by Gwynn White
Joshua took a deep breath and felt himself calming down. Since the Elder was listening to him, he felt he had at least broken the ice. Joshua tried to imagine what was going through the Elder’s mind.
“I lost a family member in those tribal feuds too. I had a sister who died at birth when Jemarrah marauders invaded Morelle years ago.”
The Elder straightened up shifted his eyes in deep thought. He tapped the arm of his chair with his fingers.
“If everyone just went on hating each other, we’d all still be at war, even today.” Joshua stared at him. “Is that really what you want? Is there no forgiveness in your heart? Not even for Sarah’s sake?”
The Elder shifted in his seat and his lip quivered but continued to say nothing. Joshua sighed. His shoulders sank and he looked at the floor.
“Sarah and I love each other,” he murmured. He noticed a tear welling up in the Elder’s eye. “Isn’t that the best that could come out of this situation? The alternative is for our people to continue to carry the hate.”
The Elder turned and looked Joshua in the eye.
“You really love my daughter?” he asked, glaring at Joshua.
Joshua nodded.
“Do you love her enough…to let her go?”
Joshua pondered this question, confused. “L…let her…go?” he asked turning his head as if to deny what he heard the Elder say.
“I will give you the Orb of Suffering on one condition. You must renounce your love for my daughter, leave Jemarrah and never return to this place.”
The two of them stared at each other. Joshua could sense the Elder was still in great pain. But then he then remembered the grave he had seen in the vision with Sarah’s name on the tombstone. The thought had troubled him deeply ever since the orb experience and he had been hoping to find a way to prevent that tragedy. Could this be that opportunity?
He was deeply in love with Sarah, and the thought of not being with her was tearing him apart. He also knew he could never live with himself if something happened to her. Would she be safer if they were not together? Would being apart keep her out of harm’s way?
The choice Sarah’s father was offering him was heart-wrenching. He was being asked to give up Sarah in order to save her life. Just the thought of having to decide was agonising and Joshua felt raging grief rising inside at the thought that this might indeed be the only way to save her.
He felt overwhelmed. Joshua thought about what the Oracle had said to him back in the cave. ‘The love you have found cannot last.’ Was the Oracle’s prediction coming true? Was this the inevitable moment the Oracle had foreseen?
By a cruel twist of fate, his intense love for Sarah would be the very thing that would now keep them apart.
“OK,” Joshua whispered. He felt exhausted. His only consolation was the thought that Sarah would be out of harm’s way. Perhaps she would live.
29
The Portallas
As Joshua was coming to terms with his fate, he heard a creak behind him. He looked over his shoulder to see the door slowly open. There in the doorway stood Sarah.
Joshua could see dried tears below her reddened eyes. Her father stood up and took a deep breath. He stood there in silence, his chin raised and his lips pursed.
“Daddy?” Sarah pleaded.
Joshua felt heartbroken at seeing her like this, but the Elder remained motionless.
Joshua caught Sarah’s eye. Although it tore him apart, he knew it had to come from him. Sarah needed to be convinced that he wished to end their relationship. Feeling numb on the inside, he spoke in a quiet, monotone.
“I’m sorry, Sarah. I have what I came for. It’s for the best we end it here.”
She burst into tears and Joshua’s anguish soared as he summoned all his inner strength to keep from breaking down in front of her. He turned to the Elder and glared at him. Joshua felt a deep anger towards the man but needed to hide his feelings to remain convincing.
The Elder turned to the fire and took the roll of cloth from the mantel. After looking down at it for a few seconds, he held it out. Joshua maintained his eye contact but his lip quivered as he reached out to take the third and final orb from the Elder.
He turned and walked over to where Sarah was still crying inconsolably. A brief glance at her was all he could muster as he desperately tried to shield his true feelings. Wondering whether this would be the last time he would see his beautiful Sarah again, he pushed the door open and walked out.
Joshua felt drained as he made his way back to the inn, where Andrew and Galleon were waiting for him outside. The sun had set and Jemarrah was now void of its earlier bustle. Smoke came from the buildings around the village centre and lights flickered from the windows. Everyone was settling in for the night and the hum of Dengles began filling the air.
“Where have you been all this time?” Andrew asked. Joshua didn’t respond. He just stared down at his hands and the roll of cloth the Elder had just given him.
“Where’s Sarah?” Galleon asked.
Joshua slowly lifted his head and stared into nothingness. He sighed with a vacant expression. “Sarah’s gone. I had to let her go. It’s the only way.”
With the tears still drying on his cheeks and his eyes glazed over, Joshua knelt down. He laid the roll of cloth on the ground before him. His hands were shaking as he reached into his keeper bag and pulled out the other two orbs.
Andrew and Galleon watched over him as he carefully unwrapped each roll of cloth.
The three crystals glistening in the light of the rising moon. Their sheer beauty captured his mind. He slowly reached for the orbs.
There was a swish, and Andrew flinched as an arrow came out of nowhere and drove into his leg. He fell to the ground, screaming in agony.
Galleon looked around frantically but there was a second swish as he, too, was struck by an arrow. It penetrated deep into in his shoulder, and he also dropped to the ground in searing pain.
Joshua looked up to see Melachor approaching. His bow was pulled back to his cheek, the arrow pointed straight at Joshua’s head. Blood dripped from the tips of Melachor’s fingers as they strained to hold the tension of the bow. Joshua could see pain written across the desperate man’s disfigured face. Melachor stopped just close enough for Joshua to see the whites of his eyes.
“Wait!” Joshua shouted. “I can save them! I can save your family. You don’t have to do this, Melachor.”
With sweat dripping from his face, the desperate man hesitated, trying to make sense of Joshua’s words.
“You don’t understand,” Melachor cried. His arms strained under the tension of the bowstring. The arrow was pointing at Joshua’s face, poised to shoot.
“He has them,” he shouted. “He’ll kill them unless I kill you.”
Joshua sensed the torment in his voice. “Don’t do it, Melachor!” Joshua shouted, shaking his head. “Listen to me! The Goat won’t let your family go if you kill me. Think about it! He has no reason to. But if I open the Portallas, I can save them. They can come through the Portallas and into this world. Please, you must trust me. It’s the only way.”
Joshua reached his hand out towards Melachor. “Please, help me to open the Portallas. Together we can bring your family and everyone else the Goat has banished back into this world.”
With the arrow poised to shoot and his arm shaking under the bowstring’s tension, Melachor peered hopefully into Joshua’s eyes. After a few tense seconds, Melachor slowly released the tension and lowered the bow to the ground. He shook his head.
“Please help them,” he said collapsing to his knees. “Please bring them back.”
Joshua bent down onto his knees again and looked at the three, glistening orbs, lying before him on the ground. He knew his friends were injured but he had to fulfil his destiny. Everything depended on it.
He picked up the Orb of Time. As he did so, loud screeching rang out and Blood-bats swooped in from different directions. Joshua remained calm and kept his f
ocus on the Orb of Time in his hands. No matter what, he had to keep his concentration.
Andrew, Galleon and Melachor surveyed the skies as Blood-bats were flying at them from all directions. Despite their wounds, Joshua’s two friends reached for their slingshots and began shooting at the foul creatures. Melachor joined them and launched his arrows into the air. The hideous screeching sounds pierced their ears, but they kept shooting.
Villagers came running out into the streets. Several armed Woodsmen joined them, and they too started firing at the Blood-bats darting between the buildings. With Melachor, Andrew and Galleon surrounding him, Joshua peered into the Orb of Time.
There was a flash of light and images formed and faded in his mind’s eye. One moment he was looking up at his mother’s face, and she was smiling down at him. He couldn’t hear anything but she was saying something to him. The image blurred and was replaced by another of his sister’s birth. His mother screamed in pain. That image lasted but a few moments before it was replaced with the image of Sarah’s mother being stabbed by his father.
The images were appearing and disappearing so quickly that it left him no time to react. There was an image of himself looking out his bedroom window at a swarm of Dengles through the evening mist. The next moment, Andrew was jumping through that same bedroom window. That image blurred into another of his mother whispering into his ear, saying goodbye to him. He then saw Andrew running towards him through a cloud of vapour, before his first sight of Sarah in a makeshift camouflage suit flashed briefly into view. Joshua was reliving his entire life, but it was all happening in a split second and he barely had time to process each image as it flashed past.
The image of Sarah blurred and faded away. He was now floating, suspended in a blue flame in a cave. Echoes of the Oracle’s voice rang through his mind and he could see Sarah screaming in pain before another blinding flash and the vision ended.
He looked down to see the Orb of Time drop to the ground between his knees. It was glowing and making a low-pitched hum.
Screeching Blood-bats continued to swoop in from all directions. Several had been speared by arrows from Melachor and the villagers but still more were arriving all the time and the air filled with the sounds of their high-pitched wailing. People all around were screaming with Blood-bats clawing at their heads and faces.
Joshua could make out the Elder launching arrows in quick succession at the bloodthirsty animals. Pandemonium reigned around him as the entire village battled the hordes of the Goat’s foul creatures swooping through the trees.
Joshua scanned the throng of people and could see Sarah ducking as a Blood-bat swooped in and just missed her. He looked down and picked up the Orb of Suffering. In his mind’s eye, all he could see was Sarah on her knees, screaming in terrible pain. Joshua’s sorrow and grief gripped him as it had never done before and tears welled up in his eyes. His love for Sarah was absolute. He was overcome with so much sorrow, he felt it would kill him.
A tear dropped from his cheek onto the orb. It started glowing and humming in tune with the Orb of Time. Joshua put the Orb of Suffering down and picked up the third crystal, the Orb of Vision. As he did so, a Blood-bat came swooping towards him with its feet and claws thrust forward. It was just about to grab him with its razor-sharp talons when a Raetheon came diving in and collided with it side-on.
The two beasts clawed relentlessly at each other but the Raetheon somehow managed to gouge its claws into the Blood-bat’s eyes. The wounded Blood-bat screeched in pain as the Elder launched an arrow straight through its heart. It keeled over and stopped moving. The Raetheon got up on its feet and morphed into the figure of a Woodsman. It was Protello.
“Quickly, Joshua!” the Metamorph shouted. “Activate the last orb! Open the Portallas!”
Joshua held the Orb of Vision to his face and peered into it. There was a swirling of clouds inside the sphere and a dark figure emerged.
Joshua was floating in a dark room. He felt disconnected from his body and an image of the Goat floated in front of him. Joshua could see the Goat’s dark eyes glaring at him and felt the malevolent creature’s unrestrained rage. The hideous creature’s anger consumed him and Joshua again saw images flashing through his mind. This time the images were evil. An image of Sarah being tortured flashed through his mind. She was being prodded with hot daggers and screamed in agony with Blood-bats hacking away at her face with their sharp claws. Joshua focussed his mind and tried to push the images to one side.
“It’s too late.” Joshua said in his mind. “Nothing you can do will hurt me now. You have helped me activate the third orb and now I can open the Portallas.”
The Goat roared with anger and thrashed His head violently. His screams of outrage echoed in Joshua’s mind. The rush of negative emotions tried to consume him. In desperation, he wrenched himself free from the link and the Goat’s howling image faded.
He looked down at his hands and the Orb of Vision was glowing and humming with the others in unison. He put it on the ground and connected it with the other two. When the three orbs touched they began to pulsate with bright flashes of light. The humming sounds grew louder. There was a blinding flash, and a shockwave threw Joshua and the others across the ground.
A swirling vortex formed above the three pulsating orbs and a different world gleamed in sunlight on the other side. Joshua had done it; he had opened the Portallas.
30
A Father’s Sacrifice
The gateway darkened and became filled by an image of the Goat. The hideous creature was furious. Joshua watched as the hate-filled animal looked up into the air and howled. He then stared at Joshua and a hideous smile formed. It lasted briefly before the Goat’s image faded. As it did, another wave of Blood-bats came flying through the trees, clawing at the villagers and tearing their flesh. People were screaming in agony and running around trying to escape from the bloodthirsty creatures of the underworld. Joshua turned to Galleon.
“Quickly,” he screamed, “we need to summon those on the other side.”
Galleon stood, clutching at his shoulder. With one glance at Joshua, he ran to the vortex, leapt in and disappeared.
Fresh waves of screeching Blood-bats streamed through the trees. There were hundreds of them flying in from everywhere, and they mauled the villagers mercilessly. Some people were trying to fight off two and even three of the demented creatures at the same time. Screams echoed in all directions.
Several villagers lay motionless on the ground with Blood-bats relentlessly tearing at their bodies and faces. Arrows flew in all directions as the Elder and the other villagers tried to knock the Blood-bats from the air. Several dozen Blood-bats had been struck and many more lay dead on the ground but new waves of fresh Blood-bats just kept coming.
Joshua looked at the vortex with wide eyes as people began jumping out in all directions, weapons aimed and launching. There was a mixture of imps and the other banished people from the Valley of Moross and they were firing their weapons repeatedly at the Blood-bats.
Swarms of arrows whizzed through the air every which way. More people streamed out of the vortex every second and they were all firing constantly. After several more minutes of mayhem, the piercing sound of the Blood-bats began to subside. One by one, the creatures of the underworld were shot from the sky until the dark forces of the Goat were vanquished and the last Blood-bat lay dead on the ground.
Joshua stood up and surveyed the battle scene. Hundreds of Blood-bats littered the ground. Several villagers had been killed in the onslaught. Many more were wounded. Some were being helped to their feet clutching at wounds.
Joshua stared at the vortex of the Portallas as a woman with two small children emerged. Melachor saw them and dropped his bow. He ran over and threw his arms around them, sobbing. Joshua felt a smile form across his face as he witnessed the tormented man reunited with his family at last.
With the dust settling, Joshua could see the Elder walking towards him with Sarah at his side. The Elde
r’s hands and arms were stained with blood. Catching Joshua’s eye, Sarah ran over and threw her arms around him. She held him tightly, crying. As she did this, a man came through the vortex.
Joshua’s eyes widened and his mouth opened. It was his father. Joshua’s father looked dazed for a moment as he took in the horrific scene of death all around him.
“DAD!” Joshua screamed at the top of his voice. His father turned and caught sight of Joshua with Sarah’s arms still wrapped around him. He beamed at Joshua and walked towards them. As he got closer, the figure of the Goat appeared on the other side of the vortex again. He stared at all the Blood-bats that lay dead on the ground, then locked his gaze on Joshua.
Letting out an ear-piercing roar, He raised His arm and a golden arrow formed in mid-air. With a flash, the arrow hurtled towards Joshua and Sarah at a blistering speed. Joshua’s father saw the arrow heading directly towards his son. He screamed and launched himself forward. The arrow struck him with full force in the chest and he fell. The Elder caught him before he hit the ground, the arrow impaled through his heart.
Joshua screamed and held his hands out as if to catch his father. Sarah looked over her shoulder at the sight of Joshua’s father, limp in the arms of the Elder.
The figure of the Goat receded into the vortex.
Joshua ran over to his father and kneeled before him. “DAD!” he cried. The Elder looked down at Joshua’s father. He put his finger against his neck to feel his pulse and shook his head.
As Joshua sobbed over his father’s lifeless body, the Elder gently reached down and closed the dead man’s eyes.
31
Joshua’s Destiny
Joshua was inconsolable and Sarah held him tightly. He had come so far and experienced such terrible pain. After an arduous journey, he had finally found his father but was unable to save his life.
