The Sorceress
The Second Tale From Carrock
Page 4 of 4
Stev had been waiting impatiently for the full moon to rise. As it did and its rays poured through the windows, Alisande began to stir. Slowly her eyes opened, empty and glassy. Her husband was already by her side, holding her hand.
“Welcome back, Alisande,” he said with a sad smile.
“Where am I?” the girl asked.
“At the castle in Carrock.” She nodded, but he could tell that she had no idea where that was.
“I had a dream,” she began in an almost childish voice. “I saw a little boy in a big bed in a dark room. He was a prisoner and so was I. He didn’t know my name.”
“But I do,” Stev whispered. “I know your name, Alisande.”
“No, no, that’s not it.” Her voice was uneven. Suddenly she screamed, writhing in the bed, as if some pain assailed her. Her husband tried to comfort her. As quickly as it came, the pain was gone and she stared at him angrily.
“How dare you touch me!” she snapped. “Who are you anyway?” His jaw dropped open and he staggered back. Slowly the enchanted girl rose out of the bed.
“It’s me, Alisande, Stev, your husband...” She cocked her head to one side, as if thinking.
“I don’t have a husband,” she finally snapped. “Get out before I call the guards.”
“No, Savoy said you musn’t be left alone for even an instant,” he fired back, his worry slowly letting his temper go. “Get back into bed.”
“I’m up and I’m staying up.” She crossed her arms and stared at him angrily. “You don’t even know who I am.”
“Who are you?” he asked.
“I — “ her face suddenly fell and she gaped at him. “I don’t know. I honestly don’t know.” Tears began to form themselves in her eyes. “My God, I don’t know who I am,” she whispered and sank onto the ground, sobbing. “Who am I?” it was a cry for help. Stev Pulleny stood there, unable to think and unable to move, watching his mad wife silently. When would the spell break?
Roanna had carefully drugged the children that evening before sending them to bed. It was important that they didn’t wake before dawn, when the spell was gone. At least the one over Alisande was strong enough to keep her from remembering and it was a good thing that the pesky shade was not in the castle walls at the moment. But for that matter there would be many more wandering the lone halls. She had come to know and fear some of them. They were dangerous. That was why she stayed in her small room during this time. They could not touch her here. This was the only safe place. The children would be left alone, uninteresting to those beings of the mist that once had been human. She could already hear the sad sighs and cries from the corners of the dark building. The last months she’d taken a dream voyage on the night of the full moon, escaping these walls. Now she was cut off from the great hall, where the one place was where she could separate her spirit from her body and go riding the wind, away from Damrok’s night of ghosts.
Suddenly she sat up straight. One of the cries had been very close to her door. She shuddered. There was little that could scare her, but those shades, those spirits of old could. In the same instant an uneartly light began to glow in the room in front of her and a man in full armor was standing there. A five-fingered claw was on his chest. His visor was shut and he held a bloody sword in his hand, the point touching the ground.
“Roanna of Dell Cairn,” came a deep and ominous voice from inside the armor, “I have come to warn you. It is the last I may do. You are near destruction. If you do not heed my word and free the children in this night, you will fall under the hands of the Watchcarer.” That remark drew a grin from the sorceress.
“The Watchcarer?” she snickered, trying to cover her uneasiness. “The Watchcarer is dead. I defeated her and killed her myself. You must be joking, shade.”
“The Watchcarer can and will return, Roanna of Dell Cairn. And when she does, you will die.”
“Who are you, shade?” the sorceress demanded slowly rising, her fear was slowly giving way to anger. One hand went up and opened the visor.
“Sean Welling,” she gasped. The man who’d been her first teacher and who’d taken her virginity. “You!”
“Yes,” the shade answered, closing his helmet again. “I was destroyed many years ago by a Scholar. It now is your turn, Roanna of Dell Cairn, and you will experience the pain and solitude of these halls. You will be banned to the room of mirrors, where you will die. Until we meet again among the shadows, Roanna of Dell Cairn...” And suddenly she woke, sitting up, noticing light from beneath her shutters. Slowly her chest heaved up and down. It was only a dream, only a dream, she whispered to herself. The night was over. The children would be waking soon. She rose and looked at her shaking hands. No, she must control herself, she would win. No shade would destroy her and much less the Watchcarer. She would destroy them all and take the throne of Carrock. With that she rose and brushed a hand through her hair, not noticing that it was now completely white.
Dylan stood looking at the castle, a bit angry at waking to find that Alick was gone. TR had disappeared also and neither Savoy nor Swift had noticed the ex-wizard leave.
“So what will we do now?” Dylan growled, more to himself.
“We’ll wait,” the Scholar answered, calmly tending the fire. The lord sat down by the fire, scowling into the woods and it wasn’t long until a cheerful and smiling Alick walked out from among the trees with TR on his heels.
“Good morning, m’lord,” he laughed. “I’m sorry if I gave you a shock, but I had to get something, so that we can enter Damrok unharmed.”
“I wish you’d told me beforehand,” Dylan snapped.
“You still don’t trust me, Lord of Carrock,” the ex-wizard said quietly. “I don’t blame you. But here...” He opened his hands to reveal a many-colored gemstone. “This is my key to Damrok. It was given me when I took on the cloak of a wizard and it is the last vestige of my power. I will use it to open the gates and guide you to Roanna, Dylan á Carrock, but for that you must trust me, otherwise you will not be able to enter the castle.” These were hard words, the lord knew. He had already taken Alick along, but he still didn’t trust him. Now was a time of choice. He knew he must rescue his children from Roanna, but he could only do that, if he trusted this man. Finally he drew a breath. He knew what he must do.
“Very well, Alick. I will trust you.” The old man smiled and nodded his head.
“Then come, all of you. We will enter the castle. We must do it within the hour, or else my key will be useless.” They broke camp quickly and stealthily made their way toward the high walls. For once Dylan was wearing a pistol and a hunting-knife, something unusual, for the Lord of Carrock rarely carried weapons. Now the great doors loomed before them. With a shudder, Dylan realized that the portal was shaped like a giant mouth. Above it was a hideous caricature of a nose and slanted, vacant eyes. He glanced at Tabea, noticing that her grip on his hand had tightened. She was quite pale, but seemed determined. Alick held the tiny gem aloft and it sparkled in the light. Slowly the great doors swung forward.
“Come quickly!” the ex-wizard urged them. After a moment’s hesitation the humans followed their guide in. Only Swift and TR stood there, undecided. Dylan turned back.
“Come on, you two,” he called. Swift trotted forward and passed through the gates. Slowly the giant doors began to swing shut. Alick grasped the lord’s shoulder.
“TR must not attempt to enter now, or else he will be killed. It is part of the magic of this place.”
“Stay where you are,” Dylan ordered the wolf, but it seemed he hadn’t heard. He slowly rose and went forward, nosing towards the closing portal. He paused for another moment and placed one paw on the doorstep. Suddenly there was a loud whining as his fur began to sparkle with bright blue arcs. He tried to shake it off, and step back. He howled in agony. Now there were flames on his back as he shook and tried to pull away, but he couldn’t move. And then in a instant the fire had covered The Red as the great doors closed. The whining and howling could still be heard. Slowly Swift raised her head and howled long and mournfully. Her mate was dead.
From her chamber Roanna heard the howl of the wolf. What was happening? The Hall of Mirrors, there she could see what was happening in the whole castle. She rushed from her room, wide black cloak billowing like wings around her thin body. In an instant she was up the stairs and in the great room. There she glanced at the mirrors. Her lips moved silently. Suddenly one of them stopped reflecting her. It seemed that it had become a window or a doorway, no longer a mirror. She looked into it and saw six figures rushing up a stairway. The one in front was wearing the blue-black of the wizards. Behind him a girl with the beauty of the southern lands, beside her a small, gray and white wolf. After her came another woman, her long golden-brown hair pulled back, dressed in a green and brown tunic and trousers with a cloak the color of rich earth around her shoulders. Next was a tall man in peasant’s clothing, a holster with a pistol and a hunting knife at his side. His red-brown head was bare and his face covered with a beard of a bit lighter color. Following him was a shorter figure, all in white. That made his dark skin and hair stand out all the more. Roanna cursed silently. They were already here — the Scholar’s daughter, the Lord and Lady of Carrock and the Scholar himself. Who the guide was she could not guess. There was almost no time to prepare.
She muttered another incantation and the mirror became normal again. The children must be woken. She rushed from the room to theirs. Kyle was already awake, rubbing his eyes. He was only in his shirt.
“Come, little lord, get your clothes on,” the sorceress ordered. Dylan’s son complied slowly, still sleepy, while his captor shook Asha awake. She didn’t even take the time to put the girl’s dress on over her night-shirt. Kyle had his breeches and jacket on by now and was fumbling with his boots.
“No time, no time!” Roanna cried, yanking him to his feet. And with that she rushed them out of the small room and down the hall.
Dylan felt very uneasy as Alick led him and his friends up the narrow staircase. He glanced around, having the acute feeling that someone was watching him. He didn’t know it, but every one of them felt that way. Savoy was mumbling and grunting to himself just a step behind and Tabea was just barely able to keep to her feet. The ex-wizard still led them forward down long, winding corridors up many flights of stairs, down some more until they were before a pair of doors covered with gold.
“The throne room,” Alick whispered. “This is the one place where we can be safe, for enchantment cannot pass these gates.” He raised the gemstone and the doors swung inward to reveal a room of utter beauty. Tapestries hung along the walls and on both sides were many windows, letting in the sunlight. At the end of the room was a great golden throne, covered with plush red cushions. The floor was of mosaics, depicting kings and queens of old.
“This is the one room that the claw never was able to open and it is the first time that I am allowed to see it,” the ex-wizard continued. “This is where we will return to if anything separates us. All paths lead to these doors. Rap on them three times and they will open for you.” They closed again and Alick quickly led them on, down many stairs into the heart of the castle.
“Where are we going?” Lora asked, her breath coming in short gasps.
“To the altar room. That is the only place that Roanna would dare confront us. It is the heart of the castle, where the claw took up its residence. There lies the secret power and also the entrance to the Labyrinth of Death, that few have escaped alive.” Dylan shivered at these words. Now slowly he began to feel that Damrok was a lot more dangerous than he had ever imagined.
The giant doors loomed above them now, similar to those of the front gate. Alick held his gem aloft again and they swung out towards them. The room must have been huge, but only four torches around a stone altar shed light and in front of the stone block stood the sorceress, the two children by her side, the girl at her right and the boy at her left hand.
Roanna grinned maliciously as she appraised the small band of travelers that had ventured into her domain.
“Welcome to Damrok, Dylan á Carrock,” she sneered. “I wasn’t expecting to see you so soon.”
“And I was hoping sooner, Lady Roanna,” the lord answered stiffly, trying to keep his temper under control. “I have come for my children.”
“Ah, your children?” The sorceress laughed. “I would say they are much less your children than mine, Dylan á Carrock.”
“Liar!” Tabea screamed and tried to launch herself at the other woman. She came to a halt against her husband’s outstretched arm.
“That may be at this moment. However it is an unnatural bond, one that cannot hold.”
“What do you know about sorcery and its powers, Dylan á Carrock?” Roanna mocked. “You don’t even have the courage to enlarge your own power.”
“Perhaps it’s because he’s realized that it’s not his power,” came a voice from just behind the lord.
“You?!?” the sorceress mocked, her eyes growing wide. Alick slowly took a step forward.
“Yes, sister. I came and I guided Dylan á Carrock, his wife, and his friends into this castle and I will guide them out again. You, however, will never leave these walls.” There was a strangely sad quality to his voice. “It’s because you haven’t realized that ‘your’ power isn’t yours at all. It is stolen from the Word and he will take it back all too soon.”
“So the wizard has become a Scholar,” she sneered back.
“No, I am neither wizard nor Scholar,” the old man answered, shaking his head. “I was a wizard and I may become a Scholar some day, but now I am just the servant of the Lord of Carrock.” It was said humbly, without a hint of mockery and for the first time Dylan realized that this old man had changed. Slowly Alick rose to his full height and stared at his sister.
“Roanna, you claim he has no power over these children. You claim that they are yours. Would you be willing to test that claim?” The sorceress bit her lower lip, rage smouldering in her eyes.
“Prove to Dylan á Carrock, that these children aren’t his.” The dark eyes now bored into hers.
“Very well, Dylan á Carrock,” she finally said haughtily. “You may have one chance to show your weakness.”
“He who is weak is strongest in the Word,” Savoy whispered in Dylan’s ear. The lord just barely nodded and took two steps forward. Lora followed him closely, wanting to watch everything. Slowly Dylan went down on one knee in front of his son.
“Do you know who you are, child?” he asked. The brown head nodded timidly.
“Tell me, who are you?”
“I am Kyle.” The words were halting.
“Do you know who I am?” his father asked, reaching out and taking one clammy hand.
“Dylan á Carrock,” the boy whispered. It was like a heavy blanket was a round his head. He knew this man with the gentle eyes and soft voice. He slowly closed his eyes. Suddenly he saw himself on the meadow, romping with that man and with the lady with the golden-brown hair. He remembered being tucked into bed. That man was sitting beside him.
“When I’m big I want to be just like you, Dad,” Kyle whispered. The man smiled.
“Then learn to live like the Word wants you to, Kyle,” he anwered. Suddenly the boy’s mind was back at the present. A smile spread across his face.
“Dad!” he laughed and hugged him around the neck.
“That’s my boy,” Dylan answered. Kyle just loosened his embrace enough to call to his sister.
“Look, Asha, it’s Dad and Mom!” The little girl took two steps forward, a fearful look on her face. Roanna grabbed at her pulling her back.
“Let me go!” Asha screamed. “I want my Daddy!”
“No, not her, too, fool!” she hissed.
“Yes, Roanna, her, too.” Alick’s voice came from the background. The little girl’s fists and feet were swinging like crazy. One small foot hit the sorceress’ shin and she let go of the girl, face in agony. Asha fled to her father and clung to him. Lora was just a half-step behind them, a smile on her brown face. Dylan straightened up.
“I have what I came for, Lady Roanna. I will go now and you will stay alive.”
“No, Dylan á Carrock, you will never leave this place as long as I live,” the witch snapped and suddenly the floor dropped away from under Dylan’s feet and he felt himself falling with his two children and Lora.
“Lora, no!” came the cry from above and an instant later, Savoy and Swift came flying down after them. They were on a rough stone trough, that was slicked down with something, hurtling towards the end. Suddenly it ended, sending them head over heels on a rough earthen floor. Dylan’s head hit a stone wall and all went black.
Tabea was too breathless to scream as she watched her husband, children and friends disappear down the dark hole. It was like in her dream.
“Now, Lady of Carrock,” Roanna said with a grin, “I have you to myself.” The hole closed and she slowly walked forward, heading towards the girl. Fine fingers suddenly curled around Tabea’s upper arms and she felt someone pull her to himself. Dark blue robes covered her as Alick wrapped his arms around her protectively.
“No, Roanna. You will never touch this girl or take her innocence. I will protect her until I die.” With that his right hand few forward, and the gemstone went flying like a drop of pure light. It hit the floor, shattered and suddenly she was standing in the throne room. The ex-wizard let go of her and took a step back.
“I am sorry about the way I had to do this, Lady Tabea,” he said with a bow. “It was necessary to protect you from Roanna.”
“Where are we?” she asked.
“We are safe.”
“And where are Dylan and the others?” she whispered, tears choking her voice. Alick’s face became very sad.
“They are in the Labyrinth, Lady Tabea. And if they ever come out of there, it will be a miracle.”
|
