Rebecca Newton and the Sacred Flame

by Mario Routi

  Bull - who up until that moment had remained icily calm - was suddenly overcome with a boiling fury and roared in a voice so terrible it made the enemy freeze in terror as they felt the earth trembling under their feet. Leaping into the epicentre of the chaos, he began ripping the bodies of demons to pieces and hurling them back into the faces of their oncoming comrades.

  “We will kill you, Bull...” the Evil forces screeched, “and afterwards, we will take your carcass and desecrate it!”

  Two vile and vicious creatures leapt from the crowd and fasted themselves to the Minotaur’s mighty body with their teeth and claws, trying to drag him down.

  Their ferocious attack merely added fuel to the fire of anger burning in Bull’s belly, feeding his strength until no sword, spear or arrow could touch him. No demon could fight against him as he swatted them aside like flies, striding across the battlefield like a hurricane and smashing everything in his path without seeming to suffer a single wound himself.

  After rampaging through them for several hours, he made them turn around, until it was he who was eventually chasing them, howling and wailing, towards Tartarus, pursued by the Orizon warriors, who continued to kill them down to the last demon.

  Although it seemed in the ensuing calm that Good had triumphed, none of them could figure out why the Titans had sent their army to certain death. It seemed to be a deliberate move. Their suspicions were well founded. Unbeknownst to them, dozens of manned spacecraft, each carrying hundreds of demons, had already landed in the Land of the White Sun and were preparing themselves to attack Utopia.

  43

  To start with, nobody noticed the stirrings of the great monster as he emerged from the piles of corpses among the ruins of the battlefield. He was a Titan and not even the Gods would ever be able to understand how he managed to release himself from Tartarus and materialise on the scarred surface of the Elysian Fields.

  He was at least twelve feet tall, with a huge horned head. His vampire-like, grey skinned face was crowded with long, thick teeth with razor-like points. His scary eyes were heavy with blood and pus. His strongly muscular hands were covered in coarse hair and his long yellow nails were as thick as horns. He moved secretly and quietly - but with surprising speed and subtlety - towards the Flame. If he could just get his hands on it, he would then be able to release the rest of the Titans from their eternal imprisonment.

  Glory the Sphinx was the first to spot him and rose up to sound the alarm. Before she could make another move, he raised his hideous hand and froze her to the spot, immobilising her inside a mighty, creaking wall of ice.

  Alerted by this sudden movement, Rebecca saw the Titan and ran bravely towards him, believing that Satan himself had emerged from Hell and was now planning to seize the Flame. In fact, she wasn’t completely wrong because the devil was the Titans’ own creation.

  Attacking him from behind with a bloodcurdling war cry, she sliced deeply across his Achilles tendon with her sword. He let out a scream of surprise and anger but didn’t seem to feel any pain as he spun round to face his assailant. Rebecca had already danced to one side and was standing between the thief and the Flame, pointing her sword at him threateningly.

  “Stay back!” she cried.

  “What?” The Titan paused for a second, obviously puzzled that such a slight figure should have the effrontery to confront him so openly, and then he began to laugh, emitting a sound which tore the air like a knife, hurting the ears of all nearby as they swung round to see where it was coming from.

  “How dare you, you little insect?” the Titan said as the laughter left him and the anger returned.

  Seeing the situation Rebecca had gotten herself into, Turgoth ran across the battlefield towards her, trampling on corpses and splashing through lakes of blood.

  “Rebecca!” he shouted. “Run!”

  But Rebecca couldn’t hear him above the hissing breath of the angry Titan and the drumming of her own heartbeat as she charged forward and stabbed her crystal blade deep into his stomach, releasing a cloud of foul smelling vapour along with the ooze of thick, black blood. The Titan looked at her with a mixture of amusement and amazement.

  “You are a brave girl,” he said, his malodorous breath almost choking her. “I wish I could have a few warriors like you in my troops. Has no one told you that we, the Titans, can’t die or be killed, unless by the hand of a God? You are so brave and so pretty, it’s such a pity that I now have to kill you!”

  He pulled Rebecca’s sword out of his body and hurled it aside, hitting out at her with the speed of light, his claws digging deep into her chest. She tasted the blood as it exploded in her mouth and she felt her knees buckling beneath her as she sank to the ground and struggled to breathe, her eyes wide with shock.

  “Nooooooo!” cried Turgoth as he scrambled to reach her in time.

  At that moment, Zeus himself, having swelled to the size of the Titan, appeared from the Palace holding his thunderbolts, striking the Titan across the head and sending him reeling back from Rebecca’s lifeless body. Turgoth covered his eyes with his hand and stepped aside, allowing Zeus to take over. As the Titan tried to retaliate, Zeus launched another bolt on him and the crack of electricity and thunder brought the other Gods running to the scene. Athena hurled a spear, which penetrated below the Titan’s shoulder, while Hercules ran up, whirling his club round and round, bringing it down hard on the Titan’s head and splitting his skull. The Titan dropped to his knees, spitting hellfire from his hideous mouth in an attempt to drive the Gods back. Athena raised her shield to protect them all, allowing Poseidon the chance to send out a wave of water, which turned the fire into a hissing, harmless cloud of angry steam. Apollo drew his sword and sliced the Titan’s head off, sending it flying onto a pile of demon corpses. At that moment, the wall of ice holding Glory turned to a torrent of water, freeing her from her prison.

  It had taken the combined powers of five Gods to defeat one Titan.

  Turgoth ran to Rebecca and fell to his knees, holding her in his arms and placing her head on his lap, his eyes full of tears.

  “Please... please wake up... don’t die... don’t leave me... please!”

  Goddess Athena, having once again returned to human size, approached him. “I don’t think there is much you can do for her anymore, King Turgoth.”

  “No... no, this can’t be happening,” Turgoth cried, clinging to his long lost soulmate, kissing her hair.

  A crowd had gathered around them. Julius was ashen-faced, staring in a state of a shock. Lord Life was holding Lady Danae close, while Felicia cried into Leiko’s arms. Even the Minotaur’s cheeks were wet with tears.

  “She gave her life for the Flame and for the Elysian Fields,” Zeus pronounced. “Had it not been for her delaying the Titan, he would have succeeded in freeing his brothers and sisters and disaster would have been unavoidable. She must, therefore, be given a chance. Apollo!”

  Knowing what was expected of him, Apollo approached the Flame, grasped some of it in his hand and carried it to Rebecca. Lifting her head from Turgoth’s arms, he bent down and gently blew the Flame in between her parted lips. Rebecca coughed and spat blood. Her breathing had started again but her eyes remained tightly shut as if she would never again wake up.

  “Take her quickly to the Land of the White Sun,” Zeus said. “She might still die and we won’t be able to bring her back again if it happens here. But if she dies there, then she will have gained a place back here in the Elysian Fields. Get moving, there is no time to waste.”

  “Thank you, oh mighty Zeus,” Turgoth said, putting his arm round Julius’s shoulders as they both started to sob like children. “Thank you, Apollo. Thank you all.”

  Pegasus was summoned and Bull lifted Rebecca like a rag doll, climbing up between the horse’s wings with her in his arms.

  “Go!” Zeus commanded. “The war is over
and the shields have already been removed.”

  Pegasus lifted off into the skies, carrying Bull and his precious cargo.

  44

  Bull delivered Rebecca to Doctor Afterland at the hospital and they had a short conversation before he rode back on Pegasus to the Elysian Fields, where everyone, including the Gods, was still standing beside the Flame.

  Turgoth panicked when he saw the worried look on Bull’s face. “Did you get her to the Doctor in time?”

  “Yes, but Dr. Afterland told me of a problem in the Land of the White Sun,” Bull said. “While we were distracted by the attack that was taking place here in the Elysian Fields, several spaceships full of demon troops from Tartarus landed inside and around Domus. Obviously, this was planned.”

  “A coordinated attack?” Felicia said, aghast at the thought that they might have been duped.

  “They are going to try to seize the Flame and once again attempt to free the Titans,” Zeus said. “You need to stop them. It’s your fight now. You know we can’t interfere!”

  Turgoth sprang forward. “I must go too, oh mighty Zeus.”

  “What?” Zeus growled. “You’re done from there, Turgoth, and you know it. Your place is here now.”

  “I need to be with her,” Turgoth insisted.

  Zeus opened his mouth to speak and then hesitated. He said something to Poseidon and the God of the Oceans nodded in agreement. Zeus turned back to Turgoth and it seemed like ages before he spoke again.

  “This has never been done before, King Turgoth, but so be it - for the first and last time. You have served us well and have earned the right to ask for anything you want. If that’s truly your choice, then go! Return to the Land of the White Sun and continue with your immortal life there. Make sure to protect the Flame.”

  “I want to go too, oh mighty Zeus,” said Julius. “She is my daughter and my wife is there, and so are my parents and everyone who I love and care for. Please allow me to join Turgoth.”

  “Only one soul can go,” Zeus said. “I’m sorry.”

  “I’ll stay here, then.” Lord Life spoke quietly. “A soul for a soul, oh mighty Zeus.”

  “Father!” Felicia cried.

  “It’s okay, Felicia. I want to stay here. I have waited for this moment for thousands of years. I’ve dreamed of it. Besides, your mother is here and I want to be with her. You and Leiko will be in charge of the Land of the White Sun now, and so you will have the right to visit us here quite often.”

  “That is correct,” Zeus confirmed, and Felicia nodded in agreement.

  “Don’t look at me,” Field Marshal Foster said. “I’m not going anywhere. I’ve just been reunited with my wife and son. I’m not leaving the Elysian Fields. If Rebecca recovers, she should take over my place and train the Orizons.”

  “Very well,” Zeus said after several minutes of deep thought. “I agree to this. The winged horses will take you back now.”

  Felicia embraced her father and then jumped up beside Leiko on Pegasus, while Bull rode Lenus. Turgoth and Julius shared another grey winged horse. General Hunter had his own way to travel, holding on to Pegasus’s tail.

  “Do what you do best,” Lord Life called after them as they took off. “Protect the Flame!” He stood watching them disappear with Lady Danae in his arms.

  45

  The moment they arrived, they all ran to the hospital to check on Rebecca’s condition. Doctor Afterland told them it was still critical.

  “But the Flame is keeping her alive,” he said. “So there is hope.”

  Turgoth wanted to stay beside her bed, holding her hand, stroking her hair and not taking his eyes off her sleeping face, but he knew they should immediately call a War Council to evaluate the situation, and that Rebecca would want him to be there doing his duty.

  At the War Council, Doctor Afterland informed Felicia and Turgoth that the enemy had an inconceivable number of forces.

  “It is impossible to be certain how many of them there are,” he said, “but we undoubtedly need support.”

  Turgoth felt terribly torn. Every fibre of his being wanted to stay close to the hospital and close to Rebecca, but he knew they had to move fast and that he had to play his part. He made a decision.

  “I will go secretly to Beast,” he announced. “I will bring reinforcements from there. If we have the entire army at our disposal, we have a better chance of victory.”

  They all saw the sense in his words and nodded their agreement.

  “Take Pegasus then,” Felicia told him. “He will speed your journey.”

  Turgoth returned to the hospital to see Rebecca one more time before he left. He leaned over her and softly placed his hand on her hair.

  “Don’t go away yet, my beloved,” he whispered. “You still have so much to give in this life. We all need you. I need you! I will not be able to go on if you leave. If a sapling bends, we can use a prop to help it stay upright, spread its roots and stand firm once more. But if an old plane tree bends, it’s finished. How can you prop it up? How can you keep it straight? That’s how I feel. If you leave me, I’ll crash to the ground. I have come back from the dead for you, and now you must do the same for me!” He bent over to kiss her forehead. “I will be back soon, I promise.”

  He and Pegasus then hastened through a hidden tunnel that led to Domus Lake. From there, they took off and headed towards the castle of Beast.

  46

  As the guards of Utopia watched the enemy forces moving inexorably closer, Felicia ordered a crack team to be dispatched outside the walls to the battlefield, in order to slow their progress in any way possible.

  If the enemy wished to breach the walls of the fortress, they had no option other than to cross this area and to face whatever was waiting for them. The Centaurs sent up so many flaming arrows, they created a solid waterfall of fire in front of the Tartarus forces, while the Amazons let their arrows fly and pierce the hearts of anyone who had the courage and speed to make it through those fiery walls to the other side.

  The sheer numbers of the forces of Evil, however, meant that they could afford to lose many thousands of fighters and still have more to send into battle, wearing down the resources of strength and arms held by the forces of Good. The only hope of victory was to remain completely determined and to fight with a ferocity that never let up.

  Inevitably, the troops of Utopia had to retreat in the face of such overwhelming odds and hundreds of exhausted and injured warriors withdrew back within the walls, pursued by demons who obviously no longer intended to show any respect for the ancient rules of battle.

  Having taken possession of the Utopian plain, the demons built fires that stretched for miles in all directions like endless lines of beacons flaming in the dark, thus issuing a terrible warning of their intent to strike the forces of Good in the heart, as soon as they felt ready, as cruel as a cat teasing a trapped mouse.

  The warriors who stood on the walls could calculate the extent of the enemy’s numbers from the number of visible fires and they constantly sent warnings down to their leaders.

  “Our defences are doomed to be crushed!” they predicted.

  “The enemy is about to bring the war inside the Fortress!” they warned.

  As the enemy grew more prepared, a low rumble of chanting rose from their ranks, amplifying in volume into a deafening roar designed to raise the morale of their own troops while striking fear into the hearts of those waiting within the walls.

  As the roar of aggression reached a crescendo and the attack was about to unfold, a team of the bravest and most experienced Orizon warriors galloped out of the main gate in one last attempt to intercept the attack with the element of surprise.

  They battled bravely and skilfully, killing huge numbers of enemy forces, but no matter how many they killed, thousands more would rise up to take th
eir places - all of them made ferociously strong by their anger at having their attack plans interrupted by such a small, and apparently impudent, force. The courageous Orizons were eventually forced by sheer weight of numbers to retreat once more behind the gates, suffering great losses as they went.

  The furious, bloodthirsty warriors of Evil streamed after them towards Utopia’s fortress. As soon as they reached the gate, they mounted a ferocious joint effort to enter the fortress before the gates could be slammed shut once more.

  Confronted by the oncoming horde, the warriors within formed a solid wall of defence - every one of them more than willing to give up their lives in order to retain possession of the Flame. They showed no sign of concern at the potential cost to themselves, as long as the Flame was not taken from them.

  The forces of Evil were shocked to hear their enemies joking and making fun of their own imminent deaths as though such a thing held no fear for them. It was almost as if they were looking forward to attending their own funerals - as if that would be the answer to their most heartfelt prayers. Taken by surprise by the force with which they were rebuffed, the forces of Evil hesitated just long enough for the gates to be slammed shut in their faces.

  For all of their immortal lives, the Orizons had been taught that it was their duty to protect the Flame so, of course, its loss was too terrible for them to even contemplate. This train of thought seemed absolutely normal to them as they struggled bravely on against the odds. War had run in their veins from the day they were born and had taken root in their minds from the moment they acquired consciousness.

  As the army of Utopia massed under the main gate, behind the walls, they waited for their Princess’s orders. To the sound of the trumpet that blasted out from deep inside the fortress, Felicia commanded the counterattack they had all been waiting for. The gate swung open once more and hundreds of warriors poured out, spurred on by rage and yelling at the top of their voices.