“Why did you return?” I couldn’t help but ask.
“We had moved on to other places within the human realm in search of suitable minds, but our task was proving to be far more difficult than any of us had expected. It is rare to find a human mind that is sturdy enough to take a sentry’s pressure, you see… And after infiltrating a person’s mind, we never truly leave,” he said. “We are able to tap in from time to time, and we discovered by this process that a large group of humans—young humans—were soon to arrive on the island. Since we hadn’t had luck recruiting cohorts elsewhere, we decided to return and try our luck… and indeed, we were very lucky. We began testing out the young people, slowly and subtly at first, testing the waters—we discovered very quickly that most were just as weak-minded as any other human we’d come across so far… But then when we tested you and your three friends, we discovered something we’d been searching for all along. Minds that were strong, healthy and self-assured enough to not break under pressure—exactly what we required.”
So my headache… The migraines we’d experienced had not been due to the fact we’d been sleeping near the entrance of the cave. It had been these sentry creatures trying to mess with our minds all along.
“You’re saying you can’t crack our minds to control us at all?” I asked, a surge of nervousness rushing through me. These creatures might not have fangs or claws, but they were dangerous in a different and more pernicious way.
Tejus’ lips curved in a half-smile. “I never said that,” he replied. “There are very few minds we cannot crack… What I said was that your minds were—and are—hardy. They will not break at the first, second, or even third touch. Which allows us to feed off your mental energy without breaking you.”
These creatures truly did sound like vampires. “Feed off our mental energy,” I repeated. “What does that even mean?”
The lynx leapt off Tejus’ lap as he rose to his feet again. My heartbeat quickened as he strode toward me, stopping just three feet in front of me.
Then I felt it—that same intense forcefield manifest around him. That strange, magnetic energy. I wanted to stand up and get as far away from him as I could in the room. But I couldn’t stand up without moving at least a little bit closer, which I found myself barely able to do. I felt repelled by his energy, and yet it wasn’t repelled by me. It was attempting to suck me in… or suck at me. Absorb me, almost. God, this is strange. I felt an odd feeling of pressure around my ears, my brain feeling bloated and light.
And then it stopped, just as abruptly as it had started.
I realized only as he stepped backward that I had been holding my breath the whole time. I expected to perhaps feel a headache again, but I didn’t.
“That’s what it feels like,” Tejus explained, as if he’d read my thoughts. “I’m sure you will have noticed the difference between the times I begin an attempt to break into your mind, and the times I merely absorb some of your energy.”
The former involved a migraine, while the latter involved… I wasn’t even sure how to describe it.
“S-So if you actually broke into our minds—went all the way—we’d become brain-damaged for life like those adults you messed with?”
He shook his head. “Not immediately. At least not immediately in your and your friends’ case, because you have a stronger resistance. Everyone’s strength is different though, so for some it only takes one visit by us into their minds to become damaged, others two, three, or four times.”
“So you just go around meddling with innocent humans and potentially ruining the rest of their lives!” I said, looking at him with disgust.
He remained stoic, and chose not to comment.
“WHAT is so special about us anyway?” I asked the question that had been nagging me since the beginning of our conversation.
Now a hint of amusement crossed his face again. “Only you could tell me that,” he said. “I have not broken into your mind… yet.”
I swallowed. The only thing that set Benedict, Ruby, Julian and me apart from the rest of Murkbeech’s residents was that we were from The Shade. “Shadians”. Could the fact that we had come from such an unconventional background compared to other humans make our minds stronger, more independent? Or was it something to do with growing up so close to supernaturals?
I could only guess. But wondering about the ifs, ands, or buts wasn’t bringing me any closer to locating my brother and friends.
I was glad when Tejus resumed the conversation before I could prompt him again.
“So my brothers and I discovered you and your three companions, and each claimed one of you. My fifth brother remains in the human dimension, where he will have to continue looking for a worthy cohort… If he doesn’t find a suitable one in time then, well, he will be at a disadvantage to the rest of us. We can feed off other supernaturals’ energy—even Nevertide’s animals”—he bent down to his lynx and scratched its ear as he continued—“but none are quite so potent as humans.”
“Maybe you will finally be so kind as to tell me what this test actually is now,” I said through gritted teeth.
“As I mentioned, my father will soon reach the end of his emperorship, and a new emperor will be chosen for Nevertide—by the next eclipse, in a few dozen moons from now. He or she shall be chosen from the existing kings and queen of Nevertide’s provinces. In order to allow Hellswan Kingdom to gain another chance at being the ruling province, my father will also step down as king—giving way to the most worthy and capable sentry in all of Hellswan Kingdom.”
“And you are the eldest son?” I asked him, frowning.
“Indeed, I am,” he replied, his irises shimmering darkly.
“So then you would be your father’s natural choice? You would be put forward?”
“Not necessarily,” he said. “I might be his eldest son but I do not get immediate preference for his crown. Nor do any of my brothers. The net will be cast far and wide across all of Hellswan Kingdom—and any man or woman of eligible age is beckoned to compete for rulership in a perilous contest.”
My breath hitched. This was getting worrisome fast. Was he expecting me, my brother, Julian and Ruby to get roped into all of this? It sounded risky and dangerous. What kind of tests would a person be put to in a competition for the crown of Nevertide’s emperor? Something told me that it would be anything but easy.
Before I could express anything, however, Tejus ploughed on. “There are some rules to this contest, however. Each family within Hellswan Kingdom can only put forward one representative at once. No siblings can enter; the heads of the families must think long and hard and choose whom among siblings is most worthy to represent them… and likely to succeed.”
I wrinkled my nose in confusion. “Then why are you and your brothers—?”
Tejus smiled grimly. “Being sons of a king, and the current Emperor of Nevertide no less, we have some… extra hoops to jump through. My father wants to be sure that he is truly putting forward the very best man to represent the Hellswan family—he cannot merely assume that I fit that role without putting us all through a test… and it is this test that you will help us with first.”
“What does the test involve?” I asked, finding it gradually more difficult to breathe.
“We do not know exactly—if we did, it would not be much of a test. All we know is that it involves a labyrinth and a sword located right in the middle which we must all work to claim. The first to reach the sword shall be put forward to represent the Hellswan family in the battle to compete for the right to Hellswan Kingdom’s throne, and then, potentially, fight for emperorship.”
This all sounded very stressful. Certainly not how I was intending to spend my summer vacation.
My mouth had dried out completely by now. “So you kidnapped us to… come with you during this contest with your brothers? And what about the brother who emerges victorious? What then?”
“Yes, we took each of you to assist us and keep our minds sharp, our physic
al strength as strong as it can possibly be during the labyrinth quest… and after that, whichever of us emerges victorious and attains the right to compete for Hellswan’s throne, our human will be required to come with us to the next step too—winning our kingdom’s throne and keeping our family’s royal status.”
Even though there was still a mountain of things I didn’t understand about Tejus, this sinister land, and my supposed role in it, I’d gotten enough of an answer by now to understand where this was going. And I would have no part in it. None of us could.
Heat rose in my cheeks as indignation surged in my chest. These sentries’ mindset was everything The Shade had worked to change—that humans only existed to be of use to more powerful supernaturals. The past two years of GASP’s activities had worked to stamp out this attitude from every corner, and fought to create a world of mutual respect and cooperation between supernaturals. I was going to give this arrogant, conceited “prince” a piece of my mind… so to speak.
“I am not your plaything!” I stormed. “And neither are my human companions. You cannot simply kidnap us and expect us to go along with whatever selfish plans you have! I have a family back home!” A family who will soon be freaking out over our unexplained disappearance. “A mother! A father! Uncles, aunts, cousins. And my brother is only fourteen years old, do you know that?” I became so enraged as I spoke that I found myself leaping to my feet and stalking toward him, even though his size terrified me—it was as if I’d become immune to it. “Imagine if you were stripped from your mother as a boy. Would you have liked that?” I was standing but two feet from him now, hands on my hips, glaring into his dark eyes. They had been completely unwavering in their steady gaze back at me, but although he remained calm, as I mentioned his mother, he averted his gaze.
“I do not have a mother,” he replied, his voice cold.
I inhaled. Trust me to pick the wrong example. Although I didn’t wish growing up without a mother on anyone, I couldn’t exactly bring myself to feel sorry for this guy right now, considering that he was treating us like slaves.
“Well, a father then,” I said irritably. “You get the point…” I wanted to threaten him that I was a Novak, and bring home the significance of it—that pissing off my parents and grandparents was a very bad idea. But I didn’t know if these creatures knew about The Shade, and I felt hesitant to mention it, considering that I still knew so little about them as a species. I didn’t know how effective witches were on them, whether sentries might even be able to use their powers to crack a witch’s mind through a protective magic boundary. Considering that I’d never heard any of our witches speak of sentries before, it was possible that The Shade’s witches didn’t even know of their existence.
So I kept quiet about this aspect of my history for now. The last thing I wanted was to give these monsters any ideas and cause trouble for my home. If a Shadian’s mind was indeed stronger than a regular human’s, we had plenty of other humans on the island they could mess with if they got the chance… Their minds were also strong enough apparently to affect phone signals.
When my rant ended—Tejus still not looking directly at me—I felt his lynx snaking around my legs. Although it was unfair of me—it was just an animal—I felt irritated by it, like it was a representation of Tejus himself, and brushed it aside unceremoniously.
The lynx narrowed its piercing eyes on me and hissed, baring its fangs.
I felt like hissing back.
My chest was tense with anxiety at the thought of Benedict. My poor little brother. It killed me to think how terrified he must be right now. I had no idea how widely the personalities of these Hellswan brothers ranged. I prayed he wasn’t being hurt… and would come out mentally intact after this.
“I understand your sentiments for your brother and friends,” Tejus said, his voice low and throaty as he broke the span of silence and looked at me again. He stepped toward me, reminding me again just how imposing a man he was as he towered over me. I found myself backing away a bit more. “For this reason,” he went on, “I have a proposal to make to you, Hazel… what is your second name?”
“Achilles,” I grunted.
“Hazel Achilles.”
It felt weird to hear him utter my name. I felt taken aback initially that he even knew my first name, considering he wasn’t supposed to have broken into my mind yet. But I reminded myself that he and his brothers had been hanging around the Scottish islands for a while before they’d made themselves known to us; they were the cause of all the initial strange happenings with those bitchy girls Ruby and I had shared a dorm with, as well as everyone else… including Wes. It was more than likely he’d heard my name being called by someone.
I scowled. I didn’t want to negotiate or come to any kind of compromise. I just wanted to be reunited with Benedict, Ruby and Julian, and get out of here. “What proposal?” I asked.
“Each of you will accompany us during our first trial, the test set by our father, between us brothers. Then, if you cooperate with me to your full capacity, and I win the contest and gain the right to compete for the king’s crown, I shall convince my father to order my brothers to free your brother and friends, and they shall be returned to the human realm… You, however, shall remain.”
My breath hitched, my blood pounding in my ears. “What?”
His jaw stiffened, his gaze intensifying, and I sensed that somewhere beneath his stiff exterior he was beginning to lose patience with me, and there was only so long he might continue tolerating my barrage of protest…
“You heard me. And this is the most generous proposal you will receive,” he replied, clipped.
As much as I was frightened by the thought of all of us staying in this land for even another hour, I supposed that it was better than nothing. I didn’t doubt Tejus when he said I would be receiving no more offers from him. After all, he technically hadn’t even had to make his first offer; we were all stuck here, with no means of escape. Even when our parents found out that we were gone, where would they even begin to look if they had no clue that sentries even existed, much less the location of their land?
I guessed that Tejus had made this proposal only to make me cooperate. It would be hard for him to focus on his “task” if I was rebelling and fighting him at every turn. He needed to leech from my mind, for me to be a source of strength for him, rather than stress.
Tejus was smart—calculating, as I’d detected from the beginning.
If I managed to help him win against his brothers, and Tejus kept his word, then at least the other three could go home. My brother could be returned to safe hands. And they could tell our family everything about what they’d witnessed: the existence of sentries, and that I was still trapped here. They might not know where this realm was, but I didn’t put it past them to figure out how to find it… maybe even set some sort of trap… It was annoying that I had been unconscious on the journey here. I hadn’t been awake to witness whether or not Tejus had carried me through a portal in Nevertide itself, or borrowed some other land’s portal before traveling here…
“When you arrived through the portal in Nevertide,” I said abruptly, “had any of my companions passed out?”
A question with a hidden significance—I needed him to comment on whether or not there was a portal leading here directly… but I should have known that Tejus was too sharp to fall for that trick.
“Whether there is a portal here or not,” he replied, “is not something I plan to tell you.”
I gulped. If there was a portal here in Nevertide, it would make the prospect of me being rescued far more hopeful. If my brother, Ruby and Julian made it home, The Shade would have to somehow discover where it was…
“And what if you don’t succeed?” I asked Tejus. “What if one of your brothers does? Then what? I will have gone to the trouble of helping you for nothing.”
“Correct,” Tejus replied, his expression stony. “That is why you must do all you can to help me succeed. You and your three
human companions would remain here forever… since I can assure you that none of my brothers will have bothered to make such a generous proposal as I have to you.”
I exhaled sharply. This truly was sink or swim.
What about this first “trial” set by his father? Would it be perilous? I couldn’t even bring myself to consider the contests that would follow that—should Tejus win, I would be dragged along with him… And what if a different sentry won? What if Benedict’s captor did? Would Benedict be dragged along with him to the next level of competing for the role of king? Something told me that would be a lot more strenuous.
Ugh. There were so many layers of unknowns to this situation my nerves felt like they were fraying at the ends, my brain close to exploding.
I needed to try to concentrate on just one step at a time.
“What did you mean by a labyrinth, exactly?” I asked. Would the king be bloodthirsty enough to put his own sons into real mortal danger? If their lives were put at serious risk, ours would be too—assuming they were planning to keep us alongside them throughout the contest, which was a logical assumption based on everything Tejus had said so far.
Tejus allowed himself to display a clear flicker of impatience now. “As I told you,” he said pointedly, “we have not been told exactly what it involves.”
“But would your father put your lives at real risk?” I pressed.
“I would not put it past him,” Tejus replied shortly.
I swallowed hard. Great.
I knew enough about supernaturals to know that not all of them made good parents like mine did. Some of them could be harsh, callous, brutal… which often explained the temperament of the offspring they produced.
“So, what I’m getting at here is, myself and my brother and friends—our lives could be put at risk?” I asked.
“Not as much risk as ours—if there is true risk,” Tejus replied, “because, in case you haven’t guessed, it will be in my and my brothers’ best interests to keep you alive as long as possible. You will be a source of strength to us within the labyrinth, and without you we don’t stand as great a chance of succeeding… It was our father himself who advised us to seek out humans as cohorts for the trials ahead. He has known of their value to our kind for a long time now. Thus, it was at his recommendation that we headed to the human realm to begin with.”