by Paul Simpson
Chapter 13
Limbo
One after the other the lantern then the bow passed through the portal in Ffion’s hands. She gave a sign of relief, mainly for not being blasted across the room as she had witnessed before. With a deep breath she took a step forward and entered through to the other side.
The portal light glowed behind Ffion as she stood in complete darkness, just the lantern in her hand lighting up her upper body and shining on the metal parts of the crossbow.
“OK, here goes,” she muttered to herself, trying to bolster herself up but not really succeeding. Off she walked into the eternal darkness, slowly leaving the blue glow from the doorway behind. As she walked the ground seemed to change beneath her feet. Sometimes it felt like concrete and her boots echoed with each step like walking through an old school corridor, minutes later it was as if she was on grass, which brought with it an eerie silence only matched by the sound of watching falling snow on a silent night.
As she continued to walk, she tripped on something, causing her to stamp on it with her other foot. A loud screech sounded through the dark veil around her as she felt whatever it was underfoot pull away. Ffion quickly held up the light and crossbow as a low growl seemed to surround her. She could hear the thud of large paws upon the floor and the tapping of claws upon the ground as whatever it was walked around her.
Turning quickly around, the creature shrieked in pain as the lantern's light glimmered in its six eyes and saliva-coated large jaws as it retreated back into the darkness. Ffion in her shock, fired off a bolt and heard a cry of pain from the creature. “Wow lucky shot I guess.”
Her smile turned to fright as from all around her came movement. Growls and moans could be heard along with the now-familiar sound of the claws tapping on the ground, but the noises were moving away from her and in the direction of the first creature.
With a sudden yelp in pain from the first creature’s position, the other noises seemed to attack the wounded beast. Louder and louder the noises grew as they fought among themselves over the spoils of the fight for a meal long-needed, until there was silence again. Ffion listened carefully as the sound of movement approached her while she continued to walk. From all around she could tell there were multiple creatures surrounding her, waiting for their moment to strike. Trying not to panic she walked on, all the time catching glimpses of tails, fur, eyes and claws.
Looking back, the portal was still in view, a small speck in the distance, disappearing intermittently as the creatures passed by her gaze. She took another deep breath. This wasn’t like the other time and she would be kidding herself to think she wasn’t just a tiny bit scared. Without warning there was a large hiss and wail from the creatures around her as they suddenly ran away and the blue glow of the portal could clearly be seen again. The silence returned. Ffion turned to continue her search only for her eyes to be met by a new light in the distance when a small, orange speck appeared. Jack scuffled along with his pumpkin aglow, lighting his face up as he went to inspect the new light.
“Who is it? Who’s there?” he barked as he got closer and closer. “Is that you again Hobs, or whatever you want to call yourself, playing one of your tricks on me again?”
Jack’s vision was blinded by the bright lantern, making it hard to see who was there until he was within a few meters of Ffion.
“YOU!” he snarled at her, “I suppose you’ll be wanting this then?” He reached under his shirt collar, lifting the string around his neck. Upon it was Jodie’s ember necklace.
Ffion’s eyes opened wide and she gave a small gasp. “Jack, I don’t want any trouble, I only want the necklace.”
Jack’s face twisted in disagreement as he pointed his bony finger at her. “YOU, YOU sent me back here. Why should I do anything for you?” He raised his hand to attack her.
Ffion quickly raised her own and pointed the crossbow at him. “Please, I just want the necklace?”
Jack backed off a little, inspecting the weapon. “So you want this back and your plan was to come in here and threaten me all along eh! I’ll tell you now, that pea-shooter won’t work on me. Save it for the beasts in the darkness, he he he.” He lunged forward, striking out at Ffion. She quickly dodged out of the way and fired two magically-charged bolts at him. As the bolts flew, the magic faded from them before striking him in the chest. Jack looked down and calmly pulled them out with a sharp, quick tug, dropping them to the floor.
“Have you forgotten I’m already dead, pushed back to this Hell hole before I could regain my mortality? And I’ll tell you this for free, magic is absorbed in here, if you’re not touching it it’s not going to work. Here, let me show you.”
In the blink of an eye Jack disappeared in the dark, not even the glow of his ember could be seen. Ffion spun around looking for him as she held the lantern high and the crossbow at the ready. “You’re on my hunting ground now, Witch. What were you thinking, that you could just come in here and defeat me? Let's see how easy you find it without a light." Appearing from the darkness Jack swiped at Ffion’s hand and sent the lantern flying across the floor several feet away before he disappeared again.
“Not scared of the dark are you?” he asked. “Look how the light dies once it’s out of your grasp." He laughed as his voice faded into the dark around her.
Ffion panicked and ran for the storm lantern but the magic faded and the dark swallowed it up before she could reach it. Raising her crossbow she stood ready for an attack, the only sound that could be heard was her breathing in the echoing darkness with nothing around her but silence. Ffion looked around to gain a bearing of where she could be. Turning she caught sight of the blue glow from the doorway and slowly began to move toward it.
“Where are you going, Witch?” came Jack’s voice. “Not leaving me so soon? You’ve only just got here.”
From behind Ffion, Jack appeared, who hit her in the back, nearly knocking her over as she stumbled. Turning quickly she took aim and listened when again came another blow from Jack as he passed by her, striking her arm and causing her to fire off a shot from the bow.
“Come on WITCH, I’m right here, shoot straight.”
Ffion twisted to where she thought Jack was and fired.
“HA HA ha ha. Close that time but keep trying.” Jack’s hand again struck Ffion across the face.
Ffion fired again but this time was met by another sound. From the darkenss came a screech and howl of pain as one of the bolts found a target. She listened carefully as the sound turned to a growl, which seemed to rise up and begin to approach her.
“Oh Ffion, what have you done? That’s one kitty you really didn’t want to upset ha ha ha.”
Ffion’s breathing became more laboured in the panic as she could hear the creature moving around her. With a blast of air she felt what must be another one run past, its tail swinging low, tripping her over to the floor. She jumped back to her feet and closed her eyes. Slowly she began to control her breathing until it was near silent, listening carefully to her surroundings. One of the large creatures began to move and Ffion turned and fired. With a howl she knew she had hit her target. There was more movement from behind as she turned again and fired two shots, again both hitting their mark as she heard the cry of pain.
Once more the sound of a charge came at her and she steadied her aim and fired with an empty click. The bolt chambers were empty and the sound grew louder. Timing her swing she used the bow as a club, hitting the hidden creature away with a lucky blow. The beast fell to the floor, its tail whipping across Ffion’s chest, winding and knocking her over as well as sending the crossbow flying out of her grip and into the darkness.
“Oh dear, Witch, lost all your little toys now haven’t we?” Jack’s voice came out of the darkness. “Pity you haven’t spent a few hundred years in here, you get to learn a few tricks.”
Ffion now had nothing as she caught her breath and climbed back to her feet. Jack once again began his attack on her.
“I’ll make you suff
er like I have in this place and then I’ll take my leave through the doorway you kindly left open and leave you here to rot.”
Appearing from the darkness again Jack began to attack his now unarmed opponent. Fists flew as Ffion defended herself from the barrage of blows off Jack. With his lantern algow, he used its magic to power himself up, becoming stronger and faster. Although Ffion had done a good job of defending herself before, Jack’s new speed was making it difficult to stop him. The first of the blows landed across her face with a much stronger impact than before. Slightly dazed, she continued to defend herself from the increased attack as they moved ever closer back to the portal doorway.
With another backhanded blow to the face, which felt like it was going to break her cheekbone, Ffion fell to the floor just a few metres from the portal.
“It’s been a real pleasure ‘beating’ you, but now I must take my leave,” said Jack, kicking Ffion’s stomach and causing her to curl up on the pain. Jack laughed and stepped over her, heading for the spinning portal.
Ffion gasped for air, opening her eyes. As Jack moved away she caught sight of what looked like a broken metal pole in two pieces, the largest being about five-foot long with something attached to it. She quickly scurried across the floor before it was lost again in the darkness. Reaching out, she grabbed the metal hollow pipe with the tips of her finger and clawed at it until she had a grip. Using it to pull herself up, she once again climbed to her feet and took the pipe in both hands, ready to fight.
With an infusion of power the pipe began to glow white, illuminating the area around her in a dull glow and also revealing what was attached to the other end. With a firm grip, a hand was stuck on the other end, along with the arm up to the shoulder, where it was bloodied from where it must have been ripped off. There was some kind of badge on the sleeve, resembling, from what she could still make out, a medical research facility. Peeling off the fingers, the arm squelched as it hit the floor. The noise got Jack's attention and he looked over to see Ffion standing ready with the pole in her hands, the bruises and scratches from the beating he had given her already starting to heal.
“No, it can’t be!” he cried with a worried tremble in his voice, as Ffion charged toward him she spun the pole around herself to attack, which gave a ghostly hollow sound in the air as it moved. With a flurry of hits they each gave as good as they got, blow after blow in the light of the white pole spinning in Ffion’s grasp and from the orange ember glow in Jack’s pumpkin.
“Give me my MOTHER'S NECKLACE BACK!” she shouted at him, thrusting the pipe toward his face, one of the blows managing to connect with him.
Jack fought back. The ember still gave him speed and strength to fight off most of the blows from Ffion’s weapon, but not enough. With a sweep to his legs Jack fell to the floor, and with a second blow to his head he was down. The pumpkin fell from his grasp and rolled away.
“NOoooooooooo!” he cried, reaching out for it. With a loud slam of metal, Ffion forced the pipe into the ground between him and the ember, blocking his way.
She stood over him, looking down at the pathetic mess he’d become. “No ember no power right? Pity, for you that is.”
Jack reached in his shirt and pulled out the ember necklace and smiled. “But I still have this don’t I? Let me go and I’ll trade. If not then I throw it and it’ll be lost forever in the dark, so what say we co-operate a little?”
Ffion contemplated the offer. Even though she had the upper hand in the fight she could still lose what she needed. “FINE, but first I want to know why. Why the witches? Why the portals? And what is the prophecy they all spoke of?”
Jack sat upright clutching his prize as a bruised smile came across his face. “A truce, he he. Unexpected but I like it. Very well I’ll tell you the grand plan seeing as you’ve obviously destroyed it all on your way to finding me. But first tell me what links you to the owner of this possession?”
Ffion hesitated for a moment before replying. “It belonged to my mother.”
Jack smiled even more “Well, well, well. I thought there was a family resemblance. So the witch's daughter still lives. And what of your mother? But wait! If you need this then I’d wager her soul is trapped. I take it she was killed, but of course she was. It was my dying act that summoned the witch finder to your village, of which I already had the coven on my side. Amazing what the bribe of power and life can get you, then throw in a random prophecy I to really scare them into thinking I was to be their saviour, leading them on a great quest to save everyone and of course helping themselves along the way. Your mother might have dealt me a mortal blow but that doesn’t mean I was entirely out of the picture. My plan was a simple one. To never die and if I did, to have an escape plan as I knew my ways would send me to Hell. As the Devil bided his time for my soul I taught myself in the ways of his magic, every scrap of information I could find. All I needed to do then was build myself an escape route, as many as possible that would anchor my soul back to the realm of the living."
"As I knew my ultimate destination would be here, I needed all the chances I could make. I scoured the land in search of hotspots that would boost the anchors' powers and thin the divide out between here and the mortal worlds. When I finally stumbled upon the village, I knew I had found a main source of power, a convergence of five lay lines, so I made my largest anchor and placed the mansion upon it. In fact I placed buildings upon all of them, they were hidden under the ground.
“What are anchors?” questioned Ffion. “How do you use them?”
“Now that’s the question isn’t it? An anchor is whatever you want it to be, much like putting a wooden peg in the ground and tying a rope around it. When you die the rope is still fastened around your soul and it becomes possible under the right circumstances to climb out.”
Jack thought for just a second or two about Ffion’s questions. “Your mother is trapped isn’t she? She has an anchor of her own? Yes I can see from your face it’s true."
Ffion nodded. “Yes it’s true, but why are you here and she’s…”
“Trapped in the village I’d guess, yes?” asked Jack. I take it Jodie found all my work and has copied my spells, clever girl. But if she’s in the village then she must be in the stones upon the hillside?”
Ffion looked at Jack sharply, wondering how he could know this.
Jack laughed. “Your mother would need an area of five objects where she could place an anchor. Within the stones would be the most likely place in the village and it would keep any magic in a confined space, giving her power, especially given the power of the location already.”
“You also had five markers didn’t you. Each of the witches were there but why did they turn to your side. Why is my mother’s prison different to yours, and the portals how do they work?” questioned Ffion.
“Questions, questions, questions, it’s a good job time has little meaning in here eh. You’re correct, bravo for paying attention. I have five markers just like your mother and I had the five witches from the coven protecting them. You see, when I died I knew my soul would be taken, so I needed a larger rope to climb up. That is why they are so far apart from each other, placed along the conjoining lay lines from the village. But the witches had no real power, unlike your mother, so I promised them a power, I just needed a sacrifice to get ‘the ball rolling’ as they say, and that was your mother’s part in my plan."
"With her death she would be out of my way and her ashes would super charge the core of the lay lines and feed each witch with immortality and power to command. As long as they stayed where they were. If they left the area then they would lose their magic and begin ageing until they returned, I’m sure when you met them they looked different ages?”
“A bribe is all it took to turn them?” asked Ffion
“Well,” fumbled Jack, “that and a prophecy that your mother's power and having a child by a mortal man would bring about the end of everything. This was to make them believe they were doing it for the grea
ter good, a powerful motivator when offered with true power."
"Don’t get me wrong, the prophecy is correct, I just gave it a connection to your mother to nudge them onto my team with a little scare. Your mother was killed so her anchor keeps her in your world, but she’s trapped which is why you need to trade the souls of those who betrayed her, leading to her death."
"This necklace is the final key to unlocking the door. Had Jodie not been killed or the other witchs' were already dead, her anchor would have returned her to life again within 24 hours, a fate I was trying to accomplish on the night we met"
"I already know your next question, the portals. Portals can be opened and shut by the same person as long as they are in the same state of being when they do it. The portal I made in the mansion would have stayed open forever because I would have changed from spirit to human given the chance.”
“So you would have escaped but dammed the earth to a living hell?” spat Ffion at Jack.
“YES, YES. YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT IT’S LIKE IN HERE, TO SPEND AN ETERNITY IN DARKNESS WANDERING. I PAID MY DUES HERE AND I FINALLY GOT OUT, then you put me back in to rot. IT’S NOT FAIR."
"A hell on earth would have been better than this life of eternal hell. I know I did wrong, I know I was mean, cruel and unkind. All I’ve had time to do here was find an escape and think about what I did as a man. I just want an end to it now.”
Jack sobbed as he stared Ffion in the eyes. “Please, take me with you and I’ll give you what you want. The portal is yours, you can close it so no harm will come from anything in here.”
Ffion’s expression changed as she relaxed slightly “All right, a truce. Once we get out I’ll shut the portal and you give me the necklace. DEAL?” She extended her hand to him.
Jack stood up and reached out his hand in return. With a shove, he pushed Ffion over to the floor and laughed as he picked up the pumpkin and ember from the floor, running for the portal. “YOU FOOL,” he shouted as he ran. “What part of I’m mean and cruel didn’t you understand?” And he jumped through the portal to his escape.
As the growls of the creatures returned and began to draw close again, Ffion picked herself up and gave chase after Jack and her mother's necklace. The creatures around her turned away sharply as the light from the glowing pipe lit up their features as she ran past.
Inside the mansion the portal sparked and glowed as Jack appeared from the other side. Smiling with glee he seemed a little bewildered at his surroundings but quickly made his way outside, the glow from the lantern lighting up the webbing as he moved. From outside Jack took a deep breath as he looked up and saw a flash from the portal in the attic, signaling Ffion’s return. The blue light it gave off started to dim as she closed it down.
Jack smiled. “Good luck finding me this time,” he said to himself and he turned to run for the forest's edge only to be met with a sudden, swift end by the blade of a Reaper.
The blade sliced through his spirit body from his shoulder down through his waist with ease. The necklace and pumpkin dropped to the floor as his body burst into glittering fragments, which formed together in a golden soul orb with inky black marks swirling and streaking through it like ink in water. The Reaper quickly grabbed it to inspect. The black inky marks swirled around and formed Jack's screaming head as the Reaper brought it closer to its face, before slowly crushing it in its hand. Jack's soul popped like a bubble into a golden glitter that swirled into the air, while the black goop within splashed to the floor, finishing Jack's soul off for good. His death scream resounded through the dark night.
Ffion who was in pursuit of Jack, heard the scream as she came running out of the building. She was met with the sight of the slain soul in the Reaper's hand wisping away into the air and slowly disappearing. The Reaper turned its attention to her. She looked to the ground and could see the necklace in the grass. The Reaper noticed this and stepped forward, raising its scythe handle and hammering it down hard, smashing the ember into pieces.
Ffion screamed out in horror. The last part of the puzzle to her mother's freedom was destroyed. In her fury she spun the metal pole and grabbed it with both hands, ready to fight. Like a swing from a baseball match, Ffion hit the Reaper in the ribs with a loud crack of bones. Swinging again, the Reaper lifted its scythe to protect itself but the blow was too powerful as it smashed through the wooden handle and into its head, knocking it to the floor. With a wave of her hand Ffion lifted the blade from the scythe above the Reaper and sent it shooting down through its chest, pinning it to the floor. It struggled to free itself in a last futile attempt before dying.
Ffion returned to the necklace almost in tears and gathered up the fragments in her hand. “I’m sorry mother, I was so close after everything.”
Finding a pocket, she put the pieces safely away. Over by Jack's fallen pumpkin the ember he used was glowing bright. Reaching over, she picked it up and held it in her hand. With a flicker from the ember its glow began to shift and move in an orange mist. It rose up and out, leaving the ember blackened and dead, then softly lowered into Ffion’s left hand, absorbing into her skin as the glow traveled up and through her arm into her body. Ffion felt strong again, more powerful with the boost of the ember but it was little consolation for the loss of the necklace.
With a shifting of footsteps in grass Ffion turned suddenly to see where the noise was coming from. Before her stood two more Reapers, who readied their scythes and came in for the attack. Picking up the pipe again Ffion defended herself as the fight moved downhill and into the village area. Into the streets and around the buildings the fight continued as Ffion backed away in order to find the upper hand. These Reapers were different, stronger than the others as they bounced off walls, attacking from above and below. It was all Ffion could do to fend off each attack as she moved into the next street, still fighting as the sparks flew from the pipe. Still on the move Ffion notice her car was parked up here and hoped George was clear of the area. As they passed the car still fighting, one of the Reaper's blades passed through the roof. Ffion gave a gasp and hoped George had since moved on.
Inside, George was cleaning himself as he sat with his bottom out and leg cocked high into the air. With a sudden blow the Reaper's scythe cut through in front of him, shaving his whiskers on one side. He held his position and looked up in shock, his tongue still sticking out as he wondered what had just happened. As the blade withdrew he shook himself back to reality and peeked his head above the door to see Ffion fighting next to him. Giving his leg a shake to make sure he could jump without any pain, he readied himself for the right moment.
As the fight continued, Ffion had turned, which meant the Reapers now had their back to the car. With a jump, George leapt from the car window onto one of the Reaper's backs and began to claw at its head. Ffion smiled as she saw her friend had come to her rescue, which distracted both the Reapers. She swung the pipe and crushed the arm and ribs of the first Reaper as it dropped to the floor in pain. With a wave of magic she changed George back to his leopard size. A scratch from his longer claws caused the Reaper to scream as George leapt from its shoulders. His claws pulled at the hood, pulling it over the Reapers eyes.
Ffion spun around 360 degrees as the pipe made contact with the second Reaper's neck, breaking it instantly. Its heavy body dropped to the floor. She caught the falling scythe with the pipe and slid it toward her. With a spin of the handle she swung the blade into the body of the second Reaper, finishing it off.
“Nice timing,” smiled Ffion to George
“No problem, but next time a little warning. I lost half my whiskers that time,” complained George. “So how did you do, did you get it?” he asked inquisitively.
“Come on, it’s probably best I tell you all together,” she said with a saddened voice.