Chapter 3- Eilian's Keep
"Well, go on ahead." Baltor nodded at the doorway. "Ladies first."
Diaspro rolled her eyes and then gingerly stepped through the doorway. Suddenly, everything was cast in a dull light. The air became thick and her movement slowed. She felt as though she were being dragged through a gel. Diaspro struggled to breathe and move. The moment seemed to stop there and then. Then everything snapped back into time frame as Diaspro stumbled her way out of the doorway into Eilian's Keep.
The amaranthine realm was lit by a dim twilight. The landscape was painted with dismal shades of gray and black. Everything was at a standstill; there was no wind, the clouds in the sky were motionless, the water didn't run, the flora didn't bend or sway. What struck as odd to Diaspro was the fact she didn't spot a living animal or insect anywhere. "This place is…" Diaspro knelt to the ground and observed a falling droplet of dew frozen in midair, "dead."
Baltor shook his head. "No, not dead. Merely trapped in time. Frozen at the moment it was claimed by Eilian in the name of Chronos."
Diaspro looked up at Baltor. "You're saying this place was once a part of time?"
"Yes." Baltor said. He strode forward, his boots digging into the ground. Diaspro watched in fascination as the soil he kicked up froze in midair, just like the dew drop. "We don't have much time. Only a few beings can remain outside the universe and not become detached. And be careful not to stir up too much. That can cause everything to snap back into time quickly and the natural rhythm of life will over compensate, causing the whole realm to self-destruct."
"How do you know?" Diaspro asked.
Baltor gave her an evil grin. "Oh I've done much, child."
Diaspro shivered and stood up. The thought of what Baltor could do scared her, so she didn't dig into the subject any deeper. The two of them carefully picked their way through the realm, searching for Eilian's hiding place. It was quiet except for the sound of their footsteps. Diaspro was grateful for some sound; the silence was deafening to her, driving her mad. But Baltor seemed unaffected by the unnerving silence.
"Do you think we're close yet?" Diaspro finally said. She was surprised to hear her voice cut through the silence so easily; the silence had become heavier.
He glanced at her. "Yes. Don't you feel the air becoming thicker?"
"Yes. But what has that got to do with anything?"
Baltor stopped. "The concentration of magic is becoming thicker. We're getting closer. The essences of time will give off a lot of magic, as will Eilian. It takes a great amount of magic to maintain the time essences." He pointed ahead.
Diaspro turned, following his direction. She found herself facing the mouth of a cave. "In there?" She scrutinized the entrance. Strange hieroglyphs were carved around the opening. In the dim lighting, Diaspro could barely make out stalactites and stalagmites jutting out of the rock ceiling and floor, like teeth. An ominous feeling overcame her, making her want to turn around and give up on her plan.
"In there." Baltor didn't sound frightened. Instead, he sounded bored. "Eilian is within the cave. But we need to get rid of the curse that protects the cave."
"Curse?" Diaspro looked at the cave again. "What curse?"
Baltor motioned toward the hieroglyphs. "That curse. A foolish explorer would've marched on in and been destroyed by the spell that protects the cavern."
"Okay, let's get rid of the damned curse then! What do we have to do?" Diaspro made and orb of dark energy appear in her hands. She was about to aim the magic at the entrance when Baltor interrupted her.
"Put that away." Baltor said impatiently. "The blast from your magic will cause that destruction I told you about earlier." He smirked. "You're rather impatient for one so clever."
Diaspro ignored his jibe. She walked up to the entrance and looked closely at the hieroglyphs. "So what do they say then?"
"Those who trespass will receive the wrath of the scythe." Baltor stated. "You'll be cut into pieces then scattered over Tartarus."
Diaspro looked at him in horror. Baltor gave a nod, his golden eyes glittering as his smirk returned. She swallowed, then grimaced. They had to get in. "What do we have to do?" she repeated.
"There's always a loophole for those who are worthy of being in Eilian's presence, no doubt Bloom and her friends would find a way in." Baltor placed a hand on one of the hieroglyphs and closed his eyes. He gave a chuckle. "Yes. Of course. The cave opens only at a certain time of day."
"What time is that?" Diaspro asked. "High noon? Mid-morning? The witching hour?"
"No. We need it to be the hour of the wolf. The time said to be when all things die and are born." Baltor answered. "It's the time when nightmares are the most alive during rest."
"This place is trapped in twilight. The hour of the wolf is about two hours after midnight." Diaspro looked at Baltor questioningly. She'd heard of the hour of the wolf of course. It was one of the areas of study in Wicca necromancy. She didn't give the subject much thought. Her focus had been more on the power aspect of Wicca magic. Now she wished she'd paid the subject a bit more attention.
Baltor turned and walked away from the cave. He stopped next to a rock a few yards away from the cave entrance. Diaspro followed him and looked at the rock more closely. Earlier she'd dismissed it as a random piece of rubble. But looking at it closely, Diaspro discovered it had a sliver of rock jutting up at the center. Small nicks were carved in a circle around the edge.
"It's a sundial." Diaspro stated. "What use is it? There are no shadows, thus, no time."
He didn't say anything as a flame appeared in the palm of his hand. As the light leaped to life, Diaspro saw shadows grow out from the rock piece at the center. "We'll make it the hour of the wolf." Baltor said. He carefully circled the sundial, the shadow turned slowly. At one point Diaspro heard a small click.
"Stop!" Diaspro looked back at the cave. It hadn't changed in appearance, but she had a feeling… "I think it's time."
Baltor nodded and left the fire floating there in the air. "We've got two hours before this flame goes out. Let's go."
The two of them entered the cave cautiously. While the realm outside was saturated in total silence, the inside of the cave had echoed silence. The sounds of their footsteps echoed off the walls, adding an eeriness to the lonely dark. Diaspro's confidence grew the deeper in the cave they went.
"Well, no cursed scythe has come to destroy us yet. Let's find Eilian." Diaspro said with determination.
Baltor said nothing, and they continued walking. Soon, Diaspro saw a light ahead. "What's that?" Diaspro asked.
They stepped out of the dark tunnel into a dimly lit cavern. "It's where Eilian protects the time aspects." Baltor muttered. He walked toward the only two objects in the room. One was a marble throne, white in color. The other was a towering hourglass, filled with trillions of granules of sand. The room was devoid of anything else, including the famed Eilian herself.
"She's not here." Diaspro frowned. "This seems to easy."
Baltor walked cautiously forward. "It's merely opportunistic for us. The less opposition the better." He stood before the hourglass and watched the sand fall.
"So where are the time aspects?" Diaspro wandered about the barren room.
"In the hourglass." Baltor answered. He motioned toward the sands.
"Those are the aspects?" Diaspro walked up next to Baltor and leaned forward to gaze at the grains of sand more closely. "It looks like plain sand to me."
"Trust me. They're the aspects. Once we remove Bloom's from the stream of time…" Baltor pointed toward the steady stream of sand that lingered between the top and the bottom halves of the glass, "…the first step of your plan will be complete."
Diaspro clapped with excitement. "Yes!" Then she froze and turned to Baltor. "How will we know which aspect is Bloom's? There are so many…" Diaspro gazed silently at the sand.
Baltor waved his hand over the glass and whispered two things. "florere scintilla reperio." A single grain of sand separated from the flow and floated on the other side of the glass. "There you are Bloom."
"You're sure that's hers." Diaspro looked at Baltor for confirmation.
"Yes, I'm certain." Baltor punched the glass and the hourglass shattered. Sand spread everywhere and covered the hard granite floor. The single grain of sand landed in the palm of his gloved hand. "Time is so fragile." Baltor laughed. A vial appeared in his hand and he deposited the grain into it. "We best be off."
A voice echoed from behind them. "You aren't going anywhere with that aspect…"
Bloom sat quietly contemplating in her bedroom. She'd been doing so for a couple of hours now, ever since that episode with her mother at tea. All she could think about was how she had to fix the mess she'd gotten herself into. Of course the only way to fix it was to destroy Baltor, but it definitely wasn't happening any time soon. Perhaps it never would happen.
It didn't help that she had to take care of it herself. But everyone looked up to her and saw her as the strongest. She had to stand tall and strong in the face of all evils. There wasn't a single evil she hadn't defeated in the universe's eyes. If they found out about Baltor she'd lose all their trust.
The bright sunlight came through the open doors and played with the shadows on the walls and floors. A breeze fluttered through, moving the curtains and loose papers on a table in the corner. Silence filled the room until the door opened and one of the palace servants stepped in. She curtsied to Bloom.
"Princess Bloom? King Sky of Eraklyon has just arrived. We just thought you ought to know." The servant smiled knowingly at Bloom.
Bloom smiled back at the servant. "Thank-you!" She rushed past the servant out the door of her bedroom and headed straight for the stairs. Bloom hurried down the stairwell. Her gown rustled as her heels clicked on the marble flooring.
It would be a relief to see Sky again. To be held by him, To hear him say her name. To kiss him. She wanted to tell him everything that had bothered her for the last few months.
Her stride slowed to a stop as she rethought that last idea she had. She couldn't tell Sky. If he found out what she'd done, rather what she hadn't done, he'd hate her for it. She was certain of it. Especially after what Baltor had done to him and the other Specialists. Bloom shuddered. She couldn't do that to Sky. It was going to have to be her burden and her burden alone.
Bloom took another step and shuddered again. Her muscles went weak and her vision blurred. "What's happening?" Bloom gasped as pain shot through her head. Another shudder wracked through her body and Bloom leaned against the wall. "What's happening?" Bloom moaned as she felt something tearing at her soul. And she was dragged into a deafening infuscation.
-Author's Note- Sorry it took me so long to update. I had a hard time getting this chapter together. I hope you all will let me know if it's any good. ~Kyree Winx~