The Dark Lord's Demise (28 page)

"No, I don't! You had them! Now where are they?"

"Kurt! Wes! What's wrong?" Lisa's voice penetrated the darkness and the wall of the boys' tent.

"You awake?" Wes asked her.

"No, I'm talking in my sleep. Of course I'm awake. Wide-awake.
What's going on? What time is it?"

"Found them!" Kurt exulted. Now he faced the task of lighting
the candle in total darkness. And it was total darkness. Usually
when you camp in an open spot, at least a faint glimmer of light filters through your tent. There was none.

A spark flashed in the dark and vanished. Kurt tried again. Wes
snapped at him to hand over the flint and candle, but Kurt kept at
it. After several attempts he got the candle lit. The boys held their
breaths and waited for the flame to blossom. The light of one candle would fill the tent and cast impressive shadows on the walls.

What happened was very different from what they expected.
The candle burned, or at least a flame-shaped light appeared at
the end of it, but it gave only a weak and sickly light. There was a
sort of glow around the flame and little beyond that. Wes and Kurt
could barely see each other. "This is the darkest dark I've ever
seen," Kurt said. "Or the weakest light. You know what this candle
makes me think of? That light in the dungeon. It didn't light up
anything around it. Do you think somebody sabotaged our candle?
Made it so it doesn't work right?"

Wes studied the candle flame. "I don't think the problem is the
candle. I think it's the darkness itself. It's a quality of dark I've
never seen before. Unearthly. As though it's a-"

"A spell?" Kurt whispered.

"Looks like it."

"But a spell by who?"

"By whoever sent us that ogre."

Kurt's heart started to race. "We'll never get to Lake Nachash if
we can't see! We won't get ten feet down the trail! We won't he able
to find the trail! I told you we shouldn't have come! I told you-"

"Not so loud! Remember we can't trust. . ." Wes gestured toward
the soldiers' tent, but of course Kurt could not see the gesture in
the thick darkness. Wes reached beneath his bedroll, clutched the
Sword of Geburah and strapped it on by feel. Whatever new enemy
they faced, they would be better off if he wore the sword.

In her own tent Lisa managed to light her candle, but she experienced the same oppressive darkness. She was more frightened
than the boys because she was alone. She groped her way to the
door of her tent and somehow crawled outside without putting out
the candle. Outdoors she expected to find a little illumination from
the night sky. The darkness outside the tent was as thick as inside.
The unseen stream burbled happily close by. She walked carefully
toward the sound but could not locate the stream until she stepped
barefoot into cold water. Fear colder than the water gripped her.
Was something terribly wrong with her eyes?

Philo nickered nearby. Lisa turned toward the friendly sound
but saw nothing. "A big white horse should be visible even at
night!" she said.

"And so should a young girl with a candle." The voice was
Philo's. She moved toward his voice and walked right into his side.
He snorted, "Careful with that flame! My mane!"

"Philo, what's happening? Am I going blind?"

"If you are, Lady Lisa, then so am I. I do not like this."

Lisa leaned against the warm body of the horse and felt a little
safer. "Did you sleep all right?" she asked him. "Are you tired from
carrying that load all day?"

"I slept in spurts, on my feet, in the manner of horses. The rest
of the time I grazed. Grazing at night is quite pleasurable. Nice
fresh dew on the grass. I hope I did not chew too loudly and wake
you."

"No, no, I didn't hear a thing. How can it still be the middle of
the night?"

"I prefer to answer your questions in the order asked. As for my
being tired, those panniers are lighter than the weight of the king.
I believe I have become stronger of late. Each time I carry the king,
his weight seems less and less."

"You silly horse, don't you know the king is seriously ill? He is
getting lighter by the day. That's why we have to fetch him the
honey. It's to save his life-or at least make him live as long as possible."

"The king ... seriously ill? No, I did not know this. No one tells
me anything. The stable hands must not know. I wonder if Eliza beth knows. This is distressing news."

"But what about this awful darkness? If this keeps up, we won't
get to the island, and we won't get the honey anyway. This is terrible!"

"Lisa! Who are you talking to?" Wes's voice was very near, yet
Lisa saw only a weak candle flame and a couple of shadowy forms.

"Wes! Kurt! What's happening?"

Kurt asked, "Where are Dominicus and Andron? Still asleep?"

The darkness that had stolen their sight made them more aware
of sound. The stream still chattered its way across the stones, but
something was missing. The normal night voices of insects and
frogs were stilled, as though for them it was daytime. One sound
came very clearly: a blend of two people snoring.

"So much for our protectors!" Wes said with scorn. "I guess I'd
better go wake them up."

He gripped the candle and tried not to trip over tent ropes on
his way to the soldiers' tent. He did stumble once and spilled hot
wax on the back of his hand. Heavy snores guided him. When he
reached the soldiers' tent, he scratched his fingernails on the canvas. Muffled sounds of surprise greeted him. He called, "Andron!
Dominicus! Get yourselves out here! Something's gone wrong!"

The children listened to the soldiers go through the familiar ritual: astonishment, confusion, the lighting of the candle (they did
know where to find their candle and flint), more astonishment and
confusion. It would have been funny if the situation hadn't been
so frightening. Finally a dim candle flame and two indistinct forms
emerged from the tent.

Dominicus said, "Truly the Forest of Blackness has become
exactly that-not in name only. This can be nothing but a spell of
wickedness." His voice shook. For the first time he sounded genuinely afraid. "Children who claim to be from other worlds, you
must act now to save us!"

"Act now? Us? To do what?" Kurt asked.

"You must use your powers to overcome this darkness."

"Our powers!" sputtered Wes. "What powers?"

"Do not mock us!" replied Andron. "We know well that you possess the magic of allergic. " (The children groaned, especially Lisa.) "Today you killed an ogre that should easily have overpowered
you. I call on you-Lord Wesley, Lord Kurt, Lady Lisa-now summon your strong powers and release us from this darkness!"

At first the Friesens were speechless. Bad enough to be trapped
in mysterious dark without being expected to banish spells!

Wes burst out in fury at the soldiers. "We can't do that! What do
you think we are? Magicians? Miracle workers? We don't know
where this darkness came from or how it works. How do you
expect us to get rid of it?" He wished he could glare right into the
soldiers' eyes and tell them off. It was unsettling to shout at shadowy forms he could barely see.

Lisa was fed up at Wes's tirade. "Wait a minute, Wes! Wait just a
minute! You've got no right to yell when this is your fault!"

Wes's candle flame swung in an arc toward Lisa's voice. "My
fault? How?"

"You insisted on this campsite. You said we had to camp right
here by the stream in our tents. That isn't how we do things in
Anthropos. We should have looked for a Gaal tree! If we'd spent
the night in a Gaal tree, this would never have happened!"

"I didn't see you looking around for any Gaal tree! Or you, " he
added in what he hoped was Kurt's direction.

Kurt answered from a direction opposite what Wes expected.
"You didn't give us a chance! You just said, `We're camping here!'"

Dominicus ordered, "Stop this foolishness! In the name of the
queen I order you to use your powers to dispel the darkness!"

"We have no powers!" Wes shouted. He thought he was too old
to cry and was alarmed to find himself near tears of frustration. To
his relief a familiar croaking broke through the thick darkness. A
branch cracked and crashed down close to camp. Philo snorted. A
harsh voice rasped away at its complaints. "How do they expect me
to ... no decent branches ... a bird can't see where to land in this
accursed ..."

"Vulcanus!" Andron shouted. "What is this darkness? How far
does it reach?"

"Can't tell a dead branch from a living one ... no place to rest
my talons. . ."

"You foul bird, how far does this darkness go?"

"How am Ito tell? I know where I entered it. I do not know how
far I flew before I found you by your obnoxious clamor. This is a
wicked matter. I collided with trees. I have never collided with a
tree in a lifetime of flight."

"You're no help," Kurt griped.

"Can you not fly above the darkness and look down upon it?"
Dominicus asked. "Perhaps we can determine its nature and how
far it extends."

"Of course. Of course. I am barely settled in a tree, at great risk
to my life and wings, when you ask me to take off and risk myself
again."

"Please, Vulcanus," Lisa begged. "You're the only one who can
fly so high. You're the only one who can fly at all. "

For a time the bird was silent. They were sure he sat and
preened his feathers by feel. Finally he spoke. "Very well. I will
attempt to fly above it. Fortunately I have been given the gift of
extremely high flight. I am glad someone appreciates ..."

Andron roared, `Just go!" From overhead came a ferocious flap
of wings, crash of branches and croak of irritation, then only the
sound of the stream.

The soldiers sat on their backpacks near their own tent. The
Friesens stood huddled between the little tree and Philo's warm
body. The boys put their candle on the ground. Lisa hung onto
hers. They strained their eyes for some evidence of sunrise,
though they had no idea which way was east. They stayed quiet, as
though they could listen for the dawn as well as watch for it.

After a while Dominicus's voice came out of the dark. "How long
do you think it will take the eagle to determine the extent of this
darkness?" The Friesens thought he must be talking to Andron.
Louder this time, he asked again, "How long do you think it will
take the eagle to determine the extent of this darkness?"

"No telling," Wes answered shortly.

Again rather loudly, Dominicus said, "I do not like to work with
these eagles. They are vain and stupid birds. They think only of
their feathers. They have excellent sight, but they are blind to their
own ugliness."

Wes responded only, "Uh-huh." He could have made some neg ative comments about Vulcanus. On the other hand, he was grateful to the vulture for bringing back the Sword of Geburah. Wes felt
for the sword's handle. Its sure leather grip quieted some of his
anxiety.

"Wes, you could at least stick up for Vulcanus," Lisa said. "He
flew all the way across Lake Bamah and back to bring you the
sword." Close by her, Philo's hooves moved restlessly on the forest
floor.

"I was sticking up for him in my mind," Wes replied. "Don't you
think I'm glad to have the sword?"

"I sure was today," said Kurt. "Did you see how I took care of
that ogre?" He did not feel as brave as he sounded. His hand
reached out and found the trunk of the small tree. He gripped it
tightly. Its rough bark comforted him.

"You only finished off the ogre after I did most of the work," Wes
grumbled.

"Tell us, where did you learn such skill at sword fighting?"
Doininicus called out.

"Right here in Anthropos," Kurt said, "in the service of Gaal."

"He means me, not you," Wes snapped.

Lisa wanted to cover her ears. She also wanted to keep hold of
her candle. She said, "Oh, why don't both of you be quiet?" Again
Philo shifted himself around. He gave a low uneasy whicker.

Dominicus's voice came once more from the soldiers' tent. "You
three have had many adventures of which Andron and I know little. Please be good enough to tell us about them. Come, we have no
other way to pass the time while we wait for that accursed eagle."
Wes had never heard Dominicus talk so much. Perhaps the soldier's nervousness found release in words.

"I don't feel like telling stories," Lisa said. "Andron, you don't
want to listen to us, do you?"

Dominicus answered immediately. "Of course he does, Lady
Lisa."

"Why doesn't he speak for himself then," Kurt asked. He felt
uneasy in a new way, not because of the dark. Something brushed
against his arm. A large strong hand clamped over his mouth and
snapped his head backward. Kurt jabbed his elbow high and back and pivoted as hard as he could. His elbow hit somebody in the
gut, but his momentum spun him around, and he landed sprawled
on the ground.

Wes and Lisa cried out in surprise. Philo whinnied in alarm.
Kurt heard only the grunts and curses of his attacker. Lisa blew out
her candle, and Wes gave his a kick that put it out. The dark was
now absolute. Something above Kurt went swoosh. Again the sound
came. Swoosh. Kurt didn't need light to know it was Andron swinging his sword in sweeping arcs above him.

Kurt crawled out from under the sword. Human feet and horse
feet stamped all around him. Dominicus yelled, "They must not
escape!" Something went thud, and Andron howled, "My arm!"
Metal struck stone. Closer now, Dominicus called, "Did you slay
him? Did you slay him?" Kurt puzzled over the metallic sound.
Then he knew-Andron had hit the tree with his arm and sent his
sword flying!

Lisa and Wes collided with each other and held on. "Don't say
anything!" Wes whispered fiercely. Lisa whispered back, "Where's
Kurt?" Wes's hand grabbed the hilt of the Sword of Geburah. In the
darkness how could he dare use it? He might kill Kurt instead of
Andron!