Candlewax

by C. Bailey Sims

Eventually, Zekkarados slowed down and kept looking at her, so Catherine pulled out the pendant. He entered her thoughts immediately. “I never would have thought it possible for humans to run so fast for so long. Spelopokos showed you this?”

  “Yes. Perhaps when he’s better he will teach you how to voice words aloud as he does.”

  “Of what advantage is it?”

  “Well, you could speak with humans without the pendant.” Catherine was finding it difficult to run and hold onto the pendant at the same time.

  “I see no use in that, Catherine. I have no desire to speak with those strange sounds.”

  “That may change, Zekkarados.” For the first time she realized that Spelopokos was a “Speaker” just like Quor was a Speaker. She finally let go of the necklace when they reached an especially challenging part of the trail. It bounced roughly with every stride until she tucked it back into her shirt. Zekkarados gave her a quizzical look and took the lead again. It seemed as if he would have liked to talk with her some more.

  It was the longest Catherine had ever run. She and Bessie, Menard and Cyril were starting to drag. Catherine’s legs and arms felt heavy and sluggish. We’ve run thirty miles, at least! Even these cats must be getting tired.

  Zekkarados started downhill on what Catherine recognized was the trail just above the Gate. He stopped at a cold, rushing brook. His family surrounded them as they drank, and only when they had finished did the cats take turns quenching their own thirst. They are afraid the other cats might attack us. Catherine looked at the others out of the corner of her eye, careful not to provoke them by staring. It didn’t seem as if they were particularly interested in the humans in their midst.

  I hope Zekkarados is strong enough to control them once we get to Lackanay, Catherine thought. But we have no choice except to try. I wonder if the prophecy says anything about man-eaters... loosing man-eating fairrier cats in Lackanay...

  Zekkarados nudged her elbow, making her jump. He waited intently as she reached for the pendant.

  “I smell fire. There are men ahead. I have told the others to conceal themselves. I will also cloak my essence in secrecy. Find out what these smells mean. I will not lead my pride into the path of a fire.”

  The cats vanished into blurry, shifting shapes. Sure enough, as they descended toward Candlewax, the air grew hazy with smoke. Catherine slowed to a walk, uncomfortable running with invisible predators. Cyril and Bessie walked with her and Menard followed behind. At last Catherine saw the Gate. Its imposing form was shrouded in the smoky air. A rider on the other side galloped away at the sight of them.

  There was a blurry shape at her side. Catherine hoped it was Zekkarados.

  “That rider. I think he was looking out for us,” Catherine observed.

  “This feels bad, Catherine.”

  “On the other side of the Gate is Lackanay. The deer are plentiful. You will all eat well tonight!”

  “Is everything all right, Catherine? What’s wrong with the cats?” Cyril asked her.

  “It’s the smoke. They smell men, too,” she said.

  “I hate fire,” said Cyril. “It had better not be the stables; it takes forever to pump the water back into the roof reservoir.” Cyril’s brow was creased with lines of worry.

  “You live with millions of burning trees, Cyril,” said Catherine.

  “This kind of fire is different. It is the destruction it wreaks that I despise. I hope William has things under control.” Cyril frowned and started to run toward the gate. Catherine, Menard, and Bessie followed after him.

  “Don’t forget we need the Ancient Onyxes, Cyril!” said Menard. Cyril didn’t answer, but he stopped about twenty yards from the Gate and waited for them. Beyond the smoke came the sound of many horses’ hooves pounding on the trail. One rider approached the Gate and peered through the haze at them. It was Sebastian.

  “For the love of Candlewax, come quickly, King Cyril! Your kingdom needs you!” Sebastian waved his arm desperately. Smoke hung thickly in the air.

  Zekkarados paced back and forth between them and the Gate.

  “What’s wrong, Sebastian?” bellowed Cyril.

  “We’ve got some problems, sire!” Sebastian beckoned them. “Cross over now!”

  Zekkarados growled softly. “They are armed,” he thought to Catherine.

  “But you must come! We are so close. Just cross over into Lackanay and all will be well,” Catherine urged, her thumb pressed gently into the back of the pendant.

  “Make them go away. Find out where this smoke is coming from. Then we shall come.”

  Catherine began to panic. “They are Cyril’s men. He won’t let them hurt you. He is their king!”

  “Did Spelopokos know these men? Do you know them?”

  Catherine looked at the faces of the men on the other side of the Gate. They hung toward the back. She couldn’t make out any of them clearly.

  “Only one for sure,” she admitted. “The dark-haired one in front.”

  “Then we will remain here. It is an unnecessary risk.”

  “Wait here if you must,” thought Catherine, shaking her head, her lips pressed in a grim line. “I will return to bring you through the Gate.”

  “Be careful, Catherine. Don’t lose the pendant,” thought Zekkarados.

  Catherine paused, then smiled at the cat. He reminded her of Spelopokos. Suddenly there was a lump in her throat. She nodded and made her way to Cyril’s side.

  Catherine whispered what Zekkarados had said into Cyril’s ear, but Cyril was having a hard time listening. Ty and two other horses stood at the ready. Cyril stared at Ty, relief on his face.

  “Did you hear what I said, Cyril? The cats won’t come,” she repeated. Cyril nodded absently at her words. Sebastian was waving his arm, beckoning them again toward Candlewax.

  “Come quickly, my king. Kallik has the castle surrounded!” shouted Sebastian.

  “Kallik is in Candlewax?” asked Cyril. Catherine saw his head snap toward Sebastian, his body stiffen. Cyril exchanged a steely look with Menard. His jaw was set as he looked down at Catherine. “We will return for the cats.” She nodded, her shoulders slumping. There was no point in bringing the cats into harm’s way even if she could persuade them.

  “Stay close to the Gate, Zekkarados. I will return when it is safe.” Although he did not answer, Catherine felt him brush by her. She tucked the necklace back into her shirt.

  “Grab on,” said Catherine. Bessie and Menard each took a hand and Cyril stood behind her, placing his hands on top of her shoulders. Catherine stepped forward and felt an icy burning on her skin. Her fingers and toes and the tip of her nose tingled as they passed through the ancient rock sentinel.

  Sebastian watched closely, obviously perplexed about something. Then he offered Cyril Ty’s reigns and smiled. Cyril and Menard mounted up.

  “How could you let this happen, Sebastian?” Menard demanded with a glare. Sebastian ignored the question, his smile still firmly in place.

  “Where’s William? Where are Conrad and the others? Who are these men?” Cyril scrutinized the hard-faced group with Sebastian.

  “I’ve enlisted them to help. Mostly farmers from the outer villages. William and the others are out fighting off the trodliks. I fear for their safety.”

  “It has begun?” asked Cyril.

  “The trodliks are moving into Candlewax as we speak,” said Sebastian.

  “You didn’t bring a mount for Catherine,” observed Cyril.

  “Thought she’d be riding that fairrier cat—Spelopokos. Where is he?” Sebastian craned his neck, searching the rocks, moving restlessly in his saddle. His eyes did not quite meet Cyril’s.

  “He’s not here, Sebastian,” Cyril said slowly. Disappointment settled into Sebastian’s face.

  “No matter. The princess can ride with me.” Before Cyril could protest, Sebastian reached down, hauled Catherine up behind him, and urged his horse to a brisk trot. Catherine looked back and saw Cyril’s jaw drop open as
he nudged Ty to follow.

  The acrid smoke made Catherine’s nose and eyes smart. If Sebastian hadn’t been waiting on the other side I could have persuaded Zekkarados and his pride to come through. Damn that Kallik!

  They rode in silence down the trail to Candlewax, frustration pouring through Catherine like a torrent with every step. The cats are so close to Lackanay! Sebastian kept his horse moving through the haze. Everything was a confusing jumble, and she began to feel poisoned by the resentment she harbored for the man in front of her.

  Catherine tried desperately to think clearly. It was illogical to blame Sebastian. It’s not his fault Kallik has attacked. They traveled on for another hour, Catherine torn between feelings of anger and guilt. Something was nagging at her. But what? These feelings aren’t doing me any good. I must make myself relax. She closed her eyes and fought for calm.

  A foul smell suddenly overpowered her. Her eyes flew open. She drew a shallow breath and quickly changed from breathing through her nose to breathing through her mouth. What is that? Is it something dreadful burning?

  The realization hit her like a fist. Evil. Sebastian is evil!

  Her senses were overwhelmed by the odiousness of the man in front of her. Her head spun with the volume of his putrid scent, making her want to jump off the horse. She coughed out the odor in an effort to purge it from her lungs, only to be forced to breathe it in more deeply. Sebastian kicked his horse into a canter. It’s a trap. He is leading Cyril into a trap!

  The trail steepened and Catherine forced herself to hold onto Sebastian to keep from falling off. She could hear the other riders behind them. The horse was going too fast for the steep grade and was scrambling to make the turns. He’s got us outnumbered and he is going to kill us. Catherine wanted to shout a warning to Cyril, but he was too far back. They don’t know that I know. Play along.

  She hung on for dear life with one hand. With the other she reached inside her shirt, pulled the pendant free, placed her thumb in the indentation, and thought with all her might. “Zekkarados! Can you hear me? It’s a trap! The dark-haired man is a traitor. I smell his evil!” Sebastian’s horse jolted them roughly and she lost her grip for a second. Catherine grabbed the pendant again and listened.

  “I was right, then,” came the answer. “The men were not to be trusted.”

  “Yes, you were right. I will return for you.”

  “We will wait for you, Catherine. Show no mercy to this traitor, whoever he—”

  Catherine listened but she could hear no more. She took a gulp of air through her mouth and hung on. She could hear Cyril on Ty behind her. She looked back at his face, resolute and dark with concern. Menard and Bessie followed behind. Catherine tried to catch Cyril’s eye to warn him, but the strange soldiers had closed in around her friends and she was swept down the hill as Sebastian goaded his horse faster.

  The horse turned down a bend in the trail and in an instant she and Sebastian were out of sight of the others. I cannot wait. She reached the sheath at her boot and brought her dagger up in an arc until the point pressed into Sebastian’s neck. She heard him gasp and felt him reign in the horse until it slowed.

  “Caught on, have you, princess?” he hissed. “You kill me and you and your friends won’t live to see sunset.”

  Catherine thought of plunging the dagger into his neck. It would make one less enemy. She felt bile rise in her throat from the suffocating smell of evil. Suddenly the horse stumbled and the point of the dagger jolted away from Sebastian. He threw the back of his elbow into her breast and ribcage. Catherine gasped in agony. He spun in the saddle and grabbed her wrist, bending it backward until she let go of the dagger. It slipped to the ground, landing in a clump of dry grass.

  His hand moved roughly to the back of her neck as he pressed his face close to hers. She gagged at his scent. “One word from you, and your friends will pay.” Then he turned and took up the reigns, kicking the horse to a gallop.

  Tears began to stream down Catherine’s face. Her chest and her wrist were throbbing with pain. She looked back at where the dagger fell, committing the spot in her memory.

  The ramparts of Candlewax Castle came into view. Soon Rogard’s Fortress loomed ahead. Guards swung open the iron gates between the Cinnan trail and the back of the castle yard. The horses rushed into the bailey, blowing and stomping in excitement.

  “Come, Cyril! The view is best from the ramparts!” yelled Sebastian. He jumped from his horse and handed the reins to a waiting soldier. Grabbing Catherine’s hurt wrist like a vise, he pulled her across the castle yard, past Rogard’s Fortress, through the open door, and up the stone stairs of the highest tower of Candlewax Castle. As Catherine looked back for Cyril, he bounded past them, taking the stairs three at a time.

  Everything seemed to be happening in crisp detail. Her pain. Shafts of sunlight illuminating the smoky air. Down below, she briefly glimpsed the soldiers barring the way so that Menard and Bessie were left outside in the bailey. Menard was gesticulating wildly, trying to get past them, confusion and fury on his face.

  “Cyril! WAIT!” Catherine screamed. She kicked Sebastian’s shin with the heel of her boot, knocking his foot off of the step. He lurched forward, letting go of Catherine’s wrist to break his fall. Catherine ran after Cyril, the fairrier cat fur giving her speed that Sebastian couldn’t match. She heard him curse behind her as she began racing up the turret steps, flying around the turns. Cyril had reached the top and was standing with his feet rooted to the stone, his chest heaving.

  A stench so evil she thought she might gag grew stronger with every bound.

  “It’s a trap!” she gasped as she reached Cyril. “Sebastian is... a traitor...” Catherine sputtered the words through ragged breaths.

  “She’s right, you know.” A cold voice spoke directly in front of Cyril. “But then, that’s obvious now, isn’t it, Cyril?”

  Catherine stepped to Cyril’s side to see who spoke, her hand covering her nose and mouth. In front of them stood neither man nor beast, but something in between. He wore no shoes. Long yellow claws came out of his short toes and from his fingers, too. His face was a mask of aging leather and his smile revealed curvaceous, pointed teeth. Like a macabre crown, he wore the misshapen head of a dead fairrier cat, set within a circlet of gold. Catherine gasped. Nepozadan. The fairrier cat’s skin hung around his shoulders, fastened over his chest with a thick gold hook and loop joining two great paws together.

  Yellow eyes gleamed at them. “Yes, Sebastian is a traitor. The best I have ever known, excluding me, of course.” A laugh erupted from deep within his chest, sending strange vibrations through the air. Cyril drew Catherine behind him and pulled his sword from the sheath.

  “Kallik,” whispered Cyril.

  “How gallant! Ah, I see Sebastian has finally caught up with you,” said Kallik.

  “My lord... I present... to you King Cyril of Candlewax... and Princess Catherine of Crystallia,” panted Sebastian, wiping the sweat from his brow. He glared at Catherine and then sunk to his knees and pressed his head to the ground in front of Kallik.

  Cyril’s face twisted with rage. “You were one of us, Sebastian. A man of Candlewax. One of the King’s Guard!” he roared in disbelief.

  Kallik chuckled. “Now, now, King Cyril. You may rise, Sebastian. You have done well. Your reward will be... sweet.” Kallik’s gaze traveled over Catherine and lingered there. Sebastian rose to his feet and smiled at Cyril, his eyes glittering malevolently.

  “Menard was right about you, Sebastian,” said Cyril, “and I didn’t believe it. He said you were made of clay on the inside, all miry and insubstantial. I wish I had listened to him and dropped you from the Guard.” Cyril shook his head. “But my father owed your father his life, and we are an honorable family. I wanted to believe that you were like him—a true soldier.”

  “Honor?” Sebastian snorted. “And what reward did my father get for his honor? Stiff joints? Battle wounds that would not heal? A place at the king’
s table? Bah!” he spat. “He was not brave. He was stupid. And your pathetic kingdom has come to an end, Cyril.”

  “Yes. Come, oh king. See for yourself what remains of Candlewax.” Kallik beckoned with a wave of his paw-like hand; his upper teeth clicked down on his lower teeth with sharp little taps.

  Cyril and Catherine went to the edge of the rampart and looked out. Smoke poured from Candlewax Wood in great billows that rose thousands of feet into the sky. Down below, the castle bailey was crammed with villagers, livestock, and makeshift tents.

  “Candlewax Wood on fire? The trees... they don’t burn unless... unless they’re cut.” Cyril gripped the stone block in front of him as if he might lose his balance.

  “William’s bright idea for stopping the trodliks,” said Sebastian. “He’s been cutting the Wood all around trying to save your kingdom while you’ve been out chasing the princess.”

  “Trodliks. So close,” murmured Catherine. Her knees shook.

  “Just beyond Bellary, if Conrad is right,” said Sebastian.

  “Conrad has joined you?” Cyril staggered backward as if he had been gut punched.

  “Conrad has a good head on his shoulders. I am sure that he will make a fine captain in my guard,” said Sebastian with relish. Then Cyril’s expression changed, turning deadly. With an unintelligible yell, he drew his sword and lunged at Sebastian. Sebastian twisted out of the way and brandished his blade. Cyril slashed down at him, but the move was deflected and countered.

  Cyril briefly retreated. His gaze found Catherine’s, lingered there. I love you, she thought, her eyes never leaving his. Then he breathed deeply and lunged at Sebastian, fighting with a speed that Catherine had never seen. His blows rained down in whirling arcs; Sebastian was failing fast.

  “STOP!” roared Kallik, leaping onto Cyril’s back and pinning him to the ground. Cyril swung the sword around to Kallik’s leg but Kallik lifted it too quickly, biting down on Cyril’s sword arm. Cyril screamed in frustration and pain and the sword fell with a clatter from his hand.

  Catherine came at Kallik from the side, ready to kick him. With a murderous glare, he swiped at her, sending her flying backward. Then he turned again to Cyril, raking his claws along his body, cutting the Cinnan coat to ribbons and tearing into his flesh. Cyril and Catherine screamed in unison. Sebastian kicked at Cyril’s sword until it was well beyond his reach. Then he kicked at Cyril’s head in a sweaty fury until the Candlewax king lay unconscious. Kallik rose off of Cyril’s limp body with one last swipe, flipping him onto his back.