Creeping Shadow (The Rise of Isaac, Book One) by Caroline Peckham Page A

are intricately linked with the challenges so that a person can only receive a key if the Gateway recognises that they have been successful."
    "Couldn't a mage just make their own keys with magic? Bypass the challenges?" Oliver asked.
    "No. Dorian Ganderfield's challenges are impregnable, enforced by complex spells of his own design. You cannot go through a Gateway without a key and you cannot get a key without succeeding in a challenge," Ely said.
    "Why have you given us two keys each?" May asked curiously.
    "One of them is a key to Aleva and the other is your key back to Earth. You are given the one to your world of origin as standard practise once you have completed your first challenge."
    Oliver rolled the gems in his hand; they were cool and smooth and looked as though they held a minuscule galaxy of stars inside.
    "Hold out a hand both of you," Ely directed.
    Oliver and May complied and, in a flash of movement, Ely pricked their fingers with something extremely sharp causing globs of blood to seep from the punctures.
    Oliver snatched his arm away. "Why'd you do that?"
    May went to suck her finger but Ely stopped her.
    "Place the blood on your keys," he demanded.
    Oliver gently pressed his bloody finger onto each key whilst Ely raised a glimmering palm of silver above it. The keys absorbed the blood, swirling around in a miniature storm before pulsing momentarily and dispersing. The gems gradually changed colour until one was an earthy green and the other an ocean blue; they continued to sparkle but were no longer transparent.
    "Which one's which?" May asked.
    "Aleva's key is green and Earth's is blue. Each key is coloured to represent the different worlds. You can pop them in their respective holes on your Locks."
    Oliver lifted his pendant in one hand and eyed the labels around the rim before pushing the keys into their places between fragile, metal clasps.
    "No one can use these keys but you. The blood magically encodes them to your DNA. I inscribed your names on the back of your Locks so you'll know they're yours," Ely said proudly.
    "Thank you," May said, moving to give him a hug.
    "Yeah, thanks," Oliver said, deciding not to mention that they had already seen the Locks. He turned his over to reveal the words etched in the metal and ran his finger over the indentations. "So, what now?" he asked.
    "Now, we pack a bag and get going. It's chilly this time of year in the part of Aleva we'll be visiting so bring something warm to wear. I sent a message to the Council whilst you were completing the challenge asking them to send a stand-in Keeper to look after the Gateway while we're gone. We should only be a few days with any luck. I need to return to my position here and you two will need to get back to school."
    * * *
    The two of them hurried upstairs and May gripped Oliver's elbow as he went to enter his room.
    "What did you see in the challenge?" she asked, gazing at him intently.
    Oliver felt his guard creep up. He never kept secrets from May but he hadn't ever wanted to voice the fears he had about his father, it was a part of him he buried and tried not to disturb. "I was in the maze, too. Mum was there and I was trying to save her then there was this corpse chasing me around."
    "Oh." Frown lines formed around May's mouth. "Were you tempted to ring the bell?"
    Oliver shrugged off her hand. "No. Course not."
    He felt guilt trickle into his gut and turned away from his sister, giving her a casual smile. He entered his room and started packing a backpack with warm clothes.
    He didn't want May to think he was tempted to leave the challenge, she might translate that into thinking he wasn't determined enough to go with her to the other worlds. Though part of him worried that, if he had spent another five minutes in the maze, he might have rung the bell. The thought was disquieting.
    He pulled on a coat, shouldered his bag then exited his room and found May waiting for him in the corridor bundled up in warm layers.
    "What