Something was happening, though.
Even as they came nearer to the foot of the valley, where many a rock jutted from the sides of the hill, and reddish-gold sand rippled like waves in the sea, Render felt something unfamiliar as he held Ahndien's gaze.
When they finally arrived, he made sure to land gently. First he let go of Branson, who swiftly ran behind a rock and began to throw up from the nausea of flight.
Greifer leapt out of Render's vest and padded over to check on Branson.
But Ahndien remained in his arms.
"What is it?" he asked. "You have this look in your eyes."
Quickly, she turned away. Though she'd loosened her grip, she didn't not let go of his arms. "I don't know what you mean."
"It's like, you know something. But don't want to say."
Now, she pushed away, but slowly. "I was just...I was impressed with your ability to fly. There is so much to this spirit potential it can be overwhelming."
Her eyes glistened with shiny tears. Ahndien turned and wiped her eye. She was not telling the truth. But he did not press the issue.
In human form, Greifer returned with a very pale looking Branson under her arm. She motioned to a rock. "Sit, child." Then to Render she said. "Since the days of old, every Sojourner prince has been sent from the Council of Elders to the sacred shrine of Valhandra." Then pointed to the tall opening in the rock face. The borders of the rectangle opening resembled a large portal, with ornate carvings in borders around it.
"You, Render were to have gone before the council and prepared for the age old tests."
"What tests?"
"I know not. But this much I do know. Not every young Sojourner—prince, warrior, oracle—that hath entered returneth alive." She looked into Render's eyes with concern. "But you must prevail. With or without the preparation of the elders. It has been so ordained."
Render bowed his head. "I know. And I am ready."
Ahndien opened her bag and pulled out what appeared to be dried fish. She offered it to Greifer, who frowned and shook her head. "Thank you."
Then to Render. "You'll need your strength. Eat."
The last thing he could think of was his stomach right now as he stared at the imposing portal to the Ancient Shrine. "Branson will probably appreciate it more."
"I prefer my food cooked."
From her open palm, the fish in Ahndien's palm lit up in a moderate fire. The fish sizzled sending up a mouth-watering aroma. Now Render reconsidered her offer, but she tossed it over to Branson, who bounced it from one hand to the next, back and forth.
"Ooh! Hot! Hot!"
Without announcement, Greifer strode past them, over to the archway of the shrine's entrance. She bowed then for a while spoke in hushed tones such that the only word Render could discern was the name of Valhandra.
A few minutes passed. Neither Render, nor Ahndien said a word. They just watched. Eyes shut, her lips moved as though speaking, Greifer nodded as though listening to someone speak. Finally, she turned around and let out a long breath. "Yes, Sire. I understand," she whispered and opened her eyes.
"What was that?" Render asked.
"It is as I thought." Greifer approached and place her hands on his shoulders. "Though the shrine lies in ruins, there shall be no deviation from the past."
"I don't understand."
"Tonight, when the sun falls over the Eastern summits, you shall enter the shrine and do as those before you have."
"And what is that?"
"Free yourself from all that hinders you."
He released Ahndien and stepped over to Greifer. "Hinders me from what?"
"Your destiny."
CHAPTER SEVENTY-ONE
With the spreading darkness over the valley came a frigid wind that at times howled through the rocks. Branson sat as close as he could to the fire which Ahndien had started with the dry bush that jutted out from the ground.
He still complained a bit, but not as much as he might have back in Valdshire Tor. Nevertheless, Render understood his apprehension concerning all the skeletal remains out in the center of the valley. They too made him uneasy.
"At least they aren't anywhere near this part of the foothills." Ahndien said, trying to cheer the boy.
"Oh...I don't like it. I don't like it one bit."
The thought of the last Sojourner army, meeting their demise in great numbers did little to inspire Render. He was but one person. How could he accomplish what Valhandra had charged him with?
The flames from the bush grew weak.
Greifer stood and stretched. "The hour is upon us."
"Yes. I suppose it is." Render also stood. But a tug on his hand stopped him from leaving just yet. It was Ahndien.
"Please be careful, Render." Fire danced in the deep pools that were her eyes. She was indeed so beautiful that Render almost wanted to forego the entire destiny matter and stay here with her.
"I shall. Promise."
"Here, take this." She handed him her sword. "Now you have the two weapons of war, united."
Following, then walking past Greifer, Render approached the archway which—no matter how much light from the fire lit the inside—looked as black as death inside. What lay beyond was not revealed to Render. Only that he must enter and find the written words that matched the unknowable one which Valhandra had set in Render's spirit.
Words of victory.
He drew nearer to the opening and squinted as he looked inside. It didn't seem possible, but the void became darker still, with every step forward.
Behind him a deep guttural growl reverberated. Greifer had once again become a panther.
They arrived at the mouth of the Shrine.
Just as he stepped into the gloom, something repelled him with unexpected might. It almost knocked him off his feet.
"What was that?" Without thinking, Render drew his sword. Bright white energy crackled like lighting from the blade.
He stepped forward again. Slashed into the darkness.
A silent, but equally powerful blow struck his weapon.
Sparks flew.
The invisible force shoved him back even more violently than the first time. Greifer let out a snarl and bore her fangs. A cold tingling sensation crawled up Render's back like the spindly legs of a scorpion. His heart raced, his throat grew dry. Nothing worse than an invisible enemy.
On the verge of panic, Render shot his hand forward and a bolt of energy cracked through the air lighting up the area in a brilliant blue-white array. But as soon as it reached the obscured doorway to the shrine, it was deflected and sent right back at Render.
It hit him, hurtling him back several feet and onto his back. He let out a pained shout. The smell of his singed hair and clothing rose up with smoke from his body.
It felt as though he'd hit that spot in his elbow that sends numbing needles into his hands. Except this sensation traveled throughout his entire body, like swarms of fire ants nipping at his skin from within.
// YOU ARE NOT WORTHY TO ENTER //
That voice. It jolted Render back to his feet, though his joints and neck felt sore. "I come in the name of Valhandra!"
"Render?" Ahndien called out.
"Keep back!" Greifer replied, having transformed back into a woman. Then to Render: "To whom do you speak?"
"It's...It's him...I mean...in a manner of speaking..."
// ONLY THE RIGHTEOUS MAY ENTER //
"Who, Render?" Greifer whispered.
"It's...my own voice." His shoulders slumped as he turned his back to the shrine and began to walk away. Of all the opponents he'd faced, this one—his doppelganger—seemed the most impossible to defeat. How could he overcome someone who retaliated in the exact manner in which you attacked it, and with equal force?
Greifer blew out a terse breath. "Your own voice. When did you first encounter it?"
"At the pond, with all the dead people. That's when it started."
"The Pool of Madness."
With both han
ds leaning on his sword pointed into the ground, Render sat on a large stone. His entire spirit deflated. He knew what the doppelganger would say and do. He could not escape the condemnation and accusations, because they came from within. "I'll never get past him. I've failed Valhandra.
"Nay, Render. You shall surely not fail."
"But I have."
"Did you drink from the Pool of Madness?"
"Yes, don't you remember?"
"And did you die at thine own hand, as did those soldiers at the pool?"
Her words came from behind him, yet they entered his heart. Render lifted his head. "But how is it my doppelganger has followed me here?
Willowy and warm, Greifer stood behind him and wrapped her arms around him. "I have only seen one prince confront his dark nature thus. And he had become the last Sojourner King. A doppelganger lives within the hearts of us all. On this side of the great veil, no one is ever free of it. The dark nature continually strives to resurface. But you, O chosen son of heaven, you must vanquish you inner darkness once and for all."
"But how?"
"Arise." She took him by the arm and helped him to his feet. "Cast off all fear, all pride, for they are one in the same."
"I...I don't understand."
Pushing him toward the dark archway, she whispered, "The Spirit of Valhandra has called you, and He goes before you, ne'er forget."
"How am I supposed to do this?"
With alarming strength, she pushed him right to the door. "By His spirit and truth."
"But—"
Echoing in the darkness, Render's doppelganger laughed—low and diabolical. It was the laugh of madness, of pure evil. And death. A bead of sweat rolled into the corner of Render's eye. He wiped it with the back of his hand and took a deep breath.
It wasn't courage that propelled him into the unknown. Nor could it have been the knowledge that he would overcome this most insidious of adversaries. It was that quiet voice in his spirit, the words sown like seeds by Valhandra, that impelled him.
Render unsheathed the two swords.
And moved forward.
CHAPTER SEVENTY-TWO
//...NOT WORTHY... //
The doppelganger’s voice could not be heard outside of his own mind. But the trepidation Render felt was nevertheless real. He stepped forward to the opening of the archway and saw nothing in the utter darkness.
He did, however recoil at the moldering gust that blew out from within: the smell of death. Back in Bobbington's house he'd cleared away many a dead mouse from the cupboards, but this reeked of a thousand very large, very dead rats.
"I'm not afraid of you." Render said under his breath, for he knew it made no difference how loud he spoke to a creature that existed in his own mind.
// TURN BACK, YOU CANNOT FACE WHAT LIES WITHIN //
"It is you who cannot face what lies within me."
The doppelganger mocked him with another gust of rancid air which flew into Render's face.
// MANY HAVE ENTERED WITH DELUSIONS LIKE YOURS...FEW HAVE RETURNED //
"Then let me in, if you dare." But behind his bold words, his heart trembled. Was he about to join the rotting corpses within? It didn't matter. Because if he didn't move forward, his own dead bones would probably join those out in the valley, under the sand.
// COME, THEN //
He glanced over his shoulder. Greifer had returned to her panther form and paced about, her tail swiping side to side.
It was no use. The doppelganger knew Render was afraid, despite his strong speech. Swords pointing forward, he approached the entrance. Sparks from the tip of his weapon lit up the area in brief flashes such that the Sojourner symbols etched into the towering limestone door frame could be seen, one character at a time.
He stepped past the point where he had been repelled and anticipated another attack. The first instinct was to strike first into the darkness, as he entered the threshold. Ready to hurl a lightning bolt from his sword, he coiled his arm back. But he stopped himself.
Any attack he made would only be met with equal force. That was just the way the doppelganger worked, feeding on his fear, his hate, his anger and sending it back. How could he defeat this dark reflection of his inner nature?
A few more steps and the darkness swallowed Render completely. At which point did this cave become a shrine? The solid objects beneath his feet could only be bones. The dull, damp stench confirmed what he could not see: corpses in various stages of corruption.
// MANY A PRINCE HAS FALLEN BEFORE ME //
The voice was different now. Not so much his own, but something much blacker, more sinister. An ancient evil.
He came to a point in the gloom where the deadened echo of his footfalls scraping told him he was now in an enclosed area—a small alcove by the sound of it.
The only thing he heard over his own uneven breath was the thrumming of his pulse in his ears, and a high-pitched whine, barely discernable. For a brief eternity, nothing stirred.
All at once, the roar of the ground and mountain walls moving startled him. But as far as he could tell, nothing had actually moved. A dark red hue lit up the entire area which was now filled with smoke, or steam, or some kind of rancid mist. A hideous stench reminiscent of dead mice and Bobbington's breath.
// YOU MAY YET TURN BACK //
The voice filled his heart with dread. Every bone in his body wanted to do just that.
"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" But it was the voice of Valhandra—not even His words—just the echo, that resonated in Render's spirit and kept his feet planted in the ground.
// LEAVE, WHILE YOU CAN //
"Not until I've done what I've come to do." Exactly what that was, Valhandra had not said. Render could only take it on faith that he would know when the time came. Or die in the attempt.
The voice became external. "You are a foolish child..." It resounded in what now sounded like cavernous cathedral.
He gripped the sword so hard his fingers ached. "Show yourself...for what you really are!"
From deep within the cloud it spoke, the voice familiar, yet gravelly. "I am what you refuse to look at. A mirror."
"You're not me!"
"Oh, but I am. I'm your true nature." All at once, it was upon him, over him, before him. The mist cleared just enough for Render to see, before his face the black, scaly texture of a wall—no, it was too uneven...
Instinctively, Render jumped back and flew, slamming his back into the wall. All around him, in a crimson light, the cloud dissipated revealing the beast that stood before him. Its vicious talons curled around and dug into the limestone floor making a dreadful sound like a rock scraping against glass.
Well above him the beast's head loomed, its gaping mouth spewing sooty smoke. It reeked of rotted bones and burnt flesh. It coiled back. Render barely leapt out of the way as it blasted a stream of fire from its mouth.
He shouted and dove to the ground. A sharp pain pinched at his ankle, and then spread up his leg. His pants had caught fire. Without a second thought, he ducked behind a wall and fell to the ground, throwing whatever sand he could find on his clothing and patting it rapidly.
"You cannot escape me any more than you can escape yourself!" The beast said.
From behind the wall, the shadow it cast in the next room betrayed its form. Jagged wings, a serpent like tail, a bearded reptilian head. It stood on its hind legs and walked erect like a man—a twenty foot tall man—and approached the doorway behind which Render hid. He had never expected to see a real live dragon. They were supposed to be mythical creatures, the stuff of lore, nothing else.
Thankfully, the fire on his leg went out.
Each breath the dragon drew made a sound like that of a huge bellows. When it exhaled, the entire room lit up. Render felt the heat emanating through the doorway.
"If you leave now, I'll spare your worthless life." The dragon said this even as it lurked ever so close to the door. "There is no need to die a meaningless death."
R
un? That might be a wise thing to do. But then, he'd never know the purpose for which Valhandra had sent him. "You're lying!"
"Am I?" A thunderous rumble filled the chamber as the dragon laughed. "How can I lie to you if I am your true nature? You who deceive yourself. Run now, or come in. Choose, while you still can!"
Render tried to stand. But it felt as though the bones had been removed from his legs. When he finally got to his feet, propping himself up on his sword as though it were a cane, he turned back toward the mouth of the shrine. His breath shook, his heart raced. Every fiber in his body implored him to run. Nothing in this horrid place would make it worth suffering at the claws, and teeth of that mammoth dragon.
He turned to the opening of the shrine, where Greifer, Ahndien and Branson waited. From outside, white light bathed the corridor and filled his heart with comfortable feelings. It certainly beat the sense of death and dread that awaited in the room behind him.
He took a step toward the safety of the moonlit skies.
Then he heard a whisper.
// COURAGE, MY SON //
It wasn't Greifer. It was...
A thousand words, even more thoughts that had been sown into his soul began to sprout. He recognized the voice, though he did not remember the words which were now flowing in his mind, so quickly he couldn't even form them into coherent thoughts.
But in his spirit, he began to comprehend. Enough so to react.
Just then, the entire corridor lit up in blazing red and yellow. Render swung around, swords slashing through the air.
But before he made contact, his entire body was seized by a force greater than he'd ever experience in his life. His chest was so constricted that he couldn't even breathe. His arms, completely immobilized. Dull pain grew more intense with each attempted breath. He looked down, realized that the dragon had grabbed him in its hand and lifted him off the ground.
He wanted to shout for help but felt his ribs would crack like burnt twigs if he inhaled. That is when the dragon lifted him up before its hideous face. Its scales were black as death. With vermilion eyes, it glared at him. Its diamond shaped pupils narrowed.
Once We Were Kings (Young Adult Fantasy) (The Sojourner Saga) Page 24