Dark Winter: Trilogy

by Hennessy, John

  "Now I have explained it to you though, you will understand."

  Curie paused for a moment and looked rather sad.

  "I did, regretfully, have to kill one of the rats though, Romilly. One of the little blighters bit into my finger and I could not shake him off. He was huge beast, almost as big as a cat, and was one of those dark brown ones. He seemed to enjoy inflicting pain on me, a bit like your friends would like to do to me if they ever got me into a darkened room, I expect. I could not get free, so I swung my hand towards one of the big metal bins.

  His brain must have shattered on impact, because he let me go instantly. I can honestly say it’s the worst pain I have had in my life."

  "Wasps are different from rats. You’ll see wasps carry their dead off, but not rats. No, not them. Rats eat each other, Romilly. No burial, no sending off. Eaten. Can you imagine eating one of your friends if they died, Romilly? Think about it for a second. Think about it."

  "I imagine your friends would like that to happen to me. My lifeless body being dragged away by a company of wasps, or a few rats ripping my innards apart. Yes, yes, they would like that. What about you though? What about you? Are you a wasp, or a rat?"

  This did not sound like a rhetorical question. I opened my lips gently to speak, not sure what I would say, when Curie placed a dirty, wizened finger onto my mouth and said "You don’t have to answer that."

  Curie stood up slowly, and grasped the axe with both hands. He moved slowly but purposefully towards the table to which I was bound.

  He stood over me, and I could see the newly sharpened axe glistening in my eyes.

  "This is for you, Romilly. I could torture you, but I know you will never give up the Mirror, much less help me to use it. But I like you, so I will make your passing all the easier. I….I don’t know what will happen when this axe severs your head from your body. I mean, I know, but that Mirror has been in the possession of the Winter females for who knows how many generations. I don’t know what will happen when its ownership is broken."

  I could not help but think how I had let Nan down, and everyone before her. I did hope that the Mirror would now pass to Toril. I remained determined to look at Curie whilst he did this.

  "I’m sorry, Romilly," he said as he held the axe aloft, ready to bring it down. "I suspect you are a rat."

  My teeth chattered in the severe cold, even though with my blood pressure so high, my body should be boiling. I was helpless to stop the tears rolling down my face.

  As the blade hurtled towards me I finally decided I could look no longer, and shut my eyes as tightly as I could.

  ***

  "Let’s not stay here any longer than we have to, Bethany," said Toril.

  "Agreed. So. The plan?"

  "The plan," said Toril, "is to lay Jacinta in the chapel of rest, save Romilly and protect the Mirror, and then…."

  "And then?"

  "And then, I’ll deal with Dana. She has to pay for Jacinta. We owe her that."

  "No, Toril, please don’t," said Beth. "People seem to end up dead around Dana. I don’t want to lose you too."

  Toril smiled a half-smile. She was trying to reassure Beth. "Maybe it won’t come to that."

  "Why do you think Romilly is in danger?"

  "She’s not here, with us, and Troy has turned, somehow. Dana’s loose out there, and with Jacinta gone, and a named soul, we have the problem of another Zeryth being released."

  "What? Another one? Jesus!" said Beth. "Remind me not to ask about any of your plans. Ever."

  "Beth, I need you to go to Romilly. Do you think you could do that?"

  "Sure. But how? You can’t deal with Dana on your own."

  "I can set up a portal, and you can just go to Diabhal Takh, get Romilly out of there and back here. We’d be stronger together but I suppose we have to be apart for awhile. I will deal with

  Dana."

  "How do I get back? How do we both get back?"

  "There will be a corresponding portal at that end. You’ll be okay."

  Toril motioned for Beth to stand between three small posts she had erected.

  "You have done this before, right Toril?"

  "Loads of times. In practise."

  "In practise?"

  Toril waved her wand and then thrust hard in Beth’s direction.

  "Goodbye, Beth."

  Beth disappeared from view. Toril would understand the gravity of the situation once she arrived at Diabhal Takh. She just hoped that Beth would arrive before the Zeryth.

  ***

  Toril tried to process the information coming at her. The blade hurtling towards my neck, the arrival of Beth but also the Zeryth. The other three Zeryths, Troy and of course, Dana, whose whereabouts were unknown, but likely to converge all at Diabhal Takh.

  One thing Toril was good at, was having a sense of priorities. Of the spells rolling around in her head, she previewed a freeze spell.

  That would be no good if the spell was broken, or someone knocked into Curie or the blade.

  A disappear – reappear spell? That would fail too, especially if the Mirror was not safe.

  So Toril went for a spell she had never done before. A miniaturisation spell.

  It wasn’t before time too. I disappeared from sight as the blade slammed into the desk, with

  Curie howling madly.

  Toril had saved me by making me small. What she didn’t know, was just how small she had made me.

  I looked up at the bag on my chair, which had the Mirror poking out of it. It was far too big.

  There was no way I could possibly bring it with me.

  There was no point escaping. I could tell by the way Curie was rushing around the rooms and smashing things that he could not see me. I couldn’t leave without the Mirror though.

  There just had to be some way to bring it with me.

  ***

  Toril sank to her knees in the mudded ground, and clasped her head. What she was suffering felt worse than any aneurysm. She rolled around on the ground, and the image of Jacinta, lying in the chapel, came to haunt her.

  With no-one around to judge her, Toril felt she could let it go, and cried uncontrollably.

  "I’m sorry, Jacinta. I’m sorry for failing you. You should be alive. This is not fair. It’s not fair!"

  More tears, but there was no time for that. Toril was not alone in the cemetery.

  "Crying?" sneered Dana. "Are you crying? Won’t do you much good. You can be thankful she died quickly."

  Toril turned around, with her knees still in the soil. "I can make you meet your end too."

  "Great! Most people are afraid of me, not you though. We both have wands, we both can do magic," said Dana, through bloodied teeth, the gaping wound in her shoulder pussing blood down her chest, spoiling her clothes. Dana’s grin disappeared and was replaced with a terrifying snarl. "But we already know the outcome. You can die on your knees if you like, it makes no difference to me."

  Toril’s eyes flashed with vengeance. Indirectly or not, Dana was to blame for Jacinta’s death. Balancing herself on unsteady legs, she clasped her wand tight with one hand, brushing away tears with the other.

  "I’m your daisy," said Toril. "Let’s finish this, Dana."

  ***

  Toril’s co-ordinates had been spot-on. Beth arrived in the room I had been restrained in. The problem was, she couldn’t see me, and I needed her to. Just how long would this spell last?

  Beth cringed when an almighty smash was heard in the next room.

  "Jesus! For the love of God, what is going on back there?" said Beth to no-one in particular, though I could hear her perfectly.

  I waved my arms frantically at her, but could not get her attention. Then Beth moved to look through a small hole in the wall. She couldn’t resist being nosey, it seemed.

  "Jesus!" said Beth, a little too loudly, and immediately clasped a hand over her mouth.

  I was never one for heights, but I would have to put this aside. I had to see what was
going on. I climbed up Beth’s leg, and tugged at the hem of her skirt, which was a few inches just above her knees. If I couldn’t reach, the whole mission would be impossible.

  I figured I mustn’t be more than an inch in height, and maybe a gram or so in weight. At least, if I was heavier, I would feel like a mouse to Beth, and she would swipe me off without looking.

  I moved as fast as I could, and reached her left elbow. I tried not to look down, though I already knew it was a long way down. I couldn’t fall, I could not fail, not now, when I was so close.

  Then Beth shivered and I nearly lost my grip.

  "Beth, stay still will you?" I said, not realising that she might just hear me.

  At that moment Beth did turn her head, but that was okay, I wasn’t there just yet.

  Beth continued her surveillance next door. I climbed up onto her shoulder and finally I could see what she was swearing about. Curie was pinned down by a Zeryth, and seemed as helpless as I was just a few moments ago.

  "Where is it? The Mirror," said the Zeryth.

  "Why should I know anything about that?" said Curie. "Whatever I tell you, you’ll do away with me anyway. Good. I want that."

  "So tell me. He has no further use for you. I can end your miserable existence quickly," hissed the Zeryth, who slightly relaxed the grip on Curie’s throat.

  Curie knew that if the Zeryth got hold of the Mirror, it would be the end of all things. He didn’t care about that, he just wanted to be free of Dana’s hold over him.

  He made his choice.

  "It’s next door," he said. "You’ll find that infernal Mirror next door."

  Beth’s eye dilated as she saw the Zeryth glided towards us. If I was to be any help at all to my friend, Toril’s spell had to wear off now.

  ***

  Of course, it would have been great if what I had wished there and then, had happened. No. I was still about one inch tall, give or take a millimetre or two, and Beth was oblivious to me being there. One sneeze from her and I would be blasted out of the window.

  There would be no way back then.

  The Zeryth glided into view, and incredibly, Beth was still facing away from her. I took drastic action and yanked at her hair.

  "Jesus Christ! What the-" shrieked Beth.

  Pretty soon, she saw what was going on. The Zeryth pointed a bloodied, bony finger towards her. "The Mirror. Give it to me."

  Another exclamation followed, featuring the Lord’s name.

  As the Zeryth moved towards Beth, who was frozen on the spot with fear, as opposed to one of Toril’s spells on this occasion, I climbed down on some strands of Beth’s red hair, and then, she finally saw me.

  Beth still wasn’t in any fit state to move, or react, except for uttering a few more biblical rated profanities as I launched myself at the Zeryth.

  I managed to land above her eyelid, and stuck my outstretched nails into her left eye ball.

  She howled in pain and swatted at me. The Zeryth was successful, because I blacked out from the blow. Beth unfroze all of a sudden, and caught me in her hands.

  The Zeryth was clutching at her bloodied eye-ball, and then, with one of her own nails, plucked it out.

  "Gross," said Beth. "That is disgusting." Looking down at the miniature version of me in her hands, she said, "So. What’s your story Milly?"

  "The Mirror, Beth. You have to help me use it."

  The one eyed Zeryth was still moving towards us, with three more outside, the door.

  We found ourselves outsized, and outnumbered. Toril’s spell had saved me from one death, but was just delaying the inevitable.

  ***

  Amidst all the mayhem, we had forgotten about Curie. He burst in, looking a broken shell of a man, and was holding an archer’s bow.

  He pulled back a quiver, and let the arrow fly. Beth would not have the time to get out of the way, not did Curie try and tell her to move aside.

  I was as surprised as anyone to see that the arrow embedded itself in the back of the Zeryth’s head. It screamed, and then disappeared before our eyes.

  At that moment, Toril’s spell wore off, and I was back to normal size again. I launched myself past Beth and grabbed the Mirror.

  "Small world," said Beth, grinning even though we found ourselves in a desperate situation.

  "It’s good to see you again Romilly."

  I concurred with that statement. Turning to Curie, who was still holding the bow in our direction, I said, "Care to put that down?"

  Curie did as I asked.

  "How did you know where that zombie’s weak point was?"

  "Not everyone has their genitals in the same place. Instant destruction if you hit there."

  "Yeah…but that doesn’t explain how you knew that."

  "I’m a rat, Romilly."

  "Do you have any more of those arrows?" asked Beth. "We have company."

  "No. Not enough time. Also, you were mistaken, Romilly. You thought I was sharpening the blade of the axe. It wouldn’t take much to crush your puny neck, you know," said Curie wearingly, yet there was nothing lost in the icy way he spoke. "The manufacture of a xy-light is difficult thing. But if you have one, you can kill that which cannot be killed. If you want to get out of this though, I know a way that just might work."

  "Then out with it," said Beth. "Quickly now."

  "Aren’t we impatient, Beth?" Curie walked past us and wedged the bow into the locking latch of the door.

  "That will buy us some time," said Curie. "When the first Zeryth comes into contact with that, it will be injured, and unable to attack us. When the second crosses the threshold, you, Romilly, will trap it with that Mirror of yours."

  "And the third? What about that one?" asked Beth.

  "That honour is yours, Beth. Yours – and mine."

  Curie grabbed Beth with one arm and produced handcuffs with another, and latched the cuff onto her wrist. She kicked out wildly and screamed at him. "Romilly, stop him, for God’s sake."

  "Curie!" I stammered. "What are you doing? Let her go!"

  "She won’t help me willingly, so I have to force her to do so. The Zeryth cannot kill both of us at once, so whoever is left can do it."

  "Romilly! Help!" screamed Beth.

  No matter what craziness Curie came up with, he always had a way of topping it. Yes, maybe I could stop one Zeryth, but not one, and certainly not two. I only hoped as they approached the threshold, that the bow would cause the damage Curie said it would.

  As it glided purposely towards the door, I slipped off my gloves to reveal the markings on my hands and forearms. In the darkness of the night, I wondered if I really did look so different to those that would aim to destroy me? Perhaps we always destroy what we fear, what we don’t understand.

  The first of the three Zeryths came into contact with the bow, and sure enough, Curie’s plan worked. Exit zombie one.

  The second, like all these zombies, was too smart to fall for that, so came through the window instead.

  I wasn’t worried about trapping it with the Mirror. I decided I would use my bare hands to destroy it. I knew also that I would feel sickening pain at the moment I came into contact with it, but that was better than risk Beth getting hurt, who was still trying to get out of the handcuffs.

  "Damn you Curie, for bringing this day on us," I said, as I reached towards the zombie, it suddenly darted, changed course, and slashed at Beth, gashing her leg right on her knee.

  I screamed at Curie to do something, but he just lay back, laughing maniacally as Beth continued to bleed heavily.

  He unlocked himself from the cuffs, and said, "Not everything is as it seems, Romilly. I needed Beth to cause a diversion."

  "Why?"

  I wanted to know, as Beth was slipping into an unconscious state.

  "Because now you can deal with the other one, and of course, the man himself. Concentrate now, and give my thanks to Bethany."

  I did as I planned to, and not because Curie was uttering commands. I held the
Mirror in front of my face, and the third zombie howled as it was pulled into it, with the kick back sending me flying, it was a miracle it did not get broken.

  I felt sick, dizzy, disorientated, but I just had to get to Beth. I was tired of Curie’s cryptic behaviour, tired of fighting zombies, and most of all, being stuck in this hellhole.

  Curie had gone. Beth was bleeding heavily from her leg, and I doubted any skills I had in first aid, would help her.

  "The man," said Beth, groggily.