The Dark Lord's Demise

by John White

  From somewhere beyond the cottage came a cry of surprise. The people gave each other questioning looks. Some asked, "Harpie attack?" Others wondered, "More goblins?" Hazilon got to his feet, and he and Wes hurried around the cottage to see what was coming next. Never would they have expected what they saw.

  Over the cliff edge skimmed an enormous, white-winged horse. On its hack rode a man with brown skin, white beard and white robe, from whom light scattered in a streaming path. The horse wheeled and circled over the field. Now it was clear he carried two riders. Seated behind the white-robed man, clinging to his waist and looking down with a mixture of ecstasy and terror, was King Tiqvah.

  The crowd scattered as the flying horse descended and touched his hooves to the ground. Gaal slid easily from his back. Behind him Tic{vah climbed down more cautiously.

  Lisa heard the commotion and came to the door of the field hospital. She cried out, "Tiqvah! You look so much better! And Theophilus! Where have you been all this time?" The horse whinnied and rushed toward Lisa. His gait was remarkable. He galloped two or three strides, lifted off and flew a couple of wingbeats, touched clown and galloped again. When he was a stride (or a wingbeat) from Lisa, he thrust his wings out and slid to a halt. She stared at the black snip on his nose. "You're not Theophilus! You're Philo! Where did you get those wings? "

  The horse inexpertly folded his wings one at it time. "On the way back to Nephesh the Lord Gaal appeared. I asked him to scratch the itchy bumps on my back, which had become nearly unbearable by then. He touched them, they grew and became-" He thrust out a wing in demonstration.

  "Careful!" Lisa said.

  "I wish to thank you, Lady Lisa," said Philo. "You opened my eyes to the truth of my ancestry."

  Tigvah now.joined them. Lisa could hardly believe the change in the king. She thought he looked not only heavier and stronger but more handsome. He smiled that open, almost mischievous smile of the boy Tiqvah they had known years before. Then his mood grew serious. "Lisa, I know you have been brave in battle. So have Wesley, Kurt and Betty. And now I know the sad truth about my queen. The Lord Gaal told me gently on our journey."

  "I'm really sorry," Lisa said. She thought she should say more, but she didn't know what.

  Gaal summoned everyone to gather near the cottage. The sound of his voice filled the injured with new strength. They came and stood in the cottage doorway. Swordsmen, archers and slingshot hurlers returned from their battle stations and fell to their knees in front of Gaal. Koach dropped to their bellies and lay panting before their lord. Vulcanus settled in a nearby treetop. For now there were no Qadar, no harpies, no efel spawn, no weaver bees, no goblins. Where Gaal was, everything was peaceful.

  Wesley stepped forward, unbuckled the Sword of Geburah and laid the jeweled scabbard on the ground before Gaal. "It's yours now," he said. "It always was."

  Gaal picked up the sword and strapped it on. His face glowed with pleasure, yet it also showed concern. "My friends, you have fought bravely and well." His voice carried to the furthest person at the back of the crowd. "Our Enemy will make one more assault. It is not you he seeks to destroy but me. When you came into my service, you willingly placed yourselves in the path of his attacks. Some have paid the highest price. But do not fear, for all will receive their reward."

  "Will I get a slingshot?" it small voice asked.

  Gaal laughed a deep, hearty chuckle. He scooped up the littlest boy, sat on a stump and placed the boy on his lap. "You shall receive the finest slingshot in my Bayith of Yayin. However, you may not hurl stones at the clucks in my fountain."

  The crowd laughed. Voices said, "Gaal is great!" and "Gaal has won the victory!"

  Their festive mood was cut short. Darkness rolled over the field as though storm clouds blocked the sun. A deep vibration rumbled the earth. All faces turned toward Lake Nachash. Its normally deep blue waters had turned murky gray. Whitecaps raced across its surface, streaking outward from the Island of Geburah. Against the dark sky a darker form appeared. At first it was shapeless, like a moving thunderhead. Lightning flashed deep within it. Gradually the form contorted itself into a face-a gigantic face of grayish yellow with huge cold eyes, thin lips and a cruel twisted smile.

  The voice of Lord Lunacy boomed like a hundred peals of thunder. "So my Enemy shows himself at last! He could not keel) himself away from the foolish followers he loves! Now he shall see his fatal blunder!" Lightning crackled behind the face. Rocks split from the cliff and rolled into the lake. Clouds of hot steam hissed up where the rocks fell.

  The face of the Dark Lord changed shape again. His nose broadened and flattened. His eyes elongated and moved to the side of his head. His color deepened from yellow to ruddy, then brightened to garish red. The skin shriveled from smooth to scaly. The head of Lord Lunacy was now the head of a dragon. From his nostrils spurted boiling smoke. His mouth gaped open to show four huge fangs that were immediately hidden by it tongue of flame.

  Many of Gaal's followers screamed and covered their faces. Some stared at Lunacy in horror. But others grinned in open defiance. Betty Riggs was appalled. She managed to ask, "What is it?"

  "It's the true form of the Mystery of Abomination," Kurt said. "What you know as Lord Lunacy is only one of the forms it takes. Once I saw-" Kurt did not finish his explanation. From the forest came a crash like none he had ever heard. It was like the fall of it giant tree, but it continued and continued, as though it row of giant trees fell one after the other. Vulcanus uttered a startled "Kee-keekee!" and took off from his treetop perch. A second later the tree went down with a splintery crash. From the woods burst a boarwartz, an elephant-sized goblin something like a wild pig but immensely larger. Gaal's panicked followers fled across the field. The thing snuffled and snorted after them. It tore up the ground with its monstrous tusks. It uprooted several trees along the forest edge and tore the springhouse from its foundation.

  The crowd ran toward the far end of the field. They screamed and turned back. Advancing on them from the other direction was a seven-headed ogre, twice again as big as the one the children had killed. At the same time, a formation of winged goblins flew from behind the great dragon's head. As one they raced across the lake and circled above the scene of panic. They came around again, lower this time. The lead goblin flung a flaming rock and knocked down a fleeing woman. She snatched up the rock to fling it back at the goblin and screamed as the fiery object scorched her hand.

  Captain Charaban climbed onto the ruins of the springhouse. King Tiqvah managed to get onto the roof of the stables. Charaban shouted, "Back to your battle stations! Take up your weaponsswords, bows, slingshots!"

  Tiqvah cried out, "Fight for Anthropos! Fight in the name of the Changer!"

  The lieutenants spread the order. The crowd regrouped and encouraged each other to fight. Gaal's followers were now a united army. They had much in their favor: the presence of their king, the captain's confidence, the skills of the lieutenants, their experience of battle together. And now Gaal himself was here among them!

  Two soldiers cornered the boarwartz against a building. The dragon of the Mystery leered from the air. Flame shot from his mouth. The single boarwartz divided into two identical boarwartz! Both beasts charged and trampled the soldiers before the startled men could react. The two boarwartz split again into four and stampeded onto the battlefield.

  The ogre advanced on an archer. The soldier drew his bow and shot the beast in the chest, but it instantly divided into two. He fitted another arrow and let fly. He could not get off another arrow fast enough. The ogres advanced over his body. As they raged onward, they divided again and yet again. The formation of winged goblins soared over the field and hurled flaming rocks. Archers let fly with arrows. The formation divided into two, which veered off in opposite directions. Twice as many flaming stones raided down on Gaal's followers.

  Betty clutched the Book of Wisdom and pulled it open. The blue light flared out once more. She started to read. The blue dome began to spr
ead. She looked up from the book and nearly dropped it. Before her lay an open field unlike any she had ever seen. Fires were lit, and lively music danced above the crackle of flames. Around the fires sat goblins, harpies and ogres. They beckoned to her to come sit with them. Betty thought she was hallucinating until she heard Lisa say, "What are those monsters doing, having a picnic?"

  The noise of battle quieted. The followers of Gaal stopped fighting to stare at the scene before them. Beyond the fires, the field opened up into an expanse of lush green where hedges flowered. A sweet voice called, "Lay down your arms! The battle is over! All is peace! Come join us!" The playful music swelled. Goblins waved and beckoned. Harpies combed their long hair and smiled. Boarwartz lay by the fires like big sows in a mud hole. Ogres called `Join us! Join us!" with all the mouths of their seven heads.

  A few soldiers lowered their swords and stumbled forward. They had marched all night to get here. All morning they had fought life-and-death battles. Exhaustion lay heavy on them. The peace of the fires, the music and the green field beckoned. They did not want to fight anymore.

  Wesley ached to go forward into that peace. Surely Gaal had won the battle and made peace with his enemies! He took a tentative step, then another. Something scratched his scalp. He reached up to hit at it, but halfway there his hand stopped. The pigeon! He felt it scratch him again. This time it hurt so much, Wes was sure it must have drawn blood. The pain woke him up. He shouted, "No! Those peaceful scenes are Lunacy's lies! The battle is not over!"

  The peaceful view dissolved. The harpies no longer sat on the ground and combed their hair but (lived from the air and snatched at Gaal's followers. Winged goblins cackled and swarmed overhead and threw their rocks of fire. Boarwartz were not giant hogs in a mud puddle but raging beasts with murderous tusks. Lisa and Kurt joined Wes to attack them with swords and slingshots. Betty read from the book and hoped her voice and strength would hold out.

  In the air above Lake Nachash, the dragon of the Mystery let loose a roar that echoed up and down the lakeshore. The thing now showed itself not only as a head but as an entire scaly, redwinged dragon. The beast writhed and lashed its tail so violently that waves churned in a circle beneath it. Something caught its furious attention. It turned its wrath away from the clifftop. The enemy it hungered for, its true opponent, now advanced through the air to do battle.

  Gaal was mounted on Philo and armed with the Sword of Geburah. The winged horse flew unafraid straight at the dragon. The dragon shot out fire. Philo passed so near that his mane must surely have been singed. Gaal slashed at one of the dragon's wings and wounded it. The beast roared in pain and anger. Its flight was hampered, but its fury was multiplied. Gaal circled away. He held Philo back so the winged horse hovered above the lake.

  Gail's voice rang out. It echoed not only across Lake Nachash and the Forest of Darkness and the Island of Geburah but across the ages of Anthropos. "I call on the warriors of all time to come to my final battlefield! I summon my followers of all centuries to witness the defeat of the Mystery of Abomination!"

  At the sound of Gaal's voice, the forces of the Mystery faltered. The pace of battle slowed. Clouds stirred behind the dragon. Betty glanced up from the book and stared in amazement. The Friesens gasped in recognition. Figures appeared in the air beyond the Dark Lord's terrible form.

  Lisa cried, "It's Kardia! And there's Suneidesis! Tigvah, look!" King Tigvah gazed at the faces of his parents. His own face was bathed in smiles and tears.

  "Authentio!" Kurt yelled. "And there's his mother, Illith! And there's Chocma! Betty, she's the one who read from the book!"

  The sturdy figures of Matmon appeared. Wes waved and called out, "Inkleth! Bomgrith! Billingrath!" Giant wolves stalked across the sky. Swiftlope and the other Koach howled as they recognized their warrior ancestors Garfong and Whitefur.

  The dragon flailed its injured wing. Gaal urged Philo forward. He swung the Sword of Geburah and slashed the other wing. The beast shot fire and smoke and lashed its tail. The lake roiled beneath it in a more violent circle. It lunged its full red scaly length and bit at Gaal with its glistening fangs. Gaal pivoted Philo and cut it deep gash across the dragon's head. Red fire gushed out, which Gaal escaped with a skillful turn and dive.

  Gaal's followers stood transfixed. At first they did not hear the low drone from the forest behind them. The Friesens and Betty heard it first because it was so fearfully familiar. It was the roar they had heard on another lakeshore, the shore of Lake Bamah.

  A swarm of weaver bees poured out of the forest and rolled across the heads of the crowd. The swarm was so huge, it must surely have contained every weaver bee in Anthropos. Gaal's followers ducked, but the bees paid no attention to them. They surrounded the monsters of the Mystery. The bees drove the ogres, goblins, boancartz and all the Dark Lord's forces toward the edge of the cliff and trapped them there. They surrounded the flying goblins and harpies and kept them penned in midair.

  Gaal rode twice around the dragon while it dove and snapped and slashed at him in vain. Its thrashing tail roiled the waters once more. The waters of Lake Nachash began a slow whirl like a circular current. The current ran faster. Beneath the dragon a depression formed in the water. Tiqvah cried out, "Whirlpool! Never have I seen a whirlpool in Lake Nachash! What means this? Have all the laws of nature changed?" The speed of the whirlpool increased. One by one it picked up the empty boats of Lunacy's night patrol and swept them around and down. The weaver bees surged forward. Without mercy they drove the forces of the Mystery off the cliff and clown through the air into the swirling waters. The whirlpool caught them all in its current and sucked them downward.

  The whirlpool spun ever deeper; yet it never revealed the lakebed, as though it reached even beyond the bottom of the lake. At first, the farther it descended, the darker were its depths. Then a glare of light rose from the deepest center. The light circled upward and merged with the spinning water. The whirlpool of lake became it whirlpool of fire beneath the dragon of the Mystery.

  The dragon opened its mouth and emitted a roar that changed into a scream and then a wail. Gaal rode in so close it seemed the monstrous mouth would swallow him. He raised the Sword of Geburah high above his head. For a heart-stopping instant he hesitated. Then the sword came down and split the dragon's head in two. The beast plummeted down into the whirlpool of fire and followed its doomed forces into fiery depths.

  The whirlpool slowed. It grew shallower, calmed and flattened. The surface of Lake Nachash began to rise. Its waves lapped almost to the edge of the cliff. The deep blue changed to a multitude of colors. Where there had been water, there was now an expanse of long grass, heather, gorse and wildflowers between the royal lodge grounds and the Island of Geburah.

  The island itself was changing. The fortress widened, expanded and opened up into a great stately room of cream and gold marble. From clouds high above descended a form like a golden chair. It settled slowly in the room. As soon as the chair was in place, it was as though it had been there forever.

  Kurt shouted, "It's a throne! And Gaal's riding toward it! It's his throne!"

  Gaal rode Philo slowly across the field, which was now a throne room. When he reached the throne, he dismounted and walked up its steps with a regal tread. He took his place on the throne while his followers bowed low. When he said, "Look up again!" they half expected Gaal to regard them with an expression of distant majesty. Instead he gave a smile of warm acceptance that filled the magnificent room with light.

  "My friends, welcome to my Bayith of Yayin! Here I have established my throne forever. Come and feast on the delights I have prepared. Rejoice in my presence forever, for I will never leave you. The whole world is now my Bayith of Yayin!"

  King Tigvah was the first to approach the throne. He knelt before Gaal, and for a moment the two talked in words no one else could hear. Kardia and Suneidesis came into the room. Tiqvah stood and embraced them. Now all the others hurried toward the throne. Charaban's limp was gone. H
e ran like a young man. But even he could hardly keep up with the little boy who sprinted like mad toward the throne of Gaal.

  Lisa turned her head to wipe away a tear of joy. She said, "Look behind us! It's the Garden Room!" They turned to see that the royal lodge grounds had become a wide valley with flowering trees and the bright ribbon of a stream.

  In the living room on Grosvenor Avenue, John McNab stared at the wall above the fireplace. Eleanor said something to him from the kitchen, but he didn't answer. She came in and snapped in an irritated voice, "I'm talking to you! Why don't you ever listen to me?"

  For once John did not defend himself or argue back. He only pointed and said, "The Sword of Geburah is gone."

  Eleanor also stared. "The sword isn't all that's missing," she said. "Dinner is ready in the kitchen, but the kids are gone."

  They turned to look at each other. Their puzzled expressions cleared into the beginnings of understanding. They looked back toward the fireplace wall. Now the wall itself was gone! It was as though it had dissolved and opened up into a mansion next door. They saw into a room of gold and cream marble with columns, banners, tapestries and tables laden with food. Musicians strolled and played, though they could not hear them. People swirled into view. They talked, laughed and danced-but still John and Eleanor heard none of their merriment. Then Eleanor gasped and caught John's arm. "It's the kids! There's Wes, Lisa, Kurt-and who's that girl with them?"

  They stepped closer to the wall that was no longer a wall. Eleanor still clutched John's arm. Normally they would have stopped when they reached the wall, or the place where one should have been. But now they kept going. They stepped into the throne room of Gaal. The burst of sound almost hurt their ears.

  "It's Gaal!"John said. "He's on the throne! I've never seen him on a throne! What's happened?"

  Gaal turned toward John. His eyes shone with recognition and welcome. John and Eleanor longed to hear him speak, but other voices came to their ears first.