Nathan clutched his head in pain, and tears slipped down his cheeks to freeze on the black rock. Through it all came the cold voice of the Dark One, sharp as a stiletto, piercing the confusion.
"You see, Boy? See them for what they really are. You grieved for the pain and hurt you saw in the land. Know then, foolish one. . . every bit of it they inflicted upon each other, because of the evil desires of their hearts. Your father set that evil free when he took your place, and nothing will change it until the next sacrifice is made. Go back to Colmar, King. Give your firstborn to Me as all your forefathers did, and bring happiness back to your people. It is not such a great price to pay, unless your heart is too weak to bear it. Great Kings are not broken by sentiment when the fate of their country is at stake, and this you well know. In times past, Colmar has been the fairest and most joyful land in all the world. It can be so again," Jòkai urged.
For a moment Nathan was almost swayed by the Dark One's logic and the power of his voice. Was one life worth more than ten thousand? Was it right to condemn a whole nation for the sake of one person, who would then die anyway when Jòkai destroyed them all? Nathan could hardly think for the haze of pain in his head. Yet he knew that he held the future of his people in his hands. He must act with all Colmar in mind, not simply himself, nor even his theoretical firstborn child. Only the kingdom, and its flawed and unhappy people. Nathan felt for the first time the loneliness of power.
With an effort he shut out the wailing of the Songs and composed himself. Without the music pouring in, his mind cleared. He took a deep breath of the cold air and looked Jòkai in the eye.
"You are right, Dark One. My people are weak and evil, and cause themselves much sorrow by it. I could indeed go back to rule them wisely, and make your sacrifice upon the Stone of Possibilities. Perhaps it would be worth it. I could make them happy, and save them from death. Many have made that choice before me. . . but still I will not do it," Nathan said. A smile had begun to creep across the Dark One's thin lips, but at Nathan's final word it vanished at once.
"Why not, then?" he asked.
"Because you lie!" Nathan cried, "Indeed, your gifts are more bitter than dying. By your curse every good and noble dream my people imagine is twisted into a bitter and empty husk, tainted with blood-guilt. You offer happiness, but in fact you rob them of all pure joy. Perhaps they had very little of that before. . . but now they have none at all. That has ended today, Dark One. You may come and destroy us, but you will corrupt us never again."
And Jòkai was filled with anger and hate for the boy-King of Colmar who dared to defy him.
"You will not break our treaty if you are not there to lead, Boy. Another may wear the Scepter as easily as you." And Jòkai curled his fingers into claws as sharp as serpents' teeth, and reached out his long arm for Nathan's throat. He would have his blood after all.
Nathan felt a sharp bolt of terror, but then did the only thing he could think of. He snatched the Stone of Possibilities from his pocket and swiftly raked it across his palm. A thin line of bright red welled up. Nathan gripped the Stone with that hand, ignoring the stinging pain from the cut. Then, for the last time in his life, he used the power of the Scepter.
He looked straight into the heart of the Thing standing before him. He saw only a black emptiness. . . a pit that could never be filled, a hunger that nothing exist at all. Nathan gagged as if he'd tasted something vile, but he opened his mouth and forced his lips to sing the terrible Song of Jòkai. The stone grew blood-warm in his hand, and a coldness began to creep up his arm. The Stone was still drinking from him; even now, the Dark One thirsted. The flesh of the boy's forearm became the color of bleached bone, and his head grew light and fuzzy, but somehow he kept up the Song. He must not fail, even if it killed him.
When the last note was finished, Jòkai's shrieks cut off sharply, and there on the dirt lay a bright black pebble. The Stone of Possibilities slipped from Nathan's hand and fell to the ground with a soft thud, where it crumbled into dust. Nathan smiled faintly and whispered, "It is done, Papa." Then he slumped forward.
When he woke, many hours later, he could barely move and felt only half alive. His skin was cool and pale as milk, and he hurt all over. He reached down to pick up the black pebble that was the soul of Jòkai the Dark One, and began to make his slow and painful way back toward the cleft in the mountains.
A thin ray of light broke through the clouds to splash the cold ground, startling him. He looked up, and saw patches of summer blue through the dull grayness. He wondered at this, and then noticed the light breeze tickling his ears. . . a warm breeze. Jòkai's power was broken. Slowly, the ghost of his old warm smile began to spread over Nathan's face, and his step was lighter for the rest of the way. As light as it had ever been on the path in the oak woods long ago, where the green leaves danced in the wind and the sun, and he held the hand of one who loved him more than life.
When he emerged from the mountain gorge and looked down into Colmar it seemed as if a great shadow had fallen away from the land. . . a shadow he had never known was there until it lifted. Every rock and tree looked bright and new; looked free.
Nathan laughed aloud and clapped his hands for joy. There would be much work to do; many, many years before the people could cast off completely the sickness Jòkai had woven about them. But in time, Colmar would be a richer and kinder land than it had ever been in the days of the Curse. . . if only the people would choose it. Nathan lifted his eyes to Heaven and thanked God for leading them aright, for he had faith that it would be so.
Then, smiling, he went down to join his people.
The End
If you enjoyed this story, you may also like these full-length novels by William Woodall, all of which are available from your favorite retailer or directly from:
The Curse-Breaker Books
by William Woodall
Long ago, there was a Godly woman named Marybeth Trewick, who for various reasons found herself married to a rich but wicked man named Daniel who practiced all kinds of evil. She could only watch helplessly as her five sons grew up to become just as wicked as their father, and as her only daughter was forced to flee for her life lest she be killed.
But in the midst of her despair, God sent Marybeth a dream that after seven generations had passed, there would be five boys born to replace and redeem the ones that she had lost. These five would be breakers of curses and fighters against all things wicked and evil, and each of them would have the same vividly blue eyes, the same color as Marybeth’s.
And even though the Curse-Breakers are each called to very different tasks in the world, the basic goal of fighting evil and loving God is always the same. These are their stories below. Each series tells the tale of a different Curse-Breaker (or sometimes more than one), but all of them put together form a single unified storyline.
The Last Werewolf Hunter Series
Zach Trewick always thought he’d become a writer someday, or maybe play baseball for the Texas Rangers. What he never imagined in his craziest dreams was that he’d find himself dodging bullets and crashing cars off mountainsides, let alone that he’d ever be expected to break the ancient werewolf curse which hangs over his family. But Zach is the last of the werewolf hunters, the long-foretold Curse-Breaker who can wipe out the wolves forever, and he’s not the type to give up just because of a few minor setbacks. . .
Cry for the Moon: What would you do, if your family wanted you to become a monster? What if they wouldn’t take no for an answer? When 12 year old Zach faces questions like these, he seems to have only one choice; run. Thus begins a long search for refuge, and perhaps redemption also.
Behind Blue Eyes: When a stranger kidnaps him from his own back yard, Zach soon finds that the past isn’t quite as dead as he might wish. For the time has come at last for Zach and his cousin Cameron to break the wolf curse forever; and his family has no intention of letting that happen.
More Golden T
han Day: When his girlfriend Jolie and then Cameron fall into the hands of the wolves, Zach has no choice but to take on his enemies for a second round. Only this time the stakes are horribly high, and if he fails he may end up losing everything he’s ever loved.
Truesilver: When a family of wicked ex-wolves is accidentally awakened, Zach soon finds himself locked in a desperate fight for survival that he never anticipated. And even though he’s sworn an oath to fight evil to the utmost of his power, there are times when courage is awfully hard to come by.
The Keeper of Songs: A Short Story Page 4