Chapter 37: Chapter 37

Though the diner had been crowded, there weren’t a lot of vehicles in the parking lot, and looking up at the castle in the distance, Ru could see why. There must’ve been a thousand steps. The castle sat on top of a hill, and there was a stairwell that wound its way around the base. In the sunlight, the bricks gave off a golden glow. With the backdrop of the sea behind it, the scene was breathtaking.

“Guess we’ll be getting in our cardio,” Rider mumbled, pulling the keys out and opening his door.

“This place will literally take your breath away,” Ivy agreed as she climbed from the far back seat of the van and followed her teammates out.

Ru was hardly aware of what everyone else was doing as she stared at the fortress before her. The hum was softer now, but not more distant, just more content, as if it was pleased with her choices. She would’ve continued to sit in the van indefinitely, just staring at the complex, if Cutter hadn’t opened her door and offered her his hand. She took it and leapt down to the rocky ground. As they headed toward the entrance to the stairwell, she didn’t let go and was glad that he seemed content to let her hold on.

When they were about halfway up, the humming changed, and Ru stopped. She felt as if it were pulling at her, urging her to walk through the base of the hill, as if continuing to climb up the rest of the stairs would cause her to go in the wrong direction. Puzzled, she stared at the hillside, though she was sure there was no doorway in front of her.

“What is it?” Cutter asked.

“I don’t know. It wants me to go… that way.”

“That’s not a way,” Rider stated, pointing out the obvious.

She looked at him with sharp eyes. “I realize that. But why would it be telling me to go through the base of the hill?”

“I don’t know,” he replied. “But why don’t we keep going the only way we can and see what that leads us to.” His voice was overly-condescending, on purpose, and she snarled at him before they continued to head up the steps.

“Does it sound any different to you?” Ru asked Lyric, who was only a step ahead of her.

“Yes,” Lyric replied. “And even more annoying with each step in the wrong direction.”

Something told Ru she wasn’t hearing exactly the same thing that Lyric was, but she agreed the harshness of the hum increased when she didn’t go the way it told her to. It was manageable, though, and as they neared the top of the staircase, she was happy to have Cutter’s hand in hers. He still had that calming effect on her, which she absolutely needed right now.

The entryway to the castle reminded Ru of a church. The curved ceiling above their heads gave the impression they’d stepped into a holy building. The area was sectioned off by large stone pillars in a rusty color. It was beautiful and peaceful, and if it weren’t for the buzzing, Ru would’ve wanted to stay there a little while and breathe it all in.

“Can I help you?”

The voice came from a middle-aged man with graying hair whose name tag identified him as “Stew” who clearly worked there. He had a kind face but seemed a bit tired, as if he was tired of saying the same things over and over again.

“Hello, sir,” Rider began in his most polite voice. “We are actually looking for someone who we think might work here. A friend of our mother’s.” He gestured at Ivy, who smiled, as if they were siblings. They looked like they could be. Honestly, to anyone observing them from the outside, they probably looked like an albino version of the Partridge Family.

“Oh, well, I’m the only one working here today,” Stew said, his smile drawing into a thin line. There was something about the way his eyes shifted that made Ru think he wasn’t being honest with them. “Perhaps if you come back some other time.”

“Are there any other employees that live on the island?” Rider asked, but before Stew could answer, Ru brushed him off.

“Thank you, Stew, for your time,” she said, pressing her most dazzling smile forward despite her inner turmoil. “Perhaps we’ll just take the tour then?”

“Sure,” he said, though he continued to hesitate. “I can give you the guided tour in about half an hour.”

“What about the un-guided tour?” Lyric asked, pointing at a sign by a counter and a cash register. There were a few items for sale, but as far as she could tell there was no actual entrance fee. There was a jar asking for contributions to the restoration fund, though, and she pulled a large bill out of her pocket and dropped it into the jar as Stew was formulating his answer.

“Of course,” he replied in his thick accent. “Go ahead and have a look around. I’ll be back… momentarily.”

“Thank you,” Ru said, nodding. The rest of them turned, as if they were about to check out the entry way and see where the passages led to, but Ru watched Stew out of the corner of her eye as he headed off in the opposite direction, obviously in a hurry.

Pulling on Cutter’s arm, she said, “We have to follow him.”

“Ookay….” He drew it out like it was a question but he let her lead him in the same direction Stew had rushed off in.

“Think about it,” Ru whispered as she allowed Stew to get far enough ahead of them that she could hardly hear the clank of his shoes on the ground. “If you came here to hide, wouldn’t you tell your friends to be on the lookout for threats, especially when you can describe them so easily.”

“Are you saying you think Stew is off to warn your mother?”

“That is precisely what I think,” Ru replied. “I wonder if she knows it’s me, though, or if she just assumes it’s a group of Keepers.” She wondered if Stew had also been told to warn her if he saw a group of people with dark hair and green eyes.

“Does she know we’re here?”

“I’m sure she does,” Ru whispered. “Don’t you suppose I also put off a sound only she can here?”

“You think that noise is coming from your mom?”

“Yes.”

“But, why can Lyric hear it then?” he asked.

In front of them, Ru could see several doors but no sign of Stew. There was a corner at the end of the hallway, so she hurried her pace to look around it before it was too late. Just as she ducked her head to see if he was still in her sights, she heard the slam of a door. “Damn it,” she mumbled. She had no idea which door he’d disappeared behind.

“We’ll find him,” Cutter assured her.

“Right,” Ru replied, though she didn’t know how. But then, she realized the humming was even stronger the further she’d gone down the hallway, and as she turned the corner, it grew stronger. She didn’t need Stew to find her mom.

Making their way down the corridor, Ru slowed before each door. It wasn’t until they reached the very end, at least ten doors down, that she knew this was the one. She absently wondered if Stew had been sprinting to get here ahead of them.

She pulled on the handle, but it was locked. “Damn it,” she muttered again.

“Ru…” Cutter said, shaking his head. He grabbed ahold of the elaborate doorknob and a shot of blue light ebbed out of his hand. A second later, he pulled it open.

“Right,” she mumbled. She could’ve done that, too. She was so used to being human.

A dark staircase made of ancient stone lay before them and she wondered since when castles had doors blocking off stairwells, but then she’d never actually been in a castle before. The path was narrow and it smelt of mildew and earth. The humming chirped along in a happy tone the further down Ru traveled. There was no railing, so she placed her hand on the cold stone wall to steady herself, glad Cutter was in front of her in case she stumbled.

It made sense to her now why the hum wanted her to turn at that point in the stairs outside. It wanted her to go underground right there. Of course, that was impossible. But she had found another way.