The Dark Lord's Demise (25 page)

Around the bend rushed a thing that was not human or horse
or Koach or vulture. It was taller than any of them, and its bulky
body was so wide that it blocked the forest path. Seven beastly heads topped the body, each with an expression of slavering fury.
It walked forward on thick, stubby legs as its huge hands reached
out to grab its victims.

Kurt looked ahead and shouted one word: "Ogre!"

At Kurt's shout the ogre slowed its rush along the path and roared
with all seven mouths. Each of its seven heads dipped and dodged
to take in the scene. Its faces were all diflerent and all terrible. One
was batlike; one looked like the head of a snake; one resembled
the skull of it cow or ox; others were somewhat like it man yet so
deformed they could hardly be called human. All the heads swiveled and twisted to create a combined image of horror.

Philo squealed and reared straight up. Dominicus was jerked off
his feet and dangled by the lead rope. He let go and dropped into
the dirt. Philo came down and narrowly missed Dominicus with his
front hooves. The horse whipped around to flee, hit Andron
broadside and knocked him flat. Both soldiers lay sprawled on the
ground with their swords twisted beneath them.

Wes's hand went to the Sword of Geburah. His mind ran at top
speed. They had battled ogres in Anthropos before. He knew he
had to get at the heads to strike a fatal blow, but how could he get
up high enough? He breathed the words "In the name of Gaal and the Changer!" and drew the sword. Brilliant blue light shot from
the blade. At that instant something white flew straight at his face
and then was gone. He gave it no more thought, but for a second
he stood immobile. Then he felt his body flood with warmth that
started deep inside and spread outward until it reached his sword
hand. He started forward to meet the ogre. He did not know where
any of his companions were, and he dared not take his eyes off his
enemy to look for them.

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. The ogre with
its seven terrible heads approached Wes one deliberate step at a
time. At each step it loomed larger and more deadly. The seven
faces became more distinct and more terrifying. Wes advanced to
meet the beast at the same deliberate pace it moved toward him.
He knew he should be terrified, yet he was calm. He wondered at
his own confidence and thought he must be too numb to be
afraid.

The ogre rushed at him. Wes took three fast steps forward. All
seven mouths of the ogre opened wide. The roar they emitted
shook the surrouncing trees. Wes raised the Sword of Geburah
high over his head. A crazy image flashed into his mind: himself
and Kurt in their pretend swordfight on the attic stairs. Where was
all his boasting now?

He heard a strong, bold voice and was startled to realize it was
his own: "Who dares to challenge the company of Gaal the Shepherd,
Lord of All Worlds?" Not waiting for the ogre to react, Wes leaped
forward. The ogre's hands clutched for him. He sidestepped and
laid a vicious cut across the monster's knee. The ogre flailed and
slapped at empty air. Wes darted past it and squeezed himself
between the monster and a tree trunk. One at a time, the seven
heads swiveled in search of him. He circled behind the beast. The
heads turned the other way to seek him while the mouths growled
and screeched.

Wes still lacked the fatal blow. If only he could get up high! He
was nowhere near tall enough to swing the sword and connect
with the ogre's heads. He scanned the surrounding trees. He could
never clirnb one fast enough. The ogre would pick him off and
throw him to the ground.

Without warning the monster shrieked and whirled away to face
the other direction. Wes didn't take time to wonder what had happened. He thrust his sword into the ogre's back. The monster
wavered and fought for balance. Wes struggled to pull the sword
out, then plunged it in again higher up. The ogre toppled forward.
The ground shook with its fall.

A figure leaped out of the way of the monster just in time to
avoid being crushed. It was Lisa, with a sword in her hand. "Got
him in both feet!" she called.

Wes did not have time to figure out where Lisa had gotten a
sword. The ogre struggled to rise. With all his strength Wes swung
his blade at one of the seven necks. It took two strokes to sever the
head. Green blood gushed out and soaked into the forest path.
Wes was busy congratulating himself when he heard Lisa scream
in terror. One of the ogre's gigantic hands had grasped her and
held her high off the ground. Her sword hand was pinned so she
couldn't get her weapon free to defend herself. Kurt, enraged, ran
up and kicked three of the ogre's heads hard in rapid succession.

Frantic now, Wes slashed away at first one of the heads, then the
next. The hand not clutching Lisa fumbled for Wes, but the beast
was weak. Only two heads remained. Both roared with defiance.
The hand holding Lisa lowered, opened and dropped her-fortunately from only it short distance above the ground. The sixth
head parted from the body. Wes stood back as Lisa scrambled to
her feet.

For the first time Wes dared a grin. He gestured toward the seventh head and asked Lisa, "Would you like to do the honors?" She
looked a little ill, stepped back and shook her head. Silently Kurt
held out his hand for the Sword of Geburah. Wes gave it to him
with a quiet sense of pride. Kurt took a deep breath, swung the
sword and severed the remaining head.

The body of the ogre sank into itself like a balloon slowly losing
air. Soon it was no longer a recognizable monster but only a shapeless, shrinking blob. One by one the seven severed heads contracted into a clump of slime. For several minutes the ogre's body
continued to shrink and liquefy until nothing remained but a pool
of greenish blood. The stench, which they had been too busy to notice, now overpowered them. They backed away with their
hands over their noses.

Kurt coughed, gagged and managed to say, "Nice going, Wes!
Thanks to the pigeon."

Wes was startled. "The pigeon? You mean the pigeon was here?"

"It was on your head all the time," Lisa said. "It flapped its wings
and dug its claws into your scalp. Didn't you feel it?"

"No, but-but I did see something white right after I drew the
sword. It's gone now, right?" He reached up and slapped the top of
his head. No bird was there. "I saw it on the lakeshore too, when
we were tied up on the raft. So it's still helping us!"

They stared at the spot where the ogre had been. Nothing
remained except a large greenish stain. Kurt handed Wes the
Sword of Geburah. "Thanks for letting me swing it again. I guess
I'd better let you carry it now. Hey, Lisa, where'd you get your
sword?"

"It's Dominicus's. Philo knocked both him and Andron flat. I
screamed at them to help you. They got up and drew their swords,
but then they just stood there and watched. Finally I grabbed
Dominicus's sword right out of his hand. I think he was in shock.
He couldn't believe I would do something like that!" She thought
the boys should congratulate her for her courage and daring. Wes
only turned to give the soldiers a good chewing out. They were
nowhere to be seen.

A harsh squawk came from above. Vulcanus sat hunched in a
dead tree about fifteen feet up. There was no telling how long he
had been there. His deceptively weak-looking eyes surveyed the
battle scene.

Wesley greeted the bird with false cheer. "Hello there, Vulcanus!
Come to feast on the remains of our enemy? You're too late. He's
melted."

"I do not eat ogre flesh," replied Vulcanus.

"Hmm. Probably one of the few things you won't eat."

The vulture spread his wings partway and resettled himself. "That sword that I brought you has great power," he croaked. "I
knew when my superior eyesight spied it from on high that it was a
most unusual weapon. Of course, my kind has no need of such weapons. We have our beaks and talons."

"Since your eyesight is so superior," Lisa suggested, "can you tell
us where Andron and Dominicus went to?"

"Lady, my eyesight is beyond compare, but I cannot see
through the forest canopy. The woods are too dense and thick.
The trees form a tunnel over the path. But during your battle with
the monster, I observed the horse run away and the soldiers after
him. They all went in the direction you came. Back toward
Nephesh."

Wes was angry for several reasons. Their supposed escorts and
protectors not only had failed to help them, they had run away;
that ugly turkey vulture had sat and watched the whole thing and
not helped either, and their only pack animal was gone. "I'm not
sure I want those guys to come back," he said. "I don't trust them."

"Can't we go back a little ways and look for Philo Lisa begged.
"Maybe he didn't run far."

Wes sheathed the Sword of Geburah. Its blade was as clean as
when it was newly forged. He said, "I don't think we need the
horse."

Lisa was amazed. "What? He can carry ten times as much honey
as we can! Besides, he's got the leather bottles. We don't have any
way to carry honey except our own water bottles, and then we
won't have anything to hold water."

"Maybe we're not supposed to get honey," Wes replied. "It was
Queen Hisschi who sent us on a honey-gathering expedition. We
already know she's up to something and it's not good. Gaal told
you we're supposed to go into the Garden Room. He never said
anything about weaver bee honey, did he?"

"I-I can't remember. I don't think so. I don't know. I was pretty
upset when I talked to him. Oh, Wes, don't be stubborn."

"And bossy," Kurt added. "Remember I said I didn't feel good
about this trip? Well, I feel worse now. Something isn't right. I think
we should go back to Nephesh."

"We can't go back to Nephesh!" Wes burst out. "Gaal said we
have to go to the tower!"

Kurt's voice rose: "But he didn't say when. It could he next week.
It could be next year. Maybe we've rushed things. Maybe that's why the ogre almost got us. Maybe we never should have been on this
path at all."

Lisa felt tears sting her eyes. She felt that Wes and Kurt's argument overlooked something very important. "Look, Philo might be
hurt. I can get close to him when probably nobody else can.
Please. "

Wes sighed a great, exaggerated sigh. "All right, all right. We'll go
back it ways. If we don't find the horse right away, we'll turn
around and keep going on our own. We know the way. We don't
even need-" He had forgotten the presence of Vulcanus. He
glanced at the bird and was embarrassed that a vulture had heard
their argument. "But what if we meet up with Dominicus and
Andron? What if they want to continue on with us to the island? I
don't think we should let them. I think we should send them back
to Nephesh."

"If they'll go," Kurt pointed out.

Lisa disagreed. "If they want to continue with its, we can't very
well stop them. What if they go back and the queen executes them
for disobedience? I feel sorry for Dominicus. He was good to Betty
and me in the dungeon."