Creeping Shadow (The Rise of Isaac, Book One) (17 page)

Delphine reappeared and Oliver took a calming breath.

"So, where are you headed? You must want to race for a reason?" Delphine asked as she returned to her seat.

"We're going to Brinatin to see someone Ely knows," Oliver said.

"Ah, and who might that be?" she asked, drumming her long fingernails on the tablecloth.

He decided it was best to stay vague. "I'm not sure, we're just going along for the trip really."

"But it's urgent enough for you to enter the race a few weeks before it begins? When you are clearly unprepared?" Delphine questioned lightly but her voice held a confidence in it that set Oliver on edge.

"Well, he can't travel if we don't have keys and he can't leave us on our own at the manor," May tried to cover for them.

"He could have left you in someone's care," Delphine said, running a fingernail around in circles on the cloth.

Larkin listened eagerly, making Oliver even more uncomfortable.

"He didn't want to abandon us so soon after mum went missing," Oliver said, holding her gaze.

"Of course," Delphine said.

They ate quietly for a while longer until the silence became awkward.

"How are you coping with everything after your mother's disappearance?" Delphine asked, looking at them as if they were abandoned puppies.

"It must be difficult hearing such complicated things about your family," Larkin jibed. Delphine threw him an angry glance.

"We're coping just fine," Oliver said, looking to his sister.

She nodded, smiling brightly.

"Of course, you've only been given one side of the story. I can hardly bear to imagine the terrible things that you've been told about your father and Isaac Rimori. It's not all true you know. You should really be given the chance to make up your own mind," Delphine said, clearly trying to tempt them in.

Larkin narrowed his eyes at her curiously.

"I think knowing Rimori murdered my father is enough evidence for me that he wasn't a great person and it sounds like my father supported most of his ideas along the way," Oliver said firmly, determined not to be rattled.

"And your mother of course," Delphine said presumptuously.

"I know she was friends with them, yes, and Eugene," Oliver said. "She loved my father."

"She loved him, yes, but she was as much of an anti-Gateway rebel as they were," Delphine said dramatically.

"What's your point?" May asked coolly.

"My point is that she was onboard with all of their ideas,
including
entering Vale. They would have done anything to achieve it," Delphine said, her nails raking across the tablecloth.

"She wouldn't murder someone," Oliver stated.

"She might understand why they would though, might go to the man who did, the man who fulfilled the plans they had all so carefully forged together." Delphine's eyes lit with excitement.

"Mum, what are you talking about?" Larkin asked.

"I think Alison went to Rimori. My girl, she was brave like that, she wouldn't have feared going to him," Delphine said wildly. "You're going to meet them, aren't you?"

Oliver was stunned into silence.

"
Aren't you
?" she demanded, slamming her fist down onto the table.

Oliver got to his feet, his blood boiling. "My mum would
never
be friends with a murderer, let alone one who killed her husband," he snapped.

Larkin's eyes flew back and forth between his mother and Oliver.

May got up. "Thank you for lunch but I think I just lost my appetite." She threw her fork to the table and it clattered down on her plate.

"There's no need to overreact. This is a good thing. We can all go together," Delphine said, her voice returning to silk.

"No thanks," Oliver said and turned his back on her. May followed him to the door and he glanced back before leaving. "She'd be ashamed to call you her mother. I can see why she cut you out of her life." Oliver knew it was harsh but he didn't care. He slid the door sideways, stormed out of the room and marched down the corridor.

He was furious. His heart pounded against his chest as he stormed past the swimming pool in a rage.

"Who does she think she is?" Oliver blurted as May hurried to keep up. "As if Mum would ever go anywhere near that creep."

"I
knew
there was something off about that woman," May said and Oliver could hear the anger in her voice.

He huffed loudly, not paying attention to where his feet were taking him as they barrelled through the dining car.

"My dad was murdered by him for God's sake. What about
that
would Mum want any part in? I doubt either of them knew what Rimori was capable of," he snapped, turning back to look at May.

He stumbled as he collided with someone and a crash of plates smashed to the floor. Oliver spun around to see what he had done.

Anna was standing there covered in sauce, the plates scattered around her feet. Her arms were raised as if she were still holding them.

Oliver's mouth opened and shut like a fish out of water for a few seconds before he found his voice. "I'm so sorry."

Her mouth hung open for a second then she started laughing. "You clumsy idiot," she said, kneeling down to pick up the pieces.

May rushed to help.

"No don't. Let me do it," Oliver said, immediately impaling his hand on a sharp piece of china.

"What's going on here?" It was Ely's voice.

Oliver looked up at him guiltily and Laura appeared next to him grinning. "I knocked the plates," he said, gesturing to the floor pathetically.

"Get up," Ely said tutting.

They stood aside and Ely raised his hands. The glow from them spread across the floor and the plates pieced themselves back together. The food collected into a swirling ball which he sent careening into a bin. He finished and the people around the room applauded.

"A mage. An actual mage, Mummy," squealed a little girl nearby.

"Come with me," Ely said, steering Oliver and May towards the exit with Laura hurrying along beside them.

"Wait, Anna," Oliver said and turned back to her, his heart suddenly hammering.

"This is Anna?" Ely asked, his bushy eyebrows rising.

Oliver nodded.

"Hi," she said, beaming.

"Can you join us for a minute?" Ely asked, siphoning the sauce from her apron with a flash of light.

Her eyes widened a little at the magic and she nodded. "Erm, sure."

Oliver smiled at her and they followed the others from the room.

"Are you alright?" Anna asked Oliver as they stood in the corridor outside their rooms.

"Yeah, why?" he asked with a frown.

"You're bleeding," Laura said, pointing at his hand.

As soon as he was reminded of the wound it started hurting. "Oh, it's nothing," he said with a shrug, glancing at the thin laceration in his skin.

Ely held his palm out and Oliver lifted his hand to let him heal it.

"Why were you charging through the dining car like a rhino?" Laura asked, suppressing a grin.

"We went to see Delphine," May said, with a look that said
it didn't go well
.

Ely cleared his throat, clearly sounding his irritation.

"Why were
you
there?" Oliver asked.

"Dad and I were getting lunch." Laura smiled.

Ely unlocked his room and they filed inside.

"Anna take a seat, don't be shy," Ely said encouragingly as he settled himself into an armchair. "I'm Ely, Oliver's grandfather. I believe you would like the opportunity to race?"

Oliver sat on the sofa and Anna joined him.

"Well, yes, but I can't afford it right now and I know Oliver suggested you might offer to pay but I really couldn't accept," she said in a rush of words.

"Nonsense. Oliver and May need a team as a matter of urgency and I'd be more than willing to cover the cost of your entry," Ely said.

Oliver grinned at Anna as she glanced at him awkwardly.

"I really couldn't-" she began.

"You would be doing us a great favour," Ely said brightly.

"Really?" Anna said, looking unsure.

"Really," May said, smiling at her from across the room.

Anna gazed around at them for a moment then her face broke into a grin. "Well, I guess I can't refuse. Thank you so much Ely." She stood and reached for his hand.

He gripped it tightly and nodded. "You're very welcome. Perhaps we could meet up with you in Crome?"

"Yeah, of course. I'll be staying at The Ganderfield Hotel," Anna said, getting to her feet.

"Alright. We'll look you up when we get to Crome," Ely said with a smile.

"Great," Anna said brightly. "I'd better get back to work."

Oliver got to his feet and showed her to the door, noticing the soft curls that fell around her shoulders as he walked behind her.

"Thanks again," she called to Ely.

Oliver followed her into the corridor. "So, I guess I'll see you in Crome."

"Yeah," she said, tucking a strand of long, dark hair behind her ear. "Thanks for this, Oliver."

"No problem," he said then remembered her original refusal. "Your mum will let you race, won't she?"

"I'll talk her round," she said, giving him a crooked smile. "See you later." She walked back towards the dining car and Oliver returned to the room.

"I think I'll order some tea," Laura said brightly, moving to the panel beside the door and using it to order room service.

A while later a waiter arrived carrying a tray with the characteristic teapot for Glacian tea atop it. He poured them each a cup before exiting.

May was thumbing through a book in her lap and almost spat out a mouthful as she turned a page. "Is this what Grelda Grey was talking about? The mark of the Arc?"

She held the book up so Oliver could see the page and he realised it was the copy of the Arclite Scriptures that Grelda had given to Ely. An image on the page portrayed a body with dark, bruise-like markings spreading across it.

"I can see why Grelda thought it," Oliver said frankly, taking the book from her to get a closer look. "These are pretty similar to the ones on you."

A caption beneath the drawing read:

The Sign: the mark of the Arc will appear on the body of the sacred. Their death will signal the coming of the embodiment of the Arc.

Ely ripped the book out of Oliver's hands and snapped it shut. "It's nonsense. Utter nonsense."

15

Descendant

O
liver and May sat watching the survision the following morning, their bags packed and waiting at the door.

May flicked the channel to a news station and Oliver sat bolt upright in his seat as he read the words scrolling along the bottom of the screen:

Isaac Rimori sighted in Theald, The Council of Heptus prepare to hold a conference before action is taken
.

A female news reporter sat in the studio between a full-sized hologram of a woman and another of a man.

The reporter addressed the female hologram, "Tara Hanks joins me, as a speaker on behalf of the Gateway Protection Committee and Affal Warrington from the political charity Free Worlds. Tara, we'll start with you, what do you have to say to those who are supporting the ideals of Isaac Rimori?"

The hologram of Tara Hanks responded, "I think it's absolutely outrageous that such a vast number of people are getting behind a man who is a renowned murderer. But, much more importantly than that, those who are against the Gateways simply have no idea of the devastation that would be caused without them-"

"I just
have
to interrupt you madam," the male hologram cut in in a thick accent. "Without the Gateways our worlds could become united and the benefits for the human population would be far greater than they are now. There are people in Glacio and Arideen who are completely deprived of the opportunities that the other worlds provide. It's nonsense to say removing the Gateways would have a detrimental effect."

"So, you support Isaac Rimori do you?" Tara Hanks asked.

"I'm not saying I condone the man's actions but I believe his outlook aligns with my own and he did what he did to prove a point."

"And what was that point, Mr Warrington?" the news reporter asked.

"He was making a statement about the Gateways. That challenge was put on the Gateway to Vale with intention. The challenges themselves limit the type of people who can move from world to world. Who was Dorian Ganderfield to say what type of person can go through the Gateways and what they should have to do to achieve that? Many disabled people aren't able to compete in the Great Race of Aleva now are they?"

"You have picked up on an interesting point there and one which has been highly debated within the Council of Heptus. What do you have to say in response to that Miss Hanks?" the reporter asked.

"I'm not denying there aren't issues that need to be resolved with the Gateways but bringing them down all together is absolutely not an option," Tara said. "What you are doing, Mr Warrington, is rallying a mob against the Council. That's what this is really about."

"You have no right-" Mr Warrington pointed a finger at her.

"I have every right. I have absolutely every right. You, sir, are supporting a cause which, ultimately, could upset the balance that the Council of Heptus has protected for-"

"No. I won't hear it. I will
not
hear it. Your beloved Council has caused more grief, more poverty, more discrimination than any other governing body across the seven worlds."

"The Gateways protect the worlds from one another. Look what happened to Arideen when Theald attacked them. Their world was completely obliterated," Tara Hanks stated in exasperation. "And who's to say the Council even have the power to bring down the Gateways? No one knows if it's even possible!"

"Oh, the Council have the answer, alright. They have access to Dorian Ganderfield's original works." Mr Warrington struck his finger through the air as he spoke. "Bring the Gateways down so that everyone can walk through the portals unrestricted. Put it to a vote. Give the public the chance to voice their opinions. Then we'll see where we stand," he said.

"And it may come to just that after the eagerly awaited release of a statement from the High Mage, Horatious Thrake, following the conference in the coming weeks. Thank you for your time, now for the weather-" the new reporter's voice stopped as May switched off the survision.

"This is bigger than I thought," Oliver said, feeling overwhelmed.

"Yeah." May chewed her lip. "You don't think Mum's really with Rimori do you?"

Oliver frowned. "I really don't know," he said honestly. "Wherever she is, I'm sure she's fine. You know Mum, she can look after herself."

May looked down, fiddling with a strand of hair. "Yeah, I know," she said quietly.

* * *

That afternoon, the Traverser arrived in Crome. The station had room for five Traverser trains divided from each other by platforms. The towering walls joined a domed ceiling made from jagged, grey boulders.

They moved through the gargantuan room as the crowd swept them towards a vast exit. A guard took their tickets as they exited the station onto a busy street that was flanked by white, stone buildings.

Oliver was grateful for the air that was fresh and cool after queuing amongst the thick throng of people in the train station.

A two-way stream of pod traffic ran along outdoors, unlike the underground network back in Alevale. A complex grid of tracks diverted to either side of the road at intervals to allow pods to change direction or pull over.

Ely paid for a taxi and they waited in line to enter one. The taxi pods were pale blue and the hologram inside was a smart-looking, middle-aged male with grey hair. "Where would you like to go?" he asked as they sat down.

"The Ganderfield Hotel," Ely replied. "We might as well stay where Anna is."

"Are we far from the city?" May asked, staring out of the window excitedly.

"Not too far. The Traversers are too large to go directly into it so we're just on the outskirts," Ely said.

The pod glided forward and seamlessly joined the flow of traffic. On the table were magazines filled with stories about the race. Truvian Gold was on the front of one with a broad smile on his face. He was hanging from a rope, his body dangling in mid-air inside an enormous cave. A caption next to him read:

Heartthrob Truvian Gold explores the Hogtrout Caves, home to the Great Race of Aleva, like no one has before. Turn to page twelve to read more.

"Did you ever compete in the race Laura?" Oliver asked curiously.

She nodded. "I had to for work. I occasionally take business trips to Glacio to visit the ambiculis mines but I rarely go to Brinatin or Theald even though I have the keys."

"Where did you place?" May asked.

"My team came tenth. Only just though, and I was lucky because there were a couple of strong teams disqualified that season for breaking the rules," Laura said.

They rounded a corner and the city of Crome came into view on the horizon. It sat nestled between an enormous mountain and a lake that disappeared into a swirling mist. A high mountain range loomed beyond it far in the distance, its peaks coated with snow. The city looked almost out of place in the rugged landscape.

The buildings were constructed of blue and white stone, rising sharply upwards into spires and points. They were paned with large windows that glinted and winked as they caught the afternoon sun.

Their pod continued amongst the relentless flow of traffic down into the city. The pod network wound between the buildings, up and over bridges and down through dark tunnels. Eventually, they came to a halt outside an old building in a narrow road with black lettering inscribed across a wooden doorway:

The Ganderfield Hotel

They climbed out of the pod and a doorman greeted them with a bow, opening the door to reveal a lobby with a white, marble floor that had pillars rising up out of it. They moved through it, passing by a lounge to the left where a fire crackled in front of a leather suite of furniture.

"Can I help you?" The sharp-featured woman at the desk regarded Ely as if assessing his worth.

"Yes you can." Ely tiptoed and held his open hand under her upturned nose. A crackle of gold light formed a three dimensional symbol comprised of three circles, intersecting to form a sphere. Inside it was a hand, the palm lines on it illuminated by fire.

"
Oh
, how may I help you today, sir?" she asked as she eyed the symbol in his hand with a look of recognition.

"We'd like to book four rooms up until the day of the race," Ely said, extinguishing the magic.

"Of course. I'll book you our finest suites with complimentary breakfasts included. Would you like to pay now?"

"Yes, thank you," Ely said.

"With your mage discount that comes to three thousand Lokens."

"Three
thousand
? I'll pay for my room, Dad," Laura implored.

"Nonsense, it's my treat," Ely said, holding out his thumb and pressing it to a panel embedded in the desk.

"Step forward one at a time and look at this screen," the woman said, gesturing to what appeared to be a mirror beside her.

"What is it?" May asked.

"We use facial recognition technology here to open the rooms and allow guests access to the facilities in the hotel," the receptionist replied. "Your room number will be displayed when the scan is complete."

Oliver stepped forward and looked into the screen. A blue bar of light ran up and down the glass then beeped to signify it was done. The number
503
flashed up
and he stepped away to allow the others access to the device.

"Thank you. If you have any problems please don't hesitate to approach a member of staff. Enjoy your stay at The Ganderfield Hotel," the receptionist said brightly.

As they walked towards the lift, Oliver heard the clerks behind the desk whispering excitedly, "I can't believe it. That's the third mage to check in here this week."

They took a lift to the top floor and stepped out into the corridor, moving towards their rooms.

"I'm gonna take a shower," May said, walking up to her room's door.

Oliver was distracted by a couple at one end of the corridor bickering in muttered words. The girl huffed and disappeared into a room.

Oliver turned back to the door and realised the others had already entered their rooms. He looked at the mirrored door marked
503
expectantly but nothing happened.

He shuffled a little to the left, his puzzled reflection mirrored back at him. He tried the handle but it wouldn't budge then glanced down the corridor and spotted the guy still standing there.

"Hey, err, don't suppose you know how these doors work do you?" Oliver asked him.

He glanced up, clearly stirred from his thoughts. "Oh, sure. I'll show you," he said, walking over.

As he approached, Oliver couldn't help but notice the guy looked as though he had just walked off the set of a film. He was tall, dark haired and tanned with a handsome, chiselled face. His muscles were accentuated by his overly tight t-shirt and even the way he walked suggested he expected people to be watching him.

"You have to stand back a bit further, you're too close," the guy said.

Oliver stepped back and looked at the mirror again. It flashed green and the door clicked as it opened.

"Oh, cheers. Thought I might have to sleep out in the corridor tonight," Oliver joked.

The boy grinned. "Don't sweat it. I'm Rogan." He looked at Oliver expectantly.

"Oliver," he said politely, anxious to get into his room and take a shower.

Rogan frowned as if that hadn't been the response he was expecting. "You don't know who I am do you?"

Oliver shrugged. "Sorry. Should I?"

Rogan shook his head. "No, don't worry," he said, trying to disguise a smile. "How long are you staying at the Ganderfield?"

"'Til the race starts. You?" Oliver asked as the mirror flashed red and he heard the door
click
locked. He cursed internally.

"Same," Rogan said, his eyes flitting to the door then back to Oliver.

"Well, cheers for helping me," Oliver said with a smile that he hoped said
I'm grateful but I want to go now
. He looked at the mirror and it flashed green to signify the door unlocking once more.

"Yeah, cool, no problem," Rogan said, walking down the corridor. He turned and called back, "Hey, do you wanna hang out later?"

Distracted, Oliver collided with the door as it flashed red once again and he huffed in frustration. "Maybe another day, yeah? I'm pretty tired." He ground his teeth as he fought to keep a polite expression on his face.

"Oh, okay, sure," Rogan said, looking disappointed.

Oliver felt a twinge of guilt as he nodded to the guy, waited for the door to flash green and disappeared into his room with a sigh of relief.

* * *

The room was another large apartment, it seemed Ely hadn't skimped on the price. It was decorated in neutral tones of browns and creams and was lit by hanging, glass orbs in every corner.

Oliver unpacked and showered then returned to the lounge. Just as he was about to sit down, a knock sounded at the door and Oliver moved across the apartment to answer it.

"I found you," Anna said, beaming.