Hello, everyone! Here is the first chapter in my fanfiction's Book 6.

At the date this is being posted, Book 9 ("Waverider") has just been published. I plan to read it soon, so I can make changes to my original ending as fits the final state of the world Kazu Kibuishi has built. Before then, however, let's get into this current chapter.

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!

It quickly became clear to Caleb that the "Corvid" group of raven-people had full domain over their base; the carved walls and mounted torches showed some of the ways they called this place home. Most striking were the sight of several more raven drones, all like the one Caleb had seen following his movements across Alledia, sitting in small holes or makeshift nests. Each of these tiny nooks was near a torch to give light for passerby.

Caleb, not being "cursed" like these people, took things at face value, and kept his mouth shut. His guide, the raven-woman "Revna", did not tell Caleb anything about the closed steel doors they passed by and branching paths they did not take. The raven-woman appeared just as secretive as the other Corvid agents had been to an "Outsider" like Caleb.

Eventually, Revna finally looked back to Caleb and spoke to him, but she did not stop walking forward. "Your presence with the Honored Brothers is anticipated, Caleb Morris." She paused a beat before then asking, "Do you need to place your personal belongings somewhere beforehand?"

Caleb slowed his walking pace as he remembered the backpack he was carrying. "No," he told Revna, "I can keep my stuff with me. It isn't weighing me down."

"As you please." Revna nodded and resumed her normal walking speed. Caleb strode along just behind her, stepping to the side along with her as a few raven-people passed them by in a small group. Silas's journal had been correct in saying this faction of "cursed" people had carved out their home in these caves. And if the journal was correct, the caves were in "Coconino Valley", part of Alledia's southern continent.

Caleb stopped upon seeing Revna had stopped before a particular door, or rather a pair of interlocked steel doors. "Stand here," she told him while pointing to just by her current position. He did, but then she stepped to the side of the door opposite Caleb. He then noticed a console within Revna's reach, embedded into the wall just by the door's outer frame. Revna pressed some buttons and keys Caleb could not discern from where he stood, and the doors hissed open as pistons moved with loud clanking noises.

The doors slid open in segments, each segment retracting back into the one behind it so the door did not swing forward or back. Caleb watched it happen until he could see what lay in the room beyond. Wires of various sizes snaked along the ceiling of a single, large chamber; the connecting point for all the wires was at the far back of the chamber. Six raven-people were over there, two sitting on large thrones made of metal and stone. The other four stood by the thrones, two for either seated person.

The level of security already shown to Caleb intimidated him. He recalled what Silas had said in his journal about this security: "I can tell from my initial observations of these people that they are very secretive." A very true observation.

Revna passed by Caleb and signaled him to follow with a quick gesture. Caleb entered the chamber, moving just behind Revna and slightly to her right. There was little lighting in the chamber save at the back, but Caleb still saw large, rectangular machines stacked next to each other with little space for gaps. Green lights, tiny circles about the size of Caleb's eyes, shone from each of the devices. As Caleb looked at the devices, more clanking noises came from the steel doors as they shut themselves on their own.

Computers. Caleb quietly gasped as he realized these "devices" were all computers, huge machines that could process and store what must be incredible amounts of data.

Caleb's skin began to feel cold as he started hearing new noises inside the chamber. The computers made low whirring noises; the people on the thrones inhaled and exhaled slowly and loudly. Revna's footsteps did not make much noise, and that got Caleb to question if his heart was beating very loudly. Birds ono Earth could hear, and sense, things humans couldn't, Caleb had learned in high school biology.

Closer to the thrones, Caleb saw the wires in the chamber connected to the thrones, and there were bracers and restraints on the thrones that held the two raven-people in place on them. These two people were both clearly men, breathing heavily with their eyes closed. They both wore long gray robes that covered everything save their feathered hands, feet, necks, and faces. Their beaks were long and curved, pointed like swords. Their biggest differences between them were their seating postures; the man to the left sat upright and rigid; the man to the right sat hunched and loose.

Revna clucked a few times while placing a hand to her throat. She then spoke in a tone Caleb instantly recognized from situations in his school classes as "wheedling" to someone superior. "Honored Brothers," Revna said to the seated men, "I present to you Caleb Morris."

Both raven-men opened their eyes at the same time; they both had the same eye color of grey-and-green. Caleb felt unnerved by how they both looked at him together, as if they moved in complete synchronization. They both did not change their unique postures on their thrones, either.

The man on the left throne spoke first in a strong and empowered tone: "Greetings, Caleb Morris. You are a descendant of the All-Father. We welcome you among the Corvid."

Caleb felt sweat start to slide down his back. These people thought he was related to Silas Charnon! This will be hard to correct…

"I am Huginn," the speaking raven-man said with his head held high. "I prognosticate the possible futures of our world, so we can discern the best plan forward."

Caleb recognized the name "Huginn". Agent Corbett had said it back in Cielis: it was from Earth and translated to "Thought". Then that meant the other leader must be "Munnin", or "Memory".

After Huginn finished by closing his beak up tighty, the raven-man on the right introduced himself. "I am Munnin," he told Caleb, his voice sounding weary but also articulating every syllable. "I investigate the past history of our world, so we do not repeat our prior mistakes."

Munnin closed his beak, echoing his fellow leader's silence. Caleb waited a few beats before he nodded back to them both in turn. He did not trust himself to speak appropriate words right then.

Huginn turned his head to look at Caleb with one eye. "Our messenger ravens proved worth the effort and resources we spent on them." He turned his head around to use his other eye. "Unlocking a gateway to Cielis was a risk, and it has provided substantial profit."

Caleb did not understand what "profit" the Corvid were looking for beyond relocating where he had gone since leaving Nautilus. Still, he took this as a sign he was not going to be punished for his prior actions.

Munnin turned his sharp eyes onto Caleb's clothes and body. "You have grown stronger since we last observed you. This is good."

"Um, thanks." Caleb tried to straighten his posture, heightening his improved physique and fitness. Leon's training had proven good for him in the end.

Huginn's eyes narrowed, conveying something was still out of place with what he saw. "You are discouraged. I can see it in your inner eye. Explain your confusion to us; we do not want you bogged down by negative emotions."

"I-I…" Caleb did not know how to say what he wanted in the right way. "Well, it's multiple things, really." He tried to stall, but that only worked for a few seconds. He could feel the eyes of the "honored brothers", their liaisons, and Revna on him. He felt like they were judging him, someone so different from themselves.

Start simple, Caleb told himself. "Okay," he said to Huginn and Munnin, "one of my concerns is the agent that came back here from Cielis. Is he okay?"

"Agent Corbett?" Munnin spoke for the brothers and slowly nodded in recognition. "Yes, he arrived here months ago. He is currently secured in an isolated rook and undergoing rehabilitation. Visiting is prohibited by all save for us, and our liaisons."

Caleb looked at the people standing by the thrones. Were they the "liaisons"? They certainly looked the part. "It's good to hear he's okay," he said to the leaders. "I was worried about him."

"The Corvid care for their own," Huginn commented. "As the All-Father's people tell each other, "Birds of a feather flock together"."

Caleb had to smile at the use of that maxim. Caring for the community, for the greater majority, was something he could easily support.

Huginn turned his head to look at Caleb with both eyes again. "I anticipate another source of your discouragement to be your current standing with us. To address this, you must present the feather of your membership."

"Uh, yeah. Okay." Caleb pulled his backpack off and opened its zippers, digging around until he found the mentioned object. He pulled it out and held it up for everyone to see. The feather still had the same shades of black and white; it looked bent, but not rakishly so, still appearing like a bird's feather.

"Very good," Huginn said when he saw the feather clearly. "So long as you have that feather with you, you are a brother to us."

"However," Munnin immediately added, "we understand you are concerned about how your recent actions, good and bad, have affected our treatment of you." The quieter raven-man shifted on his throne, producing a quiet scraping sound. "Your first encounter with our agents in Kanalis left much to be desired."

Caleb frowned as he remembered those agents' attitudes. He also remembered being carried around in a sack like a bunch of apples. What he managed to say was, "They did what they could, I guess." Any sort of service was better than no service.

"That is not the norm, Brother," Huginn told Caleb, calling him by the same term the agents had used for themselves. "You are an ally to our cause. We will shelter you until you, or we, deem it necessary to leave us."

Caleb considered this a good option. However, it could be better. "Can you send me back to Cielis, then?" he asked, hoping he could get help from Leon, Miskit, and Karen, along with the rest of Cielis's remaining population.

"That is possible," Munnin said. "However, the gateway to reach that city is not as stable as others we use. We do not recommend it." He then gave an alternate idea: "Kanalis and Nautilus are two places that we know you have been to as well. We have more stable routes to go there."

"Well, my friends and family are not in Kanalis or Nautilus right now," Caleb admitted, "and I would like to be with them." He wondered if people in "The Resistance", like Balan, Susie, Bolf, and Doctor Weston, were still there months later. More likely, they had moved on to safer spaces away from the invading elves.

"Aha!" Huggin cut in with a raven's interpretation of a smile. "So, you consider the descendants of Silas Charnon your "family"? This is a subject we are eager to learn the truth of."

Caleb did not like Huggin's tone; it seemed like this was a critical point to how they would be treating him. "Uh, wait," Caleb rushed to say, "it's not—"

Huginn moved even faster, showing the speed of forethought by frowning in suspicion. "It is not true, or is it true?" he asked demandingly. "We suspected it was correct, but the evidence from our raven drone contradicts our initial observations."

"No, it's a temporary thing! I am not related to them by blood, just friendship. We came here together, so we wanted to stay together." Caleb's agitation ramped up as he realized what he was saying was no longer technically correct. "And now, we're all separated again," he added. "Silas's children are fighting somewhere else on Alledia. And I chose to not go with them." Caleb did not say why he had done that.

Munnin appeared to sense what Caleb was thinking, the raven-man's eyes bright and alert. "Unwilling separation generates great discomfort," he told Caleb, and Huginn nodded in agreement. "Do you know their current locations, or a nearby landmark?"

Caleb nodded. "I do. But you brought me here instead."

From her position by the many computers at the walls, Revna grunted a warning to Caleb, the first time she had spoken since introducing him. Despite Revna's fears, Huginn and Munnin did not appear insulted by Caleb's word choice. They instead looked at each other until Munnin raised one of his hands to gesture to something in the room's air.

"We can send you to one of your family members when you depart," the quieter raven-man told Caleb. "That can ease your discomfort."

Caleb's eyebrows shot up. They could do that? They would be willing to do that? "T-That would be great," he quickly stuttered out, "Thank you very m-much."

Huginn turned his head to the left and raised one of his hands to gesture at somewhere beyond the row of computers over there. "For now, then," he told Caleb, "we ask that you give as much information as possible regarding Silas Charnon and his descendants. Their arrival is another sign of Alledia's liberation against its threat."

Caleb felt okay with that. He cleared his throat and said, "I'll start now, if you want." He felt capable of saying how he got to Alledia, especially if it could help him get better in trust with the Corvid.

"No," Munnin objected. "Now is not a suitable time for that." He nodded to Revna. "Agent Revna has prepared a journal for you to write down what you can. We will look through it when you judge it complete, to better judge your capabilities and prior history."

Revna stepped forward, bowing slightly before the leaders as she did so. One of the liaisons stepped forward and passed Caleb a notebook with thick spiral rings binding the pages together. Atop the notebook were two pencils made of wood and lead, just like on Earth.

Caleb took the objects and flipped through the journal's pages; they were all empty. "I… Okay, I can write how things have gone with the Hayes and myself." He put the items into his backpack, along with the feather that marked him as a member of the Corvid. "Do you have a time for when you want it done by?" he asked as he zipped the bag back up.

"As soon as possible," replied Huginn. "Time is of the essence during times of war. We have been watching, and waiting, for long enough. Soon, the Corvid will soar."

All the other Corvid in the chamber repeated the statement, "The Corvid will soar!" together. Caleb flinched, not joining in, but he was not scared to hear it. Corbett's final words had carried this level of devotion: "We watched, and we waited. Now, we ACT!"

What would "acting" mean in this case? Would Caleb be a part of that due to his connection, however limited, with Silas Charnon and his grandchildren?

Munnin broke the sudden silence that had settled over the chamber. "We will provide you with private quarters to work on the journal. Meals and clothing will be delivered to you periodically. We insist you do not leave your roost until the journal is completed. Once that is done, return to this chamber as soon as possible."

Caleb nodded, but he did not move to exit the chamber. An embarrassing question came to mind, and he had to take a moment to ask it: "Uh, do these quarters have a bed? And maybe a restroom?"

Chuckles came from Revna and the liaisons. Caleb blushed, but quickly realized when he looked at them that these were not scornful laughs. This helped ease the teenager's embarrassment and caused him to smirk as well. Huginn and Munnin did not display a hint of a smile as they waited for the amusement to die out.

"Our living quarters are accommodated for our brothers and honored guests of any humanoid variety," Huginn told Caleb from his throne. "The Corvid are human where it matters, no matter how we appear." He pointed a black finger to the chamber's double doors. "Go there now. We will wait for your writing, Caleb Morris."

Caleb nodded to the leaders while thanking them for their time. Revna came over and lightly tapped his shoulder to signal it was time to leave. He turned away from the leaders as they closed their eyes and settled back into their thrones. Their arms and legs wiggled against the restraints, but they remained held by them. The liaisons also stayed by the thrones, keeping some sort of vigil as Revna moved to a console just like the one on the other side of the double doors.

As the doors opened again, Caleb looked at all the computers arranged in the chamber. The Corvid must have tons of data about… well, many things. He hoped some of that data could help Emily and Navin work together to save Alledia. And maybe, after that grand challenge, there could be something to help people from Earth, the "All-Father's" world, return there.

After leaving the brother's presence, Caleb and Revna travelled through even more underground passages. The repetitiveness of the torches, carved walls, and closed doors quickly weighed down on Caleb's attentiveness. There were other "Corvid" members who passed by, but they moved quicker than Caleb and Revna did, in pairs or alone. When they passed by Revna, they each nodded to her in greeting. When they passed by Caleb, they looked at him for an extra second. They did and said nothing else to indicate they understood what was going on.

Silas's comments about the Corvid's secrecy hung on Caleb's mind as he kept following behind Revna. Soon enough, she stopped in front of a particular metal door, a single door this time. There was no console pad to open this door, just a pair of bolts and a curved doorknob. The bolts made Caleb suspicious of how long he would be spending in this place. He would certainly be unable to get out if those bolts were used.

Silas had locked me inside Charnon House and used Miskit to do it. Will Revna lock me up here because her leaders want it?

Revna's fingers worked quickly in sliding both the bolts back. "Your quarters, brother," she said to Caleb as she pulled the door outward. Caleb did not rush inside despite the urging in his tired legs to sit down. He looked inside the revealed room and saw it was shaped like a rectangle. The room's walls were carved out of the same stone as the rest of the cave.

There was a long bed with some bedcovers on the far wall away from the door. There was a metal table, braced to the floor with bolts around its legs. There was an electric lamp attached to the top of the table with more bolts. Before the deck was a metal chair with four thick legs, each one held to the floor by, again, tightly screwed bolts. A covered toilet was connected to the wall with more bolts, with a small lever by the side for flushing. Everything was stuck tight, with no room for adjustment.

Beyond the light of the electric lamp, the room was dark. There were shadows that hung on the walls, distorted by the angles and the room's narrowness. "This looks… fine," Caleb hesitantly told Revna. He squinted his eyes to try to find something hidden, but there appeared to be nothing else.

"Remember what the Honored Brothers told you," Revna instructed Caleb as they both stepped inside the darkened room. "We will check on your progress periodically. We will always knock three times in this sequence."

Caleb turned to look at Revna as she raised a fist to the closet wall and rapped her knuckles on it: one long rap followed by two short raps. Caleb nodded, understanding this as a code to tell him who was outside. The room did not have any other way to communicate to the outside passages, and the walls looked thick enough to block loud voices.

Caleb's eyebrows furrowed as he realized something. The Corvid claimed they would always be watching. Did that mean a hidden camera, or some other device, in this room?

Device. Caleb's hands twitched as he remembered something the Corvid said they had kept. A device that was originally his.

"Remember what the Honored Brothers told you," Revna said, using the same term of "brother" for him now. "Write swiftly, but also honestly. Only the foolish choose to anger the Corvid."

"I understand," Caleb said back. "But I have one more question to ask."

"Ask, then." Revna did not sound discouraged to continue the conversation for a bit longer.

Caleb audibly gulped. "I remember the agents in Kanalis took my cell phone. It's a device you hold in your hand…" He showed it by opening his hand and mimicking having his phone in his grasp. "… And you can talk into it by holding it to your ear." He raised his opened hand to his ear. "It is shaped like a square, and it's made of metal. Do they have it here?"

"It is against the will of the Honored Brothers to divulge unnecessary information." Revna spoke as if reciting a cant or mantra in monotone, but her facial expression showed hostility. "If you are deemed worthy of an answer, you will be given our honest response."

Revna inclined her head towards Caleb. "Take care, Brother," she said, and then she walked backwards out of the room with bizarrely fast movements. The room's door shut from the outside, moving almost silently as Revna shut the door. Caleb dimly heard the bolts being locked back into place; he was not going to be leaving here voluntarily.

Caleb's hands began trembling instead of twitching. His memory hearkened back to Charnon House and how the aged Silas had chosen to keep him contained. No, Caleb told himself as he moved to the desk and its glowing lamp, that's just paranoia talking. The Corvid trust me. They would not hold things from me unless they did not trust me.

Caleb began to write, starting with what he knew most: himself. This occupied his focus for some time as he tried to write what he wanted clearly and concisely. Like back on Earth, focusing on a single thing helped Caleb feel calm. He focused on making an introduction and an initial start into his family's relationship with the Hayes family.

After what felt like a long time—there were no clocks in the room—Caleb put his pencil down and rubbed his eyes. He felt strain behind his eyelids, though the light was not so bright as to irritate him. He started to read over what he had written, checking for mistakes.

"Release… me…"

An unknown voice entered Caleb's head just as he finished rereading his work. He stopped and listened, waiting for another sound. The room was quiet, but there was a humming sound from somewhere beyond the walls. Who was talking to him?

"It hurts…"

The voice was not speaking in Caleb's ears. He heard it in his brain, bypassing his ears entirely. How was this happening?

"Who's there?" Caleb said aloud. No one in the room answered, and nothing emerged from the walls. "I can hear you," he said in a louder voice.

"No." The voice began to sound panicked. "No more. No more!" Then the voice cried out in what sounded like drawn-out pain.

Tears welled up in Caleb's eyes, the area around them suddenly feeling hot. He rushed to rub his eyes and kept doing so until the sensations passed. Then he felt his forehead start to ache, giving enough pain to distract him from working any more.

Caleb knew the ways he could fix his pain were very limited; he could not go outside the room or ask for help until the Corvid came knocking. He leaned back in the chair as best he could and focused on slow, steady breaths. At the same time, his mind put together a dark theory.

Something was using Stonekeeper powers, and it was inside the Corvid's base. Somewhere inside these caves, the Corvid were using Stonekeeper energy. It was also causing someone great pain. Was it for those gateways, or something different?

Once again, Caleb had no answers for his questions. This was becoming far too common to be good.

Alright, that's all for now. This may be moving at a slower pace than other entries into the series, so please be patient.

As usual, any feedback or constructive criticism you give is appreciated.

Draconos is taking off!