The Beast of Begmire

by Duane Gundrum

mean."

  "But we cannot allow this city to be destroyed by some creature," said Helm. He stared at her, watching her breathe in slowly as she remained still on the quilt of the bed, almost not even acknowledging him. He had seen her like this before. It was her meditation phase, and there was no way for her to break from the stage until she was finished. To do so would mean damage to her system, causing months of backlash before she could recharge her magic energy again.

  Her eyes opened slightly. "How do you know that this creature isn't some manifestation of the Dark One?"

  "I don't," he said, "but I don't sense him. That has to mean something."

  Her eyes closed again. "It does. I don't feel him either, but I do sense that he is coming closer."

  "I thought he would go east," said Helm. "I thought the king's castle was his goal."

  "It is," she said, "but he also senses me. As long as I am alive, he knows he cannot claim the castle."

  Helm took a deep breath. "Honey, what is the Dark One?"

  "It is evil of a magnitude you could never imagine," she said.

  "I've heard you say that before," he said, "but what exactly is it?"

  She opened her eyes again. "To be honest, I don’t really know exactly what the Dark One is. Sarbonn knew what it was, and Chandlin once told me that Sarbonn once tamed it, but wouldn’t elaborate. This was during the early wars when Sarbonn was still a young sorceror."

  "Who was Sarbonn?" said Helm.

  She allowed herself a smile. "He was a sorcerer who received his powers from the gods themselves. He was responsible for defeating Walner, the evil sorcerer who he had also trained. Unfortunately, unknown to Sarbonn, Walner had trained a young noblewoman named Ennia in sorcery. She was the reason why the world was thrown into chaos during the Reckoning. Every child of the realm knows that gruesome story. My understanding is that during this war, Ennia found the Dark One and awakened it. The rest of the history is kind of hazy, as no one I have ever met has been able to fill in those gaps. All I know is that the Dark One remained hidden for a long time before he finally appeared, and then everything kind of went to cinders."

  "But how come it took so long for the Dark One to come out of hiding?" said Helm. "Sarbonn died hundreds of years ago."

  "Legend has it that Ennia taught the Dark One restraint, something Walner never had. It is through that restraint that the Dark One has become as powerful as it is now."

  "You once promised to tell me about Sarbonn. What was he like? Was he as vicious as the legends report?"

  She smiled again. "Sarbonn was a loving father."

  "Father?"

  She nodded. "Not physically, but he adopted me when he discovered that I had developed the power on my own without the need of proper training. It was through his assistance that I became as powerful as I am now." The smile grew brighter. "He never told anyone that he was training me, not even his star pupil, Chandlin." She thought to herself for a moment. “Sarbonn often kept things from us, things that were extremely important but he felt would cause problems if we knew. His secrecy often became very difficult to handle. To this day, I still don’t know why he sought me out in the first place. I always suspected there was something more than him recognizing the power in me and then seeking me out because he sensed it from some location far away. Whenever I spoke to him, I could always tell that he had something on the tip of his tongue, but he wasn’t quite willing to give it up yet. It was so frustrating dealing with him sometimes. It’s why I relished my time with Chandlin. At least he was upfront with me.”

  "Chandlin the Bright?" said Helm. "You’re talking about legends of Reagul history as if they’re Cousin Julius."

  She nodded again. "Chandlin was an adept when I was just finishing my training. I went to visit Sarbonn once when he was out. I entered the tower, believing the presence of magic I sensed was Sarbonn's, not realizing it belonged to Chandlin. Chandlin thought my power was obviously that of Walner, even though Walner was dead at this time. Before I could explain why I was there, I was attacked by him."

  "You were attacked by Chandlin the Bright? What happened?"

  "He defeated me," she said. "It wasn’t even a fight. His magic incapacitated me, and I could not do anything but create a shield around me to prevent him from destroying me. If Sarbonn had not arrived when he did, Chandlin would have killed me without even knowing we were on the same side."

  "So, what happened?"

  "Sarbonn finally explained to Chandlin that I was his secret student. Chandlin never forgave himself for that unfortunate accident."

  "Whatever happened to Chandlin? The bards sing of how he went back to the gods, but I’ve often wondered how they would know that without seeing it for themselves."

  "During the years of peace, Chandlin kept having visions in the fire of another world. He kept seeing a great kingdom of honor, of great battles. When he went off on his quest, he disappeared and was never seen again. I think he found that other world."

  "Visions in the fire?" he said.

  "That is not for you yet," she said. "You have much training left before you'll be ready for that."

  "Will I ever be a great sorcerer?" he said.

  "That is not the question," she said. "You must ask yourself if you will be a good sorcerer. There are no great sorcerors. There is only good and evil. Great is measured by the good you do."

  He nodded. "What about the beast?"

  "I cannot fight it. If Chandlin was still in Reagul, I could risk the fight, but he is not here. You have decades of work before you will be ready to face him, even though you tend to have more power than I've ever encountered before."

  "Will I be able to defeat the Dark One?"

  "He is powerful, but you have an equal amount of power, if not more. He is fast, but you have proved your dexterity many times before in contests with your sword." She smiled. "He is intelligent, but you're dumb as a rock. Therefore, I think he'll win."

  A smile came to Helm's face. "I should have expected such a comment from you. If I didn't love you so much, I'd turn you into a frog."

  She smiled back at him. "Unfortunately, that's the only spell you've perfected so far." She allowed herself a quick chuckle, and then her face turned serious again. “There is something you need to know about the Dark One. I mentioned I have fought him before, but that’s not completely true.”

  He stared at her. She had never lied to him before, and it was now sounding like she was admitting just that. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, I did defeat him, but he’s not like a normal foe.”

  “I don’t understand,” said Helm.

  “He is extremely powerful, so powerful that his essence inhabits the bodies of others, so that even when you defeat him, you don’t actually completely defeat him. His real power remains elusive, and he rests for awhile, and then he comes back again as yet another manifestation.”

  “Then how do you kill him?”

  “The answer to that question still eludes me,” she said. “I suspect that eventually we’ll have to find where his real corporal body is and then defeat it. But so far, we’ve only ever encountered those he has possessed. But those he possesses are still extremely powerful. Andi when that creature is defeated, he is gone for a long period of time before he able to gain the energy to come back again.”

  “That sounds impossible to defeat,” said Helm.

  “No,” she said. “All science has a solution. You just have to find the answer to this riddle and then carry out the solution.”

  He thought to himself for a moment. "If you cannot defend the city, I have to try."

  She sat up in bed. "What?"

  "I cannot sit back and let this evil creature destroy the city. I might not be a powerful sorcerer, but I am a powerful warrior. Perhaps my sorcery might be the edge I need that the knights didn't have."

  "You cannot," she said.

  "Why not?" he said.
"If I die, you can still fight the Dark One."

  "You are the future of me," she said. "When you are fully realized, you will be even more powerful than me."

  "What?" he said. "You never told me that."

  "I didn't want you getting too cocky," she said. "You have more power within you than you can possibly imagine. I've never felt such power, not since the days of Sarbonn."

  He thought about her words for a couple of seconds before he spoke again. "I'm sorry. I must do this."

  "You are a sorcerer. You must be able to look over the deeds of humanity for the greater battles."

  "Please understand," he said. "I love you very much. I would do anything you told me to. But I am still partially mortal; I cannot ignore my fellow mortals when I might be able to do something to help them."

  "But didn't you tell me that they sent out their knights? You said their best knight went insane. I don't want that happening to you."

  "It is a risk I must take," he said.

  She said nothing for a couple of seconds. "I understand, but I don't want you do go."

  "Please give me your permission," he said.

  "Why do you need my permission?" she said. "You are going to go anyway, aren't you?"

  "You are still my mistress in sorcery. I took a vow to follow your orders before receiving your training."

  She thought to herself for a long time. "Go. You would never forgive me if I forced you to stay."

  "Thank you," he said as he reached up and kissed her hand. Before she could say anything to make him change his mind, he left the inn to prepare for his