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They arrived as darkness fell.  The dead now numbered in the hundreds and thousands surrounding them as if they had all suffered a devastating plague.  The jagged outcrop reaching up to the clouds had grown in size the closer they got, but amazingly the castle had got darker and darker also.  Walking up closer to it, Kyra realized with little thought that this wasn’t ordinary rock and stone, but composed of something unknown and alien, perhaps supernatural.  Perhaps Jolus the Malignant had brought this mysterious building substance with him through the rip that he’d created from his world to this one. 

She didn’t want to think about that now.  Her focus wasn’t with Jolus’s history or the world he’d escaped from; it was with this world and the evil that he was.  She had to stop him, end his life.  After that she could think about consequences.

Are we ready? she thought

Doci looked at her and grinned.  He was thinking about that kiss and how warm it had been.

As ready as we’ll ever be.  Let’s find a way in and do what we’ve been destined to do long before we were born, he thought.

She smirked at this and led the way up a hill towards the main gate.

The castle, apart from being composed of an unknown black rock, was also surrounded by a protective wall of rock some ten feet away from the main fortress in a perimeter.  As they got closer to this defensive wall, Kyra could see that it was made of regular stone; dirty and decayed, covered in moss and lichen from ages gone by, but still ordinary, earthly rock.

The hill stopped where the wall started and before them was an iron gate composed of two halves.  It looked to be locked and sealed tight.  Doci wondered if there was some sort of magical protection over it, making it more secure.

Any idea how we get the gate to open and pass through?  My skills as the Guide ended at the bottom of this hill.  I just don’t know what to do anymore.  My mind is a blank.  I guess we’re on our own.  Any ideas, he thought.

She looked at him and grinned this time.

Don’t worry about not being the Guide anymore.  You’re just who you were at the bottom of the hill.  Trust me.  I’ve trusted you this far.  Now it’s your turn to trust me again.  We must trust each other, she thought.

Okay then, he thought.  What magic spell are you going to use to open this impenetrable gate then?

The grin grew.  She looked at the gate, and as he watched her, Kyra’s foot lashed out and made precise contact with the lock in the center of the gate with a hard kick.  There was a grinding of metal, a squeal, and the two halves opened the way before them.

Impressive, Doci thought.  I didn’t think of that.

Kyra was no longer smiling.  They entered the confines of Jolus the Malignant’s Castle of Pain.

She led the way, this time up another hill.  A sandy pathway led to the fortress; grass grew on the sides of the path: a yellow, sickly, half-dead type of grass that somehow grew on death and decay.

Doci followed, looking at the ailing grass, and that was when he saw the strange object about five feet off the path.  It was round like a ball of some sort, and yet seemed to be covered in hair, at least on top.  It was covered in dirt also, so he was unable to make out the features on the round object.

Kyra, what’s that over there? he thought, pointing.

She looked, studied, opened her mouth to say “I don’t know” and then let out a choked scream in a whisper.

Doci let out a frightened yelp.

The object was twisting around, centering on them.  Then two rheumy yellow eyes opened.  Doci realized that it was a head of a person, but it was so small, like it belonged to a small creature, and yet it was a humanoid head, with eyes, nose and mouth; it had to be one of the enslaved Ewlaps, only it looked dead.  He could see a jagged wound in the side of its head, with something showing beneath, the white of skull and something else. 

The head moved around and then a neck appeared, next a pair of arms and an upper torso, then the rest of the body.  The little Ewlap was naked and rotting.  It’d been dead for some time and something had brought it back to life.

It now stood, covered in dirt, torn flaps of skin from it.  It stared at them with those yellow eyes that had a bright glow about them.

Kyra looked around and saw more of them, not all Ewlaps, some creatures, some beasts with horrid disfigurements and mutations.  She realized this wasn’t a pathway leading up to the front door; this was some sort of back doorway, and this was a pathway through the graveyard.  It was here that whatever Jolus the Malignant killed, or failed to create, was laid to rest in some fashion.  Only now everything had come back to life.

The first dead Ewlap was walking slowly towards them, with a determined look in its glowing eyes.  It opened its mouth and let forth a piercing scream.  This was a signal to the rest of the dead, who all screamed in unison.  The sound was unbearable, as they ran dragged themselves towards Kyra and Doci.

She looked back the way they’d come, saw they didn’t have enough time to make it out alive, grabbed Doci’s arm, and dragged him towards the castle.  He got the idea and they ran as fast as their legs would take them.

The wall of the castle wasn’t far away and they soon reached it; there was a small wooden door ahead.

Together we’ll smash it open, it’s the only way, Kyra thought, as she looked back at the dead coming closer, more of them joining the growing army.

As they reached the door, they turned inward to make contact with their shoulders.  With no force at all, the door flung open, seemingly by itself, as they fell through the doorway, tripping onto the floor.

The door swung around of its own volition and slammed shut behind them, saving them from the walking dead outside, but trapping them inside the castle.

There was now only one way to go.

Kyra felt Doci lying on top of her, crushing her against the floor.  He picked himself up.

“You okay, Kyra?” he asked.

“Yeah,” she replied short of breath.

She lifted her left hand and formed the complete idea of light in her mind and watched the tips of her fingers begin to glow.  At the same time she heard Doci draw his sword.

Good idea, she thought, drawing hers also.

She knew they hadn’t hit the door; it had opened by itself, or someone had opened it for them.  That someone or something might be here now. The glow of her fingers grew strong and lit the small room they were in.

Doci looked all around him, making a complete circle, checking for any sign of movement, but there was nothing.  All was still.  All that could be heard was their heavy breathing.

The room was barely large enough to allow them to stand side by side.  Doci turned around and pulled at the door that had slammed shut behind them.  It was sealed tight and wouldn’t give even a little.  He turned around and looked at the narrow hallway ahead. 

Kyra led the way, holding the light out in front of her, sword on guard.  Doci brought up the rear, his sword ready to attack anything that moved.  They walked down the hallway with its high ceiling, traveling in single file.

She saw something scurry along the ceiling above their heads; it was small and made a minute squeak, but she couldn’t see what it looked like.

They soon reached the end of the narrow hallway and the room opened out into an atrium, much larger and higher.  While the room was large, it was nevertheless completely empty.  The room was round, and along the walls at intermittent points were tortured faces carved into the stone.  Kyra saw they were gray and probably carvings in the rock, but after what had happened outside in the graveyard, she didn’t quite believe her common sense anymore.

They look like gargoyle’s faces, don’t they? Doci thought.

Yeah, Kyra thought. 

She walked up to one that was a little higher than she was.  The head was not that of an Ewlap, more like . . . like an Enchantan.  Kyra swallowed, clearing her throat and looked at the face.  The eyes were closed, scrunched up tight as if the person hadn’t wanted to see whatever was attacking before it was killed.  The mouth was twisted in a scowl, with an expression abject terror.

Kyra reached out her arm slowly and touched the dry cheek of the sculpture.  It was cold, but not made of stone.  It was hard, unlike soft flesh, but still pliable, unlike stone.  Kyra took another breath and then rubbed at the cheek.  Some of the gray color rubbed off.  She continued to rub, unable to stop, not wanting to admit to herself what she already knew.  When a patch of human skin revealed itself, white in color, Kyra let out a whimper and jumped back.

Those are real heads! Doci thought in shock.

Kyra just nodded.

”Let’s go,” she whispered, tiptoeing, knowing that any sound they made could alert other creatures – including Jolus the Malignant – within the walls of this castle to their presence, but wanting to break the silence, having to break the silence, otherwise she might just lose it.

She led the way toward the flight of stairs attached to the wall on the far side of the room.  They went up and Kyra knew that this was the direction they would continue going until they reached the King of Evil himself.  At the top there was another wooden door; not as high and grand as the first, this was just an ordinary door leading to another room that she knew wouldn’t be ordinary.  As she reached to try the handle, Kyra heard movement which hadn’t come from herself or Doci.  She stopped, her hand poised over the handle.  She turned and Doci turned with her and they looked across the room to the other wall at a gargoyle face they hadn’t seen from below.  It was larger, with the face of a beast.  It looked like a cross between a wolf and some lizard-like creature.  That was where the sound had come from, and as they stared at the creature, they could see why.  Unlike the other heads, this one was alive and moving.

It looked at them with red glowing eyes, moving its head from side to side and around, trying to rip itself free.  It growled at them, snarling, its long fangs showing, then it snapped its jaws in an effort to loosen its hold on the wall.  The sound of the clamping jaws echoed in the room.  The beast opened its mouth and let out a roar.

So much for keeping our location secret, Doci thought.  Kyra could feel the fear in the thought she received.

“Arrr, you’re going to die . . . both of you . . . he will get you and kill you one by one, oh so slowly.  He will CRUNCH your bones and torture you!”

Doci yelped when the beast began talking, and while Kyra felt the fear rising within her, she forced herself to breathe and stay calm. 

She reached into her rucksack and took out an object.  She made sure she had a good grip on it, took aim threw it with all the force she had.

The large glass ball shot across the room with speed and hit the face of the beast.  The hard skin and scales caused the glass to instantly shatter and now the beast was no longer growling and roaring, but wailing in pain, as the many puncture wounds from the glass began to bleed.

“Kyra!” Doci spoke, knowing it no longer mattered if they were heard.  “That was the ball Demto gave to communicate with, now we have no way of getting any help from him or anyone else in Enchantus.”

Kyra looked at Doci with surprise, then she did the strangest thing: she laughed loud, long and hard.

Doci didn’t know what scared him more: the echoes of the beast’s whimpering around the room, or Kyra’s hard and jarring laugh ricocheting off every surface.

Then she stopped.

“Don’t you get it Doci?  They can’t help us.  They were never going to help us.  I don’t know why Demto gave me the ball, unless he thought I might want a chat with him or Queen Anita.  But if you ever thought we were going to get help from anyone in Enchantus, then stop thinking that right now.  They were never going to help us.  They can’t help us.  They’re scared and defenseless, that’s why I’m here and that’s why you’re here.  We’re their only hope.  It’s just us two, Doci, and no one else.  Got it?”

Doci looked at her, opened his mouth to stay something, stopped, looked to the beast who was now sniveling, and closed his mouth.  He nodded.

Doci reached out, turned the handle and walked into the room, not knowing what he would find.  There was just darkness, but he was ready for whatever was in there.  Kyra followed, closing the door behind her, leaving the beast to wallow in its own misery.

As Kyra walked down this new passageway, like the other with the high ceiling, she realized that they wouldn’t be finding Jolus the Malignant until they reached the very last room, and that was exactly the way he wanted it.  The entire castle had been set up like a maze, and they needed to pick the right route to reach him.  Kyra wondered if the castle had always been set up this way, or if it was a glamour or powerful spell Jolus had invoked temporarily to deceive them.

“Doci,” she whispered in the dark.

He stopped and turned, looking at her in the soft glow emanating from her finger.

“He’s tricking us.  Somehow, with his magic, he’s reshaped the entire castle into some sort of labyrinth and if we don’t go the right way we’re never going to find him.  Everything has been planned by him.  Up until now.  This is where I need you.  I need your gift.  I know you said you didn’t have whatever it is anymore, but I know you are still you.  Whatever internal compass you used is still there, just as I have my abilities.  And right now I need you to use whatever it is you have and take us the right way through this lair and find him.”

She took a breath and let it out shakily.

“I don’t know how much of this I can take.”

Doci nodded, turned around and stood, looking into the darkness, toward the end of the tunnel.  He did this for a whole sixty seconds, then he said: “Follow me.”

He strode forward, holding his sword ready as he walked.  Kyra had to walk faster to catch up with him as he went deeper into the darkness.  At the end of the passageway was another door, but instead of trying the handle, Doci lashed out his foot and connected with the door just below the handle.  There was a crunching sound and it creaked open slowly.  Before them was a lit room, for a change, and the first formidable enemy of the night.  Another beast, mutated beyond imagination, stood before them.

We’ll take this one and kill it, just like we did that other thing in the desert, Kyra thought.  She chose to ignore the fact that last time they’d met one of Jolus the Malignant’s beast, Doci had almost been killed.  Kyra had been able to save him, but now, inside the lair of the very man that had created the creature, whatever poison or weapons it possessed would be all the more powerful.

Right! was Doci’s reply, as he stormed into the room, sword poised and ready. 

Kyra followed and then stopped in her tracks as she gazed upon the beast.  It was huge and terrifying.

Before them stood a creature with four segmented black legs, each tapering into a claw, which dug into the floor made of a flesh-like substance, which pulsated with a life of its own.  Instead of impenetrable stone, the claws actually made cuts in the fleshy floor, making it bleed, giving the creature a firmer grasp. 

High up toward the ceiling the torso reached, with sparse patches of long greasy black hair covering its light gray skin, concealing bulging muscles beneath.  Just as there were four legs sprouting from its nether regions, there were four arms sprouting from this trunk, each with large hands that wanted to grip, punch and tear.  The head was the most monstrous appendage: a misshapen bloated thing that looked far too large for its body, but supported by a very thick neck.  The head was completely devoid of hair, yet lumpy.  There was a large eye in the center of what would be a face if this were human or animal.  There were no other features on the head: no ears, no nose, no mouth, just naked skin. 

There was something horrific about seeing a head with just a single eye and nothing more.  This was what stopped Kyra as she looked at the beast, that and the high-pitched squeal it made.  She had no idea what orifice the sound came from, but it chilled her nevertheless.

That was when Doci charged, with little thought and all action.  He shouted at the top of his lungs as he ran, trying to intimidate the beast as it had them with its squeal.  It all happened so quickly that she was unable to react.

Doci’s sword came round in a swoop and sliced through one of the legs, continuing through unhindered.  He sidestepped and tried to get out of the way, but was too slow.  One of the muscly arms came down and grabbed him, picking him up like a light stone and throwing him at one of the walls.  Doci smacked into it, letting out a cry, dropping his sword.  It hid the floor before he did, clanging, and sending echoes off the walls.

The painful squeal stopped, then turned into a low growl, then a roar.  It looked to Doci, saw him lying on the floor, not moving, and turned to Kyra. 

She stood there, still.  The beast charged at her, the roar louder.  Kyra watched it come and had no idea what she should do.  She didn’t have enough time to draw her sword, but that didn’t leave many options.  Before Kyra knew it, she was out of time, and those four arms came down at her.

She did all she could do: she jumped.  But as she jumped she focused, using her powers, and the jump became a high soar, going up above even the beast.  Now she had her sword ready, with lightning speed, and brought it around fast, while she sailed over the creature.  The sword came round and the beast watched as the blade connected with its neck and felt itself decapitated.

Kyra flew down, somersaulted, and landed on her feet, turning to face the headless beast. 

It stood there, not moving.  The severed head rolled off the neck and fell to the ground, squishing as it landed.  Kyra grimaced and kicked it away.  Then she looked at Doci and saw him lying there, not moving.  She ran to him and lifted his head, feeling for a pulse at his neck.  There was a strong one.  As Kyra cradled his head in her lap, his eyes slowly opened and he looked at her and smiled.  Kyra smiled back.

That was when two arms wrapped around her neck and wrenched her upward, rolling Doci over.  Kyra screamed, not knowing what was happening, and then screamed again as she looked round and saw the headless torso holding her high in the air.  She looked and saw the head on the ground, not moving, dead, but the body was still very much alive.  And the roar was still going strong.

Doci picked himself up off the floor.  It was soft and warm, and felt like it was moving beneath his palms.  He was happy to be standing, even if he was a little wobbly.  His head settled and his sight cleared and before him he saw Kyra held in the air by her throat.  She was screaming, but the sound was weakening as she ran out of oxygen.

That was when Doci charged again, though this time he had thought the thing through, at least in the second before he charged.

The beast was occupied with Kyra, throttling her, applying more and more pressure.  There was no brain or to control its thoughts and emotions anymore, just primeval action.

Doci came at it, sword pointing straight out.  He aimed for the chest cavity and, with both hands around the handle, he stabbed with all his force.  The blade bit deep, to halfway, into the chest.  He pulled down and the sharp blade cut through the body and came out between the forelegs.  Foreleg, one having already been cut off.

This time the creature was mortally wounded.  Doci dropped his sword and watched its hands loosen and Kyra fall from the air.  He was ready and caught her in his arms.

Her face was pale, but she was choking, sucking in fresh lungfuls of air.  He looked at her and was struck by how their positions had been reversed in such a short time.  Doci carried her over to the side of the room, laid her head in his lap and watched the creature.  It stood there, shivering, then it began to swing from side to side, until its point of balance was passed and it fell on its side.  It shook once and then lay still.