45

'You mean he figured what you were doing even with his back turned? Gosh, he's creepy!' exclaimed Lucien, as Grace finished retelling what had gone down during her visit to the mansion. 'Still, one thing's for sure: that portal has some serious significance considering his reaction. Good catch, human!'

'Thanks,' said Grace. 'I wonder where it leads?'

'If I remember correctly...' said Lucien, cracking open a fat volume he had brought earlier and checking within to confirm – 'yes! It's the golden ring of power!'

'Is that good or bad?'

'Depends. It's a container portal; it holds five portals of the caster's choosing. But here's the thing; a portal to Earth is perfectly possible to embed in it! Now, what if there is one sitting around beyond that library shelf, just waiting for a worthy candidate like us to pass through...'

'Well, I don't see what we can do about it,' said Kuro lazily. 'Unless you're suggesting we troop off across the Mainland and sail straight through the mansion doors to explore it? Like, come on; those trees alone won't let us pass!'

'Of course not!' said Lucien impatiently. 'Have you completely forgotten about the secret passage in our kitchen? Looks like we've finally found a use for it!'

'Oh! That!'

'Exactly! Come on, let's try it now!'

'I've barely returned from the mansion,' said Grace. 'Would it be wise to go back so soon?'

'Of course. He might be expecting you to try something, but certainly not tonight! And it's not like he knows that we know about the passage!'

'You have a point,' said Grace, walking to the kitchen and peeling the wallpaper back carefully. 'One thing, though. What's our plan? We can't just walk in there!'

'Oh yes, we can,' said Lucien. 'Look, I still have my father's map for us to find our way. We'll be super stealthy. All we've got to do is enter that portal somehow before anyone notices and boom! Either we find that elusive way to Earth – or...'

'Or it eludes us again and we get caught and face the Assistant's ire,' said Kuro, shaking his head. 'That's a very careless plan even by your standards, Lucien. Very, very risky.'

'Well, no rewards without some risks,' shrugged the demon.

'Ugh. Okay. But I seriously hate being dragged into this...'

'You can stay behind if you like. After all, you can go to Earth without a portal...'

The cat turned away before tossing his head and giving him a dramatic glare. 'I thought we were a team!'

'Okay, okay!' laughed Lucien. 'Come on, go ahead and lead the way, then – and we'll follow! I say, is it going to be this low throughout? Will we be forced to crawl and wriggle all the way?'

'It'll get higher soon – enough for you to walk,' said Kuro. 'It's just the first stretch that's like this.'

'Well, that's a relief!'

'I just remembered,' said Grace suddenly, her voice sounding strange in the narrow passage, 'that the way leading to the Assistant was blocked! Kuro can pass, but we can't!'

'Don't worry,' said Lucien. 'I've got some... arrangements for that.'

'Wait for me to pass first!' said Kuro at once.

'Hehe. How much longer till we're there, by the way?'

'Not sure. But since I just felt a drop of chilly water on my head, I'm assuming we're close.'

'Water? Oops. Sorry, Kuro.'

'You should be.'

'Oh, it's getting a little less dark – or am I just imagining it?'

'You aren't. We're at the fork.'

'Good! Pass through, then I'll blow it up after a few seconds.'

'Lucien?' said Grace worriedly. 'Blow it up? Are you sure? How?'

'Like this,' grinned the demon, staring at the wall with extreme concentration before his hair began to spark and his hands started glowing. 'And....' he said, closing his hands in a fist and punching it away with a sudden wave of fire— 'YAAAAAAAAAA!!!'

Grace flinched in surprise, but it actually worked without harming anybody. 'G-good going, I guess...'

'Hehe,' chuckled Lucien. 'Being a demon can be fun at times like this...'

'Show off!' called out Kuro. 'Come on, hurry! And from this point on, don't talk! Not only are the echoes awful, but we're approaching enemy territory and we must be cautious!'

'Yes,' nodded Lucien, and his voice echoed slightly and startled him. YES, yes, yes...

'Creepy,' muttered Grace. Creepy, creepy, creepy...

'That's the worst thing to echo back ever!' said Lucien, bursting into a laugh, which echoed eerily while Kuro glared back.

'Shut up, you idiots!' ... idiots, idiots, idiots!

'You've made your point,' snickered Lucien.

'Seriously,' said Kuro. 'We're here. Now, I think this space should be just enough for you to squeeze through into his cellar, but be quiet; the danger zone begins here!'

*  *  *

'What a pathetic place!' whispered Lucien as he emerged amongst the stacks of crates and looked around.

'I wonder if he keeps the souls here...' said Grace, getting to her feet and staring at the box with the Devil's Seal.

'No, of course not! Souls are kept in special containers and conditions, not like this. Best to leave that box alone and stick to what we came here for. Now, according to the map, there's no passage – because my father hadn't turned evil and built it yet – but there is only one cellar and it's definitely this one. That door in front of us leads to the kitchen, and our best bet from there is... the sidedoor shortcut down the passage marked in red, and then straight to the library.'

'Do we have to go from there of all places?' said Kuro.

'Apparently. On the bright side, if that girl is still in there, maybe we could let her out while we're at it.'

'Riskier and riskier,' said Kuro. 'Let's go to the kitchen first and hope that the Assistant doesn't like midnight snacks.'

They pulled the door open slowly and cringed at the loud creaking sound it made. Thankfully, the kitchen was empty.

'Hmm, black décor,' whispered Lucien. 'Not bad, but I like ours better.'

'Hurry, you idiot!' hissed Kuro, nudging at the sidedoor.

They pushed it open – to their relief, this one didn't make a sound – and walked down the eerie passage. Just as they were about to turn and make for the library, Grace heard the faint voice call again from behind one of the doors. Help me! I'm hurt...

Lucien and Kuro stopped, their hearts beating faster.

'Let's see what this is about,' said the demon, and he pushed the door, half-expecting it to be locked – only for it to open easily into an empty room.

Grace looked inside with a frown. The walls and floor were both a brilliant white, and there was no door, no window – and no girl, either.

'It's a trap,' said Kuro, his hackles rising. 'Get out of here immediately!'

Lucien nodded and ran with Grace as fast as he could, shutting the door behind them in a hurry.

'That was creepy...'

They remained silent until they made it to the library door.

'Let's just hope he doesn't like bedtime reading...' said Lucien, placing a shaking hand on the handle.

'I'll go first,' insisted Kuro. 'I'm not so noticeable, you see.'

'Good point. Go on.'

Kuro pushed the library door open silently, and was relieved to see that the room was empty. He nodded and beckoned them in.

'Quick now, human!' said Lucien.

Grace ran towards the shelf with the golden books and took out the fourth volume. Lucien and Kuro gasped as the entire shelf slid to the side to reveal the shining golden portal.

'Wait,' said Kuro, as Lucien stepped forward. 'What if the Assistant comes just when we're in there? You two go in and I'll replace the book and keep a lookout.'

'Good thinking!' said the demon, and he stepped beside the ring with Grace and watched the shelf slide almost all the way back as Kuro replaced the book.

'Now,' he turned to Grace, whose heart was beating faster. 'Are you ready?'

Grace only nodded.

'Let's go!'

They both stepped through the golden ring and found themselves floating in a light so dazzling that they had to close their eyes. In a few moments, however, they found themselves in what looked somewhat like an abandoned office. There were five windows, and each of them glowed with a different light.

'Five different portals,' muttered Lucien. 'Let's see... that's the Fiery Pass, the Blue Wasteland, the Howling Vale, the Land of Velveteen Whispers, and the last green one... I can't quite place it...'

'Please, let it be Earth...' whispered Grace. As she spoke, the green changed colour to a sickly yellow.

Lucien's eyes widened. 'Oh, no. It's a portal to the Dungeons of Despair!'

'So this ring's a dud for us, then,' sighed Grace. 'It's all weird evil stuff.'

'Afraid so,' said Lucien, looking rather downcast. 'Oh well... it was worth the try. Let's go back. Together, through the golden ring – well done. Now, past the shelf—'

'Wait!' hissed Kuro from behind. 'I can hear the Assistant coming!'

Grace and Lucien froze. Now what?

They heard quiet footsteps enter the room and walk towards a nearby shelf, accompanied by a casual humming. Then, abruptly, the humming stopped.

'Is someone there?' called the Assistant. 'I can hear you, you know. You're a small animal, probably a cat...'

How does he know? Kuro slunk further beneath the table he had chosen to hide under.

'All right then... I'll get you myself,' sighed the Assistant, closing his eyes and groping in the empty air before snapping them open and, in a sudden stride towards the table, grabbing Kuro's tail.

'Ah!' yelled the cat, clawing in the air as the Assistant gazed at him curiously.

'You're that ill-mannered cat that Lucien keeps,' he said slowly. 'Which means...'

He turned around and noticed the tiny gap in the shelf. 'Aha!... well, I warned you, Grace, what I would do to you if you snooped around here again... and now, I have no choice but to—'

Kuro knew he had to act. He yelled out at the top of his voice before biting into the Assistant's wrist and scratching his arm. 'RUN! RUN NOW!!'

The Assistant's eyes widened at the sudden pain and dropped the cat. As he did so, Grace and Lucien pushed the shelf to the side and made a dash for the library door and beyond it, with Kuro at their heels.

'Oh, really?!' exclaimed the Assistant menacingly, running after them as they flew across passage after passage, hall after hall. 'Let's see how long you can escape me!'

'Bother,' said Lucien, panting, as they all ended up in a random room with no further door. 'Where are we?!'

'The Assistant's coming,' said Grace, looking back frantically. 'We have to get out of here!'

'We're trapped,' said Kuro agitatedly. 'We shouldn't have run in here! Now we're sitting ducks!'

'No, you're not,' said a squeaky voice from a corner. 'There's a secret exit in this room if you tap that wall three times and use this key – a backdoor out of the mansion!'

'Squeaks, you?' said Grace in surprise, taking the key as Lucien tapped the wall, and sure enough, a door appeared out of nowhere, which he proceeded to unlock.

'You said I should be brave,' said the rat timidly. 'So I thought I could start with you maybe. I was in the cellar and I guessed you might need a faster escape later...'

'That's oddly thoughtful of you,' said the demon, impressed. 'If we make it out of here alive, I'm going to get you the biggest piece of cheese you've ever seen!'

'Not bad for a rat,' said Kuro. 'Perhaps I could even tolerate your company with us from now on, since I don't think the Assistant's going to appreciate what you just did.'

'He doesn't know I'm here,' grinned Squeaks, retreating into a tiny mousehole in the wall. 'Good luck and see you later!'

'Thank you!' said Grace, and she joined the others as they dashed out into the open Mainland.

'Now, to get home as fast as we can!' said Kuro. 'That way, quick!'

As they sprinted across the barren land, nearly ran out of breath, they saw, to their alarm, a group of banshees in the distance, coming after them.

'Blast and botheration!' exclaimed Lucien. 'I think the Assistant sent them after us! Now what?!'

'There's a tree that's following us too,' said Kuro in alarm. 'Bother! It's just a few feet away!'

'We won't make it,' said Grace in horror, as the terrifying creatures closed in upon them.

Just then, a mournful howl sounded into the night. A large silhouette appeared in the horizon, against the rising full moon. It was the dog Grace had rescued yesterday – and it was looking in their direction!

'Is he going to chase after us too?!' said a dismayed Lucien.

'No,' said Kuro in surprise. 'He's helping us! Look, his presence has stopped the banshees and things from following us!'

'Good deeds really do come around,' said Lucien, touched. 'I wish I could say thank you, but I suppose he gets it anyway. Look, the gate at last!'

They thankfully made towards it, and as they passed into the Gateland, the last thing they heard was the howling of the mysterious dog, ensuring their safe exit.