by MJ Schutte
‘How do we prevent this?’ Brighton asked.
‘We draw energy from the human realm via an energy link. Without, we will cease to exist. There are other worlds, other forms of energy out there. If you can find a way of linking our world to another source of energy and then severing current link, Zaconis’ mother will never be able to come here,’ Dina explained.
‘Have you got any idea how to do that?’ Brighton addressed his father.
‘No, I don’t,’ the old wizard replied, although Brighton saw the deception in his eyes.
‘Father, we need to work together if any of us will survive,’ Brighton pleaded.
Zaconis thought about it for a few moments, then his shoulders dropped, his defiance vanishing like the early morning mist.
‘Yes, I may have an idea, but you will need to find an alternative energy source,’ he replied.
Brighton cast his sense out.
‘Incredible,’ he whispered.
Dina and Zaconis looked at him with questioning eyes.
‘I can feel numerous worlds. It is as if being in the spirit world enhanced my sense. The amount of energy out there is staggering,’ Brighton said very softly.
‘You need to pick one, and then help Zaconis establish a link to that world,’ Dina instructed.
‘The one closest to us will most likely be the best. There is already a spirit world connected to it, but I can feel more than enough energy to sustain us too,’ Brighton replied.
Zaconis placed his hand on Brighton’s shoulder and said, ‘I can’t feel the other world, but if you channel your sense through me, I should be able to sense it.’
Brighton immediately retracted his sense and stepped away from his father.
‘The theory is sound, but I am not willing to give up on our world yet. Should we not discuss a way of perhaps saving it?’ he asked.
‘You are the one who believes in Dina’s visions. If it was up to me, I would simply do nothing,’ Zaconis retorted.
‘Brighton, I do not see another way forward,’ Dina said gently.
‘If we can change the current situation, your vision might change. Is this correct?’ Brighton asked.
‘Yes, but my visions are based on situations, not theory. The situation would have to change dramatically, I think,’ Dina frowned.
‘Let’s look at things as they stand. There is someone, or something you have not mentioned when you told us about the future. Mischief. He is exceptionally strong and will stop at nothing to protect Lilian and I.’
‘It is true, I can’t see him in my visions, but what is one black panther going to do against numerous daraghna?’ Dina frowned.
‘Never underestimate that cat,’ Brighton smiled.
Turning to Zaconis, he continued, ‘I have another idea, but please listen to everything I have to say before you react.’
Zaconis nodded, a dubious look in his eyes.
‘Your mother feels a unique bond with you. According to Dina, it is how she will enter this world. What if that bond can be severed?’ Brighton said.
Zaconis took a few steps back.
‘You want to destroy me?’ he gasped.
‘No, I am not suggesting that. If I was the one with the link to a dangerous beast, I would be trying to take myself out of the equation. Perhaps…’ Brighton said, but made the mistake of bringing his hand up.
Zaonis saw a threat in this move and raised his own hand, an energy link shooting from his palm slamming into Brighton’s head.
‘You will not destroy me,’ he said in a blind panic as Brighton’s energy flowed into him.
‘No, wait…’ Brighton tried as he sank to his knees, caught completely off guard by the attack.
‘Zaconis, stop it!’ Dina commanded, but another energy link from his other hand entered her head.
Brighton tried to sever the link, but to no avail. He tried reversing it but still had no success. He could feel his energy fading fast.
‘I don’t care about visions, or the world ending. I will find another world,’ Zaconis whispered to himself.
Brighton crumpled to the ground, his body twisting in pain as death’s dark cloud descended upon him. When he was but a hair’s breadth away from being wiped out of existence, a single word escaped his lips.
‘Stop.’
An eerie silence settled over the clearing.
Brighton opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was a long stalk of grass bending in the breeze. Slowly he got up and looked around. He realized that the breeze was gone, and yet he could still see leaves in the air, suspended in time.
‘Time,’ he whispered to himself as the realization of what he had just done dawned on him.
He looked at his father. Zaconis still had his hands out, energy links connected to them. One link was attached to Dina’s head but the other remained where Brighton had been a few moments ago.
‘I stopped time,’ he gasped in disbelief.
He walked to his father, but a searing hot pain shot through him, bringing him to his knees. He realized that it was taking an enormous toll on him to keep time from moving forward. The energy required to do this was almost beyond imagination, and he was drawing it all from the human realm.
He knew this would be his only chance to change the current circumstances, but he had no idea what to do. Mustering all his willpower, he rose and took another step closer to Zaconis.
Another pain, much worse that the previous one, shot up and down his body. Brighton concentrated only on reaching his father, ignoring the pain in his body.
‘I’m sorry, father,’ he said as stepped closer, a dagger made from pure energy materializing in his hand.
Without hesitating he plunged the dagger deep into Zaconis’ chest.
Earthquakes combined with thunder and lighting rocked the area, uprooting trees and ripping deep holes in the ground as time resumed its natural path.
Brighton struggled to keep his balance on the shaky ground, but suddenly all was quiet again, save for the gentle whisper of the wind.
‘What…’ Dina gasped as she sank to the ground.
‘Dina, are you alright?’ Brighton enquired as he rushed to her.
‘Yes, I think so,’ Dina replied, confusion written all over her face.
Brighton offered his hand and helped her to her feet.
‘What happened? Where is Zaconis?’ she whispered.
‘The situation needed to chance dramatically and I only had a few moments to make a decision. I took him out of the equation. Has your vision of the future changed?’ he replied.
Dina closed her eyes, a frown creasing her forehead.
‘I see nothing,’ she said slowly.
‘So, the situation has not changed enough? The world will still end?’ Brighton gasped.
‘No, you misunderstand. I cannot see a vision. It is gone,’ Dina replied with a shake of her head.
‘What does that mean? Do we have a chance to save everybody?’ Brighton asked.
‘I don’t know,’ Dina whispered.
Brighton ran his hands through his hair, taking a deep breath.
‘I have to try. If Mischief can…’ he muttered to himself as he faded away.
Evangeline spoke from behind Dina.
‘Never underestimate that man, his wife or Mischief. If anybody can find a way out of this, it is those three.’
‘I hope so. Although he is arrogant, makes hasty decisions and sometimes does silly things, I have grown fond of him,’ Dina sighed.
Angelina’s eyes snapped open. For a few moments she struggled to focus, but once her eyes had adjusted to the gloomy light, she took a good look around.
She was still in the little room under the old people’s kitchen.
Al’taish was slumped over in the chair.
Carefully Angelina got up from the bed and quietly moved over to him.
‘Excuse me,’ she whispered, but he remained motionless.
‘Sir,’ she said a bit louder, putting her hand on his shoulder.
Al’taish shot out of the chair. The hidden blade on his right arm snapped into place and before Angelina could even think of moving, the razor sharp edge was against her throat.
‘You promised not to hurt me,’ she whimpered.
Al’taish blinked his eyes a few times.
‘I’m sorry! I didn’t mean too…’ he muttered as he staggered back.
Angelina started crying uncontrollably, her body shaking violently.
Al’taish quickly shoved the blade back into its resting place before stepping forward carefully.
‘I’m really sorry. I promised myself I would guard you for as long as you slept, but I also fell asleep. I though it was someone coming to hurt you,’ he said softly, tenderly.
‘Why…why…do…you…guard…me?’ the young woman sobbed.
‘Because…uh…I have to,’ Al’taish said awkwardly.
Angelina stormed forward, lifting her arms.
‘I’m so tired of being scared all the time! Tell me why you have taken me prisoner!’ she shouted through her tears as she pounded on Al’taish’s chest with her tiny fists.
Al’taish made no defensive moves. He simply took blow after blow from Angelina.
‘Because I am in love with you,’ he whispered.
Angelina stopped pounding on his chest and stepped back.
‘What did you say?’ she said softly.
‘I guard you because I am in love with you. I’ve saved your life twice because I love you,’ Al’taish whispered, then turned his back to hide his embarrassment.
For a few moments the two young people stood in awkward silence, but then Angelina stepped closer to Al’taish.
Her arms snaked around his body and she rested her head against his back. She drank in that masculine smell she remembered so well from the time he saved her at the Justice Hall.
Slowly, her fear gave way to joy.
‘A thousand butterflies in my stomach,’ Angelina said to herself.
‘Pardon?’ Al’taish frowned.
Angelina stepped back, giving Al’taish the chance to turn around.
‘Just something a very wise woman once told me,’ Angelina smiled.
‘What does it mean?’ Al’taish asked.
‘That I’m in love with you,’ Angelina carefully answered.
‘Really?’ Al’taish gasped, but before Angelina could answer, he said, ‘I’m sorry. I suppose a girl wants to hear something much more romantic than that. I’ve never been in love before.’
Angelina giggled a little as she stepped into his embrace.
‘It’s fine. I don’t know what to do either. This is my first time too,’ she said.
She lifted her head. Seeing her long auburn hair falling down back, her light brown eyes looking up at him, his mind went blank but for one thought.
Slowly, softly he pressed his lips against hers. Angelina closed her eyes, parting her lips slightly. Tenderly the two young people’s lips locked together. When Al’taish pulled away, Angelina grabbed him behind the neck and pulled his face down to her. She pushed her lips against his again, harder this time. Al’taish’s arms encircled her tiny waist, pulling her close to him. Her hands snaked under his shirt, gently stroking his muscular body as they continued kissing passionately.
His left hand moved from her back to her stomach, creeping slowly upwards.
Her hands were on his chest, feeling every muscle, every heartbeat, every short breath he took.
When his hand reached the rounding of her breast, she suddenly broke the kiss and stepped away.
‘I’m sorry…’he stammered, going bright red in the face.
‘Don’t be,’ she said in a husky voice as she lifted the shirt over her head.
Brighton took the situation in very quickly. He was outside Palentis’ gates again.
In the distance, he saw the daraghna flying. He could make out a tiny bit of Lilian’s white dress flapping in the wind behind the beast.
He let his sense go wide, trying to follow the daraghna as it disappeared into the distance.
‘Keep going, Mischief,’ Brighton smiled as he felt the cat’s energy below the flying beast.
He grabbed his oak walking stick and set off at breakneck speed.
‘Master Brighton! Master!’ a familiar voice reached his ears.
Brighton changed course, heading for the remaining elves. They were almost in the woods and had formed a defensive circle.
Some of the enemy troops, seeing the daraghna flying off, had refocused on the elves again.
Brighton concentrated for a moment. Hundreds of energy links exploded from his body. All the soldiers around the elves simply flopped to the ground, their energy now belonging to Brighton.
‘Go, Goralt! I will find you later,’ Brighton shouted as he changed course again in pursuit of the beast that took his wife.
Quickly the elves vanished into the woods.
Brighton cast his sense wide again to find Mischief. The panther was still running faster than Brighton had ever imagined possible.
‘Keep going boy, I will follow,’ he said as he gathered more energy from the forest.
As he ran past the place where the daraghna snatched his wife, he scooped up the sword she dropped.
Chapter 24
The daraghna flew straight into a large cave, dropping Lilian roughly to the ground as it landed on the hard rock floor.
She scampered to her feet, throwing a pure black energy ball at the beast. It hit him square in the chest, but the beast only staggered back a few steps.
He barred his long fangs and in a hissing voice said, ‘Daraghnasss willsss now takesss tiny humansss magicsss. Daraghnasss willsss be strongersss than wizardsss!’
Lilian scampered away to the far end of the large cave, the large beast following slowly.
‘Tiny humansss can not runsss,’ he hissed at her.
More daraghna of varying sizes came from the tunnels that led into the mountain.
‘I wantsss, I wantsss,’ most of them hissed.
‘Minessss!’ the big one hissed back, landing a heavy backhand blow to a smaller beast who had stepped too close for his liking.
‘Witchsss will becomesss one of ussss,’ the daraghna said as he turned his attention back to Lilian.
From her previous encounter with one of these beasts, she knew she had no chance of survival. She gathered her energy and prepared to send it all into the ground, killing herself rather than becoming one of them.
The big daraghna moved forward like lightning, his claws lifted high in the air.
He tried to grab Lilian, but his claws hit an invisible barrier barely half a pace in front of her.
‘Leave her be, foul beast,’ a slightly familiar female voice came from nowhere.
Confused Lilian looked around her.
Slowly, out of thin air, figures materialized around her.
At first she could not understand what was happening, but then she recognized her daughter.
Clarissa was not the old woman who died in Brighton’s arms, but young and beautiful once more.
The daraghna tried again to grab Lilian, but again his claws hit the invisible barrier.
He cried out in frustration as he slammed his powerful arms against the protective shield.
‘I said, leave her be!’ Evangeline shouted at the beast.
Slowly he retreated into a dark corner of the cave, the other daraghna following his example.
‘What…’ Lilian tried.
‘Don’t be afraid, Mamma. We are here to help,’ Clarissa smiled at her mother.
‘Where did you come from?’ Lilian stuttered.
‘From the spirit world. Each of the spirits you hold dear had been given a small amount of energy, a bit of magic, to be used in the human world. We can help you, although only for a short time,’ Clarissa answered.
Lilian looked around her, tears running down her cheeks as she saw the people she loved around her. Clarissa, Evangeline, Adri, Brac, Donic, Ashley,
her grandchildren Brighton and Lilian, Peter and Nicky, and a young man she did not recognize.
‘Hello Mamma, I am Thomas,’ he said.
‘The last time I saw you, you were but a toddler,’ Lilian whispered, her hand shooting up to her mouth.
‘I know,’ he smiled at her.
Adri came forward and knelt next to the woman she had always thought of a sister.
‘Carmen and Thomas had already spent their share of magic helping Angelina and Al’taish, otherwise they would have been here too. One of their descendants have an important role to play in the future, if this world will survive the next few days. We had decided to pool all of our magic and give you protection from these beasts,’ she said gently.
‘Can you help me get out of here?’ Lilian asked.
‘Yes, but it won’t help much. Our magic will not last very long, and the daraghna will simply hunt you down again. These beasts have to be destroyed,’ Adri replied.
‘Can you help me do that?’ Lilian asked.
‘No, it is taking all of our magic combined to maintain a barrier around you. Brighton and Mischief are on their way here. We are not certain that our magic will last until they get here, but we will try our best,’ Adri answered.
‘Are they near?’ Lilian asked fearfully.
‘Not yet, but they will be here soon. Just before we came, I had a quick look at their progress. I had never seen either of them run that fast. To be honest, chances of survival against these vile creatures are slim, but I have seen the three of you do amazing things, so don’t give up,’ Evangeline answered.
‘Save your strength. Rest for a while,’ Adri said.
Lilian cast her sense out but there were no sources of energy around her.
‘This place feels dead,’ she commented.
‘The daraghna had long ago stolen all the energy from this mountain. When Brighton gets here, he will have only his own to draw on,’ Evangeline warned.
