CHAPTER TWELVE - BRIDGES
The world seemed to explode around Mary Lynette. She could feel her blood pumping through her veins and out onto the floor. Her head rolled to the side, her vision blurring around the corners with blood. Through the red mist she could just about see a white figure waving frantically and basically becoming hysterical. She smiled; it must be Ash.
I'm sorry Ash, I'm sorry I couldn't save you. She thought almost to herself.
No, Mare you don't have anything to be sorry for. You're going to fine, just don't let go and stay away from any lights. Do not go to the light! Listen to my voice, concentrate on everything around you.
Ash's voice seemed to fade in her mind, replaced by just the barest feel of his presence until even that paled. She couldn't see anything she realised, but that was alright. Ash would think of some brilliant plan to escape, he always did.
Mary Lynette left her physical body and felt free. She had a sense of movement and looked around her. She was walking along a glass bridge, surrounded by a dark mist. Every time she took a step forwards, the noises and sounds behind her grew weaker, fainter and less important, until only thoughts of walking across the bridge remained. Mary Lynette was wearing a long white dress and it made a pleasant sound as it brushed against the glass bridge.
She started humming in time with her footsteps, and then something flashed in front her eyes. It was the memory of the first time she'd heard that song, years before. She turned from the radio; it had been the song she'd been listening to when she'd first met.Ash. She saw him again anew, the texture of his skin, the shade of his hair, the colour of his eyes.
Ash. She thought and with that one thought, it seemed she came back to the world and the world came back to her. I don't want to die, she told herself and she turned on the glass bridge and began running along the bridge in the opposite direction to that she had come.
*** Ash was completely hysterical. Mary Lynette had been out for over twenty minutes now and the judge had stumbled slowly to her side, placed his hand on her neck and pronounced her dead. He awarded the contest to Dain, who was sat on a stool, clearly still fuming. Most of the NighWorlders drifted out now, bored.
Even though most of the hall had only been able to notice the emotions of the exchange that had set Dain off, Ash, Quinn and Zarach had heard everything. They knew she'd done it purposely.
"Oh, Mare.Why did you have to die?" He began again as the Judge walked away from her corpse. Quinn tried to comfort him, but it was no use. There was no way to comfort for the loss of a soul mate.
*** Mary Lynette could feel her body again, the pain of her wound hitting her full in the face. She felt herself wanting to slip away once again, but she held onto that core of iron determination. The weapon wasn't wood, it wouldn't kill her; all she had to do was survive for a while and it would heal.
The whole room was whispering and she could feel Dain's triumph. Well, his temporary triumph she thought. She had the power to win, she just had to find it. She looked deep inside herself and found a small spark, hiding in the shadows. She fanned it slowly until it roared with a voice all of it's own and rose to the surface. She felt her wound healing, the blood seeping back into her system where it belonged. Her lungs were burning, they were on fire.
Mary Lynette drew in the deepest breath she'd ever taken and felt the oxygen flooding into her system. The room went into silence as she flexed her fingers and toes, pushing her arms back slowly to raise herself up. She seemed more aware of herself, she felt.alive. Dain turned slowly towards her and almost bored, drew and threw his remaining knife at her in one swift movement. She showed no inclination to move and when the knife was but an arm's length from her face, she resisted against it. The knife stopped in mid-air, suspended by nothing and everything. It fell to the floor, the clang reverberating around the hall. Ash lifted his head and stared open mouthed.
"I've been enlightened Dain." She walked confidently towards him, never casting her gaze away from his eyes. She saw him panic, just picking up random objects from around the room and throwing them at her. All stopped within two feet of her and dropped to the ground. Goddess he tried moving the several Night Worlders that remained, but all were replaced with care.
"You've been a very bad boy, Dain. Killing innocents down the centuries without remorse, even if it was for Maya. You even killed your father, and yes I do know about that." Zarach's expression turned to shock.
"You should have known that one day someone would even up the score."
She moved close enough to him that she could hear him breathing and whispered in his ear, "That someone is me." Her hand touched his chest, gently caressing the fabric of his jacket. When it was right above his heart, she dove it straight through his skin and grasped it. Her body recoiled with the backlash of power that flowed straight out of it, but she held on. He twisted his face to her, tightened with grim determination.
"Everything here is built by me. Kill me and you kill everyone else too, including your precious vermin. If I die, you'll unleash the energy contained in this hillside, and the entire coastland will collapse." He whispered in a strained voice.
"I don't think I need to worry about that."
She yanked out the black, twisted thing that was his heart and crushed it in her palm. His limp body collapsed on the floor. Instantly, the walls began to crumble, the delicately packed earth flowing out slowly back to how it had been originally.
"Ash." She whirled around and ran to the cage. Ash was still in a state of shock from seeing her miraculously re-awaken and stood still in the middle of the cage. There was chaos around her, the remaining Night Worlders had decided that they had definitely seen enough and if they were escape, they had to scream and be hysterical generally. But how could she free Ash, Quinn and Zarach from the mind guards?
"Allow me." Zarach said from the shadows. "I wouldn't mind a little help though, Mary Lynette."
He smiled and gestured for her to raise her hand against the wall of energy and he raised his to match it. Closing his eyes and uttering a few words as their fingers touched the beams shattered like glass, also sending Mary Lynette and Zarach flying back a few feet from the sheer force of it. Ash was instantly at Mary Lynette's side.
"Ash, I'm all right you fool. Get off me, we have to get out of here." She shouted and she saw the hurt in his eyes. He was afraid he had lost her.
"Save it for later." She whispered in his ear as he pulled her up. He grinned/
"Come on," yelled Zarach. "The whole place is gonna collapse."
They ran towards one of the end doors, but Dain's words flowed through Mary Lynette's head.
If I die, you'll unleash the energy contained in this hillside and the entire coastline will collapse.
She had an idea. Mary Lynette turned and ran back to the centre of the hall and plunged her hands into the dirt. She had seen Dain do this once before after she'd accidentally stabbed him in the shoulder with a wooden sword whilst practising. When he'd returned, he had been completely healed, if not more energized than he had been before. This most be the energy source he'd been talking about.
"Mare! What are you doing? We have to go, NOW!"
"I have to finish it. Dain left something behind, something that would take away half the coast if he should ever die."
*** Ash stared at her, finding it strange that he should compare this Mary Lynette to the Mary Lynette he'd first met in Briar's Creek now, in this moment before his death. She was completely calm on the surface, even whilst the room around her was complete chaos. Something seemed to shimmer from her into the ground and back again, in a line of communication. Once upon a time, he would have found this strange and he allowed himself a small smile.
The shimmering faded and seemed to flow into the ground, revitalising it, leaving Mary Lynette looking frail and drained.
"I'm done." She whispered and collapsed backwards. Ash caught her before she hit the ground and picked her up.
"Which way?"
Mary Lynette lifted her head slightly, "Left, straight down the hall and up the second set of stairs."
Ash ran for all he was worth, ducking between falling lamps, shelves and goodness knows what else. The earth shook beneath him as he ran and when he finally saw the sunlight outlining the door, he just ran full force into it, knocking it from the hinges.
He saw Quinn waiting for him after he'd broken free onto the cliff and ran after his lead. They ran inland and collapsed in the car park. It seemed most of Circle Daybreak was there waiting for them.
"Why does the cavalry always arrive after we need them?" Ash said, obviously back to his usual cocky self. "And why do I always end up carrying somebody."
"Well," Mary Lynette said, waking up a bit more. "There are rewards." She kissed him and he grinned like a schoolboy.
"I will carry you anytime you like."
Mary Lynette smiled back. "Well, if you don't mind, I think I can walk by myself now."
Ash blushed and put her down. Thierry walked over to Ash, Quinn and Mary Lynette.
"Well, it seems that you managed to destroy one of most malicious enclaves ever built that we've been trying to penetrate since the beginning of Circle Daybreak, all in one day. Congratulations."
"Where's Rashel? Have you seen her, I don't know where she is. Is she alright?" Quinn asked, not drawing a breath.
"Well, she's all in one piece, just. The witches are just about to strangle her though, she must be the world's worst patient, but otherwise fine. She's in the back of the land rover."
Quinn automatically ran over to the truck. The others guessed he'd found when they heard loud screaming, crying and name calling.
"I'm so hungry, I think I could eat a horse." Mare said as Thierry walked away towards one of the trucks.
"Really? Tried it, not nice; and please just don't ask."
Mary Lynette raised an eyebrow. Several of trucks were starting to drive away and she and Ash got into the back of one of them.
"So, what did you get up to."Ash began as they drove away.
Mary Lynette silenced him with a finger. "I have become someone else, fought the leader of an enclave, died again, been jolted by psychic electricity and joined with the energy source beneath a hillside." She rested her head on his chest. "And I'm knackered. I'll tell you it all later, but now I need to sleep."
Ash watched the world go by and listened to Mary Lynette's breathing. She'd fallen asleep almost immediately, so perhaps she really was that tired. He had many questions, but they could wait. He had believed that she was dead after Dain had stabbed her, believed that she was gone for over twenty minutes. Then she had come back suddenly as some kind of goddess incarnate and he was still getting used to the idea. But then again she was a goddess to him anyway, so nothing had changed. He idly stroked her hair and felt sleep draw him on. He let it come.
The world seemed to explode around Mary Lynette. She could feel her blood pumping through her veins and out onto the floor. Her head rolled to the side, her vision blurring around the corners with blood. Through the red mist she could just about see a white figure waving frantically and basically becoming hysterical. She smiled; it must be Ash.
I'm sorry Ash, I'm sorry I couldn't save you. She thought almost to herself.
No, Mare you don't have anything to be sorry for. You're going to fine, just don't let go and stay away from any lights. Do not go to the light! Listen to my voice, concentrate on everything around you.
Ash's voice seemed to fade in her mind, replaced by just the barest feel of his presence until even that paled. She couldn't see anything she realised, but that was alright. Ash would think of some brilliant plan to escape, he always did.
Mary Lynette left her physical body and felt free. She had a sense of movement and looked around her. She was walking along a glass bridge, surrounded by a dark mist. Every time she took a step forwards, the noises and sounds behind her grew weaker, fainter and less important, until only thoughts of walking across the bridge remained. Mary Lynette was wearing a long white dress and it made a pleasant sound as it brushed against the glass bridge.
She started humming in time with her footsteps, and then something flashed in front her eyes. It was the memory of the first time she'd heard that song, years before. She turned from the radio; it had been the song she'd been listening to when she'd first met.Ash. She saw him again anew, the texture of his skin, the shade of his hair, the colour of his eyes.
Ash. She thought and with that one thought, it seemed she came back to the world and the world came back to her. I don't want to die, she told herself and she turned on the glass bridge and began running along the bridge in the opposite direction to that she had come.
*** Ash was completely hysterical. Mary Lynette had been out for over twenty minutes now and the judge had stumbled slowly to her side, placed his hand on her neck and pronounced her dead. He awarded the contest to Dain, who was sat on a stool, clearly still fuming. Most of the NighWorlders drifted out now, bored.
Even though most of the hall had only been able to notice the emotions of the exchange that had set Dain off, Ash, Quinn and Zarach had heard everything. They knew she'd done it purposely.
"Oh, Mare.Why did you have to die?" He began again as the Judge walked away from her corpse. Quinn tried to comfort him, but it was no use. There was no way to comfort for the loss of a soul mate.
*** Mary Lynette could feel her body again, the pain of her wound hitting her full in the face. She felt herself wanting to slip away once again, but she held onto that core of iron determination. The weapon wasn't wood, it wouldn't kill her; all she had to do was survive for a while and it would heal.
The whole room was whispering and she could feel Dain's triumph. Well, his temporary triumph she thought. She had the power to win, she just had to find it. She looked deep inside herself and found a small spark, hiding in the shadows. She fanned it slowly until it roared with a voice all of it's own and rose to the surface. She felt her wound healing, the blood seeping back into her system where it belonged. Her lungs were burning, they were on fire.
Mary Lynette drew in the deepest breath she'd ever taken and felt the oxygen flooding into her system. The room went into silence as she flexed her fingers and toes, pushing her arms back slowly to raise herself up. She seemed more aware of herself, she felt.alive. Dain turned slowly towards her and almost bored, drew and threw his remaining knife at her in one swift movement. She showed no inclination to move and when the knife was but an arm's length from her face, she resisted against it. The knife stopped in mid-air, suspended by nothing and everything. It fell to the floor, the clang reverberating around the hall. Ash lifted his head and stared open mouthed.
"I've been enlightened Dain." She walked confidently towards him, never casting her gaze away from his eyes. She saw him panic, just picking up random objects from around the room and throwing them at her. All stopped within two feet of her and dropped to the ground. Goddess he tried moving the several Night Worlders that remained, but all were replaced with care.
"You've been a very bad boy, Dain. Killing innocents down the centuries without remorse, even if it was for Maya. You even killed your father, and yes I do know about that." Zarach's expression turned to shock.
"You should have known that one day someone would even up the score."
She moved close enough to him that she could hear him breathing and whispered in his ear, "That someone is me." Her hand touched his chest, gently caressing the fabric of his jacket. When it was right above his heart, she dove it straight through his skin and grasped it. Her body recoiled with the backlash of power that flowed straight out of it, but she held on. He twisted his face to her, tightened with grim determination.
"Everything here is built by me. Kill me and you kill everyone else too, including your precious vermin. If I die, you'll unleash the energy contained in this hillside, and the entire coastland will collapse." He whispered in a strained voice.
"I don't think I need to worry about that."
She yanked out the black, twisted thing that was his heart and crushed it in her palm. His limp body collapsed on the floor. Instantly, the walls began to crumble, the delicately packed earth flowing out slowly back to how it had been originally.
"Ash." She whirled around and ran to the cage. Ash was still in a state of shock from seeing her miraculously re-awaken and stood still in the middle of the cage. There was chaos around her, the remaining Night Worlders had decided that they had definitely seen enough and if they were escape, they had to scream and be hysterical generally. But how could she free Ash, Quinn and Zarach from the mind guards?
"Allow me." Zarach said from the shadows. "I wouldn't mind a little help though, Mary Lynette."
He smiled and gestured for her to raise her hand against the wall of energy and he raised his to match it. Closing his eyes and uttering a few words as their fingers touched the beams shattered like glass, also sending Mary Lynette and Zarach flying back a few feet from the sheer force of it. Ash was instantly at Mary Lynette's side.
"Ash, I'm all right you fool. Get off me, we have to get out of here." She shouted and she saw the hurt in his eyes. He was afraid he had lost her.
"Save it for later." She whispered in his ear as he pulled her up. He grinned/
"Come on," yelled Zarach. "The whole place is gonna collapse."
They ran towards one of the end doors, but Dain's words flowed through Mary Lynette's head.
If I die, you'll unleash the energy contained in this hillside and the entire coastline will collapse.
She had an idea. Mary Lynette turned and ran back to the centre of the hall and plunged her hands into the dirt. She had seen Dain do this once before after she'd accidentally stabbed him in the shoulder with a wooden sword whilst practising. When he'd returned, he had been completely healed, if not more energized than he had been before. This most be the energy source he'd been talking about.
"Mare! What are you doing? We have to go, NOW!"
"I have to finish it. Dain left something behind, something that would take away half the coast if he should ever die."
*** Ash stared at her, finding it strange that he should compare this Mary Lynette to the Mary Lynette he'd first met in Briar's Creek now, in this moment before his death. She was completely calm on the surface, even whilst the room around her was complete chaos. Something seemed to shimmer from her into the ground and back again, in a line of communication. Once upon a time, he would have found this strange and he allowed himself a small smile.
The shimmering faded and seemed to flow into the ground, revitalising it, leaving Mary Lynette looking frail and drained.
"I'm done." She whispered and collapsed backwards. Ash caught her before she hit the ground and picked her up.
"Which way?"
Mary Lynette lifted her head slightly, "Left, straight down the hall and up the second set of stairs."
Ash ran for all he was worth, ducking between falling lamps, shelves and goodness knows what else. The earth shook beneath him as he ran and when he finally saw the sunlight outlining the door, he just ran full force into it, knocking it from the hinges.
He saw Quinn waiting for him after he'd broken free onto the cliff and ran after his lead. They ran inland and collapsed in the car park. It seemed most of Circle Daybreak was there waiting for them.
"Why does the cavalry always arrive after we need them?" Ash said, obviously back to his usual cocky self. "And why do I always end up carrying somebody."
"Well," Mary Lynette said, waking up a bit more. "There are rewards." She kissed him and he grinned like a schoolboy.
"I will carry you anytime you like."
Mary Lynette smiled back. "Well, if you don't mind, I think I can walk by myself now."
Ash blushed and put her down. Thierry walked over to Ash, Quinn and Mary Lynette.
"Well, it seems that you managed to destroy one of most malicious enclaves ever built that we've been trying to penetrate since the beginning of Circle Daybreak, all in one day. Congratulations."
"Where's Rashel? Have you seen her, I don't know where she is. Is she alright?" Quinn asked, not drawing a breath.
"Well, she's all in one piece, just. The witches are just about to strangle her though, she must be the world's worst patient, but otherwise fine. She's in the back of the land rover."
Quinn automatically ran over to the truck. The others guessed he'd found when they heard loud screaming, crying and name calling.
"I'm so hungry, I think I could eat a horse." Mare said as Thierry walked away towards one of the trucks.
"Really? Tried it, not nice; and please just don't ask."
Mary Lynette raised an eyebrow. Several of trucks were starting to drive away and she and Ash got into the back of one of them.
"So, what did you get up to."Ash began as they drove away.
Mary Lynette silenced him with a finger. "I have become someone else, fought the leader of an enclave, died again, been jolted by psychic electricity and joined with the energy source beneath a hillside." She rested her head on his chest. "And I'm knackered. I'll tell you it all later, but now I need to sleep."
Ash watched the world go by and listened to Mary Lynette's breathing. She'd fallen asleep almost immediately, so perhaps she really was that tired. He had many questions, but they could wait. He had believed that she was dead after Dain had stabbed her, believed that she was gone for over twenty minutes. Then she had come back suddenly as some kind of goddess incarnate and he was still getting used to the idea. But then again she was a goddess to him anyway, so nothing had changed. He idly stroked her hair and felt sleep draw him on. He let it come.