by M S C Barnes
Information? Seb couldn’t think what information Nicole could possibly need from him.
“So your plan has moved on then?” Aelfric said. “It has gone from vengeance to liberation? Is that something you also chose not to share with your group? That along with the real reason Heath is where he is?” She stared at him in silence, pursing her lips. “You know that, whatever happens, I cannot allow you to free him,” Aelfric said, more quietly.
“This is wrong Nicole,” Henri called across, but remained focussing his attention on the golem.
And now the penny dropped for Seb. Nicole wanted to release Heath’s soul from the Soul Drop. But Seb had been a party to what had happened after Heath and Braddock had been banished. A layer of protection had been added to the Soul Drop Access Stone, a Shield Knot — to prevent their ever escaping. The physical bindings of that knot had been split in four and Seb and three others had each hidden a piece, in order to prevent the knot being reformed and the shield broken. To free Heath’s soul, Nicole would have to reform the knot and for that, she needed to know from each of the four, where their pieces had been hidden.
“It was always the plan, Aelfric. And my group knew that — though they didn’t know how. It is just that, until tonight, I wasn’t aware Seb was involved in sealing the knot. Trudy’s tale to Jacqueline didn’t run that far. I just assumed that it was you and your group members who had set that cursed seal.” She shook her head, smiling to herself. “Fortunately though, Lotty has been most helpful in enlightening me on that point tonight.” Now Henri snapped his head around to stare at Nicole. As he did, his hand tilted and the light he had been reflecting towards the golem moved sideways. The little figure began making rapid progress in Seb’s direction. Realising, Henri quickly moved around and recreated the invisible barrier.
“What have you done to her?” he shouted at Nicole.
“Oh, Henri,” Nicole laughed. “After so many years — that you can care so much! You are extraordinary.” Now Nicole looked back at Aelfric. “Did you know that, at the moment young Seb splintered poor Heath’s soul, every Custodian around the world felt that violent disturbance?” She paused waiting for Aelfric to respond. When he didn’t, she shrugged and continued. “Well, fortunately for me, Henri, feeling it, told Lotty to find the source. They missed the entertainment of witnessing your suffering during that night, Aelfric, but they did manage to see, through Lotty’s scrying, how Heath’s soul was further bound to that dreadful place — and by whom. Annoyingly Henri instructed Lotty to stop watching at that point so she couldn’t tell me where the pieces were hidden. What a near miss that was though; I really had thought it was you who had directed that event, but then I learned that you were otherwise indisposed and that I actually need to speak with Seb. How relieved am I then that he survived my attacks? And how ironic if you helped him.” She laughed. “Now, look at the little thing and judge for yourself how much time you have, before the real pain begins.” She turned and pointed at the golem. “I feel confident I will get what I need once things start to get really nasty.”
Seb stared at the little figure with an increasing sense of unease. Nicole’s words repeated over and over in his mind: I am more than happy to stand here until Seb breathes his last … his agonising death … until Seb breathes his last … once things start to get really nasty. He looked at his hands. Alice was right, flu didn’t cause bruising, and it didn’t cause grazing.
“Nicole,” Aelfric said slowly, “You know I can’t let you do this.”
“Nor I,” Henri shouted angrily across to her.
“Ah Aelfric? Your precious boy. You are still trying to save him? Have you not worked out that you simply cannot? With all your experience and knowledge, surely by now you realise that there is nothing you can do.” She span around and spoke to Henri. “And Henri, have you not noticed that someone is missing? I don’t believe you will be interfering any more than you already have, now will you?” She turned back to Aelfric. “So, let’s just watch this play out shall we? I am sure that, within a very short while, Zach, Dierne and The Caretaker will feel compelled tell me exactly what I need to know and, very soon after, if he hasn’t already, Seb too will tell me his little bit of the puzzle. And frankly, I can’t see anyone, especially you, preventing that.”
“She’s still blahing!” Zach said in a pained voice. “Will it never end?” He pretended to be exasperated but the glance he gave Seb over his shoulder showed that he was anxious. Zach had worked out what Seb too had just realised.
He looked once more at his bleeding hand and then at the golem and now he could see stains spreading across the material of its roughly sewn hands; stains just like the ones covering its feet. Only now he knew, it wasn’t muddy sediment or rust — it was blood. Feeling sick and weak with fear, he spoke silently to Alice.
“It’s a voodoo doll, an effigy. As well as a golem, it’s an effigy of me!”
The Truth
Seb sank to the ground. In shock, in pain and feeling hopeless, he stared at the golem as Nat, kneeling beside him, beckoned Aiden to join her.
He realised now why Nicole had said there was nothing Aelfric could do to save him. This golem, its material casing growing more threadbare by the minute, had first been made as an effigy. And he knew, without a doubt, that the taglock used to form the sympathetic link between him and the effigy must be the blood and skin sample Scarlet had seen Jacqueline preparing. Blood and skin! It is very difficult to deflect any harmful intent when blood or skin are used… Aiden’s words bounced around his mind. …if two people work on one effigy with two samples of that kind and use their combined intent… Nicole and Jacqueline had created this effigy together…
But worse still, this effigy had then been turned into the golem, so now Seb’s body felt the pain and bore the injuries in keeping with the battering that small form was taking in its relentless efforts to move beyond the barrier Henri was creating. And, eventually, the fibres of the cloth covering the golem’s feet would tear completely. He would experience that as if his own skin were tearing and then he would feel what would follow. As the golem absorbed more of the material from which it had been made, soil — and there was plenty of that beneath it — it would grow rapidly. Seb couldn’t even imagine what that would feel like as his limbs and body swelled in sympathy with the growth of the golem. Panic rising, he began to shake.
And then what? As this golem grew to a monstrous size it would force through Henri’s barrier and act out its order — to crush Seb’s heart. If he hadn’t already been torn apart by the sympathetic growth of his own body, the golem would try to crush him. Surely, before then, Aelfric or Henri would be forced to destroy it, to remove the spell used to animate it and, then, for certain, he would die! He had seen the snow golem turn into an avalanche in a second, the water golem burst like a balloon. What would that moment be like? He knew already, because Nicole had said it: an agonising death. He groaned.
“Are you okay, Seb?” Nicole asked, nastily. “What is it? Does your head hurt? Your feet? What is the problem? Do tell. Should you not check on him Zach? Or maybe your Sensor can give you something for the pain.” She smiled at Nat.
“That’s enough, Nicole,” Aelfric said, kneeling beside Seb and the anger in his voice made her pause for a second. But far from looking contrite, she looked satisfied.
“Bothering you is it Aelfric? His pain? His suffering? They are nothing compared to what Heath experienced at the hands of that boy!” She pointed a finger at Seb. “And they are nothing compared to what he is going to feel. Have you seen the cloth? Have you seen how worn and frayed it is? And when that material parts, breaking the moulded form, you know what’s going to happen, don’t you? Tell him Jacqueline. Tell him what you filled that wonderful golem with,” she shouted at her.
Jacqueline had her head in her hands and was sobbing. Philippe, hugging her, answered for her.
“She used soil from here,” he mumbled and Nicole shrieked with laughter.
&nbs
p; “Exactly. Now I know you all saw how quickly my beautiful experimental golem grew — the one in the snow? I know too how clever you were Aelfric, getting Dierne to clear the snow to stop its growth. But, even supposing he could get through my protection, how is he going to clear this amount of earth? Will he level the whole ancient hillside? Will he dig deeper — as far as the caves? Well, Jacqueline took care of that too. You see, she used a sample from every possible locality within this area, including what lies beneath us, to ensure that, when the time came, our baby would have all the supplies he would need to grow big and strong.”
“Nicole,” Jacqueline sobbed. “What are you doing?”
“What you helped me plan and execute Jacqueline,” Nicole answered, surprised at the question.
“That was before I knew what I know now,” Jacqueline shouted. “I should have listened to Trudy — should have listened to Henri —”
“But you didn’t, did you?” Nicole shouted back at her.
“I wasn’t thinking straight. My head was full of Heath’s emotions, his anger, his hatred, his obsession with Braddock,” Jacqueline lowered her voice, shaking her head in dismay.
“No, Jacqueline, your head was full of your deluded obsession with Heath. Anyway, it’s too late now. Go and seek your absolution if you must, I —” A whimper from Seb stopped her. He couldn’t help himself, the pain in his feet was now so bad, and he pulled his knees up to his chin, clasping his boots in his sore hands. He could feel Alice working hard, trying to pull away as much of the pain as possible and trying to distract his thoughts from it, but the task was becoming increasingly difficult.
Zach glanced over his shoulder again, looking worried. He kept the sword stretched out in front of him, towards Georges and Emile but they didn’t look as if they were likely to attack any time soon. Emile was struggling to even stand and Georges, supporting him, was staring at Seb looking sickened.
“Is this right Nicole?” he said, uncertainly. “It doesn’t seem right.”
Nicole waved a dismissive hand at him. “Just do your job, Georges,” she said as Seb groaned and Pace whined.
“Alice?” Aelfric whispered.
“I am doing all I can.” Alice shook his head. “It’s throughout his body,” he said, sounding helpless and upset.
“Do you need my bubble, Seb?” Zach asked.
“This attack is from within, Zach,” Aelfric murmured. “And has already taken hold. It cannot be blocked by us now. Seb,” he looked at him, “you have to realise this is only an influence. You can choose not to be affected. Just like the subliminal messages, you can overcome this. Henri cannot deal with the golem until we are sure you are in control.”
Seb stared at his hands, trying to work out how he was supposed to stop the effects of this influence when evidence of its power was right in front of his eyes. The bruising had spread and the grazes were deeper; blood dripped down the back of his hands onto his boots. Nicole’s voice broke into his disturbed thoughts.
“What’s Aelfric saying, Seb? That everything’s going to be okay?” She laughed. “Well, it’s not. Do you see your injuries? They are going to get far more serious soon and the pain with them. Look at your feet.” She pointed at the golem, not at Seb’s own feet. “My that’s a lot of blood isn’t it?” Seb stared at the little figure, at the staining which had spread from the feet to the ill-defined ankles, seeping upwards towards the calves. Inside his boots he could feel wetness and he knew that wasn’t from wading through the River Styx or from the puddle he had traipsed through; this wetness was warm — fresh blood leaking from his torn skin.
Yvette had taken her eyes off Reynard and turned towards Seb and Aelfric and her expression was one distaste. She took a step away from Reynard and the golem and closer to Nicole. Jacqueline was still crying, and between her sobs she called out to Nicole.
“This is cruel, Nicole. You need to stop. I would never have planned this if —”
“Oh do be quiet Jacqueline,” Nicole said, disregarding her. “Now, Seb,” she said, “You can be spared this pain. You, I am sure, know what I need. You also know that neither Aelfric nor Henri, nor anyone else, can save you. In a short while, your suffering is going to increase tenfold. So, if you want to spare yourself that excruciating pain and then an agonising end, you need to tell me where you hid your piece of the Shield Knot binding. Once you do that, and Dierne, The Caretaker and Zach tell me where theirs are hidden, I can put you out of your misery. There isn’t much time. I suggest you speak quickly.”
Seb was terrified — he wasn’t ready to die. And Alice was already struggling to keep his pain to a manageable level, he certainly wouldn’t be able to spare him the agony that would go with what was to come. But he knew that he couldn’t ever give up the location of his part of the Shield Knot. It wasn’t just that Heath should never be allowed to escape; there was something else. Greg had warned all those who had taken part in breaking the seal that, should any of their pieces ever be reunited, the souls of all four of them would be damned to the Soul Drop too. He feared death, he feared the pain that would come before it, but he feared what he knew of the Soul Drop more and he couldn’t be responsible for the damnation of the others to that place. So now he looked directly at Nicole.
“I have nothing to say to you,” he croaked. “And neither will the others.” Then he put his head back against the wall and stared at the sky.
“Seb,” Nat whispered to him, “look at this.” Seb looked down. Nat, and Aiden beside her, were both holding onto something. As his eyes focused he realised it was another voodoo-type doll. “We made this,” Nat said. “Aiden and I. It is full of protective gems —”
“And coffee,” Aiden murmured.
“And we made it with the intent, Seb, that it would protect you,” Nat explained.
Seb stared at it. It was barely the shape of a human, so quickly had they made it. The stitching only just held it together and Seb could see the odd stone and crystal poking through the seams. He glanced at Nat and then at Aiden, noting their eager faces, and then looked back at the effigy.
“So why isn’t it working?” he asked, and gave a small whimper as the golem struck its head against Henri’s barrier and he felt a jab of pain in his own forehead.
Nicole took a few steps closer to them all.
“Do you see his pain Dierne, Zach,” she turned to The Caretaker, “Caretaker? Do you see how powerful this blood link is between the effigy in that golem and Seb’s body. Look at the affect. Look at the bruising, at the blood, at the tears on his skin. And now look at the material on the golem’s feet. Eventually that will give way and once those fibres tear — well, you know what will follow. The longer each of you delays, the more pain Seb will experience and the nearer we come to the point of no return. Tell me where you hid your pieces of the Shield Knot and I can put a stop to this before it goes too far.”
“Nicole,” Yvette now spoke, sounding uncertain. “I had not realised this was part of the plan. This seems more like,” she paused and shook her head. “Well it seems like torture.”
“I am doing what is necessary,” Nicole turned to her. “Do you think if we just ask they will give us the information we need so that we can free Heath?”
Now Jacqueline wiped her eyes and sniffed then squeezing Philippe’s hand let go and stepped forward.
“Nicole,” she said, “you think Heath was betrayed, but he wasn’t. I have felt the obsession he felt — his single-minded fixation on bringing Braddock back. His shadowtrail blinded me to the possibility that what Trudy said about what happened was true, and you are blinded now. You can’t kill this boy,” she pointed at Seb, “just because you are grieving for a man who cared no more for you than for me. His obsession was his twin and so was his downfall, not Aelfric, not Seb. Stop this now.”
“You know nothing,” Nicole said, scornfully. “And I will free Heath!” She rounded on Dierne and Zach. “Give me the information, or I will make his suffering even more acute before the end.�
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While she ranted, Aelfric leant in close to Seb. “Seb, the effigy Nat and Aiden made is working,” he said, quietly. “Look at the material on the golem; it should have torn long ago. You just need to believe in your own strength to fight the influence and in their intent to protect you.”
As Aelfric spoke, the golem trod on a sharp stone and a fresh jolt of pain shot through Seb’s right foot. It felt as if a needle had been stabbed into the bottom of it, and he cried out. Alice tried to pull more of the pain towards himself but the effect was minimal.
Zach, watching Seb, looked angry.
“I’m going to stop this,” he muttered to Aelfric. Turning quickly he took a step towards Georges and Emile. Aelfric spoke quietly but firmly.
“No, Zach. That isn’t the way.” He nodded at Dierne who zoomed in front of Zach, blocking his path.
“Well what is then?” Zach shouted, frustrated. “She’s not going to listen to reason is she?”
Nicole seemed delighted by the exchange and laughed.
“Feeling the strain Zach? Worried about your friend? You are right, I won’t listen to reason, when reason means hearing lies from Aelfric. What I will listen to is your account of where you hid your piece of the knot.” Zach glanced over at Scarlet and then frowned at the sword in his hand and said nothing. “Come on, Zach. You wouldn’t shut up before. Why so reticent now? Can you not even raise a smart-mouthed comment?”
Seb knew what Zach’s issue was. After breaking his part of the Shield Knot seal, he had given it to Scarlet and it was she who had hidden it, not Zach. So while Nicole demanded Zach tell her where his piece was hidden he, actually, had no idea. Now Seb glanced at Scarlet, who stood the other side of Aelfric, in the shadows. She looked horrified by what was happening and Seb wondered if she would be the one to weaken and tell Nicole what she wanted to know. But as he looked at her, she looked at him. She gave him just the slightest shake of her head as if trying to reassure him she was no more likely to reveal the location of Zach’s piece than Zach would have been; to do so would risk both her brother and Zach being damned to the Soul Drop, and she obviously knew that.
