Vega jane and the maze o.., p.27
Vega Jane and the Maze of Monsters, page 27
I went into a dive. I could feel my canine’s rigid body against my chest. I could sense the things right behind me. I even felt the tugs on my cloak as one grabbed it with its claws. I sped up and disappeared through a canopy of leaves. I was praying the creatures would not follow us down here.
My prayers were not answered.
I zoomed along the ground with the swarm closing in. I pointed my wand behind me and cried out, ‘Engulfiado.’
A surge of water shot out and as I looked back, I saw it slam into the wall of creatures, knocking many of them down and scattering the rest.
But I knew they would regroup and be after us again.
Up ahead I saw it. I had no other choice.
I pointed my wand at the huge double doors of the massive stone building that had just appeared in my line of vision.
‘Ingressio.’
The doors sprang open. I looked back. The swirl of foul creatures was feet from us. I could see their razor-sharp claws and beaks and the murderous looks in their eyes.
Harry Two and I zipped through the doors. Pointing my wand behind me again, I cried out, ‘Securius.’
The doors slammed shut and bolted.
A split second later, I could hear hundreds of thuds against the thickened doors as the clawed creatures slammed into the wood. But, thankfully, the doors held.
I landed and let Harry Two out of his harness, my chest heaving.
Had those foul things out there attacked Delph and the others? Had they carried them away somewhere to . . . to . . . I couldn’t think it. I felt the tears now rush to my eyes.
I managed to regain a bit of calm and looked around. The place reminded me of Stacks with its high ceilings, stone stairs, white marble balustrades and arched columns leading into other rooms. I started up the stairs to see what was on the second level, when I heard it.
‘May I help you?’
Halfway up the stairs, I whirled around, trying to locate the source of the words. My gaze had passed over a corner on the first floor. But then I came back to it as the, well, whatever it was, moved out into the open where I could see it clearly.
The figure was really just an outline. The light coming in through the high windows shone right through it.
‘May I help you?’ the figure said again.
I slowly walked back down the stairs and stopped as the thing glided over to me. Yes, it was gliding, not walking.
When it drew close enough, I could see that it was the image of a tall male bent with age. He had on boots and a long robe open in the front. With a thrill I saw the image of the three hooks imprinted across the breastplate he wore.
‘I’m looking for my friends,’ I said quickly. ‘There were three of them. They just vanished. I’m very worried. Please, can you help me?’
‘Three friends vanished?’ he said. ‘Dear me, that is not good.’
He looked me up and down and then gazed for a moment at Harry Two.
‘I haven’t seen a canine in ages,’ he said. He reached down to pet Harry Two, but his hand passed right through my canine. I saw Harry Two shiver slightly.
‘Blast,’ said the male. ‘I forgot about that. Oh, well.’
‘Who are you?’ I asked. I also wanted to ask what was he.
‘My name is or was Jasper Jane.’
I nearly fell over.
‘Well, I’m Vega Jane,’ I managed to say.
He looked at me curiously. ‘We share a surname. Do I know you?’
‘I doubt it.’ I paused and then continued. ‘I saw your grave,’ I said slowly. ‘At the Wolvercote Cemetery.’
‘My body is buried at Wolvercote. But my soul is not. My soul is right here in front of you. ’Tis all I have left.’
My eyes widened. ‘How do you separate your soul from your body?’
‘There are two ways of doing so. For me, I did so because my body was dying but I did not want to fully perish. Thus, using magic, I removed my soul before my physical self breathed its last.’
‘You said there was another way?’
‘Yes. But I do not wish to describe it. It is too horrible.’
He suddenly saw the ring on my finger. ‘Where did you get that?’ he exclaimed.
‘It belonged to my grandfather. What does it mean?’ I asked. ‘The mark?’
‘It is our Trinity. Our mantra: Peace. Hope. Freedom. Precisely in that order.’
‘Look, I need to find my friends.’ I gulped.
‘It’s really not my place to help those trying to pass through here.’
‘I know that! But Astrea changed her mind. She trained me up to escape here. To take up the fight once more against the Maladons.’
This all came out in a torrent. He looked stricken.
‘Astrea . . . ? Helped you to get here? Fight again? I can scarcely believe it.’
In my mind I searched for something that would make him see that he had to help me. I held up my wand. ‘And this was given to me by another ancestor, Alice Adronis. She told me I had to survive. To fight. You have to see the truth, Jasper, don’t you?’
Jasper was now staring at me, open-mouthed. His hand ran up and down the symbol of the three hooks on his breastplate. ‘See what?’ he said breathlessly.
‘Eight centuries is long enough to hide. And the Maladons will find us. They will. If they’re truly as evil as everyone says, they will never stop looking. Well, I would rather come out of hiding and take the fight to them!’
He looked down at my wand. ‘Alice . . . Alice gave you that?’
‘It was her Elemental. And now it’s my wand. It has a strand of her hair embedded in it.’
‘Alice was the most courageous of us all.’ In his anxiety he hovered a foot above the floor. ‘This is quite astonishing,’ he said. ‘Quite. We had our plan, you see. And . . .’
‘And you carried it out very well. But it’s over now. It’s over!’
‘How came you here, to my castle?’ he said sharply.
‘I was chased by flocks of lethal flying creatures.’
‘Oh yes, the dreads,’ he said absently.
‘The what?’
‘The dreads. My creation. If they followed you here, they’ll be waiting just outside. If you attempt to leave, they will cut you and your canine to pieces. They never give up once they have prey at hand. Dreadful things, hence the name.’
My patience was exhausted. ‘Fine. If you won’t help me, I’ll find my friends by myself.’ I turned and started to walk off.
‘But the dreads!’
I turned and shouted, ‘I don’t care. I can fly, so I have a chance. And they’re my friends. I will die for them. And if you won’t help me, then go to Hel!’
As soon as I finished speaking, he vanished.
Good riddance.
We rushed from the room and re-entered the main hall. I stared at the double doors where the dreads, according to Jasper, still lurked. So, I knew this was probably the end.
I knelt down and hugged Harry Two, pushing my face into his fur, breathing in his scent. ‘Thank you for all you’ve done for me, Harry Two. I love you so much.’ He licked my face, and in those wonderful mismatched eyes, I could see that my canine was more than ready to die for me, fighting.
I rose, my wand clutched in my hand. But before I could mouth my incantation, the huge front doors burst open. I was sure the opening would be filled with dreads coming to tear us to pieces. But there was nothing there.
I ducked when something flew past me.
It was Jasper. On a flying steed. It was as transparent as he.
He looked back and motioned for me to join him. ‘Come on, lass. No time to waste.’
I hooked Harry Two into the harness, leaped into the air and followed Jasper out.
Catching up to him, we flew side by side over the darkened landscapes below. ‘Where are we going?’ I asked.
‘To find your friends.’
‘Does this mean you’re going to help me?’
‘Obviously.’
I looked around. ‘If I fly too long, a storm will come out to stop me.’
‘Not so long as you’re with me.’
‘You can do that?’
‘This is the Fifth Circle. I created it. So, I can do almost anything here. Almost.’
We had soared for a long time when Jasper cried out, ‘There.’ He rapidly descended.
I followed him down and we touched the ground about a sliver later.
‘Take out your wand, Vega.’
I immediately did so. Jasper Jane had not struck me as someone easily cowed. But he looked nervous now. Yet, I thought with some measure of pride – we were family after all – that he also looked quite determined.
‘Where are we going?’ I asked.
‘There,’ he said, pointing ahead.
I could just make it out amid a sea of trees.
It looked like Steeples back in Wormwood, only it was made of the blackest wood I had ever seen and had long glass windows. On the glass were pictures of the most horrible creatures I hoped never to see. And whereas my Steeples had a cross on top, this one had something else. It grew more distinct as we neared the structure. I recoiled in horror when I saw that it was a body split in half.
‘What is . . . this place?’ I said.
‘This is the Temple of the Soul Takers. Their leader is the high priest Bezil,’ said Jasper. ‘A truly evil creature.’
‘But hold on, you created all of this! Which means you created him.’
‘My job was to prevent escape from here,’ said Jasper. ‘I could not do so without conjuring dark forces powerful enough to achieve that goal. Once created, these species evolved. They split the souls from the bodies of those unfortunate enough to cross their path, devouring the latter to nourish themselves and then turning the souls loose to wander aimlessly.’
‘How did you think of such a thing?’
He looked at me. ‘I based it on the Maladons.’
The horror of this left me speechless.
‘Your friends are assuredly in there,’ he said.
‘But how do we defeat these blokes?’
‘I can do nothing to them,’ he said.
My face fell. ‘What? Then why did you come?’
‘To show you the way. It will be up to you to defeat them.’
My spirits sank. ‘Can you at least give me advice?’
‘You need to trust your instincts, Vega. And your heart. Good luck.’
‘Wait, I have one more question.’
He looked at me expectantly.
‘Why did you change your mind?’
‘If I trusted one “soul” in my life, it was Alice Adronis. If she wanted you to survive to take up the fight once more, then I will not stand in your way.’
And then Jasper Jane was gone.
47
A TRUSTING HEART
I stared up at the wooden building whose timbers were so black that they looked to have been charred in some great fire. I glanced at Harry Two. My canine was not smiling, nor was his tail between his legs. He just looked serious. And ready. This gave me a bit of desperately needed confidence.
We approached the enormous pair of doors leading into the place. My wand held tightly in my hand, my gaze darting to and fro, we stopped in front of the doors. I pointed my wand and said, ‘Ingressio.’
The doors swung silently open. Though this was what I had intended, it did not make me feel any better that this temple of evil was opening so readily. I pointed my wand again and said, ‘Crystilado magnifica.’
For the first time ever, nothing happened. We stepped cautiously through the opening, and the doors slammed shut behind us.
Every single inch of the walls and glass was covered with acts of depravity and slaughter and mayhem. I knew this was meant to terrify me. And I was terrified.
But that was not the same as being unready to fight.
‘Embattlemento,’ I cried out, pointing my wand to the right, where a winged creature with rows of clawed appendages shot at me. It slammed into my shield spell and fell to the floor in a crumpled and – gratefully – dead heap, its neck snapped from the sudden collision.
Up ahead was a monstrously large statue carved from solid rock. I thought this might be Bezil. His cloak was black, his skin was burned, his head was shaved and his eyes were full of malice.
I passed cautiously by the statue, part of me sure that it would suddenly come to life and attack me, but it didn’t. Further on was a pair of huge doors carved with the same malignant images that I had seen on the long windows.
I drew a breath, pointed my wand and said, ‘Ingressio.’ I knew that just beyond this portal, there would be those who would try and part me from my soul.
I knew it would be bad. Only I didn’t know how bad.
The doors swung inwards and we drew forward. I had achieved good results from not second-guessing myself and stepping boldly into a situation. Unpredictability can be a good thing when dealing with heinous, evil incarnates, I’d found.
So, I stepped boldly into the room.
And screamed.
Delph, Petra and Lackland were immersed in three separate pools. The water was not clear, however, but foul, dark and bubbly, and there seemed to be things floating in their depths. Only my friends’ heads were visible and their eyes were closed. And while I stood there, they were turning more and more transparent. At the edge of each of the pools were robed and hooded figures who stirred the waters with long, slender silver rods. Yet as I drew closer I could see that the rods were actually clear and that the silver colour was coming from the waters, like ink being swept up into an ink stick.
Their souls were being taken! This was the way of stealing souls that Jasper had told me about.
My scream had alerted the robed figures. They all turned, dropped their hoods and revealed their hideously scarred and charred faces. As I turned to the right I saw another pool that was empty. I ventured that was meant to be mine.
Before I could move, a half dozen of them flew at me, leaping through the air with a speed and agility that was dazzling. Harry Two, though, was not nearly as slow as I was. He met one of them head-on and I saw his lethal jaws clamp around the fiend’s neck, and it went limp as my canine bit down. I raised my wand but was knocked backwards by two of the Soul Takers smashing into me. Their clawed hands were immediately at my throat, ripping and cutting into me.
‘Impacto!’
They blasted off me, flew across the room and careened into two of their fiendish brethren who were charging at me. They all fell into the pool containing Lackland.
Four more were at my side in a trice. Harry Two launched at another and toppled him, tearing at the creature’s throat.
‘Jagada,’ I cried out, spinning around, and two of them immediately collapsed with cuts all over their bodies.
I didn’t wait for the fourth to launch itself at me. Pointing my wand at it, I simply said, ‘Rigamorte.’
He fell dead at my feet.
I pointed my wand at Delph and said, ‘Rejoinda, Delph.’
He flew from the waters and soared across the room, crashing into two other Soul Takers who had rushed into the room, knocking them out.
I grabbed at his arm. ‘Delph, Delph, wake up. Wake up, please!’
I heard Harry Two whine and I whipped around and shouted, ‘Engulfiado.’
The powerful torrent of water hit a pair of Soul Takers – who were dragging Harry Two across the room – with such force that it smashed them into the stone and killed them.
‘Delph, please. Rejoinda, Petra.’
Petra soared out of the waters as another pair of fiends attacked me with the long rods they had been using in the pools. One of the rods collided with my face and I felt blood spurt from my nose and cheek. ‘Embattlemento.’
The rods shattered against the shield and suddenly Delph and Petra awoke.
‘What the—’ began Delph.
Petra slowly rose, gazing around, taking it all in, and then looked at me. Lackland was sinking deeper into the depths of his pool. The Soul Taker there had not left to attack me. He was still swirling the rod in the water. Lackland was nearly out of sight. His soul nearly separated.
From another doorway a dozen Soul Takers emerged, all armed with weapons, and charged us.
I looked at Petra. Our gazes locked for an instant, but in that short time, much was communicated. Her look was pleading. She knew I had taken her wand. She knew. Part of me didn’t want to, but the other part of me realized it was the only way. I fished in my pocket, found her wand, pulled it free and tossed it to her. She gripped it and turned to face the regiment of demons coming at us. I did likewise, raising my wand and shouting, ‘Impacto.’
A moment later, Petra screamed the same incantation.
The combined spells produced a force of unparalleled power.
The Soul Takers were not merely blown off their feet. They were disintegrated.
I turned to look at Petra and smiled. She returned it weakly.
Then she was hurled off her feet and back into her pool, where she immediately was pulled under.
Next, I was being thrown through the air and landed in the fourth pool. And under I went as well. I opened my eyes and though the water was dark and foul, I found I could see clearly enough. That was not a good thing.
I knew who was facing me.
Bezil. The bloke from the statue. His cloak was blood-red and there was a heavy chain around his neck with a metal disc at the end of it. The symbol engraved on the disc was that of the body torn in half that was on top of his temple. Now I knew it represented the violent separation of the soul from the body.
He held a knife in each hand, his expression murderous. I had lost my wand and was looking desperately in the water for it. Suddenly, a hand shot down into the pool, grabbed Bezil by the chain and wrenched him completely out of the water.
I found my wand and used Destin to soar up and back into the room, coughing and sputtering as I flew.
It was quite a sight to behold.
Delph was slamming his fist into the side of Bezil’s head. But Bezil was far more powerful than he looked. He lashed out at Delph and knocked him flying.
