The Final Destiny: Vesta Mansion Trilogy - Book Three - Fantasy

by P. A. Priddey

  ‘Yes, I agree,’ said Luella. ‘Major, do not let any of your men pass this point.’

  Henrik nodded. ‘What do you believe has happened?’

  ‘I’m not altogether sure, but it might be a portal. I’m going back to sit with Alex and pray that he wakes soon.’

  ~~~~

  The group stopped as something felt wrong. The forest they entered was now a tropical jungle. The air humid and hot with insects, none of them had seen before, flying around.

  Before any of them could get their bearings, six cat-like creatures as big as lions charged at them. They had no fur, but spikes on their heads and along their backs. Kristina and Millie tried to stop them with shields, but nothing happened. One of the creatures was almost upon them when Rho dragged it down and ripped out its throat. The gnomes leapt forward swinging their axes and killed the remaining five quickly.

  ‘What the hell just happened, House?’ said James, but there was no reply. ‘House,’ he said once more.

  Asima held her sword out prepared for another attack. ‘I don’t think he is here.’

  Kristina glanced up at the huge trees. ‘We’re alone, and our shields don’t work.’

  Adair nodded. ‘My magic doesn’t work here either.’

  ‘Neither does ours,’ said Torgon, with his sword drawn.

  ‘My crossbow wouldn’t load,’ said Jodie, now brandishing her own sword.

  Carrie rubbed her eyes. ‘Where are we?’

  Adair shook his head. ‘I’ve no idea, but I believe we stepped through a portal.’

  ‘I think it was more of a rift,’ said Torgon. ‘A portal to one of the other worlds would stay open until someone closes it.’

  Thalion nodded. ‘They’re also visible.’

  Adair held his staff forward. ‘Then we have to stay here and hope it opens again.’

  ‘No,’ said James, ‘we’re too open and need some protection.’

  ‘We could miss a chance to get back.’

  ‘And we could be waiting hours,’ said James. ‘If these creatures attack us from all sides we’re done for.’ His eyes scanned the forest ahead, and saw more creatures. ‘What the hell are those?’

  Troll-like creatures, bigger than men, ran through the trees at them. James counted at least twenty, but they carried no weapons. Carrie and Paige stood in front of Kristina and Millie protecting them, they could fight but nowhere near as fast as the others. Adair swung his staff beating them away with ease. The elves fought side by side, not letting any of the creatures past. Jodie and Skye were more animated as they fought, as both spun using their feet and swords. The fight lasted just a few minutes with the gnomes and their power killing the most.

  Torgon turned towards James. ‘Where do you suggest?’

  James glanced around and pointed. ‘Down there, let’s see what’s behind that hill, as I would like some protection on our backs.’

  The hill gave them some cover, as the other side had a flat face with large rocks in front of it. They got there just in time before the next attack. It was more of the cat creatures again, a lot more. It wasn’t just the speed of their weapons that kept them alive, but their own speed at dodging the claws. The elvish blades were flying with speed, and the gnome axes met no real opposition. Those from the mansion never looked in trouble. The women fought with skill, but after two hours of almost none stop fighting they started tiring in the heat. They were all thirsty, but had nothing to drink. After four hours, there had been no let-up in the attacks. After eight hours, Skye had fallen.

  ~~~~

  Alex woke eleven hours after the patrol vanished. He could smell Carrie on his sheets which pleased him. He opened his eyes and noticed his mother sitting there in the dark.

  ‘What’s wrong?’ he asked, sitting up quickly, and House turned on the light.

  ‘A patrol from here went out yesterday afternoon and vanished,’ said Luella, and told him who they were.

  ‘Shit,’ said Alex, as he jumped out of bed, and ran to the bathroom to get changed. He returned seconds later, when the sudden feeling of dread came over him again, and he almost fainted. ‘No, not now.’

  Luella grabbed him, and held him up. ‘What is it?’

  Alex felt light-headed. ‘Fear, it’s like I’ve already failed them.’

  ‘Do you want me to fix you a tonic?’ Luella asked.

  ‘Will it bring back my dreams? No, Mother, I don’t think so.’

  Luella helped him sit down. ‘Tell me quickly, what has happened to your dreams.’

  ‘I’ve had none since we saved the Dwarves.’

  ‘House can you scan his brain,’ said Luella, ‘and see if there’s something that shouldn’t be there?’

  I will try, said House, and after a minute of silence. There is a strange dark shadow.

  ‘I need Daralis now.’

  ‘What’s wrong?’ Alex asked as Daralis appeared.

  ‘You’ve been enchanted by a nasty spell. It would cause you to go insane after a while, if you hadn’t killed yourself first,’ said Luella, smiling at Daralis, who smiled back. ‘Now keep still.’ Luella and Daralis put their hands on his head, and chanted a few words in the old language.

  The shadow has gone, said House.

  Alex was hit with a thousand images from his repressed dreams, and one image came to him more than once . . . Korzak.

  ‘Are you OK?’ Luella asked.

  ‘No, I’m bloody angry. House I need Korzak here now,’ said Alex, as they went downstairs.

  ‘Alex,’ said Aileen, as she hugged him, and some of his energy passed through to her. Alex didn’t understand why and Aileen didn’t appear to notice.

  ‘Lord Alex, can you get them back?’ said Ellinor.

  ‘Yes, my lady, I will bring them all back,’ said Alex, and turned to a group of gnomes and armoured elves. ‘Get your weapons.’

  Korzak appeared. ‘Have I done something wrong, my lord?’

  Alex shook his head and led the goblin towards the gym. ‘No, but I need to know what they went through.’

  ‘I believe it was a rift in time.’

  Alex nodded. ‘Will it open again?’

  ‘I told major Henrik it would, and he has his soldiers waiting there.’

  ‘Good, is there any way you can keep it open?’

  Korzak thought about it for a moment. ‘I have never done it before, but I might be able to.’

  They stepped into the gym where thirty elves and twenty gnomes, all armed, were waiting for them. Roth passed him his spear. They grouped together and vanished only to appear near Henrik and a large contingent of soldiers waiting for the rift to open.

  ‘My lord, it is good to see you, are we all going in?’

  ‘Yes, Major, soon as it opens, but I want you to leave a unit to protect Korzak,’ said Alex and looked up. ‘House if you want to come, you’ll have to leave the vase on this side of it.’

  What difference will it make? House asked.

  ‘It cannot travel through time and that’s what stopped you going with them,’ said Alex, as many answers were coming to him now his mind was clear. One of them was that he only had to blast the vampire in the mouth with little energy to kill it.

  But I cannot travel without it.

  ‘Try it, if you’re still here, then you can. If not, I’ll use the vase to come back for you.’

  The vase appeared. I am still here, said House in amazement, but I will not be able to bring them out of there.

  ‘We’ll do that, you’re a lot more important than someone who just transports us everywhere.’

  Thank you, that is very kind.

  Korzak started casting spells near where the rift occurred, which he explained would make the rift more visible when it appeared. They didn’t have too long to wait, as twelve hours after the patrol disappeared the rift reopened.

  ~~~~

  They were almost finished, as hours of continuous fighting had taken its toll on them. The weapons were now too heavy to lift and many had injuries.
The wolves couldn’t stand anymore, Rho managed to push himself up on his front legs. Kristina and Millie had the least of the training out of the group, but had done plenty of fighting. They were almost unconscious through tiredness and thirst. Paige and Claire leant on one of the rocks trying to show they could go on, and Adair leant on his staff protecting Skye who had fallen with a bad injury to her head. Thalion and Torgon were still standing, but only just, with Thalion having a broken arm. The gnomes fared little better but couldn’t withstand another charge. Neither could James and Asima, they had more energy than the rest but it was fading fast. Carrie and Jodie leant on each other. The enemy taunted them, and sent some forward to remove bodies so the field ahead was clear for another attack. This was the longest break the group had from fighting, and they didn’t understand what they were waiting for, until they saw why.

  The trees moved as twelve-foot bear like creatures with clubs came through. They had no fur on their grotesque looking faces, with no ears or noses just holes where they should have been. The largest of them beat the ground with a huge club and roared before they attacked. The group stood as ready as they could be. Carrie’s only thought was that she never had the chance to say sorry.

  ~~~~

  The lead bear creature charged forward, and went down when a golden spear struck it in the throat. ‘Alex,’ someone shouted as arrows and bullets rained through the air and many of the creatures fell. Roth led the gnomes bringing down two of the beasts, and stood in front of their friends giving them protection. The remaining creatures ran as they had seen two gnomes fight, trying against twenty of them would be out of the question.

  Alex ran straight to Skye. ‘House, how bad is she?’

  It is not good, as she took a bad blow to her head, but I can heal her.

  The soldiers brought stretchers. The wolves, Kristina and Millie were helped onto them, and they were all given water which they gratefully accepted. Skye stirred and her eyes opened, she smiled at Alex as she was put on a stretcher. House worked on the others as fast as he could, and repaired Thalion’s broken arm.

  Alex checked on them and many of the women looked like they had been crying, which they had for their friend who they thought was lost. Alex stepped over to Carrie and picked her up. She didn’t have the energy to put her arms around him.

  Roth stood staring through the trees. ‘They have fled.’

  ‘Let’s get them out of here,’ said Alex, as they moved out, followed by the gnomes, elven archers, and soldiers, watching for any creatures which might attack. Soon as they were on the other side, House took the injured back to the mansion. Alex noticed Korzak standing in the rift saying words he couldn’t understand.

  Alex let Luella take care of Carrie’s injuries, and went checking on the others who were given a tonic from Daralis. He inspected the wolves, who were being treated by Briana and Orlaith. He was almost knocked over by the cubs which were now fully grown, but did not understand what was going on. Alex walked back to the others where Tyra embraced him.

  ‘Thank you, my lord,’ she said.

  ‘My lady, it wasn’t just me, but it was a pleasure.’

  Thalion drank his tonic in one. ‘I couldn’t move my arm, and was in agony.’

  ‘It was broken and House fixed it for you,’ said Alex.

  ‘Thank you, House,’ said Thalion.

  You are welcome.

  Alex turned to his mother. ‘How’s Skye?’

  ‘Asleep, she’ll be sore tomorrow, but will be fine.’

  Alex sat by Carrie. ‘How long were you fighting for?’

  James rubbed his sword arm. ‘Since we got there, it was almost none stop.’

  Alex’s eyes grew big. ‘You’ve been fighting for twelve hours?’

  Claire nodded. ‘Is this where you tell us off for going out?’

  It surprised Alex. ‘What on earth for? The sixteen of you are like a small army, and if James wanted to take you out then he had every right.’

  James raised a brow. ‘I have to say I did think you might’ve been upset about it.’

  ‘Behave, you’re all adults, and can come and go as you want. I wouldn’t dream of stopping you going out on patrol if I was awake.’

  Adair stroked his beard. ‘James kept us alive.’

  ‘I think we all did that,’ said James.

  ‘No,’ said Torgon, ‘the great wizard is correct. If you hadn’t got us to go somewhere with protection we would all be dead now.’

  Adair smiled as Morven sat next to him. ‘It might not have been so bad if I could’ve used my magic.’

  ‘None of us could,’ said Torgon.

  Alex glanced around at them. ‘Not even Kristina and Millie’s shields?’

  Adair shook his head. ‘No, and Jodie’s crossbow wouldn’t work either.’

  ‘That makes it even more impressive.’

  Claire gave him a sideways glance. ‘Is that praise I hear?’

  Alex smiled. ‘I feel really proud to know you lot . . . it was amazing what you did.’

  Claire raised a brow. ‘There’s a “but” coming next.’

  ‘No, not at all,’ said Alex, ‘but, your timing was very poor or should I say unlucky.’

  ‘How do you mean?’ James asked.

  ‘It’s a time rift, and only stays open for a couple of minutes.’

  ‘We thought it was a trap,’ said Adair, ‘as House was not with us. We knew it was a rift, but thought it had been opened on purpose.’

  ‘No, House couldn’t go with you as he carried the vase which stopped him going through the rift. I’m afraid it was simple bad luck, a few minutes either way, and you would have missed it.’

  Claire turned bright red. ‘I was running late, and they had to wait ten minutes for me,’ she said, as the others looked at her, and Alex tried not to laugh but couldn’t help himself.

  ‘So you really are our saviour?’ said James.

  Alex poured himself a drink of orange juice. ‘Not at all, I did a couple of things, but Major Henrik would have gone in with his army and got you out.’

  ‘What were the couple of things you did?’

  ‘I got House to leave the vase so he could come with us, and asked Korzak to keep the rift open so you didn’t have to wait another twelve hours.’

  ‘And both reasons saved Skye’s life,’ said Blaze. ‘Without House healing her she would have died within a couple of hours.’

  Adair glanced across at him. ‘How did you know Korzak could do that?’

  ‘It just came to me, in fact a lot of things came to me,’ said Alex, and tapped his head.

  ‘I was wondering what happened to your dreams.’

  ‘I had a blockage, and Mother and Auntie Daralis removed it for me, which got a raised eyebrow off Luella.

  Adair raised both his eyebrows, but didn’t say anything else about it. ‘It appears Korzak is more than we first thought.’

  Alex nodded. ‘Indeed, I think he’s quite special.’

  Adair raised a brow. ‘I think I’ll be having a long chat with him.’

  ‘Be gentle with him, he’s my friend.’

  ‘And I hope he will be my friend, too.’

  Paige stood. ‘Well I’m off to bed.’

  Alex grinned. ‘You need any help to get up there, dear?’

  ‘I think we can manage,’ said Paige, as a few of them slowly and gingerly made their way upstairs.

  Alex looked at Carrie, who also stood. ‘Would you like me to carry you up to bed?’

  ‘No, I’m dirty and need a shower, but don’t stay too long down here,’ she said, giving him a very tired smile, and climbed the stairs.

  ‘That’s telling you,’ said James.

  Alex rubbed his chin as he wondered what Carrie meant. ‘Indeed, it’s much nicer fighting alongside them.’

  Korzak appeared. ‘I have sealed the rift.’

  Alex glanced up and smiled at him. ‘Thank you, my friend, can I get you a drink?’

  ‘Cola please, I like that.’<
br />
  Adair also looked up at the goblin. ‘How did you manage to seal it?’

  ‘I have certain talents,’ said Korzak.

  ‘Are you a wizard, too?’ said James.

  ‘No, not really, there are spells I can do, but it is more to do with how I see things. Like the rift, I could see the damage, which is why I could seal it.’

  ‘So,’ said James, ‘there’s no portal, and the vampire came out of the rift.’

  ‘We didn’t see any of them in the jungle,’ said Torgon.

  ‘You would not have,’ said Korzak. ‘The creatures you fought were from a different time, and maybe another reality or universe, and they might not exist anymore.’

  Alex smiled as he passed the goblin a glass of cola. ‘From what I saw most of them don’t.’

  Adair shrugged. ‘Or they might not have come into existence yet.’

  ‘Could that possibly happen?’ James asked.

  ‘Who knows? Time is a strange thing.’

  Korzak drank his cola. ‘I have never understood the time paradox, and wouldn’t know if you would survive being stuck in there permanently. Twelve hours is a good time to say you would.’

  James rubbed his eyes. ‘Would you like us to go back and try for longer?’

  ‘No, not tonight, I think you should get some rest.’

  ‘So,’ said Alex, ‘you still think the vampire came out of a portal.’

  ‘I have no doubt that it did.’

  ‘What makes you so sure?’

  ‘The rift was caused by dark magic trying to locate a portal.’

  Adair grimaced. ‘Dagur again.’

  Thalion shook his head. ‘Will we ever be rid of him?’

  ‘Yes, I have no doubt about it,’ said Korzak.

  Alex leant forward with elbows on his knees. ‘It was no coincidence we found you first, when we went to your world.’

  ‘No, I was waiting for you.’

  ‘And were your injuries real?’ James asked.

  ‘Oh yes, and serious too,’ said Korzak. ‘I tried helping them escape, but I got trampled on instead.’

  Torgon shook his head. ‘You were there to delay us?’