‘I will hold her up as long as it takes,’ said Alex, which took twenty minutes.
Her bones are healed, said House, and Alex touched her face and let his energy heal her.
‘What happened?’ Carrie asked, as she opened her eyes. ‘I hurt everywhere.’
‘You jumped into the wall, you need to let mother look at you now.’
‘My lord,’ said the gnome, ‘can your friend help our injured too?’
If you take them into the tunnel, said House, I will do what I can.
Alex picked Carrie up and took her back into the cave, where Luella treated her other wounds.
‘Did we win?’ Carrie asked.
Alex stroked her cheek. ‘Yeah, we kicked its butt.’
‘It’ll be fun going back, as I feel like crap.’
‘You’ll ride Bronte, but I would rather get you back a lot sooner.’
‘Can’t you fly?’ Luella asked.
‘Not in this forest.’
‘My lord, I am Modren the high elder of the gnomes here. We are expecting an egg to hatch in the next two days, and will be sending it up to the top.’
Alex rubbed his chin. ‘Will I be able to go up there with the egg?’
‘Yes, but I’m not sure how the dragons will take it.’
‘I’ve already spoke to Krakar, and he knows why I’m here.’
Luella inspected Carrie’s eyes. ‘It won’t be any good for the wolves or the horse.’
Alex nodded. ‘I know, and will return after I’ve got you and Carrie back to the others.’
You will not, said Rho, we could get out of here within a day.
‘There’s something wrong with the egg,’ a gnome shouted.
Alex and Luella both ran to it. The egg had turned black.
‘Oh no you don’t, demon,’ said Luella, as she put her hand out and chanted a spell. The blackness lifted off the egg into a small shape. ‘I know your name, Lorbronika, and you will pay for what you did to Alex.’
That is impossible, the demon screamed.
‘Kill it,’ said Luella, and Alex covered it in his energy and the demon was no more.
Alex stared at her. ‘What did you mean it will pay for what it did to me?’
‘The demon caused your accident. I have sensed it a few times but it made a mistake today . . . it should never have told the devil its name.’
‘How could it have known me all those years ago?’
Carrie rubbed the back of her head. ‘Maybe it saw the future, and knew you would be here, so it tried to stop you from coming.’
Luella shrugged. ‘It’s a good a reason as any.’
Alex shook his head. ‘It couldn’t have been the Final Destiny.’
‘It would have been pretty final if either had got the egg, and opened all the portals to the Dark Worlds.’
‘So the demon was responsible for all those people acting strange.’
Modren motioned to other gnomes. ‘Let us find you somewhere more comfortable to stay than in here.’
They were taken to a cave which had a curtain across the front. Inside was furnished, and food had already been put on the table. Alex helped Carrie in and sat her down, as she refused the bed for the moment. The food was warm and enjoyable.
Alex leant on the table. ‘So why are gnomes protecting the eggs for the dragons? Wouldn’t it have been safer up there with them?’
‘No, as the red dragons also covet a golden egg,’ said Modren. ‘As for why we are protecting them, it was a shame which befell us a long time ago. A gnome went bad and tried to take a dragons egg, he was stopped and killed, but in the process the egg was broken. We swore an oath to protect them until one day we could recompense for what happened, and maybe our shame would be lifted.’
‘But not all gnomes come here with you,’ said Alex.
‘No, there were others who had already left the old world before it happened.’
Luella poured herself a drink from a jug on the table. ‘There are some with us waiting outside the forest, and have been feeling strange the closer we got.’
‘We’re very sensitive to certain things, and they must have felt our shame.’
‘Not shame anymore,’ said Alex, ‘your oath has been paid.’
‘But it was you who killed the devil.’
‘Only because gnomes put their lives on the line, which gave us time to stop it.’
Modren clasped his hands together. ‘You really believe that would be enough?’
Alex nodded. ‘Yes, if it had not been for the gnomes the devil would now have the egg. Will there be a problem with the red dragons when we go up with there?’
‘Maybe, it depends on how brave they are. Usually they’re no match for a golden dragon, but their numbers have grown.’
There are a lot of them, said House, and have moved closer.
Modren’s eyes grew big as he looked up. ‘They must know the egg will hatch soon and have started to mass.’
‘You mean they will attack?’ said Luella.
‘Yes, but they will have less than an hour to get the egg, or it will be too late.’
Alex scratched his chin. ‘Can’t you keep it down here for an hour?’
‘No, the mother has to breathe her dragon breath on it, and she cannot come down here to do it.’
‘Would my golden fire harm or strengthen the red dragons?’
‘You have golden dragons fire and should harm any other coloured dragon, while it could heal a golden one.’
‘Why is it some of our powers work and some don’t?’
‘Anything that could be harmful to the egg will not work.’
They chatted for a few more hours, and Alex put Carrie to bed before getting in himself. He slept for just a few hours as he could feel the heat building up inside him again, and it started to get painful.
It was mid-afternoon when Modren came to them. ‘It is time . . . the egg has started to crack.’
They walked down the steps to the large cave. Gnomes placed the egg into a basket on a large wooden platform. Alex, Carrie and Luella also climbed on and the gnomes hoisted them up. It was a long way, and took a good few minutes. On the outside the expectant mother was waiting.
‘You got here in time then?’ said the dragon.
Alex stepped off the platform with his arm around Carrie to hold her up. ‘Just about, thanks to the gnomes who thought bravely to stop the devil.’
‘Are they OK?’
‘They are now, House managed to heal them.’
‘That is good, Krakar told me about you,’ said the dragon, ‘and you came up with my egg.’
‘Yes, it will be quicker to get Carrie back as she’s still weak, and I heard you might need some help. I’ll need somewhere for the ladies to hide.’
Carrie shook her head. ‘I’m not hiding.’
‘Yes, you are, dear,’ said Luella. ‘You’re in no condition to fight dragons.’
‘I am Ankara, climb on my back and you can come in the cave with us,’ she said, and picked up the basket with one of her claws.
Alex helped Carrie and his mother on to the dragons back before watching them fly off higher into the mountains. He followed them up and saw many golden dragons perched on the mountain keeping vigil.
Alex saw the red dragons fly in mass from the mountain in the distance. He flew skywards soaking up the sun. His power was stronger than anything he had felt before. When he saw the red dragons fly closer, he shot back down. The golden dragons were bigger than the red ones, but they were outnumbered eight to one. They were protecting the cave and waited for the onslaught. Alex joined the fight and his golden energy did hurt them, he was a lot faster and a much smaller target. The dragons crashed into each other, red fire against gold.
Red dragons fell from the sky, mainly from claws and jaws of the golden ones. Alex saw one of them fall too, and fired his golden dragon fire, as Modren called it. The dragon almost crashed into the mountain side, but righted itself at the last moment and re-joined the f
ight. Alex’s mind had strayed from the fight, and was suddenly caught in huge claws. The dragon tried to crush him, but with strength he didn’t know he had, Alex pulled them off. He held on to the claw and swung the dragon around, before throwing it into the others.
His strength shocked him, as he blasted his fire at both coloured dragons. He thought it was all in vain as his new comrades were severely outnumbered, when he nearly bumped into another. The dragon was green, and on its back was Adair. The look the wizard gave him was not a happy one. Green dragons joined the fight, with Torgon, Thalion, Bryn, Korzak, and Birkaz enjoying it way too much. The green dragon slashed at wings while the wizards sent their fire and lightning. Red dragons now fell by the score, and only a few managed to escape.
Krakar flew back to the mountain and the others followed. ‘That was a timely intervention.’
A green dragon landed next to him. ‘Friend Adair told us of your plight, which would have been bad for us also.’
Krakar nodded. ‘We are nonetheless in your debt, and you can always call on us for anything, as can the others who helped us. Which brings me to the question, why did Alex fire on us?’
Alex felt like he was burning up again, and pushed the power inside down. ‘Modren told me it would make you stronger, but I did not want to risk it until I saw one of you fall.’
‘And I am grateful you did,’ said another golden dragon.
Alex, the gnomes are in trouble, half of the cave has fallen in, said House, in his mind.
He flew straight down, not realising he was flying in the cave where he couldn’t earlier. There was a huge chunk of the cave wall hovering in the air.
I cannot hold it for much longer, said House.
Alex flew past it, and many gnomes were injured while they protected the egg. ‘You must get out now.’
‘We cannot leave the egg,’ said Modren.
‘Leave that to me, now get them out before the rest comes crashing down,’ said Alex, as he flew over and picked up the egg.
~~~~
Carrie and Luella hid in the huge cavern not from the fight, but from the baby dragon as it emerged from the egg. They thought it would be best if it saw its mother first. They watched as Ankara breathed on the baby and he opened his eyes.
‘You can come out now,’ said Ankara, after twenty minutes.
Carrie struggled over to them and sat down. ‘He’s beautiful.’
‘Yes, and he is safe because of you and your friends,’ said Ankara. ‘It is too late for them to take his power now.’
They waited nearly another twenty minutes before Krakar and other dragons returned.
‘Is the fighting over,’ Ankara asked.
Krakar inspected his son. ‘Yes, the green dragons and the wizards came to help.’
‘Where’s Alex?’ Luella asked.
‘He flew off after the red dragons were defeated.’
‘Where to?’ said Carrie.
Adair entered on the back of a green dragon. ‘We don’t know, but don’t worry as I don’t think anything could hurt him.’
‘He was quite spectacular out there,’ said Thalion as he jumped off a dragon. ‘Are you OK?’ he asked Carrie.
She smiled weakly. ‘I’m just a little stiff and sore.’
Adair climbed off the dragon. ‘Spectacular maybe, but he did things which should have been impossible.’
Luella glanced at him. ‘You always said nothing is impossible.’
‘Yes, I know, but you didn’t see what he did and the power he has.’
Carrie struggled to her feet. ‘Does it matter what he did, or are you going to have a go at him for it?’
Adair shook his head. ‘No, I’m proud of my nephew for what he did, but I worry for him all the same.’
‘Join the club, so where the bloody hell is he?’
‘I’m here,’ said Alex, as he flew into the cave with the egg.
Krakar turned to him. ‘What is this?’
‘The cave below has collapsed, and many gnomes were injured protecting the egg.’
‘Will they be OK?’ Ankara asked.
‘House is healing them now. They covered the egg as the cave was falling in on them.’
‘Finally they are free from their oath, and hopefully their shame too,’ said Ankara. ‘Could you bring the egg over here, we will look after them from now on.’
Krakar watched as Alex placed the egg down. ‘We never held them to their oath, nor did we believe there was any shame attached to them. They are such a proud and noble race we could do nothing to change their minds.’
‘I have noticed that about them, but I best go down there.’
‘You flew down,’ said Luella.
‘Yeah, I guess without the walls of the cave being there I could do that.’
No, it is something else, said House. I can see clearly, and the dragons will be able to go down too.
‘Then we will come,’ said Krakar, and let Luella and Carrie climb on his back.
Adair scratched his head. ‘What gnomes?’
‘The guardians of the eggs, Uncle, please keep up,’ said Alex, and flew off.
~~~~
The gnomes stood outside the cave, and were all confused at what to do. There were hundreds of them with children. Alex flew down, and many of the dragons followed.
‘My friends, we have come to honour you,’ said Krakar. ‘Your oath has been fulfilled, and the debt, if there ever was one, has been paid in full. We will look after the eggs, and let you be free to go where you want.’
Modren held out his arms. ‘What will we do, this is our home?’
‘You will come with us,’ said Alex.
Torgon bowed his head slightly at them. ‘We will find you a new home.’
‘There will be so much for you to see,’ said Thalion.
Modren raised his eyebrows at the sight of the elves. ‘How will we get there?’
I will take you, said House.
‘You can do that?’ Alex asked.
Yes, the enchantment has been broken.
A gnome stepped forward rubbing his arm. ‘What will we do when we get there?’
Alex smiled at him. ‘That will be up to you, but if you’re anything like my other gnome friends you will enjoy yourselves. Now if you get all your belongings we can be on our way.’
‘There’s no rush now,’ said Adair, ‘you have defeated the devil.’
‘No, but I haven’t seen the children in days. Alex looked at Carrie, who had managed to climb off Krakar’s back. ‘Wouldn’t it be easier if you let Lord Krakar fly you back?’
‘I entered the forest with you, and will be leaving it with you.’
The dragons flew to the camp with the wizards, while house took the others to the side of the forest where they entered. It was so the gnomes could see the camp before going out there. One of the forest men came over to them with his arms in the air.
‘My lord, what has happened? It feels different here.’
‘There is no enchantment now. I don’t know why, but after the red dragons were defeated it stopped working.
‘You mean we will be able to leave now?’
‘Why couldn’t you before?’ Alex asked.
‘We were prisoners here, as every time we tried to leave the red dragons would attack us.’
‘If you’re not from here how did you get into the forest?’
‘We were running from the red dragons, and the forest gave us refuge.’
‘There are not many of them left, and they will be busy for a while.’
‘Thank you,’ said the man, and left.
The mood at the camp was a lot happier now, as they waited for their friends to return. House had told them what had happened. The gnomes were much happier but did not know why. They saw the dragons first flying high above the trees. Then their eyes moved to the forest, where Alex, Luella, Carrie who was riding Bronte, and the wolves emerged. It was the hundreds of smaller figures which got everyone’s attention. The gnomes from the camp r
an forward.
Alex helped Carrie off the horse, as the others hurried over to them.
Claire grabbed Carrie around the waist. ‘What have you done to her?’
‘She picked a fight with the blood devil,’ said Alex.
Carrie rested her head on Claire’s shoulder. ‘I feel like crap, and I wasn’t even needed in there.’
‘You most certainly were.’
‘You didn’t need me, you could have done it all on your own.’
‘I don’t think so, your bow came in handy, and you didn’t miss.’
Carrie shook her head. ‘I was lax, and the devil almost killed me.’
‘Yeah, and it made me angry, so I destroyed it.’
‘So, I was there to make you angry?’
‘No, I think it was more to do with the five days of travelling with you, or I would have kept watch all the time.’
‘I don’t understand what you mean.’
‘It took us five days to walk through the forest. On our world we could have run it in a couple of hours, but we couldn’t even outrun those creatures. Most of my powers didn’t work, and if I had gone alone I wouldn’t have slept.’
‘We’re not fighting are we,’ said Paige, as she hugged them both.
Alex shook his head. ‘No, I was just telling Carrie how important she was.’
‘Well I’m getting her home, she needs her bed,’ said Paige, and Carrie didn’t argue.
‘I’ll want to know all about it in detail,’ said James, as he patted Alex’s shoulder. ‘I’ll have to tell everyone about it.’
‘When the children are in bed, and I have something comfy to sit on,’ said Alex, as he watched the dwarves approach the gnomes.
King Verdan stood in front of them. ‘You will live on our world, and we will build you a kingdom.’
Modren looked surprised. ‘That’s very kind of you, but why?’
‘Because you’re our friends, and were meant to live on our world anyway,’ said Verdan. ‘You don’t have to decide yet, just come and see our world.’
‘Then we accept your kind offer.’
King Fulton looked amazed as he watched. ‘You will also celebrate with us on our world, when Lord Alex is ready to do so of course.’
The Final Destiny: Vesta Mansion Trilogy - Book Three - Fantasy Page 36