Zak Turner - A Twist In Time (31 page)

“I’ll need yer ‘elp sir.  They’ll never believe me, but if you’re there, then it’ll be right.  I don’t think we should tell ‘em about me wand though, that’ll be just too much fer ‘em to take in.”

“No problem, and I agree about the wand.  Just let me know when you’re ready, but I think you shouldn’t leave it much longer.  You all have to face reality.”

“Thanks sir, I’ll try this week sometime…”

20.  The Crypt

Shaul Malchus was living up to expectations at school, and proving to be a disturbing element in much the same vein as his brother and sister.  Sargas had the arrogance of wizarding aristocracy, and made no secret of gathering as many to his father’s cause as he could.  Lesath had been less public, but her dark, powerful, hidden witchcraft, had left plenty of scarred and scared students behind it.  She used her time at the school to develop new and sinister methods of anything from covert torture to mind control, and despite the best efforts of the staff, some students seemed to have become permanently enslaved, although no-one could prove anything!

Shaul was different again.  Not quite a bully, but not afraid to swing his fists as quickly as wave his wand, he’d rapidly built a reputation as someone not to mess with, or get close to.  It was surprising therefore, that during the first weeks of term, a couple of first years from other houses had, one after the other, started following him around, doing his bidding, and spying for him on demand. 

Professors McCathie and Trell immediately suspected the hand of his sister Lesath, and feared that the unlucky students had been bewitched into serving her brother.  Despite several covert attempts to detect and clear any charms though, they drew a blank, but the out of character behaviour was clue enough!

Sartrina Proudfoot was not alone feeling uncomfortable in Leo house with Shaul Malchus there, and the girls in the first and second year dorms had banded together to keep an eye on the developing tyrant.  At Sartrina’s suggestion, two of them were always keeping track of him when they weren’t in class, and kept a wary eye out for his brother and sister too.

Sunday the fourth of October, therefore, found Sartrina and her friend Andra ‘on duty’, surreptitiously following Shaul around the castle.  Sartrina was actually doing the following, and Andra was keeping her eyes peeled to see if anyone was watching or following
them.
  It was a game of cat and mouse, and both of them were very aware that if Shaul ever found out what they were doing, then there would be retribution.

The dark-haired young wizard was alone as he walked through the corridors heading towards the courtyard, but just before he got to the small door leading outside, he turned sharply left and walked through the wall!

“Is anyone following us?” asked Sartrina quickly.

“No, unless they’re invisible.  We’re by ourselves.”

“Okay, he just went into a secret passage.  It must be either a Leo passage, or a general one, otherwise he wouldn’t be able to get in.  I’m going to follow him.”

“That’s dangerous Sartrina!  What if he’s worked out that we’re following him and is waiting inside to trap you?”

“That’s why you’re staying out here.  If I don’t come back within one minute then something’s gone wrong, and you need to tell Professor Pectus everything, even if I do reappear and seem to be normal when you find me.”

“Okay.”

“And don’t come in yourself unless I come out to get you, okay?”

“No problem.”

Sartrina took a deep breath and walked quickly down the corridor until she got to the place where Shaul had disappeared, then, copying his movements, she turned sharply left just before the door and walked confidently at the wall.

She misjudged the location of the entrance though, and bashed her shoulder against the wall as she went through the portal in to the secret passage beyond.  Eyes watering from the pain, she found herself in a dark tunnel lit at intervals by torches along the walls. 

As her eyes adjusted to the dim light, she saw Shaul about halfway down the passage leaning against the wall with his back to her.  She flattened herself against the wall, knowing that she’d be discovered if he turned round.  As she held her breath, standing motionless and not even daring to rub her throbbing shoulder, another boy appeared through the wall in front of Shaul and bowed his head to the eleven-year-old Leo student.

* * *

“You’re late Hendry.  Make sure it doesn’t happen again!”

“Sorry Shaul, Professor Gray was following me, and I had to give her the slip before I came in here or she’d have found out about the plan.”

“Why was she following you?  You better not have given away our secret!  Is Smith in position with our new recruit?”

“She’s always following me these days, but I can easily give her the slip.  Freddie’s showing him the crypt right now, just as you instructed.  He has no idea what’s really happening, he thinks he’s learning castle secrets.”

“Good.  At least one of you is reliable!  Follow me.”

The two boys then walked further down the corridor and disappeared through an archway on the right just past the fourth torch.  Sartrina was about to follow when she suddenly remembered that Andra would be waiting for her to come back into the main corridor!  She quickly glanced at her watch.  Fifty seconds!  She immediately walked back through the wall, and saw Andra heading towards her.

“I was starting to get worried!” called her friend.

“Everything’s okay, they didn’t see me, but we need to be and follow them!”

“Them?  I thought Shaul was by himself?”

“Another boy who he called Hendry met him inside.  One of the ones that’s been following him around,” explained Sartrina before she disappeared back through the wall, making sure she avoided bashing herself on the invisible archway.  As soon as they were both in the secret passage she put her finger to her lips and whispered quietly.

“They went through an archway down there and were talking about a ‘plan’ which seemed to involve recruiting another boy to join them.”

“I don’t like the sound of that!”

“Me neither!  Come on, same as last time, you hang back so that if anything happens to me you can get away and tell Professor Pectus.”

The girls moved quickly and silently along the passage towards the dark archway and stopped, listening carefully for any clue about what might be happening inside.  They could hear voices, but they sounded to be a long way off.

“Come on, we’re safe to go through I think.”

“Okay, but let me go first this time.  You’ve taken enough risks.”

“No problem, be careful.”

“Don’t worry, I don’t want to end up as Shaul Malchus’ slave!”

Andra walked forward and peeped round the archway, and then walked through it when she saw that the way was clear.  Sartrina followed her a few seconds later.  The archway led into a twisting passage with several solid looking wooden doors leading off it.  The boys’ voices were coming from much further along though, so the girls ignored all the doors and headed for what sounded like a large cavern where the boys seemed to be arguing.

* * *

“I will not join you Shaul, let me go!”

“You think I can let you go now, after you’ve heard my plan and seen my hideout?  No chance Logan!  You’re going to serve me whether you like it or not, and you’ll
never
be free now, never again.  You wanted glory right?  Well you’ll get your glory, serving the dark side!”

“NEVER!  I WILL NOT!”

“Ha!” sneered Malchus.  “You’re a coward Logan.  You’re too scared to join us, too scared to sell your soul for glory and for eternal life!”

“I don’t want your glory, Malchus, and I’m no coward either.  FIRMUS!”

There was a sharp crack followed by a laugh, and the girls stared fearfully at each other.

“You thought you could stop me with a child’s spell Logan?  Pitiful!  INTORQUEO!”

“AAAGGHHH!!”

“Did you like that Logan, want another shot?  INTORQUEO!”

“AAAGGGHHH!!  Stop, stop!”

“Why should I stop, are you going to join us?”

“NEVER!”

“INTORQUEO!”

“AAAGGGHHH!!  I will never join you Malchus,” said the breathless sounding Logan, “NEVER!”

“Oh but you will Rufus Logan.  You obviously didn’t hear me properly, there’s no turning back now!  Just like Hendry and Smith here, it’s too late for you to change your mind.  You’re mine, and when I’ve finished here, you’ll enjoy being mine.  INTORQUEO!”

“AAAGGGHHH!!”

“My uncle taught me much last year while my father was messing around with his foolish plans to take over part of Ireland.  We have a much bigger goal, and he’s taught me spells and curses that even my own parents don’t know.  He introduced me to the power of the dark side, overwhelming unstoppable power.  It was he who showed me how to channel that power and use it as my own, and soon that power will be yours.”

* * *

The two girls looked at each other, horror struck by what they were hearing.  Shaul Malchus was clearly torturing a fellow student, after tricking him with promises of glory and power, and it sounded like Rufus Logan was going to become another follower, whether he liked it or not!

“What do we do?” whispered Andra, her wand grasped firmly in her hand.

“We listen, and find out what he does, and then we tell Professor Pectus.”

“That’s all?  You’re not going to help him?!”

Sartrina looked at Andra and realised why her friend was a Leo.  She had no thought for her own safety, only a desire to rush in to help someone who was clearly in trouble.  Sartrina had to admit that there was a previously unrecognised part of her own mind telling her to do the same thing, and to try to stop whatever was going on, but there was another quieter voice urging caution…

“Not now.  If we go in there now, he’ll just torture us too, and force
us
to join him!  You musn’t go in Andra, please, we’re more use when we’re free!”

Sartrina could see her friend struggling with her emotions, and she glanced towards the cavern with a perplexed look on her face as another cry of agony escaped from the tortured Rufus Logan.  Sartrina grasped her friends arm to stop her rushing forward.

“Please.  We can’t do it ourselves Andra!  We need someone more powerful!  Much more powerful!”

Sartrina’s thoughts flew unbidden to Zak and Tallion, and she began to understand the battles that lay ahead of them.

“Okay, but I want to try and see who’s there, we need to get closer.”

“Can you port by yourself yet?”

“No.  You?”

“No.  I’m just thinking that we have no way out of here, except the way we came in, and if they come out we’re done for!”

“I’m still going to look!”

“Please be careful Andra.  I’ll stay back here and go for help if they catch you.”

“Okay.  Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it!”

Andra smiled and tentatively made her way round the last corner in the passage.  Shaul Malchus was repeatedly hitting Rufus Logan with the Intorqueo curse, and the boy was screaming in pain.  More surprising were the voices of the other boys, Hendry and Smith, also shouting curses and casting stinging spells and powerful jolts at their fellow student. 

Andra went far enough round the corner to see that the passage ended in a rough archway, which led into a huge ghostly cavern hewn out of solid rock.  Flaming torches lined the walls, and the boys were standing in the centre of the cavern around Rufus Logan, who was twisting and writhing on the floor in agony as the three eleven-year-olds mercilessly tortured him!

* * *

“Enough!” said Shaul, just as Andra was getting to the point where she couldn’t watch it any longer without intervening.  She took a few deep breaths, forcing herself to stay hidden.

“I know we can never torture you into joining us Logan, the temptation for you to leave would be too great.  The torture was only to show you that we’re more powerful than you are, and that you have no choice.  You’ll understand once you’re part of us.  I have another way to make that happen though, an enchantment that will change your mind.  Then you’ll be more than willing to give up your soul, just like I did, and just like Hendry and Smith have done.  We already belong to the dark side Logan, and soon you will too!”

“When I finish my incantation you will say ‘Ego Assentior’, do you understand?  Unless you want us to torture you some more of course, and leave you here in chains forever!”

Rufus nodded and mumbled his agreement, catching his breath as the pain all over his body started to subside.  Inside he was determined not to say it though, no matter what happened to him!

“And just in case you
still
refuse, my enchantment will make your voice speak even if your mind tries not to!”

Andra was feeling terrible distress as Shaul Malchus then waved his wand in a complicated motion over the bruised and trembling body of Rufus Logan and spoke a long enchantment.

“Farok, Dominus tenebris, animae meae, mei lætus obtuli, et usus tui mecum.”

Andra had no idea what the incantation meant, and desperately wanted to intervene, but some force now rooted her to the spot.  Then to her horror, she heard Rufus Logan’s voice clearly reply.

“Ego Assentior.”

It sounded very un-natural though, as though someone was talking through him, and not the boy himself speaking. 

Almost immediately an overwhelming terror gripped Andra, a desperate crawling fear unlike anything she’d ever felt before!  Something, some power, had come into the crypt in response to the incantation, and a guttural, rasping voice now scraped round the cavern speaking in a harsh tongue that she’d never heard before, and couldn’t understand.  The three boys standing round Rufus fell to their hands and knees, and Rufus twitched violently as he arched his back once, and then lay limp and still.