“You’re right.” Harry had finished eating the last of Barnaby’s desserts. “It has to be now, doesn’t it, so he’s not better prepared. But we still don’t know what to do.”
“Yes, we do,” said Huck, “we just have to keep him on the attack and not die so his strands will be visible.”
“And follow the strands to the New Creations Book,” said Cinderella.
“Then cut the strands.“ said Susan, “and destroy it.”
“And kill him,” finished Harry. “I know he can’t be left alive to do this again.”
“And we should try to stay alive.” Said Taylor.
“You don’t have a weapon, Fred… I mean, Taylor?” Asked Harry.
“I do, but I have no protection charm. However, it’s hard to kill an essence of death, even in other forms. And Smedley won’t know who or what I am.” Taylor then changed into the Owl and landed on Harry’s arm. ‘Just Harry’s pet,’ they heard in their heads.
“Ok, so when do we go?” Asked Huck.
“We go now,” said Susan.
“Ok, but before we do, I have found something on that Redwood I’d like you to see, Harry.” said Huck.
“No, there’s nothing on the Redwood,” said Susan, a little shook.
“What is it, Huck? Is it important to the mission?”
“No. But it is important to remember why we are doing the mission, and this might be one of the best reasons and the only chance you get to see it.”
“Huck!” said Susan.
Harry got up and walked across to the tree. Carved in the bark, illuminated in a soft green light, was a heart with the letters ‘H+S’ inside it. Harry looked at Susan, who had gone a little red.
“Barnaby!” She shouted. “We need Hilda the dragon now.” Cinderella kissed her on the cheek and started laughing.
“Yes, yes, yes.” Said Barnaby, stepping from behind the tree. “Here she comes.”
In the opening, stepping out of the mist, a giant reptilian-like foot appeared. High above it, a Face appeared. “Hello, do you have any cake left, not the pretend shit we have here, but the real stuff?”
“Err..We certainly do, Ms Hilda.” Replied Huck, taking the remains of the cake from his pack and offering it up to her. There was a loud crack! And standing before them was a short, naked, muscular woman, red hair in thick dreads shimmering like flame, and eyes like coal. Her skin was coated in tiny scales glittering pearlescent, reflecting the colours of her hair. She took the cake from Huck, who was frozen to the spot.
“Ooh, Battenburg.” Hilda took a slice. “In my top three cakes. Thank you, Master Finn.” She bowed ever so slightly and took another slice with her other hand and turned to Harry. “Harry, as the knife bearer, you have to cut exactly in the right spot. I will shoot plasma directly where you need to cut and then just follow the line it leaves, understand?” She took a bite of cake.
“Err yes, I do understand, thank you.” He was lost in the bottomless eyes.
She turned to Susan and broke the spell. “This cake is excellent. Tell your Grandad he has good taste.” She spent the next few moments eating the cake in silence. When she was finished, she turned away from them. “Ok, each of you grab some hair and hold on tight.”
They each grabbed a dreadlock, except for Taylor, who was still an Owl. It felt warm to Harry, like a living flame. She transformed back into the dragon, leaving them clambering on her back, finding their feet while holding onto the now long ropes of hair to steady themselves. She took off and, once in the air, began flying in circles, gaining altitude.
‘We will be there in a moment, get ready, Harry, my flame will show the way,’ they heard her voice in their heads, as she began flying in a straight line.
“My god, this is the stuff of dreams,” said Huck, “A dragon.” He was laughing.
“It’s getting warm under my feet.” Said Cinderella, and a moment later they saw a jet of white flame leave Hilda’s mouth, lighting up a small filament in the sky.
‘There, Harry,’ was all he heard as she stopped dead in the air next to the pulsating seam, defying gravity. He quickly drew the knife and plunged it into the line at the top, cutting down. As he did so, the sky opened up like a pair of curtains, revealing Smedley’s shop floor. Harry stepped through, followed by Susan, Cinderella and Taylor, who flew through the gap and landed on Harry’s shoulder.
“Thank you kindly, Ms Hilda. This is a memory of the finest order,” said Huck and jumped into the portal, it snapping quickly shut behind him.
———————————————————————————
The shop lights were still on. They took a moment to gain their bearings, and noticed that part of the front of the shop was missing. Something had crashed out of it. They didn’t move at first. It was quiet, and then they heard rustling above them, the sound of someone moving about. Slowly, Harry made his way to the foot of the stairs that led up to Smedley’s workshop. The others followed him, with Susan bringing up the rear.
Harry pulled out his wand with his left hand, and Huck and Cinderella readied their weapons. Susan did nothing, but Taylor landed on her shoulder, now a much smaller owl. Harry cast a protective spell using the knife in his right hand. It made a tiny fizzing sound, which was enough to make them pause. The rustling continued without interruption, so they continued up after a short moment.
Harry was the first to enter the room. It was empty, clear of everything and filled with ash. “Gandalf burned all my books and the furniture. It was something to see, if a bit annoying.” Smedley stepped out of a doorway on the right. He was in a red tracksuit, wearing small round spectacles and Howard the Duck slippers. “I can get most of it back, of course. It was only of sentimental value, nothing important.” Harry hadn’t noticed his Birmingham accent before, in all the madness.
“You can stop this, Smedley,” said Harry, not really sure why he said it. He knew he wouldn’t stop and they were going to have to kill him… if they could.
“Harry! Stop what? Burning paper manikins, practising ‘magic’… You know none of it is real.” He clicked a finger and a chair appeared. He sat down. “It’s all just building blocks, ready to be remade.” His voice was metallic somehow, like he was talking through a cheap mic, and then Harry realised he was encased in a cocoon of energy, a shield perhaps. It was affecting how he sounded. “Your companions, all but 1, are just paper, not even human. They were never born. They have no parents. Who cares if they live or die.”
“They are my friends, and they are alive, and they would be missed more than you!” said Harry.
“There will be no family to mourn them.” Continued Smedley. He removed his spectacles and stared at Harry with piercing blue eyes. “But you aren’t paper, neither is your girlfriend, though I’m not sure what she is.” He leaned forwards. “Why aren’t you paper?”
“It doesn’t matter. Why are you trying to remake the world?”
“Well, Harry, I could say I think Potter’s world, your world, would be more fun. Magic, Dragons, Wizard schools… It would be better than this shithole filled with wars, pollution and diseases. These things,” he gestured to the others, “are just a means to an end,” he paused, “but I would be lying if I said I didn’t feel alone. The only people I see each day are the sad humans who visit my shop to treat their obsessions. I want a world I will be loved in, where I fit, with friends.”
“This isn’t a way to find friends,” said Harry.
“Why find friends when you can make them, Harry?”
“It’s no use, Harry. He won’t stop. Will you?” Susan asked.
“I won’t. But I would love to offer Harry a part of the new world. I mean it is made around him.” He stood up. “Imagine powers just like you had and more. All your friends will be there and real… we could even bend a few rules and bring back your mom and dad, even Sirius Black?” Harry didn’t respond. “Not interested? Shame.”
A massive crack of lightning struck Harry’s head, or at least it would have if Harry hadn’t been maintaining a shield all this time. He’d been able to increase its power the closer he got to Smedley, feeling his energy swelling, and expanding it in all directions so the rest would be safe behind it. Powerful lightning bolts were hitting it over and over again, but it held.
Cinderella shot at Smedley only to see the bullets enter his body and be pushed out. Huck tried hurling a firebolt at him using the enchantment on his sword, but though the flame seemed to pass through the shield, there was little damage to Smedley, and what there was healed instantly.
“It’s the totems,” said Susan, “they are fixing him faster than anything can hurt him. We need to find that book.”
All eyes, other than Harry’s, scanned the room. “The doorway he came through, it has to be there.” Huck saw something move above them. “Look out!” A huge snake dropped from the ceiling and was about to land on them when Taylor swooped in and grabbed it, bit through its neck, and dropped its bleeding body on Smedley, who, not expecting that, instinctively stood up, stepped backwards into his chair, and lost his balance.
“Now, let’s move forward, try to get to that room,” Susan shouted.
They moved carefully forward. Smedley was back up quickly, firing more powerful bolts at them. Harry, knife in one hand and his wand in the other, managed to divert Smedley’s blasts and shield the group, at least for now, but some were curving round behind them, and Huck needed to use his cloak to deflect them.
“Eyes, eyes, all around,” shouted Cinderella suddenly. In the shadows created by Smedley’s blast, red eyes were appearing around the room, different types and sizes. On the right, a beast ran forward, a Black Panther. Cinderella opened fire, hitting it between the eyes. It fell to the ground. “Shit, what’s happening?”
“He’s trying to distract us. Keep moving forward a bit at a time.” Shouted Susan. A bear came running from the opposite side straight for Susan. 2 shots rang out, and it dropped. “Fuck!”
“Are these Characters from the Jungle Book?” said Harry.
“I think so. It was on the scroll,” said Susan. A young man ran towards Harry holding a rock and screaming, but bounced off the shield, falling to the floor only to be incinerated by a deflected lightning bolt while trying to stand up.
“I think I see the book,” Shouted Huck, pointing to a pedestal in a small alcove, just the other side of the doorway.
”Yes, it looks like the book. I can make out faint lines of energy coming from it.” Said Susan.
A huge tiger bounded forward at the same time as a wolf and a small elephant charged at the shield from different points. Harry yelled and stamped his foot hard on the ground. A pulse of energy erupted from him, striking the creatures simultaneously, erasing them instantly. All the eyes disappeared.
“Christ, Harry, how did you do that?” said Cinderella, now aiming at Smedley again, who had been unaffected by the blast.
“I have no idea. Sheer panic, I guess?” He took another step forward towards the book.
“Ok, I’ll see if I can damage it,” Huck ran towards the book brandishing his sword. He was nearly there when a gust of wind caused his cloak to fly up wildly, and, with a deafening crack, a bolt of lightning struck his legs, incinerating them instantly. He fell flat on the floor, his body turning to ash, and was gone.
“Arrrrggggghh”, Cinderella screamed, but Susan held her back, stopping her from dashing after him, keeping her behind Harry’s shield.
Taylor, growing in size, dived in from above, talons out in front of him, viciously striking Smedley in the face extremely hard, knocking him fully onto his back, drawing blood and breaking teeth.
“Go, Harry!” shouted Susan. “Destroy the book.” Harry ran towards the book, stabbing it frantically with the knife, striking at it, cutting and ripping pages from it until Susan says, in almost a whisper, “I see them… the threads.”
Struggling to his feet, wounds on his face healing as he does, Smedley laughs, “It doesn’t matter, I can take the full power of the totems now.” He fires bolts at them but is struggling to control the additional power, and they miss. “And you can’t kill me. Only death can cut those threads.”
“Let’s see!” Susan gasps and jumps forward, dodging another badly aimed lightning bolt from Smedley. She pulls out the Scythe, which, in a blink, is full size.
“What! You’re not Death.” Smedley gasps, still steadying himself.
“No, I’m his Granddaughter, you fucking psychopath,” and, with a single swing of the silver blade, the threads are severed.
Smedley jerks and fits for a moment, and then drops to his knees. “Why would you? They aren’t human. They’re just paper! Why would you care?”
Landing at Smedley’s feet, Taylor changes to his male form and produces a Scythe from thin air. “They were more human than you!” He raises the scythe, but before he could use it, shots rang out.
Cinderella, walking forward toward Smed, emptied the remains of both guns into his body and continued to click the triggers once the bullets were spent. “You bastard, bastard BASTARD!” She screamed. Taking the guns from her hands and discarding them on the floor, Taylor embraced her, and she began to weep, her knees giving way. “There’s nothing left of him, NOTHING TO BURY! Huck was my friend.”
They all stood in silence for what seemed like forever until Susan spoke, “We have to leave.” Harry went and picked up the cloak and Huck’s sword, carefully pushing it into the cane’s scabbard. He noticed something sparking in the ashes.
“This was the gem in Gandalf’s staff, I think.” He put it in his pocket. “What do we do about the Totems?” He asked, looking at Susan.
“Nothing. They will now fade and cease to exist on this plane. They were quantumly linked to the real totems and kept in existence by Smedley’s will. With him dead, they will disappear.”
“Good,” said Cinderella. She picked up her guns. “We should burn this place. Burn it all down.” They all nodded in agreement and started down the stairs. As Taylor left the room, he turned and touched the floor with his Scythe. It burst into flames.