by Ivory Autumn
Andrew looked troubled and his eyes reflected the deep inner emotions that he felt. “But why me?”
“Because,” Orion said, “only you remain. Because it was written in the stars before you were born. Because it is your task to fulfill.”
Andrew stared at the sword in Orion's hands, feeling the power of Orion’s words sink into his heart. He felt drawn to the sword, like a moth to the flame, there was no helping himself. “If there is no other way,” he murmured, kneeling before Orion. “I will do as you ask. I will take the sword.”
Orion smiled, and lifted Andrew to his feet. “This day is the beginning of the end for The Fallen One. Your courage has brought great joy to my heart. Now, hurry, take the sword, and with it, take all the blessing and cursing that it holds.”
Orion held out the sword. However, as Andrew reached for it, he hesitated and stared at it with fear.
“Once you take it,” Orion said, “your decision can never be undone.”
“Then let's just hope,” Andrew said, courage filling his heart, “that this decision won’t need undoing.”
He took the sword and as he did, a flash of light lit up the nights sky, meeting at the sword’s point, like lightning. A surge of energy passed through Andrew’s hand, and filled his entire body. He suddenly stood taller and he felt instantly braver, stronger, and noble. He knew, in an instant, that he and the sword were made for each other---he knew that he was The One.
“The deed is done!” Orion exclaimed. “You are now, irrevocably, entrusted with all that I have asked of you. Remember, you take the sword, whether it is heavy or light, in good times, as well as the bad.”
“Yes,” Andrew murmured. “I know.” He felt as if he'd just vowed something very important in a solemn chapel, with all the stars as witnesses.
“Then it is complete,” Orion said. “You, Andrew, are now the rising Nebula of many hopes.” He smiled and handed Andrew a grand-looking belt and sheath. “You must always remember who you are, and reflect the light of the havens, so no darkness may have power over you. You are strong, Andrew, and no one can do what you are meant to do. No one! Remember that always.”
Andrew nodded. “I'll try.”
“Then, I must leave. My mission here is complete. Come, Nebula, it is time to depart.” Orion let out a shrill whistle, and clapped his hands. Almost instantly, a great rumbling shook the earth and the fields of gem-flowers folded up into a magnificent, pulsating, swirling, spiral of color and light. The seemingly-dead stararose from the ground, taking the form of a strong war horse made from clusters of stars, along with purple, red, and green smoke and fire. The horse shook the burning embers from its flaming mane, showering sparks into the air like fireworks. It stomped its huge silver hooves, shaking the earth. Nebula whinnied, and a sound like rushing waters crashing over boulders resounded through the air. Andrew covered his ears, and watched as Nebula, the great star, swished its sweeping multi-colored tail back and forth, and bounced its head up and down with impatience. Its body was huge and its long tail flowed out and sparkled like a great river of water.
“I must be off,” Orion said, getting atop Nebula's back. “Goodbye, Andrew.” He reached down and handed Andrew a small leather purse with a blue string tied around the end of it. “These are message reflectors, diamond seeds grown from...” he paused and pointed to a row of stars in the sky, “the Milky Way. Your mother, Elf queen Tanzanite, left these for you. If all else fails, grow these seeds, and soon they will come up and sparkle to the heavens, if you have need of help. Goodbye, Elvin prince!”
He gave Andrew one last look, before Nebula reared up then hit the ground with a terrible earth-shaking rumble, causing Andrew to fall to the ground. The horse took off through the desert, over and up one of the tallest sand dunes, leaping off into the sky. When it reached the top, galloping away and leaving an amazing trail of fire behind it. Its grand tail sent out a stream of colors. Its huge body glowed and shone like a horse whose body was made out of purple, orange, yellow, pink, and green fire.
There was a brilliant flash of light, then all trace of Orion and his horse vanished from view.
Andrew stared at the sky in wonder, thinking of what he'd been asked to do. Then the familiar sound of Lizicks unexpectedly broke the silence. Startled, he looked around him at the growing gathering herd of Lizicks.
He smiled and held his sword high. This time he knew what to do.
~~~~
Chapter Nine
Lightlim’s Flame
The hooded man had watched in great interest as Andrew was dragged out of the town square. The boy was extraordinary. Perhaps he was the very person that held the answers he was looking for. A Sontar hissed, cracking a whip over the slaves’ backs, causing the children to scream and cry, cowering under the tyranny and oppression of the serpents. The man frowned, scanning the children’s miserable faces. Indeed, there was much he had to do, and there was so little time.
He walked stealthily over to Krot and the Sontar Captain, murmuring something in a hushed whisper. Glancing around warily, he handed them each a purse filled with gold and precious stones. “It’s a deal then?”
The Sontar Captain hissed, and nodded. “It is.”
Krot laughed. “Yes. It’s a deal. Ivory, get over here.”
Ivory peered out from behind an old barrel, and glared at Krot and the hooded man fearfully.
“Are you deaf, Ivory?” Krot shouted. “Hurry up and get over here this instant!”
Ivory shook her head, and made a move to run, but Krot was fast when he made up his mind to be, and grabbed Ivory by the wrist and yanked her back towards the hooded man. “Ivory, you are to go with him.”
Ivory shrank away from the man. He was dark and mysterious, someone who would sell his own mother into slavery for the right price. She could only guess that his intentions towards her were far from honorable. “Krot? Tell me you didn’t do this. You’re not selling me, are you?”
Krot laughed, and his potbelly jiggled up and down. “Oh, but I am.”
“I thought you needed me.”
He looked at her with cold eyes. “Me, need you? I have never needed you. You’re worthless to me now. You have caused me more trouble than you’re worth. With this money I can buy any number of slaves.”
Ivory’s eyes filled with tears. “But you promised you’d never sell me.”
“Everyone has their price. Now, go!” He thrust her towards the man. “Go! You worthless rag!”
Ivory let out an angry cry as she was yanked away from Krot. “I hate you, Krot! I hate you!”
“Hate is a powerful word,” the hooded man murmured, in a raspy voice. “Perhaps you wouldn’t use it if you knew how much trouble that word has caused.” Without waiting her reply, he wrapped a chain round Ivory’s wrist, and yanked her along as he went, milling in and out of the concourses of slaves. He paused before two of the slaves, who were standing in line waiting to be shoved back into the prison camp.
“These two will do,” the hooded man said, motioning for a Sontar guard to help him.
The Sontar was about to unshackle the boys, but he stopped, as if remembering something. “The captain has changed hisss mind. He wantsss more money for them.”
“More?”
“Yessss.”
“How much more?”
“Twice the amount you paid.”
“But I have already paid double what they are worth.”
“He wants more.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
The Sontar turned away. “Very well then, if you do not wisssssh to pay.”
“Wait, I will pay,” the man stepped over to the Sontar, and reached within his cloak, drawing out a sword. Before the Sontar could react, the man sank the blade into the Sontar’s chest. The Sontar let out a low gurgling gasp, and fell back, dead, at the man’s feet. The man held the sword, dripping with green blood, over the body, looking at the other Sontars who were now eyeing him with vengeance.
The man
quickly turned around, yanking Ivory along with him, over to the two slaves, bringing his blade down on their chains, while uttering a strange mystical sounding command. Sparks shot into the air, as metal hit metal, causing the chains to fall loose at their feet.
“Quickly,” the man said, straightening to his full height and motioning to the two freed slaves.“Talic, Freddie, yes I know who you are---if you desire your freedom and your life, follow me---all of you.” He let go of Ivory, and cut through the hoards of Sontars who were coming at them at all angles.
In an instant, the streets of Nookpot became chaos. Slaves suddenly began to break away from their captors, Sontars hissed, whips cracked, and screams cut through the air.
“After them!” the Sontar captain commanded, pointing to the fleeing fugitives. “Quickly, before they escape.”
Ivory let out a shrill scream as a Sontar grabbed her leg, and wrenched her to the ground. Before the Sontar could sink its teeth into her skin, Talic rushed to her aid, and chucked a rock at the Sontar as hard as he could. The rock hit the creature in the head, causing it to fall to its back. Talic quickly grabbed Ivory’s hand, and pulled her along with him.
“Over here,” the hooded man said, as he darted down an alleyway, to an old building with a door on which was written in red paint, in a savage scrawl---“Danger, do not enter!”
The man ignored the warning and kicked the door open. His hood fell to his shoulders, revealing the face of an old man with a long gray beard, kind eyes, and pointed ears. The man’s face became stern, as the sounds of Sontars behind them grew louder.
“Get in,” the man urged them. “Hurry!”
The children slipped in behind the man, swiftly closing the door behind them.
The room was dark. It smelled of bats and mothballs and something else unpleasant---like spoiled egg gunk that has been ruminating in a pan of dishwater for many months.
“Ugh,” Talic murmured, pinching his nose shut. “It smells awful in here!”
“Hush,” the old man commanded, pressing his back behind the door, holding his sword high in case anything happened to burst through.
They all waited in silence, listening to the sounds of the Sontars outside, until the noise gradually faded.
“Good,” the old man breathed. “They've gone.”
Freddie peered out the window, scanning the empty street. “Are you sure?”
“Shhh, yes...” the man whispered. “Don't speak too loud, or move too rapidly. I fear that this room is far more dangerous than I first supposed.”
“Why?” Freddie wondered, peering around the dark. “I don't see anything.”
“Hush!” the man cried, pointing to the ceiling, where hundreds of dark forms clung, like lumpy black almonds swaying in the wind.
“What are they?” Ivory asked.
“Shh,” the man whispered. “They are very treacherous creatures---Frabbles they are called, spies, trackers. Don't disturb them. Just move quietly towards the door. No quick movements, no loud sounds---please!”
The old man opened the door, and beckoned them to follow. A shaft of sunlight shone into the dark room, causing one of the Frabbles to let out a high-pitched shriek. As if on cue, the one shriek turned into two, then three, until the whole ceiling of startled Frabbles awakened from
their sleep, screaming and howling, their luminescent purple eyes all flickering open. The Frabbles had thin, green, leaf-shaped wings, with purplish bones jutting out from them, like spider’s legs poking out of nylon. Most of the Frabbles had two spear-like horns growing from their cat-faced heads, with rust colored talons jutting out from their hairy legs. They looked hungry, and ready to devour the intruders, without hesitation.
“Run!” the old man cried, slipping through the door with the children behind him. He slammed the door shut just as one of the Frabbles dove at them, crushing its leaf-like wings in the door.
“Watch out!” the man cried, pulling Freddie away from the closed door, just as a Frabble speared the wood with its dark horn, sending splinters flying everywhere.
“Run!” the man shouted again, as the window by the door broke with a crash. Hundreds of creatures poured out, as if they had opened Pandora’s box, and all the demons of the underworld were coming out after them The children ran after the old man, with the Frabbles diving after them, screeching like evil minions released from a dark hole.
One of the Frabbles swooped down, grazing Talic’s arm with its nasty horn. Talic let out a howl of pain, and ran faster. The sudden change of speed confused the nasty Frabble and it accidentally embedded its horns into the side of a wooden awning.
“Serves the little devil right,” Talic said, as he ran, only to come to an abrupt stop at the edge of town, near the Salmagundi River, with the rest of his friends.
“Jump!” the old man cried, leaping into the water and disappearing into it with a loud splash.
The children hesitated at the water’s edge. The water smelled of foul rags and sour fruit-fly food. Strange unidentified objects floated in it, like corncobs in a barrel full of smoldering chicken slop. The river was dark and oily. Green bubbles floated on its surface, like it was so rotten it had turned fizzy. It looked like every kind of impurity had been dumped into it. It was a river not just anyone would go jumping into, even if their life depended on it.
Freddie puckered his face in disgust. Ivory and Talic wondered if facing the Frabbles would be better than jumping into the foul water.
They looked behind them and saw the dark cloud of screaming Frabbles, and quickly changed their minds. The Frabbles screamed, swooping down at the children just as they jumped into the murky water.
They held their breath under the water as the dark cloud of Frabbles passed over them and out of sight.
Freddy thought he felt something bump into his leg and he came up sputtering. “Ugg! Something’s in here.”
“Yeah,” Talic replied, wiping a gooey blob of moss off his nose. “We are.”
“Not for long,” Ivory said, swimming with ease to the other side of the river.
Soon all were resting on the bank, their bodies dripping with brown water and their clothes reeking of rot.
“Yuck!” Talic exclaimed, picking a slimy orange-red glob out of his hair. “Look, its got a piece of my hair in its mouth.”
Ivory’s hand went to her hair, where numerous slime blobs clung. Her eyes grew big, and she screeched, yanking the blobs away from her scalp---each nasty blob took with it a piece of her hair.
“What in the heck are they?” Freddie wondered, picking five of the little gooey things out of his own hair.
“They're Spongelebs,” the old man said, letting out a low laugh. “Pick them out of your hair quickly or you'll be bald in one minute.”
“Gross!” Ivory cried, picking the nasty little hair hackers out of her red hair, stomping furiously on each one.
“Don't worry,” Talic said, running his fingers through his dark, cow licked hair. “Lucky for you, you've got plenty of hair to spare. As for me...” He bent his head and pointed to a bare spot where the Spongelebs had snipped his hair to the scalp. “I'm not so lucky.”
“Bald looks good on you,” Freddie joked. “Maybe you should let them stay on a little longer. You could use a trim.”
Talic shook his head. “Not that much!”
“Hush!” the old man exclaimed. “You could call the Frabbles back to us with all your racket. We must go, and quickly.” He strode ahead, his long black cape trailing behind him.
The others followed, feeling wet and stinky. The smell of the river clung to them like a ghost. As their clothes dried their skin started to burn and itch, but no one dared complain for fear of angering their guide. While they walked, Talic, Ivory, and Freddie exchanged names and a brief history of their lives and their association with Andrew. However, when any of them ventured to ask their guide who he was, the man would shake his head and say, “In time, I will tell you. All I can say for now is that if you wish to save the l
ife of your friend Andrew, you will shut up, and follow me.”
They traveled far out, past the borders of Nookpot and into a desolate land where sand dunes and craggy mountains were the only thing that could be seen. The sun had just started to set, when the old man brought them to a stop at the bottom of a towering sand dune that rose above them like giant.
“Where are we?” Talic wondered. “And where are you taking us?”
“Hmmm,” the man said, stroking his curly gray beard. After a few minutes, he stood up straight and clapped his hands. In a loud, commanding voice he said, “Caracole forlorn Idocane!”
The earth rumbled, causing the sand to filter around them like melting wax, revealing transparent glass doors in the side of the dune. Their guide clapped his hands again and the glass doors opened with a rumble.
“Come. Follow!” their guide said, walking forward, and ducking under the sand that was trickling from above over the door.
Freddie, Talic, and Ivory followed him, wide-eyed and astonished. Cold air hit their faces as they stepped through the doors into an open hallway made of clear glass. They could hear the glass floors and walls crackle and pop from the warmth of their feet, as they walked.
On the glass walls were rows of flaming blue torches that never went out. Their cold light burned and illuminated the sparkling halls of glass like a room made out of pure ice.
The man took them through the cold hall and into a great-pillared room, with many magnificent red rugs hugging the floor. The room was slightly warmer than the halls, but it was still freezing. Steamy vapor came from their mouths and noses as they breathed. There was clear glass furniture with purple silk cushions and great pillows gracing the room in majesty. In the farthest corner of the room, there was a grand fireplace, with a blue flame flickering up in it. The flame lit the room with a cold, but not unfriendly glow. Everyone stood around it, trying to warm their chilled bodies, but the flame only gave off a faint bit of warmth. It sputtered and flickered, as if it were a dying animal that had been stabbed in the heart, using every ounce of strength to stay alive.