Chomp

Chapter 21

CHAPTER 21: 

I cracked my eyes open, assaulted by complete darkness. The oil lamp which had been burning in the corner had been blown out and my brother's soft snoring was the only sign that it was possibly still night. Because much of the palace was submerged into the lake, there were no windows and so the rooms relied heavily on lamps and glowing crystals settled into the corridor halls. Sitting up, I cracked my back before slipping into my sneakers and feeling around the room until I was at the door. 

Surprisingly, it wasn't locked as I thought it would be and no one stood guard at the door. Everything was quiet and lanterns were lit to illuminate the long halls I travelled in hopes of tiring myself enough to go back to bed. It had already been a day since Theo and I were stuck in a strange and mysterious world that was not home. Both of us stayed in our room since Ray was not really wanted around. She had to leave altogether twice because of what she was. 

"A bit late to be wandering the halls, don't you think?" My spine stiffened and I slowly shifted on my heels to face . . . nothing . . .

"What the-" the voice rang out again. 

"Down here, Mister Vasquez." My eyes landed on a small red-furred creature, dark eyes glinting. It was the same fox which had the power to seal mine and my family's fate with just a word. 

"Oh," I grumbled irritably, "It's you." 

"Yes," he replied rolling his eyes, mouth still shut. It was sort of weird and creepy how he was saying everything with thoughts. I wondered if he could read my mind and found myself shuddering at the thought. "I am called Fatin, nineth Elder of The Realms."

"I can't believe I'm talking to a damn fox right now," I laughed humorlessly, looking around to see if anyone else was around. 

"A fox spirit, Mister Vasquez. Let us walk since I too grow restless," Fatin sighed striding past me. His steps were feather light and I hesitated before curiosity took over my better judgement and I followed the red fox down the corridors. 

The place appeared to be deserted as we moved through passages until finally we arrived at a rather small door without a handle at the top of a staircase. Fatin glanced back at me questioningly as I stood a few feet behind waiting for something to happen. He rolled his eyes at me and nudged at the door, placing all of his weight into his paws. There was a groan before the door gave and pushed outward. Light streamed through the crack. 

"Are you coming or not?" Fatin asked with amusement lacing his voice. I shook myself mentally, asking myself whether or not I should be wandering around with an Elder whom happened to be a fox in the middle of the night. 

"Uh . . . yeah," I mumbled watching as he disappeared through the door. 

It was so small that I had to get on all fours just to move past the threshold. As soon as I emerged on the other side, I found Fatin waiting for me, an expansive field of tall yellow grass set ahead of us and glowing under silver rays from the moon. There was no water, no mountains, no elves. The fox trotted in the direction of the field and I followed closely behind him, afraid that I'd get lost if I didn't. 

"What is this place," I asked slapping at the tall grass in an effort to make a path for myself. 

"This is where I come to think," Fatin replied disappearing from view. Cursing under my breath, I did a full three-sixty stepping in different directions and hoping to catch a glimpse of him if I jumped up and peeked over the grass. 

"So this place," I called out, "It isn't real then?" An airy chuckle echoed making it even more difficult to locate him. 

"You're a smart one, Mister Vasquez, but," Fatin paused and I could almost hear the smirk in his voice, "Do your eyes deceive you?"