“They’re disconnecting the train cars,” he said.
“Oh my holy Steeples,” I snapped. “Quick!”
I rushed back toward the windowless train car. I opened the door in time to see it start to rise into the air. I leapt and gripped a handrail on the exterior of the train car. The others leapt after me and attached themselves to the train car however they could. I grabbed Harry Two and secured him in his harness. We did all this not a moment too soon, for the car soared into the air and then shot forward with such velocity that had we not been holding on tight and tethered together, we would have assuredly plummeted.
As we raced along, I wondered if we should simply let go and fly along behind the car. But we were moving so fast that I doubted, with all of us along for the ride, whether Destin could have matched the car’s speed. Thus I just held on as tightly as I could.
It was freezing up here, and my teeth involuntarily clacked together. I looked at the others and saw they were experiencing the very same thing.
After what seemed like forever, we began to slow and then descend. It was still dark, but I perceived the lights down below.
I said over my shoulder, “I … I think it’s Maladon Castle.”
As we flew lower and lower, my fears rose higher and higher.
We were directly over the castle now, and as we hovered in midair, a huge dome that I had not noticed on my previous visit started to open. Once it was done, the train car lowered down into the now uncovered space.
When the train car landed with a hard jolt on the floor of the castle, I immediately looked around. The space we were in was large and open and lighted by torches lining the stone walls.
A large door set against one of the walls opened.
And there he was.
I inwardly groaned.
It was Endemen.
And he was leading a tethered garm.
As he drew more fully into the torchlight, I saw with some satisfaction that his suit was dirty, his sleeve torn and his hair disheveled. And he had a large lump over one eye, no doubt due to my Impacto spell.
He looked murderous.
And in his other hand he held his wand.
Why hadn’t I destroyed them when I had the chance? I shot Petra a glance. She was glaring at me in a way that said, I bloody well told you so, you git.
He was followed into the room by the same group of Bowler Hats, who looked as rumpled and angry as he did.
I let go of the train and beckoned the others to follow me. We paused at the door and looked back.
The train car door opened, and in went Endemen and the garm. No doubt they were going to use the garm to sniff us out before blasting us to smithereens.
We stepped through the door Endemen had come through and then peeked back around the corner, watching.
Minutes passed as the garm no doubt went from one end of the train car to the other. Nothing happened. There were no spell blasts.
Next thing the branded folks were being led off the train car.
“Quick,” I said. “I know where they’re going. And we can’t let the garm close enough to smell us.”
We retreated down the passageway. Finally, we reached a part of the castle that I recognized, and, gaining my bearings, I led the others toward the room where the branded ones would be taken to rob them of their magic.
The door to this room was open, no doubt because they knew the fresh batch of victims were on their way. We slipped inside and then over to a far corner so we could look around.
Surprisingly, there was no one here.
I showed the others the looking glasses on the wall. They were now all empty, and my heart ached at what this represented. I especially remembered the little girl who had pleaded with her mother to save her. I wondered where she was right now. Was she already a slave in Greater True?
Then I pointed out the bottles with the fine dust in them that were stacked in the niches as before.
I saw Delph and Petra pale as they looked at them. Even poor Harry Two gave a little whine of sadness.
“Vega Jane, look; the bottles are labeled,” said Delph.
I looked more closely and saw what I had not seen before. Each bottle was engraved with the name of the person, I assumed, from whom the dust had been taken. I recoiled, but only for a moment, because an idea had occurred to me.
I pointed my wand at the bottles and said, “Minamite.”
All the glass bottles instantly shrunk down to where I could have held them collectively in the palm of my hand. I scooped them up and thrust them into my cloak pocket.
“But, Vega Jane,” said Delph. “They’ll certainly notice they’re gone.”
Petra had opened a trunk that sat against one wall.
“Look here.”
It was full of empty bottles. That made sense, as they would always need more bottles.
I looked wildly around. We needed something to fill them with.
Then I saw it. The large hole in the wall from my previous battle was still there.
“Delph, grab that bucket over there.”
He did so.
“Hold it under that hole in the wall.”
I pointed my wand at the hole and said, “Springato erupticus.”
This spell wasn’t simply for water. It would take out of something whatever was inside of it. A moment later, fine grains of sand started pouring out of the wall and into the bucket.
When it was full up, I used my wand to quickly fill all the bottles with the sand and then corked them.
“The names,” said Delph. “The bleeding names.”
Petra and I used our wands to magically engrave some names we had seen on the bottles, but only on the ones in the front of the niche because we hadn’t time to do them all. We had just finished this when Delph said warningly, “They’re coming.”
The door opened all the way, and in marched the branded ones along with their captors, including Endemen. Thankfully, he had left the garm behind.
Still, we shrunk back into the farthest corner and watched, our breaths held tightly as we tried to stay perfectly still.
Daphne and the others dutifully lined up against one of the walls and stared at nothing as Endemen paced back and forth in front of them.
I clutched my wand, and I observed that Petra was doing the same.
Delph had balled his hands into fists.
Endemen finally turned to face the group.
He lifted his wand and pointed it at Daphne. Without him saying any words, a light shot out and plunged directly into Daphne’s chest.
She stiffened even more, and her rigid gaze focused on Endemen.
“Did you meet a stranger at Bimbleton Station?” he asked.
Daphne nodded. “It was a young woman.”
“Her name?”
“Vega.”
Endemen shot one of the Bowler Hats a glance and then returned his gaze to Daphne.
“What else can you tell me about her?”
“She was asking questions. Who we were and where we were from. Very nosy, she was.”
I frowned as I watched Endemen ponder this.
“Did she say where she was from?”
“A place called Wormwood.”
Endemen froze for an instant. “Well, well,” he said, smiling.
I felt my panic rising. I never should have told Daphne where I was really from. I should have just lied. I inwardly groaned at my stupidity.
“What else?” queried Endemen.
“That’s all.”
“You lie!”
He snapped his wand at her and she fell to the floor screaming in agony.
Petra raised her wand but I grabbed her hand. I looked at her in fury and mouthed the word no.
I turned back to see Endemen standing over Daphne, who was still twitching on the floor.
“Tell me the truth,” he said.
“I am, I swear,” she sobbed. “I was afraid she was trying to get on the train ahead of us so I left her.”
&n
bsp; “But you told her how to get to Clarendon on Hillshire.”
My heart sank, even as my guilt rose. He didn’t know we had overheard her telling him!
“No, I didn’t. I swear it.”
“You lie.” He looked at the others. “You all lie.”
Then suddenly, with no warning, he shouted, “Rigamorte,” at the same time he gave a backward slash of his wand. A black light shot out of it and slammed into all of them.
They toppled to the floor as though roped together. We all stood there, stunned. I looked down at Daphne.
Her eyes were open and fixed.
He had just killed her.
He had just murdered her.
I looked at the others. He had just murdered them all.Waves of molten anger poured over me.
But before I could do anything, Endemen and his cronies had vanished through the doorway.
I just stood there, my chest heaving, my eyes filling with tears as I stared over at dead Daphne, and then at the others. They were all young, barely older than me. And their lives were already over, because of a mark on their hands, and a madman who liked nothing better than to kill.
I fingered the Adder Stone in my pocket. I knew it could not regrow limbs. And I believed it could not bring back the dead. But it had brought Harry Two back from very near death twice. So there was the possibility …
I took it out, waved it over Daphne’s body and thought the best thoughts I could.
And she remained as still and lifeless as ever.
I finally felt something tug on my sleeve. It was Delph. He looked at me questioningly. I slowly put the Stone away.
I had lied to Russell. I had done nothing to save Daphne. I had done nothing to save any of them.
The shame I felt was beyond belief. It felt like I had no control over my limbs.
But I took several long breaths, steeled myself and marched out the door with the others behind me.
I told myself that if I ever had another chance to kill Endemen I would not hesitate.
WE SKITTERED DOWN a hall and turned a corner. And there good fortune finally found us.
There was a Maladon in a cloak. And behind him, attired in elegant clothes but with blank eyes, was a tall man with skin the color of a walnut. He was one of the enslaved. They had them here too!
There was no one else around, and I whispered to Petra what I needed her to do. She nodded and we raised our wands together.
“Impacto,” I said. My spell struck the Maladon full in the chest and he slumped to the stone floor.
“Subservio,” said Petra, and her spell hit the tall eye-less man.
He instantly became rigid.
I performed the magnification spell and saw that a room across the corridor was empty.
Delph lifted up the stunned Maladon and carried him into that room. I used my wand to bind the Maladon tightly.
Then we turned our attention to the eyeless man.
His clothes were shiny and neatly pressed and looked to be of the best quality. I wondered, and not for the first time, why they would dress slaves in such finery.
We gathered around him in the small space and I released the invisibility shield by turning my ring around.
“Can you see us?” I asked.
He nodded.
So despite the blank eyes he still retained his sight.
I said, “What is your name?”
“I have no name. I am a Victus.”
We looked at one another. “A Victus,” I said. “What does that mean?”
The others shook their heads.
I thought back to the labels on the bottles. I hadn’t seen a Victus, but then I hadn’t had time to look at them all.
I looked back at Victus. “How came you to be here?”
“I just am here. I do not know how I came to be here.”
I sighed. This bloke wasn’t being much help.
Delph whispered, “Vega Jane, they’ve probably removed his memories. So ask him about now. What he’s learned about being here.”
I nodded. That was a cracking good idea.
“Okay, Victus, what can you tell us about Mr. Endemen?”
“He is one of my masters. A great sorcerer.”
“And does he have a master here?” I asked sharply. “The man in the cloak who sits on the throne in the big room?”
“That is our king. Necro. The ruler of everything there is.”
I looked at Delph. “Bloody Necro. The bloke’s still alive.”
My greatest fear had just been realized. The evil bloke who’d defeated my ancestors was still alive.
“Victus,” I said, “have you heard of anyone named Virgil here?”
He shook his head.
“How about a man and a woman named Hector and Helen?”
“No. No one with those names.”
“How many Maladons are in the castle?”
“Hundreds. This is where most of my masters live.”
“Have you been to True or Greater True?”
“I served my masters in Greater True before coming here.”
“They keep garms and jabbits here. Any other creatures?”
“No.” He paused. “But I have not been to all parts of the castle. There is the Tower Room.”
“Do you know what’s in the Tower Room?” Petra asked.
He shook his head. “I do know it’s heavily guarded.”
“By what?” I asked.
“Two jabbits, for one thing.”
“So not just jabbits?” I said, my spirits plummeting.
“Well, there’s magic o’course.”
“O’course,” I parroted back, and then my expression changed. “Would you like to ever leave this place, Victus?” I asked.
He shook his head. “Never. This is my home. ’Tis an honor to serve my masters.”
“Even though they don’t treat you well? They hit you and curse you, don’t they?”
“ ’Tis my fault when they do. For I have displeased them somehow. They are fair and just.”
I sighed. This was not going well. The bloke’s mind was simply too damaged for him to see the truth any longer. Now my thoughts turned to what could possibly be in the Tower.
I looked at Victus. “Do you know how to get to the Tower?”
He nodded dumbly.
“Then tell me.”
“But why do you want to go there?”
“Please, Victus, just tell me. I’d really appreciate it.”
To my surprise, his lips quivered.
“Yes, miss; of course, miss.”
And he told us.
I looked down at the bound Maladon before glancing up at Petra. I know what she wanted to do: kill him. And a large part of me wanted to strike as well. But my practical side took over.
“If they find him dead, it will alert the whole castle.”
She slowly nodded, but didn’t look pleased.
I removed the bindings from the Maladon and cast a Confusio spell over him to muddle his mind enough to where he would not know what had happened. And, most important, would not blame Victus for anything.
I turned once more to Victus and explained what I had done and why.
“I don’t want you getting into any trouble for helping us,” I said.
His lips quivered once more.
I put out my hand. “And I want to thank you so much for helping us, Victus.”
He slowly reached out and shook my hand. For a brief moment I thought I saw something else in his blank eyes, something that perhaps had always been there until it was buried so deep Victus had been unable to find it.
I performed the incantation to release him from the Subservio spell. However, his look didn’t really change. But I thought there was an expression I recognized somewhere deep in his features: gratitude.
We left them behind and, safely under the invisibility shield, we made our way cautiously toward the Tower.
We rose higher and higher, following Victus’s directions, climbing stone stai
rs and wooden ladders and winding steel steps.
Then we reached a corridor and I knew we had arrived.
I knew that by the sounds.
A pair of jabbits was screeching.
We rounded the last corner and there they were.
Each was poised on either side of a large metal door. Inside that door was the Tower Room, along with whatever was so important that it required twin jabbits to guard it.
The serpents were swaying back and forth, their hundreds of eyes surveying the hall in front of them, but luckily not seeing us. But I was pretty sure they could smell us, or soon would.
“How are we going to do this?” whispered Delph.
We had dealt with jabbits before, as he well knew. But this was tricky. We couldn’t have a pitched battle in here with the bloody things. The noise from that would summon every Maladon in the castle.
I looked at Petra and told her the spell to cast.
She nodded and took aim at the serpent on the right while I focused my attention on the one on the left.
Delph and Harry Two stepped back and waited.
“Paralycto,” Petra and I said simultaneously.
The spells shot out and hit the jabbits right in the chest.
They froze in midscreech.
We lowered our wands and glanced appreciatively at each other.
“Right good one,” said Delph.
Harry Two licked my wand hand.
We cautiously moved forward. Victus had said that magic also guarded the Tower Room, but I had no idea what shape this defense would take.
We reached the door safely, though my heart was beating uncommonly fast. It was unnerving to be so close to the vile jabbits, paralyzed or not.
I looked at the door, studying the lock. Astrea Prine had shown me several spells that would open locked doors. And I was deciding which one would be best to use now. I did not think that the Ingressio spell would work. But another might.
I raised my wand and said, “Securius terminus.”
To my delight, the door swung open.
My delight turned to suspicion, because it suddenly occurred to me that all this was far too easy.
But we were here and we needed to see what was inside the room.
I eased the door open and we stepped through.
Delph said, “We need to hurry, Vega Jane. Someone might come along and see the jabbits all frozen-like.”
The room was not large, so at least it would not take us long to see what was here.
The Width of the World Page 17