Deragan Sword Prophecy: Book 02 - Meladrom

by Rosemary Lynch

  “Now do you see what I mean, it is almost as if I have written it, but obviously I have not!”

  “This is just all getting weirder and weirder,” Kainan muttered under his breath, puzzled. In the far corner of the chamber, Kainan spotted another dragon. He closed the book.

  “What are you doing, are we not going to read it?” Gareion questioned, as his brother walked away from them. Pulling the amulet from around his neck, Kainan turned, raising his eyebrows at them.

  “Do not you want to know where we are first?” He indicated to the dragon. Arweyn started after him.

  “Another door?” she asked, he nodded.

  “I want to see where this goes, we can read the book later, back at the castle.”

  “Are you sure we should go any further. I mean, I am as curious as you, but anything could be beyond that door.” Turning to her, he smiled, and raising his hand to her face, he rubbed his thumb on her cheek.

  “I have to,” he paused, looking deeply into her hazel eyes, before releasing her. Placing the amulet into the indentation in the dragon’s chest, he waited, as before it clunked and then opened.

  Kainan emerged through the opening first.

  “Where are we?” Arweyn whispered apprehensively, following behind him. Shrugging Kainan took another step forward.

  “It looks like some kind of a library,” he replied, whispering back and taking the amulet off Gareion. The door slammed shut. He glanced behind him for a second, and then began wandering around the room. It was surrounded floor to ceiling with books. Running her hand across a shelf, Arweyn coughed as layers of dust flew off and disbursed all over her. At the back of the room, floor to ceiling, was a stained glass window. Although covered in years of grime and dust, there was just about enough light coming through the beautiful coloured glass, for them to see. Wandering over to the window and peering out Kainan gasped aloud.

  “Oh you are not going to believe this!” he cried, spinning around to them, his eyes widening with excitement. “I think we are in the old castle of Malgar.” He hesitated, as he considered what it was he was actually saying. “We have crossed the boundary.” Arweyn felt a sudden shiver go through her entire body and the brothers exchanged startled looks.

  “Crossed the boundary,” she then repeated in a whisper, glancing nervously over to Gareion as they joined him at the window. They peered through together. Down below them was a courtyard, overgrown with years of shrubbery and vines, opposite them another part of the castle, including a tower.

  “Kainan how can this be it is not dark?” Arweyn remarked placing her hand on his arm. He rubbed her hand affectionately.

  “I know, but where else can we be? Perhaps the darkness has gone and whatever drove our people away has gone.” Kainan felt sure he was right, and this was the old castle of Malgar, where else could they possibly be? “Come on let’s take a look around,” he suggested, taking her hand.

  The three of them headed down a long corridor, it was cobwebbed and dusty, and in places, the stonework had fallen away from the walls and ceiling and had crumbled across their path, leading them to have to step over piles of rubble.

  “It is a mess,” Arweyn complained, brushing off another cobweb. Kainan smiled.

  “So would you be after five hundred years,” he remarked. She raised her shoulders in acknowledgement and smiled. As they turned the corner, there in front of them, was a large solid oak double-fronted door. Kainan turned the handle, it was quite stiff and rusted, using two hands he forced it, until eventually it gave way and opened, squealing loudly in the silence. Gareion cringed at the noise. If there were anyone or anything within earshot, it would most definitely have heard that! Inside was a large room, possibly a banqueting hall, as there were two rows of tables, and each row was long enough to seat at least twenty people. Chairs left discarded all over the room had years of dust and dirt all over them, giving them a dull patina. Picking up one of the chairs, Kainan began rubbing off years of dirt with his sleeve.

  “Gareion look,” he called to his brother, as under the layers of dirt, he revealed the Dermock coat of arms.

  “It is missing the swords again,” Gareion remarked. Kainan nodded.

  “I told you. I am certain this is our original family coat of arms.”

  “Perhaps, but why do we and father bear the royal mark with the two swords? Surely if this was our family emblem our markings would not have swords on them.” Kainan shrugged.

  “I do not know Gareion, perhaps something happened, something that changed us or our heritage.”

  “Why the two swords, and why do we only know about the Deragan sword, what is the relevance of the other sword?” Gareion questioned. “The legend of the Deragan Sword was quite clear so why not leave any knowledge about the purpose of the other sword and where is it?” He thought for a moment before adding, “Perhaps in the book it really did mean find another sword and it was not talking about the Deragan Sword.” He turned to his brother for an answer.

  “Perhaps we should go back and read the book, it may tell us something,” Arweyn suggested. Kainan nodded slowly. He wanted to read the book, but he was also desperate to investigate further and to look outside.

  “We will, but….” he hesitated as he looked at them both. “I want to see if we can get outside, or at least find a window or tower high enough to look at the land outside.” He looked between the two of them. “To see if there is anything out there.”

  “Are you sure?” Gareion asked, somewhat apprehensively. “Do you not think that perhaps, we should go back and get some soldiers, just in case?” He was concerned as to what they might find, as he was not as brave, or as impulsive as his twin was. Kainan shook his head.

  “No Gareion. I would prefer go back to father with greater knowledge of what is here. Perhaps it would be best if you waited back at the chamber, I can go on my own,” Kainan suggested. Gareion thought about it briefly and then shook his head.

  “No we should stay together.”

  “What about you Arweyn?” Kainan asked.

  “You know I go wherever you go,” she replied, raising an eyebrow. Leaning over he gave her a quick kiss on her cheek.

  “I thought you would say that.” Taking hold of her hand, he led her back out of the room. They began following another long corridor, which led deeper into the castle. It began to get dark, as there were no windows along this section. Seeing some old torches hanging from the walls Kainan stopped. Grabbing two of them he dusted off the cobwebs, ignited the flame on the end of his finger, and lit them, passing one over to his twin. Extinguishing the flame on his finger, they continued along the corridor in silence. They came to a halt, having a choice of two ways, to continue along the corridor or to go down a spiral stone staircase.

  “Shall we go down?” Arweyn asked, glancing at him. Kainan thought for a moment, and then nodded. He really wanted to find a way out of the castle, so going down was probably their best bet. Torches raised in front of them, the three ventured down cautiously. Between them, they swept away years of cobwebs and dust, which covered from one side of the spiral to the other, going right across and blocking their path. Kainan felt the dust in his hand, and strangely, it tingled in his fingers.

  “This feels really weird,” he said, looking at the dust and then glancing at Arweyn.

  “How do you mean weird?” He shrugged.

  “I’m not entirely sure it just doesn’t feel right, if that makes any sense.”

  She shook her head, not understanding what he meant, and watching as he wiped the dust down his trousers. They continued going downwards. Finally reaching the bottom, they left the staircase and began walking along yet another long dark corridor. Glancing all around them, they could see either side of them, portraits hung on the walls, as they were covered in the strange veil of dust nothing was clearly visible to them. It did appear however, that they were now on the ground level. Ahead of them, they could see a large arch-shaped oak door, to the right of which was another beaut
iful stained glass window. The young prince quickened his pace but Gareion was beginning to feel a little anxious.

  “Cautiously brother,” he urged, touching his shoulder. “I know you are eager to see what is beyond these walls, but take it steady.” Kainan flashed him a grin.

  “You worry too much,” he said, before winking at Arweyn. She grinned back at him.

  “One of us has too,” Gareion muttered, as he stood beside him. He loved his twin dearly, but sometimes he was just a little too impetuous. Approaching the window first and using his cloak, Kainan scrubbed at the grime, blue and white leaded glass revealed itself, and daylight began to shine through it. He peered out, squinting a little at the brightness, his heart racing with anticipation as to what he might see.

  “We are on the ground floor,” he confirmed, turning to Arweyn, his eyes alight with excitement as he lifted his eyebrows at her. Resting her hand on his shoulder she leaned passed him to have a look.

  “Wow Kainan,” she said gazing outside, her eyes searching quickly. Moving back, she let an impatient Gareion see.

  “It looks like the courtyard,” she said, turning to him. Kainan nodded eagerly back at her. Turning his attention towards the door, he walked over to it and studied it. It obviously was not the main entrance, as it was nowhere near big enough. However, it was made of solid oak and had a good set of strong iron bolts. He tugged at the locks but they appeared rusted.

  “Let me try,” Arweyn offered, pushing in front of him. Taking a deep breath, she thought hard. Pointing her hand towards the lock, she commanded.

  “Esperai elate mistoria operan.” Instantly the bolts slid open. She smiled smugly, turning and looking at the brothers, both of whom were looking back at her with surprise written across their faces.

  “Cool,” Gareion said, nodding, clearly impressed. Kainan smiled at her, he grabbed her around her waist, drew her to him, and kissed her.

  “You are a show off,” he whispered, as he broke from their kiss. She smacked him playfully. Gareion raised his eyebrows, and shook his head at the pair of them, before pushing open the door. Grabbing her hand, Kainan followed quickly after his brother, stepping outside cautiously. Heads turning, the brother’s hands on their swords, they spun around eyes searching every corner for trouble, but thankfully, nothing presented itself to them. Eyes still wide, they stared in both awe and disbelief at the magnificent castle, which now surrounded them. It was so incredibly beautiful, even in its currently derelict looking state. Along from the small door that they had come out of was what looked to them like the main entrance to the castle. The two huge oak doors closed securely, and the fine white granite stone entrance, now overgrown with brambles and weeds.

  “Kainan it is so beautiful,” she whispered, her heart thumping strangely. He did not reply straight away, but instead stared for a moment in silence, his eyes fixated on the castle before him. He could sense a strong familiarity with it, somewhere deep down inside he knew he had been here before. Arweyn was frowning deeply as she too studied the castle. Catching her expression Kainan turned to her.

  “What is it?” he asked. She shrugged unsure.

  “I do not know. There is just something. It all feels very familiar.”

  “I thought that too,” he replied, his eyes returning to the castle, as he began studying the windows, the walls, and its every feature.

  “It is quite like our courtyard,” Gareion mused and they both nodded. It was in many ways, although there was no fountain in the centre of this courtyard. They began wandering around taking in all of the building that surrounded them. Turrets rose high from the four corners of the courtyard, green ivy covering them from top to bottom. There were huge wooden gates which sat to the front and were flanked either side by battlements. A staircase rose from each corner, which led up to the watchtowers and walls surrounding them. Just off the main entrance to the castle and in the far corner was a smaller wooden door, giving access through the wall into somewhere. Arweyn stared at it.

  “You know something is not right. I really feel like I know this place. In fact I am quite certain that that door over there goes through into the walled kitchen garden.” She pointed with her finger at the door. Kainan followed the line of her finger and nodded.

  “Yes but perhaps Gareion is right, there is a door that goes from our courtyard into the kitchen garden at home.” She nodded.

  “Yes you are probably right, sorry.” He took her arm

  “No do not be, I know exactly what you mean. Let’s go and have a look.” She allowed him to lead her towards the door before pulling him to a halt.

  “But,” she said, lifting a finger to him. “Our garden does not have a pond with a mermaid sat within the centre, right?” Kainan raised an eyebrow at her, and shook his head slowly.

  “No it does not,” he agreed.

  “Okay, let’s go and have a look,” she said, her hand slipping up his arm. She gripped him tight as they approached the door, actually feeling a little bit nervous, she rather hoped in one way that there would be a fountain, but then she also hoped at the same time that there would not be, otherwise what explanation would she have? Kainan tried the door, it was stiff, but with a little bit of brute force he pushed it open. They walked through. It looked like it had indeed been a kitchen garden at one time, but now it was incredibly overgrown and wild looking.

  “Well you were right it was a kitchen garden,” Gareion commented as they wandered through. Arweyn’s eyes scanned her surroundings, this was not the same as the garden back home, but she definitely recognised it. They turned a corner and there it was. All three stopped dead, totally stunned. There in front of them was a huge central pond, and right in the centre was a mermaid. Covered with ivy and brambles, there was no longer any water in the pond, but it was quite clearly a mermaid.

  “Well I will be….” Gareion muttered under his breath. Kainan turned to her she was still staring at the pond.

  “How could I have possibly known that,” she said finally, glancing at him. Kainan shook his head and approached the pond, lifting a foot, he lent on the edge of the raised stonework.

  “I have absolutely no idea,” he confessed, frowning puzzled. Pushing off the side with his foot, he began to wander. “Come on let’s have a quick look around.” They began wandering through the overgrown garden. Arweyn came across a white arbour, it was covered in ivy, pulling the ivy apart she stepped inside and began running her fingers along the inside of the metal structure. She pulled at the ivy revealing a seat; she sat down deep in thought. Something about this arbour made her shiver. Kainan popped his head through.

  “What you doing?” he asked. Breathing deep, she stood up and shrugged.

  “I do not know, it just all feels so incredibly weird. It is almost like pieces of a memory, that is there but I cannot quite remember fully.” He smiled at her offering his hand she took it.

  “Come on let’s take a look out there, see if it jogs anything,” he said pointing to another door that was just about visible through the rambling ivy that covered it. “Gareion,” he called to his brother. Gareion jogged over to them, and together the brothers began pulling the ivy back revealing the door fully. The six bolts that locked it were stiff, but with a few hard push and shoves, they managed to slide them open. Arweyn followed the brothers through the doorway. Stopping abruptly, they faced a massive moat and no way of crossing it.

  “This way,” Kainan said, pointing to a narrow pathway that edged tight against the castle wall. Following one behind the other they made their way towards the entrance of the castle. The castle gates themselves firmly closed, but the drawbridge thankfully was down. Climbing up onto the drawbridge, they walked across it, stepping out into a street.

  “It is the city of Malgar,” Kainan whispered, wiping the back of his hand across his mouth as he looked up and down the deserted street. It was eerily quiet, and Arweyn felt a cold shiver run down her spine, she gripped hold of his back.

  “Kainan, what if there
are people still living in here?” she whispered a little fearfully. He shook his head doubtfully.

  “I would not have though so, it looks completely deserted, see most of the buildings are derelict or have collapsed.” They peered inside the houses as they began wandering down the street, most of their roofs had fallen in, the inner walls collapsed into piles of rubble. They continued, passing overgrown gardens and abandoned animal pens.

  “Oh this is so creepy,” Gareion moaned in a whisper, his hand firmly on his sword. “How far do you think it goes?” he asked. Kainan shook his head.

  “I have no idea,” he replied, his hand also on the hilt of his sword, just in case. The three continued cautiously, stepping over debris and brambles that had grown and pushed their way up through what used to be a road.

  “Kainan, do you think we should start heading back. We have been gone a long time?” Arweyn whispered, too afraid to speak loudly in case there was anyone or anything lurking in the derelict buildings.

  “She is right brother, we should be getting back. Alys will be wondering what is happened to me.” Kainan sighed he did not want to go back. His desire for exploring this place had been well and truly ignited. He hesitated in replying to him. Unexpectedly a dark shadow passed over them.

  “What was that?” Kainan asked, startled. “Did you…”

  “Yes I did,” Gareion interrupted. Kainan grabbed Arweyn’s hand.

  “Quickly get under cover,” he ordered, pulling her with him as he darted towards an old house. The three ducked inside just as a huge shadow passed over again. Kainan wiped a hand over the dirty glass of a window, and peered outside, but he could not see anything. They waited a while.

  “We really should get back Kainan,” Gareion said eventually, with a slight tremor in his voice.

  “Yes, I have things I need to do,” Arweyn added quickly, eager to be leaving as well. The young prince looked at them both, and as much as he wanted to investigate further, he knew they should be getting back, Arweyn was right it they would be missed soon.