by Mario Routi
“The body of MI6 Veteran, Dr. Julius Newton - killed in a bungled pirate attack on a Caribbean cruise liner on New Year’s Eve - has been returned to England. He’ll be buried at his family’s estate. The Captain of the liner and his officers and crew who also fell...”
“Could you turn off the radio, please?” Rebecca requested.
“Certainly, dear. Sad, eh? Brave men though, weren’t they?” said the driver.
“Yes. Very brave,” replied Rebecca, watching the scenery go by through tear filled eyes.
***
Sharp nails seemed to be tearing her insides to pieces. She felt a clamp tightening around her throat till she could hardly swallow or breathe. Sounds echoed in her ears and her eyes gazed out the window without seeing - as if she had been hypnotized. Two hammers were continuously pounding on her temples. Stormy waves from her mind battered every cell in her body. Even the Flame couldn’t help her overcome the trauma of her sudden loss.
She had sometimes wondered how she would feel if she abruptly lost one of her parents - particularly when it had happened to some classmates and she had observed the reactions of the bereaved children. She had tried to put herself in their position and understand what they were feeling. At that time, she had no idea that her parents were immortal and ran no risk of dying suddenly, except by accident or assassination.
Now, she had suffered that painful loss and she couldn’t take it in. She wondered how other people endured such a terrible blow.
She watched her sad, silent mother, trying to get inside her head to comprehend how she was feeling. She didn’t want Adriana to suffer even half of what she, herself, was going through. They both avoided talking about it - each of them trying to face their dramatic loss alone.
During the first day of her grief, Rebecca kept seeing visions of her father. It was almost as if everything that had happened the previous day aboard the ship had been no more than a bad dream. A nightmare!
Late at night, she crept into the study where Julius had often worked until the wee hours. She remembered how he would raise his head when he heard her come in - how he would open his arms wide and swivel his chair around, which signalled for her to run and jump into his lap, throwing her arms around his neck. She would miss such tender moments. She wanted to see him holding out his arms again, inviting her into his fatherly embrace.
Rebecca had believed completely in the cause the moment she’d received the Flame. Her father had said that she would gradually gain experience as she was ground between the millstones of life. The death of Lady Danae and the attack on Pegasus had transformed her into a windmill ready to grind any trace of Evil into nothingness. But the loss of her father had ripped the mill’s sails and broken its support beams. She felt the fierce, icy wind rage through the bare struts, making the tattered cloth flap. The power of the wind was wasted and the sails wouldn’t turn. If Rebecca had felt like a boat with torn sails, she could have taken up the oars to get it moving but there was no other way she could think of to move the machinery of a broken windmill.
She told herself that the loss of her father was a reason to push other things aside. She isolated them - locked them in a box deep inside her - so that she didn’t have to think about them. Her changing priorities surprised her, like red-hot lava solidifying into black rock as soon as it is spewed forth from a volcano. She constantly felt tremors as strong as earthquakes and had to struggle not to collapse.
Trying to recover, she and Adrianna visited Paul and Martha in Kenya. While they were there, Rebecca went out into the savannah and met with her lion. She spent hours with it every day, and it consoled her silently.
She didn’t talk much, but kept on practising her martial arts skills, as well as working with the sword and the dagger.
After one week she returned to Utopia to continue her training. She had decided never to go back to Earth again and persuaded her mother and her other grandparents to move with her to the Land of the White Sun. She was determined to focus all her energy on the protection of the Sacred Flame and of those who she loved - those who were now all gathered in Utopia...
32
One Month Later
Bull and Rebecca walked slowly through the fortress towards the amphitheatre.
“You don’t need any more training,” Bull said. “You’re one of the best of all time now. Soon, you will be equal to Princess Felicia and she is so satisfied of this.”
She didn’t reply and he looked at her tenderly for a moment as they walked.
“How are you, my dear?” he asked gently.
She looked at the ground. “I’m trying, Bull. I’m slowly getting used to it - so is Mum. Living here in the Land of the White Sun helps.”
Bull put his mighty arm around her slender shoulder as they entered the amphitheatre to meet with all the trainees.
In the distance they heard a deep, rhythmic, sinister buzz. It grew louder and louder. Bull cocked his head, suddenly alert to the possibility of approaching danger.
The trumpets sounded and everyone else was instantly alert, too. Bull ran up to the top tier in giant strides and from there, he saw the source of the noise silhouetted against the sky. It was the beating of Calphie’s wings.
“It’s an attack!” Bull boomed. “Go to your stations!”
The Sphinx was upon them, blocking the light as she swooped. The buzz became a roar of air as she dove onto Highlow and the spaceship domes. CRASH! SMASH! She destroyed the ships with a few easy movements before climbing back up sharply, her wings beating even faster. She turned in the air and swooped again - this time heading for the Armoury.
The Orizons ran out of the Amphitheatre just as Calphie smashed the Armoury roof and walls, diving again and again until the building was no more than a pile of rubble.
The Utopian citizens scattered as she rose up and prepared to swoop down again, no one knowing where she would strike next. She curved high in the air before going into a screaming dive, ramming the main Gate, which cracked on impact. Without losing any speed, she looped back up and dove again. This time the Gate was smashed to splinters.
With one final, brooding look back, Calphie flew away.
“Form up three hundred Centaurs with spears,” Lord Life ordered Hunter. “Get to the Gate!”
Felicia addressed the rest of the generals: “Lomani has began. War council at my house in ten minutes!”
At Felicia’s house, the war room was already set up with maps and plans were spread out on the walls. The Generals, Felicia and Lord Life were sitting around the table as Bull rushed in from inspecting the damage.
“The spaceships are all useless,” he told them. “We can’t bring reinforcements from Earth, nor can we inform the Gods of the unjust involvement of Calphie. For the time being, we’re cut off.”
Outside, they heard the trumpets sounding again. An Orizon warrior ran into the room, hot and dusty.
“The Sphinx is coming back!” he cried.
“Everybody outside!” shouted Felicia.
As they emerged from the house, they saw Calphie flying low over the Fortress Wall. She dove into the three-dimensional projection station, flattening it to the ground. Turning in the air - wings wailing like sirens - she dove onto Felicia’s rooftop, caving it in. She pulled back and attacked again. The Orizons could do nothing but look on helplessly as she climbed high into the sky once more before screaming down and destroying Bull’s home.
Apparently satisfied with her work, she disappeared again as quickly as she had appeared, leaving behind a smoking silence punctured only by the distressed cries of citizens searching for loved
ones.
“Whenever the Sphinx appears,” Lord Life commanded, “I want non-combatants and children to evacuate all the buildings at once.”
“The hospital is now our temporary headquarters,” Felicia added
. “I hope that Turgoth will at least respect that building.”
Once they were inside their new headquarters, Foster began pacing around.
“What is it, Field Marshal?” Felicia asked. “What’s on your mind?”
“Princess, My Lord,” he replied. “We need to let Glory stop Calphie, it’s the only way.”
“And who,” asked Bull, “will guard the Flame while she does that, General?”
“If Glory doesn’t stop Calphie, then who will, Bull? We’ll have lost anyway!” Foster insisted.
“You are right, General,” Bull said after a moment’s thought. “We have no option.”
“Go to her now, Felicia,” Lord Life said.
A few minutes later, Felicia was at the Hill. Jumping off her horse, she approached the guardian of the Flame. Glory watched warily with one eye constantly on the Flame.
“Glory, you’ve seen,” Felicia said. “You know. Calphie has broken the rules. She has...”
Glory cut Felicia off, communicating telepathically.
“Yes, it’s very bad! Such devastation! The Gods will punish her when they find out about this!”
“Then you must help us before we are annihilated!”
“Alas, Princess, the Gods put me here to protect the Flame. I am sorry, but I cannot leave my post without their permission.”
“But soon Utopia will be overcome by the forces of Beast!”
Glory’s wings expanded menacingly, making Felicia step back in surprise. The Flame flickered in the draught.
“Just let them try to get the Flame! I’ll kill them all! So, there’s nothing to worry about, Princess!”
Glory settled back down and resumed staring out, her eyes scanning the horizon as Felicia walked away.
Back in the torch-lit, makeshift conference room, the tense faces of the Generals, her father and Bull looked up as she returned.
“She will not leave the Flame.”
“Then the situation is very grave, my daughter,” Lord Life said. “We have heard that the water has been cut off. Turgoth is camped with a large army just under a mile away. However, we are drilling within the Fortress for new water sources and repairs are under way in the crystal workshop.”
Later, Felicia was addressing a group of about one hundred shocked, but defiant, Orizons, including Rebecca’s grandfather, Tony.
“You are our best,” she said. “Engineers, builders, you all must survive. Take as many tools as you can. At nightfall, Tony will lead you through the weakest part of Turgoth’s lines - get to Mount Thunder and stay there. Live, survive!”
Her speech was cut off by the renewed sound of trumpets warning of Calphie’s return. Relentless in her destruction, she swooped in again, smashing the crystal workshop roof as if it were a matchbox and sending survivors rushing from the wrecked building. From there she went straight for the stables, crushing them beneath the power of her blows before disappearing once more.
As the sun was setting, Rebecca rode up to Bull, who was standing and looking out over the scene of devastation.
“Bull, at last, a moment with you.”
“Rebecca, how are you and the trainees faring?”
“Ready and willing, that’s how we’re faring. Please, give us a challenge! We don’t know what’s going on!”
“It’s going badly. They’ve broken every rule and if I can’t persuade Glory to help us, it’s over.”
“You must appeal to Glory’s feminine vanity,” she said. “Tell her that Calphie will make a name for herself. Tell her that the Gods will not meddle and that if she won’t help, she’ll go down in history as the Sphinx who did nothing to prevent Evil from prevailing. I repeat - find ways to arouse her feminine vanity! Sorry, Bull. I’m too young to advise you, but I think this plan might help.”
Bull laid a steady hand on her arm and nodded his agreement. “I’ll go to her now. We must survive! You go to Felicia and she will give the trainees a task.”
***
A few hours later the trumpets blared out once more. Glory watched from her hill as Calphie appeared above the forest, screaming back towards the fortress.
Glory unfolded her wings and stretched as if in preparation for a normal day’s work. The citizens below heard a low roar rumbling down from the hill as the huge wings beat the air.
The vibration of Glory’s dragon wings created a deep hum as she took off, flying majestically high, out over the walls of the fortress. The Orizons stared up in awe as she flew over the watchtower and into the glare of the sun. They all cheered for her! The trumpets sounded again.
The Princess could hardly believe her eyes. “My dear Bull,” she said, “how did you persuade her?”
“Nothing to it, Princess. I merely appealed to her vanity.” Bull smiled enigmatically.
Calphie was coming straight at them as Glory dove through the sky just above Utopia, putting herself on a collision course.
“Where do you think you’re going, Calphie?” Glory growled in their Sphinx tongue. “Haven’t you done enough senseless damage already? Why have you become involved? This isn’t your job!”
“Go to hell, Glory! You won’t tell me what to do. I told Turgoth I wished to attack Utopia because I’m fed up with having nothing to do. It was my idea and I’m glad he accepted. But he knew I would do it anyway, no matter what he said. And now, I will kill you all!”
“You have treacherously demolished a great section of Utopia. You have left me no choice but to destroy you!” bellowed Glory, battering her whole weight against Calphie before she had time to prepare herself.
CRASH! Glory buckled Calphie’s left wing. Calphie pulled back, flew higher and raked her claws across Glory’s neck, though the wound wasn’t deep.
Never in the history of the universe had such a ferocious battle been fought between such mighty foes. They were the strongest mythical creatures in the world. In ancient times, they had both defeated whole armies on their own.
Both camps watched anxiously from the ground. The people of Utopia knew that their future depended on the outcome of this duel, while the soldiers of Beast knew that Calphie’s survival was vital for their final victory. A large part of their plan of attack was based on the tremendous damage she was capable of inflicting.
The two Sphinxes pulled back to pick up speed, turned, and headed back towards each other. Flank smacked flank in an impact that shook the ground below, chest against chest, claws clashing. Their mighty bodies shuddered with each violent impact. Evenly matched, they swiped viciously at each other, desperate to gain an advantage.
Calphie twisted, flipping on top of Glory’s back, her rear leg claws immobilizing her opponent’s wings. Calphie gripped Glory’s head in her powerful lion’s forelegs and yanked hard, attempting to snap her neck.
Glory twisted and shook but she couldn’t free herself. Inch by inch her head was forced further back. Calphie moved one of her forelegs, sank her claws into Glory’s throat and ripped. Blood spurted and Glory struggled for breath.
Summoning the last remnants of her strength, Glory rolled onto her back, dragging Calphie with her. As they neared the ground, Calphie relaxed and righted herself. Glory wriggled free and powered back into the air.
Again, they flew high into the sky, locking, scratching and swiping at each other, neither able to let go as they spiralled out of control straight to the ground.
At the last moment, they sprang apart and landed almost simultaneously on their feet. Glory reared up on her hind legs and fell upon Calphie. They grappled like wrestlers, each trying to throw the other to the ground.
Their nails stabbed through flesh, their forelegs danced murderously as each tried to trip the other up, their wings beating slowly to help their balance. Then, Glory lost her balance for a second and fell back, her wings crushed underneath her. Calphie pounc
ed, lashing into her. Glory seized the opportunity to swipe her in the face with her left foreleg.
Blood streamed from Calphie’s nose as she released her grip and backed off with a roar of pain, blood gushing from her nose.
Glory took off to escape and seconds later, Calphie followed, both Sphinxes trailing blood across the sky from their many injuries. Another air battle developed, but with each swipe they grew wearier and their fighting more ragged.
Calphie landed a series of blows to deepen Glory’s wounded neck, but in the process she left her underbelly wide open. Glory thrust her hind legs in and ripped her belly open.
Glory looked out over the sky, her vision blurred, the air swirling around her, the sky and the land whirling round and round. The ground hurtled up.
But still, she struggled painfully to her feet, staggering a few steps to reach her hill and the Flame before falling forward, dead.
The people of Utopia stood frozen in horror as they watched.
Calphie, with a last burst of energy, climbed higher and higher. As she rose above the forest, her wings crumpled, caved in, and ceased moving. Doomed, she plummeted to the ground like a stone.
Minutes later, Felicia addressed the shocked Utopians.
“We are all moved by the efforts of our beloved Sphinx. She sacrificed her life to save Utopia. We shall bring her home to bury her next to the Flame that she so faithfully guarded for thousands of years and tonight, we shall devise a plan to fight back! With Calphie dead we have nothing to fear and shall prevail, as always!”
A cheer of approval and determination went up all over Utopia at her brave words.
33
That night, Felicia sat with Lord Life, Bull and the Generals in the fortress. She was opening a letter that a messenger had just delivered.
“And what does Turgoth say now?” Bull asked.
Felicia’s face turned pale as she began to read Turgoth’s letter out loud.