“No, Lukas,” she said. “We show them mercy.” At that word the Wolf struck. No one saw the dagger fly out of his hand until it was too late.
Julia cried out as the dagger struck her cheek.
A curtain of blood fel over her face and she crumpled to the floor.
Lukas was with her in an instant. The wound was not deep—that much he could see—although it would leave a mighty scar. Julia blinked up at him.
She was in pain, but she was conscious. Lukas rose and stood eye-to-eye with the Wolf. He reached out and took hold of his mask, wrenching it away from his face.
The face exposed there was no longer human.
The mouth and nose had grown out from the rest of the face into a snout and the lips curling up in a snarl revealed massive teeth. The eyes shone bright and yel ow—and angry.
Lukas turned away from him to the Leopard.
“You surrender?”
“I rather think we do,” he stammered.
Peter was stil outside the castle, organizing his men and dealing with al the thousands of details that come after a battle, when he noticed Helen and Alyce emerging from the forest. They were surrounded by a bevy of children who clung to their hands. Peter grinned and nodded a greeting to them as they approached the massive doors of the citadel, out of which the freed slaves were running.
Perhaps you can imagine the joy they felt at the reunion—the tears, the cries, the long embraces.
Perhaps you can picture the jubilation of a child who has been too long without a parent. It was a sight to make the stars dance in the sky.
And Peter, who suddenly missed his mother so much he could hardly breathe, felt tears pricking at the corners of his eyes and turned away.
It was an hour later that Julia, her face pale and swathed in bandages, and Peter entered the Great Hal of Aedyn together to the cheers and applause of the faithful. After so many centuries, they had never expected this day to arrive. The old order was passing away, and the new would begin. Peter held up his hands for silence and waited for his sister to speak.
“We were cal ed here by the Lord of Hosts to lead you from darkness into light,” she said. “The former things have passed away. The Lords of Aedyn have been vanquished. Their power over you is broken. Bring in the masks!”
Those assembled stood on tiptoe as the three grotesque masks were brought in by three bearers, trying to see what was happening. Each of the masks of the hated Lords of Aedyn was placed on a wooden table before the throne. The crowd watched with bated breath as Julia held up each mask in turn.
“These masks were worn by weak, evil men.
They wanted you to fear them and respect them. And you were fooled by this crude deception. You wil never be taken in again! Watch!”
The masks were placed on the table. Lukas marched to the table, sword in hand. With three massive strikes, he destroyed each mask.
“And now…”
The Jackal, the Leopard, and the Wolf, such as they were, entered the Hal at sword point. They stared straight ahead, oblivious to the gasps at their deformed faces. Peter went to them and removed the ebony amulets from around their necks.
“Your years are coming to an end,” he said softly—so softly that only they could hear. “You wil die alone, and you wil die soon. Your power is broken.” He brought the amulets to Lukas, who, at a nod from Gaius, forced the point of his sword through each one of them in turn.
As the last amulet was broken under the sword, Gaius spoke to the lords. “You wil know the sting of mortality,” he said. “But not just yet, for mercy is stronger stil . We send you not to death, but to exile.
You wil return to Khemia, the land you left al those years ago, and live out the remainder of your days.” The lords were escorted (none too gently) out of the Hal . Peter and Julia were led to the old thrones, and if you had heard the cheers you would have thought that it was angels singing.
CHAPTER
20
The afternoon sun blazed down on Aedyn. A zephyr rustled a flag flying from the great citadel of the island, bearing the emblem of the Lord of Hosts.
Crowds of people were mil ing round the castle, clearing away the debris of battle and exulting in their new freedom. Lukas had taken charge, ready to ensure a smooth path from oppression to peace.
Peter and Julia walked among the people, stopping to grasp hands and exchange stories with those gathered. And then Gaius found them and ushered them away.
“Come,” he said. “There is little time.” And as he spoke the wal s of the citadel melted away, and they were once more in the garden. The silver glow was stronger than ever.
Julia looked around in utter astonishment. Gone were the ruined wal s, the overgrown paths, and the blocked fountain. The soft stone wal s were covered with roses and flowering plants, whose heavy aroma perfumed the late afternoon air. The fountain was burbling, sending cool streams of pure, clear water into the air and cascading into the pond. The garden was serene, an oasis of coolness in the heat of the day. It was as if an army of gardeners had labored for weeks to restore it to its original beauty.
Julia wandered around the wal ed garden, admiring the flowers and their delectable fragrances.
In another part of the garden she found some trees, whose beautiful broad green leaves seemed to exude sweet-smel ing oils which hovered in the air.
One tree was set apart from the rest, raised up and surrounded by a low stone wal . Its branches drooped low, laden with exotic ripe fruit. She returned to the center of the garden and the great throne where Gaius and Peter were waiting.
“Wel , fair one?” the monk asked. “Have you solved our great question?”
“I think so,” she murmured. “It’s al about power, isn’t it—loving power more than people.”
“Nothing’s that simple,” scoffed Peter, but Gaius raised a hand to silence him.
“Truth is found most often in simplicity,” he said.
“You have done wel , my children. You have set this land free from its oppressors, and so it wil remain for many years.”
“Not forever?” asked Julia.
“No. Not so long as the dark power that created those amulets exits.” Gaius shook his head, and then looked up, beyond the children and beyond the garden—beyond Aedyn itself. “But one day, a redeemer wil come. One who wil be of the house of Marcus, but greater stil . One who wil defeat the dark forces of evil and death. We can only resist them, but he can break the true source of their power and banish their presence. The Anointed One wil come.
We are his heralds, and we prepare his way. His hour has not yet come.”
As he spoke the sun began to set, and a cold breeze blew throughout the garden. “It is time,” said Gaius. “Tel no one of the things you have seen here, but remember…always remember.”
His voice faded, and the garden seemed to glow more brightly than ever until the silver overwhelmed their sight. And when it faded, Peter and Julia found themselves no longer in Aedyn.
“My goodness!” It was their grandmother, come to find them in the garden. “Both out of your beds after midnight—after midnight! You’l catch your death of cold! Come inside the house, and let’s warm you up and get you safely into bed. Your father’s coming tomorrow with something special to tel you, and I don’t want him to find you stil abed!” Peter and Julia exchanged glances, and then, silently agreeing that it was best not to say too much, nestled under their grandmother’s arms and went up into the house.
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