My Sparkling Misfortune (The Lakeland Knight) (2 page)

I entered the cave first. There was more gold in it than I expected; the Dolmanians must have raided several settlements before hitting Dalvanna. I stepped closer to count the sacks filled with golden coins.

That's when I heard the growl.

I recognized it immediately, nearly dropping my sword--quiet yet powerful, the chilling sound that had become my nightmare, only this time it was real. The monster had found me again. He shouldn't--he couldn't be there...

I spun around and saw him towering at the cave entrance... a lizard-like beast, taller than any man... with glowing red eyes... and the sharpest fangs... hideous claws... and...

All right, all right. I am terrified of him. Even writing this makes me shudder. And don't you dare laugh: if you saw that creature, you would have fled faster than I did.

By some miracle I had made it out of that cave, my cape torn in half with the beast's paw; that's how close he was to completing his mission. I saw Prince Kellemar riding up, and for a split second I was stupid enough to think that he would help me. He was, after all, an aspiring hero, and heroes are supposed to do such things. Not this one: Kellemar stopped his horse and watched with a smile.

I ran for my life, heading to the nearest white tower. To my horror, I found it in ruins. That explained why the monster was able to get to me; it also meant that I had no protection from him for two more miles, until--and if--I reach the white tower in Arkusville, the closest one to my castle.

Those of you who think that running for two miles with a monster after you is a fun adventure will have to allow me to disagree. Add to it the humiliation I had endured, in front of Kellemar and in front of my men. That would be enough to move Kellemar to the first spot on my long list of enemies and start planning the most cruel and treacherous invasion ever--immediately. However, that was not the end of my troubles. When I reached the spot where the second white tower was supposed to be, I saw it destroyed as well. My home, the
Blackriver
Castle
, was no longer safe.

At that moment, Shork showed up, on horseback. He was the only one of my men who knew about the monster and therefore knew where to look for me.

"Oh, no, the tower is gone!" he exclaimed. "And the next one--the next one is in Malgarra, that's over sixty miles from here!"

Idiot. As if I didn't know that.

"What took you so long?!" I yelled at him. "And why didn't you bring my horse?!"

"I couldn't catch it, Your Lordship. It bolted away, and I-- "

"I have no time for this! Give me yours!"

He hurried to dismount. "What will Your Lordship do?"

"Guess!" I snapped, jumping in the saddle. "Ride to Malgarra, of course!"

"But we could get to the castle first, take some supplies and another horse."

"The beast can be here any moment, you fool!!"

"He isn't that fast... Ouch!"

Usually, Shork was pretty good at knowing when I was going to smack him, but this time he missed it.

"Now, listen, and don't you mess anything up, or I will have you for dinner. Go to the castle, wait for the men to return, and order them to start rebuilding the tower. Then take some money and food and find me in Malgarra. Got it?"

"Yes, Your Lordship. Castle, tower, supplies, and find you in Malgarra. Very good."

I had no time to remark that I did not need his evaluation of whether my orders were good or not. I had to get out of there before the monster would catch up with me.

∗ ∗ ∗

Well, now that you know my secret, I suppose it is a good time to tell you how it came about. Several years ago, I had a disagreement with a wizard named Magner. We fought, he died. The monster belonged to Magner; how he had captured and tamed such a beast, I do not know, but the creature served him faithfully, obeying his every word. When we fought, it was just Magner and me--an honest duel without magical tricks. But when I overpowered and wounded him, Magner called on the monster. His dying words were his last order to the beast.

"Kill Arkus."

The accursed creature had been haunting me ever since.

I can't tell you how many times the monster's growl had startled me when I thought I had lost him, covered my tracks, or found a place he could never reach. He could dig tunnels, climb mountains and walls, swim across any river or lake; he knew how to hide and how to wait. I learned early on that swords were useless against him, his scales were too thick. Whoever I hired to guard me would quit after the first encounter with the monster--if they survived it, that is.

My life had turned into a nightmare, with that constant expectation to hear the growl, and fear that one day the beast might decide to change his ways and sneak up on me silently. I thought I was going to lose my mind.

Then, quite by accident, I had discovered that for some reason the monster could not go near white towers. Being a villain, I never appreciated those before and actually destroyed a few. Built by sentimental fools to help those in need and supposedly capable of allowing people to talk to sparklings, they were no use to me. However, it turned out that a white tower was the only thing that offered me safety.

That gave me some breathing room. I built a white tower next to my domain, and a couple more down two major roads. Of course, I could not ruin my reputation by openly building them, so each time I hired a man who would hire a man who would pay the builders. I kept obtaining the latest maps, and when I traveled I'd make sure I stayed close enough to white towers on the way. Nobody knew my secret, only Shork who, with all his faults, would never dare to betray me.

I have no idea how Kellemar found out. He must have destroyed the towers when I was on my way to the cave. It was a smart move, I'll give him that; a move worthy of a villain--and the best part is that, technically, he did not break his word of a prince that he had given me with such reserve. He did what he promised, he'd sent me a message with the location of the plunder one day before the battle. It was implied that we would not harm each other during this joint venture, and he did nothing to harm me; he only destroyed the white towers, letting the monster take care of the rest. Now he was going to be praised not only for beating the Dolmanians and getting the gold but also for defeating the evil Lord Arkus.

Prince Kellemar, son of King Ramian of Dalvanna, you will die for this.

∗ ∗ ∗

Before I could fulfill that vow, of course, I had to ensure my safety. I wished I could gallop all the way to Malgarra, but that would kill the horse. I made it there by nightfall. The white tower stood intact, and there was a tavern right next to it. I breathed a sigh of relief, dismounted, and tied the horse. I was not recognized, but my fine clothes impressed the owner enough to give me a room without asking to pay first. He offered supper as well, but I could not think of food. It did not look like I would be able to sleep, either. I had to plan my revenge.

There was plenty of time, and I used it well. On the next day, I had an elaborate plan, smart and wicked enough to win the first award at the annual villain conference. All I needed was to have the towers rebuilt, so that I could return to my castle and get to work.

I anxiously waited for Shork, inventing new punishments for him for every hour of his delay. The hours turned into days; the servant would not come. When three days had passed with no sight of him, I sensed that something was wrong.

I had been avoiding the crowd at the tavern, irritated to no end by ridiculous stories of how brave Prince Kellemar fed evil Lord Arkus to a monster. Yes, that's what people were saying, can you believe it? However, after those three days I decided that listening to travelers' conversations might help me figure out what was going on in Dalvanna and Arkusville.

I went to the dining hall and took a seat in the corner. Sure enough, it was not long before yet another crook began getting free drinks by telling everyone about Lord Arkus's shameful demise.

"He begged for his life," the fellow asserted, "but the prince was not moved, and he threw him right in the monster's mouth!"

"Did you see it happen?" someone asked.

The storyteller shook his head. "No, I did not, but I heard it from someone who did."

The stupid crowd took it as sufficient proof; they filled their glasses and drank to Prince Kellemar's health.

I figured I'd better ask the questions I had in mind, before these guys got too drunk to answer--or before they drive me mad enough to give them a taste of my sword.

"So Arkus is dead," I began, "But I believe he had a whole army. What happened to it?"

"Some were captured, others fled to the castle. They picked a new leader, from what I know. Some fellow named Belvir. But he is far too scared of Prince Kellemar now to cause trouble."

Belvir was my second in command, so it was understandable that he took charge in my absence.

"Is anyone rebuilding the white towers?" I asked.

"The ones Arkus destroyed? No, not yet. The prince has decided to build new ones, on a different location--farther away from the
Blackriver
Castle
. I think it's a good idea. It would be a waste to rebuild them on the same spots and then have Arkus's men bring them down again."

Lovely. So even the destruction of the towers was blamed on me.

I still could not understand why Belvir was not following my orders relayed through Shork and why Shork wasn't here. Has something happened to him?

"Do you know anything about Arkus's personal attendant?" I asked.

The storyteller gave me a puzzled look.

"The servant? Why, I would think he is still in the royal dungeon, with the rest of the captives. Why would he be treated differently?"

Now I had the answer. Shork was captured, and everyone thought me dead, including my own men. I was stuck here. No one was looking for me, waiting for me, or going to rebuild the towers where I needed them. It was up to me to get out of all this trouble.

I returned to my room. I had to think of something--fast. My brilliant plan lay in ruins; I needed a new one. So what could I possibly do, without money or men, and with the monster on my back?

I sought long and hard, and I eventually found a solution. It was difficult and dangerous, but if it worked... Oh, I would show them all what happens when you anger Lord Arkus!

∗ ∗ ∗

Years ago, I had learned from one unfortunate scribe that it was possible to catch a gormack, an evil spirit, and make him serve you. There was only one place in the world where that could be done; not many knew the location and the rules one had to follow to achieve that, and out of those who knew, not many would dare to try. The priceless secret was strictly guarded, but that scribe owed me more than he could ever pay, and after much hesitation, he paid by sharing it. Now, it looked like the time had come to use that information.

The place was called
Silky
Lake
. The water of the lake was said to be so beautiful, warm, and pleasant, that spirits could not resist the temptation to swim in it, even though only for a few minutes. To enjoy swimming, of course, you need flesh, so spirits would temporarily take a physical form. This weakened them, and for some reason the water of the lake weakened them even more. That's what gave a mere mortal like me a chance to subdue a powerful gormack.

A gormack could only spend four to five minutes swimming in the lake, the scribe had told me. Staying longer, he risked losing too much strength, which would force him to remain in the limiting physical body for many years. No spirit would want such inconvenience and humiliation. So a human wishing to catch a gormack needed to wait for a little less than four minutes, and then jump at the spirit, grab him and hold him. Compared to humans, the spirits were still very strong, and they would try to wrestle away with all their might. If you failed to hold the gormack... you would most likely pay for it with your life. However, the longer you held him, the weaker he would become, and his risk of getting stuck in the physical body would grow. Eventually, the gormack would offer you something for letting him go, usually gold, jewels, or fulfilling one simple wish. That's when you had to bargain and tell him you wanted five years of service.

Five years in flesh, and bound to a human master, is not a lot of fun, so the insulted spirit would probably try to break free yet again, with renewed vigor. However, five years is far better than thirty, forty or more he would be risking at that point. If you manage to hold the gormack that long, there is a good chance he will agree--and he will not be able to go back on his promise, if you use the right words to seal the deal.

Five years of having a powerful spirit at my command... Can you imagine what I could do with such a servant? There were, of course, some limitations to what he would be able to do, brought by his physical body and by general laws of the spiritual realm that would have to be considered, but still... Just thinking about all the possibilities took away my breath. Kellemar would pay. I could take care of my long list of enemies, too, accomplish everything I ever wanted... And I could order the gormack to kill the monster that haunted me. He should be strong enough for that. I would be free again! Yes, it was a dangerous task, but it was well worth the risk.