Yarg nodded again, although he really had no idea what to expect.
Nemesis nudged the ancient moonray with his snout, then he began to chant. Although Yarg did not know the language, he recognised that it was very ancient. The haunting melody continued for a few moments, then the crystal stick began to break apart, forming again into glittering dust. It danced in the air before Nemesis, then began to coalesce until a swirling column of light appeared in the air before them. As Yarg watched, a shape began to form in heart of the column. Nemesis finished his chant, the swirling stilled, and Kaylin the fairy was before them.
She stood exactly the way she’d been frozen. Her skin was a pasty white and her wings a dull gold. Horror was etched on her tiny face.
“Three years,” the thought haunted Yarg as he looked at her. Memories flashed in his mind, but he pushed them away, refusing to be distracted.
Nemesis roared deeply, his agony resounding throughout the cave.
“Pick up the tokens, but leave the Mystical Music with me,” he said after a time, anger still heavy in his voice.
Yarg did as Nemesis had bid, placing the remaining tokens in his bag. His legs wobbling, he hesitantly moved closer to the transparent shield that shimmered around her. He could hear Nemesis talking to him, but the sound seemed to come from far away. He stepped forward and met the shield. It clung to him, holding him back with invisible fingers. He pushed forward. He felt as if he was walking into a thick, sticky spider web. He pushed harder. The shield responded again, clinging even harder to him, then pushing him back.
“Take Faith’s Courage in one hand and The Essence of Innocence in the other. Think about Kaylin,” Nemesis urged. “You can break through.”
Concentrating his whole being on Kaylin, Yarg pushed again. Again the shield resisted him. Yarg pushed until he was close to exhaustion, until he felt he must give up. His legs burned, his lungs felt as if they would burst, sweat was pouring down his face. There was a sharp pain in his chest, which he realised was Folgoo’s medallion pressing into his skin.
The realisation brought his friend’s face vividly to mind, and Yarg remembered all that his friend had done for him, the faith the centaur had shown in one that his brothers had condemned. Gritting his teeth and tensing his mighty muscles, Yarg gave one mighty push. The shield strained, resisted, pushed back, then gave way.
Yarg stumbled forward, then quickly straightened.
“Place The Sand of Memory in front of Kaylin. Turn it over,” Nemesis instructed.
As soon as Yarg had done what he had said, Nemesis began to chant again. Yarg recognised the tune and the words as his Mystical Music. At first only a tiny glimmer, Kaylin’s light appeared, but the pinpoint spread as the music continued. When her light shone as brightly as it had that fateful day, before she had frozen herself, when her face had taken on the luminescent glow natural to fairies, her now shiny wings began to flutter and she opened her eyes.
And looked straight at Yarg. “Who are you? What happened to me? Where am I?” she asked in a voice of soft confusion.
“Don’t be afraid, Kaylin,” Yarg said reassuringly.
Kaylin looked around her and saw Nemesis. Relieved, she flew towards his protection and comfort. Nemesis lifted one massive wing and Kaylin scooted beneath it. He closed it protectively around her small body. He allowed her the shelter for a long while, then lifted his massive wing and urged her forward with his powerful jaw.
“Kaylin, we need to talk. Look into the hourglass and tell me what you remember,” he said gently, not taking his eyes from Yarg.
Kaylin stared into the glittering sands, watching mesmerised until they had all run their course through the glass. For a long moment she didn’t say anything, then, “I had been to the mortal realm, tending a new patch of blue bells, and was just returning home. I was followed by a human. I was trying to persuade him to leave our realm, but he wouldn’t listen to me,” she replied haltingly. She frowned at the memories of the human and the things he had said to her.
“What then?” Nemesis prompted.
“Nothing.”
She raised confused eyes to Nemesis. “What happened? How did I get here?” she asked faintly.
“Kaylin, the human said cruel things to you when you told him he must leave our realms. You couldn’t handle his cruelty. Your light was dimming, so you froze yourself. It was the only way you could save yourself.”
“How long … ?”
“Three years,” Yarg said flatly, his voice vibrating throughout the cave.
Kaylin turned to face him again. “Who are you?” she asked.
“He is the human who hurt you,” Nemesis replied.
“But he is a troll,” Kaylin argued.
“I turned him into a troll to save him,” said Nemesis.
“From what?” Kaylin asked, more than a little bewildered now.
“From his own selfish nature, and from me,” Nemesis replied, traces of remembered rage threading through his voice and vibrating off the walls of the cave.
Nemesis watched them watch each other for a while before relenting, saying, “Kaylin, let me introduce Yarg, King of the Trolls. Although it was his thoughtless words that caused this situation, he has done much to redeem himself. He is the one who has set you free.”
Kaylin stared at Yarg, who flinched a little under her gaze.
“What I did was unforgivable, I know, but I’ve tried to make it up to you,” whispered Yarg.
“Then I must thank you for setting me free,” she said. She turned to face Nemesis. “What happens now?” she asked.
“That depends on you and Yarg. Your destinies are tied together,” he said looking down at her. Then turning to Yarg, he continued, “I’m giving you and Kaylin a choice, Yarg. You can remain in the immortal realms, troll and fairy, or return to the mortal realm as man and woman. But choose carefully. Once you make your choice, there is no going back.”
Yarg stared at Nemesis. He was quiet for a long while before asking, “If I return, would I remember anything about my life here?”
“I would leave your memories intact, but you would be under a spell that would cause them to disappear should you ever try to tell another of the immortal realms.”
“What is your wish, Kaylin?” Yarg asked.
Nemesis smiled. The spoilt prince had learned to think of others after all.
“To return to the life I had before all this happened.”
“Then I will be a troll,” Yarg said.
“Wait, you did not let me finish,” Kaylin responded. She fluttered her wings until she was hovering at Yarg’s eye level. “I realise that you would want to reclaim your human life, Yarg. But I believe that I have a plan where neither of us has to give up our lives completely,” she continued.
“What do you mean?” asked Nemesis.
“Why can Yarg not remain here in the immortal realms for half of the year and spend the other six months in the mortal realm, with his family?”
Nemesis stared at her, his eyes a gleaming yellow. “Why would you suggest something like this?”
Yarg was also curious to hear Kaylin’s reason.
“To give up my life forever would be too much for me to take,” she whispered to Nemesis. “And I am sure he would feel the same about giving up his family. So I could not ask him to do that. This way, neither of us would have to give up the life we love completely.”
“What do you say to this, troll?”
“I think that Kaylin does me more justice than I deserve,” he replied. He smiled at her, then turned to say to Nemesis, “It does seem to be the best solution to our situation,” he replied.
“You are both very sure?” Nemesis demanded.
The fairy and the troll looked at each other, and reading confirmation in each other’s eyes, “We are,” they
responded in unison.
“Then so it shall be!” Nemesis announced in tones befitting his role as protector of the immortal realms.
Before Yarg had time to feel relief that he would not spend all his days as a troll, Nemesis spoke again.
“But there are conditions, Yarg,” the dragon warned. “In your time in the mortal world, you must never discuss the immortal realms—except with your brother, who has been to this realm and seen so much. And when you return to the immortal realms, you will represent humans on the Guild of Immortals. But Kaylin will be your responsibility at all times. Should anything happen to her, you will be called to account.”
The dragon’s tone gentled as he spoke of Kaylin. “You are fortunate, Yarg, that Kaylin has such a loving heart. You have courage and honour, but she will remind you of the other qualities necessary in a ruler—empathy, and compassion for those you serve. Learn from her so that you will be a wise king when your time to rule comes.”
Nemesis turned to the fairy. “Kaylin, within your heart I see the pain that Yarg caused you with his selfishness, but there is also great love and kindness and the power to change others and their lives. Go with Yarg and help him learn to be the leader he can be.”
Nemesis began to chant again. Yarg watched entranced as Kaylin changed before his eyes, becoming a beautiful woman—petite, slender, waves of midnight hair framing an exquisite face with a rosebud mouth, pert nose, eyes the colour of bluebells. She was staring just as hard at him, watching as the heavy troll body became a tall, well-muscled human form, the blue fur receded to leave only a cap of golden hair, and the troll features were replaced by a human face, and a very handsome one at that!
Then the cave began to swirl. Kaylin moved closer to Yarg. He took her hand, and the next moment they were in the mortal realm beside the great lake that bordered Prince Gray’s family home.
12
Home
Dylan sat facing the lake, thinking about his brother again. He’d told his family all about Yarg the troll, but they hadn’t believed him. They had been angry with him, accused him of playing a cruel joke on them.
Then, when he had insisted that what he was telling them was real, they had decided he must have a fever and called for the royal doctor!
So he had escaped to the forest.
He sighed deeply. He had just decided that he had better go home and face the royal fuss, when he was distracted by a movement at the edge of his vision.
He turned and saw two people walking towards him. He stood, not believing his eyes, as Joshua Gray—a smile on his face and leading quite the most exquisite woman Dylan had ever seen by the hand—walked up to him. Dylan gripped both Gray’s hands and pulled him into a huge hug, clasping his brother to him as tears poured down his face.
“How is this possible?” was all he managed to choke out.
Gray laughed. “It’s been an interesting week. I’ll tell you all about it soon enough. Let me introduce my friend Kaylin.”
Dylan stared at Kaylin. Knowing now who she was, he could see traces of the fairy she had been in her petite frame, graceful movements and luminescent skin.
A little unnerved by his scrutiny, Kaylin smiled shyly and stretched out her hand to shake his. “It’s nice to meet you,” she said.
“And you, at last, Kaylin,” Dylan replied.
“You’ll have time and enough to get to know each other,” Gray said as he gently disengaged the hand his brother seemed to have forgotten was still holding Kaylin’s. He took Kaylin’s hand in his own and began to guide her up the path that led to the castle.
“The big question for now, Dylan, is how are we going to explain all this to mum and dad?”
Nemesis and the Wall of Sissy
If you’ve loved Nemesis and the Troll King, be sure to look out for Ashley’s next book in the series, Nemesis and the Wall of Sissy, coming soon to a bookstore near you.
Nemesis and the Wall of Sissy
When twelve small Nuffins escape from the immortal realm and enter the world of humans through the magical Wall of Sissy, Nemesis the Dragon is furious.
He blames Brighid the witch for allowing them access to the Wall. To prevent her exposing magic to mortals, he strips her of her powers, then sends her to bring them back from the mortal realm before they do too much damage.
The mischievous Nuffins, however, have no intention of letting Brighid anywhere near them! What follows for Brighid and her companions—Kink, Brighid’s familiar, and a young boy named Sammy—is a merry chase through Perth City.
Nemesis and theFairy of Pure Heart
Ashley’s first book in the series, Nemesis and the Fairy of Pure Heart, was released in 2009 and was a huge success. It can be purchased from a bookstore near you.
Nemesis and the Fairy of Pure Heart
Enchanted by Bella, the Fairy of Pure Heart, Prince Arthur follows her into the immortal world.
Angered by this, the powerful dragon Nemesis captures Arthur.
To rescue her prince, Bella must complete the Great Dragon’s Hunt, and collect five magical tokens.
As Bella and her butterfly friend Teague carry out her quest, they meet many mystical creatures, including a witch and a werewolf, elfins and leprechauns, and two very forgetful goblins.
Nemesis and the Troll King Page 12