Disclaimer: I do not own any of Darren Shan's working, including Demonata or Zom-B. I do, however, own any original concepts which can be found within this story and therefor own them, so no nicking my ideas? Alright kiddies?
A/N: Well, here we are again! The conclusion to Esther, Lorcan & Matt's predicament can be seen within this chapter! And Bill-E Spleen shows up to help out! This chapter will explain a lot more about magic, and we'll get to see what Esther is able to do with her dead-raising magic! This chapter will also explain a little more about the Grady/Spleen family, and Esther's understanding of how the worlds work, as well as her new mission being revealed! Yes, she has a mission, and it'll also explain why she hasn't been doing much zombie raising lately, because there is an actual reason, not just me being a lazy writer. I guess this chapter marks where I cross over with Darren Shan's latest book series, Zom-B, which I completely adore by the way. However, sadly, because there's no fanfiction yet, I cannot mark it as officially crossing over. So, we're simply left to our own devices her and will have to use good old fashioned imagination! If you haven't read Zom-B, do not worry! There will only be one, maybe two, chapters set in its universe, and the rest will come back to Demonata soon enough because it's all about Esther's journey. Besides, who knows what awaits them? Will Lord Daire reamerge in another panic fuelled nightmare? What about Connla? Serse Ripper? Ingrid? The assassins they've hired? All will be revealed soon…
With a gun barrel pressed way too close to my face for any comfort, an immediate response to the hit-girl's command was kind of past me by that point in time. Her eyes scanned Lorcan, then me, but she seemed to figure we weren't too bigger a threat to her completing the mission she'd clearly set out to accomplish, and something told me she'd be willing to go to extreme lengths to reach her clearly set goal. I shuddered slightly and made a brief glance back at the boy, before returning my eyes to her. She seemed to contemplate what would be the most accurate response, and finally made her decision, although it still managed to catch me off guard.
She dropped into a crouch, her long legs either side of her, eyes fixed past me and at the still nameless boy who'd managed to hall himself to his feet without any assistance. His face was much more composed now, and his transformation from a cowardly, nervous, hysterical wreck to a detached, emotionless, ready opponent frightened me almost as much as the hulking monster which hid behind the gaggle of trees which obscured it from my site. Only a pair of large, burning yellow eyes shone out from the darkness, staring me down and filled with a mixture of madness and hunger, as if the two emotions fit together in perfect harmony, which I figured did. So far I hadn't screamed or tried to hide or even looked for an exit point in the surrounding perimeter. Brownie point for me. Neither had Lorcan, so he deserved one to; and even the boy to an extent, for not begging or pleading for his life like so many people would in this situation. Now I just felt uncomfortable, as if was intruding on someone's private fantasy or something.
Casting my eyes across to Lorcan, I could tell all of his attention was fixed on the werewolf, which made me relax a tiny bit. Knowing at least someone had their eyes on it made me automatically feel safer, and seeing as I was trying to watch everything at once, with the boy firmly fixated on Miss Wonder-Boobs Assassin we might have a fighting chance. A part of me considered attempting to call upon the power which apparently lay deep inside me, but I wasn't sure how to call it, and I hoped if the psychotic animal or the cool, sophisticated girl did turn their negative attentions towards myself, Lorcan, or even our mysterious new friend to an extent, that they'd leap out and protect us in some way, but I highly doubted that. The girl remained crouched on the floor, eyes boring into the now relaxed boy and she was the first to speak, breaking the thick silence which had covered the woodland area.
"There's no point in running anymore Matt," she said, her voice coming out as slightly breathless and I realized why; she'd clearly been running a long way like him, and even someone as fit and precise as her wouldn't have too much fun dashing around the country after this Matt boy. "You know your only family wants you out of the picture and I'm just doing my job. It's nothing personal, I'm just paid to take out unnecessary family members of the Grady family." My heart stopped and my eyes went wide, although I didn't say anything. Matt might accidentally end up thinking I was part of this murder scheme, and that I knew Grubbs' family had put a bounty over his head, which would never end well.
"I know," he gasped himself and kept his eyes on her. "But you don't have to do this Lela." It felt slightly surreal the way they called one another by name, instead of using insult words or surnames, they were using first name basis, which was slightly bizarre even with the way my life was currently going. "You could just leave, take some blood samples or something and tell them I'm dead!"
"No," she shook her head. "They need a body as evidence and unless you can make yourself temporary dead, that is impossible! Now," she put the gun into her side holster and moved her right leg behind her body, making me realize what she was about to do. Kneeling slightly, so her weight was pushed onto her back leg, and I knew she was going to spring on him.
"MOVE." Matt snapped and I jumped out the way so the two of them had direct eye contact with one another, and both of them looked incredibly solemn, as if they were about to attend a funeral together or something equally as morose, not fight to the very end. It still amazed me how Matt had suddenly achieved total calmness after a moment of blind panic, but I figured being hunted down by an obviously well trained assassin meant you had to become a lot cooler, calmer and collective over the time you were given to plan a way to either kill or persuade them to rethink about killing you. Or maybe being incredibly frightened had just been an act to lull her into a false sense of confidence, although it didn't make sense why he'd then returned to his calm, collective truer self. Then, just after I wondered if she was going to do it, she sprang and the result was nothing less than magnificent as she soared through the air, as graceful as a bird dancing along the coastline, and it was clear to me she'd done this sort of thing before. Her legs bent themselves inwards, so when she cannoned into Matt's chest, the full force of just her feet connecting with his torso had the effect of pushing him backwards and she went with him. They tumbled down the hillside which adjoined to this woodland area, with the Lela girl's legs firmly crushing themselves around his waist as they rolled, making sure he didn't have any possibility of escaping or at least getting a head start running off.
Uncomfortableness replaced the shock and amazement the second the rolling stopped, with her straddling his body, and him seemingly defenceless trapped underneath her. Her thighs, which were what most men, would jokingly call 'thunder thighs' were locked firmly around him, and she reached into a hilt located on her lower calf, pulling out a knife although Matt didn't flinch once at this. During the entire span of these actions, they were both speaking, voices in little whispers as if they were wrapped up in a private conversation. Leaves and mud lay disturbed down the path the two of them had tumbled down together, and a few colourful fragments of gold, amber and crimson were entangled in Lela's long layers of hair. Part of me uncomfortably suspected the conversation was of some sexual, or at least flirtatious manner by the way the grip of her thighs seemed to increase at some points, but I was more relieved I couldn't hear what they were saying.
It was the low growl which forced me to spin round, my eyes widening almost impossibly so and I shot Lorcan a look of 'don't move', but he ignored it and remained focus on the beast in front of us. My stomach clenched and I prayed he didn't go bounding forwards attempting to beat it in a fight, which he luckily didn't, although the creature moved towards us. Once out of the trees I could see it in all its terrifying, mesmerizing, and mind numbingly horrible glory. It was ragged and covered in coatings of thick, black fur which was caked in blood splatter at the ends. Fangs peaked over its open jaw, they were yellow but stained with specks of red which I immediately knew the origin of; long claws rested at the ends of its fingers and toes, stained red also, but curling over at the edges like daggers. It growled, a purely animalistic sound rumbling deep within its stomach and took a step forwards, edging closer. Nothing in my imaginations wildest dreams had ever derived a way for me to combat werewolves, but I knew running only excited them, like it did with most predatory animals. Lorcan stepped forwards protectively but I pushed him back.
"I can do some magic…" I hissed through clenched teeth. "Sure, it's limited, but it'll do more than you could attempting to wrestle it! We've had this conversation before, please don't try and fight something which could kill you with one swipe of its claw!" The creature snarled and I realised I'd been a bit too loud with that last part as it edged closer and I realised it was going to copy Lela by springing up into the air then crashing down, preferably on me being the smaller, weaker target. My blood began to rush to my head as a familiar sick feeling pooled in my stomach, only to be replaced by one I'd never experienced before. A strange rush of unfamiliar warmth rushed over my body and I bristled slightly, shaking slightly under the pressure of the strange power which had seemed to seep across me.
Unfortunately, this distracted me so much I took my eyes off the beast, giving it the chance to insinuate its carefully prepared plan, at least careful to an extent; moving perfectly, like a synchronized sky diver, it soared into the air like a giant, hairy, bloodthirsty plane and bared its teeth. I'd guessed correctly, it was coming exactly for me, yet some strange urge forced me to take about three steps forwards, my hair being blown in the recently picked up wind and although I was terrified, something told me to stand my ground. Not a voice or anything as spiritual as that, but something which was incredibly overpowering in its own right. Opening its jaws wider than what I believed to be more than the creatures own possibility, hissing madly, and my fists clenched upon automatic response. The energy bubbled to such a point of unbearable power I screamed and a gleam in the creatures' eye told me it was seriously enjoying that…For about two seconds. It stopped mid-air and howled almost pitifully, rolling in the air and stopping its fluid flight, crashing a couple of centre metres off to my right, its bared fangs barely missing my shoulder blade. It began writhing about on the floor, clawing madly at the air, letting out long; pitiful, incredibly loud howls which made me cringe. Why? I knew I was causing this; I'd invoked its pain.
I jumped back like something had bit me and the leap packed so much power I managed to land myself behind Lorcan, my balled fists flying up to my face, resting against my jawline as my eyes went wide, staring at the creature wriggling and practically screaming as it rolled madly on the floor, getting covered in leaves and mud. It was now raking its talons through the mud and the leaves, shredding them; attempting to distract its pain somehow, I had no idea why shredding leaves and leaving marks in mud was the response it desired, but part of me didn't care. The werewolf hadn't taken a chunk out of Lorcan or me, which was important, and as far as I knew, Matt was probably having a much nicer time playing 'the sexual innuendo game' with Lela on the forests mud-caked floor. Besides, I doubted either of them minded getting dirty, seeing as they 'game' they'd probably be playing wasn't too clean either.
"What the hell…" A voice said from behind me and I spun round, immediately relieved when my eyes fell upon the figure standing amongst the army of trees of which the werewolf had once crouched behind. My power, whatever power it was, still flowed thoroughly and clearly throughout the air, and although Lorcan seemed totally oblivious, Bill-E Spleen didn't. Dressed entirely in strange, camouflage style clothing, it seemed a little surreal seeing him dressed like some bizarre fourteen year old Rambo, only chubbier, shorter at about 5'4" with his lazy eye spread wide to match his other one. "I can sense so much magic…" He muttered and I darted forwards before Bill-E attempted to touch the insane werewolf and it bit his hand off or worse in its pain filled fit. "Calm down!" Bill-E cried as I opened my mouth to speak. "I know everything! Werewolves! Magic! I understand!"
"GOOD!" I practically screeched, waving my hands madly and clamped them down on his shoulders so hard he staggered slightly. "Sorry! I was just worried I'd have to explain the whole thing again!" Breathing heavily I practically collapsed. "Now could you please tell me what I've done to that…Werewolf?" I said the word unsurely, still finding it hard to believe what reality I was living in. Bill-E peered around me and stared at it, his eyes carefully studying it before he turned back to me.
"There are no demons…" He muttered. DEMONS! My mind shrieked. Go figure, I then scolded it and tried to calm down. If werewolves, vampoari, zombies and resurrected teenage warriors, demons now fit in nicely to the ludicrous mix. "Then…" He faltered and stared at me like he was insane. "Then what are you?"
Gee great, I told myself. The whole explanation business wasn't over. But I figured I could spare Bill-E one, he was my friend, he understood, and most of all: he wasn't totally crazy, evil and 100% human. "I'm a necromancer," I said quickly all in one breath and Bill-E's eyes widened so far I thought they were going to explode clear out of his face, and send blood splattering everywhere. "Look! Let me explain before you freak out. I can apparently raise zombies, bring people totally back to life in time, and do all this other crazy shit because of what I am! I don't know the extent of my abilities, but all I know is I can…I guess generate my own magic?"
Bill-E nodded. "Certain humans can conjure their own magic. Magicians, necromancers like you I know now, and people with otherworldly DNA all can generate their own magic. Speaking of people with otherworldly DNA…Have you seen a boy called Matthew Grady?" Matt, he was looking for Matt!
"Um…About that…" I muttered before I heard an incredibly feminine shriek come from down the bank which Lela had fell and I raced to the edge with Bill-E, dodging the still flailing werewolf. Power was still rolling in the air around us, and I was generating it, which frightened me. I figured necromancers also had the ability to inflict pain upon other beings, and mine had only kicked in because I panicked when it attempted to kill me. Lela was glaring up at me, her hair still embedded with leaves, and she'd rid herself of the leather jacket, making her breasts look even bigger.
"What have you done to him!?" She shrieked, ignoring Matt who'd pushed himself to his feet. It was all too telling that his already torn shirt was off and her jacket was gone that some form of sexual contact was going to happen. I wondered if all teenage hit-girls decided to have sex with their targets beforehand, or if there was something special about Matt in particular.
"I don't know!" I yelled back. "He just went to eat me and…Something happened…" Her eyes ran over me and her eyes widened even more, causing her to take a nervous step back, although her eyes would occasionally flicker off to the side, checking Matt hadn't vanished from her sight and then she'd have to go chasing after him all over again.
"Necromancer." She said matter-of-factually, crossing her arms over her large bosom and rolling her eyes. "Explains what you've done to him. You've inflicted The Hand of Fire, upon him." I was glad someone was explaining my own powers to me, seeing as Bill-E and Lorcan were totally ignorant. The first thing I was going to do when I got back to the carnival was seek out Marcella, my teacher who I really needed to receive a lesson off in case I accidentally hurt someone. "I'm guessing you're new to your own species so I'll explain. Basically, the Hand of Fire inflicts pain upon anyone the necromancer concentrates on. It received its name because of the burning fire it ensues within someone. Well done." She didn't sound complementary though, and she wasn't trying to hide it with the steely expression upon her face. What was she more pissed about? Having her pet werewolf get hurt, or being interrupted whilst so close to bumping uglies with Matt Grady?
Lela seemed to survey the situation before turning her scornful look to Bill-E. "William Spleen," she practically spat his name out as if it was a foul taste in her mouth and her nose crinkled. "What an astoundingly contrived coincidence," as her voice wreaked annoyance, it was cold as ice and I shivered slightly. Grabbing hold of her discarded jacket she pulled herself up the hill as gracefully as a girl could, and once reaching the top she looked inquisitively at the werewolf before turning to me. "If you don't mind taking your unpleasant little hex off Ajax we'll be going." Ajax? Go figure! I told myself. Naming your pet werewolf after a Greek warrior actually made a tonne of sense. I stared down at Ajax the wolf and concentrated hard. The power didn't want to leave and I was doing my best to push it out, although it struggled and pushed, as if trying to pull me back down into its watery rush of ability. Harshly pushing the best I could, it eventually flew out, evaporating from my body and Ajax stopped writhing, rolling over onto his stomach before pushing himself back into a crouch, baring his fangs at me. "Ajax!" Lela snapped and he cowered, strangely dominated by the small, bustacious, Barbie doll girl. She clicked her fingers and began to briskly walk away, "Come on." A sharp whistle and he bounded after her like an over excited puppy. Bill-E and I stared back down the slope at Matt who shrugged before pushing himself to his own feet.
"I think I know someone who could help us…" Bill-E immediately span round and eyed me suspiciously, but after I didn't give away any odd behaviour he nodded politely and extended his arm. "Lead the way."
Our journey was filled with silence, and I actually preferred it that way. Matt looked incredibly sullen, probably sulking because I'd prevented him from getting it on with the attractive, yet deadly Lela for reasons which baffled me beyond words. She was being paid to kill him, and yet both he, and she, seemed more concerned about getting it on than doing an actual fighting. Bill-E was wrapped up in his own thoughts, probably rationalizing everything inside his head, making sure he didn't go totally crazy. As for Lorcan? Well, we usually talked in private anyways because no-one understood him when he talked and now, seeing that we were boyfriend and girlfriend, our conversations very much needed to be private, which left me without any conversational topics either. So the four of us drudged on in silence, and I wished there was another girl to complete our little gang so I didn't stand out as so tall, pale and blonde. Maybe I could convince Ellie Quinn to join our merry band of weirdos, and I hoped that would be a likely case.
The day time bought a relief to me as I stepped out of the edge of the woodland to be represented with the field where the carnival was situated. The day managers were still in charge whilst the vampoari got their beauty rest, although one or two of them might still be up and active, checking that everything was okay. It was a huge relief when I saw the beautiful, yet tiny, Ellie Quinn dashing about, slipping between the tents and people, her hazel nut coloured hair flailing madly in the wind as she ran about. Her arms swung strongly and her legs powered firmly, propelling her at a much faster speed than one I could ever imagine having. The expensiveness of her clothing looked slightly silly considering the fact she was running errands for her new boss, Beauté Nacré; her black leather jacket must've cost at least a hundred quid and was zipped up over whatever expensive shirt she was wearing, her jeans were a deep grey borderline black must've cost a little less than the jacket, and her black ankle boots probably were in a similar price range. From what I could see her face was bear of makeup, yet she still looked as picturesque as a porcelain doll compared to my flustered Muppet. Smoothing down my hair the best I could, I briskly began walking towards her and the closer I got, the easier it was to see the panic on her face.
Spinning on her heel, though, her face immediately relaxed the second she saw me and began walking over to me with such a fast pace it almost surprised me. Prim, petite girls like Elissa Quinn aren't really imagined as fast paced walkers or event's organizers; they're usually seen as nice little background furniture that smile perfectly and have their arm linked with one of an attractive, bolder, richer, older man. "There you are!" She gasped exasperatedly. "Marcella's been looking for you for half the morning! Apparently there was a magical disturbance in the air and she linked it to you!"
Breathing heavily, I could tell she'd been running around, looking for me for most of the morning and early afternoon I'd been wandering the woods, fighting carnivorous werewolves with just my own magical ability. Brushing her hair out of her face she swallowed tightly and crossed her arms over her chest, the leather crinkling slightly over itself at the simple movement. "Where's Marcella?" I asked her.
"In her tent," Ellie replied, and smiled at me, her face bursting into an array of annoying prettiness which I greatly envied, but found it hard to truly hate her. "I think she's reading through her tarot cards or the likes of that," she replied. "She seemed to calm down in the past twenty minutes or so," Ellie nodded and slipped her phone out of her pocket, flipping it open and clicking through several messages. "Shit!" She cursed and rubbed her hand against her forehead, before turning to run again. "I have to go to the train station! My older sister, Lauren's coming down with her boyfriend for two weeks and I've got to meet her so I can bring her back here! She's in a wheelchair and it's all totally going to hell!" She smacked her hand against her forehead now. "SHIT!" She cursed again, only louder this time. "Lewis promised to give me a lift and I'm keeping him waiting!"
"Lewis?" I asked, totally bewildered.
"One of the stage hands," Ellie said quickly, rifling through her expensive grey coloured handbag. I wondered where she was getting all her money from, but I figured life must be pretty hectic as a vampoaris' PA, so Ellie was getting paid well. "Eighteen, so he's legal to drive, and said he'd give me a lift! Well, I've got to go now! See you later Esther!" She called, running off as I stared towards the tent I assumed to be Marcella's. It was a deep purple colour, and had paintings of skulls and severed limbs climbing up the sides, all hand painted I observed, yet totally perfect. Her name was above the entrance, on a large metal board and curved out in neat, swirling letters which seemed slightly over embellished. Marcella de los Muertos: Voodoo Priestess. I've never spoken much Spanish, but I knew what it meant. 'Marcella of the Dead'. Several light bulbs were stuck around the wording for lighting purposes, and I wondered if they were red, because it looked so abstract against purple.
"Bill-E!" I called, turning around and looking at him, my hair brushing in the wind slightly. "I just need to see someone! Try not to get in any trouble, and if any strange, attractive pale people come up to you, don't look them in the eye or trust them!" He nodded and I turned my glance to Lorcan. "Well, you're gonna have to come with me, aren't you." He grinned and that, leading for the two of us to set off towards Marcella's tent.
The air seemed a little bit colder as we walked, but I tried to ignore it, wrapping my arms around myself in a hugging motion as I approached the tent. Warm air was leaking from the entrance and I guess I was eager to go into Marcella's cosy little hideout, opposed to wandering around in the freezing air. Lorcan and I exchanged a nervous glance before entering. It'd been a while since I'd seen Marcella, but for some reason it now felt like we'd been separated for decades, and I realised I was forming somewhat of an attachment to the old woman. Possibly because she was the one who'd promised to help me learn how to control my 'gifts' as she'd called them, but probably because she understood what it was like to be used as a means to an end by creatures such as the vampoari. I still thought of them as vampires inside my head, but had to remind myself that there was no such a thing; only the vampoari. It seemed traditionally human to turn something into something else in the fictional world, even if that something did exist, just going by a different name; knowing vampoari and werewolves were real opened up endless possibilities. Faeries? Goblins? Trolls? Mermaids? Someday I might finally achieve the status of being given an answer, but for now it was fanged bloodsuckers and oversized puppy dogs that were the main threat to my life. I wondered how Lela had managed to train Ajax, and figured maybe I should ask Matt, but that had to wait.
Mainly it was because seeing Marcella was currently my top priority, but it was partly because I knew he was pissed that I'd denied him having sex with a girl who had breasts triple my size. Most hormone filled boys would be angered at that denial. But I had to push thoughts of Matt aside and gently slide the tent flap to the left and enter the much warmer tent. The inside reminded me of one of those tents you see in the desert, like in Arabian Knights. No carpet, but the floor is aligned with dozens of plush, velvet pillows and I removed my shoes the second I stepped on one, to save on cleaning bills. Marcella sat practically pressed up against the wall, with several lavender chiffon drapes falling around her. Her corkscrew ebony curls were tied up on top of her head in what resembled a bun but I wasn't too sure if it'd succeeded in what she'd intended for it to do; she was dressed in true voodoo priestess style clothing as to symbolize her position. Long, black sweeping dress with strappy sleeves which enhanced her thinness and a pair of glittering, matching black gloves were on her hands, although they left her weathered, slightly gnarled looking fingers exposed. Several silver chains hung around her neck, leading down to form necklaces; one formed a simple crucifix, whilst another was a cross, with the other two having large, glowing orange rocks at the ends. The final one had threaded amethysts and emeralds threaded onto the chain, making a beautiful pattern. A golden plaque sat on the small table she was nestled behind with the name Marcella V. Manyey inscribed into it in curving black letters. It then occurred to me I'd never learnt Marcella's last name, so it was nice to finally know it.
"Ah, Esther, I am glad you and Lorcan are alright," she doesn't even have to look up to who's daring to enter her domain? That is something I can only hope to achieve. A tattered photograph cupped in her palms, maybe one of a granddaughter or son, nephew or brother, husband even? The simplistic golden band on her ring finger gave that she was married away instantly. In my mind it suited her; marriage suits some women, and Marcella was definitely one of them. She was so kind, yet definitely authoritative, the role of homemaker and mother suited her just as perfectly as powerful necromancer; not many women could pull that off, and I respected her for accomplishing the near impossible. "I sensed your magic bubbling inside you and I must congratulate you for protecting the two of you."
"It was just a flux…" I sighed and massaged my forehead with my right hand, closing my eyes and trying to clear my thoughts, pushing down the sick feeling my magical outburst had caused. "I got scared and the magic only came out because I was in danger and I panicked."
"But you showed your potential! And that is what matters!" Marcella looked up at me and smiled her face moulding into a calm, warm mask of happiness. "Of course, there will always be those more powerful than you; it is something we have to accept as a factor of life. Someone will always be tougher, have more money, possess more effective weaponry, or naturally possess greater magic; but if you can yield your own power with perfection, things will improve greatly. Especially with what is going on." She sighed and dropped the photograph onto the table in front of her.
"Is that your granddaughter?" I gestured to it; I hadn't got a proper good look at the photo, but from what I'd seen, the female in it looked pretty young and fresh faced, about my age maybe.
"No, no," she shook her head and laughed, but it's sad and slightly lonely, pitiful almost. "It's actually you." I jumped when she said that part and felt my skin break out in goosebumps. I've not got the sharpest eyesight in the world, but the girl in the photograph most definitely had dark brown hair, not my near platinum blonde. "Not exactly you," Marcella gestured in an offhand sense and my eyes stopped looking so very owlish at that precise second. "But you from another dimension. Dimension Z-B to be exact."
"Dimension?" I gasped and Lorcan stared from the picture, to Marcella, then back to me. "What are you talking about?"
"There are many worlds," Marcella sighed slowly and put a series of different coloured marbles on the table, which I realised must be her props for each world. "This one," she tapped a white, almost glowing one gently with one long, slightly clawed fingernail. "Is our world-a world of demons and magic. This one," she tapped the glittering royal blue marble this time, "Is world V-S, a world of vampires-not vampoari-and all sorts of wonderful freaks. This one," her hand gently glazes over a burning pink marble, "Is world N-E, where there is nothing particularly magical; in fact I dare call it dull, but they make up the most wonderful stories," she smiled sadly before flicking the final marble gently, this one was midnight black and made me shiver slightly. "And finally, we have world Z-B, a world of zombies and death. Now," she cracked her knuckles gently and leaned back against a large, plum cushion which was propped up behind her. "In each and every one of these worlds, there are different forms, but all of the same people, comprende?" I nodded, and my mind was somehow managing to wrap itself around all of the information Marcella was feeding me. "In all four of these worlds, there is a different version of you. In all four worlds, minus N-E of course, you possess the same necromancy based abilities, but each of you go by a different name, and come from different backgrounds. Come, look at this photo."
Cautiously stepping forwards, she handed me the photograph carefully; it was incredibly weathered around the edges, but I could make out the girl in the picture perfectly. She had the exact same face as me-would be beautiful if you examined it closely enough, but that was where our similarities ended. Her eyes were hazel, with tinges of blue to them, and a lot happier looking than my own-confident and secure; her face was outlined with deep brown, almost blackened, hair which hung low like my own, and waved slightly just like mine. Her skin was just as pale, and her plain outfit was like one I would where. Turning the photo so I could look at the back it had a name written on it. Linzer was messily scrawled down, and at first I couldn't even really understand what it said. "Linzer…" I muttered, completely baffled. Who the heck calls their daughter 'Linzer'?
"It isn't her real name," Marcella answered my question before it was even formed. "She was born Lindsay Hogan; her friends nicknamed her Linzer, like the way William nicknamed himself Bill-E."
"You know Bill-E?" I asked, astonished.
"Yes," she smiled warmly. "I was good friends with his mother, Emily Spleen. In fact, she was my youngest daughter, Ceri's best friend, and she was like my own daughter. Her own parents, who Bill-E now lives with, were incredibly overbearing and she liked spending time with us to get away from them. When Emily died in a boating accident several years ago, Ceri offered to take him in; Bill-E had always visited her and her husband, Fernando, with his mother, and still gets along well with her daughters-Zita, Carola and Roz, but of course, they didn't want him socializing with 'filthy Mexicans' as they so politically correctly put it." Marcella bit her lip at that, and her face darkened for the first time I'd ever seen it, but she quickly composed herself. "Bill-E often visits the carnival," she laughed slightly. "Just him, Grubb's doesn't even know this place, which is why he accepted the mission I put him up for."
"Mission?" I gaped; turned out I knew a lot less than I was led to believe. "What mission?"
"We need to prevent the death of Lindsay Hogan," she said coldly, war-like in her tone and I openly gaped at her comment. "I know, I know. Preventing a fixed death isn't exactly orthodox, but with her potential as a necromancer, she could help save dozens of lives. That is why I haven't started your training yet. I need you to collect your doppelgänger from her own world and bring her back here so I can train you both. That is why it is good you rescued Matthew Grady; we now have extra help, and if you supply the magic, he and Bill-E can keep you safe. Lorcan will have to stay here, but Matt and Bill-E are experienced, they will prevent you from dying yourself. I am going to open the portal and keep it open so you can come back into our world but, and I must implore this, do not, under any circumstances, go saving any old poor child you see in a spot of bother. Saving one life is allowed, but save anymore, and there will be consequences for all of us. Take the photo with you," she muttered and I slipped it into my pocket. "And get changed first," my eyes widened. "The wolf's scent of blood is on you and the zombies will be attracted. You, Matthew and Bill-E all need to change. I will look after Lorcan whilst you are gone." I turned to leave the tent, feeling my stomach tighten. "And Esther…" I turned round, smiling slightly at her own smile-wistful and brave. "Be careful, I know how difficult this is." Difficult? A bit late for words like that now, was all I could think.