by Sean Stone
“That’s it, Eddie!” he yelled above the crackling of our spells. “Let that darkness consume you. I can see it controlling you. I can feel it pulsing inside you! If you kill me it will take control and you’ll never control it again!” He laughed maniacally. He was right and I knew it. I looked at Ashley and saw the conflict on her face. She wanted so badly for me to not give in to the darkness but she wanted me to finish off Barbichu just as much. I realised I was being distracted too late. My lightning burst apart and his shot straight at me. I brought up a shield but the purple lightning shattered it and I let out a high-pitched shriek as the spell hit me and sent me crashing into the throne that sat behind me. The throne didn’t break but it didn’t break my fall either. It really fucking hurt. I was pretty sure that something had broken. I couldn’t breath. I couldn’t move. I knew I was lucky to be alive, if I hadn’t managed to get that shield up then I’d have been hit with the full force of his spell. Luckily, I’d managed to weaken it.
Barbichu appeared directly in front of me, grinning maliciously. “Humans. So easy to distract eh? That’s your big problem: stupidity. That darkness really is something. It’ll be a shame to lose it but alas, I have to kill you.” I saw Ashley pull the iron dagger out of her boot but she was too far away to use it.
“Do you know your problem?” I asked, still recovering from the blast.
“Go on then, tell me. Last words and all that.” He leaned in close. “Is it my rugged good looks?” he whispered.
I laughed. “No it’s not you ugly little fuck. Pride. You’re so sure I can’t beat you that you’ve got dangerously close to me.” I did consider trying to steal his powers but the chance he’d teleport was too great so I decided to attack instead. I shoved my hand into his chest and blasted him with as much magic as I could muster. I was still a little depleted after the lightning struggle. I had enough though. He yelped higher than I had as my spell flung him across the room like a rag doll. He hit the floor and I heard several cracks literally echoing off the walls. Surprisingly he didn’t stay down. He didn’t get up either. He made it to his knees before Ashley pushed the tip of the blade into the back of his neck.
“I’d stay down if I was you,” she snarled.
I pulled myself up and limped over to them. I took my time. It wasn’t like I needed to hurry. As my magic replenished itself I began to heal and by the time I reached them my limp was gone. “You know this is it now. She’s going to kill you. Do you have any last words?” I said. He’d given me the opportunity so it was only fair to return the favour.
“I can get rid of that darkness, Eddie. If you let me live,” he offered.
“Tempting,” I replied. “But I’d rather see you dead.” I already had a cure in mind.
“Answer me one question. Satiate my curiosity,” he said.
“Alright.” I could appreciate curiosity.
“How did you get here?” he asked in genuine wonder.
“Mr Panomie brought us.” I enjoy the shocked look on his face. No longer so self-assured. “After he explained that you used his son to get him to take all those children he was only too happy to help us stop you.”
“Where is he?” Barbichu asked. I did not like the look on his face. It’s the same a look a person might have when they realise they have the winning card in poker.
“Went to get the children.”
“Oh, Eddie. I killed his son the moment I released him from my service. Couldn’t risk a family vendetta and all. And when he finds out he’s going to kill the children left in the cages to get back at me. He doesn’t know that I don’t need them anymore.”
“He wouldn’t…” I muttered. We had a deal.
“Oh, he would. I only needed a drop of blood remember. What do you think happened to all those children after I’d finished sampling their blood? I gave them to Panomie. Children are a very delicious dish to gnomes.”
“No!” Ashley screamed. She didn’t think, she just turned and ran for the door. I saw that horrid little smile on Barbichu’s face just seconds before he vanished. Then I took off after Ashley.
30
The hallways seemed much shorter on the return journey. I chased Ashley back to the fork where we’d split from Panomie and then ran with her towards the cages. I only hoped there weren’t more forks up ahead.
“Do you really want to go charging in like this?” I panted. “We should probably prepare first.”
“My cousin’s in danger. We don’t have time,” she said. She was barely out of breath at all and it made me feel incredibly unfit.
We came to a metal door which despite me slamming my full body into it would not open.
“Panomie said humans can’t get in or out,” said Ashley running her hands through her hair.
“He did. But I think it’s predominantly designed to keep humans in and human children at that. Barbichu probably never thought fully-fledged sorcerers would end up here,” I said as I prepared a spell. I released my magic at the door and blasted it clean off its hinges. Inside was a long room lined either side with square cages, old and rusted. There were only three children inside. The Lilac girl, some other girl and Leah who was currently struggling to get out of Panomie’s grip. His big monstrous hands were gripping her shoulders and his mouth was wide open revealing those horribly weird teeth that twisted around in his mouth. It was amazing how far he could stretch his jaw. I had no doubt that he could bite off Leah’s head in one chomp. But I really didn’t want that to happen. Neither did Ashley.
“No!” she screamed as she charged into him. She slammed him into the wall and he let out a little oof noise. Leah ran straight to me. I knelt down and caught her as she dove into my arms, instinctively wrapping my arms around her.
“It’s okay, relax. You’re safe now,” I said as she sobbed.
Ashley came flying my way. I was unable to catch her but I did manage to put up a shield to stop her journey not that it spared her any pain. She hit the shield and fell to the floor.
“He killed my son,” Panomie said in a low guttural tone.
“Yes I know,” I replied. “But killing these children isn’t going to help is it?”
“Barbichu doesn’t even need them anymore you won’t be hurting him at all,” said Ashley.
“You morons didn’t finish the job did you?” he asked. Our silence was all the answer he needed. “You were supposed to kill him!” he screamed in anguish.
“He got away,” I explained.
“You were supposed to save Leah not eat her!” Ashley said accusingly. She had a point, not that Panomie even seemed to have heard her. I could tell he was going to attack again and put Leah down behind us. She didn’t want to let go of me but I managed to prise myself away.
“You didn’t kill the imp who killed my son and I know I can’t. I can kill you though,” said Panomie. He pointed with both hands at the cages either side of us. The doors creaked and cracked as the hinges broke and they came colliding with us hard. My door slammed me up against the bars of another cage and began burning into my flesh as the door fused itself with the bars behind me, pinning me in place. I screamed out from the pain and tried feebly to fight against it. The pain wasn’t stopping me from being able to concentrate enough to counter the spell. Ashley’s door pinned to the floor.
“You’ve been nothing but a pain in my teeth,” Panomie said as he glared at me. Ashley, who was on the floor, tried to stand up but the door on top of her forced her back down again. “I’m going to make you feel the pain I feel. It might not bring my son back but it will at least ease my suffering a minuscule amount.”
“Stop it. If you have a problem with me then take it out on me. Not her!” I yelled. The metal was no longer burning me but I was completely locked in place. I concentrated on freeing myself. It took a bit of time but I saw the metal starting to melt again. Once again it burned my flesh but because this time it was my own magic causing it, I was able to alleviate the pain.
“I am taking it out on you. Wh
y couldn’t you just kill him?” Panomie asked. He took a fist full of Ashley’s hair and pulled her head up. She shrieked and I had to turn away.
“None of this is my fault, Panomie! Don’t blame me because you failed as a father!” The words that left my mouth were not the ones I should have said, nor were they the ones I wanted to say.
“Failed?” Panomie repeated the words quietly. Shocked. “I stole countless children in the name of my son.”
“Six-hundred and thirty-nine. They were counted. By the people you stole them from,” Ashley spat at him.
“And you didn’t do it in the name of your son. You did it because you were too much of a coward to save him,” I added.
Panomie sneered at me. “Let’s see if you can save her.” He pulled her hair even more and opened his mouth wide once more. I let the darkness come out. The door flew away from me and crashed into the cage opposite. I screamed a primal sound of rage and threw my hand out towards the gnome. A black sphere of pure darkness flew out of me and hit Panomie in the stomach where it disappeared inside him. He staggered backwards and his face wrinkled in confusion. We both stood totally still waiting to see what happened. Even Ashley was looking up from her entrapment in anticipation. When nothing came of the attack Panomie spoke.
“What was—” He suddenly exploded all over the room. Soggy flesh and bits of denim dungarees scattered around and rained down over us. Leah screamed in both surprise and revulsion. So did the other two girls. I wasted no time and got to work freeing Ashley.
“What was that spell?” she asked.
“I have no idea. I’ve never seen or done it before,” I replied as I helped her to her feet. “It was just instinct.” Dark instinct.
“That was pure magic filled with darkness,” Barbichu said. He was standing in the doorway looking on with admiration. “A very potent spell and one that few beings would be able to withstand.”
“In that case I’ll conjure up another one for you,” I said and raised my hand.
“Eddie-Neddie, we both know you don’t know how. It was a spur of the moment thing. You can’t replicate it.”
“I’m more than willing to try,” I said but made no attempt to do so. I didn’t want to fail and prove that my hand was empty.
“I don’t want to fight you two. Not again. We all know I’d win and I’m sure neither one of you wants to die.” He stepped forwards and Leah who was far closer to him than she was to us attempted to shrink into the bars behind her. Seeing the fear in her eyes made me want to turn that imp to dust. “Eddie, how about this, I rid you of that darkness, give you the kids back and we call it quits?”
“Tempting. But no,” I said.
“I say we just kill him,” said Ashley. Once more she returned to my side.
“Let’s say you try that. Even if you succeed it will be Eddie who manages it. Everyone else in this room will die before he does so. You. Her.” He pointed at Leah who was in arms reach. “And even if you did survive you’d be trapped down here. Without an escort you can’t use the portals and you just blew your escort to pieces.”
“I’m sure we’ll find a way,” she said.
“You don’t know the rules here, do you? Humans can’t wander without an escort and you certainly can’t murder the natives. You two wouldn’t make it out of this town let alone back to the capital. Which by the way you don’t know how to get to.” He smiled knowing he had us beat. “Here’s the deal. You swear not to kill me and not to come after me and I will take you two and all the children home and then we both go our separate ways. Take it or leave it.”
I looked at Ashley and told her with my eyes that it was her choice.
“Alright,” she said. “But you have to cure Eddie’s darkness curse too.”
“Deal,” Barbichu said. He teleported to right in front of me and extended his hand for me to shake. Tentatively I took it, his slimy fingers wrapped around my hand and held it in place. “Swear.”
“I swear not to kill you and not to come after you so long as you return all of us home and do not harm us in anyway,” I said wording the deal carefully.
“I swear too,” he said cheerily and then giggled. “Let’s get you home and fixed.”
Ashley and I coaxed the other two children out of their cages and we all linked hands, me and Ashley were the ones holding Barbichu’s with the children in between us.
“This is going to be very fucking nauseating,” I warned and before anybody could prepare we teleported. I felt much less ill this time around and managed to not vomit when we appeared in Ashley’s living room. The room was still in utter disarray with broken furniture and shredded books all over the place. Oddly, somebody had lit a fire in the fireplace but I didn’t have time to worry about why. I looked round in time to see the children all faint in tandem. Ashley was doubled over retching.
“Will they…” I pointed at the kids.
“They’ll be fine,” the imp said and waved his hand dismissively.
“No thanks to you.”
“What’s that?” he said.
“You’ve destroyed hundreds of lives. All those families you ripped apart,” I said quietly. I knew the pain of losing those you love. I knew the pain of not being able to do anything about it and having to just get on with your life knowing that they were never coming back. He made me so angry. “I want to tear you apart,” I told him with disgust.
“Yes! I’m sure you do. But we have a deal,” I reminded me happily.
“Mmm,” I grunted and then gave him the same sickly smile he’d given me so many times. “Deal’s off.” I whipped my hand through the air and sent Barbichu across the room. He crashed through the ruined bookcase in the corner.
“Eddie?” Ashley said unsure of what I was doing. I looked at her and she gasped. I had no idea what she’d seen but she took a step back, her mouth open in shock. I didn’t care. I returned my attention to Barbichu who was climbing back up.
“Look at you,” he said in wonder. “Darkness personified!” He flung a spell at me but I batted it aside and then smashed him into the wall. His head smacked the wall and jerked forwards, the wondrous expression turned to pain. “I think I’d better be off then.” He vanished. A moment later he was right back against the wall. “What? HOW?” he screamed but not in anger, in fear. “Eddie! We have a deal!” he yelled.
“Children. You don’t hurt children, you vulgar little wanker,” I spat. He came running at me, hands up ready to attack. I blocked his magic and took hold of his neck in my hand. “I am going to enjoy this.” I started to laugh as I poured red hot power into him. The flesh beneath my palm began to sizzle and he squeezed in pain like a rat.” In a desperate attempt to fight me off he thrust his palm in to my chest and launched me backwards. I managed to catch myself mid-fall and returned to my feet easily.
“Look at all that wasted potential,” he said as he rubbed the burns on his neck. “This power that you couldn’t unlock without that darkness. Let me take it from you, Eddie please. I can take that darkness.”
“No,” I said simply and advanced.
“If you kill me you’ll be stuck like this. Forever.”
I continued to advance and as I did I caught a glimpse of myself in a fragment of broken mirror. My eyes had turned totally black and my skin had taken a sallow pale colour. I wasn’t shocked. I wasn’t anything. Barbichu tried to teleport again but once again he reappeared exactly where he’d been standing. He shot his hand up and conjured the lightning spell. I did the same lazily. Everything was so easy now. My lightning hit his and straight away began eating up his spell. I watched with relish as my lightning lengthened and his shrunk. Any minute now his spell would fail and I would kill him. He looked up at me pleadingly.
“Please, Eddie,” he begged. “I don’t want to die.” My spell was inches away from him now.
“Neither did all those children,” I replied. His spell failed and he screamed high and hideously. But not because of my spell. My spell never touched him. Instead h
e collided with the tip of an iron dagger which came jutting through his chest coated in dark blood. As it hit the iron it flew back at me and smashed me straight through the living room. On my back and covered in plaster, I screamed loudly as the grip the darkness had on me loosened. I looked up and saw Ashley standing behind Barbichu, holding the hilt of the dagger which she’d shoved right through his heart.
“I… I’m… sca…” He tried to say as he fell to his knees. Ashley yanked the dagger out of him and we both watched as his grey little body withered up like an old prune. His eyes dulled and then as the last vestiges of life left they two turned grey and he fell face down on the carpet. Totally dead.
