Chapter 19 Please open Gate Nine

Chapter 19 Please open Gate Nine
Hilario nudged Tom with his foot. After the drunkenness the night before, he feared Tom would be hard to rouse, but Tom proved him wrong by sitting bolt upright and greeting him cheerfully.

"Good morrow my sturdy friend!" Toms eyes were bright and clear, his tone was jovial. He sprang to his feet and took a deep breath, filling his lungs to capacity and exhaling slowly. "Aaah, theres nothing like a good nights rest to set one on the right path for the day." Tom nudged Hilario "Wouldn't you agree?"

Hilario could not deny that he did feel much better this morning than he had for weeks prior. Although the accommodations didn't look like much he had rested quite well on the cushions. Even the aches and pains of traveling had left him. Hilario smiled, "You know Tom, I do feel really good today!"

Tom slapped Hilarios shoulder. "That's the spirit! Now lets wake the girls and go find some breakfast before we get on our way."

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In the kitchen on the main floor, Erika, Bear Dog and Vay were feasting on pancakes while Tom, Hilario and Scott discussed the journey ahead.

Bear Dog had finally transformed back into girl form and was chatting animatedly with Vay about life as a dog. Vay was nodding her head and making a mess of herself, wiping syrup from her chin then using the same sticky hand to brush a fallen lock of hair from her eyes.

Erika shook her head, a big sisters work was never done. She looked away from her sisters and watched the two old men as they chatted over tea while Hilario helped himself to another large helping of the fluffy pancakes.

"You know, I am depending on your support in order to make the arduous journey to the ninth gate." Tom insisted as he sipped his tea.

"Don't worry a bit about that," Scott Assured him "Getting to the ninth gate is easy, all you need is an escort. And I just happen to be qualified in that capacity!" Scott nodded his head forward in a regal sort of mini bow. As he straightened he raised an index finger in warning. " The hard part will be entering the gate without being consumed by the veil."

"What is a bale?" Asked Hilario "Is it a beast we must kill?"

Tom reserved comment, leaving the explanation to Scott. In truth, he wasn't quite sure because the ninth gate was the end point of the apprentice trail. Wizarding hopefuls who made it that far were granted their honors and awarded their hat. He had seen the veil, felt its presence, marveled at the splendid sheen of it, but never had he attempted to cross it. The veil was like a curtain of night sky hanging in front of an opening in the mountain side. It's blackness was marked with constellations of unfamiliar shape and intensity. As if it were a view of the universe from some alien planet.

Scott took a sip of tea then cleared his throat. "The Veil is a thin place in the fabric of space and time, but it also separates the planes of life and death. The fundamental difference in the use of it is the key one uses to open it." Scott paused for another sip of tea then shrugged. "Use the right key and you go to a different place or time, use the wrong key and you die, or in some instances give life to what would otherwise have none."

Hilarios Eyes widened " Like a golem?"

"Yes exactly like a golem." Scott replied, surprised that Hilario had knowledge of such an arcane monster. " But our concern is getting through alive. If we do, then we will be right in the core of Brocks fortress. Maybe we can catch him by surprise, or preferably,
  be in and away with your friends before he even knows."

Erika was listening in to the adults conversation. The thought of going into Brocks lair when she had heard so many terrible things about him scared her. " We're going in there?" She asked as she chewed a mouthful of pancake, mountain berry syrup dripped down her chin.

Scott smiled at her. " Maybe not. As I said before we need the right key, and for the life of me I could never figure it out."

Hilario thought about what he had learned of keys and locks from Nina. "Like the bumpy sticks that open doors?"

"Not exactly" Scott said. "In this case the bumps as you say, are in the air. One must speak a password."

"A password." Hilario mulled the idea over in his head, scrunching his forehead as he considered. " you mean like a code?"

"Yes, something like that." Scott replied as Hilario smiled a self satisfied grin. He was pleased to be catching on to the outlander ways.
Scott continued. "If we speak it correctly the veil will part and let us pass safely. If incorrect, the veil will either do nothing, or it may wrap around us and consume us. No one knows exactly what can happen to a person then. Maybe they die, maybe they are trapped within. In any case, I have studied tomes and scrolls for a thousand years and have yet to find a written example of the correct password. I do know that it is in a language that is not our own. but I know little more about how the veil works. I was planning on trying to cross that bridge when I came to it. Basically it's just a matter of finding the right way to say ' Please open Gate Nine'. If I can search the memory of that place I may be able to figure it out."

Erika swallowed then said in her sweet little voice, " Emosewa siyrrot!' , pronouncing the S's like a snakes hiss and rolling the R's deep in her throat.

Scott Gasped "Where did you hear that?!"

Erika shrugged nonchalantly as she forked another piece of pancake into her mouth. "I dreamed I was a demon, I was holding a Nina doll and I opened a sparkly curtain with funny words."
Tom eyed the little girl as she chewed her breakfast.

Erika looked up at the stunned adults. "What?" she said incredulously.

"Well I guess that's as good a place to start as any." Remarked Scott. " After breakfast we'll take a shortcut to the ninth gate and try it out."

"A shortcut?!" Tom exclaimed. "When you sent me on the trail it took months to get there!"

"Well you wouldn't expect me to travel the long way just to congratulate you for making it would you?" Scott said.

Tom was taken aback, actually he had thought that Scott had followed him through all of the trials. Had he known he was alone all that time it would have seemed much more daunting.

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Pakaar approached Brock on his throne. To Brock, who was brooding again, it seemed that the Demon had materialized out of the darkness. "What do you want?" Brock asked. He was perturbed by the interruption.

Brock had been concentrating on dividing his thoughts into two streams. One, a worried rant about problems and insecurities. This one was joined by the mocking demons. The other stream of thought was subtle, calculating, hidden beneath the din of the heckling horde. On this hidden flow of consciousness Brock schemed against his intruders. Examining how to rid himself of the demons.

"There has been a disturbance." Pakaar said plainly.

Brock looked up at the demon, his anger unhidden. "What kind of disturbance?" He shouted. "Don't you know better than to interrupt me with every little problem?!"

The demon replied in an even tone. " The overseer is dead, the grandmother is dying and the child has been abducted by the wet nurse. Should I have waited to inform you?"

Brock jumped up and took two long strides toward Pakaar. He reached forward to throttle the demon. "How could you be so incompetent?" He screamed.

Pakaar raised his hand in a casual halting gesture and Brock stopped suddenly as if turned to stone. His tirade silenced. He was held in place by the demons within him, as the demon in front of him calmly advised him of his situation.

"Let me explain to you what is going on." Pakaar began. "Due to the pact we have made, I am bound to protect you until you complete the ceremony to release the male magic. That does no give you right attack me, no matter how futile the attempt. Do I make myself clear?"

Brock stared back with a look of hatred but said nothing.

Pakaar placed his clawed hand on Brocks chest. "Do you not realize that I could shred your soul and drag it out of you? That would leave you an empty husk but you'd still be alive." Brock held his silence.  Pakaar nodded." Alright, perhaps a demonstration is in order." With that, Pakaar spread his clawed fingers and held his hand close to Brocks chest.

Inside himself, Brock felt an instant sense of despair  It was so powerful that he could not help the tears that welled up in his eyes. Then he felt a thread thin tearing in the center of his being. The sensation was more than physical or emotional pain. It was excruciating on a soul level. He screamed involuntarily as he felt his very being shred. He was being unwound, It was the most awful sensation he had ever experienced. He looked on wide eyed and helpless as the thread of his life fed into Pakaars eager hand. Brock moaned like a lost child then caught his breath and screamed again, a long sorrow filled bellow that sounded like the end of humanity.

Pakaar grinned evilly,  his point was made. His fist snapped shut like a trap and the flow of soul broke off. "As you see, I am not a lesser demon like those who inhabit you. I will destroy you at my whim. Now you deal with the disturbance before you lose your value to me."

Pakaar turned and faded into the darkness. The demons holding Brock released him and he fell to the floor curling into a ball.

Brock took a Moment to collect himself. The experience he had just suffered had shown him the folly of his plan. Pakaar was far too powerful to be controlled. In a matter of seconds the tables had turned. What's more, Brock had been brought low, shown the despair  of hopelessness. For the first time in his long existence, he had a taste of the sorrow he had been spreading all of his life.

Brock picked himself up and walked shakily toward the cell wing. He had to save the grandmother and find the baby. All of his plans hinged on the ceremony to restore his power. Only then could he have any hope of ridding himself of this demon curse.

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Brock walked quickly down the corridor. As he approached the room where Nina was being held, he saw the signs of a magical battle. Scorched walls and floor, shattered doors, and the peculiar smell of magic scorched air that lingered, were all clues as to what had happened.

Brock glanced int the feeding room and saw the shredded flesh of the overseer piled in a puddle of gore. He looked into the opposite room and saw Nina laying in a pool of blood across the room. Her face was a bloody mess. Five deep gashes ran vertically down her face. Her forehead was dented in on one side and swollen grotesquely on the other. Despite her monstrous appearance, Brock was moved by her presence. Something about her touched him.

He reached down and placed a hand on either side of her disfigured face. He then called on the power of the demons to heal her. The blood and swelling began to appear hazy and then to dissipate like fog.

When He was done, Brock stared at the face of a the woman he had been plotting to kill for years. The only evidence of her injuries were five vertical black lines crossing her face, they reminded Brock of tiger stripes.  And he muttered beneath his breath, "my tigress."

Where did that come from? He thought. This morning had turned his world upside down, and now he was staring into the face of his sworn enemy. Despite his thirst for revenge and his efforts to smite her bloodline from the world, all he wanted at that moment was to touch her lips with his.

The demons inside him caught on to his thoughts and cackled at his uncertainty. His differing thoughts only served to show his weakness to them. With every dilemma he faced, they were closer to stealing the power that he meant for himself.

Brock lifted Nina from the floor and carried her to his personal sleeping quarters. There he laid her down on his own bed and then summoned servants to care for her.

Soon after, three servants arrived and he instructed them to clean her and watch over her. "Summon me when she awakes." He said as he walked out of the room. Before closing the door he turned back and added,"Take good care of her, If she dies, you all die, along with your families and the towns they live in" He was not loud or abusive in his tone, he just stated it as a matter of fact. The servants, knowing his reputation, had no reason to doubt him.

They went to work cleaning Nina and dressing her in a regal gown. Then they stood watch over her day and night. Nina did not wake however, and as the days passed the servants charged with her well being began to worry.

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Nina lounged on a sunny tropical beach, beneath a large silk umbrella. It poked out of the sand beside her blanket, blocking the sun. She didn't remember how she got there or even how long she had been there. The only change had been the fantastic rising of the sun some hours (or was it days?) Before.

When she first noticed her surroundings, this place was dark and foreboding, the sky was black with dark maroon stripes from North to South. The water lapping up on the beach appeared to be red like blood changing to pink where the frothy foam developed on the whitecaps (pink caps?).  But then the darkness just sort of blew away like a mist under a warm breeze, and now she was left on this pristine beach. The water was a sapphire blue and the sand was pure white. This matched the blue sky and fluffy white clouds that floated lazily above her.

Nina had a vague feeling that she had something important to do, but she couldn't remember and didn't want to. This place was paradise and she only knew she wanted to stay here as long as possible. There were fruit trees and coconut trees behind her if she got hungry, but she didn't. She wasn't even thirsty. As she lounged there watching the ebb and flow of the tide, she was perfectly content to just be. Here and now was perfect to her. She had no needs, no wants, no worries. Nina relaxed.  That's all she wanted and all she did.