by Jake Adler
Ethan closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them again he found that he was now surrounded by a soft, white light. He squinted down and began to read aloud the words of power from the scroll. As he did so, a swirl of colours began to appear around him and he sensed the entire world stop to listen. Within moments his task was done and a crack of thunder boomed high overhead. He blinked and swiftly found himself back at the Throne of Vines.
“What happened?” Ethan asked staring anxiously up at Master Bedwyr.
“You disappeared,” the Grand Mage replied in astonishment, “I sensed a change within the flow of magic. Have you read from the second scroll yet?”
He shook his head, “Just the first one.”
“Then the remaining demons are loose”, Talina interjected then fell silent as she saw the Grand Mage frown in anger.
“You must read the second scroll quickly,” Master Bedwyr leaned forward sharply, “do it now before the demons realise what has happened!”
Ethan nodded nervously and noted with embarrassment that his hands were now shaking as he opened the second scroll. He blinked and immediately found himself in a cold, dark place. The speed at which he had left The Throne of Vines again began to fill him with a sense of panic. He also felt the presence of something malevolent that was now desperately searching for him and with this realisation his heart thudded faster inside his chest. Whatever it was, the thing that searched for him possessed a raw savagery that absolutely terrified him. He looked down towards his second scroll but his eyes only saw darkness.
“I am with you.” Alexon said, piercing through his fear. Immediately, Ethan was surrounded by ball of white light.
The presence had only been moments away from reaching him and now it shrank back in surprise, momentarily blinded by the light. It shrieked in rage as what looked to be an enormous demon with huge claws and fangs now leapt towards the globe, scratching and biting at its protective shield with a crazed frenzy. More and more shapes now rapidly circled the globe, prowling its perimeters, searching for a way in.
“I won’t let them hurt you.” Alexon spoke again.
His barrier of fear was finally broken. Ethan managed to drag his gaze away from the horror that surrounded him and look down to see the words of power. As he spoke aloud each word, shrieks of rage echoed around him that rapidly turned into whimpers as the creatures began to be pulled back inside the veil. The noise continued unabated until his words were spent and then everything fell silent. Ethan noted briefly that he was now back at the Throne of Vines as his body fell limply towards the cold, damp earth.
* * * *
GraJin had now seen his face. The face of ‘the one’ that the Grand Mage had brought forth to send him and his brethren back inside the veil. He had sensed the ending of Brid Clodagh’s spell, just as he had sensed the beginning of the new one. Safely encased inside his new human body, he doubted now that he could be forced back inside the veil, but he would not be taking any chances.
His dark eyes narrowed in satisfaction. For the first time, he was closer to understanding how he had managed to escape from the veil. Brid Clodagh’s spell was failing and now something weaker had been put in its place. As before, GraJin sensed that something was wrong with spell and in the brief moments that he had been able to search the human’s mind, he had picked up a faint memory of a need to find a second seal.
The body of Captain Vanimar stood at the window as its eyes stared down at the tiny humans milling about the streets far below. “Do you want the trap set in Findias or Scribillon first?” Yariq asked.
GraJin smacked his lips, “You decide,” he drummed his fingernails upon his desk and noticed with irritation that they needed clipping, “I have more pressing concerns. I must attend the mage library to find out how to travel to this other world.”
“Who then should take control of Ellington?” Yariq asked in surprise.
“You can, but it won’t matter for much longer.” GraJin pursed his lips. Within less than a week, his armies would be at the doors of Ellington.
Chapter 17
Axcil yanked his sword out from the body of a dead Goblin as he surveyed the scene before him. Dark smoke filled the air all with the stench of death and the bloodied corpses of both friend and foe stained the city’s streets. The sounds of battle were slowly dying out as only a handful of the enemy now survived. It seemed that they had achieved the impossible and saved the city.
Axcil’s thoughts drifted to Ellaminva. He was glad that she was safe and had not witnessed the carnage but there was something about this attack that deeply troubled him. His eyes swiftly focused to locate the form of Sergeant Pa’Zrr as he bent down to slit the throat of an unconscious Orc, “Sergeant we need to keep some of them alive for questioning.”
“Why?” Sergeant Pa’Zrr paused and failed to hide his incredulity.
“We need to know why they attacked us and on whose orders.” Axcil fixed him with a steely gaze indicating that the matter was not up for discussion. The Dwarf nodded reluctantly and ordered a group of soldiers to head towards the sounds of battle to capture some more prisoners.
“By the glory of Great Thor we’ve won!” Jarl Egill grinned as he arrived with his Royal Guards.
Axcil smiled and shook his head ruefully, “There is a lot of mess to clear up both above and below ground,” he paused and then spoke with an anger that surprised the Jarl, “someone must have promised them something rather special for three different races to attack us like this. We shall find out who or what started all this.”
Jarl Egill’s eyes narrowed, “Aye. To kill the beast, we must find and remove its head.”
Axcil nodded and his eyes picked up a small group approaching them, one of whom he recognised as being the human whose life he had saved earlier that day.
Jarl Egill grinned as he also noticed the men approach, “Where is Commander Haugen?” The expressions on the men’s faces answered his question and his eyes now glistened with emotion, “come, we have much to talk about.”
As the smoke began to clear, an eerie silence descended upon the city that was only broken by the occasional moans of the injured and the dying. The tired companions slowly headed back towards the palace. High above a group of ravens circled slowly overhead. They had been there all day but nobody had looked up to notice them. As soon as the battle was over they suddenly departed, heading back towards Ellington to report on what they had seen.
* * * *
Ellaminva breathed in the fresh scent of the forest as she slowly opened her eyes to the bright sunshine. Her gaze lifted to a break above the canopy of the trees to find that the skies were now clear and coloured a deep azure blue. She smiled as pressed her cheek down upon Vank’s warm body. A loud rumble suddenly erupted from deep inside his belly causing her to laugh and sit up.
“Hungry?” she asked him affectionately.
A lime green eye popped open and stared at her, “Do you know that we went to bed last night without any dinner?”
She suddenly remembered where they were, “I have some travel packs.”
“Piff!” Vank snorted in disgust. He had tried their travel rations before and knew that they tasted awful. They were surrounded by an entire forest of food and he was determined that day to get himself a decent breakfast.
The sounds of the forest had remained unchanged but her Elven heritage told her that they were now being watched. Her eyes flashed towards Vank to warn him of the danger as she rose swiftly.
“Come forth if you wish to speak.” Ellaminva announced loudly as she rested her hand upon the hilt of her sword.
After a short pause a figure emerged from behind a large oak tree, “I am impressed, child of the Elven.” The man was fairly young and slightly built, with piercing blue eyes. He had a medium length blonde beard that was tightly plaited at his chin and both his cheeks bore two small identical dark blue tattoos.
“Why are you here?” his question was put simply and without any hint of ag
gression.
“We seek your help to rescue the High Dragon from a group of Goblins.” Ellaminva made sure that Goblins were described as the perpetrators.
“Is that so?” the man asked with humour in his eyes.
“Yes!” She replied with a mixture of confusion and anger. Either the man didn’t believe her or he simply didn’t care. Her mind raced, “There is to be a Grand Council with the Tuatha DéDannan and-.”
“Tuatha DéDannan?” The humour from the man’s eyes rapidly disappeared. “Come with me,” he said in earnest, “you must speak with our clan leader.”
“You know about the Grand Council meetings?” She asked with incredulity. The Hesparin were considered to be a separatist clan and his knowledge of the Tuatha DéDannan had surprised her.
“We have never attended the Grand Council meetings, but we are still Tuatha DéDannan.” He seemed angry at her question but when he saw her flinch at his anger his countenance softened, “Forgive me. I realise that you will know little of my people.”
Vank’s stomach gave another involuntary call and the man smiled warmly at him, “Come with me and I will ensure that you both receive a hearty breakfast,” he motioned at them impatiently, “come, come.”
After a quick glance at one another they both agreed to follow him. They spoke little while they travelled and Ellaminva decided that it would be wise to concentrate upon memorising the terrain. As time passed, the trees and bushes became so dense that she found it increasingly difficult to discern one tree from another and she soon realised that she was totally lost. From her best guess, they had been largely heading towards the South, but they were travelling too fast for her to be able to stop and confirm this.
As they journeyed deeper into the forest, the trees became more ancient and many spanned widths larger than a house. Their enormous trunks stretched high above into the canopy above that now completely blocked off all views of the sky.
After an hour of travelling the man, who had eventually revealed that his name was Vimaltan stopped, “Here we are,” he said as he reached behind a tangle of leaves to reveal a rope that was nearly as thick as his arm.
Holding it with both hands he yanked hard down upon it twice and looked up expectantly. Several minutes passed and then suddenly a large and robust looking contraption slowly descended down from the trees and landed gently upon the forest floor. Vimaltan smiled and waved them onto it. Vank raised a quizzical eyebrow but did as he was bid as the device was clearly designed to be able to carry heavy payloads.
Once they had climbed aboard Vimaltan yanked twice upon a much smaller rope, and after a short pause they slowly began to ascend. They travelled for hundreds of feet, passing an occasional startled bird as they did so. After what seemed like many hours, they eventually came to a halt and entered a different world.
The sun shone brightly above vast walkways that rivalled the main streets of the largest cities of Nemedia. Shops and businesses nestled comfortably within the alcoves of the tree branches in all directions. The houses of Toralan were beautiful and resembled the design of the white cottages that existed within her uncle’s village of Lolivam. Ellaminva realised that her mouth was wide open and quickly closed it.
“Surprised?” Vimaltan asked her with a twinkle in his eyes.
Elllaminva nodded guiltily. Vimaltan smiled at her warmly, “It’s good to know that you can be completely honest with me for once.”
Ellaminva frowned and was about to ask him what he meant but he cut her short, “You will both receive a hearty breakfast from Madame Bandine and then I will take you to see our clan leader.” Without waiting for a response he quickly strode ahead and gestured for them to follow.
* * * *
For the past two days, GraJin had sat hunched upon the cold stone floor of the College of Mages library. His meeting with the human had been brief, but in those short moments that he had managed to plunder the man’s mind he had learned of his quest to enact the second seal. GraJin leaned forward and snarled as a sharp pain shot across the back of his neck, yet his gaze remained fixed. Before him, he held a worn-looking red leather bound tome. Its title had faded long ago but the pages inside it remained clear and crisp. His lips moved silently as he quickly scanned its contents and a faint smile slowly spread across his lips. He had finally found what he was seeking.
He would become the spider that sits motionless while its prey betrays itself. The aura of magic that surrounded the man had clearly marked him as a powerful mage. GraJin would enter this man’s world and wait. With each use of his magic, the human would expose himself, enabling GraJin to trace his energy trail and draw ever nearer. His feelings of pleasure at the thought of killing him surprised him and his face flushed.
GraJin’s rapture was briefly overshadowed by the return of the memory of his recent defeat at Takrak. At first, when he had heard the news he feared that his rage would totally consume him and he would sink into insanity. The time he had spent within the confines of the library had been very fortuitous, as it had allowed him the opportunity to focus his thoughts. Yet his rage remained. He would need to find an outlet for it soon when he crossed over into the other world.
Chapter 18
Bright sunlight filtered through the window as Ethan slowly opened his eyes. He sleepily propped himself up onto his elbows and squinted at the room. He was lying upon an ornate four poster bed and covered by crisp white sheets that were embroidered with golden flowers. The room itself was equally lavish and furnished extensively with obsidian. The floor was covered by a luxurious red woollen carpet.
Ethan blinked in confusion, “Hello?” he announced loudly to an empty room.
The door to his room immediately opened and Talina stepped inside. He stared at her in surprise as he she sat upon the bed beside him. “How are you feeling?” she asked as she leaned in close.
He noticed how large and pretty her eyes were, “Fine, but I am a little confused,” he admitted then felt himself blush.
She smiled faintly when she noticed his reaction then leaned back slightly, “I am glad that you are feeling better Ethan. We brought you back to the palace to rest after you collapsed at the Throne of Vines.”
“What happened?” Ethan asked anxiously.
“You achieved everything that was asked of you. Uncle Bedwyr will see you soon to arrange for us to travel to your world,” she paused then bit her lip, “have you thought about practicalities?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, I will need somewhere to stay initially.” She frowned faintly and cocked her head to one side as she examined his face closely.
She was right. He couldn’t just arrive back at his parents’ house with a stranger without some form of explanation. There was also the issue of how they would finance their travels while attempting to locate where to enact the second seal.
“The original spell used to bring me here included sending my parents a letter and making them feel comfortable about me visiting my uncle in America. We could do something similar and you could be seen as my cousin or -.”
“Or what?”
Ethan blushed, “Or you could be my girlfriend. It would raise fewer eyebrows with my parents if we are going to be spending a lot of time together.” He began to nervously pick at a piece of golden embroidery on his bed sheet.
“That settles it then,” she laughed and stood up, “I will be your girlfriend.” She flashed him a dazzling smile before promptly disappearing from the room.
Ethan smiled then felt a sudden pang of guilt when he thought of Cara. They had only just kissed the other day and here he was already cavorting with another girl. He realised that he could do nothing about his confused feelings for the time being and promptly leapt out of bed to find his clothes.
* * * *
Vank grinned crookedly as he helped himself to another slab of venison. He had made sure to eat his fill that day as both he and Ellaminva basked outside in the back garden of the Cat and Slipper public house. The cl
ouds above were mere wisps of white and the sun shone down upon them with a brilliance that made it feel like a summer’s day.
“Super!” said Vank as he chewed slowly upon the venison to savor its hot juices.
Ellaminva’s expression remained clouded as her thoughts had rested all morning upon the comment made earlier to her by Vimaltan. She felt angry at his insinuation that she had not been entirely honest with him. She hadn’t lied when she told him that the High Dragon had been kidnapped by Goblins, she just hadn’t mentioned that the group of perpetrators may also include other races. Vimaltan had left as soon as he brought them to eat their meal at the public house, so she would have to wait until she saw him again before she could challenge him.
Madame Bandine appeared within the garden of the Cat and Slipper where both Ellaminva and Vank sat with their picnic of food and drink laid out before them on a checkered table cloth. “Is everything to your satisfaction?” She asked as her large green eyes shone warmly at them both. She was a plump human woman with bright red hair that was tied up in a bun and a large bulbous nose.
Ellaminva smiled faintly, “It was delicious. Thank you.”
Madame Bandine rested her hands upon her sizeable hips and smiled in satisfaction. Her gaze shifted, “What’s the news?”
Vimaltan had returned. He swiftly nodded his thanks at her then his gaze flicked towards Ellaminva and Vank, “Now that you have eaten, please follow me.”
They quickly scrambled to their feet to follow him. Ellaminva felt her face burn at his coldness and wondered briefly why his opinion of her mattered so much. She frowned deeply at his receding form and heard Vank snort in irritation.
“I’m sorry,” she panted as she hurried to draw level with him, “I should have mentioned that the kidnappers might also include Orcs and Trolls.”
Vimaltan halted and then turned to face her. She noticed again the piercing blue colour of his eyes, “Thank you daughter of the Elven. I am aware of your people’s racial stereotypes.” His gaze softened as he saw her expression of shock, “I believe that we have much to learn about one another.”