Outside Hell

by Milo Spires

  Then as time went on and with summoning his portal to visit Janus who still wouldn’t run away with him, something else had happened that meant everyone had no choice but to run.

  He couldn’t stay in the castle a second longer either, Vrakug would find out about it and then he’d be killed too.

  Dracus had been in the caves wearing a hood just in case Vrakug turned up to snatch a woman to pleasure him for the night, and as he was kissing Janus in her small cave where she’d slept, her father Jonyk had come for him. He’d asked him to follow him, and told him that he’d something very important to show him.

  Then and in response he and Janus had got up from the soft blankets that they were wrapped in, and then after putting on some clothes with Dracus again wearing his hood, both of them had followed Jonyk much deeper down into the mountain.

  They’d walked along in the flickering light from her fathers burning torch, whilst navigating for half a mile down through the craggy uneven passageway. The path had led them around boulders that were precariously scattered here and there, and then occasionally they’d also had to duck down under some lethal looking Stalactites, formed from the precipitation of minerals that the water had brought through after dripping through the ceiling for thousands of years.

  Then once her father had reached the place where he was going, he’d passed the burning torch to Janus, and then with some difficulty due to his large frame, he’d squeezed through a tiny gap in the rock wall.

  Janus went next holding the torch up, and with her curvaceous body she’d glided through with inches to spare either side of herself, as if setting the standard that Dracus had to follow in, only he’d failed too. Although he wasn’t as big as her father, his non-curvaceous bum had snagged the wall.

  Then once inside, Jonyk lit another bunch of sticks that were already in there and together with the bunch that was Janus had been holding, he’d placed them in the walls on the opposite sides of the cave. The ardent flames had lit up the place brightly, and washed it in their flickering glow.

  A second past and then Janus’ mother Easarta, a small lady similar in height to Janus but with dark hair and blue eyes also appeared in the cave, whilst Jonyk then walked over to the back of the cave. The wall he was standing in front of though was strangely flat, and not craggy or rough like the other walls around him.

  As he’d walked towards it, Jonyk he’d looked like a teacher that was approaching a blackboard, and preparing to scribble on it with a chalk as the lesson was about to begin.

  Jonyk paused and then turned around and whilst looking at his daughter and smiling, he’d looked up with the same loving smile towards Dracus too.

  Jonyk said to Dracus that even though he’d felt like he was his own son, and that they’d all loved him so very much, they’d always known that he wasn’t truly their son, and had something to show him.

  The suspense was beginning to get to Dracus and whilst he stood there next to his love, Janus held his hand tightly.

  Then as Jonyk had turned back to face the wall, he’d raised his hand and started to wipe away the dirt that was over it. All the time he was saying that a few days before they’d found him in the wastelands, something had appeared in his mind and then brought him down to the cave, and when he’d reached it, he’d found that it had shown him who Dracus’ real parents were.

  Dracus then suddenly thinking of the woman that had been killed in the forests when he was six and who he’d always thought of as his mother, watched quietly as the big mans hand past back and forth through the dirt in front of him.

  Every pass that Jonyk had made revealed more and more colors from underneath that were beginning to take the shape of people.

  Then as Jonyk had finished wiping away the dirt from the wall, there before the bowman was an old cave painting that showed a man and a woman in clothes that he’d never seen before.

  The woman was holding a naked baby up in her arms that was facing into her chest, and apart from it being no more than a year old, Dracus instantly noticed the mark on it’s upper back. It was in the same shape as the crest on the spell books that he’d seen in the evil lord study.

  Then and with the extreme shock that was suddenly passing through him, a million thoughts also raced through his mind too.

  The man was in a blue velvet suit with a white fur cloak that was speckled with tiny black dots and flowed down from around his neck, spanning out to within a foot of either side of him. Then around his feet he’d worn shiny black shoes with long white socks that ran up to, and then splayed out frilly about his knees. Around his neck he’d white ruffles, and from beneath he’d worn a long gold chain with a medallion the size of your hand and en-scribed on its face, were the four planets overlapping one another of the Valstrath Realm. Then on his head he’d worn something that was also gold and filled with an array of magnificently sparkling stones, and along from his elbows he’d gold studs that were pushing through, until reaching more white ruffles that appeared to encapsulate his hands from his shirt beneath.

  The man had a rich colorful bronze complexion with soft caramel hues and a somewhat jovial look about his face, that appeared to be there just for show as if it was somehow attempting to mask a deeper, and more bitter sadness within. He’d also a black beard that hung down into the ruffles beneath, and medium to dark eyes that looked like they were in deep thought.

  Then the woman that was standing just an inch to his side was unbelievably beautiful. She had dark hair and her skin was just the same as his, a rich bronze color with the subtle hues of warm caramel, and her face was slim and extremely beautiful with dark eyes and small lips, that enhanced her shallow jawline.

  She was wearing a long burgundy dress that appeared with its fold and shadows, to have a frame underneath it, as it raced out a foot either side of her, and then gracefully touched the floor beneath. Her shirt that was partially masked by the child, was in the color of blanc d’innocence virginale, and climbed up to within an inch either side of her narrow neck, before racing out horizontally and then stopping in two equally sharp points above her shoulders.

  Dracus who was lost for words with his frozen stature just stared forwards in disbelief at the pictures, before saying, “but how do you know the babies me?”

  Jonyk and his wife had smiled at him and then said that they’d come to that in a minute, but first there was more they’d wanted to show him. Dracus watched as Janus’ father then knelt down and rubbed more dirt away from the wall, that was beneath the painting.

  As he did then letters appeared that gradually took the form of a message.

  It read,

  To our beautiful people, who we loved and cherished with all our hearts,

  We have handed over our castle to an evil lord called Vrakug, who appeared one day from a dark mass floating above the Valstrath Realm and masked out the glorious light from our god Lianor’s meteor, that she’d blessed us with so many years before,

  We are your king and queen. Our names are King Rasviult and Queen Siarui and we ruled Eldor for hundreds of years. The land of Eldor was a rich place and we never fought, we ate well and had many parties up in the castle above. When Vrakug battled us with his magic, it was too powerful against our magic, and we had to succumb to his evil demands,

  We sensed the deal of our surrender though might not stand, and refused to hand over our magic to him, but instead chose to place it in our only son that you can see in my arms,

  We also had the grave fear that should he let you live, he might wash your minds of your past before his arrival, and hope that as you are reading this, that you can find it in your hearts to trust us when we tell you, that you all had beautiful lives beforehand, that were free from the persecution and tyranny of his evil ruling,

  Our baby here Dracus, and in moments because time is now not our friend, will be sent out into the forests with his nanny to live far away, escaping Vrakug’s evil wrath. The path they will take will lead under the witches cave, and their magic will mas
k Vrakug’s from being able to follow them.

  All our magic bar a little is within Dracus now and when we are gone, if we can guide you to finding him, please do not tell him until he has reached a manly age, because before this he will not be ready to bear the responsibilities that he must hold.

  Dracus must find a way to kill Vrakug, and then in doing so restoring Eldor to its former glory,

  We love you all, and hopefully one day we will be reunited again,

  King Rasviult and Queen Siarui.

  Then after letting Dracus read it, and everyone witnessing that he’d turned a pale shade of white in just doing so, Jonyk said.

  “When we found you, you were not of the age then to tell you, but seeing that you held the same mark as the baby, we hurriedly brought you back with us in our hunting bag, and then covered you in the blood of a kill so that the Zamourn death hounds wouldn’t find you. Now that you are of the age to understand, and as we were asked to do so in the message, we hope that soon you will know within yourself what it is that you have to do to save your parents, and free Eldor from Vrakug’s evil reign.”

  Janus’ mother then walked forwards and poured water over the back wall of the cave and a beautiful reflection suddenly appeared, as it ran down the rock and then trickled into the dirt beneath. Then as she’d held her hand forwards to him and smiled, she’d asked him to remove his top so that he could see the proof that he was the child for himself.

  Dracus who was deeply aware of Vrakug’s plans to kill the baby or person when he’d found it, and that he’d only just thought that he had to warn the person so they could flee, hoped with all his heart that the mark wouldn’t be there. Only as he’d removed his top revealing his broad muscular body underneath and then twisted around to see, it was there. The mark that for obvious reasons he’d never seen before, was in the same place as on the baby high up between his shoulder blades in the shape of the royal crest.

  The sudden deep concern for every ones safety and the fact that he was a royal child and that these were his parents was too much for him, and then in response, he’d sunk to his knees.

  Everyone had asked him if he was ok, but for the second he’d remained quietly staring up from the dirt at his parent’s picture. Janus was equally shocked and had no knowledge of the mark either, and it was on her lovers back. She’d felt sure she would have seen it, but obviously not!

  Then looking at her parents with the same look of shock that Dracus had deeply washed across his face, they’d responded.

  “Janus my darling, we couldn’t risk telling you either to protect the request of the king and queen. If Dracus is our only hope for freedom, we had to guard the secret with our lives and tell no one.”

  Janus who aware of the horrible life outside the caves, and of the evil Vrakug who she’d only narrowly missed having to bed, then fully understood her parents and smiled as she’d looked down at Dracus with those naughty cat like eyes. A second past and then she’d said to him, “I new there was something special about you, you little bastard.”

  Then and in response to everything, he’d smiled and stood up a changed man.

  When he’d come to the cave he’d not expected anything, and then to have everything thrown upon him as he’d just had, it had caught him completely off guard. Only now he’d felt happy inside like an immense weight had been lifted off his mind because he knew who his true parents were.

  He’d always thought that the woman who’d cared for him and was eaten by the beast in the forest’s had been his mother, and then for a moment with that thought looming, he’d remembered her simple yet beautiful face as it had appeared in his mind.

  Dracus wished he’d known then about his powers of giving life, because he would have saved her.

  She’d looked after him for five years, and through all of that time it was in such a bleak and dangerous forest, it must have been utter hell for the woman. He’d thought.

  Then after turning around and re-clothing himself, he’d decided that it was long past time that he reveal his hidden powers to them, and with that thought he’d summoned the portal.

  Chapter 6 – Farewell

  After Dracus had summoned the portal in front of Jonyk, his wife, and his love Janus, they’d looked at it in complete amazement.

  Then in response to seeing it, Jonyk had burst out laughing and a moment later he’d grabbed him in his strong grip and gave him a super big cuddle, but as he was cuddling him Dracus suddenly realized that they were all in grave danger.

  He’d lived in the castle so close to the evil Vrakug for all these years, and in that time he’d been completely unaware of Eldor’s past, and that the evil lord was looking for him. Now that he knew this and what it would mean to his life expectancy, and theirs too if Vrakug ever found out that he was the royal child, he couldn’t take the risk. Everyone including the other villagers in the caves, had to leave immediately.

  Then after explaining about the spell that Vrakug was trying to create, and about how he was going to try killing the witches, plus if he was successful that he was going to destroy all the planets of the Valstrath Realm, Dracus had said to them with deep worry in his voice that they all had to leave.

  A moment had past and then as he’d thought about it and Jonyk with his deeply furrowed brows was clearly thinking about the same thing too, suddenly it came to him.

  The other planets circling Eldors orbit were so close that you felt you could almost touch them by day, and as you looked up you could just faintly see the mountain peaks facing back at you because unfortunately the sizzling blue atmosphere from king Rasviult, and queen Siarui’s reign had now turned a horrible grey. Dracus realized though if his people went to the furthest of the planets that being Sarhl, and then once there although it suffered from the same dark electrifying clouds that poured out bolts of lightening, and huge rocks raining down plus the Skylark beasts, they’d be able to start their lives again. They’d also be free from Vrakug’s wrath until such times as he could return for them.

  Janus had asked him if he was going with them and as she’d said it she’d seen the look in his eyes, realizing that he wasn’t. Then as it had registered in her mind suddenly the beautiful sparkle that was always there faded. Her cat like green eyes dulled and a moment later a tear appeared that rolled down her cheek. Dracus bent forwards and after wiping it away with his finger, he’d kissed her and told her the reason why he had to leave. He’d said that he had to steal Vrakug’s powerful orb that turns the castle invisible to the Skylark beasts, and explained that after he’d done it and with Vrakug then deeply preoccupied with saving himself from the Skylark beasts, the evil bastard wouldn’t have time to search for them. He’d also said that if the orb was gone, then maybe Vrakug might loose some or all of his powers, and become easier to defeat.

  Jonyk had asked Dracus how they’d get to Sarhl though and also how he could be sure that once they were there, that they’d be safe from Vrakug.

  Dracus then explained his theory,

  He’d pointed across to the message on the wall and also remembered reading something similar in Vrakug’s notebook too. As a child the nanny who’d fled with him had taken him along the old path leading underneath the witches cave. Vrakug had mentioned that he’d tried to use a spell to follow the nanny but couldn’t because they’d gone that way, the magic from the witches cave had blocked his spell and he’d lost them. Only after he’d explained this to Jonyk, Janus’ father had reminded him that it was dark outside the cave that they were all in, and it would be far too dangerous to leave, as the Skylark beasts would be souring the skies looking for anything that moved. One hundred and fifty people, men women and children couldn’t possibly hope to evade being seen by them, and then once they’d swooped down from the dark skies and attacked them, they’d all be reduced to nothing more than mere piles of smoldering black ash.