12. Phantasmagoria

Chapter 12

Phantasmagoria

H ugo hurtled down the stairs, the very stairs he had taken so many times before. In his excitement, his foot slipped. He threw his arms against the wall to brace himself. A momentary pause to regain his footing, then he hurried down toward his goal. It wasn't the first time he had slipped down the stairs. It was usually the same step tripping him up. Hopefully, it would be the last time walking down this set of wretched stairs.

"Excited to continue, are we?" Thaddeus asked as Hugo darted through the living room.

Hugo never turned toward Thaddeus. "I've got my ticket out of here, and I'm taking it."

"What are you talking about?"

Hugo remained silent.

The living room was still decorated in the decor of Christmas from his second trial. No doubt a trick to play on his emotions. He had left Alice a week before Thanksgiving. Right in between her two favorite times of the year—Halloween and Christmas. The phantom image of Alice was meant to torment him and break him down because it was last Christmas when Hugo had finally freed himself from one prison. He freed himself with the help of Alice. This Christmas, she would help him free himself from another.

He rushed to Alice's memory shrine—the place on her bookshelves containing photos and memorabilia of her relatives, as well as Elizabeth. The pictures appeared the same, but they were slightly off, as was everything else here. Fingers were missing or added. Faces blank. It was a surreal, lucid dream. He could recognize everything, but upon closer inspection, it wasn't the same as the real thing. The box was real, though. Physical objects retained their shapes.

Hugo lifted the masterfully crafted wood box resting in front of Elizabeth's smiling face. It was the same general picture, but like everything else, it was a dream like state. Her hair covered her face, hiding her hazel eyes. Hugo struggled to tear his eyes away as his mind wandered to the phantom image of Elizabeth from his first trial.

It wasn't the first time he had encountered a ghoulish image of Elizabeth. No, the honor belonged to the tricks of the Savinos and their Red-Hearted Queen wine. If he had his way, this would be his last. Going forward, only happy, loving memories of Elizabeth were allowed to enter his mind.

With a flick of his thumb, the box sprung open. Hidden inside was his former torment and now salvation—his black onyx wedding ring. Hugo plucked the ring out of the box and tossed the box to the side. With a skip and a hop, he rushed over to the red velvet Victorian couch. He stood in the exact spot as the fateful night they both drank from The Lovers' Kiss.

"Alice," Hugo shouted. "Alice, I'm here."

There was nothing.

"Alice?"

Still nothing. His heart skipped a beat. He held his breath. Worry overtook him as his mind wandered to what was happening in the mortal realm.

"Alice?" Hugo asked to break the stranglehold on him.

Her ghostly image appeared. Translucent and wavering, she was like a ghost from Hugo's past here to rescue his future. He let out a joyous shout.

"Can you see me?" Alice asked as she shuffled onto the couch and sat down.

"I see you; can you see me? Can you hear me?" Hugo asked.

Alice's face lit up with excitement. "I can see you. I can hear you."

"I can hear you too."

Alice's face turned from a joyous glee to a horrified shock. Her eyebrows arched up, and her mouth became agape. "Hugo," she said. "Your face. What did they do to your face? And your chest. Did I?—"

Hugo shook his head. "We'll worry about it later. Get me out of here."

"Is she the witch you spoke about?" Thaddeus asked as he stood. "How did you make her appear?"

Hugo turned his head to Thaddeus. "Magick."

"Who are you talking to?" Alice asked.

Hugo turned back. "No one. How does this work?"

Alice held up the ring from her realm. "Place your ring in the exact same spot as mine. It will create an anchor point. Hold on to it tight. I'll pull you through."

Hugo turned the ring and matched the exact position of Alice's ring. A brilliant bluish-white light emerged from the ring, and the two fused together to become one. Alice and Hugo's fingers touched.

Alice could hardly contain her excitement as she let out a laugh. "I can feel your fingers," she said.

Hugo shouted with glee. "It's working. I can feel you too."

"Take me with you," Thaddeus said as he stood from the black high-back chair and placed his enormous hand on Hugo's shoulder. "Don't leave me here."

Hugo buckled under the force. He turned to him, scrunching his eyes. "Let go of me," Hugo yelled. He pulled back, trying to shake Thaddeus off him.

"Stop shaking," Alice yelled. "You're interrupting the connection."

"I'm either coming with you or neither of us are leaving," Thaddeus said as he yanked back on Hugo's shoulder.

"Stop moving around," Alice shouted. "I have to concentrate to pull you through."

"Make your choice," Thaddeus said.

Hugo thought of all the witches and wizards Thaddeus killed, the ones he murdered simply because they were magical and he was not. Johanna and her hundreds of years of torment. Thaddeus deserved this fate as his punishment. Why should he save him?

"Who's he?" Alice asked. "I see a hand and arm."

Still, Madeline was planning something. He didn't know what, but her plan wasn't his concern right now. Hugo needed to get out of there before he joined her army of ghouls. And if Thaddeus joining him was the price for his escape, then at least he could deny another member for the banshee's army.

Hugo turned back to Alice. "We're bringing one more with us."

"I can try. I'll begin the incantation and then pull you both through. It'll be slow, but it should work," she explained.

"We might not have much time," Hugo said.

"There's a reason this stuff is done on Sauin if you want to wait until then," she said in a snarky tone.

"Nope, let's go," he retorted.

Alice focused on the ring and recited an ancient incantation from her book. Inch by inch, he was pulled through the veil from the land of lost souls to the mortal realm. Blood pumped through his fingers as they slipped through the veil and materialized on the other side.

The veil squeezed and compressed around his arm as he moved through. The veil was trying to shut itself, but he kept pushing through slowly, inch by inch.

"You might want to hurry," Thaddeus said.

"She's going as fast as she can," Hugo responded. "Let her do her thing."

Alice resumed her incantation. Hugo's elbow passed through the veil. He smiled, knowing he was moments from returning home.

The front door flew open and crashed against the base of the staircase. The sound of heavy metal echoed off the hardwood floor.

"We have company," Thaddeus said.

"Shit!" Hugo yelled.

"What's happening?" Alice asked, breaking her incantation.

Hugo's arm stopped progressing through the veil. "Go faster."

"I can't. Besides, you interrupted me," Alice said before restarting the incantation.

Hugo turned to see who had crashed through the front door. The cloaked figure moved with purpose, storming into the living room. He sheathed his sword. The fiery blade swung high above his cloaked head as he marched toward the group.

Thaddeus let go of Hugo's shoulder and backed away.

Hugo locked eyes with Alice's eyes. Her emerald green eyes turned a pale, ghostly white. He shook his head. The smile, once so prominent, faded from his face. The harsh reality set in. He wasn't leaving. Not this way. She would have to go the long way round.

"They're here," Hugo said as he pulled his arm back through the veil.

Alice resisted, but she followed along. "Who's there? Who's coming?"

"Find me. Get me," he said as the last bit of his arm pulled back through the veil.

The rider swung his sword, slicing the ring in half. The image of Alice evaporated, disappearing back into the ether from which it came. His one hope for escape. The connection to his beloved. All gone. Gone in a flash of a fiery blade.

Hugo fell backward to avoid the blade striking him. In the process, he dropped the ring. The sliced half bounced off the hardwood floor before coming to a stop under the couch. Hugo scrambled backward, scooting on his hands and feet to escape the wrath of the rider. The rider reared the blade back, ready to strike down on the defenseless Hugo Dodds.

"Hold," Madeline said as she entered the living room.

The rider held the blade above his head.

Thaddeus scrambled to his feet. In the commotion, he had lost his tricorn hat. His gaze swept around the room until he found the hat teetering on the edge of the fireplace behind him. He gathered the leather hat and secured it on his head, covering his head wound. "Your highness," Thaddeus said with a slight bow. "He was trying to escape. I was about to stop him when?—"

"You gutless coward!" Hugo shouted.

Thaddeus turned to Hugo and in a soft voice said, "It's called survival." He pointed to the couch. "The rider interrupted the ritual."

Madeline focused on the couch. She took a few steps forward. Her eyes focused on where Alice was moments before.

"Tell me what happened," Madeline said.

"You see, there was an image of a woman—" Thaddeus began.

"Not you," she interrupted. "I want him."

Madeline turned to Hugo, pointing her collapsed parasol at him. The black tip aimed directly at Hugo's face. "I want him to tell me what happened."

"I don't know," Hugo said. "A woman appeared and offered a one-way ticket out of here."

Madeline moved closer to Hugo, the end of the parasol still directed toward him. "I'm not to be trifled with. I want the truth. Start talking."

"I don't know what happened," Hugo said. "Magick, I guess."

She slapped Hugo under the chin with her parasol. There was no pain, only the reverberation of his lower teeth slamming into his upper ones. He glared at her, never turning away.

Madeline slammed the end of the parasol into the hardwood floor. Her voice rose. "Was she the one you drank from the cup with?"

Hugo remained silent and stoic. His eyes narrowed, never backing down.

Her face seethed as her eyebrows arched, and her lips closed in. She took a few steps closer, nearly touching his side with her dress and boots.

This time, her voice lowered. "I have been patient. I have been accommodating. I have been kind."

Madeline tucked the parasol under her arm before adjusting her black lace gloves. She took a deep breath and exhaled. Hugo scowled up at her. He thought about tripping her, had the rider not been standing a few feet away.

"Fine. We'll do this the way you want it. If you're not willing to submit to the banshee's call, then I'll force you." Madeline rammed the end of the parasol into the hardwood floor. The sound of wood against wood echoed throughout the living room. She slammed it down twice more.

"Bring me the mask!" she shouted.

Four ghouls entered, one carrying a wooden chest. It was a dark, blackish-brown. No distinguishing features. They placed the chest on the floor next to Madeline.

"Pick him up," she commanded the ghouls.

They gathered around Hugo. His eyes scanned back and forth. He tried to scramble, but their skeletal like hands grabbed and tugged at his arms and legs, pulling him all directions. He squirmed, attempting to break free, but the ghouls held their grip tight. The two holding his arms lifted him off the ground, while the other two held his feet in place. He was trapped.

Madeline bent down and opened the lid to the chest. "Mr. Dodds, if you won't cooperate, then I'm going to force you to play nice. I don't need you. I need the essence held in your soul."

She withdrew a bronze mask and held it aloft for Hugo to see face to face. It was old and weathered, shaped in the face of a male figure writhing in agony. Hugo's heart sank.

She locked eyes with Hugo. "I would like to introduce you to the death mask."