Everville: The City of Worms (2 page)

“Well, Sako,” Kearney said, “it makes sense to find out what we’re dealing with while we still have the element of surprise. I’ll journey with you in the morning to Brackenbone to see how much damage has been done and if we can hold off the great decision for a little bit longer.”

Sako said, “Toe, I need you to gather a small contingent of Fron that The Keeper mentioned. We will meet The Keeper in the morning so that he can grant us passage through the portal. It’s the only way to get there in time. Have your men ready by dawn.”

“I’ll let them know right away,” Toe replied.

Kearny extinguished the remaining lamps and closed the massive gates of the Great Fron Hall with the help of the remaining Fron. Just then, the brilliance of the stars grabbed Toe’s attention and forced him to look up. It was impossible not to notice, and the others with him soon looked up as well. As their eyes adjusted to the darkness, more stars revealed themselves. The evil that had infiltrated Everville had muted the beauty of the land prior to the great Fron battle. With the evil abated and the traitors removed, the magnificence of the land and the sky had been restored, at least for the time being.

“It’s great to see our land as it should be, free from the darkness of the other side,” Kearney said.

“It sure is a beautiful night, but the evil is still out there, lurking, and is not far off. We must remain vigilant,” Sako said.

Toe went to the homes of those he had selected to be in his contingent. Each of them made swift preparations, but it was getting late and only a few hours remained before dawn. After notifying the others, Toe returned to his home and sat down on his bed.

As was his ritual every night since his wife Nissa’s abduction to The Other In Between, he picked up an old framed sketch of her, and touched the glass over her penciled image for several moments before he laid it back down and fell asleep.

The morning arrived all too soon, but Toe, the small contingent of Fron, and a few marmooks made it to the entrance leading to The Keeper’s Workshop before dawn. As the first rays of sunlight emerged above the horizon, Sako led the way and they descended through the passageway. They did not travel long to reach The Keeper’s Workshop, and soon thereafter they had arrived.

“There is no time to spare,” The Keeper said.

“You will not be able to use the portal on the way back. Once you find what you are looking for, you will need to travel several days to the Deep Woods before you can return, so you must hurry.”

The Keeper then ushered them through the portal into the center of Brackenbone. Upon their arrival, several hundred Ubaloo greeted them and introduced themselves. The Fron themselves were short, but the Ubaloo, a noble race of creatures who resided in Brackenbone, stood a mere one foot tall, which made the Fron giants among them. Nevertheless, the Ubaloo were strong and brave, and like all of the inhabitants of the eight surrounding lands of Everville, they were good-natured and eager to help.

“This way,” said an Ubaloo. “The point of origin is hidden in the walls of Vermogen. We’re not far. I’m Asher, by the way. This is Faine, and Felix is over there riding the back of Grenmar.”

“All right then, Asher,” Sako replied. “Let’s get moving.”

The Ubaloo led the way, moving with remarkable swiftness, almost like a herd of small animals. The contingent of Fron followed right behind, and the marmooks hopped along between them with facial expressions that were in an almost perpetual state of excitement and glee; their flopping ears accompanied them for the ride.

Chapter 2:

The Wreckage

Back at the university, Owen Sage stepped out of his dorm room and glanced across the debris-strewn campus. He stood there motionless, then gazed somewhere off in the distance. The intense training for the Roundabout had added a few pounds of muscle to his average-looking physique, but his poor posture, untidy appearance, and distraught look made him appear lost and fatigued.

As Owen walked further onto the grass, a pungent odor that had engulfed the courtyard made its presence known and shook him from his daze. The odor had hints of sewage, burnt plastic, and a combination of several other unpleasant smells, but neither the smell nor the sight of the destruction were able to hold Owen’s attention and he became transfixed on the thoughts that had been swirling around in his head since his recent battle and the revelation of Dante’s current plight.

He walked back to his room and sat down on the corner of his bed. It wasn’t until Anika’s arrival that he was able to break free from the mental shackles that had held him hostage all that morning. Even then, Owen found it difficult to focus until they reached Dante’s hospital room later in the day.

A while later, as they stood by the side of Dante’s bed, all Owen could think about was what Dante might be going through and what sort of miracle would be needed in order to save him from his current predicament. Owen had no doubt, however, that Them had been devising a scheme to replenish the losses inflicted by the Fron army and were preparing for an invasion of the surrounding lands of Everville. Regardless of the devious machinations of Them, Owen’s main concern remained finding a solution to keep Dante from suffering the misfortune of remaining comatose the rest of his life, just like the others who had overexerted themselves in the battle against Them across the vast expanse of time and space.

“Owen, we gotta save him. You heard what Cleophas said. None of the others who lost consciousness like this ever came out of it. This is just too much. I mean, why us? Why do we have to do deal with all of this crap in the first place? If Dante doesn’t wake up, I just don’t know how I’m gonna handle it.”

Owen sighed in frustration. He was wearing the same long-sleeve, button-down shirt from the night before, and hadn’t shaved in the last week. A patchy light-brown beard had started to grow on his face, and with all that had been going on over the last couple of months, he hadn’t taken the time to cut his hair, which had now grown to a length that was an unsightly in-between stage.

Owen looked at Anika and said, “There must be a way. I feel like we’re losing time, but I just can’t think straight right now. The best thing that we can do at the moment is just go and get some rest. We’re no use to Dante all tired and scatterbrained. We need to recharge, then meet up with Cleophas and the others when we’re more focused.”

Anika looked down at Dante. Water covered her piercing hazel eyes, and a persistent stream of tears had drenched her white blouse, plastering it to her skin. She looked up and turned to Owen; the quivering in her eyes had been replaced by a focused anger and hatred.

“Those things did this to Dante. I swear I’m going to kill Them. We need to find Them and kill Them!”

“We will stop Them, Anika. I promise you that much.”

Owen felt the same anger and sadness as Anika, but he knew that giving in to his rage would cloud his judgment. Now was not the time, however, to mention it, so he allowed himself a moment to share the pain.

“Anika, after I get some rest I think I should go back to Everville. Maybe The Keeper has some ideas on how to help Dante. I don’t know how much Cleophas or Avery can help, but The Keeper must know a little about what’s going on.”

“You’re probably right. The Keeper’s gotta know something,” Anika said with a determined voice.

Anika and Owen weren’t the only ones struggling with an apparent tragedy. Around the same time, Zee was at home mourning over the loss of his father, Professor Samil.

“I don’t understand this, Drusilla. I mean, what happened? The doctor said it was natural causes, but that just doesn’t seem possible. He’s not that old, at least not old enough to keel over for no apparent reason.”

Zee’s voice trembled as he spoke, and the solitary tear that he had been fighting to hold back finally won out.

“I’m as confused as you are, Zee. It doesn’t make any sense. Maybe we should start by looking around the estate for some clues. He was lying next to that painting when he died. There’s gotta be some kinda connection.”

Zee sat there on the antique handcrafted armchair, motionless and unresponsive for a few moments, then he broke his silence.

“I’m not sure what to think, but maybe it’s all connected. My father always told me that these walls were special, and that everything he did, he did for a reason. He was so protective of his things, the paintings especially. A couple of times I watched him without him noticing that I was there. I could have sworn I saw the painting change, and he—he talked to it, like it was talking back to him or something.”

“Well, Zee, I think we need to inspect the paintings a little closer, and for that matter, anything else that might lead us to the truth. I think the gallery is probably a good place to start. I know you’ve walked this place a thousand times over, but maybe there’s something you missed. Maybe if you think hard enough or look around a bit, you might remember something else.”

Before they had an opportunity to discuss the topic any further, they were interrupted by a knock at the door. Startled, they looked at each other, as if acknowledging with their eyes that they weren’t expecting any company. Zee let out a faint sigh, then he reluctantly stood up and walked to open the door.

Zee opened the door and inspected the man standing in front of him. The gentlemen looked like a professional salesman, balding, clean-shaven, and dressed in an expensive black suit and tie. He was also short and noticeably overweight.

“I’m sorry, dear sir,” the man said as he anxiously made his way to the entrance. “I know you may have wanted to have more of a hand in the settling of your father’s affairs, but I’ve been asked to take care of it.”

“I’m sorry, who are you?” Zee asked, as the man continued to maneuver his way into the estate.

“I think I should get going, Zee.”

“You don’t have to go, Drusilla. Please stay a while longer.”

“All right then,” Drusilla said as she doubled back and sat down by the table.

Zee had turned to answer, which allowed the man the opportunity to walk around him and cross through the entrance.

“Dear, sir,” the gentlemen continued to say as he walked forward, now completely inside the doorway. “My name is Odious, and it’s all been written into the affairs of the estate, which I have been chosen to oversee. You needn’t worry about anything. Everything will be properly handled. You don’t by chance happen to have any tea do you, my dear sir?”

Zee sighed again.

“Let me go get you some,” Drusilla said.

Zee sat back down and slowly rubbed his forehead with his fingers.

“I can promise you, Zee, I will make this as easy as possible. That’s the way your father would have wanted it. Your father was very prudent and had his affairs in order for quite some time. I’m going to have the funeral scheduled for two Sundays from now. He will be buried at the Easton Falls Memorial Cemetery.”

The skin on Zee’s forehead wrinkled and his face displayed a mixture of grief and frustration.

Drusilla handed Odious and Zee each a cup of tea, then she sat down after she watched Zee take a sip. Zee held the hot cup under his nose and allowed the aroma of honey and herbs to enter his nostrils before he took another sip and placed the cup down on the table.

“What do you need from me?” Zee asked as he thumbed the small china handle of the cup.

“It would be nice if you could say a few words about your father, but that is, of course, completely up to you. I do, however, have a few things that your father had instructed be delivered to you in the event anything unfortunate happened to him. The other property of the estate will be handled per the accordance of his financial trust, but there are boxes, which he specifically stated were to go to you straight away in the event of his death. If you give me a few moments, I’ll go back to the car and get them.” Odious stood up. His large belly made it a bit of a challenge to stand without bumping the table in front of him, but after a modest amount of effort, he made his way back to the doorway without knocking anything out of place.

“Hold on. Let me help you,” Zee said.

“Sure thing, sir.”

They made a couple of trips to the car and brought back a total of four boxes. The boxes themselves looked like nothing out of the ordinary, typical cream-colored cardboard boxes with lids.

“I’ll leave you to it,” Odious said as he reached down for a final sip of tea. “Mmmm. This is good. Thank you again for the tea. I’ll be in touch.”

He walked out the door, and without hesitation Drusilla and Zee turned around and walked towards the boxes. As they knelt down in front of them, Zee ran his hand across the top of one of the cardboard lids, as if expecting the texture to reveal something hidden. He turned to Drusilla and slowly lifted one of the lids.