Rebecca Newton and the Last Oracle

by Mario Routi

  “Do we have any idea when the attack will take place?” Leiko asked.

  “No,” Felicia replied, “but the Titans are always early risers when it comes to war.”

  Leaving Felicia’s house, they took the carriage back to the fortress and Leylah felt an exciting mixture of emotions swelling up inside her. While she was nervous about the battle to come, she was also happy to be with her family at such an important time. Her parents would be staying behind in Utopia and she would get to fight alongside with them, which made her feel enormously proud. In a strange way, she was looking forward to the Lomani. She also had a feeling that her parents felt the same way. She noticed that as they sat in the carriage in silence, staring out of the carriage windows lost in thought, their hands were twitching as if already rehearsing their swordplay.

  46

  Rebecca and Turgoth were standing in a clearing in Domus Forest, where several spaceships had been prepared and were ready to depart for Earth. The last of the Orizon and Amazon warriors were saying their goodbyes to their families, who had gathered to see them off.

  “Everyone have a safe trip and make it back soon to help us here,” Rebecca called out as the last of them kissed their children and made their way towards the spaceships.

  “Let me help you with those,” Turgoth said as he helped some Amazons lift their equipment on board. “Remember they’re fragile, so try not to break them.”

  “Our equipment will be fine, King Turgoth,” said the appointed chief, “it is built specifically for battle.”

  “I meant the Earthlings,” Turgoth said. “They are fragile creatures.”

  The doors slid shut and the spaceships began to whir as the engines burst to life and their crystal shimmered into invisible light. The crowd stepped back, watching with a mixture of awe and trepidation and waving until the last signs of the travelers had disappeared and an eerie silence had fallen over the clearing.

  As everyone turned to head home, they became aware of an unusual buzzing sound in the trees all around them. Rebecca and Turgoth pulled out their swords as Leylah stood stock still, unable to work out what was happening. What were they hearing? Were they about to be attacked? Who by?

  “Get inside the gate!” Turgoth shouted. “Run!”

  Leylah was still frozen and in a state of confusion when the arrows started to pour out of the trees. Seeing one heading directly for his daughter’s head, Turgoth grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the way. Rebecca joined him, both of them slashing at every arrow that came within reach of their swords, moving with blurring speed. Another arrow headed straight for Leylah’s face and Rebecca caught it in mid-air, hurling it back to where it had come from like a javelin. Leylah was jerked to her senses - all her training clicking into place in her mind and firing her into action - preparing her to follow whatever orders her parents gave her.

  All around the clearing, the trees were suddenly alive with Demons as they charged from their hiding places, screaming their terrible war cries and brandishing a variety of viciously spiked weapons.

  Rebecca and Turgoth flew into the oncoming horde as if taking part in a fabulous dance routine, throwing their foes left and right as if they were no more than rag dolls, spinning and slashing from one side to the other. Through the trees, Leylah could see that Orizon reinforcements were pouring out of the fortress to assist them.

  “Everybody, close ranks and provide cover,” Rebecca yelled while she continued to cut and stab as she spun through the attackers. Everyone was now moving in sync and the fighting seemed to flow seamlessly when the Orizons came in behind the Demons, providing cover for those who had been trapped in the clearing to run towards the hidden entrance in the back of the amphitheatre.

  Leylah wished she had a weapon so that she could fight alongside her parents, even though she knew she lacked their speed and experience. One of the Orizons close to her fell, as a particularly powerful looking Demon knocked him down with its shield before charging onward straight at Leylah. Rebecca grabbed the Demon’s arm when it raised it to strike, yanking it closer and pushing her dagger into its back. It made a loud gurgling noise while it fell to the ground.

  The hidden doorway opened as they drew closer, offering a tempting glimpse of safety if they could just fight their way to it, fending off the last of the attackers as they went. Rebecca was puzzled. Who would open the gate at a moment like this, risking letting the enemy pour in? Leylah could see that a few of the Demons were already close to making it through the gate and into the streets of the kingdom.

  Turgoth looked at Rebecca. “Honey, you and Leylah go close that gate once everyone is inside. We’ll have the wall archers clear the way for you but we need to close it now.”

  Rebecca nodded and ran towards the gate, keeping close to the wall. Leylah hesitated but Turgoth pushed her, ordering her to follow. Arrows whizzed past her as the Demons crawled, ran and flew towards them in an attempt to block them from getting to the gate.

  “When we get there,” Rebecca shouted over the screams of the Demons, “you can use my sword while I close the gate. Then, we’ll head back to the house to retrieve a weapon for you.”

  She had never seen her mother fight before and now she understood why Rebecca had been awarded the title of Princess. She was an impenetrable force on the battlefield, single handedly holding back the horde of Demons with her sword in order to give the others time to get behind the walls. Leylah was nervous about taking the sword from her mother when they got there, not sure that she would be able to make such good use of it and having no idea how well Rebecca would be able to fight without it.

  The Demon mob already outnumbered the wall archers as a new wave of them materialised from the trees. The two princesses were now within reach of the gate and, after one final whirl of activity which felled all the Demons at the front of the attacking ranks, Rebecca tossed Leylah the sword and continued fighting with her bare hands.

  One of the Demons managed to get past the archers unscathed and ran directly towards Rebecca with its blade at the ready. Rebecca grabbed its arm, twisted its elbow and drove the point of the sword into the creature’s own head, slamming its body hard against the wall, just as another one roared down on her swinging a viciously spiked mace. Rebecca snatched its wrist mid swing, allowing the mace to carry its own weight out of the creature’s hand and into hers. She then brought it up and around, smashing it against the Demon’s head. Rebecca took control of the mace and, having re-armed herself, continued towards the open gate.

  Leylah was stunned at how well her mother could fight and wondered why she had been so reluctant to allow her to compete in the War Games. Watching her in action, it was possible to believe that she could defeat the entire Demonic horde single handedly. Leylah was sure that if poets and composers were to see her mother fight, they would feel inspired to write epic poems and sonatas for her. It almost made the art of war worthwhile, just to have the opportunity to watch her mother destroy her enemies.

  As they came within a few yards of the gate, the Demons seemed to close in on their forces, some using their shields to deflect the arrows as they poured down from the walls. Leylah was beginning to see that the horde had no coordination, despite its size and ferocity, nor any kind of strategy. It looked as if very few of them had had the foresight to arm themselves with shields, despite the fact that they must have known that the fortress would be defended by archers.

  Finally reaching the gate, Rebecca closed the left side of the door. The Demons were getting closer and were now becoming easier targets for the archers. Once everyone was back inside the fortress, she went to close the right-hand side.

  “Damn Demons!” she shouted at Leylah. “They’ve taken out the gate hinge.”

  “Can’t we close the gate without it?” Leylah asked casting an anxious glance back at the newly reinforced horde running towards them.

  �
�The gate door works on a pulley system,” Rebecca said. “Unless you can move three tons of solid granite by pulling on the chain and then hold it for the rest of this war, we need that hinge. It’s vital not only for shutting it, but also for preventing it from opening. Come on!”

  Rebecca started searching through the piles of Demon carcasses that lay all round the jammed gate. “The one that pulled the hinge from the gate must have drawn the attention of the archers. Its body shouldn’t be too far from here.”

  Leylah joined her mother amid the stinking pile of newly slaughtered bodies. They scrabbled frantically through what little clothing the Demons had on them until Leylah spotted a metal rod sticking out of the back of one of the corpses.

  She called Rebecca over. “Mum, is that it?”

  “It must have pierced through the body on its way down, but that is definitely the hinge!” Rebecca said as she grabbed it and pushed against the dead body with her foot until the hinge came free from the bones and flesh that held it with a vile sucking sound.

  Meanwhile a cohort of Demons had succeeded in breaking through the gate and was charging towards the amphitheatre. Rebecca picked up the mace and leapt into their midst, smashing the first one away from her with the mace and breaking the skull of another with a swing of the heavy hinge.

  Running to the gate, Rebecca dropped the mace to begin work on restoring the closing mechanism. Leylah stood beside her mother with the sword poised, ready to defend her. It was only a moment before the first Demon from the next wave reached her and she dodged to the side, grabbing the back of its neck and plunging the sword deep into its body. She felt a strange sensation run through her, a mixture of elation and horror at the thought that she had taken a life so easily. Her stomach was churning and her legs felt unstable. The next thing she knew, she was on her knees vomiting.

  “That’s quite normal with your first kill,” Rebecca assured her as she slid the hinge into place, “you will soon grow used to it.”

  A few seconds later, more Demons were swarming towards Leylah, the first preparing to slam its mace down onto her head. She instinctively dipped out of the way and severed its right leg. The Demon howled in pain as she brought the sword up and around, cleanly slicing off its head as if it were a pumpkin.

  As she watched the head fly to the ground, she noticed that her stomach had ceased churning and instead she felt both powerful and aggressive, wishing that more Demons would come within range of her blade. The gate began to swing closed and the remaining Demons screamed in frustration at being unable to get there in time. With a resounding boom, the right stone door sealed shut and the enemy was locked out. The two women leant against the wall and took deep breaths.

  “Mum?” Leylah asked, not really knowing what she wanted to say next.

  “Hush my love,” Rebecca said, putting her arm around her daughter’s shaking shoulders. “Your body isn’t used to such a high adrenaline rush in such a short period of time. The rush you get from sports and training sessions can never compare to being that close to dying. The second kill released the adrenaline into the rest of your muscles. That is why you threw up on your first kill and the second one made you feel better. I knew I was right when I told the Gods that you would be able to hold your own on the battlefield. Now we need to find your father to establish a survival defense plan within the fortress with the rest of the Orizons. Once reinforcements arrive from the other kingdoms and from Earth, we will be in a better position to fight.”

  Rebecca took her sword back from Leylah and slid it into its sheath as they walked to the amphitheatre. The sound of a horse’s hooves made them turn and they saw Felicia riding towards them carrying two weapons at her side. They paused and waited for her.

  “I see that all is good,” Felicia said, sheathing her own sword. “It’s a shame that I was not here for the initial fight, but I have brought you what Turgoth requested, although it was meant to be given in a more peaceful environment.”

  She dismounted and held out a crystal staff, with spikes protruding horizontally from each end, to Leylah. When Leylah took it she was shocked by how remarkably light it was for its size. Upon closer inspection she saw that it had a hollow inside with small sticks of crystal to reinforce and strengthen it. Wherever the sticks were, there were also holes on each side of the stick.

  “We wanted to fashion a weapon for you that was nearer to your style. The sticks inside the staff help to support the holes placed all around it to ensure its integrity. The internal hollowness and the holes lower the air resistance so that it’s faster as well as lighter. Judging by what you’ve done in your training and in the War Games, this should be the perfect weapon for you. It was only finished this morning. I hope it serves you well.” Felicia then turned to Rebecca. “Hades says that the Chimera has left Tartarus and I have informed Bitho of what the Chimera is capable of doing. We need to tell Turgoth so that we can prepare for an air attack in case the Chimera brings down the shield.”

  “Wasn’t the Chimera imprisoned along with the Titans?” Rebecca asked.

  “It was supposed to be but it seems that the prison holding the Titans in might not be as secure as it once was. The Gods don’t seem to be worrying about the Titans breaking free yet, but it’s the only possible explanation as to why the Titans were able to do what they have been doing on Earth and free the Chimera. We can only hope that no other imprisoned mythical creature escapes from Tartarus. The Gods are still unsure of how the dragon managed to make it over here.”

  The three women walked back to the amphitheatre in silence, each lost in her own private thoughts. When they arrived, Turgoth was already talking to several Orizons. He ran up to Rebecca and Leylah, enveloping them both in his arms. The relief at finding them safe was obvious on his face.

  “The Chimera is free,” Felicia told him.

  Turgoth froze, still holding his wife and daughter tightly. “No!” he groaned.

  “I’m afraid it’s true. Hades says that it is no longer in Tartarus, so it might be down on Earth or, more likely, it’s coming over here to take down the shield.”

  “But there’s only one way the Chimera can be set free,” Turgoth said.

  Rebecca raised her eyebrow. “I didn’t realise there was a condition of release on the Chimera?”

  “Lord Life would know about it, because he’s the one who set the condition,” Turgoth said. “But I doubt he ever told anyone since it’s always wiser to keep such things quiet. The condition to set the Chimera free was that if Evil could be reincarnated in Utopia, then the chains set by the guardians of the land of Good would release one from the realm of Evil. It was a situation that wasn’t thought possible, until now.”

  “Where is Bull?” asked Rebecca.

  “He’ll be here soon. Leiko sent Pegasus to bring him back from the Elysian Fields,” Felicia said. “He’s been demonstrating the special new sword to the Gods.”

  “Let’s go have a look at our warriors and prepare everyone for battle. We have a Lomani to win!” Rebecca said.

  Leylah followed the three others as they headed towards the walls.

  47

  Rebecca was watching everyone sharpen their crystal swords in preparation for the battles to come when the acrid smell of burning filled her nostrils and thick smoke began to darken the edges of the sky. Puzzled, she climbed to the top of the wall ladder and, to her horror, she saw the whole of Domus forest ablaze. The flames surrounded Utopia, allowing no escape from the billowing clouds of black smoke. Nemesis appeared beside her and both surveyed the scene with grim faces.

  “This is not good,” Rebecca said. “Not good at all.”

  “The smoke will soon overwhelm the Kingdom,” Nemesis said. “What do you wish to do about it, Princess?”

  “There’s nothing we can do about it right now,” Rebecca admitted.

  “They are trying to smoke us
out,” Nemesis said. “We have to do something.”

  “Utopia is too large to be smoked out,” Rebecca said. “Soon the trees will all be burned and the fire will have to move away from our walls in search of new fuel.”

  “What if our houses become its fuel?”

  “Most of them have been coated with molten rock,” Rebecca said. “It was meant to provide stability but it also makes them fire resistant. I dare say some of them will catch fire but most of them will survive it.” She hoped she sounded more confident than she actually felt.

  Looking down at the open lands between the fortress and the burning forest, they could see an invading army resting behind ingeniously constructed stonewalls on wheels. They knew that the shield was there to protect them from anyone who tried to attack from the air, but to see them approaching so slowly along the ground was an unexpected strategy. Rebecca supposed that they wanted to minimize their casualties in preparation for the next phase of their plan.

  “They are most likely waiting for the Chimera,” Nemesis said, “believing that it will have the power to break the shield. Do you think the Titans will send a second dragon?”

  “Dragons are difficult to find and are all nearly extinct now,” Rebecca said. “We are lucky that we had Bull on hand to fight their first one, otherwise we would have been wide open to attack then and there. I don’t think they will send another one, even if they do have more to spare.”

  “Do we have a plan in case the Chimera strikes?” asked the Amazon General.

  Rebecca didn’t answer for a moment, lost in thought as she looked around at the forces that had gathered to protect the fortress. The front within the walls consisted of at least a thousand warriors, while her troops outside the wall were nearly double that. While the Orizons and their allies could easily deal with the army on the ground, handling them from the air would be a different matter. Only the Orizons were able to fly - the others didn’t have that ability - putting them at great disadvantage.