Vega jane and the maze o.., p.15
Vega Jane and the Maze of Monsters, page 15
She looked taken aback by my comment, which, I had to admit, had been somewhat accusatory. ‘Not all of them, no. But by conjuring what we did, we laid the foundation for these creatures to spawn even greater horrors than the originals. The effects of magic can often be unpredictable, Vega. You must come to understand that.’
‘And do you think it was all worth it?’ I asked in a firmer voice.
‘The answer to that is still to be written,’ she replied just as firmly.
24
A SORCERESS OF SORTS
The time raced by as my education continued. My true education.
By saying the phrase ‘Pass-pusay’ and tapping my wand against my right leg, I had disappeared from the room we were in and transported myself to the hallway outside. I don’t know how I did it or why I had travelled to that particular spot, but Astrea was very encouraged that I had accomplished this on only my fourth attempt. I had even worked out some reverse curses with a degree of success. But I had also very nearly drowned poor Delph by miscasting the confounding spell Engulfiado.
I now lay exhausted on my bed. It didn’t seem that saying words and waving a little stick around could be tiring, but it actually involved far more than that. This mind, body and spirit requirement was much harder than labouring at Stacks.
More time passed and my lessons continued unabated. I muttered so many incantations that it seemed I could recall none. I made intricate moves with my wand. And it was all done under the strict tutelage of Astrea Prine. She seemed to enjoy the role of teacher far more than jailer.
I had my share of victories and a nearly equal number of total disasters.
‘You’re getting the hang of the basics at least,’ she observed.
I looked at Astrea, knowing that something else was on the tip of her tongue. ‘But?’ I said.
‘But you’ve had to do none of this while an opponent is casting spells back at you, trying to hurt or even kill you. That changes everything, Vega.’
‘But how can I practise that?’
‘You will practise that, when you are ready.’
‘You mean truly fighting?’
‘Yes! You will have to do so to get through the Quag.’
That night I lingered in front of the fire with Astrea and Harry Two while Delph and Archie went off to bed.
‘The first night I was here I saw the room covered in dust and cobwebs. It was set up like a nursery.’
She slowly nodded. ‘It was a nursery, Vega. For my children.’
‘It . . . it must have been difficult for them,’ I began.
She gave a hollow laugh. ‘As you so astutely pointed out, I took their lives from them.’
I remained silent. I shouldn’t have said that to her. I’m sure she had meant the best. But sometimes decisions come at a great cost. For others.
‘They never had the chance to meet anyone. Never had the chance to fall in love, marry and have a family. See their children grow up and have their own children.’ She let out a long breath that I could sense was chock-full of remorse. She glanced at me before looking away. ‘My youngest, Ariana, was the first to die. She was so full of life when she was a child. Then she grew into a bitter old thing, and who could blame her? This cottage, her brothers and sisters. And me. That was all she had. Then one by one, the others went. Tired of not living. A decision I had made for them.’
She lapsed into silence, a quiet I was hesitant to break. But I had another question to ask her, and it would have a great impact on me personally.
‘You have killed others?’ I began.
She was staring into the depths of the fire. ‘To defend myself. I was quite good at it. As you will have to be.’
I drew closer. ‘When I threw the Elemental at the males attacking me on that battlefield, I didn’t know it was going to kill them.’
‘It is not a natural thing to kill another. At least it is not for us.’
‘Do you think that’s why, well, why they beat you? The Maladons?’
‘Do you know how they came by their name? Did Archie tell you that?’
‘No.’
‘In our ancient language it means “terrible death”, Vega.’
‘Terrible death. So, you named them that? Because of what they did to you?’
She shook her head. ‘No. They named themselves. To inflict terrible death on others is the highest calling they have.’
‘That’s . . . awful,’ I said, unable to process how anyone could be that evil.
‘The Maladons have always been remarkably good at killing. Although towards the end, many on our side became quite adept at it as well. Alice Adronis killed scores of them and seemed to care not a jot.’
‘I don’t think that’s true.’
She turned to face me. ‘And how could you possibly know that?’
‘I saw her on that battlefield. She was honourable. Noble. I’m sure the killing did bother her. As it would me.’
‘And your point?’ asked Astrea curiously.
‘Well, if we didn’t care, we would be no better than the Maladons. And then what would be the point of defeating them?’
‘I agree,’ was her surprising reply.
‘But that still doesn’t answer the question of whether I can kill if I need to. I don’t even know the spell to do it.’
‘Rigamorte,’ she said immediately, her features deadly serious. ‘It is the most powerful of all curses. While we have other spells that can eventually lead to death, that is the one guaranteed to produce it.’
‘It even sounds hurtful.’
‘Point your wand at me and say it.’
‘What?’ I exclaimed in astonishment.
‘Point your wand at me and say the incantation.’
‘But I can’t do—’
‘Now,’ she screamed, ‘or I will do it to you. Now, Vega!’
Terrified, I raised my wand and cried out, ‘Rigamorte!’
My wand gave what amounted to a little sneeze and that was all.
‘I guess I need work,’ I said lamely. ‘But you would have blocked it or countered it if—’
‘There is no shield. Only inevitable death.’
I was horrified. ‘Then if it had worked?’
‘It could not possibly have worked, Vega. You were scared. It was why I screamed at you. One cannot perform the curse while truly scared. It is not the emotion required.’
‘What is, then?’
‘Something more than loathing. Or even hatred. An emotion so strong that it blocks out every other feeling you have. It must be like molten lava in your blood vessels. You must want to kill above all else. To end the life of another living thing, Vega. Otherwise, you’re simply wasting your breath. It is horrible to kill someone. So, to take the life of another, you must become horrible.’
I cleared my throat and said slowly, ‘I don’t know if I could ever feel that way about anyone. I mean there were blokes in Wormwood that I didn’t much care for. But I couldn’t kill them. I mean I just wouldn’t.’
‘Would you rather it be you dead, or your enemy?’ she retorted. ‘For I can tell you quite plainly that a Maladon confronting you will not hesitate to end your life.’
I sat back and thought this through. To get through the Quag and do what I needed to do, would I have to become a killer?
It seemed that I would.
25
A WARNING
I rose early next light and dressed quickly. I could hear no one stirring yet. Even Harry Two was still asleep at the foot of my bed. I walked down the hall and stopped in front of one of the doors that had refused me entry my first night here. I took out my wand, gave it three parallel flicks and said, ‘Crystilado magnifica.’
I jumped back so far that I actually slammed into the opposite wall.
Full in my face, burning a hole in my brain really, was a jabbit curled up in a cage made of brilliant light. The terrible creature was fast asleep, its hundreds of eyes closed. But sleeping or not, I wanted to run away shrieking.
Instead, I tapped my wand against my leg, hissed ‘Pass-pusay’ and thought of my destination.
Moments later I was outside the cottage and also free of the green dome.
I looked around at the peace and quiet of an early light. I got a running start and took to the air with Destin firmly around my waist. I kept my gaze swivelling back and forth both above and below, my wand at the ready.
A sudden gust of wind hit me and I went into a dive. I caught myself in plenty of time, at least a hundred feet up in the air. Righting myself, I looked ahead and paled. The clear sky had turned to a towering darkened mass. Jagged skylight spears were being cast out of the black clouds. Accompanying thunder-thrusts pierced my ears. I had no choice but to flee to the ground.
I landed hard and stumbled a bit before regaining my balance. I looked upward. The sky was once more crystal clear.
What the . . . ?
I bent my knees and shot upward. I was immediately engulfed in horrendous wind and torrential rain. I was flipped and shoved all across the sky, the rain hitting me so hard it felt like whacks from a piece of wood. The water blasted in my eyes and down my throat, making me gag.
I shot downward and sprawled on the ground, soaked to the bone.
I rolled over and looked up once more. The sky was blue again.
I twisted my hair, wringing the water out of it, and did the same with my clothes. When I looked to my right, I was so astonished I touched my arm to make sure I was still where I thought I was. Because it was me approaching me! Barely ten feet from me, it stopped and stared. Now, I’ve had experience with a maniack, a despicable creature that can take the form of someone and then clutch on to you and make you relive your worst fears while it slowly crushes you to death. But I had never been confronted by, well, myself.
Of course, I knew it wasn’t me. It had to be some creature that was intending to do me harm. Well, I was prepared for that. I would just do something to scare it off. I raised my wand, pointed it at the creature, gave my wand a flick, and said, ‘Injurio.’
The pain was so immediate and so intense that I gasped, bent over and grabbed my right arm. That had really hurt. I must have done the spell wrong.
I pointed my wand at my arm and said, ‘Eraisio.’ The pain stopped.
I looked at the creature. It had drawn closer. It was my exact double. And now my fear was mounting. Though it had done nothing threatening, every instinct I had was telling me to be very afraid.
Focusing my mind, body and spirit, I pointed my wand at its leg, gave a slashing movement with my wand and said, ‘Jagada.’
Four rips in my leg appeared and I howled in agony, dropped to the dirt and clutched my wounded limb. Tears in my eyes at the pain, I looked up to see the creature now standing barely a foot from me.
The thing’s mouth opened and I saw hideous rows of blackened, sharpened teeth. Then a tongue flicked out and licked my face. It was tasting me. Blind with pain and fury and not wanting to be eaten, I raised my wand, gathered my hatred for the thing, focused my mind, body and spirit and screamed, ‘Rig—’
I never finished because my voice was gone, which meant I couldn’t complete the spell. This thing must have done it. And without my voice, how could I stop it from eating me?
The thing opened its mouth wider. All I could see was this impossibly large black hole big enough to actually swallow me whole.
‘Impairio,’ a voice said.
A blindingly white light hit the thing full in the face. It instantly changed into a blackened husk that was all teeth and gnarled limbs with a single massive eye.
Then the same voice said sharply, ‘Rigamorte.’
A coal-black beam shot out and hit the creature directly in the chest. It burst into a huge ball of smoke and then was gone.
I turned to see Astrea standing there, her wand still upraised. She looked down at me, pointed her wand at my leg and said quietly, ‘Eraisio.’
My cuts instantly healed. I stood on shaky legs.
She pointed her wand at my face and said, ‘Unmutado.’
‘What was that thing?’ I asked, my voice now returned.
She looked at where the creature had been. The grass underneath was burned.
‘A dopplegang. A creature that can become whatever it sees. In this case it became you.’
‘But when I tried to cast a spell on it, the spell hit me instead.’
‘That’s the primary strength of the dopplegang. Its prey will strike out at the thing, never realizing that it is, in fact, attacking itself. The dopplegang will wait patiently for its prey to kill or incapacitate itself, and then it will eat the unfortunate one.’
‘So, when I tried to use the Rigamorte curse?’
‘I stopped you. Because you would have killed yourself.’
‘But how did you stop me?’
‘Mutado. A spell that takes your voice away. I just performed the reverse curse, which is why you can speak once more.’
‘And you struck the dopplegang blind because if it can’t see, it can’t become something else? Meaning it reverts back to its true self?’
‘And with that defence gone, I was able to kill it.’ She added sternly, ‘You’re quite fortunate that I found your room empty and came looking for you.’
‘I was flying around when a storm struck.’
‘Of course it did,’ she snapped.
‘Because the Quag doesn’t want me to fly over it?’
Her angry look faded. ‘Excellent, Vega. You are treating the place as a living, breathing, evolving organism, as well you should.’ She looked at the spot where the dopplegang had been. ‘You actually learned a valuable lesson this light, Vega. You must be prepared for anything. I can teach you much, but I can’t teach you all that you will face in the Quag.’ She pointed ahead with her wand. ‘The first of the five circles lies just out there. Destin’s flying ability will be limited from now on.’
‘But not impossible?’
‘No. But you should use it only in extreme circumstances. And even then the danger you’re fleeing may be as nothing to the peril you create by attempting to fly.’ She looked pointedly at me. ‘But speaking frankly, please do not think that all three of you will make it through alive. The odds against that are so enormous as to approach the miraculous. And while I do obviously believe in magic, I do not and never have believed in miracles.’
She turned and walked off. But I stood there, as though rooted in the dirt of this awful place. I’m not sure the dopplegang could have hurt me any more than Astrea just had.
26
LESSONS FROM HEL
I sat in my seat and stared up at the blackboard. Delph sat to the left of me, while Harry Two was at my feet. He wasn’t dozing. My amazing canine was paying attention! Archie sat at the very back. At the head of the room and standing in front of the blackboard was Astrea, clothed in a long cloak.
She tapped her wand at the blackboard, and writing appeared on it. ‘The Quag, as I told you before, is divided into five circles.’
Delph had his ink stick poised over his parchment. It appeared to me that he was even more focused on this lesson than I was. And then it struck me why. He couldn’t do magic. But he could know the circles as well as anyone. That might prove important later on.
‘The First Circle,’ began Astrea, ‘is named the Mycanmoor.’
I flinched. The Mycanmoor had been mentioned on Quentin’s map.
Astrea continued, ‘The Mycanmoor is a maze of startling complexity and populated with creatures that might well prove lethal in any encounter.’
‘What is the maze made of?’ I asked after I wrote all this down.
‘It can be many and various. Thick, living hedges and forests of trees. Walls of stone so high you can’t see the tops of them. Vines of poisonous plants. Battlements of bones. And these elements can change on a whim.’
‘Bones?’ I interjected. ‘What of?’
‘Bones only have one source,’ she said. ‘The dead.’
‘Yes, but dead what?’ I persisted.
‘No Wugs, if that’s what you mean. Other creatures that were killed in there. The principal threats in the Mycanmoor are the chontoo and the wendigo. Also the manticore is nothing to be trifled with.’
‘So, what’s the secret of getting through the mazes?’ Delph asked.
In response, Astrea tapped the board and on it appeared a mess of pathways that seemed to have no end. She pointed her wand at it and said, ‘Confuso, recuso.’ The maze lengthened out and became as straight as a poplar tree.
I turned to her in amazement. ‘That’s it – just the one spell?’
‘It’s not simple if you don’t know what it is. In fact, if you don’t, you’ll wander the maze forever, for it is what is deemed a perfect maze.’
I looked curiously at her. ‘What does that mean, a perfect maze?’
‘One with no detached walls, and no isolation sections, which refer to a passel of passages totally encircled by walls. These are completely unreachable because there is no trail to those sections from any starting spot in the maze. There is exactly one solution to a perfect maze and only one. And there is only one path in the maze from one spot to another spot. Making it utterly perfect, hence the name.’
She tapped the board once more. Instantly, another maze appeared there. As I looked at the thing, I could make neither head nor tail of it.
However, as though in a trance, Delph rose and went over to the board. He ran his eye up and down the drawing and then picked up an ink stick that lay on Astrea’s desk and started to draw a line. Around and around he went, up and down, side to side, down this path, down another, left here, right there, and the whole time, Delph was staring at the board, his focus complete. Finally, his line of ink ran itself right out of the maze.
He turned to see both Astrea and me watching him in amazement.
‘What?’ he said, eyeing us warily.
‘How did you do that?’ Astrea exclaimed.
‘Do what?’
‘Get out of the maze,’ I blurted out. ‘Ruddy brilliant it was, Delph.’
