by D G Palmer
The enchanted sword was resplendent in its red, gold and silver. It was almost like a beacon against its colourless surroundings. Immunity to magic was just one of the many magical attributes the Claymore had and although it had been in Eric’s possession for as long as he could remember he still believed that it could do more than he knew.
Eric scanned the bleak horizon of the Shade’s strange inner dimension until he found Daniel and rushed over to him. His son, seemingly unconscious, lay sprawled out on the side of the pathway. As he approached him, Daniel became translucent and began to fade away.
The last of Daniels Essence drained away. The warrior was too late to save his son.
Three to one odds didn’t faze Finn in the slightest, even if it was against The Shade. Her time on Earth had been the longest she had gone without shooting her guns, so she intended to relish every second of it now.
The young rebel-rouser could easily admit that she enjoyed experiencing what Earth’s London city had to offer, but she could never imagine giving up her life on Ariest, like Eric did, in exchange. Having to put his sword and armour away and hide your past must have been difficult; she didn’t think she could do that with her precious guns. She knew it must have been something really dreadful to make him up and leave everything. And taken a lot of courage. Finn wouldn’t ask what it was, though, it wasn’t her place to, her uncle Quinn had brought her up to respect people’s privacy, especially those she respected. She still kept those values, others that didn’t get that respect, however, were fair game.
Finn was in constant motion, jumping from car to car and sliding behind some for occasional protection. She knew she had to keep up the pressure on the Shade, keep damaging them with her enchanted bullets and give Daniel and Eric the time they needed to accomplish their side of the conflict.
Jet black elongated arms with long spindly claws shot around either side of the car Finn was crouched behind. She leapt into the air, narrowly avoided being skewered and sprang into action. Finn rolled over the bonnet of the saloon and let loose a barrage of gunfire, changing target from one to the other without missing a beat. The three Shade began reeling away in agony and vanished into the shadows.
Finn didn’t drop her guard. even with the Essence vampires seemingly gone. She kept her guns at the ready as she slowly moved through the carpark, aimed at every shadow and dark corner, expecting the Shade to jump out at any time.
What she didn’t expect, was what did happen.
Black tendril like appendages with lamprey mouths began to reach out of those shadows along the ground cast by the pillars and cars in the building. One, near Finn, began to wrap itself around her leg. After being momentarily startled, she shot at the base of the tendril and it quickly retreated.
‘Vekt!’ Exclaimed Finn as she looked around and saw all the tendrils wiggling about. She climbed onto a nearby car to stay clear of them. But things were about to get much worse. A blackness began to grow in the carpark level, spreading out in all directions, engulfing all light until an impenetrable darkness had completely filled it.
It was as if all light had been extinguished and Finn couldn’t see a single thing. ‘Vekting, vekt!’ She groaned.
HOW CAN YOU DESCRIBE the feeling that you have when you see your only child dying before you, knowing that there is not a single thing you can do to save him? That was the sentiment going through Eric’s mind as he watched Daniel fading away to become another victim of the Shade.
His son had told him that the last time he had depleted his Essence, Trinity had transferred her own Essence into him. If he knew magic, he could have done the same thing, but all he could do now was watch and think about how he intended to make the creature pay.
He tightened his grip on the Dragon Claymore and prepared himself to confront the Shade heart. It was almost over; Daniel had all but disappeared. Eric started to think about how he was going to break the news to Tina, explain to her that their son was gone. When, all of a sudden, the process began to reverse.
Daniel was no longer transparent, he became more solid with every second that passed, until he opened his eyes and sat up.
Eric was astonished and stared at his son with an open mouth. ‘Daniel?’ He touched his arm to see if he was real or not.
‘Dad.’
‘What happened?’
‘I don’t know,’ replied Daniel. He saw the questioning look on his dads face and knew he would tell him everything he knew soon enough. ‘Where’s Finn?’
‘Out there keeping the Shade busy.’
‘By herself?’
‘Sure, she can handle herself against it.’
‘It’s not just one Shade! There’re three of them out there!’
‘Oh my god!’
‘We need to finish this,’ Daniel said as he got to his feet. ‘Quickly!’
The father and son duo ran off, down the white path, towards the beating heart of the Shade, knowing that time was a critical factor.
FEAR WASN’T SOMETHING that Finn suffered from too often, but she was big enough to admit that she was scared silly right now. She was in an environment the likes of which she had never experienced before and it was making her jumpy. Of course, she had been in the dark before but darkness was one thing this, however, was a complete and utter absence of light.
The only time she could see anything was when she fired her guns, which happened when she felt something brush against her in the blackness of flicked her hair. In those split seconds of light, she could see Shade clones moving about and every now and then she would hear something like wind rushing pass her ears.
She wracked her brain trying to think of a way out of her situation but she came up empty. Even if she could remember which direction the exit was, she would still have to contend with the Shade tentacles.
She was trapped.
All Finn could do now was hope that Daniel and Eric returned soon. She could feel her strength fading, knew the Shades was feeding on her and she hated the feeling of not being able to defend herself.
‘You damn, vekting Shade! You couldn’t take me on in a straight up fight so you have to resort to this crap? But that’s ok, if I don’t finish you, Daniel and Eric will make you pay,’ Finn shouted out. Then she heard voices.
‘This is it,’ Jostin stated as the four, dimensional refugees came out of their camouflage.
‘But there’s somebody in there,’ said Katrin.
‘So, what do we do, Ferin? Wait for them to finish or what?’ Borion turned to their team leader and waited for an answer.
They already knew the answer to that, Ferin didn’t have to tell them. Their remit was extermination, if someone just happened to be rescued along the way then they can count themselves lucky. ‘Are you sure there’s three of them in there, Jostin?’ The boy nodded. ‘Then we shouldn’t keep them waiting, should we?’
A third eye opened on the forehead of each of member of the team before they all turned an icy-blue colour. Katrin’s Long canines and claws glowed with the same colour as did Borion’s powerful legs.
‘You ready to tear this up, baby?’ Borion glanced at Katrin as he rubbed his hands together in anticipation.
The feline woman had already begun to dash towards the ebon blackness on all fours when she called back, ‘You know I was born for this!’ And she pounced into the wall of blackness.
‘That’s my girl!’ With his huge stride, Borion quickly followed her.
‘You know what to do, Jostin.’
‘Yes, Ferin; wait here and use the arcane link to alert you if there are any intruders or if I feel any other Shade.’
‘Excellent,’ replied Ferin before he ran after his comrades. ‘This will be over before you know it.’
Jostin longed for the day when he would be able to take a more active role in the elimination side of things instead of just being the sensory lookout. With Katrin teaching him hand to hand combat and Ferin instructing him in the arcane ways, he knew it wouldn’t be long.
&n
bsp; Just then, something caught Jostin’s attention, something within the blackness. Ever since a Shade had all but drained Jostin’s Essence and been killed, itself, during the process, the young boy had been able to sense or “feel them”. With Ferin’s magic transference, that sense became augmented. ‘That’s strange,’ he said to himself. ‘It’s as if one of the Shade beings has some sort of huge Essence source within it. I’d better alert the others; this Shade could have abilities we’re not aware of.’
Chapter Twenty-One
There’s nothing better than having a long stretch after coming out of a deep restful sleep. And after Trinity did exactly that, and after her blurred vision had cleared, she began to wonder where exactly she was.
For all intents and purposes, it seemed as if she was inside a giant tree; the room was circular, filled with exquisite wooden furniture and there were hundreds, if not thousands of tree rings on the ground. One thing was for sure though, where ever she was, Trinity had a profound feeling of serenity and connectedness.
She bounded out of the bed she had rested on and discovered for the first time that she was barefoot, her sandals having been placed by the door. The wooden floor felt smooth and warm underfoot as the young Druid padded over to the large window opposite the door. The sight that greeted her was nothing short of astonishing.
Trinity found that she was indeed inside a tree, and that tree was just one among what she could only describe as a village of huge tree houses. Rope bridges crisscrossed the sky above and not far from where she was, she could see a tree with a massive trunk that seemed to be a sort of junction for the bridges so you could go up and down to different levels. And crossing those bridges and going about their daily routines were Woodland Elves.
‘This must be the Druid Grove!’ There was a distinct floral aroma mixed with the smell of fresh cut grass and it brought a smile to Trinity’s face as she breathed it in deeply.
Three tiny flower faeries suddenly came fluttering around the window. ‘She’s awake! She’s awake!’ They said excitedly in unison. ‘We must tell the Archdruid!’ And before Trinity could ask a single question about the whereabouts of Tristan, they had fluttered off.
It wasn’t long before there was a knock at the door, which woke Trinity from the serenity she experienced as the teen Druid gazed over the grove. ‘Come in,’ she bid.
Two elven guards, clad in green and brown, entered dropped to one knee and bowed their heads. ‘At your convenience, we are here to accompany you to the Archdruid.’
Trinity was taken aback by the formality of the salutation. She always assumed that such deep bows were reserved for people of great importance. ‘Uhm, sure, I’m ready now. Will my friend be there too?’
‘He has yet to awaken,’ the guard replied.
‘And where exactly is he?’
The guard was reluctant to answer. ‘I... think it would be best if you asked the Archdruid directly.’
‘Then let’s go,’ Trinity responded.
The grove was an idyllic place, it was a portrayal of the beauty nature possessed, displayed at its utmost best. There were bubbling brooks which were spanned by quint little bridges, wildlife seemed tame and unafraid. Butterflies played in the air, as did flower faeries.
As Trinity was led down the paths of the grove, the elves, they passed, all took notice of her. There were many looks of awe, waves and more guards that bent the knee. Trinity thought that If she had known that this was the kind of treatment she would garner for being the daughter of Gydion, she would have made the Druid Grove her first stop on arriving in Ariest.
After going up a few levels in the junction tree and along a rope bridge they finally arrived at their destination, the sanctum of the Archdruid. Just as they neared the door, two other druids, a male and female, exited. They both gave Trinity deep flamboyant bows and then were on their way. She watched them retreat along the bridge, curious to know what the subject of the hushed conversation they were having was. Trinity shrugged her shoulders and entered through the door that one of the guards held open for her.
Inside, the rooms were filled with art of the finest quality. Paintings, statues, tapestries and pottery of various styles adorned the walls. For rooms that were supposed to be those of an Archdruid, they were nothing like what Trinity had expected. Gydion’s sanctum, for instance, was more akin to a museum. Ancient books and arcane artefacts were the main decor there.
‘You admire my art?’ A female elf asked with an almost ethereal, musical tone. She glided barefoot down the stairs, behind Trinity, wearing light blue swaths of elven silk weave material which trailed behind her.
‘I do,’ Trinity admitted. ‘It’s impressive. There are many beautiful pieces.’
‘All made with my own hands,’ she stated matter-of-factly. ‘When you live as long as we do, and you witness the fleeting beauty in others fade and extinguish in the blink of an eye, you seek other things that can hold onto that allure. I choose art.’
The elven woman stood before Trinity and cast a speculative gaze over the young girl. ‘You know who I am, of course.’
‘Archdruid Tavisum.’
‘And you are Trinity. Gydion has done well with you; better than I ever thought he would, truth be told. But then again that man is the kind of man who would go to the far reaches to prove his point correct. Perhaps he was right with you, perhaps not.’
Trinity had no clue the elf was getting at, she just wanted answers. ‘Where is Tristan?’
‘Your companion is under armed guard,’ said Tavisum as she sat down and offered another to Trinity.
‘What do you mean he’s “under armed guard”? Why?’
‘You are lucky he is here at all. He is an outsider with a tainted aura. If not for you, we would have left him to the filth that are the Shadow Dancers.’
‘Why would you do it for me? Because I’m Gydion’s daughter?’
‘No, because you’re one of us.’
‘I’m no elf.’
‘True, but you are a Druid of the highest order. From a time when they ruled Earth.’ Tavisum chuckled as she looked inquisitively at Trinity. ‘You have no idea who you are, do you? No doubt Gydion’s doing.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘I mean that you and I have met before. When Master Penwyll was the Archmage. Long before Gydion was even born. You went by a different name then of course. Lady Bianca Daumier.’
‘That’s not possible.’
‘I’ll admit, he did give you a very apt name, though, considering that this is your third life.’
THE BEATING HEART OF this Shade was faster, much louder than what Daniel had encountered before. Even the ebony lagoon bubbled and erupted more ferociously than what he had seen as he and his father neared it.
‘It’s scared,’ Daniel thought out loud.
‘What?’ Eric shouted over the heart beats.
‘The Shade,’ Daniel shouted back, ‘I think it’s scared.’
‘Of us?’ Then the realisation hit Eric. ‘It’s you! It’s scared of you! You were the first to actually destroy a Shade and not just put it into hibernation. It knows that you can kill it!’
‘But that would mean that they have some sort of hive mind... what one knows, they all know!’
‘Exactly! Which means that it’s more dangerous because it’s more prepared for you, it knows what you can do!’ Eric held up the Dragon Claymore. ‘Me, however, it knows nothing about.’
Eric began to advance on the tar-like lagoon with the intention of driving his sword into it. When, out of the blue, humanoid figures began to climb out of the Shade lake and charge at Eric and Daniel.
The hero warrior cut them down with his giant enchanted Claymore. Swinging left, then right, every Shade-being in range was being cleaved in two. Two became four. Four became eight. More and more kept coming in an endless stream.
Daniel looked on, fascinated by the way his dad fought and wielded his sword with such effortless ease. To think that he hadn’t used it sin
ce fleeing Ariest impressed Daniel, it seemed like he hadn’t missed a step at all.
But it also gave Daniel food for thought.
He was seeing the “legend” for the first time. Seeing the Eric Mondragon that Finn was so in awe of, that everyone on Ariest seemed to be in awe of. The Eric Mondragon that he would inevitably be compared with.
There seemed to be an inexhaustible amount of Shade humanoids, to the point where the landscape was almost alive with their movement. Daniel had watched his dad for long enough. It was time for him to get involved.
Luckily, the frost bolt was the spell that he now confidently knew he could cast, the one that he had the most practice with and the one that was most useful against a Shade. Well it would have been, if it had worked.
He knew he was doing it right, the hand gestures, the arcane words, the correct Essence reservoir yet, try as Daniel might, nothing happened.
Eric could see that his son was disturbed by something. To get to Daniel, he needed to push back the vast number of the ebon creatures, so he unleashed one of the Dragon Claymore’s abilities.
Gripping the hilt in both hands, Eric thrust the magnificent weapon above his head, an action which summoned, ethereal replicas of the Claymore to also thrust out of the ground in an ever-increasing radius, impaling many of his assailants. Lightning was then cast down from the enchanted blade to the others, which created an electrical field killing many more of the creatures in a spectacular light show.
Eric finally got the chance to approach his son and asked, ‘Are you ok, Daniel?’
‘I can’t seem to cast my spell,’ an anxious Daniel replied. ‘I don’t understand it, I’m doing everything I did in Almedia against the Shadow Dancer. It’s strange, it just won’t work.’