“Someone broke it, the relay should have fired if anyone touched it,” Lyka explained.
“Electronics are meaningless here, Lyka. I've told you so over and over.” Finias's voice returned to its normal conversational style. “I wonder who could have done this.” He walked to the front of the vehicle and discovered Sam and Tig crouching in fear.
“Ah, boys, we were just talking about you. I have to say that was well played. You saved the damsels, sacrificing yourselves. Very noble, the stuff of legends. I wouldn’t be surprised if those simpering Parnassus elves write a song about it.” Finias’s taunting grew cruel, “I cannot allow such a wonderful gesture to be wasted. It simply would not do.”
He reached over his back, grasped a leather-wrapped wooden handle, drew a long bladed weapon out and held it reverently. The weapon’s handle was a foot long and its blade, etched with runic writing, was twice that. The shiny metal looked razor sharp and had a wicked curve toward the end, taking it from two inches wide to four. Finias gestured with the blade, ordering the boys to stand.
“What… is …” Sam stuttered, shivering from adrenaline and the cold temperature, but Finias cut him off.
“This? It's a falchion. Rather beautiful, don’t you agree?” Without warning, Finias said, “Foci tendre.” Long tendrils from the ground reached up and wrapped around the legs of the boys. “I can’t have you running away now, can I? If either of you attempts to remove them, I will cut our conversation short and just kill you.” Finias held the beautiful falchion closer to Sam’s face.
Sam couldn’t contain himself any further, “What’s this all about? Why me? Why us? Surely, you see we’re no threat?”
“An astute observation, young Elendahl. Why indeed? There is so much you don’t know …”
A Kingdom Divided
Jessie watched in horror as Sam and Tig pushed the front end of the truck into the mirror and then disappeared. Until that moment, she had been thrilled to watch the young woman with the ivy tattoos barrel into the terrifying old woman, causing them both to careen into the mirror. Now Sam was in there too. Panic threatened to overtake her as she considered all of the awful things that could be happening to Sam.
"Mom … Mom … MOM!" Amber yelled, tugging at Jessie's sleeve to get her attention. "We have to get free. Sam’s in trouble, there isn't any time!" Amber's voice was frantic. As she moved, however, the vines started to wither and loosen. Frantically, they pulled at the vines and removed them enough to step free.
Amber jogged over to the mirror and positioned herself to get a good look into it. "Mom, come here, quick!" Jessie had already come alongside her daughter and they both looked into the frame. "It's Sam and Tig, in front of the truck."
The pair heard Finias and the crone arguing loudly and cringed as Finias brought the witch to her knees. Jessie started to reach out to Sam to pull him back, but Amber pushed her arm down. "Wait, we don't know how this thing works."
Tig and Sam were keeping a low profile, trying not to draw attention to themselves. Amber and Jessie watched as Finias walked toward the truck, clearly headed to where the boys were hiding. Jessie shouted at Finias, "Hey! Leave them alone!!" Finias didn't bat an eye or acknowledge Jessie in any way. He couldn’t hear them, but Jessie could hear everything, even his boots crunching the hard-packed snow.
It was like watching a television show, except this wasn’t pretend. These were real people they desperately cared about. Jesse watched helplessly as Finias pulled a menacing weapon from behind his back and leveled it at the boys. She knew she had to act; the situation was too dangerous.
"Amber, this man is going to kill your brother and I have to stop him. You have to go get help."
Amber grabbed her mother's shoulders. "No, Mom! What if something happens to you, we have to go together."
"Amber, listen to me, you’ve seen what this man is capable of. I can't have you both in that kind of danger. Go back to the castle and get them to come help us." Tears were streaming down Jessie's face, "Please Amber, it has to be this way."
Amber nodded her agreement, "Okay, mom. You need to have some sort of weapon though. I think you’ll be able to surprise him."
"Yes. Good thinking." They both hurried around the platform scrounging for something that could be used as a weapon. Jessie stooped and grabbed a steel pipe about a yard long. "This will do nicely."
"Your timing needs to be perfect. Make sure you hit him squarely in the head," Amber instructed coldly. "Once you’re through, I’ll go straight to the castle - if I can find it."
Amber and Jessie turned back to the portal and waited for the perfect moment.
Finias had just spoken, “An astute observation, young Elendahl. Why indeed? There is so much you don’t know …” He lowered his weapon. "You should know of your family's treachery before you die. A short explanation won't kill me."
He drew in a breath, "It's really quite simple. First off, if you haven't figured it out yet, we are no longer in West Virginia. We are in a world known as Gaeland. I won't go into the details about what makes this world so special, as you won't have time to enjoy its many nuances. Suffice it to say, this world is ruled by powerful magic and those strong enough to control it. That will be me. But I suspect you are wondering how you fit into all of this.
"Roughly two centuries ago, peace reigned between two equal kingdoms - one ruled by the Blackhalls and the other by the Parnassus family. Within the major kingdoms two lesser fiefdoms were ruled by the Elendahl and Fenhall families. Elendahl was allied with Parnassus and Fenhall with the Blackhalls.
"From what I have read, a great evil arose and threatened the people of Gaeland. At great expense and sacrifice, my family stepped forward and stopped it. In short, my ancestors proved themselves to be the strongest defenders and in order to assure peace they consolidated all of the forces of Gaeland, under a single king, my great, great grandfather."
Finias sighed and drew in another breath, “Apparently this caused great jealousy among Parnassus and Elendahl. The two houses schemed and plotted, setting forth to ruin the great Blackhall reign. A mighty wizard, in the employ of the House of Parnassus discovered an ancient spell that allowed them to create a portal between the world you know and Gaeland. After it was summoned, they used it to trick the rest of us.
"For centuries, the Parnassuses snuck away to solidify their power in this new magic-free land, abundant with open space and natural resources. When their plans were complete, the houses of Parnassus and Elendahl showed their true intentions in one single, cruel act. They hosted a tremendous celebration in West Virginia and invited everyone who was anyone from the four kingdoms. During this celebration they destroyed The Crux, the very portal we just reopened. They closed it so that we couldn’t ever go home … until now.”
Sam considered what Finias had been saying and asked, "So why didn't you just rebuild The Crux back then?"
"Isn't it obvious? All four families must unite to summon a portal and someone must have knowledge of the incantation. Parnassus and Elendahl were unwilling to participate or share the knowledge. They had achieved their evil purpose to strand us all there, apart from our kingdoms. It has taken nearly two centuries and all of my family's resources, but now I have returned to claim the kingdom that is rightfully mine!
"So, there you have your explanation. It is not without some regret that I must dispatch you both, but you must pay for your families’ betrayal. Understand, I simply cannot have another Elendahl in Gaeland. It would be worse yet if I were to let you live, Tigerious, a prince of Parnassus who supersedes my good friend Lyka in the chain of succession. You are both, well, not to be too prickly about it, superfluous."
Finias raised the long bladed weapon. Jessie had been waiting for just this moment. She raised the steel pipe above her head and jumped, ready to bring the pipe down as hard as her strong arms would allow.
Tig knew that this was the moment to act. There was no doubt in his mind that Finias meant to do them both in. "Plento Sw
anum!" Tig moved his hands in the same way that he’d been taught by Naminee. His intent was to distract Finias with a sudden burst of wind and then remove the vines and run.
Jessie's body rebounded from the portal as if she'd just attacked a large inflated rubber ball. Undeterred, knowing that seconds could be the difference between life and death for Sam. Jessie rapidly regained her feet and once again sprung at the figure of Finias in the portal.
A violent gust of wind whipped from the end of Tig's hands into the unsuspecting body of Finias Blackhall who’d just started to swing the long bladed weapon down at Sam. Finias was bowled over and blown back several yards, his body skidding on the icy snowpack.
Jessie rebounded again from the portal. Amber, ready this time, caught her mom. "Mom, stop, you’re hurting yourself. For some reason you can't go through. Give me the pipe and let me try. We have to save Sam."
"Amber, I can't let you go." Their attention was drawn to the scene in the portal. Tig had just caused a great wind to knock Finias over.
"Mom, I have to try. How could either one of us live with it if Sam was hurt?"
Jessie looked appraisingly at her daughter, pride and fear swelling within her. She handed the pipe to Amber and pulled her into a tight hug. "I love you, Amber."
Tig reached across to Sam's legs, causing the roots to whither. He cried urgently, "Run for the trees and hide!"
Finias regained his feet and lifted the sword high, "Not so fast!" His body turned to vapor and he covered the few yards instantaneously, bringing the weapon down sharply as he rematerialized. Sam hadn't had a chance to move yet and he hunched forward, cringing, fully expecting the blade to cleave his head in two.
No one was more surprised than Sam when instead of the impact of the heinous blade, he heard the sharp twang of metal on metal. He looked up to see his sister Amber, still dressed in her evening gown and Tig's too-short suit coat, holding a steel pipe into which Finias' blade had become embedded.
Tig screamed, "Run!" Sam needed no further prompting; he grabbed his sister's hand and pulled her from her dueling stance with Finias and they ran for the shelter of the nearby forest.
The weight of the sword and metal bar together were too much to wield effectively. Finias attempted to remove the blade, but decided he was wasting valuable time and dropped them both. In frustration he screamed, "Stop them."
Lyka sprinted after Sam and Amber. He was considerably better equipped for the chase, as Sam was still in dress shoes and Amber in bare feet, which had started to bleed from the rough ice crystals. Lyka closed the distance easily.
Tig reached down and freed his own legs from the root tendrils which bound them. His movements drew Finias’s attention away from Sam and Amber’s flight toward the trees. "What is it with you? As if we wouldn't hunt you down in the forest just as easily?" Finias worked the blade of the falchion back and forth, trying to free it from the steel pipe. "That was a nice trick with the wind. Did you learn that at Helicon? I’ll have to work on that one. What was the incantation?"
Tig backed away from Finias, who chuckled at his retreat, still working the blade, expecting to free it at any moment. Tig turned and ran. He’d gone twenty yards when he started to wonder if somehow he had escaped the madman behind him. He dared a look over his shoulder and couldn't find Blackhall anywhere. His mind spun. Where had he gone? Almost too late Tig looked forward again, Finias’s dark form appearing directly in front of him, the blade slicing through the air. Tig ducked and slid, the blade missing his head by less than a finger's width.
Meanwhile, Lyka closed to within two yards of the fleeing Sam and Amber. "Now I've got you!" Lyka shouted victoriously as he leapt into the air, fully expecting to drive his shoulder into the young woman's back. He didn’t make contact with anything except the cold ground, his hands driving furrows deep into the snow, spraying ice into his face. The runners had turned into a ghostly cloud, speeding away at an incredible rate.
For Sam and Amber, everything around them turned gray. The wind no longer resisted them, rather they became part of that very wind, directing it to help them travel. Amber tried to speak, still clutching Sam's hand, afraid of what might happen if she let go. She found it impossible to converse and gave in to the simple wonder of their flight.
Sam guided the two of them into the forest, gliding effortlessly around the trunks of the tall alpine conifers, the needles of the trees gently tickling their ghostly bodies. Sam brought them around just in time to see Finias appear in front of Tig, swinging his sword violently at Tig's head and narrowly missing.
Sam pulled Amber behind a large fir tree out of sight of the meadow's occupants and let go of her hand. She immediately regained solid form.
Tig just narrowly missed losing his head. His back hit the ground hard and his breath expelled violently from his lungs. He had no time to be stunned and forced his body to roll over as quickly as he could. The glint of Finias's blade swinging through the air, on a direct line with his head, forced Tig to swerve. He felt the cold steel sink deeply into his forearm which he had instinctively raised to protect himself, and warm blood soaked his cream colored shirt. A scream escaped his lips as Finias efficiently whirled the blade back around for another strike. The blade whistled through the air and Tig held his arms up to defend himself. Unable to roll out of the way, he prepared for the worst.
Instead of cold steel, however, he felt the grasp of a warm hand around his wrist. His mind couldn't catch up with what was occurring. Just before the hand grasped his wrist he had seen movement from the corner of his eye. But if someone had run by and grabbed him, wouldn’t he feel his back being dragged through the snow? He felt nothing like that at all. Someone had easily pulled him from the ground, and they were now flying through the air at great speed. Color disappeared, various shades of gray filled his eyes.
Tig saw that his hand was being held by a ghostly form resembling Sam. The rate of speed that they traveled was incredible and the sensation exhilarating. A glance over his shoulder showed that Finias was pursuing them, unbelievably at the same speed. Fortunately, he wasn't closing on them.
Sam tested his limits and circled away from where he dropped Amber, not wanting to give up her position. He determined that Finias was neither losing ground nor gaining on them. Under these circumstances; it became a matter of endurance. Sam hoped he was up to the challenge and terrified that he would lose his new found talent while they were being chased.
Sam turned back to where he had dropped Amber; desperately wishing they could communicate, their timing needed to be precise. He had no interest in drawing the madman to his sister, but he also didn't believe she could survive long in the snowy field wearing nothing more than a tuxedo jacket and evening gown. For the first time in many hours, luck was on his side. As he rounded toward the tree, he saw her standing in the open, both arms stretched out toward his rapidly approaching form. It was a simple matter to swoop down and grasp her hand. The three of them whistled through the trees, diving deeper into the alpine forest, pursued by the dogged Finias Blackhall.
The Glade
Gaeland
The chase continued for more than an hour, but Sam felt no appreciable fatigue. He’d learned that this fast motion wasn't really flying, at least not like a bird flies. When he traveled over a precipice, for example, he couldn't maintain his altitude. He gently but surely sank back to within three feet of ground level. If he weren't being chased by a madman, Sam thought this new skill would be fantastic fun. As it was, he had to stay focused on evasion. There must be some way to elude the man named Blackhall.
Over the last hour Sam had successfully placed a few hundred yards between his group and the pursuer. He would find a good hiding place and wait, but each time Finias’ ghostly form would somehow turn and aim in their direction. Sam started to wonder whether Finias had some way of tracking him. He would find out fairly soon if he couldn’t come up with a plan.
The day was giving way to evening and the sun had dropped behind
the mountain range above them. When Sam had climbed Mount Heli, he'd gotten a great view of the entire area below. Maybe he could see something from the top of this mountain that would give him an idea.
Sam turned back toward the mountain and started climbing. Higher and higher they traveled. He remembered what it was like climbing in the mountains of Colorado. He could imagine the air growing thinner and how breathing should be getting more difficult the higher they went. His imagination wandered as he broke from the forest’s edge and continued past the tree line. Did trees stop growing here at twelve thousand feet just like they did back home?
Sam kept climbing, his ascent unaffected by the thinning air. When he finally neared the top, he changed his course to travel across the face of the mountain and then veered again to head back down. He scanned the valley below looking for anything that would help break the current stalemate.
Sam’s eyes caught the glow of lights on the mountainside a few miles away. In the extreme distance, down in the valley, he saw the expansive glow of what must be a small city. Small pinpoints and larger blobs of light could be seen everywhere from this vantage point. The valley was alive with activity.
Sam decided to head toward the closest small village. At their rate of speed, it would take no more than a few minutes to reach the outskirts. As they closed in, Sam grew confused. The lights weren't all at ground level. The trees in this part of the forest were considerably larger than those in the meadow or on the mountainside, many of which were upwards of a hundred fifty feet tall with bases as big around as a small house.
Lesser Prince (Guardians of Gaeland Book 1) Page 14