Authors: Jamieson Wolf
"But you will stop the darkness that is coming," Tholonious said. "It is written that when the Shape Shifter comes, the Darkness will end."
"I don't know about any Darkness," she said.
Tholonious whistled a high pitched sound and the humming of the other Fairies stopped as they stopped flying and took a rest in the bush. Their colours looked like flowers perched on its branches. Tholonious spoke. "I have been here longer than any creature in Ashling. All the Fairies answer to me, I am their leader. I have always led and I will die leading. That is my way." He bowed his head to the bush. "They are my family, we are all family here. Magic runs through our blood and makes us brothers and sisters." He flew up a little, so that he was looking at Poppy and Alicia at eye level. "I was flying some time ago to the edges of Ashling. Normally, where there are fields that go on forever, at the end of this path, there was only darkness."
"How long has this darkness been coming?" Poppy asked, suddenly curious.
"I first noticed it a month or so ago. At first, it was a small black cloud growing on the horizon, now it has grown to huge proportions! Those that wander into it are lost, never to be seen again. It is like a cancer that is eating at this land, it seeks the land, eats it. Soon, I am worried that we will not have a home."
"I still don't understand what you want me to do," Poppy said.
"It is written that the Shape Shifter will stop the Darkness. This is what you must do."
"But I am already on a quest to find my father. I am hoping that he will have some light to shed on this situation."
"Perhaps he might, but we must hurry. Even now, the Darkness eats at the land. The land grows smaller every day, every week. Many of us have died and lost our lives."
Poppy sighed. She really didn't know the first thing about myths and Darkness that could eat land. She was way out of her element, but she was already up to her shoulders in this. How could she say no? "You say the Darkness is on this path?"
"Yes," Tholonious said. "It is a few days travel in the direction you are headed. I heard rumour of your coming and hoped to enlist your help."
"Well, you've been successful. We're going in this direction anyway, so you will be able to show me the Darkness when we get to it."
"You will know it when you see it, milady," Tholonious said. "Make no mistake about that."
"Are all of you coming with us?"
"No, just me. The others will send word of your arrival. But they will be careful not to spread word too widely; there are others who would not be so happy to know of your arrival."
"Is there someone after us?"
Tholonious smiled. "No, milady. But, like the mundane world, there is good and there is evil. We will just hope that we find more of the former than the latter. Are you ready to continue?"
"Yes. The sooner I find my father, the sooner I can help with this Darkness."
"As you wish, milady," he said. He told the other Fairies of what was happening and they were off down the path. Poppy had a growing sense of doom. Something was happening to Ashling, to the Otherworld she had brought life to. She didn't think that she was its creator; she knew that it had existed in some other form before her. But she seemed destined to be its protector. Something, or someone, meant harm to this Otherworld. It was up to her to find out whom. With a grim heart, they continued down the path.
* * * * *
Monica danced around the ballroom as the old pianist played a soft waltz. The ballroom had been built when the original house had been done, but after years of neglect, sat unused. It was on the south side of the Coven House, down a long hallway behind the kitchen. It had a balcony that overlooked the house’s back gardens and the small cemetery that was on the south border of the property. Not that Monica could go out on the balcony, to do so would mean her death. Just like Moe, she was trapped inside the house. If she were to go outside the house, she would slowly begin to decompose. She had tried before, against Moe's warnings that ghosts could not survive away from where they had died. In the end, she didn't care. To be free, released from her prison of a room after so many years was all the freedom she needed. She couldn't believe how big the Coven House on Harrow Hill was; it stretched on for miles and there was always something new at every turn. She felt the sunlight on her face as she danced. She laughed out loud and looked over to see Moe smiling at her from one of the low chaise lounges that lined one wall of the ballroom. She stopped spinning, put her hands on her hips and looked at him. "What?" she said.
Moe laughed softly. "Nothing. Just you. I've never seen a dead person enjoy life so much."
"Well, why not?" she said. "Besides, I was stuck in a room for a large portion of my afterlife and I plan to enjoy the rest of it."
"With me?"
Monica smiled. "Of
course
with you, silly!" she ran to him and flopped down on the chaise lounge beside Moe. "How could I not want to be with you?
"Aside from the fact that I'm the only available ghost to choose from. . . ."
She tapped his shoulder. "Stop it, don't be melodramatic." She giggled. "I'm in love with you, Moe, I really am. I know that what I did was wrong. . . ."
"It's okay," he said. "We don't have to talk about that."
"But I do. I mean, I'm not a mean woman, I'm not a mean ghost. I shouldn't have tried to transform myself into your dead ex, it was manipulative."
"You were just looking to hurt someone."
"Yeah, that too. Can you blame me? Being shut up in a room for all eternity can drive a person nuts."
"Or ghosts for that matter."
She hugged him and they sat in silence for a moment, listening to the house move and settle around them. Floors creaked, windows let the sun in. A cold breeze found its way into the ballroom and played with Monica's hair.
"What was it like when you died?" Moe asked.
"Well, I told you how they took me up to the room?" Moe nodded. "Well, after I was killed. . .they slit my throat so that I would die easier. . .well, I'm not sure. I just kind of woke up in my body, except that my body had been buried already, beneath the House. I woke up on my bed, already a ghost. I thought I was still alive."
"When did you realize you weren't?"
"When I could not see my reflection. It took me years to get solid form. What was it like when you died?" Moe shuddered. He didn't like thinking about what had happened to him, how Jethro had thrown his bloody body out into the street as a warning to the others. He remembered waking up after Lucia had poured magic into him, seeing her face. "Are you an angel?" he had asked.
Lucia had laughed. "No," she had said. "I'm a friend."
He remembered sleeping a lot after that and then there was light. He had opened his eyes to find himself in a bedroom in a house he did not recognize. He realized that he had been moved to the Coven House, that he had been brought back to life. Then he started crying.
"I didn't want to live," he told Monica. "Not after that, not after what Jethro did to me. But I wasn't given a choice."
"Are you mad that you were brought back to life?"
"Not now, but at the time, I saw it as a great injustice. I couldn't go outside, I couldn't be normal again."
"When did you stop hating it?"
"Being a ghost? When I realized that being normal wasn't all it was cracked up to be. I don't want to talk about this anymore."
Monica squeezed his hand. She knew all about feelings that she wished would go away. She knew how he felt. "I still think it's odd that I had to die to find love."
Moe smiled. "You said that before."
"And I'll say it again. I had to die to find love, I love you, Moe. You are my reason for not living."
Moe chuckled. "Thanks. I love you too, Monica. You are the reason for my afterlife." He kissed her softly. "I loved my ex wife, but I love you more. You make me tremble inside, Monica. That's saying a lot, seeing as none of my organs are living." He stood. "Come on, I want to show you something."
"What is it?"
"It's a secret. I found it the other day when I was exploring, you'll never believe what I found."
"What is it?"
"C'mon, I'll show you. It's in the basement."
"I'm not going there, not after what happened to Karma."
"There's nothing there now that will hurt you, the wall’s been repaired. C'mon." He held out his hand. "You'll like this surprise, I guarantee it."
Unable to think of an excuse, Monica let Moe take her hand and guide her towards the basement steps. . . .
* * * * *
"Are you sure this is safe?"
"Sure I'm sure. The wall has been repaired, there are no bogeymen down there and I'll be with you to protect you," Moe said. He kissed Monica lightly on her nose. "C'mon, silly. It's just a house."
"You shouldn't take this place so lightly," Monica said. "You saw what happened when I talked of possession before, you know what has happened to Karma. This house is ALIVE, Moe. I don't think you get that."
"Oh, I get it alright," he said. "I just choose not to let it fill me with fear."
"I'm not afraid!" she said huffily. She stopped walking.
"It's alright if you're afraid, there's nothing wrong with that, but there is nothing to be afraid of, I promise you."
Monica looked as if she would hesitate and then nodded. "Alright. Lead the way."
He took her arm again and they walked towards the basement, stopping only to unlock the door. The door had been locked with a padlock after Karma's accident. Her tombstone was outside in the back with the others. It had felt right to bury her where she had lost her life. Monica often wondered if she would begin to haunt the Coven House, she could see Karma as a ghost, all Witch-like and light as mist. The thought put a smile to her lips now. She had never met Karma, but felt a kinship with her, as she was also a member of the Coven. All Coven members were sisters.
When the door opened, a rush of cool air came at them. It blew Monica's hair out of her face. "The basement is always cool," Moe said. "It's the same with the greenhouse out back. There are areas in this house where temperatures do not rise or fall."
"I know," Monica said. "I've been exploring this place since I got my freedom. It's bigger than I thought it was. I think it's bigger than anyone can possibly guess. There seems to be a maze of rooms everywhere. . .bedrooms that aren't being used, empty rooms, rooms with tables and chairs that were probably dining halls."
"Incredible, isn't it?"
"It defies explanation," Monica said.
"Just like us," Moe replied. "We're kindred spirits with this house."
"Why doesn't that calm me?" Monica asked.
They descended the stairs one at a time. The temperature got colder the further they went down. Monica kept a chant going in her head so that her fears would not overtake her.
All is good, all is good, all is good.
She kept the chant up all the way to the bottom of the stairs and for a few seconds more for good measure. She respected the house, but she was also afraid of it. She knew it was alive within its walls, that it was listening to them. She was very conscious of it since it had granted her her freedom.
"I found this when I was exploring the other day," Moe said. "I went back the next day, just to make sure that I wasn't dreaming. But it's still there."
"What is?"
"Just wait and see. There is nothing to be afraid of here. Just trust me on this. You'll love this, I know you will."
Monica looked at the space of wall that had been Karma's downfall, but to her surprise, they walked past it. They were not going inside the house, that was a relief. She had no wish to find out what was inside the house. She stared at the wall for a moment, wishing Poppy and Alicia well. She hoped that she would get to know them better when they returned. Moe led them to the very back of the basement, at the south side of the house. She knew that the cemetery was above them, the bodies buried in the ground. Moe bent down and felt along the wall, as the light didn't reach all the way into the basement’s corners. A single bulb lit the basement and the light created more shadows in an already dark basement. Moe felt up the wall until he found what he was looking for. It was a doorknob. She had noticed it before, as it was tarnished black as night. Now that her eyes had adjusted to the dark, she saw the door. How had they missed it before? How many doors did this house have? Without a word, Moe opened the door. Monica felt her jaw drop.
Light streamed through, grey light, natural light. What Monica saw took her breath away. She was looking at a street, a narrow one made of dirt. On either side, there were buildings, houses. She looked down. There were stairs, five of them, going down, that would bring them to the road. It was a city. She was looking at a city underneath the house.
"Incredible, isn't it?" Moe whispered beside her.
"Unbelievable is more like it," she replied.
"I couldn't believe it myself, the first time I saw it," Moe said. "But it's a city, a small one, but a city it is. There are buildings, ruins, roadways. There is even a library."