Kevin watched Varuk’s every move like a hawk. He saw Varuk trying to ascend to get away from him, but he climbed higher too. He fenced Varuk in with thick sheets of metal like a wall suspended in the air, but Varuk burnt through these with a laser light as though they were made of paper. He turned and pointed the light at Kevin, striking him on the shoulder. Kevin rubbed the spot, brushed off the smoke residue and repositioned himself. Then he flew back towards Varuk.
He did not take his eyes off Varuk even for a second. Some of the air marshals began to shoot firestones and arrows at him and, when Kevin turned, he saw countless arrows heading towards him.
Wood had now arrived; he saw what was going on and raised a sand wall in front of the air marshals. It caught the arrows and extinguished the fire-stones with a loud puff. Smoke rose all along the wall and specks of hot sand flickered across the plain. Finally, when Wood brought his hand down, the sand came crashing down with a boom, which echoed in the air. Kevin was happy to see him and quickly turned his attention back to Varuk.
Kevin’s eyes darted to foot soldiers, who had now caught up with the battle. There were more soldiers than anyone could count, armed with all kinds of weaponry from short steel blades in sheaths tied around their waists to curved, steel machetes, spears, battle axes, Medieval-style scythes, mace clubs with metal spikes, and bows and arrows.
By now, the fight had shifted from the narrow ravine to an open area backing up against the spaceship. Kevin looked at the huge army in front of him. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the Gatekeepers, whose duty was to protect and not to destroy unless absolutely necessary, had now all arrived on the scene except for Dambon, Calbas, Podigrode and Adorous, who had assumed responsibility for returning the prisoners to their base. These four had to stay at the headquarters to protect it.
A crowd of mythical and cosmic creatures were raging, ready to face the Gatekeepers. There were centaurs, redcap dwarfs, dragons, basilisks, werewolves and robots. The basilisk serpents crawled around and on top of each other, hissing and stretching, preparing to attack. The redcap dwarfs flashed their swords and mirrored shields, ready for battle.
Kevin, occupied by Varuk, knew that only Naffata, Clafy, Ai, Wood and Tobus were left to fight the army that Varuk had raised. He looked down to see how they were faring against their opponents. The Gatekeepers had begun to utilise all of the powers of nature that they possessed. Although few in number, they had an advantage: the vast army was finding it difficult to zero in on its small target as the Gatekeepers moved among them. Kevin was confident they would be fine.
*
Tobus, recognising the confusion, took the form of a solid metal ball and rolled rapidly towards the redcaps. He crashed into one of them and the dwarf fell. Tobus quickly transformed into a redcap dwarf and collected the sword and the shield from his disoriented victim. He ran into a group of other dwarfs, causing them to fight each other as they searched for him. By that time, he had already appeared in the mist of the basilisks, who he started attacking with a sword while using his shield to protect himself. After killing a serpent, he assumed its shape. He started chasing the dwarfs, who were confused by the pursuit. The rest of the snakes chased after the dwarfs, assuming he was one of them.
The two groups were caught up in battle with each other. Some of the snakes succeeded in killing ten or so of the dwarfs by making eye contact with them. The dwarfs, in turn, killed a good number of the snakes. As the snakes slithered away, Gatekeeper Ai released steel sheets and fenced in the dwarfs who were still alive.
Tobus saw werewolves howling and barking, raging into the battlefield. Using his metal skill, Ai turned and released silver bullets in their direction. Only a silver bullet to the heart could kill a werewolf, and Ai had aimed accordingly; those he pierced through the heart died immediately. Tobus watched as Ai put a steel fence over a massive number of them; he didn’t want to kill them all, as the Gatekeepers were required to do as little damage as possible to the inhabitants.
Tobus saw four Welsh dragons with their wings lifted as though about to fly off. They started spitting fire at him but Clafy blocked their flames with walls of snow. She used multiple shadows as a form of protection. She hid behind them, meaning that the lasers, spears, arrows and even the flames from the dragons couldn’t reach her. When the weapons hit her shadows, they dissipated into a puff of smoke, while the shadows kept multiplying. Then, as a change of tactic, she ran directly towards the dragons dripping in molten volcanic lava. The dragons saw her, took to the sky and shot their flames from above.
Tobus saw a curtain of water pouring down from above; it was Naffata, who must have released her water. He looked up and saw the dragons blowing large tongues of flames onto the ground. Naffata’s water curtain extinguished the flames; this resulted in heated water falling onto the foot soldiers who screamed. Tobus saw the other soldiers disperse quickly to avoid being burnt and he also side-stepped to get away from the hot water. Varuk’s army found it difficult to reach Naffata because she had enshrouded herself in floodwater, and she pushed them back with a violent gust of wind.
The dragons’ piercing shrieks signalled that they were becoming frustrated. Clafy had taken to the air and continued to chase after them. She must have known the dragons were now ready to be tamed, Tobus thought.
Just then Tobus saw a number of the air marshals take to the sky in pursuit of Clafy. She channelled some of her lava towards them to get them off her back; some rushed down to the ground to avoid being burnt, while others tried to blast her with their lasers. Their laser beams refracted off her blazing body and threw the light back at the marshals, along with a splash of lava. This quickly discouraged them; many of them were severely burnt, others were wounded and some were killed instantly. Tobus watched Clafy multiplying her shadows to maximise her efforts. All her shadows did as she was doing at the time and oozed liquid fire.
Ai was busy erecting walls of steel and stone, trapping the foot soldiers, some of whom were wounded and burnt. Some made horrible noises, bashing on the walls and trying to free themselves. Their noises caught Clafy’s attention; she looked down and saw that they were trying to cut through the metal with their lasers. She sprayed them with liquid fire that seared their flesh, releasing an acidic greenish-blue substance. Most lost their weapons as she did so because they’d sustained burns.
Tobus saw Clafy twist a line of lava into a liquid rope. She started throwing it at the dragons and air marshals that were still up in the air with her, like a cowboy trying to lasso a wild horse. The exhausted dragons and air marshals ran for their lives, although some air marshals continued to fight and chase after her.
Tobus saw a line of arrows flying towards Wood. They had been shot by a gang of centaurs. Wood blocked them by erecting a sand wall. Ai turned and steel-gated most of the centaurs.
Wood stretched out his hand to summon the trees to the battlefield; it wasn’t long before an army of trees, shrubs and even small plants lined up by size and rank. At Wood’s command, they started to fight against the foot soldiers, chasing them, whipping them with their branches and firing sand balls manufactured by Wood. The trees rounded up the foot soldiers that were still alive and Ai trapped them within steel bars. When he had done so, Naffata released a torrent of water onto the soldiers, who struggled to withstand the rushing tide. By this time, Tobus could tell that most of the soldiers were focused on their own survival; some had dropped their weapons and were struggling to make it to safety.
Tobus saw that the flood had receded, leaving bodies and wounded soldiers scattered across the plain. Ai solidified all the robots into a large pile of metal.
*
Up in the air, Kevin was still battling with the Dark Lord. Varuk had made several attempts to get away but Kevin was quick and continued to engage him in hand-to-hand combat. Varuk threw lightning bolts towards Kevin to burn him; they lit up the whole sky with steady flashes. Kevin jumped onto one of the lines of lightning, trapped it under his f
eet and grabbed hold of it. He started coiling the flash in his hand, as though coiling a cable, and threw it back at Varuk who caught the bolt.
While Varuk was distracted, Kevin released another lightning flash that struck Varuk on his hip and created a powerful electric shock; even Kevin had to let the rope go.
Kevin saw Varuk almost fall to the ground in the muddy ravine. His hand struck the ground and rebounded, staggering again before stabilizing himself. Varuk glanced across the field, realising that most of his army was wounded, trapped or dead. ‘No!’ he bellowed in anger.
Limbs and corpses were strewn around; decapitated robots were bleeding oil and the warriors who had survived were confined within metal or stone walls. Kevin saw the anger on Varuk’s face.
Floodwater was still sweeping through the battlefield, carrying the wreckage of hundreds of different weapons as well as half-burnt creatures and body parts that had been scattered across the valley.
Kevin watched Varuk stand for a second, assessing the carnage. Seeing the damage, he gave up hope and prepared to return home. The rest of the Gatekeepers had started to let down their guard. Then, from nowhere, they all heard a loud voice: a man was crying and shouting at Varuk’s ghost army.
CHAPTER 31
MARTIN IS BROUGHT TO THE BATTLEFIELD BY THE GHOST ARMY
‘Let go of me, you freaks,’ a young man yelled. As Kevin watched, a group of ghosts parted down the middle to allow their boss, Varuk, to see who they had captured.
Kevin could only see the floating body of a man with his feet dangling as he was propelled forward. But once Kevin engaged the supernatural, he and the other Gatekeepers saw an army of ghosts pushing the young man.
For a moment, there was confusion on both sides. The Gatekeepers knew instantly that the man must be one of the migrants and they were surprised to see another one being brought in as a hostage for Varuk. They weren’t in a position to ask questions, though; the most important thing was to rescue him before Lord Varuk did something terrible to him.
Kevin looked at Tobus and, without saying a word, they both nodded. Kevin used his powers to identify the young man and saw it was Martin Salexy. He recognised his name from when they had accessed information about the migrants at Mars Rothadam. He knew about Martin’s bravery and bad judgements.
The Gatekeepers on the battlefield stood still, waiting, knowing that any sudden move could startle Lord Varuk and he might harm Martin. Their opponents were standing still, too; neither side knew what the other would do next.
Supernaturally, Kevin accessed Martin’s thoughts to find out what had happened.
Martin looked around; he was only just realising that he was in the middle of a war zone. Kevin and a few of Varuk’s air marshals were still suspended in the air and below them was a bloody battlefield. It was a terrible, frightening sight. Martin had seen the battle but he still had no idea who had captured him or why. He was blaming himself, thinking, After the incident with the sewage tank, I swore never to get into such a predicament again in my life – yet here I am again, perhaps in the worst predicament ever.
Looking around, not seeing a single familiar face and completely frightened, he concluded, Surely, this is the end for me; I don’t think there’s any chance of getting out of this one. How stupid could someone be to get into this much trouble in a short space of time? I’m glad, though, that my mother and my sister Carlan will not know about my death – it would destroy them.
Hearing this, Kevin felt sorry for him. Martin’s predicament wasn’t his own fault this time; he was just unfortunate. Kevin also remembered the impact his own death had had on his mother and sister.
Face to face with the Dark Lord, Varuk, Martin blurted out, ‘Who are you guys?’ He was still struggling to break free from the ghosts. He was terrified, but his voice was brave.
No one responded to his question. Varuk, his army and the Gatekeepers all watched each other carefully. The ghosts began to disperse through the valley.
Varuk was pleased and re-energised. He stretched his hand forwards. ‘Come here, now!’ he demanded in a thunderous voice.
Martin was scared stiff as he was propelled towards Varuk, who quickly grabbed him.
At the same time, Kevin released a darkness over the vast ghost army that made them visible. Before that, they had looked translucent, almost like clear shadows. When Martin saw all the ghosts, he knew he was in a much more perilous situation than he had thought and he almost passed out.
Lord Varuk pulled him up to his feet and started laughing again, the same sinister, frightening laugh. ‘You fools!’ he said, addressing the Gatekeepers. ‘Did you honestly believe that you could just come and take what belongs to me? That I wouldn’t have a Plan B or C, or even D? I know how you idiots think and I’m ten steps ahead of you. Now, Tobus, will you please run along home? Take these other fools with you and get me what I want – otherwise this migrant will die and I guarantee that many more will follow.’
When Martin heard that, he struggled to break free before screaming out, ‘Please, let go of me. Why are you doing this? Who are you guys?’ he asked.
What else does Varuk have planned? Kevin wondered.
‘I can’t do that. Hand him over so that no one else gets hurt! Don’t take out your issues with us on innocent creatures,’ Tobus said.
Kevin dropped to the ground and lunged towards Varuk to grab Martin. Varuk placed his right palm forcefully on Martin’s head. Martin changed back into his human form and started fighting for breath. He grabbed his throat, gasping.
Kevin immediately backed off.
‘Don’t come any closer or he dies,’ Varuk said, looking steadily at Kevin. He hit Martin on the head again and turned him back into cartoon form. His breathing quickly regulated.
Meanwhile, Clafy had finally caught up with a dragon that had started to flee; she’d made a glass rope of lava and snow and thrown it around the dragon’s neck before jumping on its back. This action made the dragon her servant until another master tamed it so, as she steered the dragon, it obeyed her.
Varuk noticed this distraction and dragged Martin backwards. He took one side of his cloak, used it to enshroud himself and Martin and disappeared with him.
Kevin pursued Varuk using his power of invisibility. He had to be careful in his movements so that no harm came to Martin. Tobus and Wood also trailed Varuk, leaving Naffata, Ai and Clafy to face the ghost army. Clafy and the dragon spewed fire and the ghosts burnt to a crisp like pieces of paper as the fire touched them.
The rest of the Gatekeepers quickly followed the others to help them retrieve the hostage.
Varuk took Martin into his personal living quarters. The grounds were crawling with security guards, including the two Kevin and Tobus had seen earlier at the beach. Kevin assumed his invisible form and entered Varuk’s house. It was huge, with many rooms and corridors, and it was well-furnished; it looked like a house on planet Earth.
Kevin started searching for Varuk and the prisoner. He also stayed alert for anything strange or out of place in an attempt to make sense of Varuk’s earlier threats about his plans B to D.
He came across a tube-like corridor that connected to an area with more living quarters. He proceeded with caution into the second house; it was also very stylish and well laid-out but more feminine in its décor. In some of the rooms, he saw the girls who had been dancing at the beach. Because he was invisible, they didn’t know he was there. The migrant was nowhere to be found.
Just as Kevin turned to leave, he saw a room that was covered with mirrors from ceiling to floor. The door was open and Kevin could see inside it from a distance of about four meters because of the mirrors.
Kevin peered to get a clearer picture. In the middle of the room was a large bath, sunk into the floor. Water bubbled within it. Kevin saw the two maids from the swan structure, Chalaza and Theresa-ata, as well as the woman in silver who they had been attending. It was Kylephina, the daughter of Varuk Bendy. She sat on a chair near the
bath facing one of the mirrors, while her maids combed her long, dark, shiny hair, which flowed down her back. She was beautiful. For a moment, Kevin forgot where he was and what he’d come to do, but he recovered quickly. He had just turned away when he felt her presence behind him.
She smelled fantastic; her scent reminded him of Cynthia. A sudden surge of emotion swept through him but he shook it off. He turned back slowly and there Kylephina was, standing behind him. How did she get here so fast? he wondered. He looked at the bath where she had been standing – and she was still there.
Kevin’s head pivoted quickly to verify that she was in two places at once. So this woman could not only see the invisible, but she was also a body doubler.
‘Who are you and what are you doing here?’ she asked, her voice firm yet gentle. ‘I’ve never seen you here before and now I’ve seen you twice in a single day.’ She rested a hand on her hip and looked at Kevin steadily, unblinking.
‘Look, it’s not what you think. I didn’t come here intentionally to watch you. I’m sorry for earlier. I just went in to take a look. I was curious,’ Kevin said. ’As for this time, I’m looking for someone.’
She stared at him as he tried to explain. ‘What’s your name and where do you come from?’ she asked.
‘My name is Kevin and I’ve come from Mars Harrogate.’
‘What are you doing here? Who are you looking for?’
‘Please forgive me but I have to leave right now,’ Kevin said, taking a step back. He turned and started to walk away. Perhaps this is part of his plan, to distract me with his daughter, Kevin thought.
The woman smiled a little as she watched him walk away. Meanwhile, her body double was still being dressed by the two girls, who didn’t appear to have noticed that anything unusual was happening.
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