Ancient Prophecy (3 page)

Sarac bristled. “I didn’t ask you to pose a question. I asked you to explain your choice of words.”

“I beg your forgiveness,” Dalgar offered. “Your disciple, Mordac, always demanded that your name be spoken with proper respect. I have never spoken to a god before and assumed that Your Holiness was an appropriate address.”

Sarac laughed. “Very well, Dalgar. How is my disciple, Mordac?”

“I am afraid he is dead,” responded Dalgar. “He was attacked by Targan Rangers and many Black Devils died with him.”

Sarac was intrigued with this news from his home Universe. He called for Borundi and had the ropes removed from Dalgar and Aurora and ordered food and drink to be brought for them.

“I think you have a rather long story to tell me,” stated Sarac. “Begin at the beginning and tell me everything you know.”

Dalgar and Aurora spent hours detailing the events of the last two years. Sarac was surprised at Mordac’s cleverness in making Sarac a god. He was even more surprised to find out that Egam was still living. Dalgar played up the importance of himself and Aurora in implementing and formulating Mordac’s plan and failed to mention the real reason that they were absent during the final attack. He told Sarac they were returning from checking out the Junction site when the attack happened.

Sarac ended the meeting and had Lattimer find Dalgar and Aurora quarters for the evening. The next morning they met again and Sarac had a list of questions for them. He probed the couple for information on Jenneva, Egam, and Alex. He also demanded information on the governments of Targa, Sordoa, and Cordonia.

“What happened to the Book of the Beginning?” Sarac asked.

“Mordac had it when he was attacked,” answered Dalgar. “If it wasn’t destroyed in the attack, the Targans have it. Aurora and I do remember portions of it though. We memorized the spell for finding Junctions.”

“You will write down what you remember after the meeting,” commanded Sarac. “What of this Ali Kasim? Do we know anything about him?”

“He was a fairly well placed officer in the Sordoan Army,” Dalgar replied. “I believe he was a Lieutenant. I am not sure how he surfaced to lead the country. Some of the Black Devils who were in Sordoa at the time said the Royal Palace was taken over by Rangers and they turned the government over to Kasim. I don’t know if that is true or not. I had heard of him before all this happened, but it was nothing extraordinary. He was in the Sultan’s Guard and was said to have a bigger head than his shoulders could accommodate. He will probably be a ruthless ruler.”

“Is he married?” asked Sarac.

“He would not be able to marry and be in the Sultan’s Guard,” Dalgar answered. “If he is married, the ceremony would have been performed after the Sultan’s death.”

Sarac dismissed Dalgar and Aurora and told them they were free to roam around. Sarac called Lattimer into his study.

“Lattimer,” Sarac began, “I want you to send a group of men and ogres into the other Universe. Dalgar has marked the Junction to Targa with a pile of stones and has written down the Path Finder spell. I want the ogres to build a tower on this side of the Junction. The men are to go through to Targa and get rid of the wagon. Then I want them to have a large building built so that one of the rooms on the second floor will open up to the Junction.”

“Can’t we use the ogres to build the structure in Targa?” Lattimer asked.

“No,” Sarac replied. “I do not want any ogres going through to Targa. Take whatever gold you need from the ogre mine and hire people to build the structure, but don’t let them work on the Junction room. Tell them we are building an inn. They will probably laugh at you, but I don’t care. We are going to use the inn as our own private entrance between Universes. We will need a large storage area for weapons and supplies and it might as well be in Targa.”

“What if the wagon has already been discovered?” Asked Lattimer.

“Then you have to kill everyone who knows about it,” declared Sarac. “In fact, arrange an accident for the construction workers when they are done with the inn. Before you leave, make sure everyone is familiar with the Path Finder spell.”

Lattimer hurried off and Sarac called for Borundi.

“You are Sordoan, aren’t you, Borundi?” Sarac asked.

“Yes, Master,” Borundi answered.

“Good,” stated Sarac. “I want you to return to Sordoa and rebuild the Black Devils. Mordac was playing me up as the God of Magic before he died. Tell them that Sarac lost faith in Mordac because Mordac’s followers were not devout enough. Predict that I will send a disciple to them soon and I will make her Empress of Sordoa.”

“Sordoa doesn’t use the title Empress, Master,” Borundi offered. “They have always had a Sultan and always male.”

“I know, Borundi,” replied Sarac. “No one will believe you and converts will be hard to come by. Don’t worry about it. Keep spreading the word that Sarac will not return until the Empress sits on the throne of Sordoa and the people of Sordoa rally to her. The Black Devils who you recruit do not have to be magicians.”

Sarac stared out the window and saw Dalgar and Aurora gaping at the ogres. “Actually,” he continued, “create two organizations. The Black Devils will be magicians and everyone else will be the Servants of Sarac. Learn all you can about Ali Kasim. I am going to send our new female recruit to charm him out of his country and I want your organizations in place to help it along. Take plenty of gold with you and buy allegiance from those who are not foolish enough to convert for free. I will send further instructions with Aurora when she leaves.”

“My Master’s orders will be followed,” Borundi declared.

“Very good, Borundi,” the Black Devil leader declared. “Choose someone for me who knows Cordonia as well as you know Sordoa and send him in as you leave.”

Borundi turned and left his Master. Moments later, another Black Devil entered Sarac’s study. Sarac indicated that the Black Devil should sit. “Mitchel, I have a task for you that will require you to return to Cordonia. I want you to be the next President of Cordonia. The elections should be in a few months, so you will not have much time.”

“As you wish, Master,” Mitchel replied. “I am not sure that I am capable of such magic, though.”

“You will not be alone,” Sarac stated. “I will send Dalgar with you. He believes that I am a god and will do whatever is necessary to get you elected, even if it means that you will be the only candidate to survive. Take whatever gold you will require to set yourself up as a very wealthy man. After the elections, I will send further instructions on how Cordonia is to be run. Work with Dalgar and let him do whatever needs to be done behind the scenes. He will also be resurrecting the Black Devils in Cordonia.”

“What about the attack of the ogres?” asked Mitchel.

“I cannot unleash the ogres before spring,” answered Sarac. “I will not make the same mistakes that I made last time. This time Targa will have no advance warning of what is coming. Borundi and Aurora are going to capture Sordoa while you and Dalgar take over Cordonia. I will use the forces of these two countries to remove certain obstacles that might hinder the ogre attack.”

“You mean that witch, Jenneva,” said Mitchel.

“Yes,” responded Sarac, “as well as Egam and Jenneva’s boyfriend and his band of Rangers. Mordac squandered many Black Devils, but he did show a certain amount of ingenuity by capturing the Targan Throne. That trick would not work in Targa again, but its neighbors should be ripe for a little trouble. Make sure that Dalgar knows the Voice of Comfort spell before you leave.”

“As you wish, Master.” Mitchel bowed and left Sarac’s study.

Sarac was very pleased with his new visitors. They not only discovered the Junctions, but they offered new ideas for implementing his revenge on Targa. If things continued to fall into place, he might not even need the ogres to attack. Controlling the individual nations and using them to crush his opposition would be fun. Let Jenneva try to overthrow his governments when the people of those countries love their leaders. Sarac no longer wanted to just kill Jenneva. He wanted her to suffer. Killing everyone she cares for would be a good start.

Sarac looked out the window and saw Lattimer instructing the other Black Devils on the use of the Path Finder spell. His remaining Black Devils were a loyal and skilled group and could produce much havoc without any other help. Combined with the ogres and his plans for Sordoa and Cordonia, he would be unstoppable.

Sarac rose and headed down to the courtyard, wondering why he should be satisfied with controlling just one Universe. He already controlled two Universes and Targa would make the third. He began to wonder how many Universes there were. He strode up to Lattimer who was just finishing his teaching.

“One more job before you leave, Lattimer,” Sarac commanded. “I want ten men assigned to this Universe and ten more to the other Universe. They will travel throughout the continent mapping any Junctions that they can find. I want to know what other Universes connect with these two. Give them six months to complete their task before they are required to return here.”

“Should they investigate the Junctions that they find?” Lattimer asked.

“No,” answered Sarac. “They can peek through the Junctions to see if they can determine what creatures reside there, but their time should be spent mapping the Junctions, not exploring other Universes.”

“I will see that it is done, Master,” declared Lattimer.

Sarac walked over to Dalgar and Aurora who were still intrigued with the ogres. “Well, what do you think of the ogres?” he asked.

“Are they tame?” Aurora asked.

“They know me as their god and will obey my commands,” stated Sarac. “Come, let me show you the gold mine they are working.”

Sarac led the couple across a field and over a small hill. A large opening was carved into the hillside and Sarac led them into it. The ogres that were working in the mine scurried out of the way as Sarac led Dalgar and Aurora deeper into the hillside. Dozens of tunnels cut across the main corridor and Aurora gaped at the cartloads of gold being carried out of each tunnel. The main corridor continued for half a mile into the hillside. Sarac ushered the couple back out of the mine and led them to a small stone building.

“This is where we store the gold,” Sarac announced.

He opened the door and showed Dalgar and Aurora the huge stockpile of gold that had been accumulated. Dalgar could not begin to calculate the wealth that Sarac had amassed. “What are you going to do with all of this gold?” he asked.

“I was thinking about letting you two spend it,” laughed Sarac. “Let’s go back to the castle and I will explain what your new duties will be.”

Sarac led them back to the castle and into his study. He walked to the window and pointed at Mitchel. “Dalgar, do you see the man with the curly blond hair?”

Dalgar peered out the window. “Yes, I see him.”

“Good,” said Sarac. “He is going to be the next President of Cordonia and you are going to make it happen. You may take as much gold as you need to accomplish the task. You will not be seen with him, but you will develop support for him through whatever means are necessary. You are also going to resurrect the Black Devils in Cordonia and a new group of followers called the Servants of Sarac. I’ll explain it in more detail later, but the important thing to remember is that your job is to make sure that Mitchel is the next President and that the people love him.”

“I can help with that,” offered Aurora. “I grew up in Cordonia and know the people well. I’m sure we can come up with a plan.”

“I don’t think so, Aurora,” countered Sarac. “You are not going to Cordonia. You are going to become the Empress of Sordoa. Borundi will be your support man. I liked the story of your performance in Targa and you will do the same for Ali Kasim as you did for Duke Nelson. This time, however, the ruler will die and you will take over the government. You will become the Empress of Sordoa and all of the people will love you. When you have accomplished that, I will send further instructions.”

“I understand,” brightened Dalgar. “We couldn’t get Targa to attack both Cordonia and Sordoa at the same time, but now we will accomplish the task by having both countries attack at the same time.”

Sarac assessed the young couple. “You are very bright students. We will be in a position to do exactly that, but we may not need to actually attack. My army of ogres could march through the entire continent if need be, but if Sordoa and Cordonia are already controlled by me, the ogres need only to crush Targa.”

“I think I can handle getting near the ruler of Sordoa,” commented Aurora, “but I can think of no way to get the people of Sordoa to fall all over me.”

“That will be Borundi’s job,” declared the Black Devil leader. “His prophecies will foretell the coming of the Empress. When you achieve that position, all of Sordoa will love you, for you will be heralding the return of Sarac, the God of Magic. We will need to build up your skills before you leave. You must learn the Voice of Comfort spell, in the very least. I will set up a session between you and Lattimer when he returns, to assess your skill level and teach you the spells you will need.”

Sarac stopped pacing and sat at his desk. “The most important part of these tasks is the finding of our enemies. I want to know where Egam and Jenneva live. And this boyfriend of hers that runs the Rangers, I want him, too.”

“Alex Tork,” interrupted Dalgar, “Captain Alexander Tork. He is a very serious threat. Mordac, as King Austin, tried to have him arrested for the assassination of King Eugene and the Army either refused to bring him in or was unable to capture him.”

“I will think of an appropriate fate for the heroic Captain,” mused Sarac. “You two will use whatever resources you can find to help locate these three heroes of Targa. They must be dealt with before the invasion.”

Sarac dismissed the two magicians and Dalgar and Aurora headed for the kitchen.

“He’s not exactly what I expected,” offered Dalgar. “He seems so easy to talk to. I’m not sure what I expected a god to act like, but I guess I expected something more.”