Magic Prophecy: A YA Portal Fantasy (Legends of Llenwald Book 3)

by DM Fike

  Avalon scooted to the side so she could face Kay. “If Gaea is to be believed, we’ll need all my Guardians to trap Braellia. Besides, he’s not making an unreasonable request.”

  “I don’t think it’s the request Winged Wonder disagrees with,” Nobody piped in. “It’s the fact that it’s coming from a heretic madman that worries him.”

  “Oh yeah,” Vimp said with a hiss.

  Bedwyr folded his hands in front of him. “If it would soothe your fears, I promise that no great harm will come to Avalon. You are all welcome to guard her, if that is your wish. I will even relinquish her from the deal if it turns out she cannot perform the task at hand without injury.”

  Before Kay could protest further, Avalon nodded. “I accept your terms on two conditions.”

  “Name them.”

  “First, you must do your best to revive the original Guardians at Emerged Falls.”

  Kay sucked in his breath.

  Nobody groaned. “I object, your honor!”

  “Shut up, Nobody,” Avalon hissed.

  Bedwyr’s composure cracked at this request. “You are referring to Lord Emerson and his comrades?”

  Avalon nodded. “It would be a show of good faith. You are reportedly the best healer in the world, and if anyone can help them after whatever Braellia did to them, it would be you.”

  “Fine. I will do what I can. What is your second condition?” He did not seem eager to hear it.

  “Show me the statue pieces you claim to have.”

  This brought a brief smile across Bedwyr’s face. “Done. Let us shake hands.” He offered his palm to her.

  “You don’t have to do this,” Kay said before Avalon could grasp it. “You owe nothing to the original Guardians.”

  “You’re right,” Avalon said. “I don’t owe anyone anything. I’m doing this because I want to.”

  They shook hands. For a minute, as they faced each other, Avalon saw a flash of the old friendly James, the one who’d comforted her after a particularly difficult treatment session. Those days seemed like a lifetime ago now.

  “Come,” Bedwyr said as they let go of each other.

  Bedwyr directed them back outside and through the ruins of Hamad. They passed all the crumbling buildings, some towering from the ground, others hanging like acorns from dilapidated rope bridges. He continued onward beyond the city itself, out into the dank jungles on an overgrown road barely visible amid spongy moss.

  Nobody caught up to Avalon, Vimp clinging to his neck like a baby monkey. “Thanks for including me in your decision back there.”

  “You wouldn’t have changed my mind. This is something we’ve got to do.”

  “And what about convincing me?” Nobody flashed his pointed teeth at her. “I like you and all, but what do I get for risking my life to help you do all this?”

  Avalon shrugged. “Maybe you can ask Mutt when we get to Emerged Falls.”

  “What are you yapping about?”

  “All the Gadabout Gremlins are at Emerged Falls right now. They even helped defend it during Braellia’s first attack.”

  “You’re lying!” Nobody accused.

  Kay, walking a few paces behind them, said, “It is the truth.”

  “Why in Sadus would they protect Emerged Falls?”

  “Because the dragons threatened Mt. Hornley. They needed a place to stay. Shivant took them in.”

  “Okay, now I know you’re full of it,” Nobody said. “Lord Lovelylocks hates gremlins.”

  “Not all gremlins, Nobody,” Kay corrected. “Only you.”

  “Mutt, you idiot,” Nobody growled. “Why would you allow the gremlins to stay there?”

  “He’s not an idiot,” Kay said. “He knows, like any rational person would, that with Braellia running loose, it’s only a matter of time before we have a Third Reformation on our hands. You can either fight or be struck down where you cower.”

  Nobody clucked his tongue at the fairy. “Spoken like a true son of Guardians.”

  Kay had his sword out and at Nobody’s throat before Avalon could stop him. The party paused as Kay leaned into Nobody’s gulping face. Vimp squealed and leaped into Avalon’s arms.

  “Don’t test me, gremlin,” the fairy snarled. “I hold you responsible, not only for the entire Second Reformation, but for trying to jumpstart this new war. Your traitorous actions may yet leave Llenwald in ruins.”

  “Kay!” Avalon admonished. “Stop!”

  Kay flicked his wrist, drawing the barest line of blood, then sheathed his sword. He turned to face Avalon’s glare. “I can’t kill him now because we need him, but I make no promises after that.” The fairy then stalked off back down the road. Bedwyr sensed the conflict had ended and moved on.

  “What a jerk,” Nobody mumbled, dabbing at the trickle of blood on his neck.

  Avalon petted a trembling Vimp on the head. “You probably deserved that.”

  “Didn’t say I didn’t.” Nobody tilted his head way over to one side, pointing at the scratch. “You mind?”

  Avalon brought her hand up to his neck, drawing on the dull ache pulsating in her chest. Her fingertips glowed with white light, and in a few seconds, the scratch was gone.

  Nobody shivered as she finished. “That tingles.”

  Avalon sighed, giving Vimp back to the gremlin. “You really have no shame, do you?”

  Nobody shrugged. “Never saw the point.”

  The jungle closed in on them, the path narrowing and branches of hulking trees reaching down to grab them. The rustling of leaves by unknown creatures made Avalon jump. She thought she saw a large eyeball staring at them, but when she blinked, it disappeared. She had no idea what lurked inside the foliage and wasn’t too eager to find out.

  The tunnel of trees ended, and a wall came into view. Gray stone extended far upwards, its dull veneer covered with a fresh sprinkling of vines. Avalon frowned as she noticed the wall seemed a bit tilted, as if the builders had not completely leveled the ground before placing it there. That odd angle made her realize where they were.

  “It’s your fortress,” she called to Bedwyr.

  “It is where I keep the statue pieces.”

  Kay’s sword hand lingered above his scabbard. “This had better not be a trap.”

  “I told you that no one but I remained behind after Scawale absorbed the Child. It is no trap.”

  Still, Avalon’s shoulders tightened as they passed through a large open gate into a vast courtyard of bare dirt. Although boot prints from an army remained undisturbed in the dust, no soldiers came to greet them as they entered the large wooden front doors. Inside, a barren hallway with worn red carpet drew deeper into the fortress’s structure, light seeping in from small windows built above their heads. They passed a spiral staircase on their right, and Avalon shivered, remembering the dungeons below.

  “Are there monsters down there?” she asked.

  “Monsters?” Nobody squeaked.

  Bedwyr shook his head. “Scawale released them after the attack. I suspect most of them have wandered off into various corners of the world by now.”

  “What kind of monsters are you talking about?” Kay asked.

  “To be frank, I am not 100% sure,” Bedwyr said indifferently, as if discussing what to have for dinner. “It was Scawale’s pet project, not mine.”

  “That’s not ominous at all,” Nobody said sarcastically, rubbing his raised neck hairs back into place.

  Bedwyr stopped in front of a large set of wooden doors at the end of the hallway. As he unbarred them and pushed them open, Avalon half expected to see something like his old Saluzyme office. The bright light of the outdoors surprised her, the exposed sky striking them in the face.

  Bedwyr jogged down small stone steps into a wide, lush greenhouse, complete with glass walls and ceiling. Despite the cheery light from a sunny sky above, it felt muggier in here than back in the jungle. Scattered in clumps were plants in pots, troughs, and even buried directly in the dirt floor. Some were fl
owery, others had trunks, and all displayed shades of brilliant green, from the palest mint to an almost black hue. They had to walk single file on a narrow path, sidestepping rubber hoses from Earth to keep up with Bedwyr’s brisk pace.

  “Ugh, the light.” Nobody shielded his face from the sun baking them inside the structure. “I thought we were in a jungle.”

  “We always give my greenhouse ample visible sunlight whenever we move the fortress,” Bedwyr explained. He pushed aside a long frond hanging from a drooping plant. It swung backward and almost hit Nobody in the face as the gremlin walked behind him.

  “Why are we wading through this mess again?” Nobody complained.

  Bedwyr stopped in front of a row of blackberry bushes against the far wall. “Because this is where I stored the statue fragments after finishing up my work at Lonmore.”

  Avalon raised an eyebrow as Bedwyr crawled to his hands and knees and peered deep underneath the blob of thorns. “You kept the statue under that?”

  “I had to keep it someplace no one, not even Scawale, would look for it.” He winced as he stuck his hand into the plant’s underbelly. “Most of them did not like the foreign Earth plants I grew in this greenhouse, and they most especially avoided the spiked ones.”

  Kay, Avalon, and Nobody crowded around him as Bedwyr withdrew a cloth bag with gold threads from underneath the blackberries. He smudged a bit of juice along one side while opening it, revealing glittering chunks of emerald green shards inside. They ranged from a sliver to a fist-sized chunk with what appeared to be a face and an ear carved into it.

  Kay frowned as he gingerly withdrew a sharp-edged fragment. “It looks consistent with Nobody’s piece, but how do we know it’s the real thing?”

  “May I?” Avalon asked, holding out her hand. Kay dropped it into her palm and immediately, a flash of oneness swept through her. Her lightning, wind, light, and dark magic swirled in her core, churning underneath the surface of her skin.

  You made the right choice, she heard Ladybug whisper.

  “It’s authentic, all right,” Avalon declared. Then she lifted her sleeve to check on the Miasmis bruise. Despite touching the statue, it remained its normal smallish size. Bedwyr must have been right. Her newfound light magic prevented the bruise from spreading. Still, touching the shard made her slightly nauseous. She gave the shard to Kay before it got worse.

  Kay dropped the fragment back into the bag. He opened his mouth to say something when a buzzing crackled somewhere around him.

  Nobody brought up his hands immediately, a thick black goo bubbling to the surface. “Who’s attacking us?” he demanded as Vimp hissed like an alley cat on his shoulder.

  “Stand down, gremlin.” Kay slid his fingers along his belt, locating a small pouch tucked to one side. Lifting the flap open, he withdrew a square metallic box, the device buzzing with intermittent static.

  Avalon recognized it. “A communicator?”

  “Aye.” Kay lifted the box high above his head.

  Nobody let the goo dissolve away into nothing. “What’s a moonicator?”

  “Communicator,” Avalon repeated. “Kind of like a CB radio. I’m surprised you’re getting a signal this far away from Emerged Falls.”

  Kay smacked it against his palm. “I won’t be able to hear voices, but Desert Rose said she would send a pattern of clicks that I might be able to decipher into a message.”

  “Good news or bad news?” Avalon asked.

  “Could be either.” Kay shook the device, to no effect other than increase the volume of static. “Unfortunately, I’m not receiving a clear signal. I need to get above the trees.”

  Bedwyr nodded. “This way.” He led Kay past the blackberry bushes, where nothing grew in front of the glass wall. Running his fingers along its metal frame, he slid the glass aside, allowing Kay to spread his wings and fly high up into the air.

  Bedwyr addressed Avalon. “Are you satisfied that I can keep my end of the bargain?”

  “I am. It’s our best shot at defeating Braellia.”

  Bedwyr folded his hands in front of them. “I would like to see if what you did for Nobody is repeatable. We could try to access The Deep together on one of the slumbering dryads, and—”

  Kay slammed back onto the greenhouse floor, breathless. “Emerged Falls is under attack. We must return. Now.”

  CHAPTER 34

  KAY INSISTED THAT Desert Rose would not have sent the distress call if the situation were not dire. Either dragons or Scawale herself had returned to Emerged Falls.

  Nobody, however, tried to downplay the situation. “They’ve got a whole army to defend themselves. Don’t you think they can handle it?”

  “We barely held a line against them last time, and that was with the Guardians around.” Kay turned to the stoic Bedwyr. “Are you ready to fulfill your end of the bargain?”

  “I am.”

  Nobody pursed his lips as if he had eaten something sour. “I’d be ready too, if I were unkillable.”

  Avalon patted the gremlin’s back lightly. “Either you come with us, or you leave your tribe when they need you most. It’s your choice.” She then held out her arms to Vimp. “And you?”

  “Oh yeah!” Vimp squealed, jumping into her arms. She followed Bedwyr and Kay back through the garden and into the main hallway of the fortress.

  “Traitor,” Nobody whined, but she could hear him trudging behind her.

  Once past the botanical obstacles and back in the hallway, Kay took to the air in a flying sprint. Bedwyr easily kept his pace on the ground, Avalon and Nobody lagging behind. Even though her muscles ached with disuse, she did take some pleasure in hearing Nobody huff and puff behind her.

  “How will we get back?” she called ahead.

  Kay yelled behind his shoulder. “It’s going to take us the better part of two days, and that’s if the wind chaser can hold all of us.”

  Two days. Avalon’s heart sank. They’d never make it in time.

  Her feet flew past the spiral staircase that beckoned into the bowels of the fortress. Down there, the monsters of the castle used to creep in their dungeon cells, but that wasn’t the area’s only purpose. Beyond the barred doors lay a large chamber where Scawale once pooled the magical talents of many Aossi. She could literally move the fortress anywhere with dark magic.

  Avalon stopped so suddenly that Nobody crashed into her back.

  Nobody rubbed his nose. “Hey! Use your turn signal, buddy!”

  Avalon ignored him. “Kay! Bedwyr! Over here!”

  Confused, the two other Aossi backtracked to her. She pointed down into the stairwell’s pitch-black depths. “Can you provide a light?” she asked Bedwyr.

  Understanding dawned on Bedwyr’s face. He found a lantern a few steps down on a hook and lit it with an accompanying flint. The flicker of firelight drew strange shadows onto his slender face. “Do you honestly think you have the power?” he asked her.

  She skipped down to the step above him. “We’ve got two powerful dark magic casters.”

  “It takes Scawale and a dozen others to generate enough energy. Why don’t you open a portal with the statue pieces I have instead, if you wish speedier transportation?”

  “Because I don’t have complete control over the portals. The last time I opened one, I thought I was going to Emerged Falls and landed back at Fantasma instead. Transport would be more reliable.”

  “Transport?” Nobody repeated in a high-pitch squeal. “Moving this entire fortress, is that what you’re talking about? You’re a cashewball!”

  “You think Emerged Falls is going to last two days without us?” she countered. “Even with the gremlins’ barrier, I doubt Emerged Falls will hold for long. And if Isolde or Desert Rose dies, our plan is useless.”

  Bedwyr shuffled down the staircase, convinced by this logic. Avalon followed, knowing Nobody and Kay would have no choice unless they wanted to be left behind. The gremlin grumbled as they hit the dungeon hallway. They flew past the open cell doors, a
nd Avalon winced, half-expecting a snarling beast to rip out her throat at any moment. Nothing, however, materialized out of the gloom, and they made it to the end of the hall.

  Bedwyr used his lantern as a fuel source for the hundreds of candle stubs scattered throughout the chamber. He lit one extra cylinder and thrust it into Kay’s hands. The fairy aided him in throwing some light in the dark space.

  Vimp wriggled in her arms, dropping to the ground and bounding to the raised circular dais in the center of the room. He perched on a cushion that Avalon had seen Scawale sit on before. Avalon grabbed a protesting Nobody and dragged him there.

  “I’m telling you, it can’t be done with just us,” Nobody said. “We don’t have the magical mojo necessary to move an entire building halfway across Llenwald. Not even the whole Gadabout Gremlins tribe put together could do that.”

  “Then how did Scawale do it?” Avalon asked, kneeling down next to Vimp.

  Bedwyr peered over his shoulder as he lit four candles in rapid succession. “Not by talent alone. Remove the cushion and view what’s underneath.”

  Vimp jumped off the cushion, allowing Nobody to remove the fabric from its metal base. Despite feeling an increasing empty hollowness deep in her gut, Avalon saw nothing out of the ordinary but a glassy midnight-black rock surface underneath.

  “It’s a tray for the cushion,” she said.

  Nobody thought otherwise. “Is that chaos stone?” he shrieked.

  Bedwyr nodded. “This is the focal point that Scawale uses to move the fortress, but we ground more chaos stone into the foundation and frame of the entire building.”

  Nobody screeched. “More? How in Sadus did you get ahold of that much?”

  “Earth has a supply of it, although it’s rare there too.” Bedwyr’s mouth twisted in a wry smile. “Oddly enough, it’s called serendibite there, related to the word serenity.”

  “What’s so special about this rock?” Avalon asked.

  Bedwyr turned to her. “Just as light magic casters have found certain oils enhance their magical abilities, certain substances also amplify dark magic. None more so than chaos stone.”