Deke Brolin Rhol (36 page)

“What do you think is happening
, Deke?” Mary asked.

“I think the amulet is telling you that you were right, Mary. I think i
t is leading us to Queen Elissa,” Deke responded in excitement.

“But we checked everywhere, we…”

Everyone stood in silence staring at the amulet. It had led Deke to one of the rock walls. The point of the arrowhead was just touching it. Slowly the wall began to crumble into small pebbles that fell to the floor of the cavern, eventually revealing the outline of a door. There were several locks around the outer edges which melted away one by one as the amulet moved to touch each of them. When the last of the locks had disappeared, the amulet fell back onto Deke’s chest, its blue light extinguished.

Deke reached out and grabbed the handle. The door creaked loudly as if moaning in protest at being disturbed as he pulled it open. Mary hugged Deke. It looked like a crypt large enough for one person.
There was no coffin though. Instead there was a dark force, a shroud, surrounding the figure of a woman, a Queen. It was Elissa.

“We have done it! We have found her Deke!” Mary exclaimed.

“Deke, can you release her from her bonds?” Delca asked.

“There is only
one way to find out,” Deke answered grabbing the amulet. He could feel the power begin to surge through his body. He reached out toward the shroud that encased Elissa, not knowing, but hoping that something would happen. Blue streaks of light shot from his extended hand and attached to the shroud of darkness. Deo watched expecting to see the core of light turn black, to see Deke slowly absorb it and free Elissa, but that did not happen. Instead the shroud began to absorb the blue light. The more it absorbed, the closer Deke was pulled toward it.

Unlike the other two times Deke had used the amulet’s powers, Deo could feel something within himself, an overwhelming feeling of distance, of loneliness. He felt almost disembodied a
nd he suddenly realized why.

“Deke, let go of the amulet! The shroud is absorbing the amulets energy. It is absorbing your energy!” Deo yelled.

His pleas fell on deaf ears. Deke was becoming far weaker than he had ever felt before. He could not hear, nor could he feel anything, as the shroud pulled him closer and closer, slowly sucking away at his very essence.

“Mary! Delca! Quickly, we must pull him away!” Deo yelled.

All three grabbed Deke trying to slow his advance. Almost instantly Mary began to scream and convulse uncontrollably. Her mind suddenly became filled with death, with the image of rotting bodies strewn over the ground. She could not escape the faces of the dead. Their eyes were white and blood oozed out of every orifice. In her nightmare, she frantically ran, but there was nowhere to go. At every turn she ended up tripping over another rotting corpse.

“Mary, what is it?” Delca yelled.

She did not answer, she couldn’t answer. She was too frightened, unable to move. In her dream she had fallen again, fallen over yet another lifeless corpse. But this one was much different than the others; this face she knew all too well. It was the face she had seen countless times in the form of her own reflection. She screamed in horror as it laughed back at her.

“It
’s the shroud!” Deo yelled. “It must not affect us as it does them. Their souls control emotion. The shroud has taken them both to a dark place! Quickly! We have to find a way to break the link!”

Deke was staring at himself in a mirror. His eyes were black, his face was expressionless.
A tall looming figure stood behind him. It was Solharn. His hand was resting on Deke’s shoulder, his finger stretched out toward the mirror pointing seemingly at him. Deke looked harder at his image. He looked inside himself and he found himself wanting, lusting for power. It was an uncontrollable urge; he needed it. A smile formed on his face as he began to realize what could be his. He wanted it and reached out for it. It was almost in his grasp when the mirror shattered. Shards of glass flew through the air toward him in slow motion. He tried to grab the pieces one by one as his body jettisoned back through the air.

He awoke to see his friends by his side. For several minutes their hollow voices echoed in his ears
, but he couldn’t understand what they were saying. As seconds turned into minutes, he began to understand their reassuring words. Sitting up he looked toward the shroud. It remained undisturbed with Elissa still entombed within it.

“Deke, are you ok?” Deo asked.

“What happened?”

“The shroud began to pull you into it
, draining you of your energy. It had the same effect on Mary. Delca found a mirror amongst the Phits’ treasures and placed it between you and the shroud. It redirected the light that the amulet emitted and broke the hold that the shroud held over you and Mary.”

Deke stood up
. He could see that the other three were feeling as dejected as he was. They all realized that they did not possess the power, or the knowledge to free the person that they were meant to save.

“If the amulet wo
n’t free her, then what will? Have we come all this way only to find that we can’t break the curse that holds Elissa hostage?” Deke screamed in anger.

“
There must be another way, Deke,” Deo reasoned.

“What other way, Deo? Mary, Delca, have you any ideas?” he asked.

“Deke, did Kiran say anything to you before she...”

“Before she died to save me
, Mary? Isn’t that what you wanted to say?” Deke harshly snapped at her before continuing. “No, she didn’t. We didn’t have the luxury of spending too much time together. She told you everything, but then it wasn’t you, was it? It was Delca or Solharn or whatever! It makes no difference! We don’t know if she had the answers and she’s not here to help us, is she?”

Deke stared at his three friends. Delca was hugging Mary who was sobbing
. Deo just turned and walked away without saying a word. Deke had no idea where his anger had come from. What was happening to him, he asked himself. This step back was not their fault and they certainly did not deserve the brunt of his unexpected anger.

“I
’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me,” Deke said. “I know you’re as frustrated as I am. I just wish that she was here, Kiran, I mean. Anyway, there is no excuse. Please accept...”

Deo cut Deke off
. “There is no need for a second apology. We are all friends, here to accomplish the same thing. We just have to put our heads together and figure it out. If...”

“Quiet,
” Mary loudly whispered interrupting Deo.

Heeding Mary’s warning, the four instantly paused, listening intently. A low whistling noise could be heard, not unlike a light
gust of wind. It was steadily becoming louder. They looked toward the stairs, readying themselves for whatever was coming. A low dim light that cascaded a blue glow on the walls of the cavern grew ever so slightly. They stood in silence in the middle of the room. There was nowhere else for them to go while they waited and wondered if this would finally be the end of their quest.

The wind howled and dark clouds moved in extinguishing what was left of the sunlight. It made the afternoon hours appear as if they had been vanquished by the dusk.

Every now and then
brief flashes of light broke through the darkness as great branches of lightning boomed down from the clouds. The bolts appeared to strike the top of the mountains as the storm slowly crept over them.

Phanthus saw it first. Solharn’s army had chosen that moment to attack. Ralcriff charged from below followed by troop
s of Kaltaures. Legions of Phits flew in the sky above them, supporting them as they converged on the ground troops with impunity. Their army was overwhelmingly huge in comparison.

Phanthus took to the skies immediat
ely and came in behind the Phits. News of Phanthus’s sudden change of allegiance had obviously not made it back to them, for when they saw the dragon they rejoiced in the thought that they had just gained a huge advantage.

With Phanthus at their side they were inspire
d. Inspired that they, the Phits, could end the battle quickly and revel in the glory of it all. With their renewed confidence and a little encouragement from Phanthus, they veered from their original path and headed straight for the cliffs where the Pegapires and the Lealians still stood watching down upon the ground troops.

Excitement took over their common sense as they came within striking distance of the seemingly unaware Pegapire
s. They dropped their guard in their feeble effort to become heroes. They were sure they would soon bathe in Solharn’s rewards once they delivered the blow that would end Queen Elissa’s empire forever.

The Phit
s were so consumed with the desire for glory they failed to think it strange that the Pegapires had still not moved, even as they began to descend toward them from above. They failed to comprehend, as one normally would, that this was just far too easy.

The Phits
were almost upon them. Their thirst for power and riches had blinded them. It was a blindness that would ever so slowly dissipate though, one that would allow them to see again and see they did. They watched as the Pegapires split their ranks, not flying but running, half to the east and the other half to the west. They were not engaging them but running away. It was only then that they saw again and with their new found sight came logic and reasoning. There was something wrong. Even they knew that Pegapires and Lealians would never run from a fight. Even when facing death, they would take it in stride.

The Phit
s were right in their reasoning, but it was too late to avoid the trap in which they found themselves. They could see the ground below them suddenly light up as the air around them became warmer. It was as if the sun was rising in the morning, casting its glow and warmth upon them. But it was not sunlight that was rapidly enveloping them. Their bodies ignited and fell upon the cliffs smoldering away. They had been outmaneuvered by Phanthus.

It had been Phanthus’
idea to use the Pegapire and Lealian army as bait to lure the Phits out over the cliffs and dispose of them there. He knew the Phit’s arrogance would take over whatever strategy they might have had.  From the ground it appeared as if Phanthus had attacked the Pegapires; nobody could see the lifeless bodies of the Phits lying upon the cliffs. This would allow him to mount a second surprise attack on Solharn’s ground troops, lessening their enemies’ numbers even more.

Phanthus turned in the sky looking down upon Kaelyn and Issa. It was time and he quickly descended down the cliffs toward the front of Solharn’s battalion. The next phase of the plan was to take out as many Ralcriff as he could before they closed in on the ground troops.

Issa and Kaelyn took flight, followed by the rest of their army. “Stay to the edge of the cliffs. We do not want to be seen until we come up from behind them!” Kaelyn shouted.

This was it, the last battle for Rhol. They had come far a
nd fought hard to come to this point. They could not afford to make any mistakes.

Ω

“I am surprised they don’t give up,” Abednego laughed when he saw Phanthus arrive. He was sure that the dragon was the help Solharn had told him to expect.

Abednego turne
d to his troops. He was already savoring the victory. His soldiers were feeling it too. He could see it in their eyes which were glowing a brilliant pearl with the impending excitement. The snakes that adorned every one of their massive heads swayed to and fro. Their forked tongues burst from their mouths every few seconds, reaching out into the air to taste what would soon be theirs.

Abed
nego rode upon his horse, up and down the line of soldiers who obediently stood awaiting his instructions as the rain poured down upon them. The rain made the ground muddy and hard to walk on. They did not care. They had a taste in their mouth, a taste for blood. They would soon be able to gorge on the rotting bodies of the Rholians. The ones who were unlucky enough to survive would serve them their food. Serve them their own friends whom they had fought beside. They would have to watch as their comrades were devoured. Rhol would be theirs and the feeble creatures that inhabited it would be their slaves. They relished in the glory of what was to come.

“Once the Ralcriff descend upon these pathetic fools
, we will follow and when we converge on what is left of their dwindling masses, we will show no mercy! We will strike out at them and force them to lie at our feet and beg for their lives. Spare nobody until that moment,” Abednego growled down to his troops.

They stood ready
for his next command, drooling at the anticipation of the impending bloodshed, of anarchy. It was what they reveled in, what they lusted for. The promises that Solharn had filled their heads with. The promises of control, power and wealth had long since taken over their minds and their souls. They thought of nothing else.

Abednego turned to look at the Ralcriff fighting to break loose of the thick chains
that held them back. Their lips were curled revealing their snarling ivory teeth, teeth that would soon be stained in the blood of battle. Their coarse poison filled manes stood at attention quivering slightly in anticipation. Saliva dripped from their jowls. Their hunger would no longer be hindered as Abednego released them upon Rhol.