“You can make more.”
“That requires the goblin king to command it. We can’t make more willingly.”
He cuts across the road, down into a valley of shimmering blue. She almost trips going down. “This is the valley of Gresha. She is the serpent that floods the holes of Drevil.”
“How cruel.”
“She does it because he betrayed her. He stole her most precious pearl. It changes from white to black when the balance is shifted beyond control. When it is white, everything is as it should be.”
She keeps close to Krill. “If Jegorgon was to acquire the pearl, could he use it to tip the balance in his favor?”
Krill holds Andrea’s hand as they enter the pool. “I am a goblin but it doesn’t mean I know everything that my king is thinking. Do you know everything that your king thinks?”
“No. Is this safe?”
“Walk slowly and be quiet. We are going to ask Gresha nicely if she will flood Drevil’s tunnels and force him to the surface. Makes it easier to locate him.”
They walk carefully towards the center where a golden altar sits halfway out of the water.
Emily and Linus stop at the foot of the valley of the dancing needles. “Goodness.”
“This is a nasty bit of work. I tried navigating in there. To find the treasure. I am beginning to think that there is no treasure.”
“They aren’t here. I told you we should have moved faster.”
“Let’s try across the road. There is the valley of Gresha.”
They climb up and out of the valley and into the valley of Gresha.
“There they are,” Linus says. He uses his spyglass to see further. “I hope they know they have to give the serpent something. She isn’t going to be pleasant for those who come empty-handed.”
Emily jumps down into the valley. Linus jumps down beside her. They enter the pool.
Krill and Andrea wait at the altar. Minutes fly by.
“Maybe she is gone,” Andrea says. “Ow.”
“What?”
“Something bit me. I should have took these off. My boots are going to be soaked now.”
“Get up onto the altar.”
Andrea climbs up.
Emily and Linus stop walking. “You feel that?” She puts her hand on the surface of the water. Her hand vibrates.
“Run for the altar.”
Andrea notices Emily. “Emily?”
Emily swims as fast as she can to Andrea.
“She is your friend?” Krill asks.
“She is. Emily, what are you doing here? Why did you follow me?”
“It’s good to see you again, Emily,” Krill says.
Linus helps Emily up.
The water vibrates more.
“She is coming,” Krill says.
She comes right out of the water. Her lower body is a snake’s tail with mermaid fins attached at the sides. Blue and green scales. Her body is dark brown. Her breasts are covered in seaweed. Her face is pure beauty. Purple eyes, ruby lips, and gorgeous black hair. She screeches at the intruders.
“Let me take care of this. I can charm any woman,” Linus says. He approaches the serpent. “Oh, great Gresha. Your beauty has brought me to you. Grant me my heart’s desire.”
Her tail comes out of the water and smacks Linus. He flies across the pool and lands hard against the water.
Emily walks up to the serpent. “That’s my friend you just hurt. You picked on the wrong assassin.” She readies her daggers.
Gresha screeches, causing Emily’s hearing temporary deafness. Gresha grabs Emily with her scaly fingers and shakes her violently. She dives under the water with Emily slashing away at the serpent’s hand.
“What can we do?” Andrea asks. She sees Linus’s body just floating. She swims hard to it. Grabs his daggers. She feels for a pulse. Gresha comes out of the water and tosses Emily down into the water. Andrea swims over to the altar, stands up on it.
Krill swims out to retrieve Emily’s body.
“Gresha!”
The serpent looks at Andrea.
“If you find Drevil and flood his tunnels, I will get back your pearl.”
She screeches. Then she brings her face down to meet Andrea’s. “What makes you think I want it back,” with a hiss to her voice.
“What makes you think that one of us won’t stab your cold heart?”
The serpent sticks out her tongue. It’s forked like a snake’s. “You have one day to get my pearl back or I shall eat your friends.”
“The goblin stays with me.”
“I don’t eat goblins.” She dives under. The water around the altar churns. Coming out of the water is Gresha in human form. Even more beautiful. Her naked body glistens with the water attached to it. “Why not ask the goblin to find Drevil?” She stands on the water like it is flat ground.
“He says it’s quicker if you flood his tunnels.”
“No. He doesn’t want to betray his own.” She gathers up water and forms a bubble. She looks deep into the bubble. A goblin appears. “He is close. Remember, one day.” She blows on the bubble and it flies out of the valley. “You better hurry.”
Krill and Andrea quickly run through the water. They reach dry land and climb up over the hill. The bubble is down the main road. They run. Poor Krill can’t run that fast but he does his best to keep up. They stop when they notice the bubble hovering over a hump to the side of the road.
“This is where I part ways with you.”
“I understand. I’ll get the pearl.”
“I want to tell you something. Yes, Jegorgon can use that pearl to tip the balance in his favor. You need to know why. That pearl, it’s just like your fountain. It’s a portal that isn’t made from magic. It’s made from the Vale. If you hold that pearl in your hands, you hold a piece of the Vale.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because every vale has their artifacts and relics. And we goblins love treasure of all kinds.”
“How many vales are there?”
“You may want to consider discovering what the other artifacts and relics are. You have one in your kingdom.”
“Krill?”
Krill hugs Andrea. He runs off down the road.
The bubble starts dripping. The dripping turns into a stream. Then the bubble cracks open fully and water floods the hump. The dirt breaks apart and exposes a hole. The water floods all the way down. Andrea tries to see down the hole but all she sees is water.
Drevil stops halfway down the tunnel and turns around. “Oh, no, not again.” He takes out his shovel and digs fast to the surface. The water is right on his heels. “Damn you, Gresha.”
Andrea spots dirt flying up. Drevil pops out of the ground. He dusts himself off and wrings out his boots.
Andrea taps him on the shoulder.
“Oh. Hello.”
“Drevil, you’re going to take me to the core of the Vale.”
“What? No one goes there.”
“You will take me as far as you can.”
He looks her over. He puts two and two together. The water is pulled out of the tunnel and travels back to the valley of Gresha. “I hope you don’t mind a muddy trek.”
16
Andrea has never been underground and it’s already her least favorite spot.
Drevil takes Andrea far from any of the known kingdoms.
Her feet are hurting. She takes off her boots and rubs her feet.
“No time to sit.”
“I have to rest. How much further?”
“I have never had to travel this far.”
“Then why is there a tunnel that goes here?”
“Because I am the best digger and I was asked to make a tunnel to here. But that doesn’t mean I ever came back.”
They see nothing but a dirt tunnel. Bugs start popping out of the dirt. She squeals.
“Can’t do anything about them. It’s their home.”
“Let us just hurry.”
Larger than normal w
orms wiggle towards Andrea. She is going to lose it. She holds onto Drevil. “Do you know any magic that can zap them away?”
“Goblins don’t perform magic. Those are afraid of bright light. Like a mole.” He brings his backpack around and pulls out an oval shaped crystal. “Rub this a few times and it should kick start the energy within.”
She rubs as hard as she can. “It’s not working.”
“Keep rubbing. It hasn’t been used in a while.”
The worms are getting closer. She can’t look back at them. She can hear them but she can’t look at them. She sees a spark. She keeps rubbing. The crystal is ignited. She shines the light over her shoulder. The worms let out a roar. She takes a peek. They are gone.
“What other handy things have you got in there?”
“I have many trinkets that will either help us or not. It’s really whatever I threw in there. I don’t actually watch to see what I pick up.”
She is almost in reach of his backpack. She looks down at the crystal that just saved her life. “Not a crystal.”
“What are you saying?”
“Nothing.” She tucks it into her backpack.
He feels along the walls, hitting the shovel into certain areas. He does this on both sides although he favors the right.
Andrea is having a hard time continuing. She’s hungry, tired, and unsure if Drevil means her harm.
“We are outside the known kingdoms and all their realms. We are on the cusp of the Vale.”
“How do you know?”
“The dirt is sweeter. Come try it.”
She shakes her head.
“There are no bugs here. The Vale remains pure. No bugs.”
They reach the end. No more tunnel. Just a solid block of dirt.
“You can sense him near. Is Jegorgon here?”
“No.”
“I hope this works.”
“Be careful up there. This man that you seek inside the Vale does not need to help anyone. He doesn’t care about who lives or dies, as long as he is able to maintain the balance. If he believed that Jegorgon was upsetting the balance, he’d kill him.”
Andrea stands back as Drevil opens the door. She climbs up and out.
“Hey. What about my trinket? It isn’t yours to keep.”
“Where did you get it?”
“I don’t remember. Give it back.”
She opens her backpack. “It’s Gresha’s pearl. You changed its shape and made it appear like a crystal, but it’s her pearl.”
“I thought it was a crystal.”
“Goodbye, Drevil.”
It’s freezing cold. She has nothing to wrap around herself.
“You’re going to die out there.” Drevil closes the door underneath.
She is as alone as she feels. The ground is mushy and reeks of sour milk. There are mountains and hills and valleys. It’s completely devoid of emotion and signs of life. She walks forward.
A person jumps down from the sky. He lands in front of her. She recognizes the black poncho. “You can help me defeat the goblin king.”
“Why would I do that?”
“Because of what he will do.”
“He hasn’t done anything but desire you.”
“I am not leaving here until you say you will help me.”
“Then you won’t leave.”
“Can you please not be a jackass?”
“Why did you seek me out? It’s too close to the core of the Vale. No one but myself may enter the core.”
“I want it all to end.”
“Come with me. I swear it’s safe.”
She walks alongside him. The emptiness opens up to a vineyard. She picks a red grape. She is starving. The vineyard opens up to a garden. Tall hedges surround it. She swings her arms around the butterflies flying around her body. They spin around her causing her to feel dizzy. She sits down and splashes some water on her face.
“This is lovely. This is my garden.”
He points down to where she is sitting. The fountain. She gets up. “Do you see now, Andrea?”
“It can’t be here. What is this place? A dreamland? A spell?”
“No. Your belief in your fantasy lover and adventures that you can’t have in that other world—it’s all here.”
The garden behind the fountain brightens and she sees a little girl playing with a little fairy boy. She pulls on his wings and he flies higher.
Andrea grabs her chest. “Why are you showing me this?”
“Because, as much as you have lived your life in that world, you have lived here too. But you have forgotten.”
“Are you saying that there is two of me?”
“No. But you did sort of split yourself. You allowed your adventurous side to bring you here, where you were born. But when your parents brought you to the other world to live a normal life, this Andrea that took over, that’s the one that you see as your reflection. You have forgotten your true whole self. That is what the Vale is trying to show you. It’s what Jegorgon is afraid of you remembering. He needs you to stay vulnerable and broken.”
“Cornelius is Wesley.”
“Yes. He split himself as well. You see, Wesley isn’t allowed back in the Vale.”
She looks away. “Why?”
“He failed at keeping you out of the Vale. There was a specific time for you to return and Jegorgon kept bringing you back in by using Cornelius. But Wesley should have let Cornelius be the one to get you back.”
She faces away from the fountain. “Can I go home, to the other land?”
“Yes. But now that you’ve been here a while, the two lands are no longer separated. Jegorgon doesn’t need to use human bodies as his host anymore.” She takes out the pearl. “Don’t ever let Jegorgon get a hold of this. Return it to Gresha. She will keep it safe.”
“Who are you?”
He looks around and up at the sky. “Elaine loved this place. Said that she couldn’t wait to see it again. I’d say that when you leave, all you have to do is just look over your shoulder and see your home. Jegorgon is bringing with him people that shouldn’t ever leave this Vale. Use the fountain for good. Don’t let Jegorgon use it to influence you. Forget the Andrea that you split. Be the whole Andrea.”
“What is your name?”
“Don’t forget to bring your friends to the battle.” He waves his hand and white iron gates appear. “Go through, Andrea.”
Wesley and Cornelius stand side by side before the fairy court. The council leader comes forward. “Do you, Prince Wesley, assume your responsibility as heir to the fairy kingdom?”
“I do.”
“Carry on then.”
Wesley looks at Cornelius. They touch hands. Wesley slowly walks into Cornelius. The two become one with Wesley’s image prevailing.
“Where are your wings, son?” the king asks.
Wesley feels around his back. “Cornelius ripped them off.”
Little Andrea is playing by the fountain. She reaches into the water and grabs at the image of adult Andrea. They touch hands and adult Andrea comes out of the water and little Andrea fades into her.
17
Andrea pulls into Abbey’s driveway.
Abbey comes outside and is followed by Mark and their daughter. Wesley gets out of the car and shakes hands with Mark.
“Where have you been?”
“Busy.”
Mark and Wesley get into a heavy conversation. Andrea walks around the road with Abbey and her daughter.
“Lily, go and play with your friends while I talk to Andrea.”
Lily runs to the house next to them.
“Things have been so good in Coral Gardens since good vibes were placed here. But there is something that happened last night. Inside the forest.”
“What?”
“It’s better that I show you. Come, Mark. Let’s show them.”
Abbey and Mark lead Wesley and Andrea over the bridge and down the path leading to the stream. They go down a narrow path and end up near the
lake.
Andrea notices it first. “Wesley, it’s the valley of Gresha.”
“It nearly took our daughter last night with its siren call.”
“That’s why we called you.” Mark grabs Abbey’s hand.
“You were lucky that Wesley and I were transported back here. The Vale knows that we need to be here.”
“You put the pearl back, didn’t you?”
“Not exactly. I didn’t have time.”
“He is using her to bring his army over.” Wesley turns to Abbey and Mark. “We may have to tell you something that we’d rather keep secret.”
Abbey and Mark show no fear.
Andrea walks closer to the lake and puts her hand in it. “He’s blended the two. The keeper was right. How did the goblin king get so powerful?”
“Okay. I can’t show you right now because my alter ego tore off his wings, my wings. And I can’t show you pointy ears because without my wings I am half fairy now.”
“Fairy?” Mark laughs.
“I knew this would end up in some fairytale story,” Abbey says.
“Andrea and I were born in a land similar to yours. People have often called them the Twin Lands. We had to come to this land because Andrea was in danger. The goblin king wants her. We have never found out why, but it could have something to do with her blood containing magic from the Vale.”
“Honey, are you following this?” Mark says.
“We fought against Jegorgon, the goblin king, a long time ago and we thought we won. But he’s so powerful. He’s human but he’s powerful. See, this fountain…”
“The fountain? It’s over here.” Abbey drags them all alongside the lake to a small garden full of roses. “There it is.”
“What happened to the one in my garden?”
“It’s a duplicate. He built another one,” Wesley says.
“Abbey, we can’t explain everything right now. We will send our best guards to watch over Coral Gardens.”
“Andrea, you promise me that you will be safe.”
“I promise.”
Andrea and Wesley stand in front of their old driveways. She takes out the gold quill and draws a circle. “There must be two of these here. It’s safer than using the fountain right now. Don’t you agree?”
Relics and Runes Anthology Page 102
