The Banishment of the King

by A. J. Chaudhury

  He pitied Malthur. The undead king should have employed other beings that were more accomplished at protecting such an important object. Mortugal was going to enjoy killing the Bnomes.

  Apparently the Bnomes sensed Mortugal’s approach due to the waves he was creating, and all of them opened their eyes at once.

  Their eyes were bright red, such that they cast quite a good illumination about the area. Mortugal saw that besides the Bnomes there were other strange creatures on the sea floor, which he had earlier mistaken for rocks. Mortugal gulped. These weren’t normal Bnomes by any means and he was afraid.

  Mortugal received a kick on his back that sent him spiralling metres away. His attacker was a strange shapeless creature of the sea that had no less than a dozen eyes at the centre of its body.

  Mortugal moved fast towards the mirror. Too late, for the Bnomes swam up over the mirror, totally blocking it from view. They had three-headed spears, which they threw at Mortugal. Mortugal fled towards the surface of the sea for dear life.

  He took a right turn, and barely saved himself from the spears that zoomed past the place he had been only a moment ago. He took another right turn and tried to get as far as he could from the Bnomes and the sea creatures. He glanced behind. The spears had changed direction themselves, as though they possessed brains and knew Mortugal was their target. Malthur must have bewitched the spears.

  Then suddenly, Mortugal had an idea.

  He swam as fast as possible towards the Bnomes and the sea creatures, the spears in hot pursuit. When he was closest to the Bnomes, he suddenly took a turn and shot upwards at top speed. Cries reached his ears and he looked down to see that the spears had hit many of the Bnomes and the sea creatures, failing to manoeuvre in proper time.

  Feeling elated, Mortugal attacked the few Bnomes and sea creatures that were still alive. He tore them open with his claws or bit them on the neck, puncturing their food pipes. The Bnomes apparently had been holding their breath, and so when he did that water entered their lungs and they died.

  The sea creatures were harder to kill, but with the Bnomes dead, they weren’t organised and did not attack Mortugal with any good strategy. He was able to take them down one by one. Some of the surviving sea creatures fled as well, too frightened to fight for what they thought was a lost cause.

  Once done with the fighting, Mortugal approached the mirror. An injured but alive Bnome tried to hit him with a stone. Mortugal crushed its head.

  For a moment he saw the life flee the Bnome’s eyes, as blood from its ears mixed into the sea water. A pang of sorrow hit Mortugal. He hated killing if the aim wasn’t to fill his stomach. But it wasn’t his fault, and he dismissed the sorrow with a heavy heart. Keep doing as per Malthur’s bidding, he thought to the dead Bnome.

  He reached the mirror.

  Finally.

  After he had touched the dragon skull and seen the female dragon, he had felt personally invested in the quest to destroy the mirror. Initially he had just played along, transporting Xuhn and the others from here to there, as Xuhn had awakened him after such a long period of time. If not for Xuhn’s encouragement, Mortugal would have easily quit and gone back to sleeping. He would have never enjoyed the pleasures of flying again.

  Mortugal contemplated how he should destroy the mirror. Should he just hit it with his claws and shatter it? That should do, right?

  Mortugal lifted his claw. Suddenly he saw an eye flash in the mirror. Was it the female dragon?

  And then he heard the voice. It was Malthur’s, he recognized well.

  “Mortugal,” Malthur’s voice said, as if Malthur was standing right beside him. But when he turned his head, he only saw the dead Bnomes and the sea creatures.

  “What do you want from me?” Mortugal said, though only bubbles issued from his mouth. He wondered how the countless Bnomes had managed to cry out just before being killed by their own spears. Only the undead king Malthur and his minions knew how to communicate underwater.

  “Do not destroy the mirror,” Malthur said. “You have no idea what that will cause. You would sow the seeds of your own destruction by shattering the mirror, mind you. And if that doesn’t convince you enough, then I have your two human friends with me, be warned.”

  Immediately Xuhn’s face flashed in Mortugal’s mind. He clenched his jaw muscles. The mirror was so close, just sitting right in front of him, ready to be destroyed. But Xuhn and Vivek…

  Mortugal’s heart sank as all sorts of thoughts danced inside his brain. He didn’t trust Malthur at all. If Malthur was going to kill Xuhn and Vivek, he would do it whether Mortugal destroyed the mirror or not.

  Mortugal made up his mind.

  With all his might, he landed his claws on the mirror, shattering it in an instant. Suddenly the water surrounding the mirror went black, and Mortugal’s claws felt like he had put them in fire.

  And Mortugal heard a cry in his head. Was it Xuhn? Was it Malthur? He didn’t know. It could be anybody, friend or foe. The task done, Mortugal swam at full speed towards the surface. There was a great noise down below, where the shattered mirror lay. He looked down, and what he saw made him shiver.

  A black dragon head had appeared above the shattered mirror. It was moving frantically, as if trying to pull the rest of its body out of the mirror. For some reason, the dragon scared Mortugal unlike anything.

  Mortugal’s and the dragon’s eyes met, sending his heart shuddering. And then, after the dragon had pulled itself out till the torso from the mirror, it spoke. It’s voice serpent-like.

  “You are doomed,” the black dragon said. Instinct took over Mortugal and he fled towards the surface, without looking back once. Up ahead, Mortugal saw countless shadows—most human-like while others were rectangular— and when he emerged into air, the scene was quite different from before.

  Dead Bnomes lay almost everywhere on the surface of the water. There were several carpets too lying on the surface of the sea, and there was no sign of Xuhn and Vivek.

  The small island was overflowing with Bnomes. All of them busy doing something in the middle of the island.

  Mortugal turned his head this way and that. Where were Xuhn and Vivek? And then he spotted them. They were in the distance, struggling to stay afloat.

  Chapter 27

  Xuhn moved his arms and legs hard. He wished he had practised swimming more. Vivek was struggling too. Being a half-werewolf apparently didn’t make one a great swimmer. But Xuhn considered himself and Vivek lucky that neither of them had sustained any injury even after falling from a height of no less than fifty feet.

  Shortly after Mortugal had dived, countless black dots had appeared in the sky, which soon turned out to be dozens of carpets carrying scores of Bnomes. And in the centre of the fleet of carpets was Malthur himself.

  It didn’t take Malthur and his slaves long to catch Xuhn and Vivek, and seize the dragon skull. They took them up, and then Malthur spoke to Mortugal using some kind of magical voice. But shortly afterwards Malthur spoke, that something strange occurred. Malthur suddenly lost consciousness and fell from his carpet. Following this all the carpets too fell from the sky. Also many Bnomes lost consciousness like Malthur; and the dragon skull sank into the sea never to be seen again.

  Thankfully, after this event, the rest of the Bnomes totally ignored Xuhn and Vivek, their main priority being their king. They dragged the unconscious Malthur from the sea to the tiny island and were apparently tending to him now.

  Presently, Xuhn sighted Mortugal emerge on the water surface near the tiny island, and a sense of hope overcame him. When Mortugal’s eyes fell on the duo, the dragon dived under the water again. In a moment he emerged besides Xuhn and Vivek.

  “Climb on me fast!” Mortugal ordered. There was fear writ on the dragon’s face, and Xuhn had never seen Mortugal in such a state of panic.

  “What happened down below?” Xuhn asked. But Mortugal shook his head impatiently.

  “Just get on me!”

  Xuhn and
Vivek did as told. Mortugal flapped his wings hard. He broke away from the water surface with some effort and took to the air.

  Xuhn glanced back. His eyes met with the sight of a great black dragon tearing through the water to the air.

  “Whoa!” he said, making Vivek and Mortugal glance behind too.

  “Now where did that dragon come from?” Vivek asked. There was something unsettling about the dragon, which made cramping fear grip Xuhn’s stomach.

  “The mirror,” Mortugal said, flapping his wings fast. “It came out of the mirror right after I destroyed it. And it told me that I am doomed!”

  “What!” Xuhn said. He didn’t understand at all. Destroying the mirror should have destroyed the hatred between the Vampires and the werewolves, instead of giving birth to the black dragon that was in hot pursuit of them. Or had Albor lied to Mortugal? Had the mirror been a totally different artefact and not the Hatred that Norhul had told them about?

  But then Malthur had sought to protect the mirror. While that removed any doubts the mirror wasn’t Hatred, other questions were left hanging.

  “He’s closing in!” Vivek said.

  Mortugal flapped his wings harder and Xuhn could see that he was really exerting himself to escape the black beast. But too late. The black dragon opened its mouth and shot a jet of black fire from it. Mortugal took a sudden turn, managing to escape the flames just in time. He descended down to near the sea surface, slowing.

  “What are you doing?” Xuhn asked in utter confusion. Had Mortugal gone crazy? Why was he slowing down?

  “It’s me that dragon wants!” Mortugal said. He turned upside down. Xuhn and Vivek immediately fell off, landing on the water.

  Swimming hard not to drown, they watched in bewilderment as the black dragon chased Mortugal, occasionally breathing out flames that Mortugal didn’t always escape. Soon Mortugal’s white fur had turned black in many places.

  “He’s tiring,” Xuhn said to Vivek, his heart sinking horribly. Mortugal had meant to save them and that was why he dropped them.

  “I don’t think, he’ll escape,” Vivek said, “the black one is stronger, faster, and can breathe fire.”

  The fart.

  Xuhn wished desperately Mortugal would use his secret weapon. But so busy was Mortugal in his attempt to flee the black dragon that the fart didn’t seem to cross his mind at all. And after sometime, the black dragon grabbed Mortugal, and clawed and bit him. Both dragons went spinning and fell into the water. Mortugal wasn’t giving up easily either.

  As both dragons rose from the water, Mortugal clawed and bit the black dragon as well. But the black dragon used its flames, and soon Mortugal was so covered in patches of burnt fur that he was more black than white.

  “He isn’t going to survive,” Vivek said.

  “He just might,” Xuhn said. He wanted Mortugal to kill the black dragon at any cost.

  And then the black dragon spewed flames right on Mortugal’s face— a spot it had been trying to get for some time.

  Time stopped as Mortugal fell from the air, limp.

  A big splash occurred as Mortugal hit the water. Xuhn swam fast towards the furry dragon.

  The black dragon came once again. Before Xuhn could reach Mortugal, the beast spewed another burst of black flames at Mortugal.

  The furry dragon’s cry of utter pain split the air. Xuhn wanted to cry. This could be the end of the fabled beast under the lake.

  Then suddenly, a mad cry from up ahead reached Xuhn’s ears. He looked up to see that it was the black dragon. It was flying very unsteadily, as if it would fall down any moment.

  Xuhn ignored it and reached Mortugal. He took Mortugal's head in his arms tenderly.

  “Mortugal!” he said, his eyes filling with tears. Mortugal opened his eyes narrowly with a lot of effort.

  “Xuhn,” Mortugal said weakly, and he lost consciousness.

  “Hold on, Mortugal,” Xuhn said, tears blurring his vision, “I- I’ll do something.”

  The black dragon swopped towards them. Xuhn threw himself atop Mortugal in an attempt to protect the dragon from the flames he knew were coming. No flames came however. Instead a weak serpentine voice spoke.

  “I shall be back.”

  The black dragon flew away, and soon was little more than a black dot in the distance.

  Vivek reached Mortugal and Xuhn.

  “Let’s take him to the island,” he said.

  That was a good idea, Xuhn thought. Malthur and the Bnomes had always been intent on keeping Mortugal alive. Malthur had argued with the werewolves because the werewolves wanted to kill Mortugal, and the Bnomes had also tended to the furry dragon— after of course bringing him down themselves.

  “Hold on Mortugal, hold on,” Xuhn said. He and Vivek pushed Mortugal’s giant body towards the small island far away. The sea was thankfully calm and they made quick progress.

  “His fur is burnt badly,” Vivek said, running a hand over the blackened fur. Even the flesh underneath seemed to have turned black.

  “It is,” Xuhn said. There were flying carpets floating here and there in the sea around the island. Would Xuhn be able to seek help from the Bnomes, and ask them to take Mortugal somewhere safe and get him treated?

  He had always considered the Bnomes as enemies. Even Mortugal had taken great joy in eating Bnomes. Xuhn wouldn’t be surprised if the Bnomes refused to help, especially with their own leader injured.

  “Look there!” Vivek said, pointing at the horizon. Xuhn turned to see a flying carpet in the sky that carried a Bnome and—

  “That’s Corpsia!” Xuhn said. In moments she was beside them, the carpet hovering just inches above the sea water.

  “Is he injured?” Corpsia asked Xuhn, her eyes fixed on Mortugal.

  Xuhn nodded.

  “C-can you help us?”

  For a moment Corpsia didn’t say anything. Xuhn wondered if she had lost all hopes of Mortugal recovering.

  “I don’t know if I should,” Corpsia said finally. A tear rolled down her cheek.

  “I sensed that my father died and that’s why I have come. Mortugal did it, didn’t he?”

  Xuhn frowned at Corpsia.

  “He didn’t kill your father! Your father just fell off from the skies. Mortugal didn’t touch him at all.”

  “But he did destroy the mirror,” Corpsia said, her eyes on Mortugal all the while. “That mirror wasn’t even the Hatred you were seeking to destroy.”

  “What do you mean?” Xuhn asked, not understanding much.

  “The Hatred is Mortugal himself,” Corpsia said to a shocked Xuhn. “The black dragon you saw was a shadow of Mortugal from the mirror world. Only Mortugal can destroy Hatred. The black dragon is Mortugal, and he seeks to kill and destroy the actual Mortugal— the Hatred.”

  These words echoed in Xuhn’s brain for a moment before he could extract any meaning from them. So, the real Mortugal couldn’t destroy Hatred— since he was the Hatred himself. But the shadow Mortugal could— by killing the real Mortugal!

  “But why did your father die?” Xuhn asked, taking a look at the island filled with Bnomes.

  “My father trapped the hatred between the vampires and the werewolves in Mortugal,” Corpsia answered, her cheeks quite wet with all the silent tears, “but to ensure that the black dragon didn’t escape from the mirror on its own, he had to keep his own soul in the mirror. So when Mortugal destroyed it, my father’s soul was destroyed too.”

  “I thought your father was an... undead,” Xuhn said with some hesitation.

  “He was,” Corpsia said, “I don’t know how he was revived the last time he died. Maybe the gods were involved. But that won’t be possible now, for not even gods can revive an undead whose soul has been destroyed.”

  Xuhn sighed. Despite all of Corpsia’s tears he didn’t feel any sympathy for Malthur. Malthur was after all the cause behind all problems.

  “Can Mortugal not be healed?” Xuhn asked. Corpsia was an immortal, maybe she knew of a way
to make Mortugal immortal too.

  “You should be thankful to my father, you know,” Corpsia said instead. “He was the reason Mortugal didn’t die today. Mortugal might have thought that losing the scales and the ability to breathe fire made him a joke amongst his people. But it’s only because of his fur that he survived today. You saw the black dragon belch black flames, didn’t you?”

  Xuhn nodded. Even the thought of the black flames made a chill run down his spine.

  “Those black flames were meant to easily kill a dragon with scales. Only the fur saved Mortugal today. Mortugal will recover, but he is in a very tender state as of the moment.” Corpsia held her breath as if she wanted to say something but wasn’t sure if she should say it. She exhaled and forced the words out of her mouth.

  “The black dragon is sure to return,” she continued, “and when he does, he might have found a way to kill Mortugal despite the fur. I am not sure if Mortugal would have recovered enough by that time, and I wonder more if it would do him any good even if he recovered fully. The black dragon would always be more powerful than Mortugal.”

  Those words weren’t comforting at all for Xuhn. He looked at Corpsia. Was she the same girl who had fooled him through those letters in Mayesha’s name? He had been so angry with her for doing so. Now however none of that anger remained.

  “So there is no way to save him?” Xuhn said, a knot tightening in his gut.

  Corpsia looked into his eyes.

  “You look so much like Mortugal,” she said. Xuhn recalled her telling him earlier that if he was a dragon he would have looked very much like Mortugal. But was it the time for such a statement? He looked away. Xuhn would never understand this immortal girl called Corpsia.

  “He?” Vivek asked. “Xuhn looks like Mortugal?” The tone of utter confusion was clear in Vivek’s voice.

  “There is one way to save Mortugal,” said Corpsia, “but I am not sure if it will work.”

  “Is there?” Xuhn asked. He didn’t care if it worked or not, but as long as there was hope he was ready to do anything for Mortugal.