Bredewig then slowly opened the diary and flipped ahead carefully until he found the page he was looking for. The pages appeared so fragile that if not handled carefully, they would burst into dust. They were darkened with age and the black ink was faded, but the handwriting was still legible. Bredewig adjusted his glasses and read the entry aloud:
I see the entrance to the realm. There is only one source of life in this dreadful place, and that is the pool of silver water I see before me. This area is surrounded by a clearing, but from here, all I see is gray sky like I did when I approached the forest, even though it was sunny before I came closer. I fear what I may find once I venture down those stairs, but my love calls my name, and I have searched too long to give up on her now.
Bredewig stopped reading and carefully shut the book. Crystal and Blaze then exchanged glances.
“That’s all?” Crystal asked.
“That’s the end of the entry,” Bredewig replied.
“What about the next one?” Blaze asked.
“That was the last entry in this diary.” Bredewig responded, “The rest of the pages are blank. We don’t even have a name for this author; I bought this diary at an auction. I am a collector of old books, so naturally when I saw it, I wanted it. When we started researching the Lost Realm and Ydon found that entry from the king, I remembered the how last entry in that diary perplexed me and brought it to everyone’s attention. I then realized that the two authors must have been talking about the same location, so we all concluded that the forest area southeast of Cierith is where you will find the entrance to the Lost Realm.”
“I guess since it’s our only lead, we need to pursue it,” Blaze said.
“Yes, of course,” Crystal said hazily.
After a brief silence, Bredewig asked her, “What is on your mind?”
“Well, Malcolm told Thaddeus that I needed to go to the Lost Realm to learn holy magic, and we all know that people can only go there to free souls who are trapped there, and so I’m worried that . . .” Crystal then trailed off, “. . . my parents are there, or at least my mother is. She was the last holy mage, after all, and maybe she knew how I could become a holy mage, but never got the chance to tell me.”
Bredewig thought for a moment and adjusted his glasses, then said, “I hope you are wrong, but from what we know, I fear that may be the case.”
“Well wait, Crystal,” Blaze said, “we know that the last shard is there, so maybe that’s all we’re needed there for. Maybe Malcolm is still waiting there for us to give us the shard and when he gives it to us, he’ll be set free. Calling Thaddeus may not have set him free.”
“That’s right!” Halmez exclaimed.
“I shudder to think of Malcolm being trapped in that place.” Leldor said, taking off his hat and holding it to his chest, “Even though we do not know what lies beyond the entrance to the Lost Realm, the thought of the forest itself makes my neck hair stand on end.”
“Don’t worry, we will do everything we can to get Malcolm out of the Lost Realm if he is indeed trapped there,” Crystal assured the elders.
****
Later that day, Blaze and Crystal were well on their way south of Cierith. After the elders had given them supplies and money for the journey, Blaze retrieved his horse from the stable, strapped on the horse’s saddle and bridle, and rode him out in front of the Elder’s Hall to meet Crystal.
“If only we had any extra horses in the stables, then we could give you one so that you two didn’t have to share that one,” Halmez said to Crystal as Blaze helped her mount onto the spot in front of him.
“You’ve all done more than enough, and I thank you for it,” Crystal responded politely.
“So do I,” Blaze said.
“Good luck, you two,” Halmez said.
For the rest of the day, Blaze led the horse south until they came about twenty miles from the northeastern area of what used to be the Elven Forest. As Blaze said, there were a lot of soldier camps in that area since the forest was right next to the sea border of Cierith, so he suggested the avoided that area. The two of them then turned southwest and settled down in a small village for the night.
They checked into the village inn, and Blaze, not wanting to leave Crystal by herself, insisted that they be given a room together. The innkeeper then took their money and gave them a key to a room on the second floor and told them which door it opened. However, the innkeeper assumed that Crystal and Blaze were married, because he gave them the key to a room with only one bed.
“We have to go downstairs and ask for a different room,” Crystal said.
“Maybe we shouldn’t. If we draw too much attention to ourselves, we might attract soldiers. If the guy thinks we’re married, he’ll tell the soldiers he hasn’t seen us, since they all know we aren’t married,” Blaze pointed out.
Crystal then glared at Blaze and he backed away slightly.
“What?” he asked defensively.
“You just want to sleep with me, don’t you?” Crystal muttered.
“Oh come on.” Blaze said, “I just meant that it will help us keep a low profile. I promise I won’t seduce you . . .” Blaze paused for a few seconds and then added with his eyebrow raised flirtatiously, “. . . unless you want me to.”
Crystal rolled her eyes and walked into the room. Blaze smirked and shut the door behind them and as a precaution, he placed a chair under the doorknob after locking it to make sure they would awaken if soldiers tried to break in and to give them time to prepare to fight them off.
Crystal carefully slipped off her boots and placed them next to the door. She also took her belt and pendant off and placed them on the small table, and she put her azure sash and robe neatly folded on another chair in the room. After turning to the bed in just her dress and stockings, she saw Blaze staring at her amorously.
“What that’s it? No more?” he asked playfully.
“Stop watching me undress, you pervert!” Crystal scolded amusingly.
“It’s a tad hard not to look when you’re undressing right in front of me,” he muttered back.
Crystal did not say another word, but plopped down on the bed after removing the sheets. She covered herself up and laid her head on the pillow. Blaze removed his jacket, shirt, boots, gloves, and belt and then removed the sheets on the other side.
“You had better not try anything,” Crystal warned.
“Don’t worry; I’ll try to keep my hands to myself. You can even tie me up, if it’ll help,” Blaze retorted.
“Nice try.”
“It was worth a shot.”
Blaze lay next to Crystal for several minutes and just as she was falling asleep, she heard him whisper, “Why are you afraid of intimacy?”
Crystal opened her eyes to see Blaze’s blue ones staring straight into them. Even though the intense color was intimidating, his expression was soft and nurturing. Crystal never thought she would see him give her a look like that, and it made her feel instantly comforted.
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“One minute, you’re letting me lie on top of you and kiss you with everything I’ve got, but it seems like you’re afraid to have sex with me,” Blaze replied.
“I’m not . . . afraid.” she began, “I’ve always been taught that even sharing a bed with a man, like I’m doing with you now, was inappropriate unless you were married to him.”
“Well, I guess it’s understandable that you were taught to be all prim and proper as a princess,” Blaze muttered.
“Yes,” Crystal whispered.
“Not that I have room to talk, seeing as I’ve been ridden by more women than I care to remember. . .” Blaze paused at this point when he saw the way Crystal stared daggers at him, and then continued, “. . . but why would it be such a sin to have sex with someone if you were in love with them? If you know that you would never love anyone else the same, why should it matter?”
“I suppose that’s true, but that’s not why I avoid the subject.�
� Crystal muttered, “You see, I’ve never experienced any kind of sexual tension. Every man I’ve known before you was someone I grew up with. Gavril is like a surrogate father to me, Thaddeus, having raised my mother, is practically my grandfather, and the other men in my life are more like brothers or even uncles. You were right when you said I had never even kissed a man before you, but I also never felt an attraction like that to the opposite sex. You are the first man I have ever felt that for.”
“You didn’t even have a harmless little girl crush? You know, something that you knew would never happen, but it still slipped into your mind?” Blaze asked in disbelief.
“With everything that happened after the invasion, I’ve never had the opportunity.” Crystal admitted, “I know nothing about making love so naturally I feel a little uncomfortable thinking or talking about it.”
Blaze sighed. She could tell he felt a little guilty about teasing her earlier. She silently let him know it was all right by hugging him and pulling him closer to her. He gently kissed her forehead and held her back as she rested her head against his bare chest.
“I’ll give you all the time you need to feel comfortable about it. I won’t lie; I want you like crazy right now, but I’ve always felt that if a woman doesn’t want it as much as a man does, then it’s pointless. It’s only enjoyable if both sides want it all the same,” Blaze replied.
“Thank you.” Crystal whispered, “I love you.”
“I love you too,” Blaze whispered back.
Crystal then fell asleep to the sound of Blaze’s steady breathing and his arms wrapped tightly around her.
****
The next morning, Blaze and Crystal awoke and set out again. The innkeeper’s wife offered to give them breakfast, but they politely declined and thanked her anyway. They both knew they couldn’t stay anywhere too long, and it was quite clear that they wouldn’t be able to settle into villages anymore after seeing bounty notices posted outside the inn describing them and offering a huge reward for their return to Cartigo.
“Can you imagine our luck that the soldiers didn’t bother to check the inn to see if we were staying there?” Blaze asked once they were out of the village.
“Thankfully most Daldussan soldiers are incredibly lazy,” Crystal responded.
“If Bogdan only knew . . .” Blaze muttered with a laugh.
Deciding they had traveled far enough away from the areas with soldier camps, Blaze steered the horse south of the village. They rode throughout the day, only stopping for a few minutes every few hours to eat. Crystal eventually came to like their horse and asked Blaze if he had given him a name.
“I’ve never really given a name to a horse before,” he said to her. Crystal had just finished eating her food and was giving the horse some oats.
“Well he’s been a huge help.” Crystal said while rubbing the horse’s nose, “We have to give him a name.”
“You can name him,” Blaze replied.
“All right. How about . . .” she then trailed off, thinking for a minute or two, and then came up with a name, “. . . Bear! My father had a horse just like this a long time ago and that’s what he named him.”
“Fine with me,” Blaze replied.
After their meal, Blaze and Crystal mounted onto Bear and rode off. The afternoon began approaching before long, and eventually, the sky began to get dark with the sunset. Blaze found a place to settle down for the night in a rocky area that was several miles east of the remains of the Elven Forest. He suggested they settle down before dark so that they wouldn’t have to set a fire, and Crystal set up a few magic traps in the area that would explode and warn them if someone approached.
“For some odd reason, I can’t help but feel like I know this place,” Crystal told Blaze after he began setting up a tent.
“What do you mean?” Blaze asked her.
“I don’t know, but this area seems familiar . . .” Crystal muttered, trailing off.
“Well, I don’t know, but thankfully there’s enough rocky terrain here so we can keep out of sight. I’m leaving an opening so that when the sun rises, we’ll be woken up by the sunlight in time to get packed and—” At this point, Blaze turned around to face Crystal, but instead, he saw her crouched down several yards away with her back turned to him.
He rose to his feet and approached her slowly, realizing that she was staring at something sticking in the ground. As he got closer, he saw that the object in question was a rusted sword that someone had plunged into the dirt. When Blaze was standing right behind Crystal, he then noticed that tied to the hilt of the sword was what looked like a faded blue ribbon.
Blaze suddenly heard Crystal sniff, and when he knelt next to her, he saw tears forming in her eyes.
“I can’t believe it’s all still here!” she whispered.
“What is this?” he asked her tenderly. He then wiped a lone tear that fell down her cheek.
“The night we escaped from the castle,” Crystal began with a teary voice, “Gavril had the soldiers wrap my parents’ bodies up and take them with us so we could give them a proper burial. We wanted to wait until we had gotten to the Dwarven Mountains, but two days after our escape, Gavril decided that we shouldn’t just let them rot in the caravan anymore, so he found a place to bury them. This is it, Blaze; this is where my parents are buried.”
Blaze looked at the sword again and noticed about six feet behind it lay two, large, flat stones. His heart sank at the realization that the two people that meant the most to Crystal as a child now lay several feet underground before him. Blaze put his arm around Crystal’s shoulders to silently let her know that he was there for her.
“Why is this sword here?” Blaze asked.
“It was my father’s. Gavril plunged it in front of their graves and I tied this to the hilt,” Crystal replied. She then held her hand out, grazed her fingers on the ribbon, and then added, “My mother made me this ribbon after I begged and begged her to for days. After she finished it, I wore it all the time, even to bed. I was wearing it the night they were killed.”
Blaze then saw the letter “A” that had been delicately embroidered onto one of the ends of the ribbon. It had faded so much after being exposed to the weather and time that the once white threads had become a dirty, creamy color that mixed with the blue dye of the ribbon.
Crystal then began to sob, at which point Blaze wasted no time in embracing Crystal and letting her cry on his shoulder. She held him back and leaned on him for support, which he responded to by holding her tighter. He felt helpless at the thought of not being able to take her pain away, but he knew he had to do something for her. He wasn’t the one who actually raised his sword to her parents, but he blamed himself for helping Bogdan destroy Cierith in the wake of their death. Being near their daughter alone insulted their memory, and Blaze decided that he had to find some way to make things right.
Later that night, after Crystal fell asleep in the tent next to Blaze, he lay awake contemplating what he was going to do. He decided that Crystal meant more to him than anyone or anything, and so, he set into his mind a plan of action. He carefully slipped out of the tent without waking Crystal and quietly walked back over to the gravesite.
The moonlight glittered on the surface of the rocks that marked the graves of the king and queen, but the sword at their feet was so rusted with age that nothing but decay reflected from it. Even though he knew that it was a safe bet that no one would hear him, Blaze still knelt in front of the graves, bowed his head, and said. “Hello, uh, Your Majesties.”
Blaze spoke almost in a whisper. He instinctively turned to see if Crystal was still asleep, and when he saw that she had not stirred, he continued talking. “I want you guys to know that you have a great daughter. From what I hear, you two were well-respected and loved, so I can see where she gets it from. As for the king, if you’re anything like Gavril and Crystal said, you probably would have run your sword right threw me the second I announced that I love your daughter. I’ve don
e horrible things and I know that I don’t deserve to be with her. I doubt you would want the son of your murderer marrying your daughter anyway. Even so, I want to atone for my wicked past.”
Blaze then put his hand on the scar on his neck where the tracking mark used to be and said, “I am glad this scar is here, because now I have a reminder of who I used to be, and it will also remind me to never go back to that life. Crystal is my life now, so if you give me the strength I need, I swear that I will spend the rest of my life making up the things I have done to her. I will always do my best to protect her and, if we both survive and we do stay together, I will love her until the day I die. I promise.”
Blaze hung his head, feeling slightly silly, but in a way, he still felt better than before. Even if the king and queen didn’t hear him, he had to get all of that off his chest. He eventually rose to his feet, walked over to the tent, and crawled inside. He was relieved to find Crystal still asleep, and when he lay down beside her, she moaned and stirred a little, but did not wake. Blaze lightly kissed her forehead and prayed that she would be his forever until he drifted off to sleep.
CHAPTER 20
The fifth day after Blaze and Crystal left the City of Magi, they finally came face to face with the decayed forest. The southeastern border of Cierith was empty of any soldier camps and it wasn’t hard to guess why. The air seemed to grow colder as they drew nearer, even though it was summer. As they figured he would, as soon as they came close to the forest, Bear became agitated and eventually wouldn’t take another step forward.
“Looks like we’ll have to walk the rest of the way on foot,” Blaze said, trying to calm Bear enough so that he and Crystal could dismount.
After tying Bear next to a nearby pool of water with a bucket of food, Blaze and Crystal then set off on foot in the direction of the forest. The closer they came, it seemed, the darker the sky became. Crystal knew now that they were indeed closing in on the entrance to the Lost Realm after remembering the diary entry that Bredewig read to them.
Deliverance Page 23
