The Trailokya Trilogy, Book One: The Shadow Soul

Chapter 28

The sky clouded over and the night grew black and restless. The distant sound of thunder rolled above the blanket that hid the moon and stars. Lena swallowed, wondering if the others had also retreated, leaving her there on her own. Did she chase a scurrilous imp or Dominic to the towers? Backing inside, her resonance pulsed in cold dread. Through a narrow door, she found a set of red granite stairs, a spiral to the roof. The weapon Dominic had made lay discarded at the bottom.

Circling up the first few steps, Lena hesitated to follow where they led. The rust-colored stones twisted quite high, disappearing into a consuming darkness. Peering into the dark, a flicker of something passed at the top. Boots scraped the stone, piquing her curiosity.

Lena gripped the fixed rod set through the center meant as a railing. With both hands on the old pipe, she set her foot on the next step. She stared up the spiral, trying to make herself move. Her sattva refused. The railing shook in her hands, as if someone had struck it. Slowly, she raised her other foot to take another step. The dark appeared to flap again, like the beating wings of a danava. She paused. Swallowing her fear, she forced another step. The top was sackcloth black, blacker than her hair. It was the perfect place for an imp or daeva to hide. Thunder rolled, halting her again. Lena blinked and drew a deep breath. With a miserable frown, she forced herself to climb to the top. The staircase narrowed.

Emerging from the stairs, Lena stepped out onto the dome. A catwalk of wood planks circled the base. A flimsy fence was the only thing standing between her and a dreadful fall. She peered over the edge, losing her breath. Lightning flashed in the sky and the thunder reminded her of why she was there. The darkness made it hard to see around the broad dome. She peered to the left and then the right. The tails of Dominic's coat waved in the storm winds. Lena measured her steps, so as not to startle him.

"Dominic," Lena called, but her words were swallowed by the storm.

Rain poured down suddenly and hard, stinging like nettles. Lena held her hands out. The rain did not touch her, it was as if some barrier protected her skin. She reached to grab hold of his coat sleeve, but a large shadow slipped between her and Dominic. Knocked back, she slid beneath the rail. At the edge of the copper slope, her feet hit another fence and she stopped abruptly. Lena clung to the wet roof, eyes large with fright. Pulling herself back up, she saw the sky roil as Maiel stood at the roof's edge. Lena called to her, but the wind swallowed her voice.

The clouds spun into a shaft, like a tornado reaching hopelessly to the ground. The wind blew harder, the lightning flashed bolder, and the thunder rolled louder. Lena stared in awe as the clouds opened  like a great gate in the sky. Holding tight to the fence, she looked to the base of the cloud pillar. The ground burned; there was a gaping hole filled with infernal sights. It looked like a volcano vent had opened beneath the hill. The openings, above and below, widened and threatened to swallow the Earth. Lena shut her eyes. They were too late.

* * *

Maiel stood on the farthest edge of the dome. The Danube wended by and the clouds rolled in. Esztergom lay nestled in shadow, windows shining with light. Deep dread embedded itself in her core. Knowledge that this was the end. Morgentus had found her and wasn't about to let her escape this time. She was tired, too weak to slide from his influence and seek refuge in yet another place. This perch would have to do. It was the highest point accessible. If only the clouds would part and let the moonlight in. The radiance would give some strength, would tip the scales in her favor. She just needed to strike one fatal blow, then he and his damned gang would run back to Acheron, the pathetic despoilers they were, and she could begin her lonely journey, a recidia imprisoned upon Earth, to watch the rise and fall of lives, to lose friends and be tormented by their passing.