Amethyst of the Gods

by Richard S. Tuttle

  King Arik smiled and shook his head. "I have already dealt with it," he smiled. "As for forgetting you, that will not happen in my lifetime. You need to rest now. I do not have the skills to heal you, but I believe with enough rest, you shall be able to do that yourself. I will keep watch over you."

  "But…," Tanya began to protest.

  "Rest," commanded the king with a compassionate smile on his face. "That is a royal decree. It may be the only one that you ever obey, but you will obey this one."

  Tanya had no strength left to argue. She closed her eyes, and let the darkness consume her.

  * * *

  "We return to the ship," declared Alex. "From there we will seek to find another entrance to the mountain."

  "Why go back to the ship?" asked Sheri. "We are already so close to the mountain."

  "We are on the wrong side of the abyss to do any good," explained Alex. "Until we find another entrance to the mountain, there is no need to expose everyone to whatever other dangers exist on this island. From the Song of Alcea we can let the fairies and the unicorns examine the mountain in greater detail. We will find a way to get King Arik out of there safely."

  "That makes sense to me," nodded Fredrik. "Perhaps the Darkness will even thin more by the time we begin the search."

  "Thin more?" echoed Wylan. "What do you mean?"

  "Haven't you noticed?" asked Fredrik as he pointed upward. "The Darkness overhead is thinning. It is much lighter out today than it was yesterday."

  "You are right," remarked Jenneva as she gazed skyward. "It is thinning."

  "What does this mean?" asked Natia. "Has King Arik already found the Amethyst of the Gods?"

  "No," Jenneva shook her head. "I would expect the Amethyst of the Gods to eradicate the Darkness completely and swiftly."

  "Master Khatama?" questioned Fredrik. "Could he be what is causing the thinning?"

  "I would not be surprised," mused Jenneva, "although I cannot imagine how he could accomplish such a feat."

  "Master Khatama can do anything he puts his mind to," interjected Niki. "If he does not want King Arik to affect the Darkness, maybe he is gathering it himself to protect it."

  "Whatever the Mage is up to," stated Alex, "we cannot affect it. Our goal is to retrieve King Arik from the Mountain of Death. Let's head back to the Song of Alcea and prepare to do just that."

  * * *

  Tanya opened her eyes and gazed up at King Arik's face. The king was sitting with his back against the wall, his eyes closed in sleep. Tanya's head was cradled in his lap, and she just watched him breathing for several moments. As she awakened, she felt the pain in her shoulder. She flexed the fingers of her left hand and sighed with relief as she felt her fingers move. She tried moving her arm and a jolt of pain shot through her shoulder. Her soft cry of pain woke up the king.

  "Easy now," advised King Arik as he opened his eyes and saw Tanya awake. "You took quite a hit from that demon. Let me help you up."

  "How long have I been sleeping?" asked Tanya.

  "I am not sure," shrugged the king. "I suspect that you slept as long as your body needed you to. It is hard to tell whether it is night or day inside this mountain. How do you feel?"

  "Like I have been kicked by a horse," groused Tanya. "Hold my left arm for me."

  The king held Tanya's arm as she instructed. She gritted her teeth as she cast healing spells upon herself. For over an hour, Tanya worked silently to restore her body. When she was finally done, she flexed her arm in satisfaction.

  "You should eat," suggested the king. "Your body will need the strength."

  "You are correct," smiled Tanya. "Thank you for watching over me."

  "Perhaps you should rest some more before we continue our search for the Amethyst of the Gods," commented King Arik. "You never can tell what other challenges await us."

  "I will be fine," replied Tanya. "Running for an hour while casting spells was difficult for me. Climbing up from the abyss clearly zapped my energy levels, but I feel fine now."

  "Still," frowned the king, "we are better off being cautious than hasty."

  "Cautious?" retorted Tanya. "Do call hanging around to fight demons being cautious? Why did you not flee when I told you to? I nearly died to give you time to flee, and you remained to fight the demons. How could you do such a thing?"

  "I do what I must," sighed King Arik. "Nobody prioritizes my actions but myself. I did what I knew I had to do."

  "Prioritize your actions?" countered Tanya. "What is there to prioritize? You must stay alive to fulfill the Ancient Prophecy. Nothing is more important than your life."

  "That is where we disagree," replied the king. "Those are your priorities, not mine."

  "Are you mad?" snapped Tanya as she remembered the king saying that there were two things more important than his life. "What are these two things that you think are so important that you can throw your life away for them?"

  "Perhaps others might see me as mad," shrugged King Arik, "but each man must live his life as best as he can. Perhaps they will call me Mad King Arik. I have given up everything that I ever cared about for this Ancient Prophecy, but there are two things that I value over my own life. That is the people of Alcea who have come to depend upon me, and my future queen. I will not save myself at the expense of them."

  A puzzled frown fell over Tanya's face as she stared at the king. "You make no sense at all," she shook her head. "Perhaps that demon hit you in the head."

  "It makes perfect sense to me," retorted the king.

  "How can it make any sense?" questioned Tanya. "You throwing your life away in this demonic mountain will neither save the people of Alcea nor Shel. You must be mad."

  "Shel?" echoed the king. "Whatever are you talking about? What does Shel have to do with this?"

  "Your future queen," Tanya said pointedly. "Did you think I would be so blind as to not notice things like that? Goodness, everyone knows about Shel."

  "Shel means nothing to me," declared King Arik. "Regardless of what anyone thinks they know, they do not know what resides in my heart."

  "But I heard you with my own ears," argued Tanya. "How can you lie to me like this? I thought more of you than that."

  "What did you hear with your own ears?" demanded the king.

  "The day before we left Tagaret," Tanya explained. "In your office with Shel, you were discussing what to do with the queen while you were gone."

  "The Queen's Helpers you mean," corrected King Arik. "Shel is Sheri's cousin. She is taking over the Queen's Helpers while Sheri is with us on this quest."

  "But you purposely dressed her like me," Tanya pointed out. "You cannot imagine that was merely a coincidence?"

  "Of course not," sighed King Arik. "As long as I had to spend time with Shel to outline what I wanted her to do while I was gone, I figured it was clever to dress her like you. That would downplay the importance of your always being close to me to any spies that happen to be around. I thought it would stop anyone from questioning why you were so important to the Knights of Alcea. I wouldn't want them to stumble onto the fact that you are the daughter of Alex and Jenneva."

  "But if you are not talking about Shel," murmured Tanya, "who are you talking about as your queen?"

  "Look," sighed the king, "I know we have discussed this before and we have not seen eye to eye, but there is nobody but you who could be my queen. I love you too much to ever think of another woman being queen of Alcea. I know that you do not love me as I love you, but that is something that I will have to live with."

  "But…," Tanya interrupted with tears in her eyes.

  "I will have no interruptions," declared the king. "There are things that I have left unsaid because I felt there would be no good reception for my words, but I will not remain silent any longer. I have thought a great deal on this matter, and I think I have come to a reasonable solution. I want to make you queen of Alcea, whether you marry me or not. I understand that you do not wish to remain boarded up in the Royal Palac
e, and that is acceptable to me. You will be free to go wherever you want, whenever you want. All I ask is that you take care of the people of Alcea when I am not able to."

  "When you are not able to?" echoed Tanya. "You have taken the elixir of long life given by the Mage. Your life will outlast mine by far. You are not asking anything of me."

  "Not true," the king shook his head. "You, too, have taken the same elixir."

  "What?" responded Tanya. "I have never done such a thing. How can I believe your other words when you spout such lies?"

  "I, myself, gave it to you in the Gateway Inn," replied King Arik. "It was after your fall from the mage tower. I realized then that I loved you more than life itself. I hoped that the elixir would be enough to pull you through your injuries."

  Tanya started crying uncontrollably as she realized what a fool she had been. King Arik was confused by her crying and was unsure if he should comfort her, or if the action would offend her. Finally, Tanya managed to control herself, and her eyes twinkled with mischief as she gazed at the king.

  "So you want me to be queen in name only?" posed Tanya. "No marriage? No children? What will Alcea do for an heir?"

  "I could not ask such a thing from you," frowned the king. "Maybe over time, you will change your feelings about me, but if not, then Alcea will have to do without an heir. Perhaps our long lives can be spent preparing for someone to take over the reins of power to ensure the safety of our people."

  "And what if I decide that I want to marry and have children?" inquired Tanya.

  King Arik bit his lower lip and his brow creased with concern. "I had not thought about that," admitted the king. "I suppose that would be a complication, but I am sure that we could address it somehow. Perhaps we could have some law created that would allow for it. Or maybe I could abdicate and let you and your husband rule Alcea. He must be a just man, though. I will not sacrifice the people of Alcea for your happiness nor my own."

  "You are serious about this," Tanya said in amazement. "You are really willing to spend your entire life without a proper wife and queen so that I may be queen? Why?"

  "Because I love you more than I love myself," declared King Arik, "and because I know that there will never be a better person to rule over Alcea. Will you accept?"

  "I could never be queen without being wedded to the king," Tanya shook her head.

  "But…," argued King Arik.

  "And I could never wed a man if I did not love him more than life itself," she continued.

  "But…," sighed the king.

  "So I accept," grinned Tanya.

  "You accept?" gasped the king. "You mean…"

  "I mean that I love you, Arik," Tanya said as she wrapped her arms around the king. "I guess that I always have. I have just been too stubborn to admit it."

  "Then we can be married?" grinned Arik.

  "And have proper heirs," nodded Tanya. "Now if I can think of a way to get you out of Tagaret once in a while."

  "I have already thought of a way," chuckled King Arik. "I have spent days dreaming about it."

  "What is it?" inquired Tanya.

  "We can spend half of our time traveling the lands of Alcea," smiled the king. "We can say that it is important to show a presence in all of our provinces. We can travel in disguise and be free from all of the troubles of ruling for periods of time."

  "And let Prince Oscar rule in our absence?" nodded Tanya.

  "Prince Oscar or someone else we trust," agreed King Arik as he hugged Tanya tightly.

  "And the fairies can let us know if we are needed for something urgent," added Tanya.

  "And the unicorns can speed us to Tagaret if necessary," agreed the king. "This is the happiest moment of my life."

  "And mine," purred Tanya. "I cannot believe that we were both so stubborn that we could not admit our love to each other."

  "We must make sure that we never lack honest communications in the future," declared the king. "We came close to losing each other with our irrational thoughts. Never again will I keep my feelings from you. That is a promise that I make to you now."

  "And a promise that I make as well," agreed Tanya. "I can't wait to tell Alex and Jenneva."

  "Will they approve?" asked King Arik.

  "More than you know," giggled Tanya. "Jenneva thinks the world of you, and Alex has practically thrown us together every chance he got. He said that you loved me. It's funny. I would never have doubted his advice in matters of warfare, but I gave it little credence in the arena of love. I should have known better. What of your parents?"

  "Both sets of my parents think you are the ideal woman," grinned the king. "They will be extremely happy for us. It will be quite a wedding."

  "First we have to survive this Mountain of Death," frowned Tanya. "We have not been doing too good in that regard so far. Did you have a chance to explore any while I slept?"

  "I stayed by your side," the king shook his head. "I did not feel comfortable leaving you alone in your condition. Besides, I said I would watch over you while you slept."

  "Then we had best get on with it," declared Tanya as she broke the embrace and stood up. "The sooner we restore the Amethyst of the Gods to the Sword of Heavens, the sooner we can get off this island."

  "Perhaps you should rest some more before we continue onward," suggested King Arik. "What lies ahead may require all of our skills to conquer."

  "I have never felt better in my life," grinned Tanya as she flexed her left arm. "Anything that gets in our way now had better run for its life."

  "I will retrieve your sword," offered King Arik. "Have something more to eat, and we will start exploring."

  Tanya nodded as the king rounded the corner of the great hall and searched for Tanya's sword. When he returned, Tanya had their packs ready to go. King Arik retrieved a sharpening stone and ran it over Tanya's blade.

  "You should take better care of your sword," chuckled the king. "These little nicks could make a difference."

  "I'll try to remember that the next time a demon rips one out of my hand," laughed Tanya. "There is a door at the end of this wing of the hall."

  "There is a door at the end of each wing of the hall," nodded the king. "I guess one is as good as the next. We will start with this one and work our way around to the others."

  * * *

  "Wake Kroto up," Balamor shouted over the roar of the swirling water. "It is time for Doryelgar to rest."

  Podil nodded and worked her way along the rail to the crew closet occupied by the dwarf from Cazra. She shook the dwarf gently, but he still awoke with a start. Kroto shook his head and gazed out to see the Mage suspended over the black hole of the Ocean's Sewer. He looked up at the Darkness and mumbled under his breath.

  "It is lessening," assured Podil. "Shadows are becoming more pronounced."

  "Aye," scowled the dwarf, "but how long will it take? How many days must we spend swirling around this despicable drain to the planet's center?"

  "As many as it takes to ensure that Alutar does not return," shrugged Podil. "Complaining about it will not lessen the chore."

  "Are you sure he is even still alive?" asked Kroto as he nodded towards Master Khatama, who hung by his arm from a rope suspended from the center hoisting spar.

  "I do not know if life and death have meaning to the Mage," Podil replied. "I do know that he is still funneling the Darkness into the Ocean's Sewer and that is what matters. The rest of us must continue to feed wisps of the Darkness towards him."

  Kroto grunted in response, and Podil moved further along the rail until she came to the closet containing Doryelgar.

  "You may rest for a while," she said to the dwarf from Talman. "Kroto will take over for you."

  "Thank you, Podil," nodded Doryelgar. "I am not too exhausted this time. If someone else needs the rest more, feel free to awaken me."

  "I shall keep that in mind," smiled Podil, "but everyone appears to be doing well so far. Get the rest while you can. There is no telling how long this will ta
ke."

  "Nor how it will end," nodded the dwarf. "Should it end poorly, Podil, I want you to know that it was a pleasure working with you."

  "I can easily say the same about you, Doryelgar," smiled the elf. "Whatever happens here, you can be sure that we have made a difference for the good of the world. I have learned enough about the Mage to understand that much."

  Chapter 26

  Rotunda of the Gods

  King Arik paused before the door in the great hall on the Mountain of Death. He held the Sword of Heavens before him as he rotated in a circle. His face creased with frustration.

  "What's the matter?" asked Tanya.

  "The Sword of Heavens is not working," answered the king as rotated again. "I feel no indication of the Amethyst of the Gods. I feel nothing at all."

  "The Sword of Heavens should be pulling strongly this close to the gem," frowned Tanya. "Do you think the gem has moved? Like the Diamond of Edona did with the prophet Azmet?"

  "Even if it was taken away," the king shook his head, "there should be some feeling in the sword. I feel nothing at all. It is as if the Amethyst of the Gods no longer exists."

  "That is not a comforting thought," sighed Tanya. "Still, we must find a way out of this mountain. Let's continue exploring until we find an exit. We can periodically test the Sword of Heavens again as we travel."

  King Arik nodded and pushed open the door at the end of the wing of the great hall. A click echoed through the stone hall as the door swung open. King Arik started to walk through the door, when Tanya pushed him aside and entered before him.

  "Why the rush?" scowled the king. "You almost knocked me over."

  "Quiet," Tanya replied in a whisper. "Listen."

  King Arik cocked his head and strained to hear what had alerted Tanya. For several moments, they stood silently holding their breath. Finally, King Arik heard the telltale clicking on the stone floor.

  "Another demon," he exhaled softly.

  "Shield your eyes," Tanya instructed in a whisper. "I need light to locate it. Be ready to attack."

  King Arik shut his eyes and raised his arms in front of his face. Even with his eyes closed and blocked by his arms, the brilliant light of Tanya's spell blazed brightly.