The Dark Lord's Demise

by John White

  Meanwhile the boys' jailer was openly astonished. "By the feet of Gaal! First time I ever saw prisoners eat their whole meal! I've had them throw the slop in my face!" The boys wondered what he meant. Exhaustion kept them from giving it much thought. They curled up close together. A thin layer of straw offered little protection against the hard cold floor, but the food had warmed and comforted them. In a few minutes both fell deeply asleep.

  The girls slept at opposite sides of their cell. Lisa woke often. She watched the torches in the corridor die down. Shadows of the bars on the door undulated on the walls of the cell. From somewhere down the corridor echoed the moans and shouts of other prisoners. Lisa strained to hear the voices of Wesley and Kurt but could not distinguish them. She was glad when the torches flickered out and the shadows quit their strange dance on the walls, but then she was afraid of the absolute dark that replaced the torchlight.

  She thought she must be asleep because she seemed to enter a dream. A different kind of light appeared in the cell. At first she assumed the jailer had brought another torch. But this light did not come from the corridor. It was inside the cell. It rose from a spot where floor met wall, halfway between Lisa and Betty. This new light moved in waves and rose higher as it moved.

  Fire! The straw on the floor was on fire, and they were locked in! They would die! Lisa drew in breath to scream for the jailer.

  Wait. It wasn't fire. But what was it? Why did it look so odd? Normally when you turn on a light in a room, you notice the things in the room more than you notice the light itself. This light did not brighten the cell. It illuminated almost nothing. It drew Lisa's eyes to itself-a growing globular area of brightness that appeared to have a form and presence of its own.

  Lisa lay still and stared at the light. She had experienced different types of light in Anthropos. Gaal often came accompanied by blue light such as she had seen in the fog on the lake. Reddish light meant the presence of Lord Lunacy and his evil agents. This light was more yellowish. Then again, it appeared to have no color at all. Lisa thought, It doesn't matter because this is only a dream.

  Then Betty's voice jarred her. "Lisa! What's that light? Have you got a flashlight? " How could Betty see the light if Lisa was dreaming it? Lisa couldn't see the other girl. She called out, "Betty! Are you awake?"

  "Of course I am. Unless I talk in my sleep. I don't think I do."

  "Then I'm not dreaming?"

  "I don't think so. Unless I'm part of your dream. Or maybe I'm dreaming, and you're part of my dream." If the jailer had been listening, the girls' conversation would have sounded like nonsense. In fact, it was deadly serious. Now Lisa didn't know what was dream and what was real.

  A low laugh rumbled through the cell. The stone floor vibrated. The laugh was neither cruel nor mocking. It was a sound of gentle amusement. A deep voice spoke: "This is not a dream, Lisa and Betty. It is very real. You do not need to be afraid." The light swelled and began to take on a human form. A torso appeared, then arms, then a head, which touched the low ceiling. The light flickered in constant motion like flames; yet it was not fire. Lisa thought she saw features of a face emerge and vanish. She blinked as the light grew in brilliance until it was too bright to look at directly.

  Kurt tossed in his sleep and woke up Wesley, who opened his eyes and scrambled to his feet in terror. A glob of light (that was the best description he could think of) had appeared in their cell. For an instant he thought it was fire and panicked. Immediately he knew it was something else.

  "Greetings, Wesley," rumbled a low voice.

  Wes poked Kurt with his toe. Kurt mumbled, "Ummph. Lemme sleep." Wes kicked his brother in the ribs and said, "Wake up. Something's happening!" Kurt rolled over, opened his eyes and jumped up. He yelled "Whazzatt?"

  The deep voice spoke again. The cell floor vibrated. "Greetings, Kurt. Do not be afraid."

  "I'm not afraid!" Kurt's words were defiant, but his voice shook. The light continued, "Your difficulty has not gone unnoticed by the One above. I am his messenger. I have been sent to help you."

  Lisa asked the light, "Who are you?"

  "I have seen everything that has happened to you and to your brothers," the voice replied. "You should not be imprisoned here in this miserable dungeon. What has been done to you is tragically unfair."

  Lisa cautioned, "Shh! The jailer will hear you." It felt strange to tell a disembodied light to keep its voice down.

  "Do not fear," said the light. "The jailer can neither hear me nor see me. Be assured, your cries for help have been heard. I am here to gain your release."

  Lisa almost cried out, "You're Gaal!" The words never made it out of her mouth. Gaal had never appeared to them in quite this form. Of course, Gaal was Lord of All Worlds and could do anything. He could appear in any form he chose.

  The voice said, "The Lord of All Worlds sent me here to help you."

  "Who's the Lord of All Worlds?" asked Betty.

  Instantly Lisa answered, "Gaal!" The light in the cell flared up and subsided. Lisa relaxed a little. No wonder the light person (or whatever it was) didn't act like Gaal. She asked, "You mean you're sort of his ambassador?"

  The floor shook as the voice admonished her, "There is not time to talk of names and identities. You must follow my instructions exactly if you are to escape this place."

  Lisa remembered how the jailer drew his forefinger across his throat. "The jailer warned us not to try to escape. He said if we did, they'd have our heads."

  The light laughed gently. "What should you expect him to say, Lisa? Of course he does not want you to attempt to escape. Of course he will try to put fear into your heads. Now listen carefully to what you must do."

  Kurt said to the light in the cell, "Escape? From here?"

  "It is your only hope. Do not imagine that King Tiqvah will be sympathetic to you. You must not allow yourselves to be brought into his presence. It will be disaster for you. And it will be disaster for your sister and your friend."

  "Because he won't know us?" Kurt asked. He turned to Wes. "See, I told you so! If he sees us, it'll be disaster."

  Wes decided not to pursue this. Instead he asked the light, "How can we possibly escape? Those iron bars are solid. We sure can't dig through the walls. Even if we got out of this cell, there are armed guards everywhere."

  The light swelled and brightened. Kurt glanced toward the door. Surely the jailer would come to investigate. The corridor remained dark. This odd light, brilliant as it was, did not light up anything around it. The deep voice said, "To you it seems impossible. But nothing is impossible. Nothing!" The cell floor shook. The bars on the door rattled. Wes thought, The bars are loose! We can force them open and get out of here!

  "Without me, you have no hope of freedom," the light said. "If you are to escape, you must put your trust in me and do exactly as I say. Now-will you obey me without question?"

  In a flippant voice Betty Riggs asked, "So how do I know this is real?" Lisa flinched. She waited for a bolt of lightning or something like lightning to flash out from the light person and hit Betty.

  For a while the light flickered in silence. It seemed to think things over. When the voice did reply, it did not scold. "Betty, you will find that this is more real than anything you have ever known. It is for you especially I have been sent to this place. It is you who will have a special task to accomplish."

  Fury boiled up inside Lisa. She bit her lip so she wouldn't snap out a sarcastic reply. Why did Betty have a special job? She didn't even know Gaal, and Lisa did! Lisa had proved herself through dozens of adventures in Anthropos. It wasn't fair!

  The voice inside the light spoke more sharply than before. "This is not the time for anger. You must follow me and do as I say. Will you obey me?"

  Lisa was shaken that the light had detected her anger. She covered her embarrassment with a question. "What about my brothers?"

  "You will meet Kurt and Wesley outside, for they are also being released. Will you obey me?"

 
; "Yes," said Lisa and Betty together.

  The light person glowed intensely for a second. "You will see me pass through the bars of the cell door. The bars will glow after I have passed through them. While they are still glowing, you must grasp them, pull the door open and slip out. Turn to the right and run down the corridor as fast as you can. No one will see or hear you. A door will be open for you to escape to the street. From there your eyes will be opened to see the signs that will lead you out of Nephesh and to safety in the countryside. But listen! The bars will glow for only a short while. Once the glow fades, you will not be able to open the door. You must act speedily. Do you understand?"

  "Yes," they repeated.

  The light appeared to gather itself like a person who pulls up the hem of a long robe. Then it moved slowly across the cell. It did not exactly walk and did not exactly roll. It glided to the door and passed through the bars. The bars of the cell did not light up. Instead they disappeared as though swallowed. The light passed through the door, and the bars reappeared-glowing as if they were red-hot! The light waited on the other side of the door.

  Betty started for the door. Lisa rushed after her. Why should Betty be the first to escape? Something flashed at the corner of her eye or perhaps in a corner of her brain. From her mouth came one word: "Stop!"

  Betty did stop and turned back. She squinted to try to locate Lisa in the dark cell.

  "What's wrong?" she asked. Lisa didn't know where the word "Stop!" carne from. As she stared at the glowing iron bars, she was terrified to even touch them.

  "Only a short while!" repeated the light from out in the corridor. Its voice sounded far away. "Once it fades, you will not be able to open the door. You must act speedily."

  "Why did you say stop?" Betty demanded.

  "I don't know! I don't know!"

  "Only a short while," whispered the light.

  Wesley grabbed the glowing iron bars and tugged hard. The door refused to move. Kurt clutched the bars too-and instantly let go. "Wes, they're hot!"

  "Grab them and pull as hard as you can!"

  Kurt tried again. He wondered how Wes stood the fiery heat on his hands. Beyond the door the voice of the light person urged them, "Pull! Pull! Only a short while! You must act speedily!"

  "Wes, don't! There's something wrong!"

  "No, there isn't! Pull!"

  The door yielded a couple of inches. Then it got hung up. The boys braced their feet and pulled hard. The door gave and swung toward them a few more inches before it stuck again. They clutched at the open edge and heaved all their weight backward. Kurt let go with one hand, then the other, to try to get relief from the heat. "Let go, Wes, let go! I tell you something's not right about this!"

  Wes ignored his brother's protests and ordered, "Both hands now! Pull!"

  Kurt clenched his teeth and pulled with both hands. The door swung wide open and spilled the boys backward onto the straw. They got up and ran outside into the corridor and into total darkness. The light person had vanished and so had the glow on the cell bars.

  Wes said, "Come on! It told us to turn left and run!"

  Betty yanked on the glowing iron bars and gasped, "Lisa! Help me!" Lisa didn't move. Why had she yelled "Stop!"? What was wrong? She looked around the cell but saw nothing to explain her certainty that they should not open the door. "Betty! We can't go! It's a trick!"

  The other girl's answer was accented by her jerks on the door. "Didn't your Gaal send that light here to help us? Come on! We'll run out of time!"

  "No! Gaal didn't send that light!"

  "It said the Lord of All Worlds, didn't it? Hurry! It's moving!"

  The bars dimmed to a faint glow. Betty screamed, "Help me or you'll never see your brothers or Winnipeg or your aunt and uncle ever again!" Lisa's insides churned. How could she turn down freedom? What if she never returned to her familiar world? Homesickness ripped at her-

  A scream tore through Lisa's throat. Not homesickness but claws ripped at her! Something unseen and powerful grabbed her around the middle. She hit and kicked at it. Her fists and feet only cut through air.

  "Betty! Help me! It's got me!"

  "Shut up! We don't have time for games!"

  "It's not a game! Help!" Between her screams, Lisa heard low growls and slobbers near her face. She saw nothing, but it was there. It gripped her with teeth and paws or maybe arms. It dragged her toward the cell door. She planted her feet, but they skidded through the slick straw. She twisted in every direction. She kicked and hit. Her attacker growled and shifted its grip but never lost hold of her.

  Where was the light in the corridor? Why didn't it help her? It was gone!

  Lisa screamed, "Gaal, help me!" Her invisible attacker stiffened. It snorted, released its grip and uttered a roar that shook the iron bars and bounced around the stone walls. Lisa pulled loose and ran. But where could she run? She landed in a corner of the cell, and the thing was at her again. It seized her and dragged her along the rough wall. It wasn't going to kill her yet. It would play with her as a predator plays with its prey before the kill.

  Betty shouted, "What's wrong with you? What are you doing?" Lisa fought on, but the thing nearly squeezed the breath out of her. Red lights sparkled before her eyes. Then she saw streaks of yellow and green and purple and-blue! Pure pale blue, the true light! Into her mind flashed the silent plea, Gaal! If you're here, get me loose from this thing!

  Air rushed into Lisa's lungs. The attacker eased its grip. Betty yelled "Got it!" and the cell door moved. Terrified of the unseen thing behind her, Lisa stumbled to the door, grabbed the bars next to Betty and pulled. The door moved, jammed and moved again. Suddenly it swung open and let the girls out into the dark of the corridor.

  "This way!" Betty ordered.

  "Which way? I can't even see you!"

  "To the right! Run!"

  You've probably never run full tilt with your eyes closed, at least not very far. Everything inside tells you to watch where you're going. Both girls disobeyed every instinct and sprinted down the corridor into total blackness. Then Lisa slowed and thrust her hands in front of her. How did she know the corridor was straight? How did she even know which way straight was? At any second she might smack into a stone wall.

  She panicked as she heard Betty's footsteps running away beyond her. Betty hadn't slowed down. They would be separated! Lisa screamed, "Betty! Wait!" It was silly to scream during an escape attempt, but the light person had said no one would see or hear them. From somewhere ahead Betty's voice called, "Keep coming! It's all clear!"

  Wesley raced down the unlit corridor. He was amazed that he didn't collide with anything. He tried to imagine that he was in a huge open courtyard. But even a courtyard ended someplace in a wall! Kurt lagged a little behind. Wes called encouragement over his shoulder. He was determined not to slow down as long as he heard Kurt's footsteps and hard breathing behind him.

  Close by on their left, desperate voices shouted, "In here! In here!" "Set me free too!" "The keys! Give me the keys!" They guessed that they ran past a succession of prisoners in their dark cells. Kurt felt sorry for them. How many of them were innocent? The impact of their cries hit him. He stumbled and nearly fell down. How did the other prisoners know the boys were there? The light person had said no one would be able to see or hear them!

  Lisa speeded up. She hardly cared if she ran into a wall. Ahead of her she heard indistinct voices. She couldn't make out the words. After all her fears of hitting a wall, she was still shocked when she ran hard into a solid object. It knocked the breath out of her. Bodies! A jumble of startled cries echoed through the corridor. Lisa could only think We're caught! Then she recognized the voices.

  "Wes!" "Lisa!" "Betty!" "Kurt!" In the darkness the children mobbed each other with joy. They were all free!

  Wes took command. He explained to the girls, "A light in the shape of a person appeared to us! It told us there's a door where we can escape!"

  Betty said, "A light told us that too! It
said when we got out of our cell, to turn right and run!"

  "It told us to turn left and run," Kurt answered back. "You ran the wrong way!"

  "You ran the wrong way!" Betty returned.

  The corridor fell silent. Something was very wrong. Had they misunderstood or forgotten their instructions? Lisa didn't enter into the argument. She knew it was wrong to go out the door. That unseen thing in the cell had dragged her toward the door. It had wanted her to escape!

  Betty said, "Look! Here comes the light person to set us straight!"

  Flickering light appeared in the direction from which the girls had come. More light came from the other direction. Men shouted, "There they are! Seize them!" Torches rushed at the children from both sides. One torch advanced ahead of the others. It gave weird illumination to the face of the jailer who had locked up Wes and Kurt. He grinned in wicked triumph. "The little devils tried to escape. Death to all four of them!"

  The jailers struck the backs of the children's knees, knocking them to the filthy floor, and pinned their arms behind them. A harsh voice sneered, "What happened, Dominicus? You had charge of the females. Did they flirt with you? Persuade you to let them borrow the keys?"

  Lisa looked up and recognized the worn features of the jailer who had guarded her and Betty. Dominicus's face, already red in the torchlight, turned even redder. He sputtered, "Nothing like that! I locked them up securely!"

  Lisa's heart went out to him. He had showed them what kindness he could.

  "Do you know the penalty for letting prisoners escape?" demanded the voice. It apparently belonged to a chief jailer who had authority over the others.

  "Y-yes, sir. I know the penalty."

  Lisa couldn't see the chief jailer's face, but she imagined him drawing his finger across his throat, as Dominicus had, to show the penalty. Would this man die because she and Betty escaped? It wasn't fair! None of this was fair!