-----
Elkor flew high into the night sky of the other world. The air smelled of sulfur and brimstone and it sickened him. The land below was interlaced with black roads as far as the eye could see. Machines, resembling giant beetles, whizzed around at great speeds with their bright lights cutting through the night.
“Lights, there were so many lights,” he thought.
Even in the darkness of night, lights sparkled and glistened as far as he could see. There were millions upon millions of them, and it was clear to him that this world never slept. The majestic beast soared higher and higher until he reached the top of the atmosphere. In almost no time, he’d flown around the entire world and saw that it was largely the same everywhere. The foul stench of industrialization permeated every inch of both the land and the sea. He could not continue to allow this blight to spread into Tarsinia.
Angered by the flow of this worlds’ poison into his, he flew back towards the rift between the worlds. The girl had told him
how Rufus had done this with great engines that cracked and
broke the very bedrock shattering the barrier that separated Tarsinia. He would see to their destruction.
The great winged worm flew faster than sound itself; his very passing was akin to the thunder of a great summer storm. Sonic booms shook the ground, shattered windows, and knocked things off the shelves in each dwelling that he passed over. Every flap of his wings was like a gust of wind from a hurricane that blew in every direction spreading further chaos across the land. He dove towards an almost never-ending body of water vaster than even the Great Sea of Tarsinia.
As he flew low, water was sucked up into the jet stream that trailed along his flight; first forming mists of rain, then growing into massive black thunderheads kilometers high that collected into a hurricane of violence that was sucked along behind him as he streaked across the sky. Electricity, pulled up from the ground into the clouds spawned lightning bolts in his wake that lit up the sky for a hundred kilometers in every direction. Elkor harnessed the power of nature and carried it to the breach to do his bidding.
-----
El was still running towards the camp when a bright, burst of lightning like a million camera flashes going off at once cast eerie shadows all along the road. The sky clouded over and angry drops of rain fell in sheets as a powerful gale whipped the water around with the force of a firehose. She pulled her arms in close to her body as she leaned into the wind trying not to be blown away.
Her phone rang. “Everett?”
“No mom, it’s me, Amanda.”
“Is everything ok?”
“We’re fine. I’m gonna share some totally weird stuff, so be prepared.”
“Like a dragon?” replied her mom.
“So, you’ve seen him, that’s Elkor.”
“What in the world’s going on?”
“You know that stuff about Uncle Everett being a wizard and being married to the queen of a magical world?”
“You can’t be serious?”
“As a bad hair day,” replied Amanda.
“I’m a wizard too mom, and I’m hoping you are…because if you’re not, I’m outta’ ideas.”
“A WIZARD! Are you smoking drugs? Because if you are, y’know we can talk about it...”
“I’m not smoking drugs! I never did. Now I’m sending you a picture.”
Amanda opened the Grim and took a picture of the open pages with her tablet’s camera. “This better work,” she whispered to herself looking up at Percy and Sarah who were staring at her hopefully.
“What am I looking at?” El said as her phone pinged and the image popped up in her message window.
“What do you see?” asked Amanda praying to herself out loud, “Not blank pages, not blank pages…” she muttered under her breath.
“I see a book with a picture on one page and some words on the other…”
“What’s the picture of?”
She zoomed in on the screen. “You and Sarah - here with me now.”
“Don’t say the words mom, not now. I need you to look at the dragon and think about sending him here.”
The wind had grown more intense, and the ground trembled with every clap of thunder. El was soaked to the skin and could barely hear the sound of her daughters’ voice against the backdrop of the storm or see the screen of her phone under the droplets of rain.
“What…”
“Just do it!”
“Ok I’m thinking about the dragon, but nothing is
happening.”
“Damn, nothing is happening,” she repeated to Percy and Sarah.
“Maybe she needs to be able see him?” suggested Sarah.
“Mom, can you see the dragon?”
“No, nothing but the storm. Oh, Amanda! Let me bring you home…”
“Not yet, I think you have to get to where you can see him before you send him home…he has to be on this side before I can close the gap between the worlds.”
“You think?” exclaimed El over the sound of the whistling wind.
“Please mom, you have to try,” begged Amanda.
“Oh, Amanda. If I can just bring you home, then let me just do it.”
“No mom. You can’t. Pleeease! I’m begging you. Find the dragon and try to send it home.”
“OK, OK, but there’s going be are going to be some very serious conversations when I see you and your uncle.”
Battle Lines
Under the cover of the raging storm and disguised in the fashion of the environmentalists, Merga led the false king and his entourage quietly through the protest camp towards the gap in the shale wall. Before any of the protestors saw them, they dashed across the barrier between the worlds.
“Welcome home your Majesty,” said Celestra as she stepped out of the shadows to greet her leader.
The false king and the witch immediately climbed aboard the dragon’s back and then he turned to the others. Gleb resumed his true form, a giant, three-stories tall; Hikkum the form of a pointy eared g’blinken.
“Gleb, we’ll see you on the field tomorrow,” said Merga as the dragon flapped her wings and took flight.
Ogres, trolls, g’blinkens and k’bolts greeted Rufus with grunts and howls as the dragon landed them in the middle of their camp at the far edge of the Great Plain. Huge bonfires lit up the night as the monsters danced their terrifying war dances in preparation for their march against the army of the Queen.
-----
The Queen and the Wizard were at council with their generals in a large purple pavilion set up at the far end of the plain. “They’ll attack at dawn with the sun at their back,” said the general with authority.
“We must prepare to attack them immediately general.” she snarled.
“Your majesty. Our forces are well positioned to defend against their assault. An attack on their forces would mean giving up the advantage of the high ground. We should let them come to us.”
“Rufus has returned and raised an army against me! You will attack them at once.” she shrieked.
Barely paying attention to the exchange of words, Everett
studied the Queen’s face. It was drawn and tense and her eyes moved about furtively. Her gestures and expressions were not the typically elegant and deliberate gestures of the calm, confident woman that he’d fallen in love with but were now the anxious and paranoid responses of someone else entirely.
“A word in private my love?” suggested the wizard.
“You may speak in front of the others, Wizard,” replied the Queen coldly.
“Wizard? My dearest,” asked Everett.
“Speak!” she commanded.
He touched her hand and reached for a word that would channel his emotions and hopefully direct his magic. Without the Grimoire he was only guessing, but he hoped that his affection for his wife would guide the magic as well as any incantation that the book could inscribe on its pages.
“See me,” he said.
He felt the fu
ll weight of his love flow through him as he channeled the magic of Tarsinia into the Queen.
Everett felt the Eye’s magic as it fought to keep its grasp on the Queen’s mind.
“RELEASE ME!” she commanded as she tried to draw back her hand.
His magic reached deep into her mind searching for some small weakness to exploit so that he could break the Eye’s spell. He could see Windy through a fog searching her husband but he could not push past the barrier that encased her mind.
“SEE ME!” commanded the wizard as he gripped her wrist tighter.
“Guards! He’s trying to enchant me!” bellowed the Queen to the general. She squirmed and fought against Everett but he held her wrists tight in his strong farmers’ grip.
At the sight of the struggling pair, Tribune Aban stepped forward. “Release the Queen!” he demanded as he drew his sword.
Everett concentrated as hard as he could and conjured up
the images of their first walk along the paths of the royal gardens, of the first time that he made her laugh, of the first time that she permitted him to kiss her.
“SEE ME!” he commanded more forcefully as he projected his memories into her mind.
He felt the Eye force the Queen to push and shove and kick at his shins. Everett could feel the strength of the magic flowing through the Eye and could feel that it was afraid. The Queen butted the wizard in the nose with her forehead and bit his thumb as hard as the Eye could force her. But still the wizard held on tight.
“SEE ME!” he shouted while blood streamed from his nose down his face. The Eye screamed through the Queen’s voice as Aban raised his sword to strike down the wizard.
“Release her!” said the tribune and he lashed out at Everett’s back.
A blur of blue-white fur knocked him to the ground, his sword spun from his grasp as he fell in a heap knocking the table and several chairs over in the process. The giant wolf growled to the remaining soldiers.
“Everyone, stay cool,” said Trevor. “I don’t want to hurt any of you… but I will if I have to.”
Another guard moved his hand slowly to the hilt of his weapon.
“WOOF-WOOF-WOOF-WOOF-WOOF!” barked Trevor and soldier yanked his hand away from his weapon as though he’d just touched a hot pot.
“SEE ME!” shouted Everett with the full force of his will. He could feel his strength weakening as he grappled with the Eye to free the Windy from its spell. He felt the magic of Tarsinia surge through him like electricity, as a blinding blue glow surrounded him. Just when he felt he could channel the magic no longer, the Queen screamed like she’d been thrown into boiling water and collapsed limply into her husband’s arms.
Everett searched her mind for the Eye. It was gone. He
He slumped to his knees panting like he’d just run a long race.
With the last of his strength, he kissed his wife on the top of her head and pulled her in tight. He intended to close his eyes for only a moment but immediately fell into a deep magical sleep of healing.
From his place of concealment in the corner, Otto bounded across the pavilion and pressed his tiny head against the wizard’s lips. He pulled back Everett’s eyelids and then stomped up and down on his chest in what was clearly an attempt to wake the sleeping mage. Everyone in the room watched with interest at the actions of the tiny sprite. Only Otto seemed to recognize the significance of the Wizard’s condition. After several failed attempts to rouse the wizard, he bounded onto a table and acted out a pantomime for the wolf.
“If you’re sure, then we should be off,” said Trevor.
The tiny sprite leaped onto the wolf’s back, and they dashed out of the pavilion and into the night.
-----
In the deep, dark cell of Hightower Castle, the Eye cracked like thin ice on a pond. Its wooden frame withered and aged as it cried out in pain. The walls of the castle vibrated, and windows on the lowest levels exploded outward spraying shards of glass in every direction. The shiny silver plaque turned tarnished black, and the light within the Eye grew dark. It would be a long time before the Eye could share his twisted visions with anyone foolish enough to seek his help.
War
As the first light of dawn crested on the horizon before the sun had yet to make an appearance, the crude calls of enemy battle horns sounded back and forth from across the far end of the plain.
The Queen’s general, mounted on his heavily armored steed, paced back and forth at the head of his troops. Immediately behind him were seven centuries of knights on horseback ready for battle in their gleaming silver armor. A full legion of archers waited at the rear with their bows drawn ready to launch their arrows over the heads of three legions of armored footmen marching forward with their pikes and swords and shields.
Heavy ballistas loaded with long iron bolts as tall as a man were in position between trebuchets that were being prepared to hurl clusters of heavy rocks at the oncoming army. Yet, the wizard still slept, the battle to free the Queen’s mind having completely drained him.
From high above the opposing armies Celestra circled; her large leathery wings spread wide feeling the currents and adjusting to updrafts as she floated like a hawk searching for breakfast. In a special saddle made for this occasion, Merga, seated behind Rufus watched the preparations from the dragon’s back as she soared overhead.
Suddenly, with three sharp blasts from his horn, the false king issued the command to advance. A dozen giants, clad in suits of oaken armor to protect them from an onslaught of arrows, marched across the battlefield ahead of the hoard.
The Queen’s archers responded with thousands upon thousands of black arrows that darkened the sky as they flow over the heads of the defenders into the approaching army. Though their aim was true, they did little to slow the giants’ advance. Their armor bristling with arrows; the giants batted
away the advancing pikemen with their large wooden clubs as they fought their way deep into the Queen’s lines. Another horn blew and the Queen’s forces fell back to regroup.
With the defensive line in retreat, Rufus blew his horn again and unleashed the fury of his army. Lanky trolls and thick ogres wielding rocks and spears flung themselves at the defenders’ lines. In response, the Queen’s general sounded his war horn and led his knights in a charge against the enemy’s flank.
The battle quickly descended into a general melee. The superior strategy and tactics of the human defenders was no match against the raw force and strength of the attacking forces. The false king’s army was gradually wearing down the valiant defenders of the kingdom.
As the morning wore on, the giants waded deeper and deeper through the human infantry. Their goal of reaching the archers was within sight. The shrieks and war cries from a horde of g’blinkens could be heard in response to a flurry of horn blasts from the false king circling overhead. The sharp-faced g’blinkens armed with ugly iron swords and axes surged into a gap behind the giants from a place of concealment intent on slaughtering the lightly armored archers. Pennants of the rogue lords led hundreds of men in a charge as they joined in the assault.
The trolls and ogres hacked and slashed at the knights and gradually pushed them back. The general sounded a retreat and led his horsemen to the top of a low hill where the higher ground would hopefully give them a slight advantage against the fearsome monsters who’d been pummeling them mercilessly. At the top of the hill, he rose up in his saddle and surveyed the battlefield.
The giants were almost through to the archers, their arrows unable to penetrate the thick oak armor. While the ballistas were effective there were too few of them to make a difference.
Soldiers hacked and slashed at the heavy wooden armor and jabbed their long pikes into the chinks between the thick planks but could only slow the progress of the lumbering titans. The valiant footmen sacrificed their bodies as they reformed into a phalanx to protect the archers from the raging behemoths that were grinding them down like grain under a millstone.
“The b
attle goes well my king,” shouted the Merga over the sound of the wind whistling past them.
“Where is the wizard? His absence concerns me,” he shouted back.
“Perhaps he is elsewhere. Without him your forces will prevail,” she cackled with glee.
Rufus acknowledged the comment with an uncertain nod.
Going North Dakota
With Brigit behind the wheel, the truck full of explosives rattled down the highway towards Station-17. She looked back at the barrels filled with ammonium nitrate with wires and L.E.D.’s sticking out all over. Initially, she was thrilled that Rick finally relented after she insisted that she could handle it. Now she was terrified. She wondered if he hadn’t played her. Telling her it was too dangerous and making her demand that she be allowed to drive.
“No, not Rick. He said she was special. It was just the fear talking.” She thought to herself weakly and drove on. Besides, it was too late to turn back, people were counting on her.
Rick promised that he’d be there to pick her up. She was just supposed to drive the truck up the well, flip the switch on the timer and walk quickly towards through the woods and out to the road where he would whisk her away to safety.
Without warning, the wind picked up, and the truck shook as it gusted across her path. She swerved more than once as she fought to keep the rickety van on the road amidst the increasingly strong crosswinds. She checked her rearview mirrors and there in the distance, approaching quickly, were tall black thunderheads stretching from the horizon high into the sky. Lightning from among the clouds flashed in the distance, and the sound of distant thunder rumbled louder than the engine of her truck as it labored along the highway.
The first drops of rain pelted her windshield. She flicked on the wipers but the rubber was worn and cracked, and they left thick streaks of water on the glass. The sky darkened quickly as the rain began to pour so thickly that it was like looking through a waterfall. The dim headlights did little to penetrate the darkness of the storm as the wind continued to push and tug on the truck as though trying to topple it over.
Amanda Applewood and the Return of the False King: An Everworld Book Page 24
