The Third Age of Obsidian [Quest for Earthlight Trilogy Book Three]

by Laraine Ann Barker

  "I can't,” he whispered.

  The power of the Evil One held him fast. He could scarcely blink. Wide gray eyes stared unwillingly into insanely blazing ones.

  "Call! You are the Chosen One; none other can do it."

  "I don't know the spell. The calling isn't mine to make.” Peter still whispered aloud. His powers were too completely paralyzed for him to use mind-speech.

  Desperately he longed for release from the hypnotizing power of the Blue Lord's cold gaze. The longing to close his eyes became so intense that a small sob escaped his lips. With great effort he managed to lower his lids, but felt no relief and instantly raised them again. His gaze fell upon the recorder lifted to Maria's lips.

  Into the sudden silence that descended came the first sweet note of music. Almost instantly, John joined Maria on the treble recorder. The Lords of Corruption turned in astonishment. They hardly noticed as Bart and the rest of the Chosen scrambled to their feet. Their astonishment turned to fury and sudden understanding as Jamie opened his mouth and began singing, “O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum..."

  The Blue Lord lifted her right hand and pointed at Peter. Although Jamie continued singing, the rush of wind that screamed from the Blue Lord's fingertips and tore through the forest all but drowned the music. Peter staggered under the impact.

  It will uproot all the Christmas trees!

  Hardly had the thought formed itself in his mind than the Chosen heard the One Tree's reply to Jamie's call. Jamie stopped singing; Maria and John stopped playing. And the music Peter had heard in his dream soared over the forest. The wind instantly died. Unlike in Peter's dream, the One Tree's song was loud and close at hand. The Chosen Ones moved to surround the tree against whose roots most of them had fallen. At the same time the Lords of Corruption swooped from above. The power of the Evil One rained down in dreadful fury. The circle of the Chosen swayed back and forth against its force. Each one reached out, straining to grasp the nearest one's hand.

  The black cloud swirled. It, too, swayed under the force of the Earthlight's resistance. A blue-clad arm reached down in desperation to grab the top of the eight-foot sapling.

  And Peter saw the One Tree would be torn from the ground before it could be encircled by the Earthlight's protection. Somehow he had to stop it happening, had to claim the One Tree's power before the Evil One seized both the tree and its power. He opened his mouth. The words he cried seemed to come not from his own mind but from without. “I claim the power of the One Tree on behalf of the Earthlight. I hereby denounce all enemies of the Earthlight. Depart forever or be destroyed!"

  Peter's voice rose loud and clear over the forest—too late to stay the Evil One's hand. The Blue Lord had grasped the tree's top. Even Peter's fulfillment of the prophecy in claiming rights for the Earthlight couldn't stop what followed. With a terrible rending sound the One Tree rose out of the earth, as if yielding to the force of a gale. Roots and branches shrieked their agonized protest. Huge clods of clay and soil sent the Chosen stumbling back. Somehow they all managed to retain their feet. However, it seemed Peter had been a split-second too late. The shock of the Blue Lord's revelation of her identity had fulfilled its purpose in delaying the making of his claim.

  They watched in horror as the young pine's roots rose above their heads. All they could do was dodge both the roots and the clods of earth, some of which were large. They had been given no guidance on what to do in the face of what now happened.

  Peter's view of the rising tree was now just a mass of dark damp roots that seemed to reach out to him, crying to him for help. Despair gripped him. He felt tears stinging his eyes. As the roots became a misted mass above his head, he knew he wasn't the only one with blurred vision. He tried to blink the tears away, and when his vision cleared the dark mass of tree roots had gone. The hole in the ground was no longer there. No sign remained, even, that a tree had been violently uprooted.

  A tree in a silver tub stood where the One Tree had grown. Small colored lanterns hung from all its imitation-snow-laden branches. With the exception of the fact that it was a pine rather than a fir, it looked exactly like the Victorian Christmas tree of Peter's dream that had not been a dream.

  However, the Blue Lord still had one last chance. Peter had claimed the rights of the One Tree, but until it received the Earthlight's protection it would refuse to yield its power. The Blue Lord had uprooted it but merely succeeded in changing its nature. While the Forces of Evil couldn't take the power of the One Tree because Peter had claimed it for the Earthlight, the Blue Lord could still destroy the power for all time as long as the One Tree remained unprotected. This was her only hope for victory over the Earthlight.

  She gave an alien-sounding cry of frustration and fury and withdrew briefly into the black cloud. Even as the echoes of her cry drifted over the forest, they were overlaid by another sound: the spine-chilling howling of a pack of wolves. It started in the distance and grew within seconds. The Lords of Corruption in their black cloud swooped down to envelop the One Tree and the Twelve Chosen. But Dreyfus's wolves were quicker. It was as though they poured from the sky itself. They knocked the black cloud and its occupants aside and then disappeared as suddenly as they had arrived. By the time the Lords of Corruption gathered themselves together again, the Chosen had Peter and the One Tree surrounded. For her own protection Maria was included in the circle.

  All Peter's attention was now on the One Tree. He put out his hand to touch one of the branches. Sorrow swamped him at having to do so, for he knew with certainty his touch would mean the end of the One Tree. But he didn't hesitate—and the One Tree rewarded him by leaving an impression of itself in front of his eyes for a few seconds even though its substance was no longer there.

  In those few seconds the rest of the Earthlight people saw only the darkness created by the Evil One. Then, with the fading of the vision, Peter knew his big moment had arrived. When he turned back to the Earthlight circle he saw it now contained both Merlin and the Lady and his elation knew no bounds. He raised his arms towards the black cloud, from which he could hear the gibbering of the Lords of Corruption as they saw their fate in Peter's eyes. Peter's fingers touched above his head. All the power of the Earthlight and the One Tree surged through his body and poured out from his fingertips. Bolts of white lightning hit the black cloud. The cloud swirled itself around the Lords of Corruption, fighting madly. However, it was no longer a match for Peter. Within seconds he reduced it to nothing. With the removal of their black cloud, the Lords of Corruption had no more power. With one exception, they vanished almost as though Peter had dissolved them, too. Their cries of despair ripped through the forest and across the sky. The echoes sounding in their wake faded into silence. The Lord who hadn't disappeared plummeted to the forest floor like a pheasant winged by the hunter's rifle.

  Even before the echoes died, Peter saw Merlin rush to the fallen Lord and kneel at his side. The sorcerer's face was filled with the same pain Peter saw when he had knelt at the side of the dying Lord of Obsidian. Peter then realized who the fallen Lord was. He quietly walked over to join Merlin and looked down into the black eyes of Sujad Cariotis.

  "Are you in pain?” he heard Merlin ask quietly.

  "Not now. I can't feel a thing.” Sujad's voice was barely above a whisper. The black eyes swiveled in Peter's direction. “Well done, Youngling. Thank you for your tremendous effort. Merlin should be very proud of you.” Sujad turned his gaze back to Merlin. “Thank you, old friend. I feel as though I've had a ten-ton load lifted from me. I know I don't deserve your clemency, and I'm all the more grateful for it. Mere words can't express my gratitude but they're all that's left to me."

  "You're free now. Go in peace."

  As Merlin finished speaking, the light went out behind the black eyes as though Merlin had thrown a switch. For the second time Merlin gently closed the lids over them. He took off his blue cloak and spread it over the dead man, carefully covering his face. For a few moments he stood looking down at
the broken, huddled form.

  The fast clopping of hooves filling the forest jerked Peter's attention from Merlin. Obsidianus burst through the trees, closely followed by the two silver mares. Bart and the twins rushed to meet them. After the first few seconds Peter paid no attention to the horses. Instead, he found himself looking for the Lady. Tears stung his eyes when he saw she was no longer there. How can you do this to me again? his mind cried in distraught protest. You haven't said hello let alone good-bye.

  A few notes of the Lady's music drifted across the plantation. Peter looked around in wild hope. However, when he felt her presence only in his mind he knew it would be all that he would see of her. She spoke in mind-speech. “I still have things to do. Those of the Reborn who are among the Sleepers now need me. I shall see you later, I promise. Till then, farewell and happy birthday."

  As the music drifted away and faded Peter felt his heart lift for no apparent reason.

  "Hey!” he said to the twins. “It's still our birthday. We haven't had any lunch and it must be time for dinner. I'm starving!"

  Merlin's seldom-heard laugh came from behind him, making him whirl back to where he had left the sorcerer standing by Sujad's body. Merlin now stood with his back to the dead man and his face looked considerably lighter. Rose and gold light from the setting sun found its way between the pine saplings and fell upon his white robe. For a few moments he looked unreal and insubstantial, almost like a ghost. Momentary panic that he, too, would disappear gripped Peter's heart, but Merlin moved towards him and the realization that he didn't intend following the Lady lifted Peter's spirits again. His stepfather came over to him and put a hand on his shoulder and he grinned happily up at him. Merlin briefly put his hand on Peter's other shoulder.

  "I think you'll find your birthday party is waiting for you right now,” was all the sorcerer said, but his eyes gave Peter all the thanks and praise he could possibly want. “I'll be with you shortly and we can all celebrate together.” Then, as though he read Peter's mind, Merlin glanced back at the form huddled underneath his cloak and answered Peter's unspoken question. “Before I join you I have one last important task to do. I think you would agree that the spot where the One Tree once grew would make a good burial site for anyone, even a king."

  "And you must have your time—your proper time—for mourning,” Peter said with sudden, mature understanding.

  As if by mutual consent, they all took one last look at the site where the One Tree had grown. Now that the Christmas tree in its silver tub had gone, the area looked just as it should have looked after the sapling's uprooting. Then silently, shepherded by Bart leading Obsidianus, they filed out of the forest into the last rays of the setting sun, leaving Merlin to his lonely grief.

  Epilogue

  Farewells

  BEFORE THEY sat down to dinner Maria's mother phoned home to say they would be staying the night. Merlin joined them in a surprisingly short time for the dinner-party and was in unusually high spirits.

  Towards the end of the evening all four young people enjoyed their first taste of champagne and were allowed to empty the bottle because, as Bart teasingly pointed out, its content was far too sweet to be deserving of the name and the rest would only be thrown out. With midnight approaching and the wine beginning to take its toll, Maria and the three boys made no protest when sent off to bed.

  As Peter entered his room he heard the long-case clock in the hall downstairs begin chiming. He settled Dreyfus into his makeshift basket, sat on the edge of his bed and, yawning widely, kicked off his shoes. It was the last thing he remembered doing. He was too sleepy to realize the Lady's promise that she would see him later hadn't yet been kept. Before the clock even started striking the hour sleep claimed him and he fell across the bed.

  It was nearing dawn when he awoke, surprised to find his legs dangling over the edge of the bed and that he was still fully dressed. He jerked upright. Something had woken him. What was it? He listened intently. All he could hear was the beginning of the dawn chorus. Even as he sat there, feeling slightly disoriented, more birds joined the choir. Dreyfus remained in his basket sound asleep as though he had been drugged.

  Then suddenly Peter knew what woke him. He could feel the throbbing light of the Power of Obsidian all around him. And he knew this was his farewell to the Essence of Obsidian, the first, he suspected, of many farewells.

  "You're leaving me. I'll never see you again,” he said unhappily, accusingly.

  "You no longer need me. Also, the Absolute Law must be obeyed.” The slow, deep voice of the Power of Obsidian sounded sad in Peter's mind. Peter felt the strong fingers of comfort in his brain, soothing away his distress at parting with the being who had been one of his greatest friends during his role in the Earthlight's struggle against evil. “Farewell, Peter. I must go, and I must take the Obsidian Orb with me. I leave the rocklight with you. It has no more power so there's no reason to reclaim it. Farewell."

  Then Peter saw the Obsidian Orb hovering in the air at eye-level. Its shiny black surface took on a strange glow. Slowly it faded into nothing. He blinked and saw its outline against his closed eyelids for a moment; then the image was gone. His gaze rested, instead, on the rocklight on his bedside table. It was now only a piece of rock.

  Before he could move to pick it up he became aware of a scratching sound on his door. As he sat staring at the door, his heart leaping with a mixture of alarm and excited anticipation, the handle slowly turned. The door opened just wide enough to admit the intruder. It was Merlin, as Peter realized he had hoped it would be.

  Merlin put his finger to his lips and spoke into Peter's mind, closing the door softly behind him. “You look as though you haven't even been to bed, which is good because I won't have to wait for you to get dressed. We're going out."

  Peter was too wide awake and excited by now to ask—as he did once before—why it couldn't wait until morning. He knew the Lady's “later” had finally come. If he needed to stay awake all night, he told himself, it wouldn't be too high a price to pay to see her again. He grinned broadly at Merlin and strode across to join him.

  "You look as though you've been dragged through the bush backwards. How about pulling a comb through your hair?"

  At this criticism Peter turned to look at himself in the mirror. There was just enough light to show his hair was indeed standing on end. He grinned again, snatched up his comb from the dressing-table and flattened the unruly locks as best he could. “That do?"

  "Okay. Now you'll have to take my hand. Apart from your mind-speaking ability, which will soon disappear, your own power is spent."

  In the dawn light Peter caught a strange expression on Merlin's face. Was it sympathy? “I've just said good-bye to the Essence of Obsidian. Soon I won't even be able to talk to you like this."

  At the tone of Peter's mind-voice, Merlin's face definitely registered sympathy. “You'll hold on to that power a little longer. I promise you won't miss it."

  Merlin held out his hand. Peter hesitated. “Before we go, there are some things I don't understand about—about Aunt Angela—” Merlin's face seemed to close up and instant remorse filled Peter. “I'm sorry. If you don't want to talk—"

  "No, no. You need to know anyway. Why, for instance, did I marry Angela when she was the Commander of Darkness mentioned in the prophecy? Well, that was part of the Earthlight's plan, and as your Uncle Paul I was as much unaware of her true identity as she was of mine. We were even unaware of our own identities. She became her true self when Sujad visited her and she went with him in his black cloud. Her basic nature tried to assert itself several times, but only succeeded in giving her headaches. The vision you received of her in that dungeon was false and when you ‘rescued’ her she had just left the other Lords of Corruption to cope as best they could. She wanted to get you away from the chase. Anything else you want to know you'll have to ask the Lady."

  Peter had to be content with this. Merlin held out his hand again and Peter immediately clasped
it. There was no dizziness or tornado-like spinning, no feeling of being about to black out. Instead, one moment he stood in his room at the Browns’ farmhouse and the next he was in what he instantly recognized as the town square of the City of Light. And everyone seemed to be there to greet him, including the Mayor in his robes and chain of office.

  The figures of the Reborn filled the square and flowed over into the adjoining streets. The rising sun stained their white robes with hues of pink, gold and orange. From somewhere behind the Mayor, his councilors and the special guest at his side, Peter heard above the noise of the crowd the voice of the town-crier. “Oyez! Oyez!” He caught his own name but heard nothing of what was said about him, his attention being riveted on the figure at the Mayor's side—the Lady with a blue cloak of gleaming silk covering her white robe and with her hood thrown back. At the very moment that she stepped clear of the party of dignitaries to greet him and Merlin, the rising sun touched the top of her head and created the illusion of a circlet of filigree gold in the silver-gilt of her hair. The crowd fell silent.

  And so it was that a Queen greeted Peter on his last visit to the City of Light.

  He rode by her side in the mayoral coach to the Mayor's palace, the palace for whose design he himself was responsible. He spent most of the morning in her company, his only disappointment being that he didn't have her to himself. Unable to get any time alone with her, in desperation he used mind-talk to tell her how he felt.

  "Patience, Peter, patience!” her voice sang into his mind with the edge of a laugh in it. “I have arranged for us to spend some of the afternoon together. Afterwards we'll be joined by Merlin, Jamie and John and the rest of the Chosen for a celebratory banquet."

  He thought the morning would never end but eventually found himself alone in a beautiful private garden leading to a small lake.

  "Where are you?” he asked in mind-speech, his eyes greedily scanning the distance for a glimpse of her.