Note: Erm, nothing to say other than remember my warning at the end of the last chapter. Enjoy!

Inferno

Twenty-Six

It took Chief Wizard Egbert Hellibore a few seconds to compose himself in the wake of the latest terrible revelations. Nothing that had happened since they had descended onto the ice plain had managed to completely phase him: he had kept his head through the appearance of the 'Devil', through Constance fainting, through Agatha's demise, through Amelia's swoon. He had kept his head whilst Davina had lost hers, but now he had to give in and feel the confusion and fear along with the rest of the collective.

"We're all going to die," he heard Davina say, and for a brief moment he could not contradict her. His first thought, as he looked into the awful scarlet eyes of the beast that was thrashing about in front of him was that he was doomed. At least he had made peace with his daughter before the end came. He looked towards Della, and in that moment, with her hair blowing around her face in the unnatural wind and her chin lifted towards its source with a mixture of both fear and defiance, she looked so much like Isabella that the resemblance made him double-take. It was almost as if the witch herself was there in the ninth circle with them, and it was then that he knew he had to carry on, he had to find a way, he had to save them even if it was the last thing he did. When Isabella died, he had made a promise to her, a promise to watch over their daughter and keep her safe. He could not and would not fail the last request of the woman he loved. The thought that he might never see her face reflected in their daughter's again, even though he had lasted twenty-three long years without it, was unbearable.

But what could he do? How were they supposed to escape this terrible ice prison under the awesome red gaze of the beast, its devilish eyes boring into their souls, chilling them to the bone? The ancient books had spoken of the power of the Liaison being strong enough to defeat the Devil, but they had made no mention of the battlefield upon which such a conflict had taken place, and they had made no mention of the Liaison having strength enough to transport a castle and its inhabitants to its rightful position on the surface of the living world. One thing was for certain, and that was that Egbert had no intention of fighting, nor having anyone else fight, this beast. Immobile as it was within the ice, Egbert didn't think that it could do any particular damage to them at this distance except with the gusts being generated by its wings, and so the most pressing question was how to get out of their dreadful limbo. Egbert looked upwards, half-expecting to see a far-distant hole in the vast darkness where stars could be seen, providing some hope that they could simply climb out of this hell if possible. Presently the freezing wind increased in its ferocity, causing all the staff and students to huddle together in the shelter of the castle walls. The necessary movement seemed to bring everyone to their senses, and as was to be expected, it was Constance, business-like as ever, who spoke first.

"We need to get out of here," she said, a simple and obvious statement, but an irrefutable one. "The question is how." The deputy head turned to Maud. "Didn't you say something about a map?"

"Well, sort of." Maud looked uncomfortable. "There are two ways out of hell, from what I've read. We're in the ninth circle, the deepest part, so one option is to climb back out past all the other circles until we reach the surface."

Amelia sighed. This particular option was not a very favourable one in anyone's eyes. If the sheer scale of the icescape was anything to work on, then they would be travelling for months to reach the edge of hell, and it would be a treacherous journey past many more malevolent demons, perhaps not as dangerous as the Devil himself or his accomplices, but certainly vicious enough to pose a threat.

"The other option... well, the way that Dante escaped at least, was through a crack in the ice, climbing down Satan's leg."

Egbert looked over at the beast, not particularly looking forward to clambering down one of its trapped legs but finding this option infinitely more agreeable than the first. Something struck him though, and his heart, which had been lifting by miniscule degrees ever since Maud had started talking in slightly positive terms about a possible way out of their desperate plight, plummeted like a stone.

"There are no cracks," he said quietly.

"Pardon?" Constance looked incredulous for a brief second before looking for herself, but Egbert knew she wouldn't find anything. The ice, for as far as they could see, was perfectly smooth like a frozen lake, no sign of any possible cracks anywhere.

"And even if we could escape that way," Amelia began, her tone melancholy, "what would we do about the castle?"

Egbert cast a glance up at the formidable walls that were towering above them. Using either of Maud's routes, whilst they might be able to save themselves, would not save the school building itself.

"Della?" Mildred's inquisitive voice jerked Egbert back to ground level. His daughter was crouching on the ground, rummaging through her handbag. Presently she pulled out a small, dusty book and flipped it open, scanning through the pages until she found the one she wanted.

"The Power of Three," she murmured to herself. "The Power of Three. Three related magicians using all their combined power to perform magnificent feats in times of great need."

Egbert leaned over to try and look inside the book but she snapped it shut before he could decipher any of the tiny script and shoved it quickly back into her bag. Something in the nervousness of her movement suggested to Egbert that there was something that Della was keeping from them.

"The Power of Three can do just about anything," she continued, speaking aloud to the rest of the group before standing again and looking pointedly to first Constance, and then her father. Egbert looked from his daughter to the witch who had agreed to take on the role of her mother-figure should this very situation arise. Della had assured him that even though there was no blood relation between them, the magic would work just as well. Egbert had just accepted her words, not understanding the deep magical theory behind it, tied in as it was with non-magicians' theories of paganism and white witches. "We should be able to create enough of an inherent magic force to sweep the castle and everyone else back to where it belongs, Wizard of Oz style."

"They do say that there's no place like home," remarked Imogen dryly. She looked at the three most powerful magicians in the company. "So how does it work, this Power of Three?"

"Well, I'm not altogether sure," admitted Della, shouting to make herself heard above a particularly loud roar from the beast in the background to their conference. "But I have an idea."

Constance pulled her hair back from her face.

"Well I say we should try it," she said with a sigh. "I can see no other alternative."

"Be careful!" squealed Davina.

"Yes," said Amelia quietly. "This is our only hope. Please, be careful," she echoed.

Constance nodded. After a brief moment's contemplation, Della did the same. Egbert paused for a few seconds longer. He had no doubt that the magic would be enough to save the castle and the others, but what about themselves? He nodded as well. If Della and Constance were prepared to take that risk and make that sacrifice then so was he. The three of them moved away from the group, a little towards the beast, taking the strength of the veritable hurricane head on.

"Della," Egbert called to her, suddenly feeling the need to say something urgently before it was perhaps too late. She turned. "Can I speak to you? Just for a moment."

She came over to him and turned her head on one side, listening.

"Della, I just want you to know... well, you already know, but I just wanted to say it again: No matter what happens, I love you."

Della nodded.

"Thank you," she said, and Egbert could detect a tremble in her voice. "I wish I had something meaningful to say in return. I can't call you dad. Marlon will always be my dad. But you are my father, and... well... thank you."

Egbert kissed the top of her head as she took his left hand, holding out her right for Constance to hold. Once the three of them were standing in a circle, Constance looked to Della.

"Now what do we do?" she asked.

"Just let your inherent magic fill you up," said Della. She worried her bottom lip between her teeth, and as he relaxed slightly, Egbert could see a faint shimmer begin to surround them, almost like a force-field. He glanced over at the castle and the others gathered around it, worried when they were still visible through the haze that was beginning to block out the noise of the hurricane surrounding them with a sound of its own, the rush of raw, unchannelled magic.

"Are you sure this will work?" he asked.

"Oh yes," said Della nervously. "Oh yes, the Power of Three will definitely work to save the girls and the castle, that was what I was checking just now – it has been known to perform cross-dimensional shifts like this. It's just... there's something I didn't tell you about it."

"What?" asked Constance above the roar of the wind and the magic swirling around them.

"Well, with the Power of Three, erm, sometimes only two of the three survive. And, erm, generally it's the most powerful inherent magician that gives the sacrifice."

Egbert's blood ran cold, and he could tell from Constance's expression that her veins had suddenly frozen as well. His daughter, the almost all-powerful Liaison, was prepared to risk sacrificing herself to save a group of people who, up until forty-eight short hours ago, she had never even met.

"Della," he began.

"It's too late now," she said, a slight nervous laugh colouring her voice. "We can't stop now." The field around them was complete by this point, and with a roar of pure, raw magic, Egbert saw, through the shimmer, the castle disappear. He felt Della let go of his hand and heard Constance's choked gasp, turning to see his daughter completely focussed on where the castle had been, her arms outstretched, the same stream of inherent magic flowing from her palms.

"It's safe," she whispered, her voice echoing in a strange double timbre. "The castle's safe. I can keep the shift open. Constance, go, just walk into the stream, you don't need to do anything else, the magic will take care of itself."

"Della..." Constance's face was pleading, her eyes so concerned for the young woman that she had effectively taken under her wing.

"Do it," said Della, and although her face was hidden by her hair, Egbert could tell she was crying, although through pain or emotion he couldn't fathom. "Please, just do it."

Constance placed a gentle hand on Della's shoulder and stepped into the stream of magic. As soon as she faded out of view, Egbert felt a change in the magical structure surrounding them. The force-field was beginning to close in, and it would envelop them both and transport them to safety if Della stopped streaming her own inherent magic.

"Della, sweetheart," he began, "it's alright, you can stop now, we're safe, it's going to be alright."

Della turned to him and his mouth fell open involuntarily at the sight of her eyes. They were bright and sparkling like moonstones, completely pupilless, tears flowing freely down her face.

"I... can't... stop..." she mouthed, her throat too choked and locked down to allow sound to pass. "My head... is... killing... me..." There was a slip in the raw magic as her eyelids fluttered. Egbert took hold of her wrist and found her pulse racing beyond anything he had felt before. Her face was a picture of anguish.

"Please... help... me..."

XXX

Mildred picked herself up off the ground, looking around at the rest of her classmates and teachers and finally up at the castle, there in the forest where it should be, its pale walls glowing in the moonlight. It had worked. They had survived. They had come through hell and they were back where they belonged, in the world of the living. Mildred gave a quick mental count of her comrades and grimaced on seeing just which three they were short. They had survived, but at what cost? She remembered the look that Della, the Chief Wizard and Miss Hardbroom had exchanged before the Power of Three had begun. They had all been so collected, so completely accepting of their possible fate.

Suddenly there was a blast of icy wind, and the atmosphere seemed to shimmer slightly before a familiar figure appeared in it, falling to the ground as it materialised fully just as Mildred herself had done.

"Della! Egbert!" Miss Hardbroom scrambled to her feet, staggering slightly. Mr Rowan-Webb caught her before she could fall but she batted him away, balancing herself once more and moving towards the place where the atmosphere was still shimmering, her hair blowing around her face wildly in the mixture of devilish hurricane and raw magic that was pushing through from the afterlife. Another image melted into view, and the gathered party immediately fell into silence. The final two members of their company had returned. Everyone was back from the ninth circle.

The Chief Wizard Egbert Hellibore was holding his lifeless daughter in his arms.

Note2: *Kimmeth hides.*

I WARNED you it would be a cliffie!

*Kimmie's hand comes out of her hiding place and waves at the review button.*