by Amy Cross
“But -”
“Is that understood?”
Benjamin took a deep breath. “It's understood.”
“We must hurry,” Edgar continued. “I need to reach the circle before Quill has a chance to get there. I only have the faintest germ of a plan so far, but if it's to stand any chance at all of working, I must have some time alone at the circle in order to prepare.”
***
“He said what?” Quill asked, looking up from his papers.
“He said he wants to meet you at the stone circle at midnight,” Joshua replied. “He said he's ready to face you, but that he wants to do it where no-one else can get hurt.”
“Remarkable,” Quill replied, with a faint smile. “It seems that the cowardly Edgar Le Compte has finally summoned the courage to face justice. I knew he'd come around eventually, but I must admit, I thought it would take longer. Perhaps there is a little more strength in his soul than I had anticipated.”
“So you're going, then?” Joshua asked, clutching his damaged wrist.
“You think I would run?”
“No, but... I mean, Edgar Le Compte is said to be pretty strong.”
“Whereas I am an old man with a cane.”
“I wasn't going to say that, exactly.”
“I have a plan in place,” Quill continued, getting to his feet and grabbing his cane, before making his way around the desk, “and I see no reason to deviate from that plan. Edgar Le Compte will get what's coming to him, but first he will be made to pay a much higher price than mere death. He will need to suffer a nightmare of ten thousand agonies, and then he will beg me to end his pain. Then, and only then, will I maybe consider showing him a little mercy and finishing him off. With the great lord Ashalla on my side, I am certain that I shall prevail.”
“So what are you going to do?” Joshua asked.
Limping toward the doorway, Quill finally stopped and turned back to him. “First, I will make him weep as he watches the agonizing demise of the most important person in his life. I will make him see that his actions have brought irreparable misery to the person whose soul is closest to his.”
“Right,” Joshua replied, pausing for a moment. “And... Who's that, exactly?”
IV
“Come on, Nixon, I know you can do this!”
“Kate -”
“Please!” Standing with Nixon in the library, Kate was starting to lose her patience. “Look, there's no way you can know this, but in the future... I've seen what you're capable of! You're a brilliant scientist and there has to be something you can do to save Jennifer! After everything you achieved with Alice Marco, I refuse to believe that you don't know a few tricks!”
“Alice Marco?” Nixon replied. “And who might she be?”
“The -” Pausing, Kate realized that once again she was on the verge of saying too much. “Never mind.”
“That's the second time you've mentioned someone called Alice to me,” he continued. “Is she important? In the future, I mean. Is she someone I come to care about?”
“She's... Nixon, please, I need you to focus. Jennifer Kazakos is dead right now, but I've spent enough time on Thaxos to know that death isn't always the end, not when there are people like you and Edgar around. Please, there has to be some way to bring her back.”
Nixon stared at her for a moment, before hearing a noise over his shoulder. Turning, he saw that Estella was loitering in the doorway, although she seemed to be standing a little way back, as if she didn't want to be spotted.
“There might be one way,” he said after a moment. “If -”
Before he could finish, Estella turned and began to walk away.
“Get back here!” he called out.
Stopping in the shadows, Estella paused for a moment, before turning back to look at him.
“Don't you want to find out?” Nixon continued, taking a step toward her. “What have you used your powers for so far, Estella? Silly little games? Potions? Why not push yourself and see if you're capable of something truly amazing? Maybe you're not, maybe you're a sixth-grade witch whose only future is in entertaining kids at parties, but maybe you're something much bigger. Third-grade, perhaps, or even second?”
“What are you talking about?” Kate asked. “Estella, is it true?”
“Kate, I -” Estella paused again, before taking a step forward, emerging from the shadows. “Kate, do you remember when you first arrived on Thaxos? In our time period, at least. I came to the store and talked to you, and you called me... You called me the Witch of Thaxos. Those were the exact words you used. The whole thing seemed so hurtful, as if you were merely trying to insult me and get under my skin. You said something about jumping into other bodies and using nightsorrow, and I'll be honest, I thought you were a raving lunatic at the time, but now...”
“Now what?” Kate asked. “Estella, are you starting to be able to do those things?”
“I don't know,” Estella stammered hesitantly. “I mean, maybe some of them. It's so confusing, but ever since that day in the church, it's as if...”
“What happened in the church?”
“I don't even know for certain, but it's as if something has been awakened in me. Some kind of power, or strength, I suppose it must have been dormant until now but...” She paused again. “My mother saw it in me. Right before she died, she saw my new nature and it horrified her. Whenever I doubt things and feel as if it's all ludicrous, I think back to the look of sheer terror in her eyes, and I remember that it's all true.”
“Estella is showing all the signs of witchcraft,” Nixon continued, turning to Kate, “but then... I'm starting to think that this isn't much of a surprise to you, is it?”
Kate paused, not really knowing what to say.
“What am I in the future?” Estella asked. “Tell me the truth, Kate. Am I the happy and proud wife of Baron Edgar Le Compte, or am I some kind of horrible creature? Or something in-between, perhaps?”
“Estella, please...”
“Tell me!”
“I can't,” Kate replied. “Please, don't ask me to talk to you about the future!” She turned to Nixon. “You told me it might be dangerous, that I might change something! I've seen enough movies to know what could happen! If I start filling everyone in on things that happen in the future, I might end up changing history and then everything would just fall apart!”
“Well, that's one theory,” Nixon muttered. “The idea that you could accidentally cause a huge change that would alter everything that happens, perhaps even resulting in a paradox. Time itself could be damaged. On the other hand, there's another theory that everything is already determined, so you can't change the course of history.”
“You're saying that we can't really make our own decisions?” Kate asked.
“Of course we can,” he told her, “but the future you've experienced is the result of those decisions having already been made. To be honest, Kate, I don't know if you can change what happens, not even one jot. If you try to alter the course of events, you might just set them even more firmly in stone.” He paused. “We're in uncharted territory. It's fascinating, really. Almost like living through one huge experiment.”
“Please tell me my fate,” Estella continued, stepping toward Kate with tears in her eyes. “Perhaps I'm being foolish, but I can't help worrying that your reticence is due to... Well, maybe something happens that isn't quite as marvelous as I would have hoped. As one woman to another, I would like to think that you'd do me the courtesy of at least telling me the truth.”
Staring at her, Kate realized that she couldn't hold back any longer. Despite the sadness in her heart, she was too tired to play any more games, and she felt that telling Estella the truth might somehow help Jennifer.
“When I first met you,” she said finally, “in the future, you were -”
“No!” Nixon said suddenly, with a hint of fear in his eyes. “Let's not meddle, eh? Let's leave things be.”
“But you said -”
&n
bsp; “Let's leave things well alone,” he said firmly. “We're already taking enough risks as it is. For God's sake, there's no need to go rushing forward like barbarians.”
“There are tears in your eyes,” Estella said calmly, watching Kate. “I think that tells me enough for now.”
“Are you willing to try to bring someone back from the dead?” Nixon asked her. “There are books here that can help, and it's certainly possible you might succeed. Your abilities are growing, Estella, but something like this could really push you forward and tip you over the threshold into a new level of power. There might be no going back.”
“I...” Estella paused. “If it will help, then of course I must try.”
“I'll find the right books,” Nixon said, hurrying to one of the shelves.
“And I must prepare,” Estella continued, taking a deep breath, as if she was on the verge of panicking. Turning, she hurried to the door. “I shall meet you both in the study.”
Opening her mouth to ask her if she was okay, Kate instead watched as Estella made her way along the corridor. Turning, she saw that Nixon had already pulled a couple of books from the shelves.
“Is there really a chance that this could work?” she asked. “Could Estella actually bring Jennifer back?”
“It's possible,” he replied.
“By by doing so, would she maybe be increasing her powers?”
“She'd be learning a great deal about herself.”
“But if she didn't try,” Kate continued, “and if she never attempted any of this, would those powers lay dormant forever? Would she not become... whatever she becomes in the future?”
Picking up the pile of books, Nixon headed over to join her.
“It's bad, isn't it?”
“What is?”
“The future.”
“I...” Kate paused.
“Estella is what she is,” he continued. “It's very clear from the way you're acting that things aren't going to work out too well for her, and I think she can sense that too. Then again -”
“I didn't see the end,” Kate pointed out, interrupting him. “If I can get back to my own time, maybe there's still time to fix things. Maybe, somehow, things can still be okay for Estella, for everyone. This isn't over yet.”
“Do you know what I think the future is like?” he asked. “I think you and Edgar... I think something just works between the pair of you. You fit together perfectly. I mean, it's nonsense, it's madness, and I don't even think the two of you have acknowledged it properly yet, but it's there and everyone can see it.”
“I don't know what you're talking about.”
“Liar.”
“I -” Pausing, she realized that his words were tugging at some hidden, unspoken truth that had lain dormant in her heart for so long. “I mean... I...”
“And that rather leaves Estella out in the cold, doesn't it?” He paused. “Obviously in the future I shall be a renowned man of great intelligence, and I'm getting the impression that I have a wife named Alice.”
Kate paused, not knowing whether to correct him.
“And I suppose Madeleine is her usual self,” he continued, “although I should like to think that she'll be a little less crazy. Surely she'll tire eventually.”
“It's complicated,” Kate told him.
“Whereas things aren't complicated right now?” he asked, with a faint smile, grabbing the last book and heading toward the door. “Come on, Kate Langley. Let's go and awaken a witch's powers so she can try to bring your friend back from the dead.”
***
“Have either of you heard from Edgar?” Estella asked as the three of them gathered in the study. “Are we sure he's not in the house?”
“Jacob says his coat is missing,” Nixon replied, setting the books down and opening one of them. “He's gone, alright.”
“But where?” Kate asked, heading over to the sofa where Jennifer's crumpled body still lay. “What do you think he's doing?”
“Hopefully he's finally come up with a plan,” Nixon muttered, “rather than...”
Kate waited for him to finish. “Rather than what?”
“Well, rather than running away.”
“Edgar wouldn't run,” Kate replied, looking over at the window and seeing that night was falling across the island. “I know him too well. He's going to make a stand. Quill knocked him down, but he's already getting back up.”
“Either that or -”
“He's not going to run!” Kate said firmly, turning to him. “Trust me, I know Edgar better than...” She paused, realizing that once again she was on the verge of revealing too much. “I know him well enough to understand that he's going to fight back. No-one can keep Edgar Le Compte out of action, not for long.”
“Can we get on with this?” Estella asked, her voice trembling with fear as she stared down at Jennifer. “I should like to...” She paused, before turning to Nixon. “Will it hurt?”
“It might.”
“Oh.” She took a deep breath. “Okay.”
“Estella -” Kate began.
“No,” she replied firmly, “don't tell me. I was wrong earlier, I don't want to know anything about the future.”
“It's not that,” Kate continued, “I just... I wanted to thank you for doing this. You must be scared.”
Estella continued to stare at Jennifer for a moment. “What kind of life would it be,” she said finally, “if one went around avoiding fear all the time?” Finally she turned to Kate. “One must faces one's challenges as they arise, must one not? These powers won't go away if I ignore them. I must get them under control, and this is a useful first step.”
“You'll need this,” Nixon said, passing one of the books to her. “Raising the dead is mainly about mental strength, and about summoning the spirit to reunite with its body. There's an element of persuasion involved, according to the book. It won't work if the spirit prefers to remain dead, and that's a distinct possibility.” He turned to Kate. “The whole thing is really quite remarkable. I'd never put much credence into the whole resurrection malarkey before, but now I'm finding it to be rather fascinating. I wouldn't mind running a few studies on it later, maybe even some basic tests.”
“So what do I do?” Estella asked. “Is there a spell? Do I need some kind of plant or herb?”
“You simply need to act as a bridge,” Nixon told her. “You need to place your hands on the dead woman, and then try to draw the spirit to you so that it can pass through your body and into its old form. At the same time, you need to encourage her broken bones to heal, so that her body is habitable again.”
“How do I do that?”
“Just focus. Hopefully the path will become clear to you once you've started.”
Stepping toward the sofa, Estella knelt and looked at Jennifer's neck, which was at an awkward angle.
“This seems so hopeless,” she whispered, reaching out a hand but stopping short of actually touching the corpse. “How could someone like me, someone so ordinary, be able to influence life and death?”
“Well, give it a go,” Nixon replied. “Nothing ventured, nothing gained, eh?”
Bracing herself, Estella placed a hand on Jennifer's broken neck.
“She's so cold,” she said after a moment. “I can feel the damage under her skin.”
“Try to visualize the bones,” Nixon told her. “Try to imagine them healing, knitting back together one by one and resuming their old shape.”
Silence fell for a moment as he and Kate watched Estella's hand. They were each waiting for some sudden sign of success, perhaps for Jennifer to come gasping and spluttering back to life, but as the seconds ticked past it became apparent that nothing seemed to be happening. Kate glanced at Nixon, and they shared a moment of concern before looking back down at the corpse.
“Anything?” Kate asked finally.
Estella shook her head. “Should I keep trying?”
“Focus on the bones,” Nixon told her. “Try to visualize -”
“You already said that,” Estella snapped, sounding a little impatient. “Maybe I'm not strong enough yet, or maybe I never will be. Maybe this is utter foolishness.”
“Just try,” Kate said firmly. “Please.”
“I am,” Estella continued, “but -” Pulling away suddenly, she looked toward the door. “Edgar?”
“Edgar's not here,” Nixon told her. “Keep going.”
“I thought I heard something,” she replied, pausing for a moment. “A door opening in the distance, or...”
“It was probably just Madeleine,” Nixon continued. “Estella, please, Edgar's not going to walk in on us, and even if he did... Well, just keep trying.”
“Please,” Kate added. “You can't give up yet.”
Without saying anything, Estella looked back down at Jennifer and placed her hand on the dead woman's neck once again. Taking a series of deep breaths, she tried to focus, to imagine the bones being repaired, and to summon the spirit to return to its body. Several minutes passed in silence before, finally, she held her breath, as if something had caught her attention. “Warmth,” she whispered finally.
“What?” Kate asked.
“I feel warmth coming from her,” she replied, “as if -” Before she could finish, a crunching sound could be heard coming from Jennifer's neck. “I felt it again!” she exclaimed, clearly shocked. “I felt the bones move!”
“Keep going,” Nixon continued. “Remember, the body has to be healed before the spirit can re-enter.”
“Is she here?” Kate asked, looking around the room. “I mean... is Jennifer here somehow? Is her spirit watching us?”
“No idea,” Nixon replied. “I suppose that would be useful, though, even if it sounds a little melodramatic.”
“It's happening again,” Estella continued. “I can feel the bones shifting in her neck, as if the damage is being healed.”
“Do you sense her soul nearby?” Nixon asked. “Is there any sign that she's interested in returning to her body?”