Bad Apple (The Warner Grimoire) (29 page)

Nothing happened.

“Am I holding it right?” Simon gripped the staff tightly. “Do I need to hold--”

The crystal suddenly flashed orange.

Simon jumped. Luke looked at the sky. “Well, look at that. Right at sunset.”

Light flowed from the crystal, coalescing into a wild ribbon of pulsating orange light. It ran over the ground, zipping over the spot where Grisly slept. It raced over the bear, pulsing as it flowed across the ground, into the woods.

“It’s following a ley line,” Penny said. “That’s...really strange.”

Simon lowered the stick. The light flickered and died. “Keep your hands up,” Luke barked. “Just give it to me. You don’t know what you’re doing.”

“You’re not getting this,” Simon said. “I’ll hold it, and we’ll all follow it, or you can leave now. Your choice.”

Luke grumbled. “Fine,” he said. “Lead the way.”

“Wait!” Penny said. “We don’t know where this goes. It could be a trap.”

“Might be,” Simon said, trying to contain his excitement. This was the path to Boeman. “Right now, I don’t think it matters. C’mon.” He raised his arms again, and the light pulsed into the trees, cutting a path along the forest floor. Maggey flew overhead, flitting through the branches as they followed the stream of light. It moved straight along the ground, leaving a faint trail that quickly faded. They broke into a run, shoving aside the low-hanging branches and jumping over the fallen trees that blocked their way. Simon’s heart began to pound. “Hurry!” he shouted, racing ahead to keep up with the ribbon. Branches smacked into his face as he sprinted, but he did not dare lower his arms. “We can’t lose it! Keep up!”

Maggey zipped overhead, keeping pace with the ribbon. Her glow began to grow stronger as the sun slipped steadily below the horizon. Day was almost over, and to Simon’s horror the ribbon was already losing its luster, dying out fast as night fell.

“Come on!” Luke and Penny hurried behind him. The ribbon raced as quickly as ever, never slowing even as it faded from a bright yellow to a burning crimson. If they lost the ribbon he would have no idea where to go, and they had run so deep into the woods, it would be too dark to find their way back to the path. His arms and legs ached. “It’s fading!” he shouted, taking another branch to the face and almost tumbling down a small embankment that gave way to a steep hill. The light broke through the trees and dropped down a hill. Simon tumbled after the dying ribbon, now an ebbing yellowish flutter. He slid down the hill, bouncing off the ground, then suddenly he found it becoming very soft and sandy. The ribbon, in one last burst, shot forward several feet, only to stop suddenly, then fade without hesitation into a bank of mist.

Simon locked his eyes on the spot, determined to reach it before the night completely swallowed him. He pumped his legs harder and raced along the sandy ground until he was unexpectedly splashing into very cold water. He tripped and plunged into it face-first. He panicked and scrambled back, coughing and choking as memories of his drowning flooded over him. Simon plopped on the ground, shaking and shivering, momentarily defeated. The mist slowly receded, revealing the shore of an unexpected lake. Small glowing blue orbs floated idly around him, and he rubbed his arms for warmth. The lake stretched out forever in front of him. The ribbon had dissolved right over the middle of the water, completely beyond Simon’s reach. The crystal and the rod were nowhere to be seen.

Luke and Penny caught up with him as he sat by the shore of the lake. “What are we waiting for?” Luke said. “Where’d sparky go?”

“Over the water,” Simon said bitterly. “It died over the middle.”

“Well, what are we waiting for?” Luke was already kicking off his shoes and stripping off his hooded sweatshirt. “It ain’t getting any lighter out here, even with these will o’ the wisps.” He waded into the water without hesitation, swatting aside a group of the blue orbs. “What are you waiting for? Hurry up!”

Penny placed her hand on Simon’s shoulder. “Are you okay?”

Memories of the spillway filled Simon’s mind. Falling, the undertow, the way he had been pulled down so suddenly. Then kicking, thrashing, then Sam pulling him up and breathing life back into him. It was the last time they had gone to the spillway. Simon had not been back in the water since. “I’m not a very good swimmer,” he said, still rubbing his arms. “Had some bad luck in the water.”

“Guess that means you’re staying behind,” Luke said. “Watch my stuff,” he told Maggey, who bobbed happily around the pile.

Simon watched Maggey for a minute. “You’re really going out there?”

“I was born on the river,” Luke said. “You might be a crawdad, but water ain’t got nothing over me. I can swim like a catfish.”

“Those are bottom feeders,” Penny said to Luke. She looked at Simon. “We’ll figure something out. If the ribbon was leading here, we’ll figure out how to get down there.”

“If?” Simon rubbed his arms. His body was not ready to cooperate. “What do you mean?”

Penny swallowed. “The ribbon only died here. There’s no way to be certain this is where it was going.” She ran her hand along the surface of the water. “It probably was, though. I’m just not completely sure.”

Luke waded further away from shore. “Well, then somebody needs to found out, don’t they? You two can sit here all night. I’m checking it out.”

“Luke, please wait,” Penny said.

“No doing. If there’s something down here, then that’s where I’m going.” He waded out until the water was up to his chest. “Bottom feeder, after all,” he said, his head disappearing below the water.

“Wait,” Simon said. He stood slowly. “I need to go too.” His heart pounded in his chest as he kicked off his shoes and pulled his backpack snuggly shut.

“Are you really sure?” When Simon didn’t answer she kicked off her shoes, too. “I’m coming along then.”

“You don’t need to,” Simon said. He stared at the black water, the glints of early moonlight rippling across the surface. “We don’t know what’s down there.”

“I used to swim with my mom,” she said, walking into the water. “She taught me a few things about being in the water.” She waded further out. “I can keep us warm, at least. Can’t help the wet while we’re down there, but I can help the air a little.”

The moon was already rising into the sky, rippling milk white over the surface of the lake. Simon tightened his backpack again and waded into the water. He went slowly, feeling the cold water wrap around him. He tried to think warm thoughts, but they seemed to bleed out of him, soaking into the black water. The water was up to his knees, then his chest, the icy feeling all around him. His pulse raced, and he shivered in the water next to Penny. His feet still touched the bottom, but the water was already lapping around his neck. He tried not to panic, and largely failed.

“Simon?” Penny’s head bobbed just above the water, her hair already clinging to her.

“Yeah?”

She reached out her hand and found his chest. Warmth flooded into him, the numbness pushed away as her spell took over. “That should help,” she said. “On three, okay?”

Warmth returned to his finger tips. “Okay,” he said meekly. He had never thought he would get back in the water again. “One...” he said, trying to calm his screaming nerves. “Two...” he took a deep breath, the deepest he could, his heart pounding in his ears.

He nodded to Penny, and together they dropped below the surface.

* * *

“You’re going to die down here,”
said the Other Voice.

The water stung Simon’s eyes, but he kept them open. Penny was swimming down already, her figure rapidly disappearing into the depths. She moved quickly, quicker than Simon could manage, but slowly he began to follow her, swimming down, hoping that she could see Luke. He swam down until the water began to grow dark around them. His lungs began to hurt, and small, dark shapes moved around him, darting away as he swam deeper into the lake. Terror seeped into him.

Penny’s figure began to grow faint, washed out by the ever-increasing dimness. The darkness closed in around him, and he could not hold back any longer. His heart thudded in his chest and his fingers began to grow cold. The warmth slowly ebbed out of him again, and his chest began to feel heavy. He closed his eyes but could not take a breath. For a moment he considered turning back, kicking towards the surface, pumping his legs until he broke through into the air. His lungs started to burn, and his arms became heavy like lead. Penny’s outline faded into the dark.

He was alone.

He struggled against the impulse to gasp. Dizziness flowed into him, and he lost his bearings. The darkness coiled around him, and suddenly he felt the presence of several dark figures around him...

Some burning-hot thing grabbed his ankle and pulled him down. He gasped involuntarily, and the water flowed into him. The burning in his leg grew, and he was pulled down more, where no moonlight went, only darkness, and no one could hear his panicked yelling.

The depths were claiming him again.

He thrashed wildly as white-hot hands closed around his shoulders. He opened his eyes in shock, the water still stinging, and saw Penny floating in front of him, her eyes shimmery blue. Simon could feel they were sinking, as fast as stones. Her lips were moving, but her words were muffled and garbled. Simon thrashed again as bubbles escaped from both of their mouths.

Something was very wrong. The bubbles did not float away, but instead sank down, staying with them as they sunk further into the lake. Rapidly the bubbles smashed and coalesced into another, until they had grown into one large bubble, big enough for one head, and then two. Penny jammed her head into the bubble and pulled Simon’s head in, and he sputtered and shook while involuntarily drawing in several deep, panicked breaths. The glow from her eyes lit the bubble from inside.

“Simon!” she said, her face very close to his. Her voice sounded funny in the pocket. Even underwater she managed to shake him. “Are you okay?”

They settled on the floor of the lake, their heads bobbing into the bubble. “This won’t last forever,” Penny said. “Catch your breath. We have a minute. Two, tops.”

Simon wiped his eyes, taking several more breaths. “What...” he asked. “What is this?”

“Water magic,” she said. “Pushing together air into a breathing point. Only really good for emergencies, doesn’t last long.” Her eyes were red and puffy. “What happened?”

“I got cold,” Simon said, shivering. “I don’t know what happened.”

“Sorry,” Penny said. She placed her hand on Simon’s chest, and warmth slowly trickled back into him. “I’m still learning.”

“Where’s Luke?”

“I don’t know,” Penny said. “I haven’t seen him.”

“Can we move with the bubble?”

“Not since we settled. It will stay here now until we leave. After that it’ll float to the surface and be gone.”

“Can we make another?”

“All the air is gone from down here. This is it.”

Simon looked up. The water was strange looking. “Okay,” he said, rubbing his eyes. “I just need a minute.”

“Okay,” Penny said apprehensively. “Stay close to me this time. I almost didn’t find you.”

Simon took another deep breath, followed by another. He nodded, then dropped out of the bubble.

They swam along the bottom of the lake, moving as quickly as they could along the bottom as the silt and soil began to slope downwards. Among the weeds and sunken logs that littered the bottom was a large chasm, and a dark shape was moving towards it, kicking quickly into the opening. They exchanged a glance, then paddled furiously, trying to catch up. They closed in on the chasm, then Simon kicked his feet, swimming down against the current.

It was pitch black in the hole, and they sunk quickly once they entered. The undertow seized them, pulling them down sharply, until it was a shock when Simon felt ground come up under him again. Ahead was a light, and the ground turned suddenly, curving upwards. Luke paddled ahead of them, drawing closer to the light, then suddenly he turned upwards and was gone. Simon kicked hard, his heart pounding as he swam upwards towards the light.

To Simon’s great surprise, his head broke through into a cave lit completely by torches. Luke sat a few feet away, curled up for warmth, staring at the ceiling overhead. Not ten feet from the water stood a large, wooden door, covered with symbols and inlaid with numerous silver locks and mechanisms. It was flanked by two torches that burned with green and blue flames.

Penny surfaced a moment later. “What?” she gasped. “What is it?” She saw the door. “Where are we?”

“Don’t see many cave pockets like this all that often,” Luke said. “We’re actually
under
the lake. Can’t imagine what treasure they’re hiding on the other side of this, but I got here first, so whatever it is, it’s all mine.”

Simon pulled himself out of the water. “Treasure?” he asked as he helped Penny out. “Is that all you think about?”

“Not everything,” Luke said, quickly glancing sideways at Penny, who sat shivering behind them.

“You should have stayed with us,” she said.

“Someone had to find this,” Luke said. “You two were busy messing around to get down here. You never would have found this without me.”