CHAPTER TEN - STAND AGAINST DEBILITAS
Moonlight reflected by the lunar panel in the music tower hit the newly inserted lunar refractor, and a beam of bright light hit Fiona straight in the eyes and forced her to look away. Still she managed to turn the device so that the mirror faced the other lunar panel in the room. The beam hit the half moon engraved into the wall, the outline split in three parts and revealed an entry down to the alleged chapel. The first thing Fiona saw -and heard was another grandfather's clock. Hm, peculiar. The walls were filled with randomly placed holes, similar to the ones in the passageway earlier. "I'm never sticking my hand in one of these again," she said to Hewie. Then they descended a spiral staircase.
Downstairs were a door and a warning sign, it read: the path beyond is the road to darkness. Go not without a guide, lest ye loose yourself to the darkness within. "This has to mean something, but what?" Fiona thought, puzzled. Only one way to find out, open the door and see what was on the other side. It was a road to darkness indeed. Only a small part of the chessboard floor was illuminated, the rest was covered in dark. Judging by the warning on the sigh outside, the gloominess was intentional. Hewie was showing all the signs of sensing danger, barking, low ears and a rigid back. Fiona had a strong feeling that walking straight into the darkness would be a bad idea. Still, there had to be a path going to the door on the other side. She ordered Hewie to search for a safe route. Hewie traced the floor with his nozzle and warily, Fiona stepped into the shadow.
They walked in an "S" shaped path over to the safety on the other side; first, they were hugging the wall to the left, then it was all the way over to the right side of the gloomy room. A massive, double-hinged door led Fiona and Hewie in to a vastly illuminated hall. Fiona spotted some luminessants shining bright in the darkness and closed the door. She looked up; Three magnificent chandeliers, one vastly huge and two somewhat smaller, and three colour-stained glass windows provided more than enough light. Hewie was sniffing a rope pulley system that was used to rise and lower the biggest chandelier. Two identical pieces were attached to the walls on each side of the room. The ropes had been tightly fastened -"to be sure the chandelier doesn't accidentally fall," Fiona figured. Her gaze moved once again up to the enormous chandelier; "If it did, someone could be seriously hurt."
She passed the benches and went up to the altar; plants, candles and different pagan symbols were centred around a huge goddess statue of Ares, holding a cane with both hands. Letters were engraved on a stone-plate in front of the figure: To the seeker of the sacred technique of Ars, obey the will of Hermes' divine cane and haste to the secret staircase. A cane? "Hm, curious," Fiona rubbed her chin. "I'll bet this is related to that goddess statue," she mumbled. Something was hanging from the cane. She stepped on to the stone plate for a closer look.
It was a key! Fiona grabbed it and jumped down. A symbol was carved into its "head", an "h" symbol just like the one engraved on that door she'd seen earlier. The key felt heavy in her hands; it had been forged from lead, a rather uncommon use of the metal. She suddenly remembered; the symbol meant Saturn. She turned her head and looked once more at the divine figure. "If this is the chapel... Then this statue must symbolize the deity worshipped here," she concluded. Apparently the inhabitants still worshipped medieval gods and goddesses. They could worship whatever deity they pleased, finally she had the key to get out of this castle, -literally. She called for Hewie to follow and walked down the hall. And froze at the sight of the wide-open door. Hadn't she closed it just moments ago..? Hewie started barking at a figure emerging from behind the door. Debilitas had followed her down to the chapel and now he had her cornered; he locked the door and furiously started growling and waving his arms violently in the air.
"No," Fiona said. "Oh, no-oo." The beast came lunging towards her; he'd waited long enough, he wanted to play now. Fiona dived past him, spurted over the floor and yanked the doorknob. But it was no use; she was trapped. Now what? Hewie was biting the creature's leg, but the beast would soon shake him off and possibly hurt the poor dog in the process. Fiona had to think fast. Once Debilitas had shook himself free, Fiona charged at the giant beast. By using all of her strength, she managed to give him a good push. It made him roar in shock; he slapped Fiona so hard she fell to the floor. For him, it was all just a fun game; he was giggling and jumping up and down, hitting his head and shouting her name. Fiona raised, backed against the wall and tried to dodge the next stroke. She succeeded, Debilitas missed and hit the pulley system instead. Pieces of wood were flying over Fiona's head. Hewie was feverishly biting and scratching on the opposite one, what was he trying to do? "Hewie, help," she shrieked out. The canine leaped on the beast's back just in time to save Fiona from a deadly stroke. The creature screamed in pain as Hewie was chewing on his neck. After freeing himself once more, Fiona watched in horror as the creature turned all his attention towards Hewie. The dog backed away, moving closer and closer to the wall. When he was under the rope, he stopped. Debilitas raised his arm, ready to get rid of this annoyance once and for all. "Hewie! No," Fiona screamed. She closed her eyes, she didn't want to whiteness Hewie's death. She heard the sound of wood smashing to pieces, Hewie barking and running, the beast growling. Having jumped away at the last moment, Hewie was now luring Debilitas to the middle of the chapel. Two seconds later, a crashing sound echoed through the room. Debilitas was pinned to the floor by the enormous chandelier.
If Fiona had been hit by the chandelier she would most likely have died. Brawny and muscular Debilitas on the other hand, survived the massive damage to his back. There was no doubt however that he'd gotten severely hurt. Before passing out under the crushing weight, his marble round eyes stared awestruck at the goddess for a moment, then at Fiona. Hewie was still growling at the enormous giant under the massive chandelier. He knew that the creature wasn't dead. "It's Ok Hewie," Fiona said in a calm and comforting voice. "He can't come after us any more. Good boy." Still tense, Hewie backed away and walked up to Fiona. She bent down and stroked his fur. She was certain no one could have survived such a colossal impact. "Calm down Hewie, it's over." Attention directed away from the crushed chandelier, she didn't notice Debilitas opening his eyes. "It's Ok, Hewie," she repeated. "It's OK…"
It was the grunting from the beast and the crushing sound of broken glass that caught Fiona's attention. Debilitas slowly rose from under the chandelier, undoubtedly in great pain. He showed no sign of aggressiveness or excitement. On the contrary, he radiated defeat, humility and the uttermost respect. Still on his knees, he bowed to Fiona, his head touching the floor. Then he rose, unlocked the door and vanished into the darkness.
Fiona found the Saturnus key under smashed glass and twisted metal and put it inside one of her socks. "What a fancy chandelier, she though. "It must have been quite expensive." It was a miracle the creature had survived, had it been her… "I-I could have been killed," she thought in horror. "I guess fate was smiling on me today… For now." An image of the giant creature and his big, round eyes filled Fiona's mind. He'd looked like a child of sorts. "The size of a giant and the mind of a child," she thought with sadness. He should be pitied, not hated. Fiona wished she'd acted differently, then maybe all this could have been avoided. She'd never meant for anyone to get hurt and now the poor creature was suffering… She hurried out the door, called for Hewie, sick sacked the room of darkness, and went up the spiral stair. Before she could move on, she had to makes sure he was OK.
The creature was heavily limping so Fiona and Hewie soon caught up with him. Keeping some distance, they followed the giant through the passageway to a small, scruffy looking shed outside the music room. A fire was crisply burning in a barrel outside the shabby structure. Inside were a few shelves, a filthy bed and a small, red-lit room filled with broken toys and ripped apart dolls. The bed was in a terrible condition No way would Fiona even have considered lying down on it. Debilitas was facing some kind of altar with different sorts of religious symbols. He was shaking. Hewie seemed relaxed; it was as if he sensed that the creature was no longer a threat. When he noticed Fiona, he turned and fell humble to his knees. Still unsure, Fiona backed away from the creature who was folding his hands and grunting desperately for mercy and forgiveness. He picked up something from the altar and offered it to Fiona as an attempt at redemption. Hesitantly she picked it up, hurried out the door and went back to the secret staircase on other side of the castle. Inside the dirty box was a pair of earrings and a tiny paper that said the name of the earrings; Inquisitor Earrings, and that they would calm the nerves of whoever was wearing them. Fiona put them on. Surprisingly, she felt her heart rate slow down and her pulse soon returned to normal.
Back in the tower again, they went up to the third floor to the door with the Saturnus symbol. Fiona picked up the key hidden in her boot. She could hear Hewie growling; a deep, guttural sound coming from his throat. "Easy, boy" she said. She did not notice the shadow behind her. The symbols matched, it had to be the right key. The key out of here… Slowly she moved it towards the door. When she was about to insert the key, a bloody hand full of open wounds reached out from behind her and grabbed her hand. She gasped, her muscles tensed and she dropped the key. Slowly she turned. The maid was standing behind her, her expression cold and emotionless. She spoke in a low, monotonous tone.
"Dinner is served, miss."
Dinner!? When Fiona didn't answer, the maid moved her head until she was only and inch from Fiona's nose. "Dinner is served, Miss," she repeated and showed the first sign of emotions. A smile was emerging on her lips.
As soon as the maid turned, Fiona picked up the key from the floor and tucked it inside her sock again. To scared to object, she slowly followed Daniella down the stairs. She called for Hewie to come. The dog reluctantly moved to Fiona's side. The maid walked with slow, rigid steps and held a firm pose. They moved through the passageway and up to the locked gate, Fiona and Hewie always staying ten feet behind the uncanny maid. The woman pulled a lever and the gate rose, revealing a short cut to the dining room. They followed Daniella past the music room, round a corner, inside the castle again, through the kitchen and into the dining room where she stopped next to a chair on the opposite side of the table. The maid stared at the dog, then at the open door, then at Fiona and then finally back to the door again. Fiona got the hint, "You have to wait outside, Hewie." The canine lowered his head and made a whining sound. "It's OK, Hewie. I'll be only a moment. Good boy." The Alsatian slowly walked out to the hall on the other side of the door and turned to look at her. Fiona gave an encouraging nod. The maid pointed a hand to the seat, encouraging Fiona to sit, closed the door and walked out to the kitchen.
Utensils and two chalices filled with red wine were placed on the table in front of her. She could hear sounds of porcelain hitting metal emerging from the kitchen. Moments later the maid appeared with a bowl of soup, placed it in front of Fiona and then she went back to the kitchen again. Fiona thought about the soup that the maid had been stirring in earlier. Luckily, there were no tendrils in this hot and creamy white soup. She picked up a spoon and stirred in the fluid, unidentified lumps of meat emerged to the surface. The sight made Fiona nauseous. No way was she eating that. The maid came out of the kitchen with another bowl of soup. Fiona studied the room; there was only one more chair next to the dining table. However, there were more than enough candlesticks to make up for the lost chairs. She thought about the chairs haphazardly placed out in the hallway, picked up a chalice and tasted the wine. It was a little bitter, but rich in aroma. Her father had taught her a lot about red wine. He'd wanted his daughter to have an uncomplicated relationship to alcoholic beverages and as an attempt to de-mystify alcoholic drinks, he'd been serving his daughter wine at dinner every day since she was fourteen. It had worked, though Fiona had been drinking wine almost every day for the last four to five years, she'd never been drunk. She looked up at the chandelier in the ceiling and thought about the episode in the chapel. A shiver wend down her spine, she and drank some more wine to soothe her nerves. The maid brought more bowls of soup. Fiona emptied the cup. She wanted to empty the second glass to, but decided against it; she didn't want to get tipsy. She had the feeling she would need a clear head later on. A total of ten bowls filled with creamy white soup were now standing in front of her. Fiona had hoped to be left alone but unfortunately, she had no such luck. The maid came up to Fiona's left side and started to speak. What she said made no sense to Fiona.
"My creator said he made me the perfect woman…" the maid started, tilting her head to look at Fiona. "But I cannot taste or experience pleasure. Or feel pain." Fiona put her spoon down, "Um, thanks for the meal…" she rose from the table and went out the door to Hewie. Suddenly she started to feel terrible. Moaning, she placed her hands on the stomach and leaned towards the door. Was it the wine? Had she been drinking too fast? But she wasn't nauseous, she wasn't in pain, it was like all the energy had been depleted from her body. "I should try and get some rest," she thought and started to stagger up the stairs. She could have sworn she'd heard "I'm not complete…" on the other side of the door.
Finally she'd made it up to the second floor and went into the castle suite. Hewie traced her steps a few feet behind. The dog sensed something was wrong with his new owner. Fresh sheets had been placed on the bed. Fiona laid down and immediately fell asleep.
Daniella, yay! This is going to be fun. Next time I'm just gonna have a quick look outside the walls of Belli castle to visit the site of the "accident" before I'll return to our heroine and her new stalker. Will Fiona and Hewie make it to the mansion in one piece?
Thank you for the review, MemoryOfAlessa. Yh, Daniella is awesome.