by Michael Dahl
Thora knew they were approaching their goal without having to read a map. She could sense the looming threat, and they were starting to respond physically. Louise’s voice had changed, seeming more mature. The younger girl holding Thora’s hand was growing taller, too. Pablo’s silhouette, up ahead, now included a helmet and weapons. Thora felt a new weight grow upon her shoulders as her armor started to appear once again.
“How’s your arm doing, Zak?” Thora asked. The boy behind her merely growled. She turned, and saw that Zak had the head and arms of a bear.
“That’s a good look for you,” Thora teased. A gruff noise that sounded vaguely like a laugh came from Zak’s throat.
Suddenly, Thora heard a familiar voice echo in her mind.
Thora … help me …
Thora had heard Bryce’s voice in her head once before — just outside the doctor’s house. Bryce had whispered to her, asking her for help. She didn’t know it was him at the time. Back then, Bryce’s voice had sounded strained and twisted — not like him at all. This time was different. He sounded like himself now.
Thora knew he was in danger. She knew he needed her help. “Bryce is here!” she said. She raced down the sloping tunnel toward the exit. The others quickly followed.
Soon, they plunged out of the darkness and into a vast, fiery chamber. Waves of burning magma thundered and rolled on every side. Thora didn’t stop. She kept running along the bridge.
Please … help me … Thora …
“Bryce!” Thora yelled. “Where are you?!”
“Thora, stop!” cried Mara.
Hideous creatures stood on both sides of Thora’s path, but they didn’t move to stop her. Their eyes were turned toward the center of the massive mesa.
That’s where Bryce is, Thora thought. I will save you this time, big bro.
The others ran hard, trying to catch up with her. As Thora neared the center of the mesa, she saw a gigantic statue with a flaming crown atop its head. At the statue’s feet was a group of humans lying on their sides. All of them had golden chains around their hands and legs. Nearest to her lay Bryce, his eyes barely open.
“Bryce!” screamed Thora. She ran up and kneeled next to her brother.
“Bryce,” she whispered. “Are you all right?”
Bryce’s pale face gazed up at her. “Thora?” he asked uncertainly.
Thora felt the helmet on her head. Her transformation was complete. I guess I look pretty different to Bryce like this, she thought. “Yes, it’s me,” she said.
Bryce lifted a hand toward her strange armor. With his finger, he traced an engraving of swirling stars that decorated her armor. He smiled weakly. “Wow,” he said.
Thora smiled. “Everything’s going to be all right, big bro,” she said.
Bryce began to shiver. “I … I did this,” he said. “I brought us all here. Into this trap. I’m … I’m so sorry.”
Ooloom. A voice pounded in Thora’s ears. Thora looked up and gasped as the statue shifted toward her. She felt its burning eyes, bright as comets, reach deep inside her core. Just then, the others caught up to Thora. They stood behind her, uncertain of what to do.
Then, out from behind the monstrous troll’s leg, stepped a familiar figure. “Doctor!” shouted Mara.
Dr. Hoo now stood several paces away from where Bryce lay. He walked toward the young warriors, confusion and surprise covering their faces.
“Doc!” Zak said. “We’re here to rescue you!” Zak was now a bear, and his voice came out gruff and deep.
The doctor recognized him. He smiled wide. Then he raised his three arms upward. Instantly, the mesa exploded in scarlet brilliance. Everyone fell to the ground.
Thora cried out in pain. She looked up at the doctor in horror. “What are you … doing?” she whimpered.
Ooloom. The giant troll gazed down at the fallen humans. A thunderous voice bellowed throughout the entire chamber. “You have. Done well,” the giant troll said. It looked at Dr. Hoo, adding, “My servant.”
The doctor bowed his head. All three of his hands were open and held out toward the giant creature.
The young warriors’ eyes all went wide. “No!” Zak growled. “It’s not possible! You can’t be one of them!”
A hiss reverberated throughout the vast chamber, growing louder and louder. It seemed to circle them like an evil wind. Thora heard more voices join in the sinister sound. The hissing grew louder.
“Uzhk!” Mara cried. She pointed toward the edge of the mesa where it dropped off into the lava sea. A strange-looking troll lay there, collapsed.
Then Thora saw more figures just beyond the collapsed troll. The entire mesa was ringed in a curtain of dark shadows. She saw then that it was a multitude of trolls. Monstrous, many-headed, many-handed beings all marched toward the Lava Crown. The circle of warriors grew tighter as they surrounded the powerless humans. The hiss they cried out was deafening.
The giant nodded his colossal head, his crown sputtering with flames. He spoke to his subjects. “Prak tara marith yoo,” the giant rumbled. The giant troll looked at the young heroes, then at the doctor. “The children of the stars must die.”
The doctor nodded. He raised his arms once again. A golden light appeared above their heads, spinning like a disc. The light separated into distinct rings, forming a long, golden chain.
Slowly, the chain floated down toward the young heroes and landed on the ground with a thud. Before they could react, the shackles connected around their hands and their feet, chaining them.
The army of a million trolls marched forward. The ring grew tighter. Thora saw The Book of Stars lying face down on the ground where Mara had dropped it.
Thora remembered the words the doctor had read to them from it, that first night in his house. The ancient prophecies talked about a band of gold that would defeat the trolls. These shackles were bands of gold.
The doctor lied to us, Thora thought. He tricked all of us.
Suddenly Zak growled. “Mom, Dad!” he yelled. He lurched forward, but the chain sizzled around his limbs and brought him crashing painfully to the ground. He howled in pain.
Thora saw the Fishers among the crowd of human prisoners lying on the ground. All of them were unconscious, but breathing.
Bands of gold, Thora thought, noticing their chains. The doctor captured us all with bands of gold.
Zak lay on his side, racked with pain. He strained to reach his arm out toward his parents. “I have to … help them,” he whimpered. The chains sizzled around his limbs.
Hate burned inside Thora. She glared at the doctor, watching him bow his head as he kneeled toward the crowned troll.
“You traitor!” Thora yelled.
Dr. Hoo rose into the air over the heads of the young humans, red waves of light emanating from him. Bryce watched the bottoms of the doctor’s shoes recede as he rose higher and higher into the air. Soon, the doctor was face to face with the fiery giant.
As the giant’s gaze turned toward Dr. Hoo and away from the humans, Bryce felt momentary relief. He could breathe again without pain.
But the troll army’s feet still shook the ground as the trolls continued to close the circle around the humans.
Another hot gust of wind blew across the mesa as the giant looked at the hovering doctor.
“You have. Brought them,” the creature growled. “For me.”
“Yes, Ooloom,” Dr. Hoo said. “As a gift for you.”
Ooloom, Bryce thought. The name made him shiver despite the heat.
“A sacrifice,” Ooloom bellowed. “To me.”
“Just as you deserve,” Dr. Hoo said. “Ooloom, Wearer of the Lava Crown.”
Bryce looked at his sister. He could tell Thora’s pain had also lessened, but her face was still twisted in agony. She was staring at the golden shackles around their limbs with disgust. She caught Bryce’s gaze and whispered, “He betrayed us all. He made a deal with that … monster.”
Bryce clenched his teeth. He did this, he thou
ght. The doctor betrayed my sister.
Furious, Bryce strained against his chains, trying to break them. Instead, it just pulled the chains taut against all four heroes. They let out a collective scream as the golden shackles seared into their skin.
Ooloom laughed, lava spitting out from his rocky lips. “There is. No escape,” he growled.
Bryce glanced at Dr. Hoo. There was a pained look on the doctor’s face. Wait, the doctor whispered into Bryce’s mind. Wait.
Bryce’s eyes went wide. What does he mean? Bryce thought. He turned to see Thora looking at him with wide eyes. She heard it too.
Ooloom turned his gaze back to the doctor. His voice rumbled throughout the fiery cavern. “You too. Must bow. To Ooloom.”
The doctor smiled widely and spread his three arms out in a gesture of peace and submission. “I have always obeyed those who are more powerful than me,” Dr. Hoo said.
Ooloom’s laugh sounded like gravel and roaring fire. “You are. Very weak,” he said.
“I have never been as strong as you, Ooloom,” Dr. Hoo said. “I am only half-troll, unlike you. But I take comfort in the power of my ancestors.”
“Words. Words,” replied the giant. “You bore. Ooloom.”
“Words can be power,” Dr. Hoo said calmly. “The gathool have always respected power, am I correct?”
Ooloom stiffened. “Yes,” he said reluctantly. “It is. Our way.”
The doctor closed his eyes and bowed his head. He began chanting a rhyme:
“Fiercer than lava,
Stronger than stone,
Harder than iron,
Brighter than bone.
Sharper than teeth
Deeper than fear —
Answer this, friend,
And see it appear.”
Dr. Hoo nodded almost imperceptibly at Bryce. Then he turned to face Ooloom. “The ancient riddle,” Dr. Hoo said, “reminds us of the greatest power of all. What is fiercer than lava? What is deeper and stronger than fear?”
The giant began to sway back and forth. The Lava Crown glowed an angry red. “Silence!” he growled.
“Friend,” Thora whispered to Bryce. “The answer is friend.”
Answer this, friend, and see it appear, Bryce repeated in his mind. Friend. By speaking the word ‘friend’, you identify yourself as one.
Bryce nodded at Thora. “He’s distracted,” he said. “Now’s our chance.”
Thora nodded. She grabbed Bryce’s hand and held it tightly. The chains burned her, but she silently strained against them and reached for Pablo’s foot. “Pablo,” she whispered. “Grab on to Louise.”
Pablo nodded. He quietly shifted his body and reached over to Louise.
“The band of gold,” whispered Thora. “Companions. Friends. We have to close the circle.”
Bryce felt another hand touch his shoulder. He looked over and saw Louise was leaning across the ground, reaching for him. The band of gold was almost complete.
The trolls moved closer. The rhythmic beating grew louder. A blaze of light erupted from the Lava Crown, high above the humans.
“No more talk,” Ooloom warned the doctor.
The giant returned his gaze to the humans. His eyes flared. And like a pack of dying animals, the six companions howled in pain.
“Prak tara marith yoo,” said the giant. “The stars. Will fall. And die.”
Bryce had never felt such pain. But he held his grip as burning needles stabbed at his brain and his lungs. His skin felt as if it were being pulled from his bones.
Ooloom looked at his army of trolls. “Kill them. Now,” he ordered.
The thudding of the troll army surrounded Thora, Pablo, Louise, Zak, and Bryce. The trolls lifted their axes, spears, and clubs over their heads, but the young warriors continued to concentrate.
The doctor’s eyes went wide. Time was running out for the young warriors.
Then, suddenly, a rolling shadow ran through the line of troll warriors, sending several trolls flying off the edge of the mesa. It hurtled toward the bodies of the young humans like a storm cloud.
“Uzhk!” screamed Mara.
The friendly troll ran and threw himself at Ooloom’s left foot. He swung his fists into the giant’s legs as hard as he could.
That troll’s powerful, thought Bryce. But there’s no way he could harm that monster.
But the diversion was enough. The giant’s gaze was averted and the pain began to leak away. The young warriors focused again.
Suddenly, a wave of comfort beamed down upon them. It felt like warm sunlight on Bryce’s pale skin. He heard a sizzling sound. The golden chains were melting. They dripped harmlessly off their wrists and ankles into puddles of shining liquid at their feet.
“We’re free!” cried Bryce.
“Keep holding on to each other!” yelled Thora.
Ooloom growled. “Kill. The traitor!”
The troll warriors aimed at Uzhk from all sides. Instantly, shadows flew overhead as a shower of spears streamed toward Uzhk. The friendly troll cried out as the weapons pierced his hide.
With a mighty shrug of his giant foot, Ooloom threw Uzhk aside. Then, with a colossal roar, Ooloom’s foot rushed downward, crushing Uzhk beneath a ton of living rock. Only a rocky hand and fingers poked out from under the foot. They were motionless.
“Uzhk!” Dr. Hoo yelled. “No!”
Louise began to steadily glow. A voice rang out from among the humans. “Louise, is that you?” it said.
The girl saw her father, tears streaming down his cheeks. One of his arms hung limply at his side. Louise smiled at him. Father! she thought. She closed her eyes and focused as hard as she could.
The doctor dropped to the ground and grasped her hand. He smiled warmly at the others.
“Focus,” Dr. Hoo said. “We’re nearly out of time.”
Dr. Hoo bowed his head and closed his eyes. The others did the same. The band of friends was now complete. All of the companions began to glow with their former radiance.
The doctor raised his hands. The golden chains that held them together broke apart and floated above them. The chains spun swiftly, turning into a blur of light. Then they became one great circle of gold, forming a huge disc. The disc turned on end and started to spin. Slowly at first, and then faster and faster, until a faint whirring sound filled the chamber.
“The band of gold,” said the doctor. “Companions of light.”
All of them stared at the whirling disc. As it spun faster, it began absorbing the warriors’ silver radiance. It began to gleam with a blinding white light.
Like the sun, thought Louise. A band of light!
The white disc hummed. It moved above Ooloom’s crown like a brilliant halo. Suddenly, a tremendous burst of energy erupted across the mesa.
Louise heard a horrible scream as the fiery crown exploded in a torrent of sparks and scarlet light. Cracks began to run along Ooloom’s sides. Suddenly, magma spilled from the cracks and onto the ground.
Then the monster violently split into several pieces, each of them tumbling lifelessly to the ground.
The disc, bright as a star, shifted its position to directly above the troll army. The horrid warriors began to stiffen. Then the army came to a sudden stop, petrified.
Zak jumped to his feet. “Yes!” he cried, human again. “We destroyed their ruler!”
The doctor shook his head, grimly. “No,” he said. “Not their ruler.” He looked at the petrified giant. “He was merely their general. Their ruler, the Great One, lies far beyond this sea of lava.”
The waves of lava surrounding the mesa rushed angrily against the cliffs. Dr. Hoo turned to face the young warriors. “Hurry,” he said. “We must leave before the Great One comes.”
Mara grabbed his shoulder. “Your tower is damaged,” she said. “It will not be able to return us to the surface.”
“No matter,” said Dr. Hoo. He raised his hands. The golden disc slowly changed shape. Now it resembled a golden bowl. “Get ever
yone inside,” he said.
All of the humans — including Zak’s parents, Louise’s father, and all the others — climbed into the golden vessel.
Once inside, Pablo grabbed Dr. Hoo by the arm. “We thought you betrayed us!” Pablo said. His arm was shaking. The others were listening intently.
Dr. Hoo put his hand on Pablo’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, but I had to do it,” he said. “Otherwise, the trolls would never have allowed you to get this close to Ooloom. The army would’ve destroyed you all.”
“You still could’ve told us the plan,” Thora said.
“Again, I’m sorry — but I really couldn’t,” the doctor explained. “The only way they would’ve allowed you inside this chamber is if you were their prisoners. It had to look real, or they would’ve killed you on sight.”
Dr. Hoo stood. “I know I put you through a lot,” he said. “But this was the only way to stop Ooloom. His army was preparing to march. They would’ve destroyed your homes.”
Dr. Hoo turned and glanced around, opening his arms at the family members and friends. “It was also the only way we could save your families. Your loved ones. Yourselves.”
Everyone grew silent at the Doctor’s words. The Gambles and the Fishers embraced their sons and daughters.
Mr. Tooker brushed Louise’s hair from her face. “I can’t believe it,” he said, smiling down at her. “My little girl is a hero. I’m so proud of you.” Louise dug her face into her father’s chest, sobbing and smiling.
Dr. Hoo watched the scene. A faint smile crossed his face for a moment, then disappeared. He raised his arms into the air, and the golden bowl began to rise.
Everyone was silent as the golden bowl began its ascent. In the quiet, the bowl’s humming could be heard. It rose high above the mesa floor, up and up into the vast darkness of the great chamber.
Mara took one last look, peering over the edge of the bowl. She gazed down at the dwindling island within the fiery sea, the resting place of her old friend. “Oh, Uzhk,” she whispered.
