The Keeper

by David Baldacci

  As soon as I finished speaking, he vanished.

  Good riddance.

  We rushed from the room and reentered 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. “I love you, Harry Two. Thank you so much for all you’ve done for me.” He licked my face, and in those wonderful mismatched eyes, I could see that my canine was more than ready to stand by my side, and die with me.

  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.

  I hooked Harry Two into the harness, leapt 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.” He glanced at me in concern. “You’re clearly magical, but you’re not, well, slow, are you?”

  “Do you really think I could have gotten this far if I was ‘slow’?”

  “No, I suppose not.”

  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. Almost.”

  We soared for a long time. Below us the night turned to light and then back to night and then back to light even though I knew that could not be possible. It was all so surreal that after a while I just accepted it and it no longer bothered me.

  “There,” said Jasper, and he started to rapidly descend.

  I followed him downward 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. It of course had a steeple and long glass windows. But 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 and also entry into here,” said Jasper. “I could not do so without conjuring dark forces powerful enough to achieve both goals. Once created, these species evolved. They have had eight centuries to turn even more diabolical. They forcibly 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. That is the second way to sever your soul from your body.”

  “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.

  He said, “Your friends are assuredly in there. If you wish to leave them to their fate, let me know now and we can turn back.” As he finished speaking, he watched me so closely it reminded me of the way Astrea would look at me. There was a definite air of appraisal in his features.

  “I already told you. I am not leaving my friends.”

  “Capital,” said Jasper.

  “But how do we defeat these blokes?”

  “I can do nothing to them,” he said.

  “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 on how to do so?”

  “You need to trust your instincts, Vega. And your heart. That did not serve our lot particularly well against the Maladons, but that is not to say we should not trust our heart. After all, it is the one thing we have that the Maladons do not. 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 with a slight pop, Jasper Jane was gone.

  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. No engorged images appeared in front of me. We stepped cautiously through the opening, and the doors slammed shut behind us. Expecting it as I was, this did not startle me. I had other things to bring me terror. Starting with the interior of the place.

  Every single inch of the walls and glass was covered with acts of depravity and slaughter and mayhem. It was like a maniack’s mind had been opened up and splattered, like blood, over the walls and windows.

  As at Steeples, there were rough-hewn pews lining the floor. But unlike the simple beauty of the Steeples seats, these were carved with images of misery and torture and death. Creatures up and down the wood were depicted killing other creatures and then devouring them. Worst of all were the countenances of the victims, their faces frozen forever in silent horror. As I looked at them, they seemed to move right in front of my eyes, as though the army of foul things and their pitiful prey had suddenly sprung to life.

  I could sense 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.

  I looked down at Harry Two, who was gnashing his teeth and growling. An instant later my canine had leapt ahead of me and attacked a figure draped all in black from head to foot, which had appeared directly in front of us.

  “No, Harry Two,” I screamed out.

  But Harry Two had caught the thing right at the neck and his fangs bit down hard. The figure fell to the floor, a pool of green blood draining out of its neck.

  I patted Harry Two, who had immediately returned to my side, as we stepped over the thing. Curious, I knelt down and lifted the hood. I wished I hadn’t.

  The face I was looking at appeared to have been lifted directly from the flames. The skin was burned and popped and cracked. It looked far worse than Delph’s damaged arm. And the bulbous eyes, an awful mix of yellow and red, stared back a
t me malevolently, even in death.

  I shuddered, dropped the hood, rose and hurried on.

  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. He held something in his hands. As I drew closer I could see it was a dead child.

  I passed cautiously by the statue, part of me sure that it would suddenly come to life and attack me, but it didn’t. Farther on was a pair of huge doors carved with the same malignant images that I had seen on the pews.

  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 inward 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 color was coming from the waters, like ink being swept up into an ink stick.

  Their souls were being taken! This was the other way of stealing souls that Jasper had told me about.

  My screams 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 backward 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 thrice. 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 bloodred 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 bloody temple. Now I knew it represented the 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 upward 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 heels over arse.

  I aimed my wand at Bezil but never got the spell off. Two Soul Takers attacked me. As I fought them, I tried to keep Delph and Bezil in sight. They were having a titanic struggle, tossing each other across the room, raining blow after blow on the other.

  As I fought off my remaining Soul Taker, Delph ripped one of Bezil’s knives free and slashed him with it. The demon sprang back as green blood surged from the wound. Delph did not wait a moment before pressing his attack. He was on Bezil like a garm on prey. Two enormous punches to the head, which I seemed to feel from across the room, and the bloke’s eyes closed and his head went limp. Delph picked him up and tossed him back into the pool of water, where he quickly sank.

  “Yes, Delph!” I screamed in joy.

  He looked at me, battered but grinning as I finished off the last Soul Taker.

  Petra had gotten Lackland out of the pool and also smashed the rod that had been used to suck out his soul. Though he was staggering around and gagging, he looked otherwise unharmed.

  We’ve won, I thought. Until I saw Delph.

  “Uh, Vega Jane?” said Delph.

  I looked at where he was staring.

  Bezil had soared free of the pool. He was standing near a foul image on the stone wall. He raised his hands and spoke a stream of words. A moment later, the wall opened and out marched a hundred Soul Takers, with swords, lances, axes and knives, and bloodlust in their eyes.

  There was no way we could beat them all, even with two wands.

  “Harry Two,” I cried out, and patted my chest.

  My canine leapt into his harness and I secured him. “Take my hand, Delph. Lackland, take Delph’s hand. Petra, Lackland’s.”

  We were all linked together now, with Petra and me at the ends of the chain, o
ur wand hands free. We would need them.

  With bloodcurdling screams, Bezil and the Soul Takers attacked.

  I pointed my wand at one of the pair of gigantic stone columns that supported the ceiling. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Petra point hers at the other.

  “Severus.”

  “Severus,” repeated Petra.

  Enormous cracks ripped through the columns. They started to shake. And then they began to topple. We were already in the air by then. I turned and, like leaves strung out on a vine, we soared for the doorway while the temple began to fall around us. We barely cleared the doorway as the room’s ceiling fell in, crushing Bezil and his followers beneath the rubble of their foul temple. How fitting!

  But I was terrified that the rest of the temple was going to cave in on us, permanently entombing us here too. We shot through the front doors as they toppled inward. Free of the crumbling temple, we soared up, up until I could maintain flight no longer. Then we fell fast and at a steep angle, slamming into the ground and tumbling painfully across a long swath of dirt until we came to rest in a heap.

  As I looked up, I saw the entire temple crash inward on itself. Dust rose into the air and then it was quiet.

  I looked over at Delph, who was struggling to his feet. He looked down at me.

  “I thought we were goners,” he said.

  “We almost were,” I said back.

  I let Harry Two out of his harness and helped Petra to her feet while Delph pulled up Lackland. I glanced at the wand Petra still clutched in her hand.

  “I’m sorry I took it from you,” I said so only she could hear.

  She looked down at it. “I can understand why you did.”

  “I couldn’t have done that alone in there,” I said. “I hope you know that.”

  “Pet!” exclaimed Lackland. “Where in blazes did you get that thing?”

  Petra looked at her wand, obviously unsure how to answer.

  “I had a spare,” I said, drawing an incredulous look from Delph.

  “Oh,” said Lackland. “Well, thank all that’s bleeding wonderful for spares, eh?”

  I was startled to find that we were at the foot of the Blue Mountain. Once we cleared it, I reckoned the end of the Quag would be right on the other side.