by Willow Rose
“Why is it so?” she asked.
“Because at night the witch is asleep. The ring can only work when she is awake.”
“What if she wakes up?”
“Then it has the power over us all again. It sees through her, it uses her body to fight and do its evil magic on us.”
“Is that why so many of you are a little … different?”
“Yes. The ring loves to turn us into strange creatures. Once you have looked into the red ruby it has the power over you and it can make us do anything it wants to, and turn us into anything it pleases. I used to be a hawk. The only thing I kept is my great vision. ”
“So how do we break the spell?” Sara asked.
“You need to take the ring off her finger.”
“But I thought that was impossible. I thought the witch tried that when she realized what it was doing to her?”
“She couldn’t. But you can.”
Sara sighed. She wasn’t so sure. All these creatures of the valley were now depending on her, too. And here she thought all she had to do was to get her hands on the crystal ball.
“So what happens if the ring comes off?”
The mole smiled.
“Then the spell is broken and we will all go back to who we were and so will this once so magnificent valley.”
“What happens if we fail?”
The mole sighed and looked at her.
“Let’s not think about that,” he said and got up. “Do you want something to drink?” he asked and gave them water. The last couple of days they had been saving their water to not run out so Manolo and Sara drank with great thirst until all the water was gone.
“Oh my, long journey?” he said.
The rest of the night, while they all worked to put together strategies and planning the forthcoming attack on the black castle—as the creatures called it—Sara couldn’t help but wonder what might happen the next morning. They would try and sleep all day, but what if the witch found them? They would be defenseless. She definitely knew that they were on that mountain, so she must be aware of their presence in the valley as well. It was probably the witch that sent the red birds too, she thought.
Therefore Sara decided to ask Marland about the witch’s army.
“We are the ones that are supposed to protect her castle from the outside. And we will, during the day. But not at night. Furthermore she has an army of evil spirits. We call them Sombra, which means shadow. Because no one has ever seen more of them than their dark shadow. They live in the castle with her and she sends them out when someone tries to get near.”
“What are those … Sombra?”
”They are the lost souls of the brave men that through time have tried to defeat her and take off the ring, but who were captured by its beauty and stared into it.”
“So if the spell is broken, they too would be themselves again?”
“I would think so, yes. They would be free to go to the land of the dead. The ring is what is keeping them here. Everything that is of evil in this valley comes from that red ruby ring.”
Soon dawn came and it was time for Sara and Manolo to rest. They decided to stay in the mountain pass and hide until the sun set again. Sara and Manolo said goodbye to the creatures that a few seconds later would spread out and disappear in what used to be a luscious marshland but now was no more than a bare and empty land that bore no fruit.
“So are you ready for this?” Manolo asked her while handing her half of their last piece of bread that the Will-o’-the-wisps had given them. It was dry and hard but Sara barely noticed.
“I don’t know,” she said.
“Just think about your little brother and about saving him, then you will be fine. I am sure of it.”
Sara knew he was right. Right now the task seemed staggering and she had a hard time seeing how they could ever get through it alive. But when she thought of her brother and parents there was nothing that could stop her. Maybe she should just start doing what Manolo always told her to. Take one step at the time.
She fell into a deep dark dream and was awakened by Manolo a few hours later. The day was old but the sun had not quite set yet even though it was hard to tell one darkness from another.
She felt Manolo’s hand on her chest, shaking her and saw him staring in front of her with a frightened look in his eyes.
At the entrance of the pass stood the big wolf. Its red eyes shimmered in the dark gray light. It was growling.
“What is wrong?” Sara asked.
“I think it is about to eat us,” he said.
“But …” and then Sara remembered. It was still day and the wolf was no longer their friend since it had no will of its own. The witch must have sent it to track them.
Sara got up while Manolo blew a great pillar of fire to keep the wolf away. The sight of the flames made it withdraw, but it didn’t go away.
“I don’t wish to harm it. It is our friend and we need it to be strong to help us fight the witch later tonight,” Manolo said.
The wolf growled again then it snarled and leaped towards them through the pillar of fire without getting burned. Manolo shaped a ball of fire between his hands.
“If this is the only way, then so be it,” he said and lifted his hand high with the flaming ball.
In that instant the darkness grew bigger surrounding them. As the wolf jumped once again and Manolo threw the ball of fire, the sun set and the day was over. The ball of fire hit the wolf and threw it backwards and made it fall on its back.
In that second the wolf landed in the dust, Sara feared for its life. She ran to it while Manolo shouted that she should wait.
“We don’t know when it will be itself again. The sun has only just set.”
But Sara would hear nothing of it. She ran to the wolf lying still on the ground, moaning from the pain the fireball had caused to it.
“What happened?” It was the voice of Marland the Mole. He’d seen the wolf lying on its back and ran towards it.
“William, oh no!” the mole said. “Don’t be hurt now. We need you. You are one of our strongest fighters. Please be well.”
The wolf seemed not to hear anything. It kept groaning. The wound in its stomach was bleeding.
”Quick, get some clean water, some Eucalyptus leaves, chamomile, catmint, agrimony and dandelion,” Sara yelled while trying to stop the bleeding with the winter jacket she got from the king of the Will-o’-the-wisps.
The mole sent the smaller creatures to the other side of the mountain to find the herbs and plants that Sara had asked for. Meanwhile, she held the jacket tightly to stop the bleeding.
It didn’t take the creatures long to return, even though it felt like it was forever for Sara and Manolo who were waiting at the wolf’s side. Manolo kept beating himself with guilt over hurting wolf.
“If you hadn’t done this it would have killed us,” Sara said. “There was no way out. You had to do something. Even if it was this.”
Sara mixed the herbs and plants and made it into a healing potion as she had seen her mother do when she would heal people. Sara only hoped that this would work on a giant wolf like this. Gently she put some of the potion on the wound and started reciting, “Stem the blood that is flowing through, seal the wound with skin anew. As I command it, so mote it be.”
Sara said three times the healing spell she had learned from watching her mother and then she stopped. All eyes in the night were upon her.
The wolf had stopped groaning and was completely still.
“She killed him,” she heard someone whisper, but thought nothing of it. She kept imagining the wolf being healed, believing in her own powers and praying for the spirits to help her.
As she did, the wolf opened his eyes. He looked at Sara and got up on his paws. The bleeding had stopped and the wound was healed.
A cheer of great joy burst out among the spectators. What a great day for the creatures of the valley of La Tierra Muerta. They had indeed a great sorceress among them, indeed sh
e was the one that was about to lead them to victory and freedom.
“Well done,” Manolo whispered as the creatures cheered on. “Have you ever done that on a wolf before?”
“I had never done it on anyone before,” she said.
Manolo went to the wolf and apologized. He explained what had happened.
“There is no time for regrets now,” the wolf said. “You did what you had to do, for I would surely have killed you if that was the will of the ring.”
Sara examined the wolf and it seemed to be strong and in very good health.
“You will both ride on my back to the black castle,” he said and bowed down so Manolo and Sara could get up.
The eagle soared high into the sky. Waiting for his signal, the smaller animals all climbed onto the backs of bigger ones to not slow them down.
The eagle made its signal and the creatures set off into the darkness of the night to claim their long awaited great victory.
17
THE LABYRINTH OF DARKNESS
Among the hundreds of creatures that were on their way through the dead marshland heading towards the black castle, quite a few were well-trained for this battle. For hundreds of years had they waited for this moment, and every night the marshland would be turned into a battlefield of creatures training each other for what they knew and believed one day was bound to come.
Some would fight with their teeth and claws, but several were trained to handle weapons such as swords and knives. Even the big flock of long-legged deer had bows and arrows that they had taught themselves to use by standing on only two legs and using their teeth to help.
Manolo had taken his small fish knife and given it to Sara so she could protect herself if she was attacked. She held it tightly as they rode across the marshland on the big wolf’s back. Manolo was sitting behind her.
Their small army of creatures was quiet as the night as it moved across the dead landscape. Sara and Manolo on the wolf were led the way for the rest. Behind them, the herd of long-legged deer ran with heads held high, proud and gracious, prepared to fight for their freedom.
In the sky, the big eagle worked as the scout. It kept an eye on the castle, prepared to signal them if anything came against them, if the Sombras appeared, even though it would be difficult to detect them since it was almost impossible to see a shadow in the night.
The plan was to let Sara and Manolo sneak into the castle, then Sara was supposed to take off the ring while the old witch slept, while Manolo would find the crystal ball. The creatures would only fight if necessary.
But that was in an ideal world, of course—a world where there were no Sombras and no Satali guarding the door. Sara remembered very well what the king had told her in the City of Lights. There would be a cat, not an ordinary one that they would have to pass, as well.
As the black castle revealed itself with its mighty black tower in the distance, Sara felt her heart in her chest. She had to take a few deep breaths to keep calm.
This was it. In there was her answer. This was what they had been waiting for, struggling through all kinds of trouble for. Whatever happened in the next couple of hours would determine if her brother lived or died.
And she was determined that he would live even if it meant that she had to die. She had, therefore, made a pact with Manolo. Whoever of them survived—if either one did—that one would bring the cure to Marius. That was the goal. That was what they had been fighting for.
Manolo had agreed without hesitation. She even made him promise to leave her at the castle if that was necessary.
“I want to hear you say you promise,” she said.
“Okay, I do …”
“Do what?”
“I promise to bring the cure to Marius whatever it takes even if it means leaving you here.”
Now as they sat on the back of the wolf riding towards the goal of their quest Sara felt more confident than ever. Afraid or not, she was going to make it.
By midnight the rebels had reached the foot of the black castle. Still there seemed to be no sight of the either the Sombras or the cat. Marland the Mole had told Sara that the Sombras were like living dead souls, that they guarded the castle and the witch day and night and that they were not, like the animals, dependent on whether she was asleep or not, since they were already dead and therefore had no will of their own.
Sara slid off the wolf’s back and stood at the great gate leading to the big black castle.
“Behind the gate you will find the Labyrinth of Darkness that you have to pass to get to the stairs leading to the castle,” Marland the Mole told her. “The labyrinth is made of tall brick walls. Many have been lost in it and few have reached the other side.”
Sara looked at the army of creatures.
“We cannot all go in there and get lost,” she said. “I suggest that we take a small group and walk through. The rest of you will wait here and keep guard.”
So they took off and left the rest of the army behind. They being: three of the deer that went by the names Devin, Ceren and Ayala (the female one that was supposedly the best shooter among them). The big wolf, William; Marland the Mole; the bat with the face of a cat, who called himself Nibbles; the human-sized hedgehog that walked on two legs having the face and the beak of a crow, called Grover; two mice named Angel and Apollo (a female and a male, naturally); and then there was Sara and Manolo. And, oh yes, of course, the giant eagle in the sky called Arnaldo.
Together they set off to find the one and only way through the labyrinth. Sara took the lead and the rest followed not looking back at the ones they left behind.
She began to wander through the labyrinth, encountering several dead ends and blind alleys, then turned around, tried another way while the others followed her in silence. No one spoke, no one made a sound. They were too close to the castle now.
A few corners later they encountered a thick mist that made them unable to see the ground below them and no more than a few feet ahead of them. Sara stepped very carefully, but even though she did, she occasionally stumbled over an unseen rock. As they walked, the mist seemed to grow, soon exceeding their heads. They could no longer see the path or even each other.
Marland the Mole spoke from within the mist:
“Let me lead you through, my hawk-vision can see through everything. I used to be able to spot an insect in the grass below me when I still could fly. A little mist won’t stop me.”
So they grabbed each other’s hands and let Marland pull them through the thick mist.
Soon it was gone and they came to a circle-shaped clearing. From it they could choose between seven roads to take—seven roads leading in seven totally different directions.
Sara sighed. Then she looked up in the sky at Arnaldo. Now it was his turn. From where he was, he was bound to be able to see which way they should choose.
She lifted her arm and signaled at him. The big bird dived and flew towards her. Then it circled a couple of times before it entered the path right in front of them. The one in the middle. Sara signaled the rest to follow her and they went in.
Sara sped up. The path they had chosen seemed completely deserted. She turned right and hurried. She kept looking in the sky to follow Arnaldo’s directions. It seemed to be working. She encountered no more dead ends or blind alleys. But they walked for long time and still there was nothing in sight and no signs that they were nearing the exit. The labyrinth grew taller and darker with every passing minute. Then they reached a second clearing this time with only three possible paths to choose.
Sara looked up.
“Direct us,” she whispered.
As if he heard her Arnaldo dived again and pointed towards her right, where there was no path, only a solid wall.
“This can’t be right,” she whispered.
The eagle kept circling over the wall and even sitting on it, so Sara approached it. She felt it with the palm of her hands. It seemed to be solid enough.
Then she pushed it. With all of her streng
th she pushed the wall until it started turning. Behind it another path appeared. When they entered, the wall slowly closed behind them.
The path ahead was empty, too, and when Sara reached a right turn she took it and again she found their way unblocked. She felt secure, until she turned the next corner and she saw a hyena blocking the way. Its head was slightly bent, its teeth snapping at them and it was growling making loud noises that Sara suddenly was afraid would wake up the witch. She approached it, but as she did its fur rose on the back. In one giant leap it jumped her knocking her down and causing her to hurt the back of her head as she fell. Its eyes were yellow as neon light in the darkness. It opened its mouth and showed off a set of razor-sharp teeth. Its claws ripped through her clothes. It lifted one of its claws in the air as if it was about to rip her face.
“No, please don’t,” Sara screamed while trying to cover up her face with her hand.
“I will deal with this,” William said and stepped forward. With one hit of the wolf’s paw, the hyena tumbled to the ground.
The hyena whined and, with a little stumbling, it got back on its legs and growled even louder at the sight of the big wolf approaching it. But by the time William had come close to it, it seemed to realize just how big its opponent was and the growling became more of a whining.
Seeing something in its eyes, Sara got back on her feet and then stepped forward.
“Sara be careful,” Manolo yelled.
But it was too late. Sara had made up her mind.
“Hyena, we will spare your life if you will tell us how to get out from here.”
The hyena whined.
“There is no way out. I have wandered these paths for years and years and never seen the exit.”
“You, too, are one of the animals Sensisaron has captured?” Sara said and kneeled in front of it.
“Oh yes,” the hyena replied with a great sigh. “I used to be the most beautiful nightingale, flying high in the sky. One day I was sitting in Sensisaron’s window in the castle, whistling my enchanting song, when I saw the ring. It was on her finger and I couldn’t help staring at it. The last thing I remember hearing was her ugly laughter. Then I woke up looking like this and she threw me in here. Since that I have been wandering trying to find the way out. And I have not been able to sing ever since.”
