Tisha and Chris emerged at that moment. “You two just missed the chance to tell Sir Erran farewell,” I observed.
Tisha looked remorseful, but Chris only muttered the words, “Good riddance,” under his breath.
“Chris!” I exclaimed, sharply, “He might have been your rival, but I've spoken with him about that. He knows better now. You, Chris, you were my first knight. You are my personal protector. Don't stoop to the level he did.” I paused before I added in a cheerful voice, “How about some blueberry pie?”
They admitted that it sounded good, so I handed them each a slice and we all sat down on the ground in a circle to talk – I even talked Derek into joining us.
“Megan and I will be leaving shortly for the Green Valley,” I began. “Chris, Tisha, you two are to stay here. I don't want you anywhere near the Polystoikhedron.”
“We understand,” said Chris, as Tisha burst into tears. Her slice of pie was thrust to the side as she found herself unable to eat anymore.
“Derek,” said I, turning to my brother. “You have a choice. It is neither necessary for you to come with Megan and I, nor is it imperative that you remain here. So, which would you prefer to do? It would be more convenient come worst case scenario if you are with Megan, but other than that, it really doesn't matter. It's completely up to you.”
Derek glanced at Tisha, and then Megan. “I'll go to Green Valley. It's not as wet there.”
I frowned as I climbed to my feet. “Then let's go. We haven't a moment to waste.”
Tisha was on her feet in a moment, her arms flung about my neck. “Oh! Jen! You don't have to do this for us – honest, you don't!”
I pulled her closer to myself, stroking the long, golden hair that I had envied for eight miserable years. “I want to do it, Tisha,” I whispered in her ear. “I don't want to know that I was given the chance to do great good, but didn't do it because I was too scared. I'm not just doing it for you and Chris, and Lord willing, my death will not be in vain.”
Gently, I pried her arms from around my neck and placed her in Chris's strong arms. “You'll take care of her for me, won't you Chris?” I asked. The question I always asked whenever I had to go out or on a dangerous mission they couldn't join me on.
Chris nearly choked on his habitual answer. “I'll – I'll protect her with my life.”
Thrusting myself onto tip-toe, I placed a kiss on his cheek. “Thank-you. I know she's in safe hands when she's with you.” Then I turned on my heel and started walking. I didn't look back. Megan and Derek soon fell into step behind me.
Part of me wanted to make this trip take as long as possible, but I knew that it was pointless – dangerous, even. Every second, the Polystoikhedron destroyed more. Every second counted.
“Jen?” Megan spoke up.
“Yes?” said I.
“I'm not sure that this is the best time to ask this, but you've been so busy …”
“It's possible that you'll never get another chance to ask me again. Shoot.”
“Oh … I was wondering … do you have any nice dragons in your imagination. You know, ones that aren't trying to harm fair maidens?”
“No, not really, why?”
Megan sighed. “I was just wondering. The stories my daddy used to tell me were all about nice dragons fighting bad dragons.” She sighed again. “So I like dragons.”
A smile touched my lips. “Well then, if I survive, I'll make a few nice dragons – just for you. And if I don't … well, you can make them for me.”
“I hope you live,” confided Megan.
“So do I.” Silence reigned until I announced, “We're here!” and we stood on the edge of the crater that had once been the Green Valley.
“It's not very green for a place called, 'the Green Valley,'” Derek pointed out.
“It didn't used to be,” I returned. “It used to be surrounded by tall, emerald mountains, coated in lush, green grass, and whenever the flowers bloomed, they were green too. I miss the Leprechauns the worst, though. The Polystoikhedron ate all of them.”
“So you can't remake them.” stated Derek.
I shook my head. “No. I can't.” I shifted my weight from one foot to the other for a few seconds, then I announced, “I'm going to go get the Polystoikhedron's attention, lure it into the castle. I'll be right back to give the Ankulen to Megan.”
“Can't you give it to her now?” asked Derek.
I shook my head. “The Polystoikhedra are attracted to Ankulens. If I don't wear mine while I'm in the Castle, well it'll be more interested in Megan than in me.”
Megan shuddered. “I don't think that would be very good.”
Grimacing, I shook my head. “No, it would be very bad.” Turning to face the castle, I continued, “You two lay low. While the Polystoikhedra are generally not interested in normal people, especially not when there's an Ankulen in the area, I won't promise you safety if you get in its way.”
“Are we allowed to watch?” asked Derek, in a bored voice.
“If you want to,” I replied. “I'll warn you though, it's not a very pretty monster.”
“With a name like Polly, I would have thought she was Miss America.”
I tossed a frown over my shoulder. “I'm serious, Derek. Don't get in the Polystoikhedron's way.”
Derek threw up his hands. “Okay, okay. I'll lay low, if it means that much to you.”
“It does Derek. You're my brother. I don't want you harmed by my beast.” I turned and resolutely marched down into the valley, not waiting for Derek's retort.
When I arrived at Rocking Castle, I took a deep breath, then rested my hand against my Ankulen's gems, lowering the ramps and opening both gate and door. I closed my eyes, took another deep breath, and walked up the ramp and into the castle.
Slowly, I walked to the center, not even my mental reminding that time was of the essence could speed me up in the final stretch. The silent halls felt eerie, as if the Polystoikhedron was already there.
When I reached the center room, and the bed I had prepared for myself, I dove into the bedding and wrapped the purple quilt around me. I wished that I could hide in it forever, but I calmly raised my arm and tapped the gems again. “Bring the Polystoikhedron here,” I whispered. “I need to make it clear that this is one Anka that is not going down without a fight.”
Then I flopped back against the pillows, sending up a silent prayer for more strength. The peace that I had found on the Mountain was evading me now that I was down in the Valley.
“I will fear no evil …” I quoted, barely moving my lips. “For thou art with me.”
Each second seemed to take forever as I felt the Polystoikhedron crawling towards my hiding place. As I relive that moment to commit it to paper, I know that, in actuality, it wasn't all that long. Every second, the Polystoikhedron went faster, as it sensed that my Ankulen was getting nearer.
When it started climbing up the ramp, I sprang from the bed, ready to run, but forcing myself to stand still until the entire beast was inside and I could shut the door and lock it in.
“There's an Ankulen near,” the spine-chilling voices echoed down the halls. “We smell it. Soon, we will eat it.”
“Hurry up,” I whispered. “Get in here. I don't have all day. Well, I do, but that's neither here nor there. Just get in here and please stop talking.”
It was in great relief that I slammed my hand against the gems, slamming the gate shut. The Polystoikhedron was so busy looking for the Ankulen, I honestly doubt that it realized that I had just closed its escape route. Not that it mattered at the moment. I took off running and didn't stop until I was out of the castle and the door was shut firmly behind me.
Sinking to the ground, I leaned against the ramp, trying to calm my rapidly beating heart. What was I thinking? This was a big, huge, scaly beast that was looking forward to eating me – er, well, my Ankulen at least. Why on earth was I even entertaining the idea …
No. I wasn't going to let myself think like that.
I shakily climbed to my feet and sucked in a deep breath, closing my eyes to shut out the desolation around me. Pressing my hand against my Ankulen's gems, I began relaying mental instructions. What it should do if I died and the monster lived. What should be done if we both lived, and what would happen if I survived victorious. As I ordered, I slowly trudged up the hill towards where I had left my brother and sister.
When I finished setting up the instructions, I decided to check on Tisha and Chris. Tisha was still crying on Chris's shoulder. I frowned. They needed some distraction.
So I sent them a nice green dragon to fight. To make sure they knew it was a gift from me, I hung a sign reading, “With love from Jen,” around its neck.
When I opened my eyes, I was staring into Megan's wide blue-green ones. “Well,” I said, sliding my Ankulen off of my wrist and holding it out to her. “Let's get this over with.”
“That …” whispered Megan. “That was the Polystoikhedron?”
“Unfortunately, yes,” I replied. “That's why I'm so adamant when it comes to getting rid of it. It just doesn't fit with my color scheme.” I glanced at Derek, who stood a few feet away. I expected a snappy retort, but his eyes were fixed on my Dreams Castle, his expression unreadable.
Megan flung her arms around me. “You're so brave, Jen. I – you were right. I'd never be able to fight it, not in a thousand years.”
I returned the hug, needing it as much as she did. “I'm terrified. Today might be my last.” I took a deep breath, then pushed her to arms' length. Taking her hand, I slid the Ankulen onto her wrist. “I've given it orders for all three possible scenarios. If I don't succeed, you and Derek will find yourselves beside the stream in our backyard with my body. If anyone asks questions, I was bit by a snake. If we both die, you'll become Len and what you do from there is your choice. Same rules apply to my body, though. I was bit by a snake. If I'm victorious, then the Rocking Castle will open and Tisha and Chris will home. You may enter the castle and make your way to the center room. I don't know how much time it will take for me to recover, so I'm preparing for several days of unconsciousness. Do you understand?”
Megan nodded numbly. “A – a snake, Jen?”
“Yes.”
“My … my daddy was …” She burst into tears and flew back into my arms.
I held her for a few seconds, then pushed her to arms' length again. “I have to do this.”
She nodded, then took a step back, pressing her hand to the Ankulen's gems as she had seen me do so many times. “I'll – I'll be praying for you. I'll ask Jesus to make sure you live and can be my sister.”
I smiled and shook my head. “Ask Him to give me the strength, wisdom, and courage to do the task he has set before me. Oh, and here,” I removed my glasses. “I don't really need these when I'm in my imaginary world, and they're practically worthless in my dreams. Can you hang onto them for me? Dad wouldn't be too thrilled if I broke them.”
“Oh … okay.” Megan took them and slid them into a pocket.
“Thank-you,” I said. “I hope I live. I'd love having you for a sister. Now, if this must be, good-bye. We will meet again someday.”
Megan nearly choked on her good-bye.
Resolutely, I tuned and started walking towards my battle. I probably would have gone farther had Derek not stepped into my path, arms folded over his chest, expression … well he was just out of my range of vision, so I couldn't see him clearly now that my glasses were in Megan's pocket. While I see my imaginary world and friends with my mind and thus have no need of glasses, I still see real people within my imagination with my eyes, and therefore I find those corrective lenses quite useful.
“Uh … hello Derek,” I said, taking a confused step backwards. “Are you upset because I wasn't telling you goodbye?”
“That was the Polystoikhedron!” he exclaimed, taking a step forward.
I nodded. “Y-yes it was. I t-told you it wasn't a pretty sight!” There was something in his voice that wasn't there before, but I couldn't quite put my finger on what that something was.
“There is no way you can fight that monster on your own.”
“But I have to! There is no one else who can. I can't bring any of my imaginary knights into my dreams, and even if I could, they'd be eaten in seconds!”
“Surely you can find someone real to help you!”
I shook my head.
“I'll do it! I'll go with you!” Derek declared, taking another step forward and grabbing me by the shoulders before I could react, his face now close enough that I could see him clearly again.
His tone left no room for arguing, and yet I protested. “Derek, you don't understand …” I started to say, shaking my head.
“I plenty understand. I understand that you're about to go fight a very scary monster and you're refusing to let anyone help you.”
“But …”
“I'm not going to let you fight that creature all by yourself. Either I'm going with you, or we're going to stand here all day until you realize how stupid you're being!”
I closed my eyes. “But this is my battle. This is my world. I have to fight for it. If I die, I die.” Truth be known, I wanted so badly to accept his offer, but I thought that I could do this on my own. “You don't even like my world. You wouldn't fight for it like you ought to.”
Derek gripped my shoulders tighter, pulling me closer towards him. “Who said I want to protect your stupid world? I'm doing this for you, Tina. I promised Mom and Dad that I would never ever let anything bad happen to you, and I won't. If you want to go get yourself killed, I'm going with you.”
“But …”
“I'm not going to let a monster like that eat my sister. Not if I can help it.”
My eyes flew open, and I stared at him with quivering lip. Had he just called me sister? A surge of emotion caused me to fly forward and throw my arms around him. “I'm scared,” I admitted. “I don't mind dying … but I don't want it to hurt.”
Derek pulled up my chin so that he could stare me in the eye. “That's why I'm going with you.”
Chapter 22
In Which We Are Given Swords of Light
AFTER briefly reclaiming the Ankulen to rework its orders for this new twist, and allowing Megan to tell him good-bye, Derek and I were as ready as we could be. After squeezing Megan's hand one final time as I slid the Ankulen back onto her wrist, I turned to Derek.
“Let's go. Even though the Dreams Castles are not of a substance the Polystoikhedra like to eat, with an Ankulen in the area, it may get desperate if we dawdle much longer.”
Derek nodded and set his jaw. “Then let's go.”
We were silent as we slowly walked down to the Rocking Castle. We both knew that we were walking towards what was surely death, and that made words awkward, even unnecessary.
As we reached the ramp leading up to the smaller backdoor, Derek paused and turned to me. “Just so you know, I do know how to fight.” But then he frowned and tilted his head to the side. “Or at least I think I do. Most of my dreams involved me fighting some monster.”
I turned and looked up at him, a small smile forming. “God was preparing you.”
Several emotions warred through his eyes as a result of my words. “Well, yeah, I guess so,” he mumbled, looking away. “We'd better get in there. We've got that Polystoikhedron waiting for us.”
“You're right,” I agreed, stepping onto the ramp. “Let's go.”
We climbed up the ramp, the door opening automatically as per the instructions I had given my Ankulen. Once we were inside, the door shut behind us and the stabilizers withdrew. Bracing myself against the wall to keep from falling over, I turned to Derek. “Now you can go to sleep.”
Derek raised his eyebrows. “Sleep? When that monster is in the same building as us?”
“Precisely,” said I. “We must fight it in our dreams. That's the only way to be on anything near equal terms with that dreadful beast. Besides, The Giver said that he'll help me if I'll bring my
battle to him.”
“The Giver? Who's he?”
A smile touched my lips as I closed my eyes. “You'll see. Just close your eyes and relax.”
When I opened my eyes, I was once again in the field of flowers. I took a deep breath, then let it out in peals of laughter, spinning around and around in the bright sunshine. For a moment, my imminent death didn't matter.
When that moment was over and I remembered what I had come to do, it didn't frighten or sadden me. I merely sank solemnly to the ground to think and to await Derek and the Giver.
“If I die today,” I whispered, plucking a pansy and breathing deep of its perfume, “at least I'll die in one of my favorite places.”
“Greetings, Anka Jenifer, are you ready to fight your Polystoikhedron?”
A smile broke across my face as I looked up at The Giver. “I believe so. Only … my brother offered to fight with me, but he isn't here yet. Is he … is he still fighting sleep. Or can he not help me after all?”
“Neither. He is merely in his own dream at the moment,” The Giver explained. “Soon, I will combine your dreams, but for now, I wish to prepare you separately.” He sat down cross-legged in front of me.
“What do I still need to do?” I asked, shifting uncomfortably under his steady gaze.
“You have done well,” he replied, smiling a smile that put me at ease. “Indeed, I do not think that I could have expected you to do any better. And, yet, you are holding back. You shrink at the the task that is set before you.”
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “I'm not afraid of death, but of failure. If I die, but the Polystoikhedron lives, then what is the point? My death would be in vain!”
“Anka Jenifer, your fear is understandable,” said the Giver. “Indeed, half of humanity fears being useless, fears that their existence is meaningless to the grand scheme of History. Most do not understand that the LORD made each and every one of them, and he makes no one without purpose.”
I opened my eyes and looked up at him. “But if I die, what would my purpose be?”
The Ankulen Page 18
