The Dark Lord's Demise (24 page)

"Don't worry," Wes said. The girl backed toward the door,
reached behind her for the latch and opened the door while she
kept her eyes on the Friesens. She gave a quick smile, then withdrew, closing the door softly.

Streaks of rosy pink laced the eastern sky as the Friesens emerged
from the tunnel in the city wall. They left through the same door
they had so recently entered as prisoners. The morning air was
chilly. They sucked it deep into their lungs to rouse themselves to
attention. On one side of them sparkled the waters of Lake Bamah,
and on the other side the River Rure flowed through a portcullis in
the wall on its route north to the Northern Mountains and the
Great Sea. Beyond the Rure lay the Forest of Blackness.

The king and queen had sent a note of gratitude the night
before to the three children for their willingness to go to the Island
of Geburah. But Kurt had not slept well. Uneasiness still sat in the
pit of his stomach. As they took final inventory of their packs, he
muttered, "I still don't like this. It doesn't seem right."

"What doesn't seem right about it?" Wes asked with an edge to
his voice. He was tense, not because he questioned the trip but
because he did not know what dangers waited in the Forest of Blackness. Journeys undertaken for Gaal were never safe and comfortable.

"I don't know what's wrong," Kurt admitted. "I just don't feel
good about it. Remember when we were in the cell and I told you I
didn't feel right about opening the door? It's the same thing."

"It's completely different," Wes said. Before Kurt could ask how,
the main gates creaked and swung partway open. Out came
Andron, the soldier who had guarded Wes and Kurt in the dungeon. Behind him came Dominicus, who had guarded Lisa and
Betty. Dominicus led a white horse with panniers slung across its
back.

Andron's attitude toward the Friesens was completely changed.
He bowed slightly and a little awkwardly and explained, "My Lords
Wesley and Kurt, my Lady Lisa, Dominicus and I are to accompany
you to the island. Truly we are grateful for this task. After you
escaped, our fate was certain. The penalty for allowing prisoners to
escape is death."

"So we heard. But they let you off!" Kurt exclaimed.

"Only by a hair's breadth," said Dominicus. "We were being led
out for execution when a message arrived from the queen. She
spared our lives. Truly she is merciful!" He looked toward the sky
and made a gesture of thanks.

The Friesens absorbed this news but said nothing. Perhaps the
queen was more trustworthy than they thought. The soldiers cut
these musings short. They were alive and glad of it. They only
wanted to get on with the business at hand.

All this time the white horse stood with ears pricked at attention.
Lisa stroked his face. On his white nose was a little snip of black.
"It looks like-but it can't be! Is this the king's own horse?"

"That it is, my lady," said Dominicus. "His name is Philo. The
king has decided to ride him no longer."

Wes started to ask, "Has he gotten too ill to ride?" meaning the
king, but he stopped. Did Andron know the seriousness of Tigvah's
illness? He changed his question to "Has the horse gotten too old
to ride?"

"The horse is not old, Lord Wesley. But of late he develops odd
swellings at his withers." Dominicus ran his hand along the horse's shoulder to a place just in front of the pannier straps. Each of the
children felt the spot. The horse did have a slight protrusion under
his glossy coat. "There is one like it on the other side. They make it
difficult to fit him with a saddle, though these pannier straps do not
bother him."

"Poor Philo," Lisa sympathized as she patted the horse's neck.

"They do not appear to hurt him. Let us say they give him a new
task to do for his majesty. His packs hold empty wineskins for the
honey we find on the island. He also carries our tents on the first
leg of the journey. On the way back he carries the bulk of the
honey, and we carry our own tents. We'll have eaten half our food
by then, so our packs will be lighter. Oh, and this morning he also
carries ..." Dominicus reached into one of Philo's side packs and
pulled out a small basket. A tantalizing smell came from it like
when you walk into a bakery. Inside the basket were a dozen warm
sticky buns.

The children gobbled the buns and licked their fingers greedily.
Lisa wondered aloud, "What's that flavor? Oh, I know. Honey!"
Then she almost choked. She looked sharply at Dominicus.

"Yes," he said, "they are glazed with a bit of honey. His majesty is
not a selfish man. Now where is that accursed eagle?"

Andron impatiently scanned the sky. The color of the sunrise
deepened to flame red, while the rest of the sky was a pale, cloudless blue. The sun had broken over the horizon and begun to
flood the city walls with warmth when several turkey vultures sailed
into sight over the wall. The ragged flock circled slowly. They tilted
left and right and held their wings in a stiff V. Andron muttered
something about eagles being awfully vain for such ugly creatures.

One vulture dropped while the others flew off to the south. Wes
thought, Its like a fighter jet peeling off from the formation. The bird
that had peeled off spread its wings at the last second to brake its
descent and land in front of the company. Immediately it began to
preen its feathers.

Andron sneered as he said, "Thank you for coming, Vulcanus. I
understand it was you who insisted we be ready at dawn. Of course,
your lateness does not surprise me."

Kurt repeated "Your lateness? Is that his title, like your majesty?" Everybody else (except Vulcanus) laughed. Andron chanted, "Yes,
your lateness! No, your lateness! Would you care for a dead fish,
your lateness?"

"We will proceed southeast," said the bird, showing no sense of
humor. "I will fly across the river and wait for you, while you who
are earthbound must make use of the bridge."

Wes, Lisa and Kurt struggled into their backpacks. Andron and
Dominicus easily shouldered their oversized packs. The children
marveled at how much weight the soldiers could carry. Besides
their heavy packs, each wore a sword strapped at his side. Wes
longed for the Sword of Geburah, which no doubt was still
propped against a tree on the far shore of Lake Bamah.

Wes made a quick decision. He turned to the vulture and said,
"Vulcanus! The soldiers here address me as Lord Wesley. I expect
you to do the same." The bird only blinked, but then he had
showed little respect even to the king and queen. "On the far shore
of Lake Bainah, in a small clearing, leaning against a tree, there is
a great sword in a jeweled scabbard." The bird's small eyes glittered like poor imitations of the jewels. "Fly across the lake and
bring it back to me. Meanwhile, we will go as far as the edge of the
Forest of Blackness, but we will go no further without that sword."

This task interested the bird. He made only the smallest protest
before he took off across the lake. The soldiers' faces went tense
with suppressed anger. As casually as possible, Wes asked them,
"Why do we need Vulcanus to guide us? Both of you must know the
way quite well. Don't you ever have the task of taking the lost children to the royal lodge?"

Dominicus asked, "The children?" Immediately Andron said,
"Of course, the street children. No, that duty has never fallen to
either of us. No doubt it would be a pleasant one. They look forward to their time of refreshment there."

The band started off: Wes in the lead, then Kurt and Lisa side by
side. After them came Andros, then Dominicus leading Philo.
Their pace was slow and steady on the stone bridge across the
River Rure. The children looked down at its clear water flowing
north and thought of the rugged way northward along the Road to
the Great Sea. That path would not be their route today. They crossed the bridge and headed for the woods to the east of
Nephesh.

At this point they didn't need Vulcanus's guidance. They followed an overgrown trail through an open area of scattered trees.
The sun warmed them, but they were bound for a dark wall of
shade that marked the edge of the Forest of Blackness. At the edge
of the forest the trail split into several paths. Another way to say it is
that several paths out of the forest joined there.

"We'll stop here and wait for Vulcanus," Wes ordered.

Andron objected: "The bird can catch up with us at some future
point."

Wes looked directly at him and said simply, "We'll wait." The soldiers moved away a few paces and slouched against trees. Their
faces and postures showed their displeasure with Wes's leadership.

Kurt spoke up too. He could be more blunt than the soldiers.
"Wes, you're being bossy. You know it?"

"He's just taking charge like he usually does," Lisa said.
"Though I have to admit, it's a good idea to get the sword. Why
wouldn't we want it with us?"

"I agree we should have the sword. I don't agree with Wes's attitude," Kurt grumbled.

Silence fell over all of them like a cold fog. In a few minutes
Andron pointed and called out, "The eagle returns!" The vulture
flew low and straight at them from the direction of the lake. From
his talons dangled something long that sparkled in the early sun. It
was the Sword of Geburah! Vulcanus wheeled low over Wesley.
The sword spun outward and nearly hit Philo, who pinned his ears
back and shied. Wes caught the tip of the scabbard and called, "Let
go!" His arms sagged as the heavy sword fell into his grasp.

The soldiers could only stare. The Sword of Geburah made
their swords look like toys. Andron started to say, "Lord Wesley,
should I not be the one to carry-" but Wes's sharp look cut him
off. Wes was not about to let anyone carry this sword who was not
of the family of the Sword Bearer.

High above them, Vulcanus showed his impatience. He put
extra loops and turns into his circles to emphasize how much valuable time the travelers had used up. "To your right! To your right!" he croaked. He took off in that direction, and the company took
the right fork and entered the forest. Immediately they lost the
warmth of the sun. Dew still dripped from low branches and
soaked the weeds underfoot. Spider webs glittered with moisture.
Shoes quickly became wet, but otherwise the going was easy, for
the path was level and fairly wide. The forest canopy was open
enough that they caught glimpses of Vulcanus above them.

They swung along at a good pace and whistled as they walked.
Each whistled it different tune, so they got on each other's nerves,
and they repeatedly forgot where they were in their songs and had
to start over. Philo clomped along with ears up, taking in all the
sights and smells. Occasionally lie lowered his head and tore off a
mouthful of grass. He also tried to nip at Dominicus's pack. The
soldier slapped him lightly on the chest and scolded, "None of
that! I carry grain for you, but the hulk of it's for the trip back.
That's when you'll do the hardest work."

After an hour or so, as they approached a bend in the path,
Philo's mood changed from placid to alarmed. He gave a loud
snort and stopped so abruptly that Dominicus, his hand on the halter rope, was nearly pulled flat on his back.

"What's the matter with you, beast?" the soldier snapped. He
tugged on the rope. Philo planted his feet. Dominicus called ahead
to the others, "Wait! This fool horse refuses to take another step."
The soldier pulled with all his weight, Philo leaned back with all his
weight, and of course the horse outweighed the man it great deal.

"He's used to playing the royal steed," said Andron. "Probably
rebels at being lowered to pack horse. Here, I'll give him a slap on
the rump." Andron walked around to the rear of the horse while
Lisa watched Philo's head. The horse's eyes were wide, and he
frantically pinned his ears back, then pricked them forward, then
back, then forward. Lisa had learned enough about horses in
Anthropos to know that Philo wasn't being stubborn. He was
frightened, apparently by something up ahead. She turned to look
up the path-and screamed!