Erebos by Ursula Poznanski

best for you?’
    No, Sarius would like to say, if he could. But his opposite number isn’t expecting an answer anyway. He grabs Sarius by the arms and unties him.
    â€˜You should leave Erebos. Go, and never come back. Pretend you’ve never been here. Forget this world. Will you do that?’
    Of course not, Sarius thinks. He tries to make out a face under the man’s hat brim, but he can’t even see eyes.
    â€˜If you want to leave Erebos, then run away. Run back to the tower. Now.’
    Is this a chance to escape, or a trap? Will Erebos lock him out if he takes the opportunity to escape from his kidnappers? He stands there undecided. The robber takes that for an answer.
    â€˜I thought as much,’ he sighs. ‘Then listen to me carefully. No-one here is your friend. Even if it looks that way to you. No-one will help you, because everyone wants to get into the Inner Circle and only very few make it.’
    Sarius doesn’t understand a word. What Inner Circle?
    â€˜At the end only a few will be left – those who have been chosen for the battle against Ortolan. Killing the monster, finding the treasure – it’s not something everyone is cut out for.’
    It’s hard to tell whether the robber is joking or not, and Sarius can’t inquire.
    â€˜Don’t divulge any of what I’m telling you to the others. Don’t rob yourself of your advantage – it’s small enough. See to it that you find wish crystals. They will make your life easier. Your life, do you understand?’
    â€˜Don’t tell him anything about wish crystals,’ the hunchback interjects.
    â€˜Why not? He will need them. You know what, Sarius? Wish crystals are one of the biggest secrets of Erebos. They serve you. They make the impossible possible. They make your dreams come true.’
    â€˜If the messenger finds out all the stuff you’ve been whispering in the lad’s ear, he’ll make you shorter by a head,’ the hunchback snarls.
    â€˜He’ll do that in any case, if he gets his hands on me.’
    The man with the big hat – he’s the leader, he must be the leader, Sarius thinks – turns his back on him and walks away slowly through the undergrowth. The others follow; the one-eyed character hurriedly spits in Sarius’s face before he goes. Apart from that no-one’s harmed a hair on his head. But then no-one’s let on to him what he’s supposed to do now, either.
    So he climbs back up the embankment and tries to get his bearings. The tower would have to be to the left, and he doesn’t want to go back there. He looks around him, searching for a reference point. And suddenly he hears a faint clanking sound coming from where the forest is darkest.
    Sarius follows the sound, which is becoming clearer with every step. Iron striking iron, and wood, and stone. Mixed with a dull roar and something like cries of pain. A battle. He keeps following the noise with a hot feeling inside that could be curiosity or fear, or both, until he’s faced with an obstacle. He slows his pace and stares nonplussed at a black wall that runs right across the countryside and towers high above the trees. The black shines like tar.
    Climbing over the wall is out of the question – he needs to find a way through. Or the far end of this giant obstacle. He turns to the left; the battle sounds are coming from that direction. He runs till his stamina is used up. No gateway. Enraged, he strikes at the wall with his sword. Black splinters off. Underneath two letters become visible: er.
    Convinced that a message is hidden under the shiny coating, he keeps working away at the wall with his sword, hoping he won’t break it in the process. But it works. The sword holds up, and a few minutes later Sarius has exposed a whole sentence. An ambiguous sentence: Enter the net. He laughs.
    I’m a good catch, he thinks, and opens a connection to the internet.
    At