Chapter Twelve

In which things get complicated

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The moonlight shone through the windows of the dreary inn and cast unfamiliar shadows around Morgan's room. The boy couldn't recall the trek back from the Gaping Maw. All he knew was that night came far faster then he thought possible and his feet seemed to have taken him to 'The Stunted Hound' in his stupor. It was a raucous place, the innkeeper just waved Morgan in when he dropped Gabriel's name, leaving him to try and find a vacant room for his own. When he finally claimed one, he flopped on the lumpy bed within and tried to make himself comfortable.

Hours later Morgan laid awake, curled into himself while trying to will himself to sleep. It was difficult. Songs of drunkards and the yelling of bar patrons failed to serve as an adequate lullaby. The only comforting sound came from the occasional crackle Calcifer made – the snoring of a fire demon.

Too many thoughts rolled around the boy's young mind. The words the Prince shared with him held him in a dreamless grip. "Your father is dead" repeated over and over in his mind overlaid with, "Your mother will die…"

He hugged the musty comforter closer to him, biting his lip to try and distract himself from his inevitable orphaning. Who was this Wisteria anyway? Ellie had said something about her being a witch dedicated to black arts from another world. His father had come from another world, was it the same? Why was she ripping apart his family? Just what did she want from his father? How were this questions ever going to get answers now that Howl was dead? If Ingary's finest wizard was bested by this necromancer, how was he even going to stand a chance?

"Can't sleep?" Calcifer muttered from the corner, opening one of his eyes; it was a pinprick of light buried in glowing orbs of amber.

Morgan rolled into a sitting position and rubbed his eyes, "How can he be dead Calcifer? I just don't understand… there's too much that doesn't add up."

"Oh?" Calcifer's devilish grin curled into the depths of his flame. "Your father isn't all powerful you know. I think settling down made him a little rusty…"

"No…" Morgan made a face and eyed Calcifer's expression with a suspicious glance. "You know the answers – or you should know, but aren't telling me."

"I'm a demon, I don't have to tell anyone anything I don't need to." He huffed, crossing his little arms and turning away. "Besides, you know I can't speak about it because of that ward I swallowed."

"The magic should have died with Howl…" Morgan muttered, mostly to himself before brightening and pointing accusingly at Calcifer, "and so should have you! You had his heart! You were connected to him!"

Calcifer flickered smugly, "Sophie's magic sustained me. She commanded me not to die."

Morgan looked confused, "She… really? I didn't know she could do that."

"Your mother is a powerful sorceress when she needs to be. Drained her immensely however; from that moment on her powers diminished noticeably." The fire demon frowned sadly.

"But the ward!"

Calcifer shook, embers of blue sparks sizzling as he did, "Sorry kid, still in play - It's complicated."

"Some part of him must be left alive though… we know he can survive heartless, his body is probably under control by the witch…" Morgan's eyebrows knitted together, "Calcifer… what makes a person dead? I mean, there has to be more to it then just… not breathing."

"You're asking the wrong demon."

Morgan scratched his head then he out a long drawn out sigh. He was so tired. He felt like the world was coming down around his ears. The boy let himself fall back into the misshapen pillows of his bed and stared at the ceiling. He heard Calcifer start to crackle again and closed his eyes.

His mother's face waited there for him. She was humming the same song she had been in Howl's dream. Morgan felt her fingers combing through his hair and echoed the warm smile on her lips. She was trying to tell him something but the words weren't coming out right. He fell deeply asleep before he could think too much into it.

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He woke up the next morning feeling empty and homesick. He changed clothes and ate some of the food Theresa gave him rather then join the other guests in the common room. Morgan didn't feel like being social, not when so much was going wrong. Calcifer whined the entire morning and insisted that they head back home since he thought that if they cut the quest early Sophie may survive.

"She won't. Not without Howl. There has to be some answers to my questions. He has to be alive in some sense. I can't see him wandering off to service a necromancer without a back-up plan." Morgan said as he shouldered his pack and started north along the main road. They were pretty much in the heart of Strangia now, and Calcifer was hiding in an empty jar Morgan placed in his bag for fear of being spotted. There was no telling how people there would react to a boy with a demon.

"Morgan, you don't have a plan."

"I'm going to that tower… secretly. Maybe I can get father's body back somehow…"

"You're going to get yourself turned into a puppet as well. I can't protect you from her magic…"

The boy set a determined look upon his face and ignored Calcifer. There was something fueling him now, something that Morgan might have labeled vengeance or maybe reckless curiosity… but he wasn't going home until he saw his father again – alive or dead.

The pair of them walked the whole day, pausing at dusk because Morgan's feet were sore – though he refused to tell Calcifer that. The boy shirked his pack and wearily threw himself beneath a tree. Calcifer hovered out from his jar and surveyed the area. "We should have stopped at that farm back there… camping out by yourself is going to attract trouble."

"We've seen how many people today? Five? I doubt we'll see any more in the night."

Calcifer grew in size and looked somewhat menacing in the dying light, "It only takes one bandit to kill a little boy far from home. I would know. You'd be a fool to think your safe here."

"I have you don't I?"

"Kid, your staking your life on a demon - never wise."

Morgan sighed and got to his feet to move deeper into the woods that lined the main road. "Fine, we'll go far enough so that night-time travelers can't see us, but close enough so we don't get lost or eaten by a wild animal. I'll even find you lots of wood and we can have a nice cozy campfire. Is that all right with you?"

Calcifer bobbed between trees, being cautious of anything that might pop out and murder them. "You better start collecting wood fast… I don't like how dark it's getting."

Talking Calcifer's advise, the boy wandered around finding dry twigs and kindling for the demon to burn. It took him longer then anticipated for he was shivering when he stomped back to the tree. With frozen arms, he dumped the slightly damp wood in a pile and watched as Calcifer sat grumpily on it.

"Damp."

"I know… the rain from the day before…" He muttered groggily as he unpacked a thin cotton blanket from his bag and threw it around himself. It was enchanted to generate warmth, but Morgan couldn't feel it yet though his chilled clothing. He sat on the ground next to Calcifer and jumped every time the fire popped.

It was silent between them. A black weight seemed to press down on the pair, making the mood dreary and uncomfortable. Morgan drew the blanket closer around him and huddled into a sitting ball. His eyes followed crackling embers from the fire and his mind wandered. He fell asleep thinking about how miserable he was, not realizing that he wasn't alone.

In the tree behind Morgan, perched a large creature with eyes that shone in the absence of light. It crept like a shadow down from the branches and stalked the places Calcifer's light didn't touch. A low growl whispered from it's throat, making Calcifer rise from between two logs. He leaned out and peered into the darkness, sensing something evil within.

"I see you out there. This boy is protected, go find some other boy to eat."

The creature stopped and stared at the fire demon. It hesitated before it stepped into the light. The moment it did so, glossy black fur melted into olive skin and the four-footed monstrosity turned out to be nothing more then a girl a little older then Morgan.

Unfortunately she didn't lose the animalistic behavior and crept up fluidly on all fours. She drew closer and came up to Calcifer on the side furthest Morgan. Torn and tied rags dragged across the woodland floor, picking up dirt and debris. With every movement there was a flicker of reflected light off various shiny baubles and polished charms – but no noise.

"Fire demon…" she rasped, as if she hadn't had something to drink in days.

"That's right. Whew… the smell of you. Stay back."

Calcifer seemed calm and confident, making the girl wary. She paused before the fire and asked, "The fire demon can reverse the curse?"

"Not likely. That is one effective enchantment you have there. Born with it - you had to be."

Morgan stirred and the girl became startled. She backed off quickly, kicking up leaves in her wake; but Morgan merely shifted and let out a gentle snore before resuming slumber. The beast-child looked to Calcifer with restrained fury. "The book told me the fire demon could reverse the curse. The book lies!"

She hissed and spat. From the depths of her rags she withdrew a gilded tome and wagged it accusingly in the air. "Useless, useless!"

Calcifer's eyes widened. "Wait a moment, where did you get that?"

"Took it. The black tower. Full of things Sheena likes. The book was shiny, so Sheena took it. Book told her that it could help. Book said that it needed a fire demon." Her whispers were getting stronger the more she used her voice.

The demon stared at the book intently. "Open it now. Tell me what it says."

Sheena looked suspicious and ran her hands over the golden cover of her treasure. After a moment of consideration, she did as she was asked and let the book fall open before Calcifer.

"See yourself."

The pages were a crisp white and flipped of their own accord until the middle of the book laid bare. Then in a flurry of colourful ink, a diagram appeared as if hastily scrawled by a masterful hand. It was stylized square, the corners of which has some words not common to this world. The decorated page flipped to reveal another quickly drawn diagram, this one a dodecagon with a twelve pointed star over it and a complicated symbol in the middle. The last page the book flipped had a message written in choppy handwriting.

"Hello old friend."

Calcifer chuckled and leaned back onto his blazing logs. "Hello Howl. Really mussed it up this time didn't you?"

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Author's Note:

So... I haven't updated in a couple of years. My writing style has changed somewhat... but weirdly enough I still remember where I was going with this story. I just finished re-reading the first book in the series and rekindled my love for the characters. Let's hope that this time I can wrap us this fic! I really need to edit some of the earlier chapters though - holy cow they are riddled with error.

RIP Diana Wynne Jones. Last I updated you were alive and well...