On the Other Side

by N A Wedderburn

  Chapter twelve

  “Was it really ok to leave him up there?”

  “Shh!”

  “But, Chariot-“

  “Shh!”

  Footsteps clapped on the worn, stone steps, along with Gilda’s eerie, sing-song voice. But louder, was the sound of scraping and grunting from Hickory, Dickory and Dock. They were close; narrowing in on the cell in which Max and Chariot hid. Their noses were keen, and their ears sensitive. They would pick up on the slightest sound or movement. Max had locked himself and Chariot in the cell, with the key they had taken from Sam. But he wasn’t sure how long the bars would hold against those things.

  “There’s something you and Humphrey’s mother don’t have in common,” Gilda’s gleeful voice echoed on. “She stood and fought as the mortals descended on the burning barn. Witches and warlocks tried to flee for their lives, but they were outnumbered. She knew she would probably be killed. But she had to protect her child.” She had finally arrived on the floor Max and Chariot had chosen to hide, and she was drawing closer. “She had given birth just a couple of hours before. But she still fought…Of course, it wasn’t enough. Her injured husband had to give the baby to the only other remaining witch. And she was able to flee with him, in the form of a cat.”

  Something flicked past the bars of the cell, and Max put one hand to his mouth to prevent a gasp from escaping him. He was certain it had been a long, snake-like tail. He gestured to Chariot that they had to get out of there…Somehow.

  Nodding, Chariot silently shifted towards the back of the cell, testing each stone in the wall for a weak spot.

  “The young witch was able to raise him herself, teaching him the magic she knew, and keeping him out of the mortal’s grasp.” Gilda was oblivious to the lack of attention her audience was giving her story. She moved from cell to cell, searching each with gleeful anticipation. “They stayed hidden, and although Humphrey hated the mortals with every fibre of his being, he lived among them. Worked for them. Spent his days in their company. While, in the shadows, building up a safe haven for people like him. People who were different. People who belonged to another world.”

  Chariot removed her hands from the wall, turned to face Max, and shook her head sadly. There was no way out. Not through the back, at least. They would have to try something else.

  “They built a house together,” Gilda’s voice went on. “It was a bit flashy. A bit show off-y. But it was well hidden, so it didn’t really matter. And one day, do you know what Humphrey found?”

  Of course they did, Max thought bitterly. He already knew all of this. Humphrey Dumpkins had created the portal after building the house, so the witches and warlocks could escape to this world. None of this was new information, and hearing Gilda’s voice was beginning to make him angry.

  “You see, most people believe he created the portal,” Gilda sang cheerfully. “But, he didn’t, really. He found it. He just so happened to build the house on a weak spot between the worlds. You’re probably wondering: How convenient! But, it wasn’t that remarkable a discovery. You ask any wizard, and they’ll tell you, that witches and warlocks came from the mortal world. They were just mutants, who happened to possess magic abilities, and Humphrey Dumpkin’s helped them cross over to this side. But, that’s wrong.”

  She turned her eyes on the cell in which they hid, and a gleeful smile spread across her face. “We always belonged here. Those wretched wizards; the ones encouraging this stupid merge with the mortal world, now, are to blame for all of this.” She gestured wildly around the prison. “Long before the witch hunts. Long before the mortals decided our kind were evil, and had to be erased. The wizards thought so, too. They banished our kind to the mortal world, out of jealousy, through portals all over the magic world. And these portals, once closed, left weak spots. Many creatures passed through the weak spots, long before Humphrey Dumpkin’s discovered one. But, of course, he was the only one intelligent enough to make something from it.” She was drawing close to the cell, now. “He was able to make the portal permanent. And he brought as many witches and warlocks, and all manner of lost, displaced magical creatures with him.” She was feet away. “The wizards didn’t like that. It was too late to stop Humphrey being revered as a hero, but they were able to do some damage control. They took it upon themselves to turn all the weak spots into portals; not to help our kind, but to take control over our return to this world. They had us all shipped to this island, and most imprisoned here. They couldn’t risk their secret getting out. Can you imagine the riots it would cause? The unbalance. No, they couldn’t have that. We were confined to this island, and it became our prison.”

  She stopped, just outside the cell, her hand outstretched towards the bars. “They almost kept their little secret, too. But Humphrey was able to leave behind, in his belongings, a detailed account of the whole thing. And it was passed down to his family. Not Raven’s side…They just took an interest in all the flashy stuff they could exploit for their own gain. But my side. The more respectful; the more humble side. We always knew. And we silently hated wizards and mortals alike. And when I found out what they were planning to do to that house. Our house, I had to do something. Don’t you understand? People had to pay.”

  Gilda was at the door of the cell, leering in at the two of them. “Three…blind…mice~!” she sang, “Hello.”

  “It’s locked!” Max said triumphantly, holding up the key. “So just try and get us.”

  “Oh,” Gilda said, tilting her head to its side in mock contemplation. “Ok. Hickory, Dickory, Dock. Come here, please.”

  Shortly after they were summoned, the mice lumbered into view.

  “Be dears and get them for me,” Gilda said sweetly.

  Max found himself backing against the wall of the cell, along with Chariot. He wasn’t sure what intimidated him more. The mice, or the way Gilda smiled at them. What happened to that sweet friend she had been? Maybe that girl had never really existed in the first place. It had all been an act; an alibi for the evil she was committing. And everyone had fallen for it. Except Sam, it seemed. Max understood the advice Sam had been about to give him that day, now. He had been onto Gilda. This morning, Sam hadn’t climbed down the well to harm innocent people; he had come down here to stop this menace. And despite losing his life, he had succeeded. Max was the one who had screwed things up by releasing her.

  Before he could even think of a spell to use on the beasts now clawing ferociously at the bars, the air suddenly filled with the sound of music. It was a familiar, enchanting tune; one which momentarily drew away all of Max’s fears, confusion and grief. Nothing else mattered, except this song. His arms slowly lowered by his sides, and he began to step forwards.

  The mice seemed to be going through similar emotions. Their ferocious demeanour faded slowly, the fire in their eyes dimming. With one last, half hearted grunt, they turned and lumbered away from the cell, after the music.

  Max took another step forward, and then stopped, remembering where he had heard the tune before. It was the same one Hamelin had played on that curious metal instrument…It was the same instrument. Hamelin must have arrived just in time to save them!

  “What are you idiots doing?” Gilda shrieked at the mice, covering her ears to avoid being taken in by the music, herself. “Stupid rats! Who needs you, anyway?” Her attention snapped back to the cell, and she narrowed her eyes at Max and Chariot. “Max. This has gone on long enough, don’t you think? I never wanted to hurt you. Can’t I convince you to join my side, instead?”

  Max almost laughed. “Scarlet-…” he started. But it was too painful to say her name. “Do you really think I’d join you, after everything you’ve done?”

  “Fine then,” Gilda said coldly, reaching for her necklace.

  Max raised his hand, his expression unreadable, and muttered a quiet incantation. The bars of the cell became fluid, twisting and bending free from the
door. Gilda barely had time to grab a handful of powder, before the bars began to twist themselves around her.

  “It won’t stop,” she said quietly, resisting the urge to curse as the remaining powder spilled out onto the floor. “The mortals won’t accept us. History will just repeat itself if you try to make peace with them. You’ll see! I was going to be the hero this world needed. Just like Humphrey.”

  “Humphrey never killed anyone,” Max said emotionlessly, stepping out through the now empty doorway.

  Chapter thirteen

  All was silent on the way back up the stairs. Remorsefully, Max and Chariot had decided to leave Sam’s body where it was, for the wizards to collect later. With Raven injured, and Gilda to deal with, they had their hands full already. Gilda was being strangely silent, but Max guessed it was because she’d been caught.

  “Hamelin?” Chariot called out, to break the silence between her and Max, more than anything else. “You said he was here, right? Raven’s dad?”

  “I heard his music,” Max said shortly. “Didn’t you?”

  “Oh…Yes,” Chariot said, obviously disheartened by his tone. “But I didn’t know who was playing it. I thought it might have been Raven-“

  “You thought right.”

  “Raven!”

  Raven was leaning against the railing above them, one hand pressed against his wound, the other clutching the metal instrument, the gleaming, silver surface of which was now coated in blood. “Hey.”

  “You’re ok?” Chariot said, relieved.

  “I’ve been better,” Raven said with a smile.

  “I’m sorry we left you up there. But we-“

  “It’s fine,” Raven interrupted, his gaze moving to Gilda. His eyes grew dark. “Let’s just…get her taken to the authorities. She’s done enough.”

  “What about your dad?” Max asked quickly. But Raven shook his head.

  “This little lady brought his pipe to me,” he said, tilting his head in the direction of his cat. “And I knew straight away…”

  “Oh…I’m sorry,” Max said quietly.

  “Max…” Raven started hesitantly, his urgency to leave this place fading for a moment. “Did you hear this music before?”

  Max nodded.

  “Right,” Raven said quietly. “Then…I’m sorry.”

  “Huh?”

  “Nevermind. We need to go.”

  As Max and Chariot climbed the last of the stairs, Max glimpsed something he knew would be up here, but hadn’t wanted to remember. Scarlet.

  “She’s really gone,” he said, his voice cracking.

  “Yeah,” Raven said sadly, his eyes following Max’s.

  “I keep thinking I’ll wake up any minute, and she’ll be shouting through my bedroom door,” Max said with a small, bitter smile. “I’d…prefer that.”

  “Yeah,” Raven repeated. “Dad too. Even if-…” He trailed off.

  “We can’t just leave her here,” Max insisted. “But my best hovering spell only lasts five minutes. I don’t know what to do. Grandma’s going to be so mad at me…And Scarlet…Scarlet…”

  A grunting sound behind Raven brought Max out of his thoughts, and he stared with a mixture of hatred and fear, at the mice. They were still there, and still as large as bears. “Raven, watch out!”

  Raven looked back at them. “It’s fine,” he assured Max. “They’ve completely calmed down now. She had them under some crazy spell. They’ll return to their normal size soon.”

  Despite Raven’s words, they appeared to be advancing again, and Max took a step back, his foot on the edge of the top step.

  Gilda began to laugh. “Destroy them,” she whispered. “Do it!”

  It became sickeningly apparent why she had been so calm and quiet on the way up here. Max felt his heart pounding against his chest as the mice surrounded them. One of them flexed his razor sharp claws, raising his arm high above the frozen group. Max closed his eyes as the beast struck. A sickening crunch invaded his ears, followed by the smash and ensuing crumbling of a wall being destroyed. Max knew he was still alive…But one of the others wasn’t. He didn’t want to open his eyes. He didn’t want to find out. The sounds he heard now were too much. The mice didn’t just want to kill. They were following up their attack with more brutality, and Max found it hard not to be sick.

  Slowly; reluctantly, he opened his eyes. Raven still stood in front of him, his dark eyes void of their sparkle as he watched the gruesome scene. Chariot still stood to his left. He turned his head slowly and saw the three mice, all looming down over Gilda’s body. Her own weapon had turned against her.

  “Come on…Let’s go,” Raven said quietly, retrieving his hat from the floor, and dropping his father’s instrument into it. He looked back in the direction they had arrived, and grimaced. The hole was blocking their path. Chariot would be able to fly over it, no problem, and Max could probably jump, at a stretch. But there was no way he could get back over there. Not with this wound.

  “Listen,” he said. “I’ll wait here with Scarlet. You guys go back and drag the wizards here if you have to. If you go back to-“

  “You actually think we’d leave you with those things?” Chariot interrupted, pointing a thumb in the direction of the mice. “Just, shut up for once, Raven.” Her fireflies flew up from the cage, and out over the hole. A chain, identical to the one they had used to tie up Gilda floated between them, winding itself intricately until it no longer resembled a chain. When they had finished, a sturdy enough looking bridge arched over the hole, and Chariot pointed firmly for Raven to cross it.

  *

  The way back was slow going. Raven led the way wordlessly back through the tunnels, stopping at frequent intervals to rest. He didn’t bother to tell them where exactly he was leading them, but both he, and his cat seemed confident they could get them out of there.

  “…Did you know?” Max asked Raven, as they stopped to take yet another break. None of them had spoken for a long while, and his voice was hoarse from lack of use.

  “Did I know what?” Raven said, his face much paler than before. Max desperately hoped Raven knew where he was going, because he didn’t know how much longer he could hold out.

  “About Humphrey Dumpkins,” Max said tentatively. “I mean…I guess it was obvious he’d hate the mortals. But the wizards, too?”

  Raven’s cat turned an almost knowing gaze towards Max.

  “He didn’t hate mortals,” Raven corrected him, putting a gentle hand on his cat’s head. “I mean, sure, a lot of them did terrible things to him. But in the end, he found out they weren’t all bad.”

  “How…What?”

  “Gilda only got half of the story,” Raven said bitterly. “If she’d known it all, maybe she’d still be alive…Maybe a lot of people would still be alive.” He leaned against the wall, his breathing much heavier than when they had first set off. “One of the reasons warlocks had to fight so much when we came here was because Humphrey brought a mortal with him. The wizards who had banished our kind were either long dead, or weren’t in a position of power any more. But they didn’t want mortals crossing over…for obvious reasons. They built the prison to ‘test’ everyone coming through.”

  “Why did he bring a mortal with him?” Max asked, perplexed.

  “She was his wife. He couldn’t exactly leave her, could he?” Raven said, in a matter-of-fact voice. “I wonder how Gilda would have felt, knowing she had mortal blood running through her veins. I mean…That’s the real reason people on this island don’t like my family too much. They don’t know, of course, but a stigma still lasts. I guess we have an air about us.”

  “Does this mean you have less magic in you?”

  “No. Nothing dumb like that. It’s just genetics. No big deal really. And Humphrey didn’t care, either.” Raven pushed himself off from the wall, and looked over at Chariot. She
had been so quiet, he had half expected to see her asleep, but she was sat, deep in thought, listening intently to his story, her eyes focused on the cat.

  “Humphrey wanted to unite the two worlds, didn’t he?” Chariot said eventually, looking up at Raven.

  Raven nodded. As he got up to resume leading the way, he paused, hesitated, and spoke again. “There’s probably a lot of things I should have told you guys,” he said guiltily. “Maybe if my family had shared this information…with Gilda’s side, at least, none of this would have happened. And if…If I’d let you and Scarlet explore that middle passage, Scarlet would still be here.”

  Max gave him a puzzled look, as he and Chariot followed Raven out into the chamber. It seemed so long since they had been here. Raven just gestured for them to keep following him, down the middle path.

  The path didn’t lead to a dead end, as Raven had first told them. It led on for little more than five minutes, and ended at a charred, splintering door. The scent of stale smoke filled their nostrils, and Max knew instantly where they were. As Raven pushed open the door, they stepped out into a small cellar. The cat sprang up the stairs, and the others followed her in silence. Max wasn’t angry with Raven. He completely understood why he had lied.

  “Where do we begin explaining what happened?” Chariot asked, slowly walking out into the burned ruins of the mansion.