by Wendy Owens
“Why wouldn’t you just tell me that?” Gabe moaned.
“I couldn’t. Everything had to be believable in case somehow Baal managed to break the barrier and get into your mind,” Michael insisted.
“So why tell me now?” Gabe asked.
“Things have changed. If we’re going to help Sophie and the others, I need you. Are we past this?”
Gabe was still frustrated at Michael. But with a better understanding of why he did the things he did, once again, Gabe felt remorseful about his behavior.
“Yeah,” Gabe replied in an almost whisper and then nodded his head to reaffirm his verbal response.
“So what’s the plan?” Gabe asked, eager to discover how he could help his beloved Sophie.
“The curse on the artifacts is a powerful one. We will need to banish the demons behind it to break the spell.”
“Great. Who’s behind it then?” Gabe asked.
“We don’t know,” Michael replied.
“Wait, what? No,” the confused words stumbled from Gabe’s lips.
A second later, the door opened and Uri walked in, quickly moving to Michael’s side.
“Is the girl all right?” Michael asked.
“She will be fine,” Uri replied, glancing over at Gabe. Gabe was full of regret for even speaking to Neru. If she had just avoided him, she would have never gotten hurt.
“I was just explaining to Gabe what we’re up against,” Michael continued. “Even though we don’t know who’s behind it, we know where to start. Iron Gate is where the runes came from, so that’s the best place to begin.”
“Great, so when do we transport?” Gabe asked.
“We can’t use a transportation spell,” Uri explained.
“What? Why not?” Gabe exclaimed.
“Do you remember the beach? Michael transported us only a couple of miles and you and I were out for a day. We don’t have the age, experience, or ability to focus like we need to for that distance of transportation. We will have to take the Alicorns,” Uri explained.
“Fine, when do we leave?” Gabe inquired eagerly.
“It’s not that simple.” Michael added. “Baal is still tracking you. As soon as you leave the manor, you will no longer be protected.”
“Well, I’m going,” Gabe snapped.
“I agree you need to go, but we need to be clever in how we go about it,” Michael said with a smile.
His grin made Gabe nervous.
Gabe glanced over to Uri and Michael as they walked towards the stables with heavy and purposeful steps.
“So you understand the plan?” Michael asked, looking back at Gabe.
“I guess, but I’m not sure how comfortable I am with it.”
“I’m sure Michael wouldn’t send us out unless he thought our chances were good.” Uri chimed in confidently.
“Look, boys,” Michael began. “I am not going to lie to you. What we’re about to do is extremely dangerous. I have no idea how it will shake out. With that being said, I believe it’s the only way, Gabe.”
“What if the decoy doesn’t work?” Gabe asked nervously.
“It will,” Uri reassured Gabe.
“Let's go over this one more time,” Michael began, coming to a stop outside the stables. “Baal will know the moment you have left the safety of the manor. There’s no way you will be able to keep him out of your mind at your level, we know that. That means we have to figure out a way to combat him.”
“I just wish it was in a way that I could defend myself,” Gabe replied.
“I really believe the best way is for you to be asleep. He’ll still be able to penetrate your dreams, but if you’re asleep you can’t give away any details of where you are since you won’t be able to see anything and you don’t know the flight path.”
“Yeah, while I get the reasoning behind me being asleep, can you see why it’s the part of the plan I am feeling real uncomfortable with? What if he finds us? I can’t exactly protect myself while unconscious.” Gabe’s anxiety over the plan rang through his voice.
“Honestly, Gabe, if Baal finds us, it won’t matter if you’re asleep or awake, we’re dead,” Uri added.
“Gee, thanks, Uri. That's inspiring,” Gabe chirped sarcastically.
“It’s not going to come to that!” Michael exclaimed. “Worst case, if Baal finds you, Uri should be able to transport you back here, right?”
Uri smiled as he answered, “It won’t be pretty, but we should make it back in one piece, I think.”
“Baal will never think I allowed you to leave the manor unless I was the one at your side. I’ll travel south on another Alicorn. I will allow the trackers to catch a few glimpses in my mind. They will most likely assume they have cracked my thoughts. If they find me, then they think they will find you,” Michael expounded.
“This still doesn’t seem like a great idea.” Gabe muttered.
“Do you want to help Sophie? “ Uri snapped, exhausted by Gabe’s apprehension.
Not waiting for Gabe to answer, Michael interjected. “Once you’re at Iron Gate, you two should be safe. Their clerics will be able to protect you from the trackers.”
“Okay, well I guess I’m as ready as I will ever be.” Gabe knew how untrue the words actually were. He had zero confidence in this plan, but he would do anything to save Sophie.
The three walked into the stables. The Alicorns greeted them. They were—as always—ready to assist in any way possible. Michael looked at his two young students. “Haim will make sure Raimie, Dina, and Sophie remain in a deep sleep until you return. Contact me once you arrive. Be safe.”
Gabe felt terrible for being so angry with his mentor. Everything Michael had done was to protect him. Gabe had treated him with such disrespect in recent nights, he wasn’t sure if his words could change anything.
“Somnus.” The moment the word left Michael’s mouth, Gabe was consumed by a blackness that hung like blankets all around him.
Gabe stared into the dark, wondering if this was what it was like for Sophie. A few moments passed. The silence of the darkness had turned into a buzzing white noise. Gabe swiped at the darkness in front of him to see if he could cause any changes in it, but nothing happened.
Gabe accepted that this is what the entire journey would be like. But just as he did, he caught sight of a white feather falling slowly through the darkness. It fell slow and graceful; Gabe thought it looked to be dancing.
He had no thoughts in his mind of where it came from or why it was there. He simply accepted it was a beautiful distraction to the darkness.
A second later, another feather fell and then another. Gabe stared in awe at their choreography. Gabe heard a distant whistling sound. He frantically looked around for the source that disrupted his peace. The louder it got, the more it became clear; it was a scream and not a whistle.
Gabe’s eyes shot upward. A large white object flew toward him quickly.
Before he could blink, the object rocketed past him into the nothingness. As it flew past, Gabe could see it was, in fact, a person. What was worse was that it was his mentor, Michael. He had massive white wings on his back and was dressed in full body armor that looked like something from the time of the Romans and Gladiators.
One of the white wings was covered in deep, red blood. His screams were haunting, but not as much as the desperate look of fear on his face as he fell past him.
Gabe shut his eyes tightly and repeated to himself, “It’s not real, it’s a dream. It’s not real, it’s a dream ...”
When he opened his eyes again, Gabe felt a tremendous relief that Michael and the blackness were gone. Instead, he was in a white field that extended as far as his eyes could see. It was covered in a layer of plump, full dandelions. He didn’t recognize the place and was sure he had never been there, asleep or awake.
“Hello?” Gabe called out, surprised to hear his voice echo in the openness.
In the distance, Gabe caught sight of a figure standing next to a cherry tr
ee that was in full bloom. It was too far to make out who the person was. He called out again.
“Hello there?”
Still, no response from the figure. Before he could stop himself, Gabe walked toward the figure, calling out again as he came closer. “Who’s there?”
When he closed in on the figure, he could see the silhouette of girl wearing a white dress. She held tight to a flowing white scarf that blew in the wind behind her. The gust of wind sent little bits of the dandelions flying all around, dancing around her body.
Gabe inched closer. Slowly, the girl turned to face him. Gabe sighed. Before him stood Sophie, her auburn hair falling perfectly at the side of her face. Her eyes glowed with the intense blue he loved so much. He had lost many hours over the summer gazing into those entrancing eyes. Her pale skin almost seemed to glimmer in the sunlight.
“Sophie ...” Gabe gasped, then fell silent at the sight of her overwhelming and natural beauty.
Sophie pulled at the flowing scarf and wrapped it around her shoulders. Once it was secure, she turned back around to look out over the horizon. She didn’t say a word.
Gabe felt an overwhelming need to be with her, to be at her side. He began to run towards her. His feet became heavier with every step. Gabe pushed harder, his muscles burning. Looking down, he saw the earth had turned into a thick and heavy clay-like mud.
“Sophie,” he cried, reaching out towards her. She still didn’t turn around.
Gabe went down onto his hands and knees. He started to crawl towards her through the torturous earth.
The closer he came to Sophie, the darker the skies grew. Ominous gray clouds billowed together, forming one large mass. The tree beside Sophie, which had been in bloom with white cherry blossoms, transformed into a dead and decaying shell of its former self.
Just feet away from Sophie, Gabe could see the bottom of her dress had turned into filthy tatters. The mud reached up her dress in a veining pattern. Gabe knew he just had to get her to look into his eyes and everything would be all right.
He reached out with a shaking hand to grab hold of her dress and force her to look at him. His mud covered hand grabbed hold of her calf through the gown.
“Sophie, please,” he pleaded, unsure of what he even wanted from her.
“How could you?” she whispered at last, still not turning to look at him.
Shocked and confused by her words, Gabe’s mouth fell open. “I don’t understand, Sophie. How could I what?” Gabe begged for an answer to her vague accusation.
In less than a second, Sophie turned and grabbed the wrist of his hand he had been touching her leg with. She brought her face within inches of his. Her face was contorted, twisted with hatred and anger.
“How could you just give me to the demons like that?” Her eyes flickered red for a moment and then the color covered them.
Gabe’s heart filled up with an overwhelming fear at what he saw. Sophie tightened her grasp on his wrist, her nails emerging like claws and digging into his flesh. He stared at her, eyes open wide, unable to speak. In horror, he watched as her flesh turned gray and began to flake away like ash, revealing a molten colored beast beneath long, sharp fangs. The dress she had worn burned away along with her flesh. What stood before him couldn’t be described in any other way but as a monster.
A deafening noise filled his ears. Gabe clenched his eyes shut and covered his ears in pain. When he managed to open his eyes again, much to his horror, he saw he was completely surrounded by toads. The thunderous noise caused his rib cage to rattle within him. Looking back at the monster that had him in its grasp, Gabe realized it had not been Sophie, but in fact, was Baal.
“She’s ours now!” he moaned, flames flickering and popping around the corners of his mouth. He then let out a wicked cry and released Gabe’s wrist.
Gabe turned and desperately began clawing at the earth, trying to crawl away from the demon’s grasp.
“Why run, Gabe? We know where you are. We have her. Why not join us? Otherwise you will never be with her again.” When Baal spoke, the entire earth trembled. Gabe felt like there was a vice gripping around his heart, squeezing the life from it.
Gabe closed his eyes tight. His entire body shook, overwhelmed with sadness and fear. The toads grew louder.
“Gabe!” The familiar voice filled the skies. “Gabe, come on! Wake up!” Uri commanded.
Gabe refused to open his eyes. Baal had already duped him once by appearing as Sophie, he was not going to fall for any more of his trickery.
Uri pulled Gabe from the Alicorn, repeatedly slapping him in an effort to break the spell. His awaken spell had not worked. Uri feared Gabe might be too deep asleep for him to wake him.
“Gabe!” he shouted one last time, shaking his friend wildly.
Gabe gasped, opening his eyes in a panic and flailing his arms in a defensive motion. “Gabe, it’s me!” Uri said, grabbing hold of his face and forcing him to look into his eyes. “Look at me. It’s your friend Uri. You’re safe. We’re at Iron Gate.”
Gabe gasped, trying to catch his breath. He could feel the pressure around his heart releasing. Realizing it was in fact his trusted friend looking down at him, Gabe let out a sigh of relief. Leaning forward, he wrapped his arms tightly around him in a brotherly embrace.
Somehow, they had made it.
“Hi, I’m Patina, of course everyone here calls me Tina,” said a frail woman as she walked forward, moving like a gazelle. She gracefully extended a hand to shake.
Gabe noticed her eyes were over-sized and sunken. Her nose was extremely thin and her face seemed exaggerated in its length. There was something he found very haunting about her. He noticed her skin almost glowed with a hint of blue. She was so pale. The stormy clouds overhead made her complexion all the more noticeable. Her gray robes draped over her thin and extremely long arms. Gabe couldn’t help but wonder if the rest of her lean, lanky body was as skeleton-like as her hands.
“I’m the head master here at Iron Gate,” she continued in an eerie tone. Gabe already knew this. Michael had prepared them before they left.
Gabe couldn’t imagine this woman being a leader. She seemed somewhat young, which Gabe knew truly did not indicate anything real about her age. Michael had insisted they show her the utmost respect. She was one of the eldest and most powerful Guardians in existence.
Gabe stared at her for a lingering moment. Her dark raven hair that was slicked and pulled back into a tight ponytail indicated no signs of graying. Even with the aging tricks of being a Guardian, he couldn’t imagine her being as old as Michael had suggested.
“Hello, ma’am. I’m Uri, and this is Gabe,” Uri said, patting Gabe heavily on the back, pushing him forward.
“I see,” Tina responded. “So you’re the protector?” Her words drew out, long and heavy.
“That’s what they keep telling me,” Gabe said smiling, in an attempt to be charming. After shaking Patina’s hand, he awkwardly slid his hands into his pockets.
“I see. Well I trust your journey was without incident,” she continued, not waiting for a response.
“My associate, Alfred, will show you to your rooms so you can rest for a bit,” Patina said, turning and motioning to the short stocky man to her left.
“If you don’t mind, ma’am. We have sick people at home and we would like to get started right away,” Gabe pleaded.
“I do mind, young man,” Patina’s kind and welcoming demeanor quickly changed. Her body became rigid as she peered at Gabe.
“I am very busy. With all the things I have to tend to, your ‘investigation’ is not at the top of my priority list. You will have to excuse me now.” It was clear Patina was irritated by their presence.
“Of course,” Uri quickly chimed in with damage control. “We’re honored to be your guests.”
Uri walked over to Gabe, taking a tight hold around his elbow and dragging him towards Alfred. He grumbled under his breath, “Come on, Gabe. Let's do as we’re told.”
> Gabe stumbled alongside of Uri silently. Still feeling haunted by images from his dreams, he was willing to follow along without much protest.
“So that didn’t really take too long,” Gabe said.
“What do you mean? What didn’t take long?” Uri asked, confused.
“The trip here. I couldn’t have been asleep but for maybe a matter of minutes,” Gabe replied.
“We were in the air for almost eight hours.”
“That’s impossible,” Gabe argued. “I remember everything! It wasn’t that long.
“It felt like less because you were asleep. Everything in your dreams happens much slower, kind of the best way to travel in my opinion. I wish I could have been asleep.”
“Why? Did something happen?” Gabe asked.
“No, of course not. I just meant because it was a long and boring trip,” Uri clarified.
“Yeah. Well I can tell you, I would much rather have been awake than to have a demon in my head. It’s not something I would recommend,” Gabe added in anguish.
“So they found you?” Uri asked, confirming what Michael and he had expected would happen.
“Baal did.”
“Wait,” Uri stopped and grabbed hold of Gabe’s arm, turning him to face him directly. “How do you know it was Baal?”
“I have seen Baal before, Uri. It was him. Not to mention there were a million toads, so that leaves little doubt.”
“Gabe, this isn’t good,” Uri said almost sounding panicked.
“Yeah, tell me about it. He’s really messed up. He was toying with me. He acted like he was Sophie at first. Some really jacked up stuff, man. He kept saying he owned Sophie now and I might as well give up.”
“Don’t you get it? They didn’t send trackers looking for you. It was actually Baal who found you. I think maybe he was trying to get you away from Rampart Manor and the protection of it. We need to talk to their clerics. They have to know what we’re up against. Some minor little protection spells are not going to do it. They’re going to need a lot more to keep Baal away.” Uri sounded as if he were having the conversation with himself.
