by M S C Barnes
Aelfric had left the last sword on his open palm. Neither The Caretaker nor Trudy had spoken but now The Caretaker strode over to Aelfric and took the sword. Seb guessed that, through Dierne, the pair had discussed which of them would be best suited to accompany Aelfric. He looked at Trudy. She gave a quick smile to The Caretaker and then, like everyone else, turned to watch Scarlet.
“Okay, I can see them again,” Scarlet said. “I don’t think they’ve moved. It looks the same as before, the stalagmites, the torches or candles, the chalk walls. I can’t see the sign though.”
Lily leant towards her. “They are not necessarily next to the sign, Scarlet. Scrying shows you what you need to see. The sign will have appeared before, to give you confirmation of the location. Relax and let it show you,” she said.
After a pause Scarlet smiled. “Yes, I see the sign. They are still at the river. All seven of them and Nicole is still shouting at that poor man. He looks really nervous, like a child being told off. Philippe made it to them. He looks nervous too,” she said. “He’s hiding behind Yvette.”
Aelfric looked thoughtful. “Seven,” he said.
“What?” Henri asked.
“Seven,” Aelfric repeated. “Scarlet, you said all seven are there?” Scarlet nodded. “But Philippe is with them?”
“Yes,” Scarlet said, not understanding.
“Then who is missing?” Reynard said, getting Aelfric’s point. “Nicole’s group, assuming you cannot see Riven, is five. Add Jacqueline and Lotty, that is seven. If Philippe is there now, you should be able to see eight people. So who is missing?”
“I, I don’t know,” Scarlet said, flustered. “Oh, yes I do. Jacqueline. Jacqueline is missing. Where did she go?” Scarlett looked up, surprised.
“Does it matter?” Greg asked. “She can’t do much alone.”
“She is the one who, second to Nicole I imagine, will have the most knowledge of these dark practices, Greg,” Aelfric said. “If she is not with the group, there is a good reason and we need to locate her and see what she is doing. Scarlet, can you Switch?” he asked. Scarlet stared across at him looking shocked at the request.
“Relax, Scarlet,” Lily said, softly. “All you have to do is let it show you what you need.” Scarlet took a deep breath and frowned back into the mirror. Then she jumped.
“I see her!” She beamed at Lily.
“Lily, could you watch the others?” Aelfic said and Lily, nodding, produced her own, small, scrying mirror from a pocket. Sitting cross-legged on the throne beside Scarlet she looked into it while Aelfric spoke to Scarlet. “Tell us what you see.”
“It’s dark. Really dark. She only has a small candle so it’s hard to tell where she is.” Scarlet took another breath, closed her eyes, then opened them again. Then she smiled. “I see waxwork models.”
“The Inner Temple,” Henri said.
Now Scarlet tutted in frustration. “I’ve lost the image. This dark cloud keeps coming and going across it. No, wait, it’s back,” she said. “She’s gone behind the waxworks and is pressing her hand against the wall. It’s moving! A section of the wall has opened and she is walking through. It’s so hard to see,” Scarlet said, shaking her head. “Okay, she seems to be in a larger room or cave now and there is a stone table, like an altar, in the middle of it. She has put her bag on the table, next to a large dish that’s on there. She’s lighting another candle. That’s better, I can see more. Now she is emptying some things out of her bag —”
“Things?” Dom asked, stepping forward.
Scarlet huffed. “It’s gone again,” she said. “I can’t see anything, just a black cloud.”
“Did you see any of the things?” Dom said.
“I think I saw a jar and a spoon and another, smaller dish, that was all, before I lost the image,” Scarlet said. Then she jumped. “I’ve got her again. Okay, yes, there is a jar — which looks like it has mud and stones in it. I see the spoon and the little dish and she has also put a bottle of water on the altar with them and…” her face wrinkled in confusion, “…a toothpick?” she said, surprised. “Oh,” she suddenly leant her face closer to the mirror, “and what looks like a little, floppy doll — actually, more like a doll that hasn’t been properly stuffed.”
Dom took a deep breath. “She is preparing another effigy,” he said.
“A voodoo doll!” Zach said, sounding quite excited. “That’s okay. We can beat that,” he said, puffing his chest out. “Bubbles.” He grinned at Trudy, who nodded and moved closer to Aelfric, hobbling on her injured ankle.
Henri looked angry. “We must stop this,” he growled.
“Lily,” Aelfric said. “Are the others doing anything we need to know about?”
“No,” Lily said. “Nicole seems to have calmed down and is now speaking with Emile and Georges — her Sensor and her Guide,” she added, glancing at Zach, before continuing. “Whatever she is telling them, they are nodding. I must say though,” she looked at Henri, “Emile doesn’t look well; he looks unsteady on his feet. Has he been ill of late?” Henri shook his head, puzzled.
“Jacqueline is doing something strange now,” Scarlet called out and all eyes turned on her. “She has opened the jar and emptied the contents into the large dish and now she has opened the bottle of water and is pouring it over the tip of her left forefinger, letting the liquid run into the small dish. It’s like she’s washing her finger — just the one! Why would she wash just one finger? Oh? Now she’s scraping under her nail with the toothpick.”
“Nice!” Zach said.
“She’s rinsing water over her fingertip again; now she’s emptying the contents of the small dish into the large dish and stirring the mixture with the spoon. She has placed the floppy doll and the toothpick beside the dish and now… well, she is just waiting,” Scarlet finished.
“It sounds like she has prepared a sample for a taglock,” Dom said, looking puzzled.
“But the sample is from her,” Aiden said. “What does she need that for? If Nicole uses it with the effigy it will only work against Jacqueline, surely?”
Seb, feeling sick, spoke nervously. “I don’t think it is her sample,” he said and Aelfric’s eyes flicked over to him. “I think it’s mine.” Now he pulled his sleeve up and, like everyone else, stared at the broken skin on his forearm. Congealed blood had turned black around three scratches, where Jacqueline had dug her nails into him. The wounds still smarted.
“Seb!” Nat said, alarmed. “Why didn’t you tell us?”
“I thought it was an accident. When Lorna — Jacqueline — grabbed hold of me down in the passageway, she dug her nails in. When her grip was broken, she scratched me. I didn’t think anything of it,” he mumbled.
“Now we know why she was there,” Trudy muttered.
“So she has a blood and skin, sample,” Dom said, sounding wary.
“What does that mean?” Seb asked, looking at Dom’s worried face. Dom didn’t answer. “What does it mean — if she has blood and skin?” Seb repeated.
“They are the most potent kind of sample for a taglock, Seb,” Aiden jumped in. “The most prized taglock that can be used to create an effigy is blood, and the second most prized is skin. It is very difficult to deflect any harmful intent when blood or skin are used because they come from within a person; they haven’t just been in contact with them and they are not simply dead cells, like hair. Jacqueline’s got both blood and skin. What is more, if two people work on one effigy with two samples of that kind and use their combined intent to harm the person it is created to work on, then that is a really, really big problem,” he sounded horrified. “So if Nicole and Jacqueline create the effigy together, with those samples, then —”
“We get the picture Aiden, and well done,” Zach interrupted. “You’ve made Seb turn white! Seb,” he said, turning to him, “You forget, you’ve got my bubble to help you.”
“Seb,” Aelfric said, firmly. “You can always resist sympathetic influence, if you are aware and if you
concentrate on your Aura Shield.” Seb nodded, trying to stifle the sick feeling in the pit of his stomach.
“You’ll be okay,” Alice said into his mind and smiled. “You’ve blocked her before.”
“Nicole is moving,” Lily broke in.
“She will be going to join Jacqueline,” Dom mumbled.
“We need to act now,” Aelfric said, standing unsteadily.
“Let’s get on then,” Henri agreed. “If we want to keep the area of the enclave as small as possible and yet contain all of them, by my recollection of the layout of the caves, the best locations for the markers will be at either end of the River Styx; one at the Cursed Well at the east end and another at the western end. That will make one side of the Triadic area. The third marker will have to be placed within the Altar Cave itself. Are there doors at those locations Dom?” he asked.
Dom clicked his tin open. After a moment he shook his head.
“The shadow of the Sanctum prevents me seeing,” he said.
“There’s definitely one in the Inner Temple cave,” Aiden said. “We went through it before we met Jacqueline.”
“But then whoever sets that marker would have to walk through from there into the Altar Cave. They will be seen by Jacqueline,” Henri said. “What do we do?”
“The Triadic Enclave does not have to be on the same level as those you wish to contain,” Aelfric said. “We place the markers above that lower section of the Caves, around the mausoleum and St Lawrence’s Church.”
“That will work,” Dom said, pulling his notebook from his pocket.
“Right,” Henri said, reaching a hand out. Dom, using his pen, scribbled something onto the top sheet of the notebook, then tore the silvery paper free and passed it to Henri. He scribbled on the next two sheets and then, tearing them free, handed them to Aelfric and Seb. Seb stared at the delicate paper; it was so fine he could barely feel it between his finger and thumb. On it, Dom had drawn three loops that circled through and around each other. They had been formed from one continuous line that wove in and out of itself, creating these loops and returning to the beginning.
“That’s an eternal knot,” Aiden whispered to Seb. “No beginning, no end. It has a closed path. It’s meant to represent the link between earth, sea and sky,” he said. “I’m guessing that it contains everyone through all those levels.”
“It also represents body, mind and soul, Aiden,” Dom hearing his explanation added.
“Okay, so what do I do with it?” Seb asked.
Aelfric made a door appear in the tree trunk nearest him. He motioned everyone towards it.
“One-by-one,” he said. “Dom, can you lead the way?” Dom nodded and seized the door knob. “This will open somewhere inside the church; that is as far as I dare, in order to keep you within the enclave, but not scare Nicole into fleeing,” Aelfric said. “Pass through slowly and remain there as everyone else steps out. Lily, can you check that Jean-Paul has noticed?” Lily nodded. “Seb, when Henri and I are ready, you are going to step through this door.” Aelfric waved his hand again and another door appeared in the tree trunk adjacent to the one Dom was just stepping through. “Immediately you get to the other side, place the íwan parchment at your feet and illuminate the knot.”
“Jean-Paul has called Nicole,” Lily said. “She has come back to see what he has found.”
“That bit worked,” Henri said.
“Aiden, follow Dom, slowly,” Aelfric instructed and a nervous Aiden passed through the doorway. “Zach, as Seb lights the knot you must drive the Sælan Sword through the centre of it,” he said. Zach nodded. “Through the centre, Zach,” Aelfric stressed and Zach nodded more firmly. By now, Aiden had passed through the door. “Once Zach has staked the parchment to the ground, Seb, you will stand to the north-west of it, with Zach and Alice, and light the sword. Say the word ‘sælan’ as you do.” Aelfric spoke more quickly, “That will set the marker. Greg,” he said and Greg walked through the doorway.
“Nicole is listening to Jean-Paul, I believe he is telling her who he can see. She is questioning him, quite forcefully actually,” Lily said.
“Are you ready Henri?” Aelfric asked as he moved towards the next tree trunk. Beckoning Henri to it, he made a door appear in that one and then the next, which he approached himself. Without instruction, Trudy now limped after Greg, and The Caretaker joined Aelfric as Reynard left Seb’s side for the first time and joined his own Custodian.
“Take care oh hobbling one,” Zach called after Trudy who glared back over her shoulder at him before passing through the doorway.
“Scarlet try to keep watching Jacqueline, and Lily, the others; I know it will be difficult as you go through the door but let us know if anything significant happens,” Aelfric called across as Nat moved towards the doorway. “Seb, when your marker is in place, pass a message through Alice,” Aelfric said to him. “The sword can then be removed by Zach and used if needed.”
“Yay!” Zach waggled the tiny sword around with his fingers.
Seb looked from the parchment between his own fingers to the miniature sword Zach was toying with. He wondered what on Earth Zach could use such a tiny thing for.
“Any issues, let us know,” Aelfric said. He nodded to Nat and she stepped through the door. Giving Seb a reassuring smile, Aelfric opened his own door.
“Okay,” Seb mumbled to himself. His stomach alive with butterflies, he seized the silver doorknob in front of him, twisted it and pushed. The door swung open and he walked into darkness.
Containment
Cocooned within the warmth and quiet of the Sanctum, Seb had forgotten that, outside, it was a raw winter’s night. He was shocked by the ferocity of the cold wind which hit him as as he emerged into the shadow-filled enclosure of a roofless hexagonal structure. He was even more shocked as the wind ripped the delicate piece of íwan parchment out of his grasp and it spiralled away to land, flapping against the flint stone pillar of a square cenotaph in the centre of what he already knew was the Dashwood Mausoleum. Giving a pathetic, hopeless yell, he leapt after it, followed at speed by Zach who had stepped through the doorway behind him. Zach overtook him and had covered half the distance when the paper was suddenly pulled from the pillar and floated, against the wind, back towards Seb who laughed with relief as Alice materialised, gripping it between his thumb and finger, carrying it back to him.
“Good Al,” Zach yelled. “Now put it on the ground so Seb can light it up!”
Alice swooped down and placed the parchment at Seb’s feet, holding it in place so it didn’t blow away again. All around them flamers illuminated, dotted over the grass and along the arches and railings that formed the mausoleum. Using their light, Seb shone it onto the knot on the paper and Zach, kneeling, carefully placed the point of the little sword into the centre of it. He slammed the palm of his hand onto the top of the hilt and drove the sword through the parchment and into the ground. Standing, he put his hands on his hips.
“Okay, Seb. On you go,” he said.
“To the north-west,” Alice said. “Remember? Aelfric said stand to the north-west.”
Nodding, Seb circled around to where he instinctively knew north-west to be and, as Zach and Alice joined him, he lit the sword.
“Sælan,” he said and a flash of blue light shot from his hand, striking the small pommel and blinding them all. When it had gone, the contrasting darkness was equally blinding until Seb’s eyes adjusted.
“That’s what I was waiting for!” Zach exclaimed, snatching the sword from the ground and hefting it above his head. It was now the size of a broadsword and it made a humming sound as Zach swished it through the air. Jewels, running the length of its hilt beneath his fingers, sparkled in purples, greens and blues and the metal blade shone silver. “Mine, mine, mine,” Zach laughed.
At their feet, there was no sign of the íwan parchment.
“Is that it then?” Seb shouted over the whining of the wind and looked at Alice.
“Dierne a
nd Dæved say they are complete,” Alice said and smiled.
“So where now?” Zach asked, spinning, with the sword. He walked past Seb and suddenly rebounded and fell backwards. “What the?” He recovered his footing quickly.
“That’ll be the boundary of the enclave then,” Alice laughed. “It worked.”
“Okay, but still where now?” Zach asked. “Back through the door?”
“We can’t,” Seb said, pointing at the wall where the door was just fizzling out of sight. “It’s on the other side of the boundary.”
“Was that supposed to happen?” Zach asked, still playing with the sword. “Aelfric said to place the paper at your feet immediately you stepped through the door Seb. Should we not have been standing over there then?” He jabbed the sword towards the wall.
“That wouldn’t have made any difference,” Seb said, trying not to feel guilty. “We would still have had to come around to the north-west and we would still be this side of the boundary.”
“Okay, we need another door,” Zach said. “Ask Aiden, Al.”
“I already have,” Alice said and pointed. “He says there is one there.”
Zach was moving instantly. Holding the sword in one hand he trotted to the wall Alice had indicated. It housed seven arched alcoves, the largest, centre one of which contained two sculpted figurines Seb could barely make out. Zach moaned as he stepped in a massive puddle of rainwater that had gathered in the grass beneath them.
“Bloomin’ brilliant! Now I’ve got wet feet… again!” He lifted his right foot and shook it as Seb joined him. “C’mon Seb. I’ve got a lovely, lovely sword; we need to be where the action is.”
“Dierne says Aelfric wants you to come to the church, Seb,” Alice said and Seb, nodding, reflected light onto the wall, making the door appear. Zach, impatient, opened it and leapt through.
They joined the others, who were assembled around the font just inside the entrance to the main body of the church. Everyone was there.
