by Dean Lorey
Greetings, traveller, the creature said, although its lips didn’t move. Charlie wasn’t sure if it actually spoke the words or if it somehow just transmitted them into his brain. You look weary. You have been through many trials. You deserve rest…and comfort.
The creature’s voice was kind and soothing and Charlie was surprised to discover that he was a little bit weary and that he did need rest and comfort. Luckily, it looked like those were two things a marvellous being like this could provide.
“You’re right,” Charlie said finally. “I guess I am a little tired. Really tired, actually. People are expecting a lot of me - saving the world and all. Sometimes I just want to say ‘forget it’ and lie down and take a nice, long nap.”
Back on the ledge, Theodore watched his friend with growing agitation. “What’s he doing? Why is he having a heart-to-heart conversation with that monster? Why doesn’t he just kill it?”
“I don’t know,” Violet replied, clearly concerned as well. “That thing is hideous.”
Even though, to Charlie, it looked like a beautiful butterfly, his friends saw it for what it really was - a Chasm Wyrm. A flying red dragon with lidless green eyes and rows of razor-sharp teeth that stuck out of its black gums at crazy angles, like headstones in an ancient cemetery. Its tail was long and clubbed at the end and its wings were coated in hard scales that gleamed dully in the weak light of the Nether.
“Uh-oh,” Brooke said.
Violet turned to her. “Uh-oh? Elaborate, please.”
“I just remembered what the deal was about Chasm Wyrms. They take over your mind. They can make you think things that aren’t real and do things you wouldn’t ever want to do if they weren’t in your head, controlling you.”
“Information we could have used sooner!” Theodore said. “Great. Now we’ve got a killer dragon getting ready to use Charlie like a meat puppet. Fun times!”
Back on the bridge, Charlie gazed at the giant butterfly in something like wonder. “Do you think it’s safe for me to take a little nap right here?”
Charlie wasn’t sure if he’d actually spoken the words or just thought them - but that didn’t really matter, did it? The important thing was that the creature seemed to understand.
Go to sleep, it whispered in his head. You will be safe. You will be protected.
“Sounds good. I’m dead tired.”
Charlie dropped to his knees, preparing to lie down. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his friends leaping and shouting excitedly. He couldn’t quite make out what they were saying, even though he was certainly close enough to hear them. Maybe sound travelled in a funny way over the chasm? That would explain it, although it didn’t account for why he could hear the butterfly with no problem at all - the pleasant chiming of its voice seemed to fill his world.
What’s wrong with them? Charlie wondered, staring at his friends.
They want you to jump, the butterfly-creature replied, so that they can have me for themselves.
“They want to steal you?” Charlie asked. And then he realised that of course they did! Who wouldn’t want to possess something so beautiful? Greedy little thieves…
They’ll never stop, you know. They call themselves your friends, but they really hate you. They want you dead.
“They want me dead,” Charlie echoed. The shimmering creature’s words were so clear and reasonable. He was astonished that he had never before realised how evil his so-called ‘friends’ really were. It was a shame that it had taken a marvellous being like the butterfly to open his eyes to the truth.
That’s right - I do speak the truth. I would never lie to you. They’re the ones who lie. They must be stopped.
“I have to stop them,” Charlie said, rising to his feet. Yes, that felt right. Action was called for in such a dire situation, wasn’t it? Extreme action.
You have to destroy them. It’s the only way.
Charlie drew his rapier. “Destroying them is the only way.”
He walked down the bridge to where his friends - who weren’t really his friends, he was certain of that now - stood waiting. He knew what he had to do.
He had to kill them all.
CHAPTER EIGHT THE CHASM WRYM
Charlie walked towards Theodore with a mad gleam in his eyes, rapier at the ready. The monster flapped slowly behind him, like a kite on an invisible string.
“What’s he doing?” Brooke asked, stepping back.
“I think the Chasm Wyrm got to him,” Theodore replied grimly. “It looks like he wants to hurt us.”
Violet turned to the Smith. “The Headmaster said we would suffer. Is this part of the test for the Sword of Sacrifice? Does Charlie have to sacrifice us in order to get the sword?”
The Smith grinned. “OH, I can’t tell you that. It would spoil all the - crooooak! - FUN!”
Violet raised her axe to the creature’s throat. “Answer me or I’ll kill you right now. Look me in my eyes and see if I mean it.”
“Oh, I can see you MEAN it, girlie. And you might be able to do it too - but not before HE - crooooak! - kills THEM!”
Violet turned to see Charlie swing his rapier at Theodore. Without thinking, she sprang between the boys and intercepted the blow with her weapon.
“Charlie! Stop it. You don’t want to do this.”
He answered with a flurry of strikes - quick, precise blows that Violet struggled to repel. In his extraordinarily talented hands, the weapon was a blue blur and it took every ounce of her skill to counter the blizzard of incoming attacks.
He’s better than me, she suddenly realised. I’m fast, but he’s faster. I’m strong, but he’s stronger. If this keeps up, we’re all going to die by his hand.
She stumbled backwards, barely managing to parry an overhead blow. “Theo! Say something to him! Wake him up!”
As Violet absorbed yet another round of slashes, Theodore stepped forward. “Charlie, we’re not the enemy, we’re your friends! I’m your best friend in fact. Your superhero sidekick, your closest compadre…Don’t you remember?”
From somewhere far away, Charlie could hear the lanky boy yelling, but it was all just white noise - a TV tuned to a dead station. He waded in with fresh fury, landing blow after crushing blow, and he could tell that the girl - Violet, was that her name? - was beginning to lose hope. She knew she was outmatched and he could see the terrible realisation descending upon her like a storm cloud.
And why not? he thought coldly. She can’t possibly beat me. No one can. I’m a Double-Threat…
“Listen to me, Charlie!” Theodore shouted. “That thing is messing with your mind! We’ve been friends for, like, for ever! Remember the first time we met on the pirate ship at the top of the Nightmare Academy, when the Headmaster kept dropping me into the Nether? Remember how insane that was?”
Theodore’s voice buzzed in Charlie’s ear like a mosquito. It was annoying in its insistence to be heard, but somehow, he did hear it. Way in the back of his mind, he vaguely recalled standing on the pirate ship many months ago as the Headmaster opened portal after portal under the squawking boy, sending him plummeting into the Nether. At the time it had seemed…
Funny?
Maybe. He wasn’t sure. The only thing that was clear to him now was the threat he was currently facing from this girl - this Violet - who was almost, but not quite, as powerful a fighter as he was.
“You do remember!” Theodore yelled. “I can see it in your eyes.” Charlie tried to push the yapping boy from his brain, but Theodore just wouldn’t stop. “Do you remember what I said to you the first time I met you? I said we were going to be best friends. And do you know why? Because I knew it instantly. Never a doubt. And it was true! That’s what we are. Best friends.”
Was it true? Charlie wasn’t so sure.
The girl tried to force him backwards with a sword strike, but Charlie dodged it nimbly, then kicked her in the stomach, knocking the breath out of her. She dropped to her knees, the back of her neck exposed to his fiery blue blade.
He raised it.
“The Trout of Truth!” Theodore screeched. “You remember how it kept swallowing me because I insisted I was a Banisher just like my dad? Man, that fish sucked!”
To Charlie’s surprise, he did remember something about it. Seven times Theodore had claimed he was a Banisher - even though he was truly a Nethermancer - and seven times the giant trout had swallowed him whole and then spat him back up on shore, covered in goop. At the time, Charlie thought that anyone who was so determined to get their way was someone you definitely wanted on your side, someone who could potentially make a great friend.
He’s not your friend, the magnificent butterfly spoke into Charlie’s mind, its voice as soft and light as a cloud. He’s your enemy. He’s the betrayer. He must die, just like the girl at your feet. All of them must die…
Right, Charlie thought, thankful to be able to regain focus and return to the task at hand. His friends had to die. Well, not his ‘friends’ obviously - I mean, after all, you don’t hurt your friends…Do you?
“Charlie?”
He turned to see a tall, blonde girl smiling at him. “Do I know you?”
“Yes,” Brooke said, tentatively stepping forward. “You saved me in Barakkas and Verminion’s lair, remember? It was a long time ago. We went there to rescue your parents.”
Barakkas and Verminion’s lair…saving his parents…that sounded familiar.
Charlie lowered his weapon. “That’s right. But we did something else too, didn’t we? What was it?”
Brooke smiled and blushed a little. “You mean this?” She leaned forward and gave him a kiss. It was startling…and quite nice. “We did that once before, on the beach. Do you remember?”
Charlie did. Her lips were soft and…
He nodded. “I do. You’re…you’re beautiful.”
Don’t be seduced, the floating butterfly said. The girl uses her beauty to distract you. The boy pretends to be your best friend to confuse you. And the other girl uses her prowess as a Banisher to protect them from you. This is how they will defeat you: beauty, friendship, skill…Raise your weapon, boy. Strike! Kill them all!
Violet held out her hand. “Help me up, Charlie.”
He looked down at her and the dark cloud that had taken over his brain suddenly lifted, revealing the truth of who she was.
“I’m sorry, Violet,” he said. “I…I don’t know what came over me.” He reached down and pulled her to her feet.
She smiled warmly. “It’s OK. You did great. Amazing actually. You fought it off. I don’t know if I could have.”
STRIKE! the voice screamed in his mind. KILL HER!
This was no longer the soft, gentle sound of the beautiful creature that Charlie had seen rise up on shimmering wings. This voice was as jagged as shattered glass and as final as a hammer blow on a coffin nail. This was a voice of command - and it had every intention of being obeyed.
KILL HER! SHE’S WINNING!
Charlie turned round and, for the first time, saw the creature for what it truly was.
A Chasm Wyrm. Ancient. Evil. Deadly.
KILL HER! that horrible voice shrieked. NOW!
Charlie raised his rapier. “I think I’ll kill you instead.”
Even the Smith seemed shocked by what happened next. It looked as if Charlie…twitched. The movement was so subtle that it almost didn’t look like he had moved at all, but that was only because Charlie had thrown his rapier faster than the human eye could see. The blazing, blue sword rocketed through the air like a javelin and drove right through the terrible Wyrm’s left eye and into its brain. The creature shrieked and went limp, dropping to the stone bridge, which shattered under its weight. Charlie ran to the edge of the cliff and watched as the lifeless monster disappeared into the blackness of the chasm below. When it was gone, he breathed a sigh of relief and turned to the Smith.
“OK. I passed the test and lost my rapier in the process. Looks like I need a new sword. I’d be happy to take the Sword of Sacrifice as a replacement.”
“I IMAGINE you would,” the Smith croaked. “But we have barely even BEGUN the test. You have only proven yourself to be a BANISHER, boy. To be a Double-Threat, you must also prove that you are - crooooak! - a NETHERMANCER!”
Suddenly, the huge bullfrog opened its mouth and flicked out its long, pink tongue, slamming Charlie in the chest with the fleshy bulb at the end. He pinwheeled backwards towards the chasm, grabbing wildly for something to hang on to - but there was nothing to grab.
“Charlie!” Theodore screamed as he watched his best friend tumble, head over heels, into the yawning abyss.
Pinch’s body burned with an inner fire.
More than an hour had passed before he began to feel the effects of sipping the blood of the Queen of Nightmares. He didn’t know what to expect really - had no idea what drinking her blood would do to him. He knew only that he had spent his entire life feeling small and weak when what he really desired was power - raw and towering. The kind of dominance that the Named possessed before the Queen destroyed them.
But that wasn’t the whole truth, was it? She had destroyed them, yes, but she had also created them to begin with.
Just as she was recreating Pinch.
It started as a tickle. He could feel it in his hands and feet, a sort of prickly feeling. Soon it spread throughout his body before flaring into a dull ache. The ache turned warm, and then hot, and then became an excruciating roar, a blazing turbine, as if his entire body were being melted from the inside so that it could be reformed into something new.
There, in the very heart of the nautilus shell, the man named Pinch - who had recently regained his power by becoming a boy - was mutating. Once again, he was being transformed and, this time, he would not seek the approval of other humans.
This time, he would make them scream with fear.
“It’s happening,” the Queen of Nightmares said as Pinch’s body began to bubble and stretch like molten plastic.
He looked down in strange fascination as hairy, red insect legs - six of them - poked through his skin. It didn’t hurt really - the nerves in his flesh seemed to be dead now, which was lucky because everything from his chest down soon sloughed away like a snakeskin, revealing a bristly, segmented body beneath. Suddenly, that body began to grow with startling speed and Pinch was dizzied by the rapid change. Where, just moments ago, he had looked up at the Queen - now he looked down at her from an immense height. She smiled approvingly.
“Good, my beautiful baby. Look at yourself. See what you have become.”
There was no mirror in the throne room, but the walls of the shell were a polished pearl and he could see his reflection in them. Pinch stepped back and gazed, for the first time, at his new form.
He had become an ant - but the world had never seen such an ant. This was no tiny creature that could be carelessly crushed under the heel of a boot. Pinch was a giant now, easily the size of a jumbo jet, and his hard carapace gleamed a toffee-apple red. Instead of an insectoid head, Pinch was pleased to see that his own face protruded from the massive body - his adult face. True, it was plated in a thick shell just like the rest of him, as red as a fire engine, but the torso and head were still undeniably…Pinch. His two arms, which ended in clawlike fists, were corded and powerful. He flexed them and was astonished by their strength.
“I’m…fearsome,” he said, shocked at the gravel of his voice.
The Queen of Nightmares nodded. “Yes, you are, my baby. We all have a monster inside us. I just helped you to find yours.”
“Will I stay this way?”
“For a time. Eventually, you will return to your weak and pitiful former self. To regain your power, you will need to drink more. Upon your third taste of my blood, the change will become permanent and then no one will be able to harm you - not even that wretched boy, Charlie Benjamin.”
Pinch smirked. “Unless he gets the Sword of Sacrifice, that is.”
The Queen of Nightmares froze. Her eyes went cold. “Wha
t did you say?”
“The Sword of Sacrifice,” Pinch replied, looking down at her. “It’s one of the Ancient Weapons. It gets its power from the Nether Core and can slay any monster alive - or so it is said.”
The Fifth pursed her lips. “Why did you not think to mention this delightful little tidbit before?”
Pinch laughed. “Because Benjamin will never get that sword, trust me. For him to attain it, his friends would have to pass the Test of Sacrifice. I have seen these friends. They will fail him.”
“Perhaps.” She walked away from him then and, when she next spoke, her voice was as cold and hard as a glacier. “Or perhaps they will surprise you, just as you are now surprised at having become the marvel I see before me. Life is…unpredictable.”
Pinch sighed. “Indeed.”
She walked back to him and lovingly stroked one of his massive legs. “You can’t let him get that weapon, my dark darling. You must kill him before he does. Promise me.”
“It will be done,” he replied. “I promise.”
Moments later, the monster that Pinch had become opened a portal to the Nether - the only creature who could - then stepped through and was gone.
CHAPTER NINE THE TEST OF SACRIFICE
Charlie fell into the abyss.
He had no idea how deep it was, but he knew that he had to find some way to safely bring himself to a stop or he would die. He thought about opening a portal to one of the oceans on Earth so that he could use the water to slow his fall, but quickly realised that that wouldn’t work - at this speed, the water would be as hard as concrete and hitting it would kill him instantly. There had to be another way…
Strangely, his mind flashed to an image of Spider-Man slinging webs through canyons of skyscrapers, never having any problems with the treacherous falls he took.
Must be nice to shoot webs, Charlie thought as he plunged through the terrible dark. Then: Shoot webs. Spider-Man. Spider shoots webs. And he knew what he had to do.
Charlie waved a hand and opened a portal directly beneath him. Through it, he had a bird’s eye view of the Nightmare Academy. He plummeted into the portal and was soon hurtling through the air back on Earth, towards the great tree far below.