Blood and Fire (Book 3)

by Marcus Alexander

Summoning all of his weird strength, all of his crow powers, he raised the vase high.

  The god’s eyes widened.

  Mr Crow brought his arms flashing down. The vase tumbled through the air and smashed with an anticlimactic tinkle.

  He paused. Somehow he had expected more.

  A wind rose. It started softly, then grew until the sound of it roared around the chamber. A ball of light appeared amongst the shards of pottery and as the wind increased in power a whirling vortex of stars appeared. Terrified, Mr Crow backed away. The feeling of suction increased and he turned and ran.

  A horrific screech caused him to falter. Looking over his shoulder, he saw the halo that surrounded Bane’s god stream towards the ball of light, momentarily revealing the charcoal monster in all its ghastly splendour before it too was pulled towards the sphere. Shrieking and howling, it resisted the gravitational pull for as long as it could.

  SSSHHHKMPF!

  The god, the light, the twinkling stars and the wind disappeared, leaving nothing behind. Not even a shard of pottery.

  Mr Crow blinked in astonishment. He moved hesitantly forward and patted at the ground to test for any concealments or traces. There were none.

  A wicked smile appeared on the lawyer’s face. He capered around and danced a jig.

  ‘Freeeeeeeee! Free! Free at last! No more eyes! No more scrabbling and pawing through my brain! No more charcoal monster! Ha!’ Cackling in delight, he continued to dance from side to side in a jaunty rhythm. He stopped abruptly. His smile turned from one of joy to one of malice. ‘If I’m free, then it’s time to balance the books. Time to wipe the slate clean! Time for the Keeper family to feel a little justice!’

  Chuckling to himself, he skipped down the bridge, spread his arms wide, jumped and burst apart into a pack of crows. They flew over the side of the bridge, shrieking and hooting, then headed down one of the many lava-lined tunnels in a mass of inky wings.

  As they wheeled round a corner they came face to face with a snarling pack of dragons who were finishing off the last of the Stowyrms. Croaking and hooting, whistling and cawing, the pack of birds fluttered past the combatants and, before anyone could react to their presence, hastened on their way.

  The Throne Room was deserted. There were no Shades, footmen or Stowyrms. Nor was there any sign of Hotstepper or Jensen. Charlie and Nibbler stood in front of the Tapestry.

  ‘Are those your parents?’ asked Nibbler.

  ‘Yes. Mya –’ she pointed to her mother – ‘and Elias,’ she pointed to her father. ‘This is the first time I’ve seen them in more than seven years.’

  Unable to think of a suitable reply, Nibbler stood quietly by her side. After a minute of contemplation, he cleared his throat. ‘Think we should be getting out of here?’

  ‘Probably,’ admitted Charlie. ‘But I won’t. I’m going to stay here and defeat Bane once and for all.’

  Nibbler looked at her like she was crazy. ‘Charlie, look at you. Look at the state of you! If you couldn’t defeat Bane when you were fresh, what makes you think you’re going to be able to do that now?’

  ‘Because I’ve got a plan.’

  ‘Yeah? Why didn’t you use it the first time?’

  ‘Because I thought I could win through sheer strength and determination. It didn’t work so now I’m going to act smart and use Bane’s sense of superiority to our advantage. Are you with me?’

  ‘I don’t know … You’ll need to prove to me that you’re not going to do anything foolhardy before I get on board. What do you have in mind?’

  ‘Did you see Last Laugh?’ asked Charlie.

  Nibbler’s face twisted. He, Jensen and Hotstepper had passed the fallen Winged One earlier. ‘I saw him.’

  ‘I want you to get all the Winged Ones you can find and wait for me in that shaft where Last Laugh is lying now.’

  ‘And then what?’

  ‘I bring Bane to meet his judgement. Now, do you think you can do that for me?’

  ‘Of course, Charlie … but I wish you wouldn’t do this. Come with me and we’ll get the others together. It’ll be easier to finish Bane as a group.’

  ‘You know it won’t work like that. Bane is too smart, too cunning, and if he can’t beat us with strength then he’ll do something else. When we defeated Bane’s First we thought Sylvaris was safe but he had another two armies to call on. And when we freed the Winged Ones we thought we’d finally won but then he had the Stowyrms. Don’t you see that he’s always got something up his sleeve and he’s always one step ahead of us? Come on, Nibbler, you know there’s too much at stake! It’s not just us who will lose if things fall apart but all of Bellania. We’ve got to defeat him and we’ve got to do it now. Please, I’m asking you as my dearest friend. Help me with this. Please go and get the Winged Ones and meet me back in that shaft.’

  Nibbler didn’t appear happy. Nor did he appear ready to agree with her, but he had seen her like this before and knew there would be no arguing with her. ‘Charlie, you can be as stubborn as a mule,’ he said with a begrudging yet loyal admiration. ‘But I’ll do it. Just make sure you meet us there.’ He grabbed her mangled hand and held it aloft. ‘And for the realm’s sake, make sure you get there in one piece!’

  Charlie gave him a swift hug. ‘I’ll do my best.’

  She walked him through the ruins of the Throne Room, past the antechamber and into the courtyard. Hearing a crash reverberate from somewhere close by in the building, Charlie slapped Nibbler on the rump. ‘Go! Get it done and be quick.’

  ‘I’ll do it,’ promised Nibbler. ‘Stay safe until I get back.’

  Spreading his wings, he beat his way up the shaft.

  Charlie shouted at his dwindling back, ‘Just make sure you meet me back here as quick as you can!’

  He waved at her, then scrabbled his way into one of the broad openings that lined the shaft’s interior.

  Charlie waited until she was certain that he wouldn’t double back, then guiltily made her way to Last Laugh’s corpse. She stared at the fallen dragon. Quickly, before her nerve gave up, she whispered, ‘I’m sorry.’ Knowing that she would need all the strength she could get for the task ahead, she knelt down and dipped her hands in his blood. She smeared a generous amount over her wounded calf and gritted her teeth against the sudden pain that surged through her leg. When the sensation subsided, she pushed her trembling fingers back into the pool of blood and, grabbing hold of her courage, upended another handful between her lips.

  ‘Aaaaaaagh!’ she half screamed, half gurgled.

  The agony was terrible. Falling backwards, she drummed her heels and flailed her arms. When it was over, she gasped and sucked in great lungfuls of air. She could feel the strength of it, just as she could feel the changes it was rendering in her body. The wounds and aches, the sprains and the knotted stiffness all disappeared and were replaced by a jagged sensation of barely contained power.

  But she wasn’t done. Not yet. If she was to stand any chance of defeating Bane she would need more. Dipping her hands in the still-warm liquid, she drank again and again until she could stand no more. And when the pain was over, Charlie stood up with a new glimmer in her eye.

  She looked a different creature from the young girl who had first set foot in Deepforest. Her finger was missing, her leg bore too many scars to count and her hair was covered with so much ichor and blood that it was impossible to tell its true colour. But the gash in her calf had healed and her Will, so nearly broken by her last encounter with Bane, had returned. More than that, she felt strong. Stronger than she had ever felt before. Last Laugh’s blood chased through her stomach and into her heart and raced through her veins.

  She was as ready as she would ever be.

  Placing one hand upon Last Laugh’s muzzle, she leaned low and knowing that it was a pointless gesture nonetheless whispered, ‘You lived up to your name and even though you’re gone you’ll still be inside me when I deliver justice to the Western Menace.’

  Swiftly and si
lently she ghosted back through the door and headed for the Throne Room. She would wait for Bane there.

  66

  Crow

  She was sitting quietly in front of the Tapestry when she heard the sound of footsteps behind her.

  ‘So you came back to finish the job?’ She turned round with an expression of certainty on her face that abruptly faltered when she saw the figure behind her. ‘You?’

  Mr Crow twitched his head from side to side before peeling his lips open to reveal wickedly sharp teeth. ‘Yes, Charlie, it’s me. Your old friend and steadfast lawyer.’

  ‘Bu-but –’ stammered Charlie, astonished. He was the last person she had expected to see. She cast her eyes frantically around, hoping to find Bane so she could get on with the task at hand, but it was just the two of them.

  ‘What?’ screeched Crow. ‘Got no time for me? Got no time for the man who worked his fingers to the bone to keep you and your grandmother in house and home?’ As he grew more agitated parts of his body split into birds, then reformed seconds later. It was a disconcerting effect and hinted at the madness unfolding inside his head. ‘Got no time for the lawyer who put clothes on your back and food on your plate?’

  Flabbergasted by the nonsense coming out of his mouth, Charlie struggled to keep her temper. She had bigger fish to fry but with the dragonsblood rampaging through her veins it was proving hard to master her emotions. ‘Look,’ she reasoned, ‘I know you’ve … changed but you can’t be here right now. You can’t.’

  Crow shrieked. Opening his mouth, he wriggled his long black tongue back and forth. ‘Can’t? Can’t be here? Trying to boss me around, my filly? Oh, that sounds just like your mother and father! That’s just the sort of thing they would say. Don’t! Can’t! Shouldn’t! Mustn’t! Rules! Laws! Obligations!’ He burst apart into a flock of birds, then reassembled closer to her. ‘Well, look where that sort of talk got your parents! Look!’ He pointed at the Tapestry. ‘That’s what they deserve for treating me so poorly.’

  Charlie suddenly snapped. She couldn’t help it. All the buried emotions and hurts of years gone by now resurfaced, demanding to be heard.

  ‘You greedy, spiteful fool! You never did an honest day of work in your life! You did next to nothing for Gran and you’re a thief! A low-down, good-for-nothing thief! If I didn’t have something else to do I’d pay you back for all the bruises you gave me. Get out of here!’

  But Crow wasn’t listening to her. He only had ears for the tirade of twisted words screaming inside his own skull. ‘You never deserved to live in that house! You never deserved any of it! Someone else should have had the chance to live there! Someone who was worthy of all the opportunities and privileges that came with it!’

  ‘Yeah?’ shouted Charlie, every bit as infuriated as Mr Crow was mad. ‘Who?’

  ‘Me!’ screamed the lawyer. ‘Me!’

  ‘Wh-what?’ stammered Charlie, shocked by his reply. ‘You?’

  ‘Why not? If I’d had your upbringing, then none of this would have happened to me. I’d be rich and I’d be happy!’

  ‘Rich? Happy? Why, you callous chump! With all the furniture and antiques you stole from my parents’ house, you’re rich already! And as for happiness, you crush any sort of joy each time you see it! You ruined the house, robbed my gran of her health and you used to beat me every day of the week! You’re a –’

  Charlie’s words were cut short as Mr Crow’s insanity reached fever pitch. Wriggling his long tongue like a serpent sniffing the air, he let loose an anguished scream.

  ‘You!’ he shrieked. ‘It’s all your fault! None of this would have happened to me. None of it! It’s your fault I was turned into crows! Your fault that I look like a ghost! Your fault that the charcoal monster picked through my brain! All your fault!’

  Growing even more agitated, he suddenly burst forward and backhanded her across the head. His blow, amplified by his weird strength, sent her teetering back to slam against the Tapestry.

  Charlie’s eyes flared with barely restrained Will as she glared at the madman. ‘You’ve gone too far, Mr Crow, too far! You need to know that I’m no longer the little girl you used to bully. I’m giving you one last chance to go and if you don’t take it I’m going to return all the beatings you gave me … with interest.’

  ‘If there’s going to be any beatings going on here, little worm,’ said a familiar if unpleasant voice, ‘it’ll be done by me.’

  ‘Bane!’

  The giant strode towards them.

  ‘Crowman, you should not be here. Go back to my god.’

  The lawyer’s high-pitched cackle caused the giant to pause.

  ‘God?’ tittered Mr Crow. ‘I won’t be returning to that charcoal monster any time soon.’

  Bane was unaware of Mr Crow’s terrible crime, but was nonetheless displeased with his behaviour. ‘Silence your gibberish and stand aside! I will deal with you later.’

  The fear Mr Crow felt for his master quelled some of his madness. Subdued, he fluttered out of sight.

  Bane returned his attention to Charlie. ‘Your turn has come.’

  67

  Judgement

  Charlie raised her chin to Bane. ‘I’m not scared of you any more.’

  ‘What was that?’ Even with a gap of several metres between the two of them, Charlie could feel the fury pulsating around him. But she did not flinch.

  ‘I said I’m not scared of you any more.’

  ‘We’ll see about that.’

  Bane marched forward. Charlie, fired up by dragonsblood, went to meet him.

  They had tested each other’s mettle in their first encounter but this was different. Faster, stronger and healing at a rapid rate, Charlie was more of a match for her gigantic opponent. Running forward, she ducked beneath a hooked punch and unleashed a sequence of vicious kicks against his torso before rolling out of range. Leaping to her feet with a grim smile, she countered another punch with a flash of Will that left a trail of bright sparks. The two collided, roaring furiously, and exchanged blow after heated blow. The display of raw power cast long shadows dancing across the ceiling. Bane, still the more powerful of the two, would from time to time pummel her to the floor and send her cascading through the air, but each time Charlie would bounce back and attack with renewed vigour.

  Weaving, bobbing and ducking, she flowed from one K’Changa stance to the next. Jumping over his attacks, she countered with a flurry of blows and whips of flame before somersaulting away. Back and forth they went, leaving a trail of broken statues and splintered columns in their wake.

  ‘What do you think, Bane?’ shouted Charlie. ‘I’m not so easy to defeat this time, am I?’

  ‘I don’t know where you found your new strength from,’ he growled, ‘but it’ll do you no good. I will still exact my revenge upon you!’

  ‘Revenge!’ choked Charlie in disbelief. ‘You were the one who stole my parents, killed my friends and plunged this realm into war. Since you came into my life I’ve lost loved ones, parts of my soul and even pieces of my flesh! If there’s to be any revenge it won’t be you taking it!’

  ‘Writhing flesh-bag!’ snarled Bane. He blocked a strike, then stabbed his python-like fingers towards Charlie’s face. ‘It is time for Bellania to be free of meddling Keepers and overbearing winged reptiles! By force or by manipulation I will stamp my desire upon this realm!’

  Charlie hurled a ribbon of Will at the Stoman Lord. ‘Your desire?’ Her screaming voice cracked with disbelief. ‘Your desire for a Stoman empire cost me my parents! You turned them into a mantlepiece ornament! I’m going to stuff my foot through your stupid hoodie and out the other side!’

  ‘We will see, squishy maggot!’

  Clearly getting more incensed with Charlie’s newfound strength and her impudent words, Bane changed his tactics. Summoning more power and washing the Throne Room with the chant of his Stonesong, he began to dip his hands into the floor to rip free large clumps of rock. One by one, he sent these slamming through
the air towards Charlie. She yelped and jumped out of the way at first, but as she grew more confident she began to actually play with the projectiles as though they were a zephyr from a K’Changa game. Grabbing one in passing, she allowed it to almost slip past before spinning round and kicking it with the heel of her foot. She grinned when she saw it change direction. Her smile broadened as she began to intercept more of Bane’s missiles – and then, in a move that surprised both of them, she sent one flying right back at Bane. It shattered in a cloud of fragments when it struck his chest.

  ‘Yes! Take that, you bandage-swaddled fool!’ Charlie taunted Bane with her cheeky grin. ‘I told you I wasn’t scared of you any more!’

  ‘WHAT?’ growled Bane, his rage erupting. ‘Not scared of me? Forget being scared! It does not do justice to the sensation that you should be feeling. Mere fear is not enough. You should be terrified of me! I am BANE! The Western Menace, devourer of men and children, killer of legends, breaker of civilization and a plague upon happiness! I am the silent fear in the night, the quiet dread before sunrise. I am the beating of a terrified heart as it looks into the shadow. I am all that causes the great to tremble and the just to shiver in fear! Do not scorn me, little girl, for it is I who shall break your skinny spine across my knee!’

  ‘Promises, promises!’ jeered Charlie. She knew it might seem like she was needlessly baiting an angered lion but she had to keep going. She had to keep him enraged, for the angrier he got the less likely he was to consider her a threat and the more likely he was to make mistakes.

  ‘Gah! Enough of your infantile chatter! The time has come for you to see the true measure of my power!’

  Spitting his song out like pure venom, he spread his legs and, ignoring the wind that suddenly whipped and whistled around him, raised his fiercely glowing hands. Tensing his muscles, he made a ripping gesture that caused the ground to tremor and shake. Still churning with a fury that demanded to be released, he forced his arms wide, and the floor of his Throne Room split asunder with a thunderous crack.