Page 12

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E velyn blinked in the bright lights of Zone 8. Kirat had just activated the rune, allowing them to step through the passageway into what looked like a massive ball room. Gone were the stone walls and dirt floors of the tunnel outside. The brown and white tiled floor gleamed beneath dozens of chandeliers laden with tall taper candles. Clear crystals dangling from the chandeliers cast sparkling lights into every corner. The walls were papered in robin’s egg blue with inlaid pillars of cream and gold every few feet.

A huge ceiling painting depicted the Olympian heaven, complete with old, bearded men in robes and frolicking nymphs worshipping their goddess. Lavish gold gilded stuccowork framed the fresco mural. Evelyn felt as though she’d stepped into eighteenth-century Bavaria. A Viennese waltz was being played by a small group of musicians off to the far left. Evelyn couldn’t quite identify their instruments at this distance, but the music itself was enchanting.

At least twenty couples waltzed around the ballroom, their faces obscured by masks. Some wore old-fashioned garb that fit in with the overall theme of the room, but others were wearing more contemporary outfits, as though they’d stepped out of modern New Orleans and into another time and place. Evelyn looked closer. They likely had done just that. The masks made it impossible to tell whether they were enjoying themselves or under duress, but the fact that no one had responded to the newcomers’ presence suggested they weren’t entirely in control of themselves. Or they were illusions, like in the previous zone.

“Have you met our king?” All the dancers spoke in unison without missing a step. “Our king is great and wise.” They danced a few more steps. “Come forth and greet our king.”

The dancers stopped abruptly and turned as one to point toward the opposite end of the room. Evelyn looked at Kirat and Valen. Kirat shrugged and headed where they pointed. Evelyn followed with Valen at her side. Out of the corner of her eye she saw him unsnap the guard on his holster, ready to draw his gun. She wondered if bullets would have any effect on whatever was going on here. How much of this was real and how much was illusion? She couldn’t tell. A thin veil of shine covered every surface, including the dancers, but they were in a magically sustained cavern far underground. The presence of shine meant different things down here.

Evelyn glanced back to see the dancers were still standing frozen in place, pointing. Even the musicians had stopped playing. The ballroom was so quiet she could hear the candles flickering in the chandeliers overhead. Valen reached for her hand, and she gripped his in response. This was somehow more unnerving than all the circles of hell combined.

“Welcome!” A male voice echoed through the room, seeming to come from everywhere and nowhere. “Approach!”

The ballroom stretched out ahead of them, impossibly large. More dancers stood perfectly still, all pointing in the same direction. After walking for several minutes, they finally approached an elevated platform on which a masked man sat on a throne. An elaborate crown adorned his head, but he wore a pair of ratty gray sweatpants and a faded sweatshirt with “The X-Files” emblazoned across the chest. His feet were bare, the nails overgrown and discolored. He tapped a long, greenish-gray fingernail on the arm of the throne. When he smiled, his teeth were brown and rotten in his mouth.

“Welcome to my kingdom,” he said, clearly proud of himself. His smile faded. “Will you not bow before me? Will you not greet me with the respect I deserve as your sovereign? Do you dare defy me in my own throne room?”

Kirat and Valen bowed low on either of Evelyn, who remained standing straight. Her friend tugged at the hem of her jacket.

“Bow, Evelyn,” Kirat whispered. “Hurry.”

Instead, Evelyn raised her chin and faced the so-called king. The varying clothes of the dancers suggested they too were wayward travelers who found their unfortunate way into this zone. Into but not out of. She wagered that most of them were likely to bow when commanded to do so, under the assumption that obedience would earn them their freedom. But to a mad king, obedience made you his slave.

“I will not bow down.”

The king shifted in his throne and tilted his head to peer at her through the holes in his mask.

“You will,” he said.

“I will not. Have you no respect? I shall forgive your lack of manners once, but not again.” Evelyn’s heart pounded in her chest. She was taking a huge risk—calculated, but still terrifying. The design of the ballroom screamed eighteenth century Bavaria. She would bet her left boot it was modeled after the Great Hall at Nymphenburg Palace. If she was right, then this magic-wielding lunatic fancied himself Maximilian III, elector of Bavaria. Powerful, yes. But not ultimately so.

He leaned forward, the crown tilting precariously above his mask. “Who are you?”

Evelyn stepped closer to the platform. “I am Maria Theresa, Archduchess of Austria, Queen of Hungary and Bohemia, and Holy Roman Empress. And you, dear nephew, are in grave danger of giving offense.”

Moments ticked by without a response. Evelyn felt sweat gather at her temples. Had she gotten it wrong?

His sudden laughter boomed across the hall, and Evelyn fought not to flinch.

“Auntie Maria! Of course! I didn’t recognize you without your mask. Perhaps you would care to wear one?” He snapped his fingers, and two men stepped forward carrying trays of masks in varying styles.

“I would not. I only came to bestow my blessing upon your realm on my way through this land.” He stopped smiling, and Evelyn mentally scrambled to come up with something else. “And to give you this small token of my familial affection.” She reached into her bag and pulled out three of the seed packets she’d brought with her. “Seeds from the greatest natural philosophers in the Empire. These plants will grow even in the total absence of sunlight, making them extremely rare and highly valuable. A gift fit for a king.”

One of the men approached her so that she could place the packets on his tray, which he then took over to the king. The mad man examined the packets with interest. “Fascinating. I had heard rumors of such seeds, but I never dreamed of seeing them myself. A blessing upon this kingdom, indeed.” He leaned back in his throne, seemingly appeased. “And where do your travels take you, auntie ?”

“Home.” Evelyn hesitated, then added. “To my husband.”

“Ah, yes. Your husband. Uncle…”

He was testing her. “Francis.”

“I see. Do give my regards to the Emperor and thank him for allowing me this visit with my beloved aunt.”

Evelyn bowed her head slightly in acknowledgement. She had no idea where the exit was unless he showed her, and they both knew it. She stood there in silence, waiting. Anything she said now could only weaken her position. He had affirmed her claimed identity and accepted her gift. Now he had to let her go, however reluctant he might be to lose his new toy. She had played by his rules and won.

Finally, he smiled again. “Do come back soon.” Then he waved his hand. One of the manservants stepped up on the elevated platform and pulled a cord to draw back the heavy velvet curtain behind the throne. The exit rune.

Evelyn motioned for Kirat and Valen to rise and follow her. She held her breath when she approached the king on his throne, fully aware that he could change his mind on a whim. She met his eyes through the mask as she passed. Red and watery with pale irises bordering on white, they held a sharpness that belied his otherwise bedraggled appearance. A mad king indeed.

Evelyn held it together until they’d reached the safety of the tunnels beyond Zone 8. As soon as the immediate threat was over, the adrenaline rush faded, and she leaned one shoulder against the wall because her knees felt like they might give out. She ran a shaky hand through her hair.

“I need just a minute.” She took a few deep breaths, willing her pulse to slow, reminding herself that she was okay.

Valen rubbed her back with one large, warm hand. “That was unbelievable. How did you know what to say?”

Kirat pulled out her map and stepped a few feet away to examine it.

Evelyn closed her eyes. “I thought I recognized the room he’d created. Or recreated. I figured if I could play his game as an equal partner, I might win safe passage.”

“But how did you know all that?”

She smiled, relaxing a little. “I read a lot of books, Valen.”

He chuckled and kept rubbing her back. The warm pressure was comforting.

Kirat spoke up from her spot by one of the tunnel torches. “The dancers… do you think they’re trapped there?”

Evelyn looked over at her. “I do. I think they became his pawns the moment they entered his zone and bowed down to him as their king.”

“That’s why you didn’t bow?” Kirat raised an eyebrow. “I thought you were just being stubborn.”

“I was, a little. But I also figured if we acted like he had authority over us, it would become reality. I wasn’t sure—it was a gamble.”

“That was quick thinking. I’ll report his zone when I return to the antechamber.”

“I thought there were no rules down here. That the magic users have essentially free rein within their zones.” Valen stopped rubbing but kept his hand on her back.

“There aren’t many rules down here, that’s true.” Kirat folded her map and returned it to her pack. “But it’s generally frowned upon to trap people indefinitely. The Dark City thrives in darkness and secrecy. If too many people go missing, that draws attention. Not from regular folk, but no one wants the full power of the old witches levied against them because they imprisoned the wrong person’s great-great-nephew. That’s why so many of the zones have allied themselves with the coven.” She gave Evelyn a quick once over. “You good to move on?”

Evelyn felt Valen’s hand fall from her back, and she straightened from her position leaning against the cool wall of the tunnel. She was mentally and physically drained but determined. “I’m good. What’s next?”

“We’re almost there. One more zone to pass through, and I think you’re actually going to like this one.” Kirat grinned, one gold tooth glinting in the firelight. “Imagine if Alice’s wonderland and Wonka’s chocolate factory were owned and operated by Glinda the Good Witch. That’s Zone 17. Come on.”

The next section of tunnel was unremarkable, but after about half a mile, Kirat led them to a metal ladder set into a shallow half-circle carved into the stone wall. “Up we go,” she said, then disappeared up the ladder.

Evelyn gave her a head start, then followed. The legs of the ladder were nice and wide, so it was almost like climbing a very steep set of stairs. The half circle became a fully round tunnel once she passed the ceiling of the tunnel they’d left, and there was enough room that Valen shouldn’t struggle to fit but not so much space that Evelyn worried about falling backwards. When she got tired, she could lean her back against the opposite wall and rest. Valen waited patiently below her, patting her boot to remind her he was there.

After what felt like a mile-high climb, Evelyn emerged into a tunnel that looked exactly like the one they’d left down below, except for the bubblegum pink rune glowing faintly on the wall nearby.

Kirat passed her hand over it. “Welcome to Zone 17.”

An artificial sun shone brightly in a clear blue sky dotted here and there with perfectly fluffy white clouds. The air smelled like flowers, and the grass under their feet felt springy and fresh. Giant pink and purple and blue toadstools towered over their heads. A sparkly white ant the size of a rottweiler trotted by, a diamond-crusted collar around its neck.

“Wow.” Evelyn turned in a circle trying to take it all in. An impossibly large ladybug approached them.

“Hello,” he said, his voice deep and lightly accented. Italian, maybe. “Welcome to paradise. Would you like a tour?”

“Thank you, but we’re just passing through this time,” Kirat said. “Maybe on our way back?”

“Of course. You are always welcome here, Kirat. Can I offer you a ride, at least?”

“A ride would be great.”

He opened his wings to reveal an intricate leather saddle with four seats tucked against his body. “All aboard.”

Kirat climbed up without hesitation. “Come on, it’s safe. This zone is massive. It’ll take us hours to cross it on foot. Besides, Javier is an excellent driver.”

“Thank you,” said Javier with a little wiggle of his antennae.

Evelyn looked at Valen and mouthed “what the fuck?” He just shrugged and helped her climb up next to Kirat.

“Please remain seated. Despite all appearances, normal physics do apply here. If you fall, you are likely to be damaged beyond even my mistress’s power to restore you.” Javier hopped once, twice, then fluttered into flight, rising up and over the toadstools and into the clear blue sky above.