The Golden Fountain

by Zuheb Alep

  Slowly he stepped back and then started to run, Bana loping beside him as a silver cat. They made for Toalla who was surrounded by his kin. Benjamin plucked up the courage to ask for one last favour.

  “Toalla,” he began, drawing a deep breath, “Please help me. I need you take me up west, to that golden light. Adam and another friend have gone that way, and when I find them I’ll have to bring them back.”

  Toalla lowered his neck. “Ride on me,” he said. He knew that Benjamin had further tasks to perform and was ready to support him.

  Bana became a white dove to fly onto Benjamin’s shoulder, then transformed into a white mouse and hid safely under his neck where it was warm. Benjamin mounted onto the snow-white bear and away they went. Benjamin didn’t look back when he heard Kevin and Alby run after him, calling his name, and not even when his dearest Kaileena called again and again.

  “Benjamin! Where are you going? Benjamin! You promised we’d make the most of the school break together! Benjamin!”

  But they all knew that he was going … going … gone.

  *

  The land was clear and flat as Toalla ran west. Benjamin rocked back and forth on the bear’s bronze saddle, dreading what was out there on the rocky cliff. The three dark sisters he had met in the O.O.H. had bred hatred in his heart, but their brother, the dark king must be so despicable that Benjamin didn’t want to meet him.

  Tears had poured from him for a long time and were now frozen into blotchy icicles on his cheeks. In all his days he had never cried so much, not even when his parents had left. Death was a natural thing, to be embraced when your time came, but what about the people around you? How would they live out their lives when death came for their friends or their family? It all seemed too much to bear, especially now that Jama and Prince Adam’s lives were on the line.

  The two boys were alone; Prince Adam leading with Jama in the rear. How they had managed to stay ahead of the fleet-footed bear was a mystery. They were still far ahead, still just a silhouette against the setting sun in the west.

  Then they vanished into the cliff. A moment later Benjamin heard three gunshots, distant but piercing.

  “What was that?” he asked anxiously.

  “We must hurry!” Toalla sped faster than Benjamin had ever seen him do during the last few weeks.

  In moments they had emerged from the land of snow. It was warm here despite the winter and despite how Far North they had come. The land on which they now stood was full of red leaves, scattered around like an autumn scene. Tall bare trees stood erect with crooked branches. The rocky cliff loomed over them with its golden light flickering at the top, brighter than it had seemed from the battlefield. No snow fell here.

  Toalla halted and bowed his head in mourning for the boy who lay inert before them.

  “No, no, no! Jama, no. Please, no!”

  Benjamin wailed loudly at the sight of his motionless friend. He hoped that Jama was only sleeping, that this was just an illusion.

  But three bullets had pierced Jama’s torso; this was no illusion, but the truth. Benjamin scrambled off Toalla’s back and stumbled towards the body of his friend. He wept inconsolably. “Jama! Wake up, please! Not you, too!”

  Bana left Benjamin’s neck to seek out any trace of Jama’s Eidoncheir, but he was gone.

  Benjamin continued to weep, his hand clasping that of his lifeless friend. He rested his head on Jama’s limp neck, staining it with salty tears.

  “No!” Benjamin looked to the sky, screaming in anguish to the Almighty. “Jama, come back! Don’t die! You can’t leave me! Please come back! Who’s going to partner me at the next kite-fighting tournament? You were the best! Please come back!”

  Deaf to Benjamin’s pleas, Jama showed no sign of awakening. He had died. Someone had killed him, and Benjamin had no idea who.

  Then he looked up at the golden light. He wouldn’t let Prince Adam die also. “Please take him back,” he said to Toalla, choking on the words. “I’m going to find Prince Adam. If we don’t return soon, then please send help.”

  “Benjamin –”

  “Please, just go!” Benjamin got up, tripping over the red leaves. He lifted Jama’s body onto Toalla’s saddle and didn’t look back as the heavy paws beat a path back to the zeppelins.

  “I’m sorry for your loss, Benjamin,” said Bana, trotting beside him.

  Benjamin couldn’t answer. He reached the base of the cliff and started to climb. His strength had faded under all the grief that had befallen him, but what kept him going was his anxiety for the safety of Prince Adam. His tear-stained face looked as if it had been splashed with a bucket of water, but his clothes were filthy; his jeans and jacket splattered with blood from Jama’s wounded chest, and his garments all stained with dried mud and melted snow, even his satchel. Only his boots were relatively clean, as the snow on which they trod had washed off most other stains.

  Onward Benjamin climbed, panting with the effort. It wasn’t too difficult as there were steps cut into the cliff, albeit steep ones that required caution. Bana became a finch, perching on one rock and then another to await his human until finally they reached the top.

  Benjamin gasped.

  He saw the Golden Fountain, which was truly mesmerising, much more so than the description of Prince Adam’s dream had led him to believe. The ground here was granite, smooth and coloured with a blend of orange and green. It was warm here and his outer clothes felt uncomfortably heavy, but Benjamin couldn’t take them off, so stunned was he by the sight he beheld. The rectangular golden pool was filled with dark shimmering water, calm and rippled only by the splashes of liquid squirting from the holes in the statues which stood on the golden basin in the centre: a dolphin, a cupid and a huge leaf. Behind the fountain stood a large oak tree which blocked the sun setting in the west, a tree whose roots spread far around its base.

  For once in his life, Benjamin believed the rumours; the Golden Fountain was truly beautiful. Prince Adam sat a few feet away with his Eidoncheir, gazing at the beautiful view that he had once seen in a dream.

  “I finally found you,” Benjamin heard him say in a sing-song tone. “I’m here at last.”

  Juariya lay curled up on his lap in the form of a brown squirrel, enjoying the touch of the prince’s hand stroking her fur. They stayed like that for some time, unmoving, as if they might live out their whole lives in that very spot.

  “Adam, don’t do it!” said Benjamin, getting his breath back and stepping forward.

  Eventually Prince Adam stirred, nudging Juariya to one side. “Go away,” he said. He ignored Benjamin and crawled like an infant over to the pool, followed by Benjamin. Suddenly Prince Adam stretched out his hand and dipped it into the shimmering water, then he submerged his whole arm, wetting his sleeve.

  Benjamin saw a bright light under the water, growing stronger every second. “Adam, no!” he cried, grasping his shoulder and trying to pull him away.

  Benjamin knew that the children’s lights had already been poured into the Golden Fountain, transported there from the machines on the icy cliff. Now that Prince Adam was here with his royal light, the prophecy was about to come true. The cage was open, as evidenced by the blinding light.

  The effect didn’t last long as dark clouds rose, thick and dusty, swirling into the warm air. Prince Adam yelped and wrenched out his hand, half-wishing it was still there and half-wishing he had never touched it. He stumbled backwards on his hands and feet, unable to wrest his gaze from the two fierce eyes amidst the dark clouds, red as the flames of hell.

  “I’m free!” A demonic shriek shook Benjamin to the core of his being. It was the king, shrouded in a mist of darkness. No body could be seen; he was elemental, unleashing the power that had been confined within.

  Then the unthinkable happened: the dark king whooshed down to wrap his stormy powers around Prince Adam.

 
“No!” Benjamin cried. He felt his feet lift into the air. He was thrown back towards the edge of the cliff, with Bana falling beside him.

  “Adam!”

  “Juariya!”

  Benjamin raised his dizzy head and saw the swarming clouds disappear as the dark king departed. He left behind the body of Prince Adam, motionless on the ground, and the warm air flowed back.

  Standing on the edge of the Golden Fountain was another figure; it was the lady wearing the strange hat that had ram’s horns protruding from it. It was Enchantelxia. She raised a hand, moving it across the air. “My brother is finally free,” she said, her eyes turning wide with malicious desire. “All the lands in this world and other worlds above will be ours, and all will turn to darkness.” Turning around with a crooked smile, she disappeared to join her brother, the dark king.

  Everything else returned to normal. Benjamin crawled slowly over to Prince Adam, grunting at every movement, praying with each laboured breath. “Adam! Not you, too!” Benjamin choked back his sobs at the realisation that he hadn’t just lost two good friends today – he had lost three.

  Prince Adam’s eyes were closed. No soothing breaths lifted his chest. He lay in peace, gone to the next world. Gone, never to be seen again; never again would he and Benjamin share memories on the roof of his palace with Kaileena, eating strawberries and laughing. Juariya, however, was still there. She lifted her head, gasped and turned into a hawk before soaring away into the sky.

  Benjamin was confused. Why hadn’t Juariya vanished when her human passed away? Kelindra’s Eidoncheir had done so. It didn’t make any sense. And where was she going? Bana called for her repeatedly, but she flew towards the horizon and down. Why Juariya had not vanished back to the realm of light as she was supposed to, Benjamin didn’t know, but he knew that Prince Adam was truly gone.

  Cradling his dear friend who had been like a brother to him, Benjamin propped him up with both arms and kissed his forehead. For a while he sat there, rocking him back and forth, tears falling at the memory of the adventures they had enjoyed together with Kaileena. Then Benjamin shed his last tear and sadly accepted that there would be no more such memories for them.

  Today was November the thirteenth, a day that Benjamin would never forget. So much had happened: three of his good friends had died; he had found out about the prophecy; he had found out about Zephraim, the lost one, and the reason why his parents had left; and he had also discovered the reason why the O.O.H. had kidnapped the children.

  Laying Prince Adam gently down, Benjamin stood up to gaze far behind at the specks of red and blue zeppelins that lay over the rocky cliff on the icy land a mile away. He sighed and turned to look at the shining door that hovered in front of him, the door behind which the dark king had vanished. Benjamin felt a vibration inside his satchel. He took out the Unique Compass, opened the lid and read its golden words.

  It said: Go on.

  “Let’s go, Benjamin,” said Bana.

  “You’re not going to try to stop me?”

  “No. This is your destiny; it was fated that you should go on.”

  “Bana …”

  “Don’t worry, I’ll be right beside you. We’ll do it all together, just you and me.”

  Benjamin could choose to stay, but his world would never be the same as it had been. If he went forward, he would unravel new mysteries. He had two choices, and he knew the wise road to take; he chose to go forward. He would find Zephraim, and destroy the dark king to avenge the death of his friends.

  With this purpose, he walked onward with Bana through the shining door.

  Acknowledgement

  Thankfully, this book has come to an end after a long ride. First and foremost, I’d like to thank all my family for supporting me.

  I’d also like to thank my editor Elaine P Kennedy for her collaborative efforts. This book wouldn’t be completed without your tremendous help. You have opened my eyes to many things.

  Many thanks to all the good people at Troubador, especially to Rosie Lowe for handling my production work. Also to all the incredible team members of marketing, design and typesetting, and all the other vital parts of making this book come to life.

  Massive thanks to Jorge Trave, Angelle Essuman, Mark Finney and Pamela Stokes for encouraging me to write and never give up on my dreams.

  And lastly, big thanks to you for reading this book. This world became real as soon as it was published. I hope you enjoyed your time living in it.

  About the Author

  Zuheb Alep was born in 1993 and found a passion for writing at a very early age of six. His love for fantasy stories came from watching films like Never-ending story, Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter, which he had also read. At thirteen, he took his writing seriously. Sitting on the roof of his parents’ house and looking up at the night sky, he wondered of untold stories occuring in far-away worlds. He began to write The Golden Fountain. Ten years later, at age twenty-three and after many rejections, he travelled around East Asia and received an unexpected email from Matador.

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