Chapter Seventeen
APPROACHING THE gigantic door, I noticed on the stone steps the huge, damp footprints left by previous visitors. The nearby forest floor was still damp from the rain that morning, but who or what would have come from that direction? Cautiously, I rang the bell, and after only a short pause, the hinges groaned open.
Muffled voices sounded behind me as I entered the hallway, and I stole a quick glance over my shoulder in time to witness the next visitors approaching. A whole assortment of beasts and monsters gracefully ascended the steps, like animals moving into the ark. I stepped aside and held the door open in welcome as lions, vampires, trolls, and unicorns paraded past me. But I couldn’t see an end to the procession, so I abandoned my post and entered the meeting room.
The huge hall of stone arches was filled with row upon row of white linen covered rectangular tables, each decorated with an elaborate flower arrangement. A pungent aroma infused the air.
Instinct led me to a table in the middle, and I sat down expectantly on a high-backed wooden chair.
The next morning I awoke to a tickly sensation on my ankle, and I peered curiously under the covers to discover a mound of blond hair hovering over my feet. The tickle turned into feather-soft kisses and strokes of a spongy nose tip. My stomach began to knot and my eyes re-closed as my head sank back into the pillow to enjoy the sensation. Caresses continued upwards onto the soft skin of my inner thighs, then crept further towards the centre as Sebastian’s ardour intensified, and his encircling tongued teased and tasted me until I shuddered.
I reached down to draw his face level with mine. “Wow,” I panted. “That was like…the best alarm call ever.”
Sebastian beamed. “I aim to please.” He rolled onto his back and sighed.
“Are you okay?”
“Sure. Just thinking about today.”
I was fully awake now, and the previous night’s conversation during our journey home came flooding back. It had been very illuminating and had explained, somewhat, Sebastian’s recent disappearances to the city. I had listened intently and tried to absorb all the information he was relating. I recounted the conversation in my head.
“In another realm, a dark force is growing that threatens every one of us. These creatures have plundered their earth until it lies barren, and now they seek a more fruitful land to conquer. Our world is such a land, and they threaten to strike here, eradicating anyone who opposes them,” Sebastian had begun. “Everybody’s tail is twitching, and we’ve been gathering our forces, meeting with the heads of great families all over the world. Aside from humans, werewolves have the largest population and form the strongest opposition. Our sources have informed us that we are the dark force’s first target. Their aim is to eradicate as many of us as possible, paving the way for an easier victory.”
I’d broken my stare into the headlight beams ahead and turned to study his face. Frown lines had formed on his forehead. He’d continued, “Unbeknownst to his father, Tyron Reith has been enlisted to lead the battle for supremacy here. He’s already instigated the proceedings.”
“How?” I’d asked.
“There’s a disease, a plague, and it’s spreading. I can’t pretend that we know what we’re dealing with; we don’t, but we believe it originates from a virus created by Reith Technologies. To begin with, it was restricted to the occupants of the tunnels, but it’s started to leak out. It’s spreading through our community, and the deaths have begun. We cannot allow this to continue. It would leave the humans unprotected and the world ripe for takeover.”
At that point, Sebastian had hit the steering wheel in anger. “We’re doing everything we can, but so far, our scientists have failed to find a cure. Father can’t get away from work at the moment, so he’s asked me to travel to the Alician realm to seek an audience with Mathanway in the hope that she may be able to conjure a magical cure to eradicate this scourge.”
I’d asked if I could go with him, and, surprisingly, he’d agreed.
My thoughts were brought back to the present when Sebastian rose from our bed and ambled into the bathroom.
I decided to get dressed, but I had no idea what I was supposed to wear. Finally, after much deliberation, I stumped for a failsafe pair of skinny jeans and a lightweight but cosy cream jumper. I finished my outfit with Tokala’s necklace.
As I ran a brush through my hair, I stood at the window, staring dreamily through the condensation-covered glass and out over the overgrown front lawn. A bunny skipped gaily over the mist-soaked grass, and a blackbird bobbed up and down, pulling its wriggling breakfast from a patch of barren ground.
In the distance, a flash of light caught my eye, like the sun glinting off a lens. Without looking at it, I placed my brush to the side, peered towards the distant hills, and called to Sebastian. “Seb? I think we’re being watched.”
He emerged from the bathroom fully dressed, with one hand rubbing his hair dry with a towel. “Shouldn’t think so. As far as I know, the charm’s still in place.” He came up behind me, wrapped his free arm cheekily around my waist, and stared out at the horizon.
“I didn’t imagine it. There was definitely something or someone up there behind that tree on the overhang.”
“I don’t see anything. You’re probably just a bit tired after last night. Are you ready? I’m starving.”
After we’d had a light breakfast, Connor joined us, and then in a decidedly cool atmosphere with the awkward dial turned to full, we all descended a small flight of stone steps near the kitchen and headed to the basement. Connor led the way into the darkness with Sebastian and me following, hand in hand.
“I hate the dark.” I cringed. “And God knows what I just stood on. It had better not have been a rat.”
“Nope, just my foot,” Sebastian said.
“Oops…sorry.”
“It’s okay. I’ve got a spare.”
It wasn’t long before flames sprang to life from an old-fashioned torch in Connor’s hand and a warm flickering glow lit the passage.
As we dropped further into the depths of Lovell Towers, I began to feel a little claustrophobic, so I clung to Sebastian for comfort. We passed through a large, empty room with peeling white paint on the walls and a low ceiling held aloft by old stone pillars, and the further we travelled, the more the temperature dropped. I wished I’d opted for a warmer jacket.
Eventually, we arrived at another room, bare apart from a huge carved-wood column in the centre.
“Welcome to your first experience of the terraplunger,” Sebastian said.
“What’s a terraplunger?” I asked, puzzled.
“This, my darling, is Lovell Towers’ best-kept secret, a portal to practically every other known realm.” He squatted down and beckoned me closer. “See these grooves here, and these carvings? Each mark represents another world. You simply twist the column to line up the correct combination of symbols for the land you wish to be transported to.”
I watched him grip and manoeuvre the heavy wood, which must have been three feet in diameter, and didn’t think it looked simple at all.
“And then you climb on top.” With one bound he leapt up, closely followed by Connor, and they held out their hands to pull me up. “And tread on this knot here.”
Sebastian stamped his foot on a raised nodule of wood.
The room turned black, and we began spinning, reminding me of a particularly nasty ride on the waltzers, when I had thrown up in the booth. I was certain a repeat performance was due, but luckily, before I could reacquaint myself with the contents of my stomach, we came to a halt.
We had arrived in a rocky crevice on a mountainside overlooking a village of quaint houses, nestled in a vale near a glassy lake. The boys jumped down from a wooden column identical to the one in the cellar, and then helped me to the ground. I wobbled, still dizzy.
“It’s always a rush the first time, but you get used to it,” Sebastian said. “I think Mathanway’s cottage is at the bottom of this slope, thro
ugh those trees.”
“You think?”
“Yeah. Dad gave me directions. I’ve never travelled to this particular realm before. Looks simple enough, though.”
The sky was bright and clear, but there was a cold nip in the breeze, and I held the sides of my jacket together for warmth.
After clambering down over the tricky terrain, and my living up to the stereotypical girl who couldn’t even look at a rock without tripping over it and hurting herself, we waded through the long grass and dead bracken of the lower hillside and headed for the cover of the trees below. I was quite relieved at the familiarity of the landscape. This land didn’t seem so different from ours. In fact, it could well have been England about a hundred years ago, before motorways and high-rises existed.
“So,” I said breathlessly, “you never elaborated on the disease last night. Why is it so bad?”
“It’s like a form of rabies,” Sebastian began. “There are no initial symptoms. You don’t even know you have it at first, but slowly you start turning mad and dangerous. And then you get sick, physically. You sweat profusely, forget who you are, and become mentally disturbed and aggressive. But it’s when you start foaming at the mouth that you know you’re a goner within forty-eight hours.”
To my amazement, I was able to sidestep a jagged rock protruding through the dry earth. “Ugh, that sounds awful.”
“It is. Works quickly, too; only a few weeks between exposure and death. That’s why we must find a cure, and fast.”
After a short yet exhausting trek, we reached a wooded area. I thought I felt the earth tremble slightly, but I didn’t know why, so I convinced myself I’d imagined it.
I shivered slightly in the shadow of the trees. Only small areas of dappled sunlight filtered through the leafy canopy, and a low mist lay amongst the damp ferns and rotting leaves. This was quite different from my leisurely jaunts through Fosswell woods. I felt relaxed there, safe. I didn’t feel safe here. Every branch, every leaf, every dark crevice seemed to be watching us as we quickly wove through the thick undergrowth.
I was beginning to tire when a small clearing materialised, and I grabbed Sebastian’s arm.
“Can I have a minute to catch my breath, please? I usually take my morning constitutional at a more leisurely pace,” I pleaded breathlessly, rubbing an aching knee that had begun to sting. Don’t get me wrong; I wasn’t unfit, but the guys were moving faster than cheetahs at chow time.
“I’m sorry. I forget you still have your human body,” Sebastian said. “We’ll try to slow it down a bit, but we need to keep going so—”
Suddenly, out of the swirling shadows of the undergrowth, a weird chattering, rattling sound interrupted his sentence and rapidly increased in volume. I definitely hadn’t imagined that!
“What the hell is that?” I asked, searching around for the sound’s source.
“It’s probably nothing,” Sebastian said unconvincingly. “Keep moving. We’re nearly there.”
“I wish we were already there. This place gives me the heebie-jeebies. Oh my God, what’s that?”
Before Sebastian could reply, a large shape materialised out of an opening in a nearby mound of earth, and we were confronted by a giant black beetle. Its eyes, as big as oranges, focused threateningly on us, and its mouth looked large enough to swallow my head whole. Now I’m a typical girl, and I hate creepy crawlies. All those legs…ugh. So I did what any girl would do: I screamed.
“Shh,” the boys said in unison, sandwiching me between them for protection and each producing long, rather menacing-looking daggers from inside their jackets.
More creatures emerged from the mound until an army of four-foot-long beetles surrounded us. The air filled with the sound of vicious snapping claws and angry squeals.
“Remind me again why I came,” I said, staring like a rabbit in a headlight at the first creature’s huge mouth pincers as one swung alarmingly close to us and missed snagging Sebastian’s jeans by inches. “You could have warned me.”
“Do you think I’d have brought you and put you in danger if I’d known?” Sebastian said.
“You knew enough to bring weapons.”
“Good boy scouts are always prepared…except maybe not for this. Keep still.”
I didn’t want to be there. I wanted to be at home, troughing chocolate and listening to Beth chat aimlessly about boys.
The sea of black crept closer, and I panicked. “Do something! Can’t you trip us out of here? I don’t fancy becoming beetle breakfast.”
“No passengers.” Sebastian’s voice became a grunt of strength as he lashed out, swiping at the nearest creature.
I turned my face and buried it against his chest, but not soon enough to prevent my hearing a squelching screech followed by a thud as the creature’s head hit the leaf-covered earth. I cringed, and my necklace snagged on Sebastian’s jumper, so I grabbed at it to free it, wishing we were safely at Mathanway’s cottage—wherever that was.
“What the hell? Sophie, what did you do?”
“Me? Huh?” I lifted my head and took in the scenery. Not a beetle in sight. We were standing in a pretty garden on a path leading to a small house nestled in the side of a hill.
Connor uttered his first words of the trip. “Dude, that was awesome.”
Sebastian grinned down at me. “Looks like someone’s gained herself a new power.”
“I-I think it was my pendant,” I stammered, remembering the dream.
Sebastian breathed a sigh of relief. “Well, whatever it was, it saved our butts.” He picked a dock leaf and wiped the beetle gunk from his knife before storing it back underneath his jacket. “I think this is it—Mathanway’s cottage.”
Our knock on the door was answered by a very small, portly man in a crumpled khaki suit. He eyed us suspiciously. “Don’t take kindly to strangers ’ere. What ya want?”
“We’re in need of help and would like to meet with your mistress,” Sebastian said.
The man’s screwed-up eyes surveyed his visitors. “Can ya fulfil the requirements?”
Sebastian reached inside his jacket and pulled from its depths a small, string-wrapped brown paper bundle. “I believe this will suffice.”
The man grunted and snatched the parcel. “Wait ’ere,” he said, closing the door in our faces.
As we waited patiently for his return, I stole a glance at the boys, who were both studying their feet, and then I surveyed my surroundings.
It wasn’t winter here. The disorderly garden was filled to the brim with rambling wildflowers and herbs, all vying for the same amount of precious earth to nourish them before spilling out between the posts of the enclosing white picket fence. The front of the house blended so perfectly with the rock face on the side of the hill that if it hadn’t been for the front door—hiding behind an old sycamore tree—and the garden path leading to it, you wouldn’t have known the house existed at all. I was pondering just how far beneath the hill the living quarters might extend when the front door opened once more, and we were ushered inside.
Although well lit, the interior of the cave house was quite gloomy, with no windows or natural daylight. There wasn’t a corner in sight. The curved plaster walls were painted white and looked as if they were made of marshmallow. We were standing on a huge, faded Turkish rug in a hallway dotted with many dark wooden doors, and directly ahead, matching wooden balustrades denoted more than one level to the cottage-style interior.
“In ’ere, if ya please.” The little man opened the nearest door and beckoned us forward.
Sebastian waved his hand for me to proceed first, but I shook my head and let the boys enter before me, trying to hide behind them.
“Tea for four, Mollo.” A young voice with a slight Mediterranean accent came through the back of a high leather chair near the fireplace.
The man bowed his almost-bald head and backed out of the door.
A mass of long, black wavy hair rose from the chair and revealed a face as Mathanway stood u
p and turned to face us. Although she was exceedingly beautiful, her large eyes, framed with lush lashes, were so dark that the pupils were indistinguishable, and her skin was so pale it was practically translucent. She was wearing a long purple dress with a low-cut bodice and long, pointy sleeves. The dress was trimmed with gold piping, and around Mathanway’s shoulders curled a black silk shawl. Her hair was topped with a wreath of delicate flowers. At her throat sat a strange necklace of very sharp teeth.
Her rosebud lips parted, and she spoke. “Sebastian Lovell. It is a pleasure to finally welcome the son of my great friend, Hemming, to my humble dwelling. How can I be of service to you and your handsome cousin—Connor, isn’t it?”
Connor saluted his fingers to his nose and bowed reverently. Sebastian mirrored his move. It was all a tad medieval for me, and I stood back in silence, surveying the meeting.
“Please come. Sit.”
Mathanway directed us to the seating area, and I perched quietly at the end of the sofa next to Connor. Sebastian introduced me, but Mathanway merely nodded politely, speaking not a word until after Sebastian had reiterated their plight.
Mathanway digested the story and pondered it for a minute before responding. “I believe I may be able to assist you with your problem. Ah, here’s Mollo with the tea. Please help yourselves. I must consult with my teachings to confirm what I suspect, but I will return presently.”
Mollo bent his shoulders to set the tea tray down on the mahogany coffee table, then stared up at us through his sparse eyelashes with a look of disdain which told me he was not impressed with having to wait upon his mistress’s visitors.
I looked around the room, which smelled sweetly of freesias. A lavish bouquet stood on a pedestal by the door, and every time the door opened, the scent wafted over in our direction, filling my nostrils. Curious statues of strange creatures and interesting talismans made a striking display on a side table under a giant arched wall mirror, and an ornately framed oil painting of a wistful couple basking in the sunlight by a lily pond hung over the fireplace.
Connor poured the tea. His fingers brushed against mine as he handed me a cup, and he twisted his body towards me to prevent Sebastian from witnessing his surreptitious wink.
What was that supposed to mean? If he was trying to mess with my head, it was working.
The tea was sweet and refreshing. I drained my cup too quickly, not realising quite how thirsty I’d become, and I was helping myself to a refill when Mathanway re-entered. She positively glided to her chair and gracefully accepted the tea Connor offered, taking a small sip before clearing her throat.
“I’m afraid to say that my original thoughts were correct. I should be able to mix an antidote you can try, but the potion recipe is an ancient one, not concocted for centuries, and I will require a rare ingredient only found in a place I cannot enter. Were I to step foot there, I would evaporate within seconds. If you wish me to make the potion, you must retrieve the elixir for me.”
“Certainly, madam. Please tell us what we need to do,” Sebastian said, helping himself to a biscuit.
Mathanway stood up and stared at the painting over the mantle. “You will need to travel to the Rutilus realm and seek out a Porrovita tree. The sap of the tree is the elixir. Return it to me. But beware: the Porrovita is highly prized for its life-giving qualities, and each one is heavily guarded by Cruor demons. Whatever you do, you must not fail. Without the elixir I cannot help you at all, and even with it, I cannot guarantee the antidote will work.”
The sorceress turned and looked directly at me. “The assistance of a young tenderfoot will greatly improve your chances.” She smiled knowingly into my eyes. “Yes, my dear, I know. You cannot hide your true identity in this realm. It exposes all disguises. If you imagine for one minute that I am taking tea with two gorgeous men and a pretty young girl, you are mistaken. I sit here meeting with two wolves and a fox.”
My eyes widened and I grabbed Sebastian’s hand.
“Oh, do not be alarmed,” Mathanway said with a small smile. “We all have secrets, and yours is safe with me.”
Nerves made me take another sip from my cup, but there was nothing left, so I put it back on the tray.
Mathanway continued, “I know of Tokala, of course. We met briefly at an Altodei seminar once. She is a great goddess, and I’m certain that she would have chosen wisely.”
I smiled nervously, wanting to know more but not daring to ask, and after a polite period of time, we bade farewell to Mathanway and the Alician realm.
“Have you been to the Rutilus realm before?” I asked Sebastian as we ascended the stairs back at Lovell Towers.
“No, but I’ve read about it, and there’s no way you’re coming with us on that one.”
After showering away the beetle-juice splatters, I stared at the scrape on my knee, absent-mindedly picking at the scab that had formed and was healing unusually quickly. “I was thinking I’d nip home today for a change of clothes and to say hi to Beth. You weren’t planning to go straight away, were you?”
“No. I need to go into Carleigh this afternoon to discuss the trip with father. I’m convinced he’ll insist upon a greater number for the scouting party. He might even decide to join us.”
“You have to let me come.”
“Impossible.”
“Please.”
“No.”
“But—”
“No, Soph. It’s too dangerous.”
“Hear me out, please. Mathanway practically told you I should go, remember? She said my assistance would improve your chances.”
“I remember, but—”
“But I could. I mean, you don’t know what I can do, and neither do I, for that matter.”
“Exactly, and until you do, I can’t take the risk.”
“You think she’s wrong. You think that I’m useless and will get in the way.”
“Of course not.” He faltered, and it seemed I was wearing him down. “I’ll think about it.”
“God, girl, it seems an age since I’ve seen you. You didn’t even take your mobile. I’m feeling kind of neglected,” Beth said later that day.
“It’s only been two days, Beth.” I laughed. “And I bet after Friday, you’ve spent most of the weekend asleep and didn’t even notice I’d gone.”
“Might have kipped a bit,” she said sheepishly. “Anyway, what about the mess? Someone had to tidy up, i.e. me. Where were you for that, huh? Conveniently with lover boy?”
“Jealous, are we?”
“Always,” she pouted. “And what’s with the new look you’re rocking? Why didn’t you warn me you were thinking of doing something so radical?”
I stroked my hair nervously. “Um, it was very spur of the moment. I didn’t think about it at all, really.”
“Did Seb take you to that little boutique salon we passed in Carleigh?”
“No, but just as wacky.” I needed to change the subject. “So, did you pick up any juicy gossip from the party?”
“Hmm.” Beth thought for a second. “Justin’s found himself a boyfriend.”
“Yeah? Good for him.”
“Oh, and your mum called. Not that that’s anything to do with the party.”
“Shit. What did you tell her? Please say you covered.”
“Oh, I see. Now I’m your friend. Now you don’t want Mummy Dearest to find out you’ve been shagging your brains out.”
“Well, would you like Daddy Darling to know how not particular you are about your bed mates?”
“I’m sure I don’t know what you mean. I’m very particular. They have to be male, good-looking, sexy, and of course, fancy me like crazy.”
We rolled on the sofa, giggling like schoolgirls.
“I said you were on a painting trip, and she bought it, obviously,” Beth reassured me. “Speaking of parents, Dad’s going to spend Christmas with his bit of fluff, and I’m not invited, so it looks like it’s just you and me, kid.”
“Oh…Christmas. Yeah, um…I hav
en’t really had a chance to think about that. Let me talk to Sebastian.”
“Cool. I suppose you can invite him too, if you like, especially if he brings that dishy brother of his. His buns are so tight they stay rigid when he walks, and I’m missing me a bit of Jimmy.”
Inviting Sebastian to Christmas dinner at the flat wasn’t quite what I’d had in mind, but it was probably better not to tell Beth the truth.
After a light lunch consisting of a couple of stale sausage rolls dunked into a bowl of tomato soup, I rang Mum to let her know I was still alive, and she didn’t shut up about wanting me home for Christmas to meet Jerry. She even offered for Beth to stay, too, when I said that I couldn’t possibly leave her alone, but I insisted that I had an important assignment to complete and needed the facilities of the uni library, and that seemed to do the trick.
“You can stare at me with those woeful little doe eyes all you like. I’ve decided. You’re not coming, and that’s final,” Sebastian said as we settled down to sleep.
He’d been gone since dropping me off at the flat on Sunday. It was now Tuesday, and I hadn’t heard a word from him until he’d come to pick me up in the evening, so I was not in the greatest of moods.
He’d informed me that there would be six in the next day’s scouting party: Sebastian, Connor, Hemming, Seth, Seth’s brother-in-law, Arta—their most skilled fighter—and Arta’s cousin, Parel. But no Sophie.
I turned my back in a huff and pulled the covers tightly around my neck. Fine. Whatever. We’d see who had the last laugh.
The pool of blood I was standing in deepened and began swirling. I tried to swim, gasping for air as it pulled me down, further and further into the maelstrom. The surface faded into the distance, and I could only watch, powerless. I’d grown weak. My muscles had seized, and I could no longer move. I drew breath but gagged on blood…then everything went black.
The morning came unexpectedly. I blinked open my eyes and reached for my watch. 9:35. Shit. I’d slept solidly and overslept. Sebastian’s side of the bed lay empty. Had I missed him? Even though we’d quarrelled last night, would he really have gone without letting me know? Then the sound of running water came from the bathroom, and I breathed a sigh of relief.
I dressed in a hurry, choosing some lightweight combat pants and a small vest top which I covered with a V-necked jumper. I tucked my pendant beneath it, out of sight. I was brushing my hair into a high ponytail when Sebastian emerged with a guilty expression.
“Oh, you’re up,” he said.
“You seem disappointed. Were you planning to sneak away?”
He bit his bottom lip in contemplation of an answer that didn’t arrive.
“You were, weren’t you?” I continued. “It’s bad enough you won’t allow me to go with you, but to leave without saying goodbye?”
“I’m sorry. Of course I’ll say goodbye. Everyone should be here by now. We’re meeting at the terraplunger in ten minutes. Are you ready?”
“Sure. I’ll just put my trainers on.”
The others were waiting when we arrived in the stone room, and Hemming and Arta were already manoeuvring the terraplunger into position.
“Ahh. I see my son has finally deigned to join us,” Hemming said. “And I had expected you to have said your farewell upstairs, boy. You didn’t tell me your relationship was this open.”
I didn’t miss the look on his face.
“I have no secrets from Sophie.”
“Really? I find that potentially problematic. We shall need to discuss the ramifications upon our return, but a more important situation calls us now. Come.”
He held out his hand. Sebastian took it and sprang up to join the waiting men.
“Seb?” I said. He glanced back, and I smiled. “Be careful.”
“Don’t worry. We’ll be back before you know it.”
The terraplunger rumbled, and the men’s bodies merged into a swirling blur before vanishing into danger.
Right, Soph, this is it. It’s now or never, I told myself, trying to hold my nerves at bay. They can’t stop you if you’ve already done it.
It was only then that I realised there was no way up. I couldn’t get onto the top of the terraplunger alone. Frustratingly, I had to run back to the house and return with a bar stool from the kitchen.
Too much time had passed. They could be anywhere. How would I find them? Could I get back alone, if I didn’t? Too many questions raced around my head, planting doubts. But I couldn’t let them stop me. Taking a deep breath, I stepped on the button.
Then it started. I was propelled at lightning speed through what felt like a narrow slit. I wasn’t going to make it. A bright orange light blinded me and shot searing pains through my head, like the worst migraine in the world. It felt as if all the breath was being squeezed slowly out of my body and I would die, right there, between realms.
Happily, the feeling didn’t last. The terraplunger stopped spinning, and I collapsed with exhaustion, falling from the top onto the scorching hot sand.
I stood up quickly. I had no time to relax. I had to get away from the beach that was already beginning to melt the soles of my trainers. Dizzily, I ran to a shaded part of the nearby cliff face and sat on a smooth boulder to assess my situation.
The door to reality had closed, and I had stepped into the Devil’s kingdom. Lapping onto the sand was a sea of red, joined to a horizon of yellow which darkened into an orange sky. Mum had always told me you could go blind looking directly at the sun, so I knew that I shouldn’t, but if I squinted and blinked a bit, then…yes, there were definitely three suns!
Footprints in the dry sand marked a trail leading to a narrow fissure in a section of the cliff face, where a thin river of molten lava emerged and flowed to the sea. I took a big gulp of the sulphurous air and followed the path up the side of the steaming flow. It was quite a steep climb up to the open plain at the other side of the cliffs, and I was glad of the sparse rubber left protecting my soles.
I had almost reached the other side when I heard a disturbance, and as I crept closer, it became obvious that it was the noise of bloody combat.
I squatted down behind a large rock and surveyed with trepidation the unfolding scene below, an intense battle of steel and fire. Through the cloud of dust, disturbed by the sparring figures, I could see the Lovells were putting up a valiant fight, and were worthy competitors, but I wanted to shout “Watch out!” to Sebastian immediately before he ducked under the enemy’s swirling blade.
Cruor demons were an ugly species, like scavengers from Hell. Devoid of clothes and totally bald, they looked as if they had been moulded out of skin-coloured wax before sitting too close to the fire. They walked with a hunch and bent knees, almost dragging their long arms on the ground, but were still adeptly performing the swift and skilful moves required for armed combat. Pits in their puckered skin’s surface appeared to be oozing blood and pus, and from their mouths, streams of fire blasted at the Lovells’ shields.
More spurts of fire shot out of the dry earth like geysers, creating an even more hazardous battleground. One demon continued to fight minus a slice of the left-hand side of his face and his left arm—the result of a Lovell sword slash, no doubt. Two demons lay dead on the ground with their heads separated from their bodies, and after a deft swoop from Hemming’s sword, a third joined them, leaving only five, but I could see the men were tiring.
Sebastian had been right. This was no place for me. I wouldn’t have stood a chance down there.
Suddenly, the demon fighting Arta turned and shot fire at Parel’s back. Parel immediately exploded in flames and crumpled screaming to the ground. I buried my head in my hands. Oh, God, that could have been Sebastian. He could be next. I wanted to help, but I didn’t know what use I could be.
Sparks flew as blades met. The noise of clashing metal and shouts of exertion reverberated in my head, and I couldn’t think straight. I grabbed at my pendant praying for inspiration, and it came. All at once, I knew what I
must do.
I looked down, imagining the scene as a painting, and, reaching out my hand, I visualised picking up the enemies’ shapes one by one, plucking them all from the picture before me until I was holding them in my clasped hand. Then, turning over my hand and unfurling it, I blew the demons up into the suns, where they disintegrated to ashes and fluttered back down to the ground in a grey rain.
Sliding down behind the boulder, I closed my eyes with relief. After a few deep breaths, I opened them again and peered over the ridge to find two pairs of male eyes staring up at me in disbelief. Sebastian was already racing to climb the rocky terrain to join me, and when he reached the top, he swept me into his arms and kissed me hard.
“You always surprise me, Soph,” he said, laughing. “You disobeyed me. You shouldn’t have come, but I’m so glad you did.”
He was wearing a white shirt unbuttoned to the waist, with the sleeves rolled up. It clung to his sweaty torso and was splattered with viscous blood.
“I do hope that’s of the non-werewolf variety,” I said, crumpling my nose at the sight.
He shook his head and brushed a hand loosely through his hair to get rid of the ashes. “Cruor.”
I traced my finger down his chest, following a bead of perspiration. “You didn’t fight as your other self.”
“No.” He laughed. “Do you see any moons here?”
At that moment, Hemming Lovell’s head appeared from behind a neighbouring rock, followed swiftly by his body. He stood icily before me and stared. Then he nodded.
“Great shame about Parel. He was a fine warrior. Pity you weren’t here a moment sooner.” I thought he was being sarcastic, but then a smile reshaped his steely lips, and he hugged us in his enveloping arms. “It seems I underestimated your relationship. I thought you were human, Sophie.”
“She’s a tenderfoot, Dad,” Sebastian said with pride.
“Really? Excellent! Plucked from an ordinary life and handed a destiny, eh? That explains the pendant,” Hemming said, staring down at my chest. “Our family has been blessed.” He took my hands, squeezing them a little too tightly. “There are millions like us all over the world, but there are few like you. You are truly special, and I couldn’t be more pleased that you have chosen my son.”
“Is that right, Dad?” Sebastian asked. “And what about cousin Verma?”
“Who? Oh…yes, well, Connor can marry her,” he said dismissively. He jumped back suddenly, craning his neck over the ledge. “Now, let’s hope the others have located that damn tree so we can get out of this infernal place.”
“Isn’t that them, over there, coming over the rise?” Sebastian said.
I followed his gaze into the distance, where three men were speeding into view.
“Why are they running?” I asked stupidly.
Sebastian pointed to a blur on the horizon which was increasing in size by the second. “You’d be running too, if that were following you.”
Hot on their heels, and closing in quickly, was a swarm of angry Cruor demons, furiously brandishing lethal swords and shooting bolts of fire at the fleeing men, missing them by mere feet. Arta paused for a second to hoist the charred corpse of his cousin over his shoulder before continuing towards the cliff.
“Quick! Back to the terraplunger, kids!” Hemming shouted as I began fumbling my way, panic-stricken, back down the cliff to the beach.
All of a sudden, Hemming pulled me towards him to avoid a jet of scorching steam shooting out from a nearby crevice. “Watch out!”
My legs weakened and my breath grew short. I narrowly missed stumbling into the flow of lava as we crossed the stepping-stones, and the heat of the sand struck me again as we hastened to the column. It felt like walking barefoot on hot coals, and it took all my strength to keep putting one foot in front of the other.
I glanced back to check on the others, but when I caught sight of the stream of fire ricocheting off the shield protecting Connor’s back, I wished I hadn’t.
“They’re gaining on us. Faster, Sophie, faster!” Sebastian shouted, almost pulling my arm out of its socket.
“But I can’t run like you,” I protested.
I felt sick. The searing pain in my feet became too much. I knew I was going to faint.
“Seb, help!” I cried. He caught me just in time, and sprinted the last few paces before leaping up to join his father on the terraplunger in a single bound and stamping on the button without waiting for the others.
I couldn’t believe he’d left them behind, but I was delirious with pain, and the journey back added another layer. Words of protest wouldn’t come, and when the stone walls of the cellar materialised, I blacked out.