The Other Side

by Alan Hotchkiss

  As the group ran off along the path, Aazer and Flix swooped over them heading back into the sky. The noise and wind coming from their huge wings sounded and felt like a helicopter flying overhead, thought Finn.

  Chapter 50

  Dante emerged through the portal feeling rather smug and pleased with himself. He was about to send a message to arrange for transport to be sent to collect him when he noticed the scouting dragon swooping down to land.

  ‘Perfect’ he thought to himself. That would save him some time.

  As the large, scouting dragon landed, Dante could see it carried four Fairy guards—two on either side that stood on a ledge and held onto a rein in the middle, and another soldier piloting. He marched straight up and demanded what their orders were.

  ‘We were sent to check-out an unauthorised use of the portal, commander,’ answered the one piloting the dragon.

  ‘Okay well change of plans. You two,’ said Dante, pointing at two of the guards. ‘You get off here and investigate on foot. The rest of you come with me, we have far more important things to do now.’

  As two of the guards leapt off the dragon and began to scout around, Dante climbed on and instructed the pilot in the process, ‘Take me to the Queen, and get me there as fast as you can.’

  Chapter 51

  Riezgar and his guards left the school, but rather than driving back to the safe house, they had just looked for the nearest portal they could use. It must have been a strange and scary sight for the few householders who witnessed this motley crew crashing through their garden. They had travelled through three back gardens, smashing fences as they went, in their pursuit of a suitable well to use. They found one in the fourth garden. Holding onto the well until it had turned from green to blue, one by one they hopped over the edge and fell into the abyss.

  When Riezgar emerged from the portal at the Fairy side the first thing he saw was Grogar, arms outstretched above his head, holding a Fairy guard aloft. Then he watched as Grogar proceeded to toss the Fairy right off the mountainside ledge. The guard screamed as he plummeted down the mountain for a few seconds before the scream ended abruptly as his body smashed into the rocks far below.

  Riezgar’s initial amusement at watching Grogar turned into a gut wrenching feeling of loss when he noticed in the distant sky a large dragon flying towards the Fairy villages. He was too late, that damn Fairy had been smart enough to know that he couldn’t hang around.

  As Riezgar stood deflated, Grogar the giant was now looking at him for instructions, but he had none. He had failed his mission miserably.

  ‘Chief’ shouted one of his guards who had disappeared down the path and was now returning. Riezgar turned his head to look at the guard as he continued: ‘We found some tracks down here, venturing off the path and heading further up the mountain rather than towards the Fairy villages.’

  ‘So???’ growled Riezgar, his disgust with himself beginning to turn into anger.

  ‘Well one of the set of tracks belongs to an Elf by the looks of it,’ replied the guard.

  ‘An Elf? It must be Doogard,’ Riezgar thought to himself. If he could at least kill Doogard it might count for something with Drer. It would also give him great satisfaction if nothing else.

  ‘Let’s go kill it then eh!’ he shouted to his guards and they all took off down the path, each with the same thought and evil smirk on their faces.

  Chapter 52

  Max knew these lands like the back of his hand and had led the group to an area where they could hide Eric and Doogard from the Fairy guards until they figured out what to do. It was a small clearing that was circled by a thick line of bushes and trees. Once they were all in, Max had crept back through the trees to watch for the scouting dragons. As planned, one of them had ventured off course to go after Aazer and Flix. The other one had landed as Max expected, but rather strangely he thought, had taken off again almost immediately and headed back towards the village.

  When he joined the others the two boys were busy swapping stories of what had happened to them both.

  ‘You were kept in a dungeon?’ he heard Finn exclaim. Tala sat beside the boys, contently listening to their tales whilst Doogard sat away from the trio, staring at the ground, deep in thought.

  ‘We should be fine here for a while’ said Max to the group. Tala smiled at him, the boys were too engrossed in their own conversation and Doogard looked up for a moment only to give Max a curt nod before going back to staring at the ground.

  Max wandered over to a large rock and sat down against it. He needed a plan of what to do, because right now he had no idea. So he too began staring at the ground deep in thought. He didn’t even noticed Tala getting to her feet and walking to the edge of the clearing before stopping.

  ‘Is she alright?’ Doogard’s booming voice caught everyone’s attention as they all looked towards Tala. She was frozen to the spot, her head and eyes twitching ever so slightly. She looked like she was having some kind of seizure.

  ‘She’s fine, she’s just being messaged. The younger you are, the more it shows on you. As you get older it affects you less,’ said Max.

  ‘That’s all very well but who exactly is messaging her? asked Doogard. All eyes fell upon Max as he realised the implications of the question. He looked over towards Tala again just as she came out of the trance. She returned the look towards Max with a smile on her face, though this time the usual warmth and kindness that shone through in her face was gone and in its place was a look of greed and treachery. Max knew in that instant he had made a horrible mistake.

  Sensing something was off Doogard rose to his feet. The boys looked at each other, unsure what was happening just as Max drew his sword, but he was too late.

  Tala took one look at the sword and laughed, she raised her arm outstretched towards Max and with a flick of her finger Max’s sword shot out of grip and landed in nearby bushes. Max didn’t wait for her next move, he charged at Tala immediately, but with another flick of her hand, branches suddenly shot out from the nearby trees. They extended and grew and wound their way around Max’s ankles, causing him to fall before he could get near to her.

  Doogard unsheathed his small dagger, took aim and threw it straight at Tala. As it zipped towards her, she now raised her left hand and the dagger stopped instantly in mid-air, then dropped harmlessly to the ground. Before Doogard could make his next move, branches suddenly coiled around his waist, then his chest and arms and began dragging him backwards into the trees.

  At the same time, more branches had begun to coil all over Max’s large frame, and slowly he too was being dragged back towards the trees. The boys, now on their feet, looked on in horror. Finn ran over to Tala, ‘Tala, what are you doing?’ he yelled.

  Tala turned to look at Finn and placed her hand gently on his cheek. ‘My dear Finn, I’m sorry, I had begun to grow quite fond of you, but I’m afraid my mother has no use for you any longer and I must obey her commands. I truly am sorry.’

  ‘Sorry for wha……’ Finn stopped mid-sentence as the pain shot though his body. He looked down at his stomach to see Tala withdrawing a large dagger from his midriff. Unable to speak he could only look into her eyes with a questioning look before he slumped to the ground.

  ‘Nooooooooo…….’ shouted Eric just as Tala turned her attention towards him. He started to back off from her, but as she raised the hand that wasn’t holding the dagger, Eric’s body froze. He tried as hard as he could to move but nothing would. Whilst he was held in in this kind of paralysis, Tala turned her free hand back towards Finn and with a slight flick of her finger the chain holding the Straize around his neck snapped off and flew straight into her hand.

  She paused for to inspect the gem, before turning her attention back to Eric. Doogard and Max tried their best to wrestle free from the branches that held them, but to no avail. They were forced to watch on in horror.

  Tala walked over to Eric and looked him directly in the eyes. ‘I almost feel sorry for you too,’ she said
before letting out a sarcastic laugh. Then as she drew back her hand ready to plunge the dagger deep into Eric, her chest suddenly exploded, spraying blood over Eric’s face. As he blinked, his eyes cleared and he looked at Tala again, her face a picture of shock and horror. She looked down to see the tip of a large arrow sticking out from her chest. Her own dagger and the Straize slipped from her grasp as she fell to ground and took her last breath.

  The magic that Tala was using must have died with her, as Eric could now move once again and the branches that held Doogard and Max loosened off allowing them to start breaking free from their grip. As Eric ran towards his brother, an unknown figure emerged from the trees striding towards Eric and Finn. He had long hair and was rather rugged looking, yet there was something strangely familiar about him, thought Eric for a fleeting second.

  The stranger was raising his hand in a way to tell Eric to stop. ‘Get the gem boy,’ he yelled. Eric did not know who he was, but if he wanted the gem he could damn well fetch it himself, thought Eric as he sought to help his stricken brother.

  Seeing that Eric was not obeying him, the stranger yelled again, ‘If you want to save your brother, fetch me the gem now!’

  Eric stopped unsure what to make of this stranger, before Max shouted, ‘Do as he says boy, fetch him the Straize.’

  The newcomer knelt down beside Finn and began to look at the injury. It was bad.

  Eric had run back and grabbed the gem from Tala, then returned to where Finn lay and held it out for the stranger. Max and Doogard now reached the others too and looked on with deep concern. Finn was unconscious and looked gravely ill. The stranger had ripped open his top to reveal the extent of the wound. He then placed the gemstone directly on top of the wound.

  A few seconds passed that seemed like hours to Eric. ‘What’s he doing? We need to help him!’ said Eric desperately. The stranger looked at Eric and reassuringly said, ‘Just give it a minute boy, trust me, I am helping him.’

  Suddenly the gemstone began to light up. It lit up, on and off, for about ten seconds before Eric noticed the large wound on Finn’s stomach beginning to get smaller. ‘Whoaaa….’ he muttered.

  Around another ten seconds later the wound seemed to have healed completely and Finn opened his eyes.

  ‘Are you alright boy?’ asked Max.

  ‘Give him a minute to come round,’ said the stranger. Finn blinked his eyes a few times then moved to get up onto his elbows. ‘Take your time,’ added the stranger.

  ‘No its okay,’ said Finn, I strangely feel fine. He looked down at his stomach and wiped the blood away with his hand. The wound was gone altogether, not even a scar left behind.

  Eric laughed, letting out some relief and nervous tension, ‘Glad you’re okay Finn, can’t believe we’ve had these things all this time and not even realised they could do something like that eh?’

  Finn laughed at that too then looked at the stranger. ‘Thank you………….how did you know to do that?’

  The stranger smiled, then said, ‘Practice.’

  Finn and Eric both looked at each other with puzzled looks, before Max said, ‘Finn, Eric, I’d like you to meet Stedd.’

  Finn looked at Max, ‘Stedd?....you mean Stedd from the story?’ Max nodded in reply.

  ‘What story, who’s Stedd?’ asked Eric getting more confused by the second.

  Finn stared at the stranger for a second, then turned to Eric. ‘Eric I think this is our father.’

  Eric’s jaw dropped, but before he could say anything, the sound of footsteps entering the clearing drew everyone’s attention and for the second time in close succession, Max cursed himself for letting someone get the drop on them.

  Into the clearing walked four Elves, or rather three Elves and a giant. Doogard made to stand up but Riezgar raised his hand and shaking a finger said, ‘No….no…no.’ Riezgar had his sword drawn and ready, two of the other Elves had bows and arrows out and ready to shoot and worse yet, they were aimed directly at Eric and Finn. The giant just growled, which was enough to get the point across.

  ‘Everyone stay exactly where they are, as you can see these arrows are aimed directly at the boys. If anyone makes a move they will be the first ones to die here and as you all care for them so much I doubt you’ll want to see that happen. Again,’ he added and looked at Finn. ‘You hurt these boys and not one of you will make it out of the clearing alive,’ said Stedd.

  ‘Oooooh such threats’ said Riezgar then laughed. ‘Now before we start making threats to kill one another, I see a way of both parties leaving here today alive. All I require is for you to simply give me that little gemstone there and then we shall be on our way. Simple as that and no one needs to get hurt……….today.’ He added and looked at Doogard when he said it.

  Doogard, Max and Stedd shot looks at on another. It was a precarious position, if the boys were not there, they would probably take up the fight but it was risky as all it would take would be a stray arrow and the boys could be hurt yet again and that risk was increased again when they had arrows trained on them that very second.

  Stedd spoke first, ‘Okay you can have the Straize, just don’t hurt the boys. Do that and we will let you go with the stone, but I’m warning you, if you try to cheat us you will pay with your lives………agreed?’

  ‘Sounds fair to me,’ said Riezgar. He would dearly love to take care of Doogard as well, but it would not be easy and if a fight ensued, there was no guarantee that they would be victorious. Doogard could wait till another time, the main thing would be returning with the stone to Drer. Especially having just witnessed first-hand a demonstration of what it can do. Yes he would be rewarded well indeed.

  Riezgar held out his hand and Stedd tossed over the gem. A broad smile formed over his crooked face before he then looked towards Doogard, ‘I’ll be seeing you soon old friend.’

  ‘I sure hope so,’ replied Doogard gritting his teeth.

  Riezgar then turned to the guards holding the bows, ‘Keep them trained on the boys for a minute to let us get a head start back to the portal. Don’t want anyone sneaking up on us now do we?’ he looked at the group and laughed then said ‘c’mon Grogar’ before he and the giant disappeared through the trees.

  The two guards left glanced at each other nervously. They knew they had just been left in an impossible situation but what choice did they have. If they refused Riezgar he would just kill them himself. They looked back at the group of angry looking faces staring at them and gulped.

  Chapter 53

  Dante’s eyes were transfixed on the Queen. She had been talking to him moments ago, delighted at Dante having brought her the other Straize gem stone. Then suddenly she had cut off mid-sentence, her face displaying a blank expression, before turning to one of shock horror.

  ‘NO……NO…….NOOOOOOOOO………..MY CHILD!’ she began to scream.

  Something terribly bad had just happened, and being around the Queen when she was not happy was not a safe place to be, thought Dante. Venera started to scream at the top of her voice, ‘Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh’ it went on and on. Dante covered his ears but suddenly all the mirror-like walls, floor and ceiling began to crack and splinter then finally smash into tiny pieces and fly across the room. Dante covered as best he could, but he was being cut to pieces.

  When the Queen finally stopped screaming, the flying bits of glass fell to the floor, tinkling all over the room. Dante uncovered himself and stood up to look at the Queen, his hands and face dripping with blood. She looked at him with a face like thunder and yelled, ‘I’M GOING TO KILL THEM ALL……………I’M GOING TO SLAUGHTER EVERY LAST ONE OF THEM!’

  Chapter 54

  The two guards Riezgar had left glanced at each other and nodded. Time to go, they thought. They began backing their way out to the edge of the clearing, bows still trained on the boys. As they reached the treeline they paused for a moment, then lowered their bows, turned on their heels and made to escape from the clearing as fast as they could. The one a
t the rear never even made it through the bushes. Doogard’s dagger flew through the air and lodged itself in the base of his neck, killing him instantly. He then took off in pursuit of the others.

  Max looked at Stedd, who said, ‘Go, help him, I’ll stay with the boys.’ Max nodded and he too took off after the fleeing Elves.

  As Finn rose to his feet, Eric asked ‘Are you okay?’

  ‘Yes I’m fine’ answered Finn, who then looked at Stedd. ‘Are you our father?’

  ‘I am, and I can only imagine what you must be thinking, but now isn’t the time to explain things. I will soon though, okay?’

  Eric now realised why Stedd had looked familiar, and as he looked at him now he could see himself and his brother in the face before him. He didn’t know what to say though, should he be angry or happy? He looked at his brother who looked like he too was struggling with same train of thought.

  Max suddenly came crashing back through the bushes into the clearing. ‘Change of plan, we need to all move right now.’ The urgency in Max’s voice told them all they needed to know. Stedd jumped to his feet and they all followed after Max through the bushes and treeline. When they emerged out of the foliage, they saw exactly why Max was urging them to move. In the distant skyline there looked to be hundreds of dragons soaring through the air, with many more still surging up from the ground. It looked like the full Fairy army had just been mobilised and it didn’t take a brain surgeon to figure out why.

  ‘Back to the portal, c’mon!’ shouted Doogard from further down the mountain, where he stood over the body of the other Elf guard who had just tried to flee. The group climbed down the mountain until they reached the path again and then ran as fast as they could back towards the portal. The dragons leading the Fairy army were getting close now.