‘After you,’ he said, motioning toward the portal with his hand. Then staring straight at Doogard, he said, ‘Just making sure you don’t have a change of heart and decide to run off instead of following us through.’
‘And why would we do that?’ replied Doogard in an enquiring voice.
Riezgar snorted, ‘Just hurry up.’
Doogard put his hand on Eric’s shoulder, ‘On you go boy, first time is the worst and you’ve already got that one out of the way, so nothing to worry about. Just walk straight into it and the portal will do the rest.’
‘Okay,’ said Eric glancing from Doogard to the swirling mist. ‘Will it take me back to my back garden?’
‘No I’m afraid not,’ said Doogard, ‘but it will be taking us back to your home town, Penzance. Albeit to an Elf safe house first where we will disguise ourselves to appear like ordinary people from your world. It makes it easier for us to move around unnoticed.’
Eric glanced away from the portal and looked Doogard and Riezgar up and down, dressed like old Viking warriors and armed to the hilt with lots of sharp blades and various other nasty looking weapons.
‘Yeah, probably a good idea,’ he said, then he turned and marched straight into the portal.
Chapter 27
Tala had interrupted Max’s storytelling to bring them something to drink. As Finn wearily eyed up the shell-like thing holding the liquid that Tala had brought them, she sensed his apprehension and laughed, then added, ‘It’s only water, don’t worry, we drink that here too.’
Finn blushed and cursed himself for looking so stupid but as his eyes met with Tala she gave him a warming smile and winked before walking away to let Max continue with his story.
‘Stedd had now grown into a strong, fit young adult Pixie. He had become an expert with a sword, mainly due to hours on end of practice with his friend Dante — and an even more skilled hunter. The time was right for him to return to the Pixie lands and avenge his father’s death.
Rosalia and Dante pleaded with their friend not to go, saying it was a suicide mission. In the years since Hawker’s death, the King had become more of a tyrant than ever before. Armed with his sword he had become unstoppable. The Elves had suffered greatly after that initial war, as the King had gone on the offensive, slaying thousands, whilst barely losing a Pixie in the process. He drove the Elves down into the cold, southern lands.
Told if they tried to return north they would be slayed on sight, the whole Elf race had to try to rebuild their lives in some of the most inhospitable lands you will ever encounter.
And it wasn’t just the Elves who suffered. Everyone had to fall in line, Fairies included. You either proclaimed your allegiance to the King and paid your dues, or you were destroyed. Many were, until enough displays of his newly made weapon made everyone fall in line, such was its power of destruction. In a land that had never been ruled by any one species, we now found ourselves being ruled by one Pixie King.
You might think this was a glorious time for the Pixie race but it wasn’t. He was an evil ruler and was paranoid of someone trying to steal his precious sword. Anyone who even glanced at it in the wrong manner was executed right there on the spot. He murdered hundreds, maybe even thousands of his own race over the years. If people heard the King was on his way, they would grab their children off the streets and hide, fearful of being accused of looking at him in the wrong way.
Some powerful witches would try from time to time to try and defeat him. Not for the greater good I might add, just looking to try to commandeer the powerful, Straize gems for their own greedy desires.
But try as they might, casting various spells, they too fell at the hand of the King’s great sword. For the gems seemed to encase the King in a protective aura from spells, rendering the witches useless. Soon they too, gave up trying to steal the gems.
So you can see why Rosalia and Dante were trying to talk Stedd out of going on his crazy revenge mission. But his mind was set, it didn’t matter to Stedd that the Pixie he sought after was the most powerful person in the land at that time. He could not go on living his life until he had avenged his father’s death or died trying.
It seemed like an impossible task ahead of Stedd, but so it had seemed when his father Hawker had set out to slay the dragon Black Death. Yet his father had overcome the odds and returned victorious. So Stedd took heart from his father’s accomplishment and set off on the journey back to his old homeland.
Since he was suspected to be dead and so many years had passed since Stedd had left the Pixie lands, he had mostly been forgotten about. With much ease he was able to stride back into his old village unrecognised. Anyone he passed just took him for any other young Pixie male going about his daily business. Stedd barely recognised his old village either. He had many happy memories, growing up in this warm, welcoming friendly village, but now it felt dark and desolate. People hurried by, heads bowed, seemingly afraid to even look at one another. Many homes were now empty, doors lying broken and windows smashed. The word ‘traitor’ painted across most of the damaged houses, a sign of the hard times the Pixie people were having under the rule of the mad King.
Also, there were soldiers everywhere. They had always had a good sized army, but never had Stedd seen so many of them within the compounds of their own village in full battle armour. Did the King fear his own people that much?
Stedd made his way through the village as discreetly as he could, taking back alleys and avoiding patrolling guards whenever possible. Passing by his grandparents’ house he was horrified to see that charred remains were all that were left of it. He shuddered to think what had become of them after helping him to flee the village.
He moved on quickly, keen to avoid any suspicious guards. As he neared his old home he saw it was like many of the other unfortunate homes in the village and had been targeted by the King’s soldiers. The large letters spelling ‘traitor’ painted across the front wall of the home, fuelled the anger inside Stedd. How ironic he thought, that the biggest traitor of all now goes around branding everyone else what he himself is. Well his time of payback was now upon him, thought Stedd, gritting his teeth in anger.
He stepped through what was left of his old front door and wandered through the house. Anything of value or use was long gone. Scavenged by other villagers or guards no doubt and what little remained lay scattered and broken across the floor. At least the roof remained intact and it would provide Stedd shelter for now as he waited for the darkness of night to arrive. Then he would go looking for the real traitor of the Pixies.’
Chapter 28
As soon as Eric stepped through the portal, it felt like his body had been split into a million different pieces, yet somehow it all still connected. Suddenly each piece shot forward, moving through the universe at what felt like the speed of light or faster. Then, just as quickly as the sensation had begun, it stopped and he was whole again, arms and legs thrashing and spinning in mid-air, searching for some kind of solid purchase.
Moments later they found it. Eric noticed the ground just in time to land with a stumble, but at least stay on his feet this time. As Eric gathered his bearings he realised he was indeed back on earth and directly in front of him lay the back end of a house that looked very much like the style of many from his hometown of Penzance. As a small feeling of hope fluttered from within him, a loud thud to his left made him jump.
‘Don’t worry it’s just me,’ said Doogard with a slight grin on his face. ‘Better move out of the way, don’t want that big oaf landing on top of you,’ he continued.
As Eric took a few paces closer to the house, he turned around to see a large wishing well, not unlike the one in his gran’s garden, sitting in the middle of the lawn in a fairly large-sized back garden. Just as it had before, the edges of the well, lit up a sparkling green colour, revealing some strange symbols or writing. Then as quick as turning a switch on or off, Riezgar appeared in mid-air, just above the well and proceeded to land on the grass exactly wh
ere Eric had been standing only seconds ago.
‘Well? What you waiting for? Riezgar snarled at them, then before waiting for an answer, added, ‘On you go then,’ gesturing towards the house.
Eric looked up at Doogard, who shook his head a little before he turned and marched off towards the back door of the house that now stood ajar. As he neared the house he shouted over his shoulder. ‘C’mon boy, keep up.’
Eric had remained rooted to the spot, staring back at the wishing well, trying to comprehend how exactly they had all just seemingly popped out of it from another universe altogether. Maybe he really was losing his mind, he thought to himself, but he was abruptly snapped back into reality with a heavy push from Riezgar that sent him sprawling onto the lawn.
‘Yeah, listen to your master boy,’ Riezgar growled at Eric, as he quickly got to his feet and hurried after Doogard. Entering the back door of the house, he found it took him into the kitchen, but with Riezgar hot on his heels he kept moving and wandered through the kitchen until it brought him into a long hallway.
Eric could hear voices coming from a room down the hall so he figured that’s where he was meant to be and cautiously walked towards the room and entered. He was met with the now customary growl from most of the Elves that he had been travelling with, before Doogard motioned with his head for Eric to move over to where he was standing, which he did, trying his best not to bump into anyone as he moved across the room.
The atmosphere in the room felt hostile and intense to Eric without anyone actually doing or saying anything directly at him. A few minutes went by, then Riezgar popped his head through the door and shouted, ‘RIGHT, time to move out, let’s go.’
At once all the Elves stood and took off out the room after Riezgar. As Eric followed suit, a large hand landed on his shoulder and pulled him back a step or two. Doogard leaned down and whispered into his ear, ‘Remember what I said boy, stay close to me, especially once we get to your school.’
Eric nodded his head at Doogard and pushed the feelings of dread to the back of his mind. There were too many outcomes to worry over at what Doogard seemed to be implying. Better to try to stay as a calm as possible and be alert to any dangers than to get bogged down with panic. Which was easier said than done, Eric thought.
He followed the line of Elves as they left the room and walked down a short corridor that took them to the front door of the property. As he stepped through the door, a funny thing happened. Each Elf that had already left the property in front of Eric was now suddenly wearing a completely different outfit to what they had been wearing just moments ago inside the house. In an instant they had gone from looking like medieval vikings, with an array of deadly weapons on them, to now looking like ordinary citizens of earth.
One Elf was now wearing jeans, trainers and a casual shirt; one wore a smart, navy blue suit and the largest of them all, a giant Elf who looked about seven foot tall and just as wide, now wore a loose fitting sports tracksuit, which was a little strange-looking to be honest thought Eric. However, the strangest thing was that there was no longer a single weapon in sight, when only moments ago, each and every single Elf had been sporting a large array of individual weapons, all in plain sight. But now no matter how hard Eric looked, not a single weapon could be seen.
‘Looks a bit different now eh,’ said Doogard, laughing a little. As Eric spun back towards the house, he watched as Doogard, just about to exit the house, was still dressed in his viking-looking Elf gear, but as soon as he stepped through the doorwell and touched down on the outer step, his whole image changed in a flash. Just like the other Elves, all his weapons disappeared and instead of his own clothes, he now sported a pair of black combat trousers and a plain white t-shirt.
‘What….the,’ said Eric, a little startled.
Doogard grinned, apparently finding Eric’s expression amusing. ‘That’s why we travel via an Elf safe house when we come to your universe. There’s a charm cast on the house so that whenever we pass through it, it places an enchantment on each Elf to make them blend in with this world. We’ll appear to anyone that sees us as you do now.’
‘It’s not perfect,’ continued Doogard, glancing at the giant Elf who now looked arguably stranger dressed in a sports tracksuit, ‘but I think you would agree we would soon draw attention to ourselves walking down your high street armed to the hilt.’
This time it was Eric’s turn to laugh. ‘Yeah I can’t argue with you on that point,’ he replied.
Two large black SUVs sat parked in the driveway of the property and the Elves began to load into them. ‘Stick with me,’ said Doogard as he guided Eric towards the second SUV. As they got into the rear of the vehicle, Eric found himself sandwiched between Doogard and the giant with the tracksuit on, who merely glanced at Eric and grunted.
Riezgar climbed in to the front passenger seat, then turned to Eric and smiled. ‘Right, time to go back to school kid.’
Chapter 29
The drive through town was a very surreal experience for Eric. Being back in his home town, seeing and hearing so many familiar sights and sounds almost made Eric feel safe again. However nothing could be further from the truth. And every time the vehicle turned a bend, the crushing feeling of the giant Elf leaning in to him soon reminded Eric of his current predicament.
Around ten minutes later, the black SUVs pulled in to the deserted car park of the Humphry Davy school.
It must be the weekend thought Eric, with the place being so deserted. It also reminded Eric of just how disoriented he was regarding the time and date.
Being the weekend brought about conflicted feelings for Eric. In a way he was grateful that the school was deserted, as the thought of eight heavily armed, vicious looking Elves heading into a jam packed school was not going to work out well for his fellow pupils and teachers alike.
However, that said, with the place deserted, it also meant that the chances of someone coming to Eric’s aid and helping him escape from the Elves, were now extremely low.
As they arrived at the school, the SUV Eric was travelling in drove straight through the locked gates at the entrance to the car park and then came to a halt right outside the main doors to the school.
Riezgar turned around from the front passenger seat he was sitting in, to look face to face with Eric. ‘Right boy, when we go in, I want directions to this teacher’s office. The quickest route too, no messing around or I’ll make you regret it. We clear?’
Eric nodded his head in reply.
‘Good, then let’s go,’ said Riezgar and all four doors of the SUV opened at once and the occupants left the vehicle and climbed the small set of stairs that led to the main entrance of the school. The giant Elf that had been sitting next to Eric in the SUV reached the door first, then tried to no avail to open it. ‘It’s locked,’ he said as he turned and looked to Riezgar for instructions.
Riezgar rolled his eyes then said rather curtly, ‘Well open the damn thing then.’
The giant Elf flashed a rather mischievous grin before turning back towards the double door and grabbing a handle in each hand again.
‘Best stand back a little,’ Doogard said to Eric, as the rest of the group all began edging back, obviously thinking the same thing.
The giant Elf holding the door handles took a deep breath, hunched his shoulders, then with an almighty heave, he completely ripped both doors free from the framework, sending wooden splinters and bits of concrete flying everywhere. Also, more importantly thought Eric, the sudden loud ringing noise that now filled the air meant he had triggered the school’s intruder alarm.
‘Now that’s how to open a door, good work Grogar,’ said Riezgar laughing as he led the way through the now wide open front door.
As Eric made his way through the entrance he glanced up at the giant Elf called Grogar who was sporting a large grin on his face, seemingly pleased with himself for his door opening skills. The giant still held the large doors he had ripped free and Eric was wondering what he was planni
ng to do with them when the giant suddenly took two paces away from the entrance, then with very little effort tossed the doors high into the air across the car park. The doors landed about thirty feet away with a clatter, as bits of woods smashed upon impact with the concrete ground.
Grogar turned back towards the school, where Eric had stopped to watch the awesome show of strength and stood gaping with his mouth wide open. The giant Elf laughed at the sight of Eric. ‘Move boy before I decide to throw you next,’ boomed his loud, deep voice. Eric turned instantly and hurried into the school, eager to catch up with Doogard.
Unfortunately for Eric he ran straight into Riezgar, who roughly grabbed a hold of the boy by the scruff of his neck. ‘Right you, lead the way boy,’ he growled at Eric.
Two long corridors ran off the front entrance and Eric pointed to the one on the left hand side. ‘Down this way,’ he said and off they went down the long corridor, with the loud noise of the intruder alarm ringing in their ears.
Eric led the group through the building towards the sports area of the school where Eric’s teacher Mr McFarlane’s office was situated. As they were making their way through the large gym hall, the loud intruder alarm stopped ringing. ‘Thank the stars that god awful noise has stopped,’ commented one of the Elves.
For Eric, the alarm stopping meant one thing: someone else was now in the building, for the alarm wouldn’t have stopped itself. It would require someone to type the alarm code into the panel that was situated within the building. Most likely it would have been the school janitor, Mr Colman —and having discovered the door in the state it was in, he’d have realised that this was no false alarm.
The Other Side Page 10