by Philip Blood
“My golem army will then approach the town underwater, coming up on the bottom of the river Trent toward Ouroboros, and then emerge to surprise Morgain’s generals when they are attacked by my golem army. I will coordinate this so it takes place at the same time you try to enter Mystical Island, as will my counteroffensive here at Ivory Castle. I believe Medrod may even go to one of these two locations, and Morgain might possibly go to the other lest they lose a large portion of their mobile army to our offensive.”
“And that’s when we sneak onto Mystical Island!” I said with satisfaction.
She nodded. “But let’s talk about the next goal of your mission and the plan for that!”
When all plans had been made, and we were on the eve of departure, my mother took me to her sitting room alone.
“Nick,” she began, as if not quite knowing how to broach a subject.
I just waited her out.
After a slight pause, she continued, “I have to tell you something important.”
“All right, shoot.”
She took a breath, and then said, “Your father… doesn’t know you are his son.”
My brow furrowed at this revelation.
“Now you tell me?” I noted.
She sighed, “I’ve been trying to figure out the best way of telling you, and well, you are going on your mission tomorrow and I just ran out of time, so now I’m just blurting it out.”
I thought about the implications.
She just watched me, seeing my mind working.
Finally, I said, “Correct me if I’m wrong, but this happened a long time ago, so there has been plenty of time for you to tell my father, which means you purposely didn’t tell him, why?”
She closed her eyes, not really in pain, more like she was trying to tie a bunch of things together in her head. Then she said, “There isn’t just one reason, you see, at first it was because, well, he was dealing with a very tense situation. The Dragon had fled to Earth, and I didn’t want to distract him from the search. I went to Earth after your father, which is where you were born, but I just couldn’t find the right moment. He was embroiled in the whole Dragon affair at the time, with much on his mind. So I waited, and I waited too long because you were taken.”
“How did that happen?” I asked.
She shook her head, “It is every mother’s nightmare, but there are just moments when you must be away from your child, even if those are short. All I did was put you down while I tried to find the words to tell your father he had a son, but then I heard something from the nursery. I ran there and you were gone, but there was a Star on the floor. It was still fresh enough, so I repowered it and jumped through, trying to find you. I arrived in Rome, and there I lost the trail. I searched for you for many, many years, never giving up hope, and always wondering why you were taken; I still don’t know.”
“And you never told this to my father?”
She looked stricken, “How could I? I had kept you hidden from him, when if he had known perhaps he could have protected you. Then I lost his son. I swore to find you before I ever told your father the truth.”
I nodded. “OK, so when I meet him I will have to explain things.”
She tilted her head slightly and winced as she said, “I wish you would hold off on that. If you would indulge me, just a little. You see, I would like to be the one who finally tells him the truth, I’ve held onto this secret for so many years I feel I must be the one to tell him. It will lift a shadow from my soul.”
“All right, so what DO I tell him?”
“Only the truth… just not all of it. You can tell him you are a loyal Sivaeral wizard, sent by The White Enchantress to rescue the Archimage, which is all true. Just leave out the fact that you know he’s your father, and my name.”
That last part puzzled me, “Why hide your name?”
“No one, including your father, knows who The White Enchantress really is, except for you and your companions. If he doesn’t know you were sent by Finnabair, he is less likely to ask you hard questions about who you really are, he will be more concerned about who I am.”
“And if he asks me who you are?”
“Tell him I am a sorceress on his side, who wishes to remain anonymous, which is true.”
I nodded, “And what if he asks me who I am?”
She spoke very softly, “Tell him you lost your memory and came to Sivaeral seeking to find your father or mother. That is only a white lie, for it is true, it just doesn’t tell him what you learned later. I will explain to him that I asked you to keep your relationship from him so I could tell him the truth.”
I thought about it and nodded. “I will give you your chance to tell him the truth if I can.”
She smiled, “That is the best I can ask for, Nick. You must also talk to your companions, and entreat them to keep this secret as well. It is very important! In fact, you should have them keep the fact about my being your mother a secret, for now, just trust me on this! I will explain more about this after you return from Mystical Island, you have my promise.”
I nodded.
“Now,” she continued, “I have one last piece of advice for you, should you end up facing Medrod and Caliburn in combat. Of course, if all goes to plan, that won’t happen, but plans…”
“Have a way of going to the devil,” I said with a smile.
She answered, “Let’s hope THAT doesn’t happen, but even an Albus plan can go awry. So, if you do find yourself facing Medrod, and you cannot flee, then remember that Caliburn holds reality to Medrod’s choice, and neither he nor you can change that. This is the power and advantage of Caliburn and it is also its disadvantage.”
“What do you mean?”
She shrugged, “I do not know the circumstance where this might help you, every situation is fluid, but remember what I said if you find yourself in that situation. You have Albus blood in you, Nicholas, and we can turn any disadvantage to an advantage. Figure out how to use Caliburn against Medrod, even if he is the one wielding the sword.”
Chapter Sixteen
I've built walls,
A fortress deep and mighty,
That none may penetrate.
I have no need of friendship; friendship causes pain.
It's laughter and it's loving I disdain.
I am a rock,
I am an island.
-Simon & Garfunkel
Two weeks later we were in position for ‘the plan’. We had all gone through the Portal in the center tower of Ivory Castle and arrived on Earth at the Parthenon, in Greece, which turned out to be a Sivaeral portal. We didn’t stay long enough for the police to arrive. We'd caused quite a commotion when we had suddenly appeared in front of a group of French tourists. Three of the old women fainted, and the rest started shouting something about ghosts of Greek warriors.
I didn’t have the time or patience to calm them down, so I just yelled, “Run for the hills, the British are coming!” and then headed for another place between the pillars which was the portal back to Abal. This one would take us somewhat near Mystical Island. Two American teenagers followed us, and were watching as we entered the Portal, so just before I activated it and disappeared, I turned and gave them a smile, and then said, “Beam me up, Scotty!”
From where we arrived back on Abal, we had to hike thirty some miles to the coast, but we were now at the shoreline, though we were well south of the position where we had previously had our adventure with the giant chickens.
Our plan to get past the wall was the same as last time, with the added caveat of my remaining free, and of us avoiding the necromage battle. This was accomplished by going at night, and then being careful this time not to open the passage into their hallway until we made sure it was empty.
Then it was easy enough to slip into the water and start swimming for the Island. The next hurdle would come upon reaching land, where Morgain’s forces and other watchdogs would be waiting.
It was about this time when Finnabair started he
r two offensives. She had contacted Oberon already, so he knew she was coming, and he was ready to support her with an attack from within the town, once the marble golems made their assault.
Back at Ivory Castle, Finnabair’s Gargoyles were taking wing, and starting their attack on the army below.
We hoped Medrod’s and Morgain’s attention would now be on those locations, and perhaps they would even go to the battlefronts, but we couldn’t be sure.
I’d considered trying to bring some of my mother’s marble golems with us but finally decided against it. They would have been difficult to keep secret on the trek to the coast, and hard to sneak past the wall to the water’s edge. Besides, we couldn’t bring enough of them to make it a stand-up fight, so all they would really do is increase the odds of us being discovered early. No, this had to be a sneak attack, and four mages were better at sneaking than a few two-ton marble monsters.
My only other consideration before this venture had been Fiona. I’d dithered on whether to contact Pox and through him, add Fiona to our assault team. On the one hand, another Second would vastly increase our chances in a skirmish with the M&M duo, but in the end, I told myself I’d decided against adding her in case making contact via a Summons should alert Morgain, Medrod, or in the worst case of all, The Dragon. I mean, all I needed was the evillest of all Archimages to join the party to make this a complete Charlie Foxtrot. Besides, I rationalized, this was not an assault, where I had to have enough firepower to take on the enemy; this was a covert infiltration. If it worked, we would have plenty of firepower on the way out, when we added the First Wizard of Abal.
But deep down I knew all of this reasoning was an excuse, the real truth was, I didn’t want Fiona hurt, and she would be a big distraction to me if I was worrying about her on this crazy mission. I figured if I survived, there was time to sort out my feelings about Fiona, and sooth any ruffled feathers she might have about being left out of the fun.
None of this mattered anymore, we were closing in on the shore of Mystical Island, and we had what we had in the way of mages: Hydan, Toji, Myrka, and me, against all of Morgain’s defenses. No problem. I just wish we knew what they were going to be.
We were swimming about thirty feet beneath the surface, which allowed plenty of light from the Abal sun to penetrate down. Beneath us, the rays of light faded down into the dark blue of the ocean depths in rays of twisting light. Dimly, I saw the ocean floor coming up, and then ahead a darker area. It was a kelp forest, but as we got near I realized this was a different kind of plant from the kelp of Earth. For one thing, each stalk was larger around, with much bigger leaves. The stalks went from the bottom all the way to the surface, where they laid over in great matted carpets, effectively blocking out much of the light. These kelp stalks were also more widely spaced than the thinner kelp of Earth.
Hydan piped a burst of Abal underwater speak to me, and said, “I don’t like the looks of this forest.”
I spoke back, “Well, we have to get through to reach the shore.”
He nodded, and we angled over to pass through between two of the towering amber plants. These were plenty wide apart to let us pass without touching them.
As soon as we passed between them, it got significantly darker. Ahead we could see a way through wide enough to swim. After passing a few more stalks, I noticed the way through was getting narrower, and soon we were passing within a foot of the long leaves. Toji was swimming just ahead of me, which is why I saw it when one of the kelp leaves reached out and wrapped itself around Toji’s foot. I don’t mean he got tangled in it, I mean, it grabbed him.
Toji’s knives came out, and he started to cut the grasping leaf when I saw more kelp fronds wrapping around him.
“Stay away from the kelp, it’s grabbing Toji!” I called to the others.
Everyone stopped and looked at Toji, who was now wrapped up by three fronds, and they were pulling him toward the kelp tree center mass.
I pulled out my own knife and swam to Toji’s aid.
“Be careful, or it will pull you in as well,” Hydan exclaimed.
I stopped and hovered in the water, and then said, “OK, then do something!”
Myrka let out a bolt of blue Derkaz energy, it vaporized the water in its path, which went up as a line of bubbles now, headed for the surface. Where her beam struck the kelp it cut right through and severed all three of the fronds which were holding Toji. As soon as they were cut, the parts gripping Toji relaxed and he was able to swim free.
“OK, back out of here, carefully!” I said to the others, but when we turned around we found the way back had closed up. The other kelp trees had moved, narrowing all the ways out behind us.
“This is Dokkalfar Derkaz magic!” Myrka hissed.
I frowned, and then said, “Can you burn us a path?”
Myrka nodded, but said, “However, that will take a lot of my power, and I will be useless for hours afterward.”
I spun in the water and looked at Hydan, “Can you change them to something else?”
Hydan shrugged, “Some of them, maybe, but this is a large forest, which will take a lot of power.”
We could now see the kelp trees slowly moving, closing in on the small pocket of open water where the four of us were hovering.
“Suggestions?” I said.
Toji asked, “Why aren’t they attacking those fish?” He was pointing at a fish which was colored very similar to the kelp fronds, and swimming right through them without the plants reacting.
“They must be like kelpfish on Earth or clownfish in an anemone,” I said.
Hydan lifted both eye fins in surprise, “There is a fish which is a clown on Earth?”
“Sure,” I answered, “It can live in the arms of a creature which is deadly to other fish, something called an anemone.”
“Clownfish! Do you also have comedianfish?”
“Do you think this is the best time to discuss species of fish?” I said, pointing to the closing kelp forest.
Hydan smirked at me and said, “Well, we can discuss funny fish later, I suppose, but for now, gather around me, these kelpfish have the right idea!”
“I thought you couldn’t turn us into something else?” I said but moved toward Hydan with the others.
Hydan laughed, “We cannot change into kelpfish, but they can certainly change the way we look!”
Suddenly all the fish, and other things around us in the water, and from the bottom, were changing into kelpfish, and they all swam over to us, creating a giant fish ball of kelpfish, with us in the center. Then the school started to slowly swim toward one of the few remaining gaps in the kelp trees, and we gently swam with them. As we passed through the trees did not grab at us, we were hidden in the school of fish they ignored.
Hydan’s school stayed with us all the way to the far edge of the Kelp forest, where they then turned and the school broke up as the individual kelpfish headed back into the forest which was their home. We were back in the sunlight, with only water and rocky reefs with low growing sea grass and other plants below us. We could see the sand being disturbed by the flow of waves building up as they reached the shallows, and the back and forth movement of the surge as the small plants were pulled toward the shore, and then back in the direction of the deeper water.
Our heads broke the surface in a few more yards, and we looked toward the beach to see what else Morgain had in store for anyone foolish enough to approach her seat of power.
The forest beyond the short sandy beach looked dark and foreboding.
While still watching the dark forest, I spoke to Myrka, “You said the strange kelp was Dokkalfar magic, what did you mean?”
“We, of the Tarvos House, use Derkaz energy directly, as a power. The Dokkalfar mages go about things in a completely different way; they use the Derkaz to corrupt life and turn it to their will. Much of the evil others attribute to the Derkaz comes from what the Dokkalfar do with the power. It is the Dokkalfar who are evil, not the power they use.”
Hydan was quiet, but I could tell from his expression he had more to add to that subject, this just wasn’t the time and place. I thought of the bloodthirsty way Myrka went about life and had to agree with him, the Derkaz seemed to have corrupted Myrka in other ways.
“So,” I continued, “We can expect more things like that kelp, but perhaps in the dark forest ahead?”
Myrka nodded.
“And we can’t hide in a fish ball in those trees,” Hydan noted.
That’s when the pile of rocks walked out onto the beach.
Trees were bent apart by some massive strength and mass, and then we saw it, a massive creature made of stone. His head kind of reminded me of those Moai statues on Easter Island back in the South Pacific, all angularly carved, but the body was not the slim form of those statues, it was shaped more like a big silverback gorilla, though the features were angularly carved, like the head. There were large sigils carved all over the thing.
But the biggest difference between these and the Moai statues was that this thing was moving!
“Well, I’ll be a monkey’s uncle!” I exclaimed.
Myrka frowned, “I do not believe that is a monkey, it is more akin to a stone ape, and it is extremely unlikely you are related.”
I answered, “I meant… never mind. How in the Sam Hill are we going to get past that thing?”
“Who is this Sam Hill, and is he a wizard?” Myrka demanded.
I ignored her and watched the giant stone golem stalk up the beach, and then head back into the forest, making its own trail through the trees. I noted that the top of the thing’s head was nearly as tall as the trees it had knocked aside.
Now that I looked, I could see other parts of the forest moving off in the distance, which likely meant there were more of these behemoths.