New Old Hell
Part 6
by Rondabunny
They stood in silence for a while because the maiden returned with a tray full with food. When she walked in Cara lifted the oil lamp they were provided to lit up the way to the table where the maiden could put the food. There was some red wine in a jug, fried rabbit with a stew, some bread and fruits on the tray. The meal smelled so nice that it made guests' mouths water. Denna made a step to the maiden while she was putting the tray on a small table near the window but she seemed to do it so quick that Denna didn't have time to touch her, did she? The Mord'Sith couldn't understand that. The servant wished them "Good night" and left the room.
"Am I not quick enough or is she too unpredictable?" Denna asked the other Mord'Sith confused.
"Do you expect to be faster than a ghost?" Cara raised an eyebrow at the woman.
"She brought us the food. How can she lift anything if she's just a spirit?" Denna still didn't want to believe her eyes.
"I don't know what you intended to find when you tried to touch her but I proved her to be a ghost. First, I didn't hear her tread on the floor even with this heavy tray." Cara explained.
"So, what? We also train our slaves to be invisible and many of them know how to serve without too much noise," Denna disagreed.
"Fine, second, I raised that lamp on purpose. She doesn't have any shadow when she walks or stands. Do you need any other evidence?"
Denna felt awkward. When did Cara, who was younger and according to Denna silly and clumsy, became a crafty investigator. How couldn't she, the right hand of Darken Rahl, see these signs? The main and the most difficult thing right now was how to get themselves out of here without causing her mistress any harm. That was a question for 1000 golden coins!
"The meal smells good. I don't think we should eat it, though," Denna pronounced examining the pieces on the tray.
"Yeah, nobody knows what magic was used to make it or what poison was put in it. I'd rather eat some cheese and apples that we have. Change your clothes, it is better to fight in a shirt and pants than in those dresses even if they are made for a horse ride." Cara said.
"How do you suppose to fight with spirits?" Denna started ripping off her partially soaked dress.
"With our powers. Yes, agiels won't work against them but you forget that we can catch their magic. Ghosts are magical creatures. The main thing in fighting them is not to give them a chance to get inside our have to take for granted the most unusual things we'll see. Otherwise, this castle will swallow us down as it had swallowed many people before us," Lady Rahl lectured her companion.
"How do you know so much about spirits and ghosts? I don't remember it being taught at school," Denna wondered having already changed in a pair of pants and a shirt.
"When I was a child and didn't want to sleep, my dad always told scary stories about ghosts for me to be in bed and not wander about the house at night."
"Fine, still even if we fight our way to the door, what power should we use to open it? I've tried the windows, I can't unlock them, I've even tried to break the glass. It is solid as a rock." Denna asked looking desperately and angry at the window.
"Everyone else here is a spirit except the boy. We should find him. He is the key to the door," Cara supposed.
"Are we going to search for him or you want to have a nap?" Denna asked.
"You seem so caring. I remember the time when you didn't give me any chance to sleep for weeks," Lady Rahl mocked.
"That was useless. It is stupid to retrain the person who wanted to die, for whom there is no purpose to live. I should have understood it earlier." The Mord'Sith sighed with regret. "If you're waiting for my apologies, I won't apologize for what I did. It was an order from Lord Rahl," She looked at the other woman with pride.
"You don't have too. We both know that you prefer pleasure to pain. On the other hand I would rather get used to pain because pleasure is too attractive and it makes people weak." Cara explained her point of view
"Do you think I'm avoiding pain? It was you who so blindly got that freaky boy to the castle." Denna snapped back.
"I don't wanna argue right now. But we both know you use any lame excuse to avoid pain if you can. As for the boy, the storm outside would make us come here no matter what. People in the town don't open their doors because maybe it is some kind of magic or excuse that makes them leave their homes in the night and come to this castle. We were meant to be here and we are, just embrace the reality and let's go find our key to freedom." Cara sheathed her agiel.
Denna didn't say anything just took her weapon and followed the Mord'Sith. For an impatient woman Cara was more patient than her royal husband who would have already tortured Denna just for disagreement. Besides, if she failed her mistress it would be better to die here because Lord Rahl would be hunting her down till death. She was in a trap. Either way she would die here or be tortured and killed later.
"They'll try to part us. Whatever they do, keep closer to me. Together we'll survive." Cara gave her companion the last instructions.
Denna saw a torch on the wall and lit it up with the lamp Cara carried to see the dark corridor of the castle.
"So many rooms but the castle didn't look that big from outside," Denna made an observation.
"We have to open each of them to find the boy," Cara whispered.
Denna tried the first. It was locked. The other was also locked.
"What now?" She asked her mistress.
"Keep trying to open the other doors. First this side and then another." The blonde pointed to the left wall.
Suddenly a man appeared from one of the rooms and headed to them.
"Good night, are you those ladies that brought my son back? Thank you very much. I've just returned. I thought I had lost him forever. Can I do anything for you?" The man asked. He wore a cloak, tight old fashioned pants and camisole. For the person that had just returned home from rain his cloak was very dry.
"Oh, don't even mention. To bring such a lovely boy back to his parents in this horrible weather was an obvious thing to do. We want to say good night to your wife. She was so hospitable and it was really impolite to forget to thank her for cordial welcome," Denna showered praises on the man and his family not forgetting to smile with charm.
"Follow me," the man said and led them to his wife's room.
"Ladies?" The woman stood near an arm chair. She was wearing the same garments as before.
"Lady Locket, we wanted to thank you for the dearest welcome and kiss your son "Good night"," Denna continued her venomous game.
"You're welcome. The boy is asleep. I think it will be better to kiss him "Good morning"," the woman grinned evilly.
"I see, good night then, Lady Locket, or should I say a ghost of Lady Locket or whoever you are," Denna hissed gripping her agiel tightly. She knew it was useless but pain gave her strength.
"So, you already know! Worse for you, we would have killed you peacefully in your sleep, now we won't be that merciful," the woman changed immediately. Her skin covered with rotten flesh, her teeth became longer and more acute, long nails appeared on the thin hands more resembling bones. Face became ugly and the room filled with smell of the rotten meat. She flew up into the air.
"That's all you can do, spirit. Do you think it will freak me out?" Denna mocked at the ghost.
The ghost floated closer to the Mord'Sith and screamed into her face causing a reeking wind in the room.
"You're pathetic and reeking. I think you should try a bath," Denna was enjoying her play even if small hair at the back of her head stood up.
The ghost got angrier. It lifted the arm chair and threw it at the Mord'Sith. The most surprising was that the chair hasn't even hit the blonde woman but ricocheted from the woman's palm back at the spirit, so, it went through the ghost and hit the opposite wall. The spirit howled with rage and threw a table at Denna with the same effect. The male ghost also turned into a very unattractive dead creature and was throwing pieces of furniture at Cara without much success either.
"Who are you?!" the ghost growled.
"Mord'Siths, the magic is useless against us," said Cara dodging from another flying object and deflecting the magic back.
The spirits roared with rage and disappeared in the corridor. The room resembled a place after a tornado. The furniture was broken and thrown in parts all over the floor. The curtains were burning and some pieces of wood began smoldering.
"Let's get out of here," Cara told her companion and went in the corridor.
The women tried every door but everything was closed except for the door in the right corner. Denna turned the door knob and a howling ghost with disfigured face jumped at her and went through her body not giving the woman any harm but slight shiver.
"Are you alright?" Cara asked the blonde Mord'Sith.
"Fine, but the feeling of freezing cold going through the body isn't really pleasurable," She explained her mistress.
It turned out to be a spacious round ballroom. The walls and the ceiling were made of mirror glass. On the floor there was a strange ornament of sky with clouds, sun and rainbow that reflected in the mirror above. If you look at the ceiling it was like a person was walking on clouds in the sky - a breath taking picture. The only thing that decorated this place was a huge chandelier with lit up oil lams made in a shape of fireflies.
"Wow, this is beautiful," Denna pronounces admiring the view.
"Yes, but let's stick to the point. This is the only room open for us," She didn't have even time to complete her train of thoughts when the door closed with a bang. Denna ran to it and put all her strength to open it –(?) all in vain. They were trapped here on purpose!
"Great!" Denna exclaimed through gritted teeth.
"Whatever happens, I'm glad that you are with me," Cara told her sister of the agiel and gave her a small smile.
And their nightmare began. Dead, crooked, ugly hands with long dirty nails appeared through the mirrors on the walls. Cara touched one of them. It was material. The hand clenched her wrist but the Mord'Sith struck it with the agiel and it got inside the mirror.
"Get ready, these are real we have to fight!" Cara shouted.
From another side of the room a creature has already appeared. It was a disgusting corpse with some flesh still on its bones. It clattered with teeth and jumped at Denna. The Mord'Sith poked him with her agiel in the face causing the creature to produce an unbearable shriek. Within minutes Cara was battling with six creatures and Denna with five more. Even more hands appeared from the mirrors craving for living people fighting for their lives. By accident Cara smashed one mirror. Immediately it was covered with cracks and then exploded showering pieces of glass at everything that was near it. The dead creatures stopped for a second and began howling but it was only for a second.
"Denna, crush the mirrors!" the Mord'Sith shouted hitting the glass of another mirror with the agiel that caused it to crack and explode. Unusually, the glass hit only the creatures but not even a slightest piece damaged any of the women.
The Mord'Sithds fought like beasts smashing as many mirrors as they could on their way. Unfortunately, there were too many dead walking things in the room. Clinging hands gripped the blonde Mord'Sith and slowly dragged her inside the mirror.
"Denna, no!" Cara fought the way to the last mirror in the room where her companion disappeared. When she was in front of it a creature knocked her down and she hit her head over the mirror. It exploded and immediately all the creatures turned to dust. "No, Denna, I'm so sorry," Cara looked at the naked walls.
She was alone in the room. The door opened with a creak and the Mord'Sith went alone to explore this Creator's forgotten place. She noticed that the corridor had changed. The design and decorations were different. There were not so many doors to rooms in it. The woman tried the first door and it opened. In the room she saw the same boy she brought here few candlesticks ago. A blond woman with long braided hair stood near him. She was wearing a suit for hunting.
"There you are," Cara addressed the boy, "I came to take you out of here."
"You won't do him any harm," a metallic voice resounded in the room.
The blonde woman turned to face the Mord'Sith. Cara stood face to face with Denna. It was not the woman she knew, though. This one had bluish face with black holes instead of eyes that drank your soul if you looked straight at them. She looked more like a living dead than a fierce Mord'Sith she had been before.
"Denna, I don't want to kill you, but Creator knows, I'll do it to destroy this place," Cara assured the boy's protector.
Denna didn't respond anything, she attacked the other woman. They fought for several minutes a fierce, revengeful, dangerous battle. When the living dead Mord'Sith thought that she was about to win the game Cara grabbed the boy and simply without thinking broke his neck in one savage movement. Denna screamed and collapsed on the floor. Her body was convulsing and the whole castle was shaking. The glass in the windows cracked, pieces of plaster were falling down. The castle was dying together with its master who turned to be an ugly dwarf lying on the floor with the broken neck. Cara saw dark shadows coming out of Denna's body. The convulsing stopped and Cara kneeled over a dead body of her sister of the agiel. She bowed closed to her mouth as if to kiss her one last time giving her a Breath of Life instead. Denna opened her eyes.
"Lady Rahl, please, don't send me to that cursed place again. You may torture me for ages but don't send me there," The blonde woman begged.
"Denna, can you walk? We need to get out of here," Cara gently helped the Mord'Sith to get up.
They ran down the corridor, downstairs to the open door of the haunted castle. Outside they found their horses, which were peacefully grazing the grass. They mounted the horses and left the place in a hurry.
I'm looking forward to your reviews. Thank you in advance!
From author: This chapter was corrected by my friend.