The pact

Chapter 8

Milady's gaze is hazy at first. But slowly, the empty street comes into view. The sky is grey with streaks of red and pink, and the air flickers; twitches. It feels like she's viewing the world through a filter. Her heart takes a leap.

"We did it! Gullvi, we crossed!"

She turns to her. Gullvi isn't there. It's Lucy. Milady freezes. Where's Gullvi? She snaps her head around. The street is empty. Damn it. What's wrong? Where is Gullvi? Fuck...

"What's.. happening? Where are we?"

Lucy sways and stumbles. Damn, not now. Milady turns to the opening they came from .. No, they need to close the portal. Damn.. They need to get their ass moving. She can think about what went wrong later.

She takes Lucy's hand and drags her with her.

"Come on, let's go."

Lucy struggles against her pull.

"What's happened? Where are we?"

"It doesn't matter, it's part of the show, okay? Let's go."

"You didn't tell me about this... "

"It was a surprise, okay? We need to go."

She pulls Lucy with her and hurries down the street. The portal will be easily recognised, or so the books say. Her gaze darts frantically, scanning the street for any signs of the portal. The air is still, terrifyingly so, but she presses on.

"I want to go back... Lucy whimpers."

"We will, okay? Just a bit further."

She turns a corner and there it is. A door in one of the houses lining the street shimmers. She drags Lucy to it, knocks, and the door swings open. Lucy starts to pull away.

"I don't want to... I want to go back. You never told me about this."

But Milady drags her inside and the door closes behind them. They stand in an empty room, abandoned from the looks of it, if it ever was inhabited. Difficult to know in this middle-land. A fallen chair lies in the corner, and the window on the other side is broken. In another corner, the air is flickering, wisps of glimmer twirling, and she knows that's the portal. Now it's just to cast the spell and they will get back to Gullvi.

She takes a deep breath and silently repeats the words before spreading her arms wide and casting the spell. Nothing happens. She hesitates. She remembered the spell, she's sure of it. She tries again. Nothing. Why doesn't it work? She tries another spell, but the portal won't close. Is it the wrong house? No, this is the one, she can feel its power. What's wrong? A shiver of something she hasn't felt for a long while creeps up her spine. Panic. This is not how it was supposed to be. They were supposed to cross the worlds and the rest would be easy. And Gullvi, Gullvi, should be there. No, focus. Focus. You can do this. The spell doesn't work. Is it the wrong spell? No, the books said this was the one. What else?

"Milady, there is something here."

Lucy's terrified whisper reaches her through the panic. Milady turns. Shadows are gathering in the corner, black wisps taking shape. Fuck. They're running out of time. She turns back to the portal and casts the spell again. Nothing. Damn. She flinches a glance at the corner. The shadows are growing stronger. They are coming for them. Damn it, they need to get back. She takes Lucy's hand and runs out the door. The street has lost its grey shimmering, and instead, wisps of darkness flit through the air. Something is watching them, she can feel them biding their time. She runs through the streets until she sees the portal to go back.

She hears Lucy scream, but she doesn't look back and drags her into the hole and everything goes black.

The basement slowly materializes, and Milady staggers and falls to her knees. Gullvi... She blinks and the world takes shape. Gullvi lies at the edge of the star, unconscious.