The Honor of Light #2 (Waverly Stump and The 7 Realms)

Chapter Ten

"That's it?" Brijjet asked with his arms spread out.

"Yes, that is it." The High Priest replied with a tone of finality. His two servants came forward to grab hold of his wheelchair.

"What are we supposed to do with a bunch of rhymes? Spit them into Judson's face?"

"Wait! You have not yet told us the way to Enton." Waverly reminded.

"My dear girl, i have only had the privilege to gaze upon the home of the gods but i have never been there myself. I do not know the way but all i can tell you is that your journey will not end as you expect it to. Find the god of the In Between, only through his realm may you pass - if he allows you to."

With that, the servants slowly wheeled the priest away. Halfway to the door, he spoke again in a higher tone of voice. "Remember, you have only but a few days before the Veil is closed."

Brijjet glanced at Waverly who glanced at Chimbley. "What is the Veil?"

"The gateway to the realm of Light. It is to the gods as Arwen is to mortals. It is said to open over the ocean for a few minutes during sunrise on a midsummer day. If you can travel to it before then, you might have a chance to get in."

"Midsummer? That's only eight days away." Brijjet said in alarm. "We have to leave now."

He gingerly picked up Judson who stirred upon contact. He put Judson's arms around his neck then turned to Chimbley. "Thank you for your aid, Sir. We are most grateful."

"I wish you the best of luck on your journey." Chimbley said with a solemn bow.

Brijjet held out an arm to Waverly. "Come on. I still have enough energy to run for a couple more hours."

Waverly walked toward him and he placed a hand securely around her waist. Chimbley hurried to the door and opened it wide. Brijjet zoomed past noiselessly and raced out of the house. Waverly felt her ears buzz with a loud ringing noise as Brijjet ran. The sound continued to increase to match his speed. The environment went from a blur to absolute nothing, the atmosphere thickened to soup and the ground felt obscure underneath Waverly's feet. This made her feel like she was falling and flying at the same time. She strained to glance at either Brijjet or Judson but the force of speed all around her threatened to snap the bones in her neck.

She suddenly began to feel a sharp pain course through the back of her head. The pain intensified until Waverly felt warm liquid dribble out of her ears.

"Stop!" She yelled. Brijjet abruptly stopped running but he did so with such aggressive friction that Waverly shot right out of his arm and collided with the trunk of a nearby tree.

"Whoops!" Brijjet yelped nervously. Waverly felt the world spin, the soup she thought she had been in began to disperse slowly. The high-pitched sound in her ears threatened to blow her brain to bits. Her mouth held the metallic taste of blood.

"I'm very very sorry, truly. But why did you ask me to. . . ?" Brijjet laid Judson down as he spoke but kept quiet when he suddenly took notice of something.

Waverly staggered to her feet. The rotation of the earth came to a slow stop but her still head throbbed and her eyes pierced with pain. Her arms felt numb and tiny pieces of tree bark had peeled off to stick to her shirt.

"I do not think you should run that fast next time, my head almost truly came off my body." Waverly complained.

"Is Jud alright?" She limped towards Brijjet then halted when she saw that he was looking about in alert. His eyes watched the trees vigilantly while his fingers twitched against his walking stick. He gently released his left arm from behind Judson (who was still asleep) and stood up straight.