by Liara Woo
"No, it's alright," Katie answered. "Just…set me down behind Nashgor. And if you'd like to, could you please round up the other vultures to fight for the elves?"
"With pleasure," he responded, a note of anger slipping into his voice as he continued, "I am not alone in how I hate the demons and their treatment of us."
"Thank you," Katie said as the vulture landed silently behind the Shadow Lord, who was focused entirely on sending Its Darkness out. All around her, Katie was aware of demons, vultures, unicorns, griffins, and dragons battling each other with incredible ferocity. But the elves were motionless on the ground, slowly dying.
Katie dismounted, and the vulture fluttered away. "Hello, Nashgor!" she exclaimed. "Why don't you turn around?" She forced herself not to look up, thinking that it was the Shadow Lord's red gaze that had made her so frightened before.
Nashgor turned; It stood at such close quarters that Katie could see that Its wispy form was slightly transparent.
"You do not have it in you," the Shadow Lord hissed. "You tried it before. You cannot kill me."
Katie shuddered at the voiceless words that sent chills down her spine. "Why would you say that if you aren't scared that I'll succeed?" she asked boldly. "Nothing can save you now. I'll give you one chance. Can you possibly turn good?"
Nashgor tilted Its head in amazement. "How can you ask that of me? After I have lied to you, tortured the one elf you care for more than the others…" It shook his head, astonished. "You are certainly worthy to be the elves' 'saving grace.' But you will fail. I'll see to that."
With a roar of fury It raised Its scepter like a sword and sliced down vertically. Katie parried, holding the Sword of Light parallel to the ground, and thrust her blade towards Nashgor's middle. The Shadow Lord deflected her blow and lunged forward. Katie jumped backwards and landed a blow on Nashgor's forearm—her sword went right through it. The shadow only laughed. Maybe I have to hit Its heart.
Nashgor's eyes burned and he roared, jumping high in the air and slicing down towards her. Katie responded with a yell of her own as she dodged out of the way. She felt surprisingly calm and knew that she'd succeed. She raised the Sword of Light again and cut Nashgor's scepter in half. The Shadow Lord staggered backwards and fell to Its knees, hands clasped in front of It, suddenly the perfect picture of penitence. "P-please, s-spare me," he sniveled.
"Did you spare Halthren? Did you spare Treemoon? Did you ever show mercy to anyone?" Katie asked, already knowing the answer. She didn't wait for a response. She raised the Sword of Light high and plunged her weapon into the darkness before her, right where a heart would have been.
Nothing happened. There was dead silence as the Shadow Lord knelt on the ground. Then…then a horrible laughter split the air. Like the ominous rumbling of thunder, it was deep, but like a wind's breath it was everywhere. Nashgor was laughing at her.
"You didn't listen to the prophecy, did you?" Nashgor asked with mirth. "I have no heart, Earth-Child. I have no substance. There is nothing for you to stab. If you'd remembered the prophecy there might have been a way to defeat me… but now that chance is gone! Dead! And so are your friends!"
With a roar, Nashgor summoned Itself a Sword of Darkness and the battle was resumed. But now, Katie felt dismay threaten to overwhelm her. But…I did fulfill the prophecy! Didn't I?
Nashgor dodged away from her sword and lunged at her. Katie parried Its blow and stepped aside.
The Darkness will grow in power and size. Light will fall. The sky will go black with Evil.
All around them, elves were dying, slaughtered by the demons. Joran was unconscious; Reiltin and Firdin were bleeding to death; everyone was dying. Smoke and Darkness hid the light of the sun.
But hope will blow in from an ash-child of Earth, emerging from the Ocean of Storms, and the ash of Earth shall be gifted with all Allagandria's powers.
Katie slashed at Nashgor; her sword passed through Its chest a second time. Nashgor cackled and swiped at her; jumping back she escaped being skewered and responded with a flurry of her own attacks.
The End shall come. Be it Light or be it Dark, one shall fail and one shall triumph by the hand of the Child of Earth.
They were dancing; back and forth across the border between Kylaras and Kratchene…swaying like the head of a hypnotized serpent. Katie drove Nashgor back, across the border to Kylaras; in response It forced her back into Kratchene…back and forth.
Guided by the heart of the Legends, chosen by the Heir of the Elves of Kylaras, Light shall shine forth.
Halthren's eyes opened. Something was wrong; he could feel it. He felt as if there were something he had to do… but he was miles from the border, stuck at the top of Vernisgard's highest tower with a deep stab wound in his side. How am I still alive? he wondered with a shiver. The Darkness from the knife was supposed to be killing him, but he couldn't feel anything Dark within him. Then again, the only thing he felt was pain…weren't pain and Darkness similar enough?
Get up, Legendheart! The prophecy must be fulfilled now or all will fail! You are still needed!
Halthren tried to stand. But his legs gave way and he collapsed, leaning against the wall and heaving for breath. I can't, he told Kylaras. They've beaten me too much… I cannot stand.
Death awaits your kin. Death awaits everything. Can you not muster enough strength to do what you must? Kylaras asked him.
I don't even know what it is I must do, he thought confusedly. We retrieved the Sword of Light…what more must be done?
The silvery shape of Kylaras appeared in dark room. "Remember the final words of the prophecy. You read them once, ages and ages ago, before you were known as Legendheart. The laws that bind me forbid me from giving you a direct answer, though I wish I could. But I can say this. The Shadow Lord is almost entirely vapor. Only one part of him is solid, and…I can say no more."
Kylaras vanished.
Halthren remembered with sudden clarity the vicelike grip on his throat of the red-eyed shadow that had cursed him all those years ago. His dark blue eyes widened. "His hand," he murmured. "His right hand. If Katie stabs his right hand, then he'll die. But she doesn't know! I… I have to tell her somehow…" The final lines of the prophecy whispered in his mind with frightening precision.
And with Legendheart's final breath the hand of the Shadow Lord shall be stayed.
"Legendheart's final breath," Halthren murmured. His heart was speeding up as he realized the implications. "My final breath. I'm going to die."
But that meant that Nashgor had to die, too. He had to get to Katie… Groaning, Halthren dragged himself to his feet and went to the hole in the window. The sides of the tower were smooth and slick, but perhaps he could make it down anyway. Yet even if he did, Halthren knew that he would never be able to run all the way to Kylaras in the state he was in. So he closed his eyes and sent his thoughts out as far as he could. Rennav, I need you!
"No more can be done," he murmured to himself. "If he doesn't come, then I will run to Kylaras. There is no other choice. Maybe that's how I die."
He laughed shakily, feeling sick, and lowered himself over the side of the tower, struggling to find footing on the smooth stone. But somehow he managed to get down; before he could comprehend what was happening he'd reached the bottom. This is going much too fast, he thought. I'll be dead before I realize it. But that matters nothing; what I must do is reach Katie before Nashgor overwhelms her.
A whinny sounded in the stifling, smoky air. Gratefully Halthren looked to the north and saw Rennav streaking towards him. Before the horse had completely slowed to a stop, he'd swung himself onto his broad back and Rennav was galloping again. Halthren refused to think about his fate; the only thoughts going through his mind were the final words of the prophecy.
The hand of the Shadow Lord shall be stayed.
Rennav understood the urgency of the situation; he sprinted through Kratchene, over rocks and through ravines, running full tilt to Kylaras. Halthren's blood stained his
horse's side red; at one point he lost consciousness and knew that it wouldn't be long now before he was gone. Hurry, he urged his horse. One last thing I must do.
He arrived in time to see Katie and Nashgor fighting madly; then the Shadow Lord knocked her to the ground and summoned a Dark wind to blow the Sword of Light out of reach.
It landed right in front of Halthren.
It was too fateful, too coincidental, to ignore. He knew that only an Earth Child would be able to bear the Sword's power; he knew that the fierce energy in the blade would most likely destroy him. So this is how I die, he thought, trembling from the enormity of it all. Killed by the Sword of Light.
He bent down and lifted the weapon in his hands. For a single moment he felt nothing…then it was as if he was being struck by a hundred bolts of lightning at once. Halthren clenched his teeth; unable to breathe he endured the pain…then he lifted the Sword of Light high, running as fast as he could with a scream of anguish ripping from his throat, and plunged the weapon forwards. It struck Nashgor's right hand. Halthren collapsed, dropping the Sword, shuddering and twitching…
At once there was a blinding flash of light and thunder roared so loud that it shook the ground. Katie felt herself thrown backwards and hurled to the ground. When the sound and light faded, she sat up and saw that where Nashgor had stood there was a shining marble pillar the color of fresh snow; a thin cylinder going up into the sky. At the very top of it was the Sword of Light, and half of the blade was embedded in the stone. Katie stared at it in amazement, as did all of those on the battlefield. Did…did I do it somehow? Is it over?
A great cheer went up from all of the survivors as they realized that the battle had been won. Katie had never in her life heard such powerful elation expressed by anyone, let alone elves, griffins, unicorns, and dragons. Loriina tossed her head into the sky and blew a massive jet of flame into the air in celebration. Katie grinned, feeling a wave of relief and satisfaction fill her heart.
"Katie? Is Halthren alright?"
She turned to see Joran approaching her, limping, bruised, and exhausted but mostly unharmed. "Uh…well…he's…sort of…stabbed," she offered. At Joran's mortified expression she added, "But he's alive. And he gave me some healing water. Who's the most wounded? I can help them."
* * *
As Katie had confronted Nashgor, Blacknack the demon had known that all was lost. He stormed away from the battle and into the forest, his huge black axe held at the ready and a foul expression on his face. Perhaps I'll chop down some trees.
It was then that he heard a faint moan of anguish. Looking down, he saw that an elf lying face-down on the ground had made the sound. The elf was bleeding from several injuries; the grass around him was stained red. Beside him lay a sleeping horse. Blacknack clubbed the horse's skull with his axe handle to ensure it wouldn't awaken and attack him.
The elf was, of course, Relenthus, who was desperately clinging to life, still hoping for some miraculous rescue. Blacknack grinned, lifted the elf by the neck of his tunic, and punched his left eye, which instantly began to swell up. The demon tossed him to the ground and kicked him brutally in the ribs multiple times, laughing at the whimpers of pain that followed. He lifted the poor elf by his tunic again and dug his black, scaly fingers into a wound in his side. Relenthus's eyes widened in agony, and his mouth hung open in a miserable shout of anguish. Blacknack threw him to the ground and raised his axe to chop the pitiful-looking elf into two.
But a unicorn galloped into the clearing and transformed into Acinoron, who deflected Blacknack's blow with his strong spear just in time. Enraged, Blacknack swung again, this time aiming for the unicorn. Acinoron ducked, and when the demon swung again, he parried easily, although the black axe was twice as heavy as his own spear was. Because he was so furious, Blacknack's judgment was clouded. He swung wildly, missing every time, and Acinoron quickly disarmed him. Blacknack realized the battle was lost and angrily stormed into the forest. When he was out of sight he turned and hid in the trees, watching the events unfold while remaining undetected. Acinoron would have pursued him but he was interrupted by a frail gasp of pain.
Quickly he dropped his spear and knelt at Relenthus's side. The elf was as white as bone, and his breaths were faint and ragged. The unicorn could tell that most of his wounds were fatal. Relenthus's eyes flickered open, and he looked pleadingly into Acinoron's face for one moment before closing his eyes again, his face a mask of utter agony.
Acinoron looked up desperately, seeking assistance, and his eyes fell upon two figures riding a horse and galloping across the field towards the woods. "Hold on, my friend," Acinoron whispered. "Help is on the way."
* * *
Katie sent Loriina back to the deserted demon country to get Halthren from the tower (not knowing that he'd already left), and then she walked all around the battlefield with her bottle of magical water, healing as many of the wounded as she could. She was mortified at how many were dead, and most of those who were injured were too far gone. However, the rest she was able to save, and when she'd finished, hardly any of the water was left.
Then she noticed that, among all of the unicorns present, Acinoron wasn't among them. "Where is he?" she asked Joran.
"I…I think I saw him galloping into the forest a while ago," Joran answered. Suddenly his face went white. "That reminds me—Katie, we must hurry! Relenthus is dying!"
A jolt of terror ran through Katie's body. Not him, too! Joran swung himself up onto his horse and reached one hand own to her. "Come with me; he saved my life and now we must save his!"
She allowed him to pull her up behind him, and she clung anxiously to his shoulders as he urged his horse into a full gallop towards the woods. As they rode, Katie felt a shudder of foreboding. Maybe he's already dead.
Joran slid to the ground and raced towards Acinoron, who was kneeling beside a motionless form that Katie recognized as Relenthus. She dismounted and rushed to the dying elf's side, pulling the flask of healing water from her tunic's pocket and uncorking it. Kneeling beside her friend's head, she poured the rest of the liquid onto his tongue. It was more than Halthren had gotten; Katie hoped beyond hope that it was enough.
Before her eyes, the wounds, scratches, and bruises vanished, and his sky-blue eyes fluttered open, out of focus at first. He blinked several times and tried to sit up. Acinoron helped him lean against a tree trunk. When Relenthus saw the unicorn, his eyes widened. "I…I apologize for my scorn of your kind," he murmured. "I've never been more wrong in my entire life. Thank you. Thank you for saving me from that demon."
Acinoron helped him to his feet, ignoring the blood running down the side of his own face. He held Relenthus to his shoulder as the elf's knees buckled. "Think nothing of it. It was an honor to help you, and my own honor has increased because of my assistance."
Relenthus laughed weakly. "As pompous as ever. Don't make me take back what I just said." Blearily he looked at Katie and Joran. "Did we win?"
Joran's face lit up with joy. "Yes! We did! Nashgor is gone! Evil has no more power here! The Great Elves were right! Katie saved us!"
Katie jumped at the sudden mention of her name. "Well, uh, it wasn't just me. It was a team effort. We could never have won if it was just me on my own. And actually, I'm not entirely certain it was me…things got kind of confusing there for a while."
Relenthus's face fell. "And…and now you wish to leave?"
Katie frowned, the sudden weight of her decision coming to rest upon her shoulders. She could live forever with the elves…and Halthren…or she could return home to her parents, on Earth.
Home. That word could describe Allagandria as well.
"I can send you back right now if you wish it," Acinoron offered, his voice solemn. "You do not have to face everyone and give a massive farewell speech or something of that ilk."
"I…I need a moment to think," Katie murmured. But inside, she already knew what she had to do. She leaned against a tree, her heart sinking. I really wil
l miss this place. "I'm ready, Acinoron," she sighed.
"You won't wait for Halthren?" Relenthus said in surprise. "Forgive me for saying, but…but I thought he meant more to you than that."
Katie's heart burned. "Tell him…that I really do care about him, a lot, and that I'm doing this so he won't have to choose," she said somberly. Then she turned to Joran and hugged him tightly. "Thank you for bringing me on this adventure."
Joran grinned. "I could never thank you enough for what you've done for me, and my people," he said, hugging her back. She turned to Relenthus and embraced him as well, almost knocking him over.
"I'm glad that I got to know you," she sighed, biting her lip to prevent herself from crying. "All of you seem like family to me now that I've been around you for so long." Then she turned to Acinoron. "Thanks for telling me how I could help you and the other unicorns." She tried not to stare at the jagged scars across his cheek.
Acinoron took her hand and kissed it, just as Rune had once done. Apparently it was customary among unicorns. "Thank you for saving me and all of my kin. And…I suppose…if you're ready…"