Everyone in the group tensed and from what I could see of Merkell through a gap under Kaleb's arm, his head was bowed forward and he had lowered his arms.
Only a few seconds passed until the owners of the footsteps appeared, six people were striding towards us between the houses. Two of them were wearing what looked like chain mail armour, two wore full leather outfits and the two in front were wearing long, light coloured robes that fell to the ground.
The first four had weapons drawn and pointed towards us while the two in robes were empty handed; they walked calmly ahead of the others with their hands raised and their palms facing us. When they got close enough for me to see them all more clearly, I noticed in each of the groups, one was male and the other female. The first two looked well over middle aged but who could tell how old they actually were in this world. Their hair glinted silver in places but their faces showed no age, their expressions impassive while they looked upon Merkell.
"State your reason for being here at this hour and how you knew to call on us in that manner, do it with haste."
They spoke in unison and their voices complimented each other so beautifully, it made me want to tell them all of my secrets. Something stopped me from speaking however and I realised there was magic at work.
Merkell stepped forward and I could hear a tone of authority in his voice again. "I am Merkell of the Western Sector, Man of the Mountains and Creator of this Wall of Protection."
He seemed to stand straighter and somehow grow taller while he spoke, the faces of the people inside of the wall had become shocked and almost fearful, which I found intriguing.
"I called on the two of you because I believed you would know me on sight, that you would not keep us out here for any longer than was necessary."
He finished on a cold note and they all recoiled like he had reached through the wall and slapped them. It took a moment for them to recover and the two people in robes took a step forward. They bowed their heads to Merkell and I couldn't understand why they reacted to him in that way. It made sense for the guys to do it, if he was their 'commanding officer', or whatever they had called him, but these two looked twice his age and in those robes it look like they should have been the ones being bowed to.
"We are sorry, it is a new security measure that was put in place after the recent outbreak of raids and trouble, not to mention the attacks..." the man said and he held up his hands to the air.
"...they have attempted on the wall. We must be sure it is really you." The woman finished off his sentence and held her hands up over the man's.
I raised a brow, I should have known that things would only get stranger the further we went. I wasn't sure I was ever going to stop being surprised by this world and its people.
Merkell considered them for a few seconds then stepped forward, raising his hands to match up with theirs through the space between them, he didn't lose any of his composure. The three of them stood still for barely a few seconds, then the man and woman backed away slowly. Their mouths had dropped and they nodded in unison without looking away from Merkell.
The other four people who had arrived with them, stepped forward and held their hands up as well, all six stood motionless for a minute or two. Suddenly a cold wind swept across my face, like a door had just swung open and I assumed that it was the entrance opening through the magic wall. It pushed my hood back off my head, Emy's too.
We quickly pulled them back up, seeing Merkell nod to us and he beckoned for us to go to him. Blaike and Kaleb visibly relaxed and I heard Kayle let out a small gust of breath. None of them had seemed convinced we would get through this part, maybe they didn't have as much confidence in Merkell as they claimed to.
We stepped around Merkell and he leaned in a little to speak in hushed tones.
"The two of you must stay in the middle of us, keep your hoods up and try not to look around at anything for now, alright?" His voice had none of its usual kindness, he sounded earnest and cautious.
We nodded and pulled our hoods closer around our faces, he placed a gentle hand on each of our shoulders, his way of apologising for the harshness. Then he let go and straightened up, turning to look at the guys and giving them instructions on the procedure for the walk through the village. Merkell went first, then Blaike, then Emy, me and then Kaleb, Kayle came last again but he didn't complain.
We were told to stay in single file if we wanted to get in, we shuffled forward and I kept my eyes on the back of Emy's head. Once we were through this invisible wall, Merkell stopped and turned to talk to the six figures who had just presumably closed the opening behind us.
The guys moved in closer, Blaike and Kaleb at the sides again with Kayle stood behind us. They were all smiling despite their obviously tense postures, like they were still expecting something bad to happen but were happy to be home. I was trying not to look over at the people Merkell was talking to, I focused on our group and looked up at Blaike who was closest to me.
"So, where do we go now?"
He turned to look at me and his smile faltered a little, "We go to your parents house, to your home."
I creased my brow when he said home and lowered my eyes. It wasn't home though, it was a strange place with strange people and even stranger things happening that I knew nothing about. I could feel Blaike's eyes still on me after a few moments, I looked back up at him and he was watching me with a deep frown.
"What is it?" I asked, keeping my eyes fixed on his expression.
As I expected his frown disappeared and he shook his head, "Nothing, I was just making sure you are alright, it doesn't seem like you are."
He turned to look over in Merkell's direction and I was left looking at his back, feeling extra confused.
"People just can't keep things simple, even here." I muttered to myself and made Emy look at me questioningly.
I shook my head and sighed, looking down at my hands while I waited to get going. No sooner had I thought about it I heard footsteps leaving and another set coming closer, I chanced a look and saw Merkell rejoining us.
"We'll be proceeding by ourselves, just the six of us, but I still want you two to keep your hoods up please. We do not know who has their eyes and ears here this night."
"Oh that makes us feel safe and sound," Emy muttered loud enough for him to hear.
We set off through the first cluster of houses. I couldn't be sure of the time, yet I knew the sun would be coming up soon and people would be getting up to leave their houses for work, or whatever they did here. We passed the next grouping of houses and I started getting more agitated, Merkell might not have been sure of the eyes that could be around but I was. Even with my head down and the hood of my cloak pulled tightly I could feel them here and there.
I couldn't tell who or what they were but it was unnerving all the same. We walked through more and more of the streets, I was starting to get a rough idea of the scale of this village and it was bigger than I could have imagined.
Kayle had started muttering things loud enough for us all to hear and by the sounds of things, he was the only one enjoying this walk. Emy sighed next to me and I could tell she was almost ready to start on him again, but that would definitely have brought a lot of attention to us.
"Breathe, he's just happy to be home," I whispered to her, imagining the annoyed look on her face.
"I know and I wouldn't mind so much, if he didn't keep telling us to look at things when we can't." She whispered back irately.
I smiled widely behind my hood, there was absolutely no question that these two were related.
We had been walking for what felt like hours, but couldn't have been more than one, when suddenly we came to a halt. It was a little disorienting, moving without being able to see where we were going. I didn't dare argue with Merkell's decision though, his tone had left me feeling slightly more vulnerable about the dangers we might face.
I heard the creak of what sounded like hinges and then we were turning onto a path surrounded on both sides by grass. I wondered if this was the garden path up to our so called 'home'. I heard the creak again and figured it must be some kind of gate, I didn't want to chance a look in case there were other people nearby. We stopped again and there was silence for a moment, I wasn't sure what was going on and reached out for Emy's hand just as she reached for mine.
Merkell's boots suddenly came into view and I felt a hand on my shoulder. "You can look up now. Welcome to your rightful home."
Our jaws dropped open when we looked up at the view in front of us, our eyes wide as we gazed at the building. I couldn't call it a house, it was far too big, more like three large houses joined together and given four floors each. It was like its own block, and the garden surrounding it was even bigger, it stretched in either direction and disappeared out of view.
I couldn't take it in, I looked back at the building, it was made of giant blocks of stone and tall windows each with wooden shutters on the outside- all of which were closed up. I couldn't see the roof from where we were but there was guttering around the edges. A strange plant was growing up one side of the wall facing us, it was a strange and beautiful sight. I glanced at Emy and she was stunned into silence, I looked over to Merkell and he was smiling at us both expectantly.
"What do you think? Do you like it?" He seemed to have turned back into the light, almost happy Merkell, which I was happy and grateful for.
"Like it? It's incredible, it's almost like a castle! But neither of us could live somewhere like this... wait, we are living together, aren't we?"
I widened my eyes for a whole different reason and looked to Emy, we had lived together for over two years and lived close by each other long before that. Now, in this strange unknown world, I couldn't imagine being separated from her.
Merkell laughed lightly and brought me back, "Oh, yes, you will be living here together just as you were always meant to... but let us go inside and all will finally be explained to you."
He seemed to welcome those words most of all and I remembered how he'd said it had frustrated him, not being able to explain things to us or answer our questions. We nodded at his suggestion and followed as he made his way up the rest of the garden path.
I couldn't stop staring at every inch of the building that I could see. There were a few lights on in some of the rooms, I could see thin strips of light coming through the shutters. I realised that these were the lights I had seen from up on the hill. Why would so many people be awake at this time of night?
My eyes and thoughts roamed while we made our way up to the large, wooden front doors. When we stopped in front of them a light came on above our heads, for some reason nobody moved to knock and there was no doorbell from what I could see. I creased my brow and looked at Emy in question, she shrugged but I saw Kaleb look my way and he smiled.
"It is a way for the occupants of the house to know someone is there, from wherever they might be," he explained.
Then Kayle leaned over my shoulder, "Kind of like a magical doorbell, it's the only way to do it in a manor like this one."
He stepped back and I nodded, it made sense since they couldn't just wire one into the house without electricity- wow I'd need to get used to that thought. I was just wondering what other things they might not have when the door opened and a woman appeared. I was half expecting it to be mine or Emy's mum but this woman was unfamiliar to me. She was round faced and rosy cheeked with black, pinned up hair. She had a fuller figure and she held herself well, I couldn't guess her age but she looked sensible and strong. She was drying her hands on the flowery apron she was wearing over a long, dark red and tan dress.
Her expression was somewhere between cross and disbelief as she took in our group with its dishevelled, travel worn appearance.
"Would you mind telling me your business coming here at this hour, and who you are here to see, please?" She had a hard voice, the kind you'd hear from a teacher who didn't want to tell you off but would if you pushed her to it.
Merkell stepped forward and smiled wider, "Ah Malaya, still as lovely as ever, especially when you are trying to be cross."
As soon as he finished speaking her eyes bugged out and she looked at him properly under the light. She dropped the apron on the floor and clasped a hand to her chest.
"Oh my, oh dear, is it really you? And... and..."
She peered to the rest of our group who had faded into the darkness when the light above us had faded. Her eyes roamed over the guys, pointing at them as recognition dawned on her and then her gaze landed on Emy and I. Her eyes managed to widen even further and she stumbled back, almost gasping her breaths. I was concerned that she was going to pass out or hyperventilate.
"It is... it is them, they are here... they are, oh my..."
She looked to Merkell in alarm and he nodded with a soft smile. She squealed suddenly and startled us, her face broke out into the biggest smile and she beckoned with both hands.
"Come in, come in. Oh my, everyone was waiting for you to arrive but we expected you days ago, I thought..."
She broke off with a cough, brushing aside her own words and busied herself with picking up the apron and cleaning it off.
We walked in slowly and I got my first look at the inside of the home that I should have grown up in. Shock would have been an understatement, we were stood in a hallway that I didn't think could have really existed. It was exquisite and at the same time ancient looking, numerous doors led off the main hallway into various rooms that were just waiting to be explored. But what caught my attention for the moment was the enormous sparkling chandelier, that couldn't possibly be real, dangling from the ceiling.
Next came the two giant staircases climbing either side of the walls in front of us. They joined at the first floor then spiraled back around to go up to the next floors and out of sight. The dark wooden banisters guarded the sides and were carved with some elaborately beautiful patterns. I couldn't make them out but I made a mental note to check them out properly when I could.
There were portraits lining the walls, all the way down the hallway and up the stairs. I couldn't see the figures that were in them but my first thought was, could they be my relatives? It felt peculiar to think I might actually have other living family members, or ancestors, that had been preserved in paintings.
My focus was brought back to the current situation when the woman named Malaya started talking again.
"Oh my, Kayle Ashmore, look at you. I cannot believe how much you have grown while you have been gone. I hardly recognised you, come here."
She beamed as he strode forward to give her a hug.
"Hello, Mal. How have you been?"
She pulled back and she was still beaming, they discussed a little gossip from the time he'd been away. When they turned away a little, Emy turned to me and mouthed 'Kayle Ashmore' with wide eyes. It was the first time we'd heard his full name, we automatically assumed his surname was Lewis just like Emy's. The more I thought about it, I was starting to wonder if that was really Emy's name either.
Malaya turned to Blaike and Kaleb and surveyed them with her small, blue-green eyes.
"Ah Blaike and Kaleb Rockwell. I hope you were able to stay out of trouble on your way back this time."
She narrowed her eyes accusingly but Blaike just smiled, "Nothing that we could not handle, th-"
"Hold on a sec," Emy butted in and stepped forward. Malaya and the guys turned to look at her.
"Great timing, cuz," Kayle muttered with a smirk.
She ignored him and looked at Blaike and Kaleb instead.
"You two are related? Why didn't you say anything?"
They both frowned at her, looking ultimately confused.
"We did not know it was an important detail to share, why would you need to know that?" Blaike asked.
I stepped forward and took her arm, "She wouldn't, it's just interesting that's all," I pulled her back and whispered low enough for only her to hear. "What's wrong?"
She shook her head, still looking at the group who had resumed talking after her interruption.
"I don't know but something much bigger is going on here, I can't figure out what it is but it's much more than Merkell hinted at."
I turned to follow her gaze and frowned deeper, I remembering all of the strange looks we had gotten since arriving in this world. From the Mistrik in the forest, to Sabella, to this woman when she realised who we were.
I took a deep breath and nodded, "Let's go get some answers."
We rejoined the group, and Malaya suddenly bustled off through one of the doors nearby. I raised a brow in question to Merkell.
"She's going to tell your parents that we have arrived," he smiled then gestured to a different door towards the opposite side of the hallway. "We should go and take a seat in the front living room, Kayle would you lead the way, please?"
Kayle nodded with a grin plastered over his face and sauntered towards the door. I watched the way he walked while I tried to process everything I had just seen and heard. From the moment we entered the room, I noticed how comfortable he seemed to be with this house. He slumped down into one of the cushy armchairs set up by the elaborate fireplace. I peered around the room as the lights started to brighten of their own accord apparently, and they illuminated more features.
It was similarly decorated to the hallway, the walls were cream coloured and had portraits dotted around of unknown people and places. There was a chandelier hanging in here too but there was only a little bit of light coming from it, and it wasn't as big as the first.
The floor-to-ceiling curtains were velvety grey and were closed over the large windows, which I could have imagined would have let a lot of light in during the day. We moved further into the room as a group but I watched Emy break away and stand on the rug in front of the smoldering fire.
She turned around on the spot to take in the room, then looked over at us with wide eyes and her hands raised,
"This is stupid! Look at this place, how can we live somewhere like this? We live in a two-bedroom parlour in the North of England! What? Are we royalty here or something?"
Her expression was somewhere between incredulous and angry as she looked at each of the guys in turn.
"Not exactly," came a familiar voice from the opposite side of the room.