Part 12: The Howling of the Heart

It was the best evening that Rahne could ever remember having. She and Doug talked and talked, until it was morning. She told him all that she had been through recently, and was grateful to God when he listened intently, hanging on her every word. Doug explained to her that while she was in the hideout, she would suffer no ill effects from what the Genoshans did. It almost seemed to her that she had found a practical heaven in the most unlikely of places. When they finally finished catching up, Rahne slept a long, peaceful sleep, waking up refreshed and ready to learn more about her new home.

Doug’s hideout had a lot of things in it, things that he had picked up while traveling through Limbo. She was uneasy about some of them, but they made life in Limbo much more tolerable. There was a magical hourglass that told them when it was night and when it was day, and lighted Doug’s dwelling respectively. There was a room stacked to the ceiling with books. There was a scrying glass in one room, much like the one Illyana had. The bathroom was better than many she had been in on earth. Rahne had a refreshing bath and changed her clothes. She took her pocket Bible to Doug and asked if he remembered it.

“Of course I remember that,” he said. “Has it come in handy?”

“Oh, Doug, ye just don’t know how handy! It was sometimes the only thing that kept me alive.”

“How did a book keep you alive?”

“It…” She wasn’t sure how to answer. “It’s my Bible! It was there with me whenever I needed it.”

“Well, I’m glad. There are lots of Bibles in the book room.”

His attitude bothered her. They had never discussed their individual faiths with much depth before, but she remembered that Doug had always been a decent, kind, noble boy, and that he did believe in God. She dismissed her apprehension by noting that he had been alone for a long time, and without church or other religious influences.

“Do you never see anyone else down here, Doug? Isn’t it lonely?”

“Sometimes people will come nearby, and I will see them through the scrying glass, but you can never be sure if they are who they appear to be. I have had long conversations with alternates of Storm, and had to run for my life from Nightcrawler, S’ym, and N’Astirh. I even saw the Ani-Mator once—even though he died, in my timeline! He took off running when he saw me. That was a trip.”

He doesn’t remember saving me from the Ani-Mator, and I don’t remember saving him from the Ani-Mator! Limbo is so perplexing. “How did he die in your timeline, Doug?”

“Illyana killed him—it was nasty.”

“Illyana? Do you ever see her?”

“No. I think D’Spayre has put a price on her head, in every timeline. Margali said that even in her timeline, he fights to rule Limbo. It’s confusing, but I learned a lot from Margali.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, she taught me some of the basic magics for survival down here.”

“Magic?” Rahne was stabbed with disappointment at hearing this. “Like Illyana?”

“Well, I’m no master like her or Storm or the others, but yeah…just basic magic. I had to learn a few things just to keep from getting killed every time I left the hideout to get more food. I only use it for keeping food from spoiling, self-defense, and harmless things like that. No big deal. It was easy for me to learn because I understand the language of magic without even having to try. So here in Limbo my power is actually useful.”

Rahne was not comforted very much by his explanation, but she knew the goodness in Doug’s heart, and she treasured the way he treated her. In the short time they had spent together, she already felt like they had been together for much longer.

“I can even make your hair grow, like normal hair, if you like,” he offered.

No…it’s too good to be true! “Can you? Can you really make me beautiful?”

“You’re already beautiful, Rahnie. I like your hair the way it is. I’m just saying I could if you wanted me to.”

His words soaked into her heart like a lily drinking rain.

“Oh, you’re no demon sorcerer! I must be daft to worry about you,” she said, smiling, and held him close. Oh, please, Lord, she prayed quietly, let it be so. He’s too nice to be like that, and I love him so…

Then, they quietly looked into each other’s eyes, lost in the adoration of each other. Slowly, cautiously, Rahne moved closer to the face of the man she loved, and enjoyed their first real kiss. It was nothing like when she kissed Rictor--it was like stepping into a whole new life, which she wished would never end.

Two weeks went by. As each day passed, they grew closer and closer. They never ran out of things to talk about, and they spent hours cuddling together on the couch, kissing and whispering their love to one another. Rahne was much more at peace with herself, but the few differences between she and Doug kept returning to her. She ignored them, concentrating on the happiness in his face when he looked at her. She defended Doug’s ways from her own scrutiny by thinking of the useful things that he used magic for, like making her some clothes and keeping them supplied with food.

Doug eventually persuaded Rahne to join him in a quick trip outside of the hideout to go snooping around, in the vague hope that they might find Wolverine. She was scared, but not as scared as she had been when she was alone in Limbo. They were on their way back to the hideout when they heard a voice behind them.

“Ah, the happy couple once again…”

Turning around quickly, they saw a woman.

It was the Nightfeeder. She was in her human form, but she looked so wild that she resembled an animal. She appeared to be in her twenties or thirties. She was stark naked. Her eyes were glazed over and sat deep in their darkened sockets. Her hair was a matted, tangled mess that hung in strands over her face. Scars riddled her arms and legs. Around her neck hung three skulls; at least one of them was human. Dried blood was all over her mouth and hands. The nails of her fingers and toes were long and fearsome. Sharpened bones pierced both her nipples, and her pubic hair was ruggedly trimmed into the shape of an inverted cross. She opened her mouth and revealed her long, sharp fangs.

“Do you know how many times ye can die, lass? As many times as I can find ye!”

“RUN,” Doug shouted to Rahne. His face was instantly pale. Rahne scurried, barely breathing. No horror movie she had ever seen was as gruesome as this. No nightmare or spell of D’Spayre contained such a demonic creature. The Darkchilde seemed tame next to her. Rahne heard the familiar sound of her booming, thunderous howl as she raced away.

When Rahne finally made it back to the hideout, she was amazed that she was still alive. She sat at the stepping disc entrance, anxiously waiting for Doug to come through. Minutes went by as she sat there trying to catch her breath and trying to ignore the nausea building in her. She felt dizzy with fear.

Please please please please please let Doug be alive make him come through now make him come up please please please God… When Doug finally came through the stepping disc he was shaking all over. He was white as a ghost. They held on to each other for a while and then he relayed to her what had happened. The Nightfeeder was watching them the entire time they were out. Her only purpose was to kill them both. He had to stay and fight her, at least long enough for Rahne to get away, and try to divert her so that she wouldn’t know the location of their hideout and wait outside the entrance for them. He had to use magic to protect himself, and only escaped by making an illusion of the both of them, which fooled the Nightfeeder.

“Is that what I’m destined to become? That ghastly, evil thing? Is my heart really so wicked?” Her skin crawled at the thought of it. “She’s a monster! She’s turned her back on God! I cannot become like that, oh, I CAN’T!”

“No, honey…that was not you. That person went mad, remember? She eats demons. She gave in to Limbo’s evil nature and embraced the darkness that is in all people. That is NOT you, sweetheart, it could never be you!”

He called me honey! “You look more scared than I was, Dougie.”

“I thought…I thought I would lose you again. I’m so sorry I talked you into going with me today. I didn’t know.”

She was so happy just to see how concerned he was for her that she forgot how scared she was. Arm in arm, they went back into the den, built a fire, and put the day behind them. It seemed that nothing could hurt them in their private paradise, and they fell asleep huddled together on the couch.