Sophie woke up with terrible pains everywhere. Just below her chest she had been bandaged for the broken rib, her wrist was also bandaged and her ankle. She turned to see Serena there looking after her.
"Serena…" Sophie mumbled and she looked up surprised to see her awake.
"Sophie… I found you shortly after Trance left to his room. I feel so powerless for not being able to do anything! I'm trying the best I can Sophie to get my mother to try to contact Wizard Howl. I really am." Serena said and Sophie cried but smiled at Serena nonetheless.
"I know you're trying your best Serena but I'm so scared! Last night he almost forced himself on me! What if tonight I'm not as lucky to escape with my honor intact?" Sophie cried. Serena felt like crying herself. "Howl will never even look at me again." Sophie cried.
"He wouldn't dare! Wizard Howl would kill him!" Serena said shocked.
"He would dare. He would!" Sophie cried.
"That was quite the fall you had miss, you shouldn't try to escape next time." Serena and Sophie just kept crying silently. "Well, Mr. Trance is going out with your mother today miss, your mother is getting some new clothes for the trip she's planning." Serena said and Sophie looked at her shocked.
"What trip?" Sophie asked.
"Your mother is going for about a week, I believe she's going to visit an aunt of hers." Serena said and Sophie's face paled in fear.
"I believe Mr. Trance is staying here since he has an important meeting with some colleagues of his." Serena said and Sophie felt her heart stop, a week… a whole week. She had a hurt foot and pain hit her everywhere when she moved, she wouldn't be able to run from him tonight.
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Howl was furiously working on all kinds of spells and Markl was sitting in a corner shocked at the amount of power Howl still had after performing so many spells. Each one usually drains part of your energies and Howl wasn't exactly performing any simple spells either. Markl was feeling really worthless then and as he looked at Howl, he realized he still had a very long way to go before he could become as powerful or even close as powerful as Howl.
"Howl it just can't be possible! We were there when he died! I didn't even sense his presence when Trance came in, it was magic but not his!" Calzifer said trying to catch Howl's attention.
"I know! He probably made a spell to block you off, even if he never saw you. He even probably thinks you still have my heart and we could use that to our advantage." Howl said. "How that man survived I don't know but next time I swear he wont have the same luck… GOD! How could I leave Sophie unprotected?! I knew that man would try something!" Howl yelled.
"But master Howl, you didn't know. You don't have to blame yourself." Markl said. Howl didn't say anything but remembered her crying out to him, he heard every cry, scream, every hit… The spell would activate every time he came close to her and every time he did all Howl ever heard was her cries. He had tried detection spells but they didn't work, her sister hadn't even wanted to know where he lived and Madame Suliman wasn't much help either.
"That's it! I'm getting grand father's spells!" Howl yelled and headed upstairs.
"ARE YOU INSANE?!" Calzifer yelled. "Howl, come on, I know you're not serious, those spells are suicidal! HOWL! You're too weak Howl!" Calzifer yelled and by the time he finished that sentence Howl had a black leather book on the table looking about a century old. "Howl, reconsider! Your grand father made those spells when he wasn't exactly on his right state of mind! Don't you remember what he built them for?!" Calzifer yelled.
Howl didn't listen. He searched for a detection spell between the pages of the book and when he found it he grabbed a small cauldron, some dried powders and from his pocket he grabbed a pendant that had belonged to his uncle.
"Howl PLEASE! You know your uncle wasn't powerful enough to use those spells, to break the ones your grandfather placed on Chalik! He spent his whole life trying to gain power! If you use that spell I swear to GOD! HOWL! Are you even LISTENING TO ME?!" Calzifer yelled. Howl sighed.
"I have to find Sophie! If I can't find her any other way then I have no choice! Just by laying ONE finger on her he dug up his own grave." Howl said and Markl was quiet sitting there, he felt like crying but he had to be strong, not a nuisance.
Howl placed the small black cauldron on a bowl of water and threw in several powders and in a puff smoke came from the cauldron. Howl placed the pendant over the cauldron and the smoke surrounded the pendant in a small graying cloud. Howl felt his energies being absorbed and letting the pendant fall into the cauldron it glowed for a second and Howl looked into the cauldron to see the location of his uncle.
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He looked up as he felt the strong magic searching for him. He just took another swig of the bottle of rum he held in his right hand and waited.
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"OK, Markl I'm going to teleport there." Howl said getting on one knee to be able to look straight into Markl's eyes. He knew he was scared, and who could blame him? He himself was well beyond scared of what Trance would do to Sophie.
"No Howl, I want to go with you! I want to go get Sophie back and help!" Markl yelled with tears preparing to come out.
-Flash back-
"No! Let me go! I want to help get mommy back!" A very young blue haired boy cried to the man in front of him.
-End Flash back-
Howl shook his head trying to forget the memory.
"No Markl, you must stay here. It's too dangerous." Howl said and Markl looked at the ground but nodded. Howl smiled softly and knew that in case anything were to happen he shouldn't be haunted by the memories.
Howl stood up and drew a symbol on the ground. He stepped in and in seconds he vanished from the castle. Markl just stood staring at the symbol and then remembering something he looked at Calzifer.
"Calzifer, what's Chalik?" Markl asked and Calzifer, who had been staring at when Howl had stood just a second ago, looked at Markl intently and decided to answer.
"Chalik was a maze created by Howl's grand father. His grandfather turned insane after his wife died and thought and everyone would take everything away from his family, so he created Chalik. A place drenched in magic with curses, hexes, spells, etc. Spells made by an insane person to keep the family's riches inside. The black book contains the spells to break the ones on the maze but… no one is powerful enough to cast them. Not even the heirs to the riches his only son and Howl." Calzifer said. "And yet Howl managed to cast the detection spell."
"But if master Howl's grandfather only had one son how can he have an uncle?" Markl asked and Calzifer looked back at the symbol on the ground.
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Howl blew the door of the old wooden shack down with one furious kick and saw him sitting against the wall with the bottle of rum almost empty still on his right hand.
"You couldn't hold your demon back could you? I told you not to tell him about the stupid treasure." He said and Howl was furious.
"Uncle, where is Sophie?!" Howl yelled.
"Sophie? Last time I checked it was Chalik." He said and took another swig of rum. Howl ran up to him and threw the bottle against the wall shattering it to pieces and at this the other stood up furiously but Howl grabbed him by the dirty shirt he had and pushed him back.
"WHERE IS SOPHIE?! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HER?!" Howl yelled.
"What the heck is WRONG WITH YOU?!" He yelled and Howl punched him.
"You took Sophie! What have you done to her?!" Howl yelled again. His uncle stood up and touched Howl's forehead. Immediately Howl shut his eyes as his uncle searched through his memories.
"You may have had become very powerful Howl but you still can't stop your own father from reading your mind." He said smirking.
"You are NOT my father!"
"I am your father and no matter how much you bloody deny it you'll still be my son!"
"You lost that right a long time ago! WHERE IS SOPHIE!" Howl yelled.
"I didn't take the girl!" He yelled. Howl looked at him seriously.
"I'll say it only one more time, where is she?" Howl said.
"It wasn't me. Do you want to know how I survived after that wench Suliman tried to kill me?" He said and Howl crossed his arms and decided to hear. If he wanted to know something about Sophie it would be better if he listened.
"Talk, but if this tells me nothing of interest I'll finish what she started."
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Trance smiled waving at his wife as she drove away and when she was gone and he closed the door he laughed… like an escaped mental patient he laughed and Sophie could hear him from where she lay and no tears could escape from fear.
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Hope you liked it! (Mwahahahaha! What will Trance do?)
