Inchoate Carillion, Inconstant Cuckold
By Charles Matthias
Charles drove his arms into the stone, the gray
creeping up his arms and over his shoulders as he
pushed deeper and deeper into the ledge. The wall
of snow rushed toward him with the ferocity of a
Sondesharan sandstorm. It raced down either side
of the crevice, parting at the top of a ridge
some distance above them, before flowing back
together just in front of the rat. The torrent
miraculously rushed past Baerle who seemed safe
inside the crevice before pounding into the rat.
Charles drove his face into the stone beneath him
and shuddered as he felt the onslaught batter
across his back, grasping and dragging him
backward from the stone as it caught his pack and
yanked. He pulled his tail in close as best he
could, the battering searing at his stony flesh
like a million ribbons dashing against him. He
could feel the straps on his pack tearing and as
the avalanche continued to pound into him, the
resonance reverberating through his mind like the
wild peal of bells, minute after minute of
unremitting agony that made him scream within the
confines of the mountainside, the pack finally
broke free and was swept from his back and down into the valley below.
Food, spare clothing, his bedding, and half of
the pouches with the magical paste were all gone
in a moment and lost forever. The only relief
Charles felt as the snow continued to tear at his
back was that his Sondeshike had turned to stone
with him and was safe within his cloak now pushed into the rocky outcropping.
Eventually, the avalanche subsided, and Charles,
shaking and weary, lifted his head and gazed
upward. The rush of snow had pushed him, even
through the stone, down the mountainside a good
twenty feet. With one trembling paw after
another, he climbed back up the now bare rock,
hoping and praying that Baerle had been kept safe in the crevice.
When he reached the ledge, he saw that the
avalanche had also blown him back the way they'd
come, as the crevice was a good thirty paces
away. He saw Baerle at the edge peering out over
the precipice with a fearful look in her eye. The
rat scrambled to his paws, still aching in his head, and tried to wave to her.
No! a familiar voice shouted from up above. A
gong sounded, cracking in the air like a fist
smashing the earth. Charles crumpled to his
knees, putting his paws to his ears, even as he
searched the mountain for the source of the voice.
Sliding down the stone on his hooves, with the
cracked iron bell in his right hand and a short
sword in his left, was his friend James the
donkey. A wild look filled his eyes. He came to a
stop as if unseen hands guided his fall only a
few feet in front of Charles. He pointed the
sword toward him and fumed with a high-pitched
rage. You! How can you still be alive? I hate you!
Charles blinked in dumbfounded horror as he
climbed back to his feet and reached for his
Sondeshike. What are you talking about, James?
he asked as he gripped the compact Sondeshike in
his right paw. What's wrong with you?
James stepped forward, swinging the bell so that
it pealed with a groan that made his stomach turn
end over end. Charles gasped, fighting with all
his strength to keep standing. The donkey's thick
lips quivered and his nostrils stretched as if
they were about to cast forth fiery bolts from
within. I have to kill you, Charles. His voice,
unrestrained yet almost apologetic in its
severity. I have to kill you so she can be mine.
Nevermore. Nevermore will my soul find itself alone!
James drove forward with a feint from his sword.
Charles, still not comprehending anything that
was happening, extended the Sondeshike and batted
the donkey's sword away, before taking a step
back along the path to keep his distance. You're
talking madness, James. Who is she? Baerle? She's not mine at all.
White rimmed his eyes as he smacked the bell
forward, another concussive tolling that made the
rat's knees buckle for an instant. He poured his
Sondecki strength into his legs and kept them
still, but only just. Liar! James screamed
before jumping forward and trying to smack him
across the snout with the end of the bell.
Charles ducked out of the way and swung his Sondeshike to intercept.
The gong-like peal that echoed from the collision
made Charles's mind blank. He wailed in agony as
he fell backward, his entire body quivering and
struggling against the darkness of sleep. He felt
blood dribbling across his cheeks. Somehow he'd
kept the Sondeshike in his paws but only just. As
he lay on his back, he saw the donkey stand above
him, just out of reach of the rat's legs ad tail.
James's hands were wrapped so tightly about bell
and blade that his knuckles were white even
through his hide. Liar! I've watched you two...
I'ev seen the way you look at her. And I saw you
hugging just now. Sharing that intimacy you can't
have while others can see. But I see! I see! And
it won't be anymore! Nevermore shall my soul find
itself alone. Nevermore shall my soul find itself
alone! Never more shall my soul find itself
alone! Tolling! Tolling! Bells! The merry bosom
swells with the ringing it impels!
The donkey's fevered voice had given way to a
hysterical braying that echoed across the valley.
The iron bell glistened and reflected his face as if it were silver.
Charles breathed a single word as his eyes were
lost in the endless curve of the bell.
Marzac... He gasped and with anguish stared
into the monstrous and twisted face of his
friend. James! This is Marzac doing this to you.
Reject it like Kayla and Lindsey did! Remember
what Habakkuk wrote to you! James please!
Wretch! James smacked the bell against rock and
Charles felt it vibrate up through his body.
Where he struck the mountain it cracked in a line
that raced a few feet in every direction. Charles
dare not turn himself to stone to escape.
James stepped closer to the quivering rat,
keeping the bell lifted and ready to sound, while
the sword was held loosely but with clear
purpose. One wrong move and his friend would
skewer him as surely as he might a Lutin. You
already have a wife, Charles, and yet when I see
a woman I desire, you steal her heart from me.
When we go into battle together, it is you who
steal all the acclaim; everyone recognizes your
exploits; they are memorialized in song and
ballad! Yours is the first name any thinks of
when they think of Metamor's heroes!
But what of me? Nothing! Oh, you all keep
assuring me I'm a good fighter; but I see the
poison in your words! Nevermore will I listen to
it. Nevermore will I stand it! You will take thy
paws from out my heart and take thy form from out
my world! He rushed forward and swung the bell down at the rat's head.
Charles spun the Sondeshike into the donkey's arm
beneath where he gripped the bell. He did not
want to hit too hard for fear of severing his
friend's arm; only enough force to break so he
could subdue him until they could show him how
Marzac had corrupted his mind. The bell was clearly the linchpin.
But to his horror, even though his staff clearly
struck the donkey just beneath his wrist, no bone
shattered and no blood spilled. The Sondeshike
merely stopped there as if it had struck an
object even stronger than itself. Charles had
never seen that happen before, and in his shock,
he only had enough time to dive toward the
mountain at his left to avoid the blow coming for his head.
It's Marzac! he screamed through the gong like
blast filling his mind. He wanted so desperately
to shrink into his beastly form and scurry away
where the donkey couldn't find him. There he
could hide away from that carillon, that
monstrous carillon that towered over them with
such unremitting hostility and watchfulness. Only
little animals were beneath its imperious gaze.
He could be safe if he just lived like a normal rat.
Charles pushed those thoughts away as he rolled
right back into the donkey's legs, overbalancing
him for one hopeful moment. James waved his sword
arm in the air, before lifting his right leg and
straddling atop of the rat, now once again on his
back. He lifted high the bell, and with his face
a rictus of loathing, moaned, And who tolling,
tolling, tolling, in that muffled monotone, feel
a glory in so rolling on the human heart a stone.
You stone. You... stone. You... you... get thee
back into the tempest and the night! Nine will unlock. Nine will unlock.
James swung the bell down. Charles lifted his
Sondeshike, and felt the blow lance down his arms
and through his body, filling them a single note
that echoed back and forth like a living thing
brought forth, a flame now dancing at the end of
a candlewick waiting for its brethren to join it.
Charles had enough strength to keep his
Sondeshike aloft to ward off the next two blows,
but then even the might of the Sondeck failed in
him. The bell crushed against his chest, arms,
and face with the next four blows, bruising his
flesh and breaking his bones. Blood rained down
his snout and arms as the harmony swelled
precipitously, seven voices now joined in
discordant polyphony imbuing his body with an
alien rage that made his eyes stream with tears.
With what little was left of his strength and
flesh, Charles whispered a plea to whatever
remained of his friend, It's Marzac, James. I forgive you...
And then, before the next blow could come, he
heard a scream and saw through bleary eyes
something leap onto the donkey's back.
----------
James could feel the will of the carillon alive
in him in a way that no mere words could convey.
Nine rings, nine tones filling the rat and it
would be over. His body would burst asunder from
the energy filling him, and the carillon would
itself be manifested beyond the boundaries of the
cracked iron bell through which it acted. There
would be nothing it couldn't give to him in recompense after.
Before he could convey the eighth tone, the
eighth bell of that mighty Marzac carillon,
something landed on his back and grasped him all
over with arms, legs and tail. James screamed his
rage and toppled backward against the rock,
trying to swing the bell back to brain whoever it
was that grasped him, his eyes so filled with the
rat's blood that he couldn't resolve the
screaming and clawing image that danced from one
eye to the other. But try as he might, he could not connect the bell to flesh.
James took several more steps back along the
narrow ledge as the claws grasped his right arm,
pinning the bell as far from him as it could
reach. James snarled, flat teeth grinding
together, and he spun on his hooves in a tight
circle, flinging out his arm, and the creature grasping his back.
To his surprise, it was Baerle. The opossum
landed in a heap before him, limbs a scatter but
gathering beneath her to strike again.
Trash of all trash!
How can a lady don it?
Tolling!
James shook his head, staring in horror at the
fear in her eyes. He couldn't strike at her.
Habakkuk had even assured him of that in his own
strange way. No! James said, holding out his
sword and warding her back, even as he drew the
bell closer. Stay back, Baerle! I'm not going to hurt you. I love you!
You aren't James! Baerle cried, as she drew her
blades and took a step closer. James would never hurt his friends!
Trash of all trash! Tolling!
Silence! and Desolation! and dim Night! I feel ye
now I feel ye in your strength!
Baerle, James shrieked. Get back! I'm not going to hurt you!
Yet the ear it fully knows. Yet the ear distinctly tells.
James glared at the bell and shouted. No! You're wrong!
James, destroy it! It's evil! Baerle gasped as
she brandished her daggers and feinted toward him.
They are ghouls!
No! James shouted in anguish as his eyes were
filled with a monstrous reflection from the iron
bell, his own face turned into a beast as vile as
anything that had attacked them in the swamps.
Marzac. This was Marzac in his hands and Marzac
with which he'd struck Berchem, Angus, Charles, and very nearly Baerle herself.
Bells! Bells!
James screamed in horror as he fell back against
the stone, trying to keep the iron bell still as
much as he could. Two more strikes against the
rat and whatever evil had sought to climb out of
Lindsey's pouch, and whatever evil had sought to
consume Rickkter's body would have been set free
through the blossoming of Charles's flesh like a rose unfolding in Spring.
He felt the weight of the carillon above him,
bearing down like a furnace, sliding along metal
gears as it lowered to crush him into a smear of
pulp and ichor against a featureless slab, a
sacrificial altar that consumed its victims with
pitiless hunger. They would do to him exactly
what they had once done to Zagrosek and with equal callousness.
James turned the bell in his hand, slowly as his
arm trembled and fought with him. He turned it
until the crack faced him, the clapper within
stirring and lifting of its own accord. Go back
to Hell and stay there! Forevermore!
He drove the point of his sword into the crack
and yanked down on the haft. The iron shattered
with a concussion that knocked him back against
the path, his upper body tipping over the edge of
the precipice. The sword and bell were blown from
his hands, and he grasped at the ledge as he
began to topple over into the waiting abyss.
A pair of paws grasped his legs and pulled him
back. Snow-covered tree tops wavered before him,
as well as a slope of rock and snow that had
pounded past moments before. But the paws pulled
him away from that death, until he could get a
grip on the stone and draw himself back onto the ledge and to safety.
With her paws still grasped around his shins,
Baerle stared at him in wonder and hope, her face
a mix of emotions, but so fine and beautiful for
all of that. James, is it you?
James gasped and cried. Oh, Baerle, it's me!
It's me! He grabbed onto her shoulders and held
her for a moment, before pushing himself to his
hooves. Charles! He ran back across the ledge
to where the rat lay bleeding and groaning. Charles, are you all right?
He knelt at the rat's side, noting the blood
coming from his gums and ears, as well as a
little spattering his fur-lined cloak and the
Sondeshike at his side. Charles blinked and
stared up at him with admiration. And through his
bruised and broken chest, halting and weak, he
said Never better... now that... the ringing... is gone.
----------
She had perhaps a mile left before she reached
the mountain. Jessica wasn't sure if anyone could
survive such an avalanche, but something had
survived. She could see flares of light, a
strange suggestion of a shape forming above the
mountain itself, one limned with shade, curving
wide enough to encompass the entire mount. A
bell. A bell so massive that one ring from it would flatten the entire valley.
And then, just as its definition seemed so real
and true, a black plume like an alchemist's flame
rose up from the northwestern flank of the
mountain, piercing that image and scattering it
as if it had never been. Jessica squawked in
horror, wondering and dreading what it is she'd just seen.
Her wings sore, she taxed them even more, diving
toward the flank of the mountain.
----------
Charles hurt all over and even the few words he'd
managed had left him breathless. The harmony of
the bells was no longer in him, but the bruising
he'd suffered on his face, arms, and in his chest
made it impossible for him to even sit up. His
incisors weren't broken, but from the lancing
pain that riddled his face, he was afraid that
his jaws might be. He knew at least three of his
ribs had cracked when the bell had struck his
chest, but those were easy to heal in comparison.
James, at hearing the rat's words, chuckled
mirthlessly for a moment, and then he collapsed
against the rock and his entire body began to
shake as he wept. Baerle, nestled beside the rat,
glanced back at the donkey, and then to Charles.
The rat lifted his right arm which didn't hurt as
much as his left and waved toward his friend.
Baerle frowned, looked over his wounds, then sighed and nodded.
Baerle crept over to James's side and rested her
paws on his shoulders. Are you okay?
James sobbed, casting a glance at the broken
remnants of the bell still wrapped about his
sword. I... I would never hurt you. I'm so sorry.
I know. Charles knows too. Baerle wrapped one
arm around the donkey's shoulders and held him
gently. We have to... bandage him.
James shuddered and began to nod. Aye.
As the two of them came forward, another voice
sounded from behind. What in all the hells is
going on? James? Charles? Baerle?
Angus! Baerle cried with relief. The bell...
it's destroyed. Help us. Charles is badly injured.
The badger scrambled in next to Charles and began
to gently poke him with his claws. Ow! Charles said at nearly every poke.
What happened here? Angus asked as he felt
around the rat's face. Charles winced visibly and
he could feel the badger's thumbs rubbing against
the break in his lower jaw like twin daggers
stabbing in his flesh. Your jaw's broken. Give
me a moment and I'll set it for you. It's going to hurt like hell.
If he dared make his tongue work Charles would
have offered the badger a sarcastic rejoinder for his brilliance.
I did this, James said slowly, eyes lowered and
his hands clasping and unclasping. Marzac did
this through me. I'm... I'm so sorry! I should
have known. I should have... tears streamed from
his eyes again and he sat back down on the ledge,
tail pressed beneath him and hooves clopping
together through the ice shoes. I nearly killed you all. I'm so... so sorry.
Baerle knelt at his side and wrapped one arm
about his back again. She cast a quick glance at
Angus. Can you see to Charles?
The badger rubbed his paws together and nodded.
Of course. He braced his paws on either side of
the rat's jaws and grunted. Hold onto something.
Charles closed his eyes and dug his paws into the
stone beneath him. The pain that exploded a
moment later in his mind made his legs and tail
kick, but it was a sweet agony compared to what the bells had done to him.
----------
As soon as Jessica rounded the northwestern flank
of the mountain her heart filled with relief.
Though the avalanche had cleared the entire face
of snow, along a small ledge the four Glenners
all were all there, and no more sign of taint
existed. James reclined in a heap, head between
his arms resting on his knees, while the opossum
Baerle was at his side speaking soft words.
Charles was propped up against a satchel, while
Angus wrapped his chest, arms, and even his face in bandages.
James lifted his head as she landed on the ledge
and swelled to her normal size. Jessica! Oh
Jessica, it was Marzac. It came for me, and I
nearly gave in to it! You have to help Charles!
Jessica turned between them and folded her wings
behind her back. What happened?
I destroyed the bell, James said, gesturing to
the cracked remains of an iron bell. It was split
all the way to the haft, chunks of metal broken
free along the bore. Jessica couldn't see any
traces of magical energy left within it, but just
staring at the ruined bell made her feathers
tremble and her talons scrape. How could an evil defeated still frighten so?
And Charles? Jessica turned toward the rat who met her gaze with bleary eyes.
I struck him with the bell. I beat him with it,
James shuddered and lowered his head back into
his arms. Baerle rubbed his arm with one paw, her other draping along his back.
If you can heal him, Angus said, please do.
His jaw was broken and there's only so much I can
do about that. A few of his ribs too. We've got a
hard climb ahead of us if we're going to get back to Glen Avery.
Jessica crouched next to the rat who looked up at
her through the bandages wrapped about his snout
with a hopeful expression. While healing magic
was not what she had trained in under Wessex,
their time traveling together last year had
taught her many new things and mending broken
bones and soothing bruises was one of them. How
much she owed in that to Abafouq, Guernef, or
even Qan-af-årael she could not say, but to each
she offered a silent word of thanksgiving as she
felt with her feathers around the rat's jaws.
Her black feathers glowed faint blue as she
whispered the words of power so softly that her
beak didn't even move. The rupture in the bones
began to mend with each syllable. And she could
see the rat's eyes relax more and more as the power spread through his snout.
By the time she had finished healing the break in
his jaws, Jessica felt anew the weariness in her
body that she had kept at bay these last few
days. She briefly considered tapping into her
reservoir, but decided against it. These were
healing spells after all; there was no need to
call on more energy than was required.
Jessica turned her attention to the rat's ribs,
and then to either of his arms. When he was
finished, exhausted, she almost collapsed onto
her tail feathers with a squawk. That's as much as I can do.
Can I take the bandages off? Angus asked as
Charles's jaws squirmed beneath the bindings keeping them shut and in place.
For now. The bones are still weak so he'll need
to keep them supported for at least a week.
Charles didn't wait for the badger. As soon as he
had the hawk's permission he tore the bandages
around his face off and slowly worked his jaws
back and forth. Oh, thank you! The pain is still
there, but, at least I can move my jaw again.
What are you doing here, Jessica?
Burris asked me to help him figure out what was
wrong with Berchem. Together we were able to see
that it was the magic of Marzac, and when I
mentioned a bell, they knew it had to be James.
That was this morning. I've been flying here ever
since. What happened to you all? How was it destroyed?
It wanted me to hurt Baerle, James murmured
from his crouch. I was okay with killing you and
nearly killing Berchem, but I couldn't hurt her.
I guess you know what I did to him...
Berchem? Jessica asked. He nodded but didn't
look up. Aye, we know. But why did you do that?
He ground his teeth together and then sighed.
Because of what he said about Baerle. He
managed to raise his head and turned both of his
eyes toward the opossum. I hated him for it. But
I couldn't kill yet because then I wouldn't have
had a chance to kill Charles. Oh.... I'm so sorry.
I forgive you, James. Kayla didn't really want
to hurt us either when she was under Marzac's
power. It's no different now. Charles pushed
himself up against the pack so that he was
sitting up properly, long tail stretched out
between his legs. Everyone will understand when we get back.
And Berchem will too, Baerle assured him with a
firm grip on his shoulder. I'll make sure of that.
The donkey snorted and lowered his head back
down. I don't deserve friends like you.
Nobody deserves a friend like me, Angus
retorted while thumping his paw on his chest.
They all managed weak smiles at that, even James. So what now?
We need to find a place to rest for the night. I
suggest gong back the way we came. Angus glanced
across the mountain path and then to his friends.
Two good days of climbing should bring us back
to the Gateway. He glanced at Jessica, Unless
you can give us all wings or something.
Not yet, she replied. but I will fly back and
let Lord Avery know where to meet you. I have to
go back and make sure Berchem has recovered now
that the bell is destroyed. Her golden eyes
turned to the cracked ruin of metal and she
shuddered. And I have to do something about that.
Charles lifted one arm. I can make something out
of stone here. After what just happened I think
the mountain will be very glad to donate if it gets that thing off its flanks.
Jessica nodded and then forced herself back on
her talons. She walked over to where James
crouched. The opossum had not left his side once,
though her snout was rife with conflicting
emotions. Jessica wasn't sure how much Baerle
cared for the donkey, but it was clear that she
had some feelings for him, even if she herself wasn't sure what they were.
Jessica bent low and spread one wing to rest on
the donkeys other shoulder. James. Marzac made
you do terrible things. But you are a good man.
One of the best I've ever known, and one I'm
honored to know and call friend. Thank you.
James lifted his head and blinked. For what?
For destroying the evil all by yourself. Lindsey
and Kayla couldn't do it. But you did. She
pushed her wing claws between his arms until they
pressed against his chest. There's more in here
than you give yourself credit for.
His lips quivered threatening a smile, before he
managed to say, Thank you, Jessica.
She patted him on the side with her wing and
offered a silent prayer that her dear friend
would find the peace in his heart that he needed.
Her eyes briefly alighted on the ruin of the
bell, then she turned back to Charles who had
managed to roll onto his haunches. Are you ready
to fashion stone? I will do what I can to strengthen it with magic.
I'm already working on it, the rat replied.
Beneath his hands the ledge slowly disgorged a
solid block of granite. Jessica could only gape in wonder.
----------
May He bless you and keep you in His grace and love,
Charles Matthias
!DSPAM:4e9c9d05157045315134984!
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