Chapter 16
Hollow Mind (July 2021)
The cauldron emitted a heat that Icy could barely stand, but she kept stirring and waiting for the potion to boil. It was extremely important that it was perfect, since she was the only one who could prepare it. Nor Raine nor Darius nor Eberwolf could, given their sigils, and dragging in some outsider was too risky. The only option Darius deemed reliable under that aspect, a certain Owl Lady, met Raine's firmest dissent. The tones had been raised so much that they had given Icy a headache. Since the meeting was happening in her mind, that had brought to some communication problems and in the end she had shut off both Darius and the bard.
- Cut it out! - she had snapped, and a shiver had run through the ice garden of her mind, - I'll try to make the potion, but if I were to fail we'll go to the Owl Lady. End of story. -
No one had complained, although Raine didn't look happy at all. Thus, Icy was now preparing the base of the potion to enter the mind of Belos, the last ingredient had to be added in the very moment of using it and the others could've done it. Darius didn't want her to go with them, and she agreed, for two reasons: the longer Belos knew nothing of her real powers, the better; and if something went wrong someone had to get them out of there.
The plan was dangerous, because in that world it was impossible to enter someone's mind without their knowledge, but it was the only way to truly understand what the draining spell was about. Yes, they had finally managed to figure out why Belos needed the system of sigils and covenheads, but they had yet to figure out its purpose. The hypothesis they considered least unlikely was that it had something to do with the portal to the human realm, which had been moved from the castle a couple days earlier. The draining spell was probably meant to accumulate the energy necessary to activate the portal, stealing it from the witches and demons of the Boiling Isles.
- Is it ready? - Darius asked.
Icy shook her head and fixed her hair. She had recently cut it, it only went down to half her back now and she wasn't yet used to the new length.
- Still needs to boil, a matter of minutes. -
Eberwolf growled something, to which Darius sighed.
- Believe me, I like these rugs less than you do. - he replied.
Icy glanced at Darius and quietly giggled. The outfits they wore sure weren't his style. They really looked like old rugs found in the lost objects box.
- If anything, no one would expect to see you dressed like that and they'll think someone's using an illusion to look like you. - she said.
She perceived the homicidal glare of Darius but didn't pay attention to him, the potion was boiling. She grabbed a phial and filled it with one ladleful, then she took another one and did the same, closing it with a cap.
- Ready? - she asked, handing the open phial to Darius.
- Ready. - he said as he took it, while Easton pulled up his hood.
Eberwolf did the same and climbed on his shoulder. Icy put a hand on Darius' arm and teleported all three of them outside the castle, in Bonesborough's suburbs. She went back to get Raine and a few seconds later all four of them were there. Icy turned invisible. She was going to follow them that way, it was way safer than a cape with a hood.
She followed them through the night market, observing curious buyers and sellers. She thought she saw someone she knew, a rather tall woman, with gray hair. She was pretty sure she hadn't met her during her trips to Bonesborough though. She discretely walked up to her and when she saw her face she understood. She had seen her in Raine's memories! It was impossible to forget those eyes, one golden and one gray. A tiny demon with a pink rabbit-shaped walkie-talkie followed her, and behind him a girl... a human girl! Icy's mouth hung open, but that wasn't the right time to deal with that. She had to follow her trio.
She had lost sight of them in those few seconds, but she knew where they were headed to so she flew up. Flying over the street, she saw Hunter following them, followed himself by someone else, and she flew faster, cursing through her teeth. She didn't manage to arrive before him nor his suitor, but Raine evoked an enchanted fog and she grabbed the capes of all three, taking them on the roof of a nearby house.
- That was close. - sighed Raine, their voice shaking slightly.
Icy understood their fear, had they been caught and captured a second time it would've been the end of them. Especially because Belos had gathered replacements for all covenheads.
Icy was about to apologize when a strong light came from the street. The four of them looked down from the roof: the street was empty.
- Oh no... - Darius mumbled.
Icy followed his gaze and saw the shattered phial. The spell had been activated and now someone was in the Emperor's mind.
"You don't know if Hunter is in there. He might've been outside the circle" Icy telepathically reassured him. Darius nodded imperceptibly.
Raine was also very worried.
- I know who the girl who followed the Golden Guard is. We need to find Eda. - they said.
Darius huffed.
- Oh, do we now? -
- Was it the human girl? - asked Icy, ignoring the sarcastic and sharp voice of Darius.
Raine nodded, while Darius sighed.
- If she's human she can't get out on her own... Fine, let's go. -
Icy didn't know where Eda lived, so they had to walk. She noticed they weren't too far from the Bat Queen's cave. They arrived to an isolated promontory, where there was a house with a big stained glass window at the first floor. Hidden beneath the trees, they heard a woman's voice yell something and suddenly all windows shut down and the shutters closed, while a ring of thorny branches popped out all around the house. A weird tube closed the door and hung a sign on it. Apparently, Eda already knew what happened.
Darius put a hand on Raine's shoulder and shook his head. Eda was already working and there was a reason she was known as the most powerful witch in the Boiling Isles, a potion like that wasn't going to be a problem for her since she didn't belong to any coven.
- Oh hey. Your buddy's trapped too, right? The angry blond kid? - said the tube.
Darius jumped and pushed Raine back, suddenly interested. He recognized Hunter's palisman, and Icy did too.
The tube kept talking with the palisman.
- Eda's smart but without magic, I'm afraid she can't do much. -
Darius let go of Raine, whom he had held by the shoulder until then, and awkwardly scratched his neck. Icy shook her head, amused despite the situation. He acted all tough and then as soon as he saw his protégé in danger there he was, ready to jump into fire.
Raine glared at Darius and kneeled to pick a stick with which they scribbled something on the ground. Icy, Darius and Eberwolf leaned over their shoulders to read.
"I know how to get past the bird
Owl?
Tube?
Him!"
With a rough but all in all accurate doodle of the tube on the door.
"What's the plan?" Icy asked, once again acting as a bridge between everyone's minds.
"We give her the return potion. Eda... she doesn't have control over her magic anymore. Darius, Eber, you know it! When you captured me, that sort of ash... it was because Eda was playing with me, it was her curse that corrupted magic".
Raine was visibly shaken, but the message was strong and clear. Even if she knew the potion, Eda couldn't prepare it, or her curse could have triggered some side effects. They still had the problem of how to get the potion to her.
When Raine voiced their idea, Darius couldn't hold back laughter. "Is this the right time to send flowers to your ex?"
Raine blushed, both for the question itself and because they perceived Icy's surprise and curiosity. Knowing that the witch of ice had also been in their mind and had many more puzzle pieces than Darius, who probably until just now thought that Raine and Eda hadn't talked to each other for ten years or more, embarrassed them immensely, but they wouldn't allow embarrassment to interfere.
The only other valid idea was for Icy to teleport inside, but at that point they could have just taken off those ridiculous capes and simply knock on the door: if they didn't already know who Icy was (or pretended to be), finding out would have been just a matter of asking around, thus in the end they did as Raine said. They took the chance when the bird tube got distracted and stuck its head in a window: Icy took the flowers and flew, invisible, up to the door. She left the flowers on the doorstep and knocked, then she flew away.
The tube pulled out from the window and looked around menacingly, then it picked up the flowers and brought them inside. Eda looked out of the window shortly after, just in time to see Raine's cape disappear in the bushes. At that point they could only wait.
Icy didn't lose sight of Darius. He kept the hood on like the other two so she couldn't really see his face, but she saw the tension in the way his gloved fingers hurled around his arms. He must have been very worried. She recalled what he had told her the first time she had seen Hunter: "he lives to serve Belos, and the moment he stopped, he wouldn't live anymore".
It was only a few minutes, but they felt endless to them. Suddenly, blinding rays of light shone from inside the house, filtering through the closed windows. A few seconds later the door slammed open and Hunter run out, followed by his palisman and from the human girl, who called him. But he didn't stop and he disappeared between the bushes, running extremely close to the four.
Darius was about to run after him, but Icy held him back.
- I'll take care of this. - she said, before teleporting further on the path, right in front of Hunter.
But she had miscalculated the distance, the boy bumped into her and they fell on the ground. Hunter tried to get away and run, recognizing her, but Icy managed to grab his arm and keep him kneeling down.
- It's alright, I won't take you to the castle. I made the potion, you're safe. - she said hastily, before Hunter could react and use magic.
He was terrified, he was shaking and had trouble breathing. Without letting go of his arm but loosening her grip, Icy handed him an ice cube and told him to put it in his mouth.
- It'll help you to calm down, it's a trick I learned some time ago. -
Hunter hesitated until Flapjack landed on his head and chirped something that made him move the free arm, still shaking. He stuck the ice cube in his mouth and was surprised to find out that the trick worked: the cold bothered him and he had to breathe only through his nose, distracting him from the thought of Belos, while Icy kept talking to him in a reassuring voice. However, the ice cube almost went down the wrong way when he heard footsteps approaching from behind. He turned around abruptly to face three hooded figures, the tallest was also the nearest. Hunter felt a wave of relief wash over him when the figure took off the hood, revealing Darius' face. His eyes expressed sadness but more so worry.
Darius kneeled next to Hunter.
- Don't worry little prince. - he said, putting a hand on his shoulder, - Everything will be fine. -
- The Emperor... he knows... knows I was there. He'll look for me. - swallowed Hunter.
Darius and Icy exchanged a worried look. Before they could say more, Flapjack turned towards Eda's house and chirped. Eberwolf smelled the air and turned urgently to Darius.
- They're coming to look for Hunter. - translated Darius, getting up and holding out a hand to the boy to help him get up.
- Icy, take us away! - said Raine.
Hunter jumped recognizing the bard's voice.
Icy shook her head.
- And where? There's no place here where Belos can't get if he puts his mind to it. It's better to make him lose the kid's tracks for a while. -
Darius frowned.
- What are you thinking of? -
Icy didn't answer, but she materialized her device and opened a portal. They could already hear the voices of Eda, Luz and King calling Hunter.
The bright eyes of Darius moved from the portal to Icy and then to Hunter. Belos would never be able to reach him beyond that portal, he was going to be safe. And besides, it was just temporary. It was the best option.
- Come on, let's go. - he said, walking up to the portal.
Icy put an arm around Hunter's shoulders, the boy probably wasn't going to move a muscle otherwise, and she got close to the portal with him. She signaled Darius to cross it and the witch obeyed, followed by Eberwolf and Raine. Icy had to be the last one to go through.
They arrived at the foot of Cloudtower. It was the dead of night, the clouds above the pinnacles shone with magic lightnings that illuminated the towers of the castle.
- Where are we? - Raine asked looking around, shivering.
- Cloudtower, the college where I teach. Sorry about the uphill walk, but it isn't possible to open portals within the school going in, only going out. - replied Icy, evoking a globe of light and making way towards the entrance.
When they arrived on top, though, the door refused to open. Icy glared at the door, irritated.
- It's me, let me in! - she growled, shaking the handle without significant results.
Darius was about to ask her who she was talking to, then he felt the bridge on which they stood sway lightly. They heard a grave creak coming from above and they all looked up. The towers were moving.
Ignoring their fear, Icy slammed her hand on the door.
- For the love of Arcadia, what do you mean "it's past curfew"? I'm a professor! And don't tell me you don't recognize me, I know you feel auras! Let me in you dumb castle, or I'll rearrange all your towers! -
The threat did its thing because the door opened with a dry snap. Icy pushed it open and they walked in.
- I can't believe the castle is throwing a tantrum. - she hissed, closing the door.
- Is the castle sentient? - Darius asked, perplexed.
Icy nodded dryly and walked past him, quickly leading them through the entrance.
- Yeah, Cloudtower is a living organism. A little irritating at times... hey! -
The floor had slipped from under her feet, causing her to almost fall. She didn't end up butt on the floor only because she leaned onto the wall. Icy sighed, exasperated.
- I know you get bored during summer, a few weeks and classes will start again. Now let us get to my apartment peacefully, please. - she said, patting the wall.
The school obeyed and didn't play any more tricks. Icy led them through stairs and halls, glancing back every now and then to make sure they were all still there and that Hunter wasn't falling back into his panic attack. She hoped the new environment distracted him enough without being too overwhelming at the same time. For the time being it seemed to work.
She opened the door to her apartment and invited them to come in and sit on the armchairs in the living room.
- Welcome where I live nine months per year. - she said, turning on the light.
The ceiling light illuminated the open space on the main floor, where other than the living room area there was a kitchen and a study. The loft housed the bedroom.
- Better than our apartments. - remarked Darius, sitting on an armchair.
Icy chuckled.
She sat in front of Hunter, who was caressing Flapjack while staring at the tip of his boots. He was sitting on the edge of the couch with the bird in his lap, ready to jump up and run if needed. Icy took a deep breath, then breathed out.
- Hunter. -
The boy raised his head at once. He had so much fear in his eyes that Icy would've wanted to leave him be and send him to sleep, but they needed to know what he had seen in the mind of Belos.
- I know this isn't the best moment for you, but we really need you to tell us what you saw. - she said sweetly, carefully choosing her words.
Hunter gulped and made himself as small as possible on the couch.
- We can't go ourselves anymore, - Darius intervened, - Belos will take precautions after this accident. -
Hunter went back to looking down.
- I don't... don't know where to start. I... -
He shut his eyes and curled up, holding his head in his hands. Icy got up and sat next to him, caressing his hair. He wasn't able to talk, it was clear, but they couldn't waste time.
She got up again and walked to the bookshelf, she opened a counter and pulled out a box. It was a memory reader. It was like the ones they used in Roccaluce, or almost. It wasn't as sophisticated, it was the most similar item you could buy. She had bought it because it made classes much simpler for her: showing the students places and objects she had run into kept the level of attention much higher than simply telling them.
She went back to the couch and explained to Hunter how that weird device with headphones worked.
- You won't have to say anything, only to wear it. Is it ok? - she asked when she finished.
Hunter nodded. He trusted Darius, even though he clearly committed treason. After all he was a traitor to Belos too, and at least Darius seemed to care a little about him and Flapjack. Plus he needed to tell someone what he had discovered about the Day of Unity and the other Golden Guards, he needed someone to make sense of all those things, because they didn't make sense. They made no sense. He had lived in lies, like all the inhabitants of the Boiling Isles after all, and now he wanted to do something to uncover those lies even just to feel less guilty about having helped Belos the whole time.
Icy turned on the reader. At first the images were too confused and fast to understand anything, then Hunter managed to focus on the beginning of that terrible night. They saw the golden corridor in Belos' mind with its fake pictures, and they saw the two entities that had approached him and Luz.
When they fell in the real mindscape, the one below the Emperor's castle of lies, Darius wasn't too surprised. In the previous pictures he had seen many things that felt off, that didn't exactly align with facts.
Hunter's thoughts skipped to the moment when him and Luz had seen the first Golden Guard help Belos burn down a town on the Knee, and from there to the failure of the first sigils. Raine instinctively grabbed their marked wrist and looked away, knowing well the pain the sigil could provoke.
There was a new skip, this time Belos was alone in front of the portal. But not as alone as it seemed.
- What the hell is that? - whispered Darius observing the Collector slide without a body on any surface.
It was very clear what Belos thought of Hunter when he told the Collector he only tolerated him because it was easy to give him orders. From then on Hunter couldn't control his memories anymore and jumped to little Belos, who had led them between the memories, breaking a Golden Guard's mask; then to a corridor in the mind of Belos full of broken masks and terrible pictures, each one representing the death of a different Golden Guard; then to the moment Belos called him a grimwalker and then again to the corridor; then to him sinking through the ground while Luz cried that he was going to be fine, that everything was going to be fine. His breathing accelerated again but Hunter pressed the headphones on his ears. There was one more thing they needed to know. He went back to the memory of the Collector, trying hard to remember clearly their rhymes and visions about the Day of Unity. Eberwolf hissed, Darius and Raine put a hand on their mouths. The draining spell was going to destroy anyone with a sigil, there were no doubts.
Finally Hunter took off the reader and handed it to Icy. She took it and put it down on the couch.
- Thank you, Hunter. You did great. - she said, hugging him tight.
Hunter abandoned himself to her arms and closed his eyes. It was reassuring, it was like the world had gone away.
Icy looked at Darius. While the memories went by she had seen him tense up and change expression, when he had seen the corridor with the masks he looked like he had seen a ghost. Now he stared into the void and his ears were horizontal. She didn't need to touch his mind to know that he was thinking of which of the pictures represented his mentor's death.
Someone knocked at the door, making everyone jump. Icy rolled her eyes and went to open the door. Obviously it was Griffin. Cloudtower snitched.
- There are lots of remedies for insomnia, you know? - said the witch of ice opening the door, but without letting the headmistress in.
- What are you up to this time? -
- I don't think I'll tell you anything because you'd try to stop me and you'd make me waste precious time. You'll have a detailed report when this is over, but for now let me do my thing. -
Griffin squinted and peered to see over Icy. Sadly the living room area was visible from the door, so she saw clearly the four pairs of eyes pointed onto them.
-I do not like this... -
Icy smiled amused.
- You've known me for twelve years, when have I ever done something you appreciated? -
- At the entrance exam. - Griffin replied with the same irony (Cloudtower didn't have entrance exams), then stared her down from head to toe. - And those ears? -
Icy shrugged and undid the metamorphosis spell. She clearly heard Hunter gasping behind her.
- Please, I have lots to do. - she said.
Griffin nodded reluctantly.
- I'll wait for that report. - she said, and she left.
Icy closed the door and sighed, then she went back to the others. She stayed up and leaned on the armchair Darius sat in.
- Tell me there's a way to remove the sigils. - she sighed.
Darius shook his head.
- I wish there was, but I'm the first who would rather not cut his arm. - he said, gloomy.
- You... you're human! - Hunter exclaimed, still stuck on that.
- Not like the humans you know, this is another universe. You are not in your human realm. - replied Icy.
- We could show everyone Hunter's memories and overthrow Belos. - suggested Raine.
It was Icy's turn to shake her head.
- It wouldn't work. With the propaganda system he built, most people would say we're lying, that it's just a trick. -
Eberwolf mumbled something and Darius replied:
- Yes, we have eight days. But they aren't enough. -
- You must go back to the castle before someone notices you aren't there. - said Icy, - Sleep on it. I'll be back tomorrow and we'll try to come up with something. -
Reluctant, Darius nodded. He didn't want to leave her and Hunter alone, he didn't want to sleep, he didn't want to go back to the castle and pretend everything was fine, but he had to.
Icy opened the portal three times, one for each room. The covenheads couldn't risk to be seen in the halls, especially that night. It would've been too suspicious.
Darius was the last one to go. Before Icy opened the portal, he kneeled in front of Hunter and ruffled his hair.
- My mentor would be undoubtedly proud of you. - he told him, then he got up.
He walked up to Icy and she opened the portal. He stared at her and sighed. He really wished to stay with her to drink apple blood and chat to free his mind from that feeling of powerlessness and inescapability. He crossed the portal fast without managing to say a word and found himself in his apartment.
He let himself fall on the floor and stayed sitting there, his face buried in his hands. Easton burbled softly, trying to comfort him, but Darius crouched down, overpowered by pain, and started sobbing quietly. Did his mentor really die in that way? By the hand of Belos, burnt or buried alive or drowned? He knew his disappearance years earlier hadn't been casual, though he didn't believe the truth could hurt him that much.
Easton slid down from his hair and sat on his shoulder, caressing his cheek. Darius made him jump on his hands and held him close to his chest.
- He didn't deserve it. - he choked, warm tears streaming down his cheeks.
He was glad he had resisted until that moment. He never wanted Hunter to see him like that, it would've destroyed the boy more than he already was, and Icy... maybe his pride would have stung a lot to let her see him in that state, but deep down he wished she were there. He needed comfort. Easton did his best, but he couldn't make it on his own.
Darius stayed sitting on the ground crying until he got a headache. Then he got up and undressed, wearing his pajamas, then he went to the bathroom and washed his face. With Easton hanging onto the shirt he got in his bed, still sobbing every now and then.