Prologue to "Rise of a Champion"

Prologue
Wardell looked across with smug satisfaction, at the blood still oozing from Karmal’s violated bum. Weaving tendrils from what little light there was in the still dark room, he tentatively touched the Karmal's shell. It appeared empty, but Wardell had been banishing Essences for too long to be fooled by appearances. He gently took Karmal’s head and looked directly into the eyes reaching deeper and deeper tentatively testing for any sign of Karmal’s Essence. Good Karmal is not there. Just one more step in the process and Karmal would be his. But before that better make sure that Karmal's Essence didn't return before he'd had time to gain complete control of the shell. Raising his hand the amulet on his dresser rose and glided to it. Placing the amulet from his dresser around the shell's neck, he called Mirinda to prepare Karmal for the final stage.
Now for Wendell, Karmal’s girlfriend; such a tasty morsel; such a pity I need her for the Master’s Party. Wardell slowly caressed her hair. Wendell stirred. Not just yet my pretty. He took the blanket and gently covered her. Moving over to his dresser, he poured a glass of water and mixed a drop from a vial. Wendell stirred again.
“Good morning, Wendell, my dear, I trust you slept well.”
“Hmm,” Wendell stretched herself across the bed, gathered the blanket up to her neck, and smiled at Wardell. “Where’s Karmal?”
“Oh Karmal is just off getting refreshed, I’m sure he’ll be back shortly. How are you feeling?
“I feel so parched; it must have been all the wine last night. How much did we drink?” She looked at the two empty bottles in the ice bucket, “Oh my god, is that all?”
“Oh I think we had a little more than that. We’d had quite a bit in the club before we retired. Here have a little water. This will help.” Wendell gratefully drained the glass.
“Better?” Wardell placed the glass on bed table and refilled it from the pitcher. “You said last night that it was a special night for Karmal?”
Wendell looked up from the pillow, “It was a celebration. We were just starting uni.”
“Some celebration. The two of you nearly did an old man in.”
“Oh, come on now, you’re not going to tell me you haven’t done that before…” Wendell yawned, “Karmal really enjoyed it...” Wendell stretched herself on the on the bed. “I’ve never seen that look of ecstasy before...” “I hope I can do that to him again....”
“I think that will be a once in a lifetime. Some people go through life and never reach such heights. You look tired my dear. Why don’t you sleep through? I’m sure I can entertain Karmal until you recover.” Wendell smiled up through her eyelids, “I… think… I… shall…” Wardell smiled down at her for a moment and raised his hand towards his dresser. The lavender amulet rose into the air and drifted over. He pointed to Wendell and the amulet nestled itself around the girl’s neck. Excellent. Wardell signalled to Joshua who had been standing unseen in the corner of the room. Lumbering over Joshua threw the girl over his shoulder.
“Careful, I don’t want her bruised,” Wardell snapped. “Have her prepared for the Master and placed in the viewing chamber.” Joshua lumbered to the door.
Wardell smiled, as he watched his first shell leave on its task. He wondered how their mother had coped with the loss of her babies. It was a pity, a lesser man would have been happy to have settled with her and her brood, but he had plans and they were nearly at fruition.


Karmal woke with a start. Where was Wendell? Karmal tried to feel around in the darkness but he couldn’t feel anything. Not even his body. What’s happened? Where am I? Weeendal…Weeendal. He could hear his voice but there was no sound.
“Takes a bit of getting used to. But you’ll be OK. It’s bit disconcerting at first. Being without your body.”
“Who are you? Where am I?” The words seemed to form in his head as if he had one.
“My name’s Harold. Don’t be afraid you’re not dead yet. But I’m afraid Wardell has separated you from your body.”
“Separated?”
“Yes, separated. He has managed to separate a number of you from your bodies. Come I’ll show you.”
A warmth flowed over him and he realised that in some way he was moving, definitely not walking, not even floating just moving. He realised that at some level he knew this Harold person.
“We know each other. don’t we?”
“It was a long time ago, and it was just the once. I’m surprised you remember.” Karmal thought. He could hear the sea. He panicked, he couldn’t breath, he thrashed about trying to get his head above the water.
“You pulled me out of the water when I was drowning at the beach. I got pushed under and it was you who pulled me out. Mum wanted to give you something but you wouldn’t take anything. You didn’t even give us your name.”
“I knew you were special when I pulled you out then. Ah here we are,” Karmal looked about. There was a stench of formaldehyde. It was overpowering. He wanted to cough but realised he no longer had the capacity to cough. In the middle of the laboratory was a glass tank filled with a pale blue liquid and in it was… was… my body. He screamed in shock at seeing himself. There were tubes carrying a dark blue liquid into every orifice of his body… even his… Karmal winced. Karmal rushed to his body. As soon has he reached it he was thrown back by some crushing force. Fortunately, Harold caught him before he hit the wall.
“I can’t get in… I can’t get in…” Karmal screamed, tears welled up as panic set in.
“It’s OK. It’s only temporary. With your help we’ll get it back. We’ll get them all back.” Harold wrapped himself around the young man and held him until the sobbing stopped.
“Get it back! Get them all back. All? How?”
“All in good time. But first you need to learn to move about and talk without broadcasting to everybody. Not everybody in this place is on our side. Some of them actually work for Wardell. For instance those two,” pointing to Joshua and Miranda working at the console, “they are shells just like all of them in the tubes, the difference is that their essences have been held at bay by amulets rather than some sort of control device. They will help you where they can. They have been trying to find their essences for many years now, but they are dependent on Wardell so they are trapped. In the meantime we need to protect someone important.”
“Wendell! Is she here too?”
“No and we need to prepare her so that it doesn’t happen to her too. And only you can do it.” Harold moved away. Karmal tried to follow. “Just pretend you are walking.” Harold said. Karmal tried to feel his legs.
“I don’t have any legs.”
“In the normal world you don’t think about walking do you?”
“No.”
“Well in this place do the same. Look at me.” Karmal looked. For the first time he could see he could see another face, blurry, but definitely there. As he concentrated on it came into focus. There before him was a kindly middle-aged man.
“My but you’re a quick learner. Now walk towards me.” He started to walk. It wasn’t walking but he was definitely moving, smoothly like a skater.
“I could get used to this.”
“Probably, but Wendell first, fun late,.” Harold said. “We may not have a lot of time.” Karmal followed Harold through the wall, and across a corridor, until they reached the Club. Karmal could see the club workers dressing the club for some celebration.
“They’re getting the club ready for some sort of celebration.”
“It’s for The Master and Wardell’s Gift to The Master.”
“What do you mean gift?”
“The Master likes them young and succulent. Wardell can only banish an Essence. The Master can devour an Essence and the Shell.”
“Devour, Like kill her.”
“No, devour. If he just killed her, she could pass over to the next life, no problem. Wendell would continue to live. The Master lives on Life Essence. He is in two parts, same as all other living entities, a Shell and an Essence. The only difference is that, whereas normally the shell is the container for the essence, The Master is in two separate parts a body, which devours the shells of its victims, and a Black Mist, which is the mass of all the Essences that have been devoured. He must devour a Life Essence about once a month to maintain his strength.”
“How do I save Wendell? Where is she?
“There in that display room behind the red velvet curtain.” Without even thinking, Karmal rose and slid into display room. She was there! Karmal lent over to kiss her and nearly fell straight through her.
“Careful, just remember you are not in the same plane as she.”
“She’s so beautiful when she’s asleep.”
“Yes, she is and in the perfect state for you to help her. Now we must act quickly before they detect me.”
“Right what do I have to do?”
“If you look closely you can see she is dreaming. Nice dreams by the looks of things. All you have to do is slip into one of her dreams and become part of it. Be careful because you will see some of her most private thoughts, fears, all the good things and all the bad things. It can be quite disturbing.”
“You speak as if you’ve done it before.”
“I have but that was some time ago.”
“If you know how to do it why don’t you do it?”
“Because only someone who she knows and knows her completely and most importantly loves her and she loves them should do it. Anybody else can cause traumatic distress. Now all you need to do is enter her dream. Just think of her. Close everything else out and think of just her.” Karmal concentrated. He could see Wendell laying across from him, that impish twinkle. “That’s it. Hold that picture in your mind.” Harold said. “It will help to keep you focused. Now do you think you can stay with her all the time and remained focused?”
“For Wendell, to save her from this fate I’ll do anything.”
“Good. They will have her drugged with a potion made from Opium and a witch’s potion to keep her pliable. You will have to distance yourself from her while remaining close enough to get her to fight it. When you start to feel the effects of the drug pull back, wait until you recover and push forward, eventually you will get close enough to make her aware of you. But you need to start now so that you have time to get there before the drugs take full effect.”
“OK, I’ll do my best.” Karmal visualised Wendell again.
“Just one more thing. You know Stewart McGee?”
“Yeah I know the Dweeb, but I don’t think he wants to know me.”
“Dweeb, yeah I guess he was a bit of a dweeb as a kid, but you have to protect him when the time comes.”
“Protect him as well has Wendell? How do I do that? At any rate Stewart doesn’t want me to protect him.”
“He will and you’ll know how when the time comes. Now I have to go before they detect my presence.” Suddenly Karmal was aware that he was alone. He looked around, extending his senses as far as he could. However, apart from the some distant Essences he was alone. He looked at Wendell. She was so peaceful asleep on the black silk bed. He just wanted to watch her.