Only you the Gracious
Will keep this secret
No one else but you shall know it
Because there is in mankind
On the Inside as on the Outside
Both good and evil
If the Secret be revealed
You will lay down your life.
Ocious shuddered and looked rattled by these words, which Malorane had virtually spat at him. He seemed lost in thought for a few seconds, then he recovered:
“You’re bluffing, Your Graciousness. You’re trying to trick me, so I shall use force to make you submit. And if you don’t do it, she will,” he concluded savagely, striding over to young Dragomira.
“NO! Dragomira won’t be of any use to you today. Until she has entered the Cloak Chamber, she cannot open the Portal. She doesn’t have the power. Only the Cloak can give her that.”
Ocious stopped short, looking fazed. Then an evil smile spread across his face:
“I’ll leave you to think about it until nightfall. Once that deadline has passed, if you still refuse to co-operate, there will be terrible consequences. For you and your loved ones. After all, what’s a few more hours’ wait for the first Edefian man to pass through the Portal?”
Then the wall went blank.
17
THE GREAT CHAOS
WHEN THE IMAGE REAPPEARED ON THE WALL, THE atmosphere in the large room where Malorane and Dragomira were being held prisoner was oppressive. A man sat in an armchair, his back to the window and the balcony, watching the mother’s and daughter’s every move. The Camereye changed angle slightly to show two young men in their early twenties climbing over the windowsill and motioning them to keep quiet by placing an index finger on their lips. One was slightly round-shouldered, the other very thin. They blew into a type of blowpipe and the guard immediately collapsed.
“Abakum! Leomido!” said Malorane in a hushed voice, standing up. “I thought you’d never come back. Have you found anything out?”
The face of the round-shouldered youth darkened.
“It’s more serious than we thought, Your Graciousness. Ocious has many supporters who have infiltrated the tribes and the High Enclave. Traitors have rallied to his cause all over Edefia.”
“He’s going to abduct Dragomira, Mother,” said Leomido. “Tonight!”
“What?” spluttered Malorane. “But I told him she wasn’t ready. He knows she can’t open the Portal until she’s received the Cloak in the Chamber, and not before.”
“That’s why he wants to get his hands on her,” explained Abakum. “All he can think about is the moment when she is enthroned. Then he’ll be able to force her to open the Portal and pass through it to the Outside.”
“I don’t want to go with Ocious!” rang out little Dragomira’s voice. “I’ll never open the Portal for him, NEVER!”
She turned to look at her mother. Malorane’s face appeared in the Camereye.
“The Cloak Chamber has disappeared,” whispered the queen, blanching.
The Camereye spun round. The two young men looked at her in amazement.
“As soon as the Secret-Never-To-Be-Told was revealed, the Oath was broken and the Chamber vanished. I lied to Ocious, making him believe that he had to wait until Dragomira entered the Chamber. I was trying to play for time.”
“But then… will the Portal remain closed?” spluttered Abakum.
“Dragomira cannot open the Portal, but Ocious doesn’t know that. However, there is one last possibility,” replied Malorane gravely, her voice shaking.
Abakum stared at her with a horrified expression.
“At what cost, Your Graciousness?”
“We must save Dragomira,” replied Malorane, sidestepping Abakum’s question. “That’s more important than anything. She must pass through to the Outside. The future of Edefia depends on her.”
“But I don’t want to!” raged Dragomira.
Malorane turned to look at her with tears in her eyes.
“You must, daughter. You must escape Ocious at all costs!”
Then, addressing the two young men:
“Take her away. Quickly!”
Abakum picked up Dragomira. He barely had time to climb over the balcony again with her on his back before several men rushed into the room. The Camereye showed Malorane rising more than six feet above the floor with her arms outspread. She began to spin at breakneck speed, creating an unbelievable wind which sent everything nearby flying. The fruit on the table took flight and exploded against the walls or hit Ocious’s men, who were staggering and holding on to the walls and columns to keep their balance. Then Dragomira was carried away by the young man while the battle continued to rage in the large room. Two floors down, they slipped through a very narrow opening to emerge into a dark corridor where several people were waiting for them.
“Where’s Malorane?” asked one of them.
“She stayed upstairs with Leomido,” replied her young protector. “I hope they’ll be able to join us. But there isn’t a minute to lose.”
And, tightly holding hands, they ran along that parallel corridor which echoed with terrible cries. The walls must have been made of one-way mirrors because no one seemed to see them, while they could watch a pitched battle being fought: men thrown into the air crashed against the transparent walls, others rose above the floor striking their adversaries violently with their outstretched arms or legs. But worst of all were Ocious’s men, who could be spotted by their leather armour. Armed with plain tubes which looked like the blowpipes carried by Dragomira’s protectors, they launched substances which seemed to be lethal since their targets immediately collapsed holding their throats, overcome before they could even try to defend themselves.
“What are they?” asked Oksa in an undertone.
“Black Globuses,” whispered Pavel in her ear, not realizing that Oksa was none the wiser for his answer.
Suddenly the small group arrived at a closed door embedded in the glass wall.
“The corridor stops here, we’ll be out in the open after this,” said Abakum, his hand on the doorknob, ready to open the door. “They mustn’t spot Dragomira, let’s go!”
They dashed forward. The place was in such confusion that no one seemed to notice them. Suddenly the Camereye dropped towards the floor: young Dragomira had probably fallen over. When the image righted itself, they were looking straight at a man stretched out on the ground, writhing in pain. His right arm seemed to be decaying very fast. His skin began to turn green, then broke out in blisters of whitish dust. The man, who was obviously in agonizing pain, gave a terrible groan. Young Dragomira was then literally snatched up from the floor by her protector and the frantic race continued.
They jostled their way down the many flights of stairs through the tall tower, which was in total chaos. Men and women were lying all over the place, dead or afflicted by horrific wounds, their cries echoing in corridors strewn with bodies. Suddenly they heard a yell: a huge man in a leather helmet was blocking their way, brandishing one of those mysterious little tubes like a weapon.
“YOU’RE A TRAITOR!” shouted Abakum.
“Give me Dragomira!” retorted the man. “We won’t harm her. Quite the reverse, in fact. We just need her to open the Portal. Give her to me and you’ll all be safe.”
“Dragomira cannot open the Portal, she hasn’t received that power!”
At that, the man charged straight at them. One of Dragomira’s protectors tried to stand in the way and was hit full on by a substance ejected by the Felon’s black blowpipe. The blood seemed to have spurted on Dragomira because the images projected on the wall suddenly turned red. She gave a piercing scream and wiped away the blood from her eyes with her hand. As for the Felon, he appeared to have been hit by something which had overpowered him: he was spinning round at top speed, like a raging tornado swept along by its own momentum. However, their way was still blocked by his accomplices.
“We’re done for.”
“No. There’
s still a way out.”
The young protector pointed to the small alcove overhanging the floors they had yet to negotiate.
“Go on, Your Graciousness, jump! Your father is down there!”
Young Dragomira obeyed without a second’s hesitation, followed by several others. The Camereye showed a leap into the void and a gentle descent, as if Dragomira were floating.
“Father! Are you hurt?”
A slim man with a gentle expression looked at the girl, then at the man who had carried her.
“Dragomira, my child! Abakum! Where are my wife and son?”
“We’re here, Waldo.”
The Camereye spun round: Malorane and Leomido were there. Both of them were drenched in perspiration, their hair was unkempt and their torn clothes were stained with soot and blood.
“Leomido and I tried—” panted Malorane breathlessly. “But Ocious planned his attack carefully, thirty or so Firmhands and Long-Gulches have rallied to his cause. They have mineral weapons that we cannot ward off. We don’t know how to defend ourselves. We must flee. Dragomira must pass through to the Outside.”
Waldo held out some rustic-looking clothes which they hurriedly put on.
“Don’t forget this!” said Waldo, throwing them several straw hats. “Malorane, Dragomira, these two are for you.”
He handed each of them a hat trimmed with a thick veil like those worn by beekeepers. After securely adjusting their bags over their shoulders, they headed towards a sort of sled harnessed with two giant hens which were pawing the ground with impatience—or nervousness, because the vehicle was laden with beehives which were buzzing furiously.
“We must separate, otherwise the Felons will notice us,” said Abakum. “Our Gracious’s family will leave with me on the Gargantuhen carriage,” he added indicating the two massive hens.
“Meet us at Lake Saga before sunset,” said Malorane. “Take care of yourselves, my dear friends. By the time it is dark, it will be too late. Good luck to you all!”
She bid an emotional farewell to each of the group members who then disappeared into the crowd. Only five people were left standing beside the sled: Malorane, her husband Waldo, Abakum, Leomido and Dragomira, whose presence was indicated by what she was seeing around her. In particular, the noise of fighting could be heard drawing dangerously near.
“Quick, hurry up! There isn’t a minute to lose!” exclaimed Waldo.
The image projected on the wall suddenly became more opaque; Dragomira had probably put on her beekeeper’s hat to hide her face. Her gaze rested one last time on the magnificent, translucent column-like building which she’d just left. The upper floors were on fire; long flames could be seen escaping from the balcony where Malorane had been standing earlier. The vehicle left the courtyard and pulled out into a street filled with perfectly ordinary-looking people as well as much more unusual creatures. Suddenly the sled jolted slightly, the giant hens flapped their gigantic wings and the vehicle took flight.
“Stop! Go no further!”
Three stern-looking men dressed like soldiers were standing suspended in the air in front of their strange vehicle. In one hand they held the same type of blowpipe as the Felons in the glass tower. Two of them had these weapons trained on Abakum and Leomido, who were wearing the brim of their hats low to hide part of their faces.
“Be careful,” muttered Malorane. “They’re bound to be Felons in Ocious’s pay.”
“Who are you? Where you going? What are you transporting?” boomed the man who seemed be in charge.
Abakum gave a little cough before replying confidently:
“We’re Sylvabuls from Green-Mantle. My name is Per Boeg and this is my mother and my two apprentices. We’re on our way home because we’ve sold all our honey. You can see the hives in the sled…”
The soldiers came over and the Camereye then showed Malorane discreetly kicking the hives, which immediately emitted a very unsettling buzzing noise. The men hastily backed away.
“The bees are a little agitated at the moment,” explained Per Boeg, alias Abakum.
“We have orders to check the identity of all the people travelling through this sector,” said the first soldier firmly.
Malorane jumped up and opened one of the hives, shouting:
“Dragomira! Protect yourself!”
The scene erupted in confusion. The bees swarmed onto one of the soldiers and entirely covered his face. The man danced around frantically and began to scream. But the bees immediately flew into his mouth, quickly silencing him. A few seconds later he crashed to the ground a few yards below. During this time, Leomido had grabbed a harness strap with which he began violently whipping the second Felon, leaving a long, deep gash on his face and head which immediately started bleeding heavily. The blow was so mighty that his armour and leather helmet parted company as though slashed by the claws of a bear, and the man hurtled down in turn before he had time to react. Making the most of the confusion, Malorane had attacked the third Felon simply by blowing into her blowpipe. A yellowish substance spread over his ribcage and, acting like acid, ate through the man’s leather armour, then his skin, reaching his lungs and dissolving them in a matter of seconds. The Felon—or what was left of him—also tumbled into the void.
Abakum pulled lightly on the reins and the large hens took off again. Dragomira removed her hat and the view immediately cleared.
“Such a cool head, Your Graciousness!” murmured Abakum in a shaky voice.
“My thanks to you, bees,” replied Malorane.
“It’s an honour to be of service to you, Your Graciousness,” buzzed the latter loudly, making the hives shake dangerously.
“We’re getting close!” reported Leomido.
The Camereye focused on the horizon. The sky looked strange—it was an unusual hue, an indefinable, mysterious colour.
“That must be Edefia’s frontier,” whispered Oksa, who understood now what her gran meant by an “unknown colour”, never encountered on Earth.
When they arrived at the edge of a dense forest clustered around the gleaming waters of a lake, the giant hens began their descent and landed the sled on the ground.
“Look! Naftali is here already!” said Dragomira, running towards an immense tree whose trunk had to be at least 130 feet in diameter.
A man with emerald eyes came over with ten other people they’d seen fighting then fleeing the tower.
“We were concerned when we left Thousandeye City. Ocious was there—he recognized me when some Felons tried to stop us,” said Naftali. “We must hurry, they can’t be far behind.”
Dragomira’s attention was caught by a red bird which was drawing closer.
“There’s your Phoenix,” announced Malorane, sounding exhausted. “It rose from the ashes of mine when the Mark appeared on your stomach.”
She looked drained and her face was frighteningly pale.
“I’m the cause of everything that is happening to us, child. Because of my irresponsibility, Edefia faces a terrible evil which is dragging us into Chaos. The power which governs the Cloak Chamber has been shattered because, by revealing the Secret-Never-To-Be-Told, I destroyed the essence of our land: balance and respect for all forms of life.”
From her neck she took a fine chain from which hung a striking antiquated gem.
“This Medallion belongs to the Graciouses. Keep it with you at all times and protect it as if your life depended on it,” she whispered in Dragomira’s ear, putting the chain around her neck. “The Portal will open thanks to the union of the Ageless Fairies and the soul of former Graciouses. But by offering you their power, they will be condemned to wander. You’re the one who must find the strength to save them and the wisdom to undo the curse. If, by your courage and by the choices you make, you manage to find the solution, the Chamber will forgive my mistakes. Above all, never forget what I told you: the answer lies within you. You bear the Hope of Edefia.”
“But Mother, I want to stay with you!” sobbed the girl.
>
“Trust me!” begged Malorane. “And never forget…”
The Phoenix was now very close. It landed at Dragomira’s feet and she crouched down to stroke its gorgeous plumage. Suddenly she looked round and the Camereye followed her gaze: scores of men were flying towards the gigantic tree at top speed.
“Go, Dragomira! GO NOW!” ordered Malorane.
The Phoenix started singing a deep, poignant song which pierced the heart of every person there. An arch of light appeared against the mysteriously coloured surface and began to shine in the approaching twilight.
“Go on! GO THROUGH THE PORTAL! WHATEVER YOU DO, DON’T LOSE DRAGOMIRA! You others, quickly, cover them,” yelled Malorane at the top of her lungs.
“Mother, I don’t want to, NO! Come with us!” yelled Dragomira.
Abakum and Leomido seized Dragomira and together they raced towards the arch of light. Naftali flew past them and suddenly disappeared when he reached the arch, while one of their friends collapsed, hit by the Felons. Others passed through the bright arch and disappeared. The Camereye spun round to see Waldo, who was attempting to stand between them to prevent the Felons from pursuing his daughter. Suddenly he froze in mid-movement and rolled heavily onto the ground. Dragomira gave a heart-rending cry. Further away, Malorane was fighting hand-to-hand with Ocious. She appeared to have a head wound because they could see blood flowing down the side of her face. Suddenly she rose above the ground and violently kicked the leader of the Felons, then crashed down on top of him with all her weight. Exhausted, dazed by their attacks on each other, they ended up kneeling face to face beside Waldo’s bloody body. It seemed obvious to the spectators of the Camereye that the two enemies had just mounted a lethal attack on each other: their figures collapsed and disappeared in the tall grass.
Oksa Pollock: The Last Hope Page 10
