Chapter 2

Odale couldn't sleep. She had tried but she couldn't.

The thunder was raging outside and Marcia's living room, which she was sitting in, was every now and then lit up. She had swept a blanket around her shoulders and was staring in front of herself. Usually, she liked thunder and rain, but not then. Absolutely not then, she thought and shuddered.

If there was anything that she hated it was her nightmares. She didn't always have them, but when she did, she wouldn't be able to sleep for days, sometimes weeks. The worst about it was that she knew that it was only in her own mind.

Somebody was walking down the stairs and Odale swore: she knew that it was Marcia, and she knew that she wouldn't be able to walk into the kitchen and hide until she left. So Odale stayed on the couch. "Odale," she heard Marcia say lowly, "Odale, what are you doing here?"

"I couldn't sleep." she said, thinking that she should have walked up to the Pyramid Library instead. Even in the darke, she could see Marcia's look.

"You should have stayed in your room." Marcia replied.

"Marcia, there is no time for this." Alther Appeared beside Marcia. "He's not waiting."

Odale jumped to her feet. "Have you found Fume?" she asked excitedly.

"Yes, we have." Marcia answered. "Now go to bed."

"What are you going to do?" Odale wondered, ignoring Marcia's last comment. "Are you going to Banish him?"

"Perhaps." Marcia said. "Odale..."

"Wouldn't that be a great opportunity for me to learn..?" she asked with a smile. Marcia let out a sigh.

"You will follow me anyways, won't you?"

"Can't say." Odale said. "But it would be very probable."

The rain was pouring down. Odale hadn't realized that it was raining so much until she got outside. She was sure that she would be soaked before they even got there and grimaced. For the most part, she had no issues with rain. But since it was pouring down... she shuddered. They were going to Dungeon Number One. Alther had said that it was there Fume was.

Dungeon Number One, Odale thought. Fume must have known about Marcia's fear of the place. It couldn't be a coincidence.

Odale drew her cloak around herself. She had found out that her her non-ability to feel cold only would function in case it was 'cold enough, her mother had explained to her. Whatever 'cold enough' now meant, even though she figured that she would realize when it wasn't 'cold enough'.

They made a turn into an alley and Odale hoped that Septimus wouldn't be mad that she hadn't told him anything. No. Septimus wouldn't. Besides, Marcia wouldn't have allowed it.

She looked at Marcia, who didn't look quite right. Odale thought that Marcia looked nervous and she felt a sting of guilt. It wasn't my fault, she thought. I couldn't have known...

Marcia pulled out a key from her belt: the Castle's Universal Key, which lead to most of the doors in the Castle. From what Odale had understood, there had originally been three keys created, but one had been lost. Marcia kept the two remaining keys, one she kept for Jenna and the other one because she was the ExtraOrdinary Wizard. She pushed the keys into the door, and Odale could tell that the door was hard to open.

The door opened with a creak.

Rodrian sat up. "Sleep." Runa murmured. She was far too close, he thought and pushed her away.

"I need to go." he stood up. "They sent a message."

"Now?" she asked and sat up as well. "How could they do that? Through your dreams?"

"Don't mock me, woman." he growled and opened his wardrobe. He put on a black tunic and a belt, and grabbed his red cloak. "It doesn't matter what you say, anyways Runa. I am going. I do not ask questions: that is not my job."

Runa looked at him, tilting her head to one side. "Can I come with you?" she asked carefully.

"No."

"I know that a lot of the other's wives are there sometimes." she said.

"The other's wives are mindless dogs." Rodrian said coldly.

"And I'm not?" she asked him.

"You're certainly not." he answered. "You're... you."

Runa rose up and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Why do you do that?" he asked.

"I'm your wife." she said. He shoved her away.

"Tell Lorea that I had business to do." he told her as he walked towards the door. "In case she asks."

"Don't worry, Marcia." Odale said. "I'll protect us."

"I will Banish him, Alther will lead the way and you do that." Marcia laid a hand on her shoulder. "Do you think you can do that?"

"Otherwise I wouldn't have proposed it, would I?" Odale replied jokingly. "It's okay, Marcia," she added. "You'll Banish him and then we can all relax. Okay?"

"Thank you, Odale." Marcia said. "I appreciate it."

"Let's go."

If there was one thing that Rodrian loved with his homeland, it was the snow. He thought of that when he, alone, walked towards the harbor. There he would meet Jerome and Alistair. Both were Eridiah's fosterlings. Their parents were dead and Eridiah had been quick to foster them both. Rodrian found it funny that Eridiah had been so eager to foster the boys, but not their little brother or three sisters.

Rodrian stopped his train of thought there.

He could see both of the boys approaching him. Alistair, the oldest were only a few years older than Lorea and Jerome just fifteen. Too young for this, Rodrian thought. Being a rebel was dangerous. Death was common, especially among the unexperienced. "So?" he said lowly.

"We have something for you." Jerome said. Rodrian had noticed that he was very fond of talking.

Alistair handed him a long package. Something wrapped in a sheet. Rodrian unwrapped it and took the object out. A long sword. Thin, double-sided.

"I had expected that it would be something that I'd deliver." he stated, looking at it. It was light as air.

"It's more of a gift." Alistair said.

"Do you want to try it out?" Jerome suggested. The disgusting boy was smirking. "I saw a tavern-"

"This is a weapon," Rodrian snapped. "Not a toy."

"Exactly." Jerome said. "So let's try it out."

"No." Rodrian retorted. "I will not. If that was all from you boys, I'll go home now."

"Wait," Alistair said. "Here are the instructions... Now, goodbye. And remember-"

"Rebels stay rebels." Rodian finished. "Goodnight."

It seemed as though they had been climbing the ladder for ages. Odale had long ago begun suspecting that it was a trap, but had already dropped the idea. If it was a trap, they would probably already have noticed. She begun to tire of ranting her Spells now and couldn't help but to wonder how Marcia felt climbing in her phyton shoes. They didn't look like any shoes Odale would prefer to climb in... "There he is!" Alther said, all of a sudden. Odale jumped and looked down. Marcia did the same.

Far down there, Odale could see the figure of Tertius Fume. She knew that since Marcia could see him, she could start. "Marcia, get him!" she said. "I got your back."

Marcia begun chanting. "I, Marcia Overstrand..."

The greenish figure approached them. Odale had almost forgot how much she loathed him and to know that he would be gone in a few moments... "I am warning you, Marcia Overstrand," Fume growled, "Stop that Banish right now."

Odale didn't understand why he was trying anymore. He didn't have anything to threaten Marcia with anymore. The Gathering couldn't be Gathered anymore- DomDaniel was gone. Permanently. And more than that, there was nothing he could do to her.

Everything he did, Odale thought, appeared to be some pathetic way to frighten Marcia. He climbed the wall, insulting Marcia and shouting out counter curses. "Your time above the earth is done, you'll no more the sky, the sun..." Marcia kept on chanting, without the slightest falter.

But his presence annoyed her. Did he have to get so close? The ghost reached for Marcia when she said the finishing line: "By the power of Magyk, to the Darke Halls I you..."

It wasn't Marcia Fume had reached for. It was Alther. As Marcia cited the last line, Tertius hand merged with Alther's foot and they were gone. "Alther!" Marcia calls out, "Alther where did you go?"

"Marcia..."

"No, Odale, wait." Marcia said. "He's not... he can't be gone."

But Alther was.