by Amy Cross
***
“What do you mean, he's at the house?” Benjamin shouted, struggling to keep up with Edgar as they raced across the field. “What would Quill want at your house when you're not there?”
“The same thing he's wanted ever since he came to the island,” Edgar shouted back at him. “Revenge!”
***
“This is so boring,” Madeleine muttered, as she continued with the sketch she'd started a few minutes earlier. She was drawing the house, although she'd begun to add a few imaginative touches here and there as she tried to imagine how she'd change things if she was in charge. “For God's sake, I swear my -”
Suddenly she looked over at the door again, as she realized she could hear a noise in the distance. It sounded almost like...
“Chanting?” she whispered, getting to her feet and heading back to the door. Leaning out into the corridor again, she realized she could hear a faint, distant sound of multiple people chanting a low, droning dirge. She waited, until finally the sound faded away, but this time she knew she hadn't imagined anything. Then again, she knew that Nixon had a penchant for playing with his phonograph late at night, so she figured he must have been the one responsible.
Behind her, a dark figure stepped closer.
***
“Hurry!” Edgar shouted, with the house still far off in the distance, its lights blazing through the darkness.
***
“Marry me,” Madeleine whispered, holding the ring between her fingers and watching as light glinted off the edges. “Benjamin Wood, I know this is unconventional, and I know I turned you down before, but I want you to... I want you to marry me. Will you at least think about it?”
She tried to imagine how he'd respond. Would he immediately say yes? Would he want to take time to think about it? Or would he turn her down, and hurt her the way she'd hurt him a few weeks earlier at the lighthouse? She felt as if she couldn't blame him if he chose that last option, as if he had every right to laugh in her face, but at the same time she also knew he wasn't a cruel man, and she felt that he truly loved her. There was a part of her that was terrified, too terrified to go ahead with the plan, but she wanted to formalize things, to show him how she felt.
A grand gesture.
“Maybe I should kneel,” she muttered, getting down on one knee and closing her eyes, trying to imagine the perfect way to propose. It had been a long time since anything had mattered so much to her. “I love you,” she whispered, “so... Let's get married, okay? What do you say?”
“Okay,” a voice replied.
Opening her eyes, she stared in horror at the figure towering over her.
***
“Damn it!” Benjamin grunted, losing his footing and falling hard against the mud. Scrambling to his feet, he set off again, with the house still a fair way off in the distance. He could only hope that Edgar, who had run on ahead, would get there in time.
***
“Don't even try to break free,” Quill hissed as he kept a hand clamped firmly over Madeleine's mouth. “You don't have a chance in hell.”
Trying to scream, she fought and fought, but no matter how hard she attempted to get away from Quill's grip, she felt as if he possessed preternatural strength, and that he was holding her with the force of ten men.
“That's right,” he continued, leaning closer to her ear. “Wriggle all you want, writhe and squirm like the pathetic worm that you are, but you're not getting loose. I might have been hurt in the war, and I might not be quite up to my former strength, but don't let that fool you. I'm still strong enough to keep a little harlot like you under control.”
Letting out a muffled scream, she tried to bite his hand, but he yanked her back with such force that she almost blacked out for a second.
“What do you think your precious brother will say when he finds out what has happened?” Quill continued, starting to drag Madeleine over to the door. “When he learns that while he was out there facing down a Fear Wraith, the real danger had entered his home unchallenged? I imagine he'll be very, very displeased with himself for falling for such an easy trick. I imagine he'll suffer a kind of pain from which he will never, ever be able to recover.”
With tears in her eyes, Madeleine tried yet again to get free. She couldn't understand how Quill could be so strong, and she felt as if every move she tried simply caused him to tighten his grip.
“Someone is here to see you,” Quill explained, keeping his hand over her mouth as he lowered her to the floor. “I want you to pay attention, Madeleine. This might be the last thing you ever see with a sane mind.”
***
“Edgar!” Benjamin shouted as he finally reached the steps and raced up to the mansion's main door, only to find that it was still locked. “Where are you?”
Hearing a crashing sound around the corner, he jumped over the side of the steps and ran around to find Edgar trying to break down one of the other doors.
“Edgar, what's wrong? Why can't you get in?”
“He's sealed all the doors,” Edgar replied, taking a step back as he prepared to try again. “Whatever he's doing in there, he's determined to keep me out until he's finished.” With that, he ran at the door again, turning his shoulder at the last moment and slamming into the wood.
***
“Do you see him?” Quill whispered, still holding Madeleine as she struggled to get free. “Do you know how much of an honor this is for you? Is your wretched mind even capable of understanding?”
Her eyes wide open with fear, Madeleine stared into the dark corridor outside her room and saw that slowly a figure was starting to become visible at the far end, walking toward her. There were no lights in the corridor, so it was impossible to make out any detail, but something about the figure's calm appearance was starting to make her panic, as if pure evil was radiating out from the intruder's body as it stepped closer and closer. Whoever it was, she could tell it wasn't anyone who was supposed to be in the house.
“He's not strong enough to manifest fully,” Quill continued, “not yet, but the great Ashalla is able to make brief appearances in this world as he waits for his old strength to return. You know what they say about Ashalla, don't you? That anyone who looks into his eyes will be instantly turned mad? That there is no cure for the depths of insanity that will result? That the process is permanent?” He leaned closer. “All those stories are true. The madness you are about to experience is worse than you could ever believe.”
Tears ran down Madeleine's face as she sobbed, trying yet again to get free. She knew she should close her eyes, that she should find some other way to escape Quill's grip, but she couldn't help herself. Looking straight ahead, she realized that she could see two glowing red eyes burning in the darkness.
***
“Kate!” Edgar shouted, banging his fists on the window. “Nixon! Open the doors!”
Inside, apparently unaware of the commotion taking place on the other side of the glass, Kate and Nixon seemed to be locked in conversation.
“What's wrong with them?” Benjamin asked as he caught up to Edgar. “It's like they can't hear us at all!”
“They can't,” Edgar replied, taking a step back. “I don't know how he's done it, but Quill has sealed the inside of the house. Nothing can get through, not even sound. They're sitting ducks in there while he works on whatever he's planning. I should have known that he'd use this opportunity to double-cross me, but I hoped the man had a shred of honor left in his soul.”
“But there's a way to get through, isn't there?” Benjamin continued. He waited for a moment, convinced that Edgar would have an answer, before grabbing a rock and throwing it at the window, only to see that it thudded harmlessly against the glass and dropped to the ground. “Edgar, there has to be a way to get in! We can't just stand around out here and let Quill do whatever he wants!”
“We will stop him,” Edgar said firmly.
“How?” Benjamin asked.
“I...” At this, Edgar paused. “I d
o not know, but I swear to you, we will find a way.”
“Madeleine's in there,” Benjamin pointed out, taking a step back and looking up at one of the windows. “She'll be able to take care of the others. There's no way Quill will be able to do anything while Madeleine's around.”
***
“Take a good look,” Quill continued, smiling as he held Madeleine's head in place, forcing her to stare into the burning red eyes. “Let the true power and glory of Ashalla fill your mind.”
He waited for a moment, before slowly letting go of Madeleine and finally taking a step back. She remained in place, as if all the fight had left her body and she could no longer even think of running. All she could manage was to stare in wide-eyed, open-mouthed horror at the burning eyes, as the dark figure stepped forward along the corridor. There were no thoughts in her mind, no words; just pure panic, and fear, and a sense of her deepest beliefs being torn apart.
And pain. Her soul was burning.
“Mighty Ashalla,” Quill said, dropping to his knees and lowering his head, “I thank you for the strength you have given me, to enable me to reach this point. I remain your humble servant and I beg of you, support me just a little further and I will bring the house of the Le Comptes crashing down, and then finally you will be able to enter this world and make it your own. Thaxos will be the stepping stone that allows you to rise again.”
As it reached Madeleine, the dark figure continued to stare down at her. Its eyes burned into her own and filled her mind with images of unimaginable horror, with sights far worse than anyone had seen in any war. Slowly, the figure reached out a dark hand and placed it on the side of Madeleine's face, causing her to let out a faint, pained gasp. At the same time, Ashalla began to speak, although his voice was twisted and the words that came from his mouth belong to an ancient, long-forgotten language.
“Let her feel true madness,” Quill whispered, watching as tears continued to track down Madeleine's cheeks. “Show no mercy, Lord Ashalla. Push her beyond the brink of insanity. Make her soul bleed.”
Leaning closer to Madeleine, the figure tilted its head slightly as its eyes began to burn brighter than ever, filling Madeleine's soul with chaos.
***
Flat on her back in a bed in the dark dormitory, Anna listened to the sound of other children breathing all around her. She didn't dare move, didn't dare make a noise at all. She just wanted to get through the night, wait until morning, and then find a way to get back to Thaxos.
Hearing a faint sound nearby, she held her breath. Something was scratching on the floor near the foot of her bed, as if it was struggling to get closer. She told herself that it was all in her head, that she was imagining things, but deep down she knew it was real. Trying to stay calm and strong, she imagined what her mother would say:
“Be strong,” a voice whispered in her thoughts. “There's nothing there. You've got no reason to be scared.”
Still holding her breath, Anna listened as the scratching sound edged toward her until it seemed to go right under her bed, as if the girl Elizabeth had returned. Finally, looking down, she saw only her own body, but she was certain now that there was someone directly underneath her. A moment later, the scratching sound continued, and slowly a pale white hand began to reach up from the darkness onto the bed, as if it had noticed her.
Unable to contain herself any longer, Anna screamed.
***
Down in the crypt of Edgar's mansion, Jennifer Kazakos's body lay wrapped in sheets. Suddenly, as if somehow she could hear her daughter's scream from so many hundreds of miles away, her eyes flicked open.
Part Thirty-Nine
I
Gasping as she sat up, Jennifer felt a sharp pain running through her chest and into her skull.
“Anna?” she whispered, looking around but finding that her vision was blurred. “Anna? Sweetheart, where are you?” She paused for a moment, and then ran a hand across the table. “Where am I?”
Reaching out, she tried to crawl forward, before slipping from the side of the table and crashing down hard against the stone floor, letting out a pained cry in the process. As she rolled onto her back and stared up at the crypt's low, arched ceiling, she tried to breathe deeply, to work out what the hell had happened, but her mind was racing and she was having trouble organizing her thoughts.
The last thing she remembered was reaching the town square, being led up onto the platform, and seeing a noose. And then -
A shiver passed through her body as she remembered the moment the stool had been kicked from under her. She'd felt the noose tightening around her neck, followed by a sickening sensation, as if her head was filling with more pressure than she could stand; there had been pain, so much pain, and a lack of air, and then someone had pulled on her legs, as if to make sure her neck was broken, and then...
And then darkness.
She had a vague sense that she'd been floating through a void, but that somehow she hadn't been alone. A voice had been calling out to her, and the voice had seemed familiar, but then -
“Help me!” Anna's voice screamed suddenly, filling Jennifer's soul with horror.
“Anna!” she shouted, sitting up but immediately feeling another shock of pain. She tried to call out again, but the agony was too much and rolled onto her side for a moment before reaching up, grabbing the edge of the table and slowly hauling herself to her feet. “I'm coming,” she whispered, as she started to limp toward the door. “I'll find you.”
***
“Did you hear that?” Kate asked, suddenly looking over at the window. Outside, there was nothing but darkness, but she was certain she'd heard a faint bumping sound, as if something had brushed against the glass.
“I didn't hear a thing,” Nixon replied, following her gaze. “Don't get jumpy, Kate. This place can do that to you. One minute you're wondering if you heard a faint creak, and the next all the shadows will seem alive and you'll be convinced there's something hiding juts out of sight. I don't know what it is about the Le Compte mansion, but it almost seems to creep into the souls of everyone who comes here.”
“Edgar's been gone a long time,” she continued. “Do you think something's wrong?”
“Of course something's wrong. Something's always wrong when Edgar's around, haven't you noticed that? I can't imagine something not being wrong, either. If nothing was wrong around Edgar... Well, then something really would be wrong.” He sighed. “You'd have to go a long, long way from Edgar's side before you'd have a chance on hell of something not being wrong. But, you know, you get used to that after a while in Edgar's company. That's the theory, anyway.”
“There it was again,” Kate said, getting to her feet and looking up at the study's ceiling. “Remind me, who else is in the house?”
“Apart from us, I think just Madeleine and Estella. And old Jacob, of course, although it's rather easy to forget about him, isn't it?”
“Someone's moving about up there,” Kate continued, walking across the study as she listened to footsteps directly above. She paused for a moment, as the sense of concern continued to grow in the pit of her stomach until she could ignore it no longer. “What room is right over this one?”
“That'd be...” Nixon paused as he tried to work it out. “I suppose that would be Madeleine's room. Yes, I'm sure of it.”
“It sounds like she's having a party.”
“I wouldn't start trying to second-guess Madeleine Le Compte's state of mind,” Nixon replied, “she could literally be doing -”
Before he could finish, there was a loud thud from the room above, followed by the sound of glass breaking.
“Maybe Benjamin sneaked in,” Nixon suggested, although there was a hint of caution in his voice. “Maybe they're, you know, having a rough session.” He turned to her. “Skin on skin, and so on.”
“I'm just going to check she's okay,” Kate replied, heading to the door.
“She's never okay,” Nixon sighed. “When it comes to Madeleine -”
“Well, it's true!” he called after her, before glancing at the window. For a moment, he felt as if someone was out there, watching him. He made his way across the room and peered out through the glass, only to find that the night air seemed unusually foggy, preventing him from seeing very much at all. He waited for a few seconds, but just as he was about to go back and fetch his drink, he felt a shiver pass through his body as he realized that the sensation of being watched was getting stronger and stronger. Slowly, he peered closer at the glass.
***
“Nixon!” Benjamin shouted, banging his fists against the window as Nixon leaned closer. “I'm out here! For God's sake, you have to notice me!”
He waited, but Nixon was simply staring out the window as if he still had no idea that anyone was trying to get his attention. Having spent several minutes desperately trying to get someone inside the house to notice him, Benjamin was starting to realize that Edgar was right: the mansion truly had been sealed somehow, and those on the inside seemed completely unable to see or hear the rest of the world.
“How the hell is this working?” he muttered, taking a step back as he realized that brute force wasn't going to work. After a moment, Nixon shrugged and headed back across the room, oblivious not only to Benjamin's efforts to get his attention, but also to the sound of Edgar trying to demolish one of the walls a little further off.
