Hello, everyone! Here is the next chapter in Book 6. Nothing else to say, so let's get going.

DISCLAIMER: The 'Amulet' series is created and illustrated by Kazu Kibuishi, and published by 'Scholastic'. The author owns any original characters and custom elements included into the story.

Onward!

Despite Caleb's wishes to rest, he made his body sit upright in his chair to look at the journal and pencil before him. To make sure he was not missing anything, he felt the pockets of his clothes to check his personal feather was still there. Thankfully, it had not been taken or left where he had placed it. As long as he still had it, he knew the Corvid controlling things—obviously and subtly—would still treat him as a "Brother".

It dawned on Caleb that this bond was hanging by a small, fragile thread. Would the Corvid still treat him as an ally after the journal was completed? Would they still respect him after they learned what Silas Charnon had done after he had left Alledia? Would they even survive what was happening to this world?

So many questions, and so few answers. Caleb's thoughts danced around his head in a roundabout way. He channeled his thoughts into his writing, working hard on how he had become friends with the track team at his school. He wrote down how Emily, Navin, Karen, and David Hayes had all been present at some of those competitions. Though he could not confirm this, the track runs being at least a year before that point, he could connect that to his time with the Hayes.

As Caleb wrote, his memories went back to the track team's other members. He wrote down detailed paragraphs about each member; each one took several minutes because he had to think carefully about each word before writing it. His provided pen did not have an eraser, and there was nothing to erase marks, only adding to his time.

"Millie is the wildest one. Blond hair, brown eyes that shine when she smiles. She smiles a lot, and the rest of us smile with her. She is the fastest of us, a sprinter that can run on the word "go". She also tells and retells most of the jokes we share. She has the most energy out of us all on the track. When she is in classes, she is very quiet and focused instead. I figure she takes the track and running to let loose and get her stress out.

"Saul is the largest and strongest of our team. He has black hair, coffee-brown skin, and blue eyes. He can carry heavy weights while running without getting tired, something no one else on the team can do. He does not speak very much, preferring to watch the world go by. When he does talk, I make sure to listen; he is very intuitive. He wears thin clothes for most of the ear, changing only in winter.

"Urias is a transfer student from Russia. He has tanned pale skin, eyes blue as the ocean, and does not know much about the United States of America, and he likes to watch things. He often compares things to his home country, and from what I have heard, he seems to find Russia a beer place to live in. He can run the farthest for the longest time out of the team, so he is our endurance runner. He also endures listening to conversations about things he does not yet understand.

"Last of the team is our captain. I do no remember much about her, not even her name. What I do remember is her leading presence, smooth voice, and a strong sense of camaraderie. When one of us feels sick or worn down from practice, she notices and speaks to us in private about it. She usually notices these problems very quickly. I have told her about personal stress in the past and felt she would not speak about it behind my back."

Caleb nearly lost control of his writing hand as the sound of a car crashing against a hard surface came back to him. No matter how many times he heard those sounds, they got no better or easier to bear. The fact he was remembering them now, after what felt like years of time had passed since then, confused him. Something as traumatic as a death should be easy to recall.

Emily and her family could easily recall how their father, David, had died. So, why was Caleb finding it difficult to remember how the woman he had been with in that nightmare had died?

Caleb's brain ached. He felt the urge to rest, to let go of these worries for some time. The urge was strong enough that he chose to obey it immediately. Not seeing any way to turn off the desk lamp's light, he chose to lie down on the provided bed with his back facing the light. This was not a very awkward position, but it still took Caleb several minutes to fall asleep after he had closed his eyes.

An itching sensation in Caleb's eyes woke him up. Dazed, his mind still wrapped up in sleep, he raised a hand to rub his eyes and eyelids. For a moment, his eyes opened, and in that moment he saw a small point of light on the wall in front of him. His eyes closed, and then opened again, and he noticed how this bit of light was not coming from the desk lamp behind him. His body, positioned sideways on the bed, created a shadow on the wall.

Waking up a bit, Caleb then noticed there were multiple lights on the shadowed space of the wall, moving along the stone surface in a circular formation. The lights had the forms of golden tongues of fire, or golden circles.

"I… I need… release. Please…"

The same voice from before slipped into Caleb's mind. He felt its desperation, the pleading tone and rising pitch. Whoever was speaking these words was afraid. Caleb did not like seeing people in fear. In his semi-awake state, he moved to help this Caleb's fingers skirted along the nearest points of light in the circle. Each small tongue or circle phased through his touch, sending a pinprick of warmth through his skin and muscles.

"Who is there?"

The voice spoke again, but its tone had changed. Some sort of connection had been forged, and this voice was on the other end. It sounded larger than him in size and power. He could feel something—or maybe it was just his mind making it up—press against his thoughts. On the wall, the lights shone brighter against the darkened wall.

"Human. You are human." A short pause followed this fact from the voice, and then Caleb heard it speak with dawning realization: "You can hear me."

Caleb's heart began to beat faster. He did not know what to do next.

"Human. Come to me."

The lights pulsed, shining brightly and then dimming quickly. Caleb blinked rapidly as the itch grew into a sharp burning sensation. This feeling came and went in opposite time to the pulsing lights, leaving him without a moment's peace. He was either being blinded or burned in the eyes; neither sensation was welcoming.

Caleb rolled away from the lights, but the burning did not go away. He then stood up from the bed, stumbling for a moment before looking back at the wall. The lights kept pulsing, a magnetic power behind them that Caleb felt drawn to. Then a small portion of his brain recoiled when he remembered a different voice—no, a Voice—drawing him into a similar sort of embrace.

"Hello, Caleb. I'm glad to finally meet you, face-to-face…"

Caleb spun away, clutching his face with shaking fingers. The burning in his eyes flared up again, but just for a few seconds. Long enough for him to remember the Voice in Max's amulet, and the dark void in Emily's. However, these lights did not have the same markings as those two amulets: could that mean this is a different Stonekeeper?

Caleb did not know. He did not know anything about this. He saw the lights, but he had no clue what they meant. He heard the voice, but could not follow its commands. The best he could do was stand by his room's doo, his hand on its cold surface. A sadness translated from the new voice into his own expression.

"Come. Come to me, Human. Come…"

The voice repeated the same phrases, growing quieter each time, until it fell silent. The burning in Caleb's eyes also became easier to withstand, until it vanished as well. He couldn't go out of the room.

Caleb was stuck. Imprisoned. He returned to his bed feeling downcast and weak, unable to change his fate.

At some point in Caleb's grief, his body fell asleep again. He was awakened by the sound of a rhythmic knocking coming through the door. Tap. Tap-tap.

The knocks sounded again: Tap. Tap-tap. At that point, Caleb's brain snapped awake. Those knocks were the signal of a Corvid agent. Someone was coming inside.

Caleb heard bolts being slid back on the door's other side. The teenager sat up on the bed, ready to look at whoever was entering. After one last clacking of metal, the door slid inward and revealed a dimmer light outside from what few torches he could see mounted on the opposite carved wall.

Revna, the raven-woman and Caleb's apparent guide in this group's headquarters, entered the room. She moved swiftly, holding a metal tray in her hands. A square plate and a thin, tall, and clear glass were balanced on the tray despite Revna's sharp motions and deft maneuvers.

"Greetings, Brother. Here is your meal." Revna's words were crisp and calmly spoken as she put the tray down on Caleb's desk. As Caleb looked at the tray, the desk's light was able to better show what was present. There were a few squares of yellow pieces like cheese on the plate. Beside the "cheese" pieces were several small wafer-shaped crackers. The glass had a clear liquid inside it, up to about three-quarters full.

"Looks good," he said aloud. Looks basic, he said to himself. Still, he was hungry, and a meal was a meal. He got up from the bed and sat down in the bolted chair in front of the table. As Revna stood by, hands at her sides, he took a square of cheese, placed it atop a cracker, and popped the combination into his mouth.

A sharp sting of flavor from the cheese made his eyes widen, and then he hummed in satisfaction as he chewed it. Caleb's stomach growled in approval at the food and its good taste. Thank heavens I'm not lactose intolerant, Caleb thought. He felt an aftertaste from the cheese linger on his taste buds as he swallowed it down, but this did not dull his enjoyment of the food.

After having another two crackers and another cheese square, Caleb's throat felt dry. He took the glass and slowly sipped some of the liquid. It tasted a bit sweeter than he had expected, but it felt cool going down his throat. It reminded him of drinking pop, or "soda" as Urias knew it in Russia, on a hot summer's day.

In the relative silence that filled the room, Caleb figured this was a good time to get some information out of his "brothers" and "sisters". "Revna," Caleb asked the raven-woman, "am I the first person here besides Silas Charnon who is not "cursed"?"

"I cannot answer that accurately," Revna quickly replied. "The Honored Brothers would have a more accurate take on our history."

"Okay." Caleb let that simple answer pass without inspection and continued eating his meal. He slowed down when he noticed Revna looking at him without blinking very much. "Did you want some of this?" he asked, pointing to the remaining cheese and crackers after he had swallowed another mouthful.

"No need," Revna said with a sharp shake of her head. "The Corvid have adapted to special eating habits. As befits our curse."

"R-Right." Caleb repressed a shudder at the image of Revna, or any other member of the Corvid, eating things like birds. Bugs, probably, or maybe even plant seeds. He settled for the cheese, crackers, and sweet drink instead. It took only a minute more for him to finish everything that had been offered to him.

Caleb already felt a bit chipper as he told Revna, "Thank you for the meal." Revna just nodded.

"When I next return," the raven-woman told Caleb as she took two steps towards the door, "it will be with your next meal. This will not be for several hours." She looked at the bed Caleb was sitting on. "I advise getting some sleep, and then continuing your writing."

Caleb felt okay with that. Still, if there was a chance he could get out, maybe walk around, that might…

Revna already stood in the doorway, blocking Caleb's way out. The tray in her hands gave some extra size to her frame. She did not make eye contact with Caleb as she pulled the room's door shut. Caleb heard the bolts clack back into place, locking him inside again. In the renewed quiet of his room, Caleb's heart sank.

The Corvid were serious about keeping him here, at least until his writing was done. They appeared to be taking no chances.

Caleb's limbs felt heavy. After a satisfying meal on Earth, he usually felt tired. Sleep would be good. However, it did not feel right to him to sleep now. He wanted to get up and move around, more than this small room allowed. He did not want to write just then, but that was what the Corvid told him to—

Woah. Caleb's vision suddenly lost a lot of quality. Tiredness enveloped his limbs like a blanket. Getting up from the chair took strong effort on his part, as did walking back to the bed. The aftertaste of that cheese mixed with the sweetness of the drink to dull his senses and gum up his thoughts.

Confused and feeling sluggish, Caleb sat back down on the bed and then flopped onto his back. His eyes fluttered shut in moments, and with that, the world vanished.

Voices came and went in and out of Caleb's mind. His body jerked on the bed, motions without direction. His mind danced in shadows, fitfully struggling against sounds from his memory. His nightmares returned, fragmented but still carrying that raw essence of fear which defined them.

The crash; the scream; the silence. Those sounds seemed more familiar to him every time he heard them. Despite this, the memory they all connected to did not become any clearer.

"Human. Listen to me."

A new voice spoke amidst the dreamy haze. In the physical world, Caleb's eyelids wiggled, not fully opening. His mind's eyes and ears opened more, wordlessly listening to what the voice said. His subconscious recognized the voice from not so long ago.

"You can hear me. I can help you. Listen to me."

Caleb's physical eyes finally slipped open. Through the haze of sleep, he saw yellow lights moving along the walls and ceiling of his compressed room. Trailing like small comets, the lights came towards him and flew away in a slow, hypnotic sequence. He looked closely at the patterns, his mind not yet fully understanding why he was doing so. It just felt relaxing to do it.

"You are a captive. A prisoner." The voice paused for a moment, and then emphasized, "You are imprisoned by the Corvid."

Caleb's eyelids rose, just a few centimeters, as he drew in a slow breath. His subconscious agreed with what he was hearing. He was not awake enough to express any anger beyond the clenching of his fists.

"You must escape the Corvid." The voice paused again, the lights shining a bit brighter. "I want to escape as well. Follow my voice, and I will help you escape."

Caleb nodded, gently moving his head where he lay. He knew he must leave this place eventually, especially if the Corvid were keeping him prisoner. It would be easier to do so if he left with someone else's help. Even if that "someone" was beyond his ability to reach right now. He just had to get to them, to follow what they wanted.

It sounded so simple. But Caleb knew getting it done would not be simple.

Tap. Tap-tap.

A familiar rap came through the room's door. Caleb fully awoke upon hearing that sound. The lights on the walls vanished as the bolts were slid back. As the door opened from the outside, Revna stepped inside with the same tray in her hands. Like previously, the tray had food and drink placed on it.

Caleb's body refused to move as quickly as his mind. So much sleep in so short a time strained his muscles; he was not used to prolonged rest unless he was sick. He did not feel sick, or anything bad like that. He felt content to watch Revna approach without asking any questions or making any moves of his own.

"Your meal, Brother," Revna said as she put the tray on the room's desk again. Caleb struggled to get up from the bed and walk over to the chair. Once there, he crashed down onto it with a sigh of relief. Under the glare of the desk lamp, the tray's contents were nearly the same as before. The only big difference were that the drink was a darker color but in the same sort of glass, the "cheese" was in longer strips, and the wafers looked browner.

Caleb said a quick, "Thank you," as he took the food and scarfed some of it down. The new drink tasted bitter, but settled into a warm aftertaste that made his tongue tingle. It woke his body and mind up even further, giving them new energy. This helped him remember what he was doing and the length of time it was taking him to do it.

The Corvid did not seem like people who could wait around for a good while. A chance for Caleb to leave this place was being lost with every hour.

Caleb's ears strained to pick up the sound of a somewhat familiar voice; something he had heard in a dream. He could not recall it, or hear it, as he ate and drank the Corvid's provided meal, but he could feel it waiting for him. It was like when he heard one of his teammates on the track team running towards him; he would have a few seconds' chance to ready himself for what was coming.

"What is the current state of your writing?" Revna asked Caleb as he swallowed down a mouthful of the bitter drink. "I know you have just rested, so please state where you reached before your sleep."

Caleb had to smack his lips together before speaking, his mouth thankfully clear. "I got through a good part of it," he said, trying to be vague but also get the point across. "But I don't know how well I can answer what Huginn and Munnin want from me."

Revna's eyes narrowed a fraction. The feathers on her shoulders started to rise. All she said to Caleb was "Explain further, please."

Caleb swallowed again, thinking the raven-woman was going to yell at him for not being clear enough with his words. "They want to know more about Silas Charnon," he slowly clarified. "I just don't know much about him, or his family."

"Any bit you can give is helpful. All knowledge is useful in some way."

Caleb had figured the Corvid would say that. They did trust Silas with something like praise, calling him the "All-Father" and all that. Revna looked devoted to her beliefs, but she also looked angry at Caleb. Did she know he was not saying the complete truth?

A yellow symbol flashed on the opposite wall, the sign of a flame inside a great circle. Caleb saw it; Revna did not. Even as Caleb noticed the symbol's details, it vanished away as if it was made of smoke. The symbol triggered the replay of a voice in Caleb's mind.

"Follow my voice, and I will help you escape."

"Is something wrong?" Revna asked, her voice showing concern mixed with suspicion. Caleb flinched, realizing she had seen him look away.

"I thought I saw something," he told the raven-woman. "It was behind you, on that wall. Something, uh, unusual." He pointed up to that wall, where there was currently nothing but bare stone.

Revna looked up to that space herself with a smooth turning of her head. She kept quiet, but the feathers that had risen up dropped back down to her shoulders again. "I will return with another meal in a few hours, Brother," she then told Caleb without looking at him.

When Caleb started to protest, Revna turned back to face Caleb and raised a feathered finger to make a point. "This next meal will be a different one than before. Please continue your work until then."

Caleb's protest lasted for a few moments longer before dying in his throat. He felt unable to muster up the strength to argue back any more than he had. The promise of a meal with different contents did not encourage him to go along with staying cooped up in this space, writing about something he could not truly describe. He did not want to lie, but it was getting more likely that would be his only way out of here.

Lies often came back to harm the ones who made them. As Revna, tray and empty dishes in hand, left Caleb to his own devices, he wondered about the biggest lie he had made at all; convincing himself that he was not obsessed with the misfortunes of Emily Hayes and her family. He thought he had been able to do it, but now that he was alone, he felt the weight of his choices crash down and crush his spirit. He felt weak, in body and mind, so weak he did not want to do anything but sleep.

Caleb's full stomach gurgled. An aftertaste of what he had just drank came back up in his mouth, tasting horrid. He narrowed his eyes in concentration. No, he realized, he had felt tired like this before and it had not been from a sense of weakness. He had felt sick, his body worn down after fighting something inside him.

The mental memory of stinging pain flared up in Caleb's wrists. The tentacles and sticky jaws of the Arachnopod appeared in his mind's eye. And then he remembered vomiting on the beach of Charnon House's resting place, inside Gondoa Mountain. He had fought poison then, felt it slowly gum up his senses and reaction time, and he had won. What he was feeling now was undeniably the same sort of infection.

Are the Corvid giving me poison? Drugs? Caleb began to sweat as fear made him look hard at the room's only door, his only way out, currently locked up tight. Why are they doing that? Don't they trust me?

Another piece of Silas Charnon's journal popped up from Caleb's memory: "I will admit I had doubted they would remain loyal, for a while."

They don't trust me. Even after all this. They're going to keep me here until…

Caleb hugged his hands against his body, staring at the wall, the light of the desk lamp casting twisted shadows on his face. They'll never let me leave. Never.

Swallowing hard, Caleb made his choice. He needed to get out of this room, out of the Corvid's grasp, before they picked apart every piece of him like vultures from a carcass. But he could not do so with a wearied mind. At the next meal, he told himself, he would press for a chance to leave. Until then, he would wait, write, and rest when he felt it necessary.

Alright, that's all for now. With Caleb being stuck in one place, he has found a potential source of help. He just has to trust it.

As usual, any feedback and constructive criticism you choose to give is appreciated.

Draconos is taking off!