The Dark Lord's Demise (3 page)

Wes had to stand on a chair to reach the sword. He told himself
it would be easier to polish all its stones if he got the sword down
from the wall. Carefully he lifted the heavy scabbard off its wall
hooks. In truth, he could have dusted it perfectly well from the
chair, but he longed to hold the sword once again. His fingers
itched to unsheathe the blade and feel the sword's warmth and
weight in his hand. He ached to hear it hum with energy and see it
shoot blue rays of fire.

This was the Sword of Geburah, forged from iron thunderbolts before time began. The sword brought victory in battle, but only if
the bearer fought in the service of Gaal. Uncle John had been the
original Sword Bearer.

John's story actually began not in Anthropos or in Canada but
in England, where lie lived in a poor area and was picked on by
the other boys. He had never known his real parents; his grandmother raised him, but she died on his thirteenth birthday. John
was terrified of what would happen to him. Then an unseen person called the Changer-the Unchangeable Changer-summoned
John through a mysterious gray door into a place called Anthropos.

Anthropos was not simply another country like the ones where
Fred and Jane Friesen served, but a different world. In Anthropos,
John was no longer merely an orphaned boy afraid of an uncertain future. He became the Sword Bearer, entrusted with the miraculous Sword of Geburah. People in Anthropos, at least those in
rebellion against the Mystery of Abomination, had been waiting
for the Sword Bearer to arrive. (Instead of "people" we should say
"beings," because the inhabitants of Anthropos were of all types,
including talking animals and dwarflike creatures called Matmon.)

John fulfilled his mission in Anthropos when he killed the Goblin Prince with the Sword of Geburah. Along the way he met a
good wizard named Mab, who turned out to be Ian McNab, the
father John had never known. When John and his father returned
together to this world, they found themselves on a boat bound for
Canada. Several years later, when John was in his teens, the
Changer again summoned him to Anthropos, this time to aid an
unhappy young girl named Eleanor. The Changer had called her
to Anthropos to face her fears and to learn to trust him.

Wesley gazed at the sword and sighed. A few times here in the
house in Winnipeg they had dared to slide a few inches of the
blade from its scabbard. It looked like ordinary steel. It never
flashed blue fire or vibrated with a life of its own. Apparently its
unnatural power worked only in Anthropos.

Lisa's voice interrupted Wes's thoughts. "If only we could kill off
all our troubles with the Sword of Geburah," she said. He realized
the roar of the vacuum had stopped.

He agreed. "Yeah, if only! We could kill these problems like so
many goblins. Watch them melt into it pool of green slime. Too bad
the sword doesn't work that way."

Lisa stared at a framed photograph on an end table that showed
a smiling couple in wedding clothes. The bride and groom were
unusual in several ways. Both were middle-aged. Their hair was
wet as though they had walked through a rainstorm. The bride
wore a typical long white gown, and the groom's gray top hat and
morning suit were normal enough. But the groom had a sword
strapped to his left side. It was the same jeweled Sword of Geburah
that Wesley had lifted from the wall.

Kurt joined Lisa to look at the photo. "Just think, Uncle John
and Aunt Eleanor actually disappeared from their limo in Hong
Kong! The Changer called them to Anthropos between the wedding
and the reception!"

"When we went to Anthropos later that same day, we didn't recognize them because they were a very young lord and lady," Lisa
recalled. "When we all came back a long time later, I mean in
Anthropos time, it was still their wedding day in Hong Kong." Lisa
smiled at the memory. Her smile faded quickly. "They look so
happy."

"They were happy," Kurt insisted. "Remember what you said that
day? You said Uncle John stayed single for so long because
Eleanor was the only one he ever loved."

"And I still believe it. And vice versa. He was the only one she
ever loved. You know, at first I was jealous of her. We'd had Uncle
John all to ourselves for so long. I could hardly bring myself to call
her Aunt Eleanor. I remember how they'd sit here on the couch or
at the kitchen table and hold hands." Lisa picked up a rag and tenderly dusted the photograph. She flung the rag onto the floor.
"What happened? Why aren't they happy like they were then?"

Wes tightened his grip on the sword's scabbard. The points of
the cut gems dug into his hands. He wanted to make sense of it all,
not only for himself but for his brother and sister. "Look, Uncle
John had been on his own for a long time. He'd led a pretty tame
life, except for going to Anthropos of course. And Aunt Eleanor
may be a university professor now, but she had a rough life for a lot of years. Both of them were set in their ways. I can't imagine
getting married for the first time when I'm over fifty years old."

"I can't imagine you getting married at all," Kurt scoffed.

"Too bad, because you're going to be my best man." Wes carefully
balanced the sword in both hands as he stepped down from the
chair. He set the sword on the coffee table and polished its jewels.
"Look at it this way. Let's say John and Eleanor are world-class athletes. She's a sprinter and he's-I don't know-a pole vaulter."

Kurt was glad for any excuse to laugh. He whooped, "Them? A
sprinter and a pole vaulter? They're not even athletic!"

"Don't take me so literally. I'm only using athletics as an example. Okay, let's say they both go to the Olympics, and they meet
there and fall in love. They both win gold medals. After the Olympics they get married. For some reason they don't make the team
four years later. Before long they find out that being Olympic athletes was all they had in common. They can't handle ordinary life
together. They've got their gold medals on the wall, but those medals only remind them of how great life used to be."

All three Friesens gazed at the gleaming Sword of Geburah.

Kurt asked, "What will happen to the sword? I mean if-if they
do split up?" He nearly choked on the words.

"Never mind the sword," Lisa replied. "What will happen to us?"

Wes smiled slightly. "I'd like to know both those things. But you
know what I was just wondering? What will happen to the old TV
sets in the attic?"

Kurt's eyes got big. Mention of the TV sets got him back on the
subject he preferred to talk about. "Maybe they've come to life
again. Let's go up and see."

"I guarantee you they haven't!" Lisa snapped. She strode back
into the kitchen.

"You went up there to check, didn't you?" Kurt demanded as he
and Wes followed her into the kitchen. "You came out of the attic
right in the middle of our sword fight!"

"I went up there to look for some fancy old china that I heard
Aunt Eleanor mention last night. She said it was stored up there in
a box."

"First I've heard of it," Kurt mumbled.

"She didn't tell me about it directly. I overheard her. She was ...
she told Uncle John that it was hers and he shouldn't think he
could keep it if ... Well, I couldn't listen anymore after that. Anyway, today I wanted them to come home to a really nice dinner. I
thought it would help. What's wrong with that?"

"So that's what you heard that bothered you so much," Wes said.
"And that's why you were so upset about the roast. Why didn't you
explain?"

Lisa shrugged. "I found the china, but it looks so breakable; I'm
scared to use it. Of course I noticed the old TV sets while I was up
there. I could hardly miss the five of them, could I? They're enormous." She opened a cabinet and got out a stack of five everyday
plates. "Number Four. Set table," she quoted. She put clown the
plates with a clank that made Kurt say, "Watch it! Or we will have to
use that old china."

Lisa took a deep breath, held it and let it out slowly while Wes
got out silverware and Kurt arranged the plates on the table. After
a moment she said, "Kurt, I shouldn't be mad at you because you
want to go back to Anthropos. I wish the "hV sets would come to life.
I want to go back and see Gaal again. He's the most wonderful person I ever met, and I really miss him."

"Me too!" said Kurt and Wes together.

"No matter how had things are between Uncle John and Aunt
Eleanor, Gaal could put it right, couldn't he? Of course he could!"

"Yeah, but he's in Anthropos," Kurt reminded her. "And even if
he was here, they'd have to accept his help. Like I did."

"Like all of us did," Wes added. "Gaal won't force anybody to do
what he wants. Hey, I just thought of something! Maybe this time
he won't use the TV sets to summon us. He could do it some other
way. He can do anything he wants to. He could even summon us
by ..."

A bell sounded. This time it wasn't the smoke alarm. It was the
front doorbell. All three children looked toward the front door and
froze.

"Maybe it's Gaal!" Kurt whispered. The others gave short nervous
laughs. What if it was Gaal at their front door? They'd be thrilled,
excited, scared, awestruck, happy, humbled-

"I'm going to tell him we need help!" Lisa declared. However,
her feet stayed planted to the kitchen floor.

The bell sounded again.

Wesley unfroze first. "We're being ridiculous!" he scolded all of
them, especially himself. "It's probably nobody. I mean, it's somebody, but not somebody from Anthropos." He strode out into the
hall, past the door to the parlor where the Sword of Geburah
shone from the coffee table. His hand grabbed the cold brass knob
of the front door. What if... In his mind he saw Gaal on the other
side of the door. If only! The white robe, the glow of his face that
was young yet ageless, the brightness beyond sunlight dancing
from his powerful figure as he laughed and opened his arms in
welcome ...

The bell sounded a third time. Wes turned the knob and swung the door open. He stared. He didn't know exactly who or what he
had expected to see, but the sight of an ordinary girl about Lisa's
age surprised him.

The girl grinned at Wes. In a rather loud voice she announced,
"Hi! I'm Betty Riggs. I'm your new neighbor." Her attitude was so
bold and confident, Wes thought she must be older than she
looked, closer to his own age. Number Five: Go meet new neighbor kid,
he thought. The new neighbor had beaten them to it and come to
meet them.

Betty Riggs raised her eyebrows. "Well, aren't you going to invite
me in?" It was more a statement than a question, especially since
she was already halfway across the threshold as she spoke. Automatically Wes opened the door wider and moved out of the way to
let the visitor in. He wasn't sure what to say. It didn't matter
because the new neighbor kept talking. "We only moved in yesterday. I couldn't help but notice there were kids about my age who
lived here. I hope you don't think I'm nosy, but a person is naturally curious about who else lives on the block. I'll bet you go to
River Heights School, right? You didn't see me there today. I didn't
go. We're still unpacking. So what are your names?"

"My names?" Wes was confused. He thought Betty wanted his
first, middle and last names. He noticed she was focused on something behind him. He turned to see Lisa and Kurt watching with
curious expressions. Kurt leaned on his wooden sword.

Wes got his voice back. "I'm Wes, and that's my sister, Lisa, and
my brother, Kurt. Uh-Friesen. Our last name's Friesen."

Betty looked unhappy at this news. Her sour expression irritated Lisa. What was so bad about the last name Friesen? Betty
said, "Oh, then you're just visiting here. The name on the mailbox said McNab. I hoped there were other people my age who
lived here-"

"We do live here," Lisa insisted. "With our Uncle John and Aunt
Eleanor McNab." Her own defensiveness startled her. Wes shot
her a look that asked What's wrong with you? Lisa decided she didn't
care. They had enough problems right now without a nosy new
neighbor on top of everything else.