Dark World Read online

  As Rowan left, Newt continued along the end of the aisles, looking down each one. As the door clanged shut in the distance, she caught a flash of movement in the far corner, accompanied by a scurrying sound. Keeping her eyes on that spot, she slowly made her way to the shadowed corner.

  Yep, something was there. She stopped and took a deep breath.

  I can’t believe I’m doing this, she thought.

  ‘Hello … Moppet,’ said Newt tentatively. ‘If you’re Stygian’s familiar, I’m hoping that you can understand what I’m saying. Um … we don’t want to hurt you.’ She suddenly realised that she was holding a metal rod. She carefully put it down on the floor by her feet and held up her hands. ‘See. We just want to get you back to Stygian.’ There was no response. Newt took a step closer. ‘Please. We’re just trying to help.’

  Something raced out of the shadows right past her. She yelled out as she staggered back.

  But it was just a rat. It ran off under the shelving.

  Breathing hard, with her heart pounding, Newt leaned against the nearest shelf, trying to calm down …

  And looked straight into a pair of pale blue eyes staring at her from beside a crate. She screamed again and in her haste to get away, fell backwards onto the floor.

  The spider jumped down at her feet.

  It reared up on its back legs. It quivered and hissed.

  Its mandibles clicked frenetically.

  Newt tried to crawl away, but was too scared to take her eyes off the creature. As it advanced, her hand found the metal rod she’d discarded. Snatching it up, she held it high, then threw it at the spider.

  A glob of sticky web shot towards it, hitting it and diverting it. The rod clattered noisily to the floor.

  Panic overtaking her, Newt scrambled to her knees and tried to crawl away.

  The spider leaped.

  Newt felt it land on her back. Its hairy legs wrapping around her shoulders, its mandibles brushing against the back of her neck. She crashed to the floor and everything went black.

  Strange visions of faraway places floated through Newt’s mind.

  Two armies clashed upon a battlefield. Swords and spears, arrows and cannonballs created havoc.

  Blazing fire rained from the clouds instead of water drops. Lightning struck at carriages and trenches.

  In a massive throne room, a woman in gold, eyes ablaze with hate, ranted and screamed, while a boy in purple robes cowered and concealed his tears.

  In a dank cavern strewn with open books and unfurled scrolls, the boy stood beside a doorway. Wisps of Darkness curled around him from the Dark World. He smiled.

  Darkness swept across the battlefield. Swords and armour turned to rust. Cannons and carriages fell to pieces. Flesh melted from the bones of warriors.

  Four old men with beards and robes pointed their gnarled wooden staves at the boy. The gems embedded in the staves emitted an eerie light, the glowing embrace lifting the boy from the ground and hurling him through the doorway into the roiling depths of the Dark World.

  ‘Wake up, Newton. Wake up.’

  Consciousness returned, bringing with it a pounding headache and overall grogginess.

  Newt groaned.

  Her face hurt.

  She opened her eyes.

  Lifting her head, her vision swam. Her right cheek was aching.

  That’s where I hit the floor when I fell, she thought. I fell. Why did I fall?

  And then she remembered.

  She scrambled to her hands and knees, trying desperately to look over her shoulder. The spider. It had jumped at her. Was it still there? Clinging to her back?

  ‘Calm down,’ said a voice inside her head. ‘Please, try not to panic. I won’t harm you.’

  The voice was female. Gentle. Kind. Quite young. Like a kid’s voice.

  ‘This is Moppet. I’m very sorry that I scared you. It was not my intention.’

  Newt stared down at the floor, her breath in ragged gasps, as she tried to calm down. The spider – it was talking to her. Its voice was inside her head. How was that possible?

  ‘I’m not a spider. At least not what you would think of as a spider. I am a familiar. A channeller of magic. And I need your help. Your world and this, all worlds, depend on it. You must calm down and listen.’

  Still looking at the floor, Newt took a few deep breaths before speaking. ‘Okay. Okay. I’m listening. But …’ She hesitated, not sure if she really wanted to know the answer to what she was about to ask. ‘Are you on my back?’

  ‘Yes.’

  Newt’s breathing quickened again and she clenched her fists. She had never been overly scared of spiders, but neither did she like them. And the idea of a great, big, hairy one attached to her back upset her a lot more than she thought it should.

  ‘Calm down.’

  ‘It’s okay. I’m okay. I’m calming down.’ She took a really deep breath and let it out slowly. Then another. And another. ‘See. Calming down.’

  ‘Good. Are you ready to listen?’

  ‘Yes.’ Newt pushed herself up into a sitting position. She couldn’t feel anything on her back. But she was too scared to look over her shoulder and check, just in case it freaked her out. ‘So … what do you want to tell me?’

  ‘Stygian’s real objectives.’

  Newt remembered her visions. ‘Does it have anything to do with what I dreamed?’

  ‘Yes. I put those images into your head. They are from the past.’

  ‘Okay. So what is Stygian up to?’

  ‘He does not want to stop the Darkness. He wants to release it. To set it free. To destroy everything.’

  This whole situation seemed so unreal. Newt had come to terms with other worlds and her teacher being a mad scientist and the Darkness. But … now a spider was telling her that a boy mage was going to unleash destruction on … everything!

  ‘Why?’ she finally asked. ‘Why would he do that?’

  ‘His mind is broken.’ Newt thought the spider’s voice sounded genuinely grief stricken. ‘He was thrust into the position of Queen Xanxia’s Mage of War at a young age, just after his father’s assassination. He failed to please her. In desperation he sought out the black scrolls and their forbidden knowledge. He opened a doorway into the Dark World. He sent forth the Darkness over the battlefields. But the Darkness did not differentiate between one side and the other. There was no winner. His actions united the mages and they banished him into the Dark World.’ She paused. ‘And as his familiar, I with him.’

  ‘What happened?’

  ‘We were trapped there, in a world without time. We did not age, while the centuries passed in our world. All we had was our thoughts. And Stygian’s thoughts turned as dark as the world we were in. He is but a shell of the boy who … who was my friend.’

  It sounded to Newt like the spider was crying.

  ‘The Darkness turned him evil?’ asked Newt.

  ‘No. It is he who poisoned the Darkness.’

  ‘The Darkness isn’t evil?’ Newt was confused.

  ‘The Darkness is neither good nor evil. It simply is. The anger and hate is Stygian’s.’

  ‘So, he’s the evil,’ said Newt.

  ‘He is broken.’ There was so much sorrow and anguish in Moppet’s mind voice. ‘I miss my friend.’

  ‘Are you okay?’ asked Newt.

  ‘I am tired,’ said Moppet. ‘I am exhausted from fighting him. He has spent his time in the Dark World trying to let it loose. And I have spent my time stopping him. When we arrived in this world I got away from him as soon as I could.’

  ‘What do you want me to do?’ asked Newt. She instinctively felt that she could trust Moppet. It both surprised her and comforted her. If someone had told her, even a day ago, that she would come to trust a giant magical spider over a scientist, she would have laughed at them. But a lot had changed in a short time.

  ‘You must keep him from me. As long as he and I are apart, he cannot perform magic. And if he cannot perform magic, he canno
t unleash the Darkness.’

  ‘So you’re the one with the power?’ asked Newt.

  ‘No. Neither a mage, nor a familiar have any power on their own. Only when together, can magic be woven. Many have the potential for magic, few will find a familiar with which to weave it.’

  CLANG!

  ‘The door,’ said Newt. ‘They’re here. Go and hide. I’ll try to get rid of them.’

  Newt felt movement at her back and then heard scuttling as Moppet ran off.

  ‘Newt. Are you there? Are you okay?’ Rowan’s voice echoed around the warehouse.

  ‘Fine,’ she called, as she got to her feet and walked down the aisle to the entrance.

  Rowan stood by the door with Dr Bloom and Stygian.

  ‘Sorry we took so long,’ Rowan apologised. ‘Stygian was … still a bit unsteady on his feet.’

  ‘Did you find Moppet?’ asked the mage eagerly.

  ‘No. Sorry, I didn’t. I thought I had, but it was just a rat.’

  ‘What happened to your face?’ asked Rowan. He reached for her cheek, but stopped himself before touching her. He pulled back, embarrassed.

  ‘The rat scared me,’ said Newt, thinking fast. ‘I stumbled and fell.’

  ‘Are you sure that creature isn’t in here?’ asked Dr Bloom.

  ‘Pretty sure,’ said Newt. ‘I’ve been up and down every aisle. I think she might have gone the other way, past the broken elevator.’

  Stygian stared searchingly into Newt’s eyes. It made her feel uncomfortable and she looked away.

  ‘Well then, we had better search the other end of the corridor,’ said Dr Bloom, as she ushered them out of the warehouse. ‘You go ahead. I need to dig out some other equipment that might help us.’

  Newt was about to protest, but the Doctor stepped back into the warehouse and shut the door in her face.

  As Stygian headed off down the corridor, Rowan put a hand on Newt’s arm. They hung back.

  ‘They’re up to something,’ whispered Rowan. ‘They were talking excitedly when I came to get them, but stopped the moment they saw me. And then they wouldn’t come back to the warehouse straightaway. Bloom said Stygian wasn’t strong enough yet and needed to rest. But he looked fine to me. She then went off to fiddle with her equipment.’

  ‘It’s a whole lot worse than you think,’ hissed Newt. ‘I need to talk to you.’

  Allowing Stygian to go on alone, Newt and Rowan slipped into the kitchenette. Brian looked up from the espresso machine, grunted and gave them a thumbs up.

  Newt filled Rowan in, Brian watching intently, feather duster in hand.

  Rowan was white as a sheet by the time Newt had finished.

  ‘Seriously?’ he said, his voice shaky. ‘Everything. This world? His world? Our world?’

  ‘Uh-huh.’

  Brian moaned.

  ‘What are we going to do?’

  ‘We need to make sure they don’t find Moppet.’

  ‘Got it!’ Dr Bloom’s triumphant voice echoed from the warehouse.

  They rushed to the door to see Dr Bloom carrying Moppet out in front of her by one leg. The spider’s body was limp, its other seven legs curled in on itself as if it were dead.

  Having tied its legs together, Dr Bloom tossed the spider onto the centre of the dais. It landed with a thud. Stygian winced.

  They were all gathered at the edge of the dais, looking at Moppet.

  ‘It seems you were wrong about the warehouse,’ Dr Bloom said to Newt pointedly. ‘I went back there to fetch an infrared heat detector. And, since I don’t trust you, I did a sweep of the area – and lo and behold, there it was cowering in the shadows.’

  ‘And you killed her?’ whispered Newt.

  ‘Don’t be ridiculous. We need the creature alive. I used a stun grenade.’

  ‘You had a stun grenade?’ Rowan looked incredulous.

  ‘Government contract. Warehouse full of weaponry. Of course I’ve got stun grenades. I’ve got grenades of every size, shape and variety. Something for every occasion.’

  Yet again, Newt found herself appalled with this scientist’s attitude.

  ‘This whole world is just …’ Rowan struggled for the word. ‘Nuts! You’re all crazy.’

  As if to illustrate his point, Dr Bloom burst into a fit of laughter. She did indeed sound a little insane.

  ‘I can’t handle this,’ said Rowan, throwing his arms up and walking off. ‘I’m going to get some … lemonade.’

  ‘What?’ Newt chased after him, grabbing his arm as he reached the hole in the wall. ‘You can’t just walk away.’

  ‘Yes I can.’

  ‘Rowan … please. Don’t go.’ After all they had been through, Newt had started to think of Rowan as a friend. And she couldn’t bear the thought of him abandoning her.

  ‘I need to go.’ He looked into Newt’s eyes. ‘You stay here. Trust me.’ And he left.

  What’s he up to? wondered Newt. Is he really just running away? Or has he got a plan? She hated being left out of things.

  Frustration building, she turned her attention to Dr Bloom, who was now tapping away on her tablet beside the control dais.

  ‘What are you going to do now?’ demanded Newt, storming over.

  ‘We are going to open up the portal. Just doing the final calculations,’ said Dr Bloom. ‘I have some of the Darkness to hold as hostage. And Stygian is confident that he can communicate with the Darkness … and control it.’

  ‘What’s the point?’ asked Newt.

  ‘The point?’ Dr Bloom looked amused. ‘Power! Even a small amount of the Darkness could be fashioned into an incredible weapon.’

  ‘You’ve already got a small amount of the Darkness,’ pointed out Newt.

  ‘And I have the opportunity to get more. I would be foolish not to take it. And with Stygian’s help, I will be able to control it. Get it to do what I want.’ She waved her tablet at Newt. ‘Imagine that!’

  I’ d rather not.

  Dr Bloom put the tablet down on a workbench and climbed up onto the dais.

  Newt turned away to see that Stygian was still silently standing to the side of the main dais, watching Moppet. Newt walked over to him. His expression was difficult to read. He seemed genuinely upset about his familiar being stunned and tied up … and yet, there was also a hunger in his eyes.

  Newt wondered how she should proceed. Confront him? Accuse him? Maybe, she thought, a more subtle approach would be better. Maybe, she could get through to him with kindness.

  ‘You okay?’ asked Newt, sidling up to him.

  ‘Me? Yeah, yeah.’ He cleared his throat. ‘I just miss her. We’ve never really been apart since I became a mage. It’s a strange feeling. Kind of empty.’

  ‘I’m sure she misses you as well,’ said Newt.

  Stygian nodded slowly. ‘How did you know Moppet was female?’

  ‘What?’ The question caught Newt off guard.

  ‘I’ve not mentioned her gender till just now,’ he said. ‘But at the warehouse you called Moppet a she.’

  ‘Oh.’ Newt’s heartbeat quickened as she struggled for a convincing answer. ‘Did I? Well … she has a large abdomen. And everyone knows that male spiders have small abdomens.’

  ‘She chose me, you know,’ he said wistfully, not reacting to her answer. ‘Saw something in me, I guess. Potential. Resolve. Something. Without her I would never have been a mage. Now that I am … she must follow through. This is my decision. Not hers.’

  ‘It’s not too late to change your mind,’ said Newt. Her voice was soft and filled with hope. ‘You don’t have to open the doorway. You don’t have to control the Darkness. You could stay here in this world. Use your magic to help rebuild the city.’

  Magic, thought Newt, seems to be a lot like science. Whether it is good or bad depends on the person who uses it. It comes down to choice.

  The spider twitched and Stygian winced again. ‘She’s waking up.’ He looked like he was steeling himself to do something he didn’t want to
. ‘Are you ready?’ he called out to Dr Bloom.

  ‘Almost.’

  Newt put a hand on Stygian’s arm. ‘You know that you don’t have to do anything that you don’t want to do.’

  ‘I know.’ Stygian’s expression became determined. He hopped up onto the dais and gently picked Moppet up, cradling her in his arms. It would have looked affectionate, if not for the fact that her legs were still tied together. ‘The thing is … I do want to do this. Very much.’

  Newt’s heart sank. How could he want to do this? What was wrong with him?

  ‘Okay, all set to go,’ called Dr Bloom, activating her energy shield.

  ‘You can stop playing possum,’ Stygian said to Moppet. ‘I know you’re awake.’

  The spider’s eyes flickered open, their sad, despairing gaze falling on Newt.

  ‘Don’t do it,’ begged Newt. ‘Please!’

  ‘We’re ready,’ called Stygian.

  The three metal arms lowered into place around him, and the whine of the frequency oscillators began.

  Newt didn’t know what good it would do – in fact, she knew it was pointless – but she jumped up onto the dais, with the intention of trying to take Moppet from Stygian.

  He simply held up his hand and she was flung back, spinning through the air. She hit the floor hard. Pain flared in her head and her left knee. Through her daze she could hear Dr Bloom begin the countdown.

  The Darkness, thought Newt, she’s about to let the Darkness in.

  ‘Five.’

  Newt shook her head to try to clear it, but that just made things worse.

  ‘Four.’

  Thinking that she couldn’t just lie there, Newt pushed herself up onto her hands and knees.

  ‘Three.’

  Her knee felt like it was on fire and she collapsed again.

  ‘Two.’

  The realisation hit Newt … there was nothing she could do to stop this.

  ‘One.’

  The whining escalated beyond hearing. The air vibrated around Newt.

  ‘Activate!’

  She looked up to see the air tear apart behind Stygian. His eyes were wide and wild. Newt couldn’t tell if it was with fear or insanity. Wisps of the Darkness emerged from the portal, tentatively winding themselves around him.