The Voyager

Chapter Sixteen

We walk to the door we didn't enter through. I assume that it leads to the kitchen. Maximus opens it slightly and it creaks, she sticks her head out just enough to see, then opens it.

"They must be on break." She says.

We enter the kitchen. It is huge. There are five large ovens, what seems like miles of counter and cupboard space, and pots of all sizes everywhere. What it must be like to cook in here. It would be awful to clean.

Maximus leads us to the only door in the room with a window on it. It leads into a dining room. As we walk through, I count all the chairs at the table. There are 30 chairs. I can't even imagine having that many people around at one time.

There are two doors at the end of the room. Maximus leads us through the one on the left. How does she know where to go? It must have to do with being on the council for so long. She peeps her head out the door and rushes us out the door and down another hallway.

She pulls us into a doorway, out of sight from the hallway.

"I want you to follow behind, they aren't watching behind us that well. If you see someone coming from behind, just say "Psst" And I'll find something." Maximus tells me. She peeks out into the hall and steps out. I usher everyone to follow her in front of me, then I follow. I am always listening for footsteps or talking behind me, and I often look behind me.

We turn into another corridor and I hear footsteps behind me.

"Psst." Maximus doesn't even turn around, she runs quietly into a tapestry on the wall and disappears. I push the rest of them through it, and go into it myself and find myself in a passageway. It is damp and musty smelling, rarely used-looking.

"I forgot about this until you heard noise." Maximus says, just as the footsteps pass the tapestry. The air from the passing person makes the heavy cloth wave in for a moment.

Maximus leads us through the passageway. We come to a split in the passage, and she doesn't stop, just takes us through the right of the split and keeps walking. This leads us to a set of stairs.

"At the top of these stairs will be another tapestry. I will go through and you follow quickly." Maximus says. She begins to climb the stairs.

"I'm scared." Patricia tells me with a shaky voice.

"Me, too. But we need to save Elex. You can help us right? I need your help. Can you help me listen for noise?" I ask her.

"Yeah." She says, a little more steadily.

"Okay, if you hear anything hold your hand up." I say. She nods.

Maximus is at the top of the stairs. She listens for a moment, then peeks her head out, and quickly steps through. Everyone follows closely behind.

We walk about halfway down the corridor and I hear talking behind us.

"Psst." Maximus pulls us into a room close by. We enter and I find us in what appears to be an empty bedroom. Maximus stands by the door. She listens for a few moments. She waves on and we follow her out the door.

We continue down the corridor and I hear a lot of footsteps and talking all around, but no one seems to be moving too much.

As we continue moving along the palace, everything seems to be getting grander. The paintings lining the walls get nicer and more often. The floors seem to be more polished up here than they were on the first floor.

There are footsteps behind us again. "Psst." Maximus leads us through an extravagant double door, leading us into a huge ballroom. It is dark, but even in the low light I can tell that this room isn't used often.

We hear laughing guards walk past the doors and Maximus walks into the room. She leads us to another door. This door is smaller than the one we entered through, but is just as extravagant. It leads to another corridor, and at the end of the corridor are a set of stairs.

"This hallway was a hallway used only for the royal family to come to the ballroom. It leads to a corridor on the third floor, not far from Elex's room." Maximus says.

She starts forward, her brown boots making no noise as she walks. I feel that she has done something like this before.

We walk up the stairs. Maximus in front, followed by Jordan, Cole then Patricia and me. We are all silent. Maximus stands by the door at the top of the stairs for a moment before opening it into a very bright hallway. The lights are so bright.

She leads us into the hallway. She leads us to the right of the corridor and then to the left.

We are almost to the end of the corridor when a group of shadows comes moving in from the end of the hall. Maximus sees this and pulls us into a doorway. The group turns down the hallway we occupy and as they slowly walk past us, I see that it is the Creatures and Beings who are going to kill the Eminence.

As they pass, one of the beings stops and looks into the doorway on the other side. One of his accomplices says something to him, he shrugs and continues on his way. I see Maximus slump against the wall, her hand loosening on the handle of her short sword.

She stands and leads us to the end of the corridor and to the right, then pulls us into a doorway.

"This is it. This is Elex's room. Victoria, take Patricia and this," she says, handing me a sword that I had no idea that she had. "Go in and wait until we get back. I am going to take them to get some stuff that will make leaving easier, But Elex still needs protected." She says.

"Okay." I say.

She smiles at me. "I've seen what you can do to a Creature." Then stands and walks out into the corridor.

I stand, and Patricia does the same. I sigh and knock on the door quietly then enter.