Jeff Madison and the Shimmers of Drakmere (Book 1)

by Bernice Fischer

  39

  Wiedzma was walking around in circles again, waiting for the guards to bring Gwyndion from the dungeon. Her cheeks were pink and she was panting: there was a warrior in this castle.

  Grzegorz had no idea and she was not going to tell him. No, she would keep Gwyndion’s true identity a secret. She would send Gwyndion to her own secret castle without Grzegorz being any wiser that he even had a warrior. He would not remember Holka.

  A knock sounded on the door and she flicked her fingers at it. Two guards carried Gwyndion between them. She had put up such a fight that it was easier to carry her than to drag her with effort. Her eyes darted around the room, her face was blank.

  Wiedzma stood in front of Gwyndion and studied her face as if she was not sure how much of the warrior’s memories had returned.

  “The castle enchantment had completed its task with you, unlike it did with the child,” mused Wiedzma. “We will have to lift those walls a bit, help you remember your entire past.”

  Although she kept her face blank, Gwyndion was horrified; she did not have the power to stop her. Her thoughts would be an open book and Wiedzma would know that the castle enchantment was broken.

  Please Thirza. Please have all those poor people out of the castle by now, please, Gwyndion thought desperately.

  Wiedzma grabbed her face between her hands and muttered a long string of magic words. Gwyndion felt the heat rush through her veins. All her memories were returned, all the blanks filled. As the memory wall came down, Wiedzma had a full vision of her conversation with Thirza.

  Furiously, the witch dropped her hands. They were shaking with anger. “Guards!” she yelled, and immediately two guards appeared at the door.

  “The enchantment spell has been broken. Check the dungeon. The prisoners have escaped. Follow the tunnels to find them. Then take them back and whip them until they have learnt their lesson about trying to escape from me.”

  The guards looked back and forth at each other. They wasted no time and rushed out of the room like their lives depended on it.

  Wiedzma walked over to the roaring fire in the fireplace. “Well, well, well, Thirza was a traitor right from the start. I never did trust him. I would dearly like to know how he always managed to evade my spells.”

  She turned around and peered at Gwyndion from under her eyelashes and pretended to study her nails while watching Gwyndion’s reaction slyly.

  Then she spoke again. “You will never find Matt. He is gone. I knew there would be some sort of a rescue attempt so I had him taken to my own castle far away from here.”

  The blood drained from Gwyndion’s face. She had had no idea how she was going to get Matt out here, awake or asleep. But to now find that he was not here at all, that was a huge blow.

  Wiedzma smiled wildly at the emotions crossing Gwyndion’s face.

  The warrior inside Gwyndion had been suppressed for so long that all her instincts were messed up. She had no idea that she was being lied to. All she wanted to do was to protect Matt.

  Wiedzma carried on. “It’s in your nature to protect the child. And it was fighting to come through even while you were under deep enchantment. Quite pathetic, really.”

  “You will be taken to my castle.” Wiedzma pointed to a side door that Gwyndion had not noticed before. It was bluish and hazy as if it was behind a rain-stained window.

  Gwyndion pushed herself to her full height. “Your castle? Where is that?”

  “Diamonds on the lake, the forty-seventh flutter, twirling beneath the prism, as the drops begin to splutter, the whereabouts of my castle are known to no one but me.” She looked up with a little smile.

  The blue doorway from Wiedzma’s castle opened and two guards came out. They did not have a fixed shape but looked like dark smoke in a strange human form. They clamped onto Gwyndion’s arms on either side and pulled her through the door.

  “Don’t do this, please, let Matt go! I will do anything you want, just let the child go.”

  “Oh, I know that you will do everything I want. Take her.”

  Gwyndion struggled and strained against the guards but they were too strong. In an instant they were gone and the bluish door vanished without a trace.

  Wiedzma smiled to herself, turned, twirled a loose hair into her knot and walked out of the room.

  * * *

  Jeff reached the glowing torch that was abandoned on the tunnel floor. He lifted it up and looked around. His heart sank. He was in a maze of tunnels and he had no idea which way to go. There were four different exits that branched out from the large chamber he was in and they all looked the same.

  He was about to pick one when he heard footsteps coming from one of the other doorways. Hiding in a cleft, Jeff held his breath and waited. Two guards came rushing past and without hesitating went into the tunnel towards the exit from which Jeff had just come. He waited for a half a second, took a deep breath and dashed up the tunnel away from the chamber and the guards.

  40

  Madgwick and Rig were creeping along the corridor, hands filled with dust, ready to take action at a moment’s notice. Then four guards jumped out into the corridor, two in front and two behind them.

  Madgwick sighed. Getting so far into the castle undetected was almost too good to be true, almost creepy. They had already searched a few corridors and came across no one, and no sign of Matt.

  He nodded to Rig without even looking at him. The two of them were so well tuned into each other’s magic and body language that they did not need to look at each other to know what the other was doing.

  Madgwick turned sideways to look at the two guards rushing from behind. His dust dropped to form a glittering long whip, which he coiled into his hand. He dropped into a deep crouch and waited until they were in striking distance.

  The oncoming guards had their swords out, ready for battle. However, Madgwick could see their eyes were full of confusion. Madgwick did not realise that the broken magic of the castle had an effect on the guards too.

  Rig smiled at the two guards coming from the front. He did not have a friendly looking face to start with, so to see him smile was a little disconcerting and made the guards’ eyes widen.

  One guard frowned, making his small eyes seem to sink deeper into his face. His wide mouth was outlined with a huge moustache, which he started to twirl. The other guard had bushy eyebrows that almost touched in the middle of his forehead. His thin lips were pulled in a straight line.

  Rig dropped his dust to reveal a long glittering sword. He spun it around once, twice in his hand almost if he was testing the grip. The fluid movement ended with the sword in striking pose at his shoulder.

  “Want to play, boys?”

  They pulled their swords and the fight began. The clang of the swords colliding was ear-shattering.

  So much for a quiet in and out thought Madgwick as they played with the guards.

  Rig made them skip and hop as he advanced towards the guards. His skill outmatched theirs by far. Rig wrinkled his nose as if he was annoyed that the sword play was wasting time.

  “Madgwick?” he asked.

  “Yes, Rig?”

  In a single manoeuvre, he turned the guards around so that they were between Madgwick and himself. With a crack, Madgwick captured two guards in his whip, and he flicked it around and sent the guards spinning into the other two, their heads colliding, knocking them out cold.

  “Something is wrong. They know we are coming and these are the only guards we find? We must be wary of a trap,” muttered Madgwick as they carried on down the corridor.

  They had already searched half the castle and were fast approaching the throne room.

  * * *

  Jeff moved down the corridor, trying not to make any noise on the stone floors. He glanced into each room and sneaked past onto the next. He was looking for Matt and strained to hear any noise of a fight, which would lead him the direction of the warriors.

  He was so tense that he hiccupped with laughter when h
e came across two guards lying knocked out on the floor. At least he was going in the right direction. He raced down the corridor, turned the corner and came face to face with the warriors.

  His eyes widened and his arms instinctively pulled up as he yelped and jumped back, his heart thumping hard. “It’s me, it’s me,” he gasped.

  The warriors were in a fight stance, ready to attack. Their faces looked like stone and their eyes glowed bright purple.

  Madgwick was the first to scatter his dust. His mouth dropped open in shock. “Jeff! What are you doing here?”

  “What did we tell you, where is Rhed? Why did you not stay in the forest?” Rig’s jaw bulged as if he was clenching his teeth in anger.

  “I tried to call you from the entrance, but then a guard came and then I could not get out. But never mind about that, I came to tell you …”

  “What do you mean, you could not get out?” interrupted Madgwick.

  “The entrance is blocked with orange lightning. Well, that’s what it looks like, but I came to tell you …”

  “Damn, the castle enchantment is back in place. We are going to have a hard time getting out now,” muttered Rig.

  “Why did you not stay in the forest? Why are you here?” growled Rig, his face clouded over, a thunderstorm waiting to happen.

  “That’s what I’m trying to tell you. The old man forgot to tell you that Holka is Quin …”

  “Who?”

  “Gwen something, she is a warrior who has been trapped here, uhh, Rig?”

  Rig’s face went white and he stumbled. Madgwick caught him and propped him up against the wall.

  Madgwick searched Jeff’s face. “Is the name Gwyndion? Is that the name?”

  Jeff bobbed his head up and down.

  “She is here and alive,” whispered Rig.

  “Come on Rig, they’re bound to be together. Thirza said in the tunnel that she was going to try and get to Matt. Let’s keep moving, we’ll find them both and then fight our way out.”

  Madgwick turned to Jeff who swallowed loudly at the look on Madgwick’s face. “I want you on my heels. I want you so close that if I stop, you will be bumping into me, you clear?”

  Jeff grinned. “Clear.”

  41

  They continued through the hallways, now hugely concerned that they had not met with any more guards after the four that they encountered earlier. Unknown to them, the guards were also entrapped in the castle enchantment. They had started to remember their past lives and families left behind and when they heard that the tunnels were unprotected, they quickly moved to the exits trying to get out while they could.

  The three of them raced down the corridors, briefly checking rooms but finding them all empty.

  “There’s no one left in the dungeon, so she’s not down there,” grumbled Rig.

  “A whole horde of people stumbled out of the tunnel, so I’m sure they all got out,” Jeff answered.

  “Well, we have searched all the rooms off all the corridors, and Jeff said he checked all the rooms on the floor below. No Matt and no Gwyndion. It’s just this room left. Judging by the double doors, it looks like an important room.”

  The doors opened to show a huge room with a gaping, blue-sky hole at the far end. The blue beckoned to them, indicating a way out. The exit was in sharp contrast to the castle, the doors broken and the walls crumbled on either side. It was as if someone had forced their way in.

  It looked like a rake had pulled up the floor slabs. Standing in the middle of the room was a woman wearing an emerald green dress. A bright yellow ribbon twined around the bodice. Her black hair flowed around her shoulders. She spoke without turning around.

  “Welcome, warriors! I am delighted to finally meet you.”

  Wiedzma turned to face them and Madgwick gasped. Her green eyes were narrowed and he almost felt the cold blast from her stare. Her mouth was twisted in a cruel sneer. Her face was a flawless white with rosy cheeks and a dark mole right in the middle of her chin, like a dimple.

  She glanced at Grzegorz and snapped. “Grzegorz, can you please stop your foot from snoring? It’s annoying!”

  Grzegorz bared his teeth at her and stumbled over to a chair nearby, dragging his foot, which was still snoring loudly.

  Madgwick and Rig strode up to the witch but made sure not to get too close. It was never healthy to be in striking distance of a witch. Jeff followed closely behind.

  Rig’s voice was cold and raspy when he spoke. “Where are they?”

  “They? Oh you mean the child and Gwyndion. Shame, until earlier today she did not even know she was a warrior.”

  Her lips pulled up in a half a smile like she was sharing a secret. “She belongs with me now. You will never find her, and if I am not mistaken, you can’t get out of this castle, so …”

  “We will never join you, and nor will Gwyndion,” said Madgwick, his dust held loosely in his hands. He dared not blink in case he missed her attack.

  Rig was also on guard, half in a crouch ready for the first sign of attack.

  “Oh I think you will join me. You can’t get out. You see, the doorways are sealed again. Seems I have lost most of my cowardly guards. But I think having two fierce warriors to guard me will be excellent.” She laughed and twirled around. “Wonderful for me and my business, keeping people in line. You know, obey the witch or else!” The rest of her words melted away into her cackling.

  “Where is my brother?” Jeff’s voice was low, his hands clenched in fists by his side.

  Madgwick winced as if he was hoping Jeff would make himself invisible while they were dealing with the witch.

  Wiedzma stopped as if she had been slapped. Her eyes bulged at the sight of Jeff and she whispered as if she dared not say the words out loud. “The older brother, right here in my castle, a dream catcher!”

  Madgwick and Rig did not need to communicate with each other to agree that this was a no-way-in-hell situation. They did not wait for her to attack.

  Rig and Madgwick unleashed long silver glittering whips, working in perfect coordination. They flicked and teased Wiedzma, pulling at her hair, her dress, flicking at her hands and making her shriek in pain and fury. A storm started to build up behind her, but Madgwick was not having any of that. Using his whip, he changed the direction of the swirling wind so that her tornado could not form properly. An attack like this was unexpected. Madgwick grinned to himself. He was sure Wiedzma had expected them to have more respect for her as a witch.

  Jeff dived to one side to make sure he was out of the line of dust fire.

  Madgwick was waiting for the sign that the shock of the initial attack was over. He saw her grimace as she ignored the flicks, the sharp bursts of pain inflicted by the whips.

  Wiedzma frowned as if concentrating on her magic. Pulling her power together, she drew her arms in and then shoved them out in front of her, unleashing the energy.

  Madgwick was hit with a wave of magic, which sent him flying and rolling on the floor. The force was so great that he could not get back up. His dust was swirling around him out of control. He tried to form a wall to protect himself but could not get his dust to play along. Wiedzma was just too strong.

  The pain hit Madgwick like needles passing through his body. It was so severe that all he could do was gasp. Madgwick’s magic was quite strong in itself but he was no match for the power of Wiedzma.

  As suddenly as the pain hit it was gone again. Madgwick looked up to see he had a glittering barrier around him. Snapping his head, he saw Rig’s face twisted in fierce concentration.

  Wiedzma twisted around, snarling in frustration and turned her attention to Rig.

  Her attention was on Rig but she was backing towards Jeff who was behind a chair.

  “Do something, do something,” Jeff muttered furiously to himself.

  Madgwick flexed his hand and cast his dust to try to help but Rig’s barrier was so complete that he could not penetrate it with his own dust. He was protected from Wiedzma but he cou
ld not help Rig either.

  Rig was considered the best warrior with good reason. Besides his experience, he had immense power and when he was angry that power doubled.

  Rig had a furious look on his face. Gwyndion was gone, again, and it was this witch’s fault. And where the heck was the child? He did not have many friends. Everyone apart from Madgwick thought he was bad tempered and steered away from him.

  Madgwick saw Wiedzma turn her attention to Rig. Her smirk was back and Madgwick did not like that for one moment.

  Her power pushed at Rig’s wall, seeking a way in, but the wall stood firm and impenetrable. Yet slowly Wiedzma managed to push Rig and his wall backward.

  Rig’s shoes started to slide on the polished marble floor. He redoubled his efforts but kept sliding backwards slowly.

  With a groan Madgwick watched Wiedzma laughing wildly as she neared Jeff.

  She taunted Rig. “You can’t fight me, warrior. You can hold me back but only so long before I overpower you. You might as well accept that you are mine now.”

  The witch spoke with a sneer. “If you submit now, you will see that I can be merciful. In time you will forget your old life. It’s going to happen, so let it happen now. Save yourself the hurt and pain.”

  42

  Elder Galagedra appeared in the chamber. Before the dust had settled around him, he was rushing down the aisle towards the brightly glowing globe.

  Galagedra’s frown was deep set and his jaw stiff from worry.

  Jozephus turned at the sound of Galagedra approaching. He appeared just as worried, his normally rosy cheeks pale. He pinched the ends of his moustache and twirled them.

  Galagedra nodded and filled him in. “The spell weavers have begun to weave a doorway spell. Most of the elders have gone to assist with their power as we don’t have much time.”