The Dark Lord's Demise (41 page)

Night came on fast. The Dark Lord loved this time. Night was
when he could unleash his most wicked and effective forces.

When the pigeon came clown, Emmy the serving girl and her
two friends were toward the back of the crowd, dangerously near
the bees. They clapped and cheered as the bees left and the Gaal
image faded from the sky.

"It weren't Gaal at all!" Emmy said to the others. "I had a funny
feeling about it. The eyes weren't right, you know. I've never seen
him, but I hear lie's got wonderful eyes. This one had the eyes of a
dead fish."

One of the other girls pointed to the cottage. "Look, Emmy, the
bird's gone over to that wreck of a house. It's twisting its head this
way and that. Think it wants us to go over there?"

The three girls walked over to the ruined cottage. The pigeon
darted around to the front door and fluttered in. A moment later it
came back out, looked at the girls, cocked its head and disappeared
inside once more. Cautious but not afraid, the girls pushed the
door open wider and went in.

A few minutes later they emerged with armloads of bread,
cheese and fruits. "Fresh as from the palace kitchens!" they marveled. Emmy said, "Too bad there isn't enough to go around. We'll
feed the little ones first." They carried the food to the first bonfire and began to hand it out. Gaal's followers ate and kept eating.
They (lid not run out of food until everyone in the crowd had
eaten their fill. Even Hazilon ate, though he stayed in the shadows.
The only ones with it trace of a complaint were the Koach, who
would have liked a bone or two to chew on.

They had barely finished their food when screams split the
night air. They looked up to see streaks of flame shooting across
the sky.

"Where do we go now?" asked Lisa. "Back to where we got the
raft?" The four of them had made their escape from the island,
and fortunately no one seemed to be following them.

"I don't know," said Kurt between heavy breaths brought on by
his forceful paddling. "I haven't seen the pigeon since it went back
through the door in the Garden Room. Maybe we should go south
instead to the lodge."

"But look at those flames!" said Wes. "What is that all about?"
The Friesens peered at the fires on the far shore.

"I don't think it's a forest fire," Lisa said. "There are five fires,
evenly spaced, like a row of bonfires." Then she remembered. "It's
the Gaal followers! The ones who paraded past our tree!"

"At least the fires show us where the cliff is," Kurt said. "And
look! There's a column of blue light over there too. Yes, that's definitely where we should head. The pillar- of blue light always guided
us true in the past. The dock should be just about below the center
bonfire. Steps go up the cliff from there."

"Sounds good to me," said Wes. "Lisa, head us over in that direction. By the way, I think you girls can take off the Mashal stone
now. Nobody can see us out here anyway."

"But it's fun!" Betty protested. "Think of everything you could
do if nobody could see you." Her mind ran ahead to the possibilities at River Heights School.

"The Mashal Stone isn't something to play around with," Wes
warned her. "We're to use its powers in the service of Gaal, not for
ourselves. It's like the Sword of Geburah. Or the Book of Wisdom
you found."

Betty considered this. "Gaal told me to be careful about power. I
think I see what you're getting at. But I still like the feeling." She
removed the gold cord. The two girls came back into view in the
weak-reflected starlight from the lake. Betty started to hand the
Mashal Stone to Lisa. Lisa leaned over to take it and felt the Book
of Wisdom in her belt. She straightened and said, "You hold onto
the Mashal Stone, Betty. Just remember what Wes said about it."

Betty's eyes stung. She wished she were invisible again. She
didn't know what to say. It didn't matter, for at that moment it horrid scream split the dark air above them. A streak of flame shot
across the sky and struck the water only yards from the raft. A violent hiss of steam boiled up. Seconds later, hot water sloshed onto
the raft. Wes said in awe, "It's a battle!"

"Looks like Lunacy has called out his Qadar!" said Kurt. He and
Wes dug in and paddled harder.

Betty's voice shook. "What battle? What's a Qadar?"

"Night warriors that ride batlike creatures. They fly faster than
anything," Kurt explained. He stopped talking to save his wind for
paddling.

Lisa peered up at the stars. "I don't think they can see us clearly.
This raft won't show up much against the dark water."

Betty was confused. "What was that splash, Did one of them
crash near us?"

Wes gave it short laugh. "Don't we wish! That was one of their
.
flatting spears."

"The book!" Lisa cried. She got out the Book of Wisdom and
held it before her, the tiller-paddle jammed under her elbow. "I'll use it if they dive at us."

"Don't let go of the tiller!" Wes reminded her. "Keep a steady
course for the center bonfire!"

"I'll do the tiller," Betty said. "I can do it with one hand and hold
the Mashal Stone with the other. But Lisa, how is the book going
to-"

Piercing screams ripped the sky. Overhead two black forms
blocked out the stars. They appeared to circle, but they also grew
larger. They were spiraling downward. Lisa opened the book. A
wide beam of blue light shot out. One of the shapes burst into
flame and veered away, plunging into the lake with an explosion of
steam. The raft rocked and pitched in waves of hot water.

Lisa pointed the blue light at the second Qadar, but the motion
of the raft threw her aim off. A spear of fire struck the edge of the
raft and spun off into the lake. The Qadar swooped down and
passed over their heads with the force and sound of a fighter jet.
Savage wind nearly ripped them from the raft. As it passed, the
Qadar screamed. By instinct Lisa almost dropped the book and
covered her ears. She held on and aimed the blue light at the racing shadow she could now barely see. The Qadar burst into a ball
of fire and sank into the lake in another gigantic hiss of steam.

"The Mashal Stone!" Kurt said. "Maybe they'll think we all
jumped off the raft!"

Betty's hand was frozen on the tiller. She could hardly think of
handling the Mashal Stone. She fumbled for it and almost dropped
it between the logs of the raft. She said, "We can't all get inside it.
And anyway, I'm all thumbs. And anyway-"

`Just keep us headed straight," Wes answered shortly.

The boys paddled. Betty steered. Lisa clutched the Book of Wisdom and watched for Qadar. Three more times they dived close
and she used the book. Two attackers plunged into the lake. The
other fled in a zigzag course, apparently injured. A muffled splash
told them it was finished.

The direct attacks ended. The Qadar still screamed and raced
across the stars, but they were distant now. The boys eased off their
frantic paddling. They sucked in the cool night air. The bonfires
drew closer and higher. Their reflections made yellow splashes on the water. Lisa said, "There are people up there, all right. Gathering around the bonfires. I think they'd been sitting by the fires and
ran away from the Qadar."

"Backpaddle," Wes ordered suddenly. He and Kurt brought the
raft's progress to a halt. The wind now pushed them sideways
along the base of the cliff. Dimly they saw the little (lock.

"Maybe I should sneak up and reconnoiter. We don't know for
sure yet why they're there," Wes said.

"If the Qadar were after them, they must really be Gaal's people," Kurt answered.

"Yes, but still ... What's that?" The others strained to see or hear
what Wes meant. "Splashes," he whispered. "Downwind. Must be
close."

Now the others heard it. A splash and a creak. A splash and a
creak. Lisa whispered, "Oars."

"Stealthy oars," whispered Wes. "Betty, it's time for the Mashal
Stone."

Betty unrolled the long gold thread. Lisa, Kurt and Wes drew in
their paddles and laid them on the raft. They all shifted to the center of the raft and sat close together. Betty dropped the gold thread
over their heads, and the raft became an empty abandoned craft
adrift on the lake. It continued downwind toward the unseen rowboat.

A gruff voice emerged from the dark. "Think it's all right to
leave the cove?"

Another voice. "What else can we do? Something has gone
badly wrong. The Lord of Darkness will not be pleased."

"I fear his wrath. Can we not appease him if we finish off the
survivors?"

"Fool! They all survived! Did you see any come over the cliff?"

A creak and a splash. A creak. Then a sharp voice: "Boat
ahead!" A solid shadow crossed the reflections of the bonfires.
The raft spun slowly as the rowboat approached.

"Empty raft," grumbled one of the voices. The speaker risked
raising his voice. "Over here! Found something!"

Another rowboat approached with a more rapid creak and
splash. A cold voice spoke. "We are to take no captives. Kill them."

"It's only a raft. Empty and adrift." The first rowboat loomed out
of the darkness. Its bow bumped up against the raft. Two bent figures sat low in the boat. The one who rowed put out a hand and
felt the logs of the raft. His hand passed close to Wes's foot. Wes
silently drew up his legs.

The second rowboat came into shadowy view. A scornful voice
said, "Matmon construction. Deserters from our majestic Lord of
Darkness?"

"More likely fanatics of the Detestable One. Qadar must have
got 'em. They deserved it. Strange-no sign of scorching." The second boat now bumped against the raft. There was a short silence.
"How goes it above?"

"All unaware, the fools. His miserable lordship readies his next
attack. I know not what it is."

"Say, this raft is well-made. I could use a good raft such as this."
One of the figures in the second rowboat moved forward to inspect
the raft. The children did not dare to breathe. The figure in the
boat turned to his companion. "You may row back alone. I shall
take this craft." He started to climb out of the boat onto the raft.
His hand touched Kurt's foot. Kurt did not move. The figure put all
his weight on his hand and started to transfer himself onto the raft.
Kurt bit his lower lip against the pain.