by Victor Kloss
Charlie could hardly blame her. They’d been in what looked like desert, and now they were approaching something that resembled a forest, only a hideous one with twisted, stunted trees that nonetheless produced such a thick canopy overhead that no light at all touched the forest floor. It was like a scene from a horror movie, so unsurprisingly the trail led appeared to be heading straight into it.
“We’re almost there,” he promised. “I’m guessing they’re holed up somewhere in this forest.”
“Really?” Natalie clapped her hands. “Lovely! What are we waiting for, then?” And she strode straight towards the entrance to this hideously dark and twisted forest.
“Wait!” Charlie could see at once that it was already too late, so instead of calling after Natalie he took off at a sprint, catching up to her just as she stepped foot inside the forest.
Something materialised out of the shadows, moving slowly into view as if it were literally growing out of the darkness. It was close to seven feet tall, with dark, leathery skin the deep red of fresh blood. It had long, curved horns sprouting from its forehead, a long, barbed tail, and great bat wings off its back.
Charlie gulped. He’d seen something like this only once before, and it hadn’t been the most enjoyable of experiences. Unless he was seriously mistaken, they had wandered across a Demon Underlord. The last time he and Ben had faced one, only Ben’s connection to his parents had saved them. But Ben wasn’t here now, and it looked like if they wanted to find his parents, he and Natalie would have to get past this fiend on their own.
The demon narrowed its glowing red eyes at them, and Natalie grasped Charlie’s arm, squeezing tight. “Charlie! Is that what I think it is?” she whispered.
He would have answered if he hadn’t gone into shock. What were the chances? He knew demons existed in the Void, of course, but running into one this powerful a second time. He was pretty sure that was unlikely.
“Charlie!”
The demon moved forwards slowly, its eyes locked on Charlie, a cruel smile on its lips. “Little human. Puny little human. Why, am I frightening you?” The huge thing looked at Natalie and she gasped. “I believe you are a female… ah. An elf.” The smile vanished as quickly as it had come. “I really don’t like your kind, you know. Something about how you have locked us away for eternity and all that. I hope you don’t mind, but I really will enjoy the pain I am about to inflict on you.”
Charlie snapped out of it. Knowing Natalie was depending upon him — and Ben as well — made Charlie straighten up. He squared his shoulders, took a deep breath, and raised his spellshooter.
“I don’t think so. One more step and it’ll be your last,” he stated as calmly as he could, pushing Natalie behind him.
The demon paused, a look of mild surprise crossing its face. Charlie thought fast. After their last experience he’d spent hours researching demons of all sorts, intent on never being caught the same way again. Ice was most effective against demons, and Charlie knew exactly which spell he needed here. The only problem was it was a level-five spell, something that would be quite impossible for him. Impossible, at least, if he wasn’t in the Void.
The demon was moving again, but slower this time. “I have to say, I am surprised. I didn’t know you could talk. Maybe you aren’t aware of what I am, no? Actually, that’s not right. I can see you know what you are up against. Are you just stubborn, then?”
Charlie wasn’t listening. He summoned the pellet with his mind, knowing exactly when it popped into existence inside his spellshooter. Then he selected that pellet, slid it into the firing chamber, and took aim.
For one horrible second, Charlie doubted himself. He’d never done something like this before. A level-five spell! They were both going to die here. What a pathetic way for it all to end.
But Natalie’s hand was still on his arm, and it reminded Charlie who he was. He was Charlie Hornberger, and he had always been the best at anything involving using his mind. It was all about logic, and now that he knew how the Void worked, logic was on his side. A backwards type of logic maybe, but logic nevertheless. He knew that when it came down to it, in here your mind was your greatest weapon, which meant he had all the ammunition he needed.
He pulled the trigger, and the blue pellet exploded from the spellshooter, nearly knocking Charlie off his feet. Then it raced towards the demon, expanding outwards as it did, forming long, gleaming limbs that branched and split and interlocked together. It struck the demon full on, but then continued on around and even behind it, still branching and folding and intersecting until it had enclosed him completely.
It was a cage made of solid ice.
And, now that it was finished, Charlie sent it a mental command, and it began to contract.
The demon howled and reached out, both claws extended, but it was still too far away to reach Charlie and Natalie. Within seconds the cage had shrunk enough that it was forced to yank its arms back inside lest they get chopped off, and it let out a screech as its forearm brushed up against those icy bars.
Charlie got up and brushed himself off. Natalie was staring at Charlie like she had never seen him before. He walked up to the cage of ice and could just about see the demon inside.
“What have you done, human?” the demon shrieked. “This should not be possible!”
Charlie shrugged. “Sorry about that, old chap, but looks like you’ll be in here for a bit. Don’t worry, it’ll melt over time and then you can get back to meaninglessly hunting down and killing things.” He waggled his eyebrows up and down. The demon gave a roar and Charlie stepped back despite himself, then straightened. “Huh.” He looked back at Natalie. “Let’s go, shall we?” And he led the way into the forest.
After putting some distance between them and the demon, whose roars of frustration were now a distant sound, Natalie stopped.
“That was amazing!” she declared breathlessly. “Where’d you even get a spell like that?”
Charlie sagged a bit, exhausted now, but he smiled at the compliment. “After Ben and I ran into a demon last time I did some research into some of the most theoretically effective spells against them. In truth, no one really knows, as there is so little interaction with them, but it made sense to me.”
She was still studying him. “What level was it?” she asked quietly.
He shrugged, trying for as nonchalant as he could manage, even though his pulse was still racing. “Level five.”
“Five!” Natalie shook her head. “I had no idea you could fire spells of that rank!”
“Yeah, well, that makes two of us,” he admitted. “But I thought I could. And around here…” He waved at the forest in front of them and the desert behind them. “Thinking makes it so.”
That got a quick laugh out of her. “I’ll try to remember that,” she promised. “Meantime, shall we see where that trail takes us next?”
“Absolutely,” he agreed.
He was grinning as he continued walking into the completely terrifying, pitch black, utterly dead forest.
Ben and the other Guardians were amazing back on their world, absolutely. But down here in the Void, it was all Charlie Hornberger!
*
Hours later, Charlie would have been glad for it to have been someone else.
“How many more of these things are there?” he panted, stepping over the latest felled goblin. It felt as if they had been battling the vicious things every few feet, though in the near dark it was hard to tell.
“No idea,” Natalie replied from beside him. “But that looks like the last of them for now, at least.” She gestured ahead. “And that looks promising.”
Charlie followed her over to a massive tree that looked like an oak but with the smooth, silvery skin of a beech. In the deep shade of the forest, it practically glowed.
Etched into its bark was something that looked halfway between a rune and a picture, showing storm clouds with what looked like ball lightning beneath them.
“That’s got to be the Sp
arkstorms,” he agreed. “We’re definitely in the right place.”
“Or the wrong one,” an unfamiliar voice suggested. Charlie spun about and found himself staring down the barrel of a very large shotgun. “Spellshooters on the ground,” the gun-wielder instructed. They heard the sound of the gun being cocked, and Charlie and Natalie were quick to comply. “Good. Now walk,” the stranger ordered, tapping first one and then the other on the shoulder with the gun barrel.
They marched past the big tree, the newcomer bringing up the rear and calling out directions as they went, taking them deeper and deeper into the forest. Eventually the canopy above thinned enough to allow little glimpses of light to flicker down. Between that and Charlie’s eyes adjusting, he found himself able to see at least well enough to not walk into yet another tree. They stepped past a pair of large trees and into a wide clearing, one littered with tents, sleeping bags, bedrolls, and even hammocks. Several people were moving about the space and turned to stare. Their guide didn’t even pause, and instead directed them towards a modest tent on the far side. A few people stood talking in front of the tent, and when Charlie saw two of them he felt his throat seize up for a second.
Despite hearing all about what Ben had seen, he was still stunned to see Greg and Jane Greenwood alive after all this time.
They looked exactly how Charlie remembered them. Mr. Greenwood looked like an older version of Ben, with scruffy hair and the addition of a silly moustache. Mrs. Greenwood was as lovely as ever, looking all neat and fashionable, especially next to her husband.
It was she who noticed them first. “Greg, is that…? It can’t be.” She rushed over, Ben’s father following. “Charlie, is that you?” She engulfed him in a hug. The large man with the shotgun stepped back, and the stern look on his face was replaced with concern. His eyes flicked between Charlie and Ben’s parents. “Mr. Greenwood, I apologise if I made an error. I caught these two while patrolling the outskirts of our territory.” Greg just clapped him on the shoulder good-naturedly. “Don’t worry about it Jake, you’ve done us a service! Charlie is an old friend.” The man called Jake looked relieved as he took the opportunity to move away a few paces, but he still stayed close, eyes turning to the forest around them.
Jane pulled back and looked at Charlie more carefully this time, the look in her eye becoming sharper. “Sorry to ask, but where is Ben?” A tremor ran through her voice. Greg was looking at him intently.
Charlie raised his hands. “Last time I saw him he was with a few friends of ours, but we thought we’d pop over to help you come and join him.”
Greg barked a laugh, lessening the tension somewhat. “Charlie Hornberger, member of the Royal Institute of Magic, and here to rescue us, no less!” He shared a look with his wife. Then he turned to Natalie. “And who might this be?”
“Natalie Dyer,” she answered, dropping into a graceful curtsey. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Greenwood. I’ve heard a great deal about you.”
“Natalie was the first friend we made in Taecia, and the best,” Charlie explained.
Greg smiled. “So, not to burst your bubble, but we’re kind of stuck here in the Void, in case you didn’t know.” He had the same glint in his eye that Ben got. “Not that I don’t appreciate it, and to be honest I’m beyond impressed you found us. There is even a demon in that forest you just came through.” Natalie and Charlie shared a look, which Greg didn’t miss. “Hang on, did you…? Actually no, you can tell me some other time.”
“Where is Ben?” Jane asked again, her question more penetrating this time. Charlie had been hoping he could brush her off until they were out of the Void.
Charlie sighed. “He and the other Guardians are back at Suktar’s castle, fighting him,” he answered. “We came into the Void through the dungeon, which is where your bodies are. If we go out the same way you should be able to return to your bodies easily enough. Then we’ll break you out of the cells and we can all go help Ben and the rest.”
Ben’s dad nodded. “I assume you gathered all the armour together then, or you wouldn’t even be trying this? Yes? Okay, Jane, it’s time.” Ben’s mother took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She looked around, and Charlie only then noticed that at least twenty to thirty people had gathered around them, people of all types and races. There were dwarfs, elves, humans and even some goblins. She reached over and squeezed her husband’s hand, and then approached a tall elf who looked like the most typical wizard Charlie had ever seen.
He was only a few steps away so Charlie could hear what Jane said. “It’s okay Ulthar. You can let go of the illusion.” The old elf nodded, and suddenly the whole area around them seemed to blur and shift, and before Charlie’s eyes he saw the hammocks and tents transform into proper houses. The small forest changed into towering trees and there was a stream that moved through it all.
Jane turned back to Charlie, spreading her arms. “This has been our home for what seems like hundreds of years. As you can see we don’t age here, but you feel the time regardless. It is time to leave, but we need to do it the right way.”
She gave Greg a small frown as he tried to protest, and brushed past him, hooking her arms in between Natalie and Charlie’s.
“I’ll show you around!”
It was a very weird experience for Charlie. He’d just survived death more times than he could count and now after receiving a guided tour of this beautiful village, he was sitting at a farewell feast for Ben’s parents as a guest of honour.
Even though he knew logically very little time was passing, he still found it hard not to be impatient to get going. Finally Greg, who must have noticed him fidgeting, came over to where he was sitting and whispered into his ear. “Charlie, you can relax. This part of the Void is different to other areas. While time is always slower inside the Void compared to outside, where we are it hardly moves at all. You could be here for weeks and almost nothing would have happened back in the palace.”
He gave him a pat on the back and a reassuring smile and moved away. It still felt wrong to Charlie to be sitting here having a good time, but thankfully Charlie had read about this type of thing in one of the many books he had found in the library, when previously researching the subject. Besides, if Ben’s own parents weren’t worried they must be pretty certain on this point.
Natalie was enjoying herself, as she always seemed to. The feast went late into the night, and Charlie couldn’t remember when he got to bed. He woke the next day to a banging on the door.
“Charlie Hornberger! It’s time to go!”
He groaned and tried to pull a pillow over his eyes. Ben’s mum always seemed to wake them up earlier than needed. He opened one eye to make a comment to Ben, and then realised he definitely wasn’t at his friend’s house.
Suddenly remembering where he was, he jumped out of bed and got dressed immediately.
As he walked out of the hut, buckling on his holster, he was shocked to see hundreds of people now lining the streets. Jane and Greg were there, as was Natalie.
Greg raised his hand to the crowd in farewell and as they walked through the streets, a roaring cheer followed them.
When they finally left the village Charlie addressed the Greenwoods. “They seem to like you.”
Greg grunted. “They should. We’ve kept them safe for a long time, and now we’ve promised them something they didn’t dare hope for. All going well, we’ll be back to let them out.”
After walking for what felt like about an hour, Charlie recognised where they were. They immediately began retracing Charlie and Natalie’s path.
Their journey was surprisingly uneventful. It left Charlie wondering why he and Natalie had been so unlucky at encountering so many goblins and other creatures along the way there. Then as they were topping a small hill he heard what sounded like whispering and glanced over just in time to catch a glimpse of someone or something ducking out of sight. Ah, of course… It wasn’t that there were no threats out there anymore, but apparently no
ne of them wanted to go up against the leaders of clan Sparkstorm.
It was hard to tell how long it took them, as the sky stayed exactly the same, but when they finally stood in front of the cages Charlie felt drained. Jane looked at her husband and then around at what had been their home for a few years in the real world but many more for them.
“I can’t believe we are finally going back home, Greg,” she said with a gentle smile.
“I know, feels unreal,” Ben’s father agreed. He pulled out a piece of charcoal and quickly sketched some runes on the ground. Charlie was glad to see they were the same ones he had worked out for himself. While Ben’s parents evidently could have done this any time since their capture, it would have meant their deaths for sure. Now finally they could do it in the knowledge that even though there was a battle on the other side, they would probably have enough space to get free and then join the fight on their own terms.
The spell activated, and Ben’s parents vanished, leaving just Charlie and Natalie again.
“Ready?” she asked him with a grin.
“Definitely,” he answered, and together they exited the Void and returned to their bodies, which lay on the corridor floor in Suktar’s dungeon.
The transition back wasn’t quite as weird, but Charlie still found himself on his face. Somehow again Natalie was standing there like nothing unusual had happened. She smiled knowingly, a twinkle in her eye.
After he scrambled up, they grabbed their spellshooters and prison keys where they had left them and went to find the correct door. “Greg? Jane?” Charlie shouted.
“Over here!” they heard from behind the third door down.
Charlie fumbled with the various keys on the chain, and within moments had the door open. Greg was looking around the dungeon, and Jane had a look of amazement in her eyes.
“Charlie, honestly, I can’t believe you came into the Void and broke us out! Greg? Is this really the same Charlie?”
