“So that’s the wrap-up of everything,” Caleb said, taking a bite of pizza.
He, Chelsea, Addie, Lorelei, Will, and Gwen were seated together at their favorite place in Grimoire: Murphy’s, the city’s most famed pizza place. Once Caleb and Addie had returned from Alexandra’s mansion, they’d found the other four eagerly awaiting their return, and Caleb had called them together to talk over everything.
“And ultimately, you’re saying…” Lorelei started, eyeing Caleb meaningfully.
“Oh, right.” Caleb laughed. “I’m saying I want you guys to come with us. All six of us, together for the long haul. You game?”
“Of course,” Lorelei said.
“You know we’re in,” Chelsea said, bumping her fist against Addie’s, who giggled.
Will nodded, and Gwen as well, who added, “Yes. I was hoping you’d ask.”
“Great,” Caleb said, grinning. “So, we have two choices from my list —” he brandished the list in question, then slapped it down in the middle of the table where all could see, “to start off at, but I’m really leaning towards one over the other.”
“So you’ve already done Clockworks and the Woven Nest,” Chelsea said. “The other places from your vision during your Trial — you’ve figured them all out.”
“Yeah, there was just one that Mister Midnight didn’t know,” Caleb said, tapping the bottom name on the list, “Morispé Vale. It’s a field of red flowers, with tons of swords stuck blade-first in the ground. I don’t know much about it — even Maxwell didn’t, and he’s the one who knew the most and helped fill in the gaps here. And he and Shias worked together to figure out the best routes between Locations.”
“So the ones you’re looking at to start are the Timespan and the Sea of Tranquility,” Lorelei said.
“I’ve at least heard of the Sea of Tranquility,” Gwen said. “I’ve never been there, but it’s interesting that you say your vision of it showed a silver door. I’ve heard that the Sea of Tranquility is a place where people go to for solace, for comfort. But… I’ve never heard of there being anything there, let alone a door.”
“Yeah, Maxwell thought that was odd, too,” Caleb said.
Will held up his phone, displaying a message: “It’s probably trying to show you something. That’s what all of these places are for you.”
“Revealing new insight about your Time Magic,” Chelsea said. “Because you can’t just go along with the normal kind of Time Magic.” She sighed in a teasingly dramatic way.
“The Timespan sounds the most intriguing, I think,” Lorelei said. “And looking at your potential routes to each Location, the Timespan seems the most efficient starting point.”
“I was leaning towards it,” Caleb said, finishing off the last slice on his plate and grabbing two more.
“A bridge passing through a waterfall…” Gwen murmured. “But no clues of what lies beyond the falls?”
“Mister Midnight knows,” Caleb said with a sigh. “And he just said ‘you’ll have to see for yourself, kid’.”
“He’s a punk,” Addie said, but smiling as if that was a good thing.
They talked over the logistics a bit longer, interspersed with just cozy, happy chatter while they ate pizza and drank soda. The sky outside hadn’t changed. Grimoire was darker every day — and what daylight they got, clouded and grey as it was, lasted for shorter and shorter intervals. And yet here in Murphy’s, little had changed. It was still packed at the lunch hour, still a place full of friendly chatter. And it smelled amazing. But that was no surprise for a pizza place.
Their waitress, Shelby, came by. She looked a bit nervous, with her hands clasped in front of her, gaze slightly downcast. She fidgeted for a moment in front of their table, then placed her hands on the table, leaning forward slightly. “Thank you so much!” she said.
“You’re… welcome,” Caleb said, though he had no idea what for.
“I just…” Shelby stepped back, realizing she hadn’t explained herself. “All of us, all of us, um… non-mages. We never had any clue. About magic, about monsters, about how you protect us every night from all the dangers. It’s been a real shock finding it all out. And it was scary, at first. But then I realized… our favorite customers have always been fighting on our behalf. On everyone’s behalf.” She smiled. “So, thank you. Dwayne actually wanted me to tell you a message, too.”
“Dwayne?” Gwen asked.
“The owner,” Caleb said.
“He said, ‘Those kids deserve free pizza for life! But I know they’ll always insist on paying anyway, so… just tell ‘em: Thanks.’” Shelby laughed. “So, thanks. From all of us. Oh, and, um…” She timidly placed the check on the table.
“He’s right,” Caleb said with a smile. “We’d appreciate the gesture, but we’ll always pay for our meals. The best pizza in the world deserves it.”
“And I’ll take tha—” Chelsea started, leaning past Caleb and reaching for the check. But she stopped, staring in surprise and a bit of frustration when Gwen plucked it away.
“I’ve been working as a Hunter,” Gwen said with a smirk. “I have money now, so let me pay. You’ve treated me so many times, after all.”
“She’s got a point,” Caleb said, earning a glare from Chelsea. But no one moved to stop Gwen, and she paid their bill with a generous tip. Shelby thanked them several times again and then left, while the six remained to talk a while longer.
“Before we set out,” Gwen said, “I made something for all of us. Perhaps it was a bit presumptuous of me, but I’d hoped the six of us would be together going forward.” Her golden eyes flashed, and six boxes materialized, each landing in a person’s lap, including Gwen’s.
No, not boxes, Caleb realized — suitcases.
They had a dark red lacquer and gold accents that shone in the light. Addie’s was smaller than the others, but she didn’t seem to care. She gazed up at Caleb with expectant, hopeful eyes.
“Let’s check ‘em out,” Caleb said. All six opened theirs at the same time, Gwen watching all of them excitedly.
Caleb and Chelsea both gasped softly. Then they smiled.
“This is perfect,” Caleb said.
“Thank you, Gwen,” Chelsea said.
“You’re most welcome,” Gwen said. “I’m glad you like them.”
——
Delilah sat aboard Solla, palms pressed against the great White Whale’s skin, feeling her song as she listened to it. And she often sang back, just some light humming here and there. She was getting used to communicating with Solla — and Lunos, who flew alongside them, his heart intertwined with Solla’s — through song. Solla and Lunos could hear her thoughts, could perfectly understand thoughts and spoken word, but song…
It held a special place for them.
And, if Delilah was being honest, it held a special place for her, too. Great Feline Adventures wasn’t just the most amazing, beautiful, inspiring, heartfelt, perfect animated series ever created. It was also a musical. Not every episode featured songs, but most did, and much of the storytelling throughout the series was told through song.
So Delilah had grown up singing, and understanding music as a vehicle for storytelling, not just an element in and of itself.
And recently, it had taken on a whole new, deeper layer of importance for her.
Revue Palace. She had fought to save it with her friends through song, and she’d been thrust into the starring role, forced to step into the spotlight and sing with the highest stakes any song had ever carried. And now, Revue Palace was her home. Her charge. Her responsibility. Not so much as a Daylight Bastion — though she recognized the importance of it as a Bastion — but for its regular function.
As a theater.
She constantly daydreamed about what Revue Palace would be like once fully cleaned and restored, with regular guests, shows all day every day…
How perfect will that be?
Funny enough, at the moment, Delilah was the only one of her group awake. They’d been traveling without much rest for a very long time, and so, now used to the amount of travel time from one Bell Tower to the next, Marcus had taken the initiative to suggest sleeping on the way to the Third Bell Tower. He’d laid down and fallen asleep quite quickly. Isabelle soon followed, using Teddy as a pillow, and Maribelle slept beside her.
Alice had sat up with Delilah at first, but after a while had, without a word, drifted off to sleep. She was curled up next to Delilah, eyes closed, breaths coming slow and steady.
I’ve never seen her look so peaceful. She’s usually so uptight, despite how casual she acts. Always alert, always cautious.
I’m glad she can finally sleep.
She mumbled softly — far too softly for Delilah to make out — now and then, which always made Delilah giggle, and try her best to do so as softly as possible. She was on a bit of a sleep-mumble streak right now.
But Delilah’s quiet laughter came to an abrupt end.
“Dark Eater.” Alice sat up with a start, speaking those two words in a flat, hollow voice so unlike Alice. She stared straight ahead, at no one, with black eyes for several long moments.
Her eyes flickered to white, and she looked at Delilah. She blinked twice, then rubbed at her eyes and shook her head. “Geez, did I drift off?” she asked in her usual voice. She let out a long, exaggerated sigh, then lightly, in a playful way, punched Solla. “It’s your fault for being all warm and fluffy and stuff.”
“What was that?” Delilah asked.
“What was what?” Alice asked. She cocked her head to the side, staring curiously.
“You said…” Delilah started.
“Dark Eater,” Alice said. She looked away, her eyes flickering to black, then back to white. “Dunno. It just… was in my head.” She rubbed her eyes again, then stood, stretching and yawning. “Must’ve been dreaming. I never remember anything about ‘em, though. Dreams, you know? They never stay with me.”
“Right,” Delilah said. She faced forward, taking in Solla and Lunos’ song. There was a faint tremor there, but it passed quickly. Alice didn’t seem to have noticed.
But Solla and Lunos knew that term. “Dark Eater.” Somewhere in their memory, those two words stirred up something.
Something that frightened them.
——
The Timespan. A long, metallic bridge that passed through a waterfall. The sound of the falls echoed quite a lot in this vast, underground cavern, and mixed with those echoes were the sounds of dripping water from all sorts of stalactites, and beneath all of that, constant and unyielding…
Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.
The bridge wasn’t just a metallic span across a wide chasm. It was embedded with gears, flywheels, pistons, and more, all working to operate a wide array of clocks built into the bridge. It was a wide, marvelous bridge, so the six could cross side-by-side with ease.
And all six wore matching hooded jackets, courtesy of Gwen.
Each was customized for their intended wearer. Caleb’s was blue, while Chelsea’s was green and bolero style, matching the old jacket Gwen had made for her in many ways. Lorelei’s was long and grey, very much “Lorelei-style,” while Will’s was white with long sleeves that, if he stood with arms relaxed at his side, only showed the tips of his fingers. Gwen stuck to her usual red-and-gold style, while Addie’s had both blue and green that matched her eyes, both pink and white to match her hair, elegantly blended and accented in such a way that the colors went together with a beautiful harmony.
The two unifying elements for the six of them were the hoods, and an insignia stitched on the back: a silver crescent moon, surrounded by six white four-pointed stars.
Addie was having so much fun with her hood. She’d buttoned her jacket up to the collar and pulled her hood up and forward, giggling as she hid her face with it.
“These really are fantastic,” Lorelei said, holding out her arms and looking over herself. “Thank you so much, Gwen.”
“I’m so glad they turned out as well as I hoped,” Gwen said with a smile. “It’s my first attempt at a ‘uniform’ of sorts.”
Will held up his phone: “A team needs matching uniforms, after all.”
Gwen nodded. “That’s what I thought, too.”
“Then let’s go, team!” Addie said, pumping a fist and starting forward. She came to a jerking stop as Chelsea grabbed her by the collar.
“Points for enthusiasm, kiddo,” Chelsea said. “But we’re not letting the smallest, most vulnerable team member lead the way. Come on. Mascots need to stay off of the front lines.”
“I’m a mascot?” Addie asked, with the brightest eyes and biggest smile.
Chelsea looked taken aback, then burst out laughing, knocking off the girl’s hood and ruffling her hair. “Sure are, kiddo.”
“Ready to go?” Caleb asked. Nods and words of assent went around, and he led the way. Chelsea walked beside him, slipping her hand into his.
The waterfall grew louder as they approached, while the tick, tock, tick, tock continued as usual. Caleb could feel the vibration beneath his feet of machinery at work.
“We’re gonna get soaked!” Addie said as they neared the falls. The Timespan did bridge the chasm and go through the falls, but there was no canopy or covering to block water from drenching those crossing.
Gwen smiled, pulling up her hood. “Watch this!” She raced forward, charging straight through the waterfall. After a moment, they heard her voice. “Come on, then! What are you waiting for?”
“Guess they block out water,” Chelsea said with a shrug. She let go of Caleb’s hand to grab Addie’s. “Ready to try?”
“Yes!” Addie said. Her hood was already up. She loved having it up. Together, the pair raced forward, and Lorelei quickly followed them. Caleb looked aside at Will, who adjusted his glasses and smiled slightly. With a nod, the boys raced ahead, hoods up, the last through the water. Caleb came out the other side amazed.
“Not a drop on me!” he said, pulling back his hood and looking over himself. “It’s not like the rest of my clothes are waterproof, and my hands were exposed the whole time…”
“There’s this really wonderful thing called ‘magic,’ dear,” Chelsea said teasingly.
“Yeah,” Caleb said. “I just… never stop being amazed at what it can do.”
With that, he looked up, past his teammates, to the cavern beyond the falls. The bridge ended just a little bit farther ahead of them, widening into a vast, domed cavern. Carved out of the rock itself, the floor, walls, and ceiling were uneven. Long, gnarled stalactites dripped water into a pool in the center. And all around…
Tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock—
Clocks. Arrayed throughout the cavern were grandfather clocks standing upright, various wall clocks hanging in alcoves, and even wristwatches and pocket watches set out on ledges or hanging from tiny hooks.
There were no branching paths from the cavern. The only way out was back the way they’d come, and there was no way farther in that they could see. This was all there was.
“Any ideas?” Chelsea asked, looking to Caleb.
He stepped ahead of the others, walking slowly, taking it all in. The steady ticking, the sound of the falls that faded away when they came into this cavern, the slow drip, drip, drip of water into the shallow, glassy pool.
But in all of that, there was…
Something else.
He didn’t say a word, not yet. He paused several paces from the pool, staring at it, cocking his head to the side. What was it about it…?
There it was. He heard it, more loudly now, enough that he could notice what it was he’d been hearing. There was a low, rumbling expelling of air. But matching that with the quieter sounds before, and what followed…
Breathing.
Something… big… and possibly dangerous… is in here with us. Breathing.
One of Caleb’s hands went into his pocket, grasping the cool metal of his Talisman. “Who’s there?” he asked in a soft voice.
“The one who is always here,” came a voice in reply. It was clearly the voice of the breathing creature, with a low, rumbling tone that set the ground faintly trembling. “The one you knew was here, you just hadn’t realized it. You are not used to this.”
“Used to what?” Caleb asked.
“Where are you, anyway?” Chelsea asked, a lighter in one hand while her other stretched down to shield Addie.
The mysterious voice chuckled. “Come now, Time Mage.”
Caleb’s eyes widened a fraction. He understood. With an effortless thought, he stepped into Time-state.
The cavern turned blue, rippling and shining with the currents of the River of Time. Sparks of gleaming light shot back and forth between Caleb and his teammates, connecting them.
But before him…
There was the mysterious speaker. Caleb could see him clearly now, a being invisible except to those looking in the right way, looking while in Time-state, but…
His eyes were… still working on believing.
He’d heard stories, of course, from Fae’s friends. He’d met Toryu, too. But… this was different. This was new. The being before him — its scaly bulk coiled around a blue crystal, hooked claws curling around its glittering surface protectively — gazed at Caleb with gleaming, lidless eyes. They narrowed dangerously, and yet also… was there amusement there? It was hard for Caleb to be sure, because he was overcome by the magnitude of his new circumstances. For Caleb stood now, face-to-face…
With a Dragon.