The Golden Fountain

by Zuheb Alep

  As the two girls were about to jump across the widening crack with their Eidoncheirs, Roz stumbled to his feet, pushing Ruby aside. He grabbed Kelindra’s hair, wrenching it backwards. Benjamin heard him say: “You’re all we need.” Then he jabbed the syringe into her arm and kicked her backwards.

  Before anybody could catch her, she smashed against the roaring machines and sparks took over her body. Electrocuted, she shrieked and roared in agony. Benjamin screamed at the terrible sight.

  “Kelindra!” they all shouted. They each tried to save her but the sparks sent them backwards, the lightning bolts holding the poor child trapped. Benjamin fought to go on, desperate to stop the torture, but was driven back by the heat, the blinding light and then the bang that threw everyone yards away.

  Kelindra’s body lay unmarked from the powerful orb explosion, but withdrawn and pale for her light had been taken. Her eyes were closed, her chest as still as that of a skeleton whose life is past.

  She was dead.

  “No! No!” sobbed Ruby.

  She stretched out her hand and wailed. Benjamin could now see the normal Kelindra again, not the weird girl but the one who was sweet and shy, the one he remembered from the day she had come to his house to thank him for rescuing her. Her body was free of the dark veins covering her forehead, cheeks and chin; all features of her Ifrahaili inheritance had vanished. There was no bringing her back. She was gone, gone forever from this world.

  Her Eidoncheir nudged her in the form of a ferret. Faint sparkles of dusty light glinted on her fur. “Keli, please wake up! Don’t leave me,” she wailed.

  Bana flew over to her, followed by the other Eidoncheirs. They stood helplessly and watched their friend disappear unwillingly back to the realm of light. They wanted to hug her, but their small hands slipped through her furry skin. There was nothing they could do to prevent her from going away.

  Benjamin cried without restraint, sobs bursting from his throat, as he watched Kelindra’s Eidoncheir disappear. He wanted her to stay because that would mean Kelindra was still alive, but the opposite was true. Fury replaced the sadness in his heart, and he turned to face her murderer with the intention of fighting him himself. He was gone, however, nowhere to be seen, and so was Mr. Fetahi, whose roar at the sight of his daughter’s death still rang through Benjamin’ ears.

  “Kelindra, come back! No! Come back!” Hamish cradled her in his arms, weeping desperately. He shook her till her head lolled sideways. “Don’t go! I don’t want you to go. Everything will be okay. We’ll go home and play in Dusty Park. I’ll buy you an ice cream – any flavour you like. I promise. It’ll just be the two of us. Please come back!”

  His voice died away and silence fell. No sound came from Kelindra’s breathless mouth.

  Everything was quiet. The northern lights moved gently in the clear dark sky like curtains swaying in a breeze. The four machines were now in a state of shutdown, having stopped processing after retrieving the essential light. No bolts of electrical energy passed through them, and therefore the cracks stopped widening. No steam gushed out. The air was full of silence and death.

  Amberina sat unmoving in deep shock. Benjamin saw a tear fall down her cheek. Like her, he thought that this had not been supposed to happen. They should have escaped the situation and followed Herman towards the bridge; but fate had mapped out a different path for them.

  The Three Kings sat beside the four children, trying to soothe them after their painful loss.

  Chapter 28

  The Golden Fountain

  The soft feathers of the large birds could not assuage Benjamin’s sorrow; he wept all the way back to the zeppelins. The eagles and other birds had been sent to collect them now that the battle was over, and the Aradian Alliance along with the British army had emerged victorious.

  Kelindra’s limp body was held by Hamish who had now ceased to wail. With one hand gripping the bird’s feathers, Hamish held the dead girl on his lap, his eyes never leaving her hollow face. Benjamin couldn’t watch them anymore, nor could Amberina and Ruby.

  The Three Kings were making their own way back, the other two riding on Aloncheir. Benjamin could see them from above. Looking around, he saw that the third battle had been by far the most destructive. The buildings of the O.O.H. had been bombed and now lay in smoking ruins; on the battlefield in front lay countless bodies. Those who had died were strangers to Benjamin but nevertheless he wept for them. The beauty of the flat, snowy field was destroyed, buried under ash and debris, stained with red blood and dark dust. Fire still burned, melting the surrounding snow. It was not at all a pretty sight.

  Upon landing, Benjamin checked on the children, most of whom were safe. Hundreds of grateful eyes turned his way; they were glad to see him, glad that he had done his job well by keeping the children alive. This lightened his heart a little. The ground between the ruined battlefield and the zeppelins was now crowded with British soldiers who had found their dear ones. Few staffs of the O.O.H were seen handcuffed and led into one of the zeppelins. They were free from the dark spell and their Eidoncheirs had appeared to meet them for the first time. Benjamin understood now what Bana had said to him earlier.

  Then it started to snow, not a blizzard but a calm rain of ice touching Benjamin’s skin. He remembered days long ago when it had snowed in Springhaven; he and Kaileena would go out in the early morning to try to catch the falling whiteness on their tongues. The taste was icy when it melted. Today, when such grievous events had occurred, he would have no heart for such things.

  “Benjamin! Benjamin!” It was Anouk, dashing towards him with the other three. Kaileena was most relieved that he was safe. She hugged him, not noticing the tears on his face until she felt his wet cheeks; then she pulled back. “Are you crying?” she asked in surprise.

  Benjamin couldn’t bring himself to tell her. He looked at Anouk, Abel and Jama, all of whom stared back in perplexity; then he turned slowly to indicate Hamish, who was now dismounting from the raven with the dead girl in his arms.

  The boys fell to their knees. Anouk and Kaileena clapped their hands to their mouths.

  “Tell me it’s not true,” Kaileena whispered, almost inaudibly.

  Benjamin’s response was to weep.

  “Has Kelindra really died?” said Abel, his eyes welling up with tears. “All the horrible things I said about her – I take it all back.”

  Still Benjamin had not uttered a word. He bowed his head and sobbed.

  “Then –” began their Eidoncheirs.

  Bana crept forward and solemnly nodded. “Her Eidoncheir’s gone.”

  “What happened? How did she die?” asked Jama.

  Benjamin couldn’t reply. The four friends crowded around Benjamin and hugged him while he sobbed quietly. After a while, a voice called to him.

  “Benjamin!” It was Prince Adam.

  “We’ll be on one of those zeppelins,” said Anouk. “See you soon.”

  Benjamin wiped his tears and, with Bana, he walked over to Prince Adam and Juariya with Kaileena and Popalunar by his side.

  “Adam, are you okay?” he asked.

  “I am, thank goodness! What about you? Is everything all right?”

  Benjamin looked sideways and shook his head.

  “Kelindra died,” Kaileena answered for him. She also was weeping, in a way that would break your heart.

  “What?” Prince Adam was shocked, as was Juariya.

  “Then that means Kashyyk –”

  “Yes, she’s gone, Juariya,” Bana repeated once again.

  “Kelindra’s father was there. He’d been put under a dark spell so that he would rob the bank for the money the dark people needed, and work for them. Then he saw Kelindra and that broke the spell. He killed a woman who wanted to take Kelindra’s light. They wanted it to power a machine to free the dark king from under the Golden Fountain. The dark man was ang
ry, and there was a big fight between him and Kelindra’s father.” Benjamin explained. He clenched his fist and his face crumpled. “Then the dark man killed her for her light.”

  There was a silence, while the description of Kelindra’s death rang endlessly through their ears. It felt as if it had lasted the whole winter.

  “Are you cold?” Benjamin asked Prince Adam, who was shivering. Kaileena was already wrapped in a warm green shawl. Benjamin took off the magical shawl, giving it back to the prince and apologising for not returning it sooner.

  “When do we leave?” a young child asked a nearby soldier.

  Benjamin and the others listened for the reply.

  “In a few hours,” said the soldier. “We’re just clearing up a few things.”

  “A few hours,” muttered Prince Adam. Benjamin caught him gazing at the golden light in the west with deep desire, and knew what he was thinking. “Adam, please go to the zeppelin,” he said. “Stay with Kaileena and the others where it’s safe. The cage under the Golden Fountain must not be opened –”

  “I know that already. The compass told me in Egypta when I had it.” Prince Adam scowled at Benjamin, not liking what he heard.

  Benjamin returned his gaze, confused. Benjamin wanted the prophecy to go unfulfilled; if the dark king were released, then Kelindra’s death would have helped the enemy. The dark king should stay where he was, imprisoned to rot and die towards old age.

  “Then there’s something else you should know,” Benjamin told him. “Remember what Kaileena said about our fathers being friends, yet they never bothered to introduce us to one another when you were a lonely child?”

  Prince Adam and Kaileena nodded.

  “I asked the compass on my way back and found out why. Our fathers never wanted us both to meet. It would prevent this prophecy from happening, prevent you from having that dream of the Golden Fountain. After the Three Kings attempted a fake assassination on you, my father called your father straight away to let him know we’ve met already and that it was out of their hands to do anything.”

  “But if the fake assassination attempt never happened, we all would have met at the birthday party one way or another,” said Kaileena.

  “Not really.” Benjamin shook his head. “Papa would not let me go anywhere near you, Adam.”

  “But your family met my family,” said Prince Adam.

  “Yes, and where were you?” Benjamin asked him. “Receiving presents from guest all over the city at the other end.”

  No one said anything. They were shocked, but it wasn’t until Kaileena placed a hand on Benjamin and Prince Adam’s shoulder that she said, “But we met anyway.”

  Prince Adam nodded with a smile, following Kaileena to the airship, and Benjamin moved off into the crowd with Bana to look for his family.

  He saw two army medics carrying Kelindra’s dead body into another zeppelin. Hamish was walking alongside with his Eidoncheir. He was crying again, and his continued presence with her body could only mean one thing; he had loved her but never had the chance to say it. His feelings had been revealed only at her death.

  Nearby Ruby was smiling, her arms wrapped around Ranjit and Pari. She had found them at last, and they could go home in peace. She told herself never to lose sight of them again. The tears streaming down her cheeks were not only tears of happiness but of sadness too, for she was also grieving the sad death of her friend. Ruby had never been able to express her gratitude to Kelindra, and now she never would.

  Musab stood on the ramp of the last zeppelin; he nodded and Benjamin nodded back. All their Eidoncheirs stayed near their humans in silence.

  One person was missing, though. Benjamin looked around for Amberina, remembering that she had wandered off to the battlefield. He had a lot of questions to ask her, although she had temporarily slipped from his mind because of his sorrow. He found her sitting on a large crate with Vince and Samuel, talking quietly.

  Then behind him was a voice so familiar that his heart leapt. He had almost forgotten about his family, but they were all safe, each and every one of them, standing together in a huddle. Benjamin dashed over to them.

  “Sebastian!” he called.

  Benjamin had never seen Sebastian cry, but he did now. Hearing his name called, Sebastian turned to see his brother, hoping that he wasn’t dreaming. Benjamin flung himself straight into his arms.

  “Oh, Benjamin! You’re safe!” Sebastian drew a deep sigh of relief.

  “Sebastian –”

  “Benjamin, are you okay?” Edgar and Herman rushed over to him. Benjamin wasn’t sure which of their hands patted his back, but it didn’t matter; they were all safe. He buried his head deep into Sebastian’s chest, sobbing hard to release his grief. He closed his eyes to stop the tears but failed. Jordanna, Nadine, Kevin and Alby joined them and the whole family was reunited once more. Benjamin was so happy that they were all still breathing.

  Benjamin’s family’s Eidoncheirs greeted Bana, pulling him to one side to explain all that had happened.

  “Is it time to go home?” Kevin asked, carrying Alby in his arms.

  “Yes,” said Sebastian, smiling. The family parted to look at one another.

  “Benjamin, I’m so sorry about Kelindra,” Nadine told Benjamin.

  Benjamin nodded, unable to discuss it anymore. “How come Toalla isn’t dead?” he asked his family. “He killed the Afghardan king, didn’t he? I was afraid he might have been executed!”

  “No,” Herman replied with a chuckle. “That’s not what happened. Toalla became king instead! Wonderful, isn’t it? Afghardan law states that if you kill the previous king or queen in a fair fight, you then own all the titles and properties belonging to them. That’s what’s happened when Toalla killed Ophildar.”

  Edgar began to drag Benjamin towards the zeppelin. “Let’s get on board,” he said. Herman propelled Kevin and Alby onward and Nadine held onto Jordanna’s arm, limping heavily. Her leg was badly injured, no doubt because she was wild and fearless and ready to take chances. Slowly Benjamin let his hand slip from Edgar’s grip and turned to gaze at Sebastian’s face. He wasn’t walking with the rest, but standing there with sad tears streaming down his cheeks.

  “Sebastian,” called Benjamin.

  Benjamin followed his gaze toward the ground, then he noticed a fleeting glimpse of two people – right on the corner of his eyes – towards the direction of the north. He saw two adults walking towards them. Beside them was a boy, someone he remembered from a dream.

  “It’s Mama and Papa …” Benjamin ran, his arms reaching for that loving embrace. Then Benjamin stumbled onto his knees, scattering the snows aside. His heart clenched as agonising tears fell down his cheeks. His parents vanished and so has the boy. It was all an illusion. How could this be? He was ready for that embrace, only to have it snatched away from him. He looked back at his family and saw them skipping happily towards the zeppelins. It was as if they never saw what he saw.

  So much had happened with the death of Kelindra that it must have taken a toll on his mind, making him see things that he needed the most.

  Sebastian, however, wasn’t looking at the ground; he was looking over to the west. Benjamin followed his gaze to the golden light flickering on the rocky cliff. It looked warm rather than cold and icy. Prince Adam desperately wanted to see the Golden Fountain, thought Benjamin. It’s a pity he has to stay in the zeppelin. Deep in his heart, Benjamin knew it was for the best; but had Prince Adam listened to him? In the distance, the silhouette of a young boy was growing smaller and smaller, almost vanishing into the light of the setting sun.

  Who was it?

  “Benjamin!”

  Benjamin turned to find the Three Kings approaching him. With them came Kaileena, Abel and Anouk as well as their Eidoncheirs, all panting for breath. Benjamin opened his mouth to ask what was wrong, but Lagunar stopped him with a ra
ised hand. “Where’s Adam?” he asked quickly.

  “Jama is missing, too,” said Abel.

  Benjamin frowned to hear that the two boys were missing. A vibration shook his satchel, and he took out the Unique Compass and lifted the lid. It read: Prince Adam has gone to the Golden Fountain, pursued by Jama, who thought he was following you. Your story will continue while everyone else’s ends here for the present. If you wish to meet Zephraim, you must go on.

  Benjamin looked up, startled. “Why did Jama think Prince Adam was me?”

  “Benjamin!” Kaileena was pulling back her hair in disbelief. “The magical shawl, of course! The last time Jama saw you, you were wearing that shawl; then you gave it back to Adam.”

  “So he thought it was me travelling west,” Benjamin finished. He looked at the Three Kings with a question in his face. He needed their advice.

  “Follow them,” they said.

  Benjamin knew what they meant. As in Prince Adam’s dream, the Golden Fountain was just ahead so that was where Benjamin must go. It was his destiny, as much as it was Prince Adam’s. He looked far into the distance and saw another boy running in the same direction. There wasn’t one silhouette but two, the other as small as a fly.

  The prophecy could not be prevented; Prince Adam’s desire was fierce.

  Benjamin’s shoulders slumped as he realised what he had done. Jama shouldn’t be down there; he should be here, where it was safe. There was still one more job to finish here, and after that who could tell?

  “I’m sorry,” Benjamin said to everyone – to his family, his friends and even those who had hoped to celebrate with him back home. He kept his eyes averted from their faces, afraid that it would make him feel guilty. He knew he wasn’t going just to bring the boys back; there was more behind all this, and he had to find it out for himself. No, he couldn’t go home today. A memory flashed before his eyes of the day he had left in a taxi for the western docks in Springhaven; he had gazed back at his house, wondering when he might see it again. Not today, he told himself. Although his cheeks were stained with dried tears, he let one more fall.