As Mark walked out of the Fourth Gate, into the Fifth Precinct, he began to wonder about what Shade had told him.
"Who else but Kerrigor?" Mark muttered to himself disturbed. He knew that Kerrigor had been bound by Sabriel, right after the Dark Age, where Free Magic ruled the Old Kingdom, and most Charter Stones had been broken. The damage was never fully recovered, and many places had to be abandoned because of amazing amounts of Dead and Necromancers lurking around those places. He was held by Ranna, known as the sleeper, was the smallest and weakest of the bells, but even so, it could hold very tight also.
Kerrigor was part of a Sight by the Clayr at Sabriel's death hundreds of years ago. They said that when Kerrigor escaped the bonds of tiny Ranna, the world would end. But that was one of the many possibilities that the world had.
And Mark knew that if Kerrigor was to end the general peace of the Old Kingdom, it's residents would give them hell before he took over.
Mark knew that if he was to defeat Kerrigor, he would need the fabled ring of Yrael that the twenty-third Abhorsen to bind the weakened form of the Eigth Bright Shiner, known as Mogget.
Mogget had been freed during the second awakening of Orranis the Destroyer. His power was the final part in the binding of Orannis, the most powerful and violent.
Yrael had stopped trying to get his revenge on the Abhorsen, and now slept in the Abhorsens house, waiting for a disaster to occur. He was held tight by Ranna, and barely woke, and had been sleeping for over Fifty years.
Kerrigor had been bound similarly to mogget, being transformed into a cat bound by Ranna, and placed in the protective coffin he had used to protect his body before he was defeated. This coffin was held in the deepest cellar in the Abhorsen's house. All the sendings in the house avoided that evil place, if possible, for even though weakened, Kerrigor's Free Magic stench leeched their essence, for they were made of the Charter.
Mark knew that if he could not rescue his master, then it would be his task to wake Yrael, and ask him for the ring to bind Kerrigor.
Mark cleared his mind of the possibility that he could not rescue his master. He would rescue his master. He continiued walking, fighting the current that if he gave into, would consume his soul.
There were many Dead here, but most of them did not have the will or the strength to overtake a living being. The others realized that Mark was an Abhorsen, albiet in-waiting, and generally kept out of his way, but a few Dead decided to make it hard for him.
A group of four Dead, obviously very cocky, snuck up behind Mark, not knowing that he was an Abhorsen-in-waiting, and since they only saw his back, did not see the Bells that he was wearing.
Mark sensed the dead, and knew that they were nearing. He made sure that they had not nociced that he had noticed them, and pulled out Saraneth quietly while walking.
Right when he sensed them jump at him, he turned around, waving Saraneth in a graceful figure eight pattern, that his master had taught him at an early age, and yelliing "Stop!"
In a few seconds, Mark had subugated their wills, and they froze in place. Mark spoke again the words that he felt he had said millions of times before:
"I order you to walk beyond the Ninth Gate, never to return, where your souls will rest!" He yelled, so no other dead would even consider attacking him.
Moaning in suprize, recognizing the Abhorsen's famous words, began to walk stiffly twoards the Sixth Gate, their decomposed vocal cords making angry growls, hisses and moans. As soon as they had disappeared from sight, the dead stopped watching, and stopped paying attention to Mark.
As he put his bell away, he felt his master was in pain. It took him a few seconds to realize that this was truly his connection to his master, and then figured out that his master was still further into death, possibly the Eigth Precinct.
Crying out, Mark sprinted twoards the Fifth Gate, calling up Charter Marks of speed. Rushing twoards the Gate, he did not see the man cloaked in shadow appear in front of him. Right before Mark saw the Necromancer, it already had his Saraneth out ringing it.
Mark screamed, luckily creating the note that would create the most discord with Saraneth's note. While running, he pulled his sword out, slicing the Necromancer in half, still running. As the Necromancers body slowly smouldered to nothing, Mark was almost at the Fifth Gate. A few feet from the Fifth Gate, he yelled the words, and ran through.
Only caring about rescuing his master, he forgot that the precinct he was about to come into he had never been too. In his rush to save his master, he also didn't remember the caution to avoid conflict in the Sixth Precinct...