Valo

by Jonathan Kuiper

  “Am I really that important?” Had the light from the tree been brighter, the red forming on Luza’s cheeks would have been more apparent.

  “You are. You have to be.”

  “Aside from helping my self confidence which you are doing a great job with right now, what does the old bird know? I agree with you that Keira doesn’t have the right to judge what you did. Last week she was sitting at home not knowing anything of our world.”

  “Exactly,” he walked over to examine the turkey fountain, “like this ancient fountain. It’s been here for over a thousand years. She could care less on what it can do and one what it represents.”

  “She’s stubborn,” Luza said.

  “I think what is lost in all of this and of course no one wants to just say it.” He peered into her bluish amber eyes.

  “The Great Mother,” they said in unison.

  “There it is. I took an oath to protect you at all costs. It’s you Luza not Keira who is our last hope.”

  Luza wanted to wrap her arms around the lanky boy when the water in the fountain began to change color.

  “What is going on?” Luza pushed herself away from the fountain.

  “I don’t know. I’ve never seen this before.”

  “Have you even been around these at night?”

  Riley shook his head. “No.”

  “Why this one though? The other ones are the same as before.”

  The chiseled turkey sculpture became more animated by the second. Even the tone and texture shifted away from solid stone to a living turkey.

  “Should we take a step back?” Luza looked on in awe.

  “Why would you want to do that Princess of the Northern Wood and you Prince of Perucica?” The voice was high pitched and rhythmical. “Step closer my children. Nothing can harm you here, unless you fear seeing what could come to pass.”

  “I don’t think this is a good idea,” Riley took Luza by the hand.

  “Stop it Riley. Look at those eyes, those beautiful emerald green eyes.”

  “Yes child. Look in my water and see where your current path will take you.”

  She squeezed onto Riley’s hand and brought him closer to the fountain.

  “It’s not like we can fall into this fountain. I can’t look away from those eyes. For that matter look at the water and all those shades of green that I never knew existed. Isn’t it wonderful?”

  “Breathtaking. But why now? What do you want from us?”

  The turkey gobbled. “What I want? I don’t want anything save to show you what you need to know. There’s no harm in that right?”

  “We can use the help,” Luza admitted.

  “I don’t —”

  “It will only take a minute. Just touch the pool with the pads of your fingers. Don’t break the surface though, just enough for the water to know.”

  Riley was resisting the urge to touch. Nevertheless, he was taken by the eyes. They called to him.

  Luza stood by his side. Even as Riley held out that last bit, still not completely taken by the words of the turkey; Luza had fallen under his spell.

  She reached over the edge of the fountain and placed the pads of her right hand on top of the water.

  Suddenly, the water in the fountain exploded and everything went dark.

  * * *

  The stars were clearer than any night she had remembered. They were so bright and large over the lake. Luza and Riley stood under a huge oak tree that served more like a vast umbrella that would protect an entire family from a late summer storm. Tonight, the air was crisp and cold.

  The lake was frozen over and the ice was dark and menacing. Crackling sounds of the settling ice filled the air. There was no breeze to speak of and no light at all save from the stars above. Even the moon had disappeared this night. A long shadow had covered the celestial object and there it was blocked from view, save one little sliver.

  “Is this home?” Riley asked.

  Luza nodded. She wanted to tell him everything. She knew it was only a few minutes to her mother, the same mother that told her to undertake this foolish mission. Not far down from where they stood was where the Great Mother had appeared to her family. Certainly Riley would be interested in that very spot too.

  Yet, Luza said nothing. She had been here recently and had seen all of this.

  “This isn’t going to end well,” she said.

  “How do you know?”

  “Can you hear them coming?”

  Riley listened carefully. He and Luza heard the racing of paw prints across the hardened ground. There were others, almost too many to count, in close distance.

  She pointed to the path and to her cousin Freddo, fat though he was, waddling at a speed he had never a reason to travel before.

  “We need to help him!” Riley yelled.

  Luza sighed. “There’s too many. You’ll see.”

  Behind him, a pack of wolves were in pursuit. These weren’t the ones from the adjacent territory; those the foxes had learned to avoid and manage daily life with. No these wolves were different. Their fur was a matted grey and not the familiar white. These wolves worked as a unit. Far bigger than any wolves Luza had even seen, Riley knew exactly where they came from.

  “Sohon’s elite guard,” Riley clasped his left hand. He took Bilal’s carved knife from his belt and got into a defensive posture. “Get behind me.”

  “No I can’t let them get Freddo.”

  Boldly, she jumped out away from the safety of the tree and on the center of the path.

  The wolves continued to gain on Freddo.

  “Get away from him!” she screamed.

  “What are you doing? You aren’t supposed to be here,” Freddo wailed as he came to a sudden halt at her feet.

  “Freddo warn the others before it’s too late.”

  “She lied. This is the end for all of us,” he cried.

  “It can’t be,” Luza said. “Riley we must do something.”

  Luza did her best to slow the approaching wolves.

  The lead wolf ignored the teen, ran past her, and sunk his sharp teeth into her cousin’s now lifeless body.

  The majority of the pack continued on their way, with the exception of three wolves that slowed to face the princess and the boy.

  Riley stepped forward, waving the knife in front of him.

  “It’s going to take a lot more than that to do anything to them,” Luza cried.

  “I’ll go down fighting I promise you,” Riley said.

  Those were his last words. Two of the wolves attacked and brought the boy down to the cold hard ground.

  Shaking, Luza cried out, “This isn’t how it was supposed to end.”

  The third wolf snarled and howled. “Your family is gone. The prince is now gone. You Luza of the Northern Wood will remain here alone and afraid. No one goes against the King.”

  “I’d rather die,” she said.

  “That can be arranged too,” the wolf motioned to the two wolves that had ended Riley’s time on Earth.

  The three of them turned towards Luza and then everything went black.

  * * *

  Everything was quiet and dark.

  “Are you there my prince?” Luza said softly.

  “What’s left of me,” Riley replied.

  “I know. That’s the second time I have seen that. It can’t be what is to come can it?”

  “Quiet, someone is here.”

  “How do you know? Where are we?”

  He nudged her gently. Luza reached out and grabbed his hand.

  The creek of an old iron door slowly opened. The once utterly dark room began to take shape.

  With each strand of light entering from the hallway, Luza saw the closed off antechamber the two were being held in. Straw covered the otherwise cold rock surface. A bucket of stale water hung on a nail in the corner of the room.

  “Out! The King is ready to see you.”

  Luza looked at Riley. He squeezed her hand and then released it jus
t as quickly as he stepped forward into the hallway.

  A muscular guard with the sign of the red pig embroidered on his white tunic made it clear where they had ended up.

  “The King wants you too, freak.”

  Luza pointed at herself. “That’s a little harsh. Do you have something against girls with fantastic hair?”

  “I have permission to end your life right here.”

  “Then do it,” Luza egged the guard on.

  “Stop Princess,” Riley intervened between the two sides. His efforts earned him a spiked club to his chest, causing him to fall to his knees. Blood trickled through his shirt.

  “You two have a choice. You can come along nicely to see what the King has prepared for you or I have permission to deal with you accordingly.”

  The bearded guard made no qualms on what he preferred as he held his weapon close.

  “Let’s just see,” Riley winced with pain.

  Luza helped him stand. The guard prodded them both down the basement corridor.

  Their walk was brief. As the guard directed them up the stairs to the side entrance of the throne room two loud screams filled the air. Cheers, clapping, and foot stomping ensued.

  Another guard opened the massive metal throne room doors.

  At the sight of his parents’ corpses in the middle of the throne room, Riley lost all control. He tried to change form but couldn’t. The bearded guard hit Luza over the head and she fell hard to the ground.

  On the raised throne, there was Sohon himself. He was a feeble man who looked older than his mid fifties age partly from his baldness and the fact that his pig shaped nose made his blue eyes look unsightly big and round.

  He wore boots with several added inches of padding. Covered in a plush, royal purple robe his lined pant suit was mainly hidden from view. Standing next to the King was a familiar face. Keira held a scepter in one hand. She leaned down to whisper some words into Sohon’s awaiting ears.

  He covered his mouth and spoke a few words to her. With a smile and a proceeding laugh, the teen nodded to the guards.

  “You were supposed to be one of us.” That was the last thing Riley said as the guard’s club hit him directly in the face and he collapsed next to his fallen friend.

  * * *

  The fountain was broken in two pieces with the water drained out and the teens on the ground thrown twenty feet away. Gone was the turkey and all that remained were the emerald eyes only inches away from Riley’s feet.

  “Is there anything happy? This is no future my prince.”

  “Are you okay?”

  “I think I’m fine. I don’t know. My head is ringing and those eyes I can still feel them looking into my soul.”

  “Just don’t touch them. Let them be. Anything that would show us that monstrosity can’t be good,” Riley lamented.

  “It’s got to be a trap.”

  “I disagree. Everything we have done till now seems logical to what we just saw. Sohon is going to react. He has to.”

  “Does that mean my family? The Great Mother promised they would be protected.”

  “If he controls everything she can do nothing. We have to stop him.”

  “What about Keira?” Luza shot a concerned look to her friend.

  “We don’t know anything about Keira and what she might do. Even now she doesn’t listen to our counsel. She certainly doesn’t listen to me.” Riley offered his hand to Luza.

  She took his hand and stood.

  “She would never betray us.”

  “I wouldn’t be so sure. I saw her standing next to Sohon.”

  “Come on Riley, Keira just wants to be with her father and mother.”

  “That’s what I’m afraid of. She will do anything for them, even if it means giving up the kingdom in return. The kingdom means nothing to a girl who grew up in the backwoods of New Hampshire of all places.”

  “But —”

  “No Luza. We can’t trust her. We shouldn’t trust her,” he whispered. “I know she’s going to betray us. There’s no doubt in my mind. Even now, think about how she has been towards me and you. That’s not someone we can rely on.”

  “I don’t want you to be right.”

  “I don’t want to be right either, but look at us? Where is she now? There is no team with Keira. She is always focusing on herself. If she could I’m sure she would leave this place without us even knowing. I don’t trust her. I never will especially not with this omen.”

  “My prince, perhaps you are getting your personal feelings too wrapped up in this. She fought for us against Bilal.”

  “No she fought for her survival, nothing more. Mark my words. We have to focus on each other, at all costs. If we follow Keira she will lead us to our deaths.”

  Luza thought better of Riley’s last comment. Her bond with the princess was different. While she wasn’t sure if Keira would betray them, she also didn’t know whether Keira would be willing to sacrifice what was necessary to insure the preservation of the kingdom from the likes of Sohon and the other forces that were working against them.

  Riley squeezed her hand and smiled. “We can count on each other. I promise I’ll be with you to the end.”

  Something didn’t feel right, but Luza cast any doubt aside and fell eagerly into her prince’s awaiting arms.

  Chapter 13

  On the other side of the island, far from the ruins of the stone fountain, Keira was led by the old loon to an area she didn’t expect to find. Several large fires burned near the rocky cliffs and ledges that looked out onto this section of Moosehead Lake. The fog, ever present, was far enough away that it seemed more like a distant friend than a nuisance.

  As at the place Keira and the others disembarked, granite boulders dotted the perimeter, some hidden in the fog, and others closer to the shoreline, jagged and slick. Even so, this place was warm and inviting; whether it was from the heat being given off by the fires, or the fact the lake below released a steam into the evening air.

  “Charlie, what is that?” Keira pointed to the water below.

  The loon looked up at the tall teenager. “Our winter watering hole.”

  “Does it always steam?”

  “It certainly doesn’t get cold my child. Come take a closer look.”

  He waddled to the edge of one of many cliffs. Careful to not lean to far forward, Keira noticed the significant drop off to the rocks below.

  She watched the steam continue to rise. A multitude of ducks and geese bathed in the fresh water.

  “Is this your way of keeping the water fowl close?”

  “It doesn’t deter them from coming that’s for sure.”

  Keira smiled as she saw several mallards play in the warm spring.

  “I’m glad you have company.” The princess was preparing to take a closer look at the nearby fires when the crystal clear water caught her eye. “It can’t be.”

  Under the steam and the swimming of many birds, the water glowed.

  “This is about that time.”

  “For what?”

  “The crystals. From now until an hour before dawn, they will light the water with the likes of a show your eyes have never seen.”

  “The birds in the water they don’t mind?”

  “They are birds why would they?” The Great Loon laughed. “Come on now, there’s more than just a little water.”

  “I don’t get it though. How does this fall into your, um, webbed feet?”

  “Fall is a good word child. We were given this as a neutral party in an old feud between neighbors.”

  “Faeries?”

  “Yes, you might be familiar with their work.”

  Keira wanted to mention the garden and the salamanders but she knew the real reference. “Diana’s Baths.”

  “The human name,” the bird squawked, “for the ongoing struggle between good and evil.”

  “Sort of like my dad and Sohon I suppose.”

  “Perhaps Princess. Still my fellow loon’s can call this home w
hen they need it to be. We are an isolated bunch to begin with, but when December comes, more will arrive.”

  Chirping filled the air, the farther away from the ledge the pair walked. Keira searched for the source when she noticed a nest made up mud, grass, moss, and pine needles fifteen feet from where she stood.

  The nest was close enough to the fire for the necessary heat and to the ledge for a quick escape.

  “May I?”

  Charlie nodded to the teen. Keira crouched down and looked at the make shift nest. Two baby loons cried out.

  “They are so cute. Are they yours, Charlie?”

  “They’re not Birchard’s I can assure you. My mate is in the water as we speak.”

  “I’m glad they weren’t all lost.”

  “This pair is from after. Bilal didn’t leave any survivors.”

  Turning away from the baby loons, Keira looked back at the Great Loon. “No survivors?”

  “None. We had so many here, so many families all in one place. They had to act after a long, cold winter.”

  Keira sniffled at the realization of what happened. “I still don’t understand why. None of you are in the war. They were children.”

  “War impacts us all even the ones that don’t choose sides. Cold hearted killers don’t care as long as the message has been sent.”

  “It’s not like you left the island, right?”

  The Great Loon lifted his beak. “No child. But then again even if the war was on the other side of the world, violence can strike anywhere at any time. It doesn’t need a reason. You can see that for yourself as you’ve been dragged into events that until a few days ago had no bearing, no meaning on your daily living. The fence sitter is the first to be impacted and then if they are wise, a side they will choose.”

  Keira let the words sink in as she cupped her hands and waited for one of the babies to leave the nest.

  “They need to rest.”

  She frowned, unable to hold the little birds.

  “So this was the spot?”

  “Closer to the trees. That’s where our brethren keep their nests, all of the birds that winter here. Even now you’ll find hatchlings and little chicks from our dear friends the ducks and the geese. As for loons, I was never one for trees.”

  Resting her hands on her hips, Keira felt off. She was amazed at the beauty of this part of the island, but things didn’t feel right to her either. Even with the Great Loon’s tour, there was a sadness that lingered over this area. Whether it was Charlie’s nest or back at the tree line, there was an undertone, a reminder of what had happened months earlier.