Howl's Moving Castle Fan Fiction ❯ Twilight Doom ❯ Chapter 5: Vengeance ( Chapter 5 )

Twilight Doom: Part III of the Wallmaker Saga

Chapter 5: Vengeance

The world dissolved into a kaleidoscope of colors that flew upwards about him. The young wizard was rendered speechless by a giddy sense of speed. Markl looked around him with eyes that were not his own as a presence as old as the sky chimed encouragingly within his mind. He realized all at once that he had somehow merged with the Star Daemon and that they were one. The being directed his attention to their surroundings and the Wallmaker's apprentice was filled with trembling awe.

 

He stared up into the vast mercurial twilight that unfolded before him like the dome of creation. It was nothing and at the same time it was everything. This was a place beyond all things, it was the nowhere that filled the spaces in between worlds. It was creation and it was destruction: the infiniteness that stretched on into eternity was perfectly balance. It was complete and so was he. In the second that he beheld the beyond, the young man was filled with an overwhelming sense of peace as the universe spiral lazily within his mind.

 

This place might be nirvana, if it truly existed.

 

Like a glowing arrow released from a bow, the star daemon tore through the barrier between worlds and sailed into the velvet sky of the indigo veil. Markl felt a keen sense of pain as his mind was ripped away from that peaceful place and assaulted by the false security of the otherwind. Together he and the star daemon flew over the green plains, watching the mellow white and blue lights pass beneath them. In the distance, Markl could see where the horizon split to become a thin line of black as a burned redness crept into the cool cobalt sky. Along the wall there was a point of light so bright it could have been the sun.

 

Sophie!

 

Markl sent the thought to the star daemon. It chimed sadly and suddenly split from him, spiraling off into the distance like a comet. The young wizard flew toward the light, driven by an intense sense of ominousness. The hungry black bricks of the Dull Wall loomed up as he dropped from the sky like an invisible bird. Suddenly Markl realized there were two lights, and the dimmer of the pair was almost eclipsed by the brighter one. They resolved into a young girl and an old woman. The girl could have been Sophie, but she was too young. Markl's heart leapt in joy and horror as he recognized the old woman for his mother as he had first met her. The fragile tendril of hope teetered within his mind as he saw the dark ribbon that seemed to sap away the silver sorceress' light, drawing it backward into the hungry dark bricks of the Dull Wall.

 

Markl! Sophie's anguished voice sliced through the otherwind. His heart thrilled with elation as he turned the full power of his wandering mind to his mother.

 

A great darkness suddenly emerged from the shadow of the Wall, where once it had been hidden. Markl recoiled in surprise as the evil thing lashed out at him. It was her, the young wizard realized as he caught sight of the daemons that bloomed from beneath the thin woman's feet. It was the cold healer from six years ago. Mrs. Danna reached for him with the power of her magic. But he was already speeding away, compelled backwards by some power greater than the will he exercised to remain with his mother.

 

Markl whirled backward into the mortal world through a twisting blur of color and wind. He snapped back into his body and immediately doubled in pain as a wave of nausea rose within him like the gorge in his throat. Arm's held him up as his knees tried to buckle and it took a moment for his sense to return to him

 

“Markl!” The young apprentice heard Barimus' voice.

 

Howl's eldest son blinked as the light returned to his eyes and he realized Cyanine and the red wizard had their hands under his shoulders. His uncle peered down at him fearfully, his large brown eyes filled with relief as he realized Markl had returned to himself. If he weren't so disoriented the young wizard would have noticed how exhausted his uncle was. But the young boy shook off their hands. He clutched at Suliman's staff as he hauled himself to his feet and started forward toward the crystal orb, which still showed with light.

 

“She's alive,” Markl shouted exultantly as he gazed at the crystal, “Sophie's alive!”

 

xXx

Drie flinched backwards as the burning wind of the plains of pain boiled like molten rage just beyond the doorway.

But it could not pass. She would not let it.

As long as the door daemon remained linked to the Wallmaker's daughter, the Dark could not come through. Her kinship to the original bloodline of the builders of the barrier made the portal obey her will. The girl remembered the last time Mrs. Danna had forced her to open the door. The daemons that the cold woman let through still haunted her dreams. Drie knew that the daemon collector was letting them loose on the world beyond wherever here happened to be; possibly even the place where they might harm other people. Guilt ravaged her mind as she stared into the charred place devoid of hope.

Move! Mrs. Danna barked sharply. Drie realized the former healer was right behind her, her breath like ice upon her neck.

The little girl shrank from her in horror as one of the shades at her captor's feet reached out a tendril of black and grasped a hold of the hem of her shift. The fabric singed and the silver haired child sidled away out of its contact. Drie could not go far because she was bound by the connection to the portal. But the daemon collector was not interested in the Wallmaker's daughter; her eyes were bright with greed as she gazed into the plains of pain. The witch of fire and ice hovered on the threshold between the light and dark like a cat waiting to pounce upon a mouse. The cold woman bared her teeth and stared fearlessly straight into the fury of the Dark. Suliman's sister held one of her hands before her as though she was about to snatch a fish from a stream. And snatch she did.

But her arm stretched long and thin like the parasitic cord that shackled Sophie to the Wall. It broke through the invisible power that held back the waves of rage and hatred as though it was the surface of a pond. As Mrs. Danna drew back her hand, it could be seen that the sleeve of her dress had burned away. But the daemon collector did not seem to care that her flesh had been scorched. In the palm of her hand she held a tiny red flame. It twisted and writhed as though in pain. Drie recognized the vermillion light as one of the suffering daemons from the place beyond the Wall. It was a tortured thing, trapped in a purgatory by its unfortunate doom.

Mrs. Danna gazed in satisfaction at her prize and reached out to slam shut the portal to the scorched world beyond. She snatched her hand back quickly as the door dissolved into the barricade. A moment later droplets of black beaded on the surface of the obstruction and gathered into the liquid shape of the empty woman. The daemon tumbled from the Dull Wall and fell like water onto the dead grass. The inky substance pooled as the shadow withdrew from the barrier and snapped like an arrow back into the depths of Drie's soul. The girl staggered under the weight of the daemon that invaded her like a strong wind, but her eyes never left Mrs. Danna.

The cold woman hunched over the thing she cupped in her hands. Her eyes were bright with fascination as she gazed at the tiny living flame. The former healer held it delicately as though it were some great treasure as she was afraid it would break. But her tenderness was sullied by the ravenous expression that twisted her features.

She devoured it whole.

Mrs. Danna choked and gasped then threw back her head to stare with sightless black eyes at the velvet sky overhead. She trembled violently as the daemons at her feet shuddered and clambered about to make room for several more of their brethren, who erupted from beneath her feet like leaves of a poisonous bloom. As she straightened, Drie watches as the darkness faded from her captor's eyes, leaving behind an insatiable hunger that no food could cure.

In the moments after she fed, the former healer no longer appeared human. Her face was wasted and thin, grey like the surface of parchment paper, marring the regality of her features. A sick yellow glow seemed to emanate from beneath the thin membrane of her skin, made all the more extreme by the dark purple shadows that gathered beneath her eyes. Her clothes hung from her body as though she were made of sticks and her hair fluttered like cobwebs about her face. Mrs. Danna was terrified of daemons, but in order to exact her revenge, the woman had become the one thing she had hated most.

Drie's guardian had not always been like this. There was a distant time where she had been kind and gentle and the girl had almost called her mother. But the tentative kinship the child felt for the woman who had reared was smashed by a betrayal so unanticipated that she sometimes forgot that the former healer had lodged a daemon in her soul. But those who have experienced great suffering share a unique perspective. In spite of all the horrors the daemon collector had inflicted upon her, Drie retained a keen sense of empathy. After living with this woman for six years, the Wallmaker's daughter had learned that at the root of Mrs. Danna's cruelty was the most potent kind of consuming misery, one that was sated only by revenge.

Vengeance is anguish in its most uncomplicated form.

It was then that Mrs. Danna caught sight of Drie watching her, and the little girl hastily averted her gaze. The daemon queen smiled cruelly, revealing a set of pointed teeth. Over the past year the little girl had watched this woman slowly descend into her madness, driven to great lengths by a need to hurt the ones who had hurt her. The woman had once been a great healer, but her skill did not manifest in magic. The Wallmaker's daughter knew a great deal about the cold woman because she could hear the terrible whisperings of the daemon inside her. Drie knew about the pact she and the Door had made, but like any curse, she was compelled to remain silent.

Mrs. Danna was different, Drie understood that much. She was made formidable by an iron determination and the former healer wielded her fears with swift efficiency. Where once she had been without a stitch of magic, the cold woman gained unearthly power by embracing the abilities of her collection of daemons. However, unlike other people who had lost themselves to the temptations of the Dark, the witch of fire and ice had not been possessed by the loathsome creatures that lived within her. Instead she rode them like a great beast, forcing them to submit to her will. She exploited their strength and power to ruthlessly pursue her vendetta at any cost.

Suddenly a great pressure pulsed through the green hills as nine fiery red comets fell from the indigo veil overhead. The former healer shielded her eyes as she gazed at the meteors as they streaked overhead and crashed into the scorched plains beyond the wall. As their captor was distracted, the little girl placed herself between the daemon collector and her mother.

Someone is returning my pets to the otherworld. Mrs. Danna spoke to no one in particular.

Suddenly, high overhead a light traced across the indigo veil like a shooting star. Seeing the star Mrs. Danna flinched in horror. But she straightened with intense concentration as another pulse of magic rippled through the green plains. This time it was different. A sentient presence flowed through the otherworld, coloring the inner eye of her mind with violet determination. Drie felt as though a great eye had turned itself upon her, scrutinizing her with great curiosity. Somehow the presence was a familiar and she no longer felt threatened. Drie knew it was looking for them. The great eye seized a hold of her with a fierceness that left her faint and then skipped away to center around Sophie with an exultant ripple. Drie's mother stirred and her eyes snapped open in astonishment as the seeking force revived her.

Markl! Her shout was deafening, fueled by a desperation that made her voice powerful even without magic. The call echoed through the otherworld and into the next.

Mrs. Danna made a cutting motion with her hand and the presence dissolved. The former healer strode forward, her eyes fixed on the weakened silver sorceress with deadly intent as she loomed over them. But Drie barred her way. The young girl did her best not to shrink under the intensity of the daemon witch's eyes at they turned to her. Deirdre straightened her shoulder and set her chin defiantly but stayed well out of reach of her captor's collection of shades. The cold woman regarded the child with a cryptic expression but halted her advance.

Mrs. Danna bared her cruel teeth once more, enjoying the fear that melted away any bravery the little girl had previously felt. But Sophie was unperturbed and she stared at the witch of ice and fire without fear.

Why are you doing this? Sophie demanded, but her voice trembled like a weak shaft of gold light in Drie's mind. Mrs. Danna shifted her eyes back to the Wallmaker's wife, her gaze almost sightless with the rage that filled her. The daemon queen seemed to roar up like a column of great yellow-black fire. She crackled and snarled as the shadows at her feet writhed and drew back, clawing at the ground as they tried unsuccessfully to flee from her in terror.

You are the vessel of the Wallmaker's line. Your husband is responsible for all of this. Danna thundered in a frenzy of wrath as she gestured wildly at the Dull Wall and into the beyond.

Sophie did not shrink from her as did Deirdre; she had faded too to feel fear for her own life. Her thoughts were with her family and the ones she loved.

You are kin of the Wallmakers as well! Sophie called back. The Wall is not perfect, but it serves its purpose! Our world is not lost, are you blind to that? Whatever your reasons are for hating us, yours is a personal vendetta! What right do you have to make innocents suffer because you seek revenge?

Sophie's voice was silenced by the hellish chorus of metallic voices that spoke through the daemon collector. Danna stabbed an accusing finger at Sophie, showering the grass with yellow flames.

This world was sullied once by the hand of our ancestors and by your children The Wall will fall! You call this a personal vendetta? HAH!

I have seen the prophecy and experienced first hand the despair awaits us all in the doom to come. Yes, I am of the Wallmakers, but I am strong and I will save this world where once our kin failed! The Wallbreaker will be revealed in the struggle to come, I will see to that. And before they can fulfill their doom they will die by my hand. This I have seen and for the sake of our world I will sacrifice my very soul!

Sophie was rendered speechless by the insane revelations of Suliman's sister. But a cold uncertainty filled her heart with dread. What if it was true? Danna dissolved into a crackling elemental of ice and fire as the ground beneath her feet froze and burned under her fury. Turning eyes of flame to Drie, the daemon collector's voice splintered like a strike of yellow lightening.

Open the Door to the mortal world! We're going to send a present to one of the Wallmaker's son.

No! I won't help you hurt people anymore! The little girl stalwartly refused. Without dwindling in size, the looming flame turned to regard the Wallmaker's wife. Drie gave a violent start as she recognized the unspoken threat.

You promised you wouldn't hurt her! Howl's daughter raged incredulously.

I lied! Mrs. Danna snapped viciously. Open it or she dies!

Deirdre's heart sank. She glanced at her mother and realized Sophie was about to speak. But the silver haired little girl silenced her with a pleading look. The brittle old woman looked hesitant but nodded and turned her face away.

The Wallmaker's daughter took a deep breath and opened her mind to the weight that rested just beneath her heart. It constricted like a vice as a chill filled her, speaking to the daemon always left her feeling as though she were slowly sinking into thick tar. It was difficult to extract herself from the whispering that tried to pull her down into the darkness the pooled beneath her feet. But Drie also had an iron will; survival was an instinct that ran strong even in the youngest of children. After a moment of struggle the daemon obeyed. A shadow stretched out from beneath her feet into the rough rectangular shape of a door.

The witch of fire and ice clapped her hands and a gentle pressure rippled through the otherworld. The door daemon sunk into the ground, showing through to a room that looked oddly familiar to Sophie. The chamber was definitely in the Palace, she could tell by the dark burnished wainscoting and the rich pattered rugs. However, there were four mirrors that stretched from floor to ceiling in each of the four corners. An empty chair sat in the middle of the room and all at once the Wallmaker's wife recognized the late Councilor Raia's chamber. She was about to try to speak once more when again Drie cast a warning glance at her mother, willing her silent.

Mrs. Danna suddenly reached down and tore a shade from beneath her feet. The daemon spasmed in pain as the witch wrung it through her hands viciously. Using her teeth, the former healer tore the being into five pieces, spitting each into her palm before she flung it through the vortex. Suddenly the daemons were dragged back into the cold woman as she stepped forward. As she stood on the edge of the entrance to the mortal world her flames and ice retrieved as she regained a semblance of humanity. The woman paused there for a moment with her back toward the silver sorceress and her daughter.

You will not be the Wallbreaker, Deirdre. Of that I am certain. Mrs. Danna spoke without looking at the girl she had raised from a baby. Her voice sounded strange, almost as though something had caught in her throat. Come with me. Help me save this world.

She waited on the edge between two worlds for a moment, but received no reply.

Fine! Stay here! But if you do you will surely die, which only proves that I'm right! The former healer spat viciously as she stepped forward and dropped out of sight.

As the portal disappeared the daemon snapped back into Deirdre. Her knees buckled once more as a heavy weight settled onto her shoulders. The girl stared at the place where the door had been and realized she and her mother were trapped in the otherworld.

xXx

“She's alive!” Markl repeated again and again.

The young wizard gestured wildly at the orb and looked back at the witch and his uncle. The entire room was staring at him but he didn't care. Barimus' face went white with astonishment at that revelation and he stared at his nephew.

 

“The star showed me,” the young man continued in earnest, making no sense whatsoever, “She's in the otherworld with the silver haired girl. Mrs. Danna…” He began, but his voice failed him as dark tendrils of fog crept over the lingering light in Suliman's orb.

 

The five trailing bits of smoke were small at first, but then exploded in size as they engulfed the interior of the orb. They pulsed into a wild frenzy, wriggling like putrid crimson worms as they strained to escape the glass.

 

“Sir, those are in the palace,” Cyanine spoke in dread, “How did they get in?”

 

Barimus' intense gaze was ripped from the orb as somewhere there was a great explosion. The room trembled as dust and plaster fell from the ceiling. Several of the apprentices screamed and started to their feet.

 

“Call back the troops immediately. Make sure the king is secure and get these apprentices to the shield room,” the red wizard spoke quickly to his messenger as he strode to the door and peered out into the hall.

 

As Cyanine's eyes went pale and distant, Markl crept up beside his uncle and stared off into the darkness at the end of the corridor. In his othersight he could see something wiggling in the shadows, and a thrill of terror sped through him. It took ever fiber of his self control not to give into the urge to eject the contents of his stomach.

 

“They're already here,” Barimus murmured darkly, his golden eyes fierce in the gloom.

 

“All of you, on your feet!” Cyanine's voice reached Markl and he looked back at the blonde witch as she went around and gathered the apprentices into a group.

 

“We're going to die!” Hedera wailed hysterically as she turned beet red and began to cry. Even Trissa, the verbacious horsy apprentice was silent, her face pale with fear. Ryden and Nalir stood with uncertainty as the crimson uniformed witch dragged the plumb girl to her feet.

 

“Shut up! You certainly will die if you don't pull yourself together!” Cyanine snapped in exasperation and the young witch blinked in surprise as though she had been slapped, “All of you listen to me. We're going to the shield room where we will be safe. You are to follow me and no matter what happens, do not stop running. Under no circumstances are you to look back. Understand?”

 

The group of young apprentices nodded solemnly and clustered behind her as she came over to the doorway and peered out into the shadows.

 

“Now!” Barimus barked and Cyanine sprinted into the hallway, taking a hard right with a string of apprentices hot on her heels.

 

“Run, Markl!” The red wizard shouted as he hauled his nephew by the front of his shirt through the door and shoved him forward. Together they brought up the rear as they raced after the captain of the wizard's guard.

 

Out of the corner of his eye, Markl could see the hallway behind them erupt into sickly yellow-green flames as a column of living fire burst from the darkness in the corridor. It raged after the fleeing group, splitting to reveal multiple needled maws and snarling with dissonant howls like a great ravenous beast.

 

Markl ran like he had never run before, dashingly blindly through what seemed an eternity of twisting corridors and dark chambers. The group burst from a large room into a huge spiraling staircase, the grey dawn filtered in through the triangular paned windows that followed the steps into the vast palace above.

 

“Up!” Their leader commanded as she took the steps two at a time.

 

Markl's lungs burned and his legs ached as they pounded up the flights of twisting stairs. Several times someone fell and numerous hands reached out to pull the apprentice to their feet. It was when Markl himself slipped and Nalir hauled him up the next two stairs that the Wallmaker's son realized his uncle was no longer behind him. Ahead of them by about ten steps Markl could see the platinum head of the red uniformed witch. She came to an abrupt halt as she cast her eyes down the center of the staircase, no doubt noticing that Barimus was missing.

 

A huge explosion of red fire plumped from the doorway on one of the landings below and the whole staircase shuddered and heaved under the shockwave. Barimus erupted out of the black smoke the rose up the center of the stairwell, the red wizard was on fire with a golden nimbus as he lobbed handfuls of crimson flame into the inferno below. The fire beneath them shifted in color as lances of yellow flame shot from below and detonated around them. More screams filled the air as debris and shrapnel showered the apprentices. Hedera and Trissa threw out their hands and twin shields of teal and magenta light stove off the cutting shards of glass.

 

“My lord!” Cyanine screamed as another explosion from below caused half of the curving stairwell overhead to collapse and come crashing down directly over the Royal Wizard of Ingary. The blond witch cast out her hands and gripped at something intangible, hauling it towards her as invisible hands yanked Barimus from the path of the falling stairs. The Wallmaker's brother half collided with his messenger as he crashed over the railing. His clothes were singed and his face was smudged with soot, but he was unscathed.

 

“The stairs!” Markl coughed as smoke burned his lungs and eyes as he pointed towards the crumbled section above.

 

“Fly!” Barimus shouted weakly as he staggered to his feet, helping up several of the apprentices.

 

“To me!” Cyanine called as she scooped up the nearest child and leapt into the air, shooting up to the next landing. Ryden wrapped his long arms around two of his schoolmates who could not fly and chased after her. Trissa and Hedera each took two of the younger apprentices who were flightless, following after the rest of the group through the smoke and heat. Barimus jumped up onto the banister and covered their flight by lobbing handfuls of red fire in the darkness below.

 

“Move it, you two!” Barimus bellowed at them in between bursts of flame.

 

“Come on!” Markl cried as he pulled at Nalir's sleeve. But the boy's face was white with terror.

 

“I can't fly!” The red haired boy whisper's was barely perceivable over the roaring flames below, his eyes fixed in horror on the burning corridor below.

 

“I can!” Markl replied softly, not that Nalir heard him.

 

Howl's apprentice thrust his arm under the boy's shoulder as he grasped Suliman's stick with his other hand. Together they flew into the air. Blinded by the choking smoke, they emerged on the other side on the next level up and crashed into the ceiling before landing in a tangle of limbs on the landing. The other students sprawled on the ground near by, trying to stay beneath the thick smoke that was threatening to suffocate them. Through the haze Markl caught sight of Cyanine leaning out over the banister into the thick smoke that coiled up the center of the corridor in smothering plumes.

 

Casting her hands out to either side, the platinum haired witch made a powerful gesture and the windows on the other side of the stairs shattered outwards. A great wind crashed past the apprentices in the wake of her magic as she cast the smoke outside. The clean air was sweet as they coughed and sputtered, trying to fill their lungs once again. But Cyanine was distracted by more than the flames below.

 

“Barimus!” She screamed over the banister, her face stricken. After receiving no reply the soldier witch dove over the edge into the inferno below. A moment later a red garbed pair burst from the smoke that filtered out of the windows and tumbled into a heap by the apprentices.

 

“Uncle!” Markl cried as he clambered over to the singed wizard, who was coated in soot.

 

“Inside! It's the shield room,” he croaked hoarsely and motioned weakly toward the great doors that loomed up on the landing ahead of them. The apprentices streamed forward and pulled the doors open a crack, letting bright light come spilling through.

 

Wordlessly, Cyanine hauled the Royal Wizard to his feet as he faltered. Markl fit himself under his uncle's shoulder and the messenger turned the blond man over to his nephew. Casting a nervous glance over the balcony, she pointed toward the door.

 

“Get him inside!” the messanger barked, “Something doesn't smell right…”

 

The young wizard jumped in surprise as a familiar whistling sliced through the roar of the fires below. The sound of a blade whipped from its sheath cut through the air as invisible dart embedded in the ground at their feet, missing them by mere inches. For a moment unseen strings glimmered in the air before being pulled taut and disappearing.

 

“Puppet daemons!” Barimus shouted as he straightened and shoved Markl toward the shield room.

 

Casting their eyes about the ceiling, the witch and wizard gazed at the ominous shadows that collected there in the bright yellow light of the fires below. The royal wizard's messenger snapped to attention as another whizzing noise pierced the din. She shoved Barimus forward and shrieked, going rigid as something embedded itself in the marble at her feet. A gaping hole ripped through the red of her uniform, masking the blood that slowly dripped forward to reveal the invisible thread that pierced her chest. Her knees gave out, although she remained suspended by another power.

 

Her eyes went pale as she reached for the red wizard. For a moment the dawn broke through the smashed windows behind her and the platinum haired witch became a dark outline as she crumpled like a limp doll.

 

“Cyanine!” Barimus screamed.

 

But her lifeless body was hauled by the hands of daemons into the air and over the banister into the fire below. Moment's later the rising sun was eclipsed a great column of yellow fire that reared up the center of the stairwell. It screeched and reached with hundreds of snake like arms that snarled like the heads of a great hydra. Catching sight of the two humans, the daemon surged forward like a wildfire, meaning to incinerate them.

 

The red wizard staggered to his feet and plunged his hands before him, a great wall of red radiance erupted from the ground and the daemon crashed against it. Markl didn't have enough time to add his magic to the barrier before his uncle was driven back by the wrathful being's fire. The young apprentice back peddled wildly and slammed against the open door of the shield room. The portal clicked shut behind as Barimus skidded to a halt in front of him.

 

“Inside!” Barimus bellowed as he strained with all his might against the enormous daemon before them.

 

“Not without you!” Markl shouted back as he thrust Suliman's stick forward; but nothing happened. Thunderstruck, the young wizard stared down at the lifeless chunk of wood in his hands and despaired.

 

The wrath daemon withdrew from the Royal Wizard's barrier and his uncle staggered forward as his magic failed him. They stared in horror as the twisting black and yellow flame seemed to draw into itself, sucking up even the black smoke that had once billowed through the windows into the morning outside.

 

Barimus threw himself backwards against his nephew just as the daemon detonated, rushing forward in a torrent of oblivion.