The Rise of Isaac, Books 1-3, page 55
May avoided looking at him.
"Come on, May. Don't be grumpy with me. I only worry about you," Oliver tried.
"I know but I don't need you to wrap me in cotton wool."
"I wasn't. Don't exaggerate," Oliver said in exasperation.
May shook her head in annoyance.
Oliver knelt in front of her and put a hand on her knee. "I'm sorry, okay?"
She held the frown for a moment longer then softened. "Okay. Want some dried fish?" She held out a hand of it.
He grimaced at the flakes. "Not at the moment. Rogan does though."
"I'll go give him some," May said.
"It's alright I'll do it in a minute," Quinn insisted.
May shrugged, putting the fish down and picking at her boots.
Oliver got to his feet and went down the passage to find Anna, feeling suddenly nervous. The cave opened up and Oliver stopped dead at what he saw.
Larkin was embracing Anna, pressing his lips against hers. She instantly pushed away from him as Oliver stepped into the cave. He blinked once, turned on his heel and walked straight out of the room, his heart galloping in his chest.
"Oliver, wait!" Anna called wildly from behind him.
Oliver hurried through the cave past May and Quinn. They looked at him with confused expressions as he exited into the darkness outside.
A second later, Anna ran out after him. "Oliver, listen-"
He snapped around, cutting her off, "What do you see in that guy, Anna? Why do you give him the time of day?"
"I don't, it's not, I mean he's not-" she spluttered.
"What? Say it," he snapped.
"It's not what you think."
"Explain it to me then because it seems all too clear to me."
"Larkin's been struggling. I felt sorry for him. His friend died," she said, her eyes welling with tears. "He's not as bad as you think."
"Really? Because I recall him almost getting us killed back in the race," Oliver countered. "Why are you defending him?"
"He's not like that anymore, he's sorry for it," Anna implored.
"Well if he's such a great person why don't you go show him by shoving your tongue down his throat again."
"It wasn't like that! He kissed me. I didn't know he felt that way about me. I was caught off guard."
Oliver fell silent and the only sound between them was the howling wind. He dropped his gaze and shrugged.
Anna stepped closer and reached to take his hand.
Oliver flinched away from her. "You can do what you want anyway. It's not like we're a couple, is it?"
The question hung in the air and Anna dropped her hand, hurt registering on her face. "Fine," she whispered and walked away.
Oliver shivered against the cold as he stormed further out into the snow. His feet carried him onward, unable to focus on anything but the blood pounding in his head.
He couldn't think straight, he just had to get away.
As he rounded a corner he walked straight into someone. He gasped in fear, all thoughts of Anna and Larkin forced from his head.
Dead Xen's mouth curled up in delight. "Well looky what I found."
33
The Old Manor
One Month Ago
William travelled to Aleva using Kogure.
The sucking, violent tug that dragged him through from world to world wasn't anywhere near as pleasant as travelling through a Gateway. However, it allowed William to move freely between them and he could choose almost precisely where he wanted to go.
He materialised in a peaceful woodland, the birds above him cheeping merrily as they sang in a new day. Little shafts of light broke the gloom before him, illuminating small patches of dried leaves that shimmered with a frosting of ice.
Brinatin's heat had thoroughly abandoned him already and he shivered as he started walking along a well-trodden path. He ran his hands up his arms, immersing himself in a wave of heat that seeped into his bones, dispelling the cold.
"Warmmm then icyyyy," Kogure breathed.
"Yes," William muttered, not caring much for the vark's simple thoughts on the change of climate.
"Doriannn's housee?" Kogure asked, the hissing voice filling William's mind.
William wished there was a way to shut out the vark but, despite trying, he hadn't found one yet. "Yes we're on the grounds of his old manor."
"He still hereee? Bone to pickkkkk," Kogure said angrily.
"Dorian's been dead for hundreds of years, Kogure. You'll never have your revenge on him now."
"Bonee to pickk," Kogure repeated and William shook his head in frustration.
He walked through the woodland and emerged in the perfectly manicured gardens that led towards a grand, redbrick manor house up ahead.
The garden was divided by walls and narrow passages led to different features like a rose garden and a courtyard with a water fountain. Dew clung to the spiderwebs that stretched across the walls, glistening at him as he walked by. He took the most direct route, climbing several stone steps up to the house.
Skirting away from the entrance, William slipped around the back of the building and stopped by a window. He rubbed his fingers together and a bright light grew between them. He trailed his fingertips around the rim of the window and a satisfying clunk sounded it unlocking.
Lifting the window up, he ducked his head and climbed inside, dropping down into a gallery. He shut the window behind him and gazed around. The room was familiar from his visit almost twenty years ago; he and Isaac had taken a trip to the house whilst studying at university.
They had since acquired many of Ganderfield's notes after stealing them from a science lab in Brinatin where Dorian's great grandson had been studying them. Many of his documented spells had been missing from the notes so William guessed that they remained in his home.
The house would be open to the public in a couple of hours so he had time to search a while before staff began to turn up.
William gazed around the room which was filled with artwork created by Dorian himself. The man had been gifted at using magic and had been able to accurately document his memories and experiences down onto paper. William spied drawings of the Gateways in glass cabinets, some so lifelike that he could almost have been standing in front of the real thing.
Spotting the section entitled Ganderfield's Expedition to Vale, he moved into it and his gaze swept across the images. He recalled having to queue for the section years ago, it was the most popular attraction of the house.
"Hommee," Kogure breathed and William eyed the pictures of a barren landscape and a withered tree that bent over like a clawed hand.
"Is this really what it's like there?" William asked, reaching a hand toward one of the framed images.
"Yesss."
William frowned at the thought of Isaac spending so long in such a desolate-looking place. He often had to remind himself that Isaac had only survived there because of Kogure.
William exited the room and emerged in a grand hallway. He needed to find an archive where they kept Dorian's work that wasn't on display. He pushed through a door marked for Staff Only and found it led beneath the house.
The large basement had been transformed into offices, divided by panels of foggy plastic walls. William worked through the small rooms one by one, searching for anything that might give him a clue.
Time was ticking by and every rustle and creak of the house set him on edge. He was just about to return upstairs when he spotted a letter sitting in a tray on top of several parcels.
William picked it up and read the address it was waiting to be sent to:
Mr A Doyle
Sector 7A
Lorence National Archives
Crome
William felt a flash of excitement. He and Isaac had considered visiting the various archives spotted around Aleva but there was no indication that Ganderfield's notes were stored at any of them. But now he had the answer gripped in his hand.
A door opened upstairs and the chatter of voices drifted down to him through the floorboards.
William stuffed the letter into his pocket.
"Kogure, can you take me to Crome?" he asked inside his head.
"Cromeee," he hissed as a darkness swirled into existence in front of William.
He stepped into it and felt the all-too-familiar yank as Kogure dragged him along, travelling to the city of Crome.
34
Foolish
Xen clamped a filthy hand over Oliver's mouth and pulled him into a vice-like grip. His men chuckled softly at their good fortune. Nex peeped out from amongst the soldiers at him.
"Now this is gonna go one of two ways, boy," Xen growled in his ear. "Either you take us to your little friends or we wait for them to come looking for you. Which will it be?"
Xen slowly released his hand, pressing his currently fire-free sword into Oliver's side so he didn't try to shout out again.
Oliver spat in his face and Xen flinched away from him in disgust. Oliver ducked out of his grip, shouting as loud as he could to warn his friends but his voice was lost in the howling wind. Before he could run, Xen gestured for two of the soldiers to grab him.
They gripped Oliver's shoulders, one of them clamping his mouth shut once more.
Xen wiped the phlegm from his eye, his lip quivering with rage.
Fear pulsed through Oliver as Xen raised his now burning sword. "Option two it is then."
Xen stepped closer to him and Oliver looked up into his black, emotionless eyes. "You're alive until they get here. No longer. Then I'm gonna peel the flesh from your back and see how spineless you really are."
Oliver reared his head, trying to force the soldiers off of him. They tightened their grip and brought him to his knees.
"Shall I gag him, Commander?" Sergeant Knole asked.
Xen nodded. "And bind his hands."
Oliver struggled desperately against the men but they soon had his hands tied behind him and a dirty rag was forced into his mouth. It tasted bitter and smelt of sweat. He had to fight the urge to gag several times as he walked.
They followed Xen around a collection of boulders, hiding behind them and peeping through the gaps.
"Did you wonder where we'd got to? Or perhaps you thought we had stopped following you?" Xen sneered at him. "We actually took a little detour."
Oliver's heart quickened, fearing the worst.
"We fell for your trail no question, but it seems your friends got a little impatient in their hiding spot. Knole spotted them, didn't you Sergeant?"
Knole nodded with a proud smile.
"He'd climbed up on a ridge to see if he could see your group ahead, but we saw them instead." Xen grinned.
Oliver's breathing sped up and he bit down on the gag to stop it.
"The little one was already half dead. I just supplied the other half."
Pain burned in Oliver's chest at the loss.
"I gave the other one a head start, her being a girl and all. Well, if you could call her that." Xen retrieved a small knife from a pocket on his leather armour. "I used this one to finish the job."
Oliver grimaced and cried out but the gag muffled the sound. Xen smiled at his pain then returned his attention to the boulder, peeking through a gap. "Won't be long I imagine."
Minutes passed and then a noise sounded that made Oliver's blood run cold.
"OLLY?" It was May. "WHERE ARE YOU?"
Oliver struggled and roared against the gag but nothing he did was of any use.
Xen laughed a deep, low rumble.
Oliver couldn't believe how stupid he had been. He knew that if anything happened to his friends, it would be all his fault.
"This one's pretty," a soldier whispered to his companion.
Oliver dropped onto his backside and kicked the man. The soldier yelped in pain and Xen's eyes widened in alarm. He turned and grabbed Oliver's shoulder, pinching his skin beneath the material.
"Olly?" May's voice sounded again from just over the rocks. She sounded hesitant.
Oliver kicked out again with all his might and struck the soldier in the back. The man flew forward and his head collided with the rock in front of him. He roared in pain.
"She's running away," Sergeant Knole hissed in alarm.
"Dammit. Go after her!" Xen commanded. He took the hilt of his sword and smacked it down on the head of the soldier whose nose was dripping blood, knocking him unconscious.
"Looks like I captured a fighter," Xen growled, leering over Oliver. He gripped him by the front of his clothes and pulled him upwards. "Let's see how much fight you've got left when I skin your friends alive and make you watch."
Hot, rancid breath filled his nostrils and Oliver turned his head away from the man as far as he could. Xen smiled at him and pressed a hand down on Oliver's chest which was rapidly rising and falling.
Xen dug in his long fingernails and red light emitted from his palm. Oliver convulsed at the spikes of pain, his body jerking as if electricity were pulsing through it. His heart beat so hard he thought it might burst. He bit down on the gag against the agony.
His eyes met Nex's for a brief moment, the boy's face emotionless and dark.
Xen took his hand away and Oliver spied blisters bubbling on the man's skin. Xen grimaced in pain and Oliver looked up at him, glad the man was allergic to magic.
"That's for giving away our position," Xen said.
"Commander. She led us back to the others," a soldier appeared behind the rocks, panting heavily.
A wicked smile spread across Xen's face. "Let's go have some fun."
He lifted Oliver to his feet and gestured for him to walk ahead. Oliver marched forwards on weak legs, following the soldiers towards the cave. Xen held onto Oliver's collar as they walked.
They arrived outside the cave and Xen lined his men up in front of it and placed Nex on a boulder a few feet behind them. He pushed Oliver to the centre of the line and kicked the backs of his knees so he crashed to the ground.
The cold snow seeped into his clothes as it melted, soaking his legs where he knelt.
"Come out, come out wherever you are!" Xen called to the cave.
As a group, Oliver's friends appeared, their faces expressing shock and anger. Hector and Marley held their knives aloft, whilst Rogan and Quinn lifted their palms up, crackling with lightning. May, Anna and Larkin were equipped with their daggers.
Xen laughed aloud and his men joined in. "Stand down. Or I'll behead your friend right in front of your eyes."
Oliver imagined the fiery sword that was almost certainly held above his head. He glanced up at his friends and watched as they slowly dropped their weapons to the ground. Rogan and Quinn placed their hands at their sides.
Oliver's eyes slid to the ground, ashamed of the position he had put them in.
"Let him go!" Anna demanded.
"Put the mages in harnesses," Xen commanded his men, ignoring her.
"Why don't you just kill us?" Rogan asked.
Xen didn't answer. Two soldiers stepped forwards, holding out a harness each. Quinn and Rogan stepped backwards warily.
The ground shook like an earthquake and everyone stilled.
Rocks fell from above and Oliver looked up just as a hulking figure dropped into the space between the soldiers and his friends. It towered above them as it stood up on its back legs and bellowed.
Oliver rolled backwards away from the terrifying creature as it fell onto all fours, causing the ground to shudder. Its huge mouth opened in an ear-popping roar, showing row upon row of small, sharp teeth.
Its colossal, grey body raised up and towered over them, its beady black eyes flitting from person to person. It rushed toward Oliver and the soldiers on thick legs the size of tree trunks.
Xen shouted out in fury, abandoning Oliver as he slashed upwards at the beast with his sword. Oliver could do nothing but duck his head and roll aside. He struggled up onto his knees just as the beast stepped over him and smashed a fist into one of the soldiers. The man cried out as he was crushed beneath it.
In the groll's other hand was a scrivenstone which it swung around threateningly. The stone barely grazed a soldier but the damage it did was unthinkable.
Rogan threw up a shield and sprinted toward Oliver, dragging him to his feet.
"THIS WAY!" Hector roared and they all charged after him, fleeing from the chaos.
Oliver glanced back to see Xen swinging his blazing sword through the air, lopping one of the groll's legs off. Oliver felt a pang of sadness for the creature as it crumpled to the ground.
"INTO THE CAVES!" Hector shouted back to them.
The ground dropped down steeply towards an enormous cave the size of a sky scraper, slitting up through the mountain at an angle.
They didn't hesitate as they ran inside, darkness swallowing them.
"MAGES. LIGHT!" Marley's voice echoed back to them, any previous hesitation about magic seemingly dissolved by their desperate situation.
Two light balls flew up into the air, hovering above them.
"This way!" Hector called, his booming voice becoming distant.
Oliver barged Rogan with his shoulder and waved his bound hands at him, making a strained noise through the gag. Rogan sliced the rope with a flash of light and Oliver shook off the strands, flexing his fingers to encourage blood back into them. He pulled the dirty cloth from his mouth and chucked it to the floor as he ran, spitting the taste from his mouth.
Up ahead, Rogan squeezed through a tiny gap in the wall and Oliver followed. The gap continued so he had to force himself sideways through the narrow passage. The walls pressed in on either side of him, crushing his ribs. He held his breath to get through the last part of the tunnel and gasped as he fell into a large cavern.
"Keep going," Hector urged them.
"Wait! I can seal this passage," Rogan panted as he healed himself from exhaustion then turned his attention back the way they had come.
They waited for Rogan to block the passage then continued following Hector in silence, their footsteps echoing around the room.
They passed through several more chambers then Hector slowed and turned back to them. "Okay. Take a rest," he said.
