“Firestar!” Torron screamed.
Out of nowhere, Firestar brought a surprising attack of fire as she swooped down and picked up the queen.
Seeing Firestar coming, Jeremy covered the Alliance with a shield of ice. Hunter, Hunter, can you hear me? Jeremy projected. Hunter, can you hear me?
Holding the queen in her grasp, Firestar flew away toward the castle. A second dragon swooped down to pick up Drake.
Jeremy melted the ice canopy until it turned to water and drenched the Alliance. “Are you okay?” he asked Jesse.
“Yeah, why?”
“You look awful.”
Steve and Matt approached.
“What happened to you?” Matt asked.
“I’m fine,” Jesse said, a little perturbed. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Well, you look like the Wicked Witch of the West,” Steve said.
Jesse looked at her hands. They were leathery and wrinkled. Her fingernails were long and curled under. She panicked. “What have I done?” she screamed.
“Calm down,” Jeremy said. “You faced the evil queen, and your incredible powers pushed her back. Don’t be surprised if it gets you all worked up.”
Jesse held the Dagger of Valdar up and stared at it for a moment. “Gregory warned me this dagger has powers beyond our understanding.” She tossed the dagger on the ground.
Steve picked it up. “You can’t throw this away. It’s what defeated Torron.” He put the dagger back in its sheath on Jesse’s belt.
“Jesse, heal yourself,” Jeremy said.
Jesse wrapped her arms around herself and closed her eyes. It only took a minute for her to return to normal.
“Let’s get this done,” Steve said as he took the Shield of Innocence from Jack. They continued their walk toward the Gates of Horgon.
Chapter 53
Gates of Horgon
Firestar landed on the queen’s balcony and set the queen down, then turned and looked out over the battlefield. I’m confused, Firestar thought. Why do you call me Hunter? She shook her head and stood still, continuing to gaze out over the battlefield.
“Smalik, I want General Tyd and my high priest Kondyk here now,” the queen said.
Smalik ran off the balcony and returned only moments later.
“They’re making their final push,” Torron said. “We have to stop them. Smalik, what do you have up your sleeve that could help? You must have something.” The queen paced the floor. She could see the green wall moving toward the castle.
“There is one thing,” Smalik said. He looked up through his eyebrows at Torron.
“One thing?” she asked.
“Yes, it’s an old compound created by Mr. Hill years ago. He said it was too dangerous to use, so he stored it away in a locked cabinet in the laboratory.”
“What does this compound do?” Torron stopped pacing and stood directly in front of Smalik. “What does it do?”
“I know it’s dangerous because it has the power to diminish magic powers,” Smalik said. “It’s been over a hundred years since I had the conversation with Hill about the compound. I’m not sure how it works or what exactly it would be used for. What I do remember is that it could cause catastrophic consequences. This could be good or bad. I really don’t know.”
“Can you find out?” Torron asked.
“I’m sure Hill wrote it down in his notes. I’ll go to the lab and get the compound and bring his notes back here.” Smalik rushed from the balcony.
“General Tyd, you must order your army to stand fast and fight,” Torron commanded.
“Your Highness,” Tyd said, “they’ll be slaughtered.”
Before he could say another word, Torron pointed her staff at the general and said, “Skornes-Tarude.”
He disappeared. All that was left was his uniform in a heap on the floor with a wisp of smoke curling up into the air.
“Where is General Haflyf? Get him in here.”
“Yes, Your Highness,” General Haflyf said as he came out onto the balcony. He looked at the uniform on the floor and then back at the queen. “What can I do for you?”
“You are now in command of all my armies,” Torron said. “I want everything in our arsenal put against the advance of the Alliance. If you can’t stop them, slow them down.”
“Yes, Your Highness.” The general turned and left quickly.
Torron looked at the green shield. The Alliance had crossed the parade grounds and was starting to walk past the castle. Everyone in the path of the pale green shield stretching from horizon to horizon was being herded toward the Gates of Horgon. As the shield crossed over the castle, it penetrated the walls and continued to push the evil creatures toward the gates. Those that stood their ground were swept away by the shield.
As the shield passed over the evil castle of Torron, the stone turned from black and gray to white marble and red granite. The evil-looking Torron flags turned into flags of celebration. The dirty, dingy hallways and rooms transformed into clean and well-decorated hallways and rooms.
As the shield approached the throne room, the queen and her entourage headed to the gates. Firestar landed in front of the gate, and the queen slipped off the saddle and onto the ground. The gate was still closed.
Smalik caught up with Torron at the gate. He was carrying a two-quart jar filled with glowing purple powder. The label read DR44-911-210, DANGER, DO NOT OPEN and had several sets of skull and crossbones on it. He held a piece of paper in his hand. It was a page torn from Hill’s book.
Torron took the jar and held it up to the light coming from the fireballs in the sky. “What is the compound, and what can it do?” she demanded frantically.
Firestar was huffing and puffing to keep the crowd at bay. Mostly smoke, but an occasional flame would emerge.
“Apparently, Hill was attempting to create the ultimate power,” Smalik said. “According to his notes, it was meant to create your wand. However, the compound did the opposite. It took away ultimate power.”
“How do I use it?” Torron asked as she continued to look at the glowing powder. A small but discernable smile crossed her lips.
“It’s not clear,” Smalik said. “It’s a little cryptic, but even a tiny bit sprinkled on a magic wand or other item of magic will instantly remove its magic . . . forever.”
“Bring Drake to me,” Torron demanded. She looked over the top of the crowd and could see the pale green shield in the distance. It was now past the castle and had reached the Horgon Valley. The huge throng of Torron followers was being pushed up against the outer walls of Horgon.
Suddenly the Gates of Horgon cracked open, the screaming and groaning of the hinges was deafening. Dust sprang from around the edges of the massive gates, and the crowd backed off as the gates swung open.
Within moments, Drake was on his knees in front of Torron.
Torron carefully opened the jar, dipped a small spoon into the powder, and blew the glowing sand over Drake before putting the lid back on. “Drake, demonstrate one of your powers. I would like to see what you can do.”
Drake hesitated at first but then stood up, pulled his wand from his belt, and pointed it at Torron. “Die!”
Nothing happened.
He looked at the wand, shook it, and pointed it again. “Die!”
Torron pointed her staff at him. “Skornes-Tarude!”
He vanished even before the look of shock could form fully on his face.
The Torron army and other evil creatures began pouring through the gates of Horgan, including firebirds and dragons. Firestar was the only dragon left outside.
Torron mounted Firestar with the jar in her hand and headed toward the pale green shield, landing thirty yards in front of it.
The Alliance stopped moving forward, all positioned behind the shield.
As Torron dismounted, Jeremy began to talk to Firestar (Hunter). Hunter, do you remember me? Jeremy asked. Hunter, do you remember me? I’m Jeremy. I hatched you from an egg and rais
ed you until you went on your own. It was a long time ago for you. You were always my favorite pet.
Hunter shook her head wildly.
Torron stroked her neck. “Settle down, Firestar,” she said quietly. “Another minute, and we’ll have won this battle.”
My name is Hunter? the dragon asked. Yes, I do remember being called Hunter. Yes, you were there for my first battle with other dragons. Jesse healed me. Hunter slapped her tail on the ground three times.
“What do you want?” Matt said as he stepped right up to the shield. “You’ve been defeated. Go behind the Gates of Horgon where you belong, you fumbling, bumbling old witch. You are unattractive and are the ultimate evil. No one likes you. You know that, right? No one likes you.”
Torron’s eyes widened and turned black. She removed the lid from the jar, walked up close to the shield, and measured out a spoonful of powder. As she was about to toss the powder at the shield, Hunter erupted and spewed a stream of fiery saliva at the wall. The saliva slid off the shield to the ground between the shield and the queen, who was so surprised by Hunter that she fell back and spilled the powder on herself.
Torron ran screaming all the way to the gates. She stood there as the Alliance began pushing the remaining hoard through. The jar of purple sand simply disappeared as the shield crossed over it.
Firestar stood looking at Jeremy and then at the gate. She seemed to be confused. I’m not sure what to do, she projected. Do you want me to go away?
Jeremy stepped through the green shield and walked up to Firestar. I raised you. You were a great friend. I had to leave you here on Gandoral. You only became a predator because of the other dragons around you. You have a good heart. Saving the Alliance proved who you really are. Stay with me. We’ll travel and see our two worlds together.
Jeremy and Firestar walked through the green shield, and Steve pushed the last of the Torron followers through the gates. The huge gates groaned as they closed.
The Gandorians and Freedom Fighters erupted in joyous cheers, and the celebrations began.
Caroline, Jack, JJ, Trish, Scotty, and Rocky all joined the Alliance at the gates.
“Look at this circle on the gates,” Jeremy said.
Once the gates had closed, a large circle in the center could be seen, half on one gate and half on the other. Raised about four inches above the surface of the gate, it was about four feet in diameter, with an outer ring six inches wide. The six-inch-wide ring had dragons etched into the surface all around its diameter. Inside the ring were four cavities, very similar to the cavities on the time travel clock.
“The exact words on the scroll were, ‘Use the Symbols to lock the gates and the Bracelet of Witstal to seal the locked gate,’” Jesse said. “Okay, we put our Symbols in the cavities, but what do we do with the bracelet?”
“One step at a time,” Matt said. “Jesse, you got yours first. You do the honors.”
Jesse placed the blue star Symbol in one of the cavities.
“Jeremy, you’re next,” Matt said.
Jeremy placed the purple lightning Symbol in a cavity.
Matt stepped up, took the green moon Symbol from around his neck, and placed it into the cavity with the moon etched into it.
“Steve,” Matt said.
Steve stood looking at his Symbol. “You know, it’s not fair. I just got my Symbol, and I have to give it up before I even have a chance to learn its powers. It’s not fair.”
Jeremy shook his head. “Give it up, Steve. You’ve never wanted to be on this journey anyway. Now you can end it and go back to your boring life. Put the Symbol in the cavity.”
Steve raised his eyebrows, and with an “I might as well” look on his face, walked up to the gate and placed the red sun on the gate.
They stood back and observed. The brilliant colors of the four Symbols looked out of place on the wretched Gates of Horgon.
Jesse removed the bracelet from her wrist. “Okay, what do we do with this?”
“Let’s see,” Matt said as he took the bracelet from Jesse. “Look at the dragons on the bracelet and then at the dragons on the ring around the Symbols. They’re the same.” He walked up to the gates. “Maybe this bracelet will stretch . . .” He began to stretch the bracelet out.
Jeremy stepped in to help. They worked until the bracelet was large enough to fit around the entire circle and then placed it around the circle on the door.
“I would have never guessed the bracelet could be stretched to that size,” Jesse said.
“What now?” Steve asked.
“I don’t know,” Jesse said. “The scroll didn’t say what would happen next, only that the gates would be locked forever.”
Jeremy sighed with relief. “Okay, let’s go celebrate.”
Before they took five steps, they heard rumblings and felt the ground shake. They all turned back to the gates.
“What’s happening?” Jeremy said as he stood ready to lay down a barrage of lightning.
Matt had his bow at the ready.
Steve had his oversized sword ready.
Jesse was ready with the Dagger of Valdar in her left hand.
The Gandorians and Freedom Fighters went silent and readied themselves for battle.
The sound intensified and the ground continued to shake as the Gates of Horgon smoothed over. The walls of Horgon and the gates became one smooth continuous wall, with no cracks or bumps in the surface.
“The gates actually sealed up,” Jeremy said. “There are no gates anymore.”
Then the solid walls of Horgon disappeared. In their place was a lush green valley stretching as far as the eye could see. The four Symbols and the Bracelet of Witstal lay in the grass on the ground.
“We get to keep them after all,” Steve said with a smile.
Chapter 54
Celebration
“What do you think will happen to Torron’s old castle?” Steve asked. “It’s a ghost castle now. No one wants to go inside. Too many bad memories.”
“I don’t know,” Jesse said as she looked at the castle. “The Shield of Innocence has renewed the castle. It looks pretty good.”
“Once the two worlds come together, Earth and Gandoral, there will be a lot of tourism,” Steve said. “The castle would make a great destination. Maybe I’ll come back and run it myself.”
“What will happen to Haven?” Jesse asked Caroline.
“Oh, I thought you knew,” Caroline said. “Haven and I will be staying together. I want to adopt her, and she wants me to be in her life. Haven will be fine. I love that little warrior. She has a tough sweetness that cannot be denied.”
JJ came into the little Horkin café. “We need to go. We’re going to be late for the festivities.”
The team of ten plus Slatel jumped into the back of a truck and went to Carvase, the capitol of the Imphog clan.
~~~
Carvase was a small village with two main roads running through it, one running north to south and the other running east to west. In the center of town was a large circle with the giant Celestor in the middle. The tree had been broken in half by Torron. The top half lay in three pieces going in three directions across the village. The pieces rested on several dozen homes and businesses.
“When did the tree get destroyed,” Jesse asked.
“It was two and a half weeks ago,” King Enro said.
“You should try, Jesse,” Jeremy said. “You’ve been chomping at the bit to try to bring the Celestor back to life ever since Steve said it had been destroyed. Give it a try.”
“Okay, I’ll try, but there are no promises,” Jesse said as she looked up at the broken tree. “Last time, the roots were still in the ground.” She walked up to the huge tree and stretched her arms out to hug it. She leaned in, holding the tree for ten minutes with no results. She looked at Jeremy.
“Keep trying,” Jeremy said. “It’s a big tree.”
Another ten minutes went by. Jesse backed away from the tree, shaking her head with disappoi
ntment. “I need help,” she said and motioned for the Alliance’s assistance.
The tree was almost sixteen feet in diameter.
“We should position ourselves on the four sides of the trunk,” Jesse instructed. “Now, all of us at the same time, hug the tree.” After ten minutes, she said, “I can feel something happening. Keep hugging.”
It only took another five minutes for the wood fibers from the broken tree to begin to reunite. The Alliance could feel the vibration. Once all the fibers had rejoined, the tree began to shake. The Alliance continued to hold on. Then the broken sections of the tree began a slow but steady rise. The Alliance stepped back and watched as the tree finally stood erect, and the cracks in the huge trunk healed over. The crowd cheered.
~~~
I wonder if this is a good idea, Jesse thought. Leaving the portal open might cause some real issues both here and on Earth. The Gandorians seem to want the ability to go between planets at will. That doesn’t seem right. The four kings need to make the decision, but they need to be aware of all the issues. They could get the wrong kind of people coming here for the wrong reasons. Caroline is trying to help them understand, but she’s not getting very far.
“On Earth we have many different countries,” Caroline said. “We protect our borders so that we control who comes and goes. There are six and a half billion people on Earth. You don’t want them flooding to your planet. You don’t want bad people coming here and causing trouble. However, you do want people to come here. The right people could add to your communities. They could bring technology, innovation, and wealth.”
“Caroline has a great idea,” Matt said. “You should start out with tough restrictions for those who come and go. You can loosen those restrictions later if you so desire. You set up a port of entry on your side of the portal, and Earth will set up a port of entry on our side.”
The four kings over the Horkins, Imphogs, Rocpeans, and Nectorians excused themselves and went into another room to talk the ideas over.
“We’ll celebrate here tonight and then leave in the morning,” JJ said.
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