Chapter 22

           “Maybe we should’ve stayed at the creepy castle, because this is off the scary charts,” Claris whispered, the quiet words echoing loudly around the long corridor they were walking through, much louder than anyone would’ve wanted. Everything was the same, just that there was no broken windows and vines.

            Everything was spick and span and cloaked with the violet fog. And there were the eerie ghost sounds, the clang! of metal blades connecting, and a continued hiss. Sssssshhhhhhhh . . . .  “If there are people here, why isn’t anybody stopping us?” Acacia said softly. So far, no guards had gone in their way, and they hadn’t seen, met, or even come close to a shadow or anything else creepy.

            It was like they’d gone back in time to the same enchanted castle, that was still occupied by unknown beings. Maybe the rash decision of going through the teleportal was a mistake. Maybe they shouldn’t have. But staying in the abandoned, hallway-changing castle with no means of escape was worse.

            At least here, if they could find somebody, they could get back to Sunhilde and bombard Siri with questions. “Do you think we should shout for help?” Annice whispered quietly. “I mean, we’re hearing all these sounds. Could be magipeople—or elves here.”

            Or any other species in Dyia. Lifea was on the ‘we should call for help’ side, and Claris looked ready to join. But Acacia thought that stealth was the best, especially since they had no idea what was waiting for them. Annice agreed. Bloome backed both girls up—though that was mostly because he kept staring at Acacia.

            A few minutes later, Annice and Lifea were practically yelling at each other, the others restraining their tails/arms/legs and trying to get them quiet. Their shouting match became fiercer and fiercer, until loud hissing from the hallway ahead silenced them.

            A shadow slid into view, grinning it’s foul mouth at them. “Run,” Claris whispered. Acacia grabbed Lifea and Claris’s hands pulling them with her as they sped down the hall. “It’s gaining on us!” Annice shouted.

            Sure enough, the shadow was nearly matching Acacia’s speed. “Do you think you can transport us away?” Lifea shouted. Acacia hadn’t thought of that—which proved how resourceful Lifea could be—but in their previous castle experience, she couldn’t. But if there were signs of life here, maybe she could . . .

            “Get ready! Brace yourselves!” Acacia warned her friends as they formed a man-chain, and Acacia leapt into the air. When she landed, the first thing she noticed was that the floor was stone, they were no longer being pursued by a creepy shadow. Yet as she looked up, what she saw was terrifying.

            They were in a tall and wide hallway, and worse, on a simple metal throne sat a shadow. The black hood, and cloak was unmistakeable. However, this shadow had two pale white hands set on the armrests, and the same shade of pale skin for her face. Her eyes were unseen, and the bloody red lipstick and nail-polish stood out.

            Her cloak was the most interesting thing. The cloak started out as black where it covered her body, but as it reached down the steps elevating the throne, the black colour faded and faded—and the end of the cloak was nowhere to be seen, since the black had already faded into invisible wisps.

            “The Shadowness,” Lifea realised, pointing at the horrifyingly familiar Scaler—Gullen—seated on a stone podium beside the shadow. The queen raised an eerily pale hand, and Gullen swooped down in front of her, tongue tasting the air.

            Everyone stepped back.

            Then the Shadowness spoke. Her voice rang around the room, but it seemed like she was also speaking inside their minds. Acacia had no doubt that all the legends of a terrible, evil, wicked shadow queen were true. Why had she transported here?!

            “You . . . come . . . at your own peril,” she breathed. “No one . . . has ever returned from my palace . . . alive!” Claris gulped so loudly it echoed around the room. For a while, they just stood there, eyeing each other with triumph, (Gullen) and fear (others) before the commander Scaler attacked.

            Gullen lunged for Annice, who stood in the middle of their man-chain. She ducked and rolled, her tail whipping up to pierce Gullen’s eye. Acacia released her friends’ hands, and everyone scattered. Claris sent a soundwave to Gullen, who was thrown backwards against the wall.

            Lifea called on vines, which draped across the room, grabbing for Gullen. Roaring, Gullen swiped a huge talon at the vines, tearing them off. Bloome surrounded the beast with golden orbs, and the Scaler took the bait, snapping at them. With a swish, Acacia threw her arms forward, and an enormous wave flew over her head and crashed down on Gullen.

            “Is he dead?” Annice readied her tail—and just in time. Gullen emerged from the water, spreading his wings and diving for Acacia. Acacia screamed, frozen on the spot. She was going to die. All her brain could think of was panic, panic, panic!

            Annice jumped up and spun in mid-air, impaling her scorpion tail in Gullen’s eye. The Scaler screeched, trying to beat Annice off with his claws. “She’s stuck!” Bloome yelled from the other side of the room. Lifea called on more vines, striking the Scaler from the other side, and at the same time, Acacia smashed a wave against Gullen.

            Everything was chaos. Vines were flying everywhere and water was flooding the room and Gullen was staggering around in confusion and pain and sending off wave after wave of violet fog and Acacia’s heart was beating in her ears and drowning out all sound and the Shadowness was hissing and everyone was screaming and yelling and someone shouted, “STOOP!”

            The world went blissfully silent.

            Time was frozen. Bloome had been stopped mid-leap, and Lifea and Claris were in the middle of casting another desperate attack. Annice was trying to pull her tail out—and Acacia realised she was stuck too. Even the Shadowness and Gullen. Only Claris was free. Claris climbed onto Gullen, and tugged Annice’s tail out.

            Then she started time again. After the quiet of the freezing of time, the roaring and thrashing were like sonic booms. Annice dropped out of Gullen’s eye easily, and she scampered on all fours to Acacia. Claris had slid off Gullen, and was staying behind Lifea, looking exhausted. The time-stopping must’ve drained her.

            A golden orb encased Gullen’s face, and he stopped slamming on Lifea’s vines, instead pawing helplessly at the orb. Lifea wrapped Gullen with layers of vines, and Acacia slammed Gullen with water on last time. Annice finished it off, stabbing the Scaler in the chest.

            Black and purple blood squirted everywhere, and Gullen stopped moving. Acacia stared at the Scaler, meeting Bloome, Lifea, Annice and Claris’s eyes as they each sent a grim look back at her.

            The commander of the Shadowness’s Scalers was dead.