*Chapter Six*
KEEFE WAS PRETTY ENTHUSIASTIC when Sarah begged him to show her the creepiest parts of Candleshade. Sarah was trying to get over what had happened yesterday. She managed to convince herself it was just a hallucination, although she did, rather abruptly, leave the table to "grab some more food." But she had woven through the crowds of students, making sure to never be alone.
Now she was trying to eliminate her fears by… Okay, fearing. It wasn't the best method, but for Sarah, getting spooked by something that was clearly real helped her get over nightmares and so-called hallucinations.
"Follow me," Keefe said, with an ardent smirk.
Sarah carefully followed Keefe through a series of long, spiraling hallways and… the vortinator. "Ergh… What's that?" Sarah asked when they came to it. It had railing around it, but Sarah was still more than a little scared to say in the least.
"The vortinator!" cheered Keefe.
Sarah felt as though she'd hurl. Finally, the endless swirling stopped, and, dazed, stepped out onto the fortieth floor.
"I hate that thing," Sarah complained as she still gasped for breath ten minutes later.
Keefe shook his head, sighing. "Okay, so this is the creepiest place you'll ever see in your life, much less just in Candleshade. Are you ready for it?" He focused on Sarah, his eyes serious.
Sarah bit her lip. "Yes. You've totally got my attention now."
"Good," Keefe smirked as they approached the ominous door.
No going back now.
Sarah slowly walked into the room, her heart racing.
She was preparing herself for the fright of the century.
She blinked open her eyes.
Inside was Keefe's father. Wait, no. It was a statue of Keefe's father, and it was glowing! It was also pretty gigantic. And the eyes…
Sarah screamed, her caterwaul likely heard in the entire residency, through all the hundreds of floors.
"Yep," Keefe nodded. "I've had nightmares about it. It's carved out of lumenite."
Sarah covered her eyes and slowly stepped towards the door. As Keefe swung it shut, Sarah breathed heavily. "Oh, wow. I think that was the creepiest thing I've ever seen."
Keefe just nodded as they turned in the hallway and bumped into none other than… Lord Cassius. Keefe's father frowned as they crashed into each other. Sarah dusted herself off as she managed to get up. "I am so sorry, Lord Cassius…"
Keefe's father scowled. "Do not let it happen again." Then he took one good look at Keefe and then one at Sarah and he whitened.
Sarah decided he probably wasn't the kind of person you asked if was okay. So she just mumbled another apology and raced back to the vortinator. She was not looking forward to another sickly ride in the terrifying vortinator, but what could she do? She did not want to live on the nth floor with… She shuddered… Lord Cassius's horrifying lumenite self-statue.
Keefe was there almost as fast as she was. "So I guess you know how good old Dad is now," he said as the vortinator sped into action.
Sarah was still trembling about the intimidating statue Keefe had shown her the previous day. And that onceover Lord Cassius had given her was eerie. And he paled after it. What did that mean?
She tried not to agonize herself over it. After all, there were plenty of other things to think about.
She couldn't waste all her energy dawning on why Lord Cassius didn't like her. Instead, her mind spun to the incongruous pair of eyes hiding in the shadows of the cafeteria. Where it was all dark and cold.
She shuddered. Don't think about that, either, Sarah, she told herself rather firmly.
Though she did hesitantly glance at the dark corridor outside her room, and let out a sigh of sweet relief when she verified nobody was there.
Then she made a quick decision. She needed Sophie. She was the only one who would understand what Sarah was going through. She'd leap to her house. She had never been there before, but she had heard the name before when Keefe had yelled to the Leapmaster, which was something that could transport you anywhere. Like the crystals, but easier. Leapmasters, however, were not portable.
Sarah went to the top floor, yes, in the spinning vortinator, and found the Leapmaster. "Here we go," she murmured. She shouted loud-and-clear: "HAVENFIELD!"
Sarah was transported to a large and lush meadow with a large three-story house that actually looked more like a mini mansion. Animals grazed in the fields, and there was Sophie, standing next to a tall, blonde elf.
They were feeding some mythical creature. Sarah gasped. An alicorn! It was absolutely stunning, with its silver tipped horn and sparkling mane and tail. "Wow," she whispered.
Sophie seemed to finally notice Sarah was there. "Oh! Sarah, hi!" she called Sarah over. Sarah jogged over to her and stared at the alicorn.
"It's majestic," she murmured. Even more so up close.
Sophie nodded. "This is Silveny. Silveny, this is Sarah."
Silveny the alicorn whinnied and returned Sarah's gaze. Its eyes were an indulgent shade of light brown.
Sarah reached over on impulse and touched Silveny's mane, stroking it gently. "You're very pretty, girl," Sarah said as she ran her fingers through the threads of Silveny's silver-toned mane.
Sarah smiled at the alicorn as Silveny nickered pleasantly.
"You're a natural," the blonde elf said, sounding surprised.
Sarah shrugged. "I guess I am."
"I'm Grady," the blonde elf told Sarah, nodding. "Sophie's told me about you." He sounded concerned now. "I'll let you two talk." He walked to the house, leaving Sophie and Sarah free to talk about whatever they wished.
"So… Not that you can't stop by just to hang, but… Is something wrong?" Sophie asked.
Sarah looked uneasy. "Kind of. Sophie, I felt-" She paused, appearing truly petrified as she glanced around the clearing. "I felt..."
"You felt what?" Sophie asked gently.
"I was anxious. I thought I saw someone watching me at lunch yesterday and I just… Okay, promise you won't think I'm crazy?"
Sophie smiled. "Of course I won't. Tell me."
"Okay. I thought… Alvar… was watching me. And I get these weird vibes when I see Fitz. Like, he and Alvar look pretty similar in some facial features."
Sophie grimaced. "I guess I should've known we can't hide anything from you. Alvar is Fitz's brother."
Sarah gasped. "What?"
Sophie nodded. "I know. He betrayed us all." Her eyes took on a worried expression. "But, tell me. You thought he was stalking you?"
"Yeah." Sarah was silent after her vague response.
Sophie put an assuring arm on Sarah's shoulder. "Most likely, you just hallucinated. Let go of it, and you'll be fine."
"That's what I thought, too. But I KNOW I saw him!" Sarah said, sounding firm in her convictions.
Sophie bit her lip, sighing. "Okay. Take this." She reached into her pocket and drew out a square mirror. "This is an Imparter. To hail me, just say: Show me Sophie. Don't hesitate to call me. Even in the middle of the night, or whatever. Okay?"
"Thanks, Sophie. You're the nicest person I've ever met." She sighed at that. Then Sarah inspected the Imparter and exclaimed, "Hey! That looks just like the thingy that Alvar used to get Lady Gisela!"
Sophie nodded. "It's basically an elvin phone. You can send messages, too."
"Okay. Thank you, Sophie." Sarah grimaced as she rummaged around in her pocket. "Oh! I'm so sorry… Can I please use your Leapmaster to get back to Candleshade? I forgot my crystal."
"Of course!" Sophie beamed.
Sarah smiled and Sophie showed her to the Leapmaster. An elf with long, amber waves down her back welcomed Sarah with open arms. She introduced herself as Edaline, Sophie's adoptive mother, and offered a special treat- mallowmelt. It was a special elvin delicacy, and it tasted like paradise.
"OHHHH!" Sarah moaned when she sampled a piece. Sophie winked at her. "Thank you SO much. Mallowmelt is officially now my favorite food, snack, and dessert."
"Same with me," Sophie added.
"I'd better get going. That Cassius guy is overbearing, but ah well." As Sarah stepped into the Leapmaster, she thought she saw sympathy in Edaline's eyes. She stood there and meekly said, "Candleshade."
The light zapped her back to the gloomy place. She was sorry she had to leave the bright and happy Havenfield.
When she arrived, Keefe was there with a pale sheen to his usually smirking self. "Sarah, you've got to see this."
