Defenders of Kron - The Black Dragon (17 page)

The old lady turned to Belster and her expressions changed “Your king is standing. How dare you sit in front of him? Stand up and respect your king”

Belster stood at once, the irritation showed on his face immediately.  Flynn gave out another chuckle and looked down at the floor as Belster eyed him.
“Won’t you bring a glass of water for your king?” The old lady was looking mad now. Nobody knew what was going on.

Before Belster could say anything, Jane walked into the hall.

“Grandma! there you are. I have been looking all over for you”

“Jane” she gave a loud cry and hugged Jane tight and showered her face with kisses till Jane could pull away.

“Look Jane, the king himself has come to visit me” she pointed to Dan.

“And his minister too” she said, pointing to Ony.

“And their good for nothing servant.” she pointed towards Belster who was clenching his fist to keep himself in control.

“But who are these people?” she wondered looking at Aaron, Flynn, Billy and Sandra.

“They are my friends grandma” Jane said quickly “They came with me!”

“Oh! What a lucky day. The king comes to my house and my granddaughter is here too with her friends. I am going to make a feast for our dinner.” She said and walked away singing a happy tune.

Jane waited till she was out of sight. “It looks like she thinks that you are the king, I don’t know why, but it’s better for us to play along. Anyways, we are here only for the night” Jane said. Everyone agreed. Belster didn’t like it a bit, he agreed reluctantly.

The bedrooms, kitchen, dining, cellar and pantry of the enchanted castle were grand. Jane gave all of them a tour of the castle which left everybody pleased and wondering that how an old lady alone takes care of such a big house. They met Jane’s grandmother again in the kitchen. She was busy making all kind of delicacies for them. The papers on which the recipes were written were flying all around her as she cooked.

Jane showed them to their rooms where they stretched their legs and took a short nap before dinner.

Aaron felt very much at home. It was cozy and much care had been taken in the arrangement of everything. He looked forward to dinner. He wanted to speak to Jane again. It gave him so much calm. He thought that she has all the answers he needed. She was full of magic just like his mother would have been.

Aaron had a ton of questions regarding magic. Till a few days back he didn’t know that magic existed and now he has seen so much in just a little time. Jane came from the same place as his mother. And now, they would be reaching that same place very soon.  His curiosity about Witch Valley was growing by the minute.

Soon, Jane called him for dinner. Aaron changed into more comfortable cloths and came to the table with Flynn. Jane’s grandma had filled the table with all kinds of dishes. There were five kinds of main course. Chicken with roasted potatoes and green beans; Broccoli and baked Duck; barbecued lamb; Cos and lentil salad; slow roasted garlic beef and plenty of fresh milk bread. For dessert, there was a big apple pie. All the food was mouth watering. After eating most of the dishes, there was no place for the beef in Aaron’s stomach. After finishing their deserts, all of them helped clean up the table.

Aaron decided to take a little walk after dinner. Most of them were sleepy after the big meal. They all left to their rooms. Aaron slipped out through the back door. Outside the house, he found that the castle had changed into a hut again. The meadow still smelled fresh and the citric smell of some fruit that was in the air was overbearing. The moon was full that night and he could see everything very clearly. He found a cluster of rocks nearby and sat on one of them thinking about his future.

A touch startled him. As he looked back, Jane was standing there with her generous smile. She wore her white gown again and looked like an angel.

“What are you doing outside all alone?” she asked as she sat near him.

“Nothing…” Aaron didn’t want to sound worried. They said nothing for a while but stared into the endless meadows under the moonlight. The wind was blowing gently, it was not too cold.

“So were you born a witch?” Aaron asked.

“Nobody can be born a witch or a wizard. Magic is something that one has to earn. One should learn and master it over many years. But yes, I was born among witches and wizards. I was lucky that way” Jane answered.

“What’s magic like? Can you do anything you want?” Aaron asked.

“Not really. There are many rules and laws which we have to follow. We can’t do whatever we want. Besides, most of us do not even know about all kinds of magic. Some of us have special gifts only we can use” Jane looked like a princess under the moonlight with her hair shining golden and the glow of the moon on her face. Aaron felt dizzy without any intoxication. The night got deeper and it became really cold. They knew they had to go inside soon.

He finally asked “So everyone who knows magic follows these rules?”

Jane’s expressions turned grave. “Not really, the wizards who practice dark magic do not. They go against the rules of magic like playing with people’s free will. But that has its consequences. Any such person will never be at peace.”

“Are witches fighting against the evil force too?” Aaron asked wondering.

Jane hesitated at the question. She straightened her dress and said “No, they don’t. They never have, they are just fond of their magic, and they do not want any trouble”

“Then how come you are fighting?” Aaron asked doubtfully. Jane looked up at the moon as is she was gathering strength to speak. She gave a deep sigh. “Some of us do not want to hide and that’s why we are fighting.”

Aaron looked puzzled. He thought knowing magic should make anyone brave.

“When the destruction first began, the magic race stayed clear of it. They said they have nothing to do with Dark Magic. They knew that Zorath will never attack them because they were powerful wizards themselves. Zorath wanted us as his friends because together, we could become very powerful. The elders did not wanted to do so, they did not accept Zorath’s proposal. When Zorath started to attack the other kingdoms, the kings came to us for help. It became harder to refuse as time went by. So the eldest wizard of that time, Macsandor put a spell around our town to keep it invisible from all the passersby. Only the ones who knew magic could get through. People never came asking for help again, but it became difficult for some of us to live in ignorance. We knew what was going on out there, so when the Light king’s invitation was received, a few of us went to the kingdom of light to prove ourselves. One wizard was chosen to become a defender and a small group of witches and wizards supported him. I am a part of that group Aaron, we want to fight and restore the order. We do not want to hide anymore. Besides, we are not hidden from anything which has magic like the Lurgs or the Dark Lord himself. The elders do not understand that we are the biggest threat to the Dark Lord. He might wipe us out any time if he wants to. We have to stand up for ourselves” Jane explained. Aaron nodded. He thought how little he knew about the world he was living in, till now.

“We should go inside; we have to start for the valley early morning” Jane said as she stood up. Aaron followed Jane inside the hut and closed the door behind him. Jane planted a kiss on his cheeks “Good night.” she said and walked to her room. Aaron stood there feeling his ears turning pink.

Chapter 14

The Witch Valley

The next morning everyone said goodbyes to Jane’s grandmother. She hugged all of them. Everyone, except for Belster was happy. He was made to the house chores while the others slept.

Their horses were well kept safe inside the barricades. They were rested and well fed. The wooden barricaded disappeared into the grounds again as Jane commanded them to.
They were now on their way to the Witch Valley. They rode through the beautiful meadows for a long time till it ended abruptly. The skies were gray and cloudy. Jane and Dan stopped at the end of the last tree and served everyone a breakfast of oatmeal porridge. After eating, everyone admired the meadows for the last time. Ony lighted his pipe and blew smoke rings in silence as he sat under the tree.

They continued their journey as the day passed. Occasionally, they stopped for a short rest and for water. The roads were plain and clearly visible. They stared to climb a mountain, the road turned harder as they went up. The trees at every step made it difficult to ride. Dan asked everyone to get down and walk with their horses till they came to the open roads.

Aaron stopped and watched, he could see far from the top of the mountains. He could see the vastness of the land. It was endless. Dan saw him standing alone and came to him.

“These are the Northern Lands of Kron kid!  There is Arktor. We will be reaching there soon” he said, pointing to a greener patch of land far away.

“And there is your village, we left it far behind” he pointed in the other direction.

Dan then told him about all the kingdoms in the Northern Lands. Aaron realized how well travelled Dan was. Aaron listened to him with all his attention. The fact that Ony told him there was a rivalry between Dan and his father made him a bit uncomfortable.

“Its not safe here, we should go” Ony came panting towards them.

“What do you mean?” Dan frowned.

“Lurgs, I saw lurgs down below the mountains.” Ony added.

Aaron looked in horror at Dan.

“If Ony has seen Lurgs, that can only mean that the Searchers have found us. We better hurry out of the valley” Dan said.

Dan hurried towards his horse and Ony told the rest of them about the Lurgs. In no time, they all rode together at a high speed.

“We have to avoid the road at any cost, we cannot be seen by the Lurgs” Dan shouted “Do you know another way to the valley?” he asked Jane.

“I do! Alfadon showed it to me once. It is through a forest. But it is very dangerous. Without Alfadon we may not be able to cross it” she replied.

“We don’t have a choice now, show us the way!” Dan gave way for Jane to lead.

“But there are vicious creatures in this forest; it has not been disturbed for ages. There could be anything in there” Jane was unwilling to lead them there.

“It’s either the Lurgs or the forest” Dan looked at Jane as if he was giving her a choice. “We do not even know the number of Lurgs yet” he added.

Jane turned her head and looked towards the east.

“Follow me!” She said and galloped away towards the east. Dan signaled everyone else to follow her.

Soon, they came off the clear path and were standing in front of the forest that Jane had told them about. There were some strange trees where the forest began. It was very dark inside. Jane was staring at the forest, she was not ready to go in there.

“What are we waiting for?” asked Belster impatiently.

Billy and Flynn looked uncomfortable too.

Suddenly they heard the sound of a horn. Everyone looked at each other with puzzled eyes.

“The Lurgs are coming! They have tracked our trails. Fast! Into the forest” Dan said and vanished inside the forest quickly. Nobody stopped to think, they entered the forest at once. They rode through the dense forest holding onto their dear lives.

Aaron stuck close to Jane, he checked on everyone from time to time looking around in the dim light. The trees were enormous and Flynn was murmuring his prayers. Some trees looked like they have eyes and were looking back at them. Flynn with his eyes closed, almost got hit by a branch that appeared in front of him, he ducked just in time to save himself. The forest was so silent that it bothered Aaron. He had never seen such eerie silence in any jungle. They eventually had to slow down as the ground became very wet and muddy at places. They came near a pond. There was moss everywhere.

“Stay on the stones and the fallen branches” Jane commanded, but there was panic in her voice that Aaron recognized. Now, they were going at a walking pace as it was really hard to ride on the little dry patch of land that was full of stones and dry branches.

“Why is it so silent here?”asked Aaron “Why aren’t the birds chirping?”

“Trust me, you would not like to see the birds that live here” Jane said looking at the sky.

‘
Why?
’ Aaron thought. What kinds of birds live here? But he didn’t ask any further questions, he was feeling uneasy about this place and was in no mood to know about the creatures that lived here.

“When will we get out of this place? I am feeling sick” said Flynn.

“You should have stayed back” said Ony angrily.

“Yes, this is not a journey for the faint hearted” Belster looked at him with sharp eyes.

“Leave him alone. We are all feeling sick, let’s get out of here!”Aaron almost screamed. He didn’t like how his best friend was treated all along.

Nobody spoke again. They came near a small cluster of bushes that had some strange fruits growing on them.

“I can’t remember the way from here. I think we are lost” Jane said holding her forehead.

“Lost?! Don’t’ say that!” Flynn was breathing hard.

Suddenly, something moved above them and then came an ear piercing screech.

“Vampire birds!” Jane said with fear in her eyes. “Alfadon told me about them, they come in a flock and kill to drink blood of their prey. What are we going to do now?”

Billy stepped down from his horse. “I know the way, follow me!” his expression was stern and his eyes sharp.

Jane looked at Dan and then Ony. Nobody could believe him, but they didn’t have a choice.

Billy stared to run in the south direction and the others reluctantly followed him on their horses. Billy ran on two feet for sometime and then he stared to run on all fours like a wild animal. He gained enormous speed and soon he was jumping onto the trees. He went from trees to trees really fast, sometimes coming back on the ground. Everyone was startled.

“How is he doing this?” asked Sandra.

“The right question would be, who the hell is he.” said Ony.

“I know who he is, I can’t believe that I didn’t figure it out all this while” Dan said with his eyes following Billy. “He is a werewolf!”