Storm Holt (The Prophecies of Zanufey Book 3) (41 page)

The Flow was instantly at her command, her eyes strained into the darkness and her heart pounded. It took her a while to locate the small dark shadow a few feet away beside the Storm Holt. The shadow became more distinct, as if it were somehow materialising, and what she saw she didn’t quite believe.
 

She blinked twice at the ugly, pot-bellied, two-foot high creature. It was completely bald with thickly muscled but stubby arms and legs, and toes and fingers complete with sharp claws. Its roundish face was wide with a big mouth and a single white fang protruded over its upper lip. It was mid-grey all over, except for its eyes which were yellow, and its tongue which was blood red. It sat on the bole of a thick oak and was more animal than human.
 

Every now and then the ugly creature flapped its bat-like wings, lifted a foot or so into the air, then settled back on the oak. She would have continued to be terrified, but the thing seemed more frightened than she was. Its eyes were wide and constantly darting left and right, and its tongue flicked nervously in and out of its mouth. They stared at each for a long moment.

‘Are you supposed to be here,’ she asked in a shaky voice, wondering if this was the thing that had spoken. Her hand went to her sword that was not there, but she was ready to use the Flow at any moment. It might start small, but grow into something monstrous.

‘Yes,’ it squeaked. She wondered if its voice was normally like that, or if it was just because it was nervous. ‘Are you a wizard?’ its voice trembled. The question took her by surprise. It could speak whole sentences and clearly had an inquisitive brain.

‘Maybe. What
are
you?’ she frowned, relaxing her stance and letting go of some of the Flow. The creature seemed quite small and pathetic.

‘A Shadow Demon.’ His voice trembled less and became a pitch lower - which was why she decided it was a “he.” He forgot his fear and stood up proudly on stubby legs.

‘Oh,’ she frowned. ‘I’ve not heard of one before.’ Were there different types of demons? She’d assumed they were all huge and terrifying. He seemed a little perturbed and folded his wings solemnly. The bemused look on his face almost made her laugh out loud. Did they actually have emotions and feelings? She was beginning to re-address everything she’d been told about demons.

‘But it sounds quite frightening,’ she added, the creature seemed to grin, although it look more like a grimace that creased up his ugly face.
 

‘Did you come out of that?’ She pointed at the Storm Holt. The Shadow Demon nodded. ‘Are they all like you in there?’ If they were all so small and puny she had nothing to worry about.

‘No. Some have wings, some do not. King is ten feet tall, but he’s not the biggest,’ the Shadow Demon said. There was a hint of awe in his face at the mention of this King.

‘Oh,’ she said. A ten-foot tall one would not be nice. ‘Well, I have to go in there, apparently. That way I can master myself and become a real wizard with lots of respect. Anyway, how did you come through it? I thought only wizards could enter, and no demons could possibly come here from there.’ Could this demon really be trusted to speak the truth? No demon could be trusted, she reminded herself.

‘King sent me. It wasn’t easy, but I’m small and King is strong,’ he said.

She frowned. The wizards had said nothing could come through, and yet here appeared to be a Shadow Demon.

‘And you don’t need to enter to become a wizard,’ he said and stood proud again, as if he knew more about it than she did. Which he probably did right now, she conceded.

‘Yes, but it makes you strong and…’ she had a thought and started again on a different tact. ‘Why are demons plaguing my mind and my dreams? And why did this “King” send you? Who is this “King”?’ she should never be stupid enough to trust a demon, of any sort.

‘Our great King Gedrock. King of all the Shadow Demons. He is looking for the Raven Queen, so he sent me to find her. But it took him a lot of effort, and me a long time to get through. Demons cannot easily travel to the horrible higherworlds now most gates are closed.’
 

‘Why is King Gedrock looking for the Raven Queen?’ Now she really was suspicious. If they had a king it meant they had order, it meant they had rules and leadership. That seemed far too advanced for what she had been led to believe about demons. She’d assumed they were just a demonic force of chaotic beings. If they had order and feelings, that made them something else. She couldn’t work out if she was worried or relieved.

The demon looked left then right as if afraid someone or something was watching. ‘Because the Demon Wizard has opened the gates to the Pit, and the greater demons are coming to destroy us.’

‘Why should I care about demon problems? I have enough troubles of my own.’ She let go of the Flow completely. This silly creature seemed unlikely to hurt anyone.

‘Because the Demon Wizard wants to return with his greater demons to here, to Maioria. Once he takes over the Murk, Maioria is next. He can come here because he is from here, he is part human,’ the Shadow Demon said.

‘So? What can I do about it?’ she said. The last thing she wanted was to get involved in someone else’s war, and she certainly wasn’t about to start helping demons.

‘King thinks you can help. King thinks you can get the spear and give it to the one who can kill the Demon Wizard.’

She stared into the Storm Holt. ‘The Cursed King and his Banished Legion,’ she breathed. Were they the knights riding on those white horses? Is that why the demons were reaching out to her? ‘Why doesn’t King just give it to them then?’ What kind of powers did this king think she had?

‘King says the Demon Slayer will kill all demons on sight. King needs and intermediar-aray,’ the demon stumbled over the word.

‘Is King the one who plagues my dreams?’ she asked. The demon shrugged. ‘Will the Storm Holt take me to him?’

The Shadow Demon looked concerned. ‘Maybe. I can take you to him a better, safer way. Look if you…’

‘But I need to enter the Storm Holt, regardless of what this king wants. That is what is expected of me, that is the test I have agreed to undertake. The wizards will know if I don’t enter. I have already decided, I must undertake the Wizard’s Reckoning.’

The demon swallowed audibly. ‘No gate to the Murk, whether closed or open, is safe anymore. The greater demons are opening all the demon gates. They are doing something dangerous with them. Maybe this gate will get you to the Murk, maybe it will take you to… beyond the Pit.’

‘Sounds bad,’ she murmured, suddenly wishing she hadn’t foolishly agreed to take the test. ‘Still, it can’t be
that
bad. If I don’t do it I’ll never have the opportunity to take the Reckoning again. Besides, it sounds like this, er, king, is waiting for me.’ The demon could be lying, it could all be a trick. The wizards would know, the gate had to go where they said it went. Maybe this was all part of the ‘test’ anyway.
 

‘Who are you? Do you have a name?’ she said.

‘Maggot,’ he replied.

‘That’s not a name, that’s… that’s disgusting.’ She wrinkled up her nose.

‘Thank you,’ Maggot beamed.
 

She frowned at him. It had to be part of the Reckoning. Maybe it started easy and got harder.
 

‘Well, Maggot, I’m Issa, and I have to enter that gate.’ She said it decisively, her mind made up.

‘Issstha, Ithy, Issy,’ he struggled over her name. ‘But it’s not safe…’

‘It’s never been safe, Maggot, that’s the point. That’s why wizards enter it. Tell your King Gedrock to meet me there when I get there. Now, if you’ll excuse me.’ She began untying her boots and set them down in the grass. Next were her belt and tunic dress. She set these down by the boots and hesitated at her underwear. Did she need to be completely naked? It all seemed so wrong. She glanced back at Maggot who was flapping nervously in the air.

‘It’s not safe,’ he shook his head and flapped his wings. Confusion twisted his face. Perhaps he was having trouble with whatever orders he had been given now she refused to follow him. ‘King will be cross if you die, and I shall be punished.’

She took a deep breath. At least he was honest, something she had not expected from a demon. Actually a lot of things she had not expected from demons had just happened.

‘Well, you can come with me. No need to shake you’re head, it’s up to you. I’m wasting valuable time here. Now, do you mind? I need you to turn around so I can undress.’ She wafted her hand at him. The demon looked even more confused.
 

She sighed, what did the thing care if she was naked or not. She slipped off her underwear and shivered, suddenly feeling horribly vulnerable. A glance at Maggot told her he was still struggling with what to do now. She stepped forwards and reached a hand tentatively towards the swirling gate. Immediately she felt it pull on her and drew her hand back. Her heart was pounding and sweat beaded her brow.

‘The greater demons will kill you in there, you’ll never get out,’ Maggot suddenly wailed beside her.
 

He seemed quite pitiful and a desire to pet him almost overwhelmed her. He really wasn’t helping her resolve to enter the gate.
Never trust a demon,
she reminded herself as he continued.
 

‘I can take you another way. I’ll be in trouble if you don’t come back, I know it.’ He had come close enough to lay a small clawed hand on her knee. He looked up at her with pleading yellow eyes.
 

‘Isthy, it’s not safe.’

‘My mother used to call me that; Issy.’ She smiled at him, a sad smile. ‘You see, Maggot, I have to go, I don’t have a choice. Not now. When I’m there, I will meet your King.’

She turned back to the Storm Holt, closed her eyes stepped forward into the maelstrom. Maggot wailed her name as she fell and then was whipped up into the storm. She didn’t know if he followed or not.

ISSA spun over and over. She couldn’t breathe for the panic that ripped through her, and the terrifying energies that shuddered around her. Where the Storm Holt entrance had been silent before, now the roar of energy filled her ears. The world was a blur of flashing lightning, howling noise, and spinning energy. Every cell in her body vibrated and screamed in pain. She began to feel herself fragment, just like she had when she transported to the Wizard’s Circle, only this was violent and painful. She thought she was going to die.
 

The spinning slowed and the deafening noise dimmed a little. Her body pulled itself together and felt more solid. The air turned hot and heavy as she struggled to drag it into her lungs. She couldn’t do anything to slow her movement in the flaring maelstrom of blue and white, she was trapped in the rapids of a flow of energy. Beyond the tunnel in which she was hurtling, she saw a sky filled with green-tinged clouds and a huge emerald pockmarked moon. The green moon of the Murk.

A face formed in the clouds, a demon face, the same demon she had seen in her dream. Red eyes with black-slitted pupils watched her endless tumble through the Storm Holt. Its mouth moved as if it was trying to speak to her. She tried to slow her fall, but it was like trying to grasp at the wind. All she could do was focus on dragging air into her lungs and endure the forces battering her. She struggled to stay conscious.

‘Raven Queen,’ the demon’s voice boomed around her.

‘Help me,’ she screamed. ‘I cannot stop it.’
 

Far below she glimpsed the ground, a wide plain and a huge black rock that stabbed into the sky. She’d seen that before, in the sacred mound. That was where the demon horde had flooded from. To her horror she realised the Storm Holt was taking her straight to it. She grappled for the Flow, but it wasn’t there. There was magic and energy in the Murk, but it was unavailable to her. She was not of this place, she could not use the energy here. How could she be tested as a wizard if there was no magic that she could use? Nothing made any sense. Her mind began to scatter.
 

The spire loomed close at a rapid rate. She covered her head and screamed as she tumbled towards the rock, only to find that she passed right through it unhurt. Darkness engulfed her. She blinked, trying to understand. Solid stone could not break her fall whilst her physical body was pure energy in the Storm Holt.