and slung in a peaceful corner of the forest, with no threat nearby.
“I think they mostly want to be left alone.”
Images of humans came to her. Humans hunting their own kind throughout the woods.
“I think they want us to promise that humans will leave them alone.”
More images came. Of a crown, then two men, one of whom was Goolrick.
“Oh I see,” Gem said at last. “They want us to promise that if we become ruler, we will make the two tribes leave them alone. Well, I’ll promise.”
“Me too,” said Sparks. Rio hurried to agree, obviously wanting to keep up with the other boy. Jack nodded nervously.
“Will they go away if I promise?” Kat asked. Gem nodded. “Then I promise.”
It was like most of the creatures simply melted away, taking their shadows with them. By the time Goolrick’s men started to pick themselves up, only the Shadow King was left. He only stayed long enough for more images to flash through Gem’s mind. The dragon. A map. An old catacomb. The shuffling dead.
“You know it was going to take days to reach the dragon?” Gem said. The others nodded. “Well, there’s good news and bad news. The good news is that I think we’ve just been shown a short cut.”
“And the bad news?” Goolrick asked, brushing off his robes.
“There might be one or two zombies in the way.”
Sparks followed closely behind Gem. He didn’t know how she’d understood the shadow creatures, but if she knew a way of getting to the dragon quickly, he was willing to trust her…
Kat shuddered as she walked, picking at bits of shadow. Trust there to be something she was actually afraid of around…
Jack was busy looking at the rocks they passed. They were looking less like just rocks, and increasingly hand worked, the further they went. The style looked even older than Anachronia’s medieval feel, and he wondered what would be waiting for them…
Rio kept looking over his shoulder. He didn’t trust that the shadows wouldn’t come back. So far though, all he’d seen was the wizard, smiling to himself as he walked…
Goolrick couldn’t believe how well things were working out. Gem had responded perfectly to the extra charm he had placed on the ring, the one that meant she couldn’t resist any desires of his she saw. Though it would have been nice to think, Goolrick admitted to himself, that there was some part of her that had really wanted to kiss him…
Chapter 11
T he way up the mountain was hard, but then what did Gem expect from a secret entrance? If it were easy to get to, everyone would know about it. As it was, it didn’t look like anyone had been this way in years, if not centuries. While the path had clearly been cut by human hands, fallen stones and worn away sections made the climb almost as hard in places as if it had been over rough rock.
There were statues here and there among the rocks. Jack seemed fascinated by them, stopping at each one until one of the others tugged him back into motion.
“What is it about them, Jack?” Gem asked after a while.
“W-well,” Jack began, and Gem winced. She had been hoping that his nervousness around her would abate given time, but there was still no sign of it, “all of these seem so old, and the style of dress is different. It’s more old-fashioned. These statues were built a long time ago.”
“Maybe we’ll see more further on,” Gem prompted. She didn’t really mind Jack’s wanderings away from the main point, but at the moment any digression was going to cost them time. Thankfully, her words were enough to get him moving again.
They didn’t have to go far before they ran into something that caught Jack’s interest again, but to be fair, the great entranceway before them had everyone there staring up at it. The intricate carving of the marble pillars and stone doors made even Anachronia’s castle look prosaic by comparison, and that was far from ordinary.
“Assuming what I saw is
“I think they mostly want to be left alone.”
Images of humans came to her. Humans hunting their own kind throughout the woods.
“I think they want us to promise that humans will leave them alone.”
More images came. Of a crown, then two men, one of whom was Goolrick.
“Oh I see,” Gem said at last. “They want us to promise that if we become ruler, we will make the two tribes leave them alone. Well, I’ll promise.”
“Me too,” said Sparks. Rio hurried to agree, obviously wanting to keep up with the other boy. Jack nodded nervously.
“Will they go away if I promise?” Kat asked. Gem nodded. “Then I promise.”
It was like most of the creatures simply melted away, taking their shadows with them. By the time Goolrick’s men started to pick themselves up, only the Shadow King was left. He only stayed long enough for more images to flash through Gem’s mind. The dragon. A map. An old catacomb. The shuffling dead.
“You know it was going to take days to reach the dragon?” Gem said. The others nodded. “Well, there’s good news and bad news. The good news is that I think we’ve just been shown a short cut.”
“And the bad news?” Goolrick asked, brushing off his robes.
“There might be one or two zombies in the way.”
Sparks followed closely behind Gem. He didn’t know how she’d understood the shadow creatures, but if she knew a way of getting to the dragon quickly, he was willing to trust her…
Kat shuddered as she walked, picking at bits of shadow. Trust there to be something she was actually afraid of around…
Jack was busy looking at the rocks they passed. They were looking less like just rocks, and increasingly hand worked, the further they went. The style looked even older than Anachronia’s medieval feel, and he wondered what would be waiting for them…
Rio kept looking over his shoulder. He didn’t trust that the shadows wouldn’t come back. So far though, all he’d seen was the wizard, smiling to himself as he walked…
Goolrick couldn’t believe how well things were working out. Gem had responded perfectly to the extra charm he had placed on the ring, the one that meant she couldn’t resist any desires of his she saw. Though it would have been nice to think, Goolrick admitted to himself, that there was some part of her that had really wanted to kiss him…
Chapter 11
T he way up the mountain was hard, but then what did Gem expect from a secret entrance? If it were easy to get to, everyone would know about it. As it was, it didn’t look like anyone had been this way in years, if not centuries. While the path had clearly been cut by human hands, fallen stones and worn away sections made the climb almost as hard in places as if it had been over rough rock.
There were statues here and there among the rocks. Jack seemed fascinated by them, stopping at each one until one of the others tugged him back into motion.
“What is it about them, Jack?” Gem asked after a while.
“W-well,” Jack began, and Gem winced. She had been hoping that his nervousness around her would abate given time, but there was still no sign of it, “all of these seem so old, and the style of dress is different. It’s more old-fashioned. These statues were built a long time ago.”
“Maybe we’ll see more further on,” Gem prompted. She didn’t really mind Jack’s wanderings away from the main point, but at the moment any digression was going to cost them time. Thankfully, her words were enough to get him moving again.
They didn’t have to go far before they ran into something that caught Jack’s interest again, but to be fair, the great entranceway before them had everyone there staring up at it. The intricate carving of the marble pillars and stone doors made even Anachronia’s castle look prosaic by comparison, and that was far from ordinary.
“Assuming what I saw is
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