Chapter 12
"Lyness!" Alice yelled. The fire was spreading. If she didn't do something soon the other girl would be trapped. Lyness sat cross-legged, rocking and mumbling in another language. Jake was still running around downstairs, yelling at someone and sounding more exhausted every minute. She couldn't hear Beth at all any more. Alice absently fingered the leather pouch around her neck. She needed something to put out the fire, or at least deaden it between Lyness and the door. The silver basin was still on the trunk in the corner. Had Lyness refilled it after they made the talisman? The only way to find out was to cross through the fire, which had spread almost across the room. Alice took a deep breath and held tight to the talisman. "Please let this work," she whispered. She stepped into the fire. It tickled. "Wicked!" she giggled. A loud crash from downstairs reminded her to hurry. She skidded across the room and grabbed the basin. It was empty. As if she didn't have enough problems, Lyness's rocking became more violent and more candles toppled. "Ok, no water. Fire between me and Lyness, but that doesn't matter because I have the talisman. More fire between her and the door. That does matter because she doesn't have one. Need something to block it with…something… thick." The bedspread. It was even on this side of the room. Alice pulled it off the bed and pushed past the candles. "Lyness, come on!" she said. She threw the spread around the girl and shook her. "Get up! We have to get out of here!" With one hand on Lyness's arm and the other clutching her talisman, Alice ran through the flames. She pulled open the door and pushed Lyness through it in front of her. She slammed the door shut behind them.
"We should not be out here," whispered Lyness, "it is not safe."
Alice looked from Lyness to the bedroom door. The wisps of smoke emerging this time weren't from incense. Alice couldn't hold anything back any longer, "Have you gone mad? Because that's a fire in there. Your room is burning. We shouldn't just be out of there, we should be out of the house!"
Lyness was hugging herself and her eyes had resumed their unfocused gaze. "She'll get you now. She is too strong."
"Who? Who are we running from?"
Something fell in the bedroom as the fire consumed Lyness's belongings. With a jolt she lunged for the door. "My things!"
"No!" Alice grabbed Lyness before she could get back inside.
"Let me go! I need- I need my-"
"What?"
"I have to do something! I have to stop her!" Lyness stopped struggling and the girls sank to the floor.
"Who?" Alice asked quietly.
"She's doing it for me. It's all my fault. It's for me. For my birthday." Tears streaked her smoke-stained face. She raised her head absently at the sound of another crash downstairs. Jake hadn't made any noise for a few minutes. "She has taken them. Two. She needs only one more. For me."
Alice stood up and headed for the stairs.
"Where are you going?"
"To help them."
"She'll hurt you."
"Not while I have this," Alice countered, holding the talisman off her chest.
"Do not pass through the five points."
"Er, alright then."
At the landing Alice knelt down and peeked through the banister railings. The living room was dim. The curtains were closed and the lamps unlit. A soft glow flickered around the corner near where the living room opened into the kitchen.
"Come down little witch," whispered Mrs. Rice, "and join your cousins."
Alice gripped the talisman and wished its powers extended to calming her racing heart. She felt as if her chest would explode. "What did you do to them?" she called down, her voice quivering a little. Where were they? She couldn't see anyone from where she was, just glittering light reflecting off the glass-topped table in the living room.
"Come down and see for yourself."
"Er… I'd rather not."
"They're going to die."
"No!" Alice yelled.
Mrs. Rice laughed. The sound echoed softly in the kitchen like a pebble dropped down a very deep well. Creeping down the steps, Alice imagined herself entering a long dark cavern. She felt the walls closing in around her.
"Come and stop me, child."
At the base of the stairs Alice bent down again and peered around the corner. Now she could see into part of the kitchen. There were candles on the floor, five of them set in a large circle. It was difficult to see in the dim light, but she could almost make out two forms inside the ring. They weren't moving. Alice hoped that Mrs. Rice hadn't lied to her when she said they would die. They seemed lifeless already. The woman stepped out from the kitchen in front of the candles. "Ah, there you are." Alice was struck by how small and delicate she looked in front of the light. Her flowing skirt and long sweater enveloped her like a great dark cloak.
"What did you do to them?"
"They are for my Lord," said Mrs. Rice, smiling, "and so are you."
"I am not!"
"Come in to me. You are the third. Three innocents within the flames. The Dark Lord commands it."
"The Dark Lord?" Alice had never heard of He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named coming to America. The Wizarding newspapers and WWN had started warning of a growth among active Deatheaters in the last couple of years. It was becoming dangerous for Muggle-borns to travel in some of the less populated parts of Britain. People were starting to wonder if the articles about Harry Potter's accident at the Tri-Wizard Tournament in some of the less reputable papers held more truth than the official statement. They'd said that boy who'd died had been the victim of a plot by the Bulgarian headmaster to ensure the victory of his own champion. Karkaroff hadn't known that Krum had been hurt himself, by one of the monsters in the maze, when he attacked Krum's competition. Karkaroff's subsequent disappearance had helped the public believe in his guilt. Some of the tabloids disagreed with the official version of events. They suggested that both Harry and the other boy had been victims of darker magic. Some even hinted at a return of the Dark Lord. None had mentioned a reach this far.
"My Lord, the Prince of Darkness. He came to me. He is good to his supporters."
Alice wondered when He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named had risen to royalty. Either he was much more powerful than anyone had suspected, or he was becoming much more arrogant. Noting the bliss on Mrs. Rice's face, she supposed there could be another possibility. Perhaps she was mad.
"Er… Mrs. Rice? What are you doing?"
"I have been blessed. The Dark Lord is pleased. He honors me by accepting my offerings."
"Er… right. Well, could you offer him something else? Cause I really like Beth and Jake."
"Do not worry, little witch. You will join them."
"About that, see, I think you're confused. I'm not a witch. Lyness-"
"It is all for her. Lyness will be initiated. Thirteen years I have waited."
Smoke was starting to snake down the stairs. Alice hoped that Lyness hadn't gone back into her room. "Could you wait a bit longer?" She ran back up the stairs. "Lyness!" At the top of the stairs she could see smoke billowing through Lyness's open door. "Oi! Lyness! Where are you?" Waving her arms in front of her to dispel the clouds of smoke, Alice edged along the wall towards the room. She tried to call out again, but choked on the smoke. She was forced to get to her hands and knees in an effort to avoid the rising clouds. The air was clearer there and she crawled down the hall. Halfway to Lyness's door she felt something soft on the floor and recognized the edge of Lyness's skirt. The older girl was coughing, stretched out on the floor. Alice helped her to her knees and they crawled back towards the stairs.
"I…I had to get-" Lyness wheezed. She held up one hand to show Alice what she'd rescued from her room. She gripped her new dagger.
"Er… good. That'll be… useful."
When they got to the bottom of the stairs Alice tried to leave Lyness in the living room - she still seemed disoriented. "No. It's because of me. I have to stop her," Lyness murmured. She held on to Alice's arm as she moved towards the kitchen. There was no sign of Mrs. Rice, but the candles were still in place and Alice was now sure the forms inside the ring were Beth and Jake. As if they could sense her approaching, they were struggling. Alice guessed that they were bound, at least at their hands an feet. She barely suppressed a sigh of relief when she saw that they were still alive.
"She needs three," whispered Lyness.
"Where is she?" whispered Alice.
Lyness shook her head.
"Let's get them and get out of here," Alice whispered.
"You must not cross the five points," Lyness reminded her.
"Yeah, I meant to ask you - never mind." There were footsteps in the kitchen. Beth and Jake stopped moving. Beth's eyes were wide.
"Is that you, little witch? I hear little voices, little steps, coming my way," Mrs. Rice called, her raspy voice somehow creepier in her attempt to sound cheerful. She stepped into view and Alice fought back the irrational thought that Lyness's mother had no business calling anyone little. Maybe she could try a growing spell on herself…
"So you're back now? Very rude, you know, leaving in the middle of our conversation."
"Sorry about that, Mrs. Rice. Go on then, something about the Prince of Darkness and waiting thirteen years, and doing it all for Lyness."
"Time runs short. Come to me now."
Lyness stepped forward, "Mother, stop this."
"It's for you I do this, child. You will understand when you're older."
"I don't want this. Please stop it."
Lyness held Mrs. Rice's rapt attention. Alice waited for Mrs. Rice to turn away from her to speak with Lyness and then slipped behind her into the kitchen. Beth had rolled onto her knees and was struggling to sit up. Jake was lying on his side, eyes wide, breathing hard. When Beth got to her knees she recognized Alice hovering just inside the doorway. "What's going on?" Beth whispered.
"We have to get out of here," Alice mouthed. She threw a look back at Lyness and Mrs. Rice, who were getting into a more heated argument. Alice wasn't sure what Lyness had done with her dagger, but she didn't see it, so she hoped that no one was in danger of being stabbed for a while. She crawled across the kitchen floor and reached for Beth's hands, which were tied behind her. Beth turned around and kneeled at the edge of the ring."What are they doing?" she asked Alice over her shoulder.
"They're arguing over what they should do with us."
"Who's winning?" Jake asked from the floor.
"I'm not sure." She yelped as her nail caught on the tape wrapped around Beth's wrists.
"Shhh!" hissed Beth, "They'll hear you!"
"Sorry," Alice whispered more quietly, leaning in closer. "What did she use on you? A Binding Curse?"
"Duck tape," muttered Jake.