Hour Of Darkness
Chapter Thirteen, It Won't Be Long
John gazed out the window, feeling forlorn and alone. He had been returned to his room and was left alone for a few days on his uncomfortable, cold "bed". He pulled at the shackles half-heartedly, but as usual nothing happened.
John.
The Dark One's mindvoice was cold and grating on his tired mind. Yes, Karine, He replied tiredly, not in the mood to be fighting with her.
Return to the throne room. The shackles melted, and John stood up, again easily navigating to the giant hall with his mental hands.
He found the Dark One seated on the throne, her long black gown draped on the floor in front of her. Mystique sat to her left, on the floor.
John walked up to the base of the riser on which the throne stood. Kneeling, he bowed his head. When he looked up, Karine had a bemused smile on her usually stony features.
"Rise." John stood up. He looked to Mystique, who clutched at the gem on her throat. John shook his head, and she looked disappointed. "John, I am to do you a great favor."
By stealing my voice? Gee, thanks. Didn't use it much anyway. After all, I'm only a singer… He replied sarcastically. Karine silenced him with a wave of her hand.
"I am to train you to use your mind powers for battle." This caught John's attention.
Battle?? He exclaimed incredulously.
"Yes. All mages with above normal mind power capacity such as yourself should be properly trained for battle, lest they enter unawares of their full strength. This will help you to discover your true limits and hone you skills. Are you in agreement?"
Why are you helping me?
"Because I knew someone once who was very much like you." Her voice took on a very sad tone, and John once again looked to Mystique, who read the question in his mind and nodded. She spoke of John, Karine's son.
Look, He answered, folding his arms across his chest. This is really great and everything, but accepting help from evil strange women is not at the top of my list of "Smart things to do in a parallel universe." Thanks, but I don't need your favors. I'll be going now. John headed for the door, not taking one look back at Karine's astonished face and Mystique's pleading look. With one twitch of Karine's fingers, John went stiff. He couldn't move, couldn't think. Panic washed over him, but he could still hear.
"Pity. He had such promise."
****
Paul and Ringo were not thrilled at the news.
"At least two hundred miles??" Paul sputtered, sitting down on the bare, thirsty ground, his mouth agape with astonishment. He took off his suit jacket and wiped his sweating face on the sleeve. George nodded grimly, chewing his lip. Ringo seemed to be in deep thought, scratching his unshaven chin.
"What is it, Ringo?" Paul asked, eager to keep moving to save their friend. "Got a plan?"
Ringo nodded slowly, obviously not too thrilled with his discovery. "Yea. It's not going to be easy for me, but it should work."
"What's this, then?" George and Paul gathered around Ringo as he pulled out his spellbook, flipping to a page that read Transportation Spells. George and Paul both nodded knowingly.
"This is going to take a lot of my energy, but at least we'd arrive sooner and you two will be in decent shape. It'd only take a few days for me to recuperate, and it doesn't look like John is going anywhere." Ringo said, shrugging. Paul and George nodded gravely.
"Are you sure about this, Ring?" George asked, concerned. The three of them seem to have mended their differences after Liryl's death, realizing it was really no one's fault.
"No, I'm not, but we don't have much choice, do we?" What Ringo didn't mention was that there was a strong chance, about fifty-fifty, that he wouldn't even survive the transport; teleporting three people was quite a feat, even for his power. It would likely take all his energy, ultimately killing him. But he didn't tell the others that.
Ringo disenchanted his horse, able to reabsorb a small amount of the energy from the spell. He heaved a sigh, then drew three interconnected circles in the bare earth. George and Paul both transformed into their human forms, seeing as that would be easier to transport. Ringo took a deep breath, trying to prepare himself. George put his hand on the drummer's shoulder.
"Relax, lad. There's no rush. Take your time." Ringo smiled up at him meekly.
Ringo spread his feet a shoulder length apart, arms planted at his sides, chin to his chest. He slowly lifted his hands until they were straight out, gazing at his fingertips. Slowly but surely, gold sparks, identical to those of George's magic, began to twinkle on his outstretched hands. He gently tugged at the strings, weaving a net of shimmering fibers. He carefully wiped sweat off his cheek onto the shoulder of his tshirt, keeping a close eye on the spell. With a gentle toss, he covered George with the net of gold. George instantly disappeared, Paul staring at the empty space in astonishment. He turned to Ringo, who was doubled over, gasping for breath. He moved to put his hands on Ringo's shoulders, but Ringo put out a hand to stop him, gasping in between breaths, "Don't leave the circle. It's protected." Paul nodded dumbly, not quite understanding but doing what he was told.
Ringo regained his strength, and with sweat dripping from his stringy hair, assumed the same stance. Deep azure strings formed around his shaking fingers, his breaths starting to become labored. Paul's brow furrowed with concern, but he knew he couldn't do anything. Ringo now had another full net, and he tossed it with gentle accuracy over his band mate. Paul, too, disappeared in a bright flash.
Ringo swayed in a pained stupor, his energy almost completely drained, stumbling to keep upright, but to no avail. His knees buckled, and he fell to his hands and knees, throwing up. He felt terribly weak, and he knew there was no way he could teleport himself. He lay down slowly, and, as much as he tried to fight it, was overcome by sleep.
****
Paul fell over onto the gravel path, but quickly sat up to take account of his surroundings. He was in the middle of a small clearing, surrounded by various tall rocks. The gravel path on which he sat snaked its way out of the enclosure by way of a small gap in the standing rocks. As far as Paul could see were the tall mountains, dark clouds roiling overhead and rumbling dangerously. Paul stood up, brushing himself off. "George?"
"Here, Paul," came the response from outside the circle of stones. Paul strode out of the circle, and gasped at the sight before him. "My god…"
A humongous castle loomed before them, hundreds of feet into the dark sky. Tall minarettes jutted sharply into the sky, looking like giant watchmen guarding the castle walls. The walls themselves were composed of huge dark-colored stones, roughly patched together with a primitive form of cement. It was your typical fairytale castle. Paul half expected Rapunzel to lean out a window and start yelling at them to climb up her hair. He shook his head, trying to clear it, turning to George.
"Have a nice trip?" He joked, feeling a little giddy. George gave him a look saying, 'Now is not the time.' Paul turned his attention back to the castle. "How the hell are we going to get in THERE?" He said, gesturing at the high walls. "I haven't got me mountain climbing equipment with me."
George was silent, but he pointed with one long finger to the front of the castle. Following his finger, Paul gasped. A huge, dark wooden drawbridge door barred their entrance. Giant cast-iron chains held up the monstrosity, seemingly straining under the weight. No sign of rotting wood, which Paul and George would have expected, graced the surface of the door. It was in perfect condition. In fact, practically the entire castle seemed to be in excellent condition, which was surprising considering that it looked so old and deserted.
"Well, that's rather inconvenient," Paul said, his brow furrowing. "We may have to get Ringo to zap us on over to…"
"Where is Ringo?" George interrupted, looking concerned. "I thought he'd be right behind us."
Paul and George looked back in the circular clearing, but didn't find him. He wasn't anywhere to be found. They looked outside, but to the three sides not housing the castle, there was a sheer drop. They didn't want to think about that. Just in case, they called down the slopes, but there was no reply.
"This can't be good."
****
I fucking can't!
"You aren't trying hard enough."
I can't breathe! John collapsed in the deep green grass, gasping for breath. Karine sighed deeply. The training was going slower than expected. At least she had…persuaded…him to be trained by her. It wasn't easy for John.
John pulled himself up laboriously, his feet like stone. He looked at the huge stone statue again, sweaty brow furrowing in concentration. The three (John, Karine, and Mystique as spectator) were in the castle courtyard, a large garden filled with overgrown, unkempt plants and disintegrating stone statues. John was presently trying to lift such a statue with his powers. It wasn't going well. John stood at the center of the courtyard, standing in front of the statue. Karine stood in the darkest corner, slim arms crossed over her chest. Her black hair blended in with the shadows, the only thing showing being the single gray streak. Mystique stood behind her, even more cloaked in shadows, the only light emanating from the swirling green mist in the gem settled on her collarbone.
"John, you have to concentrate. Nothing can be accomplished without concentration."
Yea, whatever. He wiped his sweaty palms on his pants, then, concentration etched on his features, pointed one long finger at the stone hulk. His hand shook, fresh beads of sweat forming on his brow, which furrowed sharply. His eyes narrowed to tiny, squinting slits, his other hand balled into a clutching fist, the knuckles white with the pressure and strain.
Slowly but very surely, the statue lifted one eroded corner of the pedestal, tipping and shedding light on earth that hadn't seen the sun for centuries. With one last grunt, John fell to his knees, hand falling to his side. He managed to keep his head up, however, to see the fruits of his labor. The gap under the statue yawned wider, and it toppled to the ground like a fallen toy, the impact shaking the ground with an earth-shattering thud. A slow smile spread across Karine's face.
"Excellent."
On To Chapter Fourteen!
Back to the intro
Whaddya think?? Email me!
