Enemy Revealed Read online

  The Lost Voice of the Dark World

  Enemy Revealed

  Book 2

  By: Taylor Wilson

  Copyright © Taylor Wilson

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Description

  The Dark Dimension is under attack! Lacey and her friends discover giant black spaceships hovering over the kingdom. The ships are the source of the radiation that sickened the villagers and caused the devastating death of the Voice. With Matt's assistance, Lacey and Alex cross to the dark dimension once again. They must find out who these invaders are and what they want. Without the help of the Voice, will they be able to defeat this new enemy? Can they do it in time to save the kingdom?

  Table Of Contents

  Contents

  Description

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Other Books By This Author

  Review This Book

  Chapter One

  "Those aren't birds. Those are spaceships."

  William Windham's words echoed in Lacey's mind. Lacey watched her dad, sitting on their couch with his elbows resting on his knees, one hand covering his mouth in stunned thoughtfulness. He had heard every detail about her past adventures in the dark dimension. Never had he imagined he would see it for himself; much less find himself staring at ominous black spaceships dotting their sky. She remembered how it felt when she saw the dark dimension for the first time, shattering her ideas of how the universe worked.

  Until a week ago, Lacey had thought her time with the dark dimension was over. Mostly, she was glad to be home, but she missed her birth parents and her friends on the other side of the barrier. Then Alex, once the Court Wizard, revealed that he had an emerald pendant that would allow them to communicate with the dark dimension. All was not well, however. Villagers were getting sick in large numbers and no one knew why. Every time they made contact, things were worse. After talking to friends and colleagues at the University of Toronto, Alex and Lacey began to suspect the illness was radiation poisoning. Before they could report their suspicions, Lacey had a dream that was all too real.

  She was visited by the Voice, the grandmotherly spirit of Sky Mountain. The Voice had guided them in their quest to defeat the evil sorceresses that had shrouded their world in twilight. In the dream, the Voice looked terrible, indicating that the land was just as sick as the villagers were. Using her limited second sight, the Voice shared clues that a new enemy was attacking the kingdom of Alinn, an enemy that might be a threat to Lacey's dimension as well. Then, the Voice collapsed. Lacey's friends later confirmed that the Voice was no more, her ancient body crumbling to dust.

  In a feat of cross-dimensional eavesdropping, William accidentally found himself joining in Lacey and Alex's last contact with the dark dimension. While the trio watched, Matt and Willow used the kingdom's magical items, the grimoire and the emerald necklace called the riviere. They cast a "reveal" spell that dissolved the hanging clouds to expose the enemy. Giant black spaceships hung in the sky, looking much like the Voice's description of "birds without wings."

  A few minutes ago, they had closed their interaction for the night. Matt couldn't deal with the implications of their discovery while using the communication pendant. Lacey and Alex couldn't do anything other than share what they had learned about treating radiation poisoning. Always a quick thinker during a crisis, William grabbed his laptop and looked up some other helpful tips for Matt to share with their healers. Once the pendant was no longer in use, William became very quiet. He had been sitting in the same position for at least ten minutes, while Lacey drained the sink and put some water in the kettle for tea.

  "You okay, Dad?" Lacey asked as she sat down next to him on the couch. "I know that was quite a shock."

  William gave her a sideways glance. "Sweetie, I believe that's the understatement of the year."

  Alex walked in from the kitchen carrying three coffee mugs and a bottle in the crook of his elbow. He set a steaming cup of herbal tea in Lacey's hands and unscrewed the bottle. "Close your eyes, Lacey. You still lack a few months before you are of legal drinking age and your father needs a calming agent. I'm not feeling exactly serene myself."

  "Me neither," Lacey concurred. "I thought I couldn't be surprised by anything anymore and that went right out the window."

  "I did believe you two, you know, long before today," William said, feeling the need to explain or defend himself. "When you told me about the dark dimension, Lacey, I did believe you, before I saw any evidence. Then, you two levitated us all with that magic necklace thingy and then winked out of existence before my eyes. I thought to myself, 'there's proof, if I needed it.' Today, when I saw another glowing magic necklace, it didn't faze me; just another of those dark dimension things. But now…" He trailed off, shaking his head.

  "The abstract is now concrete," Alex smiled. "Your shock is perfectly reasonable, Will. It's fine to believe in unicorns until one shows up in your kitchen."

  "Yeah, especially when it brings along a spaceship," William quipped. The men saluted each other with their cups and took a sip.

  "Of course, the spaceship is a new shock for our friends in Alinn as well," Alex clarified.

  "Lacey said that they have pistols and some type of universal electricity, but that's about it. Is the kingdom on par with Nineteenth-Century American West, or something?

  "You could say that, in a way. Alinn is primarily an agrarian kingdom. The most industry they have there is textile manufacturing and mining. I think some of the other kingdoms farther away may be more industrial, and might even be using something like electronics. However, the people of Alinn didn't see the need, at least not while I lived there."

  "Kind of like the Amish?" Lacey asked. "People think they are against anything modern, but that's not true. They just consider new things very carefully, weighing the pros and cons. For instance, they are not against electricity itself, but they don't want to be hooked into the power grid, like the outside world. So, they use generators or solar power when they need electricity."

  "That’s a pretty good analogy for Alinn,” agreed Alex. “They choose which advancements will serve them best. One thing I can say for certain is that invading spaceships in the sky would not be a technology they embrace.”

  “I wonder what the aliens want,” Lacey mused. “They didn’t do anything evil while we were watching, just moved around in the sky.”

  Alex raised an eyebrow. “They’ve released enough radiation into the air to poison the villagers; that’s something.”

  “Yes, but is that accidental? The Voice said…” Lacey broke off, swallowing hard. With all the excitement, she almost forgot that the Voice was dead. Alex looked at the floor, and William squeezed Lacey’s hand comfortingly.

  After a moment, she continued. “The Voice said they were hiding in the clouds because they didn’t want us to see them. So, the clouds are their cloaking device, but not necessarily a weapon. One of the ships might have a radiation leak, or something, and that is what poisoned the clouds.”

  “That sounds a little naive, sweetheart,” her father frowned. “We’ve seen a lot of sci-fi movies and the aliens are enemies more often than they are friends. If these invaders want something, and the Voice suggested they do, then they will stop at nothing to get it.”

  “Sorry, Dad,” Lacey said sadly. “It was just wishful thinking. Okay, we have to figure out what they want and either give it to them or make them not want it anymore. The Voice sai
d they want something from her, so I’m guessing it must involve the land somehow, or the mountain itself.”

  “That sounds reasonable,” Alex offered. He set down his cup on the coffee table and leaned toward the pair to speak frankly. “What does not sound reasonable is us trying to help our friends over in the dark dimension while we are here in this one. Sure, we can communicate with them, advise, find more ideas on treating the radiation, and so forth. That’s not terrifically helpful. We’d really be sitting here helplessly, watching them defeat this enemy, or worse, watching them lose. Plus, we can’t spend the next several days with our hands in the sink. Matt does have that waterskin that he used to carry the pendant’s magic. He can answer our call from anywhere he happens to be, but while he is communicating with us, he’s basically blind. Saying we’ll communicate every few hours won’t free us up much. We’d still be waiting around here and they couldn’t get anything done there either.”

  “Well, what choice do we have?” Lacey asked?

  Alex stared at her, hard.

  “What? You said there was no way for us to travel to the dark dimension without…” She gasped. “The riviere!”

  “Exactly,” Alex confirmed, seeing her comprehension. “Matt remade the riviere so, in theory, he could come and get us.”

  William boggled. “Alex… that’s insane!”

  “Yes. Yes, it is.”

  “You can’t go there! You’d be walking into certain danger!” William gesticulated wildly as he spoke. “If you’re lucky, you will get radiation sickness, and if you’re unlucky, you’re blown to bits by an alien spaceship!”

  “Hopefully the radiation has stopped, now that Matt destroyed the clouds. We just need to solve the cross-contamination issue…”

  “And the aliens?” William asked belligerently. “Are you going to bring along Neil DeGrasse Tyson to speak the language of the stars?”

  “Will, I have to go,” Alex said intensely. “My son needs me.”

  William frowned and breathed heavily through his nose, his lips pursed tight. He knew there was no argument on that point.

  “Lacey, you don’t have to go. You stay here and research…”

  “Are you kidding?” Lacey interrupted. “I’m going.”

  “Ah, no-no-no,” said William. “That’s not happening. You didn’t have a choice last time, but you do now. You are staying here.”

  “Dad, I…”

  “Nope!” He shook his head firmly. “I know you are an adult now, and I have no right to tell you what to do, but I am telling you anyway. This is not some novel you’re reading for Twentieth Century Lit Class. This is real.”

  “I am aware of that, Dad. That’s why I have to go,” Lacey pleaded her case.

  “That makes no sense!” yelled William. “You give me one good reason why you think you have to go and put yourself in danger. Again! Go on, one good reason!”

  Lacey tilted her head and cringed, knowing this would hurt him. “My birth parents?”

  The air went out of him like she had punched him. “Oh. Oh, yeah. I forgot. Sorry, Lacey.” He took a deep breath, spied his coffee mug on the table and downed the contents. “You’re right, of course. You have to go. I just don’t relish the idea of sitting here again, worrying about you, not knowing if you will ever come back. It wasn’t fun.”

  “You could always go with us,” Alex suggested.

  Both father and daughter stared at him, open-mouthed. Lacey recovered first and agreed with growing excitement. “You totally could, Dad.

  “You have both lost your minds,” William said with feigned calm.

  “I mean it, Dad. You’re so smart. They could use your help too.”

  “How could I possibly be of any help?” he asked indignantly.

  Alex joined in. “You’re a good leader; those are always vital in a crisis. Also, there’s a huge library in the castle and there might be some vital information only you can find.”

  William’s eyebrow arched. “Flatterer.”

  “Come on, Dad.” Lacey urged. “I don’t want to put you in danger either, but at least we’d be together while we’re worrying about each other that’s… strangely comforting.”

  Silence fell in the living room as William looked back and forth at his daughter and his best friend. Lacey couldn’t figure out what emotion he was feeling; likely, it was many at once.

  “What do you say, Will?” Alex asked. “You know you can’t un-see that unicorn.”

  Again, William frowned and breathed heavily through his nose. “What do I say?” He asked. “I say… I wonder if we can buy some Geiger counters locally or if we can get overnight shipping.”

  Chapter Two

  “I can’t believe you’re going again!” Sara exclaimed, flouncing her arms. “Didn’t you get enough of risking your neck and battling the impossible?”

  “Apparently not,” Lacey smirked. “Hey, it’s not like I planned to go there again. If I had, I would have made sure there were only puppies and rainbows waiting for me.”

  “Yeah, like you were going to Aruba or something,” Sara huffed a laugh. Her forehead was wrinkled with worry, as well as something else Lacey couldn’t decipher. “Are you and Dad sure you can really help? I mean, alien spaceships…”

  “No, of course we’re not sure. But I don’t think the Voice would have contacted me specifically if we couldn’t do something. Plus, she suggested that these… beings… would be coming here next. If we have a chance to defeat them before they even try to come here, I think we have to try.”

  Sara’s face fell even further. “You and Dad, always being so heroic.”

  “Well,” Lacey shrugged self-consciously, “I wouldn’t call it heroism. I’m pretty freaked out by the whole thing, just like I was when we were fighting the sorceresses. It’s just that I feel like I don’t have a choice. As my birth mother often remarked, we do what we have to do.” She saw her best friend look down at her toes, hiding tears. “Sara, what is it?”

  Suddenly, Sara burst out crying. “I feel like such a coward!” She put her face in her hands and sobbed. Helplessly, Lacey put her arms around her best friend and waited. Eventually, Sara’s crying ebbed, and she could speak again. “You and Dad, going off into the great beyond again and I just sit here in safety, waiting to hear the tale when you’re done. That is, if you ever come back. I understand why you’re going; it’s for your parents. Dad is going for Matt’s sake. But… Matt’s my brother and I should be going to help too! Yet I’m too scared to even talk to him on your magic phone!”

  Lacey hugged her more tightly. “Oh, Sara! I’ve known you since before we could crawl and I know you are not a coward. Your dad doesn’t think that either, or anyone we know. Far from it. In a way, you have the harder task here. You have to make sure your mom and Oliver are okay.”

  “Oh bull,” said Sara, breaking the embrace. “That’s just something you tell the people you leave behind to make them feel better.”

  “No, I’m serious. Sure, there’s some adventure involved in going, and it’s not all terrible, but mostly it’s running for your life and near misses and pants-wetting terror. Don’t you realize…” Lacey’s own eyes began to well. “Don’t you realize what an amazing comfort it was to come home to you and Oliver, and your mom, and my dad? Everything here at home was so… normal… when I got back. You would talk to me about your day. It didn’t involve sorceresses and wolf beasts attacking and skies that were perpetually dark. That meant the world to me. Your dad was grateful, too, I bet. After that whole ordeal, all the puzzle pieces that make up my world were still here, fitting together perfectly. And the little hole where I belonged? It was there waiting for me, and it still fit.”

  Sniffling, Sara seemed somewhat reassured. Still, she rebutted, “Your dad is going. Why is that okay?”

  “Well, on a danger level, it’s totally not okay with me. However, in a way, he has to go too, because… I’m all he has. Think about how hard it would be for your mom if you left her here al
one. Oliver too. They need you, like my dad needs me. If Dad and I get stuck out there, at least he will be with me.”

  Smiling, Sara nodded. Suddenly, she pouted again, but this time in jest. “Does that mean that you don’t need me?”

  Lacey rolled her eyes and flounced her arms playfully. “Of course I don’t need you, dork. I just love you for no reason at all.”

  “Oh,” Sara smirked. “That’s okay, then.

  ***

  Lacey came downstairs with her backpack slung over her shoulder. She had packed a few clothes, but kept most of the bag empty for the equipment and supplies they were bringing along. When she entered the kitchen, she laughed at the enormous pile of clothes and supplies her father had stacked on the table, ready to pack.

  “Dad! You won’t need all of this. We’re going to need to make several trips as it is!”

  “Well, that’s some role reversal,” came her father’s voice from behind the open refrigerator door. “It was usually me telling you and your mom that you didn’t need to bring your whole closet with you.” He emerged with a canvas bag stuffed with what seemed the majority of the refrigerator’s contents.

  “Dad, they have food.”

  “Food that’s not contaminated?” he asked.

  ‘Yes, plenty. Willow checked to be sure. The storeroom is way inside the castle, so the food didn’t get irradiated. We can check with one of the Geiger counters just to be sure.”

  “Oh.” Lacey was amused that he was almost disappointed. “Well, we can bring this stuff to Sara and her mother, so it won’t spoil and go to waste.”

  “Good idea, Dad,” she placated. “Now about all of this stuff on the table, what are the bare essentials?”

  “All of it,” he grinned.

  “You know,” Lacey arched an eyebrow, “when we used to go camping, you would bring swim trunks and an extra pair of underwear in a plastic grocery bag, and that was all.”