Henry didn’t give it another chance and called upon the full power of the Wyvern, his whole body consumed by yellow fire. Now in full control of his powers, Henry held them back a second until he had a clear shot. Nog, sensing what his master was doing, moved quickly out of harm’s way. Henry lifted one arm, pointed it directly towards the thrashing creature and released his full energy. The force was so strong that when it hit the creature it erupted in a burst of yellow flames which quickly disintegrated the creature into tens of thousands of tiny, yellow embers, leaving nothing more than the carnage it had made. For a brief moment, covered in dust, sweating and breathing heavily, Henry stood staring at the point where the creature had just disappeared. He surprised himself with the amount of energy he had released, and even more so that he had complete command of it. His whole body bathed in the sheer exultation from using its magic. Then, as the mist cleared, he could just make out Alfwald leaning over something. “Mum!” he called out as he ran over to them, sliding to a halt. Henry dropped down on his knees. “Mum,” he mouthed. Alfwald didn’t move or even look up at Henry, he just hugged Hazel tightly to his chest, crying openly and almost unaware of what had just happened around him.
Neither Henry nor Alfwald had any idea of time, each minute melting into the next as they both mourned over Hazel’s body. Alfwald had laid her down and partly covered her with her short hunting cloak. Nothing was said between the two, because there wasn’t anything that could be said, they both blamed themselves for her death, too busy concentrating on killing the creature, when in fact they should have been protecting her. Alfwald wiped his eyes again, put his hand on Henry’s shoulder and, without looking up from Hazel, said, “You still have a task to finish,” he said softly. Henry looked up and gave him a questionable look. “The obelisk,” Alfwald continued. Henry pushed his father’s hand away and stood up in a rage. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” he said, “after this…” He was beside himself with rage. He took a few steps away and then back again, not wanting to leave Hazel’s side.
Alfwald reluctantly stood up to calm his son down. “I want nothing more to do with all this… this rubbish…!” he shouted, struggling to find his words. Alfwald, stepped closer. “You have to… it’s what you were born to do,” he said calmly. “Born to do…? Is that all I am to you and… and… and the others… just a means to an end…?” He stepped right up to Alfwald. “I am who I am… not a bloody puppet to be used whenever it suits… not a host master… and certainly not a bloody saviour of the world,” he hissed into Alfwald’s face. Unperturbed, Alfwald gripped Henry by both shoulders. “Oh but you are… you’re the host master… but you’re more than that… much more… You are your mother’s son.” “My mother is dead because of me… Nothing I do can change that,” Henry said, pulling away, “and there’s nothing you can say to change that… so don’t bother… I’m done with all this… I just want to go home,” he said, just before he broke down and started crying. Alfwald grabbed hold of him and held him, allowing his son a little time to grieve in his arms. But the fact remained: the obelisk needed to be destroyed, no matter how distraught his son was. Now that his mother was dead, he was their only chance to put an end to all this, once and for all.
Mylon rushed forward just as Bree was thrown back from the tree and only just in time to catch her. For a second or two she seemed a little dazed. Holding her in his arms, Mylon gave her one of his reassuring smiles, trying not to show how concerned he was for her. “What’s appened!” Bert bellowed out as he joined them. “The shadow master,” Bree just managed to say. “What of him?” Bert asked. Mylon gave him a quick look and shook his head. “Just give her a minute,” he demanded. “It looks as though she’s had a bit of a scare.” But Bert didn’t take any notice of him: he knew how the old tree worked and Acca would never have rejected her that way unless he had a good reason for doing so. “Ya gotta tell me… what appened?” he insisted.
Taking Bree by the arm, Mylon gently escorted her over to a fallen log and sat her down. “Are you alright now?” he asked softly. Bree nodded. “Can you tell us what happened?” Bree nodded again. “It was the shadow master. He was trying to get Henry to read a spell on the obelisk and then I had to stop him, and…” She answered so quickly that Mylon and Bert couldn’t keep up with her. Mylon lightly placed his hand on her soft lips. “Wo… hang on a bit… Now take a deep breath and tell us in your own time what happened.” Bree took a moment to take a deep breath and then breathed out slowly. “Now then,” Mylon said, “one step at a time… Tell me about the spell first.” Bree told them how she and Sophia found Hazel, Alfwald and Henry at the tall obelisk and how the shadow master tricked Henry into reading the spell on it and then how she was instructed by Sophia to stop him before he had time to finish reading it. Unfortunately, that was all she could tell them: shortly after that she was attacked by the shadow master, and that was when Acca suddenly brought her back. Other than that, all she could do was try and explain what the void was like. Bert was about to say something, when Sophia suddenly stood back from the tree, leaving Bree sitting with Bert. Mylon ran over to her and placed a hand on her arm. Sophia immediately pushed him away. “I’m fine,” she hissed. Not wishing to upset her, Mylon stood back a little. “I must go back… the Moonstone!” she blurted out without any explanation. Mylon grabbed her arm again. She tried to shrug him off, but this time Mylon held firm. “Wait,” he demanded. Sophia swung him round to face her. “Move it… or lose it,” she warned but Mylon was unperturbed and held his grip. “I’ll let go when you tell me what’s happening.” For a brief tense, few seconds Mylon held Sophia’s glare. Pulling away from Mylon’s grip, Sophia nodded. “Fine,” she said, “but I’ll make it brief… we must destroy the obelisk and the only way we can ensure that is to use the Moonstone… I was given it by Henry but when the shadow master attacked me, Acca brought me back here… but without the Moonstone… It’s back there somewhere and I must find it.” Mylon nodded and stood to one side. He didn’t fully understand what was happening, but he knew enough to know that Sophia had to go back.
Without waiting for a response from either Bert or Mylon, Sophia walked back over to the tree and placed her hand on it once more and closed her eyes to call Acca to respond to her. Softly, the large oak started to vibrate once more. Feeling the tree respond to her, Sophia squeezed her eyes tighter. Concentrating on where she wanted to go, she had precious little time left to her, so she had to go directly to the obelisk and couldn’t afford to waste time by materialising anywhere else within the realm of the dead.
Mylon walked back over to where Bert and Bree were sitting. Ben managed to raise his head once. Other than that, he appeared to be asleep. However, nothing could be further from the truth. With his eyes closed, he concentrated on sending all his senses through Sophia: he could see what she could see and hear what she heard; but he could do more than that if he wished, he could even communicate with her. But up to now, Sophia seemed to know what she was doing and needed no interruptions from him. “Open your eyes,” a familiar voice instructed. Sophia did as she was told and opened her eyes. Around her was swirling black mist, the wind so intense she had to shield her eyes. “Walk forward,” Acca commanded. Again, without question, Sophia did as she was instructed. “They are just ahead of you… the stone still lies near the obelisk.” Sophia carefully paced forward, struggling to see where she was going, every now and then bumping into, or stumbling over, fallen headstones.
It only took her a few minutes before she could make out the dark silhouette of the towering monument. On seeing it, she quickly picked up her pace. All doubts and hesitations gone, she knew where she was and what she had to do; but first she needed to find her sister and Henry. It would be hopeless for her to try anything on her own: here she was just an image, so it was imperative to find them. The closer Sophia got to the obelisk, the clearer it became. She stopped and looked around but could see no sign of them anywhere. Then from above the sound of the wind, she heard s
omething: someone was calling her name but she couldn’t make out where the voice was coming from. “Lady Sophia,” a voice said from directly behind her. She turned to see a tall, thin, shadowy figure standing over her, its red lava eyes looking down at her.
“You have no place here,” it said with venom. “I sense that you have no powers here.” It laughed, a high-pitched, ear-piercing sound. “You are no more than me… a shadow within shadows… no threat to us at all.” It paused and looked over her head to where Henry and the others were. “And no use to them… so go.” Sophia tried to swallow but her throat and mouth were too dry with fear; but she and the others had come too far to back down now. Besides, she was too tired to care: she had a task to complete and nothing, not even the darkness himself, was going to stop her. “You’re right… I don’t have any powers here!” Sophia shouted back at him. “But my sister does… and that’s enough to put an end to you.” Again the shadow master gave an ear-piercing laugh. “Your sister,” it laughed again. “Your sister lies dead,” it said with glee. “It took most of my powers and energy left to create and control the beast that killed her… my little pet… we call it… Henry.”
It leant forward so it was inches from Sophia’s face, so close in fact that Sophia could smell death and decay on its breath. “We know you’re wondering why we named it Henry,” it hissed. “It’s because Henry was its name before we made it our pet.” The shadow master gave a wicked smile. “Yes… little sister, our brother… but it was worth it.” She backed away a little, shocked by the news of her sister’s death and now her brother. With the shadow master looming over her, Sophia shouted, “You lie!” The shadow master laughed again. “Why should we lie…? The truth is so much more fun.”
“Show me,” she demanded. Still with a grin on its face, the shadow master pointed. Without another word she ran off in the direction it had indicated. At first, she could see nothing, the black, thick, swirling mist blocking out any form of light. Then just ahead she could just make the dark silhouette of two people. She picked up her pace and reached them in seconds. She stopped in her tracks when she saw her sister lying lifeless next to Alfwald. Alfwald looked up at her with tear-filled eyes. Henry was kneeling beside her, but he didn’t respond in any way: in fact, he was so grief-stricken he barely noticed that his aunt was there. Sophia dropped down on her knees and took Hazel’s hand and gently kissed it, whilst the two brothers respectfully stood back from the others with tears in their large, saucepan-like eyes, Nog now back to his normal self.
“What a heart-wrenching sight,” the shadow master said sarcastically. “If this is the best you can do, then be gone and hope you never encounter me again… for next time…” Henry interrupted, “What?!” he shouted, taking the shadow master by surprise. “Next time you’ll do what?” Henry was now up and walked directly towards him, making the shadow master back away. Grog and Nog were now by Henry’s side, making the shadow master back away a little more, uncertain what to do next and Henry could sense it.
“We finish this now,” Henry demanded with gritted teeth. With that, he walked determinedly towards the obelisk. At first, the shadow master just watched as Sophia joined him at the base of the monument. She bent down and picked up the Moonstone from where she had dropped it and gave it to Henry. Up to this point, the shadow master was unaware that the stone still existed and was horrified at the sight of it. He knew that, with the stone, they now had a real chance of destroying his only source of power.
Henry held the stone up so that the shadow master could see it, teasing him, egging him on to do something; but still the shadow master didn’t move. Henry turned his attention to the obelisk itself. It was still protected in an electrical web of red lightning, crackling as it discharged streaks of electrical charge every time he got close to it. Noting the difficulty Henry was having trying to get close to the obelisk, the shadow master roared with laughter. Just before it attacked the two brothers, it sent a red fireball from out of its intense, red eyes, hitting Grog in the face and slamming him against one of the blackened trees. Nog was too shocked to react and the shadow master took advantage of it and sent another in his direction, catching him on the shoulder. Nog spun around by the force of the impact and fell to the ground. The shadow master then turned to Henry and was just quick enough to move out of the way of a yellow fireball which exploded against a monument next to him, scattering it into tiny pieces. Not wishing to fight Henry head on, the shadow master melted back into the mist, leaving Henry spinning around, shouting in rage for him to stand and fight.
Nog managed to get back onto his feet, albeit unsteadily, stumbling over broken headstones and rubble, and rushed over to his brother. Grog just lay there, unmoving, his fur and face burnt, filling the air around him with the unpleasant smell of burnt hair and flesh. Not only had the impact burnt Grog’s face, but it had also hit him in his right eye. The mist and smoke were so thick that Henry could just make out Nog’s silhouette leaning over his injured brother. He so wanted to go to him, but he had to finish what he had started. So many had suffered due to him: if Henry hadn’t wasted time questioning and arguing with everyone, perhaps all this could have been avoided and his mother might still be alive. Feeling sick to the stomach, he turned his attention back to the obelisk, all the while watched by Sophia. Up to now she could do nothing to help Henry or the two brothers, and she was too late to help her sister, but she could help her nephew in seeing that the obelisk was destroyed. Grieving and time for regrets would come later, but for now she must follow through what she had started, otherwise her sister’s death would be in vain.
Knowing that he couldn’t touch the obelisk or even get too close to it for fear of what it could do to the Wyvern, Henry stood for a moment staring down at the inscription and the point where the Moonstone had to be placed. But how was he going to put it there? Although Alfwald had said it was a trap, he didn’t fully believe it. He had already touched the obelisk when he was reading from it earlier; but then the shadow master was trying to win him over, so perhaps it would be wise to follow Alfwald’s advice and keep well away from it. Then it came to him: by fixing the Moonstone on the tip of the spearhead and using the Aelfgar’s powers as a barrier between the Moonstone and the Wyvern, maybe he would be able to force the spearhead through the electrical barrier. But before he had a chance to try it, the shadow master reappeared just a few feet away and, without warning, sent a volley of red fireballs in his direction. Again, the Wyvern came to Henry’s aid and immediately deployed a protective shield around him which scattered the attack in all directions.
Henry had finally had enough. Up to now, he had tried not to harm the shadow master for fear of killing it, but enough was enough. First his mother and then Grog. “Let’s finish this!” Henry shouted, as he called upon the Wyvern’s powers. Firstly, his entire body started to glow a bright yellow, but before he could do anything the shadow master hit him hard with a volley of red fireballs, throwing Henry against the obelisk and knocking the wind out of him. The fingers of red lightning around the obelisk grabbed Henry and wrapped around him like a spider’s web, sending electric shocks through his whole body. Henry arched his body in pain as more and more red fingers tried to bind him. Then suddenly and without Henry’s conscious effort, a blinding light shot out of Henry’s chest and up into the sky, throwing him clear of the obelisk. The glowing, golden Wyvern shot ever skywards, clearing the dark, stormy clouds as it went, and for a brief second, the golden fire serpent hung in the sky, its wings spread wide and its neck arched back as it gave out a cry that scattered nearly all the headstones around them.
There was a brief look of fear on the shadow master’s face as the Wyvern focused its attentions on it. Then, without warning, it generated a blinding ray of light from its chest and directed it towards the shadow master. Realising what was happening, he put up his hands in a vain attempt to shield off the inevitable attack. The light from the Wyvern slammed into him with such force that it ripped the flesh from its
body, shattered it into pieces and scattered it all within the surrounding mist, leaving a withered, blackened husk of a man lying on the ground where the shadow master had stood. The Wyvern hung in the sky a moment longer, then within the briefest of seconds it returned to its host and now settled inside him. Henry sighed and unsteadily got back up, a little dazed by the experience.
Sophia rushed over to him. “Do you know what you’ve just done?!” she shouted. “We needed my brother alive.” Henry turned to face her. “And what else did you expect me to do, woman?!” he shouted back, making Sophia step back a little. “Should I have asked him nicely not to destroy the world… or forgive him for what he had done to my mother?!” Henry continued shouting. “Well, woman… tell me, what else could I have done…? Everything I do is scrutinised and criticised… if I do nothing, it’s wrong… and when I do finally find the confidence to take action myself… that’s wrong as well!” Nog looked up from his brother to see what all the shouting was about: although his brother was in need of him, his duty was with his master, and whether his master knew it or not, it seemed to Nog that he needed him now.
Between Darkness and the Light Page 55