Defenders of Kron - The Black Dragon (16 page)

“Show your face stranger” Aaron said stepping back.

The man got up and came towards Aaron. Aaron now thought how he would reach his sword.

“Master Aaron!” he heard a familiar voice “It’s me!”

“Billy?!” asked Aaron, surprised.

“Yes it’s me, Billy” Billy answered.

Billy was now visible clearly in the light of the fireplace. His face was smothered with black dust and his clothes were torn. He looked very weary like he ran for miles.

“Are you ok Billy? What happened to you?” Aaron asked as he helped Billy sit on a chair.

“Your brother…”

“Brandon?! What happened to Brandon?”

“They took him”

“What?! Who took him?”

Billy fell silent again. He stared at Aaron like Aaron knew what he meant.

“No! What about uncle?”

Billy lowered his eyes to the ground. “Your uncle is no more…”

Aaron felt a sharp pain in his heart like it had been pierced by a knife. He fell on the bed and hid his face.

Chapter 13

The Enchanted Castle

“How did this happen?!” finally Aaron pulled himself together and asked Billy.

“They attacked yesterday. They destroyed everything your uncle had. Your house and your farm. There is nothing left anymore” Billy was almost sobbing.

“But they told me, my family will be safe if I leave. They lied to me” Aaron covered his face again.

“Where did they take Brandon?” Aaron suddenly asked. “Billy, we have to do something to bring him back. He is not old enough to protect himself” Aaron pulled out his father’s sword from under his bed.

“I don’t know what to do master Aaron. I really don’t. They took master Brandon into the deep jungle.
I tried to stop them but I couldn’t” Billy’s head hung in shame. He felt responsible for Brandon.

“I understand Billy..” Aaron said calming Billy down “But how did you find me?”

Billy stared at Aaron once again, like Aaron was supposed to know that. Flynn walked into the room and was surprised to find a stranger in the room. “Who is this?” Flynn asked Aaron as he walked in.

“Flynn!” Aaron turned to Flynn “The wolves have taken my brother away. This is Billy.. I told you he works for my uncle. Uncle…. he is dead!” his voice died.

Flynn looked in amazement, “What? But how did he find us?” He looked at Billy from head to toe. “We have to tell somebody. I will go get Dan” he rushed out of the room.

Aaron didn’t speak. He was in a lot of pain to say anything. His family was gone in a day. His dreams shattered. His home broken. The only person he wanted to be the safest, was now in the clutches of the monsters. He couldn’t bring himself to terms or imagine such a horrible thing.

“Aaron, are you all right?” the silence was broken by Dan who entered the room with Ony and Jane. Flynn followed them. “I heard what happened”

“You said my family will be safe if I leave” there was anger in his broken voice.

Dan fell silent. Jane came forward and held Aaron by his arms and led him to a chair.

“I know what you are going through Aaron, we all have been in your place” Jane said softly.

Belster and Sandra came in as well.

“I am sorry about your loss Aaron” Dan said in a glum voice “But I thought that the wolves know nothing about your family. And once you were out of there, they would chase us and not harm your village”

“Then why have they attacked, if they know that I am not there? Why do they want to harm my family?” Aaron was enraged.

“I am very sorry about your uncle” said Belster seeming concerned.

“Boy, you could not have saved him even if you wanted to” said Ony wiping his tears.

“What do you mean?” Aaron asked. “Of course I could have saved them, I could have at least kept them in a safer place”

“That is of no use” Dan said grimly.

Before Aaron could go mad and yell at Dan, Jane clutched his arms.  “Aaron, he knows. He tried to save his family from the evil ones, but it didn’t work” whispered Jane.

Aaron didn’t expect to hear that. He looked at Jane in surprise and she shook her head slowly. Aaron looked at Dan with sympathy now. Aaron didn’t know that behind his stern face, there was hidden such pain.

Dan looked the other way and said “Let me know if I could be of any help to you” and left the room.

Ony patted Aaron on his back and followed Dan. Belster and Sandra too said a few words of condolence and promised Aaron to help find his brother.

Flynn and Jane remained with Aaron in the room. Aaron was still sitting with his head buried in his hands, he didn’t know how to feel. He wanted to cry, but no tears came out anymore.

“Aaron, I understand what you are going through. I felt the same way when my brother was taken away” said Jane.

“Taken away? By whom?” Flynn asked.

“By the Lurgs” Jane tried to hide her tears but a few escaped from her eyes. “The Lurgs were searching for us frantically, but we hid for many days. One day, my brother went to get some food for us but never returned. I found his shirt in the jungle after a few days, it was torn and had blood on it. I knew they had taken him but my mother still thinks he will come back one day” Jane couldn’t hold back her tears anymore, she let them fall free. Aaron grabbed her hand, he knew that she was feeling the same pain as him.

Flynn watched as Jane gained control of herself and stood up next to Aaron. Then she continued “I have lost my father too in this war Aaron. The Defenders have lost many of their family members. Sandra lost her mother and Ony his only daughter. Alfadon too lost all his family and all his relatives”

“But why would Zorath harm our family if he is really after us?” asked Aaron.

“Zorath’s plan is to destroy our families so that we back off in fear and not fight him” She looked at Aaron. “He wants to weaken us by hitting us where it hurts the most” she sighed. “Aaron, it’s easy to give up this fight, but we have to be very strong to face the Evil. We cannot let anything break us down. The fate of our world depends on us. If we back off now, the world will be destroyed and there will be no good left in this world.”

Aaron suddenly realized the extent of sacrifices the Defenders had to make to fight the Evil Force. He now knew that his mother and father did the same. He wanted to stop the Dark Lord before he harmed any more innocent people. He stood up and wiped his tears away.

“You think my brother is still alive?” Aaron asked Jane.

“He could be, wolves normally do not kill small children. He was of no use to them as he is not even the first born. I think he is alive. But to know for sure, we have to go to my home town, the Witch Valley. My mother would be of great help in such matters.”

“Witch Valley? The valley of magic?” Aaron was amazed. He always thought that the valley of magic was something of a myth. He never really believed that such a place could exist.

“You will like it there, it is a place your mother used to live in” Jane was smiling now as she remembered Witch Valley. “Take some rest now, we will go there tomorrow. I will convince the others”

Jane took leave. Flynn didn’t say much as he himself felt for Aaron’s loss. He sat next to him quietly for some time. Soon, both of them went to bed, but Aaron couldn’t sleep. What if Brandon was in a bigger danger than he had expected? How did uncle die? What happened to Mrs Renn and the other helpers of the farm? Where they all hurt? His heart sank thinking about all this.

He remembered Matt. How Matt would cope up with all this. How would he tell Matt that it was because of him that uncle Sentas was no more. Aaron sat up on the bed and reached for his bag, he took out the book Matt gave him again. He wished that the book would give him some magical answers; after all, it was the Book of God. He turned pages aimlessly until he saw these words “God’s angels are always with you, protecting you and keeping you safe” Aaron wished the same for his brother, he felt that God will not abandon him or Brandon. He put the book back and went to sleep. He dreamt of angels all around Brandon, keeping him safe from big scary wolves.

“Aaron, Aaron wake up” he heard a soft voice and slowly opened his eyes to find Jane standing there all dressed up.  She wore a trouser and a white shirt with a leather vest.

“We are all ready to go” she said as Aaron opened his eyes. “We are waiting for you in the dining hall” saying that Jane left the room.

Aaron’s head hurt and slowly he remembered what had happened last night. It took him more time than usual to get ready for Breakfast as he kept getting lost in thoughts. The thoughts of his village and the people there, thoughts of wolves and Lurgs, and how terrifying it must have been in the village when they attacked.

He suddenly realized how risky it is to fight Zorath, the Dark Lord. When he finally got dressed and packed, he walked towards the dining room with a heavy heart.

Everyone at the table had almost finished their breakfasts. Billy was sitting silently next to Flynn.  Aaron didn’t remember seeing Billy since he met him last night. It was as if he had disappeared into thin air for the night.

The table had exotic dishes, the aroma of freshly cooked bread filled the room but it made Aaron feel sick. It brought too many memories of his home. The home he didn’t have any more. Nobody spoke at the table till Aaron was done.

“Aaron, we will do whatever it takes to find your brother” Ony said with determination.

“Yes” agreed Belster “If there is any chance to find your little brother, we will be with you till the end” Sandra and Jane nodded in agreement.

Aaron felt good. Never in his life, so many people were concerned about him.

“We are in this together Aaron. We will fight with all out strength to bring him back.” Dan assured.

Aaron felt a confidence building inside him. He did not feel alone anymore, for the first time in his life, he felt that he belonged to a big family who really were there for each other.

The horses were kept ready outside. The Defenders mounted on them quickly after exchanging kind words and goodbyes with Tom Cinn and promising him many times that they will come back soon.

Dan took the lead and next to him rode Jane to show the way to others. Soon, they were crossing the woods with massive trees with thick branches which almost touched the blue sky. They rode till the sun started to set. The sky appeared golden red at the Horizon. They had reached a meadow filled with red and white flowers. These flowers were very rare and they filled the air with their sweet aroma. They rode through the meadow.

Many miles through the beautiful meadow that had strange flowers and fruits, they saw a lonely hut with no barriers or gate. Dan and Jane stopped in front of the hut and so did everyone else. Jane made all the horses stand in a row and suddenly a barricade appeared around them from the ground. Leaving the horses safe in the barricade, Jane asked everybody else to follow her inside the house.

Before knocking on the door, she turned towards everyone and spoke in a hushed voice “This is my grandma’s house, but she has a problem. She has lost most of her memory, so she might appear a little strange to you. Please don’t panic. We will be here only for the night” she then turned towards the door while everyone stood behind her.

The hut was not much of a looker. It was made with mostly mud and dry leaves and some wood here and there. The windows were so crooked that it looked like the house could fall apart anytime. Aaron and Flynn exchanged looks, they were thinking of the same thing.
How in the world would so many people fit in such a small hut?

Jane took a deep breath and finally knocked on the tattered old wooden door, nobody answered for a while.

“Grandma, it’s me Jane, open the door. I am here with some friends.”

But still, the door didn’t open.  She knocked a few more times.

“I don’t think she‘s home” Sandra said standing at the back with folded arms. Flynn seemed to adore her from a distance as he was not allowed to speak to her anymore.

“She never goes anywhere. I hope she is alright.” Jane gave up and decided to leave.

As they were about to turn back, the door opened with a creak. Nobody appeared from inside.

“Grandma!” Jane shouted as she went inside. Everyone followed her reluctantly.  It was pretty dark. Jane clapped her hands three times and the whole room was lit, but they were no lamps. Some strange glass balls were illuminated high on the ceilings and the walls.

The inside of the hut was not at all the way they imagined. It was not dingy and falling apart with old and broken furniture. It was a big hall with beautiful wooden furniture covered with magenta silk coverings. The place was huge, and deceived its appearance from the outside.  The hall looked so well maintained that it reminded them of a palace. Many more rooms could be seen down the hall. Aaron couldn’t believe his own eyes.

“What is this place?!” Aaron asked amazed.
“I can’t believe we are inside a hut” Flynn said with his mouth wide open.

“Oh! This is an enchanted castle. My grandpa built it. From outside, it appears like a poor peasant’s hut, but from inside, it a real castle” she said absent mindedly and disappeared into one of the rooms still calling her grandma.

Everyone was astonished. Ony was checking a large mirror in which he appeared to be fit and lean. “I like this place” he said loudly, looking very happy.

Flynn kept his distance from Sandra, but he wished to speak to her. Soon, everyone was sitting on the soft cushions and talking to each other. The tiredness of their journey stared to wear off.

“So, you have finally come my king!” an old lady was standing in front of them, she wore a long pink gown with her white hair tied in a bun. She was looking at Dan who had his jaws open in surprise. She walked closer to him and took his right hand and stared to kiss it.  “Oh! I am blessed, the king has come to my house” she said. Dan stood there looking at everyone expecting someone to know what the old lady was saying. After a few minutes, she turned toward Ony “Long live the minster of the king, oh master Lan, what a pleasant surprise!”

Ony looked puzzled and Flynn laughed with his hands on his mouth.