Shadow Helm of Glory

by Elizabeth Klein

  Will I remain like this forever?

  There came a gentle laugh. No. Hurry now! Walk through the door.

  Sure, it’s something I do all the time.

  Hurry!

  Swallowing his fear, he placed his foot against the wood and it passed through just as his hand had a moment ago. He waved at the door, but it was as if it wasn’t there. Well, here goes!

  Stepping through, he found himself outside in the corridor, looking at the staunch faces of the two women guards standing either side of the door. One of them frowned and glanced in his direction as he moved past, but neither guard made a move to restrain him, nor did they blink an eye.

  Where do you want me to go?

  At the end of the corridor, there is a locked door. It is not used by anyone except Elimas and her priestesses. Go through it and you will see the evil she is practising without the queen’s knowledge.

  Robbie wasn’t certain that he wanted to see what Elimas was doing. But he had to obey the Morning Star. Despite his reluctance, he moved down the corridor, keeping to the shadows near the wall. A young male servant came hurrying around the corner, carrying an armful of folded sheets. Robbie scrambled back in alarm, but the man walked straight past him without showing any signs of having noticed anything.

  Robbie stood in the shadows for a few moments, staring after him as he disappeared around the far corner. He let out a relieved breath and listened for other footsteps on the tiled floor. Satisfied the corridor was deserted, he moved on, eyes fixed on the outline of a door at the far end.

  A moment later, he was standing outside it, gazing at a brass handle shaped like the long neck of a sea serpent. A tiny black stone set in its eye seemed to blink. Robbie gazed at it in fascination. It blinked again.

  It was alive!

  Yes, now he could sense its presence. Chains of dark enchantment sealed the door against intruders, chains that writhed like serpents, ready to bite the unwary intruder’s hand. There was no entering that way! Magic alone would undo that seal. Elimas was keeping a close watch over the room. What was going on inside?

  He leaned forward and placed his ear close to the wood, but he couldn’t hear anything. Then he took a deep breath and stepped through to the other side, only to be stopped in his tracks as waves of black washed over him, bitter as poison. He doubled over in pain, hardly able to stand.

  Sounds of chanting voices made him lift his head and stare. Unaware of his presence, a group of women dressed in long hooded gowns sat in a circle clasping hands. Heads bowed, the women continued chanting, each syllable dark and probing. The sound hurt Robbie’s ears. He clapped his hands over them, but they went right through his head. He was transparent, a dreamer having strayed into a living nightmare. He could see dark, swirling lines of power tumbling from the singers’ mouths. They slithered about the floor and coiled about their arms and bodies. He sensed something so evil inside the room that it darkened the very air.

  A black entity began to form at the far end of the room. He stared at the manifesting horror as its misshapen sides bulged all over. It was like a sack with something struggling inside it, pushing wildly to break out. Then human limbs shot out, startling him. Grasping hands bulging with black veins reached for invisible things in the air. Each one jerked back inside the ebony casing. The chanting increased to fever pitch, rising to a crescendo of mad twisting and shape changing.

  Something began to form within the dark shape. Waxy faces of men and women pressed against the black surface, mute screams frozen on open mouths. At last, the blackness ceased writhing and the dark outline of a tall, cloaked man took shape. The singing died down and the women threw themselves prostrate on the floor before him. One of the women threw back her hood and raised her face in rapt awe, cheeks and eyes glistening with tears.

  It was Elimas!

  She raised her hands to the man, who still had his back turned to her. ‘Great Light Bearer, welcome.’

  She did obeisance as Robbie watched, prostrating herself full length on the floor, arms held straight out and face down on the floor. A strong force surrounded the figure and it was all that Robbie could do not to fall beneath its power. Its deep, earthy voice sounded eerily familiar.

  ‘I have a task for you of utmost importance.’

  ‘Speak, Light Bearer.’ Elimas’s voice was faint.

  ‘Your Master is seeking two youths who are heading this way. A young She-Elf accompanies them. If you locate them, arrest them at once, but do not harm them. I will imprint their image inside your mind.’

  Hands outstretched and eyes fixed on the figure, Elimas remained motionless. Robbie’s mind began to throb as a picture began to form in his mind also. Somehow, Morgranus’s magic enveloped every mind within the room, including his. He stared in frozen horror as a familiar scene in Wyrm Wood appeared before him: he, his brother and Belle seated around Gendelthane’s round table inside the Elf King’s chambers. Invisible eyes focused upon him and his brother and Belle. He could hear the Elvin King discussing his war plans. But he was looking through someone else’s eyes. Then a terrible revelation struck him of whose eyes Morgranus was looking through.

  The figure of the man began to turn. Transfixed, Robbie stared as his heavily veined hands reached up and pushed back the deep, black hood.

  The face was Navarre’s!

  Of course! Morgranus had enveloped Navarre, so it knew everything the Healer knew about the Elves, even Gendelthane’s war plans. It knew about the Beginning through which all the women and children had fled, and where the Elves had taken shelter from the shrieks. On a personal level, the demon also knew all about their father, Ewarn. But worse than all, he knew who Dougray was.

  No wonder there was such urgency to locate them. Morgran had long wanted to destroy Rafem, the boy who would rise from the ashes of a past kingdom to destroy him and restore Bethloria. He’d already murdered countless youths in his attempts to annihilate that threat. But now, he knew Rafem’s features! The threat was real, not just a prophecy. Dougray’s fresh young face would haunt his waking hours until he found and destroyed him.

  The revelation burned in Robbie’s thoughts as the vision inside Gendelthane’s chambers faded. Now, more than ever, he had to escape Twendlemark. If Morgranus consumed him, it would become aware of his unique gifts, too. Morgran sought power to increase his own and the hold his sorceries had upon Bethloria. He would then be too powerful to ever defeat. That must never happen!

  Robbie turned to leave, but his feet were fastened to the floor as if with glue. He struggled to make his legs move but he couldn’t budge them.

  Morning Star! What’s happening?

  Evil has power of its own, came the Morning Star’s voice. Morgran’s power is intensifying. He can still win.

  Chapter 28

  Trust

  Robbie stifled a cry of terror as an enormous, black serpent with gleaming eyes coiled about his legs. No! This is just a dream! But in a matter of moments, the serpent had slithered up to his chest, squeezing each time he breathed. How foolish he’d been to linger. Now he was paying for it, possibly with his life.

  With a cry of revulsion, Robbie willed his muscles to move, but the serpent was unwilling to release its prize. Hypnotic, slitted eyes moved from side to side, trying to bring him under its spell. A black, forked tongue shot out and flicked him on the cheek. Sweat ran down his face as he attempted to push against it, but he was weakening... blacking out.

  Must...get...it...off!

  The serpent hissed and struck at his face. He stumbled and fell beneath its enormous, crushing body.

  Imagine, Robbie. The Morning Star’s urgent voice was clear.

  I...can’t.

  Imagine. Just imagine.

  Robbie scattered his thoughts, letting fear go. He gathered the thoughts he needed; the serpent could not bind his imagination. Fingers and arms disappeared. In their place were fragile, lacy wings that lifted him into the air. He slipped with ease from the serpent’s deadly embrace an
d the bands of strong magic fell away. Below him, the serpent weaved and looped about itself as it tried to locate him. Then it too, vanished.

  Gasping for breath, Robbie staggered down the corridor and collapsed in a trembling huddle against the wall, not caring who saw or found him. For several minutes, he waited for his heartbeat to slow and his lungs to fill with air. He reached up and touched his face where the serpent had struck at him. Nothing. His chest ached but otherwise he was all right.

  He picked himself up and had started hurrying along the corridor when a sound—like a stringed melody—sprang into his mind. It was faint, a golden sound that sweetened the air like honey. He halted, straining to hear the direction from which the haunting notes came. As they faded away, a sudden thought made him start.

  It’s the voice of another crystal. It had to be. He was the only one who could hear them. The last one had sounded blue and it had been the blue crystal. This one had many hues to its sound, a fusion of glittering notes.

  Confused, he hurried on until he came to Caiwen’s room, past the two guards that stood outside the door. Had he remained in Elimas’s room much longer, he might not have escaped at all. As it was, he’d discovered something valuable about his new gift.

  He could escape!

  He sank beside the bed and clawed through the terrifying dream. The iron cuff and chain were cold around his neck like hands choking him. He sat bolt upright on the floor, trembling. Reaching up, he clawed at the cuff in vain. His mind tried to take in the frightening image of Navarre as Morgranus! That’s what Belle had called it, the spirit of Morgran, the very spirit of evil incarnate! It was there in the palace hunting him, for the magic he possessed. It would transform itself into him to get close to Dougray, who would come seeking him, and then destroy them both.

  He tugged at the chain, but it was fastened with a lock to the bed. In desperation, he thumped his fist at the mattress, stood up and paced the short distance the chain allowed. In the end, he slumped on the bed and stared at the garden outside, feeling more trapped than he had in Queen Shara’s lair.

  Noises outside the room made him whirl around and stare at the door. A sixth sense told him that he was in danger. He slid down beside the bed and strained to listen. What was happening? Shivers tingled along his spine. The faint sound of the door latch creaked as someone opened it and stepped inside. He ducked down low behind the bed and held his breath.

  A rustle of cloth across the rectangle of lavish rug and across the stone floor...a woman’s long dress.

  Elimas!

  He sensed the stench of magic about her like fresh dung. It was only a matter of moments before she found him. He had to hide, or she’d destroy him by handing him over to Morgranus!

  Reaching within himself, he imagined being part of the bed that he was pressed up against. Almost at once, his back became rigid, wooden. He reached up and fingered the carved wood, imagining his fingers burrowing into it like roots speeded up countless years. In moments, the neck cuff and chain fell onto the rug with a faint clatter as he melded with the wood.

  Elimas couldn’t have missed hearing that! He sensed her stealthy movements as she headed towards the bed, searching for him. The sudden appearance of the mystic sent his heart racing.

  Oh no! Can she see me? Can she? Oh please don’t let her see me!

  A murderous gleam shone in her eyes as she took in the empty cuff and chain. She glanced about with a puzzled look. Robbie remained motionless, encompassed about with the strange magic that concealed him, camouflaged within the wood of Caiwen’s bed. His breathing lowered so it became non-existent.

  Then he noticed a wicked knife glinting in Elimas’s hand as she kneeled beside the bed. She picked up the cuff and examined the lock, turning it in her hands. Frowning, the mystic’s black eyes stared at Caiwen’s bed. Straight at him! His mouth went dry. She was someone who practised magic, lived by it and could sense magic at work. She stood up and scanned the room. He sighed as she stepped away. She doesn’t know I’m here after all.

  All of a sudden, she looked back at the bed, as if she could sense his presence. Robbie’s breath caught in his throat as she started towards him, knife in hand.

  Just then, a noise outside the room made her jump. The knife vanished into her wide sleeve as her head twisted towards the door. A moment later, it opened and Robbie heard a surprised gasp from Caiwen.

  ‘What are you doing here, Elimas? I’ve told you before that I don’t want you in my chamber! Why do you continue to mock me as you do my mother?’

  ‘You know nothing, Princess, nor do you appreciate the authority you’ve been permitted to wield.’ Elimas’s voice was low and sinister. Caiwen was silent. ‘Never forget who I am, Princess! By the way, your pet seems to have escaped his leash! You’ll have to keep better watch over these scum. I’ll send out the guards to search for him.’

  Her voice held the venom of a cobra. Robbie pictured a black, forked tongue inside her swollen, scaly mouth.

  ‘I came to tell you that the rest of the boy’s companions are dead; their bodies were dumped in a ravine in the woods a short time ago.’

  It was all Robbie could do to keep his emotions from crumbling. Inside, he was breaking apart even as he clung to the magic that transformed him. Her words cut through his heart. Flesh began to reappear. His fingers clawed the wood until his hands ached and trembled.

  Caiwen’s voice was cold as she answered. ‘You are dismissed, Elimas.’

  Footsteps receded as the mystic walked to the door without further word. It slammed behind her. Robbie released the magic and pitched forward onto his hands and knees, overcome by it. Peeling away from the wood was like trying to extricate himself from strong glue. Waves of dizziness washed over him. The strain of using the magic twice in such a short time had taken its toll. A sharp gasp from Caiwen made him look up at her.

  ‘You were here all the time?’ She paused. ‘Why couldn’t she see you?’

  He didn’t answer.

  She sat on the edge of the bed. ‘Do not let her words terrify you. She is good at frightening helpless people.’

  Robbie looked away. She didn’t understand. If Dougray and Belle were dead, then no one would come to rescue him. He was alone with a mad queen and a Magic Woman who was in league with Morgranus. Both were seeking to destroy him. He glanced back at her as the bed creaked.

  Caiwen was still staring at him. ‘What’s your name?’

  Was he meant to answer her? Her voice softened as she sensed his reluctance to speak. Then she gave a loud sigh.

  ‘I’m not going to hurt you if you answer me—as long as no one overhears us. Men are not permitted to speak here in Dwellinfrey.’

  He cleared his throat. ‘Robbie.’

  ‘Robbie.’ She savoured the word. ‘A good name. Where are you from...Robbie...and where were you going when you were captured?’

  ‘I’m from Wyfrenvale, on the other side of Black Horn. I was travelling with my brother—’ His voice shook.

  She frowned at him. ‘What is this Black Horn you speak of?’

  He swallowed the dryness in his throat. ‘It’s a mountain. My brother and I lived on a farm on the other side.’

  ‘Was your brother one of the people Elimas was talking about?’

  His emotions were too raw to answer. If he didn’t get out of there, he’d choke.

  Oblivious, the princess went on. ‘Why did you leave your farm then?’

  He glared at her. What is this—an interrogation? He didn’t want to answer her stupid questions.

  ‘It’s a long story.’ His tone was hard. A very long story which he didn’t have time for! If only she could help him escape! But would she?

  ‘Princess, I have to get out of here—’

  The palm of her hand went up, silencing him. ‘I can’t help you do that, so don’t ask again. If you tried to escape, you wouldn’t get far anyway. You heard Elimas! She’s sending guards out to look for you. You would be killed if they caught you and the
palace is well guarded at all times. Escape is out of the question. You will remain here...Robbie.’

  A sharp knock at the door made them both jump. As it swung open, the snaky figure of Elimas reappeared in the doorway. Robbie sensed Caiwen stiffening as she climbed to her feet to face her. She glared at the mystic who was staring at Robbie with a puzzled expression. Questions would rise in her mind.

  ‘So, he’s returned, my lady. May I ask, where did you hide him?’

  Now it was Caiwen’s turn to look puzzled. She answered with a sharpness in her voice. ‘I didn’t hide him anywhere! He was here the whole time, so call off your guards!’

  The mystic bowed her head. As she straightened, her eyes bored into Robbie’s. Then she turned and hurried from the room. A heavy sigh left Caiwen as she slumped onto the bed, looking at him. He remained standing, but his wobbling legs sent him crumpling to the floor. He bent his knees and wrapped his arms around them.

  Caiwen’s face softened and the corners of her mouth rose in a slight smile. Her skin dragged her left cheek where the scar puckered, pulling at her top lip. He could tell it was a source of deep embarrassment and shame. She pulled her hair forward when she noticed him staring at her.

  ‘Princess, if I remain here, Elimas will try to kill me.’

  ‘Why would she want to do that? You are in my care.’

  He gnawed his bottom lip as he sensed her doubt. She didn’t believe her words either.

  The next moment, her lips pursed. ‘I will do anything to thwart Elimas.’ He started at the hatred in her voice. ‘She controls all the priestesses...and as you heard, my mother and me, also.’ She lowered her gaze to where her fingers pulled at a loose thread in the blanket. ‘You must have heard everything. She is the High Priestess and calls herself Mother of Light.’ Pain and bitterness filled her eyes as she gave a bitter laugh. ‘But she is a Magic Woman. You know what that means?’