst Ely raised a glimmering palm of silver above it. The keys absorbed the blood, swirling around in a miniature storm before pulsing momentarily and dispersing. The gems gradually changed colour until one was an earthy green and the other an ocean blue; they continued to sparkle but were no longer transparent.

"Which one's which?" May asked.

"Aleva's key is green and Earth's is blue. Each key is coloured to represent the different worlds. You can pop them in their respective holes on your Locks."

Oliver lifted his pendant in one hand and eyed the labels around the rim before pushing the keys into their places between fragile, metal clasps.

"No one can use these keys but you. The blood magically encodes them to your DNA. I inscribed your names on the back of your Locks so you'll know they're yours," Ely said proudly.

"Thank you," May said, moving to give him a hug.

"Yeah, thanks," Oliver said, deciding not to mention that they had already seen the Locks. He turned his over to reveal the words etched in the metal and ran his finger over the indentations. "So, what now?" he asked.

"Now, we pack a bag and get going. It's chilly this time of year in the part of Aleva we'll be visiting so bring something warm to wear. I sent a message to the Council whilst you were completing the challenge asking them to send a stand-in Keeper to look after the Gateway while we're gone. We should only be a few days with any luck. I need to return to my position here and you two will need to get back to school."

* * *

The two of them hurried upstairs and May gripped Oliver's elbow as he went to enter his room.

"What did you see in the challenge?" she asked, gazing at him intently.

Oliver felt his guard creep up. He never kept secrets from May but he hadn't ever wanted to voice the fears he had about his father, it was a part of him he buried and tried not to disturb. "I was in the maze, too. Mum was there and I was trying to save her then there was this corpse chasing me around."

"Oh." Frown lines formed around May's mouth. "Were you tempted to ring the bell?"

Oliver shrugged off her hand. "No. Course not."

He felt guilt trickle into his gut and turned away from his sister, giving her a casual smile. He entered his room and started packing a backpack with warm clothes.

He didn't want May to think he was tempted to leave the challenge, she might translate that into thinking he wasn't determined enough to go with her to the other worlds. Though part of him worried that, if he had spent another five minutes in the maze, he might have rung the bell. The thought was disquieting.

He pulled on a coat, shouldered his bag then exited his room and found May waiting for him in the corridor bundled up in warm layers.

"What do you think it'll be like?" May wondered aloud as they descended the spiral staircase.

"I don't know," Oliver said thoughtfully as he pushed open the door that led to the chamber beneath the house. He had been so wrapped up in everything since May had woken him in the night that he had hardly spared a thought for what lay beyond the portal.

Ely was waiting for them in front of the Gateway, dressed in a heavy suede coat with a backpack hanging from one shoulder.

"Are we going to meet Mum's twin?" May asked Ely, looking hopeful.

"Yes, we'll be staying with her in Aleva. Stand over there by the Gateway and take out your Locks," Ely said.

Oliver pulled the pendant from underneath his top and watched as the earthy green key to Aleva began to glow brighter and brighter.

"Hold on to them tightly and walk through the Gateway after me," Ely instructed.

May gripped Oliver's arm, the light from her key catching in her eyes as she gazed up at him with concern. He nodded to his grandfather and Ely raised his Lock towards the Gateway.

Ribbons of light ripped across the arch of roots as the portal opened. Oliver could hear it humming quietly and he drew back a little.

May tugged his arm, bringing him back to his senses.

Ely stepped through the Gateway; the light seemed to bend around him then he disappeared with a crackle of noise.

Oliver blinked in shock.

"Ready?" May asked quietly.

"I'm not exactly sure what to be ready for," Oliver said.

"I know, can we walk through together?" May asked.

He nodded then shared one last anxious look with his sister before stepping forward into the abyss.

Oliver felt his stomach drop as if he were falling. The sound of May screaming seemed to echo around him as they fell and he gripped her arm tighter.

The light from his key glowed so brightly that it was all he could see. He felt weightless for a moment then his feet collided with uneven ground and he fell backwards onto it. May toppled over and Oliver groaned as she landed on his legs. She scrambled to stand up and he followed suit, rubbing his knees.

Ely hurried towards them and clapped his hands together, looking pleased.

Oliver gazed around at his surroundings. He was standing at the foot of a tree that resembled the one back at Oakway Manor, minus the house.

A large, circular hole in its trunk marked the Gateway on this side of the portal and the leaves on its branches were a bright, lush-looking green. There was a crisp chill in the air and Oliver's breath came out as a puff of vapour.

They were standing on a ledge that jutted out over a steep valley, high up on the side of a mountain. For miles around rolling hills and towering mountains disappeared up into wispy, white clouds. Oliver crept towards the edge.

A city was nestled between the mountain they were stood upon and one that rose up opposite. The buildings looked like a model from this height; lights twinkled in the windows and Oliver realised that daylight was already fading in this world.

A train emerged from a tunnel in the mountain opposite, running along tracks that ran outside the city in a large circle, making its way through smaller tunnels in the hills.

A sudden gust of wind made Oliver draw back from the ledge.

"Beautiful, isn't it? I'll never forget the first time I saw this view. The city you can see is called Alevale," Ely said.

"Are we going down there?" May asked, peeping over the edge with a look of fascination.

"Yes, we'll take the- " Ely was distracted by a loud horn that sounded from the other mountain.

Oliver located the source of the noise where a bright fire was burning on an outcrop. A booming horn responded to it somewhere further down the valley. The sound carried on the wind and echoed off the rocks, the two notes calling out together in a mournful cry.

"Ahh, that's a sound I've missed," Ely said with a smile.

"What is it?" May asked.

"They sound the horns at dawn, midday and dusk. The citizens of Alevale used to rely on them to tell the time and structure their day but nowadays they have modern technology which can do that. But the tradition has stayed in place."

A stone pathway led away from the Gateway, heading down through the thick woodland. They were sheltered from the wind on the path but Oliver still did up his coat against the icy air. They dropped steeply down the side of the mountain then curved to the left in the direction of the city.

The three of them approached a watch-post where Oliver spotted a man who was smoking by a small fire. A long, thin, horn-like instrument jutted out over the precipice in front of him. It curved upwards and back towards the fire. The mouthpiece sat near to the man's head. He got to his feet and walked towards them through a cloud of smoke, revealing shoulder-length hair, a bristly beard and a pipe held in the corner of his mouth.

"Ah, Ely Fox, long time no see," the man said in a gruff voice, puffing away on his pipe.

"Good to see you again, Corwell. These are my grandchildren, Oliver and May. They just received their first keys," Ely said, standing up a little straighter.