Chapter Twenty-Four

As Mido galloped out of the woods, Scarletta's castle loomed over him in the distance. Mido encouraged Lily forward, as close to the castle as he could without being seen. When he was near enough, he dismounted and edged himself along the castle wall in search for a way in. His heart raced and his head pounded. The anxiety was enough to make him forget about his wound, at least for a moment, as the stitching slowly ripped away from his flesh. He found a shattered window amongst some thorns and climbed in, dropping onto the dungeon's cold floor. He peered around the corner and saw two Nequam guarding a cell.

Mido pressed himself against the wall, holding his breath, as footsteps echoed throughout the dungeon. He heard Scarletta's familiar voice mocking the king and his men in their cells. Her heard her leave. He peeked around the corner again and saw the two Nequam standing alone. He gripped his dagger in his hand, took aim, and flung it against the closest Nequam. He lunged forward and threw his entire body into his sword, letting it pierce the hard flesh of the second one. Both Nequam collapsed on the floor. Mido searched their bodies for the key to the cell, then hurried to free the king and his army.

"My lord," Mido said, bowing his head. "If you will excuse me, I have a young lady who needs rescuing."

"You better be right about her," the king yelled to Mido as he hurried up the staircase. He ran through the empty castle, sneaking past a few Nequam here and there, checking room after barren room. He climbed another flight of stairs and eventually another until he heard Scarletta's voice echoing down a hallway. He followed the voice, stepping carefully and quietly, until it led him to a door, slightly ajar. The dust danced in the dim stream of light that spilled onto the floor by his feet. He pressed himself against the wall, listening, ignoring the throbbing pain in his abdomen.

"You are truly just what I needed, Calliope."

Mido peered through the doorway; Scarletta stood proudly before Calliope; she rested her hand on her shoulder. Calliope's eyes glared at Scarletta, but they were no longer their familiar golden color.

"Let's finish this," Scarletta said.

Mido pushed through the door and threw himself against Scarletta, stunning her as she fell to the floor. He hurried towards Calliope, lifting her over his shoulder. Scarletta screamed to her Nequam and threw a ball of magic at Mido, knocking him and Calliope to the ground.

"Calliope!" Scarletta yelled. "Kill him! Kill him now!"

Calliope stood over Mido. He turned to look at Calliope, horrified at what she would do next. He noticed a golden speck in her black eyes. Scarletta's laughter filled the room as Calliope raised an arm. A shimmering blue ball of magic grew in her palm. Calliope smiled at her victim lying helplessly on the floor. She whispered an incantation to herself and the room shook around them. Mido felt his heart in his throat.

"Calliope," he said to her. "Calliope, this isn't you. Don't do this."

"Fool," Scarletta hissed. "This is her true self. Do it, Calliope. Finish him. Finish them all."

"Calliope," Mido begged. "Come back to me. I know you're in there, Calliope." Mido watched as the speck of gold flickered in her eyes.

Calliope saw the wound in his stomach, blood slowly seeping onto the floor boards. She felt her heart stumble in her chest. Her stomach churned sickeningly. The magic ball in her palm began to weaken. Scarletta shouted at her, but her voice was lost as Calliope's world grew silent.

"Calliope." Mido's voice echoed in her mind.

"Mido."

The ball of energy grew suddenly in her palm. Calliope spun around and threw her arms forward, sending the magic incantation towards Scarletta. Scarletta shrieked as she was thrown against the wall, cracking the wood boards. She recovered herself quickly and returned the attack towards Calliope. Mido jumped to his feet and drew his sword as Scarletta's attack hit Calliope, knocking her to the ground. Mido hesitated, checking to see if she was okay. Before Mido could react, Scarletta sent another wave of her magic in his direction, sending Mido flying across the room and against the hard wall. While they were down and dazed, Scarletta fled from the room.

Mido scrambled to his feet and caught a glimpse of the potions on the table; the potions that Scarletta must have used to keep her powers strong. He hurried to them and in one, quick motion, he knocked over the entire table. The glass bottles shattered as they crashed onto the floor, their dark liquid spewing in every direction. Suddenly, the floor boards began to melt away where the potions spilled. The walls groaned with the loss of their support and the room began to tremble.

Mido hurried to Calliope and helped her to her feet. He checked her over and looked into her eyes. Her face was cold and expressionless as she stared back at him, but the golden spark in her eye seemed to grow brighter.

"Calliope, are you okay?" he asked. She nodded, hesitant, as the dark corners of her mind seemed to lighten. She took in her surroundings, orienting herself as the room trembled around them. Mido grabbed her wrist and pulled her from the collapsing room. They hurried through the castle into the dungeon, right behind Scarletta as she threw her spells furiously at the king and his men when she saw they had escaped. Calliope wasted no time in summoning her magic and hurling a spell at Scarletta, knocking her to the ground. Scarletta jumped up and returned the blow to Calliope. The two witches fought back and forth, their magic flying in every direction, taking out pieces of the dungeon's walls and creating a passage to the outside world. The king and his men escaped through the opening and took to the battle with the waiting Nequam. Around them, the castle continued to groan, pieces of the floor above crumbling to the ground. They hurried out of the path of the falling rocks and outside.

Calliope and Scarletta continued to fight while Mido, the king, and his army fought off the Nequam. At that moment, Ian and the rest of the fellowship galloped out of the woods, swords in hand, and taking out the Nequam by the masses. William and Jon joined their comrades bravely, running at the Nequam enthusiastically, shouting battle cries at their enemies. They waved their little swords in the air as they ran. They swung at the Nequam, taking them out one by one. Mido swung his sword to the left and to the right as Nequam after Nequam lunged at him. He felt his shirt stick against his abs and noticed the blood seeping through. He ignored the pain of the ripped stitches and swung his sword in every direction. He watched as the Nequam seemed to double and triple before his eyes and surround him. His head felt light and his legs shook beneath him, but he forced himself to continue swinging to keep the Nequam from aiding Scarletta.

Calliope dodged one of Scarletta's spells, rolling on the ground and launched a counter attack. She spun around for a moment, taking in the scene around her, and noticed Mido's bloodied shirt. She watched in horror as he fell to his knees, desperately thrusting his sword at his attackers. She ran to help him, but another attack knocked her to the ground. Calliope flipped over onto her back and hurled another spell at Scarletta. She felt the magic leave her body as it had before, pulling at her insides. She grew weak quickly, just as she was meant to do.

"Dammit," Calliope cursed under her breath. She sprang to her feet just in time to witness Scarletta summon another spell, launching it towards her. Calliope dodged the weak attack, keeping light on her feet as she did so.

William and Jon continued to swing at the attacking Nequam. They searched the battlefield for their comrades, watching in horror as Mido fell to his knees. They swung their swords harder, yelling and calling for Ian. Ian spun around as he heard his name, pulling his sword out of a Nequam's leathery chest. He hurried to the two young men as the Nequam swarmed the boys. Ian swung his sword in every direction, clearing the Nequam away.

"Get out of here," he shouted to William and Jon, pushing them away from the fight, but they pushed back, calling to Mido. Ian turned to see his friend on the ground, blood seeping through his shirt. They continued to swing at the Nequam in hopes of reaching their wounded friend.

Scarletta, feeling her magic grow weak, reached for her needle and inspected its contents. Realizing her source of power was empty, she sprinted back towards the crumbling castle, desperate for any last drop of the potion she could find.

Calliope saw her horrified expression and took advantage of Scarletta's distraction to hurry to Mido. She threw herself at the Nequam, swinging her sword in every direction and clearing them away from Mido, who had dropped his sword and clutched at his stomach. Calliope hurried towards him, thrusting at Nequam after Nequam until she reached his side. Mido lay on the ground, his chest heaving. Calliope knelt next to him, her shaking hands fumbling with his ripped shirt, and frantically tried to heal his open wound.

"Stop," Mido gasped. "There's nothing you can do."

"Yes, there is," she said. "Scarletta knew she was getting weak and her potions wouldn't help her forever. She injected me with something new. She made me try it on her. I healed her. I can help you, Mido."

He gasped for breath. "No, you're too weak. You need to save your strength and your powers. You need to get rid of Scarletta."

Calliope closed her eyes and placed her hands over his wound. "I won't let you die for me. I'm the one that has to die."

Mido threw his arm out in an attempt to push Calliope away, but she pushed back. Scarletta's screams echoed through the crumbling castle as she realized her potions were gone. The castle's walls crumbled around them. Calliope summoned all of her strength, forcing the magic out of her body to heal Mido.

"Don't!"

Mido's voice was lost in the chaos as her magic began to do it's job. A warm, golden light began to glow from her palms. The light grew, embracing the witch and the human, protecting them with it's blinding shield for a moment as it healed the mortal's wound.

Scarletta rushed outside with surprising speed, sword in hand, and flew towards Calliope, just as the golden light subsided. Calliope summoned the last of her energy quickly and threw a large ball of magic towards Scarletta, throwing her to the ground. In one swift movement, Calliope leapt to her feet, sword in hand, and thrust the blade into Scarletta's chest, ending her mortal life. Calliope backed away slowly, her knees weak, and stood for a moment in a stunned haze as Scarletta's screams pierced the air and she burst into dust. Calliope felt her head spin as the last of her powers drained from her body and she collapsed to the ground as her world grew dark.

Mido clutched at his stomach, patting it through his bloodied shirt; the wound was healed. He jumped to his feet and watched as the last of the Nequam disintegrated as Scarletta's shrieks echoed through the valley. William and Jon watched in horror and relief as the rest of Nequam disappeared around them. They turned to Mido, shocked to see him standing on his feet.

Large chunks of stone plummeted to the ground around them, the last of the castle crumbling to bits. Ian dragged William and Jon away from the falling castle. Mido found Calliope's body on the ground and rushed to her side. He repeated her name over and over but his voice was lost amongst the sound of the crumbling castle. He waited for her to take a breath, searched for a heartbeat, any sign of life, but found nothing. Ian pushed the young men onward and grabbed Mido's arm as they passed, pulling him away.

"We need to get out of here before the castle crushes us," he shouted to Mido. Mido pulled himself away from his friend and clung to Calliope's side, calling for her once more. A large piece of stone fell to the ground close by. Mido hoisted her body over his shoulder and ran with the others away from the falling debris. They mounted their horses and galloped into the forest and toward home.