Chapter Eight: Evil is Coming
Bloom's eyelids felt heavy and refused to open, her senses were barely even aware that she was awake, slowly little things became clear. The dripping of water somewhere and the hollow sound that comes from a huge empty hall with no movement. But one of the most obvious and striking things that revealed itself to the half asleep girl was how cold she was. She could feel herself lying on her back and freezing air entering her lungs.
Eventually Bloom opened her eyes slightly to see the ice blue of a cave ceiling, sharp and pointy stones protruding from the roof, threatening to bear down upon her. Ice was everywhere but no snow. A small tilt of her head told her that she was lying on a frozen group made entirely of ice, and that it was holding her in place by sticking itself to her uncovered skin, making moving impossible.
Bloom tried to lift an arm of the freezing surface but was only met with pain shooting through her, like having your hand put in fire after it's been in a freezer, there is no relief but more pain and an uncomfortable feeling. When she breathed heavily with the exertion it took to try to move she head a click of slow walking heels enter the huge cave, she didn't turn her head but waited for the seemingly tell form of Icy to enter her haze, smiling viciously down at her.
Bloom glared violently back, wishing she had a knife to stick through her leg but was only met with a wider smile.
"Bloom, princess of Spark's, reduced to a shivering wreck on my stone floor. God I could sit here all night watching that desperate look of determination on your face slowly melt into one in disappointment and insanity" Icy said calmly with barley contained glee. It was creepy coming from someone Bloom hated.
Icy waved her hand in the air for a moment and a clear crystal throne emerged from the ice floor, she perched herself on it, crossing her legs and hands and continued to smile at Bloom "And I think I just might do that"
Bloom had enough strength to roll her eyes, the only thing she could move without getting seared again.
After a moment "Is it really true that you have no powers left? That, you can't even create a little fire to warm you up, just a little?" Icy asked eagerly, enjoying every moment of her verbal torture.
Bloom just stared at her in the eye and said nothing. Icy took this as a yes and gave out a harsh laugh and clapped her hands "Oh my god that is just spectacular! How did it happen? Who took them? And where can I buy a hat so I can tip it to the man who finally got what should never have been yours?!" She laughed again, quieter this time.
Bloom thought about this. It almost made her smile that Valtor had never re-hired those three witches to be his servants; he chose the better of the two, the Winx Club. She was tempted to point this out to Icy but that would upset Valtor if anyone knew he was alive. But she was curious "Where did you hear I lost my powers?"
Icy waved a hand dismissively and said "Word travels, demonic staff meetings, by the evil water cooler"
"What else do you know?" Bloom asked warily
"Sky's getting married" she stated bluntly, it hurt to hear it out of her enemies lips but didn't show it "I laughed for ages when I heard about that" she giggled at recalling the memory "That must have stung!" she directed this right at Bloom.
Bloom didn't want to discuss Sky. So she settled for a subject change "Why are you here?"
Icy looked at her blankly "I live here. Shouldn't you be asking me what you're doing here?"
Well anyone can figure out why I'm here, you white haired cow! Bloom thought slightly angry now that she wasn't getting any answers. "No! Why are you here talking to me? Shouldn't you be doing something like casting a spell or killing me?" Come on Icy let's stick to the system!
Icy threw her head back "Oh that! Well...it sounds weird saying but...I'm here to warn you" Bloom raises an eyebrow "Don't get any ideas, you hate me remember...hmm maybe you need reminding" icy casually clicked her fingers.
The ice around Bloom shot up in thin strands, slicing through her skin like butter. Through her arms and legs the spikes rose through the air, red streaks covering the thin lines. It hurt a lot; biting down really hard on her lip Bloom choked back a scream. She would not show fear or pain in the presence of her enemy. Another hard lesson learnt by Valtor.
Icy clicked again and the stands melted, shooting small bits of ice water through her veins.
"You're lucky I only did the arms and legs, it hurts so much more when they shoot through the internal organs and brain" She smiled again down at Bloom.
That little smirk did it, Bloom's anger rose and she concentrated all her might on Icy's forehead. It hurt when her body shook with anger but she ignored it and continued to stare. At last she got the right result as huge flames engulfed the icy throne.
Icy, much like Amber, shot out of her chair screaming and patting herself down. The flames didn't last long when Icy melted some of the ice above them and it rained down droplets all over the two of them.
Once Icy got a hold of herself, she turned and glared more cunningly at the girl on the floor, stalking over to her, bending down and grasping her hair, painfully lifting her head of the icy ground. Bloom panted with the pain she was experiencing from being separated from the floor, refusing to look away from Icy's menacing eyes.
"You think that's funny don't you?!" icy screamed into her face, pulling more at her scalp "You want to know what else is funny?! Huh?!" Icy was royally ticked off and was losing it. Bloom was almost astonished that this girl had so much anger in her.
"You want to know what I did before we picked you up from your sweet little parent's house." She waited for a few seconds daring Bloom to speak.
"I killed your sweet little parents"
Nothing. There was nothing in Bloom's head. She couldn't think, couldn't comprehend what Icy was saying. The shock of her words, the words themselves not making sense. What?
"You think you control everything that goes on around you well listen to this Bloom, you control nothing! You can't stop me and you can't stop what's to come. Sure you can kick ass when you need too but you can't keep secrets for long. People will find out yours eventually. I'll make sure of that. I have people on the inside ready to do what I ask, like Mr Spitter for instance"
Bloom looked at her with wide silent eyes, questioning her "Oh yes we sent him in. We needed to know how much you've learnt"
Icy stopped talking fast and yelling, this time she leaned right up to Bloom's face and whispered to her.
"And about that warning Bloom, I think you might want to prepare yourself and your pixie friends. Because evil is coming and you won't know where from. And when it arrives you won't even expect it" Icy let go of her hair. Bloom's head fell back against the hard floor, she was gasping from shock and pain. It was too much to take in at once. Her head was swimming and her eyes her getting dark, maybe she was passing out.
Icy stood back up and looked down at her in disgust. After a moment she smiled "I'll see you soon Bloom, you better hurry, time is running out"
And with that Icy lifted her hand and pointed it at her face. Blue magic swirled around her hand and became dark until it was almost a striking black. At last icy shot the energy at Bloom, engulfing her in darkness, this time when Bloom past out, she welcomed it.
...
"What do you mean they disappeared again?" Sky asked as he sat in the guy's dormitory, facing his friends who were spread out around the room, he had just gotten back from his home planet, taking care of wedding details and had come straight here wanting to know what happened.
"I don't know" said an exhausted Timmy over at his desk "one minute they were there talking and...Kissing" shooting a meaningful glance at Brandon who pretended not to notice "and the next poof! Gone, right into thin air"
"How?!" Sky was shocked. He really couldn't comprehend how the girls could just 'poof' into thin air. Timmy threw up his hands and shrugged. He was as stumped as the rest of them.
"Maybe we should just accept that they'll never tell anyone why they left. We shouldn't keep hassling them, it's clear they don't want us to know" Helia said from is place on the other couch, drawing idly.
"That maybe ok for us but it won't be for the rest of the world. The girls were icons, famous forces of good, they loved them" Brandon said as he walked back and forth in the room, he couldn't keep still. He was worried about Stella; it wasn't like her to just disappear. It was too much like the first time.
"Well the world going to have to tough it up" Helia said still sketching. Of course of was drawing Flora, who else would he be drawing. Helia thought she was the most beautiful creature in the world and he had finally told her but then she had gone 'poof' so he really didn't know how to feel just know.
Sky ran his fingers through his hair and groaned, flopping down on the couch. He knew he shouldn't be this worried but he couldn't help it. It was ok for the rest of the guys but him. He was engaged to be married and he had no business being concerned about the girls or Bloom. But it kept knawing at him that something was wrong and that they needed help, he just didn't know how.
"I just hope everything's ok" he muttered shutting his eyes and leaning his head back on the couch. It wasn't a second later that it felt like the room went colder than ice and the air grew incredibly thick. Sky opened his eyes to see the guys were alert too, standing slightly and looking for signs of danger.
They all jumped to their feet when a pool of black magic appeared on the roof and started to splinter the ceiling, cracking it til it looked like it would burst. The sound of an old kettle screeching until the surface exploded and the form of a girl came crashing into the room, landing on and breaking the glass table in the middle of the space.
The guys jumped back from the chaos but soon rushed back when the magic disappeared and the girl on the cracked and now bloody table was none other than an unconscious Bloom.
...
The girls sat in silence outside of small but crowded house. Once they had discovered the bodies they had been shocked and sad. Sad for Bloom and sad for her parents. But once that had faded it had given way to a new emotion. Anger, they were furious and livid. Who could have done this to such nice people? Who would have such cold hearts so as too murder people just to make a point?
But then it occurred to them. They had done such things as to murder people and just walk away as if it had never happened. This made the five girls incredibly depressed. It took them an hour from when they actually discovered the bodies of Mike and Vanessa to call the police, anonymously of course and tell them what happened. They then waited out in the park and watched police cars and ambulances show and do their jobs.
They had thoroughly checked the scene of any signs of magic and only came up with energy ball marks and concluded that someone in the magical dimension did this.
"How are we supposed to find Bloom?" asked a quiet Flora
The other girls were silent; they didn't know how they were going to find their lost friend. Sure they were incredible at tracking down other people, doing research on their lives and who they hung out with but know that it was someone they knew, they didn't have a clue as to where to start.
"Hey guys, I don't mean to ruin the cheery mood we've got going on but I might have told Riven that I had died"
Stella did a mix of a sigh and a gasp, lowering her head and whispering "Damn. Guys I think it's getting to that point where I'm starting to think we can't get out of this one. I don't want to run away, I want to find Bloom and I want everything to go back to the way it was, before we even knew Valtor existed"
The girls mulling over Stella's comment was interrupted by Stella's phone ringing. She looked confused and answered it. After a moment Stella jumped to her feet, body tensing as she started walking away from the girls in a hurried manner. The others ran after her as she put her phone away without a word and started running herself.
"What happened?"Flora asked as they ran in the direction of the secret magic station that was the way back to Magix.
"Bloom's in a coma" Stella yelled from the front, increasing her speed.
...
Bloom lie in a narrow hospital bed. Tubs were injected into her skin and patches placed over her collarbone to monitor her heartbeat, she also wore a white cotton sleeveless shirt with identical three quarter pants.
Miss Faragonda and Miss Gredzelda and an unknown man were on one side of her while the specialists were on the other, Nurses and doctors flittered around the room.
"How long until the other girls are here? They need to know what happened" Miss Faragonda said taking Bloom's hand and squeezing it.
"I Called Ms Stella, there on their way" Miss Grezelda said from beside her.
The unknown man in the room was called Lucus and he was the representative Magix sent to assess the situation with Bloom. He wore a tailored suit and stood tall and proud "And when they get here they'll will have no choice but to talk. This has gone on long enough and now someone has gotten hurt. It's in everyone's best interests if the ladies come clean about everything"
Riven stood in the far corner of the room near the door with his arms crossed. This guy was starting to annoy him, talking like it was all so dire and easy. But he kept his mouth shut; ever since Musa had disappeared he had not said anything. He didn't feel like it, he needed to think. Something was very wrong and he knew it. He couldn't get the picture of Musa panicking out of his head. She had been scared, scared of what she had said and what he would say. He didn't want her to have to go though whatever was happening alone.
The other guys had the same thoughts. They were very worried and didn't like being kept in the dark. And no matter how much they wanted answers they didn't want to have to force them out of the girls like this Lucus wanted too.
The door burst open and the five girls ran in out of breathe like they hadn't stopped running in a while. They staggered over to the bed not even glancing at the other occupants of the room and all crowded the bed.
"Bloom, oh my god! What happened?!" Stella said looking up at Miss Faragonda for answers.
The others asked similar questions not giving her time to answer them, it wasn't until Lucus spoke up that they fell silent "We were hoping you ladies could tell us"
The girls all stood up straight and looked at him. They had the immediate impression that this guy was no friend of theirs and went on the defensive.
"We don't know. The last time we saw her she was leaving the house this morning" Stella said, arching her thin eyebrow, daring the man to disagree.
Lucus didn't think they were being at all truthful and stepped forward "but you're the great Winx Club, surely you must have some idea what happened?"
Musa took a step forward, not to threatening but enough to get the seriousness across "We said the last time we saw her...was this morning" she said slowly "And who the hell are you?"
"Mr Lucus of the authority of Magix. Come to assess the situation" Lucus seemed to find what he said funny and chuckled and sat down on a far away chair.
Miss Faragonda stepped forward and addressed the girls "We found Bloom an hour ago. She crashed through the roof of the specialist's dormitory" at this the girls raised an eyebrow "and we have come to discover that she has sustained some minor injuries but nothing serious. But what is serous is that she has...Gone into a coma" the girls gasped at this and shrunk away a step, as if to shrink away from the truth "and that we have no idea how she got to be in this state or how to wake her up. We only know that it was a magically induced coma"
Silence went about the room. Musa stood straight and emotionless, Layla put her hand over her mouth and stared into space with a worried expression, Flora slumped down on a nearby couch, Techna stared at the floor obviously thinking hard while Stella walked over to Bloom and laid a hand over her hand.
"So nothing can be done?" Stella asked slowly, she was met with a nod and sighed.
Techna shook her head and talked quickly "But there must be something, there are spells you could try, equipment that could be brought in and tests to be done, anything!"
Miss Faragonda shook her head "We've tried, there's nothing we can do. But girls, we must not give up hope. There is every chance she could wake up by herself"
Flora spoke from the couch, more to herself than anybody else "Bloom's strong...she'll...she'll come back to us"
Lucus stood us from his seat and cleared his throat "In the meantime, you ladies could accompany me to a private room and explain what has happened over the past two years. And this time you may want to speak up because the people of Magix and your parents are getting quite impatient. We can't wait forever"
"What business is it of your anyway?! What right do you have to ask us this, when it is none of your goddamn business!" Musa yelled from across the room, closing the distance quickly only to be stopped by Layla taking her arm and glaring at Lucus.
Riven spoke up from his corner "You can't make them tell you anything, they either will or they won't stop pushing it"
At that moment the receptionist from that first day in school came rushing into the room and handed Miss Faragonda a note. All people in the room, except for the girls, knew what this letter was about and tensed up. The girls looked questioningly at the note.
The sudden ringing of Stella's phone startled everyone. The girls looked at the phone in slight panic, there was only one other person who called them.
Stella pulled her phone out of her pocket and addresses the people in the room "We need to take this" and stalked out of the room with the other four girls following.
Once out in the hallway the girls crowded together "Hello" Stella whispered
"Stella, have you found Bloom? She's turned up again with her tracker" Valtor said on the other line
"Yes, she was kidnapped by an unknown person but she was teleported back at school now. The only problem is that she's in a coma and we don't know how to wake her up"
Valtor was silent for a minute "I think there may be a way, go to the library, look in the restricted section. There is a book marked 'incantations of the dark'"
Stella paused "'Incantations of the Dark'? That sounds kind of...evil"
"Only evil people can touch the book, that's why it hasn't been used in years. It's the only book I can think of, if Bloom was put into a coma by black magic then she has to be woken with Black magic"
"But we're not...are we?" She pauses for a moment thinking "We'll give it a try"
...
The girls had just left the room and Miss Faragonda opens the letter. After a moment of tense silence she whispers "Oh my god"
Lucus springs from his seats and walks over to her "What is it?"
"Another letter about the girls. This one is...very different from the last. It says awful things" Miss Faragonda shakes her head slightly "But this can't be true"
Sky and the Specialists walk over to her and Lucus curiously "What does it say?" asks Sky.
Miss Faragonda shakes her head some more, re reading the letter over and over again. She finally reads slowly...
"By now Mistress Faragonda, I'm sure you are aware of the Winx Club and their peculiar behaviour. As I said in my last letter this behaviour is the result of evil that lurks within each of the girls. I know you may find this hard to believe but I'm writing to you again to give you some further evidence that what I claim is true. My advice to you is that you should, from the moment you put down this letter, watch the Winx Club girls with every second of the day. Follow everything they do and say and slowly the puzzle will prove to be quite true. For your precious Winx Club is in the service of the supposedly long dead Valtor. Happy hunting"