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  “Now the torture of having to pretend this is my daughter is at an end. It is time to collect what is due to me and start living my life.”

  Kaden jerked his head round to look out of the window for the hundredth time that night. “The shield has gone!” he said, urgently.

  As soon as Kaden uttered these words, Cecily knew that Dasrus was on his way. She could not explain it, but she could somehow feel him. He would not hurt her, surely? All they had shared together over the past few months. She was sure he loved her. But then Sol’s words resounded in her head, “… he is nothing more than a murderous demon… he tricked you into loving him… everything you shared was fake…” Was she in denial? She was about to find out as standing at Purdey’s side was Dasrus and Purdey looked like she had just won the lottery.

  Cecily heard the sound of metal unsheathing, coupled with a bright, flash of light and she turned to look at Kaden, Fen and Sol, who, to her surprise, were now holding very large, very shiny swords. As Cecily was wondering where the hell they had pulled them from, her bedroom lights went out and she could only watch as her friends clashed with the pellucid, salivating beasts in the middle of her room. All Cecily could do was take her feet off the floor, sidle back up towards her headboard and bunch her knees up to her chin. She did not mind admitting she was terrified as her friends were doing battle with the shadows, swiping their blades left and right, moving with such agility as she had never seen. It was like a beautiful dance, graceful yet altogether violent; such a paradox.

  She turned to look at her mother and Dasrus, hoping that they would both come to their senses and stop this. . However, they were simply laughing and jeering, enjoying the revelry. It felt like an age to Cecily, but it must have only been a few minutes. The three warriors were being overpowered by the growing black mass and the monsters were backing them into a corner. They were not at full strength; Jedd had gone, Elisabeth was captured, and she could not remember. Dasrus must have been preparing for this moment.

  From the door, he shouted his command, “Enough!” and the shadows began to retreat from whence they came with a low snivel and growl. She looked once more at Purdey who was practically rubbing her hands with glee. Dasrus began muttering under his breath again, just as she had seen him do at Bramble Hall. He pointed a finger at Fen. Momentarily, she appeared stunned and then, as if made of jelly, she collapsed to the floor in a heap.

  “No!” Cecily heard herself screaming. What had he done to her? Before she had time to think, Dasrus had done the same to Sol and then Kaden. They did not stand a chance, it happened so quickly. And now it was Cecily’s turn. Dasrus pointed his finger at her, but wait, did he hesitate? A poker hot pain seared through her body, quickly making its way to her brain and not for the first time that day, Cecily slipped into blackness.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Purdey felt very smug as she turned to face her Lord and Master. For eighteen long years she had been in his service and tonight, finally, they both had what they wanted. She revelled in her glory as the inanimate bodies of her daughter and her friends were taken away by an expanse of shadowy misery, growling and snarling as they went.

  “My Lord,” began Purdey, bowing her head slightly as she spoke. “I kept her from finding out the truth and I stopped her meddling father from finding a way to destroy you. Now it is time to claim my reward.”

  Ever since Dasrus had approached Purdey all those years ago and showed her the life she could have in exchange for her cooperation, she had yearned for it.

  “Yes, you have done well,” spoke Dasrus in his eerily calm manner. “The Cerbereans are now my prisoners and her treacherous father is dead. You have been a faithful servant and kept me well informed…” Dasrus paused before he went on and as much as Purdey worshipped her master, she felt uncomfortable as those unnatural, glimmering eyes fixed upon her from beneath his hood. He continued “… however, you have also been a terrible mother.”

  Purdey threw her head back and let out an involuntary laugh. “You didn’t expect me to grow close to her? Ever since our pact, she has been nothing but a burden. Now the truth is out in the open, it is nothing but a relief.”

  Dasrus turned away from Purdey and glided slowly, deep in thought, towards the window on his rippling sea of black.

  “You certainly belong to the Dark, Purdey Stalks, I’ll give you that,” he pondered out loud. “You shall get your reward.”

  Purdey felt utterly euphoric. “At last, I get to spend an eternity with my Lord and Master!” she cried.

  “It is true, Purdey, you will live forever.” Dasrus began to mutter something under his breath. “But certainly not with me,” he added, savagely.

  Purdey feared that this situation was not exactly going her way and she began to plead her case urgently as if defending herself in a court of law.

  “But, Master, you offered me an eternity with you!”

  Dasrus continued mumbling his spell.

  “You offered me a life I could never imagine, riches beyond my wildest dreams!”

  Dasrus was concentrating hard as Purdey tried to defend herself. She continued to speak, although she knew it was futile, her words falling on deaf ears. When Dasrus had finished, it seemed like he had heard everything she had said.

  “That is all well and good,” he replied, “but don’t you know, Purdey dear, you should never make a deal with the Devil.”

  Dasrus extended his arm towards Purdey, which she imagined was the final part of the spell that sealed her fate, for her soul belonged to him. She had signed it over many years before. She felt intolerable pain as Dasrus began to rip her soul from her body. However, her soul did not leave as one whole entity, it was dragged from her in pieces, and now, on the verge of death, Purdey understood that her soul was broken due to the wicked life she had led. As each fraction left her body, the hideous deeds she had committed flashed before her eyes. As the final smithereen of her shattered soul left her body, her consciousness joined the other fragments as they whooshed around Cecily’s bedroom. From above, she saw the hell beasts devouring her still warm flesh. The fragments of her soul, now reunited, took a downward turn through Cecily’s bedroom floor. In quick succession, the pieces travelled through the living room floor and down into the earth to goodness knows where. All the while, Dasrus’s evil laugh was resounding in her consciousness. This was her reward.

  Chapter 20

  “Come on, Kaden!” A four-year-old Elisabeth was tearing around the school playground, her raven curls billowing in the late autumnal breeze. She looked behind her and saw a weary Kaden chasing her at some distance.

  “I am!” he shouted back, exhausted. “You are running too fast!”

  “Well we can’t slow down,” she roared over her shoulder, as she ran as fast as her chubby little legs would carry her. “We’ve got to be faster, get better. We must practise!”

  “Practise what?” yelled back an exasperated Kaden. “I’m tired! I’m going inside to have my milk!”

  Elisabeth stopped running and saw Kaden making his way to the door. She managed to catch up with him as he was about to enter the classroom. She stood defiantly in front of him.

  “Stop!” she yelled in his face. “We must be ready for when he returns! It is our job to protect the world!” Elisabeth felt very passionate about what she was doing in the playground. She knew it was important, but she did not understand why and she felt annoyed with Kaden for not taking it seriously.

  “I don’t want to play anymore!” Kaden stamped his foot in a petulant manner. “I want to go and have my milk! Move!” He pushed past Elisabeth in an attempt to gain access to the door. Although she momentarily stumbled, she remained steadfast and would not let Kaden past.

  “It is not a game! It is real!” she bellowed. Instinct told Elisabeth what she needed to do. Without hesitation, she reached back behind her head to the top of her back. She grabbed hold of something that although invisible to the naked eye, was physical. With all her might, she unshea
thed her sword, the sharp blade making a slicing sound as it left its casing, the afternoon sun reflecting in its mirror-like finish. The mighty blade was almost as big as she was. Kaden’s eyes were wide with horror.

  “Put it away!” he screamed.

  Elisabeth awoke but kept her eyes shut tight. As her memories came flooding back, she realised that must have been the moment that Kaden decided she should leave Bramblegate. As a child in this lifetime, she had remembered everything and it was dangerous to have a child running around with all of that knowledge and power. She understood his decision. She must have been deactivated and her stimuli, that is, her surroundings and her friends, removed.

  She slowly opened her eyes and tried to see into the darkness, but the pitch black formed an insurmountable wall before her eyes. She inwardly cringed as yet another memory came back to her; the fact that she’d had a crush on Kaden Quinn as a human in this lifetime. She’d secretly hoped it would develop into more. How could she think or want that? She was so embarrassed and hoped no one else had noticed.

  As her eyes began to adjust, she heard a sharp intake of air and then a familiar voice followed.

  “Where am I? What is going on? Kaden?”

  It was good to hear Cecily’s voice, although she wished it was not so panicky. It did not reassure Elisabeth to hear her leader in this state.

  “I’m here.” A contrasting voice of calm emerged from the obscurity.

  “I take it you don’t remember then, Cec?”

  “Elisabeth?” Cecily and Kaden urgently asked at the same time.

  “Yes, I’m here,” sighed Elisabeth, almost like she had given up.

  “Fen? Sol?” Kaden was now trying to locate the others.

  “Here,” said Sol with about the same amount of enthusiasm as Elisabeth.

  Fen drew the air in through her teeth and let out a small, “Ouch.”

  Sol quickly responded to the sound, “Are you OK, Fen?”

  “Yes, I’m fine,” she replied. “Just a cut, I think.”

  “Is anyone else injured?” asked Kaden to the pitch black.

  “No, I don’t think so,” said Sol.

  “Nope,” said Elisabeth.

  “I’m not hurt, but I’m scared and I have a headache,” grumbled Cecily. “Where the hell are we?” She let out a small sob. “It is so dark. I can’t even see my hand in front of my face. Kaden, where are you? Are you near?”

  Elisabeth thought that Cecily must be very scared, as she was warbling.

  “We are in cells,” chipped in Elisabeth before Kaden could speak. “Each of us in our own separate prison.”

  “How can you tell?” asked Sol. “It is so dark in here, I daren’t get up and walk around.”

  “I was awake when we arrived.”

  “Awake?” questioned Kaden. “Do you know where we are?”

  Elisabeth paused. She was not sure whether to tell them. She knew where they were and as a result of this knowledge, she could smell the misery and despair in the air, feel it seeping into every pore. She could taste the hopelessness of their situation on the tip of her tongue. But she knew that if there was even a remote chance of them escaping this hellish place, she had to tell them.

  “We are in some kind of holding place between Earth and the Realm of Dark.”

  Sol was the first to jump on her remark. “Impossible! All of the entrances to the Dark are sealed.”

  “Well that’s not strictly true,” interjected Fen, “because Dasrus found a way out.”

  Kaden was next to speak. “Elisabeth said we are in a holding place between realms, so we are not actually in the Realm of Dark, which would make sense; nothing can enter the Dark and nothing can get out. Dasrus is very powerful and has obviously found a way out, but can he get back in again?” You could almost hear Kaden’s brain ticking over as he quickly slotted the pieces of the jigsaw together in his mind. “Why bring us to a less secure holding place if he could take us to the Realm of Dark and to his dungeons? He has almost everything he needs for the ritual and this ritual is too important to him to risk losing the key to it. He finally has all six of us. I mean, what are the chances? Something doesn’t quite add up.”

  Sol grunted in agreement.

  “Well we are definitely close to the Dark,” murmured Elisabeth. “My powers are not working down here.”

  “It’s the first thing I tried,” replied Sol.

  “Me too,” said Fen. “I have nothing.”

  “I’m afraid that I seem to be out of commission as well.” Kaden sounded despondent. Elisabeth knew that this was out of character for him as he was always so positive. In moments of despair, Kaden brought hope. However, with Cecily down and with no memory, Kaden was by far the most powerful and if he could not muster any magic, they were in trouble. Cecily stirred Elisabeth from her musings. She had obviously been listening hard and pondering a few things herself.

  “If we are close to the Realm of Dark, does that mean those things, those shadows, will come back? I used to dream about them.” She began whimpering again. “You told me they are agents of the Dark, but what are they?”

  Elisabeth felt for Cecily. All she had witnessed must be overwhelming for her, but saying that, there was no point in lying to her.

  “They are dark souls, Cec. They have existed since the very first evil deed, just like the Realm of Dark. They are an ancient beast.”

  “Dark souls? Are you telling me those things were once human?” Cecily could not hide her disgust.

  “Every human soul is born new.” It was now Sol’s turn to explain things to Cecily. Elisabeth thought how it was like handling a small child. “Every human soul has the chance to pass to the Light or Dark depending on their earthly deeds. The essence of the Light and Dark has the capability to possess any soul. However, it is ultimately the choice of the human which way they turn.”

  “As I explained earlier, Cec,” Kaden added, “the Earth plane is fair game for both realms.”

  “So, every human who chooses the Dark turns into one of those things?”

  Elisabeth could visualise the revulsion on her face. “No, they are ‘special’,” she quipped sarcastically. “They climbed the ladder of success. Most human souls who choose the Dark spend an eternity in torment after being tricked by demons.”

  “How do we kill them?” Cecily’s survival instinct had obviously kicked in.

  “We can’t!” explained Fen. “They are immortal. All we can do is lock them away, which until now, we thought we had done.”

  “But I saw you fighting them.”

  “We can fight them,” continued Kaden. “Our swords are equipped to deal with them. They strike the shadows as if they were a physical mass and this temporarily disperses them. We can also use our magic to keep them at bay, but all these measures are not a remedy for the problem. As Fen said, the best method we have for stopping them is to lock them away.

  “Are they here now? You said they are always watching, always hungry. How can I defend myself? I’m in this cell all alone!” Cecily sounded on the verge of hysteria.

  “They are not here now,” said Elisabeth in the most reassuring voice she could manage. “There is nowhere for them to hide in this blackness. They live in the shadows around the light and they are good at hiding, but this is their ideal environment. They have no reason to hide here. We would know if they were here. We would be able to smell them.”

  “Oh my, I have so many questions! I don’t know where to begin!” Cecily sounded exhausted and she was probably having a hard time believing her friends. It was a testament to Cecily’s faith in them, which was a good sign at least. She was relying on them to make sense of her experiences.

  “I have questions too, Kaden,” said Sol. “What happened when you went to see the Wise Ones?”

  “You’ve been home?” interrupted Elisabeth, excitedly. This was the first time she had felt joyous since her memory had returned.

  “No, not home, just on an information-seeking mission.”r />
  “Well, what did they say?” It was now Elisabeth needing clarification urgently and not Cecily.

  “Now is not the time for questions. We do not know who is listening.” Kaden, wise as always. “We need to figure out how to get out of here. We have two critical missions to complete and both need immediate attention. Elisabeth, what do you remember about getting here?”

  “I’m sorry, but I was unconscious for most of the journey here,” said Elisabeth, matter-of-factly. “Jedd’s your man, Dasrus’s new stooge. As we arrived at the dell earlier tonight, Jedd knocked me out good and proper. There was nothing I could do; my hands were bound.” Elisabeth added the last remark in an attempt at excusing herself for becoming incapacitated by Jedd. “When I woke up, I was being carried by Jedd. I kept my eyes shut tight and I listened to see if I could gather any intelligence. They did not say much though, just that we were on our way to this holding place and Dasrus said he almost had everything he needed. Jedd didn’t say anything at all except, ‘Yes, Master’”. Elisabeth mimicked his snivelling tone. “The first time I realised the rest of you were there was when Jedd accidentally tipped me onto my side. I dared to peek and I saw the beasts carrying your comatose forms. Wherever we were walking, the ground underfoot was rough. Jedd stumbled, which is how he came to lose his grip on me. He soon righted me, so I didn’t want to open my eyes in case I got knocked out again. I have no idea where we are, only that we descended a lot of stairs.”

  The cells once more fell silent as she finished speaking, except for the continual rhythmic drip of a single droplet of water, somewhere within the confines of the prison.

  Eventually, Kaden whispered from the darkness, “It’s OK, Elisabeth, we’ll figure it out. Hopefully the Light will send help. What’s meant to be, will be.”

  Chapter 21

  Jedd had been crouched in a damp corner of his cell ever since he had brought his fellow Cerbereans to this miserable place. He too was captured. However, the others did not know he was there as it all happened during the commotion of getting everyone in their cages. Dasrus said nothing when he locked Jedd away, he just fixed those unnatural eyes on him, daring him to say something. Jedd knew his time was up. He knew he had to die as part of the ritual so he was not surprised at all that he had been imprisoned with the others. He had served his purpose. There was no point in arguing.