Fredrik stared at her in amazement. Theamount of control and power required to shatter the vault wallshould take an army of Black Devils and Kalina had just said thatshe could do it herself. She hadn’t even thought of asking Fredrikto join with her. He was inclined to write it off as being boastfuluntil he saw Garth nodding and frowning.
“I was afraid of that,” Garthstated. “Bringing the whole mountain down does not get us closer toretrieving the Crown of Light. I hope Midge is having more luck onthe inside of the mountain.”
“Was someone talking aboutme?” Midge called as he flew into the cave and settled on Arik’sshoulder.
“What does the other side looklike?” Arik asked.
“There is no way in,” sighedMidge. “The vault probably is the reason that the dragon left,though. It protrudes into the bottom of the cone where the dragonhad his lair.”
“Can you show us?” inquiredTanya. “Perhaps we will see something that will give us someideas.”
Prince Midge nodded and closed hiseyes. He started thinking of his journey and projected the imagesabove a clear spot on the cave floor. The group watched as Midgeflew down the cone and the scene grew dimmer. It seemed to takeMidge a long time to reach the bottom and when he did it was quitedark. They watched as Midge created a fairy light and the imagegrew brighter. The floor of the cave was littered with gold andsilver objects as well as several piles of bones. Tedi’s eyeswidened as he saw the vast treasure the dragon had left behind. Healso noticed what appeared to be a small tunnel burrowing into theside of the cave.
“That looks like a tunnel,”exclaimed Tedi. “Similar in size to the one at the back of thiscave. I think we should explore it.”
Midge’s image flickered momentarily andthen stabilized again as someone ordered quiet. Everyone focusedtheir attention on the image as Midge rotated and looked around thedragon’s lair. Protruding into the lair were two sides and a cornerof the roof of the vault. The sides of the vault were tiltedslightly and the roof was cracked as if the weight of the mountainwas too much for the vault to support. There were also severalstalactites touching the roof. Most of them had been broken off,but one of them appeared to pass through the crack in the roof. Theimage of the crack in the roof came closer as Midge moved towardsit and searched for a break that would allow him to enter thevault. While the roof was cracked, it was not cracked enough toallow entry even for one so small as Midge. The image of the laircontinued for a while as Midge checked every inch of the exposedsurfaces of the vault and eventually flew back up thecone.
“As you can see,” Midgedeclared, “I was not able to find even the smallest hole to gainentry.”
“Let’s go back to the mansionand get something to eat,” Garth said suddenly. “We can discuss ouroptions tonight and retrieve the Crown of Lighttomorrow.”
The group filed out of the cave andheaded back to the mansion. Nobody noticed that Tedi had notemerged from the cave. Tedi stayed behind and was crawling into thetunnel in hope of finding an entrance to the vault.
* * * *
Niki was enjoying the open market andwhen she saw a food peddler with a couple of tables set out, shedecided to get something to eat. Niki sat down and the peddlerhanded her a chalkboard with the day’s specials. Niki could notread the script and sat there staring at the chalkboard.
“Perhaps I can help,” offeredthe man with long, black hair and black eyes as he sat at Niki’stable. “His specials are all seafood. Today he has crab cakes,jumbo shrimp, which are really quite small, I promise you, andmussels. I would recommend the crab cakes.”
“Why, thank you,” Niki gotout. “You must live around here to know so much.”
“Actually, I am from Trekum,”the dark man said. “My name is Dalgar.”
“Oh, I am also from Trekum,”chirped Niki. “What a coincidence. Have you been herelong?”
“I have been wandering eversince my wife died,” Dalgar confided. “I have been searching for mylost daughter.”
“Your wife died and you lostyour daughter?” Niki exclaimed. “How terrible that must be foryou.”
“It is terrible for everyone,”Dalgar explained. “You see, my daughter must be found so she canlead her people to greatness.”
“Lead her people?” Nikiinquired. “Can’t you lead the people? Who would she lead inTrekum?”
“Ah, you have many questions,”Dalgar smiled. “My wife was the Empress of Sordoa and our daughtermust be found to unite and rule over Sordoa once again. I cannotlead them because I am not entitled to. Only my daughter can dothat.”
“I do not understand,” Nikiqueried. “I thought the Empress was married to the Emperor and herdaughter was also the daughter of Sarac. What you are saying makesno sense.”
“Where ever did you hear suchfairy tales?” laughed Dalgar. “Aurora was not married to theEmperor. She was the Emperor’s advisor and heir. The Emperor wasunmarried and had no sons or daughters of his own. That is why hemade Aurora the heir. She was so wise in advising him that he knewshe would make an excellent Empress. As for Sarac and Aurora . . .I cannot imagine the swine that would spread such disgusting tales.Aurora hated Sarac with a passion. She would never bear his child.No, that Princess Callie of Targa, now that was more Sarac’s taste,but never Aurora.”
Niki’s head spun with thecontradictions between Dalgar’s story and Kalina’s. Suddenly, itdawned on Niki where she had heard the name Dalgar before. He wasthe Black Devil who had escaped with Aurora from the Rangers’attack on Mordac’s castle.
“I thought Aurora was a BlackDevil?” questioned Niki. “Aren’t they servants of the DarkOne?”
“Oh, yes,” laughed Dalgar.“Aurora and I were both Black Devils. We are the ones responsiblefor freeing Sarac from Jenneva’s trap. That does not mean that wefollow Sarac without question. Aurora and I had made plans to rulethe world before Alex and Jenneva killed her.”
“Alex and Jenneva killedAurora?” Niki asked confusingly. “I thought Sarac killedAurora.”
Dalgar shook his head sadly. “Someonehas filled your head with nonsense,” Dalgar declared. “Oh, Saracwanted Aurora out of the way all right, so he allowed theinformation on her whereabouts to fall into the hands of Alex andJenneva. They did his dirty work for him.”
“I am really confused,”admitted Niki while holding her head with her hands. “If you andAurora were plotting against Alex and Jenneva as well as Sarac, whyare you willing to tell all of this to me? Aren’t you afraid Imight tell somebody?”
“I do not think so,” smiledDalgar. “You wear Aurora’s cloak and you have Aurora’s hair andface. You will not tell anyone because you are my daughter and withmy help, you will rule the world.”
Niki’s head snapped up and she stared,openmouthed, at Dalgar. “You mean I am really going to be a Queen?Or Empress, I mean? You can make that happen?”
“Together we can make ithappen, daughter,” smiled Dalgar. “We must not let anyone know thatwe suspect their lies just yet, though. You will continue to playalong with your friends as if nothing has changed.”
“How will that help me becomeEmpress?” Niki asked. “Suppose they find out about you?”
“You will not let them knowabout me,” ordered Dalgar. “They seek to destroy Sarac. We willhelp them do that, up to a point. When we are ready, we willdestroy them and Sarac and there will be nothing to stand in ourway. You must get them to lead you to Alex and Jenneva. We need toavenge Aurora’s death by killing those two and Sarac. You willlearn everything you can about their plans and movements. I need toknow everything I can about each member of your group and wherethey plan to go next.”
“Well, I know they are lookingfor the Crown of Light right now,” offered Niki. “It is supposed tobe at the bottom of that mountain.”
“What do they want with theCrown of Light?” puzzled Dalgar. “Wait . . . tell me everything youknow about them already.”
While Dalgar sat attentively, Niki toldhim about the members of the group and how they met. She explainedabout the Sword
of Heavens and the fairy’s demands for the Crown ofLight. When she went into detail about how they rescued GeneralGregor from the Royal Palace in Tagaret, Dalgar smiled. He paidparticular attention to the meaning and description of Tedi’snecklace.
“So, it would appear thattheir next stop will be back to the fairies if they manage to findthis Crown of Light,” surmised Dalgar. “I will explain a number ofways for you to get information to me. The easiest will be for youto leave a message at the campsite when you leave in the morning.I’ll have someone following the group and they will be instructedto retrieve the messages. If you stay in a city and do not camp,you can leave a message at any Black Devil drop with my name on it.Now listen closely and I’ll explain how to identify a Black Devildrop in case you need to use one.”
Dalgar and Niki spent another hourtalking and making plans to rule the world. Dalgar warned Niki thatother Black Devils would ambush the group if they found out aboutthem. Dalgar explained that there would be little he could do tointervene if that happened and she should be prepared to defendherself. After Dalgar left, Niki returned to the mansion in ahappier mood than she had been in a very long time.
Chapter 26
Crown of Light
Everyone except Tedi was in the sittingroom discussing the various approaches to getting the Crown ofLight when Niki walked in humming to herself. Garth immediatelyturned towards Niki and frowned while shaking his head. No onesensed Garth’s displeasure at seeing Niki and everyone greeted herwarmly when she asked what was going on. Arik summarized the eventsof the day for her and waited for some revelation on how they couldretrieve the Crown of Light. Instead, Niki sat down on the floorand leaned her head against the wall.
When the discussion continued, Garthtapped Kalina lightly on her arm and led her outside. When theywere far enough away from everyone, Garth stoppedwalking.
“I think the stalactite may bethe key,” Garth declared. “If it passes through the roof of thevault, it is the only place where the vault is not solid. Is itpossible to melt the stalactite without causing harm to themountain?”
“It would certainly be easierto shatter it,” Kalina replied. “I can do that without causing themountain to drop on us. It will be extremely loud, but the ventlooked big enough to allow the pressure to escape. I think I can dothat.”
“It is just getting dark now,”Garth mentioned. “Why don’t we ride out towards the mountain so weare alone. As soon as it is dark we can enter the ventunseen.”
“Okay,” Kalina replied. “Get alantern from the stables. I don’t want to waste any energy with amage light while we are down there.”
Garth and Kalina mounted their largehorses and rode towards the mountain. Within the hour, darkness wascomplete and Garth checked to make sure no one wasaround.
Okay, Kaz, we’re ready.Let’s go play where the dragons live.
Kaz snorted as the mindspeechregistered and the black stallion’s wings appeared. Gone, too, wasthe illusion spell, which hid the unicorn’s horn. Alongside Kaz,Yorra was performing the same transition. Together, Garth on hisblack unicorn and Kalina on her white one, they rose into the skyand headed for the vent at the peak of the mountain.
It has been too long sinceyou have let us spread our wings, Alex. Yorra and I have missed thethrill of flying.
I am not sure that I couldstand the hero worship of the Children, Kaz. Even without Alexaround, they can’t stop talking about all of those ridiculous talesthey have heard.
It was Yorra’s turn to snort. Thetales are not ridiculous, Alex. Just because you refuse toacknowledge your contributions, there is no reason to belittle theChildren for wanting to believe in someone good.
Jenneva gave Yorra a pat on the neck.Stop it, you two. Alex has enough problems with the Children andtheir hero worship. Don’t you two start on him. Just get us downthe vent so we can do what we’ve come for.
The unicorns circled the mountain peakonce before Kaz led the way down into the vent with Yorra closebehind. At the bottom of the vertical shaft, the unicorns landed inthe dragon’s lair. Alex and Jenneva dismounted and Alex lit thelamp he acquired at the stables. Ignoring the piles of gold andsilver objects, Alex hoisted Jenneva onto the roof of the vault toexamine the stalactite.
After examining the stalactite, Jennevashook her head. “I can’t tell if it goes through or not. Theeasiest way will be to shatter it and see what happens. Let’s findsomething to provide cover. When it shatters, pieces of rock willbe flying all over the place and I won’t have any shieldsup.”
They scampered off the roof onto a pileof gold and slid to the floor of the lair. Alex found somefull-length silver shields and dragged them to the opposite side ofthe lair.
“I can hold the two of theseand we can hide behind them,” Alex declared as he indicated to Kazand Yorra to leave the chamber. “Will they besufficient?”
Jenneva nodded and focused on thestalactite. Suddenly, the hairs on the back of Alex’s head stoodout and he looked around frantically to see if someone else was inthe lair. High above him, he picked out a small pair of eyes justas Jenneva yelled, “Down!”
It was hard for Alex to tell which wasworse, the concussion of air and rocks smashing against the twoshields as he strained to hold them away from Jenneva and himself,or the absolutely deafening sound that reverberated off the wallsof the lair. The reverberation lasted for over half a minute. Theringing in his ears lasted much longer. Jenneva ended up prone onthe floor with Alex on top of her. The two shields lay on top ofboth of them. Pushing the shields off, Alex looked up to find thepair of eyes, but the chamber was so full of dust that he could seenothing past the shields.
Jenneva slowly got up and startedanother incantation. Within seconds, a whirlwind was created in thevent and started twirling violently. Gold and silver coins startedto rise off the floor in the center of the lair to be caught up inthe whirlwind, but quickly dropped back to the floor. What did getcaught in the whirlwind was the dust and within moments Jenneva wasable to see across the chamber again. She turned towards Alex andsaw his lips moving, but all she could hear was a ringing in herears.
Mind speech is the only waywe will be able to communicate for a while, Alex.
You didn’t mention that wewould go deaf, Jenneva.
I’ve never quite done thisinside a mountain before, Alex. It won’t last long. Let’s see if wehave an entrance hole.
Alex again hoisted Jenneva up onto theroof of the vault and they crawled to where the stalactite hadbeen. Alex smiled when he saw the hole in the roof. It was toosmall for him to fit through, but Jenneva would be able to make it.She obviously had the same idea because she was already loweringherself into the vault. Alex grabbed her hands from the lip andstretched his arms into the vault as far has the hole would allowhim. She dropped the short distance remaining and Alex lowered thelamp down to her. She was soon gone from his view and Alex turnedhis attention back to the vent where he had seen the small pair ofeyes. He hoped it had not been Kaz or Yorra coming back down thevent. He would know soon enough because the unicorns would returnwhen the dust stopped flowing out of the vent.
Having nothing to do for a while, Alexslid off the roof and scooped a couple of handfuls of gold coinsinto his pouches. Kaz and Yorra returned and settled down on thefloor.
How did you and Jenneva avoidgetting hurt down here? inquired Kaz.
We hid behind some old silvershields. Did you see anyone in the vent on your way up? Alexasked.
Nobody, but the concussion blew abird out, an osprey I think, though it was hard to tell. Poorlittle thing must have been frightened out of its wits. Is Jennevain the vault? Yorra snorted.
I am and I would like to come outnow, Jenneva answered.
Alex scrambled onto the roof and stuckone arm in as far as he could. He heard something scraping alongthe floor and then felt Jenneva’s hands grab his arm. Steadily,Alex hoisted her up until she could grasp the rim of the hole.Repositioning himself so he was squatting over the hole, he reacheddown and grabbed her arms again and s
traightened his legs until shecould stand on the roof of the vault. She reached into her pouchand extracted the Crown of Light and smiled at him. Replacing itinto her pouch, she slid off the roof and mounted Yorra. Alexquickly followed her and mounted Kaz and the two unicorns leapedinto the air and spiraled into the vent.
On the short flight to the top of themountain, Alex’s ears began to clear and he could hear sounds now,although the level was still low. Upon landing, the unicornsinvoked the spells that hid their wings and horns and looked likelarge horses again. By the time Garth and Kalina returned to themansion, their hearing was restored and the ringing wasgone.
“I shall never belittle theability to hear properly again,” chuckled Garth. “I wonder how theChildren are doing? What are we going to tell them,anyway?”
“I will tell them that weretrieved it magically,” stated Kalina, “and when they ask how, Iwill tell them that they are not ready for that lesson yet. Whatdoes it matter, anyway?”
Garth and Kalina strode into thesitting room and found Arik talking with General Fernandez. “Whereis everybody else?” Garth asked.
“We don’t know,” Arikanswered. “Somebody noticed that Tedi was missing and everyone isoff looking for him. We didn’t realize it, but no one has seen himsince we came back from the cave. Tanya thought he might still bethere trying to figure a way to get into the vault. Fredrik andNiki left separately. I think Fredrik searched the mansion and thenwent outside. I am not sure where Niki went. I am supposed to stayhere in case Tedi returns.”
“I think that is an excellentidea,” Kalina responded. “Garth and I will ride out to the cave andsee if the others are there. If anyone returns here, tell them tostay put.”
Garth and Kalina ran back outside andmounted Kaz and Yorra. Swiftly, they rode to the cave and entered.Tedi was laid out on the floor with Niki kneeling next to him.Tanya was sitting with her left sleeve and left pant leg rolled upand Fredrik was cleaning scrape wounds she had incurred. When Garthand Kalina dismounted, Fredrik rose to meet them.
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