The Dark Lord's Demise (20 page)

"Can they fly?" croaked the bird.

Tigvah ducked his head to hide a smirk. Hisschi calmly turned
to the children with raised eyebrows. Hazilon replied, "Alas, the great lord, Gaal, has not granted them the gift of flight. However,
they have other gifts that will prove useful. Now tell us, is there
honey on the island?"

"From a great height-not too high, of course, for my superb
eyesight-from a height so close to the clouds I was nearly swallowed by a thunderhead, so close to the sun I nearly scorched my
wings-"

Hisschi snapped, "Vulcanus! Did you see weaver bees?"

The vulture's little eyes fixed on a point in midair. His raspy
voice became poetic (but still raspy). "I saw black clouds of weaver
bees fly back and forth across the water, between the island and
bright fields of wildflowers on the shore. I saw those clouds of bees
ascend and descend on the island. I saw holes in the stone walls
where they entered like a funnel. I marked the spots in my deepest
memory." How deep can that be with your tiny bird brain? Lisa thought
but fortunately did not say. "There is honey there. Trust me, there
is honey there."

"Excellent," said Hisschi. "Then you will guide these children
from the air while they follow you on the ground."

"Waste of time," said the vulture. "I can fly ten times faster than
they can walk."

"Yes, good Vulcanus, but how much honey can you carry?"

The bird was stumped. He shuffled his sharp-clawed feet back
and forth on the window ledge. He dipped his head and complained, "They'll never keep up with me. I'll waste hours every day.
Fly ahead and come back, fly ahead and come back ..."

"Ah, but you and your kind are masters at circling," the queen
replied.

The Friesens pictured the familiar, creepy sight of buzzards
wheeling high in the air, tilting back and forth with wings held in a
wide V, searching for dead prey on which to feed. Would they make
their entire journey under the ominous flight of a scavenger? The
vulture protested, "My duties are to search and find. I have never
been given guide duty." Suddenly he extended a wing and twisted
his undersized head to preen beneath it. The wing reached far
into the room. It did not intimidate Queen Hisschi. "Then you
shall learn new duties, Vulcanus. The king commands it."

Wes spoke up. "Your majesty, I mean, your majesties, if you don't
mind, Kurt and Lisa and I don't need a guide. That is, if we go. We
can find our way between here and Lake Nachash. You go through
the Forest of Blackness and down the ancient stone pathway.
When we did it, we traveled from there to here, anyway, to near here,
to the Rinnar Heights. It's almost the same thing."

"And how long (lid it take you to travel by your own puny feet?"
Vulcanus asked.

"We didn't go by foot. We rode on the backs of reindeer." Vulcanus spread both wings and started up a one-bird croaking chorus.
The children guessed he was laughing. "White reindeer," Wes
added over the racket. The bird flapped his wings and lifted himself on his toes. He gave the unsettling impression he was about to
take off and soar around the small room. He squawked, "And
when was this madness?"

"Before you were ever born!" Lisa retorted. She thought again.
"That is, before you were hatched."

"Before you were even an egg!" Kurt added.

The vulture folded his wings and squeezed himself back out
through the window. "Waste of time!" he croaked before he took
off with a loud pounding of wings. He wheeled back to sail in front
of the window and rasped out, "We leave at dawn from the northeastern gate!" Then he was gone.

"He must have a constant sore throat," Lisa said.

Tigvah, Hisschi and Hazilon were half-choked with laughter.
The queen said, "If eagles were not master spies, we might still
keep them for amusement."

The strange confusion of vultures with eagles bothered Wes.
There had been eagles in Anthropos. An eagle called Strongbeak,
curiously like Vulcanus in his actions, had once accompanied them
on a journey. Uncle John had told them of another eagle, Aguila,
who brought food during a journey and gave her life in battle
against Lord Lunacy's forces. Surely Tiqvah knew those stories.
How could he confuse those birds with this one?

The king's voice broke into Wes's thoughts. "As I was saying
before Vulcanus arrived, do you accept the task I have laid before
you?"

"Your majesty, we mean no disrespect," Wes replied. "Please
allow us to consult with each other before we give you an answer."

A spark flared in the queen's eyes, but she said nothing. Hazilon
also remained quiet, though his eyebrows went up in a questioning
manner. Tiqvah looked steadily at the children. He said, "Good
friends of my youth, I wish that you would not hesitate. For the
sake of my father and mother, who regarded you highly, I will wait
until sundown for your answer." He closed his eyes and slumped
back in his chair.

Hazilon the priest bent over the king and spoke quietly to him.
Queen Hisschi rose. She motioned for the children to go to the
door. They were surprised when she followed them out. Her manner had changed dramatically. All her composure and humor were
gone. She was quite agitated. She looked back to make sure the
door was closed before she pleaded, "I beg you, do not refuse the
king's mission!"

The children waited silent in the hallway. Wes and Kurt remembered Gaal's words: "Listen, listen, listen!" Hisschi went on, "I
could not say all I wished to say in the council chamber. The king
is it sick man, sicker than he himself knows. He will need more
honey as soon as possible!" She glanced back toward the door.
"Keep all that was said here, and all that you do, behind it veil of
secrecy. We must be on our guard. Enemies are everywhere."

"What enemies, your majesty?" asked Lisa. "You said Anthropos
was at peace."

"Our enemies are not from some other kingdom. For such
threats, we have an army. No, this danger rises front the inside. It
comes from the advisors who trained the king as a young man and
in the younger allies they have gathered around them. I am certain
that their treachery is behind the king's strange illness. Whether it
is sorcery or it spell, I do not know." She looked at each of them in
turn with fierce urgency in her eyes. "Be careful whom you trust.
Be very careful. Go now to the chamber Swiftlope shall show you.
You must make your decision by sundown. For the sake of the king
and for Anthropos, I beg you to go on this journey!"

Swiftlope met the children and led them down the hallway. His
heavy yet speedy gait, the swing of his head and the click of his toe nails were comforting and familiar to them now, especially to Lisa.
The great wolf had grown more at ease with them too. As they
rounded a corner and entered a long, deserted corridor, he
heaved a big sigh. "You young Regenskind need much care," he
grumbled deep in his throat. "I lead you here. I lead you there.
The other one is no better."

Wes was tired of being told he needed guidance from wolves
and turkey vultures. He started to say, "That's all right, we'll find
our own way," when Lisa cut in: "Swiftlope! What do you mean,
,the other one'?"

"The other Regenskind. She is a girl."

Wes and Kurt woke up to what the Koach had said. "What girl?"
Wes asked.

The Koach sighed again. "I should not speak of her. She is
under the queen's secrecy. I do not like her, for she acts as though
she herself is a little queen. For some reason her majesty takes special interest in this young female, who is most stubborn and
demanding."

The Friesens exchanged quick looks. They hurried to come
alongside Swiftlope. Lisa laid her hand on his bristly back. "What is
this girl's name? Would it be-Betty Riggs?"

The wolf's nose twitched. He said nothing. They reached a
door, which he deftly opened with his teeth. "The queen forgets
that yesterday she put two maidservants in prison for stealing. The
wing of the palace where she intended you to stay is not clean.
However, this chamber will do. In fact, I think it is finer. I will
come back at sundown for your decision." His ears twitched. "As
for the girl of whom I spoke, I am sworn to secrecy. I will say only
that she is a foolish braggart. She babbles of imaginary power over
bee stings."

The Friesens stared at each other. Swiftlope turned and limbered away down the hall.

In a room on the other side of Nephesh Palace, Betty Riggs rolled
over in a wad of thick, downy blankets and woke up. Sunlight
poured through a window of diamond-shaped colored panes. The
light made brilliant patterns on the stone floor. Betty looked
around the elegant chamber. Where was she? Certainly not in her
bedroom in the new house on Grosvenor Avenue.

She sat up in bed. Suddenly she was wide-awake, and she knew
where she was. This was a palace, and she wasn't dreaming! Her
mind raced over the past couple of days. Her new neighbors the
Friesens had somehow dragged her into this strange world called
Anthropos and gotten her arrested by ugly little creatures called
Matmon. That was bad, but in the process she had it chance to test
her beliefs. She found she could alter bad circumstances by her
own decision. Betty snuggled back cozily on a big feather pillow
and closed her eyes. It really worked!

Her mind drifted on. Despite Lisa's resistance, she had followed
the light person out of that awful dungeon. The light had told her she had it special task to do. It must be true because even when she
was recaptured, she had gotten away again. Out on the streets
some kind people like police officers had believed her story. They
had escorted her to the palace of the king and queen of Anthropos. Servants had promised her she would soon meet the royal
couple. Surely they would tell her about her special task. The servants had fed her a huge meal and put her to bed in this luxurious
room where she had slept and slept.

Was it already evening? Had she slept all day? Through her
closed eyelids she detected a bluish light like evening light. A servant called to her. "Betty! Betty Riggs!" How had he entered the
room? She had not heard the door open. She didn't want to open
her eyes. It felt so delicious to rest here in all this softness. The
voice called again: "Betty Riggs!" Curious, but not afraid, Betty
opened her eyes.

A man she had never seen before stood a few feet away from
her bed. Her first instinct was to scream for help. The next instant
her fear melted away. The man's face was so open and kind that
she felt at ease with him. He wore a long robe of white with shimmers of iridescent blue. His skin was browned from much time in
the sun and open air. His hair and beard were white. He looked
too young to have white hair, but at the same time he appeared
ageless. Betty thought he must be a new servant. She hoped he
would wait on her often because she liked him already.

"Did you bring me breakfast?" she asked. She didn't know if it
was morning, afternoon or evening, but she thought breakfast was
a good starting point.

"I bring you something far better than breakfast," the stranger
replied.

Betty wondered what that could be. She started to realize how
hungry she was. She couldn't think of anything better than a good
breakfast.

The man stepped closer. "Betty, you have heard your neighbors
the Friesens speak of one named Gaal."

"Huh? Oh, yeah, they talk about him all the time. He's connected with somebody called the Changer. I tried to explain to Lisa
that all of us have the power to be changers. See, I was in a group at my old school and we-" Her words died away under the
stranger's steady gaze. She felt a little foolish. Her group at school
seemed insignificant in this man's presence. Again she was almost
afraid of him, but the comfort and warmth of his presence
crowded out her fear.

"Betty, I am Gaal. I am the Son of the Emperor, the Unchanging
Changer. I offer to change you and make you new, but not in the
ways you and your group practiced. You played with ideas that you
did not understand. Now you must walk away from those ideas. You
must walk toward me."