The Keeper of the Stones

by M J Webb

  “Raarrr! I will tear your throat out if you laugh at me again, you odious rachtis!” growled Sawdon loudly, choking the servant to the point of losing consciousness.

  “Enough, Sawdon!” ordered Vantrax, just in time to save Nytig’s life. “I may yet have need of the fool.”

  Sawdon dropped Nytig like a stone at the King’s command. He fell to the floor in a heap, gasping frantically for breath and rubbing his sore neck. Vantrax turned again to address the three warriors, unconcerned at his servant’s fate.

  “Let us begin!” he shouted. The circle was formed once more around the Lichtus and everyone looked at Vantrax as he began to chant.

  “Brystolanupsofkashtukallankshue, deshlish!

  Brystolanupsofkashtukallankshue, deshlish!

  Brystolanupsofkashtukallankshue, deshlish! Avansee!”

  The Lichtus came to life again. A dim light began to shine and the stone began to hum quietly.

  “Tarowel bishtuk ishmir valanararg .... Echtrak!”

  Suddenly, a brighter beam of light shot out of the Lichtus and up to the tower room ceiling. It bent toward the window slits in the nearest wall and exited through one of them, shooting rapidly up to the sky. There was no sound to be heard this time, no earth shudder. The Lichtus was obviously losing its power and the fact was not lost on Vantrax. He turned swiftly to Sawdon.

  “Quick, quick!” he rasped. “The light will take you to a point close to where the stones were last activated. If we are in luck, there you will find the stones and maybe the Keeper. Remember, I want whatever opened that light. Kill the Keeper and anyone who gets in your way! Do not fail me, Sawdon.”

  Sawdon nodded dutifully and looked at the two warriors standing beside him. “Come!” he barked at them, as he motioned with his arm for them to follow him. Then he walked over to where the light was shining out of the stone on the floor, he stepped into the light without hesitation and vanished. Boghias took one almighty gulp and then followed Sawdon into the light, until he too had disappeared from sight. Adrob was visibly scared, he thought for a brief moment of refusing to go, he flashed a glance at Vantrax which quickly made up his mind for him. He knew that he was dead if he refused, so he decided that he may as well take his chances in another world. Taking an enormous deep breath, he stepped into the light.

  As soon as Adrob had disappeared from sight, the bright light vanished and the Lichtus returned to its normal state. Vantrax walked over to it and calmly picked it up, he placed it back around his neck and turned to look at Nytig, who was sitting on the floor where Sawdon had dropped him, still rubbing his neck and obviously in shock at just how close he’d come to losing his life.

  “If I were you, Nytig, I would avoid Sawdon if he returns through the light. Thargws are not forgiving creatures.” said Vantrax, laughing aloud and in good spirits now that all his plans had been put into action. “And fetch me some wine. I have an almighty thirst.”

  Chapter 7

  14th August – Harry’s Kitchen – Lichfield

  The bell on the gate had sounded the alarm. The boys looked at each other anxiously as they stood alongside Harry facing the back door, unsure if they were overreacting or if they had a genuine reason to be so scared. They remained as quiet as they could just in case, straining their ears to listen to every sound that could be heard from outside the house. Their rapid breathing seemed to be so loud that it nearly drowned out the birds that were singing cheerfully in Harry’s garden. Ben’s heart was pounding thunderously, Jake’s knees had gone weak and his hands were shaking badly, but Harry seemed to be calm and alert, as if he’d dealt with this kind of situation many times before.

  “Stay there!” he hissed, as he began to venture slowly towards the door.

  The three warriors from Rhuaddan had arrived on Earth exactly as Vantrax had predicted, not far from the stones and immediately outside Harry’s garden gate. Adrob and Boghias looked at Sawdon for direction. The mighty warrior took a moment or two to get his bearings as he surveyed their surroundings. The brick-built buildings, cars, telegraph poles etc. were all strange phenomenon to the soldiers from another world, they stared at them astounded, but Sawdon knew he’d been given a mission to complete and he wasn’t going to be distracted by curiosity. Besides, he’d seen similar things before. Eighteen years ago he’d witnessed such scenes, they were different houses and objects this time of course, but they were no less strange.

  The wooden gate in front of him was closed, but his warrior’s instincts told him to go through it. ‘This is the closest dwelling and the first place to search.’ he thought. ‘After all, Vantrax said we would be close to the stones.’ He pushed the gate open forcefully, breaking the latch that held it in place effortlessly with his immense strength. The warning bell sounded the alarm loudly and the two nervous warriors behind him instinctively turned around and brought their swords up, as if expecting an imminent attack from some imaginary foe. Sawdon wasn’t impressed by their reaction, he glared at them both in disgust and grunted his disapproval. He continued walking silently down the side passage, with the others following cautiously behind, and they entered the large rear garden.

  As they rounded the path, Sawdon saw that the kitchen door was half open. He drew his own sword and beckoned for the others to follow him. They crept slowly and silently towards the door, but Adrob suddenly stood on a stone that was lying on the concrete path. The scraping of the stone as it slid along the path under Adrob’s weight was too loud not to be heard. Sawdon turned and scowled at him. There was no longer any need to creep and the Thargw headed straight for the kitchen door at speed, closely followed by his two companions.

  Harry had heard the stone scrape along the concrete, his Keeper’s instincts took over and he rasped his instructions to the boys.

  “Quicknto the hall!”

  He ushered them past him with his right hand, as he swapped the sword to his left. The boys did as they were instructed, they’d just cleared the hall doorway when the giant frame of Sawdon appeared at the back door, blocking out the light with his huge frame as he stood in the entrance. He scanned around the kitchen and then glared straight at Harry, who was now stood between him and the hallway exit. Sawdon hadn’t seen the boys escape, but he did hear a footstep as they ran through the hallway and his eyes opened wide as he realized he had his prey trapped.

  His look of fury then turned to one of mild surprise as he recognized the man who now stood before him, with sword in hand. He was somewhat older than in their previous encounter, he’d aged dramatically, but it was definitely the same man.

  “Keeper!” he snarled triumphantly at Harry. “Raar! It has been far too long. You have made a fool of me for the last time. And I see that you are not alone? You have done well to hide your existence for so long. But you have changed. The years have not been kind I see. You have grown old and feeble. Give in to me now, you cannot hope to best me. Give me the stones, and I will grant you a quick and painless death.” he growled menacingly.

  Harry’s reply was swift and unexpected. He immediately threw himself straight at Sawdon, his sword expertly switching from left to right hand and launching a furious attack in the same instance. He had never expected to see Sawdon again. The warrior who had killed his beloved wife and ruined his whole life, was now standing before him, in his house! He knew that Sawdon was going to kill him and his grandson unless he could prevent it somehow. There was no hesitation, he had no choice he thought. He seriously doubted his ability to outrun Sawdon and he knew that the Thargw would not have come alone. He found himself ‘one on one’ with him now for the briefest of moments, before the warriors with him were able to join the fight. He decided quickly that he had to strike now, while he had the chance!

  Harry’s sword came hurtling through the air towards Sawdon’s chest, but the blow was parried just short of its intended target by the sword of the mighty warrior, the clash of weapons being so swift and furious that it stung Harry’s hand. He launched another two quick thrusts, but
both were met by the Thargw’s sword and the warrior edged his way forcefully forward into the kitchen, until first Adrob and then Boghias entered the room.

  The first exchanges had been made, the fight was already a few seconds old, but Sawdon had yet to launch any offensive move. He seemed to be toying with Harry, as if realizing that the ‘old man’ before him no longer posed any real threat.

  Jake and Ben had run into the hallway and reached the foot of the stairs, but the sound of swords clashing in the kitchen halted them in their tracks. Jake looked worryingly at his best friend as he realized his grandfather was in trouble. Something snapped inside of him, he grabbed the sword and shield from Ben and thrust the box into his hands.

  “Hey! What do you think you’re doing?” asked a seriously alarmed Ben, concerned at his friend’s intentions.

  “Just look after that box!” shouted Jake in reply, as he rushed back toward the kitchen purposefully.

  On reaching the doorway, he saw that Harry and Sawdon were fighting, but the fight seemed to be very one-sided. Harry was fending off continuous attacks from his giant opponent, who’t h grown bored of ‘playing’ with his adversary and was looking to finish the job. Boghias and Adrob were just behind Sawdon, they appeared to be about to end the fight with their intervention, but when they saw Jake in the doorway, they reacted and changed their point of attack.

  Boghias reached for the kitchen table that was blocking their route to Jake, he upended it with one powerful sweep of his arm, giving them a clear path to the young boy and the door. Sawdon had seen Jake also. He now doubled his efforts in his fight with Harry, who was beginning to feel his own strength and energy fading rapidly.

  Jake was desperate to help Harry. He saw the mighty creature his grandfather was fighting and he knew it was no contest. The sight of such a large and ferocious warrior would have frightened him beyond measure only a few hours ago, before he’d found the stones. But Jake was now feeling very strange. He couldn’t explain why, but he felt as he’d never felt before, very confident, strong, fit, and alert. As if he could achieve anything! His fear had gone. The sword he held in his hand felt like the most natural thing in the world to him. He’d hardly ever held one before, only when he played as a child or examined his grandfather’s weapons briefly, but he realised that somehow, he knew how to use it expertly. Jake was supremely confident in his abilities with it. And, completely out of character for him, he felt a very strange sensation; he actually wanted to fight. He was excited by the prospect!

  So this was what Harry had mentioned. The stones had already transferred their powers to him, as the direct descendant of Harry. But, ‘If he had the powers and energy the stones gave, what of Harry?’

  Jake immediately tried to move to Harry’s aid. He hadn’t even cleared the doorway when he was confronted by Boghias, with Adrob right behind him. Despite wanting to get to Harry quickly, Jake instinctively took a step backwards, inviting the two assailants through the doorway, aware that only one of them could follow him through. Boghias stepped in front of his companion. As he entered the open doorway Jake leapt towards him and thrust his sword at his stomach. The first thrust was easily parried, but Jake thrust again with a speed he never knew he possessed and the tip of his sword entered the Perosyan’s flesh just below the ribcage. Jake pushed it into his opponent, inflicting a deep and serious wound. Boghias let out a loud yell and fell instantly to his knees, his body blocking the doorway.

  Jake withdrew his sword. He felt a brief moment of exhilaration at defeating his first opponent, which quickly gave way to a very real surprise and astonishment at having the knowledge and ability to do so. He felt no remorse, no guilt. It had all been like second nature to him. ‘Everything granddad has said is true!’ he realized with amazement. He knew then that he hadn’t really believed the story he was being told up to that point, but all of it was true! And the irrefutable proof was now here in his grandfather’s house, trying to kill them.

  Harry was still fighting bravely against Sawdon in the kitchen. Jake tried to help again, he moved forward aggressively toward Boghias, who was now on one knee, still blocking the doorway and clutching his wounded stomach. As he lunged, Adrob quickly grabbed his friend and lifted him to his feet, his left arm holding his sword and blocking Jake’s attempts to get through the door at the same time. He pulled Boghias back past him into the kitchen and confronted Jake, who was now in the doorway poised to enter.

  Jake noticed that Harry was now dly wounded in his left arm; it bore a very deep cut that had exposed the bone and was bleeding profusely. It was obvious to Jake that Harry was losing his fight and he knew he had to get him out of there quickly. He sprang forward and forced Adrob back with several powerful thrusts of his sword. Then he grabbed Harry’s collar with his free hand and tugged hard. Harry fell backwards. Off balance, he tumbled past Jake, through the open door and onto the hallway floor. Jake turned sharply around, just in time to block Sawdon’s sword as he followed the move at speed to launch an attack of his own upon the young boy. He took up the fight against the mighty Thargw, deliberately blocking the doorway exit and fending off blows from both Sawdon and Adrob, the latter proving more of a hindrance than a help to his companion in the confined space.

  Ben had witnessed the events from his position on the hallway stairs. He was initially too afraid to move, but he now raced to Harry’s aid and dragged him quickly onto the living room floor, propping him up against the couch. Harry was exhausted and clearly losing a lot of blood.

  “Harry! Harry! Talk to me! Harry, we have to go! We have to move Harry, can you walk?” Ben screamed.

  “No.” came the short and feeble reply. “I’m finished, Ben. You must save Jake and the stones!” Harry added, completely drained. He glanced down at the box that was in Ben’s hands. Relieved to see it, he gave a little smile. “You won’t outrun these warriors, Ben. They will find you. You have to go.”

  Harry’s mind worked frantically now, he was trying desperately to think of all that he had to say, but he knew that he had no time to say it. He could feel himself growing faint as the blood oozed out of his open wound.

  “Give me the box.” he said calmly. Ben passed it to him straight away. “I’ll open it. Place it in the centre of the room and step into the light with Jake when it appears. It will take you to Rhuaddan. I’m sorry my boy, there’s no other way.”

  “But…” Ben tried to interrupt him, though he really didn’t know what he was going to say.

  “Listen to me, Ben!” snapped Harry. “This is your only chance. Grab Jake quickly and go through the portal. You can return if and when it’s safe to do so. But you have to go now! You must protect the stones!”

  “But what about you?” asked Ben emotionally, though he was dreading Harry’s response.

  “I’m of no consequence now, Ben. There are bigger things at stake here than me. Just promise me that you’ll look after my grandson!” said Harry forcefully. “Promise me!” Ben nodded an instant reply. “Good. Now, stand me up.”

  Ben pulled him to his feet. Harry took the box and placed his palm on the crest. A loud bang and a familiar earth shudder followed. He passed the box back to Ben and pointed to the centre of the floor. Ben took it and laid it down, just as it began to open and the beam of light appeared. He returned quickly to Harry, who’d shuffled himself into the doorway. Ben reached his side and saw Boghias’ sword lying on the floor in the hall, Harry urged him to grab it, so Ben reached down and picked it up. He looked worryingly at Harry. Jake’s grandfather was now very weak, but somehow he stood himself up straight and proud in the hallway, next to the kitchen entrance, ready to take up the fight against Sawdon.

  “Now, go!” shouted Harry. “Quickly!”

  Ben reached past Harry and pulled Jake violently backwards through the kitchen door by his shirt collar. As Jake reached the hallway, Ben pushed him into the living room in one fast movement that gave Jake no time at all to object. Harry stepped falteringly into the kitchen doorway
with sword in hand, deliberately placing himself between Sawdon and the boys.

  Sawdon roared furiously at seeing Jake evading him and he began reigning heavy blows down upon Harry’s sword, with Harry defending himself against them as best he could.

  Jake recovered his balance when he reached the living room. Realizing what had happened, he turned around in an attempt to go back and help his grandfather, but he was rugby tackled firmly around the waist by Ben, who pushed him hard into the light muttering, “I’m sorry mate.” as he did. Jake vanished into the light and he was gone.

  Ben paused just long enough to listen to the battle in the kitchen, swords were still clashing and he could hear vicious grunts and growls from Sawdon. He thought briefly of going back and helping Harry, but he remembered his promise. With tears streaming down his face, he reached down, picked up the box and stepped into the light. The light immediately vanished, and Harry was alone.