Book of Darkness
Chapter Eight: Fear
Score stepped cautiously into the room and looked at the mess that filled it. “Someone was in here,” he said, looking around.
Helaine came in behind him and shut the door tightly behind her. “Do you think they’re still here?”
Score frowned and cocked his head slightly. “I’m not sure,” he said. “I don’t hear anything, but this is a big castle.” He reached into his pocket and removed his jasper. He closed his eyes and concentrated. “If the intruder is still here, show the intruder to me.”
There was nothing.
“I think whoever it was is long gone,” Score said, placing the jasper back into his pocket.
Helaine was righting overturned chairs, and with Score’s help, managed to get their two couches upright as well. “We’ll deal with the clean-up in the morning,” Helaine said.
Score shook his head. “Let’s do the barriers. Now.”
“Excuse me?” Helaine looked at him incredulously. “Just a few minutes ago you had me convinced to put them off because you were so tired.”
“Somebody got into our home while we were gone,” Score said, his eyes narrowed as he looked around at the ransacked rooms. “I’d like to find out why before they come back. We can check each room as we fix the barriers.”
Helaine sighed. “Okay, fine.” She snapped her fingers, and a second later the Book of Magic floated into the room and into her hands. Normally she wouldn’t have been so lazy, but this was an extenuating circumstance. She flipped through the pages to find the barrier spell that they had used to put up the barriers in the first place.
Meanwhile, Score began picking up blankets and pillows and papers and anything else that had gotten thrown onto the floor. He used his emerald to turn broken glass into air, and to get rid of the dirt from some of the potted plants, but most of it he did physically.
He picked up one particular paper, and frowned. The handwriting on it as unfamiliar, and he couldn’t entirely place where he had seen it before. “Helaine?” he asked, coming over to stand by her. “Do you know what this is?”
Helaine took the strange paper from him. “No,” she said. “It looks like it’s written in some sort of code, but it’s not one I’m familiar with. Pixel would probably be able to identify it, though.”
“And he’s not here,” Score sighed. He folded up the sheet and stuck it in his back pocket. “I’ll show it to Oracle next time he pops up. Are you ready with the barrier spell yet?”
“I found it, but I need a few things,” she said. “They’re in my room.”
“I’ll go get them,” Score said as he read the page over her shoulder. He touched her hand slightly, then took it and squeezed it. “You stay here. You look more exhausted than I do.”
Helaine made a tired effort to smile in thanks. “The herbs I need should be on my dresser, and the basin near the windowsill.”
“Okay,” he said, nodding. “I’ll be right back.”
Helaine leaned back on the couch to wait for him to come back.
She was asleep within two minutes.
“Finally,” Destiny breathed as they came upon the village that she’d pointed out earlier. “I was beginning to think that they’d moved this place or something.”
Pixel glanced around the small, near-deserted cluster of buildings. “How long are we staying here?” he asked.
“The night,” she replied. “Come on.” She led the way to one of the buildings, a long one-story structure with almost no windows. Opening the main door, she ushered him in and then immediately stepped in front of him.
The inside had all the charm of a barn, really. The lighting was dark, the odor something that Pixel really didn’t want to think about, and the patrons in the dining area were some of the strangest bunch he’d ever seen.
“Stare, and they won’t hesitate to kill,” muttered Destiny. “Keep your mouth shut and let me do the talking.” Grabbing his arm, she dragged him over to the bar. “Hey, Derspi! How’s business?”
The bartender turned around and grinned toothily with his two teeth. They were large teeth, too…twin fangs that hung down from his upper jaw to the bottom of his chin. He was holding seven glasses and a rag, which Pixel noted was probably a piece of cake for him since he had eight arms. “Well, if it isn’t Destiny,” Derspi said thickly, his voice slightly distorted due to his fangs. “Guiding another magic-user through the Void?”
Every single person/animal/thing in the room stopped whatever they were doing and turned to look at them. The term ‘magic-user’ seemed to have caught their attention indefinitely, and Pixel started to feel a little nervous.
“Got that right,” Destiny said, smirking. “And I’ll thank you to keep your boys away from him.”
“You sure, Destiny?” a soft, whispery voice spoke up from the corner. Pixel glanced over to see a tall, voluptuous woman rising up from the table she was sitting at. “He’s mighty nice to look at. I’d give you a fair price.”
Destiny threaded her arm through his and hugged it to her side possessively. “He’d be nothing but trouble for you, Sica,” she said tauntingly. She stepped closer to Pixel and murmured, “Don’t turn your back on her for a minute. She’d drag you off, have her way, and then eat your bones for breakfast.” Pixel felt his face heat up at her blunt explanation, but nodded seriously.
“We just want a room, Derspi,” Destiny said, shooting one last glare around the room before turning back to the bartender. “Something decent.”
“And what’ll you give me?” Derspi asked suspiciously.
Destiny rolled her eyes. “Oh, come on, old man. You owe me one.”
Derspi sighed. “Well, you did save me from those ghouls last time…yeah, I guess I do. But only for one night - then it’s going on your tab, got it?”
“Thanks, Derspi,” Destiny said cheerfully. She held out her hand, and Derspi reached over one of his hands to pluck a key off the wall and place it in her outstretched palm.
“Enjoy!” he called after them as Destiny led Pixel off down the hallway that led to the inn part of the inn/tavern.
The room Derspi had given them was a welcome change from the rest of the inn, and Pixel was relieved to see that it wasn’t much different from his room back on Dondar. Smaller, yes, but clean and well taken care of. “That wasn’t so bad,” he said to Destiny as she walked over to the bed. “What are you doing?”
She was pulling up the blankets and checking underneath the mattress as she spoke to him. “Checking for traps. I trust Derspi, but no one else. And I only trust him because he’s big on honor, and I’ve saved his life a couple of times, so he feels like he owes me.”
“Traps?”
“Once I was in an inn where there were two beds in the room, and the one the magic-user I was guiding was sleeping on exploded in the middle of the night,” Destiny explained once she’d finished her check. Then she started to put the bed back together. Pixel moved over to the other side of the bed and helped her. “Fortunately, he wasn’t sleeping on it at the time.”
“Where was he?” Pixel asked.
Destiny ignored his question and continued to make the bed.
“There,” she said with satisfaction once she was finished. She plopped down on it and sighed. “Hope you don’t mind that there’s only one bed,” she said. “Less risk.”
Pixel shrugged and sat down on a chair in the corner of the room. “It’s not a problem,” he said, running his fingers through his shaggy red hair. He hadn’t gotten it cut in a while, and it was beginning to get a little long. He sighed.
“What?” Destiny asked from the bed.
“I need a haircut,” he said. “I’m not used to long hair.”
She rolled over onto her side and looked at him. “It looks okay,” she said. “You’ll have to deal with it, anyway, whether it does or not. You can’t use magic, and I wouldn’t trust anyone here to give you a haircut, or you might find…”
“…that they cut off my head as well?” Pixel finished, grinning ruefully.
“Uh, yeah,” Destiny muttered. “Damn, you’re good. I forgot about that special ability of yours.” She rolled back onto her bed and closed her eyes. “You tired?”
“A little,” he said. “Why aren’t there any windows in this place? It’s kind of dark.”
“Oh, trust me,” Destiny said, “considering the sort of business that goes on around here after nightfall, you don’t really want to be able to see outside.”
“What sort of business?” Pixel asked, curious.
“Nothing you’d want to hear about,” Destiny replied. “You should get some rest.”
“You’re using the bed,” Pixel replied.
Destiny sat up and rolled her eyes. “Your point?” she asked. “I’ll take half, you take half.”
Pixel’s eyes widened. “Share…the bed?”
“Well, duh,” she taunted. “Neither of us would get much rest on the floor, and there is only one bed…what did you think we were going to do?”
“I…well, I guess I assumed that one of us would take up watch while the other slept,” Pixel stammered.
“Don’t worry about that,” Destiny said. “So long as you stick with me, you’ll be fine. They can’t harm the guides, remember? That would be another reason for us to share the bed.” She smirked. “What’s the matter? Afraid you won’t be able to control yourself?”
Pixel narrowed his eyes. “Let’s get one thing straight here,” he said tightly. “I’ve been putting up with your taunting and teasing since we got into this place, and frankly, I’m more than a little sick of it. You keep stressing how important trust is between a magic-user and guide, but you don’t seem to be doing a thing to earn my trust. So knock it off with your sarcasm and insults, and act decent for a change.”
Destiny stared at him for a second. “You done?” she asked.
“Yeah.”
“Okay, then.” She rolled over onto her side and closed her eyes. “Get in bed and go to sleep. We’ve got a long day…and another trial…ahead of us.”
Yea, thought Pixel as he lay down on his own side of the bed.
It didn’t take long for him to doze off, and when she heard his soft, even breathing, Destiny was relieved. She shifted slightly and rolled over so that she was lying on her back, where she could pretty much see everything in the room. It was true that the citizens of the Void weren’t supposed to harm the guides, but they didn’t always follow the rules. She’d nearly gotten her own throat slit a couple of times while watching out for one of her charges.
She could hardly believe that this time, she was guiding Pixel…Pixel!…through the Void. It’d been four years since she’d last laid eyes on the young magician, and those four years had done wonders for him. Not only physically, but mentally as well. She remembered him as being a skinny, blue-skinned kid who hadn’t seemed to have grown into his own body yet, and who seemed to be more concerned with figuring everyone else out than with figuring himself out. He’d been more than a little naive, and not all that good at seeing the big picture on a regular basis.
She’d known the new Pixel for less than twenty-four hours, and already he was surprising her. Physically, he’d filled out to the point where his thinness couldn’t be considered skinny, but more lean and lithe. He still had the blue skin, of course, but instead of the uncertain gleam in his eyes, there’d been one of edgy confidence. He didn’t take things at face value and then try to figure them out – now it was more like he tried to figure things out before looking at what was right there in front of him. He was calmer, more sure of himself than he had been. If she had tried to pull what she had done four years ago on this Pixel, she wouldn’t even have gotten out of the wheelchair.
Destiny twisted a lock of black hair around her finger and sighed. It had been awhile since she’d guided a male magic-user…her last few had all been female. Not surprising - the Omnipotent were probably still more than a little pissed at her for screwing up with…Destiny closed her eyes and drew in a few deep breaths. Now was not the time to be thinking about her past mistakes. Tomorrow was another day, and a new trial, just as she’d said to Pixel earlier.
The second trial.
The Trial of Sense.
It, like the Trial of Silence, was actually pretty easy to figure out. The hard part was in the actual succeeding of the trial. The Trial of Sense was designed to completely warp the magic-user’s mind so that he or she would see things that weren’t entirely there. Destiny had always had to help her past magic-users through it, but she had a feeling that Pixel would be better suited for this task than any of her past charges. If there was one thing she remembered him being good at, it was figuring out the fact from the fiction.
“Destiny?”
She froze. “You’re awake?” she whispered.
“Mmm-hmm,” he murmured softly. “I don’t fall asleep very easy. What’s the trial tomorrow going to be like?”
“It’s the Trial of Sense,” Destiny told him. “I think you’ll do fine.”
“Okay,” he said. “And Destiny?”
“Yeah?”
“Whatever you’re afraid of…don’t be. I’m not going to fail like your other magic-users.”
Destiny opened her mouth to reply that no, she wasn’t afraid, after all, it wasn’t her life that was on the line here – but she couldn’t. Once again, Pixel had seen through the veiled words and sensed the underlying meaning. She was afraid. And there was nothing that she could say to him to deny it.
It didn’t matter, anyway. He’d fallen asleep, this time for real, leaving her alone with her thoughts.
Am I really afraid? she thought, staring up at the ceiling. Why? Why would I be afraid? If he loses, then it’s back to the Inter-Realm for me, and I’ll just wait for the next magic-user to come along who needs a guide. Besides, who knows what’ll happen if we reach the exit? No guide has ever come back after completing the trip through the Void…what if they all get wiped out of existence?
But what if that wasn’t the case?
Destiny refused to even think about the other explanation for those guides to not return from the completed journey. She had only ever given voice to it once, when she was guiding…
It was quite a few hours before Destiny felt safe enough in the room to fall asleep herself. She’d forced herself not to think at all for those few hours, and now rolled onto her side and closed her eyes to sleep.
What if…they returned to life?
“So he’s entered the Void. Lovely. This is just going to complicate my plans even more. I can’t believe you would be that stupid, Nantor - but then, you made an enemy out of me, so I guess you really are that stupid.
“Well, we’ll see who gets the last laugh. You may think that Traxis and Eremin will be here to greet you if you get out, but guess again. I’ve got a little surprise in store for you, Nantor. You’ll pay for what you did to my family - my mother, my father, my sisters.
“Just you wait, Nantor. I’ll tear your little synthetic family away from, like you pulled mine from me! You’ll regret ever returning to this plane of existence!
“You’ll regret it. I promise.”
He smirked, thinking of the little surprise he had planted for Eremin. While the Void kept Nantor busy, he’d take care of the lady warrior. She’d never slay another living being again.
It was the least he could do, to repay her for slaughtering his past.
