Although fixed in the same spot, the column was rotating rapidly in a widdershins direction, against the clock. Swirling dust formed a mushroom at its base, and at its apex combined with the substance of the swirling cloud. The shrill whine grew to a raucous screech and there was now a sharp smell, at first difficult to name; it bit high into my nostrils and I could taste it on the back of my tongue.
'It smells like burning flesh!' cried Alice, sniffing the air. 'And sounds like souls screaming in Hell. They're burning! All burning!'
Yet, if so, it was the reverse of what my senses told me: this was creation rather than cremation; flesh reborn of fire. If what Mam had told me was correct, the Ordeen and her servants were entering our world in the midst of those flames. It was a fiery portal. The heat upon my face abated somewhat; the fury lessened as the colours shifted across the spectrum, crimson slowly transmuting into bronze.
'There's a huge building!' cried Alice, pointing fearfully ahead. 'Look! Inside! You can see it inside the flames! That's the Ord . . .'
Alice was right. I could see the vortex slowing and shrinking, but the process was one of definition rather than collapse; now almost transparent, it allowed us to make out the shape of the Ord that lay within, that dark dwelling place of the Ordeen.
It had three twisted spires of equal height, so tall they almost reached up into the cloud. Behind them, as though protected, was the dome Mam had talked about. And both towers and dome rose from a massive edifice that resembled a great cathedral, though far larger and more magnificent than Priestown's, the biggest church in the County. And whereas a cathedral sometimes took decades to build, this seemed to have been formed in a matter of moments.
The pillar of fire had now disappeared altogether. We moved on, getting closer and closer to the dark mass of the Ord, which rose up before us like some gigantic, terrifying beast. Although the outer darkness increased again, there was a strange new light radiating from inside the Ord. It was now lit from within by a bronze glow that was increasing in power even as I watched. Now, for the first time, I was able to appreciate the detail of the structure. Each twisted spire had long narrow windows, arched at the top like those of a church. They were open to the air, and through them the inner fires shone more brilliantly.
'There are horrible things moving inside the windows,' Alice whispered, her face filled with awe and terror. 'Things from Hell.'
'It's just your imagination, Alice,' I told her. 'It's too far away to see anything properly.'
But notwithstanding my rebuke, I could see movement at some of those windows; indeterminate shapes that flickered like wraiths against the light. I didn't like to think what they might be. Then my eyes were drawn to the main entrance – the largest of the cavernous doorways that gave access to the structure. It was high and arched, and although it glowed brightly, deep within it was a darkness so complete that I was suddenly seized by dread of what it concealed. The Ord had come through a portal from the dark, and anything might lurk within it.
We were nearing it now: the citadel was immense, rearing up before us to block out the darkness of the sky.
A shouted order rang out from behind us, and we turned to see the warriors come to a halt before changing their formation into two crescents, horns facing the Ord. They looked formidable, with their glittering mail and weapons. They had performed the first of their two tasks well. The maenads had been kept at bay: occasionally small patrols had peeled off from the main force to drive them away and hunt them down. Now these mercenaries faced an even more dangerous assignment: they were soon to ride straight into the heart of the citadel and fight the dark beings within.
We walked on. It had been agreed that the mercenaries wouldn't approach until it was time to attack. I gazed at the citadel, searching along its outer wall, and finally my eyes found the secondary entrance that Mam had described: above it was a gargoyle skull with huge antler horns. This was where the delegation would enter. If we failed, the Ordeen's servants would surge out through the main entrance to ravage the area.
Suddenly I felt the first drops of moisture on my face; drops that quickly became a torrent of warm rain falling through the utterly still air. As it descended, drumming furiously on the hard dry ground, steam began to rise from the Ord, and the fanciful idea came to me that some invisible blacksmith, having completed his work, was now quenching the heat to temper it for his intended purpose.
Within moments a dense white mist was rolling towards us and the visibility was reduced to a few feet. Everything became eerily silent. It wasn't long before Grimalkin loomed out of the mist, along with Seilenos and the other members of Mam's escort who would make up the thirteen of the delegation.
Mam turned to me, patting me on the shoulder in reassurance. 'It's time. You'll need to be brave, son. It won't be easy. But you have the strength to come through it.'
'Won't the maenads have warned the Ordeen that we're approaching? Won't they tell her that we have an army of mercenaries with us?'
Mam shook her head. 'No, they can't contact the Ordeen directly. They simply wait for her arrival and then take advantage of the horror that she brings, feasting on the dead and dying.'
'But won't we have been seen anyway? Won't those already awake within the Ord guess what we intend to do?'
'Although ours is larger than normal, an armed escort always accompanies the delegation to the Ord, so it's nothing new. To the watchers inside, these assembled warriors are just flesh and blood waiting to be devoured. They won't expect the attack we've planned.'
Mam suddenly hugged me tightly. When she let me go, there were tears in her eyes. She tried to speak: her mouth opened but no words came out.
Someone moved out of the shadows behind her. My master. He laid a hand on my shoulder and drew me to one side.
'Well, lad, this is it. I don't like your mother's methods and I don't like the company she keeps, but I do know that she belongs to the light and she's doing what she's doing for the good of us all. Whatever you face in there, remember all I've taught you, be true to yourself and don't forget that you're the best apprentice I've ever had.'
I thanked him for his kind words and he shook my hand.
'Just one other thing,' he said as I turned to go. 'I don't know why your mother is sending that little witch in with you.' He gestured towards Alice. 'She seems to think the girl will protect you. I truly hope so. But don't for one moment forget who her parents are. She's the daughter of a witch and the Devil. She's not one of us and never can be, no matter how hard she tries. You'll do well to remember that, lad.'