Heartbeats held their breaths, slamming to a stop in the chests of the pair of intrepid explorers. Their hands found each other, hoping to gain some strength from one another. And failing.

Puddlebrain was retreating into herself, feeling just as she had when her sisters had been there and their powers hadn't. Billy, on the other hand, was becoming increasingly angry with himself. Where was his Gnomish pride? Where had his Gnomish arrogance and self-importance scampered off to? He was being dragged down by the witch's self-pity and it was affecting his judgement. He had felt his heart freeze and had been aware of his lungs being unwilling to work properly. He needed to stop this nonsense and stand up for himself.

As much as a Gnome could.

Voices from the emptiness should be afraid of him, not the other way around. He should lead the way. Take charge. He moved closer to the witch.

"Do something," he whispered.

"We would recommend not doing something," said the Multitude. It was heavy, as if it bore the weight of a hundred people speaking in one voice. "We recommend doing nothing. We recommend joining us."

"Joining you?" asked Puddlebrain. Her own voice was unsteady, quaking next to a behemoth such as that coming from the darkness.

"Just as your friends and neighbours did. Join us as your sisters did."

Puddlebrain didn't have time to react. She had no time to process what had just been said. Without thinking, she raised her hands and splayed her fingers, letting go of Billy and ignoring the sharp yelp he made. There was a flash that caused the gnome to shield his eyes and sudden light radiated from Puddlebrain's hands, filling the cavern and banishing the shadows.

In the centre of the floor, drawing spirals in the dust with her finger, was a girl.

"Hello there," said Puddlebrain. Billy lowered his arm as she snapped her fingers to release the illumination and allow it free reign to keep the darkness at bay.

The girl looked up, smiled, and returned to her doodling. She was small. Young. Her clothes were pale rags that struggled to hold themselves together. He skin was paler still and her hair was long, a dirty blonde, and looked as if it had never been brushed.

"Are you lost? Did you see who just spoke? Where are your parents?" Puddlebrain stepped forward towards the girl, but Billy laid a warning hand on her arm. He shook his head.

"Who are you?" he asked suspiciously.

The girl looked at them without speaking. Her face was blank, giving no sign that she had heard any of their questions. Billy and Puddlebrain looked at each other, frowning, then returned their gaze to the silent figure sitting on the cold stone floor. Finally, she rubbed her hand over the dust patters, erasing them. With a sigh, she pushed herself to her feet.

"We are the Multitude," she said.

"And what's that, exactly?" Billy was beginning to feel a little braver and more like his over confident self. Granted, he was speaking to a small girl, so there was no real threat. Even so, he was uneasy and his uneasiness stopped his confidence turning to arrogance.

"We are the Multitude."

"Thank you for clearing that up," Billy sneered.

"What are you doing?" Puddlebrain whispered. "Don't antagonise her!"

"Antagonise her? Even if she's not just the girl she appears, I'm fed up with being afraid. I'm a Gnome and that means something!"

"What does it mean?" the girl asked.

She took a step forward, her manner bold. Puddlebrain stepped behind the her friend, instantly berating herself for the action. Billy held his ground, though he could almost feel it shaking beneath him. Or perhaps the shaking was his own body. He gulped.

"What?"

"What does it mean to be a gnome? We would like to know."

"Why do you keep saying 'we'?" he asked. "There's only you. One of you."

"We are the Multitude," the girl said. "We are all. What doesn it mean to be a gnome?"

"It means... I mean... It means..." Billy could think of nothing to say. He wasn't expecting to be asked and so had nothing prepared. He knew, inside, exactly what it meant. Being brave to the point of being foolish. Obstinate and self-important and insufferably rude. Things to be proud of. But how did he put that into words?

"You'll find out," said Puddlebrain, finally stepping forward. "I don't care – we don't care – who you are. Do you have anything to do with my sisters disappearing? And the villagers? What about them?"

"No-one has disappeared," said the Multitude. "All are here."

"Where? There's no way out of this cave except the way we came in and they're certainly not lined up waiting for breakfast," Billy said, taking strength from the witch's uneasy composure.

"They are here," said the girl, her voice thickening with each word as if an echo was coming from within her. "They are here and they will always be so."

"Talk sense," insisted Puddlebrain. "Stop speaking in riddles."

"Yes," agreed Billy. "That's my job."

"Riddles are for those who need to hide their words with trickery and deception. Like a gnome. We are the Multitude. We have no need of such things. We speak the truth."

The depth to her voice was growing. Both gnome and witch looked around to see if there were, in fact, others in the cave. They were sure they could hear more than one person speaking.

Then Puddlebrain thought of something.

"What is the Multitude?"

"We are the Multitude," said the girl.

"Yes, we know that. But what are you?"

"We are the shadows. We are the light. We are everyone and we are everything."

"Riddles!" snorted Billy. "Tell us what you've done with the villagers. Don't make us angry."

"Anger is for those who..."

"Enough with the farty-brained quotes!" snapped Billy. "Just tell us!"

"We have. We are the Multitude. We are all. Join us."

"You've taken them, haven't you?" said Puddlebrain. "They're in you, somehow."

"We take no-one. They join us."

"Did you ask them?"

"Consent is not required. All join us. As will you."

"We will not!" Billy shouted. He crouched with his hands up, prepared to fight.

"Billy, wait," said Puddlebrain. "We need to get everyone out."

"I'll beat them out of her!"

"Stop!"

He stopped. The witch had her finger pointed at him. He could read the implied threat.

"Multitude," she said, ignoring the look of disgust on her friend's face. "Return my family to me. Return the villagers."

The girl laughed, her head thrown back and all the voices within her joining in. The sound shook the walls, causing dust and small fragments to fall. Abruptly, the laughter ceased and the girl stared at the witch.

"No."

Puddlebrain took a step back and raised her hands.

"Yes," she said quietly.

"They are with us now. They must stay with us. We are the Multitude and we are all. You will join us. You will give us energy and power."

"And what do you intend on doing with that energy and power?"

The girl twirled around, becoming the youngster she seemed to be. She danced about, kicking up the dust.

"We will consume!" she giggled, clearly having fun with the situation. "And with you joining us, we will be absolute!"

"Absolute?" Puddlebrain asked. "What is so special about us?"

"Not the gnome," said the girl, smiling. "Just you. Just the witch. Just the magic!"

She stopped dancing suddenly. Her eyes were black. Her hair was rising, as if filled with static, to create a wiry halo about her head. Her fingers became claws, the nails elongating into talons. There was a swirl at the edges of the light cast by Puddlebrain as the shadows thickened and swelled. The dark mist rolled across the floor towards the girl, entering her mouth and eyes. Her grin widened as she began to grow rapidly. Before the friends could recover from the shock change of events, the Multitude's head was almost at the roof of the cave.

"JOIN US."

Its voice was booming, rumbling through the rock to shake the bones of the pair. There was a vibrancy to it that seemed to tug as them, enticing them forward, whispering to them that there was nothing more pleasurable than being a part of the Multitude. It was all. It was everything. It was essential.

Billy took a step forward, unable to stop his body responding to the call.

The girl, now massive and needing to stoop as she was so large, reached forward.

"Billy!" shouted Puddlebrain.

The girl's hand opened to grab a hold of the diminutive gnome. Suddenly, he pulled something from beneath his tunic. A long, sharp length of wood. He jammed it hard into the enormous palm, twisting it as he pushed. With a scream that pierced their eardrums the way the shard had the palm, the hand was snatched back.

"WE ARE THE MULTITUDE!" she shouted, pulling the stake out and casting it aside. "JOIN US OR BE CRUSHED!"

She clenched her fist and held it above Billy's head, looking directly at Puddlebrain.

"The choice is yours, witch!"

"There is no choice," Puddlebrain answered, her jaw clenched as tightly as the fist. "We will never join you!"

"Then you will die."

The Multitude raised its hand higher and brought it down hard upon Billy. Puddlebrain dived forward, pushing him out of the way, but he twisted to try and avoid it smashing down on him. Puddlebrain caught him off centre and both were sent sprawling. The fist barely missed the witch but caught Billy's ankle.

There sound of splintering bone tore through the noise from the stone floor cracking and he cried out. The hand lifted and Billy vomited when he saw his ruined foot. Puddlebrain ran to him, her back to the Multitude.

"No!" she said uselessly. "I'm so sorry!"

"Don't be stupid," he said, panting through the pain. Tears welled in his eyes but his face was set, cold and determined. "Stop her."

"How?"

"You're a witch! Do your witchy things!"