by Adrian Juhl
Chapter Seven
Alone in the courtyard, Kayne stood in front of the magical wall. He traced his finger over the intricate glowing lines that led to imagery of worlds rotating around a sun. In front of him, the largest world had a strange symbol of an anchor inscribed within it. Opposite it, at the top of the mural, above the sun, another world contained a symbol that Kayne couldn’t identify.
“Could that be Terra?” he whispered to himself.
Kayne looked at the planets and related them to the surface of a clock. The world in the two o’clock position had an eroded symbol. He squinted his eyes, dusted the symbol, and looked closer. “A beast. You must be Ketu then.”
Another world, at four o’clock, held a sickle. Kayne grinned, recognizing the image. “Whetu.”
He traced to the left of the sun. The world that sat in the ten o’clock position held four symbols, drawn with the border of a circle. At the center of the circle was a symbol of an open mouth at the base of a hand. “Definitely Aazronia,” Kayne muttered.
In the eight o’clock position, the final world held the symbol of a book. Kayne spent a short time staring at the symbol trying to figure out which world it was.
“Jack!”
The prince knelt down, tracing with his finger back to the largest planet with the anchor. “So… you must be Methuselah.” He turned to see if Jack was coming. “Jack! Come and look at this!”
A glowing line appeared at his finger and traveled down the wall, illuminating a stone. Surprised, Kayne reached down and touched the stone. It shimmered to reveal a cavity hidden in the wall. The prince looked around before kneeling to investigate. An object inside glowed, filling the cavity with light. Sensing the discovery, the wolves lifted their heads and howled in unison.
“Not right now!” Jack shouted, gesturing to the men to take defensive positions.
Fire from the torches on the wall leapt higher at Reesus’ command. Flames jumped to dormant torches, bringing them to life, until the entire outside area was awash with light. Reesus looked up at the night sky and retreated to a dark section of the grounds. He retrieved a small obsidian stone from his pocket. Its image illuminated his face, revealing the redness around his tear-filled eyes. The Elemental gazed with longing at his wife, her image etched into the stone. The image shimmered and a tall, brown-haired woman looked up and smiled at her husband. “Reesus! I was so worried about you. Are you free at last from the serpent’s kiss?”
Reesus smiled. “Yes, dear. It released me and returned to its mistress. I have little time. Whatever the snake has been looking for must be here. I’m so sorry, my love. I must obey Ophidia. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
“But you must stop her from finding it, no matter the cost. Reesus, this is bigger than just you and I.”
Reesus shook his head. The image on the stone flickered and faded. “But Ophidia will fulfil her threat and ally with the Treants! Who knows what will happen once they possess the secrets of life and death!”
“My darling, she is after something of great power. If she is willing to defy the Druid Mother, who protects this world, then it must be of significant value. Don’t let-”
The image faded altogether. Reesus held it tight, willing it back to life, but its magical charge was spent. The Elemental returned the stone to his pocket. He closed his eyes and took a breath to steel his fortitude. The telltale glow of magic appeared. The earth replied with violent force. Beneath the surface of the island, magma roiled and pushed its way up toward the ground. Small fissures appeared as it went. It settled for a moment, then surged upwards once more.
Kayne’s legs collapsed under him as the earth shook. The surrounding walls collapsed, spewing dust into the air. With no time to think, he reached deep into the cavity, grasped a smooth, metal object, and pulled it free. He gasped in amazement at the golden crown. Its plain, smooth surface reflected the flickering torchlight. Cracks appeared in the magical wall.
As he held the crown, Kayne felt faint. His mind filled with visions of past kings. All of them wore the crown. He saw magnificent realms filled with beautiful cities, which prospered in the absence of war and crime. The scene twisted and swirled in a kaleidoscope of colors, replaced by a war zone. The blood of four kingdoms drenched the battlefield. Four kings stood at its center. Each king bore one of the symbols on the magical wall—a sickle, a circle with an open mouth below a palm, a beast, and an anchor. They placed their most powerful, golden, magical artifacts into a boiling cauldron—a wand, a horn, a bow, and a sword. A gray-skinned man stood at the cauldron, overseeing the offerings. He wore a robe with an image of a book on the back. The liquid gold streamed into an enormous trough that fed into the mold of a crown. They all knelt as the man approached the steaming mold.
Kayne’s vision changed once more. The citizens of the four kingdoms stood united and praised their new king. They turned away from their faiths and customs. Those who wore the crown ruled absolute, and were treated as deities. Their people thrived or suffered, depending on their king’s desires.
“Kayne!” shouted Jack, from outside the collapsing courtyard.
Kayne woke from his stupor. Realizing the power of the crown, he quickly put it on. It burnt as it touched his skin, causing unbearable pain. He screamed in agony, pulling the crown off. A smoldering scar marred his head where the crown had been. Kneeling before the wall, he realized its purpose, and the sacrifice of the monks who guarded it. “I will do everything in my power to keep this safe,” he intoned.
As he stood, the magical wall stopped glowing, appeased by the prince’s intent. Kayne fumbled with the crown as another tremor shook the compound. He flipped the cover of his satchel open and placed it inside. The magical wall cracked again and collapsed under its own weight. Kayne steadied himself, stepped over the debris, and hurried outside to his worried men.
Reesus ran to Kayne shouting, “We need to leave! Now!”
“What’s going on, Reesus? Can’t you stop it?” Garos replied.
“Not this time, Captain.” Reesus pointed to a large bulge of earth that grew bigger as they watched. “Look!”
Kayne stumbled across the shaking ground. “Is that what I think it is?”
Jack stood there, staring at Kayne. He slapped him across the back of the head. “Nice of you to join us, boy.”
“Hey!” Kayne replied, reaching to touch the crown. “I couldn’t leave without trying to save part of the wall.”
“And did you?” Jack enquired, hiding his anger at the prince’s carelessness.
“No.” He touched his satchel. “The wall fell before I could sketch the symbols.”
Garos waved his hand in front of the two men. “Excuse me, Your Highness. Can you continue this discussion on the boat? If Reesus says to leave, then it’s best to listen.”
Reesus shouted as loud as he could. “It’s a volcano! Can we go now?” He mustered the wind around the men. Multiple vortexes formed, each one encasing a member of the party. Garos indicated for the men to move closer.
Kayne cupped his hands around his mouth. “Grab a wolf each!”
Confused, the men obeyed, dropping excess baggage to carry the heavy creatures. The wind whirled faster, lifting the men high into the air. The center of the island pulsated once, twice, and then exploded in a huge eruption of lava and stone. Molten rock flew high into the air, assailing the men trapped within the elemental tornadoes. Reesus’ eyes streamed light as he focused all his magic into the surrounding air. They moved across the island with excessive speed but could not avoid the burning missiles. Missile after missile seared across the night sky. Many struck hard against the encircling winds, but were repelled as the winds protected the men inside. The men shielded the wolves with their bodies as the fiery lava balls bombarded the air around them. Small projectiles penetrated the vortexes, merging with the swirling winds. The men flinched in pain from the force of the impacts, but refused to release their precious cargoes.
Kayne grabbed h
is leg as scorching pain lanced through it. The missile ricocheted around the mini tornado that was both his rescuer and his captive. It struck again at the back of his head. Embers exploded around his face as he tumbled head over heels through the sky. Jack could only watch in horror as another missile penetrated the wall of air, striking Kayne against the side of his face and burning his cloak. The impact flipped Kayne upside down, spinning him helplessly in the wind. The smoldering remains of his cloak wrapped against the strap of his satchel, dragging it down his arm. With a twist of his wrist, Kayne caught the falling strap, only to see it ripped from his hold as it collided with a burning rock. Powerless, he watched the crown plummet to the burning island. Its golden reflection flickered once then disappeared.
“Set us down!” Kayne demanded, but the tornados continued on their path to the Oleander, now waiting in the channel.
“Steady yourselves,” Jack ordered as the winds ebbed. The party descended to the ship’s deck. One of the crewmen ran up to Garos. “Oars are at the ready, sir!”
“Good work. Take us out as fast as you can. I feel the night has more surprises in store for us.”
Garos looked at Reesus, who lay on the deck, exhausted and drained of power. Grabbing the helm firmly, Garos touched the silver acorn around his neck. The magic of the amulet flowed through him into the wooden ship. The silver wolves settled on deck as the burning missiles froze in the night sky, illuminating the channel. Protected by the magic of the acorn, the men pushed hard against their oars, moving the ship out to sea and out of range of the volcano.
“We’re clear!” Garos shouted, releasing his grip from the helm. The silver acorn’s magic abated, leaving the molten island far behind them.
“I wouldn’t say that,” Kayne replied. His hand moved to the hilt of his sword. “We have company.”
Garos stared at the wolves. The new pack leader lifted its head and growled. It moved off the deck, followed by the rest of the pack.
Kayne looked at Garos. “What aren’t you telling me, Captain?”
Garos studied Kayne, concern etching his features. “You seem different.”
“Perhaps it’s the burns and bruises?”
He sensed the prince’s low mood and set the conversation back on track. “Yes, Your Highness. I feel something. Something unnatural in the sky tonight.”
“I understand. The wolves sense it too, don’t they?”
“Yes, Your Highness. They’re ready to fight. I think we may learn who attacked them.”
“Then I guess we should get ready. Prepare the men for boarders. If they’re not friendly, call the wolves. I want every able body ready to defend this ship.”
Garos nodded in assent, “Yes, sir.”
