TJ and I follow Leon, Ardo, and Leonardo da Vinci—it still seems weird saying those three name together—through corridor after corridor, each one dimly lit by nothing more than a sparkle of firelight from hanging torches. No one says a word. The only sound is the echo of hurried footsteps beating against the stone floor. All the while, I tensely monitor Artisan's timer. Sixty minutes doesn't seem like enough time to escape.
After descending a spiral stairwell, we reach one final room: a grand hallway. A torch chandelier hangs down from the elevated ceiling high above, and a pair of castle doors are in front of us; a winch system is fastened to the floor beside it.
"There's one more thing you should know," Da Vinci spins around to face me. "As I said before, finding the exit portal can be rather tricky . . . and dangerous."
"Dangerous?" My heartbeat quickens. I think back to the sinister creature TJ and encountered the last time we were inside a painting. Are there such creatures inside every painting?
"But not to worry," he says, which doesn't make me worry any less. "You've got a trusty guide to light your pathway." A pause. "That's me by the way."
I roll my eyes. "Yeah, I got that part. And just how dangerous are we talking exactly?"
"Oh, you know: flying sharks, exploding flowers, larger-than-life spiders—the usual. We call such creatures Rancors. You'll know why when you see one."
When you see one. He makes it sound like encountering one of these Rancors is inevitable.
Ardo moves over to the winch and turns the helm counterclockwise; rusty chains clink together followed by a low-sounding thud from just beyond the castle doors. Da Vinci places a hand on each door and pushes them open. A burst of light dives into the dimly lit room causing me to squint. Once my eyes adjust, I see that a drawbridge is at the foot of the doors stretching out across a moat.
"Mandala Girl," Da Vinci says in an alluring tone. "Welcome to Xerox!" He walks out onto the drawbridge and I follow closely behind.
My eyes fleet from object to object, absorbing the unfamiliar scenery around me. The grass is a vibrant teal color while the sky is lavender. A forest full of strange looking trees is ahead of us. The tree trunks are a desert orange and the leaves a spectrum of colors. It's as if an artist had the free will of choosing which colors they wanted this world to be. This place is unlike anything I've seen before.
Leon and Ardo skittishly rush across the drawbridge, casting worried glances at the water-filled moat below.
"What's got them so scared?" I say.
"They're made of paint, remember?" Da Vinci says. "One droplet on their skin burns like acid. Too much of it will wash them away from existence entirely."
I find this tidbit of news very interesting. "I imagine they hate rainstorms, then?"
"They're worse than a pair of terrified dogs," he laughs. "Fortunately, this realm doesn't seem to water the ground the same way the real world does. In the month that I've been here, I haven't seen it rain once, nor have I seen a single cloud."
I tilt my head back. He's right. There aren't any clouds. There isn't a noticeable sun either. So where is the natural light coming from?
As Da Vinci leads us across the drawbridge and deep into the surrounding forest, a shroud of gloominess falls over the area. The chatter of foreign wildlife trickles through the densely grouped trees. Branches rustle as animals leap from tree to tree with speed and precision. I try to track their movements, but they're too quick.
"So which animals are dangerous?" I say. "I want to arm myself with knowledge, so I'm not, ya know, killed."
Da Vinci answers from over his shoulder. "Which ones, you ask? Um—all of them."
YOU ARE READING
The Mandala Girl (COMPLETED)
ФэнтезиBecoming a world-renowned artist has been the lifelong dream for Riley McGrath. She lives, sleeps, and breathes art. But after she fails to get into art college, Riley soon realizes that artistic greatness isn't so easily achieved. After finally adm...
