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At first, I thought I was looking at a continent f loating beneath us; I could see lakes and trees and even a few houses scattered about. But then the continent twisted around with a f lash of scales and teeth and drifted toward us, a leviathan so huge it defied belief. It spiraled up beside the bridge, a mountain of scales and fins and f lippers, rising out of the void. Its eye was like a small moon, pale and all-seeing, but we were insects beneath its gaze, dust mites, too microscopic for it to know we were there. An entire city was perched on its back, gleaming white towers standing at the edge of a glistening lake. Smaller creatures, as big as whales, swam beside it, looking like minnows compared to its bulk. As we stood gaping at it, unable to move or look away, it twisted lazily through the air and continued into the ethereal-ness of space.
For a long moment, we could only stare after it, hardly able to process what we had seen. Finally, Ariel a drew in a shaky breath and shook her head in disbelief. “That…was…” She seemed unable to find the right description.
“Incredible,” I finished softly, still gazing after the creature, and no one disagreed with me. Not even Puck.
“Here there be dragons,” he murmured in an awed voice.
Gathering my wits, I took a step back. “Come on,” I said, glancing at the others, who seemed a little dazed. “Let’s find the Testing Grounds and get this over with so we can go home.” Leaping carefully from rock to rock, wary now of the monsters at the End of the World, we finally reached the gates of the castle. Past a courtyard filled with statues and twisted trees of a kind I’d never seen before, up another f light of steps f lanked by snarling gargoyles, Grimalkin waited for us at the hallway into the castle.
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He was not alone. A familiar robed, hooded figure stood beside him, watching us as we walked up the stairs.
“You have come far,” the Guardian intoned, nodding his head. “Few have made it to this point, and fewer still can keep their sanity intact at the End of the World. But your journey is not yet over, knight. The Trials await, and they will be more harrowing than anything you have encountered thus far.
No one has ever survived what you are about to face. I give you one last chance to depart, to turn around and leave this place alive and whole. But know this—if you leave, you will remember nothing of what brought you here. You will never find the End of the World again. What is your decision?”
“I’ve come this far,” I said without hesitation. “I’m not backing out now. Bring on your tests. When I leave this place, it will be as a human with a soul, or not at all.”
The Guardian nodded. “If that is your choice.” It swept out an arm, and a ripple of power went through the air, freezing me in place. “Let it be known, before these witnesses, that the former Winter prince Ash has accepted the trials of the Guardian, the prize for completing the tests being a mortal soul.” It lowered its arm, and I could move again.
“Your first trial begins when dawn touches the outside world. Until then, the castle is yours. When the time comes, I will find you.” And it was gone.
Grimalkin yawned and looked up at me, cat eyes blinking. “I am supposed to show you your rooms,” he said in a bored voice, as if the very idea wearied him. “follow me, then. And do try to keep up. It would be vastly annoying if you became lost in here.” 240/387
The castle was dim and empty, with torches set into brackets, and candles f lickering along the walls. Except for the f lames and candlelight, nothing moved; there were no insects scuttling over the f lag-stones, no servants prowling the halls. It felt frozen in time, like a ref lection on the other side of a mirror—perfect, but lifeless.
And it was endless, much like the void that f loated just outside the windows. I got the distinct feeling, following Grimalkin down its many halls, that I could wander its chambers and corridors forever and not see the entirety of the castle.
Regardless, we found the guest rooms easily enough, on account of the open doors and the crackling fireplaces along each wall. These rooms were fairly well lit, with food, drink and a clean bed already laid out for us, though there were no servants to speak of. Puck and Ariel a each vanished into their separate chambers, though each room was easily big enough for the three of us and I was wary of being separated in this huge place. But Puck, after peering into a room, whooped when he saw the food-laden table and vanished through the door with a hasty,
“Later, ice-boy,”