Crisanta Knight: To Death & Back

by Geanna Culbertson

  “I got all the girls out,” I told the waiting specters. “They should be in the ballroom. How much time do I have?”

  “Practically none,” Elaine responded. “The sun is setting now. The Bluebeards are on the way to the Chamber. You haven’t got long before they discover you’re gone.”

  I ran out of the supply closet and into the ballroom. The stone floor was scattered with broken chokers. The girls in red were climbing the ladder to the exit door by the ceiling seventy feet above. Their progress was slow because of their long, red gowns, but the first group of ladies was about to reach the exit and pretty much all of the girls had started climbing. The stone ladder was so massive it could support many people at once.

  I turned around and realized that all the ghosts had materialized and were floating behind me in a half circle.

  “You freed the girls!” Colleen exclaimed.

  “Which means I’m fifty percent done,” I said. “For your spirits to be free of this place, all of your unfinished business needs to be completed. I need to stop Daverose and his kind from doing this ever again.”

  “Crisa …” Charlotte said. “The Bluebeards and tigermen are inbound. You’ve done enough. You should get out of here while you have the chance. You can’t save everyone, so just focus on the living, not the dead.”

  “No way,” I said. I glanced up at the grand electric chandelier. It crackled with conductivity as fiercely as my brain did. “Besides, I have an idea.”

  I raced over to the ladder and called up to the climbing girls. Several had already gone through the door and the last one on ground level had just started her ascent. “Hey! Keep going up no matter what. You girls on the lower rungs, hold on tight!”

  “Why?” one girl near the middle shouted.

  “Because there’s going to be a flood. This place needs to go down.”

  I didn’t wait for them to respond. I dashed to the dais by Daverose’s throne staircase. The ghosts surrounded me. “Keep the girls climbing. I’ll probably need you in a minute.”

  Laurel looked worried. “Crisa, what are you going to do?”

  “This.” I planted my hand on the dais. My magic had been resting for a while now; I felt sure I could muster one shot. It took a lot—everything I had left, as a matter of fact—but I forced the magic out of me. I commanded the dais to break a window. My power enveloped the hefty podium, lifted it off the ground, and sent it toward a lower window with maximum force.

  Bam!

  A large crack formed at the point of impact. The fissure began to spread menacingly until jagged streaks consumed a huge section of the glass. The dais knew its job was not done though, so it pummeled the window twice more.

  Crash!

  The glass shattered and a gargantuan red wave swept across the ballroom. It would have carried me away and slammed me against the back wall had I not veered for cover behind the wraparound staircase that led to Daverose’s throne.

  The water poured into the room and the girls on the ladder froze. “Keep going!” I yelled. They got over their shock and hastened their ascent.

  I found my footing despite the fast-moving current that thudded against my legs. Since the ballroom doors were wide open, the water began pouring into the Tower at large, which meant the ballroom wouldn’t flood until the rest of this floor was covered too. I felt certain the girls would have enough time to get out.

  I tried to summon my magic again, just to see if I could, but it was no use. That really had been my last manageable burst. No matter how hard I focused, I could not muster a spark. I felt the depletion of Magic Exhaustion.

  That’s when I swallowed the bitter truth. Liza had said that soon enough I would have to call upon Magic Instinct. I knew this time was about to be upon me.

  “I take it back.” Elaine said by my side. “You’re not brilliant. You’re straight-up insane.”

  “Po-tay-to, po-tah-to,” I said with a shrug. “Just make sure all the girls get out, no matter what happens.”

  “Why? What’s going to happen?”

  “We’re going to have company.”

  I took my leave and began to skid down the splashy corridors of Bluebeard Tower. When I arrived in the east wing, the entire first floor was already submerged in one-and-a-half-feet of water and mounting.

  I sped in the direction of the Chamber, as I knew that’s where the Bluebeards had been headed for my planned execution. I desperately wanted my wand back, but my overall goal was to lead the monsters to the ballroom where I could see my plan through. I needed them all in one place in order to—

  I shook my head. I didn’t want to think about it right now.

  I rounded the corner and spotted my whole assembly of enemies fifty meters away—Daverose, twelve extra Bluebeards, and plenty of tigermen. They’d already been hastening in the direction of the ballroom. In retrospect, the water had probably been a dead giveaway that something was awry. Level rising, I stood my ground as the dark red lake spilled into my boots.

  “Catch me if you can, Beardos!” I shouted.

  Boy did that do it. They took off after me with more bloodlust than a clan of vampires after a fast.

  I spun on my heels and moved as fast as the water would allow. By the time I made it to the hallway that led to the ballroom, the water was past my waist and my enemies were less than twenty feet behind.

  Eep!

  I began to swim. Wading wasn’t going to do it anymore.

  When I reached the middle of the ballroom I paused and looked up to discover that only a dozen girls were left and they were on the highest third of the ladder. The ghosts were hurrying them along.

  I whirled around as Daverose and the rest of the monsters burst in. They had transformed into their beastly other halves en route and had become a gathering of the most gruesome-looking creatures I’d ever seen. They also appeared ready to tear me apart.

  Daverose’s monstrous eyes nearly bugged out of his skull when he realized that his precious birds were fleeing the coop.

  “Stop them!” he shouted. “Bring back the girls, dead or alive!”

  “I don’t think so,” I said. I planted my feet firmly on the floor of the drowning ballroom, the rising red water up to my chest.

  Daverose narrowed his eyes at me and removed a dagger from a sheath at his hip. When he brushed aside his cape to do so, I spotted my wand still in its axe form.

  “You have something of mine,” I said.

  “Bring back the others, but kill her first,” Daverose said, ignoring me and glancing at his brethren. “First one to sever her head gets fifty percent off all purchases for the rest of their lives.”

  Anger surged through me as I thought about what a despicable character Daverose was. Fear of being killed in eight different ways pounded my nerves. My desperation to save the girls, free the ghosts, and end this nightmare pulsed through me with the strength of a Category Nine earthquake.

  Instead of pushing all that emotion away, I leaned into it.

  As the Bluebeards charged, I let the emotion fill me like the water filled the room. Power boiled within. I could feel my body protest from Magic Exhaustion, but I forced my way past the hurt and did that which came least natural to me. For the first time, I completely let go.

  A bright, painful glow erupted from my body and rippled through the water. It felt like a blow to the stomach. It ached worse than when Daverose had sucker-punched me in the Chamber. Then Magic Instinct took hold. What I did next was a reflex, like my body was already in motion before my brain decided on the intention.

  I stomped my foot onto the checkered floor. The tiles rose up like a tidal wave and crashed into the onslaught of monsters heading toward me. The resulting splash of foes and loose tiles caused the room to shake, but I held steady.

  I now understood the meaning of the saying “It hurt so good.” For only in surrendering to the power inside me did I finally comprehend how hard I actively worked to keep it in check. I was like a prisoner who had been incarcerate
d for so long that I had gotten used to the restraints. Now with a taste of freedom, I realized what I’d been missing. Magic Instinct was intoxicating. That burst of emotion-driven, autopilot-generated power had felt incredible.

  In spite of this, I shook my head and reined in the emotion and power again so I could take stock of the situation. All the girls were gone now, free and in the clear. The ghosts were floating near the ceiling. I whistled and they came whizzing over as I treaded water. “Help me distract them.” I gestured to the fallen Bluebeards and tigermen. “Give ’em a head rush!” The ghosts understood what I was saying and began rushing in and out of our foes’ heads mercilessly.

  The monsters hollered with pain as my specter friends repeatedly inflicted the type of brain freeze Elaine had given me earlier. I saw Daverose across the room. He’d been taken down by the tidal wave but was getting up. I paddled to the steps of the throne and scaled them. Half were already submerged; the water level was easily up to six feet now.

  At the top of the staircase I zeroed in on the glow coming off Daverose’s side—my axe—before locking eyes with the monster himself. “Hey!” I yelled. “You and me, Gigantore. Let’s go!”

  Daverose came at me, accepting the challenge. With his massive stature he could cut through the water much more easily than I could.

  “Elaine, Charlotte, Colleen!” I shouted and pointed.

  Just before Daverose reached me, Elaine plowed through his skull. Colleen and Charlotte followed. The Bluebeard roared in pain and I dove off the platform into the water and shot around his side. As my ghostly friends continued to assault him, I went for my axe hanging from his belt. Swiftly I grasped the handle.

  Wand.

  Lapellium.

  The weapon morphed and shrunk down instantly, slipping out of the attachment to Daverose’s belt. I quickly moved away and secured the wandpin to my bra strap.

  Check that off the list.

  I darted to the surface and back to the stairs of Daverose’s throne. The ghosts were doing good work, but they were only stalling. The water level was not high enough yet. Some of the Bluebeards and tigermen were already swimming in my direction or toward the ladder to go after the girls.

  I need more water.

  Magic Instinct was my only option. It might cost me down the line, but I would worry about that later.

  I unleashed.

  Again I experienced a sucker-punch to my gut. Letting go to my magic and emotion was a double-edged sword. I had great power locked away inside, but it was painful for my physical body to sustain it while under the duress of Magic Exhaustion. And yet, releasing that level of power was so fundamentally satisfying. Best I could describe, it was difficult to endure but felt effortless to surrender to.

  Fueled by the emotions overtaking me, a golden glow radiated off my skin like flames; even my eyes seemed to burn with it. I was not in control of my actions, but my Magic Instinct seemed to know what I needed in order to protect myself. My body jolted in reflex and I shot out my hand. A condensed ball of energy pulsed forth like a comet. The light blasted across the room into the grand doors of the ballroom. The exit slammed shut, obeying the wishes of my Magic Instinct. The force of the water pummeled against the doors, but they refused to budge. The water level began to rise much more drastically as a result.

  I kept letting the fear, anger, and desperation overwhelm me. My subconscious deep inside remained anxious about this choice, but as I filled with strength, there was no denying the truth I’d feared discovering: letting emotion run wild was a way easier means for channeling power than forcing focus.

  The energy throbbed inside me. My magic could not have felt more painful and delicious. Though my body was feverish from exertion, my glow only brightened. It liked being unleashed.

  Several Bluebeards had almost reached me at that point. I moved on autopilot and gripped the back of Daverose’s throne, Magic Instinct still raging through me. In a swift jerk, the throne followed the instinct—ripping itself from the platform and smashing through another section of window.

  Water blasted through. I dove off the other side of the throne steps to avoid the wave. The nearby Bluebeards did not escape the rush. When it burst through, it swept them away.

  I swam as hard as I could to make it to the ladder on the side of the room. By the time I did, the ballroom was half full.

  I clutched the ladder and hoisted myself up, barely moving fast enough to outclimb the rising water. The monsters bobbed around, swimming for the surface. Many were caught in the swell I’d released; some had gotten pushed against the back wall. I didn’t know where the ghosts had gone. Maybe they couldn’t sustain their forms in this level of rushing water. I hoped they were okay.

  I reached the final step and ascended to the doorway of escape. I spun around and gulped. My silver SRB sparks flickered like the nervousness inside me. Everything had been leading up to this moment.

  Daverose and several of his kin were seconds from reaching the ladder. Soon they would come after me and the girls. They would continue to come after any maiden in Camelot unless someone stopped them.

  My heart throbbed with uncertainty, but there was no time left to stall. I’d hatched this plan and needed to shut out the second-guessing and see it through. I swallowed down my reluctance and sense of mercy. I could not give either a place here if this evil was to be stopped and the girls and I were to survive.

  My eyes darted to the chandelier.

  I’d figured out how to destroy the Bluebeards when I’d first returned to the ballroom after escaping the Chamber. It was a natural solution inspired by our escape from the citadel, and it was the only way to protect myself from all these monsters that wanted to kill me. I had faith my Magic Instinct would feel the same way and respond accordingly if I gave it the chance. So I did.

  For a final time in this chapter, I let myself fall into the intoxicating toxicity of Magic Instinct. It was more painful this time; I was pushing myself way past the limit. But I grit my teeth and did what had to be done. I let go and trusted my magic would finish the job.

  Channeled by Instinct, all my residual power consumed the immense electric chandelier. The bright blue thing cringed in my golden aura, coming to life. Then the draping garlands that connected it to the ceiling hinged back like spider legs. In a magnificent thrust, the whole fixture ripped itself from the roof, pushed off the ceiling, and dove toward the water—its torn-out circuits spraying sparks like mad.

  I bolted through the door but glanced back over my shoulder just in time to see the chandelier and its dozens of electrical wires plunge into the flood. Electricity surged through the water like lightning. I turned away and slammed the exit door behind me, trying to drown out the sound of the agonizing final screams of the Bluebeards.

  he sky was streaked with orange and navy as the sun set in the distance.

  I stood on the bridge outside the fort that led to Bluebeard Tower. The water level of the lake was slightly lower—a side effect of the massive amount needed to fill the compound. As a result, the wooden bridge no longer sat on the surface of the lake, but several inches above it. Droplets ran off its wooden edges in an almost peaceful manner.

  Now that the adrenaline was starting to fade, I took a knee on the bridge. While Liza had been right about me being powerful enough to use Magic Instinct even while in a state of Magic Exhaustion, she hadn’t mentioned how much it would hurt. I was ninety-nine percent sure that if someone killed me at that moment, my magic would not bring me back. My bones and blood ached terribly.

  Alas, I could not rest. Now that this mission was done, I had to reunite with my friends and return to my actual mission of finding Excalibur. I was about to cross the bridge and head to the forest when a myriad of white lights jettisoned out of the water like shooting stars. They swiftly came down and levitated in front of me, transforming into human shapes.

  The ghosts!

  My transparent friends from the Tower had made it! Each ghost smiled widely whil
e the sunset spilled colors through their white forms and caused them to shimmer.

  I crossed my arms and grinned back at them. “Still think I’m crazy?”

  “Yes,” Elaine replied. “But you’re right; it is part of your charm.”

  “I still cannot believe it,” Charlotte said. “What you did back there was amazing.”

  “It was a lot of things,” I responded steadily, looking away as I thought about the dozens of dead monsters I’d left in my wake. “But I don’t know if amazing is one of them.” I shook off the darkness plaguing me for the sake of the group. “At any rate, I’m glad you’re all okay. And thank you for the help. I couldn’t have done it without you.”

  Laurel laughed lightly.

  “What’s so funny?” I asked.

  “Crisanta, you just saved us. We should be the ones thanking you. Though I have no idea what kind of a gesture would be big enough to even begin to convey what we owe you.”

  “You don’t owe me anything. I’m only sorry I couldn’t have done more to help. I may have set you free, but you guys are all still …”

  I hesitated, not wanting to say the word.

  Laurel smiled at me warmly. “Death is not always the end, Crisanta Knight,” she said. “There is more to existence beyond what the living understand. Now that we are free from Bluebeard Tower, our spirits are preparing for the journey and choices that come next.”

  I nodded, trying to pretend like I understood what she was talking about. I got the whole “death is not always the end” thing. I’d literally experienced that this afternoon when I’d come back to life. But as for everything else, well, maybe it was a ghost thing.

  “In lieu of a thank you card or a fruit basket,” Elaine said, “we have decided to offer you something else. Hold still, all right?”

  The ghosts joined hands in a circle around me, spinning quickly until their forms blurred into a white aura of energy that whirled over me like a cyclone. I felt my skin turn cold and a tingle go up my spine. Then the ghosts ceased spinning. The dark silver belt around my waist was glowing, but the effect only lasted another second before fading back to normal.