Splinter (Whisper Walker Series) (16 page)

Being in a tight space such as this freaked me out. I hated feeling confined and vulnerable. The tunnels were different, larger, and had a roof over them letting me feel more comfortable. Here, something could fall on our heads from above, and we would have no way to protect ourselves. I started to freak out a bit and felt sweat forming on my forehead. My breathing was getting tight, too, as my body seized up in panic. I closed my eyes, pausing for a second trying to relax myself.

Two deep breaths in. Two breaths out. Better.

I had to crouch now for the last bit. The already narrow crevice got even narrower about a meter off the ground, meaning we had to crawl. I pushed through, celebrating when I saw the end of the ravine in sight.

I broke out of the crevice and stood up, stretching my arms and feeling liberating relief that we were out of the tight spot, for now, at least. I looked around. We were in a small nook-like location. All sides were surrounded by the hillsides, and the only entrance was the way we’d come in. It was like someone had taken a scoop out of the mountain and we were in it.

“What is this place?” Kelsie asked in awe.

“I have no idea,” I said, after looking around. When I looked directly up, it was a long ways to get to the top of the mountain that surrounded us. It would seem that the passage we had just come down must have taken us lower. I sure didn’t remember there being a mountain that tall on the island.

The floor was covered thickly in small loose rocks, rounded and black. As far as I knew it was not native to around here. I had never seen anything like it before and couldn’t resist picking a piece up and putting it in my pocket.

Surrounding the perfect circle of the space were seven rectangular stones, each about a meter tall. Between each of these was a young tree. Ash, Willow, Maple, Alder, Rowan, and one other species I didn’t know, with a space left open where the entrance was. The trees didn’t seem very old, maybe a couple years at most. The rectangular stones each had carvings on them, facing the inside of the circle.

 
“Drake. Look over there.” Kelsie pointed, stepping towards it herself.

On the left side, one of the large stones was broader than the rest. I went over to it and upon inspection found what looked like a faint seam or crack running horizontally around it. It was about twelve centimeters from the top. I pushed and pushed on the top trying to slide it off. Kelsie joined in, putting her back to it. It wouldn’t budge. Then we tried lifting it off, though with nothing to grip, putting much force on it was impossible.

Giving that up, we sank to our knees for a breather. I worked my way around the stone, inspecting it closer, looking for a release mechanism or something. Hell, maybe they just had to make this one from two pieces of rock. It might not be anything other than a rock.

Along the back side were four dimples. Wait…scratch that. Five dimples. One was located farther down. I traced the dimples with my fingers and then had an idea. I put my thumb in the lowest one and my fingers in the rest.

There was a faint grinding noise, and the stone vibrated. I then removed my hand and placed them both on the top again, pushing. As soon as I removed my hand, it vibrated again. Damn.

“Hey, Kelsie. Come put your hand here while I push.”

She moved over and put her fingers in the dimples like I had. Nothing happened. Hmm.

I reached around and put my hand back in the dimples, the stone vibrated again. “Okay, so I guess I’m the only one that can do this. New plan, I keep a hand on it, you push. I’ll help with my other hand.”

She nodded in agreement, and we pushed. The top slid to the side almost like it was on wheels.

It revealed a hollow spot inside the stone. Inside the recess was an object wrapped in oilcloth. I gingerly reached in and withdrew it. I slid the stone lid back into place and set the object on top. I looked at Kelsie, who was looking ripe with anticipation. I started unwrapping the oilcloth, laying it across the stone as a protective barrier as I did. When I finished, in the middle sat a book.

I grinned at Kelsie. “Still think I’m crazy?”

She smirked. “Yeah. And apparently your whole family was too.”

“Hey now, attack me all you want. Don’t attack my dead family.”

“Sorry. Are you going to open it or what? I’m ready to get out of here,” she said, looking impatient.

I scowled, muttering under my breath. “Always rushing the moment. I bet you wouldn’t even like foreplay.”

Her eyes jerked up from the book to me. “What was that? What’d you say?”

I hurriedly looked back at the book. “Nothing.”

I opened to the first page, finding the leather cover to be softer than I expected with how old it looked. Inside, there was no title or anything, but the first two pages were lined. Each line contained a name. I thought some of the names sounded familiar. I turned the page over and looked at the list on the back. Around then I recognized the last names that all of the names possessed. About halfway down was my great-grandfather’s name. Under him my grandfather was listed, then my dad, and then, in ink that was much newer than the rest, my name.
Drake Adair
. Signed in a flowing and curvy writing that I couldn’t help but recognize. It was my father’s handwriting.

“Well. This provides a whole new twist on my life,” I mumbled, staring at my name on the page.

“Why is your name in the book? Who are the rest of the people?” Kelsie asked, pushing up against me to get a better look.

I stepped aside so she could see better. “Those would appear to be my relatives on my father’s side. It’s a list of paternal bloodline.”

“Weird.”

“Yup.”

I stepped back towards her and the book. Kelsie didn’t seem to want to step out of the way, so I had to get half behind her and press up against her. That left her sandwiched tightly between the stone and me. It was the only way I could get close enough to reach over and turn a page. She didn’t seem to care, though.

I flipped the page and started scanning it. The ink was old and faded. It was hard to read, and the pictures weren’t really clear. I leaned in as closely as I could with Kelsie there. As I did, my skin started to tingle and the hairs on the back of my neck started standing up, followed by all the hairs on my body. I looked up, startled. I couldn’t see anything around, but the tingling increased.

Kelsie looked up at me. “What are you looking at?”

I reached around her, grabbing the book and cloth. I closed the book and wrapped it in the cloth tightly like it had been.

“You don’t feel that?” I asked her as the air around us grew ice cold. “And now that?”

“Well, I feel really cold.”

“We need to go,” I said, grabbing her hand and the book and dragging her in the direction we had come. I pushed her into the opening before me. “Go. Something’s not right about this place. Something’s happening,” I said, my voice serious.

She looked like she wanted to argue or fight me. But seeing the look in my eyes, she turned and headed out without a word.

The tingling and cold behind me grew stronger as we quickly made our way out. By about halfway back the cold was gone, but my hairs still stood on end. I really didn’t like the feeling. It was extremely uncomfortable.

We hurried back to town, and I was surprised that we didn’t run into anything at all, even when we got back into the normal territory. Animals, mutants, nothing.

I HADN’T SAID A thing the whole way back, but spoke up now. “Okay, what was that all about? You looked scared.”

Drake snorted. “Did not. I wasn’t scared at all. Just something weird. Did you notice anything besides the sudden frigid cold?”

“When we first started approaching the mountain, I felt an incredible sense of foreboding. Like I was heading somewhere dangerous. As we got closer, on that first ledge, I felt guilty, or something. Like I was intruding into someone’s house.”

He arched his eyebrows at me. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

I grinned sheepishly. “Because you didn’t seem to be aware of anything out of the ordinary. So what did you notice?”

He had unwrapped the book while we were talking and flipped to the second page again. “I was fine all the way in. Once we were looking at the book, my skin started to crawl and tingle. All my hairs stood up, then it grew instantly cold.”

I stared at the page he had opened to. I couldn’t make out more than a few random words. I reached over and flipped through, finding that the pages became easier to read the farther into the book I flipped. The paper also started to be less yellow-brown. By about three-quarters of the way through the book, I could read the print and see the illustrations quite easily. But, after looking at a few of the pictures, I was wishing that I couldn’t make them out.

“What the hell is that?” I asked, hopping up on the counter next to him and pointing at a particular illustration. “Are those…are those horns coming out of a head with only one eye? Whoa. It’s got hooves for feet. Drake, your family was into some creepy shit.”

He shook his head a little, but made no move to deny it. “Yeah, it would appear so. You think that’s weird, look at this one! It’s a creature made of fire. And he looks like he’s throwing balls of fire. Jeez.”

We were both unable to take our eyes off of the book now.

“Look, it says he’s called a Fire Demon. That doesn’t sound good.”

I nodded my head in agreement. He jumped up on the counter and moved the book so it was in his lap. I leaned in to him to get a better look.

“Drake. Drake. Are you paying attention?” I asked, nudging him. He’d had his eyes closed, and his nostrils had been flared like he smelled something.

“Huh? Oh, yeah. Sorry.” He shook his head side to side. “What?”

“I
said,”
glaring at him, “here’s a page that talks about ghosts. It says that ghosts are normally spirits who have unfinished business, but can be sent ‘on’ by any shaman. It lists the skill level as ‘Novice.’ All you have to do is mark them with this symbol here using a silver athame.”

He stopped me. “What’s an athame?”

“I don’t know. I think I saw something earlier in the book about an athame being a knife. Maybe that’s what we found in that box.”

He looked back to a different part of the page. “It says I…I mean, the shaman, has to carve that symbol into it. Then the shaman has to summon a doorway, though some shaman don’t have to summon a door for some reason. They just mark the creature, and that’s it.”

He hopped off the counter, handing the book to me. “I need a drink of water. This is some crazy fiction. I wonder if my father and his father were in some loony cult or something.”

He turned to pour some water into a mug. As he turned around, I caught a flash of something and felt ice-cold over my whole body.

“What the!” I yelled.

Drake jumped, dropped the mug, and bolted forward.

He braced himself defensively against the counter next to me. I barely noticed. I was too busy staring at what had just showed up in our kitchen.

A girl that looked to be around the same age as Drake and me.

“Who the hell are you?” I demanded.

The girl smiled mischievously at us. Her dark eyes seemed to sparkle.

“Hi. I’m Samantha.”

“Okay, Samantha. Who…
what
are you?” I asked firmly. I wasn’t going to let this trespassing
thing
get off easily.

“Why, I’m a ghost.”

“A ghost? Really? Why can Kelsie see you, then? I thought I was the only one,” Drake said, regaining some of his composure.

“Hardly.” Samantha scoffed. “Why shouldn’t she see me? She’s a Whisper Walker, after all. Just like you’re a shaman.”

I frowned. “I’m a what?”

“Are we going to have to go through everything twice?” Samantha asked, rolling her eyes. “You’re a Whisper Walker. Dream Slinger, yada yada yada.”

I wanted to ask more, but felt this wasn’t the time. I caught Drake staring at me funny.

“What?” I demanded.

“That might explain the dream you had, with the pit and Magistrate.”

Now it was my turn to roll my eyes. Of course it did. I’d figured that out a while ago, like when she said Whisper Walker.

Out of habit, I held my hand out to shake. “Well, I’m Kelsie. That’s Drake.”

“I know who you are.” She eyed my outstretched hand with amusement. She seemed to consider it for a second before reaching out hers and taking mine. I shivered. It was the weirdest feeling. It was like running my hand through freezing water, minus the wet feeling afterward. My skin started tingling just like earlier.

“You do?” I asked, still trying to catch up.

Samantha said, “That’s part of the reason I’m here. Drake’s dad asked me to come when he was of-age.”

“When I was of-age?” Drake asked, getting more confused. “Wait, my dad? He’s been dead for years.”

Samantha nodded. “I am aware. It was a great loss when he was killed. When you turned seventeen we expected you to get your
gift
.”

“Then why did you wait till now to show?” he asked.

She smirked. “Really? You don’t recognize me?”

Drake’s face changed as he seemed to recognize her. I felt a momentary stab of jealousy. I was going to have to ask Drake later about where he’d met her.

While Drake was talking to her, I took a moment to inspect her. She looked corporeal enough with a mostly solid appearance. She had lovely dark, almost black, wavy hair and warm brown eyes. Her skin was a flawless blend of cocoa and cream that look like it never had been dirty. Dressed in a revealing dress, like some I had seen in pictures in books. Old pictures. I was a bit jealous of her, in fact. Dresses like that were a bit impractical and so I’d never had one.

I stopped looking at her for a second and glanced at Drake, he was staring her up and down, too. But he was looking at her so intently that I thought he might strain his eyes. Like he was trying to take in every detail.

I inexplicably felt the urge to interrupt his inspection.

“Samantha. How old are you?”

Her eyes flashed at me. “That is none of your business. Don’t ask that kind of thing. But, I am quite old. I look incredible for my age, though. Most ghosts my age start to look washed out.”