The Dark Lord's Demise (32 page)

Vulcanus worked his head up and down. He croaked, "Here."

"Here? Concealed in this meadow? Come, I am certain you
know. Where have they hidden themselves?"

The vulture swayed from side to side and shuffled his taloned
feet on the branch. Again he croaked, "Here."

The head soldier made a sound of disgust and turned away.
"Search the area!" he barked. "Slice through these weeds! Go into
the wood margins! Look in hollow logs and behind every outcropping! We are under orders to find them or-" He did not need to
finish his sentence.

The soldiers scattered. Vulcanus watched while they trampled
over every inch of the clearing. Three men even combined forces
to lift a boulder. As if the fugitives had tunneled under it and
pulled it back on top of themselves. The bird let out a series of
hoarse chuckles. Soon the force returned to the tree one by one,
sweat-soaked and angry. The head soldier extended his sword and
pointed it straight at the vulture. His voice could no doubt be heard
back at the city of Nephesh. "You flea-bitten, bald-headed, carcasseating liar! Had I a slingshot, I would shoot you from that branch.
But I would not waste a pebble on your worthless feathers." He
turned and whipped his sword around in an arc. His men stepped
back quickly. "The little traitors were bound for the royal lodge,"
he said. "We will follow them and trap them there between the forest and the Cliff. You know it is their heads or ours. Night comes on
quickly. Let us be off!"

The company trooped on across the clearing. They poked at the
grass with their swords as though their prey was hidden there after
all. The last man to enter the woods looked back and brandished
his sword at the vulture before he too disappeared.

Vulcanus sat motionless for several minutes. Then he preened
himself, spread his wings and glided clown to the base of the tree.
In another minute the door in the trunk opened a crack. Wesley's
face peered out. Below him appeared Lisa's face, then Kurt's.
Above them emerged a white horse face with a black snip on its
nose.

"Gone," croaked Vulcanus.

Wes whistled softly. "We could see everything, but we couldn't hear it. You must have told them a whopping lie to get them to
leave."

"Not a lie," said the bird.

Philo suddenly barged out through the door, nearly knocking
clown Kurt and Lisa. He tore off a mouthful of grass and lay down
to take a luxurious roll in the evening light. "Itches," he grunted as
he squirmed on his back. Meanwhile, Vulcanus peered past the
children into the mysterious tree house. Wes sighed and said,
"Come on in. I doubt if any vulture has ever been inside a Gaal
tree. But if any deserves to, it's you."

Vulcanus hopped up the single step. "Why do you call me vulture? I am an eagle."

"Well, let's just say you're not like the eagles in our world. In fact,
you're not like the eagles we used to know in Anthropos." Vulcanus
did not listen. His eyes were as big as vulture eyes can get. After a
thorough survey of the room he spoke in a hoarse whisper. "Long
ago I heard of Gaal trees, but I had never seen one. I understood
that they may be found anywhere and that they appear when
needed most. I had also heard that a Gaal tree is always an oak."

Kurt asked, "But why were you so sure this was a Gaal tree?"

"Frequently I patrol this forest, Lord Kurt. I know its terrain well.
Never before this day have I seen this oak in this clearing."

The Friesens stared at Vulcanus, then at their secure and comfortable refuge. They had always believed that Gaal trees appeared
when needed. But to know that this one came out of nowhere ...
"Gaal does take care of us!" Lisa breathed.

"We should know that by now," Kurt answered. His tone was not
sarcastic or scolding. He said it to himself as much as to Lisa.

Wes agreed. "We know it, but sometimes it's good to have somebody remind us. Thanks, Vulcanus. And thanks for whatever you
did for us out there. Uh-oh, here comes the horse. It's going to be
like a menagerie in here tonight." Philo's white bulk reentered the
room. Immediately he sniffed and turned to one side. He had discovered what the children had overlooked. This Gaal tree included
a small addition: a wood-floored area with straw, a bucket of water,
sweet-smelling hay and a box of grain.

Wes unbuckled the Sword of Geburah from his waist and stretched his aching arms and legs. "I don't know about the rest of
you, but I feel like a good hot bath and a good long sleep. Dinner
will be here on the table when we're ready. Or breakfast, depending on when we wake up. It always works that way. Uh, Vulcanus,
you're welcome to stay, but I don't know if anything on the menu
will appeal to you."

"Thank you, Lord Wesley. I prefer to hunt rodents in the grass
and sleep on a tree branch." His eyes glittered. "Hundreds of fat
field mice live in this clearing. Already I know their dens and trails.
The soldiers disturbed them for me during their laughable
search." He walked crow fashion to the door. A ray of low sun hit
his feathers and for an instant they glistened bronze. He hopped
out, and the door swung closed.

"So, wretched spirit! Our prey escaped in the darkness. Very
unfortunate for you and for your future. If you cannot show the
least amount of competence ..." Lord Lunacy leaned forward with
hands tensed on the long table.

Jewel-like sparks flashed within the gray spirit's form like colored lightning. "I beg to differ with you, my lord! Do not blame me
if your darkness confused my soldiers! If' you had told me you
planned to send it, I would have prepared them-"

Lunacy brought his fist down on the table. The blow threatened
to split the wood. "Idiot! I did not send that darkness! It fell while
the fools wasted our time with their petty, jealousies!"

For once the spirit fumbled for words. Its skirts swirled as it
paced back and forth in an agitated manner. "But you call yourself
the Lord of Darkness! If you did not send it, then what was its
source?"

"Why don't you go ask the One Whose Mouth I Will Not Dirty ...
how does that go?"

Automatically the spirit replied, "The-One-Whose-Name-WeWill-Not-Dirty-Our-Mouths-To-Speak." Its mind ran in a new direction. If the Dark Lord himself had not sent the darkness, who or
what had sent it? What did it mean?

Lunacy gave a low and dangerous laugh. "Perhaps you will ask the Accursed One. It is said that he and I have formed an alliance.
Perhaps you take that news too seriously. Perhaps you traffic with
him behind my back."

The spirit's breath tightened in its throat. "Traffic with him? Me?
Never! How can you imagine-"

"It would explain your repeated slip-ups. Perhaps your will is to
let the three escape and wreck the plans of the Mystery."

"No! I have already sent a troop of soldiers after them. Even
now they should be in the act of putting an end to the children."

"For that we shall wait and see." Lunacy's glittering eyes narrowed in suspicion. "I chose you and made you into a human
queen. Your subjects call you `your majesty.' Perhaps you begin to
imagine yourself above me." He leaned back and appeared to
relax, then snapped, "Is this not true?"

"No! I deny it! What traitor has told you this?"

"Your own conscience has told me."

"I hate the Accursed One! I serve only you!"

"Only me? Do you not also serve yourself when it coincides with
service to me?"

The queen bowed slightly. "Benefits shall ever accompany the
service of one so great as your majesty."

Lunacy's laugh was enormous. The queen relaxed. The tension
had left the chamber, at least for now. Queen Hisschi said, "If it
pleases you, my lord, I will go now and see to my charge."

"The young female Betty Riggs? Of course. You are sure she has
no memory of being brought here to the island?"

"None, my lord. The enchantment was indeed deep."

Lunacy let the queen go. He sat a moment in thought. Soon he
rose and followed her out of the room and down the stairs of the
Tower of Geburah.

The Dark Lord strolled about the courtyard of the rebuilt island
fortress. He enjoyed his ability to make himself so large that his
head filled it room or small enough to walk inside a courtyard. The
smooth inner walls and the close-fitting stones of the buildings
pleased him greatly. His Matmon stonemasons had done excellent work. Every stone was of a different shape, but all fit together in a
massive, vertical jigsaw puzzle.

His mind went back to the original fortress, built in the miserable time when John the Sword Bearer was in Anthropos. Matmon
had done that work also. Their skills at stonework were unequaled
by any other beings. The Dark Lord chuckled to recall that the
original fortress was built as a defense against the forces of the
Mystery. It was constructed to surround and protect the Tower of
Geburah, where the Regents would appear to rule Anthropos.

Lunacy gazed up at the tower. The room directly below the top
room was where he often summoned the queen in spirit form. A
few weaver bees buzzed and dived about his head but did not
touch him. Yes, the Regents had arrived, and eventually from them
had come Gaal-Lunacy recoiled as the hated name entered his
head. That Despised One thought he had defeated the Mystery by
his laughable self-sacrifice on the altar at Bamah. The event was a
setback but not a final defeat. As the island fortress fell into disuse,
the Dark Lord commandeered the ruins. The remote setting made
an excellent headquarters to rethink his strategy and to plan for
the future of Anthropos.

Now the rebuilt fortress crowned the island. This time the Matmon builders had worked under Lord Lunacy's personal direction.
Some had always remained loyal to him. Others came under his
influence because they believed his story of an alliance between
himself and-that Other.

Lunacy turned around to take in a view of the entire castle. He
appreciated beauty. He took offense when people thought he
loved ugliness. Many claimed that everything he touched turned
foul. They failed to see the glory of his works.

Queen Hisschi, for example. She was beautiful. And the young
Lady Betty was attractive. She had the promise of great beauty as
she matured. Even better, she liked to command others. Best of all,
she desired to be thought wise.

As Lunacy turned, he saw both the queen and the princess.
Betty stood on top of the wide southern wall and looked out over
the lake. Her rich robes resembled those Queen Hisschi wore. She
stood with chin tilted slightly upward in imitation of royal dignity. How quickly she learns, he thought. He turned his attention to the
queen herself, who began to ascend the stairs. It is not easy to
climb an old stone stairway with no handrail in long skirts, but the
queen accomplished it gracefully. Halfway up she must have spoken to Betty, for Lunacy saw the girl's head turn. He allowed himself a small tight smile of satisfaction before he strode away.

The queen joined Betty on the fortress wall. "Do you enjoy the
view, my daughter?"