by SJB Gilmour
‘And you have discovered what it is they seek?’
‘Yes, master. They’re looking for a book called The Babylonian Heresies.’
The goblin smiled. ‘Your training is nearly complete.’
‘Nearly, master? What do I have to do now? Kill more priests?’
Now the goblin stopped smiling and turned to face the very patch of bracken in which Wallop was hiding. ‘You cannot be called a Nunjuxu until you can go completely un-noticed, Mandy Kelly.’
He said her name as though it was a deadly insult and Wallop immediately realised just how much danger he was in. With a terrified squawk, he turned and bolted into the forest. Though he did not see her do it, he knew the lycanthrope had changed into her monstrous half wolf-half human form and was now bounding after him. Wailing in terror, he ran even faster, but he was not fast enough. The monster pounced on him and held him down with two massive claws.
Unable to do more than gasp in horror, Wallop watched the great mouth open up, draw back then move in to chomp. There was a great roar and a flash of red light. The weight of the lycanthrope was gone from Wallop’s chest and there was a pained, angry yelp.
Wallop squirmed back on the ground to see one of the spirits of Castlerigg hovering between himself and the furious beast.
‘Begone, lycanthrope,’ commanded the ancient spirit. It held one ghostly hand out and hurled a blast of some invisible force at the creature who had come within seconds of chomping Wallop in two. The creature yelped again as it was blasted back several more metres. It gave one last furious roar and then turned and bolted away.
Blinking and stammering, Wallop stared as the spectre turned and focused its glowing red eyes on him.
‘You would do well to find sanctuary that monster cannot breach, hobgoblin,’ the spirit warned him.
Wallop could only nod and stammer incoherently.
‘We caretakers of Castlerigg have watched you for a long time. You have played your part in this prophecy well so far, and we hope you continue to do so. You cannot do that from within the gizzard of a lycanthrope.’
Wallop finally regained some of his nerve. ‘What are you talking about?’ he asked, hauling himself to his feet.
The spirit waved to him in dismissal. ‘Seek out your fellows, Wallop the Watcher. Truly, there is safety in numbers.’ Then the spirit sank into the ground and disappeared.
Wallop stood there, shivering and panting to himself. He was so shaken that he didn’t hear two of his friends creep out of the bracken behind him.
‘Wow,’ one of them said. ‘A Castlerigg Caretaker has never spoken to a hobgoblin like that before.’
‘He called him Wallop the Watcher!’ breathed the other hobgoblin.
All Wallop’s terror and misery faded away as a new sensation filled him, and it was something he’d never really felt before. Wallop blinked back tears as for the first time in his long life he felt genuine pride at having at last gained the respect of his fellows.
In the tower high above The Nonagon, Mautallius had begun his new regime. The old system, which had run relatively smoothly for thousands of years, was gone. The circular stone bench around Conundrum Gate was gone, as was The Sorcerers’ Guild Council. Now a large stone throne that Mautallius had erected near the far wall opposite the door was the only furniture in the great round hall.
The ancient nine-sided design on the floor remained inactive, though it was now stained with the blood and ashes of a few foolhardy sorcerers who had objected to Mautallius’ takeover. On the floor at the base of the throne, upon which Mautallius sat, Marzdane was on his knees. Blood ran freely from his eyes and nose and his robe smoked as if it was about to burst into flame. He raised his head and gazed pleadingly at his master.
‘Please!’ he croaked.
‘You idiot!’ Mautallius snarled at his grovelling underling. He blasted Marzdane with another bolt of lightning. ‘Why can you not find them?’
Marzdane screamed and writhed in pain. ‘I don’t know! Every time we try to find her, all the scrying leads back to us here. It doesn’t make any sense!’
Mautallius sneered at him. ‘The Golden Mane cannot be here at Conundrum Gate, you fool! Have you not searched this place in its entirety? Would we not sense her presence were she here?’
‘My Lord—’ Marzdane begged.
‘Silence!’ Mautallius thundered at him. ‘A piece of The Star of Planes has emerged and Coppernick has it. If we cannot find her to wrest it from her, then we must find some other way of operating this portal before us.’
Marzdane paled. ‘H… How?’ he stammered. ‘Without the Star of Planes, how can you open Conundrum Gate?’
Mautallius grimaced for a moment as the demon Hnug that had possessed him, gave him more instructions within his diseased mind. Then he smiled maliciously.
‘It will not be simple, but it is possible. It will require the right sacrifice at the right time.’ He looked sky-wards for a moment. ‘There is a convergence coming, and when it happens, that sacrifice will be sufficient for my mistress to lend me enough of her power to forge a new key to this portal.’ He paused and glared at Marzdane. ‘This miserable planet has plenty enough resources for that. And,’ and he pointed at Marzdane ominously, ‘we had better prevent her from finding the other piece while we’re at it.’
‘Guntex is scouring the globe now, my Lord. If anyone can find them, it’s Guntex.’
Mautallius scoffed. ‘That misbegotten goblin couldn’t find his claws in front of his nose. The sacrifice must be an innocent. A powerful one.’
Even though he was in terrible pain and fearful for his life, Marzdane was shocked still.
‘You wouldn’t!’ he gasped. ‘That’s forbidden!’
Mautallius laughed. ‘You fool,’ he replied scathingly. ‘Forbidden by whom?’ He waggled his left foot at Marzdane. Unlike his right foot, which was still human, the foot that the dragon Siouxanne had bitten off the previous year had grown back hairy and hoofed. It resembled nothing more than the hoof of a goat. He had long since given up fighting against Hnug’s gradual overtaking of his body. Now that he shared his consciousness with the demon, he was only barely in control of anything, and that control was fading fast. Sooner or later, he would stop using the word “we”, which would be the sign that Hnug’s possession of him was complete.
‘You forget that we are the ones doing the forbidding around here, Marzdane. No-one forbids us anything any more. Draw up a list of potential sacrifices.’
Marzdane blanched.
Mautallius took Marzdane’s horrified pause as a lack of understanding.
‘Children, you fool,’ he grated. ‘Compile a list of all the enchanted children under the age of fifteen.’
He couldn’t believe he could think such a horrible thing, but he knew he had to correct Mautallius.
‘Perhaps fifteen is a little mature, my Lord,’ Marzdane suggested. He felt ill to the stomach at his own idea. ‘Humans on this planet are all almost certainly corrupted by the time they hit puberty.’
Now Mautallius grinned. ‘Of course,’ he purred wickedly. ‘The younger and purer the better. Make it all the kiddies under the age of ten.’
The wicked old sorcerer stepped off his throne and walked to the wall behind it. He levelled his finger at the wall and created a huge burning nonagram. The air around him glowed green and a foul stench of things not long dead and rotting permeated the room. A great, shimmering window to a hell appeared. There, coiled on a throne, far grander than Mautallius’, was a hideous demon that was half snake, half woman. Her body from the shoulders down resembled that of a nubile human female, covered in snake scales. Her neck and head was that of a great, mottled cobra.
Beside her stood her two pet demons that Marzdane recognised, Hnag and Hnug. Hnug, the demon who had possessed Mautallius, leaned on a wall. His left foot was missing and his body was slightly transparent. Chained beside Hnag, was the miserable, naked form of Miranda Molotov. Her burns had healed into hideous scar
s and she was battered and bruised. She looked as though she had suffered terrible things during her enslavement to Hnag.
Mautallius bowed low before his mistress for a moment then stood proudly. His face was twisted in a cruel grin.
The snake devil peered through the window. ‘Ahh, Mautallius,’ she hissed. ‘Hast thou established the portal between this my home and your world?’
‘Not yet, my queen,’ Mautallius replied urbanely. ‘But it won’t be long now. And your army? Is it prepared?’
She waved to one side and the image through the window followed.
Marzdane gasped in horror as he saw what Mautallius planned to unleash upon the Earth. The army of demons was beyond huge. Millions of the vile beasts, each one more hideous than the last, spread out over a plain that went as far as the eye could see.
He shuddered and felt so horrified he thought he would throw up. One demon unleashed was bad enough. A dozen could destroy an entire city. The endless horde he saw through that window represented a horror of unimaginable proportions. The only positive thing he could see about the whole mess was that Herpethia, as strong as she was, had to remain close to her army to keep them under control. If she were to come to Earth by herself, she’d lose her grip on her tame demons and then she’d be no more powerful than any other devil. Of course, that was why she needed Conundrum Gate. It was the only portal big enough to transport her and her army at the same time.
‘As thou can see,’ Herpethia said coldly, ‘The charm spell thou hast given me works most satisfactorily. My subjects do but wait for thee to complete the task thou hast set thyself.’ She waved at the window and it shattered into shards of blackened ice.
High up on the peak of Mount Olympos, Angela beckoned to Ronny.
‘Master Mason,’ she said quite brusquely. ‘Do you have any livestock with you?’
Ronny seemed surprised, and then nodded. ‘I always keep a goat in my satchel,’ he replied. ‘Just in case.’
Angela pursed her lips. ‘A cow would be better, but a goat will have to do.’ She clicked her fingers impatiently. ‘Come, come, I haven’t got all day!’
Like Sarah and everyone else, Ronny understood that Angela had some very valid reasons for being cranky, but he was still surprised at her brusque tone. Obediently, and careful not to antagonise her further, he led a live goat out of his satchel. The stubborn animal bleated and sniffed about a bit but Ronny managed to secure its lead to a tent-peg he thumped into the ground with his boot.
‘Thank-you,’ she replied curtly. ‘Now, sir. If you don’t mind, it might be best for you to be well clear of the immediate area. Demeter’s quite relaxed about halflings. Apollo’s not.’
Ronny nodded. ‘How far away do you want me?’
Angela’s face darkened.
‘I’ll send him back to the shed,’ Sarah offered. Taking Angela’s nod as cue, she immediately sniffed at the ground next to Ronny and created a small gnome-sized portal. Ronny scampered through it and then she let the portal close.
‘Thank-you, Sarah. Now, Sarah and Melanie, I need you in position. Face the west, Sarah. It’s that way.’ She pointed firmly in a direction that Sarah instinctively knew was exactly west. ‘Melanie, you’ll be taking east in a moment. First, I need you to make a fire.’
Sarah wagged her tail and did as she was told. The low, scrubby bushes around them rustled in the wind.
‘In your human form, please Sarah,’ Angela commanded in a tone that brooked no contradiction. Sarah went human while Mel gathered up as much firewood as she could find for the fire.
When the pile was about a metre high, Sarah thought Mel would stop. She didn’t. She kept hunting for as much wood as she could until the pile was at least twice that size.
‘Big enough?’ Mel asked.
‘It will have to do. Now girls, strip off please and take your positions.’ Angela withdrew one of her blades and held it between her teeth then began removing her own clothes.’
Melanie’s face darkened but she remained quiet and obeyed. Sarah wasn’t quite so embarrassed as she was surprised. Nonetheless, she also removed her clothes. She couldn’t help but look about nervously. She certainly didn’t want anyone to come along to find three unclothed women standing around.
Once she was nude, Angela began a low ritual prayer to Apollo in ancient Greek. At first, Sarah could not understand the words, but then something very strange happened. She felt dizzy for a moment and a chill went through her body. The dizziness lasted only a few moments and then she found that she could understand her teacher.
‘Accept this sacrifice, O Archer God and appear to us who stand before thee!’ Angela declared, holding her blade up high. Then she cut the leash from the tent-peg. She then straddled the goat, and holding it by a horn with her left hand, she reached down with her right and drew the blade across the goat’s throat with a deft, clean cut. Then she quickly stepped back and grasped the struggling goat’s hind legs. Holding the knife in her right hand high in the air again, and the dying goat in her left, she walked around the pile of wood that Melanie had built, spilling the blood in a complete circle around it. Of course, the blood did more than spill all over the ground. A great deal of it splashed over her body as well. The sight of this dark-haired and usually quite beautiful woman, stark naked, covered in blood and holding a dying animal and knife was more than a little unnerving.
‘Now please, Mel,’ she ordered calmly.
Without turning her face from the direction she’d been instructed to face, Mel concentrated on the pile of wood.
‘Pyros!’ she ordered, using the Magaeic command to set something on fire. The pile of wood immediately burst into flame.
Then, as calmly as if she was discarding an apple core, Angela tossed the goat onto the roaring fire. In a great voice, she repeated the prayer as the smell of burning meat and smoke filled the air.
Sarah felt an amazing presence materialising nearby and she knew, even though she could not see it, that the presence was a god. This time, it was different than the presence she had felt when Demeter had appeared. Demeter’s presence was gentle, feminine and warming. This presence was not so gentle and most definitely male.
What Sarah and Melanie could not see, Angela could. Within moments, a white-robed figure of perhaps the most beautiful man alive appeared. He was tall, tanned, with dark wavy hair. His eyes were piercingly blue and His teeth so white they gleamed. Across His shoulder was slung a golden bow and a quiver of arrows. There was no mistaking it, standing behind her, Sarah knew, was the ancient and powerful Apollo.
He looked at Sarah for a brief moment and His eyes widened in recognition. Sarah shuddered as she felt for the briefest of moments, the touch of a god’s mind. Resolutely, she stood firm and continued to face the west.
Then Apollo turned to face Angela. For several moments, the two appeared to be having a telepathic conversation. Finally, Apollo broke into a great grin and He embraced the naked and very bloody Angela lovingly. The blood and muck did not come off her onto His robe. Then He turned back to Sarah, who was still resolutely standing still, and held out His right hand.
‘Attend me, Golden Mane,’ He instructed.
Sarah gave a start and slowly, shaking with excitement, she turned to see the most amazingly handsome man she’d ever laid eyes on. Suddenly she remembered that she was naked and blushed furiously. Apollo seemed to take her embarrassment in stride. He held out His hand to her. There, in that strong, beautifully manicured hand was a gold, nine-sided coin. Sarah immediately recognised its shape. This was the missing piece of The Star of Planes!
Sarah felt very awkward and gauche in front of this gorgeous god. She swallowed and closed her eyes for a moment and then, still with a flaming face, she bowed her head and then reached out to take the coin. Apollo smiled once more and disappeared.
The moment His presence was gone, Mel whirled about, obviously disappointed that she had missed out on seeing her god. Then she saw what Sarah was holding. She gaped fir
st at Sarah and then her aunt.
‘Wow!’ Mel exclaimed, scrambling back into her clothes. ‘Is that thing what I think it is?’
Sarah was also quite grateful to don her clothes again, though her face was still bright red. She gazed at the coin nodding. Then she cried out in pain. The coin glowed for a moment then sank into her hand, exactly the way the outer piece had done to Mel.
Sarah clutched her wrist and gritted her teeth. The pain had stopped but she could feel the coin inside her hand. She changed form and immediately began gnawing at her paw, whining in frustration.
Now dressed again, Angela rolled her eyes and muttered something profane. Then she turned back to the fire and knelt in the dirt.
‘Hear me, Holy Demeter—’ she began. She didn’t need to finish the prayer. Demeter appeared beside the fire. This time, the goddess of harvests was holding a basket of freshly picked beetroots. She took the situation in with one quick glance.
‘Again?’ She asked Angela, offering her a still-dirty beetroot.
Angela bowed and nodded to the goddess. Taking a beetroot, she replied, ‘My thanks, Holy Demeter.’ She nodded at Sarah. ‘It’s the other half this time. It sank into the werewolf’s paw, just as the first piece did to my niece.’
Demeter walked over to Sarah and crouched down beside her. Only then was Sarah able to fight her instinct enough to stop chewing at her paw.
‘Be still, Golden Mane,’ the goddess instructed, setting her basket of beetroots down on the ground.
Sarah whined and changed back to human. She held her hand out to the earthy goddess. The coin vanished from Sarah’s flesh and reappeared in Demeter’s palm. The goddess then rose and stepped over to Mel.
‘Take this, Last Daughter of Troy.’ She held the coin out for Mel to take.
Mel reached for it then hesitated. ‘Won’t it burn me?’
Demeter gave her a stern look.
‘I mean, won’t it burn me, Holy Demeter?’
Demeter smiled and the coin glowed for a moment. When the light faded, it was encased in a silver amulet very much like the one Sarah wore around her neck, only without the runes. Mel picked the amulet up by its chain and hung it around her neck.