Chapter 17
The minions of The Watcher had returned to Blackheart Castle empty handed. They feared that their failure would have reprisals. This was not the case. When they returned, The Watcher was busy in the alter room meeting with the High Priest of the Order of Chaos, who had just arrived at the castle. He was standing on the balcony observing his returning army whilst talking.
“My minions return but the child has eluded them.” He said to the high priest without looking round.
“This may not be as bad as you may think.” The High priest replied.
“How can this not be bad? Without that child, everything I have worked for since that fateful day when Bhryll was destroyed is lost.”
“It is as I said to you before. The ritual was complete. Now, it is only a matter of time before Bhryll returns.”
The Watcher turned to face the high priest. He looked long and hard at the face of the high priest trying to determine if he was being deceived.
“If the child is not in the place where the ritual was performed, the spirit of Bhryll will return with no body to possess.”
“But that is not how it works. The ritual transforms the spirit of the child into a beacon. This beacon shines brightly in the spirit world. The only one who can see this beacon is the one we announced in the ritual; Bhryll. Once he notices the beacon, he will head for it. It does not matter where the child is. Once Bhryll reaches the spirit of the child, the door will be open for him to enter his new body.”
The Watcher mulled over the words spoken by the high priest. He spent a long moment in silence trying to play out the scene in his head. Each time his thoughts came back to the negative possibilities.
“If Bhryll takes over the body of the child, the humans will soon notice that the child is not normal. Physical changes will occur given the fact that the child is female and Bhryll is male. At this point, the child will be killed and Bhryll will lose his only chance of returning to the earth for another thousand years.”
The high priest let out a knowing chuckle. The Watcher thought that his words were being mocked.
“Do not laugh at me.” The Watcher roared as he lunged forward and knocked the high priest across the room. The priest hit the eastern wall and slumped to the ground. His vision blurred and the room began to spin. It looked to the priest as if four figures were rapidly bearing down on him. He managed to regain his speech before the dark figure of The Watcher reached him.
“I did not laugh at you, master.” The High Priest said quickly, his vision returning to normal. “I was laughing at the events we have set in motion.”
The Watcher halted his charge, intrigued by what the High Priest was saying.
“Go on.” He said calmly.
“We set up a spell so that once the spirit of Bhryll resides within the child’s body, it will begin to grow and transform into the original form that Bhryll took to walk the earth. This transformation will be almost instantaneous.”
“And what of his strength, will he be weak or strong.”
“Master, he will be as strong as he has ever been. His powers will be available and his physical strength shall be unequalled on this earth.”
A red glow seemed to grow in the eyes of The Watcher. His face took on an expression of pure evil and total excitement both at once.
The Watcher had one final question for the High Priest.
“When will Bhryll possess the child?”
“We have never had a possession take more than seven days.”
The Watcher returned to his balcony.
The next morning saw the return of Paddy Turner to Thorvale. It was very early and the only people who wandered the streets at this hour were the town watch. It took Paddy quite a long time to navigate the streets to the palace. He talked to every guard that he passed. Then one very excited guard ran up to him.
“You are back, praise the lord.” He said huffing and puffing.
“What is the problem?” Paddy asked not knowing if this guard was excited or scared.
“The adventurers have returned.” Paddy’s eyes lit up at the words that were coming from the guard’s mouth. “They arrived back yesterday and they have your daughter.”
“Thank you my good man.” Paddy said patting the guard on the shoulder. He began sprinting towards the palace. He burst through the gates, catching the gate keepers off guard. He ran straight into the great hall. There was nobody around. He then bolted into the royal wing heading for the King’s bedroom. He almost knocked the bedroom door from its hinges in his haste. The King awoke instantly and whipped his sword from its sheath next to the bed.
“Where is she?” Paddy shouted at the King.
“Calm down Pa….” The King started to say before he was interrupted.
“Tell me where she is, now.” Paddy ordered. The King felt slightly aggrieved that all respect for authority had gone out the window but he understood his friend’s feelings. “You will find her in your room. She is being looked after by some of my best servants.” Henried said quickly. With that, Paddy was gone. He raced to his quarters. He burst in to see a beautiful young lady holding an even more beautiful baby. The sight brought him to a complete standstill. He looked at his daughter for a long time, unable to move. Tears of joy and relief poured down his face. The last time he had laid eyes on his daughter was on that fateful night in Horton Peak nearly two months ago now. The young woman walked over to Paddy.
“Here you go, Daddy.” She said handing him his child. Paddy took the child in his arms and collapsed to his knees, the tears were now falling like a waterfall. The young woman beckoned the other servants out of the room. As she left, she placed a comforting hand on Paddy’s shoulder. “If there is anything you need….” she began allowing the words to tale off. Paddy looked up at her and smiled. Then she left.
It had been a few hours since Paddy had been reunited with his daughter but he had not come out of his room. A gentle knock at the door was heard.
“Come in.” Paddy said.
The door creaked open and King Henried entered. Paddy was lying on his bed with the child in his arms.
“Are you alright, my friend?” The King asked choking back the tears himself. The sight before him made him realise what he had lost.
“I never dared to dream of this moment.” Paddy replied. “When Isabelle was lost to me on that most dreadful night, I felt certain that I would never see her again.”
The King looked on. He did not have the words to say. Tears were now running down his cheeks but Paddy was facing away from him and did not notice.
“Isabelle is the last remaining part of Maggie on this earth. My sons are of my blood and appearance. Isabelle has her mother’s blood. From this day forth, each time I look at Isabelle, I will be reminded of Maggie.” Paddy sat up and turned to face the King. “What is the matter, my lord?” He asked formally but with genuine concern.
“You need to know the story of the adventure.” The King replied.
“Come, sit by my side and tell me.” Paddy said this time without the formalities.
The King sat next to Paddy on his bed. His shoulders were slumped and he was staring at the floor.
“The adventure did not go as smoothly as planned.” The King began. “Tragedy was met along the way. Anree was the first to fall. She heroically created a diversion that she knew would come at the expense of her own life. Whilst the enemy were distracted, the party climbed to the top of the Keep of Blackheart Castle and slaughtered the priests who were performing the ceremony.”
“What ceremony?” Paddy interrupted.
“It seems that Isabelle was kidnapped to try to resurrect Bhryll, the god of chaos.”
Paddy looked shocked and horrified. He picked up his daughter and hugged her tightly.
The King continued.
“The ceremony was incomplete. Nothing happened to the child. As John prepared the child for travel, Cohen looked out from one of the keep’s balconies. He observed that an ev
il beast of great power was attacking Anree and she was faltering. The name of the beast is The Watcher.”
“I have heard that name before.” Paddy interrupted again. “He is a minion of the purest evil, created to be the personal bodyguard to an evil god. That god must have been Bhryll.”
Paddy’s interruption did not stop the flow of the Kings story.
“Seeing Anree in distress, Cohen ran to help her but was too late. The Watcher then spotted the party trying to leave. In an act of bravery or foolishness, Cohen charged The Watcher. They fought as the others escaped. When the others were safely away, my son fell. I don’t know how.”
Paddy looked shocked. He placed his hand on The King’s shoulder and spoke.
“Oh, my friend, I am so very sorry. How can I ever make it up to you?” Paddy felt totally responsible for the King’s loss. Cohen may have been a weasel when he knew him but this weasel had laid down his life to save another; his daughter no less.
“There is more to the story.” The King replied trying to complete what needed to be said before he could speak no more.
“Go on.” Paddy said.
“On the journey home, something happened to John. The other adventurers do not know what happened only that something inside him snapped. Supposedly, John had been having bad dreams and he woke determined that the child was evil and that he needed to kill her.”
“What happened to John?” Paddy asked with a hint of despair in his voice. He was expecting the King to tell him that his son was dead.
“Rhyll had to render John unconscious. He then bound and gagged him for the rest of the journey home.”
“Where is John now?”
“He has been confined to quarters and is being held there by armed guards.”
Paddy stood up and quickly donned more suitable clothing.
“I shall go and see him at once. When I am finished I will come back to see you.” He said.
Henried stood up. The pair embraced for a moment; the emotions of the past weeks had taken their toll. Then they both departed. The King went to the great hall to conduct his daily business; today preparations would be made for a memorial service for Anree and his son Cohen.
Paddy went down the hall to his son’s room. As he approached, the armed guards stood back from the door.
“Feel free to come and go as you please Mr Turner.” One guard said. Paddy nodded and entered.
John was sitting in a chair next to the window at the back of the room. He looked around to see who had entered.
“Father” He said with delight.
He ran over and embraced Paddy with a bear-like hug.
“Hello son” Paddy said solemnly. “I heard what happened.”
“They think I am crazy but I swear to you, Father, I am not.”
Paddy looked at his son with bemused distain.
“You tried to kill your own sister; your own flesh and blood.”
“That child is no longer Isabelle. She is something else. I saw it in a dream.” John’s words sounded like he genuinely believed what he was saying. Paddy could not believe them however.
“Son, I have just spent the entire morning with your sister. She is just as she was.”
A panicked sound began to creep into John’s voice as he realised that not even his Father believed him.
“I am telling you, Father, she has been possessed. We have no idea of knowing what those evil priests were doing to her. We do not even know if we managed to halt the ceremony before it was too late. If my dreams are true then the whole of this kingdom will burn to the ground.”
“Do not be so preposterous.” Paddy shouted angrily. “Even if something has happened to Isabelle, a small baby cannot change the course of the world. It is physically impossible.”
John thought about this fact. He had seen a fully grown figure in his dream as well as a baby.
“It could be that it will take many years before anything happens.” John conceded.
“And I am sure that we will notice changes in her behaviour before it is too late. I’m afraid, son, that you have panicked over nothing.” Paddy added.
“Then I am crazy.”
“I do not think that you are crazy. I do feel that the adventure has taken its toll on you. Go back to Horton Peak for a while and take some time to grieve for your mother and spend time with your brothers.”
“I will leave at once.” John said.
“I will see if your adventurer friends will escort you.” Paddy said as he left the room.
John walked across to the window and looked out over the courtyard. Many thoughts ran through his head, the most prominent being that he would have to apologise to those who he now thought of as friends. Rhyll and Conrad had helped him to survive the biggest trial of his life to date. The way he acted would not lightly be forgiven. John’s thoughts then turned back to Isabelle. He still could not shake the feeling that something was wrong.
Paddy returned to the great hall and approached the King.
“My lord, I have spoken with my son and we have agreed a course of action.”
“What is it you propose?” The King replied.
“John shall return to Horton Peak to grieve for his mother and to rest. I ask that you commission his adventurer friends to escort him home as their experience of dealing with the horrors of adventuring should help him. In return, I shall remain here with Isabelle. I will continue to train your armies and will help to organise a war on the inhabitants of Cursed Isle if that is your intent.”
The King looked at Paddy with a psychotic glint in his eyes, “It is my intent,” he said coldly. “We shall rid the scourge of those monsters from our shores forever. I do not care if it takes a lifetime of war to do so, we will prevail.” The Kings voice softened, “we must prevail.” The King seemed to drift off into thought. The motivation for this war was the death of his son. Paddy knew this but he also knew that war was both inevitable and necessary.
Paddy cleared his throat snapping the King’s attention back on him. Paddy began, “Ever since my time as the commander of your armies, I have long desired to march to war against the denizens of the Cursed Isle.” The King said nothing, listening intently as Paddy continued. “When I was but a boy I witnessed the slaughter of a number of people from my village. One night a raiding party attacked our village and caught everyone off guard. Over a hundred people died that night, amongst them were my aunt and uncle. I can still recall the expression of terror on their faces. Then I remember hearing screams from across the plains. The raiding party had kidnapped some of the women and children. The men of the town rallied quickly and donned their weapons and armour. As they left on foot, I followed them on the trail of this raiding party. We discovered a campsite about half a day later. The women sat bound and gagged around a campfire watching the most horrific scene I have ever seen. The children had been impaled by huge wooden skewers through their groins to the tops of their heads. They were being spit roasted as their mothers watched. I remember feeling sick to my stomach. The men from the village could only look on in horror. They attacked; slaying all that remained of the raiding party and freeing the women. All the children were dead; at least twelve of them. From that day forth, I have been formulating plans on how to get revenge. That was my motivation for joining the army and progressing to a high rank. I wanted to power to be able to order a war.”
The King looked sombre. He was looking at the ground just beyond his feet contemplating what paddy had just said. “My friend, you have my blessing to make this war happen. Formulate your plans then tell me what provisions you need. We both have plenty to avenge.”
Paddy bowed low before departing. He had a purposeful bound to his stride as he departed.
The King sent a messenger to Conrad and Rhyll. They were ordered to prepare to leave for Horton Peak. The reward was great so they didn’t complain. It would only be a four day round journey by foot and if they were provided with horses, it would be even quicker. They assembled in the
great hall, with John, and then departed with little fuss.
Paddy had to watch John leave him again. As he watched his son move further and further away, the King’s words were spoken from behind him.
“It is for the best.”
*****
Resurrection (Book 1: The Chronicles of Chaos) Page 19
