by Joshua Hoyt
Chapter 20:
Sweat trickled down the back of Tom's neck making him shiver as a cold breeze touched him. He pushed past the pounding in his head and looked around the room. Bright light pierced his eyes, causing the pounding in his head to intensify. He held his hand to his head to keep his brain from exploding out of his skull. After a few seconds the pain subsided enough that he could open his eyes again. Light flooded in from the ceiling, cascading over the white crystal walls making the room sparkle with a splendor that Tom had never seen before. If it had not been for the pain in his head, he would have thought that he had died and gone to heaven. A white staircase stood in front of him and headed up to a clear landing fifteen feet above him. The walls were transparent enough to allow a soft glow from the outside but not enough that he could see through them. Plants grew directly from the floor and walls. Bright colored flowers hung around the room and trees grew up through the floor and towards the ceiling.
He tried to sit up, but the pounding in his head doubled in intensity. He lay down on the cold stone floor for several minutes and forced his eyes to focus once again. After several minutes, the pounding subsided slightly and Tom sat up. He looked around the room for his companions and saw no one. Why did they leave me? He staggered to his feet and reached for the banister that ran up the staircase, steadying himself. Tom looked up the stairs to the landing above. He thought he caught a glimpse of someone darting along the balcony. He slowly ascended the stairs, putting his hand on his sword reflexively.
When he reached the top of the stair case he saw two hallways leading away from the landing. Glancing from one to the other; he tried to decide which one to take then a shadow darted down the left hall. Is someone there or am I just seeing things? He thought as he rubbed his head, but he turned and followed the shadow. Several doors without handles lined the corridor. He pushed on some of them but none would budge. At the end of the hallway a door stood slightly ajar. Tom pushed on the door, and it opened into a large, white room. He had an overwhelming feeling of relief as he saw Aithnea and Cody. They drank from goblets and talked cheerfully with each other about simpler times. As Tom approached them they did not seem to notice him. Tom touched Aithnea softly on the arm, and she turned to him, but seemed to look through him.
Aithnea turned back to Cody and frowned. “I thought for sure I felt someone touch my arm.”
“Aithnea it's me,” Tom said. Why are they acting so weird? What game are they playing?
Aithnea did not turn when he spoke but said, “Anyway as I was saying, there is a beautiful field that I would love to have a picnic on tomorrow.”
Tom touched Aithnea’s arm again and said, “Aithnea, stop playing. This isn’t funny at all.”
Once again Aithnea turned in Tom’s direction but again did not seem to see him. She rubbed her arm and started to cry softly. Cody reached out his hand and pulled her in close to him. “What’s wrong Aithnea?” he asked.
Aithnea put her head on Cody’s chest still crying. “I’m not sure. I just feel so sad all of a sudden. It feels as if an old friend has just died.” Cody held Aithnea close rubbing her back gently with his hand and whispering softly to her. Aithnea looked up at Cody and smiled. Tom’s heart jumped remembering the smile she had given to him those many mornings ago in the cabin. Cody leaned down and kissed Aithnea tenderly on the lips. Aithnea kissed him back.
Tom’s mouth dropped open in shock. Then hurt hit him hard in the chest, causing him to completely forget the pounding in his head. “Cody! Aithnea!” Tom whispered. Neither of them seemed to hear. He yelled at them. Still no response. He slowly turned away from the two and walked out of the room. Why would Cody do this to him? Why would Aithnea? How could they betray him like that?
In the hallway Tom noticed a door with a doorknob How did I miss that door? Tom walked over to the door and slowly opened it. He looked into the room and saw Caspin and Tanya. As Tom walked toward them, the door slammed shut behind him. Tom turned and tried to pry the door open, but was unable to. He turned. “Tanya, Caspin?” Tom said timidly. What if they are like Aithnea and Cody?
Tanya pulled her weapons from her belt and stood back from Caspin who transformed into a werewolf. Caspin’s mouth dropped open into a menacing grin as he looked at her. Saliva dripped from his mouth and muscles in the creature’s arms and legs tensed preparing for the fight. Tom ran between the two, hoping that he would be able to stop the imminent battle. Caspin gave a short laugh and then lunged toward Tanya and went right through Tom. Tanya quickly brought her weapons up in a defensive stance trying to block the initial strike. Caspin swung with both clawed hands toward her body. She deflected the powerful swings but lost her balance from the force. She stepped back, regaining her stance.
Without hesitating Caspin again swung a bloody arm toward Tanya, and hitting her in the shoulder, knocked her to the ground. Tears came to Tanya’s eyes as she tried to regain some ground. She rolled to the side, barely evading Caspin’s clawed foot as he kicked at her. She got to her knees and jumped back to her feet before Caspin could hit her again. She swung her long sword at Caspin, forcing him to step back and then charged in with her dagger. Catching him off balance, Tanya quickly took advantage and slashed with her silver long sword, cutting him across the chest. Caspin howled as the sharp blade dug deep into his chest. A thin line of blood turned his fur red around the cut. Tanya went in low and slashed at his leg. Caspin went down to one knee.
Tom once again tried to intervene. He jumped in front of Tanya, pushing back with all his might. Tanya went in for the killing blow. A look of shock crossed her face as she went through Tom and she lost her concentration. She tripped and fell beside Caspin. Tom watched, horrified at the speed and agility Caspin displayed as he took advantage of the situation. Tanya rolled to her back to defend herself, and he leaped on top of her. He slashed her across the chest with his long sharp claws. Caspin's weight on top of Tanya made it impossible for her to defend herself. Tanya had no hope of living through the battle. A pool of blood formed around the two combatants. Tom looked down in horror as he saw recognition suddenly appear on Tanya’s face. Can she see me? The look of recognition quickly turned to hate and contempt as she realized why she had lost the battle. The look burned itself into his mind even though it had lasted only a fraction of a second. Her eyes went blank as Caspin struck the finishing blow.
“No! What's happening? Why is this happening?” Tom screamed out.
Caspin vanished leaving Tom to stare at the white faced Tanya lying cold and lifeless on the floor. He closed his eyes and fell to his knees next to her but the image of her face would not leave his mind. He dug his fists into his eyes hoping that somehow he would be able to forget the dreadfulness of the image. He turned away from the corpse and putting his head to the ground, sobbed. “It’s my fault she’s dead,” Tom said.
Not wanting to get up, but knowing that he must, he slowly made his way to the door that now stood open. He walked through on legs that wobbled weakly and closed the door behind him. Looking down the hall he once again saw a door that stood partially open. Voices came from the open door, and his spirits lifted slightly. That's Kristiana and John. He had an image of the first day he'd met them and a faint smile touched his mouth. They’ll know how to end this nightmare. They can protect me. They’ve always been there for me in the past. I need them. Tom hurried to the open door and went through. Quickly, he walked toward them. When he reached them they both looked at him. Tom’s smile gained hope as he realized that they could see him. The tears also came back as relief and a feeling of safety flooded him.
Then Kristiana pointed at him and cried, “You! It’s all your fault we’re in this mess.” Tom’s smile quickly faded as he saw the looks of disgust on both of their faces. “You’re the cause of our problems and heartache. If you hadn’t come into our lives Karman would still be here. Tanya would be alive, and we would be relaxing in the mansion with Archelaus,” Kristiana continued.
“T
om you are not welcome here. We don’t want to see you,” John said.
Tom heard a noise behind him and he turned to see several men. They wore dark brown clothes and black cloaks that bore the red dragon symbol. Looks of delight danced on their faces. The group walked toward him, and he turned back to Kristiana and John, pleading with his eyes. They both just smiled and turned their backs on him. Tom turned back toward the group that approached. The safety and relief he had just experienced vanished, and he hung his head limply, overwhelmed with hopelessness and defeat.
A quick motion behind the group brought Tom's eyes up. At the back of the group, one of the men dropped to the floor. The group turned and Tom saw Xantar standing behind them. “Tom, it’s not real, but if you die here you will also die in the real world,” Xantar yelled as he continued to fight the group. Tom reached for his weapons as the group started to overpower Xantar then stopped and quickly turned away not wanting to see another one of his companions die. “Tom, remember your dream, you must believe me.”
Tom turned back, seeing that Xantar had narrowly dodged the blade of one of the red dragon clan. Tom stepped toward the men and pulled his sword from his belt. He could not stand by and let Xantar die. The feeling of hopelessness pressed in and made it hard to concentrate or want to fight, but he waded into the fray. He came to the first of the men and stabbed him in the back. The man fell to the ground. As blood spilled out of his back the ground turned red. The blood red color spread across the floor and toward his feet.
Xantar killed another of the men with a savage strike. Another man fell, and his blood mixed with the blood already on the ground. The stain that filled the room was steadily increasing. Tom stepped back several paces and watched the blood come closer and closer. He saw that the red stain had not yet reached the door. Here was a chance to escape as Xantar continued to battle. Tom moved around behind the battle watching the blood spread toward him. Xantar had fear on his face as a deflected blade still hit him in the arm. A thin red line appeared. “Tom, I need your help. I will die if they kill me,” Xantar yelled.
Seeing the desperation in his face Tom knew he could not leave him to die. He cleared his mind and summoned the fire. He flung flaming ball toward the closest man, and instantly he turned into a column of fire. The man dropped and rolled across the blood stained floor trying desperately to extinguish the flames. The remaining two men, viewing Tom with surprise, turned on him. Xantar caught two of them in their astonishment, disarmed one and gave the other a severe cut across his face. The last two men realized that they were outmatched and dropped their weapons in surrender. Seeing his chance to escape, Tom ran through the door. Xantar came after him as he ran down the hall. Tom looked over his shoulder and saw that the red stain spread out of the room into the hallway, covering both the floor and the ceiling.
“Tom, wait. You must fight it, or it will consume you, and you’ll be no more,” Xantar yelled at Tom as they ran down the hall. Tom slacked his pace but the fear and sadness had overtaken him and he continued running toward the landing. He could no longer fight the fear and dread, and as he ran, he no longer wanted to feel the pain that welled up inside of him each time he thought about his friends. By the time Tom reached the landing, the lower floor had turned a dark red and the stain began to climb the stairs. He looked frantically around, and saw that down the other hallway, another set of stairs led higher into the palace.
Just as he turned to run to the stairs, he was knocked down to the ground. “Tom, it’s a dream. None of it’s real,” Xantar whispered. Tom tried to struggle but Xantar held him so tightly that he could not escape. He looked past Xantar and saw Aithnea coming down the hall toward them. Her walk was carefree, and as she approached Tom she smiled at him sweetly.
“Tom, do not believe Xantar. Look at him. He's one of her servants,” Aithnea said.
“Listen to me you must remember that the dark queen is able to get into your mind and will kill you if you don't fight back,” Xantar’s voice was desperate.
Tom looked back to Aithnea, longing to have her hold him in her arms. “Tom, come with me, and I will hold you for a while.” She said, and smiled seductively.
He struggled under the weight of Xantar and finally pushed him off. “It’s a trick. Focus and clear your mind. Take a few moments and look at Aithnea,” Xantar said.
Tom stood. Around him the palace turned a blood red. Aithnea smiled at him. From hands and knees Xantar gazed at him in desperation. Hesitantly, Tom closed his eyes and focused as he did when he trained with Aithnea and Kristiana. As he cleared his head, images from the three rooms entered his mind. He calmly pushed them out as he searched for a place in his mind where he would be free of all the forces that pushed in on him. As the images grew dimmer and as he cleared his thoughts, he focused on a spell he had learned in the beginning of his lessons. He forced the emptiness out of his mind into the world around him causing his own energy to strengthen the bonds of the nothingness that filled his mind.
Tom slowly opened his eyes and looked into the eyes of Aithnea. She had been crying. Aithnea slowly smiled. She pulled Tom closer and kissed him softly on the lips. Tom smiled back then looked around the room.
“How long have I been out of it?” Tom asked.
“Only a few minutes,” John answered.
“Are you feeling ok?” Cody asked.
“I am,” Tom said slowly. The image of Tanya flashed through his mind.
“Where are Tanya and Caspin?” Tom asked quickly as he looked around.
“They went ahead to scout out the palace. They're searching for the dark queen’s lair,” John responded.
Tom jumped to his feet. “We have to hurry. They’re in danger,” he said forcefully.
“Tom whatever you saw was in your head. It wasn’t real,” Xantar explained.
“No, this was different. We need to hurry.” Tom ran toward the stairs. Taking the steps two at a time he reached the top as the rest of the group ran after him. He saw the two hallways and ran down the one to the left. The hallway looked exactly the same except that the doors had handles. He ran to the end of the corridor hearing the others close behind. He opened the second to the last door and looked inside.
Caspin knelt in the room holding a woman in his arms. Soft, sobbing sounds filled the room. Tom felt dread. Had he really killed her?
“What have I done?” Caspin said over and over.
Tom approached them. He circled around and knelt next to Caspin putting his hand on his head. “Caspin, what happened?” Tom asked quietly.
Caspin looked up and Tom saw a bloody wound on Caspin's face. Blood soaked through the arms of his robe on his arms. The blood pattern appeared to be in the form of blades. How much of it was real? Not wanting to, but forcing himself, he looked down at the woman Caspin held. Relief washed over Tom as he realized that she was no one he knew.
“Caspin, what happened?” Tom asked again. He couldn’t take his eyes off the woman.
“I… I was tricked,” was all that Caspin could say, and he started to cry once again. He held the woman closer.
John and the others came into the room and stopped just inside the door, looking at Tom and Caspin.
Cody crossed the room. “What happened to her, Caspin?”
“It’s not Tanya,” Tom said quietly.
Cody looked down at the woman and sighed noticeably. “Who is it then?”
“I’m not sure,” Tom said.
Caspin slowly raised his head and looked at them. “She was a dear friend from my past life.” Tom lowered his head and rubbed Caspin’s shoulder softly. John approached them. “Caspin what happened? Tell us what happened,” John said as he knelt next to him.
“Tanya and I came up the stairs looking for whoever had entranced Tom. When we reached this room, there was a man in robes. We approached him, then suddenly another guard appeared…” Caspin faltered and was unable to continue for a few minutes. “…The man turned and left. Tanya went after him, while
I stayed to fight the other guard. A rage overtook me, and I transformed into the beast. As I approached the guard he fought desperately and wounded me several times. I killed the guard, who then transformed before my eyes.” Caspin lost it again and sobbed uncontrollably.
“Tom, Cody and Aithnea you stay here while we go find Tanya,” John said and Kristiana, Xantar and he left the room.
Caspin looked up suddenly at Tom. “How can we fight this when our loved ones are turned against us? How can we fight something that we can’t see? Something that has no body to kill?”
Tom looked down from the sad eyes of Caspin. It was hard for him to hear Caspin’s doubts. Tom already struggled with his own fears and the memories of the illusion he had recently passed through. To see Caspin without hope made his own doubts that much stronger. Caspin had always given Tom a hope of a better world. Now that Caspin had seemed to have lost his hope, Tom struggled to find the strength to continue. Caspin held the woman for moment longer and then laid her gently down on the ground. Taking off his own cloak, he slowly laid it over her. He stood. “Tom, I fear my faith has been broken. This beast that I have become is not of God but of an evil design. I don't know how to have faith anymore.” Caspin seemed to plead with Tom to help him understand the pain and anguish he felt.
Tom searched for the right words to speak to the man who had always given him wisdom. He held his gaze. There is nothing I can say to give him hope. Why can’t I give him hope? Tom looked for several minutes until Caspin finally looked away.
“We’d best be off to help the others,” Caspin said as he turned and walked toward the door. Tom watched as the broken, bent man walked slowly out the door. He wondered if Caspin would ever be able to mend. The three followed him out, and continued down the hall toward the landing.