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HADLEY HELD THE LANTERN up high, and with the magic that Lord Sylvester allowed him to use, he enhanced the light so that it rolled over the tunnel walls as dancing beams of color. Each time he looked over his shoulder at Kandace, her wide eyes made him laugh. So, he made a shape with his fingers and held it over the lamp so that the colored beams appeared as unicorns.
Kandace clapped and turned to her brother. “You see that, Crispin?”
“That’s something else, isn’t it?” her brother grinned.
“I love this place!” she said, caressing the puppet that Hadley had given her. The doll blinked when Kandace kissed it.
“This place isn’t just for girls,” Hadley winked at Crispin. “You’re probably getting tired of the little child attractions, so I have something to show you. Don’t say anything though.” Hadley licked his lips and glanced back at the boy. He had to make the Neverworld loved by both of them, or else it could be a pretty scary place. Not that Crispin would scare easily, but the day Hadley showed him the armory in the palace, the boy’s face had gone pale. He needed some toughening up.
Hadley led them through the tunnels far from the carnival room, past the prison cells, which he concealed with sorcery so as not to frighten them. Yet. Into another chamber wherein stood a closet the length of a palace wall, with many doors made of wood, and one massive enclosure in the center with a door of iron. An embossed dragon embellishment circled the duel handles and the smooth surface around the dragon reflected the lantern light so that it appeared to be on fire.
Kandace gasped.
“What is it?” Crispin asked.
“The Closet of Gains.” Hadley spoke low and dramatically. “This is a secret room. Few people know about it, just those of us with any importance.”
“Are we supposed to be here?” Kandace asked.
Hadley shook his head and put his finger over his lips.
“What’s in it?”
“Magic.”
Kandace gasped.
“Show me!” Crispin said.
“You really want to see? It’s dangerous.”
“What I’ve seen so far hasn’t hurt us.”
Hadley nodded, pleased with Crispin’s courage. He handed the lantern to Crispin and slowly advanced to the closet with the two younger ones at his heels. He knew where the key was, but since the baron let him use the Neverworld’s magic just this one he thought he’d make a show of it.
“Stand back,” he told them and held out his arms to restrain them. Kandace stepped back. Crispin leaned closer, holding the lantern in front of them.
“Put it out,” Hadley whispered, and Crispin turned the wick down.
With a wave of his hands, and a few words in Neverworld language, the cave went dark, He opened his fist with a start and a sudden flash brightened the room and faded just as suddenly, leaving real fire burning on the metal door. Hadley advanced.
“You’ll burn yourself,” Kandace said in panic.
“Shh,” her brother quieted her. “He knows what he’s doing.”
Hadley took hold of the dragon’s front feet, which doubled as the closet’s handholds, and pulled. The double doors swung open revealing shelves with vials of different shapes and sizes, all with bubbling liquid that glowed purple, green, yellow, red and every color in between.
“Magic,” Hadley announced. “Spells for anything you could possibly want to happen.”
“Are they good spells?” Kandace asked.
“Some of them.”
“What happened with this one?” Crispin picked up an empty pear shaped bottle from the shelf and held it in his hand.
“That? Funny you should ask about that one.”
“Why?”
“It was the most exciting magic of them all. One sip and it could turn you into anything you’d want to be.”
“What happened to it?”
“Someone stole it. Don’t worry though. We think we know who the crook is, and we’ll catch him. Soon. It’s important that we get it back before things start happening.”
“What was it going to be used for?”
“Disguise, mostly for the assassins.”
Hadley licked the corner of his lips, speaking low in Crispin’s ear. “They were saving it for a special mission, and it had your name on it.”
“Me? They knew I was coming?”
“They’ve been visiting you all along, Crispin. I’ve been visiting you. Don’t you remember?”
Crispin put the bottle back on the shelf and looked Hadley square in the eyes.
“You were the voice?”
Hadley didn’t answer, only smiled.
“It was wrong, the things you said.”
“No, it wasn’t. There’s a new world being created, Crispin. The old has to go away, it has to die.”
“I’m not sure I want to be a part of that...” the boy recoiled and moved closer to his sister, who took his hand.
“You already are. You’re here now. There’s no going back.”
The boy’s face paled, and he turned around looking for a way out, but Hadley had relinquished the magic and the lantern light dimmed. Crispin had no escape, no route that he’d be able to find.
“I only tell you these things, so you’ll understand. The old world is dying and we’re here to make a new one. You and I and all the other people you’ll be meeting. We’re your friends, and we’re an army. Lord Sylvester is our leader, and he cares about us. More than anyone. You too, Kandace. All we have to do is get your courage up. You have the skills.”
Crispin shook his head. “No.”
Hadley nudged the boy. He had expected some resistance, but Crispin had enough conditioning with the seizures and the visions, he’d only balk for a short while. Hadley had to say these words. It was part of the training. “Hasn’t Lord Sylvester treated you well? Come on, you can’t deny it!”
“Yes, but...,”
“And didn’t your father abandon you to fight for the king?”
“He was just going to get some money and come back.”
Hadley laughed and shook his head. “He was fighting against Lord Sylvester. I saw him, Crispin. I was there the day he got arrested. Who was the better man? The one who raised his bow against the baron? Or the baron who forgave his enemy and took you in as his own?”
“That’s not fair.”
“Think about it Crispin. How has life been treating you?” Hadley surprised himself. He felt like the baron himself, saying it the way Lord Sylvester would have spoken. The man would be proud of him if he could hear! “For three weeks we’ve been helping you. Have you had a seizure since you’ve been here?”
“No.”
“See? You had them when you were with your father though, didn’t you? And with your mother.”
“Yes, but....”
“You owe your gratitude to the baron. To me!”
Crispin looked at his sister, and she looked up at him with tears running down her cheeks.
“You owe it to Kandace to give her a decent life. A future. You have a home with us.”
Hadley closed the closet and locked the door with a whisper of magic. He lit the lantern and the many colors of its prism. Smiling, he nodded toward the tunnels they had traveled through.
“Let’s get another sweet cake before we go home.”