The Pillar of the Road
The road north of Harthpool was a strange contrast to the lonely paths they had walked before. It was an artery of life—crowded with merchants pulling carts of silver-scaled fish, families traveling in colorful wagons toward the mountain hamlets, and wanderers with packs slung over their shoulders. For a few miles, it felt almost like a normal world.
But the teasing about LB’s goodbye eventually died down as the air grew thinner and the crowds began to peel away, turning off toward small, hidden towns nestled in the valleys.
"The crowd is thinning," Michael King noted, checking the horizon. "And the road is getting steeper."
"That’s because nobody goes where we're going," Fox Smith said, his eyes fixed on a massive figure standing in the middle of the road about a hundred yards ahead.
The traveler didn't move. As they got closer, the scale of the man became terrifying. He was at least seven feet tall, his skin the color of hammered bronze. He wore no shirt, only a heavy leather kilt and a harness of thick iron chains that rattled with every breath he took. His muscles were like coiled cables, shifting under his skin with a power that felt more tectonic than human.
"Another one," Andrew Brooks whispered, his hand instinctively reaching for a stone on the ground.
The giant raised a hand, not in a greeting, but like a wall. He had no hair, and his eyes were two flat discs of polished gold.
"I am Number Five," the giant boomed. His voice didn't come from his lungs; it vibrated in the boys' chest cavities, heavy and deep. "The Pillar of the Threshold."
Fox stepped forward, dwarfed by the man’s shadow. "We’re passing through, Five. We don't want trouble."
Number Five didn't move. "Trouble is the only currency accepted beyond this point, Fox Smith. You have walked the roads of men and the halls of the King. But the path ahead does not recognize the laws of the earth."
Nathan Brooks looked up at the giant. "What do you want from us?"
"I am the test of Will," Number Five intoned. He stepped aside, revealing that the road behind him didn't continue—it shattered. The dirt and gravel gave way to a bridge of pure white light that stretched across a bottomless chasm, leading toward a shimmering distortion in the air. "To reach the City of Dreams, you must cross the In-Between on foot. Many have the mind for it. Few have the heart. And almost none have the strength to carry their own weight."
He looked at Michael’s journal, then at the Brooks brothers, and finally at Fox.
"The Queen has set the board," Five said, his golden eyes narrowing. "But I am the one who checks the pieces. If you cross this line, you are no longer citizens of any world. You are the 'Unbound' in training."
"We aren't looking to join your club," Andrew snapped. "We just want to go home."
Number Five leaned down, his massive face inches from Andrew's. The smell of hot metal and dry earth radiated off him. "To go home, you must become something that can survive the trip. The In-Between will try to pull you apart. It will try to turn your bones to glass and your memories to smoke."
He reached into the air and seemingly pulled a heavy iron staff out of nothingness, thrusting it into the ground with a crack that shook the road.
"I will give you a choice, travelers. Turn back now, and I will find you a home in Harthpool. You can live in the marble city, grow old, and forget you ever heard the name 'Illinois.' Or... you step onto the Bridge of Light, and you face the Void."
The boys looked back at the busy road they had just traveled. They thought of LB, safe in his parents' arms. They thought of the marble and the peace.
Then they looked at each other.
"Taylorville," Nathan whispered. "I'm not forgetting it."
Fox looked at Number Five. "Move the staff. We're crossing."
A slow, rocky smile spread across the giant’s face. He pulled the staff from the earth. "Then walk, Little Kings. And pray that your names are heavy enough to keep you from floating away."
As the boys stepped onto the Bridge of Light, the sounds of the "busy road" vanished instantly. The air turned into a vacuum of silence, and the world of Dane County began to dissolve into the shimmering, terrifying vastness of the In-Between.
But the teasing about LB’s goodbye eventually died down as the air grew thinner and the crowds began to peel away, turning off toward small, hidden towns nestled in the valleys.
"The crowd is thinning," Michael King noted, checking the horizon. "And the road is getting steeper."
"That’s because nobody goes where we're going," Fox Smith said, his eyes fixed on a massive figure standing in the middle of the road about a hundred yards ahead.
The traveler didn't move. As they got closer, the scale of the man became terrifying. He was at least seven feet tall, his skin the color of hammered bronze. He wore no shirt, only a heavy leather kilt and a harness of thick iron chains that rattled with every breath he took. His muscles were like coiled cables, shifting under his skin with a power that felt more tectonic than human.
"Another one," Andrew Brooks whispered, his hand instinctively reaching for a stone on the ground.
The giant raised a hand, not in a greeting, but like a wall. He had no hair, and his eyes were two flat discs of polished gold.
"I am Number Five," the giant boomed. His voice didn't come from his lungs; it vibrated in the boys' chest cavities, heavy and deep. "The Pillar of the Threshold."
Fox stepped forward, dwarfed by the man’s shadow. "We’re passing through, Five. We don't want trouble."
Number Five didn't move. "Trouble is the only currency accepted beyond this point, Fox Smith. You have walked the roads of men and the halls of the King. But the path ahead does not recognize the laws of the earth."
Nathan Brooks looked up at the giant. "What do you want from us?"
"I am the test of Will," Number Five intoned. He stepped aside, revealing that the road behind him didn't continue—it shattered. The dirt and gravel gave way to a bridge of pure white light that stretched across a bottomless chasm, leading toward a shimmering distortion in the air. "To reach the City of Dreams, you must cross the In-Between on foot. Many have the mind for it. Few have the heart. And almost none have the strength to carry their own weight."
He looked at Michael’s journal, then at the Brooks brothers, and finally at Fox.
"The Queen has set the board," Five said, his golden eyes narrowing. "But I am the one who checks the pieces. If you cross this line, you are no longer citizens of any world. You are the 'Unbound' in training."
"We aren't looking to join your club," Andrew snapped. "We just want to go home."
Number Five leaned down, his massive face inches from Andrew's. The smell of hot metal and dry earth radiated off him. "To go home, you must become something that can survive the trip. The In-Between will try to pull you apart. It will try to turn your bones to glass and your memories to smoke."
He reached into the air and seemingly pulled a heavy iron staff out of nothingness, thrusting it into the ground with a crack that shook the road.
"I will give you a choice, travelers. Turn back now, and I will find you a home in Harthpool. You can live in the marble city, grow old, and forget you ever heard the name 'Illinois.' Or... you step onto the Bridge of Light, and you face the Void."
The boys looked back at the busy road they had just traveled. They thought of LB, safe in his parents' arms. They thought of the marble and the peace.
Then they looked at each other.
"Taylorville," Nathan whispered. "I'm not forgetting it."
Fox looked at Number Five. "Move the staff. We're crossing."
A slow, rocky smile spread across the giant’s face. He pulled the staff from the earth. "Then walk, Little Kings. And pray that your names are heavy enough to keep you from floating away."
As the boys stepped onto the Bridge of Light, the sounds of the "busy road" vanished instantly. The air turned into a vacuum of silence, and the world of Dane County began to dissolve into the shimmering, terrifying vastness of the In-Between.