Chapter 25

Grim felt as if the walls closed in around him. They were trapped.

The door pounded again. Eevenellin grabbed the different samples of hair and dropped them in each of the vials. Blue smoke swirled as she added them. The Grundel took the vials of blood and dropped their contents in each, corked them and shook. One vial turned deep purple, the other violet.

Eevenellin held the violet one up. “This is for Valeria. The other is for the Scourge. One drop in the mouth of each infected person should be enough.”

The door pounded harder and a violent red glow surrounded it. The door barely held, straining against the pressure. Rudy pulled out her rod, pulled three switches and popped a couple of levers. Her fingers danced along it like she knew exactly what she was doing.

She pointed it at the door and a blast of golden light poured out of it. It enveloped the door and secured it in place.

Eevenellin’s eyes widened. “Impressive.”

Rudy grinned. “I’ve been practicing with Quinn.”

Grim glanced about the room. “How are we going to get out of here?”

“I’ll take care of that,” Eevenellin said. The Grundel placed the two vials in separate pouches at her side and reached behind the bed. She motioned for Grim to get off and the bed folded itself up to reveal a set of stairs descending into the catacombs.

“Hurry,” Rudy muttered, continuing to hold the door. Grim’s legs buckled and he grabbed his sister for support.

“You okay?” she asked.

“I’ll be fine,” he said through gritted teeth. His arm hurt and his brain felt like it was swimming.

Eevenellin descended the stairs and Grim followed. Rudy brought up the rear with the rod still gripped in her hand. As she stood over the stairs, she released the trigger. She descended the stairs behind them and they all heard the bed click back into place just as an explosion thundered above. Something scratched frantically at the bed and growled.

“Are you all right?” Eevenellin asked as Grim’s legs failed him once more.

He nodded and rubbed his head. It throbbed.

“We have to run,” Eevenellin said. “It won’t take long before he figures out how to open that bed.”

A soft blue light emanated from her hand — one of Master Rickett’s firefly bugs. It flew above them to illuminate the tunnel.

The Grundel tore down the corridor, and Grim and Rudy stumbled after her. They followed her through the maze of tunnels until they finally came upon a set of stairs that wound upwards. Eevenellin knocked three times on a stone. A door opened and they spilled out from the wall at the side of the orphanage.

“How do you know all of these entrances?”

“Dorian showed me. There’s more, sublevel,” she said, pointing downwards.

The door slid closed behind them, becoming seamless with the stone wall. Grim ran his fingers along the surface and could find no trace of the door.

The Grundel handed Grim one of the pouches. “Take this to the Infirmary. I will take the other to free Valeria.”

They then ran out into the chill, night air where leaves blew across the grounds with a heavy wind. They bolted towards the Infirmary and stopped in their tracks about half way across. Standing in front of the door was Master Galan and the Changeling. Rudy grabbed the rod and faced him. Eevenellin took out her own.

“Well,” he said, “it seems you’ve figured me out.”

“Valeria figured you out first, didn’t she?” Eevenellin said.

The old man nodded. “Most annoying assistant I’ve ever met. I was glad to turn her into stone. And most unfortunate for the poor Gargoyle that found her first. Who better to blame?”

“Why?” Grim asked. “Why would you do this?”

“My master wants you dead.” He stepped closer. “No one is to take your life directly, it would cause too much sympathy for your fathers. So it needed to be more subtle. No one would miss a bunch of dead orphans, and the six of you would be considered in the wrong place at the wrong time. The Scourge provided the perfect solution to my problem. And it allowed me to be rid of that meddlesome Aunt of yours. She can no longer summon with the Scourge.”

“Huh? Aunt Patrice?”

“You haven’t figured it out, have you? Are you that daft? Could you not see it after all these years? She’s the last of the Mystics. She’s the one who locked the Tower, and with her death I will get the key to opening it. Then I will have the secrets locked within it and the Jinns will serve my bidding!”

Rudy and Grim looked at each other. They both muttered, “Aunt Patrice?”

Eevenellin stepped forward. “But why aren’t you sick?”

He smiled a sickening grin. “I created the antidote with that little bit of Jinn blood your friend found. She gave me exactly what I was looking for, but I had to bide my time. I ripped pages out of countless books to ensure that no one would learn of the Scourge. Unfortunately you figured it out. And I don’t know how you managed to get past Marveleous Thingrom. He was supposed to take care of you should you leave the orphanage. You have had too many escapes for my liking.”

He pointed towards the pouch in Eevenellin’s hand. “Now hand it over, and I might let you escape with your lives rather than letting you be sport for my friend. Adelaide gets awfully hungry.”

“What about Festrel?” Grim asked.

The man laughed. “He came here eager to make Quinn return to Harland, or make him suffer, but once I told him you were his cousin he became obsessed with trying to make those stones work. He wanted to see where you’ve been all this time and what secrets you may have.” He cackled as he rattled the burgundy pouch at his side. “I offered to show him how they worked, but his pride got the better of him. He was determined that if his pathetic little cousins could make them work, he should be able to. He searched for endless hours through the books for the clue, but found nothing.”

The statue of Valeria was mere steps away from where Eevenellin stood. The Changeling growled louder and then morphed into a hulking cat-like monstrosity. Grim didn’t like the look of its glistening claws.

The old man repeated himself, his face reddening.

“Now, hand it over!”

Eevenellin removed the vial from the pouch. It glowed in the dark of the night. Master Galan reached out, his fingers trembling as he stretched towards them. The Grundel held out the vial, and then snatched it back as it brushed his fingertips.

“Run!”

Grim and Rudy bolted towards the Infirmary, but a great force threw them flailing through the air. They flew forward as the sound of an explosion blasted Grim’s ears. He hit the ground and rolled. Shards of stone flew everywhere.

Valeria’s statue lay shattered on the ground.

Eevenellin screamed. “No!”

The Grundel used her rod and fired off blue fire at Master Galan which he batted aside with a shield he produced from his own. Grim got up just as Madam Adelaide bounded towards him. He leapt to the side and the Changeling missed him by inches.

It rounded once more, turning to dive at him, but Rudy stood over him, rod in hand. She flipped two levers and pushed a button. It produced a massive metal shield. The Changeling bounced off it and rolled. Then the rod’s green liquid evaporated. The weapon clicked, whirred, and then died.

Rudy shook it. Nothing.

“Oh crud!” she said, and dove as Madam Adelaide leapt towards her.

Hordes of children ran from the Academy, sleep in most of their eyes. At the Infirmary Madam Zelna clutched the doorframe for support. Her hands and face were coated in brown splotches.

Grim dodged another leap from the Changeling. He rolled, clutching the pouch in one hand. Madam Adelaide dove towards him and again he leapt from her path, but this time the Changeling scratched him in the back, gouging him with its sharp nails. Grim cried out and fell forward, burning pain searing up his spine.

His head swam and Grim collapsed. The Changeling bolted towards him and Grim braced for her teeth, but he heard low, guttural words on the air.

“Get away from him!”

A sudden stream of ice pellets shot from a blaster, throwing the beast backwards. Quinn now stood over both Grim and Rudy, in the light of the two full moons. In his hand he gripped the platinum blaster from his father. His canine teeth had grown considerably longer and his eyes had changed to a shining yellow. He growled at Madam Adelaide, a deep throaty snarl.

“Go!” he roared. “I’ll help Eevenellin hold them off.”

Rudy pulled Grim up and helped him hobble towards the Infirmary, stumbling in front of Madam Zelna.

“This will cure the Scourge,” he said. “One drop on each person’s tongue.” He struggled to make the words form. His mouth numbed as did the rest of him.

Grim fell to his knees. The pain of the Changeling’s scratch emanated throughout his whole body. He dropped to the ground, breathing heavily. Then a dirigible soared overhead, dropping a basket. Its symbols looked familiar to Grim, but blackness took him.

The last thing he heard was his sister calling his name.