Fic: Descent (HP PG-13) Parts 31-40

[bookishwench]

Disclaimer: All characters belong to J. K. Rowling. No copyright infringement is intended and no profit is made from this fanfic.


31 Arrival

Gently as a dove landing on a bough, the boat came to rest against the shore of the island. There was no noise at all, not even the sound of ripples against the stone. The island rose sharply, and it was difficult to see what crowned its rocky summit, but I was certain something was there. I had only to explore and learn the secrets there.

“Stay here,” I told the two children. “I will call you if I have need of you, and then you must come at once. Is that understood?”

“Please, don’t take the light!” Dennis pleaded.

32 Mercy

The desperation in the child’s voice suggested he might do something excessive to prevent the light leaving, and I did not want that aggravation, not at my moment of greatest triumph.

It was then I noticed a soft glow emanating from the island’s peak. I am still unsure whether it had always been there or if it had begun in response to the boat coming to rest. In any case, the problem was solved. I handed Dennis the lighter, and he clutched it like a drowning man.

“Thank you,” he whispered.

You see how very kind I was to him.

33 Path

It was not without a certain amount of trembling that I stepped from the boat. I admit, I was very young, and the adventure before me was not something I had ever experienced. I had dreamed of it, but the reality was more overwhelming than I would have guessed.

I ascended the rocks to the summit of the small hill, moving always towards the dim but very perceptible light coming from the center of the island. My feet found a path and followed it. It took but seconds to cover the distance, yet years of experience lay in those moments.

34 Pinnacle

I am sure you are wondering what sight met my eyes once I crested the top of the hill. I was in quite a bit of suspense myself, but the tension of the moment gave way to something that was both more and less than I had expected.

A small, rectangular platform of stone, no higher than the span of my hand, rested atop the hill. On it lay the one I had sought for so long. There was no doubt of it, for his name was carved into the stone at my feet. Merlin, in all his pathetic glory.

35 Requiescat in Pace

He was not, as I had thought he might be, alive. His power hadn’t been enough to stop death in its ceaseless pursuit. His corpse was no more remarkable than any other man’s, though it had been enchanted so as to keep away the worst parts of decay. Even this was fading. His cheeks were sunken, and his limbs looked brittle beneath his robes of dark purple. His long white beard lay against his chest, and something rested upon it that drew me closer. Stupidly, I did not think of the dangers that might await if I came too near.

36 Revelations

The object that had drawn my attention was a rose, blood red, charmed that the petals should never fall. It sat over his heart, and his hands clasped it, fingers interlocked around the stem. Undoubtedly, it was left by Nimue, and it was from the flower that the dim glow emanated.

I stared at him, the dead genius, the foolish madman who had traded the greatest power in the world for the love of a woman who would give him no more than a posy for his corpse in return for her robbery.

I suddenly realized that I hated him.

37 Squandering

The burn of anger started low in my gut, rapidly becoming hotter and expanding until my hands and feet were shaking from rage. What a wastrel!

This man had once been the most powerful person in the world. If even half of the stories were true, he had shaped destinies, molded empires, had the very stars at his command, and yet he had proved to be merely mortal. He had died as everyone dies, and the ludicrous fiction of love he had held for Nimue had destroyed him utterly.

He was unworthy of my worship.

He was unworthy of existence.

38 Summons

“Amy! Dennis! Come here at once if you ever wish to see the daylight again!” I called.

Even so, there was a pause, a hesitation, a minor rebellion when I am sure the pair of them wondered if the boat might not decide to journey back again even if only two of the original three passengers were present. However, the pause was not a long one, and soon I heard the sound of their shoes on the stones below, drawing slowly, dejectedly nearer.

When they crested the top of the hill and saw the bier before them, they gasped, predictably.

39 Destruction

“Who was he?” Amy asked, her voice reverent.

“A fool,” I said, the words cold. “Nothing but a stupid, worthless fool.”

Dennis had come closer to the body, far closer than I would have expected the timid boy to dare. He held the lighter aloft with one hand, and with the other he reached out a finger to touch the rose on his chest.

“Who left this for him?” he said. “It’s pretty.”

I grimaced at the show of sentimentality; then, I grabbed the flower, threw it to the ground, and crushed it underfoot. At once, the soft glow died.

40 Revenge

“Why did you do that?” Amy asked, and she actually had the temerity to sound angry.

“Because he’s nothing but an empty shell, a dead corpse, a thing,” I said, stunned by how even my tone remained. I was perfectly rational. “The rose was nothing but a lie.”

I carefully considered the next step in my plan. A white cloth, ancient but still whole, lay beneath the wizard’s body. I nodded. It would do.

“Dennis, take that corner there at the feet, and Amy, the one next to it,” I said.

I myself grasped the two corners by his head.