The Mask Wearer (18 page)

“Look at my power,
ssss
, and watch your men die!”

The sorcerer lifted his arms and muttered a magic formula. From the fields surrounding the city, a thick yellow and green smoke rose. All around, and for perhaps half a mile, an opaque cloud covered the land and part of the forest.

“Whoever breathes this,
ssss
, air will die poisoned,
ssss
. Your knights will not,
ssss
, resist for long.”

“My men are indestructible, Karmakas,” Amos answered calmly. “In fact, they’re still standing!”

The mask wearer focused hard, and by his sheer will made the wind rise. It slowly pushed away the thick cloud, and the sorcerer could see that, in the distance, all the knights still
remained standing. They had not budged. The poison had had no effect on them.

“Who are you,
ssss
, young human?” the sorcerer asked, trying to keep his composure. “Who sent you,
ssss
, and how can you counter the effects of,
ssss
, my magic?”

“I am Amos Daragon, your worst nightmare!” Amos answered with a ferocious smile.

“Very well,
ssss
, we’ll see what your knights can do,
ssss
, against this!”

Karmakas asked Medusa to keep an eye on the prisoner and left the room. Then he ordered the gorgons to gather in front of the great city gates. Amos lost no time in creating a sphere and sent a message to Junos.

“I believe Karmakas is preparing an attack. Get ready!”

In the gray shadows of sunset, Junos could see the gorgons band together in front of the city gates. On his command, the knights moved forward noiselessly among the ruins of houses and streets filled with debris, and formed a semicircle around the snake-haired women. None were to escape. The men of Berrion were tired and tense, but they knew that if they won this battle, they would be able to sleep before heading home.

Karmakas forced his way through his gorgons. “Now,
ssss
, go and annihilate this,
ssss
, miserable army!” he ordered. “Open the portcullis!”

Before anyone had time to activate the mechanism to open the portcullis, Junos shouted,
“The torches!”

Almost four hundred torches were lit at the same time. The gorgons cried out in surprise and Karmakas ordered them to attack the intruders. Walking backward, the knights advanced toward the female warriors. Shield-mirrors were attached to their backs, allowing them to raise their torches with their right hand to give light. In their left hands, the men of Berrion held small pocket mirrors that helped to guide them along. Junos was the only one unable to find his.

Dozens of gorgons saw their reflection and howled with pain. Their insides were torn apart before they turned to dust. Surrounded, the snake-haired women tried to flee and opened the portcullis. Fifty-some knights were waiting for them on the other side with gleaming shields. This final blow struck down a good number of gorgons. And around Karmakas, one gorgon after another fell. The knights kept closing in, ensuring that all the gorgons were doomed. Meanwhile, Karmakas transformed himself into a giant rattlesnake and slithered out. He made his way to the tower of the castle. Furious, he repeated incessantly, “I’m going to kill you, Mask Wearer! Death unto you!”

From the top of the tower, Amos and Medusa watched the collapse of the gorgons.

“Thank you, Medusa,” Amos said. “You have helped to save hundreds of human lives. Now this town can be reborn.”

“I must tell you something important, Amos,” she answered. “There is only one way to bring our friend back to life. You know what I mean as well as I do.”

“I know what you’re going to say, Medusa, and I’ll never force you to look at your reflection,” Amos said as the young
gorgon moved away from him. Her hands were shaking and her legs seemed unsteady. “There must be another way to give Beorf his life back. Together, we’ll find it.”

“I know what I’m saying, Amos. And I know also that you’d never force me to do something against my will. You’d never sacrifice me to save your friend. Even though we’ve spent only this short time together, we’ve grown attached to each other. And you, Beorf, and I would make an unbeatable team. But it is not possible. I understand that true friendship can mean sacrificing oneself to save someone else. This is what Beorf taught me when he looked at my eyes. He could easily have killed me with a blow of his paw and his powerful claws. But because he was my friend, he didn’t do it. Even after my disloyalty, he remained true to himself, true to his feelings for me. With you, too, I’ve known friendship. This is a beautiful quality in humans. Now it’s my turn to show some humanity. Tell Beorf that I will always remember him, even in my death.”

Medusa then took Junos’s small pocket mirror out of her bag. She had taken it from him before the battle. Amos leaped forward to stop the young gorgon. It was too late. She had seen her reflection.

“It’s true, Beorf, I really do have beautiful eyes!” Medusa whispered before crumbling to dust.

At that moment, a rattlesnake appeared through the slightly opened door and rushed over to Amos. On impulse Amos grabbed his trident, barely avoiding the reptile’s gigantic fangs. Again the snake attacked. Amos rolled to the ground on his side, freeing himself from the sorcerer.

Amos looked at his trident. “If you really can do extraordinary things, now is the time to prove it!” he said.

Amos threw his weapon with force at the snake. The trident penetrated the body of his enemy, but only slightly. A layer of scales protected Karmakas.

“Do you believe,
ssss
, that you can fight me with,
ssss
, that twig? I am going to swallow you in
one bite
!”

As Karmakas lunged, he suddenly grew faint. The trident, still implanted in his flesh, was now shining with a pale blue light. Karmakas threw up some salt water. Then Amos saw something fantastic happen. The trident was slowly driven into the snake’s body. The floor of the room turned to liquid and the walls began to ooze. Cascades of water poured down from the ceiling. Two mermaids emerged from the sodden floor and grabbed hold of Karmakas. They wrapped him in a net of seaweed, totally oblivious to Amos, who stood by, not understanding what was happening. The mermaids pulled the big snake through the floor and vanished as quickly as they had appeared. The water evaporated. In the blink of an eye, the room took on its usual appearance. Except for a broken mirror on the floor.

W
hen Beorf opened his eyes, he felt as if he had been sleeping for years. He sat on the ground to recover. He was famished. He ate some nuts and tried to remember what had happened before he was turned to stone. At first his only thoughts were of the gorgon. He had dreamed that Medusa was caressing his face. Many times her enchanting voice had soothed him in his dreams. Beorf had totally lost any notion of time. Then an image of Karmakas popped into his mind. Also that of his friend Amos, who had gone off to accomplish his quest. All these memories swirled in his head. He decided to leave the cavern and started to walk aimlessly in the forest.

All the dwellers of Bratel-la-Grande—the Knights of Light, the peasants, and the shopkeepers—left the side of the road where they had been displayed as statues and began to walk
toward the city. At the city gates, the men of Berrion gave them a warm welcome. Every gorgon had crumbled to dust; now the curse was only a bad memory.

A large meeting took place in the center of the ruined city.

“Dwellers of Bratel-la-Grande! I, Junos, lord of the Knights of Equilibrium and ruler of the kingdom of Berrion, declare this city free! We fought evil and delivered you from the gorgons. Now I offer to rebuild this city with you, in harmony and respect.”

“Go away!” a man shouted in the crowd. “There is only one ruler here—me.” It was Yaune the Purifier; he approached the dais. “No one will tell the Knights of Light what to do and how to do it,” he said. “Leave immediately and let me rebuild our city the way we want it.”

A murmur rose from the crowd. Junos raised his hand to ask for silence.

“Citizens of Bratel-la-Grande, it is because of your lord that all of you nearly lost your lives,” Junos went on. “Yaune the Purifier knew that a powerful sorcerer was looking for him. He did not tell you the truth, and this lie almost brought your destruction. A true knight never tells falsehoods the way this man did for countless years. Today I must clearly state the facts so that all of you can understand my intentions. I ardently wish to annex Bratel-la-Grande’s territory to that of Berrion’s. Together we can create a vast kingdom—”

“How dare you!” Yaune shouted, drawing his sword. “I will not tolerate further insults.”

Barthelemy jostled his way to the dais. “Yaune, should we
not listen to what this man has to offer? We owe him our lives, and were it not for his courage, this city would still be in the hands of our enemies. As proof of respect for the bravery of his men and to show my gratitude, I am ready to take an oath of allegiance to him. There is nothing wrong with serving someone who is stronger than oneself. When a lord who is good and fair requests an alliance, a knight must recognize his value and submit.”

“Traitor!”
Yaune cried loudly. “You speak like your father! And since we’re putting all our cards on the table today, I’ll confess that I’m the one who killed him with my own sword. We were together when the pendant fell into my hands. Your father insisted that we destroy it. I refused. That trophy was mine. He challenged me to a duel and I drew his blood. Now I order that you be burned alive for treason. Knights of Light, seize this man immediately!”

Baffled, the knights looked at one another. “We’ve burned enough innocent people!” one of them shouted. “I side with Barthelemy! Let his punishment be mine too, for I am tired of obeying Yaune the Purifier.”

Another knight came to Barthelemy’s side and put his hand on his shoulder. “I’ve known this man since childhood, and I believe he’s got what it takes to become our new lord! I’m also in favor of an alliance with our saviors, our friends from Berrion.”

The crowd applauded loudly and every Knight of Light gathered behind Barthelemy, their new master. Then Junos requested silence once more.

“Bratel-la-Grande has just chosen a new ruler!” he said. “Barthelemy, join me on the dais and listen to the acclamation of your people! Today I pledge to you the friendship and loyalty of Berrion. To facilitate our trade activities, we will build a road between our two kingdoms. We’ll work together for the prosperity and well-being of our people.”

Enraged, Yaune raised his sword to strike Barthelemy. Junos’s guard stopped him.

“Let him be!” Bathelemy intervened. “For having killed my father, Yaune, I condemn you to exile. We will tattoo the word ‘murderer’ on your forehead so that everyone knows what kind of man you are. You will also be stripped of your title of knight. No one will be burned in this kingdom from here on. We will rebuild this city on new principles.”