Zombie Mage (24 page)

"Oh, and we lost the cane," Marvin said.
"I wouldn't advise you to go in and get it though.  It wouldn’t be a
pretty sight."

Renfer wiped his brow, smudging his makeup. "I’m
not worried about the cane.  I’m more concerned about Hetty. She's dangerous.
She's slowly losing her mind."

"Aren't we all," Olligh said. "Look, I
need you to watch over her for a day or two while I find another missing soul. 
Do you have somewhere safe you can keep her in the meantime?"

"Eh, are you not taking her with us?" Gull
asked.

"No, Gull, it's too dangerous. Renfer may be
right and she could turn on us, jeopardising my mission."

Olligh turned to face Hetty.  "Are you okay to
stay here for a while, Hetty? Do you understand the situation?"

Hetty released a soft moan and nodded slowly.

"We'll be back for you soon, I promise."

Renfer sighed.  "I suppose we could put her in
one of the secure shacks but, I'm warning you, if you're not back within two
days, I'll be returning her to the blue sector."

"Yeah, if we actually manage to get away,"
Marvin said. "Mister Forgetful here, couldn't even cast a light spell
earlier."

Renfer smiled wryly. "Did I not explain to you
that magic is off limits here?"

"Off limits?" Olligh asked.  "The
cosmos is not something you can just turn off."

"No, quite correct, but Lady Craggy has merely
manipulated the rays of power and directed them towards the rock crystal above
our dwellings.  Without her we wouldn't have light or any defence against the
mindless ones."

Olligh stroked his chin. "That's most
interesting. The energies in the crystal can then be applied to other physical
objects such as the canes.  I see now."

"I'm glad someone does," Marvin uttered.

"The only place that magic can be used is at the
entrance point upon the stone circle.  This is where the new life begins and where
the rays of power are required to bring other lost souls to us."

"Absolutely fascinating," Olligh continued.
"It's a great shame I don't have more time to speak to Lady Craggy about
this but please do thank her for me."

Renfer nodded and bowed slightly. "Please make it
back on time, Olligh, for Hetty's sake."

Olligh nodded and watched as Renfer locked the door to
the blue sector and escorted Hetty away.  She walked by his side, still
towering above him even with her head held low.

"I'll be back, Hetty!" Olligh called.
"Keep safe!"

Marvin chuckled.

"What you laughing at?" Gull asked.

"You do realise if she flips they're all dead
meat."

"You're one sick skull."

"Well," Olligh said, "let's hope that
for their sake, she doesn't deteriorate too much while we're gone.  Come on. Let's
return to the stone circle. We've got another Walker to find."

The cosmos whisked them away from the stone circle and returned them to
a place which Olligh found most familiar.  He was back in the meat room where
he originally met the little boy.  The room looked the same except for one of
the shelves, which had a huge dent in it, and the floor was littered with
scraps of meat and dirty packaging.

"I knew it!" Olligh said. "I knew he
was one of the Walkers."

"What?" Gull asked, rubbing his neck.
"There's nobody here."

"Ah, but I've been here before.  He's not here
now, but earlier there was a boy called Michael on the shelf up there. 
Whatever you do, don't open that door behind us.  It's dangerous."

"The door's dangerous?" Marvin mocked.
"Does it take offence to being opened?"

"Not quite.  Behind the door's the danger. Not
that you're able to open it anyway."

"I could if I wanted to.  I'd just bite the
handle.  Anyway, where's this boy now?  He's obviously still alive or we
wouldn't be here."

Olligh took one last look at the top shelves but
couldn't see anyone lurking there. "I'm not sure.  Perhaps the cosmos has
taken him back to Ekelton or some other world."

"So, why did it bring us here?" Gull asked.
"Didn't we follow his trail?"

Olligh nodded thoughtfully. "That's a good
point.  He must be here somewhere...  Perhaps we'll find him outside."

"It stinks as well." Gull continued.
"Smells of rotten meat."

Olligh walked over to the door and lifted the handle. 
There was a heavy clunk and it opened.

"Wait a moment," Gull said. "You told
us not to open the door but then you do it.  I'm sure you're losing your
mind."

"Bah, where's your sense of adventure?"
Marvin uttered.

Olligh walked through the doorway into the store. 
This time, nobody was about and the lights were off.  The air felt chilly and
Olligh was sure he could feel a looming presence lurking between the aisles,
watching and waiting for an ideal opportunity to strike.

Gull tapped Olligh's shoulder. "Is that heavy
breathing I can hear?"

Olligh strained to hear but everything seemed quiet...
too quiet.

"Well, it wasn't me," Marvin said. "I
don't exactly breathe anymore."

Something clattered in the distance and Olligh noticed
someone dart between aisles from the corner of his eye.

"Michael?" Olligh shouted. "Is that
you?"

There was no reply, just a brooding, eerie silence.

Gull leaned closer, his hands trembling. "I don't
like this one little bit.  Something's not right here."

Marvin chortled. "I've never known such a big
baby as you are."

"I'm not a big baby.  I just don't like dark
places.  What's your problem, skull face?"

"You're my problem.  It's no way near as dark in
here as it was in the forest where the mindless ones lived.  I reckon you're
just an attention seeker."

Olligh held a finger to his mouth. "Shh!
Someone's in here with us.  I'm going to try and summon some light again."

Just as he reached out to summon the energies, lights
flickered on in two of the aisles near him.  Olligh gazed up at the long
ceiling cylinders, in awe of the bright light they emitted.

"Hey, well done," Gull said. "That was
quick."

"I wish I could take credit for that but,
unfortunately, it was absolutely nothing to do with me.  Be wary, it looks as
though we've got mages in the building here with us and I'm not sure of their
intent."

There was a sudden long groaning moan in the aisle
nearest to them.

"Michael, come out!" Olligh yelled.
"We've met before - I'm not going to harm you."

"That didn't sound like a boy," Gull said.
"If it is, he needs to see a doctor."

Olligh continued walking, slowly and carefully,
between two aisles, listening intently for a clue to the boy's whereabouts. 
Something nearby creaked and groaned.  At the end of the aisle, Michael
appeared waving his arms frantically in the air.

"Look out!" he yelled.

Olligh turned, but not quick enough.  A huge,
lumbering creature smashed through the aisle, sending jars and cartons flying
through the air.  It appeared to be half-beast and half-man with bulging muscles
and talons which spread from its forehead down to its arms.  Its head snapped
to the side and its big red eyes darted around the room searching for
something. Spotting Olligh, it snarled ferociously and shambled towards him;
its huge hands stretched out ready to grab and tear apart anything that dared
get in its way.  Gull covered his eyes and Olligh froze to the spot, terrified
by its horrifying visage.  With a mighty thrust the creature slammed its hand
into Olligh's chest, hurtling him through the air.  He crashed to the floor but
felt no pain, only a strange numbness.  He hated it when that happened, much
preferring the pain to be instantaneous rather than experience a delayed
reaction.   Gull lay on the floor next to him, looking up groggily. The rags
that secured him to Olligh's back were now ripped and strewn on the floor by
his side.

Olligh tried to sit.  He noticed his leg was severely
twisted and guessed it was probably out of its socket.  His rib-cage was also
crushed with the severity of the blow.  "Wonderful," he said.
"I'm going to be in such pain later."

Glancing back at the creature, it continued to reap
havoc.  It thrashed its hairy arms out, knocking the aisles over like dominoes
in its search for the boy.

"What the hell is that?" Marvin asked. 
"I nearly lost my eye again."

Olligh leaned forward, trying to bend his good leg. 
"I've never seen the like. It may be possessed demon from another
dimension.  I can sense it doesn't belong here and it's angry... and
hungry."

Gull stretched out and heaved himself along the floor
towards Olligh. "Well, whatever world that creature's from, I don't want
to pay it a visit anytime soon."

"Someone must be responsible for this,"
Olligh said, "and they'll pay for their stupidity.  A creature like that shouldn't
be allowed to roam this world.  We've got to help Michael.  It's after
him."

"It's terribly strong," Gull said. "I
think I'll just stay here and watch. I'll only hinder you."

"Yeah," Marvin agreed. "Can we not just
let it eat the boy so we can be on our way?"

Just as he was about to reply, Olligh felt a familiar
sensation in his head; it was a heavy pulling feeling, probably brought on by
the trauma. "Oh, no - the cosmos is trying to take me somewhere else. 
It's a safety mechanism."

"No!" Gull yelled. "You can't leave me
here.  It'll eat me."

“Well, I should be okay.  If it has to choose between
you or me, it probably won’t eat me," Marvin said. "I'm too bony and
gristly. Not sure I'd provide much substance."

"That doesn't make me feel any better."

Olligh fought with the cosmos, trying to reject the
pull, straining to deny it access to his mind and body.  He shut his eyes and
gritted his teeth, concentrating on the energies.

"The beast's spotted us!" Gull shouted.
"It's coming this way!"

Flashing colours invaded Olligh's vision, quickly
overpowering him.  At this point, the cosmos gripped him and his body started
the repair process.  His leg began to untwist itself, sending shooting pains
into every inch of his being.  Meanwhile, his broken ribs ripped up through
muscles and organs to snap back together.  He rocked backward and forward,
screaming in agony, helpless to prevent the surging agony. 

The lumbering beast reached Olligh and roared in
defiance, swiping at him, hoping to finish him off quickly.  A deadly
combination of fear, torment and rage appeared to possess it as it made its
deadly crushing strike.  Just as its hand was about to slam into him, Olligh
succumbed to the cosmos and vanished.  The creature ripped into the shop floor
and snarled with anger, trying to remove its hand which appeared trapped in the
debris.  Gull cowered in the corner of the room, hands half covering his eyes,
praying for his life.

Just as the creature managed to break its hand free, a
roaring burst of energy slammed into it.  Gull watched as the screaming
creature was hurled into a nearby wall which crumbled with the force of the
blow.  A section of the ceiling collapsed on top of it, plastering the beast
with wood and dust.  Gull peeked through his fingers, not sure what to expect,
but a wave of astonishment hit him and he smiled happily when he realised who
had helped him.  Olligh was standing near the beast, muttering the incantation
for his next spell.  Within seconds, an icy blast of energy speared the
creature, spraying the remains of the wall with blood.  It dropped to the floor
in a crumpled heap, twitching violently. 

Michael stood behind Olligh, his eyes wide with
astonishment. "You sure showed it not to mess with us, didn't you?"

Olligh managed a faint smile. "It nearly had us. 
It would've been better if I'd been prepared.  Why didn't you warn me?"

Michael lowered his head. "Sorry.  I was
frightened.  It's been here for ages, stalking me, trying to chew me up.  It's
already eaten two people."

"How long have you been in here with it?"

"Well, early this morning, a man wearing a dark
robe appeared in the meat room.  He didn't say anything and I don’t think he
realised I was here.  He just opened the door and left the room.  Next, I heard
a horrible moan and screaming."

"Hmm." Olligh stroked his chin thoughtfully.
"So you believe this man summoned the beast?"

"Aye, I reckon so," Michael replied.
"It tried to get in the meat room but, thankfully, it couldn't fit through
the door.  Later I tried to escape but I never saw the man again. Do you know
who he was?"

"I'm beginning to wonder if the Dark Cloaks have
something to do with this.  They may not be as genuine as they first
appear."

"Anyway," Michael continued. "I'm glad
you came and I’m sorry I couldn't warn you quickly enough.   I did try to help
by putting the lights on for you though."