by Ross Turner
“Sorry?” Isabel replied, by now seemingly not even phased that her son seemed to be aware of her every thought.
“They want to completely surround us. They’ll wait until we’re further out and away from shore, so there’s no chance of us making it back to dry land.”
Isabel looked around dubiously into the fog, having absolutely no idea which way the shore even was. She looked to Zanriath for help, but in all the confusion, and with absolutely no reference points, his keen sense of direction was lost also.
Then she looked to the piles and piles of oars, now scattered by the dozen all along the deck, and sighed helplessly.
Cole walked from one side of the ship to the other, glancing around, his balance not at all affected like his parents’ by the rocking of the ship. He pointed over to the starboard side of Dame’s deck.
“Compii Tower is that way.” He told them. “And so is Thorn.” His parents stared at him blankly, but he took no notice of their astonishment. Finally Isabel spoke again.
“Ok.” She said, cautiously changing tact. “How are we going to get there?”
“Hmm…” Zanriath only said at first, looking around dubiously at the scattered oars. “Do we need to start rowing…?”
But then, in answer to their questions, the wood of the ship’s hull groaned and creaked and Dame suddenly began to move. Cole’s hand rested lightly on Rose’s back and somehow Isabel could even feel his will driving the enormous wooden mass to turn and then surge forward, cutting through the water, and presumably parting the army already surrounding them.
It was in near-silence that the ship moved. There was little wind and the only real noise came from the breaking of water against Dame’s hull and the groaning of wood, used for the first time ever upon the open ocean. It seemed they would not struggle to get farther out to sea, and all that remained, amongst all the other impossibilities he had so far met and overcome, was for Cole to face the final crux of his task.
It was in sheer amazement, even disbelief, that Isabel and her husband joined hands and walked over, still a little unsteadily, to stand beside their son and his demon. How this was all happening, they dared not to think. Their son seemed now to possess power even beyond their world, with limits they did not wish to fathom.
Perhaps their concerns were unfounded; perhaps he was ready for the enormity of the challenges that lay ahead, perhaps not. But as Isabel looked thoughtfully at her son and his demon, the one thing she was absolutely certain of, was that she had lost one of the two people she held the most dearly in her life. Or, at the very least, Cole had been changed, against his will, and beyond the point of return.
Her son was gone. After all their struggles, he was lost. The young, innocent boy she had loved and raised and protected, had now become something much more, far greater than she ever could have imagined.
Admittedly, Isabel was a little fearful, for she was not entirely sure actually what Cole had become, or whether she herself was ready to face the task laid out before him; would she be able to protect him as he struggled?
But now, it seemed, that he was the one who would protect her, for there was no longer anything he needed her to do for him, as, she imagined, was the sad but inevitable way of the world. Even the thought made her smile, as those familiar words ran through her mind, and she continued to study her son as they sailed towards Compii Tower, as if for the first time.
In a similar fashion to the way Zanriath’s viewing of her had altered in the time after their first meeting, Isabel was now looking at Cole in a whole new light, and this light shone more brightly than anything she could ever have imagined.
As her flurrying thoughts surged through her mind, Isabel was sure Cole could sense them, for, as of late, he seemed to be able to sense everything. And mixed amongst those emotions, there was one thing that she hoped quite fervently he could detect, emanating from her like wildfire. Swelling above all the other fear and worries, rising in greater amounts than anything else, was Isabel’s pride in Cole.
She hoped that, with all her heart, Cole’s strength and determination would be enough to quell the darkness that was closing in upon their world, rising inevitably all around them, engulfing everything it touched.
She was sure he would succeed, and that he would continue to make her proud, even as the most difficult task that anyone had ever faced loomed ominously before him. She had faith in her son, and in his demon, to make the right decisions, to fight through until the end, and to never surrender until there was nothing left to give.
39
Furious was too mild a word to describe Thorn’s mood at that moment. The black waters around him absorbed his anger bleakly and without emotion, forever unchanging, yet, never remaining constant either.
He moved effortlessly through the water in his amphibious form, constantly monitoring his adversaries’ progress. His four powerful flippers propelled his great hulk through the sweeping currents forcefully, and his sleek, black body cut precise lines through the ocean, streamlined to perfection, circling Compii Tower endlessly.
He cried out in frustration as he sensed Cole’s ever-expanding power reaching to the very edges of Tamarack, and even beyond. He would not be able to match Cole’s strength, especially combined with that of Rose and his parents. He would need to weaken them somehow. If he could disadvantage them, then they could more easily be dealt with.
If he could just get them into the water, his victory would be certain. There they would be helpless, and his minions could simply overwhelm them.
He had known all along that Cole’s guilt would drive him to ends that no other could reach, and that that same guilt would drive him from the safety of land, and out into the dangerous territories of the open ocean.
He laughed viciously at the thought and continued his observations. All the while he watched with great pleasure as endless streams of demons poured into the ocean from the demonic realm. As soon as they touched the water, each one was infected by yet another lost soul, and became one more follower for him to command, adding to the massing ranks of his limitless army.
As Thorn himself had been created of Cole’s will, rather than that of another demon, he had not known the extent of the demonic realm when he had attempted to access it. The fruits of his extensive labour had most certainly proved to be pleasing.
Entering the realm of the demonic, Thorn had been confronted by a myriad of demons, all monsters, beasts and fiends alike, regardless of their physical appearance, each bent on but one set of emotions: greed, suffering, jealousy.
These traits were partially instilled in them by their past exploits, and partially innate. It was these emotions that he knew, infected by the lost souls, would drive his army of demons to any end, through all eventualities, to satisfy their lusting needs.
The landscape of the demonic realm itself was ever-changing, much like that of the ocean, yet was constructed entirely from black shadows. It shifted and morphed endlessly and randomly, never completely settling; it provided the ideal home for the demonic beasts.
Were they to be successful, that was surely to be Tamarack’s fate also.
It was even entirely possible that, at some point in the distant past, the demonic realm had once belonged to a kingdom much like Tamarack, and that its people had been lost to the fiends that now inhabited it. Perhaps, even more chillingly, it could have been that case that those people had, over time, become the demons that now existed there.
Maybe even that was to be Tamarack’s fate.
Regardless, the countless masses had been all too eager to follow him back to Tamarack. They immediately found themselves bursting into the vast ocean, free from their confinement once again, their motives unchanged, and they remembered Isabel all too clearly.
As Thorn had done, each of the demons assumed its own amphibious form for ease of travel upon entering the water, which they maintained until they finally reached dry land, and were able to wreak havoc upon mankind once again.
; The pathetic humans had offered little resistance, but their plague had been cut disappointingly short, as they had been summoned back into the water by Thorn. However, they all sensed quite clearly, and with undisguised loathing, the movements of Isabella, and so had eagerly complied with Thorn’s command.
But there was another who accompanied the great Isabella that worried them greatly. This one seemed to be young, and was half demon and half mortal, somehow part of its will consisting of one of their own, turned against them.
How such a creature even existed, they did not know, but they did not care how it had come about. And though it filled them with dread, the simple fact, the mere prospect of one of their own turned against them, only angered them further. And their fury was matched only by their fear of the seemingly unending and limitless power of this strange being.
Nevertheless, the voices in their minds quelled their worries, and drove them to converge back to the dark, mist-covered waters, and so they returned, all too eager to dispose of this threat.
Their numbers were so great, and their combined power so immense, that there was simply no possible way they could be defeated. As long as the two realms stayed linked, any of them that were defeated would be banished back to their realm, just as they had been all those years ago when Depozi had been overcome. Only this time, however, they would not be trapped there, and they could simply return to the ocean immediately.
It seemed that, considering these truths, there was no real threat to speak of, and they would simply barrage these pathetic humans until their strength faded and their wills crumbled.
Their leader, Thorn, the one who had freed them from their prison, led them with an unrelenting iron fury, and seemed to be entirely bent on the destruction of these three who, apparently, somehow, stood between them and success. His focus encompassed nothing else, and his drive was matched only by his anger and frustration.
Though many of the demons could not see the threat of these puny adversaries in the same way that Thorn could, the wise voices in their minds warned them to heed his words, and to take caution.
Consequently, guided by the words of the Souls of the Ocean, the demons listened to Thorn as their commander, and gave themselves to his decree, through acknowledgement of power now, rather than through fear, as had always been the case in the past.
And so, with his foes moving slowly further and further into the depths of his ocean, and with a seemingly invincible army at his command, Thorn awaited Cole’s coming eagerly, but cautiously, knowing the full extent of the young man’s power to be something quite terrifying.
The table was set, and it appeared that everything was in place. All that remained now was for the outcome of their feud to be decided, and thus the fate of Tamarack, and indeed the universe, to be sealed.
But what the outcome was to be, at this point, was unclear to all. Only time would tell, and only the victor would discover what was to become of this darkening world.
40
Cole sat pensively with Rose at the bow of the ship, as it slid moaning, groaning and creaking across the misty ocean surf. He sat with his back to the wooden side, and Rose lay with her head across his legs, breathing steadily as the ship rocked back and forth most predictably.
As night encroached, the temperature dropped frighteningly and, though here there was no snow like there had been in Hinaktor, it would still be an unpleasant night in the biting cold.
The sturdy but rather ungraceful wooden mass that was Dame meandered slowly around the southern tip of Hinaktor, guided by only Cole’s will. They would make their way then towards the very centre of Tamarack. It was there, by Compii Tower, where Thorn was keeping.
Just what exactly he would throw at them, Cole did not know. All he knew was that now his only focus was the completion of his task, and in order to be successful, he would need to dig deeper and find more forte than he ever had done before.
Though he was afraid, he only registered and acknowledged his fear with his awareness, heightening his senses, almost as though it was not an emotion at all. He suspected for some strange reason that his mother too had felt such a thing before her confrontation with Demon-Lord Depozi, and her success comforted the young man, knowing that there was always a chance that everything would be alright.
Isabel sat silently leaning back against her husband, only a few metres from Cole and his demon, further back on the deck of the ship. They sat amongst the benches designed to hold the dozens of burly rowers required to move this monstrous contraption. But somehow, much to her amazement, her son was controlling the ship alone, using only his will, and with ease.
Isabel sat now, pondering not what he was capable of, but after everything she had seen of late, exactly what he was not capable of. Frightening thoughts began filtering through her mind, and she quickly abandoned that line of questioning, concluding that it would not lead her anywhere productive.
“Are you ok?” Zanriath’s soft voice asked quietly, sensing her worry amidst the cold darkness. His breath steamed in the bitter ocean-air and he held her evermore tightly as the night wore terrifyingly on.
“I don’t know.” Isabel admitted. “I don’t know what to think anymore Zan.” Her confession did not come as a surprise to her husband, as he was of the same, shared opinion.
“I know.” He sighed ruefully. “I feel like we’ve lost Cole, like we’ve driven him away.” His words were saddened and Isabel only nodded in response, feeling much the same way.
Then something nudged the back of Isabel’s arm and she turned to see Rose looking at her through her son’s eyes.
The huge demon’s expression was somehow a mixture of understanding and sympathy, compassion and sorrow, as it often seemed to be when Isabel was feeling this way. Somehow Rose seemed to inherently know exactly how Isabel felt, and though the great beast could do nothing to change it, she did at least offer Isabel the comfort of understanding and condolence.
Isabel realised suddenly that Rose had wandered over to them alone, and she looked over to Cole who returned her gaze with a regretful smile that mirrored Rose’s emotions. At that moment Isabel could think only of how incomplete her young boy looked without his demon.
It was only then, at long last, that Isabel understood to its full extent the dramatic impact Rose had had on Cole’s life. And not only that, but also how, equally, Thorn must also mean an awful lot to him, even though they had, for some reason, been pitted against each other in this great game that would consume whole worlds.
Isabel saw that, if they were to win, defeating Thorn would hurt Cole greatly. But she also realised that if Cole were to lose Rose, it would destroy him, utterly and completely. That was quite simply something that she could not allow to happen, for her son’s life would most certainly end if his demon was to be taken from him.
And so then, her eyes once again fell to the powerful beast stood before her, who had waited most patiently while Isabel had made her insights.
Things that may have been better discovered sooner, or perhaps never discovered at all, were now coming to light, and Rose nudged Isabel again, somehow lovingly, before trudging back over to sit with Cole in the cold and dark of the oceanic night.
Cole’s mother and father watched with new compassion as the hulking monster curled around their son, protecting him from the bitter cold and the looming dark, providing him with the friendship and security he had forever desired so.
The night swept over them brutally and relentlessly, encompassing them as a mother smothers a child. They surrendered to its biting cold and to its harsh winds and to its endless darkness, unable to see, but always able to hear the unyielding motion of the water grinding at their only shelter, wearing them down relentlessly.
Because of the unpleasant cold and the impending attack that could have come at any moment, Isabel slept very little that night. She lay close with Zanriath, huddled in a corner of the deck, at least a little sheltered from the wind, and contemplated her way through the ominous da
rkness.
She could not help but compare those hours to the distinct period of time before her, Zanriath’s, and Ayva’s confrontation with the army in Land. In that time, Isabel had had time to focus her thoughts and prepare for what lay ahead, and she found herself yet again wondering what lay ahead for her son, and whether she would indeed be able to help him or not. Her contemplations concerned her deeply, but there was nothing that could be done.
It was all too probable that the impending difficulties that Cole would face, he would truly have to face alone. But Isabel did not despair wholly; she was comforted immensely by the fact that Cole would have Rose. And, despite the odds, as always, stacked so heavily against them, Isabel entrusted the young demon entirely and confidently, with the protection of her only son.
Such a decision is difficult for any mother to make, but Isabel could think of no one better, no one who was so unquestionably fit for the task, besides Rose.
Consoled and reassured by that odd decision, Isabel at least slept a little that night, fitful though that time proved to be, and the night laboured on through the moaning sounds of the ship and the lapping of the water against Dame’s steadfast hull.
Morning finally arrived and roused the four from their uneasy sleep, though Isabel was fairly certain that Cole and Rose had not slept at all. She walked gingerly over to her son and his demon, still a little giddy as the ship rocked back and forth.
“Cole?” She asked.
“It’s nearly time.” Was all he said at first. “We’re nearly there.” Isabel looked out ahead into the mist uncertainly.
“Nearly where?” She asked again. “How do you know?” Cole did not reply. Instead he sighed reluctantly and Rose looked over to him with concern. He nodded and they both stepped forward right to the bow of the ship.