Blue Dome (The Blue Dome Series)

by Gill, J. G.

  We left the bridge and began running up the path towards the wrought-iron gates, arriving to find that they were wrapped in thick, iron chains.

  “Looks like we’re going to have to climb this fence,” said Calix.

  I stepped back and ran my eye from the foot of the gate to the top, pausing at the row of sharp, man-eating iron spikes. I didn’t need to say a word.

  “On second thoughts, getting cut to bits doesn’t really do it for me,” said Calix.

  “Maybe we can try and break the chains?” I said, desperately looking around for a hefty chunk of rock. But apart from a few twigs and an old summer sandal sticking out from underneath a nearby bush, there was nothing that looked even remotely useful. Calix and I were still foraging around when a voice interrupted us.

  “You’ve made it here in excellent time.”

  I whipped around, just as Freya was setting Troy down. He was pretty wobbly on his feet and Calix ran to help him.

  “Thank God you’re okay,” she said.

  Freya smiled wryly. “Well, maybe not God.”

  She turned to the padlock and a handful of white-gold sparks shivered into the catch. It shattered instantly. Freya then set upon the chains swaddling the gate, the links pop-popping open as if they’d been made of plastic, not iron.

  “How did you do that?” asked Troy.

  “No time to explain,” said Freya. “We need to get inside the Cathedral as fast as we can. Be careful though, Demarge could be waiting for us.”

  I shuddered at the thought.

  “C’mon!” Calix tugged at my shirt, jerking me back to reality. We began running towards the door as Troy loped on ahead, his long legs easily outstripping us. Freya was already there by the time we arrived.

  “I’ll go first,” she said. “Once I’ve made sure it’s safe I’ll call for you.” She pulled on the large bronze handle and it gave way easily. Her face grew serious. “This is not a good sign,” she said. “Demarge is obviously expecting guests.”

  A slim shaft of light spilt from the tiny crack in the door, cutting a line through the shadows at our feet. I watched, amazed, as Freya quickly dissolved into a beam of gold light and slid into the Cathedral. Seconds later, a thin finger curled its way around the side of the door and beckoned us forward. Troy and I pulled the door open a bit wider and Calix crept in. Then it was Troy’s turn. I took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, and stepped onto the familiar mosaic star.

  ***

  “Four hundred and seventy-seven, four hundred and seventy-eight…” Bede was almost at the middle step. “Four hundred and seventy-nine,” he whispered quietly to himself.

  “What have we here? A consummate mathematician?”

  The voice, a mix of metal and silk, made Bede’s blood freeze in his veins.

  Demarge looked up at him from the four hundredth and seventy-fifth step, his hands perched lightly on his hips.

  “Run!” Bede screamed.

  Demarge stepped quickly towards him. “A warning? Sweet, but utterly pointless,” he said.

  Bede glared at the tall, dark, silhouette as Daden and Justin rounded the corner behind him and stopped abruptly.

  “Justin?” said Demarge with mock surprise. “So glad to see you back on your feet. Last time we met I think you were experiencing a spot of back trouble? How are you? Such a shame we had to fall out over ‘artistic differences’.”

  Justin stared at Demarge with a mix of loathing and fear but said nothing. Demarge smiled slyly.

  “And Daden. We seem to go for years and years without bumping into each other and then suddenly I see you twice in one week. Such lively conversations too. We really ought to make more of a habit of it.”

  “As much as I enjoy your witty repartee Demarge, we really need to be on our way,” said Daden.

  “Be my guest,” Demarge replied, ushering him forward. “I’ll just wait here and see to it that you have a safe passage.”

  Daden shook his head wearily. “We’ve been through all this before Demarge; you won’t find the entrance to the Slipworld through me.”

  “Well now, that creates a bit of a conundrum, doesn’t it,” said Demarge, “since neither of us is willing to move. Still, I can understand your position. You don’t want unsavoury sorts coming in, do you?” He laughed, pausing to listen to something stirring in the stairwell below. “If I’m not mistaken, those are human voices I can hear,” he said, arching his right eyebrow smugly.

  “They won’t be alone,” said Daden. “You will soon have two Aeons to contend with if you want to stop us entering the Slipworld.”

  “Scary,” said Demarge, sarcastically.

  The approaching footsteps grew louder and louder. Bede threw a worried glance in Daden’s direction.

  “That’s my sister,” he whispered. “I can’t just let her walk into this without any warning.” Daden put his hand on Bede’s shoulder.

  “If we warn them now it will simply split the group. Believe me, we have more chance of returning to the Slipworld when there is at least one other Aeon to distract Demarge. Clare will be okay. She’s with Freya, and between us we won’t let any harm come to her, I promise.”

  ***

  I had a bad feeling as I climbed the stairs behind Freya. I couldn’t explain why, but something just felt wrong. It was all so quiet. Too quiet. Still, I figured that Freya knew what she was doing. I tried to edge the paranoia from my mind and just concentrate on the steps in front of me. It was only when I rounded the next spiral that I realised I hadn’t been paranoid at all.

  “So, the rest of the group arrives,” said Demarge. “Clare.” He said my name slowly, his voice lingering on the single syllable. I could almost feel his eyes touching my skin.

  “Leave her alone!” I heard a voice shout from somewhere higher up on the stairwell.

  “Bede! Is that you?”

  I tried to step forward, but Freya pulled me back. Demarge smirked, his eyes boring into me, intense and searching. I felt like a bug pinned to a specimen board.

  “I’m glad you decided to come back. I assume you’d like to apologise for rudely running away like that?” Demarge gave me a sickening smile and I shuddered, tearing my eyes away. He shifted his gaze to Freya. “You know she’s mine. I will have her.”

  “Not while I’m here.” The words fought their way through Freya’s gritted teeth. Demarge smiled indulgently and turned his attention to Calix.

  “So, the would-be snake killer. You’ll be pleased to know that Arius has made a full recovery. Such a shame the two of you got off to a bad start. I’m sure you’ll have another opportunity to patch up your differences though.”

  Calix gave Demarge one of her killer scowls but he’d already moved on.

  “That just leaves you, doesn’t it Troy?”

  “How do you know my name?” said Troy.

  “Stanley mentioned it in passing and I remembered. I’m good with names.” Demarge tapped his temple theatrically. “Once they’re in here I never forget them.”

  He leant back casually against the wall and for the first time in weeks I could see my brother. He was definitely skinnier than when I’d seen him last, but apart from that, he seemed fine. I sighed with relief. It was only as my eyes then shifted sideways that I felt a lump form in the pit of my stomach.

  “Justin?” I turned to Freya for an explanation. “Justin’s a Shard?”

  Demarge laughed, interjecting before Freya could speak.

  “Yes, funny isn’t it? I must admit, I thought it quite hilarious when he started working for me,” said Demarge.

  “I’m a what?” said Justin.

  I knew exactly how I wanted to answer that question but I bit my lip.

  “I’ll explain later,” Daden muttered to him. I caught Daden’s eye. I definitely wanted to hear that explanation too.

  “Let us pass,” said Freya, bringing the conversation back to Demarge.

  He stared at her coldly, making no attempt to hide his contempt.

  “O
ddly enough, I was just discussing that very issue with your friend here,” he said, giving a cursory nod to Daden. “Unfortunately, I’m not really in the mood for moving today.”

  “Well then, you leave us little choice,” said Freya, a ball of sizzling gold light erupting in her hands.

  Demarge yawned. “Throw that and your precious Shards go up in smoke,” he said.

  Daden shot Freya a warning glance. Demarge had called her bluff, they both knew it. Demarge smiled smugly at his gloved fingers, inspecting them as if he had all the time in the world. We were now well and truly reached stalemate. The fact that Demarge was so obviously getting a kick out of it was starting to get on my nerves. So he wanted me to go with him that badly? Fine, two could play at that game. I stepped forward.

  “If I came with you, would you stop the police hounding my brother and let the others go?” I said.

  “No Clare!” Freya and Daden shouted in unison.

  “That’s completely out of the question,” said Freya. “She’s just a child, she has no idea what she’s saying.” She was looking at me as if I’d lost my mind.

  Demarge slowly, very slowly, rolled his gaze from the tips of his fingers, locking his eyes onto mine. The savage intensity of his gaze sent a shiver down my spine, making me want to look anywhere except at him. But I couldn’t shift my gaze, it was as if my eyes were paralysed. Demarge raised his right eye-brow in what looked like genuine surprise.

  “Oh, I think she knows exactly the bargain she’s offered,” said Demarge, as if carefully picking his words. “It’s certainly an interesting proposition.” He paused, took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “Yes Clare, if you came with me of your own free will, I would let the others go.”

  “And Bede?” I prompted.

  “Would be free. I’d see to it myself.” Demarge turned to Daden and Freya, smiling slyly. “If Clare wants the bargain you know you can’t stop her. Let her go and you can take the others, I won’t try to follow you.”

  Daden glared at Demarge. “That’s utterly ridiculous and you know it,” he said.

  Demarge laughed. “You might not like the deal, Daden, but it’s the only one on the table. I think the mortals call it ‘utilitarianism’ – the greatest benefit for the greatest number? Quaint, but it works.”

  Freya’s eyes had now been whittled down to two sharp pieces of flint.

  “Stop playing games Demarge,” she said, ushering me back down the stairs behind her. “You know we’ll never let Clare go.”

  Demarge shrugged. “Well, Queen of the Aeons, it looks like we’re at an impasse. No one’s going home to the Slipworld tonight. Tell me, how are Min-Isis and Thomas coping with the effects of tungsten poisoning? It won’t be much longer before you and Daden are also too weak to stand, much less, defend the Shards. Then there’ll be no need to negotiate. I’ll simply take all of them.”

  “You haven’t won yet,” said Freya quietly.

  The atmosphere was so thick I could almost smell it: pungent, cloying, like a dense perfume. From where I was standing I could see Daden shift his gaze slowly towards Freya. His eyes flickered for the tiniest of seconds, that at first I thought he was just blinking. Then I realised there was something else going on. Freya was hatching a plan.

  I tried to sneak a sidelong glance at Calix and Troy, wondering if they’d clocked what was happening, but they were standing too far in front of me to catch their eyes. Daden was now fixing Freya with a hard stare. Whatever she was planning to do, he clearly wasn’t happy about it. Before he could do anything to stop her though, Freya suddenly imploded into a large ball of silvery-gold light and drove at Demarge.

  “Move!” Daden shouted, as he quickly shouldered Bede and Justin against the side of the stairwell.

  There was a loud sucking noise, as the wall caved like rubber, engulfing the bodies into the depths of the plaster. It happened so fast that everything melded into one big blur of colour.

  “Calix, give me your hand,” Daden screamed.

  She glanced uncertainly at Troy and I, then turned to Daden.

  “Take these guys first!” she screamed back.

  “Don’t be stupid,” said Troy, stepping back and pushing Calix up the stairwell.

  “Come on, Calix, now!” Daden screamed.

  Calix lunged up the stairs, her fingertips straining to reach Daden’s. He caught her, but she slipped from his grasp and fell backwards into me. I stumbled further down the stairwell, half falling, half jumping, before finally grabbing hold of the banister and managing to stop myself. I looked around for Troy. He was nowhere.

  “We’ve lost Troy!” I shouted.

  “What?” said Calix, turning to me with panic-stricken eyes.

  “I can’t see him anywhere,” I said.

  “We’ve got to find him,” said Calix, running down the stairs towards me.

  “Leave him, there’s no time!” said a voice in the stairwell above us.

  Calix paused abruptly and my eyes shot towards Freya, who was standing between us and Demarge like a shield. Daden lurched forward and stretched out his hand.

  “Grab hold!” he shouted.

  Calix turned and reached down the stairwell to grab my jacket.

  “C’mon!” she screamed.

  “Calix, no!” said Daden. “You’ll never make it back together. Leave Clare with Freya.”

  Calix’s eyes flitted towards Daden, then back at me. She looked like a startled rabbit that didn’t know which way to run.

  “Go!” I screamed at her.

  Calix paused and for a horrible second I thought she was about to come down the stairwell after me.

  “Go!” I screamed at her again.

  Calix took a deep breath, her eyes full of apologies.

  “We’ll be waiting for you,” she said, turning to run up the stairs.

  She’d only taken a couple of steps when a jagged bolt of lightning came hurtling past her head. She lurched sideways, missing it just in time.

  “The lightning’s too fast, I can’t outrun it!” she screamed.

  “Yes you can!” Daden reached a hand towards her. “Quick, now!”

  Calix was about to step forward again when another bolt of lightning whistled past her eyes. It struck the wall, and a great sheet of plaster fell away, smashing onto the steps. A cloud of chalky dust billowed out of the wall and into the stairwell, making it difficult to see more than a few steps ahead. I coughed as the dust began to fill my lungs, waving my arms in a vain attempt to clear the air. As I squinted in the haze I saw a third bolt of lightning heading straight for Calix.

  “Look out!” I screamed.

  But it was too late. As Calix tried to duck the missile hit her shoulder and ricocheted into the wall behind her. She screamed as a thin spiral of black smoke rose from the charred hole in her jacket.

  “Calix!” someone shouted, his voice disembodied by the dust. A hand reached out and I saw her snatch on to it, her whole body disappearing into the white cloud. There was the loud sucking noise again, as the plaster opened and closed, and I felt myself go weak with relief. I still had no idea how badly Calix had been hurt but at least she’d escaped.

  Now there was just Daden, Freya and me left, surrounded by the maniacal sound of Demarge’s laughter bounding off the walls of the stairwell.

  “Why laugh, Demarge? You’ve just lost another Shard,” said Freya.

  “So? I’ve still got the one I actually want.”

  “You’ll never have Clare,” Freya retorted.

  In the haze I could see Daden’s hands framing a ball of light. It was spitting silvery-red filaments into the shaft of the stairwell. Demarge arched his right eyebrow as the beginnings of a smirk played on his lips.

  “If the stairwell collapses, it won’t be me who suffers,” he said.

  “I’ll take the risk,” said Daden. He drew back his arm like a spring-loaded weapon and hurled the ball at Demarge’s chest.

  Demarge stepped neatly sideways, flattening himself against
the wall opposite the entrance to the Slipworld. He calmly raised his palms like a shield and a wall of white light erupted instantly in front of him. As the missile drew closer, I could see the muscles in Demarge’s face grow taut, the white light pushing back against the red.

  It was the distraction I’d been waiting for. Without stopping to think, I ran up the stairs as fast as I could towards Daden. As my foot hit the middle step, something incredibly heavy thudded against me and I fell, helplessly, uncontrollably, against what felt like the most luxuriously comfortable bed I’d ever lain down on. Every muscle in my body began to relax and my eyelids grew heavy, as if I had been anaesthetised. In the last few seconds, as I struggled to keep my eyes open, I saw that I was now surrounded by silvery-gold light, swirling around me like ink tipped in water. It was only once I’d given into an overwhelming desire to sleep that I had the vague realisation that Freya must have been following closely behind me. I smiled inwardly and waited for the soft landing of the Slipworld. We’d done it, we were safe.

  Then, all of a sudden, I felt a violent jolt as something gripped hold of my arm. I tried to open my eyes but for some reason I couldn’t. They were locked shut and there was nothing I could do about it. Blinded, I began to panic, thrashing wildly to free myself from whatever had grabbed me. But it was impossible. Something, or someone, had me firmly anchored in the world of matter. And now they were starting to drag me back.

  “Let me go!” I screamed, but my voice was ripped from me, swallowed in a vacuum of nothingness, as the grip on my arm grew tighter and tighter. I was now so desperate to see what was happening that I could feel my eyeballs straining against the insides of my eyelids. Then, all of a sudden, my eyes flew open and a pang of intense relief pounded through my body. But it was momentary, replaced almost instantly with the horror of realising that I was now being pulled back through the wall of the stairwell and into the Cathedral. Suddenly everything stopped. My feet were back on solid ground and I felt unbelievably cold. As I glanced down, I saw a black glove clasped tightly around my wrist. My whole body bristled with horror as I twisted my arm frantically, trying to wrench myself free.

  “Welcome back,” said Demarge.