by Amy Cross
“The grail,” I read from the piece of paper. I turn it over, hoping that there might be more on the other side, but it appears this entire journey has been all about a scrap of paper with two words written on it. “The grail?” I continue, turning to him. “What does that mean?”
“I felt it was important at the time,” he mutters. “It's hard to remember now, but...”
“Abby's waiting for me,” I remind him. “Please, I need more than this!”
“No-one else believed that the stories about the demons were true,” he continues, “but I read whatever I could find about them. There was mention of a grail, something to do with a plan the demons had been working on when they disappeared, but they needed...” His voice trails off. “I think I was trying to understand why the demon empire fell. They seemed so powerful, there were only twelve of them and they should have ruled forever, but something caused them to die off. If only I could remember...” Shuffling toward me, he takes the piece of paper and stares at it for a moment. “The grail was their solution,” he adds finally. “As they were dying, one of their number rose above the other demons and announced a plan. There was to be a union of some sort, the creation of a grail, but time wasn't on their side and they were wiped out before they could...”
“Before they could what?” I ask.
“Before...”
I wait, but he seems lost in thought.
“Please,” I continue, impatiently, “you have to -”
“Warn her!” he says suddenly, grabbing my arm. “You have to warn Abby! She's the one, she's the only one they could possibly be after! They're going to try to save themselves by creating the grail and the thirteenth demon, and she...” He steps back, his eyes filled with shock. “You have to tell her! The demons aren't trying to recreate their old empire, they're trying to make something new, something better to replace it...”
“What are you talking about?” I ask. “Please -”
“She must not go to Karakh!” he hisses. “Whatever else happens, Abby Hart must never go to Karakh! If she even sets foot in that place, it's all over and -”
I wait for him to continue.
“And what?” I ask. “What'll happen if she sets foot in Karakh?”
He frowns. “I think it's time for breakfast.”
“No,” I say firmly, grabbing his shoulders. “Listen to me! Focus!”
“I held on for as long as I could,” he whispers, with tears in his eyes. “Tell Abby I did my best. Tell her...”
“Tell her what?” I ask, trying not to panic.
He opens his mouth to reply, before slumping forward and collapsing in my arms. When I tilt him back, I immediately see that the life has left his eyes.
“What happens if she goes to Karakh?” I ask, even though I know it's too late. Finally I lower the old man onto the mattress and close his eyes, before realizing I can hear movement nearby. Turning, I see that a couple of the locals are watching from the doorway.
“What did you do to him?” the younger man asks.
“Nothing,” I reply, getting to my feet. “I just tried to get him to explain what he meant. He was -”
“Save it,” says another man, stepping toward me. “You can tell the council at the citadel during your trial for murder!”
“Something attacked him,” I continue, as I take the metal sphere from my pocket, “but it wasn't me!”
“The way I see it,” the younger man sneers, “Tenzac was fine until you showed up.”
“I don't have time to argue with you,” I tell him, turning the top of the sphere. “I'm truly sorry about -”
Before I can finish, I feel a wave of nausea. Stepping back, I turn toward the doorway, only to find that I'm now standing on a dusty outcrop overlooking what appears to be a set of vast craters and canyons. I turn and glance the other way, but there's no sign of anyone nearby. I thought the device would bring me straight to Abby, but I guess that instead I've been deposited a little further away.
“Abby!” I call out, hoping that she might be able to hear me. “Oncephalus!”
I wait, but all I hear is the echo of my own voice.
“Great,” I mutter, still looking around in the hope that I'll spot something useful. “I guess -”
And then I see it. Far away, several miles at least, there's a building on one of the other plateaus. I have to squint a little to see it properly, but it's not hard to guess that we've finally found the fabled palace of Karakh. Now I just have to get there in time to warn Abby not to go inside.
Part Four
The Gates of Karakh
Abby Hart
“What's all this?” I ask as we make our way across the rocky ground. Burned husks are littering the place, and the air is thick with a putrid stench.
“Smells like something died here,” Oncephalus mutters, kicking one of the husks.
I turn to look back at Emilia. “Maybe -”
As soon as I see the tears in her eyes, I realize what must have happened.
“I watched them die,” she says calmly, her voice wavering with just the faintest hint of emotion as she stops and reaches out to touch part of the nearest husk. “Hundreds of magnificent spiders, poised on the verge of their triumphant return to Karakh, and then the demons just destroyed them. They withered and died, and they screamed, and this is all that's left.” She crushes part of a husk in her hand, causing the spider's remains to sprinkle like dust between her fingers. “I led them to their deaths.”
“I'm so sorry,” I tell her. “You shouldn't blame yourself.”
She pauses, before turning to me and forcing a smile. “It's over. There's no point being sorry.”
“But -”
“Let's get moving,” she continues, stepping past me and heading toward the palace itself, which rests a few hundred meters ahead. “Come on, there's no point being sentimental.”
“So many spider carcasses,” Oncephalus mutters. “I almost feel bad.”
“Almost?” I reply, surprised.
“It's different for me,” she explains as we set off after Emilia. “I fought in the great war, I grew up hating the spiders with a passion. Maybe your generation can look at things differently, but for me the hatred is too deeply ingrained.”
“Funny,” Emilia mutters, glancing back at her. “Keller used to say the exact same thing about vampires.”
“Don't compare me to a spider!” Oncephalus hisses, her anger momentarily boiling over. “We're nothing alike.”
“After Keller died,” I tell Emilia, “one of his legs still tried to kill me. It was almost like a muscle memory.”
“Well,” she says with a faint smile, “he was pretty old guard. He meant everything to me, but I could still see his flaws. Sometimes I wonder what he'd say if he could see the mess we're in now.”
“I'm sorry I -”
“Don't,” she adds. “There's no need to apologize. If we keep dredging up the past, we're no better than everyone who went before us.”
“She's rather perceptive,” Oncephalus mutters under her breath. “For a spider.”
We all fall silent as we get closer to the palace. I imagine Emilia is filled with rage at the destruction of her species, and Oncephalus is pretty clearly unable to get over her lifelong hatred of the spiders, but I'm more worried about the prophecy. According to the Book of Gothos, I won't survive my journey to Karakh, and if there's one thing I learned from my father it's that prophecies can never be held back. As we reach the palace's shadow, I feel a tightening sensation in my heart, but I force myself to keep walking.
“It's beautiful,” I whisper as I see the vast, web-formed walls and turrets rising high up toward the afternoon sun. Or what's left of them, anyway, with much of the structure having clearly been burned away. I remember reading in the Book of Gothos about how Karakh was constructed from the silk of only the strongest and most noble spiders. Each generation of the royal bloodline was commanded to add something using their own silk, to the extent that the palace ra
rely stayed exactly the same for too long. Back when I first learned about the spiders, even when I was being told I should hate them, I was always capable of recognizing their finer qualities.
Up ahead, Emilia stops just fifty meters or so from the palace's main gate. When I reach her, I can't help seeing a hint of fear in her eyes.
“Are you thinking about your father?” I ask.
She lets out a faint, unimpressed chuckle. “As if.”
“Emilia,” I continue, “it's okay to -”
“I'm thinking about the demons,” she continues, cutting me off. “They're supposed to be this vast race of unimaginable power, right? We're supposed to be quaking in our boots, but look at the place. They haven't done a damn thing with it. Shouldn't they be building up their forces by now? Shouldn't there be vast, fire-breathing beasts waiting to greet us?”
“You're right to be suspicious,” I reply, “but -”
“Think about it for a moment!” she hisses. “At every step of the way, these demons have twisted things around. Every time we thought we understood what we were facing, they tipped it on its head. And what are we expecting right now? Some kind of resurgent demon empire, determined to rise up and reclaim its place.” She pauses. “So what if they're going to surprise us again? What if...” Her voice trails off for a moment, but I can see the desperation in her eyes as she turns and looks up at the palace. “They let me escape,” she adds finally.
I step closer. “What do you mean?”
“I mean that as much as I'd like to think I broke out of that cell 'cause I'm smart and tough...” She turns to me. “They let me out just as you were getting closer. Don't you think the timing's a little suspicious? They haven't attacked anyone, they haven't shown their hand yet, and there's one very obvious reason for that. I don't think they can.”
“You're a fool if you underestimate them,” Oncephalus tells her. “These demons -”
“Died off!” Emilia continues, taking a step back. “They died, they were gone, they failed at life! Maybe they're not the all-powerful beasts we're supposed to be expecting. Maybe they just had really good P.R. and they're up to something else. Or maybe they were tough, once, but their strength has faded. Maybe they're still on their last legs.”
“So you're saying we shouldn't go inside?” I ask, staring at the palace's vast gate. “We've come too far to turn back now, and if we try to ignore the demons, they'll just grow stronger over time.”
“If you think they're powerless,” Oncephalus mutters, “then how do you explain all the dead spiders we just walked past?”
“I didn't say that they're powerless,” Emilia continues, “just that they might have certain limitations.” She pauses, before turning and making her way toward the gate. “I just don't think we should be in awe of them, that's all. It's not like we're facing some kind of impossible task here.”
“Don't listen to her,” Oncephalus tells me, as Emilia continues to make her way toward the palace's main gate. “She's trying to play down the threat because of the fear in her heart. At the end of the day, spiders were always cowardly creatures. You can't trust her, Abby. If you turn your back on her for even one second -”
“She's on our side,” I reply.
Grabbing my arm, she pulls me vloser. “Don't think like that!” she hisses. “I've let you bring her along this far because maybe she can be useful cannon-fodder, but she's still a spider and spiders are nothing but beasts. She'll turn on you at the first chance she gets!”
I shake my head.
“How can you even bear to look her in the eye?” Oncephalus continues. “She and the rest of her species killed so many of us. She killed Absalom, and now you're acting like she's suddenly your best friend! You're betraying the memory of every vampire who stood to food against those things! You're betraying Absalom!”
“You don't really believe that,” I reply. “You can't!”
“Absalom was my friend,” she says firmly, “and he's dead because of her. Maybe he never meant that much to you, maybe you can ignore his murderer, but I'm having a hard time holding back from tearing her goddamn throat out.” She pauses for a moment, and I can see that the anger in her eyes is genuine. “Use her if necessary,” she continues, “but don't turn your back on her. And if she makes one wrong move, I'll take the matter out of your hands entirely.”
“You mean you'd -”
Before I can finish, I hear a loud, ominous creaking sound from nearby. Turning, I see to my horror that Emilia has already begun to push open the huge wooden gates that lead into the palace.
Jonathan
As soon as I feel my foot slipping on the rocks, I turn and try to steady my balance.
Too late.
I slip and fall, tumbling down the slope until I slam into a set of rocks at the bottom. The impact isn't particularly hard or painful, but the wind is briefly knocked out of me and I let out a frustrated gasp as I start getting back up. So far, after about an hour of trudging across this rock-filled landscape, I feel as if I'm barely any closer at all to the ruined palace in the distance.
“I'm coming, Abby,” I mutter as I start to clamber back up toward the top of the slope. “I'll be -”
Suddenly I stop as I spot movement up ahead. The figure slips quickly out of view, but I freeze for a moment. I haven't seen another soul since I arrived here from the Great Library, and I'd come to assume that I was alone out here. Now, however, I can't help glancing around and wondering whether I'm being watched. I wait for a moment, before figuring that I have to keep moving. When I get to the top of the slope, I look around once again, but there's no sign of anyone so I keep going, climbing over another small ridge and then -
Before I can take another step, the ground crumbles beneath my feet. This time I manage to grab hold of a nearby rock for support, but that too comes loose and I slip down into yet another of the narrow cracks that criss-cross this barren place. Landing harder this time, I feel a snapping sensation in my wrist as I try to break my fall, and I let out a pained cry as I realize I've broken something. The bones will heal pretty quickly, of course, but for now the pain is radiating into my hand and up toward my shoulder as I start pulling myself up from the bottom of the crack.
Feeling as if my frustration is starting to boil over, I stop for a moment, trying to get my strength back. I have to keep going, I have to get to Abby and -
“You're too late, you know,” a female voice says suddenly.
Turning, I see that there's a woman standing a few feet away, watching me intently. She's wearing a white gown, and before I can ask her who she is and what she's doing here, I realize I've seen her before.
In my dreams.
Back in New York, before all of this started, I used to have nightmares about Gothos. In some of them, a woman picked up Abby's crumpled body and carried her inside, but...
“You know who I am, don't you?” the woman continues, taking a step toward me. There's a faint smile on her lips, and maybe tears in her eyes, as she reaches a hand out to help me up. “We never really met when I was alive. I didn't even know you existed, and you ended up being left all alone, but I'm here now.”
I want to say her name, but my chest feels tight with fear and I'm not sure I dare admit what I'm thinking. It can't be her, there's just no way...
“I'm your mother,” she says calmly, with her hand still held out toward me. “My name is Sophie Hart, and I've come to ensure that you don't make a terrible mistake.”
I stare at her for a moment. “My mother is dead,” I tell her finally.
“I know. I died a long time ago, at the hands of your father. You've been told the story many times over.”
I wait for her to continue, but finally I take hold of her hand and allow her to help me up. I half expect to find that she isn't solid, that I can't touch her at all, but her grip is firm and her flesh feels warm.
“At times of great danger,” she continues, “it's possible for the souls of the dead to come back and try to help. I
t's too late for me to step in and do anything for Abby, she's already at Karakh, her fate is sealed, but you still have a chance to make the right choice. Abby's destiny isn't the same as yours, Jonathan, but if you enter the palace of Karakh with her, you'll die at her side. No-one gets out of that place alive, the prophecy is too strong.”
“Is she there already?” I ask.
She nods. “At this moment, she and the others have just stepped across the threshold. It was always prophesied that Abby would meet her death at Karakh, there's nothing anyone can do to change that. It breaks my heart to think of my daughter walking into the jaws of death. Believe me, if there was even a sliver of hope, I'd tear the universe apart for her, but...” She pauses for a moment. “I never even knew you existed,” she adds finally. “I didn't remember giving birth to Abby, either, and it was only later that I learned about her. I was so focused on finding her, it never occurred to me that I've had twins. Your father didn't know either, we only learned once we'd both passed on to the next level of existence, and by then it was too late to change anything. You were left alone, but I from that moment on I knew there'd come a time when I had to return and help you. I knew I could still change your destiny, and the time has finally come.”
“I have to help Abby,” I tell her.
“No,” she says firmly, “you don't. You've already done enough, and this isn't your battle.”
“She's my sister!”
“You barely know her.”
“She's walking to her death,” I point out. “In the short time I've been with her, I've seen enough to know that she's the bravest, strongest person I've ever met.”
“And she has to be brave enough to face Karakh and the demons alone,” Sophie replies. “Trust me, if you go there and try to help, you'll just be throwing your life away. It's a miracle that you survived the attack at Gothos.”
“So you want me to turn around and leave?”
“I know it's hard, but once she's dead Abby will understand.”