"The great axe of our people has chosen a new master. All hail King Toe, son of Oboe, and the future of our people!"
The Pokwa fall to their knees and honor their new king. Theopa lowers the crown onto Toe's head and kisses him on the forehead. "You, son, are now the leader and the future of our people. You must flee. Survive and take my daughter as your queen. If the Pokwa are to have a future, it will rest on your shoulders. You alone must see them out of this darkness."
"Yes, my Lord," Toe says.
They all stand and face the breaking door. Akelou raises the Namid and takes a deep breath. "I am sorry I could not save you. I will see you and my families soon. I loved you...I never told you, but I do."
The wooden boards of the door crack. Everyone waits for the last assault of the Nossa. They stand ready, but it does not come. The pounding on the door stops, and they hear the men screaming and running back down the stairs. Fresh cries are heard from the swamp, and they rush to the king's terrace too look down at the swamp. They cheer as warriors on painted horses ride out of a door opened by the Moura stone. Akelou sees Alo leading Enopay warriors on horseback against the Nossa.
"Mia-Koda has succeeded. Let us go to our allies from the plains!" yells Theopa. He points to the Salali and Meno warriors who are surrounding the Nossa army.
"VICTORY!" yells the king, and they charge, joining the battle.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Un-Nabus opens his eyes and sees the Daboon staring at him. He gazes at the Kaah. It is glowing with inscriptions he has never seen before. "Wake up, WAKE!" echoes loudly in Un-Nabus's head. "Remember your quest. Remember what you still must do. Kill this thief, climb the tower, face the moon, and play the Ithua."
Un-Nabus approaches the dying king, whose half open eyes are dark and unfocused. With foam seeping down the side of his mouth, he retracts his head as Un-Nabus shows him his necklace.
"You and I have met once before, thief. I was an infant abandoned to the darkness, and the darkness embraced me. That night, a prophecy was foretold, but I will not yet fulfill it, not yet," Un-Nabus whispers into his ear.
Un-Nabus lowers his staff and touches it against the Kings chest. His poisoned body goes rigid, shaking violently. His eyes turn black, and his body relaxes and the poison effects begin to fade. The defeated King collapses exhausted but alive.
"Un-Ra."
"Yes, master."
"Take this thief and your warriors and leave the tower, burning everything in your path. Go back and retrieve the sacks of black sand, and follow the path that will be revealed to you."
All the Daboon bow to their master. "Yes, master, as you command," growls Un-Ra.
The Daboon leave the hall and set the tower ablaze. Un-Nabus walks to a gargoyle carved into the wall of the chamber and touches the wall with his staff. The wall crumbles, revealing a circling staircase. He walks up the winding stairs to the precipice of the tower. Un-Nabus walks out onto a platform and stares at the still lake below him. He watches the moon rise from behind the reflective horizon. He faces the moon and takes the wooden Len of Ithua from inside his robes.
"Remember what I have taught you. It is time, NOW!" the Ixkin shouts.
Un-Nabus puts the Len to his lips and plays the notes he was taught many seasons ago in the cave. The notes are silent and the world becomes still. Un-Nabus can feel his necklace burning under his robes, but he does not dare stop playing. He feels all of his energy being drained with every note. With great effort and agony he plays the last note and falls to his knees.
"You have done it! The Hhtuno will rise again."
Un-Nabus raises his arms to the moon and feels the world shake around him. The first note he played now reverberates in all directions in a giant wave of energy. A ripple creases a line through the water and the music continues. The lake erupts, parting into giant walls of water. Un-Nabus stands still holding his arms to the moon feeling the power he has unleashed. The water reveals a Caldera, and the earth splits, falling inside itself. A pyramid rises from the depths of the underworld. The earthquake becomes more intense the higher the structure rises, and the tower below him begins to crumble. After the last note plays, Un-Nabus lowers his arms, and the water falls back into the Caldera in a raging torrent of kinetic energy. Un-Nabus waves his arms again, and the waters become still.
He hears the echoing of the Ixkin laughing in his mind. Un-Nabus lowers his hood and flaps his wings and the last of the tower crumbles into rubble below him. He dives down toward the black water, following a bridge just above the water's surface. Fire ignites on the bridge leading to the stairs that rise up the side of the black, crystal Pyramid of Havadar. He lands on top of the Pyramid, materializes and looks below, watching the Daboon marching between the fires. They are followed by the Yosemites that the dying king banished from the fallen tower. He smiles and removes his robes before turning and walking into the Pyramid of Havadar.
---
A body floats in a mucky stream of water and blood. The body, lifeless and cold, settles in a shallow pool. A scavenging bird flies down from a tree and crows as it stands on its prize. It begins to pick at the body's clothing, trying to get to its fleshy meal. A wind rustles the trees and the swamp darkens and contracts in fear anticipating the evil it has known would return. An eerie, unnatural tune blasts through the forests and with every note darkness claws at the world. Creatures begin to stir in the ground. Bubbles break the pool's surface and a lifeless body spins, grabbing the bird in a cloud of feathers. The corpse's head jolts from the water and gasps for air. It begins to breathe, opening its bloody eyes, its veins pulsing against its dead, cold skin. The bird struggles and bites its captor, trying to free itself. The corpse flashes its teeth and rips the bird's head from its neck, and begins to drink its blood. With each drop it drinks its eyes become darker and its veins pulse under its dead skin. The Wraith gets to its feet and moans, turning toward the music that plays in the forest. Leotie opens her blood-covered mouth screeching at the moon and begins to shuffle her way into the forest, answering the call that pulled her back from the darkness.
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The New World (The Last Delar) Page 26